Thursday, February 28, 2008

Money Matters

Help

We're broke

Some trainees are starting to stock up instant noodles

The sucky thing is, we are not allowed to cook, so we can only "soak" our noodles in hot water.

Please release our allowances in March!

No, we are not being money-minded or whatever

Just imagine having your salary held back for 2 months....

Yeah, I rest my case.

People actually need money to continue living....

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Ever come across a serious news report that is as hillarious as watching Kung Pow? I just did.

MALAYSIA's Information Minister Zainuddin Mydin has said that the government will not be affected by blogs and other Internet forums that may be created during campaigning for the upcoming elections.

Mr Zainuddin insisted that while the younger generation are tech-savvy, they tend to believe newspaper reports over comments made on the Internet, China Press reported.

He added that the Internet is used mainly to book budget airline tickets or to get entertainment news.

He claimed that he is not worried that blogs and forums critical of the incumbent Barisan Nasional coalition would affect its chances of winning the election.

Somebody shoould tell the old man that the internet is also used to surf porn, and Facebook, though some people still stick to Friendster and Myspace.

Come to think of it, this comes straight from the Minister of Information. Oh for the love of mother nature! If I was one of the reporters there, I bet I would not be able to put up a straightface after hearing those comments. God have mercy on my country!

KPLI Tips

No, this is not about how one could pass the MTest and interviews.
I'm just doing my civic duty to let aspiring KPLI applicants on what they should do or expect after they get through the screening process.
First of all, you would need to save a lot of money. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. I'm talking 4 digit figures here. You would need a figure that could last for at least 3 months. You'd never know when your allowances will be released. Don't believe them when they say it would be settled as soon as you hand in your completed agreement forms.
Your budget for meals would probably be around RM 300 per month. There's also the RM 300 registration fee that should be paid on the day you are to register. As a trainee teacher, you will also be involved in co-curricular activities like sports and uniform units. If you're lucky, you'd get to pick your choice. Then you will have to cough up a 3 figure sum for your uniforms and accessories for the uniform unit. Mine almost hit the RM 300 mark. Being assigned to a cheap sport like ping pong does help a little. I mean, you can easily find a ping pong bat as cheap as RM 6.90, like mine.
You will also need to come up with over RM 100 to buy equipment and accesories for the Bina Insan Guru (BIG).
Money matters aside, you should have about 20 passport sized photos ready. It doesn't matter if they say they only need 5 in the letter they sent you.
So, add that all up to your other commitments like your car, credit-cards, loans etc.
Yes, of course we get a handsome allowance (rumor is that it has increased to around RM 1,600/-). But please bear in mind that you will have to wait for 3 months to get it. And before you get it, you have all sort of things to pay/buy.
I hope this helps. So start saving now!

Monday, February 04, 2008

Inmate F207A

At this very moment, I am listening to songs, doing a full-scan for viruses on BitDefender, downloading Avast! Home edition...another antivirus software, waiting for some videos on Youtube to finish loading, chatting on YM and last but not least, blogging (finally!).

I've been back home since Saturday for the holidays. On our way back, he Unser was knocked from behind by a Bruneian family's Pajero, and I'm suffering from an irritating cough. Nevertheless I still went to have laksa for breakfast this morning together with cousin Alveen who's here on a short visit.

It's good to be back home. Especially when your savings have dried up. Hopefully we'll be getting our allowance soon. I really do need the money. For both wants and needs.

I won't be wearing any new shirt or any new piece of clothing for that matter, for this year's Chinese New Year. I just did not have the budget even when the Durban shirts were on discounted prices like nobody's business.