During the Reiki class, my teacher asked us to pay attention to changes in sleep patterns & dreams. Reiki can enhance your dormant psychic abilities & make its presence known through dreams. We dream everytime we sleep. We just don't remember. But when you wake up at the right time, you will.
I had a night full of nightmares a few weeks ago. I only remembered 2 of them. I was being chased by a gigantic crocodile along a HDB corridor. It was not the new HDBs that have been popping up recently. It was a long corridor that I remember from my childhood days. By now, that HDB flat must be over 30 years old. It was rapidly gaining on me. I ducked into a stranger's flat, slammed the wooden door shut & laid belly down on the floor. I then put my finger to my lips, signalling the owner to keep quiet. I could hear the crocodile crawl past.
I woke up & I drifted back to sleep. Then, I was trying to use 1 of those single unit stove plus oven. But to my horror, parts began to fall off the top of the oven onto the racks. Water started pouring into the oven from apparently nowhere since there wasn't even an overturned pot of water on the stove top.
Being chased is a very common dream. It signifies that you're running away from something in real life. I wonder if the 2nd dream is trying to show me how afraid I was of having my goal or life falling apart. Not so sure about the water though.
Just few days ago after graduation, I had this dream about Ton Ton. It started off freaking me out. His nose fell off. I picked it up for further examination. It was crusty & hard. I quickly looked at Ton Ton to check how he is. To my surprise, he still has a nose. His nose is moist & healthy looking. He looks absolutely good & happy. It is my hope that all illnesses & diseases will now fall away from him, leaving a healthy Ton Ton.
Saturday, 29 August 2015
Friday, 28 August 2015
The Best Day Of My Life
In the operating theatre, there is a lolly jar. I hardly help myself to it unless I've gone hypo & need a hit of sugar. Recently, it's been topped up with individually wrapped soft chews from The Natural Confectionery. The interesting thing is, each wrapper has a different question printed on it. We've been having some fun answering them.
Are you a cat or dog person? No brainer there for me. If you can be a cartoon character, who will you be? I actually said Donald Duck. He's so grouchy but he always comes through at the end. My colleague showed me 1 today that goes, "Which is the best day of your life?". My 1st response was, "This is a tough 1." I've given it some thought while waiting for the surgeries to end. The answer surprised me.
It was the day my ex announced that he was divorcing me. There was uncontrollable sobbing, followed by days of lying in bed staring at the ceiling. But in hindsight, it was the catalyst that brought about the biggest change in my life. I wouldn't be where I am today had it not happened.
It is hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel when we are drowning in sorrow. If we can just dig up that little bit more strength & courage to pull ourselves through, we'll often realise whatever had happened was for the best. It could take years but the most important thing is not to let it harden your heart. Instead, use it to propel yourself into greater heights especially when it comes to kindness & let it be a chance to rid yourself of your flaws for it will always be a work in progress.
The world has enough cynics as it is. Let us try a little kindness today. It'll probably change your life.
Monday, 24 August 2015
Reiki 1 Completed
Over 2.5 days, I completed the basic Reiki 1. I went without much knowledge about Reiki other than it is a type of energy transfer that you do with your hands & that in Reiki 2, it will be distant healing. But 1st, I must thank Winking Doll for sharing your experiences with me. It is really nice to know someone in the same profession who doesn't think alternative healing (especially something that's unseen) is bullshit.
If I thought $595 for Reiki 1 is expensive, I would have been in for a surprise. It actually costs $945 to learn it in Sg. But of course, it's different. In Sg, the course is held in a hotel function room, lunch, dinner & tea breaks are all provided for. Here in Perth, it is held in an old catholic church & we pay for our own lunch. Volunteers helping out in the course would bake cake or some other snacks for our tea break. Reiki 2 costs $880 here whereas it is about $1200 in Sg according to my friend. Perhaps that is the reason why I never got a chance to do it when I was still in Sg.
I thought it is something I can "turn on" & "turn off", allowing me to choose if I want to do some healing. But no. We all have a hot spot in the center of our palms that releases healing energy. In some people who are natural healers, they transmit the energy through this hot spot. But energy released from this hot spot is your own life force so in time, you will be drained. Reiki attunements unblocks your whole hand, allowing energy to flow from even the fingers & the energy is from outside. As you heal others, you actually rejuvenate yourself at the same time. You're the channel or conduit for the energy to flow through you. As long as I'm in physical contact, the energy will flow through me to the other person.
When doing Reiki, your brainwaves slow down to *** hertz (can't remember think she said 7 or 8), similar to the readings on someone who is meditating. I must say I was still skeptical after Friday night after the 1st attunement. I thought the feelings in my hands were from the cold. I went to bed thinking that the sensation will be gone by the next morning after spending the entire night under the blanket. By the 3rd attunement on Saturday night, I thought to myself that this sensation looks like it's here to stay. Several of us wanted to know how do we know that the energy is flowing. The teacher said that if your hands feel different, that is how the Reiki energy is manifested to you. Different people feel different thing.
It's pretty amazing coz the rational part of me says this is not possible. But yet I can't deny the feelings I have or how strangers can tell what health problems I have simply by placing their hands on me. & it wasn't even the teacher but a fellow student. Similarly, when someone is drawing a lot of energy from me in a particular spot, I can guess what kind of health problems they have & we're not talking about just physical diseases but emotional scars as well. When I asked my teacher about the mole on Ton's back which is directly on top of the liver, she immediately asked me if I've been holding in a lot of anger becoz unresolved anger harms the liver. An animal having bonded spiritually with their human is a familiar & will take on the symptoms. & I feel so guilty when I thought back to the last year in Sg when I was always so angry.
If there is a Reiki 2, I will definitely sign up for it. Not only will I be able to send healing energy to my family & dogs in Sg, perhaps 1 day I will be able to work towards another dream of mine: working with rescue dogs in my free time. To do that I really need to hone my psychic abilities by Reiki-ing more so I can enhance the "communication" part of Reiki 2. I probably sound crazy to some people. But I really believe that there are things in life we can't explain but doesn't mean that it's not real. Time for some Reiki-ing!
If I thought $595 for Reiki 1 is expensive, I would have been in for a surprise. It actually costs $945 to learn it in Sg. But of course, it's different. In Sg, the course is held in a hotel function room, lunch, dinner & tea breaks are all provided for. Here in Perth, it is held in an old catholic church & we pay for our own lunch. Volunteers helping out in the course would bake cake or some other snacks for our tea break. Reiki 2 costs $880 here whereas it is about $1200 in Sg according to my friend. Perhaps that is the reason why I never got a chance to do it when I was still in Sg.
I thought it is something I can "turn on" & "turn off", allowing me to choose if I want to do some healing. But no. We all have a hot spot in the center of our palms that releases healing energy. In some people who are natural healers, they transmit the energy through this hot spot. But energy released from this hot spot is your own life force so in time, you will be drained. Reiki attunements unblocks your whole hand, allowing energy to flow from even the fingers & the energy is from outside. As you heal others, you actually rejuvenate yourself at the same time. You're the channel or conduit for the energy to flow through you. As long as I'm in physical contact, the energy will flow through me to the other person.
When doing Reiki, your brainwaves slow down to *** hertz (can't remember think she said 7 or 8), similar to the readings on someone who is meditating. I must say I was still skeptical after Friday night after the 1st attunement. I thought the feelings in my hands were from the cold. I went to bed thinking that the sensation will be gone by the next morning after spending the entire night under the blanket. By the 3rd attunement on Saturday night, I thought to myself that this sensation looks like it's here to stay. Several of us wanted to know how do we know that the energy is flowing. The teacher said that if your hands feel different, that is how the Reiki energy is manifested to you. Different people feel different thing.
It's pretty amazing coz the rational part of me says this is not possible. But yet I can't deny the feelings I have or how strangers can tell what health problems I have simply by placing their hands on me. & it wasn't even the teacher but a fellow student. Similarly, when someone is drawing a lot of energy from me in a particular spot, I can guess what kind of health problems they have & we're not talking about just physical diseases but emotional scars as well. When I asked my teacher about the mole on Ton's back which is directly on top of the liver, she immediately asked me if I've been holding in a lot of anger becoz unresolved anger harms the liver. An animal having bonded spiritually with their human is a familiar & will take on the symptoms. & I feel so guilty when I thought back to the last year in Sg when I was always so angry.
If there is a Reiki 2, I will definitely sign up for it. Not only will I be able to send healing energy to my family & dogs in Sg, perhaps 1 day I will be able to work towards another dream of mine: working with rescue dogs in my free time. To do that I really need to hone my psychic abilities by Reiki-ing more so I can enhance the "communication" part of Reiki 2. I probably sound crazy to some people. But I really believe that there are things in life we can't explain but doesn't mean that it's not real. Time for some Reiki-ing!
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
STO Done
Ton Ton's STO was arranged for yesterday evening at 6 pm. As I was still working at 6 pm, hubs brought Ah Ton to the vet by himself. He was sharing with me that he didn't use a leash & instead, carried him throughout the whole process. The moment he stepped into the vet's, Ton Ton started shaking like a leaf. I laughed. This is so like him. I told hubs, "Of course lah. Everytime he goes there, he gets poked & cut." Haha.
It was a less than 5 mins job that even I can do. But I was advised against it by my dog owning colleagues. They reasoned that it will give the vet a chance to examine him. Fair enough. So I left it to the vet. Upon reaching home, I had a look at his now healed surgical wounds. Looks pretty good though slightly crusty. His fur is totally matted from the sweater he had to wear & I haven't got the chance to go to the pet shop for de-matting comb.
I'll do it next weekend & give him a shower. Then it's time to really start planning for our Sept camping trip. We'll go better prepared this time. We bought a 25L esky with 2.5L water jug for $15 at a garage sale. Heh. Good buy coz just the esky alone costs $43 in Coles. The portable stove that runs on gas canister is now back on the shelf in Bunnings & we bought the round grill plate to go along with it. No more eating combat ration taste alike. Ton Ton also can have fresh meat rather than dodgy pet food whose ingredients origins are fuzzy. So looking forward to it!
It was a less than 5 mins job that even I can do. But I was advised against it by my dog owning colleagues. They reasoned that it will give the vet a chance to examine him. Fair enough. So I left it to the vet. Upon reaching home, I had a look at his now healed surgical wounds. Looks pretty good though slightly crusty. His fur is totally matted from the sweater he had to wear & I haven't got the chance to go to the pet shop for de-matting comb.
I'll do it next weekend & give him a shower. Then it's time to really start planning for our Sept camping trip. We'll go better prepared this time. We bought a 25L esky with 2.5L water jug for $15 at a garage sale. Heh. Good buy coz just the esky alone costs $43 in Coles. The portable stove that runs on gas canister is now back on the shelf in Bunnings & we bought the round grill plate to go along with it. No more eating combat ration taste alike. Ton Ton also can have fresh meat rather than dodgy pet food whose ingredients origins are fuzzy. So looking forward to it!
Monday, 17 August 2015
The Ungrateful One
Several of my friends on FB posted their declarations of love for Sg & how proud they are to be Singaporeans on the 9th this month. I don't know why I don't feel the same sentiments. Perhaps I'm an ungrateful person. I stopped watching NDP many years ago. It's pretty much the same to me every year. A march in, march out parade followed by dance performances by various groups & lastly, the fireworks. When I was in Sec 2, my school was chosen to perform in the NDP. As I was not in an Uniformed Group ECA, it was compulsory for me to participate. I hated it. I kept getting yelled at by the choreographer who was a dance teacher in my school for not doing the movements with enough energy. I didn't understand what the hell she was talking about. My moves were right. I didn't get them wrong unlike some others. Why are you yelling at me for? When I finally got what she meant by watching the dancers (from the dance group ECA), I found it even more ridiculous. This isn't a small scale performance. You think you can see how forcefully I'm dancing in a group of 500 students & cameras shooting from the sky? I did grow to enjoy it later on anyway. That was my only stint in the NDP. Did I understand what is national pride then? Probably not.
Yes, Sg indeed has come a long way. So has other countries. This is the natural path of progression. I just feel that instead of differentiating ourselves by nationality, why not consider all of us as inhabitants of this earth? Regardless of race, religion, nationality or even species, we all share this earth. Why is there a need to 分你的我的? Why is there a need to prove that I'm better? If 1 day, we can rid ourselves of this need to possess, perhaps we will attain the elusive world peace.
All Clear
I heard back from the vet on Saturday. The biopsy result for the mole came back as a melanocytoma which is just a fancy name for a mole. She did tell me to watch out for more growing moles as melanocytomas do have a tendency to turn into melanoma (malignant cancer). So it's all good with Ton for now.
Since I'm on a post about Mr Ton, I'll write about his latest antics. We went to our friend's birthday party on Sat night. They had recently moved into their new place on a giant lot complete with swimming pool & space for a granny flat in the future. So Ton Ton was wandering about & I took my eyes off him for a short while. The next time I saw him, he was right next to the pool. I yelled at him & proceeded to walk over. He did what I feared. He ran across the width of the pool (they had a pool blanket on). He was damn lucky the blanket didn't give way & cause him to fall into the water. Then, naturally, he went around giving other guests the puppy eyes, hoping they would feed him. & I had already fed him prior to leaving home. That's my Tonz. Have food, will follow.
After these health scares, a friend from Sg, who used to be Ton Ton's groomer asked me to seriously consider learning Reiki. It was something she mentioned before when I was still in Sg. At that time, the course was held in mid May & I was to fly over on 2nd May. Now, I'm just few days away from the course. Hubs was skeptical. Who wouldn't be? Even I am not 100% convinced. But if it really works, then $600 is well worth the investment. Usui Reiki is divided into R1 & R2. In R2, the practitioner will learn to project the healing energy over long distances & direct contact with the subject is no longer required. Apparently, your extra sensory skills will be enhanced, possibly allowing you to communicate with animals. That is what my friend can do.
Ton had the cyst (not the mole on his back) on his left shoulder even before we left Sg. I only told her that I found a lump on Ton Ton but I wasn't sure if I should be worried about it. When she texted me back, she told me that she had communicated with him & at the same time sent Reiki energy to him. He had asked to be Reiki-ed on his chest which made me laugh becoz he absolutely loves being touched there. She then told me where the lump was & even identified another cyst that I had no idea existed. I looked for it where she said it was & true enough, it was there. Explanations? I do believe that there are things in this world that are beyond our comprehension. If I can tap into these gifts, imagine what I can achieve. The kind of healing I can bring to others.
Since I'm on a post about Mr Ton, I'll write about his latest antics. We went to our friend's birthday party on Sat night. They had recently moved into their new place on a giant lot complete with swimming pool & space for a granny flat in the future. So Ton Ton was wandering about & I took my eyes off him for a short while. The next time I saw him, he was right next to the pool. I yelled at him & proceeded to walk over. He did what I feared. He ran across the width of the pool (they had a pool blanket on). He was damn lucky the blanket didn't give way & cause him to fall into the water. Then, naturally, he went around giving other guests the puppy eyes, hoping they would feed him. & I had already fed him prior to leaving home. That's my Tonz. Have food, will follow.
After these health scares, a friend from Sg, who used to be Ton Ton's groomer asked me to seriously consider learning Reiki. It was something she mentioned before when I was still in Sg. At that time, the course was held in mid May & I was to fly over on 2nd May. Now, I'm just few days away from the course. Hubs was skeptical. Who wouldn't be? Even I am not 100% convinced. But if it really works, then $600 is well worth the investment. Usui Reiki is divided into R1 & R2. In R2, the practitioner will learn to project the healing energy over long distances & direct contact with the subject is no longer required. Apparently, your extra sensory skills will be enhanced, possibly allowing you to communicate with animals. That is what my friend can do.
Ton had the cyst (not the mole on his back) on his left shoulder even before we left Sg. I only told her that I found a lump on Ton Ton but I wasn't sure if I should be worried about it. When she texted me back, she told me that she had communicated with him & at the same time sent Reiki energy to him. He had asked to be Reiki-ed on his chest which made me laugh becoz he absolutely loves being touched there. She then told me where the lump was & even identified another cyst that I had no idea existed. I looked for it where she said it was & true enough, it was there. Explanations? I do believe that there are things in this world that are beyond our comprehension. If I can tap into these gifts, imagine what I can achieve. The kind of healing I can bring to others.
Saturday, 8 August 2015
Ton Ton's Excisional Biopsy
This is the reason I've been absent from blogging for 2 weeks. The last time I shaved Ton Ton was in autumn, probably about 4 months ago. I've kept his fur long for winter so he isn't so cold all the time. Even though there's 1 more month to go before spring arrives, I just felt this urge to shave him. It kept nagging at me till I gave in & finally did 2 Wednesdays ago. With his fur short now, I discovered something that wasn't there 4 months ago. This mole. It was just a flat pigmentation previously which had now puffed upwards. 1st thought will always be that of cancer. I managed to get him slotted in for an appointment with the vet the very next day. An aspiration was done but the vet couldn't tell 1 way or the other if it is indeed cancer. The other 2 lumps he had were cysts just as I had guessed but the vet wanted to check it since we were there anyway. We were given the option to wait & observe or to have it removed. I thought about it. Even if it isn't cancer now, if we waited, it'll be too late if it turns cancerous. If it's not cancer & I remove it now, I just blow $1400 which I can always earn back. If it is cancer, it means early intervention along with higher survival rate. But I won't know until it has been removed & sent off for histology. |
| Ton Ton, the night before his surgery. |
It seemed like as with everything in my life, things just fall into place. I wasn't able to book him in for surgery on Monday so it had to be Tuesday. We were told that he would be going in between 12 noon to 3 pm & we would be able to pick him up around 4 pm. I had 8 cases in the afternoon & there was no way I could get home by 4 pm. So our plan was to have hubs bring him home. Turned out that he went in late due to delays in previous surgeries & could only be picked up at 6.30 pm. I finished the list at 5 pm & by the time I drove up to my front door, it was exactly 6.30 pm & hubs was just coming out of the house with the intention of waiting for me on the verge. We got to the vet's at 6.35 pm & soon Ton Ton was placed in my arms with 2 long surgical wounds on either side of his back. 1 was from the mole, measuring 9.5 cm & the other was from the cyst, measuring 6 cm. The last cyst on his elbow was removed with a 2.5 cm wound. He whined the entire journey home. I was so glad I was there to cuddle him home. If things didn't turn out the way they did, he would be alone, shivering in confusion & pain on the passenger seat while hubs drove him home. Ton's pain is physical. My pain is emotional.
 |
| The main wound, 9.5 cm. |
Once home, he walked around restlessly before finally reverting to a semblance of his usual self 2 hours later, trying to steal our dinner from the coffee table. By bedtime, he was jumping up & down the sofa & bed no matter how we tried to keep him still. Before I left for work the next day, I put his sweater on for him to prevent him from scratching his wounds while we were at work. Guess I know him so well. Hubs came home to a dog on his back, all 4 legs in the air, rubbing his back on the sofa since he couldn't sooth the itch by scratching over the layer of sweater. Over the next few days, he could be seen rubbing himself against the furniture now & again. I've not received his histology results yet but I have a feeling that it will come back negative for cancer. His blood tests (liver, kidney & blood components) prior to the surgery were all in the normal range which is really good for a senior dog. I really pray that I have done enough for him to continuly be in good health.
Mental Preparation For Migration
Recently, I've seen a lot of questions that I myself asked when contemplating the move, mostly along the line of money; whether it's easy to find a job, how much money to bring, etc. That's understandable for if we're going to invest 20, 30, 40k or more obtaining the visa & getting settled here, we need some reassurance that our investment will pay off. But of course, as in life, nothing is ever guaranteed. Before I came over, everybody I spoke to painted a pretty picture. Lesser hours yet higher pay, less patient to nurse ratio, less workload, better work life balance. Imagine my shock when it didn't turned out the way I thought it would be initially after I've landed on Aussie ground. Yes, the pretty pictures are all true. But I'm going to tell you the bad & if you feel you still want to take the risk then you've pretty much made up your mind & just make the jump. Nothing will ever adequately prepare you for what's to come. No matter what any of us say, they're our personal experiences. Your experience will definitely be different from mine.
If you apply for a job as a nurse in Sg, you have very high chance of getting it regardless of experience. My good friend Dolly successfully got the job as a dental nurse even though she has done ophthalmology for so long. I have no doubt she will have no problem landing a home nursing or clinic nurse or ward nurse position if she chooses to now. The situation is very different here, at least in Perth. Employers want to see experience. I'm an ophthalmology scrub nurse & have been for the past 6 years prior to the move. I wanted to go back to Major Operating Theatre where I worked a decade ago. Guess what? None of the major hospital wanted to hire me. I know myself. I have no doubt I can pick the skills back up with a snap of my fingers. As much as I try to sell myself as a fast learner, I couldn't even get offered a job. You know why? Everybody says they're fast learners. So between me & other people who have recent experience in MOT, the employers are going to choose them over me. My applications to aged care (supposedly the easiest to get into), general ward, clinic, even agency nursing simply yielded a "You're not shortlisted." reply. Did my Australian degree with high distinctions on every module matter? No. They want experienced staff. Period. So your chances of getting a job depends on whether you have the experience for the job you're applying for.
Sometimes it boils down to pure luck or good fortune as I like to call it. It should be impossible for me to land a job since I'm so specialised, isn't it? I've said this before, I was going to pack up & go back to Sg once my savings drop down to 5k. I had 6k left in the bank when I was finally offered my current job. That's only 1k difference. Not even enough to survive another 2 weeks since my rent was $860 per fortnight. I suspected I had a good chance when I was the 1st to be interviewed. I was offered a part time position with a contract of 20 hours per week. In the end, I ended up back in ophthalmology. Becoz I'm already experienced & we all know what working in Sg is like, I'm so good in my job that my manager upped my contract hours to 30 hours a week after 3 months. When she was going to retire 6 months after I've joined & needed someone to take over her position, she asked if I was interested. My passion is in scrubbing. I don't like to do admin work or manage people. So I turned her down even if it means getting a $6-8 raise per hour. I came here to enjoy what I love to do. I didn't come here to climb some career ladder. As I said, good fortune played a part. I got this job only becoz a staff went on maternity leave the same time I was looking for a job. I was up against many other scrub nurses from MOT. But my manager chose me becoz I had the right experience.
The world is very small too. Turned out that 1 person who got rejected worked as an agency nurse in an aged care facility with a friend of ours. When she found out that the job was given to me, a non Aussie, she was livid. I was once asked by a patient's relative how long I've been employed in my job. At that time, I was only 1 month old in my job & 2.5 months old in Oz. Subsequently, I overheard her saying that we migrants are taking away all their jobs. (She is a nurse as well & has been unsuccessful in her search for a job for several months.) So do be prepared to encounter Aussies who feel that they're more entitled to the job than you are becoz you're merely a PR or someone with a work visa. They will not say it to you in your face coz I think that's considered racist or something. But if you look online, in FB, they say what they really think or like me, just round the corner when they make that sort of remarks.
With regards to how much money you need to survive here until you land a job is just too variable. It really depends on your spending habits, whether you're comfortable with much much less & whether you can even find a job. If you're not frugal & are unsuccessful in getting a job, you'll eventually run out of money even if you brought 100k over. If you can't drop the Singaporean mentality that everything must be good & new, then it'll be really hard. You're only going to run yourself into debts. Us, we bought our furniture from 1 of those budget furniture shops. (Becoz rental houses don't usually come furnished & if they are, the rent is higher.) $799 for the basic sets which we're still using until now. Of course, quality is worse than that of Ikea but until they've all broken down, I have no intention of changing them. We bought our TV & fridge off a garage sale for $150 (I think, can't remember) & a vacuum cleaner for $10, all of which we're still using. My $2250 car has served me well for over a year, no major problems, though do requiring some wear & tear fixes. I'm not saying that you can't buy new. But don't do it before you even got a job.
Once you land a job, the focus turns from survival to that of planning for the future. When you've got a stable income & begin to save up a sizable fortune, you can think of other things like buying a place rather than renting. For some, that can be several years away. So I'll just talk about some other day to day stuff that you need to be prepared for.
It's no secret that I love the cold. But for probably 5 months (3 months of summer & 1 month before & after) of the year, I have to put up with the heat which will definitely hit 40s. I work in an air conditioned environment. But if you're like hubs who works in a warehouse, you're going to suffer big time. The warehouse is sheltered but open. It creates a greenhouse effect & directs heat to people working under the roof. The worst thing to have during summer is a maggoty bin. Waste collection is only once a week so be really prepared for a stinky bin of decomposing food waste & having to wheel that stinky bin onto the verge for collection. I've not found a foolproof way to prevent maggots in the bin yet. Double bagging doesn't seem to help much. The only thing we can do is keep spraying insecticide whenever we see maggots. Then you're trying to wheel the bin out & watching out for maggots crawling onto your hands. Thank goodness that's hub's job. I refuse to go anywhere near the bin. I like my weather overcast, no sun. But many people find that depressing. That's the way most of the winter is. Sun sets early (5.30 pm) & rises late (7.15 am). So you get a lot of dark & people who are prone to depression are more likely to fall into a depressive cycle during this time. Summer is the complete opposite. Sun sets late (7.30 pm) & rises early (5 am). So you get sunlight streaming into the bedroom way before you're due up unless you have black out curtains.
It's best to have a hobby to fill your nights. Shops do close at 5 pm save for the big chains like Big W & supermarkets which closes at 9 pm on weekdays. There's late night shopping on Thursdays in the urbs & Fridays in the city. The shops still closes at 9 pm thought. On weekends, everything closes at 5 pm. Read, gaming, craft works, whatever that suit your fancy. I don't have a problem on weekdays coz I usually get home from work around 7ish. By the time I'm done with dinner & shower, it's time to go to bed. I fill my weekends with cooks & sewing.
Most important of all, just be patient. We're used to the internet being connected days after we've signed up in Sg. But it's normal for the internet to be up 1 month after you've signed up for it here. Calling & yelling at the poor operator working for the internet service provider isn't going to help. When we were in Victoria 3 years ago, we sat down at a restaurant for dinner. He asked the waitress where was our food when it hadn't been served 45 mins after we had placed our order. (We didn't order entree which was supposed to give them time to prepare the mains.) She got pissed off & asked, "What's your hurry?" Now, we just order a drink & entree on top of the main. Then we chat & watch the scenery while waiting for the food to arrive. If you send off an email, it may take days or weeks for them to reply. If it's urgent, it's best to call them. So, what do you think? Still up for it?
If you apply for a job as a nurse in Sg, you have very high chance of getting it regardless of experience. My good friend Dolly successfully got the job as a dental nurse even though she has done ophthalmology for so long. I have no doubt she will have no problem landing a home nursing or clinic nurse or ward nurse position if she chooses to now. The situation is very different here, at least in Perth. Employers want to see experience. I'm an ophthalmology scrub nurse & have been for the past 6 years prior to the move. I wanted to go back to Major Operating Theatre where I worked a decade ago. Guess what? None of the major hospital wanted to hire me. I know myself. I have no doubt I can pick the skills back up with a snap of my fingers. As much as I try to sell myself as a fast learner, I couldn't even get offered a job. You know why? Everybody says they're fast learners. So between me & other people who have recent experience in MOT, the employers are going to choose them over me. My applications to aged care (supposedly the easiest to get into), general ward, clinic, even agency nursing simply yielded a "You're not shortlisted." reply. Did my Australian degree with high distinctions on every module matter? No. They want experienced staff. Period. So your chances of getting a job depends on whether you have the experience for the job you're applying for.
Sometimes it boils down to pure luck or good fortune as I like to call it. It should be impossible for me to land a job since I'm so specialised, isn't it? I've said this before, I was going to pack up & go back to Sg once my savings drop down to 5k. I had 6k left in the bank when I was finally offered my current job. That's only 1k difference. Not even enough to survive another 2 weeks since my rent was $860 per fortnight. I suspected I had a good chance when I was the 1st to be interviewed. I was offered a part time position with a contract of 20 hours per week. In the end, I ended up back in ophthalmology. Becoz I'm already experienced & we all know what working in Sg is like, I'm so good in my job that my manager upped my contract hours to 30 hours a week after 3 months. When she was going to retire 6 months after I've joined & needed someone to take over her position, she asked if I was interested. My passion is in scrubbing. I don't like to do admin work or manage people. So I turned her down even if it means getting a $6-8 raise per hour. I came here to enjoy what I love to do. I didn't come here to climb some career ladder. As I said, good fortune played a part. I got this job only becoz a staff went on maternity leave the same time I was looking for a job. I was up against many other scrub nurses from MOT. But my manager chose me becoz I had the right experience.
The world is very small too. Turned out that 1 person who got rejected worked as an agency nurse in an aged care facility with a friend of ours. When she found out that the job was given to me, a non Aussie, she was livid. I was once asked by a patient's relative how long I've been employed in my job. At that time, I was only 1 month old in my job & 2.5 months old in Oz. Subsequently, I overheard her saying that we migrants are taking away all their jobs. (She is a nurse as well & has been unsuccessful in her search for a job for several months.) So do be prepared to encounter Aussies who feel that they're more entitled to the job than you are becoz you're merely a PR or someone with a work visa. They will not say it to you in your face coz I think that's considered racist or something. But if you look online, in FB, they say what they really think or like me, just round the corner when they make that sort of remarks.
With regards to how much money you need to survive here until you land a job is just too variable. It really depends on your spending habits, whether you're comfortable with much much less & whether you can even find a job. If you're not frugal & are unsuccessful in getting a job, you'll eventually run out of money even if you brought 100k over. If you can't drop the Singaporean mentality that everything must be good & new, then it'll be really hard. You're only going to run yourself into debts. Us, we bought our furniture from 1 of those budget furniture shops. (Becoz rental houses don't usually come furnished & if they are, the rent is higher.) $799 for the basic sets which we're still using until now. Of course, quality is worse than that of Ikea but until they've all broken down, I have no intention of changing them. We bought our TV & fridge off a garage sale for $150 (I think, can't remember) & a vacuum cleaner for $10, all of which we're still using. My $2250 car has served me well for over a year, no major problems, though do requiring some wear & tear fixes. I'm not saying that you can't buy new. But don't do it before you even got a job.
Once you land a job, the focus turns from survival to that of planning for the future. When you've got a stable income & begin to save up a sizable fortune, you can think of other things like buying a place rather than renting. For some, that can be several years away. So I'll just talk about some other day to day stuff that you need to be prepared for.
It's no secret that I love the cold. But for probably 5 months (3 months of summer & 1 month before & after) of the year, I have to put up with the heat which will definitely hit 40s. I work in an air conditioned environment. But if you're like hubs who works in a warehouse, you're going to suffer big time. The warehouse is sheltered but open. It creates a greenhouse effect & directs heat to people working under the roof. The worst thing to have during summer is a maggoty bin. Waste collection is only once a week so be really prepared for a stinky bin of decomposing food waste & having to wheel that stinky bin onto the verge for collection. I've not found a foolproof way to prevent maggots in the bin yet. Double bagging doesn't seem to help much. The only thing we can do is keep spraying insecticide whenever we see maggots. Then you're trying to wheel the bin out & watching out for maggots crawling onto your hands. Thank goodness that's hub's job. I refuse to go anywhere near the bin. I like my weather overcast, no sun. But many people find that depressing. That's the way most of the winter is. Sun sets early (5.30 pm) & rises late (7.15 am). So you get a lot of dark & people who are prone to depression are more likely to fall into a depressive cycle during this time. Summer is the complete opposite. Sun sets late (7.30 pm) & rises early (5 am). So you get sunlight streaming into the bedroom way before you're due up unless you have black out curtains.
It's best to have a hobby to fill your nights. Shops do close at 5 pm save for the big chains like Big W & supermarkets which closes at 9 pm on weekdays. There's late night shopping on Thursdays in the urbs & Fridays in the city. The shops still closes at 9 pm thought. On weekends, everything closes at 5 pm. Read, gaming, craft works, whatever that suit your fancy. I don't have a problem on weekdays coz I usually get home from work around 7ish. By the time I'm done with dinner & shower, it's time to go to bed. I fill my weekends with cooks & sewing.
Most important of all, just be patient. We're used to the internet being connected days after we've signed up in Sg. But it's normal for the internet to be up 1 month after you've signed up for it here. Calling & yelling at the poor operator working for the internet service provider isn't going to help. When we were in Victoria 3 years ago, we sat down at a restaurant for dinner. He asked the waitress where was our food when it hadn't been served 45 mins after we had placed our order. (We didn't order entree which was supposed to give them time to prepare the mains.) She got pissed off & asked, "What's your hurry?" Now, we just order a drink & entree on top of the main. Then we chat & watch the scenery while waiting for the food to arrive. If you send off an email, it may take days or weeks for them to reply. If it's urgent, it's best to call them. So, what do you think? Still up for it?
Saturday, 1 August 2015
Day Trip: Lesmurdie Falls
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| The falls. |
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| Panoramic views. |
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| Who else but Ah Ton? |
Obviously we took a wrong turn & found ourselves in the bushes without a path. But we forge on ahead, pushing through the prickly needle-like leaves of native plants. Ton was the only 1 very game, probably becoz he was low down close to the ground & escaped being poked relentlessly. His long bushy coat of fur also acted as a cushion. We finally pushed our way back onto the path. That was definitely 1 of the highlights of our trip.
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| Rose Heritage Cafe. |
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| There he was, growling at the ducks. |
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| Lunch. |
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