If it’s no fun, why do it?

A tagline of Ben & Jerry’s and I had been swearing by it until a year ago. 

I had enjoyed every job that I was in. This one, not so… I got in because of connection. It pays quite well but the jobscope is just so ‘bleh’. 

I always tell myself never ever work for money and I had been abiding by it. When I just graduated I worked in a dynamic casting agency. I had to take photographs of models in G-string on my first day of work. 

I had to pick up models to and fro their hotels, and one even greeted me with only his towel wrapped around him. And did I mention he was gorgeous. 

It was fun, but as of all productions, hours were crazy. 16 hours were the norm. And I earned peanuts at that time. I was so tired of productions that I left. 

I worked in ALDO after that. It was great! I know some of the greatest people I had ever known there. I got to travel, though the furthest was Penang, and that was the last time I was on Singapore Airlines. -.- 

We worked overnight to get the stores started, I got the first hand informations of the shoes that were coming in. I get invitations for fashion shows, magazine events, and 40% of ALDO shoes no less. I was having a lot of fun, even those time when I had to squat at the warehouse to sort out accessories, it was still fun and memorable. 

Thereafter I flew the world. I love those times of my life and even till now 10 of us are as close as ever. Those people make my day even till now. We just had steamboat together and trust me I had not laughed so hard in a long time. 

Now, now. I just wish I am working in a place as dynamic and as flamboyant and as interesting and as  fun as the other 3 places I had worked in. However, in those industries I will have to work long hours and its pay sucks. 

You know something about not having best of both worlds? I totally understand that, and I wish I could go back to anyone of them. But time has changed, will I still be having fun picking up models? Will I still be having fun squatting in an empty mall in the middle of the night to set up stores? Will I still be having fun getting jet lags in a strange city?

That’s the thing about mid-20s. You are not here not there. Too old to have fun and too young to settle for a good ol’ job. 

Sigh. Have not been writing and it feels good. How I wish I had better command of English. You know what, I had always wanted to be a writer. I wrote a lot of unfinished romance love story in my old computer, and I wrote diaries. If I could, I’d like to be a columnist that writes anything big or small. 

IMG_8489

A roomful of Japanese man

Do all Japanese smell the same? Cos the moment I stepped into a roomful of men and it reminded me of Tokyo.

It’s not the languages but the smell. A mix of tobacco and cold air. Strangely it warms my heart and bring back memories of days walking in the cold under the sun with people chattering in foreign language around me.

Such nice feeling and I yearn to revisit it again. Very, very soon.

Howdy!

It’s been a crazy week, with the TB, D&D rehearsals and the continuous meeting with customers, I was sick and fatigue.

I am on course for the next 2 days and will be on leave next week to study for exam. I tell you… I am swarmed!

And, tomorrow is my Birthday! It’s like Hooray!-and-then-what’s-next-kind-of-feeling.

I’ll be on course tomorrow and Nellie is not around, so I’ll be spending alone, again, 2nd year in a row. Sigh… oh well, what’s new.

I guess I’ll relax a lot more after my exam. Career wise, I have been working my ass off, I am still typing emails now. People have been commenting that I have lose a tremendous lot of weight. Actually… No, my weight stay the same on the scale, maybe on the whole, I just look more fatigue and haggard therefore that.

My D&D had been great. I mean like G-G-Great! I had a great time pretending to be Lulu, my alter ego, with 2 sons and an ah beng husband and dance on stage for a living. It was great great fun, we stayed back after the D&D and danced along to Mambo Jumbo.

Mambo Jumbo! It was great fun, and free flow of alcohol. What do you think?

As I was new to the company, I had to join the dance performance. At first, I was like, Gosh, it is going to be the most embarrassing thing of my life. However, the performance was the highlight of the night and till now everyone is still talking about it. Look at our costume! It was hilarious, but in a good way. Love the girls and the guys whom we have been practising for the past month.

We were gulping down wine after wine and beer after beer before the performance so that we can be more spontaneous for the performance. And we really did. It was so much fun.

 

Someone unexpected just wished me Happy Birthday, one of my Secondary School classmate, so sweet of him, Facebook message from Australia.

Sometimes, little things make me happy. And huge things like my D&D and performance made me excited like a little girl.

Memories flooding

Guess where I am?

I’m at the TB control unit. Just had my x-ray done. I’m not being suspected, but one of colleagues got it therefore whole group of us had to go for the check.

This reminds me of dad.

Those tests that he had to go through and to be informed that it was Stage 4 lung cancer instead.

I am positive that I am all right.

But, what if, for some reason I am also diagnosed with it?

How will I react to it?

Will I be as positive as my dad? Whenever we asked if he was okay, he would laugh and replied, “If I’m sick I have to cure it!”

He wanted so much to live.

Many times I really wish he’s still around. I miss his laughter, his nonsensical talk, his long long stories, his red face after a bit too much beer, his snore… I miss him very much.

I miss him everyday of my life.

It feels like we have Thea to fill up the gap that my dad left. With her around, the place will be filled with joy and laughter.

Just like my dad, a party was not a party without my him.

He’s the centre of life, people would scramble just to share the same table as him.

I’m glad we have Thea. I’m so glad I have Thea.

See?

After I had taken this pic, she ran over to my side and said, ‘see?’. She gave herself a small nod after checking out the picture.

Is my little T growing too fast?

Hello Monday.

The worse thing to do on a Monday night is to get tipsy.

The best thing to do on a Monday night is to get tipsy.

Last day of work for my colleague. Had a blast. U go girl. All the best!

On Steve Job’s inventions.

When I heard from my hubby that Job’s dead, I laughed and remarked, “he made so much money and he died so young?”

Everyone was sad and mourning for this great inventor. I must say he’s a great motivational speaker and presenter. Invention, true, he is one, yes, he changed how the world connects with each other. But, is that a good thing. At all?

For me, I would prefer there is no iphone or ipad or whatsoeve. So that I won’t be so distracted by Whatssap, Facebook messenger and sms all bombarding me all at once.

My colleague, who has been really sweet to me since I joined the company has been taking really good care of me. However, nice as she is, she’s kan cheong. When I’m with Thea, my phone is on silent mode and in my bag, my bag is on stroller, thus I know nothing if someone is urgently looking for me.

For this colleague, she whatsapp me, and the great functions of whatsaap is that the sender will know if the reader had read it. Knowing that I had not read it, she sent me a SMS to remind me to read my Whatsapp.

I thought it was kinda ridiculous.

iphone is our bedtime companion, it has replaced my good o’ book. The good thing about it is that no lights had to be on, bad thing is, I am able to access my work email through there. Yup, I’ll check my email before I sleep. No wonder I always wake up feeling even more exhausted.

I can live without my phone, there is 7/10 times I forgot my phone, and 8/10 I don’t bring my phone when I’m out with Nellie. However, it has become one of the accessories, like my ring and bracelet that without it, it just feels weird. But I really don’t like to be ‘connected’ all the time.

Nowadays, during gathering or meal appointments, people would casually take out their phone and kept swiping the screen, hoping, just hoping a message will pop out so that they will look busy. (I’m guilty to be one of them, especially during corporate lunches).

And seeing toddler holding an ipad with the glow on their face playing with whatever they are playing. Those are toddler who should be playing ‘house’ instead of building house on the virtual world.

I am complaining, and who don’t. But I am, because how I wish we are not so advanced at all. How I wish there is no such thing as Facebook. How I miss those IRC times, how I wish we are still on Data plan so that we are not expected to be logged on all the time.

Anyone agrees?

T.

Bird.
How.
What.
Momo. (Which is actually Elmo)
Fluffy.
Koko (Which is actually Neko, a cat stuff toy)
Mummy
Daddy
Feh (Which is actually Auntie Phebe, my domestic helper)
Popo.
Yiyi.
Kor Kor
Gong gong (yes, she actually knows how to call my Dad, and will point to his photo)
Food.
Dog.
Cat.
Bubble.
Hug.
Shoes.
Cars.
Baboon (She actually means Balloon)
Eat.
谢谢(which sounds like ‘share share’)
want.
more.
no.
please.

The above are the vocabs she knows. She either repeat after you or will point out that object and said out loud. The most powerful words are definitely the last four, ‘want!’, ‘more!’, ‘no!’ and ‘please…’, if she were to say the latter, even the most macho man will go weak on his knees. Her pleas will be accompanied by a really sweet smile.

One usual morning, while wearing my shoes, ready for work. She shouted for me across the room, “mummy!” Without looking up, I answered, “yes?”

“Bye bye!” She shouted. She made my day. Definitely.

She had always been cranky in the morning. She will cry and whine and make sure we get her out of her play pen immediately. I had since kept telling her, say, “hug.” If you want us to hug.

These days, I’ll hear a sweet voice, “Mummy, hug!” I am more than glad to roll out of my bed to give this darling my big hug.

I brought her out last night, with all my relatives to Marina Bay Sands. We were in a big group and she refused to let me carry her. I put her down and she started running. My cousin who was right in front stopped her, and asked T to hold her hands. T obliged, and they were walking together for the longest time. And T did not really know that cousin at all.

Back in the room, my uncle’s father was there also. He was like T’s great grandfather. He scooped her up and let her sit on his lap, and she was sitting there happily. Yes, that was the first she met him.

She amazed me. She makes people happy and gives people joy.

Now that I have her, I cannot imagine life without her.

On a side note, I know of somebody who is almost in the same situation as I was in. She is scared, worried and not sure what the future might hold. But I know, it is going to be a great, exciting, loving, joyful chapter of her life. It might come early, but it’s definitely better than to be early than late or worse, never.

My lovely T, my honey, my girl, my love, my happiness, my joy and little girl.

Take leave just to go to Sentosa!

We forego the drive-in and acted like tourist.

 

“Mummy, there”

 

Okay, we are the kind of parent who bring our kids to a bar.  Our kid has been exposed since young, there won’t have such a thing as ‘out of curiosity’.

In case, I haven’t updated anything about her, she is now able to walk, run, jump, climb, swing… basically anything a monkey is capable of.

We were trying our best to look like tourist.

 Ah ha! Who can resist taking with this surreal globe sighting in Singapore.

Okay, why would I say surreal? I feel like I’m a foreigner in my own country. Universal studio in Singapore? I am still trying to digest that.

H&M in Singapore? While looking up at the big neon sign H&M at the cross junction of Orchard Road. I can’t help but linked the sign board to freezing cold weather. But now, it’s in Singapore!

You know, I have always a little philosophy for my self, ‘behave like a local in another country, act like a tourist at your own’  It really gives lots of fresh perspective to life.

Nellie’s favorite past time is to bring me to his old estate which had since been demolished and posh new development is on its way. Every time he will animatedly describes his child hood stories to me. I breathed into every words he said. It is a bitter sweet feeling.

No matter which era we are at, everyone will talk about the good old days.

Good old days are sickening. Let’s just embrace the present, as before you know it, it will soon become  one of ‘those good old days. ‘