Here we go again. How time flies! It's that time of the year again where I pause to evaluate my life in the past year and think how best to live it in the next!
Next year, my kids won't be in any 'crucial exam year'. How pathetic that I need to see my life in that perspective but it's true. My girl's done with her 'O' level exams and my boy will be in sec. 2. Yes, I may have to poke him every now and then cos it's streaming year (2011 will define if he goes to the Arts or Science stream in 2012). But still, I think there's room for what I aim to do.
I aim to do more short trips here and there with hubby. Every time I am on leave on a working day and I see couples (usually retirees) enjoying breakfast together, I wonder if Mike and I will live to see the day.
Morbid as it seems, I look around and see people here today and gone tomorrow. I cannot wait too long to seize the day with him. It had better be now. I know married couples usually wait till they've retired before travelling by themselves (without kids in tow) but I don't want to wait till it's too late. In the context of an average income earner in Singapore, I don't see myself retiring any time soon unless I strike the big one during the Chinese New Year Toto Hong Bao draw in 2011! Therefore, I am going to lead a more relaxed life while I can.
I may not have achieved all I set out to do in 2010 but God willing, there's always 2011.
I don't want to give myself more stress than life is already dishing out to me.
So in 2011, I hope to:
1) draw & paint
2) go on short trips with my hubby
Yep, no fancy big goals. Just simple ones!
Hope you all have a Happy New Year!
What started as a blog about hand painted shoes has become an online journal for a simple working mother, in search of Food for the Heart, Body, Soul and Mind.
29 Dec 2010
24 Dec 2010
MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010
I wish for all my family, friends and customers, that they will truly experience the joy and love that the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ brings. Joy to the world!
May you all have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!
8 Dec 2010
Back from Bangkok (again)
Seems like time passes really slowly when you're waiting to go embark on your holiday but speeds right by you when you're having the actual holiday! We're back from Bangkok (yes, again)! Didn't shop much this time round. Booked day trips to Siam City Park (an amusement cum water park) and also another day trip to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (again), the Samphrant Elephant Park and Rose Garden. I can only say that if you follow a tour, you see nothing but what the tour guide allows you to see. If you want to spend more time enjoying the place, then pay a bit more and go on your own. It does cost more to go on your own but ultimately, you get more out of the place. We were pretty disappointed that at the Rose Garden, we were only given enough time to run in to watch the Thai cultural show and run back out to head back home.
How dumb! Who wants to travel a half day just to watch a 20 minute show and not be allowed to explore the beautiful grounds? We did go to the Dusit Zoo on our own. Tried to enjoy the animals but as a Singaporean, you can't help but keep comparing it to our own blardy 'nicer' zoo (which WE CANNOT AFFORD TO VISIT!!!)
I didn't really shop much this trip. Let my kids spend most of the moolah. Daughter's headed to a new phase in her life now that her 'Os' are over. So figured I'd let her do the shopping instead. Couldn't resist 2 handbags for a steal though (S$9 each!) and had to get my replacement stash of dull, black, office skirts (S$12-15)!
Like I said in my previous post, I'd cut my hair real short just before the trip! Hate to use hair styling products on my hair but with short hair, I really have no choice but to. Hubby likes the funky look. Me? I like that I use very little time to wash and dry short hair and the cool wind blowing down my neck but I do miss my own hair blowing in the wind. Sigh. But really, decided to cut it short cos long hair seems to weigh a person down the older they get. Unless you have a lot of time to blow dry and style it every day.
Think I've lost a bit of weight in Bangkok from eating less meat and rice! I should live there!
How dumb! Who wants to travel a half day just to watch a 20 minute show and not be allowed to explore the beautiful grounds? We did go to the Dusit Zoo on our own. Tried to enjoy the animals but as a Singaporean, you can't help but keep comparing it to our own blardy 'nicer' zoo (which WE CANNOT AFFORD TO VISIT!!!)
I didn't really shop much this trip. Let my kids spend most of the moolah. Daughter's headed to a new phase in her life now that her 'Os' are over. So figured I'd let her do the shopping instead. Couldn't resist 2 handbags for a steal though (S$9 each!) and had to get my replacement stash of dull, black, office skirts (S$12-15)!
Like I said in my previous post, I'd cut my hair real short just before the trip! Hate to use hair styling products on my hair but with short hair, I really have no choice but to. Hubby likes the funky look. Me? I like that I use very little time to wash and dry short hair and the cool wind blowing down my neck but I do miss my own hair blowing in the wind. Sigh. But really, decided to cut it short cos long hair seems to weigh a person down the older they get. Unless you have a lot of time to blow dry and style it every day.
Think I've lost a bit of weight in Bangkok from eating less meat and rice! I should live there!
29 Nov 2010
Cleaning up
My hubby is a considerably private person. He's never seen the necessity to splash personal details on the virtual world. As I grow older, I do see his point. I'm trying to be more conservative when it comes to posting online. I'm going to use this blog for it's original purpose, to showcase my art hobby but I'll of course talk about anything else under the sun if I'm in the mood for it : )
I've cut my hair REAL SHORT! Here's to the new ME!!!
I've cut my hair REAL SHORT! Here's to the new ME!!!
9 Nov 2010
What do we worry about?
My worry the past few weeks, was to take or not to take THE PILL. What pill? The birth control pill, lah. Read my previous posts if you haven't already.
My son, John's worry last night, was if his parents would or wouldn't let him go to Pulau Ubin with his friends today. I was reluctant...... *blush* my 'baby' is only 13 what!? Can't a mother worry? He was going cycling with his friends. But his dad advised me it would be advisable in this case to 'let go'....and so I did. We gave him some makan money, told him to pack a lightweight S$2 Daiso raincoat and prayed over him, asking for him and his group of friends to be covered with Jesus' precious blood. That's all we can do as parents sometimes.
Then when I woke up this morning to the drizzling rain, my worry became compounded. What if the sea is choppy? What if the bumboat......? What if the ground they are cycling on is slippery?
My daughter, Tessa's worry every other day the past few weeks, has been over the topics surfacing in her GCE 'O' Level examination papers! Did she manage to 'spot' this topic prior? Did she not? It seems exams have always been about hits and misses since my time! Some things never change.
My hubby does not worry easily. He is a very happy-go-lucky, carefree sort of character. He doesn't like to let on that he has worries (although I know he does!), macho man and all. Still, I know for a fact that he worries over whether his wife can or cannot wake up on time for work in the mornings! He worries if his wife is punctual for appointments. Hee hee....and he worries if his plants are thriving!
We all have worries. We worry when we are young. We worry when we are old. It never seems to end. Those of us chasing faith enlightenment seem to worry less and take life's problems in our stride. Those of us who hold on to possessions and must haves, those of us who have more to lose, worry more.
I got thinking about this when I heard some bad news about someone this morning. One minute, her worry was about finding a better work environment. The next, she's worrying about being able to stay alive. Would she have preferred to turn back the clock to be in her previous situation where she was oblivious to her bad health but working at an unsatisfactory job? Who wants to be in a situation where a death sentence is hanging over you? In comparison to the lemons being thrown at her now, life back then wasn't so hard after all, was it?
I think this hits home for many of us. We're unhappy with the problems and issues we're experiencing today. We're unhappy with our work environments. We're unhappy with our family situations. We're unhappy with our financial situations. We're unhappy with our spouses. We're unhappy with friends. We're unhappy with ourselves. We're unhappy, period. It's as the old saying goes, "I was unhappy with my shoes until I met someone with no feet".
I thank the Lord for today's worries then, bad weather and all.
My son, John's worry last night, was if his parents would or wouldn't let him go to Pulau Ubin with his friends today. I was reluctant...... *blush* my 'baby' is only 13 what!? Can't a mother worry? He was going cycling with his friends. But his dad advised me it would be advisable in this case to 'let go'....and so I did. We gave him some makan money, told him to pack a lightweight S$2 Daiso raincoat and prayed over him, asking for him and his group of friends to be covered with Jesus' precious blood. That's all we can do as parents sometimes.
Then when I woke up this morning to the drizzling rain, my worry became compounded. What if the sea is choppy? What if the bumboat......? What if the ground they are cycling on is slippery?
My daughter, Tessa's worry every other day the past few weeks, has been over the topics surfacing in her GCE 'O' Level examination papers! Did she manage to 'spot' this topic prior? Did she not? It seems exams have always been about hits and misses since my time! Some things never change.
My hubby does not worry easily. He is a very happy-go-lucky, carefree sort of character. He doesn't like to let on that he has worries (although I know he does!), macho man and all. Still, I know for a fact that he worries over whether his wife can or cannot wake up on time for work in the mornings! He worries if his wife is punctual for appointments. Hee hee....and he worries if his plants are thriving!
We all have worries. We worry when we are young. We worry when we are old. It never seems to end. Those of us chasing faith enlightenment seem to worry less and take life's problems in our stride. Those of us who hold on to possessions and must haves, those of us who have more to lose, worry more.
I got thinking about this when I heard some bad news about someone this morning. One minute, her worry was about finding a better work environment. The next, she's worrying about being able to stay alive. Would she have preferred to turn back the clock to be in her previous situation where she was oblivious to her bad health but working at an unsatisfactory job? Who wants to be in a situation where a death sentence is hanging over you? In comparison to the lemons being thrown at her now, life back then wasn't so hard after all, was it?
I think this hits home for many of us. We're unhappy with the problems and issues we're experiencing today. We're unhappy with our work environments. We're unhappy with our family situations. We're unhappy with our financial situations. We're unhappy with our spouses. We're unhappy with friends. We're unhappy with ourselves. We're unhappy, period. It's as the old saying goes, "I was unhappy with my shoes until I met someone with no feet".
I thank the Lord for today's worries then, bad weather and all.
8 Nov 2010
PCOS Update - 8 Oct 2010
(Warning: Womanly stuff. Leave if you're squirmish)
Because I had stopped taking the pills after a few days, my period had arrived again and boy was it heavy. I had a few days to re-think my decision to stop and then I suddenly decided to give it another shot. When my cycle was clearing up, I went back on the pill for a few days and the uncomfortable symptoms came back. I felt that I really didn't need this sh*t. I mean, for the longest time, I did not need these pills and I may have had irregular menses, a great inconvenience I can tell you but I didn't have to put up with the aches and pains I was having.
In the end, I went for confession about my having to take Birth Control Pills for medical reasons. Felt I got a load off my chest. It was ding-donging in my head for weeks. The general idea is that I am taking this on medical grounds and thus, I should not be feeling guilty about it. But I decided to stop it anyway for a second time. I know, I sound like an indecisive person but I'm usually not.
This is all so simple for my man. I know he doesn't have ANY issues with me taking or not taking. Sigh. Is it a MAN thing then? He does not have any issues, period. Huh! He does not have any period! You feel comfortable taking? You take. If you don't want to take, don't take. It's THAT simple for him. I suppose, others would call it being supportive! Ok, I've stopped. Darn, will I be expecting my period again???!!!
Because I had stopped taking the pills after a few days, my period had arrived again and boy was it heavy. I had a few days to re-think my decision to stop and then I suddenly decided to give it another shot. When my cycle was clearing up, I went back on the pill for a few days and the uncomfortable symptoms came back. I felt that I really didn't need this sh*t. I mean, for the longest time, I did not need these pills and I may have had irregular menses, a great inconvenience I can tell you but I didn't have to put up with the aches and pains I was having.
In the end, I went for confession about my having to take Birth Control Pills for medical reasons. Felt I got a load off my chest. It was ding-donging in my head for weeks. The general idea is that I am taking this on medical grounds and thus, I should not be feeling guilty about it. But I decided to stop it anyway for a second time. I know, I sound like an indecisive person but I'm usually not.
This is all so simple for my man. I know he doesn't have ANY issues with me taking or not taking. Sigh. Is it a MAN thing then? He does not have any issues, period. Huh! He does not have any period! You feel comfortable taking? You take. If you don't want to take, don't take. It's THAT simple for him. I suppose, others would call it being supportive! Ok, I've stopped. Darn, will I be expecting my period again???!!!
2 Nov 2010
Life with PCOS - update 2 Nov 2010
(Don't read on if you're a prude or if you're squeamish about menstrual cycles)
I really didn't know what else to put as a title. Most times when I blog, I'm rushing to type in the info between doing something else. I'm a person who's always rushing here and there. Who has the time to blog and think of clever titles? Not me apparently. So what the heck, there you have it, so concise and to the point, "Life with PCOS - update 2 Nov 2010". Ha ha.
So I stopped taking my birth control pill on the 6th day. As one is supposed to take it at the same time every day, once I missed my morning schedule, my body recognised the absence of the hormones immediately. I felt better actually. No ache in the boobies. I felt lighter. But my womb showed symptoms of an impending period. So it did arrive and I have a few days to decide again if I should start on the pills again or not.
I decided I'm going to stop playing the 'feeling guilty' game with myself. I have irregular or absent menstrual cycles because of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. No, I don't think there's a cure and no, you can't catch it from someone else. But there are drugs to treat some symptoms. Most times, people face fertility problems but I've been blessed to have given birth to two kids in their teens now before I even knew I had PCOS. I only knew back then that my womb was retroverted and that it took me 3 years to conceive my first child naturally. After the birth of my second child, now 13, my cycles became more and more irregular till I was having them only about 4 to 5 times a year. Great savings on sanitary napkins but I had to put up with thick womb walls. Very uncomfortable I tell you.
Fast forward to November 2010. I am in a dilemma. The doc has put me on birth control pills and I am Catholic. I shan't go into details but I think you already know. A Catholic shall be faithful to the Church and we don't condone Birth Control Pills as a form of Birth Control. A birth control pill in itself isn't bad. For example when used to regulate one's menstrual cycle or I'm not sure but perhaps to control really bad acne.
Oi! Stop rolling your eyeballs. Don't judge. This is my faith and I strive to be faithful to my Church.
My dilemma is the hospital has issued it to me to regulate my cycle and I am obviously married AND with a healthy sex life. So by default, I am going to be using it AS a form of birth control. Given the state of my menstrual cycles, if I have to use a natural family planning method, I think I'd have to be celibate. Gulp.
I decided, I'll face God when the time comes. He may reveal to me that I should have remained celibate if I had no more intention of having kids. I don't know. Who knows? Who ever knows what He's going to say to us when we finally meet our maker?
Meanwhile, I'll stop feeling guilty. I'll just have to decide if I'm going to continue taking the pill to regulate my cycle or not. If I take it, I take it. I'm not going to feel guilty. Yah. It's such a simple deal for others to just take the pill but I'm a complicated person and I like to think things over. Apparently, this topic is taking a longer time to resolve than others.
I really didn't know what else to put as a title. Most times when I blog, I'm rushing to type in the info between doing something else. I'm a person who's always rushing here and there. Who has the time to blog and think of clever titles? Not me apparently. So what the heck, there you have it, so concise and to the point, "Life with PCOS - update 2 Nov 2010". Ha ha.
So I stopped taking my birth control pill on the 6th day. As one is supposed to take it at the same time every day, once I missed my morning schedule, my body recognised the absence of the hormones immediately. I felt better actually. No ache in the boobies. I felt lighter. But my womb showed symptoms of an impending period. So it did arrive and I have a few days to decide again if I should start on the pills again or not.
I decided I'm going to stop playing the 'feeling guilty' game with myself. I have irregular or absent menstrual cycles because of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. No, I don't think there's a cure and no, you can't catch it from someone else. But there are drugs to treat some symptoms. Most times, people face fertility problems but I've been blessed to have given birth to two kids in their teens now before I even knew I had PCOS. I only knew back then that my womb was retroverted and that it took me 3 years to conceive my first child naturally. After the birth of my second child, now 13, my cycles became more and more irregular till I was having them only about 4 to 5 times a year. Great savings on sanitary napkins but I had to put up with thick womb walls. Very uncomfortable I tell you.
Fast forward to November 2010. I am in a dilemma. The doc has put me on birth control pills and I am Catholic. I shan't go into details but I think you already know. A Catholic shall be faithful to the Church and we don't condone Birth Control Pills as a form of Birth Control. A birth control pill in itself isn't bad. For example when used to regulate one's menstrual cycle or I'm not sure but perhaps to control really bad acne.
Oi! Stop rolling your eyeballs. Don't judge. This is my faith and I strive to be faithful to my Church.
My dilemma is the hospital has issued it to me to regulate my cycle and I am obviously married AND with a healthy sex life. So by default, I am going to be using it AS a form of birth control. Given the state of my menstrual cycles, if I have to use a natural family planning method, I think I'd have to be celibate. Gulp.
I decided, I'll face God when the time comes. He may reveal to me that I should have remained celibate if I had no more intention of having kids. I don't know. Who knows? Who ever knows what He's going to say to us when we finally meet our maker?
Meanwhile, I'll stop feeling guilty. I'll just have to decide if I'm going to continue taking the pill to regulate my cycle or not. If I take it, I take it. I'm not going to feel guilty. Yah. It's such a simple deal for others to just take the pill but I'm a complicated person and I like to think things over. Apparently, this topic is taking a longer time to resolve than others.
28 Oct 2010
Medical check up again
Anyone reading my blog might think I'm a pretty sick person. I mean literally sick as in diseased. I've in the past year, had to go to 3 different hospitals to check on my knee, my colon and my ovaries! But in all, I'm not as sick as I sound. I actually look normal and feel normal!
My knee is I would say about 80% recovered. On days I wear the 'wrong' pair of shoes or walk in a way which might twist my ankles, my knee starts to act up. I'd say I'm done with physiotherapy. This may apply to my case only but I pretty much stopped going for my physio sessions and my knee actually felt less painful! It's not fully recovered. Let's just say, squat loos are no longer on my list of favourites (even if I think they are cleaner than soiled toilet seats)!
My colon has been given a clean bill of health. No apparent cysts even though I had several bleeding episodes that scared the sh*t out of me. I have internal piles and despite having them ligated, the colon doctor advised me this morning that they would likely return. Suddenly, I'm thinking of Arnie's "I'll be back!".
Ok, only internal piles. I can live with that. So my backside is still in pretty good shape, considering.
Ah, my ovaries. My womb. You're as irregular as it gets. I DID get started on the birth control pills and I'm on my 5th day. Side effects?
Day One - Sudden pain/twitch in heart area. Came and went. Sudden cramp in left ovary area. Came and went.
Day Two - Boobs hurt. Limbs hurt. Knee hurting more obviously today. Other joints seem to hurt too when walking. What the heck is going on? Notice dark clouds and perhaps it's not the pills but the weather after all.
Day Three - Boobs still hurt. Arms ache. Legs ache. Is my back aching? Is it my mattress? My sleeping position? Or is it the darn pills? Sudden pain/twitch in heart area again. Came and went.
Day Four - Boobs ache. Knee hurts.
Day Five - Knee hurts. Joints seem to still be aching.
General observations:
- Don't feel the cold / heat like I did with Norethisterone.
- Do feel like coughing immediately after taking pill, just like with Norethisterone.
- Boobs don't seem to have grown any bigger. Ha ha.
I had a medical check up this morning with the doc over my recent colonoscopy and I had continued taking the pill the past few days because I didn't want a period to arrive now if I had stopped it suddenly. Speaking of which, when one is on the 21 day pill, did you know that the bleeding you get during the 7 day break isn't a real menstrual flow at all? Simplistically put, what happens is you're not ovulating at all. No eggs are released because the hormones in the pills are making sure they don't. (I have something to add to this later*). If one continues taking the pill without a break, you wouldn't even see a monthly flow. The 7 day break is to allow you to bleed so that you will psychologically feel that you are having your menses.
So for me, if I was having irregular menses, this doesn't make sense at all. At least in the past, I was having REAL menstrual periods on my own. Ok, I'm not a doctor, nothing of the above I've said is medically justifiable. I'm just rambling on and on in my own thoughts.
*Now, what I wanted to say about the eggs. If you're on a birth control pill and your ovaries DO get released and a sperm DOES meet the egg to fertilize it, the hormones in the pill will try its best to ensure that your womb lining is undesirable enough so that the fertilized egg can't implant itself on the wall. It just gets flushed out.
It's not my job to tell you what that means. You may not even know that it has happened. But now..... you know, that it CAN happen.
Sheesh. I didn't tell you that so I could judge you. I wrote that so that I could go ponder it myself.
Now that I don't have a check up lined up anytime soon, I should be able to stop taking the pill. Or should I? I asked God and I received His answer but I'm being stubborn. Life is complicated sometimes. Or is it us who complicate life?
Update 29/10/10 : Stopped taking the pill today. Decided to let my body be free from drugs for a while and to heck with irregular cycles.
My knee is I would say about 80% recovered. On days I wear the 'wrong' pair of shoes or walk in a way which might twist my ankles, my knee starts to act up. I'd say I'm done with physiotherapy. This may apply to my case only but I pretty much stopped going for my physio sessions and my knee actually felt less painful! It's not fully recovered. Let's just say, squat loos are no longer on my list of favourites (even if I think they are cleaner than soiled toilet seats)!
My colon has been given a clean bill of health. No apparent cysts even though I had several bleeding episodes that scared the sh*t out of me. I have internal piles and despite having them ligated, the colon doctor advised me this morning that they would likely return. Suddenly, I'm thinking of Arnie's "I'll be back!".
Ok, only internal piles. I can live with that. So my backside is still in pretty good shape, considering.
Ah, my ovaries. My womb. You're as irregular as it gets. I DID get started on the birth control pills and I'm on my 5th day. Side effects?
Day One - Sudden pain/twitch in heart area. Came and went. Sudden cramp in left ovary area. Came and went.
Day Two - Boobs hurt. Limbs hurt. Knee hurting more obviously today. Other joints seem to hurt too when walking. What the heck is going on? Notice dark clouds and perhaps it's not the pills but the weather after all.
Day Three - Boobs still hurt. Arms ache. Legs ache. Is my back aching? Is it my mattress? My sleeping position? Or is it the darn pills? Sudden pain/twitch in heart area again. Came and went.
Day Four - Boobs ache. Knee hurts.
Day Five - Knee hurts. Joints seem to still be aching.
General observations:
- Don't feel the cold / heat like I did with Norethisterone.
- Do feel like coughing immediately after taking pill, just like with Norethisterone.
- Boobs don't seem to have grown any bigger. Ha ha.
I had a medical check up this morning with the doc over my recent colonoscopy and I had continued taking the pill the past few days because I didn't want a period to arrive now if I had stopped it suddenly. Speaking of which, when one is on the 21 day pill, did you know that the bleeding you get during the 7 day break isn't a real menstrual flow at all? Simplistically put, what happens is you're not ovulating at all. No eggs are released because the hormones in the pills are making sure they don't. (I have something to add to this later*). If one continues taking the pill without a break, you wouldn't even see a monthly flow. The 7 day break is to allow you to bleed so that you will psychologically feel that you are having your menses.
So for me, if I was having irregular menses, this doesn't make sense at all. At least in the past, I was having REAL menstrual periods on my own. Ok, I'm not a doctor, nothing of the above I've said is medically justifiable. I'm just rambling on and on in my own thoughts.
*Now, what I wanted to say about the eggs. If you're on a birth control pill and your ovaries DO get released and a sperm DOES meet the egg to fertilize it, the hormones in the pill will try its best to ensure that your womb lining is undesirable enough so that the fertilized egg can't implant itself on the wall. It just gets flushed out.
It's not my job to tell you what that means. You may not even know that it has happened. But now..... you know, that it CAN happen.
Sheesh. I didn't tell you that so I could judge you. I wrote that so that I could go ponder it myself.
Now that I don't have a check up lined up anytime soon, I should be able to stop taking the pill. Or should I? I asked God and I received His answer but I'm being stubborn. Life is complicated sometimes. Or is it us who complicate life?
Update 29/10/10 : Stopped taking the pill today. Decided to let my body be free from drugs for a while and to heck with irregular cycles.
25 Oct 2010
PCOS Update
My newly issued Birth Control Pills
I just had my second transabdominal scan and invasive scan a week or more ago. The doc said the results showed everything to be fine (Praise the Lord!) but that did not mean I did not have PCOS. I still had it. I was puzzled and asked wide-eyed if they had seen any cysts and she looked again at the scan report and said, no, I was all clear! She said, the thing about PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) is sometimes, the scans show up fine and sometimes, they don't. But, I still had PCOS.I've been on Norethisterone for some time now. I told the doc that I didn't like it because cold felt really cold and hot felt really hot. I would perspire like crazy just from walking abit and then if I entered an air-conditioned room, I'd feel so cold. This doc agreed that this was a side effect of Norethisterone. She said one could only be on Norethisterone for a limited period of time only. Not for too long. I was glad to be off it. I had prior to the visit, contemplated stopping it altogether and to heck with irregular periods.
The doc decided to put me on a 3 month trial with a birth control pill. I should have started taking it a week ago but I was hesitating. I was praying about it. I was asking God what to do? What does one do in such a situation?
I know there are medical consequences if I don't try to regulate my menstrual cycle. As a Catholic, it is difficult to come to terms with this. On the one hand, as a mother of two teenagers (and even if I think 3 is a nice number of kids to have) I don't think that in my 40s and at this stage in my life, I'm prepared to have a new child. But I'm learning that everything is up to the Lord and in His time. So I ask the Lord to please bless instead, others who want to have a baby so much. Meanwhile, will God understand that I am taking the pill for medical reasons? Natural family planning was never a bother when I was trying for kids. But after 2 C-sections, even though I loved the idea of having a third child, I didn't really fancy getting cut up a third time. For my husband, a daughter and a son were enough and we never considered having another one. When my cycle became super irregular, natural family planning became totally unnatural for me. Thus, I had this 'battle' inside of me for a long time. Pill or no pill? This is a tough one for me. I've given myself a bit of time. As soon as I see side effects, I'm coming off it. This is just one of those things I have to face when my time is up and God flashes the big screen before me. Sigh.
6 Oct 2010
Gone too soon
Just at the end of our 9 day Novena, we lost someone from Mike's side of the family. In the prime of her life but snuffed out tragically too soon over. Never did we think that the theme from our Novena, 'Is God Dead?', would hit so close to home.
I am not the parent of that young life taken so suddenly but I am a parent and I share their pain. It rips deep in the recesses of my heart because I know that it's a fine line to walk when trying to be a good parent. We try to do all we can and be all we can for the kid but sometimes, it's just not enough. What else could a parent have done to stop her from taking her own life? What else?
I am not the parent and though I share their pain, I am not the one going through this tragedy so I am not questioning my faith. I still love God and I still believe in the goodness of God. But I know that if the tragedy had been mine, my faith might not pass the test. Do not misunderstand me. I don't doubt God. But what I am saying is whoever is in the shoes of those parents who have lost their child too early and too tragically, might just as easily start to doubt his or her faith and start questioning all that God has promised. So, would you?
I admit wholeheartedly, I don't know how I would react. Would I be forgiving? Would I accept the outcome gracefully? Would I be resigned to the fact that God has bigger plans for us? Would I think the departed is in a better place? Would I be able to go to church without being angry? Or would I be crying bitterly and asking God why He has forsaken me?
Before you yell at me and tell me that I shouldn't even be thinking this way because it shows my lack of faith, let me first tell you that talk is easy. How sure are you that you would still be standing tall with your heart and soul in awe of God, while the world around you crumbles to a million pieces? When you lose everyone you love or everything you posses?
Right now, I still cannot be sure. I cannot because I love my husband and children too much to be sure. I cannot bear to lose them. I would rather die than be left alone without them. I am weak and selfish. I should be saying I love God MORE than my husband and children. But as I've reiterated many times, I am only human. God can promise the future. God IS certainty. But I cannot be certain.
Right here, right now, I can only take one day at a time, loving and praising God as I go along because what I am sure of at this point in life is I want to be able to overcome this weakness and one day be able to say that indeed, God is above all, including my loved ones. Right now, I will continue to build His throne. I will continue.
I am not the parent of that young life taken so suddenly but I am a parent and I share their pain. It rips deep in the recesses of my heart because I know that it's a fine line to walk when trying to be a good parent. We try to do all we can and be all we can for the kid but sometimes, it's just not enough. What else could a parent have done to stop her from taking her own life? What else?
I am not the parent and though I share their pain, I am not the one going through this tragedy so I am not questioning my faith. I still love God and I still believe in the goodness of God. But I know that if the tragedy had been mine, my faith might not pass the test. Do not misunderstand me. I don't doubt God. But what I am saying is whoever is in the shoes of those parents who have lost their child too early and too tragically, might just as easily start to doubt his or her faith and start questioning all that God has promised. So, would you?
I admit wholeheartedly, I don't know how I would react. Would I be forgiving? Would I accept the outcome gracefully? Would I be resigned to the fact that God has bigger plans for us? Would I think the departed is in a better place? Would I be able to go to church without being angry? Or would I be crying bitterly and asking God why He has forsaken me?
Before you yell at me and tell me that I shouldn't even be thinking this way because it shows my lack of faith, let me first tell you that talk is easy. How sure are you that you would still be standing tall with your heart and soul in awe of God, while the world around you crumbles to a million pieces? When you lose everyone you love or everything you posses?
Right now, I still cannot be sure. I cannot because I love my husband and children too much to be sure. I cannot bear to lose them. I would rather die than be left alone without them. I am weak and selfish. I should be saying I love God MORE than my husband and children. But as I've reiterated many times, I am only human. God can promise the future. God IS certainty. But I cannot be certain.
Right here, right now, I can only take one day at a time, loving and praising God as I go along because what I am sure of at this point in life is I want to be able to overcome this weakness and one day be able to say that indeed, God is above all, including my loved ones. Right now, I will continue to build His throne. I will continue.
24 Sept 2010
Ligation of Internal Piles
What in the world is that? No, it's not some spaceship exploring an unknown planet. It's the colorectal surgeon using a 'ligator' to rubberband internal piles! Hemorrhoids (US spelling), Haemorrhoids (British spelling). It's something I think only 'old' people get. Well apparently, it seems, I've grown 'old' enough to get it!
I know it seems gross to be writing this but if this info. will help someone else, then hey, why not?
I first felt something was not right down there about a year ago. Yes, down there refers to my A**.
Because I can sit for long periods of time in front of the computer or whilst painting, I started to feel a bit of pain only at random times.
But things got a bit scary when I started to turn the toilet bowl a bright red with blood. It happened a few times and Mike advised me to go see a doc. My GP thought that from my description, that it was likely piles causing the bleeding but advised me to have it checked out by the hospital anyway. The specialist confirmed that I had internal piles. It was a bit nerve wrecking prior to the appointment. I mean, piles I can live with but what if the diagnosis meant something else?
Anyway, after a few checks, I was scheduled for a colonoscopy which took place last week. What the heck do they do at a colonoscopy? Well, I too wanted to find out and freaked myself out watching some YouTube videos. I was petrified that some colorectal doc with shaky hands would perforate my intestines! I was advised that IF the colonoscopy showed up nothing unusual (that's a nice way of saying if they don't find any growths / cysts), they would then proceed to ligate my internal piles. I just heard from people that ligating meant rubberbanding. I kept wondering how they'd be skillful enough to rubberband a swollen blood vessel in that very sensitive area!
Anyhow, I had to prep myself the day before the 'surgery'. I was told by a nurse:
NO milk
NO butter
NO veg
NO meat
NO fruits
NO cereals
I stared at her blankly and asked her, 'Then what can I eat?'
She answered very cooly,
Teh 'O' (tea without milk)
Kopi 'O' (coffee without milk)
White bread & Jam for breakfast
Fish Porridge for lunch
Bee Hoon or Mee Suah for dinner
Wow! Talk about dieting!
On top of that, I was given two packets of concoction I was to mix and gulp down with 2 litres of water. Little did I know that this concoction would be the WORST part of this whole procedure! Yucks! I wanna throw up just thinking about it. I mean, my tolerance for bitter tasting stuff (a.k.a Chinese herbal drinks / soups) is pretty good, having been admonished since young by my mother that, 'This is soooooo expensive, you better drink it all up!'
Day before the procedure, I dilligently rushed to NTUC (a 24 hr one) before work and bought myself a loaf of white bread and a bottle of Marmalade Jam (I was wondering how come I was allowed jam when they said no fruit? But who cared, they said jam, so jam it was!) Ate my breakfast at work. Jam didn't taste too bad after all.
Lunch time, I sat staring at the delicious condiments of the porridge stall and ordered myself a bowl of plain porridge (without sauce) and a single steamed fish. No chilli. No bean sauce. It really didn't taste too bad but I couldn't help but feel like an 'ah mm' (old woman) or 'ah pek' (old man) eating that.
Dinner, I told Mike to not keep dinner for me, instead, I'd drive to Kopitiam to have a bowl of fish soup. In my haste to tell the woman, 'No veg, no sauce, no fried onions, no parsley, no nothing!', I forgot to use my Kopitiam card (for the 3rd time this month) at that stall and paid the lady cash instead!!! For the learned local, that means I lost my 10% discount. Felt like kicking myself since that was a $6 bowl of sliced fish soup with nothing! When I remembered it, the lady told me it was too late. Sigh.
So I sat there, forcing myself to eat my 'healthy' dinner. Surprisingly, sliced fish soup with nothing else made me quite full!
Went home and my belly was already half bursting with the soup. But oh guess what, I had to go mix my first sachet of powder with 1 litre of water. Sat at our new dining table (just moved house remember?) for an hour drinking the world's most horrible concoction. I didn't think I'd actually sit by the table that whole hour. But there was nothing else I could do if I wanted to finish it within an hour. By the second hour and with the second bottle however, I had left the table and started visiting the loo. Drink, loo. Drink, loo. Drink loo. It was like that the whole next hour. Had a couple of tablets to swallow too. It went on like that until my last half of the second bottle and I threw up. I literally threw up. It was THAT BAD. I told myself that was it and gulped down a couple of cups of plain water. Plain water never tasted so good!
Next morning, Mike dropped me off at the new Khoo Teck Puat hospital and went his way. The nurses gave me that sad look when they realised I had arrived for the procedure 'alone'. Aiyah, we just being practical mah. Whatever do I want my hubby to hang around and wait for me for? The nurses took very good care of me and I didn't feel lonely or frightened at all. It wasn't until I was changed and lying in the 'ward' that I realised some of the other patients had their partners with them and they were 'comforting' them. I was just glad to be able to have quiet time to lie in bed and read old 'Her World' mags which a nurse had so kindly provided. Ha! Things a busy mom with a hectic schedule actually appreciates! The last thing I need is for my hubby to be hanging around being bored by my side! I had to wait nearly an hour.
When they finally came for me, it was 'swoosh'. Everything happened so quickly. They wheeled me into the operating theatre, checked that I was the correct patient going for the correct procedure and then injected me with drugs. I was supposed to be so drowsy that I'd not know much. At least 3 nurses told me that prior. But guess what? It didn't work. I was so alert, I heard and felt everything. I can't say I saw anything because my specs were removed. But I felt the pumps of air they had to blow into my intestines (to open up the passageways for the camera to go through) and that hurt quite a bit. I was going, 'Ouch!' 'Ouch!' every now and then. Then I heard 'Clip, clip, clip' and I thought that'd be the part they ligated my internal piles. Was wheeled out of the operating theatre in a jiffy.
Then another nurse came and advised me to rest for the next 2 hours as I'd be drowsy from the drugs. Drowsy??? I wasn't drowsy at all, in fact I was HUNGRY! I did try to pretend to be drowsy but it didn't work. I was up in a while and they brought me a sandwhich and milo (which I gobbled down greedily!). Then I asked to call for my hubby to pick me up. After I did that, I decided to go to sleep! Ha ha. I figured, if I were paying for the day ward charges, I might as well catch up on my sleep, seeing as I haven't been sleeping much since being so busy and tired from our house move. Besides, the aircon and quietness was pretty nice!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........it was Mike who nudged me gently to wake me up.
He hung around awhile as I got up to change and wait for the doc's report to be out. The nurse then told me that my colonoscopy had shown an all clear (Praise the Lord!) and I had 3 internal piles ligated. She advised me to take soft foods for the day so that I wouldn't be passing motion too quickly and risk tearing the ligation. When I was discharged, I told Mike to take me to MAKAN!!! What soft food? I was ravenous from the previous day's 'diet' and 'detox' and I was going to eat whatever my heart desired! Hee hee.
The hospital called up the next day to advise me that it'd take up to 2 weeks for the dried up piles to drop out. A little bleeding was expected but I was to report back to the hospital if I had excessive bleeding.
Well, I still feel a bit weird in the A**. Like there's something there. But otherwise, I'm fine. So, there, rubberbanding my internal piles. : )
P.S - I lost a couple of kilos from the housemoving weeks and this 'detox' exercise!
P.S - I lost a couple of kilos from the housemoving weeks and this 'detox' exercise!
7 Sept 2010
Hair Extensions (again!)
In the midst of the madness of house moving, despite having little time to sleep and breathe properly, I actually found time to have my hair extended. Ha ha.
Ha ha, how crazy is that?
19 Aug 2010
Door Art (again!)
Remember this?
Yep, I'd painted the front door of our current apartment (the one we are moving from). That was the first thing I did PRIOR to our renovations. Ha ha. I knew that if I didn't get off my a** to do it, I'd never get down to doing it.
Well, we're all pretty sad to leave it. My son, sentimental fellow that he is, asked me several times if I could remove it and have it installed at the new place. Well, I'm too lazy to check if this door will actually fit our new apartment's and I think the new owners are pretty art loving people too. I decided to just consider having SOLD my piece of door art!
Anyhow, I'm definitely going to paint the new apartment door BUT I have these unsightly protruding rectangular wooden trims to contend with. They come with the existing fire-rated door. Have been thinking how to work with these rectangular trims and I've come up with a draft! I can't quite recall if the door has 4 or 5 rectangles but I'll work something out now that I've got a draft!
So, here it is.....TADAH!!!!
Yep, inspired by Noah's Ark! Don't be too shocked by the 'ugliness' of it. I'm only sketching an outline and the final piece may or may not end up looking like this. In fact, I've definitely gotta find space for a red apple with two worms popping outta them!
Well, we're all pretty sad to leave it. My son, sentimental fellow that he is, asked me several times if I could remove it and have it installed at the new place. Well, I'm too lazy to check if this door will actually fit our new apartment's and I think the new owners are pretty art loving people too. I decided to just consider having SOLD my piece of door art!
Anyhow, I'm definitely going to paint the new apartment door BUT I have these unsightly protruding rectangular wooden trims to contend with. They come with the existing fire-rated door. Have been thinking how to work with these rectangular trims and I've come up with a draft! I can't quite recall if the door has 4 or 5 rectangles but I'll work something out now that I've got a draft!
So, here it is.....TADAH!!!!
18 Aug 2010
We're moooooving!!!
I haven't been writing as much as I would like to in this blog the past couple of months cos I've been busy house hunting (or rather apartment hunting). We're moving to bigger premises. There's just so much to coordinate! Thank goodness that the 'end' of this hectic period is approaching and we should be moving to our new premises in early Sept. Mike and I can't wait to settle in. For me, finally to have more space to indulge in my painting and for Mike, to have a balcony for his plants!
I'll put up the new address as soon as I take delivery of the place. Right now, it still doesn't officially belong to us....yet!
The above pic, although hastily drawn by me with MS Paint (and although some may think as ugly!), STILL remains the copyright of Fiona of Cartoon Lagoon 2010!!!
I'll put up the new address as soon as I take delivery of the place. Right now, it still doesn't officially belong to us....yet!
12 Aug 2010
Garage Sales over - phew!
Phew! Garage Sale over! Pretty tiring! Prior to both weekends, we had prepared and distributed flyers into our neighbours' letterboxes and we had to arrange our stuff (like in a retail store) and price them. People started streaming in even before we officially opened. The same people came again the next day cos they wanted to see if we had new stuff to offer. They were grabbing like crazy!
All sorts of people popped by. We had those who didn't say a word. They just whipped out their money and paid without bargaining. My favourite sort of people! Then we had people who bargained so ridiculously, you would have thought they were expecting you to give it to them free.
We had to label some furniture as 'SOLD' cos the people had paid for them but had arranged for a pick up at a later date. So when others came, they'd go 'Oh!' 'Ah!' 'What a waste! Sold!' 'How much did you sell it for?' 'So cheap?!' 'Aiyah!'
They lamented the stuff already sold. But when we pointed out other furniture not yet sold, they just shook their heads with nary a glance. That told me one thing. If THOSE items hadn't yet been sold, they wouldn't have bought them anyway. They were just trying to tell us, they would have bought them but they were too late.
We had a couple. I don't know why I am saying this but they were PRs. The most classic case of being 'kniao' / cheapskate. They were one of those who had Oooed and Aaaahed at the 'SOLD' items. But when I showed them other pieces of furniture not yet sold, they just kept shaking their heads. They were touching and opening everything.
Finally, something caught the wife's eye. Item A was priced at S$5 (a hideous, bright pink vase - a gift from someone). The couple offered S$2. I counter offered $4 and if they agreed to buy it, I'd throw in a wooden kitchen roll stand priced at $1.
They begged me to let me have the vase at S$3 AND to throw in the kitchen roll stand for free. I relented (because a garage sale is to get rid of stuff, especially hideous stuff, no?)
Then another item caught their eye. A plaque with a runaway horse (another hideous gift from someone). I told them S$2.
Their eyes widened incredulously. They said, 'This so cheap?'
Would you believe it? Not the fact that they wanted that hideous item but the fact that the guy then chased me all over the sitting room trying to convince me that all he had to do return me the free kitchen roll stand priced at S$1 which I had agreed to throw in for free. I refused. Fed up, I walked away.
He was practically pulling my arm as I walked away from him, "You see mam, it's the SAME thing."
He ran after me, "This is worth S$1 and you gave it to me. I just return you this item and I pay you S$1 for this".
I just turned around and gave him a steely glare. Very firmly, I said, 'It's NOT the same thing' and walked away.
Well they couldn't pass up the good offer and they paid for the hideous horse plaque but not before they went snooping round the whole place opening every little box or container. Fortunately, the rest of the people weren't like this tiresome couple. We met some lovely people too. All in, I'm glad we only have Garage Sales when we're moving house. I really hope this isn't going to happen again anytime soon!
All sorts of people popped by. We had those who didn't say a word. They just whipped out their money and paid without bargaining. My favourite sort of people! Then we had people who bargained so ridiculously, you would have thought they were expecting you to give it to them free.
We had to label some furniture as 'SOLD' cos the people had paid for them but had arranged for a pick up at a later date. So when others came, they'd go 'Oh!' 'Ah!' 'What a waste! Sold!' 'How much did you sell it for?' 'So cheap?!' 'Aiyah!'
They lamented the stuff already sold. But when we pointed out other furniture not yet sold, they just shook their heads with nary a glance. That told me one thing. If THOSE items hadn't yet been sold, they wouldn't have bought them anyway. They were just trying to tell us, they would have bought them but they were too late.
We had a couple. I don't know why I am saying this but they were PRs. The most classic case of being 'kniao' / cheapskate. They were one of those who had Oooed and Aaaahed at the 'SOLD' items. But when I showed them other pieces of furniture not yet sold, they just kept shaking their heads. They were touching and opening everything.
Finally, something caught the wife's eye. Item A was priced at S$5 (a hideous, bright pink vase - a gift from someone). The couple offered S$2. I counter offered $4 and if they agreed to buy it, I'd throw in a wooden kitchen roll stand priced at $1.
They begged me to let me have the vase at S$3 AND to throw in the kitchen roll stand for free. I relented (because a garage sale is to get rid of stuff, especially hideous stuff, no?)
Then another item caught their eye. A plaque with a runaway horse (another hideous gift from someone). I told them S$2.
Their eyes widened incredulously. They said, 'This so cheap?'
Would you believe it? Not the fact that they wanted that hideous item but the fact that the guy then chased me all over the sitting room trying to convince me that all he had to do return me the free kitchen roll stand priced at S$1 which I had agreed to throw in for free. I refused. Fed up, I walked away.
He was practically pulling my arm as I walked away from him, "You see mam, it's the SAME thing."
He ran after me, "This is worth S$1 and you gave it to me. I just return you this item and I pay you S$1 for this".
I just turned around and gave him a steely glare. Very firmly, I said, 'It's NOT the same thing' and walked away.
Well they couldn't pass up the good offer and they paid for the hideous horse plaque but not before they went snooping round the whole place opening every little box or container. Fortunately, the rest of the people weren't like this tiresome couple. We met some lovely people too. All in, I'm glad we only have Garage Sales when we're moving house. I really hope this isn't going to happen again anytime soon!
2 Aug 2010
GARAGE SALE (final weekend)!!! 7/8 & 8/8
GARAGE SALE (final weekend)!!!
7/8 (SAT) and 8/8 (SUN) 10am to 4pm
(address has been removed after Garage Sale)
Our Garage Sale over the weekend of 31/7 & 1/8 went really well! I'd published an ad in the papers, posted it on this blog and yes, spammed (guilty!) my neighbourhood mailboxes with small home made flyers! Well, from the feedback gathered from our visitors, the flyers were the most effective. Flyers.....hmmm.....it's also how one is fed info that some topnotch real estate agent managed to sell your neighbour's house at an unbelievable skyhigh price or how your neighbourhood tuition agency can guarantee your kid's success!
But since HDB apartments owners have the option to lock their mailboxes from the inside to prevent unwanted mail from reaching them, my poor husband suffered painful knuckles from shoving them into locked letterboxes. Too bad for those home owners, they lost out on some really good deals and good fun!
We prayed that God would bless us with good weather and send the people and He did! We cleared so much furniture on Saturday and made some new friends with our neighbours from our neighbourhood. Really, it's interesting that we also experienced this when we had a Garage Sale in Seletar Camp some years back. We met so many nice people and made some new friends only when it was time to say goodbye! Pity!
After the brisk sales on Saturday, we had expected Sunday to be quieter. But God proved us wrong! When Mike and I woke up at 6am on Sunday to attend 7am Mass, it was pouring! No, we don't usually attend 7am Mass but really, if we'd left attending Mass to the evening, something might've crop up at the Garage Sale or we'd be too tired to attend it, so I suggested going for 7am Mass. (As a sidenote, do you see, how weak I am? I wasn't motivated to say, attend 7am because God should be the topmost priority, early in the morning on a Sunday instead, I suggest 7am Mass to be on the safe side so we wouldn't miss Mass!).
I reminded Mike, that the 'formula' was so simple....instead of worrying if anyone would turn up, our first focus should be on God and the success of the Garage Sale would follow. It was such an epiphany for me even as I said that to Mike. Life's formula was so simple and was right in front of everyone's eyes but it was the hardest thing for anyone to see or follow.
I was dying to receive Holy Communion and I was feeling so excited on Saturday night just before I fell asleep! How strange for me (not because it's a strange thing for anyone else but it is for me)! I just felt a joy in my heart that I'd be receiving Christ's Body in a few hours! I had a feeling that it would rain on Sunday. But I told God it'd be OK cos we really made some good moolah already on Saturday...hee hee.
When we woke up to thunder and heavy rain on Sunday, it would have been so much easier to just snuggle under the covers than to pull our acheing bodies (after the previous day's physical moving of furniture and stuff!) up for church. But I reminded myself that this was exactly what the evil one wanted me to think and feel and so dragged myself up. Felt really ashamed when I turned up to find so many others at 7am who probably didn't even think twice about turning up despite the downpour. It turned out to be such a beautiful Mass and I was all choked up with every song they sang. Just moved me and I was so emotional. Felt all charged up and ready for a second day of sales!
When it rained on Sunday, I didn't panic. Just concentrated on God and His ability to do anything....and He did! He sent the first customers at 9am! In fact, they had turned up an hour earlier, mistaking the start of the Garage Sale to be 8 instead of 9am! We thought we'd made brisk sales at our previous Garage Sale at Seletar Camp but these two days turned out to be even more successful! In fact, even after we'd helped my mum clear her place (for a week of normalcy before next weekend's chaos again), some people turned up that evening after we'd closed her door!
So, as I mentioned in my previous post, we're still having our GARAGE SALE this coming weekend and for every day of the sale, we try to put up other 'new' stuff.
GARAGE SALE (final weekend)!!!
7/8 (SAT) and 8/8 (SUN) 10am to 4pm
(Address has been removed afte Garage Sale).
7/8 (SAT) and 8/8 (SUN) 10am to 4pm
(address has been removed after Garage Sale)
Our Garage Sale over the weekend of 31/7 & 1/8 went really well! I'd published an ad in the papers, posted it on this blog and yes, spammed (guilty!) my neighbourhood mailboxes with small home made flyers! Well, from the feedback gathered from our visitors, the flyers were the most effective. Flyers.....hmmm.....it's also how one is fed info that some topnotch real estate agent managed to sell your neighbour's house at an unbelievable skyhigh price or how your neighbourhood tuition agency can guarantee your kid's success!
But since HDB apartments owners have the option to lock their mailboxes from the inside to prevent unwanted mail from reaching them, my poor husband suffered painful knuckles from shoving them into locked letterboxes. Too bad for those home owners, they lost out on some really good deals and good fun!
We prayed that God would bless us with good weather and send the people and He did! We cleared so much furniture on Saturday and made some new friends with our neighbours from our neighbourhood. Really, it's interesting that we also experienced this when we had a Garage Sale in Seletar Camp some years back. We met so many nice people and made some new friends only when it was time to say goodbye! Pity!
After the brisk sales on Saturday, we had expected Sunday to be quieter. But God proved us wrong! When Mike and I woke up at 6am on Sunday to attend 7am Mass, it was pouring! No, we don't usually attend 7am Mass but really, if we'd left attending Mass to the evening, something might've crop up at the Garage Sale or we'd be too tired to attend it, so I suggested going for 7am Mass. (As a sidenote, do you see, how weak I am? I wasn't motivated to say, attend 7am because God should be the topmost priority, early in the morning on a Sunday instead, I suggest 7am Mass to be on the safe side so we wouldn't miss Mass!).
I reminded Mike, that the 'formula' was so simple....instead of worrying if anyone would turn up, our first focus should be on God and the success of the Garage Sale would follow. It was such an epiphany for me even as I said that to Mike. Life's formula was so simple and was right in front of everyone's eyes but it was the hardest thing for anyone to see or follow.
I was dying to receive Holy Communion and I was feeling so excited on Saturday night just before I fell asleep! How strange for me (not because it's a strange thing for anyone else but it is for me)! I just felt a joy in my heart that I'd be receiving Christ's Body in a few hours! I had a feeling that it would rain on Sunday. But I told God it'd be OK cos we really made some good moolah already on Saturday...hee hee.
When we woke up to thunder and heavy rain on Sunday, it would have been so much easier to just snuggle under the covers than to pull our acheing bodies (after the previous day's physical moving of furniture and stuff!) up for church. But I reminded myself that this was exactly what the evil one wanted me to think and feel and so dragged myself up. Felt really ashamed when I turned up to find so many others at 7am who probably didn't even think twice about turning up despite the downpour. It turned out to be such a beautiful Mass and I was all choked up with every song they sang. Just moved me and I was so emotional. Felt all charged up and ready for a second day of sales!
When it rained on Sunday, I didn't panic. Just concentrated on God and His ability to do anything....and He did! He sent the first customers at 9am! In fact, they had turned up an hour earlier, mistaking the start of the Garage Sale to be 8 instead of 9am! We thought we'd made brisk sales at our previous Garage Sale at Seletar Camp but these two days turned out to be even more successful! In fact, even after we'd helped my mum clear her place (for a week of normalcy before next weekend's chaos again), some people turned up that evening after we'd closed her door!
So, as I mentioned in my previous post, we're still having our GARAGE SALE this coming weekend and for every day of the sale, we try to put up other 'new' stuff.
GARAGE SALE (final weekend)!!!
7/8 (SAT) and 8/8 (SUN) 10am to 4pm
(Address has been removed afte Garage Sale).
26 Jul 2010
GARAGE SALE!!! This weekend and next!
My mum and I are having a combined GARAGE SALE this weekend (and next)!
I'm moooooving into a bigger apartment soon and have some stuff to let go......
GARAGE SALE!!!
This weekend:
SATURDAY 31 July 2010 & SUNDAY 1 August 2010
and Next weekend:
SATURDAY 7 August 2010 & SUNDAY 8 August 2010
Where:
(Address has been removed after Garage Sale)
Time:
10 am to 4 pm
Contact:
9146 6906
What:
TEAK Furniture, coffee tables, fridge, pictures, TV racks, teak bench, books, writing table, bar stools, cane stool, foldable chairs, plastic cupboard, shoes, single beds, foldable mattress, curtain rods, loose cushions with covers, ladies golf set, brand new ladies golf bag with rollers, handbags, travel overnight bags, clothes, clothes hangers, fish pond, decor, knick knacks, kitchen stuff, potted plants, candles, candlestick holders, costume jewellery, rollerblades
(and maybe my bowling ball, shoes and bag.....still hemming and hawing about those and my under-used golf set....my mum's letting go of hers but I'm still holding on to mine.....still thinking about IF....PERHAPS....SOMEDAY.....I don't even think I fancy the game that much. Sigh).
Yes, yes, I'll be clearing some of my sample Dare-to-wear hand painted shoes at cheap-cheap prices........need to make room for new designs.
So, see you!!!
I'm moooooving into a bigger apartment soon and have some stuff to let go......
GARAGE SALE!!!
This weekend:
SATURDAY 31 July 2010 & SUNDAY 1 August 2010
and Next weekend:
SATURDAY 7 August 2010 & SUNDAY 8 August 2010
Where:
(Address has been removed after Garage Sale)
Time:
10 am to 4 pm
Contact:
9146 6906
What:
TEAK Furniture, coffee tables, fridge, pictures, TV racks, teak bench, books, writing table, bar stools, cane stool, foldable chairs, plastic cupboard, shoes, single beds, foldable mattress, curtain rods, loose cushions with covers, ladies golf set, brand new ladies golf bag with rollers, handbags, travel overnight bags, clothes, clothes hangers, fish pond, decor, knick knacks, kitchen stuff, potted plants, candles, candlestick holders, costume jewellery, rollerblades
(and maybe my bowling ball, shoes and bag.....still hemming and hawing about those and my under-used golf set....my mum's letting go of hers but I'm still holding on to mine.....still thinking about IF....PERHAPS....SOMEDAY.....I don't even think I fancy the game that much. Sigh).
Yes, yes, I'll be clearing some of my sample Dare-to-wear hand painted shoes at cheap-cheap prices........need to make room for new designs.
So, see you!!!
16 Jun 2010
Rojak life
Some customers wonder if I paint shoes for a living. Yah sure, I wish! In Singapore? To survive on painting shoes, I'd have to be painting 24/7. I do in fact have a full-time job. Have been in the same job in an Aviation related trading company for slightly over a decade. Prior to that, I was a MOE school teacher; or what they nicely call, an Education Officer.
I'm such a Rojak pot! (Rojak-->Interesting Asian salad).
All business-like Manager in the day, crazy closet painter by night / weekend and wannabe writer (still dreaming). If only I could like mash them all together. In MY perfect world, I'd be writing and illustrating my own books and then making use of my business experience to sell them! Ha!
I love literature. I love art. Yes, I should have stayed a teacher. My dream was to profess the literary word to students. But alas, back then, I felt my personal time with my family was being compromised by the teaching workload. I've never looked back. When I first left the teaching profession, I took a drastic pay cut. I was willing to learn from scratch in an entirely new line and it's worked out great.
Many people have asked me how I did it (not that I'm THAT successful), finding this job and making it work since I was 'only a teacher'. But it's all a matter of your heart. Know what makes you tick. I just used all the skills I had learnt during my teaching days and put them to good use. I never said the teaching profession was bad. It's fantastic! I've never forgotten that it was MOE who forced us to use our holiday time to sit through all those computer lessons! Ah! Those were the days of 'Aiyoh! Where did my cursor go?' For that, I am forever grateful. It was the teaching job which allows me to stand before a crowd to speak today. It was all those typing classes in the Computer Lab which taught me to type with all my fingers (hee hee)! It was IE (now known as NIE) which taught me how to project my voice across a room without a mike (oops, I mean mic, wait or issit mike? Alamak!). Indeed, my teaching days imbued many characteristics in me which have never left.
I do miss teaching sometimes. But, we can't live in the past. So I adapt. I have learnt ALOT in my current job. From teaching to this. It's like having been a frog in a well, with your view on the world, seen only at the bottom of the well.
I got thrown into world of how do you say it? Cat eat dog? Dog eat cat? Whatever. You get my drift. In this industry, which is predominantly dominated by men, it's tough being a woman. I learnt this. The more mature men do not feel threatened at all by a woman speaking as their equal. They treat me with respect and they appreciate my input. You can tell by the manner in which they speak to you.
However, the eager-to-climb the corporate ladder types, they almost always assume I'm the receptionist or secretary just tagging along for the meeting. The guy/s I come with? Why, they must be the engineers or managers then. When they realise it isn't so, they give you that 'I don't think much about you' stance. I don't know why and I don't care. It's not going to change in the near future and I don't give a hoot. If I cared, I would not have made it through all those hurtful and caustic comments made by some MCPs. I put it down to them being insecure. Pity their girlfriends or wives. (Hubby, I love you!!! I know that's random but dealing with some other men makes me sooooo appreciate my hubs!). Do I get crap from females. Yes, sometimes but I've not come across mean ones. Are they more secure then? That's a thought!
One more thing I have to add. People actually care about the designation on your name card. It makes all the difference to how they treat you. How intelligent is that? That's what you are worth. Your job designation.
Let's see, what else have I learnt? That some people get nasty when things go wrong. Their true personalities shine through. They have no ability to think calmly and they just drown in the junk. Me? I'm a pretty panicky person too lah. But at the same time, I will think the whole process through in my mind and think of the best way to move forward. Thus, I would say, to summarize what I have to do at work, I'd say, troubleshoot problems and issues and how best to resolve them.
I never ever forget that I could lose this job tomorrow and I'd be starting from scratch or crawling back to MOE as an adjunct teacher again. In fact, I was just thinking that it'd be nice to be back teaching now that my kids don't really need me to spoonfeed them anymore. But that's just a thought. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying my 'real' 5 day work week and the fact that I can paint at night (without worrying about work) and on weekends!
As for my painting and writing......God knows that deep in my heart, I wish to paint and write but He probably also knows, me and another 10 million wannabes in the world. For now, I have bills to pay and responsibilities to fulfill so everything else stays part-time. My pay is adequate to meet my needs so I just wake up everyday and go to work, like everyone else and thank God that I even have a day job. I could say my dreams will have to wait. But I look at my husband, my kids and my home and I know, I'm already living them. I'll just have to say, my 'other' dreams will have to wait.
I'm such a Rojak pot! (Rojak-->Interesting Asian salad).
All business-like Manager in the day, crazy closet painter by night / weekend and wannabe writer (still dreaming). If only I could like mash them all together. In MY perfect world, I'd be writing and illustrating my own books and then making use of my business experience to sell them! Ha!
I love literature. I love art. Yes, I should have stayed a teacher. My dream was to profess the literary word to students. But alas, back then, I felt my personal time with my family was being compromised by the teaching workload. I've never looked back. When I first left the teaching profession, I took a drastic pay cut. I was willing to learn from scratch in an entirely new line and it's worked out great.
Many people have asked me how I did it (not that I'm THAT successful), finding this job and making it work since I was 'only a teacher'. But it's all a matter of your heart. Know what makes you tick. I just used all the skills I had learnt during my teaching days and put them to good use. I never said the teaching profession was bad. It's fantastic! I've never forgotten that it was MOE who forced us to use our holiday time to sit through all those computer lessons! Ah! Those were the days of 'Aiyoh! Where did my cursor go?' For that, I am forever grateful. It was the teaching job which allows me to stand before a crowd to speak today. It was all those typing classes in the Computer Lab which taught me to type with all my fingers (hee hee)! It was IE (now known as NIE) which taught me how to project my voice across a room without a mike (oops, I mean mic, wait or issit mike? Alamak!). Indeed, my teaching days imbued many characteristics in me which have never left.
I do miss teaching sometimes. But, we can't live in the past. So I adapt. I have learnt ALOT in my current job. From teaching to this. It's like having been a frog in a well, with your view on the world, seen only at the bottom of the well.
I got thrown into world of how do you say it? Cat eat dog? Dog eat cat? Whatever. You get my drift. In this industry, which is predominantly dominated by men, it's tough being a woman. I learnt this. The more mature men do not feel threatened at all by a woman speaking as their equal. They treat me with respect and they appreciate my input. You can tell by the manner in which they speak to you.
However, the eager-to-climb the corporate ladder types, they almost always assume I'm the receptionist or secretary just tagging along for the meeting. The guy/s I come with? Why, they must be the engineers or managers then. When they realise it isn't so, they give you that 'I don't think much about you' stance. I don't know why and I don't care. It's not going to change in the near future and I don't give a hoot. If I cared, I would not have made it through all those hurtful and caustic comments made by some MCPs. I put it down to them being insecure. Pity their girlfriends or wives. (Hubby, I love you!!! I know that's random but dealing with some other men makes me sooooo appreciate my hubs!). Do I get crap from females. Yes, sometimes but I've not come across mean ones. Are they more secure then? That's a thought!
One more thing I have to add. People actually care about the designation on your name card. It makes all the difference to how they treat you. How intelligent is that? That's what you are worth. Your job designation.
Let's see, what else have I learnt? That some people get nasty when things go wrong. Their true personalities shine through. They have no ability to think calmly and they just drown in the junk. Me? I'm a pretty panicky person too lah. But at the same time, I will think the whole process through in my mind and think of the best way to move forward. Thus, I would say, to summarize what I have to do at work, I'd say, troubleshoot problems and issues and how best to resolve them.
I never ever forget that I could lose this job tomorrow and I'd be starting from scratch or crawling back to MOE as an adjunct teacher again. In fact, I was just thinking that it'd be nice to be back teaching now that my kids don't really need me to spoonfeed them anymore. But that's just a thought. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying my 'real' 5 day work week and the fact that I can paint at night (without worrying about work) and on weekends!
As for my painting and writing......God knows that deep in my heart, I wish to paint and write but He probably also knows, me and another 10 million wannabes in the world. For now, I have bills to pay and responsibilities to fulfill so everything else stays part-time. My pay is adequate to meet my needs so I just wake up everyday and go to work, like everyone else and thank God that I even have a day job. I could say my dreams will have to wait. But I look at my husband, my kids and my home and I know, I'm already living them. I'll just have to say, my 'other' dreams will have to wait.
3 Jun 2010
Sorry for delays with your orders
We have to apologise to our customers for the delays in fulfilling orders for our Dare-to-wear Hand Painted Shoes in recent weeks.
Will be contacting you soon for the deliveries. Thanks for your patience!
Will be contacting you soon for the deliveries. Thanks for your patience!
26 May 2010
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (Diabetes?)
As my regular readers would know, I've been going to KKH Hospital for review of my PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). They had taken me off the mini pill last year and my cycle was ok for a while then it went haywire again after a few months. I had side effects coming off the mini pill and didn't fancy going back on it. I figured I already have 2 kids and so an irregular cycle, I could probably live with.
But they just put me back on it again yesterday because according to the gynaecologist, a thick womb lining wall isn't good at all. If the womb lining builds up, it can lead to other diseases and complications. She said I shouldn't allow that to happen, especially 'at my age'.
You know, it's great that I have access to healthcare at subsidised rates in Singapore (via Polyclinic referral to hospital route) but it sucks that a different doc sees me everytime. I mean, I speaka Englisha and so I am able to tell the doc my past records and what the heck I'm there for THAT day. But really, what if I were illiterate? I've experienced this too when I had to go to the hospital for review of my knee injury and physio sessions. I realised, some docs don't read (or perhaps don't understand what they are reading!) and I can discern from what they say THAT day that they are clueless to why I'm there THAT day. There is sometimes no continuation of past visits with the present one and the doc of the day dispenses advice and prescriptions according to his or her school of thought.
Ok, for example, one gynae will say I need the mini pill. Another gynae will say I don't since I'm 'menopausing' soon (Yes, she actually said that). You get the drift. I thank God though, for a very sharp and hard working gynae whom I had consulted at KKH in Feb this year. He caught the fact that my weight had been ballooning albeit slowly over the last few years. He discussed the possibility that due to my PCOS, I had insulin issues and advise me to go for a blood test for diabetes. I am ever so grateful for this doc and I will explain why later.
Let me first say I saw another gynae yesterday. Apart from discussing my monthly cycle, I asked her to prescribe me something for my lingering cough and she said, 'No problem' and asked me a few questions about my symptoms.
When I finally got my medication at the hospital pharmacy, it turns out she hadn't prescribed anything at all for the cough. The pharmacist couldn't reach the gynae via the phone so I had to buy something which I prescribed myself (!!!) at unsubsidised rates.
She also told me she'd see me in 3 months' time and I told her that I had just undergone the oral glucose tolerance test per the advice of the previous gynae. I wondered if I had to wait 3 months to know the results of that morning's test and she said if the results showed up anything abnormal, they would call. If not, she'd see me in 3 months. Hmmph! It won't even be HER I'll be seeing in 3 months.
If YOU had to test for diabetes, would you wait 3 months for the results?
Anyhow, turns out KKH did call that very same afternoon. It sounded like a death sentence. First, let me tell you what I'd done. I'd fasted the night before through to the next morning. The nurse had drawn a vial of my blood then I was given this yucky sugary drink and told to wait another 2 hours before they drew another vial of blood. In between, I had time to see the gynae and also visit the pharmacy.
The nurse called at about 4.30pm after I'd gone home and told me to come down ASAP back to their dept to collect a referral letter for the polyclinic to provide follow-up treatment. She said my blood results had come back and it was not good. She said it was not normal. I asked immediately if I had diabetes. Yes. I asked it a few times when I was there. Yes.
'But I don't even take that much sugar!' I protested.
I told her, anyone who had drunk that motherload of sugar water would have a high result but she said, 'No, a normal person can process it in 2 hours but you could not'.
So, I was so 'kan-cheong' (Cantonese for anxious) that I went to the Polyclinic today. It was interesting. First, I saw him for my cough and he said I have wheezing and sound a bit asthmatic! Wow, that was a surprise.
Next, he reviewed the blood test results and said, 'You're not diabetic. You have glucose intolerance. You need to go room 61 to 64 for counselling'.
Huh? Diabetic? Not diabetic? Aiyoh! Yes, or no???
I go to room 61 to 64.
The nurse counsellor asks me a lot of questions. It turns out, I don't even eat half of what she's persuading me to NOT EAT. Correction, I don't even eat 3/4 of what is bad for me. She concedes, 'Okay, it's organ failure we're talking about here. Doesn't mean you don't eat, you don't get'.
She says my test results show that I AM on the way to getting diabetes (if I don't take things under control). It shows that my body cannot handle a large amount of sugar. My pancreas isn't functioning as it should and there is no repair. The only thing I can do is maintain it so that I don't get a higher reading than this.
She runs through what I should do and surprise, surprise, what else could it be? I have to lose weight!
Now isn't that grand? It's because I couldn't lose weight that I went for all these tests and now after this test, they tell me I have to lose weight! What a joke!
But the counselling was informative. I didn't know that my body may not have the ability to process the sugar from fruits immediately after a meal. I'm not supposed to finish the whole (measley) portion of 'mee pok' (dried noodles) from the foodcourt and apparently, that 'healthy' muesli bar I eat for breakfast every morning, is doing me damage. I know I've got to make big, big sacrifices here. The biggest being Nasi Briyani and Prata!!! Crap! I really love that stuff.
Ok, it's serious business now. I've known all along that I feel lethargic after a heavy carbo meal but this explains it all. I'm the type of person who needs to make sense of stuff (well, except recently about God stuff - THAT I don't need to make sense of).
This is why I'm so thankful to that gynae at KKH whom I saw in Feb this year. If he hadn't been sharp enough to think of the possibility that I was diabetic, I would not have known that I was 'on the way' to having diabetes at all. (Shoot, I don't even recall his name. That's the whole problem with seeing a doc at a subsidised insituition. They keep changing and there's no relationship).
So, no diabetes and no medication. Thank God for that. I just need to lose weight. How simple. Sigh.
But they just put me back on it again yesterday because according to the gynaecologist, a thick womb lining wall isn't good at all. If the womb lining builds up, it can lead to other diseases and complications. She said I shouldn't allow that to happen, especially 'at my age'.
You know, it's great that I have access to healthcare at subsidised rates in Singapore (via Polyclinic referral to hospital route) but it sucks that a different doc sees me everytime. I mean, I speaka Englisha and so I am able to tell the doc my past records and what the heck I'm there for THAT day. But really, what if I were illiterate? I've experienced this too when I had to go to the hospital for review of my knee injury and physio sessions. I realised, some docs don't read (or perhaps don't understand what they are reading!) and I can discern from what they say THAT day that they are clueless to why I'm there THAT day. There is sometimes no continuation of past visits with the present one and the doc of the day dispenses advice and prescriptions according to his or her school of thought.
Ok, for example, one gynae will say I need the mini pill. Another gynae will say I don't since I'm 'menopausing' soon (Yes, she actually said that). You get the drift. I thank God though, for a very sharp and hard working gynae whom I had consulted at KKH in Feb this year. He caught the fact that my weight had been ballooning albeit slowly over the last few years. He discussed the possibility that due to my PCOS, I had insulin issues and advise me to go for a blood test for diabetes. I am ever so grateful for this doc and I will explain why later.
Let me first say I saw another gynae yesterday. Apart from discussing my monthly cycle, I asked her to prescribe me something for my lingering cough and she said, 'No problem' and asked me a few questions about my symptoms.
When I finally got my medication at the hospital pharmacy, it turns out she hadn't prescribed anything at all for the cough. The pharmacist couldn't reach the gynae via the phone so I had to buy something which I prescribed myself (!!!) at unsubsidised rates.
She also told me she'd see me in 3 months' time and I told her that I had just undergone the oral glucose tolerance test per the advice of the previous gynae. I wondered if I had to wait 3 months to know the results of that morning's test and she said if the results showed up anything abnormal, they would call. If not, she'd see me in 3 months. Hmmph! It won't even be HER I'll be seeing in 3 months.
If YOU had to test for diabetes, would you wait 3 months for the results?
Anyhow, turns out KKH did call that very same afternoon. It sounded like a death sentence. First, let me tell you what I'd done. I'd fasted the night before through to the next morning. The nurse had drawn a vial of my blood then I was given this yucky sugary drink and told to wait another 2 hours before they drew another vial of blood. In between, I had time to see the gynae and also visit the pharmacy.
The nurse called at about 4.30pm after I'd gone home and told me to come down ASAP back to their dept to collect a referral letter for the polyclinic to provide follow-up treatment. She said my blood results had come back and it was not good. She said it was not normal. I asked immediately if I had diabetes. Yes. I asked it a few times when I was there. Yes.
'But I don't even take that much sugar!' I protested.
I told her, anyone who had drunk that motherload of sugar water would have a high result but she said, 'No, a normal person can process it in 2 hours but you could not'.
So, I was so 'kan-cheong' (Cantonese for anxious) that I went to the Polyclinic today. It was interesting. First, I saw him for my cough and he said I have wheezing and sound a bit asthmatic! Wow, that was a surprise.
Next, he reviewed the blood test results and said, 'You're not diabetic. You have glucose intolerance. You need to go room 61 to 64 for counselling'.
Huh? Diabetic? Not diabetic? Aiyoh! Yes, or no???
I go to room 61 to 64.
The nurse counsellor asks me a lot of questions. It turns out, I don't even eat half of what she's persuading me to NOT EAT. Correction, I don't even eat 3/4 of what is bad for me. She concedes, 'Okay, it's organ failure we're talking about here. Doesn't mean you don't eat, you don't get'.
She says my test results show that I AM on the way to getting diabetes (if I don't take things under control). It shows that my body cannot handle a large amount of sugar. My pancreas isn't functioning as it should and there is no repair. The only thing I can do is maintain it so that I don't get a higher reading than this.
She runs through what I should do and surprise, surprise, what else could it be? I have to lose weight!
Now isn't that grand? It's because I couldn't lose weight that I went for all these tests and now after this test, they tell me I have to lose weight! What a joke!
But the counselling was informative. I didn't know that my body may not have the ability to process the sugar from fruits immediately after a meal. I'm not supposed to finish the whole (measley) portion of 'mee pok' (dried noodles) from the foodcourt and apparently, that 'healthy' muesli bar I eat for breakfast every morning, is doing me damage. I know I've got to make big, big sacrifices here. The biggest being Nasi Briyani and Prata!!! Crap! I really love that stuff.
Ok, it's serious business now. I've known all along that I feel lethargic after a heavy carbo meal but this explains it all. I'm the type of person who needs to make sense of stuff (well, except recently about God stuff - THAT I don't need to make sense of).
This is why I'm so thankful to that gynae at KKH whom I saw in Feb this year. If he hadn't been sharp enough to think of the possibility that I was diabetic, I would not have known that I was 'on the way' to having diabetes at all. (Shoot, I don't even recall his name. That's the whole problem with seeing a doc at a subsidised insituition. They keep changing and there's no relationship).
So, no diabetes and no medication. Thank God for that. I just need to lose weight. How simple. Sigh.
20 May 2010
Shoo, bug! Shoo!
I've been AWOL from this blog for a couple of weeks, first with an uncooperative digestive system then followed by the flu bug. I'm totally distracted by this bout of malaise so I'm not writing about anything else except about it. Hee.
Why I'd be so lucky to first come down with food poisoning (it WAS the mee rebus for sure) followed soon after with a cold, I have no idea. Can only guess that my body was already very weak from all that throwing up and exiting of bodily matter. I recovered enough to start eating normally for a few days before I started feeling funny again. You know how the Chinese say one is 'heaty'? I usually feel REALLY heaty just before I'm coming down with a cold. It's just like the insides are burning but you don't actually have a fever that can be recognised by a thermometer. That's when I'll overdose on Vitamin C and barley water and hope for the best. But this time round, I just couldn't ward it off. I really hate it when I get a cold or a cough. My throat will get really itchy-scratchy from all the post-nasal drip and I can't control the horrible hacking cough. I noticed that not all my friends or relatives get this when they get a cough. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I had asthmatic bronchitis as a child? I don't know. Weak lah.
You'd think that after a week (or two) of loose stools followed by a week (or two) of coughin' and wheezin' that I'd have lost some weight. Evidently not. Permanently that is. The scale did shift in my favour just a wee bit and then as soon as my tummy grew stronger, the hunger (and greediness) just over compensated and re-balanced itself. For a few days there, I actually saw a flat tummy again. Sigh.
I'm sorry some of you haven't yet received your shoe orders. Will be in touch with you soon. Very soon....
Why I'd be so lucky to first come down with food poisoning (it WAS the mee rebus for sure) followed soon after with a cold, I have no idea. Can only guess that my body was already very weak from all that throwing up and exiting of bodily matter. I recovered enough to start eating normally for a few days before I started feeling funny again. You know how the Chinese say one is 'heaty'? I usually feel REALLY heaty just before I'm coming down with a cold. It's just like the insides are burning but you don't actually have a fever that can be recognised by a thermometer. That's when I'll overdose on Vitamin C and barley water and hope for the best. But this time round, I just couldn't ward it off. I really hate it when I get a cold or a cough. My throat will get really itchy-scratchy from all the post-nasal drip and I can't control the horrible hacking cough. I noticed that not all my friends or relatives get this when they get a cough. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I had asthmatic bronchitis as a child? I don't know. Weak lah.
You'd think that after a week (or two) of loose stools followed by a week (or two) of coughin' and wheezin' that I'd have lost some weight. Evidently not. Permanently that is. The scale did shift in my favour just a wee bit and then as soon as my tummy grew stronger, the hunger (and greediness) just over compensated and re-balanced itself. For a few days there, I actually saw a flat tummy again. Sigh.
I'm sorry some of you haven't yet received your shoe orders. Will be in touch with you soon. Very soon....
6 May 2010
Hen here or teh wei?
Worried about the demise of the Chinese language here? I think we have more to worry about:
Overheard in a fast food outlet at Compass Point (Sengkang):
Foreign worker counter staff: "Hen here or teh wei?"
Customer: ???
------------------------------
Yes, of course the counter staff meant to say "Having here or take away?"
It's bad enough that at some fast food restaurants, we have Singaporean counter staff asking the customer questions in a robotic and speeding bullet manner but when the foreign help start modifying their sentences...... I shudder to think what will happen to the English standard here.
So, my advice to the Singapore leaders. We should be more concerned about the standard of English on this tiny island.
Overheard in a fast food outlet at Compass Point (Sengkang):
Foreign worker counter staff: "Hen here or teh wei?"
Customer: ???
------------------------------
Yes, of course the counter staff meant to say "Having here or take away?"
It's bad enough that at some fast food restaurants, we have Singaporean counter staff asking the customer questions in a robotic and speeding bullet manner but when the foreign help start modifying their sentences...... I shudder to think what will happen to the English standard here.
So, my advice to the Singapore leaders. We should be more concerned about the standard of English on this tiny island.
4 May 2010
My awesome kids!!!
As a mother, I don't know if I should laugh or cry when I find out that (instead of studying) both my kids are in my son's room fooling around like clowns in front of his laptop camera (during Mid-yr exam time)!!!
Apparently, they even went on a world tour without my knowledge.
So, that's them in France
(I know my daughter's gonna 'kill' me for posting this ah lianish pic of her doing the Kawaii pose!)
And where's this exotic place? (another hamster cheek / ah lianish pose here)
Narnia exotica
Oh great! The boy's wardrobe's turned into Fantasy Island.
(you can see his exam time-table pasted on the wardrobe door)
I wanna laugh cos I think it's fun to see my kids having fun
and I wanna cry cos it's so heartwarming to see them having fun
T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R.
(Hey, to my Kids : be sporting and don't delete this post!)
30 Apr 2010
I don't friend you
I don't know how young children say it now but I know that when I was a kid in primary school and if we ever fell out with anyone (trust me, this happened on a daily basis), we'd say to that person, "I don't friend you anymore". We'd say it for events like when your friend borrowed your pencil or eraser and forgot to return it to you. Or if you heard from a friend of a friend's that a friend had said something about you.
In Singlish, that's like a child's interpretation of "I'm not your friend anymore" or an adult's interpretation of "Go fly a kite". If we were to make up later (and trust me again, that too happened on a daily basis!), we'd show our pinkies and twine them round each other to show that the bond of friendship was glued back again. How simple life was back then.
I was at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital recently and overheard this conversation a lady (looked to be in her 30s) was having on the phone with her friend (in diction which made my hair stand).
Lady on pink Lollipop phone, "You trell him.....If you donch trell me who give you my number, then we not going to make friend" (wow, I've not heard that in a looooong time!). Her friend must have said she wouldn't do that because this lady dench (oops, I mean then) said, "You geeeve me heese number now, I crall him for you!!! Yah! Geeve me now, quick!!!"
This lady's husband then comes out of the clinic and stands by listening to his wife. He shakes his head and tells (I mean trells) her that she must be so free she wants to mind other people's business. He walks off and she follows.
Sorry, I had nothing bretter to do thanch to listen to this lady. There were hardly any patients at the Rehabilitation centre where I was waiting to see the physiotherapist (for my knee), the number on the board refused to jump forth.
By the way, the new Khoo Teck Puat hospital in Yishun looks more like a resort than a hospital. You might want to pop by to check it out (I know, 'choy! choy!). Aiyah, donch say I wished it upon chew (I meant you), just telling you how nice and serene it is!
In Singlish, that's like a child's interpretation of "I'm not your friend anymore" or an adult's interpretation of "Go fly a kite". If we were to make up later (and trust me again, that too happened on a daily basis!), we'd show our pinkies and twine them round each other to show that the bond of friendship was glued back again. How simple life was back then.
I was at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital recently and overheard this conversation a lady (looked to be in her 30s) was having on the phone with her friend (in diction which made my hair stand).
Lady on pink Lollipop phone, "You trell him.....If you donch trell me who give you my number, then we not going to make friend" (wow, I've not heard that in a looooong time!). Her friend must have said she wouldn't do that because this lady dench (oops, I mean then) said, "You geeeve me heese number now, I crall him for you!!! Yah! Geeve me now, quick!!!"
This lady's husband then comes out of the clinic and stands by listening to his wife. He shakes his head and tells (I mean trells) her that she must be so free she wants to mind other people's business. He walks off and she follows.
Sorry, I had nothing bretter to do thanch to listen to this lady. There were hardly any patients at the Rehabilitation centre where I was waiting to see the physiotherapist (for my knee), the number on the board refused to jump forth.
By the way, the new Khoo Teck Puat hospital in Yishun looks more like a resort than a hospital. You might want to pop by to check it out (I know, 'choy! choy!). Aiyah, donch say I wished it upon chew (I meant you), just telling you how nice and serene it is!
23 Apr 2010
In that instant
My friend said that in that instant when she thought, 'This is it!', all hope was gone, she realised what really mattered after all. In the face of danger, it was her neighbours and strangers who helped her. In this difficult time of recovery, it is her family and friends who rally round her protectively. She's realised how much she's loved.
Ashamedly, I myself never told her I loved her until yesterday.... I'm Singaporean after all; no expression, dull face, reserved. How do I go around telling my close friends I love them? Yikes. I'm not that old but my generation and before don't really indulge in such expressive exchanges (even if we hug all the time). I know the younger ones do. They say it all the time (online!). Really, it wasn't until I realised how close I came to losing her that I realised what her friendship meant to me. I used to see my girlfriends as makan buddies (because we only meet over makan) but I realise they're like 'sisters' and I'd feel lost without them.
It's true, many of us walk around trying to make logical sense of what should and shouldn't matter in our lives. Most often, it is our jobs, our positions, our salaries, our cars, houses, which schools our kids are in, how our kids fare in school.... really, in that instant just before you get zapped out of existence, what really matters after all?
Ashamedly, I myself never told her I loved her until yesterday.... I'm Singaporean after all; no expression, dull face, reserved. How do I go around telling my close friends I love them? Yikes. I'm not that old but my generation and before don't really indulge in such expressive exchanges (even if we hug all the time). I know the younger ones do. They say it all the time (online!). Really, it wasn't until I realised how close I came to losing her that I realised what her friendship meant to me. I used to see my girlfriends as makan buddies (because we only meet over makan) but I realise they're like 'sisters' and I'd feel lost without them.
It's true, many of us walk around trying to make logical sense of what should and shouldn't matter in our lives. Most often, it is our jobs, our positions, our salaries, our cars, houses, which schools our kids are in, how our kids fare in school.... really, in that instant just before you get zapped out of existence, what really matters after all?
20 Apr 2010
Friends
My son, who reads my blog, reminded me that I've not updated it in a while. It's true. I've been busy with my art and stuff.
Yesterday, I learnt from my son that something had happened to his friend and his family. He was visibly upset. John had been friends with this boy since they were toddlers. They went to the same kindergarten, primary school and now secondary school. They are in the same CCA and they are tight. They've known each other since his mum and I plonked our toddlers at each other's faces.
That boy's mum and I were primary and secondary school classmates. We belong to a small group of former schoolmates who meet up once in a while to catch up over makan. Although we don't meet as often as we'd like to because of our busy work schedules and family commitments, when we do, it's like we've never been apart. Just one of those friendships, I'm sure you know what I mean.
They are in hospital and we've not been able to visit them. I've been feeling all choked up since learning this news. Feeling so helpless. Been praying and praying. Passing the message, asking more people to pray. Nothing else I can do. We'll have to rally around her and her family once they get discharged.
I heard my son's school has been praying for them. Those Gabrielite boys are a real special bunch. When things like this happen, it reminds me of what is most important. Don't wait till it's too late.
Yesterday, I learnt from my son that something had happened to his friend and his family. He was visibly upset. John had been friends with this boy since they were toddlers. They went to the same kindergarten, primary school and now secondary school. They are in the same CCA and they are tight. They've known each other since his mum and I plonked our toddlers at each other's faces.
That boy's mum and I were primary and secondary school classmates. We belong to a small group of former schoolmates who meet up once in a while to catch up over makan. Although we don't meet as often as we'd like to because of our busy work schedules and family commitments, when we do, it's like we've never been apart. Just one of those friendships, I'm sure you know what I mean.
They are in hospital and we've not been able to visit them. I've been feeling all choked up since learning this news. Feeling so helpless. Been praying and praying. Passing the message, asking more people to pray. Nothing else I can do. We'll have to rally around her and her family once they get discharged.
I heard my son's school has been praying for them. Those Gabrielite boys are a real special bunch. When things like this happen, it reminds me of what is most important. Don't wait till it's too late.
6 Apr 2010
Temporary Being
I know most times, the barrage of stories circulating online cannot be verified but heck, sometimes, these stories just bring a lump to your throat, don't they? If they make you reflect and change you for the better, then my guess is no harm done. Every once in a while, I will come across phrases which I find strike a chord. This is one of them (sorry, I don't know the author of this one - but I like it alot):
WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS
GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.
WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS
GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY
HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS
GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.
WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS
GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY
HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
5 Apr 2010
Doing strange things for God
Here's an inspiring story. Author unknown. I cannot verify the truth of this story but it's inspiring nevertheless. Though I didn't get to feed a crying child and I do not understand the purpose of what I had done, I totally understand how 'foolish', 'strange' and yet 'awesome' that young man had felt.
"A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice.
The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?"
After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message.
Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God. . . If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought, stop and buy a gallon of milk.
He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?"
He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.
The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli.
"Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk."
It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.
He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down that street."
This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down seventh street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh.
Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will."
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi-commercial area of town.
It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street."
The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were
already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane.
Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid."
Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.
Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk.
If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient.
I guess that will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here."
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?"
Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and t-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem
too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?"
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you."
The man took the milk and rushed down a hall way speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying,
"We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money.
We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk."
His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to send an Angel with some...Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him
and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers and that God still speaks to His people."
"A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice.
The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?"
After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message.
Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God. . . If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought, stop and buy a gallon of milk.
He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?"
He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.
The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli.
"Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk."
It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.
He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down that street."
This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down seventh street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh.
Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will."
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi-commercial area of town.
It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street."
The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were
already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane.
Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid."
Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.
Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk.
If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient.
I guess that will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here."
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?"
Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and t-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem
too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?"
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you."
The man took the milk and rushed down a hall way speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying,
"We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money.
We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk."
His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to send an Angel with some...Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him
and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers and that God still speaks to His people."
1 Apr 2010
One Wish
This being Holy Week, I'm in a contemplative mood.
You know how some of us gripe and groan about this and that in our lives?
We wish this, we wish that? If only this, if only that?
More money? Better job prospects? New Car? New House? A better spouse? Better neighbours?
I thought I knew what I really needed and wanted. But I've come to the realisation it isn't true at all.
Think about this carefully.
If you could have only ONE wish granted by God, what would it be? (asking for 'more wishes' disallowed, lah).
You know how some of us gripe and groan about this and that in our lives?
We wish this, we wish that? If only this, if only that?
More money? Better job prospects? New Car? New House? A better spouse? Better neighbours?
I thought I knew what I really needed and wanted. But I've come to the realisation it isn't true at all.
Think about this carefully.
If you could have only ONE wish granted by God, what would it be? (asking for 'more wishes' disallowed, lah).
29 Mar 2010
Led by the Spirit
In my family of 4 (I mean including hubs and kids), I declare myself, Chief Organiser. That means, my stress level hovers at high all the time because as Chief Organiser, I need to be logical, prompt, quick, calculative, demanding, forceful, - you get the drift. After a hard day's work at the office (where other people are Chief), I come home and feel the need to push them off their butts with my motherly comments and instructions. While I may be somewhat maverick in my parenting ways, I'm by no means nuts and I'm still completely Singaporean! That means, you won't be finding me running down the street in my birthday suit anytime soon. It also means that I may go to church and pray for God's guidance but do I really understand what it's like to be guided by Him at all? Well, I'm learning all the time that there's a first time for everything.
First off, let me tell you that if you'd told me a year ago that YOU could hear God, I'd have thought you were crazy and a fanatic, no less. So it's quite alright if you think the same of me now. However, I'd recommend anyone to start having quiet time to just listen to what God has to say to you. You'll be surprised.
In my previous post, I wrote that I'd been spending alone time with God, trying my best to listen to what He has to say to me. I do ask Him questions too and He does answer them and sometimes, I'm completely taken aback by His answers. I could never have come up with such answers myself so if you're thinking I imagined them, you're incorrect.
One day last week before the Blessed Sacrament in our church's Adoration Room I was having one of my 'conversations' with God (We don't speak audibly. Conversations are transmitted in what I would call a telepathic manner. I hear Him and I know that He hears me). Tapering to the end, He asked me if I would do Him a favour. I was nervous but I said, 'Yes'. He passed me a message for a certain household. I sensed 2 digits but I was confounded and wondered how I was supposed to go look for a house with just those 2 digits as a clue! Over the next few days in Adoration Room, I gathered another 2 digits. So I had 4 digits (apparently an HDB apartment) to go on in the whole of Singapore island. In the course of the week, whenever I happened to be driving around, I'd be on the lookout for these 4 digits but would come up with nothing.
Last weekend, Mike and I had to visit an apartment in an estate near ours. I reached the block of flats and got a shock of my life as the ground floor unit in front of me carried those 4 digits! The door was closed although I could see a curtain through the opened corridor window. I hovered outside that apartment wondering if I should 'do it' but we were late for our appointment so I left.
When we came down the block again, I went to the ground floor unit again and this time, the door was open. I peeked in the very dark flat and noticed a man sitting in front of his TV, holding what seemed like a bottle of hard liquor to his mouth. I walked away and headed back to our car with Mike, all the time wondering, should I or should I not? But I couldn't walk very far from that unit because my head was pounding and my heart was beating very fast. I recognised my usual symptoms of God's prompting. So I told Mike I had something to do and I'd meet him at the car later. Mike went to the car to wait for me.
I walked back to that unit and peeked in again. He was still drinking. Maybe he had plain water in that bottle, I don't know! But I called out to him through his apartment gate. He got up immediately and put his bottle on a side cabinet. He came to the gate. He looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s. Relatively good looking.
Seriously, I've never done this to a stranger before. Prior to this, I DID use my logic to reason that there would be no harm in the contents of the message. In fact, it would do that person good (I should add that it is in line with scripture) and that's why I was open to the idea of passing a message to a complete stranger. I looked the guy in the eye and just explained that I was Catholic and God had a message which I was supposed to pass to this particular house address. He just nodded his head. So I told him the message. His eyes grew wide and for an instant, I thought I saw a softening and sadness in his eyes, like he was about to tear. He still hadn't spoken a word. I asked him if he were a Christian and he said he wasn't. So apologetically, I told him I was sorry for having disturbed him but it was just that God had wanted me to pass him that message. His only answer to me? 'Ok'.
I walked away feeling like a goon but the pounding in my head had stopped. I got back into the car and Mike just asked, 'So? What did Jesus ask you to say? I couldn't help but burst out laughing. My hubby knows me so well! Later that evening, I sat in Adoration Room asking Jesus if I'd passed the message to the right person. It clearly was.
I had asked God to lead and guide me, to open up my heart to Him and if making a fool out of myself is what it entails, then as scary as it may seem or as illogical to me as it seems, I'll do it. My logic in this matter? God has His reasons which I may not always understand but He totally understands us so I'll just have to learn to place my faith in Him.
First off, let me tell you that if you'd told me a year ago that YOU could hear God, I'd have thought you were crazy and a fanatic, no less. So it's quite alright if you think the same of me now. However, I'd recommend anyone to start having quiet time to just listen to what God has to say to you. You'll be surprised.
In my previous post, I wrote that I'd been spending alone time with God, trying my best to listen to what He has to say to me. I do ask Him questions too and He does answer them and sometimes, I'm completely taken aback by His answers. I could never have come up with such answers myself so if you're thinking I imagined them, you're incorrect.
One day last week before the Blessed Sacrament in our church's Adoration Room I was having one of my 'conversations' with God (We don't speak audibly. Conversations are transmitted in what I would call a telepathic manner. I hear Him and I know that He hears me). Tapering to the end, He asked me if I would do Him a favour. I was nervous but I said, 'Yes'. He passed me a message for a certain household. I sensed 2 digits but I was confounded and wondered how I was supposed to go look for a house with just those 2 digits as a clue! Over the next few days in Adoration Room, I gathered another 2 digits. So I had 4 digits (apparently an HDB apartment) to go on in the whole of Singapore island. In the course of the week, whenever I happened to be driving around, I'd be on the lookout for these 4 digits but would come up with nothing.
Last weekend, Mike and I had to visit an apartment in an estate near ours. I reached the block of flats and got a shock of my life as the ground floor unit in front of me carried those 4 digits! The door was closed although I could see a curtain through the opened corridor window. I hovered outside that apartment wondering if I should 'do it' but we were late for our appointment so I left.
When we came down the block again, I went to the ground floor unit again and this time, the door was open. I peeked in the very dark flat and noticed a man sitting in front of his TV, holding what seemed like a bottle of hard liquor to his mouth. I walked away and headed back to our car with Mike, all the time wondering, should I or should I not? But I couldn't walk very far from that unit because my head was pounding and my heart was beating very fast. I recognised my usual symptoms of God's prompting. So I told Mike I had something to do and I'd meet him at the car later. Mike went to the car to wait for me.
I walked back to that unit and peeked in again. He was still drinking. Maybe he had plain water in that bottle, I don't know! But I called out to him through his apartment gate. He got up immediately and put his bottle on a side cabinet. He came to the gate. He looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s. Relatively good looking.
Seriously, I've never done this to a stranger before. Prior to this, I DID use my logic to reason that there would be no harm in the contents of the message. In fact, it would do that person good (I should add that it is in line with scripture) and that's why I was open to the idea of passing a message to a complete stranger. I looked the guy in the eye and just explained that I was Catholic and God had a message which I was supposed to pass to this particular house address. He just nodded his head. So I told him the message. His eyes grew wide and for an instant, I thought I saw a softening and sadness in his eyes, like he was about to tear. He still hadn't spoken a word. I asked him if he were a Christian and he said he wasn't. So apologetically, I told him I was sorry for having disturbed him but it was just that God had wanted me to pass him that message. His only answer to me? 'Ok'.
I walked away feeling like a goon but the pounding in my head had stopped. I got back into the car and Mike just asked, 'So? What did Jesus ask you to say? I couldn't help but burst out laughing. My hubby knows me so well! Later that evening, I sat in Adoration Room asking Jesus if I'd passed the message to the right person. It clearly was.
I had asked God to lead and guide me, to open up my heart to Him and if making a fool out of myself is what it entails, then as scary as it may seem or as illogical to me as it seems, I'll do it. My logic in this matter? God has His reasons which I may not always understand but He totally understands us so I'll just have to learn to place my faith in Him.
25 Mar 2010
Draw Me Close To You
'Draw Me Close To You' is one of my favourite worship songs.
Draw me close to you,
never let me go.
I lay it all down again,
to hear you say that I’m your friend.
You are my desire,
no one else will do.
No one else can take your place,
to feel the warmth of your embrace.
Help me find the way,
bring me back to you.
You’re all I want.
You’re all I’ve ever needed.
You’re all I want.
Help me know you are near.
Copyright 1994 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing.
(Sorry, I'm not sure who the composer is but I think it is Kelly Carpenter)
The past few weeks, I have been having a greater desire to spend alone time with the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Room. I just sit there in silent worship and let Him speak to me. No verbal exchange required. It's like having telepathy communication with Jesus. I cannot explain it but I know what He says and He knows what I say. I think I'm holding on to Him for dear life because I nearly totally lost this form of communication for good. I'd let my human doubts get in the way and I didn't believe that I was actually hearing Him. It was only when I had totally stopped hearing Him that I realised it hadn't been my imagination after all.
At the Healing Rally by Bob Canton, I really opened my heart to the Lord and asked for His forgiveness for even doubting Him. I asked if He would please bless me again so that I could hear Him again and He did not let me down. I feel so blessed that I'll do whatever it takes to never let this Gift go. I know, I sound like one of those ku-ku crazies but you know what, when you are so in love with Jesus, you shouldn't even worry what others will think about you, you should worry about what Jesus thinks about you. So heck. I've always been different anyway so I might as well turn it into a gift from God to glorify Him in whatever way I can!
If you want to read about the start of my faith journey, you can read it over at my other blog:
http://cartoonlagoonjoy.blogspot.com/
I started off with a separate blog for my faith journey but realised I can't separate my faith from my 'other' life because my life SHOULD be about my faith. As such, my faith journey will be documented here at this blog as well.
Draw me close to you,
never let me go.
I lay it all down again,
to hear you say that I’m your friend.
You are my desire,
no one else will do.
No one else can take your place,
to feel the warmth of your embrace.
Help me find the way,
bring me back to you.
You’re all I want.
You’re all I’ve ever needed.
You’re all I want.
Help me know you are near.
Copyright 1994 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing.
(Sorry, I'm not sure who the composer is but I think it is Kelly Carpenter)
The past few weeks, I have been having a greater desire to spend alone time with the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Room. I just sit there in silent worship and let Him speak to me. No verbal exchange required. It's like having telepathy communication with Jesus. I cannot explain it but I know what He says and He knows what I say. I think I'm holding on to Him for dear life because I nearly totally lost this form of communication for good. I'd let my human doubts get in the way and I didn't believe that I was actually hearing Him. It was only when I had totally stopped hearing Him that I realised it hadn't been my imagination after all.
At the Healing Rally by Bob Canton, I really opened my heart to the Lord and asked for His forgiveness for even doubting Him. I asked if He would please bless me again so that I could hear Him again and He did not let me down. I feel so blessed that I'll do whatever it takes to never let this Gift go. I know, I sound like one of those ku-ku crazies but you know what, when you are so in love with Jesus, you shouldn't even worry what others will think about you, you should worry about what Jesus thinks about you. So heck. I've always been different anyway so I might as well turn it into a gift from God to glorify Him in whatever way I can!
If you want to read about the start of my faith journey, you can read it over at my other blog:
http://cartoonlagoonjoy.blogspot.com/
I started off with a separate blog for my faith journey but realised I can't separate my faith from my 'other' life because my life SHOULD be about my faith. As such, my faith journey will be documented here at this blog as well.
8 Mar 2010
May 2007 - Straits Times article
Last Saturday evening, I attended the 1st Birthday of my nephew and we got talking about a number of things like primary school registration for the Birthday boy and my son's 'awkward' PSLE performance. It was then that my aunt reminded me of the newspaper article (back in 2007) she had read about us Yeos some years back. She said when she read it, she thought it was so typical of me *grin*. It's true, can't deny it; I've always been a maverick parent of sorts. I'm quite glad to stick to my guns actually.
I can't recall if I'd ever posted this online but I dug up the old newspaper article (which I'd left in my office drawer for safekeeping!). Here's the puffy eyed boy on his rollerblade and my thunderous thighs on 'his' bike (yes, a relatively kiddy height two-wheeler!). We're not sure why he was so puffy-eyed that morning of the photoshoot but we had to get up real early to prepare for the shoot and the boy was soooooo tense that the Straits Times photographer had a tough time getting him to relax whilst posing at the same time. The number of shots and awkward poses reminded me of my wedding studio shoot.
The above shot was selected after so many poses and it was a pity that none of the family pics (of all 4 of us) taken in our small garden was chosen for publication (Sorry Mike, sorry Taz). Here's the second half of the page (sorry my scanner won't take it all in and I'm too lazy to do computer magic today).
And here's a close up of the write up:
In short (yes, yes, I know I'm short), I am described as being an ATYPICAL parent who prefers my kids to have fun in school and come home all flushed and sweaty. Yep, that's me. They wrote about why I had chosen St. Gabriel's Primary School for my son. Well, I've not looked back. It was the right choice and I definitely have no regrets. They have very caring teachers there by the way. The best person to judge if the teachers are caring would be your child. Get THAT feedback from your kid, not yourself.
Grades are essential but life is not all about grades. What, of your childhood do you remember and treasure the most? The time studying? Or the time laughing and playing with your friends?
On an island full of 'kiasu' parents (parents who are frightened to lose out), I know I do not walk alone. I read in the papers recently, of a parent who was going to take his daughter, Robyn out for a year's travel right after the kid finishes her PSLE. Way to go, Robyn's Daddy! Yes! We need more parents like you!
For some time now, I've been telling my kids the very same thing. Only difference is I would need to get a windfall to fund it. Sigh. (Robyn's Daddy, would you like to fund some travelling companions?). Or perhaps there is any kind soul Gazillionaire (Mr. Gates? Mr. Gates?) out there reading this? How about funding me, Radical Mum, who would like to give my kids, my hubby and myself a year long tutorial on the subject of Life by really seeing and discovering the world? I would really like us to learn to take the road less travelled....
My kids have been hearing this for some time now and they like to joke with me by asking if I'd really do it if I were to strike the Big One in our local lottery. In fact, my son was poking fun at me about my 'near' miss for the recent Chinese New Year S$10 million Toto draw. Matching 4 out of 6 numbers gets me $30. Poles apart from S$10 miliion.
Of course I'd do it! What is it to put on hold for a year my 16 yr old daughter's GCE 'O' Levels? She might come back a better person and do much better. Or she might want to stay put in some remote village and do some charitable work instead : P
As we say in Teochew, 'tarng goo-goo'. (Wait long long). Well, it really depends on the good Lord isn't it? He might let us tour the world sooner than we think. Who knows. He never ceases to amaze me. Never say never. Meanwhile, I should stay positive, start packing my bags and think of a way to ease this piece of news gently to my lonely dogs.
4 Mar 2010
New Artwork
Here's a sampling of what I've been so busy and excited about!
I drew inspiration for my painting from a quote by British novelist and journalist, G.K Chesterton:
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."
My family has been very supportive of my 'alone' worktime and so far, I seem to be able to get a couple of hours to myself to paint on weeknights. It pays to have kids young. Well, not that young (I was 26) but it's kinda nice to have teen kids at this stage in my life.
My intention is to sell prints of my artwork and so I am busy compiling my work. Someone out there might appreciate the wacky, whimsical art that I fancy! I'm using the moniker FYEONA for my paintings. I've always felt weird taking on my hubby's surname and losing my own or sticking to my own and not taking on hubby's. Have you ever felt that? You want to share the same family name as your kids and all but you don't quite want to lose your identity either. So to make it simple, I'm signing off as FYEONA, a combination of Fiona and hubs' family name, Yeo!
(Please do not download a copy of my artwork without my prior permission. I'm in the process of setting up my store but meanwhile, if you REALLY, REALLY *roll eyes* must have a copy of this artwork than contact me. Thanks, heaps!)
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."
My family has been very supportive of my 'alone' worktime and so far, I seem to be able to get a couple of hours to myself to paint on weeknights. It pays to have kids young. Well, not that young (I was 26) but it's kinda nice to have teen kids at this stage in my life.
My intention is to sell prints of my artwork and so I am busy compiling my work. Someone out there might appreciate the wacky, whimsical art that I fancy! I'm using the moniker FYEONA for my paintings. I've always felt weird taking on my hubby's surname and losing my own or sticking to my own and not taking on hubby's. Have you ever felt that? You want to share the same family name as your kids and all but you don't quite want to lose your identity either. So to make it simple, I'm signing off as FYEONA, a combination of Fiona and hubs' family name, Yeo!
(Please do not download a copy of my artwork without my prior permission. I'm in the process of setting up my store but meanwhile, if you REALLY, REALLY *roll eyes* must have a copy of this artwork than contact me. Thanks, heaps!)
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