Good Bye 2013

Today is the last day of 2013. this has been an interesting year as there were some great memories and changes.

In the beginning of the year, I was very busy at Dunn-Rite. My QA manager just started her maternity leaves and would not be back till end of the year. As a QA Supervisor, I have gained new knowledge and experience. My leadership and communication skill has improved dramatically. I was very happy that I can fit in the company well and have very good friendships with some of my coworkers. I went to Vancouver for a half business and half leisure trip. The great thing is the company paid for the whole trip. 

I had  a good time with my dear and his family. Having dinner at the revolving restaurant at the Top of Vancouver, riding a tandem with my dear at Stanley Park, visiting the aquarium, having Malaysian Food, visitng the Whistler are all amazing time in Vancouver. The most wonderful moment was the surprise proposal at the Shanon Fall on May 4th, 2013. I will never forget long speech he has spoken with exchanged of my three words, " Yes, I Do".

Another wonderful moment was the two weeks vacation with my family. It was the first time my family ever came to visit me who has been living in Canada for 5 years. We went to Toronto, New York City, Washington, Philadelphia, and Atlantic City. After the short trip, my parents had stayed for 3 months. I was the their little princess at home.  All housework and cooking are taken care of. Thank you Mumy and Daddy. You are the best!

I had some dilemma and could not make decision for a few days in June of whether I could change my job. I had enjoying my work at Dunn-Rite as there are a lot of good and friendly people, and it is just 5 mins away from my house. Even though my family didn't support me but I had made up my mind to accept the new challenge. Then, I went to the current company- Manitoba Harvest. At the beginning, I was 't a supervisor and I didn't feel the challenge. However, I was promoted to be a HACCP Coordinator and then Food Safety Supervisor in 3 months. The day when we achieved A score in BRC is my most happy moment in my career life. The hard work and team work are well worthy.

Thank you 2013. I saw myself grow in this year. I have become tougher and more experience. I am looking forward to 2014. I want to see myself improve in varies perspectives. I will put more effort on my family and career comes second. I am looking forward and will be busy preparing for my wedding in 2014.

Do I love my Home Country-Malaysia?

I have been living in Canada for more than 5 years. People like to question me whether I love Malaysia. My answer is YES, I love my country. The reasons for that are 4 F factors- Family, Friend, Food and Fun.
Firstly, I admit that living here by myself without my family is pretty lonely and tough. I felt homesick and depressed sometimes. Besides, I felt guilty for not present at all the important celebrations or events and not spending time with my family. I love my family in Malaysia.
Friends, it is not hard to make new friends in Canada which is a multicultural country. However, I still miss my friends back in Malaysia. I hope our friendship last forever even though I am not physically in Malaysia.
Malaysian's food is still the best. We don't usually dine in restaurant but local stalls for good food. My favorite is Asam Laksa, which I used to eat everyday, and lined up at SS2 night market for 45 minutes every Monday for years. I can never forget the moment when eating Asam Laksa in the rain with my best friend. What else are good? Nasi lemak, chicken rice, chow kuey teow, roti canai, curry Laksa, Hokkien Mee, Bak Kut The, Har Mee, Fish Head Noddle.... OMG><, I am feeling hungry. I want Malaysian's food.
Fun. Shopping is always FUN. Especially when I am earning $ CAD. Due to the currency difference, Malaysia Ringgit RM 3 is equal to $Cad 1. Everything is 3 times cheaper. Besides shopping, good example is Movie ticket. Each movie ticket is Rm 10= $ 3.5. One serving of food at local food stalls is Rm 5= $Cad 1.5. It is still cheaper than eating bread in Canada. There are a lot of interesting places and beaches for tourism destinations.

HOWEVER, I don't think I want to move back to Malaysia. The sole reason is lack of Quality of Live. Firstly, it is no longer safe in Malaysia. Without reading the news paper, I know the crime rate is on the rise and getting worst. My friends were rob, snatch theft are everywhere. People are lazy to work, as they can easily obtain money by hurting people and robbing. The worst and sad scenario is the government and police are not doing anything to stop this from happening.  
Public transports are no longer safe, thus everyone owns a vehicle. As a result, traffic jam is a big problem in KL and major cities. Highways are built to reduce traffic jam but they are very costly. Average Malaysian earn Rm 3000-4000 ($Cad 1000-1300) a month. 50% of the income are paid for car loan or mortgage, 20 % for food, 20 % on gas and toll, 10% for  personal live. How much do they save?

In conclusion, I still appreciate the Quality of Live in Canada, with 8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure and 8 hours of rest. Eating and playing sport are the healthy living  I am seeking.

My life in a year.

While reading my friend's blog, I just realized my own blog was abandoned for almost a year. Thus, I decided to tell people who are still reading this, of what had happened to me in the last couple months.

I am working towards my goal which was to become a pharmacist. To enroll to the program, I have to be a permanent resident of Canada, take two courses, improve my English for the program entry exam, and save money for the tuition fees and living expenses.

I achieved the PR status last year just on time to pay less on tuitions fees for the two courses. Taking two courses were not as easy as I thought. Perhaps my brain is starting to deteriorate slowly due to the age? or I was just too busy with my full time and part time jobs.

I had regret I didn't pay a lot of attention in improving my English writing. I took a summer English course last year, and I was not doing much besides reading newspapers and replying tons of emails at work. My pharmacy entry English writing essay test is just around the corner. I hope I will do well. If I don't get in this year, I won't be too disappointed as I start to like my current job.

Before deciding to enroll to the pharmacy program, I hated my job badly. However, I was promoted last year and I am now the Quality Assurance Supervisor at Dunn-Rite Food Products. The job experience is great especially when my manager is taking a year off for maternity leaves. I have been taking over her responsibilities and developing a lot of skills.

As for the 4th, I save a lot of money by working for a few part time jobs. I am tuitoring  3 kids and working as a waitress in a sushi restaurant. Tips is great even though I don't like some of the senior waitresses who always think they are much better than new waitresses and leave all heavy work to us.  

Looking backwards, I have really done so much that I start doubting myself whether it worth killing my time off from my love one. Everything ends next Monday, after taking the exam. I am looking forward to not worrying about the exam. Perhaps the most exciting is the upcoming trips. I am flying to Vancouver at my company expenses for a half business and leisure trip. I will Not forget to mention this excitingly before the end- My family is coming to visit me in Canada for the first time!