Busy August

August sets to be quite busy so far.

I have a theme party on 8th, and private class on 10th & 30th.
I have to go for Yousry workshop from 14th-16th.
I have to be in KL on 17th-18th.
Then I have to remember to go TTSH end Aug.

Plus there's a upcoming gig that requires working with live drummer so probably have to set some time for rehearsals.

Book me in advance please... haha.

Take My Breathe Away

Before I continue, let me just say this was written in early April this year... way before H1N1 was brought to our attention. It was the day that we shifted to our new office in Scotts. So new that the fumes from the empty desks made my eyes water. That very same night, I coughed so bad and started wheezing. I was fed cough mixture at home and hushed back to sleep but before long, I was awoken again because it was getting hard to breathe.

When I got to TTSH, I was immediately put on this mask that released some gas.


Within 15 minutes, I felt so much better!!! Instantly, my chest felt clear and I could take large breathes with amazing ease. This mask thing is really a miracle!!! I was really impressed. But either it was the gas that made me so drowsy that I can barely keep my eyes open; or I was really tired since it's 3am. So I slept while waiting for the duty doctor to see me properly.

After a flurry of x-rays and examinations, TTSH diagnosed me as having bronchitis and suspected asthma. By the time I got home, the sun is rising and I was so so tired.


So I search for some information about bronchitis and this is what I got from the net.

Acute bronchitis is inflammation of the tubes that carry air to the lungs. It is usually caused by a virus and follows a cold or influenza. The infection moves from the nose, mouth, and throat to the bronchial tubes, causing the tubes to swell and mucus production to increase.

Symptoms usually include:

• A cough, which is the main symptom of acute bronchitis. It may be dry at first and after a few days may bring up mucus.
• A mild fever, usually less than 101F. A higher fever may indicate pneumonia.
• A general feeling of tiredness.
• A sensation of tightness, burning, or dull pain in the chest under the breastbone that usually is worse when breathing deeply or coughing.
• Whistling noises (Wheezing) when breathing, especially during physical exertion.
• Hoarseness

What needs to be done?

• Avoid cigarette smoke. If you smoke, stop. People who smoke or are around smokers have more frequent bouts of acute bronchitis as smoke reduces the body's ability to remove bacteria and viruses that can cause infections in the lungs.
• Wearing a face mask while working around irritants, such as dust. Specially designed masks are available to filter out dangerous chemicals or dust.
• Avoiding contact with those who have upper respiratory tract infection, such as a cold, especially if you have an impaired immune system or another medical condition.
• Wash your hands often during the cold and flu season.

So I thought it was just a fluke occurrence and attribute it to the fact that maybe my shifting of office was too 'dusty' for me. About a month passed before I went back to TTSH for review. The doctor started by explaining to me the possibility of asthma. Although it is rare to develop asthma in adulthood, it is not impossible. He just wanted to rule asthma out before carrying out the appropriate treatment programme. So I was sent for this test - Histamine Bronchochellenge test.

Little did I know that this turned out to be a two hour affair. Test indeed!!! So challenging some more.

To keep the long story short, the lab guy introduced different types of 'irritants' into my respiratory system to check out how I react. Below is the test graph.

Basically, I tested positive - so yes, I have asthma now! The horizontal line at 80 was meant as the test line so during the 3rd round (see the 3rd vertical line), it dipped to below 80. That's a drop of 21% and after inhaler, the line went back up above 80.

The doctor explains that essentially, whenever I feel uncomfortable at night, it is because I am 'applying' the above test on myself when I was sleeping. Haha! Now I know why my night cough is a on-and-off thing. For so many months.

I am on this program now which supposedly would keep asthma under control. I have the red inhaler and the blue one. Blue for emergencies, red to puff twice a day which will treat the inflammation part.

The next review will be up soon. Naturally, I hope for good news; or at least news that I am making some progress.

Hahaha...

The other day when I was in the cab, I heard the DJs cracking silly jokes:" My wife says that if I am not hot, I cannot use hotmail.com..."

Funny hor? I found it funny lah... hahaha.

Laziness Part 2

Oh I forgot to say that actually I had drafted two lengthy blog postings.. one on the recent competition and the other on asthma but was kinda lazy to finish editing and post them up... I think these two will be the ones that have the longest time lag between entry creation and final output...

Asthma bit I started writing early april and competition piece maybe 3 weeks ago... Geesh!!!

Let's just wait and see how lazy I get!!!

The Spread of the L-word

Don't get me wrong.

By L, I meant laziness.

I had no idea since when I started dragging my feet to work and feel gloomy each morning at the prospect of dragging myself out of bed. And then it manifests itself into other aspects of me. I don't bother to clear my desk, everything seems to be everywhere and I throw myself into a fit everytime I can't seem to find my things.

Even when my maid folds my clothes nicely in a pile on the sofa, I'm too lazy to keep them in the wardrobe.

And the worst?? I let my stack of mail pile up and can't seem to lift a finger to open even one envelope. So end up I am charged for late fee for my credit card.

And that shook me up... But only enough to open that few important ones, write a few cheques and call up card companies for them to waive off the fees.

Meantime, the shoes stay in the doorway instead of being displayed nicely in shelves, the clothes rack threatened to break down into bits because I am still too lazy to transfer those ironed ones into my wardrobe and every other day, I still run around the house trying to look for things that are camouflaged by my numerous piles of strewn belongings.

How to jump out of this shit (i mean, ship)... Anyone?

Linkway to Wisma

Hey!!! I just discovered that the linkway from orchard MRT to Wisma Atria is finally opened!!!


*CLAP HANDS*

After don't-know-how-many-years of always having to walk up from the train station, the underground linkway is finally back in action! No more having to brave the rain or the sun... WHEEEEEE!!!


***********************************
***********************************

There's like a long queue outside the Chanel boutique; heard that it's a private sale.

I don't know is it because I am getting old but I started to take a liking for the Chanel 2.55 bag. I used to think this bag is for old tai-tais. I am indeed getting old.

The Pink Degrade Lambskin (with metal straps) is what I have been eyeing but was wondering if it's a difficult colour to match outfits.




Else, the white 2.55 would be my second choice although I don't like the leather woven into metal straps.

Sadie Workshop In Penang

I am back safe and sound from the Malaysia state of swine flu - Penang!!!

Since Sadie’s workshop starts on a Sunday, the three of us flew there on a Saturday and arrived nice and happy! We were greeted by Nancy’s husband’s friend, Johnny, who drove us to our hotel. He even swing by the workshop venue to give us an idea of the distance from our hotel and equipped us each with a map of Penang. What a thoughtful host!

Our room was on the 15th floor, a nice height and a vast difference from the hotel we stayed during our KL workshop trip! Really, the hotel lobby was posh and welcoming, the rooms so much more decent, toilets with marble sink and the service superb. We didn’t even have to wait for transport to the studio with the help of the concierge!

After we gobbled down some bah kut teh beside our hotel, we strolled down gurney strip. Gurney Drive is like just in front of the rocky beach with the latest hotels and some private condos. Farther up’s the night hawker fare and a huge shopping mall. I would say it’s a tourist strip.

On our way to Gurney shopping mall, we popped in to the latest boutique hotel, the G hotel. Next time I want to stay here, there are fish tanks in the toilet, so pretty! And the lobby’s full of avant garde furniture that it feels more like a furniture store. I happily pose for a few shots in front of the big orange ‘G’ cos it’s my hotel!!! G hotel!!! G stands for Gine. *clap hands*



When evening comes, Chantelle picked us for dinner up at Penang Hill. When it comes to this girl, I must really praise her! She went out of her way to be such a brilliant host (together with her brother); chauffeuring us from studio, bringing us out for meals & drinks, bringing us for a spin around the island and dropping us off at the airport. If not, I think we’ll be stuck with walking up and down Gurney Drive! When I come back, all I can ever blog about is Gurney Drive and nothing else! She made a trip especially to buy Penang snacks for Nancy while we were at the studio. What an angel!

The view up at Penang Hill was fantastic and we giggled our way up n down the tram ride. (Oh the tram rides are a drag!) We kept telling ourselves that we have to be up early the next day and be nice & fresh for the workshop but we still ended up partying late. Anita was absolutely crazy!!! She drank, she danced, she posed for pictures around the club and swing her cardigan up around her head!!! I have never seen her like that. The next day, she couldn’t remember what she had said or done until we reminded her. Hah hah!

Needless to say, on Sunday after the workshop, we napped all the way till evening!!! For dinner, Chantelle suggested seafood; cooked by Malays. The method of cooking’s so different and yummy and best of all, really cheap. After splitting the bill, we paid only RM25 each! This time round, we dared not stay out too late as we expected a long and grueling day on Monday. So we were back in our room around midnight.

Monday was really tiring. Not wanting to waste our last day, we woke up earlier to wash up, pack and check out. If there’s only one thing you must do in Penang, it’s eating! We ate this dry claypot noodle that’s highly recommended. Really good lor! In fact, I cannot decide which is the best food I had so far in Penang!!! Everything tastes good, from posh restaurant at Penang Hill to hawker laksa, Penang’s a food paradise. By the time we end our workshops, it’s evening and Chantelle dropped us at her house for a quick freshening session, as the three of us were sweaty and yucky! After dinner, it was time to head to the airport. I anticipated a ‘challenging’ trip back as we had to take Air Asia to Senai before cab-bing back to Singapore. But I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the whole experience was! The cab drove right to my door step… WOW!

**********************************
**********************************

Okay, on to details of the workshop proper:

17th May 2009 (Sun) 10am - 12.30pm - Pops, Locks and Shimmy

18th May 2009 (Mon) 10am - 12.30pm - Drum Solo Choreography

18th May 2009 (Mon) 2.30 - 5.30pm - Bellydance Boot Camp

Sadie is part of Bellydance Superstars. Remember Bellydance Superstars? If not, go back and read this. Her workshops are really popular judging by the size of the class. 40plus pax!!! Take picture with her also must queue up!!!

When I first saw her, her boobs immediately stand out. So huge! I think two of mine doesn't even add up to one of hers!!! Hahahaha...

She's tall and her figure's classic hourglass. Other than Bellydance Superstars, she also partners Kaya. But if you put Kaya beside Sadie, then Sadie's size of boobs really pale in comparison. However, I still prefer Sadie. Kaya looks too porn-star. Check out the below clip... you would know what I mean.

Sadie's techniques are unbelievably strong and consistent. If I didn't see her with my own eyes, I would not have believed how good her stamina was!!! It's like that's her supernatural power. It was very obvious during the bellydance boot camp - throughout the three hours, she never stopped drilling all of us with techniques. Most of the girls took turns to rest at the sideline halfway through the class but I pushed myself to continue. WHICH WAS A BAD IDEA cos now my knee hurts so badly. And the pain didn't seem to go away even though it's been a week since I returned from Penang. I am so afraid that my knee would affect the competition on 6th & 7th Jun.

Well anyway, back to the topic on workshops; even when Sadie was drilling us, she herself never stopped moving her hips - up & down, up & down, up & down. She's so consistent - each movement so sharp and precise even when she's practically shimmying and on double speed with the tempo. She makes eveything looked so effortless!!!

One thing I learnt from her is that no matter how far one progresses in dancing, one must not neglect the basics. The basics must still be practised regularly and religiously on top of all the advanced movements learnt. This is how her dance appeared so clean and so fluid. And I think she's very smart! She sticks to her strength - her talent lies in her techniques and she played up on it in every of her dance.

I liked when she encouraged everyone to do free style arm movements so long as it's fluid. She also emphasized a lot on expanding our dance vocabulary by layering different basic steps. However, I think she did not do so well in trying to correct some of the wrong moves; maybe the class's too big. *shrug* Still, that didn't stop me from 'worshipping' her. Amazing muscle control lah, she.

Quote of Yesterday

Yesterday, my BFF quoted:"Someone said before. The day Obama becomes President, pigs will fly. 100 days into Presidency and swine flew."

I thought that was good. Ha ha!


******************************************
******************************************
Last night, I had a weird dream (again)!

The setting was of a gathering with my friends. But the thing that stood out in my dream was that Karen was going around trying on some of my corsets or corset-lookalike tops. And I was frantically trying to dig up all my corsets for her to try.

I couldn't find one red one that I bought from Rome... it was a good brand; by Bravissimo. And I wanted her to try that on cos I think it looks great! But before I could find it, I woke up.

DANG!!! drats..

Regulator

The regulators are coming and I bet it will be a very exciting time. Lots of work ahead but due to sensitivity, I cannot elaborate on my blog. Business is already so bad so I guess to get a good report is very important.

Stress or WAT??!!


**********************************************************************
**********************************************************************
Pardon me for wondering aloud but why do people spend a lot of time playing MJ or watching soccer? I always read, so much that I need new cupboards for my exploding collection of books. There are truly many things to learn when reading; but are there in MJ or soccer?

The only benefit I see is that maybe MJ & soccer relax you people as reading does for me.

Invisible Thread

I sit down, waiting.

The magazine in my hands is at the receipe section and I try to remember some of the ingredients.

I evesdrop on the mindless chatter behind me - Brother says I want to go too; Mother says why you so kepoh?; Father is silent and reads newspaper and Sister says I lend you my PSP you play the games lah, don't so kepoh everything must follow me and know.

I do not feel impatient.

Not even when I do not know why am I waiting and for how long.

Time lost its meaning.

Or maybe I am so living in the moment that I actually choose to savour my environment. To be curious about my surroundings like a newborn instead of being jaded like a 31yo.

When it's time to leave, I walk with my head held high. Because it's tied to my dignity and my pride by an invisible thread.