Fun & Laughter, Peace & Joy

Maids Again

2012-01-16T10:17:00.000+08:00

Hiring maids has given me reasons to write about them.

I have now employed my 4th maid, and she has given me good enough reasons to attribute a blogpost to her.

She joined my family on 5th Dec with no working experience, so it has only been slightly over a month she has been with us. One would think that no brand new maid would dare to slacken or do anything funny within her first month. Not this one though. She should be given an award for her boldness and acting ability.

I wonder if her boldness is common for Filipino maids as she gets advice from her experienced relatives. She is on the phone with them almost every other evening...so maybe they taught her how to deceive her employer. Or maybe it is just her greedy nature.

Thankfully my family has yet to suffer any huge loss to our knowledge, but her little dirty acts are suffice to raise my blood pressure.

Within the first few days of her arrival, I accidentally saw her eating off the skin of the orange while she was cutting it up for me. I brushed it off as an unhygienic act but didnt think of confronting her.

When my mum-in-law unexpectedly returned home one day, she caught my maid rummaging through the biscuits. My mum-in-law did not mention anything but my maid subsequently spoke to her about it - she claimed she liked the biscuits my mum-in-law gave her and was looking at the brand earlier so that she could buy for herself in future. What an ingenious reason.

There was once when she finished her jam and did not inform us. As she has the bad habit of not telling us when her foodstuff has finished, I wanted to wait a few days before passing her the jam. She still had butter anyway. But my mum-in-law cautioned that she may end up consuming our jam instead. So I strategically positioned my jam jars in a certain way that evening - true and behold - the next day one of the jam jars was in a different position. Sighz.

There was once my mum-in-law asked her to cut some fruits. Right under my family's nose, my mum-in-law saw her keeping a slice of the persimmon under all the fruit peels. It was only when my mum-in-law decided to cut the fruits herself that my maid told her she had accidentally left out one piece under the fruit peels - wow what an accident.

The final straw came two Sat ago when my family was out and I could not access the video camera remotely. I suspected my maid had turned off the camera - which was exactly the case. The camera was still switched off when I got back and she promptly received a harsh reprimand from me. She explained her feet had accidentally hit the switch while she was cleaning the grilles. She got frightened when she switched the camera on again because the camera was revolving non-stop. I actually believed her story.

It was only on Sunday evening when A and I pieced the real story together. Because we found a piece of our cookie missing - we had counted our cookies the last time we ate them (yes we have to resort to such measures! ) and surprise surprise, there was now one less cookie . I questioned her (nicely), even reminded her she is a Catholic and should not be lying, but she was adamant she did not eat the cookie.

But the facts are obvious. She has turned off the surveillance camera while we were not home and helped herself to the cookie which was placed right next to the camera. I am not sure what else happened when the camera was switched off. In retrospect, the odds that she could have accidentally switched off the power switch were one in a thousand. Given the chunkiness of the camera plug and the location of the powerpoint and power switch, it would require more than an accident to switch off the camera. She might as well crashed my camera and said the camera fell off the table by itself.

I could close one eye if she only stole my cookie - it was not her first time anyway. Or maybe we really miscounted. Perhaps she did switch off the camera by accident. But for both incidents to happen at the same time is too much of a coincidence. If she is bold enough to switch off the camera, I cannot imagine what other tricks she would come up with in future. She is a liar, a thief, and a very audacious one for the matter. I certainly hope other Filipino maids have more integrity and pride in themselves than the one I have hired.

So I am off to hire maid no. 5, and we have decided that our experience with this Filipino is so horrendous we are sticking to Indonesian maids for a long time. All I want is a honest and hardworking maid - is that so difficult to find?

PS: Over the weekend, I noticed that a bottle of snacks which my family has never opened did not look as full as it should have been. Further, the scotch tape that was used to seal the container was pasted in a messy manner and had bubbles all over. I don't want to speculate but there is a huge likelihood someone had opened the container to taste its contents and tried to seal it back unsuccessfully. A thinks it was probably done before we alerted her that we knew she stole our cookie. We may be wrong of course, but we just do not trust her anymore. I want to give her a piece of my mind and send her back now, but A prefers to wait till the new maid arrives. She frustrates me so much I can't wait to kick her out of my house soon!

A Huge Decision

2011-11-08T00:48:00.002+08:00

7 Nov 2011

Today marks the day on which A and I made a huge decision. In less than 24 hours, we made up our minds to commit our lives to it.

It was love at first sight - halfway through the introduction I knew this was for us. And we were not even actively looking. I guess love has a way of knocking on your door without you looking for it.

For someone who is extremely particular with design and style, I was willing to overlook the imperfections and focus on the attractive attributes - location and price.

For the rational me who would usually think umpteen times before taking the plunge, we made THE decision in less than 8 hours. 18 hours after the first introduction, we made our decision official.

I am extremely grateful for the advice and support from my family members, which reaffirmed our decision.

For the first time in many years, I think I will probably live on bread and milo for the next few months. And my online shopping will have to come to a hiatus - and I just came across two dresses I simply adore! The only exception will be J - I will continue to pay for what I deem as essentials for him, although I will have to think twice before buying that toy.

I am eagerly looking forward to my payday - I have never been as excited. Because every cent counts. We'll just need to settle the initial payment and the rest should be fine, by God's grace. I am thankful and very blessed that I have the opportunity to make this decision. It was a quick decision, but not a hasty one, I hope.

For the many months to come, I will have to learn to exercise self-discipline when it comes to shopping and try to save up as much as I can. Holidays will probably be taboo - but I still hope to bring my little J traveling - we'll see how. To me, J comes first. Whatever is best for him. While the next few years may be a little hard on us, I believe J will benefit from our decision plus A really likes it - which makes it all worth it.

Maids - Again

2011-10-25T09:21:00.002+08:00

I am on my way to changing my maid again. This would be the fourth time this year, and apparently if I exceed four changes a year, I would be called up for a counselling session by MOM.

The first maid was clever and started to cut corners after a month or so. She wanted to go back home under the excuse she had to sell her land to pay for her brother's wedding. We think she probably found out that the salary for other Indonesian maids had increased.

The second woman, whom I don't even want to think about, was a huge mistake. I don't see how other households can tolerate her for the medium-term.

My current third one, completely new from Indonesia, is a bit slow but her attitude is alright. But she has the bad habit of repeating mistakes...one day she would get it right and the next time she would get it wrong. She is afraid of the dark and wanted to sleep with the lights switched on her first night. When I left her to stay with my in-laws for a few days, she was afraid to sleep alone and waited till my in-laws were home. She doesn't like to eat instant noodles and wants rice for all meals. If she is already getting simple things wrong, no way am I going to allow her to cook her own meals. Both my mum-in-law and I are so frustrated with her.

After working with us for about 1.5 months, she wanted to transfer, probably because I scolded her for repeating a mistake when she got it right previously. We were fine with that, especially since it has been so frustrating trying to correct the mistakes of someone who does not understand me.

I decided I would avoid reprimanding her since she was leaving soon. But I had to give her a piece of my mind two Fridays ago. For the last few weeks, I noticed that undergarment looked out-of-shape and I attributed it to them being worn out from normal wear and tear. I even asked my mum-in-law to demonstrate to her again how to wash them and reminded her to wash them carefully. But on Friday morning I realised a particular piece looked really distorted, so I went to check the rest and noticed that even a relatively new one was out-of-shape. I asked my mum-in-law and she told me she had the same experience as me. And then we found out she had not been washing in the manner we instructed her to.

The solution now is to wash them myself because for some reason, she cannot register our instructions. For the next few days, I also had to check how she was hanging my laundry and noticed that she did not take care in hanging my undergarment out to dry. And I had just reminded her and shown her how to do it the day before.

Just last Friday, I was so stressed out from reprimanding her. I was rearranging some stuff in the kitchen cabinet when I realised kaya was smeared on the inside of my cabinet door. I checked and realised that she had opened and consumed a new jar of kaya even though she had not finished her jam. She explained that the jam was sweet and caused her gum to hurt. To me, it is a lousy reason because kaya also contains sugar and she could have just consumed her bread with butter. Moreover, I never told her that jar of kaya was for her consumption. And I have also told her that she has to refrigerate her bread spread after opening. Otherwise, she would get a stomachache. So she probably never understood me, or she is just finding excuses. After she went back to sleep, I found out that my washed bedsheet was still in the washing machine. So I woke her up to hang the laundry.

This is the type of maid I am facing and I do not have the energy or time to be checking on her everyday. I can't wait to kick her out of my place. I cannot even trust her to wash or hang my clothes properly even though we have shown her how to do it a few times. And all she is responsible for is housework - she doesn't even help to cook or take care of my son. Isn't that easy enough?

I admit I am not the most patient person around. But I was never harsh with my first maid. For this third one, she just finds things to ignite my temper. And even my mother-in-law is frustrated, so her quality of work speaks for itself. As it is, my maid seems to be in poor health and always have a health issue every few weeks. She initially complained of weak legs from eating instant noodles, and then she had dizzy spells, followed by cough. Most recently she complained of painful gums, and just a few days ago she fainted (she claimed it was because she ate bee hoon, not rice for lunch). All in 2 months, and her appetite has grown so much she eats more than me already. On hindsight I think I made the right choice to change maid. I just hope she does not faint again before my new maid arrives.

I think I would be happier without a maid. But I also recognize without a maid, I will have to perform daily chores which would take my time away from J. I just hope my next maid will be better...after having three Indonesian maids, the next one is a Filipino. I suppose there will be pros and cons, but at least I am assured our level of communication would be much better. Let's wait and see...

Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

2011-10-08T11:54:00.006+08:00

I do not know Steve Jobs personally, but his talent has touched the world and impacted our way of life so tremendously, I feel a sense of melancholy as if I did know him. I am inspired by his passion, positive attitude to life and boundless creativity. He is definitely someone very special and created by God to touch the world in a very special way. I sincerely hope he is at a better place and he will definitely be remembered for many many years to come.

I read the following article on yahoo today...it's an irony how we get to know more about a person after the person is gone. From the article, I caught a glimpse of his imperfections, but at the same time, the love he has for his family.

9 things you didn’t know about the life of Steve Jobs

For all of his years in the spotlight at the helm of Apple, Steve Jobs in many ways remains an inscrutable figure — even in his death. Fiercely private, Jobs concealed most specifics about his personal life, from his curious family life to the details of his battle with pancreatic cancer — a disease that ultimately claimed him on Wednesday, at the age of 56.

While the CEO and co-founder of Apple steered most interviews away from the public fascination with his private life, there's plenty we know about Jobs the person, beyond the Mac and the iPhone. If anything, the obscure details of his interior life paint a subtler, more nuanced portrait of how one of the finest technology minds of our time grew into the dynamo that we remember him as today.

1. Early life and childhood
Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955. He was adopted shortly after his birth and reared near Mountain View, California by a couple named Clara and Paul Jobs. His adoptive father — a term that Jobs openly objected to — was a machinist for a laser company and his mother worked as an accountant.

Later in life, Jobs discovered the identities of his estranged parents. His birth mother, Joanne Simpson, was a graduate student at the time and later a speech pathologist; his biological father, Abdulfattah John Jandali, was a Syrian Muslim who left the country at age 18 and reportedly now serves as the vice president of a Reno, Nevada casino. While Jobs reconnected with Simpson in later years, he and his biological father remained estranged.

2. College dropout
The lead mind behind the most successful company on the planet never graduated from college, in fact, he didn't even get close. After graduating from high school in Cupertino, California — a town now synonymous with 1 Infinite Loop, Apple's headquarters — Jobs enrolled in Reed College in 1972. Jobs stayed at Reed (a liberal arts university in Portland, Oregon) for only one semester, dropping out quickly due to the financial burden the private school's steep tuition placed on his parents.

In his famous 2005 commencement speech to Stanford University, Jobs said of his time at Reed: "It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5 cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple."

3. Fibbed to his Apple co-founder about a job at Atari
Jobs is well known for his innovations in personal computing, mobile tech, and software, but he also helped create one of the best known video games of all-time. In 1975, Jobs was tapped by Atari to work on the Pong-like game Breakout.

He was reportedly offered $750 for his development work, with the possibility of an extra $100 for each chip eliminated from the game's final design. Jobs recruited Steve Wozniak (later one of Apple's other founders) to help him with the challenge. Wozniak managed to whittle the prototype's design down so much that Atari paid out a $5,000 bonus — but Jobs kept the bonus for himself, and paid his unsuspecting friend only $375, according to Wozniak's own autobiography.

4. The wife he leaves behind
Like the rest of his family life, Jobs kept his marriage out of the public eye. Thinking back on his legacy conjures images of him commanding the stage in his trademark black turtleneck and jeans, and those solo moments are his most iconic. But at home in Palo Alto, Jobs was raising a family with his wife, Laurene, an entrepreneur who attended the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton business school and later received her MBA at Stanford, where she first met her future husband.

For all of his single-minded dedication to the company he built from the ground up, Jobs actually skipped a meeting to take Laurene on their first date: "I was in the parking lot with the key in the car, and I thought to myself, 'If this is my last night on earth, would I rather spend it at a business meeting or with this woman?' I ran across the parking lot, asked her if she'd have dinner with me. She said yes, we walked into town and we've been together ever since."

In 1991, Jobs and Powell were married in the Ahwahnee Hotel at Yosemite National Park, and the marriage was officiated by Kobin Chino, a Zen Buddhist monk.

5. His sister is a famous author
Later in his life, Jobs crossed paths with his biological sister while seeking the identity of his birth parents. His sister, Mona Simpson (born Mona Jandali), is the well-known author of Anywhere But Here — a story about a mother and daughter that was later adapted into a film starring Natalie Portman and Susan Sarandon.

After reuniting, Jobs and Simpson developed a close relationship. Of his sister, he told a New York Times interviewer: "We're family. She's one of my best friends in the world. I call her and talk to her every couple of days.'' Anywhere But Here is dedicated to "my brother Steve."

6. Celebrity romances
In The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, an unauthorized biography, a friend from Reed reveals that Jobs had a brief fling with folk singer Joan Baez. Baez confirmed the the two were close "briefly," though her romantic connection with Bob Dylan is much better known (Dylan was the Apple icon's favorite musician). The biography also notes that Jobs went out with actress Diane Keaton briefly.

7. His first daughter
When he was 23, Jobs and his high school girlfriend Chris Ann Brennan conceived a daughter, Lisa Brennan Jobs. She was born in 1978, just as Apple began picking up steam in the tech world. He and Brennan never married, and Jobs reportedly denied paternity for some time, going as far as stating that he was sterile in court documents. He went on to father three more children with Laurene Powell. After later mending their relationship, Jobs paid for his first daughter's education at Harvard. She graduated in 2000 and now works as a magazine writer.

8. Alternative lifestyle
In a few interviews, Jobs hinted at his early experience with the psychedelic drug LSD. Of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Jobs said: "I wish him the best, I really do. I just think he and Microsoft are a bit narrow. He'd be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger."

The connection has enough weight that Albert Hofmann, the Swiss scientist who first synthesized (and took) LSD, appealed to Jobs for funding for research about the drug's therapeutic use.

In a book interview, Jobs called his experience with the drug "one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life." As Jobs himself has suggested, LSD may have contributed to the "think different" approach that still puts Apple's designs a head above the competition.

Jobs will forever be a visionary, and his personal life also reflects the forward-thinking, alternative approach that vaulted Apple to success. During a trip to India, Jobs visited a well-known ashram and returned to the U.S. as a Zen Buddhist.

Jobs was also a pescetarian who didn't consume most animal products, and didn't eat meat other than fish. A strong believer in Eastern medicine, he sought to treat his own cancer through alternative approaches and specialized diets before reluctantly seeking his first surgery for a cancerous tumor in 2004.

9. His fortune
As the CEO of the world's most valuable brand, Jobs pulled in a comically low annual salary of just $1. While the gesture isn't unheard of in the corporate world — Google's Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt all pocketed the same 100 penny salary annually — Jobs has kept his salary at $1 since 1997, the year he became Apple's lead executive. Of his salary, Jobs joked in 2007: "I get 50 cents a year for showing up, and the other 50 cents is based on my performance."

In early 2011, Jobs owned 5.5 million shares of Apple. After his death, Apple shares were valued at $377.64 — a roughly 43-fold growth in valuation over the last 10 years that shows no signs of slowing down.

He may only have taken in a single dollar per year, but Jobs leaves behind a vast fortune. The largest chunk of that wealth is the roughly $7 billion from the sale of Pixar to Disney in 2006. In 2011, with an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion, he was the 110th richest person in the world, according to Forbes. If Jobs hadn't sold his shares upon leaving Apple in 1985 (before returning to the company in 1996), he would be the world's fifth richest individual.

While there's no word yet on plans for his estate, Jobs leaves behind three children from his marriage to Laurene Jobs (Reed, Erin, and Eve), as well as his first daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/8-things-didn-t-know-life-steve-jobs-172130955.html

Shoes - An Update

2011-09-29T20:42:00.000+08:00

Finally had my shoes back after 1.5 months of waiting. Width of shoes still felt a bit tight - an ominous sign.

Day 1 of wearing my artificially expanded shoes - Horrible. Heels and both sides of my feet were abraded. It was so painful I had to use plasters on the heels and bear the rest of the soreness. Shoes that ill-treat my feet like this will usually be given the cold shoulder and left to rust and decay in my shoe cabinet. But not this pair given the amount it costs me - I must persevere!

Day 2 - Still quite bad. I now have a blister on the right heel and it hurts just walking in the shoes. Plasters to the rescue again and I ended up in flip-flops most of the day.

Day 3 - Shoes are still abrading my sides a bit. But my heels feel fine. Not the most comfortable pair of shoes but at least it is now wearable.

Day 4 - Shoes still feel a bit tight, but yay, no more plasters!

A week later - My shoes took a 5-day break at home as I brought my trusty crocs overseas for a holiday. When my feet met the shoes again, the hard leather felt foreign and uncomfortable compared to the soft cushioning of my crocs (I just need crocs to design gorgeous shoes for work!). Nevertheless, my feet adjusted after a while and I survived a 10-hour workday with my shoes.

So this whirlwind relationship continues...but at least now I am assured of a long-term (though slightly uncomfortable) relationship with my shoes :)

Shoes

2011-08-29T12:18:00.001+08:00

A person's outfit and accessories can give great insights to a person's personality. For instance, I can usually tell whether a person loves dressing up from her choice of footwear. The more practical ladies are usually in pumps or flats, whereas the fashionistas can be found in towering stilettos suitable only for the runway and nowhere else.

Despite shoes being one of the least conspicuous accessory, I personally believe it is the one accessory worth splurging on. With my many experiences with blisters and sore feet from wearing ill-fitting shoes, I have learnt that the quality of my shoes can make or break my day. And I have also learnt the hard way that branded shoes do not necessarily mean quality shoes.

During my recent trip to Italy, I decided to splurge on 2 pairs of leather shoes from a brand raved by most as having very comfortable shoes.

I was extremely thrilled with my purchase of 2 pairs of gorgeous shoes. But my excitement turned into frustration within an hour my feet met my new shoes. Even though I bought half-a-size larger than my usual shoe size, the shoes gave me blisters and squeezed my feet till it hurt just standing in my shoes (and I was already wearing stockings to reduce the friction).

I decided to bring the pair of shoes to the local boutique in Singapore. The saleslady told me that the shoes I purchased in Italy were of "C" cut, and the Asian boutiques usually carried "D" cuts to fit the broader Asian feet. I tried the "D" cut and the shoes were evidently looser.

As I had another pair of "C" cut shoes I have not worn, I asked if I could exchange it for a "D" cut. The answer was negative, as the Asian boutiques usually did not carry "C" cut shoes. The saleslady explained that the local boutiques were only partly owned by the original owners and they could not accept cuts/designs they did not sell.

So there I am...after forking out a mean sum for branded luxury shoes, I am stuck with shoes that don't fit me. It is a wonder why non-luxury brands can accord good exchange/refund policies to customers, but not that luxury brand -particularly when it is obvious the customer is paying a high premium not only for quality products, but also exceptional customer service. The brand had not only failed me in terms of quality, its poor exchange policy has left a distaste in my mouth. I was half-expecting the local boutique to charge me for the shoe expansion service, but thankfully they didn't. I have to wait over a month before I can collect my shoes though.

My search for nice comfortable work shoes continues...in the meantime, I can only hope that the artificial shoe expansion will improve the fit of those stubbornly uncomfortable shoes. And would I ever purchase another pair of branded shoes? I hate to admit it, but I probably would. I still believe that a price must be paid for good craftsmanship. But next time, I would have to be doubly sure the shoes fit like a Tee before I buy them.

First Words

2011-08-10T22:45:00.000+08:00

26 Jul 2011

At 16 months old, my little J can say a variety of words, although his favourite language is still babbling. Being a chatty boy who is full of expressions, he would go "orh orh orh" or "ng ng ng" when he doesn't know the actual words to say. This is a little compilation of J's word of vocabulary so that I can remember his dearest first words:-

1. Bear - J's first word spoken on 5 Jun 2011. He looked at Berry (my pink toy bear) and said the magic word. And then I showed him a picture of a bear (Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?), said "bear", and he repeated the word after me. J was evidently very happy with his accomplishment, cos for the rest of the evening he was going "bear, bear, bear..." non-stop, even at bedtime. Both A and I were delirious that our baby has uttered his first word!

2. Ball - This is J's favourite toy since he knew the concept of toys and playtime. I heard him say the word on 16 Jun 2011, when he came home with his grandparents and a brand new ball. My in-laws later told me he can say "ball" - looks like J had charmed his grandparents into buying him a new toy!

3. There - One of J's most powerful words because it gets him to places. The first time he pointed at a certain direction and said "there", his Ye-Ye did as he directed and J had extra time out of the house!

4. Bus - Whenever a bus passes, J'll point at it and go "Oh!". When we ask him what it is, he'll say "Ba" - his very own pronunciation of his favourite vehicle.

5. Bag - Noticed J was pretty good at pronouncing words starting with B, so I showed him a bag, pronounced the word, and he immediately repeated the word after me. Clever boy!

6. Bye - J can do a nice smacking goodbye kiss and say bye at the same time. This little boy doesn't like to stay at home, and is especially enthusiastic in giving a flying kiss when it means he gets to go out!

7. Bao - J pronounces this with an ang mo accent and outstretched arms whenever he wants someone to carry him.

8. Names - J can scream Ye (for Ye-Ye), pronounces Nai-Nai as Ngair Ngair Ngair, says Da or Ba (for Daddy) if we ask him to, he can pronunce Gu (for Aunt), but doesn't call me unless he is crying. Occasionally, he will say "Ba" when I ask me to say Mummy, but there were a couple of times he pronounced Mama perfectly when he was in tears and wanted my attention. I can't really figure out why, but it seems that my little darling pronounces Mama only when he really wants my attention.

9. Complete the word - J can complete selective words/phrases too. If we say "question", he will add on "mark". "Motor" is completed with "bike" (which sounds like mark but it sounds so adorable nonetheless!). "Air" is joined by "Ple" for "Apple".

10. Car - J recently learnt to pronounce "car" on 17 Jul 2011. I pointed to a car, repeated the word a few times, and then J said "car" very softly. This is the only time I have heard J whisper!

11. Woof - J loves animals, and he goes "oh" (his personal mimiction of a bark) whenever he sees a picture of a dog. Just a few days ago on 19 Jul 2011, J went "moo" when he saw pictures of cows!

A Movie and A Book

2011-07-17T00:41:00.000+08:00

The Movie
On my flight back from Italy, I watched a movie titled "Be with me" by Royston Tan. It contains a documentary of a 61 year old Singaporean lady, Theresa Chan Poh Lin, who has been blind and deaf from a young age. She is an inspirational figure because she continues to lead life to the maximum despite her handicaps. She even managed to pick up English despite her handicaps, and remains positive about life. This movie won a Special Mention Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2005.

Many a times, I complain and even get angry at the smallest things (e.g. the Chinese man who cut my queue at the airport this morning), but God has shown me that I am so blessed. So blessed that I can see the beauty around me, hear my son's adorable voice, and being blessed with the ability to appreciate life to the fullest. I have had some downs in life, but they are minuscule relative to what this courageous lady had gone through. I should be more appreciative and really, seriously, count my many blessings. May God bless this lady richly.

The Book
One of the privileges of having great in-laws is that I can travel with A, catch up on my sleep, and read a book. I started to enjoy reading in the past few years, but reading becomes a luxury and an almost impossible task when one has a young and active toddler. Anyway, I had the opportunity to read during my Italy holiday and picked a book from Amazon's list of bestsellers. The title of the book would grab anyone's attention - Heaven is for real, A little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven.

I believe in Heaven and Hell, and this book offers glimpses into what is awaiting us after this life. It offers hope to those who have lost loved ones and reaffirms the faith of those who believe. In one of the chapters, the little boy shared that he met his unborn sister in heaven. He did not know that his mother had miscarried previously and his sharing helped to heal the pain his mother had carried for years, as well as soothed the grief of another lady who gave birth to a stillborn.

Obviously on the extreme, there can be 2 reactions to the contents of this book - as aptly displayed by A and myself. A is not a believer and thinks the father (who is a pastor) could have cooked up the facts. I believe in the truth of this story - what good would it do to falsify a story like this, and besides if he were really a pastor, he would know that it would be terribly wrong to do so.

This book will serve as a reminder to me how life should be led. When heaven is in perspective, it makes me look at things differently. I will recommend this book to anyone because it has blessed me so much.

Italy - Going Home (15 Jul 2011)

2011-07-17T00:40:00.000+08:00

Our 2.5 hour train trip from Florence to Milan airport was thankfully problem-free. We had proper seats this time round, and our luggage remained intact even though we had to leave it unattended at the baggage area because we there was no place to fit it where we were sitting.

We were greeted by chaos at the airport though. At the queue to claim my tax refund, a Chinese man tried to cut my queue until I told him off. And at the queues to check our hand carry bags and to stamp our passports, there another man who successfully cut our queue. He would nonchalantly just stand beside the lady in front of us, as if he knew her. A thought they might be a couple who quarreled and were not on speaking terms, but he was mistaken. We were glad we arrived early at the airport, as it took us almost 2 hours to complete the immigration procedures.

Italy - Firenze Day 3 (14 Jul 2011)

2011-07-17T00:32:00.000+08:00

Today is the final day of our holiday.

Having missed visiting the Duomo the day before,we woke up bright and early for breakfast in the hotel and headed for the Duomo. We reached the Duomo at about 9:50am, 10 min before its opening, and were greeted with a long queue of visitors that snaked down the side of the church till we were lost at the end of the length of the church. We finally managed to enter the church before 10:30am, and were in time for a free guided tour (this is definitely a first time!). The tour was conducted by volunteers helping an organization called Art and Faith (or something similar).

The most stunning part of the church would be the painting of the dome at the front part of the church. Apparently, the construction of the huge dome was of significance too, as it was deemed almost impossible to construct such a huge dome during that time.

After visiting the Duomo, we had a quick pizza lunch and wonderful gelato at a popular gelato shop - Grom. I had tried the gelato the day before and was extremely impressed with its pesca (peach) flavor.

Our hotel had helped us reserved 2 tickets at the Uffizi for 12:30pm, so we rushed there to collect our tickets. The Uffizi is apparently the must-visit place in Florence as it stores a huge collection of art pieces, including those by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rafaello. Again, I must admit that the uncultured me felt sleepy after about an hour, but managed to peservere - we were in the Uffizi for 4.5 hours! Oh, and the most exciting part of my visit was my purchase of 2 gorgeous pop-up story books at the Uffizi bookstore.

Right after the tour of the Uffizi, we were both feeling very overwhelmed by art and culture, and our stomachs were grumbling a little. A chose a nice restaurant, Osteria Dei Centopoveri, for dinner, and he had an excellent Italian dinner comprising of Florentine beef steak. Our appetiser, melon with prosciutto, was quite yummy. My lasagnette (which looked like mee hoon kuey cooked in tomato sauce) was not bad, and I must say A's steak was the best of all - A actually single-handedly finished his 0.5kg slab of steak! We were also given Tuscan sweet wine and some pretty delicious biscotti to round up our meal. It was a great final meal in Italy.

After the meal, we took a bus up the hill of Piazzale Michelangelo, where we were treated to a spectacular view of Florence. Very nice way to end a holiday. I am obviously a little sad my holiday is coming to an end, but on the other hand, I can't wait to hold my son in my arms and tell him how much I miss him.

Italy - Firenze Day 2 (13 Jul 2011)

2011-07-17T00:31:00.001+08:00

We decided to sleep in and skipped the hotel breakfast. Instead, we had brunch at the Roberto Cavalli cafe and consumed the most fabulous chocolate eclair. It was in this upscale cafe where we noticed some interesting people.

A noticed a lady decked out in a shiny patterned dress that subtly reflected light as she walked - one could not help noticing her not only because of her fabulous dress, but also because of her supermodel looks and confident strut.

I was observing this English elderly couple who was seated near us, and wondering if they could be English royalty on a personal holiday. Unlike some people who try to look rich, this couple was obviously extremely wealthy. The elderly lady, who looked like she was in her 70s, caught my attention because she was decked out in a skin-tight spaghetti strapped long dress that seemed more appropriate for a cocktail party. Her hair was bundled up with a Dior hair clip, her feet wore Chanel heels, and on her finger was the biggest diamond I have ever seen - my best guess is that it must be at least 2 carats (it was about 1.5cm wide in diameter and I am not exaggerating). Her items were obviously very branded, but slightly old-fashioned, so quite suitable for her age. Her companion wore a simple white shirt (the material looks expensive), brown slacks and white leather shoes. My personal opinion is that white shoes are usually reserved for either the male fashionista, or the terribly rich. Most people, I believe, would choose a dark coloured pair of branded shoes over a light coloured pair for practical reasons.

After our interesting "people-watch" at the cafe, we went to visit a small church, Basilica Santa Maria. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos of the church interior. It was a relatively simply decorated church, but had these stunning paintings that looked as if they reflected light.

Our initial plan was to visit the Duomo, but changed our mind when we reached there. There was a long queue even though it was half an hour to its closing at 5pm. We visited the Palazzo Vecchio instead - where the ceiling of every room was filled with paintings. Being not too culturally inclined, I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed by the paintings and my neck ached a little from having to stare up the ceiling of each room. But I was a little puzzled why there were paintings of gods from Greek mythology (e.g. I learnt that Jupiter would have been eaten by Saturn, his father if not for his mother's intervention, and the mother was apparently the father's sister. Jupiter married his sister, Juno, as well) as well as paintings from the Catholic faith - to me, paintings of such diverse origins should be mutually exclusive.

A thought it would be nice to have a non-Italian dinner for a change, and we headed to Hard Rock Cafe. This is an immensely popular restaurant, and when we went there at 8pm last evening, waiting time would be 2 hours. Anyway, we went earlier and managed to get a table immediately (phew!).

The food was okay (we shared a appetiser platter and pulled pork burger) though portions were humongous. If we were just listening casually, the restaurant was filled with atmospheric rock music, which was actually quite nice cos it made the restaurant lively and very "hard rock cafe". There was a huge MTV screen right at the front, and we couldn't help watching the MTVs while waiting for the food. And we were appalled (more so for me) that 3 out of 4 MTVs screened had titles that ridiculed the Christian faith and the content was totally absurd and would anger any believer. I don't even want to recall these MTVs. A even commented that the content of the MTVs was inappropriate for a family restaurant. He also found it interesting that this popular restaurant was screaming a controversial message when the rest of Florence seemed pretty religious.

Italy - Shopping and Firenze (12 Jul 2011)

2011-07-17T00:30:00.000+08:00

Woke up feeling pretty excited cos today is the day I get to give my credit card a workout. After a quick breakfast and some time spent figuring out our directions, we drove to the Prada outlet at Montevarchi. We only managed to arrive at the outlet after stopping at 2 petrol stations to ask for directions - and each time before A could ask the question, the kiosk staff would pre-empt him and ask if he was looking for Prada outlet. Seems like all tourists visit this town with the same purpose.

We would have totally missed the Prada outlet if not for the directions given. For some reason, it was called Space outlet and there were no Prada signs anywhere. Even the paper bags were Space bags. The outlet was huge and full of people. I reckon Asians made up 50% of the shoppers. I concentrated mainly on the bag section and made up my mind after about 90 mins - the damage was 3 bags.

Next, we went to The Mall at Reggello. This was a huge shopping area with numerous brand outlets. I was pretty focused and zoomed straight into Gucci, Ferragamo, Bottega, Prada (again!) and just for fun, other brands such as Dior and Burberry. Gucci had a good selection of items though I am not a Gucci fan. The shoes at Ferragamo were in odd sizes so I didnt buy any shoes even though I liked some of the off-season designs. Bottega had some nice designs, but very pricey even at the outlets - I was eyeing a huge red bag that was selling at a discounted price of 1,890 Euros! The Prada outlet was much smaller than the one at Space, and was jammed with people. We had to wait 15min outside the store (under the scorching sun) before we were let into the store.

For most of the stores, the designs carried were obviously from previous seasons, and came in odd colours and designs that one probably would not purchase. It seems that the classic designs, being evergreen designs, would never make their way to the outlet stores. Nevertheless, I had fun window shopping - it's not everyday that I have the guts to walk into several high-end shops in a day. It was also not a wasted trip as I left the place about 3 hours later with a yummy slice of pizza in my tummy and a gorgeous new wallet :)

After the massive shopping exercise, we returned our rented Ford Fiasco at the Hertz outlet in Florence (or Firenze in Italian). We then took a cab to our hotel.

We stayed at NH Porta Rossa, which had a great location, being located within walking distance from many museums, tourist spots. It was also right next to the shopping belt - I was excited cos my shopping antennae have been activated after the initial shopping experience at the outlets.

Other than its central location, our hotel is done up pretty nicely too. The lobby has an old fashioned feel with wooden panels, a stained glass ceiling, and other traditional finishes. In contrast, the room is done up with a modern touch. White is the theme of the room, with clean white sheets, lamps, cupboards, tables, and even a white TV! The hanging lamp in the middle of the room looks like inverted wine glasses and the room feels cosy (A thinks the room is a little small, but I think it is fine), modern, and new. No doubt this would be my favorite accommodation from this holiday. In the toilet, I love how the brightly colored toiletries set in one corner contrast against the grey walls. The mirror is framed within silver boundaries, there is a great rain shower, and finally, clear shower panels.

After settling down in the hotel, we headed straight to the shopping belt - today is shopping day! When we were in Ferragamo, A noticed that almost all the shoppers were Asians - in fact all the customers trying on shoes are Asians, and there was a pair of Japanese ladies trying on at least 8 pairs of shoes. Wow, is there a major Saldi for Ferragamo shoes? I don't see any Saldi signs though.

After a quick shopping trip to 2 shops, I emerged with a lighter wallet and paper bags containing 2 pairs of shoes, a bag and a purse (a gift). I was delighted with my buys, particularly since I have been eyeing the bag for a long, long time, but held off purchasing the bag as it had a higher price tag in Singapore. The great incentive in purchasing in Italy is the 12% tax rebate for purchases above 150 Euros - so it can be pretty difficult to resist shopping in Italy, particularly if you are a fan of Italian brands. However, I also felt slightly guilty with my splurge and decided I had shopped enough for the day - lucky thing most shops had closed for the day too.

It was just slightly after 7pm, but thanks to the long days in summer, the sky was still bright and we strolled around a little. We walked towards the Piazza Della Signoria, the heart of the city, and it was brimming with people. The sun was just setting and it was the perfect timing to photograph the numerous statutes in the Piazza, including the huge water fountain (which is supposedly ugly to many locals) and a copy of Michelangelo's David located just outside Palazzo Vecchio. We then walked towards Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge where gold is sold. The bridge was lined with jewellery shops, and when we arrived, the shopkeepers were just winding down for the day. It was interesting to see how the shops were being locked up. Mostly, huge locks were used and there were thick wooden panels pulled down to protect the windows so that no glass is visible from the outside.

We had a late dinner (8+pm) at L'Osteria De Giovanni where we were served salty fried dough (reminds me of my favourite you tiao) prior to our main course. A had juicy milk-fed veal chop which was excellent, and my beef stew was so-so. The portions were huge, and our stomachs were so full from the mains that there were no room for dessert.

Overall, Florence is a lovely city filled with culture and beautiful architecture. Can't wait to explore more over the next few days!

Italy - Montepulciano (11 Jul 2011)

2011-07-13T05:03:00.000+08:00

Woke up slightly later this morning at 9+am and headed for breakfast at 9:50am - in our typical style of rushing for breakfast before it ends at 10am.

We had lovely soft toast and 3/4 cooked eggs (all DIY style) which was interesting to me because I have never boiled my own eggs in a restaurant before. There was an apparatus with egg holders and boiling water, so one just has to place the egg in a metal egg holder, dip it in boiling water, and wait. When one thinks the egg is done, one has to deftly transfer the egg onto a ceramic egg cup, wait for the egg to cool abit, and then either:
(i) (as A demonstrated) crack the top of the egg shell with the back of a metal spoon, peel away the top portion of the egg, sprinkle some pepper/salt on the egg, and then use a small spoon to dip into the egg the same way you'll eat a kiwi, or
(ii) (as how the couple beside us ate their egg) use a butter knife to slice the top portion of the egg, and then use the half-cooked egg as a bread dip.
I made a mental note to purchase an egg cup for J when I am back home. It seemed so much easier to feed him eggs using an egg cup instead of peeling the entire egg and then mincing it up.

After breakfast we went back to our cottage and found that the staff were cleaning the cottage. I initially wanted to just sit in the living area while they were cleaning up, but the strong stench of bleach literally chased me out. I was a little unhappy that they used one of our empty plastic bags (which I hung at the edge of a chair) to fill up rubbish. It was obviously our plastic bag because it was an NTUC plastic bag, and plastic bags are a precious commodity during travels. Anyway, what's done cannot be undone so I'll just let it be.

We later headed towards the nearby town of Montepulciano. I think this town is built along a hill, because the streets had never-ending upslopes. It was definitely some exercise for our calf muscles as we slowly made our way up the streets, and it would be unwise to lose your way (as we did while looking for a particular restaurant) because you'll have to scale the sloping streets more times than you really need to.

The city centre (Piazza Grande) was a lot quieter than I expected, with the Townhall (Palazzo Communale) and Cattedrale located next to each other. I later saw a poster that indicated the Townhall at the city centre was a filming site for the movie Twilight - New Moon. I'll try to rewatch the movie in future to see if I can identify the place.

We had lunch at Caffe Poliziano, a cafe established in 1868. We had a balcony table which overlooked the stunning Tuscany landscape. I was feeling pretty lethargic by then, and didn't enjoy the scenery as much I would like to. I was just glad that my spaghetti carbonara wasn't salty and the texture of the spaghetti was just right. A's arrabiatta penne turned out harder than we are used to - tasted a little undercooked. By now, I am used to expecting Italian food cooked in styles very different from what I am used to back home. I love Singaporean-styled pizzas (think Hawaiian) and pasta, but here in Italy, they seem to like it all plain (e.g. magherita pizzas and spaghetti pesto, sans meat).

After lunch, we drove towards Tempio di San Biagio, which was a short driving distance from the town. I was awed by the sheer size of the temple - I felt so small relative to the temple, and wondered how did men in the past ever manage to build such a huge building. It must have been a massive job back then. Having seen quite a number of cathedrals, it made me realize that the Italians of the past must have been a pretty devout group to have spent so much time, labour and finances to not only construct these massive buildings of worship, but to also adorn them with various paintings, statues and carvings.

This is our final night in the villa, and we again had a great dinner - stuffed vegetables, fusilli with pesto, beef steak and alcoholic parfait for dessert. However, instead of the usual service staff whom A thinks is very good, a lady waitress replaced him tonight and she was much slower in her service. Dinner was supposed to start at 8pm but she had yet to finish setting up by 8pm. We also had to wait about 20min after we were seated before we could order our drinks. We had our appetizer at about 9pm and dinner only ended at about 10:20pm. Nevertheless, food was good and the garden ambience was the perfect setting for the dinner. A very nice way to wrap up our stay at the villa, and also the end of our tour of the Italian countryside.

Italy - Montalcino (10 Jul 2011)

2011-07-11T16:29:00.000+08:00

After a decent breakfast at our villa, we headed towards Montalcino, the town famous for its Brunello wine. In terms of architecture, the town paled in comparison to the other towns we have visited. Postcards of the place showed pictures of the clock tower and the fortress - so I suppose other than wine, these are the 2 key highlights of the town.

We headed towards Poggio Antico for lunch and the hope of a wine tour. We were surprised at the number of cars parked outside the restaurant, given the place was located a distance away from the town and not visible from the main road. It was a scenic drive-in lined with cypress trees. According to trusty Lonely Planet, Poggio Antico is one of the top wine producers in the region and also serves good food. The selection of homemade bread served was warm and soft - so yummy I had three buns! But my dish of spaghetti was so salty that mineral water tasted sweet in comparison, and I only managed to stuff myself with half the dish. I later found out from the waitress and chef and the dish was cooked with Cinta Sienese Pork Cheek which had a very strong flavor (which I took to understand that the meat had been overladen with salt to preserve it). The saving grace came in the delectable cold pistachio cream dessert with hazelnut sauce (which tasted and looked like chocolate sauce).

We were lucky that a wine tour was happening at 3pm, about the same time we finished our lunch. As part of the wine tour, we were shown the sophisticated machine used to wash the bottles, how nitrogen is then used to fill the bottles before wine is poured in (to avoid contact with air), and then only a certain type of cork (the type that must be pre-ordered a year in advance and costs 1 Euro each) is used to seal the bottle before labels are stuck onto the bottles. The grapes are handpicked and selected, with the inferior grapes being discarded. We were also shown the area where the grapes are placed into huge metal containers with controlled temperature and humidity (what the lady termed as spaceships) where they are left for initial fermentation and compressed (using machinery, instead of the au natural way of using feet). The grape juices are then transferred into wooden barrels, where they are left to ferment for a few years. Depending on the wine-making recipe, the grape juices would be placed in different types of barrels for various number of years. I never knew there were so many steps to wine-making, and the wine tour was really an eye-opener. There are a total of 55 rules that the winemaker has to adhere to in order to make Brunello wine - no wonder the cheapest 1 litre bottle cost us 35 Euros. We bought 2 bottles after the tour - the classic bottle and the Altero (which is the modern version of the classic Brunello). Both A and I preferred the lighter-tasting Altero, although being the non-wine drinker that I am, I much preferred the fruity aromas than the actual taste of alcohol in my mouth.

After the wine tour, we headed towards Abbazia Di Sant' Antimo, a restored church. The church was very simply decorated unlike the other Duomos we have visited. Music was floating through the air as we stepped through the wooden doors, creating an ambience of reverence and tranquility.

On our way back to Villa Cicolina, we stopped along the road a couple of times to snap pictures of the stunning Tuscan landscape - valleys of green blended with fields of golden yellow, as well as my favorite field of cheerful sunflowers beaming under the Tuscan sunlight.

We wrapped up the day with another sumptuous dinner at the villa. We went with high expectations after last night's dinner and were not disappointed. A was so impressed with each dish he went "mmm" each time he tasted a new course. Dessert (my favorite part of the meal) was Tiramisu, and while it was yummy with a strong caffe flavour, we both thought the apple tart the day before was more stunning. Anyway, we have decided we would have dinner at our villa tomorrow night again - this is one of the best meals I have eaten in my life and it seemed a bargain in Italy to be paying 33 Euros for a great-tasting four-course meal. I actually think the same set menu would easily burn a 3-digit hole in the pocket back in Singapore.

We spent some time surfing the internet in the common area after dinner, and looked through some videos of my little J. Boy, I miss him so much! But I am glad that he is in the good hands of his grandparents who dote on him more than his parents do. Afterwards we went back to our cottage and watched some news on BBC - I never knew BBC programmes could be so interesting. With a demanding toddler back home, we never had time to watch much TV programmes, and I am glad we are away on a holiday rewarding ourselves with some time of our own, without having to fret over our little prince.

One of the BBC news segment covered the lack of food and water in Somalia, and how families would walk for days and even weeks without food and water, in search of a refugee camp that would provide them with the basic necessities to survive. Many young children and babies die within days from reaching the refugee campsite from malnutrition, and more and more graveyards are dug everyday. And the available supply of food and water is limited given the increased number of refugees. The saddening truth is that people in other parts of the world are caught in the cycle of poverty and have difficulties having their basic needs met. And here I am enjoying myself at a holiday, with a roof over my head, and ample supply of food and water to support an expanding waistline. I am truly blessed and really thankful.

Italy - Siena and Montepulciano (9 Jul 2011)

2011-07-11T03:52:00.000+08:00

Grabbed a cone of gelato before leaving San Gimignano for Siena. Siena is a huge city with a huge town square. Around the square are lined with restaurants and shops - most of the restaurants were packed with people who were enjoying their meals alongside the views of the square and Palazzo Communale. We visited the courtyard of the Palazzo Communale (free entry) and saw a long queue of people waiting to scale the tower. Apparently only 30 people are allowed up the tower at any one time, which explains the long queue.

We visited the Duomo after lunch. As I was wearing a sleeveless top, I was given a paper-like shawl to cover my shoulders before I could enter the Duomo. The interior of the Duomo is supported by unique black-and-white pillars, and at one end of the cathedral is a round stained glass depicting what looks like The Last Supper. The marble floor of the cathedral is covered by picture carvings but only a portion of the floor could be viewed, with the rest being covered up to protect the floor. A told me that twice a year, the entire marble floor would be revealed for viewing and the entrance fees for those days would double to 6 Euros for each visitor. The most spectacular part of the cathedral would be the library room with ceilings completely covered with vivid-coloured paintings. There was also a statue of 3 women in the middle of the room depicting the 3 graces - grace, fascination and (something else we can't remember). Apparently, the statues were previously owned by a rich family and it was common for wealthy families in the past to display their art collection in a designated room.

After Siena, we drove towards Montepulciano. When we stopped at a petrol kiosk to top up our fuel, surprisingly no one was mending the kiosk though we could still top up the fuel by paying cash at a machine. Looks like it is the norm for petrol kiosks to be closed on weekends.

Our hotel, or more appropriately termed holiday villa, was outside Montepulciano. It is set in a lovely garden filled with fruit trees and flowers. A had splurged on a cottage with a pretty garden and a kitchen. We had to pay if we wanted to use the kitchen, and if we wanted a bath towel for the pool, it would cost us 1 Euro too. By now, I am used to the fact that everything at Italy has a price tag to it.

I have veered off my initial thoughts - all I wanted to say was that the place had a lovely setting. And I also had my best meal there since I arrived in Italy. Dinner was in the midst of a garden - I had beef stew and the best apple tart (drenched in bittersweet caramel) I have ever tasted. A had a delicious dish of tomatoes stuffed with risotto, and pasta with sheep cream cheese. The menu sounded ordinary, but the dishes were exceptional. A and I each had an apple tart, and he didn't even notice there were raisins in the tart until his last few mouthfuls. That speaks a lot for someone who is "psychologically allergic" to raisins. I am already eagerly looking forward to dinner tomorrow.

Italy - San Gimignano and Volterra (8 Jul 2011)

2011-07-10T16:10:00.002+08:00

Breakfast at the hotel was a complete blah, so much so that I wouldn't mind skipping breakfast the next day. We visited the Palazzo Del Comune ( the Townhall) after breakfast and scaled up the 54m high tower. The walk up was pretty creepy because I am generally afraid of heights and it didn't help there were gaps between the steps such that I could see the steps beneath me as I walked up the stairs. I made my way up the tower in a slow and not-too-steady manner, and was rewarded with a breathtaking view right at the top.

Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with Gelato (again!) and drove to Volterra for a late lunch. Volterra had apparently shot to fame from being mentioned in the 2nd book of the Twilight series - New Moon. But I found no resemblance between the town and the scenes from the movie, although it seemed that filming took place in the town as there were Twilight guided tours every Saturday. The town had significantly less tourists than San Gimignano, and was less impressive too. But every other shop we came across sold items made of Alabaster - apparently the town's speciality craft.

We went back to San Gimignano for dinner and coincidentally, a student orchestra from Holland had a free outdoor performance near our hotel that evening. It was a casual sort of performance, and the musicians were all clad in summer wear (think sleeveless tops and shorts). Occasionally, the wind would cause the music scores to fly and the musicians would scramble to arrange the sheets and secure them to the music stand with wooden clothes pegs.

Italy - Pisa and San Gimignano (7 Jul 2011)

2011-07-10T16:10:00.001+08:00

Took a 2 hour train ride to Pisa Central Station where we spotted fields of sunflowers along the way - simply stunning. We left our baggage at "Left Baggage" at the station and took a bus ride to view the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

As expected, the area was full of tourists. A climb up the Leaning Tower would cost us 15 Euros each (compared to 10 Euros to enter all other buildings in the vicinity. We would have paid for the climb up the world-renown tower if not for the 3 hour waiting time. So we ended up just snapping pictures of the tower, and paid 6 Euros each to visit the cathedral and cemetery instead. I visited this area 10 years ago, but but still felt pretty amazed as I admired the beautiful architecture and how the design of each building complemented one another. In my opinion, the prettiest building was the round baptistry, but the one that truly captivated me was the Leaning Tower of Pisa - simple in design, but the way the building leaned was truly intriguing.

After spending a couple of hours at the Leaning Tower of Pisa and had a Macdonalds lunch (my first Italian Macdonalds meal - fries were quite nice but my Fillet-o-Fish was so-so, and we had to pay 0.2 Euros for ketchup) we headed back to the train station to collect our luggage and then took a cab to Hertz to collect our car.

We took our rented Ford Fiesta, went to the supermarket to stock up on fruits and snacks, and the hit the highway towards San Gimignano. We reached San Gimignano a few hours later - thanks to the long days of daylight, the sky was still bright and sunny when we reached the town in the evening.

San Gimignano is a fortress-like city, and no vehicles are permanently allowed within its walls. We drove in to drop our luggage and had to drive our afterwards to park at the designated carpark areas outside the town. I have to say that our car looked really out of place when we stopped it for a few minutes outside our hotel. The town is built out of brown brickwalls, and has a medieval feel to it. If everyone were wearing robes instead, it would feel like we have been brought back in time.

This is a beautiful town with a stunning view of the surrounding landscape. Our hotel, Hotel Leon Bianco, is centrally located in the city square. Nearby is a famous Gelato shop that is always full of customers - and that would be the place I get my daily dose of dessert for the next few days.

Italy - Cinque Terra (6 Jul 2011)

2011-07-10T16:09:00.000+08:00

We woke up at 7:30am and found ourselves to be the first guests at breakfast - this was a first, cos we are usually the type who would sleep in and rush off for breakfast before it ends in 15min.

The breakfast spread looked sumptuous, and we were served excellent freshly squeezed orange juice. But after having scrambled eggs with sodium-overladen bacon (not uncommon in Italy I suppose - just the day before, A had really salty ham with his foccacia) I was left craving for a good American breakfast. Waffles are my top breakfast choice, but it looks like I'll have to live with cold continental breakfast for the next week. But I'm not complaining as the breakfast table looked really yummy, though not suited to my Asian palette.

After breakfast, we headed to the train station and took a train to Monterosso, the first of five Cinque Terra towns, and the start of our trekking for the day. It was a 90min trek to Vernazza, apparently the prettiest town of all. The trek was relatively easy, and I survived the upslopes thinking of the calories I was burning and the health benefits from the exercise I was getting. The scenery became prettier when we neared Vernazza - and that is the excitement from trekking - the sense of jubilation and relief when one nears the the destination, and the ability to take in breathtaking views one can't get elsewhere except from taking the trodden path.

Vernazza is indeed a picturesque town with brightly-colored buildings and a small beach area lined with boats and rock cliffs. There is also a popular Gelato shop there and we couldn't resist some Gelato on a hot sweltering Italian afternoon. There was also a public tap in the middle of town which everyone used to fill up their water bottles. Afer resting for an hour or so, we started on our second trek towards Corniglia. The trek was shorter at slightly over an hour, though the walking in blistering heat was a challenge itself. We finally made it and when we were there, realized how far the train station was from Corniglia's town centre.

The trekking route between Corniglia and Manarola was closed due to a landslide so we took a train to Manarola instead. We also later took a train from Manarola to the final Cinque Terra town of Riomaggiore. Between trekking and taking the train, I found that I could better appreciate the towns I trekked to, and could also take nicer pictures of the towns from a distance. In contrast, my impression of the last 2 towns were pretty vague, though these towns had their beauty in a similar but unique way.

Italy - Trip to Moneglia (5 Jul 2011)

2011-07-10T16:08:00.000+08:00

Woke up at about 9am and we headed to a nearby cafe for a light breakfast. We checked out at about 11+am and took a cab to the train station. After a quick pizza brunch at the train station, I wanted to use the washroom but immediately changed my mind when I saw the hefty fee of 1 Euro. Goodness knows what expensive soap or toilet paper they have in the toilet, but I am never going to find out.

When we got to the train platform, we realized that our assigned carriage no. 7 was non-existent and when A asked the train staff, he was told to head towards carriage no. 5 instead. Our seats were already occupied in carriage no. 5, but lucky there were extra seats along the aisle - much less comfortable but better than nothing. So much for paying 47 Euros for the 2 seats.

When the train staff came by to check our tickets, he did not look surprised and merely told us there were seats in other carriages. Looks like wrong train bookings like ours are not uncommon. There were other passengers seated on the extra seats just like us too.

We finally managed to get proper seats halfway through the journey as several people alighted at one of the major towns. Just minutes after I had seated myself comfortably, we were joined by an Italian woman with a dog. She sat in front of A, placed her bag on the seat in front of me, and her dog in front of my feet. That's great - first I had no seat, and now I have a proper seat and a dog as a neighbour. Lucky thing the dog was pretty well-behaved throughout the short journey although I still felt that the woman should have been more understanding - what if I was afraid of dogs? I would have been terrified many years ago...thankfully I am more tolerant of dogs now.

We finally reached Moneglia after a 3 hour train ride. After heaving my trolley luggage up the stairs (would have brought my haversack instead if I knew of the stairs I had to climb), we walked a short distance to our accommodation - Abbadia San Giorgio. The compound was previously a monastery built in 1800s and it has been restored beautifully. There are only 8 guest rooms available, and the entire place was really quiet and peaceful. The room has been tastefully done up with shades of brown, yellow and gold - not my favorite colours but quite charming by my standards.

We headed towards the town centre which was just a stone's throw away. It was a lot livelier and full of holiday-makers in their swimming gear. The beach was packed with people sun-bathing. Having come from the sunny island of Singapore, I never quite understood the fun of getting one's skin roasted in the sun, not to mention the aging effects excessive sun exposure has. Why do people love sun-tanning so much? Could it be the thrill of parading around in their new swimwear or perhaps they love the sun-kissed glow on their skin (notwithstanding the skin damage)? Anyway, the sun bathers seemed contented to while the entire day on the sand not doing much.

We managed to tour round Moneglia's town centre in about half an hour and then decided to take a train to the first town of the Cinque Terre - Monterosso. The gravel beach was jammed packed with...sunbathers again. Here I was armed with my cap and shades - and the rest of the crowd was skimpily clad to gain maximum exposure to the sun. We walked around abit, spotted a small but lovely cathedral, before heading back to Moneglia for dinner.

We had dinner at Assirto - one of the recommended restaurants from our lodge. We went into the small family-run restaurant at about 7:30pm and found it empty. Apparently the restaurant only serves dinner from 7:30pm onwards...which seems pretty late to me. The food was quite good (especially the anchovies) but portions were humongous. The owner even took a chair and sat down beside us to describe how each available dish was prepared. It took us 1.5hr to finish our dinner - and I tried my best to chomp down as much as I could cos it seemed rude if we had too much leftovers when the owner took so much pride in each dish. We left the restaurant at 9pm - but it looked like it was only 7+pm and the sun was still setting.

Although we did not do much during the day, I was completely exhausted by then and dozed off while using the iPad on the bed.

Italy - Milan (4 Jul 2011)

2011-07-10T16:07:00.000+08:00

After a 12 hr flight during which I watched 2.5 movies (Kungfu Panda was hilarious, Little Red Riding Hood had a so-so plot, Great Big World had me thinking that people in the past are happier as they content themselves with simple pleasures in life sans computers) and survived a neighbour with not-so-pleasant breath, we finally touched down at about 8am.

My first impression of Milan was the cool toilet knobs! Instead of the typical round knobs that you turn clockwise-anti clockwise, or those practical latches that move left and right, the toilet knobs at Milan airport had me pondering for a couple of seconds how to exactly use them - and this is not insignificant for someone who has been using toilets for so many years.

Milan's door knobs are round but one presses on the rectangular mechanism on top of the knob to open-close the door. And there is a tiny round button just below the knob that locks the door. I would be baffled at this interesting mechanism if not for instructions pasted on the toilet door.

The door knobs certainly left me with a good first impression - even ubiquitous items like this has a style unique to city of fashion.

It was an hour's bus ride and then a half-hour queue at the train station to purchase our tickets for the next day. There were men dressed in black T-shirts and jeans that were helping people at self-service ticket stations or directing people towards certain ticketing counters. One of them approached us but we declined his offer of service. Still can't figure out whom these men are, my best guess is that they are targeting confused tourists and assisting them in their ticket purchase for a small fee - a self-determined job creation of sorts. After the long queue at the train station, we got on a cab to head towards our hotel - Sheraton Diana Majestic Milano.

The hotel lobby was simple and modern, but from the ancient-looking lift which can fit a maximum of 5 people, it seems like the hotel was last refurbished in the early 1980s. We were upgraded to a junior suite, but the layout and design of the room was nothing to shout about. The room is furnished with wooden furniture decorated with grey-white table tops and golden knobs. The curtains are vertical stripes of gold and warm yellow hues, perfectly matched to the warm light exuding from the table lamps with gold trimmings and the yellow sofas. The most outstanding furniture in the room would be the gold chandelier with fake candles. The toilet has simple white tiles and brown marble countertop at the sink area. Right above the double sinks is a mirror with tarnished gold patterned trimmings.

The hotel looks like it had a glorious past - the furnishing would be considered classy maybe twenty years ago. While I love retro designs, the only designs I would replicate from the hotel (if I had to) would be the grey-white marble countertops and pure white bedsheets. But what is impressive is the maintenance of the furniture. Despite the outdated designs, every furniture piece is well maintained. All in all, the room is spacious, simple and clean - which is all I ask of a hotel room.

We spent the afternoon walking around the city centre. Lunch was a sandwich take-away from a sandwich shop with a relatively long queue (the best gauge for decent food at reasonable prices) and we also visited the Domo. I vaguely recall visiting the Duomo during my post-graduate trip to Europe, and feeling unimpressed with the cathedral - cos I had been awestruck by Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and every subsequent piece of architecture I saw paled in comparison. But that was ten years ago.

Fast track ten years later, I am back at the same place but with my hubby - who would have thought :) And I was pretty impressed with the intricate carvings at the Duomo. It is hard to imagine how this piece of elaborate architecture, which is completely covered by intricate hand carvings, could be built by hand 500 years ago. It must have required a tremendous amount of hard work, peserverance and patience. The designer must have taken great pride in his design.

After visiting Duomo, we went window shopping. It is sales period in Milan and every store we passed had signs screaming Saldi (which means Sales in Italian). Other than my one visit inside a Prada shop to check out my dream bag (no discount but it is about 30% cheaper than in Singapore and there is a tax refund of 12%), the rest of the window shopping was pretty boring. We had a good stroll though - the weather was almost perfect - the sun was shining strongly but the cool air kept us from pespiring. We also found a great gelato shop and indulged in one of the best gelato we have ever tasted. We strolled a bit more afterwards to work off the calories and headed towards the canal area which was a disappointment. A thinks the area may look livelier at night when the restaurants and bars are open.

After that we zipped back to the hotel via the metro. The memorable parts of the metro ride were the screeches when the non-air-conditioned train started moving (and how everyone was oblivious to the screeches), and the horizontal handles that I had to stretch upwards to hold onto.

As A was sniffing a bit, we went to the supermarket to get some water and fruits - which were considerably cheap - 3.5 Euros for 2 1.5 litres of water and 6 golden kiwis. After that, we were back to the hotel to rest and our intended 1.5 hour nap turned into a 7 hour rest. We missed dinner as a result and had to order room service - a whopping 17 Euros for a chicken sandwich. But guess that is the premium we pay for a hungry stomach at 12+am.

Bedtime was about 3am for me as I spent the rest of my time blogging and waiting for my hair to dry. On a side note, the TV programmes in Milan are not worth watching - most of the programmes are in Italian except for a few news channel and a movie channel.

Domestic Worker II

2011-06-27T22:20:00.006+08:00

A week after the arrival of my maid, the saga continues.

It was Sat morning. I spotted ants crawling in the top drawer of my kitchen cabinet and upon closer scrutiny, there were even more ants in the drawer below. When I opened the drawer, there were ants congregating around a brown spot on the lid of my nutella jar. Neither my hubby nor myself had recently eaten nutella and my in-laws do not consume nutella. So the culprit needs no guessing.

My maid had obviously helped herself to the spread even though I had told her that she can only eat specific foodstuff on her first day of work. And she did not even bother to wipe her traces clean. Thanks to her carelessness, an army of ants now attest to her theft and blatant disregard for my instructions.

My immediate reaction was one of fury, and I gave her a piece of my mind. She gave me the same reason - she forgot. Even if she really forgot, she should have the common sense to know that not all foodstuff in her employer's home are for her consumption. And she even had the cheek to tell me that she had wiped the drawer and its contents the day before when she noticed the ants.

I don't enjoy reprimanding my maid as it stresses me out. As it is, I woke up the next day with a gnawing headache (again) and cut my fingers twice - which is very unlike me. At the rate I am going, I will suffer from a panic attack or sever my hand in the next month. That's when I decided I have to look at things differently. There is really no point stressing myself out over a maid, no matter how much she infuriates me.

So I will treat her as a test of my patience and keep my cool as much as possible. I hope I can hang on long enough while we are living under the same roof. But I really can't wait to get her out of my home. In the meantime, I recognise I need a maid at home so a lousy one is better than none. Shortly after I made my decision, I discovered food residue (what's new) on the colander. So I decided to just rinse it away instead of telling her off.

From my observations, she seems to be someone who pampers herself. From the nutella incident, her preference for hot showers (my previous maid showered with unheated water), her choice of imitation LV bag and purse, and the pair of sequined jeans she wore when I first met her, she is probably someone who enjoys the finer things in life. It's just too bad she does not possess the right working attitude that will give her family and herself a better life.

Domestic Worker

2011-06-27T09:01:00.002+08:00

21 Jun 11
I now truly understand what it means to make one's blood boil. Three days after the arrival of my new maid, I have a splitting headache and I can't wait to get her out of my home.

It didn't start off well. Her bio-data claimed she worked two years with a Singaporean employer. When she arrived, we found out she had four previous employers, and the maximum tenor she worked for was only 15 months. According to her, this is her employment history:
- 1st employer: she requested for a transfer after a month because she could not handle taking care of babies
- 2nd employer: her employer terminated her after two months because an elderly lady under her care fell down
- 3rd employer: she requested for a transfer after 15 months because her employer often had people over to play mahjong and she could not sleep well as they would play mahjong in her room
- 4th employer: her employer forgot to renew her passport. She worked for the last employer for 10 months.

Very soon, she'll have one more to add to her list and if she is honest about it, her employer terminated her because she is extremely forgetful and incompetent.

From day 1, she never failed to leave some food residue or dish washing detergent on my baby's bottles or cutlery everyday. This is despite my repeated emphasis to her that baby's items must be washed and rinsed very thoroughly.

And whenever I emphasized a particular way of doing something, she always gets it wrong. From how I want my laundry to be hanged, differentiation of chopping boards for slicing raw meat & veg vs fruits, to ironing clothes - she always forgets, doesn't asks, and obviously gets it wrong.

I have given her a chance despite her blatant lie about her employment history - but she failed to prove herself. Her perpetual excuse is her poor memory. Even if I tolerated that, her tardiness in washing my baby's bottles is inexcusable. And did I mention that she even requested to rest earlier when I told her her bedtime was 11pm-7am.

I would not have hired her if I knew of her spotty employment history, and I don't think any other employer would either. Further, I am paying her $500 as an experienced maid when she behaves like a completely new one.

Something has to be done about falsification of records by domestic workers in order to get a job. While I sympathise with their plight, I cannot condone their dishonesty.

Bday Thots

2011-06-18T18:05:00.002+08:00

I am a year older today. It feels like any other day though - I even went to work today (this was a big no-no in the past).

Somehow as I grow older, I tend to want to forget how old I am. I wish I can stay in my 20s forever - with all that hyped up energy and carefreeness. With age, there is a greater sense of responsibility and I start keeping count of my accomplishments in life (which is not much, except for my super adorable son & my wise choice in picking a great hubby - if these are considered accomplishments).

I used to have lofty dreams of scaling the corporate ladder - my success measured in terms of an impressive job title and an equally matched pay packet. I have since toned down my corporate dreams - I'll still try my best, but above all, I hope to achieve a good balance among my many priorities in life.

Any regrets? Yup. The key one is having two great friends walk out of my life. But this made me realised all relationships - even friendships that have spanned over twenty years - are fragile, and should be cherished dearly. I think of them often, miss them terribly, and I am reminded to treasure my other great gal friends God had blessed me with.

Truly, friends are a blessing from God. They fill a void that family can't. Certain things that cannot be shared with family can somehow be shared with great gal friends. So to all my great gal friends (you know who you are), thanks for everything and like I always say - it's all thanks to you gals that I don't fear growing old, cos we're all growing old together! :)

Dying without NOK

2011-06-16T09:18:00.001+08:00

Read the following on ST blog today. A 70+ old man, who still has to work to make ends meet, dies alone, and his son didn't even want to see him for the last time. Sounds like a plot extracted from a soppy Korean drama series - but this is cold hard reality in Singapore. On this sunny island, the gloomy reality is that six old folks depart from this world without their NOK every month.

This is an apt reminder that I should count my
many blessings. Despite our daily grouses, if we could just stop and compare, we'd realise we are so much luckier than the many unfortunate people around us. So I'll try not to compare myself against the guy who owns that cool Porsche in my office building, and count myself blessed that my family can count on our practical Nissan to ferry us around.

"If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself"
Max Ehrmann

===========
Dying without NOK
Guest blogger Alicia Tan, a senior medical social worker at Singapore General Hospital, talks about her patients elderly Singaporeans who die without next-of-kin to claim their bodies.
Blogs | Thursday, June 02 2011

I ENCOUNTERED a case just a few days ago.

The ambulance had picked up a man in his 70s by the roadside at Jalan Bukit Merah. He was suffering from bleeding in the brain and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit when he arrived at the Singapore General Hospital.

As he was unconscious, there was no way for us to find out any information from him.

He had nothing on him – no identity card, wallet or handphone. All he had by his side when he was picked up were two packets of food.

Since he was found at Jalan Bukit Merah where there are lots of rented flats, my first thought was that he had gone out to pack food for his wife, who could be bedridden at home. I was worried about the old man’s wife. I also wondered if he had children and if they knew he was missing.

Every month, about six elderly Singaporeans die without next-of-kin (NOK) to claim their bodies. (See report here.)

Here at the Medical Social Workers (MSW) department where I work, it is our responsibility to establish patients' identities and trace their NOK with the help of the police.

If no NOK can be found to claim the body, we would source for a charitable undertaker for the body to be cremated according to religious rites.

With no information on the name and address of the old man picked up at Bukit Merah, we were unable to call his neighbouring social services centres or voluntary welfare organisations, conduct a home visit, or go around the area to ask if anyone knew him.

While discussing what we could do, the nurses informed us that his blood pressure had dipped and he could pass on anytime.

We immediately called the police to request for finger-printing to establish his identity, and shared our concerns and fears that he could have been packing food for his wife when he was found unconscious.

Fortunately, the police managed to contact his brother, who in turn managed to persuade the patient’s son, who he has not seen in 20 years, to come and see the patient for the last time.

The old man passed on shortly after his son arrived.

We found out the old man stayed alone in a rented flat and worked as a hawker assistant at the neighbouring coffeeshop. He had just finished work that day and packed all the leftover food into a tingkat and two lunch boxes, before making his way home.

It was supposed to be his dinner, a dinner he never had.

I don’t watch “emo”, teary dramas on TV as I’m already dealing with too many emotions every day at work. I find it difficult to bring the emotions home and watch something that will remind me of all the patients and their problems. There is just too much emotional burden to bear.

My job has taught me that life is too short to keep looking back. You can only move forward and live each day like there is no tomorrow. To be able to help others is also a blessing.

Alicia Tan is a Senior Medical Social Worker with Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and a registered social worker with the Singapore Association of Social Workers. She manages Carelink, SGH's one-stop referral centre providing discharge planning for patients and their caregivers, and also works with survivors of elder abuse and domestic violence.

Alicia Tan
Guest Blogger

Unpredictability

2011-06-15T20:42:00.001+08:00

If you were to use one word to describe life, what would it be? Mine would be - unpredictable.

We never know what would happen to us the next moment, until we live that moment. Comparing myself against the guy who zoomed past in his cool Ferrari this afternoon, this is one thing we have in common. I wonder how many Ferraris he would be willing to trade for the knowledge and control of his future. Unfortunately, no number of Ferraris would allow anyone to foresee or dictate one's future.

I am feeling a little forlorn because I received news about the demise of an acquaintance today. I don't know him well, but my hubby used to mentioned about him so it feels as if I know him somehow. It was a sudden departure - apparently a freak fall - and what is saddening is that he leaves behind his wife and 3 young children. I can't imagine the overwhelming devastation his wife, and in particular, the three young hearts have to bear. It is almost cruel to let little children lose their doting father and to grow up with the grief that their father will never be there to witness their achievement of the important milestones in life. No more hugs or kisses, just memories and photos to cling on to.

And life is like that. One moment our heart is beating, and the next moment, it stops. It can happen to anyone, whether one drives a Ferrari or not. This makes me wonder what is really the point of working long tortuous hours and worrying over the little things in life. Life is better spent living life to the max and being happy all the time.

And I will try - to live life as happily as possible, with minimal room for regrets. To spend as much time with my loved ones as possible. And I now see (for the umpteenth time actually) that some things in life matter more than others, and my life needs some reprioritisation. God willing, I will get out of my state of inertia and lead a life filled with colours and meaning instead of trodding on along that dusty route I am so used to.

Teething

2010-12-28T08:52:00.000+08:00

19 Dec 2010
Hello to J's first tooth! Felt the tip of his first tooth while cleaning his lower gums in the evening. J has been drooling for a long time & I often wondered when he will start teething. I was secretly hoping he'll teeth later cos I've heard about babies biting their mothers, plus J still drinks milk at night. But at least he can go without milk for 5-6 hours at night now, so it's just timing his milk feed, getting him to drink some water, and cleaning his teeth if he sleeps right after his feed.

My hubby thinks that J will no longer be a baby once he has teeth. I was just staring at J as he napped on my bed this morning, and I couldn't help but notice how much taller he has grown. My little boy is growing up alright, but he will always be my little baby, my "small-cute-cute"!

Perspective

2010-12-28T08:51:00.000+08:00

16 Dec 2010
Met up with a friend for lunch last week. I haven't seen him for 9 months and boy was he different. He lost 15kg and had a vastly different perspective towards life from 9 months ago.

He attributed his weight loss to his new vegan diet. And he recommended a book - 4 day work week, which changed his perspective about work and motivated him to look for ways to earn money without working.

I curiously asked him how was that was possible. Given that was pretty good with IT, he had written & sold an iPhone app that was generating him some income - without any ongoing labor!

Just chatting with him set me thinking about my own life. I, like many others, grumble about work, but I work anyway for the income and mental stimulation. And truth be told, life is so much more than just work. I spend at least 1/3 of everyday at work...and even longer when I include time spent preparing to go to work, overtime, etc. On an annual basis, this works to at least 25% of my life. If I were to work from 21-50 years old, that is equivalent to at least 7.5 years of my life.

Work-life balance has become priority since J entered my life. He is only going to be a baby once, and I definitely don't want to miss his growing years. Which is why J is my top most priority - I don't ever want to regret not spending sufficient time with him. I know my mum regrets it, and I understand how it feels as a child - so I am determined that my baby gets all my time, love, hugs and kisses possible :) I often hear parents lamenting that their babies grow up too fast, and I want to treasure my time with my precious J before he is all grown-up with little time left for his parents.

So I am thinking hard what exactly I want from life. J is super important, but I am not exactly stay-home mum material. I don't mind working, but I don't want to be a slave to my work. I want to lead a happy and meaningful life, with the freedom and time to do what I want. Yet at the same time, I need some income for sustenance and shopping :)

I think many of us just live by rote - study, work after graduation and we work hard. Some of us may succeed and make a significant mark, but more often we remain worker ants only to be replaced by younger and higher-energy people. And then we retire, and we find that we don't have much time and energy to enjoy life after that.

Do I want that? Not really. I thank God that I am starting to see things from a different perspective, and badly need His guidance on what I should do. Don't get me wrong, people should still work - after all, there is no free lunch in this world. But we should live life to the max, be happy always, & not let work overwhelm us. Work is after all just a means to earn our keep...I am not sure how many people will think fondly of their accomplishments at work at their deathbed. It's a bit morbid to think about death, but that is everyone's endpoint and when we think of this unavoidable ending, it helps to bring into perspective what are the really important things to us.

On my deathbed, I hope I can think about the lives I've touched, the smiles I brought to people around me. I'd wish terribly that I had spent more time with my loved ones & pray that God's abundance of blessings will fill their lives always. That God's love, joy and peace will be with them always, that they will be blessed with excellent health, that they will stay close to Jesus always, and that they will lead a meaningful, happy and fulfilling life. That those who do not know Jesus will believe in Him soon. I hope to be ready and excited that I am going to a better place. Anyway it's great to know that we can indeed live happily ever after when we believe and trust in the Lord!

J's Sleep Pattern

2010-12-08T08:56:00.001+08:00

7 Dec 2010
After a few weeks, J slept through the night again! Well, kind of though...he went to bed at about 10:30pm last night after much struggling & wailing whenever my in-laws placed him on his cot. He finally slept when they placed him on my bed instead - J sleeps on the bed with us all the time now. The only times he is in the cot are during diaper change and for short periods of playtime.

So he had solids at 8:30pm, drank milk at 10pm, slept at 10:30pm, got awoken when I tried to trim his nails at 12:30am. But he drifted back to sleep...and to my surprise, slept till 4:50am! So thankful I could sleep for 4 solid hours!

I pray and wish that J can sleep through the night, cos honestly, the sleep deprivation is really taking a toil on me. I haven't slept well for 8 months, & sleep is sooo important for one's well-being.

8 Dec 2010
J slept at 10+pm last night again - which was good cos I then had time to sort out my mails. He woke up briefly at 11:30pm and went back to zzz-land after I carried him for a while.

He woke up again at 2:45am hungry & slept right after his milk feed. Changing diapers when he is in sleep mode is a breeze! Considering his last milk feed was at 9pm & he had solids at 9:45pm - it was almost 6hrs before he drank again - which was really good taking into account J's not-so-impressive track record where night feeds are concerned.

He woke up again at 6am- I latched him even though it was before his 4-hourly feed. I do that cos I am too tired to carry him. Anyway he drank and slept till about 8am.

So I had 2 bouts of 3-hours uninterrupted sleep last night. I am still eagerly waiting for the days when I can sleep 6-hours straight...

All About Little J

2010-12-07T08:46:00.001+08:00

18 Nov
I like to stare at him when he is sleeping soundly. My baby has 2 favourite sleeping poses - arms stretched wide open on his back or his thumb partly in his mouth while on his side. The former is my preferred pose, as I can better observe and admire his features, and I also dont have to concern myself with whether his ears are flapped inwards. When asleep, he looks more mature - I can almost guess how he will look like as an adult! His features loses the playful look he has when he is awake.

I love staring at my baby - I can just sit there and stare, and all I care about is his happiness and well-being - above mine. I think I now understand what selfless love is, and how strong parental love is above all others. And then I realise how much my parents probably care for me, even though they are not perfect parents and I still wish we spent more time together when I was a kid.

But above all, I take the love that I have for J and multiply it by 100x - that's the minimum width and depth of love God has for me! Simply amazing...that an omnipotent God can love me so deeply even though I have really nothing much to offer. I just pray that my little baby will grow to experience this perfect unchanging love and the immense joy and peace that comes along with it. God bless you richly, my little darling. Mummy loves you very very much, and God loves you so much more!

22 Nov
J finally slept 6 hours straight last night - what a relief!

It started on Sat evening when he slept from about 9am to 245am, after his 830pm feed. On Sun, he slept from about 9-10:45pm after his last milk feed at 5pm and solids at 7pm. And he fell asleep while drinking his milk at 10:45pm! Slept through till 430pm for his next feeding and finally woke up at 8am this morning.

I hope this continues cos not only is this beneficial for his growth and development, it also allows me to complete my daily tasks much faster. But the other side of me dreads spending less time with him on weekdays if he sleeps earlier. Ha, I always have to worry huh!

24 Nov
Joshua is officially still not sleeping through the night. He has been waking up a couple of times in the middle of the night, but can't really be helped as he needs his middle-of-the night feed. I think we may need to shorten his feed interval in the day so that he doesn't need to feed at night - but it becomes more troublesome when we are out though. Really need to figure out what is best so that A & I can get a good night rest - God, please help!

Hiatus

2010-12-02T17:54:00.003+08:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged...with my hands full with a simply adorable but demanding baby, and sleeping only 4-5 hours every night...I simply had no energy or time to blog. There are tons of things I'll love to do - sleeping for 12 hrs straight, playing my keyboard, catching a nice movie, reading a nice novel while sipping a cup of hot chocolate, etc. - I'm craving for some peace and quiet, and time alone. But that will have to wait for many years to come. Everything is about J now...he is super active and is literally "non-stop action" unless he is in dreamland. I'm tired but happy, and just grateful that J is healthy and well.

But I've decided to resume blogging -partly to remember, partly to grouse and vent. And I'm blogging on my way to work now - have to maximize use of my time :)

Anyway, I'm just glad my life has resumed a bit of normacy - with occasional lunch gym sessions, and now blogging :) Things will surely get better!

My 1st Visit to Browhaus :(

2010-06-18T17:02:00.004+08:00

It's been a long time since I trimmed my brows. Post-pregnancy left me with thick unruly hair, untidy eyebrows, an enlarged bone structure, flabby tummy, and constant sleep deprivation. Sounds bad huh? It's no wonder post-pregnancy blues are not uncommon. I am glad I only had a brief encounter with the blues stage though I am still slightly unhappy with the lack of sleep. But things will get better after I stop breastfeeding...it's just a couple more months to go and hopefully I'll be able to enjoy the luxury of sleep then. And hopefully, my little one will learn to sleep longer through the night soon.

Sacrifices of being a mother, though I must add that the joy of hearing my little one's coos & oohs, and his giggles never fails to bring on a smile. Guess there are good & not-so-good parts to motherhood, but I am determined to eventually reverse each 'ailment' associated with post-pregnancy.

I have since gotten a haircut and managed to squeeze some time for a home pedicure 2 days earlier. Since I have just turned a year older yesterday, thought it'll be nice to spruce up my brows. Decided to try Browhaus at Malacca Street as it is located near my office. I picked the threading cum tweezing service which costs $20. The staff who attended to me was pretty friendly, though the trimming was so-so. After the session, i noticed there were still some fine hair that she didn't remove and have to ask her to pluck those as well - so I felt that she didn't do a thorough job. And she didn't reshape my eyebrows either...just merely followed the original shape.

What I didn't like about this outlet was that they were hardselling stuff to me. First, it was this $45 eyebrow serum which purportedly helped to hasten hair growth in overplucked areas. Then they recommended the brow resurrection which costs a whopping $1200, but the manager could give me a 20% discount if I paid for the service the same day. They got a staff to draw my eyebrows to show me how my brows would look after being resurrected. Honestly, my brows looked nicer but definitely not worth $960 . I wonder whether I can get the same effect from drawing my own brows. And obviously, they tried to sell me the trimming package too. But I was already feeling uncomfortable with their hard-selling, and did not purchase anything eventually.

I stepped out of the shop abit disappointed that an upmarket outlet like Browhaus also resorted to the crude marketing tactic of pressurising customers to make purchases. Would I go back again? Don't think so...i think i get better results and no pressure at a fraction of the price from the eyebrow threading shop at Little India.

More photos of Baby

2010-01-25T18:53:00.014+08:00

Baby at 12 weeks - 63mm long

15 weeks

19 weeks

Baby at 22 weeks - 494gm

31 Weeks - Bulkier and Clumsier

2010-01-25T16:49:00.005+08:00

Time flies..I can't believe I'm at the end of my 31st week of pregnancy. About 2 more months to go before I'll see Mr Baby J face to face.

Yup, my baby is going to be a boy - my initial instincts told me so, my grandma gave her verdict via her apparently accurate and traditional manner of computation, my gynae literally guaranteed the gender during one of the regular ultrasounds, the nurse doing my 2nd trimester scan confirmed it, and colleagues are also pretty sure from the visual inspection of my "pointed" tummy =)

With me trying to squeeze in as much sleep as I can on weekday nights (though not too successfully) in the past months, and just having jam-packed weekends visiting friends, running errands, baby-shopping, I just didn't have time to blog. Fortunately today is a lazy Monday and I'm on leave, so decided to blog abit.

So exactly how do I feel at 7 months of pregnancy? Here are my random load of emotions and thoughts:

1. I'm heavy - having gained 12kg from my pre-pregnancy days.

2. The weight is making my movements slower and clumsier - from getting out of bed, getting out of the chair, and even walking. I can no longer walk as fast as I used to, but I think I'm still walking at a decent pace.

3. Climbing stairs is making me breathless! Walking on flat ground is still fine, but just climbing up the multi-storey carpark at my place is enough to send me gasping for air. But ironically, I kinda appreciate the short climbs cos feeling slightly breathless actually makes me feel like I've exercised and hence, a teeny weeny bit healthier.

4. I'm still sticking to my 15min of cycling and 15min of treadmill/cross-trainer at the gym, twice a week. This is a lot less than I used to exercise, but well, I guess it's better than not exercising at all.

5. I've not run in a long time. Not that I miss it, but I sometimes wonder how exhausting my 1st post-pregnancy jog will be.

6. I can no longer fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes - the cirumference of my belly is a cool 100cm. At home, I prefer to wear night dresses, cos my home shorts are way too uncomfortable. When dressing to go out, I can forget about my pre-pregnancy denim wear. I have to don maternity tops/bottoms or really baggy pre-pregnancy clothes. Although I can still squeeze into some stretchy pre-pregnancy clothes, I am a bit more selective so as to avoid overstretching them.

7. With 2 heartbeats in me, I'm feeling less cold than I used to. I've not touched my jackets in a long time - just a cardigan or shawl is usually sufficient to keep me comfortable in office.

8. No haircut or any form of hair indulgence since I found out I was pregnant. I'm growing my fringe for convenience during my confinement, and my hair is pretty long - reaching about half the length of my back. I'll probably head for a haircut a couple of weeks before I'm due. In the meantime, I neaten my messy wavy tresses using hairclips.

9. My bone structure has expanded - tremendously. From a pre-pregnancy size S, I reckon between size M and L now =( The most obvious difference comes from the use of bra extenders when wearing my pre-pregnancy undergarments.

10. My hubby and I are almost done with all the baby-shopping. Bought most of the big baby items, with a few miscellaneous items (e.g. more nappies, nappy liners, diapers, more wet wipes, nappy rash cream) to go.

11. I feel a slight ache on the running down the right side of my tummy whenever I'm not sitting in the right posture. Backaches are thankfully a minimum at this point and hopefully stays that way.

12. My right foot has started to swell! Guess this is the start of water retention in 3rd trimester - I just hope my legs/feet wouldn't look too ugly with the passing weeks.

13. My belly button has protuded to its maximum. I was previously pretty apprehensive about the poppingbelly button, and while I'm still not a big fan of it showing underneath my clothes, I'm less oblivious to it than a few months back.

14. My baby's kicks are stronger and more frequent, especially around bedtime. The kicks are sometimes uncomfortable, e.g. when he seems to kick against some organ or near my belly button. Sometimes, my tummy just trembles when baby moves - and I'm getting used to it.

15. I think I'm getting Braxton Hicks contractions. My tummy will just harden suddenly for a couple of seconds before relaxing again. It's a little uncomfortable when this happens while I'm walking. I usually have to walk a bit slower when this happens.

16. I still think I'm not catching enough winks. Nowadays, my body clock automatically wakes me up after about 6 hours of sleep, and its abit difficult to fall asleep after that, although I'm still feeling tired. This makes me exhausted especially during weekdays cos I have to get up for work about an hour later - so I lose about 1 hour of sleep, sighz.

17. I managed to indulge in the luxury of sleep over the past 2 days, and reckon that 9 hours of sleep (including the sleepless interval after about 6 hours) is what I need daily. But that means I've to go to bed by 10:15pm every night! Not sure how I'm going to manage that.

18. I currently hit the washroom just once a night - so not that bad. Hopefully stays this way.

19. I'm starting to be more appreciative of the peaceful quiet moments I have a home and the flexibility I have in my daily schedule, wary that things are going to change drastically after 2 months. Now, I can choose to sleep in on weekends, stay up late watching TV, decide to go shopping with no prior planning. In future, I'll probably have work my schedule around my baby, spend more time planning ahead, spend more time home (at least in the 1st year), miss the days I can sleep in - I'll probably be busier having to take care of my little one but believe it will be a different kind of happiness with baby around. Home will never be as quiet, hopefully it will still be as neat as it is now =)

20. The actual delivery process has been a concern for me. I'm still not sure whether I should have epidural, but it will definitely be a back-up option for me. I'm also abit apprehensive about episotomy - sounds scary to be honest. But I'm grateful that God has been with me every stage of my pregnancy and by His grace, it has been a smooth preganancy so far. And I know He will continue to be there with me every step of the way - for the remaining 2 months of my pregnancy, during my delivery, and post-delivery. He will hold my hand and be there, and I am extremely grateful and thankful for His presence in my life.

21. It has been my prayer that my baby will be perfectly healthy and fit. And by God's grace, my baby will be a beautiful, intelligent, healthy baby - created in the exact manner God wants - and he will always be filled with God's love, joy, peace - priceless gifts that can only come from the Creator. I trust in God to continue His good work of moulding and sculpting my little baby in me, and pray that little J will grow up to be a man who loves God and to be someone who will be a blessing to all around him.

Overall, I am definitely larger and heavier. Probably a drastic difference from 7 months ago, but not too shocking because the changes and weight gain came in gradually. It doesn't feel that bad to be bulkier and slower in my movements - I just feel the need to be extra careful. Energy levels are lower than previously, I find it more difficult to wear my pants or soap my feet, and despite my right foot looking pretty ugly with the swell, I'm still grateful for this gift from God =)

9 weeks - Pretty the Same

2009-08-23T23:18:00.004+08:00

A slight bulge has emerged - is it the baby (seems unlikely cos baby is still less than 2cm big), part of the uterus expansion, or just pure bloatedness? Gas is a pregnant woman's foe - sighz, with the bloatedness and the burpz, its difficult to feel pretty.

Not much has changed from the 8th week. I still can't pass the day without yawning several times and wishing I am resting in bed at home instead of me working away on my office laptop. And the bad news - it seems my work is piling up - boss has already requested that we go back next Sat to work! Arghh....it really ain't easy managing pregnancy and work. Yet work is inevitable if I want to ensure that I can provide the best for the little one growing in me right?

I have resumed my gym sessions, but only cycling, walking and stretching - the low-impact type of activities. Goodbye to gym classes, sit-ups and running on the treadmill! Despite my lethargy, I find that exercising really does help to perk one's spirits! I feel healthier, more assured that I won't be gaining the wrong kind of weight, and optimistic that my body will be fit and strong to handle the stresses of pregnancy.

And oh, my hubby and I have kinda decided on the Christian names for our baby. Boy will be J--, Girl will be called K--. Still subject to changes because I want to make sure that these names not only sound nice, but are meaningful. To me, a name represents the hope that parents have for their child and who they want their child to be. The name must also be chosen with sensitivity so that child will not be subject to brutal teasing from friends in future. The names seem perfect for now, but let's see...

To my little J/K: My biggest wish and prayer for you is that you will be well-nourished, that you will develop healthily, and by God's grace, you will be a healthy and happy baby who is entirely free from health issues and birth defects.

8 weeks

2009-08-16T15:24:00.005+08:00

Feeling more nauseous than usual, and the lethargy continues. No weight gain so far, and tummy is just a slight bulge.

Have finally recovered from the cold, and am still continuing with large (compared to the past) servings of fruits to strengthen my immunity. My refrigerator has never been so well-stocked up with fruits =P I am also hoping to resume some exercise because I feel so unhealthy without exercise.

Good news is this is the week from which my baby is officially a fetus!
http://www.babycenter.com.sg/stages/0108

A visit to the gynae on Sat confirmed it - I can see the head of my baby! Baby has grown to 1.66cm now:

Baby at 6 weeks

Baby at 8 weeks

Changes - 7th week

2009-08-04T19:26:00.006+08:00

Caught a cold and sore throat over the weekend. My usual remedy would be to pop a clarinase, take my 'xiang4 sang1 ju1' and lotsa green tea, topped up with starfruit. But I suddenly realised these are no-nos when one is pregnant!

Pregnant ladies are supposed to avoid consuming medication and cooling stuff, right? So I have been loading on lotsa honey-lemon and fruits instead. For the first time in my life, I am relying on natural remedies to fight my ills.

It has been 4 days - my sore throat is kinda gone, but the cold is still lingering. Still praying for divine healing and I will feed on more antioxidant fruits later. Hopefully I will feel well enough for work tomorrow. Sighz, it doesn't help that office is freezing.

The other big changes are that I no longer slap on huge amounts of body moisturiser and I that have turned more product-organic. A friend of mine has advised that products containing paraben and phthalates are harmful. Found a website with similar information.
http://www.babyworld.co.uk/information/pregnancy/chemicals_in_pregnancy.asp

It is awful that many cosmetics products contain harmful ingredients, and while the less harmful ones may be seemingly better for health, they hurt the pocket with their exorbitant prices. I used to be an Olay fan and Total Effects cost me just over S$20. I've now switched to Dr Hauschka Rose Day Light Cream which cost me S$60. My daily facial regular regime (excluding the serums and masks) cost me at least S$150, whereas in the past I paid less than S$50.

For the sake of the little one in me, I am now using organic body wash, body oil, facial cleanser, toner, moisturiser, body deodorant. Unfortunately, I haven't found a good organic sunscreen, although I have switched to Clarins which apparently doesn't contain the 2 abovementioned chemicals. My eye cream, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, lip balm remain un-organic...and I am trying not to care. As for my daily handcream, I'm still in transition stage i.e. trying to finish up my current unorganic one since the tube is finishing up anyway.

Personally, I think it is more important that items which stay on one's body should not contain harmful products.

But I also realised that even specialists may have different views. A friend of mine who is also pregnant mentioned to me that her gynae recommended her to use QV cream for her eczema. My hubby uses the exact same cream, so I checked the ingredients and it contains paraben! I warned her about it, but she is comfortable using it because it is recommended by her gynae. Her gynae told her to avoid lipstick though.

I think the ultimate aim for every pregnant lady is to do their best for their little one(s) to develop healthily and be given the opportunity to start life in the pink of health.

Caring for my little one has started even though my little one is still less than a centimetre long. Other than avoiding medication and using more organic products, I also make sure I eat proper meals, consumer more fruits and sleep earlier. Above all, I pray daily for my little one now - where grace used to be a quick prayer to thank God for the food and for the food to nourish me and myself, I now pray that the food I consume nourish my little one too. I am trying my best (the only thing beyond my control is my long work hours), and thankfully I know God knows.

Well, there is a long National Day weekend coming up, and my hubby is going for a trekking trip which I had to give up because of my current condition. So while I will be sadly home alone, I will also be able to get plenty of rest, and hopefully do some light reading. Am looking forward to the weekend already =)

God's Gift - 6th week

2009-07-28T21:52:00.009+08:00

Babies are God's gifts. Some parents may disagree, especially in the midst of their baby wailing away and exhaustion from lack of sleep.

But I believe babies are God's gifts. A human life forming in the mother's womb - God sees to every detail of the baby's development.

I was always afraid of pregnancy - the weight gain and the labour pain, especially. And my sole reason for wanting children was purely for company during my older years.

But in the past year, my perception has changed somewhat. As I see my friends having children, I begin to realise the joy and purpose babies can bring to their parents. And I realised it may be not that easy to even conceive. And when I had the opportunity to hold a baby in my arms, I realised at that moment that I had the capacity to love a baby who was my own. So in my heart, I knew God was preparing me for a different lifestyle that will mean putting another life above my own. And I knew, that in His own perfect timing, God will bestow me with the gift of a little life that I will have to nurture and care for.

So a first pregnancy kit test on 13 Jul 09 showed negative results (actually there was a faint 2nd line, implying a possibly positive result - but I missed that out). But in my heart, I felt that the results were wrong. A visit to the GP on 16 Jul 09 confirmed I had minor gastritis, and the GP said I couldn't be pregnant despite my burping and feelings of nauseousness. I took one dosage of the medicine the GP gave me and stopped - because I was still unconvinced. My instincts were telling me otherwise, so I just wanted to play it safe.

Then on 23 Jul 09, I decided to try another pregnancy kit in order to allay my concerns. As I saw the 2 lines developing (positive results), I was stunned. My instincts had told me I was pregnant, but still I could not believe it. The initial shock lasted for a couple of minutes before a bit of ecstasy took over. There goes my Mt Kinabalu hiking trip during National Day, but hey, a life is forming within me! I then paid a visit to the GP (a different one of course), who confirmed the positive results.

And then today, my first visit to the gynae. I am officially about 6 weeks pregnant, and my little baby is just 0.46cm. And I could see the baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound machine - it was amazing! A little heart thumping away in me. This marks the start of a new journey for me. I don't know how the next 9 months will unfold - but I trust God to take care of my baby and I pray that my baby will grow and develop healthily. I will do my part to the best of my ability (eating well, trying to get lotsa rest where possible, and cutting down my exercises to walks).

I have never said this, but I have learnt that God has given me a gift - the gift of responsibility. It probably sounds a bit odd when the bible quotes about other gifts e.g. healing, prophesy, miracles, etc.. My gift is responsibility. I tend to naturally want to do everything to the best of my ability because I know I have the responsibility to perform every task well. And I am now given the responsibility to keep myself in the pink of health for my baby's sake, and in the future, I will be responsible for nurturing my little boy/girl into someone who fears and loves God.

God has His in own ways, matured and changed me so that I am willing to accept the responsibility and the gift He has bestowed me with. Indeed, He makes all things beautiful in His own time.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139: 13-16

Weekend of 18 Jul

2009-07-19T22:47:00.006+08:00

A pretty busy weekend.

SATURDAY: Attended a delectable and sumptuous wedding champagne lunch buffet at Mezza9. One of the best wedding meals I've ever tasted. Ambience was livened up by a team of 3 musicians who went crooning table by table. Didn't bring a proper camera, so this is the best that my hubby's Nokia E33 could come up with:

After the feast, we treated ourselves to a free spa at Aramsa - won it from the local Woman's Weekly magazine. I loved the natural cum Balinese setting of the spa, but it was a pity that the actual massage was so-so. So I guess I won't be back there again. But I'm not complaining cos the spa was free!

SUNDAY:
Attended one-month birthday celebration for S&G's adorable little J - who is an exact replica of his dad. Btw, this is my first attempt carrying a newborn - I literally just sat there frozen, because I didn't know what else to do!

Holding the little one in my hand just made me think how precious, how dear this little one is. And I can just fathom how much more precious and beautiful he is to God who created him in his mother's womb. My best wishes to little J - may you grow up to be someone as wise and as God-fearing as the biblical character you are named after.

Random Thoughts

2009-07-09T23:18:00.004+08:00

I have been too busy to blog. But on account of a dear friend who says she has been perpetually seeing my 80-year old lady blog on the top of my blog page, here is a new entry =)

In the past months of absence from this blog, certain events have happened which caused me to have the following thoughts:

1. Death of Michael Jackson
I deem him to be a music icon, someone who will go down in history and be remembered for his musical establishments as much as Elvis. But he will also not be forgotten for the many dark rumours surrounding his life, be it his unnatural inclination towards children, his numerous plastic surgeries, etc.

The first thought that flashed in my head when I saw the news on TV was: Oh man, he was rich but was he every happy? He did so many things to try to be happy, but was he really ever happy?

Then subsequent thoughts were: Life is short, treasure it. Work may ****, but that's not all of life. In summary, live life to the fullest everyday (if possible)..if not, maybe at least a couple of hours each day.

2. Death of a 5 year old boy
The boy is a colleague's friend's son, so I don't even know the direct kins of the little boy who has passed on.

But it is always saddening to hear of someone's bereavement, especially when he/she is only a young child. The child will definitely be greatly missed by his parents, and many years down the road, they will probably always wonder how their child will be like, what career he will choose if he were still alive. And sadly, this is a pain and loss that no time can heal.

My thoughts? Life is so unpredictable. I don't even know how long I will live. So I should really treasure my loved ones.

3. The Significance A Good Boss Makes To One's Worklife
I am a people person, and good work relationships are important to me. Having a good boss is great because you get to learn from him, be it technically, the way he thinks, and even the way he interacts with people. But if you get a lousy boss, you will start dragging your feet to work everyday.

But the bright side of having a bad boss is that you will dislike his behaviour to the extent that you will have them ingrained in your head such that it becomes unlikely that you will ever exhibit that behaviour because you realise that you do not want to be a pest to your future subordinates. In short, you learn what you should not be.

4. Life is Quite Hard
Pimples can just surface overnight, but they take weeks to disappear.

Frustrating because this is exactly what is happening to me. Age has a part to play too, the pimples are not receding fast enough. I stare in the mirror every morning and evening, and wonder when will I regain my previous pimple-free complexion. I am even contemplating of laying hands on my face and praying about it - but that will be a last resort.

I am still trying to figure out the cause of the sudden outburst of red. Sleeping too late? Too much stress from work? Exercising too much? Age? Using the wrong facial products?

But more than wanting to find out the cause, I am hoping that my body will cease this uncontrollable surge of youth spots. With age, I am supposed to get less pimples, so this random outburst is just a one-time off and it will recede into dormancy forever.

A 80 year old lady

2009-04-27T21:11:00.005+08:00

I was at Ya Kun on Sunday afternnon. There was this really old lady - all hunched up and going from table to table trying to sell 4D tickets and tissue paper. Most people ignored her and I am usually part of that group - partly because I bought tissue from a little girl many years back and later found out from the papers that she was a con. I think such ingenuine cases do cause people to hold back from giving, because one can no longer discern the people who are in real need from those who are just out to fool kind-hearted souls.

But as that very old lady walked slowly from table to table, for the first time and despite all my reservations about swindlers, I was moved with sympathy. She was so old and she really looked like a genuine case. So I decided to purchase tissue paper from her and when she sat down for a momentary rest, I saw that she looked so tired and yet she had to continue approaching people because this was probably her only source of livelihood.

During my brief conversation with her, I learnt that she was 80 years old and she asked me if I wanted to purchase 4D tickets as well. I declined and she mentioned that she will have to absorb the costs of the 4D tickets if she was unable to sell them.

The old lady then made her way towards Pepper Lunch and was out pretty soon - no business. She went to try her luck at the neighbouring Long Johns Silver - but it seemed she had no luck as well. I felt really sad for her and bought a $2 4D ticket from her for $3.

I asked myself whether I should give her some money, but decided against it.

That brief encounter with the old lady was a reminder to me on my many blessings in life. It made me realise how lucky I am not having to worry about my daily meals. I pick and choose food and sometimes I grumble about the limited food options around my home..when others are struggling not to go hungry.

And I wonder how I can help them.

Many years ago, I had a dream. There was a box that could make any wish of mine come true. My cousin tried it and it worked. And as I held the box gingerly and fearfully, I was just about to make that most important wish in my life..when I work up. Sounds like a scene from a movie but that happened to me alright.

Other than that one wish, there are many wishes I will make - if only genie lamps exist. I'll love to have a photographic memory, talent in music, wisdom - and I realise how self-centred these wishes are. Very often, it is just about me, I, myself - when I am so blessed despite the hiccups in life.

While God has not made me the talent to be a Mensa member or a professional musician, He has given me a pair of hands which can help others. He did not give me what I wished for - simply because those items are not important. But He knows the amount of cheer willing hearts and willing hands can bring.

When we act according to God's will for us, I know there are good things in store. The more you give, the more you receive. And the more you help others, the more you realise how blessed and lucky you are. You begin to see things from a different perspective and life becomes more meaningful simply because we are not living just to please ourselves, but our lives can bring cheer to others.

God-willing, I hope to be that person He wants me to be.

A book called Time's Arrow

2009-04-19T17:01:00.004+08:00

Just finished reading a book - Time's Arrow by Martin Amis, which tells the story, backwards, of the life of a Nazi war criminal.

A pretty thin book with only 173 pages, but an intense one by all accounts. The book is interesting because it is written in backward chronology. One cannot just read and gloss over the details like in any other story book. Because the book is written backwards, my brain keeps having to realign the sequence of events so that it makes sense - my brain having been so used to the natural order of things eg. new to worn out, young to old.

This reverse sequence of writing has some interesting elements, including making the bad seem good, and the good seem bad, and everything just seems to clash again the natural human intuition I'm so used to. Here are some excerpts:

"Eating is unattractive too. First I stack the clean plates in the dishwasher...until some fat bastard shows up in his jumpsuit and traumatizes them with his tools. So far so good: then you select a soiled dish, collect some scraps from the garbage, and settle down for a short wait. Various items get gulped up into my mouth, and after skillful massage with tongue and teeth I transfer them to the plate for additional sculpture with knife and fork and a spoon...Next you face the laborious business of cooling, of reassembly, of storage, before the return of these foodstuffs to the Superette, where, admittedly, I am promptly and generously reimbursed for my pains."

"I can't tell - and I need to know - whether Tod is kind. Or how unkind. he takes toys from children,on the street. He does...The toy..will be offered to him by the smiling child. Tod takes it. And backs away...the child's face turns blank..Both toy and smile are gone: he takes both toy and smile. Then he heads for the store, to cash it in. For what? A couple of bucks. Can you believe this guy? He'll take a candy from a baby, if there's fifty cents in it for him."

"Signs say No Littering - but who to? We wouldn't dream of it. Government does that, at night, with trucks; or uniformed men come sadly at morning with their trolleys, dispensing our rubbish, and shit for the dogs."

"'Uncle Pepi' has surpassed himself with his new laboratory...in this new lab of his he can knock together a human being out of the unlikeliest odds and ends. On his desk he had a box full of eyes. It was not uncommon to see him slipping out of his darkroom carrying a head partly wrapped in old newspaper...The next thing you knew...a fifteen-year-old Pole sliding off the table and rubbing his eyes and sauntering back to work..."

By far one of the most interesting books I have read. But doesn't score too high on entertainment value for me as the writing style is pretty serious, and the storyline is generally all grim and grey. I much prefer books with hope and optimism - and naturally, a happy ending.

Quiet Time - How Wide and Long and High and Deep

2009-03-04T22:04:00.005+08:00

I don't usually write about what I read in QT, but last night, I read one of the most beautiful poems:

Could we with ink the ocean fill

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scrollc ontain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky.

The corresponding bible passage was:
"...may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3 : 18-19

Extract from Our Daily Bread:
"Some Bible scholars believe “width” refers to its worldwide embrace (John 3:16); “length,” its existence through all ages (Eph. 3:21); “depth,” its profound wisdom (Rom. 11:33); and “height,” its victory over sin opening the way to heaven (Eph. 4:8).

We are admonished to appreciate this amazing love. Yet as we expand our awareness of God’s love, we soon realize that its full measure is beyond our understanding. Even if the ocean were filled with ink, using it to write about the love of God would drain it dry.

God’s love cannot be explained—it can only be experienced."

===========================================================

Indeed, it is impossible to describe God's love for us. It is so big, so amazing, so intangible, yet so real. Recently, God has been speaking to me through QT.

On Sunday night, the night before I officially start work, He reminded me to be of pH G - Patient, Humble and Gentle (Ephesians 4:2). I questioned why patient and why gentle? Then today it dawned on me why I must be patient...to be patient for circumstances to improve, to be patient for things to happen, effects to take place...to be patient in building my knowledge to become the expert in the area I am interested in. How I wish to just rush into doing what I want to do, what I hope to become - but I think He has a different plan for me, so I must be patient and make the best of my circumstances and to try and value-add in whatever way I can.

As I think about my new job, my keyboard class, my cell group...all the more I must be patient.

And then on Monday night, in addition to pH G, more elements were added to become RFG_LPG - Righteousness, Faith, Godliness, Love, Patience, Gentleness (1 Timothy 6:11). Its a tough call, especially Godliness.

For many years, I do QT more as a procedure and a must-do without much expectation. Occasionally, certain passages will jump at me. But this time round, I realised that it is a series of quiet message.

God is quietly telling me and reminding me of things...how do I know? It is difficult to describe..but in short, I just know. You just know He is telling you some things. I have my doubts at times of course, but time will help to verify whether I am hearing things right.

I won the Pioneer Competition!

2009-02-27T19:02:00.007+08:00

Just found out that I won the "I've Got My Pioneer!" competition! The results were printed in today's Today newspaper.

The contest required me to submit a photo of my home with any Pioneer product, as well as a short description on how the Pioneer product has changed my life (or something along those lines). The win came as a surprise as I received an email from a Pioneer staff a few days back informing me that my submission had been selected as part of the Top 40 entries, and they would like to come to my place for a short photoshoot and interview, which I assumed was to facilitate the selection of the winning entry.

Here is my original entry:
The first two things we do when my hubby and I are back from work are: switch on the lights, and then the TV. Watching TV programmes has become a daily necessity – of similar priority to brushing our teeth. We decided on the Kuro Plasma TV for our 1st home because of rave reviews we have heard, as well as its aesthetic appeal. My hubby and I were aware that the TV would be our home’s key feature, and we needed it to fit in with the “raw” feel of our home. Our Kuro has done a perfect job – it has a simple and stylish pure black design that complements our home’s white walls and cement floor, it gives us crystal clear pictures, and we have endless hours of fun in front of our Kuro watching movies, playing Wii, browsing through our holiday photos. Our hours after work and on weekends centers around Kuro. Now, we spend more time at home than we ever had – seriously! One can never underestimate the importance of a good TV – it is of essence if you value quality entertainment like us.

And an abbreviated version was printed:
We decided on the Kuro Plasma TV for our 1st home because of rave reviews we have heard, as well as its aesthetic appeal. Our Kuro has done a perfect job – it has a simple and stylish pure black design that complements our home’s white walls and cement floor, it gives us crystal clear pictures, and we have endless hours of fun in front of our Kuro watching movies, playing Wii, browsing through our holiday photos. One can never underestimate the importance of a good TV – it is of essence if you value quality entertainment like us.

It's a pity there are no cash prizes to be won. But nevertheless, still quite happy and I am so proud of my bee-e-u-ti-fuul home =)

Coincidentally, I had also entered into this Women's Weekly Best Beauty Buys Promotions and received a letter earlier this week informing me that I won a Eyelash and Eyebrow Treatment Stick. I had to choose a particular product and sms the product number in order to enter into the promotion. Now I wonder why did I even pick this product in the first place.

Looks like it has been a week of wins! Admittedly, the prizes are not very useful. But for the moment, the thrill of winning still beats the practical aspect of wondering what I will do with the prizes... =)

The Unforgettable Act of Nose Picking

2009-02-26T23:56:00.007+08:00

It is not uncommon to see people indulging in the disgusting but perhaps self-gratifying act of digging one's nose in public. I see that sometimes..usually from old uncles along the street, doing 'the act' with much oblivion as if it is as natural as blinking one's eyes. I usually look away of course...in disgust at 'the act'. But it becomes more horrifying when one sees a lady picking away at her nose and the feeling of horror cum disgust is immediately multiplied when I am unable to look away. This exact scene prompted today's entry.

I was innocently sitting across her and listening to the instructor when I suddenly noticed that she had her index finger to her nostril, with her face towards me. I took a quick glance at her and then immediatly refocused my eyes at the instructor standing diagonally behind her. But I could tell that she had quietly turned her head away from the rest of the class and was facing the instructor and digging away profusely. She would stop for a moment and rub her index and third finger to probably rid them from any debris she had excavated from her nose..then she continued the act. I tried to look away, but it was hard as she was seated right in front of me and I had to look past her in order to look at the instructor. Suddenly, I realised that I could no longer focus on the class and was just hoping and hoping that she would not stretch her hand out towards my direction. The act continued for at least a torturing 5 min and I had to muster all my acting skills to pretend that nothing was happening. I wondered whether anyone else saw that act.

Then after that, she took a small piece of yellow post-it pad and used it to mildly slide it between her teeth. And then she used her fingers (the same ones engaged in the previous act) and slide them along the paper to clear whatever was on the paper. That act was repeated a few times and I just didn't have the heart to look anymore. I just couldn't look any more and I was thrown back to yesterday when she was seated beside me.

She had this habit of scratching her scalp vigorously and then swinging her head slightly so that her hair (which is almost waist length) sweeps around like the Patene hair ad. But in contrast to the ad, the problem is that her back was usually in my face, so I get the 'brunt' of her frequent hair sweeping habit. Frankly, it disgusted me each time she scratched her scalp as she scratched with such strength that the motion is audible. And then with each swing of her head, I had to lean back a little to avoid the hair hitting me. Her hair slightly brushed my face once, but at least her hair did not stink. In fact, I could smell the remnants of the hair product whenever she swept her hair. Not a bad smell, but nonetheless a smell that I'd rather not be acquainted with.

Although the head scratching and hair sweeping actions are bordering on my tolerance limits, I think it can be forgotten with time. But today's 5 minute's live digging, topped with the creative use of paper in lieu of dental floss is in my honest opinion, totally disgusting and unforgettable. I know the next and everytime I see her, I'll recall the act she committed in class that fateful day. And I have actually decided not to touch any of the pencils in the pencil holder tomorrow as one of the pencils was held in the same pair of hands that committed the act of excavation.

I think she is probably a nice gal and intelligent as well. But I take the view that personal ettiquette plays a much larger role. I wonder if it could be a nationality issue, but I have friends from the same nation who are perfectly hygienic. And I wonder if it could be a lack of understanding social norms, but she seems to be an intelligent girl. But whatever, the sad thing is that nobody (other than her close friends and family - provided they don't share the values) will tell her that her acts are bordering on being termed disgusting.

Anyway, she has made such an impact on me that I am still blogging at this time of the night. And I actually bothered to google the following.

(Warning: Video has potential to ruin your appetite)

New Beijing Olympic Sporting Event - Nose Picking

http://blog.ratestogo.com/new-beijing-olympic-sporting-event-nose-picking/

September 19, 2007

The eyes of the world will be on Beijing for sixteen days in August of 2008, as the drama of the XXIX Summer Olympics unfolds. But there are two Asian pastimes which have not yet been declared Olympic sports, in spite of the fact that hundreds of millions of Chinese learn them at their parents’ knees and practice them daily throughout their lives. They are the sports of nose picking and “air hanky” tossing, and each is part of the Golden Quintet of Asian Xtreme Hygiene Sports: Nose Cleaning, which really encompasses the two skills of Nose Picking and Air Hanky Tossing; Ear Cleaning; Spitting, and Belching.

The Asian sport of nose picking, which some claim is actually more of an art form, is not limited to any one Asian region. With the exception of Singapore, nose picking is a common occupation in many of Asia’s great cities from Beijing to Tokyo. But it may be, thanks to the upcoming Olympics, a dying art in Beijing.

As China makes a leap forward into the 21st century’s first tier of nations, and in anticipation of the Olympiad, its authorities have taken the unusual step of distributing 4.3 million pamphlets to the citizens of Beijing, instructing them in the art of nasal etiquette and the use of tissue. But in a country where toilet paper is considered such an oddity that tourists are cautioned to carry their own, tissues are as foreign to millions of Chinese as foreigners themselves.

The citizens of Beijing, Hanoi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Tokyo are not at all bashful about their nasal cleaning habits. Those who do not engage in a bit of exploratory excavation while standing in line for the bus or enjoying a restaurant meal may instead hurl the infamous “air hanky.” The air hanky technique entails pinching one nostril shut so that the nostril with the most promising content is subjected to the full force of the nose-blower’s exhalation, and those promising contents are expelled into the air.

There’s also the backward snort technique, which allows the mucus-afflicted to draw the phlegm from their nasal passages down into their throats, and expectorate it onto the nearest convenient surface. It usually lands on the ground, but there is no guarantee that your shoe won’t be an obstacle to its safe landing.

Given the heavily polluted air of China, it’s understandable that someone would want to clean out his or her respiratory tract at frequent intervals. But even in Tokyo, where the citizenry otherwise are fanatical about cleanliness, the male commuters spend a good part of their daily travel mining their nasal passages.

In Bangkok, it’s the tuk tuk drivers who usually introduce tourists to the practice of nose picking. In Hanoi, it can be anyone from the restaurant waiters to the fruit vendors. On the busses of Hong Kong one can be treated to a visual smorgasbord of nose picking and ear cleaning accompanied by a cacophony of belching and yawning.
The moral of the story?

If you’re hankering for a trip to the 2008 Olympics, you may find Beijing congested with nose pickers. Plan your trip carefully during this time or you’ll be in a sticky situation.

Thots for 2009

2009-02-15T17:28:00.006+08:00

(taken at Pulau Ubin on 1 Jan 09)

It has been a good 3 months since I've blogged. It is a luxury to be able to sit in front of my laptop to pen my thoughts. For some reason, I always have 'better' stuff to do than to sit down unhurriedly in front of my laptop. One mantra in my life is 'Time is precious'...I'd prefer to buzz around getting things done than relaxing and doing nothing. But I'm trying to change that.

When I am in front of my laptop, I'm usually checking emails or reading financial news - my brain feels abit empty when it isn't soaked with the latest financial news of the day. Otherwise, I'll be ironing clothes while watching TV. And in the recent past weeks, I've had friends over my place which means lotsa cleaning up and packing and preparing for these gatherings.

Today is one of those days on which I have finally decided to reward myself with a bit of blogging. Arghh, there's still ironing to do and an evening jog later, but well let me pen down some thoughts first.

Thoughts for 2009:

1) Thankfully in the midst of the mega financial crisis, I have found a job. There're still classes everyday, so I do not really feel like I'm doing actual work. But come March when training ends and I'll be an official working professional. I am still unsure of the actual work hours I'll be clocking, but I'll definitely try to work hard. I pray and hope that it'll be a conducive work environment. God had led me to this job - given that this function was not what I initially applied for and I wasn't sure I would clear the numerous rounds. But it happened and I'm hoping that I will be able to contribute & value-add in many ways to this organisation.

2) I have changed. There is a practical streak flowing in me now.
From the girl who loved screamingly loud colours like shocking pink and cheery orange, I've evolved to become a black-and-white person. I think I have been partly influenced by the basic colours in my home - there is only room for grey, black, white and a bit of red items. All other colours are strictly no-no. Recent updates to my wardrobe were generally black and white items - partly because they are easier to match, and also because these colours are more invisible to perspiration stains. And oh, skirts/pants should be black or dark coloured because light coloured bottoms get dirty easily. The shopperholic in me has been restraining from purchasing more footwear for work. I used to have at least 8 pairs of work shoes and these have dwindled to half the number. And all of them are covered-toes for that professional image.

3) I now prefer to simple things in life and I think it has to do with age. Regular visits to expensive restaurants are now reserved only for blue moon events. Nothing to do with tightening the purse strings though...its just that I have discovered my inner love for local food and the best local food are served at hawker centres and coffeeshops (just look for the longest queues), not posh nosh restaurants. But I will never tire of the Wagyu Beef at Shiro, the only beef steak that I enjoy from Mortons and the great dining experience at Ember. These will be the restaurants I pop into for the occasional indulgence.

4) I am postponing my dream purchase of a Mini-Cooper and staying loyal to my almost 4-year old Colt. COE prices are at a low, and there is a temptation to switch to my dream car. No other car will do. But the depreciation rates are disgustingly high and it makes no sense to purchase a new car when I am better off saving the money for investments.

5) I have started attending cell group - something I have postponed for years. I hope attending cell will help me grow closer to the Lord. I am still adjusting to the new church, but I know in time I will. I know that just as Lord had led me to my current job, He had also led me to this church.

6) Getting rid of the old pessimistic self and learning to realise that there is no point getting upset over events out of my control. I am consciously trying to be positive and making the best of my situation, especially when I'm treading on unfamiliar grounds. With a new workplace & a new church, I feel tired at times. But I know in time, all will work out well.

7) I have found a love for baking. And I can officially claim that I am a better baker & cook than my hubby =)

8) I still love shopping, watching movies, and continue to have an insatiable appetite for chocolate. But I am hoping to find time to do a bit of regular reading.

9) I am starting to experience the decrease in metabolism with age increases. Its not difficult to figure out the solution to the following equation:
Older Age + Lower Metabolism + Same Intake of Calories + Perennial Love for Anything Chocolate + Constant Inner Debate on How to Make Exercise More Enjoyable
This is why I have to go for that evening run later...not to mention the chocolate truffle cake I had yesterday and the yummilicious peannut butter cupcake the day before.

10) I hope to continue my interest in keyboard. With zero music background and more workload coming my way, I hope to continue attending keyboard classes and improving my keyboard skills. I play once in a while now..I'm not great, but at least I can sing and play simple rhythms.

Now that my thoughts have reached a perfect 10, I think it is an appropriate to end my first blog for 2009. I hope I will accomplish much and all that I wish for. Will definitely update in my first blog for 2010.

New Year's Day @ Pulau Ubin
Chinese New Year - Ladies Galore!

Learning the Secret Recipe from AhMa

Family Dinner @ Xiyan

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

2008-11-06T20:17:00.003+08:00

I used to believe that as long as one puts in the effort, one will likely succeed. Even if success does not come along one's way, at least one knows one has put in one's best and should move on with no regrets.

By God's grace, things have turned slightly more positive, and it seems the light is just round the corner. After having hit many deadends, I think the struggle through the tunnel is coming to an end soon.

But it is not the result I had hoped for. I have fought hard, used my ammunition, tried knocking hard, but doors are not opening.

I will be treading a route that I had resisted. But my acceptance lies in my belief that God is in control. I am grateful that He has sent an angel to assist me. I have nothing to offer except nonsense, and still the angel helps me. And I really really appreciate it. I wondered if he was a Christian and yes, he is a kind-hearted soul who is also a brother-in-Christ. May God bless him richly, I have never felt so indebted to someone who went out of his way to help me and I actually feel bad about it. People who know me are aware that I never like to ask people for assistance if I could help it...I'd much rather solve it myself than to impose myself on others. But he has helped me without me asking, and I can only pray that God will bless him so abundantly and richly.

God knows what is best for me. I know that while I may resist and be unhappy with the decision, when I look back in future, I know all things work together for the good of those who love Him.

Job Interview

2008-11-05T22:19:00.005+08:00

I have never felt so belittled from a job interview.

After the interview, I thought to myself how could people be so mean. After having gone through an interview that was distastefuly conducted, with interviewers interrupting me several times even before I could finish my explanations, I knew that I will not want to work with this group of people. And I am reminded that if I am ever an interviewer, I will never be so mean.

I can't really put my finger on how mean the interviewers were. Other than not exercising the courtesy to wait for me to finish my answer, the questions/comments were plain rude:

"Why are you asking this question? Wasn't HR supposed to tell you that before you applied for the job?"
"Were you a high flyer in your previous job?"
"You are wrong."
"Oh, if you are equally interested in both departments, then you are going to the other department, not this department."

I am just looking for a job, and I understand that they are out to find the most suitable candidate. But interviewing a candidate doesn't mean that you have to belittle the candidate. I hated the interview.

Now I am in a dilemma. Given my current job options, I thought this is the job I would gladly have taken up. But I probably botched the interview, not that I want it anyway. To work under people who seem to think so highly of themselves is not my cup of tea.

Even if they are really intelligent and smart, humility is one word they have to learn. And they have to remember that what counts are the treasures we build in heaven, not the number of candidates they belittled.

My key concern is that the same HR lady was present at both interviews, so while I performed decently with the other department, she would have seen how badly mauled I was at this other interview.

Given the 2 job options, this was the job option that would allow me to lead a more stable life. The other job just requires too much travelling.

I don't know why God allowed today's incident to happen. But I am just praying that He will guide me. He knows what type of job I want to do and thankfully, He is allowing me to have a taste of it. But it is just a temporary assignment which I have to leave soon..to face up to reality to try a job that I may not be interested in, but practical enough not to reject because I know that I need to start work, earn my keep so that I can start planning for other aspects of my life.

God's ways always prevail, but just when I feel that I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I find myself gropping in the dark again. I trust that God will guide, but I can't help feeling upset at how circumstances have turned against me unexpectedly.

5 Loaves and 2 Fishes

2008-10-13T23:52:00.005+08:00

Fell in love with this song even before I finished listening to it the first time.

This song tells of a famous parable that I first heard when I was in Primary One. Even though I have heard this parable several times (given I am now many times older than my tender age of 7 years old in P1, heh), this song allowed me to view the parable from a different perspective and to understand that it takes courage to give something that I think is small and unworthy, not to be afraid that I would be laughed at, but to give and trust that something good will come out of it.

I hope this song will bless all of you who listen to it. It may take a while to load the song, but trust me, its worth the time.

2008-09-19T17:55:00.002+08:00

I am sitting at Burger King now attempting to blog using my phone! As a tech laggard this is new to me. But i am definitely taking longer to key in my words. Good practise for my sms skills though :) Ok how do i start a new line,hmmz.

Ha i found out. Press '0' thrice to get an arrow sign and then hit '#'. Anyway trying to phone-blog is not supposed to be the main content of this entry. Now comes the (ahem) serious stuff.

Just went for a job interview today with a boutique fund management firm. After reading about the firm and hearing rave reviews about it,I was so excited and nervous about the interview. Will take it even if pay cut!

The interview was initially conducted by a lady and a young man, both very pleasant and nice. But they grilled me about banks, including areas I was unfamiliar with. The lady seemed very familiar with credit issues, and that was definitely not my forte. Stressed. But the male interviewer was very nice, kept nodding his head as if to agree and to encourage me as i was trying my best to 'sian' my answers.

Then the big boss arrived. He seemed like a very nice experienced man. I suddenly felt my stress level rising and the butterflies in my stomach were flittering like crazy. This is the boss! So with my nerves going crazy, i stumbled in my reply abit while trying to maintain a calm composure. Then I was asked a question and gave a reply. Then the boss asked me for another example and I just could not think of any. Sighz. Bad response. But the interviewers still seemed nice and the boss explained his answer to me. So daz.

Despite the glitches during the interview, I left the interview feeling quite positive but a bit disappointed that the firm had no vacancy at the moment.

But the more i think about it, maybe the interview didnt go as well as i thought. There were some questions I could not answer, but I really dunno mah. But I know I did my best and will just leave God to do the rest. Feeling a bit braindead from the grilling during the interview but it was a good experience.

Deep down I believe God has a job planned out for me somewhere. I just gotta keep searching, practising my interview skills, and the job will come in His time!

In the meantime, I am thinking of getting a WII set to while my time away :)

Tumble of Financial Titans

2008-09-16T00:35:00.003+08:00

15 September 2008 will be a day that will go down in memory lane. After many months of having their share prices tossed around (mainly downwards) in the credit storm, some of the biggest names in the global financial sector are keeling under pressure.

3 big news today:
1) Lehman files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
2) Merrill Lynch sold to Bank of America for US$50b
3) AIG turns to Fed for financing in the face of rating downgrades and to ward off a looming liquidity crisis

It is scary how events in the financial sector have unfolded. Now, 3 of the biggest names in the banking sector will only be history.

Bear Stearns was the first to go when it was bought over by JP Morgan in March this year for pittance - $2 per share, over 90% discount, you can't even get such bargains at GSS.

Now no one wants to buy Lehman. The US government has decided not to stand behind Lehman as it has just recently thrown its backing behind US mortgage giants, Fannie and Freddie, who must not fail at all costs. So Lehman is left to collapse in the cold.

AIG is an international insurer, and I dread to think what would happen if anything adverse should happen to the insurance group. The millions who have paid AIG for peace of mind (me including) are probably all feeling panicky now. But I surely hope that the US government will support AIG. It will be unfair if even insurance monies are subject to the same great deal of volatility we have seen in the capital markets.

It seems cash is king for now. Deposits placed with banks may turn to nothing when banks collapse, and the monthly insurance premiums we set aside as protection for our future is now facing the possibility of turning to dust.

I really really hope the financial storm will come to an end soon. We are already seeing a restructuring of the financial sector in general - big names disappearing and new giants emerging, soverign wealth funds taking stakes in some of the banks, banks segregating the more risky investment banking business from other businesses...what's next to come? I surely hope clear skies are on their way.

None Like You

2008-09-07T22:21:00.003+08:00

I'm a bit hesistant about writing this, cos it may be a coincidence. But again it may not be.

Coincidence #1.

Was in church today when I heard a song that sent tears welling up my eyes the moment I saw the lyrics on the projector screen.

Backtrack a week ago, it was worship during church service and it seemed a song was placed in my heart - one of my favourite tunes of all time - "There is none like You". And for some reason, I really felt like singing the song and was wondering whether God placed the song in my heart for a reason, and wondered if it was a song we would sing during service. But it didn't happened, and I just told myself I was being oversensitive.

But this week, coincidence or not, this song was sung in church! I had forgotten those thoughts from last week, but when I heard the song, I was reminded how this song was popped into my head last week..and as I heard this song, I felt that God was telling me He listens, He always listens, even to small wishes like these, and He answers...in His own time.

Coincidence #2.

I'm a pretty hygenic person by nature, and always feel a bit awkward with the manner bread is passed during Holy Communion every week. Cos there is a bun that goes around and everyone pinches a bit of the bread from the plate. That is bordering on my hygiene limits a little, but I brush it off by telling myself that it is just a more convenient way of passing bread since this church observes Holy Communion every Sunday, and since my stomach can be quite sensitive at time, I would pinch off only a miniscule bit each time. And that was something I would accept if I decided to make this the church I were to grow in.

But surprise today...the church swapped the bread to pre-cut separate pieces of dough! I was pleasantly surprised. It seemed that God knew about my reservation and made the swap on exactly the same day when He decided the song in my heart should be sang in church. I felt He wanted me to know that He is real and He is really real.

How do I know He is real? I just know..but sometimes, I get doubts, but I want to cling on to reminders like these to remember. Honestly, I fear commitment to church, but I know I need to overcome this if I need to move to a closer relationship with Him. I have some fears, some doubts...but I also know above all, if He really is real as He has shown himself to be, then He is more important than anything because it is my relationship with Him that will count ultimately.

There are some things placed in my heart that I don't dare to utter, cos I'm not sure if its just my own thinking or God's thoughts. When I was much younger, I used to envy those who could hear God and I wondered why God never speaks to me? A bit jealous with His seemingly partiality...considering all I have been through (although it probably pales in comparison to trials others have faced)...but I've learnt all things happen for a reason, and its not for me to question, but to persevere and to make the best of my circumstances.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts andyour minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

Fireworks

2008-08-26T17:49:00.004+08:00

Fireworks never fail to excite me! The neon colours, sparks and noise all add to the festivity. It is almost impossible to feel down when one is busy admiring fireworks display.

I had the opportunity to attend the Singapore Fireworks Celebration 2008 on Saturday. Got free tickets from the purchase of my LG microwave.

It was raining cats and dogs on Sat PM though, but lucky it reduced to a drizzle in the late evening. So aunty me - armed with my brolly and shades (yes, I needed both items to protect my new-found perfect vision) - was able to view the spectacular display of fireworks at Marina Bay. The rain became heavier just as the fireworks display started, but never mind the rain - the show was awesome. As I sat there staring at the display of lights against the dark-pitched sky, I thought to myself how fireworks were like many many shooting stars at one go. Its gorgeous and reminds me of the first time I saw my first spectacular shooting star in Australia.

Fireworks are a sure way to grab anyone's attention - young and old, who wouldn't like them? A great way to celebrate, it never fails to excite, and at least for me, I know I'll never tire of this great invention.

Here are some photos of the fireworks, but they definitely don't do justice to the actual display. Always better to see them firsthand.

Some other photos taken after the display.

Pre and Post Lasik

2008-08-23T00:12:00.003+08:00

It was a gruelling 4 weeks having to stay away from contact lens. Having to don spectacles from the age of 9 led to the self-realisation of the vanity trait that was inherent in me (well, most ladies are vain and few would stamp their feet in protest of this fact).

For a start, I would usually avoid wearing glasses unless necessary. Hence my spectacles were found more often hanging off the middle of my pinafore instead of my face..and it didn't help that I had a flat nose so I was constantly irritated by my glasses slipping off my face. Life was such until I was introduced to contact lenses - freedom from glasses! Still, I consciously alternated between glasses and contact lenses because my eyes would get irritable if I were to wear contact lens for consecutive days. It was always my wish to undergo Lasik, but I always hesitated, having heard of the risks, as well as having concerns with my unstable degree.

But finally, having heard all the positive comments from my friends who had gone for Lasik, I decided to take it up. So that was the start of my 4 weeks off contact lens. In some way, it was also a path of self-discovery. During these 4 weeks, I realised that I could not bear to put on any make-up or wear skirts..not with my spectacles. Somehow, inherently I felt that glasses made me look ugly. I inspected myself closely in front of the mirror..I know I'm no beauty, but certainly I don't qualify as ugly with my glasses rite? But nonetheless, that was how I felt, so for the entire 4 weeks, I was always dressed very simply. But the advantage was that it halved my time spent in dressing up - minus the time taken to rinse and wear my contact lens, putting on make-up - I certainly became more efficient, and in a way, less vain.

The day of transformation came on Thursday - 21 August 2008. I finally had my Lasik operation. I was feeling a little apprehensive and nervous. This is not the first operation in my life, but nonetheless fears were unavoidable because the gift of sight is so significant to me. My right eye had also been itching on and off for the past 2 weeks, which was why I decided to postpone the operation by a week. But the surgeon allayed my concerns and said that the itch shouldn't pose any problem.

The surgery was not as scary as I thought it would be. I just made sure I kept my head stationary and my eye fixed on the blinking red light. Otherwise, it was just a bit of eye pressure (presumably to cut my cornea?) and then the laser zapping away to trim my cornea to give me 6-6 vision. It was painless and fast, and my doctor was most encouraging.

The first night my eyes felt a bit of glare and there was slight pressure in my right eye. The next time, my eyes felt much better. But I still feel that my eyes are tired. And I am still trying not to overstrain my eyes...resting and closing my eyes as often as I remember. My fears of the risks of Lasik had made me realise how important and how precious the gift of sight is. And I would say it is the most important amongst all our senses, including ladies' 6th sense.

I thank God that my Lasik was successful, and I now have perfect eyesight. I just hope to be able to take care of my new eyes so that my vision will always remain this way (Btw, I'm drinking a cup of wolfberry tea now). And today for the first time in 4 weeks, I wore a skirt out =)

The convenience of life without glasses. For an instance, I still subconsciously tell myself that I need to go and remove my contact lens later. But the next moment, I remind myself that I now have perfect eyesight! I'm glad I made the decision, and certainly, I echo the same comments from all my friends - No Regrets!

Happy 43rd Birthday Singapore!

2008-08-05T23:47:00.002+08:00

This year's National Day Song is great..the tune and the meaningful lyrics got me hooked the 1st time I saw the MTV on TV. Now I stay glued to the TV whenever the MTV comes on.

Thanks to the great invention of Internet and Youtube, I can rewatch the MTV over and over with just a few clicks on my laptop. If this was 10 years ago, I'll probably be holding a tape recorder to the TV and recording the song onto a casette tape. So many thanks to advancements in technology I have already ceased this primitive practice.

Shine For Singapore - Hady Mirza

There's also a Chinese version by Cai Chun Jia, although I much prefer the English version by Hady.

Qing Kong Wan Li - Joi Chua

Listening to National Day Songs brings me back to primary and secondary days where I'll be crooning National Day Songs almost every other day in school. In those days, my top favs were "Heritage" and "It's the Little Things". For the past few years, National Day Songs have become more contemporary and are no different from K-songs..I'm hoping the MTV of this year's National Day Song will be available at KTV so that I can belt to my heart's content. I'm already starting to do so at home..opps.

As National Day approaches and I am reminded how a little fishing village 43 years ago survived against all odds to become a busy financial hub today, I feel a sense of national pride. I hereby unashamedly proclaim that I am proud to be a Singaporean, and I thank God for Singapore. My life would be totally different if I was born in a different country. I love the green in Singapore, the excellent spread of local delicacies, the strict laws against littering, great security which gives me peace of mind, our capable and uncorrupted government, freedom of religion, and our belief in racial harmony and equality.

As a tribute to the country I love, I've posted the videos of some other National Day Songs which like:

There's No Place I'd Rather Be - Kit Chan

We Will Get There - Stephanie Sun

Where I Belong - Tanya Chua

Home - Kit Chan

And here's a song written and sung by my pastor..although this is not exactly my type of song, i think it is apt to post it because the video includes footages from World World II and serves as a good reminder of how far Singapore has progressed, and to be grateful for the peace and security we are enjoying everyday!

Keyboard Classes

2008-07-31T01:14:00.005+08:00

Post MFE..I'm leading a life free from lectures and textbooks. Currently only in 1st gear when it comes to sending out job applications. I admit life is pretty good in the absence of work- and school-related stresses, but at least I've embarked on a meaningful and enriching activity - weekly keyboard classes.

Meaningful because as far as memory lane takes me, I've always wanted to learn the piano/keyboard, but somehow always proscrastinated. So it means a lot to me that I am in the process of fulfilling one of my goals in life. Enriching because I believe music enriches one's mind and has the unique ability to touch one's soul.

Every week, there is a theme behind the songs we learn to play. Other than having to grasp with the challenges of playing the keyboard with my stiff fingers, I also learn more about God through the class.

Last week, I learnt that God often referred to Himself as Yahweh (Eternally Existing & Unchanging One). At first, it meant nothing to me. But as I sat there and pondered, it dawned upon me how awesome this name was. The name seemed to have an aura and authority that evokes both awe and fear in me.

This week, I learnt that the universe contains at least 1 billion galaxies, and I like the way my instructor puts it - we are individuals in Singapore, which is part of South East Asia, which is part of Asia, which is part of Earth, which is part of the Solar System, which is part of the Milky Way, which is part of 1 galaxy, which is part of 1 billion galaxies. And God only had to speak, and the universe was created.

To put that into perspective, we are infinitesimally small in comparison to the universe, but we are not insignificant to Him!

This morning I was awoken by tummyaches, and had to rush to the toilet a couple of times. After that I felt perfectly fine and went out. After being out for 8 hours, I felt slight twitches in my stomach on my train ride home, which were signs of impending tummyaches - and when that happens - resumption of mad rushes to the loo. To me, it was abit unusual how my tummyaches only resumed when I am back home. Psychological? Maybe it had to do with the teh-si I drank when I was out? Or maybe God was just reminding me He has full control of all situations, even this

When I sit to think, and put my heart and mind to remind myself that God really does exists, my perspective of life changes. He is in full control all the time, even though events do not always unfold the way I would like them to. I am not sure how my job interview went, but I know that He will give me a job with a firm of His choice in His own time, and I'll just have to do my best, work hard, contribute, and try to be a blessing to the colleagues around me.

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

Friends?

2008-06-10T09:38:00.003+08:00

Writing within the confines of a public blog limits freedom of expression to only things that one would like to share with family and friends. I write to share, but also to remember. So decision is to record it. Little blogs to remember who I think I am, or perhaps to get to know myself better.

Throws me back about 10 years ago...an incident I still remember. I cried in the shower, reluctantly went upstairs after ensuring it wasn't obvious I had teared. Friends come, friends go. But there are some friends I know would have been my best-est of friends if I didn't choose to let go. I thank God I still have some really great friends and I treasure them, but I still miss the others who were once important in my life. I think of them, do they think of me?

Its all wrong..completely wrong and I have no right to feel this way. I think I know myself, but actually not very well. Realisation occurs only when it happens, and hmm, I must really get to know myself better. I'm abit surprised by myself, but I know time heals (though never entirely) wounds. I'll try to work it out cheerfully. Don't worry, be happy rite! I have many other blessings to be thankful about.

The above seems incoherent and confusing? Probably, since they come from bits and pieces of my life in random order. But feeling better already, but still dreading to start on my financial computing homework. In my entire life, I have never encountered such a challenging subject...not my cup of tea, I would say. But nonetheless, I'm going to drink it up and hopefully get a decent score for exams next week.

Wish me luck! =)

Life is Such...

2008-05-30T22:07:00.005+08:00

5 weeks into the course in Pittsburgh and just 2 weeks left. Other than my earlier blog entry, there hasn't been anything terribly exciting to blog about my life in Pittsburgh.

It has been school work and coding, and more work, with the occasional entertainment from US$5 movies which comes with free but not too yummy butter popcorn. My other form of stress relief comes from the indulgence in desserts. Discovered really nice cheesecake and chocolate cake sold at Southside Works. Also, the "branded" icecream in Singapore is going at warehouse prices in US. Ben & Jerrys sells for US$10 for 3 tubs, and Hagen Daz is a better bargain with 4 tubs going for only US$10. One can literally go ice-cream crazy here. And today, I just found out I eat more than my guyfriends!! I'm feeling so guilty now, but I'm balancing my frequent indulgence with exercise. Its a simple joy to jog in Pittsburgh cos the weather is simply great..there's cool air gushing at you, the surroundings are pretty, and it really does help to have a group of friends who are exercising with you =)

Anyway, what prompted this blog is a short one-line message I received last week. I dread negative news. And such news always set me thinking about life. I want to lead life as meaningfully as I can. I am already set to pick up keyboard after my graduation, I want to spend more time with my family, I want to resume volunteer work..there're so many things I want to do, and I am going to try to accomplish them, hopefully soon.

Just this afternoon, I received confirmation of the terrible news. I'm not particularly close to my aunt, but its just saddening that someone I know has passed on. I didn't even had the chance to bid farewell.

I don't like life that is out of my control. And with age, I only know that more terrible news will come. I don't want to hear about it, but I also can't avoid it. This may seem childish for someone of my age, but if I could wish, I wish time will stand still, and life will always be the way it is now.

I still miss my grandpa very much. He passed on when I was still an ignorant brat in secondary school, and I never had the chance to show him my love. This is one of my greatest regret. I never had a chance to make him proud of me. What would I give up for him to be here with me now.

There is this particular song by Mariah Carey that never fails to bring tears to my eyes. Sighz, life goes on I guess...

===================================================
"Bye Bye"

This is for my peoples who just lost somebody
Your best friend, your baby, your man, or your lady
Put your hand way up high
We will never say bye (no, no, no)
Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins
This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers
Lift your head to the sky 'cause we will never say bye

As a child there were them times
I didn't get it but you kept me in line
I didn't know why you didn't show up sometimes
It's something more than saying "I miss you"
But when we talked too
All them grown folk things
Separation brings
You never let me know it
You never let it show because
You loved me and obviously
There's so much more left to say
If you were with me today face to face

[Chorus:]
I never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on like
"I wish I could talk to you for awhile"
"I wish I could find a way try not to cry"
As time goes by
And soon as you reach a better place
Still I'll give the whole world to see your face
And I'm right here next to you
It feels like you gone too soon
The hardest thing to do is say bye bye

(Bye Bye [3x])
Bye bye

And you never got the chance to see how good I've done
And you never got to see me back at number one
I wish that you were here to celebrate together
I wish that we could spend the holidays together

I remember when you used to tuck me in at night
With the Teddy Bear you gave to me that I held so tight
I thought you were so strong
That you can make it through whatever
It's so hard to accept the fact you're gone forever

[Chorus]

(bye bye bye bye bye bye [3x])
Bye bye

This is for my peoples who just lost somebody
Your best friend, your baby, your man, or your lady
Put your hand way up high
We will never say bye (no, no, no)
Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins
This is for my peoples who lost their grandfather
Lift your head to the sky 'cause we will never say bye

[Chorus]

1 week in Pittsburgh

2008-05-13T12:32:00.007+08:00

To my family and friends who are wondering how happystella has been in Pittsburgh.

This blog is long overdue. I have a half-completed blog entry on my first week in US during which I toured LA and Las Vegas. Taking into account the painful amount of time it takes to sort, select and upload the travel pictures, I've decided to temporarily skip that 1 week of glorious fun to provide an update to (highly probable) final phase of my study life. At this point, I don't see myself study for the many years to come, although man (and Stella, notwithstanding) can be fickle.

I've just placed aside the computing notes and fully wary that I've only 7 hours to my morning alarm buzzing, I hope to keep this blog short and sweet. But I do miss writing and hope to write endless pages, alas, time waits for no man.

Accomodation:
I'm staying in a clean, nice 2-bedroom apartment. I have received varying levels of service from the apartment staff, though most are generally pleasant.

But prior to my arrival, I had the most unpleasant encounter with Stacy, apparently the manager. 1.5 weeks before my scheduled arrival to Pittsburgh, she had unilaterally cancelled the 3-bedroom booking I made almost 2 months ago, and merely informed me via email. I called the apartment umpteen times, spoke to almost all the counter staff there were, found out that lady who sent me the curt email was on leave and the rest of the staff I spoke to could not help me on this matter, before I finally spoke to her. Talkig to her felt like I was stupidly banging against the wall, to the point that I was at my wit's end and got my hubby (who is generally more logical and calm) to speak to Stacy who probably is acquainted with the real meaning of customer service. All efforts came to no avail.

And despite all the unpleasantries, I still had to stay at this apartment because it was just too late for me to look for alternative accomodation. On the bright side of things, the other counter staff I've met are great and helpful, all with the exception the woman who doesn't bother to even smile at you. I certainly hope she is not the manager. I don't think I'm biased against her. Even my rational hubby thinks her quality of service is really substandard.

So everything at Forbes is great..from the free Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate to the extra study desk in my apartment...except for her whom I don't care much about anyway.

Food:
To all Subway fans back at home, Quizno sandwiches win Subway's handsdown anytime! Competition between both sandwich chains appear tough. Both chains are currently having $5 footlong promotions, and the Quizno ads on TV blatantly mentions that they include more ingredients than Subway! I'm not sure such an advertisement could be aired without lawsuits back at home.

All bread and no rice makes Stella a dull gal. Lucky for my friends and myself, we found a Taiwanese eatery a few streets away that serves pretty decent Chinese food at reasonable prices. The "gu lu yok" is simply delicious and I've a good mind to make it my staple for the coming weeks.

In school, I haven't explored that many eating places, but I think the one I will patronise most often would be the food truck selling Thai food. Ha, looks that the Singaporean me simply can't live without Asian food.

Occasionally, we also have the cooking sessions...only 3 sessions so far, but definitely more anticipated. The general rule is that gals will do the cooking, and the guys the cooking. I'm tempted to ask the guys to cook (more than maggie mee) but I need time for confidence building, hee hee. Oh, by the way, we succeeded in cooking rice using a normal pot! Quite pleased as I thought cooking rice would be a pretty formidable task.

School:
Challenging. I spent 1.5 days writing the code for one question, and would probably take more time if not for my friends. The subjects have more coding than I would like. But I'm trying to look at the bright side of things and hoping this is a good chance to brush up my programming skills. Project work also generally requires more brainwork, hopefully it'll add some mental agility. I'm expecting more work, less play in the upcoming weeks. So in the meantime, trying to put in consistent work, enjoying whilst I can, and just to try my best.

Weather:
Freezing! This morning, it was about 8 degrees Celsius. Lecture hall was pretty chilly and I had to down a cup of hot cocoa to fight off the cold. Lunch time was much worse. I wore 3 layers of clothing, but nonetheless, still shivered on my short walk to buy lunch. Weather is supposed to be sunny tomorrow with a high of 20 degrees, but the low is 7.2 degrees! Brrr...right now its actually a bit cold in my apartment cos the heater doesnt seem to be functioning well. But I'm glad I'm indoors. Every time I leave the guy's apartment (just a few rooms away), I've to run back to my apartment cos the chilly wind. Let's see how I'll manage the cold tomorrow. I really miss Mr Sunshine.

Transportation:
Transportation comes in 2 forms: walking or bus. And patience is tested when waiting for buses. It is not uncommon to wait for over half an hour for the dear bus, and I have learnt not to trust the bus numbers stated at the bus-stops.

But the bus drivers have been generally helpful, and we met a really nice bus-driver on Sunday on our way to Waterworks Mall. We took the wrong bus and was kinda stranded at a bus-stop waiting for our bus. Weather was cold and the wind was blowing furiously. A kind bus-driver who had apparently finished his scheduled drive picked us from the bus-stop and drove us all the way to the Mall! Thank God for such a great driver!

Everything else under the sun:
Caught some exciting scenes the past few days. About a week ago, saw a several police cars speeding by with their sirens blasting out loud. And above us was a helicopter...perfect scene taken out of a movie.

Just this afternoon on my way back to the apartment, my friends and I saw a group of policeman surrounding a man, putting him down on the floor before handcuffing him. It was pretty exciting, and a bit scary cos one wonders why it needs so many trained police officers to handle a man.

Great friends, great company. Having friends around helps to ease the part of me who is missing home, the summer-all-year round weather, my cute little berry, my food, my family, my friends.

For now, I think I'm settling in pretty well in Pittsburgh. Hopefully all continues to go well and I hope to make my stay here as memorable and enjoyable as possible (ex- all the homework and exams, of course!).

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2008-04-11T01:44:00.005+08:00

One of the best American Idol episodes this season. Contestants were supposed to pick songs that inspire them. Best song of the night probably goes to Jason Castro with Somewhere over the rainbow. I love this version...and it reminds me of the same song sung by Katharine MacPhee a few years back. Same lyrics, entirely different arrangments, and I love them both.

In a way, the song brings me back many years ago when I was in Primary One sitting in my school hall watching a ballerina dance performance. The tune the ballerinas were dancing to was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". I fell in love with the song and the dance, and even bought some photos of the performance!

When I was young, it was my dream (and probably the dream of many young girls) to be a ballerina. The grace and beauty associated with the elegant art was just too enticing. I actually took up ballet in my lower primary days, but gave up after realising that I had bones as stiff as chopsticks. I was just no talent at ballet.

It's nice reminiscing those days of dreams. Where you are free to dream big, and look to the future, wondering what it may hold for you. Sadly, now that I am all grown up, practical reality has set in. There's hardly time for dreams and great ambitions. Not that it really matters. If I could turn back time, I would probably have done many things differently. Maybe I would have been more insistent to pick up piano, maybe I would have studied law, maybe I could have salvaged that friendship...there are countless maybes.

But now, I just want to appreciate life. It's difficult to dream big anymore because I am already of the age where I should be working towards the dream. There are still small wishes and hopes...while I don't dare to dream too big, I'll definitely work my "best-est" so that my little wishes and hopes do come true.

Home & Decor, Nature

2008-04-03T01:24:00.007+08:00

Home & Decor came by today (or to be exact - yesterday, since it is already past midnight) for a photoshoot of my place. How did it went? An ok experience, I suppose. The people were nice and friendly, but a lot of reorganisation of my home furniture though. For example, I had to remove my husband's chunky PC monitor from the study area, my ames-replica was shifted away from my ideal spot...

The photoshoot took slightly over 3 hours, and boy, my hubby and I had quite a bit of reorganising & packing to do after that. Had to reassemble the PC, connect our speakers, move things back to original place...I'm not complaining by the way, cos even though they didn't offer to help us put the stuff back in place, my husband and I would much prefer to shift things back ourselves.

As homeowners who had saved up for our home, we tend to be more careful with our furniture. For instance, I almost freezed when the photographer just slided my black footstool to one corner...my fear at that moment was that my cement floor might not be able to handle that harsh treatment, but lucky for me, my fears were unfounded. But still, the policy in my home between my hubby and me is that all items are to be lifted and placed down, not dragged across the tough-looking, but unfortunately, sensitive cement flooring.

Anyway, the team showed us the final pictures. The photos were nicely taken, but I felt that it didn't reflect the "feel" of my place. The photos showed nice angles, but failed to capture what we thought were the best spots in my home. Guess the photographer had a different perspective of my place...

I'm obviously not as professional as him, though I do dabble in a teeny bit of "artistic shots" with my non-professional Canon Ixus. Anyway, I was inspired to take some photos of my place to reflect what I think were the missing elements from the photoshoot today.

On a VERY separate note, there was a really lovely sunset viewed from my home about a week ago. These are some pictures I took.

The pretty blend of colours in the sky is definitely an instant perk-me-up to any nasty mood. I think no man-made colours/structure can be as beautiful as that found in nature. And I guess that's the beauty - nature, God's creation, is constantly evolving, surprising us. Man can never duplicate nature 100% - a simple example lies in the fact that most ladies prefer fresh to artifical flowers because the latter just looks, well...fake.

I love travelling because there's so much nature I soak in which I cannot find in the city I call home. Staring at the sea for hours without feeling bored, trekking past the Himalayas and filled with a sense of awe, observing the giraffe patiently chewing off the tree - I miss travelling and can't wait for my Peru holiday in July.

Ok I'm digressing. But I certainly hope to catch another beautiful sunset from home again...and do look out for June's issue of Home & Decor. My place will be featured in it =)

Nightmares with Beglas Home Decor

2008-03-12T13:39:00.007+08:00

It has been a really frustrating experience with Beglas Home Decor http://www.besglas.com/home.html. The tagline of the company is "We don't just open the doors to your dreams. We make them". But this company has been creating nightmares for me right from the start.

I have shifted into my new place for slightly over 2 months, but renovation works are (my gosh!) not completed yet - all because of the glass company. Beglas has been to my place at least 5 times and they have to be back here for at least 2 more trips, provided everything goes smoothly.

Glass doors are a key part of my home decor - I am supposed to have 8 pieces of them in my place as toilet and wardrobe doors.The first time they came to install a few of my wardrobe doors, they left black marks on my cement floor, and I couldn't figure out how those marks came about. Also, the company was rushing quite a few jobs at the same time, and could not install all my doors at the same time. This meant I had to clean up each time after they did their partial installations, and this could have been avoidable if they installed the doors all at one go.

The second time they installed the other wardrobe doors, they left 2 huge scratches on my floor. I was pretty unhappy and asked my interior designer to warn them about it, which he did. My interior designer even brought one of the glass representatives to my place to show him the damage his workers had created.

Despite the warnings, when they came for the 3rd time, I finally realised how the black marks were created. They used small sheets of carpet to rest the corner of the glass. But the bottom of these carpets was made of black rubber, which had disintegrated badly. So when they dragged the carpet across my cement floor, they disfigured my floor by leaving a huge black stain. I told them that cement floor was very sensitive and porous, so they had to be careful. But the workers seemed to turn a deaf ear to my words, and used chemicals to clean the floor. When I caught a whiff of what they were doing, I immediately told them to stop cos the cement floor was sensitive and they couldn't just use any cleaning chemicals! So the workers left an indelible mark on the floor. The chemicals soaked right through my floor, removed the layer of e-proxy (floor protection) and left a dusty patch which could not be cleaned away. And the workers didn't even apologise. They merely said that they had never dealt with cement floor before.

Despite all the upsetting events, the company can't seem to improve on its sloppiness. As all the paper pasted on the glass doors were badly done (which the company explained that particular batch of paper used was of poor quality), all the doors had to be removed for them to redo the pasting. But when the glass doors came back, I still noted some problems. Some of the issues were just evident of the sloppiness of the workers - eg. upside-down door knobs, rusty/dented knobs, using 2 separate pieces of rubber edges on the door, not cleaning ink marks thoroughly even after I requested them to help me clean away some marks.

So I asked my interior designer over yesterday, and we marked the problematic spots with masking tape. When the glass workers came over, we left them to do their work. Only later did I realise that they had removed the masking tape without thoroughly rectifying the problematic spots. That was the final straw. I told the workers off right away and was on the verge of screaming my head off. I would have fumed more if not for my interior designer who was around and he told the workers off too, although his tone was a lot better than mine.

But what else could one expect from me. After going through numerous inconveniences from the workers spoiling my floor, chipping my table tiles, and having to clean up my place again and again cos of the dust they leave behind each time they came, I just want a decent job done. Beglas is unable to deliver - both product and service quality are substandard. At the minimum, the workers should have left the masking tape on the problem areas and explained to me what they could do and what they could not.

So when I told them off, they gave a can't-be-bothered reply that they would just bring the glass doors back. And they expected me to check for the problematic spots all over again without the markings I made initially. Yah, how convenient for them.

Anyway, in the end, they brought back 4 of the 8 doors they installed. The glass representative explained they had inserted the hinges before the glue had fully dried, resulting in air bubbles they couldn't remove. So they were going to leave the paper to dry entirely this time round before inserting the hinges, and it would take a longer time. Well, why couldn't they have done this earlier if they were already aware of this problem?

It's no fun having to inspect every corner of the glass doors to spot for problems, and having to tell the workers to remove the doors. I actually feel a little bad at the numerous trips they have made, but the company is really unable to produce decent quality.

I just hope things will move more smoothly now that the glass representative is aware of my unhappiness with the company. They probably think I am a picky customer, and honestly, the more sloppy their workers are, the more unhappy I am and the more demanding I become. I'm not sure whether this applies to others, but somehow when service quality is good, and staff is cooperative and willing to accept their mistakes, I tend to be more accepting. But when they are rude, give excuses time and again, the more I would demand for perfection. The glass doors also don't come cheap - almost a total of $6000. And for such poor quality, I would really advise everyone not to use this glass company.

I have decided to be really firm with the glass company and will be asking them to exchange 2 more of the glass doors cos the marks are not acceptable. Not going to care whether the workers are fed up with me (anyway, I think they already are). All "thanks" to the company, I probably can't organise any housewarming anytime soon. This is so frustrating.

Morton's

2008-03-10T12:01:00.007+08:00

I first tasted Morton's steak sandwich during its weekday Martini happy hour, and for someone who is not too fond of red meat, I fell head over heels with the sandwiches. So for the longest time, I've been wanting to sink my teeth into the restaurant's famed beef steaks, as well as its Godiva hot chocolate cake.

The opportunity finally came yesterday in the form of a belated birthday treat for my cousins. My cousins and I have something in common - a love for gooood food. So I figured Morton's was probably a suitable place for us meatlovers to enjoy dinner together.

It was a Sunday evening, and the restaurant was packed, mostly with foreigners though. It felt as though I was dining overseas. There was lively banter all around, and the service staff were generally quite courteous. Except they seemed so busy, we had difficultly getting their attention at times. What I found interesting was that a service staff would come round to introduce the choices of main course. They pushed a cart containing the actual cuts of the raw meat, and even a live lobster!

The food portions were huge, especially E's porterhouse steak. I shared a steak (think mine was a Double Cut Filet Mignon, which according to the service staff, was the leanest & most tender cut) with my hubby, while my cousins each enjoyed a choice cut of their own. Among us, we also shared garlic mash potatoes and spinach with mushrooms. All the dishes were really good. My steak was really tender. It was also a little burnt at the edges which gave a really nice chao-ta smell and taste. The main course had me feeling satisfied, my hubby craving for more beef, E with some remainder of her huge portion, and K really bloated cos he actually managed to finish his steak!

I was looking forward to dessert which comprised of the Godiva chocolate cake and a Grand Marnier souffle. The desserts were not as great as I thought they would be. The cake was a little tough on the outside, but the molten choclate that oozed from the center made up for everything. I found the "egg" taste in the souffle a tad too strong although my hubby thoroughly enjoyed it. In comparison, I think Bakerzin's desserts are better, though my hubby didn't agree on that.

So overall dinner was pretty good. Pricing was on the high end, but you get what you pay for. Definitely worth the splurge. And from the greedy looks on my hubby last evening, I think I'll definitely be back there again =)

My New Camera

2008-03-09T00:14:00.006+08:00

Vday present from my hubby this year was a new digi cam!!

My previous Nikon always resulted in blur shots whenever I used the no-flash mode, so it was really frustrating when photos were taken at night. Pictures always turned out overexposed, and there was no way I could capture the nice hue from yellow lights. Now I finally own a Canon Ixus! Goodbye to all previous photo-related problems!

Anyway, I couldn't resist using the camera straight away, and took some pictures of my new home, as well as my sumptuous (& not very healthy) vday dinner. Somehow my place looks better using the new cam..guess its worth paying more for better quality!

Life after Term 5

2008-03-03T16:17:00.003+08:00

Exams ended on Sat, back to school for an entire day of projectwork on Sun and school starts today (Mon). No time to rest, still trying to catch up from lost sleep, and just feeling a little blue. And it didn't help that the workers came to my place earlier and ruined my cement floor.

I wish I could have an entire day to relax and take a break. Hopefully I can get a well-deserved break this weekend.

On the bright side, this is my final term in Singapore (finally!). Can't wait for it to be over...

Movie Outing

2008-03-03T15:31:00.004+08:00

Exams ended on Saturday afternoon and I finally caught the movie that I've always wanted to watch - Jumper. The movie had pretty good action, but plot was not that great. But something happened at the theatre that evening.

Shortly after the movie started, I heard wierd noises from a boy 3 seats away. He sounded afraid and probably his fear prompted him to start hitting the man (who is probably his dad) sitted beside him. His father tried to restrain him and asked him to calm down, but to no avail. As the boy was making a fair bit of noise, someone went to inform the movie ushers who came and requested them to leave the theatre. What was supposed to be a fun movie outing ended up not too favourably for the father-son pair.

I felt sad at what I saw. The boy was just hitting his dad, who was accepting the hits and trying to restrain him at the same time. The father was probably going through an emotion whirlwind - worrying how they are affecting the movie audience, thinking of ways to calm his son down, and the emotional pain from having to bear the hits from his son. My respect goes to the father who has made the choice to raise and love a son who is very different from others. And as a bystander, I can only hope that the boy's condition will improve overtime.

Imagine - David Archuleta

2008-02-28T16:49:00.002+08:00

A beautiful song sung with an equally beautiful voice. A 17 year old boy with the natural (and superb) talent for singing.

In all my years of following American Idol, this is the first time I'm so impressed with a talent like him. I feel like an old aunty going "ga-ga" over a young teenage boy, but no worries, inclinations are not that extreme (yet) =)

CNY: The Fun, the Sweets and the Feast

2008-02-10T01:44:00.000+08:00

The usual fun stuff during Chinese New Year - goodies-stuffing, gambling, chit-chatting, playing with the little ones. I do this every year, and I never get bored. Its really great to be able to spend time with my family. Chinese New Year is not only a time to catch up with family members, it also provides a good opportunity for some to introduce their special someones to our family =) And as an added bonus to the festivity and celebration this year, we also celebrated my cousin's 21st birthday!

This was a trigger-happy CNY, and I've so many photos to share! So today's blog shall be one of the occasional ones in which I shall exercise some restraint on the writing and let the photos do all the talking!!

Chu Xi

Lou Hei Part I

Chu Yi
Lou Hei Part II

ABSOLUTELY the BEST Ngoh Niang I've ever tasted, and I'm not exaggerating. Crispy skin fried to perfection and tasty meat fillings. Chestnuts add an extra zest and crunch to every bite.
Cost: Priceless. Made with AhMa's excellent culinary skills and lotsa love.
Availability: Very exclusive. Only family members get to taste it.

Sumptuous dinner feast!

The boys have all grown so tall!

The 3 generations?

My cheeky but ever adorable cousins!

Ah Long movie outing with cousins. This is one of the rare outings, so a group photo was a must!

CHU SAN

Messing around with the children...

My adorable cousin who was so so engrossed with his computer game...

AhMa and the really young ones

AhMa and daughters galore!

Family shot with AhMa

AhMa and her grandchildren

Mmmm, Double Choc Pralines from The Patissier. No regrets after you sink your teeth into the super rich and ultra chocolatey cake with a lovely crunchy base. Never mind the calories and sugar..for self-confessed choc addicts like me, this is a MUST TRY!!

Birthday gal getting a special HUG

First, the birthday gal blows the candles...

Then the other children wanted to join in the fun too!

Happy Birthday E! May all your dreams come true!

Chinese New Year Thoughts

2008-02-04T11:49:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year is my favourite time of the year. It is the only time when I can shop without feeling guilty (everyone needs new clothes rite!), and indulge greedily in all the superb goodies (my fav being pineapple tarts).

Reunion dinner is also the only time when I get to taste the finest of my granny's culinary skills - the world's best crispy ngoh hiang and mouth-watering spicy chicken curry. Reunion dinners are especially meaningful because it is the only time when my family is gathered under one roof for dinner. My granny has 10 children so it is only during special occasions like this where I get to see everyone, and to also wow at how my little cousins have grown and the increasing number of them who are now towering over me.

So I'm really looking to this Wed, although I probably can't enjoy myself as much with the much dreaded exams only 2 weeks away. I also have full day classes from 930am to 530pm on Chu San. But for now, I'll just push these unhappy thoughts aside. After all, it's my favourite festival of the year!

With the festive mood all around and the opportunities to indulge in my fav pasttime - shopping, it is probably difficult to feel down during this time of the year. But a few old photos were all that were needed to tone the mood down for me.

I flipped through my granny's photo album yesterday as she wanted to show me whom in the family resembles her. Naturally, those photos also had shots of dear family members who have passed on. As I looked at their faces, how I wished I was back to those times, when all my loved ones were still around. I regretted never being really appreciative of them. I never gave my grandpa any present, except for a pen which had the Chinese horoscope sign of a dog. All I gave him as a spoilt child were childish tempers, demands of egg tarts and curry puffs which he would then drive to buy for me. And it was only much later that I really appreciate what he did for me. I also remember he would yell at me for cooping myself in the room without switching on the fan/air-con. And although at those moments, I thought he was being difficult with me, I now realise he did it all out of concern. But it is all too late for me to return those gestures of love and concern.

I don't want to regret anymore. Instead of looking back and feeling sorry that I never loved enough, never said thank you enough, from now on I'm going to try to really appreciate, love and spend more time with all the people dear to me. Every moment now will eventually become memories. And I hope to be able to look back at these memories with a smile on my face, knowing that I've seriously tried, really loved and truly cared.

My Home - Almost there...

2008-01-25T15:56:00.000+08:00

Finally shifted on 10 Jan and settling into my place. Getting used to wiping the splashes on my master sink area after each use, frantically cleaning my white kitchen top whenever a spot is noted, lifting stuff and not dragging them across the cement floor, conscientiously placing almost everything on coasters...in short, lots of very "careful" measures undertaken in my very sensitive home. It was a bit troublesome initially, but it is becoming sort of a lifestyle.

But overall, quite happy with my home. I love the white theme, uneven tones on my cement floor (although quite a few people thought my floor hasnt been done yet =P), Christmas-looking lights in my study area, the very pretty mosaic table, the rusty tiles in my master toilet, the purple tinge in my kitchen light, and not to mention the great view from my place.

Here are some updated photos.

Living Area

Study Area
Breakfast Counter (Plus very delicious home-made pineapple tarts made by my friend)
Kitchen

Common Washroom
Yard
Washroom Area
Land of dreamzzz...

Grandpa and Grandma

2008-01-17T01:49:00.001+08:00

I had dinner with my granny this evening. With my studies and home-shifting keeping me busy for several weeks, I haven't visited her in a long time. Her little actions and words made me realised that she is probably a little lonely. I always know her to be a strong lady. But I guess even the strongest person will feel lonely. I'm so glad my new place is much nearer to her home. I just hope that I'll be able to effectively manage my commitments going forward so that I can spend more time with her.

When I visited her, I brought along some extra stuff from home to see whether any of my relatives would want them. Amongst them was a photo-holder, and both my granny and I thought it would be nice to use it to display a photo in the living room. She took out a small photo album to look through for nice photos. And she chose a photo of the semi-detached home we used to stayed in together when I was in primary school. That was the place that my grandpa and her shifted to after staying in a kampung, and it was also the same place he passed away.

In that photo album, there was a photo my grandpa and granny took at Haw Par Villa. I later took that photo album aside and stared at that photo for quite a bit. I haven't seen his photo in a long long time as he passed away quite a number of years ago. And while I know I have always missed him, and regretted that I was still a childish and spoilt brat when he passed away, seeing the photo was like a sting to my heart and made me realised how much I missed him. If only he is still around.

I miss him. And I think my granny misses him lots more even though she doesn't mention it.

It's so important to treasure our family and friends, and show them our love while we still can. It's funny, but with age, I begin to treasure my family even more. Maybe it is because of the realisation that with each passing moment, you know there is one less moment you can spend with them. And I really dread the day when God takes them away from me.

Some people don't like to talk about it. But it's reality right. I really wish they will get to know Him so that we can spend eternity together.

A Dream

2008-01-17T01:22:00.000+08:00

I had a dream a few days ago.

It's actually rather morbid. I dreamt that my hubby left this world. I can't piece together details of the dream, but I remember that I was initially calm when I found out about it. Then the truth hit me, and I went to my room and cried. Desperate and lost, I prayed to God in my dream. When I closed my eyes to pray, I saw a tiny spot of yellow light. Then suddenly with my eyes still shut, I knew that I was back to reality and it was just a dream, and my hubby was sleeping soundly right beside me. As I laid there in bed, I kept my eyes shut and continued the prayer that I started in my dream. To thank God that it was only a dream. and that hopefully my hubby will get to know Him someday.

This dream is different because for the first time in my life, I woke up from a dream with my eyes shut. And with my eyes shut, I was so so grateful that it was only a dream. And it served as a timely reminder to treasure my hubby ever so much more.

Giving Thanks

2008-01-04T20:22:00.000+08:00

After blogging about the frustruation with my new home, I'm taking a 180-degrees turn to give thanks to the Lord.

At least it was not all bad news today. Checked my exam results today, and not too bad. I'm quite pleased with the results and am demanding a treat from my hubby =) I know I couldn't have done it without God giving me the strength, peace, wisdom to go through the term. In fact, I don't know how I could have pulled through half a year of school all by myself.

I have been doing some extra bible reading since 1 Jan. It is not exactly my new year resolution cos I don't make resolutions lest I don't keep to them. But this is something I am going to try in 2008 - to spend more time reading God's Word and hopefully it will make me a better person in some ways.

Anyway, this morning's passage mentioned that a day in heaven is equivalent to 1000 days on earth. If I am to take that literally, doesn't it mean that the average lifespan of each person is not even 1/10th of a day in heaven? And divide that by the billions of people currently living on the earth's surface. That makes each of us so minute, so insignificant. While our life is like a vapour, He still takes time to know us, and even knows the number of hairs on our head!

I still have some doubts of God's existence at times. And it doesn't help for me to have heard personal testimonies of how effective other gods are - that they too can perform miracles. So who is to know who is the real God, or perhaps there are many gods?

But I have decided to stick to Jesus. Regardless what others say. Cos I trust my personal experiences with Him. I know it is no coincidence that my granny cancelled my Primary One registration from a co-ed school and enrolled me in a Methodist primary school. I know He is there when I cry. He has comforted me when I was in doubt of my own capabilities. He guaranteed no rain for my garden wedding dinner. I know He will lead me by hand in heaven after this life passes on. He once told me through a lady many years ago that I am beautiful in His eyes. And I wondered then whether that message was really from God as I was not particularly concerned with my looks. At least that was what I thought. But the fact that I still remember this after several years probably means otherwise. So He knows better.

Maybe you wonder why I am so sure. To be really honest, I just know. There are some things that are unspoken that you just know. Just like who teaches a baby to cry, to breathe. The baby just knows. And these are just things that I know. And I am posting them today as a reminder to myself of God's reality in my life. And hopefully it will be an encouragement to you if this is one of your blue days.

I hope I don't sound all too holy and preachy. I'm just a simple sentimental gal who is trying to live each day the best way possible, given each day's circumstances. And knowing Jesus just gives me more meaning and purpose to live out my best each day.

Well, tomorrow will be a BIG and exciting day for me. My hubby and I are "officially" shifting to our new place - something we have beeen looking forward to since we got married. And while I am no soothsayer, I just know and trust in God that everything will turn out alright. Why am I so sure? I just know =)

My Home - Work in Progress Part V

2008-01-04T19:38:00.001+08:00

I am hoping this will be my FINAL work-in-progress post. It has been 3 months since I penned my 1st renovation-related post, and I'm shifting tomorrow. Technically, that is. Tomorrow (at a timing strictly specified by my aunt) is the auspicious day/time for me to shift home.

After many frantic days/nights watching old TCS 8 drama serials (in case you are interested, these shows are usually screened in the afternoons and late at nights), taping up cardboard boxes (which by the way, cost me $1.50 each), stuffing the boxes, sealing the boxes, labelling them....I'm finally almost done with the packing. I was so stressed with packing that I had no mood to study till the packing was done.

Tomorrow - I'm hoping to wave goodbye to the stress of living alongside mould-infested wardrobes and flying insects after my movers finally transport the many items that make up me to my new home. But alas, the "and they happily lived forever" ending is not yet in sight.

I paid my new home a visit this afternoon (actually, it was to meet with my ID who never turned up) and realised that the most important area of my flat is not properly done - my cement floor which spans my living, wardrobe & sleeping areas is blotchy and contains tiny little holes at several sections.

I have absolutely no idea at this point in time what sort of rectification work is being done. My ID only informed me that he would try to redo the floor today so that my stuff can be moved in tomorrow. He is supposed to confirm, but he didn't. For the first time in my life, I am actually fuming at my ID. I wasn't angry when there was no work done to my place for 6 weeks, accepted the fact there would be delays to the renovation, was quite okay when he didn't showed up for today's meeting...but the fact that he is careless with the floor when he knows I am shifting tomorrow is upsetting me. I have given in to him many times, and I AM PAYING.

This is frustruating. There is no way I can postpone the shift. The auspicious date has been set (by my family), arrangements with the movers have been made, furniture is coming in the next few days, my school is starting soon..and my floor is in a mess!

While I still appreciate his creativity and think he is quite a nice person by nature though pretty disorganised, I'm wondering whether I will ever want to work with him again, given my current experience.

Argh. Hopefully it's not that bad. Hopefully he has done something about it even though he hasn't updated me like he promised. I'll just have to see tomorrow. The shift will be done, but I prolly gotta spend some more nights in my curent place.

Anyway, enough of my anger-venting. Looking from the positive angle, a lot of progress have been made in the past weeks. Here are the latest photos of my place.

Living area

Kitchen

Breakfast Counter

Bedroom (honestly, despite all the unhappiness,I love my bed!)

Master Toilet

Shower Area

The Last Weekend of 2007

2007-12-31T00:34:00.000+08:00

Saturday saw me waking up at noon with a really heavy head, shoulder aches, sore throat, cough, phelgm and the additional gift of a much sexier but nasal voice. Waited for 1.5 hours at the clinic before I saw the doctor, who explained that my symptoms were the result of a blocked nasal passage. He prescribed 6 types of medicine, and fortunately I don't have to fork a single cent cos medical fees are covered by my hubby's firm (I always tell my friends this is one benefit of being married). Then it was MOS burger for lunch, before I headed home to snooze under the effect of the medication.

So it was probably one of my most boring Saturday (I actually planned to go shopping!) in 2007, but both my hubby and myself found it rather interesting that despite my germs-infested body, I could still crack funny jokes and behaved pretty normally. Hmmz, maybe it was the fever =)

Anyway, I felt much better on Sunday, although I woke up with a horrible sore throat. Downed lots of pi-pa-gao before meeting my friends for a sumptuous buffet lunch treated by Mr & Mrs Su (thanks pals!). It was then when my aunt messaged me to inform me of the auspicious days I can shift home. There wasn't much choice..either this coming Sat, end Jan or early Feb. And I want to shift before my school starts, so I'm going to try for this coming Sat. I dunno how realistic it is going to be, but anyway, it's going to be done. Honestly, I don't believe in such stuff, but I'm doing it for the sake of my loved ones and for them to have peace of mind.

With our shifting fixed for this coming Sat, my hubby and I spent the rest of the day packing our stuff. Poor him, think he caught my virus so both of us were sniffing away as we started on our 1st round of packing. I'm pretty amazed at how much clothes I have...4 luggage full of clothes, and I still have 2 more racks of clothes. And this is excluding my handbags and my shoes. Now I know why he complains I have too much clothes. Hee, it just never occurred to me till today.

Tomorrow marks the last day of 2007. Guess it will be another day of packing, although I better start throwing in some time to study. Gosh, 1 week of my school holidays have just flown by!!

A quiet New Year spent packing and watching celebrations on TV. Much as I would like to be out for some fun, the reality of shifting home is going to keep me at home. Nonetheless, while I can't claim I'm going to have an interesting New Year, at least I'm still spending it with one of the dearest person in my life. And for that I'm thankful.

Happy New Year to all, and may you too spend an extra-special day with that special someone(s) in your life! =)

My Home - Work in Progress Part IV

2007-12-29T21:48:00.001+08:00

Finally, I can write about my home renovation again. Why so long? Haiz, my ID lah. There was no work done at my place for almost 2 months, then suddenly, when the deadline was approaching, renovation works started again.

The original deadline for my home renovation was 24 Dec, so that we can shift home in time for New Year. But we subsequently agreed to postpone it to end 2007, and by the looks of it, renovation will probably be completed only 1st/2nd week of Jan. And I've been chasing my ID and giving "gentle" reminders. So I think my ID gets the idea, and promised to complete the renovation by next Sat. Hopefully he keeps to the deadline cos it has been a really long time.

Anyway, my hubby and I are generally pleased with our new place, except for some really impractical locations of the light switches on which we were not consulted. Haiz, can fume when I think about it cos our choice of applicances and location of certain stuff are affected, but what to do?

Living Area
Breakfast Counter + Wardrobe
Kitchen
Study area

Wardrobe (ex-doors)
My new sink!
Outside master toilet
Inside the loo
Uncompleted bedframe
View from master-room

CHRISTmas Thoughts

2007-12-23T06:50:00.001+08:00

It's one of those queer days. At 654am on 23 December 2007, I'm actually feeling awake after only about 4 hours of rest. This is wierd. I've been a night owl the past week..sleeping at about 3/4am, and totally immersed in dreamland till my functional funky red alarm clock rings at 10am. It has been 1 solid week of studying, well, not entirely solid I must admit. There were sneaks of rest to watch TV, or just to stare into blank space..all in the name of all work and no play will make Stella a dull girl.

Anyway, after 21 weeks of school and ploughing through 10 subjects, I'm finally at my halfway mark and the start of my 3 weeks break! It has been a gruelling 21 weeks of school with 3 examination periods, and at least (from the positive side), my glass is now half full. I've another 21 weeks to go after which I can finally bid goodbye to life as a student and recommence my worklife which I have been missing.

There are a whole lot of activities planned for this coming week, and the most important day of all has to be Christmas! The season of giving and receiving (hee), and a day for us to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ - the King of kings who gave it all to be born in a stable on a quiet night many years ago. God could have chose to be born in a palace, to be born to parents influential, rich and famous. But He didn't. He chose to be born in a stable, and to parents who were just commoners with simple faith in God. His choice, I believe, reflects His love for the commoners like you and I. To show us that nobody is ever too poor, ever too weak, when we know Him. For He chose to be born in one of the most humble places ever (which of you as parents, would ever want your child to be born in a place that is only befitting for animals?),and chose a manger for His first bed. Such humility and love displayed on that Christmas many years ago.

This year, I'll be spending Christmas with my family. Just a simple dinner at my aunt's place with some cousins. And the sugar-addict me have placed order for a Christmas pastry from The Patissier - Xmas Xmas Little Stars. I surely hope the cake will taste as delicious as it sounds =)

Christmas day kicks off attending the ritual Christmas church service, followed by lunch with friends. The rest of my day will probably be spent furniture and light hunting. Yes, I'm finally moving soon! My interior designer is targeting to handover my place to me by end 2007 (oh dear, I'm gonna be 1 year older soon!), and he is chasing me to purchase the lights, heater and main door. So it's gonna be major cash outflow the next few weeks, but I believe both my hubby and I will be happy to spend the $$. We have been wanting to shift home for the longest time, and after saving up for the house renov for 2 years, our dreamhome is finally just a small step away!

So this year will be a simple but meaningful Christmas, I hope. It's time to sit back, relax (I better relax these 3 weeks before school starts..although I still have to entertain Stochastic Calculus during these 3 weeks), and just reflect on the year's passing and be grateful for the many blessings I've had in 2007.

You know, it is so easy to overlook the little blessings we have until they are taken away from us. For instance, I was having this really bad ulcer for the past few weeks..the ulcer was so bad it was literally eroding my gum away and hurt everytime I yawned (which was often - those who are students will empathise). It was so bad I resorted to applying salt to the ulcer for a few consecutive nights. I was desperate for the ulcer to go away. And when it finally did, it took me a few days before I realised that the ulcer was gone. My life was back to normal - I can finally yawn in peace - and it just didn't register that my ulcer has been healed. It was only when it hurt that I truly appreciated those non-ulcer days, and regretted my daily indulge of Almond Rocca. But when the ulcer disappears and life reverts back to normality, I barely noticed.

This is a stark reminder to myself that we can overlook our many blessings so often - I've driven to and fro from school accident-free for the past 2 terms. I've not seen a doctor for the last couple of months. My chest pains are less frequent nowadays despite my dearth of exercise. I have wonderful family and friends whom I love. I am blessed with a nice litte Acer laptop to pen my blogs on an infrequent basis. The little counts and adds to a lot if we think carefully.

To appreciate the things we have in life always, and not to value these things only when they are taken away from us, requires cultivation of a contented and optimistic lifestyle, and simple faith in God. If only I could have faith like that of a mustard seed, mountains will be moved! I'm still learning, and I'm still trying.

At this point, my thoughts are with a dear relative who is not feeling well. He was on my mind earlier when I woke up, and I was thinking of him while lying on my bed. If there is anything I wish for, I wish for all my friends and family to be well and healthy, and for them to know Jesus. It has not been easy for him, and although I don't contact him that much, I really care and really wish him well. It has been tough-going, and I guess there is no other way about it. Except I wish he knows Jesus, and I pray to God that he will know Jesus eventually. I wish him speedy recovery, and pray that if God wills, God will heal him in the most spectacular manner ever. But God's ways and thoughts are higher than mine, and I just pray that God will touch Him in a very very special way.

You may ask: Why don't I approach him and talk to him about God, about my church's miracle service? But I'm just not that kind of person. I care and God knows I care. But I hate being pushy or too preachy. I don't know if that's the right attitude. I come from a pretty superstitious family that is rooted in taoism/buddism...in fact if some of my family members were to read this blog, they would be jumping mad at me. So talking about Jesus is pretty taboo to most of my family members, although I'm glad that some of relatives have gotten to know Him too, and hopefully we can create an impact in our family.

You know, when I was younger, I used to be realy envious of others. Why can't my family be like that, why can't I go for holidays, why can't I be rich, prettier, smarter, blah blah blah. That was the age of ignorance and immaturity - failing to appreciate my blessings in life. But now, I wouldn't exchange any of my friends or family members for anybody else. Yup, I love them all. Maybe God nurtured in me a heart to love them when I accepted Jesus Christ in my life. Although I don't keep in contact with them that often, I really do care. And I really want to help in anyway that I can. I guess it's time to put action into words. I'll try, and I just hope that my busy study schedule will not take time away from leading a more meaningful life in 2008.

Anything

2007-12-17T12:58:00.000+08:00

It's been a long while since I've written. Cos have been loaded with numerous projects and homework for the past weeks..especially the stressful computing project. Finally they are over, but another form of stress is taking over - exams!

It's always around this time that I take to blogging to destress. This is my 3rd consecutive mini-term, and with no breaks in the earlier terms, I'm feeling a bit burnout, a bit sian, wondering why is studying taking up a huge part of my life. Can't wait for my 3-weeks break that starts officially on 22 December 3:31pm =) Although I'll have Stochastic Calculus to manage then, I'll prolly enjoy myself first before worrying about it.

Sighz. Previously when my hubby was studying alongside with me, I had more motivation. But now, a bit more difficult. My hubby is off for an overseas business trip these few days - good & bad.

Good - No distraction, I can fully concentrate on studying. At least I wun be tempted to join him in front of the TV the next few days.
Bad - I'm so sian. It'll prolly be dinner ta-baos and more dinner ta-baos.

Distracted me was watching Asian Idol over the weekend. Jaws dropped when Hady was announced as Asian Idol. Honestly, I don't think it was a meaningful win, becos it is obvious that the various Idols come from different cultures and each possesses varying singing styles that would probably appeal more to his/her own country than to others. Nevertheless, I was pretty impressed with the Indonesian Idol, and thought he performed really well when he sung "Angels brought me here" with Guy Sebastian - Austrialian Idol.

Oh, the sky looks a bit dark and think it's gonna pour again. It has been raining almost everyday for the past few days...perfect weather to take a nap. But I must resist!!! I was hoping to go for a short run in the evening, hopefully the afternoon drizzle will cool the air and make it an easy breezy jog.

Actually, what's heavy on my mind is the message that Pastor preached in church yesterday. He quoted a media article that covered global warming and how sea levels will rise. And with the rise in sea levels, it is a matter of time before an island nation like Singapore will be inundated with water. Apparently, Singapore has engaged Holland to prepare for this crisis. It is a scary thought. Yet I know, and I think many know too, that global warming will not cease. We probably can try to be more environmentally friendly, and with concerted effort, try to slow down global warming. But the damage has been done, and its scary what will happen in the future. I'm actually by nature an optimist, although I don't sound like one right now. But faced with reality, and knowing that it is probably out of man's hands, what can I do?

Get down on our knees to pray! The encouragement that Pastor gave is that if God can part the Red Sea, He can also protect Singapore if we go on our knees to pray and ask Him. When things go out of control, when I'm at a loss on what to do, when i'm facing the darkest of moments....I pray. And God has been my refuge and strength. He is the Rock that shall not be moved. And I am thankful that the storms can come and toss the boats all around, but He is there and at His word, the storm will be calmed. That God has stretched out His hand to me, and I have decided to place mine in His to walk the rest of this life together. I know the Lord will never leave nor foresake me. And its great to know that I can always rely on Him!

Ok its time to get back to my books. It has started to drizzle...actually I love rainy weather but only when I'm indoors =) Going to attempt to derive some meaning and love for my time series analysis readings. Wish me luck.

Frustration

2007-11-19T02:35:00.000+08:00

I'm someone who doesn't like to depend or be indebted to others. So it was really frustruating when something that was out of my control happened and ruined the day for people dear to me. I was helpless and hopeless - the feeling that I hate most. And the most upsetting was that this situation affected others. If it happened to me, I'll try to manage it somehow, but the circumstance was directly inflicted on others. The solution? I prayed. I prayed and tried, prayed and tried..read the bible, prayed and tried, but still the miracle didn't occur.

But I believe in a miracle-generating God. So where is the miracle, I asked. And what do I need to give for a miracle to occur? As I read the bible this morning, I noticed that the reading for the next day was titled "Don't Worry". An extract of the reading is as follows:

It’s easy for us to panic when we face serious concerns...So we pray.

And we get busy.

We start doing everything we can think of to move forward in a positive way.
And we worry.

We know it’s a waste of time.

Yet a lot of us find ourselves in this dilemma—we know we should trust God, but we wonder just what He’s going to do.

That's me, the queen of paranoia. And I can't help but worry cos this situation is going to affect others, not me. And its my fault this happened. If only I did this, if only I did that. If only I really did, the situation could have been avoided. So many "if onlys", but its all too late.

I can only continue to hope for a miracle, and ask God for the faith and hope so that I can trust in Him for a miracle. God, I really need a miracle. What ingredients do I need for the miracle to occur? Honestly, I would rather this situation happened to me than to them. But I must face up to reality and face it the way it is now..hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. Easier said than done.

I wonder whether it was God speaking to me via the abovementioned Quiet Time reading.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,

which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,

will he not much more clothe you,

O you of little faith?

So do not worry...

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.

I believe in a miracle-generating God. The One who heals the sick and feeds the thousands. The One who listens to all our prayers. And I want to have the faith and hope to believe that a miracle is in sight. How God will respond, I dunno. But I am really hoping for the miracle. Only God knows how I am feeling now. "Come to Me...you who are weary and heavy laden."

Honestly, my heart is heavy, and I wish this nightmare is untrue. And I am trying to avoid toking about it cos pure tok is not going to solve the problem. I can only hope a miracle will come by in God's own way. I want to continue believing. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. God is in full control of everything...and although I'm not sure why this situation occurred I want to believe that He is a miracle-generating God and this situation is in His hands.

This situation was also a path to self-discovery. It made me realized the reason why I avoid certain people and feel a tinge of discomfort when I see certain people, beneath a front that says everything is alright. You may not understand what I am blogging, but that is the whole intention. This paragraph is only for me to remind me of this part of me I've figured out recently. I just hope that the list will not get longer, and hopefully the list will shorten with time as time heals all painful memories.

A New Beginning

2007-11-19T02:16:00.000+08:00

November marks the beginning of married life for 2 of my good friends with their prince charming.
It was great fun getting together with my friends and seeing my sisters so often - especially since my hectic school schedule has left me with minimal social life for the past months. So these few weeks have been really fun and gave me an excuse to slack in my studies, although its time for me to pull up my socks, and get the study engine going!

Lottas of nonsense and unrestricted laughter were shared at the dinner table...not to mention the numerous photos we took with one another (gals are ultimately vain mah).

We girls literally grew up together, and I'm really happy to know that my 2 sisters have each found the ONE who will take care and love them for the rest of their lives. And I would just like to wish both of my dear friends a beautiful, blissful, blessed and God-centered life ahead with their special someone. N I hope that our friendship and bonding will stay strong always too!

PS: The first photo in this blog is my artistic attempt to capture the bridal car decoration done by my fren's sister. The car decoration was so beautiful and unique I just had to include the pic in the blog.

Hen's Nite - Loo Loo and See See

2007-11-05T16:22:00.000+08:00

I think it gets worse with age and experience =)

2 of my good friends are getting married over the next 2 weeks, and we had our hen's night celebrations just over the weekend.

Celebrations started with the routine checking-in into a hotel suite (this time round at Marina Mandarin), and a sumptuous treat at Spaghetties by the 2 lovely brides-to-be.

Then back to hotel for briefing and a trial dress-up in our dresses to figure out how we would all look on their BiG day(s).

Finally, it was time for the highlight of the evening's programme!

Here are the 2 brides before their transformation..

Scissors and stones to determine who has priority in choosing their accessories...

Presenting..Loo Loo and See See!
The obvious gameplan was to head to a busy area to showcase our 2 ladies, and we decided Clarke Quay would be a suitable location.

The challenge for our 2 head-turning ladies was to approach guys from different races to pose for pictures. Not too difficult for the pretty ladies...

Challenge completed !

Hotel sweet hotel..zzz

It's always great to loosen up and be crazy once in a while...thanks to Loo and See for being sporting and fun! For now, I'm looking forward to their BIG day(s) when they will walk down the aisle with their chosen prince charming(s). An advanced welcome to the club, sisters!

Exams and Miracles

2007-11-01T03:23:00.000+08:00

I'm usually in sleep mode this time of the night. But still feeling really bloated from the late supper I had with classmates earlier, so right now I'm fighting the sleep monster in a bid to avoid those extra calories that are reputed to load on when one sleeps with a full stomach.

But boy am I so relieved!!! Term 2 exams are just over...well class officially starts again this Sat, but I'm just glad there are 2 days for me to just relax, rot, daydream and in short, to do anything and everything except study!!

2 days of break seems like my school is a scrooge when it comes to school holidays, but at least this is way way better compared to mini-term 1 where we were back in the school lab in less than 12 hours after our last paper so as to complete a school project.

In any case, I'm just happy. Finally I don't have to go bed with numbers and formulas floating in my head...which has been the case for the past few days.

I've had the rest of my week all planned out. I'm finally going for a haircut tomorrow (after dunno how many months), a massage on Friday, and there's a hen's party on Sat evening! Really miss my galfrens and can't wait to spend the night out with them...and Ruth will be back from Australia too, so I'm just looking forward to Saturday....hmm (wrenching my fists) its my turn to get back at the brides-to-be..hmmz *evil laughter*

It has been a trying and pretty stressful week, as it always will be when exams are around the corner. But I must thank God for being with me, and MANY THANKS AND MUACKS to the dear friends who kept me in their prayers.

I've been feeling abit heaty for the past week, and one of the obvious signs is a super dry throat when I wake up in the mornings. But on Tuesday morning, I woke up with a nagging headache , and was pretty worried when the headache refused to ease (my first exam is that same evening), and I was apprehensive about consuming painkillers as I'm pretty prone to their drowsy effects. So prior to leaving home, I went on my knees to pray for healing and then left for school not thinking much about it. I didn't notice, but my headache was miraculously healed. It was only when I went to bed that evening that I recalled how I had a headache in the day, and how I didn't feel the ache one bit after my prayer.

And just this morning, I've had some minor stomach upsets and was feeling abit uncomfortable the entire day. Worried...I prayed again. Although it didn't clear immediately, my condition became better as the day progressed, and I was completely well before I left for school for my exam.

Some of you reading this blog may take the view that the above are just pure coincidences. Perhaps. But perhaps not cos these are not the only times they have happened. I recall how during my undergraduate days, there was once when my stomach was sending me to the toilet every few minutes up to just an hour before my paper. Even though I wasn't an enthusiastic Christian then, I was so desperate and coming to my wits end that my final solution was to pray, and the problem just went away, and affected me no bit during the exams. Similar situation was also encountered just before my GMAT test.

And I believe that the many times God stretched His healing hand on me cannot be pure coincidences. It takes faith to believe and claim these are miracles, and honestly, I never dared to recognise these as miracles, preferring to chuck them in the corner of coincidences - where they will be forgotten with time.

But yesterday's Quiet Time's reading gave me a different insight. The passage was about how Jesus fed the 5000 and walked on water. If we claim to believe in the bible and the miracles that Jesus did in past, shouldn't we also believe that such miracles can exist today and in our lives? Its just an amazing revelation that miracles can actually occur in my life, a life filled with imperfections and flaws. And I want to pen this down, so that I can remember God's goodness in my life. When I sit down to think about the blessings in my life, there are really plenty..although my life has its downs, I still have many many things, friends and family to be thankful for.

The many blessings, and the fact that we can be worthy to be called His children and to receive miracles in our lives is really a privilege and honour. And I really really hope that all around me can choose to take up this privilege.

Exams

2007-10-25T11:19:00.000+08:00

No good, the exam stress bug is biting me again. Exams are next week, hyiaks!

Woke up slightly earlier this morning at 845am ( I know that's not really early, but my red retro-looking alarm clock usually sounds at 930am, and I'm only out of bed half an hour after that). So its quite an accomplishment today...but i'm yawning away now as I'm typing this blog..is it the effect of waking up earlier? Or is it the Stochastic Modelling that is wearing me out?

Sighz, no mood to study and am stressed. Often at times like these I ask myself, what made me sign up for the programme and subject myself to unnecessary exam stress? I enjoy learning, but definitely not exams..if only there can be learning without exams..

Anyway, I came across these verses some weeks back, jotted them down on a small card, and have been reading them almost everyday...to know that God is there for me is a relief, and to know that we can cast our cares on him is a privilege that I'm really thankful of. Seriously, I dunno what I'll do if God didn't exist. I know I'm not going through some big trials (some may just say, its only exams duh..most people has gone through it anyway), but nonetheless, it really great that I can just lean on the Lord for strength anytime.

Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand

(Isaiah 41:10)

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:31)

The funny thing is that even though I'm a standard product of Singapore's education system, having gone through it for 15 years, exams is still something that takes getting used to. Because of exams, I'm missing out on some pretty important events happening over this weekend:

Justina is back from China and flying off this weekend. Friends meeting up this Fri, but I'm not joining cos of exams. I'm thinking of asking them to meet me for dinner for an hour or so. But will how on this first.
Another friend, Margaret is tying the knot this weekend and I'm skipping probably the most important day in her life again because of my exams. But will certainly meet up with her after she is back from her honeymoon!
My hubby's frens from UK are transiting through Singapore this coming Sunday and I probably can't join them again because of the BIG E next week.

Aiyo..between exams and friends....given any time, I'll gladly choose the latter, but for practical and stress reasons, I've chosen the former.

So for now I can only send my best wishes to Margaret! May she and Yongkang have a wonderful and blissful marriage =) And for dear Justina, its been a long time since I've met her..may she stay sweet cheerful and pretty always! As for my hubby's frens, I hope they'll enjoy the day trip to Singapore (& I'm sure my hubby will try to be the best host possible).

It great to be able to "destress" myself via blogging. Now I feel a bit more awake..maybe its the blogging, maybe its the green tea, or maybe its just becos I'm away from my books =)

On the irony though, despite the negative stress from exams, I believe that somehow exams have a good effect cos it makes me contemplate and think more about life. But before I get carried away, and switch to the philosophical mode...it's time to hit my books again. Can't wait for exams to be over, so that I can finally meet up with my friends and get some life!!

My Home - Work in Progress Part III

2007-10-21T21:21:00.000+08:00

After yesterday's failed attempt to enter our home, we went back again today to try our luck - this time round clad in our oldest & dirtiest slippers, just in case we had to trek though wet cement..we were ready for an adventure, and determined to get in the house..just to ensure there are no hidden surprises for us laterwards.

Lucky we made that trip back. Once we set eyes on the tiles in my master toilet...we knew that it was not what we wanted. We love the copper-looking tiles, but the grey tiles just look terribly out of place. After staring at the half-completed toilet for what seemed like almost half an hour, we decided a change was a must. Oh dear, my ID is not going to like the bad news. And my dear hubby decided to task me with the unpopular task of conveying the news to my ID. According to him, I have better rapport with the ID - maybe its becos I enjoy toking nonsense. But anyway, my ID was really quite nice about it...he initially misunderstood and thought we wanted to change all the tiles, and sounded relieved when I told him only the grey tiles had to go.

That's the master toilet. The copper tiles are there to stay, but we will be removing the grey tiles.

Looking into toilet from the pretty (but dusty) mosaic table

That's my hubby standing inside our wardrobe - deep in thought about our toilet.The bricks for the mini-wardrobe in my masterroom is up! Fantastically messy view from the kitchen. That's my fav slanted wall on the left. And of course, my hubby's fav mosaic table deserves mention too.

My absolutely open-concept kitchen!View from the living room into kitchen. How I wish the brick-look of that wall will be a permanent feature.The practical and cool hollow wall in living roomPosing for a shot right in front of storeroom, hee

My Home - Work in Progress Part II

2007-10-20T17:42:00.000+08:00

Guess what! For the 1st time in my life, I'm blogging outdoors! The other exception was when I was so frustrated during my computing class that I was blogging from my school's lab...but I"m now seated at Starbucks sipping a cup of java chip frap, and logging on!

Call me a laggard..I dun deny I'm a techie idiot..never the first the own the latest gadget in the market. Partly becos of the practical side of me (or you can also say the cheapo/thrifty side of me). Good or bad that's me..and the not so-tech advanced me is using SG wireless for the first time....well at least I've progressed lah hor.

Just went to pay my new home a visit earlier...but the workers were doing some work on the floor (laying cement I think), so we weren't able to step into our place. So the following pics are all taken from the main door/window view =) A pity I can't see my wardrobe which was being constructed when I was there last week.

Nonetheless, quite a fair bit of progress I must say. The tiles for my kitchen and study are already laid. My hubby's fav mosaic table is up, and I love the slanted wall right in the centre of the mosaic table! Only gripe is that my place doesn't look as open as I expected...especially the wardrobe area..but I guess it's a sacrifice I have to make cos I needed more wardrobe space..despite my ID's persuasion, I knew that 4 wardrobe doors just weren't sufficient for me lah. So no choice, more space for shopping to make up for the reduced space.

This is the view from my 3rd bedroom. The hollow wall on the right is my fav feature of the house (although I kinda have a new fav now too - the cool slanted wall - love it!). Anyway you are looking pass the kitchen tothe yard, and the window at the far end is where my yard is.

This is taken from my main door, and looks directly into my living area. At the far end is my study area (where the slightly raised platform is). And that rectangular structure is the pretty mosaic table - my hubby's fav part of the house!

Another view of my living room, but this time round, you can see the hollow wall that serves to block out my corridor window.

This is taken from the corridor window just in front of the hollow wall. If you look carefully, you can see the other side of the mosaic table, and of course, the cool slanted wall! Looking at this pic just makes me smile..really excited about my new place...can't wait to shift in soon. Sighz, but I'm reminded I'll have to go through 2 more exams before my place is ready.

Celebrations

2007-10-16T13:34:00.000+08:00

Attended my cousin's wedding on Sun (14 Oct). Had a lovely time catching up with my relatives and realised how much my cousins have grown in a span of a few months (the last time I saw them was probably during Chinese New Year), especially the boys. They seem so mature now.

The title of 'tallest in the family' has now shifted to my cousin Xinkai. My brother used to be the tallest in the family (partly becos he is the oldest), and then other cousins overshot him, and now the title has to be transferred yet again. Its amazing how time flies..and it made me realise how old I am now despite my occasional kiddish antics.

I'm hoping to post some photos from the wedding, and will do so once I get hold of the pictures. The wedding was held at Sheraton..food was good, company was great, and the wedding couple looked really blissful and loving. And my aunt (my cousin's mum) looked stunning that evening! My aunt is someone who doesn't usually dress up..but when she did that evening, she received compliments from everyone! Her make-up, hairdo, dress...she looked really pretty and so different. And she was so happy and excited that evening...probably becos this is such an important family event. This is one of the wedding dinners that I truly enjoy...partly becos I had the opportunity to catch up with my cousins, and also becos I could feel the joy that was radiating all around, especially from my aunt.

My cousin's wedding is actually just a day before my wedding anniversary - 15 Oct. For the first time in many weeks, I had a truly relaxing and enjoyable Monday evening. Was rushing to complete my tutorials on Monday afternoon, and thankfully managed to complete them. Otherwise, I might not have the guts to spend the evening out if my homework was left uncompleted.

We had dinner at Robertson Quay - this Japanese restaurant right next to Shunjuu. Its called Susi..something - can't remember the name. We wanted to try the restaurant as we noticed many Japanese eating at the restaurant (a sign that the food is authentic and delicious) the last time we dined at Shunjuu. True enough, most of the customers in the restaurant were Japanese. Even the chefs and some of the service staff were Japanese. It felt like we were in Japan. The sushi was fantastic, my hubby loved the ramen and was slurping off every bit from the bowl..although my teriyaki chicken was so-so only..but the miso soup was delicious! Considering that the price was pretty reasonable (ramen cost $10, my bento set only $15), we decided we will be back again.

After dinner, I just had to visit one of my favourite dessert shops - Chocoloate Factory. I was dying to eat both the blackforest cake and the shop's famed chocolate tart..but my hubby, having slurped up every bit of his dinner, was too full to share 2 desserts. So sad me had a tough time making a decision and eventually, with much hesitation, chose the blackforest cake instead. The cake looks really yummy...but did not taste as nice the last time I ate it..hmmz, wonder why. Since it was our wedding anniversary, we requested one of the shop staff to help us take a photo, but were informed that photos were not permitted in the shop. Wonder why is that rule necessary? Anyway, I still managed to sneak some shots...

The delicious-looking cake, that somehow didn't taste as delicious

Celebrations must be commerated with photos and many many photos..so after dinner, we took a short walk and found a good spot for photos. The background is supposed to be this colourful looking bridge, but guess my Nikon Coolpix not powerful enough to capture the background.

First, a normal shot

Then, an attempt for a funny bunny shot..Attempt failed...and vain him pushed me out of photo! After several tries..mission completed!

My Home - Work in Progress Part 1

2007-10-16T13:19:00.000+08:00

Went to check out my place on Sunday..and noted progress in the renovation works (*happy*).

This wall is my favourite part of the house - both aesthetically as well as practically. The corridor window is actually just behind the constructed wall - which allows me to look out of the house, and yet gives me the privacy. Well-meaning relatives have indicated that the walls will probably trap dust...but I'll think of a solution to that next time. For now, I love this wall!

The contractor had actually built up the wall to the spare room wrongly..and after I told my interior designer on Fri evening, I was pretty surprised that the wall had already come down when I went to visit on Sunday evening. Their efficiency is quite commendable =)

The brick wall is where my TV will be mounted..just behind the brick wall will be the kitchen area....which as you can tell..is not really fit for cooking just yet.

That is my wardrobe at the far-end (just beside the window), made of concrete...my place will have minimal carpentry, mainly the kitchen cabinets, shoe rack and tv console. Otherwise, we are using alternative materials such as bricks, cement, concrete - which is good cos I'm not a fan of wood. I even suggested having my main door made out of glass, but was shot down by both my hubby and the interior designer. So guess there goes the cool main door.

As HDB ceilings are not exactly very high, we decided to do away with false ceiling (a feature that I'm also not fan of) for most of my new place, and will have black electrical conduits running across the walls/ceilings instead. Initially, I was a little apprehensive..but my hubby and I were beaming away when we saw the black tubes traversing our walls - cool!!! One more thumbs-up to my ID.

No Pain No Gain

2007-10-11T12:24:00.000+08:00

A friend sent me this...very meaningful. May it serve as a note of encouragement to all (me included) who are feeling the 'pain'!

Blue

2007-10-11T00:47:00.000+08:00

Feeling a little blue...have been frantically checking my gmail for the past few days waiting for a reply...sighz....reply finally came. I got rejected.

I guess disappointment is inevitable. But now I'm stuck with only one choice....should I continue with this choice or not? I wake up every morning asking myself whether I should continue. I hate the fact that it takes up more than 12 hours of my life everyday, that its schedule clashes with my good friends' weddings in Nov, that I cannot do the things that I wanna do.

I do my Quiet Time every morning now...and I always pray for God's strength, wisdom and peace to be with me as I go through the day. I know my life is not tough..in fact I'm very blessed by God. But I'm just unhappy with the hectic lifestyle I'm going through now, and am ever wondering what is the next best step to take. Deep in my heart, I felt that the reply I had been waiting for would be the option out..but I guess I felt wrongly. I wonder why....have gone a big round on this...I had given up hope, but then hope came back to me, and now its taken away from me again. What is the point of giving me a glimpse of hope if the positive answer would never come? Why do I have to face issues the roundabout way?

But well, much as I'm tired and disappointed, and actually having my self-esteem cut by quite a bit...I know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him. I'm reminded of a old poem/quote that I loved when I was in secondary school:

Lord grant me senerity to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can,

and wisdom to know the difference.

Looking at issues from another perspective (big picture you know...cannot be a micromanager), this is not the end of the world and nothing to be too upset about. Actually the top concern in my life now is the many in my family who are unsaved..sighz. Pastor has been touching on Revelations and endtimes of late, and because of what I believe, it is scary what will happen to my loved ones when it happens. Whether it happens in my lifetime or not, I dunno (actually I hope it wun), but regardless, we can't run away from it. We can't decide when we will leave this earth, but we can decide where we want to be after this life. It is a simple truth that unfortunately many of my loved ones have not grasped. I've been 'preaching' hard to my hubby...but for those who know him...well...macham hitting brickwall all the time..I must go look for a sturdier hammer.

So this is my life. Feeling loads better after getting the above chunk off my head....well life goes on, isn't it.

Worst Lecturer I've Ever Known

2007-10-06T10:14:00.000+08:00

Today is a Saturday and I'm in school for a make-up programming class. Have lost all interest in the subject, all thanks to my new programming lecturer. A pretty Russian lady, but who absolutely can't teach, and takes half an hour to set up the computer system for class. I thought my Calculus lecturer was bad enough, but she is worse.

Those who know me would probably be surprised. Why is Stella not paying attention during class? This is not the usual me. Since I'm not a born genius, sheer hard work is one of most readily used ammunition in life, especially for the gruelling course I'm in now. Sighz, examinations every 6 weeks and there are homework and projects to complete each term..I'm akin to a masochist who signed up for a year of torture, or to put it positively, an entire year of intense brain-flexing. My IQ level better improve after I complete this course, considering the number of hours I sit at my desk studying & solving problems everyday.

I have no problem working hard, cos learning is not always easy. But I have no patience for incompetent lecturers, and I'm seriously wondering how could the university have recruited such a lecturer. I don't recall having such negative sentiments about any lecturer during my undergraduate days, but to the lady who is muttering to herself at the front of the computer lab right now, she has managed to garner all my negativity and I'm totally shut off from what she is uttering. Even if i try to understand, I can't. Cos I have tried it for the past 3 sessions, but to no avail.

Thanks to one of my friends who recommended me thecplusplus.com website. I told a look at the website, and totally agree that it is easier learning from a website than listening her. Now I wonder why is part of my course fees going to this lousy lecturer. I'd rather pay the website for its clear and concise explanations, not a person who mutters to herself. I have no doubt for her capability in programming, but she simply can't teach!! And her dearth of talent in this area is torturing the poor students on a supposed lovely Saturday morning.

Anyway, cheeky me mananged to catch some shots using the PC during class, as a tribute to the worst lecturer I've ever met in my life:

Ok now me the complaint queen is done with her grouses for the day. Shall have a last ditch attempt to concentrate in class liaoz..what to do...there's a quiz in 2 weeks' time, sighz. So that's all for now. Adieu!