a bitter experience

haven't been updating for quite some time. and i didnt really have the mood to do my stuff or anything else either. there was a grave matter bothering me, hanging me in suspense and i thought i will plunge into depression. until today, i finally had a big sigh of relief.

it's not about love matters but more seriously, my own health.

it started with my pre-employment medical chkup. (to digress a lil, that clinic really sucks. can deloitte pls cancel that clinic's name on their list. the nurses were ill-mannered with poor service and they made me wait for so fucking long. i really hate wasting time on waiting.) ok so i went for it before leaving for my US trip, and i thought i've cleared that chkup, but they called me on my second day in US, telling me to go back for another urine test because the dip-stick showed traces of protein. they should have told me on that day when i went for the chkup! idiots.

i went back to that cursed clinic again. this time they used multicoloured dip-stick for my urine test. and again it showed quite a high level of protein. so they need to send my uring for a lab test, which means i have to pee again and what's more infuriating is, i have to pay the cost on my own!

ok now lab test done, the doc tells me the level of protein was over the acceptable range. in case you're wondering, have protein in urine so what. it's a bad sign that my kidney might be leaky, in other words, my kidneys might be failing. freak! do you know how i feel when i hear that? feel like crying infront of him but of course must act brave. i can nv forget that moment when i felt so helpless..

so he gave me three choices:
1) do that lab test again (and waste my 75 bucks again)
2) refer me to a renal specialist at a polyclinic (it'll be cheap but the consultation waiting time and results can take ages)
3) refer me to the specialist at private clinic (which is definitely more exp but i need the results fast else i dont think i can start work in august)

after struggling for a few mins, i decided to consult the specialist at gleneagles medical centre. indeed, consultation fee was a whooping 120 bucks! (doctors are the real blood-sucking vampires) the doc asked me to do a blood test and 24hr urine test - i had to collect my urine for one whole day in a big bottle. it's terrible, but no choice.

two days later, which is today, the doc said: "your report showed traces of protein, but there's nothing significantly wrong with you." finally i was able to relax my nerves. i was happy, sad and angry at the same time. happy because there's nothing seriously wrong with me; sad because i have wasted money on nothing; and angry because that cursed clinic is the cause of all my trouble and sorrows!

in total, i wasted 310 bucks and priceless time on all this stupid chkups which i have to dig from my own pockets.

ok, i know i should count myself lucky for not having any problems with my health. during that two wks of suspense, many things went through my head and i've thought of the worst. indeed, as the saying goes, one can afford to die but not afford to fall sick. it's still true even today. yes, medical and science have advanced much compared to like 20 years ago but the cost of it is equally advance as well. Big BOO

oh well, i'm grateful for being alive and through this incident, i realise the importance of family. they'll always remain by your side no matter what happens..

cycling

went cycling at ecp with my ex-roomie xj, and larling's ex-roomie paul. sounds like a roomie's gathering. another common point between us is that we love vball too!

our bikes from the new rental shop.

i prefer the bikes from the old shop which is near subway.

paul and his funny actions. haha

need a hand? or u prefer a leg?

paul forced us to take this 'titanic' shot. so awkward. haha

larling is gg for reservice tml! feeling damn sad now.. won't be seeing him for at least five days. it's time to be independent now. i'll missh ya darling

lovely 26th month!

wanted to go kuishinbo for dinner to celebrate, but it was a lil too pricey and we decided to go for its cheaper lunch buffet on another day. meanwhile we settled our dinner at nydc. i think the only best part of them is their irish mudpie, their pastas are too creamy for my liking.

larling is gg for reservice next wk for a whole of 14 days!! i can barely imagine my life without him for so many days.. i'd have have to learn to bear with it as working life would deny my chances of seeing him that often as well :(

happy 26th huney!! (:

cookies baking session!

it was my virgin baking experience.. and xj had the honour of having it. haha. and in exchange, she gave the nod to do it on her birthday. however, the night was reserved for mr jeff and thus we had only the afternoon to bake 2 types of cookies - soft choco chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. we followed the recipes and bought the ingredients accordingly. (if u went to xj's 21st bday party, u would agree with me that her cookies are really good)

and so we started at 1pm, and at 5pm we were still left with half of the peanut butter dough. xj was running late for her swt date with mr jeff and so we packed up and cleared everything in the shortest possible time. i think we baked more than 50 cookies for each flavour, which was way more than the amount that we estimated - 36. anyway it was such a fun baking session, though tiring. let's do it again next mth ok xj!

xj putting in the dough into the oven

first batch of cookies! the size was a lil too big as xj wanted bite-size

soft choco chip cookie dough

chao tar cookies.

can look like double choco chip cookie

xj says the cookies have to be overturned to air them

plates and more plates of freshly-baked cookies!

so after xj rushed off to meet her honey, i went to meet larling and samuel at PP. i was late too and so they played pool while waiting for me. dinner was then at fish & co and after that we resumed playing pool again til 1130pm! i think that's my longest pool session ever. sam is a great pool-kaki. he's always training in secret and comes thrashing us when we meet for pool. haha.

samuel looking so scholarly with his fake specs.

perhaps it'll help him see pretty gals more clearly. haha

fish & co's clam chowder is damn good.

all-time fav - NY fish and chips

sam's grilled salmon

yep that's it.. nites!!~

post lasik

i'm feeling awesome now!! today's the third day after my lasik surgery and i'm recovering well. no more hassle of wearing contact lenses and nerdy specs. WOOHOO! this is a good investment considering the long OT hours i'll be slogging when work starts. so, my fellow short-sighted auditors-to-be, consider doing lasik now because those check-ups, the surgery itself, and post-lasik reviews would take around a day each. and the recovery process need a few days as well. i'd also recommend my surgery clinic cos the price is reasonable for great facilities and superb service - nurses are chio and well-mannered. haha. but most importantly, my surgeon is really good. he's fast, precise and assuring. there's really no pain at all during the surgery, it's only the suction of my cornea that caused me discomfort. i was really scared but everything's over in just 8mins!



many many thanks to larling for accompanying me patiently and driving me down to the clinic sooo many times.



and being there so many times, we patronised this jap restaurant twice. their soba is damn fantastic.. shimbashi soba

green-tea cheesecake with vanilla ice-cream.

oooh loooves

and yest larling accompanied me yet again.. shopping! haha.

since you're such a gd boy, let u act cute

various outings

1. outing with my dearest jc classmates.


this is the first outing with the best response so far.. almost half of the class turned up although many were horribly late. had our dinner at waraku; the food and ambience was quite good.

my niku curry udon

cmon guys.. don't be shy

that's more like it

02/03's longest-dating couple

2. outing with my bestie rooomie n jeff, our travelling partners. what a shame that we can't go on a holiday trip together this year.

sushi tei's kaminabe.. wonderful!

3. outing with kc and cecilia, our friendly mahjong kakis .

teh-peng with vanilla ice-cream float.. very yummy

yes, i've permed my hair again but i totally regretted doing it. simply bcos my hair was too short for it, and i looked like a lioness if i don't tie up my hair. now i can only wait for it to grow longer, or should i rebond it again? haha madness. i'll be damn broke if i were to visit jean yip anytime soon.

anyway i'll be doing LASIK this coming wk.. so pls wish me good luck!!

fav movie of the year

sex and the city was a great show.. even though the four besties are already nearing 40s and 50s, they still look absolutely gorgeous. it's not only about sex and love, but also friendship and fashion! and i cried twice.. love can be so sweet yet it can turn bitter when u least expected it. after watching that show i think marriage can be quite fearful.. pre-marriage u've to worry whether your guy will phone you the night before and tell you that he doesn't want to marry you, and post-marriage you've to satisfy your man so that he won't go around searching for new or better sex? nevertheless, true love will prevent all the above-mentioned from happening. and thus i trust in larling! LOL

US grad trip

i'm back from the States!! had a hell of a good time there.. pretty scenery, cheap shopping, and great company. there were four fellow singaporeans on the tour, while 41 of the others are westerners - britons, aussies, and kiwis. one thing they have in common is that, they really LOVE to drink and party.. that's a sure thing for them every night.

everything else was fine, but we were starting to crave for asian food after getting sick and tired of eating fried stuff and fries for almost every meal!! until day 11 we finally had some chinese food at yosemite, but it didn't turn out as good as our local ones.

alrights, here are some of the photos.. more on the facebook soon

Day 1: journey to the States

terminal 3

united airlines really sucks but their food is quite good.

Day 2: Los Angeles - Anaheim

snapshot of disneyland.. didn't go in though
cos we went shopping instead! forever 21 is dirt cheap in US

Day 3: San Diego

engagament rings

San Diego harbour cruise

Old Town

Day 4: San Diego

World Famous San Diego Zoo

Mission Beach