transposable element

i’m currently writing an article on breast cancer and it makes me want to check term life insurance rates for myself. see, i’m terrified of the big C. i lost my father to it, and many other acquaintances. it could be the age, but i’m hearing of new folks succumbing to cancer on a regular basis of late. and it’s not like i’ve led a health-conscious lifestyle so naturally, i’m worried. sometimes, on morbid moods, i think that it could be just a matter of time.

my first ever profile pic when i started my foray into the blogworld in 2004. jan in 2006, and now, mia.

what do they say about being chips off the old block?

i’ve been baking gooey sugar-laden cinnamon melts yet again. i think this has become my comfort food, next to sinigang and tocino. and leche flan, and turon. and planters cheeze curls. and giotto and nutella. arrgh, maybe i should add apidexin pills to the list.

at what age does one start with those anti-aging creams? i was at the drugstore yesterday planning to buy one of those new-age regenerist wrinkle creams from olay as a pasalubong for my mom. but when i saw the print model and realized that she couldn’t be a day more than 25, i wondered– maybe i should get a jar for myself, too?

according to webmd, while some doctors also share the same skepticism, saying there are no published medical studies showing they work, experts involved in product testing say there is ample science behind the technology. and if you read the adverts, it’s almost convincing.

have YOU started using these fountain of youth “potions”? and? are they effective?

on and off for the last several months, i’ve been baking cinnamon rolls, using recommended recipes on the web. i’ve tried a number of them recipes, but none has given me the gooey cinnabon copy i was expecting (and i’m getting closer to needing a Lipofuze treatment in the process, ack!). maybe it’s me, maybe it’s my oven with its dodgy thermostat. i’ve finally created a recipe variant that actually tasted good, but made me frustrated because, well, because it’s just not it.

and then a couple of months ago, mcdonalds reintroduced their cinnamon melts and that was it. no more baking and toiling in my overly warm kitchen. mac’s cinnamon melts tasted like they collected the cores from cinnabon rolls, tossed them into a bowl and poured heavenly cream sauce over it. bliss!

but alas, some good things never last. the cinnamon melts are no more. they’re back to boring old apple pie for dessert. but ah, the recipe is plastered all over the web. i’ve finally gotten to bake a batch the other day and man, they are gooood.

out of the dozen i’ve baked, there’s one single tin left. not for long!

i’ve known these ladies since we were pregnant, and have had many many play dates with our babies and toddlers over the last two years, but this is the first time we’re all going for a girls’ night out. yeah, we’re doting mothers like that, ha ha.

anyways, i’m mighty excited. it’s not gonna be a formal tuxedos-and-cocktail dresses gala at the esplanade, nor will it be a wild alcohol party at clarke quay. we’re just not cut out for those. but half a dozen girls at the mid-row of the cinema, watching sex and the city… we’re up to some giggle-gaggle filled fun!

it’s not that i’m overly overweight. i think i’m fine on the weighing scale. it doesn’t mean i’m fit, though. i tire easily, and muscle tone is a distant memory. i know that even the most effective diet pills won’t help me with that.

was it ralph waldo emerson who said something like “when you really really want something, the universe will conspire to give it to you”? so why don’t i have a flat tummy yet?!? ironically, it actually feels like the world is conspiring NOT to give it to me. whenever i start something on the road to a trimmer midriff, something always crops up to keep me from progressing. arrgh!

i had it all sorted out. i’d visit the gym once a week and go for fast walks at least thrice a week. not too much, not too ambitious, but just enough to get me started. and just as i thought i was on my way to shedding excess weight, i had stomach flu.

ugh. i’ve been feeling wretched for 5 days in a row now. the first 3 days, i had no appetite. when the appetite came back, i’d feel bloated and dizzy every time i’d try to eat. ugh

at this rate? i’d never need phentermine diet pills!

i see crow’s feet starting to form. age spots here and there. a white hair every now and then. but if there’s something that undeniably tells me that i’m getting old, it’s the various diseases and ailments friends my age are starting to complain about. perhaps i’m one of the fortunate few whose organs are so far asymptomatic of disease, but lately, i’ve had a few friends going under medical procedures for varied reasons. gall bladder removal, kidney radiation, chemo treatment for cancer, surgery for abdominal hernia, diabetes, thyroid problems, hypertension. it sounds as if life is starting to take its toll on our bodies. sometimes, it scares me when i realize that these are people in my age group, living a lifestyle approximately similar to mine. when will it be my turn? and it scares me even more that apart from a private health insurance from a german provider, i have no health savings account to speak of. ouch.

on and off i’ve been entertaining the idea of going back to school. not a phd (i already gave up on that a long time ago) but something more technical, more skill-based. if one can earn an online degree on nursing, i would be interested, as i’m not keen on studying here in singapore. and much as i would have preferred to study in the philippines instead, i couldn’t very well leave the rest of the family here in singapore, huh? so distance learning would have been a good alternative, except that nursing isn’t exactly cut out for distance learning, eh?

oh well, perhaps i’m better off building on what i already have instead of pursuing something altogether different. i know i enjoyed teaching at the university, both in the philippines and in germany, so i could probably aim for an online teaching degree. or i could build up on my laboratory research experience and attend a refresher course on the advances in biotechnology. or perhaps i could further my writing and specialize in scientific and medical writing? ahhhh, that’s the quandary of being a jill of too many trades. it’s a struggle to choose!