Simply Life

Baby J's 1st overseas trip!

2012-02-06T14:25:00.000+08:00

Baby J so happy to be on his 1st flight!

Hubby and baby J came along with me to Hong Kong on my business trip and we stayed over the weekend to meet up with friends. We took the early morning flight and had to grab baby J out of his cot and went on a taxi to the airport at 6am. He was still rather sleepy but he was such a good boy, no tantrums and no crying all the way to HK. I think he must have got used to the flying while in my tummy and thank God, the flight was relatively smooth despite us sitting at the back.

While I was at work, hubby had baby J all to himself and I guess he must have spent some good quality time with his baby. Then on Saturday while hubby was at his Beta Gamma Sigma Induction Ceremony at HKUST, baby J and I had a lunch date at the UC Bistro next to the hall. He was such a charming baby, the waitress couldn't stop playing with him and teasing him. Most of Ian's friends were also charmed by baby J and granduncle Leung was over the top happy to meet him too. Especially when he did the "kungxi kungxi" gesture and the "bye-bye" gesture. Over all despite not being able to shop much, it was a good trip with baby. I think we can do more trips with him again soon!

One thing new in HK was the "lo hei" aka Yusheng that the Maxim group of Chinese restaurants were promoting now. It's the first time that the Singapore tradition of eating Yusheng made its way into HK and we tried it of course! The salmon slices were thicker and more generous but the vegetables were cut a little too thick and they added some new vegetables not usually used in Singapore such as the purple cabbage.

Lo Hei in HK

Happy Dragon Year!

2012-01-26T15:14:00.001+08:00

Happy Dragon Year!

Chinese New Year arrived really early this year! Slightly less than 1 month after Christmas and exactly one week after my birthday. We have so much fun and joy celebrating all the festivities this year with baby J! He was the little Santa and now he is the little Chinese emperor in this traditional Chinese costume. :)

I have gone crazy and bought 5 cheongsam for this Chinese New Year and have worn 2 pieces of it so far. I think I look good, not great but good enough and I am happy with it. I have stopped hoping that I will go back to my old size and opt to buy new dresses in new sizes. I think I will not go for another round of cool sculpting...let's not waste money. With me and my hubby's love for good food, I doubt I can slim down any further even with cool sculpting. So WTH! Happy New Year!

2012 - How will it be?

2012-01-05T14:47:00.001+08:00

2012 got off on a rather good note for us, I think. Hubby will get his confirmation plus promotion this month and we are hoping that he will get a good package since he will be holding dual roles. My dream of retiring in 10~15 years may really come true sooner than I think? But what shall I do if I retire? I don't really know. Who knows what holds for us in the future anyway? I am happy for hubby and for what I have right now. Sometimes I get a little paranoid though...afraid that whatever I have now will be taken away from me...afraid that I can't be that lucky, afraid that I may use up my luck soon...Can luck be used up? It's crazy, I know...It's this fear that stopped me from buying that brand new BMW 520i and the Chanel handbag that I have been eyeing...Maybe I am just being rational, maybe it's just that I don't need another car yet and I definitely don't need a Chanel handbag. I am happy with a Prada.

Nevertheless, we will be looking for another car to replace our Mazda 3 soon as it is already coming to 8 years old this August. The 6th generation BMW 3 series will be launching in Singapore in February and we like the sport line version we saw on YouTube and if the price is right, we might get it? Another option for us is to get another pre-owned BMW, maybe a X5 or something, if the promotion coming this weekend is good. And that salesman from Audi has been contacting me since I tested the A6...we are spoilt on choices and the COE is coming down! Oh well...no hurry.

I will turn 41 this month and it's kind of scary...I remember I used to think that 40 something is old...Gosh! If I live to 80 years old which is approximately the average life span of women nowadays, I have already used up 50% of my time! I really have to plan well for the rest of my life and don't waste it anymore! Not that I have wasted my life so far, I think I have accomplished quite a lot considering that I already have 3 kids, 2 degrees and a well-paying job. The job part can improve though...I feel that I am rotting in my job...there is no challenge and nothing new to learn...I am not in top management and I don't get a chance to make any kind of decisions...Whatever I studied will only go to waste here in this job. *SIGH*

Hubby will be embarking into his career in his new roles, N will be attending Poly, D in Secondary 2 and baby J will turn 1. It will be an important year for all of them. Maybe I should just retreat into the background and play a supportive role to all of them instead. I don't need to embark on a new career, I don't need to be doing anything challenging, I am a wife and a mother, my hubby and my children should be the main focus of my life right now, not my job.

So for 2012, my resolution is to be a better wife and mother, to spend more time enjoying life with my family in various ways that we all enjoy.

Reflections

2011-12-29T17:00:00.002+08:00

2011 has been a rather fruitful year for me. Baby J is born, I attained MBA, bought a 3000cc BMW 125i coupe and hubby found a new job. On the other hand, my beloved Sai Baba passed away this year, so my wish of bringing my hubby and baby to see him in India will not be fulfilled. Nevertheless, HE will still be in my heart and life. I will continue to live my life following his teachings as much as I can.

While 2011 has been good for me, it has not been a very good year for many around the globe. The tsunami and radiation crisis in Japan, the earthquake in New Zealand, the floods in Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand...The company that I have been working in for the last 10 years has been badly affected too! The March tsunami destroyed one of our factories in Miyagi Prefecture and then the Thailand floods destroyed our factory in Navanakorn Industrial Park which is one of the most important oversea factories and threw our distribution and logistics into chaos. I was deployed to help evacuate all the stocks at our sales office's warehouse in Navanakorn right before the flood water entered the area and saved the company of approximately US$5,000,000 worth of stocks. The weeks after the evacuation of the stocks into Singapore were tough, my staff and I had to work really hard to stock them in as well as to deliver them to our customers. The efforts were all worth it though as I think our bonus for the year was unexpectedly good. We were, or rather I was expecting the company to pay only the minimum but it turned out good despite the losses the company made for the first time in its history in Singapore....So, 2011 ended really well for me.

Regrets...Hmm...let me see...that I could not lose all the pregnancy weight that I have gained in 2011? I am still weighing a hefty 61kg and my waist is 31 inches! But to be truly honest, I have not put in my best efforts really as I have not tried dieting which is too depressing for me. I have resorted to Cool Sculpting instead. I don't see any results yet as it has been just 2 weeks after the procedure...I should expect to see the effect in 1~2 months. By the way, although it was stated as a non-invasive and painless way to lose fats, it was rather painful for 1 week after the procedure! It was not exactly unbearable but it was definitely painful, not just discomfort! Anyway, I would rather bear with the pain than to diet...I may just do a 3~5 days of detoxifying diet though after Chinese New Year.

Baby J's first Christmas

2011-12-27T14:30:00.001+08:00

Merry Christmas!

This year we celebrated baby J's first Christmas as well as our first Christmas at home since coming back from Hong Kong. We had so many presents under our Christmas tree! Not all of them for baby J though as my sister-in-law's children also brought their presents to put under our Christmas tree. So fun! It's their very first Christmas tree too! And baby J was the start of the party with his Santa costume!

Hubby was happiest as his brother and wife who were rare guests also made it for the party! We had such a feast! Look at our dining table! We had salmon sashimi, sushi platter, honey baked ham, BBQ pork ribs, roasted chicken, German sausages, mashed potatoes, marbled baby potatoes, a Vietnamese salad and Lasagna made by BIL and also an assortment of complimenting salads. Not to forget, we had sparkling rose wine for the adults and sparkling juices for the kids. We also had an ice cream logcake for desert and some coconut rum!

Our dining table full of food!

I would love to make this an annual affair and my family tradition. Now, I need a bigger house with a bigger living room for a bigger Christmas tree!!

Sentosa Holidays

2011-12-21T16:30:00.001+08:00

It's the time of the year when I have absolutely no mood for work. My battery has literally depleted and I am just looking forward to staying at home, be with the family, lay around and have some good food. Well, we did just that last weekend, spending 3 days 2 nights at Sentosa. We stayed at the Amara Sanctuary and went to Universal Studio mainly. We would have done much more if not for the rain though, such as bringing baby J for his 1st swim and all...However, the rain didn't stop us from having some good food and riding on all the exciting rides.

The 1st day at Sentosa, we went walking around some parts of the island and played the Luge. It's our 3rd or 4th time playing the Luge? I think I'm done with the Luge for a long time...not as exciting as I remembered it before...On the 2nd day, we went to Universal Studio right after breakfast and rode the Transformers 1st. It was exciting, like we were really in the movie! Then the rain started pouring down...but it was a good thing as the queues for the rides at the Human and Cyclone disappeared. We went on the rides without having to queue at all! The Cyclone was a little too exciting for me...or was it the breakfast? I had to close my eyes a couple of times when it went upside down and twisting around...I almost threw up my breakfast! I'm really impressed! Just a couple of years ago, we had to go overseas for all these exciting rides and fun but now, we have all of them right here in Singapore! A weekend stay at Sentosa is as good as going overseas without the hassle of having to take the flight and all. Well, all the fun doesn't come cheap though. All in all, 3 days 2 nights for 6 adults and 1 baby cost me approximately S$2,500. How much will it cost to go to Bintan or Malaysia? Maybe our next option will be holidays in Malaysia?

Sunday walk at Botanic Garden

2011-11-28T16:44:00.001+08:00

Baby J and the dogs @ Botanical Gardens

We finally bought the dogs for a walk at Botanical Gardens on Sunday afternoon together with baby J. It was a sunny day but with so many trees and so much greenery around, the heat was bearable. The dogs walked all the way from the main entrance to the National Orchid Garden and further in to where Au Jardin by Les Amis is. Baby J was enjoying the walk and taking in the atmosphere too.

Coffee was not quite himself since Saturday, I think he might have had a piece of jerky stuck in his throat or something and he couldn't get it out. Then after a walk in the garden and a vomit later, he seemed much better. I think the walk helped him to clear up. Then in the evening after a shower, he was back to his normal self again! I think the dogs need more long walks like this!

Long Vacation Dream

2011-11-24T11:36:00.001+08:00

I am back in Hong Kong and I realize that I really miss Hong Kong's Autumn and Winter seasons. The weather is dry and cool, my hands and feet are not sweaty and I am in a good mood. If only Singapore can have some dry and cool season at some point of the year...it will then be the most perfect place to live in! But no, it has to be so humid and warm all year round!

It's a good season to be back here in HK, it's the season for hairy crabs and I had a feast of hairy crabs last night with W and his wife. They just came back from a 30+ days trip to the USA, travelled from the west coast to the east and even to Canada! How I wish I could do a trip like that! They showed me some of the photos they had taken and the scenery was amazing! Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, Napa Valley, Thousand Islands, New York, Ottawa, Miami's South Beach, the Key West, etc. They had some really delicious looking foods too! Envy! When will I ever have the chance to go for a long vacation like this? Dreaming...

I have never had a long vacation in my life so far. I have been so busy since Secondary School and my life has been so full of happenings, challenges, ups and downs. It's been an amazing journey but I am getting tired. Is age catching up with me? I need a vacation, a long vacation, to somewhere with lots of amazing scenery. I want to feel the awesomeness of the mother nature...Dream...

My philosophy

2011-11-18T13:21:00.000+08:00

Things are getting more or less back to normalcy at work. The mess created by "unplanningly" evacuating all the stocks from our Thailand warehouse to Singapore warehouse has been cleared and finally we can have more free time to start our cycle count from tomorrow. I am also going home at the normal hour of 5~6pm from this week and I am planning to start my exercise regime...maybe next week. I am still struggling to lose weight which is exceptionally difficult this time round due to my age, I guess. And having a hubby who is skinny by nature and loves to go for buffet dinner once every week is definitely not helping at all...Can't blame him actually...I love food too...*sigh*

I thought it's quite a pity that Demi Moore is splitting up with Ashton Kutcher...I sort of used her marriage (older woman with younger man) as a role model for my own when I remarried again to someone almost 10 years younger a year after her. She is like the ultimate example for all the cougars out there! And she is so damn good looking! But he still cheated on her with a much younger woman...so who said age doesn't matter?

To be honest, I had my reservations and I had my doubts initially. But after being happily married for 5 years and knowing that my hubby at this very moment still loves me and treasures me is good enough for me. Not that it won't hurt or it won't matter to me if later on my hubby cheat on me or something. I mean men are men, it's proven that they will be more easily succumbed to infidelity than women. So, if they will cheat, they will cheat, it doesn't matter if your hubby is younger than you or much older than you. My philosophy is: I would rather marry a younger man and have him cheat on me than to marry an old man and have him cheat on me too. Get it? It will hurt anyway, so why not do without the additional unjustified feeling of having the much older husband cheat on you, right? At least this is how I see it.

Another thing, I can take it much better if my hubby cheat on me with someone entirely new than to cheat on me with his ex-girlfriend or someone he knows as a friend all along. Explanation: If my husband cheats on me with someone entirely new, at least I know that the time before he met this someone new, he was loving me truly and solely. I will treasure those memories and may or may not leave him, depending if the cheat was just a fling or not and if he is repentful and wants me back or something...But if he cheats on me with someone he knows all along or his ex-girlfriend, then how can I trust that the time when he was with me, he wasn't thinking of her and loving her? So, those times when he was with me will not be worth remembering at all! And I will not forgive him...totally out of the question.

That is why, I am so fed up with N who likes this boy knowing that he is still not over his ex. This is plain stupid. But I guess every young, naive girl will have to go through this at least once in her life, get hurt, cry it out and then learn from it. But she doesn't know that as a mother, I get hurt as well when my daughter gets hurt...*sigh*

Success Redefined

2011-11-08T14:07:00.000+08:00

I am preparing for the Japanese Language Proficiency N1 Level Exams by doing some mock exams questions daily with whatever little time I can squeeze out at work. Some of my staff were asking me why do I need to take this exam since I am already fluent in Japanese. I know I don't have to, but it will be good to have a the highest certification there is for a foreigner to attain. Technically, I already passed the JLPT 1 exams some 17 years ago but I didn't collect the cert. I was too busy running my own business and I didn't think that I will need the paper. Not that I need it now but I am just curious to find out how well will I do for the exams. It's not easy.

Traditionally, a successful woman is defined by the man she marries and the family she helps to raise. Now, there are 2 routes to success for women; the traditional one of marrying a successful man and becoming a tai-tai and the modern route of becoming a successful career/business woman on her own. I am the modern woman. My success is defined by the pay package I bring home at the end of the month and the title printed on my business card. However, I start to have a different view about my suceess lately. After giving birth to baby J and now that my 2 older children are 16 and 13, I am beginning to feel really proud of myself as a mother. D is in a good school and a good uniform group that brings him for volunteer work in Singapore as well as overseas. N has been admitted to Mass Communications in Ngee Ann Polytechnic and baby J is developing skills ahead of his age. Every little achievements that my children make are my achievements as well and I will be so proud.

Work-Life Balance

2011-11-02T10:52:00.000+08:00

As I have mentioned in my previous post, we are constantly amazed by the outstanding physical developments of baby J. At 7 months, he's already starting to walk with a push walker, climbing up on sofas and also crawling very well on all surfaces. He's such a delight to watch and definitely brings a lot of joy to our family.

We have just celebrated mum's 69th birthday with a karaoke session at K Box in Kallang Leisurepark. She looked like she had enjoyed herself with all of us and her closest brother and niece around. Everybody sang along to some very retro songs and had lots of laughs when someone couldn't hit the high notes very well. It's a pity D doesn't sing but he enjoyed the buffet dinner, feasting on salmon sashimi until he got sick.

On work, I have been made really busy with the floods in Thailand destroying the company's factory and logistics hub in Navanakorn Industrial District. Just 2 weeks ago when I went there to help evacuate the warehouse, everything looked fine but we are in filthy waters of up to 2 metres since 19th Oct and the waters have not receded at all. All of the Thailand's warehouse stocks have been moved to Singapore and technically, we are operating 2 warehouses within our premise in Singapore. Space and manpower are 2 of the main constrains that we are having and not to mention the "ingenious" support we are getting from HQ...I am still struggling to get things organized 2 weeks in and I hope that by next week, everything can become smooth.

Hubby is is frustrated with his work just 1 month into his new job. Not so much the work actually but the people that are playing some political tricks that are making him really sick. He is on the verge of quitting...and getting really depressed. I am worried for his mental and physical health...he needs to be able to vent out his frustrations somewhere...maybe bowling will help? Or feasting? It will be N's sweet 16 birthday next week and we have another good reason to go feasting again!

Pleasantly surprised

2011-10-07T15:38:00.000+08:00

I was pleasantly surprised by a SMS from my daughter today. She told me that she got back her prelims results and apparently she scored 14 points, 1 point better than what she had promised and we would have to get her that white iPhone 4 that she has been eyeing on. I really don't mind getting her the iPhone. She has surpasssed my expectations when she passed the interview for Direct Poly Admission and tentatively secured a place with Ngee Ann Polytechnic for a Diploma course on Mass Communications. I just hope that she will get at least a B3 for her English O levels exams which is the criteria for a confirmed admission. And then I hope that she will continue to surprise me by getting admitted to NUS later on after she graduates from Ngee Ann Poly. I will be a very proud mum. :)

Baby J playing with balls

I bought some DVDs for baby J to watch during the day when hubby and I are both at work. They are educational DVDs that suppose to help train babes' right and left brains. I have yet to view those DVDs myself but I believe that babies can be trained from a very young age and the right kind of brain stimulations will do wonders for their developments. I am kind of regretting that I have not spent much time and efforts on N and D when they were younger. Thank God they both turned out fine. Not that I will be joining the "kiasu" mama club but I think we should spend a little more efforts on baby J, especially when he's already quite a smart baby to start with. We are amazed by his physical developments everyday!

Working on my body

2011-10-05T16:48:00.000+08:00

Spa & Wellness Package at The Sentosa

I have just booked a spa package at The Sentosa this weekend with hubby. It's his 31st birthday and we are long overdue for a romantic getaway. The plan we had was for me to have baby J in March, use 12 weeks of my maternity leave for breast-feeding, bonding and taking care of baby, then use the rest of the 4 weeks for going on a trip and doing some reconstructive works on my body or something. In the end, I enjoyed breast-feeding baby J so much that I persisted on for 6 months even though I had to go back to work and even go on business trips. I cried when I finally stopped...it was almost impossible to keep the milk flowing with my work schedule and I was also loosing too much hair.

The hair fall is more or less controlled now that I have stopped breast-feeding for about a month but I am still overweight and having this huge post-pregnancy pooch. I need to do some reconstructive works on my body, especially on my tummy. Working out at Contour Express has not helped much mainly because I am not dieting and the fats on my tummy are too stubborn. But I have found this Cool Sculpting technology that may help me loose the fats fast! There are about 18 centers in Singapore that are providing this service and I am comtemplating which one to go to...Actually, other than my tummy, I would also like to get rid of my eyebags and maybe also enhance my breasts...I know, the list will never end...*sigh*

Exciting October!

2011-10-04T10:30:00.000+08:00

October is going to be an exciting month for us. Hubby will be 31 and is embarking on his new job. I will finally be graduating with a MBA and fulfilling my longtime ambition. Mum will be 69 end of the month and N will be having her O levels examinations end month too! D is having his final term exams and baby J is learning to crawl with tummy off the ground and getting back into sitting position on his own. He's growing so fast! I miss him as a little baby!

Things are finally falling into places since relocating back to Singapore. My career is not really moving towards the direction that have been communicated to me though and I am getting impatient. I have been thinking if I should look for another job, one that will allow me to utilize the knowledge and skills acquired from my MBA course...One that will allow me to work with people of higher calibre instead some opinionated idiots whose only strong point is having been with the company since its incorporation.

There is another event that I am looking forward to this October and that is a fun bowl event organized by the Taiwan warehouse that I will be visiting next week. I am looking forward to bowling with all the staff there and building up better rapport with them. It will be my 1st time bowling without my personal coach! LOL

Counting my Blessings

2011-10-03T11:27:00.001+08:00

Hubby has found a job at last and he is starting work from today. I am really relieved. I wasn't worried so much about the money but more for his emotional health as he was getting really depressed not receiving any replies from the many applications that he sent out. For several weeks, he was not even contacted for any interviews and then one fine day, he received 2 calls from 2 separate headhunters and he went for 2 job interviews in a week. Then both the jobs came back positive. Hubby chose the job that will presumably require less working hours and less time away from family. But of course the pay package is lower, we don't know exactly how much lower though. The other company is a Japanese company and will probably require him to put in much longer hours and also travel. Until last night we were still discussing if he had made the right choice....

How do we mortals know if we have made the right choice at each juncture of our lives anyway? Most of the time, we can only depend on that much information we have on hand and then just go with our guts. I am excited for hubby. The CIO whom he will be reporting to seems to like him a lot and I hope that he will have better prospects here than with the other company which is Japanese and knowing Japanese, they will never entrust senior management posts to non-Japanese. And not to mention the number of working hours that the Japanese expect you to put in!! Anyway, we don't know for sure if this job that he has chosen is the right choice, we are just assuming and hoping that we are right. And we will never know, we will probably just look back a couple of years later of things don't move as we have hoped and then wonder to ourselves "what if...?" I have learnt not to look back but just move forward. What done cannot be undone, no point whining in self-pity. I have made many mistakes in my life and with my life, and I have had my share of miseries and hardships. But whatever I have been through is not even a fraction of what worse situations that many other people are facing. As you grow older and see more happenings around, you will learn to appreciate whatever you have and count your blessings.

I am counting my blessings and I am grateful for everything that I have and for everyday that I am alive. Nevertheless, I will continue to work hard and strive for a better life for myself and my family. It would be wonderful if all of us can move into a bigger house with enough rooms for everyone and also ample running space for the dogs. It would be wonderful if we can have the extra cash for one family trip and one romantic trip for hubby and I every year. That's the lifestyle I am working towards. Gambette!

Baby J is 200 days old!

2011-09-23T16:53:00.001+08:00

I have weaned baby J off breast milk for more than 4 days now but I still miss the wonderful feeling of having him suckle at my breasts. So last night I tried to breast feed him again and he was very eager to latch on, smiling and kicking excitedly. My hearted melted and I was overwhelmed with love for that couple of minutes. If I had more milk, he would have suckled much longer but unfortunately, I couldn't get my milk flowing as before. I read somewhere that if I persisted and continue to let him suckle or take some supplements, I would probably be able to breast feed him again even though I have stopped for a week or more. But I have to start travelling overseas on business trips more frequently again and it would be really hard for me, especially when my breasts get painfully engorged. Baby J doesn't seem to mind taking formula milk anyway and he has started taking solids as well. He is enjoying all sorts of food being fed to him and he is growing up very fast.

Baby J has just passed his 200 days old mark mid-week and he is sitting up rather steadily by himself and also started crawling. He can flip and turn very fast when lying down and we really have to keep a close eye on him, especially when he is on the bed, sofa or the changing table. He is also giggling a lot and making everyone at home so happy, especially the old folks.

The overwhelming maternal love I have for baby J surprised even myself and I have to be careful not to show too much of it in front of my older children. N is still alright, but I think D is rather jealous of baby J. Perhaps it's because they are both boys and D is still young? Or perhaps he is just feeling insecure as baby J is his step-father's baby. I am not sure if he is doing it on purpose or he is just plain not interested in arts but I received a call from his art teacher yesterday complaining that he is very late in submitting 2 art projects. Hubby went to help him do his project and he seemed rather happy that we were there even though I was scolding him and criticising his CA results. I think we should have a good family time this weekend.

Random thoughts

2011-09-14T15:12:00.000+08:00

The haze is back and I am having running nose and watery eyes again...or have I caught a cold? I really can't tell the difference but I am feeling terrible...Baby J is still waking up in the middle of the night (around 2am~3am) for feeds and I don't have enough breast milk to fill him up, so hubby has to wake up to make formula milk for him. After that baby J usually sleeps until 8am or 9am before fully waking up to begin his day. By that time, I will be at work but grandpa and grandma will be home attending to him and doting on him. Relocating back to Singapore for baby J is a good decision, no doubt about it. I just need to take control of my desires and ego. Be humble, be contented.

Sometimes, I wonder to myself if coming back to Singapore and staying with our extended family members is a good idea. I wonder how will it be like when it's just hubby, me and baby J. My friend V who is living in Germany with her hubby and 2 kids were telling me that she cannot imagine relocating back to Singapore where they will not be able to afford a big house like the one they are living in and the lifestyle that they are enjoying in Germany. I cannot imagine. Houses in Singapore are getting too expensive...We would have to sell off both our private apartments in exchange for 1 house and still have to deal with the fact that we will be staying further away from the city. But then again, how big is Singapore anyway? How far is far? I bet my friend V and her family have to deal with travelling further distances on a daily basis. And then, we have to convince my MIL to move, which is the most difficult task as she thinks that the apartment that we are living in has the best feng shui and all...Unlike most couples, we do not have the final say as to whether we move or not...Anyway, getting a house is not top priority for us at the moment, hubby getting a job to keep him occupied and sane is...So I am praying hard that he will get an offer soon.

House-viewing and wedding dinner

2011-09-12T16:57:00.000+08:00

We went house-viewing over the weekend and we particularly liked one of the inter-terraces with 6 bedrooms which fit our needs and wants. The price is reasonable at this point of time too. The only problem is getting my MIL to agree to move there...Unlike most couples, hubby and I do not have the final say in whether we move house or not, we need to obtain agreements from our parents who are staying with us. The kids will just follow us but the old folks will have plenty of opinions. It's good to have dreams though.

I miss the days in HK when it was only just the 2 of us and the dogs. I miss the work environment in HK and I think it will be much easier for hubby to get a well-paying job in HK than here. But I have baby J now and it will be tough for us if we are still in HK...but then again, we will be able to bring him up entirely on our terms. There is really no best situation, is there? I guess we'll just need to balance off with occasional escapades to somewhere quiet and relaxing. A spa retreat at Bintan or Sentosa will be good enough for me.

And we went to hubby's cousin's wedding dinner on Saturday. It was the same old wedding dinner as the ones I have been to since I was a little girl and I really wonder why can't there be anything new? Oh well, it was nice to see MIL and ah pa so happy showing off baby J to relatives. And I notice that MIL takes every opportunity to take a family photo together, especially when big brother-in-law and his wife are around. Maybe we should all go to take a family portrait at some studio someday.

I need a bigger house

2011-09-07T08:46:00.002+08:00

It's September already! And baby J is 6 months old! He's getting chubbier, cheekier and cuter by the day and I am really enjoying myself seeing him grow each day. And I would really love to be home with him more so that I can do all sorts of activities with him...

The aircon in our bedroom is spoilt, it is dripping water and it's too near to the bed...The aircon guy can't come to fix it until next Tuesday, which means we will have to either do without aircon or we'll have to put a pail underneath it to catch the water...Hubby has been having trouble sleeping since coming back and the aircon on his side of the bed dripping water and splashing onto him when turned on made it worse.

I think the problem is our bedroom. It is too small! Well, comparing to our bedroom back in Hong Kong, perhaps the present room is bigger, but we didn't have so many other people in our apartment as compared to now! It was basically just the 2 of us and our dogs. So, although our apartment was much smaller, we had much more space than we are having here. The math is simple, when we had just 600 sq.ft nett of space, there were only the 2 of us and 2 poodles. Now we have 1900 sq. ft. split into 2 units and we have 8 people (including baby J) and 2 poodles in our big family...Each of us has less tha 300 sq.ft. of space! We are not living better now, we are worse off and we need to make it better for us sooner...

Watched Sex and the City 2 (movie) on HBO last night and it made me want to have a walk-in wardrobe like Carrie's all over again. It would be a dream come true and it would be heaven! And yes, it's a "want" and not a "need". The point is, do I really need a big house with garden and all? For myself only? No. But for the whole family? Yes. Especially for the dogs, I need a space for them to run around in and yet won't disturb my MIL. I would love to have more space for baby J to play in, I would love to have dinner out in the garden when the evenings are cooler. Perhaps have a BBQ party once in awhile too? I would love that kind of lifestyle...Who wouldn't?

HK in 3 days 2 nights

2011-08-16T11:40:00.001+08:00

I was back in HK for a 3-day business trip which turned out to be more of a shopping and feasting trip for me. Having been away for more than 6 months due to pregnancy and maternity leave, most of my "supplies" have run out and I need to replenish them. With the extremely low HKD and summer sale, it was extremely difficult to resist shopping and feasting!

On the first day, we had sushi at Sen Ryo, one of the finest conveyor-belt sushi in HK. 4 of us stuffed ourselves crazy on uni, botan ebi, negi-toro, amaebi & kani miso, salmon, scallops, etc. and the total bill came out to be just HK$900+ which was like less than S$150! Then I went shopping for my skincare supplies at Laneige, bought a new fragrance from Benefit and then went to meet Wing and his wife for desserts.

On day 2, my IT team and I had a lunch meeting with one of my supplier and he booked a Michelin ranked restaurant at Harbour City! It was a semi-buffet featuring "east meet west" cuisine and it was sumptuous! More shopping after work where I bought 2 pairs of shoes, coffee capsules for my coffee machine, supplements and tonic soup packs for mum. Then at night, I had another dinner date with several ex-colleagues who filled me in on some gossips.

Met up with "old man" on day 3 for lunch and showed him photos of baby J. He was all smiles when he looked at baby J's photos on the iPad and I wanted to give him a hug. He's more like a father to me than my real father who doesn't seem to be keen on meeting up with me at all...I have been worrying for the past couple of years that I may not be informed when something happens to "old man". He is afterall 70+ now...I guess he was thinking the same as he said that he regretted for not introducing his 2 children to us when we were still living in HK. I told him to arrange a meeting another time and I hope that by the end of this year, we will get to be properly introduced...

4 weeks on...

2011-07-21T09:46:00.007+08:00

4th week back at work and I am more or less getting used to the routine, although waking up in the morning is still a struggle...I am still breast-feeding and baby J wakes up several times at night...Hubby has resorted to sleeping on the floor so that baby J and I can have the whole bed to ourselves. I feel kind of bad...since baby J's arrival, I am so overwhelmed by the motherly love that I am experiencing, I think I am neglecting my hubby. Initially, I had planned to just breast-feed for 3 months then go for a romantic holiday with hubby and get back in shape as soon as possible and quickly go back to my "normal" life. However, baby J is 4 months 3 weeks old now and I am still terribly stuck on him! Other than signing up with Contour Express for workouts in attempt to loose weight, I have not done any of those things that I have planned!

Post-pregnancy and post-confinement, I am still weighing at a massive 62.5kg and the worst thing is I am loosing a lot of hair! It's worrying to see so much hair fall out every time I shampoo and the top of my head getting quite scanty...Why must women suffer such consequences for bringing a precious life into this world? I think it is unfair! If only women can become healthier, slimmer and prettier in terms of better skin and more luscious hair for having babies!

Evaluation and Promotion

2011-07-07T08:36:00.012+08:00

Had a meeting in the morning with the Admin Director regarding the evaluation of my staff for the annual increment and promotion exercise. She mentioned that I have not evaluated my staff according to the company's guideline and told me to re-evaluate them.

According to the guideline, I can only evaluate 5% A, 25% B+, 55% B, 10% B-and 5% C out of the 27 staff that I have. So that is to say, I can only have 1 grade A staff, 7 grade B+ staff, 15 grade B staff, 3 grade B- staff and 1 grade C staff! I asked what is this guideline based on and she said it's the company's policy and I will need to pick and choose among my staff the ones that really deserve A and B+ gradings...But what if I really 40% of my staff are above average and should be graded B+ according to performance? What if I really do not have any grade C worker? I think this guideline is really stupid. And apparently, double promotion is not recommended and neither should a staff be promoted yearly. A staff have to wait at least 2 years before his/her next promotion! How do we as department heads motivate our staff to perform? Most of the long-service staff knows about this policy and since the company do not terminate staff as well, most of the staff are just going through the motion at work. As long as they come to work on time and don't mess up their duties, they can be sure that they will be given the company's average yearly increment until the day they retire.

I have worked in this company for more than 9 years now but lucky for me, my promotions were not decided by this Admin Director. I have a boss whom I report directly in HQ and I made it to AGM in 3 years...but then again, I got this promotion because I was offered a job at another company and I resigned! So they retained me, seconded me to HK, made me the AGM of IT and Logsitics and of course doubled my salary. I did well in HK and if not for baby J and other family commitments, I don't think I would come back. I think hubby is thinking the same, especially now that he's lack of luck in his job search...

Back at work...

2011-07-05T17:05:00.002+08:00

My 16 weeks of maternity leave have officially come to an end and I am back at work from last week. I am not unhappy about going back to work but I miss my baby...being with him 24/7 for the past 16 weeks and breast-feeding have made me a sucker for my baby. How I wish that I can stay home longer with my baby! Before baby J arrived, I was telling myself that I would only spend 3 months fully attending to him and then take the last 2~3 weeks to go for a holiday to rejuvenate myself and that I would wean him off after 3 months...However, I am still breast-feeding up till today and I even try to sneak home during lunch time to feed him!

Back at work, the first task that is presented to me is staff appraisal as well as appraising myself. I have to think of what I have achieved in the past year and give my boss reasons to appraise me better and perhaps promote me? I have afterall held this AGM title for the past 6 years with no GM above me...so I guess it's high time they change my title to GM? To be honest, title is not that important unless I am looking for another job and having the GM title in my CV will probably boost my next salary. Will I start looking for another job? Hmmm...I don't think so...unless I want to look for more challenge and more work that will need me to apply what I have learnt in my MBA course to my work. In this present company, I don't really have a chance to do apply what I have studied and my boss doesn't really care if I have MBA or not...which is kind of sad...

Hubby has started seriously looking for a job about a month or more ago and has yet to receive any offers which is quite demoralizing for him. Initially he had wanted to take a half year break, keep me company during my maternity leave, spend time with baby, watch him grow...Then now that I am back at work and he is still not employed sort of hurt his ego and he is beginning to doubt his decisions...thinking that he should have gone for a MBA instead of a MSc in IT Management. I understand his frustrations but am helpless as to how I can help. I can only try to encourage him and cheer him up. I believe that there are timings for everything and maybe it's just not the right time yet. The right job, the right package will come by eventually...Then his life will be perfect. It is now just 1 step away from perfect although it is a big step...

Baby J is 11 weeks old

2011-05-26T15:18:00.003+08:00

My baby is 11 weeks old now and we are more or less settled into a daily routine where we will both start the day at 11am with me giving him a bath and then put him at his swing by the window while I grab myself a cup of coffee and some breakfast of mainly bread with pork floss or nutella. I will also read the papers briefly and also check my emails on my iPhone while I eat. By this time, baby J will already be making noise for attention and grandpa will entertain him while I finish up my breakfast, do the laundry, feed the dogs their vitamins, go to toilet, clean myself up and put on some makeup, etc...By 12:30pm, baby J and I will head up to grandma's place. At grandma's, I will have a light lunch of mainly bee hoon soup and some fruits while grandma plays with baby. Then it will be time for feeding and putting baby down for his afternoon nap...Then I will be free to do whatever, which is nothing much as I probably have only an hour...the rest of the afternoon is spent playing with baby J and attending to his needs.

This is the 11th week of my maternity leave and I really have not done much. Other than taking care of baby J, I am trying to watch my daily calories intake and exercise a little to help myself loose weight faster, I still have about 8 to 10 kgs more to loose before I consider myself back in my desired shape. I doubt I can loose all of that weight in the next 5 weeks when I am due to go back to work though...I am also worried about loosing hair as baby J approaches 3 months old which is common...

Will be going out with the girls and watching Wakin's concert at the indoor stadium this Saturday. It's a much looked forward break away from baby J for me and hopefully he will not make too much of a fuss for his grandpa and daddy...

Love is His Form

2011-05-02T14:21:00.008+08:00

Went to the memorial service for Bhagawan Sri Sathay Sai Baba at the convention center of Singapore Polytechnic on May Day and paid my last respects to my beloved Baba. He has blessed and given me so much these past 12 years since I met Him that I really could not hold back my tears at the service. I know that He is omnipresent and although He has left His human form, He is still lives in our hearts and we should continue to live our lives as He has taught us. I don't really know why I always cry when I see Him, whether in person or in photo, I will always cry...I cry even thinking of Him...I remember when I first see Him in India, I just broke down and cry! And when I got the chance to actually meet Him in an interview, I cried even more! He told me that I have a monkey mind, very unstable, sometimes high and sometimes low, and He shook his head...then He said He will bless me...and He said "very happy"! I knelt down and kissed his feet, I wanted Him to forgive all my sins, that was what the other devotees were telling me...that if I have a chance to kiss His feet, that means I will be forgiven. So, I guess I have been forgiven...

The service was more of a tribute to Baba, they showed a documentary video of Baba's works which was really inspiring. It inspired hubby and he said that he would like to do some volunteer works. He is checking out what he can do. As for myself, I am trying to live my life with love everyday as what Baba has taught me. To try my best at everything I do, to do service to my family, to love my husband, to love my mother, to love my children, to speak softly and use gentle words, to never hurt anyone with my words or actions, etc. I have many responsibilities at hand and much discipline to practice. I need to make myself a better person in whatever capacity I am in, to be a better wife, a better daughter, a better mother, a better daughter-in-law, a better staff to my boss, a better boss to my subordinates, a better citizen to my country, a better friend to my friend, etc. I have so many roles to play and I need to play all of them better!

The Passions in My Life

2011-04-28T16:03:00.001+08:00

It's mostly me and baby J this week at home as hubby is out attending a 4-day bowling coach seminar. Bowling is one of his biggest passion in life and he has always wanted to be eligible to teach kids bowling as a sideline. So, this is his first step towards his dream and I am happy that he is able to do something that he likes.

As for myself, I don't have any real passion in my life...I just try to be the best at whatever I happen to be doing at each point of my life. When I was in Primary School, I swam competitively and trained really hard to become the best in my school and 3rd nationally for the 50-metre freestyle event. Then in Secondary School, I achieved the highest rank there was to achieve in the National Police Cadet Corps (an uniformed youth organisation) and also attained all the various badges by my senior year. In Junior College, school became secondary as I became terribly busy with other things in my life. I started dating, so my boyfriend was the center of my life then. And I started working part-time and modelling. I was then obsessed in making money for buying myself branded stuffs and also enjoying the finer things in life such as dining at Japanese restaurants and wine-tasting. I was also very passionate about all things Japanese as I was learning the language. By the time I was in University, I was quite good at speaking the language, so I worked as a part-time tour guide to Japanese tourists in Singapore. After graduating, I attained license to guide professionally and also started my own agency.

My life became more complicated in adulthood. Made big money, lost most of it, fell inlove with the wrong man, got married, had 2 children, bought property at the wrong time...When my business went bust after 4 years, I started to work as an office worker mainly in Japanese companies. Thanks to my fluency in the Japanese language, I was able to climb the corporate ladder pretty fast in my present company. I have a stable income although it is not the kind of job I really like to do. I have a big family now. My husband, his mum and his uncle stays with me. My mum and my two children stay just 2 floors above. And I have a new born son who is at present my biggest passion.

6 weeks on...

2011-04-24T00:34:00.005+08:00

Baby J is into his 7th week from today and everything is going well. He has given us his gorgeous smiles, coos, makes good eye contacts and also sleeping through slightly longer (3~4 hours). He is also getting more attached to me as the days go by which is worrying to me as I need to go back to work in 9 weeks. I just hope that he will grow out of this phase soon...physically, baby J has grown quite a bit. From being 3.6kg at birth and 53 cm in length, he is now 5.2kg now and measuring almost 60cm!

As for myself, I have lost 11kg so far but I still need to lose another 9kg at least to be able to get into my old clothes. Will I be able to lose 1kg per week from now? I doubt so.... I will need to seriously exercise and go on a strict diet for that but I am stuck with baby most of the time...I need to plan a schedule...I cannot afford to procrastinate any longer!

Breast-feeding and blogging

2011-04-01T00:08:00.000+08:00

Baby J is going to be 4 weeks old soon and I am also into the 4th week of my maternity leave. I have not been away from work for so long since D's birth which was like 13 years ago and I feel like a 黄脸婆 as well as a tethered cow...baby J is feeding so frequently that I have decided that maybe he is not having enough from me, so I have started to supplement him with formula milk once or twice a day. The idea is to have him well-fed so that he can sleep for at least 2 to 3 hours before waking up for feeding. Sadly, I can't really say that it's working as he still cries for my breasts after he finishes the bottle...

Back to the topic of being away from work, I am feeling kind of lethargic actually...12 more weeks to go and I wonder if I will still be keen to go back to work by then! To be honest, I don't think that I am much needed at work...baby J needs me more than my work but I need the income...that's the cruel reality of life. When I go back to work, baby J will be taken care by the 2 old folks that stay with us and maybe occasionally by my mum who stays upstairs and also sis-in-law who stays a stone throw away. I am glad I have lots of help but I will still miss baby J when I go back to work...I have grown attached to him as much as he has grown attached to me...that's the problem with breast-feeding! By the way, I am breast-feeding now while I blog and that's one more level up on my multitasking skill. I was also playing "minna no golf 5" on the PS3 yesterday while breast-feeding!

Baby J has arrived!

2011-03-15T23:04:00.005+08:00

To be honest, I had totally forgotten how painful labour and delivery was until I went through it again with baby J. It all started on the morning of 6th March, at around 6:45am, I woke up with some mild contractions, much like menstrual cramps. Thinking that it might be just Braxton Hicks, I got up to drink some water and went to pee. The pain went away after my pee, so I went back to sleep. But every 10 to 20 minutes, the cramps came back repeatedly. I tolerated with the pain until 9am before waking hubby up to go to the hospital. By that time, the whole house was awake and after some light breakfast, hubby and I drove off to hospital. We reached the hospital at 11am and the cramps was getting more intense.

11:30am, I was all settled in the delivery ward, bowels cleared, strapped up, having a milo and waiting for my gynecologist to arrive. The midwife checked me and announced that I was already 4cm dilated and asked if I wanted epidural. The pain was still very much bearable then and I could not imagine how much worse it would get, so I decided not having epidural. 10 minutes later, the midwife told me that my gynecologist wanted to put me on the drip to expedite the process and I was like "WHAT?!" I had actually wanted it to come naturally but it was not up to me anymore, was it?

Dr. Heng arrived at 12 noon, broke my water bag and announced that I was 6cm dilated. Then she jovially told hubby that I would have the baby in half an hour! The pain became excruciating after the water broke, I was totally out of control and I regretted not having epidural then. They offered me laughing gas but I remembered that it only made me feel nausea, so I rejected it. After another 2 rounds of intense contractions, they told me to try pushing. I tried, but I just couldn't get it right, the pain was just too overwhelming. I asked for pain relief but it was too late, baby was already coming out, I just need to push...which I had no strength for and so Dr Heng helped me with the vacuum.

12:39pm, baby J came out and I was so relieved to see him so perfect. The pain didn't subside like I remembered that it would... I was still having contractions, then Dr Heng pulled out my placenta. She also tried to help me expelled more blood clots by pressing my tummy with her hands and then she stitched me up. I could feel all these pains so clearly this time which I didn't feel before. In a way I was glad, I truly had it all natural this last time. It was a memory and experience that belonged to me alone.

The nurses and Dr Heng were claiming that baby J was strong and big. He weighed 3.58kg and was crying so loudly and kicking so strongly when being cleaned up by the nurse. J is our miracle baby, a miracle made possible with IVF and lots of blessings from God. When I tried to breast-feed J for the very first time, I was totally consumed by love. I lost all senses of pain. I was in bliss!

Then the pains of being a new mother all over again dawned on me 3 days later. My breasts were painfully engorged, my milk ducts were blocked and my nipples were sore. I couldn't express the milk, it was just too painful. I could only bear with the soreness of my nipples and continued to feed baby J. I fed him throughout the night, once every hour and resting only about half an hour between each feed. In the morning I felt better.

On the 4th day, we went back to the hospital to check baby J's blood for jaundice and got bad news an hour later from the pediatrician. J's jaundice level was borderline high, he could either get admitted to the hospital or we could do home phototherapy by renting the bed. We wouldn't bear to part with J of course, so we chose to do the phototherapy at home. The bed must be quite uncomfortable, we couldn't get J to sleep in the bed for a minute without him crying! We could only let him cry until he slept and even though, J slept in the bed for at most 5 hours in total for the 3 days that we rented the bed home. The 2nd blood test showed the same results, J's jaundice level didn't go down... Again the pediatrician ordered us to do phototherapy and so we rented the photo-light unit this time. It's a overhead light unit, so we could put J under it anyway convenient for us. I had to resort to going under the light with him! We were sure this time he had spent more time under the light and at the same time, I could feel that he was getting more milk from me. He pooped a whole lot more too! The third blood test showed good results, the jaundice level went down, we could stop phototherapy and no need to do further blood test. Thank God!

Baby J is going to be 2 weeks old now and I am also getting used to breast feeding him. That's my job for now.

Beginning of 39 weeks and still waiting...

2011-03-05T14:51:00.001+08:00

Strike out 3rd March and also 4th March...Baby J is still not coming out yet. I have been having some mild contractions for the whole past week but it's just not happening yet. I am asking my friends to guess the birth date of baby J between 3rd ~ 8th March and the favorite dates chosen for him so far have been the 5th and the 8th. I personally would like to have him on the 5th but 8th seems more auspicious according to the Chinese calendars, so I really don't know. Whichever the date may be, I want him to come out healthy and strong.

I am feeling kind of stressed out and paranoid now, always conscious of baby J's movements...if he doesn't move as much as before, I am worried that he might be stressed inside...I have carried him so far, I really don't want anything to go wrong now! Hubby is kind of nervous too...he told me that he's worried about baby J having physical defects...our minds are playing tricks with us. Pray, pray, pray...have faith in God. He has blessed us with this baby and He will make him perfect. We just gotta have faith and wait for the time to arrive. I am really looking forward to holding baby J in my arms, nursing him and rocking him to sleep. I am getting overwhelmed with motherly love for my baby J. :)

I just found out that I will not be paid my full salary during my 16 weeks maternity leave. The government has set the salary cap at S$10,000 gross (including employer's CPF contribution). This is one of the factors that made the more highly educated and highly paid Singaporean women less willing to have babies? Could be...but I think there are many more reasons to it. To many people out there, they just don't see the point of having children which I can more or less relate to. Traditionally people have children so that there will be someone to look after them when they are old and fragile, someone to take over the farming, the business, etc. Having children was for sustainability. But now, I think parents are better off planning for themselves than to depend on their children. So what's the point of having children? I am contradicting myself...

@ 38 weeks and anytime now...

2011-03-02T14:09:00.004+08:00

Baby J is weighing 3.222kg and his head is quite far down now. I have been feeling some mild contractions these few days and also pressure at my pelvis area. Dr. Heng said I should be delivering anytime now. May not hold until 8th March which we intended to induce delivery because it is supposed to be an auspicious date. Anyway, we'll just let baby J come greet the world at his own timing, it's his destiny.

While I am really looking forward to holding baby J in my arms, I think I am going to miss this feeling of him moving inside my tummy and being pregnant. This will be my last time being pregnant and I hope I can remember this feeling forever. I think life is amazing, how did something so microscopic becomes a baby weighing more than 3kgs in 9 months? Although I had my fair share of pregnancy difficulties such as heartburn, nausea and leg cramps, I think all will be worth it once baby J is born. Like Baba said, all difficulties will pass and after that blessings will follow. I have faith in that. Baby J is a blessing from God and I am truly grateful. I will have a chance to experience parenthood from the start all over again while my other 2 kids are teenagers now! While some may be put off by the idea, I am excited about it. I think it is a rare chance and I really want to treasure every moment of it. Baby J is going to grow up as fast as his older siblings and before I know it, I am going to miss him as a baby, as a toddler, as a child and as a teenager...

@36 weeks

2011-02-16T10:34:00.000+08:00

It's a waiting game now...I am going to see the gynae again next week when I am 37 weeks and the we'll see how it goes...wait for it to naturally happen or just induce the birth on 5th March which is the 1st day of the 2nd Lunar month and it's suppose to be an auspicious day. Anyway, we'll see how it goes from next week.

I have put on so much weight that I feel like I am carrying 2 bags of rice each weighing 10kgs 24/7 everyday! I have put on 23 kg since the beginning of the IVF cycle which started in June 2010. My due date is estimated to be 16th March 2011 which is 4 weeks away but I have a feeling that I will have an earlier delivery...or rather I hope that I will have an earlier delivery say maybe 2 weeks later as I am really tired of being pregnant now...I am still having heartburns and I find it really difficult to get into a comfortable enough position for a good night sleep.

Anyway, I am taking it easy at work now, going in later and going off earlier than the stipulated working time at my company. I am grateful that I do not have a direct boss breathing down my neck everyday and I am definitely glad that I am given trust and freedom to do my job at my own pace.

@ 35 weeks

2011-02-09T10:26:00.006+08:00

I am getting restless now...just 3 to 4 more weeks to go but I am getting too big for a comfortable sleep every night and the baby's movements are getting more painful for me as well. I am eager to get over with it but at the same time, I am apprehensive about having another baby to take care of...my MIL is going to be the main care-taker for this baby when I go back to work but I am not sure if I am totally comfortable with that. I am regretful for having my mum take care of my other older children, I wish I had spent more time with them when they were young and I am very sorry for not being there for them most of the time for the past 5.5 years when I was working in HK. I hope that I won't regret again this time!

Baby is doing fine in my womb, his head is big for his gestational age and yet his body is not big and his legs are not long too...I think it's in the genes of his daddy. Anyway, I think the earliest that I am going to deliver this baby will be 5th March, 11 days earlier than the calculated due date for him. I may either induce birth or I may just wait for it to happen, which ever way, I am thinking if I need to have epidural this time...I am not young anymore, I wonder if I can take the pain as well as I had the last 2 times when I was less than 30 years old. The needle for epidural is very scary and I really hope that there are other alternatives...something that doesn't involve needles will be best. Most of my friends have epidurals during their labour and they said it was a blessing...I might as well try it this time?

Things at work is boring without the travelling and I am still struggling to set targets for my unit and deciding on the jobscope for my assistant. My boss has more or less agreed to me having an assistant, especially during my maternity leave but I don't know what kind of jobscope to give him and what targets! I am struggling with my own jobscope as I don't have a clear direction from my boss...*sigh*. Maybe own time own target is good, but it will definitely be helpful if I can have some guidance. Anyway, I really got to seriously think about it soon...

Completed!

2011-01-25T16:25:00.000+08:00

I have completed my MBA studies with the final exams and submission of the final capstone project over the weekend. I was totally exhausted after spending 16 hours on the final paper and the worst thing was I couldn't sleep after that! It was 5+am and I was having such terrible heartburn that I had to sit up the whole time in bed and even vomited gastric juice! I guess either I was too tired or I was too hungry...Anyway, it's all over now and I should get my results by mid-February. Then I will need to decide if I want to get the University of Melbourne transcript or the U21Global transcript...Oh well, will decide later.

Went for a checkup with the gynae and was told that the baby is quite big. In 3 weeks, baby has put on 700g and I am now in 33 weeks. I will see the gynae again in 2 weeks and we will see how fast this little fellow is growing inside me. I think he is in a hurry to come into this world to meet daddy and mummy and the rest of his family! He is so active! I did a calculation and decided that he should probably be induced in week 38 or early week 39 so that he won't get too big for me to handle. Anyway, I just pray for a smooth delivery to a healthy and strong baby!

A milestone year...

2011-01-17T09:06:00.007+08:00

I am 40 years old now...birthday was yesterday. I think this year is quite significant to me, sort of like a milestone year for me...Accomplished many things that I have been wanting to do for so many years.

I am finally going to attain MBA! This life agenda has been kept away at the back of my mind for at least 15 years and thanks to hubby who found this online program which was perfect for me and thanks to the Singapore Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong who sponsored 50% of my tuition fees, I am finally going to complete my studies by this coming weekend! It took me exactly 2.5 years!

Hubby and I are going to have a baby boy in March! It is not easy for me to have another baby as I am already ligated. The only option I have is to do IVF and with God's blessings, I got pregnant with the 1st trial! Om Sai Ram! Thank you, Baba!

Both hubby and I have settled back in Singapore after being away working in Hong Kong for the past 5.5 years. We are a complete family now with everyone dear to us under one roof!
Hubby bought me the Tiffany diamond ring that I have been eyeing for the past 3 years! We will be celebrating our 5th anniversary this year!

I guess this will also be a milestone year for hubby and the kids too. N will be taking her GCE 'O' Levels examinations, D is in Secondary School now and hubby has completed his masters and looking for a new job. Exciting year for all of us!

Just 1 more exams!

2011-01-07T09:30:00.004+08:00

The results for CSR were out yesterday, another B+. Now I have just 1 more exams and a Capstone Project submission on the 3rd week of Jan and I am done with my MBA studies. Hooray! Can't wait for the time to come! At the meantime, I am really stressed out with the discussion board submission obligations and the final team assignment for Service Management.

N and D have started school this week as well and D seems particularly happy with being a Secondary School boy now. It's still orientation week for him and he's deciding which CCA to take. Will be going to the CCA recruitment fair with him this Saturday and hopefully he can decide by then... N is feeling the stress as this is her GCE 'O' levels year and she has a lot to catch up on her studies, especially Maths.

Anyway, I will be travelling one last time next week and hopefully will be able to rest well until my due date in March. There's so much to organise at home too! Still fretting about the place to put the baby cot...our room is really too small...all other bedrooms are occupied...where will he sleep when he grows up? Oh well, will fret about that later.

@ 30 weeks and weighing 72kg!

2011-01-06T09:01:00.005+08:00

Yes, I have gained 17kg so far but baby is only 1.6kg. Hubby thinks that I will be 80kg by the time I am due to deliver and I truly hope that I won't! Why do I have to put on so much weight everytime? Am I eating too much? Maybe I should start counting what I eat everyday...

So, I had 2 soft-boiled eggs, 2 slices of kaya toast with butter and a quarter cup of coffee this morning. How much calories are there?

Anyway, other than the weight gain and the terrible heartburns that I am experiencing on a daily basis, the pregnancy has been fine so far. The baby's head is down now and in 10 weeks, I will be receiving this precious gift from God into this world. I hope that he will grow up to be someone useful to the society and that he will have a healthy and happy life. We have more or less decided that we will name this baby, Jayden which means "God has heard" or "Thankful" and I think that it is most appropriate as I have prayed hard for this boy and God has answered my prayers.

Touched...

2010-12-29T10:13:00.004+08:00

"If I haven't told you recently that you are amazing, I am telling you now. Love, can't wait for Thursday to come!" These were the exact words that hubby posted on my wall on Facebook and I was shocked when the notification came in on my iPhone last night. For a man who needs my constant probing to tell me he loves me, this gesture was indeed rare and very precious to me, especially on a public social website! After 5 mins, he deleted that message though...realizing that the whole world could see it. :) When I showed it to N, she commented "Wow! Is daddy playing Truth or Dare?" Hahaha. But I was touched as I knew that he meant every word he wrote and the message brought tears to my eyes.

Down with flu and cough

2010-12-22T23:53:00.000+08:00

I am down with flu and a bad cough for the 1st time since the pregnancy. I guess I am really tired, especially these 2 months since I came back home...have been flying around and working really hard. The doctor has given me 2 days MC and I figured that it's a good time to take a break, bond with my mum a bit, recharge myself and prepare for another busy festive season of dongzhi, X'mas, New Year, my birthday, then Chinese New Year and finally the arrival of our bundle of joy!

Received the good news of D's posting at 6:40am via SMS from MOE. He got posted to Tanjong Katong Secondary School Express and it's just 5 mins walk from our new place. Hubby is an old boy from the same school and he's proud that D made it. So many old TKSS boys in the family!

16 down and 2 more to go

2010-12-20T14:35:00.003+08:00

Over the weekend, I have taken the final exams to the 16th subject of my MBA while hubby took his last 2 final exams in school. Hubby is done, completed his MSc in ISM and he is ready to embark on another new chapter of his career life, which is to come back to Singapore and try to find another job and/or do his own business. Meanwhile, I have 1 more final exams and 1 final project to complete my MBA in Jan 2011.

Well, all on schedule and I am happy that hubby is coming back to join me here in Singapore soon. We will also be welcoming our baby boy into this world in Mar 2011! And in 2 days, D will be getting his secondary school posting results and I am really anxious for him. Come 2011, D will be a full fledged teenager and I will also be reaching the big 40! N will also be sitting for her GCE 'O' levels exams end of 2011 which will more or less determine her future path. The past decade has gone by so fast! I wonder if the next decade will be faster...

Anyway in just 10 more days, we will be counting down to 2011 and a brand new start to our lives together as a complete family in Singapore. Thank God!

@ 27 weeks

2010-12-16T14:21:00.002+08:00

Asked if there's anything I hate about my pregnancy, it's the terrible heartburn that I am experiencing everyday. I have heartburn after breakfast, after lunch and especially after dinner! I had a wonderful dinner last night which ended around 9pm but I was still suffering from this terrible heartburn at 3am in the morning! It's driving me mad! I hate it! I cannot lie down at all and even when I sit up, I couldn't get rid of it.

In the office, I sound like a giant frog and it's really embarrassing. And I hate that I am not given an office room in this damn Japanese company. Why do all the Japanese company like to have open-concept offices? What is so good about everybody being able to hear everybody else's coonversations? And not to mention everybody else's yawns, coughs, sneezes, nose-blowings, burpings, head-scratchings, farts, etc...*sigh*

My wishes for 2011:

1. Have a smooth delivery.

2. Get my MBA cert.

3. Find another job, preferrably with an US or European MNC.

Baby @ 26 weeks!

2010-12-07T22:31:00.003+08:00

I have been back in Singapore for almost 2 months now and baby and I are doing fine except that I have grown quite uncomfortably big! I have put on 15kg! And baby is only a little short of a kg...He is normal size for his gestation age. I am guessing that he will be 3~3.5kg at full term.

I made a call today at the Singapore Cord Blood Bank to tell them that I intend to donate my baby's cord blood. The lady on the phone thanked me and asked me some questions regarding my health and my husband's health. They will call me up again when I am about 32 weeks and they will do a 45 minute counselling with the both of us and ask for further particulars. Anyway, I have read up all the clauses on their website and have decided that it's a good deed to donate our baby's cord blood to those who would need it.

20 weeks scan photos

2010-10-27T20:14:00.006+08:00

3D scan photo

2D scan photo

Went for a detail scan today and everything is fine with the baby. This boy was moving so much during the scan that the doctor had quite a hard time capturing his face. LOL

Glad to go home!

2010-09-24T09:15:00.003+08:00

I received my paycheck for September today and realised that I have been hit by another invisible pay-cut. I have a large portion of my Hong Kong paycheck transferred back to Singapore each month and for the past 5 years, I have taken a 28% pay-cut due to the falling Hong Kong Dollar. And over the years, I have had only a 10% raise! This is ridiculous and I am glad that I will be leaving this lousy city and going back home in 2 weeks. My new salary will be paid to me in Singapore Dollar and at the present rate, I will only be taking a HKD4,000 pay-cut. This is really a good deal as I do not have to pay rent anymore and I will have better fringe benefits in terms of annual leaves! And I will be entitled to 3 months of maternity leaves and other baby bonuses as well! The only worry is that I will be taking a new position and I am not sure what is expected of me...

16 weeks

2010-09-22T14:47:00.002+08:00

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival and I am in week 16 now of my pregnancy. Went to see the gynaecologist for the last time in Hong Kong last evening and she did a scan, so now the baby's head is 3.4cm in diameter and the thigh bone is about 2.2cm long. The head is still proportional bigger than the rest of his body at this stage. He was moving a lot during the scan, even the gynaecologist laughed at his movements. I think we saw him did a somersault in there! Anyway, the baby is doing well and I am also feeling much better.

15 weeks 5 days

2010-09-20T14:43:00.004+08:00

The office staff are getting suspicious about now...I am definitely getting rounder at my middle and they have also noticed that I have not worn high heels for the last 3 months! It didn't know that I get so much attention! So, today I wore the highest heels that I own to work. ;p I bet they will be wondering if I have just grown fat instead.

I have started to feel the baby move inside me, usually small movements but twice I felt a really hard kick on my tummy from inside! Once was when I cuddled Cookie in my arms and I felt a really hard kick on my right side. Then the other time, I felt it on my left side when I was having steamboat dinner with W and his wife.

Oh yah, W & P gave me a Hello Kitty Mahjong Set to bring home to Singapore! Pretty! It's the Singapore version, with the 4 animals too! The latest addition to my Hello Kitty collections! :)

The date is set~

2010-09-16T09:20:00.002+08:00

Yes, the date of my home-coming is set. I will be flying back on the 10-10-10 to start a new episode of my life back home. I chose this date hoping that everything will be a perfect 10 for me just like the date. :)

Being away from home for more than 5 years have not been easy but I think going back is not going to be easy too. I am apprehensive, especially when I am not in the best physical shape now to take on new challenges. Hubby is worried too as he will be quiting his job here in Hong Kong and going back home. He will have to start looking for a new job and start over entirely. In this sense, I am lucky as I am already secured with a job and I have established myself in this company too.

I am more worried about living with my mother-in-law and mum actually. I have not stayed with old folks for the past 10 years! I have always had my own place and space! Furthermore, my mother-in-law is afraid of dogs and my mum is fussy about cleanliness. I doubt both of them will welcome my darlings and I am sad. And the baby will be arriving in March! So many changes to my present lifestyle! We need another small studio for ourselves!

"What is my plan?"

2010-09-13T14:30:00.001+08:00

I received a call from the HR Manager in my Singapore office telling me that she heard that I will be going back and she asked me what is my plan. I thought that it's such a funny question. My boss has told me that the HR will contact me regarding the details but she called to ask me instead. So I told her that I need an official letter from HR telling me my date of return, my new position, title and salary package. And also how much time will I be given to pack up and how much luggage allowance will I be entitled to. She could not answer me and told me that she will have to check with HQ. *sigh* Oh well, but at least I know for sure that I will be going back now that the Singapore office has confirmed it.

I have told two of my closest colleagues that I will be going back in October and they told me that rumours are spreading already. As my boss has requested for 5 seats for my division, many of them are guessing who will be the other 4 seats, what will my division be in charged of and and who will be working for me, etc. On the other hand, I am more concern if I will get used to the work environment in Singapore. To be honest, I have enjoyed my work here in Hong Kong for the past 5 and a half years. Other than the Japanese GM that I will need to give face to, no other locals can boss me around. It will be quite different back in Singapore...

There's quite a lot that I will need to do, especially for exporting my dogs back to Singapore. They will need to do a blood test for rabies and some other medical and physical checkups at the vet. And the total costs to export both of them back will come up to around HK$20,000+ for door to door service. And I also have loads of clothing and shoes and bags and kitchenware and miscellaneous stuff to bring back!

I am going HOME~

2010-09-07T09:18:00.000+08:00

I just came back from a discussion with my boss at HQ last week and it's been decided that I will be going back to Singapore. It's a request finally fulfilled after negotiating with him for the past 2 years. The truth is, there is really no place for me back in Singapore and the company is only going to expand its business in China and reduce businesses everywhere else. So what's the point of me going back to Singapore? Honestly speaking, career-wise, there's really no reason for me to go back. I am really much better off here in Hong Kong and China. But I have the baby to consider and my whole family is still back in Singapore! So what is more important? Career or family? I would say family as I can jolly well find another job back in Singapore even if they don't let me go back.

I have to say that I am appreciative of my boss. He has gone quite out of his league to create a position for me back in the Singapore office and even negotiate for a rather good salary package for me. Although the amount is still not what I had hoped for, I cannot complain much. However, I am a little apprehensive about my new position as it is a "forced-out" position. I am suppose to take on a role as a regional logistics consultant and help 4 warehouses improve their workflow and efficiency. All these warehouses have been functioning for the past so many years without such a position advicing them, so why the need now? And they have to pay for it! Maybe I am one person who really doesn't believe in consultants, but I think I am going to be quite redundant. Anyway, there's no official jobscope and job description for me yet. And I will have to take it a step at a time. I hate it when I am not in the upperhand position to negotiate...

13 weeks 5 days

2010-09-06T10:49:00.002+08:00

I am officially in my 2nd trimester and I am suppose to be feeling much better, right? Well, I am feeling better than a couple of weeks ago but I am still feeling sleepy and fatigue easily during the day...and I still have a metallic taste in my mouth most of the time.

And I am thinking of a holiday already...it's been like a long time since I last had a holiday and I would really like to go somewhere like this picture here.

Oh, how I wish I can just go somewhere and do nothing at all for a couple of weeks or so...

It's a BOY! (13 week)

2010-09-02T14:34:00.004+08:00

Went for the OSCAR test today and had a very detailed ultrasound scan at the clinic. Could see the baby's nose, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes and the "thingy" between the legs. (^-^) Yes, it's a big "thingy" comparing to the rest of the baby's body and hubby was terribly excited by it. However, the doctor said that it will become proportionally right when the baby is fully grown. We could also see the baby's heart, the brains and even the stomach. And the baby was moving quite a lot, kicking his legs, moving his hands around and playing with his fingers. From the scan, everything looked good and I am quite sure that it's going to be a healthy baby. After the taking my blood for further tests, we went for lunch and hubby called his mother to tell her the good news. And she said it's God sent. Yeah, it's God sent and I am grateful. Just hope that I will carry the baby to full term and smoothly deliver a healthy baby at the end of it.

11 weeks 5 days

2010-08-23T11:14:00.003+08:00

I had my final exams on Marketing Strategy over the weekend and it was my 14th subject. I regretted to have procrastinated till the last 4 hours before seriously starting on my paper. I submitted just 2 minutes before the deadline! I didn't have time to check through and I forgot to update the contents table...Anyway, I was so tired on Saturday that I slept most of the day away. I have 4 more subjects to go and I am hopeful to finish the whole MBA course by Jan 2011, just in time before the baby arrives in March.

I couldn't sleep very well last night, just couldn't get into a comfortable enough position...and my tummy is not even big yet! This morning, I have a metallic taste in my mouth and I feel very tired still. I wonder when will all these unpleasant symptoms wear off? I will be having a detail ultrasound scan next Wednesday and I can't wait to be able to "see" the baby again. Keeping my fingers crossed that the baby will be fine and will not have any risk of having down syndrome. God Bless Please.

Pianist Liu Wei(from Chinese talent show) eng sub

2010-08-20T10:40:00.001+08:00

This is amazing...I am so touched by this young man. Lost both his arms in a freak accident when he was 10 and have been using his feet instead for all the things he does and he does them so well! His performance was spectacular! Even if it was the only tune he could play, it's still amazing! My son should be ashamed of himself for not practicing on his piano!

Om Sai Ram. I am grateful for all that I have and I will not complain for things that I don't have anymore, I promise. Thank God, please continue to bless me and my family and show your Grace to all mankind.

CEO's visit

2010-08-19T10:30:00.007+08:00

I had a terrible headache last evening after the business trip to Shenzhen but luckily was able to sleep it off. Went to Shenzhen for 2 purposes; 1. to interview a new Sample Clerk for my department in Shenzhen and 2. to standby for the visit of the CEO from HQ. He is our new CEO who had taken over the position from the founder of the company in April this year and he is on his first overseas trip to China and Hong Kong. The company's strategy is to expand our business in China and much resources have been deployed to China. Therefore he is here to see the progress. In my opinion, the company's strategy is not wrong but the execution is not right. They are rushing to employ many engineers and sales personnel but there is not enough manpower allocated to train them and support them. Many of these newly employed staff quit within a month or even a week because they had no idea what they were employed for! The managers in-charge of their training and orientation are just too busy with other jobs. So, we kept employing...

Nevertheless, all these "trivial" problems would not be made known to the CEO. The GMs of the Shenzhen sales office and Hong Kong sales office are hiding all these problems and only concentrating on presenting the superficial things. Things like making sure that all staff stand up and give a perfect bow to the CEO when he walks in, making sure that we have his favourite drink ready for his consumption, making sure that everybody dress presentably, making sure that the prettiest girls from Admin are tending the reception area when he arrives, making sure that a spare notebook is ready for his use in case he needs to check his web mail, etc. To the Japanese, this is showing respect to the CEO and making sure that he has the best impression. I of course followed all these "acts" and presented my department to him as best as I could.

Oh the pain on my tailbone is killing me! 11 weeks + 1 day now and I am afraid the pain is going to get worse as I grow bigger...

Going into week 11

2010-08-17T10:55:00.004+08:00

Going into week 11 now but still very sleepy at the office...In fact, I was so sleepy yesterday that I couldn't wake up in the morning and had to go to the warehouse late...reached around 11:20am. I have been having these weird wild dreams lately. Dreamt of swimming, eating really bland-tasting foods that my MIL made for me and also dreaming of having another poodle to mate with Coffee...I would wake up in the middle of the night and when I fell asleep again, the dreams would sort of continue from where I had stopped. Funny.

I am also having this very painful ache at the tailbone since yesterday. Couldn't sit down at my desk for long, had to stand up and walk around every now and then...awkward. S gave me a link to a Pilate instructor's blog and she had a couple of exercises that pregnant women can do from the 2nd trimester, so I think I will start on that once I am into my 13th week. I think it will be good for me. I have gained 5kgs so far and my appetite is really good. So at this rate, I think I am going to be overweight very soon if I don't look after myself. I definitely don't want to be more than 70kgs at the end of it again!

Oh, the grade for my 13th subject was out, I have mananged to score another B+ which is good enough for me. My 14th subject's final exams will be this weekend and I hope to get at least another B. I am currently also studying Supply Chain Management and will start on Corporate Social Responsibility in Sep. Then if I start the 17th (Management of Services) and 18th (Capstone) subject in Oct, I will be able to finish my MBA in Jan 2011, before the baby arrives! It will be really tough but I guess if I were to drag until the baby comes along, it will be even tougher...so *sigh* I hope I will be feeling energetic in my trimester so that I can deal with it.

10 weeks

2010-08-12T09:56:00.003+08:00

Baby is 10 weeks now and I am feeling better than a couple of weeks ago. I guess the morning sickness symptoms are laying off nicely. \(^-^)/

I dropped a bomb at my boss yesterday. No, not about the pregnancy but about my marriage. Nobody at work knows that I am married again yet as our relationship was blossomed in the office and we are kinda shy...we like to have our privacy. Anyway, I am relieved that he congratulated me and wished me happiness. I am also glad that I had taken this step to disclose to him and I will let him recover from this initial shock before I give him another bomb...about the pregnancy. I don't know how he will react to the pregnancy as I have worked for him for the last 7 years as a single working mother and he had also admitted that he had never treated me as a woman but just a colleague like any other male colleague. And he's Japanese, I don't know if he will be prejudiced against me if I have to take 2 months of maternity leave...Whatever the case, I can only keep it from everyone for the next 4 weeks or so before my tummy will be so big that it will be impossible to hide it anymore with clothes.

Hubby and I celebrated this milestone at Kimchee Korean BBQ last evening. The view from the restaurant was good and the food was not bad too. The only problem was having a group of 3 mainland Chinese women at the next table who were talking so loudly and another table of 7 nearby with 2 very noisy kids. I wish Hong Kong can be less infested by the mainland Chinese...our dinner date would have been perfect with the view, the good food and if only we could hear the background Korean pop music...*sigh*

9 Weeks and 6 Days

2010-08-10T14:57:00.004+08:00

Baby @ 9 weeks & 6 days!

Yeah! Baby is 9 weeks and 6 days old in my tummy and measuring 2.98cm long now! For the first time, we can distinguish the head and the bottom and we could also see the arms and legs kicking/swimming/struggling in the fluid. \(^-^)/ I was so moved by the baby's ultrasound that I nearly cried! I wish I can have the ultrasound machine at home so that I can "see" my baby everyday...

It's amazing! 2 weeks ago, we couldn't figure out where was the head but could only hear the heartbeat distinctly, now it's looking like a baby should look like and has grown 2 times bigger! I am also gaining weight...62kg now. I wonder what I will be weighing at the end of the term? Definitely going to be heavier than hubby!

Week 8

2010-08-03T10:20:00.004+08:00

Week 8 now and tummy is showing...still hiding it quite well though as nobody knows yet. ;)Feeling much better after sleeping my headache off on Saturday and managed to catch the "Toy Story" movie with hubby after his exams. It was a good movie, cried quite hard towards the end though...so touching! Am so glad that they all end up together with such a cute little girl! The movie makes me remember my toys...my Play Mobil...still in a box on top of the closet. Maybe someone else should play with them? I must have kept them there for more than 20 years! Oh my gosh!

Anyway, I am still feeling sleepy all the time at work and having a hard time reading the online study materials...I will be having another final exams in 2 weeks and yet I feel that I have not studied for it! It will be 14th subject and I am really anxious to get the rest all done with before the baby arrives. I think I will be so tired and occupied then that I won't be able to do any studies at all. Maybe I have rushed things? Maybe I should have waited until we are settled back in Singapore next year before we start the IVF process? Perhaps I should wait until I finished my studies? Oh, but I am not getting any younger by the day! I don't have time to wait until this and that! In life, there's always so many "what ifs" and so many "maybes"...

Was talking to hubby about our 5 years+ in Hong Kong and he feels that we have sacrificed too much of our family life being here. While I agree with him, I don't feel as negative as he. Perhaps it's because I am being paid much better here? Anyway, I always thought that coming to Hong Kong made us grow closer to each other and I won't forget that it also gave us the opportunity to earn some money from the property. If we were in Singapore, we would not have bought another property for investment, we would not have bought our 2 pups, we wouldn't have gone to Europe and Korea, we wouldn't have done so many things that we have done. We would have done so many different things if we were in Singapore. Anyway, I have no regrets coming to Hong Kong, as long as I make this year my last. It's time to settle back home, now that our apartments are ready for all of us to stay together happily. It's all fated, pre-arranged by God and I am grateful.

Headache again...

2010-07-30T14:44:00.003+08:00

I had such a terrible headache this morning that I decided I couldn't go to work and took half day leave to sleep it off. The headache started yesterday afternoon during the meeting which I luckily didn't fall asleep at with the help of the "Super Lemon" candy. It got worse in the night and I couldn't sleep very well. It is still bothering me now...maybe I should take a panadol.

For the first time last night, I cried for no reason. I farted in the shower when hubby was just about to come in and the expression on his face made me laughed so hard. Then from laughing, I began to cry and the feeling of wanting to cry even more was overwhelming. So I cried and cried. Hubby thought I had gone crazy. I think it's all the hormones inside me that's making me crazy. Oh, I wish this 1st trimester will pass soon!

So sleepy...

2010-07-29T12:05:00.002+08:00

Today is really tough. I couldn't wake up in the morning but had to drag myself out of bed and I continued sleeping in the car while hubby drove us to work. I couldn't shake away the sleepiness in the office the whole morning. I practically had to sneak a 10-minute naps in the toilet! I wish I can just sleep the whole day at home...

There will be a meeting in the afternoon...I hope I can stay awake...

Week 7

2010-07-27T13:37:00.004+08:00

Baby @ 7 weeks - 1.45cm long!

Went for another scan this morning at the gynecologist's clinic and heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was exciting and I finally feel that it's real. I am really pregnant and I am really going to have a baby next March! I haven't been really sure that I could be so lucky and blessed. Oh thank God! Om Sai Ram!

I don't really like the gynae that I am seeing in Hong Kong though. I guess all the gynaes in Hong Kong are really not good. The first one I went to was quite old and she was clumsy with taking blood. The area where she withdrawn the blood got all bruised for almost 2 weeks! Then this doctor that I am seeing poked me so hard with the internal ultrasound scanner that it is still painful now. And when I asked her if we can know where is the baby's head and tail, she told me:"Even can tell also no use!" Damn! What kind of answer is that?! She could tell me that it's too early or something but I really don't like her attitude. Too bad I am here in Hong Kong and I cannot see Dr. Julianah until October at least. Oh well...

Anyway, baby and I are both doing fine, that's the most important. \\(^-^)// yeah!

13 down, still 5 more to go!

2010-07-26T09:55:00.005+08:00

I have been feeling good since last Thursday. No more headaches but tummy still bloated and very sensitive to smells. I realised I cannot take the smell of onions and fish and any kind of strong smells!

Was especially sleepy on Saturday, slept until around 11am! Didn't want to wake up but had to wake up to eat...after that, I fell asleep again. The next thing I know, it was almost 4pm when I woke up again! Then I cooked myself noodles to eat and started downloading the final exams paper for my 13th subject on HRM. It was about the HR issues at British Airways...quite a lot of issues, I must say. I really don't understand the power of unions! I guess it's because there isn't a really strong union here in HK and Singapore? Anyway, the BA cabin-crew is already the highest paid crew in the airline industry, what are they still complaining about? The company has been making losses for the past 2 years and they are still staging strikes, disrupting thousands of travellers and asking for more. I think they are ridiculous with their demands...that's the problem with the system in the UK. Hubby has been reading up alot on the UK policies and have been showing me ridiculous examples of the welfare system in the UK. People on welfare are having better housing and receiving more money than those who earn a honest living in the UK! So, why should anybody work? I still think that Singapore has the best policy in the world. Everybody has to work and has to take care of oneself and one's parents. Can't depend on the government and that's why everyone in Singapore has to work hard and upgrade oneself all the time to get a better life. That's fair and that's how an economy can grow. We don't have any natural resources in Singapore but our most precious resource is our people, human resource! And we have a good HRM called the PAP.

Anyway, I have finished 13 subjects for my MBA with U21Global and have 5 more subjects to do. At this rate, I should be able to finish 16 by December this year, leaving 2 more for next year. Complete in 3 years...just nice. :)

Good day

2010-07-22T16:08:00.002+08:00

Today is a good day. No headache, just slight bloated stomach and a little gastric pain prior to lunchtime. I suspect my headaches were due to the medications (Crinone 8% & Utrogestan 100mg) that I have been taking. I stopped the Utrogestan from yesterday's afternoon dose and also did not insert the Crinone last night. Or was it due to a head and shoulders massage yesterday? Anyway, I think there's no harm for me to stop the medications for a couple of days as I have previously stopped for 5 consecutively. I shall resume the medications after my 13th subject's final exams this weekend.

Had a busy morning, had 7 visitors from our Philippines factory coming in to learn our operations using the logistics system. Apparently, they have already implemented the same logistics system in the Philippines factory but has not started using it fully. So, they are here to learn the efficiency of the system, our paperless picking operation and our customized customer label issuing and packing operations. We started the presentation and orientation at around 9:30am and finished slightly before 12noon. By that time, I was starving and started having gastric pains. The sea creature inside me was complaining of the lack of food!

Luckily, lunch was sumptuous. We had about 8 varieties of tim sum, mantis prawns and also steamed crabs with egg-white plus desserts. Felt so much better after lunch!

I have been emailing S who is also about 11 weeks pregnant about my morning sickness symptoms and apparently she had headaches too and she also found eating helps! So she gave me a tip. To drink isotonic drinks so that the glucose in the drink will "bluff" the sea creature that there is food and will not give me problems. Hehehe. I will try that later!

Headache...

2010-07-20T11:33:00.002+08:00

Today's morning sickness involved headaches...not unbearably painful but a dull throbbing pain across my forehead since I woke up. What is that? I am trying to start drinking fresh milk to increase my calcium intake but it taste terrible. I just want to drink soda the whole day and suck on sour prunes...but I know it's not healthy for me, so I have to control my cravings and stick to a healthy diet as much as I can. It's really not easy being pregnant and it's still a long way to go...at least another 34 more weeks! Can't wait for the 2nd trimester to come...

Week 6

2010-07-19T14:33:00.004+08:00

Super tired and sleepy after lunch today but I cannot sleep...just had a 10-minute nap before the bell went off and felt that I really needed a bed to lie down and snooze for at least another hour. There's really nothing much for me to do at the office...*sigh* Maybe I should go sleep in the toilet...

My morning sickness symptoms have not been too bad, at least I have not vomited anything out yet! My baby should be the size of a tic-tac and still looking very sea creature-like...I should be able to hear its heartbeat by now and its heart is suppose to be beating twice as fast as mine! Amazing! Maybe that's what been making me feel sick?

Anyway, can't wait to hear the baby's heartbeat at the doctor's next week.

The Final Number = 1

2010-07-13T16:27:00.003+08:00

Yes, I have taken a scan today and the doctor confirmed one baby inside my womb. I asked doctor J what might have happened to the other embryo and this was her answer : "The other embryo did not implant so the body has naturally "removed" it as it perished." Interesting...so in another word, it came out from my body together with my vaginal discharge? ....

Anyway, I am happy with one baby, but at the same time I am also a little disappointed. I am not being greedy but I was thinking that since 2 good embryos were inserted, I should hope that they would both survive, shouldn't I? But I knew from the start that out of the 2 embroys inserted, 1 was better quality than the other, so I guess the better survived this time...I would forever wonder whether the other embryo would be a boy or a girl...Am I crazy? While feeling pity that the other embryo didn't make it, I am worried that this one won't too...I am getting paranoid.

The doctor told me that I am in my 5th week now and only by the 6th week at least will we be able to detect the heartbeat. I will be going back to see her on my 7th week for that check and at the meantime, I need to rest as much as possible, take good care of myself and not eat anything cooling or too cold. I have also purchased extra 2 weeks' medication to help me maintain my hormone level up. The Crinone 8% vaginal inserts and the Utrogestan 100 which I have to take 2 pills times a day. I am determined to carry this baby to full term and give birth to a healthy baby in March!

Tested Positive!

2010-07-07T22:31:00.004+08:00

Thank GOD! Om Sai Ram! I have been tested positive today at the gynaecologist's clinic. So happy and relieved. Will see the doctor again in 2~3 weeks for ultrasound scan to confirm the number of baby(s). (^-^)

3 weeks...

2010-06-27T00:51:00.003+08:00

*Sigh*...3 weeks back in Singapore went back just like that! I am going back to Hong Kong this morning and won't be back again until at least 3 months later. Missing my children so much already.

2 embryos inserted

2010-06-23T18:14:00.004+08:00

About a month after I started my IVF cycle, I finally had 2 good embryos inserted into the lining of my womb yesterday. Now everything is in God's hands...the embryos need to hatch and attach themselves on the lining of my womb to get all the nutrients they need to grow into babies. I am praying hard for both of them to grow together and stay inside me for at least the next 38~40 weeks.

To be honest, I think the whole process has been not too difficult for me...at least I didn't any complications such as really bad headaches, mood swings and over-bloatedness as some people mentioned. I had minor headaches, no mood swing (my husband said that my mood seems better than before!) and I am not unbearably bloated. Didn't really like the injections and blood-taking though. I have needle marks all over my tummy and arms...*yucks*.

I am rather disappointed with the number of good embryos finally though...I had 10 eggs retrieved out from me and then according to the embryologist, 9 were mature enough for fertilization but after day 2, only 6 became embryos. Then on day 5, only 2 were good enough and the other 4 had to be discarded....That is to say, if I cannot get pregnant from these 2 embryos, I will have to start the IVF cycle all over again...And I don't think we are going to do that. It's too expensive. It's about SGD18,000 for the whole process!

Baby-Making via IVF

2010-05-24T11:23:00.005+08:00

Over the weekend I have officially completed the 11th subject for my MBA course and I have another 7 more to go. It's good to be counting down to 1 digit finally and from now onwards, I will have 1 final exams each month for the next 3 months. I am trying to push myself to complete as many subjects as I can this year so that I will only have 1 or 2 subjects next year as I have other agenda on my schedule.

I have started my IVF process and this morning I have injected myself with the very first Lucrin injection. I am kind of proud of myself for being able to administer the injection on my own belly. It was kind of painful though and after a call to the nurse, she thought me to release my pinch before I push the medicine in. It should reduce the pain, she said. I will try again tomorrow morning. She should have told me in the 1st place!

Wage Issue

2010-04-23T10:26:00.005+08:00

Today is increment payday and everybody in the office receives a letter together with the usual computerised payslip announcing their increment for the year. It's one of the two sensitive times of the year where everyone has expectations and then usually gets disappointed...I doubt there are many out there thinking that they are being paid very well and that the increment rate or bonus payout is fair or satisfactory.

There are many protests happening around Hong Kong regarding the amount to be set as the minimum wage. Someone in the government side suggested HKD20/hr and had his whole family cursed by the workers. Then after much research on the market rate, they again suggested that HKD24/hr is fair. The workers and their representative unions are asking for HKD33/hr. Employers complain that's too expensive and suggest that it will be better to let the wage be set by the market forces instead.

What's the point of setting the minimum wage? Ok, let's say the government set the minimum wage at HKD33/hr, then the employers start to employ less workers to cut operation costs, and because of that unemployment rate goes up. Unemployed workers start to get desperate and offer to work for less, but the employers are still not employing because they cannot pay less than the stipulated rate...so what happens? I think it's really stupid. Why not let the market decides the rate by the forces of demand and supply?

I think the employment contract is a contract binding the employer and the employee. If the employee thinks that the company is underpaying him, he will try to find a better paying job and when he finds it, he resigns. If the company thinks that he is indispensable, they will try to retain him by matching his new offer or pay higher...but that will only happens when there is really a new offer. If the company thinks that they can do without that employee, they will let him leave and then gets someone else to take over or use a lower rate to employ another. This happens when the employee is over-qualified for the job.

Some companies pay more than the market rate so as to attract the best employees but they will not hestitate to fire when the employee does not perform. My company is different, they will pay the minimum market rate, gives the minimum welfare and fringe benefits so turnover rate is quite high but nobody has been indispensable to the company so far. So the question is : "Does the company need the employees more or does the employees need the company more?"

My first trip to the US.

2010-04-13T13:56:00.006+08:00

Fishermen Wharf - Pier 39

Dungeness Crabs

Pearl from my chosen oyster!

Returned from a 5-day trip to San Francisco exactly a week ago and is finally feeling better today to be able to get some school work done and also do some blogging. I caught a terrible cold in SF...

SF's trip was a "been there, did that" kind of trip. Have heard so much good things about SF but have not been there or anywhere in the US, so I decided that maybe it's time to take a trip and see for myself what's the big deal about the US. Hubby was half-hearted about the trip, he would prefer going to Japan instead but he was accommodating, especially since we probably won't be able to go anywhere with me starting the IVF cycle soon...

The weather was terrible in SF, it was chilly, rainy and really nothing like how I'd imagined it to be. We would probably had enjoyed the trip much better if the weather had been better. Anyway, we went to all the must-see places; we went to the Fishermen Wharf, saw the Alcatraz from there, ate the famous Dungeness crabs, watched the lazy sea lions at Pier 39, picked an oyster to get my very first pearl...

We rode the famous cable cars up and town the hilly streets of SF, went to Chinatown and Japantown, and had a very long walk at the Golden Gate Park where there were lots of beautiful Cherry Blossoms trees. At Union Square, we shopped at Victoria Secrets, Macy's and Nordstrom. I really like it that people can bring their dogs everywhere in the city, even into departmental stores! In Hong Kong, we can't even keep pet dogs in public housing and most private apartments! And dogs are out of bounds to most parks! Crazy!

Chinatown

Japan Town

Victoria's Secret

Anyway, the highlight of our trip was probably the morning when we joined the queue to buy our iPads on the opening day at the Apple store. There were 2 lines, one for the reservations and one for the walk-ins, and of course we belong to the walk-in line...we were told that the reservation line will be given priority to go in once the store opened at 9am and we will be going in later. Nevertheless, we managed to get into the store by 10:30am and walked out with our iPads at 11am! We were very pleased with the service at Apple, they served us Krispy Kreme donuts and Starbucks coffee while we were queueing, and we get our very own salesperson and technical instructor inside the store! One thing that really impressed me about the trip to the US was the service quality of the service staff everywhere and most of the people were friendly. There were many homeless beggars and crook-looking blacks in the streets that spoilt the otherwise perfect image of a metropolitan city though...

Life is boring?

2010-03-25T11:30:00.003+08:00

I was chatting with an ex-colleague on the phone the other day and apparently, she is very happy with her life right now after being retrenched from my company. I had worried slightly for her as I know that she won't be able to get another job paying her the same anywhere else...How wrong was I!

Post-work, she stayed at home slightly less than 3 months to take care of her daughter and husband. Then she enrolled herself in some make-up lessons and she's since been doing bridal makeup and hairdo! She will also be enrolling herself for a course on wedding planning and she is intending to make a career out of it. She told me that for the 1st time in her life, she realized that she has a dream and it feels really good. I am happy for her.

The conversation set me thinking..."what am I doing here in HK?", "is this job what I really want to do?", "do I have a dream?"...The answers to them are "for the money", "no" and "no". How sad. But I have to admit, I have lost my dream ever since I quit the tour business and started working for others. I have been working day in day out, trying to do what is expected of me and getting paid at the end of every month. I have worked for this present company for the past 8 years and so far the only job satisfaction I got from this job was being able to attain a position where no Asian female has ever attained in the organisation. But so what? What's the point? Honestly, I really don't know...

My latest passion at the moment is my 2 toy poodle pups. I am thinking of having a third one...a white toy poodle maybe...am I crazy?

The Index is climbing...not the stock market

2010-03-22T15:58:00.004+08:00

On a good day, this is the view from my bedroom window...and I emphasize a good day as this kind of days are hard to come by especially in recent years Hong Kong. The pollution is getting from bad to worse and today it was recorded way over 400 on the pollution index in all parts of Hong Kong! No wonder I am having swollen and teary eyes! Damn!

Was chatting with an old school friend who have moved back to Singapore 2 years ago after staying in Hong Kong for the past 12 years. Apparently, the pollution is one of the many reasons that have driven her and her boyfriend away from Hong Kong. They used to stay on a house boat anchored at the marine club in Hong Kong island, the southernmost part. It's an area that I assume would be least affected by the pollution, unlike the rest of the areas in Kowloon...

What's the point of having full seaview when most of the times, I cannot see much of the sea anyway? Maybe it's time to move again...

"Sad to belong"

2010-03-18T10:51:00.004+08:00

Was listening to this song on the way to work this morning and I think that it's really quite a stupid song. The melody is good though...just that the lyrics is stupid. It goes "It's sad to belong to someone else, when the right one comes along...." So, don't belong to anyone forever then!

How do we know that the one we are together with is the right one or not? I asked my hubby and he said that it's really a tough question as he thinks that one will never know for sure. It may feels right but is it perfect? Hmm... I believe that there will always be someone that may seem better or more right than the present one if you insist to continue looking around. But the rule of the game of love does not allow one to keep trying out new loves and then come back to the old/present one when the new ones are not "right". So, like the song, it's really sad to belong to someone else...

There was a documentary by TVB a couple of weeks ago about single women over 30s. These women are referred to as "败犬" (losers) or "熟女" (mature women). It documented their frustrations about not being able to get hooked and some of them admitted that it may be their own fault. Some of them were expecting too much from their past relationships and had thus driven their men out; some were financially too strong for their men to handle; and another had a cheating husband whom she could not forgive...All sad realities of being a modern woman in this modern world.
I had my fair share of all the above frustrations when I was much younger...glad I do not now.

A good day

2010-03-16T09:59:00.003+08:00

Today is one of those rare days where everything feels good from the moment I woke up. First of all, I finally woke up without aches and pain all over my body, unlike the past 10 days when I had symptoms of flu and rheumatism add together...sore throat, running nose, teary eyes, aches and pain in all the joints of the body. Today I felt good, no aches and my skin felt much moisturised after a night of Laneige's Water Sleeping Pack, even my hair seemed to fall into place nicer! The traffic was exceptionally smooth too, didn't meet any traffic lights until the very last one and we made it to work 4 minutes earlier than usual. And I received a call from Shanghai that really made my day. It was J and he thanked me for helping him get his request for additional manpower and equipment approved by HQ. I am sure glad that I was of help. Feels good that HQ actually asked for my opinion and respected it when I gave it.

Come to think of it, the good feeling that I am having now actually started from last evening when I had a meeting with the rest of the Japanese managers and head of departments regarding the appraisal reviews of our staff. I was as usual the only female and non-Japanese head of department and it makes me feel good every time. I recommended 5 of my staff for promotions and they all respected my decision with no challenge at all which was really rare. Some of the other guys who had given a grades for their staff were openly told off which was actually quite embarrassing...

Oh I treasure days like this ~ makes waking early up and coming to work feels worthwhile. :)

My MIL's Wish

2010-02-23T14:51:00.004+08:00

I am feeling exhausted as I have just returned from a 10-day Chinese New Year holidays back in Singapore. This time we finally got to see the inside of our apartments, after waited for more than 3 years. All other apartments in the area have already been completed, making ours the slowest of them all...Actually, it's not a bad deal for us as we are not in a hurry to move in and neither are we thinking of renting the apartments out for returns anyway. We get a few thousand dollars of compensation from the developer for the delay.

The very next morning after arriving in Singapore we met up with 2 Interior Designers to discuss carpentry works and some minor renovation works for both apartments. We will have 6 bedrooms, 5 toilets, 2 living(1 big and 1 small), 2 kitchens, 1 formal dining and 1 casual dining combined. In total for 7 of us in our family including the old folks, we will have 2000 sq. ft. of space. Not bad at all, considering that my hubby and I had stayed in a 380 sq. ft. apartment in Hong Kong for the last 4 years...

We confirmed and decided on one of the designers who had given us a very good layout with careful considerations for all of our family members. We will be getting the 3D drawings of the proposal Wednesday this week and I will be going back again on Saturday to choose the materials. I hope to be able to decide on all the necessary things by then and need not fly back again until the actual removal which will probably be end March.

On the 1st day of the New Year, we went praying and blessing as usual and the medium spent quite some time with D, telling him to work harder and aim higher for his PSLE. We are all hoping that he will do well and get into a good secondary school near to our new place. My MIL wants me to have a baby this year, telling me not to delay anymore and telling her son the same. I hope it can be as easy as she thinks...Hubby is doing his Masters in Hong Kong and won't be graduating until end of the year, I have a contract here in Hong Kong until end-June this year and I think it will get extended again. The only way that I can get back to Singapore is resigning from this company which is actually paying me quite well...So, it's really not so easy.

Bad start...

2010-02-01T13:56:00.004+08:00

I have to admit that I had a great weekend but unfortunately I do not have a good start to my week today. First of all, I received an email from an Admin Assistant in my Shenzhen office informing everybody about changes made to the seating arrangements for the Annual Dinner tonight which I am not involved in and so are all of the staff in our Hong Kong office. (Except for the President and 2 other Managers with teams in Shenzhen). We were told by our President from last year that we would not have Annual Dinner this year due to bad business and tight budget but our Shenzhen counterparts are having one as usual...

Then our stupid Admin in Hong Kong made us sign an acknowledgement agreeing to some changes made to the Employee Handbook with effect from today but did not state clearly the changes made...And the best thing was when we told them that we will not sign because it's not written clearly, they told us that the acknowledgement letter was prepared by the HR consultant! That's the ultimate bullsh*t that this company can come out with, paying stupid monies to some stupid consultants and depriving the staff of an Annual Dinner. How can we expect any loyalty from the staff?

This is really a bad start to the week....and we are having a meeting with all those id*ots later at 4pm...

Weekend Update - Movie, walk and Spa.

2010-01-25T11:31:00.010+08:00

I had a great weekend. Starting with a morning session movie at UA Citygate and cried my eyes out watching "Hachiko". Richard Gere looked really old in the movie but still as handsome and as charming as always. "Hachi" was really cute when he was a puppy! Love his eyes! Much like my very own Coffee's. If I can afford to have a big house, I would really love to have a Akita Inu! It is such a handsome breed! And maybe also a Golden Retriever! And a Shiba Inu!

Took Cookie to see the vet for her teeth as her milk teeth won't drop and her adult teeth are coming out. The vet told me that she will have to be fully tranquilized for extracting the teeth and suggest that I have it done together with the de-sexing surgery. I don't intend to de-sex her though. I would love for her to give me more cute little puppies that resemble both Coffee and her! So, I will have to check her teeth hygiene more regularly so that she will not get tooth decay. Anyway, the vet checked her and told me that she has a slightly weak right knee. Not very serious but may develop into arthritis when she grows old. Coffee has strong bones though and everything is fine with him. And fortunately we went to the vet as we found out that they have missed 1 vaccination. I thought the pet shop told us that they have had 2 vaccinations when we bought them? Anyway, they are fully vaccinated now, including the one for rabies.

After the visit to the vet, we took the pups to the Inspiration Lake near Disneyland and had a great walk. We didn't see any other people walking their dogs and I suspect that dogs are not allowed. Anyway, there was no sign so we didn't care. Both of them had a great workout running and walking around the lake, and so did the both of us.

In the evening, we went to the MTM Spa at Novotel Citygate. I had a 2-hr facial session with special treatment for my eye bags and caviar essence infused mask for my face and neck. I slept through almost half of the session and left feeling my skin refreshed. I guess I have to start taking care of my skin as I approach the big 40. Hubby had a 30-minute head, neck and shoulders massage which he thought was too short.

Sunday was spent at home. Tried to tub with the pups but they were terrified of the water. They hanged on to us like crazy and wouldn't let go! Coffee was so funny, peddling with his limbs so fast even though he was out of water. I cooked dinner, made soup (black chicken and fish maw and conch) and fried vegetables with pork liver sausage. Yummy. (^-^)

5th birthday in HK

2010-01-18T15:50:00.005+08:00

My 3rd Hello Kitty birthday cake! ^-^

I had a great birthday week this year! And for consecutively 3 years, my staff in HK bought me Hello Kitty cakes since they know that anything Hello Kitty will make me very happy. ^-^

On Friday, I had dinner with hubby at Olea, Novotel Citygate, just the 2 of us. It was a nice cozy restaurant which was not crowded and had an open kitchen where I could smell the pizzas baking. We had tapas, pizza and lamb cutlets with sparkling wine. The pizza was especially delicious. I think we will be going there for dinner quite often...

On Saturday, we had tim sum lunch with J and the Ma's at Lei Garden, Shatin. J was going back to Singapore that evening and his wife was out doing her last minute shopping, so he joined us alone. Lei Garden's tim sum was really good, too bad they don't have a branch at TST where my office is...

For dinner, we went to Amigo at Happy Valley with the Ma's. Ma shares the same birthday as me and he recommended Amigo after having a great time for his wife's birthday in December. It was an old French restaurant with a history older than me. The interior of the restaurant was very European with a bar on the ground floor and dining on the second floor up a winding stairway. There were oil paintings hanging on the walls and the chandeliers were lighted with real candles! There was also a live band consisting of 3 Filipino guys who could sing English, Mandarin and Cantonese songs going table to table obliging song requests and entertaining the guests with their impressive voices. The ladies were served first and presented with a rose after dinner. For birthdays, the signature cake (Napoleon) will be on the house and also a Polaroid photo of the occasion will be taken. Oh yah, memo pads printed with the guests' names will also be presented upon arrival at the table! I think they are for making song requests to the band.

Anyway, dinner was delicious, we had foie gras, escargots, clam chowder soup where the clams were fresh, fat and juicy, then we had the main course and then we had the most delicious souffle that I had ever had. And since it was my birthday, we were given the house cake which was also good but not as great as I had hoped. At the end, we had our coffees and teas and which came with ice cream balls coated with chocolate which was better than the cake. I think it's because I like chocolate better? All of the above for the price tag of HKD3570 for 4 of us without drinks. Not cheap at all and I would recommend going there only for special occasions.

On Sunday, we spent a day with the puppies and we brought them out to the park again. Cookie was ecstatic! She ran so fast! I love watching all the different variety of dogs at the park and having the dog lovers come cooing over Cookie being so small and cute. Apparently, many of them have had toy poodles but most them not as small size as Cookie. Coffee was terrified of all the bigger dogs that come sniffing at his butt. Such a funny sight. LOL

39!

2010-01-15T13:24:00.009+08:00

I had a pleasant surprise yesterday. I had a birthday present hand-carried and delivered to Hong Kong from Singapore! My ex-colleagues from the warehouse remembered my birthday and had J bring me the present while vacationing in Zhuhai, Macau and Hong Kong with his family. It was really sweet and nice of them. ^-^

This is the 5th birthday celebrated in Hong Kong and same as previous years, I received flowers and my staff bought me lunch. The girl at the reception was asking me if I will have a Hello Kitty cake again this year....hmm...I wonder?

I celebrated my birthday with E and J last night at a private dining place called "家宴". It was a 8-course dinner and it was delicious. I would love to go back for dinner again in February or March, with hubby and the Ma's. Their menu change every month except for the 3 signature items which are the lobster salad, the prawn and the crab dishes remaining the same. And I think they will all love it. It costs HKD260 per person and that includes tea and service charges.

Ok, back to my birthday. I am 39 this year but I am not worried of being old as I do not feel old at all. I may have a few wrinkles on my face and neck, I may have put on some weight at my waistline, hips and thighs, but I am in good health and everything in my life is falling into places nicely! I am finally on my way to getting the MBA that I had wanted to get more than 10 years ago, my children are growing up beautifully, our apartments in Singapore are finally ready for occupancy, bought the car I had always wanted to drive, bought not 1 but 2 tiny toy poodle puppies and my marriage life is better than ever! So how much more can I ask for? I am HAPPY, very HAPPY. Om Sai Ram!

I was talking to my daughter the other day when she was here on school holidays and she told me that she would like to be a fashion magazine editor. It's good to have ambition and dreams but honestly, how many of us actually get to do what we like to do and actually make a living out of it? I have a good job, it is not my ideal job but it helps me provide for my family and also gives me a comfortable lifestyle. In that sense, I like my job but I hope that in 5 years, I can actually start to do what is really meaningful and what I really like to do. :)

Bye 2009! Happy 2010!

2010-01-05T13:22:00.007+08:00

Hi! Happy New Year to all! Hope that 2010 will be better for everybody as 2009 was kind of a bad year for many.

The reasons I didn't write for so long were mainly due to studies which I have completed exactly 50% in December 2009 and pure laziness...hehehe. Anyway, it's the new year and I thought I should start writing again. So, here I am again! :)

Reflecting on the past year, 2009 was not a bad year for me at all! For one, I am still kept employed in Hong Kong and then I made some major changes to my lifestyle. Started playing bowling on a regular basis and even joined a league which was fun. Upgraded my bowling balls from 10lbs to 14lbs and made it over 200 a couple of times. Then I got myself 2 teddy bear toy poodle puppies which I had wanted for 4 years since seeing them (the species, I mean) for the 1st time during my Taipei trip in 2005. Coffee and Cookie, have brought us so much fun in 2009 and I am sure they will bring us even more love and fun in 2010 and many more years to come.

We have also moved house...all the way into Lantau Island for bigger space and better air. And we bought a car, not just a normal car but a beetle cabriolet! Life is certainly making a better turn for us here in Hong Kong and I am ready to stay for as long as I am needed here. The only problem is the baby issue...to have one or not to have one? For many people, things like this will be best let nature takes its own course but for our case, we will have to go through the IVF process if we want to have one and this process is going to take a toll on us, especially me and it sucks...

Plans for the new year:

1. Complete at least 7 subjects for my MBA.

2. Move the family into the new apartment.

3. Visit San Francisco in April.

4. Extend my contract in Hong Kong for 1 year.

5. Make baby?

Weekend Update ~ Singapore

2009-10-06T10:26:00.005+08:00

Other that I had a flight delay back to Singapore on the cheapo Jetstar plane last Wednesday night, I actually had a nice weekend long weekend back at home catching up with my friends and family. :)

On Thursday, we had lunch with hubby's mum and uncle at my favorite prawn noodle shop on Upper East Coast Road. Then we visited hubby's birth place and childhood home on Onan Road which was to be torn down to make way for some private apartments. It was really rundown and I could feel that hubby didn't like living in it at all. The stairs leading up to the apartment was to him the scariest part of the place when he was young.

We went to some dog farms at Pasir Ris with D in the afternoon. Saw some pretty cute puppies but somehow, none of them were comparable to my Coffee and Cookie. I loved the Golden Retriever puppies that I saw but we do not have the kind of house for them...too bad. I would really love to see how Coffee and Cookie will interact with a Golden Retriever. It will be such a funny sight to see a big Golden Retriever being chased by the tiny Toy Poodles. Imagining the scene is making me smile... :) We didn't buy any puppies but the best part of the trip to the dog farms was a chance-meeting with a Malaysian van with the best durians on sale. It was really tasty eating durian out in the open, the unique Singapore experience.

We had supper with some old colleagues on Thursday night at East Coast Lagoon. Had some very tasty local treats such as satay, tulang, fried oyster omelet, cockles, BBQ stingray, etc. It was such a feast!

On Friday, hubby had to fly back alone because of his classes on Saturday but we managed to squeeze in a lunch with his whole family. His elder brother whom we have not met for a long time came too and I could feel that hubby was more than happy. MIL was really happy too, almost forgetting that her younger son was leaving that afternoon...I thought she didn't even say goodbye to him...

After hubby left for Hong Kong, I met some of my good frineds from school on both Friday and Saturday over some very good food again. Laksa, durian desserts, frog porridge...Yummy! I also managed to window shop at Ion, the latest shopping mall in town. The building structure was kind of special, but I thought that it was not very shoppers friendly inside. It was easy to loose your way inside the mall.

Sunday morning was spent quietly at home with mum and son before the flight. D is so fascinated with the yo-yo at the moment, he can do so many tricks with his yo-yo that I felt a little impressed. Now, if only he can put as much dedication in his studies and piano practices... N was out on a study group with some of her classmates and probably showing off the handphone that I had bought for her the day before. She's in puppy love now and I hope she enjoys her youth as much as possible.

Stinky as a rotten egg

2009-10-05T11:19:00.008+08:00

Just came home last night from Singapore and I am still trying to snap myself back to the cruel reality of having to finish up my team assignments and having to concentrate on my work. I have not been productive at the whole morning since sitting here at my desk. I am just trying to figure out what I should do first...prioritise, prioritise...I have already put off writing my weekly report; since it was just 3 days of work last week, I single-mindedly decided that I can don't write anything this week and leave it to next week.

It was kind of a tough week for me. My boss in HK announced to me last Thursday that he has decided to take the VMI Support function out from my department and the woman who is handling it will be retrenched. It was 2pm when he announced it to me and I am suppose to disclose to this woman at 4pm the very same day. It was difficult, especially when this woman is sort of a friend whom I used to meet outside the office. I should have expected this to happen, she was one of those many "old" colleagues that the new management has targetted to cut. They are expensive and unproductive, if I am the boss, I will also choose them to cut.

In order to prevent any bad feelings, I decided to disclose the news to her before the offical time. She took it quite hard, asking to be released immediately from her position even though the company requested her to do a handover of jobs in a week or two. And since I also do not want her to create anymore trouble for me, I released her. She left before the day was over without clearing her things. She came back to the office the next day, but not until almost everyone has left the office. The HR personnel did not agree to do handover with her as she was officially off-duty and told her to come back during office hours. She refused and called me on my mobile to complain to me and requesting me to help her if the HR personnel call me. I was on my way to the airport to catch a flight home and I was totally upset by her. She is really such a bad egg! Why can't she just do as per the company's rules? Why must she give so much trouble to us? In the end, she insisted to pack her stuff and asked a junior staff in the department to help her handover her pass and handphone card to the HR department instead. That's the most annoying part, this junior staff is already helping her with her work and standing in for her to do the transfer of jobs to the Accounting department.

I am very angry with her and I am more angry with myself for choosing her to join my department 1 year ago. I should have just let her be retrenched there and then, why should I bother? I understand that she has pride, but this is not the way to handle things. She is being compensated fully and she has the responsibility to make the transfer go smoothly. In this way, she will only be known for her rotten egg ways and not for any good she has done over these 16 years she had worked in the company. It's such a pity.

Weekend Update ~ Operations Management Final Exams

2009-09-28T11:27:00.005+08:00

Completed my 7th subject with the final exams for Operations Management and I have 11 more subjects to go. I was kind of disappointed with the exams question though because it was a really stupid question. Instead of requiring me to write a report using the concepts and theories that I have learnt in Operations Management, it asked me to find data on the trend of Toyota's recent recalls and from that information, find the root cause to the quality issues and recommend some quality management program to Toyota. Most of the theories and concepts we studied in Operations Management comes from Toyota and now for the final exams, I need to recommend Toyota something new? It's ridiculous!

Anyway, I downloaded the question at around 9pm on Saturday night after coming home from dinner with hubby and basically got so fedup with the question that I slept through it. I woke up at around 7am to do the paper and submitted by 1pm. I don't know how but I managed to squeeze 1900 words out and after that I was totally drained...

Cookie in a soup bowl~

2009-09-21T10:15:00.004+08:00

I put Cookie in a soup bowl and took a picture of her. She fitted right in! How cute! She is so tiny!

I gave the 2 of them a bath yesterday in the bathroom sink and they smell great after that. Then I had them on my bed for the whole afternoon while we watched TV and study. Unfortunatelt, they are still not toilet trained yet, so I did get a little pee on my sheets. But I am fine with it, it's part and puzzle of having pets. My mum would freak out though but I seriously think that man and animals can live very well together. Everyone should have a pet! It's heathy!

Bundles of Joy

2009-09-18T10:25:00.005+08:00

The two tiny toy poodle puppies have added much joy to our humble home which is now offically a "doggy house". They have been with us for the past 5 nights and so far they have been sleeping through the night. They wake up very early in the morning though...6am on the 1st day, 6:30am on the 2nd day, 7:15am on the 3rd day, 6:30am on the 4th and finally 7:30am this morning. We have decided to give them a late night feed so that they can sleep until later in the morning and I think it is working...

Here's a picture of the 2 of them! :)

Weekend Update - My Tiny Toy Poodles~

2009-09-14T10:42:00.007+08:00

I am sorry Oreo, I won't be taking you home... Oreo is the name of the blue toy poodle that I had decided to name when I set off to Causeway Bay yesterday evening intending to take him home. M and his wife came to fetch us at around 5:15pm, they are really sweet, they both love dogs and they wanted to see the puppy that I have mentioned to them the whole time we were bowling on Saturday night.

After arriving at Causeway Bay, I decided to take them to another pet shop selling some tiny toy poodles imported from Taiwan. I know Mrs M loves small dogs, so I thought she would love to see those little darlings. I wanted to make a comparison too, just to make sure that I wouldn't make the wrong choice. The shop owner recognized me from Friday, he picked up the sweet little girl that I had carried and handed it to me almost immediately. Oh, she is so small and so sweet and so cute! Such a little darling! Then another boy was frantically trying to catch our attention, jumping around, playing and disturbing the rest in the cage. Hubby thought that he was so funny and so he brought him out too. Then I was thinking to myself, why not I get a boy and a girl? Both of them will cost less than Oreo alone! Besides, they are in my original intented colour of choice!

We went to see Oreo anyway. He was as usual very active and happy to be brought out of his cage so that he could run around and play with the other adult poodles. There were several other adult poodles around with really beautiful thick coats of fur. Oreo is very, very beautiful, but somehow, I feel that it belong to owners with bigger homes, homes with a spacious living room for it to run around, and that is definitely not my house in Hong Kong. If I am in Singapore, I will probably take him home with me, he will enjoy playing with the kids and running around the house.

I couldn't make up my mind, so we went off for dinner, I needed everybody's suggestions. Mrs M said she prefer the tiny ones, *me too actually*, hubby said he would like to have a boy and and a girl, *NICE*, Mr M said having 2 will be more fun than just 1, *I'm convinced*. So in the end I bought 2 tiny toy poodles instead. \\^-^//

And I have named them Coffee and Cookie. My little darlings!

What is stopping me?

2009-09-13T15:30:00.004+08:00

I have fallen in love with this dog which we saw in a pet shop at Causeway Bay. It was really a coincidence that we found this shop after coming out of the MRT station on Friday evening. We were intending to go to some of those pet shops along the streets to see some puppies. We always do that, it's one of our favorite "pass-times" in Hong Kong. We spotted the sign "Gaite Poodle" almost immediately coming out of the station and we decided to check it out. It was on the 2nd floor and after the shop owner opened the door for us, we saw just 2 poodle puppies for sale. One was in the teddy bear colour and the other was black, at least to me it was black at first sight.

However the information written on the cage was "blue toy poodle" and after being showed closely, he was indeed bluish. His coat of fur was amazing! So thick and yet so soft to the touch! I have never touched a coat of fur as fine as his. He was obviously very healthy and very smart. Oh, he is such a sweet, sweet darling! I wished I could bring him home immediately!

To bring him home, the price tag is HKD33,000. Is the price tag stopping me? I would think not as I think he is really worth that kind of money. Then what is stopping me? I guess it's the responsibilities involved. Can I take good care for him? Do I have enough time to play with him? I am working and studying and out of the house most of the time, so how am I going to make sure that he will be happy in my home? Hubby is not helping even though he likes the dog a lot too. He is sleeping the whole Sunday away...I wish to go see the dog again. I am feeling really terribly miserable now, almost like I am being jilted and out of love now... Can I ever forget him?

Sweat palms and feet...

2009-09-09T09:27:00.004+08:00

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning...literally and was late for work due to not being able to get a taxi even after walking a few blocks away. I hate it when the school term starts in Hong Kong, all the taxis suddenly just disappear! And it was such a humid morning, I started perspiring and of course my hands and feet are dripping with sweat now....

I have always been suffering from excessive sweaty palms and feet since young. It's hereditary, my dad had this problem and so I have it. It is not life threatening but just terribly inconvenient and bothersome. Because of this problem, I cannot do many things that involve using my hands such as sewing, knitting and I definitely cannot be in the service industry where I will need to provide services to clients with my hands such as a beautician or a hair-stylist. In Singapore, guys with my condition will be exempted from handling arms during National Service, I heard. I can understand that totally, the riffle or machine gun would just slip through my hands!

The condition gets worse when I am nervous, like when I was taking exams during my school days, I had to put a hand towel under my hand when I write. If not, the examination paper would be ruined with my sweat. On the social level, I avoid shaking hands with people I meet and I never hold hands with the boys I dated. Can you imagine how difficult it is? Anyway, I am glad that I am working for a Japanese company and Japanese do not shake hands, they bow. Perfect for me.

I almost forgot, today is our 5th aniversary! Happy Aniversary, darling! These 5 years have been wonderful!

Who's the real woman?

2009-09-07T15:40:00.007+08:00

Who's the real woman? Should all women have perfectly made-up faces, boobs, slim waists and curvy bottoms? Who decides what a woman should look like?

Weekend Update

2009-09-07T12:01:00.007+08:00

I think a 2-day weekend is too short...maybe I am just being lazy but I bet many people out there agree with me.

Went to meet hubby for lunch at his school on Saturday afternoon and explored the campus a little. It was really a fine campus with some very beautiful views of the sea. The weather was a little too warm though, if not, I would have spent a nice leisure afternoon near the sea reading my notes while waiting for hubby to finish his afternoon lecture. Anyway, I spent the afternoon at the coffee shop on a very comfortable armchair with a nice cup of cafe latte. Lazy as I was, I managed to finished what I had intended to read. It was at least 15 years since I was in a campus environment and surprisingly, I did not feel out of place. I think the next time I go there, I will bring my notebook and read inside the library while enjoying the view of the sea.

It would be great to stay near the campus at Clear Water Bay or Sai Kung but going to work in the morning will be a struggle...

Best Score - 223!!!

2009-09-01T00:09:00.002+08:00

I made it over 200 again! It's 223 tonight on the 5th game! 5 strikes in a row! \\^-^//

The feeling was fantastic! Could really feel my heart pounding hard after the 5th strikes. It was a very enjoyable night at the alley. Can't wait to go again on Wednesday. :)

Weekend Update - Bowling Buffet

2009-08-31T13:27:00.003+08:00

There was a bowling buffet event at MFBW on Saturday night for HKD198 per person for 7pm until 12:30am with unlimited games and a buffet dinner thrown in. We thought it was too good to be true so we made reservations for that event weeks ago and went.

It was indeed a good deal I must say but maybe also because it was such a good deal, it attracted many unprofessional players and none of the usual league players. 4 of us were arranged to play in one lane and the ones right beside us were a bunch of casual players who didn't know the rules and neither the manners. It was quite a rowdy night but we manage to play 12 games each in 5 hours. Best score for the night was 184.

Next time, we will just book for 6 and get 2 lanes instead.

View from my window

2009-08-29T15:28:00.003+08:00

I really like this view outside my window...I can sit here all day, looking out and seeing how the colours change gradually. I heard there are plans to build a cultural center at the bay where theatres like the Sydney Opera House and the Singapore Esplanade will be built. And the yacht club is going to be there too. I can already see a couple of yacht parking there now. I wonder if I will still be in Hong Kong when they are all completely built.

Girlfriend from hell...

2009-08-28T11:51:00.002+08:00

This video of an angry girlfriend hitting her boyfriend at the groin repeatedly during a fight in public was being filmed and posted on STOMP in Singapore. Apparently it has since caused quite some public opinion about the shocking behaviour of the girl. Many said that it is not the right way to treat a guy no matter what wrong he might have done, especially not in public. She could have hit him in the car where nobody could see, she could have done it at home, blah, blah blah.

Message? Do whatever you want, just don't get filmed...

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/35250.html

Made it!

2009-08-28T09:24:00.003+08:00

I forgot to take a photo as I was overjoyed, but I have made it to 200 for the 1st time on Wednesday night! It was a great night at bowling. Total games played 8, and I was scoring 160+, 170+, 180+ and then I made it to exactly 200! *Happy* \\^-^//

Weekend Update - Movies

2009-08-24T10:34:00.004+08:00

Didn't go bowling this weekend but stayed at home to catch up on my readings and submitted my assignments. I am into the last 4 weeks of the Operations Management module and is starting the Financial Reporting and Statement Analysis module this week. I am glad that hubby is also starting his studies at HKUST because I won't be the only one struggling with readings and assignments then. :p

While studying, we watched 3 old movies on HBO, "Juno", "Heartbreak Kid" and "You've Got Mail". I especially like "Heartbreak Kid" which was about this guy (Ben Stiller) who fell in love with another woman on his honeymoon. It was hilarious! But I think the same kind of situation does happen to many people. Not as extreme as in the movie maybe but haven't you have the feeling that the person you are with is not really the right one but you are just going through the motion? And when the right one comes along you just can't wait to jump out of the old relationship? Then you will become the heartless one, the bad guy, the fickle-minded one, blah, blah, blah.

"Can 2 persons fall in love and stay in love forever?"

"What should one do when he/she feels that he/she has made the wrong choice in marrying the wrong person?"

"To what extend should the marriage vows but kept?"

Although all 3 movies had different storyline, they all have breakups and divorces incorporated in their story. Juno's parents were divorced and the couple who was going to be the adoption parents to her baby also divorced in the end due to differences in their pursuits. Both Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail" broke up with their respective boyfriend and girlfriend. I think life is too short to be feeling sorry for yourself. So, in my opinion, it is really okay to walk out of that rotten relationship and start life afresh. I am glad for what I did. :)

Best Score - 20th August 2009

2009-08-21T09:15:00.002+08:00

This was my best score last night playing 18 games in 6 hours at MFBW with my new bowling ball, the Wild Thing. And yes, I think we are crazy but it was great fun! :)

We reached the bowling alley slightly after 6pm and started the 6-game package each on lane 13 and 14. After that, we moved on to lane 21 and 22 for another 4 games each with M and his wife. We didn't care about dinner, so we each ordered the house chicken burger from the alley's cafeteria which was delicious. After the 10th game, we took a 10-minute break and started playing another 8 games each from 9:30pm until mid-night! That's when I scored my best ever 192. In fact, I was playing quite well from 10pm last night because I finally found the line and the correct delivery of the ball. I was scoring above my target of 150 continuously for 6 games! I guess my next target will be 170 and hopefully, I can score about 200 in the near future....

There will be no more bowling for the next 2 days at least.

Weekend Update - Completed 6 Subjects! \\^-^//

2009-08-17T13:29:00.004+08:00

I have completed 6 subjects for my MBA this weekend with the final exams on the Data Analysis and Decision Making module. Yippee! And I have 12 more subjects to do...

On Friday evening, hubby and I went for a photo-taking session at CoverGirl because hubby was interested to make a magazine-looking album out of our photos. There was a booth at MK's station offering the photo-taking session at an attractive promotional rate, so we went for it. The package included 3 costumes and image designs for me but hubby had to wear his own clothes. I couldn't find anything I liked for the casual look, so I wore my own. But for the gowns portion, I chose a wedding gown and a Victorian style gown. We had fun! Maybe next time I should bring mum. Can't wait to view the photos!

After the photo-taking session, we went bowling again at MFBW. Played around 8 games and my average scores were still around 130...no improvement yet with my new ball. I have to work harder, the league will start mid- September. I hope I can average 150 by then. Hubby has been making very good progress with his new ball though and he is very serious about the game now. M has also bought a new ball and is making good progress. Mrs M is also maintaining at the 140 range. Looks like I am the only one still lacking behind now...gotta work harder!

On Saturday, accompanied hubby to HKUST for his post-graduate program registration. The campus was really far away from the city and the view of Clear Water Bay was really good, but it took us more than an hour to reach there by bus and MTR. The registration took less than half an hour though and after that we went to Diamond Hill's Hollywood Plaza for a late lunch. We would have gone bowling again if I didn't have exams....but we are going again tonight after work! :)