Our cups runneth over

A 2nd stint at wine tasting for a couple of us at Amichi's.

Wine wasn't as varied as our first visit, but hey, my personal maxim is never to spit on charity.

Beginning to think we have untapped potential to become full-fledged alcoholics.

And for the insiders who were there and the outsiders who know what I'm talking ABT - Do not feed the Monkey!

You know the expression "so easy XYZ can do it blindfolded"? Here's what it means:

Balls.

Some people are too busy playing the good guys that they think we can stop time. Or would volunteer to work way overtime.

Are they really stupid or simply out of their freakin' minds? I like to think it's a little of both.

A patient with an appointment at 4pm came in at 5:10. Anterior CR. No pain, and absolutely no chance of her dying because of the decay.

So while the nurses were busy playing their little game of tai-chi, yours truly was pissed off enough to go tell the naive little girl outside that unfortunately, time and DOs wait for no man, woman, boy or girl.
Not even Gisele Bündchen.

Okay, maybe Gisele. But just her.

And I told her to make another appointment in front of the morons that had just allowed her to register. I hope that sings a clear message to my overzealous tormentors. Poke us hard enough and we're not gonna lie there dumbly getting mind-fucked by you imbeciles. They probably bitched to her that DOs like myself lack that little bit of altruism, but hey, whose fault is it that she came late? Whose fault is it that she has decayed teeth? Whose fault is it that she believed the fools who told her that she'd be seen at 5:10?

I also find nurses who douse me with sarcasm (the bitchy, not the jovial, play play kind) extremely unpleasant and objectionable. Especially if they go around poking their heads into cubicles, trying to catch me slacking red-handed. Hey I'm slack and I HATE seeing freaking kids. I don't hide it and I can't be [unique expletive] bothered to pretend that I'm typing treatment notes or having a stomachache when all I want to do is play with facebook. I'm not THAT person.

So if some nurse decides she wants to be a snide little [<--keyword] spycam that catches DOs stretching for a minute or counting the times I visit the toilet then sure, I applaud thy patience. But if that's all you do, assisting on occasion, then I say bah! Hypocrite.

Slack den slack lah, dun pretend.

Linux Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy)

I honestly thought it would be a breeze.

For the uninitiated, Linux is THE open-source (read: FREE) Operating System that's out there for the masses. So yesterday, I took the plunge and installed it on my Laptop.

I was impressed with driver compatibility. No issue with difficult to find laptop drivers at all.

Open-Office, Ubuntu's answer to Micro$oft's stranglehold on word processing, presentation and spreadsheet software, worked like a charm, and really, it looks a lot better than the ancient, dated Windows XP that we love to hate.


The hurdles came when it came to installing programs. You had to learn a whole freaking language to do it. Case in point my installation of Beryl, which was supposed to grant me an uber cool Grafical User Interface (GUI).

I had to copy and spew complicated lines of codes and start figuring things out like a puzzle. But hey, I'm 25 in a few weeks. I'm a little old for that.

So alas, here I am, defeated, dejected, and reinstalling that overused copy of Windows XP, the old adage proven yet again-

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Compliments that have been directed to a particular counter staff at work:

"He is able to make Adeline [daughter] feel relaxed."
(yeah, just like an Osim chair)

"My child was very happy with his attention towards her. I appreciate him. Very good."
(The recep shows attention?! Why aren't your mental alarms sounding off?)

It is easy to be nice when all you do is overwork the underpaid Doctors by sending in walk-in patients who have no urgent need for treatment. This despite the eye-catching sign outside that clearly says walk-ins will not be entertained.
Try being the good guy when you're wielding the injection needle and restraining bawling, struggling kids, while the helpless mother stands guiltily in the the corner, tears streaming as if witnessing an execution.

Oh yes, maybe we should let counter staff diagnose problems and alleviate pain next time.

City of God

Powerful, graphic film. It wasn't scary until I read that it was based on a true story, and then I just thought Brazil is a really messed up place.



The second half of this clip gives a good idea of what this show is like

A colleague attempted to treat an 8 year old who thought pissing us off was really fun. So we had to reciprocate in kind.

It resembled this:


except with clothes on and less gay. Oh and we didn't have an umpire either, though that would have been funny.

So there we were after the devil's offspring had left, working the think tank, wondering how we can better manage kids like these in future.

1. Pills

Diazepam 5mg Stat 1 Hr before treatment. Wati or Mr Chan can help distribute at counter. Forget the prescription. We want your kids to be HAPPY!
Disgruntled parents are encouraged to have some too.







2. Tasers

Nothing says "I care" like 1,000 kilo Volts through the body. Side effects include pain and death.





3. Blowpipes

Probably can get this from some African Shaman off E-bay. Or a toy store in China. Poison darts sold separately. Batteries not included.




4. Papoose Board

Ok, maybe this is a little more elaborate than the conventional ones, but still an essential in every pedo clinic.

Californication: The second coming

Showtime is getting ready to engage in some more "Californication."

Cabler has greenlit a second season of the David Duchovny starrer, which has emerged as a frosh hit. Twelve additional episodes of the half-hour comedy have been ordered, with lensing expected to start in April.

After a strong debut last month, "Californication" has impressed Showtime execs by adding viewers. Its last three Monday premiere telecasts have averaged 18% more viewers than the show's Aug. 13 debut, scoring Showtime's best ratings for a new series since 2004.

Most cable shows tend to premiere well and then lose eyeballs, making "Californication's" perf all the more encouraging for Showtime.

When the multiple weekly plays of "Californication" are added up, skein is averaging just shy of 2 million viewers each week and is holding onto roughly 90% of its "Weeds" lead-in. Showtime is seen in about 14 million homes.

"Californication" is the latest in a string of success stories for Showtime and entertainment prexy Robert Greenblatt. Other shows that have performed solidly for the net recently include "Weeds," "Dexter," "The Tudors" and "Brotherhood."

Wine tasting at Amici Italian Restaurant


Clueless about texture, acidity, but at least able to distinguish red from white.

Word of the day

Slave /sleɪv/ [sleyv] –noun
1. a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another; a bond servant.

2. a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person: a slave to a drug.

Usage: My employer does not believe in increasing our salaries to counter inflation, pays us in a day what our counterparts earn in an hour or less, and does not allow us to seek additional employment. We're almost slaves.

Michael Moore's "Sicko".

A rousing documentary about HMOs, dirty politics and healthcare. Makes you think quite a bit. Recommend watching it.

Pittance of a salary has arrived. Rejoice. Now I can afford lunch for another month.

Pickup Artists

Read "The Game" by Neil Strauss a year ago. Here's the ABC feature.

Today I was at the Health Promotion Board.

Today I performed an exorcism. Or tried to anyway.

He came in, plump, half-tearing, and all of 4 and a half years of age, clinging on to his grandmother for dear life. Siwen's prior entry in his case notes had warned me to expect the worse, and so I was prepared, heart-hardened and ready to do my work.

He was meek and offered little resistance, as long as his anxiety was allayed by kisses from his grandmother (at his insistence), a somewhat grotesque public display.

With the tools of my trade brandished, gleaming from the overhead incandescent light, I attempted to halt the decadence that was eating his teeth away, a mortal remedy to this suffering soul. He sobbed, begging me to cease, pleading for his grandmother to whisk him away. I succeeded in my first measure of healing.

Triumphant, and a tad bit devil may care from the small victory, I missed the signs - the increased intensity of clutching of the grandmother's hand, the pitiful whimpering transitioning into louder cries. I had roused the demons from within, and now it was my cross to bear.

The transmogrification gripped me with unexpected suddenness. While trying to restore form and function, he grabbed my hand, my instruments, in a violent struggle that could have been a danger to him and my license. The wailing started, with intermittent blood curdling shrieks that wouldn't have been out of place in brutal medieval inquisitions.

We summoned for help. My assistant restrained his right arm, while another pinned down his epileptic torso and flailing legs. Yet another held down his head. His grandmother had the unenviable task of clasping his left arm as i resumed my task. And I was so close to finishing.

His grandmother, torn between emotions and reasoning, loosened her grip and the left hand came, swinging at mine.

"Le gia yi eh chiu, mai pang diao" my assistant barked to the hesitating grandmother, and she recovered from her absence seizure.

I purged that 1 demon called #65o caries. But I had left scars.

Some, like that cut near at the buccal mucosa, will heal. It's the wound on the mind and soul, the irrepressible seed of fear that has been planted, and certain to bear fruit of terror, that's going to be a problem. But not my problem.

Because tomorrow, I'll be back at RGS :)

Californication

Californication.
So good, i felt compelled to write about it here.

Alexandra Village Hawker Centre
2 x Carrot Cakes

Rong Guang BBQ Seafood:
Fried Baby Squid
Fried Chicken Wings
Sambal Stingray
Kang Kong
mysteriously delicious fried stuff

Old Punggol Satay:
30 sticks of satay

Foray into wakeboarding

Trans-sister Radio

This book's a little different, with the centric theme of transgenderism, exploring the issues and woes of those who strive for acceptance as the opposite gender. Fictitious accounts of family and friends also shed insights into their thoughts and emotions .

Suprisingly pleasant to read with an unexpected end.

Different, but is it wrong to be different?

It's the start of TV Season again. Here's the TV junkie's programme guide for weeks to come:

Mon - Family guy/ Desperate Housewives
Tue - Heroes, Prison Break
Wed - House M.D. (yeah!)
Thur - Dirty Sexy Money (New series by ABC)/ South Park
Fri - C.S.I./ My name is Earl

and
Sat/Sun - EPL

Too bad Lost only starts next year.
Who needs Mediacorp, MobTV, MioTV or Starhub?

Lucky Prata at Lucky Plaza. Love the curry chicken.