insomnia

280406 - i went to bed at 5am and woke up at 7am with the sun shining brightly on my face, the courtesy of a good friend who suggested the idea of waking up in the morning with the sun shining on ur face, just reinforces how glorious, mornings are. yes, that is true, only if you wake up after 8 hours of sleep, feeling refreshed and all ready to face the day ahead. not true when you are rudely awaken by this bright light and left with only two meagre hours of rest for the rest of the day.

290406 - concussed in bed at 2am. woke up at 4am to the beeping sound of the hp, and a blurry image of the table lamp shining brightly, and chicken little dancing on the laptop screen. after a few smses here and there, i collapse back in bed, with my body feeling like it weighs a ton. then the hunger starts to set in, and the mind gradually becomes more and more wide awake. and the end result? sitting infront of the laptop at 6am to blog. wtf. this insomnia shit is not funny anymore.

I WANT TO SLEEP. I NEED TO SLEEP. LET ME FALL ASLEEP, BLARDEE BRAIN OF MINE!!!

eggsams update: three down...two to go. MNO - not too bad. Psych - killer as usual. Publications - the best so far.

one more week and i'll be out of here. sadly happy or happily sad? both the same i guess. what i'm gonna miss? the freedom i get from staying in the hostel. the wonders of having the internet to myself, a room of my own, and an aircon that i can leave on for the entire day. the numerous hours spent slacking in the canteen and most importantly, char siew wanton mee and fish and chips. i don't think i'll ever find such quality food for that two good bucks anywhere else but here. i MUST eat them everyday next week till i am sick of them. hur.

grad trip - zero plans.

damn it. i shall enjoy this glorious morning by taking a bath and cooking myself some breakfast before i start work....screw you insomnia.

and before i go........

bitch fest

last thurs was the official last day of school for me...omg...in three weeks time, my education journey will be over, and i have no foresight or whatever it's called of my future. while i am very much happy to leave this school, i'm also sad to be ending school. what lies ahead? i'm absolutely clueless. with the kind of degree that i am going to get...i don't see anyone wanting to hire me. whatever it is, i gotta face it.

now for exams..exactly one week away from today. have i studied?no. ok yes..a little bit. all because i'm still doing this bitch of a website project and i have no idea how to use macromedia dreamweaver :( my only worry for the exams right now is psych...will i pass it?!!?! i hope i do..if not it's one extra sem for me, and that is majorly wtf.

post-grad trip. i desperately want to get out of this country. but i have no idea where to go. europe seems to be out, since no one wants to go especially since it's so expensive, and i have no intentions of travelling ard tt place by myself and i don't think the amount of money my dad's willing to give me or loan me will be enough for that place. i know it's unfair of me to say this, because my parents pay for my travelling, but sometimes i'm really quite disappointed in my friends, because we have discussed one million times to go overseas together, but the plan never materialises, because yes i know...money is the main problem for them, and that certainly is not an easy problem to solve so i really shouldn't be bitching about it. i'm sorry once again..but i've had quite enough of listening to ok really let's go somewhere together..and at the end NOTHING happens.

then there are problems like this person does not want to go with that person...or we all just have different destinations in mind. so once again nothing happens. the only place on most people's mind right now is BANGKOK, and i cannot express how much i dislike that place. there is absolutely nothing for me to do there. ok...i can hear someone saying...you can go there and drink and eat because it is how cheap...but i don't want to pay 100 plus to go overseas to get wasted and i hate thai food. shopping sucks, because i am sorry that i am an amazonian woman and i just can't fit into anything bangkok offers.

so recently...a few people have expressed that they are interested in going to hong kong...which i absolutely love...and i seriously don't mind going there. but for now, i shall not keep my hopes high, because i expect to be disappointed all over again.

sucks...now i feel sore and depressed. and i think after everyone read this..they are going to hate me and then i will lose all my friends. haha...well i hope that does not happen!

i have been thinking the past few days, and i think i shall stop sharing my love with others, and keep it all to myself.

Happy Birthday Sin Yee!!

u see..after we have passed the 21yrs stage...all birthday greetings will just be Happy Birthday without the age included in it...for the simple reason that women do not want to reveal their age! hurhur. we had a simple celebration at subway in holland village, and i spent a bit of time bluffing her that i was in subway waiting for her, and refusing to go out to find her although she was quite very lost and couldn't find subway...all because i was hiding in coffeebean buying the cake and i didn't want to get spotted by her! this time round we took quite a bit of photos...argh my peanuts m&m and scholar bun face............

we brought a kid out that day.......charles.....that's him below....look how pleased that little boy is with himself in the pic on the right -_-"..reminds us of sinyee's bro and the photo he took of himself at my bday...
and because i am an idiot...i mixed up my days and forgot that it was my best friend's birthday...hence the pathetic cake...and the lighter for a candle......how very sad.......but i guess it beats not having a candle at all right?? actually there was one...but the girl forgot to put it into the box even though she told me tt she did...to think i went to buy a lighter!!! #%&!$%*...

we spent some time threatening to shoot cakes at each other with the stirrer which we used as a spoon...and i finally shot one spoonful at charles, because he said he would definitely block it with his spoon...but did that happen???? noooo...so it ended right smack on his face! HAH!

and to end the night...we had a bit of wine in charles' room...and below is the result of a little bit of alcohol in our immune system!

now...for my (or rather my family's) new possession.........

this we got after we spent like 4 hours in the ishop...this is really the coolest gadget on earth....but it's not set up yet, because we have some space problem at home...but i can't wait to lay my hands on them! tried to"con" my dad into buying me the ipod video....was quite close to success until he heard the price ...wah rau...siannerz...

sleep bruxism and i

oh goodnees gracious me...there goes my teeth :S been having nightmares of myself grinding my teeth, then spitting out chipped pieces of it. and then i wake up in shock..and realise my jaws are aching and my teeth are clenched to the max. so i think i have sleep bruxism because i have like 90% of these syndromes...i'm a problematic kid :( then again...i know someone else who suffers from this too!

Grinding of Teeth (Bruxism) During Sleep Associated with Other Disorders

The grinding or clenching of teeth during sleep on a weekly basis affects more than 8% of the population and is associated with other disorders such as daytime sleepiness and anxiety, according to a new study. The study, based on 13,057 participants in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, was reported in the January issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

The condition is known as sleep bruxism, an oral habit characterized by rhythmic activity of the jawbone muscles that cause a forced contact between dental surfaces during sleep. It has been linked to headaches, joint discomfort and muscle aches, premature loss of teeth, and sleep disruption for both the person with bruxism as well as his or her bed partner.

Study Methodology

The study, carried out in the three European countries, aimed to document the prevalence of sleep bruxism in the general population, the risk factors associated with the disorder, and its links to other health-related and sleep-related issues.

Prevalence is the estimate of a disease as a whole in a given population in a given time. It is usually based on a set of criteria for that disease that can be utilized in a questionnaire administered on a large scale. It does not require clinical evaluations.

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) suggests the following as minimal criteria for sleep bruxism: the presence of teeth grinding during sleep and, at least one of the following associated features - abnormal tooth wear, muscular discomfort, or sound associated with the tooth grinding. The participants in the study were divided into one of three groups: those who met the ICSD criteria, those with tooth-grinding alone, and those without tooth grinding.

Participants were interviewed by phone, with interviews averaging 40 minutes in length. The information gathered was entered into a Sleep-EVAL system, a software system designed to conduct epidemiologic studies on sleep, sleep habits, and mental disorders in the general population. Validation of the data was conducted at Stanford University's Sleep Disorder Center in Palo Alto, California and the Regensburg University Sleep Disorders Center in Germany.

Tooth grinding during sleep is classified as one of the parasomnias by the ICSD. It is found most often in non-REM sleep stages, mostly in stage 2, although it can occur in REM sleep.

Study Findings

Tooth grinding which occurred at least weekly during sleep was reported by 8.2% of the participants. More than 54% of those with tooth grinding reported some related problem, including 23% who said they needed dental work because of the grinding and 8% who claimed discomfort of their jaw muscles upon awakening. More than 23% said the grinding was loud enough for bed partners to hear it. The total, then, for all those in the study population who met the ICSD criteria was 4.4%, suggesting that bruxism is the third most common form of parasomnia following talking in one's sleep and snoring.

Snoring, breathing pauses during sleep, and obstructive sleep apnea were significantly more frequent in the sleep bruxism group and the tooth-grinding alone group than in the rest of the participants. The sleep-bruxism group reported significantly more frequent episodes of nocturnal awakenings, morning headaches, and a subjective sense of blocked breathing and choking during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea showed a prevalence of 4.8% in the sleep-bruxism group, 3.4% in the tooth-grinding alone group, and only 1.4% in the non-tooth-grinding group.

The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and sleep bruxism is usually related to an arousal response. The ending of an apneic event may be accompanied by a number of mouth phenomena, such as snoring, gasps, mumbles, and tooth grinding.

Sleep bruxism was also associated with daytime sleepiness. About one third of the bruxism group reported being sleepy during the day. There was no significant association with other sleep disorders, such as insomnia, restless legs syndrome, or periodic limb movement disorder.

Mental disorders, mainly anxiety disorders and hallucinations, were also significantly related to tooth grinding during sleep. About 69% of those with sleep bruxism related their condition to aggravation, stress, or anxiety. Daily use of alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine was also associated with sleep bruxism.

Researchers also noted that bruxism was unrelated to gender and decreased significantly with age. The highest prevalence was observed in the 19- to 44-year-old group, at 5.8%.

What are the Risks?

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Maurice M. Ohayon, M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine, said "the results of this study raise an important concern about the risk of sleep apnea for sleep bruxers. A plausible explanation for this association," he said, "could rely on the shared anatomic problems proposed by some research such as mandibular (jawbone) deficiency, temporomandibular abnormalities, and craniofacial abnormalities."

Dr. Ohayon said that sleep bruxism should be considered in patients with sleep-disordered breathing disorders. He called on general practitioners to inquire about sleep bruxism and sleep apnea symptoms when abnormal tooth wear damage is identified. He also urged dentists to ask about symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing when dental signs of bruxism are present.

"Finally," he said, "further research is necessary on the pathophysiologic mechanisms of this largely unknown sleep disorder."

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/archives/parasomnias_bruxism.htm

finally! i am done with the last essay for the semester!!!!! spent three night editing the mno essay ...22 pages to 15 pages. woohoo! i wish i could say that's the end of all my assignments...at least i thought that was it last week..until i realised that i have two more tests next week and a million other projects for publications. wah rau.

anyway i'm finally home..after having hibernated in school last week. alright time to sleep...but before i go...here's introducing bae sung.........hahaha...peach hates youtube...but too bad!

if you know who's bae sung..and you can never figure out what the fark he is talking about...this is the revelation of the language that he is speaking!

to my dear ff of a sister...

stressed up over your uni application? (i hope it is not leading to depression!)...need some extra humour in your life?? (like as though having me as your lovely sister is not funny enough...HAHA!) you don't think the blind kungfu master is funny? well...this you will definitely love! remember the weekdays we spent hogging the tv upstairs at 5pm watching channel axn?? do you remember what was being shown then?? do you?? huh?! do you?? well if you don't...here are some clips to refresh your memory...

"ranma wo de ai ren!"...."ohhhhhh sweeto!"..."ahhh peku-chan!!"...now i'm sure you remember! so here's more!...but argh sucks..it's in english! spoiler! and oops..a bit r/a..haha!

bobby lee mania

more spastic clips...

and the blind kungfu master strikes again!

french and saunders

don't know how many of you can appreciate british humour..but do watch this star wars spoof by the clowns from french and saunders. at times i don't get british humour too...but dawn french is really one of the best comedians around. those who have watched vicar of dibley will know what i mean. she's hilarious! when i was in sydney they showed vicar of dibley for the entire night on one of the cable channels, and i was absolutely addicted to it! and on the plane to hk, they showed it too...my sis and laughed like mad on the plane...i think the other passengers might have thought we were mad!

for people like peter who's pia-ing projs too...here's more entertainment...hope it helps to make the dull and boring nights better! good luck for the assignments and tough week ahead man! haha!

it is IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII...the BLIND KUNGFU MASTER!!

please please please check this out! i cannot say how FREAKING FUNNY IT IS! cootie and i have been imitating this video clip since we watched it yesterday!

kitchen misfortunes

there's this person in my cluster who seems to like to steal other people's food and use other people's utensils...but somehow it seems that this person happens to always steal and use this particular girl's stuff. no matter what that bugger does...it seems like the stuff that she stole or used belongs to the girl who stays opposite me. and anyway...i don't know what are the chances of her reading this ...but i must say...she is really quite an anal bitch.

when i first moved into this cluster one sem ago, we had a cluster meeting, and she already presented to everyone how anal she was. she made it a point to 'gently remind' everyone of various incidents that occured in the previous sem (apparently she has been staying in this cluster for 4 sems already) which involved her stuff being stolen or used once again. all i can say is...hard luck. you are just downright suay. the residents of each cluster change every sem and it just seems like everytime only ur stuff get stolen or used. either everybody hates you hence they keep stealing your stuff...or someone up there hates you..hence (S)He keeps allowing your stuff to get stunted.

back to what i was saying....this anal neighbour of mine...she LOVES leaving warning notes in the kitchen. she pastes them on the fridge, above the sink, on the table...ANYWHERE. i mean sometimes i pity her for getting her stuff stolen...BUT....I am getting increasingly pissed with seeing her notes everywhere! and this time round..she posted a note...which i couldn't help but be a bitch and post on my blog...............

the reason why i took a pic of this note is. because.......please read the last two lines......."PLEASE CLEAN JOYCE THE DAMN THING!" hahaha i laughed out loud to myself in the kitchen when i saw her note! yes...i know the joyce part is supposed to be her signing off..but it just looks like she is calling herself a damn thing! anyway........what i have to say to her is...if you so can't stand people using your pot...KEEP IT IN YOU ROOM THEN YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYMORE! TSK!

alright..cheap thrill...back to work.

mno1001

sqwak! screw u blogger! i typed so much and then u had to hang! bah! now i have to start all over again! :(

ANYWAY...i was complaining about how i had so much work to do on sunday! yes...its time to whine again! haha...nah...what i said was ...i went to phins steakhouse to do my mno proj last night. yes..on a sunday night..i had to do proj..nus sucks! but luckily all we had to do was to observe how good or rather...bad the service at phins was. and all i have to say is...their waitresses face are so black..they make charcoal look fair! kns there was one particular one...her face was so black i almost slapped her! and i was so close to telling their manager tt if they wanted to charge us 10percent svc charge..they better make sure their staff know how to smile...lemme show u all the the black face woman.........

there...can u see her???........no right?? ..........

there she is! know why u cldn't see her? because yishu's phototaking skills suck! he took so long to pretend tt he was taking something else that when he finally snapped...she caught him pting the camera at her! so she hid behind the sign! he is the worse private eye amongst all of us! haha

and these are the people i went to phins with....

yishu, puay fang and adec...and of course the ketchup drinker is me!

ok i must say that i am quite thankful that my proj members are fun people..because i am taking mno alone! my first module alone! yar i know i suck...but i am super not independent when it comes to attending classes. i MUST have a friend with me...if not i will die. and last sem's geog tut is a perfect example...my proj group was how horrendous! so...thank god for these people...or..in my mom's words...thankSS god! hahaahah!

anyway...back to phins...the verdict is...excellent food..good and cheap but......FREAKING BAD SERVICE!

i talked abt procrastinating in my last post and how i should NOT do it...but guess what? yuppp...i am at it again! and this time...peach is super close to strangling me, because she is waiting to see what i have written, but all i have written is...one line.

supposed to start on fri night, but the 5 days of essay writing killed me, and i decided to take a little break by going to walas intead...and then i was in this yea i shld chill mood...so i downed two and a half beers...chill i did indeed. i chilled till the next day...because when i came back..i was seh...so i slept. wtf.

and then i spent sat afternoon researching, and went to the lib for a bit to get my book and meet a friend. n i had dinner with my parents at the ship..and when i got back to the hostel i was going to start on my work..when i was called for duty. duty to slack. and off to hv i went...then to west coast macs..and returned at 330am.

i bathed, i masked, i brushed my teeth...and sat down to read the books i borrowed...and then what happens??...i get invited to bfast! jolly hell...so at 545am...i am off to west coast macs again! there goes the entire night..and when does my soci essay get completed? haha...definitely before peach wakes up tmr...i hope! haha

freak...what the hell is wrong with me...

5.04 am and i have a paper due at 4pm. i am only at 500 words for my 2000 words esasy...brilliant! and i am starting to feel sleepy...booohoo. the only two people i'm talking to now are yoyo and harry...why? because they are not in singapore. so that makes me the only sad sod who is awake at 5am in the morning when everyone else's happily snoozing away. lesson learnt: STOP FREAKING PROCRATINATING!

horror week! totally buried by work this week..1 test and 5 papers due...majorly sian. manage to finish 3 of it already, now i'm left with visual images which is a 2000 word paper that is due tmr, and which i have not started :s and soci....i think peach wait for me to start on the paper until she want to vomit blood already...but seriously...paiseh! i can only start on fri..i'll consolidate the paper!

taking yet another one of betty crocker's 'baking classes' this sem! she is a killer! she really thinks we are working in a firm or something...giving us a major assignment each week! i have to admit that her modules are the only useful things that i have learnt in cnm for the whole six sems that i have spent in this shit-hole of a university...but argh! she is a murderer! and viv, jin and i seriously think she hates us! haha...yesterday, when she asked me "so tell me again..am i pronouncing your name right???" ..her blue eyes were shooting darts/daggers/swords/bullets at me! i felt so intimidated!

this is what we're doing or have been doing this semester...organizational research,web critique,newsletter,flier,folder and last of all a website. i hereby declare that InDesign is the crappiest program to use on earth..the only thing it teaches you is..PATIENCE! freaking stubborn program! don't buy it! but anyway...i finally found out where the print screen button on my laptop is (heh) and this is what the stuff i've done look like...

newsletter........

ok..we had guidelines for the newsletter ...so the articles and pictures were given to us, but we had to photoshop all the pics, and do the layout and everything ourselves

flier.....

this...we had to design and do on our own...and my sis says it looks more like a bank ad than a tourism ad...booohoo...but anywya i think it sucks...i created it one night before it was due. and i am definitely one of the least creative people on planet earth

non-desperate non-housewives

hil: "if we were housewives a 100 years ago, i am sure we will be condemned!"

how absolutely true man...if you ever look at us cook...i don't think you will want to eat! but whatever it is..the food always turns out super yummy!

tonight, chef gwee, chef goh, and chef koh got together for yet another one of their absolutely fantastic and yummy (and disastrous) cooking sessions....

chef gwee, chef goh, chef koh!

after a trip to the very convenient, convenience store located in pgp..aka georgies mart... the three brilliant chefs trotted(no pun intended) back to the kitchen at level 6 in blk 5 and spent a few minutes figuring out the very complex mind-boggling puzzle of pot/bowl switching...and finally...the cooking began.

tonight on the menu....

udon with sausages.....

which was later combined with the cream of mushroom soup...

and for dessert...sesame paste tang yuan with red bean soup! blardee red bean soup took freaking 2 hours to cook! @#!(^#!#(!#

and all these for a good 5 bucks! cheap and good!

next week on the menu: mee goreng with half boiled egg and sausage...dessert...unconfirmed! who's up for it?!

HAPPY **th BIRTHDAY POPS!!!

three days late but still happy **th birthday pops! why **? because...as much as a woman does not like to reveal her age...i know my pops doesn't like to either...as though everyone don't already know how old he is...haha! i shall save everyone from the mushy boring stuff tt children say to their parents on their birthday and talk about the dinner instead.

planned long ago to treat my dad to dinner at the crazy horse cabaret and to a show after that..but if any of you have ever gone to check out the price...a decent dinner would cost $75+++ per person (my family has 5 people!!) and a decent seat for the cabaret costs $150 per person...which means...yes work your brains..work your brains....$1125+++ in all..means approx $281.25 for each of us. not funny lor. that would mean eating grass for two whole months for me. and $150 to watch topless girls in g-string prancing on the stage and doing some pole dance...isn't very funny either. they serve french food for the dinner...and knowing my dad..he will be like...wah this kind eat already not full -_-"

then we came up with another brilliant idea...lawry's! so the plan was set and we started saving money and blah blah blah..then we realised...pops doesn't eat steak...why? because he wants to be a holy man and abstain from beef *sqwak* so that's out too.

leave it to the brilliant lady of the house...the mother of course...who decided that a good ten course dinner at the tung lok restaurant..with the extended family would please my dad to the max...so that's where we ended up at! brilliant food and service i must say! the food was absolutely yummy..other than the sharksfin :( and they gave us a private room..how cool?!

the first dish was utterly amazing...i still can't get over how big the shou bao was! it was as big as a the helmet motorcyclists' wear!!!!...don't believe me?? let me prove it to you.......

H-U-G-E ain't it????

the rest of the dishes...no pics...we didn't even get to see them coz the very efficient waitress zoomed in...pushed it in my dad's face..announce the name of the dish..scuttled off and divided it into 10 portions and distributed it to everyone! how efficient they are!

so ....i hope my dad loved the treat/gift that we gave him....and here's a nice family photo...

who cares if the parents aren't really smiling? we three look nice...that's all that matters! wahahhahaahah

my very humourous father...

one day my dad proudly walks towards the door in the afternoon and faces the bright sun for 5 seconds..then turns around and exclaims

dad: look! the lens of my new specs changes colour!
me: wow...you got the light polarizing lenses??
dad: no...mine's cooler than that! it changes according to my mood! when i'm envious it changes to green..and when i'm angry it changes to red and so on...am i hip??!!
me: ......................................................-_-"

and that is the story of the day...my very hip dad..... and if you ever read this..which i highly doubt..but anyway.....it's 2nd march already dad...which means it's pay day..and i'm waiting for my allowance...HAHA!

oh yea...congrats ff for the brilliant results! you did well!

the world of computer games...

the world of computer games...is ...so. not. for. me. maybe daytona, time crisis (TWO), those kok games in the arcade...but not stuff like counter strike, DotA or whatever else...

tried my hands on an hour's worth of counter strike and DotA just now...the only thing i can say is "omgwtf..how do you play?!?!!" yes i know...i am w-o-l-s...those are how outdated...but watever.

to kill time b4 pinkpanther just now...i spent $2.50 on an hour's worth of gaming at cine with the nutsos...and i spent part of the time screaming, another part figuring out how to walk, another part figuring out how to change the blardee gun and reloading it...and most of the time dying. yes i know..i am a brilliant counter strike player..thank you.

then there was DotA..the 10 mins spent playing it was a total waste of time. first i stared at the screen and wondered to myself..what the hell is this game about??? then..the king of computers explained the whole aim of the game to me...to which i replied ..HUH?! ok never mind..the game started. i started clicking everywhere profusely, and before i know it...i am dead. hooray.

so you see...computer games are so not for me...ok maybe i will try counterstrike again...but no way am i playing DotA...

when you have FAMOUS AMOS COOKIES that are straight from the bakery in you cookie jar...everything else is not considered a cookie...=)

have you ever felt so empty, like as though something is missing in your life, and you turn to eating to "fill" up that emptiness?
have you ever felt so sick of everything, u feel like running to the toilet and sticking your finger down your throat to puke and make yourself better?
have you ever trusted someone so much, but yet find out that you have been lied to?
crying relieves one of the negative feelings, but have you ever cried till your tears run dry and you don't feel anything anymore?
have you ever tried talking to someone who hears but does not listen?
have you ever heard someone very close say to someone else who is not as close to him/her as compared to yourself "i will always be there for you if you need me", but yet doesn't even stick around when you need him/her?
have you ever given your all but received nothing in return?