Interesting Phone Calls I Received #4 (And Second Lockdown)

Well, technically it's Movement Control Order 2.0, back to square one, 'cause with the constantly rising cases, it's unavoidable. Humans being humans, a lot of people were expressing their outrage in social media, and panic buying again. Really? Haven't we all learnt this back from MCO 1.0 in March? Till this day I don't understand why are people rushing to panic buy, like why? I stocked up on stuff long before cases were on the rise again because somehow, you just got that gut feeling, and it's to avoid disappointment when I can't get my cheese flavoured tortilla chips (So delicious), but I suddenly have a craving for plain M&Ms due to unable to find fruit flavoured Skittles (I didn't want those tiny packets, I wanted large ones which I could fill into a jar) Unfortunately, just like the first round, original flavoured stuff are often stocked out, unless you want nuts, tomato, salt and vinegar, barbeque, tom yam, shichuan flavoured stuff. I'm good, thanks. I'm a simple person, I prefer eating without sauces and other fillings on top, so long as I got something to keep the hunger at bay. 

        God, I miss going to bookstores and clearance sales, mainly I was trying to hunt down several books that has long been out of print. Currently chasing this book down because I feel that the author is great at writing a fast-paced, plot with twists and turns, and she's rather underrated. Furthermore, I'm getting a little tired with Patricia Cornwell. Don't get me wrong, she's a great writer, but the amount of techno jargon is getting overwhelming to me, and I prefer good old down-to-earth crime novels. I managed to track all the books down except for this one. Actually, I managed to track it down in some thrift shops and second-handed bookstore in the States, but with the current events over there regarding a certain duck (No offense), I feel that it is best to wait till things cool off. Not to mention that after conversion rate, the shipping really burns a hole in my pocket. The amount after conversion could get me a brand new novel, and I was willing to get used or second handed copy to save cost as much as possible. Praying hard that my Book Depository will stock the book up. With airmail, I often have to wait for a month plus in order to get my books but so far after using them since the beginning of lockdown I have no regrets. 

 Source: Bloodborn : Kathryn Fox : 9780061353345 (bookdepository.com)

*Patricia Cornwell got me started off with crime fiction thanks to my friend who introduced me to her works, and with that I'm forever grateful, but I can't, nor will I ever use all the technology that she has mentioned because 1) I'm not familiar with any of the tools she mentioned 2) Her recent books are just getting a little too dependent on technology 3) After too much techno jargon, I prefer good old detective solving skills. Same friend borrowed me her copy of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, which detailed the horrifying murders of the Clutter family back in 1959 in Kansas. You can imagine those were the days where didn't have advanced technology like now, and the police only managed to catch the murderers due to observation and luck.

Source: Garden City, Kansas, Police Department, Famous Cases, Clutter Family Murders

Clutter Family Murders | Garden City Police Department (gcpolice.org) (Retrieved on 17th January 2021)

Source: Crime Archives, Biographies of Key Figures CrimeArchives: The Clutter Family Murders | Biographies of Key Figures (Retrived on 17th January 2021)

Source: (24th March 2012, Podolak, Erin) Book Review: In Cold Blood Book Review: In Cold Blood - Erin Podolak (Retrieved on 17th January 2021)

        Not much phone calls but here are some.

Comparing Prices

With the rise of healthcare everywhere, it's almost like going to a shopping mall. You survey the market, you look at the doctors, then you decide whether you want to pay for their service or not. It's okay to survey, but at times I get a little frustrated when I hear the D word. Look, private side has always been at the high-end of prices, and I know, government you have a long waiting list ahead, but everyone often told me: If you can afford to come to private, it means 1) you have the means to pay 2) you're under insurance. Patients tends to love throwing this answer: Doctors are rich, surely they can afford to give a little discount? If I told you how much a doctor earn starting out, you will be horrified. The doctors who made their mark, earn their millions, those are the pioneers, the veterans who have poured all their sweat, blood, tears and sacrificed their work life balance to get where they are now.

*This is something I'll take to the grave, so don't bother asking.

The Best Time To Do Covid Tests

There's no right or wrong answer here. I attended this call recently. A caller had a close contact with a person and recently found out they are positive so they wanted to know the best time to do it. For me, the answer is simple. Close contact? Get a swab now and get yourself quarantined. No need to dilly-dally. If you are unsure, go to the Ministry of Health site. There is a lot of information and guidelines on what to do.

Source: Pemantauan Kendiri Kes Positif COVID-19 di Rumah oleh CPRC Kebangsaan, KKM

Pemantauan Kendiri Kes Positif COVID-19 di Rumah | COVID-19 MALAYSIA (moh.gov.my)

 

Psychiatry Is Often The Last Resort

I tend not to refer people to psychiatry until it's the patient requested, or once I get the full history and am certain it's related to mental health. Recently, someone twisted a story on how we send them to see a psychiatrist, when the story is actually they agreed to it after much discussion. To be safe, always put it as a last resort. Usually I'll go for Internal Medicine to be on the safe side.

I Want To See A Doctor NOW

I attended this call near 9 PM. A called on behalf of B that B has a thing on their throat and wanted to see a doctor NOW. I told them nicely since it's already night time, they can go to the Emergency Department where a MO can attend to them. A wasn't happy because they want to see a doctor NOW. Repeated the same thing and told them, don't worry, the MO on duty will get the correct doctor for you. I even gave the doctor's name myself and offered to schedule an appointment. Nope, they still insist on NOW. The case wasn't life threatening, I was trying to help save the cost because do you know much are the after office hours rate? It's like buying things from a 24-hour convenience shop. The prices get marked up. In the end, they didn't turn up, even though I managed to get a nice doctor to see them.

Discrimination

Sad but true. I don't want to use the other word because it sounds offensive, but whenever I say that there is no (insert here), callers tends to hang up without warning, especially (insert here). Some can even outright tell me (insert here) are more trustworthy. I myself also got it at times when I couldn't speak fluent Cantonese, I understood the language but I speak broken Cantonese, Rusty Japanese, Mandarin (mainly conversational), Bahasa Malaysia passable and English. I tend to get: "You are (insert here. Why can't you speak to me in (insert)?" Another common one is that (insert here) are more trustworthy, or (insert here) are (insert here). You know what this is? Bias, prejudice, stereotyping, unfairness, narrow-minded. I could go on and on, but it's hurtful, and I have to put in a lot of blanks because it is sickening.

I Want The Best Doctor (Chemistry Matters) 

I'm going to say it till the end of time. All doctors are the best, because it is not easy to be a doctor, and they worked hard to get where they are now. I couldn't be one, I hated the three major science topics, and I couldn't bear to dissect animals (FOR SCIENCE!) The only thing I could say is I can recommend you a doctor, but after that is chemistry. Say I recommend you doctor A, you don't like them. You like doctor B, but no one likes them, but you feel comfortable with doctor B, and that is okay. You do you.

 All Doctors Does A Specific Test

Not necessarily. We received a call on cost breakdown regarding a urology case. The normal breakdown will be a diagnostic test/scan and the doctor's fee. To try to get a fixed price is impossible because we do not know if the doctor is going to ask you to do this test or not, and we haven't even count the cost of the medications yet, which a another whole story. The most I could advise is to carry a few hundreds and a credit card.

Matchmaking 

Doctors can be the best of the best, but at the end of the day, some patients love spending time with their doctors. They don't want a doctor who goes in five minutes in and out, or "Hi" and "Bye", even if they are a senior. I am in the second group, I don't mind which doctor I get, provided my condition gets solved. I don't like to talk much in real life anyway cause I tend to get into a lot of mess if I open my mouth, so I'm okay with whoever, but most of my patients love to talk, so we usually have to know who to match with whom. This is why I heavily stressed that we need to know our doctors well. 

The Covid Hotlines Are Not Working

Have you seen the poor people behind the line? They get tons of calls everyday. If at first you don't succeed, dial till you get them. 

Source: Hotline | COVID-19 MALAYSIA (moh.gov.my)

Stay safe everyone.

*Today's case: (Not out yet, so I'll take yesterday's case) 4,029 (Oh, HELL NO)

**We're nearly at our wit's end, but then I found this wonderful song from one my favourite band. It's basically a message to the world to never give up. If you are ever feeling down, listen to it. I'm currently listening to it while editing.

Source: 和楽器バンド Wagakki Band / Sakura Rising with Amy Lee of EVANESCENCE

(Published on 18th November 2020 by Wagakki Band)

和楽器バンド / Sakura Rising with Amy Lee of EVANESCENCE (Animated Lyric Video) - YouTube

(Retrieved on 17th January 2021)

Interesting Phone Calls I Received #3 (With Some Rants In Between)

Emergency blog post. I have originally planned to lay off blogging for a while as I'm currently editing a ginormous manuscript, but the lengths of some people goes to...

Telemedicine = EVERYTHING

I'm not sure who put it out there that we handle everything. Our main service is to give you health advice, not to be at your beck and call. Unfortunately, most of the people seemed to have gotten too clever. They call our lines direct, meaning I can't tell what they are going to ask. In my mind, every phone call is important = emergency/ need help. I feel like moping when people call me to make an appointment with So-and-So because they couldn't be bothered. Seriously, why would I type an extremely long message for you with the doctor's clinic details and extension if you can't be bothered to call? I gotten a few phone calls with people being impatient telling me no one called them. Look, I can't predict the clinic timing, and sometimes the person on the other end could be busy. Furthermore, we are seriously short-staffed so sometimes I have to attend the much more urgent calls first. Appointment calls vs call regarding stroke. You do the math.

You Can Check My Appointment, This Means You Can Fix It For Me Too 

Again, I'm not sure who puts this into people's mind. Of course the hospital system allows me to check your appointment, but asking me to interfere in the clinic schedule is going too far. How can you ask me to interfere in my clinic assistant's schedule? How would I know if the doctors have surgeries or not? This is the reason why we stressed so often, please call the clinic personally and query with the person in charge. No one is going to eat you alive, just a simple phone call and ask, "Can I make an appointment please?" And honest to God, sometimes I don't believe things in the website. Make a call to find out. (There was an incident where someone gave me a telling off because I "do not know how to do my job". I called the clinic personally to make an appointment. Once I had everything planned properly, the person claimed I didn't see my doctor's schedule in the website properly because by right they do not have a clinic tomorrow. This is why I called the clinic assistant personally to find out, don't believe the website, for God's sake >.<)

Everything That Goes Wrong = Our Fault

When you are in the servicing line, be prepared for this to keep on happening, no matter how much you tried your very best. I received a phone call regarding promotion and packaging. I didn't attend this person at first, but I received the phone call the next day and got yelled at because they were unhappy with the service because they are unable to get the person on the other end. Baffled, I offered the person if they would like to speak to one of the clinics who does this procedure, they refused and kept talking over me, demanding to find someone who will talk to them regarding the package. While I was calling the person in charge, the person kept ringing and yelling me to, "Don't bother wasting your time calling the number because no one is answering." Look, I get it that it seems odd, but after making several calls, I have managed to track down the person and did you know what they said, "We didn't receive any calls and messages at all. Perhaps they have called the wrong number?" Oh, Christ...

COVID Vaccines Are Out, So I Need To Get It

Indeed, some countries have started distributing the vaccines to frontliners, but until the Ministry of Health gave the green lights, at the moment we do not have it yet. We received calls from several people demanding that they are entitled to get the shot now. Hate to break it to you, but the first people who will get them are our Ministers and Cabinets, followed by the frontliners, then the people are susceptible to Miss Rona. So just hold your seahorses and just be patient, okay? 

The Hospitals Are Terribly Unsafe 

Haven't we been through this back in 2020? When you are sick, and your health is already in danger, you have to come to the hospital for treatment. I'm not trying to sound like a crazy person, but why delay when you are already in so much pain? I received a call from a person to rule out a diagnosis and they were scared to come to the hospital because of Miss Rona. Um, if I'm in severe pain, Miss Rona or not, I will go to my doctor immediately. Please don't play with your health here. 

Teleconsult = I Don't Need To Come To The Hospital

This depends. Most doctors would prefer if you come face to face so that they are able to assess you. Safety is one thing to consider, but the reason why the doctors wants you to come is so that they are able to thoroughly assess you and run the necessary tests needed. If someone is having a spine problem, how can they assess through the webcam? With the jerky movements, poor wifi connection and the constant breaks (My side, a lot). Maybe for follow up cases it's still fine, but if it's a new or complicated case, please make an effort to come at least, just for one consultation. Please?

Going to Emergency Means Shorter Waiting Time

Not necessarily. This is a common misconception. I've been to private and government side for treatment, and the waiting line is always long. Now with Miss Rona on the rise, Emergency are flooded with the sudden rise of cases. Furthermore, why would I go to Emergency when my condition is not severe? Emergency Department care usually reserved for severe cases like traumatic and life threatening cases. Fever? Unless it is dengue and your platelet count is dangerously low. 

If This Country Does This Procedure, This Means We Do It Too

Different procedures varies on different countries. I know some countries does transgender surgical procedure, remove your ribcages to give you that perfect waistline, implant radiation seeds... In Malaysia, it is against our law to do a transgender surgery. The only treatment we do give is hormone injections as per prescribed by the specialists. I know America does it, my colleague says Singapore does it as well. Just because they do it, doesn't mean we do.   

I Only Want To See ONE Doctor

I got a phone call from someone who claimed they have so many problems ranging from different parts all over the body. It is technically impossible to see just ONE doctor when you have so many issues. The person claimed also claimed that I am money-minded, I just want to help you solve your problem, but we need to be realistic here. I can't just send you to ONE doctor and expect everything to be solved when you have so many places which have issues. For me, I only have a knee problem so I go to the bone doctor, problem solved. But you... Jesus Christ. If that's the case, I don't think we need specialize fields for area of expertise then.

Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

This applies to everyday life. Yeah, technically you can walk in but then do not complain if the waiting queue is long. Especially government side. I always tell people, if you are heading for government clinic, just make sure you take a day off, pack some food and snacks cause it's going to be a long while. You could say the same for private side as well. That's why people often carry coffee cups and snacks with them. I like carrying some small snacks, water and my books. 

You Should Know Everything

I don't know everything, I had to do countless research and ask around a lot. A doctor joked with me that if human beings know everything, then we are not human anymore, we are Gods. I make effort to try find out things for you so that I'm able to help you a little, but I received a phone call regarding about lab tests and the person was rude, telling me that I'm wasting their time even though I offered politely to find out the info and get back to them. Oh, why??? It's not like I brushed you off. In the end, I got one of the lab staff to help out and they took over. Crisis averted.

Take Things With A Pinch of Salt

This also applies to everyday life. A colleague came up to me and told me the doctor has no clinic despite they are on call. I know this doctor very well, having worked with him previously for a while. I told my colleague to just give a casual call, but they were hesitant, so I ended up calling. I was lucky, the doctor was accepting patients and they took the case immediately. I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet but I told my colleague when in doubt, always give a casual call and find out, because you don't want to give the wrong info and lose a potential case.

And now back to my editing, with rock music blaring in the background. Happy 2021.

*Today's case: 3,027 (In James Marsters Spike's voice, bloody hell)

Let's Do A Year End Tradition Of....

*This post is not to be taken too seriously, it is just my opinions and thoughts. 

We're going to be doing the top five things I dislike and like.

Top 5 Things I Dislike (Mainly Book Related):

1. Poetry (and Proses)

I don't exactly dislike poetry in general, I like reading poems by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling, Roald Dahl, Dante, basically the greats. Unfortunately modern poetry turned me off. I tried reading some but they are all nearly the same. Love, heartbreak, hope, trying too hard to be edgy... It's hard to read through. If you like those poetry, I won't condemn you, they are just not my cup of tea at the moment. 

*Okay, I tried writing poetry (and proses) a few times.. Not that great. Could never seem to get the knack of it. I'll put some up and you can judge it for yourself. Looking back at it now, why did I write it? WHY??? 

2. Voting For Your Own Books  

Please, do not do this. If I ever see a writer voting for their own books, you're excluded from my list, ever. Why? Because it is extremely tacky and unprofessional. Furthermore, which writers wouldn't give themselves five stars rating? No matter how much you dislike or like your own book, it's your baby. You are not going to rip your own baby apart. I do not mind if you use the review section as a summary or as an explanation page, but if I ever see you voting your own books, you're out. I don't do it, neither of the veterans (that I know of) do it, so... Please don't.

3. Poorly Researched Books

This one is a no-brainer. Readers are really good at catching mistakes, making one or two screw-ups is still fine, but when you are going to write about a topic like say, Norse Mythology,  please make sure to do an extensive research to get at least the basic facts right. Writing fantasy is the only time where you can break the rules, you create your own myth and its foundation and you stick to it. I'm looking at you (insert author's name here)

*Grammar, typo and spelling mistakes are still fine for me, but too much can also make me turn away from ever reading your works. I have some best-selling authors' works which have some of these mistakes but I still enjoy them because the story is interesting. It makes up for the tiny mistakes.

4. The Title of Best-Selling Authors (and Five-Star Ratings)

Please bear with me as I try to explain this part. This is a marketing gimmick. Anthony Horowitz once said that he had never wanted to be the title of best-selling author because it gave him tremendous pressure that he have to produce good books. It is an honour which every writers aspire to be, but recently I see young authors getting the titles just by achieving a certain target in sales. The reason why I respect the veterans such as Stephen King, JK Rowling, Anthony Horowitz, Meg Cabot are because they have worked extremely hard to get where they are now, and I have been reading their works for many years now. I don't read them because they are best-selling authors, I read their works because they are interesting and fun, and makes me feel happy when I'm reading them (For Uncle Steve's case, thought-provoking. He is the King of Horrors after all. I cried at the ending of Cujo, still my favourite Stephen King book to this day.) 

Five-star rating is also another marketing gimmick. I used to think five-star ratings are good, then I came across an article saying how some five-star ratings are a sham. This person goes on to explain that if a book has many five-star ratings, you can't trust them. If you go through Harry Potter now, you will see that there's actually a lot of negative ratings besides good ones. Furthermore, I saw a lot of five-star ratings that says something like this:

"I haven't read the book yet, but I love the author so I'm giving it a five-star rating."

"Haven't tried it yet, just ordered it, but I'm sure it will be amazing."

If you are going to give a review, please get the product first, read through, then give your review. This is why I do not like Goodreads. Books that hasn't been published yet are getting five-star ratings because die-hard fans are just eagerly anticipating the books, or they think the book is already good (Spoiler: Before Cassandra Clare's Queen of Air and Darkness was out, I saw plenty of five star reviews. Once I got a copy of the book in hand, I was so disappointed with the book. Furthermore, 900- pages??? Cassie, are you trying to wear me out?) Kind of the reason why I never liked announcing a date for upcoming releases. Furthermore, I find it hard to believe that there is no negative reviews at all. So if a book (or a product) has many five-star reviews, I'm wary. That's just me, okay? 

*The highest review (pretty much the only review I got) was a three-star rating which was positive. My next novel, which I didn't expect much, received a five-star rating which surprised me because I never knew this person, and they actually somehow got a hold of a copy of my book and actually enjoyed it, at the same time they gave me a brutal critique, which made me aware of where I needed improving on.  

5. Fanfiction

This one is up for debate. Some writers got their gig from writing fanfiction. What turns out to be fun turns into something that sounds like a warpath. People have been using their fanfiction as an original work to get published, which is terrible because the writers are unable to get profit from their original works. On the other hand, some people use fanfiction as a sort of alternative story, which is fun, and as a way to practice writing before starting their own works. Getting inspiration is fine, but be sure to give credit when credit's due. The incident regarding a fan, Jean Lamb and author Marion Zimmer Bradley is enough to put off fanfiction for life. 

• Source: Jackson, Gita (16th May 2018) It Used To Be Perilous To Write Fanfiction  

https://kotaku.com/it-used-to-be-perilous-to-write-fanfiction-1826083509 

Retrieved on 28th December 2020 

• Source: Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy

Author unknown, last edited 4 months ago 

https://fanlore.org/wiki/Marion_Zimmer_Bradley_Fanfiction_Controversy 

Retrieved on 28th December 2020

*Notable mention: Paying to get published. Due to the internet, there is now such thing as called vanity publishing, or hybrid publishing. Basically, you pay a certain amount of fee to get yourself published, or pay to use the publishing label for the spine of your book. I went for the self-publishing route, which means I do everything on my own, my friend help me with the book covers. The only thing I have to pay was for my printing guy to use his service, which is fair enough. There is something you need to know, new authors, don't be desperate to pay to get yourself published, because at the end of the day, you will be giving away your rights. It's one of the reasons why I sought for traditional publishing, yes, although I do give up certain rights, at least I don't have to fork out an arm and a leg to get published. Furthermore, if you fork over your money and the party screwed you over, it's worse. Beatrix Potter actually went through the self-publishing route, and look how well she turned out. 

**On non-book related subjects, I'm going to say spicy food (the irony), makeup and earrings, the things that I really dislike the most... 

Top 5 Things I Like

1. Tokusatsu (特撮)

AKA Special Filming .When you talk about tokusatsu, people tend to think of the Godzilla, Power Rangers or in Japanese, the Super Sentai era. Tokusatsu doesn't just apply to Power Rangers, Kamen Riders and all those. Steven Spielberg actually considered Godzilla (A Kaiju film) to be the inspiration for Jurassic Park, which is why films like Jurassic Park fascinated me, because no matter how much digging I done, no one can tell how they managed to make the dinosaurs so realistic. I know Titanic is not considered tokusatsu, but James Cameron actually somehow managed to build the whole ship back to life, not to mention destroying it for the epic sinking scene. No CGI or special effects involved, just set construction builders and the original ship blueprints plan from White Star Line.   

2. Psychiatrists 

You're probably thinking, what??? I like psychiatrists because I think their job is one of the noblest, besides being a doctor. Because with the rise of mental health issues such as depression and suicide, psychiatrists are the one who try to intervene to help those who are in dire situation. Furthermore, they are working hard to try to abolish the stigma surrounding mental health issues. It's very sad that till this day, people tend to call those who have mental issues 'crazy'. This is the reason why people could never open up about their mental health in feat of being called crazy. As far as I'm concerned, only a mass psychopath or sociopath is considered crazy. For those with depression issues, they need help. 

3. Fish and Chips

It is hard to find good fish and chips, they are either too soggy, or the food is not fresh at all. There's a place near by that prides itself on serving authentic, British-style Fish and Chips, which I absolutely adore, and make it a point to go to the place once a month to avoid burning a hole in my pocket. An alternative to this dish would be lemon grilled fish and chips, which is yummy. Unfortunately, ever since a shop closed down, I'm unable to find a place that sells good lemon grilled fish and chips.

Lemon and herb batter ocean perch with triple cooked chunky chips and house made coleslaw @ Cor Blimey

*Food to die for: French fries, sushi, noodles and chocolate

4. Chess

I'm not a good chess player, just an amateur, but I find that chess helps calms me. Furthermore, it's almost like an extinct sports, because nowadays people don't really play much chess anymore, but due to my work, I never had time to practice the game, just play it for fun.

5. My job

If you have been following my blog for a long time, you will know that the bad tends to outweighs the good. You will often hear me complain or at my wit's end trying to convince people to get proper health care, but just like the doctors, no matter how much we feel frustrated and complain about our jobs, we love helping people, otherwise why would we be in this job for years? It's the same going for my writing. It's tiring, draining, and it doesn't pay (much), but it's something that I love. I hope I could write many more stories for years to come. And for everyone, it doesn't matter what you are working as, as long as you love your job, you will tend to see the good that comes out of it.

**Things that I also like: The smell of fresh paper, for some reason science says it tends to soothe your mind.

Since you came this far, it's time for you to roast my poetry (or proses). Keep in mind that I do not follow the traditional format of aa bb/ ab ab. I tend to freestyle. 

Source: Citrine Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

https://www.gemsociety.org/article/citrine-jewelry-gemstone-information/

CITRINE YELLOW

Citrine yellow

The many shades of sunlight

The serpentine eyes of the Goddess Tiamat

The luminous surface of a citrine quartz

Yellow had resembled of old gold

The light radiating in the sky

The dancing petals of a lone sunflower

Yellow, like drops of sweetened honey on a cool sunny day

The bitter juice of fresh lemon

Or the salty sweet taste of freshly baked corn puffs

Soft strands of angel's hair in shimmering golden yellow

Whispering in your ear with promise of desires

Like molten gold in a blazing fire 

Citrine had been known for its brimming prosperity

But even a plain quartz had its own magic properties

By the blessing of the Jupiter star

Evil, dispel into the light

~© ElayneCapahony, 9th November 2012

UNTITLED 

In the dark of the night,

The flutterings of wings could be heard.

Underneath the darkest hour,

The moon turn a bloody crimson hue.

The warmth of the heart beating with rhythm,

Sealed with a cold embrace and a vampire's cold kiss.

As I awake in the pit black dark,

All I see is a tall cloaked figure vanishing in front of my eyes...

And thus the nightsong ends.

~ © Saya Heartnet, 10th May 2012

Oh, the cringe. 

Source: FFVI - Opera House scene

Good thing I steered away from writing poetry and proses. Again, I would like to stress I do not dislike the whole thing in general, it's just not my thing. Who knows? Maybe somewhere along the line I'll come to love it again, till then, I'll just put those works aside. A friend suggested to me to collect all my rejected works and compile them into a book, I don't know, most of the things I wrote were really cringey. Some people write great screenplays, some people write great stories, some people write poetry, you know your strength.  

*Today's case: 1,594

Merry Christmas and the Graveyard Shift

Oh come ye old faithful.

After working consecutive nights, it's time for me to share my experience. Actually, I think I sprinkled it in between in a few posts but ah well, I'll put it up here properly.

        Working in the ward, you don't feel scared because the whole place is bright and you have your work colleagues with you, not to mention your patients. I'm not sure about now, but I heard that the current night shifts make the beds and do the bed sponging to avoid the morning shifts being overwhelmed by their duties, I don't know. That's what I heard. During my time, we update the night reports, check on our patients every 2 hours, check the DDA cabinet, update the inventory if needed... 

        The first few days, I'm not going to lie, was hellish. People claimed I was being paranoid, or worst, as a writer you are over imaginative. I wish, but this is the one time I was rightfully pissed off. The place was located in an isolated area, where it is tucked in a little isolated corner, where no one can hear you scream or hear you call for help. When the place was announced, to be honest, I was pretty freaked out. If we are talking about office hours, it's fine, but 24 hours, Good God in heaven. 

        Look, Miss Rona had impacted all of our lives, like it or not, she is here to stay for the next two years, according to most medical experts. Who knows? Regarding the vaccines, we have plenty of phone calls regarding it, but seriously, let's just be honest here. Even if it comes, you can't even get it because the Ministry of Health said it is to be given to those with the highest priorities. You can't just waltz in and demand for it, furthermore, there is no further news from the Ministry of Health or the WHO, so until then, stop speculating. When it comes, it comes. You're probably thinking what does the previous statement is all about. Well, everyone is struggling to keep their jobs, and some were unfortunate. Humans being humans, we do what we can to survive. A wise doctor once told me there are two ways to survive: Legally or illegally. The first option is we do things by the law and work hard, the second option needs no explanation. People will do what they can to survive, and this is a fact.               Working alone is never a good thing. The main issue as I pointed out was, should anything happen to me, no one will know till the next morning. I did a morbid joke on how I may be gone the next day and got an earful from my family for being insensitive. Yeah, it is pretty morbid. The simple short fact is you need backups in the event of an emergency, or say you need to go somewhere for a while. At least someone is aware of where you went. There is an event where I nearly got stuck in a washroom during the graveyard hours because, naïve fool I was, I assumed the washroom is just next door so I just went there. I didn't realized the lock had a problem to the point where I spent nearly fifteen minutes twisting and turning the lock till I'm able to unlock. By the way, at that time, my battery was nearly dying (I finished my power bank battery at that time, so from that day on, I made sure to carry a cable and adapter, along with an extra power bank with me). And I didn't know who to call, and there's no point hammering the door because I don't think anyone could hear me, so....Note to self, never assume. 

            Being a horror writer, people poked fun at me for being scared of ghosts. I am NOT scared of ghosts. I'm scared of someone sneaking up on me from behind and knocking me out cold, or garrote me, I don't know. Worse scenario, the R word. So stop saying I'm scared of ghosts. Of course people will often make light of the subject because it has never happened, but didn't we all learn by now: Better to prevent the things from happening before it happen. Once it happens, are you going to blame the victim for the thing that happened? It really made me furious to think that my safety was being played like a deck of cards. I had to fight to make sure that there are lights on 24 hours and a guard to occasionally check on us because at least I will feel a little safer than being isolated in a pitch dark isolated area. I was the first person among us to do night shift, if I don't fight now, what would happen to my colleagues who will be taking over? It's not fair to them. Don't endanger our lives just because things haven't happen yet. And as I have often stressed, it doesn't matter who you are: young or old, male or female, the moment you are an easy target, people will attack you when you least expect it. My friend was a victim of a snatch theft this year even though she wasn't dressed up for a dinner party. She was wearing T-shirt, shorts, slippers and carried those typical sling bags that isn't a designer label, but because she let her guard down momentarily, her bag got snatched. Of course she made light of the situation saying she didn't had a lot of money on hand but it is traumatizing. Who wouldn't be? I'll probably be in shock or something. This is why we need to stay vigilant at all times, and don't go out alone. Go with a partner at least.

            So yes, I sounded frustrated and furious, but there's nothing I could do but wander to a place where I could be safe. Don't worry, when you work in the hospital, you will be able to find places that will have people. I avoid the wards because I do not want to get mistaken for a ward staff and end up running all over the place for no reason. That's just me, but some people are so brave to sit up there alone. Oh, in case you're wondering, yes I am working the graveyard shift on a Christmas day, so no Christmas dinner for me. It's okay though, Christmas for me has always been the same. Rest, read, write. I usually listen to modern versions of Christmas songs such as Aly and AJ's Jingle Bells Rock, Jesse McCartney's One Way or Another, Hilary Duff's Santa Claus Lane and Last Christmas, notable mention goes to Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem's Jingle Bells medley, oh and throw in Jeff Dunham's Jingle Bombs and maybe a couple of commentary channels roasting Christmas stuff (I'm old school). I would've love to go out with my friend, but we are working adults now, and I do not want to give my friends whatever I may have. Hospital colleagues are fine with me, but for my outside friends, I'm scared for them, because I don't know if I may have Miss Rona because it is asymptomatic. The doctors said they may have it, I may have it, the only way to be sure is to do a swab test. None of that rapid test please. I've seen some people claiming that the rapid test is efficient, but most hospitals agreed that a proper Covid test results should take up at least 24 hours minimum to 48 hours.  

        On that note, God bless ye, Merry Hippogriff.  

*Today's case: 1,247 (Please, let next year be a good year)

Interesting Phone Calls I Received #2

4 consecutive nights, nothing. I'll just share my thoughts anyway. The first two nights was awful. Because even though I was promised that there would be lights and at least a guard to accompany me throughout the night, I got nothing. The department area was in an isolated place, where even I if scream for help, no one would come running, because you couldn't even hear me running. The department is located in a huge hall, tucked in a tiny corner right at the very back. Before the renovation, you could see us 'cause it's an open area. Now, you can't. I had to call the guards a few time because there was literally no lights. I can't tell you how scared I was, my heart was thudding so hard, and every little sound made me turn my head around. I didn't dare to sleep throughout the graveyard shift (The irony) in case something happens and I wouldn't be able to react. So I head over to the Operators' Room and the ICU MO Room to standby, because it is literally scary.

        "You're just being paranoid..." "You're being over-imaginative because you're a writer..." No, if my safety is being concerned, it is not paranoia, and it's not being over-imaginative. I even got a joke that says, "You're a horror genre writer, yet you are scared of ghosts?" For God's sake, I'm not scared of ghosts!!! I'm more scared that if I doze off (So far I haven't, thank God for that.) someone would attack me from behind and I wouldn't be able to escape, because I am at the fourth floor, in an isolated area. No one would come to rescue me, and I wouldn't be able to escape cause the place is pitch dark, and because there is only one way in an out. The department is basically a glass cube, when someone bangs on it, it's loud. I guess the only option would be for me to open the window and jump to safety, except it wouldn't work. You are working in a healthcare facility, they lock all their windows to prevent people from jumping. So I can't exactly jump to safety. The doctor made a morbid joke on whether you may die from jumping from the fourth floor. I recalled myself where I asked the same question to my lecturer few years back when we learnt about suicide as part of our class. According to the lecturer who taught me, the answer: "It depends how you fall..." I guess you could, seeing that the surface beneath us is concrete, just a little up is grass. If you land on the grass, you wouldn't get hurt that bad, because it is soft. I remembered a case where someone jumped out of a burning house and landed on their garden. They didn't get broken bones, just a few lacerations from the sharp stones. 

        "I worked alone in the wards/ ICU/ CCU. Nothing ever happened to me." Let me point out when you are in the areas mentioned, even if you are alone, the place is bright, and because you have two staffs minimum, or an assistant nurse. Don't give me that nonsense that you were alone. Wards are mostly split into two ends, so that even if you are alone, you will at least have another partner at the other end. My side, I have nobody. I was alone in a place where if I step out, it's total darkness. I couldn't see my fingers in front of me. I had to use a torchlight to navigate, which is straight up terrifying. So don't tell me you worked alone in those areas and you feel safe. 

        "But, you're in a hospital. No one would ever hurt you." I beg your pardon. Due to the pandemic, people are getting desperate. They wouldn't care who you are. If they see that you are an easy target, they will attack you. Everyone are now attacking you because they want to survive. It doesn't matter you're a guy or a girl. Once people set you on their sights, look out. Maybe I should get a katana and put it next to me...? It wouldn't work anyway. Forget it.

        I sounded angry from the above mentioned paragraphs. I am, because I am committed to work for you, and I will, but DO NOT EVER PUT MY SAFETY IN JEAPORDY. I do not mind the overtime and such, but if my safety is on the line, that is when I'm going to fight. Do not expect me to sit down and take it quietly. Safety is a basic thing, and it's free. So take it seriously. 

(After many complaints and requests, at least on my fourth night it was bright and the guard came to check on me twice in between hours. It's an improvement, but I heard from some of the other staffs that the lights sometimes get turned off. My advice: Call the Control Room (aka Security) and let them know. Please don't put your safety on the line.)

        Alright, enough morbid talk. Let's go.

Insurance

I don't know how this came about. This makes my toes curl in anger. Insurance had always been a sensitive topic to me because everyone's insurance is different. Furthermore, we are not allowed to handle insurance. The only one who has access are the staffs in admission and discharge. Callers and patients alike are now treating us like an insurance centre because they said we give advice. Yes we do, health advice. NOT INSURANCE. There was an incident where a man came and made a ruckus because he said we did not inform him about his insurance. I'm going to say this, your insurance is between you and your agent. The policy is also handled by your agent. I only know the general process. For outpatient visits, most insurance policies requires you to go to a GP/ Panel Clinic outside, get a referral letter and then only you are covered by the insurance. Most medical cards are only allowed when you are admitted. Some policy is on a pay-and-claim basis. Some even went as far as to push us to handle their insurance, sorry, we are not trained to handle insurance. Should anything happen to it, we can be held liable.  

DNA Testing 

This one sounds like we're in a soap opera. I didn't handle this call. My friend did in the morning. A caller called up to request for DNA testing for their children. My friend asked why, and she gotten some...shifty answers. Okay, fine. It's fine. It's a sensitive topic, so okay. My friend prodded the caller to try get some history. This person is calling up on behalf of a friend. Okay, who is the friend? The father of the children. Okay, does the mother requested for it as well? Immediately my friend got the answer from the caller saying that the spouse doesn't know. Oh no...My friend handled it well. She made few phone calls to the appropriate party and yes, we do DNA Testing, but we are going to need consents from both parents. Immediately the caller hung up the phone. Hoo-boy.

Special Orders

I took this one. A caller called up requesting for a vaccine. O...kay. I asked what for, they said it's because of an infectious disease. Who is the one has this? The father. When I tried to query further to get some background, I got an aggressive answer in return. "Why are you talking about my father? I'm talking about me." Alright, alright, alright (Say it in Matthew McConaughey's voice). I shifted topic quickly and because I wasn't sure if we do provide this vaccine or not, I informed the caller that I'll get back to them. I went to the wellness side and asked them do we provide this service. Yes, we do, but because we do not keep this vaccine in stock, we are going to need to caller to come in twice. First for the consultation and payment. Once the payment is confirmed, we're going to need to special order the item from outside. Once it comes in, only then we can special order the vaccine. Once I got my answers, I went back to call the guy. His answer: "Why can't I just buy the vaccine right now and jab it myself?" !!!!!! Do you think it's an insulin? I felt like asking him, but it wouldn't do me any favours. So I just explained to him that because it is a special order item, he can only get it through the hospital and the doctor will help give him the jab. Good grief, if it was that easy, I think most of us would be out a job by now.

Who Do I Go To?

Two calls are related to this, and I took them both. Both of the callers are nearly the same. One has symptoms of nausea, dizziness and neck pain. The other has nausea, dizziness and headache. The difference, the first one was willing to listen to my advice, that they may need to go to the emergency department because I couldn't pinpoint which is the root cause. The second one was unwilling. They refused to go to the emergency department because they said they felt fine, currently. Look, when it comes to symptoms like this and you can't find the main cause, two options: Caller A (aka Case A) did the right thing. They went to the GP and got a proper referral letter to a specialist so that they may avoid the Emergency. Fantastic. Caller B kept asking for a specialist, so I asked which one is worse among the three, they said it is the headache, so I offered the neurologist. They asked if they go to Emergency, will they be able to get the specialist? Yes, you can, ask the MO in charge to page him.

I Want A Chinese-speaking Doctor 

This requests comes in a lot. Don't be surprised. Refer back to my old blog post A Rant: Are We Going Backwards? because you know how I feel about this. I'm tired of people asking the same thing over and over again, not to mention some were talking to me just fine in English but still insisted on a Chinese-speaking doctor. I'll let you know right now: I do not care which doctor I see, provided: A) They are experienced B) They are respectful (meaning polite and friendly, not rude) C) We have chemistry. I can recommend you to the best of the best, but at the end of the day, if there is no chemistry, then there is no point.

I Already Have An Insurance With Another Hospital But...

We are getting this quite frequently now. First and foremost, do you ever consider all of your options before thinking: I want to travel to Singapore but now I changed my mind and want to see a doctor here? I know that people often think that our local healthcare is not great. Just stop right there, because it's the same old song and dance everytime. People never appreciate their local healthcare until they go out and realized how they miss things back home.

24-Hour Service -

I feel like when you have things that are 24 hour service, people tends to misuse things. It's how human nature works. I had a call on someone who is really testing the waters. They called at 5.30pm, after clinics are all closed. When they asked me what time do we open, I answered them honestly: 24 hours. That's when they went, "Oh, this means I can call you at midnight and you'll answer the phone?" I didn't want to be rude, but I had to put my foot down. I told the caller, in a way, yes, you can call us at midnight. But if you're going to call us at midnight regarding an appointment, don't you think it's super weird? Furthermore, the reason why we had night shifts is to attend to emergency calls. Please do not misuse the service just for something mundane, or as I call it, peanuts.

Fake Names and Numbers

I never understood this. The amount of people that called up and refuse to give their names and identity, even going as far as to give us wrong numbers and emails. Like why? What do you hope to gain? We are bound by our professional ethic code, and without your proper details, we are unable to key in your record into our system. Furthermore, what would happen if something will happen to you? Who do we contact? What do we do? 

Sorry if it sounds ranty but I'm mentally drained, not to mention busy working on a project. If you don't see me posting a lot, you know why...

*Today's case: 2,018 TTwTT

As the Year Ends...

 2020, it has been one hell of a ride.  Let's just admit it, this year had not been a good year. It was like a warzone. Miss Rona had really tested our ability to endure. Economy went crashing, people losing jobs...Not a good year. People were being unreasonable and impatient, shouting and cursing at us, saying that we carried the diseases on our uniform just because we work in the healthcare line, or that we are making big bucks because the healthcare industry is booming. I beg your pardon, everyone, including the healthcare industry is also suffering. Just because you see us still working doesn't mean we are doing well. We are mentally stressed and drained, some to the point of even being burnt out due to some stubborn people not taking isolation seriously. It's tiring, exhausting and once again draining. At times I have even felt like screaming and tearing my hair out, if it wasn't for my co-workers, doctors and friends who are keeping me sane throughout the whole pandemic. 

        I won't be posting as often because starting onwards, I'll be doing a 24 hour shift work. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I no longer have a fixed office hour job. Like it or not, we humans need to survive and persevere. I do love my job, but I haven't done night shifts in a long time so it will be quite interesting to see how things goes. Speaking of which, I noticed my post sounds quite depressing, so let me sprinkle a little bit of good things that did happen.

        As mentioned before, I want to thank my co-workers and doctors. Sure we do sometimes tend to make morbid jokes, but it's one way to keep us from breaking down from bad things that kept happening around us. If it sounds offensive to some people, I deeply apologize. My friends, who are not in the medical line, they check on me once in a while to make sure I am safe, some of them throwing encouragement on my work, whether it's nursing or writing. Here's a confession: I nearly gave up on my long overdue book because it's horror themed, because no one was interested in it, and I was accused of being in a Satanic cult (Do horror writers ever get accused of being in a cult?). I can see why some people might dislike it, especially during in a pandemic, but a good friend of mine whom I had known for many years slapped some sense into me. I confessed to her that I wondered if I should shelf the whole manuscript aside, and she told me straight in the face, "Don't think about what others think. Take your time, and just finish that manuscript. You owe it to yourself to finish the story." After pondering about, she is right. I am a superstitious person in a way that I sometimes don't like announcing on a book that I'm working on, because I feel like it could be jinxed. 

        I also finally did something that I should've done a long time ago. I finally plucked up the courage to block, unfriend and delete toxic people in my life (not just in social media, but in real life). Some people said I was being a coward, but you know what, I feel much better, as though a weight has been thrown off my shoulders. I know some people keep them in their friend list to show off that they are doing well as one way of coping, but for me, if you are being toxic in my life, arigatou and sayonara. I used to get really riled up whenever I'm talking about them, and a friend told me one of the best advice in my life: "If you don't like something or someone, you don't need to think about it or talk about it. Get it out of your life." It wasn't easy, but I eventually did it, bit by bit. I originally wanted to do a book review online, so my friend recommended me to read some truly awful books written by equally awful writers, which turned me off for life. At one point I wanted to write an essay regarding books that you should avoid or authors who are just looking for a way to make quick bucks, or cash-grabbing, but I feel like if I do talk about it, it feels like I'm giving them attention (If you want me to write about it, I don't mind, but I'll warn you that there are some prominent authors in the list)  

        I've been going onto Youtube and listening to a lot of podcasts lately, especially commentary and beauty channels. I don't wear makeup at all in real life, but I enjoy some of the beauty guru/ make-up artists talk because their voice is so soothing and relaxing. I do not enjoy watching influencers because some of them tend to suddenly start shrieking and screaming that it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Podcasts are usually fun because usually I'll get onto Spotify, let the whole thing run while I'm writing. Music is another which I need in my life, I can't bear losing my mp3 player which I desperately needed in my life. Thank you mainly to the J-Pop industry and Muse, and especially Gorillaz. I actually stopped listening to them at one point, but their latest songs from Sound Machine is really catchy so I'm back to listening to them. (I'll later make a list of artists I listen to...)

        Regarding writing, this year had really made me put my skills to the test because nowadays people are setting a limit on how much words I could write. You all know that I did a fifty-word challenge regarding the pandemic, which didn't work out, but surprisingly, my hundred and fifty word challenge for Halloween was picked up by an online media publishing company which was an honour, because I did not expect to win. I just wrote the whole thing in five minutes, spellchecked it, made sure it made the word count and just submit it without even thinking. Thank you Cilisos media, it was a blast writing it and having that email in my inbox. I feel like drawing once again, but writing takes up so much of my time till I don't even have time to draw, when this long overdue novel is done, I hope I'll be able to pick up on drawing again. Oh, I also want to give a huge thank you to Nichol for letting me edit her manuscript even though I have zero experience in editing other's manuscript. Doing for your own manuscript is one thing, but doing for others is a huge responsibility. I'm not sure if I did a good job on it, but I tried to keep it simple and to a minimum, because as an editor for an another author, I do not want to change the whole context of the story. My role is to just polish it and give it a few tweaks, because it is not my story to tell. Note to all editors, including manga-ka editors: Do not change the whole story drastically from the author please. This nearly drove Watase Yuu from creating mangas, so please don't. 

        In case you haven't known by now, I'm an otaku, so yes, I still do watch anime, read mangas, play the occasional video games and enjoy Japanese drama, especially Tokusatsu. Unfortunately there aren't many good mangas recently so I tend to stick to old school. Without further ado, dear readers, I present to you, the list:  

ARTISTS WHOM I LISTEN TO (WITH SOME RECOMMENDED SONGS):

*due to the extensive list, I only listed out the ones on top of my head, but I listen to a large variety

• ABBA (Chiquita, Does Your Mother Know?, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), I Have A Dream, Lay Your Love on Me, Money, Money, Money)  
• AIMER (Brave Shine, I Beg You, Last Stardust) 
• AiM (Ashita wa Atashi no Kaze ga Fuku, Days: Aijou to Nichijou, Itsumo Itsudemo, Keep On, My Tomorrow)
• Amalee (Indie artist who covers anime English dubbed songs) (Blue Bird, Brave Shine, Colours, Come My Way, Don't Think Twice, Every Heart and Fukai Mori (mashup), Face My Fears, Gotta Catch 'em All (feat. Natewantstobattle), Last Stardust, Moonlight Densetsu, Oath Sign, Synchronicity)
• David Bowie (As the World Falls Down, Chilly Down, Dancing in the Street (with Mick Jagger), Underground, Within You)
• Fall Out Boy (Beat It (cover), My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'em Up), Thnks fr th Mmrs)
• Hayashibara Megumi (Brave Heart, Northern Lights, Oversoul)
• Hiroyuki Takami (Believer, Justice, Wish in the Dark)
• Gorillaz (Aries, Clint Eastwood, Demon Days, Desole, Feel Good Inc., Last Living Souls, Pac-man, Punk, O Green World, The Pink Phantom, Tranz, White Light)
• KIMERU (Overlap, Starry Heaven, Timeless, You Got Game?)
• Kalafina (Ring Your Bell, To the Beginning)
• Kylie Minogue (Can't Get You Out of My Head, Come Into My World, Higher (feat. Taio Cruz), I Believe in You, Love At First Sight, Please Stay)
• Linkin Park (Bleed It Out, Breaking the Habit, Easier to Run, Faint, Hit the Floor, New Divide, Numb, Shadow of the Day, What I've Done)
• Michael Jackson (Bad, Beat It, Ben, Billie Jean, Earth Song, Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground), Things I Do For You, Thriller, Working Day and Night)
• Miyazaki Ayumi (Brave Heart, Break Up, The Last Evolution)
• Muse (Assassin, Butterflies and Hurricane, City of Delusion, Hyper Music, Mercy, Newborn, Psycho, Resistance, Save Me, Stockholm Syndrome, Starlight, Supermassive Black Hole, Time is Running Out, Uprising)
• Powerman 5000 (Bombshell, Show Me What You Got, Supernova Goes Pop, Supervillain, When Worlds Collide)
• Ruelle (Fire Meets Fate, I Get to Love You, Live Like Legends, This is the Hunt)
• S Club 7 (Alive, Do It Till We Drop, Gangsta Love, Never Had a Dream Come True, You)
• TETRA-FANG (Destiny's Play, Roots of the King)
• Taylor Swift (Blank Space, Look What You Made Me Do, Love Story, Shake It Off, Sparks Fly, The Man, You Belong With Me, You Need to Calm Down)
• The Cranberries (Salvation, Zombies)
• Utada Hikaru (Don't Think Twice (Chikai), Face My Fears, Flavour of Life, Hikari, Passion (Sanctuary) Prisoner of Love, Sakura Drops, Simple and Clean)
• Wada Koji (Butter-fly, The Biggest Dreamer, Target~akai Shogeki)
• Wagakki Band (Ignite, Senbonzakura)

*Honorable mention to composers Uematsu Nobuo (ojiisan), Shimomura Yoko, Kajiura Yuki, Hans Zimmer, Mark Mothersbaugh, James Horner and John Williams

AUTHORS (AND THEIR NOTABLE WORKS): 

• Anthony Horowitz (Alex Rider series, Power of Five series)
• Benedict Jacka (Ninja duology, Alex Verus series*)
• Chris Bradford (Young Samurai series, Bodyguard series)
• Cornelia Funke (Inkheart trilogy and other notable standalones)
• Dante Alighieri (The Divine Comedy)
• Enid Blyton (I can't seem to find the name of the series, but I have the whole hardcover series. I Googled it and apparently it is called the Popular Rewards series...)
• J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series, Wizarding World contents and spin-offs)
• James Dashner (Maze Runner series)
• Kathryn Fox (Anna Critchton series)
• L.J. Smith (Dark Vision trilogy, Forbidden Game trilogy, Night World series, Vampire Diaries series)
• Meg Cabot (Abandon Trilogy, Heather Wells Mysteries series, Little Bridge Island series, Queen of Babble Trilogy, The Mediator series, The Princess Diaries series and many other standalones)
• Michael Critchton (Jurassic Park duology)
• Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta series)
• Robert Galbraith (Cormoran Strike series)
• Sophie Kinsella (Shopaholic series and other standalones)
• *Stephen King (Carrie, Cujo, IT, Salem's Lot, The Shining and other notable standalones)
• Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games series, Underland series) 

*Really want to read this series so badly but it is only available in the UK :(

** Uncle Steve has plenty of wonderful works, but some are downright depressing, so I won't recommend them all (If you do plan to read them, read them in the daylight). Cujo is my favourite out of his works, but it made me cry. It's about a sweet, friendly Saint Bernard who became rabid. I won't say more but give it a chance.

***Honorable mention to William Shakespeare, Nichol and Jenny Trout (The Boss series). Jenny, thank you for introducing me that not all erotica are awful. Nichol, I look forward to seeing what else you will come up with.

MANGA-KA (AND THEIR NOTABLE WORKS):

• *Higuchi Tachibana (Gakuen Alice)
• *Kishimoto Masashi (Naruto)
• *Kubo Tite (Bleach)
• Kure Yuki (Kin'iro no Corda)
• Takahashi Rumiko (Inuyasha, Ranma 1/2)
• *Takeuchi Naoko (Sailor Moon)
• *Toriyama Akira (Dragon Ball)
• Watase Yuu (Ayashi no Ceres, Fushigi Yuugi series)
• *Watsuki Nobuhiro (Rurouni Kenshin)
• Yabuki Kentaro (Black Cat)
• Yoshihiro Togashi (Yu Yu Hakusho)

*Honestly, I have stopped reading their works a long, long time ago, but nevertheless, they did influence me early on.

**Honorable mention to Nomura Tetsuya, Nasu Kinoko (with Takeuchi Takashi), and Urobuchi Gen

If you have any recommendation, please drop it in the comments (This will be the one time I will leave the comment section, so fire away.)

BONUS CONTENT: 

*Nichol, this one is for you

FAVOURITE TV SERIES:

• Alex Rider 
• Angel
• Buffy 
• Charmed
• (Cormoran) Strike 
• Grimm 
• Shadowhunters
• The Rookie
• The Vampire Diaries  

FAVOURITE TV FILMS:

• Jurassic Park (1993)
• Jurassic World trilogy
• Marvel Cinematic Universe 
• Star Wars (original trilogy)
• Titanic (1997)

FAVOURITE GAME(S):

*mainly RPG games

• Chrono Cross
• Chrono Trigger
• Dark Cloud 2
• Dragonfable (online RPG)
• Final Fantasy (V, VI, VII, Crisis Core, VII Remake, VIII, IX, X, X-2, XII, Brave Exvius, Dissidia series, Record Keeper)
• Legend of the Dragoon

*Haven't been playing games a lot lately due to constantly writing

NOTE: Please do not recommend me any horror/slasher/ thriller films. Yes, it's an irony that I write in the horror genre but I can't watch the above mentioned at all. Believe me, I tried, ended up having nightmares and panic attacks after that.  

*Today's cases: 1,123 (Sigh...)

Interesting Phone Calls I Received...

*Since my job is almost like an operator, we get stories that are quite confidential, hence why I didn't put the caller's name, and call them they except for one because it is quite obvious. So you'll see a lot of callers and theys around. These stories are meant for sharing, not to speculate.  All names are not included to respect privacy, and some stories are edited to maintain confidentiality. The opinions and thoughts stated are just opinions and thoughts that were discussed.  

 A young mother calling us to query about a Non-Invasive Chromosomes Check (NICC) test. *Further check the proper name is non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT).

As the name implies, it's a non-invasive procedure that involves screen for common chromosomal abnormalities. With technology so advanced, it is now possible to screen your baby before it is even born. I've been getting a lot of phones lately regarding genetic testing, which is surprising because I have no idea that this is the trend right now. I talked with my MOs (Medical Officers) on why is this the trend. Their reasoning is basically, let's just say that before your baby is even born, you know, when it's still a wee jelly blob, you go and get this test done. From the test alone, you can tell whether your baby will have any defects like Tetralogy of Fallot (A rare condition caused by a combination of four heart defects that are present at birth (Congenital) as defined by Mayoclinic.org) - I call it tetra valve disease to spare my brain from overloading, but that's the proper name of the condition - Down Syndrome, basically... Do you want to bring this baby into the world, knowingly that you and your partner/ spouse will have to take care of this child? This gives you the option to choose abortion or not. 

• Now before you come and attack me on this, think. You have a child who is going to be born with the diseases mentioned above. Will you stubbornly give birth to the child, but when you are unable to cope with the responsibility, abandon the poor thing? As mentioned, the wee jelly hasn't even been form yet, so you can choose to abort to spare the poor thing from suffering in the world. Does it sound crazy? I used to think abortion was bad, no questions asked, but now, thinking logically, it's not fully bad. I got a bone to pick with a certain author who shall not be named.

A concerned relative calling on behalf of their family who is querying on Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE). 

*The person on the phone kept calling it USB, when I asked them to repeat the initials to me. She said United States, France, and Bangkok. UFB. Checked the internet, no such thing. After several back and forth, the caller admitted they made a mistake, that it is UFE.  

This one is doozy. Of course, the name is quite straight forward. When you think of embolization, you think of formation of an embolus. I guess, a simple term to put it is a clot in the bloodstream. The person called mainly to query whether do we do this procedure or not. I called several places, mainly radiology (X-ray/ Imaging/ MRI/ Ultrasound/ CT Scan Department). They said, yes, the radiologist does it, but very rarely. I called the cath (catheterization) lab next, and yes, although they do do it, it is so rare that they aren't even sure of the exact pricing, because everything depends on the situation and the tools they plan to use. I did manage to extract the bill of a patient which they did, but it's not even the proper procedure name. It is an embolization but for something else. Even if it is the correct code and name, when I saw the bill, I couldn't even extract the amount because everything is jumbled up, even though I have tried to group it all together. 

• It's a good thing the MO and I managed to extract as much information as we could, because when we called back to give them the information, the caller asked, "Can you tell me the price?" "Oh, you can't? It must be really expensive, huh? *laughs*" They're alright, but yes, an embolization is ridiculously expensive. The only solution we could give was they have to go and a get consultation done with a specialist, and let them explain everything in detail. 

Callers calling to query about another person who they claimed were having mental breakdowns, that they need to see psychiatrist.

We get this type of phone calls a lot. Very surprising, yet sad. It just shows that in our current age, there are many people suffering mentally. The worst of it they couldn't even come out and just say it because in the outside world, people still stigmatize mental health. Mental health problems = Crazy/ Psycho. Stop this kind of thinking right now! Having a mental breakdown doesn't mean you're mad, it just means you're stressed, burnt out. It does not mean you're mad. I'll tell you something right now. When I was a student, we had to go to Hospital Bahagia, Ulu Kinta as part of our training. It is a psychiatric hospital that has is more than a hundred-years-old, and I'll confess, it's one of the best places I have ever been. The place is a simple town, with waterfall water in the pipes, which is so icy and refreshing, and for less than ten ringgit, you can even get big bunches of bananas, a lot of fresh vegetables or large quantity fruits. Things there are not so overpriced like in the city. My biggest regret was not taking a photo of the entrance as a memento, here's a photo of the entrance which I found in the internet.

Source: https://onestoplist.com/government/hospitals/hospital-bahagia-ulu-kinta/

By the way, people kept saying bad things about the place. As someone who went there and experienced it firsthand for few weeks, the people there are alright, most of them brilliant doctors, accountants, lawyers, engineers, jobs that sounds glamorous. It's very sad. I won't say much anymore, but seriously, stop condemning people who are having breakdown insane/ mad/ psycho. These people need help, and sometimes you need a specialist to step in to give them the help they need. 

Swollen lymph nodes on either side of the neck.

This one, I'm going to say it, I'm a little confused at first, because my mind went straight to haematologist (blood doctors). Probably cause my mind is scrambling all over the place. The caller is okay though. They just said that they had been to our Emergency Room and they referred the caller to a physician. Unfortunately, the physician in charge is not the right person, hence why they made the call here. I checked with my MO and they went, "ENT Doctors, dear. Not the physician." Oh yeah, neck. I'm such a joke. 

A caller called suspecting their spouses were cheating on them.

Oh, oh no. I didn't attend this call. My MO did, poor thing. They kept giving me the look, and I did the same. Oh...The caller said they went as far as to backtrack the call but it was someone else. Oh dear. I've seen this movies, but to hear it firsthand, I can't imagine what they are going through, but this caller, I salute them, because they wanted to seek mental help. That is bravery, dear readers. And please don't cheat on your spouses, alright? I always did joke, if I ever find my Mr Right, I hope I only get married once, not eight times like Elizabeth Taylor, no offense.

 Calling on behalf but you have no clue.

As the title implies, I didn't attend this call, my MO did. The caller was calling on behalf of someone, but when we ask simple details like... "How?" "When?" "Where?" "What?" The caller couldn't answer because they have no idea, not to mention they were making themselves confused by reading everything all jumbled. Look, not to criticize, but if you are going to make a call, please at least have the courtesy to do it yourself. Kids, I understand, but for adults, please....We need a thorough history so that we can give you the right treatment. If you can't give us the details, how can we direct you to the right doctor for the right treatment? It's like sending a knee injury to a brain surgeon. (Check out one of my previous posts regarding this joke)

Telling me that I'm in love with a doctor that I recommend.

I wish this is a joke, but it's not. The caller called on behalf again, wanting a nice, understanding, caring doctor who would spend time with them. So I recommended one to the caller, a doctor who has all of the above mentioned qualities. Instead of being grateful, they query me about the others. I told them in a polite way, the other two have many patients, so if you want someone who is willing to spend time with you, I don't think they have the time to do so because they will be rushing their clinic to hurry to the operating theatre. They are nice, but pressed for time. If I recommend them to you, you'll probably come after me. So then the caller said, "You seemed determined I should meet this doctor, are you in love with him?" WHAT?!!!!!! Everyone said I should have fire the caller off, but you know what, I'm going to let it slide. Nowadays if things ticks me off and I can't avoid it, either ignore it, brush it aside or just be polite and move on. In social media, I block them. I don't need toxicity or dumb things in my life. Say what you want, but after blocking some toxic people, I feel lighter and happier.

Military hospital.

I must've been living under a rock for this one. I got a call from a nice fella asking for an appointment for mandibular abscess. When you talk about mandibular, you automatically think of oral-maxillary doctor, or the ENT. So I query a bit further, and the caller went, "I actually have an appointment in this military hospital, but I want an earlier appointment if possible." Wait, how come I have no idea we have a military hospital? I know there are some military schools around. Oh yeah, I heard some of my doctors came from military hospitals. Oh, the joke's on me. By the way, we scoured the internet high and low but couldn't find anything much about them. Super secretive, but hey, at least now I know, we have military hospitals. Oh yeah, regarding the caller, I set up an appointment with the oral-maxillary doctor. 

Buying insurance but using outdated lab results.

Readers, this one is going to be quite general. The person behind the phone is calling on behalf again. They called to tell us that the alfa-fetoprotein marker is abnormal, that the person has cancer. When we query further, the caller went, "Well, isn't that is what alfa-fetoprotein for?" Just so you know, I'm not an expert in lab stuff, but you can't assume the person has cancer just because the result was abnormal. The best part... When they sent the blood results over via email, it dated back a year ago. For crying out loud, don't use a lab result that has been outdated. This one is more of a general screening thing so we refer them to the wellness side for health packages. 

• You're probably thinking...but wait, why not send them to the liver specialist? We are trying to give our callers advice on several options, not go for the extreme. You see, the main concern is actually just that one part, not everything. Sometimes you don't need to go the specialist, unless the wellness doctor thinks, "Hm, this doesn't look good. I may need to refer you to a specialist..." Specialist charges can be very expensive, another thing to consider about. This will also to one of the scenarios below.

Orthopaedists are superman (sort of...)

People often get themselves confused. Orthopaedists is a vast field. Every orthopaedists started off as a general orthopaedists first. Then you eventually get into the subspecialty such as spine, hand and microsurgery, foot and ankle, shoulder... Most of them could do the general stuff such as knee, hip, carpal tunnel release, shoulder, fractures... It's because now technology had advanced so much that some of them don't do certain things such as hand and microsurgery, fine surgery for the foot and ankle area etc. A caller called regarding a frozen shoulder which has been bothering them and they wish to go to back to their normal orthopaedists. Go right ahead. Frozen shoulder is a basic thing for them. The caller then enquire, "What about osteoarthritis?" Same thing, it's a common thing for them, so they can see everything. 

• One thing to stress... I have seen news reporting on how orthopaedists did spine surgery with devastating consequences. Spine is a special field which should ONLY be performed by spine surgeons, their closest counterparts would be the neurosurgeons. The only difference between a neurosurgeon and a spine surgeon is spine surgeon are trained to put in spinal implants (This is what was discussed). Please, please, please, if you are going to consider a spine surgery, please make sure you are seeing a spine surgeon or neurosurgeon, not an orthopaedist. An orthopaedist can combine with the neurosurgeon or spine surgeon to do the case, but again, please make sure that one of the right person is involved. I have seen news where orthopaedists performed a spine surgery and someone had gotten paralyzed. (I can't find the article, but it happened quite long ago, I think it has been 10 years?)
• Here is an article on the difference between a ortho spine and neuro surgeon. I hope this can clear up some things, but again, please check with your doctor before considering surgery. 
• Source: Hochschuler, Stephen, MD. Orthopedic Surgeon vs. Neurosurgeon for Spine Surgery https://www.spine-health.com/treatment/spine-specialists/orthopedic-surgeon-vs-neurosurgeon-spine-surgery, updated on 04/06/2015. (Retrieved on 18th November 2020)

Gastric or heart?

I attended this call. This caller called to complain, in their own words, "Pain between the breasts, but slightly lower." That's the top of your stomach. They said they kept feeling pain, and asked me whether it's gastric. My answer, "No." "What do you mean by no?! Isn't it supposed to be gastric?" I'll say it for you right now. It's not gastric, it could be acid reflux, it could even be heart or lung problem (very rarely, but still a possibility), and many other things. You can't just assume everything related to the stomach is gastric, but since the main concern is the stomach, I referred the caller to the gastroenterologists. They'll be able to figure it out.

Physician or surgeon?

The golden question. Callers love to say surgeons are better than a physician. I'll give you an example. When you have migraine or back pain, people just love to say, "Oh, go and see the neurosurgeon. They should be able to help you." Here's the only difference between a neurologist (physician) and neurosurgeon (surgeon): One does surgery, the other doesn't. Something as peanut like migraine and back pain...is almost like a waste of time to them. Surgeons take the hard core stuff, like brain trauma, spine fracture... They are not going to take a look at peanuts. Some speciality like haematology (blood), urology, orthopaedic, obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) ear, nose, throat (ENT)...Most of the doctors are surgeons, so that's a different part. General speciality such gastroenterology, neurology, dermatology (skin), nephrology (kidney), paediatrics (children)... You can actually consider going to the physicians first if you think you don't need surgery. Unless it's extremely serious and you need surgery, then yes, please do consider going to a surgeon. 

• Peanuts is a term that I like to use for trifle things. The alternative I like to use is small potato. For me, I like to identify myself as a small potato, because hey, what do I know? I'm just a lowly nurse (in some people's words), not a big potato (aka doctors, or hotshots in the world) 

Most of the calls are about enquiry and they are quite straightforward so I won't be putting them up here. If there are more interesting calls around, I'll share them up here.

*Today's case: 1,210 (Yesterday's) Sorry, the daily update with receive is usually around 6pm, so I am unable to update the case for today's (18th October) yet. Oh My God!!!  

**Today's case: 660 (Hooray!)