Sisters

Picture of us three sisters from long long ago, on our first trip to the US. My mum loved this picture and framed it up, and so here it is...

Quote

I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing; kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.

~Audrey Hepburn

Sneak Preview

Managed to get the selected shots from the bridal studio. These are still unedited of course, and only form a small part of the wedding album. Enjoy!

200.

The 200th post. Quite alot I must say, but not yet enough really.

Been sieving through photos to shortlist them for the wedding, and these bring back tonnes of memories, mostly happy ones. So even though it's pretty tiring to scroll through that many photos, I'm enjoying it slowly!

Star for the day

We finally went for our wedding photoshoot last Friday, after the tons of preparatory work which included:
- Fretting over gown selections and sudden change in makeup artist
- Poring over magazines and online sites for photography locations, hairdo, makeup
- TJ having his 1 hour of fun selecting his photoshoot suits, he looked dashing I must add
- Recce for photoshoot locations: Changi Beach, Seletar Airbase/Camp area, Bishan Park, Seletar Dam... and we ended up not going to any of these locations
- Last minute cancellation by my manicurist which got me all panicky especially since I was also rushing to finish work

The shoot was tons of fun! Though my hair didn't look like anything I imagined it to be, ended up letting the makeup artist do her magic, and the makeup wasn't that bad... And the photographer was a ball of laughs and loved to suan us like mad, think: "don't smile like that, look very fake", "don't clench ur fist like this you look like you're going to punch someone", and I was called chor lor, asked to pose like a lizard etc. which I guess some people might find offensive, but somehow we could take it...

And there were two big surprises: a last minute change in indoor location to Bellini Grande at Clarke Quay where the Bridal Studio booked for the afternoon to do their own advertisement shoots with paid models (the ang moh male model is handsome!), so we got pretty cool shots which I hope will turn out nice! And the sunset at Punggol was fabulous! Streaks of orange, pinks and blacks...

Just hope the models turned out looking ok, and the photos will turn out great... now I can't wait to go through the photos! And pray that I won't be spending too much money getting additional shots...

So Nice

Someone to hold me tight

That would be very nice

Someone to love me right

That would be very nice

Someone to understand

Each little dream in me

Someone to take my hand

And be a team with me

So nice, life would be so nice

If one day I'd find

Someone who would take my hand

And samba through life with me

Someone to cling to me

Stay with me right or wrong

Someone to sing to me

Some little samba song

Someone to take my heart

And give his heart to me

Someone who's ready to

Give love a start with me

Oh yeah, that would be so nice

I could see you and me, that would be nice

Someone to hold me tight

That would be very nice

Someone to love me right

That would be very nice

Someone to understand

Each little dream in me

Someone to take my hand

To be a team with me

So nice, life would be so nice

If one day I'd find

Someone who would take my hand

And samba through life with me

Someone to cling to me

Stay with me right or wrong

Someone to sing to me

Some little samba song

Someone to take my heart

And give his heart to me

Someone who's ready to

Give love a start with me

Oh yes, that would be so nice

Shouldn't we, you and me?

I can see it will be nice...

Meow (x2)

Sister sent me this absolutely adorable picture of the two rascals...

Awwwwwww.........

Changes?

Having to work on the weekends means blasting music from my PC and invariably surfing Facebook and blogs, and I'm officially obsessed with browsing other ppl's wedding photos!

Anyway, changes that are coming up:

1) if you haven't already read the newspapers, the Company has announced a shorter work month (SWM) scheme, in which it is compulsory for us to take at least 1 day leave per month (paid or no pay leave). there was some unhappiness in relation to how the news published in the papers before being communicated to staff... but i guess all of us were kinda expecting it in some way or the other. Oh well, I don't really mind taking NPL IF and only IF i'm not expected to be working on home when i'm on NPL

2) have officially started the ball rolling with regards to my job rotation and i believe it is actually going to happen, just fingers crossed that my next posting will be reasonable...

on other news, went to select my wedding gowns last monday, i finally feel more like i'm going to be getting married!

Sunrise, Sunrise

A random collection of sunrise shots from my bedroom window.





Thankful I get to start every dreary workday with a pretty sight :)

Updates

Haven’t updated in a while, been busy at work and sick and all… so here’s a brief summary

Lots of fun in our Malacca adventure

Came back from Malacca to a Peranakan meal, and proceeded to puke it all out on Monday morning.

Two days MC, but by day 3 I was having fever, went back to office and got hit with 2 discussions scheduled to last 2 hours, got fed up, took half day leave to go home to sleep, and woke up with fever of 39deg.

Got another two days MC, but went back to work anyway ‘cos we were shifting office.

Packed up and moved office. Finally I have bright white lights in the office and decent furniture. Makes me want to decorate and call this place my own. But I miss the old place for it’s privacy and the fact that my boss used to have his own room. Now he sits in a cubicle like the rest of us, and we have to whisper when we need to bitch about him.

Planned a pretty successful surprise for Clara. Happy Birthday Clara! Yippee now we sit very near each other!

Working late, rushing to write papers. But still kena scolded: “I don’t mind if you all take long lunches or tea breaks, but the quality of work must still be there”. Hello, we go down for lunch at 12.40, coming up at 1.40 does not qualify as having a long lunch. Unlike you, I don’t leave for lunch at 12 noon and come back at 2pm.

Somehow after the puke attack, my tummy is going all weird on me, I’m getting these hunger pangs! 2 hours after my lunch and my tummy starts to be hungry all over again, Luckily it doesn’t growl.

Home alone, TJ’s away on a seminar. Realise I quite like having the house to myself.

One more birthday celebration coming up!

Thank you

For knowing exactly what you needed to do just when I say “hey dear can you please” (fill in the blanks with activities like pick up your dirty clothes, close the door)

For helping out with the relocation of the Aw family home.

For scoring high points with my parents that way… my Dad praised you!

For taking last minute leave (my fault) and being the very important driver of the car with the red scroll on it… that really touched me…

For enduring the endless teasing and jibes by my two sisters.

For cooking yummy dinners and cleaning up the stove after that.

For your little sacrifices like skipping your own activities to join me in my family activities.

For preparing sandwiches for me to bring to office for breakfast

For clearing out the trash without me asking

For selecting your clothes every night and tippy-toe around the house to avoid waking me up when you get ready for work every morning

For sending me sweet little smses

Most of all, for being you…

Happy 4.5 years darling, we somehow don’t really have time or opportunity to celebrate this, but do know that you are very important to me and your small little gestures say a lot too.

Goodbye

Goodbye Gong-gong.

My earliest memories of you were how you could hold your liquor, and how my parents always bought a bottle of cognac for you from duty free after our overseas trips. Then, we used to always have Chinese New Year dinners prepared by Ah-po complete with hainanese delicacies like mutton soup, chap chye and the deep fried prawn fritters.

When you fell ill more than 10 years ago, all these stopped, no more elaborate dinners and liquor since then. While your mental health declined, you seemed more in the pink of health than ever. And your childlike innocence was actually quite cute.

Sad to say, as I never learnt to speak the hainanese dialect, I was never able to communicate with both you or ah-po except to greet you both happy Chinese New Year. And I think that will be a regret that I will always live with.

To express my last act of filial piety, I hope the intense origami sessions of folding paper ingots in the last few days will help somehow with your journey into the unknown, and may you rest in peace and look after ah-po wherever you are. It was so heart-wrenching seeing her, and old lady of 91, wiping away tears while the Taoist priests were performing the last rites.

Goodbye...

Dilbert

Someone forwarded this to me at work and I agree with most of them!
#17 totally describes my boss. Enjoy!

Here are some of Dilbert's best one liners:
1. I say no to alcohol, it just doesn't listen.
2. Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
3. Work is fine if it doesn't take too much of your time.
4. When everything comes in your way you're in the wrong lane.
5. The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train..
6. Born free, taxed to death.
7. Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.
8. Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.
9. Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.
10. If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you'll have trouble putting on
your pants.
11. It's not hard to meet expenses, they are everywhere.
12. The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the
other three, he was the genius.
13. The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.
14. In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?
15. If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?
16. Beat the 5 O'clock rush, leave work at noon!
17. If you can't convince them, confuse them.
18. It's not the fall that kills you. It's the sudden stop at the end.
19. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
20. Hot glass looks same as cold glass. - Cunino's Law of Burnt Fingers.
21. The cigarette does the smoking you are just the sucker.
22. Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.
23. To Err is human; to forgive is not a Company policy.
24. The road to success...... Is always under construction.
25. Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but if you think again, neither does
Milk.
26. In order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don't need it .

Vrrooom…

As a lot of you may know, I got my license a very long time ago (1 day after TJ got his!), but sad to say I haven’t been driving since. I blame it on being spoilt since my dates almost always drove, and laziness, though I keep telling people that it’s very 幸福 to have people chauffer you around, and it is…

Over the CNY, TJ and I were lucky to have a car available for us to drive for 2 weeks, and it was a good two weeks with the car even though driving is really not cheap. And I decided to relearn my driving.

It was surprisingly very fun, and before long, I was driving up to like 120km/h. Before you start scolding me, I was traveling along TPE/SLE where there are hardly any cars on the road and people were still zooming past me… Normally I don't go that fast... My parking is still a problem, and I almost got TJ killed once (or so he says), but it wasn’t all that bad I think. Although my friends are all pretty amused that I’m driving again =)

And I must say, I enjoy the feeling of driving, of being in control of where I’m going, and I like also the feeling of being able to send my drunk TJ home while he is sleeping in the car… I think I got potential to become a taitai, and have the use of the car to go market in the morns, go for manicures, go for mahjong and high tea sessions, and also ferry the kids to and from schools… hahaha

Mellowing?

When I first started work I was all ready to go, work hard and everything, and didn’t react well when UM (my boss) subtly put me down, saying I must write papers with logic, must provide him solutions and not just ask him questions, criticizing my vocab and grammar, saying how I could have done things differently… and having no colleague to empathise with me, I honestly believed every single thing he said, and started feeling very bad about myself and my lack of ability

About 1.5 years into the job, I got the hang of things, got better at stuff, started to be aware of when UM is “smoking” me, and can stand my ground when my ideas are being attacked, so much so that UM accepts my suggestions over his own (very grudgingly of course). But I went through a period of being pissed off and indignant…

Now it’s almost 3 years. It’s just interesting with my new colleague fresh from Uni, who gets quite pissed off with UM’s fickle-mindedness and nitpicking even though he (my colleague) looks like the ultimate nice guy. Now when UM goes into his unreasonable phase, I just roll my eyes, and accept it with a shrug “he’s like that one”…

Hmm… Am I mellowing with age or just getting used to how working life is like?

Happiness

In the current downturn, it’s easy to be depressed. Yesterday I was reading a blog entry, that we aren’t really as poor as we think, and that we should be happy for the things we already have.

Today, the DJ on Class 95 morning show was sharing tips on staying happy in bad times, and he said that he has started keeping a list of things that make him happy since Monday, and is amazed at how the list keeps growing (it’s now Thursday).

Inspired, here’s my list of things that make me happy, appearing in random order:

- A simple home-cooked meal prepared with love
- A good workout, the type that you sweat profusely, and feel like swearing at the sadistic instructor for putting you through all that misery
- Lovely view of the sunrise from my bedroom window as I’m getting ready for work
- A good and stimulating lunch discussion with my colleagues (topics ranging from hybrid animals, ladder theories, Chinese names of countries, reproduction)\
- Spending time with family just catching up and talking about everything or nothing at all
- Having fun with my friends
- My FAGs: sports sessions, food, gatherings at Shuyun’s house, birthday surprises, Chek Jawa + Zoo + many others
- Travelling: carrying tons of stuff, getting lost and going round in circles, walking and walking and walking, seeing and experiencing new things and learning new stuff about our traveling partner(s), all that food, oh the scenery!
- A good song to make me smile, feel hyped up or anything
- Receiving my items from sprees, especially if that cheap dress turns out to be really fabulous
- Relaxing and reading a good book
- Rushing through the weekends doing tons of stuff
- A clean house after doing all that mopping, scrubbing and ironing
- The smell of freshly laundered clothes
- Our nightly hugs and cuddles
- Singing songs off key while driving in the car
- Anything sweet (but not overtly sweet): chocolates, fresh fruits, cakes, ice cream
- Stroking and playing with pets, especially my little rascals kink and wink
- The bus driving past the beach on my way home from work on a lovely evening

The list doesn’t end here and will be updated periodically.

What makes you happy?

Random

The quantum for our annual increment is out. We should be very glad that in these times of wage cuts and pay freezes, we are still getting an increment, however slight the amount. But most of us are pissed off ‘cos our peers in our subsidiaries are getting a 20% higher increment than us at the parent company…

Hmm… I know we should count our blessings in these tough times… but can’t help feeling a bit indignant about the whole thing…

So excuse me while I rant a bit…

10 yrs on

Went back to my secondary school for a reunion last Saturday evening. While the turnout wasn’t very good, and we had it in the new school campus and not the one that we spent 4 years of our lives in, it was a good reunion catching up with old friends, a lot that I haven’t seen in the last 10 years.

The best parts of the reunion was when we simultaneously broke out into the school cheer and when we stood up to sing the school song (I can still remember MOST of the song, no mean feat considering it’s in super high pitch and have two repeating stanzas with very similar but different lyrics). Think I teared during the school song…

Now looking forward to the JC one, should be fun!

Health Scares

Haven’t updated in a while, went on my Vietnam trip and back, celebrated New Years at my new house, started living there on a pretty regular basis. I totally heart my new place, though it still needs some touching ups and more furniture… I just love being able to go home, cook a simple dinner and not needing to fight with everyone on what channel I wanna watch on tv. Plus the best part: I don’t need to rush so much every morning.

So anyway, within one week we’ve experienced two health scares. My dad tripped and fell on the staircase last week, and according to my dad’s colleague, he hurt his head and was bleeding profusely from the wound. That totally freaked my mum and all of us out… cos we weren’t there to see what’s going on, and my mum has a tendency to over-exaggerate. Thankfully it wasn’t serious, the profuse bleeding was due to a nose injury, and while my dad did have a hairline fracture on his nose, there was no concussion etc. Thank goodness for that. And best of all, my very hilarious tj had to remark: “wah uncle u look so cool, like boxer liddat” (cos the bandage/plasters were on his forehead and nose)

During a routine eye exam, tj’s mum suddenly found out that she totally couldn’t see from her left eye, and after much examination, it was found that her retina was detached and needed to be operated upon ASAP to prevent further retina tearing and complications. During the pre-op examination, they found that her blood sugar level was very high which may indicate that she had diabetes, which may result in her being unable to undergo the eye op…

The op sounds simple enough, but part of the healing process involves her lying face down for more than 90% of the time for 2 weeks to encourage the healing process. That sounds quite torturous to me… =(

I guess the moral is to eat healthy, exercise more, get more rest, take things easier, and spend more time with your family. And go for regular medical checkups.

For the coming CNY, I wish for my family to be healthy…

The Run

We were running a bit late after lunch ‘cos we were busy chit-chatting, and were making our way back up to the office from the canteen, when DD suddenly whispered “老板在后面”. Simultaneously, the four of us quickened our footsteps (we were literally running) until we made it into the lift, pressed our floor and jabbed the door close button until the door closed. When it finally did, we looked at each other, and just burst out laughing…

What a way to keep the adrenaline pumping…