Pickles n' Tickles by JJ

WHAT a testing month it has been. A family medical emergency had me under a lot of stress just before my move to the middle east next week. Thanks to all the prayers and positive energy channeled our way along with expert advice and care, we have a better idea on what's going on with my dad for the next course of action. Well, there's going to be close monitoring with medications in the following weeks but the temporary relief provided by science, information and intuition is good for my stomach more than anything else.  My stomach and I have a long history together, mostly unpleasant, nevertheless there's been way too many moments in my personal medical history to ignore them. For those who know me well would also know of my chaotic digestive system. I feel like my stomach  has a built-in aquarium with bubbly fishes swimming in it most of the time.  Stress - the mother of all fuck-ups, is its biggest nemesis. It's like I can feel the stomach ooze out burning a...

This is a post from a year and half ago. Was feeling a little down over the death of our double heart transplant girl  yesterday.  ----------------------------------------------- DURING work at the University Hospital last week, I took a moment at the mortuary. In the lobby stood a lady concealed in an over-sized dark glasses with arms folded across her chest solemnly. Another group of people had just arrived, making their way hurriedly pass the glass door to the reception area. Now I didn't know their stories and their sorrows weren't mine but my heart went out to them. Said a silent prayer for the living and I exited the area not knowing that in a couple of days I'd be rushing through that glass door myself.  Just less than a year ago, a lady friend of mine had lost her son due to hospital negligence.  At 51, she's buried her parents and a 29-year-old son. Burying  anyone  is not easy but to bury one's own child? That's like against the very order...

I know that I shouldn't be making assumptions and whatnot ( and I'm not ) while investigations are being carried out on the recent fire at the Villagio Mall in Doha, Qatar but hey, I can't help thinking about it. It did kill  19 people including 13 children after all.   According to some media reports, the water sprinklers and fire alarm systems were not working, and the floor planning made it a Herculean task for help to reach the nursery on the first floor. Also killed were some teachers and fire department personnels.  Pix from here  I was watching some videos of this incident on YouTube. Endless clouds of black smoke spiralled wildly over the mall's roof and there were some clips on rescuers carrying out children who seemed lifeless. What a tragedy. Imagine finding your kid dead in a diaper just hours after you've fed and sent him to a nursery. I've walked in that mall so many times before, and every time I did, I've always silently wondered abo...

My favourite pix of Whitney Houston (1963 - 2012) YET another star has fallen off the sky with the death of pop princess Whitney Houston yesterday. I may not be a die-hard fan of Houston but she did once possess a soul-touching, sky-scraping voice that made your entire being stand in attention. Any one who's lived through the 80s and 90s would know of this songbird who'd touched the world with hits like  I Will Always Love You, How Will I Know  and I Wanna Dance With Somebody (that smile and confident glint in her eyes when she did it is just amazing).  Houston was adored for that gift of voice and she will forever be remembered for that.  I suppose it's important not to lose that voice inside of us. Losing that inner voice could mean the beginning of our downfall. A little crack allows for a lot of crap to creep in. Houston isn't the first and she's won't be the last.  When Amy Winehouse died last year, many voted Houston to be the next in line in a pol...

FORMER Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is dead, but what a way to die. Hunted down, killed and the body, stripped and paraded around like a roadkill, followed by a nationwide celebration. Jubilant victors then get snapshots of the corpse for a photo in a frame. Personal belongings found on him taken as memorabilia. I think I even read a man saying that he'd die happy now with Gaffadi's death. And these are possibly the future leaders of the country.  I don't see a difference between them and the dead man.  At least for all their crime against humanity, lucky bastards Saddam Hussein and Osama Laden died a pretty decent death. One tried, found guilty and hanged, and the other hunted down, killed and buried in the sea.  I would've loved to see Gaddafi in the International Criminal Court.