HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Wow, the older I get, the more people I know whose birthday it is today. So far, that totals three: a primary/high school friend, AK and John Cheng. Happy Birthday, guys and girls!

Edited 29/4/03 at 9:10am... Ok, so now the total's 4. It's Nat Mak's birthday as well, and since I don't actually know Saddam Hussein, I won't count him.

Ok, so I came home with the intention of finishing my essay ASAP but no, Dad insists on updating my computer and thereby making it even faster now! He said it would only take 15 minutes, but an hour later, and even a shower and a hairwash later, I am sitting at another computer blogging about it because he hasn't finished, and my essay is on that computer, and I didn't think I would need to save my essay onto a disc for something that would only take 15 minutes. Oh well, such is life. Not that I should be complaining, since he's actually helping me to procrastinate, but darn it, it's due tomorrow and it's gotta get done and now I'm beginning to get stressed about it! =(

Edited 4:40pm: Yay, computer's back up, and as a side note, it is really pouring bucket loads here! I don't think it's rained this heavily for quite some time, and it's so sustained too. It's getting quite depressing, really.

Edited again 28/4/03 at 7:04am... Just got up and decided to step outside. I love it just after a huge down downpour. It's gorgeous out there. Everything is still wet but the sky is blue, the sun is shining and the birds are out chirping. Too bad it's a Monday!

Google Searches

Now, this is worrying when someone stumbles onto your blog after looking up "Nurofen Plus" and this blog is listed as #156. Did someone actually scroll through that many sites mentioning the drug that they got to the 156th site? Obviously they had nothing else better to do, or they weren't really looking for it!

Surprisingly, I've had quite a few hits from people looking up "Phobia of Buttons" because of this post, and one hit was literally due to a search for ""weeing" photos" (#42). Now that's worrying that some strange mind out there is looking for such material.

Friday Five

1. What was the last TV show you watched?
Does the news count? If not, then ER last night.

2. What was the last thing you complained about and what was the problem?
Somebody had moved my stuff, I was looking for it, couldn't find it, and found it somewhere where it did not belong.

3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say?
Elisa from work, who had a 3 hour labour, had a water birth, and gave birth to a bouncing baby boy weighing 4.3kg!!! I told her she was very clever! (And I added a few more things to that, but that was the general sentiment!)

4. What was the last thing you threw away?
Hmmm. Thinking... I think it might have been something at work. Paper towel after washing my hands, I think. Well, that wasn't very interesting...

5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited?
One for a bank...and prior to that, the SMH website, which was much more interesting!

And the procrastination continues...

Still haven't finished my essay yet, am still congested and feeling miserable, but on one of my "breaks" I decided to check out my guestbook to see if anyone had signed it recently. Yup. Someone sure had... A "Vanessa" who left a link to her site.... full of porn. It was just so disgusting. On closer inspection, this person or persons had just gone to each guestbook in consecutive order of guestbook ID numbers and posted the same thing. (good suggestion, AK!) Wow, a new way of spamming. Clever. Well, needless to say, her entry has been scrubbed, as well as a few others as I found their exact same entries in these other guestbooks too. (And, none of these people even showed up on my site meter as having viewed my site) However, if you are a visitor or frequent reader of my boring blog, and you haven't signed my guestbook yet, and you have no intentions of spamming me, then please do sign it! =)

On another note, this is a warning to all Sydney drivers... my baby sister has gone to the RTA to try to obtain her L's today, so stay off the roads! =)

Edited 4:35pm: Don't stress... we're safe for another week. She's going to resit the test next week. Maybe she will listen to me now and actually read the book once before she does it again instead of just relying on the internet practice version!!!

Procrastination is my middle name

Ugh. I feel so sick, lethargic and congested today. My eyes feel heavy, are watery, and I keep coughing, I'm losing my voice, and I'm meant to be writing an essay due to be handed in in exactly a week, and I really only have today to write it. (And no, I don't have SARS, I feel like I've got a temperature, but I don't. On night shift the other night, we were reading a memo from infection control telling us what the hospital had organised in case we get SARS patients. I decided that if I get it, I'd rather die from it instead of recovering from it then having to be forced to then look after everyone else with it because then you'd be immune to it due to developing antibodies to it, but that was the other night, and it was all hypothetical, and we were sitting around being silly. Ok, enough rambling...) That's not to say that I haven't done any work, but I have been yacking on the phone with a primary/high school friend whose birthday it is today....HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mishy! (who doesn't even know about my blog anyway!) who btw also has a cold as well, so we've been consoling each other. Oh well, and I thought I was getting better. I'm surprised I could even sing yesterday for our Easter service. Maybe that's why I was losing my voice last night.

Ok, enough procrastinating. Back to work. =(

So I thought I would be in bed by now. Wrong. I ended up doing some blog hopping (I wanted to see if this guy in Iraq had been able to blog anymore since 24th March) and came across this guy's post. I think I could adopt this ode of his and apply it to my headaches, and while we're at it, write an ode to codeine as well! (Yes, I love Nurofen Plus.) Ok. Now I'm off to bed. Nite!

Trouble

I woke up to a typical work day this morning, that is to say at 6am when I wish I was still in bed still dead to the world. My sore throat again made its presence known, and I was all set to arrive at work just in time, noted that my car was frosted over in the slightly cooler morning temperature, turned my key in the ignition only to be welcomed by a lethargic groan from my car which sounded like an old man with emphysema with no energy to cough. My car would not start. Luckily, when I ran inside to call the NRMA, I found my mother was awake, so she very kindly got dressed, and drove me to work! =) Not only that, but the sacrifice she made for me meant that I got to work only 5 minutes late, then she had to turn right around, drive home, finished getting ready for work herself, then drive right on back to the same hospital and start work at 8am! (Yes, she's also in the same occupation as I am, and yes, she works at the same hospital. Actually, that should be the other way around, as she was there first!) But, that meant that I couldn't go to my 4pm appointment this afternoon.

I called the NRMA after work, and low and behold, Vron, you were right, I had a dead battery! So tonight, $112 and a brand spanking new battery later, (mind you, that battery lasted more than two years!) I can sleep in peace knowing that tomorrow night, I shall arrive at work on time for night shift! Yay! *dripping with sarcasm*

Meditating on: Psalm 24 (NIV)

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.
He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Selah

Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty-
he is the King of glory.
Selah

A Severe Dose Of Mondayitis

I came home from our church retreat yesterday afternoon, completely exhausted and feeling really run down, feeling like I'm coming down with the flu. I woke up with a sore throat yesterday morning, and felt it coming on again late last night whilst suffering from insomnia. I wish I didn't have to drag myself to work today but I felt it was too late to call in sick by the time I felt I should have, so to work I went. *Blurk*

However, I was listening to "May the Mind of Christ" on the You Alone album on the way to work and the words hit me like a ton of bricks like it never has before. I've heard the song at least a billion times before, sung it, it's old hat, but this morning of all mornings, it felt like a mack truck hitting me.

May the mind of Christ, my Saviour,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

A Typical Day At Work

Phew! After some help from friends, I can finally do this post!

Yesterday, after ducking my head in to say hello to my patient from Tuesday, Lyndey kindly asked her sister Shirley, to e-mail me photos from the birth of her baby, Christopher. Christopher decided he didn't want to be upside-down, so remained breech. To make life safer for all involved, it was decided that a caesarean section would be the best option. Lucky me got to look after Lyndey beforehand and be there in theatres to "receive" the baby. So, in a way, this is like a photo blog...
BTW, I'm sorry if these photos make some people queazy.

Drum Roll...
A Snippet of a Midwife's Work Day


Hello cruel world! I'm here, and I'm cold! Get that thing off my face! I'm breathing fine!


Now, off the wet stuff, and onto something warmer...


That's my proud dad, he's about to cut my cord.


He's cutting it...Just careful of my fingers & toes!


Brrr! My first pose. Hurry up Dad, CC wants to wrap me up!


Hi Mummy, nice to finally meet you face to face!


Family portrait: With Dad Luke and Mum Lyndey


Looking around...looking cute...life isn't so bad after all. I get anything I want when I want! Yay! And I'm going to be spoilt rotten by Grandma!

The End...

Okay, so I ended up buying more than just new shoes for work... Oops.

There are so many things I should do bits and pieces of today, but I don't feel like doing any of it, to be honest. However, one thing I must do is pack for our church retreat. I don't even really feel like going at the moment, but no doubt, the talks will be great and I will again be challenged. I might post up my angle on the whole thing when I get back.

Overnight, I have again been reminded that I can do nothing but to put all my trust in God and no one else. I was worried sick about my friend's baby last night, and even rang work to get an update on his progress, thinking about all the worst case scenarios in my head, when I finally realised that it's all out of my control, there was nothing I could have done differently during the delivery and therefore everything will work out according to His will and purpose, and good timing. What a sigh of relief. However, that's probably why Cindy said to me later that she wouldn't have been comfortable looking after someone she knows as the responsibility would've overwhelmed her and if anything didn't go right, she would've felt twenty times more awful about it than if she didn't know the person to start with. I, on the other hand, don't regret not relinquishing care of Helen to someone else as it did end up being quite a special day for both of us.

A Day of Highs

The day started out as mundane and routine as any other for a pleb midwife working in a birthing unit, but it ended up being quite a special day.

It all started with handover from night staff, telling us about 3 women who were in the various rooms in various stages of 1st stage labour. One in particular was induced over night due to high blood pressure, and, I was told, baby was a smallish size. The tired night staff went home, Judith, (our fearless team leader for the shift) played eenie meenie miney moe and decided to give me the lady with high blood pressure to look after, Jane one of the other ladies, and herself the lady she had met and already knew before. I took my time, got changed, and sauntered into the room my lady was in, only to realise after a split second, whilst watching her suck on the nitrous oxide, that it was Helen, whom I've known since kindergarten, and all the way through high school! The last time I had seen H was probably in Novemeber or December last year at Mancini's restaurant in Belfield after Evening Service one night.

To cut out many of the sordid details that I'm sure anyone reading this wouldn't want to know, baby J was born at 11:29am. Unfortunately, he came out flat, not breathing for 2½ minutes, and had some respiratory distress due to blood pressure lowering medications I had to give Helen, as well as narcotic pain killers and had to be rushed to the nursery. He has now been weaned off the high concentration of oxygen they had to give him at first and is now fine. That was the only low point of the day. Otherwise, it was a real buzz for me as it's the first time I've ever delivered a friend's baby, and, (despite the fact that my back hurt heaps afterwards) it was the first time I've delivered a baby with the mum not lying on the bed... I was actually kneeling on the floor, (Okay, just use your imagination here, I'm not going to elaborate) and, Helen didn't need a single stitch!!! I was VERY impressed.

Just afterwards, H and I did some reminiscing, and thought it quite interesting that 10 years ago, we were in our last year of high school, probably stressing over the trial HSC exams that would've been coming up soon; 10 years ago, who would ever have guessed in a million years that I would be delivering her first baby? And it's the 10th April today...

As a side note, the person who was giving me grief at work before has decided to be nice to me. I don't know what changed her mind, but to end a very nice day, I shall now go for some very therapeutic retail therapy and buy some new work shoes, me thinks.

Strange Phobias

One of my managers today shared with us over lunch, that she's had a lifelong phobia against buttons...buttons of all things to be afraid of! It's been difficult to cope with since all her nursing uniforms have always had buttons, but she says she manages to cope by doing and undoing her buttons by holding them through the material.

Anyone know what this particular phobia is called?

Self-inflicted Misery

Of my own free will this afternoon, I took myself to the medical centre at the front of the hospital and got myself jabbed, not once, but twice - first for a flu vaccine and the second as a result of the following conversation with the doctor, who happens to be an ex-colleague of mine:

NN: Wow, you've got two large water bottles there...
CC: Yeah, I've been drinking lots of water lately. i left one at work the other day, so I brought another one today, and I'm bringing the other one home too...(Thinking to myself "D'oh! Dumb thing to say! Now he's going to want to jab me again and do my BSL!")
NN: ...and weeing alot? Could you be diabetic?
CC: Well of course! But it's not diabetes! It was a conscious decision to drink more water instead of caffeine.
NN: Have you done your own BSL lately?
CC: Ummm, not for ages.
NN: Well, maybe we should do that today too since you haven't done one for so long?
CC: Oh, ok!

Well, that'll teach me to bring any drink bottles with me to the doctor's! He jabbed my finger, which, of course, hurt and of course, my BSL was normal, and I could say "I told you so!" and then he jabbed me again on the same limb with the flu vax! Yow! Now my arm aches, and I'd like some cold and flu tablets! Talk about a quick reaction! *Argh!*

No More Secrets

Great, I'm feeling very vulnerable now. I went to see a naturopath for the first time this afternoon. She knows all my secrets now, all about everything that's wrong with me and not working right. Well, maybe now that the right person knows (providing she is the right person, of course), it will start working properly. For part of my session, she used some iridology. Very interesting... she found all the correct things wrong with me, and other things I didn't know, like a Vitamin B3 deficiency! Maybe I should eat more peanut butter after all!

Friday Five on the Move

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
Does that include places you've lived in when on holidays, for example, when you're away from "home"? Well, not including those places, that would be 2 HK apartments, 3 flats, a town house, and one house.

2. Which was your favorite and why?
Hmmm, I don't think I have a favourite yet.

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?
I think it's extremely exciting because it's a move to something new and different, but I think it's stresswise even more so than it is exciting because there are so many things to consider at the one time when moving.

4. What's more important, location or price?
Location location location!!!!!

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?
double brick, with a spacious new modern kitchen, a stylish bathroom with either a spa bath or a deep bath tub, plus ensuite bathroom, and walk-in wardrobes, big bedrooms, large living, formal, and entertainment areas, a log fireplace, (only because I like fireplaces, not because they're necessary with central heating!!) central heating, and while I'm at it, heated tiled floors! It's a dream house, right, so I can go overboard if I like! I'm not keen on the idea of having a pool due to all the maintenance involved, or a big backyard, for that matter, but I wouldn't mind a yard of some sort that was tastefully landscaped with low maintenance flora. This house would have to be located somewhere quiet and peaceful so that I could spend some time outside too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

A lady last night asked that we do all we could to ensure her baby would be born before midnight as she didn't want her baby to be born on April Fool's Day. I don't think she got her wish.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! to Ernie (No, Ernie's poor mum couldn't help it either!) who unfortunately won't be celebrating in any big way as he is hard at work and also has Bible College to go to tonight!