Uncertainties

The original plan was for us to travel to Alor Gajah today and enjoy an extended stay at Mak's house before facing the jam back to Singapore on Sunday. Yesterday that all changed with news of an accident involving Noi's younger brother Khir. He damaged two fingers on his right hand quite badly in an incident aboard the oil rig he works on off the East coast. So then we planned to drive over to Kuantan today to visit him in hospital. We were all set for the journey when we heard he was being transferred to another place further up the coast this afternoon, and there was little point in our making the visit. His wife was already on the way up to Kuantan, so she'll be seeing him, wherever he is, and she's now going to come across to us this evening and we'll take her back to Melaka tomorrow.

I imagine that, apart from being in some pain, the poor guy is worrying about his future given the physical nature of the work he does. He got the job partly through his elder brother Saadon, who is almost contemporary with myself, and Noi tells me Saadon also badly injured one of his thumbs in his early days on the rigs. Fortunately that didn't affect him going on to make a successful career out there - and we're hoping the same will be true for the younger of the two.

When I was a little lad I always imagined work when it finally came along was going to involve something physically demanding. (I remember Dad covered in muck from the heavy-duty rollers at Rotunda and the exhaustion that involved.) But I've been spared that, and been lucky enough to keep going in the job with no undue mishaps. Blessing-counting time again.