Still counting...

Geeze...time flies & a few more days it's end of year 2007. And gosh, I'm turning 30 next year!!! I still remember hoping that I could reach 30 soon so that I could put on weight naturally without having to stuff myself with food. To think that I'm now gona hit my 'dreame age' in a few more months...Oh well, there's no way to stop time so just learn to enjoy & cherish whatever time I have as a thinking being.

Christmas has just passed & as usual, I've had a fun one with my family. As 2007 is coming to an end, I'll do some stock taking & start counting on my blessings.

1. I am blessed to have a family & a big extended one with plenty of jokes, teases & laughters. I'm blessed to have a family to celebrate x'mas with.

2. I'm blessed with loving & healthy grandparents who always think for us & worry about us. They never fail to call to find out how I am when they know I'm not feeling well (partly because I never fail to call them whenever I'm on mc). Gee...I could feel an aching lump in my throat as I'm typing this...They'll always hold a special place in my heart.

3. I am blessed to have good & kind uncles & aunts who have disciplined me hard when I was young. I owed my values to them. they have also shared the parenting burden my mum faced when I was young.

4. I am blessed to have sensible cousins. They may have different perceptions from me but they have positive values. There were frustrating moments when I looked after them when they were young, with one having left her teeth mark on me for quite some time, but they brought back fond memories and they make me feel that time flies as I watch them grow.

5. I am blessed to have a sensible brother who shares the same values & has also found his other half who is a down-to-earth person. When he was first attached, somehow that motherly instinct came over me where I hope he could find a suitable gf. I'm glad he has made a better choice.

6. I am blessed to have a strong mother. I could have been one of the strangled cases if she had been emotionally weak. Her perserverence had seen her through & i wouldn't be where I am today without her. It's quite often a love-hate relationship between mothers & daughters I suppose. Though we have our difference, I know I will be there for her in times of need.

7. I am blessed to have friends. Some are warm, some are kind, some unique, some are funny, some are nuturing, some are big hearted, some are motherly, some are my mentors, some are my motivators. They have in their little ways, make a difference in my life. They make me wonder, give me ideas, make me see things from different perceptives, gave me advices, lifted my spirits, make me laugh, shared my joy...

8. I am blessed to be relatively healthy wihout any chronic illnesses (other than my weight problem). Health is wealth, I have taken my body for granted in the past & I'm not going to repeat that mistake. This reminds me to start exercising again after all the X'mas food...

9. I am blessed to have a job I enjoy doing, with nice colleagues & good bosses.Not trying to saka as my colleagues can confirm that I'm much happier this time when I went back.

10. I am blessed to have a roof over my head, not a big luxury condo but a flat which is cozy enough. I still can afford to buy the things I like, indulge in my favourite food, pamper myself with a facial or haircut & not having to worry that I may not have enough money to buy the basic necessities. I do feel guilty at times buying the 'I want' things because the money could be used to pay for the meals of the low income people. To control one's desire indeed needs a lot of 'cultivation' or perhaps having kids might have the same effect :)

11. I am blessed to have understanding in-laws. Although sometimes I wish they have better health so that I could go out with them for meals or shopping. They are not demanding & they don't really interfere much. I knowthat sometimes my MIL need someone to talk to since my FIL is a man of few words given his parkinson ailment.

12. Of course, I am blessed with a soulmate. Oh he just made me a fried egg breakfast today cos I'm having a cough & so can't take any Nutella or peanut butter jam. Sometimes he does certain funny actions which I thought were weird, funny but sweet. For instance, he said he'll go toilet for his 'business' after I leave the house so that he can give me a goodbye kiss just like any other morning.




His sunny side up which I thought is a little overcooked & dry ;p

He'll kiss me goodnite no matter how late I sleep as he's also quite a light sleeper. He'll cover me up in the middle of the night if my blanket is off (I'm a light sleeper too) & he likes to put his hand near me when he sleeps just to make sure I'm there.

He keeps watch of me whenever he's walking in front to make sure I'm within his sight...well, partly because I've the habit of being 'distracted' by other interesting sights ;p He joins me at my friends' gathering & prefers doing things together with me.

I am blessed to have someone who watches over me, dotes on me, loves me & also shares similar dreams & likings despite my messiness, occasational insecurity & unreasonableness. He does most of the housework so that I could concentrate to clear my own mess which seems a neverending task.

There are also many other blessings such as being able to travel to Japan & go to step into Disney, which is my dream destination; that both of us still have a job during the economic slowdown days, being able to get a new flat in a central location near to our parents, not having to face the trauma of a tsunami when Indonesia had an earthquake on the very day we step into Krabi & staying near the beach and being alive to appreciate all these gifts.

I'm glad that I don't take all these for granted & I will always treasure them.

I believe if you start to count all your blessings, you'll realise you really have a lot to thank for :) And yes, I'm still counting.

Cab Fare Fair?

Comfort taxi fares up from 17 Dec

COME next Monday, prepare to for out as much as 49% more in taxi fares, now that ComfortDelgro has unveiled its 'overhaul' of the current taxi fare structure.

This follows what it says was an 'in-depth review of the taxi industry to address commuters' concerns, simplify the fare structure and encourage call bookings 'to better match the demand and supply of taxis'.

Lesson learnt: Never complain too much.

City Area Surcharge
$1 to $3 from 5pm to midnight from Mon to Sat
To incentivize more cabbies to ply the Central business District during peak hours
The company noted the lack of taxis in the city at the end of office hours on weekday evenings is a frequent complaint from passengers.

Lesson learnt: Again, never complain too much.

For drivers who are afraid of paying ERP charges to enter the city and risk not getting a passenger, ComfortDelgro says it will even pay an ‘ERP rebate' to cabbies who cannot land a passenger within 15 mins of entering an ERP zone.

Now why wasn’t this introduced earlier?

Late Night Surcharge
The late night surcharge between 12am and 5:59am daily will be revised back to 50% of the metred fare - instead of the staggered 10% to 50% surcharges.

'Disappearing taxis' between 11pm to midnight? The company says no, 'given that the City Area Surcharge will be in force right till midnight, giving little reason for taxi drivers in the city to 'hide'.

Fortunately Cinderalla takes a pumpkin coach.
Well, this might also create a new scenic view for S’p – taxi queues seen at city outskirts from 11pm.

Peak Period Surcharge
Instead of the standard $2 peak period surcharge now in effect between 7am & 9.30am on weekdays & 5pm to 8pm from Mon to Sat, passengers will have to pay an added 35% of their metered fare during those hours.

Uncles & aunties, ah peks & ah ums, do schedule your medical appointment time during off peak times.

Refering to the current difficulty of getting cabs in the city during peak hours, ComfortDelgro's CEO (Taxi Business), Mr Yang Ban Seng, said: 'We think this fare revamp will better match supply and demand of taxis. Our aim is to try and ensure that more taxis will go to areas where they are needed most and at the times they are wanted most.'

'I think this fare revamp will better maintain the income & bonuses of taxi companies with the aim to ensure that this would continue until new chains of complaints begin before they do another price increase overhaul'.

Mr Nah Tua Bah, president of the Comfort Taxi Operators' Association, added:
"The higher city surcharge will act as an incentive for drivers to make that trip back into town."

Creative cabbies out there, kuedos to you who managed to earn extra income via your creative ways which has gotten quite a lot of PR coverage which eventually result in a fare revamp...or rather a fare increase. Hey, it'd be a good idea for taxi companies to engage these people instead. They might even have a greater business sense than the U grads or MBA holders in there.

And I also admired the taxi company for coming up with such a 'well-thought & in-depth' price structure which perhaps only a certain % would bother to remember the details. Thanks for setting the example for other competitors or rather, followers to follow.

Well, it's always better to have a friend than a foe or competitor right?

Sh**

Office was really quiet last week when most of my colleagues weren't around. Don't worry, we weren't the victims who had taken The chocolate cake from Prima Deli, we only took its durian cake. Most of my colleagues were happily holidaying overseas & I was also busy with the upcoming event this Sat. And all thanks to my colleague who probably has the 6th sense not to order our usual favourite chocolate cake for the birthday celebration for this round.

Now most of them are back finally & I'm more alive again with lunch time talks although the topic is on...well, shit.

I wonder how Prima's gona regain consumers' confidence after this fiasco. It's been one of my favourite brand as its cakes are soft & moist with reasonable prices & is also the 'official cake' for our office's birthday celebrations. During my sec school days, I used to patronise the shop frequently with my friends where we'd munch their chicken pies or tuna puffs after school. A couple of months back, I was also addicted to the Belgium Choc Cake (with rum),but it went off the shelf when it was certified Halal. Fortunately.

My colleagues suggested having a 1-for-1 promotion to attract customers. One even suggested giving a $2 incentive for those who eat their cakes as a show of confidence. Whatever it is, it's gonna take quite a while for people to forget. Being awarded an "A" rating for a clean & hygenic food handling facility by NEA, I wonder the standards of this certification. If it can happen to Prima Deli, who is a big player, it can happen to anyone.

Don't we sometimes rely too heavily on these so-called accreditation, certification from the 'relevant authorities' that sometimes, we don't realise that they are afterall, just procedures & a lot depends on the co. in ensuring strict adherence or sometimes, just simple personal hygiene habits of the food handlers. Apparently one of the carriers came from the place where our ancestors came from.

I see or rather, hear them everywhere. In trains, at retail outlets, stalls of food courts or other food outlets, along the streets and even childcare centres. With the spate of food scares from that place, my hubby & I have since stopped buying products, particularly food products that's MIC if we can help it. We no longer store Maling cans or pork cubes or even toothpaste.

The price to pay for turning to cheap stuff.

I'm not saying that cheap is no good but there should always be a baseline & I do believe sometimes what you pay is what you get. But having heard the scupulous things they do to earn a living, that's not gonna earn my respect for them seriously.
They have a long way to go & I shudder at the thought of them becoming the next big brother.

Of course, there are also others who are just beyond our imagination the things they do. One was blowing her that part of her 'hair' after finishing her hot spring dip; another I heard was disinfecting the gym equipment before he uses & yet, not using the towel provided by the gym whilst he uses the machine; another was blowing his socks dry after his shower in the gym.

One tip I've learnt today is never sit in front of the hawker stall that you bought your food from. One of my colleague saw an hokkien mee stall holder spitting into the bin that was placed from his wok away. He must have been trained by some shifu to be able to master the skill of spitting over the wok of hokkien mee & right into the bin. Perhaps he can consider entering into the Guiness World of Record for the world's most accurate spit-shooter.

Come to think of it, we seem to live a life full of shit. We kena the shitty work, some unlucky ones kena shitty bosses (luckily not for my dept), if we make mistakes, we get into deep shit and now, we may have eaten someone else's shit without knowing...Life is like a box of chocolate, you'll never know which one will have the shit in it.

*Pardon my language here. Too much of it during our lunch talk today.

Heroes

If you have a choice to decide one super power you can have, what would it be & why?

I'd love to be able to back to the past or to the future. To go back to the past to understand the series of events that had happened & how they caused the chain reaction of events to happen in the present time. Why? Perhaps just kaypohness & hoping to change some unfortunate events from happening or know the lottery number so I could win the lotteries, invest & make money, set up a company & hire those who really need a job and invest the money in an educational and healthcare fund. But having watched 'Back to the Future', my interferences could also mean changing the outcomes and maybe even cause more troubles as a result.

But if there's one thing I could change, I would go back to the past & make my mum meet another guy and my dad meet another woman.

Well, my hubby would like to be able to command fire or lightning. Guess too much of cartoons & comics for him...

One of my colleagues would like to have the power to fly - so that she could fly all over the world & save on air tix costs. Preferably all her family members would share the same power, otherwise she would have to make several trips just to bring them to wherever she goes.

Another would like to be invisible so that she could know what's happening. Somewhat a little like me with the element of kaypohness. Yet she's contented to know what's happening & not what the person is thinking, hence it's no to psychic powers for her.

Another one would like to be the invincible - able to self-heal & not suffer any external injuries. If I can still grow old and die eventually, I don't mind having this power since I won't be hurt myself easily judging from the occasional bruises that I have. Or better, to be able to heal others, so goodp people won't die because of illness...but that means I'll be super busy with people queing to be cured, doctors and nurses might be out of jobs, insurance agents have less commissions to earn since healthcare insurances won't be necessary. Perhaps, the world might even be over-populated which may result in famine if there's insufficient food or environmental pollution.

Perhaps the power to heal people emotionally may be a better power. People won't feel depress, angry, jeolous, agitated, hatred...and just feel happy. Perhaps without negative feelings, the world might be a more peaceful and beautiful place. No wars, no racism, no class distinction, no terrorism...

There are always 2 sides of the coin. When there's goodness, there's also evil. So while the powers are put to good use, there'll be repercussions. Too much of a good may not be good. To quote Spiderman's Uncle Ben 'with great power comes great responsibility.

So what power would you like to have?

Advertisements

As I was typing this email, my hubby came in happily, kissed & wished me a Happy Deepavali, & showed me excitedly an ad that shows a promotion by Zojirushi - $68 for a lunch warmer set. I asked him if he's gona pack home-cooked food for lunch in office, he thought for a while, & said we can use that as a storage. I'd rather buy a tupperware then since I don't need the warmer function & it'll cost cheaper, but ot wanting to disappoint him, I agreed we could check it out.

Such is the power of advertisements. They can make one think that one would need that product.

Of course I'm also one of those who sometimes fall prey to these ads & occasionally would yield to my implusiveness as well. I'm one of those who will end up buying more items from the supermarket when I'm supposed to get just one. Apparently, supermarkets have their own marketing strategies in the placement of their items. I read somewhere that products placed near the cahiers are usually small items that are likely to attract people to buy on impulse. Fortunately for me, my impulse buying only applies to supermarkets & not other retail outlets. & it's a good thing I didn't subscribe to many magazines.

Advertising is one of the powerful tools to get the cash registers ringing. Open today's papers, we see lots of it especially on festive occasions where people tend to have a 'buying mood'. So does that mean more holidays will give the economy a boost with increased spending time & mood? My colleagues were all commenting that JL & Robinsons keep having sales that they can virtually be 'forever on sales'. So it's time for them to change their tagline 'The Sale worth waiting for'.

We are bombarded with ads everyday & everywhere, from TVs to radios to newspapers to emails to flyers to buses, cabs, posters/banners on the streets etc. Most of them are enticing people to consume, while some are for brand building (which ultimately also leads to spending), and there are some which are there to educate, inform or change mindsets or even for recruitment purposes.

Recently we see a number of 'cosy feeling' ads by financial institutions which tugs at your heartstrings. & these types of ads are usually used by some of the government agencies to promote their messages. I'm wondering if such an approach is effective in reaching out to the target audience in terms of them getting the message or to be influenced.

I've attached some ads here by Pertonas (by Leo Burnette) which I was told that they are very touching & impactful. I've watched them & agree that they did create an impression & managed to strike a chord in me because I can relate to the ads. I hope you could watch it & perhaps do a short simple poll as I'm interested to find out if such ads are indeed effective in spreading messages & changing mindsets.

Advertisements

1. Do you like these ads? Yes No 2. Would these ads make you reflect on your relationships with your family? Yes No Maybe 3. Would you do anything to improve your family relationships after watching these ads? Yes No Not sure 4. Do you think these ads are effective in influencing people's mindsets/attitudes? Yes No Not sure Current Results

Wedding Dinner

I used to like attending wedding dinners when I was young because I get to wear pretty dresses & at one point in time, boyish outfits. I get to watch singers sing on stage thou I felf sad for them having to sing to an audience who are more interested in the food or talking than his/her singing. I remember there was once where I was 'traumatised' when my family coerced me to go on stage to sing my idol 江玲's song. It became one of the jokes of my life till today...Those were the days when wedding dinners were held at restaurants where wedding favours were fruit cakes, which I think serve a practical purpose since dinners start very late in those days.

Slowly, wedding dinners moved into the hotels. Live music was replaced with soft music & photo collages with video footage. Hard liquor was not as popular as beer & red wine & wedding favours have changed to chocolates & later, to bears, key chains, photo frames etc. But what remains pretty much the same are the march-ins, fan-fare for the 1st dish, cake cutting, champaign pouring & yam-sengs.

The significance of wedding dinner took a different stance when I had my own. It's an art trying to figure out the best seating arrangement. A can't sit with B, B must sit with C, D request not to sit with the boss etc. Who to be seated at the 'Red Table' was also one of the headaches. This was the time I realised that love does not just involve 'the 2 of us'. It's just not possible to please everyone. I also succumbed to my grandma who insisted on having sharksfin for dinner. For the sake of my in-laws who were not physically mobile & some practical reasons, I decided to do away with the champaign toasting. I even tried to arrange for a 'singles' table to create opportunities for new friendships. But thanks to the last minute decision of my relatives...my well-thought out seating arrangement was almost ruined.

Knowing the amount of work (& the amount of cash) that goes behind the wedding dinner, I have since then, been more proactive in my RSVP to wedding invitations. Looking at the video footages, I could feel the joy & happiness of the couples, their family members together with their friends & relatives. & I'm always touched to see shots of parents hugging their daughters (so far yet to see any sons who have hugged their parents). So attending a wedding dinner is not just which hotel/restaurant, how much to give for the angbao, whether the food is good etc. To me, it's a reminder of the significance of a marriage & appreciating the blessings given by the people around you.

Had attended my relative's wedding dinner held at Restaurant 88 last Sat & it was a memorable one partly because it seemed like a mini family gathering for us. Never mind if we laugh loudly at our own jokes, never mind if we pass the dishes to each other, never mind if my grandpa spoke a little louder as he was high on red wine. Everyone is genuinely happy & in the joyous mood.

We joked, commented on how each other look since they made extra effort to look good. Made fun of each other, took photos with my aunts' cameras. They even managed to make the bride's parents to take a loving shot :) & bargained on how much to charge each other for taking this photo. Let me try to get it uploaded soon.

It was a time of catching up. It's been weeks that I've met them & though still the similar faces, I felt
time has really made significant changes. My cousins have grown so fast that I felt time seemed to have stopped at the time when they were just kiddies. They are now already towering over me...On the other hand, time has also left its trail on my grandparents, aunts & uncles.

Of course I was bombarded with the 'usual question' of 'when's my turn for a baby'. Now I can understand the stress faced by those childless couples. But hey, I suppose I don't need to avoid such functions just to avoid those questions. Perhaps a good way would be to think of various unique answers to their questions =)

The usual shot with all the grandchildren

The Trio or 三面夏娃... or 蛙?

Having a stroll under the moonlight after the dinner ;p

Kids for Character, Character for Kids

It seems that there are many events happening on 3 Nov, especially so for this year. There's the Women's Fair by Simply Her, Hey! Baby 2007 by MediaCorp TV, my friend's housewarming and there's also the family seminar by NTUC Childcare and The Little Skool-House Int'l.

For me, I have it all planned. Will go to the Simply Her Fair with my colleagues the day before. Then attend the 'Kids for Character, Character for Kids!' seminar, to learn something that might come in handy for my future lobang :) And then off to my friend's housewarming.

I was told that this seminar was well-received where it had attracted more than 500 people last year. This year, the theme would be 'Enthusiastic and Engaged: Supporting Young Children's Positive Approaches to Learning' & they have invited Dr Marilou Hyson, an acclaimed international speaker & other early childhood education experts as speakers who will touch on fun & creative approaches to support the development of values & character.

Here are the details for the seminar if you're keen to attend.

Date : Sat, 3 Nov 07
Time : 9am- 12pm (Registration starts at 8.30am)
Venue : Orchid Country Club
To register, you could contact Lynn at 6391 9244/ Stacia at 6391 9248 or email to info@littleskoolhouse.com


You can click on the poster to see an enlarged version.

2nd Wedding Anniversary

Time flies. It was my 2nd wedding anniversary on 22 Oct & it was my 1st time celebrating it...we've forgotten about it for the 1st last year ;p & upon checking last year’s calendar, it was actually a Sunday…hmmm….what was I busy with exactly? Or was I in the mode that wedding anniversaries need not be celebrated?

I’m not exactly a romantic gal & am rather practical. I don’t believe in spending on over-priced bouquet of flowers, posh restaurants, and expensive gifts. Ok, it’s the thought that counts & it’s that special moment that matters. But I’d really prefer a handmade card or a card filled with personal thoughts/feelings. & I still didn’t regret insisting on not getting a diamond ring for my wedding band. Cos that could send me on a holiday trip or even 2 to Japan :) My wedding proposal was unspoken – a card where I had to figure out some sort of a puzzle with The Question propping out from a poem he had composed, followed by an anklet, something that I wanted.

Come to think of it, it’s kinda weird to propose when we had already signed on the dotted line to purchase a HDB flat. Well, I suppose it’s common among Singaporeans since application of HDB flats is one of the most common proposal tactics used by our fellowmen. My ex-colleague, who had previously stayed in Australia & married an Aussie wife, said that Singaporeans generally marry twice – the ROM & the customary wedding. I would prefer to combine to the 2 for convience & cost effectiveness but because of the HDB policy, we gotta get ROMMED before we could collect the key to the flat. But I was lucky enough that I didn’t have to wait for too long for my new flat to be ready.

It was quite an unplanned celebration given that we sort of realized that the date is just a few days away, phew! He managed to take only half day leave & I had to apply mine on the actual day. It felt different in the morning as we prepared to go to work. It was unlike the days where we just took leave to relax. In fact, we look forward to the later part of the day.
It was not all plain sailing though. Prior to that, we almost quarrelled over which place to dine as I was kinda upset that it was really very last minute & had wanted to dine at somewhere we’ve never been before. But hey, I realized that it doesn’t matter as long as it’s the company that we enjoy. And so we did.

We dined at Sushi Teh at City Hall as strongly recommended by my colleague for their fresh & value for money salmon sashimi. A plus is they offer nice secluded seats which we didn’t have the chance to try as it was rather crowded. Definitely will visit there again given the variety, great taste & reasonable price. Personally, I thought it was better than Kuriya.

Oiishi ne!!

Flavourful crab meat with some roes baked with cheese

Uni! My fav! Taste so sweet on its own. My hubby said it tasted like the 'sea'

Fresh succulent salmon with roes & caviar. All for the price of only $6!

Instead of watching movies followed by swimming as we sort of decided, we went for a stroll. From City Hall, we walked to Raffles Place & chanced upon a mini art exhibition along the tunnel leading to the Espanade & decided to be part of it.

Trying to get funny with a honey bunny ? This is what you get...

Friends from around...the tree :)

Setting our feet on the treasure map...

Oops! You caught me with my baby...with Captain Jack haha ;p

and our love boat full of babies...

Ahhhh!!!

Testing if it's real gold

Once men get rich, they get funny...tackle a blonde this time... ;p

I still think Asian beauty is the best hahaha ;D

Then we sat at Starbucks café for a cuppa, watching the world go by…

We continued our journey to one of the paradise of office ladies – Caltex House & Change Alley. I was disciplined enough not to get any bajus & am contented to just browse around. Whilst shopping, my hubby managed to slip away & got me flowers. Ok lah, once in a while. & he told me that he had 'bargained' with the lady & managed to round down the price haha :D

I ended up getting a pair of shoes as my shoes weren't too seasoned & I didn’t expect a walking. Was a little embarrassed to be walking around the shop with plasters on my feet & trying whatever shoes that can fit my size 3 feet. Coincidentally I found something that I've been looking for :)

Age seems to be catching up with us. We felt rather tired from the walking though it was less than half the day. So we decided to have our dinner takeaway instead. It was a fulfilling day. Somewhat unplanned, yet enjoyable.

It's actually quite good to celebrate wedding anniversaries. Even when you have kids cos couplehood time is important. Can be quite 'exciting' to go on a rendevous date with your hubby without kids, hehe...;p

The 2 years of marriage has its ups & downs. Indeed, it requires quite a bit of tolerance, adjustments, generousity & effort to keep it going. Our courtship days were rough where it took him almost a year before I accepted him. Then came the disapproval from my family because he was out of job for a period of time due to the poor economy & my family members were concerned he may live out on me. But somehow, not because of defiance, there was this strong inner belief that he's not that type of indecent guy with dubious character. I must admit he's had a hard time during courtship days facing obstacles from my family plus my KIVIGI (aka Kin's Virtual Girl) which is due to my low self-esteem, family history & lack of trust in men that had made things very difficult for him.

I suppose the 3 years of emailing without meeting up had sort of formed the basis of our relationship & his patience & persistence had paid off. Not that I'm the perfect wife lah, at least I make it a point to cook often & sometimes I try to do cranky stuff to make him laugh. For him, I can laugh at the smallest unnoticeable things. Try asking him to nod when he's topless keke ;p

So go on, fall in love again with your spouse :)

Bundles of Joy

Specially designed by Shawna

Some say women look their best when they are expecting. It is true, because they simply radiate the joy & happiness within them which you can't help but to notice it.

3 of my jie meis are now pregnant. One in her 13 weeks, which we were told weighed around 64g (where the daddy described it as 'slightly less than the size of a pork chop'); one is in her 24 weeks & travelling to Moscow with her hubby before she gets banned from all airlines; & one with just 2 weeks to go for her delivery, with everything prepared except for her own belongings to lug to the hospital when she delivers.




Preparing size S tummy for the shoot.



Presenting the S-M-L tummy-size mummies. Won't you agree that they exudes happiness?

Times flies...2 years ago we were talking bridal studios, wedding photoshoots, booking of hotels, where to get bridal shoes, dates to receive keys to our flats, renovation costs, recommendation of contractors, cheap deals for household appliances etc. Now, we talk about number of weeks into pregnancy (Note: pregnant mummies count their foetus growth according to weeks rather than months, so if you're like me who counts by the month, just divide the numbers given to you by 4 :>), hospital tours & charges, which brand of stroller and playpen to get, number of paternity & childcare leave, breastfeeding etc.




Yummylicious spread.

Mummy Gwen: Better eat more now before I get stucked with the confinement food in 2 weeks' time.



One missing jie mei who might be busy with her cute little niece, Isabelle




The blissful papas and mamas

I suppose parenthood is a natural milestone after marriage thou it's not on the priority list for some married couples now. I can understand because there are so many things we wana do in this limited prime time. We need to build our career, we wana travel, we need to build up our financial nest, date a few years (if you're lucky enough to have met your soulmate in your school years, you probably have more time for other things), queue to get new flats (which might take years depending on availability) or do research to get resale ones (duration depends on urgency or how picky you are), preparations for wedding (which usually takes about 1 - 2 years of preparation if you're talking about booking a hotel to host your dinner), go for honeymoon, adjusting married life etc. By the time, we're probably in our late 20s or 30s.

And...we are told to have our first kid before 30 because, a woman's fertility rate will decline rapidly as well as the egg quality after age 30 & more so after age 40. For men, the quality of their sperms will go downhill after the age of 35. Sometimes even if they have ejaculated, it doesn't mean the semen contains a lot of sperms because sometimes it can be mere blank shots or it may even contain abnormal sperms, which could also contribute to the increase chances of a miscarriage, not to mention the higher risks of abnormal births. So it's not just the women's thing. There

Am sharing this info hoping to clear some misconceptions about fertility & hope we all can make informed choices & perhaps hope that some of you might reconsider to place that as one of your priorities if you belong to those who want to have children later due to some other factors. It will be a pity if by the time you decide to have, it will be an uphill task or it might not be possible because you have passed the biological time. IVF doesn't come cheap & it's not a comfortable process especially for the ladies, not to mention it's not 100% child-guaranteed.


The most common reasons or laments I've heard would be lack of time and it's expensive to raise a kid in Singapore. While I'm not really a supporter of our local education system though I'm a true blue local student throughout, we have been raised to look at efficiency, performance, results etc. Civics & Moral Education is something which I thought is a luxury lesson in schools as usually they will be replaced by other examinable subjects, especially nearing the exams period. I'm glad to belong to the era where some of the veteran teachers focused more on inculcating values.

Values affect our perceptions, how we view things & prioritise our lives, which in turn affect our behaviour. Perhaps we have focused too much on the material stuff that we got lost & confused as to what really matters.

Indeed, it is not cheap to raise a child. During the conversations I've heard from the parents on the cost of pampers, strollers, clothes, playpen, gynae checkups, the hospitals to deliver the baby, enrichment classes for babies, infant/childcare, innoculation for the child etc, I realised a lot has to do with one's expectations. I have one group wanting to give the best to their kids where they would rather save on their expenses & spend on their kids & another group which believes in using hand-me-downs & not splurge on kids unnecessarily. They feel that babies & children grow up fast & it doesn't make sense to get the best or spend a lot on items with a short usage lifespan. I belong to the latter group, for environmental reasons as well as my personal expectation. I believe there are many babies around using hand-me-down items who are still save & sound.

Of course, parents would want the best for their kids. But I still think that the best gifts you can give your child is a loving, supportive & conducive home with the inculation of the right values.
If I were to be a parent one day, I may not be the perfect parent, but I hope the child could appreciate the little things in life, share & contribute in whatever way she can.

May all mummies & their babies plus daddies be happy & healthy :)

Things we do in a hotel room

This year's Dec is gonna be a quiet Dec in office as most of my colleagues would be travelling.

We were talking about each other's travelling plans & ended up having a hilarious & 'enlightening' lunch time talk about our travel habits, particularly in the hotel room. Here are some of the interesting 'rituals' that I find amusing, unique & even intriguing:

1. Courtesy call - before entering the hotel room, knock on the door first & mumble things like 'I'll be staying in the room for the next few days, so please excuse us.' This is to inform the 'occupant' of your stay so that it will not disturb you during your stay. Never mind if the 'occupant' did not answer to your knock, you have the room key.

2. Be my guest - if you have an uneasy feeling upon entering a hotel room or if the room has a musty smell, it could mean that you've got company. Well, at least it can keep you company through the long lonely night if you're travelling alone.

3. Oh my god! - I was pleasantly surprised to find a Bible and a Quran in the sidetable's drawer at one of the hotels I was staying in Thailand. I was shocked to realise that this means that the room could be haunted! & by multi-racial nationals too...

4. Shoo Shoes - some say to place your shoes neatly to indicate to the 'occupant' that you're only staying for a short; others say to place it in a disorderly manner to prevent the 'occupant' or any other 'Its' from slipping on to your shoes easily since it's inviting to see pretty shoes placed nicely, just like you can't wait to try the shoes on at the shopping malls.

5. Peek-a-Boo - some of my colleagues, including my hubby, have the habit of searching cupboards, curtains, underneath the bed & toilets each time they return to the hotel rooms. Just to make sure noone is hiding there. Some of my colleagues who prefer not to be stabbed to death chose not to do the search while those who prefer not to be raped & then stabbed to death, stick to the screening routine.

5. To unpack or not to unpack - this is the most contentious habit of all. Half the group will unpack their luggage where they'll hang their clothes in the cupboard & lay out their toiletries nicely in the bathroom. The other half (including myself), would prefer to leave our stuff in the luggage cos it's cumbersome to repack if you're changing hotels eveyday or in case of emergencies, we could just carry the luggage & run with our stuff intact.

I found it very interesting to watch my hubby (then bf) unpacking his toiletries & laying them out nicely upon checking in to our resort. It was just a 2D1N trip in Bintan. But later, it became something which I grumbled about, because to me, it's time wasting. Eventually, I've developed a habit to resolve this - watch cable TV whilst he does his unpacking and boils the water.

Speaking of boiling water, came the next interesting highlight.

6. The kettle or the steriliser? - some of my colleagues brought along with them mini kettles for boiling water because they found some of the kettles in the hotels with rusty heating coils. Some would pour away the 1st round of boiled water before boiling the water again for consumption while others hold the view that heat is sufficient to kill all the germs & bacteria... unless the kettles were used for some other functions such as sterilising socks, briefs, undies etc.

7. Home away from home - some of my colleagues' mums/ in-laws actually brought along their pillowcases & gasps, bedsheets & even bolsters! Come to think of it, I remember watching a documentary about how dirty hotels/ cruiseships can be especially when you shine an ultraviolet light on the carpets, bedsheets, chairs...you'll see stains of all sorts ie. semen, spits, vomit or even urine...in addition to the bedbugs...i wonder if ignorance can be a bliss. here..

And these people will definitely bring along their personal towels instead of using the hotels' as they were not sure if the towels were being sterilised properly...well, if you're like me who use the hotels' towels, you may not wana contine reading on......cos some of these people actually use the towels as floormats in the bathroom...yes, the very ones you wipe yourself clean with after a shower, the ones you wipe your face with......

Of course there are other pretty standard habits like taking with you the hotels' toiletries & bathroom shoes, covering the mirror if it's facing your bed, leaving the toilet light on (though not too eco-friendly), blocking the door with the chair or table whilst you sleep for security reasons, not using the bath tub as it was cited as one of the dirtiest place in the bathroom besides the toilet bowl (unless you have a travel companion like my colleague who will actually clean the toilet & disinfect it before using) & placing your money in different places.

Oh, one last personal advice which I'm speaking from my personal experience. If you can help it, try not to stay at hotels near places of worship as they usually attract a lot of 'unwelcomed guests'.

The list isn't exhaustive of course & feel free to add in comments if you have any :)

Can you believe it?

Gosh, no use of toilet paper nor washing his hands...well, it suits the website name thou "nothing toxic" ;p

I remember seeing a fella peeing right in front of someone's garden at Krabi. Saw the 'stream' going straight into the bushes...

The Elite, the Thugs, the Majority

"Society is, always has been and always will be a structure for the exploitation and oppression of the majority through systems of political force dictated by an élite, enforced by thugs, uniformed or not, and upheld by a willful ignorance and stupidity on the part of the very majority whom the system oppresses." Richard Morgan

This was the sign off used by one of my online friends. I just can't agree more with this statement.

Well, the statement may sound too strong for some to accept & I do admit that at times, I'm part of that majority. Do we have a choice then? Yes. But how many dare to make a choice?

It applies to the workplace too.
Systems, frameworks, procedures are created by man, yet, we are the very ones being trapped by something that we've created. Some managed to break through, while some continued to be trapped & moving in circles, hoping to see the light someday.

We have the choice & there are implications after making a choice. Do we want to take the risk? What if it affects others? What if it becomes an even bigger problem after making that choice?

Most of the time we complain about the way bosses treat us. But sometimes it's also how we respond to the bosses that affect how they treat us. I remember having a boss (aka the non-uniformed thug as described above) who would sms or call us late at night or over the weekends when it was nothing particularly urgent. We were like her PDA where she could enter the info anytime she remembered she needed to do something. I didn't know why I had that rebellious streak in me with this particular boss cos usually I'm an obedient staff who would conscientiously follow what my boss require me to do.

I didn't reply all her smses if I don't see the urgency to do so. It's not a life and death issue & it's just tomorrow that she could convey that message to me. At least an email would be less intrusive. It worked. She commented that she realised that I kinda 'switched off' during the weekends & that was why she didn't sms me that often. My other kind colleagues tolerated her nonsense until one day when they gave her the feedback that they would prefer not to receive smses, the boss asked as a matter of factly "Do you mean you prefer me to call instead?"

We all came to the conclusion & I'd prefer to put it as 'She's lonely' rather than 'She's got no life'.

After working in various organisations, I came to realise that sometimes we just need to speak up. Certain issues which we thought it's impossible to solve, may actually turn out to be easily solvable. Of course when to say it, how to put it across & the personality of the boss matter. I might not have left my 1st dream job if I had been more open about the issues I faced. But fortunately, he has now become my 'advisor' cum lunch kaki who shares with me lots of stories about the army.

Sometimes, I don't mind to be the majority just to enjoy that 'wilful ignorance' once in a while. Ignorance is bliss afterall :)

Baby Yu Le

Finally got to carry Le Le on Children's Day :)
My ex-colleague brought her 5-mth old baby girl
to visit us & brought so much laughter cum saliva to the office ;p


Oh look at her cute little socks. Yea, they are socks not shoes.





Siew Teen re-living her motherhood days ;p





Le Le: Speak my language...deh dah deh deh...must stick
out your tongue like me...






Ok, time for us to go and witness the world's largest caricature being drawn at Suntec.

Ah Kin: I can have Le Le all by myself later kekeke....

Siew Teen: My hum chim peng...

Mr Teo: I'm just helping Le Le's mummy with her bag...later I may have to carry another woman's bag....

Contradiction

When I was working at home alone, I wish for the hustle & bustle of office life.
When I am back in the office, I wish to work at home with less distractions.

When I was at home, I'm grateful for the invention of email & MSN.
When I am in the office, I wish that email was never invented.

When I was not working, I yearn to work.
When I started working, I yearn to do the things that I want to do when I'm not working.

When I was not working, I had more time to spend & ended saving less.
When I started working, I had less time to spend & perhaps saved more.

When I was not working, my personal mail box became neater.
When I started working, my office mail box became neater.

When I was not working, I have more things to think about.
When I started working, the things to think about remain the same, just less time to think about.

The common factor - I'm still busy regardless of whether I work or not & my weight still remains pretty much the same.

Comment from hubby:
The bed in the guestroom is 'visible' when I was not working & it has become 'non-visible' when I started work.

Mid Autumn Festival & Children's Day

Yesterday was Mid-Autumn Festival, or Lantern Festival where kids will carry their battery operated lanterns or the traditional paper/cellophane lanterns. Well, I always call it the "Mooncake Festival" cos "mooncakes is in the air" & you can't miss it with the month-long pre-publicity before the day.

When I was young, it was 'fire playing' time for me where I would find all sorts of stuff to burn. From lanterns to rice to leaves to wood to er...well, insects. I had my good old neighbour to share such moments with me until later, we had to do it discreetly due to the numerous cases of fire happening during this season. Slowly, it evolved to sparklers & slowly, only just eating mooncakes, yams, pomelos etc.But at least I was celebrating it together with my grandparents & cousins then.

It was a quiet festival for me for this year. There was no celebration, no lanterns, not even praying to the "Goddess living on the moon" nor eating my favourite yam & pomelo. I could have just gone down to my old childhood place just to be in the mood. Yet I didn't. Because I was rather tired after a day's work & I believe my hubby is tired as well. I suppose there are many others like us as well.

I'm happy that this festival is still celebrated albeit it has evolved into something rather commercialised with more exquisite packaging & it has become a time of giving for the business people other than X'mas & Chinese New Year. I wonder how many of us remember the 2 stories behind this festival. Perhaps more people remembered the story of the lady who took the 'longevity pill' & flew to the moon than the story of inserting secret messages in the buns (now known as mooncakes) during war time.

It's a pity that I've had a quiet Mid-Autumn this year but I'll make it a memorable one next year :)

Children's Day
Well, Children's Day is around the corner. It's been years that I last celebrated this day which we would usually receive something from the school (usually given to them by the govt).

There's an interesting upcoming activity this Monday, which happens to be Children's Day.

The world's happiest cartoonist, Peter Draw, is going to draw the world's largest caricarture on 1 Oct at Suntec starting at 8am. So if you happen to pop by Suntec, do give him your support and encouragement & find out who he's gonna draw :)

Click on the poster to find out the details. You can also visit his website http://www.peterdraw.com/ to find out more about this young talented chap & his works.

What to do for next Sat?

If you're thinking of what to do with your kids next week which is 2 days before Children's Day, perhaps you might like to make your way to Tiong Bahru Plaza at around 11am to take part in some interesting activities that will be happening.

There'll be a Family Photo contest & goodie bags will be given to the 1st 300 entries. There's also caricarture drawing by Peter Draw (interesting name right?) Well, he's a Chinese. Just that his surname 'Zhuo' is commonly pronounced as 'draw' & that was how his name is being derived, which coincidentally matches his profession :) He will also be conducting record breaking stint soon. So details are 'akan datang' (coming soon).

& of course, mummies can do some shopping there too, heard it's a place with quite a no. of shoe shops :)

Back to work

Am back to work after a few months' rest. Sigh...still didn't manage to gain weight.

Well, felt kinda recharged & am happy to be involved in some upcoming events. Will provide more details when confirmed.

Anway, happen to see my colleague's wallpaper which is the Happy Tree Friends. Saw this grossly funny clip which made me laugh hilariously. Click on play & select the 3 buttons @ the sides.


Want one? Go to www.geocities.com/testiflash


Oh, as you can see in the comments box, apparently it's the 'preggy' season where 3 of my jie meis are now Mums-to-Be :) Well, I better start to work faster on my curriculum development so that they can be my potential customers haha ;) Good to see more mommies. Hope that the projects that my colleagues & I have done have encouraged positive perceptions towards parenthood :)

A Rude Auntie

I never knew the extreme extent of ungraciousness until I met this 2 fellas whom I believe are Indonesians. I hope they are just tourists & not our PR here as I don't want them to smear our reputation.

Was looking for seats at the Wisma foodcourt last Monday for lunch & we went over to a table with 4 empty seats. An Indian couple went over to take the other 2 vacant seats. As we were deciding what to eat whilst standing at our seats (I remember placing my hand on my seat whilst thinking of what to order). A rude lady came & sat down with her plate of fried hokkien mee without asking. The guy went ahead to put his bag on my seat after the lady spoke to him in Bahasa Indonesia & left to buy food, oblivious to our existence throughout.

We were too shocked by their 'swiftness' & it took some time for us to register that they had snatched our seats. We stared at them & I was hoping to have direct eye contact with the lady. It was a futile attempt as she simply ignored us. We could have just told them that the seats were already taken. But we didn't. We were too shocked to react to be honest. We left looking for another seat but not without me making comments about their rudeness. Geeze, this is utterly rude!

I went back to snap her pic. So if you see her next time, make sure you guard your seats well.

My hubby saw the lady looking at our direction as they left the foodcourt after their meal.

I'm worried about the influx of foreigners as S'p tries to attract more of them especially with the IR coming. No doubt it's good for the economy but there's also a price to pay.

Actually I also realised that we seem to be getting ruder. A couple of times I hold the lift door for some, there wasn't even a simple 'Thank You'. Only some of the older aunties are polite enough to do so. There were 2 occasions where I was told (not asked) to hold the lift door for them for quite some time, yet, no 'Thank You' from a kid who asked me to hold the door for her 'auntie' (which was his maid) & an Indian man who asked me to hold the door for his whole family.

I wonder where our Civics & Moral Education had gone to...

Education is supposed to make us more cultured, knowledgeable & civilised, yet it seems that we see a growing number of rude, ungrateful, disrespectful, selfish, irresponsible 'educated people'.

We are rich in our knowledge, assets etc. yet poor in our values, virtues...it's sad isn't it?

Krabi - Final

Woke up early in the morning as usual for breakfast & went to collect seashells for last round before the tides come back.

Off for last minute shopping & hunting for the papaya salad & pan cake.

There it is! My Papaya salad!! Have been craving it for days...

There's peanuts, cucumber, lime, tomatoes, papaya, scrimps,chilli, long beans...mixed with fish sauce, lime juice, sugar...& you get that for just 30 baht! (S$1.35)

Apparently, there are more roadside hawkers when weekend is near. So what do they do as a living on weekedays? hmm......

My favourite pan cake - with mango filling. Somewhat like our roti prata but is very light. They have all sorts of fillings like pineapple, banana, cheese, egg, tuna etc. Though a small stall, it also sells fruit juices & baguettes.

Look at the generous piece of mango! It's "Umph" especially when drizzled with evaporated milk :) All for only 15 baht! (S$0.67).

Back to the resort to wait for the bus for the city tour before heading back to S'p. Went back to the beach whilst waiting for the transport.

But looks like it's gona rain...so better come back...gee, I look like a Thai 'lian' sia.

City Tour

Regretted following the tour. Would rather go for another round of Thai massage & had a sumptuous lunch & relax @ the beach.

The problem with S'poreans - punctuality. Just don't understand why they can't check out of hotel on time & have to wait till the transport is waiting for them at their doorstep...yet, they are the 1st in Q when it comes to buying condos, Primary 1 registration, Toto or 4D...

Had a very late lunch, or did I read it wrongly on the brochure that it was supposed to be dinner? The lunch sux..I was trying not to puke whilst forcing myself to eat a little as I had my breakfast 8 hours ago...the smell of the soup just put me off...I think any roadside vendors sell tastier food than this.

Struggling with my noodles as my hubby had finished his.

Didn't get to go to Tiger cave due to the rain (not sure if it's because it's the lack of time) & ended up at the 'Giant look-a-like' mega stall instead of Krabi Town. So in the end, didn't manage to buy much local products...so only managed to visit the Aquarium to look @ the fishes.

Our final stop - Tesco aka 'Giant look-a-like' super mart.

An unsatisfied day......

Basically the trip was rather R&R with a bit of hicupps such as the tsunami warning & the uneventful city tour. The rest are quite ok & we unintentionally had a tan :) We were lucky that the rain didn't thwart much of our plans except that we didn't get to swim in the crystal pool during the elephant trek.

It's a good place to go for snorkelling & scuba diving. Or if you're like me who just love beaches, it's good for sun tanning where all you need is about half a day to get burnt :) & after that go for an oil massage to soothe the tanned skin.

The price to pay for that is the red bumps that appear on my face & the freckles that are ever more obvious now hehe, but it's worth it :)

Well, this trip had made me realised that life itself is very fragile & if we continue our irresponsible ways of treating the environment, we may not get to see such beautiful things anymore. So let's try in our little ways to preserve what we treasure before we lose them :)