Renovations Upstairs!

Last week, one man and a woman came to our place, requesting to view our kitchen and toilet ceilings. They claimed to be the contractors for the unit upstairs, and said that they wanted to see the condition of our ceilings and take photos of them.

As I was in the showers, M didn't just open the door for them. She told them to come again 20 minutes later. They did.

When I answered their knock on our door, I told them that I do not agree to their taking photos although I would not mind letting them view the ceilings. The woman, who was the more 'diplomatic' one, claimed that they would file the photos with HDB so that it would facilitate investigations if any issue should arise from the renovation works that they are going to carry out in the unit above ours.

I told her off, asking her from where there has come such a 'ruling' or regulation. She quickly said sheepishly that there isn't any. These people are really one kind, they probably think they can casually mention 'HDB' and scare me into letting them take photos! Not only did her trick not pull off, I even told her that digital photography these days is so powerful, I wouldn't be sure what will be done to enhance or remove from the photos.

So, after a brief look (the man kept harphing on the brown spot in the kitchen toilet ceiling and the brown stain just at the mouth of the sewerage pipe in the kitchen ceiling, both of which had been around for some time now), they left. But not before I told them off when they tried, once again, to 'scare' me by telling me that the unit is now owned by a new owner (who has engaged them) and so the brown spots should not be regarded as having been caused by them.

"Now, you must be aware that when the new owner bought over the unit, everything about it becomes inherited by him. Any defect whatever, will now be his responsibility!" I told that man, who then shut up.

On Saturday, R and I brought the boys for their usual lessons. M told us later that another couple, this time, the new owners, came and asked to see our ceiling (again!). M correctly declined to let them in.

R and I agreed that we are under no obligation to let anyone to come in to see anything, anymore. And we are both getting very suspicious of this group of 'new owner' stuff. Are they trying to find some excuses to excuse themselves from being reponsible for any damage that they may cause to our ceilings in the course of their renovation works?!!!! Crazy people!

I have decided that I will not hesitate to humiliate them for their stupidity should they come again. And definitely, I will look to HDB should any damage be caused to our ceilings, brown spot existing or otherwise.

As I type now, workers above us are hecking and hammering and drilling away. What a din this is! Fortunately, WY has supplementary lessons today and so will be back only later. Meanwhile, M and I are just trying not to hear the noise........

Eve of Hari Raya Puasa 2009

Last Saturday, we had dinner at Long Beach Seafood Restaurant at Kallang. This was YP/BK's treat. CP could not join us, however, because she suddenly came down with a very bad sore throat and flu.

This was my first visit to the place, which had undergone renovations a few years ago. The place looked quite good, considering that its location is really quite 'off' any 'shopable' area. (Its closest neighbours are the McDonald's and KFC.) I especially like the chandelier that was hanging over our table. A bit 'retro' look, right?

BK and YP ordered many dishes, including one big black pepper crab and a gigantic butter crab. Dinner went on fine until the chicken came. YP had ordered a salt-baked chicken. So it came encrusted in salt crystals.

After the waitress cracked it open at a counter nearby, she brought the chicken to our table. With a knife and fork, she tried very hard to cut the chicken open. She even asked her colleague later to get her a pair of scissors. Either way, she failed. Then, a senior captain took over the cutting job. He, too, was unsuccessful. At this time, M and I went to the toilet. By the time we returned to the table, the chicken and staff were gone.

To our amusement, YP and the rest updated us that it turned out that the chicken had not been thoroughly cooked! It was still raw, hence the struggle to cut it open! So it had been sent back to the kitchen. What a joke this was, hor - they should have known better than to play-play with the chief inspector of the cookhouses/canteens of the nation's army! Haha....

By then, it was alomst time to leave for our bowling. We had booked the lanes from 8pm and couldn't afford to wait for the chicken. So, notwithstanding all the reassurances of the manager and another waitress that the chicken would be ready 'very soon', we cancelled that chicken item and left the restaurant.

The bowling centre was relatively quiet by the time we got there. After everyone had changed into their shoes, we started our games. The boys occupied one lane while YP, R and I took the other. BK declined to bowl, preferring to sit and chat with M. Later, BK also went shopping for some wine - M later told me that he bought 6 bottles!

The bowling went on ok. About half of the time, I had gutter balls. But I finally got the hang of how my ball would usually roll, so I managed to make some adjustments later.

YP bowled very well. Most of her balls went straight, in the centre of the lane. Like me, R fared badly that night. I think he had more gutters than strikes or spares.

The boys were full of cheers and jeers (camouflaged as cheers, of course) throughout their game. I think WS did quite well. WP kept dropping his ball onto the lane, which then almost always ended up in the gutter. That night, WY didn't bowl well. Somehow, WF also did poorly.



But everyone had fun. Even M had fun watching our balls go into the longkang, poking fun at us, especially me. When our 2-hour booking ended, WP told me, "Sa Yi, this is fun, leh! Next time we must come again!"

I think we will do so after everyone's exams are over. And that will mean sometime in mid-November or so.

Your Story vs Mine

Last Saturday, we went to Kallang Leisure Park for lunch. Its underground carpark was almost filled to its brim and about 6-7 cars ahead of us were queueing to go into the carpark.

As the boys and I were getting rather hungry (they had had CL lessons in the morning), we decided to park at the surface carpark instead. What a waste of time it would be, we thought, to wait in the queue in the hot, hot sun. Afterall, there were plenty of carpark lots in the surface carpark just next to the building.

So, R turned into the surface carpark. We eventually ended up following a black Honda (was it Steam?) and a silver car (I cannot remember what car that was) into this particular lane where there were some trees providing shade to some lots. Very soon, the Black Honda got itself a lot in the shade and reversed into it.

The silver car right behind him waited, of course, till the black Honda was done. Then it lingered a while before moving off again. We waited patiently behind the silver car. R noted that the parking lot next to the black Honda was also under the shade. So R decided that once the silver car was gone, he would take the shady lot next to the black Honda.

Soon enough, the silver car went off. Then, R engaged his reverse gear and was moving back when he realised that the space in the shady lot was in fact quite 'small' and it would be quite a squeeze to park there.

Just then, suddenly, I saw to my horror, a red car reversing right into our front! I started to yell but it was too late. R, who was looking back across his shoulder, turned to see what the commotion was. The red car had struck us on our right corner!!!!

The red car stopped, of course, and immediately went forward again. Then out came its driver. He was a middle-aged man, whose first words were," Aiyoh, so bad, ah? I didn't see you; I just saw a car go by, didn't see you. You also didn't see me, right?"

F*** him! What audacity to say such 'I didn't see you, you also didn't see me' bullshit! The truth is: You revsersed into us!!!! You, Bloody A**hole!

Our car sustained a half-foot long scratch on our front bumper and bad scratches on the front corner of the right headlights cover. The right corner of the bumper looks like its paint has been chiselled/scrapped off! Luckily, there was no dent or broken parts.

R's exchange with the driver took some time. R took some photos of both cars and their respective positions (note: the a**hole had already moved his car forward the minute he hit us!). The bloody a**hole's wife copied R immediately, and went busy shooting photos using her handphone. Then, after exchanging particulars, the a**hole drove off. And we chose another lot and parked there.

Lunch didn't taste so good that day, but the boys cheered up later because they got to play a game of bowling at the bowling centre. I also placed a booking for a bowling session with CP, YP and the gang the following week - I had promised WS and WP that I will bring them bowling one of these days, when we previously told them about WF's party at the bowling centre.

After sending WY and WF to class after the bowling, R and I went to the Nissan workshop to get some advice about the scratches. The discussion with the service staff was rather lengthy (the man was so long-winded!), but conclusion was that he would help us file a report with our insurer (to pre-empt any claim by that a**hole driver of the offending car) and get the mechanic to 'touch-up' the bumper scratch. As for the headlights cover scratch, we will just leave it for now.

The car has, by now, been touched up already. I have yet to see it, though. So I really don't know how well the 'pimple cream' (as R calls it) works for the scratch.

I felt quite helpless when I discussed with R that the a**hole driver of the red car should really be made to pay for 'proper' rectification works to our bumper and headlights cover. But R says that this will be futile because the a**hole is sure to contend that it was more of us bumping into him than he reversing into us.

So, what good is this 'Your Story vs Mine' thing? Even though we know for a fact that ours is The Truth. Got no evidence, so Lies = Truth anyway?! Fed-up!

(This thing makes me wonder why I chose to be a lawyer. And still remain one.... sian, ah!)

Dental Issue

When I was in primary school, we had a dental clinic located inside the school compunds. The little 'horror twin-single-storey buildings' were loacted just right next to the canteen. In it were 2 dental nurses - I always saw one of them called Lim May Yoke. She was horrid!

Not once did I not get a scolding from her. She would prick and pry into my mouth, with no regard whatsoever to the terror and fear I was feeling then. I still can hear her high-pitched scolding voice even today.

All my friends hated to visit this clinic. Each time the beige dental cards were brought to the class, we would all shut our eyes (and ears) and pray that we wouldn't be the ones to be summoned. Many times, my prayers were unanswered.

So I really dreaded dental visits.

There was one visit that I particularly remember. During that awful visit, the high-screeching voice went scolding non-stop, "Now you have 2 cavities! How?! Today I can do filling for one only. The other one, I will do the next time!"

The fillings were always painful and agonising. I would freeze completely on the chair, hoping and hoping against hope that the drilling and scolding would stop quickly. Neither did.

When I was finally released that day, I told myself, "Pui! I am never going to let you drill me again! You stupid woman!"

I went home, and for the next few days, I scrubbed and brushed my teeth like crazy. The dental nurse had pointed out to me where the next drilling would be done at, so I 拼命 brush and cleaned and gargled and scrubbed the best I could at the area.

When I was next summoned to the clinic, the ever-eager-to-drill woman was stunned. She could no longer find the remaining cavity! Yeah!!! I was so elated that I almost started feeling thankful to her for sparing me the expected drilling. But I never told her my secret - what for, right? Let her remain puzzled, lor!

*****************

When I went to TKGS, the dental clinic was manned by a dentist. I mean, a real dentist. As in, a qualified doctor dentist! I was so happy that it was no longer those scolding-non-stop dental nurses that I had to deal with in BPS. Doctor dentist, and a kind, soft-spoken and gentle one at that! Wow! What luck!

So, I looked forward to my visits at this clinic which looked similar to the one at BPS but was located next to some Malay jaga family at the far end of the school compounds. And boy, was I relieved to realise that scolding was not an essential part of my visit to this place.

But my joy was rather shortlived. At one visit in Sec 1, the dentist told me that I had some problem in my premolar. I went, "Ha?!" But I had felt no pain whatsoever! Nor did any of my teeth feel shaky or something!

She didn't say much, but pointed out that the 'extra' piece of flesh on my gum (which I had had for as long as I had remembered) was not normal. There was some infection that had to be cleared up! Ha?! Again, I went, "Ha?!"

In those days, they never asked for what is permission or consent or even bothered to enlighten patients (especially since we were non-paying school children patients) on what we were to expect. What turned out to be treatment was pure agony. No, it was AGONY.

I was sent on many repeated visits to the Outram area - I cannot remember whether it was the School Dental Service or the Dental Centre. But either would have looked and felt the same anyway. So the location didn't matter except that Mother had to take me there every week or every other week on a long-winding bus service no. 61. I always had to try not to get carsick while travelling through the various estates before reaching Outram.

In the dental chair, I sat and waited and tried hard not to hear those drilling and gushing and don't-know-what-else they did in my mouth. It was tiring to keep the mouth open, too. At times, it was many times more painful than the drillings at the BPS dental clinic. At times, it also smelt bad everywhere - I think they used extra strong medicine somewhere.

But all these pain and awful experience paled in comparison with the shock and chill that ran through me during the final (or was it almost final?) session. After some drilling (they drilled on every session!), the dentist poked what looked like a giant sewing machine needle right into the tooth and sent me to the x-ray room somewhere down the corridor with the needle still stuck in me! Imagine how scared I was when told to hold the needle in position while moving from one room to another!

I almost collapsed when I returned to the dentist, holding the x-ray film in one hand and the needle in the mouth in the other! The x-ray clearly showed the needle piercing right through the tooth all the way to the jaw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, thankfully, the dentist became very satisfied and started to patch things up. I think I went for a review after that and was discharged from this Outram agony house.

I went back to the TKGS dentist, who continued to look after the dental health till I graduated from TK. The subsequent visits to her clinic remained pleasant and relatively stress-free. Phew!

*********************

It's weird but no one took care of our teeth during our JC and University years. I suppose they assume that by then, after all the years of drilling and prying and scolding and nagging, we would have learnt to take care of our teeth ourselves. I did. So during those years, I never had any more dental problems.

In fact, one of the dentists I had visited after I started working, had commented, "You know ah, with your kind of cleanliness in the teeth, the only problem you are likely to have is receding gums! Because you brush too well!"

His words struck fear in me. Because sometime last year or the year before, I noticed that my teeth do really look longer these days. The gums do seem to have shrunk, too.

So, I now use toothpaste for sensitive teeth and soft brushes to gently brush my teeth. I hope whatever gum recession there may be, will slow down.

*sob* *sob* (It's so unfair - first, we get scolded for not brushing well. Then, when we brush well, the teeth/gum start acting up. Sigh.)

*****************

When WY was small, we decided to let him visit the paediatric dentist so that he could be eased into regular dental visits. On YP's recommendation, we chose a Dr Mok at NUH. She is really great at handling children, putting them at ease in her sticker-filled room and rewarding them with stickers etc at the end of their visits. She also chatted with them (kids talk) while she busily checked their teeth.

When WF also came to the dentist-going age, we also let him join in for the visits. The little one is always thrilled at getting on to the dentist's chair - I suppose the pampering he gets (with the dental assistant first gently putting on the paper napkin and dark shades for him) makes the experience exciting. And he loves the feeling of extra-clean teeth after the polishing he gets on his teeth.

All went fine until some time in 2007. When the dentist checked WY, she started to frown. She explained that WY has what is commonly called 'XXX's Premolar' (I think it is Tay's Premolar')and that we would have to do something about it as best as we can now so as to prevent future problems.

Basically, this is a condition where additional pokes or 'spikes' grow on the grinding surface of the tooth. The condition runs in the family and is prevalent in Asians and hence until in the recent decades, it has never been recorded in dentistry literature written by Western doctors.

The problem with such pokes or 'spikes' is that if they should break before the nerves in the tooth grow sufficiently down towards the roots, there will be an opening in the surface of the tooth through which bacteria may enter the tooth cavity and proceed to infect the tooth pulp and tissues. If the pokes or 'spikes' break only after the roots have grown down towards the roots as they should when the tooth matures, then the roots will be sufficiently protected by a 'closed' crown internally and therefore the risk of infection will be minimal.

The tricky part of this condition is that because the pokes or 'spikes' are generally tall and thin, chances are that they will break sooner or later. And so, the critical thing is to identify and manage them quickly and as soon as possible (before they break).

Should they break and an infection sets in, it will be necessary to treat the infection by way of a root canal treatment. This means drilling through the tooth and treating the infection with antibiotics before clearing out the tooth pulp along with the infected tissues. Then a course of oral antibiotics will complete the treatment.

Upon hearing the dentist's explanations, it suddenly dawned upon me that that was most probably what had happened to me when I was in Sec One! I probably had the pokes or 'spikes' which broke, resulting in an infection which caused an 'extra' flap of skin to grow on the gum next to the tooth! And hence the root canal treatment at Outram!!

Oh man! It's like suddenly realising what it had been all about after all these years of wondering what the term 'Endo...' scribbled on the appointment card meant! And having been through this treatment process, I certainly don't want WY to go through it if we can help it!

So, on the advice of the dentist, some dental material was 'glued' onto WY's 3 premolars whose pokes or 'spikes' were still visible such that the pokes or 'spikes' were now surrounded by a wall. The idea was to support the pokes or 'spikes' so as to delay any breakage of the pokes or 'spikes for as long as possible.

The pokes or 'spikes' on WY's other premolar appeared to have already been broken, so the dentist tried to do her best to 'save' the pokes or spikes remaining. For WY's subsequent visits, the dentist always checked the 'mounds' and found them in place. So we were comforted.

But since some time last year, WY started complaining of 'sensitivity' in his teeth generally. He thought it was because he had been brushing too hard and was beginning to feel the effects of some receding gums. So we switched him to using Sensodyne, the toothpaste widely recognised to be good for sensitive teeth. Initially, I wanted him to try the toothpaste I am now using but he preferred Sensodyne, so we stuck with that.

About a week after WY's regular check-up in July this year, WY started to complain of pain at the premolar when he bit on his food. So, we hurriedly got an urgent appointment with the dentist to check it out. I really appreciate the dentist's understanding and making the efforts to see us even though her schedule was completely packed as usual.

WY was sent for an x-ray. When he returned with the film, the dentist found to our dismay that there seemed to have been an infection at the area adjacent to the roots of the premolar whose pokes or 'spikes' previously seemed to have been broken. WY's complaint of this tooth feeling 'shaky' was also consistent with the dentist's observation.

I was heartbroken. I mean, we did all we could and in the end, it still seemed inevitable that the root canal had to be done. Also, the heartache was that every one of WY's teeth is strong and good, with no cavity whatsoever! To deliberately 'kill' the tooth now is such a cruel thing to do, right?!

But alas, there was no other way to go about it if WY needs help to clear up the infection. So, after extensive discussion with the dentist, we made an appointment with the root canal treatment specialist at NUH referred to us by the dentist. It was tough scheduling this appointment because of WY's examiniation schedules. But the dental assistant was very helpful and thoughtful, so we finally settled on the first appointment on Monday next week.

Just yesterday, I checked with WY how his tooth is now. He said the pain doesn't seem to be there anymore although at times, the tooth feels a little 'numb'. The tooth also no longer feels shaky like before.

I hope the infection has cleared up or is in the process of clearing up. And by the time the specialist evaluates him on Monday, it will be gone and no longer necessary to go through the agony I had been through years back.



Update:

At the visit to the root canal treatment specialist, the doctor examined WY's teeth and ran a 'cold test' on the affected tooth and 2 others (so WY could compare the feeling). Conclusion was that the affected tooth is really 'dead' in that the nerves in that tooth were not responding to the 'cold' cotton-bud tip. In other words, a root canal treatment is unavoidable.

The doctor probably sensed my reluctance about the treatment, so she went on to explain how the dead/dying nerves will become food for the bacteria and continually 'feed' the infection etc.

As the doctor proceeded with the anaesthesia shots (she injected in small shots), she massaged the gums and spoke to WY in a gentle and reassuring voice. At times, they both even cracked small jokes!

What a contrast this seemed to my own experience of root canal treatment at the government clinic in Outram! How fortunate WY is!

Anyway, the 1st session involved the removal of the nerves (with a kind of miniature needle-like brushes of varying sizes), putting in the medication to 'kill' the bacteria and to entice the roots of the tooth to 'close' and finally patching the tooth up with a temporary filling. The plan is that in about 3 months' time, the dentist will review and if the roots are 'closed' and the infection is cleared, proceed with the next stage of the treatment, ie removing the medication and putting the permanent root canal filling. That will mark the end of the treatment.

So, our next appointment will be in December. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly.

WY's 12th Birthday

Last Saturday, dinner was at our place. We had simple fare of M's sea cucumber, BK's DianXiaoEr roast duck and my 石斛 soup. YP arrived late because she had to go for some camp inspection following a diarrhoea outbreak at the army camp!

After dinner, everyone got into action in their respective activities: the boys all tried out the various Wii games, including the new Mario game that WS and WP got for WY for his birthday; M and CP turned couch potatoes - they just cannot miss even just one part of their Taiwanese show '爱'; BK got out his mini-laptop and fiddled with it in between watching the broadcast of Michael Jackson's previous concert on the TV; R was in his own cyber world.

At about 9pm, we brought out the Oreo cheese cake that YP had bought for WY and ate it after the usual song-singing. The cake tasted good although it could have been less sweet. Only a small portion was left in the end. WY and I finished it the following day.



The single candle used that day was a special singing candle. It sings very much like what the singing birthday cards do. WP was very intrigued by it but I think its singing is way too soft.

I think we will try it again the next time.

*********************

WY turned 12 yesterday.

It's weird feeling this way (12 years leh!) but it seems like only last week that R and I had checked into the NUH to deliver WY. What with the complete lack of action that day (and I felt so starved because they had refused to feed me that day), the 'unauthorised' visit of F and M at the delivery ward that same evening (only to realise that there had been 'no action'at all!), R's bunking-in with me for 2 nights, his dealing with his sinus issue and of course, the intermittent, increasing pain throughout the following day until WY finally arrived in a hot gush!

And now, our little bundle is already 12!.... He'll be a teenager on his next birthday! Wow....

For lunch yesterday, I decided that we would have something different from the usual rice or noodle stuff. So I ordered pizzas, which were delivered promptly. I am so proud of myself - my timing of the order was so good that the pizzas were still warm when M, WY and I tucked into them after WY's shower!

M told us that during her recent trip, she also had pizzas for lunch on some days. On some other days, she had burgers from some fastfood outlets, too. She is ok with such 'angmo eating' every now and then. So the pizzas yesterday were also ok with her.

I told WY that there was no plan to get another birthday cake yesterday. So the pizzas were its stand-in. As WY munched the pizzas heartily away, he said happily, "That's ok. This is delicious!"

We kept 4 slices of the pizzas for WF, R and CP which they had during dinner later in the evening. I heated them up in the toaster, so they still tasted good. As expected, WF removed all the bits of pineapple before finishing his Hawaiian slice completely. R and CP had the Teriyaki chicken ones.

I gave WY a Super Yoyo for his birthday present. He is delighted at receiving the Yoyo and tried his hand at it. He's still very new to yoyo-ing, but I am sure he will get the hang of it very soon.

WF was equally excited at the Super Yoyo. He fiddled with it, too and later on, asked me, "Mama, why didn't you get me a present on my birthday?"

I reminded him that we did! We got him a brand new mini hifi set for his birthday (to replace the old, faulty set) so that he could enjoy his music in the room! He calls his music 'sweet music'. So sweet. So, WF said, "Oh ya, hor. Thank you, Mama!"

I think the 2 boys will be trying out the Yoyo together very soon.

* The Super Yoyo's price is so super leh - $20!! Its incredible how little value our money is worth these days, hor. Did someone call this inflation??