Hey I got Interviewed

Bit of a change of pace here. Looks like I was important enough to be interviewed by Rafi the Hasidic Plumber. Maybe that means I can also get that nifty Seal of Approval to stick on my blog too. For those of you unfamiliar, Rafi has been doing interviews of various bloggers and shares his take on world events.

He's also a cyborg I think.

Link to my interview is here. Check it out and let me know what you think. Sadly that's how I'm more likely to talk with friends in real life so it might be a change of tone for those of you more accustomed to my blogging voice.

Oh and because this is a short post I'm required to dump an image or a Youtube video of some sort. This video is less than half a minute long but it entertains me to no end:

I wish French class was more like this...

Me Not Healthy: The Lung Cysts (Part 2)

If you're just joining us head back here to read part 1.

To clarify a few things this surgery actually happened a few months ago and I'm trying my best to recall it. Painkillers seem to have a way with messing with your memory, or maybe it's the pain that they don't block out that causes you to forget. Either way, that entire week was kind of fuzzy.

What I do remember was that my surgery was scheduled 4 days after the discussion I had with the doctor. He's one of the few specialists who are able to do the surgery and thus managed to work little things in the system for me. I was pretty lucky.

It was on a Saturday, scheduled for 11AM and my parents accompany me to Emergency, file out forms and wait for me to be wheeled off to the operating room. They tell me that 3 incisions will be made; 1 under the arm for a camera to be inserted (to see the cysts), 1 on the side of my chest for a tube to suck out blood and air, and 1 in the front of my chest for cyst removal.

They also tell me that this is a MASS improvement over the original surgery. They used to cut down the back of an individual, basically peel him open and then remove the cysts that way. My Aunt's friend's son had the old operation, he has a huge scar apparently.

Imagine this to be someone's back and that's how they used to do it.

I was put out for two hours and when I wake up I have a transparent tube sticking out of the side of me. I can see blood dripping through as it transfers to a plastic box attached to the tube. For the rest of my time at the hospital the box goes where I go. Its purpose is to be hooked up to a suction machine to help suck out any remaining blood and stuff from the operation and to store said fluids.

I share a room with a friendly old man who has cancer. I can't remember what kind of cancer but it prevents him from eating so he gets nutrients from other sources. My parents have brought me books to keep me occupied and my girlfriend Theresa has brought flowers. I didn't look at either very much because my hospital experience consisted mostly of me sleeping, only waking up to eat (and fall asleep mid-bite), interact with visitors (and fall asleep mid-speech), go for check-ups, or take painkillers.

I'm guessing this is what it's like to live in a Senior's home.

Did I mention how much I loved the painkillers? They helped me sleep, they took away the pain in my chest and I felt so relaxed afterwards. They started me off with Tylenol-3's. I've had them before and they were awesome. However, my body is kind of weird. And soon the Tylenol-3's stopped working after a day or two.

I'm guessing it's because my body gains a tolerance to things very quickly. They upgrade me to morphine which is amazing and I love it. I don't care that they're stabbing me in the arm every few hours and now my arm is all bruised and sore. I sleep like a baby, I can breathe, and I asked for it as often as possible.

But to my dismay the morphine suddenly stopped working. They decided to try something inbetween morphine and Tylenol 3 and gave me Oxycontin. It sort of worked but it never gave me the same feeling as the morphine did. And who knows how long it would take until my body no longer was affected by the Oxycontin.

I'm an addict and I don't care!

Fortunately the x-rays showed that I was healing just fine. The tube was removed, the hole where the tube used to be was patched up and I was sent home. They told me there was a 95% chance that they got all the cysts and my lungs would be fine from then on.

And I'll conclude this little arc in my next post. Comments and critique is appreciated as always.

Me Not Healthy: The Lung Cysts (Part 1)

As some of you are aware I'm not exactly the pinnacle of good health. Some of it is my fault, I could sleep more, eat healthier and exercise more frequently so I wouldn't be such a skinny nerdy Asian. But there are some things I have no control over.

I was a happy and active child but a problem began to appear as I grew older. Occasionally I would be short of breath without pain. It didn't make much sense but I ignored it until one day it happened along with tons of pain and breathlessness.

I thought I was having a heart attack.

No one knew what was going on during these bouts. X-rays revealed pockets of air spontaneously popping up in my lungs so they shoved a tube inside me to suck it out the air and left it at that. I don't know how many of you out there have ever had a foreign object half dangling inside and out of your body but I can confirm that it's not fun or painless. After this little episode I was informed should another bubble appear I would need surgery.

For the next year or so the frequency of breathlessness increased. There were times where I'd feel anxious, suddenly fatigued or "uncomfortable". Occasionally there would be pain. Each episode was different, it can feel like heart burn, muscle fatigue/soreness, a cramp or combination of the above and many more.

Finally after enough pressure from family I went and got additional x-rays which showed nothing. So I went and got a cat scan done on the left side of my body which most of the discomfort was coming from. Turns out, I had cysts in my lungs.

And the cysts just lined the top.

See, the thing about the lung cysts was that I was probably born with them. And everytime one of them burst, the air, blood, pus, etc. would come out, press down on my lung and BAM, breathlessness. They think that a drop in barometric pressure increases the likelihood of them bursting because whenever there is a drop, there's an increase in these kinds of incidents.

The doctors gave me a choice, get surgery now and (hopefully) get rid of the problem OR leave it alone and risk having more "Oh god is it a cyst bursting or am I having a heart attack" moments.

I opted for the surgery.

Which I will share with you in my next post.

I did not look forward to it.

A change in Posting

Regular followers to my blog may have noticed that I have maintained an every other day posting schedule.

This was before University courses came in and started kicking me in the teeth and I started looking like this from lack of sleep.

Image courtesy of Brandon and Bryan. (Can be removed if you guys want, it just fit me so well).

So I'm switching to posting on every third day. This allows me more breathing room to make posts, get back to everyone else's blogs, sleep better and get work done. I'm already behind on reviewing notes for my courses and midterms begin in just a few weeks.

As a friend of mine used to say, "Real life before virtual life" and I think it's a statement more people should take to heart. This being a very short post here are two videos I enjoyed a bit too much.

And this is a video only fellow gamers will appreciate, sorry. :(

The next post will be a legitimate post, I promise. Thanks for the continued support and reading of this blog.

Moms are hard to buy for: Update

This is an update with regards to this post. Some of you suggested that I get my Mother jewelry for her birthday. Unfortunately she doesn't care for the stuff and usually finds it tacky. Which is odd because she did get three lobe piercings in one ear a few years back. She's not the typical Asian mother.

Not her but you get the idea.

And there is a reason why she would prefer and Oddish plushie over any other Pokemon. Long, long ago, back when Pokemon was still extremely popular (i.e. when I was still in Elementary school) Burger King had Pokemon kids toys. One of them happened to be a little stuffed Oddish. Mom thought it was adorable.

My brother (being the derp he is) lost it.

In his defense, it was kind of small.

So hopefully one day I'll be find someone who can commission one for cheap or maybe some outlet store will have some. I'll figure something out in the future.

But she did like the Edible Arrangement. Dad assumed it was overpriced but that didn't stop him from stealing the little flower pot for his own plants. My siblings haven't even gotten anything for Mom yet so I guess this makes me the best child.

Hahahaha! Look at me be petty!

So now I can sit back and relax. And then start panicking again. My girlfriend's birthday is in less than a month and I'm scrambling for gift ideas. She's just as difficult to buy for and unfortunately due to a lack of a job, I'm going to need to be creative this year.

But I'll share my panic in another post.

Moms are hard to buy for.

Or it could just be my Mom. It's hard to say. Maybe it's just hard to buy gifts for extremely practical people which is exactly what my Mother is. Thus, when her birthday comes around no one has any idea what to get her.

I remember getting her flowers one year to which she responded "Don't get me flowers, they die." Mom doesn't like sweet things so getting her a box of chocolates results in my Dad eating all of them. Cards are also no good unless they're handmade because she thinks it's kind of a waste of money otherwise. Unfortunately the only person who has any artistic talent in the Wei family is my sister. Don't expect anything amazing from me. Who do I look like, Dalf?

Behold! The limits of my artistic ability!

Honestly, I think her favorite present that she's ever gotten from us was a coffee mug from my sister. And that was because her other mug was getting kind of old. I have an idea of what to get my Mother in the future but unless anyone knows where I can get a plushie of the Pokemon Oddish for a reasonable price it will remain an idea.

This guy, right here.

This year however, I'm going to try something different. I don't know how many of you have heard of or even have this store in your city but mine does. They're called "Edible Arrangements" and they basically create bouquets of fruit that you can eat. The prices are fairly reasonable. I mean, I've bought flowers for my girlfriend before and they're roughly the same price. Actually I think she'd like the edible ones better.

This is the one I got for Mom. It's called an Apple Daisy.

We'll see how Mom likes it. I picked the bouquet up today and the service was pretty good. I mean, I was half an hour early for the pick up time I asked for and it was already ready. If it tastes as good as it looks, they might be getting a repeat customer.

Me Not Healthy: Allergies

I'm not exactly spitting image of health and wellness. With a BMI of 16 I weigh less and have a thinner body than most people including girls. I have poor circulation which results in me having cold hands and feet constantly. I burn incredibly fast in the sun causing itchy, red rashes. It's a never ending list of problems for poor Damian at the ripe old age of 21.

What's ironic is that this character is part of my Chinese name and it stands for "Good Health".

But those aren't even the worst problems. In recent years more "interesting" ones have appeared such as the lung cysts and the sleeping problems. Today I'd like to share with you what seems to be my allergies with too many plants.

Allergies have always been a problem. I remember summer and spring being a sticky and itchy hell as pollen from every piece of fauna in the city decided to release pollen simultaneously. Plus, most anti-histamines only last for 24 hours and in instant those 24 hours are up, my face becomes a mess. I hate forests and fields of wild plants with a passion as these can be the worst offenders for me.

Making similar faces is how I've managed to stay so attractive.

But this is pretty normal, I'm quite sure a lot of you have similar problems. But how many of you are also allergic dozens upon dozens of edible plants and plant products? It's not a death sentence if I eat them, but they do make my mouth and palate itch like crazy if it even touches my lips. This isn't a problem if I hate the food. Eggplant is my favorite example. I don't know why anyone would want to eat this thing.

Also fairly certain it's a euphemism in Japanese culture.

But I'm also allergic to things like avocados, almonds, kiwis, lychee, cherries, peaches, nectarines, and even apples. What's even more frightening is that recently I've developed a mild allergy to watermelon and bananas.

I actually went to get an allergy test done to prove that it was a reaction as opposed to me being crazy. It's fun, they prick your skin in a dozen sections and then expose the broken skin to oils containing whatever you may be allergic to. Then you sit and wait while your entire forearm turns red and itchy. I learned that day that birch trees really, really hate me.

I also have an EpiPen now in case I ever get a deadly reaction to something. I highly doubt I'll use it, but if I do, I'm going to pretend it's adrenaline from Left 4 Dead 2.

And pretend I'm Ellis.

Oh god it's everywhere

Quick note before I start today's post. I haven't been reported (yet) but there was a reader who was offended by any use of profanity. She/he also claimed that the Google bots would eventually crack down on me. I argued with him/her for about half a week and the messages began to have the tone of "change it or I'm reporting you". I was getting sick of talking with them so I just gave in and complied.

I hope you're happy now.

Anyways, today's post is about a problem my household has been having for a number of years and that is mice seem to keep finding a way in. Our home is not an old or rundown house by any means, it was build the year I was born and my family is OCD when it comes to cleanliness. But that doesn't stop the mice from coming in and inhabiting the basement. Maybe there's a hole in the garage that allows them in but we haven't found it despite doing a complete clean up.

Dad insists on catching them alive and releasing them in a field several kilometers away so we doubt it's the same mouse over and over. I think he purposely made sure that a grocery store was nearby in hopes that they would run there and infest them instead of potentially coming back to us.

Oh Safeway, what won't you have next.

Like most people my age I live in the basement but the storage room is far from my bedroom so I wasn't afraid of a rodent scurrying in and hiding in my closet. That changed a few weeks ago when I was brushing my teeth and noticed mouse dropping all around my sink. I got rid of it and a few days later, more droppings. This continued for about 2 weeks and it started to really bother me.

Now, we caught and released a mouse a long time ago and even if there was one around there was no way or reason for it run around and poop on my sink repeatedly. I mean, if it liked eating toothpaste I guess but I don't know many creatures that enjoy doing that.

Or maybe they're just jerks.

Dad came to the conclusion that maybe the droppings were falling from the ceiling. So we removed a panel to take a look.

And there were mouse droppings.

Everywhere.

Just, everywhere.

We vacuumed them up but then I realized something. The mice probably had a way to travel across every part of the ceiling. And if so, they probably have been on the ceiling panels in my bedroom. I may have been sleeping with poop above my head for months.

Unlike this guy, I actually mind.

But I don't think there's anything I can really do about that. I don't want to risk tons of mouse crap falling all over my bed and beloved computer. I think I'll just pretend like they don't exist, and the problem will go away once I move out.

Yeah, that's a good plan. Absolutely brilliant.

The Blog has been Modified

I learned a lot in the last few days thanks to the help forums provided. The people are usually very helpful if you can get them to notice your question. They may sound condescending at times but they are there to help, not baby you.

Special thanks to Cade and tsvaishnav if for whatever reason you're still reading this blog.

First things first, if you scroll through my older posts you've see quite a bit of censorship. Words have been changed, images have been modified, etc. etc. all in hopes that someone doesn't get offended and report me. In other words, this blog will be a lot less colourful in the future.

Swear words will be replaced with rainbows or ponies. In this case, both.

I honestly think that finding a person's orientation to be offensive is really pushing the line at best and homophobic at worst. That post had a tag removed which hopefully would appease the kind of individual that could be offended by it. I have no intention of removing or changing the tone of the post, I have my limits.

The next thing that surprised me was the need for a privacy policy. You need this if you are displaying "a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services."

Such as this delicious food product.

Going here will provide you with all the information you need to get yours going. You can always take a look at mine if needed but I pretty much just did what the link asked me to do.

Last but not least, in the case that someone does try and sabotage your blog it be a good idea to get StatCounter so you have physical evidence of them being there and messing things up. Mine is on the left sidebar and I've opted to not display pagehits and what not.

And there we go, hopefully I'm safe. I honestly think I'm going a bit over the top here with all this censorship and I honestly believe if someone did have a problem and it was reported I would simply get a notification to remove said material instead of a ban. Let me know what you guys think about this.

And if you see something that offends you on this blog also just let me know instead of reporting it. We're all friends here right?

And ever and ever and ever! (I miss my swear words...)

Financial Situation (Part 2)

Thank you for the suggestions for savings costs such as the online textbooks. I haven't had any luck with the sites I've used in the past but maybe this year will be different. And while the money earned by being a male escort would be great (as suggested by Mr. Soccer Picks with his awesome dino drawings) I don't think anyone likes borderline anorexic Asian males.

 Unless you're Korean. They can't get their men thin enough.

In the meantime, money for me will probably come from one of these sources:

• This blog

Google isn't afraid to use this. This section has been modified appropriately I believe.

EDIT: Mr. Islander (as well as many others) suggest completely removing this section just to be safe. It has been done.

EDIT: There have been suggestions of a donation button on this blog but that feels wrong, the fact that you guys are even reading this blog is enough and I don't think I should be asking for more.

•  Scholarships:

Unfortunately I messed up a year of University so that removes me from a lot of the prestigious scholarships that people put on their resumes and applications. But if you're me, you don't care, you just want the money.

Which is why I'm going to try and apply for scholarships that no one has ever heard about or even bother applying for. In fact, I'm going to try and do what a friend of a friend of mine did a few years back and apply for Aboriginal scholarships.

I could totally pass for a Native American.

What my friend's friend did was submit a fake application to one of these foundations as a joke. This guy is completely Caucasian and a month later he received a cheque for $5000. Why? Because the foundation hadn't had an applicant in over 5 years and they wanted to get rid of the money before they got taxed for it.

If I have any success with this, I'll let you guys know. Feel free to try it out yourself, what's the worst that can happen?

• Investing

I've read a lot of investing blogs lately such as Jammer's and I've actually always wanted to give it a try. You know, trading stocks and what not. Yes it's high risk, yes there is a chance I could make nothing from it but I've been doing some research and I've come to a few conclusions as to why people sometimes lose so much.

It appears to me that a lot of people don't do their research on stocks, instead, they rely on tips from friends or enthusiastic news reports and then dump a chunk of their money into a stock without a second thought. To makes things worse, they don't bother checking up on said stocks, reducing opportunities to make a profit or reduce losses.

Either that or they don't ever sell their stocks, becoming attached to them. The purposing of stocks is to sell them at a higher price than you bought them for. Other times people are too greedy and hold onto their stocks even after they could make a considerable profit.

So in theory, if I avoid these pitfalls I should do ok. I'm not here to become a day trader, if I make a few extra bucks a month that be great.

But if this happens I won't complain.

So that's my plan for now besides working part-time at a fast food restaurant. These ideas appeal to me because of the lack of time I have due to classes. You guys are more than welcome to offer your opinions as you probably have more experience than me. Most comments are quite helpful and very much appreciated. Except the spammers, I hate you guys.

Speaking of classes, I start tomorrow so off to be for me.

Financial Situation (Part 1)

Ok, classes resume on Wednesday for me. Fortunately I've been able to get my parents to cover for my tuition for this term because I've barely got a grand left in the bank. And the sad thing is that most of that grand will be spent on textbooks which CONVENIENTLY have had the prices raised. Again.

The used ones are probably outdated by now too.

I'll be working part-time at my fastfood job but due to time needed to study I'll only be making about $200 a month. But then I have expenses that need to be taken care of. I'm the kind of guy that likes to plan and ahead and prepare. I have blog posts stored in my head, half written (or actually half typed out in advance), I do things like buy presents way months early and store them in my closet, you get the idea. But due to having no money I can't exactly do that now can I?

 I'd starve if it weren't for my parents.

I have considered 3 other forms of potential income given my current situation, but I'll share those in my next blog post. I've gotten a mild cold in the summer of all times, I need to to try out a device to hopefully help with my sleeping (I'll post pictures later) and based on feedback on the last post I'll guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Thanks again, and feel free to suggest anything at anytime. I'm open to suggestions.

One Month of Blogging

Looks like I've managed to reach another milestone. Maintaining an audience for a month by posting every other day wasn't always easy but I somehow did it. I guess I should give myself a pat on the back or something.

 Yay!

That being said, I'm certain that my blog could do with some improving. And so, I'd like some feedback from you guys if possible. I know already that my blog's design isn't exactly the fanciest thing so I'm looking at ways to improve that. I also want to know what kinds of posts you prefer. I've tried to provide a variety ranging from my current situation, to my past or completely unrelated things.

I'll keep this post short, and since the corgi video was so popular, here's one with a cat.



Thanks again for reading my blog. And in the words of Philip Defranco, I love your faces.