My Thoughts, Laments & Life

Asperger Syndrome?

2010-09-21T16:46:00.001+08:00

This is what alot of ppl suspected Claire has... For me, i deemed it as a form of personality inherited from PK.

But alot of outsiders (including her childcare teachers) had highlighted to me about this possibility. Now, i just have to bring her to the polyclinic, get referrals to see the specialists at KKH for assessments n stuff to determine whether she has Asperger Syndrome.

God just help me.

Sleepless...

2010-09-12T05:35:00.002+08:00

Woke up at 3.41am to answer the call of nature and realised that PK is not sleeping.... Went to get him back to bed...

Guess what, I m the one that can't get back to sleep. Piglet is going to HK next month with Mum at Mum's request, or rather HK Aunt's request.

Piglet is funny, when we asked her, "Do you want to go visit Yipo in HK?" She shook her head. When we told her that she will be taking the aeroplane to visit Yipo, she did not answer us. After a while, she told us, "I want to find Yeh yeh and Yipo ah!"

For me, I suddenly have this notion to visit Piglet in HK and helped Mum to bring her back (almost towards the end of the trip). My only problem is whether my work enables me to take leave? I m researching the air ticket's prices to Hong Kong, its either i take budget airline (serves no purpose coz the flight timing coming back dun coincide with Mum) or I take the same airline as Mum.

Quoting Sis => Can't bear to let her go, dun let her go.... (But the selfish me wants to have a break from her.)
Quoting Mum => Itchy butt syndrome....

1st Trip

2010-07-20T05:54:00.003+08:00

I m at Changi Airport, T2 waiting for my flight... Super sleepy now... It will be a long day later at the KL office.

No agenda for this trip and i can only say, "Expect the unexpected." Having mixed feelings about this trip but it will be another learning trip for me.

Will miss Ms. Piggy n PK for these 3 days. I told Ms. Piggy about my trip yesterday and she seems to understand and yet dun what I m trying to tell her. She was awake for a while this morning before i left for the airport.... Perhaps, her way of saying, "Mama, have a good trip?"

Just so weird.....

2010-07-13T22:25:00.003+08:00

Recently, i have been feeling distressed over my work...

Surprisingly, I did not turn to shopping to vent the unhappiness, emptiness inside myself. (That's the first time i will do!)

I wonder, what is happening to me? Especially, I have not been chanting or things like that.. in fact, I feel like I m just waiting for time to pass, for things to happen.... Just so weird....

Ms Claire's report card

2010-07-01T23:38:00.001+08:00

Last Saturday, PK & I attended our first Parents-Teachers Session!

Well, it was a chance for us to know how Ms Piggy is doing at school and at the same time to discuss with the teachers on her toilet training.

Ms. Shufen (Chinese teacher) told us that Claire is good at solving puzzles but her ability to focus is short and not to mention that she is starting to develop some bad habits at meal times! Furthermore, she told us about few incidents on Piglet too engrossed in playing and forgotten to inform the teachers about her need to go to toilet which resulted in her wetting the floor and sometimes the clothes of her classmates!

Ms. Savit (English teacher) told us similar things about her toilet training but at the same time, she mentioned about Claire's reaction towards things. I told Ms. Savit that it's the personality as we (the parents & family) received the same treatment from her too. Ms. Savit also told us about the occassional surprises that Claire will give her, like calling her name or displaying reaction towards things.

In general, Claire is doing ok but we need to step up on the toilet training portion. At the end of the day, its quite interesting to know about her behaviour in school and at the same time, I m happy to know that she has alot of friends (her classmates) to be with her!

PK Stressed!

2010-06-14T22:26:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, we were waiting at Clark Quay station for Mum to go to Tung Lok (Central) for our lunch.

I was playing with my iphone and PK was looking at this poster at the station intensely. Out of curiousity, I went to take a look. The poster was actually a notice to parents for 2011's Primary One registration.

Whenever I talked about this, PK will act nonchalantly. This round, he told me to join the Alumni of the Primary school that I used to attend. His reasoning, it increases the chances of Claire getting into a good primary school. So, i also jested that he should go volunteering at another ideal school choice!

He gave me this, "Mabbe i should consider that?" look. I was totally stunned, i guess he is equally KS about Piglet being able to get into a good school bah.

What to do what to do

2010-05-16T22:40:00.002+08:00

Recently, I just signed a letter of employment for this job which is a one year contract, company G. On the day before the contract was ready for signature, i received a call for an interview (another company).

I agreed to the interview as the offer from company G was verbal and i had to be subjected to a background check before i could start work, even though i had signed the letter but i had signed a release form that company G can terminate me anytime should my background check failed!

So i went for the interview at company H, the CFO personally interviewed me. Boy it was a long one that lasted more than an hour! The CFO was a persuasive man, somehow he managed to make me have second thoughts about company G as he threw out this main bait about work-life balance and company H being an extremely PRO-FAMILY company! In the end, the CFO extended his invitation to me for a 2nd interview!

I was in a dilemma, here I was ready to sign the contract and another potential job offer. After some thoughts, I signed the letter of employment for company G and the recruiter told me that my start date is still subjected to background check clearance! Just today, Company H (the CFO personally SMS me) and invited me for a 2nd interview. I agreed to it and the interview is scheduled 1 day before my official start date with Company G.

Seriously, I dunno whether did i do the right thing but looking at the situation, it just seems the job at company G is unsecured yet and I might not also get the job either at Company H. So, I will deem it as another learning experience coz at times in life, we are caught in such a situation too. Just wish me luck!

Art Pieces Done by Ms Claire

2010-04-30T12:10:00.003+08:00

Drawings done with the help of her teachers

Her Attempt in coloring!

CNY Decoration (The red paint are her fingerprints!)

CNY Decoration (Red paint are her fingerprints!)

Mystery of the mozzie bites!

2010-04-21T23:40:00.002+08:00

During the 3 weeks in HK, we experienced alot of mozzie bites (the gang from Singapore). K, my 10 months old nephew reacted very badly to the bite.

Mum & Claire got it and they prevented it by applying Tea Tree Oil. Whereas D & I got the mozzie bites at all the weird places, I got it at my butt whereas D got it at her armpit.

We tot the mozzies were due to the stuff at Auntie's place.

But the source is finally revealed today!

Before Claire & I came back to Singapore, the toilet at Aunt's place was blocked and we had to bath by sitting on the toilet bowl so that the floor wont be flooded and reduced the need to scoop the water back into the toilet bowl.

The pipe was blocked due to the plant growing into the pipe area. So Aunt hired someone to remove the plant as their attempts to remove it was unsuccessful! It turned out that there was actually ample space for the plant to grow and its roots were so deep. It took the guy very long to remove it and the moment he removed the plant, all sorts of insects came out from it!

So, the source of the mozzies is this plant! Mum told me that finally they can bath in comfort and not to worry about mozzie bites at night!

I m really lucky!

2010-04-20T22:16:00.003+08:00

In every trip to HK, no matter how we tried to control our buying... somehow we will end up with excess baggage.

This time, Piglet & I took Jetstar back to Singapore and its strictly no excess baggage, any excess baggage, you just gotta pay excess baggage charges! My original intention was to check in 3 pieces of lugguage, 2 suitcases & 1 "Red, Blue & White" bag. Imagine, my surprise when i attempted to check in all the 3 pieces of lugguage, the check in counter staff immediately shoved the calculator right in front of me and told me, "Mdm, HK$1,080 please."

I was like stunned, so she advised me to repack my lugguage. Ie pack 3 kgs more into the "Red, Blue & White" bag and took one of the suitcase as cabin lugguage. So, we desparately repacked the items and guess what happened when we checked in the "Red, Blue & White" bag. The bag's handle came off and there was a big gaping hole in it!

Totally freaked out, thank god for Mum's brilliant idea... We "patched" the hole up with an Eco bag and kept our fingers crossed that the lugguage will still be in one piece when back in Singapore. Then, we immediately went for immigration due to the lack of time and the counter staff told us that it will take at least 20 minutes from HK Airport Terminal 2 to the boarding gate at Terminal 1!

The queue at the immigration was long and after clearing it, we had to go thru scanning of our cabin lugguage. It was a "nightmare" for me. I was carrying one cabin lugguage, one handbag and one bag of the "Wives' biscuits" and not to mention, Claire in her stroller and her backpack. So, we cleared the X-ray machines and we boarded the shuttle train to Terminal 1.

It was another up and down the lift just to board the train and to get to Terminal 1. Finally, we reached the boarding gate and guess what, a bus will have to take us to our plane!!! So, at the boarding area, dunno whatever reasons, I just went up and asked the staff about the boarding time.

I was so lucky! The staff told me that my cabin lugguage will be checked in for free as there's no space to put the lugguage in the overhead compartment due to the full flight! Upon boarding the plane, my neighbour helped me to settle Claire into her seat and not to mention that, she also helped me to carry my handheld lugguage upon arrival in Singapore as Claire was asleep and I had to carry her out of the plane.

During collection of our lugguage, i thanked my lucky stars that the "Red, White & Blue" bag is still in one piece and nothing has spilled out from the bag!

The best is to see the expression on PK and H's faces when i pushed the lugguage trolley out!

The "Red, Blue & White" bag with the hole!

Back in SG

2010-04-20T00:24:00.001+08:00

It has been a while since i updated this blog...

Went to HK for 3 weeks and will update this blog when i had sorted my things out!

Mixed Feelings

2010-03-25T23:34:00.003+08:00

Today is the last day in the company that i had been working for 4 years.

Its really mixed feelings, there are good times and bad times. It is so unfortunate that all the bads of this company masked away all the good.

When i first joined the company, there was 100% turnover and followed by a brand new team. We, the brand new team bonded and worked happily despites the working conditions then. Unfortunately, the colleagues all left and I was left all alone again. I can't fit into the new team for whatever reason and I was surprised that I managed to survive for almost 2 years by being a lone ranger. That was the most miserable period.

As I went around saying good bye to my colleagues, I almost wanted to tear when one of them were telling me, "It has been so long that I met such a cheerful gal like you especially in this company!" I was so touched! What was unexpected was SS, she told me that she wished I had worked for 10 years instead of 4 years! Well, my work is still appreciated by her.

Suddenly, I had many "Turn Back Time" moments and realised that things might be different with a lot of "What if"? But this time, there is no "what if", I had to move on. If I had stayed, I will lose more of myself and that is not what I want.

No matter what, Thank you, dear company for giving me a best time of my work!

Differences

2010-03-16T22:51:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I booked a one way ticket to HK. Ms Piggy, Mum and me are going to HK and first time taking a budget airline. We stopped taking budget airline when we first travelled with Ms. Piggy.

As most of us know, for budget airlines, the seating is on a first queue first served basis while queuing at the departure gate. Priority boarding will be given to those passengers that have toddlers, children or elderly travellers. These passengers will be in a separate queue and the first to board the plane when the aircraft is ready for boarding. We experienced and witnessed this during our flight from London to Amsterdam.

However, I was lamenting to PK about the seat selection for the budget airlines while doing the online booking. We can select our seats online but we have to PAY!!! IMO, paying for the selection of the seat is not an issue as majority of the airlines do that but BUDGET AIRLINES?

Somehow, it defeats the purpose of having budget airline and PK commented that it could be the Asian mentality. In this sense, I preferred the European way (sometimes rigid) of on a First Queue basis for budget airlines.

Anything deemed wrong cry first.... -_-|||

2010-03-10T09:54:00.002+08:00

Ms. Piggy for whatever reasons doesn't like to sleep with her diapers on now. She will wake me up with her request to pee in the middle of night.

Last night, I was awakened by her loud wailing. I thought she was having nightmares so I went to check on her and to discover that her pyjamas, bedsheets and blanket were all wet!

So, I woke PK up and got PK to get me a new set of pyjamas for her, also to settle the wet bedsheets and blanket.

Anyway, I realised Ms Piggy is real smart now. Anything she has done that is deemed wrong, she will cry first so that we won't lecture her. This gets on my nerves at times coz sometimes she just won't stop crying even though we did not lecture her or what!

Back Problem..

2010-03-05T09:37:00.003+08:00

Mum hurt her back recently while clearing some of the stuff at home.

She slipped n fell from the chair but she broke the fall by using her hands to support her body. 2 days later, in a rush to get out from the toilet, she slipped at the toilet door. That just did it and caused her great pain.

Mum got worried and went to the GP. The GP sent her for an X-ray and prescribed her painkillers & antibiotics. At night, while having dinner, the GP clinic's called her and requested Mum to go back to the clinic for review the next day. That scared all of us!

So Mum went for the review, the GP told her that her spine is starting to show signs of Arthritis and advised her to take medication for it. It was a relief for Mum and us to hear that there were no hairline crack or stuff at her spine.

On Wednesday, upon the recommendation of Sis' friend, Mum went to see a Tie Da and her condition was better. The Tie Da told her that it will take 1-2 weeks for her to be fully recovered. But Ms Claire worsened her condition yesterday, Ms Claire told Mum that she wants to pee on their way to school. Mum being the indulgent grandma, attempted to carry her to pee and this made it worse for her back.

This morning, Mum told me that she will be seeing the Tie Da again. I just hope that Mum 's back will recover soon.

Ms Claire with her cat

2010-03-04T14:15:00.003+08:00

Another wedding in May!

2010-03-02T13:46:00.003+08:00

During my CNY trip to KL, it was announced that my cousin is getting married in this year.

My Auntie & Uncle had not choosen a date yet but it was to be scheduled in May!

We (Mum & the siblings) were surprised that my cousin & his fiance were in a hurry to get married and we sensed that something is amissed but can't mark it down.

It turns out that my cousin's fiance is pregnant (baby due in Sep'10) and they need to get married as soon as possible. After hearing that from Mum, we pieced things together and we will like, "No wonder, S is always tired and wants to sleep lah!"

So, the original plan of my cousin not wanting to get married in the year of Tiger is spoilt and like i told him, "Who said, can't get married or have kids in the year of Tiger?" For him, the joke is on him, getting married and have a child in the year of Tiger!

As for us, we will be making a trip down to KL in May to attend his wedding!

Chinese New Year 2010~

2010-02-19T22:51:00.004+08:00

This one is a really fun one! Fat Bond & Sis are back in SG and finally the family is reunited as one (not really, given with the current Parents' saga going on but better than nothing!)

Chinese New Year Eve - 13th February 2010
The Ang Family was supposed to go Bedok for lunch but we went to IKEA for lunch and got last minute food shopping at Anchorpoint. After we were done with lunch, we went to Bedok so that PK could collect his TM Lewin shirts while Sis played with Ms. Piggy. As dinner was at Bt Panjang, PK called the in laws and asked whether they could pick us up at Bedok to Bt Panjang for dinner.

Thank god, the in laws agreed and the in laws first went to their coffeeshop to settle some stuff. Guess what, one of my in laws' staff forgotten to lock one of the coffeeshop doors! Both of them were commenting that it was a fortunate thing that PK asked to pick us up at Bedok before going for the dinner.

During our dinner at Bt Panjang, PK went to get some stuff from the kitchen and one of his pockets got ripped off from his bermudas and it was a funny sight! He used scotch tape to tape up the hole!! :P

After dinner, we went home. PK & I were so tired but Ms. Piggy is extremely active. It took several "threats" before she is willing to sleep!

1st day of Chinese New Year - 14th February 2010
I went to the Guanyin temple alone leaving PK & Piglet at home before meeting them later to my in laws place. Then Mum called and I changed my plan of going to Bt Panjang after my praying at the temple. I went to Bedok for lunch after praying at the temple and was "shocked" to be informed by PK that Claire woke up at 11am!

Due to some timing issues & stuff, PK went to Bedok to pick me up to Bt Panjang! We went to PK's 3rd & 4th Uncle's place before going to SK's Auntie house and Ah Sou's place at Old Airport Road. Then Sis & Bro bought Claire's to Sis' friend hous for visiting from Old Airport Road. By the time we went home, it was close to 11.30pm!

2nd day of Chinese New Year - 15th February 2010
Mum & I arranged to meet at the Cheng Wang temple to pray. Mum was late and I helped her pray on behalf. We finished our praying around 11am and went to my place. PK was giving Claire a bath when we reached home. I cooked porridge and had our lunch before we went out to meet my siblings at Toa Payoh. My siblings are bringing Ms Piggy to Sis' friend place in Toa Payoh.

Mr. Smartie Pants PK relied heavily on the GPS of my iphone to get to Sis' friend place in Toa Payoh and almost got us into a car accident. Thank god that Mum was alert to inform the taxi driver and we managed to escape it unscathed... If not, i think we will be in hospital liao!

So, Mum, PK & I went to AMK Uncle's place after passing Claire to my siblings. It was fun to chat with my cousins and see that my Auntie is doing well after her chemo (she was diagnosed with cervix cancer). Afterwards, PK & Mum met up with my siblings to go Bedok as Mum is cooking dinner for us before we took our night flight to KL (Mum, my siblings & me only) while PK will bring Ms Piggy to his cousin's place after the meal at Mum's place.

I went home to pack my lugguage. On my way home, PK called to inform me to bring my orange suitcase coz Mum wanted an extra lugguage at the last minute. So, i meet the rest of them at Mum's place and we have a happy meal & time. PK & Claire left first to go to his cousin's place while we stayed a while to do our final packing before leaving for the airport.

That's my Chinese New Year for 2010!

Trying to be funny again!

2010-02-08T14:06:00.003+08:00

As mentioned in my earlier post, I had resigned and serving my notice period now. (Another 33 working days excluding leave to go)

Due to some emergency, I had to take 1/2 day childcare leave 2 weeks ago and SS hesitated to approve my childcare leave as our dear HR needs to seek advice on the claims of the childcare leave & stuff.

I was definitely pissed off with the HR (not showing the buey song on my face), I told SS matter of fact that if i chose to be a SAHM, then I will be taken advantage by the company if they forgo my childcare leave. Upon hearing that, SS immediately approved my childcare leave!

Frankly speaking, i was thinking to myself if this co can spend on unneccessary stuff during this period of implementation of cost cutting, what is the childcare leave to them? Really no comments and even small stuff like this, they also want to take advantage of me!

Another conversation

2010-01-30T07:15:00.002+08:00

My ex colleague texted me n asked about what's SS reaction when i presented her with the love letter.

I told him about it and his response:

Me: She asked me got job or not? I said no lah, then she asked me whether coz of the incident yesterday? If give letter coz of it, I immature lah

Him: Warrao, u should tell her that u dun like her face & that if there are too many incidents liao and it will take at least half a day to talk about it!

Me: Then i do the recommendation of Siao Onz to take over my major project lah. But she attempted to stop me by saying its her call. So, I told her yes its your call but i reasoned with her n said, U wanna train Siao onz to be your right hand person mah.. Very good exposure for siao onz, since Siao Onz got experience, familiarity & maturity to take on this project! Wow, the expression on her face is priceless!

Him: Mdme Wong u good leh!!

Me: No lah, i got ask my fren for advice on how to recommend Siao Onz mah....

Him: Feeling good & relief rite.. (Laughing all the way)

Me: Definitely lah!

D-day!

2010-01-29T11:00:00.003+08:00

Today is D-day!

A sense of relief when i gave the letter to SS. SS was funny, the first question to me, "U found a job?" I replied her no and then she asked me whether its due to the incident that happened yesterday.

I told her no and that I had made this decision long ago coz of personal reasons. She was totally stunned. Anyway, even if i resigned due to yesterday's incident... I also wont admit lor! Anyway, I told her that i need to settle my personal problem and i might go to London!! Hahahah!!

Anyway, time to move on and find another place nicer place... cant wait to detox!

Evil Plot!

2010-01-27T23:23:00.001+08:00

I m devising an evil plot for work issues...

And i m really to rehearse on how to put it across to SS so that it sounds Professional and convincing enough....

Now to mention checking with my strategist in the land of Aloha on the appropriateness of this evil plot. HEhe, looking forward to D-day!

Tired...

2010-01-26T13:14:00.002+08:00

I can feel the tiredness in my body!

Last nite, received a call from Mum. SB Auntie passed away yesterday night slightly after 11pm.

I immediately informed Sis & Bro. Sis told me to call her and both of us sobbed uncontrollably while i was conveying the news over the phone.

I immediately went to a room and thank god for ending Auntie's suffering and chanted the sutra.

Somehow, i can't get to sleep even at 1am... It was only after concentrating on my breathing that i managed to lull myself to sleep.

Now, i can feel the tiredness in my body. My parents had gone over to my Uncle's place to assist in the funeral rites and stuff. Auntie s 出殡 will be on this coming Saturday. Uncle is grieving inside and he is making himself busy with the funeral rites to numb his grief.

Mum is upset that her best friend and confidante has passed away.

Things to do for CNY

2010-01-25T11:14:00.002+08:00

For myself
1. Trim my hair!
2. Go do my nails!
3. Clear my stuff in the apartment!

For the Family
1. Hang the CNY decorations (bought it at Chinatown last nite)
2. Change the bathroom curtains
3. Re-organise the storeroom (Machiam like our inventory store, baby things in & out!)
4. Wash Ms Piggy's new clothes!

Sheesh...

2010-01-25T09:50:00.002+08:00

Sheesh, something that is supposed to be P&C and unintentionally discovered by me.....

Then this morning, another dept colleague emailed me about this P&C stuff and asked me about it!

Conclusion => The more you wanna hide, the more it is being exposed! Come clean about it!!!

*PS: Anna is weird today and i gotta put on my armour that made me invisible!

Lightbulb moment!

2010-01-24T23:14:00.002+08:00

I just realised the simple solution to my co problem...

Cut the no of unnecessary headcount and increased the pay of the existing staff! Productivity increased & cost cutting measures realised!! Hahah... my wishful thinking, dept heads like to have alot of staff under them... (image issue!)

Who dun looked so lah wu.... with so many subordinates under them??? Hahaha!!! Next time, i became a head of dept, i also must do that! :P

Pinch marks

2010-01-22T09:57:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I received a call from the childcare centre and the principal apologised to me. Claire was being pinched by her classmate.

The principal related the incident to me, the teacher was throwing the used diaper of her classmate and the moment she turned her back, Claire was being pinched by the classmate. It was quite serious as I saw the pinchmarks on Claire's arms (there was scab being formed & reddish)

The principal commented that Claire did not scream or cry in pain. I told the principal that Claire might have done something to provoke him to pinch her but it was unseen by the teachers. Based on Claire's personality, she will only cry if its very painful and she wont dare to cry or scream if she knew its her own fault. Plus, Mum has witnessed her disturbing her classmate before... Thus, she deserved it if she really went to provoke her classmate.

My colleague even proposed this theory (which i found might be true), if the classmate has not put on his diaper yet and Claire out of curiousity went to touch his privates or stuff, then it is understandable that he pinched her coz the principal also din tell me whether the boy has his diaper on or not!

When i went to fetch Claire, the principal apologised again. I got a shock when i saw the pinchmarks, i think the boy's nails were not trimmed. Claire screamed in pain when i applied tea tree oil on her wound. Haiz, this gal of mine!

Company Jokes II

2010-01-19T10:54:00.003+08:00

By a twist of fate, I heard facts = jokes about my company & learnt something from the veterans aka ex colleagues in the industry.

One ex colleague who was relocated from Singapore to Hong Kong, she resigned during the time of company takeover and came back to Singapore. She later went on to join our competitors. My company offered her a position (same level as SS) but pay wise, it is less than what she is getting at the competitors.

On cost cutting measures, the operational dept actually incurred more costs than before and no directives were issued to them on this. This has became butt of the joke for our competitiors.

This is not all but the rest are too juicy and confidential to be posted. I really feel sad for my company. They had failed to retain good staff and at the same time, made themselves looked like a fool in the industry. This is the only company i worked whereby the ex staff still borne so much grudges against it.

Punchbag

2010-01-18T00:55:00.003+08:00

As my Sis flown back from London last Thursday, i was recounting to her the incident that happened at work recently about some joker who LOVES to vent tantrums on me! Sis' comment: "Jie, you got to stop them from doing this to you. Either at home or at work, you also kena such shit!"

During dinner, I kena one again from my cousin D! Before dinner started, Mum instructed me to foot the bill for dinner. Cousin D made eye contact with me and I can't fathom what it is. Towards the end of dinner, I sneakily went to the cashier & foot the bill.

As i walked back to the table, Cousin D was talking fiercely to me, "I told you not to pay the bill. Come with me to reverse the transaction, I m paying the bill with my Paragon card so that I can redeem my free parking!"

At the counter, Cousin D was getting the cashier to void my credit card payment and used her instead. The cashier was reluctant to do it and this angered Cousin D even further, she lashed out on me again. It was uncalled for and I told her that my Mum instructed me to pay. So she stopped and she told me about how bad the service was etc etc.

Then I went back to the table and HK Aunt was about to lecture me again on footing the bill, I just told her, "Dun get started on it, I had enough from both of you." Afterwards, I told Mum about this. Mum also shook her head and I told Mum that I dun want to be anyone's punchbag.

Conclusion, perhaps i should just distance myself away from Cousin D.

Pineapple Tarts Story

2010-01-14T01:04:00.002+08:00

Pineapple tarts, something that became extremely expensive and popular during the Chinese New Year.

Colleague A, sent an email to the rest of my dept to collate $500 (free delivery) worth of orders from this bakery, Le Cafe. Their pineapple tarts are the size of the golf balls and tasted better than Bengawan Solo but their location is a bit out of the way. So, my dept including myself ordered 8 bottles of the pineapple tarts.

A later called us and inform us that we need another extra bottle to hit the $500 target. So, Anna of my dept gallantly offered to take up this 1 bottle. Later on A called to inform us that during the schedule of the bakery, the bakery could only deliver the tarts to us after 4 Feb & before 14 Feb, thus the price of the tarts has increased from $18.80 t0 $19.80. Thus, we need to make the decision whether we still wanna order.

Anna, who "gallantly" took up the extra 1 bottle was lamenting about the $1!!! I was thinking to myself that $1 is nothing but keeping my bloody mouth shut & face expressionless. After much ding ding dong dong, we stuck to our orders.

Then the next day, A checked with us whether anyone of us could write a cheque of $250 to the bakery (50% deposit). Anna heard that and LAMENT BIG TIME about it. I was thinking to myself again, "Din ask u to pay, why you lament for what!"

All along, my gut told me that Anna is a calculative cum temperamental one. Judging from the recent incidents and events, her true colours are slowly coming out and I wonder how long will SS be able to tolerate her behaviour?

Sad....

2010-01-13T23:51:00.002+08:00

Mum called n mentioned to me that SB Aunt is hospitalised and her daughter, cousin SH (based in KL) is in SG to accompany her. I asked Mum whether SB Aunt will make it through CNY, Mum told me that the chances are slim.

So I emailed Sis to update her, Sis is coming back next month for CNY celebrations and visit all the relatives in SG, HK & KL. After sending out the email to Sis, Mum called and told me that SB Aunt insisted on being discharged from the hospital. SB Aunt's logic => "At home also pain, at hospital also pain... Might as well save $$ & pain at home."

2 hours after the sent email, Sis called me. She was upset to hear about SB Aunt's updates and intend to push forward her trip back to SG. I supported her decision but told her to check with her superiors first as she just switched firms in London and it might not look good either.

I guess after much discussion with Mum & stuff. She texted me at 9pm to inform me that she will be taking the night flight and will reach SG tomorrow. I immediately, "HAR" when i saw her SMS. Mum chided me for being loud and I told her about Sis' decision, Mum "HAR" even louder.

It was really sad. In these recent years, Aunties who had seen us growing up are diagnosed with cancer and passed away in pain. Now its' SB Aunt, she is such a strong lady. She speaks with gutso and we din expect her to have cancer. She was okie for more than 5 years after her chemotherapy & stuff.

Now within 6 months, the discovery of a lump in her womb. After a scan, it has spread throughout her body. I only wish that the pain she is enduring now will be gone soon.

Sick....

2010-01-12T15:09:00.002+08:00

It must either be the weather, lack of rest or both...

The Ang Family is down!

Ms. Piggy is down with running nose & cough. Her nose mucus is super thick & greenish and not to mention the phlegm heard while coughing.... She has not attended childcare for 2 days and I dunno when she can resume school.

PK, kept on hearing him coughing and with a blocked nose. I did not nag him to see a doctor but i did nag him to sleep early. However, i think he might see a doctor eventually. Guess i gotta psycho him to drink more water & sleep early.

Myself, due to lack of sleep & stress.. Been having this horrible migraine on and off, yesterday was the worst and it continued to this morning! Not to mention accompanied by LS... HAiz!!!

Conclusion, the Ang Family must drink more water & sleep early!

The weekend....

2010-01-11T09:38:00.003+08:00

On Saturday, the Ang Family went to PK's fren house at Katong. PK's fren - L is someone you wont forget! She towers at 1.83m tall and is full of energy! PK went to fix up her PC while I went there to kpo her place.

Her apartment is a condo (not too new nor too old) and located on the 21st floor. Her place is a whooping 1,700 square feet and she lives alone. The sea view is fanastic!!! She brought me around her place, i tell you her apartment is MOST GIRLS' DREAM! I will use the Heinken ad to describe it! :)

Claire has a ball of time running around in her apartment as L told me that she has not totally moved in as a portion of her stuff is still at her old place. I jokingly told PK that he should work hard and let us move into such apartment. PK's ever ready reply, "Dream on!" Both of us admit that the view is definitely breathtaking!

On Sunday, we went to Mum's place for lunch and stayed there for the whole afternoon! HK Aunt & her son in law, H bought Kendrick to Mum's place around 10am while cousin D went to work. We had fun playing with Kendrick even though Ms Piggy displayed several bouts of jealousy. Ie, if Mum, me or HK Aunt carried Kendrick, she will also want us to carry her! What was the most shocking thing is, she gave Kendrick a sudden smack on his head that scared the wits out of us. So we explained to her why she can't do that, Mum further made use of this chance to "scare" me that I should have a second child sooner coz of the jealousy.

Afterwards, we went to Vivo to have our dinner. HK Aunt & Kendrick went to our place while H & D caught a movie at Vivo. Claire was playing with Kendrick and Kendrick was laughing at Claire's antics of throwing the ball in the air. At our place, Claire did not shown much outburst of jealousy, she was behaving very much like the "Big Sister" that i was telling her to be!

Thus, I must say the Ang Family's weekend was an extremely busy & interesting one!

Property Check...

2010-01-09T14:27:00.002+08:00

Five years - the time period that the Ang Family has to occupy our Redhill HDB apartment.

This is the 5th year, ie we can sell off our apartment in 2011 and move to Bedok or anywhere that is nearer to my parents' place.

So i have been checking out this website, www.propertyguru.com.sg and this site is really the best as compared to others property website. The layout are good and the information is extremely updated.

From this website, I realised how hot the HDB Apartments are in my Mum's area and how expensive they can be especially for a 30 years old ++ flat! Some of the prices quoted by the sellers are ridiculous and its no wonder that their apartments have not been sold yet. (They placed the ad for at least 3 months.)

Anyway, I m monitoring the property prices and plans to move might change subjected to alot of other factors... In the mean time, i just keep my fingers crossed that the Ang Family will be able to move to an apartment at a right time and a right price.

Bobbles, bobbles...

2010-01-07T15:05:00.004+08:00

Ms. Piggy has been telling me, "Bobbles, bobbles!" on and off during these past few days while getting her to sleep.

"Bobbles, bobbles" refers to bubbles and at home, PK will use this to distract her from crying or getting her to be bathed by him. So I guess Piglet miss this bubbles fun very much!

True enough, it has been a while since PK or I bought her outdoors to play with the bubbles. So i told Ms Claire that I will let her play with the bubbles this Saturday when we re back home. I dunno whether will she remember about this promise when we re back home on Friday night.

One thing for sure is that I will definitely let her play with the bubbles over this coming weekend!

A test to me!

2009-12-31T14:59:00.003+08:00

It s really a test of patience to me!

This morning, Ms Piggy really pushed boundaries to the max. I was in the kitchen preparing food for her lunch and i went out to peek at her.

Her potty was overturned, her urine all over the place and she was playing. Usually, she will inform me when she is done with her small business. I was so angry that I shouted at her for misbehaving. I punished her by making her stand at the corner of the house.

Later on, I explain to her why I punished her and why her behaviour was unacceptable. She refused to look at me or acknowledged me. So I extend her punishment longer, after a while I heard move (from her anklet sound). Apparently, she was tired from the standing, she climbed onto my bed & rest!

Wow, this really riled me up! I told her to come down from my bed and I used the cane on her. This time, she really cried and she cried for me followed by my Mum and Bro (both of them are not at my place). When her crying subsided, I went to talk to her and explain to her. This time, she was willing to acknowledge me and apologise to me.

I could say Claire is real stubborn and really a tough nut to crack. I really must be hard hearted and teach her some lessons if not, she won't learn and might end up being a spoilt brat. Haiz, now my only hope is that PK will cooperate with me on teaching her!

自恋时间

2009-12-30T14:10:00.003+08:00

Taken on board Colombo Express in 19 Nov 2008

Random

2009-12-30T11:30:00.002+08:00

Here are some recent random stuff of happenings....

1. Called Ms. Piggy's childcare centre this morning, received a fair bit of feedback from the principal. Piglet loves to walk up and down the childcare centre, thus the teachers tend to carry her so that she won't disrupt others. Also, she inherited my impatient streak (why can't she inherit PK's patient streak!!!) ... She will have the tendency to snatch things that she wants and when the teachers told her to wait.. She will bang the table to protest...

Guess, I have to further learn how to control my temper and be more patient!! Jiayou jiayou, I can do it!

2. Work, felt extremely relieved when i made the decision. Now, i just do my work and bo chap others. Just kena another flare up from Anna and Anna wanted to flare up at SS when SS is trying to explain stuff to her.

Also, I m surprised at myself too... When Anna flares up at me, I did not feel much anger and i think that Anna's flare up at me is just making herself upset only. Next target, must try to avoid being being the target of flare ups....

3. Sis called this morning and looked for Mum but Mum is not in. Sis told me that she has been having high fever for the whole week and its yoyoing up & down. I told her that its viral fever and suggested she drink salt water and lotsa water... N not to mention to get the "ling yang" from Chinatown to brew. Then her fever will go off... Later on Mum told her the same thing!! I guess she just wants to teh Mum bah.

I think Sis' desire to come back Asia will be stronger. She just mention to me that she might want to re-locate to Hong Kong!

Lose weight~~

2009-12-29T10:13:00.001+08:00

I need to lose weight liao!

My clothes are tight and not to mention being mistaken for pregnant so many times!!!

Only problem is i m too lazy to move my ass!!!

Grr, must find a way out of this!!!!

Company Jokes

2009-12-29T10:06:00.003+08:00

1. In the ladies
Colleague A was merlioning like crazy. Colleague B saw it and asked, "R u okie?" Colleague A's reply, "What do you think? Isn't being pregnant like that meh?"

Colleague B totally stunned! Well, we find it funny lah but Colleague A also one kind, people shown you concern plus your side is on the plump side... How do we know that you re pregnant?

2. In the fishtank (my dept)
CFO came in with a NTUC plastic bag. I teased him by asking him about morning grocery shopping at NTUC. From the bag, he gave us some chocolates he bought from Hamburg. When he left, colleague C commented, "Scully, he really bought the chocolates from NTUC!" Colleague D said, "It's the thought that counts!"

Me find it funny to see him carrying a NTUC plastic bag lah... but i doubt the chocolates from NTUC coz the flavour as bit too sweet plus weird for my liking... Conclusion, it is definitely from Hamburg!

Contradictions

2009-12-29T09:43:00.002+08:00

Dad was out of his last job recently. He was employed in a security firm that outsourced staff to SMRT for those security personnel in the MRT stations.

He lost his job as a passenger (got checked twice by SMRT security personnel) wrote a 3 pages long complaint email to SMRT. The exact story, I m unsure as Dad was just giving me snippets here and there.

Yesterday, at Redhill MRT station, I saw a Security Personnel (older than Dad), a passenger and the SMRT station control staff. The passenger was complaining to the SMRT station control staff and I overhead his statement, "I dun like the attitude of his, talking to me like that.." (pointing to the Security personnel)

From this 2 incidents, I figured that folks like Dad's age should not be hired to do such job as they might be hard of hearing thus, speaking to folks slightly louder that translate to shouting to our ears unless those used to old folks at home.

I find it contradicting whereby the government strongly encourage senior citizens to work and firms are hiring them as they are considered "cheap labour" yet, they can get themselves out of job easily like such instances.

My conclusion, really must save $$ for retirement as noone is willing to hire senior citizens to work. Such is the reality of life.

The Basketball wounds will continue...

2009-12-27T00:18:00.002+08:00

PK gave me the shock of my life on Wednesday. Wednesday is his basketball nite, a night of freedom where he can play basketball, have dinner with his basketball kakis and a night of freedom (Ms. Piggy & I usually stay overnight at Mum's place every Wednesday except during my month end closing or any special occassions!)

On Wednesday, I went home with Ms. Piggy as for the past few weeks I had been camping at Bedok during the week days. I called him at 9.30pm to check on his whereabouts while on my way home. He told me that he was on his way home as he "errm" me. My radar was up and my only thought was he must want to continue chit chatting with his friends.

When I reached home and finished showering Ms. Piggy, PK still had not came back. So I called him twice and twice, he cut my line off! I was furious! While making milk for Ms. Piggy, he called home and I asked him where exactly he is.... He told me that he is at the A&E in Mt. Elizabeth hospital! This totally threw me off and I "scolded" him for not telling me the truth!

Apparently, he was hurt during the basketball game and the wound (near to his left eyebrow) required stitches that the GP was unable to do it for him. Thus he was referred to A&E in Mt. Elizabeth hospital. This is not the first time he got hurt during his basketball games!

And he still has the cheek to tell me that since he is an old bird at getting hurt. Ice is always the best to stop bleeding and bruises!!! The moment he made this statement, I warned him that NO BASKETBALL GAMES till his stitches are removed and the wound completely recovered. He protested by whining.... but the wife wins for the time being!

Anyway, I think if PK is uncautious, he will continue to get hurt during his basketball nights. I really dunno what to say..... :(

2009 Year End Review/Reflections

2009-12-23T10:47:00.004+08:00

As year 2009 is coming to an end in 8 days time, its the time of the year where i will be doing a review or reflections of what I had done in the year.

Well, i must say... Looking back, its as if nothing much has happened but there are alot of changes in my life.

1. Family
My parents' problem has finally came to a pinnacle and full blown in everyone's faces. Well, it affected us (my siblings & me) but I had taken this approach, just let them be and do my part as what a child got to do.

On the in laws, its a tough battle. I have to learn how to accept them for what they are and at the same time, drop my prejudices against them too.

2. PK & Me
Like any couples, we have our fair share of ups & downs. Both of us are working together to build a stronger marriage even though we have this difference on rearing Ms. Piggy!

3. Piglet
This little gal is one tough cookie and its a challenge in raising and teaching her. She is real stubborn and a smart one. She knows which buttons of the adults to push in order to get her demands met. As much as she tries my patience and push my boundries, seeing her cheeky smile will melt my heart and throw all my worries and troubles away!

4. Myself
I must say, there has been a lot of toxic and negative elements inside me. I am resentful of alot of things and envious of others. And i always asked myself this question, "What's wrong with myself?" I thank God that help was given to me in many ways that I dun realised it. I won't say that those toxic & negative elements are 100% gone but I m getting them out of my system slowly.

Now, I just gotta tell myself not to take things too seriously and not to be too hard on myself. Humans are not perfect and I should be able to accept that of myself. :)

5. Work
Work is stagnant and instinctly, I know I had to get out of it. But i did not as I had made a lot of excuses for unable to leave, like 2 months notice, fear of a new work environment, difficulty in finding a job, being "chopped" in terms of pay negotiation in the new job etc etc... The more I had all these excuses, the harder it is to leave and not to mention, resentful emotions start to accumulate! So, I had given myself a timeline for my current work situation. This will buy me some time and enable me to plan my next move!

Finally, 2009 is really an interesting year for me and my only wish is that 2010 will be an even better year! :)

Death - a release

2009-12-23T09:42:00.002+08:00

Last weekend, Mum, Bro & the Ang family went to visit my Sembawang Auntie.

Auntie was diagnosed with cancer 9 years ago and she had a relapse in March this year. The relapse was back with a vengance! Auntie did not want to go through chemotherapy but her family encouraged her to go and thus, she went for it.

In June, Auntie went to attend K's 1st month celebration and she was unhappy during the celebration as my Uncle and cousins forbidded her to eat the buffet spread at the celebration. In fact, Auntie even threw tantrums and Uncle was pissed off with Mum and friends as he deemed them to let Auntie to have the food!

But Uncle & my cousins were unable to see from Auntie's point of view, Auntie knew that even though she has gone for the chemotherapy but to her, its just prolonging her life cum suffering. Thus, she knew that she can pass away anytime, she definitely wants to eat what she wants and do what she wants!

Back to last weekend's visit, she was happy to see us but it was upsetting for me to see her in such a state. She was so fragil, she told me matter of fact that she is not doing well as she can't eat or sleep. Her weight has gone further down from 40++kg to 30++kg. Auntie has decided to stop her chemotherapy much to the chargain of her family and she is looking forward to death as she told us that its her only release.

But her family is holding on to her, Uncle being the devoted husband is looking at the ways & means to cook food for her. Currently, Uncle is cooking veggie soup for her and it does help to whet Auntie's appetite. Mum further encouraged Auntie not to give up Uncle's efforts.

I pray that Auntie will not suffer anymore and I told Mum that no matter how upsetting it is. Death will be the only release for Auntie as i really dun want to see her suffer anymore.

Yippee!!!!!!!

2009-12-22T14:15:00.002+08:00

Yippeee!!!!!!! Today is the 2nd day that Ms Piggy did not cry when I left her at the childcare centre for work!!

She even kissed me & waved bye bye to me before the teacher brought her for the SOP (temperature check & rashes check!)

Only funny thing is she will stare at those newcomers who wailed like nobody's biz!

My Shoes!

2009-12-20T10:55:00.004+08:00

Bought 2 pairs of shoes from Ecco last month and here they are!

Gold Ballerina Flats

Black Flats

First Bite!

2009-12-20T10:44:00.002+08:00

The above is the bitemark that Ms Piggy got from her classmate! The childcare centre teacher called me and told me about how this incident arised! The best part is Claire wanted to continue playing with this classmate!

For Mum, its "revenge" as Ms Piggy used to bite Mum when Mum refused to give into her demands. The childcare teachers are stunned to know that Claire is a biter!!! Anyway, i told the teachers that its very common among children to act in such a manner!

Some updates of Ms Piggy

2009-12-18T12:13:00.002+08:00

Ms Piggy has been in the childcare centre for 2.5 weeks liao. Well, she is doing fine except that she will still cry when she realised that Mum or me will leave her there in the centre.

I had checked with the Principal yesterday on her status being. The Principal told me that the teachers loved to play with her as she is responsive and sometimes, the teachers will "quarrel" with her. I was surprised to know that Claire is chatty in the school but not surprised to know that she loves to disturb people!

Mum witnessed her "harassing" a classmate (a boy) and 2 other classmates of hers were laughing at her antics! There is a possibility in the future that the teachers will call & complain to me about her antics!

Also, due to the change in the new environment, her poo problem came back and one of these nights, she actually can't sleep due to being constipated. Mum had to resort to insert a soap up her butt to enable her to poo! Not to mention that, Claire insisted on Mum accompanying to her sleep but the moment, Mum came over. She refused to sleep and played!

Last nite, I told Mum to endure her cries and true enough, Ms Piggy knew that even by her demand won't be met even by crying. Not long after that, she fell asleep! This gal of mine is so smart... Really knows which buttons to push to get her demands met!

Currently, her fave person is my bro! Bro just came back from Canberra, initially she was shy and once she warmed up to him. She will ask for him! When Mum fetched her from the childcare centre, she asked Mum, "Kaofu leh?" Not to mention, super happy to see Bro coz Bro will play with her!

Ideal situation

2009-12-15T16:18:00.002+08:00

In the ideal work situation, there is no politics, colleagues are nice and things are done in the most efficient, effective & economical way.

But it is only an ideal situation.

In the ideal family situation, the parents are loving, the children are well taken care of and there are no in laws issue.

But it is only an ideal situation.

Conclusion, i m dreaming again... *Slaps* Back to reality to test the report again!

KKH Appointment

2009-12-12T14:09:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, PK & I took leave to bring Ms. Piggy for her KKH appointment at Clinic K. She was referred to see the Allergy PD. The appointment was at 2.10pm.

We were lucky that we dun have to wait for long and also Claire was asleep then. (At least, both parents can just sit there to wait for the doctor.) It was so kind of E (she works in KKH) to come and chat with us so that we can pass time while waiting for the doctor.

Claire was still asleep when we saw the doctor. She woke up when the Doctor examined her and she was starting to act up but Dr. Anne Goh was patient with her and spoke softly to her. Thus, Ms Piggy did not started her usual wailing when she is at the Doctor. Dr. Goh was surprised to see that Claire's skin is very good for her eczema condition and from the conversation we had with her, Dr. Goh must be thinking, "The parents are definitely too gan cheong."

Dr. Goh sent Piglet for a skin prick test first. For this skin prick test, Claire was to be tested for 14 type of allergies. Boy, how she wailed & howled during the skin prick test and the test was conducted on her back. First, the lady drawn 14 lines on her back and started pricking Claire 14 times. Its as if Claire is having her tattoo! The test results were out 15 minutes later.

We went back to Dr. Goh and this time, Dr. Goh did not think that we are gan cheong parents. From the skin prick test, Claire is allergic to housedust mites and peanuts!!! Dr. Goh ordered for another blood test (more intensive test on peanuts allergy) and skin prick test (to test for other nuts allergy).

So we went to have the 2nd round of skin prick test, this time it was conducted on Ms. Piggy's left hand. It was another struggle to pin her hand down for the test to be conducted. If you had seen the way she cried, it was so scary and heart breaking but we had no choice. After the skin prick test, we had to send her for the blood test.

While waiting for her turn for it, Mum came over and Claire was so happy to see her Popo! I bought Claire inside the room for the nurse to draw her blood. The nurse attempted to coax her to let them draw blood on her left hand but Ms. Piggy wont. She just crossed her arms and looked away from them. I told the nurses that we have to do it by force. Wow, the nurse was utterly stunned by her strength, we all have to pin both her hands down in order for them to draw the blood.

And she was wailing extremely loud, Mum came into the room and she was stretching her hands out for Mum to carry as if Mum is her saviour! Mum pacified her and she was okie after that. She was so happy to wave bye bye to the nurses and she immediately dashed out of the clinic!

Her next appointment at KKH is scheduled in April 2010. I pray that there will be no more such tests. It breaks my heart to see all the needle holes on her hands & back, in total there are 22 holes. 21 due to the skin prick test and 1 for the blood test! No wonder, Dr Chan and Dr Chow did not recommend me to bring her for these tests.... but what to do when we realised that she has such a bad reaction to Peanut butter and we need to find out!

Ms. Piggy in her uniforms!

2009-12-12T14:01:00.004+08:00

"PE" attire after their shower at the childcare centre

Yellow, the only colour that suits her to a T!

Decisions, decisions

2009-12-08T22:25:00.003+08:00

I had been thinking about a lot of stuff recently, the stuff i thought about is the usual, my family & work.

Family, the need for moving from Redhill to Bedok seems to be more and more obvious. Claire has started her childcare life and the centre is situated a few blocks away from my parents' place. Currently, both of us are staying at my parents' place till Ms. Piggy gets used to childcare life. PK was resistant to the idea of moving to Bedok initially but i highlighted to him about the childcare arrangement and Claire's future education. He has gradually accepted it and due to "face" issues, he has not admitted to me that he is actually tired from all these travelling between Bedok & Redhill.

Myself, I m also tired of the travelling but been telling myself that it is not. As i m afraid that if i admit that it is, i might lose the strength to go on. But I m in a stage of self denial, by admitting it earlier at least, i wont find ways and means to escape from the stress of it! Now, i just have to tell myself that its a temporary situation and it will improve soon!

Work, also dependent on the family factor. I m unhappy in my current working environment as its simply stagnant. No room for growth be it in terms of promotion in duties or pay. If SS will to see this post, she will definitely say, "Hey, i had given you the opportunity but you refused to take it!" My answer, "I had given my feedback to you but with your micro-management style and insecurities, you failed to motivate me to go further. That's your failure and please dun blame it on the company structure!"

Recently, I realised why I m so angry with SS and some of my colleagues. I m happy that I knew the reason and at least, I dun have to carry this toxic feelings inside me. Now, I know that I should just do what is required of me and be open to options, be positive and I m sure better opportunities will come along. Also, at the same time, i must learn how to deal with occassional unreasonable demands/requests from SS, Anna and her gang. By knowing to better deal with them, this will enable me to have a better EQ in handling human relations.

Now, i told myself not to think too much about the future. Just do what is required of me at work, spent more time with my family and improve on the communication channels with PK and also at the same time, if there is any better career opportunities, just go for it... I m sure i will be able to get out from this moody period. That i think will be the best decision.

Childcare!

2009-12-07T14:26:00.003+08:00

Finally, Ms Piggy has started her childcare centre life!

Last Tuesday, 1st December 2009 was her 1st day! I took half day leave to send her there and accompanied her. The principal briefed us on the SOP and also manage our expectations of the childcare centre. From this briefing, it seems that a lot of parents actually withdraw their children from NxxC childcare centre & sent them here. (Both centres are separated by just one main road!)

Claire was extremely curious about the childcare centre and she was exploring the centre by walking up and down, looking for things to play with. She literally ignored me and she was happily playing with the toys in the centre.

On the 2nd day, PK took leave to accompany her there. She was clingy to PK, she almost got into a fight with another classmate over toys, not to mention she refused to finish her lunch. She still continue her exploration with the centre by walking up & down. The only time she was ok to be sitting down is during sing song session! Mum told me that she ate a lot when she was back home!

On the 3rd & 4th day, Piglet was extremely clingy to Mum and Mum can only sneak off when she was engrossed with toys or being distracted by food. Mum noticed that there is a classmate of hers that want to make friends with Claire. Her classmate was putting her hand on Claire's shoulders and leading her to play with her!

The teachers had to put 2 chairs near to the entrance to prevent Claire from going out and Ms. Piggy was so happy to see Mum when she came to fetch her home!

Starting from today, we will let her be in the childcare centre for the full day session. Mum told me this morning that Claire was all smiles when she worn her uniform for the first time to school. Mum also mentioned that Ms. Piggy was clingy and Mum can only sneak off when she was distracted by toys. I wonder how Claire will fare today!

Ms Claire & her poor battered cat!

2009-11-28T15:41:00.002+08:00

Ms Claire with Cat Cat (her fave stuff toy that is "battered" by her)

Taken at home before we go to Ah Gong & Ah Ma's place

What's Ms Claire up to these days!

2009-11-26T10:20:00.002+08:00

Ms Claire has been back home for almost a week already.

During her 2 weeks of absence, her development seems to be so fast!

She is more willing to play by herself, has a better understanding of how to play certain toys and not to mention, be able to express herself better even though at times, I m still trying to figure out what she wants.

But she is extremely clingy to me these days. She dun want PK to bath her, pat her to sleep or bring her to my parents' place. Everything is Mama! Yesterday was the ultimate, she wailed when she realised its PK bringing her to Bedok and not me, I can hear her wails from the lift inside my room (our apartment is on the 3rd floor!)

PK was totally helpless and even using food to pacify her doesn't work. In the end, PK sung the "Sweetie Pie" song and she was okay after that.

I guess 2 weeks of not seeing me makes her extremely clingy to me and now, i m worried about her childcare days next week onwards!

Weary.. really weary

2009-11-25T05:28:00.002+08:00

I m really weary... In a span of 2 days, another family drama unfolds again.

As mentioned earlier in some of my posts, my parents are not on talking terms and their behaviour are downright childish. On Monday, my Dad called me and lashed out at me despites my repeated attempts to tell him to talk to me after 6pm as I m swarmed with work. But NO, he just won't stopped!

I decided I had enough of the parents' behaviour and i had to speak out to both parties separately in order to get the issue resolved or at least made it known to them that their behaviour is getting on everyone's nerves. So, i spoke to my Mum first as I was meeting her after work. I told her the truth about my siblings & my take on their behaviour and told her that both parents are at fault for things to come to such an end. As usual, Mum cried and at that moment, I regretted my decision to tell her that while at the same time, I feel relief.

As I had to stay over at my parents place on Monday nite, Mum came in twice into Bro's room and asked me why do I think she is at fault and questioned me even further as if I m siding with my Father. The thing that pissed me off most is to threaten me with the childcare arrangement again! Nevermind, at 12 midnight, a call from London and asked me why do I have to confront my Mum with the truth?

Next morning, I woke up feeling unwell as due to lack of sleep, my flu has finally blown up. Went to office with blocked nose & ears that led to teary eyes. My colleagues all told me to see the doc & take the day off. Guess what, at the doc's place, Mum called and told me to pick up Claire straight after seeing the doctor as if I can afford to be sick, why not she!

I cleared my work and went to pick Claire up and SK Aunt called and talked to me a while about my Mum's behaviour and advised me on what to do. Later, my Dad called and I was not in a mood to talk to anyone. I just switched my mobile to silent mode. Upon reaching home, HK Aunt called and I told her that I will call her back later as I need to settle Claire first.

I called HK Aunt and she asked me this question, "What do you mean by both parents are wrong? What WRONG did your Mum do?" I was like, "What!" and I replied that I dun want to answer her question and I m tired. She begun to plummet me with accusations and that even if I m tired, I MUST ANSWER HER QUESTION. I got fed up and she even accused me of throwing my temper at her... I really can't take it and broke down & i told her that i need to rest.

Suddenly, I m the one who caused everything. Everything is my fault, I should not have say this or that. I m really sick of all this, pandering to everyone... I m really angry, I m angry at my parents for doing this to me. Why can't they settle their own problem and get so many parties involved? I mean getting a divorce in their 60s is nothing shameful to be about either, what is face? If you really want face, will both of you behave in such a manner?

Now, I m really weary of all this drama. I will talk to my Father on Thursday and my case is closed. I should not bother about them anymore and I want to get on with my live. I dun want to be shackled by them anymore.

Updates of Ms. Piggy in HK

2009-11-19T23:04:00.003+08:00

I called Mum in the afternoon and Mum was busy trying to get Ms Piggy to nap. So I hang up and continued my work.

After a while (less than an hour), Mum called me and told Claire to speak to me. I heard her sobbing in the background and I asked her what's the matter and not to cry. Mum told me that Ms. Piggy immediately pouted and attempted to sob louder.

Mum's observation is that Ms. Piggy seems to be missing us and she requested for Mum to call me. I guess Claire was trying to teh me over the phone again. Mum was unwell in HK due to the cold weather so HK Aunt bought Claire to the restaurant for dim sum. On their way back, Ms. Piggy refused to climb up the flight of stairs back home. She just sat down on the stairs, refusing to budge! This gal of mine!

Anyway, i had about another week of freedom before Ms Piggy comes home next Saturday!

All Man are equal but.....

2009-11-19T00:04:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, SS did another thing that really angered me. She was forcing us to clear leave and she told us that if we dun clear all the leave, it will be forfeited. I just stopped short of exposing her coz she bought forward one day of leave herself from 2008 to 2009.

Today, was recounting this incident to the one who got promoted. Guess what, she made this statement, "To be fair to SS, she won't allow you to bring forward the leave coz she will have problem getting you folks to clear 30 days of leave!" I gave her the look and she knew she made the wrong statement.

Frankly speaking, all of us in the dept has no issues in clearing leave but the problem lies in SS. There are far too many of instances & incidents that got the dept frustrated over leave clearance with her that I should not comment.

SS always love to use this phrase, "To be fair to the others, blah blah... U can't take leave." But she dun practise what she preached thus double standards. For me, i dun care how she practise double standards but when it comes to leave, which is my entitlement, I really really get very riled up!

Thus i think this phrase is most suitable for her, "All Men are equal but some are more equal than the others." (Extracted from George Orwell's Animal Farm)

Sour grapes, sour grapes, sour grapes

2009-11-16T21:22:00.002+08:00

Was on MC today due to menstrual cramps. The doctor's advice, to exercise more so that i wont be feeling lousy & in pain.

Just went to check the company email and they made the official announcement of the promotion of my dept colleagues. Frankly speaking, I dun feel good about it and in fact, its SOUR GRAPES cum shitty feeling when the news was first announced last month. In fact, I really want to confront SS on what selection criteria that she has promoted my colleague on but I m afraid to face the truth. Call me a coward or what, I m really afraid and I dun think I want to know either.

With this official announcement, there's no reason that my colleague should complain about lopsided job scope allocation. In fact, she was comparing the duties allocated earlier as compared to now etc etc... I believe the company will compensate her accordingly.

For me, I had accepted the fact, handled it and going to put it down (still trying coz on & off, i will gloat about it.) The next step that I m going to do is to find better opportunities for myself especially I had lost my drive to work in this company. Nothing motivates me now.... Thank god for the support & encouragement that I had been given by my other dept colleagues. They restored my faith in myself and told me that this, "If its meant to be yours, it will be. Dun force it." That strongly encouraged me and I tell myself that the time is not ripe yet. Thus, nothing for me at the moment and my sis is even funnier, she commented that I might be the next one to be promoted to higher level. I almost choked on her compliement!

Anyway, whatever isit... Work still has to be done. Whatever decisions that SS made, i prayed that it wont be extra work for me and frankly speaking, the colleague who got promoted, I have a feeling that her progress might be an exact replica of the drill sergant in my company.

For me, just gotta make the best of my situation and network more with other colleagues in other dept. :) I really wanna see the light sooner at the end of the dark tunnel.

Indian cuisine today...

2009-11-13T23:38:00.002+08:00

I can't believe it myself...

I had Indian Cuisine for 2 meals today, Lunch & dinner.

Lunch was Indian Vegetarian at Amara Hotel Food Court. It was a farewell treat for my colleague, L. He is leaving the company to pursue his Sea Captain course. It was my first time trying it and it gave me a good impression as it was not oily & greasy as the usual Chicken Biryani I had in those Indian Food stalls.

L was surprised that it was my first time having it and he was relieved to know that i enjoy it very much. We chatted about work, family and stuff. We shared similar views on our company's management and he even told me about this nickname given to one of the colleagues. From him, i learnt quite a couple of things and this will help me in my work experience in dealing with people.

Dinner was at Tiffin Room, Raffles hotel. As PK was a Feed at Raffles Gourmet card member, the compliementary voucher was buffet at Tiffin Room or Bar & Billard Room at Raffles Hotel. We decided to give Tiffin Room a try since Bar & Billard Room's buffet is CMI. Quoting PK's words, "To try ATAS curry!"

Well, the ambience was good and the food was good too especially the Tomato Soup that they had at the buffet, its something like Tom Yum (slightly spicy) while at the same time hearty... good for the rainy weather. Basically, the variety is not as much as those normal buffet but it gives u an insight on the North Indian food from appetitisers to main course to desserts.

The desserts we tried, i must say is really an acquired taste and it s either too sweet or too bland for most of it. PK & I loved the Indian style ice cream but we concluded that we won't go for the 2nd time unless its a treat! :P

For me, as usual after each Indian food meal, I will have the runs and that explains why I wont go for Indian food. :)

Clowns

2009-11-13T09:31:00.002+08:00

For the past few days, my colleague has been interviewing potential candidates for the position of the Financial Accountant.

Quite a no of colleagues came up to me and asked me this question,"Your dept hiring ah? I tot headcount freeze = hiring freeze?"

One of them's reaction is even more agitated. He even cited that in HIP (Co's intranet) explicitly stated about the headcount freeze and stuff. Guess he is fed up but who isn't?

In one dept, they hired a foreign import from UK to do a normal executive work. The amount of $$ spent on getting this foreign import is more than hiring a local one.

Another dept, a colleague requested for 4 months unpaid leave to upgrade himself for a Captain course. His boss reply, "4 months of unpaid leave? Might as well resign." The boss' reasoning is that there is a shortage of manpower thus he can't grant him the unpaid leave. Well, alot of us saw this dept's colleagues playing online games & stuff.... Shortage of manpower? Hmm, my colleague resigned and will go for his course soon.

See, all these just made the management looked like clowns. I wonder what other funny stuff they will come up with...

PS: Dept requested for lunch duty to be voided but SS refusing & cite alot of reasons. Me expected that!

Phew!

2009-11-10T16:58:00.002+08:00

Had a dept meeting to discuss about the handover of roles cum changes in the job scope.

I m really fortunate, my portfolio remains the same and the tough work that I m doing now, there is a back up plan!!! Yeah!

The colleague who got promoted, has plenty of tasks loaded on her and she commented that it seems that SS has dumped almost majority of the colleagues work on her & 2 other colleagues.

My only logical explanation is that SS foresees that my another 2 colleagues & me have the highest possibility of leaving, thus such handover of job scope.

Anyway, I thank god for this.

Home Projects!!!

2009-11-09T23:06:00.002+08:00

Below is a list of home projects that I hoped to achieve!

1. Wall sticker decoration in Claire's room - Just done it with 90% of the work done by PK, he is better in this than me!

2. Storeroom reorganisation - Yesterday, my PT cleaning lady helped me clear out some of the stuff. Now the remaining portion is to reorganise the things so that the storeroom dun looked as if the stuff will topple on you anytime!

3. Wardrobe clearance - My wardrobe is in a mess and i need to throw or give away those clothes that i can't wear but in good condition.

4. Kitchen reorganisation - The stuff are lying all over the place even though i have storage space for them.

5. To paint Ms. Piggy's table & chairs in another colour - Optional project.

Claire in HK

2009-11-08T23:54:00.003+08:00

Claire is starting to get used to the life in HK now.

First day, she was in HK. She wailed upon reaching HK Aunt's home & she only stopped when she stepped into her room. As that was the room she had stayed before in March. During the 1st day there, the elders DUN DARE to lecture her & give in to her whims as they re afraid of her crying for us, the parents.

So in the end, she literally challenged the elders by defying them. HK Aunt climbed onto a make shift ladder (a chair with a stool on it) to get the blankets & stuff for them. Ms. Piggy immediately climbed onto it the moment she saw HK Aunt on it. HK Aunt was desparately shouting for HK Uncle to get Claire off the chair. Somehow, HK Uncle din catch it. The situation was so hilarious that HK Aunt just broke off laughing while at the same time worried for Claire's safety.

During my conversation with Piglet these few days, she will pout & looks about to cry whenever she heard my voice. The ultimate was on the 2nd day, PK told her to sing the "I love you" song from Barney. She immediately pouted & wanted to cry. True enough, that night she woke up crying for us and Mum has to pacify her.

Mum told me that she is getting used to the life in HK, whenever Claire mentioned about me, Mum will tell her that I m working. Occassionally, she will utter this phrase, "Mama, working.

For me, i missed her like crazy but without her around gives the time to declutter my place. I have project Storeroom, Wardroom & photographs printing lined up to do. Plus, it also allows PK & I to have some couple time together. Though PK doesn't have any outwardly shown appearance of missing Ms. Claire. I know that he misses her too... coz at the Airport send off, he was trying so hard to get her to kiss him!

Sending Ms Claire off

2009-11-04T17:51:00.003+08:00

Ms Piggy & Mum flown off this morning to HK.

When we reached Changi Airport T3 this morning, we were in for a shock! The internet check in queue was snaking! So, Mum queued while we checked for other counters for check in. Upon confirmation, that is the only counter! :(

Fortunately, a SQ staff diverted us to the check in counters for Business Class! It was no joke, different flight classes of check in counters had different decor. For Economy class, it was plain & simple! For Biz, there was a blue carpet in front of the counter BUT for First Class, it was RED CARPET!!!

They are supposed to fly there on last Saturday but with everyone sick upon our return from KL. Their trip was postponed till this morning, they will be in HK for at least 3 weeks. (Ya, 3 weeks of holiday for me!)

But i will miss Ms Piggy terribly, in fact my eyes teared when I saw her going into the departure hall! Mum teased me by saying, "Aiya, if u miss her, just bring her back home lah... Dun let her go!" I almost forgotten to give the 顺风 angbao to Ms. Claire, lucky Mum caught my signal & U-turn to get the angbao from me before heading to the immigration!

Mum called me earlier to inform me of their arrival in HK (Auntie's place). She told me about their flight to HK. Ms Claire was quite steady and behaved like a seasoned traveller. She never cry during take off or landing but her tears started rolling seeing my HK Aunt!

Well, as much as i will miss Claire terribly but it will be another break for me!

All shook up!

2009-10-22T20:55:00.003+08:00

Today is really a big office shake up. Our CFO called for a meeting at 6.20pm and made the below announcements:

1. Foreign import of my dept => Head of Finance (News of head of finance resignation came last Friday during Happy Hour)

2. Colleague N will be taking over the duties of foreign import => CFO mentioned that she is "promoted" makes me wonder is promotion in terms of job scope, pay or level or everything.

3. Colleague G from Finance will be transferred to my dept.

4. They will hire another person to replace colleague G.

My thoughts, mixed feelings on the "promotion" part on Colleague N. On 2nd thoughts, i know where i stand so i know the reason for not "promoting" me. My only concern is work rotation and major shuffle among job duties.... Sianz....

In fact, all these happenings made me more determined to leave the company. I m already panicking inside my heart when i knew the work i done will lead me to nowhere. Looking at how the management does things further disgusted me especially on the headcount freeze & stuff. Imagine they re cutting our pay to cut costs & yet they re talking about replacement? Makes no sense, spending $$ whereby it should not be spending.

PK is very supportive, his advice is for me to get the bonus & leave the company without a job if I really can't take it. During the last interview that i went, the potential employer is quite of sianz to hear about me having to give 2 months notice. Furthermore, resigning now is not a good option coz I need to serve 2 months notice & i will have to forgo my 13th mth AWS too.

Well, i guess i just have to be patient like what ah fry advised and adopt a wait & see approach. :)

Ms Piggy turns 2 on 17th October

2009-10-21T09:25:00.004+08:00

Round 1 celebration with PK's family!

Round 2 Celebration with my family!

Happy Birthday to my little Cheeky one! My wishes for you? To grow up healthy & happy!

Invitation card

2009-10-18T23:18:00.002+08:00

Got the above wedding invitation from my childhood friend, his wedding is held on this coming Sunday, 25th October 2009. The invitation card resembles more like a Chinese New Year card but I just love it...

To me, its a break from the usual ones I had seen in Singapore. :)

Thank you, Aunty Meow! :)

2009-10-12T23:10:00.005+08:00

Thank you, Aunty Meow for the pressie! Finally, got a "靓靓" bag to go to school liao!

The bag bag is wrapped up so nicely that Mama dun want to open!

Here is my "靓靓" bag!

Hehe, modelling it!

Another view of the bag!

Hee, I m so happy to have a new bag! *Muaks* Aunty Meow! :)

PS: Ms. Piggy refused to let us keep the bag away... Gotta distract her with Gong gong's new laptop!

So touched...

2009-10-12T00:06:00.002+08:00

Piglet is turning 2 on this coming Saturday...

She is a lucky gal as she has received her birthday gifts before even the actual day.

What touched me the most is the Barney DVD she received from her Gonggong! Dad was complaining to me why she loves Barney so much coz he wanted to buy her a Snow White one.

I m touched by Dad's gestures as he is financially tight now and he still bothers to get something for her!

Some pix to share

2009-10-10T13:41:00.005+08:00

Someone from the office

2009-10-07T13:27:00.002+08:00

I used to get along ok with this someone from the office - P. P just got promoted to the same level as SS (Smart Superior).

On my way out to lunch, I saw P at the lift lobby. Her fingernails was coated with crystals/stones that sparkled, her diamond rings on both hands also sparkled. At that moment, I was made even more dizzy by the sparkling stones that I really need to put on a pair of sunglasses to block out the glare. She was decked out in labels from head to toes.

Even since she has been promoted to the director level, she has been more flashy than ever in terms of her outward appearance and attitude. The most apt Chinese term to describe her is, "暴发户". I was thinking to myself, "Does power do this to people?" Looking at P's boss, A at Sr Director level doesn't behave in this manner and I still can joke & laugh with her but not P.

P just disgusts me to no point and I must say she is like a lesson for me, to learn how to be humble coz I might turn out to be like P and disgusts others to no point too. Now, I wonder how to reach the level like A?

Weddings, weddings

2009-10-06T19:26:00.004+08:00

This month, I have 2 weddings to attend. One in Singapore while the other is in my Mum's hometown, Bentong, Pahang.

Told PK about the SG one as it was quite last minute. Originally, we re not invited as the affair was meant to be a small one as it was a 2nd marriage for my family friend. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the groom's side needs to add tables to the banquet, thus the invitation to us.

PK was like, how come 2nd marriage still like so grand? As based on our rationale, usually it will be a quiet affair but for my family friend, she has another wedding banquet & wedding photos taken. I was like, "Search me?"

As for the other wedding in Msia, it was long planned and it will be a church wedding cum lunch. It is also a family friend and I looked forward to it! As i really missed the weddings held in small towns where it is a more initimate affair! :)

Buey tahan PK....

2009-10-06T18:32:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I told PK that Mum bought the mattress so that she can have a better nite sleep if she 's bunking over at our place.

Then, we re discussing which mattress to throw for the daybed. Currently, the daybed has 2 mattresses, one is the standard that comes with the daybed & the other is the feather mattress pad over it.

So, I suggested that to throw both away. PK said no and that he wants to keep the feather mattress pad by exclaiming," 它跟了我这么久，有感情的ok!!!" I laughed loudly upon hearing his outburst!

Mum is bad... very bad...

2009-10-02T23:36:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I met up with Mum at Raffles City Shopping centre after work as Mum wants to get this Samsonite Cabin lugguage & Robinson card members has a special price for it.

So after the Ben & Jerry's Banana Spilt sundae we had, we went to check out the lugguage. In the end, we didn't get it coz its not big enough as a cabin size lugguage. We went to Coach to check out the keyfobs but it was closed for the day.

Then we went to Agnes B and checked out their bags. Mum & I were discussing about the bags' design & functionality. While I went to the mirror with a bag to see how it looks, there is this lady who looks pissed off with me for "sharing" the mirror space.

She was carrying this bag made of plastic (similar to my Harrods' plastic bag) and kept on admiring it in the mirror. We overheard her telling the sales assistant that she has been THINKING about this bag over last weekend & for the past few days.... Finally the lady put down the bag and I requested to see it...

The sales assistant told us the bag is a NEW ARRIVAL!! Well, the bag is nice but it doesn't deserve the $195 price tag. Guess what Mum said, "Aiya, this bag is only good as a SWIMMING BAG!!!"

The expression on that lady's face is priceless. We deduct that she wont buy the bag after hearing Mum's comments!

The Drummer Bee Lantern that plays Techno Music

2009-10-02T23:25:00.004+08:00

This is the lantern that gets on my nerves with the techno music. My dear Mum laughed heartily when i told her about the dirty looks from the MRT commuters we got.

Parents....

2009-10-01T17:41:00.003+08:00

Recently, something happened on the home front that rendered alot of unhappiness among the siblings and the parent.

Last nite, Dad was patting Ms Piggy to sleep (usually Ms Piggy demands that from her fave Gong Gong) and he asked me about a family friend's upcoming wedding date. I mentioned to him that I dunno the date and he raised his voice to me,"I m not fooling around with you. I m talking serious."

I was like, "WTF" inside my mind and I retorted to him that I seriously DO NOT know the date coz i was not invited to the wedding. I got out of the room and went to complain to Mum about his action. Frankly speaking, he could have just got me to ask Mum when is the date instead of raising his voice & attempted to express to me how "SERIOUS" the matter is or rather showing me that he is the FATHER and I should not mess with him.

Mum told me that she doesn't feel like attending the wedding with him and fortunately, the family friend has kindly arranged both of them to sit separately at the wedding. I was like, "Ok" and chatted with Mum on a friend's mentality on something.

I was telling Mum that its a dilemma for me on how to treat Dad nicely. He gave us alot of problems yet he raised us and gave us an education. Furthermore in the past, he doted on his niece rather than Sis & I. Now, he loves Ms. Piggy more than anyone of us and will always be the first one to help me with Ms. Piggy.

Mum was asking telling me how difficult it is for her to face Dad now and she seriously can't stand the sight of Dad now. Seeing them in this kind of situation, there s nothing I can do as their problem is deeply rooted and been there for many years. All I could do now is be their messenger.

Lantern

2009-09-29T22:59:00.003+08:00

Mum just bought a lantern for Claire. Its the battery operated plastic type and costs $5.90 despites Mum's attempt to bargain it down to $5. The sales assistant even told Mum that its a bargain coz he is throwing the batteries in for FREE! Sheesh, my first tot was... Isit batteries supposed to come with it???

Back to the lantern, it is in the shape of a bee, plays TECHNO music (which gets on my nerves) while at the same time, the bee will play the drum... Try to imagine a DRUMMER BEE lantern! I seriously wondered why must they manufacture lanterns with Techno music...

Judging from the way that Ms. Piggy handles the lantern, it s more like DESTROYING the lantern! Ms. Piggy is very happy with the lantern when she first got her hands on it and she kept on "playing" with it on our MRT ride home. But 15 minutes into the MRT ride, she gets bored of it and attempted to destroy the lantern.

So PK & I are wondering whether the lantern is able to last till this Saturday in a working condition and we felt that we might be too optimistic about it...

Declutter...

2009-09-28T10:11:00.002+08:00

I was lamenting to Mum & PK about my LV bag that I had bought in London. It has became a white elephant sitting in my wardrobe.

I bought the bag as I liked the design of the bag and my intention was to get one "IT" bag and to use it for at least 10 years. Not to mention, being able to pass it down to Claire just like my jewellery!

However, reality sinks in! As much as the bag is functional and well-designed, the bag weighs a ton when I put my basic personal belongings in it and that's the thing I hate most especially when you need to carry a toddler too! I could count the number of times I had used the bag with my 10 fingers!

So now, I had put the bag up for sale and I hoped it will find a new owner soon!

Alarm bells ringing

2009-09-25T23:44:00.002+08:00

The sharp jabbing pain in my left shoulder blade to the numb feeling in my left arm and hand set my health alarm bells ringing! These pain came on & off and each time, it took even longer to recover.

I went to see the company doctor for consultation and ended up getting a whole load of rubbish. My colleagues & I seriously suspect how this particular doctor got the license to practise! Anyway, I went for tui na to fix this problem.

Based on the masseuse, I had hurt the area slightly below my left shoulder blade & this is the main reason for those pain I had as they re all connected. She mentioned that Stress, lack of rest & exercise are the culprits that caused such pain. The tui na massage helps to alleivate the pain alot and my left hand is able to move without having those sharp jabbing pain. She advised that I go swimming and to avoid carrying any heavy stuff or exert strength using my left hand.

To me, its difficult. I need to carry that a moving sack of 11kg++ rice (Ms. Piggy) and i m left handed.... Anyway, i will try to rest my left hand as much as possible and find time to go swimming.

Language

2009-09-22T09:58:00.002+08:00

I was sharing a video of Claire & her cat with my friends when Ah Fry posed this question to me, "Do you speak English or Mandarin to her?"

This led me to "freak out" again as I don't intend for her to be a language victim like me when I first started Primary School.

My Mum is the sole care taker of Ms Piggy and she speaks mainly Cantonese to her, not to mention me and my family. PK speaks to her mainly in Mandarin & English and sometimes a bit of Hokkien & Cantonese. If outsiders speak to her in Mandarin or English, she will give you the intense & "I dunno what you re talking" look to them.

Just as I was worried about it, Ms Piggy assured me that she won't be a language victim. I was telling her not to play with the power sockets and she mumbled this phrase to me, "Dounch touch!" Later on that day, she was asking PK to the Barney DVD for her to watch in Mandarin.

Phew, I think my colleague is rite as she was telling me not to be worried about the language stuff. As long as we speak to her in different languages, Claire will able to pick up, learn & understand!

MRT Ride....

2009-09-18T11:17:00.002+08:00

The Ang Family took the MRT rides everyday, shuffling between Redhill & Bedok.

For whatever reason, Ms Piggy can't sit still in the MRT (if we take buses, she will be able to sit on my lap even for an 1 hour bus ride!!!).

Ms Piggy will hold on to the poles, followed by running from one cabin to another cabin. This is the nightmare for me! Threats, whacking & bribery all dun worked on her, she just wanna get down from the seat & be a pole dancer!

Bribery: I had let her played with my MRT card, mobile phone & even camera but all these will at most lasted for 5 minutes out of the 26 minutes train ride!

Yesterday, I really can't take it anymore. I just gave her 2 whacks on her butt, put her to sit on my lap and firmly enclosed her so that she can't move. I had to endure 10 minutes of her protests and stares from other passengers. In the end, she just sat still on my lap.

Its a dilemma for me in the sense that I dun want to overdose on Corporal punishment but most of the time, it works!

Ms Piggy wont be starved....

2009-09-17T17:21:00.002+08:00

This morning, Mum called me & this is our conversation:

Mum: Did you give Piglet her milk this morn?
Me: No, why?
Mum: HARRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mum: I tot u had GIVEN her milk this morn!! No wonder, she climbed on to the table and get food herself! She even polished off the whole raisin bun!!!

Another instance was Mum was having a telephone conversation with Bro and Ms Piggy kept on asking Mum for porridge. Mum ignored her and continued talking to Bro coz the food was not ready yet.

Ms Piggy went to the kitchen cabinet, took out the rice scoop and her little bowl, went to open the rice cooker and attempted to scoop the rice out. But she stopped and exclaimed to Mum, "Hot Hot"! Meaning the rice is too hot for her to scoop out!

Conclusion: Ms Piggy won't be starved. She knows where to get food from.

Freaky, morbid stuff

2009-09-17T13:48:00.002+08:00

I guess it must be the illness in me that led me to have these type of freaky & morbid dreams for the past few days.

In this dream, my family and I went on a vacation & staying at a relatives' place. The bed that I was sleeping on actually has a coffin underneath it! Someone was buried underneath bed!!

It became even more freaky when the whole family decided to open the coffin and checked out who is the person and it turned out to be some relative who has passed away very long ago! It turned out that the relative (owner of the place) knew about it and did not tell us about it.

The dream was so real that I woke up feeling frightened. It just sounded straight out like a movie plot. This is just one of the dreams that I remembered, it is so freaky & morbid.

Perhaps, it meant that there is something swirling in my mind that translates in such a dream.. It might mean positive stuff? Well, i guess its just a form of self-consolation.

How to curb this habit?

2009-09-14T23:14:00.002+08:00

Ms Piggy has this annoying habit of biting her soft toys and especially before sleeping time!

Currently, my first priority is to wean her off the midnight milk feeds. I tot it was a success but on Sat night, she resumed crying for milk again, hopefully it will go away soon!

Today in the MRT, I was so pissed off by this comment of an Auntie. Claire was sitting inside her stroller and biting her cat (as usual) and then she threw the cat on the floor in a bid to get PK & my attention. We re ignoring her so that she wont give us any pattern. Her pattern can cause alot of disruption to other passengers and we figured out that IGNORANCE is the BEST TACTIC.

This Auntie saw Claire's action of biting the cat & throwing the cat. She immediately threw out this to me, "Dun let the kid bit the cat. You must teach her!" I told PK, "Why she so KPO?" Another Auntie told her not to be KPO coz it dun concerned her. I know that Auntie's comments meant good but does she want Claire to cause disruption to her and others?

Previously, I was also self-righteous when I saw kids misbehaving on the train & stuff. But now I know why some parents adopted certain tactics. So now, I wont comment on anything unless that kid displayed extreme behaviour like bullying or stuff....

Anyway, we tried to apply lemon juice on Claire's cat to stop her from biting it but somehow, it failed. Quoting PK's words, "Lemon juice is like eating the super lemon sweet. No effect one and she gets high on it!" PK suggested bittergourd juice and I think this will be the next on my agenda.

The Wet Market Trip

2009-09-13T14:29:00.004+08:00

I bought Ms Piggy to the pau sat yesterday & this morning and the below is what we did:

1. We went to get our meat & veggies.
2. I bought a raisin bun for Ms Piggy
3. We went to the food centre to buy breakfast.
4. We walked to the newspapers stall & bought the papers.

In fact, both of us enjoyed our wet market trips. Claire will point out the birds to me and attempt to run after them. She will help me to carry my stuff or help me pay for the things.

If she wants to see how the stallholders do their work, she will request that I carry her so that she can have a better view.

I aimed to keep this up as long as possible and when she gets older, we will be able to have our breakfast at the food centre after our marketing.

Sleepy....

2009-09-09T15:22:00.002+08:00

I seriously suffered from a lack of sleep.

Tuesday midnite, Mum called and told me that she vomitted, BP is high and seeing stars and Dad is not at home. I immediately took a cab down to Bedok from Redhill and sent her to the 24 hours clinic to see the doctor. She had called me earlier and told me about her condition but she refused to see the doctor.

By the time i reached home, it was close to 2am and I took a day's leave to take care of Claire myself as Mum is unwell. I managed to book an appointment to see Claire's PD as Ms Piggy has been coughing for 2 weeks and sometimes she coughed till she vomitted all her food & phelgm together.

Bought her to the PD and she was crying big time when Dr Chan attempted to examine her. Somehow, she remembers that Dr. Chan is the one who gave her the jabs! :P

By the time, we finished seeing the PD & stuff. Its close to 6pm, met Mum & PK for dinner at Sushi Tei in City Hall. Went to Mum's place to stay for the nite. At 2am, Ms Claire woke up to demand for milk, as part of our efforts to wean her off midnight milk feeds, I gave her water instead.

As usual, Ms Piggy tore the house down with her cries & wails. This continued for at least 30 minutes. During this 30 minutes, both Mum and Dad came into the room to scold her while I almost got hit by her flying milk bottle. Mum also instructed me to sleep in Sis' room and Claire cried harder when i left the room.

I only went to sleep with her when her cries subsided with gentle sobbing. I patted her and explained to her that why she can't have her milk and stuff. She finally sobbed herself to sleep.

钟无艳 2009

2009-09-07T21:30:00.003+08:00

Mum called me this afternoon and told me that Ms Piggy has became 钟无艳.

Apparently, Claire climbed on top of her toy box (Mum placed it on her side table) and lost her balance. She fell and in the process, her cheek knocked against the sofa arms (thus the bruise). The moment I heard about it, I asked Mum whether Claire cried. As crying is usually an indicator that they re alright 90% of the times.

Mum said Claire is ok as she was behaving normally after the fall and that she cried even harder when Mum said she is not pretty anymore! I set my heart at peace when i heard that. Anyway, I cant help but laughed at seeing her bruise when i fetched her home just now.

Below is a picture of her taken just now, she was pissed off when we attempted to rub the hard boiled egg on her bruise!

Role Reversal

2009-09-07T10:49:00.002+08:00

Its really role reversal.

My Father has morphed into a child now and with his old set ways. Its really difficult to talk to him without losing my sanity. I m still trying to communicate with him better.

Yesterday, my Mum complained to me about his ways. He called me back later to explain tonnes of things about his actions and I have no patience for his explanation as he LOVES to talk by beating around the bushes plus not to mention that I told him that I m busy attending to Ms Piggy.

Furthermore, he has this annoying habit of using his mobile phone to call despites him being at home and our many attempts to tell him not to do that. He being a retiree, instead of cutting back on his expenses, spent more and this became a source of problem for my parents and which in turn will be my problem.

In a sense, my Mum, my siblings and I had given up on our Dad. As much as I don't want to treat him in such a way but he just won't listen to us and now he told us that he wants to resign from his job. I m foreseeing more problems, we did tell him to quit his job if its taking a toll on his health due to the weird working hours. But he will be going back to his old job which is another headache for us.

I do love my Father despites all the stuff he has done to create so much heartaches and pain to the family. Now, I just hope that he will listen to us by not going back to his old job and if possible old ways.

Ms Piggy's horrible temper...

2009-09-03T16:58:00.002+08:00

Ms Piggy is developing a horrible temper and i called it my retribution.

Mum told me that she has been throwing tantrums and fits if things dun go her way and if we dun give in to her demands. She bit Mum and threw herself on the floor when Mum refused to let her watch her kids' program yesterday. Did Mum whack her? No, Mum told me that Claire was fierce and nothing she can do to whack her.

I had tried various ways to curb this temper of hers. She threw fits in front of me, I just ignored her at home and if its getting out of the hand, I will whack her. In public, I will ignore her or just let her cry. Usually, it works as she realised that I wont give in to her demands.

Now I just have to watch my behaviour & temper towards people especially PK. PK usually will irritate me to no end that I will throw my temper at him. In a way, Claire is learning from me that these are acceptable behaviour (thus my retribution).

God, please blessed me with more patience and I truly hoped that this is just a phrase only.

Something funny...

2009-09-01T22:15:00.002+08:00

My co is really screwed up... Last 2 weeks, they announced pay cut + hiring freeze...

But but, they hired an ex-colleague (DG dept) back n during his 1 month absence from the co and rumours has it that his one month absence from the co is considered as UNPAID LEAVE! It just reflects how smart the mgt is!

Anyway, I was quite surprised as SS' statement this morn when S told her about his homecoming. SS said, "他回来做什么？神经病!" Well, SS pledged her loyalty to the co fully no matter what funny policies that the co came up with....

With the recent pay cut, i can see that the loyalty is slowly gone and she is like slowly taichi any extra work for the dept!

Claire's Bag

2009-08-31T09:09:00.002+08:00

Mum wanted to get a school bag for Claire as her birthday present. The bag must be adequate enough to store her childcare centre stuff and not too big for her to carry.

Originally, we used the Sammies Penquin Bag for her but found out to be too big for her during her 1 week stint at the childcare centre! Mum nagged at us for being cheapskate (the bag was a lucky draw prize) & not getting a suitable bag for her.... Then she announced that she will be buying the bag for Ms Piggy as her birthday present.

So the hunt for the perfect bag begins, in fact I had seen 2 ideal bags for Claire but too expensive for a toddler and Mum asked HK Aunt to get one for her in HK's Fatt Yuen Street (near to the Ladies' street) where they sell alot of children's stuff at a affordable price! Alas, HK Aunt din get any coz she told Mum that there is too much to choose from and told Mum to get it herself during her next trip to HK.

I asked ST where she got Kay's bag and dear ST provided me more info on the ideal size of the bag & places where to get from. Not only that, Ah Fry also told me to check out Queensway Shopping Centre for the bags!

During the weekend, we met up for dinner at Taka. Mum went to check out the Sanrio bags sold there, somehow i think Mum is a sucker for Sanrio bags... but Mum was shocked at the price and I told her NO too!

Then PK reminded me, "Errm, i think your old K bag can be used as Claire's schoolbag leh?" I was like, "Ya hor, we go home & check it out first!" Mum was apprehensive about my old K bag's size. We went to dig out my bags and realised that I got 2 K bags.

So, we let Claire tried on both bags and one of them can be used for her school needs!! Yippee!! We let Mum see it and she endorsed the size and said to Claire, "Hehe, Popo can save $$ liao!"

Anyway, Claire is funny... She refused to let go of the bag and insisted to shower together with the bag!

Noise Monsters

2009-08-28T23:39:00.003+08:00

The noise level coming from the playground last nite was so unbearable that I almost called the police.

The playground near to my block is a favourite haunt for teenagers to loiter from 10pm to wee hours in the morning. The amount of noise produced by them is horrible but usually I just tolerate it...

Last nite was the ultimate and I was thinking of calling the police but I believe another kind neighbour was faster than me. As I was surfing the Singapore Police Force site to check out which no to call instead of 999. I m praying that tonight there will be no such noise. If not, i will be the next person in the block to call the police.

Bentong, Pahang

2009-08-28T10:20:00.004+08:00

Bentong - 45 minutes ride from KL & 45 minutes ride to Genting Highlands, Mum's hometown and a small town.

I love to go to this place when I was young! It was a place for me to play and gorge on the food! Its the place where I first saw Fire crackers (banned in SG), where I encountered Kampung life! Mum will bring me to her friends' place, where she will chit chat while i played with other kids...

Usually i m the youngest and always tagging along but the big brothers & sisters will take good care of me. Boy, we had fun pretending to be in a disco! My playmates will switch off all the lights in the room and shone the torchlights, played the cassette recorder and how we danced! Imagine the thrashing we got when the adults finished playing mahjong & realised how we messed up the room! :P

Anyway, going to Bentong these days is for the FOOD! I loved their Hokkien Mee, Ice Kacang, Wanton Mee, Yong Tau Fong & basically all their FOOD!!! Now, i m seriously looking forward to my Oct trip to Bentong to attend my playmate's wedding!

I can't believe this!

2009-08-27T22:04:00.002+08:00

I just can't believe this!

The Msia govt is banning Muslims from attending Black Eyed Peas concert in KL coz the main sponsor of the event is Guiness Stout!

I m sure the Muslims fans will be disappointed and the Black Eyed Peas can really bring down the house with their superb singing & energy!

My vain gal!

2009-08-27T17:57:00.004+08:00

Ms Piggy is getting more and more vain. She absolutely hates to have anything on her head that includes putting on a hat or hairclips. But these days, she dun mind having them on her head.

The below is a picture of her with her Popo and evidence of her willingness to wear a hat!

Taken at Mouth Restuarant, Chinatown Point

HELPLESS is the word

2009-08-25T09:47:00.002+08:00

I witnessed this last night and I felt HELPLESS that I can't do much to help.

Was walking to the lift lobby of my flat and saw this couple at the covered walkway between the blocks.

The lady was sobbing horribly and begging the bf/husband not to do something to her, she was kneeling on the floor. That man's actions is simply disgusting, he just shouted at her to get up, pulled her hair and attempted to drag her up by pulling her hair.

The lady immediately begged for mercy and the guy seems like wanting to smack her. She was was like cowering in fear and i shouted for PK to help but PK did not hear my shouts coz blocked by those pillars. I told PK about it and PK said, he din hear.

I was worried for this lady and really helpless not being able to stop such violence from happening to her. If i go up straight to help her, i might also kena. If i called the police, it might be too late.

Was telling my colleague about it and she mentioned that in such situation, its best to whip out the camera phone and videotaped it down after I had called the police.

Another of these nite

2009-08-25T09:30:00.003+08:00

Dunno y Ms Piggy refused to sleep last nite.

She was fussing for milk and once she has finished it. She refused to sleep when I attempted to pat her. She kept on crying for PK to draw the cat for her. Seeing us refusing to draw it for her, she sat on her little chair and attempted to draw it herself.

Afterwards, I told PK to draw for her and told her that she must sleep after PK has drawn for her. She still refused to sleep despite her Father has drawn 3 cats for her. So I switched off all the lights in the apartment and we went to our room to pretend to sleep.

The stubborn Claire went to the living room and played with her Lego set. After a while, we heard her sobbing, i told PK to check on her. PK carried her into our room and she was willing to sleep on our bed. Then she kept on asking us to scratch her arms and once PK stopped, she will shout, "An, scratch!" I told her that she can't call her Papa by his name.

She finally fell asleep after a while. PK concluded that she does not want to sleep by herself, thus she delayed her sleep by asking PK to draw the cats and stuff. Recently, she has this habit of waking up in the middle of the night & wailing if she dun see us around.

I do hope that there is no more of such espiodes.

$2 lunch

2009-08-24T17:10:00.002+08:00

After the deal is signed and with another email announcement from HR. The dept is discussing how to tighten our belts.

One option is lunch, they came up with the proposal of having $2 cai peng at PSA. One of them even suggested that we signed up a meal package with them and the $2 will become $1.75.

Just now, J was saying that we should have 1 piece of roti prata for lunch but another colleague refuted this and said that we will go hungry soon.

N was quite demoralised with the 5 day work week announcement as it mean that the amount of pay cut is higher. For me, it was good coz i no longer have to come back on Sat to work nor have the problem of swapping duty with my fellow colleagues.

Anyway, u gain some n u lose some. U cant have the best of all!

The deal is sealed!

2009-08-24T10:24:00.003+08:00

Just now, I was inside Mr. F's room to sign the letter of agreement to unpaid leave wef Sep 09 till Dec 2010.

The way Mr. F handled the whole situation is entirely different from SS. Actually, I had no qualms about the pay cut but it was how SS 's high handed way on this situation that pissed me off BIG TIME!

I m fortunate to say that the pay cut is wef Sep 09, i was anticipating it to be earlier. Also, at least mine is not direct pay cut whereas PK is direct pay cut but his company is fair enough to compensate him another 2 days of annual leave.

Now the deal is signed and sealed, I pray that things will be better in the future.