my husband

True love is rather powerful.
It really makes things happen, moves your life.
This morning, as I was pottering about at home long after terence has gone,
I realised how much he has changed my life.
Ever since I met him and got together, things have gone so fast.
He has given me so much, and everything jus fell into place.
In less than 2 yrs, we have gone from dating (early 2005) to the proposal (november 2005),
To registering our marriage (Feb 2006), planning our wedding banquet, bought a new home (Sept 2006), had it completely redone, moved house (Dec 2006), and now, are expecting our baby.
It's jus incredible and sometimes, I pause and look at how different my life is now.

Nothing is as it was.
And it says a lot about him that I'm able to go through all this without feeling like its a mad rush.
Even the baby.
I was caught unaware and unprepared....
Thinking 2007 will be the year of me editing a new magazine...but presto,
Looks like it's now officially my maternity year.

Terence is perpetually prepared for anything that life throws us.
With him like a rock in my life, there's never much to fret about.
I have all the assurance in the world.
He is just an amazingly calm, confident and secure person.
Almost fearless.
I like his attitude of not shying away from things.
Of not evading or avoiding events.
Of not planning/listing everything to the last detail and instead, be ever-ready for surprises, chances and even letdowns. Like the Scouts motto.
It has kinda shaped my attitude somewhat too.

Reminds of that line....
While you are busy planning, life happens.

i'm such a bitch

why am i such a bitch?
Since when did i master bitch-dom?
Really, it just takes 5 seconds to show your appreciation for someone's efforts.
But i just need to find the fault in goodness.

Very selfish. Bitter. Cold.
Tat's me.

work ethics

I hope i never forget the work ethics I learnt at Reuters.
I constantly remind myself of it.

Don't pretend to be what you are not.
Don't fake what you do not have.
Don't shy away from challenges.
Don't work with fear.
Show brimming enthusiasm at all times.
See the greater good of what you do.
Get along with the bosses. It really helps.
Do your best. At all times.
Even, no, especially for the tiniest, most insignificant task.
Don't deceive yourself.
Play as hard as you work.
Reward yourself.
Show initiative, everytime, everyday, every chance you have.
Don't be just a normal employee - be brilliant.
Aim to impress. But remain modest.
Let your achievement speak for itself.
Instil an attitude of excellence in all you do.
Don't accept second best, or play second fiddle.
Consistence is underrated.
Network, network, network.
Ask for what you want. Be heard. Make yourself understood.
Stand up for yourself.
Don't stop improving yourself. Learn Greek, learn Hebrew, learn HTML, or whatever. Be as useful as you can get.
The more you fear a task/project/person, the more it's gonna get you.
Nip it in the bud before it does you over.
Treasure intelligent people around you - you learn more from talking to them and seeing them work than any book or school or manual will ever teach you.

the rain pours on

i am making the most of this rainy grey day...

Came out of work early at about 3pm and headed home.

My parents' home, that is.

Nice to see my 2 silly brothers slacking ard as usual.

They are otherwise occupied teenagers -- one studying in uni, one interning at A*Star.

But no....everytime i come home, there they will be...

Totally slacking at home.

They are forever at home, playing some stupid game on the computer.

Ever since Leon hooked up all 4 computers last month.

I have been pushed to the sidelines, relegated to the laptop.

Aloy's laptop.

So here are some of the pics in his MyPhotos.

His convocation last month at Melb Uni.

PLs dun be mistaken by this photo.

He is an absolute slacker.

But I like being around them.

If anything, their attitude is contagious.

Don't take things so seriously.

Relax. Don't take yourself too seriously either.

At the end of the day,

we are just a walking joke.

I love being at home.

It's so relaxing and tranquil.

From young, I've always appreciated the sense of calm that space allows.

And it transcends into your everyday.

It lets you breathe. Calms you down. You are not so frazzled.

Its different in a HDB estate.

You feel the everyday struggles of people.

You feel the ordinary-ness of people and life.

There's just an undeniable sense of struggle that is hard to ignore.

You see the signs of...not exactly poverty, but people making do.

Family of five living in a three-room flat.

Or commonly, 3 generations in one flat. etc etc.

Or people who are working hard to aspire to live in better houses.

Perhaps a condo, perhaps a bigger flat.

Maybe cos mine is a 3-roomer, so the neighbours may be more complicated.

I grew up like this too.

In my grandma's home in the early 80s, 12 of us squeezed into the 4-room flat.

I slept on the mattress and then escaped to school in the mornings.

It didn't feel bad at tat time.

But now, there's just an air of... some kinda unachieving complex.

I really dunno how to put it.

The stereotypes are also true.

My HDB neighbours are more uncouth,

And surprisingly, more discriminating and less friendly.

They seem to be afraid pp are judging them if you stare more than 1 second.

If you are young and friendly, they eye you with suspicious glances.

It's just pretty strange.

Those in their 20s are fine though.
It's mostly those in their 30s -50s who are quite peculiar.

Competitive yet resigned to their lives. Wary of you yet kaypoh to know more.

Unfriendly yet sometimes surprisingly sincere.

It's a odd air around here.

Everyone just returns to your own little square box at the end of the day.

Each literally a wall away of the other.

Once u survive the awkward 30 seconds in the lift, everyone just goes to their own door and retreat into their cocoon.

It's hard to understand this kinda communal living.

I miss the hellos in the mornings.

From the auntie-uncle couple who deliver the papers.

Or neighbours walking their dogs.

Or the maids gossipping and washing cars.

I miss the friendliness.

Ok, not every neighbour at my parents' house is so warm and nice.

You get the occasional stuck-up pigs too.

But generally, jus v different.

One month in, perhaps I'm not as used to my home as I think I am.

gloom is grey

Is it the weather, the hormones over-reacting, the work...
Or is it just a very gloomy nothing day?
To look the part, I'm even wearing grey today.

Tis My Best Fren

Camping somewhere in the United States.

Our Nest

Address:

Block 104 Bukit Purmei Road

#09-108 Singapore 090104

The Before-&-After of my Home.

P/S: We are only the second owners, so the original is the damn original from the time they built this place...gosh, i dunno when, circa 1985??

Reconstructed Living Area

The oblong wall separation/storeroom has made way.
As has the uber-fancy wallpaper.

Kitschy Kitchen Makeover

I'll try for the 2 bedrooms next time.
And perhaps after the sofa n dining table has moved in with us.

Yesterday, Terence said me, him, Ah Bob (our soft toy dog) and Mumble (our Happy Feet soft toy) are one family.

Yes, he was sleep-talking at about 2am.

But it was just soooo bloody funnie what he thinks and dreams about.

workkk

A boring day.
I am very un-motivated at my work now.
My sales people are dumb-asses.
My boss is beyond description. Just a very despicable, low-handed, stingy-to-the-max cow.
The admin manager is a closet bitch, who pretends to be a sweet young thing at 47.
Drop the act, prease. It's just nauseating.
And my Features ed. is so dumb and naive at 30!
Gosh, where has he been his whole life?
The others are all really pure dumb and pathetic.
Even this girl who has studied four years in Canada.
I mean, she's really nice and smart...but why is she wasting her time here?
She's not even writing, but doing marketing for a hopeless case.
The research guy is this half-gay, half-hyena-pitched poseur thing....
I can just imagine him in skin tights waltzing downtown with oversized shades.
Research??? What can he do, other than answer phone calls and laugh horridly?

Why am I still here?

Decadence in a Dress

I was spot-on with my wedding evening gown - the toga look is back!

But these are sooooooo much nicer!!!

These dresses are awesome!

Gorgeous, sophisticated, comfy and feminine.

Beautiful beautiful.

Farewell 2006

Hey You, it is 2007!
I am bloody 26.

My Xmas was a dinner affair at this Mongolian restaurant at Park Mall.
Terence's family + his friends.
I always think it's very sweet that there's no line of separation between ALL his friends and his family. It's pretty amazing.
I mean, my parents probably know about 3-5 of my closest friends, but even then, I'm not sure my frens will be comfortable enough to have dinner with my whole family.
It's just a very sweet thing that their family is so close that his parents have just about seen all his friends grow up, and treat them like one big extended family.

Then we headed for some grooving at MOS.
Didn't stay for long tho, not with the meatpack action gog on.
Absolutely impossible.
But Terence was v sweet to hold my bag as I danced with his frens, and he just stood there.
Haha. Quite funnie actually.
He absolutely cannot move to save his life.

Wish I have pictures of my Xmas gifts.
A Ted Baker set from my hubby.
Comprising a beautiful top that he insisted I wore on Xmas itself, and a perfume+body care set.
Pretty unique scent.
He got himself the male version. Even nicer!
And a red glitz Tommy tee from his brother.
Very pretty too.
A pretty silver necklace from Ellen, and a nice mix of yuletide classics from Jer.

New Year was simple.
Spent the whole day with Mum & Dad & terence sofa-hunting at The Furniture Mall.
The good news is that, unlike the 10 futile trips of 2006,
We actually found AND bought our sofa at Lorenzo.
It is an amazing find that took 4 months!
Goodbye to watching TV and just about everything else on the cold, hard floor!

Then my brother came up with a genius of an idea to eat Duck Rice,
At our old place at Pasir Panjang.
So we all trooped there, relieved & glad to find nothing has changed!
But it sure is more expensive now.
Other than that, the workers, food, place, 50s cheena music, rustic look and quintessential rackety white Mercs are all the same.
Went home after a short walk around.

Then me and Terence wanted to see fireworks at around midnight.
We reached ten minutes too late, and all we got were the sound of them blasting away in the sky.
Oh well, but we were both a good sport about it.
We then took a walk around with the wild masses and decided to buy loads of junk food back home to catch a DVD.
Good idea too.
Watched one of his Hong Kong comedy-classics...you know, the 80s kind I never know where he managed to get, featuring all those familiar strange faces on the telly when we were kids, but that we never know the names of.
Jackie Chan & Samo Hung looked so young it's hilarious.
I think that was the height of HK comedies, really.

So a quiet way to end a fantastic year!
2006 really was wonderful, hard one for 2007 to beat.

But we'll try our best, won't we?