and when she speaks
Saturday, May 16, 2009
This weekend has been a weekend filled with treats.Auntie Linda came by yesterday, wanting to treat me before I fly off to Chicago.And we had 3 kinds of crab, prawns, fish, pork ribs and chicken for LUNCH- the result? Overstuffed LAI sisters *laughs*Tonight; Uncle Ah Piau generously did the same; and treated us to a fantastic dinner. You guessed it- overstuffed again! *laughs*This morning I woke up to the sound of my handphone's alarm buzzing at 8am. I turned around and nuzzled Sze-Sze to wake up. She went groggily mmm? I said 'Let's go jog outside!'She turned her back towards me. And said 'the sun's out; not good' and proceeded to konk back to slumberland.I persisted.'SZEEEEeeeeeeee, come lah.....'She replied seconds later 'sun's too strong'I said 'the sun's only strong from 11am to 4pm!'She didn't budge.I edged closer to her side; 'SZEEEEE.....' in my most persuasive pleading voice.'Come la Sze. You said you want to lose weight... Let's go!''No need''You said you're fat......''Mmm..I feel skinny today'WHAT?! I gave up, turned back to my side of the bed... and konked til 10am.
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11:58 PM;;
Friday, May 15, 2009
We are all a little weirdand life's a little weird, andwhen we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdnessand call itlove*laughs* From StumbleUpon ;)
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8:06 PM;;
Thursday, May 14, 2009
It's so nice to have a friend who has been there through thick and thin for you; and who knows you in and out.A friend who is as crazy as you; and as loud as you; if not crazier and louder ;PA friend who has been there through your burps and farts and poop sessions (LOL) this is damn grotesque Kathryn; but hey- we've been through it all. And it only serves to show how close and comfortable we are with each other ;)A friend who is considered part of the family. You know this when everytime I go out with her; there are no questions asked =) We've been friends for a decade dear. A DECADE. I've grown with you through those years of wearing braces and being the 'BRACES DUO' prefects, the Britney Spears and khaki pants and purple fetish stage you were going through; and my roller bag, me being picked last for basketball or any ball games rather (hehehe* :p); my pink pants (remember?); our BLUR club :) and us jumping into the pool before any of the guys caught us ;PA friend who knows about the pedophilia little boy movie :p the lizard dying after a toilet incident :p the almost-X-rated movie we caught a glimpse of in Form 2/3? :p haaha A friend who knows :- I can't sing for nuts (although I PASSED MY VOCAL EXAM!) ; I can't remember song lyrics to save my life; I put on the old-fashioned auntie hair rollers when you drive un-embarassingly ;); what a vain-pot I am; what a sucker I am for ice-cream and good-looking chocolate brownies :)A friend who can tolerate my driving skills; and can tolerate my not-wanting-to-drive mood; and ends up driving me every week- *thank you for being so understanding* =) A friend who sabotages my diet plan each time we go out ;) cos she introduces the yummiest (although not-so-healthy) foods to me ;)A friend who loves scary movies and me, being such a good friend, always complying with that; and ending up not watching 3/4 of the scary movie because I end up closing my eyes and ears; and focusing instead on looking in between gaps through my fingers or looking at the popcorn on my lap ;)A friend who listens and cheers me up when I'm stressed and overwhelmed :)A friend who loves me for who I am and a friend who laughs at all my 'so-called' lame jokes ;)Love you very much dear.P.S. *hehehe* whacking you only means you're endearing to me ;Pxoxo
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6:04 PM;;
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Our BALI trip for the whole family; and to celebrate mum and dad's 26th wedding anniversary :)We were greeted by our tour guide; Willy- who couldn't have been more lovely; always joking and cracking us up. Arrived at Hyatt; and we all had the VIP treatment; where they put flower garlands around our necks; and there was a little traditional music band who played music each time guests arrived :)Love having breakfast in hotels; because I love croissants *hehe* Dad said 'I pay thousands of dollars for you to eat croissants?' ;) Bali is a breathtakingly beautiful place with remarkable people; their customs & beliefs rooted in their eternal search for peace which is embedded in most of them. They are such a warm group; because they are SO devoted to their religion (most of them are Hindus); but in a very peaceful serene down-to-earth sort of way; and we loved that. You could walk alongside the streets and never worry about snatch thefts. And their people were always offering thanks and offerings to their gods even when they bought new cars; or with a new addition to the family :)What we did and places we visited:-Kintamani - with fresh crisp mountain air and the scenic view of the active Batur volcanoBarong and Kris dance of the Mahabaratha epic at Batubulan village. We took pictures with the lovely dancers! Tampaksiring for the holy spring templeUbud Village for its painter's communityHandicraft villages along the way- saw intricate wood-carving and enjoyed the silverware shops :) Man; they have so MANY X-rated wood carving designs - unfortunately;I dare not post any of the pics I saw. Dad said it's because Kama Sutra is a big thing in Hinduism... Bought buah sala - mummy's favourite. She didn't even share!!:pBedulu Village to visit the Elephant Cave Tanjong Benow beach for groung glass boating to enjoy the corals and then, visited Turtle Island where we took pictures with all sorts of animals; a night bat; 60 year old turtles; iguana,snakes, hornbill... =) Lake Beratan and 'Ulun Danu' templeTanah Lot where the gorgeous landscapes were carved out by the tides, wind and the rain. The beautiful sea-temple along the coast line.Dinner was at the Jimbaran Beach where we sat facing the sea at night with beautful lights and music accompaniment :) That was a seafood fiesta and a true-blue candlelight dinner LoL. The sisters complained there weren't enough candles cos' it was still to dark to be able to peel the prawns and eat the crabs ;)Our last day; was the day we burnt a big fat hole in daddy's wallet =) *laughs*We did all sorts of water sports; para-gliding; banana boat; jet-skiing.Para-gliding is by far the most adventurous thing I've ever EVER done. In one swoop; you rise up with your parachute holding on for dear life - BUT once you're up in the air and looking down; it is a sight never to forget... Just looking down at the clear blue sea with its dark green corals; and the horizon beyond and the little chalets down there .. that was magnificent. Syu-Syu was with me; and at one point; she said she couldn't do it anymore; she was at the verge of a panic attack- she couldn't hold on any longer; so I just tried my hardest to get her to relax and pay attention instead to the view... She was like 'JIE; get him to stop now' half-way her voice was anxiety-stricken .. she said 'JIE; my hands cannot take it any longer' ...LOL. On the inside; I was thinking 'HOW on earth am I going to tell him when we're way up here NOW?' but it went well after that. I thought I was going to slip too; cos you have to hold on so tight to the strings above you... but then I wasn't too worried once I was up; because you know the wind will buoy you upwards anyway... :)We also had a full on spa treatment :) courtesy of daddy for experience he says ;PA Balinese massage followed by icky slathering of mud then yoghurt; and then a flower petal bath :)Had fish & chips for tea.And left BALI with a heavy heart but with about 400 over pictures and at least 10 videos to load from our cameras and videocam! =) *laughs*The most memorable event... Well; mum and dad's 26th wedding anniversary Dinner - we four didn't get anything; actually we wanted them to eat at this fancy French restaurant at Shangrila in KL but at the very last minute; we arranged to go to BALI so we cancelled that plan and decided to be spontaneous.Anyway, that night; I got the music band to come to our table and announced to the entire restaurant that it was mum's and dad's 26th wedding anniversary... and asked them to perform any love songs... then, dad suggested 'LOVE ME TENDER' *hehehe* daddy is a big of a softie in some ways :) and we love that!He got up and went over to mummy whose face was flushed red with embarassment... *laughs* and he held her hand and took her to dance on the floor... I know all the other customers at the tables and waiters and waitresses and even the boss of the restaurant whom we had met earlier stopped what they were doing to watch them dance.SLOW-dance that is ;)*laughs* YEs, we've got it all on video! :)They must have extended the song; because the music wouldn't seeem to stop. Then, they sang 'You're beautiful' and the boss got us to join the band in playing the instruments ;)Couldn't have been sweeter. Mummy and daddy definitely enjoyed themselves that night :) ahahahaha.I'm glad we did that =)Here's to everlasting love!
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4:23 PM;;
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Armed with medical knowledge gives you the upper hand of knowing roughly what the possible diagnosis could be or at least the differential diagnoses of the symptoms manifested...No doubt it is an advantage that you can put to good use in terms of helping friends' and family members' understanding -for those who come to you to help shed some light on medical lingo they don't understand or advice on the medical illnesses that they've been plagued with.BUT-this I have to admit; worry and fear hits me; sometimes unnecessarily- when it comes to my own close loved ones.I shouldn't be doing this... But I think it's natural (I guess) if you worry more- because after all; they're your own blood and family.Sometimes it's ridiculous; but I end up with sleepless nights just tossing and worrying for my loved ones- and I get worried sick... until I know they're in the clear. Just the other night at our hotel room in Bali; after a feast of seafood for dinner; I was happily in bed past midnight. Only one other sister was asleep. Next thing I know; past midnight around 12.30am; my sister's room's (it's a connecting two-room) phone was ringing... Sze-Sze picked it up; and I drowsily overheard her saying 'Jie is sleeping'..Then, she pestered me - I didn't want to move; I was comfortably sleeping and was hesitant in waking up...Then, she shouted urgently... 'Wake up JIE! Mummy vomited blood!!' WHAT?! I jumped out of bed and answered the phone.Daddy said mummy swallowed a fish bone just now during dinner; and she just had an apple (she tried eating it to remove the bone from someone's advice) and vomited it all out with blood...I ran off to her bedroom just a few rooms away.I entered the room; after dad opened the door and saw her face, looking up worriedly at me.Honestly; looking at her face; I was scared inside, of course. I didn't show it on the outside, because I knew she was already wrecked with worry.Eyes bloodshot and wet from tears. No, she wasn't crying... She was in severe pain from the fish bone stuck there. The pain kept on getting worse she said; and now, she was unable to turn her head left or right because that aggravated the pain.Her neck was red. And I was concerned about possible allergic reaction as well because hives was evident on her hands and neck.I asked her a few questions... no shortness of breath. no choking sensation. only one episode of vomiting. how much blood?...I honestly had never really dealt with a stuck fish bone in my emergency/family rotation before, but just looking at her face, stricken and fearful and in pain; I was definitely concerned. I went back to my room, googled things up, and made a immediate phone call to the 24-hour doctor on call from our hotel.Fast forward another phone call after the doctor did not get back to me in 7-8 minutes; this time, I told them about the blood in the vomitus incident and the doctor-on-call got back to me almost immediately.I told her the history; what mum did; no signs of dangerous distress ie SOB... and she advised us to go downstairs to the clinic just to look at her throat. But just before she phoned me, my mum called me back and said there was no more pain. Dad had asked her to down her throat with vinegar. But even then, I still could sense she was still worried.Image of her saying to me just minutes beforehand, 'No need to see the doctor la Sue (in her Hakka tone)... I won't die tomorrow right?'That question she threw me; with a hint of worried uncertainty; I knew she wanted re-assurance.So, I insisted we go down to the clinic despite there being no more pain, because I was unsure if she denied it just so she didn't have to go see the doctor --- and anyway, it would have been better for her own peace of mind for the rest of the night.I took her downstairs; held my mum's hands. I know how scary it is when you are uncertain and you have to go see a doctor. This I know and could feel- despite me myself being a doctor.I met the doctor; she used a tongue blade to peek through the bottom of her throat and saw no abrasions and no more bleeding.Mum was super relieved. And I was happy.Then, I gave my thanks to the young doctor on call and smiled gleefully :) I think she understood where I was coming from. I also apologised for troubling her past midnight being on-call. It's so nice to have this mutual understanding and concern between health professionals.... :)Brought mum back up to her room; and you could see she was happy now. And dad's face of concern turned into relief when I told him what had happened in the doctor's room.Mum gave me a big kiss and said 'Sometimes it's nice when your daughter takes care of you'I smiled and gave her a big kiss too and said 'good night' to both my parents. And walked back to my room with a big sigh of relief and gladness. And an overpowering sense of love for my two wonderful parents.
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9:11 PM;;
