I've always have this soft spot at saying goodbyes. Even fake ones like in the movies and dramas. It's just heartbreaking to see someone parting, going somewhere and only to return some time later at an unfixed date. Just heart-wrenching.
I attended my last dance class for now and it's just so sweet and nice of the classmates to have some sort of like a farewell for me although I'd just be gone for 2 months (or more). I shall miss the dance sessions, the jokes, the laughter and all the girl friends. It just made me feel like those times in school again where we can chat about anything but work.
*Sob* *sob*... I can only hope that this project will go well, I go, I learn, I do all I can, I come back and dance and have the fullest fun again. It is only when things are scarce or fading or you have to fight for it, only then you will realise how precious it is. One good example is driving my car to work, everyday about 80KM to and fro. On normal days, I dread driving to work because of the jam but once I've stopped driving for months and getting to drive again.. I would love the traffic jams anyhow.
So all my life here will pause, I will have to readjust to different way of living for awhile, finish the work, come back to a normal life which I'll enjoy and appreciate even more after each trip. To Zoe, Charmaine, Michelle (you can do it, don't give up!! :)) , Debra, Kat and Chloe... all the very best in the dance competition, I know you girls will definitely conquer and nail it, have fun and will see you all again very soon. Happy Dancing......and darn, I am going to miss every minute of it!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Risking life everyday
I will be off to another assignment again. Back to Jakarta. And this time it will be for the longest time I am ever going to have - 2 months and possible extension to 3 ...unless I have to fly back on emergency case again like my wisdom toothache 2 months ago. I really hope the rest of the wisdom teeth will just stay there as they are now, forever, without any problems.
As usual, visa application is needed and it'll be faster I do it on my own. I am so fed up and at the same time scared of the crime rates in major towns here now that I have to remove my necklace before I've decided to go to the embassy (for the 10th time or so I believe). I used to get stare on my necklace at LCCT airport. Regardless whether people would think of it, real or fake...for my own safety, it's best that I remove it. Father was robbed recently by an Indian fellow with a parang knife, jumped out of nowhere on his bike. Mother was chased by another Indian with a big stick aiming for her necklace. Both incidents happened just within less than 0.2KM radius of our used-to-be so peaceful and safe neighbourhood in Penang! If this can happen in my beautiful Penang... the possibility of it happening in PJ/KL is 100x more!! I am not exaggerating but if it never happens, it doesn't mean things are safe. Better take 500% precaution all the times!
So there was I was, parked at Wisma Time as usual. I resent parking near the Embassy or illegally along the road..so the only choice is for me to walk 10 minutes under the HOT SUN from my car to the Embassy, crossing some roads, passing by some construction areas, with lots of taxi touts, Indonesians, locals calling me, asking me if I wanted to take photo, need taxi, blah blah blah. I pretended that I was either poor Indonesian maid going over to get my working permit renewal or some poor local who was going to get some passport stuff done. I always try to give people impression that I am stupid or poor, to be safe. In another words, appear less interesting as much as possible, to avoid attention, in places where I feel unsafe. Today the police called me when I walked past their booth but I pretended that I was deaf and just continued on. In my mind, I just wanted to get the process done, get my passport and go home asap! It was freaking hot and my sunblock application has its timer ticking away..... SPF25.. :P
Then at this guard booth where I have to hand in my IC to take the visitor pass, there was this fat male in front of me sneezing so loud and using his hands to wipe off his *stuff*.... ewwwwwww.... I usually wouldn't feel disgusted at this but because of the recent H1N1 virus alert, it just doubled, tripled my fear! I had actually disregard the dangers of epidemic because it has never happened or shown its "face" in my life but after today, I will remind myself that if it never happens, it doesn't mean it is not there! Just like the robbery, snatch-theft and all the other crimes that are so rampant nowadays...(I should say nowayears!!!), I should be more cautious and be self-prepared. Okay, back to the sneezing part, I gave the guy a one-kind look, to tell him using my face and eyes that "if you're sick, please stay at home or at least have the courtesy to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze, hellooooo!!" and he seemed aware of it. I tried to take a step back but I didn't! I wonder why I didn't. I just stood there about 3 feet away from him. Maybe out of respect -- I didn't want him to feel that bad, making a whoo-hah out of the whole scenario. In my mind a question came, "Why am I risking my life for my company?" With the disease now categorised as pandemic and where everyone is advised to stay local and don't travel, we are risking our lives, to work for the company, to make sure everything is still running. I really salute all my teammates who are out there working on projects, scattered around the world. I've just labelled them, virus bombers (instead of suicide bombers because H1N1 is yet fatal). We go out, potentially could bring back the virus and *kaboom* the local people ;)
The H1N1 can be simply everywhere, not just in the flight or in affected countries but in the mini-market, in the office, in the restaurants, in kopitiams, just everywhere. What we can do now is to eat well, eat right to boost our immune system and stay healthy all the time, hopefully reducing our chances in contracting the virus. In these times, I really admire Singapore for what it is doing to control the outbreak. A company that I know was instructed to get disinfectants and face masks ready. Dettol is bought to clean up door knobs or to wash hands just in case the office is visited by some potentially infected strangers. Office is instructed not to allow anyone in, if possible. Foreigners from affected countries are rejected by companies to come for work if possible. Singapore knows that once someone is quarantined, the whole business will be affected. When no one is helping us, we have to help ourselves. Remember, when it doesn't happen to you (yet), it doesn't mean it will never be. And this applies not just to H1N1, it's in everything that we do in our lives. Better be paranoid than being foolish.
So this Sunday, when I am in the flight, I hope everything will go smooth. It's all for the little money that I have to earn in order to risk continuing this life.
Take good care.
As usual, visa application is needed and it'll be faster I do it on my own. I am so fed up and at the same time scared of the crime rates in major towns here now that I have to remove my necklace before I've decided to go to the embassy (for the 10th time or so I believe). I used to get stare on my necklace at LCCT airport. Regardless whether people would think of it, real or fake...for my own safety, it's best that I remove it. Father was robbed recently by an Indian fellow with a parang knife, jumped out of nowhere on his bike. Mother was chased by another Indian with a big stick aiming for her necklace. Both incidents happened just within less than 0.2KM radius of our used-to-be so peaceful and safe neighbourhood in Penang! If this can happen in my beautiful Penang... the possibility of it happening in PJ/KL is 100x more!! I am not exaggerating but if it never happens, it doesn't mean things are safe. Better take 500% precaution all the times!
So there was I was, parked at Wisma Time as usual. I resent parking near the Embassy or illegally along the road..so the only choice is for me to walk 10 minutes under the HOT SUN from my car to the Embassy, crossing some roads, passing by some construction areas, with lots of taxi touts, Indonesians, locals calling me, asking me if I wanted to take photo, need taxi, blah blah blah. I pretended that I was either poor Indonesian maid going over to get my working permit renewal or some poor local who was going to get some passport stuff done. I always try to give people impression that I am stupid or poor, to be safe. In another words, appear less interesting as much as possible, to avoid attention, in places where I feel unsafe. Today the police called me when I walked past their booth but I pretended that I was deaf and just continued on. In my mind, I just wanted to get the process done, get my passport and go home asap! It was freaking hot and my sunblock application has its timer ticking away..... SPF25.. :P
Then at this guard booth where I have to hand in my IC to take the visitor pass, there was this fat male in front of me sneezing so loud and using his hands to wipe off his *stuff*.... ewwwwwww.... I usually wouldn't feel disgusted at this but because of the recent H1N1 virus alert, it just doubled, tripled my fear! I had actually disregard the dangers of epidemic because it has never happened or shown its "face" in my life but after today, I will remind myself that if it never happens, it doesn't mean it is not there! Just like the robbery, snatch-theft and all the other crimes that are so rampant nowadays...(I should say nowayears!!!), I should be more cautious and be self-prepared. Okay, back to the sneezing part, I gave the guy a one-kind look, to tell him using my face and eyes that "if you're sick, please stay at home or at least have the courtesy to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze, hellooooo!!" and he seemed aware of it. I tried to take a step back but I didn't! I wonder why I didn't. I just stood there about 3 feet away from him. Maybe out of respect -- I didn't want him to feel that bad, making a whoo-hah out of the whole scenario. In my mind a question came, "Why am I risking my life for my company?" With the disease now categorised as pandemic and where everyone is advised to stay local and don't travel, we are risking our lives, to work for the company, to make sure everything is still running. I really salute all my teammates who are out there working on projects, scattered around the world. I've just labelled them, virus bombers (instead of suicide bombers because H1N1 is yet fatal). We go out, potentially could bring back the virus and *kaboom* the local people ;)
The H1N1 can be simply everywhere, not just in the flight or in affected countries but in the mini-market, in the office, in the restaurants, in kopitiams, just everywhere. What we can do now is to eat well, eat right to boost our immune system and stay healthy all the time, hopefully reducing our chances in contracting the virus. In these times, I really admire Singapore for what it is doing to control the outbreak. A company that I know was instructed to get disinfectants and face masks ready. Dettol is bought to clean up door knobs or to wash hands just in case the office is visited by some potentially infected strangers. Office is instructed not to allow anyone in, if possible. Foreigners from affected countries are rejected by companies to come for work if possible. Singapore knows that once someone is quarantined, the whole business will be affected. When no one is helping us, we have to help ourselves. Remember, when it doesn't happen to you (yet), it doesn't mean it will never be. And this applies not just to H1N1, it's in everything that we do in our lives. Better be paranoid than being foolish.
So this Sunday, when I am in the flight, I hope everything will go smooth. It's all for the little money that I have to earn in order to risk continuing this life.
Take good care.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Worthy and Yummy Food
I have given up with the quality and taste of many many hawker stalls especially around PJ. Not only the food was expensive but the taste was terrible!! Most are very salty and full with MSG! There are only 1-2 out of 100 that may be still worth trying but I swore unless I am starving to death I will ban many of the hawker stalls I've tried. For a bowl of RM4-5 noodles, I would say, just worthless. It's better I go for breads.
If you are getting exhaustive of what to eat around PJ area, try this restaurant at the Lower Ground Promenade, 1-Utama (same floor as the ATM machine floor in the old Wing, exiting the old wing car park) . I forgot the name of the restaurant but it's a very huge herbs red-coloured restaurant selling lots of bird nests and abalones. You wouldn't miss it if you're walking at the Lower Ground towards the Old Wing (or vice versa).
There is a small transparent kitchen on the inside of the restaurant's left hand corner and at first glance, you wouldn't notice there is even a small eatery area. When the restaurant was new 6 months ago, there wasn't any advertisement board telling people about it but now there's a menu board placed at the entrance and now there are new menu items!
I've tried the porridge and they are really SUPER DUPER DELICIOUS. The portion is also quite big and you will actually feel full. The ingredients are generous, depending on the type of porridge you select. Some consist of dried scallop, oyster and abalones (real abalones, not the sliced ones). The price ranges from min RM12 to RM28. The highest priced porridge comes with additional fish maw and sea cucumber. The taste is simply great because you need not add further white pepper or soya sauce into it. It just taste so aromatic from the mixture of the seafood ingredients.
Now there are new dried scallop fried rice, dried oyster fried rice and stewed rice. I've just tried the stewed rice (In cantonese it's called "Man Fan"). For me, I've never liked stewed rice because at first impression, they would be plain in taste and a little soupy maybe. But this one at the restaurant is totally delicious! It comes with generous servings of strips of scallops and sliced abalones (not the complete abalone as in the porridge) and inside the layer of Chinese cabbage, the rice is just yummy! It's stirred fried with egg and then stewed. You have to try it to know what I mean.
Looks real nice isn't it? Loads of sliced abalones and Chinese cabbage, drizzled with strips of scallops all over
Delicious stewed rice hidden inside. Lots of oysters inside too!
Delicious Snow Jelly with Gingko nuts in fresh milk for dessert!!! There are other versions in American Ginseng/white lotus seeds/red dates/dried longans/coconut milk.
For dessert, you can try the Snow Jelly with American Ginseng/dates/longans or those with fresh milk and gingko nuts, White Fungus with dates/longan/gingko nuts or the Almond soup and Cashewnut soup. All yummy to me! With one main course and one dessert, you'll feel full, real satisfied with the price you paid, with the tasty aroma still in your mouth when you walk out of the restaurant... and no thirst kicking in after 30 minutes later because of the ^@#$% MSG! The real "sweet and salty" taste of the food is due to the real ingredients being used which brings out the natural flavours... mmm.... you have to try to know what I mean again :)
And I don't think the price is expensive because of the generous servings. Furthermore, it's more worth it than you pay RM4-5 (or some even higher!) for a price of (yeah cheap...) noodles or rice that suck real bad! Don't get me started talking about Penang Prawn Mee at some restaurants in 1-Utama. To me those are really legal money extorters! They don't deserve to promote and sell Penang famous Prawn Mee if the noodles are cooked and served in those condition! Really spoil the Prawn Mee image altogether! I tried the Lam Mee Ya Prawn Mee and please, I beg myself and you not to return to the same bowl again! Suck 200% !!! There are many others that I've blacklisted, maybe I should start posting my BLACKlisted restaurants soon.
I should've taken the photos of the porridge, anyway I'll be back for more :)
If you are getting exhaustive of what to eat around PJ area, try this restaurant at the Lower Ground Promenade, 1-Utama (same floor as the ATM machine floor in the old Wing, exiting the old wing car park) . I forgot the name of the restaurant but it's a very huge herbs red-coloured restaurant selling lots of bird nests and abalones. You wouldn't miss it if you're walking at the Lower Ground towards the Old Wing (or vice versa).
There is a small transparent kitchen on the inside of the restaurant's left hand corner and at first glance, you wouldn't notice there is even a small eatery area. When the restaurant was new 6 months ago, there wasn't any advertisement board telling people about it but now there's a menu board placed at the entrance and now there are new menu items!
I've tried the porridge and they are really SUPER DUPER DELICIOUS. The portion is also quite big and you will actually feel full. The ingredients are generous, depending on the type of porridge you select. Some consist of dried scallop, oyster and abalones (real abalones, not the sliced ones). The price ranges from min RM12 to RM28. The highest priced porridge comes with additional fish maw and sea cucumber. The taste is simply great because you need not add further white pepper or soya sauce into it. It just taste so aromatic from the mixture of the seafood ingredients.
Now there are new dried scallop fried rice, dried oyster fried rice and stewed rice. I've just tried the stewed rice (In cantonese it's called "Man Fan"). For me, I've never liked stewed rice because at first impression, they would be plain in taste and a little soupy maybe. But this one at the restaurant is totally delicious! It comes with generous servings of strips of scallops and sliced abalones (not the complete abalone as in the porridge) and inside the layer of Chinese cabbage, the rice is just yummy! It's stirred fried with egg and then stewed. You have to try it to know what I mean.
Looks real nice isn't it? Loads of sliced abalones and Chinese cabbage, drizzled with strips of scallops all over
Delicious stewed rice hidden inside. Lots of oysters inside too!
Delicious Snow Jelly with Gingko nuts in fresh milk for dessert!!! There are other versions in American Ginseng/white lotus seeds/red dates/dried longans/coconut milk.
And I don't think the price is expensive because of the generous servings. Furthermore, it's more worth it than you pay RM4-5 (or some even higher!) for a price of (yeah cheap...) noodles or rice that suck real bad! Don't get me started talking about Penang Prawn Mee at some restaurants in 1-Utama. To me those are really legal money extorters! They don't deserve to promote and sell Penang famous Prawn Mee if the noodles are cooked and served in those condition! Really spoil the Prawn Mee image altogether! I tried the Lam Mee Ya Prawn Mee and please, I beg myself and you not to return to the same bowl again! Suck 200% !!! There are many others that I've blacklisted, maybe I should start posting my BLACKlisted restaurants soon.
I should've taken the photos of the porridge, anyway I'll be back for more :)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Taste of life
A part of my life is back! At least the dancing part. I am neither a super dancer nor a pro. I am just having fun. Everything is forgotten during that 1 hour session, everything. The only thing I am trying to fix right is my hand and leg coordination. Simple coordination such as right hand goes left, left leg goes right can be so confusing... you may think that you're doing the right direction but in the mirror, the actual result is all wrong. I feel like I am retarded at times looking at my movement in the mirror but it was huge fun :P
Another thing is trying to remember all the steps... boy, if I could remember all IPs and vlans and OSPFs and VRFs and port numbers, I just couldn't remember the dance steps even after 20 times of trying. That showed how many cells in my brain have been lost after so many years of wear and tear. The more I tried to remember, the more tired I become and the more confused the steps become. The only way is to try to forget it... and the steps will come with the music.
For the first time after so many months or I can say years, I danced 2.5 hours of jazz today. I've never felt so exhausted, ever since the first 2 classes with Bryan back in July/August last year. My brain was pumping and I was out of breath. That reminded me that my stamina has dwindled away just like that after 6 months of absence. My dance routine has enabled me to reach the highest peak of the Great Wall of China climb back in November. I think now I wouldn't be able to do the same.
The Thai lady instructor was real good. I like her. She repeats the steps many, many, many times and she just kept going and going. I wish I had her stamina. The hip hop dance session last Monday was taught by a Japanese lady...she's so cool. Her body is so flexible that even the warm-up sessions already killed me. The sit-ups made my tummy aching for 2 days already. But all the pain is fun. There's no other pain that is so fun except dancing I must say :)
There's an upcoming competition in SMASH in August, I wish I could stay longer in Malaysia and continue to practise and join the event.. I really wish. But looking at the nature of my job, it seems real impossible :( I began to think I must do something different, something that I've been wanting to do for some time but never got it started. Big thinking in the coming days before I will make my decision.
As for now, I feel as if a big chunk of lemak (oil) in my body was sucked out by a powerful vacuum cleaner. Such thought makes me less guilty for awhile for all those food that I've been eating lately :P I want more chunks of fat to be sucked out... have to make myself more disciplined to go for the dance sessions without fail. Try and you'll love it!
Another thing is trying to remember all the steps... boy, if I could remember all IPs and vlans and OSPFs and VRFs and port numbers, I just couldn't remember the dance steps even after 20 times of trying. That showed how many cells in my brain have been lost after so many years of wear and tear. The more I tried to remember, the more tired I become and the more confused the steps become. The only way is to try to forget it... and the steps will come with the music.
For the first time after so many months or I can say years, I danced 2.5 hours of jazz today. I've never felt so exhausted, ever since the first 2 classes with Bryan back in July/August last year. My brain was pumping and I was out of breath. That reminded me that my stamina has dwindled away just like that after 6 months of absence. My dance routine has enabled me to reach the highest peak of the Great Wall of China climb back in November. I think now I wouldn't be able to do the same.
The Thai lady instructor was real good. I like her. She repeats the steps many, many, many times and she just kept going and going. I wish I had her stamina. The hip hop dance session last Monday was taught by a Japanese lady...she's so cool. Her body is so flexible that even the warm-up sessions already killed me. The sit-ups made my tummy aching for 2 days already. But all the pain is fun. There's no other pain that is so fun except dancing I must say :)
There's an upcoming competition in SMASH in August, I wish I could stay longer in Malaysia and continue to practise and join the event.. I really wish. But looking at the nature of my job, it seems real impossible :( I began to think I must do something different, something that I've been wanting to do for some time but never got it started. Big thinking in the coming days before I will make my decision.
As for now, I feel as if a big chunk of lemak (oil) in my body was sucked out by a powerful vacuum cleaner. Such thought makes me less guilty for awhile for all those food that I've been eating lately :P I want more chunks of fat to be sucked out... have to make myself more disciplined to go for the dance sessions without fail. Try and you'll love it!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Who says pigs are lazy?
Who says pigs are lazy? Humans can be worse. Like me. 3 days of holidays and I only managed to clean up my sampah (rubbish) at home on the third day. Finally, the house floor is smooth again.. for the past weeks, I felt like I was stepping on the kaki lima (foot pavement along the street).
Packed another 2 big bags of clothes past midnight... now I have 4 big bags of clothes to be given away. I think they're worth at least RM1K there, what a waste. Some clothes I've worn for once, some never even been touched. I've packed up most of them and now I have to find the map to the orphanage in Puchong where my first batch of clothes went to, 1.5 years ago. My wardrobe is empty again, more space available to fit new clothes, ehem. BUT, I am not going to shop like crazy. Now that I realise how wasteful it is to buy clothes at the blink of an eye.. now I must think at least 10 times before I even set my eye on one. Those money are better off being put to use somewhere else.
I have to force myself on the go. I feel that now during weekends at home, I am even lazier than I was in Jakarta. At least I would spend 2-3 hours on the notebook, forcing myself to finish up some upcoming work but at home here, I would spend more hours on the tv instead. Real lazy person. I hope that my decision to go back to school is a good one. I think my time should be put to better use too.
And for now I gotta go search for some new and real useful clothes ;)
Packed another 2 big bags of clothes past midnight... now I have 4 big bags of clothes to be given away. I think they're worth at least RM1K there, what a waste. Some clothes I've worn for once, some never even been touched. I've packed up most of them and now I have to find the map to the orphanage in Puchong where my first batch of clothes went to, 1.5 years ago. My wardrobe is empty again, more space available to fit new clothes, ehem. BUT, I am not going to shop like crazy. Now that I realise how wasteful it is to buy clothes at the blink of an eye.. now I must think at least 10 times before I even set my eye on one. Those money are better off being put to use somewhere else.
I have to force myself on the go. I feel that now during weekends at home, I am even lazier than I was in Jakarta. At least I would spend 2-3 hours on the notebook, forcing myself to finish up some upcoming work but at home here, I would spend more hours on the tv instead. Real lazy person. I hope that my decision to go back to school is a good one. I think my time should be put to better use too.
And for now I gotta go search for some new and real useful clothes ;)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Hello World, I am still ALIVE!!!
I experienced the worst toothache in my life in Jakarta. The pain attacked out of nowhere and during the first night, my headache and toothache were beating in sync for 5 hours. I couldn't sleep at all, I just prayed. I guess my prayers were answered when the pain suddenly stopped at 5am and I finally could doze off for a few hours. Luckily that happened on a Saturday morning.
It was my wisdom tooth -- don't get it wrong. I didn't have to become an auntie to have wisdom tooth. It grew really horizontally out from the gum at the back of my jaw and has cavity and infection. I've procrastinated my decision to have it surgically removed despite my dentist' advice 2 years back. When it ain't broke, don't fix it right? Well this is networking's teminology but I think it doesn't work in the world of dental. I found a great URL that explains it all : http://perlindentist.com/service_4.htm
2 days passed by with occassional pain attack which lasted about 15-20 min each time. Still okay, I told myself. I wanted to bear with it for at least another week so that I can complete my Indonesia mission and go back to Malaysia to have it properly treated. Come Monday I was determined to try out Indonesian dental flavour. After a successful 2 hour meeting with the customer which took me my precious weekends to prepare 50 slides, I headed straight to Rumah Sakit Pertamina (RSPP) after doing some research with the local colleagues. The registration itself had me waiting for 25 minutes and I had to pay for registration first before I could see the doctor. It was a lady doctor. My first impression of the dentist's room... hmm.. not as bright as the one and only I've seen at Phileo Damansara. The tools were not shiny enough. The room design looked kind of old and still I wanted to give this lady a chance. I talked to her in mixed Bahasa and English. She took a look and after listening to me, she asked me to come back for surgery on Wednesday. Gave me painkiller and antibiotics and that's it. It took me another 25 min to wait for the prescribed medicine at the hospital's pharmacy.
Went back to hotel, had fun dinner with colleagues (I really miss our lunch and dinner sessions, it was full of long chats and uncontrollable laughters, this bunch of colleagues that I know is really fun :)) I forgot if there was pain or not but I didn't want to take any chance, popped in the painkillers and antibiotics and I went to sleep, it was a sound sleep. I was happy when I woke up. No problem eh..
The next day I was supposed to return the call to the doctor's clinic in RSPP to agree on the surgery schedule. I didn't call. I thought the painkillers would help me in my quest for another week of battle. After all, my flight back to KL is next Wednesday. It was a very hot day, come lunch time, after the meal, the pain kicked in. It was really painful that I had to hold back my tears. The painkillers couldn't help me in time as it needed 1-2 hours to kick in. By 3pm, I was normal back. The painkillers made me happy, like caffeine.
Then came dinner, it was another great dinner with the bunch and after that the show began, again. I took in more painkillers and more before I went to bed. I had already prepared myself mentally to go for surgery at RSPP in case it got worse. 3am, the pain woke me up just like that from my deep sleep! I was searching frantically and desperately for the painkillers. I tore open the capsure that contained the antibiotics (I thought they were painkillers initially) as fast as I could and poured them into my mouth. It was real bitter. At that time, I felt like a drug addict.... I guess this is how drug addiction is like..?
The painkillers as usual did not kick in until this time God knows when. I couldn't go back to sleep. My head, jaw, ear were beating in long, torturing sync and I turned on my laptop, searching for any available flights out of Jakarta. I told myself --- I couldn't be living like this on painkiller every 3 hour. Something was really not right. After all, I was supposed to only take in max 3 painkillers a day...
No flight could be booked less than 24 hours. Mati. I could only decide, pack now, check out and leave for airport immediately or wait for RSPP to open and go for the surgery. I kept thinking about these 2 options while packing. It was THE decision when I asked Her. 3 tossed "yeses" and I left the hotel room. In the taxi, I still couldn't believe what I was doing.. It was 5am at that time.
Searched for the Airasia sales counter upon reaching the airport. I didn't even think if it would be open and luckily it was! Thought the first flight out is 8:25am as seen online but the salesgirl said there was an available seat on the first flight out at 6:25am. No hesitation at all, bought the ticket and popped in more painkillers so that I could have a calm flight at least.
Upon reaching KL, I called my dentist directly. His schedule was always full, even on weekdays so I begged to slot me in because I couldn't wait any longer. The painkiller has worn off and I have no other choice. The lady on the phone was kind enough to slot me in a 12pm appointment. I was in pain while waiting for my turn...it was terrible feelings without the painkiller. Dr. Tan cleaned and remove the infection. He told me that I couldn't go for surgery if the infection was still there else even anesthetic wouldn't help me. After that session, I was happy... the pain gradually ceased after a few hours. I was able to sing to my favourite songs in the car!
And today, my schedule for surgery finally arrived. I have prepared myself mentally for it. I've read all the gruesome stories from the Internet and from friends about the surgery and post-surgery recovery and all the worst thing that could happen. Thanks to a crazy friend who helped me with my nightmare countdown as well! I guess no pain could be worse than the toothache itself. The whole process took 1.5 hours. I was given 2 jabs first and the pain was bearable. The numbness feeling kicked in and I tried to think about IPs, routing solutions as much as I could. The sound of drilling, sucking, metal tools hitting each other... I kept thinking about the GRE tunnel question my colleague asked me this morning. The doctor has to cut the tooth into pieces and during pulling, it could just hear the tooth being "uprooted" from its veins... just like a tree being cut and fall down, but my case it's being pulled out. I didn't notice the complete tooth was finally taken out after many many attempts. Next, I could just feel my mouth full of threads over it. Finally it was over. I am so glad. I thought like I've just done bungee jumping and if I could go through this, I could go through many other gruesome things.
I am typing this while having the cotton in my mouth. I couldn't talk. The admin lady gave me very good pointers on how to take care of the bleeding so that it could recover faster. I feel that I am drinking a lot of blood now instead of water. The pain from the jaw is slowly being felt ... I hope it won't be as painful once the anesthetic wears off. I think I had 4-5 stiches. It must be a real big hole.
One Indonesian colleague told me there's a song that sings, "Biar sakit hati, jangan sakit gigi" because heartache will go away but toothache is so torturing haha.. he seemed right. I am so glad. I made it, whether I wanted it or not. From now I'd make sure I go visit my dentist as advised, even if I think there's nothing wrong with my teeth. Prevention is always better than cure. To add on that, I think I have to go for my medical checkup soon too. Hello world, I am still alive! :)
It was my wisdom tooth -- don't get it wrong. I didn't have to become an auntie to have wisdom tooth. It grew really horizontally out from the gum at the back of my jaw and has cavity and infection. I've procrastinated my decision to have it surgically removed despite my dentist' advice 2 years back. When it ain't broke, don't fix it right? Well this is networking's teminology but I think it doesn't work in the world of dental. I found a great URL that explains it all : http://perlindentist.com/service_4.htm
2 days passed by with occassional pain attack which lasted about 15-20 min each time. Still okay, I told myself. I wanted to bear with it for at least another week so that I can complete my Indonesia mission and go back to Malaysia to have it properly treated. Come Monday I was determined to try out Indonesian dental flavour. After a successful 2 hour meeting with the customer which took me my precious weekends to prepare 50 slides, I headed straight to Rumah Sakit Pertamina (RSPP) after doing some research with the local colleagues. The registration itself had me waiting for 25 minutes and I had to pay for registration first before I could see the doctor. It was a lady doctor. My first impression of the dentist's room... hmm.. not as bright as the one and only I've seen at Phileo Damansara. The tools were not shiny enough. The room design looked kind of old and still I wanted to give this lady a chance. I talked to her in mixed Bahasa and English. She took a look and after listening to me, she asked me to come back for surgery on Wednesday. Gave me painkiller and antibiotics and that's it. It took me another 25 min to wait for the prescribed medicine at the hospital's pharmacy.
Went back to hotel, had fun dinner with colleagues (I really miss our lunch and dinner sessions, it was full of long chats and uncontrollable laughters, this bunch of colleagues that I know is really fun :)) I forgot if there was pain or not but I didn't want to take any chance, popped in the painkillers and antibiotics and I went to sleep, it was a sound sleep. I was happy when I woke up. No problem eh..
The next day I was supposed to return the call to the doctor's clinic in RSPP to agree on the surgery schedule. I didn't call. I thought the painkillers would help me in my quest for another week of battle. After all, my flight back to KL is next Wednesday. It was a very hot day, come lunch time, after the meal, the pain kicked in. It was really painful that I had to hold back my tears. The painkillers couldn't help me in time as it needed 1-2 hours to kick in. By 3pm, I was normal back. The painkillers made me happy, like caffeine.
Then came dinner, it was another great dinner with the bunch and after that the show began, again. I took in more painkillers and more before I went to bed. I had already prepared myself mentally to go for surgery at RSPP in case it got worse. 3am, the pain woke me up just like that from my deep sleep! I was searching frantically and desperately for the painkillers. I tore open the capsure that contained the antibiotics (I thought they were painkillers initially) as fast as I could and poured them into my mouth. It was real bitter. At that time, I felt like a drug addict.... I guess this is how drug addiction is like..?
The painkillers as usual did not kick in until this time God knows when. I couldn't go back to sleep. My head, jaw, ear were beating in long, torturing sync and I turned on my laptop, searching for any available flights out of Jakarta. I told myself --- I couldn't be living like this on painkiller every 3 hour. Something was really not right. After all, I was supposed to only take in max 3 painkillers a day...
No flight could be booked less than 24 hours. Mati. I could only decide, pack now, check out and leave for airport immediately or wait for RSPP to open and go for the surgery. I kept thinking about these 2 options while packing. It was THE decision when I asked Her. 3 tossed "yeses" and I left the hotel room. In the taxi, I still couldn't believe what I was doing.. It was 5am at that time.
Searched for the Airasia sales counter upon reaching the airport. I didn't even think if it would be open and luckily it was! Thought the first flight out is 8:25am as seen online but the salesgirl said there was an available seat on the first flight out at 6:25am. No hesitation at all, bought the ticket and popped in more painkillers so that I could have a calm flight at least.
Upon reaching KL, I called my dentist directly. His schedule was always full, even on weekdays so I begged to slot me in because I couldn't wait any longer. The painkiller has worn off and I have no other choice. The lady on the phone was kind enough to slot me in a 12pm appointment. I was in pain while waiting for my turn...it was terrible feelings without the painkiller. Dr. Tan cleaned and remove the infection. He told me that I couldn't go for surgery if the infection was still there else even anesthetic wouldn't help me. After that session, I was happy... the pain gradually ceased after a few hours. I was able to sing to my favourite songs in the car!
And today, my schedule for surgery finally arrived. I have prepared myself mentally for it. I've read all the gruesome stories from the Internet and from friends about the surgery and post-surgery recovery and all the worst thing that could happen. Thanks to a crazy friend who helped me with my nightmare countdown as well! I guess no pain could be worse than the toothache itself. The whole process took 1.5 hours. I was given 2 jabs first and the pain was bearable. The numbness feeling kicked in and I tried to think about IPs, routing solutions as much as I could. The sound of drilling, sucking, metal tools hitting each other... I kept thinking about the GRE tunnel question my colleague asked me this morning. The doctor has to cut the tooth into pieces and during pulling, it could just hear the tooth being "uprooted" from its veins... just like a tree being cut and fall down, but my case it's being pulled out. I didn't notice the complete tooth was finally taken out after many many attempts. Next, I could just feel my mouth full of threads over it. Finally it was over. I am so glad. I thought like I've just done bungee jumping and if I could go through this, I could go through many other gruesome things.
I am typing this while having the cotton in my mouth. I couldn't talk. The admin lady gave me very good pointers on how to take care of the bleeding so that it could recover faster. I feel that I am drinking a lot of blood now instead of water. The pain from the jaw is slowly being felt ... I hope it won't be as painful once the anesthetic wears off. I think I had 4-5 stiches. It must be a real big hole.
One Indonesian colleague told me there's a song that sings, "Biar sakit hati, jangan sakit gigi" because heartache will go away but toothache is so torturing haha.. he seemed right. I am so glad. I made it, whether I wanted it or not. From now I'd make sure I go visit my dentist as advised, even if I think there's nothing wrong with my teeth. Prevention is always better than cure. To add on that, I think I have to go for my medical checkup soon too. Hello world, I am still alive! :)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Kata-katakan saja
It was so hard to find this song...the original one! This song must come from the 80s. I've heard it long, long, long time ago and I heard it again when I was in Jakarta. I was determined to find the mp3 version.
It brings back a lost memory. A memory that was almost forgotten. When I heard the song, it just struck me as if a piece of my mind that has fallen off somewhere 1 million KM ago, suddenly came back and was reattached to my head.
There is a new version now sung by Kahitna. It has more ballad to it but I still like the original one sung by Harvey Malaiholo. But do listen to both. I love both :)
After listening to it over and over and over and over again I think now I remember what the memory was. It was during my tenties, well if anything between 11-19 is called teen, between 20-29 is called twenties, I suppose anything between 0-9 is tenties? During that time, I was in primary school and I remembered many nice Malay songs that I used to sing. I had a classmate who's small-sized but she always liked to dress up heavily. She liked to put on heavy make-up, sing and dance. I still remember her name - Nurhazanun Hanim... and at that time, such name is considered as very long. She sung Belinda Carlisle - Circle in the Sand, Si Jantung Hati, etc. These are the 2 I still could remember. She always performed during Hari Kanak-Kanak (Children's Day) and Hari Penyampaian Hadiah (Prize Giving Day). We always liked to watch her and she was very famous at that time.
During Hari Kanak-Kanak, we had ice-creams, curry puffs, snacks and we didn't have to study. How I miss those days! During Hari Penyampaian Hadiah, those who always got prizes would have to line up outside the Dewan (Hall) getting ready to walk up to the stage to receive prizes. I still remembered the feelings, so happy and so proud at that time! I still remembered my competitite self. I've always been competitive since small - now that I realise....
This is the original version from Harvey Malaiholo. This video feels so old now that we're into 21st century but the song, the picture is filled with memories and so nice to sing along with.
This is the version by Kahitna - just as beautiful!
Enjoy the songs. I lived in the 80s and these songs bring real great feelings and memories. I miss my tenties and I will remember those times. I am happy my tenties were great, I have lived my best tenties.
It brings back a lost memory. A memory that was almost forgotten. When I heard the song, it just struck me as if a piece of my mind that has fallen off somewhere 1 million KM ago, suddenly came back and was reattached to my head.
There is a new version now sung by Kahitna. It has more ballad to it but I still like the original one sung by Harvey Malaiholo. But do listen to both. I love both :)
After listening to it over and over and over and over again I think now I remember what the memory was. It was during my tenties, well if anything between 11-19 is called teen, between 20-29 is called twenties, I suppose anything between 0-9 is tenties? During that time, I was in primary school and I remembered many nice Malay songs that I used to sing. I had a classmate who's small-sized but she always liked to dress up heavily. She liked to put on heavy make-up, sing and dance. I still remember her name - Nurhazanun Hanim... and at that time, such name is considered as very long. She sung Belinda Carlisle - Circle in the Sand, Si Jantung Hati, etc. These are the 2 I still could remember. She always performed during Hari Kanak-Kanak (Children's Day) and Hari Penyampaian Hadiah (Prize Giving Day). We always liked to watch her and she was very famous at that time.
During Hari Kanak-Kanak, we had ice-creams, curry puffs, snacks and we didn't have to study. How I miss those days! During Hari Penyampaian Hadiah, those who always got prizes would have to line up outside the Dewan (Hall) getting ready to walk up to the stage to receive prizes. I still remembered the feelings, so happy and so proud at that time! I still remembered my competitite self. I've always been competitive since small - now that I realise....
This is the original version from Harvey Malaiholo. This video feels so old now that we're into 21st century but the song, the picture is filled with memories and so nice to sing along with.
This is the version by Kahitna - just as beautiful!
Enjoy the songs. I lived in the 80s and these songs bring real great feelings and memories. I miss my tenties and I will remember those times. I am happy my tenties were great, I have lived my best tenties.
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