Woot!

After submitting a sub-standard piece of paper to my boss and getting nagged at as a result, I promised myself some weeks ago that I would not slacken anymore and will make sure I develop good drafts again. Afterall, writing clear and simple yet structured papers is something I feel is one of my stronger points.
I submitted a paper to my boss yesterday and he came back with a comment “Michelle, good draft!”
Yay, I did it! I got my mojo back!
Lol simple joy..:D

A leopard never changes its spots

I have an ex-colleague who has the habit of giving last minute excuses and not turning up for gatherings.

Nevertheless, I still invited him to my wedding last year and was extremely peeved when he did not turn up at the last minute even though he had told me he "would definitely be there". He did not even have the decency to inform me and only wrapped a cursory angpow which he got another ex-colleague to drop into my angpow box. He left me with an empty seat at the table. Nary a squeak from him. Is even an SMS so difficult to send out to inform me that you can't come? I thought that was very irresponsible of him.

When another ex-colleague was preparing for her wedding (which happened to be last Saturday), she asked me if she should invite him. I told her my reservations about doing so and cited the numerous instances he'd bailed out on us at the last minute. She said she'd give it a thought but eventually, she still invited him. "Paiseh to invite his good friend and not him...." she told me.

And what do you know?

He did exactly the same thing to her as he did to me.

Like a Balloon

I am literally feeling FULL of myself haha.
My bloating over these last two days has been phenomenal. I think it’s easily added two inches to my girth. And as such, it’s caused me to be a much smaller eater than usual. I couldn’t even finish my bowl of yong tau fu yesterday. Simply couldn’t take in much food. I hope today will be better!

The boss

Whenever we submit papers to our boss, he usually wants it in hard copy so he can physically edit it. He'd then pass it back to us so we can amend our soft copies and then submit them to the bigger bosses. 

I submitted a paper to him last week. He had made his edits to the paper and wanted me to send him the soft copy so he could help me amend.

In his words "In your condition now, I'll try to help you whenever I can"

But I told him it's still my job and I would do it. It's just editing papers, simple task. 

Lol so touched by his offer to help lah. This grumpy old man has his soft side too hahaha.

I feel so privileged lol. 

Buying

The buying has begun. More purchases to come next week. And in the upcoming weeks/months.

My dear pockets, hang in there! Don't go bust on me!! 

P/s: I'm utterly grateful too for the kind and generous gifts, donations and support (both monetary, intellectual and in kind) so far....:) couldn't ask for more! I feel blessed and am very thankful! 

Catching up

I attended an ex-colleague's wedding dinner yesterday. Both she and her husband were from LHUB as well and needless to say, a large number of guests were Lhubbers as well, both past and present. 

It was great meeting up with a number of them and I'm touched that some easily recognized me even though we were not that close last time and I'd not seen them for at least 6 years. 

It felt good catching up with them, kinda felt like one big family all over again lol. 

Good Saturday evening!

Great Friday!

Call me emotional but I sorta shed tears of joy yesterday.

Because I went to see Granny. After awhile of being with her, I asked her who I was and she managed to mouth the syllables of my name. I was so happy I told her "Good!" And gave her two thumbs up. She grinned and chuckled in return.

I'm not sure if she registered it fully in her mind but I took her hand and laid it on my belly and made a patting motion. When I let go, she continued patting and felt my belly from left to right and then left again. She was nodding and staring at me. I told her it was her great-grandchild and she nodded as well. I hope she really understood me. 

It has really been several months that I've managed to visit her at a time when she's feeling more alert and not in a dazed groggy state. 

Great Friday!

Growth

There must have been a growth spurt. Because within this week alone, at least 5 or 6 colleagues from other divisions asked me about how I was doing and how far along I am lol.

Comin' Home

A buzz and a tingle in the air
I'm a hoppin' and a boppin'
And a swishin' and a twirlin'
Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald
Come a flippin' through my ears
As I patiently await
Toe a tappin'
For tonight
When the King comes arrivin'

La Vie En Rose (English Lyrics)

Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose

When you kiss me heaven sighs
And tho I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose

When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom

And when you speak...angels sing from above
Everyday words seem...to turn into love songs

Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose

What happened to you?

To go to and from the washroom, I need to walk past my boss' room. This afternoon, he waylaid me and called me into his room.

Boss: Eh alamak, what happened to you man?

Me: Huh??

Boss: Alamak! You used to stand up tall and proud and walk upright! Now look at you, everyday I see you looking so 'lembeh' and hunched. 

Me: *lol* Now I'm like that cos I'm having a backache mah. You should see me in the morning when I have more energy haha.

Boss: You're like a changed person! Shorter too, now cannot wear high heels right? *guffaws* 

Me: *zzzzz* 

I'm so different now meh??? No what...

P/s: his favorite singlish expression is 'alamak'. No points for guessing...:)

Help? Help!

This morning...

Breakfast was prepared incorrectly again....I thought never mind it's okay, trivial matter. I'll just remind and teach till the cows come home.

Then I walked out of the house and realized my black pants was furry and full of lint. Argh, not the first time. It's somewhat unsightly and embarrassing to walk around with spots of white lint on your black clothes, especially when you're going to have a meeting with external parties later that day.

I probably shouldn't be complaining. But sometimes, having a helper at home doesn't really help? 

Sheesh

Hmm. Someone in office just tried to cut me out of the equation on a small work item. Only found out when my boss forwarded me the email.

Dude, I don't mind handing it over to you. It's a small issue. But administratively and for proper governance, things still need to be ironed out and settled by me. I am still managing this aspect till 30 June.

Till then, back off...........zzzzz.

Joyous News!

Baby Darius Foo came into this world at 6:40 this evening with a hearty wail and weighing in at 3.12kg. He's a 50cm bundle of joy! 

Really happy for my cuz Suli!! :)) 

So good things do come to good people and to those who wait. :)))

Counting Down

5 more months. :)

Snippets....on a very drowsy afternoon......

• Didn't sleep well again last night. I felt like I was half-awake almost the entire night and I remember physically getting up and out of the bed at least 3 or 4 times, either to switch off the aircon or to pee. Totally zombified now. Can't concentrate on work.
• Mighty excited! Suli's gonna deliver anytime this afternoon! And another Baby Darius will be welcomed to this world...:) She should have undergone her epidural shot by now. Wonder if they've burst her water bag yet?
• Feeling slightly hungry but tummy is quite bloated. Herein lies the perennial question. To eat or not to eat??
• 3.5 more days till K comes home...

Transport Woes

#1. Massive jam on ECP last evening. What should have been a 10-15 mins journey turned into an hour long crawl from Kembangan to the Big Splash. Didn't help that I was feeling unwell and had cold sweaty palms throughout the whole hour. The taxi uncle was nice though and even apologized for making me go through the long journey. The care should have just been less than $10. It ended up being $22. 

#2. Loads of empty cabs this morning but none were willing to stop. I've heard of cabs ostracizing preggies but I'm not even showing that much so that can't be the reason why they didn't stop. Eventually a nice uncle stopped for me, 20mins after I started waiting for one. Looking on the bright side, after baking for a good whole 20mins directly under the bright sun, I think I manufactured enough Vitamin D to last me the entire week. 

Contentment and Happiness is...

....receiving a call at 510am from K and knowing he has safely arrived in Sydney. :) 

Disappointed

Singapore's transport system failed me miserably today. I couldn't get a cab despite trying for 20mins. I was in despair. Had no choice but to get on the bus. The jam was horrendous. 

I was rushing to get home and give K a hug before he left for his business trip. 

In the end, I reached home, just a mere 5mins after K had gotten on the cab to go to the airport. 

I'd missed him by just that hair's breadth. 

Seriously upsetting. 

It felt like a Channel 8 drama show. And I was the dejected one left behind...

Bleah!!

Didn't help too that dinner was not very appealing.....zzz

Keep up the zen Michelle!

Good. So far, I am maintaining my cool with a colleague whose favourite pastime seems to be:

• dishing out empty promises
• under-delivering work
• missing deadlines by a mile
• putting up pretenses
• over-promising anything and everything

Like I always say, you can screw yourself up for all I care, but don’t drag the rest of your teammates down with you lah........

GSS

I've never been much of a shopping person and I'm not one of those who goes mad during the Great Singapore Sale and buys loads of things.

But this year will be different. K and I have already identified various things we need to buy and we will be part of the crowd heading out to the streets and buying stuff. At least we more or less know what we want and don't need to forage around the stores too much lol.

GSS, here we come!!

p/s: My dear pockets, hang in there. I need your support lol.

That Awkward Period

When people are wondering if you're getting fatter or just expecting a child

When people greet you and their eyes invariably dart down to your tummy, but they are mindful of your privacy and don't say or ask anything. 

When they give you a guilty look because they know you discovered them staring at your belly

When they are brimming with absolute curiosity

When they start asking your direct teammates instead, if you're expecting

Lol, hilarious.

When you least expect it

Saw an office lady making her way home after work. Quite pretty with long wavy hair. She was in an office dress and ballet flats. Run-of-the-mill.

And then she took out a skate scooter from her bag and started skating to the nearby bus-stop. 

Way cute. 

Lol, even guys were turning heads and gawking at her. 

Paper Surgery

I knew at the back of my head that I was handing in a crappy piece of paper to my boss but I had little energy and zest to re-work it. 

Was called into the boss' room today and he told me the paper needed "major surgery". Bleah, I've only received such a comment one other time in all of my 5.5 years working for him and that was when I was a newbie. 

Sucks. 

BUT!!

I shall endeavor to tweak and polish it up till it shines!!! 

Being Up There

I spent 45minutes to 1hour reading through someone’s email, attached documents and formulating a suggested response to clear with my boss. I wrote 5 paragraphs recommending an action to take and sought my boss’ concurrence. He replied within 10 minutes and used only three words which probably only took him 30seconds to type: “Agree, please proceed.”

-_-''

I also want to be towkay.

Zombie face

I've not seen this group of friends for 6 months. I didn't want to disappoint them and also, I didn't want to chicken out of another social appointment so I decided to still go for a quick dinner with them. Plus, I wanted to share updates with them.

It was an unanimous reaction from all of them when they first saw me lol.

Are you ok???
You look terrible.
You sick???
What happened to you?
You're pale and your skin is blotchy!

I was feeling tired, breathless and a little queasy. But I didn't know I looked that bad. Bleah.

Things got better after I had a plate of pasta and some warm water. I was told some colour returned to me and I seemed to have more energy.

In any case, I stayed for only an hour. Sorry ladies, next gathering perhaps. I'll try to be more energetic then! Lol.

WTH?

Who the Hell Gives a 5-year-old Boy a Rifle as a Present??

Extracted from The Straits Times 2 May 2013

CHICAGO (AFP) - A five-year-old boy who was playing with a .22 caliber rifle he'd been given as a gift accidentally shot and killed his two-year-old sister in their Kentucky home, officials said. The shooting happened on Tuesday in rural Cumberland county, and the little girl was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, the state police said.

Cumberland County Coroner Gary White identified the girl as Caroline Starks and said the children's mother was cleaning the house at the time and had stepped outside onto the porch.

 "She said no more than three minutes had went by and she actually heard the rifle go off. She ran back in and found the little girl," Mr White told WKYT news.

Auntie Observations

Office Cleaner Auntie: 你今天看起来好像很累， 好像身体不舒服这样。
Me: 可是我看起来天天都是这样啊。
Auntie: 没有啦。 今天特别累。
Me: sigh......

I was telling Chloe my dark eye rings are even darker than a few months back and even darker than during the hectic event days.

They should invent a bleaching agent for the skin there....

History

When I was in my teens, I would be home in the afternoon on weekdays, sitting on the floor in front of the TV and surrounded by my schoolbooks. I'd try to finish my homework and watch TV at the same time. Granny would be sitting there in the living room as well, watching TV with me and at times if she didn't get the storyline, I'd have to explain to her. She was already somewhat hard of hearing at that time and often relied on the actors' facial expressions to conjure up the plot in her mind.

When I was done with homework or when the TV programme was over, she would sometimes tell me stories from the past. Vivid stories which enthralled me and had me imagining I was back in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Maybe I should have recorded all those stories down. But this is always thought of in hindsight. Who would think of recording down such valuable and interesting information at the tender age of 15? It is regrettable to me now that I only remember some of those stories told to me.

Sometimes, she would tell her own story. How she came into existence, when she got married, how my Dad came into this world, etc.

When I was 17, she shared me her family tree. I don't know what hit me then but somehow I jotted down that information. On a TPJC foolacap paper lol. I must have been finishing up my homework when Granny started talking to me. There were many times when I was clearing my drawers that I thought to throw this piece of paper away but I'm glad I didn't.

Mum was helping me pack up my old dresser table drawer that day and when I went over to visit, I brought home a bag of the drawer contents to sort through at home. This piece of paper was in there.

Sure, it's yellowed and a little frayed at the edges but the ink has kept well with only slight fading. I think I'm going to digitise it for posterity. Transfer it into soft copy or something. Might show Dad as well, it's his lineage too afterall haha.