snow-ed in the city

It's been a week of intermittent sub-zero temperatures and white coating lands. The journey to work is more challenging and time consuming due to

1. de-icing the conventional way - pour water and watchful wait. Takes at least 15 minutes.
2. uneven road surface with patches of black ices
3. it became messy when the snow and ice started melting
4. a moron started harassing me from behind when I slowed down because of the small country roads. He was an inch close to hit me from behind when his brake was slow to work due to the ices. A loud screech and his face went pale. Jackass.
5. the water finished and I didn't know how to open the car bonet. So left with a dirty windscreen for a week. Mak said it's a about time I need a man in my life. Who knows how to open the bonet obviously.

I survived a week of A&E shift. It's an 8 hours shift starting from 1PM - 9PM everyday except the Sundays and Mondays for me. I have a love-hate relationship with this whole shift works.


What I like about it is

1. I can wake up late. Works well for me - not a morning person.
2. The ice and snow has started melting when I'm about to leave the house.
3. Lunch at home before work - jimat and no boring and tasteless hospital food no more.
4. No on-calls for 4 weeks and not involved in any mickey-mouse hospital politics upstairs.

What I don't like about it is

1. I ended up waking up so late/few hours before work because I'm always dead tired from the shift. So rushing to work too.
2. The ice and snow has started accumulating again before I leave the hospital at night. Plus it is bitterly cold.
3. Driving alone in the snow in the dark at 10PM+ is scary. I almost cried in one occasion. Takut kene gigit hantu.
4. Arriving home at 10PM+ with a huge hunger pang from not able to eat during the shift coz it's always mad busy. So eating at 10PM+ something dinner equivalent. Bad. Bad diet.
5. Missing the morning teachings and journal presentations upstairs.

A&E alone has served me different spectrum of affinities. One day I'm loving it to the fullest the next hating it with a passion. Some GPs in the area are just plain dumb and irresponsible with non-sense referral to the A&E. I made a hypothesis that some mutants have landed in the area long long time ago and bred with the locals. Hence the very weird personalities and morale of some people in general. Ah no point in spending time thinking about it. Wasting my brain ATPs only.

On the other hand, yes I'm learning so much on general paediatrics as well. From small rashes to the toxic meninggococcal septicaemic ones. Reflux vomiting to vomiting due to pyloric stenosis. Normal coughs to pertussis ones. It takes a lot to come to be competent with speed, accuracy, confidence, ethical. I'm not even halfway there yet. I must admit some of the staff nurses are demi good as well.

Ah like Mak said, let time and time tells. Her constant prayers will always be with me.