Sunday, August 30, 2009

How time flies....



SHAKEEL








AYES














HANNAH










No wonder I feel so old.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Pet peeve

Noted during patient registration at casualty while on call last night:

DAFFYEENA AMMALIEYN AIESYYA

Why why why??????

I'm going to start a campaign against the wastage of vowels in kids' names soon.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Things that were left unsaid

To my sister who got married a few weeks ago, Selamat Pengantin Baru. I am writing here the words that were left unspoken in all the chaos that was your wedding. You know how it is; no matter how prepared our mother is, she will always find something to do at the very last minute and end up being very very hassled.

I love you Ma, but you are what you are and those are the things that makes you, you and we love you nevertheless.

I am jotting down here little things that I wanted to say but ended up being masked behind silly remarks while clowning around. Things that you may want to take to heart or maybe not; it doesn't really matter for these are things that you may go through yourself but I think I should mention because I am your big sister after all.

I will not go as far as calling them words of wisdom, for I know, with only 5 years of marriage, wisdom is far from what I have.

Enjoy your married life. Enjoy the companionship, the love and laughter that will definitely adorn your lives from now onwards. I hope the man you married is not just your lover but also your best friend; someone who will not judge you for making a harmless remark on someone who was mean to you but who will accept it as a part of the person you are.

I hope he will share your happiness and also your sorrow, who will hold your hand until the pain has passed.

Have at hand bucketfuls of love and affection, tonnes of sense of humour and unlimited patience - there will come a day when you will have your first big argument and I hope during these times that you do not ponder on all the things that are bad but to concentrate on the things that are good. Having had a few big arguments ourselves, I know that that is easier said than done but try anyway.

Take time to enjoy each other - to celebrate all that you have in common and to appreciate those that you don't. Have respect for each other's opinion, no matter how radically different it can be. Afterall, someone who agrees with you all the time can be pretty boring after a few months.

Always find time to make each other feel special, no matter how hectic life can be. The gestures doesn't have to be grand or OTT but small things can make a difference; like remembering his favourite kuih or making his favourite drink even when he doesn't ask for it.

Being a wife means that sometimes you have to bite your tongue - in an argument, refrain from saying things that you may regret later, no matter how much satisfaction you think you might get from 'letting it all out' - you can never take it back, and the harm would have been done.

I wish I could say that 'happily ever after' starts now but you and I both know that the fairy tale concept doesn't exist in real life. But I've always believed that one needs a few glitches in their lives to truly appreciate all that is good in life. Have an awesome journey and make every moment count!

Love,
Akak

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

For just a moment....

I took the afternoon off work to run an errand in KB today. Had to look for a gift for our boss in conjunction with his new bundle of joy.

Initially I was just browsing around, hoping for something to catch my eye. You always want to give someone something that they would find useful, so I always end up buying something that I would buy for myself. Anyway, as I was looking at the tiny shoes and mittens and caps, I suddenly found myself welling up.

There is a pair of tiny mittens and a cap tucked away at the back of my closet. They have been there since about a year ago. Also hidden away is a pregnancy book and a book of names.

For just a moment I let myself cry silently for something that wasn't meant to be.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Bad taste in the mouth

I had a fantastic thought earlier today, surprisingly while scrubbing up for an operation, but NOT surprisingly, have totally forgotten about it now. Must seriously consider idea of hanging a notebook on my neck.

I was oncall last night. Not a drop of rain and in comes four motor vehicle accidents. One was totally unconscious, smelt of vomitus and had bits of kuey tiau, bean sprouts and cabbages hanging off his dark green sweater and it was the first time I saw my colleague sweat (WKY, it's because you are usually the epitome of coolness!).

But anyway, I am feeling bad right now.

It was 7pm and I was still in OT. Felt like I was a houseman all over again. Suddenly my mobile rang, and the OT phone rang. A staff nurse was asking me whether I wanted to do the discharge.

DISCHARGE? At 7 pm? Are you seriously serious or seriously out of your mind?

Firstly, I hate it when the staff take it for granted that I will answer all calls from the hospital, regardless of time and day. Last weekend, I was in IKEA and a staff nurse called to ask me about removing the stitches on the leg of a patient. Hello? Patient mati ke kalau tak buat STO tu??

I make it a habit not to accept phone calls from the hospital outside office hours unless when I am oncall, but it is still disturbing to know they called because, y'know, what if it was something urgent? Heck, that's what oncall people are for!

and the thing I am totally pissed off about is, that THEY actually make me feel bad about telling them off about calling me about minute matters like that.

Secondly, at about half two just now, as they were changing shifts and exchanging reports, I had called EVERY ward and went through all my patients and asked if there were things that needed to be done, i.e. xrays to see, discharges to do etc etc. So, tell me, if I shouldn't be mad if you call me at 7pm to ask me to do a discharge (which wasn't planned for that day anyway!). You had passed over at half two and you couldn't have called me over the next two hours to confirm if that patient was indeed for discharge.

Aargh! Seriously lah!

and don't even get me started on how gobsmacked I was the other day when a STAFF NURSE didn't know how to do chest compressions!