Archive for June 17th, 2009

The list goes on

I have been lamenting about my spending this month, which saw me squandering away my entire paycheck even before half of the month breezed by.

Old bills, dusty debts and the sneaky credit card bills took me by surprise.

Ever put your life on hold for so long and when the time comes for you to sort out everything again, you realise how much there really is to be done, and then everything has to start from the beginning?

My kitchen has been falling apart since years ago after almost 15 years. The bathtub in my parents’ room has to go to convert into a shower because my dad is getting old…  The couch I have been wanting to change.. The CRT TVs which are cranking up but still workable… the toilet seat that has been pinching my butt cheeks ever so often… the passport picture on Minibean which no longer looks like her botak newborn style. The long delayed trip to the dentist… where I have to do polishing/scaling/mending of the chip in my teeth (playing hide and seek with Dad that fateful night still makes him laughing to the memory)/filling of cavities all at the same time.

And of course, a much needed trip to the physio-therapist soon. And what’s with all the stored up pictures uploaded but never posted?

Change this, change that, remove this, remove that, add this, add that.. repay this.. repay that. Rush this.. rush that.. plan this.. plan that.

And then you realise everything seems endless.

Was talking to a friend I hadn’t met for the longest time over lunch that when I had not much and was utterly broke, everything seems enough, or sometimes, even more than enough. But when you are earning more, you think of rewarding yourself, you think of buying the things you always wanted to have but couldn’t bear to splurge on… and then proportionately, you are actually poorer than before.

It was like, the television I bought during sale. After that, I look at the huge screen and I thought of buying DVDs to utilise it, then I remember how it is more expensive than watching the show in the cinema and I become the kiam siap prudent auntie again.

The same theories of how girls will wanna get that pair of heels in the shop window to go with certain bags/dresses.

And then, I find myself struggling because when tired, I always think I have an extra $20 somewhere to take a cab.. when last time the temptation could be easier fought.

How $2 lunches were enough, but dinners at hotels/the chic chic places with rave reviews became more frequent as I caved to my cravings.

But there are things I wouldn’t change. The chance to save up for the next long-haul trip… to see the world out there. Get my back better so I could tahan a tank on my back. Hmm time to get a back brace and slap on the deep heat.

In a couple of weeks, I will be heading off to Vietnam, and to see Hanoi.

I have never been to sightseeing in the region, and it will be a good place to start with Ha Long Bay. Dipping in the sea!

Ironically, I will be in Hanoi longer than any of my recent trips. 6 days 5 nights, compared to my 4 days in Rome, 2 and half days in Moscow, and I wasn’t even in London for 6 straight days. Doesn’t quite make sense to me, but it does when 4 of those days I would be enclosed in the hotel…

And the thing is…? I wanna save up for something else to use on the trip. Seeeee… what did I say about endless things?

Speaking about work, I felt something flapping on my back earlier today and I tried to brush it off. Then I felt it flapping in my hair.

With my bad experiences with flying cockroaches(especially one that flew into my face, and I thought it was a moth…), I actually wheeled myself over to my ang moh colleague (who unfortunately was the only person nearby) and grabbed him as I let out a yelped.

I think I scared him more than the moth scared me. He sneered at me for being a scaredy cat.

Someone said it was a butterfly and I shamelessly said cos I dressed like a red rose today(shuddap Potty, Rafflesia your potty!). Cough.

Speaking about something random, I once said I will not have sharks’ fins on the menu should I ever tie the knot, and I am still looking for a man who will agree to that after I felt absoluted guilty (I dreamed about sharks during my nap) when I ate some during lunch today.

I was told some people do get sharks’ fins the humane way, but I started wondering with images flashing through my mind… how do I know the one in my plate was the humane way?

Anyway.

The lady at the Malaysia Embassy is such an angel! When I rushed in to get my passport, she remembered me and asked a very flustered me if I had just went shopping(cos I was holding on to some of my company’s products). She made small talks and she had a fabulous smile.

Friendly and smiling! She made my day, just like that. I collected Minibean’s passport almost immediately.

And I bumped into the Dad of the little Piscean boy whom we met earlier. Did I mention they too, forgot to bring their Malaysia Identity Cards because it wasn’t listed on the list?

Damn.

After my nap. I am awake now. How?

The queue for competency

It is just strange how every trip to the Malaysia Embassy is often one marred with plenty of emotions.

Frustration.. exasperation, resentment. Of course not forgetting how my family got conned at the one in JB by the old man with bad teeth (KNN!). Bah.

It becomes something I dread. I mean, I can wait hours at ICA but I just cannot stand watching those uniformed lazybums chatting/laughing/skiving, doing anything but calling out the next number(ahem, if I ever do that, I blame it on the Malaysian blood in me giggles).

The past few times when I was there, were dates I could vividly remember.

Getting her birth certificate(apparently you need the “citizenship” or something) and passport done with raised brows. And then there was this day in October in 2007 when Potty was still in Ozzyland (I got swollen eyes in my passport pictures, very the ugly). And there there was this day in April 2009 when Wifey was also there at the Embassy. Most of the above were a blur and it probably blinded the fact of how incompetent they are.

Anyway. This happened during my previous trip.

In the to-bring list, I had brought along everything stated. Except my Malaysia Identity Card. I am not sure if you know how much of a hassle it is to us should we lose our IC, but that is why we would rather carry our Singapore Identity Card and leave the ugly one elsewhere.

Why I had not brought the Malaysia Identity Card is because it wasn’t stated on the list of things to bring. So I assumed it wasn’t compulsary.

And I had my passport with me, and it has all the elements the IC bears, no?

Okay, I got a little lost the last time when they told me I couldn’t do it because I didn’t bring my original IC(I had the photostated copy, it wasn’t enough), but since I was literally in a complete state of blankness (tsk tsk, we know why) and couldn’t fight my case, I left.

I almost forgotten how kind the lady was. The queue itself was short. But the concept of queueing up for a queue number annoys me.

The lady actually told me I don’t need to queue the next time I go back, but it only applies within the week from that day.

Today I was back (I know, almost 2 months already!) and this time, Minibean was standing next to me in the queue quietly instead of running around like the previous time.

The queue was bad.

It was like almost 3 times the volume and I remember how it is the June holidays now. Bummer. And I don’t even have my phone with me(forgot it today, BUMMER!) thus could only contact my dad later by borrowing a phone from a passerby.

Queued for an hour for a number, that even earned Minibean a snack from a mother who was there with her boy(he is a Piscean, 3 months Minibean’s junior).

It was the same, nice Indian lady who attended to me the last time. She was pretty quick and smooth with her processing, and she retook Minibean’s thumbprint..  As there was a date indicated on her form, the lady ased why I didn’t return within the week.

Just as I stared helplessly at the number given to me, it was already 9.30am, and I was wondering if I would even get the chance to go back to work.

There were another 70 people in line before my number would be called.

I don’t like the painful wait. Sigh.

But! The lady actually told me to return at 3pm and look for her.

I have managed to skip the most painful part! HALLLLEEEEELLLUUUUUJJAAAAAHHHHHH! WAHH MIRACULOUUUUUUUS ACT FROM A PLACE I HAD CONDEMNED BEYOND BELIEF!

I guess that’s how it works, with no expectations do we learn how to find the little joys, and pleasant surprises since everything becomes, well, unexpected.

Then I remember another incident back then when they told me I didn’t have to wait, when I was there with Minibean when she was barely a month old.

I think this has gotta be the most pleasant trip ever, and maybe the system, and people, do evolve. Or maybe, just some.

***

Today.

In the car.

Who is Singapore’s president?

NAAAATTHHHHHANNN” Minibean giggled in between her answers (I know it is totally irrelevant but we were just nice turning into Nathan Road when my mum asked baby this question).

Who is America’s president?

OOOBBAAAMMMAAAAAA” cooed Minibean.

Who is -insert some country’s name here- ‘s president?

……………..” Minibean was rendered speechless

JIBNAH…” prompted my mum.

I was flabbergasted and I corrected her immediately.

HUH!!!!!!!!!! Don’t anyhow teach her! Why you wanna teach her how to recognise useless murderers? No need to know!

Oh, and his name is Najib can?! And he is not a president.

My dad laughed, as that was perhaps the first ever time he had heard me mentioning anything remotely political.

And then I am thinking, perhaps politically incorrectly(pardon the weak pun) if the day comes, will I renounce our citizenships just to adopt a country we both grow up in, and perhaps, feel more at home in.

More importantly, in a country we don’t get discriminated for being Chinese.

***

There’s something I have been wanting to do since getting a proper job.

I know there are many people who had helped me during the tough days, and during my pregnancy.

I can’t repay everyone at one go, and there will be things I will never forget. Regardless.

Bit by bit, step by step.

Polished and sleek

He is an experienced man in his 50s. Suave, charming and with a certain twinkle in his eyes.

It has been a while since I allow a man to go so deep in my mouth…. we had a history and he had been to places that no men with me had ever been.

There was once I lie unconscious in the bed, and I could barely recall what he had done to me when I woke up hours later.

This time, I wasn’t sure he still remember me, and I don’t know why the sudden urge for me to want to see him again.

He urged me to open my mouth a little wider so he could go deeper. Oooo… been a while since I last heard that.

He told me I have a good tongue. Giggles.

An older, and more experienced man he was, and I lied back as I could feel his abdomen against my head, sometimes.

He kept asking me if it hurts, but I could barely feel it…. call me sadistic, I was actually enjoying it.

It was diiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrtttttttttyyyyyyyyyyy as the wetness splashed onto my face, taking me by surprise.

I left with a huge, satisfied grin, and he promised to fill me up the next time I return.

Don’t you just love skilled, experienced men?

I am looking forward to next week already.