Gadgets

Finally, my sister got the desktop computer and had it placed inside their room. I can now have peace and quiet in my own room without her and her kids every time I come home. As part of the package I made sure that she has internet connection. So, that's what kept me busy half of the day yesterday.

Come lunchtime, I waited for Glen to come by and deliver the slightly used laptop so that I could have my own internet access right in the privacy of my own room (yeah, yeah.. you know what I mean). He promised to be at our house at two thirty but managed to drop by at around four. I thought the deal was off. But when he showed me item, I liked it. It's so cute. Hehehehe!.

I got the Toshiba Portege 3440 with the following specs

- Pentium III

- 500 Mhz, 128 mb RAM

- 12 gb of HDD

- 2 PCMCIA slots

- 1 USB port

- USB external floppy drive

- Adaptor

The battery lasts around 30-45 minutes so I've got to have the battery repacked. He says it costs P1,200 in Cubao.

I can upgrade it if I want to. But for the meantime I am glad I can use it at home and take it anywhere I want to because it's so thin. Hehehe.

He also gave me a PCMCIA card modem as a freebie. So, I used it last night to surf the net. I am satisfied (for now). Hehehehe. It cost me less than 10k for this. I was supposed to buy a PDA dual sim phone (Q77i) at the HUG store in Baclaran but I deferred it (will have a separate post about the Q77i).

My wife would really go nuts if she finds out that I have my eye on another phone. Hehehe.

For the nth time, I was in the hotseat during lunchtime with the Chief. This was my second day at work after a two-day sick leave.

Yesterday when she asked for the results of the medical tests I took, she accidentally saw the application for permanent residence in Canada form. She looked at me and said

"O, aalis ka na ba?"

"Matagal pa ho."

She saw my tribal necklace which I personally made last Monday. Sabi niya, kaya daw ako nagkakasakit dahil sa kwintas ko na pang-anito. Napatawa na lang ako at sinabing, katutubong Pilipino ho kasi ako. Naniniwala sa mga anito. Hehehe.

Then she asked me again if I have friends who are applying as PAs or staff in our agency.

Simple questions. But it makes me wonder, saan ba papunta 'to? Then she dropped the bomb:

"Akala ko ba naga-apply dito girlfriend mo?

I answered the question.

"Hindi po. Nasa Canada na siya."

"Kaya ka pala nagkakasakit eh. Paano kung mag-asawa na 'yun dun?"

I just smiled. Gusto ko sabihin sa kanya, "Hindi mo ko maaagaw 'no!"

Hehehehe.

We should not seek revenge on those who have committed crimes against us, or reply to their crimes with other crimes. We should reflect that by the law of karma, they are in danger of lowly and miserable lives to come, and that our duty to them, as to every being, is to help them to rise towards Nirvana, rather than let them sink to lower levels of rebirth.

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

A-ok

Nothing is wrong with me. That’s from the point of view of the doctor who ordered the treadmill test. I was able to withstand 10 minutes and 27 seconds under modified bruce protocol but didn’t finish the required 15 minutes. During the exercise, I had chest pains but it wasn’t that bad. When they asked me if I could take it, I said yes. The cardiologist said it was weird because she couldn’t see any abnormality reflected in my ECG. So, when she signed the results, the interpretation was Negative for exercise induced myocardial ischemia. Patient achieved 10.1 mets at 90% MPHR.

So it is official that I don’t have a heart problem.

It was probably stress related, so they say. I don’t need the two-week vacation that the chiropractic therapist was requesting me to take.

It means I have to get back to work tomorrow.

Will power

Called in sick last Friday. I had a terrible headache Thursday night after work that I decided to see a doctor (as I was prodded by so many people). Friday morning I went to the clinic and consulted with a family med doctor. She read my history and found out that I had 2 pending tests to undergo - perimetry test and EEG. So, she ordered me to take the tests but the EEG was replaced by a treadmill test and then referred me to a neurologist.

Saturday morning I went to see the ophthalmologist and she said I really needed to take the perimetry test because the veins in my eyes were quite pale and that the pressure was bordering on abnormal. The test could also check if the mild stroke that I had affected my brain.

Sunday, morning I went to see my neurologist and he told me that I have a complicated migraine. He gave me three different sets of medicine. Propranolol, which I should take twice a day for a period of forty five days; Ibuprofen, when normal headache occurs; and lastly Avamigran, for classic migraine attacks. I'll go back after a month to see if I responded to the first medicine he gave me.

This week, I have to check if the HMO approved the two tests that the doctor ordered. If approved I had to call the hospital to schedule the procedure. For perimetry, it's going to be done at UST. For the tread mill stress test I can have it done at the Chinese General Hospital. But I have to check for the availability of the said hospitals.

My uncle proposes another cure. He says he could administer chiropractic therapy on me but I need to take a leave of absence from work for two weeks. I'm not sure if I am amenable to that. But I thought of asking my boss if she could temporarily reassign me to our district office near my house so that I could still go to work even if I am under therapy. But before I could do that I need to secure a medical certificate from my doctors.

I still feel weak. The chest pains are still there although they are intermittent. The headache attacks have been minimized but I still got this eerie feeling. My blood pressure is consistent at 90/60.

Am I sick? Probably. It's a matter of will power.