In the brand new year to come...

Bless our marriage so we will always be as loving or even more;
Teach us to be good keepers of the money You provide us;
Lead us and we both shall walk hand in hand through all turbulence;
Remind us to count Your Blessings every single day;

Amen.

Exploration

Recently we've heard that the shopping mall near our place, Sembawang Shopping Centre (SSC), would be ready for business any time before Christmas. It's long overdue for completion as works started more than 2 years ago if I've not remembered wrongly.

From the facade, we thought it's going to be another hearsay spreading around. Afterall, their opening date had time & again been postponed numerous times.

Last morning while topping up petrol opposite SSC, we saw cars queuing to enter its carpark & people getting in/out of the building. So it's really completed. And we joined in the fun too :P

There're lil surprises here & there from exploring the mall... The biggest one gotta be - Astons is here, in the very north!:D Then there's Daiso, a much smaller scale though. Quite a selection of restaurants & bakeries in SSC... interesting...

We went to SSC again just now and there's even a much longer queue of cars waiting to get into the carpark. We're glad that on both occasions we made the wise choice of parking in front of the terrace houses that's within walking distance. So we confirm that only few people working this week :)


And about Astons

We're such loyal supporters of Astons. Used to frequent theirs at East Coast Road & Serangoon Gardens till the crowd went a lil too crazy (imagine having to take your dinner as early as 5pm in order to get a seat?). Maybe better now that there're more outlets. What's worth commending - their standard is as good across all outlets, or as far as those we've visited before. So far no one, whom we've recommended Astons to, has any negative comment about them.

Besides the above 2, we've so far visited them in Tampines (coffeeshop), Ang Mo Kio (coffeeshop)... And I tell you, their fellow stall holders obviously hate them. In fact we've just been to another one in Cathay Building on Sunday.

Just now, we'd an early dinner at 5.20pm as we couldn't help but wanting to visit their SSC outlet :P By 6pm, the place was full but we think their appeal hasn't gone in full force yet. From the behaviour of most patrons (standing long enough in front of the restaurant before stepping in), you could tell they've not known Astons.

One of their nicer outlets, in SSC

What we've got for Christmas ...

An assortment of items from The Body Shop with net worth of S$60 (after 50% discount).

One day, I met cousin Ann for lunch & we went for a Christmas shopping spree at TBS. My original intention was to get presents for hubby's & my colleagues as well as some of our siblings & relatives. Half an hour later, I left with 2 big bags of TBS products & S$210 spent. Was relieved that I managed to settle those presents that I wanted to but at the same time, was a bit upset & shocked that I bought so much for myself as well.

So when hubby asked me what he should get for me, I handed him the chunk of loots from TBS which he packed into a nice "hamper", displayed in an acrylic box. Times are bad, I've to learn to be thrifty. Having said that, eventually I still bought 2 handbags, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 tops & 1 dress, all in the name of CNY (to make myself feel better).

As for hubby's, I bought him a nice shirt.

Merry Christmas! :)

We're so busy for the last 3 weeks. The first week was work for both of us, then the last 2 were for the Christmas festivities.

All in all, I've wrapped 41 pieces of presents this year (including hubby's colleagues, my colleagues/friends and our families & relatives)!

Presents for my boss/colleagues/friends
+
2 boxes of Royce chocolates (not in pic) that were for my ex-bosses, wrapped & kept refrigerated.
For our families & relatives. All these were wrapped within 5 hours that were split into 2 sessions - 23rd night & 24th afternoon.

Besides having quite a lot of time dedicated to Christmas shopping, here's a summary of the past weeks ...

The weekend of 13/14 Dec - Busy looking for a gift for PY & Brian on Sat & attended Zoe's 12th birthday party in the evening. After church on Sunday, we'd breakfast with PY & Brian & then visited their new home. Had a good time catching up. Their apartment at Estella Gardens looks great, especially their walk-in wardrobe. I've been longing for one ever since 3 years ago when we're looking for our place but were aware that we couldn't get everything I wanted with our budget. I'm so gonna have it one day... the ultimate would be to convert a room into a boutique-style walk in closet... hubby has promised me one (he didn't say when though, ha!)...

OTT a lil... This is my dream walk in wardrobe (but I would like it better that the wood is in white or black instead), best if I can put an island in the middle for my accessories. Well, I'll have to dream for many years to have a closet of this size....

18 Dec - I had a 2.5-hour Christmas lunch with my ex-boss, DG, from the previous company. Plus travelling to Bugis, my lunch that day took a good 3 hours. Thank God I've a very nice boss who gave me the 'greenlight' to do so:) It's so nice to be revisiting my old office. And I bought DG & my ex-colleagues an Awfully Chocolate cake. We'd Japanese food at KŌ, Hotel InterContinental. DG, who had recently visited France, also brought back a gift for me from the ex-Principal. Had a very good lunch... we caught up on things & chatted like old friends, which had never happened before... perhaps because there's no restriction now that we're no longer employer/employee.

21 Dec was 冬至. Bro & family came back for dinner (sis gotta work that day)... & we'd a ktv session before dinner. In the morning we got the Royce chocolates from Suntec before having lunch with mum in Bishan & brought her to J8 to get her CNY clothes. It has sort of become an annual schedule since 3 years ago when hubby & I successfully changed mum's image :P I guess she's in a way dependent on us now in choosing the right clothes for her.

Christmas Party on Silent Night at one of hubby's aunts' - GS.
Her 3-storey house of 3 months in Upper Thomson with a total 5,000+ sq.ft is awesome. That night, hubby & I were so distracted... By watching how the 10 over kids climbed her S$15,000 designer sofa while eating chips, pulling the $S3,000+ screen by the staircase made up of strings of crystal-lookalike balls, running around the house & banging all the doors, hubby & I felt really heart pain for GS. But she was so cool about it... hmm.

Family party on Christmas Day.
We'd so much fun playing the Singapore-version monopoly that some of us nearly lost our voice after the game:) We bought it 2 weeks ago from Carrefour after much hesitation but seeing how it gave us laughters & bonding time, we never regret getting it.

Currently we're enjoying a long break which we've been so looking forward to. Hubby ended work much earlier than me... his last day in office was physically 17 Dec as he attended a 1-day seminar on 18 Dec & his department's Christmas party was at our multi-purpose hall the following day (Fri) so he didn't need to go to office that day. Whereas my leave started on 23 Dec lunch. It's so tough to bring myself to office during those days that hubby wasn't working. No mood at all to work! But hubby dearest still faithfully sent me to office without any reluctance which helped me a lot. Hubby had to clear about 10 days leave before end of this year so he's having a 2-week break. Whereas I just need to take 4.5 days to enjoy a 12.5 no-work days as 26 Dec & 2 Jan 2009 are declared as additional holidays by my company. We'll only go back to work on 5 Jan. Yeah! :D

Movie Date

It's a very nice & cosy movie date on Sun night. A '3-course dinner' throughout the 150-min movie with some additional scenes (that we didn't get to watch in cinema).

Last morning, sent mum to church and then to meet her sisters as they're going for a 3D2N stay at another sister's place in Pontian, Johor.

So we blasted our SATC movie in the living room. Too lazy to be out for dinner so utilised our stock:

1st course - Farmland nuggets (our favourite among all other brands)

2nd course - 生面皇干捞面 (that is, Instant Noodle King's dried noodle)

3rd course - Ikea Blueberry Cake

Haha.

And we had Ikea's Kopparberg Pear Cider (4.5%) as beverage for the evening.

By the way, the Blueberry Cake was good.

Ikea's Blueberry Cake.
My no.1 selection is still the Apple Cake... very yummy with vanilla sauce/ice cream and especially delicious with crushed walnuts or almond flakes as topping. They don't taste at all like those typical ready-made pastries/cakes. And the best part's they're not expensive;)

Finally, the long wait's over!

Sex And The City movie! Yeah!

Been on a lookout for the release of DVD ever since the movie first shown in end May. Months had passed & nothing displayed. One day (about 2 months ago), we finally asked a staff from Gramophone & he told us that the DVD of SATC movie was banned in Singapore. We're like "huh?... but we already watched in cinema.. why banned then?" And we're disappointed.

Then last Sun, hubby spotted it when we passed by TS Causeway Point! Hee! This'll complete our collection ;)

We've already scheduled it to be our Sunday night entertainment. A great way to spend our PH eve. And yes, will be watching it for the 3rd time!

With some popcorns perhaps, honey? :P

Tis the season...

... to have gatherings ....

One for the family (my inlaws & members) a week ago, then one with the sisters last Thurs and last Sat, with all the good friends from my previous church at our place & now with their families too. There should be another one coming up with the secondary school classmates and one with the cousins from daddy's side. But I'm trying to push the next two to as late as possible (both supposed to be beginning of Dec)... kind of busy & it's tiring to have all within a month. Yet I was the one who called for all these gatherings.. mm...

Last Thurs, met the sisters for dinner at Picotin. The chicken & pizza were pretty good but I didn't really fancy the rest that we ordered (we shared 3 mains & 3 desserts). Ambience was quite good though. So all in all, we'd a great get-together.

Then It's a busy Sat. We're out till 3pm-ish and started preparing at 4. We'd lotus root soup, honeyed chicken wings, nuggets, fried bee hoon & beancurd almond. Our friends began to arrive from 6.30pm and we're glad that everyone came, even those who initially said they wouldn't be joining. Food wise, there were too much... before that I still worried we didn't have enough, that's why I prepared 4 dishes (& a dessert). We ended up having fried chicken wings, pan fried honeyed chicken wings & steam chicken (白斩鸡) among the other food. That's the consequence of not revealing what we're bringing.

Total 23 of us. It's nice mingling around and the kids had fun at the pool too. Very importantly, thanks hubby for entertaining the guests like his own friends. It's something I should never take for granted. :)

A congratulatory bouquet

Last Sunday we attended Constance's baptism and gave her this bouquet.

And it's the latest addition to My Works :)

Family affair

Last Sat we'd BBQ at our place. With my inlaws and the family plus mum.

All of them loved the chicken wings I marinated... hubby should share the credit too as we did it together :)

It's the first time mum alone joined in & initially I was a lil worried. I didn't want to be the sandwich. But thankfully my MIL was very friendly and she kinda kept mum company.

Surprisingly, during school holidays, we're the only group there so it's more like a private function and we'd the luxury of using all the tables & chairs. Maybe it's rainy season being end of the year so everybody's not keen to do BBQ. Like that evening, we'd a lil rain initially but thank God it stopped soon after we started. And the cool air actually did help to keep the heat down.

By the way, City Satay's pork satays are delicious; we purposely made a trip to their shop in the east which's near hubby's office on Sat morning.

It's RETRO time ...

Me!?

Don't I look havoc with this afro hair? :P

Cool hairstyle! Haha

Hubby's favourite.

Hubby happened to come across this website and decided to give us a makeover. When I opened his email of these pix (there're still many more), I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

A few more......

Think I do look quite good in the above 2 pix right? ;)

Not for hubby though... hee.

Not too bad for this...

And this is Ben's (my BIL) & our fav......

He's going to kill me! Hahaha!

Miswedded?

Many around us are going through or have just come out of broken marriages.

Is it a trend now? Everyone's jumping on the bandwagon.

Someone in the family will be getting the Certificate of Making Interim Judgment Final (previously known as Decree Nisi Absolute) end of this month. Someone in the family had gone on separation but now trying to salvage the marriage though it's a lil bleak. Someone in the family is unhappy with the marriage, attempted to jump ship a few times but failed... so struggling to maintain a make-do relationship.

Our next door lived a young couple. We would make some small chats whenever we bumped into each other. They looked like a happily wedded couple who would go JB together for golf almost every other week. The last time I saw them was at the carpark & the 3 of us were chatting (hubby was not around then). Later on I even visited their home for the first time as they wanted to show me some stuff. But shortly after, the husband disappeared. So was his car. It's obvious as they used to go to work/come home together but now we only see the wife going out/coming back alone. For so long, only hubby saw him once at carpark, 9pm+, & he's leaving. We're pretty shocked.. I mean, there's no sign at all that their relationship's on the brink. Recently, we saw several times a man who drove a 5-series BM sent her back (we're busybody), sometimes the man would even leave her place in the morning.

Some time back, we're woken up from deep sleep when my cell phone rang at 5am+. It's my ex-colleague, MW, who called to ask me go for drinks & he sounded drunk. After knowing I didn't want to go out at such hour (who would actually?), he hanged up. From his mumbles I think he said he's been drinking at home. When I woke up in the morning I felt something amiss & rang his buddy, who apparently knew nothing, to check on him. Few days later his buddy, Ed, called & told me that his wife left him. Honestly he's the last person whom I would expect to have marriage problem... being an educated beng, he's doing well as a Regional Sales Manager & all of us in the office knew he doted on his wife very much. He'd not stop talking about her in front of us.

Then 2 months ago, it's my old friend. According to him, the wife woke up one morning & was determined that they're no longer compatible & held no future together. All of a sudden she couldn't stand many things that he did. A month after her realisation, she moved out.

People's mind has changed... plus the past experience... that's why when I see a loving pair, I'd wonder... are they a 'rightful' couple? If they are, then is the guy seeing a lover behind her back? Or maybe it's the gal who has a secret boyfriend? I may be too paranoid & I'm honestly sadden by my own cynicism. But it's not difficult to find individuals who lead a double life. In fact there're more & more these days... both male & female as men no longer monopolise the world of polygamy.

Having said all the above, I'm thankful that I've a husband who can make me believe there is miracle. We do not take it for granted though as it doesn't come easy. We've gone through a lot and are devoting our utmost to nurture this relationship. Both must have the same pace & conviction to make it work.

LL, if you're reading this, I don't know what else to say.... we all have different setbacks to face, though some may have more. Take time to get through this, feel free to talk, to vent out.... and believe that what you are enduring now will make you a even stronger person.

Organisers

I'm not a neat person but I'm fond of organising my stuff. It's mainly for the ease of using especially in the morning. From the accessories cabinet 2 years ago, to the cosmetics organiser I self-created recently... do save me quite a bit of time. I've also done a mani/pedi box.

Initially I was looking at getting one of those professional train cases. Too bad I didn't get one when I made frequent trips to Bangkok previously as it's much cheaper there. Saw one @ I NUOVI but gosh.... S$398 for a big one & S$298 for a smaller version! Of course I'm not going to pay so much for 1. I'm no professional makeup artist, so I don't see the need to pay so much. Then, was about to order one online... only US$40 for a good size. But the shipping cost turned out to be triple of the item~ at nearly S$200! Perhaps due to the weight & the dimension. The last one we happened to come across was at a pushcart in Causeway Point - S$120. Hubby offered to get me as Christmas present but after some thoughts, I decided to opt to DIY.

Voilà! A nice home for my cosmetics!

A closer look.
Got this transparent drawer from Howards Storage World which is meant for shoe storage. Also bought 2 clear holders (they're actually soap/toothbrush holders) there as well as 2 more from Daiso.
Total costs>> less than S$40 and totally match our glassy concept! I'm quite impressed with myself in fact, haha.

My mani/pedi box... It's actually a tool box from DIY shop - Home Fix.

The nail polish here are those I use regularly.
Have another box that stores similar quantity but used only once in a while.

These are the rewards of a few trips of window shopping & surveying hubby & I had made :)

3 blissful years & many more ahead ...

Yesterday's our 3rd wedding anniversary. Due to current economic situation, we cut the amount spent on celebration. No hotel stay this year:( And we've also agreed that from now on for wedding anniversary, we'll get a present together... most likely will be something for our home. Feel it's kinda meaningful that while we celebrate our years together, we get something that's in our wish list to build our sweet home.

This year, we got ourselves a digital photo frame. Been wanting to have one to display our pix when we realise that we've too many beautiful pix together but only limited ones can be shown. We start small... a 7-inch for our console.

Last Sat, we'd buffet lunch at Shangri-La's The Line. Good food, great ambience... enjoyed so much that we didn't realised our lunch lasted a good 2.5hour.

We worked yesterday as I didn't want to take leave during my first month of work. Hubby gave me a surprise by having a bouquet delivered to my office in late afternoon (actually I kind of anticipated flowers but when nothing showed up for the whole day, I thought I'd guessed wrongly.. hee) as he knew I'd a meeting in the morning so he requested 2-5pm delivery. And the bouquet was literally delivered at 4.30pm & I got it at 5pm.

Had simple Japanese food as dinner at The Cathay's Nihon Mura. Interesting concept and the quality of food is pretty good. By the way, sushi's @ $0.99/plate.

Had a great buffet lunch

My beautiful bouquet in black & burgundy. It's such a coincidence that I changed our blog colour to the exact combi last weekend. Another evidence that we do think alike very often ;)



Our 7-inch digital photo frame

Replaced

3 weeks ago, we went to Courts to look for a kettle but ended up bringing a kettle and a tv home.

Panasonic Viera 32-inch LCD tv @ $699 + 3 years warranty.

The one we bought when we first moved in was a Korean brand that is not known for TV (no, not Samsung or LG). Chose that because it's the cheapest at that time for a 30-inch... @ S$1,799. Of course the resolution was not high, its sound effect was good though... even better than Panasonic's. And we loved the appearance as it matched our concept of decor.

It broke down for the first (&, so far, only) time a year ago. Only then we're glad we opted for the extended warranty that has just expired yesterday. Sold the tv to Cash Converter for $150... so in a way we only got the new one at $500.

Recently, TVs are cheap so it's a good time to get if you need. Eg. 42-inch LCDs (Sharp/Panasonic ...) only going for $1,000 - $1,300. But we're not greedy, for now we're happy with 32' ;)

The big 'C'

Hope I'm getting out of the pits of a career crisis... the ever first in my life.

I always pride myself for being a loyal employee, after all those years I stayed in my previous company serving the same Principal.... until 3 months ago. I left a 4-month job to move on to one that I've fought so hard for. But within a week, I quit. Much to my own disbelief. I couldn't accept that I was doing this to myself. But I was not willing to work 11 or 12 hours every day especially on Fridays and also cover another colleague who's leaving the following week after I joined (& they're not getting any replacement). A series of familiarisation trips for me was already in planning & I supposed to go for the first in a few weeks' time. So I thought it'd be better to withdraw when they haven't invested too much on me.

I can only say it's my naiveté for not expecting all these in such a job. I have no one to blame except myself. Only then I realised stable hours (with good welfare) topped my list of priorities. I guess I'm already over the days when I can strive... I'm not willing to give up the time I have with hubby & loved ones... not to mention I'd bring home lesser than what I do currently (initially I went for it thinking it's a good training ground.... it really is... if I'm younger, it'd have been a golden opportunity..).

The Director from the new office was upset but he didn't show too much. He just asked me to reconsider and said "you know, you're the one who wanted this job...". Yes I know, that's why I was so disappointed in myself. They're nice to pay me for the days I worked there. I thought I needed to pay them back the pre-medical checks but no. The admin exec said all of them knew I was Tan Sri's friend but they didn't know how I was linked to him... that's the reason perhaps.

The day I went back to return the office keys, I still couldn't believe what I had done. I was at the lowest as I was angry with myself for being stupid. Why didn't I realise what I wanted before moving on and then only a matter of 2 days that I became so sure of it?? Only then I began to miss my old company.. All my bosses were so good, in fact they're said to be few of the nicest in the firm. I was angry with myself for rejecting my bosses' counter offers. I was angry that I caused trouble to so many people & perhaps even embarrassment to my friends - one who got me the interview (Ben) and another one who thought he'd gotten me the interview (DL). I thought Ben would be upset but he's so understanding... told me not to worry & just go ahead to do whatever I deem was good for myself.

So in less than a week, I was jobless. Though I needed a break (never had one since I started working), it came at a totally unexpected timing. To think that I started that new job immediately after... I didn't have a day's rest as I was needed urgently.

Now, don't be shocked by what I'm going to say >>>>> I'm gone back to the place where I condemned for having too many arrogant people around.

I've been in contact with one of my bosses, Mr C, even after I left and he's the first, from my ex company, to know I dropped the new job. He promised to bring me back & talked to the HR Director... he didn't even ask why I gave that job up. I thought there's a chance to work for him again. But I didn't hear from HR. Though Mr C was one of those few partners who has crazy daily schedule (imagine... his meetings are always back-to-back every single day), he's so nice to follow up & text me to check whether HR contacted me. So was I crazy to give up such a wonderful boss??

Waiting game's always the worst game to play... it's just like wanting to get back to the ex after initiating a breakup. Seems like he's starting to move on but he asks for some time to consider. So every other minute you'd look at your cell phone, hoping it'll ring. And when it rings, you hope that it's his number that appears on the screen. That's what I told June when she talked about one of her exes and she found my description so amusing. The consolation being.... I haven't lost my sense of humor, huh.

Much as I didn't anticipate , I took the chance to rest... looked for jobs while waiting for HR to contact me as I gotta be prepared that I couldn't go back. Finally, they called me & asked me to meet my future boss (as I couldn't work for my ex-boss again). Interestingly, on that same day, I had 2 second interviews. I thought it's good so I could have all the answers around the same time. But it's very draining mentally.... at the end of the 3rd interview, my energy was completely depleted.

A couple of days later, I was offered all 3 jobs. It was a very tough decision to make as I was so afraid I would make the wrong choice again. Each job has its own set of plus points that I like and the bad ones deterred me. Eventually, I still chose to go back to my ex company mainly due to the welfare & remuneration package. Since I take this route, I will have to make myself fall in love with those unfavorable parts that come with the job.

It's good to be back. This time round, I've got quite a few friends around. Also met up with all my ex-bosses. Just last week, I had a chat with another ex-boss, Mr L who's a good friend of Mr C, & he said something which I couldn't decide whether I should be glad or sad. He said Mr C insisted to have me work under him again & that he preferred me over the one who's assigned (internal transfer) to him but HR was very firm on their stand, saying there're some rules & regulations. I know, it's not fair to everyone, especially to the one who's supposed to replace me, as all arrangements had already been done & I couldn't possibly mess the whole situation. Afterall, a partner doesn't have all the say... a big organisation like this has to be governed by some HR rules.

I choose to be happy about it... at least I'm still in the good books of my ex-bosses. Mr C has agreed to be my unofficial career coach and Mr L confirmed that Mr C is looking out for a good opportunity for me. With the current economic situation, I'm not too hopeful that it'll come soon though.

I'm going through the teething period now but I know God is great. I didn't know what I wanted and I was wilful but He is gracious... I had my rest(exactly 1 month as my last day of work was 9 Sept & I started work on 8 Oct) and I have a job now. The best of all is I've a great man in my life. Hubby didn't breathe a word of dismay or discouragement throughout this self-created mess. He's been so patient in encouraging me when I was going in cirlces, blaming myself for my own predicament. He's right... without trying, be it a good or bad choice, I would have always thought the pasture next door was greener. If I didn't take that step, I'd continue to be unhappy thinking I'd missed a great chance whenever I faced problems. How right.

Singapore F1 GP

Hubby was offered 2 Grandstand tix to tonight's F1 night race. So there we went, after dinner at home.

Parked our car in Bishan & took the train to Cityhall as we didn't want to risk getting caught in a congestion.

An extremely short video before my dear mobile declared "memory's full"! Yep... of all the timing! (still exploring how to set video recording to memory card as default).

The shrieking sound whenever the cars whizzed by was truly deafening (I was worried for our eardrums!) but it's interesting.

We didn't get to the Grandstand though. We arrived pretty late at 10pm-ish & it's a long walk to the seats at Marina Bay. And I was already perspiring like a running tap once I got to the outdoors (I wonder why I've so much perspiration!?). So we only stayed around for a while.

It was a short but intriguing night out.

Walking through the Valleys

Things are on the down side for the last 2 weeks. Feel worst when you're well aware that you've single-handedly contributed to what it is today.


I'm not in a mood to say yet. Will still get emotional... distressed... whenever I bring this up. It's getting less intense though.

B&O ICEpower

A lil pleasant surprise when we got the Samsung SGH-F400................

Bang & Olufsen amplifier. Cool!

Frankly besides this, there's nothing to shout about for the rest of the functions. But hey, we didn't need to pay a cent for this phone... still gained about $7 after trading in hubby's SE K770i ;) His phone started to reboot by itself now & then... the final one was when the player was still blasting song but the screen completely blanked out... couldn't even switch it off! Probably due to the several falls it previously had including one on the escalator... hmmm...

This phone's actually hubby's but as usual... he pampers me with the new phone while he takes over mine.

The Power of LOVE

Hubby killed a lizard last night.

When we reached home, I went straight to our bathroom to get ready for a shower. Was taking off my accessories when the corner of my eyes sensed a moving shadow. I immediately turned to take a look & saw a dark, fat lizard was staring at me on my vanity counter. I freaked out & bolted from the bathroom to our MBR while screaming. In that split second, I think it sensed danger & swiftly moved to hide in the gap between the wall & my vanity cabinet.

Hubby, who was in the room, got alerted by the commotion. He then went in attempting to chase that creepy lil crawly away. But it wasn't co-operative.... it first crawled into the bath tub & went anti-direction again. I was a lil hysterical after the scare & worried that it would continue to ambush me & worse still, get too friendly with my cosmetics! I offered insecticide but hubby rejected.

When it refused to go away, hubby grabbed the plastic ladle placed at the bath tub & hit it while it tried to wriggle its way to the vanity counter again. From chasing, attacking to clearing the mess in the tub, I didn't dare step in to look.

Hubby later confessed that he's afraid of lizards (than of cockroaches)... more of its detached tail actually. But the moment he knew he needed to protect me, he got the courage to face it. This wasn't the first time... had similar encounters with bugs & cockroaches before. But a good deal of power must be summoned in order to brave the fear factor.

You are really my Hero, hubby!

The Yearly Affair

Hubby's away "protecting the country" again. Every year I'd have 2 weeks to endure life without my honey. It's a fact that I'm too pampered by him so it's a good time for me to learn to be independent again... hmm.

It's also this time every year that I get together with my friends as much as possible. I could have planned one friend every evening but it's really tiring.

I insist no outing on Mondays. I'll be killing myself if I were to arrange one on the first work day of the week.

Last Tue, went out with Celena. Had a good catch up over a simple dinner at Raffles Xchange's The Soup Spoon. Thurs, with Wendy. We went Prego for dinner.. then City Space on level 70 (Equinox) for a beer. It's a great night but I was home only about 11am. Exhausted!

This Tue, with TM.... he brought me to this German restaurant [Magma] @Bukit Pasoh. Good food. Last night... went out with a colleague. She's from Tax dept on 20th floor, me on 16th floor... yet we become good friends & that's after I tendered my resignation. She's sad that I've to leave just when our friendship starts to blossom. I promise I'll try to meet her over lunch or something as I'll still be in the very same area for my new job.

We worked late till 8pm-ish, then went to MG's for some bites & drinks. Only left around 1.30am!!! Reached home near 2am & we're both completely beat! Right after a quick shower, I knocked out in bed with a swollen upper lip :(( I suspect it's something to do with MG's self-created Watermelon Martini (but it's real nice!).
So I had only a 3.5-hour sleep today. Surprisingly I was fine the whole day till evening... when grogginess started to kick in.

With Flo.... And we had so much fun & laughter:)

And now, I'm so so glad to have my hubby back from the government who "loaned" him for 2 weeks! :D :D

Those were the days ....

Was looking for some old pix when I raked up quite a few I took during The Bar days.

If you do notice, there's 1 gal who appeared in all of the above pix.
She used to be a close girlfriend.

From left, clockwise:

- Pic 1 &2 > She celebrated her birthday at The Bar.

- Pic 3 > With a few regulars.

- Pic 4 >We had a pool tournament. The circled "mysterious" person in the background was actually Mr Soh; he came with his camp buddy (who was the champion) & another friend. That's also the night that I confirmed he's interested in me. :D

By the way, I intentionally put up small pix to protect their identities :P

With cousin Ann & sis.

With jie-meis.

The regulars-turned-friends gave me a surprise birthday bash together with sis. I'd just touched down from France on that very morning.
Above, left bottom: Wouldn't have kept this picture if it wasn't taken with the regulars. A look at the inset & you'd have guessed how I was feeling then when he put his arm around me. Hmm...

I love this pic.

A toast to Kelly, the birthday gal !! :)

*But wandering where I was looking at then, holding a bottle of champagne instead of a champagne glass*

All the unknowns

I'm going to say bye to my 17-week old job.

I thought I'll be happy to take a back seat & enjoy what I'm doing now. Very stable working hours, good welfare & renumeration. As a new joiner, I got my bonus (was still in probation then). But I'm not happy... even more so when I received the confirmation letter.

I don't like what I'm doing now... I don't feel connected to the world at all. And the people here are so arrogant. Those whom I'm close to consoled me "don't be too bothered... in no time you'll be like them (to be exact >> cold & living in their own world)". The problem is... I do not want to be like one of them! Perhaps I'm too used to small company, I don't feel I'm part of this 2,000 staff strength organisation.

I can't promise I'll like my new job. But at least it's an industry that I've always been interested in/familiar with and I didn't get it easy. No doubt I've ample years of marketing & PR experience, I can't find the same job once I move on... not even one that's close to it. In fact, I daresay there are no more than 3 who do the exact same job as I did, so it's a complete job switch for me whatever position I go for in whichever trade. And when I told people what I did in my previous job, everyone would look amused & said "oh, you've a very unique (read: strange) job".

I've applied for no less than 10 similar openings and it's like throwing stones into the sea. I clearly knew very unlikely they would hire someone who's not at all from the related industry but to me there's no difference (as I'd face the same situation in all other job applications as well). Let's put it this way... if you can get to select many candidates with relevant experience among the pool of applicants, how high would the chance be for the one without (relevant experience) to be shortlisted?

I hadn't gone full force in job searching when I asked my friend , DL, who's the Senior Manager of a hotel to look out for me. In fact I hadn't started going through papers & online job sites.

Since the prospective employers didn't want to respond to my application through proper channels, I wanted to go by the side door to get interview opportunities (not job offers as it's a ridiculous request to both my friends & the employers). My main purpose was to vie for a chance to meet the interviewers in person, to convince them that I could be the right incumbent they're looking for, I wanted to change their perception of me not having relevant experience would mean I'm out.
My plan was:
(A) to try obtain interview opportunities through DL's contacts
(B) if that didn't work, would approach my ex-boss' good friend, who's a GM from one of the established hotels.

DL was quick to offer help. He knew the Malaysian-based Sxxxxx Hotels & Resorts was hiring & said would get me an interview. Later on, he asked me to email my CV to the Director, HN, instead. When he told me that, I sensed half the chance of meeting was gone. Nevertheless I still sent mine to HN.

Followed up by a call the following day. HN didn't sound keen as he said he's looking for someone who's experienced & has a relevant base of network. And I was from totally different industry. Despite me trying to convince him, he said would discuss with his Asst Director & revert. I reckoned that it's a diplomatic way of rejecting as I waited for a week & there's no news. My hope of clinching an interview through contacts was sort of burst. I was disappointed.

Then I remembered one of my KL friends, Ben, told me his uncle owns Sxxxxx Group of Hotels. Was hesitating.... do I really want to move in this direction? Eventually, I made a call to Ben & he's so nice to agree instantly. He said there'd be no problem in getting me an interview but couldn't promise me a job. That's all I asked for. He also offered me another job opportunity, that is, to set up a Singapore office for him; he's in a completely different business.

He contacted the CEO of Sxxxxx, HC, who asked Ben to sms him my details. HC must have contacted HN as within hours, I got a call from HN. He'd arranged to see me with his Asst Director:) And he copied HC in all the emails he sent me. Not sure whether it's the fact that I secured myself an interview or the strong desire to prevail over the one who rejected me (guess it's a mixture of both), I was happy when I got the news. Yet worried. Was worried that HN would make things difficult for me to prove that I was someone "unemployable".

In less than a week, I've also met Ben when he's here on a business trip. We talked about his plans of setting up a Singapore office. I was a lil moved by the proposal given the prospects & freedom but lots of canvassing work needed as well as a big portion of uncertainties. I was given some time to consider & also to go through the Sxxxxx interview first.

Gone for the interview which I thought turned out well. HN was very professional, so I had worried too much.

Just when I was caught in-between decisions - to go for Ben's or this one (that's if I was offered the job), I received a call from HN.... & yes, I got the job! I accepted without second thought... which means I've already made a decision. Ben was such a nice gentleman, he gave his blessing & we agreed to meet the next time, whether in KL or Spore.

My present bosses know where & what I'll be moving into... no intention to hide from them. Afterall, they are truly wonderful bosses & I've always been told by my colleagues that I'm very blessed to have 2 of the best bosses in the organisation. When I told them my intention to leave & their attempts to retain me failed, they actually told me to go back if I'm not happy working in the new company. Everything was discussed & settled in absolutely amiable atmosphere. They weren't even the least bit upset with someone who's only worked for a few months & now calls it quits. Saying they're nice is really an understatement.

As for myself, it's the very first time in my life that I've gone the unconventional way (I mean job wise). During the interview HN told me there're more than 60 applicants but they shortlisted only 5. I know I was nearly out.
Taking this as a stepping stone... it's a mid management position... at least I don't need to start from scratch.

Romancing @ Red Dot

My Monster Green Lager Beer. Can you see it's actually as green as my top?

Mr Soh brought his wife to Red Dot Brewhouse, Dempsey Road last night. Good dinner with great ambience. Flirted over some beer.

Thanks for the lovely dinner date, honey! ;)

Purchases

Of the bigger items.

This 3-seater sofa with 2 recliner - a great replacement of our L-shape sofa as of end June.
We've waited more than 2 months & this wasn't the set we initially chose. Only after a month that they told us the first model we ordered was out of stock due to some parts (the recliner) & that's only when we called them to enquire about delivery date. At first we're really unhappy with their service but managed to leave the place with a smile as we got a better deal. This set costs $200 more than the original one but they absorbed the difference as a compensation. They weren't supposed to carry this model as manufacturer sells exclusively at their own showroom at Kaki Bukit. But we went & eventually chose this; the boss had to negotiate with his manufacturer to make an exemption) I would say it's a blessing in disguise as we prefer this

This is the best thing we could have for our weekend DVD session. And it really helps my problematic back a lot.

New dining benches as well.

We like the new look with our white furniture

Finally bought a pot of monstera deliciosa... only less than a hundred as it's a much smaller version. But I'm happy enough.

My Sony Ericsson C902 that hubby bought for me on the first Sat of July, when his contract was up for 21-month upgrade;)