aeba, urti, pen warranty and lime sulphur for bodhi.....

1. Didn't get much studying done yesterday and I'm blaming it on the actifed I've been taking to help me breathe. Got this second round of URTI with AEBA just before coming back to KL, which was irritating because I just recovered from one shortly prior going back to KK.
   
2. Restarted immediately on the acute rescue for asthma and loaded up on my daily fizzy vitamin C and batches after batches of the salty lime with Sheshe Cao cooling drink. Miraculously it actually works to shorten the cough duration. Plus of course I am already on my third bottle of Ubat Batuk Cap Kelapa Laut Afrika, which I consume in the fashion of chugging from a cheap whiskey bottle.
3. Came out of the house, away from the bed today, hoping that I could catch up on some reading in Starbucks. I know I could go through at least a chapter or two sitting here, but I should have also left this computer at home. Internet is distracting. What was I thinking?
4. Caught up over lunch with an old friend who happens to work in MidValley. The food at the food court is horribly expensive. Same goes for the taste, horrible.
5. Got my pen back from Faber Castell. The service provided by this brand is unbelievable! I got my expensive pen fixed for free, and the warranty goes on for life, and need not bring the purchase receipt for servicing. Then I brought in another pen which I bought probably in Ming Kiang or somewhere back in KK, a plastic cover that snapped and they got it replaced for me too, free of charge.
6. Just 3 weeks ago I accidentally dunked my (another favourite) ball-pen into the washing machine, and though the ink cartridge didn't survive the spin cycles, the body was still ok, except for some hardened ink part on the cover. I told them about it and they agreed to have a look at it and see if they can get it replaced for me for free. Faber Castell is so my favourite stationery brand!
7. Got myself a bright red gel-roller pen.
8. Went past this bonsai kiosk and was tempted to get one for myself. But bonsais are so bloody expensive (RM200++). So I got some lime sulphur solution (RM6/bottle) from the kiosk instead, to help with Bodhi's parasitic bug situation.
9. I think I should shut down the computer now and get some reading done.

missed flight........

So it happens that I'm going back on Sunday after all...

the divine silence........

1. I had the most liberated worship that night - no music, nobody else watching, nobody else listening, no reservation - it was just God and me - it was very poetic, really - I sensed Him whispering on the wind that blows on my face, I opened my hands and touched Him, and He comforted me. It was one of the most tangible experiences I had of God’s presence. He was there, I swear! (Cafe OAC, Friday, April 14th 2006)
2. Reading back my old entries in my old blog (the Friendster blog, back at the time when Friendster was still cool), I can't help but feeling like I'm reading someone else's writing. I could barely remember the last time I used such a language to talk about the relationship I had with God.
3. I think it is just best, and wisest, to say that I do not know what's happening. Some may want to call it the desert years, Fr. Green called it the dry well, St John of the Cross used the analogy of the Dark Night. To me, it is just that my God is being silent. Or that I am being oblivious to His signs, I don't know.
4. ..........
5. Yeah, I don't know.

arteo and bkteo went to bintang walk......

1. Intended to wake up early today to do a bit of house cleaning, but woke up late this morning. Indigestion made me feel bloated the whole night and woke up a couple of times to make myself some ENO. Slept a bit better only after the alarm clock rang at 8am. Finally decided to start the day at 9 something, made breakfast of chicken-ham sandwich we bought from JUSCO yesterday. Finished the second half of Toy Story 3 while having breakfast.
2. I watched Toy Story 3 four times already.
3. Went to Bukit Bintang for some shopping. Ben bought jeans for himself and some other surprise goodies for some people (o:3 hehehe... from UNIQLO. The hype is getting slower and before long I think the crickets can slowly move in already, just like any fad in Malaysia.
4. Lunch was at Yin's Herbal Soup, at LowYat Plaza. We both had mussel chicken soup meal with free honey tea. Having soup with herbs, white carrots and wolfberries always give the feeling of a wholesome meal. Set lunch comes with vege, chicken cooked with soy and the free drink.
5. Got some trays to organise the kitchen from DAISO.
6. Now back for a short siesta before heading out to Cheras for steamboat dinner at Cheras with Jeremy.

arteo watched toys story 3, three times.....

Think I'm stepping into the fanatic zone, watched Toy Story 3 twice in the normal format and once with the producer and director running commentary on, all within the time span of less than a week! Freaky. Anyhow, here's some "easter eggs" or hidden trivia that can be found throughout the cartoon..

1. "A113," the number of a classroom at CalTech where many Pixar animators studied, shows up as an Easter egg in every Pixar film. In the "Toy Story" series, it's the license plate on Andy's mother's car.
2. Sid, the bully from the first movie who wears a skull T-shirt, appears as a garbage man in the new film wearing the same skull T-shirt.
3. There's a postcard on Andy's dresser addressed from the featured characters from last year's "Up," Carl and Ellie Fredrickson.
4. Lightning McQueen from "Cars" is referenced a few times throughout the film: A miniature toy car at the daycare center, on a child's shirt at the center and on a fictional train that shares McQueen's number, 95. That number is itself an Easter egg, referring to 1995, the year the first "Toy Story" was released.
5. A calendar from Pizza Planet is clearly seen. Pizza Planet has appeared in every Pixar film except "The Incredibles."
6. Pixar has a history of hiding a character to be featured in a later movie somewhere in a current film. Nemo first appeared in "Monsters, Inc." and "Toy Story 3" newcomer, Lots-o-Huggins Bear (who, ironically, is not very huggable), first appeared alongside a bed in "Up." A poster on Andy's wall shows a character from next year's "Cars 2." It shows Finn McMissile, a British sports car/secret agent who plays a major role in the sequel.
7. Buzz Lightyear's batteries are from "Buy 'N' Large," the giant corporation responsible for ruining the planet in "WALL-E."
8. Totoro, the furry, friendly creature from Hayao Miyazaki's Japanese animated classic "My Neighbor Totoro," shows up as a toy that Woody meets. Pixar founder John Lasseter has called Miyazaki an inspiration for his work, and Lasseter produced his most recent film, "Ponyo."
9. A significant amount of the film takes place at a daycare center. At the daycare center, Mr. Ray the Scientific Stingray from "Finding Nemo" makes a cameo. Nemo himself appears as a sticker on Andy's toybox.
10. "Toy Story 3" director Lee Unkrich performs one line in the movie, as the voice of the Jack in the Box character.
11. The "Toy Story 3" screenplay took 2 1/2 years to write and storyboard.
12. John Ratzenberger keeps his streak alive of appearing in every single Pixar film made to this point. For "Toy Story 3," he reprises his role as Hamm.
13. Ken, voiced by Michael Keaton, was based on a 1988 version of him called "Animal Lovin' Ken" which included his "own chimpanzee to care for and love." Um, okay. The Barbie featured in the film is based on a 1983 version titled "Great Shape Barbie."
14. Ken wears 21 different outfits in the movie.
15. Woody has 229 animation points of movement in his face. Buzz has 215 animation avatars in his face.
16. There are 302 characters in the film.

medicines, fire, dinner and junkmails.....

1. Finally give in to proper oral medications. Went out to the pharmacy earlier to get myself tablet salbutamol and oral prednisolone for my asthma and of course, ubat batuk cap Kelapa Laut Afrika for the cough. Still gulping down the salty pickled lime steeped in hot water, as mom did before. Got them from the Chinese Sinseh Pharmacy last night during dinner with Ben.
2. Talking about Chinese Sinseh Pharmacy, one just got burnt this morning. Heard the fire-engine siren while taking shower, and when we went back to OUG for breakfast, it was quite surprising to see the Sinseh we went to last night was on fire. Too bad we didn't buy from that shop because the service was a tad bad.
3. Sent Ben to KL Central after breakfast, then to the pharmacy and straight back home. Slept a good part of the noon off, hoping for the fever to subside. Still coughing though, and the type that makes you see stars at the end of the coughing bouts. No fun, no fun at all.
4. The nurses cooked ayam masak merah, fried fish and vegetables for dinner. Was forced (ok la, invited) to down a huge plate of rice!! Ohh the caloric punishment is just flashing in my eyes!!
5. 4 more minutes before I can go off... better get things packed up first.
6. Cleaned my email just now, removed 4,087 read and unread mails from the inbox, took more than a few minutes to delete everything.

barney, hi5 and sesame street.....

1. YihYi was asking for Barney and Hi5 CDs few days ago when I called back. Thought she was asking for a Barney toy. Got her the crayons, and will be on the lookout for Barney CDs but nope, no Hi5 or any craps like that from me. Actually I am against Barney myself, prefering Sesame Street instead (I grew up with it, remember the pie-man who always fall down the stairs with the number of pies according to the number of the day? Or the Choose the Odd One Out Game? Classic, man!)
2. But since YihYi belongs to this generation that adores the softy purple sissy tyrannosaurus, ugly yellow triceratops with suspicius looking green spots up her thigh and that other green dinosaur of unknown species) I'll give in and buy her that.
3. I think it's my duty to introduce the magic of Sesame Street to YihYi. Okay, Sesame Street CD for YihYi, coming up!

uniqlo, mickey mouse t-shirts and urti.....

1. Finally stepped into the Genting Casino last weekend. I was never a lucky gambler, so I left Jey to do the gambling while I just watched. He won about RM400 from playing Baccarat thanks to me staying off his back, I think. The winnings got us a seafood meal at Port Klang on Sunday. Thanks Jey! Now I'm a big fan of salted yolk crab... yum, yum!!
2. Went to Bukit Bintang Fehrenheit 88 for the newly opened UNIQLO boutique yesterday. Arrived there at 1030 thinking that I could catch some breakfast there maybe before the crowd comes in, but to my horrible surprise the queue was already zigzagging outside the shop and continued into the main F88 building. so in the spirit of kiasuness, I joined in the crowd and queued at 1030, forgoing breakfast and finally got in at about 1115am.
3. The stempede inside was so crazy, people elbowing each other to get stuffs on the rack as if they're free. The best deal for their opening promotion was probably the jeans trousers, but most disappointingly their sizing only went up to waist 36 max. What, there are not obese people in Japan? Felt so sidelined!! Anyway I was determined to get something after lining up so much, I don't care if I only went back with some handkerchieves or something... Came out only at around 2pm.
4. UNIQLO doesn't sell handkerchieves. Damn. So I got myself 2 pairs of undershirts and a Tshirt with Mickey Mouse picture on it. Not the best fit even at size XL. Oh well...
5. Feeling a bit feverish when woke up this morning. Coughing since yesterday and I've depleted my stock of Kelapa Laut Afrika from the last episode of URTI. Trying hard not to cough on my patients' faces during consultation. I don't know if it's me or what, but Klinik Dr Azizah Puchong supposed to be quite free (according to the nurse) but within a few hours I've seen 21 patients, and dishing out sick leaves like a jolly soul in festive mode. Still considering if I should start myself on antibiotics...

answer for JerryInc.....

locum /lo·cum/ (lo´kum) [L.] place.

---

locum te´nens , locum te´nent a practitioner who temporarily takes the place of another.

Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers. © 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

Noun

1.

locum - someone (physician or clergyman) who substitutes temporarily for another member of the same profession locum tenens backup man, fill-in, reliever, stand-in, backup, substitute, relief - someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult); "the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes"; "we need extra employees for summer fill-ins"

patients stampeed and missed dinners.....

1. Locum isn't so bad today. Think I had only about 10 - 15 patients so far. Last night was bad, with less than 60 patients for the whole day, more than 30 was served in the duration between 1730 and 2300hr. With the average of one patient every 10 minutes I wasn't even allowed a time for dinner, and when I finally got a breather, it was already 10pm!
2. October has been a crazy month with all the departments deciding to give our assessments and presentations simultaneously. After the Research Methodology paper last Wednesday, the exam climate seems to cool down a little bit, leaving only one assignment left, which is the journal article critique to be due on Thursday. As usual, me being me, I've not started anything on it yet. Instead I've decided to treat myself with a season of Chuck, 13 episodes of it in just 2 days. Started on the second season today.
3. Shah the personal trainer has been texting me to remind me about our paused training. Needed that break to focus a bit on the exams. With about 2 weeks break between now and the last session we had, I'll have my stamina down to the level of a potatobag on the treadmills. Sigh.
4. Went out with Ben last Thursday, didn't do the Japanese food @ JayaOne though, instead went to SS2 for pigging out session at the WSK and followed by dessert before calling it a day.
5. Deep in the mode of pondering about the future and the life decisions made at the present. I wish I'm out partaying in a Haloween Party like previous years, instead I'm stuck here doing locum. Next year Haloween I must join a dress up party, I don't care. I guess I'll be a terrorist again though.
6. Damn hungry now.

how to work better.........

1. DO ONE THING AT A TIME
2. KNOW THE PROBLEM
3. LEARN TO LISTEN
4. LEARN TO ASK QUESTION
5. DISTINGUISH SENSE FROM NONSENSE
6. ACCEPT CHANGES AS INEVITABLE
7. ADMIT MISTAKES
8. SAY IT SIMPLE
9. BE CALM
10. SMILE

arteo rambling while waiting for exam time...

1. Been on D for the past 2 days, took my 3rd and last from the previous stock today. Been prompted to restart by comments from people that I've seemed to pack on some flab lately. Valid reason for that observation -- I've frozen the last few sessions of gym training to cope with the exam stress this month. October wasn't a month to relax at all.
2. Ben has been around for the past month but he also seemed to be rather busy with his course schedule. At least then I don't feel that bad for not meeting up with him since the day he checked in at Shah Alam. Tonight we're going out to have that internet purchased offer meal at Jaya One we've been postponing for a while.
3. After being off D for almost half a year, the side effects of it seem to be felt stronger. Mood swings are more extreme and that snappy tendency is there all the time. Good thing today is the last of the never-seems-to-be-ending series of continuous assessments and presentations and reports for this semester. Next I can focus to make a come back to the gym and I won't be needing these anymore.
4. I miss working. It's totally different being a student. At this age, adjustment is kinda slow, even after half a year of doing post graduate degree.

taxation explained.....

Got this from a circulating email. Like the analogy a lot, especially the caption right at the end of it.

UNDERSTANDING TAX

Suppose that every evening, 10 men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to RM 100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay RM 1.
The sixth would pay RM 3.
The seventh would pay RM 7.
The eighth would pay RM 12.
The ninth would pay RM 18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay RM 59.

So, that's what they decided to do....... The 10 men drank in the bar every evening and were quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner said, "Since you are all such good customers, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by RM 20".

Drinks for the 10 men would now cost just RM 80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men, the paying customers - how could they divide the RM 20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realised that RM 20 divided by six is RM 3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

Therefore, the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing.
The sixth now paid RM 2 instead of R3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid RM 5 instead of RM 7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid RM 9 instead of RM 12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid RM 14 instead of RM 18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid RM 49 instead of RM 59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a rand out of the RM 20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got RM 10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a rand too. It's unfair - he got 10 times more benefit than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get RM 10 back, when I got only RM 2? The wealthy always win!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists, labour unions and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

arteo's assignment on malaysia's progress on achieving the fifth millenium development goal...

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is a set of eight targets that each of the 192 member states of the United Nation and some other international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. The goals are targeting essential developmental and socio-economic issues of the states, generally in health related areas, and are indicated by specific measurable indices. The areas of concern are to eradicate extreme poverties, to achieve universal primary education, to promote gender equality among women, to reduce child mortality rate, to improve maternal health, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases such as tuberculosis, to ensure environmental sustainability and to encourage global partnership for development.

The fifth element of the Millennium Development Goals spells out targets to achieve in improving maternal health. There are 2 targets attributed to this goal, the first being a reduction by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio; and to achieve, by 2015, a universal access to reproductive health. Under each of these goals, there are specific indicators to chart the progress towards achieving the goals.

Malaysia has seen a heightened national concern and has been involved in international effort to promote health in general, and particularly the maternal and child health throughout the post independence era. Even before the Safe Motherhood Initiative that was launched in the 1980s, this country has gone through impressive reduction of the reported maternal mortality ration, which was halved between 1957 and 1970, from around 280 to 141 per 100,000 live births. The figure continued to come down to under 20 per 100,000 live births, which is a level very close to that of mostly advanced countries.

According to the United Nation Development Programme report in 2004, Malaysia approached the reduction of the maternal mortality through six key elements. These includes improved access to, and quality of care of, maternal health services including family planning, and by expanding health care facilities in rural and urban areas. Malaysia has invested in upgrading the quality of essential obstetrics care in rural clinics and district hospitals, with focus on emergency obstetrics care services. Streamlining and improving of the efficiency of referral systems and feedback systems to prevent delays in service delivery. On the human resource angle, Malaysia has invested in training and increasing the professional skills of trained delivery attendants to manage pregnancy and delivery complications. A comprehensive monitoring system was implemented which focuses on periodic reviews of system investigation, including reporting of maternal deaths through confidential enquiry systems, and to work closely with communities to remove social and cultural constrains in improving acceptability of modern maternal health services.

It is doubtlessly challenging, and requiring tremendous amount of commitment, human and financial resources, and innovative programmes to further reduce the maternal mortality to a lower level, even to sustain the maternal mortality at the current low level. Continued monitoring of maternal deaths, improvement in access and quality of care is of utmost importance to further lower maternal mortality. The shift from direct to indirect cause of maternal mortality requires greater involvement of multidisciplinary professionals and sectors, including Non-Governmental Organisations and religious leaders to address more complex factors of maternal mortality.

Based on the evident and accounts of development gains over the last recent decades, Malaysia has kept itself on-track in achieving its ambition and goals. For this country to become a fully developed nation by 2020, this positive weather of growth needs to be carefully sustained and improved, including continuous human development, especially with emphasis on higher education and trained skills. Essential issues that need to be continuously addressed are such as poverty and inequality, education, gender issues, health improvement, sustained development, issues pertaining to foreign migrants, improvement of information systems and partnership with multisectorial agencies for development.

Economically, the vast majority of remaining poor households are Bumiputeras, and are mainly concentrated in the agricultural sectors especially in the least developed states. Addressing the ethnic group disparities in maternal mortality continues to be a challenge for the health policy makers. At the same time, the high maternal mortality rate among immigrant women, comprising 42 percent of maternal deaths in this country in the year 2000. Migrant women face a limited accessibility to maternal health services, especially those lacking of valid travel documentation. This limited accessibility problem will cascade to a bigger problem resulting from unwanted pregnancies such as complicated trial of abortion, and abandonment of newborns.

Over the past decades, there has been a shift in preference of delivery at home to institutional delivery centers such as the hospitals, the health clinics and the alternative birthing centers (popularly known as the ABC in rural setting). Therefore, there is a need to increase and establish more of these facilities to provide safe deliveries closer to communities and to prevent overcrowding of the maternity units in the hospitals. These facilities must be equipped with full range of antenatal and maternal services such as family planning, management of complicated pregnancies and counseling services, as well as staffed by skilled professionals and adequately equipped for basic essential obstetric care and provision for referrals.

With the advancement of the information technology era, we are seeing more and more well informed and educated clients, together with the rise in educational level of Malaysian women. The societies nowadays are better empowered to make their own decisions and informed choices regarding healthcare, delivery and family planning. There health service provider, therefore, has to be better prepared and equipped to meet the raised expectations of the clientele, and to be able to provide necessary information to facilitate autonomy in client’s decision making. Good use of information and communication technology will eventually lead to positive changes in health seeking behaviour and healthy lifestyles.

Even though maternal deaths have become rather relatively low in Malaysia, there is still a need to ensure the preservation of quality, accuracy and reconciliation of data obtained from the government registration system. As proposed by the UNDP Malaysia report, for analytical purpose, it would be helpful to have the adjusted and the unadjusted annual maternal death figures to be made readily available. Provision of regular and detailed reporting of contraceptives prevalence rate would provide a better comprehensive profile of maternal health.

is it november already??

I've been reading on Maslow's theory and how it is linked to Sartre's philosophy on existentialism on the field of existentialist psychology during locum. Then I bought some medicine from the clinic which requires me to open an account. Seeing my age calculated a 31 years and 8 months, brings me straight away to my yearly blues -- occuring mostly in November -- the period when I ponder back on what legacy have I created, and what significance I have achieved in life. This is also the month when I ponder on the philosophy of existantialism... sigh...

arteo's homemade dinner.....

How to make SALMON AND ALFALFA BREAD SUSHI

Ingredients needed: wholemeal bread, salmon spread with mayo (shown here - Ayam Brand), Alfalfa sprouts and nori sheets. Needed also is the sushi roller made from bamboo sticks, called the sushi maki sudare.

First, lay the nori sheet on the sudare, and a piece of bread on it.

Then the fillings. I'm also trying with seafood mayo, also by Ayam Brand.

Then roll the bread into a cylinder in the shape of a maki. Wet the loose end of the nori with water and dab it on so it holds the shape of the maki.

Voila!

Can be cut into bite sizes but the knife used must be sharp enough to cut through the wet nori, can be quite challenging!

Sedapnya...

take home lessons.........

After a sleepless night and a appetite-less day, finally the crisis at hand comes to a slow plateu and a steep anticlimax. Anyway, there are repercussions from this event and the most important thing is that I learn from it.

1. At the end of the day, it is true about how it is impossible to please everybody especially when you are in the super-visible position of obligatory duties (willingly or unwillingly) so just be weary of the 20% that will make noise and stirrups.
2. Be extra careful of the 80% nonetheless. Slacking here can cause severe negative implications.
3. Be careful about saying something against another person, even to the person you trust. Misquoting is a rampant endemic in any relations. Go full blast when talking nice about somebody else, though.
4. In a conflict, be quick to admit wrongs and be soft about wrong accusations. Eventually you will be heard, so be patience.
5. Duties, works and projects are fleeting events in life. Preserve relations if it is worth keeping, that should be the priority.
6. Know who you true friends are. They may not be the ones talking the nicest to you.

feed a girl and you feed the whole nation.....

An Essay On Gender-Selective Micro-financing And Women Empowerment
by Arteo

For ages, certain societies has seen unequal treatment towards women as compared to men in many important aspects such as bodily integrity and autonomy, in getting education, in having marital, parental and religious rights, and many more. Another aspect that has in the recent decade been brought to prominent attention is the gendered poverty. This phenomenon has a simple meaning, that men and women both experience and respond to poverty in different ways. The solution, however, is not all together simple.

Poverty is perpetuated by a complex set of factors. Other than gender differences, other factors that come into importance are ethnicity, income, health status, access to resources, politics and hierarchies. It Is proven, by addressing gender as key strategy in implementation of any developmental assistance programme produces sustainable mechanism for alleviating poverty.

The International Labour Organisation acknowledges a strong connection between vulnerability of impoverished women to underemployment and low-wages. And has proposed various strategies to combat this problem. Based on a study by Buvinic (1996) it is stated that the most straight forward vehicle to empower poor women is through economic empowerment, which means increasing their productivity in home and market production and to increase their income from work. One of the most popular and proven forms of economic empowerment for women is by providing microfinancing services.

The World Bank states that microfinancing enables poor women to become economic agents of change by increasing their income and productivity access to markets and information, and decision making power. Microfinancing is just a means of providing impoverished women with financial crediting, usually in small amounts, to enhance the productivity of their own small enterprises and other income-generating activities in which they invest. Income generating activities encompasses a wide range of activities such as small business promotion, cooperatives, job creation schemes, sewing circles and credit and savings groups.

Indeed the world is in no shortage of success examples proving that microfinancing to women results in elevation of their social status, independence, improved income and negotiating power. Women are also better able to exercise their rights to sexual and reproductive health.
Learning from a United Nations Development Programme sponsored microfinancing project in Chifeng, Mongolia, apart from the high loan repayment rate, it was found also that the participants were more confident in making decisions and using the loan funds, and were able to provide a clear and transparent fund and credit record-keepings during the audit. They have managed to reinvest earnings to expand and diversify beyond their initial enterprises. They also frequently talked about allocating their earnings to the education of their children, including the daughters.

Dr Alan Rosenfield (Dean, Columbia University School of Public Health) during the panel discussion on the Microcredit Summit Campaign hosted by UNFPA in 2006, noted that when women are better off, so are families and societies. Women empowerment is essential to economic growth, democracy, social justice and human rights.

Microfinancing aims to make small differences in small steps, in lives of women. By feeding opportunities to one woman at a time, she may not ever feed the whole nation as it were, but she will be able to tend to her family better, and give them a livelihood. That, more than anything, means the whole world to her.

My essay, as submitted today for Principles of Family Health module. Not easy okay, to start writing again after so many years!!

arteo's new fav song: the rainbow connection...

Written by Paul Williams and used by Kermit the Frog, of The Muppets, Jim Henson Productions

THE RAINBOW CONNECTION

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic....

Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
La, la la, La, la la la, La Laa, la la, La, La la laaaaaaa

arteo still alive.....

1. I've been in KL for almost a month now but still no post ups of whatever's been happening here. Got no valid excuse though, not that I've not been able to connect to the internet, not that nothing interesting has happened, not that I lost my fingers and can't type (palis-paaaaalis) so excuses schmexcuses, I'll spare you guys of it.
2. Just a quick post to ascertain that I am still alive and kicking, and enjoying very much of the course I am taking at the moment (gasp, my homework! at the thought of that...) and I will be updating pretty often soon, or at least I'll try to.
3. Till then ;o)

it's almost 2 am and i'm still wide awake......

boom-de-ah-daa, boom-de-ah-daa...

Usually sticky tunes are irritating but somehow this one is okay, featured by Discovery Channel as their theme song.

2008 version



Astronaut 1: It never gets old, huh?
Astronaut 2: Nope.
Astronaut 1: It kinda makes you want to...
Astronaut 2: Break into a song?
Astronaut 1: Yep!

I love the mountains,
I love the clear blue skies,
I love big bridges,
I love when great whites fly,
I love the whole world,
And all its sight and sound,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da..

I love the oceans,
I love real dirty things,
I love to go fast,
I love Egyptian Kings,
I love the whole world,
And all its sight and sound,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da..

I love tornadoes,
I love arachnids,
I love hot magma,
I love the giant squids,
I love the whole world,
It's such a brilliant place,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da..

2009 version



(Astronauts still singing refrain from last commercial)
Astronaut 1: Man, I cannot get that song out of my head.
Astronaut 2: Totally, I’m going again.
(Melody begins, astronauts begin to sing)
Astronaut 2: I love the mountains,
Astronaut 1: I love the sun so bright.
I love crustaceans
I love the stars at night
I love the whole world
So many things to see
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da

I love to catch fish
I love the lemur eyes
I love the future
I love when humans fly
I love the whole world
No plave I'd rather be
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da

Still dirty, still loving it
I love to blast off
I love adrenaline
I love the big bang
I love where air is thin
I love the whole world
And being part of it
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da

The Original Version



The song used in the ad is a re-writing of a traditional camping song known as I Love the Mountains or I Love the Flowers, sung to the tune of Hoagy Carmichael's 1938 "Heart & Soul", featuring a chorus of "boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da"

I like the flowers, I like the daffodils,
I like the mountains, I like the rolling hills,
I like the fire place, when the light is low,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da...

'a' is for arteo......

1. What is your name : Arteo
2. A four Letter Word : Apes
3. A boy's Name : Andy
4. A girl's Name : Alexandria
5. An occupation : Art Director
6. A color : Amber
7. Something you'll wear : Anklet (not)
9. A food : Appam
10. Something found in the bathroom: Air freshner
11. A place : Ampang
12. A reason for being late : A-dog-ate-my-keys
13. Something you'd shout : Aaaarrrgghhhh!!!
14. A movie title : Ada apa Dengan Cinta?
15. Something you drink : Apple-juice
16. A musical group : Abba
17. An animal : Ambuk (monkey in Bruneian)
18. A street name : Alor (as in Jalan Alor)
19. A type of car : Audi
20. The title of a song : Angel's Lullaby

Rules:
It's harder than it looks! Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag twenty people. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real...nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

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!!
   

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...

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!!

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.