Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Chinese New Yr
Chinese New Yr
Back in the office after 4 days of hols. Felt great to have such a break although the time really sped by. And this morning, I really had a hard time getting up, my eyes felt like they were glued together. It was with much efforts that I stumbled to the toilet to wash up.
Can't say there was anything very eventful this yr, except for the fact that this is my first yr having reunion dinner without my parents, and this yr, A's parents & sis came over from China for CNY cuz my BIL's getting married after CNY. So reunion dinner was out, together with them at Roland. My first time meeting them...first impression: they looked like simple people, dressed simply, didn't talk much, really something different from A. But then perhaps, appearances may be deceiving, this I have yet to discover for myself and perhaps have no wish to. Haha. Heard that A's sis is a gynae, but I have actually heard from A long ago. I wonder if A appeared proud of her sis for being a gynae when she told my ILs, but when she told me last time, she certainly didn't appear proud. In fact, she appeared relieved that she didn't follow her sis's footsteps and ended up earning S$200 a month, working in the hospital.
As I mentioned, A's family is in Spore cuz my BIL and her are getting married after CNY, this Fri to be exact. So Piggy & I have to get them a gift. Well, to put it straight, we dun have alot of budget, so we only set aside $2K for their gift. To me, that's alot of money and probably the most expensive wedding gift I have ever gotten someone. It's another matter to mention that my BIL was extremely generous to us during our wedding, cuz well, our financial status differs. To him, $10K maybe just like buying a piece of cake, but to us, it is money that we will take a long time to save up. So if u wanna compare, I guess we can never match up and I actually dun have any intention to, cuz afterall, it's the thought that counts, not the "expensive-ness" of the gift.
So anyway, Piggy and I got A a braclet and a pair of earrings, which cost like $1128 or somewhere around there. It was just a simple bracelet and earrings, which actually I m not confident she will like, but then I thought we probbaly can't afford something that she will definitely like, so what does it matter? It looked presentable enough to us. And guess what, when we met up for reunion dinner, she had on this shimmery bracelet, with much bigger diamonds than the one we had gotten for her and it costs $7000! So of course, Piggy and I looked at each other and our first thought was our gift to her. I guess Piggy felt we should have gotten something more expensive, and he thought of going to exchange it for something else, but I told him, I dun think it's necessary, cuz firstly, the bracelet cum earrings already blew our bugget of $1K per pax and anyway, it's not like if we exchanged it for something else, it would make a great difference, cuz we definitely dun have money to buy her something more than $7K! So I feel that it's the thought that counts, cuz we did put in effort to make that trip down to choose and buy something for her. If she doesn't appreciate it, then it just shows the kind of person she truly is. And anyway, judging from her award-winning acting skills, I think that even if she doesn't like it or it's too inexpensive for her, I bet she wouldn't show it, cuz it would reflect badly on her and oh, she won't do anything to tarnish her own image, dun we all know it so well already?! Ha!
Sometimes, I really cannot stand the fact that she tries so hard to protect her own image, not that she has a fantastic one to begin with. Just to relate another minor incident on the first day of CNY. A came over with my BIL for steamboat, without her parents, cuz they were not used to eating steamboat and stuff and preferred to stay at home to eat the "dumplings" which she had made for them earlier in the morning. So my PIls very naturally asked her why she didn't ask them to come over? Of course, she related the same reason as stated above. But my PILs, being polite, of course told her that her parents can just come over and visit and that there's no need to feel "paiseh" cuz we are all family, so should feel at home with each other, etc. Then A started to complain about her parents (yes "complain", at least that's the way I see it), saying that her dad has a bad temper and that they were very stubborn and just didnt know how to enjoy luxury when they had such a poor life in China, that if they were so unhappy being here, she can jolly well just change their air tickets and let them go back to china earlier, etc, etc. To me, I think she elaborated so much just to NOT make herself look bad for not persuading her parents to come over. Yeah, no doubt, I think her parents are not exactly the most chatty or sociable of peoples, but then there's nothing wrong with that either. Cuz everyone is different, and you can't just expect them to change overnight cuz they are in a different environment. And not everyone is like her, as cuz you came from a life of poverty, when you encounter "richness", you just bask in the laps of luxury, like she does and forget about everything else. And being their daughter, shouldn't she show them some due respect, instead of "bad-mouthing" them infront of her future inlaws? I mean for me, even if I were to fall out with my parents or quarrel with them or feel upset with them over something, I wouldn't go and complain about my parents to my inlaws. Cuz after all, they are my parents, and I need to give them some "face" and show them some respect. I mean, how would her parents feel if they were to know that their own daughter said such things about them, no matter how true it may be?
And my BIL somemore jokingly asked Piggy whether he could bring A's family around when Piggy asked if he needed any help. I told Piggy not to offer any unnecessary help, cuz to put it bluntly, A's parents are my BIL's inlaws, not his. And if my BIL isn't free to bring them around, why can't A do it herself? Afterall, they are her parents. Singapore is so accessible and it's not like it's the first time she is in Singapore. And with the huge amount of money my BIL must have "bestowed" upon her, I m sure she can easily take a cab, book day tours and bring them around. It's not like my Piggy is so damn free, it's true that he isn't working now, but precisely cuz of this, he should be spending his time writing his resume and applying for jobs and not wasting time on pple, who are not even really related to him. And if he really has so much time to spare, why not go and spend some time with my parents, cuz at least they are his inlaws?
I guess I sound really unhelpful and all, but I can't help the fact that I dislike A. The very most I can do is to remain cordial towards her, but dun expect me to be extremely nice to her, cuz I think she is one damn bloody hypocrite, whose number one focus in life is money.
Can't say there was anything very eventful this yr, except for the fact that this is my first yr having reunion dinner without my parents, and this yr, A's parents & sis came over from China for CNY cuz my BIL's getting married after CNY. So reunion dinner was out, together with them at Roland. My first time meeting them...first impression: they looked like simple people, dressed simply, didn't talk much, really something different from A. But then perhaps, appearances may be deceiving, this I have yet to discover for myself and perhaps have no wish to. Haha. Heard that A's sis is a gynae, but I have actually heard from A long ago. I wonder if A appeared proud of her sis for being a gynae when she told my ILs, but when she told me last time, she certainly didn't appear proud. In fact, she appeared relieved that she didn't follow her sis's footsteps and ended up earning S$200 a month, working in the hospital.
As I mentioned, A's family is in Spore cuz my BIL and her are getting married after CNY, this Fri to be exact. So Piggy & I have to get them a gift. Well, to put it straight, we dun have alot of budget, so we only set aside $2K for their gift. To me, that's alot of money and probably the most expensive wedding gift I have ever gotten someone. It's another matter to mention that my BIL was extremely generous to us during our wedding, cuz well, our financial status differs. To him, $10K maybe just like buying a piece of cake, but to us, it is money that we will take a long time to save up. So if u wanna compare, I guess we can never match up and I actually dun have any intention to, cuz afterall, it's the thought that counts, not the "expensive-ness" of the gift.
So anyway, Piggy and I got A a braclet and a pair of earrings, which cost like $1128 or somewhere around there. It was just a simple bracelet and earrings, which actually I m not confident she will like, but then I thought we probbaly can't afford something that she will definitely like, so what does it matter? It looked presentable enough to us. And guess what, when we met up for reunion dinner, she had on this shimmery bracelet, with much bigger diamonds than the one we had gotten for her and it costs $7000! So of course, Piggy and I looked at each other and our first thought was our gift to her. I guess Piggy felt we should have gotten something more expensive, and he thought of going to exchange it for something else, but I told him, I dun think it's necessary, cuz firstly, the bracelet cum earrings already blew our bugget of $1K per pax and anyway, it's not like if we exchanged it for something else, it would make a great difference, cuz we definitely dun have money to buy her something more than $7K! So I feel that it's the thought that counts, cuz we did put in effort to make that trip down to choose and buy something for her. If she doesn't appreciate it, then it just shows the kind of person she truly is. And anyway, judging from her award-winning acting skills, I think that even if she doesn't like it or it's too inexpensive for her, I bet she wouldn't show it, cuz it would reflect badly on her and oh, she won't do anything to tarnish her own image, dun we all know it so well already?! Ha!
Sometimes, I really cannot stand the fact that she tries so hard to protect her own image, not that she has a fantastic one to begin with. Just to relate another minor incident on the first day of CNY. A came over with my BIL for steamboat, without her parents, cuz they were not used to eating steamboat and stuff and preferred to stay at home to eat the "dumplings" which she had made for them earlier in the morning. So my PIls very naturally asked her why she didn't ask them to come over? Of course, she related the same reason as stated above. But my PILs, being polite, of course told her that her parents can just come over and visit and that there's no need to feel "paiseh" cuz we are all family, so should feel at home with each other, etc. Then A started to complain about her parents (yes "complain", at least that's the way I see it), saying that her dad has a bad temper and that they were very stubborn and just didnt know how to enjoy luxury when they had such a poor life in China, that if they were so unhappy being here, she can jolly well just change their air tickets and let them go back to china earlier, etc, etc. To me, I think she elaborated so much just to NOT make herself look bad for not persuading her parents to come over. Yeah, no doubt, I think her parents are not exactly the most chatty or sociable of peoples, but then there's nothing wrong with that either. Cuz everyone is different, and you can't just expect them to change overnight cuz they are in a different environment. And not everyone is like her, as cuz you came from a life of poverty, when you encounter "richness", you just bask in the laps of luxury, like she does and forget about everything else. And being their daughter, shouldn't she show them some due respect, instead of "bad-mouthing" them infront of her future inlaws? I mean for me, even if I were to fall out with my parents or quarrel with them or feel upset with them over something, I wouldn't go and complain about my parents to my inlaws. Cuz after all, they are my parents, and I need to give them some "face" and show them some respect. I mean, how would her parents feel if they were to know that their own daughter said such things about them, no matter how true it may be?
And my BIL somemore jokingly asked Piggy whether he could bring A's family around when Piggy asked if he needed any help. I told Piggy not to offer any unnecessary help, cuz to put it bluntly, A's parents are my BIL's inlaws, not his. And if my BIL isn't free to bring them around, why can't A do it herself? Afterall, they are her parents. Singapore is so accessible and it's not like it's the first time she is in Singapore. And with the huge amount of money my BIL must have "bestowed" upon her, I m sure she can easily take a cab, book day tours and bring them around. It's not like my Piggy is so damn free, it's true that he isn't working now, but precisely cuz of this, he should be spending his time writing his resume and applying for jobs and not wasting time on pple, who are not even really related to him. And if he really has so much time to spare, why not go and spend some time with my parents, cuz at least they are his inlaws?
I guess I sound really unhelpful and all, but I can't help the fact that I dislike A. The very most I can do is to remain cordial towards her, but dun expect me to be extremely nice to her, cuz I think she is one damn bloody hypocrite, whose number one focus in life is money.
Kimmie scribbles
11:16 am |
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
It's Valentine's Day today!
Nothing really special planned for the day, cuz I m still at work! Just meeting my dear piggy for dinner at the airport. But I guess V-day is no longer really special anymore, cuz it has become so commercialised that everything is so ridiculously priced out there. It just doesn't make economic sense to be "cheated" on this day. So Piggy & I have decided that we shall not have any fanciful dinner or gifts for each other but just a simple dinner and time spent together. But anyway, I have decided to sponsor 50% of Piggy's beloved bicycle, cuz I still owe him a birthday pressie and at times like this, I really do want to spend money practically.
With a baby on the way, everything really concerns money, from the monthly checkups to the baby clothes & stuff to the delivery itself, so we really ought to be more prudent in spending our money. However, even with all these constraints bugging us, we are really excited about little Jordan coming along and I know Piggy has been doing alot of things for our little baby. E.g. when he massages my legs for me (cuz it's supposed to help relieve leg cramps at nite), he will say he is doing it for our baby; when he makes breakfast for me, he will say it's for baby Jordan! What a piggy!
I m really excited too, and I can't wait to feel our little baby kicking, but so far, I haven't really felt it yet. Or maybe it's so slight that I can't even tell it's a kick. Either that, or I m super unsensitive. But I m into my 19 weeks and I think I m supposed to start feeling it sometime around now...so I hope baby will get active soon!!
With a baby on the way, everything really concerns money, from the monthly checkups to the baby clothes & stuff to the delivery itself, so we really ought to be more prudent in spending our money. However, even with all these constraints bugging us, we are really excited about little Jordan coming along and I know Piggy has been doing alot of things for our little baby. E.g. when he massages my legs for me (cuz it's supposed to help relieve leg cramps at nite), he will say he is doing it for our baby; when he makes breakfast for me, he will say it's for baby Jordan! What a piggy!
I m really excited too, and I can't wait to feel our little baby kicking, but so far, I haven't really felt it yet. Or maybe it's so slight that I can't even tell it's a kick. Either that, or I m super unsensitive. But I m into my 19 weeks and I think I m supposed to start feeling it sometime around now...so I hope baby will get active soon!!
Kimmie scribbles
2:49 pm |
Friday, February 09, 2007
Boring Friday
Feeling rather bored now. I think I m too full from this morning's breakfast to concentrate. Stomach feels really bloated. I hope little Jordan tasted all the yummy food I had..
Felt quite light hearted today, cuz it's a Friday and I m glad to say I m headache-free today. Probably due to the fruitful shopping spree I went on yesterday night. I m quite happy with my purchases, cuz I bought 2 baby doll tops, a dress and 3 non-wired bras for only around $80!! I feel quite happy that I can still fit into a "S" size top and still feel the looseness around it. I excitedly proclaimed to Piggy, who said the shop probably sells clothes for fatties!! So bad, right?! Oh and first time, I bought the biggest-size bra in the shop, heehee..someone introduced me to these cheap bras, costing only $3.90 each at those bra shops at the interchange. Cuz I gathered my size would probably shrink after I stop breastfeeding next time, so no point getting any good bras in the current size.
CNY is coming but I m not feeling totally excited, except for the fact that I would have a long weekend. Would have been great to be able to spend it at our new place and have my cute little nephews over.
My BIL is getting married after CNY..really pity him, cuz he is getting married to a damn bloody bitch, who has a damn foul mouth and an inherent evil nature. I just pray she doesn't go too near Piggy & I, cuz we dun want to be affected by her negative spirit and evil heart. May God protect us from the evil surrounding us..haha..Piggy said that for such people like her, their evil nature is inborn and telling lies is part of their natural self so they themselves dun really see themselves as bad but see it as a very normal thing. Somemore last time, still offer to take care of our baby when we have one. Even if she is the last person on earth, we also won't put our baby's life at stake. We will certainly keep our baby as far away from her as possible cuz we want our little boy to grow up with the right values and not grow up having an evil heart like her, speaking with that stupid PRC accent and always telling lies and making up tall stories about other people just to make herself look good.
Felt quite light hearted today, cuz it's a Friday and I m glad to say I m headache-free today. Probably due to the fruitful shopping spree I went on yesterday night. I m quite happy with my purchases, cuz I bought 2 baby doll tops, a dress and 3 non-wired bras for only around $80!! I feel quite happy that I can still fit into a "S" size top and still feel the looseness around it. I excitedly proclaimed to Piggy, who said the shop probably sells clothes for fatties!! So bad, right?! Oh and first time, I bought the biggest-size bra in the shop, heehee..someone introduced me to these cheap bras, costing only $3.90 each at those bra shops at the interchange. Cuz I gathered my size would probably shrink after I stop breastfeeding next time, so no point getting any good bras in the current size.
CNY is coming but I m not feeling totally excited, except for the fact that I would have a long weekend. Would have been great to be able to spend it at our new place and have my cute little nephews over.
My BIL is getting married after CNY..really pity him, cuz he is getting married to a damn bloody bitch, who has a damn foul mouth and an inherent evil nature. I just pray she doesn't go too near Piggy & I, cuz we dun want to be affected by her negative spirit and evil heart. May God protect us from the evil surrounding us..haha..Piggy said that for such people like her, their evil nature is inborn and telling lies is part of their natural self so they themselves dun really see themselves as bad but see it as a very normal thing. Somemore last time, still offer to take care of our baby when we have one. Even if she is the last person on earth, we also won't put our baby's life at stake. We will certainly keep our baby as far away from her as possible cuz we want our little boy to grow up with the right values and not grow up having an evil heart like her, speaking with that stupid PRC accent and always telling lies and making up tall stories about other people just to make herself look good.
Kimmie scribbles
10:57 am |
Monday, February 05, 2007
So much has happened!
The number one thing that happened last week was of course, the bursting of the water pipe in my house!! It happened on Wed night when we reached home at around 11.15 pm. I slipped and fell and realised that the walkway to the bedrooms were covered with a huge puddle of water which extended all the way to the end of the walkway! We found out that the water pipe in the MBR toilet had busted and water was literally "raining" from the ceiling, which already had a long crack line on it. In fact, the ceiling looked like it was ready to topple over any moment.
To cut the long story short, basically, we cannot stay over at our new place at the moment and I really dunno how long all the repair work is gonna take, cuz as a result of the water leakage, our parquet floor in both the study room and the smaller bedroom was badly affected. They are mostly popped up and spoilt, so I really expect the developer to fully compensate us for this, including compensation for the trauma and inconvenience experienced. Especially, when we were hoping to spend CNY at our new place. Now, we can't do anything of the sort and have to wait for the survey results to decide our next course of action. Acting on the lawyer's instructions, we had engaged a surveyor (fees to be fully charged to the developer, of course!) to assess the amount of damage incurred, so as to decide whether we want to negotiate for this amount with the developer or if it fails, to go through the legal procedure to get our compensation.
It's really unfortunate that something like this should happen at a time like this and I think Piggy is feeling really frustrated over it. For me, I m just glad that my slight fall didn't affect baby cuz the house is something tangible whereas a life, once lost can never be recovered, no matter what course of action you take or how much money you have. Anyway, as I was telling Piggy, things may seemingly be bad on the surface, but it could all turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I always believe that all things happen for a purpose and especially so, cuz God is in control, and if he allows it to happen, there will be something good coming out of it.
Anyway, something that really made my day in the midst of all this is that Piggy's cousin is going to buy us the Bonaldo "Planet" coffee table which we had been eyeing for a long time, as a gift for our new place! Somehow, after searching around for a cheaper alternative, I still couldn't find something else which I truly like as much. So I m really very happy about the coffee table, as I think it will really complement the design of our house! Hee
I also had quite a good weekend, cuz we met up with my cousin and my two adorable nephews, Josh & Joel. Josh is 5 and Joel is 3 but Josh is still such a baby! He really reminds me of an oversized koala baby, especially when Piggy carries him and he puts his arms around piggy's neck and hugs him like a baby! Both of them look so good together, you would almost think they are father and son! Guess, they are both round and cute and so fit in just so nicely together. Josh is such a adorable boy, with a warm and big heart and he is always running and making a lot of noise, exclaiming over every little thing and shouting out with joy when Piggy carries him. Joel, on the other hand is more reserved, although he has that innocent look on his face, which would make you believe that he didn't steal a candy even if he actually did! And he is always imitating Josh, in his actions and speech. It's so cute when you actually see it for yourself! I really enjoyed myself with them, and I hope my son would turn out to be just as active and boisterous!
To cut the long story short, basically, we cannot stay over at our new place at the moment and I really dunno how long all the repair work is gonna take, cuz as a result of the water leakage, our parquet floor in both the study room and the smaller bedroom was badly affected. They are mostly popped up and spoilt, so I really expect the developer to fully compensate us for this, including compensation for the trauma and inconvenience experienced. Especially, when we were hoping to spend CNY at our new place. Now, we can't do anything of the sort and have to wait for the survey results to decide our next course of action. Acting on the lawyer's instructions, we had engaged a surveyor (fees to be fully charged to the developer, of course!) to assess the amount of damage incurred, so as to decide whether we want to negotiate for this amount with the developer or if it fails, to go through the legal procedure to get our compensation.
It's really unfortunate that something like this should happen at a time like this and I think Piggy is feeling really frustrated over it. For me, I m just glad that my slight fall didn't affect baby cuz the house is something tangible whereas a life, once lost can never be recovered, no matter what course of action you take or how much money you have. Anyway, as I was telling Piggy, things may seemingly be bad on the surface, but it could all turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I always believe that all things happen for a purpose and especially so, cuz God is in control, and if he allows it to happen, there will be something good coming out of it.
Anyway, something that really made my day in the midst of all this is that Piggy's cousin is going to buy us the Bonaldo "Planet" coffee table which we had been eyeing for a long time, as a gift for our new place! Somehow, after searching around for a cheaper alternative, I still couldn't find something else which I truly like as much. So I m really very happy about the coffee table, as I think it will really complement the design of our house! Hee
I also had quite a good weekend, cuz we met up with my cousin and my two adorable nephews, Josh & Joel. Josh is 5 and Joel is 3 but Josh is still such a baby! He really reminds me of an oversized koala baby, especially when Piggy carries him and he puts his arms around piggy's neck and hugs him like a baby! Both of them look so good together, you would almost think they are father and son! Guess, they are both round and cute and so fit in just so nicely together. Josh is such a adorable boy, with a warm and big heart and he is always running and making a lot of noise, exclaiming over every little thing and shouting out with joy when Piggy carries him. Joel, on the other hand is more reserved, although he has that innocent look on his face, which would make you believe that he didn't steal a candy even if he actually did! And he is always imitating Josh, in his actions and speech. It's so cute when you actually see it for yourself! I really enjoyed myself with them, and I hope my son would turn out to be just as active and boisterous!
Kimmie scribbles
2:31 pm |