Orangeous Dailies

My uncle went to India for a business trip. His colleague had come to the airport to pick him up. Upon meeting up, he put his laptop bag on the floor so that he could shake his colleague’s hand. They exchanged a few words and when he bent down to pick up his bag, he realized that it was gone.

Same thing happened to my cousin who went over to London to study. She put her shopping bag on the floor, bent down to tie her shoelaces. And the whole shopping bag was gone the moment she got up.

Pang called me on Tuesday, asked me if I would be at home on Wednesday night, probably have dinner or something. Pang only told me he wanted to have dinner with me, nothing else. He only had five hours out of camp and he had to be back by 11pm. I told him no, because I would be in school for major project evaluation.

After my consultation ended at around 8:30 p.m., I received a call from home. Dad told me that Pang was at my place and asked if I could bring him out for dinner, he hasn’t eaten yet. So Jessie drove me home. The moment I opened the door, I saw Pang sitting on the couch, having a conversation with my Dad. Dad kept mumbling something like “you shouldn’t have…”.

Then I saw a really huge bag of Chinese New Year goodies…

Picture taken after it was unpacked

This didn’t happen only this year, but last year, and last last year as well..

When I brought Pang out for dinner, it was then I realized that he had headed down to Boon Lay immediately after he was released from camp, bought two full bags of Chinese New Year goodies, took the train all the way down to my place at Outram just to deliver them to my place. His initial plan was to take the train back to camp afterwards.

I was seriously amazed at the sincerity of his intentions. I felt bad that I had turned him down a day before… and he turned up with THIS?! After we had dinner, Jessie dropped him off at his Jurong camp.

Anyways, Pang, if you’re reading this. I just want to say a big thank you to you. It has been a good eight years now man..

Generations ago, I slaughtered thousands. Which puts me on par with Gen. Butt Naked. They came, they took, they fell. Recently, they came back. And they started their nonsense all over again. They raided my coffee cup and even scavenged an empty cup which was used to hold a mixture of vodka and orange juice. Didn’t know that they were alcoholic as well.

So I took the initiative to place one of their very special treats along their war path.

It’s been three days now. I’ve observed a few ants walking up to the little bunker, sniffing around before scampering away, never to return again. They’re refusing to take the poison back home, and they’re still continuing to raid my coffee cup. I believe they’ve either learned their lesson, or they do understand English after all.

I hate horror movies. I hate the shallow plot. I hate how the background music creates a big hoo-hah about something that’s going to pop out. Basically, I just hate to watch dead people walk around for 90 minutes. I turned Jessie down every single time she wanted to catch a horror movie.

The deal last last Saturday was to watch Cloverfield. Been hearing a lot of mixed reviews regarding that movie. Sister says its a great movie. Classmate tells me not to watch it, horrible show. Damn, I’ve been waiting all week for Jessie to drive me out! So I was pretty much looking forward to catch Cloverfield.

Waikian was kind enough to buy the tickets for the four of us. And he wasn’t late this time, neither did he go to the wrong cinema. Few weeks back, instead of Marina Square GV, he went to Suntec’s Eng Wah. We were all waiting for his tickets and the show had already started 15 minutes ago.

So as per normal, I got my two beers ready and we went into the cinema. *Lights off* Waited for the point when the music was the loudest. PSSST! *opened the beer can*. Bingo. Insert straw, drink. Perfect. Nothing beats walking out of the cinema red-faced.

A picture of a house appeared. Then followed by the title.

“One missed call”.

WHAT THE FUCK?! Jessie started laughing. I turned to Pang and Kian. They were mumbling something. Then Kian leaned over and whispered “Pang watched Cloverfield already.”

“Fuck! You all planned it! You know I hate horror movies.”

“Aiyah shut up and watch la.”

I turned to Jessie. She was laughing and giving me that uh-I-wasn’t-involved look. But somehow, I knew she and the rest were masterminds behind this tragedy.

The show wasn’t that bad after all.

Maximum embarrassment occurs when…

When the bill comes, you offer to pay for everyone’s meal. A bit of pulling around here and there from the people at the table. And you realize you’re $2 short, when you make the payment in cash. Geesh!

No, hawkers don’t accept cards.

It’s 10pm. now. A bottle of wine and watching Ocean’s 11,12,13 on the laptop. More than enough to keep the both of us occupied till 2 am. Saturday nights at home ain’t a bad idea after all!

Found this on Lancerlord’s blog. Go try it out.

97 words

Jessie forwarded me an interesting email today. Is this really possible?

Suddenly the shoreline north of Sydney was transformed into the Cappuccino Coast. Foam swallowed an entire beach and half the nearby buildings, including the local lifeguards’ centre,in a freak display of nature at Yamba in New South Wales. One minute a group of teenage surfers were waiting to catch a wave, the next they were swallowed up in a giant bubble bath. The foam was so light that they could puff it out of their hands and watch it float away.

Tom Woods, 12, emerges from the clouds of foam after deciding that surfing was not an option.

It stretched for 30 miles out into the Pacific in a phenomenon not seen at the beach for more than three decades. Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles. These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore. As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam. The foam “surfs” towards shore until the wave “crashes”, tossing the foam into the air.

The foam was so thick it came all the way up to the surf club. “It’s the same effect you get when you whip up a milk shake in a blender,” explained a marine expert. “The more powerful the swirl, the more foam you create on the surface and the lighter it becomes.” In this case, storms off the New South Wales Coast and further north off Queensland had created a huge disturbance in the ocean, hitting a stretch of water where there was a particularly high amount of the substances which form into bubbles. As for 12-year-old beachgoer Tom Woods, who has been surfing since he was two, riding a wave was out of the question. “Me and my mates just spent the afternoon leaping about in that stuff,” he said. “It was quite cool to touch and it was really weird. It was like clouds of air – you could hardly feel it.”

Children play among all the foam which was been whipped up by cyclonic conditions.

Dad was talking to me about compressed natural gas (CNG) as a cheaper and greener alternative compared to petrol. Greener? Yes. Cheaper? Not from what we both see.

The tank weighs almost 96.6kg while it is empty. The weight is the biggest problem.

Suspension damage from the additional weight, especially with a car full of people plus that tank. With such heavy loads, brake pads wear off faster. Fuel consumption increases. The clutch (which can last about 80,000km) has to be replaced at only 40,000km. The car becomes visibly slower. Maintenance becomes expensive.

No thanks to CNG, I’ll stick to petrol.

Dear Human,

I am one year old today.

With love,

Carlos

Had my stitches removed today by some really rough nurse who tugged so hard, my wound bled.

The surgeon showed me the shots taken by the camera inserted into my shoulder during the operation. He was nice enough to let me keep it as a souvenir after I told him the tendons looked like “seafood“, probably squid.

Dad cooks whatever we TELL him to, and he enjoys cooking. Fried egg means fried egg. Not pork chop, not fried noodles. Mum, on the other hand, whips up a totally different (usually horrible) dish, then proceeds to intimidate / challenge you, often with nutritional value as her arguement.

Celebrated Pang’s 23rd Birthday at Tapas Wine Bistro @ Holland Village.

Thank you Kenneth for the wonderful service that night!

(From left) Kenneth, Waikian, Jessie and I.

Kenneth, Jessie and I.

Jessie and I.

(From left) Nasye, Carol, Trisha, Kenneth, Waikian, Jessie, me, Wenbin, Elgene and Pang.

Video : Pang blowing out his cake.

Related : Pang’s 23rd Birthday.

Held at Tapas Wine Bistro @ Holland Village.

I lay down this morning on the couch and watched TV, something which I’ve never done for years and years now. I don’t even know how the new remote control works now. Gabbie was lying in the sofa opposite mine. She was holding a bone with her two paws, contentedly chewing away. I called her name. She put down her bone and stared me in the eye, as if expecting something.

For a moment I thought to myself. If only I could be just like her. Even though my lifespan is only 10 years, at least I’ll have no worries, staying relaxed always, never having to worry about shelter and food… If only…

Out of the blue, Carlos ran over and leapt full force into the sofa, colliding with Gabbie. He picked up the bone with his mouth and darted off. Gabbie, startled, stood up and gave chase..

Well, I prefer to remain as what I am.

I’m typing all these using only one hand…haha!

I know roughly one or two of you out there reading this have experienced a shoulder dislocation before, either because of sports, physically-demanding sexual activities, or by goofing around on wet floors. Pretty common. It’s best not to leave it untreated. From what the doc told me, it will lead to arthritis. So I’m sharing some stuff with you from a patient’s point of view. This procedure, from what doc said, is probably the most effective treatment available, compared to traditional open shoulder surgery. He told me two holes, but I don’t know why I removed the dressing to find three, one which was stitched up like tic-tac-toe.

Two in the front… The crop-circle drawings are still there…

One small one at the back.

I feel that you should consider this Bankart Repair surgery if you’re:

1) Experiencing frequent dislocations or near dislocations (that kind of about-to-pop-out feeling).

2) Just looking forward to a 44 to 60 day MC (super cool)

The total cost is around $2,500, and if you’re lucky enough to be in service, you only pay $10 or so for the ward charges. Just make an appointment with a specialist, nag him about your frequent dislocations, and he’ll eventually ask you to book a date for surgery.

I thought they were going to put me to sleep first before entering the operating theatre. Haha! Fucking silly me! In fact, I had to walk in, sit on the cold mechanical chair to be strapped in, before they finally put me to sleep. The surgery lasted only an hour. The moment I woke, that was the pinnacle of pain! Just stunning pain that made me moan “Owwwwwwwwwzzzhhh“. The nurse was somehow expecting that reaction, so she came over, and provided me with painkillers. It was 10 am then, and I slept for a good 4 hours before Dad, Michelle and Robert came to pick me up.

The first day was pretty much painful. A very sore feeling in your shoulder which doesn’t stop. You won’t even want to lift your arm to clean the arm pits, let alone bathe. But rest assured, with a pillow under your injured arm, you still can lean back and play PSP like I did. Second day, not that painful anymore, just the bathing part. Jessie bathed me for three days straight, so all I had to do was stand there and support my arm. Not too bad, just that putting on clothes and wearing the sling was a fucking chore. Its been three days now and the pain is subsiding very very quickly. I’m happy with the progress. All the saline weeping out of the wound has stopped, so the three holes are pretty much dry now.

The second biggest problem, other than bathing, is sleeping. I slept with two small pillows underneath my arm so that it prevented my shoulder from drooping. And when I woke up, I held my elbow close to my rib-cage, and got up in a sit-up motion. Don’t ever try rolling off the bed, my shoulder felt like it was going to tear off. The pain woke me up on and off during the night, even though I was on painkillers “Soden”. That was because I took them at 6 p.m. and it wore off in the middle of the night. If you have to take them twice daily, I’d recommend 10 am and 10 pm (one hour before I slept). The saddest thing I heard from the nurse was that I was not allowed to consume alcohol! For how long, she didn’t fucking say! Probably had something to do with medication, excessive bleeding and stuff like that.

I have a friend who practically dislocates everytime he reaches back, but now he’s 100% cured after surgery. I believe it will do the same for you and me too.

Take a look at the following resources if you’re interested in finding out more before the op :

UW Medicine : Arthroscopic shoulder surgery for shoulder dislocation, subluxation, and instability

HSS : Arthroscopic Bankart Repair Video (might be a little gross)

Hope this post will help the relevant people with shoulder dislocations. If you need to know anything on pain management and stuff like that, just drop them in the comments box. And oh yes, smoking did ease some pain, even though my New Year’s resolution was not to smoke!

[Update - 180108]

The surgeon showed me the shots taken by the camera inserted into my shoulder during the operation. He was nice enough to let me keep it as a souvenir after I told him the tendons looked like “seafood“, probably squid.

DISCLAIMER
This site is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this site and linkages to other sites, the author provides general information for educational purposes only. The information provided in this site, or through linkages to other sites, is not a substitute for medical or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call consultation or the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. The author is not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or any other information, services or product you obtain through this site.

Jessie came over after work with lots of fish soup. After which, she took a full 20 minutes to bathe me, while at the same time, trying hard not to get the dressing above my shoulder wet. She left a few minutes ago when her mum came over to pick her up.

I feel so full, so clean, and so happy.

Dad took a picture of a very groggy me at the ward.

Jessie couldn’t be there because she was at work, so she sent a hamper over the moment I reached home. Thank you so much my dear!

Later on in the night… I had to change into a set of more comfortable clothing. Taking out the buttoned shirt was easy..

Still a little bit of bleeding.

Putting on clothes was not! I was in serious fucking pain trying to squeeze into a singlet, therefore Dad had to cut up an old t-shirt. He cut me the sexiest t-shirt ever!

I’m going to remove the dressing tonight, because it has become damp from the excess blood and saline, hopefully get a closer look and a picture of the two holes. Jessie’s coming over after work with dinner and to help me wash-up. I haven’t bathed for a day and I really really stink, especially with dried blood under the arm pits.

DISCLAIMER
This site is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this site and linkages to other sites, the author provides general information for educational purposes only. The information provided in this site, or through linkages to other sites, is not a substitute for medical or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call consultation or the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. The author is not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or any other information, services or product you obtain through this site.

Thank you to all who called to check out on me.

The operation was a great success because I’m still alive, just that the pain was a serious motherfucker! There are two holes in my shoulder now, and it’s slowly weeping saline fluid (that was pumped into my shoulder to separate the tendons).

I think I’ll get back to sleep before the pain comes back again,

Hope all goes smoothly during tomorrow morning’s operation.

I’ll still be able to blog even though I’m one-handed.