Posted on 3 May 2008 @ 00:16 in Health, Rant, Tech Stuff
First off, I just wanna say I MISS MY WIN DESKTOP. It went belly-up a week or so ago, and I’ve been using my MacBook plugged into the external 17″ monitor.
Yes, I have both Windows and Apple machines at home. It’s always been that way ever since I started using computers. At college in San Diego, I had a DOS laptop (yes, in those days, it was DOS, pre-Windows), but the department used Macs. Then, when I came home and started at my second job, we had dinosaur Macs but later persuaded the department head that we needed proper PCs. Then I started hanging out with a group of Mac users, and decided to get me an Apple G4 PowerBook. It was mostly a fun machine while I continued using a Win desktop for serious work. I later replaced the PowerBook with a MacBook, mainly because it can run both Mac and Win OSs.
And I’d been toying with the idea of going 100% Mac, especially since I can use Win on it, too (some necessary apps still require the Win environment). The desktop was getting old, and I thought it was time to make the change.
So for the past week, I’ve been on a Mac environment. It’s quite fun actually but hell on my eyes. The 17″ monitor’s display is not proportionate to the Mac’s 13.3″ display. 1280 x 800 on the Mac became 1280 x 10something … oh, I forget. I’m currently not using the 17″ at the desk, but the “native” Mac on my lap. And suddenly I realised I’d been abusing my eyes with a disproportioned display all week. Not that I didn’t know - my eyes have been feeling tired more than usual, and one night, I even had shimmering images in front of both eyes.
Still thinking of a change to Mac? For the sake of my eyes, I don’t think so.
It is time for a computer upgrade, but not in the direction of a Mac. Instead, I’m staying with Windows. A completely new CPU with the latest components.
I’m planning to sell my MacBook (anyone local who’s interested, please email me chincm[AT]gmail dot com). And getting the new ASUS eeePC (see previous post), a 9″, < 2-pound ultraportable. Cuz I still need a mobile machine when I’m out and about.
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Posted on 25 August 2007 @ 09:42 in Health
If you’re looking for a meaningful way to commemorate Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka (50th year of Malaysia’s independence), why not give to charity? In particular, why not give to RealRewards’ “Caring Malaysians - Rakyat Malaysia Prihatin” fund-raising campaign? For every RM10/- given, or 1,500 Real points (if you’re a RealRewards cardholder), you will be given a car sticker (shown below). Put the sticker on your car’s windscreen and stand a chance to win a family holiday package in the “Spot-2-Win” contest.
RealRewards has pledged the money raised in this campaign to two specific healthcare NGOs - the Malaysian AIDS Foundation, which is involved in helping people living with HIV/AIDS, and Persatuan SLE Malaysia, which is involved in helping people living with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) or Lupus, an auto-immune disorder in which the person’s body produces antibodies that attack healthy cells in the body.
For further information on where to get the car sticker, please call (03) 8023-2626 or log on to www.realrewards.com.my.
This campaign is very close to my heart as I was diagnosed with Lupus in 1994. With the money raised from this campaign, Persatuan SLE Malaysia will be able to expand its much-needed patient counselling services to major government hospitals throughout the country. RealRewards is targetting to raise RM1 million through this campaign. Your RM10/- or 1,500 Real points will help both the Persatuan SLE Malaysia and the Malaysian AIDS Foundation.
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Posted on 13 July 2007 @ 21:47 in Friends, Health
One of my main worries when I left behind a steady 9-to-5 job was that I would no longer be indoors for the better part of each weekday, and how that would affect my lupus as I’m not supposed to be out in the sun too much, especially during the hottest part of each day.
When I was working, that was easy to manage. My job was mainly carried out indoors, so once I got into the office each day, I would remain out of the sun until I went home in the evening. For a long time, I didn’t even go out for lunch as I was bringing lunch from home.
Of course, that could continue even tho’ I’m no longer going to work each day. I could stay indoors during the day and go out after sundown. But given that much of the rest of the world, including the people I would be meeting, are out and about during the day and go home at night, I don’t have much choice but to do likewise.
Another problem that I am prone to is I get bad headaches if I’m out in the car during the day. And that happened a couple of times initially, but now the headaches are getting less. I attribute that not so much to the fact that I don’t drive out during the day, but to the fact that, in the time since I left the old job, I’ve been good to myself and letting my body heal. Being good to myself included leaving what I now recognise to be a poisonous work environment.
I feel good and apparently I’m looking good.
I met up with my former project team leader* this afternoon. We were chatting when she suddenly burst out, “You’re looking good! Your face has cleared … it used to be all red.”
And I used to think the redness came from being out in the sun too much. Apparently not. I can only attribute it to my new life where my stress level has gone down.
Thank You, Lord.
* the one and the same R featured here and here.
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Posted on 15 May 2007 @ 00:47 in Health, The Working Life
Apparently, it may not be the close proximity of the reading lamp that’s causing those ugly red welts on my left forearm.
Apparently, I may be on the verge of a stress-induced lupus flare. I just hope this is not a repeat of the 1997 flare when I ended up with shooting pains in my lungs each time I tried to take a deep breath but was too busy at work to go and see the doctor, and when I finally did, an X-ray of my lungs showed lesions that indicated pleurisy. The lesions healed on their own - miracle from God surely, but one I do not wish repeated again.
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Posted on 11 January 2007 @ 07:26 in Health
Do you hear anything?
No?
Neither do I.
The aeroplane has left.
Yes, the Chinese medication has worked, and the bottle’s not even finished yet. But I’ll continue to take it cuz that’s the thing about Chinese meds - you need to finish it for it to work best.
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