Dah Semput? : Kesiannn Anding

[Anding, during a stress-free moment]

[At times of an attack you'd be grateful to have friends hold you on]

A tear-jerking movie, a fight with your spouse, or even a joyous reunion -- for some people with asthma, these are emotional triggers that can leave them gasping for air. On many occasions asthma gets worse for no apparent reason, but some things will often cause a deterioration. Emotion - anger, anxiety or happiness - can bring on an attack of wheezing in some asthmatics.

Reactions from emotional anxiety and stress are however considered to be more of an effect than a cause. They can cause fatigue, which may affect the immune system and, in turn, increase either asthma symptoms or bring on an attack. Persons with asthma have acute episodes when the air passages in their lungs become narrower, and breathing becomes more difficult. These problems are caused by an over-sensitivity of the lungs and airways.

During an attach, the lungs and airways overreact to certain triggers causing:

 the lining of the airways to become inflamed and swollen.
 tightening of the muscles that surround the airways.
 an increased production of mucus.

Breathing becomes harder and may hurt.

The following are quotes from a few of the 10,000 children who responded to Asthma UK Blue Peter Asthma Survey conducted in 1995.
 'It feels like someone is standing on my lungs.'
 'It feels like I am being squashed.'
 'When I'm having an attack it feels like a rope is being slowly tightened around my chest.'

(Error: Apparently it was a near-attack, not an actual attack. But still. That hurts too.)

I’m not really one of his fans, but I know what it would feel like to have a sudden (near) attack like the one he had during the end of the 3rd Akademi Fantasia concert (yep I’m in the bandwagon miahahahaha can't resist it). Only those who had experienced one would.

An asthma attack is no laughing matter. Imagine when all of a sudden your can't really breathe in air, only a little bit than nothingness. Your ribcage muscles try to constrict and expand in spasms, mimicking the usual breathing rythm, and yet at best all you'd have are the short huffs where the oxygen feels like it comes in periodic 'trickles'. If there are wheezes, fine, 'cause it means you're taking in air.

And to have one onstage during a live telecast, even a near-attack, (when you’re supposed to look and feel oh-so-glamorous yaddyayadda), would be so embarrassing. Not to mention it looks pathetic as well.

Kesiannn dia. Oh but don't worry, I'm still reluctant to go for the A F U N D I buttons on my cellphone. Not that I have one (either buttons or cellphone) at the moment anyway. And that, ah.... is another story.

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Links:
The Anxiety of Asthma: Emotions Can Trigger Attack
All About Asthma
What is Asthma
Asthma Attacks

All photos taken from Akademi Fantasia official website

o Ophelia! How thee gallivants!

... 9 (out of many) reasons why you should go see ...


1. 90% of the time, there would be a bevy of gorgeous girls who then became women onstage with all sorts of body movement
2. the above will also go through a total of five wardrobe changes
3. the haunting music
4. the moving and thought provoking lines, minimal but profound, and some parts are pretty funny too! *ever took a flight with trollydolly airlines before?*
5. free notes with the song lyrics and script - how many theatre productions give you this?
6. the video sequence yg menaikkan bulu roma
7. the runway-style stage
8. the fashion show at the end, so glamourous
9. the founding s*x dance sequence with, ah, belled red ribbons

[rolling Ophelia posters to earn my keep]

More things NOT to do on a Komuter / LRT train ride

I definitely am not the only blogger who takes the train on a daily basis. In response to the helpful comments from 'What's the matter?'s readers in the previous post, here are additional points for your Train Ethics 101 notes, Chapter 2: 'Things NOT to do on a Komuter / LRT train ride.

15. Staring down people's tops [point by Sarah]

16. Scratching one's private part and "reparking" them! - this will also be filed under the 'Come on!' category [point by mdmafia]

17. Toting rotiboys - it's pure suffering for the rest [point by ryuu]

18. Snogging - falls under 'Come on! category

19. Farting

20. Being smelly by not bathing in the morning

21. Bringing prams the size of kancils and filled with noisy kids some more, regardless of their cuteness level - may still make some people feel like strangling them
[points #18-21 by anuar]

Got more to add? Just put up your matter in Comments or shoot me an email if you wanna be mysterious. Be creative!

14 things NOT to do on a Komuter / LRT train ride

1.
[Jatuh nanti! (You might fall!)]

2, 3, and 4.
[No smoking, No eating or drinking and No littering]
View a possible result of No. 2. Not pretty.

5. Yakking loudly on the phone to your best friend so the whole train could hear all the lurid, colorful details regarding your ever-unhealing kurap / outstanding bedroom frolic last night / others. No, we really don't want to know.

6. Falling asleep on the next guy's shoulder, accompanied by sound effect with decibel levels that would make a jackhammer cower in shame and completed by some 'free-flowing liquid' with enough DNA matter to get one acquitted at a crime scene investigation.

7.
[These Seats Are Reserved For Senior Citizens, Pregnant Ladies & Disabled.
AREN'T WE COURTEOUS?]
Pretending sleep when a pregnant lady/ old quivering aunty/ other named persons as above stand right in front of your comfy seat. Be courteous-lah.

8.
[Tiang-hoggers]
Hogging the whole tiang (pole) in the middle of the train by leaning on it when everyone else is groping around for something to hold on for balance.

9. Groping around and hanging on someone else's body parts (ANY part), pretending it's for balance.

10. Finding yourself a seat furthest from the door and proceed to get up only when the train has stopped at your destination and the doors have already opened, going 'Oops, sorry, my stop here, *shove* sorry, *push* excuse me, *elbow* *nudge* whoops, sorry'.

11. Taking off your shoes, exposing those socks with exotic olfactory-invasion attribute and 'airing' them around to dry the dampness out.

12. 'Parking' your bagpack/grocery/one-week's laundry hamper on the next seat.

13. NOT covering your mouth when you sneeze / cough, especially the ones that contribute extra moisture (and certainly germs) to everybody else’s breathing space.

14.
Public display of affection e.g. above. I mean, come on...
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On a brighter side:
Top 10 Things To Do On A Komuter / LRT Train Journey

Also read Nerr's take :
Rules for being on the LRT : How to make it a pleasant ride for everyone

Zooming in, zooming out

[ Treasure island map....?]

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[ or NOT! ]

.. this is why they forbid you from having that chicken curry meal while on the train.

Coming up next: 10 14 things NOT to do on a Komuter / LRT ride

A cup of coffee

Preface: I've came across emails with a similar article a few times before, but today was the first time for me to get the one with the coffee ending. Nice.

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When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar...and the coffee...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
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Now, anyone up for a cup of coffee?

Online or not?

[The yellow little fellow aint telling you the truth]

If the Yahoo! Messenger indicator icon here is to be believed, it would mean that I'm perpetually online. I have no idea why it shows so, though. Why, eh? Me, online all the time? Yeah, right. Which could not be much more further than the truth since I rarely have it on these days as there's a problem re: the cookies configuration at the office PC (not that I can afford to have on it anyway, teehee, bisa mengganggu konsentrasi) and I seldom surf the Internet at home except on the weekends that I'm home all day - what with the weddings to attend and other plans, ahem, that sort of days this month can be counted on one hand.

So anyways, don't say I'm sombong or anything lah, okay, if I don't reply your YM messages right away. Will do, just later :)

You certainly can't believe everything that you see online.

Btw, it's International Webloggers' Day! Here's one to bloggers all over!