Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha

it felt as though Aidilfitri was just yesterday. 

so today, we Muslims celebrated Aidiladha.

Aidiladha is usually quiet for my family and I. yes. the tradition goes on with waking up in the morning and dressed in our traditional clothing, the Aidiladha prayer and of course traditional Eid food such as rendang.

nevertheless, Alhamdulillah, this year, I get to celebrate Aildiladha with my family, after 5 years being in the UK.

Just a few updates about me:

• turned 23
• successfully passed my driving test on first attempt
• I am still unemployed
• MOH said that I will get my PRP posting in November
• I attended another job interview with Sime Darby Medical Centre, SJ yesterday.
• Just discovered that the PRP training in both gov and private hospitals is standardised according to Lembaga Farmasi Malaysia. Private hospitals are trying to implement clinical pharmacy, but due to the  typical environment in these hospitals, this will be a very slow change.
• Now I am torn between working with the government or private. And also whether I should continue to apply to other private hospitals, just to have as many options as possible?
• I'm very anxious about this government hospital posting because there is a possibility that I'll be posted to other states. Any state is fine with me, except Kelantan and Terengganu. And if I do get either of those two states, I will definitely opt to work for private hospital.
• Apart from job dilemma, I am enjoying being a lazy bum at home. well kind of. but i do get restless.
• I practise driving around Shah Alam everyday. recently managed to drive from SJ to Shah Alam. hopefully by December, I will get to drive to other places like Bangsar and KL. Well lets just hope big boss allows me to do so.

So that's all from me. Hope everyone is doing great. 

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha. Maaf zahir batin. 

End of Summer Break! Let's go back to Uni... NOT!

Raya month is over.

September has passed and now is October.

Summer break was over 2 weeks ago. some of my friends had already left for UK, and yet some remained here, like me. well looks like I won't be going back to UK for uni NO MORE.

I don't know whether to be relieved or sad. both, maybe? Relieved coz I completed my Pharmacy degree and graduated and I don't need to attend lectures in the morning and come home late in the afternoon. Sad though, coz I love uni life regardless of the piling of assignments and attending lectures. My social life was at its peak when in uni. late night supper and shisha. staying up late just to hang out with friends. playing cards or just plain gossip sessions. occasionally house parties and big parties at clubs. it was never boring. not forgetting, netball training during the weekends and trashing other teams at Malaysian games. owhhh how i miss! see it was never boring for me. 4 years it was. and now,all i can do is just keep in touch with everyone through whatsapp and bbm. and of course, reminiscing the good old days.

As sad as it may seem, it is time to grow up.

I am looking forward to working life. it may not be as great as uni life, but regardless, it is something to look forward to. 

Like everyone else who just came back from the UK, I am still waiting to get my hospital posting. I called MoH and the person in charge said that I will know by end of this month. Fingers crossed. I have already received the offer letter from SPA. so now, it's all about waiting.

Meanwhile, I have been googling on PRP posting. Been reading blogs by seniors on how working as a hospital pharmacist is like, the rotations etc. Interesting indeed, hence why I keep on moaning about not starting work yet.

You see, staying at home all the time is not rewarding. it is impossible to go out almost everyday like I used to. I feel so unproductive. the only productive thing i've been doing so far is learning how to drive. yes, i am turning 23 and i haven't got my driving license. My only excuse is that I had been away from home since I finished SPM and although I had 3 months of summer break every year, I chose to enjoy my summer to the fullest and also by working part time.So summer breaks were not as unproductive as you might think. I wish I could work part time now, but my license is my priority sooooo... tough luck.

Life is beautiful. Don't waste it on constant negativity.

Let's go hunting!

Well I promised you that I will post an update on my job search.

I am still unemployed! and I don't like it!

I need to earn some money to survive the high cost of living in Malaysia. 

A lot of you must be shocked, since I have been living in UK, known to be as an expensive country to live in.

Well, to be honest, you are wrong.

Have you been to the supermarkets lately?

When I went there, I felt like everything is dead expensive.

I went grocery shopping in Manchester every week. well you can imagine if you literally live above a supermarket, who wouldn't?

In Manchester, I spent on grocery + toiletries about 50-70 pounds a month. and to those of you who know me, I eat like a man. I have a huge appetite. but 70 pounds is sufficient.

For instance, toiletries - i can easily get good brands e.g Garnier, Loreal and Palmolive at just below 2 pounds per bottle. 

Chicken - 10kg of chicken legs = 12 pounds.

chocs and biscuits - from 50p to 2 pounds. 

dead cheap. right.

go do yourself a favour and go to the supermarket.

plus, you can't leave the house with less than 50 ringgit these days. what's going on? once i start working, i will just eat at mamak and gerai tepi jalan to save money.

Anyways, about the job hunting.. so far I got a job offer from the Institute of Mental Health Singapore. Decided to turn it down because I don't want to be specialised in psychiatric straight away. So, I thought I've decided that I'll just stay in Malaysia to the PRP, with the fear of getting posted to rural areas. Went to the interview already but I don't know when will I start. Apart from that, I had to miss another interview at a hospital in UK coz i'm back in Msia and damnnn they dont allow skype/telephone interview. owh well.

so that's the long story.

til then, keep eating people! it's still raya!

The Spirit of Aidilfitri

Salam to all,

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! 

Maaf Zahir Batin!

So the month of Ramadhan came to an end and we welcomed Syawal just yesterday.

Another great year to be grateful for.

Alhamdulillah I am back home to celebrate Eid with my family. but like the past 7-8 years, Eid is never the same coz my family and I don't go back to Taiping.

When I was young, Eid was different. more fun, and something that my cousins and I looked forward to every year. We  went back to Taiping a few days before raya, buka puasa together and celebrate raya together. During the morning of first Syawal, we were excited that we woke up early in the morning, took turns to shower coz there were only 3 toilets and there were like more than 20 of us in our grandpa's house. after that we dressed up in our traditional clothes, ate and collected our duit raya from each aunt and uncle. then we would go from house to house to collect duit raya from the neighbours. at night, we played firecrackers or the elder cousins would bring us to eat in town. hehehe. it was loads of fun.

We stopped going back to Taiping just 2-3 years after my grandma passed away. Plus, my grandpa was more keen on going down to KL to celebrate raya. So since then, we celebrate raya around KL every year. Now that my grandpa has passed away, to see all my aunts, uncles and cousins to gather together under one roof seems impossible. coz we don't gather at grandpa's house in Kelana Jaya anymore.

As sad as this story may seem, I still look forward to raya every year. may be boring compared to my childhood days, but the spirit of raya itself is strong. but this time, i would disturb my mom in the kitchen, see how she cooks. i would ask my dad whose house are we visiting and i would ask my sis where will she be on first day raya (with in law or with us). it's different, but it's still raya. you only get the raya feel once a year. and it's the best feeling when after you fast for a month, you get to stuff your face with delicious but fattening food. 

SO HAPPY HAPPY EID MUBARAK EVERYONE! ENJOY PIGGING OUT AT PEOPLE'S HOUSES AND OF COURSE COLLECTING DUIT RAYA! 

Thought of updating my job search but it's ok. it's raya post, so I'm not gonna spoil it.

*hugs*

Miss Unemployed

First and foremost, Happy Ramadhan to my dear Muslim friends! 

it's been awhile since I last updated my blog. 

I guess a lot has happened over the past 3 months.

So the latest news is that I am back for good in Malaysia! 

Secondly, I am officially holding a degree in Masters of Pharmacy (MPharm). So my next step will be following my sis' footsteps to do PhD. err... hold your horses. not yet.

well the real plan is to start working in Malaysia. I have to do a one year pre-registration a.k.a provisionally registered pharmacist (PRP) in order for me to be a full-fledged licensed drug dealer.

yes.. drug dealer. no don't get me wrong. I am your licensed drug dealer. so it's legal. I will be pushing legal drugs to the civilians. owh yes, in order to improve your health and quality of life. but please don't ask me for hash, marijuana, ecstasy etc coz i'll just tell you to get out off my face. lol.

Anyways, after 5 1/2 years being in the UK, it was time for me to say goodbye. Surprisingly, I didn't cry. I didn't know why. Probably due to the acceptance to leave UK and come back home, perhaps? Though, I will miss my life in UK. Late night shisha sessions, supper in Rusholme, stay up til sunrise with friends. heck. I won't be having that in Malaysia.

But I guess, I need to start a new life in Malaysia. I have applied for the PRP with government hospitals. Just hope that I'll get the hospital that I wanted. Apart from that, I'm officially unemployed. or should I say employable. 

so here's to the start of a new life. Goodbye Manchester.

AH-MAY-ZINGGGGGGGGGGGGG

HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

IT'S 20TH APRIL. 

AND I SHALL MARK THIS DATE AS THE DATE I SUBMITTED MY FINAL YEAR PROJECT.

Alhamdulillah. it has been a great journey so far. my final year project was on increasing the solubility of Ketoprofen using surfactant micelles. errr. you can google on this if you have no idea what I'm talking about. lol.

I could have done a better job. i could have started earlier on the write-up. 

but I am pleased to have this over and done with.

So, at this point, I have no regrets.

I wish for the best. 

I still have 4 exams to go. but i seriously need a short break. just get out of  Manchester for a bit. Manchester is the place to be. no doubt about it. but you get so wrapped up in this little bubble and you just feel like you want to get out of it. sometimes, it's suffocating.

so I decided to go on a short break next weekend, Budapest. it will only be for 3 days. Manchester weather hasn't been really nice. it's 8 degrees everyday. friggin winter season when it's suppose to be lovely spring.

so that'll be next weekend. 

after exams, it'll be HELLOOOOOOOO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

yes, i have booked my flight, and hoping that my visa will be done in time. it was unexpected coz my dad just randomly said to me on the phone, 'owh go do ur US visa. u can visit ur sis this summer'. errr. owhkay. random. 

but yes, trip is planned. and the highlight of the trip will be... when I drink Butterbeer (hopefully it's non-alcoholic) in Harry Potter World. yes.. MALIQ and SUDU and NINA and every HARRY POTTER FAN. 

can u feel the excitement? lol.

so that's my latest news. it's 2.30pm. time for a short nap. waiting for Nadia Anwar Tan's arrival in Manchester.

Library, the new home

just recently, i found peace in this place called library. been going there for two days, and I think i should go there everyday til i finish my exams.

i'm almost done with my project report. thank God.

now just need to start the editing and wait for my supervisor to give feedback on my discussion. Alhamdulillah. so far so good.

seems to make a lot of sense now. started revision a week ago. it's time to go hardcore.

did i tell you that i'm going to Budapest on 28th April? just for three days though. no sweat.

sometimes you're just so sick of the place you live in and you just need a different scenery to clear your head?

even worse, the weather in Manchester is not helping. it is super cold. i mean friggin winter in April! last week was 25 degrees max, and today was 5 degrees? gotta be kidding me.