10.37pm. The fish tank is dark when I get in. I remind myself to buy the replacement light. It is so early and everyone is asleep...
Work was... work. I decided to have lunch alone today, and then it was back to it. I spent most of the day sitting in the soft area, at the table next to the window, working wirelessly away from the bustle of my desk. Mom calls to tell me Faith is down with a fever, and that she had no choice but to take her to the grouchy and rude doctor at London clinic, because our family one was not open at five in the afternoon.
6.23pm. Ginny sms-es me, and asks if I am picking her up. She was really ill today, so I take the remaining work home. On the way to her office, the BBC lady calls, and we make an appointment to meet the next day.
7.39pm. As we pull into the car park at Mom's block, Celia calls to tell Ginny that she is taking Faith home from Mom's early, instead of waiting for us to finish dinner. I tell the missus over dinner to go home first, and I will wash up and take Isaac home. She does not eat much, the sight of food is not appealing in her current state. I give her the car keys, ask her if she is any state to drive it back to our part of the car park, two blocks away, since I need to push Isaac home in his stroller. She says she can.
9.02pm. Isaac is in a chatty mode when I load him into the stroller after washing the dishes.
He greeted his mother earlier with great enthusiasm and a comical run down the hall when he saw her, his face locked in a silly grin and his run like a penguin's. Mommy gave him a weak smile before having dinner. After Mommy goes home, we spend the whole evening, my parents and I, telling him not to go so near the TV, and not to play with the fan.
As I push his stroller through the car park, he talks to me about his day. All I hear is "Pa, babble babble, Pa, babble." But I nod and reply anyway. He is a funny little guy. There are no ramps connecting my block and Mom's so I have to push along the car park road.
Celia takes over the stroller and the task of changing Isaac for his milk and bedtime, and I holler to the wife in the bedroom that I was going to go down and get my bag from the car, get some petrol and maybe wash it too.
9.32PM. The petrol warning light blinks in reproach. And I pull into the station to fill the empty tank up. I cannot wait till the morning to fill up, or the morning traffic will stop me cold, and this is my only window in the day (or night, as it were) to run car errands.
The 24-hour car wash guys at the station are working on some cabs. I drive my car over to the rinsing station after I am done with petrol, and let them cover my car with soapy water. I turn on my mobile phone's MSN to chat with Ben a bit.
As I watch the team of workers dry my car and vacuum it, I am struck by how thorough they are. Some look local, some are Indian nationals. They are not like that other place I used to go to, with the grouchy and sloppy PRC washers. No, these guys took pride in their work and they cleaned every corner and surface of my car. I am glad to have bought the coupon package which gave me two free washes and a $1 off the vacuuming. Good service must support.
I drive home listening to one of my raw unedited podcasts. I groan internally at the thought of editing for next week's shows.
I am thankful that Mom was around to take Faith to the doctor's. This flu business is certainly spreading around. Strangely, Isaac has been mostly fine in his 18 months, beyond a few sniffles. Faith, on the other hand, has stayed in the hospital for more than three times already. I know the floor of the B2 ward at KK's very well. But then, these happened in the first year of her life, and her recent years have been relatively illness free. Breast milk rules.
10.37pm. The fish tank is dark when I get in. I remind myself to buy the replacement light. It is so early and everyone is asleep. I can hear Faith's gentle snoring, and the wife stirs next to her.
Maybe I will have some time to write, and if Ben is free, we can have a coffee later.
