snippets

• I multi-task a little too much at times. No wonder my mind runs all over the place all the time.
• I get very anal about keeping to certain habits. I bore myself sometimes.
• I stalk Gabriel Mendes' website too much. www.gabrielmendes.net
• I don't take care of myself well enough. Sniff.
• I love my food. Burp.
• I think I've got more potential than I think I have. Wait. I think I have means I'm thinking only and actually don't have? Or I actually have? Hmm. Need to think through.
• I think & imagine too much at times. To my own detriment.
• I am a closet narcissist. Wait. I just said it. Means I'm not a closet narcissit anymore. Ok. I'm a narcissist.
• I love my baby. And my baby loves me.
• I enjoy many genres of music. Except techno.
• I really do try to be more lady-like. Except that. It's easier not to.
• I have a short fuse. I count myself lucky that my blood pressure is perfect at 110/70 all these years.
• I have learnt French for 3 years. And still know nuts about the grammar.
• I enjoy squeezing blackheads. Oh the thrill of seeing one evicted out of its pore of a home.
• I might have OCD. I find myself constantly making lists. Not that I can remember them anyway, unless I write it down. I make a list of the lists I have. Is that normal?
• I whine. Too much.
• I daydream. Too little these days.
• I need to sleep.

Saltwater - Julian Lennon

K & I were talking about "green" songs that day. Songs that touch on environmental issues, mother earth, yada yada. He listed a few like "Heal The World", "We Are The World", etc.

I told him about this song. He said he'd never heard of it. So well, here goes the video...I liked this song alot when it first came out.

p/s: If you think the singer looks alot like the late John Lennon of The Beatles, you're right, Julian Lennon is John's son.

Aspiring chefs

T'was a weekend of culinary adventures...:)

What we made:
Fresh pasta
That's right, freshly made spaghetti and fettucine..lovingly kneaded from semolina flour and eggs and olive oil. Carefully rolled through a pasta machine and tenderly cut with the very same machine. :) Hehe...I think we're doing good in our adventures!

Banana Walnut Cake
Ok, so I cheated on this one. I bought good ol' Betty Crocker's mix. But hey, I still had to mix in all the mashed banana and eggs and blah blah blah ok.. haha.
This turned out good, but I think there was not enough mashed banana mixed in. Good & fragrant when eaten hot from the oven.

Mussel & Clam Stew
Oh what can I say...this was absolutely lovely. The shells were simmered in a soup base made of light chicken broth and a small bottle of white wine. More sweetness came in the form of lovely carrots, celery and onions, all diced up into little cubes.

Next up:
Hmm..let me see. I want to bake foccacia bread and brownie cake...and K wants to make Chinese la mian. Oh yah, I just bought the dough mix for blueberry muffins too heheheheh....

Mon papa

The dad has been in hospital for 18 days now. Or was it 19? I can't remember anymore, lost track.

Zipping between work & SGH, home & SGH, home & work, work & home...
The number of cab rides I've been on in this single month has exceeded the number of cab rides I've had in the entire year...

There's news that he may be discharged on Tuesday. Hope so.

But we'll need to rent a machine for him. Some sort of a breathing apparatus.
At a rate of $1,200 a month.

O-U-C-H.

:(

You parle french?

The more I learn French, the more I get my words missed up at times. Probably because the words are spelt quite similarly at times and they sometime sounds rather similar too.

I was making a list of things to buy just now. And ended up writing “herbs” as “herbes” and “et” instead of “and”.

Lol..but am still glad that despite our broken sentences and horrible grammar, we still manage to get our thoughts across to the teacher. Haha.

Come to think of it, it’s 3 years since I started learning the language. Wah, I’ve never lasted that long in something haha.

food....

Friday has been designated as baking day and pasta making day...
Hee..looking forward to it...
I don't know anyone in my circle of friends who's ever made fresh pasta!
So after Friday, I'll start bragging about it perhaps hahahha. ;p
And oh yes, banana walnut bread is also on the menu...
Though I'm cheating a little by using good ol Betty Crocker's ready recipe lol...

Doughy Shell

Feeling a tad bit stretched...
With various things vying for attention...
Feel guilty at times for neglecting some aspects...
Feel frustrated at other times when some aspects waste my time..

Wish I could be an energiser bunny...
With bountiful enery to zip here and there...
And be everywhere all at once..
So that I can please everyone and cover all that I want to settle and do..

Not sure how some of those entrepreneurs juggle their time and stuff..
Either they are really full of energy..
Or they choose to sacrifice some aspects of their lives..
Or maybe they are just focused and driven people who don't mind losing out on some aspects...

Am sounding a little off here..
But believe you me..
I'm still doing my best and tackling the whole gamut..
Although with a little too many tired yawns than usual..;p

Need to.

Write 5 papers for upcoming Board meeting.

Settle system stuff.

Settle the many queries coming in on a daily basis.

Deflect arrows from The Coll who practices "taiji" whenever she has the chance to.

Settle workplan submission to HQ.

yada

yada

yada

blah

blah

blah

...

...

...

*wails*

When some get repressed too much......

Extracted from ST Online.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_457999.html

==========
TEHERAN - IRAN'S moral police have arrested a dozen couples for engaging in illicit sexual acts, including swapping of partners, the conservative Jomhuri Eslami reported on Monday.
The report said the couples and another individual were running a website, Iran Multiplication, which was aimed at promoting illicit sexual relations.

The couples were said to have carried out sexual acts in the presence of each other and several times with multiple partners, the report added.

Those arrested held university degrees, while some were government employees and had children. The paper gave no further details about their identities or when or where they were arrested.

Extra-marital sex is illegal in Iran where Islamic sharia law is the principal source of legislation. If found guilty of adultery, those arrested in the crackdown face being stoned to death. Reports of partner-swapping are a rarity in conservative Iran, but in March the elite Revolutionary Guards said it had launched a crackdown on several groups who had set up anti-Islamic and pornographic Internet sites.

The Guards, set up to defend the ideals of the Islamic republic, said they have 'dismantled several networks that had set up anti-religious, anti-revolution and obscene Internet sites'. Among those also targeted are people deemed to be Satan worshippers, while moral police often also carry out raids on concerts and parties as part of their tough crackdown on 'un-Islamic' attire and behaviour. -- AFP

Arcana - Love Eternal

Arcana is a Swedish neoclassical group. Stumbled upon their songs on Youtube and found them quite interesting...:)

Here's one of their songs "Love Eternal"

Updates

The Dad is not doing too good again. Had attacks of breathlessness again yesterday.
The Mum was upset.

Sigh. Hope he gets well soon enough to be discharged.

Bleah..

I apologise.
For taking you for granted
For disregarding your feelings so many a time
For ignoring your hints and signs of unhappiness

It was right of you to blow up at me
I take full responsibility
For the discomfort and unpleasantness

I’m sorry Tummy.
No more beer with oily food next time.

*poot*

My tum has been on a slow protest the last week or so. I’ve been eating less. Just as well anyway haha, considering how I’ve shocked some people by the amount I take in as a lady.

But anyway, K & I went to try out a Malay kopitiam yesterday evening. I had an egg and onion prata as well as a kosong prata for dinner . Couldn’t finish both and so K was activated to clear the plate for me. (Not nice to waste food mah…;p) Anyway, K obliged rather happily and quite promptly in less than 3 minutes, the plate was empty…:)

Anyway, the oil must have wreaked a little havoc on my stomach for I felt bloated for a long time, even this morning.

And err. Egg and onion prata. Onions. Produce. Gas.

I’ve been expelling since last night. Till now.

Time to perfect the art of discretion.

Kylie Kylie!

Just a sudden thought.

I wonder if Kylie Minogue has had Botox or any other form of cosmetic surgery..hmm. ;p

She's one hot lady at age 41.

Ok, I will aspire to be half (or 1/3?) as hot as her at age 41.

DXJ aka The Coll

别人说，你只做能为你自己沾光的事。
渐渐的，我也开始这么想。
你能在这儿呆十年， 就是因为这一点吗？
就是因为你会搞这些小动作吗？

XMAS - Elf Yourself

Christmas...my favourite time of the year..:)

Day 5 – 16th Nov

Popped by during lunch and it was sort of like a miraculous transformation from last evening.

He looked much better and was propped up in a chair. Respiratory machine was taken off him as they wanted him to try drinking some milo and taking some porridge. His first meal in over 4 days.

He was talking and complaining, joking and laughing, teasing and disturbing the nurses.
Ok, he’s doing much better.

But he was supposed to be put back on the respiratory machine after his meal. Didn’t stay long enough to see that being done though.

Day 4 – Sunday 15th Nov.

Dad wasn’t doing well at all.

He couldn’t breathe on his own and needed to be hooked up to a machine. A contraption was fixed to his face and it was uncomfortable for him. Breathing was such a chore for him as well.

He was frowning, grimacing at times and generally feeling low and lethargic.

To date

0.25
1.5
3.5
0.25
2.25

Number of years I have stayed in each job I’ve held so far.
Ever since graduation

the blues

Haphazardness. Piecemeal decisions.
Whim and fancy. No holistic picture.
Not enough people. No clear roles amongst existing people.
No strategy??

If that’s the case, then……
How the hell do we grow further?

In name. Pte Ltd.
In role. Regulator.
In essence. Stat board.
In truth. Government.

I'm an Auntie

Aunt Agony that is.

I was Aunt Agony this morning way before 10am even arrived.

My admin lady came crying to me. Apparently she heard news about someone badmouthing her. And that someone who did the deed was a guy whom she liked alot and treated almost like her son.

She said it hurts a lot. I can understand how she feels.

Coincidentally, this guy is someone whom I’ve distanced myself with ever since more than 6 months ago. We used to be ok-ok with each other and sometimes went for afternoon coffee breaks in a group. But over time, I couldn’t stand his attitude and felt he was just one big asshole who takes and takes and doesn’t give back.

He’s also someone who has a “I’m always right and the whole world is wrong” kind of attitude. He judges too much and can’t see two sides of a coin. Which I find strange given that he’s taking part-time legal studies.

She asked me if she should talk to him or just ignore him and not bother with him anymore. I told her this “Why even bother to try to be nice to people who do not appreciate it and who turn around to bite you instead?” Especially for a guy who doesn’t really listen to others.

She’s stopped crying. I hope she’ll feel better by this afternoon.

SGH II

There's always a first time for everything. Tonight would go down in the history books as the first time ever in my 29 years of existence that I took an MRT train ride with both my brother and mum. It felt a little surreal actually haha.

We were going home together after visiting my Dad in SGH....

Dad's op went well but because a major organ (the heart) is involved, he has to be in ICU till tomorrow night at least.

He had just woken up from his GA when I was there at around 715pm. We could see that he was still very very groggy and he was also grimacing in pain., from two 5 cm long slits cut into the sides of his chest.

The pain must have been quite bad because the seinor staff nurse, a Burmese lady, admistered painkillers for him. Elevated levels of painkiller shots. Any higher and he would have to be put on morphine, which is not a good thing.

Anyway, we couldn't go in to see him just now as he still had his breathing tube in his throat. Hospital policy that if it were still in his throat, visitors can't go in. So there we were, mum and I standing outside his glass room window staring in.

I went down later and Adrian came up. Hopsital policy again. No more than 2 visitors at any one time.

Will pop by tomorrow again to see him....

Greece oh Greece, I want to meet you too!

Daniel dropped me a few MSN messages on Tuesday. Goondu! Haha…

He was enjoying a cuppa in his hotel balcony in Crete, Greece and was gloating over the fact that they upgraded him to a suite because they had no other rooms. :)

Lucky guy! This is one fella who’s got everything going smoothly for him eversince he was born. The gods must love him a lot too haha.

SGH

I did a brain scan last week and went back to see John Thomas yesterday afternoon. Spent a grand total of 2 minutes in his consultation room and was subsequently discharged from his clinic. Cost me $62 for that 2 minutes lol…

But whatever it is. I’m glad that the next time he wants to see me will only be in 4 years’ time. :) Woot!

4 years is a long time. I wonder what I’d be in 4 years’ time, what things would I have seen and experienced, what would I be doing at that point in time? Hmm…I’d be 33 by then for sure ha.

======
Heading to SGH again this evening and tomorrow evening to visit Dad.

Les parents

When I was very young, I used to think that my parents were tough tough infallible creatures. Strong, healthy, ready to fight the world and ready to defend me if bad people wanted to get me.

Years go by and everyone has gotten older (and wiser haha). I know definitely that they are not right in all matters and they are only knowledgeable in certain areas.

And well, the older they get, visits to the hospital seem to be occurring more.

Both just went to the hospital’s A&E because the mother was feeling unwell with cramps and diarrhoea. With her kidney stone blasting procedure having taken place just only last week, she was freaking out and worried that the cramps might be a side effect of the procedure.

Anyway, both are back at home already. Apparently the prescribed antibiotics were causing those side effects. Strange, I've never ever heard of antibiotics having such side effects. Hmm.

The father’s going to be admitted to SGH tomorrow for a heart procedure scheduled on Thursday. Will probably be in ICU on Thursday night and Friday morning. Hopefully he can be transferred back to the normal wards by Friday afternoon or Saturday.

Health is important. So very important.
Must take care of oneself.

Mai Tumse Pyar Karti Hu

Le sens des mots si-dessus est "Je t'aime" en la langue Hindi.
Il y a deja plus que demi-annee. Ni tres vite mais ni lentement aussi.
Merci beaucoup bebe. Pour etre ici avec moi toujours.
Je t'aime tellement...:)

No more no more *wails*

Louis Prima and Gia Maione



They don’t do songs like how they did in the 40s and 50s no more.
Jive, swing, jazz no more.

Sam Butera. Chet Baker. Dean Martin.
Big names no more.
Sax and trumpets no more.

What a waste.
For these songs are good stuff.
Real good stuff.

vagueness

"Open to interpretation."

Don't quite like this phrase.

Strange thing is that in the course of my work today.

I've heard it twice already. Said by different people in different organisations.

lumiere

A single light crept silently
Into the dimness

A single bright spot illuminating
The otherwise dull vacumn

And it sits there growing
In intensity and volume

Pulsating
Engulfing

The dimness has gone away
Light takes its place

pics!

www.gabrielmendes.net

Hehe...Look at the post which reads as "Daniel and Yanling - MARRIED".

Hehe...he's the photographer who was covering the event and there's a pic posted up on his website. A pic of all of us "brothers" in the background and Daniel in the foreground.

I look strangely demure. hmm.....

Times Have Changed

Here I am sitting in my room listening to jazz classics from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

And my Dad is sitting in his room, watching youtube videos of "Nobody" by the Wondergirls.

OMG.

What is this world coming to???

I'm singing "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Blue Spanish Eyes" while walking about the house.

And my Dad's humming "Nobody".

Sheesh.

He's getting extremely entrenched in Korean stuff.
Watching Korean shows on KBS on cable and chasing Korean dramas.

My mum can't even be bothered haha. And he's chasing all these shows on a daily basis.

I don't even know what's going on in the K-entertainment world and he knows.
Gosh.

Times have changed.

Lazy Sunday mornings

It's been awhile since I could wake up late and laze around and take my own sweet time with things and not have to rush about for errands and appointments.

Love this feeling.
Woke at 10am this morning and rolled about in bed for awhile before getting up.
Doing French homework and listening to music now. Painting my nails at the same time too.

Will be cooking lunch for myself soon too...:)

Eversince mum had her kidney stone blasting on the Tuesday just past, she's declared herself medically unfit for household chores and cooking haha.

Dad has been heading out to the kopitiam and having a blast of a time enjoying all the sinful foods which he'd not have had if my mum were cooking haha.

And I've been cooking for myself as and when I can hee...:)

I like lazy Sunday mornings...

First thing I saw in the mail this morning.

Haha.

But I think it varies from organisation to organisation though.

Is this what you would call Determination and Faith?

Determination, Grit, Faith and Strength

or

Stubbornness and Foolishness

You decide.
I'm a little torn between both descriptions.
Though the first description weighs more heavily on me. :)

Got this article off StraitsTimes.com
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_451040.html

===============
Passed Exam on 950th Try

SEOUL - A WOMAN in South Korea who tried to pass the written exam for a driver's licence with near-daily attempts since April 2005 has finally succeeded on her 950th time.
The aspiring driver spent more than 5 million won (S$5,900) in application fees, but until now had failed to score the minimum 60 out of a possible 100 points needed to get behind the wheel for a driving test.

Ms Cha Sa Soon, 68, finally passed the written exam with a score of 60 on Wednesday, said Choi Young Chul, a police official at the drivers' licence agency in Jeonju, 210km south of Seoul.
Police said Ms Cha took the test hundreds of times, but had no specific total. Local media said she took the test 950 times.

Now she must pass a driving test before getting her license, Mr Choi said. Repeated calls to Ms Cha seeking comment went unanswered. She told the Korea Times newspaper she needed the licence for her vegetable-selling business.

ok so my chinese ain't perfect but who cares.

在彼此身旁守护着
往前的路一起走
无论发生什么
我们一起面对

幸福小女人

平时已经觉得我很幸福， 因为有了K在我身旁。可是昨天晚上更是觉得又开心又幸福。为什么呢？因为K为我准备了一个丰富的晚餐。

昨天放了工后就搭了地铁到他家去。 看着他满头大汗的在厨房里，皱着眉头认真的忙着， 心里突然间有了个很温心的感觉。我的宝贝还真像个厨师！哈哈！ :D

Spaghetti in Cream Cheese Sauce with Holland White Mushrooms and Prawns and Italian Herbs.
这就是他所准备的晚餐！真的好好吃哦！！

*slurp* 嗬嗬! ;p

宝贝万岁！ :)

ready to cry.

feel like a kid now.

shelly and the brain

Time flies by real quickly. It's been 4 years since I went for my brain op.
I can't remember all of the proceedings of that entir eperiod already. I used to be able to remember....

It was years ago that I last met up with John Thomas (JT), the neurosurgeon who sliced me up, stiched me back up wonderfully and basically fixed me.

He looked the same, with the same laid-back sense of humour. Just a little more pudgy. He recommended me to go for a scan just for a look at the aneurysm and if the metal clipping did its job like it was supposed to.

And just like that. $800 flew away from me. That 20-minute scan procedure cost me that much.
I was a little upset actually. "Heart pain" was more like it.

K put it as "Buying a peace of mind".
I know that too. Just couldn't help feeling a little sore that it was so expensive...

Speaking of sore. The procedure involved 2 blasts of medicine and colour dye being injected into me through a plug which was inserted into a major vein on my right elbow.
Definitely uncomfortable, with some amount of pain felt when the dye and medicine was injected into the vein. Thankfully it was just 2 quick injections.

That area has the slight tinge of a blue-black bruise now and still feels a little sore...can't lift anything too heavy too. But I'm sure it'll get better in a day or two.

Going back to see JT next week.
I've got faith. That everything will be aye-okay and that the problem spot is more than adequately solved.

(Just hope that there won't be anymore needles and plugs. choi choi choi.)

..............

Feeling pensive and nostalgic.

I guess the last 2 weeks have been pretty busy for me.

Overseas meeting. Dinners. Work and projects.

Personal stuff. School. Family.

So much so that when I have a little bit more time on my hands this evening,

I end up feeling pensive...

Hey Bro!

I spent almost the whole day on Sunday being part of Daniel's "brother" wedding entourage.
It was a good and fun experience. ;p Albeit a little awkward at times because I didn't really know the rest of the brothers well enough except for 2 of them.

Anyhow, us 8 "xiong dis" managed to pull through the entire day...:)

I feel very happy for Dan & YL. Don't know why. Maybe it's because I know what they've been through. Mayube it's because I was there listening to Daniel during his break up and during the period of time he decided to go after YL.

Am just glad for them that everything turned out fine and dandy. They looked so much in bliss yesterday and the understanding they have of each other and for each other is just amazing.

I guess there is sunshine after the rain afterall. :)

=========
Dan's wedding is probably the 6th wedding that I'm helping out in, either as a "brother" or a "sister" or as the wedding coordinator. And out of these 6 times, I was sitting at the reception as well for probably 3 or 4 times.

Lol, there's a saying that one should not be a bridesmaid for more than 3 times. Hmm, looks like I've exceeded the said threshold amount by twice the amount. And I've even been a groomsman.

Haha.

party? hmm..

An occassional drink with friends for catch up or just for a chill session seems nice to me.
Not frequent weekly guzzling. Don't really understand some folks who head out to "cheong" every weekend.

But yeah, different people lead different lives and have different preferences.

Am I getting old? Hmm mm....

TH jio-ed me to go to the upcoming Zoukout. My immediate answer was no.
It's just not my kind of thing to head there for such an event. Not too keen on it.

Oh well. Am I getting old? Hmm mm...