My Own Happiness Project

My Own Happiness Project
because happiness begins inside and flows out...

20100526

arteo gets a graphic reminder........

  1. Day5 on D and last weekend, I've started popping another pill to add to my daily handfuls - L-Carnitine 500mg, supposed to help with metabolism rate and slink me down closer to the meniscus of the population bell-curve. At RM118 per 60 capsules, it had better do something to my dwindling metabolism.
  2. It's kinda hard to be the 2% of guys who joins cardiorobics sessions at the gym. By 2%, I mean I am the only one, in a room full of ladies, majority of them look so fit in their Lycras. All the jumping around makes me wobbly at the knees at the end of the sessions, but I guess I needed the discipline of a programme. So I suppose this is a good thing.
  3. Broke my favourite Adidas trainers jumping around with my 2 tonnes body weight. Need a new pair of shoes -- do I hear retail therapy?
  4. Still feeling terribly shy at the gym where all the state level athletes and the Misters Sabah practically nest on the pulley machines and the free weight racks. Probably I should gather up some balls and ask one of them to help train me, make the most out of the remaining 4 weeks I have here.
  5. The most disappointing thing to see at the scale is how slow the numbers go down. Been trying to reduce food intake, but I cannot do that completely because I need the bloody energy at the gym.
  6. Been living on soya milk and oats to replace most of my meals. Once a day, usually breakfast or brunch I'll load with noodle with salmon-bone soup. I know I will drop the pounds if I go NBM while on D, but I guess the body cannot be tricked for so long. It does find its way to save up in case of the next starvation mode.
  7. Been rather down today, probably the side effect of D. Probably also because the weighing scale isn't showing what I want to see. Probably it was this picture of me from FB.
  8. Saw this picture taken during one of the recent outings. Really sounded the alarm. I was thinking of easing my way out of doing crunches at the gym just now, but then I had flashbacks of this image, and I finished it. Damn it. Disgusting Blubbery Hosebeast!!

20100521

favourite quote from cider house rules.....

The opening narration of the movie Cider House Rules, based on a novel of the same title by John Irving...
In other parts of the world, young men leave home and travel far and wide in search of a promising future. Their journeys are often fueled by dreams of triumphing over evil, finding a great love or the hopes of fortunes easily made. Here in St. Cloud's, not even the decision to get off the train is easily made, for it requires an earlier, more difficult decision - add a child to your life or leave one behind. The only reason people journey here is for the orphanage. I came as a physician to the abandoned children and unhappily pregnant women. I had hoped to become a hero. But in St. Cloud's, there was no such position. In the lonely, sordid world of lost children, there were no heroes to be found. And so I became the caretaker of many, father of none. Well, in a way, there was one. His name was Homer Wells...

20100520

somenghau... things i will miss #01... yih yi...

Yih Yi during her first year. We all saw through her phases of rolling over, crawling commando, first baby step, first babbles and now she talks and talks and talks and talks, and ask why and what and who and where and how and what and what and what....... I felt bad one day when she kept on incessantly telling me something when I just woke up, I turned to her and said SHUT UP! She kept quiet for a while, I think not because I asked her to shut up, but it was a new word to her. Few seconds later, she started again..... Haha..

During her first birthday.....

Her maiden ride on Ookikuro.....

Posing for RedNose.....


Its's a sucky feeling to realise that when I come back, YihYi would already be all grown up and would have started Primary 1 by then... ah, what would I give to be around and see her grow up! Latest pic taken today.....

I'm so gonna spoil her with pampering before I go off, because when I come back, she's not gonna cium bunyi for me anymore... sigh.

arteo's vanity fair..........

My new found obsession... things to slap onto my face.


The real question is: at this age of 31, would it be spelling out insanity to be prematurely obsessed about age rescue?

the myth of abortion being good for you.....

as tagged by A.Ng on Facebook.

QUERETARO, Mexico, MAY 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- In the public debate about abortion, some still believe in the myths about its goodness for women, says a bioethicist.

In this interview with ZENIT, Doctor Rosario Laris, a surgeon and teacher of public health and bioethics, spoke about the beliefs that contribute to the perpetuation of abortion, and the risks that it implies for women and society.

ZENIT: In your opinion, what are the principal myths on abortion that still exist in the world and in Mexico?

Laris: I would say [the myths are]: that legalizing abortion reduces maternal mortality -- there is a very high number of women in Mexico who die as a result of having an abortion; that if legalized, abortion diminishes; and that abortion does not have any repercussion on the physical and psychological health of women.

ZENIT: Why would they say that abortion reduces maternal mortality?

Laris: That's what they say, but the reality is otherwise. At present 25% of maternal deaths in the world happens in India, a country that since 1972 has legalized abortion. Other examples are Russia and Ireland.

In the first country the proportion of maternal deaths is six times higher than in Ireland. Russia has legalized abortion and Ireland has not.

Now let's compare this country with the United States. There are in the United States 16 deaths of women for every 100,000 [mothers with babies] born alive; in Ireland there are only five.

But let's move to countries that are closer. Chile has a smaller proportion of maternal deaths than Cuba, where abortion is permitted.

With this we can establish that there is no direct connection between the percentage of maternal deaths and legalized abortion. What does reduce the number of maternal deaths is quality health services.

ZENIT: They say that many women die in Mexico due to the clandestine nature of abortion.

Laris: It is thought that in Mexico there is a very high number of women who die because of abortion.

The reality is different. Data of the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics or of the Health Secretariat says that, in the whole country, the cases of death resulting from problems related to abortion are very low.

The mortality of pregnant women is due primarily to problems of hypertension, not of illegal abortions.

ZENIT: And what is your opinion about the theory that legalization decreases the cases of abortion?

Laris: That by legalizing it, it is not promoted? That is a lie.

We see the cases of the United Kingdom and Spain. In Spain, abortion was legalized 20 years ago and it has increased by 200%; today one out of six pregnancies in Spain ends in abortion.

Another case to highlight is Poland. For decades abortion was permitted there and the number was very high. When it was outlawed, [the number of abortions] decreased to at least one out of 100 of the total number of pregnancies.

That's why we must be clear: to legalize abortion is to promote it.

ZENIT: And the repercussions on women's health?

Laris: There is proof that women who abort increase their propensity to suffer depression, anxiety and ideas of suicide versus women who go through with the pregnancy in the same conditions.

A study was made in New Zealand where 630 patients were followed from their birth to 25 years of age. Some became pregnant and of those some aborted. Of the latter 50% showed the propensity to depression, as opposed to 25% of those who had not [had abortions].

There are several studies in different parts of the world and the results are the same: ideas of suicide and the consumption of drugs increase in women who have aborted.

The mistreatment of children also increases in women who have aborted.

ZENIT: What would be the ideal public policies to help a woman avoid having to resort to abortion?

Laris: There should be legislation that gives greater support to pregnant women, economic support by the state, care in quality health services, so that a woman would see a future for her child, as many times a mother is anguished on realizing that her child will not have a real future. Longer maternal leave is necessary for the better care of offspring.

However, the support must not only come from the government, but also from society.

ZENIT: There are those who approve of abortion of younger fetuses that lack neural connections. What is your opinion in this respect?

Laris: To consider this implies that a person with Alzheimer's stops being a person. One would have to ask the relatives of a patient with Alzheimer's if they do or do not consider him a person.

It has served, for families with this problem, to fortify their unity. The characteristics of a sickness do not take away from us the rank of persons, nor do physical damages. This was an argument used by the Nazis.

When we do not consider a child of less than 28 weeks or a patient with Alzheimer's as persons, we are discriminating.

21 excuses for skipping the gym.....

...according to Men's Health.

We've heard all the excuses for skipping a workout (we've used a few ourselves.) So we made a list of them—the lame, the unavoidable, and the understandable. Then we called around to psychologists, dietitians, trainers, and men who work out no matter what to find out what they thought.

First, the legitimate excuses. We found four: You're sore, you're sick, you're exhausted, you're hurt. That's it. As for the rest of them, listen up. Our list of 21 easy ways to overcome any exercise excuse will help you build a rock-solid body without overhauling your life—so you can finally remove “lose belly flab” from your to-do list.

"Looks like rain."
Men's Health cover model Gregg Avedon lives in Florida. Do the names Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne mean anything to you? Avedon spent much of 2004 lifting storm shutters and storing away patio furniture, then taking cover. He still looks great. Avedon says your home gym—those dumbbells over there, and your chinup bar—makes staying in a viable option. You can also spice up your indoor cardio by jumping rope or running up and down stairs. Or tie both ends of a resistance band to a doorway, place a towel across your chest, face away from the door with the band (cushioned by the towel) across your chest, and run in place.
Frankly I've used this excuse quite a bit, and stay in bed when it does rain.

"I have no time."
Combine things you do anyway—work, breathe—with athletics. Set up business meetings during which you walk or jog; play tennis with your date; take a spin class to find dates; or take your family hiking, suggests Charles Stuart Platkin, M.P.H., author of The Automatic Diet.
Of course this is a grounded excuse. Not all our day jobs end right on time for gym!

"The Office comes on as I leave."
Get TiVo. Then tell yourself you're going to do just half of your regular routine. "It won't seem so insurmountable, and you'll end up doing the whole workout," says Edward Abramson, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Lafayette, California.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"I need my sleep."
Pat Croce manages to stick with his workouts, and this father of two has been busy hosting his syndicated TV show, Pat Croce: Moving In, and opening a pirate museum in Key West, Florida. "Like me, you have to schedule fitness," he says. On the first of each month, Croce reviews his schedule with his secretary and then his wife, and breaks it down into weeks. Every Sunday, he goes over the coming week, making sure there are gyms at hotels where he'll be staying.
Most of the time is - I overslept! Heh..

"Gyms are too expensive."
January's the month to negotiate fees, trial months, or group discounts. Think you don't have the cash? Save $900 a year by switching from cafe mocha to metabolism-boosting green tea when you stop at Starbucks every morning.
At RM4 per session, I guess this is not my excuse too... and I'll NEVER switch my mocha to green tea, you crazy old clown!!!

"My gym sucks."
So move. Changing gyms is an opportunity for you to upgrade your workout. See the next tip.
Oh yeah. Have any of you tried breathing in the gym that I go to? That's a workout in itself. I mean stinks, not sucks.

"I'm bored with my workout."
"Throw it in reverse," says Gunnar Peterson, C.S.C.S., author of G-Force. If you always do lat pulldowns with an overhand grip, switch to underhand. Do a reverse-grip bench press, reverse-grip curls, reverse-grip triceps pushdowns. Do front squats, rear lunges, and dumbbell lateral raises with your palms up. Count backward, too. "It's like a blastoff," says Peterson: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, done."
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"I never see results."
Maybe you're not looking in the right places. Measure your waist, your heart rate, and your weight. Write them down. Then measure again after a week or two, says Croce. Celebrate even the smallest sign of progress. Muscles appear as fat melts.
Yep, still a fatty-bom-bom after all that gymming. Well, perhaps if I stick to it more comnsistently, sigh.

"Four weeks and no change!"
Whether you see results or not, you're strengthening your joints and connective tissues, which means you're laying down a foundation for future muscle growth, says Peterson. Your diet, stress, sleep patterns, and other factors besides your workout may be holding you back—so don't give up.

"I have no energy."
Eat. You need the fuel. "An active guy needs up to 1,000 calories more than an inactive guy," says Gay Riley, R.D.
Eat? Of course I eat!! And still...

"My body needs time to recover."
After 72 hours of rest, you're just sliding backward. "But are you actually giving yourself a chance to recover?" asks Peterson. It's not all about time. Mix L-glutamine into your postworkout shake and eat a diet full of omega-3 fatty acids; they can assist with cellular reconstruction and the removal of metabolic wastes to help you recover faster, Peterson says.

"I always get hurt."
This happens when you ratchet up your workout. Focus on losing 1 pound at a time or boosting your weights in 5-pound increments, says C.J. Murphy, M.F.S., owner of Total Performance Sports in Everett, Massachusetts. If you're used to doing 20 minutes on the treadmill, don't try a 2-hour road run. If you bench-press 50-pound dumbbells, don't go for 90. Instead, make small increases in the difficulty of your workout, focus on form, and work with a spotter so you still have a safety net, Murphy says.
Errmmm... why the emo?

"My elbows/shins/pinkie toes hurt."
"Pain is a sure sign something is awry with your exercise choices," says Murphy. This year, don't isolate body parts so much—your muscles should function as a team. If your shoulder hurts for a week after you do lateral raises, stop doing them. Find a variation that doesn't cause pain, he says.
In my case, my weak ankle act up every month or so...

"I don't want to look stupid."
Approach new machines with enthusiasm. "That's a good way to broaden your fitness spectrum," says Peterson. Read the placard, ask a trainer for assistance, and give it a shot. Nobody's looking. "They're so into themselves that they're not even thinking about you," Peterson says.
I don't want to look fat. Or be fat. Or looked at because I'm fat.

"I'm bored again."
Organize your workout differently for 1 to 2 weeks, says Peterson. Let's say you're usually a push-pull guy—you do chinups and leg curls one workout, bench presses and squats another. Try working antagonistic, or opposing, muscle groups, such as your back and chest. You can also change to an upper/lower split routine in which you alternate upper-body workouts with lower-body ones. Or try a total-body workout a few times a week.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"My buddy can't make it tonight."
It's easy to blame others. "If you're serious about training, think of it like a job," says Murphy. "If your training partner was an employee who continually was late and had poor performance, what would you do? You'd fire him!"
Going alone usually anyway...

"I hate working out alone."
Go to the gym at the same time and on the same days. Say hi to people. You'll find others who are on your schedule, says Abramson.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"I should help my wife with the baby."
Or you could help all three of you. More and more gyms have child-care centers so you and your wife can get away and spend time together—something that new parents need, says Abramson. Or go over the calendar with your wife: For every day she's out, you can schedule a workout.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"Everyone's going out for drinks."
Join them once a week "and you won't appear standoffish," Abramson says. But eat first. By having your drinks with a meal, you won't drink, snack, and eat dinner later.

"But The Office is on!"
"Create a commitment you can't get out of," says Platkin. Make an appointment with a trainer who will charge you whether you show or not.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"My commute is long enough."
Go straight from work twice a week, then work out at home the other nights.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

20100519

the second best thing, i suppose....


For the longest time, Ben and I have been talking about trying the grilled chicken menu, newly offered by KFC and was only available at some sentinel restaurants in Malaysia. None of them in KK.

Anyway, I've been looking forwards for opportunity to give it a try, and having missed the few chances during my past visits to KL, I finally managed to get myself to KFC Bukit Bintang, one of the few rumoured restaurants to try out the market.

...just to find out it was already discontinued for a few months. That day, a dream, a hope and a longing died. Taaaaaaaaapun tah saja.

Anyway, walking past McD one day, I noticed they have a new menu, I believe still not available in KK, the Gourmet Chicken Burger. Well, my ideal way of enjoying grilled chicken doesn't involve having it flattened and squashed between some buns, but beggars can't be choosers.


sakana... sakana.... sakanaaaa.....

The haunting advertisement music at ALL the Jusco Sushi counter.... and extremely sticky too, you can go the whole day with sakana sakana sakana chorus in your mind, no kidding...
Sakana or shukō is a Japanese term referring to food eaten as an accompaniment to alcohol. Sakana may also be referred to as otsumami; this term usually applies to smaller dishes. Because fish, especially dried fish, was a popular choice for these dishes, over the years the term sakana also became the pronunciation for the kanji for fish

(wikipedia)

In other words (Dusun to be exact) SAKANA = PUSAS

indian breakfast, curry fish head and a.ng's ordination date...

  1. Had breakfast at SriPaandi yesterday with Jey. I still think that they maintain the Gold-Standard of Indian Food (to my knowledge, not that I've tried a lot of Indian food around, but I know enough that I can't get anything like this in KK). Had roti kosong with chicken fee/neck curry, sweet appam and vade with tomato chutney. Yummy. Worth smelling like Indian food the whole day for this breakfast.
  2. Went to UM Medical Postgraduate Office to enquire about my offer status. I was told that I got accepted, but I have to go print everything myself from the website. After much pleading (Bambi eyes, pouty lips, soft helpless lost-in-the-real-world Sabahan accent, and hopeful stars shooting out of my eyes a-la Shin Chan) the nice Kakak decided to do her Friday charity by printing out the materials for me. Woohoo. But I have to say, their service is pretty good (other than the go print this stuff yourself bit).
  3. Reading the Offer Letter into Postgraduate studies evokes some mixed feeling in me. It's like facing another end of an era. Worked 7 years before getting this offer, it had better help me cruise through the programme. I hope.
  4. Met up with Adrian and Anne after that for brunch, and for old time's sake, they brought me to our favourite place to have the best Indian food -- yes, SriPaandi, again. I didn't have the heart to tell them I had Paandi for breakfast, so I had my second dose of roti canai for the day, and double coating of Indian food aroma for good measure.
  5. Followed Andrian and some of his youths to Chapel of Divine Mercy, Shah Alam. Attended mass again after a looooooooong missing in action stunt. Feast day of St Matthias, the one who was chosen to replace Judas. The whole mass I was sweating due to the double dosage of Indian spice despite being in a fully air-conditioned church.
  6. Lunch with the youths and some parent. Had fish head curry dish. Guess I'm in for a whole day of sweaty head.
  7. Jalan-jalan at Sunway Pyramid. It's been a while since the last time I was here melepak. Where did the Hartz Chicken Buffet go to? All the good memories, sigh...
  8. Had a very good time catching up with A Ng. It's always a fuzz to the soul to hang out around him. I'm just jotting this down here so I won't forget: ORDINATION DATE 11 AUGUST, MALACCA. BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.

20100514

7 things to stop doing now on facebook........

by Consumer Reports Magazine
Wednesday, May 12, 2010

  1. Using a Weak Password Avoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on the end. Instead, mix upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word, such as this variant on the word "houses": hO27usEs!
  2. Leaving Your Full Birth Date in Your Profile It's an ideal target for identity thieves, who could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you've already entered a birth date, go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day or no birthday at all.
  3. Overlooking Useful Privacy Controls For almost everything in your Facebook profile, you can limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information, among other things. You can give only certain people or groups access to items such as photos, or block particular people from seeing them. Consider leaving out contact info, such as phone number and address, since you probably don't want anyone to have access to that information anyway.
  4. Posting Your Child's Name in a Caption Don't use a child's name in photo tags or captions. If someone else does, delete it by clicking on Remove Tag. If your child isn't on Facebook and someone includes his or her name in a caption, ask that person to remove the name.
  5. Mentioning That You'll Be Away From Home That's like putting a "no one's home" sign on your door. Wait until you get home to tell everyone how awesome your vacation was and be vague about the date of any trip.
  6. Letting Search Engines Find You To help prevent strangers from accessing your page, go to the Search section of Facebook's privacy controls and select Only Friends for Facebook search results. Be sure the box for public search results isn't checked.
  7. Permitting Youngsters to Use Facebook Unsupervised Facebook limits its members to ages 13 and over, but children younger than that do use it. If you have a young child or teenager on Facebook, the best way to provide oversight is to become one of their online friends. Use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications and monitor their activities. "What they think is nothing can actually be pretty serious," says Charles Pavelites, a supervisory special agent at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. For example, a child who posts the comment "Mom will be home soon, I need to do the dishes" every day at the same time is revealing too much about the parents' regular comings and goings.

20100513

back home for a hand scrub.....


  1. Starting to be occasionally on leave today. Don't think I can finish up my accumulated leaves before end of June, so I guess this is as good as it gets.
  2. One of the things I hate most is travelling without my music. In this case, I have my music with me but no earphones! Spent the 2 1/2 hours in the airbus trying to sleep but no, it didn't work without 'em earphones.
  3. How do I know I am a coffee freak? As I touched down, I was craving for some caffeine in my system. So I dashed out of the arrival hall, looked at Starbucks half a mile away, and Coffee Bean just next door. I thought I shouldn't compromise quality over convenience so I decided to hike. Just as I was approaching Starbucks' entrance I realised I have a checked-in luggage. So I had to back-track all the way to the arrival hall and retrieve my bag, then walked back to Starbucks. Total mileage, 2 miles, total caloric loss, 1500kcal. I ordered a venti to-go Caramel Macchiato on FCM, so calories gained 2500kcal*. Damn.
  4. From KL Central, I went back home straight away. My 'home', as known by many.
  5. Today, my cleanest body part would be the dorsum of my right hand. In search for some magical potion to hopefully make my past teenage-years sins miraculously disappear, I went around MJ and had the back of my hand (always the right hand) cleansed, toned, masked, scrubbed, rehydrated and all that done to it. All the while the over powdered cosmetic lady would ask me, how do I feel after each time she applied something different on my skin.
  6. Other than the fact that the back of our hands have significantly less sensation receptors compared to the face, I could not for the life of me, tell her that item A might be better than item B or item C. Maybe if she had scrubbed my face and slapped on me those toners and moisturisers, maybe then I'd be able to tell her what I feel.
  7. My past sin was making a hobby out of pinching every visible zits I had in those good old years. It felt good then, but what do I know about cause and effect of things permanent in life...
  8. Anyway, I decided to settle on a product from BioTherm Homme that promises to reduce the old scars. It had better work, because this is one expensive thing I'm applying on my face.
  9. Adrian is coming from Johore today. Anne is expecting to have her baby by this weekend. Sheena is oncall EOD.

doing siku-sikunya my way.........

  1. Came back from Kg Tangkarason, and for the first time in the longest time I felt completely spent after a day's work. The other time was during the H1N1 outbreak, which I thought kinda exciting!
  2. Celebrated Secretary's Day last night at the clinic. Turn out was good, and almost everybody was sporting enough to spoil a song or two. Personally, I killed 4, I think. Other than My Way, of course, which I think was superb, heheh.
  3. Woke up early this morning, thinking of departing early after a morning roll-call at the office. Unfortunately the plan clashed with a visit from KKM staffs to supervise our Filariasis Elimination Programme, and the briefing wasn't really brief, so our morning roll-call was cancelled and the departure time was set back to about 10am.
  4. The drive to Tangkarason takes about 4 hours, and I am not quite a fan of long hours being stuck in the vehicle. If I would have my way, I would have popped a Tripo and snooze the whole journey but I had to give a talk and run a dialogue with the panicking villagers, so no Tripo for me, damn.
  5. Spent an hour and half demystifying Chikungunya to the people, answering FAQs and some teaching on Dengue and Leptospirosis. Now I've got it all covered I guess they cannot say they didn't see it coming! Anyway, we're still waiting for the blood-test result from the central lab in KK. Hopefully it's not Chikungunya or else we're looking at heaps of paperworks to fill up!
  6. The funniest part is getting them to pronounce Chikungunya correctly. After all that effort, I still get "sakit siku-sikunya" at the end. "Sakit apa?" "Sakit siku-sikunya" while pointing to the elbows. Sigh. Oh well, guess that's the things that makes my work interesting.

20100511

coffee, airplanes and mosquito bites......

  1. Stranded in KKIA for 4 hours before my flight to Sandakan. Had Mega McSausage for breakfast at McDonald's, where it's served with a hash brown and refillable coffee. Half way through the first cup, I decided not to torture myself with that and adjourned to Starbucks at the departure hall instead.
  2. Carelessly left my boarding pass in the toilet and had my name announced over the PA twice. I wonder if Jude from Engineering heard it and would tease me about it again. This would be the third time my name got announced in the airport, first KLIA because I miscalculated the 28 minutes KLIA Expres timing, second when I missed the morning flight to Sandakan (not my fault, the guy at ticketing screwed up my ticket). Luckily I was not surcharged for it.
  3. Going to KL this Thursday to have a check at my offer letter into the University. I know I was told it would be ready by mid-month, but I'm anxious about it, as some clinical candidate already got the calling letter.
  4. Anne's going to be due anytime soon, so I thought it'd be nice to be around when she delivers. Got a gadgety infrared thermometer that comes with 6 functions for the baby. I think Martin would be more excited about the thermometer than the baby would be. I know I am! Cool stuff there, tell you!
  5. Just as I'm leaving Beluran for good, there are rumours of Chikungunya in Tangkarason area. Last week when I first heard of it, here were 17 people who came to the clinic with similar symptoms, and this week, the cumulative number went up to 70! So I utilised the knowledge acquired from attending 3 ouitbreak management courses, put up and activated the rat, to go and see what's actually happening there.
  6. By the way, rat means Rapid Assessment Team. Another Rapid Action Team was also sent in to do fogging last evening.
  7. I'm getting that huge Banana Chocolate cake for our Secretaries Day celebration at Beluran KKIA.
  8. I'm still procrastinating to finish up the working paper for KASIH fund-raising... hopefully I can finish it at the office by tonight.

20100510

the search for the famous bridge no.8.....

After hearing so much about the restaurant at Bridge No. 8, I've decided last Thursday to finally give it a try. That was because my favourite grilled-fish hawker stall at Sim-sim Market was closed for renovation. I had to get directions from my sister to get there, and after one too many U-turns (apparently my driver never knew such place existed) we finally came to a place that says Jambatan 8. The search started at about 1pm, and we found this place close to 2pm.

Although the chaps carrying the wooden planks never heard of an eatery inside this settlement, the lady at the shed told us there is a place that sells food inside.

The whole length of the main bridge is made of concrete and wooden houses on timber stilts were built along it.

We walked until the end of the bridge, only to be told at the end that we were at the wrong village. The restaurant was supposed to be in the Chinese settlement, further down, with their own Bridge No.8. Disappointed but not defeated, we went on again, and after another one too many U-turns (yes, again) we finally got it.

The Bridge No.8, with Chinese characters around it. Must be the right one.

There is a kindergarten in front of the restaurant, and it was just a short walk to the entrance. There are 2 here, and since the one on the left says they serve no pork, more prominently, we tried that one first.

The restaurant also doubles as a place to get fresh seafood and fish. Just as we were seated, the lady-boss came to tell us they're closed for the afternoon, and suggested we go over to the other side instead. So we did, and they also were out for the afternoon.

It was only 10 minutes to 3pm and lunch was already over! At that time I was just too tired from all the walking about, and not in the mood for nice food anymore. So I told the driver to just go anywhere and get over with lunch.

Lesson learnt: be specific about what kind of eatery is okay when I say "anywhere"...

I was so moody and hungry then, I didn't even want to talk about where I was brought to have lunch.

random pictures........

Was in Kudat few weeks back attending a meeting, stayed at Marina Resort. The view from the hotel balcony.

The view from the room I stayed in

Celebrating Angeline's birthday at Le Rendezvous, Promenade Hotel, 17th April

Suzy, Sandra, Angeline, Emme, Henry

Sandra, Angeline, Emme

View from a scratchy window, during a morning flight to Sandakan. The scratches confused the camera's autofocus into macro-mode.

The same shot on different day, through a less scratchy window.

20100508

midnight ramblings.......

  1. Been trying to sleep but horizontal position makes me sick in the stomach, so I guess I might relief the stuffiness if I just sit a while and type away, at least until I get sleepy.
  2. The truth is, I've overloaded myself again with midnight binging. The Smiley Old Man's got a new product out, and I couldn't get my mind off it. It's the new black pepper marinade, and freshly crushed black pepper sprinkle. I was not even hungry. I guess I was never really hungry at times like this, just felt like having something to munch on while keeping a watch on Rory's new adventure in Yale and Lor's being called back to help Chris with his baby Gigi.
  3. True to the symptoms listed in Wikipedia (this disorder is yet to be classified under ICD10 or International Classification of Diseases ver.10) I am feeling pretty crappy about having stuffed my face-hole with such unholy food at such unearthly hours.
  4. I saw on Oprah today about the movie that she co-produced, titled Precious. It is about a young black teenager finding her place in the world that conspires to make her stay as unpleasant as possible. She dropped out of school, got into troubles with every other bad influences she can get into, made pregnant by her own father -- twice, had to raise the kids herself, her mother was abusive, but what hit me deep was when her parent asked her to look at herself and tell her that nobody will ever like her -- because she was fat. Huge. Obese.
  5. I mean, I was never beaten, ridiculed, raped or anything like that, but I felt her -- when I look onto my own image in the glass and I think to myself "disgusting blubbery hosebeast".
  6. Pheww, self depreciating mode at its thickest now.
  7. I've heard a lot in my life. About why all those dieting and detoxing, and attempts at gyming never work. Because I never follow through and make them work. Because I am too lazy to finish off whatever I started. Because determination isn't my middle name.
  8. Growing up in a world that glorifies everything small, lean, slim, fit, and all that clearly describes only a mannequin isn't easy. I wish sometimes that I have the guts to poke myself in the throat, maybe that will make it easier, but I don't. I wish sometimes I'd be obsessed with working out and detest any kind of caloric intake, but I'm not. Sigh.
  9. Perhaps the wall that I've built up to prevent from getting hurt is working antagonistically with any slimming regiment I have ever tried. The wall that shields me from the size-concerned-disapproval of the society. The wall that tells me that it is okay to be bigGER, as long as I am comfortable in my own skin. The wall that tells me that none of those other opinion matters save mine.
  10. It would have been a very comforting wall, if I could ever just entertain my own opinion of myself and make that the only thing that matter, but whenever I look at myself in the mirror, I still think "disgusting blubbery hosebeast". Backfired.
  11. But I guess I have to take things slowly, a step at a time. If I can survive the last 3 decades, perhaps I can survive a few more.

20100506

crumbs off arteo's plate...........

  1. Honestly, I've been stressed with the lack of posting in this blog, but every time I open the posting panel, there's a zillion other things I'd rather do first, than narrate the stuffs that were happening around me. Gilmore Girls, season 5 for example. Anyway, I think I'd just take a few minutes every time and write snippets as I go along...
  2. I'm trying to finish off paper works on my desk, though impossible it may seem, because new documents for me to check and sign keep on coming in before I finish existing ones...
  3. Keeping my social life alive and kicking by having the Messenger on while working may not be the best idea... but hey, its either this or none at all...
  4. The last time I called the University asking about the Offer Letter, they said it wasn't ready yet, probably by middle of this month. I am sure anxious about getting it early so I can settle my remaining work and maximise my leaves before I get-outta-this-place for good. Though I must say I am having mixed feeling about leaving work and becoming a student again...
  5. Been having prawns for lunch the past 2 days at Beluran. Sweet and sour chili prawns. Try not to think too much about the caloric implications, I may not have good humongous sized prawns anymore after I leave this place and got stuck in KL... maybe not even decent sized fresh fish, sigh.
  6. Don't know if it's too late to fill up on DHA and EPA, but I'm also popping those stinky salmon oils in bovine gelatine capsules, just in case it may still help with my failing memory. Now that I'm preparing myself for a half-decade commitment into memorising notes and exams again... perhaps I should throw in Kismis Minda while at it...
  7. The Transformers keychain I got from AirAsia for RM15 is now on clearance for RM5 only. Cilaka...
  8. We're celebrating Secretaris Day (Admin-staffs Day as we prefer to call it here) on 11thMay at the Clinic. There will be karaoke, and I'm sponsoring a BananaChocolate Cake from Secret Recipe, yay!
  9. Nine is a good number. I'll stop here...

sleep... or die early....

Another reason why it is justified to pop some good 'ol tripo when I'm anticipating a sleepless night, hah! Now we're talking evidence based medicine!!

Lack of sleep linked to early death
Yahoo!News

Sleeping less than six hours a night increases the risk of early death, it has been claimed.

Scientists arrived at the result after analysing data from 16 studies involving more than 1.5 million participants.

They found "unequivocal evidence" of a direct link between sleeping less than six hours a night and dying prematurely.

People who regularly had this little sleep were 12% more likely to die over a period of 25 years or less than those who got the recommended six to eight hours.

An association was also seen between sleeping more than nine hours a night and early death. This was thought to be due to long-sleeping being a marker of serious underlying illness rather than any effect of sleep itself.

Professor Francesco Cappucio, head of the Sleep, Health and Society Programme at the University of Warwick, said: "Whilst short sleep may represent a cause of ill-health, long sleep is believed to represent more an indicator of ill-health.

"Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take, and this pattern is more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work. On the other hand, the deterioration of our health status is often accompanied by an extension of our sleeping time."

The research, reported in the journal Sleep, reviewed 16 prospective studies from the UK, US, Europe and Asia which together monitored more than 1.3 people for up to 25 years.

In total, more than 100,000 deaths were recorded during the observation periods.

Pooling together data in this way, known as meta-analysis, can indicate patterns and trends that may not be obvious in individual studies.