Design Your Life with GALAXY Note 3 and GALAXY Gear

Well it's here already ... the phone that I have been hearing so much and been dreaming of ...

Samsung Malaysia announced the launch of the third generation of it's Galaxy Note series, which is of  course the Galaxy Note 3 and also the Galaxy Gear, which is something like a watch but much much more, a companion device that further integrates the Galaxy experience in our everyday life. The Gear works hand in hand with the Note 3. You can practically do anything with the gear which is connected to the Note 3. You can make calls, sms, emails, s voice and even take pictures! Yes there is a camera in the Gear ,which can store up to 50 pictures.

Quote "With the launch of Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear, we are proud to set a new benchmark of innovation in the large screen mobile and wearable device category. Samsung's ongoing smart device leadership reflects our commitment to listen to our consumers, who want their daily lives to be easier and more enjoyable. The device enable users to tell the stories of their lives through dynamic and seamless expressions of their passions across work, play and life experiences. Smart devices that give you more freedom and make your passions come alive"

I bought the Note 1 once it was launched and have been very satisfied with it. I wanted a better camera and larger screen and I guess they heard me  ... haha but then price also bigger, retailing at RM2399. I have seen some websites selling it at RM 2299. Superbuy is selling it at RM2299 with a RM50 discount. So far the cheapest it Satugadget, they are selling at RM 2199. Media is entitled to some discounts for this unit .......anyone interested to buy. The Galaxy Gear is retailing at RM 999. At the moment it can only work with the Note 3. Samsung said they are working on the Gear to be able to pair with other models from the Samsung family, but at a later stage.

Some of the telcos like Digi and Celcom came up with their own (cheaper) prices but of course you have to sign up a contract with them for 2 years.

Even though the screen is larger at 5.7 inch with full HD super amoled display, but it is slimmer (8.3mm) and lighter (168g) hardware design and more powerful and longer lasting battery (3,200 mAh). The Note 3 is equipped with a 13 megapixel rear camera (which I wanted) which enables users to crisply capture every visual story even in low light and active situations. Comes with LTE technologies and 3GB RAM. The new S Pen with the addition of Air Command provides the ease of accomplishing tasks with just one click. I'm quite impressed with what this air command can do. This Galaxy Note 3 comes with enhanced security provided by Samsung KNOX where people can feel secure with protection against malware and phishing attacks as well as hacking attempts.

Scenes from the launch ....

Pao Xiang Bah Kut Teh

Literally it means "String Tied" bah kut teh, the pork is tied with cotton strings to retain its shape and texture as well as to lock in the exquisite flavour during the stewing process. Well I did not see any strings on my "tua kut" (big bone). The branch we went to in Sri Petaling seems to be short handed as we were not served after sitting down for about 5 mins or more and we had to call them to take our order a few times!

Next our tea did not come, the tea bag came but not the teapot and cups! The rice came first and then the bowls of BKT and last but not least the teapot and mini cups came. The BKT was not hot enough but the taste is ok, much better than some BKT shops in KL but it will loose hands down to those from Klang! But one thing, the rice was nice, fragrant and fluffy and no strings on our "tua kut", wonder if can get refund .....

Our meaty experience for the night .... see no strings on the "tua kut", the biggest bowl on the left

Dad and mum enjoying their meal .... Note : we eat this only once a while .....

Daughter and Dad bonding ... oh no, BKT time .... hehe

Look at baby with the big bone !! 

Have to pose for the paparazzi ;P 

Wahab Cendol - Best cendol in town ??

This restaurant shifted from their old place at Taman Sri Rampai. Had a bad experience with them once. A whole bunch of us went there after our dinner, ordered the cendol but our order never came !!!

After a shopping trip to Aeon in Setiawangsa, we stopped by at their new restaurant at Jalan Rampai Niaga 5 for cendol. It was packed but now they are using the numbering system like the famous tea shops so not bad, they have improved !! After ordering and payment, you will have a number on your receipt and wait for your number. Did not wait too long for the cendol to come ....

But the cendol was nothing to shout about ... the shaved ice was not fine enough, the red bean was small. Normal cendol is RM 2.50 a bowl, red bean add RM 0.30.

Verdict - Definitely not the best in town !

Village Sang Nyuk Noodles

Hubby bought some vouchers from Living Social website for this restaurant in Pandan Jaya.  Seems this noodle is an iconic food of Sabah that comes with their special chilly sauce as well. "Sang Nyuk" literally means "raw pork" but of course we are eating cooked ones! We are no cannibals ....

Overall, very nice experience eating here albeit it's a non air-con place. The noodles and soup are very tasty (we did not feel thirsty though) and the pork tasted fresh and tender. The lady who served us, I guess she's an Indonesian but can speak a few Chinese words to explain their menu/ dishes. We ordered a variety of noodles like meehoon, yellow noodles and also wantan noodles. Hubby and dad liked the wantan noodles very much, tasty and got "tan seng". The meehoon was thicker than normal and I liked it that way. Btw each vouchers entitled us to 2 bowls of noodles with one side dish like fried wantan, fish ball and fish cake. All the side dishes were good and tasty too, better than some other places that we have eaten before. Oh yeah, comes with free flow of Chinese tea as well. In fact all of us took the soup version and had an extra bowl which we ordered a dry version, also very nice!

But the chilly sauce was a bit too sour for our taste and they only have the red chilly padi .... very hot stuff !

My order with the meehoon ... nice and tasty 

Hubby, Kevin and  Dad ordered the wantan noodles .... loved it

The side dishes, forgot to take pic of the fishball ....

Durianlicious

Kimberly went for a 3D/2N trip to Melaka with her college buddies during their sem break. Of course they went to Jonker street and they even made a trip to the famous Mille Crepe, Nadeje. Been a long since we went there .... the last time was during Jo's wedding last but that was just for her wedding and no sight seeing.

But the most attractive thing to Kimberly was the durian puff. She chatted with me if I wanted any durian puff " You must put the whole puff into your mouth and ohhh ahhh hmmm .... taste heavenly !!!". This daughter of mine is the BIGGEST durian fan !!! She loves everything that has durian in it !!! So I asked her to buy 2 boxes home, RM20 for a box of 18 pcs. That's not too bad, quite a good price.

Daddy, baby, kevin and grandpa all tasted and said yes it is really tasty indeed but boohoo..... I dare not eat yet (due to my surgery) , so cannot get to taste how delicious the puff were .....

Fibroid or Cyst ... that is the question .....

Continued from my "endometriosis" ....

So I asked my friend who had her fibroid removed recently, to recommend me her gynae. So made appointment at UMSC for Prof BK Lim. You know what, I tried to make an appointment with Dr Siti but she was full until the middle of Sept and I cant wait too long (that was in mid August). I saw this Prof BK Lim and he seems like a nice guy, not very friendly. Told him my problem and wanted to show him the pics of the scan but he refused to see it. He ask me to go on the bed and did a ultrasound himself. "You dont have fibroid!" .... "OH NO, then what do I have ???"

"You have a cyst and it's exactly 5cm!!!??? Huh ??? It's getting pretty confusing now ..." But the gynae at Columbia Asia told me I have a 5cm fibroid ! He said "Nope it's a cyst at your right ovary". Hmmmmm ....

So what do you recommend, the doc said same thing, to take all out. Frank said he mentioned a few times, you are 48 years old .... yeah take out everything ! Unless you want to have a baby ... huh ??? of course not! Actually the doc said if I have a baby now, then no need to operate. ... should I .... haha ... no lah I think I'm too old to have a baby now ..... Doc said he will do a laparoscopic hysterectomy, where he will make 3 or 4 holes in the abdomen instead of the big cut like a c-section. Recovery will be much faster and less invasive.

Doc continued "Then you dont have to worry about ovary cancer, uterus cancer and cervical cancer" .... that's nice to hear 

But I'm not menopausal yet and if I take out everything, I will be into surgical menopause. I quite worried about the symptoms of menopause , read that it could be quite bad for some and of course a breeze for others ... well .... decision decision decision.....

So I have decided to get a third opinion. Spoke to a good friend who is a child specialist and she recommended Dr KK Wong of Gleneagles and I managed to make an appointment with him the next few days. His clinic looks very old school and so is his nurses ... but anyway ....he did a pap smear for me and and ultrasound and also a vaginal scan.

He confirmed I have a cyst measuring about 4.5cm on the right ovary. He said I have this endomitrosis. He even took his time to draw a diagram of the whole uterus/ovary/cervix thingy and explain to me what it is all about. Btw he's not young .... should be in his early sixties. He also told me to take out all and told me "Uterus is only good for two things, one is to grow babies and one is to grow cancer !!!".

But KK Wong did say that if he opens up and the left ovary is still good, he will keep it.

So what did I decide to do .... after a lot of reading and researching on the internet and also listening to a few people's advice, I decided to remove all. I read that cyst comes back very often once you have them and since I'm already 48 this year, will be nearing menopause, I decided once and for all, remove everything and be rid of it. Doc said once everything is removed the endometriosis will not come back. 

So it was a cyst after all .... was wondering if I can take any action on Columbia Asia for wrongly diagnosing a fibroid instead of a cyst ??? Anyway ..... sighhhhh ... feeling scared and nervous of my impending surgery. How about my work ??? I need to be on 4 to 6 weeks MC ...gosh ... but thank God, all my bosses were very nice and asked to to go ahead with my surgery, have a good recovery and rest.

Well I never expected to be faced with this phase in my life but I thank God the almighty for everything.  The growth could become cancerous if it was left inside and started growing and stuff like that. Even KK Wong was telling me that he needed to shift his perspective. Last time he used to tell his patients, if the fibroid or cyst does not bother you, just leave it but 8 to 10 yrs down the row, he has seen many that have become cancerous and nowadays he advises this patients to take it out.

I thank God for being with me through this journey and I pray that I will get full recovery from this without side effects and move on with my life. Now I am taking supplements to boost my health. Doc prescribed Livial for HRT but I'm not taking it cuz I read about the many side effects especially breast cancer but doc said got no side effects but I'm not taking any chances. I joined Amway to be able to buy their vitamins especially the Protein powder drink and the black cohosh and soya supplement. Hope everything goes well and my road to recovery will be good and life can be back to normal again. Praying hard .....

UPSR

I want to wish my little darling Kristin all the very best for the UPSR exams. I have prayed that God will guide her and help her to go through this exam with good results. She is a smart girl but a bit lazy. She's the darling of the family and also just became a young woman few days ago (if you know what I mean).

This is an old picture of her taken during the music school concert where she performed Jay Chou's cowboy song on the keyboard, hence the cowboy costume she is wearing. Adorable .....

She's very much grown up now 

That is the cheeky little girl on the right with her sister, Kimberly

That is my boy Kevin with Kimberly 

What is endometriosis ...

Endometriosis (en-doe-me-tree-O-sis) is an often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus (endometrial implant). Endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, bowel or the tissue lining your pelvis. Rarely, endometrial tissue may spread beyond your pelvic region. In endometriosis, displaced endometrial tissue continues to act as it normally would — it thickens, breaks down and bleeds with each menstrual cycle. Because this displaced tissue has no way to exit your body, it becomes trapped. When endometriosis involves the ovaries, cysts called endometriomas may form. Surrounding tissue can become irritated, eventually developing scar tissue and adhesions — abnormal tissue that binds organs together. Endometriosis can cause pain — sometimes severe — especially during your period. Fertility problems also may develop. Fortunately, effective treatments are available.

Flashback to about 4 months ago, I had my first attack at around 3am in the morning. Suddenly I felt a sudden sharp pain on my lower abdomen. At first I thought it was just a passing pain and that it will go away but the pain never went away and I started to sweat due to the pain and I woke Frank and said "Please take me to the hospital, I have this very very painful pain in my abdomen!!". He drove me to the nearest hospital which was Columbia Asia emergency room and they took some urine sample from me to test. I think about one or two months earlier I did some blood test there and found that I had some urine infections. I told the MO that I'm having period now and it's the second day and she said it's ok. While waiting for the urine test to come back, the pain somehow subsided and the results came back negative but because of blood in the urine, they suspected stones but I told the MO I've got my period !! Anyway, she gave me some antibiotics and pain killers and ask me to go back for another urine test after my period. She did not even suspect that it was due to some gynae problems cuz it's during my period , did not do any ultrasound or scan or whatever on my abdomen, what kind of MO is that ??

So I was on MC for 2 days due to pain which was due to wind in the abdomen after taking the antibiotics and pain killers, as I was told by another doctor. The pain was quite bad , if you touch your abdomen or sneeze or walk too fast or even in the car going over a bump causes pain! All due to the wind!!

The second attack came a month later, same second day of period! The same sharp pain on the lower abdomen. I then knew that it was something to do with my periods and gynae matters. I went to Klink Samurkh to check since it's a women maternity centre. The Doctor checked and did an ultra sound and found nothing! He said I had severe menstrual cramps and send me home with some pain killers. When I showed him the pain killers from Columbia Asia, he said that I don't need to take such strong pain killers. I then told him the whole story about my first attack and he said normally these antibiotics and pain killers will bring about lots of wind in the abdomen which will cause a lot of pain. 

I was getting phobia when the third month came, expecting the sharp pains but luckily it did not come. I dont know if it is due to the Shaklee GLA which I was taking at double dose or what. The fourth month came and also no sharp pain but I did feel intermittent pain on and off at the lower abdomen that sometimes can be quite uncomfortable. So I decided to go check out again and I went to see Dr Yong (Surgeon) of Columbia Asia.and he recommended colonscopy and an ultra sound. So I decided to do the ultrasound first. Lo and behold, the radiologist found a 5cm fibroid in the scan !!! He proceeded to scan the rest of the other organs which he said was in good shape. Then I was referred to the gynae, Dr Suhaimi Hassan since this is a gynae matter and no more under the general surgeon. He asked me quite a lot of questions and then he did a pelvic exam and also an ultra sound too as he wanted to see for himself. He confirmed that I had a cyst measuring 5cm and that a total hysterectomy including ovaries. He said that in universal medical terms at my age this is what will be recommended to do, then I will go into menopause (surgically) as I'm not menopausal now.

Wham !!! that was a hard one to swallow ...such a major surgery ... do I have a choice ....never imagined that I would got through this at this stage in my life. Doctor asked me to think about it and do the surgery as soon as possible.