I had this particular conversation with a colleague today. She asked me if I was enjoying the whole teaching experience. It's been a tiring three days.. but I told her, quite honestly, that they were little monkeys. Albeit adorable ones..

Her advice? Wait a year and my description of the kids will be very different.

The principal also seems rather nice. friendly. gave alot of advice..

In fact, the teachers, on the whole, are very supportive. Offering to help out with this and that.. answering my many stupid questions (umm.. do you call his mom if you catch the boy cheating in spelling?.. oh.. and umm..how DO you teach composition to 9 year olds..). I suppose the politicking doesn't apply unless you're working there full time.

The volume of marking is... a..nightmare.. to say the least. I marked from 1pm (after class) to 5.30pm... went home, had dinner, then marked from 7.30pm to 10.30pm. And I was quite surprised at the concentration needed for marking. Everytime I get distracted, I'll forget where I'd stopped...

And this is without all the admin work a full time teacher needs to do.
*headache*

I still have 2 months to decide.

I received my assignment letter the other day. can't believe that my holiday is coming to an end. *sigh* it has been a wonderful 4 months of doing nothing at all. A pity we all must return to reality. My bank account is almost depleted and it's time to go make some money and get on with a miserable working life.

Sometimes I wish I had Genie's life. Run around the house and bark, eat, sleep and play. If there's such a thing as reincarnation then she must have done something right the previous round, eh?

I wonder what my new work place is like. I'm sure it won't be like my previous workplace at all. I did enjoy working there. I liked my colleagues. It's a tad far, but not THAT bad. Who knows, maybe I'll return if this new thing doesn't work out.

I am annoyed.

Failed to ballot for a flat. Again.

Screw you HDB.

Nuff Said.

It was a very odd experience.

I dreamt of grandma the other night. I won't go into detail, but it ended up with me telling her how much I missed her and bursting out in tears.

When I woke up, I was already crying and felt upset enough to wake Melvin up in the middle of the night. Then I couldn't stop. I just kept crying and crying, until I fell asleep again.

I thought I'd stopped grieving.. apparently my subconscious disagrees. Or maybe because I shove her to the back of my head. bury the thoughts of her somewhere. So I don't think of her all that much, preoccupied by other things and this is a manifestation of buried grief and pain.

Either way, I'm still feeling a lil achy (emotionally speaking). I'm not in my thirties and already 2 very important women in my life has passed - both rather abruptly. I can't describe this feeling of.. loss. There I better stop typing before I burst out in tears again. Time heals all wounds. This will just take time.

And so it is, I'm now a year older (and hopefully, wiser).

It was particularly sweet birthday, though it cost Melvin a bomb and his wallet will spend the next few months recuperating.

We went out in the afternoon for a bit of shopping. I didn't manage to find anything I liked in particular. Nothing I need, really. Though on hindsight, I should have asked for an electric toothbrush. THAT, I need. You girls see how romantic we are? The conversation would have went like:

Melvin:: What would you like for your birthday?
Cat: A toothbrush.

Anyway, since I didn't find anything I liked in particular, he paid for my online shopping instead ^^ Got some items, out of which 25% I will never wear. Don't ask... it looked pretty on the model, but made me look like I was wearing a curtain. Or a sack. Or a prostitute. Depending on which item..

And we went for dinner at The sail@Marina. It was quite romantic, really. We had a private corner of our own that faced the Marina Barrage. Food was average with a not-so-average price tag. Wine and some bubbly. Good bread.

What really made it special was the National Day rehearsals going on at the Barrage :P I got to see fireworks! I mean, I've seen fireworks before in Sydney.. but the whole dinner, wine, fireworks combi... felt good.

I had a coronary when the bill came, though. And complained about it the entire ride home. I mean, it's his treat and he kept saying it's for my birthday so it's OK. But GAaaah I'm never going there again. I can eat for a month what we spent on dinner that night.

I caught the show 'Inception' yesterday. It was quite good. Except I didn't understand what was going on for half the show. Mostly a 'OMGOMGOMG rruuuunnn! ahhh he's gonna get shot!' then a 'why are they chasing him again?'

Yet, it's a good show. I love the concept of a 'dream within a dream' (mostly because I can identify with that annoying... thing).

Didn't understand the ending though. So was he back in reality, or no? can someone please enlighten me..

On another totally unrelated note, I can't wait for lunch with EM and rest of my ex-dept tomorrow. And I'm looking forward to going out with Jen and min and Marcus and Chuu and Irene and Meng, Not all at the same time, but Yaaaaayy~~

I attended a very interesting event over the weekend. It was the 'Lo clan gathering'. Though technically, I wasn't a 'Lo'. Melvin's mom is though, so off we went for a big lunch gathering of over 200 people.

There were 4 generations of the Lo clan present. so you can imagine the handshakes, hellos, hugs etc. Apparently some of Melvin's uncles decided to trace their roots and distant relatives. They managed to dig up photos over 100 years old! The guy they traced it furthest back to was called Generation 1 :P so those alive and attending were called Generation 4 - 7. It's a HUGE undertaking. I really don't know how they did it.

So there were distant relatives travelling from different parts of the world to attend this event. From UK, US, Hong Kong, Malaysia etc etc.

I think it's really fantastic because the younger ones will then know 'ok so THIS is my distant cousin'

It was a full programme. The organising committee did a presentation/slideshow of photos showing the history (as far back as they can) of the family. Where the name came from.. etc.

It was kinda weird for me, I mean, cos I didn't know majority of the people there. But kinda cool.

Also I got to meet Mr Foo. Those from my secondary school would remember him as one of the PE teachers... He's married to Melvin's mom's cousin? I think. Very complicated. Don't remember who's who.

Anyhow, they managed to find 500 'Lo's. Which, imo, is one of the biggest undertakings anyone can do. Cheers to Uncle Anthony and the rest of the organising team!

Ahh I just remembered this conversation I had with Melvin sometime back.

We head to the nearby gym regularly and for those who gym regularly, you'd know each gym has their preferred radio station or playlist.

Anyway, I was surfing youtube at home when I chanced across a very familiar song. One that I hear EVERYTIME I was on that treadmill.

Melvin was like 'Hey! That's the gym song'

And I figured it was up to me to inform him that 'Dear. That is Britney Spears. Called 3'

His immediate reaction of horror was 'OMG I've been gyming to Britney Spears' =.=

So yes, you may use that as blackmail sometime. Melvin Chong gyms to Britney Spears songs.

Well, Glenn told me that jumping rope is one of the best ways to lose weight. So what the heck, I decided to give it a go.

And.. I can tell why.

After fifteen minutes of LEISURE fooling around with the jump rope, I am sweaty, sticky, and mostly feel like I'm about to die of cardiac failure. It's alot more intense than the treadmill (duh!). But it also means I go '1.. 2.. 3... 25..." then I lie down on the cold floor in exhaustion. So it's been "jump 25 times. rest. Jump 25 times. rest." But I had a stop watch so I DID do fifteen minutes actual minutes of jump rope... though it took me a whole of 45 minutes to complete it.
I don't see how people can do 15 minutes nonstop.

Meh. If I stick to this, I'll work my way. Else it's back to the weekly swim/jog.
Other than that, I hit my cardio limit for the week.

Oh crap. It's Sunday. *grumble* Ok, Cardio limit for the next 7 days.

Genie's Birthday is coming up this Sat!
I'm still not sure if I want to organise something for her. I mean, I'm definitely baking a doggie cake for her, but I don't know if I want to invite guests.

Last year, we had a celebration at k9 Campus.. and I also baked a ton of cookies for her 'friends' as well as for my colleagues' dogs. This year, since I don't quite have colleagues I'm seeing the following Monday.. I can skip the cookie baking :P

Cake is a must though. I haven't quite decided what flavour - either apple cinnamon, peanut butter, Pork/carrot or Salmon. Genie has salmon regularly though, so.. I don't know.

Plus I think there's only going to be 1 doggie guest (Lana) if I do send invites. I don't know of any other dogs rowdy enough for Genie. Haha. Requirement: must like to run around and chase other doggie guests. Most dogs I know are so... mild and quiet. Genie will drive those up the wall.

Then there is the fact that we went to k9 with Glenn and Lana like 2 weeks? or 3weeks? ago.. tad too soon for us to return. And I can't invite Lana over because.. umm... she's huge and may upturn furniture while running around with Genie.

Hmmm how?

Dilemma Dilemma.

I've been watching so many TV series that I think my brain's rotting.

Right. So that's a one sentence update. Point proven.

We've been toying with the idea of letting Genie go for a studio photoshoot.
I mean, look at this --> http://furry-photos.com/

Adorable, yes?

Except a basic package of just softcopy pictures (meaning no prints and all) costs $360.
The full on package including print costs $900.

Ouch.

:(

I don't want to announce this on Facebook, so blog it is.

Wedding dinner date is set - 24 July 2011, Orchard Hotel. Reasons for having the dinner on this date is as follows:

1. It's a Saturday so all those involved in the morning customary things don't have to take leave.
2. Had to have it between June - Sept so Glenn can make it
3. Seventh month starts Early August so def before THAT.
4. Hotel is fully booked every weekend until July.
5. And I had to have Orchard Hotel because THERE IS FREE FLOW OF WINE AND BEER

There, I said it. Everyone, please get pissed drunk at my wedding.

I've more or less decided I want 6 Jie Mei's.. so I've asked Shimin and Jen. Will ask Vivien/Erushi (ex-colleagues) and likely 2 cousins.

I know you guys are all over the place and I don't know if you want to fly in to Singapore just for the wedding but please give a tentative reply so that I can help you check with the hotel on room rates (I can get corporate room rates for you.. 200+ a night?)

We haven't worked on the invite list at all so I'm just going to type a tentative list here for my friends.. If you feel I've missed out any names, please let me know. If I've forgotten your name, please give a holla to go 'oi! what about me?' because planning a guest list of 250 pax can be confusing.

I'll be sending out a 'soft invite' via facebook towards the end of this year.. then a proper invite card will be sent to whichever address you give me by May 2011.

From Primary School

Lianne (there's only you in this list. haha. Don't know if you want to come. Long Haul Flights are not pleasant)

From Secondary School

Karen
Lexin & Benjamin

From JC

Shimin
Jen
Irene & Thai
Tim (if he ever responds) & Shan shan (if they're together. I can never be sure if it's on or off)
Chuu Ling?
Meng?
Chee Kwang

From Uni

Fongky ??

Work and others

Marcus (yes, you. come.)
Lisa
Vivien
Erushi
Vivienne
Ben Chow
Lay Pheng
Charles
Renee
Vanessa
Yoko (and Vernon and Brandon and Ashley?)
EM
Chee Liang
Siew Li
Christina
Sean P. (+1? He doesn't know anyone and I don't want the poor guy to sit alone)
Rachel Hoe
Sabrina (+1?)
*Alex Siew - I'm in a dilemma for this one. I want him to be my photographer! Cos the pics he takes always turn out great. He did my ROM for me. BUT on the other hand... I also want him to be a guest, ya'know? YET I dont want to risk hiring a photographer I *don't* know.... so how?

I THINK that's it? maybe. Gah I'm bound to forget somebody. As it is, I forget to invite SOME relatives. It's like this...

Me: OK that's it for my relatives.
Melvin: Umm. Your dad's side?
Me: Yah it's all there!
Melvin: What about your Uncle Teck and his 2 daughters?
Me: Oh. Umm. Can I exclude them?
Melvin: No. And are you inviting your parents?
Me: When hell freezes over.
Melvin: Don't forget Uncle Teck's wife
Me: He has a wife? Maybe they're divorced. I haven't seen her since I was a kid. Sides, I remember she's bitchier than my mother.
Melvin: *sigh* Courtesy invite then
Me: No!
Melvin: *exasperate sigh*

I have been sick. I am still sick.

This bloody flu has been bugging me for more than a week now and it refuses to go away! It started with a high fever (38.5 degrees) the Sunday before last... and well, I've been coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose and spitting out weird gunk ever since. The meds doesn't seem to help.

So much for the first week of my break.

On the bright side, I've just been playing Pharoah/Cleopatra at home and generally bumming around. I like lolling around the house doing nothing.

In fact, there isn't much incentive to leave the house.

Which... isn't all that great.

Need to remember to ask Lexin and Karen out for dinner. It's long overdue.
And Melvin and I owe Lexin and Benjamin a meal. that's long overdue too.

But meanwhile, I shall stay at home coughing and wheezing away and trying not to talk at all because I sound like a man. I wish I could say 'I have a sexy voice now'. But alas, all I do, is sound like a nasal man.

Dropped by Eden's office just now (Eden the deputy Principal, not whatever else you were thinking) to thank him for the guidance over the years.

And I realised how much I meant every word I said to him. I was a fresh grad who didn't know better - and I depended heavily on people like him to teach me and say 'No, this cannot be done this way because...' or 'But what about this, you forgot to consider...'

He's one of the few management staff I truely respect and consider 'one of the good guys'.

If anything, I'll miss his corny jokes during meetings.

As all of you know, my last day at work is 14 May. I have yet to land a full time job. I know I said I want to stay at home and slack. I really do. But certainly not 7 days a week. Sure I'll be very happy playing computer games.. but my mind would rot.

So I have come to a decision that should I not be offered a job by the time 14 May comes around, I'll go back to volunteering at the Rainbow Centre. Not everyday, but perhaps once or twice a week.

If the pay didn't suck so much, I'd actually consider working there. So volunteer it is.

Growing up and starting a family is such a pain.

The number of things on my to-do list gets longer and longer..

1. Wedding dinner (haven't started doing research even)
2. Flat (applied for BTO - finances NOT sorted out)
3. Buy a piano (sure like that's going to happen when I'm saving for a house)
4. PIANO LESSONS (again - not going to happen when I'm saving for a house)
5. Get a job (ah, there is that)

The list above isn't in order of importance :P

The biggest pain is that all the new flats are in places like.. Punggol. Jurong West. Other un-named 'uluated' places.

*sigh*

I hope I get that ballot for BTO in Punggol. The latest plot of land for it is like... 5 minutes walk to the MRT station and 2 streets away from TPE. I don't normally believe in prayers, but here goes a /pray - gimme a high floor 4 room flat at either Punggol Wave or Punggol Emerald

Fancy-shamcy names to confuse people, but that's civil service for you.

This feeling of.. melancholy has been bugging me the past couple of days and I really can't figure out why it is so.

A heavy feeling right inside. I feel the need to sigh, I feel the need to cry.

But for the life of me, I dont know why..

Hey, that rhymes!

Melvin Chong, stop telling me I have fat arms and thighs. Don't mention my tummy.
If you don't find me desirable cos I'm fat, then there is always your hand.
Thanks.

It seems that I didn't pass the interview - because it's been weeks and still no word.

I came to work today thinking 'what the heck - i'll resign anyway'

And I did.

Already spoke to the assistant director.

My last day at work is likely to be 15 May.

I've finally done it - Resignation has been on my mind since umm.. 2 years ago.

Now I can only hope I land another job soon!

I totally collapsed in bed and spent the weekend sleeping. If one tiny ROM event is so tiring, I can't imagine how much worse organising a wedding dinner is.

It was raining on Saturday morning when we left the house. Had to reach the makeup artist (MUA)/salon place by 10am. umm. we left the house at 10am. Melvin has an issue with leaving the house. Everytime, I'd be standing there dressed and ready to go while he runs around doing his hair, looking for socks etc. And what was he doing when I was getting ready? Reading comics online =.= One of these days I'm just going to leave the house w/o him and go wherever on my own.

Anyway, we left the house and it was raining. Some lady walked in front of us and totally stole our cab so I waved a friendly middle finger at her. If my right arm wasn't busy clutching my ROM dress, it would have been two middle fingers.

The makeup was fabulous. the MUA gave me double eyelids. All she did was stick a masking tape on my eyes for a few minutes and voila! Double eyelids for the rest of the day.
The hairstylist almost killed me with the amount of hairspray. And she tied my hair so tightly, my scalp hurt for the rest of the day. But it looked good. And I got 'pearls' stuck in my hair too.
I got it all at a good price too. We paid like only 80 bucks? 85 bucks?
Commercial prices stand at about $200.
If you don't mind your hair and makeup being done by 50 year old aunties, then it's a good deal.

His parents then picked us up and we made our way to Furama Riverfront.
Then came the whole issue of Melvin asking his dad to go by Havelock Road, and his dad insisting on going by Orchard. There was this huge jam at Cairnhill/Orchard so... we got stuck there.

Then the hotel called to say 'Your JP is here..' then Alex (photographer) called to say 'err.. I'm here.' then some of guests called as well...

And we were STILL stuck at Orchard.

Then Melvin suddenly said 'errr. we forgot to print our vows.'

Shite.

Then my aunt called and said "Where are we supposed to go? Up the escalator?"
To which my response was "Yi. Furama RIVERFRONT"
My aunt's response? "Oops. Wrong hotel"

And to think I printed a map for her.

She arrived even later than I did (and she's one of my witnesses so we couldn't proceed without her)

The JP (who's a director at ITE?) must have been thinking 'OMG these people...' Especially after Melvin told him 'umm, can we use the standard vows? We kinda forgot ours'

So Mr Chia (JP) had to improvise.

Maybe that's why he decided to play a prank on us. I don't know. But I nearly died when he said 'To show your guests how much you love each other, you now need to declare 'I love you' to each other'

Gaaaah! Down the mic. in front of all my relatives. omg so embarassing.

When it came to 'You may kiss the bride', I turned my cheek to Melvin so he wouldn't embarass me further by errr.. wet smooches. I swear he wriggled his eyebrows at me.

We took alot of photos. I paid for one photographer but had the services of three and more.
Uncle Edward (Melvin's side) and my Uncle Teng love to take pictures... plus kaypoh tourists at the hotel lobby snapped pictures as we walked by...

Uncle Sam said it felt like some VIP event with all the random pictures taken by people who weren't even invited.

I guess it's to be expected when we're holding it in the lounge.

After everyone left, i changed out of the dress and we rushed to look at a flat. Someone was urgently selling his flat and was willing to let go at valuation price. 5 room flat for 380k? Floor area was 121 square metres. Quite spacious, though the house has not been renovated in 15 years and is in desperate need of re-tiling.

It's a fabulous buy, and if we got it, renovated and tried to sell it later, we'll def make a profit.
I mean, goodness. The size of the bathroom is prob almost equivalent to the size of a new flat's bedroom. It's HUGE.

Decided against it in the end because no matter how you look at it, we're not financially ready to own such a flat. Sides, what do we do with all the space...
Plus I hate it that the unit is on the top most level.

Then I got home and literally collapsed in bed.

*sigh* well.

Most of you know by now. Grandma passed away over the weekend. It was a particularly painful wake. Thank goodness for all the aunts/uncles who were around.

We burnt her a bigbig house (and a mercedes!). Which reminds me, I gotta buy those numbers for the next 49 days. I mean, the youngest aunt was jumping up and down in fury. Her unit number was the first prize on Sat (the day Grandma passed).. and she didn't buy it =/

A few 'creepy' things have happened since her passing, some at the wake itself and others after her cremation. I won't elaborate here. It gives us hope that Grandma is still around in spirit..

I went for my first brazilian. and OMG the PAIN!
It looks weird and feels even weirder when I shower (where did all the hair go?). Wouldn't have done it if Melvin didn't offer to pay. Of course, I had to deal with him acting like a little boy at Christmas for the rest of the day. It was like a 'lets go home!' and me going 'No i still need to do some stuff...'

I hope I passed yesterday's interview...

Nothing much to else to update everyone on. I don't want to talk about grandma all the time, yah?

It pains me to visit grandma.

She started going for radiotherapy last Friday and would need to do so every day for the next 5 - 10 days. Depending on how well she responds to the radiotherapy, it may give her up to three more months.

The doctor didn't recommend/encourage the radiotherapy at first because it will cause her alot of discomfort. And she may get confused/blur.. plus at her age, you really cannot tell how she'll respond to the treatment. Cost vs Benefit, I guess. For all that, they can only give her a few weeks more at best. Worst case scenerio, is that the treatment will make her worse because she is already so weak.

I guess she wanted it badly enough for the doctor to give the go ahead. Maybe it gives her the small hope that she'll make it for my ROM - something for her to look forward to.
I can only hope she'll be comfortable and alert on that day. If she passes like the day before our solemnisation, or (choy!) on the day itself, I really don't know how we can carry on. Just cross my fingers and hope, I guess.

She's visibly weaker everytime I visit her. And just that bit more yellow. In fact, kinda orange..
And she's lost so much weight. Lianne would remember - my grandma's kinda chubby :P Positively round, even. Now.. she's.. kinda... well.. not skeletal... shrunken, I guess. She kinda shrunk. It's like she dropped 15 - 20kg or something.

On another note, everytime I go visit her, I get a little something. A gold bracelet here, jade pendant there.. Everytime she tries to give me something, I'm tempted to say 'No, you keep it. Wear it when you get better.' But I know she won't get better, and she knows as well. So I say 'thank you' and wear it.

Then I'd go home and think that I don't want all these things. I don't want her money. I don't want her jewellery. I just want her alive, well and happy.

stressed. stressed. stressed.

Hotel of choice for ROM is available. Need to confirm booking.
JP is free but he needs to leave the venue at 1pm sharp. So this means bringing forward the ROM by an hour. Dont know if the hotel is agreeable.

Have I mentioned I have not settled dress or makeup or photographer?

And Have I mentioned I am, at the same time, coordinating a 700person survey, MOE Excel Day, 10-15 school exhibitions, 3 school tours and more....
AND IT IS ALL HAPPENING IN MARCH

AAAARRRGGHHHH

Maybe there won't be a need to rush the ROM afterall....

My aunt says Gran's turning yellow.. Liver failure...

A few weeks more, at the most...

It's not fair. The doctor said 6 - 12 mths. How come it suddenly became 6 - 12 weeks?

It's really weird how I don't feel rested after a supposed long weekend. Maybe it's gotta do with the little fact that I was out practically every single day visiting relatives.

It was great catching up with everyone.. except all my aunts/uncles kept pressing Melvin and I to (at the very least) register our marraige before grandma dies.
I don't know.

While it's a good idea, partly logical even, that we can just bring forward our plans by one year so that my dear dear grandma can attend one more happy occasion..
I just.. don't know.

It's very rushed. We need to settle everything very quickly because we don't know how fast she'll deteriorate... so ideally, we have before June to ROM.

It just.. doesn't feel natural. I don't feel ready. And I don't want to feel as though I'm getting married to satisfy one of her wishes, instead of doing it because Melvin and I are ready to do so. He's not even financially secure.

Sure, by all accounts, we are kinda married. We stay together, we make plans together, we talk about how many kids we want to have etc. Yet... why does it feel like I'm about to sign my life away?

Plus, I feel totally cheated of my romantic proposal. I mean, sure he's going to 'propose'.. but he has a 2 or 3 month deadline. Take the whole sitation into view and it feels so.. like.. the proposal is like.. something.. that needs doing. There's no surprise.. no.. ROMANCE in it at all. It's like a 'lets get it over and done with. there, you kneel there, show me the ring, and I agree'.

Sides, I so totally planned on saying 'No I dont want to marry you' just to give Melvin a coronary.
Now he knows I can't say no.

Goddamnit.

So all the fun in getting married just wooshed out the window. One step at a time. Wedding dinner, maybe 2011, eh?

Irene - I need your help! how does an ROM day go?

I suppose I should give everyone an update, though what a way to celebrate the upcoming CNY.

I was informed this morning that Gran has stage 4 cancer. She has 6 - 12 months left to live.
I'd type more, but am at a loss for words.

so yea.

It's almost V-day cum CNY..

Every year, I daydream about Melvin surprising me with a romantic night out.

And it never happens.. cos he doesn't ever put in effort to plan these things.

And when I tell him to 'surprise me' - well, I'm not, in the least.

Doesnt happen for Anniversaries. or Vday. Or any occasion.

Meh.

And so, Gran's in hospital.

She's been complaining about feeling bloated and generally discomfort for a month now. And I guess pain must have set in on Thursday night/Friday morning, so she gave my yi a call and got admitted into NUH.

There was, apparently, an ulcer/growth in her stomach that ruptured, causing internal bleeding and all. So they took a sample of the growth for testing, stopped the bleeding, and topped her up with one satchel of blood (not neccesarily in that order).

I had to get Yoko to cover for me for last night's school exhibition so I could rush to the hospital to visit Grandma. Visiting hours are strictly over at 8pm for High Dependancy Ward patients..

I guess they sloshed Grandma with drugs, she could barely talk and could just manage to shake/nod her head/mumble. So I just held her hand and talked nonsense until it was time to go.

The test results will be out on Tuesday and they'll schedule an op to remove that growth. We can only hope it's not cancerous.

I'll be visiting her again tomorrow morning. and likely every evening after work until she's discharged.. and.. she may be staying there until CNY is over. She's not pleased about that, but nothing much can be done. I bought bird's nest for her to enjoy after her impending operation so there's that at least.

Speaking of which, I FEEL POOR. Bird's nest for 2 grandmas (bought another box for Ama since I was shopping, ya'know?), haircut, Bak kwa (It's like the price of gold. $48 for 1kg!!)... total damage > $200.. in... one.. afternoon..

Between worrying for grandma, worrying about me getting broke, and worrying about work, and worrying about Melvin's jobless state - no wonder I'm stressed and pimples are popping up all over my face.

Sigh!

Genie went for her grooming session at Vivocity over the weekend. She currently doesn't look like my dog. We decided to head to Vivo because the last groomer she had gave her nicks and cut her nails till they bled. And vivo looked quite popular.. so we gave it a shot. I really need to look for a groomer who knows how to do the westie cut. Correction. I need to look for one that operates in the EAST. All the recommended groomers seem to located in the west side of SG. Holland.. CCK.. the like. Same for vets btw. Which is why we had to drive Genie all the way to Jalan Kayu for her spay op.

Genie and the groomer didn't get off to a very good start. When he knelt down and called her, she ignored him. And when he reached to carry her, she shrunk into a corner..
Melvin and I took a peek at the grooming process from a discreet corner at one point and I admit, Genie isn't the most cooperative of dogs. Everytime the groomer, Derrick, tried to adjust her head a lil to cut her fur, she'll use her kung-fu paws to try and push his hands away.

When we picked her up, the groomer was like 'this one, very naughty'. Dear me.

I can't wait for Glenn to get his vet degree. Free consult for Genie, yay! Provided he comes back to SG, that is. He'll complete his degree when Genie turns 4 or 5 years old. Get 1 or 2 years of exp, then just nice. Genie would be a Senior Doggizen by then and will need vet care.

See? it all works out :)

It's gotten to the point whereby I'd give any excuse to not head into the office.

Definitely time to leave.


On another note, I've been on FB regularly lately.. mostly because of the games ^^ For some reason, I enjoy stupid time wasting games like Cafe World. Or at least, that's the version I click around in when I have no access to my own desktop (I have Restaurant Empire 2 installed). I'm beginning to think this game thing is getting out of hand. No, I don't sacrifice face to face human contact because of games. I'm probably mildly addicted to games, but not to the point whereby I cut off all contact from the world, that sorta thing.

It's just.. I have sooo many games installed, sometimes I can't decide which one I want to play.
I have weird clicky ones that let you search for hidden items.. I have sims3... I have, as mentioned, Restaurant Empire 2... EverQuest 2... Eve... Titanquest... Gourmania (I love this one)... and of course, Frozen throne. Dota once in awhile is fun.

And those are the 'main' games. I also have a small corner of what.. 10 games.. i've installed but haven't tried. And those are likely to remain unplayed until I 'feel like it'..

Umm yeah. Like I said, I think this game thing is getting out of hand.

The topic of elderly daycare cropped up over lunch with the relatives. I think it's a great idea, really.

Currently, Ama is stuck at home with no one to talk to. I mean, Uncle Sam is great and he puts in effort to take care of Ama.. but seriously, Ama isn't leaving the house enough. She says she doesn't want to go out because she's tired.

I don't think it's healthy, being at home all the time with no one to talk to.

I'm not promoting dumping old ladies in old folks home or anything, mind you. Just elderly daycare.

I think it's good for her to spend maybe, just a day or two a week at elderly daycare. Drop her off in the morning and pick her up in the evening. The old folks get to socialise, play games, do taichi etc. It sounds alot better than 'wake up, watch tv, have lunch, sleep, watch tv..'

It's not cheap sending her to daycare, but I think Uncle Sam may let her try for a month or so to see if she likes it. I suspect she'd resist the first few times, but she may warm up to it once she finds herself enjoying the day there..

Do you think Elderly Daycare is workable?

Your result for The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test...

4- the Individualist

Thanks for taking the test !

you chose BY - your Enneagram type is FOUR (aka "The Romantic")

"I am unique"

Romantics have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive.

How to Get Along with Me

• Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me.

• Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value myself.

• Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision.

• Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy, I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little.

• Don't tell me I'm too sensitive or that I'm overreacting!

What I Like About Being a FOUR

• my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep level

• my ability to establish warm connections with people

• admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life

• my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor

• being unique and being seen as unique by others

• having aesthetic sensibilities

• being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me

What's Hard About Being a FOUR

• experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair

• feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved

• feeling guilty when I disappoint people

• feeling hurt or attacked when someone misunderstands me

• expecting too much from myself and life

• fearing being abandoned

• obsessing over resentments

• longing for what I don't have

FOURs as Children Often

• have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in original games

• are very sensitive

• feel that they don't fit in

• believe they are missing something that other people have

• attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc.

• become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood

• feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents' divorce)

FOURs as Parents

• help their children become who they really are

• support their children's creativity and originality

• are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings

• are sometimes overly critical or overly protective

• are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele, The Enneagram Made Easy. Discover the 9 Types of People.

Harper: San Francisco, 1994, 161 pages

I guess it's quite accurate. If you're interested, the test can be taken here

Sorry for the MIA..

Work's been.. up to here lately. So much stuff to do. I've been reaching home at 9 or 10pm every night the last week or so.

And I was working over the weekend.
And I'm expected to attend to an event this weekend as well.

Not attend an event. attend TO. means, work.

I mean, I enjoy bits of my job, I do. I like talking to kids.. I enjoy being out there and I like my colleagues. Hell, I like my bosses. They're the encouraging sort and if a mistake is made, they'd focus on the issue, how to solve and prevent such things from happening again etc. I know some bosses who'd spend more time picking on what you SHOULD have done..
They tell me I'm doing well. That they are pleased I'm on the team.

But at the end of it all, why am I still not satisfied?
And why do I feel so damn incompetent? Why does it feel like I can do better - yet I'm always doing something wrong. It's always something. A typo in a publication, some information missed out. I do not like my work riddled with mistakes.

It feels like I should be happy with my work place. I don't have much to complain about. Yet..
I'm not happy. I'm not UNhappy, either, if that's what you're wondering about.

It's just.. a dissatisfaction at the back of my mind

Maybe I'd never be happy/content with what I have.

On another note, Glenn's leaving soon and I simply have to make time to head out with him at least a couple of times more. Gaah. No time, no time.

Stressed.at.work.

Will go MIA until 12 Jan.

Happy New Year's all.

Note to self: be careful when holding a glass of wine.

This has got to be the *most* embarrassing Christmas.

We attended a Christmas party at Melvin's Uncle's place.. kinda like a Grandfather's birthday cum X'mas sorta celebration so most of the relatives, cousins etc were there.

Naturally there was pre-dinner wine and all.

I'm sure you can tell where I'm going by now. Except it's MUCH worse.

I was leaning against the wall, holding a glass of wine, chatting to one of his aunts. Can you tell where this story is headed yet?

Ruben was running around the house. He's like six or seven. Typical kid. And yes, he bumped into me and the entire glass of wine splashed.

It was on me.. the floor... and ALOT of it... on the white wall behind me...... It was as if someone died there and had blood flowing from this huge splotch all the way to the floor. Melvin ran to the kitchen to grab a cloth to clean the wall while I stood there in a wine soaked dress looking utterly horrified.

I finally regained my senses and went to the bathroom to clean up but when I returned... the leaking red splotch was now a permanent shade of grey on what was once a pristine white wall.

What a way to leave an impression. Permanent too. The only way they're going to get rid of that stain is to go over with a fresh coat of paint.

I don't know how I managed to survive the rest of the party. The owners of the lovely penthouse were kind/gracious enough not to mention the incident at all for the rest of the night. But boy, I bet they're thinking along the lines of 'OMG!'. I wanted to like.. I dunno.. hug Aunt Lucy and said I was sorry or something. But I was just too embarrassed and spent most of the time wanting to slink into a hole/die somewhere quietly.

GAAAhhhh.

Alright, Pictures from the Batam Weekend. Uncle Teng's the designated photographer so I don't have any pictures of the man behind the camera.

Glenn and I at the check-in counter.

Our Family Villa! 2 bedrooms, with a small dining/kitchen area in between. The balcony (you can see part of it on the left) extends all the way from there.. to.. the.. right of the house :P

This is the view from the balconey. It was a rainy Saturday, as you can tell. In the distance... is Singapore. We were like 'what?! We took 45 minutes to travel here by boat and look it's so near!' I dared Glenn to row his own boat into the country to see if he gets picked up by the coast guard.


The boys had a good time looking at fishes swimming near the rocky beach (?) There were bright colored ones in the nearby lagoon. Glenn loved this bright blue spotted one. My favourite were the yellow tails. They swam in convoy. hee~ Pity we couldn't get a picture.


These are the beach front huts.. Though, technically, the spa huts are in between these and the ocean. The spa huts are LOVELY. They dangle out into the ocean in stilts. When you look down from the hut's balcony, it IS the ocean.

On our way to the spa..

We were allocated spa huts next to each other! 2 in each hut. You can't see in this picture, but there's a jaccuzzi right next to the balcony.. yes.. looking directly at the sea.. I imagine it must have been awkward for Glenn and Uncle Teng to share a jaccuzzi tub though. Glenn was pretty much 'I'm not sharing a tub with my dad!' but since the spa people provided nice batik shorts for the oh-so-modest men, it turned out alright. I got to wear a batik sarong too!

Well that's all I have for pictures.. of course.. if I was in charge, there'd be more pictures of the spa itself.. but oh wells.. No pictures of Melvin drooling in his sleep on the massage table then.

It's midweek and I'm exhausted.

And feeling very poor. Which is bad considering payday was... yesterday.

I blame it on the house hunting.

Not that we're seriously getting a house like Now, right now, today, tomorrow, next month.
But it's good to get a feel of things, you know?

Here's the scenerio:

A 4A (or 4A1)-Room flat near his parent's place cost $320 - $350k. Lets assume 350k.
We'd be eligible for a 40k grant for living near his parents.
So 310k left.
With a combined monthly income of $5500 (assuming Melvin earns like 3k or something), our max loan is capped at 250k or 260k.. with us paying back $1100 every month for the next thirty years.
Either way.. 350k - 40k - 250k = 60k.

Now where do we find 60k? I know. Buy Toto and hope.

Geez. How do people afford their own houses, I'll never know.

You're going to have to bear with me. This house topic will crop up from time to time because I take a look at the HDB website every few months to keep an eye on cost and hope for additional grants.

On another note, I can't wait for this weekend. Will show pictures if we take any (or if I manage to sneak a picture of Melvin on the message table butt naked)

Then again. you wouldn't want to see those pictures, right? I don't want to be responsible for your bleeding eyes.

I'm posting Multiple posts in a week. Maybe you guys should buy 4D. heh.

We normally feed Genie her dinner then take her downstairs for walkies, so tonight was no exception. Except her bladder must have been bursting because of all places, she pee-ed right outside the lift on the 6th floor.. Gaaah. Didn't even make it downstairs.

We went downstairs anyway, to buy OUR dinner. Human food.
Then guess what we did?

Went back home, filled half a tub of water.. walk back to the lift landing and rinsed her pee away. Mostly because her pee kinda stinks and there are one or two units near the lift landing - not very nice to smell pee everytime one leaves the house.

Now my point is this: if someone like me can bother to go to such lengths, why do some dog owners in the area can't even be bothered to pick up their dog's poo while walking them?

I am quite fed up to be walking the dog and having to pull her away from a pile of dog doo left behind by some irresponsible dog owner.
I mean, as a dog owner, one would be responsible for the mess left behind by your dog, no? I don't see how some people can't seem to understand that. Just pisses me off (and makes me wonder if my effort to do my part is worth it)

I was talking to Marcus over MSN about the End-of-Year Bonus, or lackthereof, when it really hit me.

It's 1/4 month, capped at $750.

Do you have any idea how sad that is?

Let's say your pay is $2500 per month. 1/4 month bonus means you'd only be getting $625. CPF it and your take home bonus = $500.

Now, lets assume you've made a booking for a one-night spa retreat at Batam before finding out about this sad truth. The spa retreat costs $410. Throw in the fact that you have a cousin's birthday coming up and you need to buy him a present.

I mean, that's it. Year end bonus depleted just like that.

*hides face* I can't believe I've spent my year end bonus even before I receive it.

You know, these bonuses used to pay for my ONE MONTH Dec holidays in Sydney when Melvin was still studying there. It's been reduced to a one night stay in Batam.

How sad is that?

Gaah, feels like dying.

I took a 2-week break from gym and decided to get started again today.. Made the mistake of assuming I can pick up where I left off. Noooo. bad idea. Had to downgrade the weights by 1 or 2 notches and I couldn't even do 2.4km in 17minutes. Took me a whole of 18minutes and by the time my 30minute timer was up, I barely made the 4km mark.

I mean, before the break, I could finish that distance without all that gasping and wheezing.

Then it was thigh machine time before Melvin (My personal slave driver) made me use the crunch machine before finishing with squats.

I don't know. It sounds like alot, doesn't it? When I say Machines, it means I do 3 sets of 30.
Yet my progress for weight loss is so slow. It's been 4 months and the scale hasn't moved much.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I mean, it's not like I eat alot. Two/Three meals (sometimes I don't bother having dinner because I get back from gym at 9.30pm) and I allow myself a cookie a day for tea. A small 50 calorie cookie. I make it a point to estimate the calorie intake and somehow the whole input/output doesn't seem to add up.

Give up.

OK! I'm back.

I went on leave last week so there was a mountain.. no.. two mountains! of work when I got back to the office on Monday.

It's the most unproductive leave week I've ever had. I went for a facial, massage.. went to get a hair cut..
Then that's it.

One whole week of leave, and that was all I did. Granted the visit to the hairdressers took like 5 hours, but still.

The rest of the time? I was glued to the computer playing sims 3. Yes Lianne, I have finally succumbed.. The only mistake was installing the game at 9pm last Tuesday. Which meant by the time I created my main family, it was 11pm and the house took another hour. Which meant by the time I *started* playing it was midnight, which meant by the time I was satisfied everything was going the way it should be, it was 6.30am on Wednesday.

Melvin was along the lines of 'wtf?!' when he woke up in the middle of the night.

And before I knew it, the week was over and I came back to work depressed.

What a shitty week of leave.

I figure this has got to be the best place for me to voice my frustrations. Get it out of my system.

As a number of you know, Melvin resigned from his last job in August. And I encouraged his resignation. I did. He thoroughly hated working in that hellhole, there were no benefits whatsoever, the pay was bad, he had less than HALF the number of annual leave I was granted and he would often reach home much later than I did, despite only needing a 20minute travel time to/from work.

Why did he take up such a sucky job, then? I'm sure some of you must be wondering. Well, for someone who'd just graduated, this one-year contract looked prefect to gain some experience. The pay and leave may be low, but hey, it's just for a year.

It was only after a few months in the job that Melvin realised why the turnover rate was so high for his department (read:political old bitch). And he tried to stick it through the year. Until he got wind from HR that a certain political old bitch was trying to get him fired by complaining to HR about him. This political old bitch (POB) was from the same department, but was in charge of another team. Melvin doesn't even work with her =/ She apparently enjoys making life difficult for managers of other teams in the department, and HIS manager apparently made the POB look bad in front of the big boss. So he was, somehow or other, drawn into this unwillingly.

And so he left. Better to resign then to get fired, no?

and HERE'S MY MAIN RANT

Since then, Melvin Chong has done NOTHING. I repeat, NOTHING.
That bum hasn't even put in significant effort in looking for another job. He just rots away at home. God knows what he does.

I really don't see why I have to nag him night and day to do something so... essential. And most of the time, I wonder if that is the guy I'm going to marry? Then please. No thanks.
I'm not his mother. I refuse to keep telling him he has to do this and that, and fucking have to REMIND him the following day.

I have been understanding in his lack of success, telling him it can take a few months. I have been patient with him and thought perhaps, a month's break from work would be good for him. But to find out he has made NO EFFORT WHATSOEVER just PISSES ME OFF.

Shape up or ship out, Melvin. I have no tolerance for your fucking excuses.

Melvin and I decided to drop by his grandparents' place after we had lunch with Uncle Teng and Glenn at Furama Waterfront.

When we got there, his grandma was looking out the window, all dressed up and she even had makeup on. After we went into the house, she offered us drinks. The only odd bit was how we ended up sharing a can of coke.

Grandma: Would you like a drink? Get a coffee or tea?

Us: Oh no thanks. We just had one

Grandma: How about something to eat?

Us: Oh no thanks, we are quite full from lunch

Grandma: How about a drink? Coffee or tea?

Us: Umm, really, we're good..

After she asked for like the fourth time, we kinda went "Yes! Alright, we'll ask the maid to get us a coke.."

Then for some reason, she thought we were going to bring her out to dinner and proceeded to shower, change into something else and put on another layer of makeup. It was quite... disconcerting, to say the least.

Needless to say, both of us left the place feeling more than a lil guilty. I mean, she thought we were going out, yaknow? We could have if we had the car. Just drive her around and have a simple dinner. But we didn't have the car and we couldn't take the bus/train and all.. I mean.. she can walk! She's not wheelchair-bound or anything. Just.. not a good idea to bring old folks out using public transport (steps.. escalators.. etc)

Odder than Odd? She didn't even know we were coming.

The maid, Yati, told us she just gets dressed to go out. And she waits by the window until she decides to shower... then she gets dressed again (in another outfit), puts on her makeup, and waits once more.

It's quite heartbreaking.

It was cookie-baking-weekend again.

Genie had ran out of treats (AGAIN) so we spent the whole of Saturday afternoon baking 'peanut butter pillows'. We basically put peanut butter, wheat flour and non-lactose milk together, cut them up into 1cm x 1cm squares and baked them. And because peanut butter was naturally oily, the cookies came out poofy in the middle and kinda pastry-like. Hence the term 'Peanut butter pillows'

Mind you, I had to go to Carrefour just to get natural peanut butter. Like ground peanuts and nothing else. No salt, no extra oil.. nothing. Can't seem to find natural peanut butter anywhere else. I couldn't use the regular kind because of the high amount of salt/sugar/additional oil - not suited for dogs.

I think the experience has put me off peanut butter. I mean.. the natural one is already so oily. The type we normally consume has extra oil added.....

Ewww. Tubba-oil.

Anyhow, we had to put Genie in a playpen (read: cage with no cover) outside the kitchen while baking. She was fine with it until the smells from the oven reached her. Then she started whining and wanting to get out. We let her out in the end so she can sniff around in the kitchen.

When she started trying to jump on the kitchen counter to lick leftover dough, we locked her back up.

I prefer the old-school beef and carrot cookies which I gave away in July for Genie's birthday. It's less oily and definitely more nutritious. But the peanut butter pillows are easier to prepare (no need to cook minced beef.... grate carrots.... etc) but I don't think it'll be a recipe of 'choice'.

Does anyone want to test the peanut butter pillows? I'll be happy to pass a small batch to you for your furkid.

Dinner with Shimin, Jen and Jen's mom turned out to be better than expected. We headed to Deli-vege, some unknown vegetarian place along South Bridge Road. Well, unknown to me, at least. The foodie website www.hungrygowhere.com gave this place pretty good ratings. Service was kinda meh, but the food was good. We tried the much-raved-about DFC (their veg version of KFC) and man it was good. Tasted and looked like fried chicken but it didn't have that oily feel to it. Yumsy.

The Black Pepper 'stek' was a disappointed. Tough/dry and too salty. But it did taste like beef..

I guess they didn't want to confuse customers, so steak was spelt 'stek' and chicken was spelt 'chiken' and so on. That way no one will mistake it for real meat.

We also ordered a claypot rice and laksa - which were pretty good. But man, that DFC. I'd never forget.

After which we headed to Brewerks (yes, with Jen's Mom too!) for drinks and dessert. It was great catching up and bitching about work. Once again, Timothy Tan's name was brought up and we laughed at all the funny things he did/said many years ago in JC/Uni. I suspect we'll bring the same thing up every time we meet, but it's so amusing it never gets old.

The night was over too fast but we were all tired. I'm sure Jen and her mom were tired out from the flight to SG.. anyhow, we really need to arrange another dinner like this. I really enjoyed myself.

Saturday was quite disappointing though.

You may not know, but every alt Saturday, I head to Uncle Sam's place to play mahjong with my paternal Grandma (AKA Ama). We'd start at 3pm.. then at 5.30, we'll take a break. I'll head to the condo pool for a swim while Ama cooks dinner.. then we continue with Mahjong at 7.30 to whatever time.. normally about 10ish.

So I spent Saturday afternoon losing money to Ama.. got changed into my swimsuit... and just as I was about to leave the place.. it started to pour. Gaaaahhh. So it was back to the Mahjong table. I was so annoyed with weather, I refused to change out of my swimsuit and played mahjong in it. I continued to sulk until dinner was over and I went to change out of my dry swimsuit.

Then I continued to lose money to Ama until I had 30 cents left the drawer and we decided to call it a night. Considering we play small amounts (like 10cents, 20 cents), I still managed to lose 15bucks.

This is the reason why I hate playing with my maternal grandmother (AKA popo) - they like to play big and I ALWAYS lose more than 100 bucks.

Ama won 30 bucks on Saturday. Everyone else lost. If this game was with Popo, i think she'd have won a few hundred.

Between the two old ladies, I get very poor.

Another weekend gone by. And I haven't found time to make adjustments on the blog either. The background picture has... disappeared. I may be going for new design, but am really lazy, so in the meantime, please bear with the icky blog until I find the time and energy to make changes (i.e when I go on leave from work in late Nov)

Had dinner with Shimin on Friday (Melvin incl.). We went to Empire State, if I recall the name correctly, at Iluma. Food was good, as expected. I really enjoy eating there - feel like such a pig, shovelling food into my mouth.

Shimin had their squid ink pasta and she agreed it was great. Seems the black pasta is really popular. I saw quite a number of people eating it. Melvin almost burst trying to finish his hamburger steak and chocostrawberry milkshake. I had a Caeser's Salad and three pieces.. of... something. Bruschetta, I believe they're called. Very yummy. Each huge piece had different toppings. Mushroom/cheese... tomato/olive oil/herb...chicken.. very yummy.

Now don't you think I'm going on diet... the reason behind the 'light' dinner is because we planned for cake and tea at Teadot after dinner. haha!

The wildjackfruit cake was ohhh.. heavenly. Melvin and I made sure we bought a slice back for his mom. The strawberry tiramisu... well.. we couldn't taste the tiramisu in the cake. The tea we ordered... OMG like fantastic. I dont think Shimin really enjoyed her tea because she'd ordered a brewed earl grey.. without milk/sugar. I had this concoction of earl grey latte + caramel. It was smooth and creamy, though the aroma was a little diluted because of the milk. Min's brewed earl grey definitely had a stronger taste/scent. Melvin had Macha? Some green tea thingy that I thought was horrid, but he enjoyed it.

Food aside, company and conversation was great. We didn't do anything much except eat and gush over pretty musical boxes at one of the Iluma Shops, but it was fab that we managed to catch up with Shimin and chitchat over nothing at all.

Naturally, we talked about mutual friends and aquintances. No one was spared :P Then we got into the depressing topic of old folks dying. This was brought up because Melvin's maternal grandparents (yes, both of them) landed in hospital last week for different reasons. One had piles, was warded and somehow picked up a viral infection at the hospital, while the other had a stroke. Now the two are quite 'blur'. They don't seem to know what's going on around them sometimes. The family thinks dementia may be setting in. So Shimin shared her experience about her grandmother etc.

I sat there thinking if it comes to point where I'm bedridden and have to be fed by a tube, please kill me. Don't let me linger for 5 or 6 years.. in fact, don't let me linger at all. I mean, what's the point in living if i'm stuck on a bed, can't enjoy food, can't do anything.. There is no dignity in a life like that. Hell, I can't even scold the nurses if they something wrong, ya'know?

Anyhow. Depressing topic aside...

Big Congrats to Hui Jing! She's in her 2nd trimester so here's wishing for her to have a healthy, happy pregnancy + baby.

500 days of Summer is a must watch.

It's not a love story per se. Rather, it's about .. relationships. Or at least, one specific relationship from a guy's point of view. It's difficult to tell you what it's about in detail without spoiling the show for you.

Just catch it - you won't regret this one.

We headed to Urbanpooch over the weekend and it was disappointing, to say the least. Dark, dank, a lil filthy and extremely overpriced. I paid almost 60 dollars for 3 people to dine there and it isn't even air conditioned! The food was mediocre at best and the room to house the dogs while you 'enjoy your meal' was... well, lets just say I decided *not* to put Genie in there after one look.

k9 Kafe gives a much more enjoyable experience at a fraction of the price. I paid 60 dollars for 5 or 6 people to dine at k9 kafe. and the food at k9 is much more edible.

Alright now, I better get back to work. Need to come up with an article before 5 today.

There are certain times when I wish I'd kept my big mouth shut and this is one of those.

I received an email early this morning (copied to me) from another department thanking a particular somebody for the organisation of an event held in march this year. Now, I was the person who did all the work. But the 'particular somebody' being thanked wasn't me.

So I replied to some in my department about how sometimes I felt quite unappreciated. It was a one sentence email directed at no one in particular.
One of those recipients, which happens to be my RO, replied that she appreciates all the work I've done even though others may not acknowledge it. The email came with an advice that she's been giving everyday since she came in - I need to 'trumpet' my achievements. BUT for some unexplicable reason, she chose to cc my director in that reply.

Then HE replied to her reply saying it's not enough that she appreciates me and that we need to get to the root of the problem and asked her to talk to me and submit a detailed report on why I was feeling this way and how we should tackle it.

So NOW I'm due for a meeting with her AND the director... in... 45minutes.

It doesn't help that when I sent Yoko that email to ask for advice, she burst out laughing so loud that the entire department went 'what's so funny?'.. she walked over to my desk and gave me a hug and a 'goodluck'. Even when she was walking back to her desk, I heard peals of laughter.

I should have kept my big mouth shut.

It was a very eventful weekend.

Lexin, her boyfriend (Ben), Melvin and I went to Bark Cafe near the Changi Chapel and Museum with the dogs (Fatfat, their toy poodle, and of course, Genie the naughty rascal). We learnt on Friday night that even though it was called Bark Cafe, they didn't allow pets. Naturally, we only found out *after* we got there and saw the big 'NO PETS' sign.

Lexin waggled her finger at Ben because he was the one who suggested the place in the first place. But it's all good because they let us in anyway and we had a nice little corner to ourshelves. Then again, it's alfresco dining, yah? Our corner was right next to a patch of grass, which Genie promptly pee-ed on after we sat down.

The food was good. Lexin and I ordered the same thing - Fish & Chips and Plum Soda. Ben had some burger while Melvin ordered their cod fish steak and gleefully announced he was having a beer because Ben's the designated driver. You can tell it's been awhile. Melvin's normally the designated driver. We also ordered their signature Chicken Wings. Alot of hype going on about their chicken wings.

I didn't take any pictures, as usual. I normally dig in.. and midway through the meal realise "OMG I should take pictures and post it!" so yeah. No pictures.

The Fish & Chips were pretty good. Not as good as some I've tasted in Sydney, but good enough. And I love the salad that came with it. Fresh salad beats coleslaw anytime. And it was a decent serving of greens. Not the 1 or 2 pieces of green some cafes put there 'for decoration'.

The cod.. meh. tasteless. Not enough sauce. Fish & chips were definitely better.

I didn't get to try the burger (I mean, hello, was meeting Ben for the first time), but he said it was Fab. The chicken wings were.. nice. Nice as in.. regular? Nothing to rave about. I prefer Melvin's Mom's version of BBQ-ed chicken wings. Now THOSE are to die for.

The Sour Plum Soda was Deeeelicious. It was sour (duh) and sweet and cold and very very yummy. Guys who don't like sour stuff should not attempt this drink. Melvin's face scrunched up and did a lil chair jiggy when he took a sip. It was quite funny.

Fatfat and Genie seemed to get along OK - a few growls here and there but mostly just sniffed at each other. Fatfat is so dainty! She has such a small mouth and when Melvin gave her a treat, she slowly, and gently took it from him. Genie just chomped.

Oh the difference between those two.

During Dinner, Fatfat would sit on the bench and when the food came, she sniffed at it but didn't attempt to eat or lick the food. We tried placing Genie on the bench too but she attempted to climb on the table =.= so she spent the evening on the floor instead.

Such an embarassment, that dog of mine.

Saturday was spent playing Mahjong with Ama after a very satisfying buffet lunch at Orchard Hotel. I love abalone so I was extremely excited to see alaskan abalone as part of the buffet. I think I've fulfilled my abalone quota for the year.

Sunday wooshed past so fast I didn't even know it was over until dinnertime.

Why can't weekends be three days long? :(

My last post was supposed to be about the Genting Trip but I managed to lose it..

It was quite meh, actually. I lost 100 ringgit in what, half an hour?

We spent the first evening there walking around the shops, doing a lil exploring. Next day, we headed to KL for some shopping and spent one whole day in Sungei Wang Plaza. Then 3rd day... we got ready to go home.

Did too little things in a very miserably short holiday.

Plus, it must have been public holidays there or something because everywhere we went, there were little kids running around. I'd almost tripped over the smaller ones that didn't quite reach my knees.

So instead of a PEACEFUL, relaxing vacation, I had one crowded with families and lil kids. Ever been on vacation where you're annoyed the second you hit the hotel lobby? Ya I had one of those.

The only upside was that we managed to try a fish spa. It was going for only 18 ringgit, so what the hell, we gave it a shot.

I stuck my feet in it, screamed and removed them from the water. Melvin did pretty much the same. Mostly cos we weren't expecting the very enthusiastic nibbling from the fishes to be SO TICKLISH. So while some guy was giving me a head/shoulder massage, I was giggling away at the nibbling of my feet, making it very difficult for the masseuse to do his job.

I did say the fishes were enthusiastic, right? It's like the entire tank of fish was gathered around our feet. Not a single one of them thought "eww stinky feet" and stayed away. It was like 'OMG FOOD! *nibble nibble*' and ALL the fishes came. We couldnt even SEE our feet. Just alot of fishes gathering around the area where our legs stuck out of the water.

The worst was those that tried to squirm in between my toes.... I'd play cheat and wriggle my toes once in awhile when things got too ticklish and they'd all zoom away.... towards Melvin's feet. Muahaha.

Did I mention we were making so much noise giggling and going 'omgomg' that we were attracting quite a crowd? This little girl even walked up to melvin and asked "does it hurt?"

So if you haven't given the fish spa a go, you simply must try. It's kinda fun.

GAAAAAAHHHHH

I LOST MY Pooooosssttttttt

will re-post another day

I really need to update my links.
If you'd like me to link you from my blog, please let me have your URLs.. via email or tagboard, whichever.

Between work and gym yesterday, I simply couldn't find time to pen my thoughts down.

*creak*

Yes. I said the word gym.

I have been going for the past... two months or so. No significant weight loss but I feel a lil healthier and I'm a lil more toned. Less jiggly bits.
Then again, I'm not like a gym freak. I go once.. twice a week. Each time, I do 3.6km on the treadmill then some light weights. Then when I'm done with the weights, I'll make it a point to laugh at Melvin while he struggles with those big weight training machines..

Seriously, that boy has made quite alot of progress. He used to weigh what.. 53kg? With alot of protein shakes and weight lifting, he's now a proud 57kg. Another 5 more to go before he stops looking so skinny.

I hope he doesn't get fat though. I like him skinny. Easier to bully.

Anyhow. I'm really looking forward to Genting. It's been awhile since I went on holiday. Pity it's only 3D2N.... It's all we can afford.

Melvin - you need to work harder so I can enjoy a comfy life. Kthxbye.

It's her death anniversary today.

Difficult to imagine 2 years have gone by without her.

I dont know if Glenn and his dad will go visit her at the crematorium.. I know I won't go even if they asked. I've never gone there. Not once after her death. Just like... how I've stopped visiting Grandpa's ashes.

It's not that I don't love her. or that I don't think of her. I just.. don't see the need to go there, see her photo... think to myself 'that's not Aunt Helen, doesn't look like her in the picture. That's not how I remember her'.

I don't want to go and just feel so guilty about not noticing how her health was declining. How I started limiting contact with her because she got all religious on me. How angry I was at her funeral that the stubborn lady didn't tell us about her condition. How annoyed I was with her for fucking PRAYING to get well instead of going to the hospital in time.

No.

I want to remember how much she loved me. I want to remember the advice she's given me over the years. I want to remember how she appreciated the cake Glenn and I baked for her Birthday (didn't turn out very good but she loved it anyway). I want to remember her rubbing my hands whenever I complained I was cold. I want to remember the times I told her (while growing up) that I wished she was my mother, instead of the unreasonable bitch that gave birth to me. I want to remember my favourite aunt the way she was before she got sick.

And all that, I remember and keep in my heart. Even the things I don't want to.

I have no need to go look at an urn of her remains.

I love my Aunt Helen and I'm glad she didn't have to suffer. If there is a heaven, then for sure she's there looking out for the entire family.

Drats. I told myself to try and post an update every Monday.. looks like I failed again. It's not like all of you are absolutely dying to find out what's going on in my boring life, but since this is the only way I keep in touch with all you people who just refuse to stay in sunny (and humid, and crowded, and scorching hot) Singapore, I must put in some effort, ya?

I still refuse to get Facebook. Friends who want to find me, will find me here. Else.. umm.. you'd just be someone-i-know-from-someplace-and-I-don't-talk-to-you-anyway-so-why-bother?

So all my friends read this blog. That includes you. Sadly, I can count all of you with... one hand. But hey, it's the quality, not the quantity.

I had a very *interesting* conversation with Yoko and Vanessa over lunch. We were talking about the process of giving birth.. and... breastfeeding. All gory details like blood and stitching included.

You know, I always thought that a good sneeze will push the baby out during birth. Then the doctor will just need to catch the baby flying out/sliding across the table. Got very weird looks for that thought.

So we discussed about water births... and whether it helps if the woman is standing upright.

Yoko said that a new mom is like a walking cow. Especially for the first month. You need to feed the baby every 1.5 to 2 hours... and each feeding takes roughly 45mins. So you have 45 mins to an hour in between feeds to

1) Take a nap
2) Go pee
3) Shower
4) Grab a bite

Vanessa and I just listened in horror, pretty much. I mean, Yoko's the only one with experience... she has 2 kids and she gave birth to both WITHOUT epidural (her boy, Brandon, weighed 3.6kg upon birth). I have no idea how she managed it. I mean. I scraped my knee once and I was already bawling my eyes out.

So yes, alot of new information for me to process today.. and we came to the conclusion that yes, if you ever want kids, pop them all out before 30.

I quote Vanessa "so just nice, you get married at 28, then quickly do it so you can give birth by 29.. then wheel the newborn into the other room and ask melvin to get it on so you can have a second one before 30"

Almost fell off the chair laughing...

You know.. I have absolutely nothing to post about. (Then I'm going to ramble on and make this a long post anyway *maybe*)

We've finally booked a 3D2N stay at Genting. It's no Vegas, but at least it gets me outta the country, and I get to head to KL to shop and gamble away my hard earned money at the casino.

Genting obviously wasn't my first choice for a holiday destination but the price of $69 per person for room AND coach was just too good a deal to miss.

So that's coming up later on in Sept...

I went to a complimentary makeover session at themakeover inc. and the pictures are back. I had to pay $50 per picture if I want it photoshopped. Make my eyes bigger and all that jazz. Not interested in spending that kinda money sides, the picture has gotta be ME, right? and not some post op version. What's the point of photoshopping my pictures until I look good in that ONE picture only? I'd rather spend that $50 per photo money on good skincare.

I'm not going to post everything here - just a few

Let me know what you think

My fears have been confirmed.

My first credit card bill arrived over the weekend. When did I get those cards again? Just before National Day?

Anyhow - between that and 15 Aug, I managed to charge 300 bucks to it. Considering that I managed to charge $300 to my cards in less than 2 weeks, I can imagine what a full month's bill will look like.

I mean, just last Friday itself, I charged at least $150 to those cards (Dinner.. Movie.. Stuff from Watsons.. drinks...)

What are YOUR credit card bills like?

Work has been hectic hectic and hectic. Have I mentioned hectic? The latest happenings in the office has caused me to be doubtful of my capabilities. Maybe I'm not as good as I think I am.

I have toyed with the idea of taking a year off from work. or Half a year. I need a break from real life, if that's possible, and just... go. Disappear. Travel to places I've never been before. Do charity work in Cambodia. Refresh my view of Life. Find myself - I seem to have lost my character somewhere. Rethink what's important to me. Plan what I want to do.

A pity my bank account won't be able to support all that. All I can do is sit in the little cubicle known as my work space, and dream.

I wish I knew what to do, what to say

If only you weren't so far away

I wish I understood what you're going through

But I have to admit I have very little clue

Perhaps that makes me a bad friend

But I'll leave that decision to you

Just know that though I may not understand

I'll be here for you

I was on leave pretty much the whole of last week but came back to work today tired and dissatisfied. It shouldn't be this way. I was close to tears on the way to work, thinking "I wanna go home"

Melvin and I managed to watch UP (in 3D). The 3D bit was a lil disappointing as there were several scenes that didn't call for 3D at all. And the 3D visual wasn't all that fantastic. If you have not caught it, don't bother with the 3D version. It isn't worth the money.

There were a number of disappointments last week. Mostly with our local cinemas.

First, my new DBS card came with this voucher that allowed me to purchase 5 movie vouchers + a movie pass for $40. I went down to Cathay and was told that they didn't have the vouchers with them. The girl at the counter said she'll give me a call when the vouchers came in. It's been more than 6 days and still no word.

Then I went to GV at Marina on Thursday afternoon to get my 1-for-1 birthday offer. It's apparently an offer for all GV members. When I got there, wanting to watch 'Orphan', I was informed that I can't use the offer voucher for new movies. Fine - then I asked the counter girl what movie CAN i use the damn voucher for, since it's Thursday afternoon and the cinema isn't full anyways. Her answer? "Umm everything we're screening is new"

"So you're telling me, I have a voucher for my birthday which cannot be used for new movies, and everything you're screening is new. So in other words, the voucher is absolutely useless"

No doubt, GV and Cathay will be hearing from me very soon on their policy making.

I had an appointment on Thursday morning for a facial. The word is had. On wednesday afternoon, the damn company called to say "Sorry, we scheduled you wrongly. We have an overseas training arranged for all staff tomorrow and are unable to do ur facial" I said fine. If they didn't want my business, I'll take it somewhere else.

Is there any wonder why I'm grouchy even after a week's leave?

I caved.

For those who know my spending habits, you know I have a reason for avoiding credit cards.

And you'll be appalled to find out that not one, but THREE cards arrived today.

All from DBS.

The salesguy had a point. They are free (for a number of years anyway), and instead of paying by debit, I may as well pay by credit, earn points and get rebates/vouchers.

Sides, I may need one when travelling overseas. Emergencies do occur.

He had a point....

Now I'm looking at my three new shiny cards in both horror and glee. Glee cos along with the cards, came ALOT of vouchers. YAY! Free spa even!

Horror because Melvin just said "so when we go out... guess who pays because there are rebates?"

*cry*

When I was told the company wants to groom me, my first instinct was to try and find somewhere and hide and fade away.

I'm not adversed to bring groomed, it's just.. the thought of doing things like 'Strategic Planning'.
What? Catch no ball, dunno how to do, I just want to go home.

Bah.

I'm just lazy.

**Rant**

What on earth is it with MEN sitting with their legs splayed wide open? Is their package so impressive that they cannot sit with their legs CLOSED?

On the way home yesterday, a lump of an uncle sat next to me and took up alot of space. Fine - he's big sized. So I shifted nearer to the window to give him more space. After awhile, his leg started pressing up against mine. Fine, so I crossed my legs. Then he opened his legs even wider, and so I shifted abit more. It got to the point where I was pressed up against the window, sitting crossed legged and STILL his gross leg was pressed up against mine.

What the fuck is up with him? He was already taking up 1/2 of MY side of the seat.

It was then that I decided to give him a painful jab in the side with my elbow ("oops, sorry" I said).
Granted the uncle was sleeping, but still.

And why do I always end up sitting next to
1) Sweaty students with BO
2) Fat people taking up more space than they should
3) People who fall asleep on MY SHOULDER
4) Someone talking loudly on the mobile phone

WHY?!

It happened this morning as well. Some dude sitting with his legs SO WIDE open that I only had half of MY side of the seat.

For fuck's sake. Men - SIT WITH YOUR KNEES TOGETHER.

**/rant**

Well, Genie had her big spay op yesterday.

We dropped her off at the clinic at 9am and went about like busy people entertaining both sides of my family before going back to the clinic at 7pm to pick her up.

She must have known in the morning that something was up because she started whining on the way to the vet. Something she's never done before.

She was fine when we picked her up. There was a small incision (3cm - 4cm long) on her tummy. I carried her all the way to the car as it was a long walk and she whined a little on the way home.

The trouble started after we got home.

The minute I put her down, she emitted this high pitched scream and just stood there. I'm sure I didn't jar her one bit because I was extra gentle. Melvin and I then went about settling various things in the house - keeping her medication, filling her waterbowl and so on. When we were done 5 or 10 minutes later, she was still standing at the same spot with a 'I don't want to move!
look. After awhile, she decided to waddle about, whining all the way. She was obviously in pain but we couldn't do anything about it.

Then she tried to sit down. Obviously more pain because she screamed again. She couldnt even get onto her bed without complaining. Melvin made the mistake of trying to lift her paw to coax her into bed - big mistake. Screams and Whines. I didn't think it was possible for her to make such sounds.

She also couldn't make it to the pee tray and pee-ed exactly where she happened to be standing at that point in time.

Of course by this time I was dialing the vet to ask if this was normal. The vet said it's likely that the painkillers have worn off and asked if we wanted to head back to the clinic to pick somemore up. Melvin gave me a 'she's fine and i'm not driving all the way to Jalan Kayu' speech.

Honestly? Genie was in pain - but the minute we held a treat in front of her, she ignored it and could do anything. Get into bed, sit, down, you name it. He figured if that's the case it shouldn't be THAT bad, ya?

We have one greedy dog.

I didn't get any sleep most of the night and was kept up by her whining as she paced the room. She couldn't lie down comfortably because the incision was on her tummy, so she paced. and whined as she paced.

Melvin however, slept like someone dosed him with chlorofoam. He was totally gone. Pig.

I gave up at 3am and coaxed her into the kitchen, closed the door on her and went to bed. Heartless, I know. But I was so tired! And we couldn't do anything about her whining. If you ask me if Melvin wasn't that lazy in heading to the vet to get those painkillers, last night would have been alot more peaceful.

She's alot better this morning though. Still whining occasionally and cannot lie flat in her favourite 'superman' position but she's walking around with her tail in the air. Much better than last night's droopy tail.

I may take half a day off on monday afternoon to come back and take care of her, depending on how she is today.

Beyond that, I'm all tired because I didn't get to sleep last night. Genie may be in pain but she's getting alot of 'sympathy' treats so I think that makes up for it a little.

Where are MY sympathy treats?

There have been some issues with friends lately that really ought to be sorted out.
It's mostly a miscomm. - difficult to express via email. Plus sometimes, I just don't understand.

That aside, I'm due to meet up with Karen and Lexin from my secondary school class this week. I hope it doesn't turn out too awkward... I'm not exactly fantastic at social events.

Which comes to the point. what on earth happened to me? Even back in Uni, I was reasonably sociable. I could make small talk, I enjoyed the company of others. Now it's like, I *still* need the company because I hate being alone, but I don't like social gatherings.

Oh.my.god.

I'm turning into my mom.

Heyhey! The new bed finally arrived on Saturday! And so far, Genie has not chewed on the PVC/leather divan (likely PVC) and she hasn't pee-ed on the new bed. She didn't bark at the new bed either - and she likes to bark at every new/unusual thing she sees in the house. You should have seen her go bonkers at the sight of a large container of paint =.= So all is good. Plus the bedroom looks alot better after we rearranged the furniture in there.

We also baked alot of beef-and-carrot cookies on Sat night. I packed them into small bags for friends/colleagues with dogs. Quite unfortunately, I forgot to bring them with me to work today :( But if taste tests at Genie's birthday party is any indication, then 3 out of 4 dogs will like those cookies.

Here are some pictures I took at her party, attended by Shimin and Jeff (with Tracie), Glenn and Uncle Teng (with Lana and Roxy) and of course, Melvin, myself and the birthday dog, Genie.

Genie's Birthday Cake. I had to order 3 of these for the 4 dogs.

Genie posing with her cake. She was quite disappointed when we didn't let her have the cake after the picture taking.


A very shy Tracie hiding under the table

And finally, Genie gets to have her cake.

By the time I snapped my camera, Roxy had finished her cake. I think she took 2 chomps and it was gone.

What? Is that all the cake you have? A very dirty, carob cream stained Genie - see the difference between this and her first picture with the cake?

Don't ask. I don't know what's going here too.

Roxy and Lana were hynoptised by Glenn's burger ( behind the camera)

Melvin was holding a plate of food and prancing around behind me in order to get this shot of Genie, Tracie and Roxy. haha.

I spent much of the day doing research on dog parties.

See, Genie's Bdae is next week and I figured that perhaps, just perhaps, I can do up a small birthday party for her.

After reading up on ideas for parties and calling a few places, I realised it was simply too expensive :(

For one, a party pack for 6 dogs, including the doggie cake at U.S. Dog Bakery costs $65. And I can't possible let the humans starve, right? Minimum cost for catering the fingerfood is $200.

I'm not spending $300 on a dog party. Hell, I don't spend that much on MY own birthdays.

*big sigh* Maybe I'll just order a small cake for 5 bucks, or hey, bake my own and have a small celebration in the house with the family. It's a miracle she's lived to a year old considering all the rubbish she's swallowed. But it's not fun if she can't run around with other dogs, right?

I figured perhaps this weekend's Westie Club outing will make up as party, sorta. The westie owners from the forum are meeting at Tanjong Beach tomorrow morning. I thought it'd be great fun. I managed to convince Melvin to go (He wasn't very keen cos it's so far). But it all kinda went Kaplut! when his dad said he needed the car. *sadpanda*

*sigh*

And work has just been.. how do I describe it? AAAARRRGGHHHHH.

Right. That about sums it up.

There's been a small outbreak of H1N1 confirmed infections in my school. I'm not going to type the name out here because I *know* they use Google Analytics to track what's been said about the school. I *know* because I get the report regularly on the issues highlighted by our students on their blogs. If anyone from work is reading this, get off my blog, please. This doesn't concern you.

Anyhow. In the past few days, we have had upset parents, students, concerned whoeverdamnelse, calling/emailing the school. Demanding that we stop all classes.
"How can you be so irresponsible?" asked a parent. "My child's life is precious!" And there I was thinking "and sure, only your child's life is precious. The rest of us working staff are chopped liver"

I mean, for fuck's sake, look at the facts. We have over 10,000 students. and to date, less than 20 cases. Count that in percentage and tell me if it's significant. We've already sent all the year 1s home. And yes, the cases are from year 1s only so far.

The bloody virus isn't airborne, you uneducated dickheads, you can't get the virus in your system by breathing in air from the same aircon system. If someone in the next block gets it, you're not going to get it unless he sneezes in your damn face!

Geez.

All this bloody panic for a damn flu. It's JUST A FLU. Get over it people. It's not SARS. It's just about as fatal as the common flu and you don't see people panicking over a common flu now do you?

Fucking annoyed.