lack of logicality

Monday, 26 April 2010

Dear Australia :

ANZAC DAY - LEST WE FORGET AND FOREVER COMMEMORATE THOSE WHO DIED AT WAR FOR AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.

Death, Dying and Bereavement

Just last week, 21st of April, during HSBH1006 (Foundations of Health Science) we were given a lecture on death, dying and bereavement for 2 hours long.

I've decided to bring this up because lately, I have been hearing a couple of unfortunate incidents where my friends experience sorrow and grief when their family members or friends had, or still are, experience a health-related issue. In regards to their health, it would be wise to leave it to the professionals or specialists in that field. Rather, I would like to talk about the patient, and their family and friends, when they've realised that they're going to die. We have learnt about the 5 stages of dying, suggested by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1960s), and they were:

Denial;
Anger;
Bargaining;
Depression; and finally
Acceptance

Although there were problems about this theory, it became the foundation and encouragement for present, and future, health researchers to continue dwelling into the process of dying, along with the process of grieving. Many theories about grieving all suggested that people eventually move on from the past however, recent studies suggested the opposite. Silverman and Klass (1996) came up with the 'Continuing Bonds' thesis where the survivors experienced a continuous bond with the dead. It's suggested that grieving occurred because it's based on a framework of interdependence where people intimately involved their lives with others and when those people become deceased, it might lead to a loss in one's self. Marwit and Klass (1994-5) suggested a notion of inner representations as a part of the 'normal' grieving process; in a sense it allowed people to continue to interact with the dead:

"while the intensity of the relationship with the deceased may diminish with time, the relationship does not disappear. We are not talking about living in the past, but rather recognizing how bonds formed in the past can inform our present and our future." - Silverman & Klass 1996:17.

The Continuing bonds thesis suggested that:

People should not be encouraged to seek 'closure,'
Bereavement is an on-going process of negotiation and meaning-making,
The significance of loss and place of the dead in the lives of survivors will be continually negotiated as feelings lessen or intensify.

I can't say I complete understand the grief that people experience when a loved one is deceased, though I have experienced something similar; my first dog, Twister, died from a hit and run. This is one of the reasons why I chose to work in the health science field; I would like to increase my knowledge in health-related issues and hopefully, be able to help those who are suffering; leading them to a better life that they deserve.

Saturday, 24 April 2010

mask or no mask, we know you got SMASHED minhky :D

23O41O - Minhky's and Cindy H.'s 18th BIrthday.

24O41O - David Chen's 19th Birthday. Happy Birthday David =).
26O41O - Lisa L.'s 18th BIrthday.

I'd tell you what happened at Minhky's masquerade party, but I was only there for half of it. That was because I still had uni during the party *sigh* how sad =(. According to other people, before I came, there was a BBQ, games like past the parcel and chucking flour at each other, Singstar, chit chats, and photos.

Vicky, the BIGGEST idiot of all, chucked flour RIGHT in my eyes when I just entered the drive way and knowing me, I wasn't intelligent enough to close my eyes when she chucked it at me. I didn't expect it and she thought i was 'taller' , meaning she didn't expect to chuck it at my eyes either; she thought she chucked it at my chest *sigh*. No Vicky, even in heels, I'm STILL short =.=.

Vicky chucked flour at Fiona's eyes and ran away.

Fiona dropped her bag and started screaming.

Fiona: AH! VICKY! MY CONTACTS! AH! I CAN'T SEE! AH!!!

Everyone ran toward Fiona, checking if she was alright. Shirley and Brandon cleaned her eyes while everyone else dusted the flour off of her. Cindy tried to make her cry to help wash the flour out of her eyes, but it was a futile attempt.

Fiona: Oh my God Vicky! I can't believe you! Ah! I can't open my eyes!

Vicky: Sorry!

Yeah, that continued on for a couple of minutes before I could finally see again. *smacks VIcky on the head* That sure was a great start to the party for me *roll eyes.* Ah, I forgive her anyways since she's done a lot for me =P Vicky, you better not do this again =.= my eyes won't be able to handle it a second time. Anyways, thanks those who helped me out, and yes that includes you too Vicky LOL =).

When it was night fall, everyone and everything went a bit ... chaotic. Thanh succeed in getting Minhky drunk; Danny continued drinking even though he was coughing half the time; there wasn't any sparklers but there were burning utensils; Minhky's speech of 'how I met _____' was touching; Derek's style of knock and run was hilarious: he knocked and stood there until they opened the door, and then slowly walked away; the 'IT'S OVER 9000' mudcake was delicious and the meaningful gifts were fun to open.

Now that was just the beginning. It got much worse at night. MUCH worse. When Danny and Anna came over, things just got more exciting. Thanh, Eric, Wendy and Nigel went to buy more alcohol, but with about 15 people in his house, it was obviously not enough. Ironically enough, Minhky's mother allowed us to drink the wine and campaign bottles she'd been saving up in her kitchen. Now watching Minhky get smashed, and then looked after by his mother was epic =D. I would never dare to get drunk in front of my mum =P. So with the new supply of alcohol, we played 'I Never.' I won't say what was said, because things were getting a bit personal by the end of the night, but Thanh, Minhky and Lily definitely got wasted by the end of it =D. Minhky should thank Eric for filming it all for him hahaha. Anyways, I honestly think I wasn't drunk. I was tipsy, but not drunk. I think a person drunk would be someone who can't walk in a straight, can't remember what happened the night before and/or was vomiting a lot. I experienced none of those, well.. maybe I was a bit wobbly when walking in a straight line, but I definitely remembered what happened the night before and I definitely didn't vomit either. So there!

I must say, with funny drunk people at the party, things became more intimate, louder, nosier, crazier and funnier HAHAHA =). I hope you had a SMASHING TIME Minhky =D! HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY !!! We should do this again another time =). Here are the photos from Danny and David's FB: