Lower back pain

I am experiencing lower back pain the last few days. The pain that I am having is in the middle of my lower back, pretty close to the tail bone especially after I sit or stand for a while. It didn't stop me from doing my activity but it ached on prolonged sitting to standing. I don’t know what is causing me this pain but I was wondering could it be from the surgery last year? Is it because I started moving and being too active too soon after the surgery, it's from lack of calcium, or am I just shrinking? My pain isn’t disabling but it is uncomfortable. So I bought several calcium supplements, and promised myself that I will try walking/exercising more tomorrow. Hopefully this combo is the right cure for my problem.

Males nge-blog dan keterusan...

Sudah dua atau tiga bulan terakhir ini blog ini jarang banget diupdate sama pemiliknya. Tidak seperti dulu tiap minggu paling tidak ada satu atau dua tulisan baru. Sekarang boro2 dalam seminggu nulis sekali. Sebetulnya yang mau ditulis banyak, saking keseringan ditunda...akhirnya ide2 itu menguap entah kemana. Selain itu kesibukan dalam pekerjaan juga menjadi salah satu alasan juga.

Lalu kemana saja kalau ada waktu luang? Well, yang paling sering motret2. Kadang sengaja ke mall terus ngopi sambil mengamati kira2 obyek apa ya yang bagus buat difoto. Itupun harus kucing2an dengan satpam karena kebanyakan mall tidak memperbolehkan pengunjung untuk memotret. Tanda larangan motret malah ada di setiap pintu masuk. Jadi harus pintar2 cari kesempatan. Selain di mall, weekend kadang aku sengaja pergi ke Bogor hanya buat motret! Kepengen-nya sih motret di tempat2 umum seperti tukang jual gorengan, di jembatan busway, dibawah jalan layang Cempaka Putih yang muralnya bagus2 banget. Tetapi karena faktor keselamatan niat itu tidak terlaksana. Ya namanya Jakarta tau sendiri kan? Gimana dong kalo lagi asik2 motret tiba2 kamera dijambret?

Soal jambret ini aku sedikit paranoid karena bukan saja sudah pernah mengalami kena jambret waktu sedang berada di dalam Bajaj, tetapi juga pernah menyaksikan langsung orang lain dijambret. Haduh kalau itu kamera sampai disamber bang Napi (istilahku untuk penjambret, copet dsb..) bisa nangis darah seharian kali ya! Makanya aku memilih untuk pergi keluar kota saja seperti Bogor dan Bandung kalau kepengen motret2 sampai puas. Dulu aku gak percaya kalau kamera DSLR bisa bikin kecanduan. Padahal aku gak pinter2 amat, hasil foto2 di Flickr juga kebanyakan experiment sendiri dan modal tanya sana sini ...'gimana sih kalo mau motret kayak begitu?'... misalnya. Pokoknya nekat aja dan gak bosan2 belajar. Kalau ada yang harus disalahkan karena menulari kecanduan ini mungkin Toni orangnya....hihihi! Habis dia sih yang paling getol ngajak diskusi foto. Belum lagi manas2i untuk beli lensa ini dan itu yang bisa menguras tabungan (hahaha..kayak punya aja!).

So, buat teman2 yang mungkin bosan setiap kali berkunjung ke blogku gak ada postingan yang diupdate kecuali foto2 di Flickr, maap'in ye kalau blog ini sedikit terbengkalai. Nanti pada waktunya aku bakalan sering nulis deh!

Virus attack

I'm a Windows XP user and am not sure what happened with my computer these past few days. When I start my computer and the desk top comes up, there's a text that comes up saying "warning virus detected on your computer".... install winspyware and then all these black bugs start showing up on my screen. It always goes to the warning and then the bugs appear with remark virus is critical, highly dangerous etc. Please bear with me while I try to fix the problem. I hope I don't have a damaging bug on my puter. My Norton may need an upgrade.

Justice is blind?

Apologies for the lack of posting lately. Been pretty busy these past few days, and alas, it was just spent here doing my usual boring life (work, work, work). Oh well.

Anyway, I was looking for a particular story on Detiknews.com this morning and actually saw this headline. It was a crime stories, but strange, and almost comical headlines...

Rich Taiwanese Woman's Murder
"Susan Murderers were Treated Like Celebrities by the Cops"

The story started when the police found a dead body buried inside a house in the housing complex in South Jakarta last week. Her name was Susan Shieh, she ran a garment business and had two big houses in Jakarta, one of which served as her office. She was murdered in her own home following a horrific attack during which she was beaten, banged to the wall and strangled to death. She was buried in the back yard about 500 meters away (which she used as her office house) from where the killing took place (her residence). Susan was found dead with both hands tied behind her back, and her legs were bent up and tied together. It turns out that one of the killers is her own husband. He got help from his gardener who had no choice but helping the beast because the gardener owed 7 million Rupiahs and hasn't been able to pay his debt. The husband then changed the telephone numbers so her relative in Taiwan could not contact her. With her death, she left about USD 700,000 in her account along with 2 big houses and a garment factory. Mr. husband somehow was able to change the ownership of the victim's bank account and the properties under his name. Whenever Mr. Husband was asked about his wife whereabout, he always told his neighbors that she went back to Taiwan. Everything looked fine and goes as planned, until one day (16 months later) the gardener who claimed he was being haunted by the poor woman and felt guilty over committing the murder, told his friend about his crime story. The friend then reported this story to the police.

The interesting part is that first the police said that money could be a motive in Susan's killing. A few hours later they (the police) said, the reason of the killing because Mr. Husband was mistreated by his wife during their 11 years of marriage life and was never involved in money coming in and out for the business. What makes me surprise is how the police being extra friendly to this beast by serving him food and drink in the chief police office room!!!! The beast was not even hand cuffed and being interrogated like a reporter interviewing some celebrity in E channel!!! Even funnier the police still weighed up whether it is necessary to check to the bank about the changed of Susan's bank account to her beast husband's name or not. Is this some kind of bad joke? It's definitely not what I expected to read in the news! Judging from the police behavior, I am afraid there will be some deals/negotiations that will make the bastard free of murder charges. Or worse blame everything to the gardener when in fact he is the one who mastermind this killing.

As a kid, my late father taught me to never trust the police. Running a shop selling coffee beans my dad often got a visit from the unwelcome visitors (read : cops) who were always asking money for this and that and they wouldn't take NO for an answer. In exchange we got a calendar from them. I think I am not wrong to say that our Police Dept. have violated the people's trust. It has long been regarded as one of the most corrupt and incompetent institutions in the country. They are powerless when they are badly needed like in the recent Monas rally attack. OK, they are not all bad ... but their image is already tarnished. What do you think???

In the dark

I was sitting in front of my computer last night thinking what topic I would post on my blog...when suddenly the power went out. Puff! Just like that. Looking out of the window, I can see the streetlights off, it was dark outside. I really don't know what's wrong with the power lines these days but I have had 3 power outages this week, and they usually last from 3 to 4 hours. I called PLN (State Electricity Company) customer service and all they say is they are working on fixing the problem. Luckily I have a good supply of candles, batteries for the flash light and an emergency lamp. Because you never know when there is going to be a power cut.

Power outages are common in Indonesia, particularly when it rains hard and there are broken cables or debris falling onto the power lines. Another reason is because people regularly steal electricity from the grid. But most of the time the reason are not obvious and are almost always un-announced. Without electricity, life gets put on hold. You do what you can do in daylight but after the sun goes down, your options go with it. Here in Jakarta it can be pretty hot and humid even in the evening inside the house. It was too hot to sleep and it is impossible to open the window without inviting mosquitoes in. I tried to read using the candle light but it was hard on my eyes. I was so bored that I started to pour the wax from one candle to another. Finally after three hours, the power came back on.

I think everyone of us has the same experience of spending a day or a night without electricity. But it is even harder to bear without electricity in the night. Seriously, I don’t think we can live without electricity as they are an important element on our daily life. Or have we become spoiled by our dependence on it?!?

Busy week

Sorry it's been so long without an update. I’ve been really really busy lately. With the upcoming Expo in Malaysia next week and work starting to pick up here, I’ve been slacking on thinking what to write on the blog. So I am getting ready to make my first trip to Malaysia for Expo. My boss loved participating in expo. We have been taking part for more than ten years. I think nowadays more and more companies are not making the trip because the cost of doing expo is more than they are gaining from the trip. To me, getting a free trip to another country will be nice but traveling to work kind of sucks. Oh well ...

The taste of pain

Sorry for my absence, I planned to post more often, but it is hard to even think what to write when you feel like someone is tugging, or pulling the inside of your stomach. During ovulation is when I have most of my pain. The cramping come in waves, with little concern to what I have going on in life. Sometimes it was so bad if not worse, pain medications don't even help. Also I can't take anything strong like Ibuprofen, it makes me sick to my stomach esp. if I don't take it with food before that. Having endometriosis is no fun and annoying, there is no cure for this disease ... you just have to learn to live with it.

I still have cramps now and then even though I changed my diet to being a 70% vegetarian. Endo diet help to some degree, but sometimes the stabbing pain would come on suddenly I couldn’t go places, because it is just feel uncomfortable! The cramps would start a few days before my period, and last the whole time, sometimes longer depending on my commitment to my diet. I normally catch a mild pain one day or two days before my period, then have pain and cramps at ovulation. If I stick to my diet, I might get two pain-free weeks before it started all over again.

I had three kinds of cysts removed thru a laparotomy surgery two years ago. But my Obgyn didn't do much with my Adenomyosis (an ingrowth of the endometrium from the inside of the uterus), as the only cure to it was by having a hysterectomy. Back then I didn't want to think about the possibility of getting a hysterectomy, but I am considering that option now since it really become a hindrance for me in many ways. I lived with the painful cysts for several years before the surgery, and I still have a painful period 2 years after the surgery, I want to be pain free. I want a normal life. That is NOT too much to ask, I think. My recent ultrasound test showed the source of my problem is still the same, inside the uterus. It has enlarging a bit but not dangerous, just annoying. The obgyn told me I have a choice to do a partial hysterectomy, meaning removing only the uterus and leaves the cervix and ovaries in place. After that, I will have a semi menopause period but my skin elasticity will not be affected. Well, I have not decided anything yet...am still weighing the pluses and minuses. Sorry to bore you all with my rants, but if you were me...what will you choose? Dealing with the pain every month or go for a hysterectomy? Hysterectomy is never an easy option...but at my age I don't have a desire to reproduce. I just don't want to.

Complainfest continues

I am not normally a cranky person, but my experience this weekend put me back in the cranky mood. First the missing parcel, now the water shortage! This afternoon when I turned the faucet to wash my hands, I got only a little dribble which quickly falls off to almost nothing. This is not the first time I have been experiencing inconveniences with water supply. Having no running water means washing up, having a bath and flushing the toilet and cleaning become all a bit more difficult.

As usual the Utility Board only became aware of the problem when customers started to report that they had no running water. These piped water supply interruptions are not unusual in Jakarta. My worst experience was last year during the flood where I was without clean water for 10 days. I had to evacuate to my sister house in Bogor until the water resume to normal. Now, I always fill up the reserved water tank, the bath tub, and the buckets in case the water is not running in the morning. The water has come back on as I write this entry but water pressure remains very low. ARRRRGGGHHHHHH! I think I will go insane!!!

Missing parcel

I've been particularly cranky and resentful today. My lovey sent a parcel from Canada post office a few days before Christmas (air parcel post), it was supposed to arrive Jakarta earlier this month but I still haven't gotten it and it's already over a month now! It is a parcel of 3 bottles Burt's Bees body care, and a box of 6 packages cat treats for Suneo. The weirdest part is, the Christmas card which was sent a few days after the package has arrived. I am very upset because I cannot find this products (my skin care) anywhere in Jakarta. Burt's Bees are recommended brand for endometriosis sufferers because they are safe and paraben free. I am not trying to exaggerate my endo problem but a lot of our daily care or food products have estrogenic compounds that will trigger the pains. I wouldn't care so much about that had I not had endo recurrence despite the surgery which I have gone thru in 2004. That means I have to read every label of products carefully.

Now back to the parcel, normally air parcel post would take up 1 to 2 weeks to reach the designated address. I really don't know what to do now. I would like to inquire the Post Office to locate this package but am pessimistic they will give me an ear full. Missing parcels from overseas is very common here. At least I want to hear a ..."I am sorry to hear your package didn't come" ... though that won't make me feel better either. I wasn't mad, just more than a little annoyed.

Pardon my absence

Sorry for the lack of posting over the last few days, I've been busy with works. I also have problem with late shipment from the forwarding agent and I still don't know exactly what's caused this. Everyday I receive the same excuses and was promised this week the goods will be here, but I have a feeling they won't be able to keep their promise. I have decided to stop using their service and will make them suffer by delaying the payment when they finally deliver the goods to me. Talk about revenge huh!

Ecky & Anna, thanks for the tags...I'll post soon!

The story of two purses

My sister in law had her purse snatched a few days ago by a passing pair of guys on a motorcycle. It happened in the morning on her way to her workplace. She said the motorcycle came up from behind, and in an instant one of the guy sitting on the back snatched her purse which caused her losing her balance, hitting the ground and got some bruises on her upper left hand. It took her several seconds to realize her purse has disappeared. The motorcycle has sped past her before her mind had caught up with what had happened. Her glasses lying somewhere and when she screamed for help it was too late. Her ID, ATM/credit cards, wallet, keys, phone all gone! She is lucky she is not badly injured. Still, though, she was vaguely annoyed that she had to cancel her cards, re-apply for new ID, etc.

I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago on my way to the church. Luckily someone saw that and gave me a ride home. I still couldn't believe why would someone snatch my purse. It wasn't a nice purse, and I was inside Bajaj (the three wheel vehicles). That time I was aware there's a motorcycle trailing my Bajaj, but I thought they just wanted to drive past the Bajaj. Then I felt someone grabbed my right hand from the left side of the Bajaj window (I clutched my purse on my right side), and before I could figure out what had happened...my purse has disappeared! It was an intense moment and I was stunned. I was mad with the Bajaj driver for not doing anything and the fact it was very dangerous as the snatcher grabbed my hand while the Bajaj was running on the traffic. Luckily, nothing too important had been taken. And there's no cell-phone either inside the purse as I don't like to receive calls when I am inside the church.

In a big city like Jakarta, purse snatching is a common crime and mostly the victims are women. It is already a very common thing that people take it as a daily happening. In most incidents, two men on a motorcycle speed up from behind a victim and the passenger on the back snatches a purse, handbag, or cell-phone. As usual the police is utterly ignorant unless you're someone from an affluence family. They are just not interested with petty crimes. What I can do to avoid this from happening again is to stay alert all the time and use my common sense whenever I go out.

Me and my glasses

Memory failures or forgetfulness may occur at any age as we are all getting older by the minute. And nobody is spared from this case. All of us suffered from this only in different situations. When I was a kid, my mom always used to tell me to always put things back in the same place, so I would be able to find them. Well I know I didn't always listen when I was younger. I tend to forget things if I have a lot on my mind or if I'm in a hurry. There were times I forget and misplace my glasses, my keys, my cellphone,sometimes I have to call my number and find it inside my purse. The most often is my glasses. I usually have them on except in the shower. I even have fallen asleep with them in bed while reading or watching TV. It is not rare I would running up and down stairs, checking all the rooms for a pair of glasses like a mad woman on the loose! Once I found them under the bed, and once Suneo had picked them up off my bed and had taken them behind the TV set....argggghhh!!!!

What's your phobia?

Everyone has fears. Fear is a reaction to danger that involves the mind and body, but it is a natural part of our life. We all experience fear slightly differently and with more or less intensity. Most of the things that make us afraid are usually things we have to deal with in our lives. For example some people fear of heights, dogs, roaches, or insects, but there are also fears that seem pretty much like a worry, or something you feel generally uneasy about.

I have to admit I have fear of crossing the street (agyrophobia). I've been hit by a motorcycle a few years ago when I wanted to cross the busy street in front of the bank, but thanked God I only sustained a minor injury. Crossing the streets in Jakarta can be a real challenge and a life-risking adventure. In many places there are no pedestrian crossing zones on the streets, there hardly exist pedestrian roads, hence, cars, taxis, motorbikes, bajaj and people cram the streets all fighting for access to pass. Waiting for cars to stop for you will take a long time, if not forever, and no one stops for you. I hate it when I have to cross the street, it is like trying to cross the Formula 1 track race, it's nerve wrecking.

I know I cannot let myself be intimidated with this fear and I have to face it one way or the other. In Jakarta you don't wait for a break in the traffic--you just go--and hope you are still alive when you reach the other side. The first time I crossed the busy street here I was bulging with adrenaline, but now I was a real rebel. The secret is just step into traffic and wave your hand, the drivers will adjust to you although some can be a little wild. Don't get hesitate because hesitation gets you hit and traffic flows around you, always look both ways, even on one-way streets. When crossing busier streets find others who are also crossing and follow them when they head out into traffic. Otherwise, you could be left standing on the corner forever. Drivers in Jakarta tend to keep driving unless the pedestrian steps out in front of the car to show that they plan on crossing the street.

Endometriosis

The majority of women will experience the discomfort of menstrual cramps at some stage in their lives. The symptoms can include cramps, bloating, mood swings, and many more. They can range from being extremely mild and almost unnoticeable to being practically debilitating while a woman has her period. For me "this time of the month" is always a nightmare, I can hardly do anything. My period was not heavy but the pain was like somebody sticking my lower abdomen with a needle, it was a very sharp, stabbing pain, lasting anywhere from 2 to 7 days prior to, during, and after the period. The worst part is the first two days which gradually became mild twinges as the days go by.

I have tried to change my diet by consuming more veggies and fruits, I give up red meats, cut my coffee intake, cut my dairy intake but this does not help reduce the pains much. If needed I take medications that only ease my pain for a few hours. I thought after my surgery I would feel better, well ...I don't. I am just having to cope with the pain. Endometriosis not only causes pain and discomfort but it is mentally torturing too. I would never wish this on any one. But I feel that more needs to be done to help endo sufferers.

Would I stop my periods if I could? My answer is definite YES! But I dont want to go thru another surgery or taking anymore hormonal treatment. I love being a woman, feeling sexy, and knowing that I am a part of the cycle of life, but aren't we all deserve relief from excessive pain and suffering?

Circumstantial inconveniences

Do you consider yourself to be a patient person? If so, are you always patient or does the particular situation make a difference? I guess I am a mixed bag, I have the patience for children and animals but I am really impatient when it comes to being sick, I don’t like being confined and restricted from my normal activities, I don't like waiting for the teller at the bank, I get agitated when being caught in traffic congestion. However, when it comes to circumstantial inconveniences such as dealing with government bureaucracy, I recognise the phrase "holding on" ... that is because
there is no point in fretting about something I have no control over...so I won't.

Earlier this week, I have just got my SKCK / Surat Keterangan Catatan Kepolisian (Police Certificate) as part of the PR visa requirements to Canada. It was quite an ordeal getting this paper because individuals can only request a police check through the police service in the territory where their ID are being issued. If you think you can take one or two hours off from work, run into the police station, and get the paperworks done in one day, you're wrong! That won't happen in this country. Time required can take up 2-3 days if your KTP/Kartu Tanda Penduduk (Indonesia Identity Card) is from Jakarta, it will take longer if the ID is from the province like mine.

Before describing it, though, in Indonesia all citizens must carry an identity card (KTP) to apply for a job, to apply for a passport, driving license, withdraw money from a bank, or obtain official documents from state institutions or perform a multitude of other tasks. It is issued by the subdistrict head but must bear the signature of the district head . People aged between 17 and 60 years are required to have a valid KTP always. Applying for a KTP, which in theory should be simple and free of charge, has become a moneymaker for officials at the neighborhood and subdistrict levels. Many officials have gone out of their way to complicate procedures for issuing IDs, in order to squeeze even more money out of applicants. There is no specific fee how much you have to pay, but a small tip will help expedite the process.

Now, back to the process of getting the SKCK (Police Report), I'll spare you the details.

1 # First off, I needed the letter from the Head of Neighborhood to get the signatures from the sub-discrict head and the district head to obtain the SKCK. In order to get this, I had to submit copy of ID, family card, passport photograph 3x4cm & 4x6cm @1 pce each and then head to the Polsek (sector police), get the paper in 10 minutes and paid some administration fee.

2 # Next stop, I took the signed and stamped certificate from the Polsek (sector police) to the Polres (the resort police), along with copy of ID, family card, 3 passport photographs each size 3x4cm & 4x6cm. In Polres I had to fill out some forms about physical appearances (facial shape, hair color, blood type) and some other silly questions such as where were you when the communism revolution in Indonesia happened? were you belong to political organization etc? , got my finger prints taken and within one hour I got the SKCK from the Polres and the little card with information about my height, weight, hair color, hair type and my fingers print formula. I paid some money for the finger print and the SKCK letter. As usual, no receipt!

3 # From Polres, I headed to Polda Bandung (Bandung Regional Police Headquarter), brought along the same docs (copy ID, family card, and passport photograhps), and the SKCK from the Polres. In this office I had to fill out some forms which are pretty similar with the ones from Polres but without physical description. I also told them that I needed to obtain SKCK in English from Mabes Polri (National Police Headquarter) in Jakarta. Just like in Polres, I also paid some money here.

4 # In Mabes Polri (National Police Headquarter) in Jakarta, I only needed to submit the original SKCK from Polda Bandung, copy of passport, KTP (Identity Card), family card, birth certificate and 3 passport photographs 4x6cm. No more forms to fill out but there's no same day service or you bring in today and pick it up the next day. Interestingly enough, in Mabes Polri, the service is free of charge!

Morale of the story - red tape is frustrating and it is the same everywhere.

For the love of soccer

I've been a terrible blogger lately hence the lack of posts here in recent days and I have no excuses...hehehe! Nonetheless, for those interested:

As a fan of The Red Devil, I can no longer watch games on Free-to-Air local television because the price of EPL (English Premier League) broadcasting rights has been exorbitantly expensive and the local TV decided to call it quit airing them. Now the games can only be viewed on channels carried by Pay-TV and for that I have to pay $20 every month. That means I have to cut my shopping trip in exchange for soccer games ... hehehe!

Well, everything went well for a week after the installation. Come to the eight days the channels suddenly disappearing! I then made a phone call to the customer service but there's no one there except the recording machine asking you to call again later. After the umpteenth time calling to no avail, I sent them a fax complaining of their poor service. Still no response was given, so I went to their office and was promised they would send someone to look over the problem. However, until the next two days nobody showed up and I wanted to cancel the subscription but I will have to pay a penalty for that. I was so annoyed and decided to file a complaint about them at one of the media online here . Two hours after my email is being published, I got a call from the customer service and this time they would send someone right on out immediately. People may say, hey it's only soccer game ... but the feeling when your favorite team win or lose is the ultimate price for being a true fan! And I don't want to lose any of the game even if MU appearances has been under performed lately.

Return of the lazy blogger

Hey there friends, I stop blogging for a couple of days and suddenly it's nearly a month since I last posted my entry. I would have ideas what to write on a certain day but alas I am just sooo L-A-Z-Y to go on and start writing them. I know I’m definitely not one of the world’s most prolific bloggers. Partially because I’ve been busy, partially because I’ve been lazy, well ... call it a writer's block...hehehe! For some reason I just haven't been able to motivate myself to do much of anything but watch TV and surf the web. I always seem to have less energy when the heat is unbearable--I think it's the super hot and humid weather that tires me out.

Sore throat

I'm kind of down and out with a sore throat/cough thing for the past few days, so I was treating myself with vitamin C and cough syrup but none of which seemed to be helping at all. Blogging will resume when I am feeling better.