A different taste of work

There's just something different about the department I am working in now. It is the Hospital Procurement Unit (it is also glamourously called the "Store" since we keep many many things there!). It's the unit whereby we procure and supply items for all the departments in the hospital - everything, from drugs to non-drug items.

It's nothing like the Clinical ward Pharmacy, the Outpatient Dispensary/pharmacy, the Inpatient ward supply, the TDM or TPN departments. It is a separate entity altogether, another community physically away from the other departments in the hospital.

The contradicting thing about this department is that:

1. Here, we meet no patients, but we meet a lot of sales representatives from various drug companies.

2. Also, we receive no prescriptions, but we receive a lot of letters and documents, all legal and official.

3. Not to mention, we receive no phone calls asking for "Hey, what's the dose of Chlorpromazine for intractable hiccups?", but we get phone calls asking for "Hey, what's the stock level of Chlorpromazine in our Store?"

4. And, we do not count medications by the number of pills, but we count them by the number of boxes in which they are contained!!

The first impression i got from colleagues about working in Store were - lots of paper work. lots of letters and faxes. lots of recording, lots of red-tape. lots of stock-counting. everything that is to describe the department with one single adjective - mundane.

Well, i must admit that during the first week, i was all bored to the bones. Whenever seniors from other departments need a relief and they asked me for the favour, i would happily do so. But now it's coming to the fourth week of my posting in the Store, and i think i am starting to see the beauty of working in this department. It has some fine touch of experience which i would not possibly get elsewhere.

I observed and learnt how my senior pharmacists deal with the influx of sales representatives (yes, these sales reps come to us, armed with high persuasion skills, so that we purchase their products!). Also i learnt from my seniors, how to estimate the monthly usage of drugs - eg how quickly does our hospital use up Unasyn injections? We have many drug and non-drugs items (perhaps hundreds or even thousands of them), and it is really sometimes a very difficult, nevertheless important, task to monitor the item movement. I learn how to deal with expired or almost expired products, especially if there is a big bulk of them! We try our very best, to minimise loss. After all, it's the tax-payers' money alright.

Also, I learn about how expensive certain drugs are? I heard there is one type of vaccine which may cost up to half the price of a MyVi!? Of course it's not available in our hospital right now. And, how difficult to procure some other rare drugs? Sometimes we have to go through a whole lot of procedures just to get one particular type of drug for one particular patient.

To me, this department is metaphorically equivallent to the 'backbone' for all other departments in the entire hospital. If say Store was to become non-functional, there will be no drugs (and non-drug items) for the wards, operating theatres, and clinics! That means every other departments will not be able to function as well, yea?

I think i'm going to miss my time there. I had good time with my colleague, my seniors, other employees in the office. Even the cleaner and the guard are very nice people - they always smile at me early in the morning!

Now, why did I even think of applying leave this Monday even though I am just going to stay home and rot?

It's Green!!!

Throughout the two weeks of our first ever trip away from homeland, i remembered that i never stopped commenting on his green Converse. I kept irritating him that it's an ugly green and he, indeed, has a bad taste!

So much of a sister! Well, we grew up fighting after all! Of all the children, he and I have the nearest age gaps - 2 years apart is close enough to make us share innumerable things together - from childish fights, to intellectual, and even emotional exchange.

But today, as i browsed through the picture albums again, i thought to myself, they are not too bad-looking actually! Hehe. I hope this remark about your favourite shoes is a good birthday gift for you this year!

(Yet, i think my beaded flip-flops are still nicer HAHA, but Happy birthday anyway!)

Dear you,

You have my blessing...

And I am taking a turn.

Life would be made easier

If i choose to be happy. :)

The Climb

It's the words in the lyrics which spoke to my soul. So refreshing to listen to it again, and this time with the radio blasting from the speakers in the car. The song's my silent reminder.


The Climb

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes they knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
The pain I'm knowing
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I,
I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on,

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby
It's all about
It's all about
The climb
Keep the faith
Keep your faith

Minesweeper

Everyone probably knows what the Minesweeper game is, but how many would really find it an interesting game to play? or rather, how many would even bother opening that application which is ubiquitously found in most Windows OS?

It is such a simple game that it doesnt require a speedy graphic video card, nor a boost in the audio system. It doesnt demand an incredibly high RAM, nor does it occupy even a gig of your space! It's so modest a game, that you prolly need only a good working mouse to play it, and a wee bit of common sense, of course!

To me, it is not just a game that is located in the Start --> All Programs --> Games. In fact, it is another of my favourite childhood games which can get me addicted to the PC for hours long. Even though the presentation of the game is plain and non-decorative, I actually find it a mind-boggling puzzle game!

The rule of thumb in this game? Very simple - the number in a square tells you how many mines there are adjacent to that square. We have to use some Mathematics to play it. I still remember how teachers in Convent taught us the "P if and only if Q" and the "Kebarangkalian" concepts, and that was how i found my love in this simple game. So, it is actually the 'Probability and Logic' game - u get the idea!

Perhaps, finding pleasure in simple things is just my cup of tea. While other teens of my age might be frenzied over games like DOTA, RA, Warcraft and so forth, but i somehow turned myself into a Minesweeper addict when i was still in school.

I stopped playing the game for quite a while now, but after watching the trailer "Minesweeper, the Movie" (thanks, my dear chicken-back-side!), it really makes me recall how much i used to love it, playing again and again just to beat my own high score. It's okay if everyone thinks that it's an old-boring-classic game, but this so-called trailer is definitely bringing the game to live!

Now if i were to play Minesweeper again, i would imagine myself as a real minesweeper - wearing those gung-ho outfits, standing on those grids with mines underneath. Imagining myself planting the flags, anticipating explosions, and the whole shebang! How cool is that!?

My grandmother's wooden clogs

I live in an old townhouse built during the colonial times. I live with my grandmother. I take pride in a lot of things which portray our local culture in this heritage-old house. That includes my grandmother's wooden clogs.

Sometimes, I love to roam around the house in her clogs when she's not around. I love the clattering sounds made by the clogs against the ground each time i make a step. I love the weight of the wooden-soled clogs as i lift my feet up everytime. I love the feel of the smoothened texture of the wood on my sole.

There was once when i quietly wore my grandmother's clogs again when she was watching tv upstairs. She came downstairs after her tv show, and she must have searched high and low for her clogs! The obnoxious part of me was not aware because my feet must have felt so comfortable in her pair. I really forgot the fact that i have deprived her of her clogs.

She didnt asked me for her clogs, instead she just let me continue wearing them. She discreetly took a new pair of clogs from her cupboard, and she started taking out a knife. I was shocked when i saw her using the knife, and i instantenously asked her "Ma, what are you doing!!??"

She replied, "Don't worry, just go ahead wearing the clogs.. I'll use these new clogs, but i need to resurface it first"..

though i didnt understand what she meant by resurfacing with a knife, but i really felt so sorry for her. She looked delicate (and she has shaking hands and weak osteoarthritic knees), i really felt so bad. in fact, I silently scolded myself for wearing her clogs. I went bare-footed, and i fitted her feet into the warm clogs from my feet. I reminded her not to use the knife anymore for any reason. I couldnt have forgiven myself if my grandmother really started using the knife in whatever way.

I think i should start getting myself a pair of wooden clogs and start wearing them. By the time i reach my grandmother's age (and if the clogs are still not worn out), they will be as smooth as that of my grandmother's! At that time, i can live to tell a tale to my grandchildren that my grandmother used the exact same kind of shoes once upon a time.