My Dad.. He passed away peacefully on 20 Jan 2011 at 1451hrs, after fighting pneumonia for sometime.

This is how the story goes.. On 18th Nov 2010, he fell while going from his bedroom toilet to his bed. I was on leave at home that day, planned to bring my 2 nephews out for a movie. As my nephews just came home from school, I went to take a short nap because they always take a very long time to eat lunch and shower. But I jumped out of my bed soon after I heard Ryan shouted 'Gong Gong fall down!!' I rushed to the room to find my dad sitting on the floor and couldn't get up. I helped him up onto the bed, and feared that he might have a bad injury, but he said he's ok, not painful.. However, later on he had trouble walking and that's when I know he must had injured his leg.

So the ambulance came and brought him to TTSH. It never occurred to me that that would be the last time my dad is home. Never... About a year ago he fractured his left hip, and he was home after 1 month. I thought it would be the same this time round.

So the doctor found out that he fractured his hip from the x-ray, and this would require surgery if Dad wants to walk again. After some thoughts and discussions we decided to let him go under the knife because Dad was an active guy, and being confined to a wheelchair will be very tough for him. Plus, he also wanted to walk, to be independent.

However, the surgery had to wait because they found that my Dad had pneumonia (that explains why he felt faint and fell). They had to ensure that he had no other problems before they can start the operation. So it took about 1-2 weeks to treat him and the doctors declared that my Dad is fit for surgery. We were cautiously happy, because no operation has a 100% success rate. Everything went well and soon he was back, and even did some light physiotherapy at ward 12C.

The plan was to transfer him to Ren Ci hospital for his physiotherapy, and then bring him home. We estimated that he will make it just in time for CNY celebrations (based on his previous fracture), but complications set in.. He would sometimes have low blood iron, low oxygen levels, high white blood cells etc, and Ren Ci would not accept him because they dont have the facilities to treat Dad if he got some serious problems.

And so started the transfer/cannot transfer period.. TTSH will inform us that Dad and be transferred the next day, and after we took leave and went down on that day, they will then inform us that he can't be transferred due to some reasons (high white blood cells, low oxygen etc).. It was a frustrating period for Dad because he wanted to go home badly, and the longer he stayed in TTSH, the longer he couldn't go home. He was demoralised and actually said he rather die because he felt useless and don't want to be a burden to us. He also told my auntie that he was worried that he had no money for his own funeral. I was devastated because I know my family is not financially sound, and to hear Dad said that I felt useless... As a son, I have no money for that. Man, after working for 2 years, my bank account has never exceed 5k. How sad is that?? So much loans, bills to pay...

Eventually Dad was able to transfer to Ren Ci Ward 13 on 30 Dec 2010. We were glad that finally he can move on to the next phase of his recovery, which is the physiotherapy part. He was doing well, and I even attended one of his physio session. He stood up with the aid of a machine and from the looks of it, everything was encouraging and I even thought that he can be home by mid Jan.

However, he started to cough badly with a lot of phlegm. Antibiotics and cough medicine didn't help and I started to push Ren Ci to send a doc to see him. Then on the 11 Feb 2011, Ren Ci informed me that Dad was sent to TTSH ward 11B because of traces of blood in his stool. A few days later the results for his stool came back and it was not cancerous. We were relieved then, but Dad was still coughing badly which can't make him sleep at night. More antibiotics were given but still no signs of improvement. He was then transferred to Ward 8B because doctors discovered that his heart was getting weaker, and even inform us on how far we want to go to sustain him should there be any life threatening situation.

Then we started to stay by his bedside whenever we can... We will usually stay till midnight before we go home.. In ward 8B, he was given stronger antibiotics and was able to sleep at night. But he looked tired all the time even though he had a lot of rest. He can't speak properly and my heart aches to see him in that situation. How I wished that we can swap places.. I can take the pain for him..

The day before he passed on, I had ippt in the evening and went to visit him after that. He was sleeping most of the time, and we talked very little.. I did the usual things - helped him prepare tissue for his cough, massaged his legs, apply Vicks on his chest etc.. His last words to me was 'What is that?', referring to the Subway sandwich I was eating by his bedside. I replied 'My dinner', he nodded and went back to sleep.. He woke up again when the nurse came and measured his blood pressure, and I think that was the last time he saw me... I left around 11pm because I was tired from the ippt and also because my phone batt was dead.. I should've stayed longer......

On 20 Jan 2011, I asked for half day off from my boss (to take an exam and then see my Dad in hospital). i turned my phone to silent to sit for the paper, and have no idea that he passed on at 2.51pm.. Only after I finished the paper at 430pm, I switched my phone back and my Mum called me.. I was late.. Everyone was late, except for my sister. Luckily she was there by his bedside during his last hour... he told my sis that he's dying, and then breathed his last.. On the bright side, he passed on peacefully without any pain..

It was hard to take.. There are so many things that I have not accomplished for him to be proud of.. Like earn more money so that we can have a comfortable life, get married and let him hear my children call him 'Gong Gong'.. I planned to bring my parents to MBS or RWS for a tour later this year... He also said that he wanted to treat us to Thai food after he discharged..... Ahhhhhh!!

If only......

Dad, I miss you

WTF, It has been almost a year!!

I'm glad 2009 is drawing to a close, it has not been a good year for me and my family. 2009 saw the passing of 2 uncles; my grandma fractured her hip early this year, and now she's back in hospital as she may have to amputate her leg; my dad fell and fractured his hip as well, he's recovering well at home now; one cousin-in-law fell and had a major brain surgery; my sis had a day op; I got chicken pox (yes I must say this even though it paled in comparison, and the scars are still visible on my back).

This is not a New Year resolution post, cos I dont remember them after 2 weeks.

Anyway, this song has to be immortalized somehow, so I put this here. The clear winner for my song of the year. They are just.. HOT!



Side note: I'm looking forward to the Green Day concert in Jan. Contrary to beliefs, Rock and Korean Pop do mix in my playlist. Ha.

I started playing more 11-a-side soccer recently, maybe about once a month since Oct. Twice this year, cos we didnt play in Dec. I'm the self proclaimed player-manager of my team - I organise matches, set the starting line up, bribe the referee etc.. If I really have to make 1 new year resolution, it is to lead this team to a victory in 2010! The first match is just a kickabout amongst ourselves, and the only proper match under our belt - lost 3-0 to a fitter police team, so it wasn't that bad. Their right winger's 2.4km timing is under 9mins, and he got 3 assists in that game, so you know the difference in standards. Nevertheless, immortality! Take it! It's ours!

I have to mention Liverpool beating Man U here. Even though the rest of the matches Liverpool played like shats. Maybe their visit to SG had cursed them and caused them to play like shats. Did I mention that they played like shats? Yes they played like shats. What's shats?

From Urban Dictionary, shats means
- If two of the ugliest shoes made - Crocs and Uggs - had a love child.
- Shats is just one letter away from shit.

You get my drift..

Ending abruptly, happy 2010! Welcome to the World Cup year!

I am everything you want
I am everything you need
I am everything inside of you that you wish you could be
I said all the right things at exactly the right times
But I meant nothing to you and I dont know why

Latest Transfer News:

Due to my expiring contract with STE, I just joined IBM on a free transfer.

This is exciting time.

Four-star Liverpool thrash Utd

Caught this match at Breko Cafe. It was awesome! The crowd, the match and the scoreline. I wouldn't say the same about the food though, it came 1.5 hrs after my order, and just after Man U scored the first goal. Where got mood to eat! But just after I poured the chilli sauce on my fries, Liverpool equalised though Torres. Woot my appetite came back. Every goal was met with super loud cheers around the cafe, plus the red card, and gf commented that I have a sexy low voice after that game. I always thought I have a sexy low voice already. =P

After the match I walked past another Liverpool fan. He looked and me and said, 'It's about time we thrashed them!'

Hell it is. =)

Man of the Match - Fabio Aurelio. He kept Ronaldo quiet all night, and scored a super free kick which Beckham, Gerrard and even Ronaldo would have been proud of.

Best goal of the night - Dossena's chip over van der Sar for the fourth goal. van der Sar didnt event bother to move. Brilliant.

- Although my current job is not my dream job, it's recession proof.

- Obama looks skinnier compared to his election days. Lol.

- I learnt basic salsa. Fun, but needs practice.

- And please let Gerrard recover soon.

I watched the Adult themed puppet show - Avenue Q some days back, and I really enjoyed it, especially when there's such a funny song...



HAhahahaha!!

He scored our 1000th EPL goal,



and our 1001th,



and he got his 1st of the season in EPL.

F***ing brilliant.

He got his first, while..



He got his 100th.

Brillant.

Taken from Yahoo! News:

He (Alonso) now starts from 15th and knows his hopes of fighting his way through the field and into the points have all but disappeared.

"The race is lost," said the fuming Spaniard.

"You can't overtake here and I'm starting from 15th, so I will be going out just to lap the track, but it's over already."

But with Lady Luck smiling at him, he was crowned champion of the first F1 night race! It was awesome.

Liverpool 2 Man U 1

Its long overdue!

Ahh.. Now that I know how to use this new (ok its new to me) feature on Blogger, everything is so easy. No more having to scroll through tons of codes and decoding them!

Now, I need to make the picture above a little larger..

Great! Now I cant get back my old skin. Sucks.

Anyone knows how to edit HTML? I have no idea how to shift the 'History' side bar to the side. It used to be on the right side but now it has moved to the centre and covered Fowler. Somebody please show me the way!!!

it's a pity that we didnt get to hear 'Mari kita' in the Olympics Table Tennis team semis just now. That would be nice.

First day at work tomorrow!!!

Dear Blog,

It has been moons since I've updated you. I know i had neglected you, please dont be sad. I promise I will blog more often.

After my graduation trip, I had been busy looking for jobs, and.. er.. playing games. Jobs are not easy to find nowadays, all thanks to the bad economy (thanks bush!). Companies are scared to hire people, fearing that they are unable to meet the pay requirements. Things were so much better last year, with companies lining up to snap up fresh graduates the moment they stepped out of convocation.

Speaking of convocation, I had mine a few weeks ago. My parents, my sis, my bro in law and HY came. It's the usual photo taking, throwing of motars, and more photo taking. It's my mum's dream to see her son wearing the graduation gown, and she finally got her wish!

Meanwhile, still no job offers, and worse of all, not even an interview. Finally I decided to sign up for a job agency, the same agency that got me the jap bank job during holidays last year. And within 2 days, I got an interview, and in less than a week, I got a job! It's quite a big company, and it's also one of the last place that I thought I will be working at, as the number of electrical engineers outnumbered the number of mechanical engineers by like.. 50 to 1? Nevertheless, I'm happy, and I'll be going down to the3 agency to sign the offer letter tomorrow, and will be reporting to work on Wed.

No more late nights, no more money woes (hopefully), and no more student discount!

Signed
Your blogger

In case you have not noticed, I'm in Germany!!! So far so good, I like it here. Weather's good, people are friendly, and I have not spent a single cent yet! Wells, we stayed in HY's Mum's house, and she cooked all our meals, drive us all around, and yeah, I feel so paiseh to be a free loader! Must really give them a good treat before I leave. Did I mention that HY's mum is a super good cook?

Ok, so didnt explore much yet, just walked around Leverkusen. Enjoy the greens around me. Ran a half marathon too, and the same old thing happen.. Cramps! I think I'm the only one who cramped out during the run. German muscles dont seem to cramp? And the weather was cold. I'm the kind who sweat easily, and running with my wet shirt was killing me. So damn cold! I asked HY if I will get frostbites. Haha. And yeah, then the cramps set in and we ended up walking until we became the last, and the safety van was following us. Lol. We decided to just board the van to the ending point since I cant run anymore. :P

Going to Munster, Amsterdam and Cologne next week. 2 more friends will join us for 2 days. Till then, ciao!