A Myth...

And so...I have given up cold drinks, spicy food, fried food and all forms of alcohol. A promise I made to Amelia as I started my journey towards clear lungs and a fluff free throat. You (and I) really have no idea how difficult and also abnormal it is for me to order warm/hot drinks..."Satu limau...errrmmm panas kurang manis"...amidst the weird looks from my peeps. You see, I am the one who is always complaining that 'it is freaking hot in here...down the tempt man!' and constantly running to the cafeteria for ice.

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It has been 3 days now and I think that this whole...cannot drink cold water and eat spicy food is a myth BECAUSE THE FLUFF BALL IS STILL THERE and my lungs are getting chestier (ha ha...I nearly typed bustier). Okay...it is time to resort to medication. My plan is:

Ambroxol 30mg TDS

Actifed i ON

Vitamin C 1000mg OD

Benadryl 15mL ON

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And if that doesn't work...then Tommy, I hope that you are ready for me. HA HA HA!!!

Long Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

My resistance towards medication and desire in remaining antibiotic naive is wearing thin. I have been coughing my lungs out for the past couple of weeks. Actually, I have been 'trying' to cough out this the really irritating evil fluff ball that has taken residence in my throat. It (the no gooder fluff ball) is really good at NOT being evicted. I have tried apple cider vinegar (thanks Wen Wei...my perp...not my brother...yes...seriously!) which burnt a pathway from my throat right down to my stomach. It worked for a while but the fluff ball returned. I have tried Fluimucil and Mucosolvan...but alas...the fluff ball and phlegm remained. I feel bad for all my peeps around me. I try and TRY not to cough but this damn thing is just too good at its job of being...well...fluffy. Gah!

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This week is finally over and I am sitting in my cubicle (my extremely neat and well organised five by five by five cube!) feeling worn out and OLD!!! The amount of reports and paper work that is on my table has piled up over the last three weeks. I am so glad that my boy is coming back (miss bullying him...ha ha...and ganging up to bully our perps)...I really just need to sit in front of my pc and not be disturbed by phone calls and patients and annoying colleagues. Okay, back to work...I am determined to clear my table this weekend...DETERMINED I tell ya! Besides...the time is coming soon (sorry for being cryptic...but those of you who know...tahu tahu lah!) and now is as good a time as ever.

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Anyway, a few photos of my last trip to make me feel less worn out and aged. Ha ha...happy Merdeka ya all!

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Sunset at Redondo Beach. Gorgeous...chilly...just the way I like it.

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If my grafiti was that good...there would be more grafiti on the walls in my hospital...YEAH!

A room with a view...if my bedroom looked out at THAT...I would probably not need to roll around so much before psyching myself to get out of bed.

I love the beach...the smells...the sounds.

I miss my long wavy hair! It is short now...a victim (the hair) of the hot Malaysian weather and a little too many oysters...a story that can only be told face to face, I am afraid. Anyway, that (the glass) was a giganto iced margarita...pekat enough...just the way I like it!!!

Dinner followed suit.

Yes my fellow 'Live To Eat' club members...fried lobsters and crab legs and yes...it was THAT good.

Down In The Dumps

Sometimes I feel so stripped down. All my defenses have disappeared over night and I feel raw and exposed. And it certainly doesn’t help that I am listening to very melancholic music right now (The Pierces: Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge). I suppose that the lyrics are actually rather ironically funny, but in my current mood of gloom and sensitivity, it sounds dead depressing. Life is really a matter of interpretation, isn’t it?

It’s just this time of the year that brings me down and I try not to let it, but starting from mid August I just start getting really gloomy (I know, I am going to use this word a fair bit here, my sincere apologies) without knowing why. It just hits me all of a sudden. Blam! And I am left wanting to crawl into a hole and just hide…hibernate.

Then I realise, oh, this were the couple of really difficult weeks leading up to my mum’s death. Okay. This fact sinks in and suddenly I feel less gloomy…because it helps to understand where the gloom (hey, this is only the fourth time!) is coming from. Then at least I can start working on it.

So I guess that for the time being, I am going to stay away from people who grate my exposed nerves and remember to breath deeply (like a hundred times) before I say something biting in response to imbecilic remarks. For those of you dear to my heart (you know who you are), please bear with me if you catch me in one of my moods. I really don’t mean to bring anyone down. Those who can’t bear with me, then I guess that you are not dear to my heart and I seriously am not in the least bothered about what you think.

And P/S: Don’t dish out advice that you yourself do not or cannot follow because it just seems really silly coming out from your hypocritical mouth.

There, I have said it. I have said it and I am going to leave it.

Eating Alone...

Okay, so most of us associate eating as social events...get togethers...catch ups. You pick up the phone and go, "Ho loi mo kin...oi yum cha mo?" (directly translated as "Long time no see...want to drink tea a.k.a makan*-lah*?"). You get the point.

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But there ARE times when one becomes hungry at odd hours and one does not have one's boyfriend or girlfriend or normal friends for that matter to lunch or dine with and one is forced to venture out into the cruel world in search of nutrition (especially when that one is too lazy to cook).

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That happened to me this afternoon. It was a terrible call (and still is...oh ICU...why do you plague my on call days with your inefficiencies!!!) and I finished rather late in the afternoon. Having eaten neither breakfast nor drunk any coffee, I was famished. The kind of famished that leaves one yearning for her favourite dishes (tom yam, durians, steamboat, crabs, sashimi, raw oyters...). It was coming to 4 pm and so I decide to head to this Chilli Pan Mee shop near my house. I entered the shop and sat down at a table meant for two. It was clearly just me and my handbag. The douchebag of a waiter took a while to take my order because he thought that I was waiting for someone else. Sacrilege!!! She could not possibly be eating alone. Sound the sirens. We have a social outcast on our hands!!!

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I had to wave him over to take my order...a bowl of spicy pan mee and a herbal tea. All through my order he kept asking, "Only for one? Only for one?". Yes dude, I am eating alone. What's wrong with you? Have you not seen anyone eating alone before? Are you afraid of eating alone? Hello? Which freaking universe are you from! Now scramble along and bring me my order for ONE...yes you heard it right...ONE ONE ONE ONE ONE!!!

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Oh boy, what is the world coming to when a lone person is unable to sit by himself or herself and eat in peace. Two nights ago, I finished clinics at 10 and again was famished. In a restaurant somewhere in Taman Tun, I saw a lone guy sitting with his claypot and a story book. He looked like he was enjoying his solidarity..serenely reading his book and eating his 'loh she fun'. Way to go dude!

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*makan = eat

*lah = a totally useless post-fix added on by Malaysians (yes, the Singaporeans stole this as well) in casual conversations

Beijing's Olympic Mascots

Why am I so fascinated with the mascots? Well, a couple of months ago, a friend took a trip to Beijing and as a result...souvenirs! She gave me a set of keychains...five in all...one for each of the mascots. They (the keychains) are really cute but when I tried asking my chinese speaking friend (or rather my chinese reading friends) what the names meant...well...not many of them knew and I was still left curious as to the identity of those little critters. So what more can a girl do than to GOOGLE!!!
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In China's traditional culture and art, the fish and water designs are symbols of prosperity and harvest. And so Beibei carries the blessing of prosperity. A fish is also a symbol of surplus in Chinese culture, another measure of a good year and a good life.
The ornamental lines of the water-wave designs are taken from well-known Chinese paintings of the past. Among Fuwa, Beibei is known to be gentle and pure. Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring.

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Jingjing makes children smile -- and that's why he brings the blessing of happiness wherever he goes. You can see his joy in the charming naivety of his dancing pose and the lovely wave of his black and white fur. As a national treasure and a protected species, pandas are adored by people everywhere. The lotus designs in Jingjing's headdress, which are inspired by the porcelain paintings of the Song Dynasty (A.D.960-1234), symbolize the lush forest and the harmonious relationship between man and nature. Jingjing was chosen to represent our desire to protect nature's gifts -- and to preserve the beauty of nature for all generations. Jingjing is charmingly naïve and optimistic. He is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring.
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In the intimate circle of Fuwa, Huanhuan is the big brother. He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport -- and passion is the blessing he bestows. Huanhuan stands in the center of Fuwa as the core embodiment of the Olympic spirit. And while he inspires all with the passion to run faster, jump higher and be stronger, he is also open and inviting. Wherever the light of Huanhuan shines, the inviting warmth of Beijing 2008 -- and the wishful blessings of the Chinese people -- can be felt. The fiery designs of his head ornament are drawn from the famed Dunhuang murals -- with just a touch of China's traditional lucky designs. Huanhuan is outgoing and enthusiastic. He excels at all the ball games and represents the red Olympic ring.
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Like all antelopes, Yingying is fast and agile and can swiftly cover great stretches of land as he races across the earth. A symbol of the vastness of China's landscape, the antelope carries the blessing of health, the strength of body that comes from harmony with nature. Yingying's flying pose captures the essence of a species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the first animals put under protection in China. The selection of the Tibetan Antelope reflects Beijing's commitment to a Green Olympics. His head ornament incorporates several decorative styles from the Qinghai-Tibet and Sinkiang cultures and the ethnic design traditions of Western China. Strong in track and field events, Yingying is a quick-witted and agile boy who represents the yellow Olympic ring.
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Every spring and summer, the children of Beijing have flown beautiful kites on the currents of wind that blow through the capital. Among the kite designs, the golden-winged swallow is traditionally one of the most popular. Nini's figure is drawn from this grand tradition of flying designs. Her golden wings symbolize the infinite sky and spread good-luck as a blessing wherever she flies. Swallow is also pronounced "yan" in Chinese, and Yanjing is what Beijing was called as an ancient capital city. Among Fuwa, Nini is as innocent and joyful as a swallow. She is strong in gymnastics and represents the green Olympic ring.
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And the cool part of it is when you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing".

08.08.08

I have been such a lazy blogger of late. I have spurts of semangat-ness* to blog about certain things but when I actually park my butt in front of the computer, I suddenly want to do a hundred and one other things. If only I could publish my thoughts telepathically...from my brain right into the website.

But this being a special day where it is:

• Bernard's birthday
• Sister Tee's mum's birthday
• The start of the Beijing Olympics (I am one of the mascotts...the cute green one!)
• The date...did you not notice the date?
• Friday!!! (Always a good reason to celebrate)

We are celebrating Uncle Swee Ming and Aunty Kok Moi's birthdays at DG today. So that basically means one thing: MAKAN*!!! A good thing that Amelia and myself decided (or more like I psycho-ed her) to start our dieting today. Ha ha. Let's see how long that lasts. Sigh, have been over indulging in a little tooooooo many durians. I just can't help myself. I LOVE DURIANS!!!

Alrighty then. Time to hit the road. Subang here I come...are you ready for the Great Leech?

*semangat-ness = enthusiasm
*makan = eating a.k.a a feast