Posted on 28 September 2004 @ 09:37 in Pictures, Stress Busters
So cute …
Christina shared the news over at the Yahoo! Hua Mei group.
To think that the mama herself was about the same size just five years ago:
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| “One of the twin cubs born by the American-born female giant panda Hua Mei sleeps in an attemperator at the China Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province Sept. 27, 2004. Giant panda Hua Mei, who did not know how to feed her babies after giving birth to them, learned some basic skills in the nursing of cubs in a 7-day training session held by the staff of the research center. Now, Hua Mei and the personnel of the China Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center take care of the two cubs in alternation of five days. (Xinhua Photo/Chen Xie)” Source: Xinhuanet |
God-willing, I’ll be visiting Hua Mei and her babies next year.
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Posted on 28 September 2004 @ 08:42 in Personal
There’s a massive hole in my heart this morning. Ouch …
But life goes on …
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Posted on 27 September 2004 @ 12:33 in The Working Life
It has been the hottest topic since late July. Colleagues from different departments who hardly know each other and normally not say much more than a hello, were suddenly following their greetings with, “Any news yet?” And the answer would be, “No, not yet.” And if anyone asked me, I’d add, “It doesn’t matter. Whenever it comes out, it’ll be backdated to 1st July, so no worries.”
Last Friday, some of the support staff in my department started whispering, “Eh, such-and-such a department got theirs already, lah.”
This morning, the same support staff came to work looking positively worried. Then, around mid-morning, someone from the HR department came in with a familiar A5-sized brown envelope. A while later, our head of department came out of her room with a stack of white envelopes in her hand, which she proceeded to distribute to each of us. To the Muslim staff she added, “Nah, duit Raya …”
I wasn’t expecting mine. The usual process is for the support staff to receive theirs first, followed by the executive staff’s a month later. This time, probably because it’s SO late, we all got it at the same time.
After which, there were no more worried faces in the department.
What is IT?
Our annual “love letter” from the company, with news about our salary increment and bonus payment.
Pleasant surprise for me?
*nods head enthusiastically*
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Posted on 26 September 2004 @ 18:07 in The Working Life, Writing
Writer’s block implies that you’ve come up against a dead end, or a very thick wall, and there is no way through for the writing that you need to do.
For me, writer’s block is more akin to constipation. The words are in me, but they are just not coming out. Or if they are, they are not coming out right. And I’m feeling very uncomfortable because of it.
I’ve spent much of today trying to write a long overdue proposal for work. I haven’t gone out of the house at all - partly cuz it’s been very hot and sunny since about 9:00 a.m. and I’m not supposed to be out in such weather, but I digress.
I’ve spent the day sitting in front of the computer (and letting myself get distracted cuz the computer has been left online since yesterday evening), walking up and down, sitting in front of the telly (hoping for inspiration?), taking short-short naps (in the hope that the entire proposal will come to me in a dream and I’d wake up to transcribe it down?), and staring into space. Despite such un-worklike behaviour, I’d like to think that my brain has been working at processing all the various bits and pieces it has about the paper I have to write.
And now, I think I’ve made a breakthrough.
The words are finally coming together, the sentences flowing from my fingertips and making sense.
For me, the first word, phrase, or sentence has to make sense, and I think what I’ve written so far - about a page or 231 words - is finally making sense.
The proposal will be completed tonight.
Oh yah, I know. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. It’s been Sunday for a long time for me - whether it’s really Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday … am I making sense? Yeah, my life is quite messed-up.
Later …
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Posted on 25 September 2004 @ 22:20 in Health
On my desktop calendar at work, certain dates are highlighted with a tiny fluorescent pink dash. Those are the days I have to take my 5mg Prednisolone tablet. I call them my Prednisolone Days. Prednisolone is one of two meds I’m taking for my lupus condition. Right now, it’s one 5mg tablet every four days. But there was a time when I had to take four 5mg tablets a day.
Back in 1997, I had a bad lupus flare which involved my lungs, and in order to fight the flare, the doctor had to increase my Prednisolone dosage.
If I remember correctly, at that time, my lupus was in remission and I was taking just one tablet a day, or what is called the basic maintenance dosage. Having that bad lupus flare meant that I was back to square one with Prednisolone. It would be a long time before I was back to one tablet a day. Along the way, at suitable intervals, the dosage was gradually decreased, from four a day to two a day, to one a day, then to one-and-a-half every other day, until finally, today, it is one every four days.
Gradually decreased …
Why didn’t the doctor put me back on one Prednisolone a day after the flare had been contained? Cuz Prednisolone is one of those medications that cannot be stopped abruptly. To do so would’ve brought back the flare that it had just beaten into remission. Strange, but true.
For a long time, I was very comfortable on one Prednisolone every other day. About six months back, my rheumatologist suggested tapering it further to one every three days. I agreed, but within two weeks, I was experiencing more joint pains that I’d felt in quite a while, so I went back to one every two days, and reported the outcome at my next check-up. He said to try again, I did, and this time, my body adjusted to the new dosage interval without further complaint. Two months ago, the new rheumatologist in my life suggested one every four days. Rather reluctantly, I agreed, and was glad when my body did not complain.
Just the other day, at my most recent check-up, Dr Y suggested tapering the Prednisolone dosage even further to one every five days. But it’s only been two months since I went on one every four days …
Er … let’s stick with the one every four days for a while, doc.
Good thing she agreed.
So, I’m still on one 5mg Prednisolone every four days, and one 200mg Plaquenil a day.
Tomorrow is a Prednisolone Day on my calendar. That means one 5mg Prednisolone and one 200mg Plaquenil after breakfast … if I remember. If not, later in the day …
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