House Hunting

For quite a few of us, our hospitals/working destination requires moving away- far, far away- from our current residence. In fact, when deciding your hospital, this is probably something that goes into careful consideration. I have been stalking several sites rather religiously for the past few months in an effort to find the perfect accommodation in several hospitals of my choosing, even before I knew that I got into the number one hospital of my choosing.

Needless to say I'm glad I got the one I was most religiously stalking.

This post is for those of us who do not already live close to our future workplace, and need to find our own accommodation prior to starting work. Of course, this is for when you already know where you're posted, i.e. post e-housemen.

First things First: To Hostel or Not to Hostel?

If only...

Back "then", there weren't many HOs running around the hospital. As such, for all HOs, their accommodations were provided by the hospital by means of 'hostels', which are dorm-like accommodations within hospital grounds. I heard that there was a time when HOs were made compulsory to live in these hostels for the entire year of housemanship (yes, it used to take a year kan).

Now it's not the same, mainly because there are too many HOs for the hostels to be adequate.

Currently, in most hospitals, the hostels are only allowed for a fixed amount of time before you have to move out and find your own accommodations outside. And even when they are available for perhaps longer than a few months, you have to remember that many hospital hostels are dorm-like; i.e. the bathrooms may be outside of your unit, and the furniture immovable, and the space generally not that big or open to creativity. I say 'may' because I am unsure of how the newer hostels are.

Yes, you have to pay to stay in the hostel, and not that little either. It will be deducted from your salary, should you so wish to stay there. I know of a district hospital where the supposed rate of a hostel room is RM 400, shared between two people. And in the (highly likely) event that you have to move out after several months, remember that you still have to hunt for a house while being busy with HO duties, and with that move your belongings too.

So, to hostel or not to hostel?

I would say, yes to hostel if you do not mind the relative lack of space and privacy, have little belongings, and have no means of transportation of your own (cars or motorbikes).Yes if the hostels are available for more than a few months; or if you don't mind having to move out after you started working. Yes if you are pressed for options, for example if you cannot do proper house hunting for any reason, or other options are simply to expensive for you (very unlikely). Yes if you simply want to live the hostel life. Yes if the hostel is actually very decent for you, and you like the thought of living there.

And no to the hostel, simply, if any or most of the above things don't apply to you.

In case of the latter, onwards to house-hunting.

People-finding

There are several ways you can go about it. One of the best ways is to use your family members and friends who already live in the locality of your hospital, if they are available. Ask them very nicely to help you find a place close to the hospital. At least someone you know and trust is dealing with the process, and it takes a great burden off your mind. I happen to have some relatives living in the intended area of my posting, and thus the process of finding an appropriate place was made easier. It helps that I'm also very close to these relatives.

Sometimes, you can even get heavily discounted or free accommodation because your relatives ask you to merely take care of their existing house! This is of course very much welcome for those of us who are very new at handling money.

But more importantly (or slightly less; it is after all relative): find fellow people posted at the hospital you're going to. This means batchmates of the same gender who aren't married, or are married to a non-HO and are willing to live as bachelors/bachelorettes at least on working days. You may even know people of the same HO intake but from different learning institutions who are going to the same place. Seek them out.

Make a chat group for yourselves. Discuss if you want to share in the process of finding the right accommodation, or if any of you prefer to X-Wing it, or go Han Solo. Having others around is undeniably easier. And even if you do not end up rooming together, you will still be in the same hospital and attend the same PTM so it's still useful to have a group chat (on WhatsApp, or Facebook, etc), at least until you start working and going to different departments. Even after separating to your respective departments, it's always useful to have these contacts that you are (hopefully) more familiar with. Especially if you end up in the same accommodation!

Choosing the Right Place

You may choose to find an entire unit (house/apartment) and share with others, or have it all to yourself. OR you may opt to rent a room with existing tenants. This is entirely up to you (and your budget).

The more convenient way, if you can't do it personally or have someone do it personally for you, is to browse online. Several sites that are very handy:

• google.com
• mudah.my
• ibilik.my
• homes.mitula.my

I think the first two in the list are more than sufficient.

A number also take to Facebook to find their house. You have many contacts on Facebook, do you not? Make sure your request status is made Public so it can be shared or seen by strangers who know your Facebook contacts and can potentially help with the process. 

Facebook also contains many people promoting their houses for rent or homestays (which can be converted to rental accommodation if the owner feels like it).

By now, you will probably be facing many options.

Here are things to consider very very meticulously when choosing your accommodation from all those options:

Price

I made a semi-flexible budget. You should too. Make sure the chosen accommodation is within your budget for monthly necessities.

Duh. ;)

Location, location, location

You will, of course, want to look for accommodation close to your workplace. If you do not, what are you thinking? Have you even heard tell of news of road traffic accidents caused by exhausted doctors??! Ahem. Make sure to employ the services of Google Maps, then Google Earth and Google Street View (if available) to check the exact location of your intended accommodation in relation to your workplace. 

If the location is not so clear from the listings, ask the owners to provide you with the address and Google Map it. This usually proves accurate. They shouldn't hide it for whatever reason.

Disasters?

It may also be useful to check for the potential of getting natural and man-made disasters in your place, i.e. floods and landslides. These are very common in our country, particularly during monsoon season (you should have checked this before you chose your hospital too, but some may purposely choose hospitals that are known to be directly involved in these disasters for their own reasons).

And... avoid disastrous places, to the best of your ability. Or if you can't, make sure you are reasonably equipped in the event of said things occurring. Pray that they don't. Take care of the environment. Et cetera.

Security

If you are living alone or of the fairer gender, then the safety of the neighbourhood is really important and should be one of the first things you look at. Ask the owner if it is safe for you; more often than not, they will tell you that it is, no matter what. So to be even more safe, ask around instead. Do google searches. Everything is at the tips of your fingers. 

One of the ways in which the owners try to reassure you (and ask for higher rental) is by implementing safety measures that are probably a necessity in our country nowadays, particularly grills, secure locks and gates, and adequate porch lighting (if your house has a porch). Alarm systems? All the better! Make sure you know how to use them.

Facilities

Before making your decision, enquire ceaselessly. Make sure you are paying for something you will not regret.

You will be spending money on the house/room, and you have your rights. It is easy for us to feel intimidated and presumptuous when negotiating the needs of the house, but this- again- is part of growing up. Learn to put your foot down and make your intentions clear to get what you think is necessary, but be reasonable about it. There is no set formula for doing something like this, so experience really counts. Ask your friends and family members if need be, but make the final decisions for yourself. After all, you are going to be making life and death decisions later at work, no? 

Timing

You need to be clear on when you expect to move in. As the PTM will be done within the area of the hospital we're posted at, it is better to move in prior to the PTM date; remember that there is only a gap of one or two days before we start working after PTM. If you feel that you have many things to settle with the house, in particular moving and buying furniture or appliances, it is better to settle in a few days earlier than the PTM date so that you may familiarize yourself with the new surroundings and not feel too rushed. Make your chosen accommodation as cozy as possible. Feel it out. Baca Yaasin ramai-ramai every night for 3 days straight. Whatever calms you down.

Because it will be only a short while before the REAL struggles begin. *evil laugh*

...

.....

.........

Okay, okay, no worries. Just chill and take it easy. But seriously, how do some of you just do everything last minute? I do not comprehend this fascinating ability. I honestly wish I can be less prepared and more 'in the moment', but alas this was not how I was programmed or raised. ^^;

Have many belongings? Movers will be required so start looking around.

More on that in coming posts, after I gain more exp in that particular subject.

Good luck! :)

E-housemen done. Now What?

Post e-housemen, you might be wondering what to do.

You have read the offer letter and they involve some very foreign things. Fret not! It's actually rather simple. Unless you have to find accommodation and move, then it's not so simple, but it's part of growing up so yay!

Anyway.

Remember those forms from before? Copy them, at least twice, so you have 3 copies. Keep them in a special file. We'll call it 'Special File'.

What forms?! You ask.

Okay, let me explain lah...
And for the stuff below that you can keep in a file, keep them in that Special File for ease.

1) By now you would already have received your SPA offer letter. You can't fill out e-housemen without it after all. With that offer letter, they would have given you 3 copies of Surat Terima Pelantikan, and would have asked you to download the other two items from their site online (portal SPA): the Surat Akuan Sumpah (SPA.6C) and Borang Pemeriksaan Doktor untuk pelantikan ke Perkhidmatan Kerajaan.

This requires seeing a medical officer and above, and also a commisioner of oaths, or pesuruhjaya sumpah.
And make sure someone witnessed your medical check-up forms prior to doing the medical check-up!

THESE things, complete them before your PTM date and make at least 2 copies. Then make 3 more copies just to be sure so you have 6 copies. If you have the money and printer, make as many copies as you can afford to without being (too) ridiculous.

Then keep them safe.

2) Do you have a KWSP account? No? Then, please go to the nearest KWSP branch and sign up. All you need is your IC with a working chip. They have super useful kiosks with very helpful and friendly staff to help you (especially the one in Kajang, don't ask me why I went to several KWSP branches lol). Not a single cent to spend, too! Keep the slip of registration, then activate your iAkaun online. You can do that in the office itself or at the comfort of your home.

If you've just made your KWSP account, you will have no account statement available to print. For now I merely made several copies of my registration confirmation slip and had a couple verified, just to be safe. I am sure the hospital admin will brief you on this later (along with the account verification, see number 5).

3) Take/print out passport pictures. Lots of them. I believe there will always be a need for more passport pictures in your entire working life. Print out 12, why not.

I suggest 20 at least, to be scattered to the winds so that you can find smaller stacks of them if you happen to forget where you put the initial stack. Dead serious yo.

4) Make your official stamp and name tag. Many people say the hospital can do this for you, but it's always better to be prepared (and have extras). Therefore, make them yourself. A portable type of stamp with 5 lines cost me RM 33 per stamp. I made 2. The normal non-shiny name tags, in large, cost me RM 5.50 each.

For my stamp, the details I included were:

DR. FULL NAME

MBBS (UNI NAME)

PEGAWAI PERUBATAN UD41

MMC NO. 12345

HOSPITAL NAME

Centered and CAPSed, the lot of it.

Many chose to omit the name of uni, but I've been posted to that hospital before and all the HOs I saw had their uni name in their stamp, so I figured better safe than sorry. Also I am rather proud of my alma mater, no matter what people say. 'Tis the time to be proud of your alma mater, and make them proud!

But to be safe, the format most used is without uni name, and with the words 'Pegawai Perubatan Siswazah' (not Pegawai Perubatan UD41) to emphasize your provisionally-registered status. Haha.

Each hospital has their own way of making your official chop. In most hospitals, they do not actually mind how your chop is organized as long as the details are true and you don't misuse it.

Also, if you lose your official chop, you have to make a police report. No kidding. So keep it safe!

5) Go to your current bank account- the checking account, that is- and ask for an account verification to be printed out. I believe if you have one of those tiny books (buku simpanan) you just need to copy that, but most of us these days do not.

In any case, just go to the information counter and say you are to start working and your employer requires your account details. They know what you need, and will ask for your bank card/IC (can't remember which or if it's both, but it's something you should have with you at all times anyway). Then they will immediately print out a single sheet with your name, IC number and account number, among other things. The bank staff will stamp it with that particular branch's special chop, and sign it- these are required. It takes almost no time at all and doesn't cost a single cent.

I did this in CIMB, and on top of the document are the words 'CASA Account Relationship Inquiry'. If you have several accounts in the same card, make sure you remember the account number that you want your checking account to be- as the document will only state one account number.

Make copies and have them verified.

6) Photocopy (at least 3 but I recommend ~10) and place in Special File:

• SPM results
• Medical degree
• MMC temporary practicing certificate
• SPA offer letter
• Own IC
• Birth certificate
• Parents' IC (Unsure if needed now; will update later) - You actually do not need this, but you will need to know your parents' full names, IC numbers, addresses, phone numbers and marriage date (?) to fill out your HRMIS form later when you report to your respective hospitals (after PTM).

Currently, other than the account statement I am not 100% sure if you need to verify any of the above copies. You may do so to several copies, to be safe.  My hospital administration did not require verified copies and only asked for ONE copy of each thing- maximum 2, one of which they returned to me anyway (the Surat Penempatan from KKM, the one you print after filling out e-Housemen). I think it's because they cared enough to photocopy the documents on their own, because I've heard friends from other hospitals required more than 3 copies of each thing!

7) The rest of the items on your KKM letter of placement will be done during hospital orientation/after PTM, so don't worry. This includes surat akujanji, laporan perubahan, and tapisan keselamatan kasar- the latter of which is fully online. Source of information: Call to KKM.

The tapisan keselamatan can be done after your PTM, but if you are unsure just wait until your hospital orientation. They will guide you on how to properly fill out your details.

8) For those posted far away from home, this is the time to start looking for rentals, movers and transportation methods. I will probably update my personal thoughts on moving in coming posts, to make it easier for first-time movers- at least based on my very green experience. Many do not bring enough things to hire movers and can ask their parents or other family members to help. That is even better :)

May Allah ease everything!



P/S.: This info will hopefully be updated periodically as I discover more of the proper methods, after having done them and confirmed them with suitable individuals/authorities.

E-Housemen: The Force Awakens

I have gone through the much-anticipated, arrhythmia-inducing process of applying through e-Housemen and would like to share it here... To the best of my abilities.

Sorry for the lack of screenies because as you may know, it is a very rushed process and you cannot backtrack to the actual forms once you are done.

In preparation, 

I read the e-housemen guidebook which can be found online or after the KKM e-mail reaches you. I read it again and again to familiarize myself with the steps listed.

I sought to be in a place where the internet is strongest. This means NO MOBILE INTERNET and possibly leaving the comfort of your own home to be in the cyber cafe... Or to a friend's house. I noticed a lot of people living in more remote areas had the problem of their process 'hanging' due to unfavourable internet connection or device capability.

Prepare your best device. Try to avoid cellphones, and use a PC that is not ancient or overencumbered. Most laptops work fine. Make sure you are able to type accurately and comfortably on that device.

I prepared my own information: SPA reference number (the one you need to fill in the acceptance letter, as written on your offer letter from SPA), full name, phone number, current correspondence address; most of these were already filled in but I double checked anyway. These I sequestered on a word document for easy copypasta.

I prepared the information for all my family members i.e. parents and siblings. This may include your spouse and children if you are married. Information needed: IC no., full name, local residential address (no option for other countries which I think is a major drawback), age, cellphone number, job. All in CAPS. There will be several rather redundant dropdown options for each family member, which are: Ethnicity, occupation field, occupation sector... They can slow you down more than you think. But my advice is not to leave any family member behind, or omit their details, to the best of your ability. There have been several people advising us to just skip all but one family member's details to get to the placement window quicker. Being the person that I am, I am not capable of doing such a thing, as they have warned you to fill in everything. I think knowingly omitting to key in your family members is kind of like falsifying your information.

I also opted for the Chrome autofill and autocomplete functions to be turned on so that the info is easily filled in. For autocomplete, I included my name, cellphone number, correspondence address in CAPS. I tried finding ways to input other necessary information into autocomplete; I think in the end, you may put anything in the name/address/phone number blanks which may be used in autofill once you start typing out in forms on your browser. You can try it.

You should also prepare mentally and spiritually. This is to ensure you have the smoothest process and choose what is best for you. This includes prayers, family and friend support, and basically gearing yourself up to not get your first choice (or even your second or third). Be prepared to lose and hope for the best!

You should have registered earlier according to your date of offer letter. It only requires your IC number, and the registration usually opens a couple of days before the application date. Be alert as it may open before the KKM email reaches you. On the registration date, your IC number is taken as your login name, and you will have to create your password for your login process. Retrospective advice? Make your password as easy and short as possible. It would help in the frenzy of application day.

On the day of applications

Ensure you wake up bright and early on the day the system opens and have had your breakfast.

Park your laptop somewhere close to the wifi router, or plug in the internet cable one hour prior (okay, 30 to 15 minutes before is actually very acceptable too).

Make sure you have all other unnecessary applications on your computer turned off- especially those that drain data.

Open website at http://ehousemen.moh.gov.my and find the Login page.

Log. In.

I started furiously logging in close to 15 minutes prior to my PC clock turning 12:00; I actually started trying 45 minutes prior and kept trying in shorter and shorter intervals, up until it turned 11:55, at which point my friend and I were inputting our login details continuously until we got accepted into the system at about 12:04. I lost count of the number of times I was denied access. I thought the people manning the servers might be having a chuckle about how kiasu people can be. In my defense, THIS CONCERNS A COUPLE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL YEARS OF MY LIFE OMG. Being cool just doesn't cut it!

Once I entered the systems, I noticed that most of my info was already keyed in in the first part of the form. I double-checked (rushingly) and filled out/chose the rest that is necessary: the No. Rujukan SPA, place of birth, number of siblings, religion, marital status, citizenship, number of children and sponsorship. From the e-housemen guide, these options can be seen. Then I clicked Seterusnya.

We come to the Family tab, which is probably the most time-consuming of all tabs. You may choose to ignore this tab in favour of moving forward more quickly in accordance to some people's advice. My advice is DON'T DO THAT as you should have read earlier. Here the info I have mentioned in preparation is needed. Sometimes it's quicker to type 'em in. It depends on how proficient you are at copying and pasting, or typing out information- which says a lot about your undergraduate days (hint hint)! Persevere in putting in your family credentials! I was being verbally obnoxious about it but my friend kept reminding me that your family is a blessing. You know it's true, but in the moment do you really? *laughs* When the youngest sibling has been completed, I gave my entire family a once-over, making sure the names and IC numbers and family relations are correct (rushingly), then clicked Seterusnya.

Then we come to the most confusing (but briefest) tab which is the Education tab. According to the manual this is for other qualifications than SPM and your medical degree; with the drop-down you can see it actually involves your pre-university courses or other degrees you may have taken. Foundation is notably not included. Some people who did the university foundation course just chose 'TIADA'; others put 'LAIN-LAIN', and chose the year they finished said pre-university programme regardless. Then click Seterusnya.

FINALLY the most important tab. Shriek!
This goes without saying, as you have probably visualised doing this a thousand times by the time you get to this spot. I know I did.

It's simple enough- you can choose to place yourself in a hospital or delay.

Choose your chosen hospital's state from the drop-down menu, then choose the hospital with available vacancies in that state in the drop-down menu below it. Make sure you choose the correct hospital as some states have several similar-sounding hospitals (notably, JB) and in the process you might not have noticed. Check as many times as you can afford, choose the hospital and send.

If your chosen hospital is not there, choose your next best hospital. If you refuse, and this has already been discussed with those who matter to you, you may delay instead by going to the Penangguhan tab. No one I know did this but the instructions are in the official guide.

They will confirm your chosen hospital with the next window. Read the name of the hospital and the state. Commit yourself as you cannot change this! Click on the 'PENGAKUAN' checkbox. Confirm your choice and hit send again.

A pop-up will appear! You have succeeded! Hooray! Praise be to God!

Print out your offer letter (saved in the computer as PDF form).
Screenie.
Post it on social media.
Go wild.

And pray to God you're prepared enough for a life as an HO in less than two months!


As for me, alhamdulillah. I got my first choice.
As soon as this was done with, my friend and I went to eat and settle some stuff, and we made our hospital stamps/chop and name tags.

Now I'm in the process of finding appropriate accommodation choices and thinking up ways to transport a gazillion books to said place before my PTM starts. OTL.

Learning to Cook

Part of my usual activities during the past few months of idleness is cooking for myself. Living alone, this is a fairly easy practice, as there is no one to appease with my culinary creations and potential mishaps.

Unlike many my age, I do not take pride in them, even if they turn out palatable- which they usually do. Not that I am against those who post their ventures on social media, because those can be inspirational! But alas, I'm very insecure about these things. As I am about many things.

Now I'd like to say, kids (are you a kid? If you aren't, then nvm): It's never too late to start cooking, because it is one of the easiest things in the world. Perhaps owing to the fact that we need to eat to survive, after a while you will find yourself being compelled to cook something for yourself, giving into your hunger pangs.

An easy tip for those of you living pretty much on your own is thus: Buy the raw materials needed to cook the simplest things, with whatever kitchen appliances at your disposal, and avoid keeping packets of instant food. This is because those of us who are more lazy will not cook our own meals as long as there are easier ways to put food in our rumbling tummies. And what easier way than to just add hot water for a quick fix!

You may say you're too busy. I guess it's understandable, all things considered. But with the financial status of the country and most of the middle to lower income groups right now, self-made meals may be the cheapest way to go. Students mostly will have weekends off- utilize these days to cook your own meal or two, instead of going out to eat. In fact, this is probably when your friends aren't home, for those of you who are less confident about sharing your food. And even if they were, sharing is caring, and you could probably do with some input!

In the arsenal of student living, I find having a portable electric hob is useful especially for accommodation units that do not allow for gas cooking (most dorm-style accommodation). This, of course, should be accompanied by flat-bottomed pots that are compatible. If that is too much, we could also easily rely on the trusty electric rice cooker, too. Even if you are not partial to rice, the rice cooker can be used for a variety of creative cooking- including, surprisingly, cakes!

But for those with the privilege of cooking with a proper cooking hob, then all the better.

When I started my foray into cooking, about 7 to 8 years ago, I used this site at www.trymasak.my . I don't know how I ended up there; it might have been the recommendation of a family friend. Now, I found that it has been replaced/renamed to iCook Asia- at least that's where it redirects me when I input the trymasak url. Try it!

The good thing about the site was that I could easily look up recipes based on the ingredients I had, and the difficulty level I wanted. Back then, I obviously always chose Easy. These tend to have very simple cooking methods, like stir-frying, and very easy ingredients and preparation. Quite a few people who contributed recipes on the site also put harder dishes on Easy mode, probably due to their 1337 cooking skills, but they are easy to overlook. In the end, most things to cook are easy- they just require practice.

The only slightly hard thing about cooking is estimating ingredients or cooking times- which is often. Many Malaysian recipes do not have exact amounts of salt, sugar or any spices, and sometimes none of everything! That is where practical experience is important. Visit your mom/dad/sister/brother in the kitchen regularly when they cook, if they are adept at cooking. Watch what they do and try to help a little to make peace with them while you intrude in their space (heheh). This makes doing your own cooking easier, as it allows you to feel more at peace with the heat, sizzles, noises... The works. No matter how many youtube videos you watch, you cannot get this authentic experience unless you walk yourself into a 'live' kitchen.

Several things you have to frequently practice before you start cooking include peeling and chopping onions, vegetables and roots, and preparing chicken/other meat cuts. For most Asians, washing and cooking rice is paramount to a successful meal preparation, so get around to that, too. Cooking shows are made that much easier because most of the time, these ingredients come fully prepared to be thrown into their respective pots. In actuality, preparing these tedious things take up the bulk of even the easiest dishes.

What this topic has to do with my soon-to-be working life is that in my almost decade-long journey into cooking, only today did I learn to make rice porridge. And this is quite a useful and easy recipe to do, as it does not require much in the way of kitchen appliances or ingredients- especially when one is pressed for time! I used the rice cooker, and was unsure of how much water to put in with the rice. In fact, I wasn't too sure of how much rice to put in, either. But remembering the famous saying 'nasi menjadi bubur', I figured too much water and too little rice should work- and if it doesn't, merely adding water should do the trick to making the porridge as soupy as possible. For some reason, the saying makes the thought of cooking porridge an easy one. It does tend to happen accidentally, as the saying goes, so how hard can it be to put your mind to it and make it, right?

I put in slightly less than 2 rice pots of rice with thrice the amount of water I would usually put- or maybe four times, since I kept adding small amounts as it was cooking. When the rice seemed almost done, I tossed in a crumbled chicken cube and stirred the contents. steaming my right hand raw and red in the process- ouch. A healthier option would be to boil some chicken beforehand to be put into the porridge later, and subsequently use the broth for the porridge, but I did not have the luxury of doing that.

In barely no time at all, it was done. Just make sure to never let the rice cooker run its full cooking course, to prevent accidental bubur menjadi nasi (it happens- so stir frequently, as you would to anything cooking on the stovetop).

So, lesson of the day: Jangan biarkan bubur menjadi nasi. Be vigilant! What goes around, comes around!
Um, what?

Signing off!

Hello, 2016!

Some days, I feel like I thrive solely upon the smell and taste of heavily-sweetened coffee.

I think this is something most students can relate to- the absolute power of coffee. In fact, I do recall most of my blog posts during undergraduate days being absolutely littered with caffeine-related words and descriptions.

Some of my best works were caffeine-fueled.

What progress have I made so far since the last post?

I have entered a new year. Hello, 2016!

Prior to that, I learned a new skill- I learned to knit, with the help of one of my dearest friends. I quickly learned that such a skill requires physical teaching for anything further than the start. When I made mistakes, any attempt to correct them (with the help of video tutorials) ends up with me unraveling my entire work, sometimes worth days. That is NOT cool. So I did what any sane person would do when faced with this situation- I leave the mistakes be, and hope that they are not disastrous enough to be corrected when I see my teacher again.

Prior to that, I went to IKEA and with the help of my faraway sponsor (i.e. father) bought so much home stuff, I was surprised. Like, 4 full IKEA bags' worth of assorted knickknacks for the home, and an entire furniture trolley filled with furniture- so much that the bulk of it had to be delivered to my current home, as I do not have enough space in my car for all of them. Granted this was split two way (the other way went to my brother and sister's shared uni accommodation) but the main bulk of the stuff belonged to me.

You see, I rarely shop for anything other than books and essentials, but when I do, I tend to go really big. And then I will cease almost all shopping activity for years.

Did you know that there are now 2 IKEAs in Malaysia? Rumour has it that there will be a new IKEA somewhere in Penang as well. It would probably be profitable, as all IKEAs tend to be. It's not all about the furniture, either. IKEAs are famed for their food, and both for their very affordable snacks and also the more costly but still rather affordable proper Swedish-based dishes.

Although, I do not understand the hype around the meatballs. I had some, and though it wasn't bad, it was personally not worth the hype. I did, however, enjoy their baked chicken leg with some sort of minty, clear gravy, which was surprisingly as refreshing as it was savoury.

The novel thing about IKEA, I believe, compared to other furniture outlets is the accessibility to the living spaces in the showrooms. You can sit on the chairs and beds, and feel the furniture; walk around the multitude of living, storage, and dining spaces almost as if they were your own (ignoring the masses of people around you). No one would tell you off for these actions. The sheer amount of different places to chill is almost enough to psyche anyone. My brother and I sat down on almost all of the chairs and beds, and approved several ranges for their comfort and design. We even spent some long minutes just sitting in several of the cozier, quieter living areas, pondering life, and no one shooed us away. This experience must be one of the reasons that makes IKEA so popular.

And yes, as you may be able to tell, I rarely go to IKEA.


The prospect of being able to choose my workplace for the next two years is becoming more and more imminent. I am scared and excited. I am anxious.

I hope I will be strong enough to face what is to come.

For now, I have registered for a preparatory course for my HO stint soon.
I dearly hope that it helps, at least in kick-starting some serious revision, and at most in preparing me for the worst of what's to come.


As for now, I shall continue doing some minute revisions here and there an trying to finish off several more books in my TBR list before my book-reading days are over!