Have been down with flu, sorethroat and cough for almost 3 weeks now. Barely recovered from a bout of gastric trouble when the flu bug attacked mercilessly. It was slow in approaching - could see it coming in the distance - and when the battle started, the Enemy turned out to be more resilient than i thought. In just a few days, though i fought valiantly whilst armed with a bottle of acid-free vitamin C, I was sorely defeated by the Enemy who allied itself with LACK OF REST and LACK OF MOTIVATION TO WORK, both the result of consecutive days of having to do GCE N level oral after school hours on top of the usual day's crap. Of course, being the usual talker/charmer i am, not being able to spout my usual nonsense rather took the wind out of my sails.

Hence, last last fri marked the end of my valiant battle with the Enemy. With my tail between my legs, i crept to the doctor's office to seek aid. I was worried. I needed my voice. It was my good friend, my means of communication and, not to mention, my weapon against THE PESTS. Yah well, it was a necessary tool for work too, being the educator i am. On top of those, i needed my voice back soon because i was supposed to sing backup for Music Sunday. Think singing is more than JUST singing to me.

I was a good patient. Really, i was. I took each dosage of medication faithfully to the dot. I stayed away from cold water. (people who know me would know that 90% of the beverage i take is COLD. The other 10% is HOT. I NEVER take lukewarm, almost. Read the bible for why...hahaha...just kidding) I stayed away from chilli. (people who know me would also know i have to have chilli for almost everything i eat except like economic rice and bread) I stayed away from fried stuff, in fact i had porridge and bread almost everyday for a week or more. I stayed away from ice-cream and chocolate, which incidentally is top on my chart for combatting depression as well as a winner on my MUST EAT chart. I also stayed away from jogging. (I jog several times a week generally) Most of all, i stayed away from PAO PAO CHA......=(

By monday, i'd finished almost all my medication. My cough was no better. My respiratory system felt chockful of mucus and phlegm (which are essentially the same sticky substance rite?), even my ears were blocked for a good whole week! Can u imagine having your ears especially stuck just from taking a lift down?? In a HDB flat, no less!! It didn't help that that was the week Jacob Prasch, a Jewish speaker was in town for a seminar. It felt real queer with my ears blocked and buzzing the whole time. I couldn't breathe deeply and i couldn't speak very loudly in class. THE PESTS were sympathetic for only like 5 min of the entire lesson, after which the usual antics resumed. Sigh. So back i went to the doc's.

Seriously, the last thing i'd want to do is cast any doubt or blame on my fellow kind. The more gifted kind, that is, according to Minority Report. Which kind is that? The female kind of course! Haha... No, but really, both my visits to that particular clinic really made me lose faith in female doctors. Both times i was diagnosed by two different female doctors. They both gave me different medication. None worked. By the end of the 2nd week, i was still sick. I did get slightly better though. At least, good enough to sing for Music Sunday, thank God. It was really God's grace. I told Him that if He didn't mean for me to sing, then so be it. I'd just have to deal with the disappointment. But i asked for God to somehow allow me to sing if possible. And He did.

Sat i decided my inactivity was enough. I played tennis and then on Sunday, which was yesterday, i went jogging. I'm still coughing, yes, but my system's alot clearer now. Am taking some anti-cough tea and some (what michelle calls) 'old man sweet' for the throat. Felt good to run after almost 3 weeks of illness. Some thoughts came to me as i was running. More later...