Thursday, April 02, 2009
Visiting my classmate's wife who had just given birth at KK hospital was indeed an eye-opener for me in many ways. Despite finishing school early in the afternoon, I stayed back with a few of my classmates who were heading down as well. Prabz gave us a lift to the hospital at around 7pm, reaching there close to 8 plus thanks to the evening traffic. Being born in Thomson Medical Centre, I've never set foot in the old and new KK hospital and I was amazed to see the excellent facilities that they have. I mean if you're a Singaporean woman who had just given birth, you got to admit that you're in very good hands with such excellent healthcare services.
We didn't stay for long, probably around half an hour before we left because we could tell that his wife was visibily tired. It wouldn't be nice to disturb her or the couple from getting their much needed rest. As a friend, I could tell that Shah is a very happy father from the way he feeds, cradles his baby and puts her to sleep. At the same time, even though he may not be showing it, it's only natural to expect him to be mentally shagged. That comes from staying in hospital to accompany his wife and only going home to get a change of clothes. There's only one word to describe such a man - respect. It's not easy having to juggle an university education but to do it with a newborn, it's not easy when exams are round the corner too.
I left the hospital with a very different mentality on life and on my future basically. I'm sure most if not all of us did as well. Guys who orded from the army would definitely grow up and be more mature thinking in their thoughts and actions. Instances like these would only help to strengthen this aspect. I plan to get married at between 28 to 30 years old and I'm not sure I'll be ready to have a baby with my wife come the first two years of marriage. It's going to take a toll on our finances and social life if the baby arrives soon after we get marrie. Well, a baby is a blessing in disguise and who's to deny it if it really happens.
I can't wait for the exams to be over so that our class can head down to Shah's house to see his daughter again. Had a brief discussion with a few of my classmates as well with regards to pooling together a sum of money to buy shopping vouchers from Kiddy Palace or Taka where Shah would be able to use it purchase clothes for his daughter. It was yesterday night where I discovered for the first time that Brands or chicken essence is not halal, this would make our purchase of tonics for his wife very tricky and I guess I got to ask my melayu brothers on what do women take after childbirth to recover.
It's been a very fast semester this year and exams are round the corner. I'm not very pleased that I've got 3 papers in 2 days but I like to keep myself happy by saying that it's all going to be over on the 22nd April 2009. Looking back, it's definitely not as intensive as the previous one in terms of assignements. However, the lack of drive and having assignments that are being prolonged throughout the semester made it very tiring. A month ago, I still asked myself whether it was possible to attempt the tennis assignment when I was still faced with my sociology, management and geo essay to complete. Fast forward to now, I'm glad to say that the sacrifice of sleep has allowed me to accomplish all these.
Sociology assignment took me 5.5 days to complete (2 days where I didn't sleep just to type out a 18k essay) while tennis took 3 days. I did my part for both biogeo and management as well and that calls for double celebration. It's good to know I'm on schedule for the remaining days leading up to the papers. Before I call it a night later, I going to revise for my sociology. Consultation with Dr Mcneil proved to be useful as my tutor is away for a talk. 4 days for my brightest hope before I tackle biogeo for the whole of next week. Finally, it's 4 to 5 days for sports management.
The going is going to get tougher for the month of April but I'll know that when I look back, the sacrifice is going to be worth it.
