Cukai 2009

It is tax time again. LHDN has announced that 30th April 2010 is the last date to submit your tax forms. The bad thing of being a government servant is that you cannot lie about your income plus mine was cut monthly under the PCB. I have to do the tax filling carefully to ensure I am not charged more than needed. As usual I will do mine online.

This year search and research on tax at the LHDN site revealed several interesting super-saving facts:

Tax Exemption
Leave passage

Leave passage within Malaysia not exceeding three times in a year and one leave passage outside Malaysia not exceeding RM3000

Tax Relief

Purchase of books, journals and magazines 1,000 (Limited)
Purchase of personal computer 3,000 (Limited)
Purchase of sport equipment for sport activities 300 (Limited)
Subscription fees for broadband registered in the name of the individual 500 (Limited)


Ah, now I have to dig for receipts of my holidays and diving equipments.

Small change

A businesswoman?

I am definitely not one. But surprisingly this week I actually sold some things I made. Yup, sold some of the craft I made.

It has been a long journey with my first ever craft book was one called 'Make and Do'. The book taught me how to become a hoarder as it uses everyday item to be converted into gift etc. Over the years my collection of craft books (stamping, origami, paper mache and others) have grown and so have my 'collection' of junks.

Lately I have gone crazy making handphone pouches for myself. And in between I was experimenting with making yo-yo embellishments for to go with them. And finally a wonderful balance was found and I had the perfect combination to make my wristlets look unique.

And since my R&D craft needed constructive critique I decided to bring them to the office. And that is how four wristlets got sold :). And thus my craft fund is finally off the ground.



Note: I have decided to put craft related posts on another blog (here)

Chicken Roosting

Mini Project - baby toiletries basket

Hafizah who is about 36 weeks' pregnant wanted to make a basket to put her baby bathing thingy(i.e powder, lotion, shampoo etc. She bought everything and then realise that she is too exhausted to complete the project. And so, she asked me if I am willing to help her out. She gave me the design and I TRIED to execute the photocopy (but it is not exactly as in the picture...oppps); however,I hope she likes it.



Note: The bears were supposed to be part of the design but I did not find a suitable way to incorporate it into the basket.

Mermaid in the making

For a two year old she definitely have no fear. Oh yeah, the occasional 'takut' and 'hantu' but otherwise she is a fearless two year terror. And that scares the whole lot of us. About 5 months back she coolly stepped into her 'atuk's fish pond. And while the grandfather worriedly jumped in and fished her out she was just laughing happily. To my dad, it was deja vu of an incident 34 years prior when my eldest brother, then two decided to step into the deep end of a swimming pool at Primula Hotel in Trengganu.


And so dear aunty was assigned with the task of making darling Aida a water babe. Not that the aunty minded; aunty is always looking for avenues to spend time in the sun and 'surf'...haha... What a perfect reason!

Anyway, last Sunday merman and I decided to bring Aida to Sunway Lagoon. This would be her 2nd visit there and ever since the first 2 months back she has been pestering us to go 'wimming'. And as if she knew she was going to have a fun fun day, she slept soundly from 5pm the night before. Batteries fully charged!!!

Well, she had fun. It is the aunty and uncle who were struggling to keep up. And after she was tired from swimming she ran up and down along the 'beach' and kicking the artificial waves and splashing water at 'innocent' bystanders. The girl is surely lovable and a few people were smitten by her friendly demeanor (She was 'HI'ing everyone she met there).

The photos reveals more that what I can write and she is definitely on the way to be a mermaid.


Merman risking his life fighting a hippopotamus


Aida at the deep end paddling away











For more photos of fun in the sun go here

Colours of Mabul

Sipadan Revisited

Tickets were bought 8 months back. As usual it was the Airasia Zero fare promotion. Anyway, diving life is great when you have a live-in dive buddy. Plans are way easy and usually there are no cancellations.



And then about 6 months ago two friends decided to join us. That was great!!! And they are great company too. So as late as 2 weeks ago we had four in the group. And then surprise surprise.... Wanie my old buddy heard about the whole trip and wanted to follow; she had not dived for three years and during that time delivered 2 baby girls with the younger one 7 months back... Time to re-breathe compressed air,mommy!

This time around we decided to stick with Billabong Scuba. Last February trip was great though the food was a bit 'routine' and bland. That time we had cabbages daily and only cabbages for our requirement of fibre.So we came prepared, bags of tidbits and instant noodles. It has now been three days with two to go. Surprisingly dinner so far dinner has been good. Different dishes for dinner daily. I guess my complaining during our previous visit did not fall on deaf ears and the management did their best to improve the quality of the food. Looks like we are going to have the Maggi at home ;)



As for the diving it has been great. But then, when it comes to diving I never have complained as I have dived in conditions with only 3 feet visibility and still enjoy it; go figure!

Having said that, this time around Sipadan and Mabul have the worse visibility so far: 10 metres in Sipadan and about 5-6 metres in Mabul. And the water is damn chilly 26 to 27 degrees centigrade....brrrrr... I tried my best to contribute to the warming of the waters but it only work for a very brief period.



The water conditions may be attributed to the heavy rains that plagued the area just prior to our arrival. We brought sunny rays to the shores of Mabul and so far it has remained sunny.... I hope it stays that way. As for the sealife, as usual it is amazing. I will let the photos do the talking. But there are more to come.

For now I am signing off from Mabul.

Verdasco and I

This was taken on November 2nd at the Proton Malaysian Tennis Open. I was lucky to catch the lucky ball and won a car. The best part is meeting Verdasco (who was so gorgeous in person)and getting kissed (on the cheeks of course) by him....

Two weeks in 2010

It is two weeks into 2010... looks like time would fly this year. I don't tend to make resolutions (I think they are lame excuses to 'pretend' that you are doing something new and then say you failed miserably).

However, I have decided to be more organised - mainly in keeping the home manageable. Fingers crossed I have started with re-organising both my kitchen store and my craft room. I got more storage space by purchasing heavy duty DIY racks in Segambut (at RM100 per piece). I have put everything in clear containers or tag them clearly so that I know the contents without having to open the packaging.

I have also put rules (for myself) on how to do things at home:-
1. Immediate cleaning up of the mess that I make (either during cooking or crafting)
2. Put back everything to its original place!!!
3. Try to throw away thing I do not need (clutter, clutter, clutter)

As I am not a very disciplined person - I have my 'mandor' to supervise me... hopefully he doesn't go overboard.

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Saw this headline on Harian Metro today.

Terkulai cinta Internet

The frontpage article highlighted the plights of three women who were duped by men they met on the net in having casual sex and later was dumped when they got pregnant. The three young ladies in their early 20s met their 'love' from various social networking programmes like Facebook, Myspace and Friendster.

This is not anything new. It has been happening ever since the Net got huge. I recall being one of those chatting away on mIRC and Yahoo Messenger years ago. I met enough people (men) that I come to the conclusion that Internet relationships are 'surreal' and many people LIE!

Therefore, apart from having sex-education in schools we should also have Internet Education. And it is not just women being duped but men too. Sex and money. The accessibility of the Net and the huge masses it reaches makes it a ideal media for conning people. And since 'It would never happen to me' mentality is in a lot of us - MANY people are gullible.

Internet Education may not solve the problem but at least it makes people aware of their vulnerability.

Home Arrest (Part One)

I never had so much time to myself ever since my wedding. Yup, that was 1 and 1/2 years ago. Anyway, I was given 2 weeks off and I have no plan or anywhere to go. Ah... HEAVEN. First on my agenda was organising. I am 'trying' to remove as much clutter in the house, people like me like to collect junk and are scared to throw anything away hence the 'clutter'. So far I have organised the kitchen and store and also my craft room aka my 2nd storage room.

In between I managed to squeeze in a few craft projects. So many free tutorials online that I would go cookoo looking just looking at them. But projects are easier when you have someone in mind to give them to. So walla.....

Baby boy blankie, made for a new addition to the family. My bro in law 2nd child born on 22 Dec.

The inner part I used a striped cotton material (that cost RM3.20 per meter at Nagoya



This is a project which is ongoing. My bag prototype made by copying the bag I bought from Siam Reap 2 years back. Still not happy with the lining I made and the stitching is a bit shoddy..... This is supposedly for my friend in Singapore but do not know when it will be ready :(

Christmas Holiday Projects

The past week I have been busy utilising my sewing machine. It is not a new year resolution to sew more but I was inspired by the arrival of my friend's baby two days before Christmas.

I suck at buying gifts for newborns plus always thought that stuff I buy may become redundant (1001 uncles and aunties are sure to buy the same things). And as I browse through the Net for ideas I see loads of handmade baby presents.

And so, I made a blankie (hope they liked it as it is my first attempt) and a pair of booties (got the instructions and templated from here)

So these are the results:





I also made a hairband for my niece while I was at these projects

Sniff, cough and sneeze

Isn't it funny how we assume other people would know the same things we know? Like how nice it is to eat sambal tumis ikan bilis with lempeng;). But then, maybe only I am the one who assume such things.

Anyway, when different people meet we discover the revelation that however familiar one thing is to us it may totally be foreign to others.

And this is worse when you meet a doctor. A sickly doctor that is. The doctor usually knows that when she is ill what is usually the problem. When she coughs badly she knows that it is worse because of her asthma and the only thing to do is take her inhaler and ensure that her room and environment is dust free.

And when she has back-ache is most probably due to her poor sleeping posture the night before and she just need to 'sleep it off'.

But then, to a person who is totally non-medical, the coughs, sneezes, moans and groans are pretty scary. It is totally foreign. Hey, it may be something sinister. And it is totally not reassuring when the other person tries to reassure you that it is something mild between her bouts of cough. It is sweet when you see how the other person is concerned and then you know how they really care.

On a different note, in a reverse situation the non-medical ill person may think that the doctor do not care or take it too lightly when they are sick. And the doctor have to consciously remind themselves to show compassion and share their reassuring thoughts.

So, in conclusion, it is a not an advantage to marry a doctor. Hahahahaha.

Sofia

Took this when we had buka puasa with my old diving buddies. Sofia is Wanie's and Amir's first born. She was initially shy but the sight of jello turned her into a 'Jello Monster'



She is so adorable, I must say!

Despair

Initially I was planning to write a joyous and happy post but the hast 30 minutes my feeling has undergone a major turn.

Have you ever wondered how a doctor can appear so calm and to an extent cold when breaking bad news? Many of us have seen it in ER, Grey's Anatomy and many other western medical dramas and we assume that it is an inherent part of being a doctor. It comes with the job, many would say. Well, it is true in some sense but many never realise that is the hardest part of the job. Holding the person's hand, so calm and collected when you tell them they have only a few months to live; or when you tell the family to learn to let go. Many of us would feel so bad inside after that, some may even cry. But then, we know, these people look at us for hope, into our souls they search for solace and it is part of the Hipocratic oath we undertook - to always comfort out patients.

Even then, when this happens to someone close we do not know how to handle the situation. The ideal doctor may know but then he is a myth. Majority of us are mere mortals who do not. We are lost. There is no Hutchinson textbook on menaging your fears for a loved ones. We go through the grief process as any other person.

But it is worse for the medical personnel. We know. We know the eventual outcome, we know the pain that the person will go through and we can forsee the suffering. So how can you seek solace and find hope if you know all this?

Words are cheap. Be strong for them. That is what I used to tell the family members. But finding my own strength when I am faced with this has proven to be very difficult. How can I tell my friend that everything is going to be allright when in my heart I am praying that she does not suffer when her time comes?

It is wierd. I would take a deep breath each time before I see her. Suck in all my fears, all my sadness. And she knows the truth, she may have a glimmer of hope in her soul but deep inside she knows. She is a strong lady but she have seen a lot in her career. She also used to give hope to others when she was a nurse looking after some of the oncology patients, and she have seen what the disease do to people.

But as sad as I may feel I have to do it. Not coming in terms with this and running away makes me a coward and a disloyal friend. I am filled with dispair but I just have to do my part. Keep her company. Support her through the bad days. Laugh with her through the good and try to be a pillar of her strength.

And yes, today is a bad day!

I haven't been calling anyone lately but when I finally did I feel sad. My good friend who was diagnosed to have breast malignancy 2 years back and had a mastectomy done told me that she is now diagnosed with spinal metastases. That is Stage IV of the disease. She sounded so down and I do not know how to comfort.

I am guilt stricken. I should have called her earlier. And I am sad; I am so so sad.

Cuti-cuti Malaysia 2010

The ongoing Airasia sales got me excited. RM98 return to Tawau is so cheap. Anyway, for those interested to plan their holidays, these are the dates for national public holidays in Malaysia; I have also included the Selangor and KL state holidays.


Date Holiday
1 Jan (Friday ) New Year
30 Jan (Saturday) Thaipusam

1 Feb (Monday ) Federal Territory Day
14&15 Feb (Sun/Mon/KIV Tue) Chinese New Year
26 Feb (Friday ) Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (Maulidur Rasul)

1 May (Saturday ) Labour Day
21 May (Monday ) Wesak Day

5 Jun (Saturday ) Agong's Birthday
27 Aug (Friday ) Nuzul Al-Quran Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor & Terengganu only
31 Aug (Tuesday ) National Day
10/11 Sep (Fri/Sat) Hari Raya Puasa *

5 Nov (Fri ) Deepavali
17 Nov (Wednesday Hari Raya Haji *
7 Dec (Tuesday ) Awal Muharram (Maal Hijrah)
11 Dec (Saturday ) Sultan of Selangor's Birthday Selangor only
25 Dec (Saturday) Christmas


Taken from:One Stop Malaysia website


So guys go to airasia and book your flights.

p.s. the international flight promo is on next week.

Shoes Addict?

I have never deen the typical minimum 10 pair-a-time kind of lady. Most of the time I am a one shoe woman. My shoes generally last me 2-3 years until it is time for them to enter the garbage can. However, that doesn't mean I don't splurge on my shoes. In fact, they are the only things I don't mind paying a lot for. Furthermore, I am in the business of foot aches and back pains and it is a fact that it is the shoes that make or break your back.

But this showed up in our letter box last week.



Hmmm...to go or not to go..... I hate the crowds of warehouse sales but then, SCHOLL my number one choice for working shoes. It doesn't matter if some people say they look kind of 'Ah Poh', my feet are not complaining. And my Scholl's do last.


And so this morning at 10 am I was at the venue. I thought I was early. Damn people are already leaving with 2-3 pairs. I manage to squeeze in between a few ladies to get some flats. Hooray. Not much choices left but then I am not that picky. However, I wasn't too lucky in the sandals section. I was aiming for the Gelativ range of shoes but by the time I got to the counter sizes 5 and 6 were sold out. Shucks.

All in all, I got 6 shoes for RM360. One shoe per year - means no shoe shopping for 6 years (opps 4 years, two of the loafers are for Marina and mom). And usually they costs between 130 to 210 per pair. It is so cheap.




I heard that this is an annual event. I wonder where do I sign up so I will get a tinker when they organise this again.

New Chicken Recipe

I have always had friends who are great cooks and also love food like me. Out of these friendships I learn new wonderful (and easy) recipes. My favourites so far (which means I cook these recipes a lot) are Saliha's roast chicken and Spena's potato salad. And today I tried a new recipe - Teh's (my colleague) whatever chicken (named as such as I have no idea what to call it).

Teh came up with the recipe when he was 'babysitting' his wife when she was taking her part two exams in Newcastle. The recipe sounded so promising I had to try it out today.

Recipe
2 slices of chicken ham
2 deboned chicken breast
Red capsicum
Yellow Capsicum
Swiss Mushrooms
Onions
Celery
Garlic
Cheese (I used a combination of Parmesan, Mozarella and cheddar)
Salt and Pepper to taste



Chicken breast was flattened and the sliced vegetables and cheese were put at the centre. The chicken is then rolled with the ham on the outside. I used toothpicks to keep it in shape. The whole thing was then put over a bed of celery in a baking tray. Cooked in the oven for about 20 min at 250 celcius. Then turn the chicken to brown the other side




The finished product. It looked yummy



And it tasted yummy too. Got the seal of approval from merman.

Handmade Notebook

Juliana, my friend and OT nurse was just offered a place to do her nursing degree in UM. It is a great development for her as she aspires to be a tutor nurse. It is sad for me as I have less kaki to gossip with in OT. Anyway, I have known her since she joined HKL A&E OT as a new nurse fresh from nursing college. She was initially timid and I was the fierce Ortho MO. We grew into good friends and we were reunited when I was transferred to Ampang last year.

Apparently she became a garang OT senior but is very righteous about her work. Nowadays, I am not allowed to reminiscence about her first few months working as I will spoil her image as the ever efficient nurse...hahahah





Cik Juliana

Anyway, I wanted to give something special as a farewell gift and I decided to make something useful - a notebook. It is my first attempt in a long time making handmade gifts (used to do it when I was younger). I was lucky I found a nice looking piece of cloth for my project at Nagoya - and it is cheap too. Other stuffs were already i my stash of odds and ends - it pays to hoard things:)



The cover - wanted to put her initials but don't have matching fabric



The inside : made it so that she can change the notebook once it is full. Can use with any similar sized book



Cracked my head on how to close the book and then found this unique bead amongst the stuff I bought at the bargains corner in Carrefour. The pattern matched. What luck!

I am going to give it to her this Friday. And I hope she will cry....*wink*


p.s. another friend Mei Lin is leaving too.... Another project?

Today's headache

I simply love driving alone. It is my me time with no distractions and interruptions. I guess in this sense I am not a Green person as I would hate to car pool with anyone. My morning cruise to work is when I catch up with the latest music and news. And in the evening, it is usually the time I think. It is actually very weird as everyday, when I ply the route home I will be thinking of what I want to write in my blog. Nowadays, I analyse my thoughts as how I would portray it in my blog. Not to say everyone gets published but the feeling of getting it out of my chest is such a relief.

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Today, I am pretty miffed. I am upset with my house-officers. Out of four, only one is an outstanding doctor. The other three annoy me. Hmmm...25% that is definitely not good.

Back to why I am upset. Four months ago we received our first batch of HOs. To make sure we are objective in our expectations and assessment of the interns we decided to sit down and list what they need to do and know. Step by step. This is so that we do not unnecessarily penalise them. It is VERY clear. But today, after 8 days of tagging my HO has not done ANY of the prerequisite procedures needed for her to start her calls. Damn! What do they expect?

I was never an excellent HO, I did my work and enjoyed the experience thoroughly. I had my share of mistakes but it was not due to lack of trying. I still remember that on my first day of work I was so worried I'll make a blunder. Medical school never prepares you for housemanship. Less than 10% of my undergrad knowledge is usable in 'real' life. I had my medical officers to thank. They taught me a lot of what I needed to know as a doctor. Some of them even inspired my subsequent career choice. Thinking back, I did my first femur plating, femur k-nail, below knee amputation, and external fixator as a house-officer. Amazing! But the main thing is attitude, I was willing to learn and did not mind the hard work. As a doctor's daughter I knew exactly what I was getting into and thus, I was prepared and could not nor would not complain.

And the problem with MAJORITY of today's young doctors are that: ATTITUDE. They think being a doctor is all glamour and fun. Hello is is bloody hard work. AND is a person cannot take the stress then this career is clearly not suited. Other people's heart attack is a stress on my heart. Their uncontrolled blood pressure raises my BP. We have to do it right because it is a person's life. So, it is a stressful career, what's new? But today added stress comes from supervising the new doctors. Should a intern pass his housemanship because his parents paid so much for his education? Should I close an eye and let a doctor who is not competent pass? Or those who are not bothered or care about their patients pass?

It is difficult to figure out but the minimum standards should be adhered to. For me, it is a matter of making sure only SAFE doctors get their full registration. To the VIPs and politicians it is a purely a political issue - they want to get the ideal ratio of 1:400 doctor people ratio. To them the quality is not their problem; they have their personal physician treating them. It is us commoners who may get a myocardial infarct in some ulu place and the only doctor there may be the incompetent one that we let pass.... wouldn't that be ironic?
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