Thanks for the great letter. I was about to drop you another note to ask if you received my last letter.

Crazy crazy week, but I’m glad things are back to some normalcy.

First of all, my mom got seriously sick not long after my brother left for Melbourne. It started with this cold shower she took every evening. It was a chilly night and right after that, she felt really cold, and the very next day, she had a bad flu. So bad she went to sleep till 4pm when she gathered enough strength to go to the doctor. The doctor prescribed her some flu medicine, she came home, slept some more, cooked some porridge and I took over frying the fishcakes while she went back to sleep. It was pretty much the same the next few days, very fatigue, though the fever was gone. Her appetite was poor. A week after her completion of anti-biotics, she was still not very well, tired and no appetite. And she discovered some red rashes on her legs that slowly spread to her thighs. Off she went to the doctor again and he insisted she went for a blood test immediately at the hospital. He ruled off allergy to medication and said it could be something more serious than that, perhaps dengue fever. So she went to the hospital for the blood test. I’m so appalled by the hospital efficiency here. The waiting time for each procedure was about 1-2 hours. She was there around 2 plus pm, only got her results at 4pm. I got to know she had to be admitted into hospital for observation by then, because the doctor said she had low blood palettes and it was indeed dengue fever, but it’s the aftermath because she had no more fever. So I had to call my boss at 5pm and told her I had to go home to pack stuff for my mom. I then went to the hospital, and we waited for a while for her to get admitted. The bed wasn’t ready by then, so we went for dinner, and came back to wait some more. She only got into her ward by 7 plus. If it was a case of real emergency, the person would have died by then. I remember mom telling me there was this guy who got his finger injured in industry work and it was bleeding profusely. But he still wasn’t given medical attention by the time the blood clotted. This is real terrible.

So mom stayed in this 6 bed ward, non-air con, because it was highly subsidized and per night stay was 65 bucks inclusive of medicine. They make you put in a $300 deposit first regardless of how many nights stay. There was no ward for dengue fever, so she was just put into this ward where people had kidney and renal problems. We stayed with her till 8 plus, and then went home. My mom was feeling all right and upbeat, you know. Just tired of all the waiting. She stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and wanted to discharge on Friday because she didn’t want to stay there for the long weekend. She didn’t sleep very well there because her bed mates had all sort of strange visitors and held curry parties late into the night. Basically there was no medication given, just drip and lots of rest. She didn’t have appetite, that’s why they gave her drip. I took 2 half days during that time to bring her back home and stuff. Oh, that was tiring and worrying, you bet. And it was the first time it dwelled on me that my parents are getting older and I do feel more burdened when they do fall sick. Especially now that my brother is away, it seems the whole load of responsibility falls on my shoulder. Such scenario is inevitable and you can’t help but feel that your folks are aging and you gotta keep an eye on them more. Singlehood does come with its own set of worries, because your folks are staying with you and they will fall sick from time to time. My mom has recovered now, the rashes are gone and I’m glad her appetite is getting back to normal.

My brother’s room been pretty much cleaned out. It sort of looked like a dormitory now. But high tech facilities. TV, internet, you got it all. By the way, I’ve sort of become a network engineer in my house. All 3 computers at home have wireless connections to internet, and of course that comes with its own set of problems as well. Sometimes we can’t connect to the internet and so I’ve got to check out what’s the problem. I learnt how to type in commands and get IP addresses and decipher what does 169, 164, 192 means. Mostly I just switch off the main internet and router and start all over again. It works 99% most of the time. Geez, I like the feeling of being in control of situations like this. I hate to think I’ve no internet connection at all. Especially over the weekend at home. The first couple of days, it was really weird to see my brother’s room emptied out. Like this flatmate has moved out. But I’m getting used to it.

Yes I did join the lunch date plan. I went for that interview and basically they asked me some questions, and I paid quite a hefty sum for that, so I expect to meet some bloody rich CEO or high flyer during lunch. While I filled up the questionnaire, the woman who interviewed me was studying me and making some of her own notes. But god, how ignorant was I when I was filling up that data sheet because when they asked me for the income expectation of the date, I was like, geez, what is actually enough. I left that blank and said it’s not a criteria. Maybe I was wrong. But I think no “down and out” person could have had 600 bucks to join this blind date plan, so I think they can’t be that bad in that category. They claim the database of men were mostly professionals working in the banking, health, law, sales sector. I hope I don’t meet any insurance or religious guys who go on preaching or selling. Well I could ask for a refund at the end of my first blind date if I do not wish to go on with their services. I will think about that. They also did a handwriting analysis. I asked for a report to be sent to my house, to see how accurate their analysis is. I’m just skeptical with it all, how they match people up based on expectations and handwriting, but let’s see. I will definitely tell you how the first date went. I’m beginning to doubt myself actually. I don’t know. It’s funny to read that you said I’d definitely warrant some attention no doubt on my dates. So yeah, I might attract enough initial attention, but ultimately it all boils down to chemistry. But hey, I want to know, what is something that you notice about your date on the first date? Physical attributes, I mean. Because you were talking about the date and that you noticed she had a pretty face but bad skin. Yeah, I guess it’s kind of important cos it tells if the person is healthy or not. I know the lady from the dating company said some women has specifically said they don’t want to date anyone who had greasy hair or bald, things like that. So I basically ticked everything on the expectations form as very important. Hey, I’m sure the guys are going to be picky on who they want to date, so I can do the same, right?

I got a little angry with Farmer man during one of the conversations we had. Ok, farmer man is just a friend in States, he owns a farm with his wife. Hence the nickname. So he asks me when am I going to Ohio cos he wanted to introduce some men to me. I asked what kind of men those were? He said some worked under him and they were looking for someone who knows how to cook. I said they can find a maid or chef to do that. He said a maid whom they can also love. I find that unacceptable. Does it mean the guy can’t survive on his own without someone to cook for him? And he said, what’s the big deal for me to cook for one more person since I can cook. The guy can do the dishes and laundry. I said that’s not the point. The fact that the man could not be independent is a big issue to me. So I was a little cheezed off.

Congratulations on that promotion! Now I can boast that I’ve got a friend who’s an associate vice president. It sounds so awesome…and that title is WOW… So do you have an office room by yourself, with a full panel window view of the London cityscape? Don’t all those high ranking officials have those kind of view in their rooms? But I think they are even too busy to enjoy the spectacular view below them. I think you’re the most well-established among all the friends I’ve. Pls don’t forget me when you become a millionaire. Man, do you have a say in recruitment when you become a vice president? Give me a job in London. Hehe. You just never know, you still have few years more before you hit 35, so you might jolly well make 100k (pounds) a year and become one of top eligible bachelors (if you’re still available by then).

As for me, it’s both the institution and people here that gets on my nerves. So yes, I looked through the papers last weekend, and didn’t see anything I could apply for. Unless I want to try applying for mechanical engineering jobs. I feel hopeless in this sense. So coped up, and wanting to move, but nothing is helping me. But I’m going to work harder on moving. I have to.

Anthony is still going to get a motel. Thank goodness for that. We looked through a few yesterday and he sent a few more emails out. I’m hoping on one in Vancouver, but most likely it won’t be, because properties are exorbitant in there, so I won’t be surprised if I’m flung over to east Canada which means Ontario, Toronto – the harsher winters.

Come thinking of it, Anthony is quite crazy. He can get so driven on getting his goal, that he is taking up 3 jobs right now, besides juggling with his essays for his final semester. He has a liquor shop job, he teaches piano to 3 girls, and teaches English to Korean kids. Wakes up early morning to check his shares, but he tells me that shares are not doing so well of late, so he’s just keeping it there and monitoring. Not much buying and selling. He and Dave is planning to come over to visit for a few days in September. Not really a business visit of anything, I think he just wants to come over to chill and relax after that exhausting summer. Then after his essays are gone out of the way, then can he focus on this motel search. Yesterday, I was seeing myself as a motel cleaner in the near future, cleaning out rooms. Not that I mind. Cleaning is satisfying, but I lately feel the backaches after I clean 2 rooms and 1 bath room. Maybe bleach is my next good friend. Anthony says there is a cleaning lady employed in motels, so I don’t have to clean.

Lately, I bought a blender and also made my own healthy fruit smoothies. I thought of the idea cos my mom back then doesn’t have much appetite and I thought if she’s not eating much, then at least get some fruit juices in. This has much become an addiction for me. My favourite is strawberry and banana smoothie. It’s so healthy, almost unlike me. Haha. But it’s wickedly tasty, and obviously healthy. I cut down on my carbohydrate intake at night and replace with this. I also want to take up some cooking, for my own interest and survival sake. I mean, I’ll pretty much have to depend on myself when I move out. And it does help that my idols can whip up such good stuff that I feel motivated to pick up a few culinary skills as well. It’s not that I need that to boost my own ego, but really it is nothing more satisfying to know that you can jolly well survive on your own outside without having to rely on fast food all the time.

I just came to know from my mom last night that my brother bought a car in Australia. For $2400. It can run both on petrol and LPG. I guess it means diesel. That’s a bit extravagance isn’t it. Unless you’re planning on staying there long….but a car?!

So how’s things with you and Susan? Is she asian since she was from Vietnam originally?

Yeah, I myself do not quite like the idea of dating someone from work. But it might work for some other folks. So, you’re not seeing the divorcee anymore?

Tracy and I will book a short weekend trip to Angsana Resort at one of the nearby Islands this Saturday. I’m looking forward to that. We hope to make that trip on 15 August. Just 3 days 2 nights. That will be fun.

Until then, take care. I hope something good comes up my way. Everything must come to a absolute down before it spirals up again. I hope that theory also applies to my life.

Bye and write soon.

<< ~ >>