Our schedule seems so packed...

With all these upcoming events, Hubby and I really have to manage our time well...

9 December 2008 - Food tasting at Fullerton! Mom-in-law and Aunt-in-law will be coming over in the afternoon to be in time for the food tasting which will take place in the Grand Ballroom at 7pm. Hehe... I hope the food will be great! :)

11 December 2008 - 过大礼 day for our wedding. After the traditional ceremony, we've got to drive back to Malaysia for Hubby to pray to his ancestors. Hubby and I also have to look for a good photographer and make-up artist for our BIG DAY on 3 Jan 09.

20 December 2008 - X'mas party at Winkie and Joe's place.

25 December 2008 - Thinking of having a small-scale X'mas party for a few close friends and relatives! :) Any opportunity to pop the bubbly (Asti!) would be good.

31 December 2008 - Going to Kluang to start wedding preparations.

1 January 2009 - Thinking of going with my 姐妹s to some small quaint towns around Kluang (either Malacca or Batu Pahat) just before my wedding.

2 January 2009 - Friends and relatives arrive in Kluang. Got to make sure everyone is well-accommodated (we booked 2 houses!) and settled in. :) Buffet dinner will be served.

3 January 2009 - Our WEDDING DAY! :) Super loooong day and night, with the wedding dinner held at a 4-star hotel in Kluang (it's the most expensive restaurant there already... -_-ll).

5 January 2009 - After staying in Kluang for a couple of days (to rest ourselves!), we will return to work.. in Singapore!

10 January 2009 - Hubby and I will be staying in a villa at D'Kranji Farm Resort! A weekend stay is $280! :) But of course, I was really lucky 'cos I won it as a lucky draw prize during URA's D&D. Hubby and I will love the quiet, natural landscapes there. We went there a couple of weekends ago, and he really loved being away from the bustling city! (He said that it was great that we couldn't see a HDB block in sight. -_-)

18 January 2009 - Our wedding dinner with 35 tables (minimally for now) at Fullerton Hotel! We will stay in the Loft Suite for 2 nights before returning to work on the 20th.

25 January 2009 - Going back with Hubby for Chinese New Year... It's my first CNY away from Daddy and Mommy. Feeling abit sad that I won't be with them. *sigh* Will be in Malaysia until 1 February 2009. Taking a few days of leave here...

6 February 2009 - Flying to Macau, Hong Kong and Zhu Hai with Daddy, Mommy and Hubby! Hehehe... I'm pretty excited about it!

----------

I haven't quite planned what I want to do after February, but it's likely that I will go and visit Wei Ling soon. I really miss her and want to see what she's doing over there. Mommy suggests that Hubby and I go for our honeymoon in March 2009, but I haven't quite decided yet 'cos I was thinking of going to UK in July so that I can attend Agnes' wedding at the same time (hehe)! Have to really think it through abit more!

I miss you, Ling. I needed to talk to you just now, but couldn't get through your phone...

My new Coach!

Whooooopeeeeeeeee! My newest Coach addition is here! In black and gold, my Amanda Satin satchel which costs US$290+ (inclusive of taxes). Dearest Xinmin bought it with the currency converter so I've gotta pay her S$460 for the bag! It costs $605 in Singapore can?! Hehehe... Hubby has agreed to pay for it as a pre-wedding gift. So sweet hor? :) Will post pictures tomorrow!

Over the weekend.

On Saturday, I woke up (relatively) early in the morning to go and renew my passport which was going to expire next March (2009)! The reasons why I need to renew my passport are because:-

1. My wedding in Malaysia, which will be held in a 4-star hotel in Kluang, will take place on 3 Jan 09 and therefore, I need to get my passport renewed to make sure I can get married properly!


2. Being the 'official' daughter-in-law of the Wong family, it will be my first year as Mrs Wong to return to Hubby's family during Chinese New Year.


3. I am flying to Macau, Hong Kong, Zhu Hai next February!!! *whee!* With Hubby, Mommy and Daddy!


4. My honeymoon will only be held next June/July when my pursestrings aren't so tight! *hahaha*
   

I can't wait for Xinmin to come back from the States... The poor girl was so nice to ask me whether I wanted anything from the States and naturally... I asked her to get me one of the latest design from Coach! The Amanda Collection! *whee* Coach is my favourite for now 'cos it's cheap and nice! And of course, the quality's not bad. Haha... That's all I can afford for now though, 'cos Hubby and I am paying alot for our wedding... Here's like a minimum breakdown for the wedding:-

1. Bridal package - $3499 + $3000 (for the photos) + $200 (for taking the gowns and suits twice)= $6499


2. Traditional ceremony - $133 for the wedding stuff (potty, bathtub, cups, towels, lights, teacup set, fan, stickers, candles, etc)


3. Printing of wedding invites - $200


4. Wedding dinner at Fullerton - $1300 per table... and we have 35 tables! *eeks* $45,500!!! (This has got to be the scariest!)


5. Wedding dinner at Prime City Hotel (Kluang) - RM688 per table... but luckily we only have about 20 tables 'cos most of my relatives are having the dinner here. That comes up to RM13,760 still!

Still got many, many things that I haven't paid for... like the photography/videography... A lot of things need money!

Anyway, after I went to renew my passport, I went to Fullerton with Daddy to choose the wedding invites that I want! :) After which, we headed home to wait for Mom and Hubby so that we can go for the buffet dinner at Noblehouse at UIC building. It was a treat from my god-sister (who's Huiyi's real sister)! There were 12 of us, namely:

• Grace
• Ray (Grace's boyfriend)
• My uncle
• My aunt
• My dad
• My mom
• Hubby
• Me!
• Win
• Faith
• Ming Yao (Faith's boyfriend)
• Angel

12 of us... So it definitely wasn't cheap! About $50 per person for the ala-carte buffet? But Ray treated us (and of course my mommy gave her god-daughter an 'appropriate' angpow)! ;p I love my god-sister (who is also my cousin) and her sisters (my cousins) alot... :) And I'm glad I can always make them laugh...

Anyway, on Sunday, I went with Hubby to Julia Wedding News to choose our bridal gowns and suits... and I found my dream dress!!! Just the cost of the materials of the dress alone would be about... $5,000!!! It all due to the Swaroski crystals and real pearls that are sewn on French lace! *woohoo* And it has got a loooooooooooong train! Too bad photo-taking aren't allowed in the bridal shop, but no worries, those that are invited to my wedding will get to see my gown in its full glory. :D

Okay, gotta scoot off to bed. Good night! :)

Nothing much to blog about...

I realise that I haven't been updating for a looong time. I've been really busy! Have been on course for half of October with Planning Foundation Course (PFC) which saw me staying late in the office (almost midnight when I left the office). But it was a great time to bond with all my other colleagues who were working as hard. :) We finally presented our findings to CEO on 6th Nov 08. :D

Earlier this month, I also had to attend the MND induction programme and had an opportunity to pose some questions to PS(MND). Guess that's the advantage of working in the civil service; it gives you the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the country. :)

On the "recreation" side of work, we had our bi-annual D&D last Saturday... and PPD got 2nd place for the Best Urban Myth (the skit/performance)!!! This is a tremendous feat, 'cos usually we get last place (out of 5 divisions). So naturally, we were all very happy (so say the very least). I was the dance instructor to teach Eng Hwee (my director) the dance moves... the John Travolta's Saturday Night Fever (Michelle, Jolene - imagine Eng Hwee dance!)!! My director (who is currently Assistant Chief Planner) will be Chief Planner in Jan 09. So we will not be seeing him at PPM anymore. :( He's been a wonderful boss, so we'll miss him! :)

Had a few purchases this month, but they were all domestic electrical products! Haha.. I bought vacuum cleaners for the house, as well as a vacuum cleaner that can be used (only) in the car. You just have to charge it... Took about $300 out of my pocket, but luckily I had $200 capitavouchers to help offset! The $200 vouchers were courtesy of my company! We were 'rewarded' because URA got the SQA award! :D

Bought tickets for Dad, Mom, Hubby and I for a short (6-day) getaway in Feb 09 (another 3 months away!!!)... Will share with you all on our holiday destination the next time when I blog... after I straighten out our itinerary! No time to plan, but must book the hotel rooms soon.

My wedding is coming up! At Fullerton! I realised that alot of people liked the hotel rooms in Fullerton. :) Guess I'm lucky in that my wedding can be held at such a lovely hotel, and Hubby and I can get to reside in the Loft Suite (2-storey suite)! Not many people can afford to stay in there just for the fun of it (Hubby and I included). So it's probably really a once in a lifetime thing for us (unless Hubby becomes richer next time).

Okay, going to watch Channel 55!

P.S. I miss Wei Ling very much, especially after she called me from China today (cos she thought something happened to me)... I miss you so much, dear!

I know Hubby's stressed because the economy isn't looking very fantastic. So I have promised that I will not anyhow spend money anymore.

Anyway... I bought 4 books for $48 at BORDERS! Those trashy romance novels. But I paid an additional $20 so that I can get the BORDERS card which gives me a 10% on all books! Hehe.. I immediately got $5.30 of that $20 back..

Love reading... Love my family... and of course, my darling Hubby!

Hubby and I...

Some people are generally very lucky when it comes to love, and I must say, I am very, very lucky. :) Hubby loves me very much.

Last night, I fell asleep on the sofa, so Hubby picked me up and carried me off to bed. :) So I had a very, very good night's sleep.

I love my hubby.

Many, many things have happened...

1. Ling and TCM both returned to Singapore! Met up with them on Saturday!
2. Hubby finally got his blue I.C. already! Celebrated last night at Tung Lok again (getting abit boring)!
3. I felt depressed last week! Snapped at Hubby for no rhyme or reason, but now I know he loves me to bits!

Can't really remember what happened through these weeks. Been leaving work rather early these days (never staying beyond 9pm), but still feeling lethargic.

Friends and Acquaintances

There's always a fine line between the two. When you thought that a person was just an acquaintance, she suddenly became a friend. The converse is true: Just when you thought that she's your friend, she turns out not to be.

I was feeling very upset on Friday evening. But I didn't want to call Wei Ling. Not because she isn't my best friend, not because she wouldn't be there for me. But simply because I didn't want to burden her because she's got alot more to bear in China. :) I miss you so much, my dear!

Friday morning, I dropped an email to my friends asking if they would be free for a cuppa or for an evening of shopping. No one except Shin Bin and Vern replied, so I took it that everyone was really busy. But... one of my friends followed up to send emails to two of the friends that I had emailed earlier in the day. Excluding me. I must admit, I was very upset and somewhat hurt. It had me wondering if I had done anything wrong to cause any misunderstanding.

It bugged me the whole weekend. I called Maymay out because she's my kai xin guo! So we went shopping at Orchard... We bought quite abit of stuff:-

1. A dark green MNG top - $50 (for Gillian)
2. A white MNG top - $30 (for Gillian)
3. A grey knitted top - $75 (for Gillian)
4. Black dress from Far East - $32.90 (for Gillian)
5. Hula & Co. dress - $39.90 (for Maymay)
6. Shiseido Supplist Poreless Foundation - $54 (for Gillian)
7. Shiseido Case P (for my foundation powder) - $23 (for Gillian)
8. Shiseido Pre-Makeup Base - $45 (for Gillian)
9. 500g Famous Amos Cookies (buy 400g get 100g free!) - $16.80 (for Gillian and Maymay)
10. Fasio Peacock Lashes Mascara - $21.90 (for Maymay)
11. Fasio Mascara base - $11.90 (for Maymay)
12. Point Makeup removal (2 bottles) - $10.40 (one each for Gillian and Maymay)

I think that's about it... Let's see, what's the total damage: $410.80/-. And I thought I spent more than $500! Hahaha... Blur me... -_-ll

Anyway, Maymay and I will be going for another round of shopping tomorrow evening. I need to get away... from my stifling working environment... :)

Thank God for Jolene, June, Agnes... They have made my Wei Ling-less life alot better... :) And of course, (I didn't forget her la) Michelle! Stop your PMS-ing and let's go hang out at California Fitness! ;p

P.S. Ling, I get jealous when you ask Dap to take leave, never ask me to take leave to hang out! *bleah* I miss you.. and see you tomorrow! ;p

I used to spend my time listening to you, no matter what, but now I won't bother. That's my character... I'm sorry...

Things that are meant to happen, will happen.

Another one of those dear interns have left URA! This little girl (anyone below age 20 is little) is really quite sweet and pretty... I keep telling her that if I have a daughter, I want my girl to look (and be) like her! Maybe minus the laziness. ;p Just wanted to say "Hi!" to Clara here. :D Will upload our pictures soon (when my lazy bones allow me to).

13 September 2008 (Saturday)
Anyway... I had a very terrible Saturday. Sigh. In the morning, I woke up earlier so that I can go to my 'old' house at Geylang to pack up the remaining stuff. We've rented out the place for $3,000 a month (only enough to help Dad pay for the housing instalments for this place as well as his car instalments) and they've taken over the place yesterday (i.e. Monday).

After that, I drove to City Plaza to get some Malaysian ringgit. The exchange rate is really good, at SGD$1 = RM2.395. Anyway, I changed S$1,607.50 to spend over the weekend (only 2 days!!!). I'm still feeling a little heartache.

Then, I drove to Woodlands to pick May, Jia Mommy and Bernard kor so that we can view their new place at Serangoon. They bought it for $365,000, but I think it's a worthy investment 'cos the flat is just a stone's throw from Rosyth. You can walk there in... 2 minutes?

Following which, I drove them all back to Woodlands (except May). Maymay followed me to pick my mommy up... This was where it was so terrible. I got into an accident when Daddy's car kissed an Audi. Haha... This is my first accident, so I'm still trying to get over it. Hmmm... Must be all those compliments about me being such a good driver that has me all swell-headed. Anyway, Dad has brought the car to the garage today already. :)

Saturday night was spent playing mahjong where I won $134 worth in chips! But we were only play at half the stakes, so I won $67 (after dividing my winnings into 2). I gave Maymay $100 for this month... I really love my little girlgirl. :)

14 September 2008 (Sunday)
Happy Birthday, my dearest Hubby! Hubby and I woke up early to go to Malaysia. We were going to his house for Mid-Autumn Festival. Reached there in time for dinner... And my dear mother-in-law had cooked ALL my favourite dishes... Heh. Even Hubby's sister was saying that it's so unfair that she cooks only the food that Hubby and I like. But I know she's just teasing 'cos she is so super nice to me too. I am indeed fortunate. :)

We hung out and played with lanterns the whole evening... The children had a great time, and I had a wonderful time too. :)

Update later, cos I'm going home now! :D

Happy!!!

Just had dinner with Hubby at Town Restaurant, Fullerton Hotel. The food variety was really limited, but the service was great. They changed the cutlery so many times! And not to say, they kept re-filling my glass of orange juice! And their orange juice is the real type of juice! Freshly squeezed! And the bouquet of roses (especially for me!) was so lovely! :)

And... the happiest thing of today... is that Hubby is now a Singapore PR!!! Yahooooooooooooooo! :D

Short Updates (in general)!

I know I haven't been blogging very often! :) To all who are concerned, please be assured that I've been fine! Alive and kicking. ;p

Let me see what I've been up to since I last blogged...

1. I was really busy preparing for my housewarming party which was held on 27th July 2008! Had to make sure that all the necessary things are moved from my 'old' home to my 'new' lovenest! :) Least to say, I had to prepare the catering, the drinks, invites, etc. all in less than a week's time!
2. Having moved into my new place, I've been really busy with housework and the decor... And of course, adding new things to our home... Things like our newest Pioneer Home Theatre System! Hehe... We also bought good microphones so that we can sing Karaoke!
3. Huiyi, Angel, Maymay, Jia Mommy... all came over to bake with my new built-in oven! Hehe... I think every home should have a built in oven... It makes the kitchen all the more prettier! Thanks to Winkie for showing us how pretty it can be... And the tasty food you can make with the oven!
4. Maymay and I made muffins... Hubby said they tasted great! Mommy ate... 10!! -_-ll
5. Then there were many farewells during this period of time too... Eugene's (which I had to miss), Damien's (I went for this!), Jon's (Michelle and I went as the Invisible Duo), Su-Jan's...
6. Daddy bought a new phone at Parkway PArade... Nokia E66... And I bought myself a novel at BORDERS...
7. And of course... WORK! It's been really hectic...
8. Sweet Pei Jie gave me a treat on 5 September 2008 (Friday) at Bruswiet (can't really remember the name AGAIN!). I know it was quite ex (like close to $60?) for just the two of us... Thanks girl!
9. I bought mooncakes from Fairmont (the former Raffles de Plaza branch). There were 4 flavours (Bailey's, Rum & Raisin, Champagne Truffle, Strawberry Chocolate) in the snow skins, all in the small sizes.. It costs about $48? But it's not very fantastic... to me at least. So I shall go along with Yiting's recommendation... which is the one at Raffles Hotel! Will get them and let you know if they're any good. And... when I bought the mooncakes, one person flashed to my mind immediately... And it's you, dear... :)

Had my bridal photoshoot today! Was at Julia Wedding News at 9.30am this morning and we only completed the shoot at 8pm!! I changed my hairstyles so many times... Once for the wedding gown, another for the evening gown, again for the kua (the cute, cute chinese ancient costume), and finally for the outdoor wedding gown!

For our outdoor shots, we took pictures at the National Stadium, Bidadari Park, Fullerton Hotel, Singapore River, Asian Civilisation Museum... We took the most pictures at Fullerton! :) I love colonial stuff... That was why I held my ROM at The Arts House... The beautiful architecture... I guess you can say I'm very sentimental! At Fullerton, we took pictures on the staircases, the exterior and alot, alot of pictures in the Loft Suite! I guess I'm really lucky that I can host my wedding dinner there... :) Will share with all of you my pictures when I get them!

And yes... Happy Birthday to me too! Mommy, Daddy and Hubby bought me a cake from this neighbourhood bakery and it tastes so good! It's a mango cake! :D One of the tastier ones I've had... except for the one that I ordered from Prima Deli for my 21st birthday (that was a gigantic 5 kg cake shaped in a key!)... That one was super tasty! Spending my birthday taking wedding photos makes it even more special... and having dinner with my loved ones... is like the icing on the cake! :)

Buffet dinner at Town Restaurant, Fullerton Hotel tomorrow evening... I hope the food is good! :) I'm looking forward to the surprise... :)

Random..

I know I haven't been updating for a long time. To say the least, I am rather busy with my work, with family as well as my new home.

Work hasn't been quite so smooth-sailing. I must say that I'm starting to dread coming to work, and I guess I can explain why. But given that this is a public blog, I'm afraid I can't say much. All I can say is that I've been having depressing thoughts and it's really affecting both my mental and physical health.

Mommy has been hospitalised. She has undergone the operation, and is still recovering from it at KK Hospital. Thanks to all who has showed their concern. We really appreciate it.

I have to go back to work now, but perhaps I will blog either tomorrow at my new place while waiting for the furniture to arrive, or maybe when I am in a better frame of mind.

Happily married still...

I used to be very envious of couples who can stay happily married for ages, even when they have children and the lives start to turn really hectic with work and family. I thought it wouldn't be possible for Hubby and I, 'cos after all, we were together for such a long time before we finally got married. :) We both thought it would be a natural process for us to get married, and I guess I've always thought right from the start that we would be married some day. And of course, we did. :)

Hubby is a rather responsible man (most of the time, anyway. haha.), so he tries to be there for me all the time. I must admit that he has done so for all the darkest periods of my life. Today marks the 7-year-8-month of us being together, and it is also our seventh month as husband and wife. Although the novelty of being husband and wife hasn't really worn off (as in, we still feel rather newly-wed), we have more or less settled into living together as a married couple. And I am happy with him. :) Despite our mini squabbles every now and then. *heh* Ling and Maymay probably know exactly what my relationship with Hubby is like. -_-ll

This evening, we went up to our new home with Mommy and Daddy, and the flooring of the entire unit is already done up! But as it was too dark, we could only see it in dim light, which is not conducive for photo-taking at all! *sigh* But no worries, I will update on it really soon! *heh*

We really need to look for furniture! :) Furniture shopping, anyone? Winkie dear has previously very nicely volunteered to accompany me to shop for furniture! So nice of her... anyone else interested to join us? ;p

I realised that I didn't post up any of my ROM invitation card photos for viewing! And my invitation cards were slightly darker in tone, and didn't really show the type of quality photos that were taken... I guess it's because it was done through mass printing, and there's a limit in costs too. :) So here're some of the pictures we took at the outdoor shoot for our ROM invites. ;)

Random update

Wei Ling is back! :D And she's been back since last Thursday! So happy, even though we haven't met up yet. We're going to have lunch on Wednesday! :D I miss her so, so very much. *hugs*

*****

Last Friday, Jolene and I went to Sushi Tei at Raffles City. She waited for me to finish my work and discussion before leaving the office together. We left the office at 8+ on a Friday evening! *sobsob* We ate a total of $52.26 for two ladies!!! Scary, right?! -_-ll Here's a breakdown of what we had:-

• Hot green tea
• Chawamushi
• Golden Roll
• 2 Garlic Fried Rice
• Ika tempura
• Some sashimi dish which I cannot remember the name

Can't get all the food into the picture, but these are some of the dishes we had...

I liked this Ika tempura thing, but it is a tad too sweet. Weird to have it sweet, when it is supposed to be salty like calamari! -_-ll

Doesn't seem alot, but don't know why we ordered so much when we cannot finish everything. *haha* Then we had a looooong walk and an even loooooooooooonger chat at Fullerton Hotel. :D I really enjoyed the chat session with you, girl! :)

Saturday was spent nua-ing at home, before I picked Mommy up and we headed for our new place to match the kitchen tiles, to the kitchen cabinet, to the table top. *sigh* So many things to choose! Here are some of the pictures I took when I went up with Darling some weekend ago...

Here's my main door. Although it seems like there is no major change (yet), we'll be changing the main gate (of course! the current one is so tiny and creaky!) and the flooring won't look like that anymore... It will be laminated flooring (the type that looks like parquet, but the cheaper version... haha..) through out my living room, dining room and all 3 bedrooms (and my store too!).

And here are my new windows! I changed them... If you look back at my previous entry on my home, you'll see they used to be really old! Now they are the new sliding kind... And when you pull all of them back, you get a really wide open space! :D I like...Here's the entrance to my kitchen. If you recall, there used to be a curved archway, but Hubby didn't like it, so he had it plastered straight! And the guy is one of the painters at work on a Sunday! :sThe curved archway for the corridor leading to our bedrooms is also gone ...

Here are some pictures of my incomplete kitchen! The grey parts will have tiles on them... You know, like those tiles in between the kitchen cabinets? Here's looking from my kitchen towards my living room... The colour of my living room looks yellow here... *haha*
And no, my kitchen walls aren't grey. This is just the plastering of my kitchen walls... Now it's all painted apple white (that's white with a slight green tinge!) and it's quite nice...
There's Hubby looking at our common toilet...
Are my toilet tiles nice? :D I chose the floral motif! *hehe* I liked its slightly reflective prints... My new doors! I chose the design and colours! Tell me if it's nice? ;p And that's our bedroom door! Looking from the bedroom door into our bedroom...
Then turning right slightly, you'll see my dark toilet (cos no lights installed yet ma...) without doors...
I really like my door... Hahaha...
This is my mom's room! My oven, stove and cookerhood are stored here temporarily...
I'm pretty excited about our new home! We'll probably be getting the furniture this weekend! My very own home... Honestly speaking, I have never been very excited about moving to new homes 'cos I never worried about getting a room of my own (being an only child, I usually get 2 bedrooms to myself. haha). But this is different! This is my very own home!! ;p And although it may be old on the outside (25 years old ma), the inside will look very new! Hahaha...

*****

Hubby and I will be going for dim sum at Raffles Hotel with Mommy and Daddy... Highly recommended by my colleagues, so we're going to try it out... :) Will share on whether it's nice or not... :D

*****

2 Fridays ago, I went KTV-ing with Siying and Jolene! Here is a super unglam picture of all of us looking super tired on a Friday evening!

*****

Okay, gotta do more work now!

My mommy is home!

Dear people!

I am back at work today after 2 days of urgent leave. :) Mommy has is now at home, and the How family (and 1 Wong) would like to thank all for the concern and regards for my mommy. :)

Thanks for being so kind and asking after my mom! Love ya all.

P.S. Wei Ling is coming back for a week! I intend to bug her for dinner most of the time... That is... if she has the time for me! ;p

A horrid weekend.

To all whom have called or sms-ed to show your concern:

Thank you for calling to ask after my mom. :) Although she is still kept under observation as the doctors are puzzled over her severe abdominal pains, she wants me to assure everyone that she is feeling better.

Special thanks to (not in terms of priority or preference):-

(a) Hubby - For ferrying mommy to the hospital and trying to stay awake with me while waiting to see if she could go home.

(b) May's Mommy - For calling and chatting with my mommy even though she wasn't feeling well too. I love her so much too! *hugs*

(c) Huiyi - For calling in the morning to see if my mommy is okay, and for asking after me too.

(d) May - For calling in the evening, wanting to know if she could call my mom to send her her regards.

(e) 3rd Aunt - For calling me the minute she knew that my mommy was hospitalised. Thank you for wanting to visit her.

(f) May's Daddy - For calling in the evening the minute he knew my mommy was hospitalised. Thank you so much for the concern!

(g) Michelle (cousin-in-law) - For calling last night when she knew mommy was in the A & E ward.

(h) Michelle (pinkchocs) - For sending her regards when I told her that my mommy was in hospital.

(i) Wei Ling - For asking after my mom. :)

Thanks for showing that you care. That's all I ask for. Will scoot off to bed now! Lots of things waiting for me to do tmr... :) I miss mommy...

My cubicle!

I'm back in the office now, being on MP08 exhibition duty. Although it's a Saturday, and that I have to spend my Saturday afternoon in the office, I honestly don't really mind. Hubby is working, so is Mommy, and Daddy is at our new house surveying the progress of our renovation works! *hehe* So I'd rather come back to work (which I will get half a day time-off in return) and do something more reproductive (although blogging doesn't exactly constitute being productive at work). ;)

Some time back, I had taken a few pictures of my cubicle at work. Looking at some of the pictures my friend had posted, I realise that we planners do have a quite a luxurious space in the office. :) Here're some pictures of my cube (my very own, we don't share with anyone else)!

Here's looking left after stepping into my cube (the picture above)! The partitions are taller than I am... so the only person whose head can be seen popping above the partition would be Martin (and he's more than 1.8m tall!).

Turning towards to the right after taking first picture..

Turning right somemore... You can see my extra chair for visitors to my cube (and my many and messy papers!)...Turning right somemore... is the wall of my cubicle with many papers stuck on them too...

Turning right again, you will see my cupboard and the opening to my cubicle...

The cube outside my cube is Wan Lin's! And the door leads to my boss' room... I like my cube very much!!! :) It's really exclusive...

I cried. I can't bear the thought of her in pain. I'm so useless. I can't do anything for her. I really can't. What a useless person I am. Why her? I'm so angry.

On a different note, I was looking at my old pictures and thus decided to randomly blog because of this picture.

We were so happy then. Carefree, without any worries at all... I miss Maymay and Wei Ling.

Over the weekend...

I had a really fruitful weekend! The weekend started well...

Friday, 6 June 2008

The last day of the work week ended on an excellent note. :) It started with PPDRM in the morning, where I didn't stutter and had managed to get CP to agree to whatever my recommendation was. I guess it's sessions like this which makes all my hard work feel worthwhile. *heh* The review really went quite smoothly!

In the late afternoon, I went for the 2nd day of my U-Pop (3-day orientation session by my Company) where we headed for the Asian Civilisation Museum, The Arts House (my ROM place! I even went up to the Blue Room again just to relive the perfect memories!) and we even had an entire bumboat for our group.We toured the Singapore River in the bumboat and enjoyed having the Head of Heritage Studies and an Executive Architect sharing their in-depth knowledge with us. We passed by lovely conserved units along Robertson Quay, Collyer Quay and Boat Quay... We also saw the lovely Arts House and Fullerton Hotel, which were located on opposite sides of the river. To think that my ROM and wedding venue are both connected by a bridge! Seems so fitting and pretty... :)

Me and my friends at work! I'm so glad to have such wonderful colleagues who are always so nice to me. :)

Some of the views of the lovely architecture along the Singapore River... Including my hotel banquet place: Fullerton Hotel! ;)
My colleagues at UPOP! Picture taken in the Arts House... :)

I was in the Cabinet Room (one of the rooms in the Arts House) and seated in our MM's former seat! *woohoo!*


Some more sights along the river and of our hosts Kelvin and Kimmy! The bumboat is quite nice... :)

After the U-Pop session which ended about 5.45pm, Damien, Jolene and I made our way to Dhoby Ghaut where we met up with Michelle dear to have dinner at Ichiban Sushi (we were so hungry we didn't take pictures, girl!). I had my usual Chicken Katsu Curry (JC1), and was super-duper full! The three of us then shopped around in Carrefour where Michelle bought Hoegarden beer to bring to Winkie and Joe's house. Damien, Jolene and I shared to buy them 2 bottles of Asti (my favourite wine, which I think Michelle is also hooked to now). The four of us then made our way to Novena where Winkie and Joe resided in an apartment nearby.

The house party was great! Joe handed me a wine glass almost immediately when I reached their lovely home. -_-ll And it was Asti (my absolute favourite bubbly)! And Joe was very sweet to say that they had stocked up on many bottles of Asti because I liked it (and I really do love it). So nice of them, the fabulous hosts! I think they opened at least 3 bottles of Martell Asti... *hehe* I drank about 3 glasses! Then Joe introduced me to this other German wine (orange in colour), which Michelle and I both didn't really like. I thought it was still quite sweet, but after tasting Asti, nothing comes absolutely close! Winkie baked chicken, pasta, mixed a salad, baked muffins and even bought donuts! It was a really good spread with good drinks... *heh*

We had the bug-eating session again and this time I really had to take a bug (again!). *sigh* Anyway, I had way too much alcohol and was a little high. The bug-eating was a forfeit! We were playing Pictionary Mania (a really fun game when you have very enthusiatic players!) and we had about 8 players per team. After Pictionary Mania, I played tai di with Joe, Stephanie and Adrian. *sigh* I'm obviously not very good at that! Had to drink a total of 6 shots of dry gin (no mixers, okay?!) but was very fortunate to have Jun Han and Jolene take 1 shot each for me. Thanks so much peeps!

The 'losing' team and their super big winner Eugene Quek! For being so brave to drink the 'soup' that the silkworms were in...

The REAL winning team! We are the winners of the Pictionary Mania game! Heh... Although I still had to take a bug. :(

Hubby and Daddy came to pick me up around 12 midnight and we gave Michelle a lift home! Had a really fun Friday night... :)

Saturday, 7 June 2008
Woke up early (for a Saturday) at about 10am, with Hubby waking me up. *heh* I love mornings with him waking me up! I don't really understand why though. -_-ll Maybe it's just love. *haha* Daddy had bought breakfast for all of us, after fetching Mommy to work. So the three of us enjoyed the breakfast before heading out to Balestier to choose the tiles for our new home. I took about 1 hour plus just to choose 5 tiles! *wahaha* I guess I'm quite picky when it comes to my new home. Got caught in the rain when moving from the car to the shop, 'cos it wasn't sheltered and I felt too lazy to get the umbrella (sound irrelevant at this point in time, but will explain a little more later).

After the tile choosing session, we headed for Sembawang to get the rice dumplings from Uncle Dick (Daddy's very good friend). Thanks for the lovely dumplings! :) Hubby and Daddy then drove to our new home to discuss the installation of our air-con units (no worries, my dear friends, it'll be like my current house in Geylang with units in all the rooms and the living/dining rooms as well). They dropped me off at Michelle's house before going over, and I arrived at her house only to find her not at home. She had gone out to fetch Kai Ling and Siying! *sigh* But I entertained myself with her cousins Timothy and his sister! *heh* They're quite cute...

When Michelle, Kai Ling and Siying finally returned, we had lunch! Fried mee, compliments of Michelle's maid. And it was cooked restaurant-style, with condiments (spring onions, sliced chili, etc) on top! It had prawns, chicken, vegetables, fishcake, etc and was really quite tasty! Thanks for the lunch, girl! Kai Ling had just returned from BKK, and had really helped me to buy my favourite potato chips! The Seafood Mayonaise flavoured Lays potato chips! She bought 4 packets, but we opened one during our mahjong session. *heh* And yes, we were at Michelle's house for mahjong session! Didn't win, and 'paid' for my lunch and drink... Lost $2.80, but had so much fun that I didn't mind the loss at all... We should have more mahjong sessions to catch up with each other!

Hubby came to pick me up at about sevenish, for dinner. We gave Siying and Kai Ling a lift out from Michelle's landed housing estate (;p), and then headed to Thomson for dinner! We had Chinese styled dinner with roasted chicken, char siew, etc. Then I had wanted to head over to Woodlands, but when I reached their car park, I started to feel really bad. Like I had a bad case of chills, and I started to quake from inside out. Hubby had wanted to go out with his friends to have a catching-up session, but seeing me so ill, he didn't have the heart to go out anymore. So we went straight home where I put on my thickest winterwear socks and pyjamas. I then proceeded to huddle under my comforter without my air-con on! *haha* That was the extent to which I was cold. -_-ll Anyway, Hubby took care of me and made sure I was fine. And now I'm perfectly alright! :D

Sunday, 8 June 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAI LING!

I woke up earlier than Hubby, and helped him to prepare his breakfast of rice dumplings. Heh, after which, we gave Mommy a ride to Hougang where she had an appointment with her hairdresser. Hubby and I then headed to Tampines Ikea where we shopped from 2 plus in the afternoon to 7 in the evening! But it was quite fruitful, 'cos we kinda figured what kind of furniture we would want for our new house! *hehehe*

After that, Hubby and I headed home before he went out to meet up with his friends. Daddy and I then drove to Woodlands to pick Mommy up. We then headed home! (Usual stuff..)

Okay, gotta stop here now! Will put in the pictures soon... (I do notice that I say that often, but don't really put them up... hahaha)

It is all a mistake...

I've always thought that I didn't really like her. Yes, I really did think that I didn't like her although I couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was that made me not like her. But after some time, after reading her blog, I realised that both of us can be quite alike in certain ways. For example: we both like spending as much time as possible with our other half; are willing to show through little means and ways that we love our boyfriend/husband alot; somehow argue with our partners every now and then even though we love them alot; enjoy travelling with our loved one; enjoy hanging out with friends, etc. If we had met through different circumstances, I'd probably even like her as a very good friend. That much I'm sure, 'cos she's quite a candid person.

But I realised today, after such a loooooong time, that I do know why I thought I didn't like her. It was because of our mutual 'friend'. He was our friend to start with, and somehow, he became so 重色轻友 that I felt disgusted at how he could become like this. He would become rude in his replies, nonchalant whether we met up or not... He would even not reply sms-es. That made me very pissed with him, and I guess I attributed it to the wrong person. I thought she made him this way.

During the weekend, I thought through it alot. Mainly because his present was still sitting in my living room, and given that I'm going to start packing my stuff (to move to my new flat), I wanted to pass it to him before it got lost. I admitted that I thought she made him become a person I felt disappointed in. But now everything becomes much clearer. It's not her, but he himself. Reading her blog makes me feel that I've wronged the wrong person, and I cannot deny that I do enjoy reading her weblog. She makes the effort in her relationship, and that is the kind of person that I do admire (because I am one such person myself, haha).

Although I am still very, very (read: extremely) disappointed in him, but I'm glad that through him, I knew another interesting person. And that's interesting in a good way. :)

Maybe one day, I will realise what a fool I have been. For cherishing a friendship that works only one way. But at least, I have tried my best and have no regrets. :)

Random updates during lunch...

Huiyi and I at Fullerton Hotel's The Courtyard, enjoying a pot of Tea each ($18 each! *omg*) after our meal. She had the Fullerton Tea, whereas I had the Celebration Tea. We also shared a sandwich and a big plate of fries before that. Given that we were there for quite some time, we also had a glass of orange juice (for me) and an iced mocha (for her). Total damage: close to $100. Prices based on Post Bar's menu. But we did not have to fork out a single cent! (That's because I had just signed a contract with Fullerton for my wedding banquet which comes up to a few tens of thousands. So that measly $100 is peanuts to them. *bleah*)

This picture was taken by a 6-year-old nephew, Keith. I'm holding my other nephew Xander and Huiyi's holding Baby Joseph (also our nephew). The event was the 满月celebration for our new nephew, Keigan. We enjoyed the buffet spread at Serangoon Country Club (near Chomp Chomp). Photos are still outstanding from Huiyi! ;)

The most contentious purchase in my life. My new pink Sony Cybershot. Bought it on impulse simply because it is PINK. My old camera was barely a year old (I think?), and working perfectly fine. Couldn't resist it because of its colour. Me is a bimbo (not exactly pretty enough, but the brain matter matches). Got many freebies as well 'cos it was the Sony road show. Mom nagged for ages. Can't really remember when I bought it already. And... I'm not exactly taking good care of it. *haha*
Can't remember when this was, but I recall that the ladies waited for me to finish a discussion with my boss before we all headed to Vivocity in Winkie and Joe's lovely Audi. I really liked that car! We had dinner at Marche, and took this lovely picture. With Joe and Winkie no longer in URA, how many of these sessions will we have in future? I don't know, but I'll definitely miss them.
Noticed this random picture from my Taiwan trip, and decided to post this up. Hubby and I really liked the dumplings. They were small and absolutely tasty. But I don't really want to go back to Taiwan again so soon. I still prefer Australia. :)

Lunch will be over in about 10 minutes, so will blog with pictures some other time. :)

P.S. Ling, pls go read our secret blog.

Blue skies and seas...

Like I was telling Wei Ling this afternoon, I feel that I have a friend going through the same relationship phases which Hubby and I had gone through before. It was quite, quite humourous when I saw the similarities. :) I'm pretty sure they'll get married. *hahaha*

A friend had blogged about the skies and scenery in Batam, and how pretty they were to her. It brought about a sense of nostalgia for me... Remembering the skies of the Gold Coast, where the blue skies met the Pacific Ocean...

That's why I loved Gold Coast so much. The bright sun (look at our shadows), the rolling waves which are super clean and the blue blue skies.

Here another pretty picture we took... Look at the landscape in contrast to the seas... And that soft, soft sands... *argh* I wanna fly back to Brisbane immediately!!

We stayed in one of the apartments... I really love the skies... Here's another picture of Taiwan..

This was taken at Sun Moon Lake... And it was near dusk... Doesn't look very pretty here, I know, but it was quite breathtaking when we were looking at it..

Random...

I'm very thankful for my parents. My mom had painstakingly taken the efforts to ensure that I have a firm foundation in my languages. Though I'm not exactly the most brilliant linguist in my own office, but I guess my grasp of the languages isn't that bad. :) Dad has many friends whom are expatriates, so I had to learn how to converse with them really quickly. When I was young, I had disliked all such gatherings, but now I realise how precious these lessons were. Thanks Mom and Dad! *hugs* Especially so, in my current workplace.

*

And... what Hubby said is right. It made me see all of you in a different light. I learnt how to balance between truths and half-truths. I will just have to be a little more careful. :)

*

Hubby likes being with my colleagues! He says they are more 'real' and easy to be with! I'm really glad to hear that. But... with Michelle and Winkie missing from the office, I will definitely feel lonely. Agnes, Siying, Kai Ling, Jolene, Shin Bin have all been quite, quite encouraging. Agnes even reminded me that I'll always have her still. *heh* So sweet of them!

Okay, going to scoot off to do my cousin's resume before going to bed... :)

I've been really ill these few weeks. The virus had probably been around me for quite sometime, before it finally attacked me. But my parents and Hubby were really taking good care of me. :)

Was looking through my old pics, and I realised that I had gone to Gold Coast last year, on the exact same date which I went to Taiwan with Darling with this year! (i.e. Dad, Mom, May and I left for Gold Coast on 6 March 2007 too!) How cool is that?! *heh* And it wasn't even intentional.

Did abit of my budget calculation last evening. I think I must have been feeling quite worried about my spending. So from now on, I shall only spend within my means. My family (which means my parents and Hubby) and I have the tendency to splurge on our meals. As most of my friends already know, we can spend a minimum of about $40 on dinner. That's the absolute minimum (i.e. eating at a hawker centre). On average, our dinner is about $60 - $70. *sigh* That has to change for now. Although I seldom (read: never) pay for dinner, but I feel that we really shouldn't spend so much now. Looking at the Tung Lok dinner we had about 2 weeks ago, it had taken $200! Hmm... I need to watch the purse strings for all of us from now on!

After deducting the CPF contributions, Community Chest donations, Civil Service Club membership from my salary, I have about $2,700 to spend every month. This is miserably pathetic, isn't it? :s This is taking into consideration that I have the following monthly expenses:-

1. Education loan: $387 (I didn't want Daddy to pay for me! *tsk tsk* Such a filial daughter... *LOL*)
2. Insurance (Singapore): $450
3. Insurance (Malaysia): $150
4. Housing Loan (after CPF deduction): $280
5. Mobile phone bill: $100
6. Contact Lenses: $25
7. Instalment plan for MFB: $167 (0% interest ma)
8. Instalment plan for camera: $85 (0% interest also)

Which means I only have about $1,050 left in cash to spend a month! *gasp* No more expensive lunches for me anymore! I realised that whenever I go for lunch with my colleagues, we have the tendency to spend more than $10 per person. Heh... Next time must suggest cheaper places already! So I've allocated my budget as such...

With the remaining $1,050, I will:

1. Spend about $10 for meals everyday. This means about $3 per meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No more supper!
2. Have about $3 for transport everyday. I will not ask Daddy to send me to work anymore. The ERP alone will be $2.50! If possible, I'll try not to ask him to pick me up also.
3. Give Mom about $50 for the daily essentials (soap, shampoo, toilet paper, cockroach killers, tissue paper, etc) every month.

So... With all that in mind, I will have approximately $600 left. *sigh* Which is very, very little! I need to save more!

Okay, the effects of my medicine is kicking in. Gotta go and sleep again...

Angst.

I'm not in a forgiving mood. I just wanna lash out at somebody. No, Hubby didn't make me angry. I just have this wound-up angst within me. I've decided that I shall just tell you that you're disgusting.

1. You look like a lizard. Anyone told you before that you really, really look like a lizard? Many of my friends and relatives agree with me! *heh* If you don't believe me, please ask around.
2. Someone once told me you're smart. It made me roll my eyes.
3. Your eyes are scary.
4. Your pictures are severely photo-shopped to make you appear better than you really look. (where you still look like a lizard.)
5. You are just simply disgusting la. Don't need a reason for that.

Okay, feeling better. Hahahahaha. Thanks alot, LIZARD! *wahaha*

It's really a good (and cheap) deal!

Yeah! I just bought myself a new Sony Cybershot. Though I wanted to get the 10.1 megapixel model, but cos it didn't have it in pink, so I ended up buying this other cheaper model. And it's really, really quite affordable! $509 with a Sony leather case, a 4GB Sony memory stick, two Sony batteries and of course, the 8.1 megapixel pink camera!

Thought it was quite, quite worth it. :) Will be giving away my 'old' Canon Ixus 60 (6 megapixel camera)... Though it isn't very old, it doesn't hold the attraction for me anymore!

Thinking back, I've been spending lots of money since the past half a year. Let's see what Hubby and I have splurged/spent on:-

1. Our ROM at The Arts House - $11,000
2. Wedding Package at Julia Wedding News - $4,000
3. Wedding Banquet at Fullerton - $5,000 deposit for the wedding dinner next year
4. Ang pows for my parents during Chinese New Year- $3,800
5. LG 37" LCD TV - $1,300
6. Taiwan trip - $8,000 (including expenses during the trip and insurance, of course!)
7. Deposit for our house - $27,550 (not including agent's commission and stamp duty/legal fees)
8. MFB - $3,000
9. My camera - $500

That comes up to a total of more than $56,000!!! *gulp* No wonder Hubby wants me to start saving money! Okay, okay... Although I always promise not to spend any more, but this time... Maybe I really should watch my spending a little! Huiyi, I need you to help me! :D

But... I still wanna go for a short trip... Maybe Hubby and I should go for a trip to Hong Kong with my parents too... Will start watching for cheap deals!

Will blog with pics soon... Feeling sleeping now... It's almost midnight!

P.S. Hubby loves me la. I was just feeling emotional last night... Heh. But it was great talking to you, dear!

Sectional outings

I know I always say that I have this sectional outing, that sectional outing, but I never ever post pictures about my sectional outings. *heh* So just in case some people are wondering if I'm making things out of nothing at all, I'm posting this recent picture that we took when Vivian gave us a treat at Haagen Dazs (Vivocity)!

Here's us from Central (left to right): Maggie, Wan Lin, Ignatius, WW, Su-Jan, Lee Gek, me, Soi Moy, Grace, See Nin, Joanna, Winkie, Vivian and Mrs Gui!

I had the chocolate fondue and a single scoop of coffee ice-cream! Had a really tasty (but super fattening) time... *hehehe*

Remember I had said we left earlier (4 plus) for an ice-cream treat at Dempsey. Vivian had also given us a treat then. :) I feel really bad that she is always paying for us... But she's really nice about it. And, I gave her a treat at The Soup Spoon the day before too! A lovely lunch it was... Anyway, here's the picture we took at Dempsey's Ben & Jerry's. I drove my colleagues there in Daddy's car... :D

And oh yah! How can I forget about the first sectional outing we had to.... GEYLANG! ;) We had dinner at Lorong 9 Beef Kway Teow (treat by my boss, See Nin) before going to Lorong 39 for the tua hway. Here's us at the back alley of the tou hway. Hmmm... Does this constitute ORA? ;p

'Cos I did all the photo-taking and didn't manage to be in most of the pics, my nice colleagues insisted that I take a picture too! Presenting to you... the KALLANG planners! :D

I really, really have super nice colleagues... :) Guess I'm really, really, really fortunate too. Nice parents, nice hubby, nice cousins, nice friends, and now... nice colleagues too. I'm counting my blessings everyday, and I'm absolutely thankful for all that I have.

Happy!

Last Thursday, I had to rush off from work on time (I left the office at 6.05pm!) so that I could reach HDB Hub in time to give the lawyers the initial deposit for my HDB 4-room flat. That took $24,550 from my bank account! *eeks* But it meant a step into my future with Hubby. :) Hubby and I, we'll be getting the keys to our love nest this coming Wednesday! But I'll have to check to see when we can "officially" open the door, 'cos we need to get the 'right' timing. Will have to go to the temple this Saturday to confirm the exact date and time.

Friday was a relatively good day, 'cos I received a lunch treat from Joe's brother-in-law. Wasn't supposed to crash into the family lunch, but 'cos I needed to catch up with Winkie dear on something, so I just joined them (a last minute thing). Thanks for the treat at the vegetarian restaurant! The hor fun and yam paste was uber good! *yums* But so super-duper expensive too. Without service charge, it already cost $8.50. Nonetheless, thanks for the treat Peter!

Friday was supposed to be our sectional outing day, but as usual, we were so busy that we didn't manage to leave earlier as planned. We had wanted to go to Kallang Leisure Park for the Japanese gelato at Haato, but 'cos it was so late (we had planned to leave at 4.30pm), we all decided to adjourn to Vivocity instead. Vivian dear gave us all a treat to Haagen Dazs. I shared the fondue ($39.90) with Soi Moy and Lee Gek, and I even had an additional ice-cream cone (my favourite coffee!). Thanks, Vivian! And I super-duper love to 'molest' your tummy where your little girl is! :)

I spent Saturday with Daddy, where we headed to AMK Hub for the movie by Rene Liu and Louis Koo, "Run Papa Run". Could tell that Daddy liked it. Guess he must be hoping that I wouldn't grow up too... I can still remember that when I was a little girl, he'll always hold my hand and we'll walk together. Mommy will always be following behind... Hahaha... But now that I'm all grown up, I guess he misses the days when I was Daddy's little girl. But I know deep down inside me, I'll always be his favourite little girl!

Sunday... I slept till 3.15pm! *horrified* Then headed down to Woodlands with Daddy and Mommy. Had dinner there too! :D

Today, I knocked off on time 'cos I wanted to have dinner with my parents. Hubby had told me he'll be late, so imagine my surprised when I came home and he was already in the shower! *hehe* We went for dinner at Tung Lok Seafood (East Coast Park) again! Will blog about the food in the next post. Got to go to bed now! It's past midnight...

P.S. I called Ling just now... And it felt good to hear her voice. I miss you so much, my dearest dearest best friend... *hugs*

Updates!

So I had left off... where we got off the plane and cleared the customs. And the minute we got through the arrival gates, Hubby immediately headed for the exit 'cos he wanted to... SMOKE! It was really quite cold, about 18 degrees celsius outside. I must say Hubby liked the temperature very much! And I liked it too, 'cos it makes me feel more comfortable. *hahaha* And shortly after, he wanted to fill his hungry stomach. He had the set meal, and I had a crossiant! Mine was tastier...

Then we met up with the rest of the tour mates (SA Tours)! We headed for the coach which we'll be on for the next 7 days (ours was a 8D7N All Taiwan tour)...

Here are some of the pictures I took while we travelled to Dan Shui... Along the way, there were many scenes of Taiwan. The slightly nostalgic buildings, the sea view, the skies...

And still some more pics from the streetscape... We were travelling along the coast, so you could see pictures of the blue skies and the deep blue seas...

Okay, will blog about our first destination at Danshui in my next entry, 'cos I'm feeling pretty sleepy after my medication... :)