Straighten-A-Sotong Part XI

Busy day ahead! 9am appointment again, so I brought my sandwich along. I reached super early, 8.30am I think, because I was supposed to see the nurse for the estimated cost of surgery. My preferred class? Class C lor, stay so many days, probably not in a mood to enjoy any high-class facilities anyway. Save the money! My estimated length of stay was roughly 18 days. I was surprised that it was so short. Can meh?

The estimated bill was about $40k, ~$30k after Medishield and Medisave. Fwah. Not too worried, I can stomach that.

That is when we need Medishield and Medisave. Which reminds me of how shitty Medishield cruelly denied me coverage when I just started work due to my pre-existing condition. I mean, wtf? At least cover the other non-existing conditions can? You can cover smokers but not me? How fucked up! Luckily my father covered me under his policy when I was young. Screw you sneaky Medishield!

Then, the nurse tried to draw my blood for the Full Blood Count and Renal Panel. It was so difficult, that 3 nurses were needed to hold my arm, press it down, and to work the needle. Must have been drawing blood so much that my veins had shriveled in fear. Made a mental note not to go to NSC to let them do blood test anymore, since I have decided to stop the Spironolactone anyway. Not continuing liao, still do what blood test? Figured I would just become their statistics, at my expense.

While waiting for my turn to see Dr L, I went to the Pulmonary Function Lab. This clinic is so eng that no appointment was needed, just pop by whenever you want. While I chomped on my sandwich, the (over)friendly counter staff kept asking me if I would like Milo to go with it. No thanks! I think it would be my turn soon ^_^

I had to take my weight and height. Somehow, despite us trying to stop her, the technician wasn't able to comprehend when I told her that I couldn't stand up on my own, so she shouldn't be struggling to position the wheelchair in front of the weighing scale, leaving my father with no space to help me. Aiyah, just let her finish, then we do ourselves lah. I hoped she's feeling stupid now.

Ooo they have a sleep clinic here. Patients can come here doctors to monitor their sleep. It only opens at night lol!

Breathed in and out at a machine... I hoped the technician remembered to put oxygen in there. Glad nothing was smelly. Similarly, I hope I didn't foul up the machine.

My lung capacity sucks, I know. She was probably suspecting that I wasn't following her instructions. Didn't help when I can't wrap my mouth properly over the tube.

Then I waited for the results, paid and left.

Back to the orthopaedic clinic. Surprisingly, today's wait was relatively short.

Dr L: I have been thinking about you!

Huh?

Dr L: How to help you.

O... you should be!

He asked for the results of my ECG, which I didn't have. After telling him what the heart doctor said, he told me to take the ECG later. This person ah, must get what he wants eh?

I was sent to see the anaesthesia specialist. Chaperoned by a staff, I got to know the shortcuts around.

The anaesthesia clinic wanted to take my weight and height again. This time, I refused to cooperate. Didn't I just take it earlier in the day?

Staff: I need to take it again.

What a weak excuse! As if there will be dramatic changes in the span of 2hrs!

Sotong: It is very inconvenient for me. Can you try to find it in the system first?

Go find it in the system, lazy bum! I'm sure it must be there!

And she found the info. *rolls eyes*

Super long wait at the clinic, considering there's just 1 patient ahead of me. The patient went in for a long time, and the doctor idled (IMO) for a long time, as if waiting for lunch time (it was 11.30am), before deciding he had slacked enough and called me in.

Indian doctor from India. Almost couldn't understand him despite my years of immersion at work. He asked the mundane questions, like why I was here, my condition, general health, medical history... told me what to expect during and after anesthesia... mainly stuff that I already know. I would be looked after by a team. Then he asked if I had any questions.

Would the gas be brown, smelly and choking like last time?

Kidding. Of course I didn't ask that. No questions. Didn't know what to ask.

So I took 10min at most. I really wondered whether the previous patient had THAT many questions. Paid and left the clinic.

To the Heart Centre next. The ECG (12 Lead ECG, the order form said) took only a few minutes. Just attach the electrodes, lie there for a while, instant printout, which they would send to the doctor later. Hmm!

No need to pay also. I'm done for the day ley. Free? So good? Fantastic, I'm off! Don't regret it! *快闪*

Last stop, the Business Office to seek help for that massive estimated bill. Usually, a deposit was required upon admission, usually the entire estimated bill. How many people can cough up this sum when they were not going to buy a house or car?

The lady serving me said she could allow me to put up a smaller deposit of $5000 instead and pay the balance upon discharge. Which brought me to the next question. Did they expect me to pay the balance in a lump sum too? Wouldn't that be just postponing the inevitable?

The lady said I could request to pay by installments for the balance, interest-free, subject to my family's financial health. They would need the usual proofs to evaluate my case. I had the documents with me, so I passed them to her. She sounded very helpful the whole time. Hoped to hear good news from her!

Today's damage:
Spirometry $75.00
Static Lung Volumes $60.00
Subsidy -$65.00
Out of pocket $70.00

Orthopaedic consultation (C-RV) $59.00 - $31.00 = $28.00
Anaesthesia consultation (SR-FV) $75.00 - $45.00 = $30.00

Expensive! :(

Realized I wasn't charged for the lab tests?

After I got home and googled on anaesthesia, I realized the most popular question was whether they would be given the same chemical that killed Michael Jackson LOL!

Interest-free installments! That's really wonderful. Now, what if I could charge them to a credit card with rebates... I gotta find the perfect credit card!

Lion, Sotong and Kiasuism

The Lion King musical posters were everywhere, everybody was talking about it. Even Sotong, who never does anything artsy, couldn't help feeling curious about it. But tickets were so expensive, wouldn't it be a waste if I didn't know how to appreciate it?

The perfect opportunity presented itself - my company was selling heavily subsidized tickets to staff.

• Platinum $240 $60
• A Reserve $185 $45
• B Reserve $165 $40
• C Reserve $125 $30
• D Reserve $85 $20
• E Reserve $65 $15

The tickets booking would start at 12 noon on 27 May, first-come-first-serve.

Cool! Now I can test my interest cheaply!

But only 1 pair of tickets per lucky staff. Need 1 more so I can go with both my siblings. Need help from a colleague! Who would possibly be UNinterested in cheap Lion King? On the prowl for victims...

"I really think you don't want to watch Lion King."

Not being a very successful lioness here. I could only think of N, whose husband was likely to be overseas during the period, so no one would be watching with her and hence she's probably not going!

I sounded her interest by... being very direct. She agreed to help me. Thanks! :D However, I was slightly taken aback by the readiness. I suggested that she should still check with her husband. Should she change her mind, just let me know.

The next day, I checked with N again, but she hadn't spoken to her husband yet. Again, I emphasized that she has priority, but she should let me know as earlier if she decided to keep the tickets for herself, so I could look for someone else to help me. She said ok.

When I probed again a few days later, she said her husband might be interested, but as of now, she's still helping me. Uh oh. Confirm with me soon ok?

A few days later, still no reply. Getting insecured. Paiseh to probe her further :(

N still didn't give me an answer even when it was already the day before The Day. And she's on leave. And I'll be on leave on The Day. How to coordinate effort like that? For one thing, I knew she's taking leave because her husband was back and she's spending time with him. So I should take it that she's not helping me? Better get my backup plan together just in case. Looked around the office for targets... seriously, I think the whole office was interested in going and looking for extra tickets themselves lor.

Had to stay back to guide T, a colleague from country C to do data upload. He has A DAMN LOT of questions! I would have finished in half the time if I didn't have to entertain him :\ He had bad breath, yet sitting so close to me *gasped for air* Why did so many of them have bad breath??

He could repay me in some way though... *tentacles creeping up behind him*

Sotong: 你有去看 Lion King 吗?
T: 什么来着?

Yes! Chance!

I told him about the mass email. Seemed like colleagues from country C were always left out of such things, although they were also considered National Cockup Schedules staff. As such, T wasn't sure if he was eligible at all, although he didn't mind helping me. Har... Ok let's do it this way. If N couldn't help me tomorrow, I would get T to help me. If he's wasn't eligible, too bad for me. Since I would be on leave, I would need to contact T by phone or online. New contact on my MSN... Hugged the laptop home since I might need VPN to access the booking link.

The Day, a.k.a. today, has come. I was on leave and was supposed to go out for lunch and shop, but all had to wait because the hyperlink to book the tickets would only be revealed at 12 noon. VPN-ready. So at 11.30am, I was all dressed and ready to step out of the house to start my day, but couldn't because I had to camp in front of the computer -_- It's like NUS arts tutorial bidding all over again. Nostalgia.

Smsed N, but she didn't reply. Called her, but she didn't pick up. Gone to the washroom? Maybe.

Waited...

That's too long for a toilet break. Gone chit-chatting? T was online! I asked him to see if N was around. She wasn't, maybe gone for lunch? That's real early... got to wait for her to return call then.

Almost 12 noon and still no response from N. She don't know this kind of thing need to be first one meh? How's she going to get the tickets for herself or me or anybody if she's at lunch at this critical time? T, help me please! T was sooo nice :D

12 noon! But still no Lion King link. Kept refreshing my webmail, but still don't have. J was camping at home too, like me. Glad to know it's not that the HR had left me out.

HR sent an email saying that there was a problem and they were working to resolve it. Walau... faster lah, I want to go out! No idea how long they would take, didn't dare to leave my computer :S

Finally, the link came! I sent the link to T too. Attack!

Taking damn long to load. Opening multiple tabs didn't help. Same result with Firefox and IE. Argh! Something curious, it's a Sistic website, meaning it's public. So no need VPN lah. 害我（爸爸） laptop 回家. How were they going to prevent outsiders from ordering? Also meant that helpers need not be SinkHell staff...

Finally I got through to the booking page. Wa Platinum was sold out already! M had advised me not to choose the Dress Circle seats as they could be quite far back. I selected Stalls seats for A Reserve, keyed in the captcha, but it said I got it wrong. Ok again... still wrong?? It kept accusing me of keying wrongly. I where got so lousy! It happened to J too. Walau system cock up lah! Frustrating! Sistic should have known this would be like the whole SinkHell launching a DDoS attack on them. Shouldn't they have increased the server capacity? Maybe the main Sistic website wasn't working now as well, haha!

J told me that it was rumored that SinkHell people received the links way before we did and had already helped themselves to the Platinum seats. If it were true, UNFAIR!

Ah I got through the captcha! I made the mistake of choosing my own seats, because it took a freaking long time to load the seating plan!! Like hang there! So long that, if there were any seats at all, they would be gone by now. Sigh, gave up on that session, balek.

I suspected that the captcha mystery might be a way of telling us that the seats were sold out. This time, whenever it accused me of poor tying again, I changed the seating area. And I let the system assign the best seats. The less clicks, the faster I could complete the transaction.

T got to the confirmation! It's Dress Circle seats, but A Reserve, so not so bad! Not so fast, roadblock! A Sistic account was required. What... I thought it would be asking for National Cockup Schedules staff particulars lor... instead, we just got the usual Sistic workflow. Cheapo. I was apprehensive about giving out my Sistic account to outsiders, but on the other hand, I feared asking T to sign up his own account would result in requests which the server obviously couldn't handle already. Nah!

Hey my confirmation screen was up! Different seating area from T, but at least it was on the same day.

The confirmation itself took time to get through. Heaved a sigh of relief when it did. Double heave when the confirmation email arrived. 1pm already. Thanked T profusely. He had to go for late lunch all because of me. So touched!

Results: 2 D Reserve Stalls, CC 2,3 + 1 A Reserve, B 47. All so off-centre lor... hope can see.

The extra browser tabs we opened started getting through too. Looked like the server was finally getting a breather.

And finally I could go out. Couldn't help but feel pissed with N. She didn't reply me at all. I guessed she's probably on leave too. She's not obliged to, but it I really felt she should have at least informed me that she's not helping me. Or she's paiseh about deciding to keep the tickets for herself? I could only guess. I'm not going to raise this topic to her after today and will pretend it never happened.

At least, I learned something about N from this.

Straighten-A-Sotong Part X

Thank goodness Saturday appointments exists! Today's the most expensive investigation of all the - MRI. Before this day, the clinic's staff even called me up to remind me of my appointment and stressed that I should keep to it as it is very difficult to snag a slot. You bet I'm coming! Saturday appointments are precious! Despite it being at 10am... *yawnz*

And she also highlighted the cost. Yeah yeah...

Even the waiting room has nice cushioned seats.

But the changing room was very old ley :( The lock weird weird one. A lady didn't know how to let herself out XD

A guy stuffed earplugs into my ears, which I'm sure wouldn't work because I could still hear everything as before. I was put onto the machine and it worked its magic. Be very still... Don't waste my $$! Nothing to see, so I closed my eyes. The machine was LOUD! But still managed to fall asleep since I was in there for so long and consistent noises are easier to shut out. By the way, I was supposed to be still sleeping at this hour on Saturdays *sulks*

The bill - MRI whole spine, a staggering $700.00! After the subsidy, $400. Hole in the pocket :( Why can't I claim Medisave for this?

Straighten-A-Sotong Part IX

Went to see the social worker again. I only gave her the questionnaire back but not the proofs since she didn't ask for them. I didn't feel like giving since the collection was incomplete.

Back to the Heart Centre for the electrocardiogram (ECG). However, I was directed to wait outside the consultation room instead. After checking my echo test results, the doctor told me that I'm fine (permanently) and I could go. When I asked him about the ECG, he said I didn't need it. Ok, one less thing to pay for!

Consultation Services (SR-FV) $75.00
Subsidy -$45.00
Paid $30.00

I Don't Friend You!

N would rather accompany me alone to the toilet than to ask S to come along. She even asked me not to ask her to come together anymore, referring her as "that person". O ya... this morning, S also didn't come and disturb N before going to the pantry as she always did. Curious, but didn't want to probe. N will tell me if she wanted to.

I didn't have to wait long to find out why. N had to tell me herself XD

Yesterday evening, N, S, J and P were on the bus home. They were all standing and when the bus jerked, N accidentally stepped on S's foot. S playfully stepped back. So they started taking turns stepping on each other when S blew her top all of a sudden, shouting at N at top volume.

"YOU THINK IT IS VERY FUN IS IT? STEPPING ON PEOPLE?"

J, P and N were stunned. N was taken aback at the sudden change of mood. The normally docile S, getting so mad? I should have seen how she was glaring at N, her eyes wide, round and fierce. N apologized, but S ignored her. Unable to stay no longer, N alighted at the next stop.

N felt very humiliated. If S didn't want to play anymore, she could have told her instead of playing along and sending wrong signals. N had treated S as her best friend in office, yet it wasn't mutual. What was all the previous goofing and poking fun about then? N was devastated. She couldn't speak to such an unreasonable person anymore. She saw no need to apologize too. Instead, S should be the one apologizing.

Sounded like some lover breakup hor? Unintentional...

Ah, now I'm entitled to the other side of the story. J's the perfect source.

J's version was largely the same. Just some details, like how N didn't hold on to something properly when the bus was so crowded. Taking a joke too far and not knowing when to stop. J had to defuse the awkwardness after S's outburst by saying... something I forgot. After N alighted, S complained to J.

So S was not remorseful at all lah. Why is there still such primary school tiffs going on now?? You step me, I step back, not happy then don't friend each other? Wakao! Although N didn't bar me from speaking to S, still, it'll be awkward.

The incident had badly impacted N. She has been thinking about their friendship and couldn't fathom what went wrong. Our lunch group was fractured into 2 as a result. J with S and I felt obliged to stay with N. Sigh.

For one thing, J was right about not N not knowing when to stop her jokes. N had been teased S about "this guy" on and off, about how S has been looking at him, him looking at her, whether she missed him now that he's gone blah blah blah. S would be teased mercilessly during each of the episodes and she would hit N in retaliation, albeit playfully. It would go on and on, until even I myself was tired of eavesdropping and wondered how S could tolerate it. And I still couldn't figure out who the guy was and whether he's the same person.

And so N and S neither spoke to nor as much as looked at each other ever since. Heng they were not doing the same project.