Fighting A(H1N1) Tips for everyone

With the soaring number of cases in Asia -- being led sadly by our dear homeland the Philippines -- the swine flu scare is causing widespread panic and concern, especially infants and pregnant women who are said to be more susceptible to illnesses.

With this in mind, now would be a great time to remind ourselves of the things we can do to stop the spread of the virus. Here's some ways, though do not limit yourself to these:

Wear facemask. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Best way to treat the flu? Not having it in the first place! It not only helps people from getting virus, but also helps infected people from spreading it to others.

Use hand soap, hand sanitizers, alcohol, and/or disinfectants. Cleanliness is next to godliness. So just make sure you use these. Washing with soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds kills whatever germs you have on your hands. If not available, having a handy alcohol or hand sanitizer should suffice. be sure to use them, especially when you use your hands to handle things which might have been passed on from one person to another... which brings me to...

Don't touch anything! Or rather, mind what you touch. Are you in the habit of holding onto handrails, escalators, door handles? Things or places that other people have handled? Better not hold those if you can help it. If it cannot be avoided -- example, you have to hold onto handrails because your balance is just way off the higher you get like yours truly -- be sure you disinfect your hands asap -- see previous item. In addition...

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. CDC (Center for Disease Control) experts state that this is how one gets infected. If your hands touch something contaminated by the virus and then you touch your eyes, nose or mouth, you introduce the virus inside your body.

Eat healthy foods. Studies show that the A(H1N1) strain in the Philippines is not as strong as the other flu strains in other countries such as US -- hopefully that's true for the cases in Singapore as well. You can easily beat it if you have strong resistance. So first step to building resistance is always eating the right food. This is where your "glow" foods come in -- in case you forgot your Health Education 101, your food groups are "Go" (energy), "Grow" (well, grow), and "Glow" (body resistance).

Load up on vitamins. Better consult your doctor to make sure you're getting the right kibnds of vitamins. Normally for fevers, flu, and the like, vitamin C is the first thing to consider. You get it from citrus fruits (e.g. oranges) or in capsules, tablets or pills.

Lots of sleep. Can't stress this enough. Your body needs sufficient rest to function properly. Ensuring you get at least eight hours of sleep is a good way to start.

Mind your distance from people. Observe your personal space. The closer you allow yourself to other people, the higher the risk of you picking up viruses. Sure, you may be seen as a snob. But hell, are they going to pay for your medical expenses if you get sick because of them? No? Then what the hell... :))

Stay home. Unless your home is stinkin' rat's nest, its the safest place to be. Try not to frequently go out, especially hangout places where there is sooo much human traffic. Similarly...

Limit your flights. That's primarily how the virus spreads from one country to another. We've made an observation: whenever I fly somewhere, an hour or so after getting out of the plane, I almost always start to cough or sneeze or have a runny nose. Not surprising. It's not like the flight crew actually replace the seats and disinfect each and every one of them between flights. Take note!

Check your temperature. Keep tabs on how you feel. Not feeling well? Having chills? Sore burning eyes or ears? Check your temperature. Having 37.5 C or higher temperature indicates a fever or flu.

See your doctor at the first sign of trouble. Don't wait until you're not able to walk. You know your body. The moment you sense something is wrong, have it checked out. In the first AH1N1 death in the Philippines, the victim might have been saved if only she was treated a lot sooner.


On infants and pregnant women...

Thankfully, some flu drugs are promising to be relatively safe for pregnant mothers and infants. A recent publication from the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that the well-known anti-flu drugs TamiFlu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir). You can check out this article from the Canadian Press here dated June 15th for more information. This is not a definitive answer, but at least this is an option.

Still, it is best to consult your doctor. If you have doubts, get a second opinion. Might be expensive though.

I suggest keeping tabs on the news about the virus to be abreast of the latest information. Checking the CDC website on swine flu guarantees that you are up to date. Check this CDC link for pregnant women.

Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this pandemic dies out sooner than later.

So, it all comes down to personal hygiene and personal health. Be mindful of these, and you should be just fine. More importantly, be aware of yourself and surroundings. At the first sign of trouble, go to the doctor.

Good luck and stay safe!

Great weekend break!

Great, not because I was relaxing the entire break, but because of the things I've accomplished plus the great news.

The great news is, of course, our baby. No surprise there as to why it's great, is there? :)

As for my accomplishments, first of all, I've passed my certification exam... I badly needed that because without it, my current certification will expire which would mean my "market-value" would severly drop. Need this to keep up with others in my field. It's already hard as it is, so no wonder, I needed the extra edge that I can get. This is a big thorn on my side that I'm glad to be rid off!

With that, I only need to pass one more exam to obtain another certification. Two more exams, and I get my third. Real resume-builder, these certifications are.

Also, we were able to pass all our requirements for our PR (Permanent Resident) application. This has got me all worked up more than most people; I was able to collate the required documents only days before the appointment date! It was quite a risky gamble, considering that if our application was rejected, we had to wait another full year before we can apply again.

Why exactly do we need this? Well, for one, security. Worst case scenario, if I lose my job, I can still stay in Singapore. No pressure to look for a new job in case I decide to part ways with my current employer. Not that I'm planning of getting off my current employer mind you! It's waaaaaaaay much better than my previous job. ;)

Also, with the baby coming on the way, PRs enjoy better benefits than EP-holders. More maternity leave days entitlement, more discounts, etc. etc.

Lastly, being a PR forces us to have savings via CPF. First year is light, requiring only 5% of your salary. Second year, however, CPF contribution jumps to 15%, and on the third year onwards, 20%. Needless to say, our budget needs to be reviewed to account for these. Of course, in the end, you always get that back plus the contribution of the company.

I just think of it this way: in the Philippines, around 30% or almost a third of your salary goes to taxes; and where the hell does that go? Probably a blackhole, aka the pockets of those damned, corrupt BIR officials, congressmen, etc. At least here in Singapore, that 20% goes a long way. No surprise many Filipinos go here.

So that's that. A rewarding break. And now I need to go back to work. :)

iPhone apps we like

Been exploring our new iPhone now... Sooo many applications out there available for download... There are a few which we really like:

YM, Skype - pretty much the same applications that we have on our laptops. YM since, well, it keeps me in touch with friends and family. And Skype because of the calls. As long as I'm connected via WiFi, calling via Skype is always an option.

WordWeb - liked it then on our PC/laptop, still like it now on the iPhone. What makes this thesaurus much more useful is that it not only includes synonyms and related words, but also gives detailed explanation/s (of how to use the word in sentences) as well as concrete examples. Top choice for those who always end up using the same words over and over again. (I better use this now before I repeat some words again. :) Hehehehe. )

FantasyLens - For some reason, out of the so many photo-related applications out there, this one is particularly appealing to me. I guess it's the old paintings used.

UnblockMe - One of my personal favorite games. A real mindtwister if you go for the challenge mode (i.e. solve this puzzle in x moves); or a good way to relax and unwind if you opted for the relax mode (i.e. just solve it, however long it takes).

Pregnancy Tracker - In our case, this is obviously a reasonable application to have. BTW, it says that we are now at 6 weeks 4 days, and the baby is as big as a grain of rice. Also has some details on how the baby develops on a weekly basis -- gives us a pretty good idea of what is going on in there. Also gives tips on what to eat. Very useful. The only downside is that it's not free.

Well, that's all for now. :)

I, Expecting Dad

Yep... In case you haven't seen my or my wife's Facebook profile yet, I'm now an expecting dad...

We were completely taken by surprise. So surprised that Che used up two pregnancy tests just to make sure. :) It's been a long time but finally we've been blessed! Of course, there were the usual jitters and agitations. Everything's surreal... But overall, we're excited and can't wait to see him or her...

Anyway, we had our first checkup last Tuesday. Here's what our baby looks like for now.



According to them (I have no idea how they come with it, so don't ask!), the baby is about six weeks old. We're scheduled for another checkup in two weeks time which, hopefully, the ultrasound will reveal much more...

I'm not really sure, but I'm guessing the next two weeks will just quickly pass by...

Feel-good commercials

Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of TV ads/commericials that have that "fee-good" feeling. These two are my favorites:

Camella Homes' Sikip Ad
Reminds me of one of our nieces. :)



Heineken's Walk-In Fridge
Wow... If you had one of those at home... Damn! :))


Hahahahahaha :)) Can't stop laughing....

Good things come to those who wait...finally!

We've been waiting for this for a long time. If a picture paints a thousand words, well, guess what words describe what we're feeling right now:



Woo hoooooo!!!!!