I'm sick..

Ever fall sick after a stressful night?

I was wondering why am I feeling cold on a sunny day and why am I so tired. I know I went to bed late yesterday night, and i thought that was it... but then, i felt heaty and feeling really, really uncomfortable. By 3pm at work, i was almost lying on my desk. I kept myself awake, and walked around the office, disturbing my colleagues. By the time i got home, I got runny nose.

Oh dear..i got myself problem. FLU! My choir performance is on this Sunday and tomorrow is the full-dressed rehearsal, and now I got FLU and fever and sore throat! That's so bad! How am I going to sing! And I practised since August for this big performance! I'm so looking forward to it. Now, i'm worried...

Oh yeah, why was i talking about falling sick after a stressful night. I was thinking and planning about my NZ trip the last 2 weeks of this year. Not really planning the trip, but thinking about which suitcase to use, what to wear...which jacket to bring..i'm just over anxious. Gosh..how long have I not been travelling to colder countries? But it's summer there..why am I getting worried about whether I will be too cold at night, and not enough to wear?

My sis gave me this verse..

Matt 6:25-26 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

I really should just start packing, and stop worrying.. :D God will heal me for Sunday's performance. Amen!

Wrist pain

I feel the painful sting at my wrist again.. I said again is because i had it since April 2011. It was very painful that time but went away on and off though the vein is still slightly swollen. But i can do things normally, write, use the computer, etc without the sting. It was only painful when i used too much strength to play badminton or play the piano. Now it came back all of a sudden even though i didn't do all that...

It's not really the wrist part, but rather more to my thumb and index finger. I sprained them when i was holding a 2L separating funnel with both of that fingers. Silly me..i know.. I was actually forcing myself to hold it while i was weighing something.

I went to see a few doctors for treatment. The first one gave me diclofenac but it was too strong for me and I got gastric after 2 days. Another gave me Piroxicam (Feldene) but the doctor only prescribed enough medicine for a week as there's side effect for taking too much. All the medicine never really work for me. I went to see a specialist in Pantai Hospital and he told me it's just muscle pain and that I should soak my hand in hot water for 20mins everyday. I didn't really follow and eventually the pain left but the vein is still like that.

Mom suggested me to massage my hands. No good either. I even went for acupuncture treatment. It was extremely painful when the needle was poked into my palm! Gosh...my hand was numb the whole day, i can't even move my fingers after that and for the subsequent week, i have to bandage my hands to avoid from using my hand too much.

I hope the pain will go away soon, before my long holiday. Otherwise, i won't enjoy my holiday 100%. I'm really worried now and hope it will heal on its own.

Hair colour

I've planned to colour my hair today since weeks ago as today is a public holiday. At first, I decided to go back to Image de Coiffure in Ipoh Garden South. I did my hair color there previously. But it costed me a bomb..RM230 if i remember correctly. They said they used the latest hair colouring technology from Loreal and it's better for my hair as it's ammonia free. I really wonder how the chemical works without some sort of bleaching effect. Anyway, i called them to ask for the current price and i was told that for hair colour, they charge from RM190 onwards, depending on your hair length and thickness. The price is not inclusive of haircut though. I sounded a bit hesitant, and the man who answered my call quickly told me that a 50% discount will be given for charges of RM180 & above. Although the price seems attractive, i was not very satisfied with the way the man talked to me on the phone. He sounded a bit arrogant and unfriendly to me..

Well..after that, i called Philippe Sum and checked their price. It was quite affordable, at RM139 which include haircut as well. So i went and did my hair there. I coloured my hair dark brown with a bit of red. Look nice now but i hope it will last me for another 6 mths or so. Fingers crossed..

Oops...photo a bit blur and my hair colour is not showing..hmm..maybe under the sun will be better.

Belimbing buluh - also known as bilimbi

Have you try this sour fruit before? It's a local fruit, well-known among the Malays as they called it "belimbing buluh".

We have a belimbing buluh tree in our garden that grows healthily. Look at the clusters of fruits! haha..

We can't really eat that much, can we? It's so sour that those who have gastric may not be able to take it. I gave some to my colleagues. They love it! :D The Malays like to cook it with fish or curry. But I like the way my mom make it with prawn or meat and a bit of sweetness. Emmm...yummy! Every time my mom cooks this dish, it finish off too fast! :p

It contains a lot of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) which contributes to the sourness and it has phosphorus and calcium too. Very nutritious, right? So, would you like to try some? ;) Highly recommended for those who like sour food. ^v^

Contact lenses

I've been wanting to wear contact lenses again for quite awhile but was worried that my eyes are too dry for them. I used to wear monthly disposable contact lenses (B&L Softlens 38) but after working in a lab for some years, my eyes could not bear the dryness developed from wearing contact lenses for long hours. But wearing spectacles was uncomfortable and inconvenient too. Somehow, I couldn't find an optical shop who can adjust my glasses to my comfort. My glasses were pressing into the bridge of my nose and leaving almost permanent red marks everyday. Now, a pimple has developed on both sides of the nose bridge.

So I decided to give it a try again. I mean to wear contact lenses to work again. Was planning to get a pair of bi-weekly contact lenses for trial at my regular optical shop. But ended up visiting my uncle's optometrist instead. Well, mom and I were sending some muffins to him on the way to get my contact lenses, and he suggested why not try to get them from his optometrist (SL Chan Optometrist at Persiaran Greenhill, Ipoh). His whole family get theirs there. Ok..so i gave it a try.

Service was good. My eyes were tested with all sorts of high-tech equipments. My regular optician only have 2 types of equipments. Impressive! But.. they are overpricing the products! I usually get two boxes of 1-day Acuvue Moist for RM140 and 1-day Acuvue TrueEye for RM180. And the girl told me they are selling the "TrueEye" at RM260!!! My goodness! But what to do.. after consultation, the optometrist suggested me to get Acuvue OASYS. She said there's a promotion now, buy 3 get 1 free. So, 4 boxes are RM330. And she was so nice by saying that since my uncle recommended me here, she will give me a discount of RM30. Feeling a bit reluctant, I bought the 4 boxes of contact lenses including 2 bottles of multi-purpose solution which she recommended me to use since i have dry eyes.

Feeling that my regular optician may charge a lower price, i called to check. And they are selling 4 boxes for RM240!!! That's like RM90 cheaper than this shop if she charged me the original price without the RM30 discount. Wow... what big difference. Though better service.. i think I will get my contact lenses from my regular shop in the future.. which is Starlite Optical in Yik Foong Shopping Complex.

My choir attire - All white

My choir requires us to wear a white long skirt with white blouse and white shoes for the Christmas performance. I had a headache looking for white long skirt in Ipoh. I searched everywhere and most of the places only sell short white skirt. I was thinking, if i couldn't get a long skirt, i'll get a long white dress. But the requirements are strict. No sleeveless and skirt must be below knee level. Even shoes are restricted to covered shoes if you are planning to buy a pair. Difficult task for us...

Finally i found a long white skirt in a boutique at Ipoh Parade, called K2. It's like a Bohemian long skirt. Cost me RM49.90. Man..i hope i'll wear it more often other than the performance cuz i don't usually wear long skirt. Otherwise, it will be a waste of money. Anyway, I came home and tried it with some of my white blouses. None of them seem to match the skirt and i even looked shorter with the long skirt.. sigh..

In the evening, i went to check out Rozette boutique in Ipoh Garden south. I like to shop at this boutique as the clothes selling here suit me well. The owner recommended a blouse with lace which compliment well with my skirt though we both think that white with white is not very pretty. It's just TOO WHITE. Anyway, dress code has to be followed.. so I bought the blouse nevertheless. Purple belt and shawl will be provided. So i guess the attire will do alright? I hope... but what kind of white shoes should I wear?

Another headache..and more money to be spent....