Thursday, June 18, 2009
All of us must have had some kind of experience with a growth or scars on our skin that's either irritating or had become quite an eyesore. For me, I suddenly discovered that there's this small little bump on my right hand which I know for sure is a wart. Having had a few before and hopefully this is the last, I knew I had to get it removed before the virus sinks its roots literally too deep. The previous visits to a private family doctor resulted in the laser process being used but it was expensive and might result in unsightly scars. Therefore, it was either a visit to a polyclinic or somewhere else where it's slightly cheaper. Well, the fact that the polyclinic near my place was under renovation made my decision alot easier.
Upon consulting my classmate zm for his advice, I decided to head to the ntu medical centre. He was one of the few in my class who had got their warts removed there and the fact that I had business to settle in school made the trip worthwhile. It wasn't too far and it was in an environment that I was familiar with. Today was my second visit and follow-up treatment to see if the skin had peeled off or whether the wart is still present. Well, sad to say, I had to undergo the nitrogen surgery again. It's definitely not painful but I don't really like the idea of someone using a surgical blade to scrape away my skin and then administering a few sprays of the nitrogen. That process of spraying was not painful but more of like having your bare skin touching dry ice and not moving your hands for a few minutes.
The fact that the nurse who did the minor surgery remembered me from my last visit made the going alot easier but I would rather we not meet again under such circumstances. I was rather surprised that nurses in this clinic are authorized to carry out such stuff but I guess she's trained in it and takes such minor tasks off the doctor's back. It's inevitable for humans to have warts because we're in contact with dirty objects or surfaces all the time. The virus which causes this wart will somehow find a way to get into our body. Like the doctor who attended to me today said 'It's not something to worry about' and it's definitely not life-threatening either. What we can do is to keep our hands pretty much clean by washing it as often as we can. That includes a proper scrubbing of my hand after each soccer session. I can only hope that this is definitely the last visit and that my hand/skin heals without any complications.
In an attempt to convince me that there is one stall in Singapore that sells excellent bak chor mee (bcm), I met up with my secondary classmates who frequents that stall. He proclaims that after trying out that stall, I never want to eat at another stall ever again. Well, he was 95% correct. Luckily my friends drove so I never have to worry about transport there but for those prefer public transport like me, it's only a 6 minutes walk from Lavendar mrt station. Think ICA building and army beach market and you can't miss the place. Situated in a tiny and rundown coffeeshop, you can't tell it offers anything special till you see the snaking queue. It's called the Hill Street something and it moved from its previous outlet at marina square. While queuing up, you get to see old pictures of the family and one of Singapore river. Amazingly, since it was a weekday dinner time, lots of office workers come here to either to eat or take away.
Prices range from $4 to $6 with the $6 being served in a huge bowl. Overall, I would say it's not bad, maybe 7/10 because I'm not used to paying more than $3.50 for a bowl of bcm (btw, I ordered the 5 dollars version yesterday). Unknown to my friends, there's actually a pretty decent stall located just beneath my house at this kopitiam situated in the community club. Since I dine there pretty often, the couple knows me and often give me a lot of noodles for just $2.50. Well, other than the pricing, one does get a generous filling of meatballs, liver and bak chor. I certainly will be back because the western stall beside sells excellent ham with cheese and beaded mushroom. If only I can find a girl who appreciate bcm the way I do. The next return trip will be less boring.
The technician at the geo lab must be pretty surprised or shocked that I come back to the lab even during the holidays. She must busy enjoying the aircon and comforts of the lab until I opened the door and interrupted her peace. Guess she's pretty used to seeing me walk in so randomly. Her head looked up and seconds later went back to her work instantly. Spent the night before sorting out my modules/subjects list (something that I've been typing down diligently since Year 1 Semester 1) so that printing out such documents this morning was a breeze. With the end of every semester, I'll find myself closing the chapter by adding it to the list and saving it in my thumbdrive. This can even take place on the very night of my last paper because I like to be neat and efficient. Which is why with the increasing load of admin and paperwork to be done as a teacher - I've come to accept it as part of my teaching load in the future. With the necessary stuff needed to printed and sorted out, I'm ready for my attachment.
On the way out, I met and said hi to Mr Ali. He's the malay uncle who does admin duties for the geo department so I slowly gotta know him over the semester. My friends know me a crazy guy who loves to print so no prizes for guessing it's one of the ways which enabled this friendship to be made possible. I was desperate for a colour printer and my professors said that geo students will be able to print their GIS maps free of charge at his office. So over the semesters, if there's any documents which needs to be colour-printed, you'll find me chatting with him in his office while waiting for the document to be ready.
I don't know whether it's a compliment when people like him to the bcm stall auntie in school thinks that I'm a pgde student the very first time I set foot in school. At the start of every new school year, they will like go 'Why are you still here, thought you graduate and start teaching already?' I had jokingly remind Mr Ali that I've still got Year 3 and 4 to go. Maybe it's a sign that I'm growing old or that I've a face of a 25 or 26 years old.
The strap of my adidas watch actually broke while queueing up to buy bcm yesterday. Picking it up, I thought the screw came off or something but it was literally a clean break of the rubber strap. Calling the fossil shop at Pacific Plaza (the only shop in Singapore who has the spare parts and technical expertise to make repairs) shocked me. Not only will a replacement strap cost me $45 but it will take 2 to 3 months for it arrive from USA. How nice but luckily I get to keep the watch while the strap arrive. I'm not a keen fan of leaving it there for 2 to 3 months because you never know whether the shop will close down or misplace it despite it being such a highly-reputable place. So people with adidas watches out there. do take care of your watch because any mistake will burn a hole in your pocket. In the meantime, I'll have to wear another adidas watch - this time with a leather strap.
