Message: YOUR NAME:
– Patty

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle)
– patizzle (i think it sounds luxe than street)

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and fav animal)
– green dog

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, and current street name)
– estrella fennel lane (ayos, pang-knots landing na wisteria lane) haha!
isa pa…
– estrella ragas (haha! pwede na sa flordeluna)

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name)
– crupatvic (zosyal, dagdagan pa natin ng title: princess crupatvic. ganda! hehe)

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
– red tea (boring, kainis, pang japanese fast food)

7. IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms  maiden name, 2nd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name,
– auriej (pwede! sheik na sheik)

8. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (fathers middle name)
– decaiman (ayos foreign-sounding)

9. GOTH NAME: (3rd favorite color, and the name one of your pets)
– orange michiko (parang pang kill bill naman eh)

*Dead after 8 hours on laptop *
By Ng Wan Ching – May 1 2007
The New Paper

Her story is a painful but apt lesson for us as we take a break this May
Day: Work hard, but take care of your health.

That lesson came too late for Ms May Leong, who died on 23 Apr. Just two
days before her death, she had written in her blog: “I don’t wanna end up
dead for the sake of dough”.

Her mum and some friends believe she was stressed out from work. Going by
her blog entry dated 21 Apr – her only entry this year – her job seemed
demanding.

And she was clearly struggling to cope with the workload. Just before she
died, Ms Leong, who would have been 29 this month, had been working on her
laptop for eight straight hours, said her mother.

Although the cause of death can’t be confirmed for now, family members
believe she died from pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis.
This is a condition that can strike when someone has been inactive for a
long period of time, like sitting in one position.

“I really thought I was able to do everything, that I can be supergirl as
well, but my health is worsening at a fast rate,” she wrote in her blog two
days before she died.

“Vitamin M(oney) isn’t gonna cure my health.”

The Singaporean is an only child. Her father left the family when she was
young, said a relative, leaving the mother and daughter to fend for
themselves.

That early trauma bonded the pair, who became close. Ms Leong, who worked in
a multi-national company (MNC) and apparently drew a salary of $2,600 a
month, said in her blog that she wanted to “earn lots of $”.

She had a dream: To take her mother abroad for a holiday. Friends and family
said she was bent on earning enough to realise that dream for Madam Lim Mui
Mui, 54, who works as a packer for a supermarket chain here.

That is why Ms Leong continued to hold on to her job, despite being stressed
by it.

Said her friend, Mr Li Kaiyan, 25, a civil engineering student at the
National University of Singapore: “She told us before she blogged her last
entry that she was overworked and stressed out.

“We hardly had time to chat on the Internet since she started this job about
two months ago.”

Ms Leong had been working at different jobs until she joined her last
company in September last year, said Mr Li who has been a close friend for
three years.

In March, she switched departments in the same company and work became more
demanding.

Ms Leong, a support manager, was thrilled to “finally have the chance to
‘fly high’ in a Fortune 500 MNC”, she wrote in her blog.

So much so that it was “ok for me to wake at 3.30am to start work @
4.30ameveryday in the morning” as she was dealing with New Zealand
partners.

“But never did I realise what kind of stuff (would be) coming towards me…”
she wrote.

“What I face everyday as a partner support manager is having more than 100
e-mails per day.

“Partners from New Zealand practically ’screaming’ to be served first,
getting their orders delivered ASAP, wanting everything, complaining of
everything.

“Month end was the most ‘exciting’ part, you get to go on concalls
(conference calls) almost every day, prepare backlog reports for each
concall session which consists of 500 over orders remaining undelivered,
investigating item by item…

“I’ve got to work at home during non-working hours including weekends, just
doing my best to clear my work.”

*DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS*

A National University Hospital spokesman confirmed that Ms Leong was taken
to its A&E department on 23 Apr at around 8pm.

She could not confirm the cause of death as it is now a coroner’s case.

Ms Pamela Wong, 29, who was Ms Leong’s best friend for 21 years, believes
that it was deep vein thrombosis which killed her. She said doctors had told
family members that Ms Leong had a blood clot in her legs.

“Her family members told me that when she tried to stand up, the blood clot
actually shot to her heart causing her to collapse,” she said.

Ms Wong added that since Ms Leong fell down two weeks ago, she hadn’t been
feeling well.

On 18 Apr, Ms Leong fainted at the lobby of her workplace. But she did not
want to take medical leave. Nor did she want to quit her job.

“She was worried because she was on contract. Every time she took medical
leave, it would be on no-pay basis,” said Ms Wong.

Ms Leong wrote in her blog: “I’ve got myself sick these few days. Had
diarrhoea last Thursday (19 Apr), hurt my knee and was limping badly since
last Sunday (15 Apr), had breathlessness since Wednesday (18 Apr) and
fainted after work on that day at my office lift lobby, knocked my head
against the wall when I fainted, collapsed again last night at home.”

Madam Lim said her daughter had been very sick since Friday.

Ms Leong wrote in her blog: “Now my chest feels really tight & breathing is
really tough. “Getting up & walk, I just feel like I’m carrying a heavy
baggage of few hundred kilos & I’ll start to feel really weak & dizzy.”

Earlier, she had been to see the doctor at a private clinic near her home in
Clementi. But the doctor had told her it was probably work stress she was
feeling, said Ms Wong, who had spoken on the phone to Ms Leong the day
before she died.

Ms Leong wrote: “Doc just said I’m really stressed out. Sigh….. what
should I do? Quit? Or continue this ultra-super stressful job? “I’ve got a
contract of six months to fulfill… three months to commit. If I quit now,
I’ve got to pay back one month’s salary. Not worth it. If I quit after May,
it won’t be so bad.

“But I don’t know if my health can tolerate (it) till then.”

Mr Li said: “According to her mother, before she collapsed, she had been
working non-stop for eight hours with the laptop on her lap, replying to
e-mail and work-related stuff.”

t er wake at Singapore Casket last week, friends, family and ex-colleagues
gathered. According to Ms Jamie Tan – Ms Leong’s cousin – her boss was the
first to arrive.

“We spoke to him. We wanted to know if she was overworked. He said no,” said
Ms Tan, 31, whose mother is the elder sister of Ms Leong’s mother.

Madam Lim said: “Now that my daughter is gone, what is there left for me?”

*She was gasping for breath*

MS May Leong’s mother called Ms Pamela Wong in a panic at around 7pm last
Monday. Ms Leong had collapsed and she was having great difficulty
breathing.

Said Ms Wong: “I used to live in the nearby block to her flat. But since I
got married, I have moved. So I could not rush down. I called my parents and
asked them to rush there first.”

While her parents were on the way to Ms Leong’s flat, they called her mother
to ask if they should call a doctor or an ambulance.

“She asked for an ambulance,” said Ms Wong. When her parents arrived at the
flat, her father saw Ms Leong on the sofa “gasping for breath”.

“He also saw a huge bruise on her leg,” said Ms Wong. Ms Leong’s mother was
frantic, but there was little anyone could except wait for the ambulance.

“The ambulance took about 20 minutes to half an hour to arrive,” said Ms
Wong. “During that time, my father saw her calling her mother and crying,
quite loudly at first, but as she grew weaker, her cries became softer.”

By the time Ms Leong arrived at the National University Hospital at about
8pm, her condition was critical. Not long after that, she died.

*Listen to your body or you may regret it*

Deep vein thrombosis refers to the formation of a blood clot within a deep
vein, commonly in the thigh or calf.

Some risk factors include being over 60 years old, overweight and being
inactive for a long period of time.

If the clot partially or completely blocks the flow of blood through the
vein, blood begins to pool and build up below the site.

Chronic swelling and pain may develop. The valves in the blood vessels may
be damaged. Or if the clot breaks free and travels through the veins, it can
reach the lungs, where it is called a pulmonary embolism (PE).

This is a potentially fatal condition that can kill within hours. To prevent
DVT, you should frequently exercise your lower leg muscles – every half an
hour or so – if you know you’ll be inactive for a long period of time.

Other than exercising your leg muscles, you should also exercise work-life
balance, said Dr Clarice Hong, a consultant psychiatrist in private
practice.

“I would always advocate that we should always take care of ourselves first.
If we don’t take care of ourselves, we cannot fulfill our roles at work or
at home, especially the multiple roles that women play,” said Dr Hong.

If you do not feel well, you should listen to your body and rest. “Don’t
push yourself so hard doing one thing. That’s like putting all your eggs in
one basket. Because if something happens to you, everything comes to an
end,” she said.

http://pinkmayflower.multiply.com/journal/item/140

…and my GREAT confusion.

I had the greatest discovery of my life…I just learned this afternoon that there exist such plurals:

Mr. – Messrs.
Mrs. – no plural
but Madam – Mesdames is sometimes used as plural for Mrs.
Miss – Misses
Ms. – Mses. or Mss.

Funny, I think my grammar teacher missed that one out

“Lick your lips, Griet.” I licked my lips. “Leave your mouth open.”

I was so surprised by this request that my mouth remained open of its own will. I blinked back tears. Virtuous women did not open their mouths in paintings.

THE GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
BY TRACY CHEVALIER

Plot

IT tells the story of Griet, a 16-year-old Dutch girl who becomes a maid in the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer. Her calm and perceptive manner not only helps her in her household duties, but also attracts the painter’s attention. Though different in upbringing, education and social standing, they have a similar way of looking at things. Vermeer slowly draws her into the world of his paintings – the still, luminous images of solitary women in domestic settings.

In contrast to her work in her master’s studio, Griet must carve a place for herself in a chaotic Catholic household run by Vermeer’s volatile wife Catharina, his shrewd mother-in-law Maria Thins, and their fiercely loyal maid Tanneke. Six children (and counting) fill out the household, dominated by six-year-old Cornelia, a mischievous girl who sees more than she should.

On the verge of womanhood, Griet also contends with the growing attentions both from a local butcher and from Vermeer’s patron, the wealthy van Ruijven. And she has to find her way through this new and strange life outside the loving Protestant family she grew up in, now fragmented by accident and death.

As Griet becomes part of her master’s work, their growing intimacy spreads disruption and jealousy within the ordered household and even – as the scandal seeps out – ripples in the world beyond.

Reviews

New York Times, 24 January 2000 — Richard Eder
“A brainy novel whose passion is ideas…Chevalier’s pattern is complex and revealing.” Read entire review

Time, 17 January 2000 — R.Z. Sheppard
“Chevalier is especially adept at character studies: imperious burghers, butchers, biddies and crones. It’s as if, after scrutinizing Vermeer’s masterworks (and doing the required reading), she began to think and feel like a 17th century Delfter.”

New Yorker, January 2000
“…Chevalier’s writing skill and her knowledge of seventeenth-century Delft are such that she creates a world reminiscent of a Vermeer interior: suspended in a particular moment, it transcends its time and place.”

Wall Street Journal, January 2000
“Ms. Chevalier doesn’t put a foot wrong in this triumphant work, the latest of several recent novels based on Vermeer paintings. It is a beautifully written tale that mirrors the elegance of the painting that inspired it.”

salon.com, 9 January 2000 — Marion Lignana Rosenberg
“A wondrous, enthralling piece of work. Chevalier’s novel sings with the freshness and the thoroughly intoxicating sense of a specific time, place and personality.”

USA Today, 6 January 2000 — Denise Kersten
“Chevalier’s imagination adds life to an already brilliant painting in this elegantly developed and beautifully written novel.”

source : www.tchevalier.com

1. Green is my favorite color.
2. I like to be left by myself.
3. I have no patience for protocols.
4. I have layers.
5. I enjoy the royal treatment.
6. I irk fame.
7. I fight for my friends.
8. Spoofs are hilarious.
9. I like Jason Wade (for song “You Belong to Me”)
and
10. I, too, recently got married

It’s officially over, and I can’t keep my mouth shut because I’ve got great news!

To all the guys out there who are looking for single, able-bodied, nice-looking girls, I have a TIP for you!

Forget chat rooms, trash singles parties! They are all old school. Believe me when I say the newest place-to-be is bookstores. Honest! Particularly the travel section.

It’s an honest to goodness, no-malice strategy. You only have to stand there, pick up a book, browse through the pages. (Another tip: Choose something exotic but not too outback, maybe some place near, some place still Asian, if you know what I mean.) You can either pretend or sincerely catch up interest in what you are pretending to be reading, or not.

In your quiet solitude, boom! some nice girl will approach you and make a small talk. She’ll ask about the book you’re reading, of your travel plans, of your occupation…and the conversation will just veer to all sorts of subjects, it will go long and wide if you will allow it

Next thing you know, you already made yourself a new travel companion.

* I should know because I just spent two days behind a bookshelf and I already exchanged biz cards with two lovely ladies.

I have hoped my creativity (blogging-wise) would soar, or at least maintain a comfort level of steady C juices. But apparently, I’m crash landing towards blandness by frequently quoting Wikipedia.

I haven’t written anything that is originally mine. You notice? My current fecundity can only extend as far as 300: the movie and my wedding, and I don’t think it’s very much entertaining especially when I have like a dozen entries of them already. Sigh. But if i can’t say anything beyond 300 and my wedding, I might as well shut up and resurface when i have something worthwhile to say, right? Right.

I’m done for. I was bitten by the 300 bug. No one can help me now. Agh! …OA!

*** Memorable quotes from 300 ***

King Leonidas: Spartans! What is your profesion?
Spartan soldiers: Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!

King Leonidas: This is where we fight! This is where they die!
Captain: On these shields, boys!
[Spartans cheer]
King Leonidas: Remember this day, men, for it will be yours for all time.
Persian Officer: SPARTANS! Lay down your weapons!
King Leonidas: Persians…COME AND GET THEM!

King Leonidas: We’re in for one wild night.

King Leonidas: Give them nothing! But take from them everything!

King Leonidas: Spartans! Enjoy your breakfast, for tonight we dine in Hell!

Stelios: Then we will fight in the shade.

King Leonidas: A new age has come, an age of freedom. And all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it.

King Leonidas: This is where we fight. This is where they die.

Xerxes: Cruel Leonidas demanded that you stand. I require only that you kneel.

Persian Officer: Spartans, lay down your weapons.
King Leonidas: Come and get them!

Queen Gorgo: Only Spartan women give birth to real men.

Persian Emissary: This is madness!
King Leonidas: Madness? This is Sparta!

King Leonidas: We Spartans have descended from Hercules himself. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death in the battlefield is the greatest glory he could achieve in his life. Spartans: the finest soldiers the world has ever known.

O ye men who dwell in the streets of broad Lacedaemon! Either your glorious town shall be sacked by the children of Perseus, Or, in exchange, must all through the whole Laconian country, Mourn for the loss of a king, descendant of great Heracles.He cannot be withstood by the courage of bulls nor of lions, Strive as they may; he is mighty as Jove; there is naught that shall stay him,Till he have got for his prey your king, or your glorious city.

Why is it that the people who pray most are tried most?

Sometimes it makes me wish I don’t pray as hard.