Owly Molly!!!

Hey'ya, this is a dedicated post for you owl lovers out there! Someone who cannot resist anything owly- accessories, furniture pieces, bags, etc. and one who cringes at the sight of a real living owl; you are the identicial me!

Out of late, there are more & more owly goodness sprouting everywhere.., i mean practically everywhere! I forgot when I fell in love with this bird, but I always knew I have more than just a soft spot for it. I had once displayed my humble owl collection of clothes, accessories, shoes and took pictures of the whole family of them on my bed. But I realised I keep buying them and the pictures were soon out of date..

My love for owls took on to a higher level after I seen the creatures in person at the Juring Bird Park. They are no different from how they are commerically marketed/packaged. Too cute for words! Though there are one or two solemn looking species you would call - the wise owls. I'm paticularly smitten by the snowy owl for his pure white fur, and eyes that would look right into yours. I stood outside the glass exhibit in total darkness, except of a few night vision rays/lights emiited to showcase the exhibits; and watched the night creatures as still as the darkness, making the occasional hoots. It was a special moment, an undescribable connection with the owls that I cherish so much; only to have Rianne whinning and bugging us to bring her out of the darkness. Party pooper.. :(

Nevertheless, I just wanna share some of my favourite owly pictures and stuff that I know will bring a smile to people who love owls as much as moi.. Enjoy, and hoot away!!

Check out this owly website too : http://www.myowlbarn.com

Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park

The name may sound unfamiliar to you, but how about Hello Kitty Town or Little Big Club? If these ring a bell, then we are on the same page.

Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park refers to the 2 park attractions which the first houses the famous Sanrio characters Hello Kitty & Daniel, plus some others like Little Melody, Badz Badz Maru, Kerropi, etc. The second park has residents like Thomas the Tank Engine, Barney & friends, Pingu, Angelina the Ballerina and Bob the Builder.

We have long heard and seen lots of publicity on this Theme Park located offshore at our neighbouring Malaysia. It seems like the best choice for a short weekend getaway with your kids who undoubtedly are obsessed with their daily watched cartoon series and the characters.

The travel agency specializing in the travel booking for Hello Kitty Town (HKT) & Little Big Club (LBC) is WTS Travel. They also offer Legoland Malaysia as part of the itinerary. We have been to Legoland when it first opened its doors to public, so we decided not to repeat Legoland again.

The price WTS quoted for a 2D1N trip with hotel stay at Traders Hotel, Puteri Harbour was $174/adult n $89 for child with daily breakfast but without bed. This includes 2 way coach to Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park and return, and of course entrance tickets to HKT & LBC. We didn't want to rush through out trip, so we went with a 3D2N trip instead.

Thus the trio departed for Puteri Harbour on an early Saturday morning in end Sept. Customs clearance at Singapore was quite bad even at the Tuas checkpoint. We eventually landed and checked in to Traders at around 12pm. We wanted to tour 1 of the 2 parks on Saturday itself so we had to settle lunch quickly.

The F&B options at Puteri Harbour are pathetic. They have this area called 'Little Red Cube' which supposedly refers to the shops, F&B restaurants located in the same compound as HKT & Traders Hotel. But 80% of them are not open yet. It is a sad sight to see the glorious Shangri-la hotel and the interesting Theme Parks being buried away in a place where bored patrons could only find consolation in the beautiful harbour with countless yatchs anchored.

We did not manage to visit HKT & LBC on separate days. Both parks have to be visited on a single occasion. So, we had a relaxed first day of our trip, walking around and exploring both the hotel and the harbour which is walking distance from Traders.

Parallel to the harbour are a few bistros and one of them sells alcohol and has a live band singing on Saturday nights. Sitting there, drinking and enjoying a meal while nice soft voices flow into a night of sea breeze; can be quite relaxing actually.

Of course, this post is about the main attraction which is the theme parks; so here are my two cents worth on HKT & LBC :

. Suitable for young toddlers between age 2-5, anything older should go to Legoland or Universal Studios Singapore.
. Grab every chance to pose for a picture with the characters. You have to queue like mad for such shots in other theme parks. Whatsmore, they have a package deal of 4 pictures at the price of RM 100; so it's quite worth it to take these pictures tagged with memories home.
. A camera is a must bring, at least a camera phone should be available. The Hello Kitty house is where you will ever find the most Hello Kitty merchandises and furniture, some being especially unique to the house only; like HK's bed, bath-tub etc.
. Complete all the missions/areas in HKT. Every one promises a different experience for the kiddos. From jewellery making, nails painting to cookies decorating, the girls are expected to enjoy themselves more than their opposite sex.
. Avoid taking the helicopter ride at Thomas The Tank Engine area at LBC on a full stomach. Too many spins at a speed of at least (in my opinion), 30/40 km. Scary until my little pilot alighted the flight feeling nauseous!
. Do not leave your child at the Thomas playground on their own. It is a maze, full of tunnels and dead ends (yes, dumb right?!). We almost didn't make it out if not for a little girl who guided us to the exit. It is most imperative to take a good look and remember the route to the exit before embarking on the maze. Else, I bet you will be panicking inside with your body permanently arched or on the floor, when you cannot find the exit after numerous attempts!
. You are allowed multiple re-entries to both parks within the same day of your visit. It is advisable to bring your kids out of the parks for lunch then go back to where you have stopped. Lat's Place is my recommendation for a quick but filling lunch fix. Both kids & adults will like the kampong inspired restaurant decor, and the interactive screen which tells tales of the old kampong days. Ask for non-spicy dishes for the children (if they have not learnt to take spicy food) and not assume the kampong style fried rice is definitely not spicy.
. If you really have to buy something from the merchandize shop located at the exit of the Theme Park, then buy something. The stuff are not cheap, and you can probably find the same things in any Sanrio shops around.

With all of that said, I genuinely believe the kiddos will enjoy HKT & LBC when more than 1 of their favourite characters come together under 1 roof!

Big smile now for the camera!!! :)

Little Ms Smartypants

I may sound boastful, but I'm actually not bragging..

Rianne cannot be more street-smart, I'm telling you. I observed so many times when she takes us by surprise with her eloquence and high EQ.

Take this recent incident for example, we are very sure that the only insect repellent she has seen are the Hello Kitty sticker ones she used, and also the Tiger Balm sticky patches I bought before. So, me, my mom & Rianne were almost ransacking the whole Watsons store for the familiar Tiger Balm insect repellent when Rianne shouted loudly in the shop "I found it!"

To my surprise, she showed us a box of insect repellent patches which is not from Tiger Balm but from Garfield, the cartoon character. We asked Rianne to bring us to the shelf where she found the repellent, and it was at a hardly noticeable temporary make shift booth. The repellent was amongst many other Garfield merchandise which look about the same- bandaids, tissues, stickers, etc. I couldn't help feel very impressed.. :)

I guess every parents will have that moment with their precious when something amazingly intelligent comes out from the little kiddos. I say, treasure that proudest moment and go on, tell the whole world what that is; it is the nicest story anyone would love to hear!

Angry

Yes, I am a whiny bitch again..

How can a woman pretend not to see a mother with a sleeping toddler in her arms on a crowded train during peak hours?!! The only explanation? She's a fat, rotten spinster who wants to sit on her huge awful a** for the rest of her life, and damn right; she don't give a heck to who's standing right in front of her on the reserved seat meant for people who need the seat more than her!

Honestly, these people disgust me more than puke, cockroaches and office politics! If you tell me that they are intellectually inferior than normal people, I will just forgive them. However, except looking idiotic; they are nothing like a moron. Yet their behaviour spells 'Inconsiderate moron'!

I can still remember the most-talked about incident where a chinese man spat thrice at an uncle (of a different race) when he was asked to give up the reserved seat for the old uncle. The chinese emphasized during the confrontation that there is no law stipulating that reserved seats must be given up to the people who need it. As much as I want to side the older man, the chinese man is not wrong.

It is not legislated and mandated to give up reserved seats. They say it is a privilege seat and not a compulsory act to do so. Then why not make it mandatory? Should we?? Each MRT cabin has about 12 reserved seats (yes, I counted them discreetly just now!), and I believe the train has around 10 cabins (at least). That would make up to 120 reserved seats! This means we must be ready to sacrifice reserved seats and vacant them at all times; and by all times, it includes even the peak hours of the day!

Is it reasonable? Is it viable? Say there are totally no (none at all!) needy people as illustrated per the sign above the seat on a weekday morning. Thousands of commuters pushing and fighting their way into a squeezy train, and there you have 120 seats kept empty for the folks who are not there. Makes sense? I don't really know...

If people can be more sensitive and selfless, then this question would not exist at all.

I hate that I am unable to give a closure to this. I wish I can stand up for the needy folks on the train and make the people occupying the reserved seats see and realise their ugly natures. But, how many times can I do this? Not possible to go to all the 10 cabins and lash at the 120 inconsiderate bums each time I'm on the train.

I am thinking a bit deeper, and somehow my thoughts revolve around how we educate our young and how we teach them the respect and the kindness to people who need some things more than themselves or others. The courtesy ad is a good initiative, but think of people/kids who don't watch the tv. And, did I mention how cheesy the ad was? Showing commuters dancing away to keep to the left on the escalators, and giving way to alighting passengers don't seem like the strongest delivery method to get the message across. So, the ad definitely has its imperfections! Try harder, LTA!

Also, instead of hiring staff or 'conductors' with a flashing baton-like rod which I see serve no purpose; why don't SMRT put their resources to good use? Have the manpower stationed inside the cabins and not outside (kinda like an easy job to just stand and flash the 'magic wand' while chanting the "Please move in" mantra!). Design their scope to include crowd control within the trains, ensuring that lazy bums shift their masses inside to the unpopulated areas. Most importantly, govern the reserved seats and see that only the needy people (I reiterate, people in this category are as per illustrated on the signs. Don't pretend you don't understand pictures!) are occupying the seats rightfully. We will appreciate that you are trying to make us, your customers feel valued and creating a comfortable ride and not a grouchy, uncomfortable-to-the-max journey!

Take this cue, SMRT before you become the number 1 detested corporation in the nation. You jolly well knows what this equates to, so do something!!

Slimming

Ha, I finally succumbed to slimming..

I'm not a savvy person in terms of beauty, wellness and skincare. Of course I know the big players in the market - London Weight Management, New York Skincare, Mary Chia, Slimfit, etc. The first 2 are sister companies if you are not aware. But, I don't really have any idea of what goes on in a slimming therapy/treatment. So, I was just unprepared and clueless when I booked an appointment for a slimming session on Tuesday.

go60 is the place I went. It is conveniently located at Esplanade Link, where I'l pass it everyday to work and going home. Initially I wanted a massage only to relieve the tension and aches on my body caused by hectic weekends of cleaning the house, shopping and bringing Rianne for Sunday brekkies or playtime at the water park.

go60 however offers more. Their services menu spawned from facials to massages and to slimming treatments. And the best part is all services are at a nett price of $60. No service fee/GST, how wonderful is that?

Being my first time, I wanted to go for the safer options and not those massive treatments where your body goes under some heating device, and be wrapped by basically the same food wrap we use at home looking absolutely like a cocoon!

There are a few slimming treatments available at go60. Some being manually massaged, and others by machine. Well, I personally don't think a masseur can massage fats away that easily, especially stubborn fats. Hence, to give my $60 a run for the money; I chose the go-Catwalk treatment which is a 45 minutes long session that encompasses massaging (I thought it seem more like punching!) at a target area of your choice plus a cold mask thereafter.

My overall slimming experience? Let me start off with my review for go60. It is a no-fuss, straight to the point beauty booth which offers services of value you are paying for. No value added services if you are thinking like maybe eyebrow trimming or any additional things the typical beauty parlour will throw in. They have a space constraint, so no nice cosy waiting/lounge area before and after treatments. There is no place for you to freshen up. They don't even have a built-in bathroom, so best to go first before you start your treatment.

The staff who attended to me was friendly and thoughtful. Maybe it was because of the holistic massage, which she needed to gauge my pain threshold against the amount of force she use. I thought my joints would break into halves by the end of the massage coz they have been cracked, rubbed, threaded non-stop for 1 whole hour!

The slimming treatment was quite an experience as I have never applied so much pressure onto my poor stomach before! The machine threading was definitely not gentle, but bearable. There was even an ampoule applied as the machine rubbed against my stomach. I asked the therapist if I should be expecting any post treatment effect, and she told me maybe there might be some redness on my tummy where the machine has 'run over'. Other than that, I should not feel anything different.

After the machine, I had a cold mask applied around my stomach. I think it was to reduce any potential redness as well as aid in the contraction of my fats. It was relaxing as I managed to catch a short wink before the mask was removed and I was hushed to put my clothes back on.

I would love to try the same slimming treatment again, and the therapist recommended a gap of just 1 week for the next treatment. Well, I wasn't about ready to take on the same thing so quickly again, so I did not fix my next appointment yet.

So?? I'm hopeful that the slimming therapy can bring down my waistline by a few inches.. if not, at least enable me to put on my favourite pair of Levis in size 25 back again!! Ambitious me, hah!!

Attaching a picture of the sleek mooncakes 'carrier' which looks a little like a tool box or one of those bags which you store your musical instruments in, eg. a trumpet. Inside the box are 4 baked mooncakes in lotus paste with single egg yolk, complimentary from Holiday Inn when you sign up for a 8 sessions treatment package with go60 now. I believe it should be while stock lasts, so don't wait if you are interested in losing an inch or two like me, or just craving for a nice relaxing body massage! :)

Hybrid

Scientific, I know.. but i'm not really going to dive into the science behind it.

Hybrid is a term commonly used when two different elements come together to become an unique component. Take for example, the automatic vacuum cleaner that goes around the house on its own, supposedly sucking up all the dust & dirt as it goes while not hitting itself into the expensive furniture. I personally find this to be the most genius idea in this century! An hybrid of a vacuum cleaner and a robot.. Which housewife wouldn't dream of having someone/something do the cleaning on their behalf? I would give up everything to own one!!

How does a hybrid child sound to you? Honestly, ain't all children hybrids of their parents? But it seems that most people have that misconception that an eurasian child is a hybrid. Of course they wouldn't be calling that child a hybrid, instead they tend to say a 'mixed' or 'ang mo kia' (it means a caucasian's child in dialect).

You would know I'm referring to my own child here.. Papa D's of pure English blood, and me a Chinese created the most beautiful being - Rianne. Apart from some of her features looking similar to those of a British parentage, she looks just like any other local kid. She even has a chinese name! The main reason why we gave Rianne a chinese name is because we want her to see that while she may be half English, she has also Chinese blood flowing in her body. Her English name spells the same too, having both Papa D's family name and mine. We didn't plan the name to be this way, but as circumstance forbids, Rianne had to take my surname as her last name. It was perfect as a result, I can't love her name more!

I don't know how parents of an Eurasian child take comments from outsiders. Are they offended when people call their kid a 'mixed'? Seriously, that sound like 'mixed veg rice'; hahaha!! The worst way of labelling an eurasian kid which I have heard is a 'cross-breed'. Hello everyone, the parents of an eurasian child are humans if you are not aware. They were not put together to 'mate' or 'breed' to produce an offspring.

Well, initially I don't feel anything when curious onlookers comment that Rianne looks different. They'd eventually figured out she is an Eurasian, and will start asking about her parentage. It's a vicious cycle that I have gone through since her birth, and it hasn't gone away even when Rianne has grown older and looking less like a caucasian. My concern? I don't know if this will get to Rianne soon, when she's sensible and understand why people says some things.

It probably will be a confusing phase for Rianne next year, when me & KL get married and she will have a chinese step-daddy..

My future in-laws

I realise I have never really talked about my future in-laws and KL's siblings, not openly at least. The thought of becoming family with them soon triggers this post..

I may not have mentioned it anywhere in my blog, but you folks may have made out already that KL & me are quite the opposite of each other. We are 2 extremely different characters. Very obviously would be our personas, he is an introvert while I am nothing less than outspoken and extrovert. He is a cool, no-fuss guy who doesn't appreciate crowds while I am the sort of "the more the merrier" social butterfly who loves a good party with lots of friends, liquor and music.

The way KL is, I believe is somehow linked to his family and the upbringing. His mommy aka my future MIL is probably the nicest and kindest MIL I have ever heard of and came across. I not want to badmouth some of my exes' mums, but there are really some terrible ones out there.

My FMIL is not just kind to me, but to Rianne as well. She has bought Rianne a lot of clothes, and she loves Rianne's company whenever we go over to their house. There was this night when Rianne was asking for food past 11pm, and my FMIL offered to go buy food for her. I didn't let her do it of course. That's not all.

Well, the first time I experienced her kindness was in my early dating days with KL. At that time, KL still had a super single bed. Guess what my FMIL offered to do? She wanted to swop room or give up her queen sized bed to us, so that we won't have to squeeze on a bed meant for a single person. If you think that is generous, wait til you hear this. My FMIL actually gave up a functional spare part from her aircon unit in her room to KL, whose aircon had broke down in his room. It is so that me & Rianne do not have suffer and sleep in a stuffy room when we are there to stay over.

However those are still not the most selfless thing my FMIL has offered to do. She knows that it is gonna be a while before me & KL get our BTO flat, so she decided that we should still have our temporary matrimonial home which would be her current flat she's living in with KL. She would move out when we get married next year to stay with KL's sister or somewhere else, and let us have the whole house to ourselves. Where on earth can you find such a kind FMIL? I'm not even her daughter in-law yet, man.. Honestly, I was at a loss for words when KL told me my FMIL had proposed this during a family dinner I missed. I was touched by her kind intention..

But these aside, she & KL are actually very similar in nature. Both kind at heart, but many times cannot be bothered with the nitty gritty stuff. You know both of them can even not talk to each other the whole day being in the same house. Sometimes when I'm around, my FMIL would text KL to ask if we want dinner. Really? Hell, yes. Hah! Also, I understand from KL that he and his siblings have been trained to be very independent since very young. Their mom was the sole breadwinner back then in the absence of their dad. I heard that KL was practically taking care of himself every day at the age of 8 or 9 years old. His meals were catered as his mom was working long hours. His eldest brother was staying in a boarding school, and the sister was always not home accordingly to KL. The brother had studied abroad and since his return, he had been staying on his own in a rented apartment. It is weird not to stay with your own family when you are not married. But apparently it seems perfectly normal for KL's family.

The other thing I noticed a 100% identical between KL & his mom is that they both are big ticket item buyers. They don't mind paying hundreds of dollars for some overrated products; eg. a Braun kettle at over $70, a stainless steel wok at a whopping $214, and the original Flip Flops for more than $100 where you can get an imitation pair at 1/10 of the price!! I am someone who believes in value for money, so some things need not be branded or overly marketed on the internet, to serve its function.

I am actually quite fearful that me & KL will get into arguments on our house renovation and furniture/appliances shopping. I don't want to let him have his way in spending our hard-earned money on expensive, state of the art technology and gadgets. I just want simple, practical, and comfortable pieces for my house. No point having high tech when you are not savvy enough to use them. Moreover, we may be living together with my FMIL who easily break PC speakers, monitor screen, mobile phones every other month. Totally not practical.

Beauty is key

Well, after so long of keeping my face low 'key'; I finally decided to have a comeback. Beauty reigns!!

It has been a while since I last bought skincare products. My daily regime is straightforward, and fuss-free. It is just like Rianne counting 1,2,3 and sometimes, 4 and voila, I'm done.

Step 1 : Wash my face with a cleanser
Step 2 : Toner
Step 3 : Blemish gel
Step 4 : Makeup (this step is often dispensable)

You beauty gurus would definitely shake your head and tell me how terrible and lazy my regime is. I know.. :( What to do, I'm lazy and cannot care less about my face these days. However, a reality check and wakeup call is dawned upon me as I recall I am only 9 months away from my wedding day!

I can still remember those days when I diligently have my monthly facials, do my own masks at home, and have my little 'beauty moustache' threaded away every few months. I never find it a hassle to travel all the way to the beauty parlour in town, or the face threading shop in Clementi! Fast forward 4 years, and I'm stuck at home soaking myself in weekend housework or playing with Rianne. That has to change. I need to have facials, and go thread away my 'moustache'..

I had to start somewhere right? So, yesterday in the 3 hours break before picking Rianne up from her nursery, me and my mom headed to the shopping mall and shopped. Nothing beats buying stuff for yourself! We were at the Korea Skincare shop - The Faceshop where I grabbed my usual facial cleansers, toner and many others. Hah, spent like $120+ there. I also stopped to check out the new Bio-Essence new range of products, and bought a serum and cream. Honestly, I have no idea what is the difference between the two. The sales promoter says it will give better results if I use both products, one after another. Hmmmm..

I decided to have a go last night with all the skincare products that I have bought, experimenting them.

After cleansing my face with The Faceshop 365 Herb Day Cleansing Form in Acerola, I applied The Faceshop Tea Tree toner to close my pores. Then, I used the sample 'Wash Off Mask' pack from The Faceshop and kept the mask on for 15 minutes before rinsing it away with warm water. I could feel a nice softness already when I wash off the mask. Then I used my last piece of collagen firming mask from my friend Z, who bought them in bulk from Taiwan at a cheap price. Basically, I could sleep with the mask on. But I didn't as I need to complete the entire beauty regime by finishing with my new Bio-Essence Snail Extract Serum & Cream as the final 2 steps.

Ta-da! A complete regime tried and tested!

I woke up with a less greasy face this morning, and thru-out the day, my face was less oily too with the exception of the usual T-zone area. Not sure if my face was any firmer, but I do notice a little sharper my face has become. Would definitely try the same regime again, maybe another time this week and see if the effects will be much more visible.

I'd like to end this post with my mom's comments on The Faceshop products. "Good, affordable products that delivers impressive results! I rather pay a little more for them than getting Maybelline/ZA stuff which are just mediocre. Only setback is the directions are not too user-friendly, as they are most of the time in Korean."

*Disclaimer: The above comments are purely personal opinions, and are not representation of any population/company. They are to be used for references strictly with discretion only.

A child's future

Hello people, just the other day I asked my best chums if there is one thing we could add/change to our secondary school days, what would that be?

What do you think? What did you really liked or hated so much that it is still daunting even at the mere mention of it?! Our English inclined friend, J who speaks very 'powderful' English, immediately answered "Remove Chinese from the curriculum!" Fainted.......

For me, I always thought it is important for schools, parents, teachers to nurture children right from a very tender age. Of course by saying this, I am not implying that toddlers should be memorizing and be able to recite some ridiculously profound Tang poetry, or even English literature! Nurturing means providing the opportunities for the little one's interest or dreams to materialize. It is especially critical to have the parents' buy-in (hah, such a commercial term!), otherwise nurturing will not happen.

Apart from enrichment classes, I believe there are still many courses available for kids these days. Depending on what your child is interested in, you can enrol them accordingly into music, arts, dance or even baking classes.

I did not get to fulfill my childhood dream of learning ballroom dancing like salsa, so I decided to influence my daughter to fall in love with dancing. She did, but it was not exactly ballroom dancing. She was fascinated over ballet, she basically want to move like a graceful ballerina! Hah, so much for her tomboy demeanour!

My mom was the least pleased when she knows that I am going to nurture Rianne in the ballet department. She don't reckon Rianne will be interested for too long, and also she said ballet's not for Rianne who's a clumsy elephant. Thanks, that was really encouraging.. no.

Despite my mother's disagreement, I went ahead to register Rianne for the tiny tots ballet class which will commence on 23 Aug 2013, for a total of 8 lessons over 2 months. Needless to say, Rianne was ecstatic to know she was already enrolled to the ballet class; and kept bugging me to get her ballet costume, shoes, etc, etc.

I am happy to know that Rianne is very enthusiastic about ballet. I am confident as well that she will excel, and maybe she may even continue dancing ballet for some time.

I cannot wait to see her in a pink leotard and tutu, balancing herself on a single foot.. :)

Flat dilemma

We are basically quite screwed by this flat predicament. I got my name as a co-owner of the flat I am staying at now, and me & KL are likely to get a BTO unit which we are invited to select this coming September.

HDB's rule: One cannot concurrently own more than 1 HDB flat, regardless new, resale or even rented. I have one now, so I need to dispose it or remove myself from the ownership before I buy a new flat. This equates to the BIGGEST question of all, "HOW??". Then the next question would be "What's going to happen to my mom?"

Honestly, we don't have an answer to any of the questions. I have done the least I could by going to the HDB branch office to consult the officers on the options we have, and also to ask if my mom can get another loan from HDB.

Laying out the options here:

Keep the current flat and my mom own the flat herself - My mom needs to go back to work, full time mode, in order to get a higher loan from HDB. The outstanding amount which can't be borrowed from HDB/bank, will have to be paid in cash (est. $40-$50k)

Sell the current flat - 1) My mom downgrade to a resale 3 room flat, 2) My mom buys a studio apartment (BTO/Sale of Balance Flat)

Status quo - Keep my name in this flat, and make this my matrimonial flat with my mom (only) as occupier

I am not for option 3, as I am quite sure my mom will spoil my newly marriage with her constant nagging n hollering at Rianne & me even! Seems like option 2's the best now, but it kinda look like I'm forcing my mom to sell the flat for my own interest. Really?? Yes, but I ain't got a choice do I?!

With time pressing us (our flat selection is in Sept!), I have to call for a family meeting and hopefully my siblings can tell me what best we can do for my mom. It's OUR mom afterall, and I hate to initiate something that feels like abandonment.. :(

#%*@"&!?

Call me a whiny bitch for all you want.. I really am one, every single weekday morning!!

I can hardly remember the last time I was travelling to work happily, smiley, and comfortably seated in a bus/train. I am slapped with a horrible, horrible commuting experience every day with the exception of the school holidays months.

The train rides are not enjoyable and pleasant anymore. The buses are worse. Waiting for the bus to arrive is 100 times worse than waiting for your death. It is frustrating, irritating and totally unacceptable! A feeder bus service that only serves 1-2 estates should not take 30 mins or more to reach each bus stop. The frequency chart says 8-12mins for peak hours. Even the non-peak frequency is at the most 14 mins interval.

I reckon my blood pressure has shot sky high yesterday after waiting for more than 30 mins for the bus to arrive. I got up to the bus, and saw another bus right behind the one I'm on. (Later that night my mom told me there was actually a 3rd bus behind as well) I challenged the bus driver by asking "Uncle, why the bus took so long to come? It is more than 30 mins you know?!!" I was hopping mad when the driver gave me the ultimate lame answer "Many people lah!"

Honestly, it has got to a point that I may want to consider looking for a job in closer proximity from my house. It is so not worth my life to have my mornings ruined completely by useless, irresponsible service provider! Not forgetting that is only a part of a work day. I still have work pressure to face thereafter.

Phase 3

Hmmmmm, mmmm.., clearing my throat as I say this, Boy, I am proud that we have finally completed and past our wedding planning phase 1 & 2!

Back track a little, phase 1 was researching on BS and venues, reading up testimonials and reviews from all sources. We finished this fast enough with the help of the great internet and wedding mags. Shortlisted 4 BSs and completed all 4 visits in 1.5 day! We were practically geared with a mission to find out which BS fit the bill!

After discussion and comparsion of the 4 shortlistees, we decided on Di Gio. It is the BS that has the most affordable package, the most beautiful gowns and the coordinator we felt most comfortable with.

We made our first payment (30% of the package price), booked my MUA (am going with the highly recommended Elson!), and secured Henry as our PG for the pre-wedding shoot and AD. We were given options to take our shoot in either Nov or Jan next year, depending on when KL can take leave for the shoot.

As for the wedding venues, we didn't get much luck and have only managed to shortlist one. I was praying hard to myself, "Please God, let this be the one as we don't have any other alternatives." Apparently God heard me.

Me & KL already have a rough idea of how the Jewel Box looks like, just not sure how it will feel to have a wedding there. We experienced it ourselves last Saturday when we visited the Jewel Box at 4pm, meeting with a sales person from the events team.

The solemnization area, which is half garden half cement, was right in the open space in front of Jewel Box. That is to say that the solemnization ceremony will be right under the public's eye, and at risk of being ruined by inconsiderate diners at their Al-fresco restaurant. But the wonderful view from hill down sorta make up for the imperfection. And did I mention the walk to the aisle is from a flight of stairs leading to the Private Dining Room 1 level up!! Dreamy right?

The Private Dining Room is the proposed lunch place where we'l get exclusive use and it is away from the rest of the other restaurants. In fact, it is the only standalone space on the highest level of Mount Faber! It is overlooking Harbourfront & Sentosa, which means unblocked view of the sky and the sea. There is a deck outside the Dining Room which is also exclusive for the lunch reception.

We fell in love instantly with the Private Dining Room! The maximum capacity is only 60 guests which is ideal for our intended number of guests. Although with the buffet tables it can look less spacious, but it is still decent enough for guests to move around. Only thing need to be worked on will be the decor in the room. Jewel Box will be providing very basic floral centrepieces for the dining tables, so it will look quite plain.

After the site visit at Jewel Box, we knew it is the one for our wedding. We are actually quite worried that it might get booked by other people, so we decided to go ahead to engage them as our wedding venue.

Honestly, it felt like a huge stone was dropped when I emailed the event manager our decision to go with them. At least now I can focus on more research for my bridal makeup and hairdo, wedding decor at the venue, and lastly our wedding bands.

This is now getting exciting.. :)

Curse & Swear

I need to warn you, I will be f-ing non-stop as I write this. There is no better expression than 'F You' to let my steam out now!!

Every morning is like a battle, an ugly battle to be precise. Lots of pushing by and brushing from commuters who are attempting to board the same f-ing train to get to the same f-ing workplace at the same f-ing time! I for one, am not residing at those popular or what the HDB calls, the matured estates. Sembawang is far North, a good 1 hour journey on the most common utilized form of transport - the f-ing MRT.

Even so, living in Sembawang does not guarantee you a spot, a standing one, on the f-ing train; let alone a seat! I have tried starting my journey at different times of the peak hour. Before 8am, at 8am, after 8am, and at 8.30am. All gave me the same f-ing unbearable commuting experience! You can't help but wonder, is there a problem with how SMRT is operating. Obviously there is! A big f-ing problem that they are either blind to see it, or just incapable of resolving operational issues!

I am not sorry to say that the government has actually contributed to this problem. There you are encouraging population growth, foreign talent imports; but did it ever cross your mind that we may be over-populated if you don't set a cap to the imports coming into the country. It is bad enough now to be squeezing on a f-ing train with fellow country men; but you have caused the f-ing train to be overcrowded with multi-nationals. So many others who are culturally different, and behave differently. I am not saying that all Singaporeans are well-behaved, but many a times, the foreigners are the ones who made my ride the more unbearable!

Countless times I have been pushed, brushed, hit and stepped on the f-ing train! I am a human too, so are high earners, politicians. Just because I cannot afford a f-ing car, I deserve this?! This is ridiculous! In this case, the government should start allowing only foreign TALENTS (emphasizing this) instead of any Tom, Dick & Harry who is just as dispensable as any Singaporean. Why the f do we need so many foreign clerks, secretaries, retail assistants, waiters/waitresses and even cleaners! Seriously, these are talents?! Their dependents too?

I was on the MOM website earlier, checking about dependent pass (DP) application for one of our foreign employees. It was stressed that the ministry is now more stringent on the criteria and approval of dependent passes, as an overall government effort in controlling population growth.

I am not sure if it is indeed so, as so far I have not seen/heard of many DP applications being rejected. The foreigners bring along their spouse, children, parents, and even parents-in-law, which can easily contribute to a good 10-15% of the entire Singapore population. Imagine your child now having to compete for spots in the school with these foreign kids, like as if it is not already hard to get into a good primary school now.

Well, after so much of f-ing, I am calmer now. However, it does not alter my mindset about how messed up SMRT is on managing its operations and delivering the worst class customer service. I am so glad I am not working tomorrow, as I will be out celebrating KL's birthday with Princess Rianne.

So looking forward to a fun-filled day with my 2 beloved persons at the SEA Aquarium! :)

Little innocent lives Part 2

When I first wrote "Little innocent lives" in June, I didn't have the intention to write a sequel post. Not until I watched the show "Unnatural" on channel 5, just aired on Tuesday.

I happened to miss a bit of the opening of the show which was about an unnatural death of a 4 year old toddler, caused by no one else but her own birth mother! Please brave yourself for this..

It was a story about a single mom, abandoned by the husband when she was caught cheating on him when her child was just a baby. She had left the baby crying alone in the living room when she was in bed with her adulterer. Ever since then, she has been nasty to her own child; blaming her for the plight they were in.

They had moved to a new apartment and apparently the mother is the least interested in making the house 'live-able' for the tod. Instead all she does all day is dolling herself up and going out to have fun and meet guys. There was this particular night when she got all dressed up again, leaving the hungry tod locked up in the apartment. She didn't even return home that night. The hungry tod was ransacking the whole house for edible items, and she could find nothing. She ended up eating newspapers, rolled into chewable ball-sizes. I'm sorry, but at this point of the show, I already broke down weeping for the poor girl. God forbids a living being to be mistreated like this, especially by her own birth mother!

The poor girl was wailing the whole day & night due to starvation. When the mother finally return the following afternoon/evening, the little girl was close to dying. She was lying on her little filthy mattress on the floor, and hardly moving when the mother came into the room. All that stone-hearted woman did when she saw her child, was screaming at her for soiling herself and started to hit her with a bat/rod until the little tod stopped moving. She had not only starved the child, but had killed her own flesh & blood with her own hands!

Although the show was only playing a re-enactment of what had happened, and the little girl was not the same girl who died; I was still very affected after the show. I felt so much for the little girl who died in the hands of her mother! It was so painstaking to see her eating newspaper when her mother was out gorging herself in delicious feasts. What kind of a parent is she? She is not fit to be a mother! Actually she don't even deserve to be alive and kicking in this world!

The show ended with a life account of a 25 year old Japanese mother, who had left her 2 children, aged 3 and 1 respectively, to die from starvation. She apparently locked the children in the apartment and stayed with her boyfriend for a while. When she eventually return, the children were already dead beside piles of rubbish which were believed to be their sources of food in the mother's absence.

This mother was arrested for child abuse, and was sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment. She still has a chance to live her life to an old age, but not the 2 poor children who couldn't even live past 3 years old..

I want to curse and throw my fists at this inhumane mother! How can she expect a 3 & 1 year old toddler to be taking care of themselves?! How can the elder one be making milk for the infant?! Obviously she did not think properly, or it might just occur to her that the children hinders her current lifestyle; hence she cannot be bothered.

Whatever reason it is, I just hope that justice will be served; and that the children will come back and haunt their irresponsible parents for the rest of their lives...

Hello Kitty Mania

It is back once again, with more menace than before!!

McDonalds launched their Fairy Tales Hello Kitties on the first Thursday of June. The very adorable Hello Kitty comes in hand-held size, and dressed in the costumes of the classical fairy tales such as Wizard of Oz, Little Red Riding Hood and Ugly Duckling.

At only $4.60 with every Extra Value Meal purchase, it is not hard to find the entire population in this little island going all ga-ga for the kitties. In fact, it has stirred up quite a craze and even police were involved in some interventions between buyers and restaurant managers.

Needless to say, my family was also drawn to the Hello Kitties; with my sister being the No. 1 fan of the lovely cat without a mouth.. Hahaha!!

Rianne was especially excited to get her hands on every Fairy Tale kitty. Unfortunately due to the high volume of delivery orders and the suspension of delivery as a result of the haze, we did not manage to get the kitty which was available only through delivery.

We were just 1 more to the complete collection of the Fairy Tale Hello Kitties (apart from the delivery kitty), and so we were determined to have it by hook or by crook.

We were very clear that we have to take action on Wednesday night instead of only buying on Thursday morning. There is no doubt that many people are taking the same approach as us, but never did I expect the mania to go full blown island-wide!

The attached pictures were taken by myself when in line at Sun Plaza where me & Rianne started queuing at 10.40pm, 1hr 20mins before sale time. Also at Marina Square on Thursday morning at 7.30am. I even scouted for my cousin's help to try to get the kitty for me. One of the pictures is him at KK Hospital around 6.30am, and then subsequently at 7.30am.

In the end, did me or my cousin managed to buy the Hello Kitty????????

To end this post, I'd just like to share my feedback about this Hello Kitty mania; and hoping that McDonalds may take them into consideration when planning the next Hello Kitty launch. On the list are also some pointers for folks disappointed by the whole mania, and wishing they absorb their experience as a learning lesson for a successful attempt next time.

For McDonalds:

1) Do not launch a super popular toy/character plush on a weekday. People need to work to make enough to patronize you.
2) Do not over publicize/advertise the launch. You are making kids and loving parents lose sleep.
3) Management needs to plan and roll out an implementation process that is consistent through-out. Not some stores selling 20 toys to 1 person, and others limit 4 toys per person.
4) Engage security instead of using your own staff to deal with angry patrons. Worst, don't call the police when your staff are incapable of fending off verbal/physical (if there are) abuse. This is not good customer service.
5) If a queue is expected, please exercise the necessary safety measures to prevent people from falling off kerbs or getting knocked down by cars exiting carparks.
6) Lastly, think if it is necessary to make some toys available through another channel, i.e. delivery. If it is, ensure that there is no hase in SG or not hailing.

For disappointed folks:

1) Keep it to yourself when/where you are planning to go buy/queue for the toy. Broadcasting it on FB is dumb.
2) Do not give your kids high hopes by gurantee-ing them a toy. You end up regretting making that promise.
3) Do not agree to buy the toy for others if you only need one for yourself. Everyone should queue for their own, then we don't even need the limitation of 4 toys per person.
4) Safety first. The kitty may be desirable, but your life's definitely worth more!
5) Do not succumb to the temptation of the black market sellers. The more people buy from them, they will always be in demand and that takes away your right/chance to own the toy everytime!

Wedding venues

We are officially panicking.. With less than 1 year before our wedding, and maybe only 1 shortlisted venue on our plate; we are really getting worried.

The gown designer at Z Wedding had told us that apparently our big day is a popular date among those getting hitched in May next year. Errrrmm, that's of no help. :(

I have been stepping up my efforts researching on the internet, reading recommendations from forums and bloggers, and also flipping through my trusted Style Weddings guide.

Our main requirement for the venue just has to be outdoor, preferably with a garden/terrace/gazebo/beach for the solemnization to be conducted and walking distance to a cozy, airconditioned dining area for the lunch reception. I thought it wasn't hard. But I think I'm wrong coz with our intended guest capacity (30-40+), the options are limited.

I cannot help but agree with this blogger who said that it is key for the venue to be close to a hotel where the AD preparation like makeup & hairdo can be done in the comfort of a hotel room. As I may have an outfit change after the solemnization, the need to be near a hotel appears to be more important than before.

I know this factor would kinda restrict us to venues within a hotel, but i'm not giving up. I'm still searching for an outdoor venue which may or may not be inside the compound of a hotel. As long as I am able to get to the venue dressed, or can be dressed at the venue with a decent dressing table/room.

Though only 1 venue has been shortlisted for us, I would like to share the various outdoor venues for any BTB/GTB (Bride-to-be/Groom-to-be) considering a private & cosy affair that is outside of the wedding norm.

- The Jewel Box @Mt Faber (our shortlistee) : There is a garden & an altar especially built for solemnizations, rental price is very reasonable too! Couple of dining options (private area, al fresco) available for you to choose.

- Gardenasia : This is definitely the place to consider if you want a garden wedding. There is even a chapel for those who wants to walk down the aisle the traditional style!

- Tanjong Beach Club : One of the more hip & happening venues, if you don't mind sharing the place (of course the beach too) with other diners & clubbers. There is a lovely cabana which is typically used for the solemnization.

- Hotel Fort Canning : This hotel could do a small scale solemnization at their garden terrace, but we are not shortlisting it as we didn't like the layout of the terrace, but maybe it might work for you?

- The Sentosa : Just got their quote yesterday, and will be reviewing with KL to see what he thinks. Minimum required capacity is 50 guests.

- Changi Cove : We are waiting for more details on this venue at the moment, likelihood it may not have an outdoor location for the solemnization. However, saw on their website they have an unique colonial location called The Command House, worth checking it out for that old colonial-inspired ceremony.

- Rasa Sentosa : I know this is a hotel, an expensive one as a matter of fact. But it is undeniably romantic and beautiful to exchange your wedding vows right in front of the South China sea, and on a big piece of garden that would exclusively be for your wedding only. My best chum, E, held her solemnization ceremony there 7 years back, and the memories of that day event and the venue still stay so vividly in my head.

Well, have a go at visiting the above venues; and just remember there's no obligation to sign on with them regardless how many correspondences/meetings you have with them. You need to fall in love with the venue to want to hold the most important ceremony of your life there..

Gowns vs Photgraphy

This is so hard...

Being first timers (no, i'm not referring to buying a flat), we are really clueless about a wedding preparation. But thanks to the amazing internet, we found all the information, tips and testimonials from couples and brides-to-be who are more than happy to share what they know or have experienced.

We are at phase 1 of our wedding prep. If you remember from my previous post, this phase is shortlisting the BS and venues and then visiting them to collect more information. After that we will need to confirm almost not too long later which BS we will be engaging, and also the venue where we will hold our wedding.

Today, we embarked on our BS visiting after we finalized our shortlistees this week. Actually, last evening was the first appointment we went for with La Belle Couture. My idea of the appointment was mainly trying on the bridal gowns since everyone was saying the gowns will look different from the pictures on the net/magazines. I then realised that the majority of the time in the appointment was spent talking about what we need in the bridal package and what they can offer.

We basically work on a standard package and start taking away things that we don't need (such as evening gown on AD, bridal car decor, etc), for reduction in the price or trade in for other items we may want.

We already know our main deciding factors are the photography skills of the BS, the no. of photos given in the album, and also the selection of my gowns. Although ideally we would like to work within our budget of $3,000, we know it would be hard especially when all BS offers no more than 30 photos on the album; which means we will have to top up to select more pictures.

Out of our 4 shortlistees, only 1 could fit our budget. Even with photography on AD added in, it will just break our budget by $88. That said, we have compared not just the price but on the overall a satisfactory package and product. And here are our analysis:

La Belle Couture : Photography and album layout is above average. In fact, I like their fun & quirky direction in some photos, where they captured the couple's emotions right in the middle of a busy street. Gowns are not so good quality, but believe hold quite a selection as i was able to try on 3 different styles during our appointment. Didn't really like the coordinator as she was not bilingual so KL was struggling to understand her a bit. Also, she tried to be friendly with us but it came across as very phoney and not sincere. She revealed a lie to us which she told another customer right in front of us, and that was a huge turn off for us!

Di Gio Bridal : I have to admit I'm already full of praises for their gowns before going for the appointment, but I remain neutral and firm to my choice of no bustier gowns. Their photography was just ordinary, though one PG could be better than the rest. Love their gowns, and they are the only BS who keep encouraging me to try on more gowns. I tried a total of 4 different styles, and they have a lot of my fave material - lace gowns in store. The coordinator was quite experienced as she is the most senior (age wise) in the BS. Very flexible in customizing the package for us.

Z Wedding : Conceptual wedding album nicely customized for every couple. It is just like an album specially created for you with your own story, and your own memories. Renowned photography by Chris Ling & team. Gowns are designer pieces and focus is creating fashion statements instead of traditional bridal gowns. Mainly bustiers which is not desirable. The most hard sell out of the lot! Was assisted by the gown designer by ended with more than 1 person trying to persuade us into signing up with them.

The Louvre Bridal : Proclaimed international award winning photography, and photos are highly colour saturated which I find them very un-natural. However KL thinks they are very professional and should be looking like these. Not much variety in album layout and album covers. The coordinator built the package from scratch, allowing us to decide entirely how many gowns we need, how many poses/locations and gave us a quote after that. She wanted to get us to sign up on the spot as well and kept saying that she had asked if we were fine with their photos & gowns before she continued with our package planning. Seriously, I didn't like any of their gowns and the co-ordinator was not even good in recommending any gown to me.

Me and KL had a debrief and we kinda knew who we will ultimately go with. Just waiting for the right chance to sign up with them now.. since there's an upcoming bridal fair, so thinking it might be a good time then to put our monies into the BS of our choice..

Wedding bells ringing..

Yes, finally they are ringing.. Ring, ring, ring!!

Our initial plan was to hold the wedding in Oct this year, on my birthday to be exact. Somehow, we never really got down to planning the event. Well, I did researched for a few venues and obtained quotes from them. It was KL who didn't do anything except telling me "I'l leave the planning to you".

My enthusiasm for the wedding hit rock bottom after a while, and it only picked up after our relationship revived from the rut it was in.

This time KL did not leave the planning to me. Instead, he participated eagerly in the research, attending wedding roadshows with me and emailing the contacts for our potential venues.

This is what we intend to do, engage a bridal studio/shop (BS) for our pre-wedding shoot (PS). For actual day (AD), we will have our solemnization (ROM) at an outdoor venue, preferably garden or a beach, and followed by a wedding lunch of at most 30 guests. I would like to stretch the number of guests by a little, if budget permits. Too many friends I know would love to be invited to my wedding (that is what happens when you are well-loved, hah!), so I really hope I won't disappoint them.

Our BIG day was agreed to be 17 May 2014, which means from now to then, a total of 10 months is available for the planning & preparation. 10 months is a good timeframe for us to work on the whole process, since we are not having a dinner banquet.

We more or less have a better idea now of the planning process, and I have listed them as follows:

10 months before - start research on BS & venues and shortlist a few of our faves.

8/9 months before - schedule appointments to go down to shortlisted BS & venues to try on gowns/venues as well as to check on their package prices.

No later than 7 months before - confirm with the BS you are going with, and let them know on the theme for the PS, confirm the photographer (PG) & make up artist (MUA) and select the gowns. Similarly for venue, confirm, go through set up and food tasting.

6 months before - decide & purchase on wedding bands and send for resizing.

3 months before - apply for our marriage registration online, and make contact with our selected Justice of Peace (JOP).

1 week - 1 month to wedding - personal grooming like facials, massages and mani & pedicures.

Planning a wedding is not only exciting, but it builds a stronger than ever bond with my Husband-To-Be (HTB) every single stage of the process. :)

Little innocent lives..

When you see a child different from the ones you are always familiar with; physically or mentally different, what do you do? What goes on in your head?

Your eyes immediately go in search for the nearest adults the child is clinging on to, and with lots of sympathy you throw a 'i'm-sorry-that-your-child-is-different' look to the parents; whom i'm pretty sure by now are really used to all kinds of looks people give them.

No child is different to God. He created all of us, some normal and some others with a little challenge. He who loves us all and want us to be happy, does not aim to see anyone of us fail. The little ones whose lives may seem nothing near perfect, are the ones God love the most and spend all his time saving and healing them.

Parents are the co-creators of all children. They were given the most important task of their lives which is to love and care for the little beings they brought into the world, regardless if they may be different to the human eyes.

No doubt this could be the most onerous task ever, but no matter how tough it will be; you can never give up.. not on yourself and definitely not on your child.

Imagine how helpless the innocent child will be if he/she is abandoned by the same person who gave them their life. I am not sure if the parents thought about it at all.. how can the child survive if you threw them from the 9th storey or even flushed them down the toilet bowl?

I was filled with utter disgust towards the mother of the infant who had flushed her down a stinky toilet bowl in China! She was just born, and her first sight of the world was an ugly and filthy place.. all thanks to the same woman who carried her for 9 months in the stomach! I wonder what penalty the Chinese government will be sentencing the woman with. To me, the deed was no different from manslaughter.

As for the boy who was thrown out of his house window by his very own mother, I am sure justice will be returned to him.. although he never will be able to witness it. What the mom has committed is pure evil, absolute cruelty, and unimaginably brutal. From my boss who read the news article on this incident, he said the 9th year old was struggling when he realised his mom was going to throw him out of the window. I believe he would be pleading for his mom to stop and not do it, but the woman did not.

Seriously, it is not important whether the mother has her reasons for doing so; unless the reason is the son tried killing her first and this was due to self-defense. However difficult or unbearable your child is, that is still your child. He/She is a living creature, not something you could dump or destroy like it was an useless object.

Again, no child is different, and no child is perfect. They deserved to be loved and cared for by the world, especially by their own parents..

Bliss

Seated beside my pregnant friend watching her baby bump magnified as the months past, munching on mixed caramelized and salty popcorn, and laughing ourselves silly over The Hangover Part III.. this is bliss.

I am grateful for our amazing friendship, one which I wouldn't have thought will last beyond our co-worker relationship.

Ms Dela Cruz, oh, I actually adored the last name! You may already tell that she's not a local. In fact, I don't think I have any friends of the same nationality as her except those who I have worked with.

It all began when she applied for a HR/Training position with my former employer. I was to mentor the person who got hired, and I was also involved in the interview process. Maybe it was her age, which is the same as mine; her background as a single mom which I could only relate; or maybe it was just chemistry that was sparking throughout the interview.

We not only worked closely, but we grew very attached and became very close friends outside of work. We shared and understood our cultural differences, lifestyles, had sleepovers, and were even wearing each other's clothes.

We started dating our current partners there about the same time, and we were each other's advisor and listening ear when we needed someone.

Many in our HR team has claimed that it is hard to understand her, probably due to her language understanding. I somehow believe it is also because she is not cut to be a HR person.

Although she didn't do well in her HR role, I know this will not change our friendship a single bit..

Cheers to our IFC - International Friendship Club!!

Take control!!!

I mean it.. I seriously have to take control of myself now.. My emotions, my health, my weight, my job, my relationship and maybe or maybe not, my finances.

For a start, my mental state is going down hill. I keep depressing myself with trivial issues and got ridiculously temperamental.. especially annoyed with KL all the time! I mean, he was just being himself as usual but I can't stop picking on him.

My health, well, hasn't suffered any big setback (touchwood!). However, the occasional fatigue can really get on my nerves! I would be so, so tired on a Monday morning and totally burnt out before end of the week. Lack of sleep makes me more grouchy than ever. I have to stop working too hard..

My weight starts to hike.. probably because of late dinners and not exercising at all. But wait a minute, I vacuum and mop the house every weekend! I cannot wear any of my size 25 jeans anymore, and had to go plead for contributions from my friends. This hit my ego really hard as I gained weight rapidly, like 5 kg in 1-2 months.

With so many stuff getting out of hand, I am afraid the only person to blame will be myself and no one else. If I need to change, I have to just take charge of my life and make some really firm decisions.

We came a long way, baby..

There's no better way to describe my relationship with KL, than "It has not been easy.."

I really thought we will be going our separate ways after one of our more than often arguments last night. I wasn't going in to compromise, and he was trying his best to convince me that all couples fight; even married ones.

Our relationship has been hitting the nail ever since I returned from my Hong Kong trip with my family members. I was supposed to be calling KL everyday from HK, but I never did. To top it off, I didn't manage to buy him anything from HK as well. What a mean girlfriend I was! Well, I knew the stuff we bought for everyone else would be too 'lowly' for him. Also, nothing seems to be suitable for him at Disneyland. Actually, it is no easy feat shopping for a gift for KL. So, I gave up doing it.

Our wedding plans are nowhere close to being planned.. I felt that KL was never really interested in having a proper wedding ceremony. All he wanted probably is a solemnization where we and our mothers come together to put our signatures on a piece of paper called marriage certificate. I don't mind not having a lavish wedding, but the least a girl should deserve is a wedding reception. There I am checking out venues, bridal packages and photographers; and KL goes "Too expensive.. You want to hold it in a hotel? Is the bridal shoot very important?" I stopped checking since.

I went from highly enthusiastic to I-don't-care-if-there's-a-wedding.. from size XXS to size M.. from chatting on the phone everyday to texting everyday. We drifted apart for sure. I even had second thoughts about marrying KL on a few occasions! He did not lose faith nor want to give up on us at any point.

This went on for almost 1 month, and each meet up ended with us being mad and sore over the other person. I was lost and don't know how to proceed any further. It takes a miracle for both of us to eventually agree to a compromise, and that arrangement cannot be any more perfect!

Whether we get to our future goals together or not, or whether the arrangement works; is no longer an uncertainty to me. I am certain that it takes more than just love to compromise, and I know this love is in the two of us.. strong enough to last a lifetime.

Communication breakdown?

Don't know why and how things lead to the consequence tonight, it somehow feels like we were 2 total strangers to begin with..

He cannot fathom why I insist on doing some things, and I cannot accept some of his ridiculous behaviour. It almost seems like 2 incompatible persons are forcing themselves to stay together in a relationship!

I have always cared for him, eventhough I don't have time for him. There's a huge sense of guilt in me that makes me want to love him more. Maybe I should not be thinking in this way, reciprocation does not work on the basis of guilt.

When 2 persons of different backgrounds, lifestyles and mindsets come together, it takes more than just love for them to bond , compromise, and stay together forever.

The key to an everlasting relationship is communication. With that, I meant listening too. It doesn't serve any purpose if the communication were badly delivered without consideration to the other party's emotions and position. It is equally futile if you try to communicate and never get the other person's support and understanding.

When a couple talks, they share their personal experiences, perspectives and interests. This can't happen if your better half is totally uninterested, or can't be bothered even when you told them.

In my case now, the best listening ear is actually myself.

Let my ears and heart receive what they want to hear, and decide everything else for me..

A rough time

Yes, who else but me is having a rough time again.. It seems like a life rough sailing is what that has been predestined for me.

Actually I am not the one who's having it worse, my mom is. She has suffered pain on the left side of her neck down to her shoulder for a while already. Her self treatment was to apply the 'heating' neck & shoulder rub, or putting on a pain relief patch and regularly massaging the pain spots. She treated herself in the above ways for the past 1 month, but they proved to be futile. One occasion she told me it was so painful to the extent of feeling like dying. Thus, I decided to take leave from work and bring her properly to a doctor.

Instead of going to a general practitioner, she chose to go to the polyclinic. Painkillers were issued to her that time, but the pain did not go away after taking the meds. Eventually she couldn't take the pain anymore, but she still insisted on going back to polyclinic. This visit at the polyclinic gave us a clearer picture of her current situation. The X-ray shows her left neck/shoulder area with her soft bones (disc) suppressing onto the nerves underneath, that's why the pain is so excruciating. The doctor said it is best to speak to an orthopaedic, and find out the best treatment.

The doctor referred my mom to the nearest hospital within the vicinity, and guess what? The earliest appointment to see the specialist can only be 25 Feb..

The pain got more unbearable for my mom, and I had to bring her to the A & E department of the hospital where she is due to meet the specialist. A pain relief jab was given to her in hope to ease my mom's suffering, but it didn't work. The very same night, my mom was in so much pain that she didn't sleep a wink at all; and she was weeping in pain in the living room.

Again, I had to rush my mom to the A & E and this time in another hospital. She was kept under observation for close to 12 hrs before the doctor decided to ward her. Me, Rianne and my uncle's wife (lucky I have her who helped me with Rianne!) spent 12 hrs in the hospital waiting and waiting! It was so tiring, and I honestly thought I could die if I have to continue waiting for another minute..

My mom was hospitalized for a whole week, and all she got was tonnes of painkillers which apparently was the only treatment for her. On the day of her discharge, my mom bravely proposed to go for acupuncture.

We went to the renowned TCM physician who treated my back previously when I had a fall. A long wait again (3+ hrs!) to see the famous sinseh, but it was all worth it accordingly to my mom. She felt a lot better instantly, and she was told to return within a week for another acupuncture session.

I am still observing my mom to see if she's capable to perform her daily activities and including caring for Rianne. I cannot continue taking leave as much as I have to. Thus, my mom really need to get well else I may have to consider some alternative options.