Nothing in particular

I am returning to work tomorrow after a week's break. Yup, a WEEK! Well, I had a course in IMR for two days but still, not working! Have been lepaking at home with Ma and starting a new beading project on sis Yaya's dress for the akad ceremony.

Missed my furkids and was glad to see the little one alive and well when we went to pick him up from boarding.

FYI, rescued three siblings from the hospital's car park two weeks ago. Barely a month old - who would be so heartless as to abandon such young kittens mummy-less. Kalau ye pun, tunggu la besar sikit. The two white-black kittens died despite me bringing them during my oncall just so that I might be able to feed them milk, so only the off-white little one is left. Though, I'm not really sure what colour he really is because of the badly infected fur. Not to mention his constantly wet backside from his diarrhoea.

Yet, I am optimistic. He is eating the softened kibbles well and is rather active. I tried putting him with the other small-ish kitten but he ended up being bulliedand scratched at. Sigh.

Spent the last day of the Merdeka weekend shifting the cats' cages to the back. Abg has roofed off the section at the back next to the wet kitchen. At least it won't be so hot during the mornings and the living area and the room in front wouldn't be getting whiffs of the peepee and poopoo of my kids. Best of all, I can open my window and check on them whenever I like.

As usual, spent a bomb in KL - mostly on cat food. Only bought one new handbag - and it's 70% off - I'm rather proud of myself.

and it's the first day of the fasting month tomorrow! Selamat berpuasa everyone!

Each of my cat has a story...

and this is Jimi's.

Jimi is the only cat in my household that I didn't 'rescue'. The owner of the eating place that Abg frequents offered him to Abg. I still remember the day Abg brought Jimi home. Abg had just pulled into the parking area and I thought was taking a long time to come over. When I looked over, Abg beckoned at me excitedly and told me to look under the seat.



This fluffy ball of white fur was sitting there, so quietly and didn't make a sound as I pulled it out. I remember feeling so sorry for him, being taken away from his home and forced to live with strangers; instead of leaving him in the cage, I put him in a box in the room.

Imagine my surprise when in my sleep that night, I reached over in between my pillow and Abg's and felt something mushy. Safe to say, Jimi sleeps in the cage from that night onwards.



Jimi is the 'samseng' of the group; he is unafraid of anything. He would be the only one to nonchalantly walk out of the house compounds unto the road and once, jump unto the paddy field across the road. I still remember watching this white fur jumping in and out the green grass chasing grasshoppers.



I was in a cheery mood this morning as I walked into the vet. When the vet assistant told me the bad news, all I could focus on was seeing his unmoving body. He was already cold. I hope his passing was painless.

In a way, I could feel how ridiculous all this sounds, yet my furkids are like a part of the family. Each of my cats have their own personality and the loss of each one leaves a void that can never be replaced.

Rest in peace my little one. You will be missed.

Bercelaru....

My furkid Jimi has been knocked down and run over. He is now at the vet, being put on drip and awaiting for op tomorrow, that is, if the vet decides that his injury is worth being operated on.

He is pale as sheet, and refuses to eat nor drink and can only lift up his head to look at me when I call his name.

I cried at the vet as she showed me the extent of his injury and I cried as I left him and I am crying still.

Rotten

Have you ever hated the version of you that you have become? One moment you are loving everything, content with life and all that you have achieved, and gradually you are resenting everything?

Sometimes don't you just wish life is like a Magna Doodle/Etch-A-Sketch board that you can just erase with one swipe of its handle; letting you start fresh, hoping you won't make the same mistake again?

I'm not sure whether this is just a phase I am going through (if it's a phase, shouldn't it be temporary?) or if the previous me is totally gone, replaced by this super bitch that I feel I am now? I bite and growl at my nurses, I don't call up Ma to chat anymore (and I think she is 'merajuk' with me) and even Abg is not spared.

In short, if I were not me, I would HATE me.

Should I be relieved that at least I realise that there is something wrong and must change immediately? Is that my silver lining in this mess of muck that I currently feel like I'm swimming in?

I am looking for faults, something lacking in my life that is causing this but I'm not sure if I'm looking for one just so that I might justify my rotten behaviour or if I don't find one, I might have to resign to the fact that I am, just plain ...rotten?

Apparently I am 'payoh bbaso'.....

I have been writing this blog with a lot more care lately that it has lost a lot of its anonymity. I know some of my work colleagues read it and it's even in the histories/cookies list in the PC at the casualty.

Work politics is a weird complicated thing. I try not to get my head too wrapped up in it. As far as I am concerned, my first duty is to my immediate boss and to my patients. and as far as I am aware, I have never considered myself to be 'difficult' and note the quote unquote as you and I both know, 'difficult' can mean a lot of things to different people.


Yes, I am Ms Laser Mouth and at times IDIOT is my favourite word but when it comes to colleagues asking for favours, I think I don't usually make a fuss about it. I DO though, have an issue helping out people who do. I mean, if you are going to go beating about the bush and making excuses, do you think other people will be accommodating to you? So, when I give you a taste of your own medicine, don't go running to mummy and moan about how 'payoh bbaso' I am.

Apparently, my boss has told me that Big Boss has informed him that it has come to her attention that I am 'payah bbaso' and doesn't help out other MOs. Okay, you tell me about when I cover for my other colleague who has no partner to cover for her. You tell me about any time when the MAs call me to review Ortho cases and I say no. You tell me about the time when I had stayed back late and ended up escorting a case to HRPZ when the 2nd call has already gone on an earlier trip. You tell me about the time when a colleague messaged me to cover for him and I had to endure multiple 'Why not..' questions from my boss on why his partner can't cover for him instead.

I am tempted to put up an open letter at the MO notice board and issue a challenge to any particular MO who have been whining about me and tell it to my face, that is if you have the balls lah....or else, Abg offered another tempting option: go to Big Boss and say, if you think I'm such a non team player and difficult to work with; I've already handed in my application for transfer A YEAR ago, why don't you just let me go and be rid of me?

Geram geram geram.

Hari Haru Biru

I don't usually expect Thursdays to be hectic or chaotic. Sundays, yes, but not Thursdays. On Thursdays, I expect to come for rounds, perhaps have one or maybe two cases of emergency OT and then go home at a reasonable hour. Though reasonable is a relative term in this case.

I was doing rounds at the female ward this morning and was just checking up on the indian girl who had plating to her tibia the day before. My colleague, the anaesth MO was also there when we suddenly noticed that a big group of student nurses were crowded around the next bed. Apparently the young girl had desaturated and was fast deteriorating. My anaesth colleague went to lend a hand and I proceeded with my rounds as my specialist had turned up.

We were supposed to have Ortho OT that morning as my boss wasn't around for the usual elective day. As the anaesth MO was busy intubating in the ward upstairs, the first case was called only after half ten. and even then, she discovered that the girl had a history of fainting and turning blue. I was like, OMG I hope this case doesn't get cancelled and called my boss and told him I'd be doing the finger refashioning case instead.

and THAT didn't turn out uneventful either, but still I managed to finish it and we proceeded with the elbow. As the anaesth MO was getting ready to administer spinal for the following case (a query open fracture of the tibial plateau), she received a call for a case of fetal distress. Wah lau, if things are not supposed to go smoothly then everything can go wrong. My boss immediately improvised and did the wound debridement and Steinman pin insertion under LA/sedation instead.

That done, I scrubbed in to assist with the caesarian section and still in my scrubs I rushed to the female ward to review the case of query hip septic arthritis, then left to do the discharges and apologize to the patient whose elective case had to be cancelled.

The day ended on a pleasant note though when two of my good colleagues and I (even though it was already nearly an hour after everyone else had gone home) had pulut durian courtesy of Kak Yah. Sedappp...

Busy as it was, I was sated. Not by durians; it was a good full day and despite the hiccups, things got done. and having friends to enjoy the end of the working week with you is one of the simple pleasures that everyone should experience.

and I am ending this post with warm fuzzy feeling because I have a major gripe to deal with in the next post.

Busy bee

I don't often try out recipes I get off cookbooks or cooking shows. I always have this niggling doubt that the chef will never reveal his/her secrets and though convincing the 'umm's and the 'aah's can be, who's to tell really how delicious the food really is? Kan kan kan...

Anyway, I recently discovered that a friend of mine had started a blog since she's been in Auckland furthering her studies. Anyway, she posted a recipe called Tuna Rolls and it was so simple, I just have to give it a go. Besides, kalau tak jadi, I tau la mana nak cari tuannya...haha....

So, in honour of 'Those Moments...', here is my version of it...

Ingredients:
2 small tins of tuna - tin of 185g each
3 tablespoonfuls of Mayonnaise

because I just lurrrrrrve onions and to me, making a tuna sandwich without chopped onions is a sin in my books, I added one and half of chopped yellow onions.



2 tablespoonfuls of corn kernels



Salt and ground pepper to taste

2 eggs - beaten
Cheese - to your heart's desire. I used Perfect Italiano's mixture of shredded Cheddar, Parmesan and Mozzarella.

Bread - basically I tried this recipe out using two types of bread: Hailam bread (the crustless white bread you typically find in Kopitiams) and the usual sliced bread.

My verdict, both are equally usable; the Hailam bread is longer but narrower so your rolls will be more of the petite size. Point to note though is Hailam bread becomes stiff if left in the open so only take them out when you are ready to lay out the filling and roll it up.

Mix up the tuna, corn kernels, onions, mayo and seasoning. Butter or margarine up your bread. Place about a teaspoonful or two of fillings on bread and roll it up. Seal the ends with egg and lay your rolls on a baking tray.



Just before putting them in the oven, (pre heated at 180 celcius), I gave the rolls an eggwash and scattered cheese generously.

They should be ready after about 15 mins. But of course, this depends on how you like your cheese topping, but in general 15 mins should be okay.

Best eaten fresh from the oven while the bread is still crispy.


The top 4 are the ones made with Hailam bread, the middle with normal sliced bread but rolled diagonally, basically for experimentation purposes and the bottom row is the rolled up sliced bread.

Abg loved it; definitely a keeper this one.

Thank you Zaa, keep them coming okay?

Not feeling so great

I am the most terrible person in the world.

Last week, Abg's cousin came back for a week's trip back home. She lives down south (of Malaysia la) and I guess trips back up to the East Coast can be pretty taxing for a family with three young kids.

She recently got a new baby, you see, and a boy at that. The thing is, out of Abg's many cousins, I quite like this one. But I just couldn't bring myself to see her. I want to be happy for her, but seeing those ten little toes and little fingers will just remind me of the thing I lost.

I thought I was okay. Afterall, it has been 3 months now but I guess I thought wrong.

Sigh.

Now I keep returning to that week and my mind keeps on replaying the events leading up to the loss and I just can't stop. Which stage of grief am I now going through that I keep trying to find someone or something to blame? (Writing this blog used to be therapeutic but now that it isn't so anonymous anymore, I guess I have to take into account the feelings of people who may be reading this.) What if I hadn't been oncall that night? What if I HAD heeded to what other people were saying and not walk so fast everywhere? or had worn flatties instead of my Crocs wedges? or had insisted on staying at home when I was on MC instead of coming to work just because my partner 'had something to attend to' and couldn't come back a day earlier than planned?

Am I resenting being so righteous and self sacrificing, whereas I had consciously made that decision knowing what was at stake?

Yes, deep down I know it probably wouldn't have made a difference but I am feeling it all the same.

And I am not liking it. I am a terrible person.

Bubu Bubu Where Art Thou.....?

Bubu is missing.

Usually Bubu sleeps with us in the room, and yes, on the bed. He does though, have this annoying habit of waking up at in the wee hours of the morning, mewing to be let out. Since he is left to prowl outside, normally he would come home in the evenings for his dinner. I was on call on Wednesday and Abg hasn't seen him since.

BTW, the little orange kitty has died. Sedih.

It's now been two nights in a row that Bubu hasn't come home. Neighbours who recognise Bubu as our cat has not seen him either. Last night (I was conked out post call) Abg even went to look for him but nothing.

Sigh.

I hope he is okay. If he comes home, off he will go to the vet. Serious. I hope Bubu doesn't follow in the pawstep (paw, foot, geddit?) of Cumi who has gone off and not come home.

This is a fluffy post

My wrist hurts.

Ironically I've been preparing for an Ortho CME and mine's titled Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I had been procrastinating, as usual and had left it for the last minute and subsequently ended up completing it all in 4 hours. However, the 4 hours with my right hand permanently glued on the mouse proved to be unfortunate as I now cannot even grip properly without hurting.

I'm in a rather happy mood today (for a change, haha) - my project presentation went well and my boss is happy and I returned home to find that Abg had bought me the new Double McSpicy (or something like that). I was tapping away at the PC when Abg came to me and presented me with the new Burberry fragrance. Hmmm, McD AND new perfume? I asked him to 'fess up but he just laughed it off.

Biasa la perempuan - bila husband tak beli hadiah, marah - bila husband beli, ingat dia buat salah. No wonder Abg has grown balder by the day.

Furthermore, my three kittens are well unto the road to recovery. Black with socks looked near at death's door a few days ago. He had refused to eat or drink and his eyes were crusted shut. I had wiped away at the dried up eye discharges and fed him water with a syringe. Also stuffed him with decongestants and antibiotics. Today he even came running to greet me as I stepped off the car. Bliss.

My wrist still hurts but at least I'm happy.

In shock

Okay......

I cannot believe we got 3rd place for something that was made up and started about three weeks ago..........

Madness

I wonder how long these two froggies have been trapped in my candle holder-ornament thingy.

I'm feeling that familiar feeling of unease again today.

Yes, it is my fault that I haven't found the time nor made the effort to do this certain 'extra curricular' project. What with my pregnancy and the workload and the subsequent miscarriage, it just slipped my mind.

I confessed that it has been my mistake and I accepted full responsibility for not coming up with anything, but when I was told to 'make it up' - I was, to say the least, quietly horrified. I no longer see the relevance of making a big fuss over something that has been literally picked from thin air.

Furthermore, I was reassured that other people will be doing the same thing.

Ho hum.

Still, I stuck to orders and came up with something.

I have been rather testy with my group - I think they are a bit concerned about my nonchalance of it all. I, on the other hand, refuse to leave my duties for something, which I may remind you, is TOTALLY MADE UP..! Hel-looooo....?

Or is it me? Is there something that you all know that I don't know about? Lives will not be lost if I mess up the presentation, the world will not come to an abrupt end - get a grasp of the big picture la....

Perhaps it is a bit difficult when my story lacks the details but I will not be pressured unreasonably for something that is against my principles. My first and foremost responsibility is towards my patients and THAT is THAT. Enough of this madness.

Swamped

Bubu pestering me to let him out.

My specialist and colleague have returned after a 5 day hiatus attending a conference in KL. I may now breathe a sigh of relief. It's not so much the number of patients I had to attend to, but it's the burden of having to make your own decisions that bugs me most.

My specialist returned to find that I had kept a case of atlanto-axial dislocation in the ward. He had been admitted since last Thursday. I knew that there was something wrong with him, yet I don't really know what. His x ray looked fishy but since the incident had happened 2 months before and he was (relatively) well, I hadn't stressed my unease to my boss. I can tell that he is (to say politely) miffed with me, and I must admit that I probably deserved it.

I'm in the middle of preparing for a presentation and have asked for a day off to complete it. I know I'm supposed to keep my nose to the grindstone but you know how it is when you have something to complete, there's always something else to distract your focus away from the job at hand.

Of idiotic, ignorant lorry drivers and such...

I had a major nervous breakdown this morning.

Things had been slightly gritty at home for the past few days and my mood have only started to pick up this morning.

Anyway, I was getting ready for work and was trying to find my petticoat. I own THREE petticoats and can't find any that morning. I went on a mini amok and tumbled out all the clothes in the laundry basket and even went through all the mess in my SIL's room but couldn't locate even one.

In a cloud of fury I left home, petticoat-less.

At the turning into the kampung where FIL's house is, a taxi was in front of me signalling right. I snapped on my signal to the left and waited. As the taxi made his right turn, I edged forward and slanted the front of my car to the left in order to merge into the flow of cars. Suddenly this idiotic lorry driver (org suruh gi sekolah, kau main2, dah besar jadi drebar lori bodoh tak guna menyusahkan org!) crawled to a stop right in front of my car, and parked itself!!! I honked my horn as loudly as I can and gave him my most evil stare. Bodoh. Now I had to readjust my car in order to make my left turn. Kau tak nampak ke aku bagi signal bahalol! Typical stupid kiasu Kelantan people attitude, selagi kau boleh parking depan kedai, agaknya atas tangga kedai kau nak letak kereta engkau. Bangang.

Yang sakit hatinya, bila I managed to turn left, si celaka tu boleh pulak horn kat aku macam aku yg salah. Sial. I horn balik in protest and drove off. Kalau tak fikir I dah lewat nak gi kerja, I would have stopped to give him a piece of my mind. Eii, rasa macam nak tikam2 je tayar lorry bawak ice dia tu.

Bodoh. Mana ada org park kereta kat simpang la bangang. Consider la org nak keluar dari simpang tu. If it's not the ice lorry, it's the gas tank lorry. All idiots.

I drove off in a rage and screamed my lungs out in the car. Suddenly it wasn't just about the stupid lorry driver and his inconsiderate driving but it was ALL that was going wrong in my life. I cried tears of rage and frustration and shouted some more. It has gone way beyond lack of privacy or my own home or even losing my petticoats but more like losing a grip on my life and where I want to be headed to. I had dreams and it is slowly trickling away into nothingness.

I am drowning in a river of melancholy and I have no one to turn to.

Nothing in particular

Poor Cumi has been having a bad cold for the past week. His eyes are all swollen and red and he's is sniffling all the time.

I'm feeling overwhelmed by the flu that is making the rounds amongst my cats. The three youngest who first caught it have yet to recover despite getting jabs and now three more cats have been infected.

The only consolation is that despite the runny nose and swollen eyes, all seem to be eating well and running all over the place. Except for Che'Mot whom I think must have some sort of liver disease by the way how distended his tummy is.



My new cage has arrived! I think I will draw a line and stop the madness here. No more stray cats and certainly no more cages. But at least they have more space to stretch out and lie down.



Ruru seems to be doing well. He seems pretty chummy with Che'Lan and spends a good time rolling around and pouncing on each other.

The mother of the three strays will be getting spayed tomorrow. We've been keeping them in the spare cage during the night as the last few days it has been raining in the evenings. Yesterday, silly mummy cat left with the two red/orange tabbies. She's been coming back for food but her two kittens are nowhere to be seen. At least the black one has had some sense to stay put. I hope the two kids are alright. Tried looking for them; they usually come running when I make the 'tsk tsk tsk' sound - but nothing.

Please adopt us!

Last week, while I was getting ready for work, I heard cat growls from outside. It wasn't like male cats trying to intimidate each other, but more like mummy cat trying to shoo away tom cats.

Lo and behold, in the two calverts left in the compound of FIL's house, a family of four had been left there.


Mummy cat with one of the kittens.


Cute, right!?


The three siblings - very playful and energetic.


Close up of one of the kittens - if this doesn't tug at your heartstrings, well, I don't know! :)

I'd love to adopt them but as yet I already have 16 including the mummy cat and 2 kittens I brought home from work. I'm spaying mummy cat this Thursday. She doesn't seem to be getting along well with my other kids - hissing and growling at everyone who passes by. Sheesh. Anti sosial betul!

I'm worried taking on too many will compromise the care of my other kids. As of now I'm already worried about the cost of their food - I'm only able to get them at good prices when I get back to KL (how ironic is that).

Furthermore, the cat flu has been making the rounds with my kids - the three youngest have yet to recover and Cumi and Ciki and Doralin are already having the sniffles.

So, if you know anyone, do tell them about these lovely siblings - did you know that having pets can prolong your life expectancy?

Double standard

I love observing people. Be it people I work with, or people passing by as I go about window shopping. I think there's a lot of entertainment value in observing people's behaviour.

Seriously. Just try and sit on a bench somewhere (1Utama new wing has really comfy ones) and watch people go by. You will laugh, be touched and even cry.

We had a VIP patient at our casualty the other day. You know something important has happened if suddenly there are people the size of a small kampung gathering at the casualty waiting area.

I had been busy in OT all day and only heard about the VIP presenting at our casualty with chest pains.

Now, this VIP is famed, amongst other reasons, for having 4 wives. Allegedly, one of them had been an ex sweetheart of his own son. Juicy, no? I found it amusing that people were more interested in the fact that all his wives had turned up together rather than the nature of his illness!

When I finally went to the casualty department to review my ortho cases, the VIP was still very much the centre of attention. I observed in silence and in much amusement how one of the officers (non MO) at my casualty department was speaking in hushed tones into the phone, pondering on the ECG as if his life depended on it, with cold beads of sweat spattered on his forehead. This is the guy, whom, if this was any other regular patient, would've just walked by and went home.

Makes you wonder doesn't it? It makes ME wonder, anyway. Me, as laser as I can be, I treat my patients the same. My priority depends on the severity of the illness. Of course, I make certain exceptions for members of the profession, I guess in life we have to make some leeway somewhere.

Not just another day at work..

It is inevitable as a doctor to come face to face with death. I wish I could say I remember vividly how I felt when I handled my first death case but I can't. All those deaths that happened in my years of working have intermingled with each other and have become as blurry as the emotions that I feel whenever another life is terminated. However, there are a few that has stayed as clear as if it happened just yesterday.

I was on call on the male side that night. What that means is that there is a near to nil chance of sleeping and almost 98% chance of doing a peritoneal dialysis (PD). I don't know what it is like in other hospitals but in HRPZII, doing a PD is as routine as taking your patient's blood. The first thing a freshie houseman has to learn from his or her senior HO is how to do a PD. It is not unusual to walk into the male ward and see 5 beds in a row with PD dialysate hanging from drip stands.

The patient was placed in the first bed on the left of the ward. He was about 35, and with skin as yellow as anything. I don't know why he was in, I only know that I was supposed to do a PD on him that night. As far as I remember, I followed each step of it by the book and the patient wasn't even in the list of high risk candidates for perforation - introduction of the troca was relatively easy I didn't need to redo it.

The next thing I know, the patient's body convulsed and after a few moments, lay still. I alerted my MO and started CPR but couldn't revive him.

I don't remember what my MO put down as the cause of death but I do remember seeing the faces of his wife and relatives and hearing the wail of his toddler kid. They say kids can see the angel of death coming to do his job. They had come to visit him - ill but at least alive - instead had to return home with a lifeless body.

Yes I was devastated but I didn't have time to dwell on it. Being a houseman means a death is just another day at work. You have to be detached emotionally. I guess I was lucky in the sense that I posessed that detachment and saw all the deaths that happened as just another learning experience.

Yet, despite it happening about 5 years ago I keep soming back to that night and wondering whether it was something I did that resulted in his demise.

There were numerous other deaths - the kid with CP, the many many retroviral patients, my ESRF makcik who spent months in the ward and died alone, the diabetic with gas gangrene who refused amputation until it was too late and died of sepsis. Despite being so blase about it all, you just have to take a moment to remind yourself that even though he/she was just another number on your mortality statistic, he/she was someone's mother/father/sister/brother/wife/husband and to the family, their deaths isn't JUST another day at work.

Update!

I think I just can't be bothered with a separate blog for my furkids, so in the meantime my cat stories will be here.

BEFORE



AFTER







Anyhow, I am putting this family up for adoption. I found them at my hospital's casualty. Apparently they were found sleeping all over the place and one of the kittens died a few days ago. I can't keep them due to the lack of space and the fact that the four 'mousecateers' - Che'Mot, Che'Lan, Che'We and Ruru (though this one's already recovering) have the cat flu and have been sneezing all over the place - just shows me how badly I need more cages which I can't get at the moment.



I hope future mummy and/or daddy to the kittens would be able to adopt them together or better still the whole family. I'm hoping to spay the mother soon and maybe rereleasing her.



This one's got a light dusting of white fur on top of the black. Nice long perfect tail too. It would be interesting to see how kitty turns out.



This one's smaller than the black one. Both are still dependant on the mummy cat so adopters might have to wait for 2-3 weeks before they can be weaned off mummy. Of course, if you take the whole family, you'll be able to take them straight away!

Metaphor

I love watching House M.D. - yes I know it is only acting and the actors barely understand what came out of their mouths but since I already (sometimes) exhibit House's attitude towards (some) patients, I figure I should at least posess a portion of his diagnotic skills.

When House analyses his cases, one of his trademarks is his metaphors. Which is a brilliant idea, because not only it gives House his character, it also makes all the medical mumbo jumbo comprehensible to the audience. Genius, right?

But anyway, I'm not here to write about House - I've just spent the day cleaning the house, doing laundry, turning my Kenari back into a car (it was a garbage dump disguised as a car previously) and attempted to get my Ciki checked by the vet assistant (she developed a swelling at the suture site - which I hope is only a seroma and not an abscess or a hernia) but the vet was closed (probably on account of the 'Pertandingan Kucing' that just went on the day before). Plus, four of my youngest furkids have developed a cold - poor Che'We was sneezing and coughing and tossing and turning about to make himself comfortable - and I can only get my animal decongestants tomorrow!

My 13th warrior has been named Che'Ruru or just Ruru. Her eyes are slightly better but I think Ruru was the one who spread all the germs around. She's still having some residual upper eyelid swelling and pus discharge but I think she will survive by how she has been jumping all over and under the place.

Shall I write about the recent petrol price increase like everyone has, I wonder? It's been 4 days now but people are still talking about it. When they are not associating you-know-who's name with various profanities, they are lamenting about how difficult life will be now when they could barely make ends meet before.

I just want to share a metaphor I read somewhere which describes simply what the govt means by subsidy.

A father catches a fish in the river behind his house. He then cooks the fish and serves it for his son to eat.

Just as son is about to tuck in, father asks for RM10 as a payment for the meal.

Son asks - Why should I pay you RM10 when it costs you nothing or almost nothing to catch it and cook it?

Father says - Because if you were to buy this fish outside, it would cost you RM15. So I am doing you a favour by only asking for RM10!

So, 'father' in this story is the government, 'son' is the rakyat and I hope you get the point of the story. Perhaps I am sounding naive but isn't it laughable that the PM talks about the so called subsidy like he is doing us a favour?!