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!