Red Nosed Iantie

"Red Nosed Iantie"

That is what my boss called me today. Why? Coz my sinusitis is back! and pluurrrgghhh, it's not a good thing!

I was exposed to the rain last night on my way to the mosque and hence the comeback of the sinusitis. My nose didn't stop running and I sneezed a lot which in the end cause me a headache.

It's been a long time I didn't have a sinus attack. Thanx to the antihistamine. Yup, for last 3 years I had been taking antihistamine - loratadine mostly - for my sinusitis. But I stopped taking it for almost a year now (coz I don't want to be dependent on medication) and I had been feeling okay without it.

But recently, I noticed that my sinusitis attack is more frequent and 'torturing'. 'Torturing' here means leaky nose, blocked nose, red nosed (of course!), sneezing nonstop, watery eyes, puffy eyes and headache. That's my 'torture' whenever I'm having sinusitis. Some days I can keep on working as usual but most days, it's way too difficult. I rarely take MC so I'm not gonna star now - not for sinusitis anyway.

Oh! I guess back to popping loratadine soon....

Dreams

Dreams - it's like a common nature associated with sleep.

Some people take it seriously, some people don't saying that dreams are just playful visions during sleeping (mainan tidur).

Personally, I don't take dreams too seriously but sometimes I just couldn't help it. It's like a deja' vu. 1 night I dreamt about something, I forgot about it the next morning and few weeks after that, I experienced something and said to myself, "Hey, I had been here and done this before." Weird? I know and I believe I'm not the only one experiencing this things.

For the past few weeks, I had been experiencing scary and weird dreams. Last week alone, every night I dreamt about death. Told you it's scary!

Am I afraid of dying? Not really. I mean, I'm not ready to die just yet but the thoughts don't scare me as it should be.

What trigger my dreams? I definitly have no idea. In our culture, if you having bad dreams, do not tell a soul about it but I'm not that supersticious, so here I am bearing my bad dreams to the whole world.. haha.

My weird dream? Hmmm.. I think I'm just gonna let that 1 go. Coz for this dream, I think it was just a playful vision of my sleep.. haha *in denial* Whatever my dream might be, it was just too weird...

When Cutting Down on Food Is Not An Option, Exercise is the Answer!

I love to eat! Previously, I can eat anything and never (seriously!) ever gain any weights.

But now, all my clothes don't fit me, all the pants are tight and the horrible part, I feel f-a-t! Yes! Now I have low self-confidence of myself ;(

I know I shouldn't feel bad coz honestly it ain't that bad. I mean, there are a lot more 'larger' people out there compared to me but I just feel 'unhealthy' with my current weight and all those excess fats especially around the tummy and the thighs.

I tried to watch what I eat and I tried to cut down on my food intake but it doesn't work.. I mean, the 'watch what I eat' is kindda a lie coz I don't watch what I eat, I eat everything my heart desires BUT I do cut down my food intake ;)

And in the end, I realized that I can't stop eating and the only way I can cut down my weight and all those 'babylicious' fats is by exercise!

Gosh! It had been ages since my last hike and my aim is to get back on it or I would end up wearing baggy clothes for the upcoming Eid. LOL!

So this afternoon, me and 3 of my brothers went for a mini game of football (soccer). I know how to play soccer?? Hah! You would be suprised what growing up with 5 brothers can effect your life. Yes! I do know how to play football...ain't that good but I managed to score some goals.. haha! but with the price of the bruises on my legs (due to being kicked by my brother and due to fall on the grass!)

Although I had bruises on my legs, I gotta say, the game was worth it! We had a lot of fun and a lot of screaming but most importantly I managed to lose some sweats but I need to exercise on my breathing more.

Till the next game, brothers!

Body Worlds Exhibition

I managed to go to the Body Worlds Exhibitions while I was living in Singapore back in 2004. That was the first (and I hope it won't be the last) time I went to such exhibitions.

Why I brought this subject up?

Believe it or not, I missed learning the human anatomy. LOL! Seriously! It feels like ages I haven't learn anything or study about something and I missed it.

Anyway, the Body Worlds Exhibitions are not for the fainted heart. They exhibit the real human body by the process of plastination. And with respect to the deceased and their family members, no cameras are allowed in the exhibitions hall. I don't know about now but that was what being applied back in 2004.

It's the best exhibition I ever went to. It shows the whole anatomy of the human body from the smallest veins and nerves to the largest organ in the body. It exhibits how human body works when pressure is applied, how the body stretches when you do exercise and it even shows how fetus developed in certain stage of pregnancy.

I checked their official website whether they are having any exhibitions nearby Asia anytime soon but the only country in Asia they are exhibiting would be in Turkey ;( That's too far for me to go but I'm not giving up hope... 1 day, I will go again! And now that I found out that they are doing exhibitions on animals too! Definitly must go!!

You can visit their official website here to know much further details about the Body World Exhibitions and below are some pictures I managed to get from the net.

CAUTION: If you are fainted heart and scared of the dead people, please don't scroll any further down.

Anatomist, inventor of Plastination and creator of Body Worlds, Gunther von Hagens

Bad lung (due to smoking) vs the healthy lung
I remembered buying a key chain of this and somehow, I misplaced it ;(

Buzy! Buzy! Buzy!

I guess that's the only excuse I managed to come up with for not regularly updating my blog.

What kept occupied lately? Hmmm...let's see!

1. Always the paperworks! Oh yes! The never ending paperworks!
2. Physically and mentally drained!
3. The Amazing Race and American Idol
4. Frequent visits to the hospital
5. Household chores

Well, I won't list the other stuffs (reading ebooks, playing games bla bla bla) coz well, that's just another excuse for not updating my blog.

Work getting more hectic! More paperworks and somehow, the manpower problems are getting more and more complicated. I don't want to dwell into it considering that it's not my position to think about it. It's not that I don't care but let's just say that I'm minding my own business before minding others.

My popo (grandma), my mum's mum, was warded into the hospital last week. She had blood transfusion 1 day after being warded. And yesterday, she had a surgery - a gastro surgery. Honestly, m not really a good granddaughter. Consumed with works and all, I only managed to visit popo less than expected. Me and my brothers visited her before her surgery and this afternoon, afterwork, I visited her again. She is weak and can't do much, so I just sat there and accompany her while my cousin, Amoy, who had been her sitter for all these past days, dozed her.

Tomorrow, my cousin is getting married, so tomorrow started to get real buzy! Morning, I have to go and help my colleagues to shift clinics, then in the afternoon, for my cousin's nikah. Saturday, I need to catchup with my laundry and ironing while at night, have to attend my cousin's berbedak. Sunday, my cousin's sanding and I would be working till 11pm.

Monday, back to work, no off for me coz I need the off for Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon to accompany my mum for her appointments at the hospital. I know I had been a buzy daughter but that gave me no excuse to neglect my family especially my mum. Hence m sacrificing my much needed off to accompany my mum. Love her to bits!

Too Tired? Too Lazy??

I was supposed to do some pending paper works but somehow m just not in the mood hence here I am, spending my time, my very best to update my blog.

Tired? Gosh, I do! Morning, caught in the traffic. At work, hectic with the paper works and patients, after work, caught in another traffic and by the time I came home, m too tired to do anything else.....well, apart from gaming and watching E!.

Okay...that's it! I think m just plain lazy. I mean, if I have the time to play games and watch E! and NOT doing my work, then of course m lazy, right?

Well, let me ponder upon that and I get back to you!

Night peeps!

1 in 285,000

That's the ratio of a study, the chances of you finding the right partner, that I heard in a radio few days back.

1 : 285,000?? That's a lot! And can you imagine the Brunei population is around 500,000 (give or take) and eligible, young and marriageable male (Bruneians) is what - around 150,000!

Conclusion = I would never find the right partner! LOL!

When I was listening to the radio and when it said that your chances of finding the truly right partner is 1 in 285,000 people, I couldn't help but to wonder. If the study is found to be exact, it means that only 2 couples in Brunei are married to their right partner while the rest are wrong for each other! Hmmmm..... Freaky!

My Weekend....in bed!

Yup! I spent most of - well, strike that - all my weekend either in bed, on the couch or on a chair in the dinning room but mostly in bed!

Why?

Because I spoke too soon and my left arm was killing me!

Why?

Because of the H1N1 jab! Gosh! I don't want to go thru this again! I hope I won't go thru any jab anytime soon. I don't think I can face it!

Last Saturday night, my arm throbbed and the pain started! I slept early after watching series Aristrocrats (a British TV series) and by 1.30am, I woke up with a stabbing pain all over my left arm. I can't lift my arm at all and I was thinking it maybe paralysed! Trust me, the pain was sooo awful that I was thinking the worst! It seems every nerves on my left arm are dead and m left with never-ending pains *dramatic mode*. I think I would save myself from the embarasement here and not to say that I NEARLY cried because of the pain. I woke up, massage myself with some hot oil and rest my arm on a bundle of pillow and I was aslept, with my lights on!

Sunday, I took my bath (another effort to lift my painful arm) but I managed to get a proper bath on my own! Watched Legends of the Fall on HBO! If any of you don't remember this movie, this is the first movie, in my opinion that made Brad Pitt famous as he is now! Believe it or not, I haven't watch this movie till yesterday...yikes! Gosh, can't remember what year this movie was made but it sure was long time ago and I only watch it now, in 2010! What a joke!

Anyway, after Legends of the Fall, I went for my nap until my mum woke me up and after had my late lunch, I was in bed again, watching the rerun of Scrubs season 6 up till I went to bed again last night - which was early!

Yup! Another weekend wasted in bed but I couldn't help myself. It's my arm! But today, Alhamdulillah, it is okay - my arm that is - or do I speak too soon?

Oh well, hope you guys have a better weekend than I did!

2 jabs in 2 days!

I dislike needles - injections mainly. Needles for sewing, that I can tolerate.

But as the years passed by, I learnt to overcome my fear of needles. Mainly because I'm working in a medical field. Once in a while I need a jab or two or more. Gosh! I lost count how many times I got needles poked into my veins.

I got a bad experience with needles. It happened when I was doing my medical checkup to go overseas back in 2003. The phleobotomist was trying to withdrew blood sample from my right vein. She poked and kept on poking until I said, "awww.." then she looked at me guiltily and said, "it's hard to get blood from this vein. I need to try the other arm." And I was like, "what?" but didn't said it out loud. Considering that it needs to be done, I let her and after 2 attempts, she managed to drew some. That day, I can't work hard. Both of my arms were being poked!

Good thing being an underweight person (which I used to be! haha) is that m not eligible to donate blood hence less poking. So the only time I 'surrender' my arms to the phleobotomist were when I'm required for some tests - blood sugar, cholesterol, hepatitis B and recently thyroid.

Anyway, last Thursday, I was listed for the health promotion program. It's given to the civil servants of the Brunei government and I think I'm on phase 1 hence mainly it concentrated on Ministry of Health staffs only at the moment. Came to the Health Promotion Centre with my bff and I was no 6 on the que while my bff was no 7 - must be really her lucky number! Upon registration, blood was taken for sugar, cholesterol and cretanine. Another poke to my skinny arm. I tried to distract myself by looking around apart from my arm and put my whole trust on the phleobotomist to do the 'right' thing.

After blood, they checked the weight, height, waist and hip measurements and yea! m no longer underweight. I'm exactly on the border of underweight and normal! Gosh! My feelings? I'm happy that m not an underweight no more but at the same time, I was to lose weight, mainly on my tummy area...hmmmppp! My WHR - waist hip ratio - is also normal! Basically - without the blood results - m a healthy bunny ^_^

Late this afternoon, 20 minutes before work ends and the weekend start, the technicians from the vaccination centre came down and asked whether we want to vaccinated ourselves with the H1N1 vaccine. If you asked me 4 weeks ago, I would say no and my answer was still no last Thursday. But a memo came out from the Minister of Health to ask every frontliners who served the patient to get vaccinated with the vaccine. Gosh! What a hassle but job is a job. Hence this afternoon, I got myself vaccinated and so far, Alhamdullilah, I didn't experienced any side effects...not yet anyway and I hope not! But the pain is there on the injection site.

So, that's 2 poking in a week, another self-history in the making!