A Different Kind Of Blackout

Not the electricity blackout.

Two nights ago, I fainted and experienced a blackout tat lasted ard 15 seconds.

Here's wat happened:-

I just had a midnight snack, Roti Prata, with A and was crossing the road when I hit the concrete on the pavement curb (I dun know how best to describe this). My little last toe on my right foot started bleeding and I hurried to cross the road then got a wet tissue to wipe my little toe. I bent down from a standing position (there was nowhere to sit along the pavement) to wipe my toe. Stood upright. Then decided to take another tissue to wrap my little toe up as it was still bleeding.

Just when I stood upright the 2nd time, I felt whoozy...my vision became unstable and I felt cold sweat creeping out of my skin. I was fainting!

Quickly I called out to A to hold me. Then I felt my eyelids close, my limbs go weak...a darkness took over while I was being lowered to the ground. Blackout.

15 seconds later (I was told tats roughly how long I took to wake up, if longer, an ambulance would probably take me away), I opened my eyes again.

(Damn, I alighted at the wrong mrt station. Little India instead of Dhorby Ghaut. Coz I was blogging while on my way to work.)

After I woke up, I realised tat I was sitting on the pavement, leaning against A, covered in cold sweat and still had the unbalanced feeling. Being weak, I sat there for a few minutes more before A walked me home.

Scary huh? At least for someone who doesn't experience fainting much.

My parents and friends told me to do a body checkup to find out the cause of the fainting spell. So I surfed the web for information and found tat there are soooo many medical checkup/health screening packages available! From less than $100 to $1000+.

So instead of booking a checkup randomly, I consulted a doc yesterday and was told this:-

My fainting incident was probably due to a lowered blood pressure at tat time. A sudden drop of blood pressure can happen when u suddenly felt stressed or pain and the body is in shock. For example, this happens when a person got hurt and bled or when a person received a shocking news.

The doc advised tat a checkup can be done to determine if a person is diabetic or anaemic which are more prone to fainting.

He also said tat I do not have a cause to worry. But if the fainting occurs more often, then its a cause for worry and he would then recommend tat I see a Neurologist to scan my brain.

Doc said tat for my case, I can do a checkup as a precaution but it wouldn't really help. And tat I shld be careful when bending down in future and most important of all...

DO MORE EXERCISE

to make my heart stronger...

Perfect Marriage

Guess I am really to the age where women (or their parents) start getting worried if they are ever going to get married or that they will become a spinster.

No, no. I am not worried tat I am not married at 31 years old. In fact, I dun even have any inclination of getting married (though many pple warned tat my thinking will change with age). Maybe its the job I am in, seeing many couples getting divorces and knowing the reasons behind these divorces...its disheartening u know...Or it could be becoz pple around me having problems with their relationships and I too start having doubts about the existence of a "Perfect Marriage".

There is no such thing as a "Perfect Marriage"!

If I just burst tat bubble for u...well, tats just too bad. Reality IS hard to swallow anyway.

Of coz I dun mean that all marriages end in divorces and all relationships are doomed. There are couples who found equilibrium in their marriages, committing themselves to their family and their partners even if the responsibility part outweighs the love and romance they get before marriage. There are couples who maintain their relationships by making an effort, empathize with their partners and showing more than a little care and concern.

U reap wat u sow. By making the first step to improve the relationship/marriage, one might be able to have a more lasting relationship/happy marriage. Think abt it...

(My two-cents worth: Marriage is meaningless if both parties are unable to commit and live for each other. Marriage tat end in a divorce is just a bloody waste of time and energy. Better to remain single and in a happy relationship than to be married and unhappy. )

Pre-End of Year Review 2010

Had the sudden urge to blog, about what? I actually have no real idea. Maybe a little pre-end of the year review of my year 2010.

Approaching the christmas and new year season, cheerful spirits and lightened moods greet me with open arms. I try to put the negative thoughts, feelings and energy behind me. And focus on the joy and gratitute for wat life/god has endowed/given me.

Lots to be thankful for: my loving family, my loyal friends, my accomodating colleagues (at least some of them....hmm...away negative thoughts), good food to fill my stomach, money to buy my needs & some wants, a stable job with its ups & downs (though I still feel like changing job...for advancement purposes), sound & peaceful sleep at night, opportunities for travel to see the world (my firm trip and short trips), etc etc...

I never really like making resolutions but I do have a few wishes for the year to come.

Year 2011, please grant me the following wishes:

1) Better health - LESS OR NO MORE: bodyaches, neckaches, chest pains, gas-sy/bloated stomach, flu, sore throats, coughs.

2) Become less irritable

3) Find a better job with great colleagues + good bosses + good pay

4) Be able to clear all credit card debts and save lots of money

5) A little windfall will be much appreciated

6) Blessings to my family and friends that they have a good Year 2011 as well.

May all our wishes come true!

November 2010 Updates

Snitching a little time to blog during my lunchtime. To be exact, I have abt 30mins....

So wat have I been up to this 1 month since my last post?

1) Getting sick perpetually. I have this sickening gas filled feeling in my stomach which resulted in lots of burping and some farting. Think it might be some digestion issue coz the feeling gets worse after food. The doctor's prescription only helps for a while and it came back last weekend again.

2) I sprained my back on an mrt coming to work 1 day, for no good reason! I was not carrying anything heavy nor doing any stretching. It just happened. My mum said its due to "heatiness" in my body, I have absolutely no idea but I am getting pains and aches every now and then.

3) U may not be interested to know this but I have been expelling smelly urine and motion from my body lately. Maybe its due to the "heatiness" my mum was talking abt. Or my body could simply be failing on me.

4) Badminton sessions. Been playing badminton with some friends during the weekend (whenever we managed to book a court) to make sure I exercise somehow. Sadly my attempt at swimming didnt work out too well though, I only swam like one evening during this month so far.

5) Mood swings. Am trying to calm down when facing pple who irritates me or whom I immensely dislike and be benevolent to their innocent/not-so innocent actions/words.

6) Chanced Encounter/Rekindled Friendship. A happy thing happened this month though, I ran into Felicia my poly good friend! Its a good start to a rekindled friendship. I was so happy to see her again after losing contact for abt 10 years.

7) I watched Harry Potter 7 Part I....but I guess most people did too.

8) My planned trip to Yangon, Myanmar at the end of the year has been cancelled due to fears of political unrest there. Actually I am not too sure of the situation there...but since I am a foreigner, I have no business doing there when the country has its own things to work out.

9) 2nd Batam trip of this year, targetted at the last week of this year. 1 for the start of the year, and 1 to end off the year. Not too bad, an R&R short trip to get away from work. Maybe this time I can finally try Spa?

10) I have been chasing this k-drama called "Love In Heaven" which has I think 80+ episodes. Bought the show quite a long time ago but only took it out of box recently. Good drama btw.


I didnt complete this blog post in 30 mins...I did it like 1 hr 30 mins coz I fell asleep on my desk in the middle of it. Its a monday thing.

Inception

Three (3) months after watching the movie "Inception", I have failed to do a decent write up on the show. Seems like a mouthful to explain the movie in detail and hard to start pen-ing down the explanations to some queries of the movie...but its again laziness being the reason why it took me 3 months with no result.

For those who haven't watched the movie, please go buy its DVD. Its guaranteed to be good...in fact, think I will buy one to collect and rewatch.

Although I initially thought I understood most parts of the movie, I just read this post by my friend Su and found that I have misinterpreted some parts of it. Heng ah (Luckily), I never write my post...LOL....or else ma-lu.

Anyway, for those who want some of their questions abt the movie answered, please click on the following link and read on...


http://i-miss-elmo.blogspot.com/2010/08/inception-answers-to-your-questions.html

Thanks Su! For posting this excellent blog post. ^_^ (u did wat I couldn't complete for 3 whole months.)

Gifts - value or thought?

U know the old saying tat when buying a gift for someone, its the thought tat counts and not the worth/value of the gift.

I always kept tat in mind when picking up a gift for someone. Be it for birthday, anniversary, wedding, newborn, housewarming, christmas, new year or watever occasion. I will think if the gift suited the person, whether he/she will like it and/or whether its useful to him/her. Can't say tat I am spot-on correct everytime but at least I put some thought to it.

So wat is the recipient side of the story?

People might say "thank u", "I love it", "its just wat I always wanted" or some niceties as response.

I find tat I generally only have the "thank u" response, then I take the gift without further expression or action. Thereafter if u see me using the gift
, it probably means I love it n its useful. But if the gift never see the light of day after it has broken out of its wrapping, then it might mean I dun really fancy it. But hey think of it the good way, I might treasure it so much tat I can't bear to use it.

In any case, I do appreciate all gifts from my friends n love ones. If u dun fall into those 2 categories, well then it will depend very much on the gift itself.

Wat irks me most is a type of person who opens his/her gift n start eyeing on others' gifts. whether to compare or out of envy/jealousy. Then he/she will make remarks as to how he/she thinks the gift is not to his/her liking. Hello? Where is common courtesy and gratitude to the person who bought the gift?

Hell! Its worse when one asks another how much angbao/red packet $ he/she has received from the same source...shameless...

So the next time u buy a gift or receive one, do put some thought into it.

3, 2, 1....Fly Away...No?

Something just happened to K's holiday to Perth.

K was scheduled to take an afternoon flight but she missed it coz she forgot her VISA!

Now with Singapore passport being so widely accepted by so many countries and us Singaporeans being exempted from VISA requirement in a lot of countries as well, its not surprising tat we might forget to check if we actually need a VISA permit.

Anyway, Australia definitely needs a VISA permit for entry. From wat I heard from J, its ASEAN countries tat we do not need VISA...am not too sure myself but I think its best to check.

I feel kinda bad coz of this incident. Becoz I didn't think of reminding her abt her VISA when she bought her tickets and also coz when she was at the airport LOST without her VISA, she called me many times n I didn't even get her call as my HP was in my office drawer. Though she managed to get another fren to apply the VISA, the approval came in too late and she missed her flight. :(

I do wonder if I am in a similar situation who would I call....hmmm...first I think I will call Goon ba, then if he is not available maybe its K - J - A - G...this kind of order. Why this order? Of coz I will find the person who travel the most mah...LOL!

So, I decided to draft this checklist for points to note when traveling overseas:-
1. Passport
2. Plane ticket/E-ticket to exchange for Boarding Pass
3. VISA
4. Baggage weight limit
5. Restrictions on liquids aerosols gels in hand carry bag
6. No weapons or sharp objects in hand carry bag
7. Be at the airport at least 2 hrs before flight time to check in

Is there other points I missed out? Do let me know k.

Childhood Myths & Superstition

Had this conversation with a fren n mentioned an old habit of crossing one's fingers when u really want something to happen. So she made jokes abt crossing toes as well, but crossing toes will cramp right. Lol.

Anyway, brought me to thinking abt wat other myths/superstitions/old wives' tales I hv heard as a child n remembered...

1) Cross ur fingers = hoping for something to happen
2) Touch wood = away with bad luck
3) Left eye twitch = something bad is going to happen
4) Right eye twitch = something good is going to happen
5) No swimming during Chinese Ghost month = or else will drown
6) Go home before sunset during Chinese Ghost month = or else will meet ghosts
7) Peel an apple infront of a mirror at 12am = will see how ur future husband will look like
8) Stand up n walk a round to change luck during a gambling match.

I am sure there is some more but I can't quite remember.

Interesting huh?

Salt vs The Last Airbender

2 of the much anticipated movies I watched recently: SALT and The Last Airbender.

Before watching Salt, I was in the toilet at Lido and overheard comments tat these 2 movies are not really any good. A little disappointed then coz I already bought tickets for Salt and do plan to watch The Last Airbender anyway.

Both didn't turn out as bad though. NORMAL. Tats how I rated both movies. 2-1/2 out of 5 stars. Now some short reviews.

SALT



So WHO is Salt? It comes as no shock itself tat Salt is Salt.


No master disguiser at work here. Merely an American kid whose parents got killed in an accident in Russia, got recruited into a Russian spygroup, then later got adopted by the CIA. Double spy??? Yah maybe.

The ultimate goal of the Russian spygroup is to take control over Russia. So their ringleader recruited young kids, trained and influenced them to be his pawns, plant them at various parts of the world to be his spies. These spies can stay hidden at their supposed post for years and years, waiting for msg/signal from the ringleader to carry out their assignments.

So Salt is a Russian spy. And she got recruited into CIA which turns out to be very convenient to the Russian grp when they wanted to kill the Russian president during one of his visits to the US.
But Salt is different from the other spies...she loves her husband so much tat she betrayed the Russian spygroup. Actually she was planted by the CIA to meet and get close to her German husband who works as a researcher. When she was captured and imprisoned by North Korea during one of her missions, it was her husband who saved her and from then I guess she fell deeply in love with him. Thus killing her husband was probably the worse decision the Russian spygroup made.

Anyway, the storyline is ok and leaves not much for guesses except on whether she is a Russian spy (this was disclosed like midway in the movie, so no more mystery thereafter). And I am pleased to have guessed right from the beginning tat Salt's colleague/boss in CIA is also a Russian spy! Brilliant huh? No lah, just a hunch.

Other than the above, her cool fighting actions and shooting scenes are not really tat realistic. I mean wat are the chances a female can beat up a horde of guys?


The only mean thing abt her is her expression but tat can be mis-interpreted to be constipation. LOL.



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THE LAST AIRBENDER




I never expected this to be a movie with a sequel. Also gotten some feedback tat this movie is rather boring. I think this movie might be better made into a TV series.


The whole story and the war between the nations obviously cannot be squeezed into one movie session and I am not sure a 2 or 3 parts movie series will do it justice either.


The storyline is a bit sketchy...though they tried to explain a lot during the start of the movie with lines and lines of words for audiences to read...but isnt it better to explain it IN the movie itself with scenes and analog storytelling???


Acting by ANG (the avatar aka the last airbender) was so-so only. He probably knows a bit of kungfu coz his movements seem believable but oh! not so pretty....he juts out his butt a lot...looks as if he is poo-poo-ing in some of his poses. Facial expressions...bad. Cant sense any emotions from his expression...forced and unreal.


Acting by the girl waterbender...forgettable...(so unmemorable tat I cant even remember her name in the movie). Ok more expressions than Ang but average performance coz I dun even remember much abt her....see! it might be good to have bad facial expressions like Ang coz at least I remember him. Only other thing I remember abt her is, she looked like she's dancing more than playing kungfu. Not at all convincing.


Special effects in the movie was probably the only thing which did slightly better than average. But this too is becoming common in most movies these days.


Oh wait, I just remember tat The Last Airbender is in cartoon too...maybe tat is better worth watching.

Colour Greetings

I just have to share this with everyone.

Was having lunch with my colleague a while ago and we were complaining abt how a certain Idiot in our office (yes yes, the same idiot whom I complained abt in my previous posts) like to answer his phone saying "Yellow" instead of "Hello" and in the most irritating manner tat sounded like "Yello~w"

We started to come up with how we shld answer calls in different colours...and this is the best one of my colleague's son actually came up with:


"Gr~ee-n! Gr~een!"

"Yello~w"

"Bl~u~e are you?"


WAHAHA........ROFL.........LMAO..........I laughed until my tears came out.......

Dont get it? Read again...out loud this time..... ;D

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And I found this joke from the internet "All Indian Site.Com"(thanks to goon) which is one of the version the above colour greetings joke:-

A man goes to get a job as a secretary. When the manager saw his yellow and red highlighted hair, his mind was screaming,'No, not this guy.'

Nevertheless, he had to entertain his guest.

Manager: "Okay, I will give you some words. Make a sentence with them and the job is yours. The words are green, pink, yellow, blue, white, purple and black."

The man thought for a while and said: "The phone was ringing GREEN GREEN GREEN. I go and I PINK up the phone. I say YELLOW...BLUE's that. WHITE did you call? Aye... wrong number. Listen don't PURPLEly call wrong numbers and don't call BLACK."

The manager fainted.