Si budak hitam gemuk kembali lagi...aka post Penang trip ( part1)

Yea, I'm back...after a long holiday to the Pearl of the Orient...Penang la, mana lagi? Pic on top aptly shows me on holiday mode...feet up ( pedicured, mind you), on the dashboard, with BH driving and me taking pics of the scenery.

Something about this state that makes me wonder...in English we call the state Penang, and the island, Penang Island, i.e mainland is mainland Penang. But in Malay, the island is Pulau Pinang, so shouldn't the mainland and the state be called Pinang instead of Pulau Pinang? Also history tells us that the island got its name from the pokok Pinang...funnily enough, I saw more pokok Pinang on the drive home in Kedah rather than in Penang....must have missed the stray tree or two over in Balik Pulau...also must have missed those damn nutmeg's too, though I brought home some of the pickled stuff. As for that darn Pinang or better known as betelnut or areca nut, apparently the Maldivians appreciate it more than the Penangites. Haven't seen a single Maldivian patient who doesn't have red stained teeth from chewing the stuff. Good on you Penang flers, cos the oral cancer ( it's a potent carcinogen) rate in the Maldives must be sky high. Maybe thats why la no pokok Pinang...all sudah kena tebang!

Anyway, we drove up on the 26th, traffic was good, much to our surprise.Was expecting like massive jam in Penang itself.I guess everyone in Penang went to Mid Valley. Heard the jam was unthinkably bad. The started early for me as I had to drive my folks to the airport at 6 in the aye-am. They were catching a flight to India, for a holiday, without me. ( Hence my trip was to PENANG). After dropping them off and making sure they found their tour guide I was off. Drove over to BH's place to pick him up and look for breakfast. So why the hitam and gemuk part? Well, the gemuk part is because the eating didn't stop at breakfast...the hitam part, cos we jalan-jalan cari makan, which also contributed again, to the gemuk part la.

We had breakie at Taman Midah and then stopped at Giant for snacks ( jeruk...suddenly had a craving).After that, drove up lor. Lunch was in Ipoh, BH wanted to try their Keuy Teow soup. Something about their noodles ( and girls..hmmph!) being smooth and white.Here's BH with a bowl of taufoofa at a stall we found in Ipoh which seemed very busy. Notice the eager anticipation in his face? The taufoofa also white and smooth......hhhmph.
For full details of food review, please see BH's blog. We got into Penang at about 5 plus 6, decided to go look for food, got lost, but somehow found our way to McAllister....after Crazy attack Fler's excellent directions of turning right at the Pakistan Masjid. Found some stalls and wasted no time...we ordered Char Keuy Teow ( CKT) and Prawn aka Hokkien Mee ( HM), with a side order of satay babi and the most horrible lin chee kang ever!.The satay was good though...but we still ventured further down the road and found yet other HM and CKT to try. We were on a mission to try what these Penang flers call "good food", which to them means either CKT, HM or assam laksa (AL).So we had CKT and fried oysters as seen here...By the time we got back to the hotel, we were zonked out from the driving and jumping on the bed. So zzzzzz...la

Time for a break

Fa lalalala la la la lah!!!! Christmas comes early and stays longer for me this year. Why? Cos' I'm off from 5pm today till 10 am January 2nd! Yeay!!!! Previous years, was only off Christmas and New Year's had to work in between. Which is hard, cos Christmas was usually spent at Wendika's, and the drinks start from before lunch till...you can still drink. Hence the day after would always be difficult at work, having to drag myself to work, hoping 3 cups of coffee would help.It doesn't, it makes the head throb more. This year, Wendika is too lazy to throw a Christmas party and BH wants to be a good boy. So, will finally take up "Evel twin's" many years of pestering and join her in church.

Working New Years Eve is no fun either, cos can't go out celebrate after...no time to get home, get dolled up and rush for the countdown... This year, had intended to go in bikini to Float Party, but have yet to get tickets and bikini doesn't fit so well anymore...please see post labeled "Feeling F-A-T" . Shall think of something or other to do come the 31st, or just spend it with BH, on a hill somewhere in Cheras, watching the fireworks and drinking wine...hmmm, that doesn't sound too bad an idea after all.

So, accumulated leave taken and I'm off on a holiday! Goodbye (at least for a little while) to the back aches, neck aches and stomach aches. (eh, its a stressful job, you know?). Away I will be, from Mid Valley! This horrible jammed up monstrosity of a shopping mall. Can't say I'll miss the jams...even getting out is difficult, cos no one wants to give way and let you through. And the human traffic is just as bad....I wonder if BH is right, there is gold to pick up in MV?

Right now, on a Saturday, two days before Christmas, I'm free to blog. Why? Because my patients had to cancel....can't get in, and even if they could, can't find parking. Well, the whole road outside is normally a parking lot...what else would you call a place where cars don't move? I'll bet when I try to get out, I'll be stuck in the blady jam myself...but at least this will be the last jam I get myself stuck in in MV! For 2006 anyways....Can't say its the last jam I'll face for 2006, because I'm off somewhere where the jam apparently is much worse than MV and the people a whole lot crazier.

Headed up north, hopefully away from the floods and, away from KL!!!! Off to Crazy Attack Fella's hometown for some good food and some R & R, hopefully. Must go kacau the fler and my old friend Scully, back from Melbourne for the holidays. Will expect an increase in girth for both myself and BH...but its the holidays and as Leon said, "Tis the season to be FAT!" There's always New Year's Resolutions and mine would be

1) I resolve to eat less Char Keuy Teow, Nasi Lemak and sinful food after December 31st till Chinese New Year

2) I willfully resolve to be disciplined enough to get my ass to the gym and actually do proper workouts with weights.

3) I will eat more sensibly

4) I will be more patient of my new assisstant and receptionist

5) I will try to be more patient with my patients...this is a tough one

6) Spend more time with family.....don't think I do much of that

Will add more later before 31st comes along, but for now, all I can think off is my mani/pedi appointment tomorrow, when I can imagine myself for a while, a Rich Tai Tai.

The last two days...part 2

Thursday, today...began like usual, I wake up very blur, wishing I didn't have to drag myself out of bed. Work was busy, thought it wasn't supposed to be and I was just hopping mad cos google/yahoo/blogger/friendster all had problems loading. Wanted to blog...people complaining already, never update all...but just couldn't.
There was a rainbow after the storm though...its my half day, I get off at 2 and....I had made appointments for a spa and facial. Ooohhh.... that was fun...the massage, heavenly...i think the beautician must have kneaded all the aches from yesterdays launch...huiyo, so syok! Fell asleep a few times, so had my BN too. Well, by the time I was done being pampered, had to rush off the Axis again, for FCI's regular class this time. hmm...our friend dragged Peggy up on stage..poor girl tore her pants..another pant tearing episode at Axis. is that place haunted by the pant tearing toyol I wonder? Anyways, the whole studio was decorated for Christmas and someones birthday...there were balloons, blinking lights, decorations and even a disco light? Cheesy, but true. The steppers all came dressed in white, and did the class to Christmas Carols. I wonder if Combat could ever be done to Christmas Carols? "I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause.....wham! Sidekick"...don't think so. Too violent methinks. Can't imagine the motivation either..imagining Santa not bringing the gift we want, so whack him in the nose? "I wanted an Ipod Santa...whack!"

Finally get to hear BH's voice again after class...calling Laos is expensive so we've been sms-ing and restricting calls to night time only.He'll be back tomorrow anyway...so we can carry on making Ananda richer...yahoo!!!!

Today also exactly marks the 29th year and 359th day of my life. Which means, exactly one week from today, I will be a decade older...where did my twenties go? Am having very mixed feelings about this, mostly trepidation and anxiety...I don't wanna be 30, I wanna be in my twenties forever...But, vain as I am, that is not the way the world turns. So am bidding goodbye to today, Thursday, the 21st, wishing time would stop but still looking forward to tomorrow.

The last two days...part 1

Its been a busy week, hence the lack of updates...sorry people. What to do? Blogger also has been cranky lately but finally am able to blog...yipppee!

Lets start with Wednesday...the day I learnt to live without a cellphone. I survived a whole 16 hours without my handphone...which is a miracle really. You see, I'm perpetually on the damn thing....blowing my hair and on the phone, walking to lunch and on the phone, in between patients, on the phone...hmmph, driving...of course on the phone (with handsfree,ok?) And sometimes the phone goes with me where no one else does...So, can you imagine what I went through, with no phone???

Can't explain what happened Wednesday...must have been to busy thinking about BH leaving for Laos. He is on a short business trip over. Ironically I was expecting him to call just before he leaves in the morning...and he did, only my phone was ringing at home, while I was at the office, wondering why the heck it was so silent? Until I checked my bag and realised, cis, forgot to put it in the bag....aiyo, kadavale. Felt like I left my arm at home...an appendage missing.

Some more, we are always on the phone, just cannot not call each other...at least 4/5 times call and many sms in a day. I think we must be Maxis's very good customers lah...we even found out that in the system, your call gets cut off automatically at one and a half hours...those were the days of the 4 hour phone calls lar. No doubt, we don't spend that much time on the phone anymore,the bill got too high ler. Luckily got YM, so we could still message each other, him from the airport and me from work...yea, in between patients, if not on phone, online mah. Please see BH's blog for that story.

Well, Wednesday was also the launch day at Axis, so after dinner about 8, dragged my tired a** over there...it was worth it. FCI and Terrence did a great job, the stage was high enough and we managed to have fun cos we could see them. I did accidentally kick someone on the evasive sidekick though...but then, I got kicked myself. Hmm....with FCI's mega powderful sweat glands, the move should be called Evasive Sweat Kick....aim for the eye, paralyse your opponents vision! Oh, it was Farid's birthday and the usual sing song followed...luckily me blur, dunno song titles all, so she got free tickets to Float party...please read Wookie's account on that. Oh well.. on to part two

The acrid smell of putrefaction

Putrefaction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Putrefaction is the decomposition of animal proteins, especially by anaerobic microorganisms. Decomposition is a more general process. Putrefaction usually results in amines such as putrescine and cadaverine, which have a putrid odor. Material that is subject to putrefaction is called putrescible.

Normally I have a lot of patience..or so I've been told. But of late, I find my patience wearing thin, my voice going up a few decibels at my assistants and a moody face persist over my own normally happy one. My fuse is definitely shorter these days...and really, the smell of putrefaction is indeed getting to me. I cannot understand how or why anyone would let their teeth end up in such a state...or maybe I'm just sick of all these darn root canals. No a very fun experience for the dentist...the patient , normally pain free after anesthesia, doesn't suffer as much. Its us, the dental surgeons, straining our eyes to locate those minuscule canals, and trying our darndest to disinfect the damn thing. Oh, and have I forgotten to mention the smell? We always know the tooth is truly dead and six feet under when the moment we reach the pulp chamber, our nostrils are greeted by that horrid smell. The acrid smell of putrefaction.

What else can I say? I'm getting impatient, even this darn computer is not working right...the patient workload is piling up....I need a break.

Unpredictabilities

Yup...that's what life is full of. Just when you thought you're on top of the ball...you find yourself losing balance and slipping off. Darn it...why can't my job be less complicated? Why can't I just have patients who come in quiet as lambs, let me do my job, then leave quiet as lambs and never disturb me again...at least not for another 6 months? Cis, I'm just soo not a people person. Am wishing were a desperate albeit RICH ( key word here) housewife...which will probably happen when FB does jam, i.e when pigs fly.

Is it any wonder that my gastritis and migraines have started to act up again? Sigh...and there I though December is the time to be jolly. Really can't wait for the week to end...by week I mean next week. Off for a much needed holiday from Christmas to New Years...yipppee!!! Finally away from the root canals ( pulp stones, calcifications, scelrosis and neurosis) the crowns, the scalings and most of all...the psycho's. I'll deal with em in 2007.

Feeling F-A-T

OK, by now BH will be rolling his eyes..he just doesn't get it when I Say I'm feeling fat. I'm sure many women out there however can empathise...you know, the feeling you get when your blouse or slacks feel just a little less roomy? Or that bloated sensation after a heavy meal? Or the guilty conscience kicking up after not going to the gym? I think its the later reason that I feel fat...or a combination of the curry mee with extra santan, me binging on cake at this very moment and the fact that I felt too lazy to jump on a step board to music. Oh well... I guess I have my fat days and my thin days...another thing which BH cannot comprehend...thankfully he is understanding enough and always says the right thing, i.e...you still look the same and good to me...gotta love the bloke, just for coming up with these lines!

Anyways...am posting some pics with this blog from last weekend...with new hair and new dress...


BH and I before going off for wedding dinner







At dinner...mobile phone shot






BH and Appa...watching footie after the dinner

To gym or not to gym?

Its Wednesday, body step day at LM...but I don't feel like going. Why? No motivation to make it all the way there. My aching back might have something to do with it too...I guess will have to settle for a gruelling combat/weights session to make up for lunch today..lunch was curry mee...with loads of santan. I feel an infarct coming on...that is if my back doesn't kill me first.

Life's like that

Time flies, 2006 is nearing its end, really wonder where it went. So fast another year gone liao. Just seems like yesterday was 2004...suddenly 2007 already...aiyo! Didn't think 2006 would be very different from 2005, but it is/was. For one, 2002-2004 was just a blink. Didn't realise I was wasting my time..pretty much sleeping through time. 2005 was torture...post everyone under the sun getting married, having kids and moving on with their lives...while I was busy delusionally stuck in a bad relationship going no where and getting there fast. I wasn't happy, plus having to sit through yet another wedding dinner, with a pregnant friend telling you all bout morning sickness and asking the ultimate ouch question when you are single..... "When is it your turn" hurt quite a bit. As was being asked at another dinner " How come you don't have a boyfriend one?" I should have retorted "How come you are married, with a kid you never see, divorced and seeing yet another loser?" Which was what said "B**** was doing.

Many months of stress, heartache, pain and a nervous breakdown later I finally came to my senses. I told myself "Shit man...life isn't supposed to be like this. It really isn't supposed to feel so dark and lonely. I really should not have all these thoughts of sleeping and never waking up...there is just too much I'm missing out on. So what if I'm single, and have no plans to join EVERYONE else on the wedding wagon? So What if EVERYONE thinks its a race to wed and procreate? So What???!!! I should live my life my way , happily! " And I woke up.

There really was a point in my life when I thought life just wasn't worth the trouble. Thankfully I have wonderful friends and family who have a knack of showing up, when I need them the most, when it counts the most. Like the young doctor who caught me when I fell, literally, the stress taking its toll and my head decided to shut down...so down I went onto the floor, taking the shoe rack with me, completely passing out. Or BF, always knowing the right time to call, to check up on me, make sure I'm ok. I really should call him more often. BFC is right, I haven't been keeping in touch.

And so I began 2006 with a new resolution made in September 2005..I'm not going to live as a sad pathetic little girl anymore. In September 2005, I took charge of my life...I walked out of a useless boy, I made career decisions for my future and I started living again.

By February 2006, I had decided to have a bit more fun...the whole pressure of settling down long thrown out the window. Heck...if I'm gonna be single, I might as well enjoy it, right? Changed gyms, changed outlook and had more fun. It was fun alright, while it lasted, having the freedom to go out with whomever I wanted, whenever I wanted, doing nothing at home, chilling solo,and of course going to the gym, working my arse and frustrations off. But everything comes to an end, no? Well, my absolute freedom did anyway. And with it a bit of my emptiness too.

I'd like to think that fate had a hand in what happened that May. Remember I changed gyms? I went from a gym in the very building I work in to one that takes at least a half hour on a good day through traffic to get to, to an ulu place called Leisure Mall. All the way there...just for kickboxing, just for PT. I whacked that bag hard and someone heard me. With just smile, it began. The end of my absolute freedom.

Honestly, it was all very innocent in the beginning..a smile, a hello, in FCI's class. And of course the jokes...I was ( and still am) laughing so hard , it's really hard to keep a serious combat face on. I really don't know what made me stand there, in HIS usual spot....but he wasn't complaining. As he keeps reminding me,it was I who made the first move. I introduced myself to him...of course by then he had already been smiling his "I'm gonna make this sale" smile at me for weeks. And the pick up line? Straight forward , to the point and it worked. So, Miracle 2006 really was the beginning of a miracle, one I never thought would happen. Yea, had given up on the whole love shebang...was perfectly happy on my own. Mana tau...now even more happy. I didn't take long for the massive phone bills to be incurred and its still being incurred.

So I guess life really is like that...ups, down, ok's, blahs...all part of it. Right now I'm happy and I'll admit it,ok.. BH has a lot to do with that. I've never been happier..so say even my closest friends and nurses at work. I'm also gonna sheepishly admit that this post is about him, my BH, my sayang ( ok, people you can stop pretending to puke). He has changed my life...I would have changed anyway, but he made it better...and right now, I'm enjoying every bit of it. Sometimes I pinch myself........ and him...just to make sure its all real and it isn't a dream. So far, he still says ouch when I do that..so I guess its real.

A very busy day indeed

What a busy day, from the moment I stepped into the office, its been non-stop. Am blogging now, in between patients, only because my 3.30 is either late or not coming. He has a penchant for being not punctual, but then I don't really blame him. Traffic in Mid Valley is erratic.with the current school holidays and Christmas shopping...its terrible.
Anyway, back to the busy day. My "she's come undone" patient didn't show up. I hope she's ok..but I wonder what will happen with her next? So in her place, I had a guy who wanted two front Empress crowns. Tough case this one, his teeth were severely stained...had to bleach, then mask the remainder of the stains with opaquer and then finally take the impression. One week from now when the crowns come back, we'll get to see if it works. Also had a last minute bleach. An in office bleach takes 2 hours and so had to sacrifice lunch to get this done for the patient..who also showed up late. Oh well...grabbed a quick bite in between, suppose my diet will work after all, hehehe.Multiple scaling's and fillings done and still scheduled for the day. tis the season to be jolly indeed...alright then, back to work!

The truth behind crystal clear skin

Ok, its a lot, but its all skincare from the past also ok? I'm a sucker for stuff that promises beauty in a bottle, what can I say? The latest being the Pitera stuff. Had a few pimples, which could have been from anything, ranging from stress, lack of sleep( this one have to blame BH a bit but I also contributed to that lar), err the recent facial and the Body Shop stuff I was slapping on a while ago. Somehow that stuff that doesn't have animal testing seems to make me break out..cis. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an advocate for either animal testing or not, its just that Body Shop face products tend to cause breakouts.

So, after a few weeks of testing out the pitera stuff, I noticed my skin has become a little clearer, less dull. Might be my imagination, because BH says it loks the same. Sunshine said it looks good, and at the gym, while blowing my hair, it looked good. But that could have been the gym lighting also lar...nice yellow bulbs by the mirrors all creating a better image and a feel good feeling...keeps members happy right? Pimples too didn't really mature, kinda shrivelled up and dried up quick. My scars seem to have faded.

I really like the cleanser..I use so little, yet it foams a lot. Plus, it doesn't feel dry after washing off. Neither does it feel sticky or oily. The essence feels nice too...supposedly 90% pitera , well, for "miracle" water, it sure is pricey. It costs me 300 buck for that bottle of 150 ml. Lets hope it does do miracles...make me pretty darn it! Ok lar, the moisturiser ( I use one for lifting) is very light and spreads very well...doesn't feel sticky either...all in all, a good product I think.

So hears to the pitera stuff...may you make me beautiful and young and desirable....but if you don't, the heck with it...I'm still me, cute, not that old and boleh tahan lar, in the desirability index. Youth is only skin deep, but true beauty comes from within.

This little piggy went to the gym

Ok, I'll cop up...the title is inspired by FBB's lovely drawing of a pig flying...felt it apt to title this post as such. So, its Thursday, the one day in the week I finish at 2pm...so after a lovely siesta ( Stop whining people, I work full days on Saturdays), decided to hit the gym...off to Axis it was. Started out with the Wave machine of which without better half around, have no motivation and could only do 10 minutes before giving up. hence, decided to row instead, only to be interrupted halfway through by a lady, asking me if this machine was for the tummy area...doh'? Hmm...must have been rowing wrongly and there I was thinking and imagining myself rowing down the River Thames. I have a great imagination, because I've never seen the River Thames.

So, after 10 minutes of that and some half hearted chest press and leg exercises, went for FCI's combat...Ooooh, also worked the bum which according to my nurses is looking rather larger these days. They must be getting short sighted. Its true, FCI takes breaks after every track, but today, there was no complaint from him about lacklustre shouting. The shouting had begun in track two...thanks in most part to his ardent female supporters, you go girls! And so it was a fun class after all. Not as packed as usual, I didn't get kicked in the head , which is always a good thing and we had enough space to move around. So, good class indeed. However, FCI should really pay more attention to combaters techniques...both newbies and some regulars. Saw many "Char Keuy Teow" seller wannabe techniques and seriously, a jab or a cross is a PUNCH, not a FLING of the wrist.

Quite a few people around..including Yhsmom, who normally doesn't show up here..of course BH wasn't around lar, he was working out in a gym Rakyat all the way in Kuala Lipis...sigh.Without him perpetually making jokes, the comedy effect of BC just wasn't the same. Sweat buckets and had fun...a good workout nevertheless.
Sunshine was around too and seems to think I have lost weight. Dear, I have to confess, genetics does play a part..I come from muscular stock, hence its easy to get the back and shoulders defined..my dad, my brother, most of my cousins and I ended up on track teams. But of course what she said made me smile lar...at last, the workout is working again! Yippee! Also found out today, my favourite wookie has a blog...Anneh, you naughty boy you, not telling me earlier? Anyways, will add link to your space in blog.

On the down side...this darn hair of mine. Its just like me...stubborn as a cow. Just wont go back to the way it was right after the cut, i.e Hot and Sexy...darn it! Spent quite sometime in the locker, blowing it...but then hoh, its irritating to blow hair in the gym, cos the hair dryers are so close together. Inevitably, someone with wet hair will be blowing their dampness onto you...which is what happened to me lar. Why can't people with long hair be more considerate lar? I used to be right?
Another Thursday gone...

Its December!!!

My favourite month of the year...10 reasons why

1) School Holidays....less jam
2) Christmas...a) Mid Valley decorates the whole mall and its lovely!
b) Mid Valley plays carols...puts me in sing song attitude
c) Season's sale's
d) Season's gift packs
e) Christmas celebration...wonder if lunch is on at Wendy's? If not, will just spend time with BH. :)
3) Nationwide Sale
4) Warehouse sales
5) Can take year end holiday!!!!...Off to Penang we will go and ergo, good food!
6) Can put on weight and blame it on holidays...
7) Can put on weight and feed guilt consciense by making new year's resolution.
8) Last minute dental entitlement claims...hence lots of patients...
9) New Year's eve...party,party,party!
10) Oooh...last but not least, my birthday...yeeay!

She's come undone

This is my second post of the day, inspired by what happened not 30 minutes ago. In my line of work, I meet all sorts of people. Not just people of different nationalities...yea, I've seen English, Africans, Maldivians, Cypriots even Kazakhs...What I mean is people of different attitudes and differing outlooks in life. Ok, also some disturbed patients which is really what this post is about.

A young lady I haven't seen in a while, showed up suddenly today in the clinic. From the beginning we have all realised she's different. Yea, we can all recognise the desperate housewife kinda patient...they are normally also a little strange...but this young lady is different. She has the demeanor of an adolescent, a young girl of about 11, although she is in her 30's. Very sensitive to sounds and drills, its hard to treat her...but we've managed in the past. Today however, was not one of her good days...a brief talk revealed a difficult week for her. Life has not been easy for this lady. I can only hypothesise that she has been through a lot of mental and emotional strain in the past, making her regress to a state in her life when things were a lot simpler, like her youth. I think she almost broke down today and all I could do was be gentle, reschedule her appointment. I really don't know if she will return.

Her fragile state of mind brings me to question what and where society is going. It seems to me that the pressure of work and to a certain extent of surviving is increasing drastically. I see many people headed her way...the stress and anxiety ( not just from the fact that they are seeing a dentist) is very apparent. I have patients who see me just because they feel comfy enough on the chair to talk to someone, who listens...strange isn't it? One would think the dental chair wouldn't be that comforting. If we look carefully, we can see that many people in society today have some sort of emotional disturbance or other...all those mental health campaigns were justified.

How many of us out there ever had times when we felt the world caving around us? Or that we just couldn't take it anymore? One more push and we'd just break? I somehow think that in my parents time, life was indeed much simpler. The stress to earn more just to survive was not really there. Traffic then certainly wasn't stressful and people back then were definitely more tolerant of each other. The crime rate was lower and they'd never heard of people being blown up now did they?

I'm reading this book by Wally Lamb called She's Come Undone which is the tittle for this post for good reason. It aptly describes a young woman who has gone off the deep end. Though in this story, her childhood is blamed, I can empathise and I think many of us can as well, with what she goes through. A good read.

As for the patient of mine, I hope she finds the strength to pull through and carry on with life and I hope i have the strength, never to fall over the edge.

A change is in the air

I finally did it...I cropped it all off. Well, not all, just 5 inches and more of it. After eight long years of long hair, I bid farewell to those tresses and decided to go for the impish look. Hoping this is the new and improved me, it changes the way I look, some said taking a good few years off my age. But its still the same person underneath the mop!

At least better half isn't complaining. I save on shampoo, conditioner and time when it comes to drying my hair. The downside? Err...bed head I guess. Oh, and I dont have to worry about looking like a pontianak on bad hair days...hair just aint long enough! My "Grudge" days are over.

As for the pitera stuff, broke out in zits a few days ago...dunno if its because of stress or the product...hoping its not the pruduct...it wasn't cheap. So, am guinea pigging self...will give porduct one or two more weeks. Luckily breakout is very minor...could be the facial I did recently too. On the plus side, skin appears fairer...or is that just wishful thinking? Better half as usual, doesn't notice any difference...luckily he noticed the hair, otherwise I'd wonder what the heck he looks at when he looks at me...hmmm...?

So, another year is coming to a close...another year beginning...it is indeed time for changes.

The image in the mirror ( aka When will it be enough part 2)

Friday evening, tired and fatigued ( it was a looong day) Got dragged to the gym, for cardio and weights.Post two root canals, multiple scalings and fillings and an implant case, it felt good to use the new wave machine...my ass hurt big time and get back on the rower for some upper body work. We also decided to hit the weights. It was at the free weights, in front of the mirror that I caught my reflection and started thinking. The person in the mirror still had some shoulder muscles, some obvious upper body definition. Perhaps it was the weights, making the muscles appear pumped up or perhaps it was just my myopic imagination. But I wonder, do the muscles that we'd trained so hard to build disappear once we stop?

Muscle fibers are built based on demand, i.e, if we lift weights beyond what our existing muscles are comfortable with, the muscle "grows". Muscle is built either through hypertrophy, increase in muscle size or hyperplasia, increase in the number of fibers. But how fast it's built I guess depends on the person's metabolism, nutrient intake and I guess workout intensity. Similarly, I wonder about muscle atrophy, ie muscle degeneration. How fast that occurs and what happens then?

I figure that atrophy doesn't occur that quickly, the muscle built remains for a while. This might explain the image in the mirror. However, fat accumulates around said muscle, so you lose definition and gain a bulky appearance. Once you start working out again, the fibers become more apparent, as fat is lost. Well, this is what I'm hoping is the case for me la, must console myself a bit, since I put in a good few years of my life building said muscle.

Anyway, its time to put this theory to test. It took me about 4 and a half months to gain about 2 kilos of weight, thanks to Better half's extensive knowledge of good food and of course his TLC lah! Lets see how long it takes for me to lose said kilos and go back to what was before. This is of course provided Better half ( I still love you) does not sabotage efforts. Note: he came by to lunch with me at work yesterday, ice-cream in hand, walking into my clinic...my nurses were suckered, all had ice-cream after, hehehe.
Oh, BH, they really like you, plying them with food always works. Its not that I'm gonna go on some crazy diet of no carbs, no food etc, I'm not that stupid, just have to be more selective of foods and go back to doing my weights.

Feel really good about this now, there's something empowering about doing weight training and working out, it feels like taking control over one's own body, to make it stronger, better, fitter. BH is right, I have a life now, outside of the gym, and I haven't been this ecstatic ever! All in part thanks to him. But I realise, there's still a part of me that doesn't want to end up a couch potato, sluggish and fat. I guess he realised it too, cos he's the one who dragged me to the gym friday. Either because he's sick of hearing me saying "I feel fat" or he just decided it was time we both started working out again. What ever the reason, I'm glad I now have gained a training partner too and I can't wait to hit the gym today...FCI's class, then weights! So, lets see what happens to SC now...BH thinks a month of this will do, lets see if he's right, I sure hope he is.

When will it be enough?

I now wonder, when will gym-ing be enough. Apparently I gave gained a few pounds, all from about a month of slacking off. By that I mean I gave up on PT, I still go for classes, but instead of 4/5 times a week, I've cut it down to 2/3 times. But I have still maintained a relatively healthy lifestyle, occasionally indulging in some fast food and snack. But yet, the six pack and toned arms are dissipating. Which makes me wonder, what would happen if I were to quit altogether? Would I turn back to what I was before, a plumpish girl ( I wish lar, can still be called GIRL) or would I become a blimp?

Previously, at my fittest, I was doing weights with the PT, and like I said, 4 to 5 times a week of BC. But, I felt drained, and just fatigued. At every PT session, I'd dread going and after said session, be aching for a good two days. Food was sometimes just cereal, breakfast, lunch and dinner, which contributed to the fatigue. Yea, I was toned and the abs were there, but I wasn't quite happy. I looked good, except of course I lost some womanly curves.

So, I decided to discontinue PT and just do classes. I promised myself I'd do weights on my own, but somehow, without someone to push me, I haven't lifted a single dumbbell. Plus I'm a whole lot happier now, due in most part to better half and his amazing knowledge and resources when it comes to hunting for food! Needless to say, I have now regained my womanly curves, but to my dismay, my nurses have commented that my derriere is looking larger than before! Sigh. Now I'm paranoid again and thinking that if this keeps up this way, I'm gonna end up OBESE! But at the back of my mind, I'm thinking, Hey, I still work out, just less often and maybe less intense, but I'm healthy right? Shouldn't what I'm doing be enough?

If I were to kill my self again, back to a more intense programme, and finally achieve the results I want, how then would I maintain it, without spending a majority of my time in the gym? Does it mean that lifelong maintenance requires the same effort or more just to sustain the desired physical appearance? How mush is enough? My PT once told me,its a balance between what you consume and what you use. Can't seem to find that balance lah.

Seriously, I have a life, one that involves more than just BC, BS, BP and weights. I have a family, friends, a doggie and hobbies that I just can't live without. So I guess I can't sacrifice so much of my time anymore. I suppose I'll just have to accept my womanly curves. But I'll still try to lose just that little bit more.

A very busy weekend

Most of the time, my weekends are short...having to work Saturdays makes it only a Sunday off. Which means on Sundays, I sleep in late, have time to go gym, have a nap and have dinner with family. The last Sunday however, was a very busy one. One of better half's friends got married. And since I'd never been to a Chinese wedding ( dinner's don't count), I decided to tag along. Better Half was one of the "Heng Tai's", those guys who chaperone the groom to the bride's place and hence also bear the brunt of the abuses from the bride's "Chee Mui's".
So Sunday began bright and early...at 7.00 am. By the time I normally awake ( on working days), i.e 8 am, ( I start work at 10 mah), I was all dolled up and ready to go. Better Half only got to my place at 8.30 and we got to the grooms place by 9. Only 3 guys were present and "heng tais", so...only 3 cars. One to chauffeur the groom, one to chauffeur the roast oink and one more guy to tag along. Apparently a good looking groom and a nice looking roasted pig weren't enough to get into the bride's home. Her "chee mui's" had decided to lock the grilles, giving the impression that her home was more like a prison and they were the wardens. I guess this part of the wedding is supposed to depict the grooms heroism in rescuing his bride? Well, after some "tasks" which involved gastronomic injury, the guys were finally allowed in. Poor better half had to down a bitter gourd smoothie, sing a Hokkein song (kodok tetap kodok) and do some push ups. I never knew he could do push ups on toes, cos in class, he's always on his knees and can never finishes the set! Evil thoughts of lunges with 10 kilo plates flash in my mind...hehehe.
The groom of course had more tasks, involving money ( bribing the kids to get off the stairs) and of course answer some questions about his bride. Poor fella, can't remember the first date, when it happened...tsk,tsk. Money talks, and eventually the bride let him in. well, the rest was standard stuff, tea ceremony, back to groom's place, tea ceremony again, etc... We were done by 2pm, asleep by 3, only to wake up again at 6 to get ready for the dinner.
Dinner was standard wedding fair, but of course there were drinks. Needless to say, things got a lot more cheery after a few drinks. Better half was nice and red. As usual, the friends will attempt to get the groom drunk, in the process getting drunk themselves. it didn't take much to get the groom sloshed...two glasses of wine...and he was out. The drunken party made its way to the birdal suite, groom being propped up and helped along. Better half and I left not long after, but apparently the drinking continued a while. Bear in mind, this was Sunday night, i.e the next day is MONDAY!
Got home at 2, slept at 3 and began the next day very,very sleepy. Was supposed to be a busy day, with root canals and such, but thankfully a few patients cancelled and postponed...perhaps they too had attended wedding dinners the night before? After tis the season for wedded bliss, no?
For more details of said wedding, click on better half

J-Card Day @ Megamall

8.55 am...take train to work. Guy in the picture almost got his spare tire left behind. Visions of BMW(Bas Mini Wilayah) flash in my mind









Reason for train ride?
Jam in Mid Valley................







Reason for jam in Mid Valley? Jam in Jusco.........








Reason for nurses lepaking at work? Empty surgery..........











Reason for empty surgery? No Patients........












Reason for no patients? Jam, no parking..........











Reason for jam & no parking? J-CARD DAY..........


Reason for credit card debt? J-CARD DAY!!!

Thyphoid Mary/ Mat

Ever wonder what goes into your mouth? I'm not just talking about the food we cram down, but also what else is in it... Both better half and I have recently been given royal status, we've both been sitting on our throne's today, for a good part of the day. And it was all thanks to banana leaf cuisine courtesy of a well known restaurant in PJ yesterday. Anyway, the fact that this has happened to both of us recently and seems to occur with annoying frequency, prompts me to wonder...what is it the we are really eating? Does our food come with a side order of salmonella? Probably more frequently than not its some kind of Staph or other. But my point is, how clean is the food or drink that we consume?

The restaurant we went to is a favourite haunt for PJ folk, in fact many doctors in the nearby hospital frequent it. So why is it that although it seems clean, we still had trouble? Could it be the guy behind , in the kitchen didn't wash his hands thoroughly? Or maybe the waiter who served us was the one with the dirty hands? Or ....dare I say it, they recycle their curries from yesterday?

In fact, where I work, the standard of hygiene of the food court is deplorable. Why? Because not only can you see cockroaches running about at the stalls, a friend of mine had the unfortunate experience of almost gulping one down. How? It was in her nescafe. And of course, no one separates the hand that receives the money from the hand that serves the food and sometimes from the hand that prepares the food.

Dining in a more decent looking establishment doesn't necessarily mean that the food is cleaner. I've seen this at one of those Hong Kong styled snack outlets...the guy was sneezing, rubbing his hands on his nose and then lo and behold, makes a sandwich. And a popular fast food outlet, has a problem with rats, all in a mall.

I almost want to be as paranoid as Monk, with my hygienic wipes, my own utensils and such...but the reality is there is no one to check that the food we buy is safe. Yea sure, they had that restaurant grading thing a while ago...but I don't see any evidence of those plaques now. And besides, who cares about a plaque, when there's no one to actually inspect periodically? Perhaps its because we're asian, and more tolerant. Lets face it, we all forgot about the haze already, no? Or maybe we have more durable tummies and really don't think much about a bout of diarrhoea.

The sad truth is there isn't much we can do about it, other than chose not to eat at these places. The friend who complained about the roach? All she got was an explanation...it was in the ice, the delivery guy was dirty, etc, etc,etc. The truth may well be that the milk used is not stored properly and therefore attracts vermin.

Gosh, the throne beckons yet again...lets hope the next time I dine out, I'll be less unlucky.

Tales of the delusional

Have you ever met people whom you thought are downright delusional? For me, its usually people who are in denial about themselves, i.e they think they are someone whom they are definately not! A great example would be the delusional people I meet in the gym, most often in BC. You know the flers, la, the ones who seriously think they are Jackie Chan/ Bruce Lee? Who think they are major martial artist, who think they can punch and kick you out of the class? Well, I seem to attract these flers, like bees to nectar. Usually skinny, with no sense of timing what so ever and punching and kicking like there's no tomorrow, they always stand next to me. From the corner of my eye I can see arms and legs flailing about aimlessly and dangerously. Strangely its always a guy who is delusional in BC..I wonder why?
Anyway, these delusional flers also come with a side order of ego. Apparently the fact that a girl can outpunch them scares them enough to flail about harder. ( out of timing and sequence sometimes). I observed one fler today, there I was at track 3, happily doing my uppers with more power, when the guy next to me starts upping his intensity too. Not that I'm against that, its just that it was obvious the guy was trying to outdo me, cos he kept glancing over to my side la. If I punched hard, he'd punch harder. If I kicked high, he'd kick higher...and so it went all the way to the end. Unfortunately the fler had poor technique and lets face it, punched like a girl...well, worse than a girl. delusional or what? And being a GUY, I'm pretty sure Mr. Delusional here would never in a million years ask anyone, guy, girl or instructor, if what he was doing was correct. Sad to say, men, will never ask for directions and apparently, will never ask " Am I punching correctly?" Because apparently, if you are a GUY, you should know how to, instinctively....hmmm....
Oh, and of course there's no way in hell a GUY will let a GIRL outpunch him? No, that would be sacriledge! Delusional, no?

Shoulda Coulda Wouda

Recent circumstances have got me to thinking about what could have been and how life doesn't always work out the way we want or plan it to. Perhaps it was because of the conversation I had when KH passed me a wedding invite ( Oh boy..its wedding season again!) had stirred up some long forgotten thoughts about my own life. Who I am now, who I was before and where I'm headed now?
I always thought I'd be married by 24, but when 24 and the proposal came, I said no and moved out. Now, I wonder if I did take that path where would I be? Would I be busy, running after two kids off to the nursery instead of a facial? Would I be at home, cooking dinner instead of at the gym, working out? Would I still be plump, or God forbid obese because my gym life only began at 25. Would I have been happy with that very first of boyfriends? I have would have been saved the heartache and pain of the second, but then I wouldn't get lucky the third time and actually meet this wonderful man. I wonder.........
By now,if i had gotten married, like KH mentioned, my kids would probably be 3/4...and the first part of a family life dealt with. So by the time I'm 50, the kids would be educated, hopefully working and I could retire. But I didn't follow that path now did I? Does this mean that if I have kids now I'm not gonna be able to retire by 50? Or by 60?
This also got me to thinking...its this a set pathway of life? Grow up, get married, have kids, raise kids, retire then...keel over? And is there a set time limit after which your chances of doing any of the above expire? Though many believe there is not set pathway and we are free not to marry, not to have kids, etc..I think society still deems this as a norm and anyone who doesn't comply, isn't normal. As for the time frame, to me, its bollocks...after reading about a woman in her 60's giving birth...well..whos' to say anything, right? Life expectancy is increasing, so we are generally outliving our forefathers. But then again, heard about the 30 something who keeled over in the gym?
All said and done, the shoulda coulda wouda is still on my mind....I still wonder why back then I decided I didn't want the man, the kids, the whole shebang...was it because he was the wrong man, it was the wrong time? Or was it because it was the wrong me? The me then actually didn't want all those things. I'd like to believe it was the wrong me... I was and probably still am a bit too selfish, I want my space, and my freedom...I want my BC, my facials, my exorbitant expenses on cosmetics and skincare and clothes. And I still want to drill and fill and root canal people....but now, I'm starting to want the prams, the wailing, the cooking....I guess we can't always have what we want, not at the same time anyway.

The day I got gassed

Ok, so this post is a little late, cos I got gassed yesterday, but what the heck? Have to blog about it, cos it was an experience lah. The gas in question? Nitrous oxide. See, boss decided that he wanted to sedate some of our nervous / anxious patients ( the kind that trembel the moment they sit on the chair), so of course the best thing to do is to try it out first la. So who was the guinea oink? Hmm... no surprises there right?
The mask was vanilla scented, so after about 5 deep breaths, can feel that wonderful warming sensation of the extremities...you know, ater you'd had like 4/5 glasses of wine? Well, in SKR's case maybe one glass? ( I hope she never reads this!). Well, I felt really high, my fingers and hands really heavy and I felt like sleeping. Boss then decided to test the anaesthetic effect of it...now, we all know nitrous oxide has NO anaesthetic effect, but we wanted to see if my tolerance for pain would increase. So, Boss did a scale, extra pressure he said, and yeah, I felt it, but I just didn't wanna do anything about it. I guess my pain tolerance did increase.
All in all, I'm in favour of gas. The effects were totally reversed once the nitrous was stopped and I was back to normal in a few minutes...no hangover, nothing! I think I'm gonna start gassing the kids too...not in favour of wailing and screaming in the office. But what a minute...its the adults who do that!

The virgin post

This the my first time EVER blogging...yeay! After reading other people's whilst being bored waiting for patients, have finally decided to set up my very own blog. As the title implies, this is not about wanting other people to read, its not about sharing any kind of opinion, its just about documenting the things that make or break my day. So, if you're THAT bored and am reading this, please, be my guest. If I can entertain in any way...excellent! But if not, ...SO WHAT???
As for today, it pays to have friends, especially those who can come up with excellent titles for a blogspot and those who refer celebrity patients over. It can be a pain with the rich and famous, but thankfully this celeb, was downright down to earth and very, very nice....albeit her now famous role as a pontianak...no shrieking occured throughout the treatment. Its just one of those busy days with double bookings and chaos, but I survived! Well, almost, for the day isn't quite over, now is it?
As for friends with enough brains for titles ( and codes)....thanks babe! Now I'm officially off and blogging!