[In case you didn't know, my birthday is on 09 December. Which makes it about slightly a month away.]
I paused and had a long thought about it.
A shopping voucher so that I can buy some new clothes? Some jewellery? A bottle of perfume? A new bag? A new wallet? A new pair of shoes? A new watch? A new mobile phone? A new digital camera?
The list was endless. But of course, everyone has a budget. Furthermore, buying shoes, bags, watches, wallets and everything else (except vouchers) carried a serious risk. I have very different taste in my stuff so what you pick may not be what I like.
Then I remembered. I saw it during a long Friday lunch break with my colleagues.
Colour Flash Holga Starter Kit
It was invented in Hong Kong way back in 1982. Photography was a big thing back then in Japan and China. In order to let enthusiasts enjoy photography - the Holga was created. It was a minimal and inexpensive camera using medium format 120 film. It was so cheaply manufactured that it has light leaks. Yet, its very fatal flaws have turned it into a cult camera because of the dreamlike pictures it can create.
Take a look here: http://shop.lomography.com/holga/
I thought it was somewhat insincere to state explicitly what I liked for my birthday. So I wished quietly to myself that a Colour Flash Holga Starter Kit (retailing at SGD 114.72) would be really great.
Just in case you fell in love with the Holga camera too, you can check out this website on how to order the camera: http://www.lomographyasia.com/shop/?showproduct=123
NB: Do not be confused with the Holger Starter Kit. The Colour Flash Holger is slightly more pricey but has better features.
In case you do decide to surprise me with the camera as my present, do drop an anonymous note on the chatbox. It would not be nice hawking multiple birthday sets of Holga on my blog.
The Day Surgery Centre was deadly quiet. It only opens at 7 a.m.! [insert expletives of choice]. I was hungry, thirsty (I had to fast since midnight the day before) and cranky.
I slept fitfully on the hard chairs outside the Day Surgery Centre till 7 a.m. The nurses at the hospital kept asking me the same repeated questions.
"What is your name?"
"What is your doctor's name?"
"Do you know why you are here?"
"Are you allergic to any medication?"
I was wheeled to the operating theatre shortly after registration and the questioning. I felt naked (I think this is partly due to the fact that I was literally naked) like a lamb to the slaughter. The nurses at the hospital were very kind though. One of the nurses at the theatre tucked me in warmly beneath the blankets.
I was in the theatre minutes before 8 a.m. They transferred me from the bed to the table. The table was nice and warm because it was heated! I was ready to sleep. The heart monitor electrodes were stuck on me and my anaestetist, Dr. Ng came in. I was in for a rude shock. I had expected a Nip/Tuck anaestetic mask where you simply breathed and slept. Unfortunately, I got the needle treatment instead. The needle was poked in at the back of my left hand and the doctor commented that her daughter has bigger hands than mine. I think she had a hard time finding a vein.
My gynaecologist, Dr. Tan marched into the theatre 10 minutes after 8 a.m. She comforted me that everything will be fine. The last thing I heard before I went out was Dr. Ng telling the nurse, " Dear, I told you I want the oxygen mask." At least the anaestetic worked. I was out in 2 seconds after it was injected.
I woke up groggy and remembered someone telling me about a picture of my polyp. Strangely, I did not feel any pain but only on my left hand. Damn the needle.
I was out of the theatre in an hour and I continued my sleep in the day surgery ward. By noon, I was ready to go because I was seriously hungry. The nurse checked me out and passed me my bill and a picture of my polyp.
My Admission Wrist Tag & Pictures of the Polyp (the top right picture is the top of my uterus)
The Photos Taken of my Polyp during Surgery
An Itemised Bill (with even different glove sizes for each surgeon)!