People stories

I have a love-hate relationship with my job. But whatever it is, I'm grateful to have had the chance to meet some of the most interesting or nicest people. Before I forget them, I shall list them down:

1. The incumbent Dutch ambassador to S'pore, Hendrik van Pesch
I was in a cab today and as the vehicle inched to a stop in front of Paragon at the traffic junction, I saw the 63-year-old ambassador stop at the pedestrian crossing just next to me. I wound down my window and waved, and the sweet grandfatherly man waved back and smiled. Later, he dropped an email to say it was such a pleasant surprise to have seen me and that I "waved like a Queen"! Haha. Sweet.

2. Mr Lau Theng Siak the intrepid traveller
He is one year shy of his 90th birthday but he never stops travelling to the most exotic destinations. After he retired in his 50s, he began touring the world. He highlights all the places he's been to in this old atlas, and when he showed me the map, almost every place was highlighted in yellow.
He trekked the African continent in a Land Rover, has been to Iceland, Kashmir, Egypt, Pakistan, Tibet...you name it. The sweet man even sent me his travel itinerary last year, inviting me to join him in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan!

3. Mr Foo the passionate sailor (also passionate about life!)
The former postmaster is close to 70 and still insists on teaching sailing and going on keelboat trips to other countries. He even called me up to invite me to sail to Phuket with him and his friends! When the tsunami happened, he buzzed me again to ask how he could help with the relief efforts - he wanted to travel to the affected areas to help. Impressive.

4. Cuixian the 38-year-old mother of six
There is a pair of twins in the brood as well as the remaining two of a set of triplets (one died). She's the most patient mother I've seen! Don't know anyone who could handle this children's army! The oldest is nine while the youngest is three. Wish I could have had more space to write about her. Watch out for the smallish story in the Mother's Day special this Sunday in ST. By the way, her family has a history of multiple births - her grandma is a twin and also gave birth to twins. Cuixian's cousin delivered twins too.

5. Alain Desmot the French boat captain
He captains a ship that invites troubled kids on board to take part in a special programme that aims to teach them to live as a community and show them that life is not about taking drugs, being lonely orphans etc. Alain also captains private boats and he's sailed around the world three times.
His late father was a French ambassador who travelled widely, therefore resulting in Alain's nomadic lifestyle. He mentioned he was ever caught in a three-day cyclone too, and had to wear a wetsuit and scuba mask for that period of time. His story is coming out this Saturday in ST Recruit.

Are you chicken enough?

Had a good laugh telling the chicken what to do. Apparently this was a real Burger King campaign! Check out the cheeky chicky

Knotty affair

I don't believe it, the millionth person has asked me today when I'm tying the knot.

You know how you always hear of people complaining about other people asking when they're getting hitched? And you don't really think those questions will one day get thrown in your face persistently? Sigh.

My mum has taken to flipping the papers and going: "Hey, check out this Sengkang flat. It's the last of the ready ones, I don't think the government's gonna build anymore. Unless you guys wanna wait another 10 years? Oh wait, WHEN are you guys getting married?"

Leo's grandma (YES!!!) has been telling him it's ok not to be financially ready. Just do it! And just last monday, his mother asked him to check out a flat in Clementi.

So this week, both of us, feeling very stressed, started asking each other whether we had enough in our CPF. He went on the HDB website to check on the buying process. Sheesh. We are like the most clueless people on home-hunting in Singapore! And then he said, oh wait, let's check the papers and look for houses. And I'm like, oh ok!

And then...he breathed the longest sigh and said: "Oh no, we were getting caught up in the rat race."
And I said, forget it, let's go for lunch, it's too stressful.

I don't know. For the longest time, I have taken pride in being with a guy who thinks different from the rest. He's always wanted to do things differently. He wants to work overseas, he's spontaneous, he doesn't mind renting a nice house, he's great at finding shortcuts when doing things etc. But you know what? In Singapore, everything is about money. I don't know if we can succeed in living our lives different from the rest of Singapore, since we're not very rich people ourselves!

Leo's conclusion is to join the rat race subtly, cos we can never escape it. Makes sense. Leo's ultimate dream is to run a resort on some island. Haha. I'm fine with that since I'm quite a beach girl myself. He can scuba dive all he wants!

I really don't wanna go through the whole typical couple process - get married in a big grand affair, buy an HDB flat in Sengkang, have kids, get stuck in a job, and then what? Maybe that's why I don't feel I'm ready to settle down? I don't know...Or maybe, I just don't wanna grow up. I wanna be a Toys r Us kid forever, perhaps.

NZ trip: The sky always looks so much more beautiful outside sg. Isn't this dramatic? Took this picture on the balcony of my hotel room in Tauranga.

NZ trip: Now that mcsister has reminded me of the wonderful zorb down the hill...here's how it looks! FW and I did the wet ride, so we sloshed about in the great big ball, much like laundry in a washing machine!

NZ trip: Revenge of the kiwifruit! HELP!!!

How now pink errr....calf??? Heh heh. Remember my previous entry about the cows invading Singapore's random green spots? Well, it's breeding season!!!

I'M BAAACK!!!!

Yes. I'm back in sg from New Zealand. After all that moaning and groaning about having to lug myself to an enviable sponsored holiday, I'm back! And I did enjoy it!!! :) Well, apart from the great company and beautiful surroundings, there were quite some memorable firsts as well. So here goes:

Number one first:
A very censored one. I was caught stark naked (yes, FULL frontal nudity) in a toilet on board a yacht during a cruise on a lake. DO NOT LAUGH. The bl**dy toilet had a lock that didn't work!!! So while I was happily changing out of my very modest swimsuit, reliving the adrenaline-pumping jet-ski ride just 10 minutes earlier, this fatherly Malaysian journo has to open the toilet door. The sequence goes like this:
1) I'm naked
2) He opens the door
3) I scream my lungs out
4) His eyes nearly pop out and he goes: "Why didn't you lock the door??????"
5) He slams it shut and I hear him go on and on outside about me not locking the door.
6) I spend the next few agonising minutes waiting for the floor to swallow me up, which of course didn't happen, unfortunately for me.
7) The next few days, I don't dare to look at him much cos number one, he's like a damn conservative muslim, and number two, his wife was on the same trip. Good luck to me. He seemed to become more affectionate with her after that embarrassing incident. I think he probably has to abstain from making the haj for like 10 years now, cos well, too sinful.

Number two first:
I bungee-jumped!!!!! All 40m down from the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Haha. Didn't expect myself to take the plunge. All thanks to the very sporting journos I travelled with. A group of about 10 of us jumped. It was waaaaay cool and damn scary. But fun :)

Number three first:
I drank wine everyday for seven days. Great wine :)

Number four first:
I went jetboating. WHEEEE!!!!! Great 360 deg spins on the icy cool river. WHOOPEEE!!!!

Hmm....what else...can't think of anything at present. Shall post photos up soon.

How now pink cow?

Ah yes, those lovely cows the entire Singapore has been wondering about. They are everywhere. Saw them along the CTE, at three spots in Toa Payoh, somewhere at Lornie Road and many other places.
My friend says they are related to the "Moove is more" slogan that you see on the back of some SBS buses, which have a pink cow's tail hanging out. Read a comment on dsd's blog that said it was part of ComfortDelgro's campaign or something like that.
Wonder what else is gonna unfurl over the weeks. I'm sure there must be something else that's gonna happen? Hopefully when it does, it won't be an anti-climax!
Spice up my life pls someone!!!
Two days to my NZ flight! Sigh...need to perk up perk up perk up. Can't stand having to cram two weeks work in one week, just so I can make it for this trip. It SUCKS.
Aiya, then Leo had to leave for a diving trip in Redang today. Which means I won't get to see him till nine days later. Sob.

Some motivation

This week is cramming week. Need to finish enough work before I leave for NZ this Sat. Am going there for a week-long trip to see lotsa kiwi fruit, do some adventure stuff like zorbing and jet-boating and uhm...I guess, to eat lots. Zorbing's supposed to be this activity that requires you to stand in a giant ball and roll down a hill.

I need more enthusiasm about my trip man!!! Argh. It'll be fun, it'll be fun, it'll be fun...I'm wondering whether it's the lack of motivation for my job that's making me feel so listless...I donno. I can't wait for a change in environment.

Am trying to change my routine a little to spice up my life just that bit. Reached work at 9am today. The earliest ever in many months!!! In the end I ended up distracted cos I was introducing a new colleague (and also a friend) to the workplace. But still, it's a good start. Also, I've run twice in the last week! Quite an achievement for me! Supposed to run tomorrow during lunch at the office gym but I have to interview a bird trainer at 12.50pm. Sigh.

Run, run, run, I must...

Busy busy stork...

We are definitely gonna exceed our replacement rate this year. I seriously think the government's baby bonus is working!!! Just look at all the pregnant celebs, my two assistant eds (who are close to 40), Cocoatina aka cow-at-work, and all of Kelvin's church friends!!! I don't kid you, when Kelvin was still sitting next to me at work, it seemed like he got smses about deliveries every two weeks. I dunno man....

And yesterday, I was privy to this very amusing conversation between this photog (mature new mother) and designer (very pregnant woman in her 30s) in the library at my office building. Well, they were not exactly speaking very softly where they were sitting just opposite me in the lounge area. I know the photog, by the way. And, indeed, I was very distracted by what they were saying as I tried to concentrate on my magazines. Haha. Here's an excerpt:

Designer: Eh, I'm gonna buy a steriliser today. My sister-in-law says must buy.

Photog: Yar yar, do that.

Designer: Eh so must sterilise everyday right? (At this point, I'm wondering...she should be talking about cleaning milk bottles right? I donno mah...I'm not a mother!)

Photog: No need la! If not, next time your baby got a little bit of germ then fall sick. No good!

(Here the conversation is too soft for me to hear...but it progresses to some brand of baby bottles called Avan or something like that. We'll call the brand Avan.)

Designer: So is Avan good or not?

Photog: Well if you buy Avan, you must buy everything Avan. It's not like the other brands where you can mix and match bottles and teats and stuff. Avan's teats are very big (I think I heard that) so they can't be used with other brands.

Designer: Really? Eh...I didn't know leh. (muffled conversation here...but it progresses to electric pumps for expressing milk.)

Photog: I used my friend's electric pump. It's really good you know. Very compact. I mean I didn't buy la, cos it's cheaper to share.

Designer: Eh, is it? Anyone using it now?

Photog: Yar, my friend has taken it back cos she needs to feed her kid. You wanna see how it looks like? XXX (a sub-editor) has one on her table now. I can show you later!

Designer: Okok. Eh by the way, I tell you ah...my husband says I'm a pain in the ass.

Photog: Huh? What you mean?

Designer: Because I pregnant ah, no morning sickness, no aches, no nothing. But only got pain in my ass!

Photog: LAUGHS. (At this point, photog looks at me sheepishly and apologises for distracting me. She then leaves.)

Designer: (She turns to me after getting up from her seat.) Hey it's true you know, I only got pain in my ass!!! Wah my ass very pain now!

A funny email from a very pregnant woman

My assistant editor's gonna pop any moment now and she's gonna go on maternity leave in a week. Here's her email to the department today. Haha. I seriously hope she doesn't go into labour in front of me. I'll totally freak out! :)

Subject: In case of emergency

Hi guys:
J asked today if baby may arrive while I'm at work. Well, next week is my 38th week.

So should I need any help, pls call 1777 for an ambulance to take me to KKH, and ask for 2nd floor Delivery Suite. Pls make sure I have my handbag with me as my admission form is in it. Would prefer not to go to hospital in a car or a taxi. And call my husband M on 6XXXXXXX or 9XXXXXXX.

A Grief Observed

I never realised I held so much grief and disappointment until recently. And I've been thinking, if I talk start talking about it, it could be a way of coming to terms with my sadness. So I'm writing this now.

Probably it was God prompting me so strongly to attend cell group last Sat, if not I would have gone for a workshop on counselling for youths conducted by the centre that I volunteer with. I shared my all at cell group on Sat and it was the first time I ever told anyone - not to mention such a large group - how I really felt about the deaths of the people close to me. Not even Leo knows the extent of my sadness, I think.

I think for the longest time, I've never admitted to anyone that I was disappointed with God. That I had to lose three loved ones to death. I always told myself I'm happy that two of them have gone to heaven, which was very evident to me. My dad on the night before he died, said he saw angels on chariots receiving him to heaven. It was a very touching experience for me then, cos I knew he was ready to meet his maker. When you hear a dying man say something like that, you can't deny that he has had a deep spiritual experience through his sickness.

My aunt turned back to God and found true peace with him before she left us. Although it was all so clear to me that she was a changed woman - for the better - before she died, I still couldn't come to terms with the fact that God didn't heal her. Like how Elder Freddy said, you still have to pray for healing with faith, no matter what. I'm still grappling with this have faith and not have faith thing.

What probably cemented my grief was when my grandpa jumped to his death from his apartment. I remember being in shock about it, though I knew he was going to do it anytime. He even said bye to me a few days before. It was that sense of helplessness I couldn't deal with. That here was a proud old man so bent on dying, and yet there was nothing anyone could do to change his mind. It really opened my eyes to suicide and how stubborn old people can be. For weeks I didn't dare visit the apartment because it made me so sad to picture him squeezing himself through the tiny window, which now has a metal bar fixed across it by the residential management - to prevent any suicides in future.

Why didn't God change his mind, I often asked. Yet deep down inside, I knew everyone had a choice as to how to live their lives. No one can dictate that. Yes, sure, God can work miracles, but if ultimately you really wanna kill yourself, who can stop you?

I once asked Elder Freddy how to praise God in such grief. And he said: "Praise God for who He is." I'm still learning to praise Him for who he is. God help me.

Gonna pick up this book called A Grief Observed by C.S Lewis, recommended by a friend. He said it would help. I hope so.

Sigh...

bad day today at work...unreasonable client...

thank goodness I could look forward to my interviews with the distributors of pleasure boats. Had to talk to them for the Boat Asia supplement. And one of them even let me drive his family cruiser!!! It's quite exhilarating powering a yacht at sea!!! Hee hee.

I would like to buy a yacht too... :(

Cleo bachelor party

To have a good laugh, olduvai and I went to the Cleo bachelor party. Unlike the screaming girls and women in The Tent at Ngee Ann City, our sole purpose was to witness the men's embarrassing antics.

We both agreed that the smartest contestants were the ones who chose not to sing or dance, but to simply take part in games with volunteers from the floor. Thank goodness Hossan Leong was the host. His sidesplitting jokes, doused in Singaporean humour, were the best!!!

I can't remember the exact jokes now, but there was something about "you see the esplanade, two durians, then river over there very smelly, that's why the merlion goes oorhhyeah (puking sound)!!!". Very duh, but so very funny, the way he said them.

Anyways back to the bachelors. There were the damn gek seh ones..uhm..this one Chinese guy who obviously was very mistaken about his identity - he thought he was black. Started rapping in this oh-so-cool American accent and going "C'mon! Scream!".

There was the bachelor band that sucked big time. I repeat, sucked big time!!! Totally ruined the songs Yellow by Coldplay and Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5. And we couln't hear the electric guitars. So you just see the fingers running while the players try to emulate the jerking and headbanging of rock stars. But you hear, like, absolutely nothing lor.

There was this song by (according to Olduvai) The Darkness, which the singer totally spoilt cos he shrieked like a banshee. And there were still girls screaming their lungs out!!! Oh man. And before he started singing, he actually declared: "You will hear nothing like you've ever heard before!!!" Oh yes, it was like NOTHING I've ever heard before.

It seems like lpts guy took his role as bachelor very seriously. I mean like seriously enthu about everything. Unfortunately (and oblivious to him), his dancing in the striptease segment (uhm..went topless only la) was pole-stiff, and he still managed an "all right, brother!" handshake with another contestant. Oh yes, he HAD to introduce himself as a photographer who worked for the BIGGEST newspaper in town. Please.

Hmm...I guess other than Hossan, the one and only other redeeming factor about the party was this guy who did the catwalk in jeans. His body was indeed yummy. Aiya, I think he should have won la. Well, either him or this Indian guy who kept a very low profile.