gibber, blabber, jabber .

[geekandbutter]

8 Minimalist Habits to Reduce Mental Noise and Distractions - The Simplicity Habit

Implements these minimalist habits to reduce mental noise and distractions in your life. They'll help you focus on what matters most.

[geekandbutter]

agree!

[geekandbutter]

Psychology says people who speak less carry more authority because talking is how most people seek approval, and the absence of having to pr

You know the feeling, even if you’ve never named it. You’re in a meeting, or a group dinner, or a conversation that’s gotten a little too bi

[geekandbutter]

pop and water!

our house often have mysterious events, which, the truth would often be revealed on a much later date… the one that I can remember clearly is… one afternoon, with the kids and I, sitting around the dining table, we heard a semi-loud "pop" in the house, it sounds like something from the kitchen… I went in there, didn't see anything, looked around the house, nothing unsual…

I think, it's around 1 month later, when I opened the cabinet opposite our island, I can't remember what I was looking for, then, I saw a bizzare pattern of splashes at the back of the cabinet, almost whole stretch up to the top, and it smells fruity!! still bizarre!!! I used a lot of alcohol wipe to clean the stain, sticky and kinda new, it's not fully hardened yet! argh~ the alcohol of the alcohol wipes is so strong, till I almost fainted (exagerrated)!

I cleaned and cleaned, till I reached the top, the top shelf, I am not tall enough even when I'm on the step stool, so, I can't really reach the inside with my arm, and I can't see the whole thing in there, but, I kinda… shockingly figured that, one of the canned peach, for some reason (maybe it's the weather!), the top of the can, popped opened by itself! unbelieveable right? usually "can", is supposed to be… to be able to withstand time? stress? and anything, and it'll still stay as a full "can", right? but no, this one, the top of it, popped opened, and together with this event, some syrup spilled, and that's the one that makes the "stained wall" (the back of the cabinet!) it took me a while to clean it, without being able to have the whole view, later, he cleaned those "unseen" part…

after a busy day, we sat down, then my baby is the one that connects the dot, we've forgotten about the mysterious pop sound one month ago, and she said, this might be the one that made that sound, THAT day!

I was very much, enlightened!

and!!! today another bizarre event happened! this morning, when I get everyone up, to get ready for the day, I stepped on some "wetness" on the floor, I asked baby, if she's spilled, she said "yes"… and I carried on with my daily morning routine, when I tried to fill the water tank for drinking, I stepped on the rag in front of the counter, it's wet! I thought it's just part of it, so, I tried to move that rag with my foot, and it's heavy! and no!!!!! the whole rag is soaked!!! it's soaked!!!! it's soaked!!!!!!!!! while grumbling, I picked it up, it's soaked and dripping! and excessive water even flow a little bit towards the other side of the floor! I threw it into the washing machine for a wash, and brought a new dry rag to replace!

and now, we (ended up, they're kinda late a little bit today, to arrive at school!) took a bit of time to "investigate" (theory)… baby calls it "distraction"… (she's so cute in her description)

there's no sign of spillage near the counter, or the cabinet underneath the counter, or anywhere near the counter or the sink area, or the mugs and jugs around it, there's no sign of wetness!!! except the rag itself, it's like a mug of water is thrown onto it purposely! baby 1 : she didn't take water from the water tank, she didn't go to that area, though she did spill some water this morning! him : he, thinking the same, if it's leakage from the tap from the drinking tank, the tank will be empty by now, nope, it's almost full this morning, I topped it up more, and that's when I found out that, the rag was soaked! baby 2 : he definitely didn't spill, his words!

last night… he took water from the tank, before bed, went to study room to surf a little bit longer, he didn't take more water from there after that… baby 1, she didn't wake up in the middle of the night, but even though she wakes up, usually she'll take from the jug, unless the jug is empty! and the thing is, I was up late a night, didn't see her coming out of the room, baby 2, he didn't get up too, and he filled up his bottle before going to bed, he claimed that the rag was dry, buit he can't be sure, as he's wearing his bedroom siippers! me, I didn't and don't take water from that water tank much, usually, just like baby 1, we have our own jug and kettle to store drinking water, and we drink from these containers!

and I went to bed at around 2.30am, verdict : if the rag got wet, it'll be between 2.30 to this morning! verdict : all of us are suspects! at first, I used the word "you", in the end, I think, it's "we", I said, "if you (it should be changed to "we") recall anything later in the day, please confess!"

that's bizarre event #2, big one!!!

there're a couple of small bizarre events, but I can't recall at this moment!

[geekandbutter]

pasta in the oven!

oh man!! this morning, I went into the kitchen, there's this strong foul smell, I kept thinking it's because of the "undried" laundry!! but when I ran a few more cycles with my dryers, the clothes are dried, and the smell still stays… again, I thought, it's because of the laundry, when the smell doesn't go away!

somehow, I turned around, I saw a bowl inside the oven, "what's this?" came out of my mouth! (ya, I speak to myself from time to time!)

I took it out and… it's a bowl of pesto penne pasta!!! I remember he told me yesterday, he bought pasta for the kids for lunch! maybe they decided to keep some for me (though I have stated that I'll skip lunch!) but forgot to tell me about it after that…

immediately, I took it out and wrap it up with plastic, tied a knot to make sure that the smell won't come out anymore!! and I told him about this over whatsapp!! he told me… son thought the pasts was too much for him, so, they kept some away, left it in the oven, and that's it!

😠

[geekandbutter]

internet and numbers

one thing that I've learnt lately!!!

1, it doesn't matter if I agree or not agree, if I keep looking at the same thing, I'll start to think that, "it" has become a norm! which is dangerous! that's what I've been telling my children! just! don't! look!!! it's like you won't want look at something evil, and think that you'll be safe at the end of the day!

2, users often exaggerate online, that's what I do…unintentionlly, rarely intentionally! sometimes, I see other users use words like "everyone", I really thought it's "everyone", however, upon further checking here and there, this "everyone" usually is just a handful of people! AND that's what I've been telling my children too, ie. do not be affected by what most people say online! it's just kinda a phenomenon! when every small thing is zoomed in, and boosted!

3, numbers is important, yes and no, as it's already an open secret that these numbers can be settled with $$$, yes, I still look at it, cos, I love to look at it! but I do have reservation!

for eg. reviews on hotels, restaurants!

there're some, who won't bother to "rate" it online, words of mouth is more imporant in that sense, ie. real person's recommendation! and often, those "rating" are lured with coupons, discounts! thus, I'll remind my children, to keep these in mind so that, 5 stars rating don't mean the real 5 stars!

however, it doesn't mean it's ignorable! 🤣

(4-29)

[geekandbutter]

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony."

- Thomas Merton

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[geekandbutter]

[geekandbutter]

new toy,

simply snap away without checking what I’ve snapped,

there’s a small peep hole and a preview display but it’s just too small till I don’t want to bother!!! 🤣🤣🤣

as I’m a little bit (it’s a toned down statement) about how my photos display look like on my phone, I don’t simply snap with my phone, it’s always about certain angle, certain colours, certain themes, and I’m very much bothered about the storage, cos my photos have to share spaces with all the other phone apps and bla bla bla!!!

since this is almost as large as an eraser,

it’s handy!!!

just snap!!!

surprisingly it can be used for taking videos and even playback with sound, though I can’t hear it clearly 🤣

the only problem is, it comes as a blindbox, and I hate blindbox, hate it as much as to suspect that the seller just send me the nobody-wants-leftover version!!!

there’re only a few buttons to play with, so… it’s quite a dummy camera!

[geekandbutter]

THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!!!

lately,

some concerns...

and my conclusion is, sns is the root of all evil! or, mobile phone!

road accident is on the rise!

we used to drive, by paying full attention on the road,

but now, we drive, looking at screens!

when we're not familiar about a place, we'd look up from the map, or ask someone for guidance,

but now, we're over confident in driving,

however, lately there're news about car driving into a swimming pool, or shops, excluding those that were done on purpose!

I've been thinking, the way drivers drive these days, will reflect how these people online persona is!!!

the bigger problem with sns, or mobile phone is,

there've been violent cases performed by minors,

attacking parents, attacking siblings,

all root cause is, mobile phone,

either you take away his/her mobile phone, or you disconnect his/her internet connection, or you remove his/her games on the phone!!!

they'll resolve with aggression,

kids kill parents,

siblings hurting each other,

these used to be just news for me,

but just the other day,

my friend told me that, this is exactly what happened to her friend,

the father of her son, stopped the son from using the mobile phone,

and son didn't know what to do, and the only thing he could think of, is to grab a cutter, intending to injure the father!

if this pattern continues,

I'll think of it as a new kind of disease, or a new kind of disorder,

which, any of us, who're so into in holding a mobile phone,

looking at social media round the clock, or playing the games round the clock, not to mention spending a lot of $$$ on the games (which is so forbidden!! gamemakers are evil!),

we'll all soon, have this disease/disorder, name yet to be known!

[geekandbutter]

out of sudden, my x.com dm appears "black",

but when I change the display setting to dark mode (or the phone setting) then I'll be able to see the chat bubbles...

if I use the "light mode", the chat bubbles turn absolutely dark, and I can't see the text!!!

I didn't do any changes to the x.com setting, nor the iphone setting,

then, I searched, and saw this guy who shares the info,

oh, apparently, it's the "increase contrast" on my phone,

which I disabled, and all things fixed!!!

well, I don't know if this setting has always been like this, or it's changed without me realizing, or while doing os update/upgrade!

so, I disabled that option, now, the chat bubbles are back to normal!

[geekandbutter]

of ortho problem

last saturday,

I've finally arranged to meet up with another specialist, in ADMC, to seek second opinion, and also, to move forward...

it's so much less patients waiting, compared to SJMC... (shocked)

the plus point is,

since it's less patient,

after consulting the doctor, I could proceed to do an MRI, immediately...

but then, the MRI gave me my back pain again!!! (I was telling the imaging specialist, that, I came here for my back pain problem, and now, I've my back pain!!) (ᵕ,,—ᴗ—,,)

well, the thing with ortho, be it the one in SJMC, or this ADMC,

I think, all of the doctors (I'm not sure of the one that's recommended by my Dr. Tan though...) speak the same language, I guess...

ie, take the MRI, then we talk...

after some bla bla bla,

looking at the MRI, it was confirmed, it's the herniated disc, I think, it's basically an old injury that I have had,

it's not piriformis, (dr. heard, commented, "the person who said this, must have sounded so convincing)

it's not sciatica, (dr. said, there's no sciatica here, just simply, NERVE COMPRESSION!) though, I've some reservation about this...

option 1,

basically what I've had before, physio plus pain killer! 

option 2,

steriod injection, max twice a year, but each time, depends on each individual, the effect will last from 3-6 months,

side effect, since the immunity will be lowered because of steroid (steriod is no good anyway), then, it's bad!!!!!

(at first, I thought I wanna think about this option! but!!!!...)

"do you inject with the epidural type of needle?",

the answer is "yes", so... it's a big "bye bye" for me!!!

epidural injection is my nightmare,

I had to endure it for my 2x ceasarian, I don't want to "choose" to have it again!!

(childbirth is a "no choice" thing for me!)

option 3,

surgery, replace with artifical replacement disc, screwed, walla!!!!

"can I do MRI again?", since it's metal plate,

dr. think that, it's a stupid question, asked, "you've already done it today why do it again?",

husband explained, "maybe we need to do it for other purpose, for eg. checking the heart related issue, blood flow and so on!"...

in the end,

I go with the conservative thing, pain killer,

according to the dr. it's basically a wear-and-tear thing,

and also, due to my weight problem, the wear-and-tear sped up!!!

so, I conclude it myself, that, I'll just have to manage my weight, plus my pain!!

period!

[geekandbutter]

and this is regarding my back, or my sciatica, or whatever!!!

dr tan recommended dr. siow, 

I did some research,

his clinic hour is pretty limited there, only around 2 mornings in a week?

I couldn't find some other information on my first round of "research",

I continued to search yesterday, and I finally found something...

I'll prefer to stick to the same hospital, thus...

dr. siow is practicing primarily here, but also in another 3 hospitals,

yeah! another busy dr...

so, I was looking into my second option, which is dr. chooi...

I researched again, 

both graduated from Oz,

and chooi is around 5 years more jr,

(different uni though)

and both, shocked!! around our age...

ok, on the official profile,

chooi looks young, which I know it's a trick!!! (same as all other doctors profile photos, laugh)

so, I searched around, finally found how he looks like now~

I told him, my decision, that, I'm going to make appointment and check with dr. chooi,

though he looks like one of our friends, kh...

I showed him the  photo I found online... it's the official site, a video of him... talking about back and bones!

that's how our conversation goes...

. so, you don't mind kh,

.. I mind, but I have no choice,

. too bad he doesn't look like me,

.. will you want me to be treated by him, if he looks like you?

. (thinking)

.. limbp looks like the rich kh, this one looks like kh back in uni day...

. ok, you tried with him first

that's our conversation... 😆

[geekandbutter]

on Tuesday, it's his turn to do the scope,

Praise to Lord,

all went well...

but the SOP used for his turn, and mine, are so different, so, it's quite funny!!!!

early in the morning,

this time, I drove, he, on passanger seat, kids at the back,

I was cursing these 2 lady drivers who got themselves stuck at the toll..

they're already stuck, yet, they acted all so moron, and tried to show some temper, come on, you just gotta reverse, and touch your card,

and because of this, we were in the hospital after 730,

it was quite a crowded day, compared to my mine on the 16th Jul...

we prepared for him to be admitted...

...

when he finally went into the scope/daycare centre,

I told him, I'm going to get some bread,

oh ya, while driving, I have already complained that I was hungry, and he gave me this stare!! so funny, coz, he was on that fortrans whole night, (again, his reaction is different from me, I remember I gotta use the loo every 15 min, but after 12, he went to bed, slept all the way till 3am, which was good for him!!)

he was hungry, and he couldn't have his breakfast!

so, he went in, I went to familymart,

got some bread, and that hour, coz, it's early, the outlet was not crowded, aircon blasted, it's kinda cozy, and I looked the oden counter..

(I was telling him that, I would not have oden, will just grab some bread!)

the oden was freshly prepped...

immediately, I decided to order my favourite creamy tomyam with udon and odensssss~~~~~~

😂

I finished my oden,

went back to the scope center,

continue to feast, had the bread... 

as it's the scope centre, I supposed, everyone waiting here were on fasting mode, so, I moved to the corridor closer to the link bridge, that time, it was around 930,

and I saw dr. wong, he nodded to me,

eh? he recognized me now~ 

and I was thinking, now, only he goes to the centre???

but he's been waiting in there, since... like 0800???

anyway...

I finished my bread,

went back to the centre, and asked the cashier where I can get some water,

I think, really, it's because people there are supposed to be on fasting mode,

the water cooler was after the nurse counter, after the entrance to the scope centre!

I had my morning coffee...

suddenly, another nurse came out, called his name + wife,

it's me!!

for half a second, I was afraid, I was scared,

I was thinking, "why calling me?? anything happened in there??"

she told me,

he was admitted to do the colonoscopy, without the endoscopy, and he requested the endoscopy to be done as well...

so, I gotta top up the payment,

I have his phone and his credit card with me,

went to the cashier, told her, I don't know the pin,

she said she'll handle it...

so, it's all settled!!

that moment,

I was thinking... 

serious, I don't want any of these, if money is all we've to give, I'll give happily!!!

around 1130,

I went to the nurse station, asked if he's out,

"yes, and he's in daycare, maybe another hour he'll be out!",

so, I went to starbucks to get some drink,

came back, finished the drink, I need some water..

I went back into the nurse station, and told them, I wanted to get some water,

while I was refilling, I heard him calling me from the other end of the hall,

oh, he's already up and out...

I told him to give me a minute,

refilled the water, turned back, eh?? where's he??

again, for a split second, I was thinking about something else, something more terrible,

was it my hallucination, did anything happen?? didn't he just call me??

I peeped into the waiting area, couldn't spot him,

I tried to peep into the daycare centre,

finally I saw him poking his head out from the corner,

there he is sitting there, having his snack and drink,

first time, food/drink of the day...

I went in to talk to him,

that's where I found out, the SOP was different,

and his reaction to the drug and anaesthetic is different too!!

he said, he only vaguely remember, that the dr. has spoken to him,

told him, everything is fine, same as my story, there's 1 polyp nipped!

and some ulcer on the throat area...

my time, I was still lying in bed, nurse came, woke me up, told me she'll give me some food and drink,

I responded, "I want to sleep, don't want to eat",

nurse replied, "the dr is coming!",

and I'd to wake up, dr. came, and spoke to me, told me, everything's fine,

he finished the "report", in 2 sentences!!!

"everything's fine, there's 1 polyp, and a bit of tear in the stomach, but nothing to worry", then, he left!!!

his time, now,

as he can't remember exactly what'd happened, I supposed, it's about the same as mine~ 

but, these, happened after he got off the bed, changed, still blur!

and when I saw him, that needle poke was still stuck to his hand!!!

mine, was removed before I got myself changed!!!!

his, dragged for quite a while, we were walking around, only the nurse had time to come removed for him!!!

after that,

we headed home~

God bless!!!

[geekandbutter]

I found something useful, for me!!!

MeRITS-1.0

[geekandbutter]

friday,

yesterday,

I went back to cvs,

in the end, everything's fine, Praise to the Lord!!!

except that, my iron is low, my hemogoblin is low... still, unknown,

and the thalassemia, do I have to do?

but I like dr. lawrence,

I told him, dr. tan has ruled out the gynae side,

the dr. wong has ruled out the gastro side...

he said, these 2 are the main things that he's worried, as long as it's fine, then, we can look into the low reading itself...

I did another blood test...

in the lab, when it's my queue no., they passed me to a slightly younger lady,

as always, I'll normally ask the person in charge, "are you good at it?" as my vein's tiny and difficult to detect,

I've had bruises due to severe poking and searching from underneath my skin, and I'm definitely phobic about it,

so, I asked her this...

she tap tap for quite a while on my arm,

but I like her, she told me, if she can't find, she'll passs me to a pro,

in the end, she passed me to the pro, which was the uncle who took the blood for me the first time,

he tap tap too, but he was quick,

and I didn't feel if his hesitation...

so, when I felt at ease, I closed my eyes,

no, I'm not going to look man!!!

and he drew the blood quickly and smoothly!!!

I closed my eyes, and I tried to think of other things in my head, I don't even want to imagine the process!!! (yes, I'm that scared!)

back to the low blood/iron count, in fact, at the end of it, it doesn't matter if I have, or I have not,

he said, the worst case is, I'm a carrier, but since this is a genetic thing, so, nothing I can do about it, it's not like it's something curable,

so, we've to tackle the issue, and I'll have to monitor my children...

at time, they'll have to go for bloodtest when they're "more" grown up!

he did say, which was something that I've heard long time ago,

yes, this time, I've to dig into my memory...

any carrier, if possible, shall avoid marrying another carrier,

yes, I've heard this before, I went for my premarital course, that's what I was educated,

love doens't cure all, sometimes, though it does its best!!!

and with great love, sometimes, we'll have to let go...

if there're 2 carriers, it's best not to be together, or, not to have any descendant,

quote him, "heart ache"...

it'll be suffering for the children, and suffering for the couple~ 

that's my take, I undesrstand,

and digging into this part of the memory,

I remember I did go for the thorough checkup before I got married~

maybe there were 2 events when I had to take iron supplement,

one before I was married,

and one when I was pregnant with my first dhild!

so, now, I'm on iron supplement, and it's go be 6 months,

we'll tackle the iron deficiency ffirst, if the hemogoblin's still low, then, I'll have to see a hematologist...

Father, please bless me with a not too complicated medical problem~ 

throughout the whole heatlth check journey,

I sometimes pray to God,

"please let me live till my children has grown up, have their own career... till then~",

else,

"please let me live for just aother 5 more years"...

(don't ask me why, but I think, if for a person who's dying, another 5 more years will truly be a blessing!)

that's how I prayed,

but Praise to the Lord, for always taking care of me, and taking care of my family,

my husband's been bringing me in a out for this round of checking...

love!