OMG! My Pressure Cooker Sort of Exploded .....

When I woke up this morning,  the first thing I saw on my facebook wall was a crash involving Malaysia Airline. Reading the title, I thought that they have found MH370, which has previously gone missing and has yet to be found. How devastated I was when I learnt that it is another crash involving our national airline. This time, it is flight MH17. It is indeed very tragic especially when it was accidentally shot down by the rebels who thought that they were shooting at Ukrainian military transport plane instead of a civilian plane. How easy it is for lives to be lost. We must really appreciate everybody around us and be thankful for that.

This brings me to my intended posting today. Last Thursday (10 July 2014) was a very unfortunate day for me. It was like any other day with me preparing dinner for my family as I always do. However, in the midst of dinner preparation, the pressure cooker suddenly 'exploded'. The next thing I knew, I was lying there on the floor unable to move. I can't remember whether I lose consciousness or not. Everything was very blurred and surreal. I suffered short-term memory loss. I didn't know why I was lying there or what had happened. I can't remember what day, what month or what year it was. My mind was like blank. I can't recall anything from that day, or the day before or anything prior to that. I can't stand up on my own or even with support. My neighbours who heard the 'explosion' came to my aid. Luckily Cheryl is able to open the door for them. In between blurriness, I know I was being carried to the sofa. But I don't know how I ended up in the car. I think I was being carried to the car. But I remember repeatedly asking whether or not I am dreaming while inside the car. When we reached the hospital, I was also not sure how I ended up in the ER; whether I was being carried or wheeled in? Towards almost the end of the day, I regained some memory, although still very sketchy. I slowly remember things from the past. But there were still blanks to be filled especially the details of what had happened.


This is what I remember. I had done my cooking and was just waiting for the soup to be ready. It has been cooked for roughly 20 minutes at 50kPa (low pressure) and it was about time to turn off the flame. I was walking towards the wet kitchen to turn off the flame when it happened. Before I managed to do that, the content of the pressure cooker started to spray out. The whole pot flew up and its content were being sprayed to the whole kitchen. I felt my legs were burning. The floor was very sticky and oily. I fell down and had a very huge swelling on my head. I was in pain. The swelling on my head was as big as my palm size. I might have hurt my pelvic bones as it was and still is very painful. My whole body aches. The feeling is like what you would feel the next day after you have done very rigorous exercise without warming up. My head feels very heavy and at times are like spinning. I can't move freely due to the injury on my pelvic bones and there are burns on my legs. The wound on my legs are getting worst and I went for follow-up treatment today. The doctor gave me antibiotic. I was told that I have wound infection. Thankfully, my waist and my pelvic bones are getting better thanks to dear hubby who diligently massage me everyday. The swelling on my head is also getting smaller although it is still big by my standard.

While I was in the ER on the day of the incident, I was half-conscious and everything was very blurred. When I went for my follow-up treatment today, the registration clerk told me that I was unable to give her any information when I was sent in last Thursday. I was really weak then. I remembered nurse and medical officer bombarded me with questions but I was unable to make out what were their questions. I remembered I was told that they will be doing CT scan on my head, ECG and blood test. However, I only have very faint memory when all these were done. I was not fully conscious then.

The kitchen was in a mess. There were broken plates, broken parts of the pressure cooker, broken hob's pan support and sticky mess all over the place. There are now a small crack on my floor. I think something might have shot up to the ceiling as the downlight holder (is it what you called the cone shape thingy?) fell down and it is no longer able to be fixed back. There is a hole there and we are able to see all the wiring hidden on top of the plaster ceiling. Each time we tried to fix it back, it will come falling down soon after. Two of the legs of the pan support for our hob had also broken in the incident. We sent it for soldering and now it looks very ugly. You wouldn't be able to imagine the level of mess it created. Dear hubby tried to clean the kitchen till midnight and it was only partially cleaned. He have to continue with the cleaning on Friday morning. It is impossible to be wiped. Dear hubby resorted to use hose to spray the whole kitchen. End up, my cabinets were soaked with water and the woods expanded.


This is not the first time I am using a pressure cooker. I have been very careful in using it and I always double or triple check to ensure that it is properly locked and secured. I also ensured that the content never exceed the maximum limit. When we arrived home from the hospital (I told the doctor I don't feel comfortable staying in the ward), we saw the broken handle, indicator rod and pressure regulator few feet away from the hob. The pressure cooker also was few feet away from the hob in a horizontal position.

In the horrifying incident, the pot flew up and in the process breaking the hob's pan support and then landed few feet away. My previous thought was that the lid never flew up but I have since think that it is untrue. When we saw the pressure cooker, the lid was intact and hubby was unable to open the lid. So that was why I thought the lid never flew up. I was told by dear hubby who did the cleaning that there were chunks of pork ribs and whole piece of pig tripe around the kitchen. I can deduced from here that the lid had in fact flew up and then fell down hard on the pot again causing it to be in intact position. If not, how would all these chunky pieces lied around the kitchen? The next morning, I asked dear hubby to apply some force to open the lid as the position of the rubber gasket had run, which I think had caused the lid to stuck to the pot. He managed to open the lid. There were still few pieces of pork ribs in the pot.


Despite all that had happened, I am very thankful that the girls were not injured. But they were quite traumatised by it. It could have been worst. Luckily they were all in the living room watching cartoon when it happened. They just came rushing in and stop at the dry kitchen when they heard the 'explosion'. I was told that the 2 younger ones were crying and screaming and that they saw smoke everywhere and me slumped down on the floor. Such a sorry sight for them to watch....

Backlog #2: My Breastfeeding Journey

I successfully exclusively breastfeeding Chloe for 3 months. It would have been longer if not because I have breast abscess. I had wanted to direct latch but no matter how I tried, I was unsuccessful.  I had not been successfully letting the 2 elder girls to direct latch. So, I was hoping Chloe would latch. 

She was practically "sucking" non-stop. I was so tired and my bones were like breaking. Although she seems like sucking, I am sure she didn't get any milk. It was a very soft sucking which I don't think will draw out any milk. Moreover, lack of urine is also a proof. I started to pump out my milk on the second day. I pumped every 2 hours and sometimes lesser than that as I need enough milk for Chloe. I managed to expressed 1 ounce of colostrum on my first try. But it wouldn't be enough. Since I do not want to use any formula milk, I have to rigorously pump. Subsequently, I managed to get 2 ounces and then went up to 5 ounces and during certain time of the days, it can go up to more than 10 ounces.

Colostrum

 I was using Medela Mini Electric pump which is not for heavy pumping. As per my understanding, it should not be used more than 6 times a day. I definitely used more than 6 times a day as I pumped every 1.5 to 2 hours. By the end of the first month, the motor of the pump has stopped working. I was desperately looking for another pump. Previously, I used manual pumps to pump out milk for the 2 elder girls. So I was trying to see whether those manual pumps still can be used. But then I realised that I have no more workable pump. All my manual pumps have been used up to the end of their lifetime. 

Then I decided that I must invest in a better quality pump if I intend to pump for a very long time. After browsing through the pumps available in the market, I decided to get myself an Avent Double Electric Pump. I bought it online. In the meantime, I have to have a pump for me to pump before my Avent pump is delivered to me. So, I sent hubby out to buy a manual pump for me. He came home with Pureen manual pump. Before pumping, I thought it would be better for me to sterilised the pump first. End up, it melted and I have never even use it. I think it is my own fault. The manual doesn't mentioned anything about sterilising the pump in a steriliser but I still put it in the steriliser and it melted. So, I sent hubby out to buy another manual pump. This time, I told him to just simply choose some cheaper manual pump as I don't want to burn his hard-earned money. In case if it doesn't last long, I wouldn't be so heartache.

I initially just bought 20 storage bottles. Coupled with the bottles from the old pumps, I have about 23 to 24 bottles. These are not enough. Other than Chloe, I have been feeding the 2 elder girls 1 to 2 times a day with my milk as I don't have enough storage bottles. I also bathed Chloe with my breast milk as I don't have enough storage bottles to store the expressed milk. When I told my dear sister about this, she bought 2 more boxes of bottles for me. As my milk becomes more and more, the roughly 45 bottles that I have was also not sufficient. So, Chloe is getting more frequent milk bath. 

Being an exclusive pumping mummy is not easy. I have to bring my breast pump wherever I go. If I need to be out for a very long period, I have to bring ice packs, bottles of breastmilk and a cup for heating the milk. I remembered one occasion when I went to Berjaya Times Square. I went to the baby room to pump. There were a diaper changing area, a toilet and a breasfeeding corner with curtain and a sink which is situated at the breastfeeding corner. While I was pumping in the baby room with a curtain drawn, a mummy came in bringing all her teenage children. They were just plain lazy to queue at the normal toilet, I guessed. They used the toilet in the baby room. She is well aware that I am pumping milk as the curtain was drawn. But she still pull open the curtain and came into the breastfeeding corner to wash her hands followed by her children. How inconsiderate these people can be? There were also once when I was in Aeon Bandaraya Melaka's baby room to pump. It was so packed. Some with so many family members inside. There are 3 breastfeeding rooms in the baby room, if I am not mistaken. All are occupied. What enraged me was that there was one room which was occupied by a bottle-feeding grandma with few family members standing there watching and the door open. They do not need to use the room to bottle-feed the toddler. They can just sit on the sofa in the baby room instead of hogging the nursing room and thus depriving people like me to use the room. I really wish all these people can be more considerate.

When I went back to work after my maternity leaves ended, I have to change my pumping schedule. I would not be able to pump every 2 hours. In fact I have started to drag my pumping time to a longer interval roughly 1 month before I am expected to turn up at office. I was only able to pump once around 6am before I prepare for work, then at 10am in the office toilet, 12pm at home, 4pm in the office toilet, 8.00pm and 11.30pm at home. During these time, I already started to wonder whether there is anything wrong as my yield is not as much as it should be. I know it is not because of me producing lesser milk. Something must be wrong somewhere. The milk is not shooting out like previously although I feel that my breasts still feel full. I wondered whether I have blocked ducts. I have 3 fibroadenomas  on my right breast. So, I don't know whether those were blocked ducts or fibroadenoma. Nevertheless, I still massaged and try to see whether I can  clear them in case they are blocked ducts. There were 1 patches which became very red and imflammed. However, I do not have fever. I went to see my lactation consultant. She diagnosed it as mastitis and prescribed me some antibiotic. In my mind, I think it seems more like breast abscess to me. It is so painful. It has never cross my mind that breastfeeding can be this difficult. Then the next day I asked hubby to bring me to see a breast surgeon.

I went to see her in the morning. When the result came out in the afternoon, it is confirmed that I have breast abscess. She asked me to prepare to undergo surgery to remove the abscess immediately. However, I asked her to arranged it to the next day as I still have to make arrangement for the children. When I asked her whether I still can continue to express my milk, she said better don't as she is not an expert in that field. She doesn't know how much of the excretions of drugs used will enter the breast milk. So she prescribed Dostinex to me to stop milk production. I followed her instruction but then I really can't stand. My breasts were really engorged. So she told me to just pump a little bit to relieve the pain from engorgement and throw the milk away. 

Then the next morning, they prep me for the surgery and I was on general anaesthesia. By the time I woke up, they have successfully operated on me. The surgeon told me that by the time she operated on me, the condition is already like volcano splashing its lava. If I waited any longer, I would have more unsightly scar. I was told to go for wound dressing everyday. I asked her whether I can go for dressing in hospital near my house. She agreed and wrote me a reference letter. The dressing was so painful that I hope nobody else would need to go through that kind of pain. It was an open wound. Everyday, during the dressing procedure, they will pull out a very long cloth (I don't know what they called it) out from the wound and wash the inside cavity of the wound. Then, they will reinsert the long cloth back into the wound. Day by day, new flesh will grow to cover the cavity of the open wound. I have to go for the dressing every single day till the flesh has fully grown to cover the entire wound. It was so painful when they pull out the cloth from the wound, when they clean it and when they reinsert it back. I was not given any anaesthetics during this procedure. It is my worst nightmare. I still shiver when I think of it now.

The doctor in the hospital where I did my dressing also asked me not to pump out any milk as she doesn't want me to stimulate my milk production again. I told her I feel very painful and uncomfortable. So I paid my lactation consultant a visit a week after that. When I told her of the advices of the other doctors, she was so angry. She said even if I want to stop production, it cannot be so abrupt. I still have to pump out some milk to relieve the pain. from engorgement. The medicine is not a magic potion which can allow me to stop immediately. I still have to give time to my body to adjust to this condition. She told me I should have go and see her earlier. The baby still can drink the expressed milk as the excretion in the milk would be so minimal. I tried to express my milk from the unaffected breast but since I have stop to pump for quite sometime, I do not have enough milk even for 1 feeding. So I decided to totally stop pumping thus ending my rather short breastfeeding journey. My storage at that point of time was just enough for 1 week's feeding. So after my stock is finished, I gave Chloe formula milk. She was exclusively on breastmilk for 3 months and 1 week.

These are the remaining milk after I stopped pumping

This is the last bottle of thawed frozen breastmilk

New Camera

My old camera is spoilt and can't be used already. So, I went to PC Fair during the weekend to buy a new one. I bought this Nikon P510 at a discounted PC Fair price. It came with a few free gifts i.e. the 3 section tripod, towel and a limited edition tumble.

Gift from Pik Lay

I received this parcel somewhere around June and has been using the sterilizer since then....

My 1st Smart Phone

HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio (Bought on 1/11/11)

SKII Aura Set & Facial Treatment Essence

Random Post

It have been more than one month since I last updated my blog. I have been very busy lately. Though I have lots of things to express, I can't really find the time to do it. Weekends are the highlights of my week. I can spend time doing things that I like as well as free myself from a "monster" from office.I am contemplating to resign. I have no other big problem in office apart from a very bad experience working with this "monster". I do not know why I do not feel like I am the HOD whenever this "monster" is around. Although she acknowledeged that I am her superior, her action doesn't prove so. She always do things behind my back and I can clearly say that she is the queen of knife; ever so happy to backstab people. I am her superior. If she have any issues or problem, she should approach me first and not to barge into the directors office and complaint. It has been too much a time that I was being called to the directors office to explain things that should not even need any explanation in normal circustances. I hate to raise the white flag against this "monster" but I can't really stand in to the pressure that she created. I was wondering whether what she done was politicallly motivated but this is not something which I can answer myself.

Maybe audit environment is more suitable for me? I can't really feel any office politics in my previous job. All my ex-colleagues were so nice and we always treat each other like brothers and sisters. Nobody tried to race against each other to prove that they are more superior against the others. Everybody was so helpful to each other and teamwork spirit were there. I don't know why I am longing for those kind of feeling, which seems to have been lost and never existed in this company. Should I leave ......?

Christmas Gift

It has been quite sometime since I last receive a present. So obviously I will be beaming happily when I receive a present on Christmas Day. Although it is not any expensive thing, it is still something special for me as it is a PRESENT. I love opening a present. Hahahaha.....

Tadaaaaaaaa....




This is my present...

A Mug

An Affair Gone Wrong

Hubby told me a very interesting yet funny piece of news the other day. However, those who have not come of age should not continue reading and should therefore stop here. This is a true story and it happen few days ago. Here it goes....

A 40 over to 50 years old lady teacher of a secondary school was having an affair with a man. Her identity is known. They ended up in a hotel. But not sure whether that was the first time or not. The man's penis got stuck in the lady's private part. Unable to remove it, they went to the hospital (Can't imagine how they got to the hospital in that situation?) with their faces covered. Only one Chinese newspaper reported the story. However, the couple was reported as foreign migrant workers, not Malaysian Chinese. People said that the lady's husband who is a "somebody" in the society had cover up the story. Unaware that the news had leaked out, the lady still went to a function the next day. But she had since resigned from her post in the school (hubby's alma mater). She is contemplating migrating at the moment. I think this is one way out as no matter how long, people would still look at her differently. How can she face other people especially her relatives, friends and neighbours....So embarrasing.

The moral of the story is... don't ever think of having an extra-marital affair.

Insomnia

I think I have insomnia. I have had difficulty in sleeping since I was very young. I know I have had this problem when I was in secondary school but this problem may have appeared in my life way before that period. I remembered when I was still a child, I have difficulty in sleeping and resorted to counting sheeps to sleep. Although this method was not effective for me, I would eventually falls asleep somehow.

This problem is very imminent when I have important functions or occasions the next day but I still have this sleeping disorder even if there is no important functions the next day. While I was in secondary school and in college, I like to burn midnight oil when the exams were very near. I resorted to drinking Nescafe. After drinking a cup of Nescafe, I will be wide awake until the next morning without needing to sleep. I do know know whether this habit has worsen my sleeping problem or not but I have trouble sleeping more frequently now. When I was working in the "firm", I had a very stressful life. Working till very late at nights and sometimes went few days without sleep were normal. Even if I have not sleep for few days, I still have trouble sleeping although I feel very tired. If I didn't sleep for 2 full days for instance, I still can't sleep the next day (from morning till evening). But I will sleep like a baby that night.

Nowadays, if I have not sleep during my normal sleeping time, I will have trouble sleeping. For instance, if my normal sleeping time is 12.00am and I have not sleep during then, I will have trouble sleeping and will only fall asleep after 3 to 4 hours. I remembered when I was hospitalised for internal bleeding during my first pregnancy, I also have difficulty sleeping. I remembered when the nurse gave me the daily injections, she would ask me to lie down and not to move after the jab as I would be very drowsy. But I do not feel drowsy at all and I stayed wide awake till the next morning. I only feel a bit tired and light-headed for a while.

Another instances which I remembered was during the birth of Celine. After giving birth around 11++pm, I feel very sleepy and wanted to sleep. But when the nurse pushed me into the ward around 12am, I stayed awake until the next morning without sleeping. When I got back home the next afternoon, I still can't sleep although I feel very tired. I only managed to sleep that night when I got home.

I have trouble sleeping quite frequently. Maybe once or twice a month. The most recent occurence was the day before Celine's 1st birthday party. I stayed wide awake till the morning of Celine's 1st birthday. I feel tired in the morning but I still can't sleep. I only managed to sleep on that night and feel very tired for a few days. Sometimes, you think you did not sleep but you had actually sleep on and off for a few hours without you knowing it yourselves. Yes, I do agree with this and I am actually aware that it did happen to me sometimes. But when I said I didn't sleep for the whole day, it really mean I didn't sleep at all. Believe me!

Cheated Again and Again and Still Have Not Wise Up

Price @ receipt

Price @ price label

I always shop for my weekly groceries and wet products in either Tesco, Jaya Jusco or Giant. Yesterday, we went to Giant to shop for our groceries and at the same time we wanted to buy a pair of shoes for Celine. One problem which I always encounter when I go to this place is the inconsistency in the price quoted on the price label of the product with the price charged/scanned at the counter. When we were leaving the place yesterday, I went through the receipt and I noticed that they charged me additional RM1 for the shoes that I bought. The price on the label is RM8.99. But, they charged me for RM9.99. Since the amount is not that material and we were already on our way out, I did not go and raise up the matter with them. But this is not the first time I have encountered this problem at this place. I think this happen more than 5 times already and mind you, I do not go to this place as frequently as I go to Tesco. This 5 times if translated into % would be around 70% of the times I went there. The only time that I raised up the matter was when they overcharged me RM10 for the muffin pan that I bought. They corrected the error on the spot when I detected it at the counter. Most of the time, the inconsistency in prices occured at the vegetables section. I have encountered this a few times when I bought my vegetables. They erected a very large cardboard at the vegetable sections where they quoted the original price and then they slashed the original price and put on the reduced price (in large font). The name of the vegetable was also there. I even checked for timing of the promotion (you know lah, these people like to put in the timing for items at certain price...RMxx from xx o'clock to xx o'clock) but there is none. Most of the time when I reached home and checked the receipt only I realised that I have been cheated. Sometime I knew of the error at the counter but was lazy to raise up the matter as it only costs few cents extra (40 cents extra for a bundle). I have encountered a few times where the price for a bundle of certain vegetable was listed as RM0.29 but when it was scanned at the cashier's counter, it was RM0.69 a bundle.

Gardenia Delicia Butterscotch Loaf

Hubby bought this Gardenia loaf the other day. I have neither tried nor seen this before. Maybe it has been in the market for quite some time. It is just that I am the frog under the coconut shell. What I seen is just in the perimeter of the shell....hahaha. This loaf is as true as the tagline of Gardenia "... You can even eat it on its own" or something like that. Wait a moment, is it Gardenia that have this tagline or is it some other brands/goods?

Update on Pizza Hut

Hi there! Do you remember about my previous post on Pizza Hut the other day? I actually filed a complaint with Pizza Hut on their poor service. I filled up the feedback form on their website. When I did it on Monday, I told myself that nothing would be done by them on my complaint. I even had the feeling that nobody is actually maintaining the feedback form on their website. I was very very wrong... Somebody actually replied to me. He/She requested further information via email in order for them to pursue the case. The reply came just a day after I filed the complaint. Yesterday, they called to appologise and offered to replace the order free of charge. I was a bit reluctant to accept the offer at first. Who knows what they will do to the pizza before they delivered it to us. But this lady assured me that nothing of that kind would happen as they at Pizza Hut take the feedback positively. I had vowed to myself not to eat at Pizza Hut anymore but what they did had caused me to change my mind. The moment they replied to me, I feel that there are still hopes with Pizza Hut. This is what I call, customer-oriented service. I am satisfied and the issue is now closed.

Pizza Hut

Yesterday was Sunday and we do not feel like going out because of the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic. So, we stayed at home the whole day. We ordered pizza from Pizza Hut. They really drives me crazy. Hubby called their usual number 1300882525 for delivery at 8.20pm. Usually the pizza will arrives in 30 minutes. The guy who took the order told hubby that the pizza will arrive within 30 minutes. OK, so we waited till 9.15pm. Still no sign of the delivery boy. I urged hubby to call again to check on the status of the delivery. So, he made the call and the guy at Pizza Hut told hubby that he will get the manager of the branch concerned to call us. There was still no sign of the delivery boy at 9.35pm. The manager also did not call us. This time I made another call to Pizza Hut. I told him that I wanted to check on the delivery status. I was very calm at first. Then, he said that the delivery boy has came out at 8.30pm. I know he was bluffing as if he had really come out at 8.30pm, we would have arrived by now. This is not the first time we call for delivery service from Pizza Hut. But, I still managed to maintain my calm. I started to lose my temper when he said that he will get the manager of the branch concerned to call me as he do not know the status of the delivery. I asked him to ensure that the manager will call me as he had previously promised to get the manager to call me but nobody call at all. Actually, what I am concerned with is that the pizza will not be delivered and we will have nothing left for dinner as most of the restaurants would have been closed by then. We waited till 10pm and decided not to wait any longer. The manager still have not call us. Hubby was very sure that the pizza will not be delivered. So, we went out for dinner. We decided to have our dinner at a Malay Restaurant nearby. It was very crowded because of the Football match between MU and Birmingham. It was just 2 to 3 minutes drive from our house. When we have ordered our food, the delivery boy called. He said that he is in front of our house. You know what I told him? "Saya dah keluar makan. Kenapa lama sangat. Tadi saya dah cakap, kalau tak datang lagi, saya nak cancel. Saya dah tunggu sampai 2 jam". He said, " Habis pizza ni macam mana sekarang?". I told him, "Saya tak nak lagi". If the manager had called us and confirmed that the pizza will be delivered and give us a timing of the delivery, this problem will not arise at all.

Jean Perry Quilt Cover Set

Last Sunday, after shopping for our groceries in Giant, we went to Jaya Jusco. As it is the Mega Sales season, we just went there to join the crowd without knowing what to buy. When we drove in to the parking lot, I just blurted out, "Let's see if we can buy any quilt cover set". I already have 3 quilt cover sets at home for regular use. I wanted to buy one for special occasions like Chinese New Year.

My first quilt cover set is Jean Perry's. Even my quilt is also from Jean Perry. The second and third sets are from Looney Tunes and Akemi respectively. I searched for quite some time before finally settling for the pink Jean Perry's quilt cover set. This has some resemblance over my first Jean Perry set. Its original price is RM518. I got it for RM155.40 at a 70% discount. Not bad, huh?

My last weekend's fruit of labour

My first Jean Perry Quilt Cover Set (almost similar with the above set that I've just bought)

Rocky

Hubby's latest craze is this biscuit sticks. It need not necessarily be Rocky. We have had Rocky, Pocky and other brands as well. Actually they taste the same. Every weekend, he would replenish his stock of this biscuit sticks when we go out to shop for groceries. We have tried chocolate, strawberry, sweet corn and banana flavour. I think I did not missed out any flavour...

Featured in Accountants Today

Last week, one of my friend mentioned to me about me giving out tips on how to score well in MIA QE. I had in fact forgotten about the whole thing until he mentioned it again to me that day. There is a section on MIA QE in "Accountants Today", the Malaysian Institute of Accountants monthly publication. Candidates who had passed the exam would be featured in this section.

Actually, before taking MIA QE, I have taken a few ACCA papers. But after I took about 2 to 3 papers, MIA came up with this special examination for graduates who holds the relevant qualifications but are not recognised under MIA's Scheduled Bodies to become members of the Institute. However, the requirement is that the graduates' qualifications must be recognised by the Malaysian Public Service Department.

Under this MIA QE, the candidates need to sit for and pass 4 papers within the timeframe given. As I was already tired of sitting for exams and I had to sit for more papers if I continue to take the ACCA exam, I decided to instead take MIA QE. The passing rate for this exam is surprisingly very low. If I am not mistaken, the passing rate is not more than 10% at any one sitting. I decided not to sit for the first examination sitting as I have no precedence to look to. Very few people pass at the first sitting. I became a bit intimidated but decided to sit for one of the paper at its second sitting. Luckily I passed (I merely scored a pass when I thought that I have actually scored a distinction in that paper). I have taken one of the ACCA paper where the standard is almost similar to this particular paper and I had thought that I fared much better in this paper than in that ACCA paper. However, when the result was released, I found out that I had only scored a pass whereas for that ACCA paper, I had in fact scored quite high marks (For ACCA papers, we know the exact marks that we scored).

So, I can deduced from this experience that the marking scheme was quite stringent and strict in MIA QE. Many of those candidates who sat for the exam together with me give up at their very first attempt and revert back to taking ACCA.

There was this instructor at the MIA QE Workshop who told us that the marking is stricter as it does not want to be seen as providing back door to the graduates to gain admittance as a member of the Institute. She told us that the passing rate is very very low. According to her, the number of candidates who passed at the previous sitting (the sitting before mine) can even be counted using the fingers in one hand. So, you can imagine how slim is your chance to pass.

Maybe I was lucky? But I did really study very hard for the exams. That was quite some time ago already. But up till today, I have not submit my application for admittance as a member of MIA. I have actually satisfied all the conditions set but I don't know.... Maybe I am just lazy? ...or maybe I am put off by the admission fee and annual subscription fee that I need to pay?... or maybe because of the requirements of the CPE hours that I need to maintain every year when I become a member? Maybe I should apply now. It is quite comforting to see the distinguished letters C.A.(M) after your name, isnt' it ?

Fibroadenoma

I noticed a lump which is of the size of a golf ball on my right breast about 7 to 8 months ago. Last week, I went to Pantai Hospital to see the doctor . I had initially went to the gaenecologist but they refer me to a General Surgeon. Then an ultrasound was performed on both my breasts. From the ultrasound only I know that there are actually 3 lumps.The largest one measure s 3.6X3.1X2.2cms. Apart from that, there are 2 smaller nodules seen. The 3 well defined nodules are suggestive of fiboadenomas. There are no solid or cystic lesion seen in the left breast.

According to the doctor, even if the lumps are not cancerous, they will still keep on growing. However, he said, if I want to know for sure that they are not cancerous, I will need to undergo a procedure called biopsy. I was quite unsure and still undecided on what to do then. So, he suggest that I go and visit him again in another 3 months.

Accident

Last Sunday, an accident occured while we were on our way back to Malacca from Klang. It was raining on that night. We have just turned into the exit to the Ayer Keroh toll when suddenly we saw a vehicle lying horizontally and blocking the one lane road leading to the toll gate. I assumed the driver lost control of the car. There were one bus and two cars stopping behind the car. We have no problem stopping as we have already saw the car from a distance. Then suddenly, two motorbike came in very high speed. One narrowly missed our car and the second motorbike rammed into the back of our car with a loud bang. The impact of the collision sent him flying into the bushes.

We got out of the car to check on the person and also to inspect our car. We asked whether is he ok and whether he needs to go to the hospital or not. Luckily he sustained only minor injury. Then his friend who was able to avoid the crash came back. We checked on our car and noticed that the rear light and the bumper were broken. We asked for compensation. A professional assessment done on the spot estimated the cost of repairing the car to be around RM500. He said he is a student and has no means to pay the compensation. Then he called his brother on the phone to meet us after the toll gate. So, we retained his IC and driver's license and went to the meeting place separately.

We waited for almost 1/2 hour before his brother finally come. He brought along his damn fierce friend. The brother claimed that he is a policeman.We would have manage to get the compensation if not because of the interference by his stupid friend. After alighting from the car, he immediately rushed over to have a look at the damage and with his loud voice, he asked us to go to the police station to lodge a report. He said we have commited CRIME by retaining the student's IC. He was trying to intimidate us.

Since they want to lodge a report, we have no problem with that. We did not commit any offence since he is the one who came crashing into us. The only problem is that they will not pay any compensation. So we went to the traffic police station in Bandar Hilir. When we reached there, it was around 12.30 am. However, we were unable to lodge the report there as the police claimed that it is not under their jurisdiction. They asked us to go to the traffic police station in Alor Gajah which was so far away. For me, the layman, I would think that the accident happened in Ayer Keroh since it was at the Ayer Keroh exit. But they said it was still under Alor Gajah as we have not passed through the toll gate. We tried to persuade them to settle the issue without lodging a report. We have to go to Alor Gajah to lodge the stupid report and moreover, he will be blacklisted, and his points will be deducted and worst still, he have to pay for the RM300 compound if we lodge the report. We asked them to just pay the RM300 to us instead of paying for the compound. We have nothing to lose if a report is lodged. We will not be affected by the report. The only thing we will lose is time. But they refused. Since it was very late and the place is so far away, we decided to only go to Alor Gajah the next day.

Since the next day is Monday. we planned to go to Alor Gajah very early before leaving for work. But we were unable to wake up on time and thus decide to only go to Alor Gajah in the evening. On that day, his sister called. If I am the one who answer the call, I think we will have an intense shouting match. She asked why are we stopping in the middle of the road. What A STUPID QUESTION!!! The conversation was more or less like this:

Sister: Kenapa awak berhenti kat tengah jalan?

Hubby: Ada sebuah kereta terlentang di tengah jalan. Di belakang dia ada sebuah bas dan dua buah kereta. Mereka pun berhenti. Kalau saya tak berhenti, saya nak langgar mereka kah?

................................................

She was also triying to show off. She really pissed me off. She said this:

Sister: Kalau report, saya tak kisah sebab saya kenal orang. Boleh settle. Tak ada apa-apa.

Her brother was the one who is at fault. Why the hell are they talking like he have done nothing wrong??

Since she like to show off so much, we just let her talk. When she have finished talking, we told her this.

Hubby: Lepas saya turun dari kereta, saya terus pergi tanya sama ada dia ok tak. Dia nak pergi hospital tak? Saya tak minta dia bayar dulu. Yang penting orang kena diselamatkan dulu. Duit boleh cari lagi kemudian. Tapi sekarang kereta saya betul-betul kena langgar. Total baiki kereta RM500. Awak cuma perlu bayar saya RM300. Yang lain saya bayar sendiri. Lampu rosak. Bumper pun rosak. Awak boleh tanya adik awak.

Finally, she agreed to compensate us RM300. Issue settled!!

Pear

These were the pears that we had that day. They were very huge and sweet. A relative gave the pear to us. It was bought from Korea.