West Coast Dog Run

A rare outing to the West Coast Dog Run for Coffee baby. He is such a poser – he knows when you are taking a picture of him and stays still for you to capture the image. These are taken with my mobile phone.

My Daughter

Dinner with Choon Hua Aunty

Choon Hua Aunty was one of the many women who brought me up. My mum did not stop working when she gave birth to me. I was effectively brought up by my great-granny (who had bound feet), my maternal granny and Choon Hua Aunty during different periods of my childhood.

I remember how Choon Hua Aunty would fetch me to and from school everyday when I was in kindergarten. She would tie my hair in 2 ponytails, or 1 ponytail or 1 braids (depending on my mood) every morning. She would buy the toys that I want for me. When I hated doing my Chinese homework then, she would help me with some of them. Hee!

Choon Hua Aunty has made a lot of sacrifices in her life becoz of people in the family. She gave up the chance to work overseas; she gave up the chance to marry overseas, she gave up the chance to further her education....the list goes on. It was always becoz of other people that she made all these sacrifices.

Now that she is old, there is no one to take care of her. She still needs to work 14 hours a day to support herself. That's why I celebrate her birthday for her and give her a big ang pow during Chinese New Year every year. I try to care for her as much as I can.

I was in HK when her birthday came by this year. It was a belated birthday dinner; there were 4 humans and a dog. I ordered her favourite fried yam cake and we had a good dinner together at a coffeeshop zhi char place near my house. I gave her a birthday ang pow. I hope she went home a happy lady that night.

I have come to realise that sometimes it does not take a lot of time and money to make the people you love happy and to let them know that you care.

Quote of the Day

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

- Roger Caras

Day out for Coffee baby

See how happy he is to be out over the weekend. The weather was perfect with a nice breeze blowing in from the sea. It was his first time to Changi. The first thing he did when he arrived - he pooed.

Sunday morning with Satchel

I tried to attract its attention but it was oblivion to its surroundings. It seems to be looking for its mummy. I followed behind. It was not walking straight – it seems to be having some joint problems on its hind legs.

It was shivering when I finally managed to catch hold of it and carry it. It’s a boy, a very small boy; and he had diesel oil stains on his back. There were patches of bare skin on his body – skin disease.

The Hubby calls him Satchel, coz he looks like Satchel in the Get Fuzzy comic strip.

We brought him home and fed him milk. Then we brought him to SPCA. The thing about the SPCA in Singapore is that not all the strays brought in will be put up for adoption. Some will be put to sleep due to limited resources. I called up Action for Singapore Dogs, called up a number of frens but none were able to assist.

We could have brought him back to our neighborhood and let him remained a stray. But looking at how he was running all over the car park and crossing the roads, it will be earlier rather than later that he will be knocked down by some careless and heartless driver.

In the end, we decided to leave him at SPCA and hope for the best.

Let's go Retro!

Never know that I can look quite good in retro! Ha! The dress I am wearing belongs to my mother! If I ever have a daughter next time, I will pass it on to her!

3 kg!

Name the ways to lose 3 kg:
- Exercise
- Cut down on food intake
- No snacking
- Moderate sweets and chocolate
- No supper
- .....

What else? I hate myself! :(

Unveiling My Prrrreecioussss!

Several frens have asked for details of my new acquisitions in HK - so I have decided to post their pics :)

The brown one is from Coach Legacy's collection. This collection was specially created to celebrate their 65th anniversary. Called Legacy Shoulder Bag, I can use this bag for work and/or weekends.

The black one is from Bottega Veneta. It is considered one of their icons on the website. They don't bring this into Singapore unless it is specially ordered. Called Knot, it is a clutch bag and you will see me carrying this for dinners.

My next Prrrrrreeciousssss is currently with my bro in Manchester, UK. He is kind enough to help me get it when he went to Spain. Apparently, he was so afraid of losing the bag that he had to hug it to sleep at night! Haha!! Okok, I am exaggerating.

I can't wait to get my hands on it when he comes back in early 2007.

Isn't this pretty?

My mobile phone camera resolution does not do justice to the beauty of this design created on the foam of a cup of latte. And no, the latte is not mine - I am allergic to coffee, remember???

My Booty from Hong Kong

I have shopped enough for this year on my various working trips. Please remind me to stop buying and stop shopping for balance of 2006!!! I went to HK with half a suitcase and I came back with a full suitcase and an additional box! I just had a bit of time last night to unpack partially and this is my inventory list:

- Dried scallops, dried fish maw and herbs for Mama-in-law;
- Tops for Papa, Mummy, Bro’s girlfren, Wei Ling, LayBeen and myself
- 4 pairs of shoes: 2 from Geoxx and 2 from a store on the street;
- 3 bottles of perfume, 2 tubes of hand cream, 1 bottle of body lotion and 1 bottle of body scrub;
- 1 wristlet, 1 handbag and 1 evening bag;
- 1 watch;
- 2 fridge magnets;
- Treats for Coffee;
- Lots of chewing gum.

This is so fun for my mental health but its soooooo bad for my financial health!!

One week in Hong Kong

Day time is the same for me Monday through Friday. Starts with breakfast in the conference room. Meeting, meeting, discuss, discuss. Break for 15 mins lunch in the conference room (they trying to keep us contained together) and then discuss some more! At the same time, I still had emails coming in everyday from the team back in Singapore. So its like doing two jobs at the same time.

Evenings were more fun:
Monday evening – mega headache from the stress of the first day. Went back hotel room to zzzzzz it off.

Tuesday evening – Social dinner with colleagues at Gaiga, an Italian restaurant. Don’t ask me why we are having Italian food in HK where there are so many other options for good food….

Wednesday evening – met up with Jeff who is working in DBS HK. Went to Lei Garden for dinner. Though it belongs to the same chain as the Lei Garden in Chjmes Singapore, the food on the menu is really different. Walked around a bit after and bought 2 pairs of Geoxx shoes, some toiletries and perfumes.

Thursday evening – Social dinner with colleagues at The China Club. Apparently, this place is only open to members only and you have to pay through your nose to be a member. Chinese food. Very nice.

Friday evening – My Big Boss brought us out shopping! We wanted to buy dried scallops, fish maws etc for making soups and she knows the best place to buy such things coz she spent 10 years working in HK. Thereafter, the 5 of us took the tram for Hairy Crab dinner! It’s the season now and I must say it is really good (and this coming from someone who is not into crabs). Suddenly thought of my mum while eating the crabs coz my mum loves crabs!

Saturday – went out for dim sum breakfast with colleagues. Then took the ferry across to Tsim Shah Tsui and walked around. Bought a t-shirt for my dad. Had a hair cut. Met up with Big Boss again for dinner. She brought us to this Korean BBQ place. And again, I have to admit that the beef was really very good (and this coming from someone who is not into beef!). My Big Boss really knows all the good makan places in HK. Then went shopping around after dinner. She knows the storekeepers and was helping us to bargain. I bought 2 more pairs of shoes, 2 tops and a bottle of fermented beancurd for my mum. Nightcap was soy bean curd at one of the famous stores in HK.

Sunday – checked out of hotel. Met up with Wugui, Winston and Faith for lunch. Then went shopping at Esprit factory outlet. Then took the bus to Stanley market. Really nice bus ride. Walked around the market; bought 2 fridge magnets. We parted at 6pm; I had a great day. It was good to catch up with a good fren.

Took a cab to the airport. At the airport, bought a Armani watch, handbags and some “Wife’s biscuits” for family. Flight was delayed. Touched down Singapore on Mon morning 1230am.

Monday – reached home. I didn’t have the energy to unpack everything. Slept at 2am. Woke up at 7am. Got into the car. The Hubby tried starting the car but it couldn’t start. We stared at each other. I said “Let’s go for breakfast while you call the workshop”. What an eventful start to the new week.

Lei Hou Mah?

545am – The alarm clock rings. I felt that I have not even fallen asleep!

645am – @ Changi airport. Had McDonald breakfast with The Hubby. It’s a routine we share whenever one of us flies – we always eat at Mc before the flight.

120pm – Touched down in HK with 2 other colleagues. Took the Airport Express train to Central before taking a cab to the hotel. This is the view from my hotel room.
3pm – Lunch at the famous Yung Khee. Roast goose!

4pm-5pm – Walked around the streets a bit. Bought a blouse for my mum.

6pm – Back in hotel conference room with Big Boss for a preparation meeting before the week starts.

8pm – Dinner at hotel Japanese restaurant with Big Boss, Boss and another colleague. Very nice! Yummy!

Countdown to start of week…

Before Hong Kong

Hong Kong minus 2 days
9am - Came in to work. I didnt step out of the office the whole day.

Hong Kong minus 1 day
8am - Left the office; after spending almost 24 hours in there. I saw the sun rise earlier from my office window. I dont feel good; it feels like my body is separate from my mind, there is this surreal feeling. I think I am beginning to hallucinate. Everything seeeems tooo beeee innnn slo-o-oww motioooon.....

10am-1pm - In Lala land. Woken up by calls re work. Went for lunch.

3pm-6pm - Alternate between packing and napping.

7pm - Dinner with family. I always make it a point to have dinner with my family before I fly – you know just in case I die in a plane crash, at least I know that I had spent some time with my loved ones. :P Coffee smells really nice just after his weekly shower.

11pm - Drifting into Lala land...will never be able to recover the sleep debt from yesterday.

VIP II

I don't have frens from primary school and I don't have frens from secondary school. I always envy those people who have frens whom they have known for like 25 years. But I also do realise that sometimes it is not really about the amount of time you have known each other as frens (even though the longer the time do means that you will have more things to share), but it is also about the chemistry, the trust, the love and the willingness to share about maintaining a frenship. To me, it takes 2 hands to clap; both parties have to be willing to maintain a frenship; to give and to take. That's why we are not frens with everyone.

I have a few groups of close frens and for the most part, they have stayed distinct from one another. Some groups are bigger than others and some are just individuals. These are frens from different parts/times of my life and some were there with me when I was happy, some were there with me when I was at my lowest. The interesting thing about having frens is that you tend to share different things with different frens.

So here are my groups of frens, in no particular order of merit (and to be fair, I decided to name them in the order of the duration that I have known them):

Jit Hua & Zhiwei
Jit Hua and I were in the same class back in college (that means I have known him for 13 years). I knew Zhiwei through Jit Hua. Jit Hua is a really smart guy; he doesn't attend all lectures, he is always late for school ( I remember him having to water plants as a punishment!), he dozes off in class and yet his school results were outstanding. I remembered I was very stressed about the "A" levels exams and Jit Hua actually drew me a picture of a rainbow with a poem to encourage me. I was so touched. I attended his wedding in KL and he is now happily married to a Taiwanese and a father of one boy. I hang out and catch up with him whenever I am in KL for work.

Zhiwei is the first fren I have that rides a bike and it was coz of him giving me pillion rides on his bike that made me want to learn to ride a bike! And no, I still cant ride yet but thats another blog altogether. We used to hang out together quite often and he would tease me by calling me "Ah Girl" coz he heard my late granny calling me that. We are not as close as we used to be now but I know that I can always go to him for help/advice.

Jungle People
There are 6 of us in the group. I knew 2 of them from college but we were not really that close then. I know the other 3 in NTU Hall 4. The 6 of us have done so many crazy things when we were staying together in the hostel.

The reason why we call ourselves the JP is coz we have 5 animals in the group and 1 washing machine. Don’t ask me how the washing machine came about. There is

Bear – married with a daughter. Used to be crazy about Keanu Reeves and loves cornflakes. Has a great sense of humour and tons of principles. Forever grateful to her for helping me in my times of need.

Wugui – married with a daughter. Currently a tai tai in HK. Used to have a lot of guys crazy over her in NTU (mabbe there still are now, married or not!). Always able to see the better side of things/people.

Gorilla – my room-mate for 2 years. Used to tease her for being chee-na by sleeping on bamboo-strips. Always ready to help when asked and not expecting anything in return.

Elephant – Bear’s room-mate and they are as different as chalk and cheese. Very tall. Am not as close to her as the others but she is part of the group nonetheless.

Washing Machine – married with a son. Very pragmatic person and knows exactly what she wants at each point in her life.

Bird – that’s yours truly!

The group has kinda expanded when we got married and some of them started having kids. The men in our lives have kinda become good frens for our sake as well :P We had been through a lot together growing up and though it is becoming more difficult to meet up now with kids and all, I know that these are the frens that I want to grow old with.

LayBeen, Serene & PohLian
LayBeen and Serene were from Hall 4 in NTU as well. I know PohLian through the both of them. The 4 of us used to live very near to each other until Serene moved to the US with her hubby and PohLian bought a place in the East. Its really good that we can share a cab back home together after the pubbing! LayBeen and I always try to meet up to go jogging together. The 3 of us are arranging for a trip together early next year to celebrate our entry into the 30’s!

Ching Khee
He was my classmate from the first school semester in NTU. Very smart guy coz he doesn’t seem to study much and yet graduated with First Class! He is still working at his first job since graduation. We meet up twice a year for each other’s birthday; its 6 months apart. And its always fun to catch up wit him coz he always has tons of stories to share about his travels and his family.

Ng Chye Hua
This is the guy who listened quietly when I was at one of the lowest point in my life. This is the guy who piggybacks me up the stairs when I was on crutches so that I don’t have to do it step by step myself. This is the guy who brought me out to eat ice cream and look at stars when I was sad. This is the guy who would drive all the way to pick me up and meet me coz I want to meet him for lunch. This is the guy who does not judge me for the things that I had done. Need I say more?

Peng Yews
This is my bunch of buddies from Accenture. All of us speak Hokkien and we call each other Peng Yews. There are 6 (again!) of us; 5 guys and 1 lady (yeah, that’s me!). We joined Accenture around the same time. When we were much younger, we used to go partying EVERY Friday in Mohd Sultan. We have been to most, if not all the pubs along the MS stretch. We have seen one another getting drunk, seen one another puking by the side of the road and doing silly things. Of course, we do wholesome things like BBQ, dinners, coffee, baby showers as well.

We have stopped the partying as we grow older but we still make it a point to meet up on a regular basis. I caught up with William for my birthday and will be catching up with Jeff when I am in HK.

WeiLing & Tonny
Both of them reported to me when I was working on a project in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We became good frens after that. WeiLing is always so excited and helpful whenever I go up to KL whether to visit or to work. She’ll offer to bring me around for food and shopping. We have attended each other’s weddings (she married a doctor) and she is always so encouraging whenever I go through bad times.

Tonny is a very nice guy who will offer to bring me around and hang out together whenever I am in KL. I remember that there was once when I made him wait for more than 2 hours while I had my hair done at the salon. I felt so bad. He was angry but the anger went away in like a minute – that’s Tonny; not one to be angry for long.

Henry
Was an intern in my team on a project in Accenture. We became good frens after that. He dotes on Coffee a lot and is crazy about Selina from the SHE group. The thing about Henry is that he is very accommodating and I can always count on him for help – for anything. He helped me with my errands, he lent me his listening ear, he supported me in the decisions that I made. He hand-made my birthday pressie for me last year – how rare is that for a guy!

Jessie & Samuel
Jessie & Samuel were in the same project team as Henry. However, due to work and schedules constraints, I don’t keep in touch with them as often as I do with Henry. But we try to hang out once in a while especially since the 3 of us work in the same area. These 2 fellows can be trusted to come up with the funkiest ideas anytime. One tried to get me to attend a Halloween party in costume while another encouraged my bro to try drugs in UK!

SB folks
I know these people through an Internet forum. Our love for our furkids brought us together. There are Miu Miu, Scruffy, Kristel, Tabbie, Twister, Furby and my Coffee (In case you are wondering, these are the names of the doggies!). We MSN, we chat in forums, we hang out together at Sentosa where our furkids can go off-leash and get a good swim in the sea. From them, I learnt good tips and tricks about caring for Coffee; from them, I learnt about unconditional love for animals; from them, I learnt about some of life's important lessons which are not related to doggies. I may not have grown up together with these folks and I may not share my deepest darkest secrets with them but the amazing thing is that we do share a special kind of bond within the group.

At the end of the day, why do you become frens with some and not with others? It's all about chemistry....

VIP I

Inspired by a fren's blog about people in her life, I was thinking about the people important in my life when I was walking home one day. Family is important; I also realise that I dont have a lot of close frens but those close frens that I have - I know that I can depend on them for help anytime. So here is my Oscars speech when the day comes:

Top of the list - my family
And that = The Hubby, Papa, Mummy, Chia Yew Hai & Coffee!
The Hubby - for being the ever understanding man in my life; for being the caring man that he is.

Papa - for being the most important man in my life for the longest time; for working hard and bringing home the bacon; for teaching me what it means to make a honest living and being true to one's values & principles; for showing me the importance of frens in life; for his undying love to Mummy; for being the honest man that he is.

Mummy - for the sacrifices made for the family; for being there to help wipe away the tears; for always stocking up the home fridge with food so that we will never go hungry; for being willing to help with anything anytime; for being the forgiving woman that she is.

Chia Yew Hai - for being the quiet bro in the background; for being a fighting partner when we were younger; for growing up together with me; for teaching me what it means to have a kind heart; for the hip things that he taught me; for being willing to extend assistance whenever needed; for loving Coffee; for being the helpful bro that he is.

Coffee - for his undying loyalty to the family and me; for being always ready with a lick on my face; for his unfailing tail wagging whenever he sees me; for never judging me; for his antics; for knowing when I am sad and staying quietly on my side; for being the faithful dog that he is.

List of frens coming up in the next post......

Pain pain go away

It is almost a week since my tooth filling was changed. And

the dull ache is still there and the pain get worse if I eat on that side of my mouth. :( I called up the dentist again today and he is out of town until next Monday. Ahhhh!!!!

I think I am going to complain about him. This is not right. A new filling should not be giving me so much pain and sorrow. And I am so afraid that the dull ache may cause other problems for me like a headache or some other pain in some other part of my body....

Poor me.....ouch!

And you have guessed correctly, I am never going back to the dentist for further treatment ever again!

Ouch! It hurts!

Decided to call up the dentist to ask him what's wrong; to ask him if I am going to lose my tooth. I am so so so so upset! All this pain and hassle for nothing. Everything was going well with my life....oops, my mouth and teeth at least...and now....

So I rushed off at 6pm when the sky is still bright and cheery, took a cab to the dentist. Upon reaching the clinic, the dentist did some testing and poking around and then concluded that the filling may have been too high. So he did some "filing" to file it down.

Then he said that the dull ache could be due to the fact that my nerve may have been traumatised during the drilling. And he said," Oh, did I mention to you earlier that in severe cases, you will need a root canal?".

.......
.......
.......

My mind went blank at the words "root canal" and my mind was spining! I remember very clearly that there were no words with "root" and/or "canal" during my treatment/consultation on Saturday and now he is saying that could be one of the consequences of changing the filling! I am so angry and upset! Grrrrrr!!

Anyways, I left the clinic supposedly to monitor the dull ache in my tooth....

Dull ache

Now the tooth has a perpetual dull ache the whole day.....

This is no good.

To the dentist...

Went to a new dentist last weekend. Reason why went to a dentist was coz its time for the 6 months regular check-up. Reason why new dentist is coz boycott the previous one. Reason why boycott the previous one coz The Hubby got upset with him for screwing up his dental appointment.

Anyways, The Hubby and I are lidat - we will boycott a place once they did something wrong or are mean to us as customers. I have not ordered from the fishball noodle stall in the coffeeshop near my house ever since the lady argued with me after sending me the wrong noodles. She accused me of ordering wrongly and that she was right! This is quite a tough stance to take given that there are only 4 stalls in that coffeeshop. Some people say we are not forgiving enough; I choose to say that we have principles.

Oh, I digress. So yeah, new dentist. I had wanted to do bleaching of my teeth to make them what they should be - pearly whites. However, during the consultation, the dentist said that I should change my 20 year old fillings (even though they are not giving me any problems) before I do the bleaching in case the chemicals from the bleaching affects the fillings. I asked all the necessary questions and in the end, the dentist kept saying that he wont do the bleaching for me with old fillings.

So I changed one filling. H-U-G-E mistake. The tooth was so painful during the drilling. Thereafter, it was really uncomfortable the whole day. I could not chew on that side of the mouth where the filling is. I felt so terrible!

It's all a matter of perspective

3 weeks ago

Big Boss: So you are coming to Hong Kong for the Budget Review with us, right?
Me: Er....er...can we discuss this another time?

2 weeks ago
Email from Boss: Please remember to arrange for your travel and accommodation arrangements for Hong Kong soon.
Reply from Me: Do I really have to go for this?
Reply from Boss: Not my call this time round; it's Big Boss'.

Sigh. Reluctantly, I went to book my air tickets and made hotel reservations. I really didnt want to travel this time round. Many reasons -
The last time I went to Hong Kong was in 1998 and I didnt really think that it will be a place worth going back again.
Secondly, the Budget Review is going to be damn stressful for me coz there will be all the big f**ks in the meeting and they are going to use the system that my team built for the review session *gulp*.
Thirdly, I think I had done enough travelling for work (Leisure does not count) and seen enough of airports this year.
Fourthly, it will be during the Hari Raya week and Hong Kong does not celebrate Hari Raya :P

When my girlfrens heard that I am travelling again, and to Hong Kong this time, they went "oohh....wahhh...."; "shopping!"; "good food!"; .....I guess it all boils down to perspective....Let me attempt to think about the "good" things about the trip:
- Hopefully I will find the time to meet up and catch up with a good fren who is working in Hong Kong. I also want to meet up with another girlfren who is a tai tai there ever since her hubby got posted there.
- It gives me the chance to see Hong Kong again after such a looooong time, without paying a single cent outta my own pocket (except for those resulting from the next point).
- Mabbe I can get handbags or shoes at cheaper prices in Hong Kong. Keke....

Stay tuned for updates.

A function of age

The number of birthday pressies you get is a function of your age; to be more precise, its an inverse function.

Anyways, my birthday came and gone. I refused to work over the weekend - told myself its a well-deserved break!

Inventory of birthday pressies (hehe!):
- an ang pow from Mummy
- a Lao Beijing dinner with my parents and in-laws
- a Prego birthday cake from aunt-in-law
- a Loccitane Olive facial mask from sis-in-law
- a PS Cafe lunch from a good fren whom I start talking to after 5 years of anger and silence
- a lunch from a close fren whom I met every 6 months to celebrate each other's birthday
- a set of Origins Ginger shower gel and body scrub from my colleague
- a birthday card from my good fren in Canada
- an ice cream birthday cake from my department colleagues
- a Vietnamese lunch from my boss
- a Folli Follie bracelet from my big boss
- Wishing Tree flowers sent to my office by The Hubby. First time he did that for my birthday; mabbe its coz I have reached a major milestone in my life and am getting depressed about it. So its meant to cheer me up. :)

Birthday pressie

Do people buy birthday present for themselves?...OK make that presentS....Every year, when this time of the year comes about, I am filled with the anticipation of what to expect. And every year, I use my birthday to buy the things that I have been wanting for a looooooong time for myself. It may not be a good excuse but hey, at least it is an excuse. :)

On my dining table at home, there is a birthday card still sealed in its envelope from my good fren in Canada. There is also a gift from my big boss in a Follie paperbag. The Hubby is contemplating sponsoring my LASIK treatment as a birthday gift. I know another close fren is preparing my birthday pressie even as I type. My two families will be going out for dinner together on my birthday itself.

I got the bag above for myself.

He left on a jet plane...

Time flies. Seems only yesterday that my bro told me that he had been accepted for the exchange programme at Manchester University; and before I know it we were at Terminal 1 of Changi airport at the ungodly hour of 2am bidding farewell to him.

On one hand, I am very happy and very excited for him; reminds me of the time I went to Canada for my exchange program decades ago. On the other hand, I kinda get this sense of loss as it is the first time that my only bro is going to be away for such a long stretch of time.

In case you are wondering, I am sort-of close to my bro. Well, we are not close-close in the sense that we share the deepest darkest secrets of our lives with each other. Neither are we fighting siblings where we never talk to each other. You see, my bro and I have a 7 years age gap and we are of a different gender (in case you have not noticed); but we do get along pretty well and we do share common interests in same areas. Obviously I cannot go handbags and shoes shopping with him, but we share a common love for Coffee, a common love for sashimi, a common understanding bout our parents, a common love for exercise etc.

I remember I didn’t like him when we were young. I had been a single child for 7 years and then this silly little boy came along. And everyone doted on him. And he got so many toys. And he got everything he wanted. We fought over toys. We fought over candies. We fought over TV programs to watch. Basically, we fought.

As we grew up, we were at different stages of life at each point in time due to our age gap. But at the back of my mind, he has always been the “pampered and protected” bro of mine. Then he grew up. And we started doing things together; we jogged together, we trained Coffee together, we shopped for non-girly stuff together, we even went clubbing together!

So there he is now, all alone half way across the world…..but am sure he will do fine! He will be enjoying himself in no time. And I know I am going to miss him….that’s why the saying goes “Blood is always thicker than water”.

Retail Therapy!

Made 2 purchases today!

I couldn't decide on the size and colour of the BV bag; instead I got a wallet for myself and a card holder for The Hubby. (Can't find pic of card holder).

The thing about retail therapy is that after spending the money, you feel that you gotta work even harder coz you have spent the money. So its like a vicious cycle: you go for retail therapy coz of work; and coz of retail therapy you gotta work......it will never end.....

Another handbag?...

All thanks to my fren whom I call The Bugger, I am now "beo-ing" a Bottega Veneta handbag!

It all started innocently. He asked if there is a BV boutique in Singapore. I said "yes". He said he has a specific wallet that he had been wanting to buy for the looooongest time and requested that I checked if it is available in Singapore coz it is not available in the BV boutique in KL. (He resides in KL).

The next thing I know, we were on the phone excitedly and he had me walking through the BV website, checking out the wallets. That's when I saw the bag. Didn't seem to be velly nice at first sight. But the more I look at it, the nicer it became.

Then I called the boutique in Singapore to ask if the wallet that The Bugger wanted is available. It is. Then I started talking to the sales person on the phone about the handbag and he was so nice and accomodating on the phone that I felt like rushing down to the boutique there and then (9pm at night) to buy the bag.

In the end, I didnt. And in the end, The Bugger decided not to buy the wallet coz he went to buy a house over the weekend. Which left me "beo-ing" the BV bag since.....

*droooool*

This is Life?

I didn’t want to write things that are too negative in here; and therefore, I have not written recently. I have been feeling depressed and I know that the things I write will not be pleasant.

Not that I am no longer feeling depressed now…and super tired….I just had a crazy weekend.

1 Sept Friday
9am – Started work
12pm – Lunch
8pm – Ordered in pizza dinner
12 mn – Still @ work

2 Sept Saturday
3am – Still @ work from Friday
4am - Wanted to order Chocolate sundae from MacDonald's delivery. But sundaes no longer available at this time :(
5.20am – Finally left office. Took a cab home
6.30am – Hit the bed
8am – Alarm clock rings
9am – Back in office to work
12pm – Ordered in lunch from food court
4pm – Still @ work. Colleague bought Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
9pm – Went out to meet hubby for quick dinner
945pm – Back @ work
1145pm – Left office

3 Sept Sunday
8am – Mobile phone rang. Mummy on the line. I forgot all about her doctor’s appointment. Sigh.
9am – At the doctor with Mummy
11am – Left the clinic. Went for brunch with Mummy and Daddy
12pm – Went to see Coffee after not seeing him for a looooooooong time
2pm – Went to Tiong Bahru Plaza with The Hubby, Mummy and Daddy for lunch and some groceries shopping.
4pm – Reached home. Did housework – vacuumed the floor, washed the toilets, did laundry.
6pm – Sorted out my pile of letters from last 2 weeks. Found that I almost missed the deadline for some bills payment.
7pm – Left home for dinner with in-laws @ Holland V; to celebrate a birthday.
11.20pm – Reached home.
It was on Monday morning by the time I went into Lala land.

When I woke up on Monday morning, my shoulders and neck hurt very badly. I don’t know whether is it because I did not sleep properly on my pillow last night or was my body sending out a signal that it is distressed. Either way, I was in the office before 9am to begin the new week.

Is this what people called “That’s life”?

The power of words

Words can encourage

Words can heal

Words can love

Words can share

Words can resolve

Words can welcome

Words can care

Words can help

BUT

Words can also hurt

Words can also kill

Words can also malign

Words can also destory

Words can also break

Words can also falsify

Words can also conceal

Words can also punish

Words can also deceive

As the Chinese saying goes: 一言既出, 驷马难追 For the potatoes out there, it means that once something has been said, even horses are not able to chase it back for you.

For me, words alone have broken my heart.

Is Money reeeeally that important?

I have not jogged for the longest time! If you have been following my blog since inception, you will know that I love jogging. In fact, my blog title is "Jogging with a dog"! (If that is not enuf to tell you tat).

Anyways, I have been working crazy hours. I wont go into the details why are my hours so crazy other than I am doing 1.5 persons' (mabbe more) job and cleaning up other people's shit at the same time. And if I have been griping to you recently, you would also know the cause of my terrible working life.

It is such a struggle to wake up every morning to go to work. I am dreading going to work. That is not a good sign. Sigh. The ONLY thing making me hang on is that the company is dangling a carrot at the end of my contract (yeah, its a contract job. Have you ever seen a contractor work so hard before?!?!??!). How much is the carrot worth - you may ask?....Well, its more than the study loan I had to pay upon graduation.

I am beginning to think and question myself whether is the carrot really worth it?!!? For all the shite that I am going through. Is money really everything? Is job satisfaction more important? Is happiness more important? If I were to get knocked down by a car when I leave work tonite, does it mean that I will die an unhappy person? So what if I die an unhappy person?

I dunno.....I cant think any more....I had to use my fingers just now to count that there are 9 items between 91 & 99....Oh well.....

The 41st Birthday

Yesterday's was Singapore 41st birthday. There was the usual National Day Parade at the National Stadium in the evening with lotsa fireworks. What makes it special and different this year is that it will be the last National Day Parade to be held in the National Stadium as it makes way for a brand new stadium.

I am normally not a patriotic person - to me; National Day is important becoz it gives me a public holiday in the year :) and I dont even watch most National Day Parades on TV. Yesterday was the first time in a long long time I watched the Parade on TV at my parents' place. As I was watching the parade and reading the articles in the National Day newspaper supplement, I suddenly felt that it is amazing how far Singapore has come along in the past 41 years; how fortunate I am to be in Singapore (despite me wanting to relocate/migrate all the time). Things could have been worse. We could have been another Johor Bahru; or we could have been worse than Johor Bahru!

The Hubby and I went for dinner at the new Tiong Bahru market. On the way back, as the car stopped at a red light, there was a lorry in front of the car. Sitting on the back of the lorry were a couple of Malays and a few Chinese. I turned to The Hubby and mentioned that I never felt that racial harmony was a big thing but then again, countries are war-torn today coz races are fighting against each other; religions are fighting against each other. I never felt that the Racial Harmony Day that Singapore had recently is a big deal.

Well, it is a big deal. Things could have been worse. We could be killing each other now because our skin colours are different. We could be killing each other now because we worship different Gods. We could be killing each other now becoz.....you get the gist...

Anyhow, I am wearing red (red top and red shoes..kekek) today in celebration of Singapore 41st National Day. It is a day late, but then better late than never :)