It’s ok to yearn for things… I know.
Let me see what I would need to pay for, come December:
1. Pay off my reno loan!
2. Touch up the paint work (had some scuffs and dinks from flying stones and stuff) and a general grooming session for BarfMobile
3. Clinique Happy
4. A new external HDD with Firewire 800
Hmm… Not a long list, I hope!
Yup, the wave of sibehbusyness is upon me, once again.
Work, work and CWS…
I’ll have to ride it till the end… where 2 weeks of sheer bliss awaits me… and I am looking forward to finally pay off the renovation loan that I have been paying for the last 4 years.
Come 2010, I’ll be embarking on another journey – to finally start on a degree course that I have put off for rather long.
Too much to do, too little time.
I hope my body is able to keep up with me =\
Earlier this year, she celebrated her 6th birthday. Always talkative and inquisitive… but she’s now fighting for her life in hospital as I type away.
She had been ill for around 2 weeks with what seemed like the usual flu. The GP reassured my sister a couple of times that her high heart rate is normal for a child, much to her skepticism. On Sunday, Rachel was lethargic and barely moving as she sat around listlessly.
Last night, I got an SMS from my 2nd sis that the little niece had been admitted to the hospital and was directly warded in the ICU. That must be something very serious to be admitted to a ward where beds are scarce and the costs are high.
She is down with pneumonia, causes unknown, and the infection had spread from her right lung to the left, at a speed so fast that the medical team was not able to bring it under control as quickly as they’d like. After multiple blood tests and everything… they found the infection in her bloodstream, and it was only a matter of time before it attacks the vital organs.
And that, is bad.
Sepsis (some call it blood poisoning – but description is inaccurate) is a very serious condition which can be fatal as the vital organs might shut down.
Currently, her heart is slightly infected, but the medical team are pumping drugs in her to protect her heart and lungs. They are unable to pump drugs to protect her liver and kidneys, until the organs show signs of being infected. Probably she is too young for that kind of treatment as her organs are still under-developed at her tender age.
My sister is hanging on strong, but she’s definitely worried sick. For an optimistic, jovial lady like her… she is not doing well. Waiting on 24-hour standby at the freezing waiting lounge is horrendous, at the very least.
Seeing her daughter plugged into machines with tubes sticking out of everywhere, is a even more heartbreaking sight. Her mouth constantly bled with the abrasion caused by the breathing tubes.
Sigh.
The only thing I could do now is to offer emotional and financial support for my sister. Just in case.
I got Rachel a Dora helium balloon (that shop at the hospital makes a lot of money from such gifts -_- I am sure…) and I hope she wakes up soon to see it.
Get well soon! Everyone missed your voice and you poking around as usual…
Update:
After a week in ICU, Rachel is doing well! She has been transferred to a normal ward and her breathing tubes have been removed! I am so so so glad. 
I will be heading over tomorrow to pass her the DS-Lite. Hope she’ll like it.
Well. I’ve never thought I’ll cook. You know… Real food. Cooking real food in our kitchen. I even cooked soup by myself!
Over a couple of weekends recently, we have been trying out some recipes. Saves us money and it’s really fun! (The cleaning up afterwards is a bitch, I know…)
This is a list of stuff we tried:
- Tomato sauce with baked beans, luncheon meat and potatoes
- Stir fried Dou Miao (I love dou miao very much, so we had it on several occasions)
- ABC Pork Rib Soup (check out http://www.noobcook.com!!!)
- Grilled potatoes
- Pork chop in tomato sauce
- Pork katsu + shrimp + Japanese curry (did this before… so not exactly a new item)
- Grilled chicken fillet
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Salad with Wafu sauce (ok that’s not actual cooking… but ya.)
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On another very domesticated note, we’ve recently gotten some help with home cleaning in the form of a really nice dude (thanks for the recommendation, RN!) who is thorough with his cleaning and really patient
His email address is: onehomeserve@gmail.com. Really! He’s great!
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On yet another home improvement scheme, we have finally plonked some $300+ on some magnetic window netting system for a couple of windows at home. Can’t stand having to keep my windows closed anymore.
As for why I have to keep my windows closed? Well.. go Google for “High-rise syndrome” and you’ll know exactly why. Had a few friends whose cats fell off… I guess we have put it off long enough – it’s time for us to spend that money for a peace of mind. Ordered the “pet-safe” extra-tough netting to go with it as well.
Check out http://www.magicseal.com.sg 
They have special clips to secure the netting real tight, so even if a cat climbs on it – it won’t be able to rip the net off that easily.
Why choose this over other cheaper alternatives? Answer: We have no window grilles so it’s almost impossible to fix a wire mesh (nylon is too soft without the support of the grilles) without serious inconvenience (eg. cannot close windows, risk getting cut by the sharp edges etc) to us.
I have a really good view of a wide-open grass field and I don’t want to ruin that view with iffy grilles. So…
Alright. Thanks for tuning in! If there’s anybody out there o_O?
Lesson of the day:
If you forgot about the laundry inside the washing machine, for a day or more…
PLEASE WASH IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!
My pants stink to high heavens now. So malu.
Looks like my Western Digital 500GB external hard disk has just died on me.
Hope you’ll be happy in HDD heaven ok?
-__-
Yes. I am a true blue el cheapo. I don’t pay others to colour my hair. Well, maybe just about… 3 times?
I have to colour my hair, because I have white hair. Lots of them. It’s genetic, because my sisters have the exact same kind of problem. So I have to colour my hair every 3 months.
So, I colour my hair myself, at home, ever since DIY kits crawled out of obscurity (read: very long ago) and into mainstream stores like Watsons and Guardian Pharmacy. At first there were only a few choices here and there, and they were all placed behind locked glass shelves with the imposing words “Poison: speak to a pharmacist” or some crap.
Nowadays, it’s quite the jungle out there! Open for all (who are fellow el cheapos) to pick and choose. Some people hate to go through the mess themselves, but for less than S$18 a pack in general, I’d say it’s a good deal if you are not looking for elaborate streaks or highlights.
Here’s what I’ve learnt, but don’t sue me if you screw up your own hair dye job. 
Permanent vs Semi-Permanent
DIY hair colour kits are usually made of permanent hair dyes. Means that they last longer and the chemicals used are much stronger. Those that the salons use are usually semi-permanent hair dyes. So they generally don’t last as long as those you can find from DIY kits.
I’ve had semi-permanent hair dyes staining towels and pillows even after 3 days and a couple of washes later. No such problem with permanent hair dyes so far.
Lifespan
Hair colour from DIY kits usually last me around 2 months before they fade to a dark brownish tint, which is fine by me. But the effect from hair salon colours usually fade within 3 weeks or so into a lighter shade of brown, sometimes leaving my hair looking like suspiciously like hay or some kind. This is because…
Bleach
There are different grades of hydrogen peroxide/bleach used in the different products for hair dye. As the bleach (the developing cream that you squeeze the colour tube into) used for DIY kits are usually not as strong (perhaps for safety reasons or because you’ll probably screw up your own bleaching job if it’s too strong – resulting in uneven patches and *gasp* hair falling out in clumps), means that your hair colour will not appear as vibrant as those done in the salons.
Basically, you’ll never achieve the level of evenness that a colourist can create for you in a hair salon, if you are looking for very light and vibrant shades like anime blue or jewel purples. Crouching over the sink at home for long hours isn’t the best thing for your posture either.
Hair “Virginity”
The “simulated colour effect” on the packaging is usually quite inaccurate, especially if you are a hair colour virgin (referring to most youngsters whose school prohibit “unnatural hair colours”: this means that your hair has not been chemically treated in any way) – the colour achieved by using DIY kits usually look more like “tints” instead of actually being very strong on the colour front.
Dryness
In the past, DIY kits tend to be very drying because the kits consist only of gloves, developing cream and the colour proper. But the fact is, because hair salons throw in “free” hair treatment after the colouring sessions, so you’ll actually feel that colouring jobs done in the salons are less “harmful” to your hair. Not really.
Nowadays DIY kits come with really powerful hair conditioners that you can’t get off the shelves. They usually come in a tiny little bottle or packet and they leave you wanting for more. You can actually ration them a little, they usually last about 3 washes for my long hair.
Smell
One thing that bothers me about DIY hair dyes is the smell. I love sniffing hair dye… but I’ll hate to share it The smells usually wears off about 2 washes later though.
Some other things that I learnt
1. Do not wash your hair with shampoo before the DIY colour job. This strips the hair of the natural oils that will protect your hair from getting too dry. “1 day old” hair is good enough without being too greasy or unmanageable.
2. Mix the liquids up and apply the mixture really quick. The stupid brushes and combs don’t work. Use the gloves provided in the kits and do the following: “Squirt. Smear. Spread.” It’s much faster, and less messy. See next point about why “quick” is of the essence.
3. The mixture is at its most potent when you first mix them together. Any longer, and the colour won’t “stick”. How to tell when the potency drops? When the mixture in the bottle turns into the colour that you are trying to achieve. I usually use purple or reddish dyes, so it’s pretty obvious when it turns from the initial cream colour to purple, for example.
This is why they don’t advise you to keep the mixture afterwards, it’s pretty much useless beyond 10 minutes or so.
4. 1 bottle is usually enough for long hair. Mine is almost waist length now, and so far my favourites are L’Oreal Excellence and Garnier 100%. The former has more than enough for me, the latter is just enough.
5. Pick the creamy dyes like the 2 I mentioned above. The watery ones like Feria sucks. They drip all over and they don’t cover white hair much. Bigen is rather drying (not to mention, aunty-ish). So I don’t recommend that brand either.
6. Wipe off all drips and stains on your forehead, your ears, and the neck with a wet cloth before you finish up the application.
7. Leave your hair colour to develop for around half an hour to 45 mins. I usually lose count and only wash off around 1 hour. It won’t make your hair die (haha, get the pun?) especially if your strands are thick and stubborn like mine. If it starts to itch – wash it off, soon!
8. You can use the hair dryer to go over your hair while it is being “developed”, the heat helps to seal in the colour more quickly. I usually just wrap with cling wrap – it’s neat, prevent drips, and keep in the heat that is being naturally emitted by me. I usually go about doing my own things, which is why I lose track of time
9. Wash off with warm water first, slightly rubbing your scalp in the process to remove stains, and until the water in the bathroom turns somewhat clear, then go through with cold water if you can be bothered.
Use the pack of powerful conditioner, just enough to coat all your hair, do not rub conditioner into your scalp unless you want an attack of dandruff. Rinse (you’ll see a little more colour being washed out) and repeat a second time. First time you apply it, it’ll get rid of residual dye too stubborn to be rinsed off by water. Second time you apply, it’s for the actual “moisturising” effect.
You’ll find your hair much softer after the 2nd application of the conditioner after the residual dye is washed off. L’Oreal Excellence gives you a small bottle good for at least another 2 more washes (No, this is NOT an advertorial.)
10. Do not use shampoo to wash your hair after using the powerful conditioner. Leave it and let hair to air dry. Bear with the smell. And then you are done
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Hope my guide helps. Meanwhile, I have burgundy tinted hair to love for now
Well I guess we have backaches once in a while… you know, the long hours we spent sitting in front of the computer, the awful postures we adopt when we use the laptop on the bed and all…
All these contribute to damage points and they’ll eat away at your life bar, little by little… then before you know it, POW! You’ve hit the red zone and you’ve gotta stumble around and look for help.
Even more so when you are approaching the big Three-O.
Yes, like me.
So we went camping at Changi Beach Park with my family to celebrate my birthday a couple weeks ago… my niece got the nice air mattress (yes, she is somewhat spoilt, I know – even my mum got to sleep on the hard floor inside the tent) and the rest of us grappled with the hard ground that sleepless night.
But it’s alright, Jeffwee and I slept in the pavilion with the hard concrete floor lined with thin straw mats that night. It was chilly that night, but since everyone had great fun, it was fine. I even did “yin” yoga the next Sunday, but I could have aggravated the condition by doing that Pigeon Crescent pose…
Then the attacks of the backaches came.
I was almost sobbing by the time I took ten steps out of the bed that morning but I rested that weekend. 2 days later, the almost crippling pain went away, but the slight pinch at the base of the spine hung around.
Then Jeffwee had the most awful backache as well. Found some painkillers at home and they worked! Happy pills rescued him for a couple of days until his back got better that week.
Then it was the horrifying return of my backache. Last Sunday I drove around town for a couple of hours, running around a few places to pick up CWS donation tins from the various Strip outlets (btw, we raised about $815 of donations through these tins!!!)… and that night, the pain was back.
I had a couple of ok-notsook-ok-notsook days this work week. I doubled over in agony the whole morning at the office on Tuesday, but somehow I felt better in the afternoon. Yesterday was fine… the ache was still annoying me, but it was ok.
Then came this morning, and I felt downright crappy. I had problems getting out of bed so I decided that I’ve ought to get something done about this horrible backache that has been haunting us for weeks. (Us, because he had to do the weekly clean-up by himself… and yes, I was whining quite a bit, so yeah.)
I took MC from the GP downstairs and then headed off to the nearest Ma Kuang TCM clinic to try out acupuncture.
A few needles were inserted, then it was half an hour of warm heat and rhythmic pulsations through the needles at the affected area, and some painful glass jar “ba guan” treatment thingy later… A really nice smelling “ko yok” (medicated plaster) was pasted on by the gentle TCM lady… and it was done!
I was told, that sleeping on the concrete flooring that chilly night must have gotten some “moisture” and “wind” into my system, causing the backache. It was definitely not simple muscular pain as it “pinches” rather than being a dull ache that will go away with some massage.
She also gave me some Chinese medicine in powder form for my irregular periods (I have PCOS) and the mild cholesterol problem to slowly bring my health back to speed in the long run.
TCM is all about finding the root cause and to fix it slowly. The western GP simply prescribed more painkillers, which means that will mask the symptoms, but actually doing nothing to fix the real cause of the condition.
I felt almost instantly better! Suddenly, I felt like I could function again. Will be heading back on Sunday for another session.
Bliss.
So don’t be too quick to sweep off scary acupuncture or TCM as a possible course of treatment the next time you have a health condition. I am afraid of sinsehs, but I guess TCM practitioners should be ok. My TCM lady was really very soft-spoken and patient as well…
Heck, the other time I did TCM, the doctor also fixed my gastric problems with a single batch of medication! So there must be something right about this TCM thing, right?
Looks like I am turning into a convert
Back in 2005-2006 I had a wonderful year learning how to bellydance. Finally! A dance form that I could do either alone, or in a group, with no shoes – I hate heels, you see.
It was sweaty, tiring and an aching great fun and I enjoyed myself (unlike the sour feeling I had when I did Chinese Dance in secondary school) picking up the choreography and brushing up the techniques very much indeed.
My stamina was up and climbing, self-confidence levels were at an all time high, and the post-lesson endorphins kept me really happy.
Stopped dancing because I had to embark on part-time studies… but I’ve never stopped ogling at videos and pictures of the great bellydancers. I’ve never stopped practicing my belly rolls and maya hip movements as well.
Should I restart this interest of mine?
Finances say… maybe next year, but I am about to start studying again. So how now brown cow?
Somehow we found ourselves hitting this 5-year mark… the longest we have ever been with someone else in our lives (apart from direct family lah)…
We are going strong as a silly couple that hates formalities…
Going through the pains of paying loans, bills and picking up cat poop on a regular basis…
Doing laundry together can be fun, albeit we do it a little too grouchily…
The routine weekly clean up sessions still lock our Saturday afternoons down quite stubbornly…
And it’s real nice having a hug after I come back late at night from work…
What can I say?
Happy 5th Anniversary
Barffie is an internet addict, a music video junkie and a crazy cat lady who loves roaming the world.