I was delaying the posting of my Hanoi trip for the longest time, not without justified worries…
… Like, posting pictures of your colleagues, and them potentially find out about this space.
Then again, most of them aren’t savvy, or can’t be bothered, or so I hope…. except for maybe one, ahem, ahem.. whom I am actually rather glad he is reading.
*Dong tian li de yi ba huo…*
*ran shao ba.. ran shao ba, huo niao!*
But think so much for what? Will post later today! 
I sinned terribly last night.
Oh dear, my oh my…
For that, I am counting down to the end of the month, and the start of the new month, for all sorts of reasons.
Then again, September should be thrilling, for it will be the witness of how I pull through this month, and then with “renewal” of annual leave (wah, I still have balance for my pathetic 12 days this year!)… and 3 interesting dinners in one week, and tentatively one black-tie event in early September, there is quite a bit to look forward to in September.
And of course, the plans to sin again, and the arrival of my sinful indulgence.
Oh man, I can’t wait.
And then, there shall be a revelation.
*Beams like a cat that has gotten its cream*
*Ppppuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*
I almost forgot! Bonus!
Woohoo.
More reasons to look forward to September.
Maybe, just maybe, new directions, new opportunities, new stepping stones and new…. paths to the success I long to tick on my bucket list.
To plunge, or not?
On a side note, I didn’t drink a cup of tea today because the server had apparently forgotten about the sugar.
There are some things in life I ain’t particularly particular about, but then as much as I have an absolute love for tea, I just can’t seem to drink some tea without a wee bit of sugar, and it can’t be too much sugar cos I don’t like my tea to be too sweet.
It was a random thought, but it actually made me put down the cup of tea and not touch it again. Strange.
Then another thought came to mind.
Maybe someday someone will take note and remember how many teaspoons of sugar I go for, like how he would also know how many sections of toilet paper I would tear and how many times I would fold it to use for the big deed.
Then maybe, I would have found the perfect… butler.
Watching too much The Nanny, I think.
I was given the finger by the spawn last night.
Well, not the way you would have expected it to be though…….
Minibean kept me up till 3am last night, basically having a real kick to get me out of bed to make milk for her, and then change her diapers, which she told me “a lot of pee! Need to change!“, and then asked for water after the routine was done.
And then, more water.
I am going to have abs from the amount of times I sat up to give in to her demands.
It didn’t just stop there.
When all else failed, she insisted on Mummy giving her massage.
So I worked on her tiny feet, which had grown so much since the day she was born that she was outgrowing all the yummy-coloured socks.
Then I worked on her calves, which she very much enjoyed… and then she got ticklish when I got to her thighs.
So I massaged her back, as she laid face-down in utter bliss.
I stopped after a while cos the cough syrup was beginning to gain its control over me more than my own flesh and blood (in all sense of words).
She then burrowed her way into my embrace and pulled my hand to say, “Mummmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeee, maaaaaaaaassssshhhuuuccchhhh.”
When it didn’t work, she sat up and sat on me to get me to massage her.
Since I was coughing, she put her hand to feel my head, and spoke in her old-lady tone, “Mummy fever?”
“Oooo… got fever, quite hot,” she continued in her adult voice, giving the wrong diagnosis, and left me alone. And I said in my puppy-dog voice, “Yup mummy fever, mummy sick, need to rest” while giving a sly smile in the dark.
After a while, she got bored, and decided she wants to sleep with Gonggong and Popo, and insisted I open the door for her.
“Muuuuummmmmmmmeeeeee open the door, I want to go out,” she whined.
“You open the door yourself lor..”
Then she started to get a lil cranky and insisted I open the door for her.
“Why you cannot open yourself?”
“Mummyyyyyyyy open door for me!”
Repeat the above exchange x 10.
I switched on the bedside lamp, then I asked again, while suppressing my smile, “You want, you open yourself then, why you cannot open yourself?”
Then she held up her thumb to my face, which has a plaster wound around due to her constant finger-biting, and gave her best puppy-eyes look, with pitiful frown thrown in as she bowed her hand, in the tiniest voice, “My… finger… pain…”
I was stunned for a brief moment, speechless, before I burst out laughing at her play-acting and marvelled at her brilliant skills.
Minibean 1, Mummy 0.
Eventually I didn’t give in, and she pretty much gave up, and made do with being escorted to the door, and she opened it herself and strutted into the next room in the darkness, while I hopped back into my bed and let the codeine do rest of the work.
The weekend has me still coughing quite a bit, though all other symptoms of flu are very much gone, and I am kinda expecting the cough to linger for a bit longer, like it always does. Bummer.
It has been a pretty fulfilling week (end), like spending Thursday evening at the McDee’s at Science Centre after YF picked me up, and he pretty much had to endure a very delirious me as I tried to keep up with whatever he was saying.
Got back, and did my little “research” and ended up calling it a pretty early night after dousing myself with cough syrup. Am actually a lil worried that I might not be able to drift into dreamland easily once I am off the reliant of it.
Was very much looking forward to the weekend, though at this moment, all I can say is that even a long weekend can be far too short, as I bask in the luxury of staying up till the wee hours of the night, possibly the last before the next weekend.
Friday night was wrapped up with some babysitting, and Minibean was unusually chirpy despite realising my parents had went out without her.
This weekend was one she has been unusually sticky, and it certainly is a good thing, though she can be quite a lil monster when around me… Mum says she knows who exactly to bully.
Brought her out for a short while on Friday evening to visit the jiejies and aunties, and she gamely posed for me and asked me to take pictures of her as we were getting ready to head out of the house.
Actually, she even did an impromptu catwalk on the bed after I changed her. It was quite amusing the first few times round, before the fear of wondering when she will start demanding for a walk-in closet starts creeping in.
The lil dress that used to be so cute on her was improvised into a top since she had grown too huge for it. Look out for it in the collage later!
***
I wasn’t quite happy with the quality of sleep I had when I woke up on Saturday, but I guess a week long of sickly, ample rest means I was a tad too pampered with the quality, lengthy rests I had prior to that.
Nonetheless, by the time her stuff were packed, and Mummy Ting was ready, it was already late noon when we finally ventured out.
We headed to town at Paragon, and she was dragging me to Fish & Co when she saw that there were balloons being used for decorative purposes, and insisted I get one for her.
I was too shy to do so, and I managed to divert her attention and we ended up at Toys R Us!
With her getting a little more engaged with toys, means that there were more stops at different toy sections, as she had her fill of messing with Crayola here, and meddling with Fisher-Price there, and Mummy shooing her from station to station, getting her off from vehicles that had became too tiny for her.
It was as we were heading out of the store when she walked into one of those metal queue bars, and as I fussed over her, she just walked away like it was the most natural thing, without even crying for attention… like it didn’t happen at all.
Tsk tsk, she is a real tough cookie, though I could understand the sentiment of how once you have gotten used to being clumsy, you tend to ignore the clumsiness, just like -snaps of fingers- that. Of course, I ain’t speaking from personal experiences. Ahem.
She drove around in her electronic car for a good half of the evening, before we had dinner, and got ready for the highlight of the day – Night Safari!
I don’t know if Mummy was more excited or if Minibean was more excited. I actually felt kinda emotional to be back at the zoo, and to be on my first virgin trip to the Night Safari.
And though I thought it would be a “Orh, zoo is zoo lor” trip, it turned out to be awebulous and I like the Night Safari!
I gave the lil one a treat to Ben & Jerry’s and I ain’t sure where she got that cheeky expression from after I gave in to her demands of standing by the ice-cream counter.
She insisted on feeding herself the ice-cream, and she polished it off unsurprisingly swiftly.
We had the lion’s company throughout our lil adventure around the Night Safari, and it was actually the very first time she had went out with a plushie in her arms, and she took amazing care of the cute lion.
The Night Safari was packed with a huge crowd, and it was the tribal dance that welcomed us when we stepped into the buzzing scene on Saturday night.
It really did feel like I wasn’t in Singapore, and everyone looked happy, despite it was getting a bit late.
We first stopped by the ranger station, and they were talking about Pangolin, and some other tropical critters, and I joked about how they say cockroaches are good for cough… and the station had some.. you know, the species they ate on Fear Factor.
The ranger jokingly shielded his tank away from me, when I started coughing and joked that I need a remedy..
I bumped into Shuncheng (ex-schoolmate) as we were queueing up for the tram ride. The queue was massive, and thankfully it was a breezy, chilled evening, and the eagerness to tour the place really did help to ease the wait, though Minibean was just too active running in between queue poles (and luckily not walking into anymore of them but.. there was this once she kissed the pole!) and I was trying to make sure she doesn’t get lost.
The amazing thing was, once you get on the tram, it started to feel different.. the buzz died down, and all you hear is the quietness of the night, and it felt peaceful… just sweetly peaceful.
Though if you have astigmatism like me, you might have to struggle quite a bit in the dark, and when you get by the enclosure.
I was cooing and pointing out animals to Minibean, and at the same time trying to keep my excitement down when we passed the animals which are not caged up, but just roaming by the road as the tram went past them.
It was almost hard to resist smacking the bum of the Tapir which had its huge ass facing us at close proximity.
The rhinoceroes kept shaking their heads from left to right, and it was actually pretty hypnotic looking at them doing that.
We were very good citizens, and we didn’t want to hurt the animals’ eyes nor startle them, so we didn’t use flash at all! Though I think many people on the trams didn’t seem to be that considerate. Tsk!
The hippopotamus were having a great time having their evening spa, and the sloth was just happy to be lazing.
I got really excited as we got past Chawang, and we went by some tourists who forked out big moolah to have a personalised tour and were getting upclose and personal with 3 elephants.. Minibean was quick to do her elephant impersonation by waving one of her arms as it was a trunk.
She was roaring when we went by the lion enclosure and she was happy to see the tigers too!
I had thought the giraffes would be taller, and I felt more like the toddler on the trip!
Sooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuteeeeeeeeeeeeee!
The highlight of the trip gotta be when we were in the enclosure for the flying squirrels after spending a great deal of time squinting our eyes for the clouded leopards at a glassed enclosure nearby.
The flying squirrel enclosure is like those you go into at the butterfly park or something.
I was standing there for a while, and decided that sometimes animals can get shy and I might not see the flying squirrels after all.
It was the kind that everyone was looking up in the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive squirrels.
Just as I turned around and almost giving up, I heard some cooing and gasping, and then I looked up near the exit and saw the red/white cutie stirring in the trees. Before we knew it, a couple of them started to make their ways up to the tree trunk right before me.
I was just glad to be seeing them that upclose and personal, and with their bushy tails hanging off fluffily off the branch, so I held up my camera and was just trying to steady my hands to get a good shot.
And then, I have no idea how, when, what, simi when one of them decided to take flight.
It was a split second decision by the flying squirrel and all I heard were excited gasps when I saw it spread its wings (??) before I saw a big mass parachuting its way down the branch, towards……
……….. ME!
!!!!!!!!!
Minibean was standing right next to me, but since she is just a kiddo and not very tall, she was probably safe.
But the flying squirrel was flying towards me!!
Did I look like a tree trunk or something?!
Instinctively, I ducked and I felt a swoosh of weight right above my head, and I could smell its scent. I could feel its flight path, and the force from its weight ruffling my hair.
The Caucasian man behind me also ducked, and I was told that the flying squirrel landed on the tree trunk behind us at a height that was probably just slightly taller than Minibean’s, before it scurried up the tree.
I wonder what would happen if I didn’t duck with such sleekness and matrix-likeness! I probably would be a squirrel murderer or the squirrel would be a potential WWF-er that took me to the ground.
And then it was then the enclosure was buzzed with life.
Minibean was so excited to see the squirrel THAT upclose and personal (dammit, I missed it cos I had to duck remember?!) and she was cooing as she watched the squirrel landed.
The other squirrels then came out and play and were eager to show off their flying skills. It was amazing to see them trapezing all over the enclosure and hearing their flight paths above our heads, and they were sashaying on the branches with such pride as if they knew what we were there for.
And then one cutie decided to scurry into the crowd on the ground but I guess we might have scared it away.
That really made my night. -beams-
It was almost midnight when we left Night Safari, and I bet we will be back someday soon, and hopefully by then I would not have to contemplate so long to spend obscene amount of moolah on a personalised tour or not.
We stopped by the souvenir shop, and the bag was so cute! Got one for her since the zip to her Dora bag was damaged.
I really liked the orang utan’s plushie of the orang-utan holding on to its young. So sweet can?
Cos it was really dark and the tram was moving, it was a challenge to take any animal shots, except for the flying squirrels which pretty much gave me plenty of face and memories to chew on.
It was past midnight when we finally got back, and Minibean was getting increasingly grouchy cos she didn’t nap for the entire day.
She had her showers, went to bed, and I had a bit of my me-time catching up on the news and all, before retiring when it was almost dawn.
Spent a great deal of Sunday chilling and not wanting to do much.
Cuddled in bed with her, and with her kicking me in the face, as we tickled each other. She recently got a habit of kissing my knees, grabbing my hands and kissing them, and holding my face as she kisses me. Awww….
She was trying to snatch the camera away from me so she could take pictures like such:
I would like to think she has plenty of potential
The evening ended with me being pissed off with her for doing something she shouldn’t (and now I don’t even remember!), and I sulked and said I was going to be angry and I was not going to talk to her.
She then replied that she wasn’t going to talk to me, and packed her stuff and went over to my mum’s for her bedtime, sulking as badly as I was. Tsk tsk, such a feisty lil thing.
It has been an awesome weekend.
And now, I shall anticipate the new week with bated breath.
It is almost impossible not to end the post with a sigh, but I shall resist the temptation and not do so.
Love you, Minibean.
***
What other great way to end the weekend with the rain pelting down, making the night all the more cosy just when you are about to go to bed?
It is raining now.. and the way I like it
I have decided to open up my twitter account, though I had to censor some sensitive tweets to avoid getting myself into trouble (*sniggers evilly*).
Strangely, the move came after I find it a bit bored with twittering and have been pretty laggy with my twitter updates.
And I have added it into the side bar!
Feel free to follow me at www.twitter.com/scarletscandals
Wah I managed to add a Plug-in to WordPress myself, and am so proud of my tiny achievement (don’t start telling me how simple installing Plug-ins is!)
As long as I can remember, I have been singing Majulah Singapura with ample pride, and reciting the pledge with fist to my chest in both English and Mandarin (I prefer the mandarin without questions) without stopping to question myself if I should, or shouldn’t.
Even singing it during “We are Singapore“.
The moment I recited it when all of us flooded into Padang at the grand finale, randomly looking for a spot to stand, almost shouting out the pledge as we were overwhelmed with emotions, with tears in our eyes… I have never watched a National Day Parade the same way again.
I can sing ALL the patriotic songs, when I can’t even sing my country’s national anthemn.
I cheered for Team Singapore table tennis ladies during the Olympic with real zest, I believe they would have their hearts in this home as well.
No one ever believed I was from the “nextdoor neighbour” cos I am at Singaporean at heart as I can be.
The day I got my blue IC was perhaps one of the happiest day in my life, and I am just glad the little one can call this tiny island her home as she is nurtured into an impressive young lady.
Someday, maybe the pink will beckon.
Happy 44th Birthday, Singapore, I am just glad to be here, and to witness the hits and misses of your growth, just like those I went through during mine over the years in this country I have grown overly comfortable in.
Edit: 8.22pm is the pledge moment, maybe I will lead Minibean to say pledge chugeder with me!
It was a nice evening out with Minibean to the Night Safari, and I managed to duck a flying thingamajig whatchamacallit that was so clumsy that it probably thought I was the tree trunk it was supposed to fly to.
Ha! Lucky my moves were sleek and polished, and I saved it (and myself) from being injured severely.
But it wasn’t the only clumsy one.
Some lil’ one was at Toys ‘R’ Us at Paragon today and walked right straight into the metal queue pole.
And she didn’t cry, probably cos she is so used to it.
Oh dear.
Some genes she has gotten there.
Pictures soon when.. when.. when I finally start on Hanoi, Peining’s wedding and… those old debts I have yet to repay.
Just the other day, I was mentioning a few bags I would loooovvvvvvvvveee to own in this lifetime, and I insist that I have kept my “wants” to the minimum, so that a pauper like me could spend on other things in life I still can’t bear to forgo.
Unfortunately, the list grew exponentially over the past few days, and I blame it on the flu bug and excessive indulgence on codeine.
But.
I guess I am glad to say that as much as how some brands are really high on the “must have” list, I am quite particular about the designs, and they all must fit one criteria – I like or not. So that narrows the list by loads.
(Oh, I just found out I am a INFP, so I am a closeted idealist! So I don’t like then no need to talk already)
I mean style and preferences are subjective, right? Hermes (yes I am too lazy to type the nice “e”) is nice and screams prestige, but I guess the style and design just haven’t grew on me yet, so even if I do buy one, I might not even use it.
So it could be just any random brand, but it doesn’t have to be the most expensive in its brand, nor the limited edition in its range for me to fall for it.
And just so happen that, I am quite happy to just be lusting for one or two piece per brand… I not greedy! I insist! I can’t have don’t need every colour of one particular style cos my name is not Scarlett Gates nor am I having affair with someone of the same surname.
So, I shall be lusting for the below for my entire life and not knowing if I could ever fulfill my lust for them… tsk tsk, you know ah, some may even be past seasons, and I may never have the chance to own them again.
Le sigh…
And you might be able to spot the pattern of the kind of bags I go for..
1) Balenciaga Giant City Gold Hardware in White Pearl
This is perhaps my number 1 lust at the moment.
I am perhaps the clumsiest person you would ever meet, yet I am willing to discipline myself so I could take care of this white, precious darling.
I first saw it on an elegant, gorgeous taitai, who had this slung across her slender figure, while waiting for a cab at Ngee Ann City.
Before that, I had absolutely no clue of the Balenciaga craze amongst the female population, but that bag really looked so good on that lady that I etched the design of the bag into my mind and had been searching for it since that day.
Must be white. Must be gold hardware. Must be this shape and size.
2. Louis Vuitton Black Neo cabby GM
This was perhaps one of the very first bags I fell for some time ago, and I love the casual streak of it. Despite the fact that it is denim, it actually costs more expensive than the regular leather range of LV bags. During my recent London trip, pound was weak and it would mean a pretty good rate for this bag at Selfridges, yet I couldn’t find it within me to bring it home.
Now, I am really kicking myself for letting that opportunity to slip by.
3. Chanel Red Expandable Tote
Chanel is classy, and like most ladies believe, a Chanel completes a lady, though I ain’t sure I would go that far to endorse that statement, but of course I would love to have one, just for the vanity of it.
Besides the usual classic style that caught my fancy, this scarlet beauty is actually more my cup of tea, and I really, really like it.
4. Miu miu mouse colored gathered leather bag
I believe this was out a few seasons ago and might not be available anymore, but I really like the leather and the design of the bag.
Recently, someone saw a red one and sent a picture to me, but it just quite doesn’t cut it even though you would have realised the bags I go for are either, black, white or red… or uhm, monogrammed.
Oh well, so this is not a realistic lust.
5. Balenciaga First in Red
Actually, I didn’t think I would be so greedy to fall for 2 Balenciagas.
But I did!
I thought my faithfulness to the giant city was unwavered until I saw First, and the hot, flaming red that it came in. However, I believe this colour would be hard to find, and I am again, lusting for something that I might never get. Boohoo. Which is not too bad actually, cos it would save me quite some bucks!
6. YSL Muse bag
This is just a classic bag that looks so sleek, and never out of style. It is not usually something that I would like, but strangely, it draws me in a way I can’t describe.
The blue one looks good, so does the silver and white one. But the patent black looks really sexy. And I could personalise them too.
One thing about me is I only love bags which I could shoulder/sling, so this candidate came as a surprise, just like the next one.
7. Loewe
I would love to have a Loewe too, but I have not decided which design. Haha!
8. Chanel 2.55
This is as iconic as it can get.
And I think the champagne colour one looks really good too.
9) Prada
Some classic design will do. Am not choosy. Probably something in soft leather.
Wah, I actually have less than 10 on the list, I am superbly proud of myself.
You probably realise I like bags I can put a lot of things in and not dainty, small ones that you will have problems zipping up when you stuff a tampon into. And hey, it will be great if I can stuff Minibean (who is already not-so-mini) into and lug her around.
I am lazy too, so after hanging them on my arm, I would like my shoulder to uh, shoulder some of the burden too.
I like something classy and nothing too fanciful, which can also be versatile enough for casual days out.
I shall go suck on my thumb and daydream a little longer.
But gee, blogging about this actually makes me a little cheery even when I don’t own them!
I went shopping today!
I guess it must be an act of fate to feel like buying something but then yet couldn’t find anything that I would love to buy.
But what really brings me joy is the copy of National Geographic that I bought with sinking Venice on its cover.
Okay, what brought me joy isn’t the sinking fact, but just because, Venice.
Reading me-time!
On Sunday night, I was almost in a trance after I took my medication at almost 1am, yet it was almost 6am when I finally dozed off.
It was an agonising wait for the sleepybug to claim me.
It was only after 2 hours I had to wake up to head back to work, and during the meeting, an email popped up.
“Are you still sick? Go home. You are excused.”
From my boss.
I kept saying I was fine, and that I would head back once I finished my stuff. I muffled my urge to cough and I am quite certain I sustain quite a fair bit of internal injury already.
Until one point I cannot stand it anymore, I walked out of the boardroom and cough for 5 full minutes before going back into the room.
Over a break, my colleague asked, “You having a flu? You talking louder than usual! Your ears must be blocked.”
Wooops.
Then, they headed out for lunch, and I took the chance to join because I needed to ask a fellow co-worker for some confirmation so I could proceed with my stuff.
So I finally got it over lunch.
But over lunch, someone casually asked, “Have you gotten yourself tested?”
“Uhm.. nope.”
“Do you have fever?” my colleague had his hand out to touch me on my forehead. Hohoho. I took 3 fever medication in the morning when I had my temperature taken at 38.
“Uh.. yah… but now no more!”
You could see everyone at the table curling their shoulders away from me.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one at the table who was having flu, my boss’ boss too.
Then, my boss came up to me after lunch and had a strange grin on his face. “Eh, since everyone so sensitive, go home lah..”
Okok, I go back office, finish up some stuff and I go home.
Then, occasionally when he walked past my workstation, he would be like “Why you haven’t gone home? Go home! Wait my boss scold me you know!”
And he would laugh like a hyena, which is his usual style.
At 5pm, he said, “Eh! You still here!”
I joked to him to give me half an hour more, and he gave me the very-duh look.
By the time I finally finish everyone, it was 6pm.
I left and didn’t join the rest for dinner and drinks. Sulks. But I seriously didn’t think I would be welcomed, and for the safety concerns of others, I left.
Ended up having Buah Kulak for dinner(very yum!).
I didn’t manage to sleep till it was almost 3 plus am I think. I woke up having a worse cough and a worse sore throat. And I think with the way I was coughing, my colleagues would have called for the ambulance to have me quarantined, so I utilise my MC(I was given MC to cover till today) and stayed home and got some much needed rest.
Did some packing up of my room, ironing, washing up and mini-vacuuming.
Today, received an email from a colleague to announce that he had gotten the flu bug.
Woops.
I think NOT ME!!
Not me right?!
Then again, the flu started from one side of the office, then was passed to everyone and anyone.
Very potent! We got super-carrier in the office.
I think if it still doesn’t get better, I might get cruxified in the office soon, cos I got the worst bout of it.
Seriously huh, I think even if H1N1, people also recovered after so long liao right?!
