I have to stop being complacent about my health!

Went to the chiropractor last Saturday to do a scan on my spinal condition. Was not feeling my best of late hence the decision to see a chiropractor. Got back the results on Monday and to my amazement though not entirely shocking, there were a few problems. The major problem lies on my atlas and cervical vertebrae which explains why I haven't been sleeping well which I believe that was since Form 6 (HSC) days, migraine and sinus. The chiropractor said it's not surprising because most students who study alot tend to have that problem. The report also said it was 120% loss of normal cervical curve ie reversal of neck curvation, which also explains well why I have rapid eye movement and dreams when I sleep. The vertebrae actually touches my part of my brain and causes me to be alert. I am just trying to explain it in lay man's term and trying to make sense all of it.

Then the second problem is, I have minor scoliosis ie dextroscoliosis ie scoliosis with convexity to the right side. This however, is congenital and inheritance, so can't do much about it. Although so, I do think I have an early signs of osteoporosis and it's all because I never got enough sun in my whole life. I used to be known as "puteri lilin (candle princess)", who likes to stay in dark (shadow). Nowadays, due to work, I don't really see much sun at all. How I yearn to be under the sun these days.

Thirdly, my lumbar curve is slightly bent forward causing a slight pelvic tilt.

So, unless I exercise regularly and go for chiropractic treatment, I am sure in the long run, there will be detrimental effects to my health. The latter reportedly has had anecdotal success, so I don't think I want to waste money on that plus it's not cheap. I need to go for 6 visits initially, twice a week, each visit cost me AUD50 (an hour). That's me, I'm a little stingy.

I have since started doing pilates every night for 10 minutes for some stretching. Hopefully I will feel better after a while. Please please, pray for me. =)

Birthday Celebration

Yes yes, it's my birthday and it was truly one of the best birthday I've had. Thanks to the APEC summit in Sydney, Friday was a public holiday. Therefore we had a long weekend to celebrate my birthday, which is today!

It all started on Friday, we had Italian lunch at the Sapore by the Fountain, in Leichhardt Forum. I had Salmon Fettucini and Andrew had Spaghetti with Mussels. Lunch was absolutely stuffing. We couldn't even finish our portion, so we ate up the more expensive food ie salmon and mussels and left some of the spaghetti and fettucini.

Then on Saturday, we met up with some friends we knew from OCF (Overseas Christian Fellowship) and had Chinese dinner. It was perfect as we really felt at home eating those food plus all the catching up. Had a really enjoyable time. Then we managed to slot in a movie whereby we watched The Bourne Ultimatum in the cinema. Movie was excellent with action-packed adrenaline rush. Love it! Great way to end the day, I feel.

Then on Sunday, fetched Andrew to church early as he is involved with worship this week. Our church had to change venue due to the APEC summit. We are not complaining because it's just about 5 minutes drive from our place. If only church is within that distance every week.

Then evening came, met up with a good friend of Andrew and his family for dinner. We had Japanese at Sushi Samurai, Pyrmont. Food was great, value for money, small place but with nice ambience. It was a thorough pleasure! Of course not forgetting my birthday cake which we came back to our place for it.

That was my whole birthday venture. Now, I am feeling really happy and contented and am counting my blessings, and naming them one by one which God has done for me. Thank you, Lord and thank you, darling for such wonderful and memorable day.

Oh, I almost forgot. Received a birthday present from hubby a week earlier and I absolutely love it because I have been buying all sorts of cheap watches for 10, 20 bucks, well I'm a very stingy person. What's annoying is they don't last at all. So, hubby bought a good one and we do believe it will last a long time for me. Here's to share with you the photo of the watch and our photo as of September 9, 2007.

It's about them, not you!

It's been 18 months since I got married. Doesn't sound like it's been too long, but it seems forever to me. Probably because we are so used to each other now, that the thought of having to start another relationship all over again sounds scary not to mention tiring. We are still growing as a couple, much to learn from and about each other. When we first got married, I asked hubby when should we have kids. He said, probably in 2-3 years time. I must admit, at the back of my mind I feel that it's a long wait. But as all wives should, I submit to husband's wish. Of course, every now and then, I tried to talk him into it, but he was adamant. Hence, I've decided to just leave it all to God. I don't want to take matters into my own hand. I want things to happen when we both are in agreement to have kids, and God shall intervene when the right time comes.

Today, I must say I am grateful that I did not pursue the matter and did not deliberately try to have babies. I truly enjoyed all the times we had together. We went places and enjoyed each other's company immensely. As our relationship grew stronger, I began to question myself why did I want babies so much? The only reaons I can come up with, it feels great to have a baby, everyone wants to have a glimpse of my baby, everyone wants to hold the baby, and I of course get to hold and cuddle and kiss my baby every minute I want, unlike other people's babies where there are restrictions and boundaries with their babies. After all, their babies are their "property". Then throughout the 9 months of carrying the baby, everyone will be asking about you and the baby, and everyone who come across the news of you having a baby seems to be so thrilled and happy for you. What a proud and nice feeling it must be.

Then one day, as I was on the way to work, listening to Kyle and Jackie'O show on MixFM, they mentioned about a scenario whereby there was this couple trying to have a baby, but were devastated with the news that the wife was diagnosed with cancer and has only about 2 years to live. The question was whether or not, the couple should continue trying for a baby knowing that the child may not have a mother. Kyle, being the practical one disagreed with the couple trying to conceive and he said this which really struck me "having a child is not about you, it's about them".

All these while, I have been wanting babies for my own sake, not even thinking on behalf of the child. I have been very foolish to think that we will sort things out when the baby comes, need not worry for now. However, this realization really hit me hard in the head. Having kids is all about them, everything revolves around the kids. Everything we do is for the child's sake. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but this is reality. It's not about giving birth too, it's all about parenthood.

With regards to the scenario given, conceiving and givng birth to the baby is easy. They may feel contented and absolutely joyful for a while, but will it last? The mother may not live long enough to see the child grow, and what if the husband finds someone else, and have their own children. What will happen to this child then? The child will be the one to bear all the consequences and live with it for the rest of his/her life as a result of his/her parent's decision in bringing him/her into this world.

Having said all these, I still think children completes a family. My point is that being parents is not an easy task and it takes everything to bring up your children, but if the couple is not ready, they should be given all the time to prepare themselves, otherwise it will be unfair to the child. I shall end here with a very cute photo of a newborn baby, what a beautiful sight of a new life!

I must be crazy now..

Believe it or not, for the past two days, I have been reading RPK's blog non-stop. I got so addicted to all the juicy news about Malaysia. Things that I've heard and suspected but never really read in depth. This new information really shed much light to my whole view of Malaysian government and it's people.

I am not racist, although my husband says I tend to be bias with people with dark skin. It is not true! I have some Indian and Malay good friends... arhh, well not many now, I have one in uni but we haven't been keeping in touch, so that probably leaves me to none now. Nonetheless, you cannot put me in the racist category because Sydney is such a metropolitan city and you are bound to meet all sorts of people from all corners of the world. So, I have maintained some good friendships with them.

The thing that is intriguing is that I am getting more and more interested in politics. I don't hate Malaysia, but I certainly hated the system that affected my life. I can name plenty but I will just settle for the education for now. One saying which I like best is "I was born smart, but education ruined me". How germane! I can see this heading towards a controversial post now.

I won't go write my heart out on this but I am truly and utterly disappointed with how the education works in Malaysia. Not just the kiasu syndrome prevails in Singapore, but Malaysia also. Perhaps for similar reason. Let me explain why I say that. I was over in Melbourne for a short holiday and I was with some relatives. I chanced upon the opportunity to look at some report cards of the relatives' kids from school. I am absolutely impressed with how teachers here actually pay so much attention to their students. Every report card details the progress and/or improvement of the child. The only downside is everything is written down in a very politically correct way. Nothing debasing or discouraging. But at least it's good enough for parents to know what to expect of their child and work from there.

Of course the next thing I will do is to make a direct comparison how the teachers write their student's report cards in Malaysia. I remember vividly how several teachers were flabbergasted by how talkative my brother was at school and because they could not find anything else to say at the end of every school term, the only remarks they wrote on the report card was "Cakap banyak dalam kelas" (very talkative in class). Period!

What is that suppose to mean? What do you want the parents to do? They send the children to school only to be told that their kids are talkative in class? How does it help?

Then, this is what I loathe most. There is this positioning system which inevitably forces students to fight for their 'life' just to get top 10, or top 5 or 3 in the whole standard/form. I can't see the whole point of having this "fighting spirit" instilled in children from as young as age 7 (that's the first year of schooling in Malaysia). Whenever I ask my cousins how are they coping with studies. Their reply would be "a lot of pressure". I asked them why because learning is supposed to be fun and not pressuring. They say, they have to "fight" to get top 3. That's because they have been in top 3 for several years now. I was appalled by this attitude that has been so infused in them. How I wish they can tell me, school is fun, and they love this subject or that subject. That reaction was the least I expected of them. But of course I understand what they are going through. I have been there and done that. Strived hard as I did, but in secondary school, I never come close to being in any top 10 let alone top 5 or 3.

These kids should really be given a break and be encouraged to excel in what they are good at. It is not easy to be an all-rounder, but at least they are given a chance to discover what they like and what they are good at.

Next, I had some pretty hard time when I started working in Sydney. Now, I come from science background and I am working in a molecular biology field. But believe it or not, everything I learnt from school, from secondary schools to university, didn't help a single bit. I had to practically re-learn everything from scratch. Ok, I am exaggerating a little, it did help like 10 percent. I know what cells are, I know what's in a cell, I know what DNA is. So what? I don't have much clue when all these things put together. Then it struck me that, I actually studied and passed my exams out of memory. Which is why I don't remember anything from school after so many years!!! For students like me, the reason why we don't do well, is because there wasn't much practicallity in what we study. We were "forced" to understand it and when we don't we resort to memorizing. Other students did extremely well because either they are genius, or they receive help from parents/families. I did receive help on English from my mum, and some maths from my aunts. Which is why I scored As in English and Maths. But the rest, I managed to pull it through, thanks to my photographic memory (my husband says I have a memory like an elephant) lest I fail.

I totally agree with RPK in one particular post. Malaysia loves to set a system, and everyone is expected to follow. They are expected to follow the regime like a robot and are not given a chance to debate, and think out of the box. I was the unfortunate one who fell into that category of being subservient. To make matters worst, I come from a then very dictating father, never allowed a NO for an answer. As a result I was never intellectually challenged. I was and still am a pretty slow person, but I thank God I am a fast learner. I absorb things like a sponge. If this quality were nurtured from young, things would be very different for me now.

Anyway, enough said, Malaysian kids are not stupid, but the education ruined most of them. Of course I am giving the education system some benefit of a doubt with the implementation of english language in maths and science, but we'll see how it goes. I'm not dismissing the fact that there are some who are the top of the cream and succeeds regardless when they study abroad. I'm talking more for the average students like myself who are "not smart" just because we didn't score 7As for PMR, 10As for SPM and 4As for STPM (HSC equivalent).

New comment function

To all who have been viewing my blog, there is now the option of leaving your comments in my blog. Took the suggestion of a very dear friend of mine, to enable comment function so they can leave comments. The reason why I was apprehensive about people leaving their comments, was because I don't know what to expect from others. I don't like negative comments, although I can still take it with stride. Perhaps, I've grown and become more bold now as a blogger. I've gained more confidence and it's not about whether your English is superb, or you're a great writer. I want to set an example here that everyone can blog irrespective of anything. Also, to those who asked me before whether or not they can put up my link in their website/blog, go ahead. It doesn't bother me anymore.

So, I'm looking forward to reading all your comments soon. Adios for now!