Vertigo

Last night, I got another spinning session. I woke up around 3-ish and almost immediately after I opened my eyes, I felt the entire world spinning. It was so intense I had to close my eyes and put my hand on the wall to steady myself (not that it would have helped). Thankfully when I opened my eyes a few seconds later the spinning had stopped. I got up to pee and went back to bed, nervous that the spinning would come back. Luckily it didn't. However, when I tried to sleep on my left, the spinning started again, although nowhere near as intense or painful. After that I had to sleep on the right or at least facing the ceiling.

When I woke up, I felt slightly better but the spinning on the left hadn't stopped. Got up to take a shower and lay down in bed to try again. The spinning had stopped completely. Thank goodness.

I have to admit I was quite scared last night when the spinning started again. Why was this happening again? And why wasn't I recovering? Maybe there is some sort of deeper problem than just positional vertigo? I went to the uni doctor to see if anything could be done. He was very reassuring and told me recovery can take a few weeks and it's not unusual to suffer relapses. He said I'm probably taking a longer time to recover because I never had a chance to take an extended rest and instead had to keep going back to work and looking at the computer. It's probably a good thing I'm going on my holiday next week because that would afford me a chance to really rest properly. And I have to say I have never appreciated being physically healthy as much as now.

Car-razy!

Zoom zoom zoom...it boils down to these two

You might have gathered from the last post that I'm shopping around for a new car. Am currently driving a Mazda Astina and its 10 years are coming up fairly soon. Since COE prices are relatively low now, I figured I might as well get a new car instead of another second-hand. And also cos my father said he'd help out some with the finances. hehheh.

Ever since I made the decision to go car-shopping, I have been scouring the roads for nice models, and when I find one I like, I drive alongside and try very hard not to stare. After much 'research', I have decided that the best car colour is gunmetal grey. Black is great but just not practical for this hot weather. So whatever my next car will be, it will be gunmetal grey. I'm glad I've got the important things sorted out. :)

The first car I wanted to get was the Mini Cooper - so cute, so retro and so zippy. Somemore is Bee-Em-Dubchoo engine. But then it's only 2-door, and since this car will essentially be the family car on weekends, it will need to have 4 doors. I can't imagine my mum climbing into the back seat; she's just not that sprightly anymore. So sad too, cos there are a whole lot of 2-door cars that I am liking vely much, like the Honda Integra. rowr.

I briefly considered the Peugeot, and even the Lexus IS, but after much consideration, have decided the Peugeot is too bubble-like (incidentally, I could do a whole rant on how the new shape of cars now are too bubbly. What happened to sleek and sexy? Cars should look fiee-erce!) and the Lexus, well, it's a bit too above my price range.

Have boiled down the choices to these two - the Alfa 147 (2 lit version) and the Mazda 3. Of course am leaning towards the Alfa...them Mazda 3s are everywhere...

PS Oh yes, if you're looking for ShooStories, I err...heh...have to admit I have been a bit lazy. But I promise there will be one tomorrow. Get ready for the Family Flip-flop Extravaganza!

Two steps forward, one step back

The weekend started out really well - tennis in the early morning, Appleseed at 11am, followed by lunch. Then I dragged my friends to go test drive cars with me. We ventured all the way to Teban Crescent to gawk and drool at the Alfa Romeos. The Alfa 147 is indeed a very shexy car, pity it only comes in manual. But since we had gone all the way there, might as well test drive, y'know. I have to say it handles really well and is quite smooth (despite my stalling the car 3 times hurhur). Then the sales guy insisted that I test-drive the 2 lit version and because it was one of those tooly semi-automatic cars, he had to get in and show me how it was done. In order to demonstrate the power and tight handling of the car, he accelerated really hard, braked suddenly and also did a crazy U-turn spin which sent my head spinning. Again.

Yes, that's right. That crazy ride brought back the unsteadiness which I thought had pretty much gone. By 5pm, I was feeling pretty rotten, and for the rest of the night, was laid up in bed trying to recover. Felt slightly better on Sunday but still getting the weird doozy sensation that the world was slowly revolving. At least there wasn't any pain. So now I feel like when I first recovered 2 weeks ago. Poo. It's a long road to recovery, 'tis.

ShooStories: Summer is coming

#7

The Shoo: The Sunfrower Shoos of Incredible Pain
Circa: December 2002
Where: Wonderful shoo shop called 'Nose' at Lot 10, KL, Malaysia

The Story: Do not be fooled by the pretty and cheery flowers. This pair of shoos is actually quite treacherous to my feet. I of course had not a clue when I tried them on in the store, but after some prolonged wearing at a wedding, I found they pinched terribly around the toe area. Those pretty ribbon straps sure dig into the skin. Yeoch. Or maybe I just have fat feet. Because of that, I have not worn this pair much, just once to a wedding, once for Chinese New Year last year, and once to a concert. This pair is now relegated to 'Events which do not require much Walking, but much Posing and Looking Pretty in'. But oh, how I love those flowers!

Bonus!

Up close and very personal with the frower

Make me beautiful

Cupcake Queen has a fun list of her 'Best Beauty List', so I have decided to be a copycat and do one too. I love making lists and I love beauty products...whee!

Face
1. Cream blush - Napolean in 'Blush'
2. Lip gloss - Stila Lip Polish in 'Luster'
3. Lip balm - Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm
4. Eye & Cheek colour - Stila 2002 Fall edition of 3 colour compact & Paul & Joe Triplegloss in 'Fauvism'
5. Mascara - L'oreal Lash Architect 3D
6. Facial cleanser - Simple face wash
7. Toner - Kiehl's Herbal Toner with Mixed Berries and Extracts
8. Facial scrub - Kiehl's Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub & Origins Never a Dull Moment
9. Face mask - Clarins Aromatic Plant Purifying Mask
10. Moisturiser - Shiseido Pureness Matifying Moisturiser Oil-free
11. Sunscreen - The Natural Source SunSational Babyblock SPF30

Body
1. Body Lotion - The Body Shop's Oceanus Body Lotion & Dirty Girl Hand & Body Cream
2. Shower Gel - Johnson's Babywash in Peach & anything from the Bath & Bodyworks Shower Gel range
3. Body Scrub - L'oreal Exfotonic
4. Hand Cream - Aveda Hand Relief

Hair
1. Shampoo - Kerastase Bain Divalent for oily scalp and dry ends
2. Conditioner - Kerastase Lait Vital Protein
3. Hair Mask - Garnier Fructis Fortifying Deep Conditioner
4. Styling - The Natural Source Hi Shine Manager

Proud pod person

Yes, that's right. I have finally succumbed to the evil genius of Apple's slick marketing campaign and have fallen prey to a 20gig iPod.

Now have a sudden urge to possess 3,000 songs. Must. go. fill. up. iPod. now...

I have not peed so much in my life

I have been taking four kinds of pills since last Friday. There's the:

Merislon - for the giddiness
Frusemide - to get rid of excess fluid in my ear*
Potassium Chloride - to recover all the nutrients I have lost in all that peeing, tastes foul too
Gingko Biloba - Not entirely sure what this is for, but it was recommended as a supplement to Merislon

* Interesting point here is that one of the side-effects of taking Frusemide is supposed to be dizziness. Wait, aren't I supposed to be cured of that?? Irony.

Being a diuretic, taking Frusemide means I have to visit the loo very often. It wasn't so bad when I was at home, since I could run to the loo as many times as I wanted. But now that I'm back at work, it's a bit of a bother to walk in and out of the corridor so often. Luckily I only take this in the morning and it takes about a few hours for it to work its way through my system. Every morning my routine goes something like this:

1. Come in to work
2. Colleague helps me buy breakfast
3. Take breakfast
   
4. Run down to staff lounge to get hot water
5. Take all medication
6. Wait for first round of toilet stops to hit
7. Over the course of the morning, visit loo about 5 times.
8. Once out of the loo, walk over to look at trees to soothe eyes

So yeah, I'm not very productive at work nowadays.

ShooStories: So sporty

#6

The Shoo: Gola Goooo!
Circa: Sometime 2004
Where: Royal Sporting House or some other fine sportswear provider, my memory fails me

The Story: So, you know how I said last week I was not the corporate type? Well, I'm not the sporty type either. I think sporshoos make my feet look clunky and ...blocky. Everyone else seems to look fine when they wear them, but on me, eew. But everyone has to own at least one pair of sneakers, right? After all, I want to look like a widdit hipster, right? Anyway, I got a bit carried away by the 'sportswear as fashionwear' phase, and went ahead and bought these Golas. (On a sidenote: I have to admit I never knew Gola was an old and established soccer brand, until after a more enlightened male friend kindly informed me of that fact, ok guys you can stop rolling your eyeballs now) I then made the mistake of actually wearing these to play frisbee and got them dirtied by mud. What was I thinking? There sporshoos are not for playing sport, they are for posing! Durr.

Bonus!

There, now you have the benefit of a side-view. Oooh.

If I had more time, I would love to...

• Spend a year on the Doulos ship
• Take a year or two out to travel around the world
• Learn jazz piano and violin
• Sit for my Diploma in piano and violin
• Discover the best dive sites in the world
• Cook / bake all the yummy recipes in my cookbooks
• Read all of Shakespeare's plays, actually finish a Tolstoy novel and reread everything on my bookshelf
  
• Sew in a straight line without tangling up the machine
• Craft my own jewellery and bags
  
• Watch all the movies I've missed out on throughout the years (and this is a list that stretches back to the '80s)
• Learn to appreciate poetry
• Learn to swing dance really well
• Wash my car
  

It happened again

The vertigo came back again last Wed night just as I had settled into bed and was about to drift off to sleep. I remember thinking 'Sh it' as the familiar sensation of spinning started up again. I managed to get out of bed and took some leftover medication from last week which was supposed to help the spinning and giddiness to stop and prayed that it would be over by the time I woke up the next morning.

The spinning didn't stop when I got up, but the pain didn't seem so bad, so I got ready and went to work. Big mistake. I took a taxi in, thinking it wouldn't be safe to drive, but the taxi ride made me feel so ill and made my head ache 1,00 times more that I threw up. Went to the doctor and he gave me more medication (but couldn't pinpoint why I was getting another attack, he said sometimes these things just happen) and I went back home again and went to sleep. Luckily when I woke up later in the afternoon, the painkiller had taken effect and the pain had disappeared. The spinning still remained everytime I tilted my head to the left, though. I slept off and on throughout the day and night and by the next day on Fri, was much better, although the spinning hadn't stopped, albeit with less intensity.

My boss recommended me to a GP, who had recently diagnosed her friend, who had also suffered from vertigo attacks, as suffering from food allergies. She said this GP was highly experienced and was so good that she charged specialist fees. Furthermore, she only worked half day and saw patients by referral. (Aside: It must be good to be a doctor. I should have chosen that profession, but oh well, guess it was not meant to be, seeing that I consistently failed Biology in secondary school.) I managed to get an appointment on Friday afternoon, and I liked her. She was really nice and listened to everything I had to say, and did not brush aside my medical history (as my previous doctor did). Her diagnosis: it came down to two factors - either it was my thalassemia that was triggering these attacks, or some damage that was done to the ear when I went diving last year. She then recommended that I see a ear, nose and throat specialist. Luckily the ENT specialist had an available appointment that same afternoon.

The ENT guy turned out to be a rather tall and thin middle-aged man who spoke in a high-pitched voice and sat with his cross-legged, with his legs clamped shut like a girl. Notwithstanding that, he was quite nice and reassuring. He checked my ears (and in the process, I got my right ear cleaned by a heavy-duty sucking machine) and found nothing wrong, although there seemed to be excess fluid in there. He explained that I had positional vertigo, which meant the spinning was triggered by the position of my head. Then followed a rather chim explanation of the inner ear drum and how there are crystals in the ear which act as receptors which balance the body. All I know is that he fixed the vertigo by turning my head and getting me to turn my body to the other side. I was also given more medication (which turned out to be a diuretic, sending me running to the loo every morning about 6-7 times) to get rid of the excess fluid in my ear, and another appointment was fixed for this Sat where we will do a follow-up and maybe check my hearing.

I hope we've found the cause of all these attacks. Twice in two weeks is not fun at all. And I don't like being in bed all day. The only upside to all this is that I've lost 2 kg and can wear some tops again. hurhur.

ShooStories: Time to get serious

#5

The Shoo: My Day at Work
Circa: Aug-Oct 2001
Where: Shoo store called Mollini in Melbourne

The Story: I have never been a corporate type. I love suits but somehow they just look weird on me, especially the jacket bit. I'm more of a casual, flip-flops kind of girl. But when I was about to graduate in Australia, I realised it was time to start building a more work-like wardrobe. My dad had come over to attend my graduation so we were taking a little holiday in Melbourne first. Mollini is a really nice Aussie shoe label that has stores in all the major cities. We wandered in to ogle the shoos, and I saw a pretty corporate-type girl try on this pair of pointy wedge slingbacks. She had on a very smart outfit and I thought, I could be like that too! And decided to try on the same pair. And the rest, as they say, is shoo history.

Now, I wear this pair when I have serious work meetings and important conferences to attend. It makes me feel more corporate and "I am independent wo-man". But at heart, I'm still a flip-flops girl. :)

This April, I am into...

...the S'pore Int'l Film Fest (8 movies in total!), getting more exercise (doctor's orders), rediscovering old CDs and enjoying the new, preps for friends' wedding at the SAM, the new way I discovered to do my hair, dreaming up things I'll do during my holiday next month, getting more into the Word.

How about you?

ShooStories: Bloomin' Beaut!

#4

The Shoo: It's a Bloomin' Beaut! (You have to say it with an Aussie twang)
Circa: Sometime 2002
Where: Some little corner shop in United Square

The Story: I know I said before I'm not one for shoos without a heel, and yet here I am showing yet another pair of heel-less shoos! This pair is so comfortable and I think it's adorable that your big toe and third toe can play peek-a-boo. There was a black & white version as well, but it just made the toes look so obvious. At least with this skin-coloured version, if you squint real hard and look from afar, it looks like you've only blue flowers on your feet. And what I like even more about this pair is the cheesy "Min Min" logo, made to look like "Miu Miu". Hurhurhur.

Enjoy the silence

In case you were wondering whether I had dropped off the face of this earth, since I missed ShooStories Wed, worry no longer! I have not dropped off the face of this earth, I was MIA for the last three days because I had a vertigo attack, sort of related to a migraine attack. Vertigo is when you feel the entire world spinning and I spent Tues and Wed in bed, giddy and headachey. Not fun at all, I can tell you. This was my second attack. The first was last year after I came back from diving and had a lot of pressure built up in my head from not surfacing properly (and having blocked sinuses). But this time there was no immediate reason for my attack. The doctor said it could be a combination of factors, stress, fatigue...reasons which somehow don't apply to me. Oh well, just one of those things, I suppose. The good thing is I got a shot and some good drugs to stop the giddiness and I'm mostly ok now, except I can't focus too long on the screen as my vision tends to get a little blurry and swimmy.

I was up and about by yesterday and was even able to send my mum to the hospital for her physio, go out for lunch, buy moisturiser from Paul & Joe kekeke, and pick up my air ticket for my upcoming May holiday trip (holiday ahooy!).

I then went for the Bebel Gilberto concert where I enjoyed her velvety voice, long ringlets, and sinuous moves as she swayed and sang to a three-piece band. Listening to her sing was like walking along a beach on an inky starry night, trailing a sarong, and listening to the waves go lap lap lap, and sipping a strawberry daiquiri in one hand. Bliss. I really want to go on a beach holiday. And I have to get one of her CDs now.