Life...

While I'm doing this Palliative Care course, discussing about death and dying is common. The UK National Council for Palliative Care has dedicated this week (16th - 22nd May 2011) as 'Awareness Week' which is part of their 'Dying Matters: Let's Talk About It' campaign. It's basically to encourage people to talk about their wishes towards the end of their lives.
http://www.ncpc.org.uk

One of the things they ask people to think about is to list down '5 Things To Do Before I Die'. I have thought about my list and came out with something like this:
1) Get married (hahaha...) and have children (raise them to be useful citizens)
2) Be more charitable
3) Learn a new language (it's probably between Mandarin or Japanese)
4) Tone up my body (Having some defined abs would be nice...huhu)
5) Have some coordination skills (It could be driving or executing some nifty dance moves)


I also just read sad news that an IMU alumni from the medical batch passed away yesterday after a 4 yr battle with cancer. He was 33 yrs and married his sweetheart when he was in remission from cancer. He started a blog of his journey which I found very inspiring where he kept his faith and his humor throughout the harrowing 4 years. May he rest in peace.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/towshungtan/mystory


On a lighter note, there was a joke about dying. I know most people might find jokes about dying a little tasteless but I found this rather funny.

Robin Hood is dying and he is lying weak in his bedroom. He has Lady Marion and Friar Tuck next to him. Robin Hood says to them "Bring me my bow, bring me my favourite arrow. I'm going to fire them out through the window and where ever my arrow drops, you must promise me that's where you will bury me." Both of them agreed to the request. So Robin Hood fires the arrow and .......they had to bury him on top of the wardrobe.


And for many wondering what palliative care means, the following is one definition by NICE (National institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)

Palliative care is the active holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness. Management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social and spiritual support is paramount. The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families. Many aspects of palliative care are also applicable earlier in the course of the illness in conjunction with other treatments.

Palliative care aims to:

• Affirm life and regard dying as a normal process
• Provide relief from pain and other distressing symptoms
• Integrate the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care
• Offer a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death
• Offer a support system to help the family cope during the patient’s illness and in their own bereavement

First Post of 2011 from London - Hairy topic

One year away from my blog till I can't even remember the URL.

Well for this week of April, I have managed to maintain very good hair hygiene. Since I have to catch the bus every morning to get to St Christophers, I decided I MUST wash my hair daily what with all the dirt in the bus and the air. I guess it goes without saying that I do notice my hair looking more healthy with daily washes. No more being lazy about this from now on. ^_^

Being a freak in buying haircare products, it's no great wonder I am now rotating between 3 different shampoos and 5 different conditioners. My current favorite haircare brand is John Frieda and I'm using the Root Awakening shampoo/conditioner range together with the Frizz-Ease Emergency Treatment Leave in Conditioning Spray. I absolutely love the spray! For the first time in my tumultuous hair history, I can look into the mirror and feel quite pleased. Those frizzy little wire-like hair normally sticking out at the top of my head seems to have miraculously lost its will to annoy me and behaves like good normal hair. What more could I ask for. I'm lugging back those little aerosol cans when I return to Malaysia. Only downside is that its quite expensive but not as expensive as other salon brands I reckon.

My favorite anti-frizz spray

And my new purchase which I haven't had a chance to really trying it out yet - Frizz-Ease Overnight Serum

Fingers crossed that it will be effective

Experiment 1 - Lumecin

I have two offending brown spots on my face that I want to obliterate FOREVER!!!


In my quest I have accumulated an arsenal of stinkingly expensive products but without achieving the results I want. Since I have a never-give-up attitude (keke), this is my newest experimental product.


Introducing Lumecin from Goodskin


LUMECIN™ (Overnight Brightening Gluco-Protein Treatment)

6.5% Protectami®/Glucosamine/Urea

This revolutionary, overnight face treatment helps restore skin’s brightness, smoothness and improves texture while strengthening skin’s protective barrier, visibly reducing pore size and helping to fade brown spots.

Immediately: 65% measurable improvement in skin clarity. After 1 week: 77% of subjects felt their skin looked revitalized in the morning. After 2 weeks: 28% measurable reduction in the appearance of pore size and 15% visible reduction in brown spots.

Protectami® - improves skin’s smoothness and texture by helping to optimize cell turnover, allowing new cells to emerge.

Glucosamine - gently exfoliates skin’s surface to visibly increase brightness and evens out skin tone through gentle surface exfoliation that eliminates dead cells.

Hydrolyzed Protein - helps improve skin’s natural defense shield through skin barrier repair.

Urea - reduces visible pore size and smooths skin's texture by helping loosen and release pore clogs.

LumeFade™ Complex - helps to visibly diffuse and fade the appearance of dark spots and discolorations caused by hyperpigmentation.


I will be compliant with their instructions of use: Every night for two weeks then every other night after that. I'm highly skeptical with all the claims but I'm an ever optimist.


p.s I found a nice review on some Goodskin products. I'm even MORE optimistic now. And maybe I should also try the Eyliplex-2. My eyes seems to be suffering from continuous late nights and accumulated sleep deficit...

Arn - Tempelriddaren

Just watched 'Arn Tempelriddaren' (Arn: The Knight Templar) upon my cousin's recommendation.


Synopsis (Spoilers ahead)
It's a 2007 epic film based on Jan Guillou's trilogy about a fictional Swedish Knight Templar, Arn Magnusson. He is part of a powerful Folkung dynasty in the mid-12th century and childhood friends with Knut, the future King of Sweden. Arn had a terrible accident when he was a young boy and on his deathbed, his mother wowed that if Arn survives, he would be given to God to serve His purpose. Well Arn did survive and he was sent to the monastery to live where he was taught to read, write and develop his swordsman skills by a former Knight Templar who was residing there. Arn was later sent back to his family when he was 17 but got involved in a civil war between the different families fighting to be King Of Sweden. Meanwhile, he also fell in love with Cecilia Algotsdotter and wanted to marry her (got her pregnant too if I may add).
*But to ensure the movie is of 'epic' proportion, no romance is as straightforward easy as that*

Due to some political intrigue, Arn and Cecilia were separated and punished to undertake 20 years of penance different monasteries. Cecilia was abused by the Abbess there but slowly her life improves after some royal intervention. Arn was sent to the Holy Land and proved himself to be a capable and honourable warrior. He was there for 10 years and at the end of the movie, he was given some kind of release letter by the Knight Templar's Grand Master.

Review
a) Characters
The two main characters, Arn Magnusson (Joakim Natterqvist) and Cecilia Algotsdotter (Sofia Helin) seems to have enough chemistry between them to act as lovelorn lovers.

I usually don't like man looking so scruffy, so luckily first half of the movie Arn was a young boy and then a teen in the monastery where he is usually clean-shaven. Only in the later parts do I have to suffer through with him looking so unkempt. Cecilia is as pretty as always, so she's quite pleasing on the eye.

b) Action
To term a movie 'epic', there should be a few impressive battle scenes. Movie opened very nicely with a dessert scene that includes a horse chasing scene and then fighting and bloodshed scene. Then it had two one-to-one sword battle between innocent Arn and 'bad people'. It ends with a big battle scene between Knights Templar and Saladin's army.
Hhhmm, while not wanting to be terribly judgmental, I don't think the action scenes were jaw-dropping awesome. There was also no tension build-up to the final battle.
*unlike the time when I watched LOTR....*

c) Storyline
It had a decent storyline but I got a bit confused over the political fight. Obviously the physical fight doesn't need much explaining. Quite easy to determine who is the enemy and who is dead. The subs weren't great as well but understandable to a certain extent.

d) Enjoyment factor
Out of a scale of 5, I'd give it a 3.5.
I like it enough to start reading about Knights Templar, Saladin and Crusades.

Message for the New Year

I was telling Mum certain challenges I would face at work in the Year 2010. Basically I was whining so much I'm sure mum's ears were probably ringing. *whine whine whine*

Few days later I found this message written in the Kog sent to me:

Lost are many who get mired in the events of daily living
Impossible seems the problems that pile up in Life

Time of distress outshine all happy moments
Only the wise can see and make the balance
Keeping sanity as one plods through the stormy days

Knots of worries wrinkle the mind
Watching this, one must be clear and steady of mind
Always be prepared to let events flow
Into the arena of calmness all too shall eventually flow

I will plod on smilingly and calmly...while keeping my sanity intact

What my mother wants...

Mum has a New Year wish too. She told me this over the phone today.

a) Buddhist/Taoist
b) Chinese
c) Lawfully single

She hopes the person who would be so (un)fortunate to be attached to me would fulfill those 3 criterias.

In addition,this is also what I want (delusions at its finest...)

Someone who can clean

Someone who can sing and play the guitar



Someone who can comfort

Any takers? ^_^

Happy New Year 2010

Talk about being slow. I'm 8 days late in my New Year greeting.

I have decided to keep my blogs shorter but hopefully updated more often. I find it a pain to read my older long-winded blogs.

10 New Year Resolutions
1) Be a better person - e.g. more friendly, more patient, more approachable etc etc.... all those traits that I am lacking...
2) Leave work on time - 5.30pm (RM 1 fine for every extra hour at work)
3) Be at work on time - 8.30am
4) Sleep before 12 midnight
5) Learn more cooking
6) Dance a little better
7) Watch more anime, Korean and Japanese dramas
8) Discover more brilliant Korean singers besides Zia and SG Wannabe
9) Read more storybooks
10) Pray a bit more