and I blame it on...

Been away from the office for the past 2 days for an external training on leadership. This is a 3 modules course + 3 half a day follow up sessions which will take 3 months to complete. Each module will have an assignment which must be completed within 2 weeks. The first assignment requires me to do a 2 pages write up after interviewing 3 managers & senior managers. After today's session, I still have 5 more to go! God help me!!




Training was held in this hotel called Palace of Golden Horses which housed Tiger Woods and David Beckham before. The downside of having training in a hotel is that you will be surrounded by food! I think I already gained 2 kilos! Just today, I wallopped 5 scoops of different flavour ice cream for dessert. And I'm convinced that my blood is overflowed with caffein (after consuming one cup after another) within these 2 days.

I refuse to think about the amount of emails I have to face and clear tomorrow after being away from my messy desk for the past 2 days. *sigh*

Lost

I saw this fella at my parents backyard when I was picking up the dry laundry. Since my parents live in a secluded area near the sea, quite a distant from the nearest village so we often see animals wondering or lose their way from whatever is left of their natural habitat. Luckily, there are no really big or wild animals. Common ones are monkeys (many of them), big lizards, iguanas, sea eagles, king fishers and all sort of insects. Not so common ones but have been sighted are wild boars and pangolins.

AB+

(This is my second entry this week involving blood)
I donated my blood last Monday. This is my 2nd time this year. I first started to donate blood 7 years ago when there was a blood donation drive held in the company where I work and ever since that it has been an annual routine for me.

Before donating your blood, you have to sign a form declaring you are free from a list of diseases, your medical history, country you have visited 6 months ago and your current general health etc. Doctor will then ask whether you had enough sleep the previous night, whether you already had breakfast (if not, they will provide a light breakfast for you) and then check your blood pressure.

Next, they poked my finger (which to me, is the most painful procedure of all) to take a few drops of blood to check my haemoglobin and iron status (I think) and my blood type if it’s not stated in the blood donation booklet (especially if this is your first time). I have the stingiest blood of all, AB+. I can take any blood (A, B, O, and AB) but only a person with AB blood can receive an AB blood type. They usually withdraw 300ml out from me.


The second painful procedure would be when the nurse administrated the anesthesia jab (it’s like an ant bite), after that its smooth sailing provided your veins don’t chicken out on you. There was once where my veins were not cooperating and they had to poke both of my arms at several places before coming back to the first one. My arms were blue black for more than a week and I looked like an inexperience drugie. Ha! Ha! But if there is no problem, you only walk out with a tiny plaster on your arm. But this time around, I suffered a mild dizziness but there was no alarm.

The hospital staffs serve everyone a hot chocolate drink and a muffin. I love their muffins ^_^. I then went back to my cubicle to continue my office work and it was only 1020hr. Still a long day to go…

Dont sweat the small stuffs

My family and I met a family friend during breakfast last Saturday morning. This was the first time I met the wife after her horrific labor experience. She just finished her confinement period and is ready to meet other people again. She was in bad shape both physically and emotionally that she refused visitation from friends.

She related her experience which to me, is not short of a miracle. Her delivery went well. Her third baby girl was healthy. As doctor is packing up, all of a sudden blood starting gushing out from her. They unsutured her uterus. Doctor found no problem there, but blood still oozing out from her. They wheeled her out from labor room into the operation theatre. They asked her to sign a piece of paper which she did and suddenly she had difficulty in breathing. All around her chaos was taking place. She heard the nurse trying to confirm her blood type to another medical staff which she herself answered O+. Her breath is getting laboured and each inhale is painfully difficult. She kept hearing her doctor shouted save her first, save her first! Both her right and left hand veins collapsed, they finally got her jugular vein (i think - bcos she said at her neck) and at her thigh (saphenous vein?)

She then saw faces of her husband, her eldest 7 year old daughter followed by her youngest 5 year old daughter and said to herself 'oh god please..., my kids still need their mom' and she kept hearing the doctor said 'we losing her, we losing her'!!! then everything went dark and she passed out.

According to my friend, she suffered something called embolism during labor. Something about air gushing into previously vacuumed space and causing anti-clotting mechanism (or something like that). Human body contained 5 liter of blood and she lost 4 liter that morning. They had to transfer her to another bed before taking her out bcos the original bed was too soaked with blood. When her husband signed the consent letter, doctor advised him that he must be prepared of the outcome. They performed hysterectomy. When she finally opened her eyes, the nurses wrote on a board saying that she's already out of danger. She immediately asked to see her husband.

By the time she finished relating her ordeal, both our faces were wet in tears in the cafe amidst other patrons, our children playing beside us and both our husbands talking and drinking hot tea next to us. Both me and her were clasping each others hands, passing tissue and hugging.

Although she is on the road to recovery, she admitted that sometimes she needs help to sleep bcos she kept hearing her doctor said 'we losing her, we losing her'.

Live is short. Go and hug or call your love ones and tell them you love them always.

One more fridge magnet

My eldest sister in law - Kak Long got this fridge magnet for me from her recent trip to Osaka. Isn't it cute?

This is my precious collection. Some I got it from mine or hubby trips abroad while some were souvenirs/bought by my friends or relatives. My collection is a far cry from my K. Long who has 3 refrigerators (2 at home and 1 at her office) which are extensively covered with magnets.

Get-together

I went to meet up with a few of my old uni course mates last Friday night after work. About 9 people were in the mailing list but only four including me who made it. I admit it was a last minute arrangement made by Tryphena and me. Initially the get-together was planned only for the two of us, then we decided to include anybody else whom are in town last Friday night.


We suppose to meet up at 7:00pm and I was 1 hour late!! I only managed to leave the office at 6:50pm. Everyone already had one round of drinks while waiting for me. My excuse to them? I love to make grand entrance lol.
We had dinner at a Thai restaurant called Sri Ayutthaya. Everybody ordered one dish which we shared together. Tryphena ordered green curry, me - kerabu mango + water chestnut for dessert, Hui Cheng - plain & red seafood tomyam, Suresh - Thai steamed fish & fish cake.
The conversation went from family, kids, separation, work, TV channels to finally biological genome database (at great length), thanks to Suresh's explanation and us girls endless questionings.


Suresh and I last met about 2 years ago. Tryphena and me haven't met about 3 years and Hui Cheng is the longest - close to 8 years. This time we promised to meet up again as early as December this year.

Eid Mubarak (in pictures) Pt 2

Okay, so here's another batch of photos from last week's Eid celebration. This time around with my hubby's family. Yes, plus the children we have a small nation here..and some didn't even make it into the pics!!Picture that! Ha, ha
In order to feed the entire army, my mother in-law plus my super efficient older sis in-laws have to constantly thinking of what's next on the menu (either to prepare/cook/buy). Like lunch menu is being plotted out as you are washing the cups and saucers after your breakfast!!
Coming from a small family, I love to be in my extended family. Every time we had a gathering there is never a dull moment. The adults would sit around the dining table talking and laughing for hours sometimes over the same story which is being repeated countless time only to be interrupted by a wail from one of the children (9 boys and 3 girls) and we would go like 'okay whose child is that?' After situation is deemed under control, we will continue where we left. And the laughs will continue..