Woke up to the same nagging back pain, and rest in bed most of the day.

Despite finding the slots to the SD card reader, it doesn’t work at all! Grrr….

I was almost going to make this post a complain-y one, because just when I thought I got through today relatively incident-free, and then, something just gotta happen.

Bah!

Because of the pain, I decided to head down to my chiropractor, and ran an errand along the way.

I used my light-weight “shopping” bag today and transferred just the important identifications and cards from the work bag.

After waiting for 20 minutes to make a general enquiry, I waited for a further 20 minutes to get served.

Alas, I wasn’t informed that I have to pay cash or NETS.

For those who don’t know, I am one of the few rare species in Singapore who DOES NOT own a NETS card, and depend heavily on its more evil plastic siblings when I have to make cashless payment.

And because I had headed out with a different bag, I have very limited cash on me.

When I say limited, I mean, really, really, limited.

Three dollars and fifteen cents to be exact.

Cos when I was about to make payment, I was ONE DOLLAR AND TWENTY CENTS short. AHHHHH! I would have no problems digging out coins from my usual bag from my habit of throwing loose change into my bag randomly. My farewell gift from my previous workplace (which I had wanted to blog about but never got down to doing it….. ) was an LV Vernis coin wallet in Amarante, has recently double up as a card holder.

Time to do some spring cleaning to my bags, and remind myself to get some cute make-up pouch to compartmentalise my bag. I need more systems in place, methinks.

So. I was short of a mere $1.20 after clearing the entire bag of coins.

The lady at the counter told me she could proceed for me, but I would have to return tomorrow to pay for the balance. So my poor $3.15 is now held in ransom, and I can’t figure out how her colleagues are gonna remember the loo.. loser who owes $1.20.

Seriously.

I hope I have the time to sort it out tomorrow.

***

So I finally went back for a review, but I seriously don’t think I can afford his services, which would require me to pay a lump sum(no instalment plans! The audacity!) for it.

I know I am quite the spendthrift these days, but for me to fork out almost $6k in cash at this moment just seem.. impossible.

I mean, I believe the money will be well-spent with my constant problems, but the lack of flexibility to their payment plans made it impossible for me to commit.

Unfortunately, the female sale staff made me feel she was a lil cut-throat despite the chiropractors are pretty professional. She seemed pretty disinterested right after I expressed how the financial inflexibility made it impossible for me to commit.

(Speaking of the word “pretty”, I made an ultimate booboo the other day with a meeting with my boss and when he asked me to tell him about myself, I thought for a long while before I went, “I think I am pretty….. uhm..”

I couldn’t find the exact words, and I found him staring at me mid-sentence, amused.

He then laughed, “I thought you are telling me you are pretty!”

I blushed a bright hue of scarlet, and flusteredly waved my hands to insist that wasn’t what I meant and that I hadn’t finish my sentence. DUH! I am such a bimbo!)

Anyway, I was glad I said no, though I know I would like to sort out my spine problems. I then took back my X-rays, in case I would like to look for another more affordable chiropractic clinic, preferably with some sort of instalment plans.

It reminded me of a friend not-too-long ago, who had kindly offered to help but…  pride is always an issue, isn’t it? Okay, selectively sometimes though.

***

Walked around IMM before settling down for some food.

I tweeted how I am craving for bak gua, mee siam and aglio olio from Bakerzin, and I bought Bak Gua! Yay. So happy!

I then headed to Cafe Cartel for pasta, and while I was waiting, I actually listed down some PMS food I was happy to indulge in.

By the time I finished the list, I thought I could almost blog an entire post about it, which I will, later!

From the work calls, my phone was flat by dinner time. And since I was in the clinic, I had earlier switched it to silent mode.

I had baked pasta and I almost licked the last drop of cream off the plate, before I happily headed for home by cab in the evening.

***

It was perhaps one of the few times I board a blue cab without paying the fare with credit card, and it was the first time in many months I didn’t ask for a receipt at the end of the brief cab ride.

I checked my watch.

Wow. 7.30pm, time certainly went by a tad too quickly today.

I went off the cab, not before reminding uncle he gave me $1 change short.

He said he remember putting a dollar in it, but I just held my hands out, which I was afraid he thought I was out to cheat him.

But he was polite so I said thank you chirpily before making my way into the building.

I then emptied the content from my bag, then realised my phone wasn’t with me.

But you know, me being me being me…. I always thought I lose something and then I will find it like in my hands, in my pockets, or sitting on it.

Then I searched, and searched. Nowhere to be found.

Called up Cafe Cartel, not found.

I don’t normally lose my phone despite being such a muddle-head (in fact, I have NEVER lost my phone before), cos I usually entertain myself on cabs with it.

But since it was flat, I didn’t.

I called the customer service line but they were closed for the day.

I went online to make an online submisstion to find their forms are error-filled and it couldn’t load at all!

So I called the booking hotline, and they put me on hold for 10 minutes until I could wait no more cos I needed to take a dump.

I was ready to rant at them for the poor service.

I brought my home phone into the showers and called again. I did whatever I needed to do.. shower, scrub my face, scrub my body… and then, a voice came on.

So in the midst of my showers, I made a report. I didn’t rant cos she sounded nice and knew what she was doing.

I remember the pick up time cos I checked my watch, I remember the exact fare cos of the change mistake. But I don’t remember the cab number nor was it the newer/older cab model.

I was feeling a bit bleak about it, and was ready to lose it, though I was thinking it was just the revenge of my phone on me having straying thoughts earlier today (Hmm.. should I get a blackberry instead?) after seeing Potato’s tweet.

I was just thinking about my Gucci handphone strap which I like though.

I was hoping I will get it back since I always return wallets/phones to others.

Strangely enough, right after my showers, I actually waited less than I had to do earlier, before I got a call back from Comfort.

HHAAAAALLLEEELLLLUUUUJJJAAAAHHH!

They managed to track the very kind Mr Chua, of SHC1692K, and said he has it with him, and they gave me his mobile number to establish contact with him, but informed me that he was at… Changi Airport (!!!).

So I called, but he didn’t pick up, and I assumed he was driving.

I finally got him after more than 2 hours, cos I had called the customer service back again and they managed to get hold of him.

I offered to go to wherever it is convenient for him (and tip him!) but he was so nice to tell me he will send it back if I can wait since he stays nearby!

Such a sweetheart!

I heaved a big sigh of relief cos to me I am okay with losing my phone, but just thinking of what a bitch it is to replace it when I will be busy all through the weekend makes me very… sian.

So for every bad experience with cab driver, there will be one who is pleasant!

I shall be nice and wait for uncles who lose their ways next time and be patient with rude uncles!

FML no more!

Oh, and I managed to upload the pictures using my home notebook’s SD card reader. -beams-

Okay, I just remember I did lose my phone once before in the cab and the passenger arranged for me to pick it up from him from the MRT station once.

Sorry darling phone, I will love and treasure you more from now on, just don’t reset on me again, okay?

***

I am having Bakerinz Aglio Olio now, though it is less than 3 hours since me almost eating the plate to my creamy, baked pasta.

And I shall have my bacon strips bak gua as desserts.

Shuddap. I know what you are thinking.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

This is one weekend I truly enjoy, though I had wished it to be a tad longer, so I can have more of me-time before the monitor (yes, I am THAT deprived of a decent social life, by CHOICE, I would like to think. Shuddap, I am not deluded), catch up on the news, blog a little, chew on things a little.. yet by the time I was seated down here, I was too tired or too caught up in the moment to actually do any of those.

It is one weekend I could breathe easier, and a much awaited one as a hectic week nearly mowed me down.

Well, and next week will be seeing things happening for next 3 weeks, and praying hard that all elements will fall into place.

***

It was 1994. I had a best friend I never had prior to that.

She left for another school, just after 3 months. I cried badly. Terribly. I never cried so much for a female before.

We took different paths and I can say that for the years that followed, our life had panned out very differently.

There were chanced encounters that were never in-depth thereafter.

I remember she was in love with big earrings and her telling me vivaciously how her classmate would throw balled up pieces of paper through the hoop when lectures get boring.

It took many years, and after many different paths we took individually, for us to find each other again, with the gap narrowed.

Such, is destiny.

***

Nearly made a purchase for investment.

I didn’t, and am now kinda kicking myself for it. Sulks.

***

I didn’t miss Friday morning’s meeting (I got the meeting room and timing correct! Yay!), though I had to run off in the midst of it for the meeting I had not-so-looked-forward-to, but yet, looked forward to.

Ai yah, the usual jitters and shyness, you see. I giggled, and I flustered, and if was an assessment, I would have failed terribly. But, it was totally liberating, though I didn’t manage to get what I had wanted to express out, and it was of great, great relief. And, for someone like me who just like to observe and know someone better, I guess it was interesting. Somhow, it was totally enriching, and a 30-minute crash course of learning, from someone I have ample respect for.

Scooted back into the meeting earlier, and it overran for quite a bit, before we concluded it.

Had lunch with a couple of colleagues nearby, and I was actually wearing a long-sleeved knitted JPG top(hands-me-down, obviously), over a camisole, zipped up, strolling in the hot sun.

Was speaking to my colleague, who grew up in Bangkok, and studied in Manchester, and her amazing experience working in Old Trafford as a waitress and how she had many chances to watch live, home matches. The clincher? She went for the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich in 1999. I could only scream “I HATE YOU!!!!!” repeatedly in awe.

But it brought back so much memories as she asked if I had returned ever since my stint there and I mentioned the recent trip back, and she was surprised much of my friends are still there, when she only has one friend who hadn’t returned.

Same old, same old.

Rushed back to finish some work before hurrying out of the office to do my round-the-island trips, starting with Marine Parade.

Engaged with a conversation with the cab driver who went on and on, and full-stopped his sentences with “you know“s. I ended up giggling and replying “I know” to every of his “you know“s.

I cursed how it was the wrongest day for me to do the trips as it was kinda warm and I was all wrapped up, and had to enter and exit from the air-conditioned places into the baking open-air so many times in a day.

I wasn’t sure why I was having some black0ut spells in between, which could be the result of the nagging backache that had returned after coughing excessively for 3 weeks. The hands-on manual work also contributed to it, though it was still great fun to see things building up and happening.

The moment I stepped out of the outlet, I was greeted by a totally different picture.

It was raining.

Cooler, but it also means that I have to be running from place to place in the rain, and since there wasn’t any shelter, I was waiting for the cab in the rain. Bummer.

And with time running out, I ended up returning to office to drop off some of the load that I didn’t want to wet in the rain.

A colleague got exasperated and just stood up and said, “Okay, I am done for the day, I will go toy fair instead.”

“Eh, wanna go Suntec for toy fair? Now.”

I would love to snap up the invite but I looked at the list of places I had to run, and declined. Had been wanting to jalan jalan at the toy fair, but just didn’t manage to lah.

Got back to office and a sweet sight greeted me.

I don’t think anyone had gotten it right before, and I was pretty surprised someone got it right, like finally. The lady at the reception was cooing about it, and a strange thought came to mind.

I feel like asking when is her birthday so I could send her teddy bears and flowers, though seriously, I don’t know her personally at all. But she is just one of those random strangers who could cheer your day up, and you would greet when you do see her.

She is one of those people who make tough days… nicer.

And it makes me wanna make her day nicer. But people will think I weirdo or not?!

Though I have to say, guys never quite manage to get it quite right for me after all these years.

Someday, maybe, someday.

***

Ended up in the west after a horrendous cab ride and wondered why I am so prone to car-sickness these days, and I made a rush to the place where surprisingly, the in-charge still remembers me!

He then commented that I look different, and asked if I speak mandarin cos he remembered that I don’t speak mandarin.

I looked at him, totally flabbergasted and said it was totally impossible, before a long conversation erupted in mandarin (though his Johorian accent made me nearly slipped into it. Giggles) as he helped me with some installation.

I left midway to make some purchases to deliver for my next stop. Ended up in NTU, and Hallelujah to school reopening!

The boys! The atheletic cuties! Y0uth! Vibrant!

I am not cougar. As much as my colleagues call me that.

***

Got my punani and legs tased again.

After a long, tiring day, I actually felt immuned to the ouch-factor. Or perhaps, I was just too masochistic, and enjoyed it.

***

Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts, and the sweet messages. Things are okay, and will get better, somehow, it will.

***

I got home to an awesome Friday evening.

I will dedicate an entire post just for it.

Utter, utter, precious bliss.

It was only until 2 plus in the morning before I managed to get some me-time, and I snuck up and finished some work emails till late, before retiring, being kept awake intermittently, and yet remember each awake moment vividly.

It just made me beam silly-ly throughout on Saturday, though it seriously tainted the quality of sleep and the length of sleep I managed to get, but it was well worth it.

***

Woken up by the little one on Saturday, to realise that I was just in time for an appointment in the afternoon.

She insisted on me showering her and drying her hair, and thus I was almost 40 minutes late when I finally reached.

The session was part alright, part excruciating, and I walked into the chilled day, with beautiful breeze when it was almost 5pm.

The day passed so quickly!

It was a great, refreshing day to be out, and damn cosy can! Or I could be just high from the remnants of the day before.

Had western food at a coffeeshop, before returning for some herbal soup.

Changed my bedsheet happily after the dettol spray dried off.

Was just starting on my news read-up when a spontaneous decision to watch Up in 3D was made, and I had to leave home again in a snap of fingers.

UP IS SOOOOOOOOO GOOD!

I will actually write about it separately(which means, spoilers, so please do not read if you have yet to watch it).

I have never watched a 3D movie before so that explains the excitement!

It was crowded when I got there, and I know there were some who were going to watch a certain local horror-comedy, which I have heard all the bad reviews of.

I have not watched a single movie of said director (except the very first one) simply because of the reviews from friends, and I got tired reading of his own boasting efforts in the media, like the very recent one he blamed local media for writing what they want to anyhow-ly write, and he feels that despite what they wrote, he said the ?? is what matters, and he only cares that he had received only positive one so far.

I have heard the movie’s best part is the NG at the end of the show. Maybe just that I am jealous, and people around me don’t know how to appreciate and we are the deluded ones, like the media writers.

Anyway.

Strangely, as I was thinking about that, when I headed to the washroom at the end of Up, the audience from the next cinema was out too.

Someone was lowering his head and sticking close to the wall, looking a tad sneaky.

I gave a slight glance and realised why. Talk about freaky coincidences.

Oh dear, big director in da house, baybeh! That said, definitely must hide face, or else people might mob him and recognise him!

His bunch of friends was walking towards him, and he eagerly asked, “How was it?” in mandarin.

Part of me was wishing they would tell him the truth.

He isn’t bad, just that, he needs to be humbled, somehow, and take constructive criticism in his stride, maybe. After all, it has been so many years…

***

I drove around for a cool 40 minutes on Saturday.

The last time I did it was in the compound of my place with a coach beside me, which ended up with me being horned by the car behind and I panicked, ran off the driver’s seat, and allowed the coach to take over, as I giggled endlessly.

Something in me changed.

I was actually more composed, and I surprised myself with the control I have over my nerves, and myself. Signalling, even doing point-turns out of a dead end I found myself driving into.

I realised in the past, my self doubt was the cause of my fears behind the wheels, and my lack of confidence just made me feel that I can’t manage the road, and there was even fears that since I had only manual car experiences, I might be confused by auto cars.

Strangely, this time, I don’t know how I managed to put everything aside, and realised, it was my self-doubt all these while that prevented me from going forward.

In all senses of words.

And that, was a big revelation.

***

I had plans for Sunday.

I went to sleep, knowing I want to replenish the sleep…

I woke up too early in the afternoon, and had trouble keeping myself awake, and ended up heading back to sleep.

When I woke up, it was too late to have a new style for my hair, and that the Da Vinci exhibition was finally over (someone told me not to waste the moolah cos it wasn’t worth it).

It was dark, and it rained when I woke up. It was almost 7 in the evening.

Sooooooo cosssssyyy soo much needed!

Had some home-cooked beehoon, and couldn’t decided to watch the rally on channel 5, 8 or U(I know, sounds terribly silly).

Ended up watching MotoGP and saw Valentino clinching the winning position after some drama in the last laps.

Yay.

And then, now, it is Manchester United V Birmingham playing as I start on the 5 pieces of blog entries I had meant to post up over the weekend.

And I am onto my numero uno.

I actually feel very fulfilled this weekend for all sorts of reasons.

Maybe Minibean.

Maybe the impulse purchase.

Maybe just the simple joys.

Maybe even the talk with the big boss though it might not turn out as positive as I would like it to be.

Maybe the renewed hope.

Maybe UP brought so much hope…

Maybe, the figures are finally jumping.

Maybe, I finally gotten enough rest.

Maybe, there is finally some light.

Maybe, the driving brought some inspiration.

And maybe, many things don’t matter anymore

Or it could be some good days. Very good days.

I wish I could buy faith like this, when they run out sometimes.

Such dreaminess to a weekend I adore. With remaining time for me to do a sum of the blessings I have received in the past week.

If only, it is a little longer.