My Eczema Condition

I have recently embarked on a new (well, not quite) quest - to get myself healthy again and to be able to do the things I have not been able to do. Most of you know that I have eczema - a condition that makes my skin very dry, inflammed and very, very, very itchy. I know many people have this condition, but for me it is ACUTE - not that that there is anything cute about it. In fact it gets so bad on some days that I do not even want to leave the house. The itch gets so unbearable and I have to scratch. Each time I scratch, my skin becomes worse. It is a Catch-22 situation and it ain't funny.

I have had eczema ever since I was little. I remember that I had asthma as a child and my skin condition was somehow linked to this. Maybe my immune system was weak. Maybe it was genetic. Maybe my condition worsened because of mis-diagnosis by the incompetent doctor(s) who treated me and the lousy medical treatment I received from them. A lot of maybes. I know I am starting to sound bitter but can you blame me? For over 35 years I have been suffering.... Many times I have asked myself "Why me? Why am I made to suffer?". I have on occassion "tarok" some irritating people (in particular the "insensitive husband" who should know better than to assume that everyone is in the pink of health) by accusing them of "not understanding how I felt." Touche!

A few weeks ago, I received a call from Mrs Ong, client and friend, telling me that she was feeling better after her "spa" or hydrotherapy sessions at home. It was not too long ago that she herself was suffering from lupus, an auto-immune illness which causes the cells in the body to react against itself. I could sense that she too felt terrible on those times that we met up or spoke over the phone. She was lacking energy, her joints hurt and she was itching all over. And now, here she was sounding so full of zest and she wanted me to know that she was feeling so much better after she started her home spa sessions. And this is how it started for me....

Like any normal person, I was skeptical. I had been to so many doctors (western and TCM) and specialists in JB and Singapore, tried so many different creams, lotions, medicines, steroids, herbs, vitamins, health supplements. You name it and most probably I had tried it. None seemed to work for long. Yes, my skin would improve at first but then it would worsen and each time I would feel so disillusioned about ever getting better. Along the way, the "insensitive husband" would pass some callous remark about me not doing enough to bring about a change in my condition. Excuse me??? Did I marry a guy who was brain dead or did he really know what I needed to do ie. detox and flush the liver and kidneys to remove kidney/liver/gall stones, toxins and parasites and what have you that was clogging up my body and making the symptoms appear on my skin? Yadda, yadda, yadda .... We all know that talk is easy, especially when you are not the one suffering from an unbearable skin condition. To be fair, he did read up and trawl the internet for information, something he is really good at. Hey, have to give the "fat boy" some credit since he is writing this blog of mine.

Anyway, back to the story. I was really glad to hear that Mrs Ong was feeling so much better. Certainly this home spa appeared to be more than just a spa. After all, wasn't a spa someplace we went to unwind and pamper ourselves rather than for healing. So off I went to meet her to hear about this miraculous change that she was experiencing ...... to be cont'd

Fav Malay Song

This is a nice song with a catchy tune. The lyrics are meaningful which is why I can continue listening to this song over and over again. I have included the lyrics below if anyone's interested.

Ku Juga Mencintaimu by Saiful

Sukarnya 'tuk ku melupakan
sinar matamu yg menawan
terbayang-bayang tiap masa
senyumanmu menggoda

Kehangatan terasa dijiwa
Tika kau lafaz kata cinta
nafas thenti seketika
seakan sukar ku percaya
Ooh…oh…(Korus)

Ku juga mencintai dirimu
mengapa sukar ku luahkan
bukan sengaja ku menahan
bibir membeku lidah terkelu

Ku juga mencintai dirimu
Kau amat sempurna buatku
bukan saja aku biarkankan
ku ucap jua padamu...

Sukarnya untukku ucapkan

kutakut akan kehilanganmu
akan ku buat segalanya
untukmu kekasihku

Cuma satu yg belum terluah
kalimah cinta kau nantikan
bila masa dan ketika
tidak dpt ku menjawabnya..

Semalaman ku menunggu panggilanmu
apabila ku terdengar suaramu
ku terlupa segalanya

Around the world in xx years

In the last couple of years, I had the opportunity to travel to quite a few countries. It started in UK in 1995 when I attended Edward and Yact Meng's convocation and it has not stopped since. Rome, Prague, Cebu, Hong Kong, Seattle, Vancouver, Ho Chi Minh, Vienna, etc. Last month I was in Cape Town. Next year it's going to be Paris .... but only if I qualify for the incentive trip.






What is it like to travel year after year? Very fun leh. When you have a group of friends who are young at heart, it makes the trip much more fun and enjoyable. We explore, snap pictures, try new gastronomical fares, make new friends, stay up late, catch the sights, try to blend in with the locals, shop till it hurts and then we come home with plenty of memories and look forward to the next exciting trip :)

Looking back on my travels, I must say I have had one helluva fun time. May the good times continue to roll ..........

Financial Planning - get your basics right

I thought this brief article covered the main points on financial planning. If you are new to financial planning or wealth management, do have a read and I hope it will give you some useful pointers.

If you would like to know more about financial planning, you are always welcome to contact me at flo_tan@hotmail.com for a no-obligation review of your requirements.

It's been nine years since

My younger son, Jared was born 9 years ago on this day at Mt Alvernia Hospital. He was as alert and wide eyed then as he is now.

He's now in Pr 3 and hopefully his results for the recently completed SA2 (semester assessment) will confirm that he gets promoted to Pr 4 next year. Ahhhh, what stress we as parents have to endure :)

This is my own effort at contributing to the blog. You can tell can't you? Jared asked for his fav choc cake (same flavour year after year). This year we agreed on one from Cake Avenue. We took a short ride to the main branch located at Jalan Kilat and Jared chose his "Chocolate Sensation" with a no. 9 candle (cost $2.50 per pc). He gleefully waited for us to gather at home in the night to sing him the birthday song and not stopping at that.. the cake eating session... yummy but soo sinful!"

Don't you think he's a good-looking kid, just like his mom (terperasan!!!).

When the dust settles

I dropped by my parents' new house yesterday afternoon. The house is under renovation. Can't wait for the renovations to be completed and then it'll be time for everyone to move their stuff in and make the house into a home.

Musings of days gone by

Its funny how when we get fascinated about something we can spend hours and hours without getting "bosan". What's the latest fad for me? Blogging. Well, truth be told, this blog is actually being maintained by a Ghost Blogger. I can hear the rumblings so hold your horses. I said Ghost Blogger, not Ghost Whisperer. Wait a minute.... Aren't they similar? Not really. In Ghost Whisperer, the character played by Jennifer Love Hewitt can communicate with ghosts whereas for my Ghost Blogger, it's kind of like having a Ghost Writer write a book but having someone else take the credit as author. So I must confess, I am taking the credit for this blog... After all, it is my life and musings..... But who is the Ghost Blogger? It happens to be my sons' father. Enuff said.

Dug up the old "autograph book" and flipped through the pages and what did I find? A window to the past. Notes from frens. Words of encouragement. Snippets of what life used to be when I was studying in JB Convent. My my, it really did bring back a flood of memories. Have a look at my inside cover to see what I wrote in the last paragraph. "Blessed are thee and may GOD be with THEE". What was I thinking with all the "thees"? Sounds like I was trying to write ancient English. My literature teacher would have crawled under a rock if she read this. Hmm, come to think of it, I did see her hiding each time she saw me approach with my "auto'.