Medan Kota

Each time that any of my family members fell ill, I will always say to my hubby “why didn’t you become a doctor”… well… when I first met my Mr Right, he vowed by being a doctor… in fact, he was accepted into a medical school but turned it down and I remembered clearly how I kept saying to him ‘NOOOOOOOOO’… his reason was plain simple… he didn’t feel that he has the commitment medically .. instead, he chose it as he was great in Science!

anyway.. here’s how it all went by for me…  it began in the middle of the  night at 3am… I woke up feeling unwell for no apparent reason… by 9am, I couldn’t eat, sit, stand, walk etc…

1st day..

At 1pm, I went into ER, the resident doctor diagnosed me as having sore throat!! My fever was at 40C… she insisted in admitting me but I said ‘no’… since rooms available were only the 4 and the 6 bedded… I request for injection instead, which I felt fine for 6 hours… total time in ER = 3 hours..

I went home, half dead… hubby thought I was being a drama queen..… I thought I was going to die!!!

2nd day..

For the whole day.. nothing changed much.. still not able to eat, sleep, sit etc.. I was losing my appetite rather badly by then… temperature was above 38.5C and wouldn’t come down… panadol only had effect on me for 15 mins and the pains will all returned ….

By 8pm, I couldn’t take it anymore… I went back to the ER to get another injection… this time, another ER doctor demanded blood test… as they suspected I had dengue fever… while waiting for the result (2 hours), I asked for infusion… Nurse 1 tried twice with the infusion… both times moving the noodles in my blood vein like I am some animal who has no pain degree… Nurse 2 came and just like how it should be done, inserted without hassle..… Nurse 3 then came to take a blood sample for blood test… by then, both my arms have like 4 needle holes… by the way, the correct way should have been…blood used for test will be drawn out, once done, the infusion will be connected right after… hence, I should be in pain only once!!! …  an hour into the dripping.. the nurse didn’t adjust the infusion volume properly coz it was dripping too too slowly which really wasn’t helping me at all…

the result came back at about 11pm… stating positive for Dengue Fever (Ns1 antigen positive)..  we talked to the resident doctor who informed us that.. we can still go home for the night as my blood platelets (trombosit) was still in the healthy range (140.000 – 440.000) of 142.000… but continued to remind us that I will need to be back for admission tomorrow…

3rd day..

We woke up early looking for a doctor who will take on my case.. and decided on Dr A… my mum-in-law gave him a call while we dashed over to the hospital for admission.. once at ER, hubby called Dr A who bluntly said that there is no need for me to admit JUST YET as the blood test could be wrong…!!!  With 142.000 level, it is still in the normal range. According to my doctor, blood test for Dengue (ns1)  is only accurate on the 3rd/4th day…

In reality.. my body was really weak and that I would rather be admitted… but heck.. the rooms were still fully maxed out… deep in me… I was sure that if I checked myself into the 4 bedded, I will probably cry to go home… so we went home AGAIN…

although, my condition improved slightly for the day… but I began vomiting a lot..

4th day..

I woke up, request a blood test from home…… to see my blood platelets level… at 11am.. not feeling better and that my vomiting wouldn’t stop, hubby called the hospital to see if there is any room vacancy… and I guess my luck for the day was a little better as the last VIP room was available…. this time.. I said.. regardless of what the Dr A said… I am sleeping in the hospi bed…

By then every nurses in the ER have known us… ahhhahha… its was like “here they are again” … then my doctor came by at about late evening.. who still insist that I may not be contracted with Dengue… he explained that… only if my platelets count fell below 100.000, (My blood test came back as 107.000) only then it’s a confirmed case…. plus he didn’t want patients to be admitted too early as many times… the whole staying over at hospi will be too long…

5th day..

My blood test came back at 97.000.. so I was being declared officially as one…

Since there is no medicine to cure DF, patients are only given panadol and infusion plus whatever extra medication is needed for other infections…

6th day – 7th day..

Everything went fine, no more fever, EVEN with blood trombosit test of 58.000! But the rashes (from dead trombosit) that I developed was a total nightmare… my whole body itched so very badly that I couldn’t sleep… I took so much of anti-itchness and sleeping pills to help with my sleep… even with that… I was waking up every 2 hrs…

apart from that, I need to have blood test every morning to monitor my conditions… 7th day trombosit = 50.000! Still decreasing! Which means I am not allowed to leave hospital bed.

8th day..

I am about 70% back to my normal self… my platelets is at 70.000 which means it is climbing back up, recovering.. so I am allowed to rest from home.. apart from dizziness as well as rashes.. I am now like a red lobster…

for the last few days that I was in and out of Hospital, I will sure to overheard a new case everyday… well.. just be alert and take necessary precautions… it’s spreading rather badly in Medan…

And below are the list of signs and symptoms for Dengue fever:

* High fever – up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit / 40 degrees celcius
* Severe headache
* Retro-orbital pain – pain behind the eye
* Severe joint pains
* Muscle pains
* Muscle aches
* Swollen lymph nodes
* General weakness
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Rash
* Children get non-typical symptoms
* Fever
* Weakness
* Prostration
* Severe headache
* Pain behind the eyes
* Severe muscle pain
* Slowed heart rate
* Enlarge lymph nodes
* Maculopapular rash
* more information…» www.wrongdiagnosis.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

I am positively and definitely sure that I am not alone….

Maid, it’s a love and hate situation in this country.. basically, you can’t live without them but at the same time, you just can’t live with them..

I never have a maid who managed to stay with me longer than a year.. having said that,

1. I never scold/nag/whine at them.

2. their basic salary has always been the above average as I often feel that they are always underpaid

3. I never mistreated them and food in my home is pleantiful

now, with that, what have I done wrong???  initially, I often get a local Medan Maid and since I have to keep finding a new one every year, I decidied to get a Surabaya with 2 years contract, paying 3JT.. thinking that I am maid hassel free for the next 2 years…

guess what… after 7 months, on my bright sunny morning, she ran in to my room sobbing that her mum has passed away… I felt bad instantly.. and of course she wants to go back home… apparently she lived in Kupang.. after deducting those advance money that she had already taken and the air ticket that she need to buy back herself, she has little left to bring home..

before she left, she insists that she would be back as she liked it here… and put long story short… a typical Indonesian maid… after arriving home, she decided that being poor is ok.. not having to work to support her daughter is ok… what else can I said.. her salary is at Rp 700.000 purly doing simple house work and not even laundry or cooking!!!

My friends and families often advice me against being too nice or I will often be the one to lose out… this has been going on and on ,one after the other and frankly in the past, I did not take those advices seriously as often these maid are the poor people and that for me, I see it as doing some charity work.. thats all…

But now, I am at a point where… I have given up hope and that I am simply seeing my daily life here like in the UK where I have to clean and look after the house myself with no maid…  that’s what I have been doing for the past 2 weeks… and surprisingly, I am enjoying it… and feel a lot much better

Popularity: 61% [?]

Sometimes last year, I received an enquiry from a doctor living in the states requesting help in purchasing a vintage Mercedes in Medan.. somehow, a Medanese guy post up the vintage car photos and according to Mr Doctor, he said that the car is really rare and that he wants it badly…. desperately enough, he wanted to fly to Medan to see the car as well… and Mr Doctor was ready to transfer the money to this scammer!!! Initially he wanted us to help in finding information on how to send the car over to the US and my husband and I thought that this whole thing did not sound right, so we asked him for the address of where this vintage car is located…. amazingly enough, this Medan scammer gave him the address of the car accessories shop ‘Sejatera Ban” at Jl Nibung (which is the street of car dealers)… but as we drove by the street everyday, we had never in our life saw such a car, so, we sort of told Mr Doctor that we believe that this whole deal is a scam….. the whole ending is that.. he gave up and and a very happy man …… thank god..

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BUT! thats not it!!… yesterday I received a comment about how another foreign businessman is being cheated off of USD$ 3000 from a claimed bicycle shop in Medan @ Jl. Putri Hijau

Take a look.. here is what he said..

Comment:
Medan crooks badly damage the economy of Indonesia !

A lot of dealers from Europe and the United States get cheated of young criminals from Indonesia and mainly from the city Medan via InterNet. This modern kind of cybercrime

This criminality does not only harm the businessmen from the foreign countries, it harms also the reputation of the Indonesian business in the world. Also the institutions of Indonesia. Likewise authorities and institutions of Indonesia appear weakly in relation to a small minority of criminals.
I believe, it exists a problem, which does not admit in the Indonesian public, but it must be known and solved.

They use Alibaba.com a Community channel and a place that allows business people to exchange business ideas, communicate business issues and find business resources.

A lot of Criminals meanly from MEDAN – and in my case – Andre Kusmana and Erwin Candra and their company “Original Bike.Co.,Ltd” in Medan, Jl. Putri Hijau No. 25 create a dummy firm.
They offer in the InterNet at Alibaba.com not existing goods.
They recruit with the following text and look for international dealers.
„We are the most professional manufacturer and exporter for high end bicycle and spare parts, based in Medan, Indonesia. Our products enjoy fast
Sales in worldwide market at present, due to our superior products and professional service. We have some kinds of mountain bikes and many types for choosing.“
They discribe their enterprise as Distributor/Wholesaler with 5 – 10 employees and a total annual purchase volume of US$5 Million – US$10 Million. (http://www.alibaba.com/member/id101342118.html)
But nothin exists!
They cheat buisinessman from Europa and North Amerika in simulating
buisiness dealings. They arrange dealings and operate in a big scale, promise to deliver and after the
international buissinessman had correctly paid the amount to their account, they hide in the suppost obscure internet!
This kind of cybercrime damaged the credit and the reputation of all the fair Indonesian buissinessman in international trade and I think, traders, politicans and the authorities are confronted with the problem to find a solution of this criminal problem and to protect international customers and also Indonesian exporter against this kind of cybercrime!

Erwin Candra!

Andre Kusmana!

I dispatch this text to you, because I would like to get back my deposited 3000 $ I have payed this criminals … but also because I dislieke the damage of the Indonesian economy and society. If you need more Informations:
Heinrich Hohage ( XXXXX @gmx.de )
Hasenberger Weg 2a
42897 Remscheid
Deutschland

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after I finished reading it, I felt bad.. really bad… because, on my previous post, I wrote of how I make money online… scam happens everywhere, and yes I do agree that Indonesia is very well known for it… why? many affiliate companies decline us once they detect the IP address is from Indonesia… and as a honest Indonesian, its terrible to be considered as one…

From my experiences, we will only accept money and send money online using reputable 3rd party like Paypal…. as these companies protect both buyers and sellers.. and me as a merchant, for me to request for money, Paypal required me to submit all sorts of proof to verified that I am REAL!!… so, my advice is that, if you need to pay for something online, using Paypal is safe… never pay directly to the bank account unless you are sure that they are known and reputable…. never go for company that provide you with only email address. Full contact details are often attached in the email for the legitimate company… like me @ MedanKu.com… hehhe

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p.s. to all foreign businessman, should you need help in verifying whatever online company that you have come across in MEDAN and is not sure of the company status, leave a note in any of my comment box and I will try my very best to help..

Popularity: 76% [?]

I was writing the headline of this post as “corruption” and my husband…sitting beside me said its more of an EXTORTION…. here’s why..

For the past 5 years, I have been holding Limited Stay Permit Card (KITAS) and with this:

1. I need to renew it every year which will costs me about Rp 2.5 jt to Rp 3jt per year……

2. I have to pay to report myself to the police costing about Rp 400.000 per year

3. I will need to apply for an exit permit each time I am leaving Indonesia.. , costs about Rp 850.000 per 6 months, so basically I paid about Rp 1.700.000 per year..

4. AND again I need to pay the full FISCALl….. like all ordinary local Indonesian….

damn it right? …… now, I really hate it here..

anyway, after holding KITAS for 5 years, all KITAS holders are entitled to apply for a Permanent Stay Visa – KITAP – kartu Izin Tinggal Tetap… and the benefits of holding this are that:

1. You can request to put your name in the Kartu Keluarga….. (I don’t give a damn really….)

2. Apply for a local Driving License (I need this badly…)

3. Renew the permit every 5 years but I will still need to pay for the exit permit yearly…….

so, I have been doing some enquires and thought… oh well, just go ahead and apply for the KITAP as I hate the fact that my passport is gone for about 1 month yearly during the renewal process…. so, we called the our agency (Indopacific @ Jl. Permuda) who deal with my paperwork…. initially she quoted me Rp 7 Jt… 1 week later, she called saying that the Medan immigration asked for an extra of Rp 3 JT as I will longer need to pay for the police report (these people can no longer extort from me for the next 5 years you see…)… I was already pissed.. and thought … ok just let it be.. (reminding myself that this is Indonesia…) …… and this is about 1.5 months ago…

this is Indoensia right?……..  so today, she called me again saying that my passport has arrived in Jakarta and in the hand of the final Head who needs to sign for my KITAP approval… guess what….  he said NO! NO! NO!… (money talk right?) …. so my agency offered Rp 1JT extra… but… he said NO! NO! NO! again!!! …. and rather bluntly asking for a nice round sum of Rp 5JT!!!!! ………. worst … I cant pull my passport out now…… since I have agreed to pay for these extra fees from Medan ……

what can I do… ??? ….  except to be a good expat and pay for it…. ever since these whole permit renewal things started, .. I have missed my 2nd honeymoon to Maldives (I received free tickets!!!) , my Songkran in BKK and my weekends gateway to Penang…  and I have to pay for all these #@$%&!!!!

p.s. the immigration guy dare ask if I will be able to afford to pay for this….!!! can they not use their much calculative brain that what can we do if we cant pay…..???

Popularity: 77% [?]

I am not a regular shopper at Carrefour but I am there today simply because I have received some free vouchers…  just as  I was at the cashier to pay, and since seeing that she is alone and has no one to help her, I decided to place all my groceries into the bag myself to speed up the check out time….  rather than waiting for her to do it all at the end of the scanning… and believe it or not, she gave me a look (like I am trying to ask for free plastic bag to bring home!!) when I asked for some of those  Carrefour Labelled Bag!!.. and smart of her enough, she gave me ONE !!! for the Rp 750.000 worth of goods that I was buying!!! … and as I asked for the second one, and explained my intention of helping her, she gave me just an extra of ONE again!! (my maid was loading all stuff onto the belt and it was very obvious that my purchase was gonna be lots)….  at that point, I dropped everything and decided to just stopped what I was trying to help her to do and let her do it all by herself!!!….  I guess towards the end, she had then just really realised what I wanted to do…. and by then queue started to form….

just imagine how much I can help to make this whole shopping experience more efficient and not as time consuming…. ai.ai.ai…. I have no word to describe what a cashier Carrefour has for its consumers…..

p.s. I always have this problem whenever I shop there… why?.. why?.. why?

Popularity: 49% [?]