Today Got School a not?

7am - 3.5year old bounced into our bedroom.

Asking me, "Mummy, when I sleep. Then I wake up, got school a not?"

This is her regular morning question to me. Instead of greeting us good morning, she will say "Today got school a not?"

I made a resolution when I was in the shower. Tomorrow I will turn the tables back at her and ask her instead "When I sleep. Then I wake up, got work a not?"...

Hmm... this question will surprise her and catch her off guard.

The Red Devil - COOLIO

In her new red rainjacket.

Cycling for life

We embark on our almost regular Sunday family outing. Cycling at East Coast Park.

OK frankly, I've an "evil" intention. I was hoping that some cycling would tone up my legs, trim down some flabby outlook & lessen my guilt as I munched on our delicious local food.

Anyway, the 3.5 year old had a try on being seated on the tandem bike. She refused to get down. Instead she said "Take a pix of me..."

Book Review: PS. I Love You

Definitely a book worth reading. About a 30-year old Irish woman named Holly
who lost her husband due to brain tumour. Her husband, Gerry, left her a stack of notes after his death to help her carry on with her life. Each note can only be opened at the start of the month and carries special messages for Holly.

The extend of his actions really moves me. Be warned that it can even bring a few tears to your eyes.

In reality, I doubt that anyone would do this for their love ones. To be severely ill and yet be so selfless, generous and ever so loving.

Maybe I am wrong?

Camping

I built a tent for the 3.5year old using our blanket, pillows & chair as support.

The tent is attached to our bedframe.

She crawled inside earlier (on her own, no guns pointing to her back) & fell asleep immediately.

Can you spot her???

Ps. Please do not file a complain against us for "child abuse"! She has her own bedroom & mattress but she prefers novelty.

Book Review: Diary of A Married Call Girl

This is the sequel to Tracy Quan's first book, Diary of A Manhattan Call Girl.

I enjoyed her first book tremendously as I truly experienced the thrills, the excitements & also the "danger" of working as a high-class call girl while trying to have a normal relationship. Plus, "steamy sex scenes".

Unfortunately, the call girl got married but she continued her "professional career". In this book, Diary of A Married Call Girl, I can't sense the "juiciness" of the call girl leading a double life at all.

Also, it appears dodgy to me that her husband has absolutely no clue of her past, her life and what she does in the day. So this book is thumb down for me!

Le Livre: Je Suis Petite

«Tout le monde me répète sans arrêt : "Tu es petite, toute petite, si petite."»

Avec ses jolies petites couettes, son adorable frimousse et ses airs malicieux, cette petite fille est toute mignonne. Un vrai petit chou, diraient certains. Oui, mais voilà, elle s'en fiche d'être mignonne, adorable ou chou. Ce qu'elle veut, c'est grandir. À tout prix, à toute vitesse, à tout moment… Chaque jour, elle espère prendre quelques centimètres. « Mais même quand [elle] fini[t] tout [son] repas, [elle] ne grandit pas. »C'est énervant de s'entendre toujours dire qu'elle est petite. Petite, petite, petite… Quand sera-t-elle aussi grande que maman ou mamie ? Quand pourra-t-elle attraper les gâteaux sans monter sur une chaise ? Même en se mettant sur la pointe des pieds, en se régalant des petits plats de sa maman ou en s'arrosant longtemps comme une plante, elle ne grandit pas. Non, décidément rien n'y fait… À moins qu'une rencontre change tout. Le bébé qui vient d'arriver chez les voisins n'est-il pas minuscule ? Si minuscule qu'elle-même semble grande à côté ? Tout n'est finalement que question de patience. De jour en jour, elle va grandir, devenir une grande personne, et plus tard, quand elle aura l'âge de sa grand-mère, « [elle] rétrécira comme le linge ».

Grandma

代替

放开你的手 不管等多久
失败是成功之母
我们不怕苦 找得到路

原来思念也有意义 有呼吸 有你
扎根在我的心 像部分身体
再多得风雨 再多不允许
都不阻挡我们在一起

放开你的手 送你到最后
你的泪在我胸口
不管等多久 无所求

I love this soundtrack from the local movie, 881.
The lyrics is well-written & so poetic.

It makes me think of my grandma who had passed away 8+ years old ago. I recall her love for me, her loyalty for me, her faith in me... She had many grandchildren but she never fails to know what we each love to eat. She always cooked my favourite dishes whenever I visited.
She was always standing up for me (against my father & my relatives). She was always telling others that I'm a good child with a good heart. It means a lot to me as I was constantly discriminated against and neglected by my parents.

I recall her last breath at the hospital and her last tear drops as she departs from this world.
My feelings is exactly what's written in this song... "Now I understand the meaning of missing someone... It has breath and it has you... It etched in my heart and forms a part of my body... No matter how heavy the storm is, ... nothing can prevent us from being "together"..."

Though she has gone to a better place, I will never stop thinking of her. I will always love her and remember her till the day I die.

My mom told me last week that she's never neglected me that she loved me even when she had my sister. Therefore, she arranged for my auntie to take care of my sister during the weekdays so that she could focus on me. (I was under 2 years old when my sister was born). To her comment, I smiled politely and didn't elaborate further. She's forgotten the other moments when she and my father hurt my feelings. To be discreet, I will not comment further.

I guess memories linger on but I've moved on with my life - to a loving husband and a loving family which we both worked so hard to build as a team. I will never stop being thankful to God for this second lease in life. I thank MOTH for all his support and his love. He's been the pillar of my life and without him, I would not have been able to journey through the darkest times of my life.

On a lighter note, you can watch the music video here:
http://881themovie.com/container.html

Pour Ma Petite Fille

Ps. I extracted the illustration from a book "Je Suis Petite"

(meaning I am Little). See extracted page (in black & brown print).

I prefer to paint mine in more vibrant colours - using different hues of blues and brown to represent the adults and red especially for the little girl. I find that red stands out well against the Asian skin tone and our hair colour. I also selected red on purpose as it will highlight the little girl as the main attraction in this painting.

In conversation with the DOCTOR

Friday, 21 Sept 07

My child is still unwell. In fact, her cough has worsen.
I finally found the time to ring the doctor this evening.

When the 3.5 year old seeked consultation with her last Saturday, I specifically told her that we needed an antibiotics that would be pleasant for consumption for a little child. I explained that the 3.5 year old refused the antibiotics prescribed by KK Hospital due to the taste. So I paid $32 for her antibiotics. The nurse told us that we had to pay more as this was a good quality medication.

Fair enough, I didn't mind paying for the quality. But when we returned home, the 3.5 year old kicked a big fuss rejecting the medicine & worst, she threw up in the dining room. MOTH wanted to force the medicine down her throat and threatened to cane her. Then he sampled the medicine. Wow, even an adult cannot stomach the taste and the texture.

Hmm... Guys, we wasted $32 for nothing.

Back to the conversation with the doctor, she said that it's not her fault that the medicine tasted bad and it's not the clinic's policy to give refund. But if it makes me feel better, she will give me a refund.

I told her "Yes, I like a refund as it'll make me feel better".

Ok people, I don't know if it's right for me to be so vocal in standing up for my rights. I just feel damn rotten that my child has visited her clinic repeatedly for the same sickness and not get cured. Plus, we always have to wait 2-3hrs on average to seek consultation with the doctor.

I'm just damn peeved.

MONKEYS III

Saturday, 22 Sept 07

After all the big hoo-ha with the monkeys last Sunday, I wrote in to the Police force, HDB & Town Council complaining about them.

The Town Council then circulate fliers to all the residents of my block (on your left).

Thankfully, with the intervention from the authorities, the monkeys have reduced activities involving noise pollution quite a fair bit. So we could have moments of peace at home.

However, on Saturday afternoon, our balcony was intruded by big piles of birds' feces & dirty water. Our home was also fumed by a real sour bad stench. Buckets of water were being thrown out from the balcony by our 8th level neighbour.

Apparently, some inconsiderate has decided to clean up his balcony on a beautiful sunny afternoon. It ruined the laundry for the monkeys upstairs (6th level), dirtied our balcony, dirtied some poor fella's new Mercedes & stained the walkway (1st level). The poor Bangladeshi cleaner was also cursing at that chap as he now has to clean up the mess on the walkway.

Sigh... what a load of bad luck!

This time round, we marched right up to that chap's home. That chap was seated calmly in his living room reading his papers. Nevertheless, I went ahead, fired and gave that old Indian chap an earful (MOTH didn't even have his shirt on - so his tattoos were revealed). I even asked if he could kindly come down to my home to clean up that big pile of shit!

What one neighbour did could affect every family in the neighbourhood - I guess this is what we call CHAIN REACTION.

After these incidences, I guess we have earned ourselves a nickname "THE 4TH LEVEL TROUBLE MAKERS..."

MORNINGS

Every morning when I rise from bed, I hit right to the bathroom.
Stare into the mirror, with my tired face and eyes staring back at me.
Next, I notice my "de-generated" body parts badly in need for an overhaul or plastic surgery.
Sigh... resign to fate. Got to work till I'm 65 years old.

Step into the shower... feel the splash of water running down my body.
The fragance from my expensive shampoo & body foam has no effect on me anymore.
I'm not awaken like a fresh flower.
Step out from the shower. Stare into the mirror again. No improvement on my image.
So I slap my perfum on and then hurry on to get dress for work.

If my robotic rusty body obeys, I will be in time to see my little girl off in her school bus.

So guys, this is my daily schedule, Mondays to Fridays, between 7.00am-7.30am.

Without my hobbies (as published in my earlier blogs), I will wither away like a flower and disappear from planet earth without understanding my purpose of life.

I wonder constantly the purpose of us working so hard - for a comfortable life? for a beautiful home? for expensive gadgets? for holidays? to send my gal to a better school? to support our old folks?

In our society where both parents got to work & pursue some personal hobbies, we hardly have time for our child. I can count the hours we have per day... Mondays-Fridays: 15mins in the morning & aro 3hrs in the night (sometimes NIL if we've commitments)... Saturdays & Sundays: Average 16hrs. So in a week, we spend an average of less than 32 hrs with the child.

On the other hand, we spend 10hrs (including commuting time to office) outside home. In a week, we spend 50+hrs working.

Paintings III

Then I decided to read up on Chinese Ink painting and learn more about it. I attended a short course about Chinese Ink Painting with the Singapore Calligraphy Society and I should say it was fun for me to learn and experiment with a new paint medium, new materials and new brush strokes techniques.

I got little pleasures in seeing my paintings.

Paintings II

3.5 year's work

My Work

Then in late 2005, I had the "fortune" to work lesser hours and therefore have more personal time for myself.



I had very little confidence about picking up drawing and painting again after such a long break. So I spent my afternoons pouring over art books, studying ideas on how to get started.

Finally, I embarked on my painting projects and I started real small (small postcards of aro 10cm x 5cm etc). This is so that I will not get frustrated with myself and to give up my hobby easily. In order to obtain the 3.5 year old's interest and her understanding that Mummy needs a hobby to rejuvenate herself, I got her involved with some art work as well. So far, we worked out a good mutual understanding (I think). She understands my need for space, she respects my paint sets and will ask me for permission if she likes to borrow my set for painting or drawing.

Paintings

After I graduated from school in Year 1992, I laid my paint brushes, paint set & papers to rest.

I first picked up painting again in Year 2002 and I did only 2 pieces then (still life paintings using water colours).

First Names Vers Family Names

I've this belief that all men are equal (only in my world).
In the real world, we are not equal. Men seem to take the more superior roles whilst women are sometimes being suppressed.

Through out my career, I've always addressed my colleagues, superiors, customers by their first names. In turn, they address me by my first name too.

I'm working in a French company currently and I must say the first year was real hard as I had to understand their culture in order to also understand how they work and what they mean by certain expressions/words. Anyway to cut the story short, I have an internal struggle in my heart & my mind that is to address a person by his/her first name or by their family names.

I was told by my French teacher that it's really impolite to address a person by his/her first name unless you know the person real well. So I have to also utilise their polite form to speak to people (ie: vous = you = very polite form).

A fellow colleague told me that she should address the HEAD of the COMPANY as Mr XXX as she's just a lowly xxxxxx. Frankly, her comments shocked me. I feel that the company paid us for our professional services and we are not there just as a receptionist or a administrator or to be treated like a slave. We all contribute and do our part to deliver our tasks.

So one day, a Mr XXX walked through my front door. I said spontaneously, "Hi, XXX". XXX immediately turned standoffish and when he was done using the resources at our office, he stepped out without even saying a word of thanks. (I have had to set up the resources for him urgently, I had to call strangers up to get him the telephone numbers, while his personal assistant remained seated at their office doing nothing to help). She only has 1 boss to serve while I've 18 persons to serve + ad-hoc projects.

I shared my experience with other colleagues and they told me that XXX came from a prominent well-known family and expects others to address him as MR XXX instead.

MOTH thinks that I'm very uncultured addressing people or senior managers by their first names.

But my point is... if I'm uncultured by calling him XXX, how about MR XXX who came from a prominent family and must be well educated? Surely, he knows his manners to thank others for their help and utilising other's resources.

In my heart & in my blog, I think MR XXX is even more uncultured than I am then. A man of his level and intelligence is coming to Singapore to work (has worked in Asia for long time) and expecting everyone to understand his language, his culture, his behaviour, his preferences and their hierarchies in the society???

FYI, when I first started in my dept. I shocked the men by voicing my comments and standing up for my belief. I had to be aggressive in order to make my stand. And guess what they said about me: "I don't understand YOU CHINESE!" or "I don't know how to control this Chinese gal".

It doesn't make a single sense to me. Are they here in Singapore as our Masters? Or all we all here to work toward economical benefits? Do they think that Singaporean women are stupid and are here to wash their feet? I suggest they read the History of Singapore. Our founding fathers did not fight for a nation of independence from the British for nothing. We were taught to have backbones, to have integrity and to work hard for our families, our nation, in regardless of race, language & religion.

Alright, maybe I should learn to be less arrogant and address others by their family names instead. Afterall, I had to address my teachers as Sir, Madam, Miss, Mrs, blah blah.

As I'm writing this article, I'm reflecting on my relationship with my MIL also. The reason why I've drawn a clear line with her is because she thinks that Juniors (like myself) should bow to the wishes of the MIL. A good daughter in law should know her place by not speaking and arguing. Well, I'm sorry. I was created in my mother's womb for more worthy cause. I will not bow to unreasonable requests or behaviours or practises. I will not hesitate to speak my mind and say my piece should I have a need to. In my eyes, we are equal. I will not bow to her just because she's senior at home.

I simply will not put up with this. As I do not wish for my 3.5year old to grow up living in an environment where females are subject to supression by their in-laws or at the work place. We are in the YEAR 2007 not 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s...

Okie, that's me, my little arrogant and feminist mind.

Our Anniversary

18 September 2007

Definition of MOTH: a man who makes me happy, who makes me laugh, who makes me sad, who makes me mad... a man who made my life so complete.

Happy Anniversary, MOTH!

Love you always & thanks for the beautiful flowers...

Woes of An Administrator II

Following my blog entry earlier "grumbling", "whining", "complaining" & "releasing anger", I had my performance review done. Hmm... discreetly speaking, it went well & surprisingly, my manager brought up a few points regarding my job performance & character development which touched me. Frankly, I nearly shed a few tears as this has been a hard year for me having undertaken extra projects & serving an increasing department.

My direct superiors also expressed appreciation and thanks for my job.

So, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
Dear Bosses, if you're reading my blog, don't forget I'll await for my December payslip (it'll show your real sincerity & appreciation)! Merci!

Ps. Ok people, if I draw extra income, IRAS will tax me, & also my dearest Mom. She's waiting for December bonus too. So in actual fact, after paying my dues, I've my "little" jingles left in my bank account.

Monkeys II

The "monkeys" are up and running again tonight. It's 9.45pm.

They are a special species of monkeys that can only be found living in HDB flats, specifically active during the night. Even the young don't need to rest, they can jump up & down till midnight practising kick-boxing stunts.

I send my regards to the monkeys and hope the young do not over-exert themselves during their daily course of night exercises.

Hello!

Monkeys as Neighbours

Scream!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to make a public announcement that the fellas at Unit 06-146 Bedok Reservoir are damn right inconsiderate and unreasonable. Their homes are always filled with little monkeys running up and down. Creating noise nuisances. Our bedrooms are constantly are seige due to their ridiculous activities. Imagine a group of boys kick-boxing in their living room from 12pm - 6.30pm, and our master bedroom is directly under theirs.

Is it fair that we have to accept this level of noise for 6-7hrs a day? We've involved the police and I have written to the town council and our MP for this district to lodge an official complain against them.

It's affecting our life, our safe haven.

Everlasting Blooms

My completed art piece. Painted with a mix of mediums using poster colours and chinese ink.

Now on display at home so we'll always have everlasting blooms.

W W III

We visited the doc AGAIN this morning. The little one didn't want to take her antibiotic prescribed by the hospital. (I am being diplomatic by not writing her chemical reaction towards her medication...)

After obtaining another type of antibiotic, the little one still refused to take it... Hmmmmmmm... I can only tell you we had an episode of World War III (WW III) @ home. Crying, screaming, whippings of the cane, vomiting, confiscating of toys, etc.

: P

If you're reading this blog and you are still single, my heartiest congratulations. Do enjoy your extreme freedom.

Ps. We all now happily listening to the new Laura Fygi album (Rendez-vous). D-D are fixing a jigsaw together. I am taking time off to blog.

Stories of Love

Thursday, 13 September 2007
8:00pm

The 3 of us cuddled in bed together and decided to watch a locally produced short film titled "Stories of Love".

It was a story about a teenager and her autistic brother (aro 9-10 years). As their mother walked out of them, leaving them with little money but no roof over their head, they had to approach their relatives for help. Fortunately, one of their aunties let them've a house to stay but she refused to help them further. So the poor teenager has to work after school to earn money for her fees and their livelihood. Being autistic, her brother was often lonely, unable to communicate his feelings. He spent his time writing short notes to his mother with a hope that she will return eventually. Else, he will stare blankly in space or at his mother's photograph.

When his sister learnt that he likes dogs, she decided to adopt a golden retriever as his companion and friend. There was a scene when the boy had a packed lunch and he had to pour out his cold noodles on the plate. The dog was by his side keeping him company.

When the 3.5 year old saw this scene, she asked "Mummy, why is he so lonely?"

I was very surprised by her question and her ability to grasp the boy's feelings.

I asked her back in turn "And you? Are you lonely when Mummy & Daddy are at work?"...

Guess what her reply was to me... "No, I am not lonely as Auntie May plays with me."

I am happy that my helper and the 3.5 year old have developed a bond and love for each other. But I wonder if it's healthy for my child to be overly dependent on my helper for companionship, for support & love in the absence of her parents.

Ma Leçon Française

Ce soir, je suis allee a l'ecole a l'Alliance Francaise.

J'ai appris le futur simple. Ma professor, elle est Mauricienne.
Elle a demande "Pourquoi tu dits le futur simple?" Elle a dit "Parce-que c'est simple!"
J'ai été amusé et je l'aime! J'espere un jour je parlerai bon Français!

Mais je suis retourné à la maison en retard et ma fille dormait.
J'étais très, très triste. Aujourd'hui, je n'étais pas heureux avec mon travail aujourd'hui. C'est une historie longue et je peux écrire un livre déjà.
Un jour, peut-être je peux quitter l'entreprise?

Lady in PINK

The 3.5 year old donning a new hair-do. Freshly, newly created @ school.

(circa week 3 Sept 07)

Posing & looking pretty with her fella galpals.

Holiday, It shld be so FUN!

I'm counting down the number of days when we will finally depart for Bali for our year end family vacation.

Sigh... I desperately need a vacation!!! Another 3 months to go.

Ps. The 3.5year old seem to've gotten better after 1 day of medication. Just 30 mins ago, she was in my bed jumping up and down (like a horse she claims). I wish I've her endless energy to jump, scream, shout & laugh.

3.5 year old is SICK...

My darling gal is sick. In fact, she's been sick for more than 1 month now. Over the weekend, her cough got worst. Last night, she coughed non stop and even threw up (actually she's been throwing up pretty frequently). Ay... I lament to MOTH... "when she's sick, she suffers but her Mom, her Dad and her Auntie May suffer too!"

Okie, so why do I say we suffer with her. That's becoz we've to stay up all night to comfort her, sometimes to put up with her loud coughing (I used my pillow to block off her loud coughs), and at times, we have to constantly "NAG" at her to take her medication and end up being so lor-li-lor-soh like ah-peh and ah-ma. Mind you, we are only 35, 31 & 30 years old respectively. Woooo... I know it's hard for her (a little child running around naked with her skinny ribs showing)... to swallow medications for such a long period of time. But we have her interests at heart.

Anyway, I can't tahan this scene any longer. So this morning, I rang my office to take urgent leave and I took her to the A&E department at KK Hospital. We spent half a day there. At the end of her consultation, I learnt that she has a chest infection and rhinitis infection. She has to be on antibiotics for another 2 weeks. Afterwhich, she has to see a specialist for her prolonged URTI condition. Though I paid more for the medical fee today, I really hope that the medication would "cure" or at least improve the 3.5 year old's condition.

Wish us LUCK!

Ps... I really need my beauty sleep before I go crazy!

Happy Birthday MoM!!!

9 Sept 2007, Sunday

It is my mom's birthday. But sorry guys, I've forgotten how old she's.

Anyway to commemorate her egg-hatching day, we bought her the largest bottle of Lancome Parfum with a little ang-pow.

To make everyone happy & to give my mom a party, we invited the whole family to our new home for dinner. So May & I got real bz first thing in the morning, chopping up the veggies, meat, etc. (I was mostly supervising... : P )

The most enjoyable part was to concoct a salad which I improvised with our local tau kwa (cut into cubes and fried till slightly crispy), tossed with diced japanese cucumbers, cubed mangoes, cherry tomatoes. I added generous serving of balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing 1 hr before serving. Hmm... the taste blended so well together... the sweetness of the mangoes go well with the plain tau kwa & the sourness of the sauce goes with the veggies...

Then, we bbq the sliced brinjals & swiss mushrooms over a bbq plate on our kitchen (imagine satay). Boy, standing over the stove with that heat was pretty "unbearable" but the aroma from the cooked veggies was great - simply brush the veggies with olive oil, sprinkle some salt and chopped garlic over them. Voilah! You have real yummy bbq veggies for dinner. The whole family enjoyed the dinner which we whipped up. Well done, May & myself of coz.

I was also glad that MOTH enjoyed the dinner too. My dad & MOTH completed their dinner with some red wine. Thanks Glenn for the Australia Cabarnet Merlot wine (I hope you're reading this). Though I'm not a wine drinker, I did enjoy the taste of this wine. It was smooth tasting, not too sweet.

For some strange reasons, I've always enjoyed admiring the heads of little children & babies. So I took the opportunity to snap some candid shots of the children (my nieces aka Nat-Nat & Puppy + my 3.5 year old). They look real cute together. [Pixs above]. I love my baby niece's head. Though bald, she does look cute & charming...+CHUBBY!

Monsieur Avocado à Paris

C'est Monsieur Avocado a Paris avec mon amie, Sailor Moon.

Il est grand dans chez elle! J'espere Monsieur Avocado a Singapour grandira dans chez moi aussi.

Potted Garden

The other passion in my life is Gardening.

Our potten garden is located in our balcony with some pots of plants overflowing to our common corridor as well.

Flowers are in full bloom for our perwinkle plant (purple flowers), jasmine (white flowers)... and let's welcome the 3 new additions to our garden "EggPlants Babies". We grew them from seeds 1.5 week ago and they've since sprouted 3 leaves each...

I hope my heliconias will resume flowering soon. They have suffered a bit since the sunlight shifted from the balcony to our common corridor. I am pleased to announce that our bamboo is doing well and shading us from our neighbours.

Monsieur Avocado received his first hair trim by 1 inch. I read that trimming him is beneficial as it helps him sprout some branches and more leaves and it wouldn't end by being tall and 'spindly'. 'Spindly' a new word to me. Check it out in your dictionary.

Allow Self Sufficient to Opt out of Scheme

I'm really proud of my friend. Let's call her Mdm Quek. She has written to the forum on The Straits Times, voicing out her comments regarding our use and our say of our retirement funds.

Though I will only turn 31 in November, I can't help but to worry about retirement and our aging population. As I am an Administrator, I can't imagine myself at 70 years old, taking the MRT at 730am every morning to go the office and squeezing my nearly broken down body into the crowded train.

Wow, I would have to apply tons & thick layers to make up to cover my wrinkles. Anyway, I doubt any company would hire me as an Administrator when I'm 70. Maybe, I will clear tables and dishes at the hawker centre instead with MOTH side by side (he'll be 74)?

I extract her article for your reading pleasure:

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_151219.html

Allow the self-sufficient to opt out of scheme

I HAVE worked very hard my whole life. I am sure I am capable of looking after myself when I age. I do not think I need to have any part of my Minimum Sum put aside to pay for an annuity that would give me monthly payouts after age 85.

I do not think many people will live past that age.

I would also want all my hard-earned money to go to my children and not into a common pool, as the Government envisages.

I hope the Government will allow those who can well take care of themselves in their old age to opt out of buying an annuity.


Quek Gek Soo (Mrs)

Rock & Roll

The Champion Rock & Roll Dancer of the Year...

Tips for the award winning dance steps:

1. first you kick your legs in the air;
2. try turning yourself around in fours;
3. show your butt to the camera (real sexy);
4. continue taking the tutu (aka pacifier);
5. scream abit and then collapsed in bed to take a nap.

Word of Advise for all parents - Do not let your kids watch "Hi 5". The dance steps our kids learnt can kill our assets. Maybe I should send this video to Dick Lee. Perhaps he would be so impressed by the 3.5 yr old talent and give her a contract.

Now gal, please be careful with our bed. As you know it's brand new...

: )

LIANE

Sunday, 2 Sept 07

This morning, we hit out to Burger King for breakfast. We bumped into Liane (the 3.5 yr old's teacher) & her family.

LIANE - I usually pronounced it "Lian". I
guess this is the Hokkien Style?

But no, the 3.5 yr old corrected me "Mummy, it's Le-Ann not Lian."

Wow, the 3.5 yr old is good. Thanks for the tip, my gal.
I realised today that we didn't send you to an "expensive school" for nothing. At least, she's got better diction, pronunciation and oral skills that her mummy.

Actually, I seem to have some troubles pronouncing certain words eg: film, tent (I would always pronounce tank instead), handsome (I always say "Ham-some")... and the most shameful bit is this, I scored a Distinction for English in my O-levels.

Maybe I should see a Hearing Aid Doc with my year end bonus (just to make sure that I'm suffering from any disorder).

Black Saturday

Saturday, 1 Sept 07

I was dragged out from bed first by the 3.5year old, followed by MOTH.
MOTH said, "Wake up, it's 9.30am. We have to head out to the movie soon".

The poor me dragged myself to the bathroom and finally took a glimpse at the clock. Gosh, it was only 8AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The movie is not till 11.10am. I hate this guy! I swore I could have murdered him.

So as you can see I wasn't in the best mood. We headed off to Marina Square, roamed around abit coz we were too early. I heard May (our helper) sniffing a little and clearing her throat. When we were at the pharmacy, she bought a pack of lozenges. I decided to "question" if she had been taking her medication.

Guess what???

She said "M'am, I only take the medication once at night."

Boy, I was mad. I hit the roof and started "###@#@#@#@#@#" at her. Don't worry guys. I didn't swear. I meant to say I gave her a piece of my mind for not taking her medication. The 3.5yr old looked at me and asked "Mummy, why are you scolding Auntie May?"

So I asked the 3.5yr old, "If you are sick and you don't take your medication even though it's good for you, will Mummy get angry with you?" She nodded her head.

So guys, I am not getting angry without a valid reason. If May is sick, she should take her medication with the proper dosage. I am tired of her coming to me complaining about her aches and pains every other day. If she's not taking care of herself, then she should stop dumping her grouses to me.

Ps. The medication which I gave her is our good old "Pi Pa Gao" that doesn't cause drowsiness.

Pss. I'm hitting the roof coz I've been sick for the past 1 week due to cough and cold and I've been struggling to be present at work. I'm also on medication since June due to my constant UTI. There's no one I can dump my grouses to. The moment I arrived home (without even having the chance to put down my bag), May starts "whining" and "complaining" about her day and it can go on (sometimes), up to the point when we are having our dinner. I empathise her but I think she must learn to choose the right moment to air her frustrations. Eg: over the weekend or after our dinner...

Psss. I was thinking if I would drive my BOSS to commit suicide if I was going to his office daily (every morning before he even puts his brief case down) & whine? Actually, I was thinking of sending May to work in my office supporting a team of 18 persons.