Sometimes, it pays to be nice. Happened to me just now. Got a 1 year 'open date' appointment with the orthopaedic specialist I was referred to, as a SUBSIDISED patient. What this means is that if ever my back hurts again, I can make an appointment with the specialist straight. No need for the hassle of getting referral letters. Imagine the savings! That is, if something happens lah. Hopefully not.

And all because of a little pleasantries here and there. Knocking. Greeting. Thanking. At least that's what I think so.

Ofc I'm not advocating being nice to get stuff in return.

Be nice. Period. Singaporeans sure can do with some graciousness sometimes, I think.

So nice of them. Though not planned, a nice gesture nonetheless. So making me look forward to next year! :)

Raya 07! Woo hoo! Went out with the guys yest. Covered 9 houses. Never expected to do that. But it DID happened nonetheless. Oh, and I got $4. Haha!


It was an enjoyable day of course, but somehow I couldn't help blaming myself for not doing as good a job organising this yr's outing, as compared to the past few year's. Put off calling to the last minute. If I had called earlier, I think they would have the time to apply for leaves and such.

Turnout was quite bad. Only 7 could make it. There were empty seats in the van! Some couldn't make it on both days. Only today, but not tml, or only tml, and not today blah blah blah. In the end, there's no outing today. Only yest. Sigh.. Bo pian..

No use crying over spilled milk, right? So till next year then. Already I have plans for next year's outing. ;)

For one thing, we did smthg we never did before. Taking pictures on the road! A highlight of 2007, no doubt. Haha! Take a look!

Somehow Raya this year like so tak semangat gitu. Usually on the first day of Raya I'd follow Cik Mail jln2. But this year didn't feel like it. Smthg happened last year. I think I know why he didn't ask me along last year. Could be. Could be not. If it was, I guess I brought it upon myself. So didn't ask to follow along this year.

He DID ask me what's my plan for jln2 this year. Wonder what he meant by that. I guess I'll have to see how things turn out next year then. Knowing Cik Mail, he probably has did his rounds already. It's Wed night today. Could've covered a lot of houses on Sun, Mon and Tue nights. Oh well.

For one thing, it's kinda fun to meet all the relatives on the first and second day of Raya this year. Mostly on the first day, actually. Smthg I've never experienced before. Wasn't ard on the first day most of the time. Hehe..

The same thing can be said for Ramadhan this year too. No iftar at with the guys at each others' houses. No terawih together. No qiam. Miss those times. Great times. Inevitable, I guess. With most of them serving the nation. Did manage to go for terawih at Darussalam on some nights. A nice consolation.

Oh well. Looking forward to this year's Raya outing! With the family and the guys! Like what someone said, 'then make Eid meriah lor'. :)

Went on off from Wed to Fri. Already outta camp on Tue night. Totally enjoyed myself!

Woke up with backache on Wed morning. Ouch! Hurts so bad. Dunno why.

On Wed night, went to Geylang with mum and sis. Nice. Been a looong time since we went anywhere together. Just like those times at BB. Thx for the baju, mum!

Came back to camp on Wed night, from Geylang. Cos I haven't cleared my SOC. Bummer! Thurs morning, SOC. Wasn't thinking of doing the whole thing, but had to. For some reasons. Failed it, nonetheless. Sigh.. Outta camp again after that.

Went to AH on Fri. Couldn't bear the pain anymore. Doc gave MC for Fri and Sat. WTF! White elephant indeed! Prescribed painkillers. Urgh!

Celebrated Hari Raya with the persistent pain. Advised to go to doc again and ask for Xray. Do anything, do now. Since u still in army. Free. Advised by uncle.

Went back to AH on Sun. Seen by another doc. 4 Xray done. That's A LOT of Xrays indeed. Inconclusive. Appt given for physio and ortho. Changed both appts to an earlier date. Dates given too late. MC for three days. Wow! Totally enjoyed the three days not being in camp. Have to book in tonight. So not looking forward to it..

It's my second fasting mth in camp. Inevitable that this would happen. So how's it been?

Kinda suck fasting in camp. The in camp part, not the fasting part that is. Last year was somewhat better, as it was during deployment. So the time flew kinda faster. In camp? My God, a torture! Some get thru it by sleeping the whole day. But seriously, how much sleep can a human body take? Too much of smthg ain't good.

A consolation to this is that, as there's not much training left, the big boys have no trouble with letting the Muslims go for terawih prayers. A nice consolation, really.

Miss fasting of yesteryear. No iftars and terawihs with the guys this year. NONE at all! Such a bore!

Went back to my old place again earlier on in the day. Mum wanted to ask if there were any letters meant for us.

Didn't really feel anything as I was walking towards my old place. Just that some things have changed. For one, the flooring is now much smoother. A diff kind of asphalt used as compared to last time.

Was hit by a 'Wow' moment when my mum and I reached. Really amazed by what was done to the place by the new owner. So diff compared to how it was. Nice. Liked it so much.

Liked another thing too, but I guess that's kinda complicated.. If it's meant to be, then it is then. Other than that, it's anybody's guess..

Drew blood for the company. Well, almost the whole company anyway. My apologies to JJ. You're the first person I drew blood for, and I don't know why, I kinda blacked out when I was done with you. First time jitters, I guess. The good thing was that everything went well after that. So, in a way, you helped me. Hehe! Thx!

Such a fun experience drawing blood. Was never taught to do so in medic sch. IV is another thing, it can be said. Even managed to draw from some apparently hard ones. Morale booster of sorts! :)
--
Got my blood test results! Negative. Such a relief!

Overheard during sahur one morning.. "Melayu takpe, tapi muka macam budak-budak..".

Was laughing softly to myself when I heard that came out from someone.

The only thing I can say is that the guy who said it should seriously do some introspecting!