Our Works, His Instruments

Dear Diary,

Just came back from 2 hours of photo-shoot. We took a family photo and individual photos for the children. We were all dressed smartly in our graduation gowns. It was a moment to remember. Now I know why models deserve every single bit of their salaries. It is very tiring to be a model and when the photographer is practically instructing you to move your head slightly to the left and the chin lifted a little and…. You just become a remote-control toy. Smile when they tell you to. Smile too much and they ask you tone down a little. Smile too little and they ask you to smile wider. It was exhausting but felt good to be fussed over. From the make-ups and the wearing of the gowns, all I did was just sit or stand still. =) This photo-shoot, which amounted to more than $1600, marked the end of the chapter of my undergraduate life. I had waited more than 2 years for my youngest sister to graduate and wearing the gown tonight felt a little weird initially, haha… However, so glad that we brought pride to our parents.

Today wasn’t just all so smooth-sailing. I had shocking phone calls from a pharmacist who said that he did not know he was roster for duty! By then, I had already activated the on-call pharmacist for another case. I was determined that I must have my Sunday holiday especially when I had a scheduled photo-shoot this evening. Called up other pharmacists to ask them to extend their working hours and shifting their locations of duty. Frankly, I don’t exactly relish this huge responsibility that I have assumed. I did it solely because I really wanted to help my manager. I think she is a really nice lady and I just felt that she shouldn’t be overworking herself. It really isn’t easy to be asking people to do something especially when some are more than twice my age! I had to be polite and at the same time, firm enough to get them to do what I need them to do. It is a balance that I think I am coping surprisingly well thus far. If I was twenty years older, I would have vomited blood trying to coordinate all those tricky situations!

All these while, I used to do some reading after eating my meals. However, in recent times… especially during my dinner breaks, I love to sit at the nearby neighbourhood esplanade. As I sat beneath the moonlight and cool breeze blowing lightly against my face, I can’t help thinking what I am doing to my life. My life revolves around my work. I haven’t spoken to anyone about God for a long time. Sometimes, can’t help feeling a little worried that I may be neglecting many other aspects of my life. I have set plans to do something in my free time but I am constantly procrastinating them… partly because I have hardly any free time. The workload, that I thought would ease off towards the end of the year with the influx of new colleagues, did not. It multiplied instead, with the constant opening of new pharmacies.

At least through working, I know I am the kind of person who likes interacting with other people. I am not a desk-bound kind of person. Sometimes, I will contact some locum pharmacists through SMS or phone, just to ask them how they are getting on and whine about issues, haha… especially if they are about my age. =P The job is fast becoming routine and it is now very much the people that make the difference. Today’s “Daily Bread” reading coincidentally reminds me that my secular job is also a ministry unto God. The letter to the Colossans 3:23 states, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” Thank God that if we work hard and show the love of God in our actions and deeds, we can be useful instruments for Him to touch the lives of others. =)

I have abandoned my half-marathon objective. This coming Thursday onwards… once a week, I should be taking up guitar lessons. I may be impatient for things to change fast but I have realised that God has His own timing for each of us. One step at a time, I see changes… unmistakable changes happening in my life. I need to learn how to trust and to be patient. Similarly, to be an effective pharmacist, one needs patience. Not too long ago, a patient came to me, telling me that she had been using that Zovirax cream for her cold sores for quite a while without much improvement. She said that the doctor is intending to take a blood test for her. I asked about the frequency she applied that cream. “Once a day,” she replied. I told her not to worry too much and apply it 4 to 5 times a day instead. We do make a difference and I love to solve such puzzles. Felt good when I explained about the palpating of lymph nodes for infection, the differentiation of the different causes of conjunctivitis and … so on.

Retail pharmacy can be really fulfilling at times… good to remember your clients by their names. I can’t seem to do that most of the time, haha… but whenever I could recall what they bought from me, their eyes lit up. I would sometimes say, “No… please don’t say anything… let me recall… I am sure I can recall what you bought from me recently, haha…” Yes, and some will ask me which days I work in the week so that they could show me that the recommendation I made for the fungal infection worked! ;-)

That’s all for tonight, Goodnight.

God Bless,

Andrew