Tuesday, March 14, 2006

BD celebration

Gave Vince a small surprise on Sunday. In fact it's a busy day. Started off by sending mum to her church before we visited my colleague's church. After service, bought some flowers for daddy as his niche is just next door, at the memorial chapel in the same premise. Then we went back to fetch mum & sent her home. After dropping her, vroomed off to pick my parents inlaw for a dim sum lunch in Chinatown. This nearly-80 years old chinese restaurant used to be very famous & now serves mainly regular customers. I was initially attracted by a promotion on its specialty - peking duck (how come I like peking duck more & more?!). However the dim sum there can only make it slightly above average. Will go back 1 day to try out the peking duck when we've more people...

Were kinda rushing home as we've booked ktv downstairs from 3-6pm. To our pleasant surprise, my PILs were interested to join us for the ktv session & my FIL even had the intention to swim. That's good I thought, they could celebrate Vince birthday together as well. As planned, sis & my BIL helped to get the cake. We're already singing our lungs out when they arrived. Arranged to meet them upstairs & got everything prepared before going down. And my dear hubby had a lil BD party.

It's the first time both sides families got together like this. Very glad to see that every1 was very participative & enjoyed themselves especially my PILs who joined in the fun to sing. At the end of the session, they were happily chatting with my brother & BIL. Really thankful to them for helping to take care of my PILs.
Well it's definitely a good start.

Last evening, went to Cosy Bay for my hubby's birthday dinner. A simple & cozy 1... it's good! And guess what? my dear hubby bought me a birthday gift on his birthday! A very nice Solvil chrono watch... & that makes me feel really guilty.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Some of those that I bought


Eat & Shop

Had a short break with my hubby. Again, we shopped like there's no tomorrow... It's scary as I recount :

ME
- 15 tops consisting of tees, blouse, tank tops, halter necks
- 1 pair of slacks
- 1 skirt
- 1 self-transformed tube dress (from skirt)... gonna wear it on my birthday!
- 1 pair of culottes
- 1 pair of Levi's
- 1 denim capris
- 1 pair of shorts
- 3 pairs of shoes
HIM
- 5 short-sleeve shirts
- 1 long-sleeve shirt
- 1 tee 2 tees
- 1 pair of jeans
- 1 pair of addidas sports shoes
- 1 bermudas

Think I'm mad.


Last night, dreamt about our wedding again... we're so happy with daddy. All of us were so happy.

How I wish I could enjoy every single detail that happened on our wedding day once more.

But Time can never be turned back.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Boring dinner

Attended a Gala Dinner on the very day of arrival. Boring. Didn't know more than 5 out of the thousand over guests & wasn't in a mood at all to socialise. Being pulled by the organiser to stay on for some dances after the dinner but I sneaked back to my room upstairs.

O wat a nite ...

We didn't really sleep the evening before leaving for my trip, which's a Fri night. Filled with activities but not as great as we'd hoped to be. Guess it's just not my day...

- Took half day to Justina's & get my hair colored. Turned out the color was the same as previously
Weepy Guess next time I better keep my mouth shut & let her do it all.

- Then gave my honey a pleasant surprise by waiting for him outside his office.

- Went Millenia Walk for a quick dinner @ the foodcourt, thereafter went to Harvey Norman as we heard there's a sale going on. Wanted to get our all-glass newspaper rack we'd missed it previously when it's going for half-price. When we finally wanted to buy it, no more 50% & also only left with a display, chipped unit. Now, not even the sight of the chipped display piece & nothing interesting. To compensate ourselves, went for Killiney toast & .......... disappointing.

- Went back to my office to get all the stuff needed for the travel.

- Hubby brought me to Cozy Bay & we had a jug. It's 1 of Vince's fav & I agree it's a great spot. But that night I wasn't in a mood to stay in a quiet, cozy, windy place. Felt sorry for my honey upon seeing the disappointment on his face. I do like the place & would love to go back 1 day. Really, honey.

- Took a round in Orchard wanting to find somewhere for a drink & ended up having chicken rice supper @ River Valley.

- Last minute decided to join Vince's colleagues at MOS. Were stuck in the long queue of cars into the carpark. It definitely looked happening, seeing the crowd & the type of cars going into the VIP lots. By the time we arrived at the entrance, it's already 1am... No special liking towards the place, perhaps it's too crowded or too distractive as since there're several genre-specific rooms, we moved around a lot. We may go back or we may not... I don't know, perhaps depending on our mood then & who we'll be going with. But we do realise 1 thing - we're more & more domesticated.. hmmm..... not a bad thing though, considering the amount of $$ we spent on our home, it should be the way.

Had only 2 hours of zZz before waking up to pack the remaining luggage. Went to visit daddy's before going to the airport.



@ Cosy Bay

@ MOS

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

In our car

Our Rio

Ta-da....! This is our looong-awaited new car! Yeah!

Our 1.4 sporty Rio. It's not an expensive car, in fact it's 1 of the lowest range but we're contented & very thankful. For the moment, we just need a vehicle to move around & this is already more than what we initially hoped for. Moreover it doesn't look cheap at all.

The color. Is it grey? Is it blue? Answer is - Olive Grey. Sounds interesting huh? It sure looks interesting too as it's supposed to be grey with a tint of golden shimmer, so (just like the sales staff, Mich, told us when we're choosing the colour) under the sun, we'll see our car in grey with a bit of gold especially the top, but other times it looks blue... & sometimes more grey. Almost every1 who'd seen our car was confused yet impressed by its chameleon-like look.

The story behind. Yes we've waited a good 3 months+. When we 1st placed order, we chose an auto, red 1. But we couldn't even smell that it's coming after cny...
Actually during the wait, we're harboring a lil doubts on whether we'd made a wrong decision in getting an auto car at this point of time. Sure it's more relaxed & convenient to drive an auto car but fuel consumption will be higher too. And around the same time, thank God we just happened to call 1 of the showrooms & got to know there's a shipment arriving in about 2 days' time but contained only manual cars. We quickly contacted Mich to see whether we could change to a manual 1 instead. Within the day, Mich came back saying they did have a few units on hand but no red car. As the remaining limited units were going very fast too, we quickly booked a white. Good thing the following day's a Sat, so we went down to settle all the documentation matters. But after looking at the white 1, I didn't like it & we wanted to take the black instead. However by then the black was taken too. Wow, going very fast indeed. So we're left with olive-grey & orange. Orange?? eh... NO for me & hubby. Problem was no viewing of olive-grey car in the showroom & only Rio has that color, no other models. After much hesitation & consideration, we finally made a daring move & chose our Olive-Grey without ever seeing 1 before.

So forget about RED, perhaps save it for our next car? Or till then depending on the evolution of our preference? For now, we've fallen in love with our O-G at 1st sight. Hmmm...
The Tue before I left, celebrated TM’s bd. Went to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner & it’s not ex at all. FYI, the dinner’s on me (actually it’s hubby’s treat as I took $$ from his account to pay). Whether he’s being thoughtful or he’s really watching his diet, gotta thank him for giving it a miss in “chopping” me. But of coz I didn’t let him know the source of my $$, ha! He’s been footing bills all these years, be it extravagant or simple ones….

Also bought him a box of chocs from Royce & he loved it. Guess he’s quite surprised pleasantly as… ashamed to say it’s the 1ST time I ever bought him dinner & bd gift. Why this year…? Well it’s a gesture of appreciation & thanking him for being there as a great friend during all the significant moments in my life – when I was down & out (I was in the worst shape for a period of time & that’s when we first met), when I needed help @ work, when I celebrated the happiest day by marrying my greatest man, when I mourned the loss of my very loved one ……

As MG’s pub was just near by… we went on to have a drink there after dinner, on him. It turned out to be the drinks bill was more than the dinner. Enjoyed the chocs while having a pint of heineken & TM, a kilkenny. Quite a good chill-out time, catching up on work related stuff & others. Then after having another drink, a cocktail mixed by MG, I felt I had enough. Passed the other pint to TM (it’s 1 for 1). Though MG was being too generous to have the drink filled to the brim, it shouldn’t be that soon for me. Once upon a time, 3 rounds of boozing in a night usually with a variety of beer, bourbon/whiskey dry & wine was a norm for me (thank God I was out of it before I became an alcoholic). And now, my capacity has nearly hit the bottom. It’s not that good… I may need to drink a bit for work at times as more & more business events have moved from function rooms/restaurants to pubs, as far as my industry is concerned. And especially many guys in this line are 'opportunists'.

Left for home when I felt as if I’d had too much. My sweet honey waited for me at the basement car park where I alighted from TM’s car. He’s gone down to wait right after receiving my sms telling him I was heading back. Hit the bed immediately after changing & removing make-up. Good thing I felt fresh again when I woke up the next morning @ 6+.


A series of meet-ups in the list - with PY, Mel & gang, my jie-meis, the cousins, Wen ....... Not that easy for the moment as much time being allocated to mum. Will try to arrange nevertheless...

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Those Were My Wildest Days

Last week, got an sms from a friend (MG) whom we’ve lost touch for more than 2 years. And well… that got my hubby to be on his toes again…

Upon receiving his message, loads of memories flooded back… when Vince was still ‘actively pursuing’ me.... & that’s the time I was involved with The Bar. Just 1 year & it’s definitely the craziest time in my life especially, to think about it, I used to be such a good girl who’s never made my parents worried since young. My life went haywire for a while & I guess… that’s my very own reaction of getting over a terrible relationship.

MG’s a bartender in a pub in town & we’re introduced through a mutual friend, E. He asked for my hp no. the 1st day (or rather, nite) we met. E got to know & seemed surprised saying MG’s actually quite a shy guy. Besides dealing with E’s weird attitude (this minute he’d praise MG & teased me about the special treatment I received at the pub, the next he’d say something bad about MG & discouraged me to be on friendly term with him), I gotta admit I didn’t really mind the attention given.
MG’s pretty upfront in expressing himself by - creating a cocktail in my name, getting me some snacks in case I went empty-stomach with alcohol, sending some medicine to my office when he knew I was sick… & there’s once it got a lil too cold in the pub & when he knew it, he immediately gave me his jacket. Went out a few times… for dinner & ktv session… also for supper after he finished work & chatted over coffee till 5am! 1 thing I was very clear about… there’s no chemistry at all. Probably due to his age (he’s even younger than Vince!)… or more importantly… I’d always think about Vince when out with him. But I didn’t mind hanging out with MG as he’d been very well-behaved… never ever tried taking advantage of me physically or verbally.

As for E, he’s 1 of the regular supporters at The Bar who would be there for 1 or 2 bottles of wine every weekend. Apart from going to MG’s pub, I’d also go to other night spots with E & the guys when I wasn’t at The Bar. The advantages of being the only girl in the group – well taken care of & no need to pay a single cent (yaya.. cheapskate right?) & the disadvantages – no girl friend to giggle with & has to be alert all the time. They seemed trustworthy people but never be too sure.

And even during those nights at The Bar particularly weekends, E or other friends would have a drink or 2 at our place before proceeding on to other pubs nearby. They’d pull me over to join them at Eastside or Siam across the road or even nearer, next door’s Newsroom. Sometimes I’d get carried away & disappeared for half an hour to even an hour.. then came back to The Bar having to face a grumpy sis.

Atop of those, because of work I got to know this gentleman, GT, who runs a freight/shipping business. We hit it off & became friends… for a few months we’d meet up for a few drinks at a sports club with his biz partners. Meanwhile, he intentionally introduced me to 1 of his staff, Eric. Quite a nice chap but my honey doesn’t have a good expression of him because of an incident. Can’t blame my honey at all.. he’s all the reasons to get upset. There’re a few times I joined GT & the rest for a drinking session & then met up with Vince (my suitor then, ha!). I’d usually get ‘punished’ by Eric for leaving early & would have to down a few glasses before going… & by the time I met Vince, I’d look like a lobster who’d just climbed out from the Johnny Walker bottle… I was forever very late (1 hour & more) for our meeting which made Vince really worried. And whenever I saw Vince, I’d always feel so safe & at ease. That’s the feeling my honey gave me from the start.
And talk about GT… I really admire him. As a boss, he’s no airs & would go on a weekly drinking session with his staff. As we’re in related business, we ever attended a gala dinner together in KL which adjourned to some party time thereafter & he’s 1 who literally works hard & plays hard.

It’s around the same time I met TM as well. Initially we went out rather frequently, for dinner & drinks… 1 evening after confiding in each other, we discovered we’re in very similar situations & I guess it somehow strengthened our bond. He’s been a very dear friend, helping me out when I was in need. Will be celebrating his BD with him this evening, my understanding hubby’s given the green light!

It’s when Vince & I were kinda officially going out that I started to distant myself from all of them. Initially I’d still receive some smses from the guys & especially MG’s last stunt really made my honey remember him till now, & it’s funny. That night after Vince’s bike lesson, we went ktv @ 12am. While singing, I received several smses from MG who’s at a stag party. After a few messages, he asked to see me later on but I told him I wasn’t free. Then around 3am when we’re about to finish our singing session, he kept calling me saying he wanted to see me & that all his friends had already left as he wanted to wait for me. From his voice, we deduced he’d gotten himself very drunk… so we decided to drive to where he’s at just to make sure he’s alright. A few turns later we finally found him… & he’s so wasted! After some coaxing, we put him on a cab we hailed to send him home before we went ahead to have supper. You should really see the look on my honey’s face then… till now he still talks about it.

Only much later that my honey told me he’s actually very worried for me during that period of time but he couldn’t do much as we’re not together yet. It’s indeed quite scary come to think about it now & I’m thankful all the guy friends I hanged out with had behaved well. I thank God that I survived & came out as a better person, with a very loving husband & beautiful home to call our own…..

Monday, February 20, 2006

Izit good, or wat?

2 weeks ago, had our 1st swim after moving in for nearly 3 months… a great relaxation after all that’d happened. Last Fri after work, went shopping with my honey & it’s a fruitful trip – 1 skirt & 1 capris from Parco / 1 pair of shoes from PrettyFit / 1 skirt & 1 bikini from TopShop Orchard / 1 handbag from GG<5… all in ONE day!

In fact, the shopping bugs in me started to act up again since a week ago. The 1st in the list was a mascara which costs $24! In normal days, I’d think it’s too ex & most importantly I’ve already stocked up (like 5 pieces??) from my previous trips to Bangkok. Been using this particular Korean brand but bought in Bkk for more than 2 yrs. Intro to my cousin & friends who were initially very ambiguous about it, perhaps due to the price (only approx. S$9 ea)? But after using, they now swear by it… cousin’s friends are using it too, & everytime before I go I'll take order. So I really don’t know why I bought the mascara. Have already used it… though it’s equally good, the price’s not. My dear honey is ever so encouraging & tried to make me feel better by saying it’s good to find a back-up in case I stop traveling to Bangkok. Hmmm...
Then bought a pair of shoes that costs more than twice the budget I initially had in mind… And my honey also got me a dress I’ve been eyeing on for a month as V. gift (& poor honey, I've nothing for him tis year). He bought it on his way to meeting me after work & he said the sales assistants were amused to see a guy came alone to buy a dress.

On Sat, caught up with some tanning + swimming. Then accompanied hubby for a haircut & coloring. By the time he finished, we’re already starving. So last minute decided to go for a buffet dinner @ United Square instead of shopping (yep, again… guess I’m still hit by the bugs!!). So bloated after that.

Nothing much for yesterday. Had lunch & walked around @ Causeway Point… got myself another set of bikini, chic & cheap. My hubby is really spoiling me! Then back home watching cable tv with mum (we’ve specially subscribed for her) over peanuts while my honey snoozing away. In the evening, got busy with the dinner preps as all of them were back. Had a simple but hearty dinner, went downstairs for a walk & for the kids to run about… then back for desserts & more tv programs.

Table for 3

My hubby brought 2 ladies for a simple dinner on Valentine’s Day – his wife & his MIL.

Not a celebration, but like any other days, Vince & I would still have to take our dinner before heading home. And we’re worried mum would be all alone at home, dwelling in her sorrows on this particular occasion. So Vince was really sweet to suggest bringing her with us, just to dine in a restaurant near our place, to let her know that she still has us (& of coz 4 other children & 2 grand-daughters if she were to count). He asked me whether I would mind having this arrangement. I told him of course not... I should be the 1 asking him.

When we made reservation the day before, we saw the whole long list of tables reserved were for 2. Oyes there's 1 reservation for 3, with remark: 2 adults + 1 baby chair. So when hubby told the waitress to book a table for 3 pax, naturally she asked : "a baby chair?"

A very different dinner from the past years but definitely was a good one, with lots of casual talks thoughout the meal. We ended the night with yummy ice-cream & I think mum was somehow consoled.

This year... no card & no intention to celebrate.... but it's 1 of the best V. gift I got from my beloved hubby.

Taken earlier on


Spot the difference.

- Our sofa had changed into new clothes for the new year too. Ordered 2 new sets of covers when we bought the sofa. So our sofa has 3 sets of clothes to choose from. Well... like owners, like sofa...



1st day of cny, @ ah ma's place.


Mum's foto-taking skill has improved ya.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

2 WEEKS AGO

3 Feb 2006 night, daddy went back to the Lord, ended his stay here… did very well in his fight which had encouraged many many who visited him….

However, always feel that he’s still here with me. Seems just like yesterday that we’re having lunch together by his bed… he’s chatting with me… shooting the 2 naughty birdies that stole his food & medicine, etc…

He’s always been a very strong-willed man. Even 2 days before he’s gone, he could still speak with a loud voice, was active with his hands, highly alert with excellent eye-sight… none of the visitors & his fellow patient neighbours believed he’s nearing the end of his life.

2 Feb noon, as usual I rushed to the hospital during lunch to spend some time with daddy. The sight shocked me upon arrival… he’s already on oxygen mask & he looked so weak. Once he saw me, he tried his best to remove his mask & told me (1) to take good care of mum (2) to be happy. Those were his last words spoken to me, to us. That night he could no longer talk but he communicated with us through writing. Yes, he wrote 1½ pages of notepad, telling us he’s already very thankful & contented that God answered his prayers & gave him a few more days to be with us for CNY, & that it’s his blessings to go back to Him. Who would believe he could still write despite the heavy dosage of morphine given to him through a tube 24/7??
Around 11pm, we all left the hospital except my bro… had made the arrangement that me & hubby were to return & take over duty at 4am. But just after we’d reached home, we’re all asked to rush back to the hospital immediately as his BP dropped drastically. So all of us stayed by his bed the whole night including the 2 lil gals.

3 Feb 7.30am, hubby & I went straight to work with only half an hour’s sleep for the whole night. I was clad with a singlet & slacks, without brushing my teeth/washing my face. My honey was no better. Daddy could still nod his head when we told him we’re leaving for work.
3pm+, returned to the hospital. There’s completely no response from him already no matter how much we called him. Believing he could still hear us, I continued to speak to him.
7.30pm+, believe the Holy Spirit prompted me… somehow he seemed not right to me though I couldn’t tell what’s wrong. Only me & an aunt were there as Vince was getting dinner for us downstairs. I called the nurse to check on his condition & it’s then that we discovered he’d lost his pulse rate. My mum arrived shortly after & I rushed my siblings & their families to the hospital. That was the 3rd alarming recall in 2 days. In the midst, mum spoke to him & after, I noticed tears from his eyes. He really heard us…!
Thank God every1 in the family managed to be there with my sis being the last. It's only 60mins+ after discovering his condition…

Everything was a blur the following days. The focus then was to take extra care of our mum & to be united. The pain was compensated a lil by the sibling harmony & love we shared. I know daddy would be very happy as he had always valued family ties.

Thank God I’ve an extremely wonderful husband. Very glad to see that he’s so well accepted by every1… & in the family, besides the excellent co-operation when comes to serious tasks, the teasing-one-another part can really be hilarious. And for the 1st time, I heard my mum praised him in front of all the relatives that night.

Still very sad but trying to live like normal. The main reason is I know daddy would want us to do that. Just like he’d set the perfect example after knowing his own condition 1 yr ago & he’d always been so encouraging, so thoughtful till the day he left.

Daddy is so strong. As his children, we can’t let him down.
And like what I suggested to be put on his tablet - he’s ALWAYS DEARLY MISSED BY FAMILY.

Thursday, February 09, 2006