Musings from a hospital

I was woken up abruptly today by Dad in at 13:43. His request was simple: bring grandma to hospital as she was complaining about her eye being painful again.

A small matter in hindsight, but i was out of the house by 13:55 and off to Chai Chee by 14:00.

On the way, i saw the white-washed walls of Chai Chee estate and the elderly living there, sitting at the coffeeshops below, chatting among themselves.

And i was thinking, Are we leaving these pioneers behind in our drive for economic prosperity in the new economy today?

I should very much think so. While all i could think about was the latest gadget in digital life, how my University life was going to pan out and which friend should i ask to go Zouk tomorrow, my grandma was asking herself what should she do that day, and what should she buy for lunch and other more pertinent questions to live life.

and then i realised that my extended family has not met up for some time, due to estranged daughter-in-laws and multi-religious families. and I thought it was right to bring her to the doctor's as I had nothing to do that day at all after finishing Clarence's Dad's work.

You see, your decisions don't just affect you. And frankly, people are self-centred all over the world, be it Singapore, America, Europe, Cambodia, Pakistan. Many times, we feel that decisions we take, who we love, who we marry, who we argue with only affect 2 beings. But the repercussions are great and everything is interconnected.

Which is why I tend to keep my cynicism to myself and only express it when I'm with close friends.

And which is probably why those who think they know me well don't really know me at all.

And which is probably why I prefer to keep my distance from people sometimes, even though i probably learnt a great deal about relationships from the army.

Everyone has that bit of selfish gene inside them. It is unheard of for someone to be totally altruistic.

Just some rantings from a day at the hospital.

"Healthcare is so expensive in Singapore. It's $100 for a doctor and medication for a small eye problem"

"Doctors are cynical and very cold. They have to be. It's their job not to care too much because they will tend to suffer emotionally if they care too much for a patient"

"Microsoft Word is an interesting programme. Those who master it are few and far between indeed."

lip
ranting