till death do us apart

post title isn’t referring to this blog and i though.

just when you think this space is beyond dead, it coughed and sputtered to life yet again!

the past few days has been unfortunately gloomy for SAF and MediaCorp, 2 institutions that touch every singaporean’s life. although free-to-air may no longer be what is used to be, NS obligations are very much part and parcel of every singaporean son. whether you have served the nation personally or sent your son, boyfriend, husband or father off for NS or reservist training.

so it wasn’t unexpected that when actor Aloysius Pang was injured and subsequently passed away in New Zealand, there was a huge outpouring of grief and condolences because it does strike to the very core of our lives on this little red dot. the loss seems overwhelming as a very promising young man, well-loved by his colleagues and fans, had his life snuffed out so abruptly. somebody who has so much in front of him and yet deprived of a chance to see how far he can go.

this sense of helplessness is palpable and it got me thinking about a dear secondary school classmate, Poh Ann...

he too passed away in his prime, before his 30th birthday, just married for a few years. his wife had informed us when his colon cancer relapsed and became terminal. a big shock for us since he didn’t let us know about his first diagnosis.

his death struck me like a thunderbolt out of the blue not just because his was the first funeral of a good friend that i had to attend but also the realization that mortality does not discriminate against the young. i wasn’t prepared how deeply felt his passing had on me. it’s true that you never know which day will be your last, you just have to live each day fully so that when it’s time to go, you can leave with no regrets.guess i was yolo-ing even before the term was invented.

mothers in the office are now leery of their sons reporting for reservist training. having a husband back for in-camp training becomes a matter of unease. every life lost during peacetime military training is one too many, as long it’s not due to willful disregard of safety procedures. we can only salute and thank the serviceman for his ultimate sacrifice for our national sovereignty.

perhaps it is better to burn brilliantly and sparkle like fireworks.

end of the world (not!)

i realised that my blog was stranded in the wilderness for more than 2 years! it was a combination of laziness and with the advent of newer social media such as facebook, twitter and instagram, it takes monumental effort to sit down to put pen to paper (more like fingers to keyboard!) haha...

so what made me update this almost-forgotten blog?

well, i had the weirdest dream 2 nights ago... i hardly dream usually. i take it that my sleep is always deep and restful unless i had too much caffeine that day. :)

the scene was post-apocalyptic with widespread devastation, there were many casualties everywhere. was it an alien invasion? or a catastrophic flu outbreak? i don't know.

all i knew was that i was involved in a search and rescue operation, a highly risky exercise to look for "uncontaminated" survivors and evacuate them to safety. we had to determine on the spot if the survivors we found were to be evacuated via helicopters hovering right above us or left alone if they're medically too far gone or contaminated.

it was a highly stressful position to be in, as we play god and make decisions whether to save or leave them to die. not an easy decision to be made under very tense situations that could very well jeopardise the safety of the colony if we bring back the "wrong" survivors. or leaving behind those that rightly should be saved.

plus a real threat of being attacked by whatever out there added a palpable sense of urgency to our operations. i guess it's a case where if a job needs to be done then it should be done, come what may.

i hope i have the courage to step up to it when and if such surreal circumstances present itself.

photo credit: http://thegamerslookingglass.wordpress.com/

angioplasty

when is it considered too young to undergo angioplasty and be fitted with 2 stents?

before your 36th birthday?

wilson did an angiogram today and was given a choice between angioplasty and a bypass operation. guess it's a no-brainer... at least for the time being. i knew i was dealt the short end of the stick with regards to pre-disposition to heart diseases years ago. my mum had her bypass operation in her 40s while my dad had angioplasty and stenting done in his 50s.

that made me take my health very seriously. the scene of my mum in the icu ward after her operation was indelible. her lying immobile with many tubes and electrodes connected to various monitors made me realise how fragile life can be and i resolved that i will not want to be in the same position.

my dad's subsequent heart attack in the middle of the night reinforced the necessity of a healthy lifestyle. something that i took to heart (pun unintended). however, both events appeared so distant now and our daily diets are not as 'healthy' as can be since my parents are now under medication with regular followups.

i suppose wilson's procedure today is a wake-up call for all of us that we need to be mindful of our diet as well as to exercise regularly. at least estee is now cognisant that she can't continue with her sedentary and meat-loving lifestyle.

me? i shudder to imagine putting a catheter through a vein in my wrist to reach the arteries in my heart. just the thought makes my spine tingle and knees kind of soft so i guess my motivation will be to avoid such a situation.

you can call me a coward for that and i wouldn't mind a single bit. :)

photo credit: http://www.britannica.com

calorie count

i think it's impossible not to gain any weight during the chinese new year festivities. the chinese new year goodies are literally health hazards! apart from them being too 'heaty', they're also remarkably calorie-dense. check out the numbers published in the 'mind your body' supplement from the straits times.

peanuts (a handful, 20g) contains 10g of fats, 0.8g of sugar and 113 calories.
yusheng (1 serving, 387g) contains 42.6g of fats, 15.5g of sugar and 561 calories.
love letters (2 pieces, 26g) contains 2.1g of fats, 9.9g of sugar and 112 calories.
dried shrimp rolls (1 packet, 45g) contains 14g of fats, 2g of sugar and 228 calories.
kueh bangkit (2 pieces, 12g) contains 2g of fats, 2g of sugar and 46 calories.
pineapple tarts (2 pieces, 40g) contains 8g of fats, 12g of sugar and 164 calories.
bak kwa (1 slice, 57g) contains 7.8g of fats, 24.5g of sugar and 229 calories.
nian gao (1 slice, 20g) contains 0.1g of fats, 7g of sugar and 46 calories.

imagine you ate all of the above in between 3 meals during the chinese new year period. that will be a total of 86.6g of fats, 73.7g of sugar and 1,499 calories extra for the day. gosh!

scary, right? but i still can't resist the next piece of pineapple tart... lol... :P

register

it's a forgone conclusion that the men in white will call for an election this year.

so have you checked if your elector information is correct? do it here by 27 jan.

limp, limp

Gout and Hyperuricemia At A Glance

•Painful gouty arthritis is caused by uric-acid-crystal deposits in joint tissue.

•Gout is a chronic, progressive disease.

•The tendency to develop gout and elevated blood uric acid level (hyperuricemia) is often inherited.

•Gout and hyperuricemia are aggravated by obesity, weight gain, alcohol intake, high blood pressure, fructose in corn syrup found in soft drinks, abnormal kidney function, and certain medications.

•Gouty arthritis attacks can be precipitated by dehydration, injury, fever, heavy eating, heavy alcohol consumption, and recent trauma or surgery.

•The most reliable diagnostic test for gout is the identification of crystals in joints, body fluids, and tissues.

•The treatment of an attack of gouty arthritis is different than the treatment of hyperuricemia. There are two key concepts essential to treating gout. First, it is critical to stop acute inflammation of joints affected by gouty arthritis. Second, it is important to address the long-term management of the gout disease in order to prevent future gout arthritis attacks and shrink gouty tophi crystal deposits.

credit: medicinenet.com

episode 2

return of the gout. :(

had a bad feeling when i went out for breakfast with my sis today. already felt my right toe was out-of-sorts yesterday during yoga class but i thought and hoped that it was just my imagination. apparently, my imagination isn't not fertile. sigh...

the condition got worse throughout the day until i had to take a painkiller before i can go to bed.

ouch!

hi

another paper... actually planned to take it 1 week after the tutorial on the 13th and 14th but the last paper by sci this year is on the 17th.

i had sat in for the class previously at tampines but that was before i got the new textbook and before i cleared m5 and m9 so alot of what went on then wasn't fully understood. armed with the new text, i attended the night class at changi last month. this was to help me prepare for the paper and then go for the day class on the 13th and 14th for revision before attempting it today.

why the trouble? because this paper has a reputation on being very tricky and i didn't want to re-sit for it. i try my best not to do unpleasant things more than once if i can help it. ;)

thankfully, the tutorials by julia together with the study guide were really helpful in making it a successful attempt.

yeah!