Wednesday, 2 November 2016

Strong Silent Types

(Entry is inspired by recent happenings in my life. May not be totally coherent cos there is just too many things happening right now.)

The current men/males in my life all seem to be the type who do not verbalize too well but possess the ability/IQ/EQ to save the damsel in distress (aka moi) all the same. No direct relation between having functional vocal cords and lifting fingers, but in my world, my main men don't speak much. Except for the little guy T, but he is not exactly qualified to be called a man for now. Anyway...here's the low-down:

The Husband
Folks who know him will be lying through their teeth (And plague. And food remnants stuck between tooth gaps) if they say he is a chatty man. If there is a Guinness record for least number of words spoken by a person, he will win it hands down, no contest. Does it then come as any surprise that his love language is the act of service? Literally no talk, action only. Many an evening when I am frazzled out by a headstrong toddler or tired from a weekend of breaking up fights between the 2 rascals, a silent force will quietly take over parenting duties while i catch a moment's breath. Ok, this is probably not a recent happening but he gets first credit mention cos I don't want to face a grumpy man later!

Recent happening: it was that time of the month for changing bed sheets and YSY asked me to put on the new sheets after he took off the stinky ones. But i was vacuuming+cleaning the floor at the time and did not get to it immediately. By the time both floor levels got mopped to death, I was probably stinkier and more tired than a triathlon runner. When i walked into my room to get a shower before starting on the bedsheets, lo and behold! Nice fresh bedsheets awaiting in the master and young master bedrooms! (young mistress was sleeping at the time so cannot change.)

Summary: strong silent type who have an outward EQ of a rock but actually is pretty observant. Don't expect romantic overtures, or u will be growing mold and cobwebs before said overtures happen.

The Dad
My dad, to be precise.

There's this saying that you will always end up marrying someone like your father. Too true!!

The few friends who have seen my dad always comment that he looks very fierce and solemn. Hmmm....doesn't that sound like Mr First Credit Mention above? Both also 不讲话就不讲话,一讲话讲死你。

Anyway, I am on a steep learning curve in my new job and there is much technical knowledge I should possess but do not have just yet and i get so stressed out that I will keep messaging my dad to vent/ask (we happen to be working in the same industry but different companies.)

Along came the Dad one day and told me that I now have two of his specialist staff at my disposal if I need any help on work matters. He apparently told his 'senior' staff to assist me as best as they can if I ever call them to ask. Heart melt sia...I wasn't expecting any specific action on his side when i vented problems/asked questions and most certainly did not expect the sudden availability of expert teachers. Not that i will consult them often, it just seem professionally wrong and a breach of confidentiality to ask people from firm A when u are working in firm B.

But wow, this gesture coming from my dad is tantamount to the Japanese gifting Mount Fuji to another country. It's huge...and that's my dad for u.

Summary: Always a practical person, with practical actions and no fuss at all. Possibly tired of having to handle Twenty Questions and an emo daughter...

The Boss
The only 'disposable' man in my life - jobs come, jobs go eh?

I was handling a unexpected case under the charge of Boss A (don't even get me started on how this case got karma-ed to me in the 1st place!) and many things happened. To the point where I threw aside the case, burst out crying and stormed up to Boss B (boss A happened to be out of the country that day), with every intention to quit immediately. Now, i am an emo woman and all, but it is against my work ethics to display personal emotions at work, not to mention in front of the people who pay my wages. So u can imagine the level of pressure I was under working on that $&%# case. By the time I was able to return to work and think properly the following Monday (the hysterics happened on a Friday), I walked up to the boss's desk to present him with what i was able to do up. It also happened to be the last day for submission that Monday. My boss was quietly flipping through the files of that fateful case, presumably working on what I was supposed to doing. No theatrics, no reproaching, in fact, no acknowledgement of what had happened the Friday before.

Summary: another silent type who just gets things that need to be done, done.

The Firstborn
Quite the opposite of the man who made his existence in this world possible.

T talks non-stop in his waking hours. And he doesn't stop there. He is also capable of talking coherently in his sleep, to complete strangers and to himself if there isn't anyone else around. U never need to second guess what he is going to do, cos it will always be announced before he does anything. Coming from an active boy, that's quite a lot of words for one day!

But. Something happened this week which shows that he doesn't always blare everything out....We were at my aunts' house for dinner and I was chatting with one of the aunts with the fan behind us but turned in a different direction from where we were sitting. T seemed like he was bursting to say something (that happens quite a lot, trust me!) but instead, he quietly walked up to the fan and turned it towards the direction where my aunt and I was sitting. And. He silently walked back and sat down again. Such a sweet boy!! And so very uncharacteristic of him..

The men in my life are so all over the place that I dunno how to conclude this entry. So....the end.

Thursday, 18 August 2016

Marriage Photos

Unearthed these relic photos today when unpacking our remaining moving boxes (8 whole months after moving house at that!).

Besides bemoaning how thin we used to be, I can't help but be struck by how very different the two photos were. And how reflective they are of the different chapters in our married life.

Picture of our arms crossed & us grinning at each other:
- A memory of how carefree we used to be B.C. (Before Children) and the only thing we had to worry about is where to hang out on weekends. Days where life was chirpy and you had that rare, genuine smile on your face, unfettered by family/financial burdens.


B&W mood picture:
- Us A.C. (After Children)
- Dark moods sometimes where the weight of the world rests on your shoulders and bogged down by worries of all sorts.

- How I rely on your strong shoulders when the world goes crazy and the assured comfort those shoulders hold.

We are no longer who we used to be and nothing in the world can bring the old us back. Our happiness now comes from the children's happiness. But there is nothing I wouldn't give to hear that carefree laugh again and make you smile oh so happily forever...

Friday, 15 April 2016

Sigh of Relief

Counting down exactly 7 more days before i say goodbye to my organistion.

It's financial year-end closing and i had been too busy with work to go through the regret and sadness of leaving my job. Sad to leave all the wonderful people i hv met during my 2.5 yrs of work (and good riddance to the wayang queens too!) and regret cos i could have done a better job somehow.

Where i used to step into office and go home with a heavy heart, my steps are lighter as i know the misery will end soon.

Thursday, 17 March 2016

Saying Goodbye

20 April marks the day i say goodbye to my current organistion.

It took me many months of deliberation before finally deciding to hand in my resignation letter, but the relentless pressure of having to handle work in 2 different departments before i transferred (happened September 2015-ish) to having to adapt to a completely different nature of work while suffering from the disastrous aftermath of a new system launch took its toll on me. I was mentally stressed and unhappy. My hair was falling out in small bunches. And worst of all, I was an angry mother and wife to the people i love.

Do I regret my decision? Yes and no.

Yes - if it wasn't for the crap system launched, there's a possibility that i would have stayed on. There is a learning curve for all things new; i recognise that. But i was laboriously climbing up that curve while trying to tackle the by-product of the system launch. To be fair, every single person in my dept is pushed to their working limits and beyond. I am just that first person to acknowledge by walking away that things are intolerable; that I am not a happy person anymore. I will miss the people that i have meet in the organisation, the decent paycheck and not having to work hard for the company's next dollar. But more importantly, i want to be happy for myself and my family. Not to stress at odd moments on weekends on how to clear the backlog that is still piling up. And especially not to feel broken with a sinking feeling every morning as i step into the office.

No - For the next few months till i get a new job, I will be able to spend precious moments with the kids, especially K who seems to grow up just a little bit each day. Soon she will be her own person (as if she isn't already *snort*) but she's growing too quickly for my liking. Where did that helpless baby with coconut tree hair go??

Counting down 5 more weeks till i finally can leave for good and enjoy a happy birthday with people i love, not dashing around trying to get too many things done in too short a period. :) :) :)

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

All Went Well

K had her 1st day in school and everything went pretty well on the whole. She was pretty reserved when we initially stepped into school but this was easily resolved when teacher led her to where gor gor was having breakfast (they went to school at different times).

T told us that K did a Prison Break and wandered to his class during lesson time. It was not a random wandering, mind you. More of her peering into each classroom one by one to "hunt down" gor gor and then sitting down beside him and refusing to budge. I must say that having T in the same school has aided her transition greatly and i am very thankful for this.

Downside: she woke up cold in the middle of last night screaming, perhaps due to the new stimulus of going to school and having so many new things and routine to get used to.

Rounding off with some pictures...


Ready to rock and roll!


Where are we going mummy?


Looking for a bug


Her lesson plan for the month:
I laughed and laughed so hard when i saw this!! Simply cos K is such a good monster; identifying most of the foods listed will not be an issue for her. *wink rice and porridge*


After-school picture where the subject was not very happy abt being placed on a void deck table for photos.


Grumpy also for an overdue nap


Having tea break - Japanese sesame bun with azuki


小花猫


Monday, 29 February 2016

She's All Grown Up....

I've been feeling rather emo since last week, as the time grows shorter before baby girl starts childcare.

Perhaps it's the fact that she's growing up so fast. Or maybe its because I won't have another kiddo to send off to childcare anymore (yes, two is really enough thank you very much!). On reflection, K represents the last for many things: last pregnancy I'll ever know, last baby to spend precious moments with during unearthly night feedings, last kiddo to witness important baby milestones etc etc....

Ok, that last paragraph sounds a little pessimistic so I'll look at the glass as half full now. Her school bag is packed and ready to go (little owner is optional, lol..) and everything is nicely labelled for first day at school. Can u believe that kiasu mummy here started preparation work since last year? It started off with buying her school bag in Nov and everything else just got added on along the way. Very contrasting with when T started school and we scrambled to buy everything last minute.

I won't have any super precious pictures of her in uniform tomorrow, cos she doesn't have a formal uniform to speak of. The school recently underwent a management restructuring and the new school uniforms are still not ready yet. So all kiddos have to make do with home clothes until the uniforms are finally in stock.

My baby girl's growing up too fast....😣


To the left: original intended school bag in mama's favourite design.

To the right: Cotton On bag (last minute switch when i realised that all her barang barang + emergency kit can barely be squashed into the Panda)

My best school discovery so far - 
Cotton On pillow bag, which nicely fits a kiddie pillow, mattress cover and blanket (mummy cannot tahan using NTUC or some other recycle bag for this purpose.)


Water bottle and milk bottle 
(poof went the unintentional panda theme when her school bag was switched.)

Sunday, 28 February 2016

Firstborn vs Secondborn

1st born:
15 min to finish up baby porridge, max.

2nd born:
A crippled tortoise can travel from Changi to Tuas before she grudgingly opens her gold mouth to eat up the last scoop

1st born:
No salt, no sugars passed his mouth before 18 months. The one person who fed him table food (horror!!) has diplomatic  immunity and therefore can't be killed by way of motherly death-glares .

2nd born:
The crippled tortoise's leg miraculously healed when reduced-salt soya sauce was discovered.

1st born:
Oblivious to baby porridge and adult food, as long as his tummy gets filled.

2nd born:
Happy to give porridge facials in her younger days when it is not to her taste. Can't get the spoon into her mouth fast enough if table food is concerned, to the accompaniment of "I want!!!!'. May reach high soprano notes at times.

1st born:
Durian smells are down there with the raw materials of New Water. Complete bane of his life, much to his mum's sadness.

2nd born:
Have yet to discover something that she doesn't eat. (baby porridge being the only exception)

1st born:
70yr old ah pek stuck in a 5.5yr old body (kinda like his pa, 'cept that the latter is 29.5 years older). Likes noodles but not pasta. Dislikes cold ice cream. Lives for salmon skin.

2nd born:
Loves fish and eggs. Everything else is negotiable, as long as it is not baby porridge.