Dear Diary,
As I am writing this, I feel so exhausted mentally and physically. I have had a long day yesterday and today was almost the same except that today is indoor more, than outdoor. I woke up yesterday at seven in the morning after letting my alarm went off for half an hour. I finally gave in and shut it up. The plan yesterday was to send my brother to work with mum and dad and afterwards, sent my dad to the hospital for his surgery. In case you did not know, dad had a minor surgery yesterday. His appointment was at half past twelve and mum thought that we could use the car. Since my brother was working, mum thought that we would send him to work first so we could have the car. So there I was up from the comfort of my bed early to start the day according, to plan when mum suggested that it was not necessary to use the car.
I easily agreed so we just took the train to the hospital. It is near to home and it was a direct line via the train. It was really no hassle to get there. Luckily, dad got a seat on the train while mum and I stood until we got there. It was no big deal actually but I was more concern for dad since he is not strong enough to stand for a long time. The journey to the hospital reminded me of the days when I was still in Singapore. I somewhat miss those days and I wonder how would I be if I had not made the move to Malaysia. I will probably still working for that Japanese boss of mine and still be his favourite employee and lead a team of typographic designers. Did I make a good choice Diary? I think so even if I am not prosperous as before but I am happy and that suffice everything.
We got there an hour early and that pleased every one of us. I supposed my parents and I practiced the proverb ‘it is better to be three hours too early than a minute too late’. Mother is the timekeeper in our family and she likes it when we are punctual for an appointment. We registered at the counter and waited for dad’s name to be called. I sat patiently and slipped into my imaginations of how I would feel if I were the one to undergo that operation. I have not been hospitalized, do you know that Diary? I have undergone a minor day surgery of my toe before and have broken my left wrist but both events did not require me to be admitted in the hospital. Thus, I really have no idea what it is like to spend a night in the hospital.
When dad’s name was called, a staff nurse attended to us explaining the time dad will be in the operating theatre and how long it will take and all those stuffs that we needed to know. I noticed of the sudden influx of foreign nurses in the hospitals. Mother has told me about this but I never paid much attention about it. Most of these foreign nurses come from Philippine and Burma. They speak good English and I supposed they are the educated lot and that is why they are nurses. Having the ability to speak good English is the pre requisite for foreigners to work in Singapore especially in the frontline service industry since English is the national language here.
When the nurse spoke to dad, she had to repeat twice of what she had said. I explained to her that dad is hard of hearing with a smile. Because I can tell that, she is quite a looker even if she had the facemask. Being in the hospital reminded me of the television drama ‘ER’. With all those sexy, good looking, doctors and nurses, you would not mind to be nursed by them when you are sick. The nurse was a local, I can tell from her accent. She smiled back at me and spoke to me from then on since she did not have to raise her voice while talking. I became my dad’s ear and whenever I needed an answer from dad on some medical questions the nurses asked, I bent over to dad and spoke close to his ear. Since I demonstrated how I talked to dad, all of them followed suit. Dad has been hard of hearing since many years ago. The hearing aid help but he does not like to wear them often and that creates difficulties to interact with him.
After dad has changed into the hospital’s operation robe, mum and I left him in his ward and went for lunch. The operation schedule was at half past twelve and took about two hours. Dad spent another two hours in the operation theatre after the operation. The nurse sent dad back to his bed in his ward at five. Imagine this Diary, mum and I spent the time waiting for him by window-shopping all day. I was so tired and I bet mum was too. We sat when we were tired and walked again whenever we were ready. It was a lucky thing that the hospital is near to two shopping centers so it was not that boring for us to wait until the operation was over. I was very tired from waiting and walking so I made it up by buying myself something. It is good to shop you know. Women and shopping seriously work together very well.
When we went back to dad’s ward, he was sitting on his bed. The nurse was attending to him but I can see that he was still drowsy from the drugs they gave him. I was grateful that I get to see him before I went home. I had this training to attend to in Khatib. It was at half past seven in the evening and I did not want to be late for it. You know how I take my appointments seriously don’t you Diary? If I were to go straight to the training center from the hospital, I would not have to leave early but I had to go home first and take my shower. I spent about ten minutes with dad in his ward and bid him goodbye. Mum stayed with him and my brother was on his way to the hospital. So at least I felt better leaving my parents since my brother will be accompanying them there.
I rushed to the train station to get home on time so I will have time to shower and change. The trainin center is near to home. It is in the same town but different neighbourhood. I knew that place. I used to hang out there after school last time. Many of my school friends lived there. But that was back then when I was in secondary three. I thought the feeder bus still the same but I was wrong. There I was, looking at the directory and I figured I jot it down right but again I was wrong.
After five years leaving hometown, so many things have changed and I was lost in my own hometown. I felt like a jerk and I hate it. I was supposed to know the route to every single feeder bus in my neighbourhood but I did not and that made me feel helpless. So I boarded the bus that I thought was the right one. The minute the bus came out from the bus interchange, I knew I had taken the wrong bus. I may have become lost with the street knowledge on how to get around my neighbourhood with the feeder buses but I still know my neighbourhood. I just thought to myself what a blunder I have made. I was supposed to reach the center at half past seven but I was stuck on the wrong bus. I spent a total of good twenty minutes on the bus feeling lousy. I did not panicked because I knew the bus would take me where I boarded it. That is what feeder bus does. They travel in a loop. Feeder bus only serves within a neighbourhood. It takes you closer to where you live from the bus interchange. When I was on the bus, there was a man sitting infront of me. I was already anxious with my situation at that time and I somewhat smelled something bad. It smelled like used shirt on a man. Or perhaps a man who just woke up and has not showered. I swop seat on my right and so did he so I swopped back to the seat on my right. as soon as the bus reached the interchange, I got down and called the center that I would not be coming since I was already late by half and hour. I felt so silly for a mistake like that. Shame on me Diary.
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