Its now official and I work from home on alternate days. Works out well for me cos I dun get any distractions and can focus on my task at hand. I reckon that for what I do, I just need blocks of time that I can sit and just work away without the phone ring, chattering etc etc. I get mixed reactions when I tell people that I work from home certain days. Some say it is great for its flexibility and all but most think that it is the perfect excuse to laze at home. And I tell you…I really hate that. I hate the quizzical looks that people give me when I say I work from home.Say things like even if you sleep/watch telly/dun work ..no one will know. Well..theoretically yes..but won’t it mean I will miss all my deadlines?!?! I have given up justifying my work and well..as long as I know I am doing my stuff, it is OK. Just a couple of days ago, told my BIL that I was working from home and as usual the quizzical looked popped up. He exchanged this funny and knowing look with my mum. So they said the usual things..I defended by saying that people do know when I am at work cos I log in. BIL then said..well..you could always set your PC to automatically login at a specific time. Also said that with wireless, I could be on a holiday and no one would know. Hmmphh…So decided after that. I was not going to say anymore.

Suppose it is the working culture but why are people so hung up on where you work from? Isn’t it more important that you finish your tasks and deliver what you are supposed to? I could very well be physically in office but yet not work. Anyway..I have decided that people can pretty much say what they want and I will try not to be bothered. But it would be nice if people were more supportive.

I love working from home cos it pretty much means that my time is mine to manage. I can work more after the little fella sleeps and take a bit more time in the am to send him to school etc. With my 11pm/12 midnite conference calls, it is good that I have the flexibilty of managing my own work day. Much as I have all the time to laze, watch telly etc etc etc…I am bounded my work ethics. I always think..since I am given such a privilege and flexibility, I better not abuse it.So there..that is my stand on working from home.

Posted: November 7th, 2007 under work.
Comments: 3

Over the weekend, we brought the little fella shopping and as usual, he would want to sit on his kiddy rides. Though only 2, he has a mind of his own and certainly knows his preferences. So..there we were queueing for the ride he wanted. He was really good, just stood there waiting for his turn. When he turn came, he very happily climbed up the ride. He was probably in there for less than 10 secs and had not even inserted the coin. Then came along with 2 boys with their parents..The boys were quite big..probably about 5 and  3 or 4 years old…neither did they wait for their turn nor did they bother asking if they could share the ride, they simply clamoured onto it and badgered their parents for a ride. They acted like no one else was in the ride and just toyed around with the buttons, steering wheel etc. And all these while, the little fella just sat there and looked on. I did not want to say anything initially cos I wanted to see if the parents had the decency to get their kids out or something. But no…they did not do anything except to urge the kids out. Eventually, I asked if the kids were going to get out cos the little fella had not had his turn yet. And he was already looking like he was on the verge of tears.

 So, when i asked the mum of the kids, she just took her kids out and said “let’s go”. No apologies nothing…I was a bit annoyed but I was thinking more of how uncivilised she was and what sort of an example she was setting for the kids. I am certainly no supermum but at least I know how to teach my son basic manners like waiting for his turning and not clamouring up a kiddy ride when someone else is on it. The little fella is rather good, whenever the ride finishes, he will not fuss and will just say “Kor Kor/ Che Che/ Mei Mei’s turn…” Whoever he sees in the vicinity waiting. He is quite funny, the minute the ride stops, he will just spring up. :) 

Of course, after I was grouching to Iz after it all and he commented that Singaporeans were all like that. Wonder though if it is a Singaporean thing or human nature. We are Singaporeans too but I/we are certainly not like that and we are certainly not holier than thou. So perhaps it is human nature, tampered by societal values….And like I always say, it is the extent of things make the difference. Mebbe then those people were more affected by the negativities of society.

Posted: October 22nd, 2007 under Observations, Parenting.
Comments: 2

Spent the night tossing and turning, thinking about this and also during my ride to work this morning. Basically started cos Iz said that he wanted to go for a fren’s birthday dinner on Sun. Took it to mean that he wanted to go without me and the little fella so I wasn’t too pleased. I wasn’t really happy because I see weekends as family time. Not that we don’t do that on other evenings but it is different when you get to spend the entire day as a family. I do see the importance of personal space and time and perhaps I am being selfish, but I really don’t like either of us going off on our own during weekends except for work, of course. As a rule of thumb, I wun do it myself. Of course, then it would also mean that I have to handle the little fella on my own. Already Iz is working on Sat so I got the whole afternoon with the little fella and then now Sun evening as well. Dun mean to make the little fellla sound like a burden but it is not easy handling a very active little one. An extra pair of hands really really help.

But then again, am I being too selfish? Too demanding? Making a mountain out of a molehill? I really  don’t want to be accused of being petty or whatever else. In anycase…will go with whatever Iz decides. Just dun want this to become a point of contention between us… There…I have said my piece and this shall be the last of it.

Posted: October 18th, 2007 under Family, Marriage.
Comments: none

We recently discovered that Mana Kor Kor seemed to be having problems with his eyesight. He is unable to see bits of food even if they are placed in front of it. He cannot see the step down into the toilet and as a result, he stumbles and falls. He is a really resilient fella though, sniffing his way around. Somehow, I reckon though that he is not as happy as he used to be. He seems to growling a lot more and looking a lot more grouchy. Perhaps it is because he is older too. He sleeps a lot more these days too. I really want to spend more time with him and all but sometimes the little fella preoccupies me. I remember..when I first delivered, I felt so guilty about not spending time with Mana Kor Kor that I kept having nightmares. Dreamt that he ran away from home, committed suicide etc etc

I don’t like not being able to give him my attention too but sometimes he is so so naughty. But I try…..hope it is not too late now though.  Like I was telling a fren sometime back, aging pets scare me…it is not something I want to face. It reminds me too much of Terry.

Posted: October 16th, 2007 under Family, Parenting, Pets.
Comments: none

Over the last weekend, we caught up with some of my uni frens. It is  amazing to see, how after a deacde, some things haven’t changed. The likes and dislikes of people..their habits..It is something I have known all the while but yet when you really think about it, it is funny how people are all intricately linked in the human web. Like how my secondary school teacher is now my mil, like how my uni fren was also Iz’s secondary/JC friend. Weird huh?!

 Meeting up with old frens always brings back such memories. Though a decade has passed, it did not seem too long ago that we were in school and doodling away during lectures. And of course, in all conversations, our infamous garden with th tall, tall weeds would always be talked about. I think about those days even more now because I suddenly ‘met’ so many people again via Facebook. And I realised that half or more than half of the Singaporeans in my batch are no longer living in Singapore. I wonder when it would be my turn…really can’t wait to relocate. Though things may be iffy for us, I think if we both take that step of faith and walk hand-in-hand, we will be all right. It is a gigantic adventure that I sure am looking forward to. Afterall, if we don’t do it now, when will we ever do it?

Posted: October 16th, 2007 under Family, Marriage.
Comments: 1

We had such a taste of ‘great’ customer service that I decided that I just had to blog about it. We went by the tailors’ in the evening to collect the pants that Iz tailored about a 3.5 weeks back. When the receipt was produced, the lady there just explained that it was nearly a month back and there was no way the pants could have been there. She just kept on insisting that we must have collected the pants already and were just out to pull a fast one on her. Throughout our wait there, she just said that there was no way the pants could have been uncollected after so long. After listening to her rant for a while, I could not hold back at her already and simply said that we did not collect the pants and that was that. There was no two ways about it. So eventually she went to the shop and said she would check with the factory. Basically, gave her a piece of my mind and said that she should be doing that instead of just insisting that pants were collected already. If the conversation was not in Mandarin, I would have scolded her more. I simply have no patience for bad service.  And if it was not dramatic enough, in the middle of it all, there was a power trip. Calls to the factory led to no results either..so said she would check further and call us back.So insisted on knowing when she would call us back. By this time, my patience had really gone out of the back door already. Was telling Iz that he should just forget the pants and get back his deposit. And of course, Iz, being the ever patient one, was peeved but nowhere as ruffled as I was. Whilst we were shopping, lady called and said that the factory had delivered the pants to the wrong shop and it was sitting in the Jurong shop. And again…she insisted that the people there had been trying to call him all these while. I mean…what the &*@#$? Surely, we would know if calls had been made.

Anyway…was telling Iz that when he goes to collect the pants, he should just tell them that the service there is appalling and this should be the last time he would be making pants there. There is just no reason why we should put up with the bad service. If there were some higher up authority that we could have complained to, I would definitely have done so. In times like this, I feel like such an aunty but I really have no patience for bad service. I do not feel like the most gracious person around but me thinks..why should I when I get crap service???

Good thing the rest of the evening went well and spending time with Iz and the little fella just soothes it all…Thank God for good-natured husbands and charming little sons!

Posted: October 13th, 2007 under Family.
Comments: none

The little fella is sure growing up fast. Now he does not look as baby-ish anymore though I still love to cuddle him and sniff him. Often he says that he is ‘big boy’ :-). He has passed the phase of “what’s that sound?” and now he is in the “where?” phase.  He is a very inquisitive boy and learns a lot through observations and by example. I went with him to the Childrens’ Garden at the Botanical Gardens last week. He definitely liked it and enjoyed exploring the surroundings. What I found interesting was that when he came to the huge water play area, he said ” I want to sit here and watch.” instead of going to play with the water. He was quite happy to go touch the water shooting out of the jets but he did not really want to go play in the water. Found it strange because I thought most kids would have rushed into the water but not our little fella here. I think he is just more cautious and happy to observe first till he is really sure of what lies ahead. Hmm…perhaps this is already an indication of what he is like as a person. He is also a rather shy boy or rather he takes quite a long while to warm up to a person he is not familar with and/or a new place. He can be very quiet but once he warms up, there is no stopping him.

 I think he is developing very fast in terms of language abilities. For a boy of 2, I think he speaks pretty well and has quite a wide vocab. Sometimes, he says things that surprises us too. He can hold a conversation too. Can string words together to basically tell us about his day in school. Now he is picking up some Mandarin too from his lao shi. Though it still sounds funny, I reckon

My little bb is growing up……

Posted: October 11th, 2007 under Family.
Comments: none

I am tired of writing about how busy I am and how tiring it gets. To me..busy-ness is now a constant so I shall not gripe about it any longer. It shall be me just coping with it and taking it as part and parcel of work of life, in general. Some random thoughts  that have popped into my mind the last couple of days:

• Am I a good wife/mother?
• What exactly is it that holds a relationship together?
• When will we ever get to move?
• What will Matthew be like when he grows up?

These are thoughts that I had when waiting for the train,when waiting for the system to load up etc etc. Not sure if I have the answers to all of them but like think they are still interesting to think about.

Posted: October 11th, 2007 under Family, Marriage, Parenting, work.
Comments: none

It has been such an incredulously busy 3 weeks. My birthday came and went, the little fella’s birthday came and went..the DC conference came and went..my crazy 2 weeks at work came and went. And boy…am I glad! The last 3 weeks were just horrendously busy and I just felt like I was going at a breakneck speed without a chance to slow down. I sure am glad that now I have a little breather.

The little fella’s party was nice, I thought. A bit of planning beforehand but it had nice food, nice cake and nice deco. We catered from this place called Chilli Padi and it was nice, both in terms of food and set-up. At least it did not have the tacky red tablecloths or plastic flowers. All it had was a a nice batik tablecloth and nice pots for the soup and dessert. It was simple but tasteful. Food-wise, it had a decent spread both for the kids and adults alike.

Decor-wise, it was really simple. Just had a simple HB banner, a few balloon bouquets and all the other helium-filled balloons floating around. Kids had fun with it and so did some adults, tying little creatures to the end of the strings. The balloons are not bad..till today..a couple are still floating around at home. The little fella definitely had fun with them and even the next day, he was still talking about his balloons. I ordered some star ones as well as a huge Thomas the Tank Engine one. It was cute.

The birthday party heralded the start of a very busy 3 weeks for me. So after that, it was a series of conferences, meetings and rather late nights. Thank goodness for Iz in this period, he picked the little fella up almost daily. There was no way I could have managed otherwise.

With the busy period of planning behind me, it is now back to the daily grind with a platterful of work.Am just thinking now when our next holiday could possibly be..not in the next 3 mths for sure.

Posted: September 17th, 2007 under Family, work.
Comments: none

Been rather busy both with work as well as planning for the little fella’s birthday party in 2 10 days time. I am excited and want things to be perfect for him so there are like a thousand and one things to see to.Source for cake, caterer,confirm guest lists, pack goody bag for the other kids..the list goes on.Lots of details to see too and I certainly hope I am not missing anything.

Been quite busy with work too and it has been quite a learning experience. Still learning the ropes ,stresses me at times but has been good. And finally after all these months, I will be seeing my boss. She is flying in on Sat so will see her next week. Wonder what she is like..sounds nice on the phone though.

Posted: August 23rd, 2007 under Family, Pregnancy, Uncategorized.
Comments: none