My Brinjals Plants - Part 2

Growing really huge, well & flowering...

International Panel of Docs

MOTH gave me a suggestion last night.


He said... "Since you're seeing a panel of doctors for Western and Chinese medication, how about getting Malay & Indian medications for your medical condition as well? Make it an international panel of doctors. Guaranteed you will have a speedy recovery!"


I don't know what you think but his proposal tickled my laugh buds. I burst out laughing and I am still laughing at this thought.

'Thanks MOM'!

Fri, 11 Jan

I met my mom & sister over lunch. My sister has lost some weight and looking good (she just delivered her second child couple of months back). To her I said, "Hey, you lost weight, looking good!"

I was sincere about this compliment.

My mom went... "no lah, she never lost any weight...since I met her last week"

Part 2 of the weight saga continued... While browsing in the store, SHE suddenly came up to me, out of nowhere, said "I think you put on weight hor..."

I rolled my eyes. I really wish to say "Thanks Mom!"
I know I'm sagging a bit, my tyre is indeed a bit rounder. Prob 1kg-2kg up the scale but I wonder how come she never has nice remarks for us.

Triple Infections???!??

7 Jan - 12 Jan 08

I felt sick this week. I had a bad stomach and a burning sensation. I knew in my heart that I'm having an infection. I dragged till Thursday to see the company's doctor. I was hoping that some medication would help ease the pain and discomfort. Unfortunately, the doctor didn't seem confident about treating me (perhaps after my arthritis diagnosis). He wanted me to do some much tests before he could dispense the medication. I went home feeling down and without the right medication.

The pain appeared more severe on Friday and Saturday despite consuming a set of basic medication. I knew I have to return to the "expert". My gynae (who also delivered my girl nearly 4 years back). I managed to obtain an appointment the same morning. Upon examination, he notified me that I had three forms of infections - being uti, vaginal & womb infections. He had my IUD removed at the same time as well. I burst into tears at his clinic. Not that he's a monster but out of desperation, frustration and pain. My gynae has always been sympathetic towards me and so is the Chinese Physician. They have been so patient, listening and understanding my condition. I wish more doctors have these attributes. I found that most are concern about earning their bucks instead of being genuinely concern for their patients.

I returned home with 2 weeks of medication and subject for a pap smear review 6-months later.
The bill today S$450!!! See what I mean by intangible benefits. If I'm not employed, I wouldn't be able to claim this amount from the company. I will be paying this from my old, tired wallet.

Maybe, it's best for me to have a follow up session with the Chinese physician tomorrow. I found that acupuncture and Chinese herbs did treat me of the joint pains. The only issue left is the pain on the soles of my feet. But according to the Chinese physician, if a person has bad blood circulation in the body, it can cause depression, ibs, uti, joint pains.

Ahem... according to my horoscope, it says that I will not have new health issues this year but an old issue might go away... I hope so too, Mr Horoscope.

Make Hay While The Sun Shines

Since I returned to work on 2 Jan 08, a question has been hanging on my mind. Should I continue working full-time or should I take a break from work to work part-time?

I was so troubled by this matter. Finally, I decided to speak to my panel of girlfriends and seeked MOTH's opinion on this matter as well. The final verdict...

... is that I should continue with my full-time position and make hay while the sun shines. Though it's extremely tempting to have time off work in the afternoons, I need to consider about building our savings together with MOTH and enjoying the intangible benefits of a full-time employee (eg: annual leave, childcare leave, medical bills, CPF contributions, etc).

Well, if I don't work hard while I'm young, I will waste my energy and my youth. I certainly do not wish to have to slog in my old age.

I feel guilty about leaving the nearly 4 year old with May all day long. But I tried my best in balancing work life, family life and personal fulfillment.

Ps. Thanks to all my gfs for listening (you know who you're!). And thank you to a friend who reminded me to remain confident in my working capabilities instead of worrying about losing my standing to a newcomer.

My Brinjals Plants

I planted the seeds of my brinjal plants in Aug 07.
They started out being so teeny-weeny...


When we returned home from our vacation, a FLOWER had bloomed. This is the first time of my life coming up, close and personal with brinjal plants. I never knew its flowers were purple and that it had huge leaves. I enjoy touching its leaves, it's not smooth but a bit furry but soft to touch (resembles touching a soft toy).

Now more flowers have bloomed. I am hoping that it will bear the brinjal soon. I am excited to try cooking our home-grown brinjal! : )

Book Review - Yours, Faithfully

I never enjoyed much of Sheila O'Flanagan's novels. But this novel was different. I enjoyed the twist of events and guessing what would happen next.

The story evolves around 2 women. Both happily married... but guess what, TO THE SAME MAN! They had no clue that the MAN was leading double family life. They had no idea of each other's existence. It was only when the MAN met with a serious accident, leaving him in coma, that the women learnt of each other.

Just when I thought the MAN was going to recover and get up from his coma, he passed away, leaving his two wives...

An excellent story, definitely worth reading!

Postcards from Bali - Souvenirs, Souvenirs

Fishing cat (my last minute purchase from the airport). Beside the cat, a traditional Balinese cermonial offering basket...

little cats resting on the Amed's beach black sand

ladies in yoga postures. hopefully one day, I will be so elegant and graceful like them when practising my yoga postures too.

beautiful Balinese art

I was happy to see so many shops at the Denpasar International Airport. I didn't get to do much shopping during this vacation. Like a deprived typical woman, so off I went, scotting round the shops doing last minute shopping. I confiscated most of MOTH's US Dollars for shopping. Too bad, MOTH... it's your duty to provide for your wife.

I made a resolution. For my next holiday, I will drop the idea of bringing May along. It seems strange to spend all that money on the holiday and feel so uncomfortable hanging out with her. I suppose she's a stranger afterall. We are still not family and eventually when her contract ends with us next Jan, she would move on with her life and we would have to move on with ours.

Last words... The Balinese are really nice people and they love children. They always expressed concern for our child and have a nice smile for her. Back at the resort, they were even willingly to prepare special food for her just so she could eat something (unfortunately, our child doesn't eat much when we go away). In one of the restaurants, when the waitress saw that our child was not eating anything solid except for some rambutans and banana, she immediately went to grab more fruits for her and told us to bring it back so the child could eat. Such kind actions! At the 3Monkey's cafe, they gave her fish feed so that she could amuse herself by feeding the kois.

Postcards from Bali - 29 Dec 07

on the beach

we were hit by strong waves... this was a perfect pix (if May wasn't in it)...

George erased May from the background (hehe, I'm damn wicked)

the 3.5 year old pretending to be a new born baby

Our last day in Bali. We were blessed with a sunny day. Thank God for that. We managed to convince our little one to spend the day on the black beach. She had so much fun digging up the black sand and even getting splashed by the huge waves. (I was irritated when May kept discouraging her to go to the beach. Damn it, woman! Even if you don't like the beach, please keep your comments to yourself. I am not raising my little girl to be a whiner!).

The 3.5 year old even brought home some of the Amed's beach sand as a souvenir. It's now being placed in our living room.

We tried our luck with snorkeling. Though we did see some corals and reef fishes, it was tremendous effort swimming past the huge crashing waves. I was swept away over and over again. I even brushed past the corals and had slight cuts near my knee caps and legs.

The past 8 days passed by so quickly. I spent most days feeling stressed due to the lack of sleep and spent the final days feeling more relaxed.

Frankly, I am not that generous. I felt that having May around the past days was kinda an intrusion into our family life. She seems to be around everywhere. There're couple of nice pictures of the 3.5yr old and me together but May also appeared in those pictures. I grumbled a bit to MOTH. So he kindly "erased her" from one of our pictures with photoshop. Ah... wonders of technology!

Postcards from Bali - Ubud

shopping in ubud

one of the plentiful art galleries on the street



the back alley of ubud


3monkeys cafe which opens up to a Padi Field - really beautiful and sunny day!

inside the 3monkey's cafe with a koi pond

@ the famous & well recognised Neka Art Museum with the aim to protect Balinese and Indonesian art...

Ubud - A deliciously colourful, artistic, vibrant and creative town (central of Bali). It is 3 hrs of travelling time by car (from Amed to Ubud). We liked Ubud so much that we visited the town on 2 separate days.

Postcards from Bali - SPA xPerience

We had the luxury of time to enjoy an hour of massage session at the Spa (peace away from the overcrowded villa).

When we arrived at the Spa, we were pleasantly surprised by its small layout but beautiful gardens. We were greeted by chirping of birds... and overlooking us was the Mountain (don't know what's the name)...

The masseur brought out bottles of essential oils (being romance, harmony, & relaxing) for our massages and highly recommended we took the "romance" oil... but guess what we picked... MOTH said immediately that he was having "RELAXING!" and me... I chose "HARMONY"! The masseur looked at us kinda shocked.

Come on... this is a NO-SEX-AND-NO-SLEEP holiday. What's the point of having a "ROMANCE" massage done?

Postcards from Bali - 25 Dec 07

Today, we head off to Pura (Temple) Besakih, one of the most important & holiest temple in Bali. From the foot of the hill, we stopped at a "Tourist Information Centre", put on the rented sarongs and hired a guide. At first, we were skeptical about hiring the guide as they are reputed to be "illegal". It started to rain and we had to walk up a steep slope before arriving at the foot of the temple. It's aro 700m of walk. Boy, it was a tough walk. Each step I took seem to cause pain in my back.

What did we learn from the guide?

"Pura Besakih faces East of Bali but devotees pray in the direction of West (the rising Sun)... The Hindus believe in good and bad and therefore they pray to both as they believe in creating a balance & harmony in life... The left and right sides of the temple are decorated with good and evil guards. You can tell by studying the facial expressions... The spilt gates on each entrances symbolises positive (right) & negative (left) energies and as devotees enter by centre, they are supposed to leave their thoughts behind and focus on only God... Hindus believe that all Humans are born knowing Yoga through our regular activity. Eg: a driver focusing his mind and concentration on driving... The younger generation of Hindus in Bali are not really keen to practise yoga anymore and not many can read the traditional Balinese language... What is most remarkable was that he shared his understanding and interpretation of the caste system (Balinese practises the caste system like the Hndus in India). The guide interprets the system as such - a man who is wise & educated should be considered upper caste. The fate of his caste should not be determined by his birth (ie: the family he's born into)... sounds logical to me. What do you think?... Finally, the Hindus believe in 1 Supreme God... All other forms of God are its manifestation..."

A pair of divine guardian dragons placed in front of the temple (left & right side of entrance).

The good side The Spilt Gates

View from the top of the temple

Fortunately, the rain stopped as we mounted the final steps into the temple. It was a panoramic view from the top of the temple. We could see Sanur and Nusa Dua (south of Bali). The winds were strong and it was slightly chilly.

This is my third trip to Bali and I've been to many temple visits. However, I feel this visit is the most enchanting one of all. I have never felt really calm & at ease when I visited the Balinese temples in the past. The view was simply breath-taking, the sight, the serenity that surrounds it... even the 3.5year old felt calm by the sight and was willing to walk all the way. (This is a rare treat for us as we always end up carrying the heavy fella all over the shop!)

Postcards from Bali - 24 Dec 07

We decided to go snorkelling at a Japanese ship wreck site. Boy, it was hard to get into the water. The beach was STONE HARD not soft sand. The waves were crushing in hard. Finally, after multiple attempts and falling over (the locals were watching with amusement), we hit the water. I swam towards the wreck. Suddenly, I saw huge corals and plentiful of coral fishes. I had a panic attack and choked with the sea water. I couldn't breath and had to struggle up to the surface for air. I've never seen huge corals in my life except for the ones at underwater world. (Don't worry, I didn't see any sharks).

For the afternoon, we had two ladies giving May and Emelia a manicure and pedicure services in the porch of our villa. We took a walk by the rocky beach in front of the resort.

Postcards from Bali - 23 Dec 07

on our way back to the resort, we witnessed a religious ritual of cremation. the locals had to walk over 10kms bearing the ceremonial sedans carrying the sacred items to the sea... there must be over 200 persons who participated in the walk... i wish to remind you that the roads in Bali are long and winding (uphill and downhill)... but they remained happy and cheerful throughout the ceremonial walk. only the Balinese in the east practise walking throughout still... the Balinese in denpasar/kuta would walk a short distance and hitch rides on vehicles to the sea instead.

the beautiful grounds and pools surrounding the water palace, tirta gangga. originally built by the local king but was destroyed by the forces of nature and subsequently rebuilt by locals for tourists. we paid to take a dip in the large pool but decided against it as it was filled with algae and seemed really deep. we soaked our legs in instead... oooh, the water was deliciously cold against the hot sun. we understood the water was from the mountain.

breathtaking view of the paddy fields. notice how dark the sky was...

Postcards from Bali - 22 Dec 07

there you go... as a child gets older, her tricks become"funnier"... flying into the swimming pool.

the entrance to our "villa". you can see the faint outline of our bed.

"our bed" - the only privacy was the mosquito net - how pathetic!

the other bedroom

front view of the villa & pool overlooking the sea

as I grow older & flabbier, i feel this shot of me (kinda the wrong side) is beautiful.

We decided to stay in the resort today. Just lazing by the pool overlooking the sea, admiring the beautiful nature surrounding this island. The locals are friendly. The children made their way to school by foot, all smiley and waving as they passed us.

As it was a bright sunny day filled with melodious chirping of birds, I temporarily forgot my unhappiness over the room layout.

We hiked downhill and managed to sneak a view of jukongs parked on the beach. The beach on the eastern part of Bali is different. Instead of white sandy beach, this was a beach filled with black rocks and sand. This was caused by the volcanic eruption in Bali in 1963.

In the evening, we took a car ride out to experience dining at Amed Cafe located in front of the sea. Before we could tucked into our dinner, there was a blackout. We had to dine in darkness. But the food was delicious. We were amazed by how versatile the locals can be - the ability to whip up multiple dishes, all great tasting and in the dark!

The 3.5 year old had a bad stomach. So she didn't eat much but amused herself by feeding the kittens (with the help of a torch light).

We slept badly.

Departure & Arrival

21 Dec 07, 5hrs before departure

The only thing on my mind is ... "did we pack the 3.5yr old's medication & her fave lego bricks into the luggage?"

As I stepped into the shower, I laughed @ myself.
Before I became a mom, if I go on a vacation, I will be so preoccupied with packing my best clothing, my best swimwear, lingerie etc. I will make sure everything matches.

Now, the colours of my clothing in my luggage are basics only. Strangely, I no longer bothered much about my personal luggage. I will be thanking my lucky stars if I have enough tees & bottoms for this holiday. Omg, am I turning into an Ah-Soh (slowly and surely)???


21 Dec 07, Arrived FINALLY!!!

We arrived @ Denpasar Airport, 10pm. It was raining. The airport system didn't change much since my first visit to Bali in 1994 (13 years ago - my first virgin overseas trip). Upon arrival, we had to transfer to the terminal via shuttle buses (before it was non-aircon look alike army trucks instead).

Another 2.5hrs of car transfer to our resort located at Bunutan, the eastern part of Bali. Ooooh, the journey was long and winding through the mountains uphill and downhill on very narrow roads. I felt so exhausted and was hit by motion sickness. I felt like throwing up.

1am - We finally arrived at Anda Amed Resort. (PHeW, I didn't throw up). We were greeted by darkness, the sound of waves, barking dogs and the fragrance from the surrounding garden. Our villa was located on the top of the hill (well, nearly).

A slight hiccup though. We had booked a villa with 2 bedrooms and supposedly 2 bathrooms. But we were shocked when we opened the main door. We were greeted by a king-size bed positioned directly in front of the main door. Then the other "so-called" bedroom was partitioned by a mere wall WITHOUT DOOR (on the right-side of the villa)! The bathroom was positioned on the left-side of the villa (thankfully, it had a door). This meant that if May needs a toilet break, she will pass our bed. All activities would be in the centre of the villa where our bed is positioned. Gosh, how are we supposed to have a good rest with this bad layout of the room?!?
There's no privacy at all. I know for sure, this is a NO SEX & NO SLEEP trip.

This hiccup was really bad for my digestive system. Believe me, it's hard to digest this at 1am in the morning after nearly 6hrs on the road.