JUST LIKE ME 同病相怜

Saw JH in the food republic while having dinner before my 1^st Korean lesson in the school. It was weird at first, since we are always with colleagues. But we talked still, because it will be much weirder if we only sat and eat.

He told me he was sick for more than a week. Then I come to realize he has the same health problem as me, which sometimes the virus (which I tends to call it since it just don’t disappear) can be distracting and uncomfortable. I am an ex-gastric patient. Once the pain begins, I coil in my bed. Anyway, the rest are history and like I said, I am an ex-patient. 

It’s been a couple of years whereby I am tormented with stomach bloatedness. It is worse than gastric pain in my opinion. The bloatedness which makes me nauseous (the vomiting effect) sometimes affect my daily life. Not that I cannot function, it just that it is making me function abnormally. Such as, when there is a working lunch meeting, I could go off in the middle of it because the food makes me uncomfortable in the stomach (feeling of indigestion then wanting to vomit) which can be embarrassing. So eating out becomes a ‘stress’ factor for the reason that I must be cautious of the food I eat. 

 

Slowly down the road, I realized part of the reason for causing the bloatedness/nauseous feeling. Bloating = Anxiety? I realized that everytime I am tense, stress or anxiety, the nauseous feeling appears. Hence, plum is always with me wherever I go in case I need it. I did an anxiety test online; I am 47%, a moderate anxiety percentage.

There are several specific elimination method to make an anxiety person better (personal view since it works for me), such as yoga, breathing technique, herbal remedies and soothing music. There isn't a rapid cure for anxiety. The fastest ways to cure anxiety should be how one person handles it. JH agrees with me since this is what he do when he had an anxiety attack (bloatedness/nauseous). 

 

I guess we know each other better after yesterday dinner. Perhaps it is fate that brought us together for a meal, to let us know we are not the only one facing this problem. Never alone. And it is not a shameless thing to admit.  

ADDICTIONS CAN BE EXPENSIVE

I always called my addictions (or additions) as expensive.

I grew up like a male in a female body. Never played with Barbie dolls before, and even if I was given Barbie doll on my birthday, I would often rip the head of the body and threw it one side. Basically, I grew up toys like cars and swords.

Then during the start of the secondary school days, saw people chasing after ‘local stars’ and I followed (I will be outcast if I don’t). My friends could wait outside the Caldecott building just to get an autograph. I didn’t, because my mom don’t allow. HAHA! The interest fades off after a year. I find it boring.

Subsequently as I grew older, I got addicted to soccer. Saw David Beckham one day on the magazine and got hook by his gorgeous looks and body. I got a cupboard full of his photos, magazine, autobiographies, puzzles posters hang in my room and Manchester united posters/DVD. I am that obsessed. I even owned a few jerseys. Then it stopped. The obsession of wanting to own David Beckham disappears after a couple of years. I no longer interested in his life or how many tattoos he have on his hunk body.

Poly days, I loved tennis. The game and the sweat (and the weight loss) make me adore to spend $$ in good rackets, good coach and a pair of good adidas shoes.

Then when I am 18, I turned my attention to driving. Fast cars are my preferred. At that time, a Mitsubishi lancer is such a hit that I dreamt to own it if I got the money. Red car, two doors, sun roof, good horsepower and deep sounded engine is something I pictured. This dream never seems to come true as money always never enough. (Crap -_-)

A couple of years ago, I begin photography. I invested in easy-to-use cameras (I got a few) but sold all of them off (less 80% discount) to get a DSLR. With a good DSLR, I need lenses to satisfy my needs in the photos. Then a dry cabinet to save the camera body and lenses from getting fungus. Recently, I intended to get a wide angle len Canon 10-22mm which cost SGD1438 for first hand. Broke! (sob sob). I am trying to save up the money to buy it before my Taiwan trip in Oct 2013 so I can take pleasure in taking the scenery with the characteristics of an L len. But I am still pondering if I should make the purchase. Or should I just go for second hand. (head and heart ache).

Now I am trying to re-learn Korean. Hub says I should spend the money to go classes in a reputable school instead of CC. He said last night, “If you want to learn it and spend time/money on it, then get the TOPIK back. Spend your money in a good way.”  I think I have decided on the school. Will be registering it later. From my calculation, learning a language will cost me more than $2800. (Haiz!)

So you see, my money never spend in cosmetics, facial or manicure. My hub seems to be happy (heng ah) that I spend on gadgets, interests and soccer jerseys. But I also must be ‘seng mok’ to dress appropriately (like a dress) when he brought me to a dinner party. HAHAHA!!! (don’t throw his face ma)   

SHORT STINT LEARNING KOREAN IN CC

I decided to take up Korean classes after addicted to Korean variety shows online. It was a tricky choice when selecting school. Looking at reviews online, there are a variety of choices but distance and cost stands a big factor. Friends advise me to go for the cheapest yet well-located locations to make sure the sudden interest is not just 3 minutes curiosity.

SKS & NTU ext which has good reviews are top of my list when comes to selection. CC is at one tiny part of my mind considering the distance and the ‘not just 3 minutes curiosity’ issues. 

In the end, I chose CC to experience on the curriculum and overall learning experience. I don’t want to spend so much money yet discontinue after the interest vanished.

Mdm Jang was the tutor. She was good. Although there are 30 people in the class, she will make sure everyone gets a chance to read aloud and ask questions. She did the notes herself which is easily understandable as she took the pain to add English explanation inside the book. It’s not thick, so I tend to bring it to work and flip it every time I am free. It tough really. The Hangeul pronunciation is a struggle. After the 1.5 hours of lesson, I got sore tongue and mouth. I stop Korean lessons in CC after completing basic level 2.

Ahh, its been 6 months since I stopped and the urge of wanting to learn surface again. This time I want to get serious. I want to pass TOPIK. HAHAHA!!!

I am looking for school now.