High tea

I miss the weekend already. P and I, at the spur of the moment, decided to go for High Tea last Saturday. The idea seemed agreeable to the both of us, but at the same time, we didn't want to spend a bomb. So we did our homework. We checked out all the places with 1-for-1 promotion, or huge discounts..haha.

Our first choice - The Legends @ Fort Canning. Unfortunately, the place was fully booked....all the way till July. Bummer.

2nd choice - Hotel Phoenix. Called and called and called but couldn't get through. Later, I realised that P had dialled the wrong number (that bozo)! Unfortunately, they too, were fully booked.

By now, it seemed like our grand plan was not going to materialise.

3rd choice - Holiday Inn. Yes, they had the 1-for-1 promotion and no, they were not fully booked. BUTTT! The high tea ends at 4pm (we were making our calls at 3+ pm). Of course they were not fully booked, all their guests are in the midst of leaving already!

4th choice - Goodwood Park hotel. Decided to take a cab and head straight down, before anything else could happen to boycott our plan. Unfortunately (yes, this word is used rather often), the selection was pathetic. Not enticing at all.

Dejected, and P slightly grumpy because his tum-tum was making the loudest noises, we ventured to the opposite hotel - Royal Plaza on Scotts to check out the cafe, "Carousel". And here, we were impressed. Wide array of food, comprising salmon sashimi, finger sandwiches, local delights such as roti prata, dim sum and ice kachang, chocolate fondue etc etc. We happily stuffed ourselves till we could hardly move. I spent the rest of the evening wandering around Orchard with my eyes half-closed. Gee! Don't expect to find any porky pigs here though, as it's 1 of the 2 halal high tea buffets in Singapore.

If you're craving for high tea too, I'd suggest you do your homework and make reservations. It's definitely a national weekend sport for Singaporeans, so places fill up rather quickly. Check out the Buffet Guide for details!

Next up, I wanna go for the Japanese ala carte buffet! :)

Shameless advertising

Click here!

Welcome to Baby_Cherubic_Angel! As you are browsing through the page, I bet these questions are running amok in your pretty heads:-

1. "Is this for real?"
2. "What the hell is she doing?"
3. "Has she become a mother?"
4. "Is she fantasizing to become one?"
5. "Who would buy these?"

Scroll down for the answers.

What you see now are the humble beginnings of YJ's and my dream to become successful entrepreneurs selling baby products and clothes. We are targeting to be the "one-stop portal for all your baby essentials". Sounds good eh? Yea, yea I can read all the negative thoughts running through your heads, but I said "dream", didn't I? Everyone is entitled to have their own dreams, no matter how fluffy these dreams are! Hmmpphhh!

Currently, we are still in the infancy stage of the planning process and there are numerous crinkles to be ironed out. We're not even sure if this would materialise, but we're certainly keeping our fingers crossed!

XX (2 fingers crossed)

We're counting on all the support we can get. If you're a passer-by and supporter, please bookmark the page and come back now and then to visit us for "New Arrivals". You can even drop us a "fake" question in the Q&A, just to keep us busy and excited (hey hey I was just kidding). If you're a friend, e-mail this link to your friends, mother, father, auntie, uncle, grandpa, grandma, godpa......OK OK you get the drift, right? If you're a very good friend, send that e-mail with this message: "If you do not forward this e-mail to at least 10 people, you will slide on a banana skin". Kekeke

Wish us luck, y'all?

And oh, the promised answers

1. It's part-real and part-dreamlike.
2. You can find the answer if you read this entry in its entirety.
3. NO
4. Tick-tock, Tick tock
5. Mothers, mothers-to-be, friends etc etc etc (the more the merrier)

Don't worry, be happy

Finally dragged my big and lazy ass to see a specialist after being bugged by pain in my wound for the past 3-4 weeks. For the benefit of people who don't know, here's a brief history of the surgery I underwent last year.

I discovered a lump in my groin area and was referred to Prof. Eu from SGH for a check-up. He diagnosed it as inguinal, or groin, hernia. In short, the lump that I felt was actually a protrusion of the small intestine or fatty tissue into the groin through a weakness or tear in the abdominal wall.

He recommended open surgery to repair the hernia. As I was under general anesthesia and thus was not aware of what went on during the operation, nor do I remember the doctor's exact description of the procedure (if one was given at all!), I am unable to re-enact the actual procedure. Roughly, it went as follows:

This procedure is done under local anesthesia and requires a 4- to 6-inch incision in the groin. The doctor then pushes the herniated tissue back into place and sutures the opening shut. Sometimes a small piece of synthetic material (e.g. mesh) is placed over the gap to serve as a scaffolding on which scar tissue will grow. Full recovery time takes 4 to 6 weeks.

http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/403/main.html

The operation went well and within 1 month, I was back on my feet. I shall not elaborate on the healing process though, for that was painful and fraught with many difficulties. But I had the support and care of friends and family, so I recovered speedily.

Things were going OK until 3 weeks ago, where I experienced sharp stabs of pain at the same area. I saw the GP, who forbade me from exercise on initial inspection, and urged me to go back to the specialist if my condition did not improve after 2 weeks. I waited 3 weeks, and finally decided to go back to the specialist.

So what's the verdict? Prof Eu said that during healing, the scar tissues / mesh may press on the nerves, thus resulting in the pain that I experienced. This could be caused by long periods of inactivity, thus exercise was strongly recommended to stretch and straighten out the mesh.

Phewww!! Boy am I glad. My procrastination was partially caused by the fear of going through the entire operation again to "re-adjust" the mesh, and whatever else. The smile and ease on Prof. Eu's face indicated this was not necessary. As long as they don't have to re-operate on me, I'm happy.

Decadent weekend

My weekend kick-started early on Friday after work, where the usual suspects headed to the PS to catch Ocean's Thirteen, the 2nd sequel to Ocean's Eleven!

I thought 13 was pretty good, much better than 12, but falling slightly short of 11. Perhaps the novelty has worn off, but I must say Danny's guys are still candy for the eyes to behold. Especially Rusty (aka Brad-Arm Pitt) *drools*. My personal favourites, however, were Linus (Matt Damon) and that adorable, innocuous-looking old man (I dunno what his name is, on or off-screen).

The reason why I still love Matt Damon till today.

After the movie, dinner at Thai Express plus chat at Starbucks ensued. What a lovely end to a crappy day at work!

xxx

Woke up early on Saturday morning due to some unforeseen circumstances. Since we were up early, pestered P to go for breakie. So off we went to Great World City for some eggs, toast and laksa. Also went to the supermarket to stock up in anticipation of Sunday's picnic. Of course, we got distracted from our mission and ended up buying a couple of "extras" here and there, which resulted in a hefty bill!

Went to view the showflat for "Trillium", the upcoming condominium development opposite GWC. I was floored, my jaw dropped and I went WOW like a country bumpkin more than once. For a 2-bedroom unit, it was spacious (1400+ square feet)! There was a lovely balcony and what impressed me most was the sunken shower in the master bedroom that resembled a spa. WAHHH! To our amazement, all units have already been snapped up, except for the penthouses. To our further amazement, each 2-bedroom unit costs a cool 2.6+ million. I hereby conclude that Singaporeans are freaking, obscenely RICH.

Went to P's home and spent the rest of the day sleeping. I've never been the type who naps in the afternoon, so this was a real treat for me!

xxx

Woke up early to cook curry chicken for our picnic (Actually, I was just watching P and his Mom cook, I'm too clumsy when it comes to affairs of the kitchen). Kaybo and Weibong came along and we headed down to the Botanic (not Botanics or Botanical, mind you) Gardens, with our barang-barang in tow.

Spent the first half an hour or so looking for the perfect picnic spot. The walking made us real hungry and thirsty, such that as soon as we settled down at our chosen location at Swan Lake (there were 2 sad-looking swans + a duck trying to look like a swan in the lake), we immediately spread out the mini feast, comprising curry chicken and bread/baguette, hotdog cocktail and soba salad, and began chomping on the glorious food.

Despite its vicinity to town, the Botanic Gardens offers an idyllic environment that makes you feel cut-off from the hustle and bustle of urban life. Plus, the greenery was soothing to the eyes and calming for the nerves. We saw owners walking their golden retrievers, family playing frisbee, a man playing his guitar and singing to his partner, a couple lying on the grass etc. For us, time was spent lying on our mats reading, chatting and for one, sleeping.

Unfortunately, I did not manage to snap any pictures as I'd forgotten to charge my camera! Bummer. But there is bound to be a next-time, so look out for that!

Happy Birthday to Granny Dearest

Popo and the Malacca crew were down in JB last weekend to celebrate Popo's birthday! Yay!

My Popo used to live in JB with the Lak family. When the Lak brothers and I were young, she took care of us when our parents were at work. Popo and I used to share a room, where we would watch Chinese drama serials together and go to sleep with the FM 93.3 DJ whispering in the background. My Popo is one great lady. She is extremely kind-hearted and showered lots of love on her grandchildren. I should also boast about Popo's outstanding culinary skills. Her pork dishes were no doubt the best! :)

Many years back, after the youngest of us was old enough to take care of himself, Popo moved back to Malacca to be with her other children and friends. Since then, visits to Malacca have been short and sparse, usually for CNY only. So when Popo comes down to JB to visit, we will without fail rush home to welcome her.

Family photos, of course, were in order.

The entire family, minus Ta-Yi and hubby

Lak family with Popo

The grandchildren!

Dinner time with posers at work

Eat, drink and be merry!

I need a holiday!

I know, I know, so do you. And him. And her. Everyone needs a holiday.

I'm at the stage where I can't stand going to work. Can't bear thinking of work. Afraid. Alone.

Perhaps the stress is too much for me to bear. I find myself crumbling under its sheer weight.

I am not happy. I thought my new job could motivate me, instill some drive in me. But it didn't / hasn't / never will.

I grapple, I grope. I am trapped in the tunnel of despair, desperation. Longing to get out.

I start questioning my ability. Feel small. Expectations loom high. My superior says things that put me down. I cry. Feel discouraged. Asshole.

I resolve to try my best. Not to put too much pressure on myself. To take harsh words with a pinch of salt. Not to be afraid of admitting that I don't know. To speak up. To learn from my peers. To shout out when the going gets too tough. To take pride in my work. To learn from mistakes and failures. To face uncertainties with an open mind and see it as a learning opportunity.

Yes I can do it. Nothing is impossible.