Read: Why We Want You To Be Rich

I have recently acquired an interest to read again. Through out 5 years of M.B.B.S, I have become accustomed to just reading academic books such as Physio, Anatomy etc. I have not had a chance to read a proper, non academic book in ages. I stumbled upon a great book a few months back, Why We Want You To Be Rich by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Donald Trump.

I bought this book back in 2011 during the Big Bad Wolf Sale in Serdang, Selangor. I bought it for MYR 8 ONLY. Very good investment indeed. It was left to gather dust for 1 year until I moved to Ipoh. I don't know what compelled me to buy it then. Investing or financial management was the last thing on my mind. Once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. It has changed my perspective on life and is a catalyst in my future transformation.



For those still in the dark, Robert T. Kiyosaki is the man behind Poor Dad, Rich Dad books. He is THE rich dad. He is an investor, businessman, self help author and motivational speaker. He has a series of books published under Rich Dad brand. It has been a best seller all over the world. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is famous with The Apprentice. To the layman, he was made famous by the series but he made in a name for himself in the real estate industry. These two people are giants in the business world. And when both minds combine, an AWESOME book is created.




Although it is based on the financial situation in the United States of America, the topics discussed is still very much relevant worldwide (at least Malaysia). The book provides insights from both Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump. Each topic is explained by both prominent figures separately in a very frank and direct way. It feels like they are having a conversation with you. The English as basic for layman like me. If I can understand the terms used, I think everyone can. However, Robert Kiyosaki writes at a more personal level and I feel like he has more to share.

This is my first exposure to the thought process of Robert Kiyosaki and his CASHFLOW Quadrant and CASHFLOW game is intriguing. It really helps you to understand how things work in a practical sense. The main relevant points for me are:
1. There is so much that is wrong in the world financial system. In this system, only 10% will benefit from it and be rich.
2. The CASHFLOW Quadrant is an amazing example of how YOU can choose to become rich or become poor. I can't publish it here because it is copyrighted. Might as well just get the book or purchase the e-book version.
3. Property is a GREAT investment...more of that in future posts

This is my tipping point. This is when I start to think about my future and get out of my comfort zone. I have started to invest in financial knowledge. Its a long way to go before I achieve financial freedom. I have to start somewhere. And I will share parts of my journey along the way ;)

1 Month Housemanship

I've been in Taiping Hospital's Department of Surgery for slightly more than a month now. I've been through 2 weeks of 6am-12am tagging and 3 passive calls. And through that period our rented house have transformed from just a house to a home.

The Work

I've been told that surgical dept in Hospital Taiping is one of the best posting to be in. And so far, I think it may be so. The H.O.D, specialists and M.Os are nice. They teach what ever they can and tegur instead of marah. But occasionally you do get shouted at. There's a considerable amount of freedom given to H.Os in terms of basic management. You get to prescribe medications and do most of the procedures (as compared to O&G where you cant even prescribe PCM). There's quite a lot of H.O teaching as well, which are very useful.

The workload here varies tremendously. On a good day, u can finish ward works even at 11am. But on a really bad day work can stretch up to 10 pm! The total H.Os in my posting ranges between 25-30. We are delegated to 2 surgical wards, periphery and attachments e.g. ENT, anaesthesiology. Calls are divided into 1st call, 2nd call, 3rd call, passive call and active call.

H.O. 1st call will be in charge of the male ward (18). 1st calls will have active and passive H.Os. Active call will have to be in charge of the ward till morning while passive will have to work up to 12am. Meanwhile 2nd call will be in charge of female ward and periphery (after working hours). 3rd calls will be assisting emergency surgeries through the day.

With close to 30 people working together, of course there will be different characters.

1. The Chipsmores (kejap ade kejap takde): these people will be gone anytime of the day, especially when u need them. They will give any excuse to leave the ward and leave all the work to others.

2. The Boss: these people talk a lot. Direct this, direct that but in the end they don't do part of their work.

3. The Complainers: complain, complain, complain...kalau buat keje takpe but they give all sort of lame excuses for coming late, not doing their job etc. Biasenye takde orang nak layan

4. The Hardworkers: these people work hard. And I truly respect them. They go through great lengths for patients.

5. The Blurs: unfortunately I'm still part of this group of people. Firsts posters. Doing all sorts of mistakes. Kene marah...it really sucks. Sometimes u just wonder why u are in this field of work.

As for nurses, we always have conflicts with them. Things requested not being done. Vital sign monitoring not up to date. Not assisting when we need them to. Sometimes you get fed up but try to be humble with them. They do their job but as human beings, things slip up sometimes.

Its quite late in the night now. My wife is on call at SCN tonight and I'm all alone at home. I'm gonna get a good night rest now. Tomorrow is a new day, new experiences. There's so much more to say but I'll leave it for another night. Maybe I can post some pics too. Till next time, good night :)

Convocation

I've been wanting to post this for some time but I haven't been able to get proper internet connection. What I'm blogging may even be outdated by now.

10th October 2009, was convocation day for my wife and all my other batchmates....except me (and Ruzain). It was supposed to be a joyous day. A day of celebration. But in the days leading up to Convocation day, I could not help myself from feeling isolated. I felt increasingly depressed. And on the day itself, I felt like crying. I was sitting up there in the hall when everyone else was lining up to get the scroll. I shouldn't be up there. I should be with my batchmates, having fun, enjoying the company. I was so caught up with my emotions that I didn't get my wife any flowers. I broke my own principles that day...share your happiness with everyone, but not sadness. I unhappy person should not make everyone else sad. It was a bad day for me. The romantic guy and fun side of me was not there.

I spent every ounce of effort in me to smile that day. Try to be happy for others. I think I managed to pull it off...fake my happiness to everyone else. But deep inside it still hurts. The fact that I didn't get any flowers for my wife still haunts me now. Some people might say that I should take this as a motivation for me to do better. But I don't really care much. Right now, I don't even feel like going to my convocation. There's nothing to celebrate, only nightmares to forget.

I have another 4 weeks to go for my professional. I try to study, but I feel like a zombie. I don't feel anything. I just hope what I study stays in my head. My goal is just to get out of here. Hopefully by 20th November 2009, I can leave this place. Move on with my life. Its been a dark episode. I can only wish it will make me stronger. Thanks to everyone who supported me through all this. A proper appreciation speech is due after everything is over. I don't want to keep my hopes up.

Hard Life

Its been almost a month since my wife was posted in Taiping Hospital. Its been challenging for us. Not a day goes by without me feeling depressed and guilty. My wife is going through hell because as a consequence of my actions. I failed to come up with a contingency plan in case something goes wrong. Never would I imagined I would be in this mess. Going through challenges is no big matter to me but seeing your loved ones suffering because of you is heart breaking.

I made the wrong choice in choosing Taiping. My rationale was it was somewhere not congested, a peaceful town. Since it is located mid way between 2 main cities (Penang and Ipoh) we can occasionally go north or south to shop. Plus I thought there'll be autonomy since its a distance from both our families. The cost of living is low too. I was hoping to save some money to prepare for a bigger family i.e. kids. But all this ideals crumbled just like that. I didn't do enough research on the hospital. It turns out to have a bad reputation. It seems there is not 1 thing that is right with the hospital. The Head of Department is ruthless (no tagging but expect H.O. to function immediately, slash leave allocations at his will, marah tak tentu pasal etc.). And to make it worse, she has to endure it on her own. She has no contacts, no friends. She comes back demotivated and after 3 weeks, I'm feeling demotivated as well.

For the past few weeks I either sleep alot or not sleep at all. I don't know how I spent my time. It takes loads of determination just for me to open up a book to read. I don't know what I enjoy doing anymore. Life is hard. I thought I can be strong but I am just a weakling...I thought time will heal all this misery but it is almost 2 months. I'm just waiting for a time to pick up the pieces. How it will turn out, only Allah knows...

...every little things

Its at moments like these that I learn2apreciate every precious shreds of time that i get2spend with my beloved hubby...being apart is soooo difficult...so far not a single day has passed without me crying to myself at the end of the day....but Allah does not burden His slaves with anything more than they can handle...inshaAllah what duznt kill us will make us & our love stronger...may Allah give us strength & guidance 2 face this tough challenge...& may we be more righteous & become better Muslims along the way...Ameen

Challenging Months Ahead

Its been more than a month since our marriage. It has been a wonderful 1 month. However the next 6 months will be very challenging for Saidat and Me. Ill be a weekend husband for the coming months. Right now my wife is away for Biro Tatanegara and Induksi. It'll be a grueling 1 month. InsyaAllah things will go well...