Monday, January 29, 2007

Reflection - Jan 29, 2007

I was at a wedding dinner of a former uni mate and caught up with the rest of my uni friends there. Well, we were seated on the same table and got a full 3 hours of catching ups and fooling around. Time seems to be playing on the fast-forward button and everyone seems to grow much much older but wiser and moved on to new phases of their lives.

Cheryl and David are getting married in July....that adds up another married classmate to the already existing 3 (Me, Nat and Martin) in the list...and still counting.......

Gone are the days when the only things we talk about were "Where are you studying?"; "Where do you hangout during the uni holidays?"; the latest updates on assignments; who goes out with who (well, we still ask this question every now and then); "What are your plans after graduation?"; "Where is the latest hangout place around campus?"; ....and other not-so life-enriching questions....well, some were but the present seems to be more realistic than those days when hello kitty and prom nights played a big hoo-hah in college!

Now the questions are mostly; "Where are you working now?"; "When is the big day?"; "Did you have a difficult labour? (ok, that was shot at me at the moment for being the only one in the circle to have a child)"; "Where do you think I can the best deal for wines for my wedding?"; "Damn...the toll rise has added much much more expenses to my monthly budget!"; "What do you think of the latest case on the 2 journalist bloggers who are being sued for posting controversial topics?".....ya da ya da ya da........a more realistic scenario of the real life as compared to the days when we lived on allowances from our beloved parents.

Now we have hopped onto the era where every single cent counts and no more such thing as "Let me ask permission from my parents." I'm not saying that we have ceased asking permissions from our parents on the things we do...but now it's more like "Let me inform my parents and see what they think." or "Let me discuss with my gf/bf/wife/husband." - another major hop onto the newer phase of life....

This might be a boring post but it has been on my mind for the past weeks after I tried recalling what has taken place for the past year and realised that my life is in the fast-forward mode where everything seems to happen in flashes and leave no time for reflections. Hence I have come to realise that cherishing the present is vital and procrastination should be avoided at all cost!





Tuesday, January 16, 2007

New Year Aftermath - 16 Jan, 2007

I realised how new year just came and went...just like that. no big hoo hah or whtsoever.....just like any other ordinary day ( we had a quiet countdown at my parents' place in Klang. Mom did steamboat and it was a family affair of a peace and quiet new year's eve).....and that brought back flashed back on how crazy we were in 2001 when we braved through the huge crowd in KLCC and took part in the countdown there. a good experience though...left a topic for us to talk about year after year......
with a toddler around now...no way this is gonna happen again....or perhaps for the next 10 years...either that of a countdwn without the kid/kids!

Looking back at 2006....major events took place....

1. Got myself something to do to fill my time......tutoring. a lil income..not much to cover the monthly expenses but enough for some self-indulging purchases....

2. Had our first family overseas vacation which was enjoyable with many sweet memories.

3. Started this BLOG! Hopefully I can maintain the regular posting...

I tried thinking what I did in 2006 and it took me more than 30 mins just to put in those 3...guess my life wasnt that eventful in 2006 afterall.......well, looking forward to a more happening one in 2007..i hope...

As written in the previous posting....I was in Penang fr Jan 9 - 12 with my aunt and cousins. What does one do in Penang? Eat, Eat, Eat.........
Pictures later.......

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Long and Winding Post! 16 Jan, 2007

This is gonna be a very long and winding post as stated in the title. So bear with me ok?
Was since end Dec til Early Jan..hence the late posting.......first, Singapore then Penang.....not to mention the laziness of typing and posting.......then the sudden lightning strike on 14th Jan which made my PC 'kaput'....well, it's still in the PC hospital for repair.......anyway.......here is the half of what happened....
Certain pictures will be included much later.....most pics r all stored in the hospitalised CPU.

- Hubby's birthday -
What a dissappointment! Avanti @ Sunway Lagoon Resort. Food was lousy, service was lousy...the only thing we enjoyed was when our little boy enjoyed the songs sung by the singing chefs at the restaurant. The husband vowed not to dine in there anymore. so much difference from our first experience there.

- Christmas @ Singapore -

Dec 22, 2006 - Hello Singapore
Left home before 9am for our journey there by car. A trip planned with another family (2 close family friens [Maria & Yeoh] with 2 kids [Natasha & Tze Han] and a maid). Yeah...we brought ours along too...to help look after the kids and of course, to give us some peace of mind for shopping! So there we were - 2 cars, 6 adults (incl. 2 maids) and 3 boisterous kids!
Made 3 stops altogether at Machap, Air Keroh and right before the entry to the Checkpoint. No glitches except for some noise by our little boy who was restless half way thru the journey.
Arrived at Singapore around 2pm. No jam or whatsoever obstacle at the Checkpoint which was a good sign to begin our holiday *wink*
Checked-in into M Hotel, our home for the next 4 days in Spore! Washed up and rested for a while before embarking to Orchard Road for dinner and of course....SHOPPING!
First purchase - Giordano Lycra blouses. only SGD8 each. How cheap can it go....And some Esprit shirts for Lil boy.
Verdict - A good warm-up for more shopping the next day!




Zach and Tasha...having some 'intimate' moments....



Dec 23, 2006 - Orchard Road
An itinerary for an entire day for shopping, shopping, shopping at Orchard Road again....This time..it's shopping til we dropped! Bought quite a number of things.....let's not get started on what purchases were made.....Mind mind! Orchard Road was like a sea of people! Front, back, left, right.....people, people people......but hey, it was an enjoyable trip!
Verdict - Full satisfaction.

Family Portrait!


A bath after a long day.....


Dec 24, 2006 - Singapore Zoo
As our promise to the kids, we made a trip to the Singapore Zoo. Arrived at 11am. Weather was good and most important of all...the kids behaved! All in all.....an enjoyable trip. Left the zoo at around 3.30pm and made an on-spot decision to go somewhere other than the ever-busy Orchard Road again. Made an on-spot decision to drop by IMM Mall at the secluded Jurong area. Something which is equivalent to our Subang Parade. Nothing to shout about yet a more peaceful place as compared to the buzzing malls @ Orchard. Had our dinner there and made some purchases..... well, what do you expect us to do other than shopping right? Put 2 modern moms together with the luxury of having the husbands and maids taking care of the kids and what do you get?.......more shopping bags at the end of the day! haha.....


Called it a day by 10pm. Counted down Christmas @ our hotel room...not too bad though!
Verdict - A tiring day filled with lotsa excitement and there you guessed it.....more shopping bags!

Dec 25, 2006 - Merry Christmas!
A late morning to start with because of the long day before.... A free and easy day without early plans made. Heard about the newly opened mall (Vivocity) around Harbourfront. Apparently it's the biggest shopping mall in Singapore. Decided...why not? a final day for shopping before heading back to KL the next day. The place only took us about 10 mins taxi drive from our hotel. Arrived there at around 11.30am. The kids were so engrossed with the huge space for running that Zach got so carried away...he puked right in the middle of the shopping mall! Had his milk on the way there and ran around with full stomach. What an embarrassment for mommy! Luckily the general workers there were kind enough to do the dirty job without a sour face. Thumbs up for them! Ok, that aside....
What do you do when you are thrown in the biggest mall in Singapore? SHOPPING la! Apa lagi?haha..... Mind...the MNG outlet there is huge! So is Esprit and G2000! got a few pairs of shoes from a local brand, Charles & Keith. Nice yet affordable. 2 cardigans from G2000. Not to mention some nice stuffs from La Senza too! *wink*
The husband also made a shoe purchase from Ecco - a well-known brand from Denmark (if I'm not mistaken)
Adjourned to the Each Coast for a seafood dinner. A nice place with a big park and harbour view from the restaurant. We had what I'd consider the biggest crab I've ever seen. Apparently they were from Sri Lanka and mind you, they tasted delicious and fresh! Apart from that, mediocre quality of other seafood. The bill came up to SGD160 which meant our dinner cost us almost RM400! Not a worthy dinner though. Can get better and affordable such meals back home!
Verdict - Full stomachs, more holes in the pocket, heavier luggage to carry and huge smiles on all 4 adults' faces!


After a tiring day shopping with mommy and daddy....



Dec 26, 2006 - Goodbye Singapore
Final packing before heading home. Left the republic @ around 1pm. A smooth journey home and made it home safely @ 6pm. We were hit by the reality that our holiday is ending and to avoid facing it, made another impromptu decision to have dinner together at Telok Gong. Yeah, seafood again but with more satisfaction of ordering what we liked and not worrying too much on the bill....it's always more comfortable to calculate in RM than SGD. hehe
Verdict - A good holiday spent and looking forward to another one next year! In the pipeline - Club Med, Cherating; New Zealand (a bit ambitious tho); Bangkok (not advisable after the New Year bombing). Well, it's just wishful thinking :)