Blatant propaganda, but it works.
Of course Bill Gates played it cool when responding to Steve Jobs's remarks about him.
“When you think about why is the world better today, the Internet, the personal computer, the phone, the way you can deal with information is just so phenomenal…Over the course of the 30 years we worked together, he said a lot of very nice things about me and he said a lot of tough things. I mean, he faced, several times at Apple, the fact that their products were so premium priced that they literally might not stay in the marketplace. So the fact that we were succeeding with high volume products, including a range of prices, because of the way we worked with multiple companies, it’s tough. So the fact that at various times, he felt beleaguered, he felt like he was the good guy and we were the bad guys, you know, very understandable. I respect Steve. We got to work together. We spurred each other on, even as competitors. None of that bothers me at all.”
Duh. He was winning so much when he retired. Remember when the Mac was the other computer that nobody really gave a damn about and developers created softwares on Windows before porting it to Mac?
Microsoft only got into this current losing streak after Gates was gone.
I realized that when someone dies in the movies, there's always this person who tells the grieving family/friends that "he/she will live on forever in our hearts".
That's bull.
I can barely remember my father other than he was a nag and a workaholic.
Then when I look at the senile granny in the hospital ward I wonder if she would recognize her parents even if they were standing right in front of her.
Seriously, she asks about where she was every single time I was there. I usually don't understand what she says but the word "hospital" is really quite easy to catch.
And every night she would have a loud argument in Malay or Indonesian with her Javanese maid (heard her mention that when another patient asked her) at about 7.30pm.
The issue?
The maid had to get her to take out her dentures and put them in a glass of water before she could return home every night.
For some reason she always refused to do so. The funniest thing was how the maid kept mentioning the word "doctor". I bet the old lady was asking her why she was in a hospital every time that word was spoken.
Last night it got so bad the maid left in tears and got back with a nurse. It took about 10mins before the nurse told her not to force it if she didn't want to take it out, so she left. Then the nurse came back about 15mins later and somehow managed to complete the task successfully without resorting to raising her voice.
I guess I should be glad that isn't going to be happening to me... unless I get married.
Oh those Russians...
O.O
So I accompanied my mum as she was transferred to Dover Park Hospice this morning. I don't know why it wasn't Assisi but it doesn't really matter.
The ride itself was awesome.
Seriously, I was in the front seat so I saw everything this time.
The driver was going at over 100kmph with the warning lights on, so every car ahead gave way to us along the highway.
A few cars tried to accelerate just so that they didn't have to change lane but when they reached certain points with lower speed limits like tunnels they had no choice but to slow down and do that.
The ambulance didn't give a fuck about speed limits. We continued at over 100kmph even in the tunnel where the limit was 80kmph.
Throughout the journey we stayed on the right lane, and I don't think the driver ever used the brakes except at red lights.
Maintenance must be cheaper for ambulances.
This time I don't really know why it cost me only $35 for the longer trip compared to the $80 to bring her to the hospital from home. Might have to do with the fact that it was the hospital that booked this ambulance for us.
The hospice was a brighter place than expected. Not so well-maintained on the outside but they really put in a lot of effort to keep the inside clean.
Took them a while but they finally assembled the two doctors and the social worker to talk to me in a meeting room.
There they explained what is happening to us and what will happen.
My mum's been more normal since two days ago. Initially I thought it was because of the new air mattress she was using since the night before that.
Apparently the main reason for her improvement was that they've been giving her steroids as her medical treatment for her brain's tumour. This is the alternative to surgery and would reduce inflammation and swelling which were causing her to be sleepy and confused.
Unfortunately steroids can't be taken in large doses for a long time, and yesterday was the last day she was allowed to take the maximum dosage.
No wonder she appeared almost normal since last night. I was worried it could be painful for her before she could go unconscious till the end.
This morning, her doctor at NUH faxed a memo to the doctors at the hospice to gradually reduce her dosage to a level that could be sustained for a longer period.
In other words, she will be deteriorating from now on.
This was probably the worst part. Feels like it reopened an old wound.
As for the pain, they assured me they can handle that.
They also touched on several other issues like whether our relatives know about this and how we're coping.
I feel like shit. Didn't feel like organizing the lunch at Rocky's Pizza for tomorrow, still don't.
Finally the doctors left me alone with the social worker who discussed with me issues like the money involved and the funeral.
Money is a problem. I have no idea how much she used to makes. A vague idea, yes, but no clear picture.
I think I'll have to find some way to see if I can print out her tax report or whatever it's called.
I haven't even paid income tax before; I only just applied for a Singpass (user ID and password for most government stuff online) last month.
...
Hmm... It was easier than I thought. Found the acknowledgement notices from IRAS for income tax e-filing that mention her total income for the year. Printed the one for 2011. Hopefully they accept this. They should. They're not the IRAS.
As for her will, the social worker told me to make sure it was valid by speaking to whoever is keeping it.
From what I know it was an insurance agent who was very helpful to us in the past. Not sure about the legalities regarding insurance agents and wills so I'll have to check.
As for her siblings, the social worker reminded me to think in their shoes. I haven't. I don't want to. I asked my mum several times about this, including once today and the answer never changed. I know the consequences of this but that's why I asked her so many times to make sure it was not a decision made when she was mentally affected by her condition.
Whatever happens, it was not my decision.
The funeral itself was not as simple as I thought, she explained. I should probably call up the various undertakers because apparently they offer "packages" that include things we need in a wake and etc, and they all offer different prices.
After that discussion I went back to the ward and took a look around.
There's an ceiling fan for every bed and an air-conditioning system for the building. The former is for daytime and latter for night.
The facilities are also slightly inferior to the ones at NUH. Older stuff, mainly. I was actually quite impressed by how new everything look in the NUH ward.
Then again, that was the cheapest of the premium non-subsidised wards.
In terms of pricing, it's actually the same as staying in that NUH ward. It's $250 per night in Dover Park, only 1 type of ward, and $260 per night for Class B1 in NUH.
Both are non-subsidised rates. One of the first things they asked me multiple times was our financial status. They couldn't decide how much to charge me without knowing about it.
That was pretty unknown in my case but like I mentioned, I'm just going to try to hand her that notice and see how much they can subsidise. In the best case scenario it could hit the same price range as Class C wards in NUH, which is over $30.
Anyway I think a larger portion of the budget goes to the staff than the equipment. Even the food is crappier. My guess is there are more doctors and nurses per patient in the hospice, hence the price.
There are even lawyers who visit that place, but those are volunteers.
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