I’m so happy.
I managed to complete coding a nifty little program for one of the modules in my FYP. It features adorable little coloured blobs with numbers attached to them, and you can adjust the numbers and in turn, the blobs grow bigger (or smaller).
Wheeeeeeee.
(Yes, yes, yes I know. It seems weird that here I am, seated at my desk at almost midnight, going gaga over a program I coded. The epitome of geek?)
I love coding.
Even though I’ve picked up Actionscript 3.0 only barely three months ago, it wasn’t as much of an uphill struggle as I initially expected it to be. Yes, the initial learning is tough but sooner or later, it gets better and one will start enjoying the coding process more.
More people should learn how to code. (Haha.)
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Oh and yes, there was the cardiologist visit last Saturday which I’ve yet to speak about.
Well, the same issues are back after a short period of calm. The giddy spells and the occasional fainting spells are coming in waves now and in addition to these, I suddenly find myself having extremely strong heart palpitations.
I find my heart racing and seemingly threatening to thud right out of my chest after climbing up a mere two flights of stairs (I used to be able to climb up ten at one go), when I reach up to get something from my shelf, or when I bend down to pick up something I’ve dropped.
First, those palpitations, followed by the fainting spells. They come in pairs.
And one particular day last week, I experienced the same strong palpitations even when I was seated at my desk, reading a textbook.
In lieu of this, the cardiologist wishes to rule out arrhythmia. As such, I’m going to be hooked up to some portable ECG monitor (Holter) coming Friday for about a day or so - and I’d be concealing everything with a big, baggy sweater as I go around with my daily activities.
Am soooo not looking forward to it. :(
Cousins united, and double birthdays.Gee, it’s been such a long time since the four of us took a proper photo together. (Okay, I lied. Our last photo had been early this year - but this is the first one in a long time where all of us look decent.)
Sticking together since young - the awesome foursome.
Clockwise from top left: David, me, Jeremiah, Matthias.
I look really tiny here.
The above was taken during a double celebration within my extended family - the 65th birthday of my Uncle Jimmy, and the 1st birthday of his second grandson, Joseph. (More pictures here.)
As usual, I came face to face with so many people I didn’t know. But then again, since when do we attend a large family gathering and not find any faces we don’t recognize?
Apart from the usual members of my extended family who meet on a regular basis - there were vast amounts of people from what I call, “the other extended family” - namely, the extended family of my cousin’s wife.
Smart alec kids
Boy, “the other extended family” really did know how to reproduce! Look at all the KIDS.
They ran around the living room, screaming their lungs out, shoving toy guns and all sorts of thingamajigs all over the place. They fought over balloons. They pushed each other. They threw themselves on the floor and kicked and screamed.
One kid crawled under my legs while I was seated - which made me jump up and yelp.
And another stepped on Jeremiah’s foot - which was recuperating in a huge cast after a recent operation. (Props to him for not jumping and yelping, though.)
And boy. Not only are they rowdy kids - they’re a bunch of smart alec rowdy kids.
There was one occasion where I shouted (to make myself heard over the din) at them to play outside the house instead of around the living room where plates and cups are precariously stacked, and the adults struggling to watch television.
The response I got?
“YOU WANT US TO PLAY ON THE ROAD AND GET KNOCKED DOWN AND DIE, IS IT?” - Kid in the orange sleeveless tee.
?!?!?!
Pfffffft, never heard of the garden and the backyard, is it?
More babies on the way?
Oh, and I received news that another cousin’s wife, Jeslyn is expecting her second child. (Which makes the fifth kiddo from the newest generation on the way.) I’ve another expecting cousin as well - although I’ve learnt of her pregnancy much, much earlier.
And it seems that my reactions towards each pregnancy are becoming more and more varied.
Eight years ago, when I received news that my first nephew (Jeslyn’s first child) is on his way, my response was an enthusiastic “Oh my gosh, that’s fantastic!”
Two years ago, upon receiving news that the second nephew (Cousin Dawn’s first child) is on his way, my response was a mere “Mmmmmph!”
Last year, when I learnt that the third nephew (Joseph, who turned one today) is coming along soon, my response was a sharp squeak - “Another boy?!?”
A couple of months ago when I learnt that Cousin Dawn is pregnant with her second child in two years, I reacted with a … “WHAT?!? You mean they’re so bored they have no other form of entertainment at night?!?”
And after tonight’s news? I leaned towards my mum and whispered “Whose condom broke?” Needless to say, my speechless mum couldn’t garner any response.
Later on, Jeslyn confessed that she decided to have a second child because Little Joshua (her first child, now seven years old) wanted her to.
I immediately had mental images of Little Joshua approaching both parents and asking - “Mummy, Daddy! Can you two have sex? Pleeeeeease?” and couldn’t stop cracking up after that. Hehehehe.
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I’ve another cardiologist appointment in about twelve hours’ time, which means that I ought to be heading off to lalaland soon. The fainting spells and the usual bouts of giddiness are still plaguing yours’ truly, this time accompanied with strong(er) heart palpitations - which means I should get my sorry ass down to a doctor soon to find out what’s wrong, and why I am getting worse instead of better.
Until then!
Went to the cardiologist today, supposedly for further testing as prescribed by the neurologist I previously saw - but in the end, resulted in a simple consultation session with the doctor who felt that further testing ought to be postponed for the time being since it wasn’t really crucial at the moment.
Not that I minded though - the test I was initially supposed to go for involved IV drips and possible loss of consciousness since the test itself involved inducing fainting. Not pleasant, I know. So I was definitely happy that I didn’t have to go through all that. For the time being, at least.
My blood pressure was found to be unusually low. The cardiologist initially wanted me to wear a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor so that he can do further diagnoses based on my blood pressure patterns recorded over an entire day but I think I must have shot him a look of disdain because the next thing I knew, he was scrapping the whole idea.
Ack - the idea of being attached to some cuff-like gadget for an entire day does not appeal. Nuh uh.
What else he said?
1) The condition is genetic.
2) The condition cannot be cured with medication.
3) To return in the event I still do not feel better … then he’d proceed with the tests.
Oh, and the strangest command from a doctor, ever.
“Increase your sodium (salt) intake! Which means you can eat anything you want! So, go ahead and stuff yourself with chips, sour plums and all sorts of junk food!”
His exact words. No kidding!
Apparently, salt plays a big role in reversing my low blood volume problem, which in turn, brings my blood pressure up north.
If chips are meant to be my ‘medicine’, then it’ll be the first one I’d ever take with glee. Yours truly shall say hello to her favourite Ruffles’ cheddar cheese and cream flavoured chips! ;)
(In fact, I already have a big stash of chips in my kitchen cabinet.)
So meanwhile, I’m adopting a wait-and-see approach. I’ve had a fresh bout of giddy/fainting spells again this afternoon, so I spent most of my time in school lying flat on the ground in the study room. Of course, I’m still annoyed that my condition is not improving despite the many doctors I’m seeing, and that I haven’t been my normal self for the past two months but I guess I’ve just got to be patient since there’s no medication that can help in my case.
Yes, upping my sodium and fluid intake does help, only that it takes an extremely long time and it’s positive effects are … minimal, based on my experience so far.
To sum things up in a nutshell - it’s still going around in circles.
Don’t worry too much about me though, I’m coping well despite all that’s going on, and I definitely will survive. (:
Of course I will. I have chips!