Saturday, May 28, 2011

LA - the first leg

LA, California 2011
Upon arrival we went to WG's for dinner. That is my favorite place and am always taken there for the first dinner by my most thoughtful friend. That was a good delicious start to the vacation.

JAR has a little puppy now and I spent the first day in LA getting to know her.
Being a Muslim, I tried to ensure that we touched 'dry', otherwise i would need to 'samak' which is a cleansing procedure.
I found that that was not easy cos little puppy shows her devotion by licking and smelling lots.
Luckily I brought lots of the Taharrah soap (clay based soap) that not only is good for the skin but is also sold for this purpose. By the beginning of the second day, puppy has become so protective of me as I am of her.

The next night we had all JAR's brothers and their wives/ girlfriends over for a BBQ dinner. The weather was beautiful and the food was simple but lovely. Considering that everyone was at work the whole day, they managed to get the food done and ready in time.
I really enjoyed the camaraderie.

This morning I am doing a quick laundry so that I will have enough clothes and undies for the road trip that will begin this evening aftter they return from work.
We will be traveling North eastwards initially then cut across westwards.
Puppy follows me all around the house as I get my stuff done.
It is so much better than being alone in this house.
The TV is on and I am of course switched on to the American Talk shows that I do not get access to at home.
More later.


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

At the airport

Vacation has begun!
I have not had a good night's sleep ever since the doctor discovered the myoma.
I have always been able to fall asleep no matter what (my 'gift') but when I am troubled, I would wake up in the middle of the night for no good reason.
Last nite I was up at 3 am.
I guess the upside of all this is I should be able to keep awake when I get to the US.

The cab came right on time.
Unfortunately it was an old rather stinky one and I initially was holding my breath.
The driver was a nice young man who came from an eastern state.
He spoke with such a strong dialect that I had difficulty in understanding all he said.
I did not tell him the truth when he asked me where I was headed since I do not tell strangers in line with safety concerns.
Anyways I got safely to the train station where I got on to the train towards the airport.
It was a smooth ride in a clean modern new train, a nice change from the cab.
I was able to secure the seat I wanted cos I checked in early.

I called up my mom and my eldest sis to tell them that I was already at the airport.
I have not been able to reach JAR but I had emailed him and spoken to him yesterday.

Normally I would be excited and eager for the trip by the time I am at the airport.
This time, I still find that I am 'holding back' on the excitement.
I am still thinking of my little nieces faces crying in the back of their dad's car.
Yeah. Melodramatic.
Actually, a part of me wonders if this might be my final trip out.

I have spoken to s few friends who have had a similar surgery that is due bto me.
The recovery time is much longer than the ones i have had in the past.

OK. As i sit in this beautiful airport I shall let all my worries and concerns fade away.
Everything has its own time and place.
Even unhappy worrying thoughts.

Vacation, here I am!

Monday, May 23, 2011

About to pack

Just a couple of days to go before my trip :-)

Yes.
The surgeon said that I that I could go for my vacation first and scheduled surgery at the end of June.
This is good enuff for me cos I knew that I cannot escape the surgery.
But I wanted the vacation cos I have been working real hard and I needed a rest - NOT on a hospital bed but where I would be with friends and nature, eating lots of good food and having fun.

Saying goodbye to my little nieces is not easy.
I thought we had that covered at the end of Saturday and they seemed ablr to accept that I would be away for a few weeks.
But on Sunday my brother brought them over cos we all wanted to have dinner to celebrate his birthday.
The little ones were in tears as their dad drove them home. They wanted to be with me.
Jeez. Now I have THAT pic in my memory.
This morning I called up my mom and were told the kids are just fine.
I know that they would be.

Work seems to be going easy today.
I cleaned up (a bit) my office so that it looks a bit presentable.
I have informed them about my vacation plus the upcoming surgery.
Not much problems so far.

I need to do my final packing by tomorrow.
The cleaners r also scheduled to come in tomorrow too.
Still lots to be done.
Starting to feel the excitement.
Just that it time it also comes with a little apprensive feelings.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Me and my my-o-mas

I was in the midst of my busy-most period at work.
That normally means I eat work, I sleep work and I do work all day long.
I am due for a vacation almost immediately after this hectic time and it is my habit to go for for my dental check-up right before these trips (an easy way to remind me to have those dental appointments!)
When I found out that my brother had made his dental appointment on Saturday, I asked that he make one for me too and it was to be a family trip to the dentist before we all go for a big lunch.

I had also developed a sore throat, cough and cold beginning of that week and it seemed to slowly be getting worse.
As there was a doctor's clinic in the same building as the dentist, I decided to quickly go in there before my appointment.

It should just take me about twenty minutes to see the doctor and get my antibiotics and cough medications.
I had previously seen that same doctor who had identified the lump on my breast two years ago.
She was still the old but very experienced lady. She asked me about whatever that ailed me, then made me lie on the doctor's bench as she used her stethoscope. Then she pressed my tummy.
"whats this?" she asked, sounding a little shocked.
It was the hard tummy that I seem to have right before my periods.
"U should get this scanned. It seems like myoma to me"
The was a X-ray and radiology center just two floors up so I decided to go get it done that same morning.
They scanned my tummy and the radiologist is of the opinion that I have multiple myomas.
They recommended that I see a surgeon.

I called my sister and met her for dinner the same evening.
She has arranged for me to see who in her opinion is the best surgeon at her hospital for his expert opinion.
I will be meeting him this evening.
Wish me luck.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Thoughts at the car service center

I am getting my car serviced and checked.
Isn't it wonderful that the netbook/laptop was created so I can sit comfortably in this air-conditioned room, sipping tea and biscuits that the service center provides and yet am able to do my work, read the news, check my facebook AND write on my blog?
A guy just came up to me asking me how if I was using WiFi and how I had logged in.
I told him that I was using broadband.
He thanked me and went back to his seat.
As he looked older than me, I understood his difficulty in handling all this computer related stuff so i went to where he was and offered to help (not that I was any better at it!).
Actually he had erred in one of the log in requirements which is easy to detect and quickly enuff, I was able to get him internet connected.
He thanked me and asked me about my broadband usage.
I recommended him to get one cos it was the easiest way to get connected no matter (almost!) where u are. It is not too expensive but being of his generation I understood the look he gave when I said u make monthly payments to stay connected.
That prolly was my good deed for the day.

There is so much difference in the ways of spending of the various generations.
My mom still think that anything over $10 is expensive (even with the strong financial position she is in), I think anything over $50 is expensive. My nephews and nieces probably think the limit is $350.
My parents trained us to be quite spendthrift and this is one of the core values my siblings and I hold on to.
We do have a variety of degrees of being spendthrift though.
My eldest sister and my youngest brother are the most careful with money (but as my late dad would put it, sometimes they do 'penny-wise, pound-foolish' decisions too!)
My second sister is the most generous of us all but she is also blessed with being the strongest financial status.
God is also fair in his pairing of couples. My stingiest siblings got married to people that spend more and my least stingy siblings married people who save well.
Me? I handle my finances pretty ok I think.
I always say that when I die, what I own will go to the next generation (IF there is any left) but before that happens I am hanging on to it!.

The truth is when we die we really carry nothing but our spiritual earnings with us.
May there be enough for a ticket to a good destination.