Little-Wonder.Net

27 October, 2008

(Un)Precedented Flight Delay

17:10:06 | Ranting | writeback (1)

When mum and I made the booking for our return flight, the timing was stipulated as 6.15 P.M. Stated clearly on our flight ticket and reservation records.

So, we left our hotel at 4 P.M. sharp, arriving at the airport fifteen minutes later …

… only to find that our flight has been rescheduled to 8.30 P.M. (Which is a 2 hour, 15 minute delay.)

Of course, I was miffed that there was a flight delay, because I have a darn morning class tomorrow and so my original plan was to reach home at around 11 P.M. after a three hour flight, rush a little bit of work, and turn in for the night so that I can attend tomorrow’s class as per normal.

However, after I asked around - I discovered that this was not a typical once-in-a-blue-moon delay.

Apparently, Jetstar had changed the flight schedule for the last flight from 6.15 P.M. to 8.30 P.M. as a permanent sort of thing with effect from yesterday and didn’t bother to inform us.

There were quite a number of other confused passengers milling around the terminal area and struggling to ask the counter staff (who couldn’t really understand English) about what the fuck is going on.

The affected passengers were mostly those who made their bookings waaaaay in advance, like us for example.

And hello, here I am - at some dingy food court at Macau International Airport wasting my time away online on a 10 minute wireless trial. After that, I’ll be forced offline.

Until I return home, tata!

(And I know I did mention that I’d update during the course of this trip. Well, my bad. I underestimated the amount of work I had to do and resorted to rushing assignments till late in the night after returning to the hotel after each day’s activities. Pictures and a proper blog entry on the trip will be up soon, I promise.)

10 October, 2008

Can’t hold it in any longer.

23:34:16 | Ranting | writeback (1)

Ease myself back into activity, you say? It’s not like I’m reluctant. I’m missing the young, active (or hyperactive, rather) person I used to be, jumping at the chance to go on long walks, explore new places, cycle long distances or whatsoever.

Until everything had to come to a standstill (for four months and counting) because of this stupid condition called Atrial Tachycardia.

Cardiologist’s advice, combined with my own research - slowly easing myself back to activity will help keep my symptoms at bay, especially in the rebuilding of my tolerance levels. (Tolerance levels meaning how long I can walk without getting dizzy of faintish - which at the moment, is still stuck at ten fucking minutes.)

I didn’t expect it to be this tough.

Right at the beginning, things were as such - walk for ten minutes, feel faint, take a short break, continue walking, feel faint again, take a short break again. (And the same thing iterates over and over.)

Then it went up to fifteen minutes, then twenty, then thirty. (Taking it slow, over a period of a couple of weeks, of course.)

Not bad, I’m making progress, methinks.

And suddenly, everything relapses the next day. Can’t walk without feeling my heart racing as if it’s trying to escape my chest, and it happens even when I’m sitting down.

Okay, fine.

It’s normal that we experience setbacks especially at the beginning, aye? So, I waited for the relapse to pass before I started all over again.

Ten minutes … fifteen minutes … twenty minutes … half an hour …

And everything relapses again. Swallow pride, start again.

Ten minutes … fifteen minutes … twenty minutes …

RE-FUCKING-LAPSE. (This was as of last Saturday, which has lasted until now without any sign of cessation.)

Now, comprehend why I am still stuck at ten minutes?!?

Mum has been really patient, taking me on occasional walks at the nearby East Cost beach as part of my ‘physiotherapy’. Friends worry excessively when I’m with them, as if thinking I’m going to drop to the ground any moment since I have a tendency to keep silent (I’d feel bad ruining the outing!) when I encounter symptoms.

Plus, I think I really gave Grace a fright when I nearly keeled over after standing up from a stooping position when I went out with her last month.

And recently, people have something new to cope with - my occasional bouts of crankiness, and a tendency to get particularly emotional at night.

I’m sick and tired of being a burden to everyone. Medical bills are piling up. (And we’ve been claiming so much from insurance over and over again to an extent that I now fear they’d sooner blacklist me.) Plus, I’d really love to devote all my energy back to school instead of struggling to get well - at the moment, everything else I’m doing is halfhearted.

It’s taking a toll on my mood, my schoolwork … basically, everything.

I just want to get well.

Can or not?

(Even though I’ve explicitly promised not to write about my ongoing health conditions here but somewhere else more secluded, this is one of the rarer occasions whereby I really feel as if I need a listening ear. So, please bear with me.)

14 August, 2008

Triple layered cheesecake

23:44:21 | Daily Life, Ranting, Travel | Comments Off

Genting Highlands was good, really good.

I was half-expecting the trip to be sort of boring, mundane and lacking something since it was just my parents and me - in contrast with all the other trips there with my cousins and friends, ensuring that I’m shrouded with noise, screaming, yelling and laughing throughout. Strangely though, I didn’t mind having a … silent trip.

A big fat revelation dawned on me on the first day I was there - no cousins around means that I wouldn’t be dragged into arcades against my will, and waste my time loafing around and watching them play for hours on end because I have absolutely no interest in video games, and when I’d rather be somewhere else doing something else.

Don’t get me wrong, my cousins are great fun and I love them. It just … a clash of personal interests.

Ah, well.

And having mum around who enjoys shopping as much as I do means that I wouldn’t have to listen to any form of whining or complaining each time I step into a shop. (Boys being boys, generally hate shopping - which describes my cousins to a tee.)

Needless to say, I splurged like hell while I was there.

Plus, I finally got the chance to explore the place inside out - the little gardens scattered here and there, and walking to places I never knew existed. Indulged in a fair bit of photography while I was there, being the shutterbug I am - and uploaded the works here for your viewing pleasure.

Health wise - I managed to stay upright throughout the entire trip. No collapsing or fainting (thank goodness) since I kept myself in check while I was there, finding a spot to sit down immediately each time I felt faintish or dizzy, and downing quite a lot of water in a desperate attempt to rid myself of that low blood volume issue. (Which also resulted in an increased need to pee. Oh, heck.)

———————-

I’ve another neurologist appointment tomorrow - this time, a different fellow. Mum insists I should seek more opinions from different doctors since … we still don’t have definite answers.

Quite undecided whether I want to go, though. I’m starting to find all the doctor visits pretty pointless considering how I’ve seen so many of them and am still not recovering. Plus, I’m pretty much used to having constant giddy/fainting spells and accepted it as a part of life after the past two months so … I’m not letting it affect me as much as it used to before.

Ah well, I’d see how. Most likely I’d still end up going anyway since mum’s not letting me worm out of this one. :(

———————-

Plus, a final mini-rant to get off my chest.

(During a conversation with regard to how certain hairstyles (hair colours, rather) are not easy to match with certain types of clothing, since a friend was intending to colour his hair to the shade of discussion.)

“It’s not that I have much of a wardrobe anyway,” says he - looking down at his clothes.

Well, I’m not one to criticise about clothes - since I personally view clothing as an expression of one’s personality (people who know me will know this very well, and how I am fiercely protective of individual dress styles).

So, I simply looked at him and said - “Well, I respect people’s dress sense, so I don’t deem it right for me to comment.”

Said person then stares at me from head to toe before he remarks - “Are you just saying that to make yourself feel better?”

Talk about taking a not-so-subtle dig at me.

So very nice of him, I must say. (Heavily sarcasm induced.) So much for me being polite, for me respecting his decisions and choice of apparel - just to get myself shot down in return.

Well dude, from your point of view - you may be joking, and I accept that. And I pardon you just this once because you’ve only known me for barely three months and are thus, unaware about how strongly I feel over personal style (mine: comfort, practical jeans and tees with prints that reflect my personality and/or beliefs), how protective I am over my own and how I don’t stand for people trying to smack me down in this area.

People who know me all too well know better than to step over this line.

And I’m warning you - one more time, and I’ll make your life living hell.

———————-

Epilogue:
I know this entry is sort of queer since I’m talking about three different matters altogether in one entry, which is something I very rarely do. I hereby call this entry my ‘triple layered cheesecake’ entry. (Not because I am craving for cheesecake. :P)

Pardon me if I sound incoherent, as I’m pretty sleep-deprived over the past few nights.