The Curious Incident of the Oranges in the SC room

When I feel uninspired, I usually dig out some old article I'd written some time ago to be recycled. Hehe... Here is one I wrote for my clinic's newletter in Feb 08. Enjoy...

The Curious Incident of the Oranges in the SC Room

Just the other day I found some oranges lying around in the Semen Collection room. Someone had given our patients mandarin oranges since it was the Chinese New Year season. It crossed my mind to wonder, what do oranges have to do with the SC room or in fact, fertility?

Plenty it seems. Dietary wise, it contains folic acid, which is really important for women, before and during pregnancy. As a matter of fact, our doctors prescribe folic acid to our patients as well. And of course oranges also have plenty of Vitamin C, which has been shown to improve sperm count and sperm motility. Vitamin C is also needed for optimal functioning of the male sex organs.

Little wonder then that the patients had brought in those oranges along with them into the SC room. At least, I hope they were intending to EAT those oranges...

Just a little trivia about oranges and fertility:
In Medieval times, oranges and orange blossoms were used on a couple's wedding day. It was believed that the scent of oranges was calming to the couple on their wedding night. They were also thought to be a symbol of fertility.

I wonder what fruit we'll find next in the SC room?

Karen's Tale

Sometimes a story has to be told. And this is one of them. Thanks Karen, for allowing me to share it.

Karen was in primary school when she had a crush on a boy. He was charming and handsome. Girls fell for him easily. So Karen was very cautious in her admiration for him. She was shy and the more she felt for the boy, the more she did not dare to speak with him. Then one day her heart was crushed when she overheard him saying to his friends that when he grew up, he would marry another classmate, who happened to be Karen’s best friend. In her little innocent heart, she was in great dismay. After leaving primary school, they lost touch.

She grew up, always timid and quiet. She met a guy in her university who was a good talker and had a charismatic personality. And since it was difficult to make her speak to people she wasn’t close to, she was grateful that he talked to her. He was intelligent and had a good sense of fun. She was besotted. And yet, he had a barrage of girls and admirers whom he talked about to her. It grazed her but she smiled stoically and lent him an ear. She was determined to be there for him even though the circumstances were all wrong. You see he never viewed her as anything more than a friend because they were of a different race. Yet two years later, something sparked between them. Karen was elated. Finally, here was a chance at happiness. But it all ended as quickly as it began. He just broke her heart one day, telling her he needed to talk. He said it just wasn’t working for him. She never knew what was the real reason behind it all. Perhaps it was race; perhaps he never intended any further in the first place. Her heart was torn into pieces and she was even convinced that she couldn’t love again.

Many years passed. Karen was introduced to a friend of a friend and they had a few dates. She was cautious. He was all wrong, and she knew it. Yet because she wished to be loved so much she hung on to it waiting perhaps for a glimmer of hope. But it was not meant to be. He just stopped calling her, claiming to have “cold feet”. In a way, she felt freed. But it was still painful. It messed up her insides. A voice told her she was not pretty enough, not good enough to be loved. Sure, she had friends and family who adored her. But she could not help feeling self-pity and a loss of confidence.
Along came Mr Right. A close friend, he was kind, and caring. And she thought perhaps he could like her and grow to love her. But he fell in love with someone else. It was all happening over and over again, her love unrequited. She cried herself to sleep. Why does this happen to her? Is it so hard for her to be loved in return?

Then she met another Mr Right. This time he was reciprocating in like. They went steady and she was deliriously happy, thanking God everyday for this gift. After such a long time, she allowed herself to open up her heart, feeling safe it would not be crushed again. Months flew by as everything just fell neatly into place. But as history is prone to repeat itself, her heart lurched to a stop one day when he said the words, “I need to talk to you.” Not again, she thought, not again. Her world came tumbling down in the blink of an eye.

But this time, it was different. She turned to God and knew that although times were bad, He will never forsake her, even when others did.

He told her too that all that had happened, happened for a reason. All those times, when the guys deserted her, she had quietly let them go. Perhaps she knew deep down, they were not meant to be. It was God’s plans. This time though, she realized it was different. This time, she would fight on. She pushed aside her pride and her fears and her hurts. Gone was the little timid girl.

And as soon as she decided that, there was a calm, steadfastness within her. Yes, it would be an uphill task to fight. There would be times of frustration, despair and sense of loss. But it was what she needed to do.

And she will do it.

(To be continued...)

My Baptism

I put my foot on the plank and slowly dipped my toe into the water. It was cold. I held on to the railing and stepped into the pool. It was not more than 2 feet deep.

I sat down cross-legged next to the pastor. He asked me two questions: “Have you received Jesus as your Lord and personal saviour?” and “Have you renounced you old life and have you received your new life now in Jesus Christ?” I replied in the affirmative. My voice sounded rather foreign to me because I was nervous and cold.

Then he said, “I now baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” I put my arms across my chest as he laid his hand on my forehead and gently lowered my head in the water. I saw the water rise above me and I saw the bubbles and ripples as I went down. I felt water rush up my nostrils. I felt my body floated up as I was pressed down. And then I was lifted up again. Screams and cheers began overhead.

I shook my pastor’s hand before I got out. It was a short but memorable experience. Rather dreamlike – especially since I was half-blind without my glasses! And I have it all on video!

Joseph versus Judah

Sometimes it is fruitful to question things in the Bible that you do not quite understand. In Church last Sunday (and for the last few weeks) we talked about Joseph and how God blessed him in everything he did. Case in point, even in prison, “The Lord was with him, making everything run smoothly and successfully” (Gen 39:23).

But I noticed that it was not Joseph’s name in the record of ancestors of Jesus. Instead it was stated: “Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers” and so on. Why wasn’t it “Jacob was the father of Joseph” because it would make more sense, right?

Instead, it was Judah, the rascal brother who had his name cemented on the Hall of Fame. It was like giving him his own star in the Hollywood Boulevard when it was his stepbrother who had been the main celebrated actor in the movie.

Judah, the guy who slept with his daughter-in-law because he thought she was a prostitute!
Judah, the guy with the Big Idea to sell Joseph into slavery and make a nice profit! (He was a cunning businessman in the making, wasn’t he?) But then again, we can be thankful that because of him, the brothers didn’t kill off Joseph after all.



Then it was also Judah who stepped up to protect his stepbrother Benjamin when the brothers were put to test by Joseph to see if they had learnt their lesson. It was Judah who would not abandon Benjamin because he had made a pledge to his father that he would take care of the boy. Humbly he pleaded with Joseph. He was willing to take Benjamin’s place as a slave. (Wow, would YOU do that for your own stepbrother?)

So here’s my 2 cents’. Even though it was Joseph who was the main character that was so openly favoured by God, that did not mean that God had abandoned the rest of the rascally brothers too. Judah, despite his faults, managed to rise above and redeem himself. And in the end, he got the blessings of his father and was the one destined for leadership.

I guess that shows that even though at some point in life you screw up Big Time, that doesn’t mean the end. There is always still hope. All you have to do is to trust God, learn from your mistakes, and rise above yourself and your circumstances.

Just my humble 2 cents’ worth… :-)

My Pandora's Box of Quotes (Part 1)

Over the years, I have collected a myriad of quotes, one-liners from books, movies, even songs. They could be thoughtful, sardonic, lame or funny. But something about them had struck a chord in me one time or other. Perhaps I had been low, down in the dumps when I came upon one and it motivated me. Or the truth of a quote jolted me into realisation, or something like that.

The other day I used this wistful quote "My life is like a perfect graveyard of buried hopes" on my Facebook. It may sound all gloom and doom, but I always thought it was a very hopeful line. Taken from "Anne of Green Gables" (when I was a jolly schoolgirl) it sparked a memory from the book/movie that even though your life may seem terrible or unfair, there is ALWAYS hope that better things will come. One day, that buried hopes will be uncovered and dreams will be realised.

Another one is “What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” This passage by Goethe can usually get me going when I have doubts or hesitation. (And I’m always a sucker for rhymes.)

I also love Jane Austen’s, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” It’s so dripping with sarcasm that I just lap it up.

And this ought to be followed up by another delicious line from Pride and Prejudice, uttered by Mr Darcy, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

There are also less pretentious ones.

I like the sharp wit of this one: “I’ve learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just @ssholes.”

And the lameness of this one: “Laugh a little bit more than you already do. At least you’ll know if you’ve got something in between your teeth.” Hee…

There are many more from movies, songs and PC games too. Most of them don’t make much sense but they are nice little mementos for me, nonetheless.

“The truth is out there.” (The X-Files)

“What is the Matrix?” (The Matrix, duh)

“Shoot the hostage, take her off the equation.” (Speed)

“Endure. In enduring grows strong.” (Planescape: Torment)

“Go for the eyes, Boo! Go for the eyes.” (Baldur’s Gate II)

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(Note: No wonder I like the Bible. It’s got great lines and passages - with thousands of years of wisdom and truth - all collected in one neat package!)

Love is

I was at a friend's ROM in Putrajaya recently (ROM here is not Read Only Memory, but Registration of Marriage) when I saw a brilliant quotable quote on one of the notice boards. It read,

"Love is not about finding the right person, but creating the right relationship. It's not how much love you have in the beginning, but how much love you build till the end."

Wow, very meaningful, don't you think? Definitely a nice little tip to drill into the brains of people who are having doubts & wondering if their partners are "Mr Right" or "Ms Right". And it's also a reminder that relationships / marriage is hard work. It's not just a cozy stroll along the beach. It's pulling your sleeves up and getting your hands and nose dirty once in a while.

Anyhow, I've collected a bagful of "Love is" quotes from years of reading (gosh, I feel old). Some of them are bittersweet like:

"Is love a tender thing? it is too rough,
Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn."

And some thoughtful.

"Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove."

And some are biblical.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."


No prizes for guessing where these jewels come from. But if you can guess correctly, I'll give you a little virtual thumbs up. ;)

Here goes...

Someone asked me the other day why I don't blog. I admitted that though I have one, I just don't know what to write about. I already keep my own daily journal (handwritten no less - because nothing can beat lying down in bed at night and writing an honest heart-felt piece) so writing and publishing a blog is like keeping a husband and a boyfriend at the side. :p One is for display and the other is for keeping to oneself. Crude? Perhaps.

Or if you want to look at the bright side (in a less crude manner), a blog can be a way to express yourself to others in a less invasive way. Say you want to point out a fault to a friend you care about, but too embarrassed or diplomatic to do it, then a blog may help. You may just write a blog (without naming names) and hope he/she will stumble on it and realize what it is you are trying to tell - if he/she isn't too dense to get it. In the end, a friendship may be saved and the problem solved... Everyone lives happily ever after.

Or not.

Then of course a blog is also a good platform for friends to network and give advice, etc. It is a place you can tell all and sundry about your life, your work, pets, holiday etc, without being in-your-face. It's like a radio broadcast. If someone doesn't wish to hear you gloat about your splendid life, or moan about your sucky job, they can just tune out.

Same for the blogger. If she is tired of writing, or has a brain-block, she can just sign off for as long as she wishes. No obligation or expectations whatsoever.

So to prove my point, I'm signing off. I'll see you when I see you.