countdown to Christmas

Our tree is up ...and all the presents are wrapped ...all that is left to do is to enjoy Christmas with my family

Umang and her parents are spending Christmas here with us, and with their arrival, our family are complete ...everyone under the same roof ..and that really makes my parents happy ...

will be leaving for the cottage soon - and will update more on our christmas countdown later :-) it will be Umang's first Christmas ... and my last christmas in my 30s hehehehe ....

Surprise Farewell Party

I am utterly and completely shocked ...my students organised a surprise farewell party for me and I was not aware of it ...I thought I was attending a party to mark their end of the semester, a party to celebrate the end of classes and before the final exam ..liitle did I know, I was the guest of honour!

they have cakes, and speeches and all that - I am so honoured an touched by it all ..all the other lecturers from my programme knew about it, but no one let the cat out of the bag ...even the Dean was in the know ...

they even prepared a performance segment lol very entertaining ..these guys are so funny ...making jokes and all that, and their song choices are awesome ...said that they chose "I will survive" as one of the songs, just to let me know that they will survive till the end of their course no matter what, and so that I do not have to worry about them - how sweet!!! I am so touched by their kind words, wishes and determination ...

and I took my nephew with me to the party - he gets on well with the guys!

Actually, I have been teaching this class for two semester - one of the most interactive groups that I have taught in this uni ...they would argued their points relentlessly, and willing to debate the issues. These sort of interactions are very lively and I do hope that they will remain like this in their other classes ...i sincerely hope that I have given them some knowledge that would be useful for them ...sometime they tested my patience, but most of the time they are ok. just a typical undergraduates ...Just have to remind myself that I was young once, and I was one of those who often skipped class, mischiveous and what not ...

Guys & girls - thank you so much for the wonderful surprise. It is not something that I'll forget :-) and may all of you be successful in your chosen careers ..Thank you!

Medical Check Up for the purpose of student visa (NZ) application

ooolaalaaa ..i had a double date a few weeks ago, had a date with a GP in the morning and another date with a dentist in the afternoon ..not the pleasure-kind of day, but more to the "have-to-see-them" kind of dates ....and those who  know me, knows that I hate doctors and dentists ..as I equate them with sickness and pain! but that day, it was the dates that I could not avoid

the first date was with Dr Robert from Asia Clinic ..his clinic is listed as panel clinic under the NZ Immigration Dept - so, I have to get my medical clearance from him in order to apply for my student visa ..as time was running out, i had no choice but to go that day (as I was leaving for my Kapit field trip the very next day)..the forms by the NZ Immigration was more comprehensive than those required by KPT (for sponsorship purposes). I actually thought that I can re-use my medical result from my previos medical check-up (done a month earlier for KPT) ..but NOOOOOO it was not to be ...as NZ Immigration only wants the medical check up to be done by their list of panel doctors ...hence, my visit to Asia Clinic

had my weight, height, abdomen, eye etc tested ...also had to do blood test, urine test - the whole works ....but the great thing about this clinic is that it is very efficient... the whole process took less than 25 minutes ...and there was only two other people in the queue in front of me that morning ....the only scary thing for me was when the doctor was about to draw my blood! I absolutely hate it ...but the doctor was so serious (reminded me of my dad's stern face) that I was afraid of making a sound, so i just clenched my hands and tightly squeezed my eyes shut! till he said it is all done ...the nurse was smiling when I finally opened my eyes (bet she knew how scared I was) ....that was that ..and I was told to come again at the clinic to pick up the result in two days ..and for me to go to Normah Specialist Hosp to get my x-ray done ...

after the dreaded blood test!

I drove straight to Normah Hosp after that ..I had not had anything to eat since midnight and by the time I was on the way to Normah, I was shaking with hunger ..stopped by a cafe for some kueh and to eat whilst driving ...and when I reached Normah, it was after 11am ...the car park was full and the queue at the Radiology Dept was long ...was finally done by 1.00pm ....

was still eating inside the car while this photo was taken #famished

The result was great ...am pronounced medically fit (except that my cholestrol level is a bit on the high side)....and got the reports back upon my return from ny Kapit trip.

So, a note for those who are applying for a student visa to NZ, you will need to provide a completed medical form and chest x-ray form - which can only be filled by their recognised panel doctors. In Kuching, there are only two clinics listed in the NZ Immigration, and one of them is Asia Clinic (Padungan - located on the row in front of Country Kitchen). The total cost for medical check-up (inc the x-ray at Normah is RM350) and must allow 2-3 working days before you get your results. Both the medical forms and x-ray form can be downloaded from NZ Immigration website :-) You also need to include in the forms 3 passport-sized photographs as well ...

and another important reminder is that you must bring your passport with you when you are doing these medical check up ...and the doctor and radiologist have to see the passport for verification of identity :-)

Shopping for dad

last saturday we went shopping for dad ....he has been asking us to accompany him but I was always too busy...till mum reminded me about dad's plan ...actually dad was at the point of sulking coz he thought that we are not paying him any attention :-(

dad got his early Christmas present

but truth be told, i think we (the children) are, to a certain extend, just focus on our own timetables, and ignoring his needs, or request. we just assume that he is as capable as he was before. On my part, I always see my dad as this very independent person, who is very organised and just go for what he wants ...he seldom request things from us, he is always quiet and contend with what he does ..he is the one we go to when we are in trouble...he is quiet but he gives sound advice ....someone we rely on very much and the one who provide us with basic grounding to life.....along the way, I forget that he is getting old (he retired in Jan 2003 at the age of 55 years old) ...i forget that he may need us more now than before ..and that he might feel "useless" as he is no longer working / earning and have to rely on us for something ....i mean, he is financially independent, never ask a penny from us ....in fact he is the one who give money to the grandkids ...and the one who pay for the utilities bills in my house (he insisted!)....in my dad's case, he is relying on us to chauffer him around Kuching ...he admits that his reflexes are not as fast as before, and he does not want to drive in Kuching, where the cars are just everywhere ....he would still drives himself to Sri Aman and the cottage and the longhouses as those routes have less traffic ....

A friend of my said, she also faces similar situation with her dad. The more she tried to take care of her dad, the more her dad rebels ...the dad said, he felt very useless and he is not allowed to do anything anymore ...so that same friend advised me to just let my dad does anything he wants, and tried not to restrict his movement ...and to ask them, from time to time, to help me with something - so that he will be useful again ...it is something that I never thought of myself...I just want to take care of them ,and put them in a bubble wrap ...and do nothing ...as i feel that it is high time we, the children, are looking after him ...but I never realise that the parents might construe the situation differently ....

I hope I will have more time with my dad (and my mum too, of course) ...i could not imagine my life without him ....and leaving in January is hard for me now that my dad is unwell ...i hope, and pray that he is blessed with good health, happiness and longevity ...I love you dad!!! I may not say it often, but I do ....