News (I hope not!)

The next 3 days will be crucial. I am hoping I will not get that call.

It's true why they say - no news is good news.

Wedding Dinners

Congratulations to D & E...their big day is next Monday, 9 Oct.

I won't be attending though.

Wedding dinners are NOT for re-connection, not as a gathering with other people whom I know or used to know well and definitely not with the couple (hello, would I be able to get past 2 sentences with you???).

There was an ex-colleague who emailed me out of the blue, inviting me to her wedding on 14 Oct. I barely talked to her during the days she was here, then a few MSN exchanges, courteous ones. I think she didn't not dislike me. When I told her I couldn't make it *yah rrrrright!*, she replied: "What a pity. I thought I would be able to catch up with you." ("replied" cos the whole communciation exchange was done via email. We dun even have each other's cell numbers. OK OK, I know point taken).

Bottomline is: Be sensitive to your guests. I know it's your big day but you want your guests to celebrate this big day with you...SO! Your guests are as important, if not, more important than you.

This is just me speaking...and I'm not asking for concensus.

But I am sincerely eagerly waiting to attend a few more wedding dinners of some real good friends...and my sister :P

Lunch (with Debs)

I dunno what to put as header. I wanna put an obscenity but it won't justify my meeting with lovely Debs, my dear friend whom I haven't met for the longest time. And I thought I won't be blogging for the day anymore but hell, I won't. I can't!

So I should be blogging about happy thoughts, happy meet-up session, happy meal, right? NO, again I can't.

I was just led into a BIG SWINDLE. With stairs spiralling down to an European eatery (can't even remember its name...maybe it's Le What-The-Fuck. Whatever!), it starts interestingly enough. Debs said her friend told her local food was actually served as well but there was none on the menu. The waitress clad in a low-waisted denim skirt (gee, I think they all were! A different version of Hooters?), seemingly more interested in looking at herself than serving others (I saw her glance a few times at herself in the big mirror behind me) took our orders.

Debs: I heard you serve local food.
Waitress (with a whatever facial expression, whatever body language): Yes.
Debs: But I dun see them on the menu!
Waitress: You can just order.
Debs(ever so patient still): How would I know what you have?
Waitress: Hor fun, fried rice,....
Debs: Oh OK, what do you put in them? Like seafood.....?*probing on*
Waitress: Anything.
Me: *very amused now*
Debs: So it's like one's own concoction. Interesting. I'll have...........

So anyway, our 2 small plates of hor fun came, with 1 plate of otah (6 small pieces) ...which they recommended.

1.5 hours later, the bill came. $46.23. I AM FUCKING REELING FROM SHOCK OK! I gave my credit card to the waitress with aplomb (perhaps cos Debs was 4 months pregnant, looking oh-so-cute-and-sweet-and-serene in her current working attire and condition)...but the minute we parted, I think I must have cursed 10,000 times consecutively.

So here I am, immersed with regret and anger. Anger cos it marred the otherwise-memorable meet-up with Debs. :( Till Dec when she returns to Singapore for good....

A Xeno for You...

Thanks to JC, apparently always loving serious shite, for introducing XenoboySG to me. Though most of the time, I find myself lost in his cheem analysis and choice of words (but can pick up good vocabularly to impress the socks outta the Japs eh! Yea! *Heehee*), the latest entry on 4 Oct is a must-share.

http://xenoboysg.blogspot.com/

What a Pest!

I mean it literally. I killed 2 rather big cockroaches this week applying the same method - whacked 'em flat with newspaper, scooped with a piece of tissue and crushed between my thumb and index finger.

I dunno why I'm not freaked by them but extremely by even a small lizard. Perhaps 'bravery' also emerged cos thank God they weren't the flying sort. :P

Good news...1st

Debs dropped me an email informing that she's back in Singapore (for a while) and that she's 4 months into her pregnancy, oblivious to her condition during the entire 1st trimester! Lucky her!

I'm meeting this close long-lost (or not? Only I can answer this...) friend of mine tomorrow. To see how she looks like now, to catch up and most of all, to ease her anxiety of what's ahead. We were tight 15 years ago. That's how long we've known each other now.

I lost my voice. Could be the dinner yesterday...chicken? Penne? But it was oodles of fun. "Fun"...To bitch without guilt. Took lots of pics which I believe most would end up censored. Thanks to the 2 (again) for understanding that I had a 'curfew'. As ridiculous as it sounds, I had to stick to the timing to get home. It's a way of saving me from the guilt trip; to maintain whatever social life I have left and not feeling bad not spending time with my family, especially the troops.

Till the next girls' outing....(JB??????????)

Appointment@SGH

It is fixed. 2:30pm tomorrow.

Am I too late?
I hope...and I pray.

Friendship

What is most volatile?

Not turpentine. To me, it is friendship. How many of them have come and gone? How many have been your best companions at one time only to fade away the next? How many of them have sounded so convincingly sincere only to 'fly you aeroplane' many times?

I'm glad some of you have really stuck around for a long time (you know who you are *smiles). These 2 mates of mine - Michelin and :B, hit the top spot last night though.

Michelin has discovered this online baking shop and ordered some cupcakes for her love. She didn't forget about her 2 friends. Advised to be taken within 3 days from the day of preparation, yesterday was the 'last day'. Mondays are lousy for me to meet friends so having understood that, these 2 came right to my doorstep for the 'special delivery'. Yes and may I add they loitered around CP so as to give time for my troops to finish their dinner properly.

Shamelessly, I've stolen this pic of the cupcake from Michelin's blog to show you how cute it is (it is yummy!).

Tonight is our long-awaited dinner and catchin up+bitchin aka Bitch Fest. Hope :B didn't forget to bring the digital camera. As her departure is approaching, I'm hoping to seal these moments more.

Quotable Quotes

#1

Becks in a toilet cubicle, just finished urinating. Another woman in the next cubicle doing it...and loudly (come to think of it, why was it so loud? Distance between hole and bowl was great???)

B(very audibly): Wow, that person has a lot of urine.
Me: Yes, she drank a lot of water...and that's good. It's good for our system.
B: Oh.

#2

Becks and I were playing bubbles in an open space.

B: Why do the bubbles burst?
Me: *pause...cos I didn't know the answer!*(sounding confident before I found my voice) Because they are light.

#3

We were in the car with Life House playing in the radio.

B: My favourite song, where?!!
Me: You forgot your mannerssss...
B: *clears throat* Please Papa, play my favourite song.
M: *switches from Life House to Hall & Oates, Track 1*.

ps: Yes, Becks has very good taste.

#4

Mong rushing to grab my legs: Hug hug Mommy!

Prawn Mee

Enough of bad food. If I had my hands on a camera, I'd take and post a pic of the big bowl of prawn mee I had with DDD just now. Especially that dark murky prawn soup.

Or maybe I'm just a true blue local gal at heart.

They sucked!

Silent Hill and Billy Bombers.

OK, to be fair, for starters Silent Hill isn't my kind of movie...but I was made curious by its cover and its reviews on imdb.com and M. Some images were pretty disturbing and I found them flashing across my mind at night, when I was brushing my teeth. Dunno whether the sick part of me wants to prove I'm an imsomniac deep down.

It's been many years since the last trip to Billy Bombers. With the beef patty no longer appealing and costing a total of S$50 for 2 people, I'll just skip the main meal next time and have the malt shake (I speak for only the chocolate one!). Satisfaction guaranteed. Enough.

Jealousy

Becks hasn't been herself lately. Not smiling as much, more snappy, more glum. I notice it gets worse when Mong goes "hug hug Mommy!". Now he's even more cute, having progressed to "kiss kiss Mommy!" I see the effects of the 'extra verbal stimulation' on Mong. It's really a lot of hard work though.

I should know jealousy being the 1st child. It never struck me as that when I was younger why I LOVED torturing my younger sister. That seeing her cry was my biggest achievement. I think my mom made it worse by being convinced that I was born with a 'black heart' (direct translation from Cantonese).

Anyway it's gonna get tougher. To NOT focus on one child. How do couples have more than 2? Speaking of this, I'm reminded to visit the Lims. 3rd child, Matthias was recently born.

PS: For those who know me well, my relationship with my sis is actually pretty good now. :)

Zoo...again!

Airport or....zoo?

We let Becks make a decision and she chose the latter so we found ourselves going back there sooner than expected. Heh. This time we took a different route - to the Children's Zoo. The whole trip was about 2 hours or less. It was cut short by the heavy rain.

Nonetheless it was pretty nice cos again we saw something new. The entrance was much improved and there was a new addition (or more?) - mountain goats. The landscape was beautifully done.

I suggested to :B that she ought to visit it one more time - understand it's been 4 years for her - before her job stint in Japan. She isn't expected to return till at least 2 years...

Kids Experimental

I woke up at 4:30am to go to the loo and couldn't fall back to sleep afterward. I found my mind spiralling to find some reason, some excuse NOT to go for long-distance business trips, mainly the upcoming one to Brazil. My heart was even beating with anxiety.

I finally got a 'taste' of it. If I were to seek for any new job, regardless of better pay and position, if I'm required to travel, I'll definitely be VERY miserable. So I really cannot compromise on this part.

The day didn't start well with Becks screaming that she didn't want to go to school for her Children's Day celebration. I literally had to drag (with coaxing of cos) her up the bus. When I fetched her back in the noon, she was all smiles again.

We had our usual time together, having lunch and tea at CP with her favourite coin-pieces of barbeque pork. I swear being with her will make me fat. The food...and the wonderful company.

How nice it will be to have a long weekend regularly...but 'twas the last company holiday for the year. Sigh.

Anyway what I saw on the way to CP was appalling. Maybe I've been too good a kid *heh* or it's been so long for me that I can't remember how adolescents can be. 2 secondary schoolboys, walking along the street shouted at 2 secondary schoolgirls whom they know apparently. They turned back and one of the boys flung an half-empty mineral waterbottle at them. The bottle smashed at the impact of cos, water spilling and they left it there, on the ground. Damn them LITTERBUGS! Then my judgement was cut short when one of the girls screamed back: "You! Chao Ch** B**!" (THAT top-notch obscenity) And the boys laughed, both couples walking in opposite directions.

I think Becks was too busy looking at something else cos she didn't comment on the scene. Luckily. I was just too stunned for words.

Then further up, I saw a group of restless students seated on the floor, passing a ciggie around.

I wonder if I'm prepared for parenthood. It's definitely not for the weak-hearted.

Brazil...do I really need to???

Agenda drawn out, dates fixed, Thai counterpart has agreed to go, Boss has given green light....now to check with the customer.

Here's the flight route and schedule from Singapore to Brazil.

Connection: SIN- Frankfart - Paulo - Manaus
SIN Frankfrat : 1350- 0830hrs
Frankfart - Paulo: 1035 - 1715hrs
Paulo - Manaus: 0900 - 1150hrs

Upon arrival, it'll be a 11-hour time difference. I'm gonna be so jet-lagged. It would definitely take more than 100 cups of Brazilian coffee for me to survive.

*Cross my fingers (that the trip will not materialise!)*

The (Wo)Men Just Dun Get It Too...

I understand why people go for Botox, I understand why people go from Cup A to B, or B to C, etc. I dun understand this!

Thanks to :B on her Social Studies education, I only learnt about ganguro yesterday. I swear the Japanese amaze me more and more by the day.

With :B's approaching departure for Japan (to work), I've requested for her to source for the sick and twisted horror Japanese movies which I've seen in the past and dearly missed now.

Therapy Session...again

I am on half-day leave this afternoon. Finally the day has arrived for Mong to see another speech therapist. It is just behind my office building and this therapist apparently offer weekend sessions. Whatever the outcome, thanks to DDD for helping.

He has been showing signs of improvement, however, maybe being his mother, I am not satisfied and believe he is still behind his milestone curve. I only hope sending him to a playgroup next year can accelerate his progress. This becomes my mission on top of my list - to source for a suitable (big key word) playgroup. It may involve busting some buckeroos. :P

I need to make a conscious effort not to get lost in the whirlwind of events and neglect Becks. She is growing up fast. While I cleared the drawers, I found some digital photos of the troops 2 years ago. They have grown so much. I really miss them A LOT, being babies, being toddlers...but then that was a really very tiring part of my life so most of all, I'm just glad it's moved on.

Nesting Instinct

It's been a long long time since both troops slept by 10pm. Last night, with so much time on hand (and a firm believer that I shouldn't watch TV after 9pm for fear of 'visual stimulation' which can lead to insomnia), my nesting instinct naturally kicked in.

I opened up all 3 burstin drawers and started clearing them. Very very satisfied.

Next stop: wardrobe and troops' toys.

Senseless

Does it make sense? 2 people in a section. 2 of them "Assistant Managers".

1 of them is already seated here for 2.5 years. The other was here for an interview. We have been having difficulty finding the 'right candidate'. Maybe like the 'right man', it doesn't exist but Boss is not convinced.

So after 1 hour of arduous questioning and another few (draggy) minutes of discussion, Boss' decision was not to hire. YAWN! What is new????? Actually is there really a need for another one? Or are we just going through the motion...for the past 9 months?

Do you work for a boss whose vision you do not believe in or worse, cannot see?

xoxoxoxo

Lunch was with Jennifer who had her usual truckload of interesting theories to share.

I have been lunching with friends from 'outside'. Since my 2 kakis left the Shenton Way/Tanjong Pagar scene, I haven't found a regular colleague to lunch with who would not stop talking about work or other colleagues. Shallow conversational topics tire me.

Innovative Mooncakes

I found out today that TT without the right company is not as sweet.

I had the craving right after lunch so I ordered one for myself. I was alone....
I found myself hurrying through it, cursing that it cooled so slowly and gulping down to make my 60c worth. NOT the way to savour a cup of heaven.




'Tis the lantern festival soon. The Division has been receiving many boxes of mooncakes from vendors. The latest comes from Raffles Hotel. Snowskin with chocolate-and-wine filling. Colleagues swear it's expensive, it's good. I just tried one...my skin crawled. GROSS. Call me boring - I seriously still prefer the brown skin with lotus paste (with or without yolk).

*Feel like puking now...*

Spam!

Monday mornings are worsened with 50+ spam mails in your office account. The IT GM once commented to prevent it is "very difficult". Bah...! Simply incompetent.

So going through the usual routine of deleting senders whose names are not close to familiar, I read the remaining official ones. I dealt with a Brazilian customer by the name of Letitia a few times so I didn't expect this when I opened the email.

If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.. There's always a deep breath before a plunge. If three people tell you that you are drunk, you better lie down. Politics makes strange bedfellows. Pain is only weakness leaving the body. U.S. Marines proverb Law is the solemn expression of legislative will. CODE NAPOLEON Purely bluster and no substance. Don't take any wooden nickels. Possible Interpretation: Accomplishing two things with a single action. Interpretation: If you are going to do something, do it right. Two's company, three's a crowd. See also Dorothy Parker: You can lead a horticulture, but you cannot make her think. Don't remove winter vests (undergarments) until summer arrives. A woman's work is never done. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. The head and feet keep warm, the rest will take no harm. Meaner than a junk-yard dog. Clothes make(th) the man. Christian New Testament All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Honesty is the best policy. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Funny as it is, yes, it did not have paragraphing. Argh.

Promise fulfilled

M and I didn't forget to bring extra clothes....so we did spend quality time with the troops in the pool :)

Sunday evening after dinner was spent as usual at MPH, at Becks' (or mine?) favourite section - Dr Seuss. So you figured, I didn't get to watch Singapore Idol Finals. Heh. So how ah, who's gonna win?

Saturday - let's recap.

Breakfast was with Ichiro and Dad at MacD's. The kids had a wild time playing with bubbles.

Exhausted and 2 hours later, we met up with sis and Say for lunch. It's been a long time. Good ole company I can always count on. It almost didn't materialize cos the minute sis picked us up from our place, some light came on. Not the engine light, not the fuel light. Some light...which was shining bright and WARNING that you'd better do something.

So luckily, there was a petrol kiosk nearby with an Autoserv. The gracious mechanic, despite many many cars awaiting for service, came over and checked for us. He said it was basically OK to drive 'not long distances'. Tampines seemed fine...luckily Say didn't have to take another bus to meet us at CP (still Say, thanks for not minding if you had to).

And yes Say, CONGRATS for finding a new job in a completely different line. For better or worse, at least it's a shot at a brand new beginning. Good luck!

Mentos

I forget how addictive Mentos , the fruity flavoured one, can be.

I bought a tube, knowing that Becks love them but succumbing to temptation...and boredom, I ripped it and ate 5 dragees in less than 5 minutes. Dun blame me, the top 5 happened to be in my favourite colour/flavour - yellow.

*5...and counting...*

Black Coffee

I wish Boss will quit drinking his black coffee.

At about 10am every single working day, you will hear him sorting coins from his wallet, putting them in his pocket and heading out. To Starbucks downstairs.

These Japanese must really be highly paid. They cannot seem to bring themselves to consume the 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 available in the pantry. They must have this atas coffee costing an insane $5 per cup.

OK, I've digressed. Anyway, my concern is, his breath freakin STINKS! I swear I hold my breath each time he comes over and talks to me. It is a stunt - doing that, smiling and nodding all at the same time, trying to look like I am understanding every single thing he says when all I can think of is - wahlau, it really smells.

Obligations

I fulfilled 2 today.

I am clad in a considered-very-formal-by-my-and-this-office-standard formal long-sleeved shirt to meet and greet some big shot from Japan. I also sat through an hour-long presentation in JAPANESE without looking bored and stifling yawns in-between.

Talk about 1st class EMOTE. :P

And so the story goes....

No, I'm not blogging from the airport. I'm back in my (shit?)hole...in the office.

Early in the morning, I missed 3 calls from Boss. I knew it must be urgent so I returned it and was told to cancel my flight because NO, I DID NOT KNOW that Thailand has been declared a 'state of emergency' under martial law at 3am!!! Trying not to sound stupid/ignorant (can they be mutually exclusive?), I thanked him and said I would report to office as usual.

Personally, I'm glad. Becks has 'ordered' me to come home every night yesterday. I told her to please speak with my boss. Now, I dun have to disappoint a soon-to-be-4-year-old. :)

Professionally, I'm anxious. Cos there is a truckload of issues to discuss and settle with the Thai counterparts! Whatever they are not doing is creating this negative and intolerable spill-over effect on us. Looks like we have to grit our teeth and endure it a while more.

To places I (don't want to) go?!

I used to love travelling...with my family. Then I started working and the yearly holidaying stopped completely with them. I miss my dad's spirit of adventure, superb planning skills and generiosity.

Now, travelling is all about business trips. I just ended a discussion with Boss. He told me to 'travel more soon' as the Travel Budget for 2006 is under-utilized! Suggested customers in Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, India...and Brazil!

Rewind 6 years, I would have jumped at the chance. To see the world which I would otherwise not have been willing to part my own money with to see, to escape from the monotony of daily operations...BUT.

No thank you. Simply bad timing.

PS: To Bangkok I go tomorrow! Till Friday...

That 'Dreaded Dinner'

Oh, I didn't mention about the dinner I had on Friday. It wasn't so bad. :P We went to Hot Stones at Clarke Quay. Wonderful food except that I was smelling like barbecued beef (or how do you call it on hot stove - grilled?) all over in a matter of few minutes. My hair and skin got really oily and I was trying to shift my focus on the 2 nihon-jin in front of me (guest and Boss).

Luckily the guest didn't look and sound like she came from the mountains. She had her own sense of humour and could speak decent amount of English. And Boss, surprise surprise, was all charming and was striking up interesting enough conversational topics.

Still......let's not do it again lah. Not so soon.

Paranoia

I could really use more of impromptu lunches. Just now, I had another one with RJ again (we met last Monday).

She should be much busier than her current situation except that her partners are absolutely paranoid with her spreading the disease to them (and their babies) so she's 'isolated' from the new shop and can only run errands. You see, her 2 sons just contracted HFMD.

I know 1 of her partners had great difficulty conceiving and carrying the baby for 9 months...but to strap yourself with paranoia for the rest of your life, it's not gonna be an easy ride...for herself and those around her. Then my imagination started wandering to the cutlery we use in hawker centres, seats (ANY seats) our asses lay on, the poles our hands cling on for support (bus, MRT), THE HANDS WE SHAKE WHEN WE MEET NEW PEOPLE AT WORK, etc.

We can run but we cannot hide.

Water!

We accompanied the kids to play with water at the in-laws'....yes, 'accompanied'...cos we weren't playing the main role (actually M & I bumped into them at the lift landing)...and yes again, 'play with water' cos the troops weren't exactly swimming; we adults were not clad appropriately and did not even bring extra clothes to change!

So they had fun, all in about 20 minutes...only. I promise I will play a more active role next Sunday. :P

Of course my weekends aren't completed without 'my personal time', i.e. DVD Time. Rented The Descent for lack of new releases.

Did you know I absolutely cannot watch horror? Yes, I will be scared chicken shit. After The Ring (please....the Japanese version one) which left me traumatized for months, I no longer long for the thrill from watching horror movies. I had to ask M many times for assurance that the movie would leave me with no nightmares and also sms the opinion from my '2 crazy galfriends'. OK, nothing horrifying so I proceeded to watch. It turned out to be entertaining. Phew.

A Dreaded Dinner...tonight

I can't bear the thought of spending an additional minute with the company. Friends who know me know I live very hard by the "OTD* Policy".

My boss has to squash my TGIF mood by requesting (and assuming I am free. I RESENT THIS SO MUCH!) that I join dinner with a guest from Japan tonight.

Luckily Nat is joining too. She is one of the very few in my team whom I like and believe whose company I can enjoy.

*OTD=On the dot

Singapore Idol Result

Another confession...need I elaborate?

Singapore Idol

I have a confession....no....two.

I finally caught more than 5 minutes of it last night.
And I agree with DDD, that Jonathon Leong may just succeed Taufik.

Snacking

I may have an idea what is giving my idle-ness away. I've been snacking on a huge pack of strawberry plums while working (or not) which is lasting me more than a week (I'm getting so addicted to them!). It doesn't help that I snack openly with ease.

For those who understand Japs well, they are not crazy about staff eating at their desk. I'm not talking about a packet of chicken rice. Dun let them catch sight of any kind of miniscule matter you put in your mouth and chew. They can be that uptight.

Anyway, I have a bad habit of snacking. I do it to relive boredom mainly. Anything works...maybe except gua zi. Too much work. I remember I would spend most of my allowance in primary school on packets of Twisties, Calbee, Cheezels and...Kaka! 20c for a piece of crappy toy! There are a lot more images flashing through my head now but I can't remember their names. Chocolates work best to reduce stress. I know of some friends (yes WL, you are one of them) who do not snack at all. How can one be so disciplined???

My life would have been so boring......

Biz trip again

I am scheduled to leave for Bangkok next Wednesday with SW again. The meeting should be an easy one to tackle without any Japanese Managers (read: very ineffective) present.

But what is dreadful is it would be another round of spoon-feeding. Boss wanted to let them come onboard the project 2nd phase....I'm beginning to suspect he can tell I am getting restless...and idle. :P

Growth

1. The troops

They are growing so fast...physically and mentally. They are beginning to play with each other more. Recently, they would put their hands on top of their heads at the same time, go "Mmmmm" for the longest time and then go "POP!" as loudly as they can, lifting up their arms in a V above their heads also at the same time. Then they'll break up in giggles. Sometimes hugging while giggling.

It takes away the cute-ness using so many words to describe the 'game' to you...but if you ever get to see it, it's really another Kodak moment. OK, maybe just for me, the mummy. :)

2. Zits

I thought zits mostly sprout on one's T-zone area (on the face). Well, not for me, not this time. 1 below my left eye that's been most stubborn, 1 at my left temple that seems to have a 'life' of its own. Red, throbbing, glaring, irritating...HIDEOUS.

Last night while I was playing rough with Mong, he accidently hit it. I was in pain! Thanks for the reminder, boy...

Pregnancy was the best thing that happened to me. Besides bearing the 'gift from God', blah blah, my complexion was never better! But then who would really notice me while I had put on 23 kg at the peak of the pregnancy.

I hope this is just a phase. Sigh, at this age I'd think I have passed puberty stage and be done with these 'monsters'.

PLEASE LET THE HEALING BEGIN!

A.A.Milne's LINES AND SQUARES

This is what I got from RJ. I had an impromptu lunch with her. It was overdue too. I haven't seen her for a while especially with her new (and bigger) shop-moving. Oh hey, and because I like this gal a lot, let me do this for her. Check out her shop here.

So what is "Lines and Squares"? It came in the form of paper strips, ones with grids, bound together. Each strip, because of its size, holds only a 2-line stanza.

Whenever I walk in a London street,
I'm ever so careful to watch my feet;
And I keep in the squares,
And the masses of bears,
Who wait at the corners all ready to eat
The sillies who tread on the lines of the street,
Go back to their lairs,
And I say to them, "Bears,
Just look how I'm walking in all the squares!"
And the little bears growl to each other,
"He's mine,
As soon as he's silly and steps on a line."
And some of the bigger bears try to pretend
That they came round the corner to look for a friend;
And they try to pretend that nobody cares
Whether you walk on the lines or squares.
But only the sillies believe their talk;
It's ever so important how you walk.
And it's ever so jolly to call out, "Bears,
Just watch me walking in all the squares!"

Produced on a manual Olivetti LETTERA 82 typewriter
Copyright. Milne A.A.

/ we are BooksActually

It's so cute! And thanks to her, I found out that Milne is the guy behind Winnie the Pooh. I dun fancy Pooh but I appreciate the history and background. :P

Insomnia

No, it was so NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I only managed to fall asleep at 6:30am....and had to wake up at about 8am.
I am not sure if it was related directly to the big cuppa TT I had but I swear it was the last time. Well, at least till the next decade.

My 15-minute nap saved my sanity.

Anyway, I also went for my much-belated eyebrow tweezing session at East Point. I am now convinced only Anita can do it. I wanted her but she wasn't free and considering it was so last minute, I decided to let this young gal, pretty and obviously a fashionista with very very bad teeth, do it. And now, I'm officially bald. The end of my left eyebrow that is.

Huuuuuge TT

Lunch was at my mom's. It's been so long since we went there cos it's usually drop-and-go.

I was craving for a TT; haven't had it (at Amoy) since my kakis left.
I wasn't expecting a 'dinosaur' size. $1.50...it was worth it.

To the zoo we go!

What's a leave application during the school holiday? Asking Becks for her choice on where to go, the answer is always the same. Well, most of the time.

The weather was darn fine. Also because of good pacing, I did not develop a headache. :)

FOZ membership expires in Nov 06. Time for renewal. Ha.

Garden City

Thanks to IMF, I haven't seen so many potted plants and flowers on my way to work for a long time.

Nice...

"Project"....NOT.

Sigh...and so my "project" has failed. :B and I will forever have 2 differing views which can never be supported by statistics.

I conclude:
1. My blog has no readers (those who have left their comments are actually fictitious).
2. My blog has no male readers.
3. My blog has no real and/or human male readers (only dog/s trained miraculously to recognize words but not type).
4. My male blog readers are shy.
5. My male blog readers cannot be honest.

ps: Yes I'm bored again. Hey, I caught this very nice song on radio this morning. Listened on for the DJ's intro though I already reached the office. By Backstreet Boys. Dun judge me.

Chocolate...no more?!

McD's has phased out the chocolate-flavoured ice cream for their waffle cones. The 95c ones. I found this out 2 days ago when I stood in line to buy one.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. Really????? Singaporeans prefer vanilla to chocolate ice cream??????

Many years ago, I already couldn't believe it that McD's stopped selling their milkshakes. Cheap and good. Maybe then I was the only one who loved it. But hey, it's been revived.

Once bitten, twice not shy?

Mood

Have you seen the big ads in Metro lately? I'm-in-a-I-feel-like-shopping-mood-today, blah blah.

So I'm inspired. I'm in a I-dun-want-to-talk-about-it mood now.

Just kidding. I'm just tickled by the picture. Actually I found it while looking through shots posted as tribute to the late Steve Irwin.

"Project"

I'm doing a l'le project here. It's just a simple question that requires an honest answer, preferably from males.

Are all males (straight, non-straight, handsome, ugly, young (hopefully above 12), old (to infinity and beyond),...wait...let me rephrase - male HUMAN BEINGS) into porn?

Troops' Day

How lovely if Monday is an off-day every week.

I dunno if I am getting verb-obssessive with Mong. I am really trying. I have also started toilet-training with him. Once every 1-1.5 hour. It was successful 4 times (out of 6-7 I think). I tell you, one can never imagine my thrill out of seeing urine sprout and him smiling back at me while looking at the 'fountain'. Pretty special moment. :P

It has also been a very looooong time since I had lunch with Becks. Just mother and daughter. We took the bus and had lunch & tea.

I had my own usual time in the noon. Rented a French comedy - The Secret Adventures of Gustav Klopp. I am amazed I can even remember the full title and get drawn by it. Turns out French humour is really tops... I am also lucky to find the lead played by the very cute dude in Love Me if You Dare, Guillaume Canet.

The evening was spent playing bubbles. Did not succeed in encouraging Mong to say 'more' or 'again' though. Damn. I will try again (read: obssessive).

Working resumes tomorrow...and I was just getting used to be a full-time mother (oh?).:P

Tien Hsia "Graduation" Performance

10 lessons already. Becks, together with her class, gave a performance of recitals. My 2 crazy galfriends joined me.

The performance this time was lack-lustre. The kids didn't seem to enjoy themselves and unfortunately, there was also no individual/dual performance like the last time. Bah...and I let Becks wear that cute skirt for her to do a dramatic curtsey (momma's dream. Haha).

At least :B got to taste the wonderful teh-si I blogged about. Actually...twice.

After that, my 2 crazy galfriends got even crazier by joining us to The Animal Resort. Yes we picked Mong on the way there. Despite having few animals and visiting there this frequently, it is still fun. We saw this unidentifiable bird...really sad, really old, really defensive/fierce, all caged up, with sparse curly hair like Albert Einstein's (I am not kidding) and a wattle as big as your Prada bag. So that made it to my list of scary animals in the resort, besides the iguana.

1 crazy galfriend left for home, the other followed us back for the kids' lunch and then to my in-laws' place.

The weather was crazy. It was a long tiring day...definitely memorable.

Singapore Idol Finalists...in heartland!

I need to save myself from embarrassement by assuring you first that I do not follow the show one bit. But I listen enough from the morning Class duo to know that Jasmine cannot make it, that Joakim was being bullied (and finally, it's the end of his sufferings after his boot-out last Thursday) and that Hady is the only promising one.

So anyway, a trip to CP on Saturday morning made me discover that the 4 finalists were dropping by on stage at 3pm.

After lunch and right after M picked Becks up to go to her Popo's place, I was left alone to walk home. 3:08pm...good timing. I strolled to the main arena and saw screaming people (mostly teenagers?) thronging the front of the stage. I could barely see the faces of the Idol finalists, barely hear them...they were just mumbling into the microphones!

5 min and I was out. I wanted to blog about the experience...but I think I'm just left with the thought why I did that crazy thing.

Speech Therapy

With a name like "Prudence", with an office located downtown and with an accent, I did not expect Mong's 1st therapy session to be cheap.

It is pretty eye-opening as her methods to get Mong to say certain words (it's the bloody verbs that elude him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) which we haven't been able to were effective. Well of course it had to be effective considering that speech pathology is a major and people have to pay a freakin amount of money to get an overseas BSc for it.

So sadly, my observation is true. I've read that by 26 months old, a toddler would be able to achieve this and that. Mong can't do all of it. His speech is delayed. I mean he's darn good with the nouns but he can't do verbs. And he's demonstrating echolia.

Sometimes I wish I hadn't read so much to get myself into a state of worry, panic, disappointment, etc. I mean, my mother, MIL, some aunties, even my maid assured me that their friends' or siblings' sons (hmm...mostly boys) started speaking only at the age of 3+. Mong is a pretty clever child. He has NO problems picking up the mechanics on how things work just by observing once. Maybe M is right - that our son will just grow up to be a typical engineer. All brains and no EQ. :P

ps: Many many thanks to DDD for her resourcefulness and efficiency. I need to call them to check which therapist has weekend slots. I wonder how other working mothers cope.

The Patronizers

No, it's not the latest rock band from UK.

It's the much detested category of 'friends' I touched upon in my blog entry yesterday. One of them is testing my nerves already...but I will do him that favour and arrange for a meeting with CF. Afterall it may be interesting, exchanging opinions on the changing labour market.

As for the other one, if you dun hear from me anymore (MSN, yahoo, emails, sms, phone call, skype, whatever....), you get the picture. You suck.

Appreciation

My Division didn't forget. :) They got J to send me an email, arranging for a meeting at 4pm yesterday. Unsuspecting, I walked into the meeting room only to find Boss there also. Then the chocolate chip muffin with one candle was presented to me by Sweet Susan. Aw.......

Thank you!

Pseudo vs Ex

I wondered to :B which is better where frienships are concerned- a pseudo one or ex. She replied both has something in common - NO hope.

Well, to take the better alternate meaning for 'pseudo', it is "almost, approaching or trying to be". A pseudo friendship MAY progress to the point of being real. Approaching=moving forward, right? An ex...well, as experience has taught us time and again, with the last one being last Friday, can never be revived.

:B, hope this makes sense.

(Actually I have some on my mind now...STOP PATRONIZING ME!)

*Gals can be such bitches. Hiak!*

Happy Birthday

...to me :)

Thanks to friends who remembered and have sent wishes already...and to JC all the way from New Zealand.

Pseudo friend (among many others?)

I received an email invitation from a pseudo-friend yesterday. I kinda knew her from work but she's left about 2 years ago. We chatted a few times online after that but that was last year (actually I can't remember). She did tell me she would like me to attend her wedding dinner. When she didn't even know then. So finally...and all of a sudden, BAM! An email about her wedding next month.

Spare me can? My time is better spent doing charity work and my money on nail polish.

Which reminds me...I'd better reply her citing some reason for my non-attendance. It's only polite. :)

Test Results

Oh hey, good news. My test results are good. Internally I am fine...and my prolactin level is normal.

Which concludes...I am a cow. Simply.

ps - Saw this picture just this morning and decided to 'steal' it to post it here. How apt.

Verdict...(of ex friend)

How can I forget to blog that I was not bribed emotionally....that ex friend remains an ex. And that she still sits on the throne reigning as Miss Lip Service?

PUI.

Sigh.

Foodie

I have a sweet tooth. Luckily, so does M... One of our most memorable outings/trips was the Penang one in 2000. Just eat and eat. I swear one day we would pass out from 'explosion'.

I finally tried the Blue-berry Crumble Pie at HANS. CF's recommendation. Actually I've been wanting to. I just needed 'the moment'. With the right amount of space in my belly, my sweet tooth on high trigger and that nice cup of coffee or tea.

Oh yah, I had a craving for Long John's Silver yesterday too. Well actually the craving started only after we walked past one. Couldn't remember when the last time we patronized it. Well, the 1st few bites were wonderful...maybe cos I was famished. At the end of it all, I could only taste flour and more flour. Till 5 years later......

Aftermath

It's really been soooo long since I caught a movie at night, with friends, at Cineleisure. Yes all in that combination. It was memorable!

1st of all, thanks to WL's recommendation (and also my belief that she knows my taste very well), Pretty Persuasion is definitely worth seeing. Hollywood doesn't make dark humour films very often. I linked it to the quotes instead of the cast and every other detail to give you an idea of what it is like. I summarize: pretty f*cked up.

It reminded me of Match Point-"The innocent are sometimes slain to make way for grander schemes. You were collateral damage...". I love the last part especially when they showed the different scenes literally on TV, one after another, one after another...how the fall of one man (or girl) led to the rise of another. Brilliant film making.

After the movie was MoS of cos. YES WE MADE IT! We saw a few young farts queueing and our heart sank. We learnt it was an NUS event that day! Luckily we didn't go for Plan B (what Plan B???); we went in after much deliberation and checked out the place. After we were done, we stayed mainly in the Main Hall where progressive trance (or whatever you term that monotonous beat) which is actually my favourite section...reminiscent of good ole Zouk days (but not for the rest...they all like Smoove. Where's the space to even move properly?).

And 1:15am spelt the end of the night. Can't help it. We are all getting old....

Gathering!

The last night one with :B and Michelin was almost half a year ago....and it was near my place (heartland). Tonight we are having one in the heart of town and watching a movie too! I'm glad that Michelin is with me for this idea. We haven't watched one together before and it would be nice, instead of sittin around talking crap for 3-4 hours. It WILL exhaust me.

Sis will be joining us for part 2. :)

And according to the latest, ex friend (or no longer?) accepted :B's invitation. Her message was she would drop by for a while to pass the gift. Me? A gift?

If she does turn up, as emphasized by Michelin time and again, I would be so emotionally bribed...Please let my faith be regained...

Hibernation...me/Addiction...Mong

My mind is officially in hiberation mode. Maybe the fungi have come and conquered.

Boss away, work load almost negligible, uninspired... ...

I am only thinking how and what time I should step into the house this evening after work. You see, Mong is addicted to my handphone. Actually the silly home-made video films that are found inside. It is not funny. Initially used as a decoy to prevent the public whinings and aggression, he now wants it everytime and anytime. And if I dun offer it, he will cry endlessly, impossible to be pacified.

The minute he saw me step into the house last night (I came home late due to dinner at Orchard Hotel organized by a freight forwarding company), he broke into his oh-so-cute smile and went "heeeeen fone!", pulling me by the skirt, guiding me to the shelf where I always place my handphone (not understanding that I bring the handphone with me all the time, of course). He lost all interest in everything else, ignored everyone else, disregarded every coaxing.

M and I have decided to let him go "cold turkey". The thing is, I will do it...but if he starts his whining in the midst of dinner, I may just cave in cos there will be no other way to enable him to continue his meal.

So the planning on what time to reach home begins today...and I wonder how long it will take...to wean him completely.

*Sigh*

MoS!

This Friday? Finally?

Check-up DONE

No wonder my friends procrastinate such check-up. I'm just glad I grit my teeth and did it yesterday. And a blessing too. Because Dr Thong, the ever-so-friendly-and-subtly humourous-and-elegant (this combination is a rare find!) gynae of mine in her late 40s, found out that I am still producing breast milk....after 2 years.

Miffy: What???
Dr T: Yes, you mean you don't know?
Miffy: I dun squeeze myself on a regular basis.......

So other than the fact I am officially a cow, I am also packed with higher-than-normal level of prolactin, a protein hormone that can lead to tumor/s.

So after the K-Y connection where she 'reached in' to FEEL MY UTERUS, I had to lie down for 30 min to take a blood test because inactivity will give more accurate results, so I was told.

Well, as usual I couldn't stay still. ..and I believe sms-ing will only text the fingers right. So there I was, having taken half-day leave to end up lying on a hospital bed for 30 min to sms :B and M.

Luckily it didn't end very late. I was left with about 2 hours (to my self-imposed cut-off time of 5pm) to shop. That I did and it was pretty fruitful.

Till the next check-up in 2 years' time (phew....).....

Sick Bay...The Office!

HELPPPPPPPPPP!!! I believe I must have heard 101 coughings from different colleagues since morning!

Will HR take the cue and buy the OSIM iLife Air Purifier???? :P

Half-day Leave

Finally I am taking time off to see Dr Thong. I reeeeeally hate it but it's overdue and it's important for women.

1 hour before freedom, I am engaging in an interesting chat with Addy (yes WL, that Addy we both know). She knows a self-confessed nympho, all of 29 years old and just got dumped by some guy who is a reflection of her - a sex maniac.

It doesn't help that Addy has described her to be what I imagined her to be - long-faced, long-haired, tanned and slim. Screams SPG (gosh, I can't believe you can find the definition in Wikipedia). Doesn't help that she was lousy at work (they were colleagues), that she took 5 years to get her degree (she studied full time so can I translate that to being stupid and/or distracted...by more sex?), that she has friends who have fuck buddies, (I didn't know there is such a designation! I just hope a 'fuck buddy' didn't include a dog or cat), etc.

I shouldn't judge. Afterall I haven't met her and known her.

I dun have friends like that. I mean I have my own list of 'pretty interesting friends' already, to which :B has recently been added. :P

Anyway, back to reality...dun get me wrong that I was chatting the whole morning. I was the good gal, having completed for Boss the Quarterly Logistics Report which I am convinced nobody analyzes except himself (maybe only when he goes to the loo to crap). Still, a job done.

Current songs in the car...

1. Dixie Chicks
2. The Fray
3. 1927
4. Hall & Oates (fantastic!)
5. Corrinne May
6. Lifehouse (my personal favourite)
7. Gavin DeGraw
8. BoBice

Anymore nice ones to recommend?

21-25 August

Happiness is defined as "boss is not around the whole week and I'm left to do anything my own, i.e. blog, chat, long lunches, pantry breaks, etc".

No Monday blues officially...YET!

Heaven is a Place on Earth

Yea, we all know Belinda Carlisle sang that. Maybe she discovered Awfully Chocolate's "Hei" chocolate ice cream a lot sooner than I did.

Intercepting my mom-in-law for the cake-buying (er...maybe it's also because it's her birthday and she couldn't possibly be running the errand herself!) from her favourite Bengawan Solo which I am convinced is borne solely out of convenience, we drove to Katong Mall and bought the usual Awfully Chocolate cake. Of course we were not disappointed.

If taste in chocolate is acquired, like that in wine, then I believe Becks will be in for a ride like her mommy soon. :P

Chocolate helps soothe me over crazy moments. It does increase that BMI of mine though, especially for those above 30.

Well, in life, there is a trade-off for everything. EVERYTHING.

Animal Resort...again

We brought the troops to The Animal Resort again. It being near home and having an hour to kill, it seemed like the perfect venue to go to.

I never knew there was an iguana there!! The usual unobservant ole me needed to be pointed out of its existence, literally right above my head. I was witnessing a dad guide his young son to feed that thing with a carrot stick, and how after that they were stroking its long scaly tail, apparently thrilled.

The sight sent shivers down my spine. Reptiles just freak me out!

DVDs from Amazon

I know the last you learnt was my unsuccessful attempt. Well I didn't give up. I just counted on my all-time reliable source - M. :P

The DVDs arrived last week and of course the first chance I got in the afternoon, I watched them. I saw "Happiness" first. To have an insight on what the show is about, please refer to this. It's amazing that Philip Hoffman won the Best Actor 7 years later. Before the award, my impression of him was always this under-rated actor, playing sleazy shit of a character which I remember most vividly as "Allen" jerking off on his wall.

I watched with JC at Yangtze back then. Honestly, I can't remember how both of us could see past the venue to focus on the good of that movie. The audience was mainly ah peks with umbrellas and we joked that with each lewd scene/dialogue, it appeared they would bring their umbrellas to the loo for 'personal business'.

Good show and most of all, no regrets for the fond memories. :)

Glorious Breakfast

The day started with a lie. I arrived the office, logged in, told Boss I had a bad stomach and needed to see the doctor. I headed straight for my rendezvous with :B. Possibly our last ever - breakfast at Amoy over prata and TT.

Today is :B's last day with her present company located nearby. Next Monday sees a new chapter of her life at another part of Singapore.

With all my kakis out of the company and out of this area, I am finally alone, officially.

DJ

I continue with Irritating Characteristic #4.

DJs with an awful accent, or whatever you term it. If you tune into 98.7 these few mornings, you will hear this guy, supposedly the DJ, talking in this accent which I'm sure can happen only when your tongue does multiple somersaults. What makes it even more unbearable is that his voice is simply NOT NICE.

Yo DJ, please spin mah song............(just spin songs and dun talk)...............

What is worse?

What is worse than being selfish?

Being selfish and indifferent/non-apologetic. :(

Lost...and never found

3x...that is the number of times I've lost my ATM card this year.

I finally called to cancel last night (cos with stupid/misplaced leap of faith, I thought I could find it in the pocket of some pants, shirt, bag, etc AT HOME, some day)...but guess what, it's already been cancelled. Apparently, it was lost outside and someone had called to cancel it. Got such person one meh? Or perhaps, now that I think about it, this person attempted to withdraw money using it, 3 times, and the card got 'eaten' by the ATM machine. OK, this makes more sense.................(and yes, I am a cynic).

Number

I heard on the radio today that to date, there are "over 1 billion" Elvis Presley's albums sold.

It hit me - do I know what 1 billion is? 1000,000000. 1 thousand million. I got it correct, as verified by good ole Wikipedia. And because there are so many hyperlinks found in one search, my search got me deeper and deeper. It was interesting....

In mathematics, a natural number is either a positive integer (1, 2, 3, 4, ...) or a non-negative integer (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...). The former definition is generally used in number theory, while the latter is preferred in set theory and computer science.

Natural numbers have two main purposes: they can be used for counting ("there are 3 apples on the table"), and they can be used for ordering ("this is the 3rd largest city in the country").
Properties of the natural numbers related to divisibility, such as the distribution of prime numbers, are studied in number theory. Problems concerning counting, such as Ramsey theory, are studied in combinatorics.

History of natural numbers and the status of zero-The natural numbers presumably had their origins in the words used to count things, beginning with the number one.

Blah blah blah...........

Then it got boring.

Can you imagine people actually studied and wrote all this?????????? I mean if I had connections and I can start over again, I would like to be a food columnist. Get out there, taste food for free. I will definitely not be studying mathematics.

BCM

I had an upsized bowl of bar chor mee for lunch, topped off with extra fried dumplings (definitely definitely > 511 calories). Now I feel FAT. Damn that article.

Lunch was with CF and Ben Son. His girlfriend, Miss G (yes, G for G-string, that lucky bastard) could not make it at the last minute. I advised that he ought to lose weight if he were to 'get it on' with someone 11 years younger than him. 1st to target would be his ass.

I read/heard from somewhere that to make that ass of ours taut is to cycle or make those taut movements anytime we are standing. Wonder how effective that is...

Irritating Characteristics

I pride myself for not choosing friends and not choosing people to talk to, to smile at....BUT! If you are calorie-counting, I would find it so irritating that I cannot become your friend.

I read that a regular bowl of dried bar chor mee has 511 calories but a soupy one has 385 (I can't really remember the exact figure cos I was too amused!) so if you gals want to watch your weight, please take the soup one. Yadda yadda yadda. Dun let me catch you ordering that for that exact reason when we go out please.

Irritating Characteristic #2: If you have a child, please dun analyze diaper quality with me. I dun care if Pampers absorb better or Mami Poko, just as long as it's easy on my wallet and my kids dun get nappy rash from urine/poo overflow.

Irritating Characteristic #3: Self-indulgence, i.e. me, myself and I (this does not apply to your personal blog).

*back to work. zzz*

Lazy Day...

I'm beginning to cherish Yamaha Holidays more and more. Mong is getting really attached to me ...but it can be difficult. He is having lousy nights. Jun told me he is up at 4-6am practically almost every night! :( Very tough on her. I help while I can but it's not easy for me since I have to work the next day and I'm also insomnia-prone.

I was watching Russian Dolls, then The Spanish Apartment then Russian Dolls again. I LOVE FRENCH FILMS!!!!! WHERE CAN I FIND MORE OF THEM? Fong told me Romain Duris was excellent in The Beat That My Heart Skipped. She watched it at The Picturehouse. I guess I can never find the time. Sigh.

If I were good with languages and had the time (erm, plus industriousness), I would like to learn French, Russian, Japanese, Italian and polish up my Cantonese. Yes, in that order.

Twins' 1-month old

Sunday was pure horrid.

Right from the start of the day, it was a mad rush. And poor Mong had to endure hunger pangs (which I later settled by giving snacks...which of course ruined his appetite for a proper but late lunch). Nonetheless, the obligation was fulfilled.

Aidan & Ian's one-month old celebration at the Carlton Hotel was not a simple affair. I believe the turn-out was larger than most friends' wedding dinner. To top off the unpleasantness, the whole place was not carpeted so noise was bouncing off the floor and walls. It got so bad that I was not even helping myself with the endless flow of sashimi.

I've never been a fan of events. To attend them with the troops usually meant of a lot rushing and ending up with no/very lousy appetite.

Anyway I consoled myself that such events are not held frequently. When it happens for my other friends'/relatives' child, my kids will be more grown up and it will get easier then.

And finally, I granted myself time away from the kids, especially from Mong, to get my waaaaay-overdue haircut. After having Kenny slammed me (OK lah, he was just being brutally honest...I appreciate honesty of any kind BUT I MUST LIKE YOU AND LIKE YOUR FACE A'RITE!), I wondered why I took this long.

So 2 missions accomplished. Not so 'horrid' afterall. :)

Piggy Bank

I finally found a decent and cheap piggy bank for Becks! I haven't started educating her yet but soon. She had asked me what it was for.

I've read articles that teaching a kid self-financial management is extremely important. Afterall I FEAR for myself if she ends up being a serial borrower or bankrupt by early 20s. And who would she look for then????????????? :P

I dun really know what character-building means but I'm trying my best to teach her that she needs to be responsible for her own actions, toward her brother... I think the typical emphasis from other parents is on academic development like phonics and abacus. I had a galfriend who proudly told me that her 3-year-old daughter could pronounce the 'th' sound properly. LIKE WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?

Tea Break

There is no official tea break when you work in an office located at the heart of Singapore, well, for most offices that is.

But there can always be unofficial ones.

Sneaking off at 3ish to meet :B was rewarding. Today's TT was definitely gooooood.

PS: Did I tell you I won't be patronizing Rafee's Corner anymore? I found out that they charge 10c per empty glass (:B and I tend to share). It's not that I'm being cheap-skate. Sure Rafee has its own policies but that policy ain't gelling with me too well, especially when #01-67 doesn't charge and their standard hasn't really dropped. Not to mention I still enjoy looking at Mohammad's (the assistant) poker face.

PPS: TGIF!

IT Security

Now why would I wanna blog about something as boring as this? BECAUSE IT WILL DETERIORATE THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE IN THE OFFICE! With effect from 1 Sep 2006 that is.

The Monthly Management Meeting covered 1 main agenda today - IT Security/Audit. One of the topics was implementing counter-measures....so yea, MSN, yahoo messenger and internet email access will be blocked.

I thought the usual nua management was just talk and no action. Seems like I am wrong. Work IS underway. Auditors from HQ will be coming in late Sep for the checks.

Sigh.

Zoo

2 4-year-olds, 1 VERY ACTIVE 2-year-old and 33C (or more) are a killer combination. At the expense of their dear parents (Tans & Kaws), they had oodles of fun........so actually, no regrets.

Off day...

I woke up with a headache that only went away with 'Extra' and THE teh C at Kovan (Uncle, you really are the best).

Brought the troops to Raffles Marina Club which was such a loooooooong drive away but the weather made it worthwhile. Captured in the vastness of sea...made me realise it could be my first time.

I'm waiting for Mong to wake up from his nap to go to my in-laws' for a gathering - dinner + fireworks (birds-eye view from there). In the meantime, I'm watching Prime for the 101th time while sms-ing :B at the same time (:B got the job in Japan but it is a 3-year contract). I love the chemistry between Uma Thurman and Bryan Greenberg. I believe in real life , they are about 8 years apart with Thurman being the older one. This can only happen in Ang-Mor Land I guess...

Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!

Sports Day

When was the last time we were directly involved in this?

Today is Sports Day at Becks' school. Her 1st one. :) I feel a tad guilty that I didn't read the notice from her school thoroughly, that parents could participate but it was limited only to the 1st 20 parents who signed up. Parents could volunteer as photographers, organizers, ushers, etc. so this was still consolation for those who didn't succeed. I read it only on Friday... so to be available today meant an urgent leave application.

I hope there will be photos... I will definitely sign up next year if it is open up to parents again!

Showdown!

CF and SB are in Conference Room 1 now.

This talk has been delayed for a few days already. CF has brought to Boss' and my attention that SB's punctuality and attendance record has been the pits for a long time now. Despite setting up the new 'penalty system' for late-comers, SB appears to be the only one who's remained unfazed.

SB exudes this aura or "chi" or whatever you call it, that nobody would ever feel comfortable with. Even CF, our dearest Corporate Planning-cum-HR Manager had to call me before going into the room with her, asking me for luck. You tell me, is she a hard-core difficult staff or what.

I await, with bated breath, the outcome of their talk. :P

Homecoming

Yay. Received news that Jess and Deb are coming back end of this year. They are my college friends who have studied overseas, stayed there some more, worked there some more...and don't seem to return ever, maybe once in a long while.

Has any one of you become fat? Heehee.
See you soon!

Ulcers

I HATE THEM! HOW COME I KEEP GETTING THEM????????????????????

National Pledge

Last night before Becks had her shut-eye, she muttered something intelligible - the National Pledge in Mandarin!!!!! So I joined her, realising that I have forgotten so much of it! I started the English version and pathetically, achieved the same result (or lack of it!).

I never thought it would end up like this; I surfed the net this morning.

We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.

Now I know. :P

Bad bad fall

Becks has a big, bloody awful (and ugly) scab on the left side of her face now, just barely touching her eye. It just screams O-U-C-H. She must have cried badly when it happened.

When I reached home on Friday evening with Michelle33 (she had an interview at my company and was so sweet to come home with me to see the troops), she was seated quietly, legs stretched out, watching TV. I was horrified when I saw that yellow and red patch. No thanks to the yellow antiseptic lotion actually; it 'glorified' the wound.

I was worried that the undue attention would make her more conscious and less confident. Afterall, I had mothers at Tien Hsia and aunties at coffeeshop approaching me, asking me what happened, bending down, scrutinizing the wound.

But she's gotten over it. She brought me and M to the area where she fell, trying her best to describe vividly what happened. The more heartening part was she had decided to wear her track shoes when we went out. Lesson learnt, I guess.

The over-protective me has been rehearsing with her over what she should say if teachers in school fussed or if students stared or poked fun at her.

"I fell on Friday and it's bad but it's healing. No worries."

:P

Another nice breakfast session

I haven't seen J and his son for 2 years. The Kaw family visited me when I had l'le Mong.

J sms me yesterday evening, asking for breakfast and so we met this morning, hassle-free.

Ichiro (son) is definitely gonna be one handsome dude, thanks to his half-Japanese descent. Ichiro and Becks, being the same age, took a while to gel but after that moment passed, they were really having a good time at the playground.

Anyways, kudos to J. I believe no (or very few) husband can extend such support - his wife has been away from home, on her 1st flight out with Emirates that day, to be precise. He explained that it's more recently that she had been showing intense signs of home-sickness (she is from Osaka). So the most compromising solution is that she joins an airline; she gets to visit her family both in Singapore and Japan most frequently.

I am sure it was not an easy decision for J. Also, his wife must have gone through a prolonged crisis to do what she did. I understand she has always been a hands-on mom and naturally, Ichiro was more attached to her.

J was my friend since 16. He went to Uni in the States where he met his wife. They attended my wedding dinner and soon after when we both had our first kid, we visited each other. The outings were never frequent but somehow I know this friendship remains.

I hope to see the guys more often. We did plan on visiting the zoo together on 10 Aug. Till then......

Retail therapy?

It doesn't apply to me. Friends who know me well know I'm NOT into shopping. Most of my things were bought when in dire need or when I waited for someone to turn up for our appointment.

BUT....I've been viewing this website for the longest time, admiring this Kate Spade bag and wonder if it's worth the price. Afterall, it is a casual bag which I can only use on Fridays and weekends. I'm usually drabby during weekend (OK, no excuse that I'm a mom), hopping from one heartland to another. Also, it is in shocking pink. Hope this is a phase.

I'm also getting sick of my purple Furla spectacles. I know I just got them. I guess I have a weakness for this accessory.

*10 minutes to lunch!*

TGIF

Talk about TGIF. I forgot about a meeting with Boss. Luckily so did he. Pinky, as usual, seemed to fade into oblivion even in his seat. NOBODY COULD BE BOTHERED WITH THE MEETING!!!! Even more luckily, I was the one who remembered and prompted Boss who said to re-schedule.

How I could forget, well, blame it on the distraction of MSN. Actually most of the time I can be in control but this morning, thanks to xxx (I can't even mention your nick!), I was drawn into the conversation.

The story didn't really shock me, yet I'm not totally composed inside (makes sense?). But rest assure, my friend, my opinion of you does not go down by 1 notch. Like I said, you just made into my impressive list of 'amazing friends'. Who woulda thought? Ben Son would have called it "Ripley's Believe It or Not". :P

Speaking of that guy, my colleague, he's into some unbelievable thingy now too - dating the very new Finance girl who's 11 years younger than him (he's my age so go do the Math). I didn't like the rumours circulating so I just asked him point blank, also knowing he can be open. Yes, he's confirmed. "Check product before purchase" I quote him.

Good luck to the dude. If it does last, when she's at her attractive prime of 30, hope he won't be fat and balding.

Interview

This morning I was the interviewer, not interviewee. Well I was just adopting the passive role since the candidate isn't gonna be under my team.

What a waste of time. After 45-minutes of blah blah-ing, I knew it. The expected salary and our offered salary didn't match by a good S$600. I have already asked our HR time and again if this was informed from the start. She assured it was.

So you could imagine the literal drop of the chap's jaw when we told him our offered salary. After he left, we had to discuss the next course of action. My boss...what is with Japanese and being direct?????? As if ambiguity isn't torturous enough in business conversations, he put us through multiple rounds of ambiguity. It killed me...and it was not even 10:30am yet.

In the end, this always does the trick: "So...what IS the conclusion? Can we summarize?"

PS: I finally got my yahoo messenger up *yay*. Can finally chat with DDD. :)

I lost it.

At 4am.

I'm feeling the after-effects now. Damn lousy... The last time it happened, it took me about 2-3 days to get over. It's gonna be a looooooong wait.

Quality of ...

:B returns.

We can talk about anything. I'm not trying to illustrate my point vividly here but I just feel like blogging it.

During lunch-time today, we were on the topic of something which led to family-planning, which led to age, pregnancy, quality of sperm, etc.

Yes, quality of sperm. She commented that it would be advisable for women to conceive while they can, before a certain age, blah blah...and it doesn't matter for the guys' age...

REALLY??? Please tell me surely there is a difference between a 20-year-old guy's sperm and a 40-year-old's.

Being colleagues AGAIN

I'm not sure if Mich (another friend of mine whose name is "Michelle", that is) will become my colleague again. She was my colleague in one of the previous companies 7-8 years ago. After not working for 2.5 years, she's keen on returning to the scene again...and with a job opening in my company where she has experience in, not to mention the 'nua culture' which will suit her to a T *sorry Mich*, I have submitted her resume to the relevant people and they are looking at it NOW!

To be colleagues again, that, to me is a DESTINY. Heh.

Cross fingers...

CONGRATS!

The news just came in....

Shen, CONGRATS for having found a job! :))))))))))))))))

I know from next Monday, we can no longer chat via MSN but this is not important. Glad you finally got out of the 'cycle'.

All the best....you will definitely be missed!

Lunch with Michelin

I think I haven't seen her for more than a month. Well, it IS a record considering she was my colleague for 3 years and after she left, she was still working around the area for 4 months and we met for lunch regularly.

Anyway I received a shocking sms from her this morning that she's tendered (less than a month, Michy?) and given one-day notice. So effectively from today till she lands another job, I quote her - she'll be rotting at home.

It was good meeting, catching up. And glad that she enjoyed Rafee's TT...even though I didn't*. Please dun forget to let me know when you start buying your 1st pack of Malboro (or Salem...or whatever brand you prefer). I'll do the Math for you and have you know that in a year, you could use the money for a nice Gucci bag.

See you when :B returns from Japan!

* TT is not TT if you want it less sweet (what the hell was I thinking???!).

PS: WL, sorry for pulling the last minute stunt. See you this Thursday!

Xiaxue & Dawn Yang

I really want to write about them, even if it's just a little.

One cannot not know them, thanks to STOMP.
They have so much make-up on they look so transsy! Especially Dawn. I mean I dunno the girl...I am sure she's sweet and all but gosh, she would give the Thai transvestites at Tiffany's Show a run for their money.

YUCKS.

Tissue

I went to the toilet to wee wee this morning and found one big piece of tissue stuck on my lower lip. OK, it wasn't that big but it was big enough to cover the entire width of my lip but small enough to not let me feel it.

What's the fuss right?

Well, I arrived office 15 minutes earlier. Between then and the trip to the toilet, I spoke to my boss twice (he called out to me). DAMMIT! Why didn't he say anything??????????? *hide face*