Leave me alone - I'm a big gal!

This is a true story told to me by my best friend, Netali.

Netali's colleague has just found out that she's pregnant. Nothing much wrong with that, except that she's not married and her foetus is unstable and bleeding, which resulted in her having a 2 weeks mc. To top it up, she has just joined a new company.

When Netali learnt of it, she was shocked, nevertheless, she still showed her support to her colleague and assured her that all will be fine.

Unfortunately, when the colleague's bosses heard of it, the uanimous decision was immediate termination. The reasons given to Netali was even more shocking that learning of the baby's news. Firstly, it was on moral grounds. The bosses could not accept that the colleague would be an unwed mother (nevermind that the wedding date has been fixed and is just round the corner). They could not accept that people in the streets will now be gossiping that ABC Company has an unwed mother. Secondly, by being pregnant, it has propelled to an impending marriage, which would mean that Netali's colleague will be entitled to marriage leave and maternity leave. In her bosses' own words: how can she do this to the company?

Netali and her other colleagues are now afraid. Their morale is down to an all time low. So many issues that they just cannot comprehend.

1) Do the bosses of ABC Company think that just because they are Christians and abhore pre-marital sex, that the entire company must abide by this principle as well. Netali has gone through her contract, never once did it state that there are certain moral values the staff need to believe & practise. They ought to consider putting these clauses in their contracts now.
This is a disgrace to Christians in general. Whatever happened to the story in the bible of the return of the prodigal son? Did Jesus not enter the house of the prostitute of Mary Magdalene? What about the forgiveness of sins that we were taught?

2) Does ABC Company simply leave their staff in the lurch by abandoning them at the point when much support and love is required. This basically also means that staff should abandon ABC Company once there's is any sign that ABC Company is in distress.

The point that Netali was trying to bring across was she and her colleagues are now all adults. They know their responsibilities and hope that their bosses are able to be more professional and not mix personal with business affairs. In any case, they have not screwed up in their work, so the bosses should not try to take on the role of a parent and try to teach their staff a thing or 2 on how to live their lives.

Show that you care, that staff welfare matters, and employees will go the extra mile for u.

Bitch - either Or

I do not like to speak of the evils of the departed.

But I have to make a point, that there are many many unfortunate people out there who could do much more with US$12 million. It need not be your kin who may have shown too much keeness in a possible inheritance windfall, but it definitely does not mean a spoilt canine who obviously would not know how to spend or even splurge it.

I have no respect for people who treat their dogs on the same or higher level than fellow humans. If you can't respect your own beings, what makes you think you can do better with a "chien". This white bitch reminds me of some other white bitches that I've come across in my lives who have been spoilt rotten by their owners. I bet these owners could not have done a better job raising their kids, which could have possibly contributed to them growing up as unfilial terrors.

It irks me when I read about how dog owners are fighting for the rights of their dogs to be allowed into restaurants, to sit on the same chairs & to eat from the same utensils as human customers. Why don't I see them standing up for more humane causes like the slavery in Africa? Obviously, this may seem rather far-fetched but basically the point that I'm trying to put across is, respect the religions and sensitivies of your fellow beings before trying so hard to defend another being, however loyal they could be. Otherwise, please fly to Mars to live with your bitch.

Who is he?

I've been seeing this guy around Singapore for the past few months, from Raffles Place to Orchard. I feel extremely sorry for him and always drop a dollar note or 2 into his bag. I do not know where is he from. There's a pen hanging round his neck, for passers by to fill up a "charity coupon". It's really weird though, as the pen is hung at such an awkward angle that it almost seemed that the intention is to deter people from filling up the forms. I haven't gone close enough to read the form, to see which society he is representing. I doubt I will ever do that though, it just isn't right. To even have a peep at the coupon would mean he has to be shifted. I do not think it's any decision of his to be put there.. ALONE.

Thinking back, I now have more doubts. Looking at the condition of this guy, it is almost impossible for him to have wheeled himself to the MRT. It has got to be a society or an individual who sent him on these "missions", but by leaving him there by himself appears so irresponsible. It hardly seems likely that a society will just abandon its members and having them collect funds without an able person next to him. Yet, with the pen & forms, he seems to be representing a society. Then again, it could be that there's a single mastermind who's behind this, hoping to tap on the compassion of Singaporeans, who have been known to give with their hearts and not their heads.

Whatever it is, I hope that all the money that he has collected goes directly to his welfare, to pay for his upkeep, his meals and his clothes and not used for unscrupulous means.

Magnificat

Yesterday was the annual procession for Our Lady. This is always held on the 1st Sunday of September.. I've always been awed at this event because people of all races, of various religions and from all walks of lives will gather on this day to celebrate and pray together. The crowd turnout never fails to amaze me. I've taken some photos and even spoted a cute boy (last pic) in the midst! For those who do not know who Our Lady is, She's Jesus's mother, whom we pray to for intercessions. In layman terms, as per Fong, we ask her for help. Being Jesus's mother, we believe that He will listen to her just like when he acceded her request to turn water into wine during a wedding dinner, His 1st miracle..

Scrabholics

My husband is one & so is Fong.. they got me hooked (though at this point I seem to be losing by quite a bit and do not seem to be catching up anytime soon). I've just got June on this and am trying to persuade Ailin. Unfortunately, Ailin claims she's faceless so she's got no eligibility to be on Facebook.

Ok, gotta scram, it flashing "My Turn" ..

Your last thoughts

Quote " One the day you die, you ask yourself: What have you done and is this the kind of life that you wanted? ... We are so busy chasing everything else we forget to ask ourselves 'What is our purpose?" Unquote. Ken Lim - Arena Sept 2007.

I can never understand. Maybe I shouldn't take such statements literally. It could be just a figure of speech. But I can't help but wonder why people have to be so philosophical about their lives ( &/or deaths?) It's such an irony when on the same article, he commented that our (Quote) "media's superficial assessment of our televsion artistes and the Government's push to be a creative hub." Unquote.

I've not been on the brink of death so I do not know what my last thoughts will be. But I know for sure, I will not think of what I did in my living years. I will just be comforted knowing that I was happy once and was lucky to have loved and to be loved. For a fact, I most probably will be scared shitless to think of much.

My love will get you home

Thnks to Ah fong, now I'm in love with this song and the love story that accompanies it. DH has been singing it to himself every night. He says it's very comforting.

Listen... doesn't your heart melt? Simple lyrics but they mean so much

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0Frjer2drU&mode=related&search=

Hogwarts is not for me

I finally completed the last book of the Harry Potter series. Ok, so I cheated but so what. The book was incredibly boring. Since I 1st laid hands on it on 21/7, I only managed to finish max 10 pages before falling asleep. So until DH got fed up and asked when will he be able to read his belated birthday present 2 days ago, I decided to finish up the book once and for all. Finish in my own way, ie.

I flipped to the back, so I would know the ending. Something which I never, never would do in the past. Alas, Harry didn't die. What a damper! I'm not a fan of Harry Potter, much less a fan of Daniel Radcliffe. With the hype that someone would die, with the hype that there was high possibility that it would be Harry, I was hoping for a really dark, a really exciting ending.

Needless to say, I was highly disappointed when I found out that the affected ones were the "kaleifei", Fred, Snape.. Goodness, where's the thrill? Harry lives, Hermoine lives, Ron lives.. *yawn*.. I would rather hang out in plain, old Singapore town, at least I got to see choppers & weirdly dressed people (& canines) in town..

Eventful weekend

We did quite abit this weekend which started out with a dinner on Friday at Beijing Gong, somewhere along Kreta Ayer. Steven brought us there to try it's dishes, which are supposedly prepared along the likes of what the Imperial Palace used to have during the Qing Dynasty. I'm not a very adventurous person when it comes to food, much less eat like a royal when I've always liked my good old wonton mee & mee pok tak. Whilst it does take a little getting used to the Beijing style of cooking, I must say it's a place I'll recommend for people who want Chinese fine dining & excellent service but with the warmth & comfort that usually is lacking in a high class restaurant.

Appetizers alone were enough to fill my stomach

Steven and his friend Derek who's the boss (the guy in the background)

Saturday started off with the long overdue Transformers. DH & me didn't understand the ending. Could someone enlighten me please? I thought the cube was to be put in Oct Prime's chest (or heart or whatever) as IT wanted to sacrifice ITself to save the world. How the heck did it end up in Megatron's chest (or whatever part it was) and killed Megatron?? After that I had dinner at Maggie Thai. It's SeeToh's turn to be 30! HAHAHA! Check out the pics of the really bashful b-day girl who ended up sleeping in the hotel room whilst everyone else was having the fun of their lives! Damn to alcohol! Or is it because she's now 30... HAHAHA.. Join the club Seetoh!

Sunday morning was spent with parents as usual with church. Before DH & I scooted off to watch Harry Potter, I brought them for brunch at Olio. Felt rather guilty after my talk with Ah Bee & Ah Fong last night.. which btw, Bee & Fong, I dreamt last night that I bought 4 tickets (for them, DH & myself) to fly from Sin - London - NY - Sin via Cathay Pacific??!! It was so real & scary.. heaved a sigh of relief when I woke up.. kekeke..

9am this morning

My heart almost stopped when I saw that STI fell by triple digits. My jaw dropped, I made a few quick calls to mom & dad. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Laugh because it seemed like a good buying opportunity, but cry because that would mean that stocks at hand are worth peanuts. I've seen enough of reds for the past few days.. when can I see green? Some despaired clients called today, most wanted a listening ear, so I was there for them. Majority were lamenting that too many housewives, too many "ah te ah kow" were playing without knowing the fundamentals and it's causing unnecessary frenzy. Serious players will not be affected by trivial news and the market would not be so volatile.
Despite these heart stopping disastrous moments, I'm sure that there have been many times when people's hearts were alive because of the big profits they were raking in. We've all got to be objective, there will be ups, there will be downs. As humans, such unpredicatable moments are what gets us all excited and injects life into our, otherwise mundane tasks. What's more as Chinese, I'm sure most of us has that bit of gambling blood in us. Love it, hate it, we can't do without it.

All I can say is, let's trade with a bit more sanity. Let's not get too caught up with making money that we neglect our families, our friends and most importantly, ourselves. Let's relax & have a good weekend! Cheers!

Why collecting my new NRIC is scary?

Today i collected my new nric.. Wat does this mean? I'm sure some of u will know.. Yellow canaries was upset when she received her notification, DH was cs well. It brought about a whole new awareness for them. For me.. I'm not scared of growing old, I'm just scared of what that means. It just means that I'm a year closer to.. death.

I know this post will probably depress most people. And I dun blame you if you dun wan to read on. Recently, I've given this much thoughts. It happens usually in the night, when somehow I can't get to sleep and am tossing and turning in bed. In the stillness of the night, when it's dark, I will start thinking about the people around me who has left this world. I will recall the times which I spent with my grandparents, Uncle Michael etc. I miss them, all of them. They loved me very much and bought me many presents as I was growing up.

There was Uncle Michael who bought Ah Kong and me our daily lunches. I was really naughty. I always insisted on having chicken rice with char siew because I was sick of white rice and Uncle Michael has never once said no to me. He was looking forward to my wedding which my dad told him late 2005. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with cancer around April 06 and went in May 06. My cousin told me that before he left, he made it clear specifically that all his Chivas and Johnny Walkers were to be brought to my wedding dinner.

I will always remember Ah Kong (daddy), who passed away when I was 14, the night before my Literature mid-year exam, always giving me $10, sometimes as often as 3 times a week. I accepted it the 1st few times. Subsequently I tried to be a heroine and told him I didn't want his money anymore. Actually when I turned him down, it was because I felt bad to keep taking his money when he could spend it on himself. But I never realised until I crossed the rebellious teenage years that he wanted to give me because he loved me and that I may have inevitably hurt him by turning it down. I'm sorry Ah Kong. I still have your garfield and his friend, the brown teddy that you bought for me. They will always be my side. Ah Kong, thank you for taking care of me from baby till Sec 1.

I don't remember much about my Ah ma (daddy), as she passed away when I was only 3. Surprisingly though, whilst I don't remember much about what I did as 3 or below, I remember very vividly her funeral. I still remember the tantrum which I threw as I was the only one who couldn't fit into the mourning clothes that all my other family members wore. I remember going to Choa Chu Kang cemetry & seeing the coffin being lowered into the ground. That was the 1st funeral I ever attended, and at 3 yrs old , that is the only one which I can remember so clearly.

I also can't remember much about my Ah Kong (mummy). He passed away when I was 8. But he was a kind man, almost like my dad. Soft-spoken, easy going and always ready to help other. His funeral was at Mt Vernon and it was there that I had my 1st and worst sprained ankle ever. And the best part was I didn't even know I had a sprained ankle until an aunty saw me limping and informed my mom. How it happened, my cousins were all able to jump across the drain and me being the youngest & having the shortest legs, obviously failed miserably.

Ah-ma (mummy) was a funny one. She was rather vain, like my mommy, always dressing up & looking pretty. My 1st time on the aeroplane at 9 yrs old to Hong Kong was with her. It was there when she bought shoes, tried them on but somehow came back with 2 lefts! How, we still do not know up till this day. She passed on when I was 15, whilst peeling tow gay in the kitchen. It came as a shock to all of us, she wasn't that old and she had been healthy. But I guess God has plans for her.

I've often wondered why am I so afraid of death. Is it because I'm weak in my faith? Different religions have different beliefs. Reincarnation, eternal life with God or even becoming dust. All these are scary and I dread to think what will become of me. I was even discussing the possibility with Kathy many years back that we may play the harp in heaven. In other words, be angels. How do we become angels? I tried getting an idea from the bible, but the language was beyond your humble servant's comprehension. A resolution I've made for myself in advance for 2008, to seek an understanding of the Book of Revelations.

My Maternal grandparents, Aunty Connie, Mommy & a really tiny Moninet
My Paternal Grandparents, Kevin, Che Che & baby moninet

The Reason

1) Why I try to go back by 10pm on weekdays recently is to watch this serial on CH U. Absolute eye candies! Shirley posed this question to me last week. Do I feel the same way about her that somehow most Hongkong male actors are more charismatic as they grow older, but it doesn't happen to local actors. I used to be an ardent fan of Li Nanxing since his early days of Sunshine after Rain, but pity, he doesn't seem to be aging well.

2) Why I was so stressed last week was that my leave application on DH's birthday was rejected. My colleagues went on urgent leave & mc on Monday, leaving me with tons of stuff with tight datelines to clear. And when Monday doesn't go well, somehow the rest of the week will be just as bad.

3) Why I was a tad happier at the end of the week finally was that I managed to figure out how to use my new handphone. So now, I'm a handphone navigation expert! Not only I figured out my way with my N95, I even beat DH to it on his D810! Terms like Wi-fi, wireless@Sg, 3G no longer baffle me. I'm glad I made this step to upgrade myself! Kudos to moninet!

Happy birthday DH!

Lucky birthday boy! So many cakes! :)

Weddings - Specially dedicated to Jasmine & Dale, Alan & Sophrine, Angela & Brian, Pam & Kenji

Today is 7 July 2007. It's Live Earth day, but just as significantly, it's the day when many couples all around the world are getting married. It has been reported that 777 couples are registered today alone in Singapore. Funny though, out of these 777 couples (which makes 1554 people) none of them are my relatives nor friends. Nevertheless, last weekend was Meifen's wedding, Saturday was the church and Sunday was the dinner. I was excited about that day because I was happy for her and because I knew it would bring back beautiful memories for me as well.

I was never one of those girls who dreamt of donning a white wedding gown when I was little. (Possibly why I chose a blue/white gown eventually for myself about 29 years later) In fact as little girls, there have been giggly conversations on how old do we want to marry and what we envisage our weddings to be like. I could never bring myself to participate heartily in these conversations. I was never excited about weddings. I could not understand what the fuss was all about. Isn't it better to live with my parents for the rest of my life? Afterall, parents are the only ones who will ever love me unconditionally, well at least I know for mine.

Now, I'm all grown up. I'm excited about weddings, just as I was about mine. More and more friends are slowly walking down the aisle. I still remember when I called Angeline to ask her for Father Sitaram's tel no. (he was my JP btw & a very good one), she told me that I must enjoy my preparations as that was the best part of it all. She missed the fun she had. She married about 3 years before me. I was skeptical. How can that be possible? For me, the preps had just started and I was mighty cheesed off by how much there was to be done. Everyday was like war, war between DH and me, war between parents & me, war between my inner & outer soul, just to name a few.

When the wedding was finally over, I thought over what Angeline told me, and I realised what she meant. The actual day had gone by in a flash, and at the end of the day I was totally exhausted to ponder about what had happened. The video was the saving grace, if not for it, I would not have had the chance to recall events that happened. What I remember vividly though were the preparations which took place from the day I started searching for the venues, around July 2005, right up to the day before my wedding on 21 Oct 2006. The arguments with my DH, though extremely trying at times, ultimately brought us closer as we took this opportunity to know each other's likes & dislikes as well as each other's characters even better.

The fact that the day had gone on so well gave me pride in my step by step planning and knowing that I had friends who had so willingly sacrificed their time to help. On this point, I do also think that wedding is a good time to know who are your friends and who are not. There will be people who immediately accepted your invitation, or at least had the decency to tell you upfront that they can't make it. Yet there were some, who hemmed & hawed, unable to decide if they should attend. The worst of the lot, those who didn't turn up the day itself though they had said they would. Fortunately, these were less than a handful and I'm not sad to say that I've not spoken with them ever since. I'm better off without such people in my life.

To my friends who are preparing for their big day, I dedicate this entry to you, with the hope that you will put aside all stress & frustrations you are encountering with your preparations and focus on the joys derived throughout this process. Treasure these memories as they will never come by again.

Indignant

Pam juz said I may like the disposed Taiwan idol contestant... wah rau! Have more faith in me la! No more bengs.. Just take a look at my handsome, banana husband! hahahaha!but granted, his singing is Goooood! (It's the 2nd singer, dressed all white) I've copied one of the links fr pam's site for my ah lian frens to check out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQdiaorSJ_k

JuMp

Jump is in Singapore for 2 nights. It was pretty comical and I belived lotsa effort has been put in to ensure that the audience are thoroughly entertained. The sound effects were good. To me, it's takes a huge skill to co-ordinate the movements with the sound. It's a live performance and there's no 2nd chance.

However, I think the "old man's" appearance was rather bland. It was a poor imitation of our own Liang Po Po. Given the talent that Joo Sun Kim has in martial arts, he could have been given a meatier role when entertaining us. Instead there were scenes which were repetitive and after a while, it was just no longer humorous but rather a pain to watch.

There were also a few boo-hoo scenes. An actor missed catching his rod and another lost his balance when perfoming the somersaults in the air parts. Anyhow, since I am nowhere near doing any of these tricks, I shan't comment further as afterall, noone's perfect!

Overall, I think Jump pales in comparison to Nanta (cooking). I watched this many years back, when I was still in Uni, possibly 1998 or 1999. I missed it when it came to Singapore a couple of years back. Nanta is truly a joy to watch, I recall that every single part was funny, if not exciting. The way the knives were thrown about. It was a pity that when DH & I were in Seoul 2 years back, there wasn't enough time for us to slip in this itinenary in our hectic tour schedule. If anyone is in Seoul, do make it a point to catch this, it's worth every cent!

It's a bloody hot day

Just came back from lunch with Ah fong at Shah Alam. That girl was lucky to enjoy her lunch in the shade, but poor me, basking in the sun & dripping sweat. What's up with the weather!

For the past few days, DH and I have been discussing about changing our handphones as our contracts are almost up. Which handphones should each of us get? So many choices that I'm getting confused. Should I get 3G, Wifi-enabled, or just stick to the basics? I feel rather disappointed with myself, as I was mentioning to Ah fong during lunch earlier. When I was younger, I used to update myself with all the latest technology. I knew all the models of handphones by heart, right to the point even where each phone's features were at the tip of my fingers. However, since I got hooked up with a tech-savvy boy, I realised I've been losing touch. Perhaps it's because I have someone to depend on to educate me when the need arises. I've been lazy and have begun to block out new information. Time obviously couldn't have waited for me, so here I am now, lost in the world of HDTV, 3.5G, Dongler, Broadband, Vista and what else not.

I think I will meet Ah Fong for lunch more often now. Why? Because she's so in the know of all these new gadgets and there's alot I can learn from her. Meanwhile, which handphone should I get? This?

almost finished claypot

on my way home from work, I kept reminding myself to take a photo of my mom's claypot.. alas, slipped my mind and it was only towards the end, I remembered. Imagine the surprised looks on my parents' and DH's faces when I suddenly jumped up, "oh! take picture for my blog". My mom was bewildered, "you have a blog? give me the address, i want to see".. oops, does that mean my blog's gotta be tame..

Still at work...

I'm still at work, another long day has passed. My DH came down to lunch with me this afternoon and I was lamenting to him about how I feel like a babysitter during office hours. I cannot comprehend how there can be such inefficient people in this fast paced ever changing world, shouldn't these people be out of job?

But then again, I know it takes all kinds of people to make up this colourful world, that is supposedly what makes the world beautiful. I'm telling myself, I need to be more tolerant of the various characteristics. That is why I chose to major in Sociology, that is why I'm still in my line of work. I curse & swear at the idiosycrancies I encouter but at the end of the day I go home with a light heart. That's the way to live, no hard feelings. It's really alot easier when there's no hatred within myself.

On a lighter note, I'm going home to my mom's place tonight. It's Wednesday, time for mommy's cuisine.. think I'm having chicken claypot, yum yum.. will see if I can get a picture of it .

Quiet nights

I've been catching up quite abit recently with my secondary school friends. It started early this year and I must admit it has been very fulfulling. We've sort of drifted apart a few years back when they decided to settle down and have kids. You know.. when people settle down and start a family, somehow they enter into a different world, a strange world...

I didn't used to understand this. I always thought everyone has to keep in touch with everyone forever. Why should we dump our friends for our partners whom we will never know if they can or will ever remember their vows of "till death do us part".

Now I do. I've entered into this strange world. Most of my time is spent just being a couch potato with my DH at home, lounging in front of the tv. But I'm glad to say that I do still have the occassional outings with my friends, whom I shall categorise as St Nick's frens, JC frens, AIA frens, Aviva frens and the remaining... "others".

My St Nick's friends have been warning me, "don't get too hooked up with your DH", "don't have kids too soon" or I'll end up like them. They enjoy clubbing & drinking now. I beg to differ. Kinda late I feel. I've been through those days. Probably the difference is they married young, I didn't. I had my share of ups & downs, my share of heartbreaks, my share of tears & hugging the toilet bowl for at least 7 consecutive birthdays because of lamborginis and waterfalls. I'm tired of these late nights hard partying and at this moment, nothing beats more than a quiet night out of coffee or chit chat sessions with my girlfriends and the few guys who somehow have become my semi girlfriends as well. Or a romantic dinner with my DH. Or... surprisingly, spending time with my parents. I had not imagined the day will ever come when I truly appreciate my dad & mom. Thinking back on those fights I used to have with them during my growing up years, it seemed then that it was impossible. Ironically, after marriage, I treasure them more & realise that i do miss mum's cooking afterall!

I pray I will never have to take back my words.

my 1st day of blog

why did i suddenly start this blog? A couple of months back, ah fong asked me why not start a blog.. afterall even bebe has one! That got me started thinking hard... real hard. How I can continue to be such a technology slacker when everyone else has gotten on the bandwagon?! No! Ah Fat cannot lose out... NO!!!

In fact I do have a blog. Or should I use "had"? I have a multiply one but granted, I hardly updated it. Only the occasional times when I needed to bitch about my wedding preparations. In any case, since I also hardly blog into it now, I might as well open a new account and this time round, share it with all my loved ones (ok, i'll include my hated ones as well). Free for all!

Let me introduce abit about myself... hmm.. what shall I say about myself? Nevermind, you'll learn more about me soon. Here's a pic of myself for you to oogle at, not exactly one worth drooling over, it's just me, greedy me, munching down a piece of giant watermelon in Hualien. The watermelons there were huge! And coincidentally the day I visited the beach there, a watermelon festival was on.

Ok, something to learn about me -> GREEDY