It's so painful that I'm crying. I dunno what happened exactly, but the base of my right toe is hurting very very much. It's rather red, the pain is excrutiatingly familiar to tendonitis, the area feels warm and I think it's swollen as I cant seem to fit my feet in my shoe. I think it's an inflammation... I'm considering eating some Diclofenac sodium painkillers.

Felt the pain when I woke up, but still endurable. At least I was able to fold my toe while tasyahud. In bio, I started rubbing it to ease the pain, putting pressure on it. By the time it was Zohor/Asar, I was limping and I can no longer fold my toes. As of awhile ago, I can feel my blood pushing through and it hurtttttttttts.

I suspect that it was a mosquito bite. I remember being bitten on Saturday. But wow, such a reaction... Considering my swollen lips episode, I guess I'm allergic to some insect bites or something like that.

I'm already in such a PMS mood these days, the pain is just making things worst. Worst, I think some of my friends are PMSing as well... This spells disaster.

Urgh, my mum keeps shouting for me to eat. So not helping the situation.

I am still awake. Padahal I only had about 2hrs of sleep last night hehe. But I took short naps today larh.

I keep doing my household chores that I don't have time to do my schoolwork, hish. But at least my environment now is neat and condusive. InsyaAllah I shall be able to work on my statement of topic and lab reports in peace after this...

I am motivated to study! Just that the inertia to hold the notes and start reading is really great.

I went to school in baju kurung just now. Haha, trying out something new... But I don't think I'd be wearing a baju kurung to school again soon. Cos, firstly paiseh ah receive the comments, and secondly cos I feel I can't handle it well, I almost got it all wet in the toilet while taking wudhu'! Not used to it I guess. Later later la eh baru seasonkan diri. My mum ask me to wear baju kurung when I start teaching in schools, to give the "I demand discipline from you" look that students would respect. But then, if I were to be so serembah serembih with it, alahai let's just stick to the casual la yar.

Harizah & Mahmudah are keeping their word to keep the suspense to the day. They gave me gift no. 1 today and insisted that I shouldn't open it yet. And according to them, I'll be receiving another one tomorrow (actually today, look at the time! 2.49am!), and the last one on wed then I can open all. Haha. But well, two can play the same game ;)

I had a bad start to the week, I guess. I limped to school, cos my achilles tendonitis returned this morning... My left ankle tendon is red now... But I'd eaten the painkiller pills and applied the gel. Hopefully it gets better tmr. I'm so tempted to go take mc, but aiyar it is so troublesome to find a clinic in the first place.

I shall have to skip silat again tmr cos of my tendon, and so I guess I can use the time for my schoolwork. Devote to it! Ade hikmah eh segala yang berlaku...

Aite, 8.30am class tmr!

I didn't know I would love sparring so much. The mental and physical coordination is interesting. NTU had uni friendlies with SMU this afternoon at SMU and I had the opportunity to spar with an SMU sister. Eventhough I lost 2 rounds and we drew in the 3rd, it makes me all the more motivated to learn more in silat. Need to work on my combos, on my shuffling, on range, speed, intensity and accuracy. I'm excited for silat trainings to come!

Oh the SMU sister happened to be from TP Engineering hehe. No wonder she looked familiar. Entered the gelanggang, saw her the first time, and throughout the whole match I was sifting through my memory on where had I first met her haha. She said afterwards probably I know her sister instead. Probably ah. I can't be too sure... I don't remember having any friends by the name of Rahmah in TP...

Oh, right now I have a sprained left ankle and because I forced to balance myself on my right leg more on the way home just now, even my right leg hurts, so I'm walking like a robot currently. Yet I am determined not to let my parents see what the match had done to me. I don't wanna quit silat!! (never thought I'd say that heh) Luckily I have a stock of diclofenac sodium painkillers, so popped two cookies in my mouth followed by 2 pills of the painkillers and 1 pill for gastric.

I don't eat painkillers if I can help it. No panadols for me. Headaches are part and parcel of life, and it doesn't need panadol, it needs plenty of water and rest in your system that's it. I only take painkillers, and that's the diclofenac ones only if I really really really can't take the pain. This sprained ankle is not the worst in my medical history actually. I've had inflammation of the tendons before and that is like 10x worst as it causes your tendon to redden and swell and each time your blood pulses through the veins, ow ow ow. That's why I thought I can withstand the pain of this sprained ankle. Actually I can. I just eat the painkiller in the hope that I can walk properly tmr and pretend nothing happened infront of my parents hehe.

If I were to go to the polyclinic and Dr Sophian Hadi were to see me again, he'd probably comment: "another injury to add to your history?" haha.

I sure hope the sprain heals soon. I don't need another inflammed leg... Especially when I have a camp this wed-fri! Silat bonding camp! I heard it's really gonna mix us together, hmm... They feel that the segregation between the girls and the guys is not good for the team, hmm... I will hold up to my principles. In case they plan something not so 'I-dont-know-any-suitable-adjective', I'd try to get away from doing it larh... Preferably if I can get away, I would. We'll see how things go... Hopefully things go on fine, nak mix tu mix jugak, for the team, yet batasan tetap batasan :) ni tetap majority melayu Islam, so tetap perlu jaga batasan-batasan yang ditetapkan Islam... I decided to leave drama partly because of this, and also because I really didn't have time to attend trainings larh. But yeah, I hope this issue doesn't become a penghalang for me to be a true pesilat NTU!!! Chewah hehe ;)

Now I remember who was the doctor I consulted with at polyclinic just now! No wonder his name on the door rang a bell, I just read an article about him recently! Like what, less than 10 days ago?! Here!

So anyway, I reached the polyclinic at around 3.30pm and was asked to see a general practitioner first. Asked for a female doctor, none was available. Happened that I got a male malay doctor. Oh well. (SEE SEE I TOLD YOU THERE'S SO FEW FEMALE MALAY DOCTORS! That's why I wanted to be one, but hajat tak kesampaian, turns out I have a different path waiting for me...) When I reached his door, I saw the name and thought that it sounds familiar but I couldn't put a finger to it.

When I went in the see him, he looked so Chinese and asked in English that I ended up talking English to him, until he talked abit of Malay that I was convinced he's Malay afterall haha.

So anyway, he took a look at my previous medical history (I am a polyclinic kid inside out since young, no family doctors for my family cos my dad worked in the police force and we had medical benefits from polyclinic, and now's my turn to work for the government so yeah) and commented, "you're quite terror huh, so many injuries in the past". LOL, I was literally racking my brain what kind of injuries had I sustained before this, other than a recurring achilles tendonitis??? Then he asked when and how did I get my finger hurt (at this point, I already felt super silly for seeing a doctor for something as minor as an almost-immobilised finger, but I WAS REALLY WORRIED it could be a fracture and boo hoo if I'd have to learn to write with my left hand!) so I told him uh, got hurt during silat yesterday when my friend kicked my hand, and he was like, "woah silat, no wonder so many injuries." right now I'm wondering if he had the correct list of medical history, cause until now I don't remember any serious injuries!!! No broken bones or fractured bones or bad swelling or edema or lost a tooth and such whatttt...

But anyway, I told him uh those past injuries (while still wondering what those past injuries were he referring to) were not due to silat. Then he went on to ask if I was in national team (gosh no, I'm still very much an amateur! 3 months of training, 1 time tanding only ehhhh), which school's team am I in etc. He was surprised to hear NTU has silat. Erm? But he went on to ask if I know this guy, I'd forgotten the name already, who oversees silat from NUS/NTU or something like that... I just went blank. Didn't expect to be talking so much to a doctor haha. He's a friendly doctor, making his patients at ease.

I think the only reason why my medical history is made up of injuries instead of cold/flu or fever and such is because I don't see a doctor for cold/flu or fever. who needs a doctor telling you you have a fever when you obviously know you have a fever?? Just get plenty of rest at home, and don't spread it, in the case of cold/flu.

I took some painkillers, not that I'm gonna eat them... Just that I feel silly for spending like less than 1/2hr at the polyclinic for nothing. I'd only eat the painkiller if it's unbearable, which I doubt it would. Kinda immune to it already after spending one whole day having my pain receptors around the sprained (that's the only thing I say why there's pain) area transmitting pain signals to my brain. I can feel the stretch from my finger joint all the way up my right arm. But he said there's no fracture, means no fracture lor. I can straighten my finger, i just can't bend it, meaning I can't ball my right hand into a fist, or hold a pen properly (I haven't tried though), or eat with my hands, or type as usual etc... He just ask to put ice on it...

I can remember how painful and numb my hand felt after Mir kicked it yesterday. I couldn't pasang cos I couldn't feel where my hand/finger was! And my hands shook extra hard after the hit. Yet everyone must have thought that I'm such a ninny for reacting to such a minor injury, if they'd even call it an injury. But really ah, I didn't know how to react! Tell me how would you react if, no matter how much you want to continue the fight, you can't feel your hand cause it's in pain???

Speaking of reaction, the doctor said if it was a fracture (cos initially he did say he felt a gap along my bones, though err, that turns out to be a natural gap I have on both hands), the reflex action would be me hitting him already when he presses on the bone. Kau, drama seh. As much as I was in drama (which Mir finds it surprising. Mir calls me "unexpected". Silat, drama, motorbike. So unlike me, yet... haha) I wouldn't do that seh. At most I'd wince and tears sprout out of my tear ducts. Or worst case scenario, jerk my hand back and scream. Takdelah sampai pukul dia kan!

Oh, I've gotten my sleeping bag ($8.99 only!!!) and insect repellent. And a few other 'unnecessary stuffs' which mounts up to $52 plus. Aiyo... My mum spent more today. Finally she got her steam iron that you iron vertically, induction plate/hotplate and a mini ricecooker (for days only two people in the household are eating). I was tempted to buy this portable mini-stove. $30 plus only, but I think we can't cook IN our hostel rooms, so what's the point of buying...

Kk, gtg, meeting Nazihah soon, and bro Hamid's family, including little Sakinah! I've bought something for her. Have I ever said how enjoyable it is to look through baby stuff? :D

Do you know what is it? Or have you heard of Skin Writing?

Dermatographic urticaria (also known as dermographism, dermatographism or "skin writing") is a skin disorder seen in 4–5% of the population and is one of the most common types of urticaria, in which the skin becomes raised and inflamed when stroked or rubbed with a dull object

he symptoms are thought to be caused by mast cells in the surface of the skin releasing histamines without the presence of antigens, due to the presence of a weak membrane surrounding the mast cells. The histamines released cause the skin to swell in the affected areas.

This weak membrane easily and rapidly breaks down under physical pressure causing an allergic-like reaction, generally a red wheal (welt) to appear on the skin. It can often be confused with an allergic reaction to the object causing a scratch, when in fact it is the act of being scratched that causes a wheal to appear. These wheals are a subset of urticaria (hives) that appear within minutes, accompanied by a sensation of burning, and itchiness. The first outbreak of urticaria can lead to others on body parts not directly stimulated, scraped or scratched. In a normal case the swelling will reduce itself with no treatment within 15-30 minutes, but in extreme cases, itchy red wheals may last anywhere from a few hours to days.

(wikipedia)

Check it out!

Well, as usual I lunched alone. This time I went to MegaBite at Science School though. Everything was fine. Enjoyed my meal (even if the rice was too soft and the sauce too sour but I shall not complain as I filled my tummy to the fullest) while enjoying a book. Shall tell you my dear blog about the book another time perhaps. Which reminds me, I've yet to post the continuation of the previous post...

So anyway, after finishing my food I realised that I had wasted so much time going so far and taking my own sweet time eating while reading when I have, as usual, 1001 things to do at TLL. And so I rushed.

Nothing out of the ordinary. I always rushed with my tasks, unless I'm super duper tired or fed-up or my tendonitis acted up...

Until, I alighted the A2 bus, after taking the so-called short cut, opposite TLL to the face of a very smiley lab colleague from Aaron's group, (he seems to smile 24/7 fyi) and seeing the bus taking its time, I turn right infront of the bus and, I dunno what stupid idea struck me, I dashed across the road and erm... got hit by a while car. Can't remember how exactly I got hit and how was I right after the hit and as I've always mentioned, I never ever fall unconscious and today was no exception. I just remember seeing the white paint of the car and immediately standing up, gathering my things and moving off to the pavement as if nothing happened. Mind you one of my shoes was amongst the things I carried in my hands to the pavement while the other flung a few metres away. I couldn't think of anything except how stupid I'd been, not to mention extremely careless, which I avoid since all those careless mistakes I do in primary school Maths papers, and how much trouble I would cause.

And it is quite a lot of trouble I caused to myself, to the driver and his friend, to the bus driver, to my mentor, to my friends (Hui Yi especially) and to my family indefinitely.

Such a hassle too to wait for so many routines in the hospital.

But I'd just like to thank Allah for still allowing me to live, to repent for all my past sins, alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah the car wasn't going at a fast speed. Alhandulillah the driver was a kindly young man who insisted on sending me to the hospital and paying for my bills, plus a bit of compensation, and wait with me throughout the whole boring waiting and waiting and more waiting, and to send me back to office. He was insisting on sending me home, but I couldn't let him, really.

Alhamdulillah for like everything! I'm normal, perfectly fine with a good appetite still (or at least I can eat without vomiting) except a badly scraped left elbow which has stung on off since I scraped it against the road, a mini scratch on my right ankle which seems to habve some minor soft tissue injury to the very kindly female Dr Lee who examined me and a bit of bruise and ache here and there, which could actually be due to the long waiting time... Oh and a 2-days MC for today and tomorrow ;)

And I gotta go see a General Practitioner on Friday, hopefully getting me another MC. I NEED the rest badly.

I just can't help thinking, the car COULD have been speeding, I COULD have flund a few metres from where I dashed, the driver COULD have just left me there, I COULD have broken a bone or two or all or worse, my neck, I COULD have been hospitalized, I COULD have been DEAD BY NOW and on this very bed I'm sitting covered in kain batik waiting for me to be bathed, clothed, prayed and buried early tomorrow morning. Really, I could have been...

And so, I shall not complain of my pain. It's just a sting. (Ok maybe MUCH MORE but I shall pretend so) It could be just a fall from a bicycle you know... Well, but I would remember giving a quick ahriek not too loud, and seeing the white front part of the car, and seeing one of my shoe a few metres away. Just bits of the whole thing. I can't even remember how I landed, how I hurt my arm etc.

Oh, actually it was erm... rather fun. Ok sorry. I dunno. I mean, I don't wish that to repeat, of course! Especially since I dunno the outcome of what COULD happen the next time... But then again, I can't help wanting to laugh every once in awhile at what happened.

Pray for my speedy recovery! Not much to recover from. Just less sting.

What an unexpected turn of events... All those stuff I left hanging halfway at TLL. I hope my mentor won't scold me when I come back, which I intend to do nothing of the sort this week *big grin*.

Oh, happy belated birthday to Chan Jun Jie and my dear auntie (11/11)! And happy birthday to Peng Ya Zhi (12/11)! Wish all 3 of you all the best in whatever you do ;)

Time to rest, which I ought have done since I reached home 3hrs ago, haha, nvm...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder where a person has recurrent and unwanted ideas or impulses (called obsessions) and an urge or compulsion to do something to relieve the discomfort caused by the obsession. The obsessive thoughts range from the idea of losing control, to themes surrounding religion or keeping things or parts of one's body clean all the time. Compulsions are behaviors that help reduce the anxiety surrounding the obsessions. Most people (90%) who have OCD have both obsessions and compulsions. The thoughts and behaviors a person with OCD has are senseless, repetitive, distressing, and sometimes harmful, but they are also difficult to overcome.

Above extract is from MentalHelp.net. Read below for more information...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric anxiety disorder most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or "rituals") which attempt to neutralize the obsessions.

The typical OCD sufferer performs tasks (or compulsions) to seek relief from obsession-related anxiety. To others, these tasks may appear odd and unnecessary. But for the sufferer, such tasks can feel critically important, and must be performed in particular ways to ward off dire consequences and to stop the stress from building up. Examples of these tasks: repeatedly checking that one's parked car has been locked before leaving it; turning lights on and off a set number of times before exiting a room; repeatedly washing hands at regular intervals throughout the day.

Symptoms may include some, all, or perhaps none of the following:

Repeated hand washing.
Repeated clearing of the throat, although nothing may need to be cleared.
Specific counting systems — e.g., counting in groups of four, arranging objects in groups of three, grouping objects in odd/even numbered groups, etc.
One serious symptom which stems from this is "counting" steps — e.g., feeling the necessity to take 12 steps to the car in the morning.
Perfectly aligning objects at complete, absolute right angles, or aligning objects perfectly parallel etc. This symptom is shared with OCPD and can be confused with this condition unless it is realized that in OCPD it is not stress-related.
Fear of acting out on violent or aggressive impulses, or feeling overly responsible for the safety of others.
Sexual obsessions or unwanted sexual thoughts. Two classic examples are fear of being homosexual or fear of being a pedophile. In both cases, sufferers will obsess over whether or not they are genuinely aroused by the thoughts.
Strange and chronic worries about certain events such as sleeping, eating, leaving home, etc without proper items. An example would be one who literally can't fall asleep without a metronome.
Having to "cancel out" bad thoughts with good thoughts. An example of this would be imagining harming a child and having to imagine a child playing happily to cancel it out.
A fear of contamination (see Mysophobia); some sufferers may fear the presence of human body secretions such as saliva, blood, sweat, tears, vomit, or mucus, or excretions such as urine or feces. Some OCD sufferers even fear that the soap they're using is contaminated.[6]
A need for both sides of the body to feel even. A person with OCD might walk down a sidewalk and step on a crack with the ball of their left foot, then feel the need to step on another crack with the ball of their right foot. If one hand gets wet, the sufferer may feel very uncomfortable if the other is not. If the sufferer is walking and bumps into something, he/she may hit the object or person back to feel a sense of evenness. These symptoms are also experienced in a reversed manner. Some sufferers would rather things to be uneven, favoring the preferred side of the body.
An obsession with numbers (be it in math class, watching TV, or in a room). Some people are obsessed with even numbers and loathe odd numbers (odd numbers cause them a great deal of anxiety and often make the person uncomfortable or even angry) or vice versa.
Twisting the head on a toy around, then twisting it all the way back exactly in the opposite direction (see even body section).
Fear of transformation. A fear of transforming into someone or something else. Losing ones self or taking on undesired characteristics is what creates the anxiety and fear. Rituals such as counting, blinking, checking, hand washing etc. may eliminate the anxiety when they are done in a way which "feels right" to the sufferer.
In some cases, a pattern of uniformity on a bank account may indicate obsessive-compulsive spending. For example, an OCD-affected figure skater may issue a check to his/her coach for a private lesson every week, paying the same amount each time. In addition, the affected person may feel complacent about or invincible against the economic issues.
There are many other possible symptoms, and one need not display those above to suffer from OCD. Formal diagnosis is performed by a mental health professional. Furthermore, possessing the symptoms above is not an absolute diagnosis of OCD.

OCD sufferers are aware that such thoughts and behavior are not rational[citation needed], but feel bound to comply with them to fend off feelings of panic or dread. Because sufferers are consciously aware of this irrationality but feel helpless to push it away, untreated OCD is often regarded as one of the most vexing and frustrating of the major anxiety disorders.[citation needed]

In an attempt to further relate the immense distress that those afflicted with this condition must bear, Barlow and Durand (2006) use the following example.[7] They implore readers not to think of pink elephants. Their point lies in the assumption that most people will immediately create an image of a pink elephant in their minds, even though told not to do so. The more one attempts to stop thinking of these colorful animals, the more one will continue to generate these mental images. This phenomenon is termed the "Thought Avoidance Paradox”, and it plagues those with OCD on a daily basis, for no matter how hard one tries to get these disturbing images and thoughts out of one's mind, feelings of distress and anxiety inevitably prevail. Although everyone may experience unpleasant thoughts at one time or another, these are usually warranted concerns that are short-lived and fade after an adequate time period has lapsed. However, this is not the case for OCD sufferers.[8]

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often confused with the separate condition obsessive compulsive personality disorder. The two are not the same condition, however. OCD is ego dystonic, meaning that the disorder is incompatible with the sufferer's self-concept. Because disorders that are ego dystonic go against an individual's perception of his/herself, they tend to cause much distress. OCPD, on the other hand, is ego syntonic—marked by the individual's acceptance that the characteristics displayed as a result of this disorder are compatible with his/her self-image. Ego syntonic disorders understandably cause no distress. Persons suffering from OCD are often aware that their behavior is not rational and are unhappy about their obsessions but nevertheless feel compelled by them. Persons with OCPD, by contrast, are not aware of anything abnormal about themselves; they will readily explain why their actions are rational, and it is usually impossible to convince them otherwise. Persons with OCD are ridden with anxiety; persons who suffer from OCPD, by contrast, tend to derive pleasure from their obsessions or compulsions.[9] This is a significant difference between these disorders.

Equally frequently, these rationalizations do not apply to the overall behavior, but to each instance individually; for example, a person compulsively checking their front door may argue that the time taken and stress caused by one more check of the front door is considerably less than the time and stress associated with being robbed, and thus the check is the better option. In practice, after that check, the individual is still not sure, and it is still better in terms of time and stress to do one more check, and this reasoning can continue as long as necessary.

Some OCD sufferers exhibit what is known as overvalued ideas. In such cases, the person with OCD will truly be uncertain whether the fears that cause them to perform their compulsions are irrational or not. After some discussion, it is possible to convince the individual that their fears may be unfounded. It may be more difficult to do ERP therapy on such patients, because they may be, at least initially, unwilling to cooperate. For this reason OCD has often been likened to a disease of pathological doubt, in which the sufferer, while not usually delusional, is often unable to fully realize what sorts of dreaded events are reasonably possible and which aren't.

OCD is different from behaviors such as gambling addiction and overeating. People with these disorders typically experience at least some pleasure from their activity; OCD sufferers do not actively want to perform their compulsive tasks, and experience no pleasure from doing so.

OCD is placed in the anxiety class of mental illness, but like many chronic stress disorders it can lead to clinical depression over time. The constant stress of the condition can cause sufferers to develop a deadening of spirit, a numbing frustration, or sense of hopelessness. OCD's effects on day-to-day life—particularly its substantial consumption of time—can produce difficulties with work, finances and relationships.

There is no known cure for OCD as of yet, but there are a number of successful treatment options available.

Some cases are thought to be caused at least in part by childhood streptococcal infections and are termed PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections). The streptococcal antibodies become involved in an autoimmune process. Though this idea is not set in stone, if it does prove to be true, there is cause to believe that OCD can to some very small extent be "caught" via exposure to strep throat (just as one may catch a cold). However, if OCD is caused by bacteria, this provides hope that antibiotics may eventually be used to treat or prevent it.[11]

For more info (treatment and such), visit Wikipedia

Did a quick blood type test in school juz now and finally I found out that I'm AB! Rare seh.. Even the people at the booth was like, "So far only found 2 people who have AB blood!" And she wanted to tell Mr Poh. When I asked why, she said, "So that can donate blood! Need more AB blood!" Hah, that's where she's wrong! People with AB blood can receive blood from any blood group! But only another person with AB blood can receive the blood we donate! :D Oh, my eldest bro is AB too if I'm not mistaken. OoooOoooooo!

AB0 blood grouping system

According to the AB0 blood typing system there are four different kinds of blood types: A, B, AB or 0 (null).

Blood group A
If you belong to the blood group A, you have A antigens on the surface of your red blood cells and B antibodies in your blood plasma.

Blood group B
If you belong to the blood group B, you have B antigens on the surface of your red blood cells and A antibodies in your blood plasma.

Blood group AB
If you belong to the blood group AB, you have both A and B antigens on the surface of your red blood cells and no A or B antibodies at all in your blood plasma.

Blood group 0
If you belong to the blood group 0 (null), you have neither A or B antigens on the surface of your red blood cells but you have both A and B antibodies in your blood plasma.

Blood transfusions – who can receive blood from whom?

People with blood group 0 are called "universal donors" and people with blood group AB are called "universal receivers."

Of course you can always give A blood to persons with blood group A, B blood to a person with blood group B and so on. But in some cases you can receive blood with another type of blood group, or donate blood to a person with another kind of blood group.

The transfusion will work if a person who is going to receive blood has a blood group that doesn't have any antibodies against the donor blood's antigens. But if a person who is going to receive blood has antibodies matching the donor blood's antigens, the red blood cells in the donated blood will clump.

People with blood group 0 are called "universal donors" and people with blood group AB are called "universal receivers."

Interesting read from here. This site's animation is not bad at all! Do play the games yea? Btw, if u don't know ur blood type, drop by TP Applied Science School Biomedical Science booth for a quick blood-typing test! And while you're at it, drop by Biotech booth too kk? ;) Hehe, promote keperr...

I'm wondering if getting a tetanus infection is just as painful as getting the jab ish.

The jab it self was super painful. Tried my best to laugh it off and bear with it. Left Raffles clinic all ok ar manageable.

But when I peeled off the plaster at home, it stings and stings and hasn't stopped. Owwwww! The whole day today I was so moody. This is wrong. That is wrong. Everything seems to piss me off. And it's not great being pissed off with everything under the sun ok...

Anyway, touched the injected area just now. It's hard. Like there's a round metal piece underneath my skin around the wound. And the stinging can even give me headaches...

Initially I thought like maybe a bit of the needle broke off or something, but Ad says she feel the same, so it should be perfectly normal. Right? Haha, I hope so..

There's soooo much to blog about! But I haven't even edited the previous post which I didn't complete. I don't think I'd even complete it... Sounds pointless no\w. Like whatever la...

Let's rewind abit aite...

Saturday - I know I missed the flying kite
Sunday - NiRREK, zonk out
Monday - AMic lab, Pycho proj, errands, zonk out
Tuesday - spent the whole day doing AMic Background Info
Wednesday - Only to realise I forgot to save half of it so had to do the whole thing again afterwhich attended NI meeting and ate at KFC
Thursday - went to take the tetanus jab & blood screen then attended NI usrah
Friday - AMic lab, photocopied some stuff, looked for tudung, sleeeeeeeeeep, then on comp
Saturday - do some psycho, attend Ghufran event and then gonna watch Wayang Betulllah with Naza
Sunday - wrap up everything before school starts!

I have a long list of things-to-do and I'm getting nowhere to finishing it. And 2008 is already around the corner!!

It gets funnier as you scroll down. Sarcastic nampak, sarcastic nampak. Hehe

1. Learn to recognize the symptoms. Sleep paralysis can affect different people in many different ways. Knowing what to expect and how it can affect you can make symptoms much easier to cope with. Individual experiences vary, but some symptoms can include: overwhelming feelings of evil entities watching you, an intruder in your room, alien abductions, rape, an "old bag lady" or "old hag" attacking or suffocating you in your sleep (it is not known why it is always an old woman), and many other frightening experiences that always take place while in a paralyzed state.
2. Research the experiences of others. It's much easier to deal with such a frightening event when you know you're not the only one. Talk about it with your friends. You might be surprised to learn that someone you know has gone through something similar. You can also talk to your doctor about sleep paralysis; there are some medical procedures that can help in extreme cases.
3. Determine what triggers your sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis can be triggered by a variety of situations. Some researchers agree that sleep paralysis is most commonly caused by the position you fall asleep in, most commonly when lying on your back. Often, triggers can be factors in your life that you have no control over, such as stress, environment, or even your dreams. Try keeping a log of the conditions of your episode of paralysis. Track details of the experience, the time, your sleep pattern, sleeping position, mental/emotional state before and after you were paralyzed, and if you were paralyzed while falling asleep or upon waking up. This can all be useful information, especially if you decide to see a doctor about the condition.
4. Avoid the triggers. The best way to cope with sleep paralysis is not to experience it at all. Identifying your personal triggers and working to avoid them will significantly reduce the chances of experiencing sleep paralysis. If you experience sleep paralysis every time you sleep on your back, try sleeping on your side or stomach. If your sleep paralysis happens every time you work overtime, try to avoid overtime. It's simple and effective at preventing sleep paralysis.
5. Sleep regularly. Sleep patterns can have a drastic effect on sleep paralysis. Keeping a regular healthy sleep pattern and getting enough sleep can significantly reduce the likelihood of sleep paralysis episodes.
6. Just relax. Although sleep paralysis can be frightening when accompanied by a hallucination, some people only experience the feeling of being paralyzed. When this happens, know that although 20 seconds might seem like five minutes, it's not going to harm you. If you focus on moving, you can break out of it quickly. As in the movie "Kill Bill", try wiggling your big toe and you'll be able to move the rest of your body in no time.
7. Tell your partner about it. Along with the paralysis, most people find that they are unable to talk or cry out for help. The only thing you can do is open your eyes and make a low muffled groaning noise. Make sure your partner can identify this so they can calmly wake you out of paralysis. Don't be upset if they fail to identify that you are experiencing sleep paralysis. It's like trying to determine if someone is having a bad dream, you have to focus on it to know it's happening.
8. Get older. It sounds silly, but sleep paralysis usually starts at a young age and becomes most frequent during the teenage years. Paralysis should become less and less frequent as you get older, and often by the time you reach 30 years of age the symptoms can disappear completely.
9. Keep a journal. Write in it before you sleep, and write events that happened that day. It may help you figure out what is triggering the dreams.
10. Have sex often. Maintaining a frequent sexual relationship with your partner may help reduce the occurrence of sleep paralysis.
11. Learn how to Lucid Dream. The sensation of sleep paralysis can be interpreted as a definitive "dreamsign," an excellent indication that you are actually asleep (and thus perfectly safe). This makes it possible to eliminate the unwanted anxious feelings about paralysis and look forward instead to having a lucid dream of any experience you desire!

And it continues to get funnier!

* Try taking slightly bigger and bigger breaths. Breathing is the one thing you can still control. Deeper breaths will bring more oxygen to the brain and will wake you up.
* Reduce stress
* Eat healthy
* Remember that, although it can feel dangerous, it isn't
* Talk about it with others
* An improper sleeping schedule can be a cause of sleep paralysis. Try to get 8-10 hours of sleep every night at the same time of night every night, and sleep paralysis may go away.
* Concentrating on trying to move or "shake" yourself may break you out of it in no time.
* Sleep paralysis is most common while sleeping on your back. Try to avoid sleeping this way
* Try to avoid coffee or medications that affect your heart rate.
* Consider having a sleep study to diagnose whether the cause of the sleep paralysis may be sleep apnea. With proper treatment of a diagnosed sleep apnea condition, the sleep paralysis events may subside and/or disappear.
* If you find you are experiencing paralysis as you are falling asleep, try sitting up and staring at a bright light for a minute or so before lying down again. No one is sure why, but this does help some people.
* Relax, and the paralysis will fade away.
* Some people with frequent sleep paralysis have found the following technique to be helpful. Take a moment each day to relax and imagine the sensations of your sleep paralysis. Focus on your breathing, then take a deep breath while picturing that breath lifting you up to consciousness as you open your eyes. Practicing your escape procedure when not experiencing the paralysis can greatly reduce the anxiety that can accompany an episode.
* Make sure that you are actually awake. Sleep paralysis could very well be a dream, and you will likely be able to discern whether or not it is a dream by moving into the next room. Focus on moving into the next room, or in general, away from the location of paralysis.
* If moving a finger or toe does not break the paralysis then push with all of your might to induce an out of body experience (some like to spin to the left or right). Upon abruptly returning to your body you will most likely awaken.
* If you are indeed getting older and well beyond the age of 30 then forget about step #8 above.
* If you are not of a reasonable age to perform step 10 from above then omit that step as well.
* Be cool about it. You can think of it as a rare lifetime experience and a ideal time to have a lucid dream, after that your syptoms will likely disapear and you might even want to induce sleep paralysis.
* Just try to go to sleep.

I'm having a mild headache now, and it's not really cause of the pile of work I have waiting for me to do...

About 15-20 mins before this I left the computer to take a rest in my room. As usual, I don't feel myself falling asleep. I'm the last person on earth to have insomnia or any kind of difficulty to fall asleep (other than during first night or first few nights of camps), seriously I can't go without sleep.

The thing was I felt myself waking up, but I can't move. The room is as it was before
I slept, lights off with lights streaming from the living room through my open door. And I could even hear the song from my comp. Maybe it's a dream and the song is just stuck in my head. I THINK and HOPE it was only a dream. I did wake up in a different position from my 'so-called dream'. But it was so weird lah!

I was aware of my surroundings but I can't move or talk. I forced myself to. Baca ayat kursi but halfway couldn't continue and so I started to azan as loudly as possible in my mind. Halfway through I regained consciousness. During the temporary partial consciousness, I felt couldn't even sit up. Force force, rasanya tengah buat a sit-up after hundreds of sit-up or something. Punyalah susah! Legs and arms can't move. I can only move my fingers and ankle. My bed have wooden sides and i was trying to knock on them but all I could do was tap it with my fingers. The thing was, I was aware my mum was outside and if only I could shout or knock loudly my mum would hear and help me. In the 'dream', I felt so tired, can feel my eyes open but threatening to close every second and I was so afraid if I submit to my tiredness I would never wake up again or go into unconsciousness or something. So, was it a dream or not?

But as I said earlier, when I woke up I was in a slightly different position. During the 'dream', while struggling my head was turned and I nearly slip off my bed with my legs almost hitting the floor but when I woke up I was lying flat facing the ceiling with my legs straight and arms across my head. Maybe ni lah agaknya kenapa orang cakap jangan tidur facing upwards. But I feel asleep instantly as soon as my head the bed. I don't think I was lying flat. I remember snuggling my face close to the bed. Which side tak ingat...

Weird seh... Maybe it's a dream, maybe it's well... something... Like Jun's story... Or maybe it's a case of sleep paralysis. Once I got out of bed before blogging about this, I searched for that. Let's see what I found:

Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis).[1]

Physiologically, it is closely related to the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the bodily paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully aware, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations.

More often than not, sleep paralysis is believed by the person affected by it to be no more than a dream.[citation needed] This explains many dream recountings which describe the person lying frozen and unable to move. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful, or dream-like, objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as a theory for alien abductions and ghostly encounters.

Sleep paralysis occurs during REM sleep, thus preventing the body from manifesting movements made in the subject's dreams. Very little is known about the physiology of sleep paralysis. However, some have suggested that it may be linked to post-synaptic inhibition of motor neurons in the pons region of the brain. In particular, low levels of melatonin may stop the depolarization current in the nerves, which prevents the stimulation of the muscles, to prevent the body from enacting the dreamt activity (e.g. preventing a sleeper from flailing his legs when dreaming about running).

Several studies have concluded that many or most people will experience sleep paralysis at least once or twice in their lives.

Many people who commonly enter sleep paralysis also suffer from narcolepsy. In African-Americans, panic disorder co-occurs with sleep paralysis more frequently than in Caucasians[2]. Some reports read that various factors increase the likelihood of both paralysis and hallucinations. These include: [3]

* Sleeping in an upwards supine position
* Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in, sleep deprivation
* Increased stress
* Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes
* A lucid dream that immediately precedes the episode. Also conscious induction of sleep paralysis is a common technique to enter a state of lucid dreams, also known as WILD[1] .
* Artificial sleeping aids, ADD medications and/or antihistamines
* Recent use of hallucinogenic drugs

Hypnagogia (also spelled hypnogogia) describes vivid dreamlike auditory, visual, or tactile sensations, which are often accompanied by sleep paralysis and experienced when falling asleep or waking up.

The hypnagogic experience occurs between being awake and asleep, while the hypnopompic experience occurs as one is waking up; both experiences occur within the time period between sleep and waking (or vice versa). Experienced qualities vary, and include fear, awareness of a "presence," chest or back pressure, and an inability to breathe (hence the folkloric notion of mara-like creatures tormenting sleepers), a falling sensation or a feeling of tripping, but sometimes also joy.

During the hypnagogic state, an individual may appear to be fully awake, but has brain waves indicating that the individual is technically sleeping. Also, the individual may be completely aware of their state, which enables lucid dreamers to enter the dream state consciously directly from the waking state (see wake-initiated lucid dream technique).

The hypnagogic state is sometimes proposed as an explanation of experiences such as alien abduction, apparitions, or visions.

Seramlah seh... Tapi bila baca part "proposed as an explanation of experiences such as alien abduction" kekek la pulak. Imagine the part if I submit to my tiredness and then wake up in an alien spaceship with aliens surrounding me trying to do experiments on me to find out about humans. Then I'll be featured in the alien's news the next morning with: "Weird Finding abt Humans" turn to page bla bla for more details. Big big L-O-L.

Okok, but this 'dream' or 'sleep paralysis' or whatever right... It's not the first time. But it is the first time in such a looooooong time. The last few times I got it was in my parent's room when I shared their bedroom, sleeping on a mattress beside their bed. It always happen in the dark and during the 'dream' I'll be struggling not to fall asleep and to try and move and shout and when I wake up I'll be lying flat on my bed/mattress facing up. Like... WoooooKaaaaaY