It was a Friday just like any other. I had a good workout at the gym and even had time to enjoy a sauna session and then relax in the steam room. After a nice refreshing shower I proceeded to have lunch at the Oasis food court. From where I was seated, I could see The Gardens through the glass wall of the food court area and was reminded that it's time for my two-year-old pair of Reeboks cross-trainers to be "retired". I thought that I would take the recently completed overhead bridge and go across to check out the shoes at the New Balance shop over at The Gardens.
I've been there once and found that I can a get pair of cross-trainers for around RM200 which I thought is quite reasonable. Besides, anyone with a valid gym membership card gets a 20% discount, anytime. The owner himself is a really friendly and helpful guy. But suddenly, memories of Christmas eve came flooding back. I shall not digress, but then again, I already have.
Well, like I mentioned, it was Christmas eve and I had some very last-minute gift-shopping to do. After lunch, I decide to use the bridge to get across to The Gardens. It's the most convenient way as it's located very near the Oasis food court. The skies had opened up and was pouring cats and dogs as I made my way to the glass-paneled bridge. I was barely a third of the way across when I realised that water was gushing in from the top of the side glass panels. What was shocking was that water was coming in from the entire length of one side of the bridge. Shoddy workmanship? You bet! The entire floor started to flood faster than you can say "Jeepers creepers, mah shoes gonna git wet!" I had to run, no, hop on the parts of the floor that had not been flooded yet to get across. Phew! Made it. Barely. The maintenance crew were quickly summoned to close the bridge and the "big boys" were brought in to suck up the water. And so, the bridge had to be closed for a few days for repairs to be done and people had to use the lower ground tunnel instead. What an adventure! :-)
Okay, I have really, really digressed. That was not the story I started out to write about. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it started raining again that day so I decided not to go over to The Gardens and will leave my gym shoe shopping for another day. Instead, I went over to Watsons Pharmacy to get a couple of things before going home.
After picking up the stuff I needed, I decided to just browse around the pharmacy looking at some new items. Big mistake! All of a sudden, this lady appeared in front of me and started rambling about this product and about how good it is. She went on about it's proven efficacy, the country of origin, etc, etc...
Lady promoter: Have you heard of Esberitox?
Me: Er, no I don't think so.
Lady promoter: The moment you feel a cold coming, take this and you'll stop it from happening.
Me: Wah, really ah?
Lady promoter: Yes. And it's safe because it's all natural. Made from herbs. Does anyone from your family frequently gets the cold?
Me: No, not really.
Lady promoter: You should keep some handy at home. You can catch a cold anytime, right?
Me: How much is it?
Lady promoter: Seventy-five ringgit for a box. There are five strips.
Me: Wah! Seventy-five ringgit ah?
Lady promoter: You can buy just one strip first (and proceeded to pull out one strip from the box). It's only fifteen ringgit.
Me: Well, I don't want to buy something that I may not use as my family and I hardly ever catch a cold.
Lady promoter: Wah. Your body resistance must be very good then (twitching her eyebrow).
Me: I guess so. Thank you for sharing about this product. I'll keep it in mind should I feel a cold coming on. Thanks.
Lady promoter: You're welcome.
End of story? I wish! That very same night, my throat started feeling sore, then the "achoos" came and my whole body began to feel like it's breaking down. By Saturday morning, my nose was running and I was coughing and coughing and coughing! But I had a whole teaching day ahead. I wanted to cancel my classes but thought that I should try and get through the day as best I can. Besides, I had arranged for a potential new student to come for an assessment that morning. So, I went to work as usual. By evening, my head felt like it was going to explode as I began to experience sharp piercing shots of pain each time I coughed.
On my way home from work, I stopped by the traditional Chinese medical shop to see if I could get something for this cough. I was prescribed a cough and cold concoction to boil and drink to rid me of the cough and phlegm. It actually did help as it greatly reduced the coughing and phlegm. But there was this bit of gooey stuff that refused to budge no matter how hard I tried to cough it out. That made breathing very difficult. I could not lie down to sleep as I was literally gasping for air like a goldfish out of water. That night was probably one of the longest ones I've ever experience as I did not get to sleep at all.
TCM prescribed for cough & cold. Some bitter almonds, dried peel and Lohan Guo (Buddha's fruit).
I was disappointed to have had to miss church on the very first Sunday of the new year. I was supposed to play the organ for the service too. I hope the congregation did not have to sing A cappella that morning!
All this while, that little encounter with the Esberitox lady never even crossed my mind until late Sunday evening when I reached for something in my waist pouch and saw the flyer she gave me still in there. I recalled the conversation and what I had said to her. Especially the part about me hardly ever catching a cold. And the way she responded accompanied by the I-don't-really-believe-you eyebrow twitch.
So now I'm thinking. Should I have bought at least one strip from her?
Was this all a coincidence or... well, you decide.
The next time you bump into the Esberitox lady you could...
.. buy something from her or...
.. RUN FOR DEAR LIFE!!!
