rated k paints a dismal picture of diabetics
In last night's episode of Rated K which I happened to be peripherally viewing (I was playing Sims 2 on my PC which was just right beside the living room TV), one segment featured a diabetic. Of course, that got me interested but I was rather disappointed because that particular segment talked about diabetes as some form of dreaded disease.
It talked about how this TV performer (forgot the name) who used to weigh 280 pounds suddenly shriveled and his body thinned out after being diagnosed with the disease. It was not clear however if this person had Diabetes Type 1 or 2 but it appeared to be hereditary since it was implied that it was possible that he got it because of relatives who also had it.
It was rather saddening to hear diabetes being pictured this way -- like some form of debilitating disease. I know the show meant well but it should've cleared some matters like what caused the body to drop in weight suddenly and it was also not clear what medication and treatment were undertaken by the protagonist of the segment.
The segment also painted a scenario of hopelessness since it seemed as though it tells viewers that when you get the disease it seems like the end of the world. Come on, I've got the D and I'm living my life to the fullest. I'm actually in my best health in years and I love it. Sure there are restrictions and sure there is an ongoing medication but it's not life threatening if you follow medication and ensure you get a good medical regimen.
Korina, I admire you and like what your show on Sundays but please, make sure your researchers get the picture of diabetes right. Yes, diabetes is a chronic disease in that there's no cure for it. But, don't instill fear in diabetics or cause fear in people to dread the disease. Please.
vetassessed is positive
After roughly six weeks after filing, I received word from our immigration consultant that my VETASSESS assessment is positive. Last Saturday, I got a copy of the result and yes, indeed, it says in the form that my nominated occupation of Marketing Specialist is positive -- meaning that my nominated occupation and my submitted documentation to prove that I am such has been approved by the Australian authorities.
This is the first step into our Skilled Independent Regional Visa application, our passport to greener pastures in the land Down Under. Next step would be to pass the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) where I need to score 7 in all components -- reading, writing, listening and speaking.
sims 2 again
I'm playing Sims 2 again and starting to get hooked to it again. I'm still trying to re-figure out again how the gameplay goes but I'm getting there slowly. And since I'm playing the deluxe edition which combines both the original game and the Nightlife expansion, there are some totally new additions to the game which I have yet to really be familiar including the ability to drive your own vehicle, group dates (wherein I sucked in my first attempt), dating (again, which I sucked and only ranked so-so) and bowling which was quite exciting.
With Sims 3 said to launch in 2009, I'm just biding my time and not rushing to buy the rest of the expansion sets for Sims 2. i'm pretty sure that once Sims 3 launches, they'll be selling the Sims 2 expansion sets and item sets in packages (like what they did for Sims 1 when they launched the 9-in-1 package when Sims 2 was released). So, 2009's just around the corner ... just a few more months of wait and the expansions are sure to be packaged in one affordable bundle.
short story's on the way
I'm about half-way with the speculative short story I'm writing hopefully for submission to the Neil Gaiman-sponsored Philippine Graphic Fiction Awards 2009. Two months to go before the deadline but I hope to submit it by month's end.
What's missing however is the short story I intend to submit for consideration in the Philippine Speculative fiction anthology that Dean Alfar's working on (BTW, Dean, congratulations on the new daughter :) ) which has an earlier deadline of mid-September.
Time-willing and with hopefully manageable work I'll be able to submit entries to both. Keep your fingers crossed, folks!
Talkin' 'bout stuff over steaming cups of coffee. Grab a seat and be part of the chit-chat.
