Aaaaaacid Reflux =(

I guess I should have seen this coming…I’ve previously had minor cases of heartburn after eating raw garlic and a couple times after overeating…but the last few nights, I’ve been waking up at 3-4am with a pain in my chest. Of course, self-diagnosing always makes you paranoid and I first thought I was having congestive heart failure, hehe…wasn’t really laughing this morning at 3:30…but the symptoms look like what many millions of Americans suffer from…acid reflux.

Acid Reflux: a condition in which acidic gastric fluid is regurgitated into the esophagus, causing heartburn.

There are a good amount of signs that I have this:

  1. Every morning, I have to brush my tongue since there is a white film over it (food coming back up in your sleep)
  2. Food triggers: caffeine, tomatoes, garlic, carbonated drinks (I bought a lot of sparkling water), chocolate, spicy food, cheese, red meat, fatty foods, etc
  3. Wearing tight pants that restrict my stomach and causing discomfort
  4. Sleeping on my back which makes the acid travel back up and has been giving me bad chest pains at night
  5. Needing to sleep upright to let the pain subside…think I’ll need to adjust my bedding…don’t wanna keep sleeping on the couch
  6. Regurgitation/vomit/bloating: this happens every so often after eating a lot and I feel the acid in my throat…makes swallowing hurt

Guess this is just one of the signs of getting older. I guess I’ll be forced to change my diet. I’ve already ordered some apple cider vinegar, turmeric, and antacid pills from Target. I ate oatmeal and a banana today and drank hot ginger water. Honestly, I am thankful. It is quite common and it isn’t the worst thing to deal with (though I wish I could get a good night’s sleep). I should probably eat healthier in the long run…the hubby is secretly jumping for joy…

LA to help my parents move

Anson had a tough mudder event w/ coworkers on Saturday 10/6/18, so I had planned a trip to LA for the long weekend (we get Columbus day off), but my parents called me two weeks before and asked if I could extend my trip till Wednesday and help them permanently move from their house in Reseda to the condo we helped buy for them in San Gabriel. Me, being the dutiful daughter (and I love traveling anyways), said yes.

On Saturday, I ubered to SJC (sad that I don’t have lounge access anymore). I watched a pretty good Netflix Live Action movie Bleach on the plane (thank goodness for Netflix downloads). Junior picked me up and we had lunch in North Hollywood at a pho restaurant. I’ve been a little sick, so I wanted soup. He dropped me off at the Metro Red subway line. I took it all the way down to Union Station (only $1.75!) and caught the Gold line to Chinatown. I was going to meet my parents there for dinner, but we ended up just going back home and had leftovers. Many people give them a lot of food and they go to different occasions in which there is always an excess of food. The rest of the night, we just spent rearranging the furniture in anticipation of the move.

On Sunday, I walked to MBCLA (30-40 mins since 1.5 miles away). I briefly talked to Caleb, Clara, Jackie, and Auntie Rose and made plans to meet up midweek). I walked back to the condo, took a shower, and drove 40 mins back to the valley to have lunch at 12:45pm with Crescencia at Lulu’s. The sirloin steak pasta was not on the menu, but they were able to make it for me (my favorite from when I was younger). Cres is doing well with her job at a community college, singing for church, etc. I met up with Gina at 2:45pm at Bon Bon Tea House. She’ll be going to Isreal with a bunch of church people…so cool! Had leftover Lulu’s and boba for dinner (probably shouldn’t have had milk tea as I couldn’t sleep till 3am)

On Monday, spent the day with my parents. My mom and I did a morning walk and also went to OneGeneration (their senior center that is close to the park) and had lunch ($2/elderly but $4 for me). Food wasn’t the greatest, but it’s balanced and makes it easier for my parents so that they don’t have to cook. We did more packing and had Yoshinoya for dinner.

On Tuesday, the movers came at 9am. They were pretty efficient in packing our 5 pantry units, 2 bookcases, upright piano, coffee table, A/C unit, a few boxes, and some cabinets with moving blankets, saran wrap, and bubble wrap. We had told them to go from the front, but they went thru the back which became a small ordeal since the truck couldn’t fit at parts of the condo units and had trouble getting out of the complex. No matter, the amount was $109/hr for 5 hours (CA has a policy for double drive time), so was $545 +$60 tips. I bought a bunch of groceries from Mitsuwa and had Japanese for lunch and dinner (sushi! Nigiri! Squid and octopus!). My parents then showed me around their neighborhood (downtown mission district). We walked 2.3 miles…they are so fit.

On Wednesday, I went with my mom to the park to do some Chinese exercise that is held every day at 8am. There were probably +30 older people participating…good to see that they care about their health. Auntie Rose came by to see the condo and we met Uncle Daniel and Caleb at a dim sum restaurant for brunch. Uncle Daniel stopped by to take a look around the condo and we discussed a little about renting out my parents’ old house. I think I am leaning more to doing that since I am hoping to get them and us passive income thru the property. We will pay to fix up the house and deal with all the maintenance/management, and we will give my parents a set amount of income monthly. We’re still in the planning stages, so hopefully if all goes well, we’ll get it fixed up and rented out by mid next year! My parents dropped me off at the Burbank Airport around 6:30pm. I cried a little when they drove off. I should try to appreciate them more and show love to them.