Love the Little People

India For How Long?

Oh dear, it seems we will be in India for a while longer. The signs are there. One of the kids waved an Indian flag as an infant, and we ended up being posted to India. That was about 2 years ago. The picture on the right... that was taken yesterday!

*sigh*

One-Two

Yes, we're still here and I'm still building cars. Just recently finished the Benetton B195 diorama of Herbert congratulating Schumie on his victory at Jerez in 1995.

I have also just started on the Renault R25. That would finish up all the sky blue cars I have. I'm still working by colour.

Page Boy Flower Girl

We were back in Singapore for the Lunar New Year. Just before the new year, the kids got to play page boy and flower girl at their ji ji's wedding. First time in their lives.

They also got to go to Jurong Bird Park to celebrate a church friend's birthday. The place sure has changed a lot.

In India

Yes, we are in India now. We've been here for 3 months now, but no post yet. Until now.

Hyderabad is a liveable place. Not too touristy, but liveable. It has its fair share of malls and restaurants, so going out is not too much of a problem, if you can take the traffic, and of course, if you have a deep pocket. The perception that India is cheap is flawed, it is at best affordable, otherwise it is down right expensive to live here.

Where we live is nice enough, and the kids do have space to run around, which is good so their mummy doesn't go crazy.

Its a colourful place, so the next 2 years or so should be interesting.

Hyderabad

For the multitudes who have no impression of what Hyderabad is like, here's the first view on the first morning out of my hotel window. Looks very much like any other city. Reminds me a bit like JB in the 80's, but more affluent.

Close Crop

Nate got a new close crop cut. He looks handsome in it. After some convincing, he thinks so too...

Hannah is 2

And so as papa leaves for his posting in India, Hannah turns two and is able to celebrate that fact with family and friends. For some reason, it seemed a very serious affair with the kids, none of them smiled.

Meanwhile, whilst all the attention was on the sister, Nate managed to slip away with some company. Starting young huh?!

By the way, if you find our updates are not coming in quick enough, its because both parents are now on facebook...

New Laptop

New Toy for the family. A laptop with a webcam, so that we can skype with love ones left in Singapore.

Save the Wonder Pets!

No one in the family knew that this new Nickjr series called the Wonder Pets existed until one day, whilst in the US, Nate just pulled a tantrum and refused to move from the TV, when the whole family was ready to go out. Fortunately uncle 'Sie' had mobile TV (i.e. he can watch TV from his mobile phone) and recording the cartoon on his tivo, Nate was able to watch the show while on the go. (Yes, we spoil him.)

Anyway uncle 'Sie' bought them the Wonder Pets DVD and both Hannah and Nate have been watching it everyday since getting back to Singapore. They have virtually memorised every line in every show. Scary. Even scarier, uncle 'Sie' is buying back two more Wonder Pets DVDs for Christmas!!!

Where to Next?

The last time Hannah was captured in a picture with an Indian flag, we ended up being posted to India. Who knows where we will be headed to next??! At this point its too early to say where we're leaning.

There and Back Again

We haven't been able to post a blog for a while, simple reason being we have been busy. First was the Hannah Finger drama, then with us packing up to India soon, our maid for the past 2 years decided to go home to get married, and so we were left on our own to manage the house. In between we managed to squeeze a family holiday to visit uncle 'see' along with my parents, as well as a recce trip to Hyderabad to scout out schools and houses.

San Francisco is a nice place, many things to do, wonderful climate etc. And so we thought we'd give it a try, knowing full well that 17 hours in an enclosed cyclindrical capsule would be very trying with 2 very young kids. It was tiring, but I must say, Economy Class in SIA's lastest addition to the fleet, the B777-300ER, is very comfortable.

We visited what we wanted to see, and you can tell from the pictures the kids enjoyed themselves, probably more so then their tired out parents. The highlight for Nate must have been our accommodation in Napa Valley - we stayed overnight in a converted rail carriage. Very nice and comfy, very long, and the best bit, Nate could climb all over the red caboose at the end, just like in his storybook.

It was a good time of bonding for me with Hannah too. She is growing so fast, and I have missed so many of her developmental milestones, so it was good to at least be at that phase where she started speaking in full sentences. "Look! Gwape (sic)!"

That counts, ok?!

CSI: Singapore

This was the scene that greeted me when I got home.

I got a call from Alison earlier, Nate had slammed the door on Hannah's hand, and her right ring finger was bleeding badly. By the time she got to the paed, it was diagnosed as broken. But x-rays at the hospital showed no bone breakage, however surgery was required to repair the finger.

It was a lot more serious than first thought, and its a good thing that at my ma-in-law's insistence we went to a hand specialist and micro-surgeon instead of staying at KK. The tip of her right ring finger was virtually amputated, held only by a few shreds of skin. The surgeon showed me the pictures and it was gruesome, the stuff of nightmares. There was only a bit of flesh around the bone, everything had been smashed by the door. He was able to stitch back everything and replace the nail, but that will drop out soon and it'll take a while for the new nail to grow.

Thank God for many things. The surgeon we were suppose to see, the one who reconstructed John Lai's fingers, was in surgery when we were trying to get him. Aunty Kathy, who thought she would help out since both my in-laws were out of town, thankfully knew of another hand surgeon and he was ready and waiting to perform surgery straight away. And whilst KK (who I must add was very good, compared to the woeful NUH experience) would only perform the surgery at 10pm (6 hr fast for GA), the surgeon had his own anaesthetist at his disposal and so could operate right away.

It was very worrying, Hannah came out of the surgery wailing, carrying off where she left off just before surgery. Must say she was pretty brave throughout. I'm proud of her. Nate, not sure if he realises the gravity of his actions. In all the commotion, we naturally had no time to correct him. Maybe one day when he asks to go to university, we will tell him he spent his entire Education Fund on this. Don't worry, we're insured.

India, it is!

And so India it is. We will be moving to Hyderabad on 15 November 2007, almost 3 years after Paul joined the Overseas Manager Scheme. Should be interesting, even Hannah's all excited, with flag, with bag, with plane etc...

Easy Peasy

Nothing is easy in the Ng household, especially when its something to do with the kids. Bed time for instance is a very long drawn affair, one sleeps at 8:30 or plus an hour or so, the other sleeps at 10:30, plus minus an hour or so...

We do what we can, and pray that as they grow, they will grow in the fear and favour of the Lord. Pray with us along those lines. And if they grow into Papa's shoes too, that would suit us fine...
Doesn't hurt if they grow up sweet as well...

No Slips on the Yellow

And its done! The second car for the year, that is. And the little Schumacher figurine seems to be enjoying that fact too. Just need to put some paints and some decals on him and he will be done too. Speaking of which, I found a Game Workshop type shop and they sold paints for little white metal figurines. Much better for painting little things compared to the standard Tamiya acrylics. Back to the car. All four wheels are on the ground, and so other then some little defects like a slightly crooked rear wing, it is in fact the most perfect car I've built so far. More or less lah.

On Becoming...

The kids certainly aren't suffering from any gender confusion. The boy gets more boy-like each day, getting involved in fights, shooting guns though we have never bought him a toy gun, making a mess eating ice cream (see below), planes, cranes, trains and all automobiles.

And the girl? She gets more lady-like everyday. Not sure the hamster will agree with my assessment though, as shortly after the picture was taken, Hannah bounced the hamster like a ball!!!

Click here for old palisong.com site

Almost There

Just a bit more to go, and my diorama depicting Schumacher's first victory in Spa '92 will be complete. Very satisfied with the results so far, I just hope I get all 4 wheels on the ground.

That will be the 2nd of 3 models planned for this year complete. Soon I will have to figure out how to move all these models with me when my company finally posts me overseas.

Once Upon a Time...

... there was a little princess named Sleeping Beauty who slept and slept.

She decided her Prince Charming was never coming, and so chose to be Princess Fiona instead with hip, cool, green ears. And soon everyone was looking at her wherever she went, saying, "So cute!!!"

Actually its just pictures of Hannah deciding it was cooler to read a CD jacket than to read an actual book, and playing pretend sleep on her kor kor's bed. She must be hinting for us to get an actual big girl's bed.

Tennis Nate

Nate started tennis lessons, his first was last Saturday. As with most things, he resisted and refused to coorperate. And just as the coach gave up and started briefing the parents (us) on how to train him ourselves, he actually started playing and hitting with the coach. AND at the end of it all, refused to leave when lesson time was over.... *sigh*

On 15 May, Nate's grandma turned 65. Celebrations were doubly sweet cuz my father, who just had surgery to drain a blood clot in the brain, was home in time for it.

B191 Completed

Its a time of great joy as another car is completed. The first of 3 for the year. And even greater joy is the fact that all four wheels touch the ground, something not always possible to achieve.

As usual this and more pictures of this can be viewed at my flickr account.

Construction Equipment Needed in SFO

I was just about to post a 'thank you' note to Nate's uncle Leslie in San Jose, then I heard the news about a highway collapsing in San Francisco due to a big fire. Seems Nate might to give up his beloved construction equipment as its needed there more than it is here...

Three Camels

They're starting to look just fine aren't they? With the body work virtually all done, its just the cockpits and the suspension arms to go. Tameo really makes good models, simple to put together, high quality results.

Before you get me wrong, no I'm not a smoker, and this is not a Camel product placement. In fact I fully support the self-imposed tobacco ad ban in F1 (except for those selfish folks at Philip Morris - shame on you!). It's just that those cigarette packet cars of yesteryear look much better than the bland-liveries of today ever will. I have this theory that if the car looks good (aerodynamically and livery-wise), it will do well. Can you recall when an ugly car ever won the championship?

Nate's Little People Party

Nate celebrated his 3rd birthday on 8 April 2007. It was a full-fledged party organised by his loving mum - bouncey castle, cake, donuts, lots of food, and lots and lots of kids. Papa was there to entertain the children. Almost everyone Nate knew was at the party.

This photo and many more of the party can be found on Paul's Flickr site

Hannah's Relentless Growth

There's no stopping the growth and development, and we thank God for that. As you read this, join us in praying that both Hannah and Nate will grow to fear God, and find His favour.

Getting Yellower

It's quite a satisfying feeling when the decals go on and the car is starting to take shape. Thanks to decal softener, the decals didn't cause me too much trouble, and attention is off the less than perfect paint job.

I have test fitted the painted seat and car bottom. Both don't fit now with an extra layer of paint. Final assembly is going to be a challenge...

Making Progress

Finally moving along. After the trauma of my father's fall, got back to the hobby and spraying the cleaned up bodies Camel Yellow. Just beware of itchy fingers of one year olds. They may break and damage your cars!!!

Father's Okay

"You're lucky to be alive, let alone be able to walk and talk."

Those were the words of the neurosurgeon when my father went last Wednesday for a check up following his discharge from the hospital. He described the trauma to the head as very severe and finally we were able to see where the fracture was and the blood clot on the CT scan. Surprisingly the crack started over the left eye extending all the way to the top centre of the skull. All this while we thought the crack was over the right eye, because that was where the 'buah duku' the size of a small orange appeared.

Anyway he gave my father the all clear, he could resume his life as per normal, of course to rest often whenever he felt dizzy or tired. The dizziness was expected until the blood clot resolved and the fracture healed up naturally in around about two months. He has no dietary restriction and can even drive around if he feels comfortable to. Only thing to avoid is vigorous activities like soccer and of course tennis, anything where there is a fall-risk.

There will be a follow up CT scan and consultation in two months, just to ensure the recovery is progressing well. We thank God that everything is okay, and for the wisdom He gave the doctors. At one stage they considered operating on my father, but considering his age (close to 65) and the closeness of the biggest vein in the body being so close to where they had to drain the blood, they elected not to do it instead as the risk of losing his life was way higher if they were to operate.

Once again, we thank all of you for your prayers and concern.

Bump & Crack on the Head

Last night, Paul's father fell backwards while going for a lob in a tennis game. He passed out for a while from the impact. Later on when he returned home, there was not only a bruise on the back of his head but also a bump on his forehead the size of an orange!

An X-ray which confirmed some internal haemorrhaging showed a crack on the front of the skull. He has been warded at NUH for further observation though he still remains lucid and mobile. This morning a CT scan was done and we are still awaiting the results.

Please pray with us for healing, and wisdom for the doctors to know how to treat him.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Here's wishing one and all a blessed year of the pig.

Camel Yellow

The Chinese New Year break means I'm finally able to start on my Camel Yellow cars, the cars I've targetted to build in 2007. Took a while to get started as I had to recall how to build them all over again, takes a bit of getting used to when you don't build that many. Here's the B191, the other 2 are the Lotus T99b and the B192.

Say Cheese

Well, with new camera safely bought, there is no excuse not to put up new pictures of the kids. One of the best features of the camera is that you can now capture shots even as you film them, handy for that 'Kodak Moment', especially when things with kids pass by so quickly. And here is Hannah in the act of saying 'cheese'. Don't believe? Go check the film evidence.

As usual, this shot, and more "Kodak Moments" can be found on my flickr account. Like the one of Hannah trying to be a Japanese masseurs, or yet another one of the two of them in the bath together.

Something New

If you have started to notice that there haven't been postings for a while, it is partly because we haven't had new pictures to put up. Our old Canon finally gave up the ghost, and Canon were kind enough to trade it in for a new S3 IS, albeit after a week's wait or so for the replacement.

Anyway here it is, the new camera, that is. My friend Cheong Hoe had warned me about the noise on this camera, he was right. But then again, I don't intend to take pictures of myself in a dimly lit toilet mirror very often. P

Featured At Last

As mentioned earlier, one of my cars was being featured on a website. Finally its up, and here are some screen shots of it. See it for yourself at www.racingdioramics.us

B190 Completed

Finally completed the Tameo Benetton B190, my final of the 6 kits I set out to complete in 2006. Satisfied with the results, and glad to have finished the 6 "green" cars. For 2007, I have set myself a more modest target of just 3 cars, the "Camel Yellow" ones.

For more pictures of the car, and the final assembly, go to my flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/forty3scale/

They Grow Up So Fast

Well at least Hannah is. She catching really fast to her brother. Or is it that Nate is just regressing?

Published Artist

Paul is now a published artist!!! A 1/43 scale F1 diorama he built is going to be featured in a world-renown website for 43 scale F1 models. Check out Racing Dioramics between 16 Jan to 26 Jan 2007. www.racingdioramics.us

Definitely the defining moment in my hobbyist pursuit that started way back in 1999. Check out more pictures of this diorama and my other projects at flickr.com under the ID forty3scale.

The Return of the Palisongs

After a three year seven month hiatus, we're back and we've multiplied! Here are my two kids at their favourite activity...bathtime!

Time Waits for No Man

Time has flown by so quickly, I'm still at the same company. *surprise surprise* We managed to work out a part-time arrangement that suits us both. I get to work mornings and the afternoon is free for me to do whatever I want. Actually doing whatever I want seems to be taking up so much time that I haven't achieved much in the half days that I have off!

To give myself an goal, I've taken up a correspondance cource with Moore Theological College, it's sort of an intro to Theology. Been wanting to do it for a while so now is a good time as any since I'm looking to further my biblical knowledge and also considering full-time Christian work. Just got my books last week and I better get cracking at them, have an exam on the 23rd of August!

Our Office is Moving...Down the Road

Today we lived on the wild side (Not!) - we had our last teh tarik, our last bowl of chicken curry noodles... took photos of ourselves at our desks before we packed and the front of our office and not forgetting our pet tree that has taken root on the front of our office facade. We're going to miss this place, packing and moving felt like I was packing to leave! I will probably do this routine all over again in a couple of weeks. At the moment I'm sitting here surrounded by large cardboard boxes all packed and taped, ready to be moved. Of course all my work is in those boxes too, so what do I do now? Blogging seems like an activity I can do while looking like I'm hard at work...

Anyway that's the excitement for the week and it ends off tonight with a company D&D, organised by my husband's company. The theme is "Star" - as in movie/film star, not those that go twinkle twinkle - what the heck am I to wear?! Don't really feel like partying at all after getting all hot and sweaty with the move. This week has also been unbelieveably hot, my sister, the lucky one is flying off on an orientation trip to Germany where the temperatures are at the other extreme. Got her some thermals and wooly wear, this will be the first time experiencing winter. Hope she survives her trip, will see her back here in a week.

New Chapter

I've moved on to a new chapter in my life, and life around me is also moving on without me. Soon I will be replaced, all my work handed over to someone else. There is a tad bit of nostalgia about it, after all when I quit, I would have been with this company 2 whole years! This building is familiar to me, my colleagues, the neighbourhood coffeeshop, the office culture, my desk... I'm going to miss this place :o(

My husband and I are confirming our attendance on a mission trip to Thailand in early April. We are going to an orphanage in Cha Fang near Vietnam where we'll be doing an outreach to the village children by running a children's camp teaching English. After that, on the way back to Singapore we plan to stop in Vietnam and explore that for a bit before coming home. And after that, we are planning for a trip to Sydney and Brisbane, and if I'm real lucky and the war hasn't broken out yet, I might even venture to Washington DC (with my mother-in-law - sponsored trip!) followed by NYC and London.

I QUIT!

Yup, handed in my notice yesterday with little fanfare. Both my bosses didn't say much, both said they were expecting it (ya right!) and the GM acted like she just wanted to ignore it - as if it were a niggling thought she wanted to hide in the recesses of her brain. But they did have a little meeting to discuss the situation, I think. She probably views it as another burden for her to bear.

I get to have a nice "chat" over tea with my MD tomorrow. Probably an exit interview of sorts...have to watch what I say. But hopefully it will go like most of my other "chats" with him where he does all the talking. And this morning I heard my GM calling candidates for interview, from a don't-want-to-deal-with-it attitude, that was a fast turn about!

Anyway, today signals a new chapter of my life. I will be leaving my days at this company behind me and looking forward to a different future! I'm thinking of going on a mission trip with my husband to N. Thailand and after that a quick break to Sydney (because NZ needs at least 10 days to cover and we can't spare the time). I wonder what God has in store for me?

Land of LOTR - Here we come!

My husband thinks we should go to NZ instead and do a LOTR tour. A two week break in April; one week in NZ and the next in Sydney. Sounds just great! I've never been to either country in my life. We are thinking of a driving trip, this site has quite a comprehensive list of driving routes for LOTR nuts. I spent the whole morning just surfing and dreaming about the trip!

I am still in two minds about quitting, but have decided that tomorrow is my D-day. I either quit or I don't. My pros and cons list is pretty much balanced which is why anything could swing it one direction or the other. What to do???

Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless...

The author of the book of Ecclesiastes must have been going through the same thing I am at this point in life. I now understand why one must get down on one's knees and pray. Sometimes it is from this low point that we get the big picture. And I certainly got my priorities realigned when I stopped to prayed a couple of days ago.

After I got the verbal job offer, I wrote back to ask for some written confirmation. However I have heard nothing yet and I have a feeling they are going to offer the job to someone else. Never mind, I still intend to quit, be it this week or next. I realised that I gave my job more precedence in my life than it deserved. I'm now happily planning my resignation and my long trip to NYC and London... that is if the war doesn't start. I can go and stay with my cousin in NYC and visit all my university mates in London! Yippee :o) Me's a happy chickee!

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life!

Like my mobile phone tune reminds me, I must have a positive attitude to life. And I have to say, it's paid off. Especially with a little help from a good friend, I managed to secure a job offer over the weekend! It's with a local SME that deals with education. The job sounds tempting, I get to travel, head my own little department of 2, eligible for profit sharing and I answer directly to the chairman of the company. What's more, it's offering me the pay I want! Downside is that I have to join them in 2 weeks or else the position is gone. But how to negotiate with my current employer? I don't think they will release me in 2 weeks as I have to serve 1 months notice period. Don't think they will let me pay them off either... what to do?! What to do?!

The other 2 jobs that I interviewed for; the first one with the automobile company, I haven't heard anything, and the second one requires a second round if interviewing and I don't knnow if I even got through to that! Since the ball is in my court now with regards to the job offer, I think I will call the automobile company and ask about the outcome of the interview first. Then I will get a job offer in black and white with the education SME before I even approach my boss. And once I have all the cards in hand, I will be in a better position to make a decision. Of course above all, I will get down on my knees and look up for some guidance.

Weekend of Blood Stains and Bad Service

My family went up to Johor last weekend to take advantage of the offer that Palm Resort was having, only to come back with a car load of allergy problems. What we thought would be a relaxing weekend of tennis, pool and massages was marred by bad service and exacerbated allergies. Blood stains on pillows, hairs under the bedcovers (not ours), mouldy smelling air and double billing - no wonder they are having such a fantastic offer. All I can say is that I'm glad to be back.

And a word about public graces - we were finishing a game of pool over the weekend when a couple of teenage boys asked if they could use the table after us. So we finished off our game and made our way back to our rooms to pack up to go back to Singapore. After checking out, while waiting for the others, we thought we could squeeze in another game of pool. Imagine our shock, when we approached the table and saw that the two cues were broken. And they were obviously deliberately broken, in half, I might add. Why do people do such things to public property? It affects everyone's enjoyment and also reflects on how selfish the youth, especially Generation Y, have become. Needless to say the two boys were nowhere to be found and no one owned up to it.

Me so Naughty.

Again she has been MIA, Chinese New Year lah, very busy. This year for the first time I have to visit relatives on both my side and my husband's side. Wah - double duty, Then everyone who still gives ang bao gives it with the condition that I will have babies soon. I mean, what kind of condition is that?! "In that case", I felt like saying, "You can keep your ang bao!" But then again, beggers can't be choosers, so take lah!

Anyway, I've got a little, interesting piece of history to tell you... about 6 years ago when I was with my very first boyfriend, we watched the show, Before Sunrise. I don't know if you have seen it, the show stars Ethan Hawke and a blonde French actress and they play 2 young people who meet in a train and spend the night in Paris having a good time and talking about all the things in the world that young people think about. Then as they part company, they make an appointment to meet again at the same train platform, same date, a year later. Maybe I don't make the plot sound as good, but it's definitely a thought provoking show.

So, my then boyfriend and I made an appointment with each other on the 24th of January in the year I turned 26 (that's 2003). We were supposed to meet in Raffles Hotel in one of the bars. When the due date arrived, I dragged my husband and we both went to the hotel to have a drink and wait. We sat around for 2 hours, peeked into all the bars, but no sign or sight of him was to be found. I guess he forgot, what an anticlimax. Deep down I expected that he would forget, but if I didn't go to the hotel to check, I would wonder forever whether he was there. So at least now I know, he's moved on with his life.

Long time no blog...

I heard that this months Autocar magazine answered the question, What Would Jesus Drive? Actually it concluded that He would take the bus... why? Ask my husband, he read the article.

I've been busy gathering evidence for a show down with the client today. So I'm busy busy busy! We discovered that she had been going behind our backs for months, and to think I invited her to my wedding, urgh! Leaves a bitter taste in my mouth :o(

Vantan told me about the Bloggies, I didn't even know they existed *shocker*, what planet have I been on, you may ask. Don't think my blog will ever make it's way there, but I did go out and buy my first IT book "Web Design in a Nutshell". Well, someone has to start managing our website and I'm sure my dear hubby will leave it to me! Watch this space for progress...

WWJD?

My colleague Vantan just gave me this really cool site: What Would Jesus Drive? Check it out! I think my husband prefers his cruiser...

My husband's blog: Stardate 21 January of the Year 2341

Today I had a pretty long chat with my commander on what my next adventure would be. He basically told me to bide my time and not request for any assignments because before long, I could be the captain of my own ship within the next couple of years. Seeking such an assignment now would delay this. Therein lies the dilemma, to stay or to go?

Lunch was a rather interesting affair when we took a cruiser out to the next Nebula where the Changi Prison Museum is located. The cafeteria served food much like that at Charlie's Corner. Too much malt juice is impairing my judgement right now.

Just Say a Little Prayer

Last night my husband prayed for me - I (among others in my company) feel depressed about coming to work every day. He prayed that God willing, another door will open for me. But alas, first thing I have to encounter this morning is my GM's sour face and an internal meeting that again has us playing politics with our client. In my heart, I'm thinking that I don't want to deal with this anymore, and I don't HAVE to deal with it anymore. I'm trying to take comfort in the fact that God will open another door though today I found out that one of the companies I applied for announced a headcount freeze - so that's one door closed. I can only wait for God's will and wisdom to show through in these really down times.

Horoscopes vs Horror-scopes?

With the Chinese New Year coming and all that, my colleagues and I were busy checking our Chinese horoscopes for the year of the goat. This is what mine says "You will receive help from guardians of nobility to settle problems encountered. Career luck is good. You will be able to produce good results gaining praises from your superiors. There may be a chance for you to get a promotion and a raise in salary. Never be a guarantor, lend or borrow money. Handle finance wisely."

Wise words indeed, especially the last sentence. But sometimes you wonder, if you really believe in horoscopes, won't you unconsciously make it come true? For instance; getting a promotion, if you believe that you are due for a promotion this year, won't you work towards it? Then won't promotion will be inevitable? I think so. Whatever it is, I am certainly looking for a promotion and a raise in salary - and probably not here in my current company but elsewhere where the grass is greener. An illusion? Maybe.

LOTR Mania

A difficult client this morning had me pulling my hair out! Some people don't know how to use bullets, in this day and age of internets and online forms, DUH, is all I can say! I had to figure out how to tactfully tell him that it was HIS fault and we have now made the system idiot-proof. This is not the first time he has made a mistake and conveniently blamed it on us and in his email to us, Cc-ed everyone in his office! Sheesh.

All I want to do is go and bury my head in a book and not have to deal with these things. I'm in the middle of Lord of the Rings at the moment. Good book, if a bit slow in parts. When I start reading all I want to do is get lost in the world of fantasy and get quite disgruntled when disturbed. So anyways, I started with The Hobbit, thought that if I wanted to understand the whole series I should start right at the beginning. It does make the LOTR a lot clearer, the show assumes a lot of things and fails to explain a lot of things which is why I was so confused at the end. It's one of those shows that you have to watch several times to really understand it. So when I'm done with this book I will go and watch it again, actually I already bought the VCD, it's just waiting to be watched!

La dee dah

I actually went to see the doctor again on Friday for a repeat prescription, he probably thinks I'm a hypochondriac, but tactfully said to me that stress is the reason I haven't recovered from this cough. Anyway I rested lots on Saturday then spent the rest of the day doing my wedding scrapbook and attended a wedding at night. Seems like many people are rushing to get married before the Chinese New Year so that they can catch the year end of the horse. Another wedding on Sunday, this one was at CHIJMES which was really lovely. The bride did a belly dance as a special item for the groom. I thought it was a lovely personal touch to the wedding. I'm inspired to take up belly dancing, anyone know where I can sign up :o)

You know, all I ever seem to do on my blog is complain, today is no different... here we go again, I hear you say! Let's begin from this morning; I was really reluctant to come into work this morning to face the stress and all that again. Then I got snapped at a couple of times by a colleague who is probably PMSing. Last week a colleague quit so it's unusually quiet on my floor in the office. It's so depressing! I WANT OUT!!!!!

Sick...sick...sick...

Everyone is sick. I've got the coughing bug, been hacking (read 'coughing') away in the office and have so far have spread it to the person sitting behind me. Who also happens to be my GM, oops! Then another colleague, Kottonwool, has got the chicken pox. Maybe someone who studied Psychology can tell me whether all this sickness is related to morale!?

Yup us poor account servicing people are, again, at the whims of our clients. Our clients have delayed the decision about the fate of our company. Mind you, I have shed many a tear for this company in the past two years and am genuinely concerned about the outcome of the decision. But alas, it is out of our hands. We can only wait and see.

Having to be resourceful, I don't want to sit around and wait to get retrenched so I've been brave and sent off two job applications this week so far. Concentrating on the MNCs as I'm fed up with small company mentality that seems so prevalent among the SMEs in Singapore. It's time that I spruce up my CV with the names of the big players. Besides, they seem to be the only ones employing these days, with unemployment in the country at an all time high. Anyway I hope to hear from them within the next two weeks, fingers crossed!

The Outlook today?

This week will determine the fate of the company. Do we make it through 2003 or not, so far the outlook has been really grey. My GM is determined to ride out the storm but morale in the company is at an all time low and we employees aren't so sure we're going to make it. We'll just have to wait and see...

On a happier note, my Malaysian friend, Jo, is coming down for a visit over the weekend after Valentime's Day. Apparently her new beau is bringing her to see the Singapore Zoo. Why they are coming all the way to Singapore to see the zoo when they have an excellent one there beats me. But who cares, I get to catch up with an old friend! We go back a long way, in boarding school we were roomates in 1994! It will be good to see her again.

To cheer me up, my dear husband is taking me for ribs at Tony Romas tonight...yummy! He's such a dear.

Resolutions 2003

Ho hum... the whole 2 weeks which have just passed by have been full of the holiday spirit. Next week will be back to the grindstone with 5 day weeks again.

So what are my resolutions for the year?
1) Get more involved in church and family group
2) Be a good and *sweet* wife
3) Read the bible from cover to cover
4) Seach and find new career paths

My horoscope says I'm in for a double promotion this year. At the current job I'm in, I've already hit the glass ceiling, any more moves up the ladder will result in a very bruised head! Perhaps new doors will open for me, seems like everyone who has left this company are moving up in the corporate world. What am I waiting for?!

A New Beginning

The last day of the year for me marks the start of a new beginning. A journal in which I can rant, rave and generally speak out about how I feel. At this particular point it's probably not a good time to start as I probably won't stop raving for a while. Suffice to say that today has NOT been a good day and certainly doesn't bode well for my future in the company I'm presently working in. Oh well, a new year and no new beginnings. Chapters in my life always started at odd times.