[Almost] Had a Bad Day

The fraternal sisters’ action group I belonged to met at our house last night. We had worship, dinner and fellowship as it was the last time that Doc A would join us, she being part of the new Lingkod mission team to Marikina.

I told Doc A of my symptoms (cough, colds, cold sweats, fever) and she said she wouldn’t prescribe antibiotics until I’ve had my checkup. I hated having checkups, and I’m using the word “hate” here. Being a patient always reminded me that I lacked patience. I tried to charm Doc A into giving me medicine that would make all the discomforts that had affected my life for several days now disappear in an instant, but she insisted that I had to go for a proper checkup. She warned that I might have “TB”.

TB? Tuberculosis? “Who still gets tuberculosis these days?” I thought. Isn’t that what Pres. Manuel Quezon died of? Our AG joked about my TB the whole night but the sisters made me promise that I would go to Philamcare the very next day. They even checked up on me the next morning to see if I obeyed, knowing I wasn’t inclined to.

So this morning I informed the office that I was going to be late and tried to schedule an appointment with the doctor. I noticed, however, how messy the house had been so I tried to straighten it up a bit before leaving. Since I wasn’t feeling well, I opted not to drive and waited for a cab. It took me an hour to get one, by which time I was really upset already after having to stand in the sun that long with my huge bag containing my water bottle, take-home work, kikay kit, etc.

When I arrived, I had already missed my appointment and was told the next doctor was arriving in an hour. The nurse took my BP, which was normal, and my temperature, which was ok. It was nearing lunchtime so the nurse advised me to eat lunch at the hospital cafeteria. Given how I was feeling, I was not up to tolerating hospital food. I left the building and tried to look for a nearby fastfood restaurant. The noontime sun grilled me and my little umbrella couldn’t protect me from the humidity. I could see a familiar sign – Jollibee – but it was quite a distance away. It was too near to ride the jeep for so I decided to walk, drinking water every time I felt I couldn’t go any further.

It was during that walk to Jollibee that I remembered this song by Daniel Powter – “Bad Day” – the lyrics of which I posted below. That was my idea of a bad day – not having eaten properly for several days, I was hiking towards Pinoy fastfood heaven, but it seemed too far away and my strength was slipping away. I could almost imagine the headlines – “Girl Faints Before Ordering Chickenjoy”. Why, oh why did I stubbornly decline all offers to accompany me to the doctor? Why didn’t I take the car? Why didn’t I go earlier before this blasted sun decided to show off?

I thought I could hear the “Chariots of Fire” soundtrack as the guard opened the door and welcomed me to Jollibee. I felt that I looked like a melted candlestick but I didn’t care. I noticed the noise, however, since it was at a level that was a little above my capacity to endure for the day. Students, workers, families and friends spoke at the same time and I felt I was going to faint. I tried to tune them out (as in those commercials when the world would freeze) and willed myself to think of what to order. I ended up not ordering Chickenjoy because that was my last decent meal – the one I got at the Philcoa drive-thru on my way home from watching Superman last weekend. I got the Crispy bangus belly instead, to try something new.

As I sat down to eat, I realized it was my first proper meal, i.e., something with rice, in several days. I didn’t have much of an appetite and was too lazy to cook real food, so I survived on oatmeal, sandwiches, pizza (thank God we ordered Yellowcab last night, the gastronomic highlight of my week), and leftovers. People had offered to bring me food the past few days but I, again, stupidly resisted. I was making a statement, that getting sick and being home alone was something that happened to everyone and I wasn’t going to make a big deal about it.

I laughed off thoughts of having TB as I downed two bottles of mineral water in one sitting. I checked myself in the mirror and noticed my poor skin had not taken well to my walk in the sun. I took the jeep back to the hospital and arrived early enough to listen to relaxing music on my nano while waiting for my name to be called.

The doctor who saw me had my records in her hand. “The last time you were here, you also had the same symptoms,” she said. I said yes, I had cough two years ago (which was my last visit) too. She used a tongue depressor, something that I hadn’t felt inside my mouth in decades, and I felt like texting my mom to pick me up, except that she was too far away to make it on time. Our family doctor used to give me lollipops right after poking at my tongue. This one didn’t. She just said that my throat wasn’t that red so I only had viral infection. Thank God, right? I knew I didn’t have TB! She ordered bed rest, and asked what my bedtime was. I confessed to not sleeping early at night (like this) and she said I should, because that’s what lowers my immunity. Then she gave me a medical certificate to ensure that this stubborn big girl would get bed rest for two days.

After that visit, did I buy the medicines and go home to rest? No, not just yet, I had to drop by the office for I had a touch-base meeting with my boss in preparation for our three-year planning next week, and I had to collect the files that I needed to… work at home. Yes, I had no choice, although the people at the office were very concerned about me and my health and I’m glad they even shooed me home. Hmm maybe partly because I was coughing all over the place and spreading the virus for all to catch freely.

The cab driver didn’t want to wait for me outside Mercury Drug, as he said it always took him a minimum of 10 minutes to buy anything from there. So I ended up taking two cab rides to my house. What a splurge! But I had a bad day, so I didn’t feel guilty.

I counted my blessings when I got home. At least I didn’t have TB; at least my mom texted to ask how I was doing and to tell me they were all sad in Germany because Italy kicked them out of the finals; at least my brother called to ask if I wanted to stay at his house (I said I might be contagious); at least I wasn’t really alone as I had subscribed to Globe UnlimiTxt and had ongoing text conversations with my sister-in-law and other Globe-connected friends; and at least I could afford to see a doctor, buy medicines, and even ride the taxi home.

When, a few hours later, I received free tickets to Bo Sanchez’ 40th birthday comedy concert on Saturday, I realized it wasn’t an altogether bad day, after all! But before enjoying that performance, I have to sleep, and rest, and turn in work on time first. I’ll get through all that. There is no situation so bad that God can’t turn around for the good of those who love Him! Chariots of Fire soundtrack playing again as I cheer myself to finish all I have to do….

Oh, here’s the song I wrote about above:

Bad Day
Daniel Powter

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to gray
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Will you need a blue sky holiday?
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

(Oooh.. a holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

(yeah...)

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day


I had a good day, really. I just thought I didn’t.