When the cat is away...

When the hubs is not home, what does the wife do? Paaaaaaarty!!!

Invited AL and YC over for brunch on Saturday morning. Have been wanting to do so for the longest time but didn't have the opportunity. It was so good catching up with them both, reminscing about the good ol' days at the ministry. Has it been seven years already since we first worked together? Oh boy, it feels like just yesterday - AL and I the rookies and YC the mafia boss. 

And they didn't age one bit! 

Then I had to rush off to Orchard for another gathering- the U.S. Gang. Uber blessed to have met this group during our 2-year stint at San Francisco. And Charlotte was barely a month old when I last saw her. She has sprouted into a dancing toddler in record time! (ok- 10 months). Time flies... 

'Boys' night out

1.45am: Still acting like we were in Sec 2.

 

 



Friendship is really priceless.

It was everything combined that made me feel very grateful to have these two boys in my life - two bestest guy friends in the world.

Thank you A for the present and JY for the dinner treat before I fly off next week... and most of all, for teaching me how to pump petrol, jumpstart a car and pump tyres in case I need to do so myself in US. (They probably have no idea how fortunate I feel to have the two of them explaining all these 'life saving' skills to me and letting me have hands-on experience at the petrol station.)

The joke about throwing me a pineapple for luck at the departure gate was hilarious, but I am really touched by the care and concern. You guys really rock!

My first (and probably last) core leave

The perks of working in a bank is... you HAVE to take 10 days of core leave in a row in accordance with the guidelines set by the government. The fact that you need to be physically away from the office and you can't access emails during this period makes it all the more appealing. No obligations to log in remotely from time to time to check on work emails and answer queries etc. (Did I hear a woohoo?)

My first (and probably last) core leave started out pretty well with an once-in-a-year reunion with the boys. It's almost a tradition to celebrate their birthdays together. This year, I particularly noted how much we have aged. We needed to squint at the screen and sit really close to see what songs to tick for the KTV session. It's just wonderful... seeing each other grow for the past 18 years. Hope to have many, many more birthday celebrations together.

Bert gave Mr. Jang and I tickets to the Harry Potter exhibition. Although the experience was somewhat marred by Art Science Museum staff constantly trying to milk money from us, it was still fantastic seeing all the exhibits from the Harry Potter movies. I am a major HP fan and was rather depressed after the series ended. This exhibition helped to fill the void.

 

 

And then I was off to Hong Kong, just in time for Baby Jovan's "press conference". It certainly felt like one as all the relatives were extremely anxious to meet the boy and the dinner became a major phototaking session for the baby, the parents, and whoever wishes to queue up for a photo. If Baby Jovan could hold a pen, they'd probably ask for an autograph.

 

 

As a detour, I flew to Shanghai from Hong Kong with Mom so that we could spend a few days with Dad and see where he was staying. From Shanghai, we drove around to many other places. One of which is a quaint little town called 周庄 which is essentially a 水乡 in China. It's almost like what you would see in a Chinese 武侠小说 - red lanterns, stone houses, wooden boats, worn and narrow pathways.

 

Also met up with Adel who's been working in Shanghai for the past 3.5 years. She has the best recommendation for food in Shanghai! And entertainment too... she brought us to this new KTV outlet in town which has a mini platform and standing mic. A favourite with Dad who loves to sing to an audience.

 

On my last night in Shanghai, Dad brought us to this place called 老外街 which is an area lined with pubs and eateries with live music. The atmosphere was good and he said it's better than 新天地 - the prices are also more reasonable.

Hence, thus far my core leave has been great. Loads of shopping, eating, and spending time with friends and family. Five more days to go before heading back to work (and before I have the talk with boss)!

Four times Christmas at Cafe Lumiere

26 Dec, Singapore - Following its soft launch earlier in the month, Cafe Lumiere officially opened its doors to host four Christmas gathering over the long weekend. It first welcomed a care group cum pot luck dinner on Friday evening, which ended at 1.30am and broke the record of previous care groups hosted. It was mainly due to the difficult book of Isaiah, which somehow ended up into a prolonged discussion on tithing. The co-owners, Grace and Mr. Jang, had no recollection of how the topic has gone off the path.

On Christmas eve, Cafe Lumiere hosted a close group of colleagues from Grace's old office, Meeka.  It was the first lunch that Grace ever prepared in the sit down western meal kind of setting. There was pork rib (from NTUC), honey baked ham (from NTUC), wine (from NTUC), and a gigantic log cake (from NTUC). The non-NTUC items were pasta, stringed pineapple and cheese hotdog, and salad with homemade vinaigrette dressing. When asked how she felt on her first attempt to prepare a meal, Grace said: "I was really excited and am just glad that there are no reports of food poisoning thus far! The only negative comment I had was from ex-colleague, Meds, who said my fireplace decor failed... But that's sort of OK coming from Meds!" She quipped.

The Christmas eve dinner session was dedicated to Mr. Jang's JC and majong friends. Interestingly, Cafe Lumiere is also known as MJC - the short form for "Majong Club". True to its name, MJC members presented a majong table as a housewarming gift to the couple. It was quickly put to good use after the members had their Christmas feast and the party ended at 3am in the morning, or so Grace heard as she has already collapsed into her four-poster bed slightly after midnight due to the long day spent in the kitchen.

As for Christmas day, it was a relief for the owners that the party only started around 7pm. Grace and Mr. Jang were exhausted from helping out at the Children Ministry in the morning. Some of the junior kids apparently ate the chocolate stars that they hid in the santuary for the older kids. The latter could not find the complete set of stars for them to piece together the words of "SAVE", "(L)AMB", "H(O)PE" and "LOV(E)". The couple spent some time trying in vain to locate the stars which had mysteriously gone missing.

At 7pm, Grace and Mr Jang welcomed their friends and family to Cafe Lumiere for the grand finale Christmas Day dinner. And what a feast the group had - it was all from a catering service! But it was all made cosy and personalised by the wonderful presents, desserts, and wine brought by their pals. The Christmas spirit was further enhanced by the fact that everyone came dressed in the theme of "Winter" albeit with various interpretations - tropical winter, temperate winter, but luckily no north-pole winter as the air-con could only go as low as 17C. Come gift exchange time, everyone had a fantastic time unwrapping the goodies brought by one another. Even Grace's brother-in-law, OSH, bought a proper gift from L'Occitane this time round. Suspiciously though, he did not know what L'Occitane is when asked. Being the good wife that she is, Est, Grace's sister, refused to comment when asked if she bought the gift on his behalf. The night ended on a high note as the group laughed their guts out watching an old movie, 唐伯虎点秋香.

We bring you some photo highlights from the dinner finale, which is not a lot as Grace was either too busy in the kitchen or at the dining area eating. For the rest of the other events, there were no photos taken from Grace's phone cam (she totally forgot).

Cafe Lumiere wishes all a Merry Christmas once again!

Cafe Lumiere co-owner Grace (right) with her favourite sister Esther (left) and dog Almonn. She calls them collectively: Sismonn.

Almonn was almost put up for sale, if not for his hidden ferocious character. 

The Crazy Trio from Sec One. From left: Grace, Chick, and Hwei.

(*Grace realised that she also forgot to take a Christmas photo with cafe co-owner and husband, Mr. Jang. Oopsie!)

martinis + cakes = happy me

I didn't put the group photo here because I am not sure if they will be comfortable having their photo uploaded on blogs (FB is another matter!) so I just put this happy photo of myself with two glasses of lychee martini.

Am very grateful that they had included me in the celebration of the December babies even though they are more of Mr. Jang's buddies. I seldom join in the gatherings and I always hide behind Mr. Jang but they are always very nice and kind. I even have birthday presents and a mini cake!

Thank you, thank you! :)

A morning worth waking up for!

I always dread waking up early on Saturday mornings because it's the only day where I could sleep in, which is why I sometimes hesitate to make appointments on Saturday mornings, even brunch! Today, however, I am glad I made the extra effort to wake up AND dress up slightly to have brunch with chick, sis and BIL at White Rabbit.



Sis looks happy while waiting for her food.

Chick deep in thought about her upcoming wedding?

We had egg benedict, lobster and cheese omelette, linguine aglio olio, and... ok, I forgot the name of the dish BIL ordered. The food was good but it clearly wasn't the differentiating factor - the ambience was. I think it beat the PS cafe at Ann Siang Hill where we went two weeks ago with Godpa. There was just something really magical about the church-like architecture with its high ceilings and stained glass windows.



linguine aglio olio

egg benedict

lobster and cheese omelette

I forgot what this is called but it's supposed to be real good!

There was a wedding going on when we were having brunch and us being us, we took advantage of the setting at the alfresco area to take some photos (after the guests have left, of course). Check out how we attempted to do an "outdoor" photoshoot ourselves, with us as the models and us as the photographer, while BIL tried not to look too embarrassed by us.

BKK: a trip to remember

Bangkok has always been one of my favourite cities in the world. It was one of the few places a few of us went together during school trips. It was the place where I visited hubs while he was on a one-month stay during his first job. It was also the place where we had our real grown-up family trip a few years ago. It was just perfect for shopping, eating and relaxing.

And now, it will be the starting place of the many, many girls trip we will do together. Our stay in Bangkok was short, but it reaffirmed the friendship we had for nearly 17 years. We are obviously very different, and it reflects so in our shopping patterns and food choices. But the deep level of comfort, the unspoken compromises, and the quiet understanding of where to go, where to eat, and where to stay, just make the trip enjoyable beyond words.

It is easy to lose ourselves in our own hectic lifestyles. Like a good marriage, friendship requires efforts on the part of everyone to make it work. The fact that we made this trip come true meant how much we treasure the friendship, no matter how different our lives have become. I hope we will always remember to encourage one another, laugh at one another, share the mundane stuff in our lives with one another even as we grow older and likely, grouchier (haha).

Merci merci :)

Merci Seigneur, pour des petites choses que tu m'avez donne.

Je n'ai pas passe une tres bonne journee au bureau aujourd'hui (due a quelque chose) et j'avais des plans de passer une soiree tranquille avec mon mari et ma soeur. Mais mes cheries m'ont pris par surprise et j'ai fini par passer une tres tres bonne et amusante soiree avec elles.

Donc, merci Seigneur, pour ton amour pour moi, pour me rendre compte qu'il y a beaucoup de gens et d'amies qui sont tres tres gentilles.

Tu es grand!

Dress search completed!

Although technically Hwei said that I could wear my existing blue dress as her jiemei dress, which normal girl would pass up the opportunity to shop for new dresses especially when all other jiemeis have bought new dresses too?!?!

And so I spent a while (yes, just a little while) on Sunday taking a really casual walk along Marina Square (really casual). Spotted two dresses that might fit the dress requirement. The first one is the "tiffany" coloured one, and the second one is quite similar to my existing blue dress.




Decided on the second one in the end because the cut looks nicer. Although the colour is almost the same as my existing one, there is a subtle difference! V neck spaghetti strap vs cross-back straight neck.

The best thing is, there is also a huge discount and unlike the jiemei dress I've bought for Sis' wedding, this is one dress that I will definitely wear it again.

Ahaha. Heaven knows how happy a girl can be when she finds a good buy! :D

to my dearies

Read this during my bedtime Bible reading time: True friendships are not based on utilitarianism or selfish interest, but on love.

And if we replace the word "love" in Corinthians with "a friend", the verse would go like this:

A friend is patient, a friend is kind. A friend does not envy, she does not boast, she is not proud. A friend is not rude, and she is not self-seeking, she is not easily angered, she keeps no record of wrongs. A friend does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. A friend always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Like a diamond, friendships centered around God is build to last.

May our friendship sparkle like a precious gem, peeps! :)

Shanghai Jun 2010

There are too many photos to upload re the Shanghai trip, but here's a glimpse of what happened during the 4D3N stay at phua phua's place: good food, good company, and good fun. :) Sis the rain fairy brought rain throughout the entire trip but that did not dampen our holiday spirits!

My not-so-bad-afterall Wednesday

Ok, I know I looked super 披头散发+油腻+包包脸 (read: horrible) here but these are the stuff that would brighten up my day. The green bag I was holding contained half a fluffy cheese cake, which we finished this very evening. Yep, me + Mr. Jang + Sis. Sis refused to be in the photo cos she claimed that she looked terrible. As if I looked any better.

Anyway, thanks to Hwei and JY for the SMSes today. Simple SMSes but they lifted the corners of my mouth on an otherwise grumpy face.

MS

There are colleagues (or former colleagues) who make you feel recharged after talking to them. Like, how you are feeling towards work is perfectly normal. And that's kind of encouraging because it sort of puts things into perspective.

Yup, MS is definitely one of the precious ones. Never thought that we'd click that easily but we did!

Thanks for making the effort to meet up and stay in touch these past couple of years, pal. :)

Summary for the week

1. Survived my first week at the new work place
2. Totally missing old colleagues but made friends with new ones
3. Celebrated Valentines' Day early with Mr. Jang
4. Felt absolutely loved...

I just saw my friend's entries re my wedding, and felt extremely touched and teary. God bless their lives too and may they continue to have faith in God and passion towards everything that they are striving for!! :)

Towards the last day of MC

Despite the horrible drilling noise, the constant taste of blood on the first two days, and the fact that I have to eat with my head tilted to one side, I am really quite enjoying my stay at home. I have not stopped working actually - in fact, this felt more like telecommuting than to be on MC - but it's really nice to be working from the comforts of home, in my pjs, looking out from the balcony to the morning sun. :)

And I have visitors... Ok maybe not exactly "visitors" but well Chick and Hwei came by after the dinner at Le Viet and the four of us (including Sis) had loads of fun watching YouTube videos with the two of them each claiming that their respective recommendations were funnier... I think they were the amusing ones. And then Mr. Jang and the soon-to-be brother-in-law OSH came by last evening as well cos I really didn't want to eat soupy stuff or porridge again, so I cooked a proper meal for the four of us. Half way through the dinner, Sis asked me "why do you keep looking at Mr. Jang???" And then she realised that I was not... I was just tilting my head in that direction lah. ^ ^

Tonight I'd probably be eating alone cos' both Sis and Mr. Jang are having some company dinner thing. But I know exactly what my cravings are: Curry fried rice! So I'll be cooking that at home and enjoying the last bit of my MC before weekend comes and I'd have to go back to work on Monday.... hee hee...

My weekend

This year's Valentine's Day was "special" because Mr. Jang and I didn't do the usual movie and dinner stuff. (P/S: I gave him a $1.70 eraser for Valentine's Day. Something that I was very proud of. Hahahaha...) We went instead to the Boon Keng area to view the DBSS flat, the one which we so wanted but could only marginally afford. That unit on the 29th floor with the master bedroom facing the Marina seemed the perfect unit but the price $640, 000 was really a little too steep. We had to factor in things like not having job stability in times like this and planning for kids etc. And so it was a no-go. Sigh....

We then spent the evening at Wheng's place having a nice and cosy BBQ. Food was good but what was better was the 珠光宝气 DVD... oh gosh, HK drama series are always so much better than the local ones. I watched 6集 in a row and if it wasn't for the hoegaarden that made me so sleepy, I would have continued watching.

And Sunday came... (I must control my grumpiness on this) to cut the long story short I was supposed to go for an event in the evening but I only discovered upon arrival that there was change in plans and I was not longer needed!!!! If I had known earlier, I would have enjoyed my Sunday more... I would have more time to do up Sis' hair for her friend's wedding... I would have made plans for other stuff etc etc... (not blaming you AL but I wish the bosses could make up their minds sometimes and things wouldn't be so messy! :/)

In any case, things would probably be slower next week because I'm going to extract my wisdom tooth on Tuesday! That means a week's MC for me... honestly, I welcome the break although it meant that I have to endure the pain of going for tooth extraction...

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The morning started out rather peacefully with no more laptops dying on me halfway through my work. Managed to get something out for the discussion with S and J in the late afternoon. Sweet H msged a word of encouragement all the way from Aussie and Chick said she's got chocs for me from her trip! Yeah!

My mood was still terrible though, because I know I'd have to continue working on the project on Sunday. Needed someone to talk to and who better than my long time therapist Mr TJY. As usual, he put up with my grumbling, growling, kicking and whining all through the ride to the dinner place. Wanted to head to Marina Barrage to see see look look but it was too jammed so we went to Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant instead. I felt like I was brought back to the 70's with all those decors and setting. The food was not bad and the aunties serving our table were quite warm actually.

By the end of the dinner, I was 1) reminded that it's not the end of the world, 2) determined to stay zen, and 3) not going to be too hard on myself. I was also totally full from the dinner.

So again on this last day, I express serious, sincere appreciation and gratitude to my very supportive friends. They made life bearable and it won't be the same without them.

Feeling better

The three things I remembered about yesterday were:

1) My new shoes broke. First it was the sole, then it was the strap. Luckily I had a spare pair of shoes in the office.

2) Lunch with A at the fish and chips place, and the crash course on buying HDB flats and using (or rather the locking in of) CPF monies. And then it was a heated debate on gay rights. Yes, he emphasised that he is not gay.

3) Drinks with YC in the evening @ Majestic Bar. 2.5 martinis later, I found myself getting really sleepy. I recalled going to Vivo to collect my camera, discovering that the service centre was closed, taking a bus, reaching home, collapsing on the sofa, waking up 3 hours later, washing up, and went right back to sleep. Hmmm... the fact that I remembered all these meant that I was not drunk. Was thinking of sms-ing YC to make sure that he got home safely as well (since he had 3.5 martinis!), butI decided that I shan't insult his level of alcohol tolerance.

Woke up before the alarm clock rang this morning. Went to look at some gowns with Sis and settled the Dec trip train tickets with Mr. Jang at STA.

And then it was flag day! Stood for 3.5 hours near Lavendar MRT under the hot sun and kept bugging people "Hi, would you like to donate to the elderly and people with special needs please?" The cute thing was, even the elderly donated although a few murmured "I also elderly!" or "I also need help." Sis got a couple of nasty ones who snapped "Asked LKY's son to donate lah!!!" or "I lost all my money already lah! STILL ask me to donate!!!??" Anyway, we managed to get a decent amount at the end of the day (at least both Sis and my bags weighed sufficiently heavy). The bad thing was, we got a parking summon for not putting enough coupons. Argh.

Dinner was then once again home cooked fried rice. It was actually a strategic move because I need to set a trap for Mr. Jang to come so that I can outsource my data entry work to him. Hee.

On this last day of my life, I feel extremely exhausted from having participated in the flag day but am glad that I did a small part for the needy. Am also very grateful towards the people who made me feel that they are always there for me. Thanks.

Champagne and Popiah

Managed to pull through my first day back at the office although there were over 100 emails to clear. Boss is going to be posted out to another division so we had a simple farewell lunch for her. We are all going to miss her presence.

The presentation at NTU wasn't that bad either. Prof said that ours was quite straight forward and easy to understand. We just need to have more meat in our actual term paper.

The highlight of the day was coming back home to find Sis and Chick at the swimming pool with a bottle of champagne and some nice popiah from Siglap. Was supposed to do my report for tomorrow but am just too tired from the chit chatting and scanning through Facebook for nice wedding gowns for Sis.

On this last day of my life, I am glad that I stayed and talked to Sis and Chick, instead of heading backto the apartment to hide and do my work.