Projects and back to the hospital.
18 November 2013 | Penuwasa Boat Yard, Kudat, Malaysia
Sunny with some rain
We got to it early this morning. The workmen that we has used last week had used a grinder on the boot strip on Zephyr and had not only taken it off, along with the paint, they had made gouges in the fiberglass. Now we have to take the grinder with a finer grit sand paper and smooth it out and then go over it again with my Ryobi sander. It will need to be as smooth as possible for when we paint it in a few day. We also spent some time "popping" more blisters in the hull, and I do mean "popping". I took an awl and pushed it into the bubble. Most times the acid in the bubble sprays out of the hole. I try and stay out of the way of the acid as it comes out. Sometimes I stay dry and others, I get some on my arms and hands. Water get under the fiberglass and makes lots of acid filled blisters. Now that they have been "popped", the acid drained out and then the spot will get ground down and re fiberglassed. Once we had them done, I was off for the washroom to get the acid off me. We are far from done here.
I just got back from another trip to the Kim Chuk hardware store with more supplies. Here's how the trip went. The people here in Malaysia are quite honest. Along the side of the road are bus stops. The thing is is that there are no buses in this area. If you stand at the bus stop, more than likely, a local will stop and give you a ride to town. The prices vary. If you call a cab(as I did last week) you will pay about $10 ringitts each way. Getting a ride(while not as quick as you may have to wait for a car to come by) will charge $1- 2 ringitts. I had to go to town this morning to get another extension cord, sand paper and a few other things. The car that stopped for me also picked up four kids on their way home from school. We made a U turn and took them to their house first. Then we were off to Kim Chuk hardware store. When I got out, I asked "$2 ringitts?" His answer "$1 ringitt". He didn't just take the extra ringitt when he could have.
At the store, there is no real "set" price. Just because it marked $32 ringitts, doesn't mean that is what you are going to pay. I needed another extension cord to get power for our tools. It was marked $32 ringitts. Final price--$18 ringitts. Sand paper for my grinder--marked at $3.50--final price--$2.00 ringitts. It's been like this every time I've been in the store. I don't even ask for a price brake. They just give it to you. Good luck doing that in the US. The price was so good on the extension cord, I bought two just to make sure I could reach every area on Zephyr I needed to.
We were just listening to the news on the only station that broadcasts in English in the area. They were reading off the top stories and one was of a meeting about John F. Kennedy's 50th anniversary of his death. Present for the ceremony were President Obama and Hilary Clinton. She was described by the broadcaster as President Obama "heir apparent". Do they know something that the folks back in the US don't? Republicans of the world must be shivering in their boots. You heard it here first folks. Hilary will be the next President according to the local radio station.
After my return from town and a quick lunch and a shower(want to look good for the doctor), we took off for the hospital. A construction truck stopped for us before we even left the drive into the yard. He took us straight to the hospital. Charge--$5.00 and he looked surprised at the amount I gave him. We walked up to the window for the emergency room and showed the receptionist the receipt for our last visit and that we were there to have my sutures taken out. He called us in and had me lay down on one of the examination gurneys. He grabs a pair of forceps and a razor blade and quickly pulled and cut the thread. All done and I didn't even need to see a doctor. It this what Obama Care is going to be like. Treated by the receptionist?;)
Since Tracy still has her cold(14 days later), we went over to the main hospital wing and were directed to the sign in windows. There, you give the nurse behind the windows(with lots of bars on them) your information as to what's wrong and your passport. Charge--$15 ringgits(about $5.00 US). Then, it's off to the waiting room. Well, not a room, more like a waiting area next to the checkin windows. Tracy was #30 and they were helping #13. We had a bit of time to wait. In my normal fashion, I dozed in my chair as Tracy kept watch for her number to be called. The last time we were at the hospital, we came to the aid of a very nice Muslim couple that needed a lift back to their Mosque. Darn few taxi's available at 2100. Amazingly, he was there again and came up to greet us. He even remembered my name.
Tracy was shown into a general exam room(three desks with nurses and doctors sitting behind the desks). Assembly line medicine is what Tracy calls it. For her cold, she received an two types of Antihistamines(one for the day and one for the night), a pill to loosen the phlegm, and some tylenol. No clue as to why the Antihistamines. At the worst, it will go into our pill larder for later usage.
Once done, we walked up to the entrance and sat at the "bus" stop. About 15 minutes later, a car pulls up and takes us back to the boat yard. Stitches gone and Tracy under some meds(of sorts).
We had our mail forwarded from Florida and it arrived today. Left last Tueday(Wednesday our time) and it got here today. Not bad but then again, it cost $90 to have it sent. Not cheap to get things sent out here that's for sure.
The picture for today is of the Kudat Hospital