Hair

A month ago, I meddled with my hair again. Stupid me.

Look what I've done.

Permed

Exactly 1 week later....

Straight

Heart pain! Nearly $400 in a week. Hubby insisted that I looked nice in that perm but I still think I looked old. He of course supported whatever decision I made eventually, which was soft rebonding. Justina said she didn't want to see me again in the next few weeks. My colleagues told me to remember never ever think of perming my hair again.

I should have known from the first experience. End 2005, I permed my long hair and a month later, I straightened it. This time even worse, I could tolerate no more than 1 week.

Only hubby can take my nonsense, very well indeed.

Patience

If not because of a very impatient & inconsiderate driver, I'd have enjoyed my 1st weekend as a new (& nervous) driver.

After work on Fri evening, I went in search of a P-plate.. it's either not available or sold out in DIY shops & supermarkets. No choice, I waited till nearly midnight & drove to the nearest petrol kiosk. Earlier on I'd called & found out which station sold it. Felt both nervous & excited as I was driving for the 1st time after I passed, & alone.

When I was about to pay for my P-plate, there's this uncle before me who'd just made his purchase, looked at the triangle I placed on the counter & then looked at me. I pretended I didn't know he's staring & looked away slowly. But he's curious enough to start asking me:

Uncle: "(pointing at the P-plate) For yourself?"
Me: "Yep"
Uncle: "Just passed?"
Me: "This morning."
Uncle: "Congratulations!"
Me: "Thank you."
Uncle: "So (pointing at our Airwave outside) is that your parents' car? Or your boyfriend's?"
Me: "My husband's. He's overseas so I've to drive myself to buy the P-plate. Only dare to come out at this time before I display (showing the orange triangle) as there're lesser cars."

By then, he's about to leave the counter. So I said another "thanks" to him & he left the store. When I returned to our car shortly after, uncle was still there, in his Volvo S60 (or maybe S80, I'm not sure). He gestured to let me go first. So I drove off first & he followed behind. Then I took the left most lane to turn left & he went straight. When his car drove past, we waved at each other. That's not bad at all on my first, though short, drive. Hee. If only everyone is as friendly & patient as the Volvo uncle. When back, it didn't take me too long to park the car at its original lot, which is next to a Santa Fe. Quite happy with myself as the lots are relatively small at our place & furthermore the next car was a big one. But I definitely need a lot more practices & gotta be prepared to inflict some scratches on 黑仔. Hubby said before he's already well prepared for that.

Saturday afternoon, sis & family came to our place as I asked my BIL to teach me to do parking. But they requested to go for a ride first so I drove them to Lower Seletar Reservoir. Initially they're all very uptight & held on to the handle. But once we started out, they're kinda relieved. BIL even said I drove quite well which actually boosted my confidence as he's usually rather critical & seldom agrees to the things I do. He, who's a very experienced driver of more than 20 years, also taught me reverse parking patiently. The night before, he advised me not to drive to the airport. But after the ride, he encouraged me to do so & I was actually more assured with his support.

Sat night I was having a relaxing bubble bath with some soft music when C sms me & suggested a night ride. After more than an hour, she who came all the way from Alexandra, parked her car at our place & I drove her out. I made a trial drive to the airport so I could familiarise myself with the route. It's a smooth-cruising one on the expressway & I didn't realise I went up to 100km/h (finally know how it feels to be driving at 100km/h!) & had to constantly keep the speed at 90km/h. We're glad that I was prepared for the next day's drive. When I thanked C for accompanying me, she replied that it didn't take her much to do so.. her life only. Haha. C is really a great friend & sure has a sense of humour. She then came to our place for a light supper & chatted till 4am!

Sun, mum came back from church without taking her lunch. So I drove her to Sun Plaza. I couldn't wait to fetch hubby as I had so much to share with him. Then in the evening, the tailgating driver totally spoilt my day. I wasn't even driving too slowly.. if you're familiar with Yishun Ave 2, the traffic (esp. between Yishun & Khatib stations) is usually pretty heavy in the day/night.. I was driving at around 60km/h & he's been following closely for a distance. Then I slowed down in case the traffic lights ahead changed. But he had no intention to do so. The lights did change & I stopped but he didn't. What an idiot.

Both were uncles.. but one could be so nice & the other, a bully without brain.

Accident

Last evening, I was on my way to the airport to fetch hubby when I got into an accident. I stopped at a traffic junction just before Khatib MRT station when a truck banged the rear of our car. It's quite a traumatising experience, especially for a 3-day old driver. After I stopped, I looked at the rear mirror and could see that the truck behind had no sign of stopping & the next thing I knew was it slammed into our tailgate, followed by the sound of shattering glass. I was so shaken that it took me a while to recompose myself. I went to the rear & shock to see that the whole windscreen shattered. He suggested sending our car to his workshop but I refused & asked for his IC. When he gave me, all of a sudden my mind went blank.. I couldn't figure out what details would be the most important to get. So I knocked the window of the car on the next lane (it's red light) & asked him what should I get. Name, IC no., contact no., vehicle no., date & time. I felt so sad that my newly hanged P-plate & the decal hubby bought for me were lying in the midst of the shattered glass. So I picked them up & threw them into the car through that big hole. The boot was filled with shattered glass which went all the way to the dashboard.

I was in such a daze that I still thought of proceeding to the airport as hubby would be waiting for me. So I called my brother-in-law & asked him whether the car was still safe to drive if it's hit at the back. He said yes but asked me to head straight home. Thank God I listened to him as I wasn't able to concentrate thereafter & got lost a lil before I finally reached home safely. How could I have thought of going on to the expressway when the car was in such a condition!?

I thought I could still get a cab to the airport after I returned but it's already 7.40pm then & his flight's ETA was 7.50pm. So I waited for him at home, feeling really lousy. BIL was so nice to rush down & helped me covered the rear. He consoled me that I could still manage to drive back & park nicely.. not bad. Not that I want.. but I had to do it as I was alone. It's a new car & you can imagine how big the pinch in my heart. Anyhow, thanks for his comforting words & great help.

Hubby got very worried when he knew about it. And he also tried to comfort me by saying most importantly I'm safe & sound.. & he's actually quite happy as those scratches we had before would be gone too with a brand new bumper.

This morning we drove to the workshop in Sin Ming Dr & it's funny to see that no car dared to follow behind though hubby drove at a normal speed. Perhaps they're afraid they would become the scapegoat for the damage?

Honey I'm feeling much better today.. don't worry ya? :)

Friday morning

We slept at 1am & I got up @ 5.30am, not being able to get back to zzz thereafter. And you know why. Hubby got up @6 & left for airport 15mins later.

It's an indescribably funny feeling.. all of a sudden I felt I was going to fight alone. Hubby has indeed kept his promise in walking me through the journey to getting my license. He chauffeured me to & from the school without fail, not even once, & waited patiently for me during thr 100mins lesson, in total 3500mins... that's not including the first test & those evenings I did e-revision in school for my advance theory. Initially I did feel a fair bit of disappointment when I knew his trip coincided with my test. But it didn't take me too long to realise that I've taken his support for granted. Most of the people I saw at the school went there by themselves... almost everybody's doing that. I'm the one who's been very spoilt by hubby. I largely, if not solely, rely on him in helping me to press on. If he didn't spoonfeed me with all the info & bring me to sign-up for the course, I'm sure I'll still be procrastinating now.

So, I want to say a big THANK YOU to my honey.. & tell him "We've made it!"

TPPT, Round 2

I passed I passed! :D

Seriously I thought I couldn't make this time round again. During the revision on Thurs night, I started to commit all kinds of mistakes in the circuit which I shouldn't be making by then, like kept forgetting to shift to reverse gear for my parking/directional change, failed to look out for some of the points when doing the courses, incorrect positioning... And because it's only my 2nd time driving the new car, I couldn't master the half-clutch and the engine stalled time & again (I couldn't feel the very little vibration & when I really feel it, it's near stalling). I was also very restless.. eg. when waiting to turn out (from the school) to the road, my mind was so occupied that I didn't realise the car in front had moved off long ago. Only when my instructor, who was busy writing then, discovered & asked me whether I was dreaming!

Then the warm-up session just before the test was even worse. Not only did I stall the engine for several times & make the same mistakes like the previous night, I also nearly hit the pole when doing my parallel parking (I'd never ever knocked or even touched one throughout my lessons). If the warm-up instructor didn't stop me in time, he'd have to go & pick it up. I guess he must be thinking "wa siao liao.. this testee cannot make it leh" as he said "now don't think so much already lah, since you already booked the test... just think that you are taking uncle out for a ride lor." Ya man.. if only it is as easy as it sounds. The warm-up instructors do monitor who pass the test. When I was waiting in the room for my warm-up session, one instructor came in & announced "one passed!".. then the rest said "ok 4 more to go..". They also talked about some funny/strange cases of the testees. Made me even more nervous.

I can't describe how disheartened I was by my own performance & I prayed to God.

After the "lucky" draw (of testers) & other stuff.. the test started. Very amazingly, again I wasn't nervous (like during my 1st test), thank God! The engine stalled once, when I was about to do my 1st course in the circuit, & the tester let out a big sigh. What a start. But still I was calm enough. This uncle was very nice.. though he liked to say "go lah go lah / what you waiting for? / can go already still don't want to go!?..." And I would go "sorry sir sorry sir". Tactics taught by my instructor. He reminded me again & again, not to talk back.. whatever it was, just say sorry sir & tolerate for 30mins. Hehe.

After the 30mins test, I followed him to the TP room upstairs. He asked me a few questions, like whether it's my 2nd attempt & why I failed the 1st time. I was trying to guess would he pass me or would it like the 1st time (when I thought I did rather well too). Then he told me I did quite ok in the circuit and what I did wrong. Next I saw him ticked some boxes in the checklist (mistakes committed) & finally in the PASS box. Wow! At that moment I felt like screaming! And I couldn't thank him enough. Got 10 points - 6 in the circuit & 4 on the road.

A Small Interlude

Last Thurs morning at Park Hyatt's lobby, was waiting & looking for the delegation of old men when I noticed someone who's like 3 metres away, my 2 o'clock, smiling in my direction. As my own action (the quick glance) was too quick for me to process, I only realised he looked familiar after 1 or 2 seconds. I then took another brief look at him & realised he's Edmund Chen. So I turned back to see whether someone he knew was standing behind me but nope, nobody. Know what's my reaction? I walked a lil further away from him and pretended I didn't know it's him. Maybe he overheard me talking to my boss and knew I was from Singapore too so he's happy? But mostly I guess I was over-sensitive.

That afternoon while we're having press conference, there's a power failure which landed all of us in complete darkness for more than 20 seconds. I was very upset about the lack of attentiveness (it's another long story.. & so much for the best & most expensive hotel in town). Went to the hotel reception to address the issue & I saw Chen again. Under normal circumstances, if I were to bump into another Spore citizen in a foreign land, I'd have talked to him/her excitedly & would even complain about the blackout problem. But nope, eventually I still decided to be non-chalant about his presence though we're of such proximity each time.

The fact is, all along I never like to behave like a fan.. perhaps I've seen how smitten some fans could get & it's quite unsightly. And after 1 particular instance, I am now even more indifferent (or at least appear to be). About 2 years ago when I went lunch with a colleague in Parco, we saw 2 famous HK stars & 1 local upcoming (then) artist who were filming there. Naturally it attracted a very huge crowd. We'd a close look briefly when they passed us & I just carried on to where we wanted to go. But my dear colleague wanted to stay & watch. Just when she's about to squeeze into the crowd & me grumbling behind & waiting for her, there's this rude man from the filming crew shooed all of us off in a very loud & harsh tone.. & the crowd wasn't even making much noise. I was like "please lor.. what's so big deal about it!" & blamed my colleague for the mistreatment I'd think I don't deserve.

I've chanced upon quite a few local & overseas celebrities in Parco as it's a hot venue for filming & events and somewhere else too. I have to admit I'm as curious but I won't take more than 3 brief glances (depending on his/her popularity, hehe).

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

Like said before, I returned on Fri. Apart from the routine of picking up a pack of Hoegaarden @ DFS which already took some time as there's a long Q at the cashier, still waited long for the luggages. I was getting a lil impatient & while I turned to look at hubby who's already waiting at the exit, I saw Chen passed my back & stood right next to me, waiting for his baggages as well. This time round, after a while, there I started...

Me: "We stayed in the same hotel in Vietnam."
Chen (looked at me as if trying to recall): "Oh yes! I just saw you this morning (eh.. I don't remember seeing him again on Fri morning when I went out for a meeting & I thought he's just being nice even if he couldn't recognise)..... you at a seminar in the hotel yesterday right (right-on! the last thing I want was to embarrass myself in front of so many onlookers. Phew.)?"
Me : "Yes."
Chen: "Going there for work?"
Me: "Yes."

Just then, I got my 2 luggages & told him "ok, see you around!" & off I rushed to hubby.

After nearly 3 months' break...

I went for my 1st driving revision last evening. My test'll be on this Fri and I've only signed up for 2 lessons. Yesterday & tomorrow evening. Not that I don't want to practise more but I've been busy with work lately & I didn't dare to book too many lessons in case I couldn't make it.

Actually I couldn't wait to meet my instructor, Rav, as I wanted to pour out what's been bottled up for 3 months! I want to know what I experienced, was it normal? Rav wanted to know what went wrong too. The moment he looked at the name of my tester, he gasped out "orh... him ar.." then gave me a sympathetic smile.

Me: "please tell me he's a mean person..."
Rav: "ya, he's known for being difficult one.. very ON one.. aiya you got him ar.. (another round of soft, sympathetic laugh)"

Well.. that's all I wanted to hear. Rav said the monday after my test, the 1st thing when he saw Mr P (my warm-up instructor that day) in the morning was to ask him whether I passed. Mr P told him that I did pretty well during the warm-up session & it shouldn't be a problem to pass but didn't know why I failed. Rav said just 1 or 2 weeks ago Mr P still asked about me. As he looked through, he's quite surprised I was penalised on all the small lil mistakes, except for the unjustified "flickering green arrow" part. And the 4 points I got in the circuit was when I did my parallel parking (now I know), not the vertical parking stunt which I was demanded to perform.

After stopping for such a long time, I was a lil rusty in the circuit. It didn't help at all that I was driving the brand new Honda City for the first time as they have changed all the test cars to the new City 2 months ago, shortly after my 1st test. I'm starting to worry now.. as I gotta be oriented with the new car & there're also some changes on the roads too. No choice.. will have to try fully utilise the remaining 100mins to get myself familiarised with the changes.

Tell myself to take it easy.. as I'm not the only one who's going through things like this.

By the way, hubby won't be around on that day. Very coincidentally his company trip falls on this weekend and he's to leave early morning. Hmm :(

Back from Vietnam

I'm back! Yes I've survived another round of "battle". Can't believe it's been a year when last year's experience is still fresh in my mind. And we fondly remember the wonderful 8-day France trip which was the result of the overloaded stress.

Left for Hanoi on 13th May morning. That afternoon, hubby's ah gong passed away (we visited him the day before I left) & I wasn't able to attend the funeral. Felt truly bad about it but thankfully, I have very supportive hubby & very understanding inlaws.

Returned from HCMC on Fri. So glad & relieved that everything's over.

This year's was much better for me as things were more or less in place when I left for the trip. Had very successful press conferences (attended by nearly 30 reporters & 2-3 tv stations) in both Hanoi & HCMC.. so far it's the 1st that I've handled with such overwhelming response. Had very good attendance for the cocktail parties too.

A group pic after the HCMC event at Park Hyatt Saigon.. to wrap up the week's program. From left: boss, the Vice President, External Dept Mgr, me & the Area Mgr (whom I'm working closely with). As you can see, am swamped in a group of.. erm.. men with seniority. So you know how fun it can be for me ;)

2D Getaway

It was a very extended weekend for us. We took leave on Mon (30/4) to make it a straight 4 work-free days!

A last minute decision (too much work for both of us so weren't too sure whether could get away from work for a day) which makes it a even more cherishable break for us as it's not very easy for us to take that 1 day leave.

Planned to go for a 3D2N short trip.

First we considered Hong Kong but opted out eventually due to several reasons. 1) we would prefer to go there in a cooler weather 2) the hotel rates were sky-high for the month of April.. a S$200+ hotel in normal days could go as high as S$450+ in April! With my fussiness in accomodation, I think the damages would be too huge. 3) the good flights were all taken.

Also considered Batam as hubby enjoys special package from his company @ Turi Beach. But I wasn't too keen. Besides Turi Beach sounds quite passé (no?), we went to Harris Resort 2 years ago with parents, sis & family. Nothing fantastic, the seaside was totally unappealing... had a seafood dinner nearby which's way too overpriced. And they called it seafood.. should call it a stalefood dinner & we felt like a big "carrot head".

Then it's Bintan. We didn't mind going back. Got my 1st tan there 3 years ago when we stayed 2 nights @ the sea-facing Bintan Lagoon. Missed the fun of relaxing on the beach (with beach chairs all over) & moments of chasing fishes in the clear sea water. But on the days of our intended departure, only late afternoon ferries were available. To pay so much but could only get there in the evening, it's a waste. So, dropped the idea as well.

So it's further reduced to some local retreat. Were deciding among The Sentosa Resort (ex Beaufort), Fullerton & Conrad.. eventually chose the last. And it was truly a retreat for us!

Here're the 2 friends that welcomed us when we arrived in the room:

Yellow Rubber Duckie

And the cute lil Conrad bear which we brought home :)