The Bling Bling of Locum Tenens

Unsurprisingly, most laypeople come with the ready assumption that doctors earn the megabucks. Easy enough to make such a hypothesis counting the number of luxury cars stacked up in rows in front of a medical center but judging by the paltry number of digits on my income slip, I can assure you that's surely an erroneous notion. Apart from the elite few making money hand over fist in the private sector, the rest of the struggling medical fraternity is just barely making it by, living on plain rice, soya sauce and cheap tofu on a daily basis ( about the only stuff we can afford with the pittance of dough we're paid for the grueling hours of work ).

So it doesn't come as a surprise that most doctors supplement their meagre income with far more shady activities in the nights and the occasional weekends. When everyone else has gone home late in the evenings, some of the more adventuresome boys ( and a few girls ) make their way onto the streets to earn their living. It's a painful disease that's prevalent in certain needy sections of the medical brotherhood and ever since clients have made their way in search of their services, the boys have been all too ready to deliver. And since it's been recently legalized - with some clauses attached - I feel no shame in revealing that some of my closest friends are actually involved in such nefarious activities.


Come work with us!
How about poor me? Not only do I find myself utterly unqualified to offer such services, I honestly haven't tried it myself since the sheer time and energy it would take to please my exacting clients would be far too taxing. Every man has his price of course and I'm not saying I wouldn't do it if I had the right offer waiting :) Especially now when I'm having so many workplace woes.

Paul : OMG. You are involved in it?
Hui : Yes. I have been doing it regularly for a while now. Most nights when I'm not oncall actually.
Paul : You! Don't you feel tired after all that strenuous activity?
Hui : Locum lah.
Paul : What do you need with all that extra money?
Hui : You think I'm earning RM 500 an hour or what? It's not a fortune!

As much as I would like to believe it, Handsome Hui doesn't spend his time pandering to salacious men's naked lusts - though I certainly wouldn't mind that. For those who don't know what locum is... it comes from the Latin word Locum tenens and literally means temporarily filling in for someone, or in our case manning an outpatient clinic for a certain sum.

Although I barely manage to maintain a sustainable lifestyle on my minimal wage, it still makes me curious what these guys do with all that extra dough lying around. As far as I know, Handsome Hui doesn't strut around in devilish Armani with glittering Tiffany bling blings adorning his broad chest. Then again, I wouldn't know exactly what he wears - or doesn't wear - when he parties with his convivial circuit-party cronies. Judging by his unfortunate taste in Gothic garden furniture, the man certainly doesn't spend on frou frou interior design - and there's no spanking new Lexus in front of his hovel either.

Guess I'll be spending some time interrogating again :)