TTSH vs SGH: Handing Over of Cases

In TTSH, at around 5pm or so the HO/MO on call gets a number of calls. Generally, these go something like this:
Hello, J. ah? This is K. from Ward 8B ah, got 2 cases to hand over to you. First one is 8B/65, Mr Genericname Tan, severe pneumonia, DIL Max ward fluids no inotropes, family [...]

SingTel: “You move into new address, now we harass you for Ah-Long’s $20k”

SingTel is asking me to pay my handphone bill. Only thing is, they transfered over 110 dollars worth of debt from some other account to my account and demand that I pay it. What the hell?
Here’s the background. I started work in May, and received a corporate handphone with a corporate line with a corporate [...]

Great Book: No Country For Old Men

Aye, this is the book that was made into a major motion picture made especially memorable by a particular atrocious haircut sported by Javier Bardem (creepy!).
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarth is a fantastic book with fantastic characters and a gripping plot that made J. [speed-]read it all the way through in one [...]

The Fatigue Factor

At 2am in the morning, J. saw his MO-on-call fall asleep at the counter. Wanting to let him get a bit more rest, he quietly went to do his changes without disturbing him.
At 3am in the morning, J. sees another MO having little “micro-sleeps”, zoning out in the middle of taking a history from a [...]

Arrogance in Ignorance

People actually study this sort of thing!
Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments
Hmmm… it makes perfect sense. Or does J.’s inability to recognise his own sensing abilities render him incapable of realising that it doesn’t make that much sense?

Weekends

I miss jogging with friends at the reservoir. I miss pounding jungle trails and taking in the tranquility of the water. I miss having a chewy hot prata with spicy curry after.
I miss sitting on the cool parquet floor reading the morning newspapers. I miss having a fragrant mug of Old Town Coffee sitting alongside. [...]

Crocs

On the journey home yesterday, J., looking about shiftily, declined to meet the eyes of anyone on the train. He shuffled his feet and tried to keep the plastic bag by his side inconspicuous. He quietly nudged it further under the seat.
He didn’t want anyone to see that he had bought a pair of Crocs.
More [...]

I am not ashamed.

Imagine this scenario. You, a Singaporean, go to the United States and make some new friends. One day, out of the blue, your American friend says, “Yo, J., you’re from Singapore right? That totalitarian state? Doesn’t it bother you? Your country caned a poor boy (Michael Fay) for a common juvenile behaviour. Do you feel [...]