Thursday, July 28, 2005

Credit Card Fraud Part 2

I was happily gossiping my morning away with some friends on Yahoo when I received a phone call from a bank. Citibank this time. The officer called to tell me that my card is suspected to have been cloned and will be cancelled today. WHATTTT!!? First my HSBC, then my CITIBANK? Both in the same week? Bugger. But let me tell you, this isn't the first time my Citibank card got cloned. Since I became a cardholder in 2001, my card this is probably the 4th time they cancelled it because of suspected cloning. Yes, that's once a year of going through the hassle of changing the info with all the direct debit merchants, e.g. Maxis, WWF, Insurance, despite Citibank's constant reassurance that I will never need to worry about that because it is "automatically done." Well, if you call my everyday being harassed by ING and WWF and Maxis because they could not charge my non-existent account, and having to refill authorization forms "automatically done," yes it is then definitely "automatically done" indeed. By a very irritable person called MYSELF. I don't know why my cards get cloned so many times. I don't believe I'm an Internet shopping whore, except for the odd book and dvd orders from Amazon every few months or so. Just not my luck perhaps.

*
Day +17
Today feels just like yesterday. Didn't eat as much as yesterday because i thought the food sucked. Yesterday's probably sucked as well, but after not eating for four days, anything would probably taste good for me. Mild sore throat still. Fever gone. Cough and nasal congestion improving rapidly. My blood counts today are as follows: Total White Count 1.1 (wooohooo!), Hb 10, Platelet 17 (having another bag transfused now, thank God for blood donors).

So, I believe the worst is almost over for now (have I said that yet?). Although when I reflect on the events that transpired in the last week, I think I could've handled it much better than I did. I only suffered for 6 days, while many others couldn't eat up to 2 weeks. Haha, sekarang boleh la cakap, but when I was going through it, it sure felt like it was the most painful thing in the world. God has been good to me, alhamdulillah. One thing I don't like, I'm so bloated. My face is so puffy. I woke up this morning weighing 65 kgs! How did i managed to go from 57 to 65 within 21 days? I blame it on the 4 days of TPN, because I for sure did not eat anything much other than the high calorie, high protein TPN over 4 days. Argh!

What next, you ask? I'm not so sure myself. In the bulletin boards I've scoured, I've read that people who were fine up to month 6 post transplant could still develop complications from Graft vs Host disease. So I'll just have to watch for any weird changes and report it to the doctor when it happens. Transplant Doc #2 said I could be discharged perhaps as early as next Monday, if everything remains stable. Cool! I wasn't expecting that at all..since I was prepared to stay here for another 2 weeks. So, hopefully Monday it is then, yeah? Then I can stay home and watch my Animal Planet and Discovery Travel shows..and not to forget...Akademia Fantasia 3!!

Finally, a wish to Mobilemom, who's flying off to Sydney with her family tonight. She will be continuing her battle against Mesothelioma Cancer there. Travel safe, good luck, and shop to the max ok MM (and be reasonable, don't shop till you drop!!). My prayers are with you, always.

- a woozy botakchin

ps: forgive me if my sentences are too long and rambly. I read it again and realized how long they are. I was probably having a mild drug buzz while typing this up just now.