Being past 30 really makes a difference

Putting on weight...not good. Not good at all  :(

Lost the motivation to run regularly ever since I shifted office to MBC, which was a year and a half ago. And dinner these days are quite heavy. I should cut down on dinner. I should cut down on snacking...and I should....as K always says....exercise more.

:( :( :(

Giving Up on People

"Sometimes you have to give up on people, not because you don’t care, but because they don’t."

Someone posted this on Facebook and it struck a chord with me. I guess it applies to relationships in general, and not just within the work environment.

Gourmet Delights

I shared the recipe for Pong Tau Hu with Minah last night and told her to cook it today. I didn’t give her proportions though because I cook food based on gut feel and lots of tasting in between. I hope it turns out right. She managed to cook Ayam Buah Keluak pretty well on her own after it was demonstrated to her so I think she should be able to cook the Pong Tau Hu equally well!

Taught her how to make a simple water chestnut drink/dessert as well. This is easy and given her talent in cooking, she should be able to get this down pat. :)
Looking forward to dinner tonight!

Love and a Taxi Uncle

I've taken many cabs in Singapore before and many taxi uncles have made it a point to talk to me and share snippets of their life story with me, even if the journey's a short 10-15minutes. Maybe some tales are true and others are exaggerations, whatever they are, they always make for interesting stories.

Today was no exception. I was on a journey from Kembangan to Tampines and the uncle started talking from the moment I got on. It didn't help that he drove at 50km/h or less, even on busy roads.

He spoke fully in English and sounded like sincere, genuine man.

Along the way, I found out that he used to be in the construction business and had projects in Shanghai, Beijing, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and some other Middle Eastern state I can't remember.

He told me he was twice divorced and had once owned four private properties, two of which were gone after his first divorce and the remaining two disappeared as well after his second divorce.

In this context, he told me....

" I don't believe in love anymore. I tell you, love is poison. Love is poisonous! You see, married twice, divorced twice, now I am just a poor man. Poor in heart, poor in life, poor in bank. You tell me, what is love good for? What is it good for at all?"

I did not answer. I just smiled at him through his rearview mirror. What more could I say to a jaded uncle who has seen much more than me?

He smiled back though, with a small touch of nonchalance. Although his words do not show it, he seemed like one who has taken everything that life's ever thrown at him in his stride.

I hope I made his day just by listening to him and providing him an avenue to rant.

Time flies

It's been 2 months since I shifted in. And I'm still trying to get used to being called "Mam Michelle" by the helper lol.

I'm getting used to not having to do the dishes though hehe.

The commute to and from office is much easier now. Just a direct bus ride, no need to switch trains or jostle with the crowd. And the stops where I take the bus somehow always have enough seats so I don't need to stand.

Murphy's Law

It's one of those days when I feel tired and "nua" and so I dress in a "nua" manner as well.

And then I'm told that there's a meeting which was scheduled at the last minute with a VP from Google.

FML.

I'm no longer in Suntec where I can go buy something nicer or what. :(

Oh dear, I hope he doesn't mind my shabby dressing today.....

the shell is not doing too good

I hate yeast!!! (Except the ones used in baking and cooking of course.)

OH I HATE YEAST!!!!!!!!

And I hate the discomfort and inconveniences. :( :( :(

Happy Anniversary

Today marks the 5th year I am with this company.

I don't really remember much of my first day on 17 September 2007 except that I joined a bunch of colleagues for lunch at the Suntec City Mall foodcourt. 5 of them have since left the company with the latest one leaving just at the start of this month.

It's been a relatively good 5 years, with opportunitiesto lead projects and also to see other parts of the world. I've definitely grown somewhat, though I could still do much more and grow much more.
I am thankful for a boss who takes care of us and with whom I get along quite well with.

Here's to more good and hopefully productive years!

Happiness is

• when the last person I see before I sleep and the first person I see when I wake is K
• having a simple lunch with my parents, chatting, laughing and gossiping over a cup of tea
• waking up at 945am on a Monday knowing that I need not rush to get ready for work
• munching on sotong balls
• knowing I'll be catching up with loved ones and close friends soon over drinks and a nice meal
• buying a new pot of fittonias
• lying on the bed and staring out the window at the bright blue skies

:)

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

Oh ya!!

I just realized that there was something we forgot to do during the morning activities on our wedding day.
We didn’t do the “throwing-of-the-wedding-bouquet” thingy. The part where the bride stands with her back facing her single jiemeis (and single xiongdis if they wished to join in) and throws the bouquet over her shoulder towards them.

2 of my jiemeis are still single and available. And at least 2 or 3 other xiongdis too. It would have made for some fun lol. Missed photo opportunity as well.

faire la cuisine

It's been a long time since K and I cooked anything together. The last time was during Chinese New Year I think, when we roasted chicken for his family. That was more than half a year ago already.

I think it's high time we dig out some interesting recipes and flex our cooking muscles again!! Be it sweet or savoury, anything goes!

Granny with an ATTITUDE!

 

  Haha. Granny is doing much much better these days. She talks voluntarily and rattles on about things that come to her mind. She smiles and jokes and laughs. Her appetite's back to normal. She's feisty when she doesn't like certain things and chortles when she sees something she likes or approves of. 

Dad sent me this photo of her when I was working overseas last week. :) Apparently Dad told her to strike a pose and she did this. Lol...

feeling bookish again

It has been a long time since I've read a book. Up to 2 years ago I was reading novels and non-fiction books at the rate of one each month. I think I've gone without reading a book for more than a year already. Opps.

Maybe I should pick one up again now that I'm regularly taking the bus to and from office. Long bus rides make for ideal book-reading time.

Perhaps, Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist shall be the book to get me started again. I've read it before but more often than not, when you re-read some books, you still get to learn new things because you pick up on things you missed previously.

Bonding in a different way

We went for lunch at Peach Garden at White Sands today. An early celebration for my mum's birthday which is still about 2 weeks away. And then we were "dragged" to the Timezone arcade at the same mall. The whole family ended up playing games for more than an hour haha.


Lately, my mum, nephew and sister-in-law became hooked on two of the games machines. One is a spoof of angry birds and the other involves you catching fish and scoring points. Hence today's trip to the arcade after lunch.

When I was growing up, I didn't really visit any video/games arcade as I didn't understand the whole mechanics of it. Most games were violent and confusing and involved you parting with alot of your money in a very short period of time. Plus, the arcades were frequented by alot of ah-bengs during those days.

So it came as a pleasant surprise to me that the whole family could spend so long there at the arcade. It was good clean fun though. Noting violent, nothing unhealthy. And it brought smiles to all of us. :)

Those bright moments of sunshine

Last Wednesday afternoon, my father-in-law sent me to the airport. I was leaving for a work trip. I remember thinking to myself in the car that this would be the first time K wouldn't be there to see me off at the airport (well, except for those times that he was away for studies haha.)

I stepped into the airport, checked which way to go to and turned around to walk to the check-in counter. And then voila...K was there! :) He'd snuck off from work to be at the airport to see me off. It was a lovely lovely surprise and I sure was mighty touched haha.

Thank you Baby...:D

money money money

When I was running a hostel committee back in my second year in uni, we had to source for sponsorships and funds for the event we were organising.

It seems like dejavu now. Scrambling to get our teeth into any piece of fund we can find for our event next February.

This work trip has brought us some measure of good news in terms of sponsorships. Some organisations have committed their funds to us. While we are still far off from what we need, I am still happy.

On a separate note though, I have some people avoiding me now because they know I am seeking sponsorships. Oh the woes of work!