Korea Preview #1

at the changyeonggun palace @ seoul

i know i have yet to blog about korea but i have not uploaded the photos and honestly speaking, for ost part of the trip, we were shopping so there aren't many fantastic, scenic photos. The only travelling adventure that i did was climb a mountain for 10hours and half of the expedition comprised of trekking in the rain. some sorta adventure huh.

today, i just wana blog about a recent activity that i took up. i wana take this time to help raise awareness for people with AIDS.

recently i signed up for voluntary work to help out at the communicable disease centre. the purpose - to befriend and care for people who suffer from AIDS.

it's sad to know that there is still much discrimination and prejudice against people who suffer from this disease. because of this stigma, it makes it difficult for people to come to terms with HIV and interferes with attempts to fight the AIDS epidemic as a whole. on a national level, the stigma related to the disease deters governments from taking fast, effective action against the disease and on a personal level, it can make individuals reluctant to access HIV testing, treatment and care.

For example, in Singapore, the government only in recent times introduced AIDS related subsidies through Medifund. Even so, the patient will have to go through a lot of procedures in order to qualify for the subsidy; i.e. they have to prove that they are unable to afford the drugs by producing bank/income statements, going through interviews to examine their lifestyles and should they be smokers, they would automatically be disqualified. As a result, a lot of patients are turned off because they already feel embarrassed to be diagnosed with HIV but to have their lifestyle and every detail of their life scrutinized would seem too much.

in the short training that i had, i realised that AIDS drugs are really expensive in Singapore. this is because pharmaceutical companies deem Singapore as a developed country hence the drugs sold here are exponentially higher than that in Thailand. AIDS related drugs in Singapore can cost easily from 500+ to 900+ bucks per month whereas in developing countries like Thailand, they sell generic drugs for 1/10 the price. As the doctor from TTSH advised, there is no difference between the generic and original drugs as both are equally effective.

i understand that some people may feel that AIDS sufferers deserve it and because it is about sex, we often link it to promiscuity. However, i beg to differ. There are perfectly innocent kids who suffer from the disease just because their mothers contracted HIV, there are also women who contract the disease unknowingly from their husbands, then there are the gays who end up with AIDs. We should not discriminate the sexual orientation of people and even if the victim really was someone who was sexually promicuous, i believe everyone derserves another chance. Just like the yellow ribbon project.

a video showing a little girl suffering from AIDS:



I learnt that an AIDS sufferer's recommended food pyramid differs from that of a healthy being. In normal circumstances, a healthy being would shun oil, carbs, meat & sugary stuff. However, for a AIDs sufferer, they require energy, LOTS of it to fight against infections and bacteria. The sweeter the food, the better. The more engery, more carbo, more meat, the better. Weight loss will in turn increase the morbidity of a HIV infected person.

in the short training i've gone through so far, i have heard sad stories. Infected people who couldn't take social pressure and the consequences of bearing such a disease. Many times, there has been people taking their lives because they cannot live with the shame or because they feel that they have lost their life purpose. They become reclusive and avoid contact with their relatives/friends. And it's sad cause these are the people that are so important especially during this difficult time. they form the pillar of support.

the medical social worker likened people's emotions to that of an iceberg. what you see is just the tip, but what goes beyond the surface may be so deep and gigantic in proportions yet undecipherable to a passing man. imagine the torture of the AIDS victim. physical, mental & emotional...

i'll miss my interns :(

Grandpa's Birthday!

ain't my nephew the cutest??!!

i just love babies with chubby cheeks :)

no. not only cause they resemble mine -_-" 

call me bias and all but i definitely have one of the cutest nephews ever. period.

seeing them both almost makes me wanna have kids too!

one of the things I'm most grateful for is my close knitted extended family. I believe my extended family is considered close and it's pretty cool to have your aunts using facebook too. lol.

I pray Lord that my ah gong will remain strong and healthy and live a long, long life.

I pray that happiness will pour like infinite rain on my family and that our bond will continue to be strong and unbreakable like Elephant superglue.

my gorgeous lil' sis...who everyone mistakes as my older sis -_-" even though she's 7 yrs younger!

haha, i like louis's expression on the 2nd pic...

Sarah! Face it, babies don't like you la!

haha.

my cousin started a facial business from home. she manufactured some facial products which I've tried during the facial and they're really good :)

and boy, i didn't know taking off blackheads was such a painful experience.

truly. if you've been through facial, you can overcome anything.

but my face really felt very clean and refreshed after the facial.

so if any of ya stay around the east and are looking for cheap facial in the convenience and privacy of a very comfy nice room.

Please tell me, I'll give you my cousin's contacts!

she does some mean eyelash extensions too, she did mine for free and they're really pretty and natural :)

and they're quite durable too, can last ya for a month with tender care!

sis having her go at facial :)

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Kbox with cell group!

i was pretty amazed at Gab's ability to rap to Jay Chou's songs.

Power to Gab! Trust a med student to print and memorise lyrics before going to KTV!

haha.

and once again, i am amazed at YH's knowledge of all songs, be it English or Chinese.

seriously, he is like an encylopedia of lyrics.

he can serenade Lilian on their anniversary/birthdays/whatever occasion. haha.

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Tiffany & Co - a girl's best friend

finally met up with k for like the longest time!

went to waraku for dinner and he updated me on what everyone in hall has been doing and what jobs they got.

masaaki is going to exon mobile and earning bloody loads of money, makes me all sad that I'm earning peanuts. in all it's glorious small-ness, if there were ever such a word.

after dinner, we went....

yes.

Tiffany!

so he could get for his lao po a tiffany choker for their anniversary.

he requested to add personal touches to it.

and all i could think of was $$$$.

but he's really sweet to his wife, showers her so often with expensive bags, dinners (imagine 500+bucks dinner for 2 at Iggies!).

on second thought,

not everyone is a pilot, he can probably well afford the extravagance.

but it's still nice to know that most of my guy friends are really generous when it comes to their spouse. shows that not all guys are stingy :)

of course, i can't just assume that bfs/husbands who are willing to splurge on their gfs/wives are necessarily good. that would be much too shallow of me. but after all, it is a start, a sorta gauge...like you know how some people's love language is receiving of gifts.

nevertheless, what matters most is the heart.

without it, all the gifts in the world wouldn't matter.

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TCC with Timo, JW & Kelly

who is loving TCC's 1 for 1 offer?? :)

me for sure!

It was great meeting up with my JC peeps.

With Timo around, gosh, anyone is bound to laugh their socks off and probably develop a couple of abs while at it.

he shared with us some really hilarious stories of the room mate he had while on exchange.

he recounted how his atrocious roommate did the dirty deed in their room right in Timo's presence!

i totally understand where he was coming from, having had a similar experience while i was on exchange in Canada but i gotta say, Timo made his experience sound like some comedy.

i still laugh just thinking about it.

Anw, we will be going for his housewarming party this coming July! Gonna help him cook, buy food, etc.

sounds fun! yay!

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Forest Adventure @ Bedok Reservoir

company teambuilding event on friday!

i gotta say, the teambuilding event was super fun.

forest adventure is just sooo great.

it's an aerial course built through the trees of bedok and comprises of ladders, bridges, swings, nets, trapezes and giant zip lines.

imagine flying fox across the reservoir!

and the best part,

it was all during office hours!

mamma mia!

had a bit of shoulder ache the very next day but it was all worth it. i sooo wanna go there again!

not that i wanna brag and all, but i managed to go through the extreme course, free fall & all! I mean i am a bit of a timid and scaredy cat most of the time but i guess when it comes to fun, i really do dare to go all out. lol.

(haha, who am i kidding? i am bragging, in every sense of the word! lol.)

oh! did i mention?

we had a whole OLD CHANG KEE van to ourselves!

lol, for dinner.

PLUS, buffet of bee hoon, curry, etc.

the teambuilding team deserve a pat on their back for planning such an awesome outing!

now, if only we could make this a monthly affair...

Replay Cover

sis intro-ed me to this really good cover of replay and it's been stuck on my head ever since.

sorry i haven't been updating my blog much cause honestly i am too excited for my upcoming Korea trip that everything else just seems tooo boring.

to jadeyy: Soup Spoon pic for ya keeping! :)