32yo Trapped In A 22yo Body...

You Are 22 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

What Is Hepatitis A?

the following is taken from the Singapore Health Promotion Board's website (with some additional personal experience written by me, especially the whole of the last part on "Things To Consider"...

for information on other diseases, please refer to the following link: Health A to Z

Hepatitis A is a viral infection that causes the liver to become enlarged, inflamed and tender. There is no chronic (long-term) infection. The virus is excreted in faeces and transmitted through contaminated food and water. Eating shellfish taken from sewage-contaminated water is a common means of contracting Hepatitis A. It can also be acquired by close contact with individuals infected with the virus.

A person is infectious for 2-3 weeks before he or she experiences symptoms and during the first week of illness.

Symptoms

• jaundice (yellowness of the body)
  
• fatigue (mousez72 experienced this about 2 weeks before Hep A was diagnosed)
  
• fever (mousez72 had fever the weekend before Hep A was diagnosed)
  
• loss of appetite (mousez72 also experienced bloating of stomach, pain while eating, drinking and heavy breathing)
  
• nausea and vomiting (mousez72 only vomitted)
  
• pale coloured stools and dark urine (mousez72 had tea-coloured urine and pale stool the weekend before Hep A was diagnosed)
  
• itchy skin (mousez72 was scratching himself the weekend after Hep A was diagnosed)

Prevention Of Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A vaccination is the best protection. Immune globulin can be given for short-term protection. It is given before and within 2 weeks after coming in contact with Hepatitis A virus. The vaccine is recommended for travellers travelling to developing countries and people with chronic liver disease.

Always wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet, before preparing and eating food.

Things To Consider

1. do not take any medicines cos medicines will make the liver work harder


2. rest a lot to allow the body to recover


3. hospitalisation is not compulsory if your family doctor is able to perform blood tests regularly to monitor the liver functions


4. as your liver function improves, the body produces more and more anti-bodies until it plateaus at a certain level


5. you cannot be infected again once you had Hepatitis A (i.e. the anti-bodies stay with you for life) and there is no carrier status for Hep A


6. do not have any communal activities (e.g. communal eating with family and friends)


7. watch your personal hygiene strictly especially toilet hygiene

Dengue??

this morning, a colleague asked me how was my dengue... gave him the "duh" look... told him i was down with Hep A and not dengue... he's the second colleague who asked me about "my dengue"... choy choy choy...

and that's how rumours spread...

Happy Birthday Mum...

today is mum's 50th birthday... she's so young!!!!!

woke up this morning and wished her Happy Birthday... hope she recovers from her flu and cough soon...

i've made her worried too much over the last few months because of my health problems... will take good care of myself more in the future...

What A Weekend...

Friday (23 September 2005)

met Kerry and Ben to watch Quills... what a performance!! i was totally in awe that the actors (and actresses) could remember all their lines... the language used wasn't really that easy to understand... chim chim stuff... was also very impressed with the sound and the lighting of the entire performance... and of course the full frontal nude scenes...

question: are all non-Asians well-endowed?!?! at least the actor was...

i didn't expect the show to be a full 3 hours... managed to get a cab home after that...


Saturday (24 September 2005)

reached home in the morning... bought breakfast for my family...

slept until 6 pm... still very reluctant to get up... was still contemplating on whether i should attend the two bbqs at east coast parkway (ECP)... especially when Patrick was not going for Ken's LJ party cos he's hosting his overseas friends in town... eventually, decided to go so as to keep my words...

wanted to take a cab to ECP but decided to save some money... took the bus and reached ECP at around 8pm... still crowded at this hour... people roller-blading; people having bbqs; people pitching tents to spend the night by the beach; people running or cycling; people having some cyclohunt event; etc... i usually don't come to ECP at this hour... so was quite surprised at the activities going on...

reached Ken's LJ party at Costa Sands Resort at around 8:30pm... was drenched cos tonight there's no wind at all... met a number of LJ people... by the time i left, i could only remember a few names... those whom i've chatted with... actually only one: Dev... hahahaha... Ken was such a warm host... made me very comfortable... as some of my friends know, i am shy when meeting strangers... don't know how to take initiative to strike a conversation... not that i am "dao" or what lah... it's just me... but once i'm comfortable with the new faces, i will be alright and even become talkative...

to all the people i met or said "hello" to... nice meeting you guys... hope to see more of you in the future...

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Parry was very kind to volunteer to fetch me from the resort... or it would have taken me at least 1 hour to walk to the bbq pit at the other end of ECP...

Jeff must be the most fortunate guy in the whole universe that night... i must salute all his friends (especially the organisers) for making the birthday party such a success... forget about the extra food bought; forget about the time taken to plan and get everything in place; forget about everything else... just remember the smile on Jeff's face while he was cutting the birthday cake... that alone is enough to wash away all the pain and sweat (hopefully no blood)...

Roy saw me and his first comments were that i have lost some weight... told him 10kg to be precise... with the spate of health problems lately (and some other reasons), how not to lose weight... the last time i saw Roy was back on New Year's Day when we went to JB with Don to eat and watched Kung Fu Hustle in Cantonese... to him, my weight loss was very obvious... since i look myself in the mirror everyday, i can't really notice the change...

PS: Kerry, sorry i couldn't join you guys at Happy...


Sunday (25 September 2005)

had my brunch bought by mum at 12:30pm... read the newspapers before getting changed to meet Ken (my colleague, a different Ken from the ECP one) at HMV Citylink... was a little late (unusual)... had a quick browse of HMV... luckily nothing to buy... we went to TCC (opposite HMV) for a drink and my cheese cake...

chatted for a while... quite a number of topics were covered... hehe... after coffee, we headed to Victoria Theatre for The Magnets' (an acapella group from the UK) concert... hardly watched anything at 4pm in the afternoon... the heat was killing me, after the walk from Citylink to Victoria Theatre... hot sia... i need my sunblock!!!!! both of us were stunned by the performance... no words could described what we've just seen... AWESOME!!!!! for more information of the group, please visit www.themagnets.com

after the concert, strolled to Funan to check out Guildwar... still couldn't find... probably fated that i shouldn't play the game... anyway, this month overspent liao... better watch those wallets...

mum's birthday dinner was at Plaza Brasserie at Plaza Parkroyal hotel... actually mum wasn't feeling well that day... she was at the doctor's for flu and cough... and was running a slight fever when she reached the hotel... of course, she didn't eat much... but we did... hehe... hope she recovers well and soon... hate to see her sick (just like she hates to see me (or anyone at home) sick)... saw her wearing the Swatch i bought her a couple of weeks back... nice... very retro looking...

reached home at around 10pm... showered and read the papers... popped my 5htp and went straight to bed... so tired... yawn yawn...

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PS: doc, sorry that i didn't rest more... should have... *wink wink*

??+???

just discovered the following during discussions with colleagues:
1. ??????
2. ????
3. ?????????

what can i say... ????????????

Hep A Pics...

some pictures during my stay in TTSH 2 weeks ago...

Kerry and "yellow" Dave

just woke up... yellow still...

close-up shot of my yellow face...

the stalk of sunflower from my colleagues...

Blur...

called Kerry in the afternoon to arrange to meet up for the John Little Sale Preview for OCBC Robinsons Cardholders...

met him only to realise that i left the voucher in the office... duh lor... sigh...

the voucher expired today... argh...

Farewell, My Friend...

dear Sunn,

it's been 3 days since you left the company... i wouldn't say that i am missing you already (cos that would sound too fake and too mushy)... however, there's a tinge of sadness now... not that there wasn't any on your last day... considering that was my first day back in the office after 2 weeks of medical leave... my mind was preoccupied with many other things and couldn't really get into the farewell mood...

i could still remember the first day i joined this office and was very surprised to see you here... at that time, i could remember you by face, not by name... it had been 9 years since our first year in NTU... and we've not changed much... probably i've put on some weight...

i always enjoyed the time we spent discussing about work, about the people, about many things... and the fact that you're just seated in front of me helped...

our Thailand audit was also a memorable one... the friendly Thai colleagues who simply couldn't pronounce certain English words that at times made us laugh... the delicious Thai food (tom yam koong, etc)... and the endless shopping... it was a pleasure that your hubby was there too... i believe the most memorable had to be the night trip to Khao San... the Director who drove us there nearly drove us crazy... his driving skills in heavy-traffic Bangkok were inadequate... but i enjoyed the trip, especially the part where we were at the riverside, looking at the palace on the other side of the river...

not too long after that, it was the HK business trip... two weeks of "hell": the much faster paced working culture, the colleagues, the chilly, wet and gloomy weather... we survived all that eventually... i could still remember you guys waking me up to see you guys off at the hotel... i was so tired after a night of partying but being the kind soul that i am, i obliged... hahahaha...

hope you would cherish these memories and whenever you think about them, they would bring a smile to your face...

as promised, this blog entry is specially dedicated to you... nothing fanciful... something to remember you by...

stay in touch, no matter where you are... our paths will cross some day... it did after 9 years... or we'll have to make them cross by arranging to meet up for lunch... it's a small world after all, and an even smaller Singapore...

take care...

cheers,
dave

Holy Flowers...

yesterday before i went into the shower, mum came up with some flowers for me to use to bathe... apparently my parents had gone to Si Ma Lu Guan Yin temple to get the blessed flowers... yesterday was the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (i.e. Mid-Autumn Festival)...

let's hope things will get better and smooth from now on... ;-)

Good News... Yet Not So Good News...

the company doctor called just now to convey not so good news:

the latest update on last Friday's blood test was as below:
SGPT (ALT) - 200+ mu/ml
Last Monday - 435 mu/ml
Last last Tuesday was 2262 mu/ml (normal = 0 to 30)

doc was expecting a two-digit result... alas... failed...

SGOT (AST) - 89 mu/ml
Last Monday - 86 mu/ml
Last last Tuesday was 1832 mu/ml (normal = 0 to 30)

doc was surprised it has gone up!! but admitted that there could be a certain level of error lah...

Bilirubin - 2+ mg/dl
Last Monday - 4.2 mg/dl
Last last Tuesday was 6.5 mg/dl (normal = 0 to 1.5)

the bilirubin level has come down and hence reduction in the yellowness in me... i'm sure my eyes are not yellow anymore... doc said that there's definitely improvement but he was still not satisfied with the results... told him i have to come back to the office... there's just too much to be accomplished... he replied that i should pace myself and not overwork... of course, if need be, he will have to send me back home to rest and recuperate... promised him i will be fine...

this round of blood test included testing my blood counts... apparently the white blood counts were on the high side... he said there could be an infection somewhere... which explained the fever and diarrhea i had on Thursday evening and Friday morning... but nothing too serious to warrant any further blood tests...

doc said that he will do another test in about 2 weeks' time... no point in doing any test too soon, considering the results would be more or less the same...

doc's last words of advice before hanging up:
1. to continue to refrain from any communal activities (e.g. eating, sexual intercourse, etc)...
2. and of course, rest more...

thanx doc!!

Health Update Thursday

no news from the company doctor and decided to buzz him yesterday afternoon... he said that he was too busy to call... i joked that no news was good news... he laughed... good news, yes; but not jubilation yet...

the latest update on Monday's blood test was as below:
SGPT (ALT) - 400+ mu/ml
Last Tuesday was 2262 mu/ml (normal = 0 to 30)

SGOT (AST) - 100+ mu/ml
Last Tuesday was 1832 mu/ml (normal = 0 to 30)

Bilirubin - 4.5 mg/dl
Last Tuesday was 6.5 mg/dl (normal = 0 to 1.5)

there's definitely improvement but doc was still not comfortable to send me back to the office... there's still more to be achieved... extended my medical leave for another 2 days to let the liver get back to normal... i will be back to the office on Monday...

however, i'll have to see him again on Friday for yet another blood test to make sure that the liver is continuing to improve... after that i'll drop by the office to settle some matters before heading back home to rest further...

Health Updates

went to see the company doctor, as instructed by him last Friday, this morning... the first thing he commented when i stepped into his room was that i still looked yellow... and he's not ready to let me go back to the office and scare everyone... my eyes were still yellow, much more so than last Monday when i first saw him...

he explained Tuesday's blood test results to me... apparently the enzymes in my liver were way off the normal range:
SGPT (ALT) - 2262 mu/ml (normal = 0 to 30)
SGOT (AST) - 1832 mu/ml (normal = 0 to 30)
GGT - 746 IU/L (normal = 0 to 50)
Bilirubin 6.5 mg/dl ((normal = 0 to 1.5)

he advised that my levels were still not critical cos they were below the 10,000 range... he said that what TTSH had done was to make sure that the levels did not increase over the days i was hospitalised... 2 consecutive decreases and they would have discharged me (apparently that was what happened)...

now that i had Hep A, the immunity is for life... so i'm free from Hep A & B (i am naturally immunised to Hep B)... but there's still C, D and E (all of which do not have any vaccinations at the moment)...

he took blood for further testing of the liver functions to make sure that the levels are back to normal... he saw the various bruises on both my arms and commented that it's normal cos the blood takes a longer time to clot now, resulting in the bruising...

told him about the itching that can be quite unbearable at times... he said that it's best not to strain the liver further and to stay away from medications (all, if not most, of them are bound to make the liver work harder)...

doc gave me medical leave until Wednesday... depending on the blood test results, he may extend it further come Wednesday... anyway, i've already used up my medical leave... will have to take my own leave (which is also meagre now after the hearing loss)... i may have to seek approval from the Director to extend my medical leave eventually... wish me luck...

so, it's back to rest, rest and more rest...

Movies...

was reading the newspapers... stopped at the movie listing page for a while... realised that there are a few movies that i would very much like to watch... and my last movie was The Maid...

1. a bittersweet life (korean)
2. as it is in heaven (swedish)
3. be with me (singaporean)
4. red eye (american)
5. one more chance (singapore hokkien)

what an international selection, eh? hahahaha...

any takers??

9/11...

today's the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy... mourning continues in certain parts of the world, i'm sure...

today's also the finals of the US Open tennis men's singles match between Roger Federer and Andre Agassi... Kim Clijsters won the female's singles titles earlier yesterday...

today's also the end of my hospitalisation leave given by TTSH doctor... tomorrow back to see the company doctor who has been very concern over my jaundice condition...

Home Suite Home...

discharged on Thursday afternoon... still feeling lethargic and tired... been sleeping and resting the whole of Friday...

diagnosis: acute Hep A with jaundice... GP called to find out about my condition... said he has to continue to monitor my liver functions to make sure it's back to normal (below 100 range) cos my situation on Tuesday was at the > 2000 level... will be out of action next week...

thanx to everyone for their well wishes... especially to those who came visiting at TTSH...

i appreciate all of you from the bottom of my heart... muacks...

Welcome To The Hotel TTSH...

well, it has finally come to this stage where i will be warded in Hotel TTSH (same four-syllable as California)...

went to see the company doctor yesterday and was told that i looked "yellow"... something which no one, including myself, had noticed the entire day... took some blood for testing...

this morning, the results came in... it's confirmed jaundice... the liver is not functioning as well as it should... hence, the yellowness in me... he's arranging for me to be directly warded to Hotel TTSH (to prevent queuing and waiting at the A&E Department)...

booking confirmed... checking into Hotel TTSH Room 8B65 after 4pm this afternoon... not sure how long i will be there... company doctor said they're gonna do a series of blood tests to find out the cause as well as for monitoring purposes...

me keeping my spirits as high up as possible... but then again... what goes up must come down... dio bo?? surprising me handling this much better than the previous hearing loss...

like the Hokkien saying goes: 无三不成礼... let's hope this is the last in the series of three: high fever + hearing loss + this)... hahahaha...

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melvin, cant join you guys for dinner this Thur...

sarah and kerry, friday dinner also must postpone liao...

Project Superstar...

for the whole morning, my tummy was still feeling very tight and cramped... every time i breathe hard, it hurts... not in a very good mood, i'm sure...

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got this call from someone in marine parade... my guess is she's from the branch...

D - Dave
J - mysterious girl from marine parade
(in order of appearance)

D: good morning...
J: hi D, u're very difficult to find leh...
D: er... who are you?
J: J from marine parade...
D: i don't know any J from marine parade... who are you looking for?
J: u r D rite? i'm actually looking for G or H...
D: but i am D... and i don't know you...
J: what number is this?
D: i am not the person you are looking for...
J: i think i got the wrong number...
D: ... ... ...

don't know what to make out of the entire conversation... some basic telephone courtesy:
1. greetings...
2. identify yourself (don't you just hate it when you pick up a call and the other party just go: who are you? or who is there? or where is this place? duh lor...
3. apologise when you dialed the wrong number... or say "thank you" at the end of the conversation...

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had an interview at 12:10pm... hated it when candidates wanted to meet during lunch... so hungry how to interview? hahahaha...

just when i thought that i was in for a very bad day in the office, an incident brightened up my day (and life)...

was at the reception counter just now waiting for a candidate to complete her job application form... the lunch kaki of the receptionist approached me... btw, i don't really know the person well...

L - receptionist's lunch kaki
D - Dave
R - receptionist
(in order of appearance)

L: you should have taken part in Project Superstar (i'm surprised that she knew the contest cos she's a Malay girl)...
D: why leh?
L: you can sing so well... sure win the blind guy...
R: D can sing meh?
L: he sang at the company's dinner what... part of the idol competition...
R: he won?
D: doreen won... me second...
R: you didn't concentrate for the second song lah... forget your lyrics... if not, you would have won 1st...
D: thanx!

suddenly, i'm on cloud nine... and the interview went well too...

You Give Me Fever...

was feeling a little feverish since yesterday afternoon... took 2 panadols in the office... reached home, told mum about it... she said to watch it...

was home to watch Project Superstar... in between got mooncake delivery by Jasen and then Vincent came to pick up some things... Vince bought his Apple Powerbook at COMEX... think i will drop by COMEX on Saturday... friend SMSed to say that he can't meet on Saturday... he's missing his ex-bf... think i better not get too involved with people who are on the rebounce... scary...

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12am - still a little feverish... decided to turn on the aircon... duh lor...
3am - woke up to pee... felt the fever rushing up... popped a panadol and turned off the aircon... covered myself with blanket cos i've decided to sweat it out to get better... my "traditional" way of fighting fever...
6:45am - alarm went off... woke up to a wet t-shirt and sticky body... probably a little stinky too... hehe...

told mum about my condition, she asked if i'm okay to go to work... replied that i should be fine... and she said to take care... mum will always be mum...

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8:45am - in office... still feeling a little dis-orientated... tonight got dinner with CK1 gang at My Secret Garden (www.mysg.com.sg)... never been... only at the entrance once about a month ago... didn't dine there cos they didn't have indoor seats then... tonight will be okay cos i've made a reservation liao... was supposed to go to Nude for dinner, but it's still under renovation...

Project Superstar The Finale...

the highlight of the evening has to be the duet between Junyang and Xinhui... their 屋顶 was simply lovely... and sweet...

屋顶 - 吴宗宪/温岚
曲：周杰伦 | 词：周杰伦 | 编：屠颖

(男)半夜睡不着觉 把心情哼成歌
只好到屋顶找另一个梦境
(女)睡梦中被敲醒 我还是不确定
怎曾有动人 弦律在对面的屋顶
我悄悄关上门 带着希望上去
原来是我梦里常出现的那个人
(男)那个人不就是我梦里
那模糊的人 我们有同样的默契
(女)用天线(合)用天线 排成爱你的形状Ho Ho
(女)在屋顶唱着你的歌
(男)在屋顶和我爱的人
(女)让星星点缀成(合)最浪漫的夜晚
拥抱这时刻这一分一秒全都停止
(男)爱开始纠结
(女)在屋顶唱着你的歌
(男)在屋顶和我爱的人
(女)将泛黄的的夜献给(合)最孤独的月
拥抱这时刻这一分一秒全都停止
(男)爱开始纠结(合)梦有你而美
(女)让我爱你是谁(男)是我
(女)让你爱我是谁(男)是你
(女)怎会有 (合)动人弦律环绕在我俩的身边
(女)让我爱你是谁 (男)是我
(女)让你爱我是谁 (男)是你
(女)原来是(合)这屋顶有美丽的邂逅

My Name...

just realised that there are 2 other ways of pronouncing my name, thanks to my Japanese colleague and malaysia client:

1. Dave = day boo

somehow the Japanese couldn't pronounce the "ve" sound... no wonder when i was in the Japan office last year, they always addressed me as "Teo-san" (Teo being my surname) and not "Dave-san"... cos it would have become "Day-Boo-san"...

the Japanese colleague tried asking for some "ah poo" juice that day... i didn't know what she meant until she pointed at my "apple juice"...

then she mentioned "lunch" on Thursday... but i kept reminding her that we do not have any lunch appointment with each other on Thursday... later i realised she's referring to the "launch" of a certain product...

2. Dave = deaf

the Malaysian client called to ask for "deaf"... the operator couldn't locate the name in the staff directory... and conveniently transferred the call to me (cos by default, all calls to our Department are routed to me nowadays)... and when i picked up the call, the client said, "are you deaf?"...