Home Improvement - the Garden Story

Once upon a time, we had a littlle garden....

It was not big but it provided a little greenery for the house. My hubby and Dad love to do little chores in the garden, like trim the branches or water the plants. Myself? Not a garden person - so I think I stepped in there less than 10 times in 2 years.

Due to the scorching sun a couple of months back and occasional heavy rain, the grass in my garden started dying and showing bald patches. Becoming a lttle unsightly. And my dear neighbour's old casuarina tree keeps "raining" dried needles into my garden. It's backbreaking for everyone to bend down and pick them every single day. It's even more horrifying to wake up after a thunderstorm night to see my whole garden covered with brown casuarina needle leaves!

This is the irritating tree that's creating the mess in my garden (*fedup*).....

Well since we can't get rid of the tree, we decided to get rid of the garden by tiling over it. This would make it easier to sweep off rubbish, dried tree leaves etc.. So we called in the professionals to dig up my garden. Look, no more grass! 

A huge concrete mixer came and poured cement over it. The process from clearing grass, to digging to eliminate roots, flattening the garden and casting the cement took over a week.

While my family sort of misses the little garden, we were hopeful for a cleaner look and bigger space. We also did wooden decking for the whole stretch outside the house, so that we can create a little sitting area. After much anticipation, the work was done! Tada!

We painted the wall a bright and cheery yellow. Now have a cozy corner where the family loves to have coffee after dinner. 

The porch area is big enough now to accomodate 2 big cars. Chloe is happy too as she can race around in her skate skooter and play with her bubble-gun. The whole family is happy again and no one is frowning upon that tree anymore.

We did our balcony too!

The End.

Jewelyn and Chloe

All thanks to being sick at home, I have the chance to review some recently taken photos. Came across these and think they are too cute to remain "in the camera".

No, they are not sisters although both happen to have the cutest, littlest eyes!

Chloe and Jewelyn love to hug each other, and it's so heartwarming to see them do that. It's funny though that their characters are quite worlds apart - Jewelyn is a sensible, mild and obedient girl who can sit still on the sofa to watch DVD or listen to adults chit-chat for a long time. Chloe is however, loud, noisy, active and mischievious, and has difficulty staying in one position for more than 3 minutes (unless sleeping). I hope both girls will grow up to be best friends, and close like blood-sisters, just like my sis and I....

[Tomorrow, Jewelyn will turn 3. Happy Birthday Jo, enjoy your holiday in Shanghai!]

 

God is Good!

I haven’t updated my blog for a more than a month! Life has moved too fast for me to catch a breath and pen my thoughts. At the back of my mind I know I owe this thanksgiving piece, to express that God is Good!

By faith I made a move out of my old comfy workplace. I prayed for God to lead me where He thinks would be good for me. Very easily I was accepted into this new organisation. What was amusing was that at the interview, the interviewer was the one making the justifications why and how my work experience would be valuable to the new organisation, instead of the other way round. That, I attribute to the favour of God.

My colleagues are really nice. I was even more delighted to learn that my boss and his boss are both Christians, so are the majority of my immediate teammates! I don’t mean to be overly religious here, but working amongst like-minded people gives us a sense of common purpose, mutual understanding and encouragement. I can trust that I am watched over by God together with His people.

Work is tough though – not only do I have to brush up on my banking regulatory knowledge, I need to learn how to manage relationships with my clients and the staff under me, manage my own time and the department’s resources, provide guidance to my juniors, conduct job interviews and deal with tonnes of administrative procedures. These are things I needn’t have to bother with in my old job! There are days I need to bring work home to do, after putting Chloe to sleep. Although I miss those pockets of slack-time in the past, I welcome the challenges and the stretching of my abilities.

Every day I pray for God’s wisdom to do my job. One month into the job, I am not on top of all things yet, but I know with God, I can manage better as I go along.

The Oldest Things Around the House

I love to spring clean. Throwing things away has a very therapeutic effect on me as I hate clutter. That explains why I only have a handful of old things with sentimental value in my house. Some people I know keep their university lecture notes, secondary school textbooks or erasers they used during primary school. When my hubby and I shared a home after we got married years ago, I made him throw away a fair bit of those things. Heh heh....

Since I am so free this week, I decided to seek out some of the oldest things we have around the house (partly also to show off my photography skills). Here are the 7 things I found:

1.  Chairman Mao Watch

We bought this during our first trip to Beijing in 1995, at some street market. Can't remember how much we paid, should be under S$20. In all Chinese regalia, Chairman Mao stands against the communist-red backdrop with his back straight and waving at you, albeit mechanically. The hands of the watch even glow in the dark. I used to think it was very ching-chiong, and so this watch remained chucked in some dark corners in my souvenir box. Recently, such quirky stuff seem to be in vogue. Not sure if one can still find this on sale anywhere in the world. Maybe I should have the strap changed into a nice leather one and start wearing it. It'll make an interesting conversation piece. Who knows, perhaps a China-fanatic may offer to buy it from me for S$1,000???!!! Any bidders?

2.  Folded Paper Stars

This again has to be 1995 - the year my hubby and I started dating. It was one of the first presents I gave him. Those days, giving paper stars as good wishes or love pressies was very fashionable. My hubby, being a much more sentimental person, has been keeping this on display. Seeing that the colour of the stars has faded somewhat, I recall now he used to displayed in on the dashboard of his first car!

3.  Movie Tickets

My hubby (again, the sentimental one), keeps a glass jar containing all the tickets of movies we'd watched together. Can see we were avid Golden Village supporters. I raked through the tickets and found that the oldest movie ticket was dated December 1995, "Santa Clause". Whatever the movie was about - was that the Tim Allen one?

4.  Coke Bottle

This is such a classic, it's one of those last coca-cola that you get in glass bottles. My hubby kept it since his teenage years, and when the wife threatened to throw it away as the contents inside looked like it could explode, he emptied the contents and used it to keep one cent coins instead.  I wonder if I could make a fortune out of these out-of-circulation coins if I were to keep them for 300 years.

5.  Wooden Vase

This wooden vase, no taller than 5-inches, is made from Black Boy tree found in Australia. This souvenir was a gift from an ex-colleague, Samantha, whom I met at DBS Finance, where I worked at after graduating from poly in 1993. Hey Sam, do you remember me although we've not kept in touch? I've been keeping your present all these years!

6.  Kitten Coin Bank

This glace-porcelain Kitten coin bank was from my mom and it dates back to early 1980s, when I was in primary school.  I didn't save a fortune with it though, as I recall digging out coins from the opening below the Kitten every few days to buy sng-beoy (preserved plums) and chocolates from the mama shop downstairs. The Kitten has a flaw - it has got a pimple between its eyes - and that's what makes it special to me. Years later, I let my hubby use it to keep spare change when he emptied his pants pocket everyday.

7.  Cockeral Coin Bank

This one is the champion!!! It belongs to my hubby and dates back to probably 1970s when he was a little boy. It's made of rough clay and the chicken is almost deformed. What made it classic is that besides the slit which you slot your coins through, it does not have a opening below for you to take the coins out. Coin banks in the old old days are made like that! To take out the coins, one usually got to literally 'break the bank', or you can spend hours using a pincer to pull the coins out one by one! And guess what, I think it's filled with lots of fish-series coins inside. I'll never know for sure, unless I, well, break the bank! Hahah.....

Do you have any interesting nostalgic possessions to share!?

Hong Kong 2010

Hubby and I visited Hong Kong in 1996, 2002 and 2004 on our own and with friends. Those were the carefree days when we could visit every nook and corner of Hong Kong streets, eat at dirty back alleys and party into the night. We visited Hong Kong again last month, with Chloe in tow. The departure was quite eventful (as Chloe had stomach flu the night before we were supposed to leave, so we delayed our trip by a day), but thankfully the journey was not, as Chloe managed to remain in her SQ seat, switching the inboard entertainment system non-stop.

I was prepared to take it slow this time - no chiong-ing, no dirty restaurants, and moderated shopping. We even chose to stay at Citadines service apartment at the quieter Ashley Road at Tsim Sha Tsui area, away from the lively Mong Kok stretch where we loved to hang out. The 32sqm studio was clean and comfortable, and most importantly it had a kitchenette for me to boil water, make milk and sterilize Chloe's bottles.

Citadines Hong Kong Ashley




Drinking yit-lai-cha (or hot milk tea) is Hong Kong culture to us, and definitely a compulsory beverage for us at every meal. I have yet to find comparable ones in terms of taste and smoothness in Singapore!

Yit-lai cha again, and again, and again.....

The infamous French Toast is something to die for in Hong Kong. I remember during my last trip, I savoured one at the end of almost every meal. I put on 3kg after that trip! What a killer! Those on a diet, DON'T even smell it - thick toast with generous spread of peanut butter in between, deep friend and served with a blob of butter and drizzle of maple syrup. I managed to exercise maximum self restraint this time. This was the only serving I had.

The to-die-for French Toast

The Highlight of the Trip - Disneyland!

We hesitated including Disneyland in the itinerary because Chloe had not been quite exposed to Disney characters, except for a handful like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and his gang. I wasn't sure if she would enjoy it.  Anyhow, as the entrance fee for adults was just HK$350 each, and Chloe tours free, we decided to go ahead. 

It was easy to travel to Disneyland on Lantau Island via the MTR. Unfortunately, describing the weather that day as very hot was an understatement. It was freaking scorching!!! Really, the heat sort of killed off the excitement for the park, as we all struggled to keep our eyes from squinting in the glare when posing for photos, and perspiration drenched through our clothing. Half the time I wished I was back in the apartment. 



Hot hot hot.....

Because of the heat, we covered under half the park, and focused on the activities Chloe could do. We took a ride in Winnie's hunny pot (it was too dark inside the conveyor belt ride to take good pictures on the move), but clearly, Chloe looked bored, and sometimes scared of the special light and sound effects. She did enjoy the carousel pony ride. Thank God for Daddy's company. I wouldn't have survived the revolutions - standing at close distance taking videos of the little girl going round and round already made me dizzy. I personally enjoyed the short adventure cartoon in 3D though. I think Chloe did too, as she could recount days later, how she felt gust of air blown on her face and water droplets sprinkling onto her during the show. 

Still, we pressed on, because Chloe wanted to take photos together with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. We spent many many minutes in the queues waiting for our turns. But it was all worth it seeing the smiles on the little girl's face....

Overall, it was a hot and sticky trip. We considered Hong Kong's un-pram-friendly roads and did not lug Chloe's pram along. We ended up having to take turns to carry the 14kg pack around, which allowed me to lose a bit of weight, despite the daily yit-lai-cha. We didn't manage to do much shopping, since the boutiques were beginning to carry fall/winter wear anyway. Chloe's best buy was the cute Minnie Mouse luggage purchased at Disneyland.....

 and I managed to bring home a lovely 'souvenir' ..... =)

 

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

I finally made the tough decision to leave my current workplace after 10 long years. Actually it did not feel that long because I had 2 good breaks (no-pay leave) along the way – once when we moved to Shanghai for 2 years from 2003 to 2005, and another 6-month break from work in 2007. It seems like just yesterday when I was a doe-eyed eager young officer joining a prestigious organisation, and full of hopes and dreams.

During my earlier years with the organisation, I was very proud to belong there. I loved my job, and felt good doing it. I suppose over time I lost some of the enthusiasm – having been tempted by the success stories of peers who left to join the industry, the opportunities for faster ‘upward mobility’, and the lure of higher compensation in the private sector. A combination of push and pull factors led me to pray for open doors, and to take the first step and send out my resume.

The job offer came before I was mentally prepared. But somehow I felt this one was God’s answer to my prayers as everything came about really smoothly. I took it up not being 100% sure of what the job was about or what was expected of me. I trust that if this was part of God’s plan, he will make it right for me.

However, it’s still hard to leave a place where I’d spent a quarter of my lifetime, not to mention the friendships and bonds I’d developed. Anyway, I’m telling myself to be courageous and look forward to life outside my comfort zone. Although I’m not in the least career minded, I do wish to have the opportunities to stretch myself further and discover my other potentials.

A photo of me at my desk taken 4 years ago.....

Sometimes when I stand across the street gazing up at my office tower, a surge of pride, and heart-melting emotions thinking what I am about to leave behind overwhelm me. I will step out of the building this coming Thursday one last time as an employee. I still don’t know what I’m feeling now – excited about new possibilities, or sad to say goodbye?

There will always be the fear of the unknown, and anxiety that I may not measure up to the new role. The only person I can rely on now is God, to give me wisdom as I embark on a new learning curve, and strength and courage to face a new world.

I Want my Old Life Back!

I have not blogged for about a month – blogging time is so hard to come by since the day my ex-maid Noneng left. Despite my occasional grouse about my forgetful and not-very-intelligent ex-maid, she was actually very good with Chloe. Chloe was also quite attached to her, which allowed me considerable pockets of time when I could leave the ex-maid to play with Chloe, while I relax with a face mask, do my pedicure, or blog.

Yatin has no prior experience with childcare, although she is excellent with housework and cooking. When she first came, she was quite clueless with how to bathe Chloe, make milk, and most importantly, play with her. We had to take some time to introduce to Yatin, Chloe’s like and dislikes, including her tantrums and what makes her tick etc. Although Chloe was cool about Auntie Noneng “going home to see her mommy”, and having a new Auntie around the house, she refused to be carried or even touched by Yatin. She would cry and start to get mang-zang when Yatin came near. So poor Mommy, often with the help of Daddy has to be the one to bathe her, change her dirty diapers, and brush her teeth. These are no easy chores when facing a 2-year-old who tries to be independent and wants to do things her own, and often wrong way. So many times I blew my top and started shouting matches with her, only to be scolded by my hubby and feel terrible afterwards for raising my voice at a mischievous child who just wanted to play.

She also could not be left alone with Yatin. That left me with NO personal time alone. To make things worse, Chloe came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease for the second time about 2 weeks ago. I was pretty stressed up, having to take care of a sick child, and juggling my outstanding work whilst taking leave to be home with her since she wouldn’t do alone with the maid at home. As a result, I was very tired, and almost depressed.

I know Yatin is trying her best, and she has learnt quite quickly, from observing us, how to deal with Chloe. The funny thing we noticed is that Chloe would be fine with Yatin bathing or changing her in my mother’s presence. However, the moment my hubby and I came home, she would reject the maid again.

Anyway, it’s understandable that Chloe might take a while to warm-up to the maid. I just pray that the day will come sooner. While I know these are the basic responsibilities of a mother, I admit I’m not the most patient person on earth. I’m just hoping that when I’m all made-up and dressed for work, I do not have to get dirty again changing Chloe’s soiled diapers, and my maid can ‘cover my duty’ during such times, and cut me some slack.

I really want my old life back……

Analysing Gossipers

Matthew 12:36-37 (KJV)

36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

I had never looked up the definition of “gossips” until today. I used to think a gossip had to be something untrue about someone or something, but is highly sensational, until my trusty Oxford Dictionary points me to the element of “unkindness”. That means, even if there is some truth in the story but it is unkind to the victim, then it constitutes a gossip too.

I had been the target of gossips a few times during the quarter of my life time spent in this organization. The first time happened very shortly after I joined the workplace, and the experience was emotionally and psychologically damaging. I felt really hurt and foolish because I was totally unsuspecting of those people, who appeared nice to me on the surface but was only spreading malicious rumors behind my back. The last time happened only recently, although not as damaging, but got me thinking about the whole mystery of the formidable ‘underground’ communication network.

The perpetrators will just regard it as a grapevine. The victims will no doubt condemn it as an evil gossip mill. To date, I’m still very puzzled as to who are the “sources” or “some people” that originate the gossips, e.g. “I heard from my sources that ….”, “Some people told me that…..” Sometimes I wonder if the sources/some people are the very persons who passed that gossip to you. Since it’s a gossip, the recipient of the gossip may never be able to find anyone to question the veracity of the story, because the messenger could claim that he (will just use “he” for ease, gossipers are equally likely to be a “her”) heard second, third or xth hand and the source is thus lost. For this reason, additional details could be added in to augment the original gossip out of proportion. This is just how wild the whole thing could get! Furthermore, the amazingly respectable quality about the gossip mill is that the perpetrators, like the secret society, will never give away the identity of the source/some people!!! It’s a 江湖 thing!

Based on my observation of the perpetrators whom I have come across, I postulate the reasons why I think people might want to spread gossips:

• He is insecure about his friendships. There’s a possibility that he feels that he needs to ‘offer’ something of interest, so that his/her friends would see some benefits in continuing to be friends with him. Who doesn’t love a juicy gossip? Success will build upon itself. Over time, nosey people will look to him for the latest gossips, and this person may become really popular amongst friends of the ‘same kind’.
• He is jealous of the victim. The perpetrator could be jealous about something the victim has which he doesn’t – a chio-er girlfriend, a friendlier relationship with the boss, or a recent promotion. Jealousy can make a monster out of a person, so in order to make himself not look so bad, the perpetrator could spread unfounded comments about the victim, “I heard from my friend’s ex-girlfriend that this guy is a jerk!”, “His shoulders must be so bruised from rubbing those of the senior management’s. Many people think he’s a suck up!”, “He got promoted purely because he can wayang very well in front of the bosses. I’ve heard his own staff say he’s definitely not as deserving as [this other person]!”
• He is just plain nasty. Some people have nothing better to do and their hearts are evil. Gossiping is just another channel of entertainment and it’s quite fun to see other people’s reaction when they hear of sensational news. It’s even more fun to see how the message he originated got passed around and distorted along the way. The more warped, the more satisfaction he gets!
• He does not think there’s anything wrong with it, as long as he is not the originator of the gossip but is merely passing on what he heard to others innocently.

I confess that I might have been a gossiper myself in the past. We are all sinners and are imperfect, but I am increasingly conscious that I should try my best not to be involved. I have succeeded a few times in letting the gossip end with me. Of course the gossips could fall anywhere along the mild to malicious line. Whatever it is, I hope we will still attempt to spare a thought for the victim, and consider if the gossip will cause hurt to him/her or whether he would be upset if the gossip got around. Remember, you can't escape being the victim one day. 

Good-Bye Noneng!

Last Saturday, I sent home my first maid, Noneng, after she fulfilled her contract. I feel compelled to write about my experience with and feelings about her - one mixed with gratefulness and frustration.

Honestly, I read more horror than happy stories about maids. It could be because people generally share more about negative feelings than positive ones. I was naturally cautious about them, but since Noneng was highly recommended by my sister’s maid, as they are friends, I readily took her in without much consideration. At a pre-employment meeting with Noneng, I found her to be neat in appearance and earnest in attitude, although she spoke very little English.

Frustration started in the second month of employment. See, I had constantly reminded her to keep the laundry the moment the sky turns dark. However, she always went, “No lah, Madam, not raining yet”. One fine day, when I was home and she was carrying Chloe in her sarong, it rained. Seeing that it was unlikely she could put the baby down and bring in the clothes before they got drenched, I ran out to bring in the clothes while she stood there fixated. Another fine day, while she was working upstairs, it suddenly poured and she rushed out to the yard to keep the laundry. In her moment of clumsiness, she had a serious fall and hit the back of her head, resulting in a big baluku. Thank God she was not carrying my baby when she fell. I had to spend 3 hours at the A&E that night to have her examined. After that incident, I sort of lost my trust in her, labeled her in my heart as someone quite stubborn, and had to invest $2,000 in an awning for the yard.

What irked me too was her atrocious memory. I’m not sure if she is not very intelligent to start with, or that because of old age (she’s 2 years older than me), I can’t teach old dogs new tricks. After 2 years in my household, she could still forget to switch on the rice cooker, switch on milk bottle sterilizer, switch the tap (between the tap and the water filter), or turn off the electricity for the awning after every use. Once she even forgot to lock my main door after she left the house on her off-day (I went out before her). Whenever I remind her of such things, she would always reply with a giggle and slap her forehead loudly in demonstration of her great remorse, as if it helped.

A very common issue with maids is their defensiveness. Whenever I point out to Noneng that some parts of the house needs cleaning, she would say “But Noneng clean already!”, then quickly go and do it. Worse still, she would ask me, “Why (so dirty) ah?” Why??? That’s because you never clean properly lar! Still ask me why? [Blood boil].

Because I’m so afraid she would fall again, I seldom ask her to clean the windows, and never made her clean the ceiling fan. Because she’s too lazy to bring out the vacuum cleaner, I allowed her to use expensive Magic Clean floor-wipes to clean my 3-storey house.

A few occasions she broke my things, my treasured belongings. These days I buy cheap crockery and stash my beautiful bone china deep in the cupboard.

However, I do reckon that these are not serious mistakes. It beats having a maid that schemes against you, steals your money, brings home a man when you’re out, or drop rat poison in your soup. I have been very tolerant of Noneng, in a way, I was held ransom as she was the primary care-giver to Chloe when I’m not at home. I am so afraid if I ever scold her, she would take it out on Chloe. So during these 2 years with me, I only raised my voice at her 2 times – when she refused to keep the clothes before raining, resulting in me, the Ma'am being drenched, and another time when she sent my whole dish-rack full of plates onto the floor. The other times when I tak boleh tahan, I just implode.

Despite all these, I am very grateful to her for taking such good care of Chloe. Chloe loved her a lot, and there are times she looks for Noneng instead of me. My daughter is rather active and can be quite difficult to handle, and Noneng has always been patient with her. She fed and bathed my baby well. Alas, Chloe’s language skill has surpassed Noneng’s, who cannot carry a decent conversation in English. Half the time she does not understand my simple instructions, and three-quarters of the time I don’t understand what she’s trying to say to me. It’s good time that I send her home. In any case, she also asked to go home as her mother is getting old, and her son will be graduating from university this year.

So, good-bye, Noneng. Thanks for putting up with me. I had no experience with maids, but you stretched my patience, and teach me to close one eye. Thanks for taking good care of and loving Chloe like she’s your own baby. I wish you well!

Noneng cried very hard when leaving for the airport because she really missed Chloe.....

Happy Birthday, Chloe Darling!

Chloe turned two on 22 July 2010. From a few weeks ago, we started teaching her to say she is "2 years old" and hold up 2 fingers at the same time. The victory sign, I learnt, is not a hand-sign that comes naturally to toddlers. She's able to master it now with some practice.

Last year, we brought her to the zoo, and to our dismay, she was not interested in the animals at all. We figured out that she was probably too young to know what those creatures were. This year, we decided to revisit the zoo and observe the difference. At least now she's able to connect the pictures she sees in her books to the life animals, and to name a few too.

But what a wet day it was! Although Chloe was still nursing a running nose, we decided to go ahead with the outing for she had been looking forward to seeing giraffes and lions.

But the wet weather did not deter Chloe from enjoying the outing. She was pretty excited and was running about. Luckily I had the help of nai-nai to 'restrain' her.

It's really a blessing to have this little girl, who has brought so much joy and laughter to our lives, especially to her grandparents. Even before she turned 2, she could communicate properly to adults, speaking in full sentences. Her teachers at the childcare centre were amazed. She also has her mother's genes - being very comical and dramatic - often throwing in elaborated and funny gestures to spice up her speech. She would go: "Chloe is a drama queen". Indeed.

Chloe striking a funny pose....

A nice shot of Daddy and his darling girl....

This year, we could not celebrate Chloe's birthday together with Brother-in-Law, whose birthday also falls on the same day. So I ordered a small Barney cake to celebrate with my parents. These days she's so into Barney - just gotta have the purple dinosaur.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY MY DARLING CHLOE!!!

I'm too rich for my BMW???

I really don't know why my friends think I'm "atas" (Malay word for 'upstairs'). Maybe they think it has the effect of upgrading my social status to someone who's very upmarket, which I may find flattering. I admit I do like some things that are expensive, but that does not mean I can always afford them. A friend once commented that no one on earth will believe me when I say I'm not loaded because I'm driving a BMW and live in a 3-storey terrace. Please, for the record, it's not a Lamborghini and it's not a Sentosa Cove bungalow. Besides, owning these things mean I have less available cash now, and possibly in a lot of debt. Plus I only own a regular branded watch and just one miserable pair of Ferragamo pumps (which are falling apart, by the way), and a few handbags. Half of the clothes in my closet cost less than S$50 a piece. It's unfair to label me as atas right? So many women out there have a whole walk-in wardrobe full of Louis Vuitton, Prada, Hermes and what have you!

It was getting annoyingly amusing (or amusingly annoying - sadly I can't decide which), when a 'colleague-of-a-significantly-higher-rank' remarked that he thought I was a spendthrift, lived a high-life and shopped a lot during my 2 years in Shanghai. Hellooo..... I was a poor tai-tai of a low-ranking employee, who travelled in smelly public transport. All the branded goods I came across were triple-A fakes, I did shop a lot, for groceries in the local supermarket, and spent in Renminbi! And just today I was being teased for not knowing Harry Winston! What is Harry Winston?? Who is he? I know my hero Harry Potter, but why would I know what Harry Winston is?? I learnt later, for the first time, Harry Winston is a luxury jewelry brand, whose website has this gigantic hope diamond smashed overwhelmingly into the face. [And yes, towkay, if can, now I also want THAT box (inside joke)]. See, I'm so suaku when it comes to the really atas stuff! What is Lee Hwa and Rolex man??

Maybe I should really feel flattered because people regard me as one with expensive, and I hope, good taste. Afterall, maybe despite my S$50 clothes, I still look pretty presentable everyday. Anyway, maybe I should do some introspection and conduct a thorough review of my past words and behavior to assess if I had fraudulently misled any of my friends into thinking I'm very rich. Sorry guys, to have caused you such an embarrassing misunderstanding! =p

Chloe had HFMD!

We've had a difficult week. Chloe started to have fever last Friday evening out of the blue and I gave her baby paracetamol every four-hourly. Her fever fluctuated between 38 degrees and 39 degrees and refused to go down up till Saturday evening. As I noticed 2 small ulcers on her lower lip, I suspected Hand Foot & Mouth Disease (HFMD), but dismissed it as I thought she could have gotton those blisters from poking herself accidentally with the Vitagen straws. I was also in denial as she doesn't go to school, hardly goes out to meet other kids, so how on earth could she have got it? After visiting the 24 hours clinic at Thomson Medical Centre (TMC) that evening, the doctor sent her home with antibiotics for a bad sore throat. [Indeed Chloe’s throat was very very sore indeed.]  Mom started to beat herself up, thinking it was the biscuits she had let Chloe eat the day before.

On Sunday, the fever was still high and Chloe grew more irritable and restless. She was drooling badly, crying and whining, refusing to eat or drink anything and kept pointing to her mouth and said “pain pain”! Usually active and jumping all over the place, Chloe was reduced to a feeble child slumped in the sofa, not uttering a single word. We thought something was amiss and decided to take her for a second opinion at TMC again. On the way there, I noticed very tiny red spots on her palms, and was praying hard it was not HFMD. But the doctor (not the same one on Sat evening) confirmed it! Fortunately, he did not recommend admitting Chloe into the hospital and told us to let it blow over but to keep her well hydrated.

Keeping her hydrated was a challenge. With a mouth covered with sores, she cried in pain every time she tried to eat something (she was definitely hungry but did not dare to eat). It pains us to see our baby crying in pain and there was nothing much we could do to ease the sores. We were increasingly worried as she had not had milk for a few days (sucking on the bottle hurt her tongue), nor much water, not to mention her usual peanut butter bread and macaroni treats. As a last resort, we gave her ice-cream as the doctor suggested, and thank God she ate a fair amount for some source of energy (sugar and milk).

I’m glad Chloe’s better today – although still not drinking much milk, she is eating lots of soft baby biscuits and drinking barley water. Looking back, we had the worst week ever since Chloe was born. Losing sleep from having to pacify a crying toddler who woke up every hour throughout the night was one matter, but going through the heartache of seeing your darling daughter suffer terribly was even more difficult to bear. I really hope none of your kids will have HFMD. God Bless!

Flu Away....

For quite a long time, I remained relatively sick-free. Two weeks ago, however, I came down with a bad cough and cold. I think the virus must be rather strong because I had 'survived' past a number of sick colleagues sitting in close proximity. When it finally came on me, it was like all hell let loose - I've never needed so many days of MCs in my life. The doctor warned that there was some virus going around, and I should expect myself to be well in 2 weeks, and she was right-on.

In addition to having to exile myself to sleep alone in the spare room for a few nights lest I wake hubby and Chloe with my noisy coughing in the night, I had to endure a few suffocating days behind surgical masks. I was so worried that I might pass the virus to Chloe. Alas, she did come down with a 38.5 degree fever one night, but thank God she was well after a day's doze of baby paracetamol. She still looked like she had fun anyway....

Being a germ-freak, I am very conscious of spreading my germs to other people. I also thought that after SARS and H1N1, people are more wary of coughing and sneezing people near them. As such, I wore surgical masks when I was at a bank (that I was inspecting) where we were put in a meeting room. I suppose my team mates were grateful and understanding. However, on one occasion a bank staff entered the room, and he was immediately taken aback. He stared at me with horrified eyes as if I had contracted ebola, and I swear he was contemplating during that split second whether to run from my presence. He muttered something jokingly, albeit nervously, like whether I'd had my temperature checked or something, dropped the documents he came to deliver and fled. Duh.....

So it appears like surgical masks are still not widely accepted in public. Honestly, when I see someone on the streets wearing mask, I will also take a second look to assess if that person is so sick I should walk 20m away from him/her. I think people should be more open to this very considerate gesture of wearing surgical masks, rather than spray their germ-filled saliva onto others in the MRT and enclosed places like the office etc. Agree?
 

Team Lunch

My very kind Team Leader a.k.a Towkay offered to buy the team lunch to thank us for the hard work in the past few months.  At the rate work goes, I wonder if he will buy us lunch every month! Anyway, we headed to Lenas at Bugis Junction, which serves reasonably priced Italian meals. [Given the general austerity drive in the public sector, and on my Towkay's 'gahmen' pay, we paiseh to request for Les Amis.]

My sticky Italian noodles!

Another colleague was raving about the cream sauce carbonara something.... with ham or whatever, so I ordered it.  Again, pardon my clueless-ness about Italian faire (see my previous post here). It was rich and creamy the first few mouthfuls, but as it started turning cold, it was all gluey and sticky. I only finished half a plate - well, also in consideration of the trillions of years my body will take to burn all that cream off given the lack of any form of exercise.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the opportunity to lunch with everyone in the team. It would have been more fun if team mates can be more like my friend SL, who doesn't mind posing for photos anytime and at any angle. No one wanted to be in the direction my Canon s90 is pointing, except these 2 sweeties!

YY and HN looking sweet as ever!

After lunch, while we were all fussing about what desserts to order, the waiters appeared with 3 slices of brownies on a hotplate, with a candle each. Little did I realise it was a birthday surprise for me (and 2 other gals whose birthdays fall in May). Of course the singing of the birthday song could sound nicer and more coordinated, but whatever! It was still a pleasant surprise!

Yummy brownie on a hotplate with lots of chocolate sauce....

LOL! I think these extra desserts to celebrate our birthdays went into the lunch tab. Thanks everyone for the little celebration, and thanks to....

The man who paid....

A 13-Year Promise Fulfilled

My family usually celebrates everyone's birthday with dinner. It could be something fanciful or something simple. Yesterday, we had a really simple one for my birthday. Brother-in-law could not join us for dinner as his mother was in hospital and he was on evening shift to watch over her. Both my nephew and niece were sick, on 'quaratine', and kept away from Chloe. So my parents, sis, hubby and I headed down to our favorite kopitiam zhi-char store at Ang Mo Kio to have a simple dinner. It was yummy nonetheless and oh-so-cheap and good! 

 Fried stuff are so yummy.... !

I claimed my off-in-lieu for May Day on 3 May 2010 (today) and set it aside for a day of relaxation and shopping. Yoo-hooo! This picture below doesn't quite qualify as cam-whoring, but nevertheless it's to be a record of how I look when I'm ahem... 37 years old!

The Promise
The real celebration is to take place today. My hubby insisted on taking me to Dan Ryan's at Tangling Mall. See, I used to be wearing orthodontic braces when I was in the university, which was the time we started dating. To cheer me on with the painful braces-experience, he made a promise to bring me to Dan Ryan's to taste the fabulous ribs after I remove the braces. That was 13 years ago!!! Well, somehow we never got to dine there for whatever reasons. Occasionally, I do complain about that 'broken promise' and how amazing it is we could procrastinate about those ribs for so long. So today, a promise is finally fulfilled!

My first visit to Dan Ryan's. Truly American style.....

The must-have baby back ribs?

Was it really finger-licking good and to-die-for? Nah..but it's ok. 

I had charcoal grilled chicken. 

After lunch, we went to Takashimaya to spend the shopping vouchers that my sister sponsored. Bought a pair of Italian handmade calf leather shoes. I think they are good enough - I don't need another pair of Ferragamos as they are way too expensive! As for my birthday present from hubby, I received it three weeks ago already.... : )

Avoid the Rain!

My mom called me Thursday afternoon while I was at work, and gave me a strong warning not to get into the rain from today until 28 Apr. She said that her friend read “from the internet” something about toxic rain that’s so poisonous it could cause skin diseases if you come in contact with it. She did not have more details, but before she hung up, she emphasized, almost in a panicky tone: “你千万千万要拿雨伞 har!”

Whoa, sounded like a serious thing. I looked out of the window – oh man, it was about to storm anytime, and hubby would be walking over from his office to my office to pick up the car. Immediately I texted him to convey the message and repeated the "你千万千万要拿雨伞" [die die must take umbrella] reminder. I imagined my hubby’s umbrella sizzling and dissolving away as the acid rain pelt on it, and feared for the paintwork of my car as we drive home. Shudder.

I suspected it’s got to do with the ash in the air from the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, causing acid rain or something. Hubby thought it’s quite remote that the ash and smoke can travel all the way from Iceland, but according to my colleague, traces of volcanic ash were actually found in the rain in Korea?

Credit: AP Photo/Jon Gustafsson

So I did a quick search on Google – if what my mom said was true, it’ll be splashed all over the internet right?

I did not find any confirmation that we are to avoid rain this week. However, I learnt that fine particulate matter in the ash could cause irritation to people suffering from asthma, emphysema or bronchitis if breathed in. The World Health Organization even said in a statement that the plume (ash cloud) does not pose a health threat as long as the ash particles remain in the upper atmosphere. The ash may cause health effects if it reaches the ground in high concentration, but these are likely to be minimal.

Lo and behold, this morning, hubby forwarded me an email in Chinese that he received, warning people of the acid rain from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. That must be the same email my mom’s friend read. See, the power of such emails causing panic to aunties!

Anyway, with environmental pollution these days, I do believe that rain with or without volcanic ash particles is extremely dirty. This explains why I never leave home or leave office for lunch without a brolly. : )

Girls Night Out!

I had a fun night out with a bunch of girl friends (who are my colleagues) last Friday evening. I haven't felt so carefree for a while, and I think that's because I was in the company of girls who are at least a decade younger than me! One of them even calls me "Janet Ma-Ma". Hahaha!!

We left office early and headed to Itacho Sushi at Ion Orchard. It was just 6:20pm and already we had to queue for half-an-hour before we got a table! These 2 volunteered to pose for my new Canon Powershot s90, while in the queue.

JJ said the seafood at this Jap restaurant is very fresh, and very fresh the seafood was indeed! Boring me ordered California maki, and we also had some sushi to share.

An advertisement shot for Itacho Sushi, taken with my brand new Canon s90!

SL took this shot of the tea cup. Nice angle!

 My California maki was wrapped in really crispy seaweed. Yummy!

This plate of sushi costs S$27! Wah... young girls nowadays have big food budget....

Very fresh scallop sushi at S$3.70 apiece

It's fun to be out with people who don't shun the camera. I myself am one who avoid because, as mentioned in an earlier post, my eyes will appear uneven sized in photos (and I haven't mastered Photoshop editing!) or look spastic altogether. Here's one which I look spastic, but this was because I was making a facial expression at dun-no-what, can't remember. I think I should still put it here becoz ZZ looked so serene and all lady-like!

The forever camera-ready SL and ZZ who's looking so demure!

Ok, here's a proper one. Us, plus JJ. QY was the camera woman

The girls already had the agenda planned out - we're to head to Marmalade Pantry next for desserts. Again, we had to take a Q-number. Before that next stop, we visited the 'vanity room', for some vanity....

Now we confirm who is the one who is game to pose anytime. LOL! I love SL!

I whipped my camera and take photos here and there, the girls laughed at me and said I was behaving like a tourist who's never been to Ion Orchard. Honestly, that was just my 3rd visit there....

Looking cool and cute at the same time.....

We were actually quite full already but since all the desserts on the menu sounded so delicious, we ordered the top 3 most appealing one...

Sinful choc fudge cake and apple & cinammom spice cake

This warm date pudding with ice-cream had all our top votes! Heavenly!

Well my day had to end earlier because I try to be home by Chloe's bedtime at 10pm. Thanks girls for asking me out - I really enjoyed myself! And seriously, I need to diet liao!

Thanks gals! SL, (me), QY, JJ and ZZ