For a couple of months now, I’ve been noticing that while playing badminton, there’s a sharp pain on my right ankle whenever I land full weight on it. A friend recommended using kinesiotape to hold the muscles together and prevent any further injury. I think it works like weight clamps for dumbbells. But, actually, it looks like this:

I like the colors. And that’s not my foot.

I just realized that ever since our company decided to change HMO providers, I haven’t seen a doctor. Not that I feel I have to have something in particular checked up or anything; but even at times when I’m really not feeling well, I just resolve to stay at home, take some rest, and hope that the bad feeling will just go away. It’s not that low cost health insurance doesn’t have its advantages. It’s just that the process, with this particular HMO provider, is so tedious that just thinking about all the papers and the trips back and forth for forms is already making the prospect of having a medical check up so tiring. I just hope I can make myself healthy enough everyday until the time I can afford to get a better health plan. Not that we shouldn’t keep ourselves healthy all the time. It’s just a thought.

A former classmate recently told me about trying the stock market once. That totally surprised me because I’ve never seen him as the type that is interested in futures trading signals and stuff. That was before recession took a hit to the world and people are still brave in investing money. I’ve always thought about doing just that although I have zero knowledge about that whole side of business. Truth be told, I have zero knowledge about business. Period. Anyway, my friend’s trial didn’t work out. I guess I’ll need other tips for understanding ETF trading signals . The thing is, in such a time like this when people are always nervous about losing jobs or finding it so hard to have supplemental income, it’s kind of hard to take risk on new things. But not taking risk will just keep us wondering, anyway, so if we can take some calculated ones, I guess that would be okay.

I tried to read about how that thing works and it practically gave me nosebleeds. I’ll need trading mentoring if I really want to get it. I do believe that this is neither a past time nor a hobby but a serious profession. Besides, you’re going to be shelling out money. That’s no joke. I think options mentoring will help to develop strategies beyond learning about the, well, trade (no pun intended).

I guess there are books about these things. Like a Dummy’s guide or something.  There is a “Dummies” book for almost everything, right? From the simplest thing to the more complicated ones.  I haven’t tried buying one, though, so I can’t judge for now if those tips work. Maybe I’ll also check those out sometime. Now maybe this is really not the best time to deal on something as risky as relying on forex signals. I just thought that having at least an understanding might be a good thing.

On my way to work one day, I saw a man outside a car frantically giving directions to someone inside. It looks like he’s teaching someone how to pull up the window lock so he can open the car door. Because it was traffic and the vehicle I’m on stopped right beside his, I saw that the person trapped inside is actually a toddler and I’m guessing the father left the keys inside. I can only imagine the panic the dad was feeling right that moment. Especially because his kid is on the driver’s side of the car.

I guess it’s pretty stressful to become a parent, if only for the meticulous details of taking care of children. But I also believe them when they say all the troubles and hard work are worth it. With the little ones, car seats are mandatory when bringing them into a trip, most especially long trips. It’s like saying that you should wear your seat belts every time. Babies and toddlers are so fragile, and not to mention so active and hard to manage, that you really have to give particular attention to them while traveling.

Well, the good thing is, baby products are so much diverse now. You can find just about anything you need, even if you’re looking for convertible car seats. Back in the day, when I was still a baby, there are not much stuff like that to aid our parents. A lot of us turned OK, anyway, thank heavens.

Every time I go to the grocery and have to carry several heavy plastic bags, I wish that I have my own car. Going to and from work is not much of a hassle for now but since we transferred apartments, it takes longer and is a more tedious to travel to work. That’s why finding my own car is very much needed right about now. I’m not dreaming of honda accessories or acura accessories just yet; I’m thinking of looking for auto loans first. I may need to contact my bank very soon for that. Besides online car reviews, doing some test drive and possibly doing a “survey” with people I know with regard to the car they’re currently using may also help. Gah, I need to enroll to a driving school soon, see if I can have the guts to drive my own car. I’m already seeing infiniti accessories in my mind.

So I’m quite the nervous wreck.  Every night, when I’m alone at the apartment I share with my sister, I choose to stay up pretty late, usually until the wee hours of the morning, because I feel safer that way.  Sometimes when I hear sounds outside that I can’t identify or is too loud to be a small animal,  like a cat, rustling about, I go near the window to listen but I usually cannot summon enough strength to part the curtains to see for myself what’s going on outside.  Paranoid much? Well, I make no excuse. That’s why when I read about GE Alarm online, I made a mental note to look for something like that the next time I go to the hardware store. [I normally go there to buy butane gas for cooking.]

Well, the GE security system is quite more sophisticated than your normal home security system. I’ve talked to a friend who have installed a simple sensor and alarm on his front door recently, and since then I’ve been thinking that I need one, too. I almost always forget, until I saw the Web site for GE home security. They do have the high-tech stuff like security cameras and video surveillance. But, of course, I don’t need that. A simple sensor and alarm on the windows and the front door will do.

My actual worries about sleeping at night also stems from the fact that I’m not a light sleeper. I always fear that something may be going on outside my room and I will not know about it because I’m deep into the unconscious territory. Maybe that’s something I need to work on, but if it means I couldn’t have a good rest, then forget about it. An alarm system may yet be my best bet.

Since I’ve read about this brand of notebooks called Moleskine, I wanted to buy myself one. You know, just for the heck of it. I love notebooks. The classic ones, the pretty ones, the stationery-like ones, the leather-bound smart-looking ones. But, as with many other people I know, I don’t really write on them. I mean I love the idea of writing – the physical action of moving your hand that holds a pen over a piece of paper so that your thoughts can manifest. But whenever I hold those crispy, white pages in my hands, I can’t make myself defile them by my awful handwriting.

You can argue that a notebook computer is the better way to go.  Sure it’s more pricey but its functions are way more diverse that I shouldn’t have bothered to compare. But then again, that’s exactly why the idea of writing on a notebook is so enticing – it’s basic, it’s time-honored, and it’s how my favorite poets worked in their time. Ah, well, I think I’m gonna buy myself a Moleskine now.

I came across this Web site that offers many different kinds of compression garments and all I can think about are those rubber pads you wound around your abdomen a friend once convinced me into buying. She said it facilitates sweating around the tummy area and it’s supposed to aid in losing inches off your waist. I tried it and used it while exercising at home but I really couldn’t feel the difference it makes. My friend even recommended keeping it on while sleeping but it’s too hot on the skin and frankly it makes it hard to breathe.      

Some compression garments are actually used for medicinal purposes. They provide support for people with poor circulation,for example, such garments worn on the legs can help prevent deep vein thrombosis. On the other hand, there are compression garments whose main function is to aid in the recovery of surgical patients, particularly those who had some form of plastic surgery. Examples of such are special socks, pantyhose, body suits, vests, girdles,or sleeves, which are used depending on the specific patient’s needs. In people who had undergone plastic surgery, these aids help loose skin mold firmly against the body so the skin is more likely to heal without sagging. Surgical compression garments squeeze the body’s fluids back toward deeper tissues, reducing swelling in the affected areas; they also improve blood circulation, minimizes swelling after the procedure, flushes the body out of harmful fluids, expedites the healing process, and allows the patient to recover sooner. Sounds imperative to me.

I love McDonald’s. Mostly because I live near one and it’s the first place I call or run to whenever I run out of food in my apartment. But did anybody else felt the sudden increase in their products’ prices? I used to have a hard time trying to fill the minimum amount for delivery whenever I order for myself. Not so much these days. My sister and I noticed that the chicken parts are somewhat bigger, but it’s not always so. Well, of course retail franchises are not immune to price hike. Too bad my salary is never going to go in that direction. Boo.

Just because it’s December, I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of trade show exhibits at the malls. The holiday season is the perfect time for entrepreneurs to show off their products because, for one, people are a lot more generous and shopping-happy. I’m sure we’re going to see more and more hallways get lined up with exhibit booths and tables and tables of goods. Even at our office, I expect to see bazaars and booths to show up anytime this month.

If you’re someone planning to put up a trade show exhibit, you can find table covers and table top displays online. Personally, I like to visit booths with a strong aesthetic pull, so it’s probably pertinent that exhibitors be concerned about the overall presentation and quality of the products they are offering. You can have banners, drapes, cabinets even.

Speaking of which, I haven’t been to any major fair of late. I might have to come out of hibernation and check out the malls one of these days.