Saturday, September 11

A new Raya experience

Working during the first day of Raya wasn't so bad, after all. Sure, Shiraz called me at 01:30 to make sure I wasn't wallowing at home, all alone (he read my previous post). Nadiah invited me over (not in the middle of the night. For Raya. You pervs). But the following morning was something else altogether. I wore my best baju melayu to work. The one that cost me RM700, initially worn when I was IZ's best man. Needless to say, people were impressed. Some even took photos. Hah! Anyway, it drizzled all morning, but instead of casting a certain gloom, it made the atmosphere pleasantly cooling. I brought the lemang along, and gave 3 to each ward. The nurses brought other kinds of food, so after ward rounds, we had a blast eating. Everyone loved the lemang I brought. Been buying it for years, so I didn't notice the high quality. The whole day was quiet-ish, and knowing how my calls usually are, my colleague Irina got highly agitated when I had no cases to discuss. Had one big case, though, a perforated gastric ulcer (in plain English: a man had a gaping hole in his stomach, with all the stomach contents spilling out and contaminating the space between the bowels). Managed to finish 2 movies, Forever Strong and She's the Man. Yeah, talk about how free my call was. Still, had a case near midnight, and another at 03:00. So in the end, I managed to sleep about 4 hours before I could safely leave the hospital. Bought McDonald's Big Breakfast on my way home, and I arrived just about the same time Reza did. Opened the door, and almost gagged at the stench of cat waste. Both Keeno and Chiqa were hungry, so fed them first before I cleaned piss, shit and vomit. All three. Joy. Had breakfast, took a quick shower, and left home at 09:30. Had cat fur all over me from sending the two rascals to the vet for boarding. Amost broke my heart, seeing the fear and sadness in their eyes. So. Streets were clear. Reza drove at a leisurely speed, and we made it to the bust terminal around 10:05. The bus was already there, and I didn't want to keep Reza waiting, so I boarded the bus after buying drinks (his treat). Initially planned to continue reading Breaking Dawn (yes, I do read the Twilight Saga), but the guy beside me was the friendly type, so we ended up talking half the trip. Slept for a while after that, woke up intermittently due to discomfort, and finally arrived in JB at 15:15. Paksu and Fizal picked me up, and we went straight to Mama's cousin's house. Slept in the evening, woke up in time to eat lontong (been craving for it, sigh). So here I am, staring at my laptop, with my phone tethered as a modem. I can't live without the Internet, I tell you. Oh. I know this post is mundane as mundane can get, but I have something big to share. It deserves a post of its own, though. Selamat Hari Raya from JB!