Learned a new medical term today: Labyrinthitis.
It's the GP's diagnosis for the attack of dizziness/nausea/vomitting that hit me on Sun evening continuing into Monday.
I had mistaken it for food poisoning as we'd gone out for lunch on Sunday.
But no one else in the family had problems.
The scary part was that I'd had a similar attack in Jan.
I woke up one morning and the room was spinning. I was so freaked out I had to hang on to Beth (who was sleeping next to me) for support. I had no idea what was happening to me. There followed bouts of vomitting and nausea and dizziness, and I was pretty much bed-bound till evening when miraculously the symptoms left. I was even able to rock up to a friend's birthday party and play the keyboard for the occasion.
Hubby suggested that perhaps it was an inner ear problem causing loss of balance, and that the dizziness etc were just the symptoms.
Where does he get all this stuff??
So I started reading up on labyrinthitis, Meniere's Disease etc and even filled out a questionnaire to prep for the doc's questions.
And what do you know, after making me stand with my eyes closed, he said I had labyrinthitis. The problem is a positional one. The slightest movement of the head, even when lying down, can trigger extreme dizziness, which was the case on Sun night and two months back in Jan.
He assured me that the condition is self-limiting; it goes away by itself within hours or days. And there is medication I can take if I have an attack.
But no one can tell when it will strike again. It could be months or years later.
He also recommended that since I've turned 40, I should have a full medical checkup. And to underscore his seriousness, he proceeded to fill up a form right away for me to see the Healthscope folks.
It's a relief to have a name to my condition.
But to know that it is unpreventable and outside my control is not at all assuring. What if I have an episode while outside my home, or behind the wheel?
I am reminded (again, as though I needed more reminders) how fragile life is, of how I am alive only by the grace of God, and of the parable of the self-made man who sought to accumulate more wealth but was told by God that his life was required of him that very night.
Teach me to number my days, O Lord, that I may be wise.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Where to find a notary public in Victoria
Contacted two local law firms to find out if they have a notary public in-house.
First receptionist: "A notary what?"
After I explained, she said, "Sorry, we don't have one."
Second receptionist: "A what?"
She put me on hold after I explained, there was a none-too-discreet dialogue in the background, then "Are you there?" and "Which suburb were you looking at?"
When I said Werribee, I was put on hold again (to accompaniment of background conversation).
Then she came back to say they did have a notary. In Williamstown.
Could she tell me if the notary took appointments after office hours and what their charges were?
I should have known better than to ask, after that initial encounter.
"Sorry, I couldn't tell you."
She supplied me the details of notary in Williamstown.
Note to self: it doesn't take much to be the receptionist of a local law firm.
A better option: the Notary Locator service, "a free online national Directory designed to assist you locate your nearest Notary Public...including Sydney, Melbourne, other Australian capital cities, major cities, metropolitan areas, country towns and regions."
First receptionist: "A notary what?"
After I explained, she said, "Sorry, we don't have one."
Second receptionist: "A what?"
She put me on hold after I explained, there was a none-too-discreet dialogue in the background, then "Are you there?" and "Which suburb were you looking at?"
When I said Werribee, I was put on hold again (to accompaniment of background conversation).
Then she came back to say they did have a notary. In Williamstown.
Could she tell me if the notary took appointments after office hours and what their charges were?
I should have known better than to ask, after that initial encounter.
"Sorry, I couldn't tell you."
She supplied me the details of notary in Williamstown.
Note to self: it doesn't take much to be the receptionist of a local law firm.
A better option: the Notary Locator service, "a free online national Directory designed to assist you locate your nearest Notary Public...including Sydney, Melbourne, other Australian capital cities, major cities, metropolitan areas, country towns and regions."
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Grade 2 to Grade 3 Transition
The best word I can think of to describe the transition from Grade 2 to Grade 3 at HCC is LEAP.
Suddenly, new vistas of learning and life experience open up before the child.
Choir. Ensemble. Aeroskools. Swimming carnival. Interschool sports. Latin.
Yes, Latin.
The language thought of by many as dead, but which is the foundation of many medico-legal terms still in use by the professions. Sui generis, ceteris paribus, ratio decidendi...et cetera.
Interestingly, Beth seems to be having a ball with Latin. After last Wed's lesson, she came home reciting - seemingly effortlessly - the 3 different forms of the word "love". Pity she'll only have the rest of the year to enjoy Latin.
The Grade 2 vs. Grade 3 contrast is particularly sharp in Beth's 2/3 class. Half the class is automatically excluded when the Grade 3's go off for their special activities. But this merely enhances the air of mystery and anticipation for the young ones. They get a sneak preview of what they have to look forward to when they go up one grade.
Suddenly, new vistas of learning and life experience open up before the child.
Choir. Ensemble. Aeroskools. Swimming carnival. Interschool sports. Latin.
Yes, Latin.
The language thought of by many as dead, but which is the foundation of many medico-legal terms still in use by the professions. Sui generis, ceteris paribus, ratio decidendi...et cetera.
Interestingly, Beth seems to be having a ball with Latin. After last Wed's lesson, she came home reciting - seemingly effortlessly - the 3 different forms of the word "love". Pity she'll only have the rest of the year to enjoy Latin.
The Grade 2 vs. Grade 3 contrast is particularly sharp in Beth's 2/3 class. Half the class is automatically excluded when the Grade 3's go off for their special activities. But this merely enhances the air of mystery and anticipation for the young ones. They get a sneak preview of what they have to look forward to when they go up one grade.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Busting the Comfort Zone (Fitness)
Sports/fitness/exercise and I don't always see eye to eye.
I'm uncoordinated, have slow reflexes and don't enjoy sport.
My 8 yo laughs at me for being unable to swim, cycle and run.
My hubby has been nagging me for years to exercise more, but it's one of those things: if I don't enjoy it, I don't bother.
I did the gym/aerobics thing when I lived in SG.
Last year, I managed several months of Body Balance classes at Fenix Fitness and stopped going before my membership expired.
I just didn't have enough of a reason to keep turning up.
Especially when the weather got cold.
This year, I tried something different. Incidental exercise is the key. I have to be doing something else that's enjoyable, with fitness as a bonus.
So I signed up with Back2Basics Studio at Tarneit CC for their dance class for seniors. (Seniors means 18+ - I think).
Just coz I've always wanted to learn how to dance.
When I rocked up to my first class, I and two other ladies - and the instructor - were the only adults.
The rest were teenagers who had been with the class for at least a year and knew what 'corner work' meant.
It's been a month now and I have to confess that though I am tempted to skip lessons on Sat morning, by 12.30 when the class is over, I am usually feeling extra alive and proud of myself for having made it. I haven't decided how far to take this (year-end concert??), but there is no question it's been the right decision so far.
Today, I did another new/old thing: I went back to the pool.
It's been 6 years since I've put on bathers and I have to confess, I've been hiding behind my children.
I take them to Paul Sadler's...the Werribee outdoor pool...and cheer them on as they get to the next level and the next.
But I never bothered to do anything about my own lack of technique and stamina.
A month ago, I bought myself this gorgeously modest Tornado swimsuit online. I thought I would have to return it when I took it out of its ziplock bag: it was so narrow it looked one-dimensional.
This morning, I squeezed into it and took myself to the Leisure Centre. I checked out the lanes, talked to the lifeguard, read and re-read the instructions on how to hire a locker...all the time rehearsing in my mind the order of things to do...before finally heading to the changing room for my life-defining moment.
I know, so drama right. But that's how it felt walking out into public view in my bathers. Kids do it all the time and no one gives a second glance. But I feel as if I (and my psoriasis-stricken legs and arms) are on display.
Just like when I was a self-esteem-deprived teen.
The good news is: I overcame my inner critic sufficiently to get into the pool and do my laps.
I still fear the deep end (1.6m+ is my definition of DEEP).
But I know my daughter will be very proud of me when I tell her at pick-up time that Mum finally went swimming today. :-)
I'm uncoordinated, have slow reflexes and don't enjoy sport.
My 8 yo laughs at me for being unable to swim, cycle and run.
My hubby has been nagging me for years to exercise more, but it's one of those things: if I don't enjoy it, I don't bother.
I did the gym/aerobics thing when I lived in SG.
Last year, I managed several months of Body Balance classes at Fenix Fitness and stopped going before my membership expired.
I just didn't have enough of a reason to keep turning up.
Especially when the weather got cold.
This year, I tried something different. Incidental exercise is the key. I have to be doing something else that's enjoyable, with fitness as a bonus.
So I signed up with Back2Basics Studio at Tarneit CC for their dance class for seniors. (Seniors means 18+ - I think).
Just coz I've always wanted to learn how to dance.
When I rocked up to my first class, I and two other ladies - and the instructor - were the only adults.
The rest were teenagers who had been with the class for at least a year and knew what 'corner work' meant.
It's been a month now and I have to confess that though I am tempted to skip lessons on Sat morning, by 12.30 when the class is over, I am usually feeling extra alive and proud of myself for having made it. I haven't decided how far to take this (year-end concert??), but there is no question it's been the right decision so far.
Today, I did another new/old thing: I went back to the pool.
It's been 6 years since I've put on bathers and I have to confess, I've been hiding behind my children.
I take them to Paul Sadler's...the Werribee outdoor pool...and cheer them on as they get to the next level and the next.
But I never bothered to do anything about my own lack of technique and stamina.
A month ago, I bought myself this gorgeously modest Tornado swimsuit online. I thought I would have to return it when I took it out of its ziplock bag: it was so narrow it looked one-dimensional.
This morning, I squeezed into it and took myself to the Leisure Centre. I checked out the lanes, talked to the lifeguard, read and re-read the instructions on how to hire a locker...all the time rehearsing in my mind the order of things to do...before finally heading to the changing room for my life-defining moment.
I know, so drama right. But that's how it felt walking out into public view in my bathers. Kids do it all the time and no one gives a second glance. But I feel as if I (and my psoriasis-stricken legs and arms) are on display.
Just like when I was a self-esteem-deprived teen.
The good news is: I overcame my inner critic sufficiently to get into the pool and do my laps.
I still fear the deep end (1.6m+ is my definition of DEEP).
But I know my daughter will be very proud of me when I tell her at pick-up time that Mum finally went swimming today. :-)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Real estate ad with a difference
Here is a unit with so much potential,
A viewing is needed it is totally essential.
It rents out for $235 per week,
Be quick to buy it, if it's a rental you seek.
Upstairs unit is only the beginning,
Big open plan living to fit everything in.
The bathroom is big with new vanity and loo,
The shower and the laundry are in there too.
The master bedroom with good cupboard space,
Get in quickly it will be a race.
First to see this will buy it, you'll see,
Fantastic position, only 150m to train it will be.
Security screens on all windows and doors,
So close to everything, shops, day care and more.
Under $1200 for Body Corporate fees,
Give us a call, we know this unit will please.
From RealEstate.com.au
A viewing is needed it is totally essential.
It rents out for $235 per week,
Be quick to buy it, if it's a rental you seek.
Upstairs unit is only the beginning,
Big open plan living to fit everything in.
The bathroom is big with new vanity and loo,
The shower and the laundry are in there too.
The master bedroom with good cupboard space,
Get in quickly it will be a race.
First to see this will buy it, you'll see,
Fantastic position, only 150m to train it will be.
Security screens on all windows and doors,
So close to everything, shops, day care and more.
Under $1200 for Body Corporate fees,
Give us a call, we know this unit will please.
From RealEstate.com.au
On Mum's last night with us in Melb, we drove to Doncaster in search of a decent Chinese restaurant that would meet with Mum's discerning tastebuds.
She had sampled Shining Palace in Watton St (two thumbs down), Jade Stream on Old Geelong Road (okay) and the food court at the Werribee Plaza (plate too small, too much food) and was not impressed by the culinary options in our neighbourhood.
We have never been to Doncaster, and chose it on a whim really.
I guess that's one of the bonuses of just trying something new without any preconceived notions like food reviews and friends' recommendations.
We stumbled onto Doncaster Road and found a couple of Chinese restaurants: Wealth Garden and I-forget-the-name-of-the-other-one. I only remember that the latter was laid out exactly like Master Wok on Synnot St: set in a row of shops a little way back from the road, with parking lots in front. Scary.
Hubby was fascinated by the pavilion outside Wealth Garden across the road, so we decided to check it out.
We were very fortunate to arrive when we did, especially as we had waltzed in without a booking. We got a table very quickly, whereas the families that came later (90% of whom were three-generation Chinese families with babies and toddlers) had to wait fairly long to be seated.
Wealth Garden is a Cantonese-style restaurant with aquariums of live seafood, waiters leaning over styrofoam boxes of mud crabs, and a menu printed completely in Chinese.
It took a while to decipher what the menu said, and as I was the only one who was fairly fluent in Mandarin, the job of ordering was left to me.
We had 红烧豆腐，凉瓜牛肉，上汤枸子豆苗， 姜葱鱼片 and steamed rice, which was served in a stainless steel tiffin carrier (the kind you take to the hawker centre if you want to "da bao" a soupy dish).
What was really impressive was the complimentary soup that was served immediately after we placed our orders. The soup du jour was lotus root pork rib soup. Yummy. I was inspired to go home and recreate the same for my family.
The waiters were extremely attentive. In fact, Beth thought there was one waiter per table, until she looked carefully. I told her that meant the waiters were working really hard to notice and attend to all the needs of the different customers.
The flow of traffic was unending. As one lot of customers left, another lot would enter and wait for a table. There were several angmoh customers too, one of whom had brought their own bottle of wine.
The bill came to just under $100 for 5 of us. Not cheap, but given the quality of the food, we would happily consider coming back.
I would give Wealth Garden 8/10 for the excellent food quality and attentive service.
Wealth Garden Chinese Seafood Restaurant
866 Doncaster Road
Doncaster East
Open:
Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am-3pm,
Sat & Sun 10:30am-3pm,
Dinner Nightly 5:30pm-11pm
She had sampled Shining Palace in Watton St (two thumbs down), Jade Stream on Old Geelong Road (okay) and the food court at the Werribee Plaza (plate too small, too much food) and was not impressed by the culinary options in our neighbourhood.
We have never been to Doncaster, and chose it on a whim really.
I guess that's one of the bonuses of just trying something new without any preconceived notions like food reviews and friends' recommendations.
We stumbled onto Doncaster Road and found a couple of Chinese restaurants: Wealth Garden and I-forget-the-name-of-the-other-one. I only remember that the latter was laid out exactly like Master Wok on Synnot St: set in a row of shops a little way back from the road, with parking lots in front. Scary.
Hubby was fascinated by the pavilion outside Wealth Garden across the road, so we decided to check it out.
We were very fortunate to arrive when we did, especially as we had waltzed in without a booking. We got a table very quickly, whereas the families that came later (90% of whom were three-generation Chinese families with babies and toddlers) had to wait fairly long to be seated.
Wealth Garden is a Cantonese-style restaurant with aquariums of live seafood, waiters leaning over styrofoam boxes of mud crabs, and a menu printed completely in Chinese.
It took a while to decipher what the menu said, and as I was the only one who was fairly fluent in Mandarin, the job of ordering was left to me.
We had 红烧豆腐，凉瓜牛肉，上汤枸子豆苗， 姜葱鱼片 and steamed rice, which was served in a stainless steel tiffin carrier (the kind you take to the hawker centre if you want to "da bao" a soupy dish).
What was really impressive was the complimentary soup that was served immediately after we placed our orders. The soup du jour was lotus root pork rib soup. Yummy. I was inspired to go home and recreate the same for my family.
The waiters were extremely attentive. In fact, Beth thought there was one waiter per table, until she looked carefully. I told her that meant the waiters were working really hard to notice and attend to all the needs of the different customers.
The flow of traffic was unending. As one lot of customers left, another lot would enter and wait for a table. There were several angmoh customers too, one of whom had brought their own bottle of wine.
The bill came to just under $100 for 5 of us. Not cheap, but given the quality of the food, we would happily consider coming back.
I would give Wealth Garden 8/10 for the excellent food quality and attentive service.
Wealth Garden Chinese Seafood Restaurant
866 Doncaster Road
Doncaster East
Open:
Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am-3pm,
Sat & Sun 10:30am-3pm,
Dinner Nightly 5:30pm-11pm
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Tsunami in Japan. Earthquake in NZ. Floods in QLD and VIC.
What will it be next?
The whole family watched the movie Left Behind yesterday, and it provoked some interesting responses and (for me at least) personal reflection.
The movie is based on the book of the same name by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, and is the first of their series of biblical fiction books that imaginatively and dramatically detail how the Book of Revelation might play out when the Rapture happens.
I am reminded that it is not about me.
As the main character Pan-Am pilot Rayford Steele says, there is something much bigger and much better we can look forward to.
I am reminded that the time is short.
While I go about my daily duties as wife, mother and friend, I must also retain a larger perspective. Eternity is looming. And with it the spiritual repercussions of the choices we make here and now about the person and claims of Jesus Christ.
Everything I do here and now is just a rehearsal for the Truth that is coming. The Narnian stories put it very well: we are living in the false Narnia, which even though it gives us joy and supplies us with good things, is just a mirror image of the real thing. The real Narnia is what we really need and where we are designed to live "happily ever after".
What will it be next?
The whole family watched the movie Left Behind yesterday, and it provoked some interesting responses and (for me at least) personal reflection.
The movie is based on the book of the same name by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, and is the first of their series of biblical fiction books that imaginatively and dramatically detail how the Book of Revelation might play out when the Rapture happens.
I am reminded that it is not about me.
As the main character Pan-Am pilot Rayford Steele says, there is something much bigger and much better we can look forward to.
I am reminded that the time is short.
While I go about my daily duties as wife, mother and friend, I must also retain a larger perspective. Eternity is looming. And with it the spiritual repercussions of the choices we make here and now about the person and claims of Jesus Christ.
Everything I do here and now is just a rehearsal for the Truth that is coming. The Narnian stories put it very well: we are living in the false Narnia, which even though it gives us joy and supplies us with good things, is just a mirror image of the real thing. The real Narnia is what we really need and where we are designed to live "happily ever after".
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
...
Matthew 24
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