Boxing Day

And suddenly....whoosh! Xmas Eve and Xmas Day 1 is over. 

I think I've not been eating enough carbs these few days + neckaches + some measure of anxiety and frustration have led to me feeling a little fatigued and exhausted on some days. Especially on Xmas eve and even on Xmas morning itself. 

Some frustration because...I took 2 weeks' leave to have time to unwind and have some time to myself and settle the things I want to settle (packing the house, nuah-ing, etc)...but I ended up still having to handle some pieces of work, and there are also some team lunch obligations I have to deal with. I'm anti-social these days...I don't want to keep meeting office folks, especially NOT WHEN I AM ON LEAVE. But some obligations...I cannot quite refuse...sigh. I don't deal very well these days with too many social stuff. Drains me of my energy. 

A little grouchy, a little touchy, a little sensitive, and a little itchy. 

Itchy cos...I've been doing packing and throwing things away. And stirring up dustballs. My eyes are a little itchy, my nose is a little irritated and my face is itchy too. I wear a mask at home now when I'm packing lol.  

Just want some quiet time tonight...to either watch videos, listen to chill music, or colour or read...

And oh ya, reminder to myself to take more carbs like rice and noodles...I need the starch...it's like my battery fluid. 

And oh oh ya, K packed the storeroom yesterday and emptied half of it...We threw away tons of stuff. I'm happy. :) 6.5 years of accumulated junk. Reduced to half...yay. My own Marie Kondo...

To the Lady Who Was Crossing the Road While Using Her Phone

Please be careful. 

Please keep your eyes off your phone when you are crossing the road. 

If you want to kill yourself on the road, by all means, we will respect your decision. 

But please don't bring harm to innocent drivers. 

Don't suddenly appear from behind a parked tall van and continue crossing the road, head down and concentrating on the phone, like you own the road and the whole world will stop for you. 

Please be careful. 

You are someone's sister, daughter, mother, wife, friend and loved one too...

不错的一天!

Today was one of those days I felt I did alot of things haha..

• 8am. Blood test @ Bedok Poly.
• Bought stuff from Watsons before heading home. 
• Had breakfast, settled work, had a discussion
• 1120am. K came back from doing the groceries and we went to Nadya's school to collect her school books for next year. 
• We had lunch at Parkway's Yi Dian Xin, bought some stuff, then went home.
• Cleared some work again, then showered and did my make-up while attending the parent company's year-end event. Think of it sort of like a virtual D&D with some lucky draw thrown in.
• Had some concurrent work discussions as well while listening to the event.
• Ran off for the Duckie dinner appointment at 550pm. 
• K picked me up, together with the girls. We drove down Orchard and admired the Xmas lighting and decorations adorning the buildings and streetlights.
• Reached home. Put the girls to sleep. Showered. 
• Clearing some work now before catching some videos and then calling it a night. 

Duckie Dinner

Had dinner with some of the Duckies today. EH, G & SS.
A 40yr-old, a 43 yr-old, a 49yr-old and a 62yr-old. lol...Odd combi lol...

Conversations tend to be dominated by one or 2 folks. Fine by me...but when it's like this 90% of the time, it does get a little tiring. And when 90% of the time, things are revolving around the same topic/issue, it does get a little tiring too. Wasn't a gathering supposed to be an update session of sorts from all parties? 

Still, I was happy to see all of them. It's been 2 years since I last saw G & SS! How time flies. I remember how I gained the courage and inspiration to get myself checked out by a psychiatrist after I heard SS' story of how he went for counselling to overcome some of his difficulties and to learn how to manage his (very trying) relationship with his mother. 

I am still thankful to this day that I had dinner with G & SS on Boxing Day in 2018. 

Main topics centred around health issues today. I noticed it's been this way with a lot of catch-ups in recent years with various folks. Health, kids, work. 老了，大家都老了...

Food was good as usual at Cedele. Fish Coriander Pesto Pasta is my go-to main dish at Cedele. Always. Except that today, at this outlet at Wheelock, it had a whole lot of edamame thrown into it. At least 2-3 tablespoonfuls. I have quite some disdain for those beans and had to pick them out. Luckily they were concentrated at one portion of the pasta and the beans were big enough to be picked out easily haha.

The pasta & grilled seabass were still excellent. :)

Lobster

And so yesterday...

Laoniang did a calendula peel-off face mask. I'd done it several times in the past with NO ISSUE. I even did a patch test last time to be sure I'm not allergic to it. 

Just applied it yesterday and received a call from my legal counsel. Originally intended to lie in bed for awhile but with the call coming in, I started walking around and unknowingly popped by my balcony for a few minutes (maybe 5mins or less?) and then went back into my room. 

After I put down the phone. I went into the bathroom and saw that the skin areas where the mask was on seemed pink...hmm...was I seeing things? Cannot be...I've used this before and I had no allergies.

Went to a different mirror under different lighting and saw the same thing. Things didn't look right so I took off the peel right away. By then the mask had been on my face for 15mins. 

FML. 

My face was red, even after rinsing with water. Circles around the eyes and around the mouth where the mask was not applied were ok. Skin felt quite warm too but at least it was not itchy. 

All I could think of was...oh shit shit shit... I need to go to the doc now!

I looked like an idiot with a pink face and 3 circles around the eyes and mouth. K said I looked like a strawberry. How considerate of him to describe me in a nice manner. 

Was quite kancheong cos...face leh!! OMG.....

So off to the doc we went...Doc said some products are rich with Vitamin A which will make the skin look plump after using, but which can be quite photosensitive i.e. dun go into the sun while using or immediately after using. 

The sun? 

Oh ya, I was in the balcony while using the mask....but even that partially shaded light could cause such a reaction? And I was only out there for less than 5mins too....Maybe my skin's more sensitive....

Was given anti-histamine...

I was thankful for the redness went away on its own within 30-45mins...I still popped a pill just to be sure. 

K was laughing at me....and at the whole situation....lol.

Praying for Peace

I just want a peaceful December to close off the challenging year. 

For some reason though, I still have...

• A contract negotiation going on where both parties are making life difficult for each other. If the almost 20-year partnership falls through, it will be an operational nightmare for my team and the technical guys.
• 2 big government-related enforcement cases that are taking long to conclude...and one of it has gone all the way up to the Ministry level...zzz..

Praying for peace, an alignment of stars and all things nice, and things to smoothen themselves out soon...

Soon-to-be Grandma!

First time ever that I had a T. Ionantha bloom under my care. As usual with Ionanthas, there were 2 stamens.

The first bloomed on 6 Dec and the second stamen bloomed and revealed its stigma this morning. 

I learnt some tips from YouTube and with a small paintbrush, I've collected the pollen from the stamens and pollinated the stigmas....

Let's hope there'll be seeds in the future! 

Once the blooms wither in the next few days, this plant will be pushing pups out thereafter. I hope there'll be at least 2 pups.....yay, I'm gonna be an Ionantha grandma soon! 

Thankful

But. 

For all the laments. 

I am still thankful.

I should be.

For.

I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food on the table, and a job. 

I have a family I love deeply.

My parents and inlaws are generally well, able and fiercely independent.

I have a helper.

I have friends I can talk to and who understand me.

I have friends who still stick around after all these years.

The girls are growing well. 

I have a good boss, nice colleagues, a smart big boss, and an equally smart big big boss who provide good guidance. 

I am able-bodied and relatively well enough. 

感恩

知足

What gives?

When 5 hours of your workday was taken up by calls and meetings...

When you have other things to rush out...

When your staff are waiting for your guidance and pointers on how to proceed with difficult cases

When you bosses are waiting for your updates on policy issues that are in the Ministry's radar

When you could not read a storybook to your daughter during dinner

When your kids and husband are waiting for you to settle work and finish dinner before going out as a family for ice-cream

When you feel your stomach tensing up again

When that bloody ache in your neck and left shoulder has brought about a slight headache now as well

What gives?

Pray tell, what gives?

==========

Wolfed down dinner in 12mins because the kids and Kyne were ALL waiting for me to be done with dinner before we could head out on our usual Friday night jaunt to a dessert place. Didn't want to disappoint any of them. 

I hope my stomach won't act up. Eating too fast triggers reflux too.
It's been a not so good week for my stomach...cramps last Saturday, queasiness on and off for the rest of the days...Diarrhoea on Sunday night and last night...

I hope it settles down soon. K wants to head out for another ramen fix...

忙

When you're busy and inundated with calls and emails...and you can only start working on your to-do item for the day at 445pm.....

When you look back at your whole day and afternoon and wonder what shit have I been doing?!