Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Most Accurate Thermometer In The Whole Universe



It's my turn to take care of the kid while mummy's away for two full days of company retreat. I was actually looking forward to some quality time with the kid. I was even thinking of going shopping with her. Maybe she can give me some advice of some new year clothes to buy.

The first night was rather pleasant. I brought her back from the center and gave her some cookies. She was visibly tired. God knows why but she was cuddling up my lap and quietly watching the TV. No tantrums. No unnecessary crying. That was a bliss. Dinnertime came and I cooked the "instant" rice Mummy bought for her. I thought it was quite interesting because it came out of the bag powdery but after 3 minutes of boiling it became porridge! Like magic! Sadly the taste was nowhere near magical. No choice. There was nothing else in the house I can feed her. Thank god she ate everything without much complaint. 

Today morning Jae woke up feeling feverish all over. It was then I realize why she looked so tired yesterday. The cough bug she caught from the center few days ago must have caught up with her. I didn't think much about the fever because my digital thermometer was showing a slight 0.1 increase. She felt more than 0.1 to me but I thought I could be wrong. So I went about the usual routine of packing her school bag, change her and then bring her to the center. I thought I could go to work after that. But surprise surprise my digital thermometer clamped under Jae's armpit didn't work as good as the Braun Thermoscan ear infra-red thermometer. 38 degrees was the verdict. The result: I have to bring her home. 

I thought the fever will go away by itself. So I gave her some milk and pack her back to sleep. She woke up in the afternoon feeling even more feverish. My not-very-accurate thermometer said she's only 37.5. Grrr. So after I gave her some paracetamol I decided to pack the bags and bring her back to my in-law's place. At least grandma can cook something decent for her. 

The first thing I did after Jae settled down at grandma's place was to go to the mall and buy a Braun thermoscan. I told mummy to get one months ago. It never happened. Now I've got the most expensive thermometer I ever lay my hands on.


Perhaps also the most expensive one in the whole universe

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