20 April 2024

We've been trying to get Mia into a boarding school for the longest time. When she was transitioning to secondary school, it was the height of the pandemic and I think we applied on the regular ministry website but failed to get into any of the boarding schools. So we just admitted her to the next best thing, which was the regular secondary school near Bangi.

It's not that we don't rate regulary day schools, it's just that full boarding school provide a more condusive environment for academic and co-curricular excellence. The teachers are better, the facilities or complete and her peers are gonna be more focused. Sounds unfair but that's how the Malaysian education system is at the moment.

At the end of form 3, we applied for boarding school again, both SBP and MRSM. a month later, she did not get into SBP (again) but the MRMS website said to check again in 3 week's time. While understandbly upset at the SBP result, there was indeed a small glitter of hope with MRSM. True enough, 4 weeks later, when I checked the MRSM website again, it showed that Mia was offered a place at a MRSM in Kota Bharu.

Our immediate reaction was one of delight and then concern. Delighted that Mia was finally accepted into an elite school but also concerned that she's gonna be so far away, all by herself, away from us for the first time. That said, it would be foolish of us not to let her go after trying for so long. Besides, we've got our grandparents back home who could regularly visit or she can come home to during the holidays.

First impression of the school was good. It looks better than Adam's old school with matching modern facilities and equipments. The students who showed us around were also friendly and the teachers sounds nice and loving.

When the goodbyes are said and hugs are exchanged, we left Mia to be on her own for the first time in her life. She's a big girl now and we're confident she will manage just fine. This school allows their students to use a tablet so at least we can still keep in touch using her iPad. This is your time to shine Mia, your mama and papa believe in you.

3 April 2024

Remember the time I was hospitalised to check an abnormality on my heart? That was today.

It's a long story but long story short, during a routine medical checkup at the hospital, the result showed something abnormal about my heart. So they suggested I run further tests to investigate. So I got myself checked into a hospital in KL overnight for the purpose.

My wife dropped me off that evening and I checked into a ward. My insurance could only cover a shared room in the ward so I shared my room with an elderly fella with an even more serious heart condition. Believe it or not, this is the first time in my 44 years living staying overnight at a private hospital. The first time I did was after the bike accident when I was 20 but that only got me into a government ward in Kota Bharu. You can say I've been blessed with health so I didn't have to go to the hospital for any reasons all these time.

Now I've visited many private hospitals before, even accompanied my wife and kids all night on a few occasions. This hospital in KL is no different. It has good facilities and excellent staff. As a patient however, my arm was poked with a big-ass needle so they can line me with drips 24/7. The nurse made a mess of the job and I can see a pool of blood on the sheets. The doctor came to fix the mess later.

Sleeping with one arm tethered to the drip line is no fun I tell you. I had to bring the drip everywhere, including the toilet and stop myself from moving too much on the bed. I slept awkwardly all through the night.

The next day, they run the tests. I had to fast from the evening before and then in the morning, they made me undress and wear this flimsy gown and wheel me all around the hospital. I remember laying in this state of the art machine while they do the coronary angiogram on me. Did I tell you the gown was flimsy? I'm pretty sure the staff saw glimpses of my private parts that day. After the stress test, I was done for the day. I stayed a little bit for lunch and then my wife came to pick me up in the evening.

The good news was, they didn't find anything much wrong with my heart. A little bit of cholesterol here and there but nothing a healthy diet and good exercise couldn't fix in the long run.

Overall, my first stay at a private hospital went pretty well. Apart from the pesky drip line, I pretty much enjoyed the experience. Obviously, I don't look forward to any future visits to the hospital because that could only mean something is seriously wrong with me.