1st Visit to the Family Doctors

Most people you meet here will tell you that it is so difficult to get a Family Doctor as each doctor will only take a X amount of patients. I think were we the lucky ones as we got a Family Doctor on a 1st try & this doctor was recommended by our Landlord.

The only thing that BUGS me about their system here is that you have to call up and make an appointment before you visit the doctor. "Walk In" is not encourage. My daughter develops some kind of RASH yesterday morning & we call up the doctor immediately. But to our dismay we could only see the doctor today.

Hence, I brought my daughter to see the doctor today. We reach the doctor's place abt 15 mins early & the reception registered my daughter's Care Card Number & particulars into their system. Finally, we met the doctor & after looking at my daughter's condition he gave me a slip with the medication name on it & ask me to get it from any local pharmacy. The doctor indicated that probably my daughter came into contact with something she is allergic to or if she has eaten something allergic. We really do not know what it is ..... so we are keeping a look out for the next few days.

To my surprise we didn't have to pay anything for visiting the doctor, I believe this are all included in the Medical Service Plan. (i.e. the Premium that we paid monthly abt CAD 100+ per month for a family of 4) During my UNI days in Australia, I was also required to pay some premium for the Medical Plan that was must to buy. I still need to pay some amount upfront before seeing the doctor & finally going to the Medibank nearby for a partial refund of the amount paid. But this is totally different here, I presume.

Bed Time Story ...

Bed Time Story has been like a ritual for these past few nights, when time reach 7:30 pm the kids will remind me & ask me to read the story books we borrowed from the local library. We have been reading the same 4 books for the past nights & soon my daughter are able to remember & read some of the words in the book as we read along. What surprises me tonight is that even my son who is only 3 years old was able to recite a few of the pages in one of the books about Cats & its' opposite. It made me feel happy that they are excited in having this session together & reading to them has paid off with them learning new words & stories.

Hope that they enjoy every bit of this session as I did !!

School District Test ....

Today, we brought our daughter to the School District here to test her English level. This is a Norm process when you are a new migrant or if you are born in Canada but your child's first language is not English. (i.e. if the child speaks other languages at home) For those who didn't do well in the test will have to attend an extra class called ESL (English as Second Language) which will provide more English Learning class & assist the children so that they are able to keep up in school.

Since my daughter was a toddler, she was always shy & would always cry when meeting new people ... she had been better lately but we still worry she will break down if stranger talk / ask her stuff continuously. So before the test start I have caution the examiner about her condition. 1stly the examiner ask her to identify the colours she had on a piece of paper. To my relief she was able to speak up & answer each colours correctly. Secondly, the examiner brought out a piece of Human Body picture & ask each part of the body. She was also able to name all the part asked. Finally for the final assessment, the examiner made a story with the picture board with several family member cut out picture & along the way asking question to see if my daughter know how to interact & count. She started to look gloom & upset when she don't know the answer or didn't understand the question, but I assured her that it is OK if she doesn't know & we can proceed to next question.

After the assessment, I was proud of her for not breaking down & could answer most of the question correctly. Then the examiner told me that my daughter's level is 3 out of 4 level. Moreover, they hope that she could be bilingual through out her growth. The examiner even encouraged us to speak Mandarin to her at home & assured us that she will definitely picked up English in school.

At the end of everything I gave my daughter a big pat in the back & said ...... WELL DONE !!! Not because she did well in the test but she didn't cried during the entire session.

Technical Test for a Job Interview.

Today I had my 1st Technical Test ever .... 1stly I didn't even remember that I have applied for that particular position. One of the criteria they needed is the applicant has 6+ Mechanical Design Experience .... which I don't even have & another criteria is that the applicant need to know Solidworks program which also I never used before. Even more they had my resume & i don't understand why I was shortlisted for the test.

Nevertheless, I attend the test today & tried my best. I managed to watch some videos online regarding the usage of the 3D Modelling program & it seems to be quite similar to the other 3D software I had used (Pro-E), so I was 1/2 prepared before going in. They gave me 4 basic technical question to answer (which was not all to difficult). Since the Solidworks 3D Modelling consist of 70% of the test, I concentrated more on this area. Luckily with my preparation & recommendation from a good friend on a specific video to watch ..... i manage to model the 3D up to 98% with some feature not done as I'm running out of time & had to do the 2D drawings of the part. Manage to only project the views in 2D & finally time is up. (still missing dimensioning)

Although, I think my chance is low. But taking in consideration that I had never used the software before I was proud of myself .... but it may not be good enough for the test reviewer. If I hear from them in 2 weeks time, it means I have a chance for an interview ....

which I'm not holding too much hope on it.

Driver's Knowledge Test ..

Today I went to the ICBC to take my Knowledge test .... It has been a while since I had any Test. I was a nerve wrecking experience ... Firstly I need to provide 2 pcs of ID, my PR & BC Care Card ... then I need to show them my Malaysian Driving License, so that I can skip several level of driving test & can get a full fledge driving license when I graduate. The Multiple Choice Answer Test is fully computerized & you have to answer 44 question in total - you are able to skip 3 questions without getting points deducted & need a passing mark of 80% to pass the test.

At 1st after the 2nd or 3rd question, I made a wrong answer & that make me more nervous .... as I go on, I lost count of how many question I have already answered...... I also skipped 3 question which I was unsure of & after that I subsequently made another 3 mistake which made me more nervous. It was like the test never ends..... question after question .... I was so worried that if I made more mistake & may not pass. Some question is really tricky & have answers which are similar. Finally, when the screen ends & congratulated me for passing the test .... I SIGH A SIGN OF RELIEVE !! (Malaysian License has been taken & keep by ICBC at the instant after I pass)

Out of 44 Question, I made 4 mistake hence my total score comes out to 91%.

My next step is to PASS my Driving test .. probably in few weeks time.

Visit to Temple in Richmond ...

Today, I went to .... possibly the one & only temple in Vancouver. It took me abt 1 & 1/2 hour journey from where I live to the Temple. It is more of a Buddhist temple but to my surprise they also have "Guan Yin", "Guan Di" & "Tu Di" in the temple as well. The Temple is very large but half of the area are currently under renovation, hence I was unable to see all of the Temple. You can even visit the Temple Virtually through the website below....

http://www.buddhisttemple.ca/templetour/templetour.html

I only manage to take some picture below since quite a few area are still under renovation & also prohibited from taking pictures & video ...



Main Entrance

Guan Yin's Statue

Carving Mural of General Guan Yu ... a.k.a. Guan Di

I PRAYED HARD TODAY FOR A GOOD BLESSING !!!!