The moment of truth

The truth revealed itself!

I went for the anonymous HIV test at Pink Triangle. It was a long tedious process with pretest and post test counseling by one of their trained counselor who is a volunteer. His name is Eugene and. He was kind, gentle and very understanding. As it is my second test since the last one I did at the private lab back in Feb this year, I was still kinda nervous and hope to get it on with the test and not get involved in the 'fact findings' with the questionnaire.

During registration I already filled up a questionnaire on personal details like age, sex, sexual orientation, but no need for personal details like name, identification, address or phone number. I was given a number tag identifying myself as 375. This is the call number used through out the session. During the pretest counseling there was another questionnaire which involves more private info like whether penetrative sex was involved, the nature of sex like whether it is anal or oral or other kind (fetish or maybe acrobatically kind of positions used, maybe?). Whether I have any history of STD and the type and frequency of my sexual history.

As for the sex, I said I have protected sex occasionally (which is without the use of condom in this case). I disclosed that I only have one regular partner and I have allowed him to ejaculate in my mouth. These are very private information but I did not hold back any details as far as the questions are concerned.

Eugene gave me the ranking of no or low risk. The significant of this ranking is that the person might be asked to come back for more regular testing if considered high risk. Notwithstanding any ranking, the person is advised to conduct safe sex or abstinence. The next best policy is to have less casual sex partners.

After this pretest counseling I was led to the other room for the prick test using ACON test kit. BTW, Eugene already explained to me at the pretest counseling, the type of test kit they used and what the result means. He also told me that the test is 99.9% accurate. If the first test result is positive, me being in low risk, a second retest will be done on the same day. If the result is still positive, then they would advise me to go for a test at the Sungai Buloh general hospital where they have a panel doctor to handle my case. Or I could choose to go to any private clinic for more test.

In the testing room, there were two other guys, both also volunteers, who explained to me the test procedure and the meaning of the test result. They have access to my answered questionnaire put into the folder. After he pricked my fingers for two drops of blood, he put in some clear solution into the test kit and asked me to wait outside the room. He informed me that the result would be available in 10 minutes time.

Later Eugene was back and he went into the room to retrieve my folder. He again brought me to the same counseling room. Once we were seated and behind closed door, he promptly retrieved the test kit and showed me the reading. There is C, T1 and T2. If there is only one red line on C, it means I am negative. Other combination like C+T1, C+T2, C+T1+T2 shows the result is positive. Other combination shows there is error.

Though I wasn't overly concern prior being shown the result, nonetheless I heaved a sigh of relief knowing that I am negative. Eugene reminded me that I should still take precaution with future encounters since the test result does not reduce any risk in the future.

Then Eugene conducted the post test counseling and explained the work and nature of Pink Triangle foundation. He also update me on the yearly event of HIV and AIDS awareness on December 1st and 2nd. They welcome volunteers to help manning of the booth and all other works. It is a carnival like event where they would hand out pamphlet and free condom to create awareness. The event took place since year 2005. Oh BTW, the anonymous test was sponsored by the Ministry of Health official since July 21, 2006. PT foundation has started conducting the free and anonymous test from July 7, 2006. My number 375 indicates that I am the 375th person who did the test at the foundation. He said the number of person who turned up for the test is encouraging.

So that was the episode of my recent visit to Pink Triangle. Do help spread the word and encourage your network of friends to go for the free and anonymous test. Donation is encouraged.

5 Things

OK. So let's do it. Caught up with the penta meme virus.

5 things in my bag

1. Dell Inspiron
2. Second mobile phone
3. Always a book
4. Magic cloth by 3M
5. My Nokia 6300 traveler charger

5 things in my wallet

1. ATM cards, 3 of them
2. Credit card: HSBC, UOB One, Maybank Flex (I have the green and red ones), IKEA Friend
3. NRIC and driving license
4. Insurance card
5. Some cash

5 things in my bedroom

1. My favorite and newly acquired Slumberland Sanctury, bio ceramic mind you
2. A copy cat version of IKEA Poang easy arm chair for a fraction of the price
   
3. Computer desk with an assortment of gadgets sprawl over the surface
   
4. Five luggages, as if I am always prepared for a business trip
5. Built-in cabinet, so inconspicuous you might thing it was a wall deco

5 most visited websites

1. google.com (the mother of all websites, it all started from here)
   
2. gmail.com (can't live without it)
   
3. reader.google.com (for daily fix of blogs)
4. fridae.com (you know why)
   
5. amazon.com (always something to look up for)

5 best loved websites

1. maybank2u.com (always checking on account whether money will grow money)
2. ikea.com.my (for it's fabulous looking online IKEA catalog 2008 and search capability)
3. airasia.com.my (for online booking even without eTicket)
4. dict.cn (great site for dictionary, Eng-Chinese and vice versa)
5. mycen.com (check it out)

5 things I would like to do

1. Scuba diving
2. Skinny dipping
3. Sky diving
   
4. Tour the world
   
5. Orgy (let's be honest)

5 most exciting moments

1. Going to US, which is New Orleans
2. Graduation
3. Flying to HK on business class
4. Meeting my niece for the first time
5. Having a guy in bed for the first time
   

And it ends here.

The Ante is Up

I finally placed the deposit for a Slumberland bed mattress. The tag line of Slumberland is "The Most Comfortable Place in The World".

I have been a Slumberland follower since 1995, I bought super single and later a 3-seat sofa. Now I have finally decided to get a queen size bed.

Get this! It is the Bio-ceramic Sanctuary with a posture spring divan and Oxford headboard. Tada! And the price is RMx,800. The next in range would be Royal Haven which is more than double the price!

The sales girl said she will be kind enough and promised to swap the two anti dust mite pillow which is FOC with the more expensive ortho-posture pillow which has a list price of RM368. You can check out the pillow at Harvey Norman.

The Bio-ceramic fabric is woven with a special fiber, made with many different kind of ceramics mixed with mineral oxides, like Silica Oxide, including nano sized far infrared materials and nano sized photo catalyst materials.

And the benefit of far infrared ray? Supposed to improve sleep quality, micro circulation that activates and adjusts blood vessel flow, body's general metabolism, it also reinforces the immunity system and eases pain... too good to be true? Maybe it is all marketing gimmick.

Now I can't wait for the mattress to arrive. But I would be out of KL for a month, so I have asked them to delay the delivery until I am back.

Answer to My Prayer?

What is the best way to beat the traffic jam blue in KL?

What offers you air con, comfy seat (ok, not so comfy after all), stress free ride through the thick jam during peak hours in the morning and evening?

While you could enjoy light music, reading pleasure and let the driver brings you to work and back to home, safe and sound? Too bad it does not come with ice blend mocha. Am I asking too much?

Today I took my maiden ride on the brand new revised RapidKL network (it is considered new starting from 21 April 2007 as stated on the official website) to work. I paid RM2 for the 'all-day ticket' on the the Utama (Trunk) bus network, I could have unlimited ride for the day on the same network. Rapid probably figured out that on average each person only takes 2 rides in a day.

This system benefit commuters in a few ways:
1. Spread the fare across and share the burden;
2. You only pay once and then show the same ticket stub to the bus driver for all subsequent rides on the network (provided you don't lost the ticket). No more fumbling with small change and coin.
3. Saving for me from having to drive and to park my car for RM5 per entry.

It is only 20 minutes ride from my neighborhood to Sentral Station. Due to the rain and heavy jam in the evening, I spent 30 minutes waiting for the bus and another hour in the bus. However, I could now sit back and relax, (pretend) to read and listen to my MP3 player.

The annoying things are:
1. The bus is never on time, and it does not keep to the frequency stated;
2. You have to brave the elements, like today's sudden downpour starting at 6pm;
3. Massive jam at stops like the one on Jalan Tun Sambanthan in front of the monorail station.

Joy is about discovering alternatives in life!