Deposit Bad Children Here

I took this picture last Sunday at St. John's Pass in St. Pete Beach. Notice the sign that says "Deposit Bad Children Here"? Funny, isn't it?..It must be scary for kids though...

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St. Petersburg Images

I am kinda out of words today so i'm just posting some images of the wonderful city of St. Petersburg, FL. Enjoy!

Downtown St. Petersburg, FL

St. Petersburg Pier

St. Petersburg at dusk

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Vantage Point

J and I have been waiting for this movie to come out. And so we went to the movies earlier. He thought the movie was good. I did not. It's not a bad film, it's just irritatingly put together. Even though it boasts of an excellent cast and an interesting-enough story, on a scale of 1 to 10, this movie is a solid 5. You can tell pretty much all the high profile actors are struggling with the script to make it as believable as possible for the audience.
One aspect of the film that made it an instant loose credibility for me was the fact that there were protesters right outside the event that William Hurt, as the President was attending. In reality, protesters are kept in safe distance, in some cases miles, from being seen or heard on such occasions. In this parallel universe, the President, even had to walk past all the protesters when entering the building.

What initially looked like a nailbiter political thriller, came out feeling like a "DreamWorks flick". Even as the entire theater was sold out, you could hear people becoming weary as the movie stops, rewinds, and starts itself again from a different angle - maybe 6 different times. "Vantage Point" does have some engaging twists and turns and a spectacular car chase, and keeps you guessing until the last moment using the same scene seen at different angles through different eyes. I should have waited for this film to come out on DVD.

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Thought Attack

A powerful technique for becoming more peaceful is to be aware of how quickly our negative and insecure thinking can spiral out of control. Most of the time, I always noticed how uptight I feel when I'm caught up in my thinking. And to top it off, the more absorbed I get in the details of whatever is upsetting me, the worse I feel. One thought leads to another, and yet another, until at some point, I just become incredibly agitated.

One time I woke up in the middle of the night and remembered a phone call that needs to be made the following day. Then, rather than feeling relieved that I remembered such an important call, I started thinking about everything else that I had to do, getting myself even more upset. And on and on it goes until I started feeling sorry for myself.

For many people, there's no limit to how long this type of "thought attack" can go on. In fact, I've been told that many people spend their days and nights going through this kind of mental rehearsal. I am one of them. By and by, I've learned how to control it. Instead of obsessing on my upcoming day, I stop my train of thought before it has a chance to get going. And then I can focus, not on how overwhelmed I am, but on how grateful I am for remembering something that needed to be made or done. If it's in the middle of the night, I type it on my pocket PC and then go back to sleep.

I may indeed be a busy person, but I remember that filling my head with thoughts of how overwhelmed I am only exacerbates the problem by making me feel even more stressed than I already am.

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The Day my Tooth was Extracted

I was right. Wisdom tooth (an impacted one) was indeed the reason why I was having a terrible toothache. Thankfully, it has already been extracted.

I went to my first dental appointment on a Monday (Feb. 4) and had my teeth evaluated. The result was pretty bad, as I had expected and what's even worst was the fact that the extraction won't be done until Friday that week. So for the time being, the dentist prescribed some medications to alleviate the terrible pain. He wrote a prescription for the antiobiotic Penicillin VK and Vicodin ES for the pain. I was somewhat relieved knowing that I won't go through the "pulling of teeth" yet. Hehe.

A few hours after taking the medications, I suddenly felt dizzy and nauseated...and then, moments later I was throwing up. The side effects of the pain reliever was driving me crazy and my stomach couldn't handle it. I had to stop taking Vicodin. I told myself that I'd rather go through the pain that my tooth was causing me than to keep feeling dizzy and throwing up. After all, I was already somewhat immune to the pain and a few more days of pain won't really be that bad. Luckily though, my husband realized that he still had some Ibuprofen left from when he had his tooth problems. And so I was saved...at least for the moment.

Frustrating, sleepless days and nights followed. Medications hardly helped at all. It just made me feel like a zombie - so out of this world - the very reason why I detest taking medications. And then Friday came. Yup, the big day. I wasn't really excited. In fact, it was quite the contrary. It was my first tooth extraction ever so I didn't really know what to expect. Pictures of syringes and the dentist's grin kept flashing on my mind. I thought I was going nuts. Even so, we still went to the dental office early, filled in all the necessary paperworks and then waited for my name to be called. Waiting is always the worst part.

The dental technician called my name and I followed her to the surgery room. I sat on the dental chair and saw four long syringes on the tray. And then I heard somebody crying from the adjacent room. Nothing was really worst than that. My heart was pounding so fast that time. The dentist came in and started the process. He put some kind of a "numbing agent" on the area and told me that everything's gonna be fine. A few minutes later he started injecting the anesthesia - four long syringes of it. And then started pulling my teeth. Moments later, it was all done. The process only took fifteen minutes. Yup, I was paying attention to the time.

Before going home, he gave me a new prescription for more Penicillin VK and this time, Demerol for the pain reliever. I told him it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And I also thought that there will be no more pain. I was so wrong. When we got home, the anesthesia started wearing off and then another agonizing pain began. It was worse than the days before. My head felt like it's going to crack any moment soon. Finally, the medications kicked in and before long, I felt sleepy. I liked the effect of Demerol on my body. It was just so relaxing and it made me sleep for long hours. I was glad something was finally working.

All in all, it was quite an experience for me. Truth is, I will do it again if I have to. Afterall, the dentist is not on my "hate list" anymore.

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How Open Minded Are You?

You Are 48% Open Minded

You aren't exactly open minded, but you have been known to occasionally change your mind. You're tolerant enough to get along with others who are very different... But you may be quietly judgmental of things or people you think are wrong. You take your own values pretty seriously, and it would take a lot to change them.

How Open Minded Are You?

**Got this tag from Ady.

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Dental Phobia

Wisdom teeth. It's the apparent cause of my toothache. Or so I believe. I still haven't been to the dentist yet. Stubborn as I am, I finally made an appointment and i'm scheduled for Monday. I hate that day. As of now, the dentist is still on my "hate list". I am dreading for Monday to come. I can already see the dentist holding the syringe with a sharp needle in it, getting ready to stick it in my gums...Ouch!

I really should stop imagining these things. It just makes me feel worse. As to why I don't like going to the dentist, I really don't know. I guess it started when my mother was telling me the story about my younger brother who had his decayed teeth pulled by a dentist in Iligan City. Apparently, the dentist didn't put enough anesthesia so when he started to extract my brother's teeth, he cried in so much pain. That actually happened about 3 or more years ago but for some reason, it stuck on my mind.

But right now, i'm willing to give it a shot, only because I can't take the pain anymore. Also, that would be a way for me to overcome my fear of going to the dentist. Who knows, after Monday, Dentists may not be on my "hate list" anymore.

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What is a Friend?

I wanna thank Lara for sharing this friendship meme. In recognition, i'm attaching this Friendship ABC that was sent to me by email from another friend. By the way, it's for all my friends out there!

(A)ccepts you as you are

(B)elieves in "you"

(C)alls you just to say "HI"

(D)oesn't give up on you

(E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)

(F)orgives your mistakes

(G)ives unconditionally

(H)elps you

(I)nvites you over

(J)ust "be" with you

(K)eeps you close at heart

(L)oves you for who you are

(M)akes a difference in your life

(N)ever Judges

(O)ffer support

(P)icks you up

(Q)uiets your fears

(R)aises your spirits

(S)ays nice things about you

(T)ells you the truth when you need to hear it

(U)nderstands you

(V)alues you

(W)alks beside you

(X)-plains thing you don't understand

(Y)ells when you won't listen and

(Z)aps you back to reality

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