Since my work trip cum holiday was postponed, we decided to take a trip to Adelaide. It was partly a holiday and partly also to recce the place.And because it was such a last minute trip, we had problems getting a direct flight. So had to transit in Perth. The flights itself were an experience but more about that later.

This is the 3rd flight (1st was when he was 6 months and 2nd was when he was 1 year old) for the little fella and we were initially a little apprehensive as he is a lot more active now. So we were wondering how much we had to do to occupy him. So we armed ourselves with plenty of snacks and some of his books as well. I think it helped that he chose the books himself. He was then a little more keen to read it onboard the flight. Overall, he was quite a good kid on the plane, slept some, ate a little and watched quite a bit of the in flight entertainment stuff. It was good that there was Playhouse Disney And of course, it helped that there were 2 of us taking care of him.

All in all, we had a good trip and like always, we tried to balance it with activities that he liked and stuff that we like. So that no one gets shortchanged. It was a great thing that we brought the stroller along so many of his daytime naps were spent in the stroller. We discovered this nice Japanese place that sold udon soup so meals generally weren’t a problem. It was funny but I think the little fella missed eating fishballs as he kept asking for them.

We did lots in Adelaide. Shopped, attended 2 fringe festival events, took a day trip to the hills where the little fella thoroughly enjoyed picking strawberries at the farm,went to the beach, went to the zoo.Was a bit sian that I had to work some of the nights but guess I cannot complain since boss agreed so readily to my 2 weeks leave though it was a busy period here. But then again, when it is really not busy?

The trip gave me a better sense of the place and what to expect should we shift there anytime soon. Definitely want to move but there are tens of trillions of worries in my mind now. Must really learn to keep the faith and not let the worrywart in me take over.

Posted: March 14th, 2008 under Family, Shopping, Weather.
Comments: 3

Little fellas can be so trying at times and so cute at others. He had us in stiches yesterday with little conversation.This took place when we were out shopping after we picked him up from school.

Little fella:Wait, Daddy Wait!

Daddy.. Stood still in his tracks and asked: Wait?

Little fella: Wait.. wait… Patience…Be a good boy…later Matthew buy ice cream for you.

Daddy:Do you have money to buy ice cream?

Little fella:Have..money is in Matthew’s bag.

That had us all in stiches because he said it so earnestly and all in good timing because we were approaching the ice cream shop. Minutes ago, he had asked for an ice cream and he probably reckoned that if he bought one for Daddy, he could eat it too.

And this was coming from someone who is all but 2 years and 4 months.

Later at the supermarket, he decided that he wanted some colour pencils and paper.So we let him browse through the racks and choose the ones he wanted. And boy is he a fussy little one!! He tooks some tens of minutes just to choose his colour pencils and sketch pads.Looked at thin pencils, fat pencils,short ones, long ones…exercise books with squares in them, lined ones, plain ones and finally he made his choice. Think even at his wee little age, you can see how he uses his decision making skills.It is interesting just that it took a long long time.

And perhaps this is the character formation stage where the little fella is no longer just one who relies on us for his basic needs but also has the capacity to think/demand his rights. Am sure it will be an interesting journey/lesson for us as we see him grow more and us, learn more so that we can teach him the correct things.

Posted: January 8th, 2008 under Parenting, Shopping.
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It was a long weekend for us as both Iz and me were off/on leave on Friday. We like to do that as often as we can as it gives us couple time…time to enjoy each other’s company without having to fuss over the little one. I reckon that date days are not a luxury but a necessity. I think that the time spent together ‘renews’ us and allows us to put things back in focus again. Sometimes, we can get so caught up in the daily grind that we forget the little things and take things for granted.

This date day, after dropping the little fella off at school, we went for a nice leisurely walk in AMK hub and then at Raffles City. Raffles City because we were going to Inagiku for teppanyaki lunch.Inagiku is definitely one of our favourite Jap places and we try to go as often as we can without hurting our pockets. As usual, it was a nice relaxing lunch, both eating and watching the teppan chef at work. The chef, whom we got to ‘know’ cos we are so regular there is a great guy with superb PR skills. Though busy, he takes the time to socialise and all too. I love the food there and my all time favourite would be the yummy teppan prawns and its cream sauce. Yumms…

After that heavy lunch, we just had to walk it off..So off we went to Hann & Thann at Millenia Walk to restock on my lemongrass body wash. My all time favourite..think been using it for years already. Iz asked after my shopping if I was planning on buying the whole shop But oh well….must stock up enough so that I dun find myself suddenly running out of something. Oh..as a treat for my feet, I also bought a ginseng/herbal foot soak. Haven’t tried it yet though..first must go get basin to put my feet in

We also went to the Heritage fair at Suntec…got all nostalgic seeing the things on display. Also a reminder of how old we are. Saw things like ‘Happy Family’. ‘Snap’ , ‘Old Maid’ and the pencil boxes that we(I) used to use. Remember those box-like things with the many secret comparments?With one press of a button, some compartment would slide out. I remember being really amused by those and would be so pleased whenever I had another one of these nifty devices.

The exhibition wasn’t a huge one but it was nice to see it all the same. Lots of exclamations of “i remember this..” when we were walking around the various panels. Well…if you are around the area, it is worth taking a look at the exhibition. After all the walking around and a quick trip to the supermarket, it was time to pick the little fella up.

In the evening, during our after dinner stroll with the little fella and ‘Mana’ ,we had the most unpleasant experience of all. It was the first time I ever lost my cool in a void deck and started talking in a louder than usual voice to this horrible lady. Think in the 3 years at our place, this is the nastiest neighbour I have met. This is what happened…I was sitting on the chair with M and playing with his bubble gun. And Iz was standing there,reading a pamphlet whilst holding on to J. Then this couple who were walking towards the lift suddenly started walking really closely to Iz and J. N0t sure if she stepped on J or not but one thing for sure, she was walking really close to J. And as a reflex action, he stood up and nipped her legs. Then she made this really exaggerated action of rubbing her legs and pulling up her pants to see if J had bitten her. So we just stood there watching what will happen next cos he certainly would not have reacted if he was not threatened. Then as she walked away, she said ( in Mandarin)…” Your dog bit me and you can just stand there and not do anything.” That really infuriated me cos I do reckon it was her fault and yet she had the cheek to tell us off. So from where I was I said that J would definitely not bite if he was not stepped on/or if she had not gotten so close to both Iz and J. And she retorted by saying that J is our dog, so definitely we will say he won’t bite. So I asked if she would like to go see the doctor, if she did, we could goafter making a police report. With that she just grumbled more and walked into the lift. I was really mad and was asking Iz if there was anything we could do. If only I could complain to someone about her….some higher up authorities. That really spoilt our Friday evening stroll!! If I ever see her again, I am definitely going to give her the evil stare! Bad neighbours….be gone!!!

Posted: July 24th, 2007 under Family, Observations, Shopping.
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As a little treat for the weekend, we brought the little fella out on Sat night though it meant that his bedtime was going to get busted. So after dinner, we headed for Funan Centre cos I/we wanted a small digicam. Brought the little fella to Uncle Sam’s shop and it was good that it wasn’t as crowded as it normally it. Across the shop is a shop selling all the toy figurines and stuff. And whilst carrying him and looking at the glass display, he said ‘Change’. Then I realised what the meant….there was a shirtless figure of Neptune there and he associates being shirt-less with changing. I supposed he must have thought that Neptune was changing and that’s why he was shirtless. Hahaha..Then yesterday, he saw a picture of a girl’s back and she had a towel in covering her front. And he said ” Bathe”. See…so these all the associations he makes. Really funny at times but it is definitely reflective of how his little mind works. So we really gotta to be careful of what we say and/or do, never know when/what he picks up.

Posted: June 18th, 2007 under Family, Parenting, Shopping.
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Because I have left this blog untouched for quite a while…I cannot really remember what I have written previously..so I was reading back on my entries and I chanced across one which said that I was starting a new job. Well…I will be going through that once again. Hehe…as MM puts in…I am like a rolling stone. But well…I think if I have to work and I will be getting more for it in a new place then why not?!? I am happy where I am now, great boss, great place and nice colleagues. Sometimes I have to deal with petty things amongst staff but that’s not unbearable. The only complain that I have of here is that the pace is rather slow and even for a person like me…I can get bored. And I was telling Iz that if I stay here longer I will get so comfortable and my brain cells would probably die from un-use. It is not that we have nothing to do here but it is just that compared to where I have been, the pace is really slow and tasks operational. Occasionally..exciting things happen but that is not the norm. The boss here is great though…super easy-going and flexible. Her pet phrase seems to be ‘ we see how lah’. Sometimes, I feel that she is a bit too kind to her staff but well..I suppose that is her working style. Colleagues here are somewhat gossipy and like Iz likes to say..auntie-fied but they are a nice bunch. Pretty sheltered here and too used to the comfy pace already, I reckon. So…I think I will miss this place when I move… But I reckon that whilst I am still young (relatively lah…) , I should gather as much work experience and try out as much new stuff as I can. It would also look good on my CV. And the vain and image-conscious side of me says, well….a move to a higher position is always good and impressive.  That aside, I am a bit scared though…not only will it be a new area of work, it will also be a my first foray into the corporate sector, apart from the short stint at that silly school which shall remain unnamed. With all the stories you hear about the back-biting, the politics, the competitivess, the loooong hours…..I wonder if I am making the right choice. After my initial excitment, I am now wondering if I am up to it. All the what ifs….That day after I signed the letter of offer, I worried about it so much that I got a tummyache. I tend to get tummyaches whenever I am newvous about something. But well…now I cannot reverse the clock anymore, I can only pray that it all turns out well. Must think positive. Sort of counting down to my last day here cos I am looking forward to the break in between. Already have plans to go have tea, shop for work clothes, do my hair etc etc…Will be so busy then

Posted: April 25th, 2007 under Shopping, work.
Comments: 1

I am counting down to Christmas though still not sure if Iz will be well enuff by then. The review at the doc is today so hope he gets the all clear then. And importanly…must also find out when M and I can go home. I really wanna go home. With the festivities and all, really hard to concentrate on work so instead the presents list have been running through in my head. I think I am pretty much done already. Have been using my lunchtimes to go shopping and though it is short, I reckon it has been thereputic. And guess it puts some activity in me too rather than just sitting down for lunch. So my routine for the past week has been pretty much..clock strikes 12, off I go to the shops, spend about 30 mins shopping and then make my way back. I reckon that lunchtime shopping like that is a discipline too cos it forces u to focus. Cannot afford to be distracted cos I only have 30 mins. So got to plan ahead what I want to buy or at the very least, which section I need to head too. See…even shopping can become a discipline.

Posted: December 21st, 2006 under Shopping, Uncategorized.
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