Constructions Everywhere!

Walking along Orchard Road is a real challenge of late. Other than the pedestrians, one has to maneuver their way around small cart shops, constructions and noise. The once wide pathways are now narrower and the once peaceful walk is no longer peaceful. It's frustrating and very challenging - it's like driving a car, you just have to be prepared to slow down, brake, change lanes or just bump into a person!

You cannot help but ask yourself whether all these constructions are necessary? Yes, it creates employment but the people construction companies employ are foreign talents. Yes, it makes Orchard Road beautiful and in the long run, everyone in Singapore would benefit - question is, would Singaporean appreciate it? Or are Singaporeans too busy in the rat race that they have forgotten to take a step back and look at the surroundings to appreciate the beauty of manmade environment?

A Great Chick Flick

"They Say Nothing Lasts Forever, Dreams Change, Trends come and Go But Friendships Never Go out of Style"

Yes, Sex & the City. I went to the preview screening with a girlfriend and yes, your girlfriend would love the movie very much. More so than your husband or boyfriend. I fell in love with SATC in New York City some many years ago! I have to admit, SATC was an obsession, a very bad obsession! I bought all the 6 Seasons of the series and spent hours after hours watching it and reading everything about SATC online! It is just darn funny!

The movie was a great chick flick - it evokes all emotions - from love, tears, passion, fashion, envy, lavish holidays, tenderness, anger and most importantly humor. For my friends who have not seen it, do it now.

No Sausages Thank You

I'm hungry, very hungry but all I'm having is a cup of warm chocolate. I went for a walk at the mall next to the hotel. Wanted to get Splenda for mom and PJs for my little one. I passed so many small shops selling sausages, bacon, meat, everything to do with meat. Got back to the hotel and wanted to order some room service. Guess what, I could not forget what I saw and have not ordered any food since.

Cannot wait for morning. I think I will make a quick dash to Starbucks and get my coffee and bagel.

My Little One

He had a blast I'm sure of it. 10 days with mama and abah, the little one kept kissing us. We had to tell him to stop. He loved the weather, the park, the skies, the birds(!), the playground, he loves the short vacation we took. Next one, not so soon but will try to squeeze something in again at the end of the year ;P

Today, I am a SNOB

Yes. I am a real snob today. Hubby is definitely not proud of me and at this moment, I'm not bothered. I hate having to travel for work over weekend or on a public hols. My little one sent me off today and he could not understand why his mama was in the cab, but he waved goodbye nevertheless. I hate the feeling and had to keep myself occupied during the ride.

At the airport, I was served by someone who could barely string a proper English sentence together. For pete's sake, we are at the airport here?! What is wrong with Singapore?! Everyone has to learn English for as long as I can remember and suddenly I have to deal with service staff who could barely speak English! That got me really angry.

Got on the plane and everyone around me thought I am Filipino. Ignore, ignore except that the guy who sat next to me was SLEAZY!!! He kept looking and smiling even though I had my ipod on. He looked at my screen when I was watching Sex and the City! C'mon, use your own screen you moron! He insisted on moving out while I was having dinner and before I could stand up and move out, he rubbed his back on my knees!!! Yikes! At that moment, I swear I could have thrown my tray into his face! He was short and when I stood up, I just glared and looked down on him.

From that second on, I was a complete snob. No smile, no hello, no thank you and definitely no Mabuhay to anyone!!

This Used to Be my Playground

Bibra Lake. It was once beautiful - deep blue waters with lots of swans ducks and water birds. It was peaceful. There would be families enjoying the quiet, the kids running on the grass, the birds chirping in the background. I used to jog round the lake when I was there. 3 times per week, I remembered. I would take in the clear blue skies, clean air and enjoy the scenery. I would run as fast as I could when I felt uneasy, I would sit with my friends and listened to their problems.



I saw it again last week. The park still looks the same but the lake is almost gone now! There were swans, ducks, seagulls and other water birds... sadly, not big enough water body for them to enjoy...

My Sweet Tooth

I love dessert but I cannot have too much of it. Why? Too much sugar gives me a headache. All I just need is a bite and I would satisfied. 2 of my favorites are Creme Brulee and Sticky Date Pudding. I had the latter recently when I was on vacation. It was YUMMY, sinful but who cares right? I can always go on the treadmill tomorrow.

Oink Oink

I don't get it. Just because Muslims cannot eat pork/ham or touch pigs, that does not mean one cannot watch it on TV right? Have you seen some animated series featuring pigs as the main characters? They are soooo cute, the story is great, the animation is fantastic but I cannot acquire it because our friends in neighbouring country would not allow it! Oink Oink Oink! In pig's language, it means HOW ANNOYING!

Solid Gold

The US dollar has depreciate and I've been hoping that it would depreciate even more, then I'll buy some and keep. I've also been watching the gold prices... the more US dollar depreciate, the more expensive gold become. A part of me wished I had lots of gold now, then I would be making lots of dough. Another side of me am thinking of buying some gold now and store... ala old times when I remembered following my mom to Yong Sheng to buy gold jewellery. She used to tell me it's a good investment, can sell if we need money or in case of emergency. Should I buy or should I wait till US dollar appreciate then buy... decisions decisions...

Then I read in a magazine of this facial therapy that uses gold to moisturize and detoxify the skin! My oh my... does this means one's face would look like a gold statue when gold is being applied to your face?

I have not even gotten any answers to the above when I came across an article featuring a restaurant in NYC that serves Frozen Haute Chocolate made from 28 cocoas infused with edible 23Karat gold, served in a goblet with more edible gold(!) and that costs USD$25K! OMG!

What is the world coming to?!

Dharmawangsa Oh Dharmawangsa

I usually follow my instinct but this time round succumb to peer pressure to try this new hotel. I guess I am also used to familiar things/routine so to do something out of the norm usually will take me a few days to decide. So, I decided that I will give this boutique hotel a try and…. I wished I had listened to my instincts. The hotel is so far away from the airport and by the time I get to this hotel, I was irritated already. It does not help that the traffic was bad. I told a colleague and she said I'm the only one from office who does not like it there, I beg to differ. She then told me that because I am the Gucci, Prada kind of person, that's why I like Hyatt! Listen babe, Dharmwangsa is a five star boutique hotel, located in a posh housing estate - the houses in that area is HUGE! and you have your own butler per room! So Prada and Gucci aside, who is the atas one here?

The room was probably the size of my living room at home and the toilet is the size of my master bedroom.... and my master bedroom is pretty big. Can you imagine, there was a vanity top for him and her? I could sleep in the toilet and do cartwheels in the bedroom!

That aside. I am a practical person. I don't need a big room when I am on business. The usual corporate hotels are good enough for me. I don't like to waste time in the car while traffic crawls. I would rather use that time to do work or take a quick scroll around the area to see the city. Location is key for me - convenience is important. Also, how can I enjoy the luxury of life when I get in the car and I see kids and their moms knocking on the car windows asking for moolah?! I cannot help but feel guilty.

Zakat

Saw this Ad in KL last week. I thought it was good. simple and direct.

Rumah Besar Dah Ada

Kereta Pun Ada

Gaji dah lima angka

Zakat Harta bila?

The MEENACHI in MOI!

I am Malay but I also have some Indian blood in me. Does that mean there is a MINAHCHI (or meenachi) in me?!

There is a MINAH in Moi!

There you go. I said it. Never wanted to be associated with it years ago, and today, I admit it.
The Minah in me makes me what I am today. Rooted in my religious and cultural beliefs and yet I am open minded and rather liberal with my thoughts and my lifestyle.

I have become quite a MINAH because I have used words like "beb", "steady ah", "gerek", "let's jam", "power brader" in my conversation without even realizing it. I've resorted to calling my Malay friends Petom, Bedah and "Makcik Siput" because it goes well with each one of them. I enjoy listening to songs from the Mat Rock group.. please don't ask me the titles or the singers, I only know the lyrics. I have become such a Minah that when I want to call it a day, I am brave enough to tell the producers in my team, OK Bro, I GOT TO ROCK!

So bebs, don't you think there is a MINAH in you?

Happy Birthday Zanny O

Yes, today is my birthday :) When I had my hair cut last week, the hairdresser thought I was in my late 20's. Aaahhhh.... now that I am a year older, I'm really happy to say I don't look my age ;) Thanks to that anti-oxidant tablets, the montly facials and the constant prayers that I put in. It pays off and I hope that will remain so till I get older.

Today, my boss sang me a birthday song - I thought that was sweet. Girlfriends, guy friends, colleagues sent me their well wishes and gave me pressies, THANK YOU ALL. I truly appreciate all your wishes and thoughts.

A friend asked, how old are you? You don't have to answer that he said. I am 34 years old. Yes, that's how old I am. I don't believe in hiding your age. What's the point? Have you seen the obituary pages? Once you bid the world goodbye, someone will disclose your age in the papers.

Just the 2 of Us...

Hubby is away for 2 weeks and it's just me and the lil one. I now know exactly how hubby feels when I travel for work. :(

Lil one has been good so far... he sits quietly in his car seat sucking his thumb while Mama drives. Once he screamed for attention and struggled to get himself out, Mama screamed back and that caught him (and mama) by surprise. Well, Mama did try talking initially but he just refused to listen... traffic was heavy so Mama screamed and that got his attention.

Was supposed to be in KL this Thursday for a meeting... I decided against it. I have been feeling rather morbid of late..I had this question in my head for a few days .."What if something happens to me while in KL? Hubby is away, what's going to happen to my son?" Came to office this morning and postponed my trip to Monday... at least hubby will be back then.

Karaoke

There is a variety show on TV called K-Nite... production quality is crap, content is not brilliant but it sure is entertaining! Last night, I caught some of it and they had some old Melayu rock songs.... wahhh beb, I like. My mom was amused because I could sing along - told her the lyrics is on the screen but she asked, how come you can still sing to it? hahah.... i've been singing in the car with hubby. Hubby is not a mat rocker but grew up listening to the same songs :)

Then it reminded me to the karaoke session/s that my ex -colleagues (now good friends) had years ago. I cannot remember which karaoke lounge we went too but I sure can remember clearly the wannabes, the mike grabber and the most requested song - I WILL SURVIVE. Wah, those were the days!

So gals, when is our next session?

A Day in My Neighbouring Country

Today I was in JB - not for leisure but to finalize some long overdue matter.
The plan was to do everything chop chop and try to squeeze in some shopping in the afternoon. I guess the word "chop chop" does not mean anything to our friendly neighbours. I started off the day telling the custom supervisor off. You know me and punctuality. We have an appt with the lawyer at 930am and we got to the immigration counter at 9am. Little did I know that there was going to be an issue. I was told to wait - so I waited. The immigration officer who took my passport away stood right in the middle of the room listening to his colleague's conversation! Tick Tock... 5 mins. What did I do? "Saudara! Cepat sikit boleh tak?! Apahal terdiri kat situ tengok orang lain?!" His supervisor came out and our little drama began. Managed to get things done in 2mins and off we go.

We got to the Land office on time... and ended up waiting for our turn for the next 3 hrs! You wanna know why? People in the office are like snails, everything moves soooooooooooooooooo slowly. Some dragged their feet, some were oblivious to their surroundings - they sms, chat on the phone, hid behind the piles of files and daydream! Goodness me, I feel like smacking each and everyone of them! We were sent from one office to another and every single office that we went to, everyone took their own sweet time. There was no sense of urgency in their work and I feel that everything is so messy! Gosh.

We finally settled what we had to do at 4pm! By then I was too tired to shop. But mom wanted to go to Angsana to buy some stuff for the home... and I? hehe... i bought some Korean silk - there was a SALE!

A Muslim No More....

Recently I read an article about this editor who converted to become a Catholic. He was born a Muslim and even performed the Haj with his mom in 1990s. He is not young - a man in his 50s. He claimed that he was not a practising Muslim, does not pray 5 times a day, does not fast during Ramadan. The first thing that came to mind was, he did not even give Islam a chance. That 50 years of his life, never did he once give his attention and dedication to the religion - how sad is that? While I know that everyone has a choice and will go with their choices, I cannot help but feel sad to read such an article.

A Whirlwind February

February comes and goes just like that. The first week was slow and post CNY, everything just zipped pass you... like a snap of the finger. Likewise with my life, one minute in Singapore, the next in New York City, then back in Singapore for a day and off to another city Bombay. And the same with my emotions - one minute I feel excited, inspired, awed, rejuvenated, happy, in love, I miss my son and ok hubby, annoyed, frustated, angry, confused, lost, info overload, lonely, helpless, touched, could not believe at how cruel life is in India and the next thing I know, I have to practically run with my work life. I'm unwell - have been down with flu for almost a week now. Part of me want to be unwell so I can stay home and rest and cuddle my two heroes but I know the other part of me will feel guilty doing so. And I know that is stupid.

I just hope that things will get better and I just need to get my life back into place - I want to spend my lunch time at the gym, with my gal friends -laughing at silly things, I want that 1 day off where I can pamper myself - spa, massage, hair treatment, I just have to make time for that. Meanwhile, I shall presevere and I will get through this stage.

Small Steps

The little one decided to walk on his own yesterday - 14 Feb. His cousin saw it, got excited and recorded it on the camera. Hubby saw it in the evening when he went to fetch the little one home. Me? I found out about it on the phone when hubby called :( Yep, another major milestone and I am away.
I keep consoling myself - I'll be home Monday and will get to see he walks soon!