LEAPING to Greatness on a Leap Year's Signature Date - 29 February, 2016

We have a very memorable date for lapor diri to our hospitals.
By that, you would be able to deduce where I am. But not that close.. Heh.

I have just finished the first day of hospital orientation and as you can see by this post, it wasn't so busy. Cause I had time to think of, and write, a blog post.

I WAS A NERVOUS WRECK and it was so unnecessary.


WHAT HAPPENED ON MY FIRST DAY OF ORIENTATION

1. I went 45 minutes early to the hospital grounds, sat in my car for 10 to 15 minutes and then went to the office at precisely 0730 when the early birds were starting to titter in the office. We waited outside until close to 0800 before we were told to go inside and wait for the staff who manages new housemen.

2. Waited another few moments for the staff to come by and give each of us a standard-issue folder with an orientation checklist listing all the needed document copies from us, as well as several forms for us to fill in.

3. Spent the next few hours organizing and filling these things out. There are MANY of them, have no doubt.

4. As for documents needed to copy, pretty much what I listed earlier. You do NOT need copies of your parents' ICs or their marriage certs, but you certainly do need to know their IC numbers, places of birth, date of marriage and (I'm sorry if this happened to you) date of death. Same goes if you have a spouse and child(ren). These details are for filling out a form called HRMIS which is very important.

Make sure you are clear on your permanent and mailing addresses.

Also if you own vehicles or real estate, under your name, do make sure you know the details of your assets. You have to declare them. I had problems figuring out my car's worth back then and now, among others. There were people unsure of their property details. KNOW THEM. And be knowledgeable regarding your means of paying for them.

They needed 4 passport photos (no more, no less for us) and the nice lady stuck them on the forms for us after checking out all details. There are also other loose documents given for us to bring to the events throughout the week, which will certify our attendance and participation in all the upcoming hospital orientation programmes. The HODs of each respective department' programmes are required to sign them.


WHAT WAS SURPRISING

1. They only wanted ONE copy of each thing on the list, except for the KKM letter for our placement (surat penempatan KKM)- because one of the copies were immediately given to the hospital director, I suppose, for introductory purposes. And no one mentioned the need for certified copies.

NO ONE.

2. Our orientation is to last a week, meaning 7 days- the Saturday and Saturday of which are off days.

I KID YOU NOT WTHISTHISAWESOMENESS.
Like a colleague said, it's almost like 'makan gaji buta' for almost the entirety of 2 weeks.

Except during orientation, our formal activities start at 8 am and cease at 5 pm on the dot, which means it's even MORE free than PTM.

This is the reason why I can't publicly name my place of work. I'm afraid some of this awesomeness can be illegal, which I'm pretty sure it isn't, but I'm all for protecting and cherishing my workplace guys.

3. We have a thumbprint scanner instead of the clocking machine (punch in/punch out system). This is admirable because it is rather hi-tech, and dramatically reduces headaches in the form of missing punch-y cards. I have no idea what those punch-y cards are called since I ONLY HAVE TO USE MY THUMB Y'ALL.


WHAT WAS NOT SO SURPRISING BUT STILL SLIGHTLY UNEXPECTED

1. The hospital staff are all- without exception- really nice. Yes, including super senior sisters and matrons and of course not to mention the administration. I know they have a reputation for being extremely nice but really... It's almost unbelievable.

2. The hospital still has a shortage of housemen.

3. I couldn't choose my posting- I was assigned to a posting I didn't even THINK of preparing for. But now I have some days to prepare for it.

***************************

I met a friend's soon-to-be-husband and had a nice chit-chat about the rising cost of living now. Aptly put by my friend who heard it from our PTM (during which time I must have nodded off), it is the price for development. Most people can only afford to rent these days; wedding loans have to be paid until our children are already in 3rd grade in school. That's 10 years of marriage spent paying for one or two days of the BEGINNING of your life. Many say it's worth it for the memories but more are doing it to keep the 'rental units happy.

Societal pressure is one of the biggest causes of living beyond means. I wish to dispel the negative views towards people trying to make their events memorable, but frugal. But it is easier said than done when luxury is considered a necessity. You can't just serve mee goreng and sirap at a wedding. You can't just serve tea at weddings. You can't have wang hantaran of less than 20k if you have a medical degree. Who came up with these 'legislations'? Punitive action is taken against offenders in the form of endless gossiping, causing more stress.

Mahal nak cakap, murah lagi nak cakap.
It's a highly stressful thing, but I guess that's the price of commitment now.

Anyway, I know my posting now and I should prepare, more or less.
Byeee!

Program Transformasi Minda (PTM) untuk Pegawai Perubatan Siswazah (PPS)

Here I want to share, as briefly (hah!) as possible, my knowledge and experiences in PTM.

Introduction

Previously known as the induction course, Program Transformasi Minda (PTM) compulsory for all new government servants and the contents and activities differ based on your positions. The aim is to introduce you to the technicalities of being a government servant- the rules, administration, and other formalities that you should be aware of regarding service in the government.

For new housemen, or Pegawai Perubatan UD41, the title above is what is is called, and it is held in specified places depending on your state health department (Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri).

For several states, their PTM is held in another state as they have less training hospitals and thus less PPSes, so it's not as cost-effective for the Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri (JKN) to hold their PTM on its own for such a small amount of PPS. For example, Pulau Pinang PPSes join either the JKN Perak or JKN Kedah PTMs depending on whichever state the hospital is closer to. And Melaka (for which the only training hospital is Hospital Melaka) PTMs are combined with Negeri Sembilan.

What it ISN'T

It has little content regarding your CLINICAL life as a houseman i.e. junior doctor; this is something you should have learned in medical school or during pre-HO courses. So be aware of what you should be expecting, and don't expect people to tell you what to do during tagging and the indications of different colours of test tubes for blood-taking. Not in the scope at all. But sometimes the medical doctors who give talks could possibly talk a little about your working life, except they're usually way more senior and the system during their time is different from ours. Take note, alright?


Before the Course

You should be well-aware that as an official government program, almost the entirety of the program is in Bahasa Kebangsaan. From the offer letter to the instructions and forms to the talks, you are expected to understand and be able to converse in our national language. Despite what you may think, I am very fluent in our national language but I am more confident in writing in English for my own reasons.

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, the PTM offer letter arrives after choosing your hospital through e-Houseman and nowadays they do not send the personalized PTM offer letter until you go to the course. So after receiving the PTM letter, in preparation of the PTM please take note the following in your letter:

1) Date, time, and place of registration

2) Documents and other necessities (as listed in the PTM letter)

3) Attire to have for registration.
Don't forget your baju batik! It has to be the real, hand-drawn (expensive) batik and not printed batik (i.e the one that looks like the batik you use to bathe or run around the house in). Depending on your urusetia of the program, your failure to conform to the attire might get you kicked out of the program. Nicer ones would just let you off with a stern warning. Once you start service with the government, just buy a pair of formal batik clothing (baju kurung for ladies and long-sleeved batik shirt for the gentlemen). One is enough for now; you can always add to your collection every few months or years. For PPSes, after PTM you rarely will need to wear this due to your clinical work. Admin/office staff have to wear them every Thursday.

Make sure you have those needed things packed and ready to go when the day comes.
Additional things you may want to take care of:

1) Route to PTM venue using Google Maps

2) Toll/fuel costs

3) Snacks to bring (some PTMs do not allow you to exit the premises once you join so late-night hunger pangs have to be considered!)

4) Stationeries and a small notebook for note-taking
Colour pencils, oil pastels and colored markers/pens may be useful for group activities later.

5) Iron
My accommodation didn't have this in our rooms, so we had to borrow each other's. Or have your clothes all ironed out already


On PTM Registration Day 

The registration usually starts in the afternoon, although most people would already be there by noon. The registration counters for my place opened about 50 minutes prior to the official opening time. To register, we had to hand in the following:

1. 2 filled Appendix A forms (Borang Maklumat Diri) with passport photos 
2. 1 copy of IC
3. 1 copy of medical report
4. 1 copy of MMC registration certificate
5. 1 copy of SPA offer letter

The registration counter has several lines and you are required to line up according to the hospitals you will be serving. I had to be alert and ask the urusetia or the people in the lines as to the order, because they didn't have signages indicating this.

Once at the counter, I gave the required documents and signed my name on a list. They will confirm that they have all the necessary documents and hand my official (personalized) PTM offer letter, as well as the program booklet which includes the schedule for the entire program, among other things. Then I had to queue in another line to get my room keys and meal card and officially check-in to the accommodations. My room mate was already chosen; I got a room mate from another hospital.

I happen to love that roommate in the short time that we were together, and I wish we went to the same hospital :'(

Anyway. Once registration and room has been taken care of, I was free to unpack and settle into my given room. Apparently for our grade, we got 4-star accommodations (I thought it was more to 3) so I can't really complain as the rooms were very comfortable and spacious. I was one of the earliest people to register, so I entered the room before my room mate but she joined me shortly afterwards because she arrived rather early too. Since we arrived super early, we had about 2 hours to kill before the first briefing was scheduled.

We both did not notice that lunch was already being served for us on registration day. It was actually marked on the meal card but, alas, we were too full of excited energy to notice and only noticed when it was so close to the briefing that the lunch buffet was already closed. Boo :'(

Remember to check your meal card upon receiving it and to always bring it around with you as you need it to join the buffet queue! This usually applies for the main meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner); tea-time and supper are usually prepared outside of the main lecture hall and do not require meal cards.

Briefing was done later and we had our first few talks on the first night. Tea and dinner were served and were good, as expected. We slept rather early the first night, compared to the rest of the nights!


PTM in Brief

So what to expect in PTM?

• Morning singing - please try to memorize the KKM song called 'Kami Sedia Membantu' a.k.a. Budaya Korporat. You might even be required to memorize other 'motivational' songs or traditional dances, etc, depending on where your program is.
• Morning exercises - guys have to wear collared shirts. Girls wearing hijab can have normal shirts. Girls without hijab also have to wear collared shirts. Rule of thumb: If your neck is visible, prepare collared shirts. 2 will do (the exercises are not that heavy but they do make you sweat).
• Talks - of many varieties. A lot of the speakers gave very meaningful talks.
• Group activities - can test your mettle. Be proactive and considerate; be vocal.
• More talks -  some may make you nod off, but do remember that you are already considered a government servant by the time you register and you are PAID to attend the talks physically and mentally. That may restrain you from full-on sleeping (nodding off sometimes can't be helped) and help you pay attention. It is your responsibility.
• Creative, artsy and drama activities - Let your inner artists shine!
• Dressing formally until 8.30 p.m. daily - Please prepare at least 5 pairs of formal clothing including batik.
• Leadership - ALL OF YOU.
• Emceeing - In Bahasa, so keep note.
• LOTS OF FOOD - Mm mmm. 5 to 6 times per day of meals. Do indulge before you are expected to skip meals later. Don't worry about the calories gained, you'll lose them within the next few weeks... Hehehe.
• Assessment - at the end of PTM you are required to take a (rather simple) assessment based on the topics covered during the 5 days of talks. Therefore, make sure you pay attention and take notes! The questions for my session were MCQs and there were 20 of them. I heard tell that they may be subjective.

I will not say more for fear of spoiling the experience for anyone else.

Participation in PTM apparently carries marks. They emphasized several times that we are required to partake and be proactive, and follow the rules and regulations because it IS possible to fail PTM, in which case you have to rejoin the next PTM (and thus have your service delayed by at least 2 months). So yes, although this is a no-brainer, participate in PTM with your body and soul. 

Because the moment you join, you are an official penjawat awam, with the title: 

Pegawai Perubatan Siswazah Gred UD41.

All the best!

P.S.: I am having palpitations for tomorrow as I will finally be going to the hospital for the REAL thing. All those talks... Ugh. Now to prepare and re-check all documents!

Orientation Starts TOMORROW!

Oh God. Oh God Oh God Oh God.

I'm panicking.
But I haven't told you about my PTM session!

I'll tell you about my PTM session in the next post... When I'm done hyperventilating.

WHAT DO I WEAAARRRR?!?!

Of Moving

I have relocated myself a few hundred kilometres from where I was.
I am now in a different state, with different types of people and attitudes and generally an overwhelmingly different atmosphere altogether. It's like an entire world of difference in the beginning.

Good thing it's not at all as busy as the last place I was in!

So this was the first time I moved on my lonesome. I tried asking family and friends for reliable movers but got no satisfactory answer, i.e. most people forgot who they employed and some merely hired lorries and did their own packing. I was willing to pack most things on my own but I needed some other people who actually knew what they were doing. Hence the decision to hire movers.

Generally, people do not 'move' at this stage, preferring to stay with family or leaving most things at their own home with their family. However, this does not apply to me- so yes. Hiring movers was something I decided to do long before I even graduated, for various reasons. But let me say that generally, housemen do not 'move' on a large scale because it is very likely that they will move somewhere else for MOship.

That said, let's get on to the moving process.

On Finding a Moving Company and the Entire Ordeal (Almost)

1. Finding

It is better to find movers that the people you know have employed before and found reliable enough to recommend. This may not be the case most of the time, so you have to search on your own. Unlike retail stores, moving companies do not generally set up shop with the rest of your usual retail outlets, so it wasn't as easy as going to a street or into a mall to survey them. Hence I took to- what else?- The Interwebz.

That's the internet btw.

Googling 'movers Malaysia' already comes up with many hits, most of which international relocating companies which I know are very efficient and trustworthy but also very costly. Thus I decided to look for more obscure names. I found one that I thought looked promising, but after filling their query form  for a quotation I got no response even after a week. So I started looking elsewhere.

Most companies available online ask you to drop your moving details and number so they can call you up and arrange a survey session to give you a quotation, before you agree on any company's services. I just wanted to fill online forms and not have to talk to anyone to avoid showing how noob I was. In the end though, being noob is part of a growing process- so don't be afraid to feel noob. More importantly, it is important that you meet the people from the companies face-to-face. More on that below.

I looked at several blogs to get recommendations of movers, and one blog recommended going to movers-malaysia.com for an almost hassle-free comparison of several moving services at once. That's what I did. I filled out the form with as much details as I knew, prayed a little and pressed 'Send' for all the companies that they recommended based on my current area. That evening, I received two calls and one email, all from different companies.

The people who called set a date and time to visit my house and survey the things needed to be done before giving me a quotation, which is an estimated price for all the needed services. As for the punctuality of the survey, one was late by a few hours; the other was late for a day. They both gave me almost the same quotation.

The one who contacted me by e-mail gave me a very thorough response with elucidation on their total services and total costs. It was very cheap compared to the rest and I was impressed.


2. Deciding

So now I have three possibilities, only from filling a single form online! That's kinda amazing.

But- and that's a huge but- it's not enough. Take it from me. Unless you're comparing between different multinational moving services with a proven track record of excellence, three of obscure moving companies is on the low side for comparison. I only learned this now, in retrospect, so try to at least get quotes from 5 different companies. No strings are attached when getting quotes; don't feel guilty about doing a little surveying of your own, as it is entirely expected.

What you need in movers is reliability; efficiency; trustworthiness. These, I can now say, are rather hard to come by with most companies. Appointments set for a certain date get postponed to another date; appointments set for another time will always be delayed for another hour or two (sometimes 4 or 5) with many different excuses. I guess you can say they are rather busy bees, these movers.

The lowest quotation I got was from the e-mail. He answered all my queries politely and thoroughly, and the rate was surprisingly low- I got an average of 1.3 to 1.5k with the phone calls and physical surveys, but this particular guy was willing to offer the same and more for only 850.

I found this dubious, and it doesn't help that he did not want to do a physical survey, his reason being my online descriptions were enough.

When in doubt, do the following:

1) Google the moving company name and look for their sites/reviews. In this country there aren't many people reviewing companies and leaving them online, especially the obscure ones. Furthermore, most movers do not have a working site. This is troublesome.

2) Ask the movers to e-mail you their exact quotation with the company letterhead and pictures of their previous work/lorries/etc.

3) Ask for their company address. Perhaps you can use Google Street View to look for it, or even drive there yourself and at least see if the company exists.

The one with low quotation had very nice manners on mail, but had a very generic name that happened to be a famous moving company in another country, gave me a non-working site (saying it's under maintenance because they are opening branches in other states), and despite all the thorough explanation before, when I asked them for their full address, gave me only a vague street name and vague area- no postcodes, lot numbers, or anything that allows me to pinpoint an exact place. In fact the street name and area name are both so common that they usually come with numbers at the end, which he conveniently did not include. Not to mention he refused to do a physical survey. He also did not ask me to further reconfirm my decision after answering my query for his address; I figured he figured that the jig was up.

When the quotation is too low, be careful- it may be that your things will be moved with other people's things in the same lorry, which is not the biggest issue, or a total scam, whereby after making an initial deposit they disappear off the face of the Earth (read: internet). I did not want to risk it. I stopped contacting them.


3. Process

I asked both of the remaining companies to give me a black & white quotation via e-mail. The slightly more expensive one did it by that night, as promised. The other one which was late didn't send me anything, and called me the day after (it was missed as I was doing other stuff) but did nothing to follow up any further.

The choice was obvious by then.

Given the quotation, I asked the chosen company- the one that was more punctual and reliable- to send me the appropriate packing materials for my things as I would prefer to pack my books on my own. This process was delayed several times. As for payment, they said I could pay when everything has been settled, which is more fair to me as that ensures they won't run off with my stuff once payment has been made. I'll make sure this is the case from now on, too.

Note to self: Find another way of obtaining packing material e.g. bubble wrap and boxes because the material they provide may not be the same as what they said they would provide, and not meet my expectations.

I packed like mad the week before the move, until revision  for my actual work was almost entirely eliminated from my thoughts. On the day itself, they came over and closed the boxes (I didn't close the boxes yet as I anticipated revisions to my packing but they didn't seem to care) and packed the rest of the miscellaneous stuff that were bundled together but still not put into boxes.

I asked if there were documents to be signed- that was a no. From what I read online, you're supposed to sign several forms with some insurance documents too, but that may only apply in the states (or with more reputed movers).

Then we left. I didn't go with the lorry but alone.


4. Outcome

They arrived shortly after I did despite using the non-highway roads- probably because I can be slow.
Moved the stuff to the house.

Then when I told them to assemble my furniture, I was met with confusion and slight resistance. The guy who said it was okay reluctantly started on my desk. Over two hours later they still weren't done.

I noticed that despite my insistence that they read the given instructions (which were really clear, as it is IKEA after all) and showing them Youtube videos of people fixing the things, they refuse to do either and preferred to half-heartedly flip through the manual whenever they think is necessary, skipping steps along the way. I offered to help but was refused. Anyhow, after 2++ hours the guy told me they couldn't do it and packed his stuff up, along with his friend. He made to leave but had to wait for my payment.

I flipped, of course. I yelled at him and demanded to know why he said it wasn't possible. It was made to be possible, I could do it myself given more time. He said they aren't used to assembling new things and could only assemble furniture that they themselves disassembled, which- to be honest- was a load of &#@$. Then I asked why he said it was possible when I first showed them the flat-packed furniture and asked if his team could assemble them for me upon arrival. He initially weakly made the excuse that he thought I was going to assemble them first, and then ask them to disassemble them again. This was a pathetic claim. This was also around the time I started yelling really loudly to his face.

There were other things exchanged and he apologized several times, saying it's not my fault. Duh it's not. It was agreed upon ad it's not like he didn't contact me 4 or 5 times at least after the agreement, during which time I reconfirmed again and again that the assembly of my furniture is possible.

I was so upset that I told him he should just leave. He gave me a small discount which he claimed was his and his friend's (there were 2 people trying to fix that small table) payment for that day. I gave him the money and told him again, angrily, to leave me. I guess they were quite eager to do that by then.

He said something about asking some IKEA person to come over and help me assemble it the day after. Obviously nothing of the sort happened. I didn't wait either.

Conclusion: What do you think?

Assembling IKEA Furniture

It ain't that hard with the right mindset and attitude!

I started assembling the remaining things that night, finishing the table within the next 20 minutes and the wardrobe within 2 hours. Then I waited until the next day to start on my bookcases as they require hammering and by then it was really late and I didn't want to wake anyone (i.e. the neighbours) up. All things considered, I think I did quite well on my own.  

 
It's highly recommended to have the basic IKEA toolbox called FIXA with you- it costs (if I'm not mistaken) less than RM 30. Would be even better if you had those automatic screwdrivers because that speeds things up (I don't know what they're called- power screwdrivers?).

Basic FIXA tool set- all you need to assemble any IKEA furniture! The FIXA line actually is not just limited to this.

FIXA power drill/screwdriver. Would have bought it if I had more money; not necessary but perhaps more speedy.

But most importantly, you need the ability to be patient and read the manual thoroughly. It's hard not to do it correctly if you read the manuals thoroughly, because they even illustrated the major but common assembly mistakes, and put large crosses on those incorrect methods. As for the claims that there are very frequently missing screws and other bits in the flat-packs, I can safely say that in my brief experience nothing of the sort happened. In fact the wardrobe I was assembling had extra parts. I know because I count out all the parts and sort them into tiny piles before I even start assembling. Oh, on that note, also ensure you have ample space.

Basic instructions from IKEA, available on the first page of most furniture assembly manuals.

Basically, any able-bodied person who is sane and has the strength of a normal adult could do it- so long as you don't buy the especially large and especially well-made (heavy) furniture, and so longa s you can drag your furniture around on the floor. 8Case in point, I am the least fit person I know and I still could assemble and then drag around the tall, large furniture. Lots of grunting and sweating were involved, not to mention bruises from bumping into the parts or having them fall on me. I just read the last sentence over and realized it could sound very, very wrong and it doesn't indicate an extreme level of perverseness, but is actually normal.

Anyway.

I assembled large IKEA furniture and smaller, simpler things too and succeeded in all of them. The table is being used right this moment, after I fixed what the movers gave up on; the wardrobe is filled with clothes, the bookcases are holding books and the other stuff are functioning well. So even with almost zero knowledge of furniture assembly, I feel rather accomplished.

Now to rearrange more stuff, after I get some zzzs.


P.S.: I'm loving this house so far!

Tipster

In the midst of the financial kerfuffle going around, I know most people feel pinched for cash. Many started doing second and even third jobs to have more cash to support themselves. Almost each cent is lovingly counted and considered before being parted with. Or something like that.

GST and service charges in eateries are not necessarily mutually inclusive, and have now become a major deciding factor in many middle- to low-income families when deciding upon a makan place. Most places charge a 10% service charge on the total bill, and for larger groups this is rather the hefty sum.

So, the question goes: Do you tip?
Because generally, I do.

This is not a bragging post but merely my take on this issue in particular.


Most Malaysians are loathe to tip- that is a well-known fact. We are used to service charges. I do not know if service charges were the result of Malaysians' tendency to not tip, or the reason we do not. In any case, cause or effect, this is the widest reason most people don't tip: "Service charge got already meh."

Alright, understandable.
Though in all honesty, if the service is very good, it doesn't hurt to show your appreciation by throwing down a few ringgit, right?

But what about places that do not have service charge?

I really like this concept because ultimately you are not required to pay extra, but when you do pay something amounting to a normal service charge you feel even more fulfilled- and usually your gesture will be greatly appreciated by the staff.

Most people argue that it's wasteful, especially now that penny-pinching is really required. I think of it as a form of sedekah, and that makes it all the more easier for me. I am not wealthy, but I find that making tips part of the cost for my meals before I even place my order to be highly economical. If you look at the prices of the meals before the charges, you are bound to feel dissatisfied when the bill comes and the extra charges are added to the cost of your meal. However, if you look at the prices and immediately factor in the amount you have to add on to them, you will have mentally prepared yourself to feel more at peace with what you are paying later; and this can apply for tipping too. Several restaurants- like Sushi King- have convenient menus, where they display the prices of the meals and even include the amount of each item after the extra charges are added to your bill later.

As a general rule, more because of awkwardness, I do not tip if you have to pay at the counter and there is no tip box. I do not have it in me to pay the cashier and go 'Oh, here's a few ringgit for tips.' If they have a tip box, and I like the service, I would shove in some tips into the box very hastily. Usually, when they bring me the cheque, I will pay, wait for the balance and leave some, all, or add-on to the balance- depending on the amount. Like I said, I am not wealthy.

I usually will leave about the amount of 10% of the bill or more if there is no service charge. In a certain chain that I really like with very efficient service, I tend to give them 20% each meal, maybe more. If the service is deplorable I might consider not tipping. Coincidentally, the places I go to without a service charge give very good service, perhaps because they rely on tips. Even then, several Arab restaurants I have frequented do not have service charges, and jovially but vehemently refuse tips!

If there is a service charge, I will leave my balance- at least RM 1 for very normal to sub-par service. Sometimes if the restaurant workers are downright rude I will of course refuse to leave them anything. Other times I don't have small change- I will try to pay so that there will be some balance if the service is decent. If it really can't be helped, then it's just not my day for tipping.

So I'm not a particularly huge tipper. I do not have a special part of my coin purse/wallet where I keep smaller denominations of my currency specifically to tip, but I make it a point to try to do so, even when I'm eating with other people. It gets hard when someone else is using their card to pay for your meal, though. How do you insist on tipping that way? But when no cards are involved it's easy to just leave some balance with the cheque. Even when no one else wants to tip, there is some from me.

Now as I said, this is my take. Some may say that rather than tipping, you could better use the balance money to put into donation boxes, or to be collected into your savings jar. That is entirely up to you. But to me, having known people who have worked in the service industry such as these, the gesture- no matter how small- goes a long way. And if you frequent the place, it might mean an even better service and warmer smiles for you! Now isn't that wonderful for everyone involved? :)

Being frugal is necessary, but giving really goes a long way!

Brief Update

I am now living among quite a few boxes and a lot of mess, trying to deduce where to put what, and when.

We have gotten our PTM locations but have yet to receive the physical letters, though the digital version has been made available to us (thanks, overly-prepared batchmate who shared it on Facebook)!

I currently owe my Dad a ton of money;
I might talk about this in a later post.

I have, of course, decided on a moving company. Until after the day of moving, though, I would rather not talk about it. I had three options to begin with and chose the one I found most reliable- where movers are concerned, none are very punctual, and you shouldn't expect them to be unless you're employing the services of famous, multinational companies which cost a pretty penny.

I went to a preparatory course for housemanship. I found it rather beneficial. I owe my Dad for the fees, but I figured it was a worthy investment if only to motivate myself. And yes, it was highly motivating and surprisingly, even tears were shed. Sorry not talking about this further, but my advice is if you can afford it and are not as disciplined to start revising for your HOship (which actually applies to many of us), you better attend a HO preparatory course shortly before your HOship starts. :)

I certified many, many documents with the help of a friend's relative. Not as many as I copied, but quite a few copies each. Until now I am unsure what exactly I really need for the day, but according to the PTM letter they're pretty much what I listed in an earlier post, minus parents' IC copies (nobody even mentioned these among my cohort).

And I went shopping again.
Madly.
Obviously, otherwise why would I owe my Dad a ton of money?
But like I said, maybe an elaboration later.

And I'm off! Toodles!