I have had a new found freedom during the period since I resigned from Huygens Asia and before my work in Sibu and I have capitalized on this freedom to do stuff which brings me glee, like going to watch the movies at 3:15 pm. ;)
It feels like I'm playing hooky from work when I'm actually not. I went to watch Monster House yesterday with Joanne. It's actually a pretty fun thing to do to kill boredom in between jobs.
Just add popcorn. ;)
P/S - I've gained a staggering 10 kgs on Remeron, putting me at 70 kg instead of my usual 60 kg now. I'm going to go on phentermine when I go back to Sibu to bring it back down to the usual weight coz I don't like carrying excess weight around.
Klinic Bangsar Baru @ Bangsar Telawi
I was feeling sick yesterday morning, feeling much better now though. I couldn't make it to work coz I kept on throwing up (again), so I went to see a doctor. It was the Klinic Bangsar Baru at Bangsar Telawi and I noticed that they're panel doctors for companies like Telekom, TV3, KLCC, NSTP, Tenaga National etc etc but I also saw the word POLIKLINIC and where I come from (Sibu, Sarawak), policlinics are cheaper than either private practises or GH. I was about to be shown the errors of my ways by the policlinics in KL (second time this happened, the first was bearable though).
Nothing funny, unfortunately.
Anyway, I went to this doctor and the waiting room was empty since I went at noon...told him my symptoms - constant throwing up, can't get anything down - not even water, vertigo when not lying down, diarrhea, migranes (he didn't give me anything for this though, dammit ;)), etc etc. He asked me a few questions about this and told me to lie down on the bed so he could fondle me a bit. Oops, give me a checkup I mean. Well, after a bit of prodding here and there, he said that my body temperature is very warm and he'll like to give me some antibiotics for it.
Enclor Capsule 250 mg - Chloramphenicol
Antibiotik - Perlu Di Habiskan
Antibiotic - To complete course
Doctor: Hmm...how are you going to swallow the pills if keep on throwing up?
Me: That's a good question. I guess I'll just force it down and keep it down.
Doctor: Oh, I've got a better idea. I'll give you an injection in the buttocks, just pull your pants down a bit.
Me: Erm.....
I couldn't very well back down, and I figured an anti-emetic wouldn't do me much harm so "OK", I said.
"Vomit" - no it doesn't induce vomiting, it's just an anti-emetic pill. KL doctors like to name their packs this way too.
Doctor: Right, I'm going to give you one shot in the left
buttock...here it goes. Okay. Hold this (cotton swab) right here while
I get another syringe.
Me: Another syringe?!?!?!
Doctor: Yeah, I'm giving you 4 medicines in two syringes. The
one I gave you just now is to stop you from vomiting and to harden your
stools. Now this one I'm giving you is an anti-biotic and (something
else I forgot).
Me: Er...*cough*...an antibiotic...is that really necessary?
Doctor: Of course it is, I'm giving you a course of antibiotics,
starting with this shot. This is a strong one, not one of the lesser
ones, this would be more effective.
Me: Right.....
Doctor: Okay, I'm injecting this one into your right buttocks, hold still. OK, hold this right here.
.......
The interestingly labelled "Guts". No, I don't think it's Marinol. ;)
The doctor called me after the IM injections (I was still lying on the bed as per his instructions) and TALKED for at least 20 minutes about people from Sarawak he knew, even went through this guy who had a daughter who was also in Melbourne and now working here. I nodded and smiled politely and thought about how to raise the issue regarding my...ah, migranes. Unfortuantely, the doctor didn't let me get a word in sideways so I gave up on that.
"Diarrhea" pills.
Anyway, the doctor wrote me a sick cert/medical cert and off I went to wait at the dispensary. Here was where another interesting thing happened. The nurse called me over to the counter and on the dispensary table laid two small plastic containers - one with a mix of colorful pills (about 5) like the ones they give out at psychiatric wards and the other with some thick milky substance (milk of magnesia).
Nurse: Wait ya, I'll give you a drink of water.
Me: Am I supposed to eat all these?
Nurse: Yeah, here's a glass of water.
Me: Can't I eat these at home instead?
Nurse: No, you'll get some other meds to bring home, these are the ones you eat here.
Me: Erm...okay...
.......
Nurse: Okay, here's your bill sir. RM 150 please.
Me: I'm sorry? How much did you say it was?
Nurse: 150 dollars.
Me: Right...
/me looks into wallet
Me: I don't have RM 150. Is there an ATM nearby?
Nurse: Yeah, walk straight down and turn left.
Milk of Magnesia - certainly need it for my heartburn after the bill.
I went to withdraw some money, which left my bank balance at RM 2 (I shit you not - good thing we get our monthly paychecks tomorrow) and paid the clinic and left with a bunch of medications which I have no intention of consuming. No, not even the antibiotics. I'm protesting against the completely non-judicious use of stronger antibiotics when the lesser ones would do just fine. I should send veritas over since this doctor is so keen on giving out "strong" medications...he'll probably give veritas oxycodone (Oxycontin) for his headache. ;)
Anyway, I went home and noticed that either the cupful of medication or the things in the IM shots interacts with certain sedatives and KO'd me for the rest of the afternoon. I woke up at nearly 7 pm and felt fine again.
RM 150 "only".
RM 150 for a doctor's visit indeed. I didn't even get anything nice! Ouch my ass hurts.
I swear all those tablets, injections and liquid administered parenerally made me feel sicker.
Oh yeah, I passed by Taryn (one of my coworkers, except she's my superior) this morning:
Taryn: Hello, so have you recovered?
Me: Recovered from what?
Someone please give me a very hefty kick to the ass...
Good thing the situation was salvaged when I IM'd her later to explain that I thought she meant "recovered from the weekend" instead of "recovered from my sick leave".
I'm exhibiting all my medications (I brought them along) on my desk now for all to see and also so I won't forget again. ;)
My Sijil Cuti Sakit.
Sijil Cuti Sakit = Certificate Holiday Sick (direct translation). It's a medical leave cert.
Church of Christ Fellowship, Clayton
I'm feeling rather lethargic now after dinner. I had 5 hours of sleep last night coz I wanted to finish the second Artemis Fowl book before I went to bed. Finishing a book always makes me feel strangely empty though. I've been known to read through a series of books and then start with the first one right after finishing the last one. Heh. Anyway, I remembered why I loved Artemis Fowl so much when I read the first book. It's very witty and a good "cheer me up" book. The funniest line in the book goes to the part where Artemis Fowl goes "I suspect I'll view Captain Holly Short in a different way once puberty hits in 8 months". Heh. Well, I did to go church this morning. Had to pull myself out of bed to catch the 9:30 am bus. The church in question is of the Church of Christ denomination, which is quite similar to Methodist. I'm sure there are differing doctrines but it's pretty much the same to me. It's located behind the Coles in Clayton and about 50% of the congregation is composed of younger people. Interesting. They have a really rousing hymn too...goes something like "I'm full of fire for Christ or something". Fun. Anyway, they have "church lunches" as well, where people stay for lunch. It's free for visitors (A$2.50 otherwise) and it was rice with 3 drumsticks, a fried egg, some cabbage, 2 pieces of buttered bread and lots of sauce. Pretty good, and their pastors were really full-on too. Reminded me of my church back in Sibu. Oh, there was a really big spider on the wall of my stairway when I got home today. It was absolutely huge and it's not those thin spiders too. This one had a large abdomen and long sturdy legs. Nasty. I had to give it a wide berth every time I passed by. :(
Size comparison: Look at the automatic door shutter. Damn, that's a huge spider.
