Cute long-awaited visit

I went for my first dental visit in ten years....sounds terrible right? I know but its because I have a phobia of going to the dentist since young. When I was in primay school, I had a bad experience with the dental nurse who is always so fierce and unfriendly and the process was painful, with all that drilling and scraping....and bleeding...:( my last visit was in secondary 4.

Well anyway, I made an appointment and turned up for the check up cum cleaning service on thursday. Heard a faint drilling sound and was feeling a bit nervous while waiting for my turn. Prior to that day, the clinic even sent an sms to remind me of my appointment and to call them to confirm it. I forgot to call them the night before and the clinic called to confirm the appointment with me. hmm...quite efficient service.....And so I waited for my turn and then a door was opened in front of me and a lady called my name. Went into the room and was greeted by my dentist. He sounded friendly and looked cute too....hehe..although he was wearing a face mask and I could only see half his face. The cleaning process was uncomfortable as it was painful at some parts but the cute dentist and his nurse were friendly and assuring so I went through the whole process unharmed. haha.......the treatment cost me $115 becaue I had to take an additional flouride treatment as I have deep valleys of stains on my molars and the dentist reccommended I take it to prevent decay. Oh...I obliged whatever he said....:)

Yesterday I met CH for a movie. We watched The X-Files but it wasn't that mysterious or supernatural enough. I would highly recommend that you wait for the DVD release. Met joy and K at the National Museum of Singapore where the Night Festival was going on. The museum was opened to the public for free and so I went in to meet them and we went around viewing the exhibits. It was fun catching up with the two of them as we have not seen each other for at least a year. It was really crowded inside the museum and everyone was attracted to this giant-sized renaissance statue of a nude man who was in pink floral prints. We took funny shots with him such as posing a kissing shot with the statue (His name was David) but the effect was not realistic enough :p.

I think I have band fatigue...need a short break from it. Still having that aimless and lost feeling.....

27 Jul 2008 7:26pm

Reset or go?

I have been thinking whether I am happy with the way I am right now.

Its been two years since I graduated from university. At that time, finding my first job was pressurising as I keep hearing news from my school friends of the high salaries that they are getting (that's because they got jobs in the financial sector and being a marketing major fresh grad, the pay is not that great in this area). Eventually I got a marketing executive job at a local company. The pay was not great. I had no choice but to settle for something as my job search had went on for months. Its been two years since I graduated and I'm in my fourth job now. I went down from a marketing exec to marketing assistant in my previous two jobs as I changed line. I didn't mind the "set back" as I took it as a stepping stone to work in the industry that I have always loved.

But things didn't work out. I started feeling fustrated in my work as I felt that I am not learning new skill sets. My job scope is simple, mundane and not challenging enough to earn me the experience that I need in a marketing career. So I left and went into a different industry (it is still a marketing position), thinking maybe the industry that I love is just a job, working in any industry is still a job at the end of the day. Of course, you must like what you are doing so that is why I still dwell in marketing. My friends told me that in building my career path, it is not wise to degrade in levels as you work through the years as employers will have doubts in your career goals, seeing that you are unclear in what you want. However, I am not happy with my current job. I thought this industry could also be challenging and interesting but I guess it is not my cup of tea.

I will be working for the next 30 years of my life and I think it is crucial to be happy in my job. Happiness transcends everything...I feel...So if I ever receive a job offer in the industry that I want but in a lower position, should I go for it? Well, why not? I will definitely suffer a cut in my salary. But having stumbling all over for the past two years, I think it wil be good for me to make a fresh start by starting from scratch. Anyway, in a recent conversation with a manager, he told me that I can still make a switch as it has not been that long since I graduated. I think I should live my life for myself and not live by others' expectations.

I am reflecting on this because after reading an article that I came across last week (Ignatius Low, Hitting Life's Reset Button, Lifestyle, The Sunday Times 13 Apr 08) I am afraid that I won't be happy with the way I have lived my life if my life ends suddenly.

Despite the pain in my right knee, I still went for my usual bodycombat class this morning (yes..I'm stubborn..). And after the session, I think I need to take it easy....at least for this week as the pain seem to have worsened. On a friend's recommendation, I headed to a chinese medical hall to buy this particular ointment which he claim cured his knee pain as well. Tjin Koo Lin, its called...I hope it works....: )

pain, pain, go away......

20 Apr 2008 8.59pm

Heed the Pain

I was reading the papers yesterday when I came across the term "Stress Fracture". It happened to basketball star Yao Ming when he had to undergo surgery on his left foot due to stress fracture, caused by extensive exhaustion from playing. Stress frature is not like a fracture or breaking of the bone but is caused by constant trauma to the bone with insufficient rest and repair and this causes the bone to weaken over time. According to the article (The Sunday Times, Lifestyle section, "Bones Feel Stress of Bad Break", 13 April 2008, P.9), stress fracture is most often caused by an increase in the intensity or impact during exercise and improper protection and support from your shoes or equipments used. Besides high-impact exercise, people who are obese, tall in stature, wear heels, have irregular menstruation or suffering from osteoporosis and poor diet are also prone to such frature. I started to worry a bit when I finish reading the article as I have a nagging pain in my right knee for the past two weeks. Its not very painful and it doesn't hurt when I walk. But it hurts when my right leg is turned a certain angle or when I moved or get up after sitting or standing for a long while. It also hurts when I get up in the morning and after my gym class and running. I should have change my pair of running shoes some time ago. Guess the support and cushion has wore out and the impact from running has gone to my knees. Prevention is better than cure so I must replace my shoes. Always wear the proper footwear according to the type of activity you are doing, do exercise that strengthens the muscles and take more calcium and vitamin D! Hope I can still run......:(

Also read from the same paper that drinking tea is good for the brain as tea contains a natural compound called catechins. It protects the brain cells from the build-up of damaging protein over the years and this maintains the cognitive ability of the brain ("Give your Brain a Tea Break", The Sunday Times,, Home section, 13 April 2008, P.1). Hmm...lots of readings about health for a day....haha

Watched Street Kings on sat with suz and YA. Keanu Reeves' age seems to have shown in the movie as he looked slightly older than before. I think the last time I saw him on the big screen was in the movie "The Lake House", a romantic love story starring alongside Sandra Bullock. He was really good-looking in that movie....anyway Street Kings is average. Probably should catch it on a weekday to save the money if you intend to watch it.

Looking forward to the day.....

14 Apr 2008 10.05pm