Whose Next?

A week long update.

Just as I was feeling a bit better, one by one, the rest of my family fell sick lor!

Joel was the second victim to be down with fever on Saturday, followed by Gavin with a throbbing headache on Sunday.

Monday, 24 September was Joel’s 4th birthday. Actually, I pre-ordered a Thomas Train cake for him to celebrate with his friends in school. However, he was still sick, so only managed to just invite MIL & SIL to celebrate with him at home. This is the second consecutive year that he didn’t get to celebrate it in school, as he contracted chicken pox during his birthday last year.

Was stucked the whole of Tuesday at home with Joel – and I mean literally STUCK! You simply can't do anything else, unless the TV is on. The 2 hours spent playing Lego with him was so draining on my energy (I mean of my creative juice) – like kanna being squeezed through the sugar cane juice machine. He commanded me to build all sort of motor vehicles. And when he finally slept, I too was knocked out.

Ah! Finally I was able to get back to work on Wednesday to clear the backlog of emails. Then, it was Bryan’s turn to fall ill. Wah lau eh! 4 days away from office already, just went back for a day and then still got to take another 2 days off again! I still got deadlines to clear, man!

So decided to bring Bryan in to office to work on Thursday. Also, the dialup to internet at home is really crawling like snail mail. Yah, aku still using DIALUP! Luckily, my office is quite flexible with that (or am I just assuming only).

Today, is a busy day. Felt like a taxi driver.

After having fetch Joel to school, then Gavin, who is late for work and lastly Bryan to mum’s place, who was helping me babysitting for a day.

The moment I reach mum’s place, I slumped right into the sofa. Somehow, there's no place like home, where I had lived the last 2o over years. Mum offered me some milk, as the stress is making my stomach very hungry. Catch up a little with mum. As I started to share with her my stress and frustration, tears started to well up in my eyes uncontrollably.

Rushed back to office cleared some email, before running some errands and hotel site visits. Luckily, my colleagues pitied me and suggested taking taxi there. Phew, no need me to drive!

Went back campus to pick up the car to fetch Joel. Then drop off Joel and the packed dinner to Gavin, who is the latest fever victim. Then, mum called to say that Bryan wanted to come back home instead of staying overnight. So off to mum's place again and grab some dinner with dad and mum. And finally managed reached home at 8:15 pm only. By then, someone was in PMS mood liao because of that pesky Joel.

I am so tired. Going to sleep now.

What a Week!

Am down with sore throat, phlegm, cough, backache and feeling a bit feverish. I think I must have caught the flu bug from an event last week, whereby a number of participants were ill too. My colleagues, Barlyson and Uncle Banana are also down.

My immune system has been pretty low this week, as I had been running around fetching the kids here and there under the humid and hot weather. Yah, blame it on the weather. No wonder I can connect very well to picture of toilet rolls flying in the sky last week.

My husband had just started work this week and I am now in-charge of fetching the kids to and fro from school. Luckily, I picked up driving again last year when Gavin hurt his hand and could not drive. It’s a blessing in disguise, as he had no choice but to let me use his car…haha.

Driving is great! Firstly, no need to climb up the slope to campus each morning; and can also get to eat lunch other than the school’s canteen, which doesn’t even serve the basic food of chicken rice and/or fishball noodles! I’m okay with driving, except for parking lah, which I have improved from 3 empty parking lots, to 2 and now to 1 lot...hehe. And, please don’t ask me to park at any of the shopping centres in Orchard Road at the moment. And you know what? - driving comes with “responsibilities” – I mean errands and safety.

Every morning, I will have to fetch Joel to school and then have to wait with him for his form teacher to come. He’s got his mood swings at least once a week. In the afternoon, it’s time again to fetch Bryan from his primary school at Queenstown to the childcare centre at Ghim Moh, then grab a quick lunch. And I dread evening most. After fetching Joel first from Kent Ridge and picked Bryan up during the evening peak hours and only managed to reach home at around 7 pm. Thank goodness, Gavin helps to pick up dinner on his way back.

And the best is, I am very “lucky” to kanna whatever that driver fears about driving. The car battery went flat on the second day at the car park near Bryan school and I had to call upon AA to come and change battery and since it just happened at my hands, so I decided to pay for it. My husband thought it could last till Monday when he next service his car. But luckily, the car didn’t stall in the middle of the road. And on Wednesday, the ass of my car accidentally kissed the lip of another car at the car park, but twice lucky, God’s hands is upon me. The scratch on both our cars is erasable with a piece of wet tissue and the other owner is not around - PHEW! Must pray hard each day, man!

It’s not even passed 1 week of driving and I almost down and out physically, but then can’t raise my white flag of surrender…. Must reciprocate his efforts, so that he can work in peace and I also need to prove to him that he can leave the kids with me. That’s the life of a 2-income parents with young kids. Hope that didn’t put the parents-to-be off. It’s just part and parcel of life, which will mould us to be a stronger and better person. If not for my kids, I think I just continue to be the “small woman” or have the “damsel in distress” look.

As for now, have to just pray fervently to God and draw strength for him for another 2 months before Bryan’s school holidays start; safety and protection while driving; and lastly for time management.

Ah, now feeling better after blogging it, which can be so therapeutic. Hopefully, I can continue my writing in the months to come. And to be able to look back at the end of the year and to declare that I am an overcomer!

It's Appraisal Time!

The Annual Review is due today! It is like a huge stone being lifted from my heart, as if it’s like submitting a proposal for extra funding … yah, funding for my allowance and lifestyle.

Writing a self-appraisal can be rather stressful. I had spent some hours last week and the whole day of yesterday selling “ko-yok”! In the end, I submitted a 7-page long report listing down my job duties and a whole lot of 80+ events. On top of that, there was another 10 over pages of thank-you notes and whatever supporting documents that I can find.

Somehow those cheesy advertisements from http://www.mocca.com/ have rubbed on me, especially the tag line – Search, Buy, Sell & Connect - Search through the Institute’s web for the list of events that we’ve organized. Buy lunch for Barina …. must “fan” her a bit you know :P but luckily she is on training course. Sell “koyok” and making my job duties and achievements known -- no shame at all hor!? Connect with my inner self to reflect beyond the activities, but also looking at the people behind the scenes.

And as I looked back, every year the number of events seems to be escalating. And it’s only when we started compiling the list that we began to look back how the year has been – 2 words – FAST and FURIOUS. However, it has been a joy working with Barina, Barlyson and Banana (the only thorn among the roses). We called ourselves Team Synergy.

The other person that I always thank in my heart, but often not verbally -- is my husband -- who has allow me to go all the way out to work in confidence and in peace. He has put his job search on whole for more than a year and occasionally doing some part-time jobs, so that he can be there for the kids and to manage the family and the household chores. Boy, it’s not an easy task. It takes a lot discipline. I would probably be lazying around, which is what I usually do on Saturday. Once I see the bed, my body goes “lembek”. And if you ask me to stay home to be a full-time “Ah Soh”, I think I’ll go mad first

Something in the Air

Why do I have this feeling that it's gonna rain s***?

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

Every year around this time, I would be busy with events, cos it's usually peak period for me. But this year, slight budget cut, thus got a bit of time on OUR hands. So my colleagues came up with this crazy surprise.

I’m usually quite alert but this time don’t know why damn “naïve”. How come I didn’t smell any rat! Must be losing too much blood from under there! First, Rina tricked me to join them to Concourse to buy party stuff for Rina’s children day party which does not exist at all. While I was shopping for Joel’s birthday party packs, they secretly bought the deco stuff.

In the evening, my jogging kaki said that they got last minute plans thus can’t join Uncle Henry and me for our jogging series. And since I had missed 2 weeks of jogging due to Ah Kit’s farewell bash and Comex, I really felt that I need to continue without them cos getting a bit flabby these days. Usually, Uncle Henry will scold us upside down for missing and we would give the silly excuses such “Big Aunty Come” and whether if he needs verification … hehe; or would pray for rain (now you know why if it rains on Thursday!). But this time Uncle didn’t even open his gap.

When I came back from my jog, I was surprised to see Alyson around in the office and even commented that she should join us as we managed to finish our run early. At the turn after the mail box, I saw that the green balloons all over my cubicle… and some resemble coconuts trees … so sweet of them to plan a birthday surprise for me.

And as I walk towards my cubicle, I think my face suddenly also turn green … not so much from the reflections from the balloons, but the sight of the aftermath of the “supposingly sweet” SURPRISE. My cubicle was littered with confetti from the office shredder. Siao liao! And they also hid my chair and a couple of the spare chairs away!

Let me introduce the main masterminds and not forgetting the little elves who help tie the coconut balloons.

The best part is they all took time off the next morning and let me to clear up the mess and I jolly well thought they would be kind enough to lick them up for me. And I spend the next half an hour cleaning up. But luckily they redeemed themselves by buying me a durian cake from Angie’s cake shop, for the energy lost.

THANK YOU pals for the very memorable birthday surprise. However, next year I wish that my 2 events colleagues will have more events to keep them busy and away from any tricks.

Hehe…have I told you before that I get a bit “hyper” after durian? Now it only makes me even more excited about my next big plans. My creative juice is oozing from my brains already...so whose next?!

Dream on - Dream Away

Uncle Hairy (Mao Mao) had been lamenting that he's got no cover shot like us! And since he's so nice to help me with my makeover, I have asked the 8 Days Editor to give him a chance lor! And I even got him a partner too! Wah! Somemore in that "MO-NI-CA" pose!

Should I Perm My Hair?

Here's the last of the 3 BASH Beauties!

First, I wanna thank my celebrity makeup artist, Hen Ree, who has about 18 years of experience in the makeup world. Secondly, I wanna thank my photographer, Theo who has rummaged her whole house to obtain this cover (shot) for me.

Kam siah! I love you all.

Hmm... now it really makes me wonder if I should go and perm my hair?