Mini garden

It's been awhile since I spoke of my plants.

As you can see from the picture, the pot of Bowles' Mint is thriving. After the initial 1-2 months of stabilisation after transplanting in end 2011, the plant has flourished. Many new shoots have appeared from the main stem and the main plant itself is growing taller and taller. When I last measured it a few weeks ago, it was only at my waist. When I measured it last night, I realised it's at my chest height already! It's getting quite wobbly as well because of its height. The support sticks I placed in the pot are no longer sufficient and I have half a mind to lop off the top 20-30cm of the plant and transplant it into a new pot. Perhaps I'll do it this weekend if I manage to find some time.

The rest of the plants are doing fine. The Basil was doing alright and had new shoots coming out as well. But it has suddenly been dropping leaves in the last week or so and I don't know why. The Bryophyllum's starting to have little new leaves growing out from the edge of some of the existing leaves! Yay finally! The Ficus Ginseng Bonsai is stable too.

The only one problem I had was with one of the terrariums which somehow became infested with ants. It was an open-air terrarium and the little red creatures burrowed through the soil all the way down into the deepest end of the pot. I could see them forming tunnels underneath the surface of the soil and running along the tunnels because the whole pot was made of transparent glass.

That was the first terrarium I had ever created back in 2009. It was a maddening time and I spent a whole week trying to save the pot. Each time I thought I had gotten rid of the ants, each time they came back in full force. And when they started chewing through the bottom-most leaves of the red and green fittonias I had in that pot, it was the final straw for me. I dismantled the entire pot after work one night. And spent the next few hours re-building a new one. I remember only sleeping in the wee hours of the morning that night.

It has been almost 2 weeks since the new terrarium was set-up and the plants have still not settled down. They are still a little limp but what is heartening is that I can see through the walls of the pot that some roots have started growing again. I hope the plants anchor down more fimly and stabilise themselves soon.

In the meantime, my mum has been spraying insecticide in the balcony (where my plants are) on an alternate-day basis. Ants have almost disappeared except for the occassional 2 or 3 running around.

Wonder if I should try growing coriander again since my last 2 attempts have failed....hmm.

Family

Dad, Mum, Adrian and Marc went to Universal Studios today and popped by Vivocity for dinner thereafter. Mei didn't join them at USS but met up with them at Vivocity in the evening. Dad called me at 6pm and asked if I was able to join them. I declined and shared with him that I still had some things to do in the office. He said ok and hung up.

I continued typing for a minute or two but my heart started feeling a little heavy. I wondered why I still bothered to continue working while my family was just 2 MRT stops away and about to have dinner. One of the things I told myself since awhile back was that I would try to make time for my family and loved ones. So what was I doing? I was giving work (which wasn't very urgent anyway) higher priority?

Psssshhhhawwww. That did not sound right at all.

And so, in that instant, it felt like as if I had an epiphany. I decided to drop whatever I was doing and join them instead.  Afterall, work can never be "finished". Those tasks on my plate were plenty but none were excruciatingly urgent. They could wait till tomorrow. No one would perish because I put the work off till the next day.

And so I half-walked, half-ran to the train station and managed to reach the restaurant 5 minutes before the first dish was served. (I've always maintained that my timing is impeccable haha.)

Anyway. I am glad I joined them for dinner.

Nothing beats family.

RANT.

If you cannot accept feedback which was nicely said to you. Then jolly well f*ck off. Don't come asserting your authority just because you are 2 grades higher than I am. We all report to the same boss, I don't report to you. REMEMBER THAT.

一大清早就让我的血压增高。 真是的。

勇往直前！

The mind is active. But the body is a little tired and a littl eunder the weather as well. Haha.
It's a case of mind over body again.

p/s: May that sore reddish spot on my nose disappear before a pimple shows up.

Leaving Office

Mapletree Business City at night. Quite nice actually.

View from Office Window

One of the few times I take a breather and stare out of the office window. I should do this more often.

The photo doesn't do the actual scene much justice but the sea is absolutely gorgeous today. A perfect shade of blue-green with many ships dotting the horizon. The way the sunrays fall on the surface of the sea, the way the whiter-than-white clouds float in the sky and the way some gulls and herons fly by from time to time all make me want to fly away to a beach somewhere, kick my shoes off and just bask in the sun. With nary a worry in the world.

Feet

Bunions, callouses, obvious veins and knobbly toes don't make for pretty feet. I am still very grateful to my feet though. For they have carried me long and far for the last 30-odd years. And hopefully for the next 30, 40 or 50-odd years as well. :)

I really don't need this right now

NOTHING is going right in this bloody project. First time in my life I called a tender and it has to screw up so badly. It's not even a $1million tender although it's still a large sum at $800K. I am facing a situation where I might lose my venue for the event next year. I need to answer to my Board. I need to answer to the two overseas organisations involved in the event.

Really. WTF? What the hell is going on?

加油！

进几个星期的情绪处理的不是很好。时好时坏，偶尔又神经兮兮的，偶尔又想哭。有时觉得压力大，有时觉得东西太多了，不知从何开始， 只想靠一边， 什么都不做。

真的是有点累，不过我还是尽量保持笑容！其实这也是多亏K给我的鼓励和支持啦。希望来临的几个星期和几个月会更好！

美金，你要加油哦！*fighting!*


Ps: 短短几句华文字就花了我整20分钟来type！

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Note to Self

1. When applying lotion on your body, make sure everything is fully spread over and absorbed by your skin before leaving the house. Do not leave the house with globs of creamy ivory-colored stuff running down your thighs and calves. It leaves the imagination of others in overdrive.

2. Remember to suck your tummy in when taking photos, especially when you are standing in an oblique angle. There should only be two visible bumps, the boob bump and the bum bump. Nothing else. (unless you are pregnant of course)

3. When having a buffet meal, remember not to gorge yourself till past 9pm. It leaves you bloated and uncomfortable the next day. And, it leaves you with an expanded girth the next day as well.

4. "When in doubt, just buy" Try not to apply this piece of advice too often.

Saturday

Another Saturday of tasks and schedules. Glad that I managed to get some things done today. It always feels good to check off some things on the to-do list. There's still Sunday and Monday to get more things done and to have some me-time and rest-time as well. Been quite awhile since I had some good rest.

Here I am, sitting in K's room. Half-working and half-blogging. Listening to music and sipping a glass of moscato as well. My favourite Brown Brothers - Orange Muscat & Flora flavour. He's surfing the Net.

I like this. Peace and quiet, slow and steady. Just me and him. Each of us doing our own thing but knowing that the other is just inches away. No words spoken. Just a comfortable quiet.

Does busy-ness attract more busy-ness?

Mad day rushing different things here and there. Was in a 3hr discussion as well during which 3 different groups of people were looking for me via text, call and whatsapp.

Feeling a little zapped. Now rushing to see Granny before heading home. It'll be a late dinner for me again today. Hope I maintain my weight!!

------------------
Update 8:30pm

Not that good a day.
Rushed to see granny and was caught in 2 separate jams. By the time I got to CGH, she was already dozing off. Spoke to her for a mere 3-4 sentences and she's now sound asleep. I can only pat her now and watch her fall into a deeper sleep.

Good morning!

Cheery happy colors greet me every weekday morning as I wait for my private bus to come pick me up for work.

Sleepy Shell

Cab rides, an unwell tummy, late dinners and late nights seem to be the norm these days. Coupled with visits to CGH to see Granny, tasks to accomplish and chores to do.

Which reminds me. There's still a pile of 3-4 accumulated pieces of clothing which need to be handwashed! Eeeek!

Le Weekend

It was a busy and tiring one, but quite fulfilling because we managed to get a lot of things done.

Visited Granny. Spent the entire Sunday afternoon buying furniture. Met with videographer. Collected the cards. Bought our bedspread.

The coming weekend will be another busy one...as is the work week ahead. Jiayou to K and self!

Lots of Granny posts these days. She's getting alot of airtime!

Went to see her again last night and was very happy to see that she was in good spirits, in spite of the physical ailments plaguing her.

She was sitting up and was considerably less "stoned" compared to Tuesday and Wednesday. She was smiling and laughing and chuckling at her own jokes. She was talking loudly and disturbing everyone in the room lol. She initiated conversations and was talkative, although all she did was to repeat the same few sentences tens of times. "Have you eaten?" "Why haven't you eaten?" "You came straight from work?" "Are you cold?" "Is that why you are wearing a jacket?" You want to drink water?"

I took it as a good sign. At least her mind is doing good.

On the physical aspects, aside from the cuts and bruise from the fall, the doctors ran more tests and scans and Xrays and now the list seems to be getting longer?

• Slight hairline fracture in the right hip. Leaving it alone for now since she is not complaining of any pain. She already has an existing metal plate in her left hip in a surgery done a few years back.
• Intestines and kidneys are weak.
• Cyst detected near one of her ovaries. Further scans may be needed. This is suspected to have been giving her some pain and discomfort. BUT, an invasive surgery at her age is not possible and highly not recommended. To be monitored and further assessed by the doctors.
• Bad cough originating deep in her chest. Phlegm building up quite quickly. Docs administered liquid medication through a drip for her. Hopefully it helps to clear the cough and phlegm up quickly.
• Itchy dry skin. With patches of flaky skin here and there.
• Some sores on her bum due to her scratching and also due to insufficient blood circulation maybe.

I hope she gets well soon and gets discharged soon......

........

Quite amazing. How some people can solicit information from you beneath your own nose and at the same time deftly withhold their information from you.

Some new age skill?

More on English

A senior manager from another department just corrected my English. She changed my "iterate" to "reiterate".

Sigh.

For the record, to "iterate" means to do or say something again. To "reiterate" means to re-repeat something. It is sufficient to use the word "iterate" to convey the idea of repetition.

*stressed*

Never in my life have I been so nervous and fidgety about sending out an email.
Not until this morning. Not until 5minutes ago.

It was a long one-page email sent to rebutt and refute some strongly worded emails sent to us by overseas people on a joint event we are working on. It was an email sent to defend and justify our position and decisions made. I hope this doesn't cause things to boil even more and bubble over! As it is, there are too many cooks stirring the pot already...

Ti Gong Boh Pi. I really hope that things will simmer down after this email. If not...sigh....there'll be more stress and pimples for me.

*clasps hands together to pray*
*fingers crossed*

Granny

Went to visit her earlier on. She could recognise me when I asked her who I was. :)

She's supposed to go for a CT scan. They need to inject her with contrast and there's a certain amount of risk here. Her kidneys are weak and if her body can't expel the contrast fluids out on its own after the procedure, she may get renal failure.

And then she's having a bad cough. With heavy phlegm developing.

And then her itchy hands went to pull out the stitches which were holding her wound closed. Seriously don't understand how she did it. Wouldn't it have been extremely painful?? They replaced the stitches with tape and gauze instead.

And then she went to peel away one edge of the gauze. She was duly scolded by my dad and hopefully now understands that she shouldn't be doing it.

And then she's got a big reddish bruise next to and around her left eye.

And then her intestines are weak too.

And then...

And then..

Sigh.

Blew her a flying kiss when I left her bedside. She didn't return it today. She shooed my dad and I away instead.

At times like this, I'm glad I always have a rosary in my bag. It's comforting.

BIG BIG Note to Self

STOP buying random clothes online from stores carrying Korean fashion pieces.

1. You don't look like any of the models parading the clothes.
2. The clothes don't turn out right 95% of the time. Whether in terms of size, colour or material.
3. You don't know what to do with the junk pieces.
4. You upset yourself by thinking how you could have saved the money.
5. You upset yourself even more when you think of how you could have used the money for a nice meal with K.

*****************
何必呢?? I ask myself. It's a vicious cycle. 1 year later I'll probably write another post like this again. Sigh.

Granny

Any calls received from the nursing home is never a good one. Dad received a call from them at 10pm last night and had to rush to the A&E soon after.

Granny had fallen down and also had a gash to her forhead near her left brow. They had to clean her up and suture her wound. Good thing was that they did not find anything else wrong with her when they did checks on her at the hospital. Only thing was that her red blood cell count had dropped a little and they kept her for a night  in the hopspital to monitor her.



There wasn't any available bed last night and she could only be kept at the A&E's observation ward. Hopefully she gets to be in a proper ward by noon today. Or even better still, hopefully she gets the all-clear to be discharged directly from A&E.


The story is that she apparently tried to get to the washroom on her own last night, using her walking frame. She barely left her bed when she fell. The nurses, or so they said, tried to rush to her when they noticed that she had gotten up on her own but by the time they got to her, they were too late. She had already slipped and fell.

I have my doubts. Her bed railing is always secured in a way that she cannot release it on her own. This is to force her to ask for help from the nurses and to prevent her from moving about on her own. Why was she able to wake up last night and get up on her own and use the walking frame on her own?

Told my dad and aunt to get a proper explanation from the nursing home by today.

Meanwhile, I'm just waiting for updates.

Expectations

Is it bad of me to half expect an acknowledgement after I say "thank you" to someone? Is it bad of me to half expect an acknowledgement or a "thank you" when I hold the lift or door open for someone? K shared with me once that I shouldn't expect anything in return, since I did it on my own accord.

Perhaps he's right and I have not yet learnt not to expect things in return.

I watched an episode of a local Chinese TV drama a few weeks back. The pastor in the show said something to this effect: “最重要的是你在做你觉的是对的事。最重要的是你做得开心。别人的事， 就不用去管了。他没表示谢意， 没表示感激， 那是他的事， 就别去管了。这样你自己也开心多了！”

My Mandarin is bad, I hope I got the right Chinese characters to convey the message of the pastor.
Loosely translated in English, it means that the most important thing is that you are doing what you think is right and that you are happy doing it. It does not matter what others do. Even if they don't express thanks and gratitude, that is their business and you do not need to bother about it. This way, you'll be a happier person!

Note to self: High time I learn not to have such expectations.

婆婆

A conversation I had with Granny on Saturday morning when I went to visit her.

Gran: Eh?? Why are you here?? Where did you come from??
Me: Huh? I came from home lor.
Gran: How did you know that I'm staying here??
Me: ?? I come and visit you every week one leh. -_-" *sigh*
Gran: Oh...is it? Ok...

I've been visiting her there every Saturday since July 2007, save for the times when I am travelling or when I really cannot make it. I know she doesn't mean it but it still kinda stings a little when she does or says things like that.

Oh well, at least she can still recognize me :)

Ugh

I get irked when people who don't know better correct my written English.

For the record and contrary to what many people mistakenly believe, the phrase is written as "with regard to".

THERE IS NO "S" FOR THE WORD "REGARD".

So stop correcting my English!! Stop adding "s" to my "regard"!!

老娘is very annoyed!!

Woot Woot!

It's that time of the year again. Just before I left office, my boss handed me the letter which contained information on our corporate bonus, individual performance bonus, market adjustment and performance rating.

Suffice to say, I'm a happy woman. :D

Sleep? Not Yet...

It's 12:15am.

The mum's sleeping soundly in the next room. The dad's watching the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea. No points for guessing which team we are rooting for. You'll Never Walk Alone. I say "we" because by association, I am a Liverpool supporter as well.

Just finished some chores and an impromptu spot of gardening. Because the pot of basil needed some urgent topping up of soil and the pot of Bowle's Mint needed urgent support from a second stick. It's growing up beautifully and is about 80cm tall already. Hence the need for a second stick to support its height. I had a mini battle with some ants as well.

I should be sleeping but I think I'll try to settle some more things first before hitting the sack. My room needs some tidying up. I need to clear some of the clutter else it starts cluttering my mind as well.

Deliriously Happy?

Lol, I popped by Ally's place this afternoon again. Happy was out of her enclosed area and was running around in the living room. She was so hyper and went ballistic when I arrived at the door. She started barking and jumping on me and also grabbed a ball in her mouth to try to get me to play with her haha. I happened to be in shorts today.....Look at the scratches she gave me!!

Fingers crossed

The event project really doesn't seem to be doing well at this point in time. From getting "played out" by a venue provider who screwed up our initial plans....to getting negative feedback from some of the overseas folks overseeing the organisation of the event....to the high costs of holding the event in Singapore.....to a fellow goverment agency not seeming to be forthcoming with its funding scheme which we are applying for........

I hope I can stay strong for this project for the next 10months. And my event manager (whom I hired specially for this project) had better not throw any "stunt" on me......

I hope everything works out okay.......

FYP mate!

Eddie's back in town for a week. Had dinner with him earlier this evening and had a good time catching up with him. I hope things pan out well for him in Chengdu. Am proud of him for taking the plunge into this make-or-break venture. All the best dear pal!

On a separate note, I hope he can make it for the July dinner. As it is, quite a number of people won't be attending already....

Rest in Peace Lok Gu Dai

Just attended the wake of a relative earlier tonight. She passed on at the grand age of 91. I still remember the last time I saw her was during Chinese New Year in January. She was wobbling around, taking miniscule steps and being generally happy with the festivities.

In the last couple of years, I've attended a few such wakes of old relatives. I'd thought that I'd be used to it by now. But it seems otherwise. The melancholy I feel after attending each wake is still there.

In fact, it seems to have increased. Probably because it has dawned on me that my own parents are getting on in years. My dad is 70 this year and my mum's 62.

And my grandmother's 96.

Sigh. The years pass by so quickly. Everyone's growing older so quickly.