nurse speaking in broken english, ' doctor not in today lar...you come again tomorrow.' and that was how i earned myself another day of brain-hibernation when everyone else has started their rotation.

I'm proud to be Malaysian, but sometimes, I just really lament the standard of English here. called up the GP i'm posted to last Saturday. and the following was what i got...

me: halo, is this clinic ***?
the girl on the line: yes?
me: i'm a student fr IMU (blah blah blah...introduced myself, said i'm doing gp posting there, can i speak to the doc?)
the girl: yes? can you say again? (and bear in mind, i was in KL, calling this JB clinic, imagine my credit running...)
me: (patiently, i repeated myself again)
the girl: er...er...
me: is doc *** in? can i talk to him?
the girl: er...i don't know english lar, boleh cakap melayu?
me: (urgh!!! #$^*%) ini Klinik ***?
the girl: bukan lar, salah nombor.
me: (##%&^*~!#$^^% but knowing that God wants us to love, i gripped the phone to release my irritation and said in a sweet voice) oh...tak apa lar...terima kasih...

luckily IMU gave me 2 numbers to the clinic, so i tried the other line. didn't manage to get the doctor but spoke to the nurse (whose English wasn't that fantastic either). and she said: oh you just come on Monday 8-5pm.

right...so i woke up this morning, praying all the way while in my dad's car that the doctor will be a friendly and kind one...and that the nurses will be helpful. but...to my utter disappointment, the first nurse i met said, ' doctor hari ni tak da lar!' and gave me this glare as if it's all my fault that the doc's absent. i politely asked if i could be attached to the replacement doctor who's on duty today. the nurse (with another glare),' tak boleh lar. my boss not here, cannot let you in. dah cakap tadi, doctor not here, you come back tomorrow!' wow...such hospitality. tried to explain that i already called and some nurse said i could come on mon...blah blah blah...but still 'allah...i dah cakap, i cannot let you in, boss tak da hari ni!!' thank God, the head nurse (a sweet, soft spoken 30+ Chinese lady) came and everything was settled.
Helpful nurses who'll chat with you while waiting for the next patient? Forget it... what a great start to my GP posting. ok ok, maybe it's just that one nurse. hopefully, everything will be fine tomorrow.

my brain has been hibernating for too long. 4 weeks of Selective / slacking / living a hedonistic lifestyle is too much for me to bear. it's funny how when i need to study, i long for the days when i can not worry bout studies. but when i can not worry bout it, i look forward to studying again and filling the table in front of me with lect notes. seriously, am I really the kiasu and nerdy geek that WeiJin always proclaims me to be? am i really such a boring person that all i can do everyday is stuff myself silly with medical knowledge? yucks...sometimes i disgust myself. but the weird thing is, i'm not as bothered over studies as before. hmmm...i remember how i shed petty tears when i could only manage a B+ for respi. but this sem, when i got B for both repro and renal (and got owned by Tim hands down), i was pretty numb. disappointment for the initial 5 minutes maybe, but after that, i'd forget i even collected my results. wow...Aiky's revelation. guess i just lost that motivation to perform my best and excel in studies all the sudden. hmmm, this is not good. hopefully there'll be another revelation to counter this revelation.

yey! carolling's over! and that statement's another irony where i contradict myself altogether. before carolling started, i looked forward to it all...the practices, the fellowship, the performances. and then, during the week of public carolling in Starbucks, in church, in AmCorp, i wished for it to be over. and then now when it's all over, i actually miss it. urgh...my brain is a whole hodgepodge of confused and unprocessed thoughts.

Tim has succeeded in making me feel terribly guilty that i procrastinated and didn't get anyone gifts. Tim of all people, surprised me with not one, but TWO presents. what has this world become to?!?!
hmmm...christmas last for 12 days right? so i'll still be in time when i get back to KL in 2005 to give people pres. wow...this is seriously a whole new Aiky. never before the last minute person, never before the impromptu and unplanned person...well, as i said, slacking for the whole of Sem4 has done terrible damage to my brains.

home's good. i said i didn't want to go home yesterday. well, i take it back.