Brain Short Circuit

As in my previous post, I was having a headache. This evening, as usual, I drove to fetch the hubby from work. I was travelling along the expressway. I was already feeling kinda different, a feeling very hard to describe, sort of like dreamy but not dreamy. From the expressway, I needed to filter out to the main road. This was when my brain went "dead". I was trying to change into another lane with cars not far from behind, when all of a sudden, I forgot how to drive and I had gear confusion!! I just stopped in the middle of the huge main road. Well, now I know one of the reasons why people got into accidents is due to brain malfunction!

At the nick of time, that instinct kicks in. My hand just moved the gear without registering in my brain. Honestly, now, I cannot even recall which gear I engaged at that point of time. All I remember is that the vehicle moved, and that is all that matters.

When I reached hubby's workplace, I immediately got out and let him took over. There and then, I decided to do something for myself. I made an appointment for a jamu massage and I even splurged on myself and signed a package for traditional jamu treatment. I just got back from my massage and I felt slightly better eventhough my body felt painful all over. This is a different kind of pain. A very nice pain.

I am also glad that I manage to get a contact for the massage at home. This is for Jin. She needs a break and I think a jamu will do her good, to break some of her bones, at the comfort of a house. So, Jin, the next time you're here, a jamu will be awaiting you! So speedy recovery, ok? :)

I'm having a headache

This is the 4th painkiller I am popping. And still, the pain keeps coming back! Yes, I'm having a terrible headache! The stress is getting on to me. From the moment I wake up till now, besides leaving the desk to fetch the kiddos, I have been sitting in front of the PC working away. I even ate at my desk!

I am working harder than before. Why? Because I need to sell more. Why? Because we have recently invested alot in inventory for the summer months and we are cash tight! So, the only way is to work and work so as to earn more money to cover our day-to-day expenses! Sigh, no matter how well the business may be earning, we always seem to reach situations when money comes in from one source and flows out the other way. I am proud to say, we are debt free. But I'm concern if we stop working this hard, we would accumulate debts since we have huge commitments!

Anyway, just rambling away...

I witness a fight

Just now in the evening, I was out with the hubby to the market. As we were walking to the supermarket to get a magazine, I was surprised to witness a horrible fight. Initially I thought the men were playing. I mean, sometimes, guys like to elbow each other. But the hubby told me it was not and quickly dragged me away (I was at close range). It was a group fight and a guy was beaten up very badly by a group of rowdy men. He was punched, kicked and stepped on the head. The hubby wanted to drag me home immediately, but I was a busybody. A minute later, gangs of men started appearing. They dashed towards the man who managed to scramble away. The whole big group gave chase. This seems to be a gang fight. Only difference is, it is not a teenager kind of gang fights. It was more serious and brutal between 2 gangs of foreign construction workers. Due to my work nature, I could tell that they were mostly Thai.

Thai people are notorious for their brutality. They are out to kill and can be very cruel and scary. They are even more dangerous than Indian or Blangadeshi workers. When I realized that they were not a bunch of teenagers, I back off.

My neighbourhood used to be a very peaceful and safe area. But it has lost its peace and safety eversince foreign construction workers started moving in and consume alchohol until the wee hours of the mornings. There have been fights and injuries. Sometimes they loiter at the void decks of the flats. I no longer venture out alone in the nights.

I just hope that the police would take up some actions and stop all these foreign workers from creating troubles in the neighbourhood. If they want to create troubles, well, I hope they get repatriated to their country and stop being such a nusiance to us!

The Ritual

Referring to this post. Today is the day when hubby's granny ashes is transfered to the temple. Just for the ritual at the crematorium, it is $400+, to be paid to the medium.

We drove to the crematorium this morning. Initially, hubby was thinking not to let me go. But I felt that as his wife, I should be with him. I have a protective pendant that is supposed to bless me. I carry it with me today and hang it around my neck. As I was walking towards the site of the ritual, the necklace of my pendant just came apart and my pendant dropped to the floor. I was indeed surprised! This pendant followed me through tough travelling and have been to factory where there was much rough handling. Nothing has ever happened. It just puzzled me why the necklace just came apart and the pendant dropped off as I was walking slowly towards the ritual. I didn't even touch it or handle it roughly! Not to take any risk, the hubby refused to let me attend the ritual. We took it as a sign that I was not meant to be there. There were a lot of burning of offerings and moreover, I didn't have much good feelings towards this "medium". I walked back to the vehicle and stayed there to wait for hubby. However, I know that with my absence in the ritual eventhough I was already there, my in-laws are going to hate me and would surely have a lot of bad things to say about me. The hubby came back just 15 minutes later. We were supposed to proceed to the temple to place the ashes as well as for the temple's nun to recite some verse.Well, I was prepared to be involved in the temple's ritual as I thought it would be a "simpler" affair.

According to the hubby, what that medium did is simply to take a hammer and knocked at the stone craving at the crematorium. Take the ashes out and passed it to my father-in-law. Still, my in-law were all praises for him. After the knock, he left. He was no where in sight at the temple. That is supposed to be the ritual performed by him! The rest would be done by the nun in the temple!

At the temple was another joke. The attendant didn't write down the details of the deceased because it was very crowded. So, he said, after the ritual, and when he was more free, he would then write the details. The temple's nun came to recite some verse and while she was performing the ritual, even when people needed to pass through, they could just asked her to "excuse", and it was fine with her. She could stop anytime! It was just a very short ritual. After the ritual, she started asking my in-law, "where is my ang pow?". Ang pow meaning red packets with money inside to be given to others for auspicious reasons. Somehow, I have a feeling that she is more concern about the money then the red packet. Later I caught her sitting at the verenda lazily staring into space.

When we brought the offerings to burn, the attendants took them from us and threw them into a huge burning furnace. That is, together with our paper carrier and plastic bags! They didn't even bother to take the offerings out of the plastic bags.

Then after the rituals, we were supposed to eat some of the prayer food for good luck.

This whole thing all seems like a joke to me. Honestly, I can't wait for the whole event to end as I started to have a headache from breathing in too much smoke. The final bill has yet to come. But for sure, the rituals are something that I would pay unwillingly.

A Vent

I think that I have reached a stage when I feel that my life sucks! There is no goal in my life. It is so aimless. All I feel is that I am a money-making machine. Work, work and work. Earn, earn and earn. Besides working, I have no life!

Yesterday was Good Friday which was a public holiday. I spent most part of the day working. Nope, there is no holiday for me.

Today is Saturday. It's the weekend! Every working adults would be ecstatic! But for me, I work. I work all through the morning. I work in the afternoon. And here I am, working at night.

Tomorrow is Sunday. I would be working again.

That's my life! And I am feeling downright pathetic! Yes, I am indulging myself in self pity. Because at this moment in time, I don't see much for me to look forward to and nothing for me to be happy about. Everyday when I look at "unkymoods" to choose my mood for the day, I cannot find a positive mood for myself.

There are too much worries in me. I feel sad about my dad. I think of him everyday. I must make sure the business reaps profit, and not just a little, it must be enough to make the family comfortable. I desparately need a helper but I can't find anyone I could trust my business to. I worry about me not being a good mom to Justin and Joel. I worry about the hubby's health and my mental health. I feel burdened. I wish so much for a day when there is nothing for me to do and I could just stare into space. I wish to be like any normal working adults, to be able to rest when I need to or when I am sick, to be able to have fun during the weekends and to spend time with the family, to be able to have a tiny winy bit of time for myself. Is it too much to ask for?

I feel that I am getting so haggard, so old. I am just 30 years old, for goodness sake! I need to breathe but I cannot find any breathing space. My life is just work. Yes, my job is envious to many of the people I know. I work from home, and that is a dream job, isn't it? But who really knows the agony and the struggles that I am going through?

By venting here, I don't feel any better. But I guess, I just need to vent.

Thanks Jin!

I never thought I could have a new template for my blog designed specially for me! I have chosen a standard template from blogspot and I don't really like it eventhough I don't mind. I am surprised when I log into my blog and see a different template staring at me created by Jin all by herself! I am truely impressed with her HUGE improvment in web design. Less than half a year ago, she didn't know much about computers, let alone web designs! At that time, gave her a computer, with a shortcut button to internet so that she could surf, and she would be more than contended. Wow! How much she has progressed in just a few months time!

Jin, I am impressed with your work! Keep it up! Use my blog. Experiment with your skill. Learn new commands. Excel in this field! Someday, I am going to leave my web business image to you, in exchange with prawn noodles, of course! Hahaa....

Why does it hurts so much?

My dad is unwell these couple of days. He is down with a bad flu and doesn't seem to recover from it. He has been popping panadols. Coupled with his high blood pressure and stomach problems, he felt really terrible yesterday. He told us his internal organs seem to be on fire and he felt very giddy. He was worried that he would just leave us yesterday. He nearly asked me over to say his final words and to tell me how he wanted to settle my mom.

Today, he took the opportunity to tell me how he wants to handle his finances. He wants me to be incharge of most of his savings and to keep from my brothers his actual savings. He wants me to look after my mom when he leaves. He wants my mom to be shifted to my house and we are to rent their current house to others. Whatever rental income we receive will help me to support my mom monthly. He wants me to take charge of the rest of his money and do what is deemed to be right. He only trusts me. He told me whatever money he has left should be sufficient to help me finance my mom's needs. He asks me to help him look after my mom until the time comes when he bring my mom away. He told me not to let the brothers fight over money or he won't rest in peace.

His words cut like a knife deeply into my heart. I hate to listen to whatever he said, I hate to acknowledge that he would leave me, but I know I have to listen to him. He is my dearest dad. I love him so much. How I wish I could take away his pain. How I wish he could live the rest of his life in peace. I am willing to do anything....anything to make him better. Now, I could only sit here, typing this and wishing miracle to happen.

News article of a Ghostbuster

There is a feature in The Sunday Times of a ghostbuster. His shop is located near to my place at Katong Shopping Centre. I remember that his shop has a lot of deities. I saw his shops many times but I find it sort of weird to call his shop as "ghostbuster". Quite kiddy, in my opinion, especially if you are in this business. He even has a website.

He specialises in exocism. In the news article, he mentioned that he was once under black magic. He had a KTV lounge in Batam and he fired a hostess. He also ate some of the things the hostess offered. He said that his life was in tatters after that. His business started to bleed and he had to close it down. He also vomitted mosquitoes, needles and iron fillings for 10 years. He couldn't eat and sleep and he tried to kill himself. Then one day, the Jade Emperor deity possessed a priest who cured him by pulling needles from his shoulders and a long white thread from his stomach. The deity appeared in his dreams and adopted him as a ghost busting disciple, but on condition that he uses his skill to help and not harm others. This guy got trained in Thailand and went to Indonesia for long meditation spells. His charges can go up to 4 digit amounts for elaborate rituals involving other wordly forces. He sees about 8 clients a day. His clients consists of english educated professionals who seeks solutions from sackings to hauntings and possessions. He also travel around the region to "clean" houses. He also remarked that he was not afraid of malignant spirits. But he was afriad of malignant human beings.

If you are curious to read more about him, check out his website at
http://www.ghostbuster99.com

Justin is better

Finally, he is recovering! Still weak, still coughing, still no appetite, lost his voice and sleepy, but his fever subsides and I am finally able to hear some of his noise in the house.

Actually, he was still very sick on Saturday. I was worrying about him when I just told myself, "What the heck! If the paediatrician couldn't cure him, I WILL!". So, what I did is to ignore all prescriptive medicines and gave him medication that I deemed are suitable for him. I guess alot of people would frown on my actions. But I don't care. He is my son and I do what I think is right for him. I "mix-and-match" medication to what I think is appropriate for him. Hubby is in total support. I guess when it comes to medicine and health issues, he trusts me completely.

And VIOLA! He shows improvement! Fever subsides and he was less breathless by Saturday evening. That night, I "mix-and-match" medication again. This morning, his fever goes off totally. It still comes back in the afternoon but it's no longer as frightening as before.

Moral of the story? A mommy knows best!

An interesting encounter

Today, hubby and I went to attend my sister-in-law 21st birthday celebration. We left the kids and helper at home as Justin is sick and I don't want him to exert himself over there, and also, hubby thinks it's better for Justin not to attend the occasion.

The celebration was held at Marina South and it was a meal of barbeque steamboat buffet. I was seated exactly next to the gas steamboat. Hubby and I brought the meat and vegetables to our table and I was bbqing the food when suddenly, I had an urge to take more meat. There was still unfinished meat on the table but I just wanted to take more. I left the table and walked to the buffet spread. I just took a small spoonfull of meat and I realized I wasn't really interested in taking meat afterall.

I stood there just gazing at the food. Hubby walked over to me and told me there was just a minor explosion at the gas steamboat. The gas nozzle came loose, dropped out and the steamboat caught fire! I was surprised! Everyone ran away from the table.

I asked hubby, who was seated at the most dangerous position at that time. The hubby told me, it would have been me if I didn't leave the table! I would have been at just where the gas nozzle was located. Right in front of my face was the steamboat which caught fire!

The boss came to apologize but he was very defensive and didn't want to admit how dangerous the situation was. C'mom, the whole gas tank could have exploded! The nozzle came off, gas immediately leaked, fire was ignited at the gas nozzle, the steamboat caught fire. Isn't that dangerous enough?? The boss still told us he would offer us 2 ice-creams(about 50 cents) instead of the usual 1 ice cream. Haha...as compensation??

Hubby and I didn't pursue the matter eventhough hubby was VERY unhappy. Moreover, the host, who is my sister-in-law wanted to let the matter rest so I feel that we being their guest and not paying for the meal, shouldn't be involved and make a big issue out of it. Afterall, I am not hurt. If it was the hubby who was giving the treat, and we were the host, the boss of the bbq steamboat buffet, would have "died" horribly under the hubby's hands.

What a Day!

I'm worried because
Justin's fever is not subsiding and he is so lethargic. I guess there is nothing unusual with being lethargic but being his mom, I know that it's NOT normal of him to feel so sleepy and restless! Even with high fever in the past, he could still play with his brother and joke around. But this time round, all he does is lie on the bed. He sleeps alot. I have to wake him up at 11am today. Then he sleeps in the afternoon and I have to wake him up at 5.30pm. Tonight, he sleeps early again.

His fever is brought down only by suppository. Without the suppository, his fever will shoot up. Even with paractamol, it doesn't help to bring down his fever. Having too much suppository is no good for him for it may cause kidney problem, but I have no choice. Deciding between the risk of kidney problem or keeping the high fever down immediately to prevent risk of brain damage, I choose the latter. Sponging him only provides temporary relief. His fever will rise almost immediately after sponging.

I brought him to the paediatrician today. The paed said that he is most likely going through a bad case of flu. I hope that it is just flu BUT why am I so unsettled?? Perhaps it's the mother instinct that kicks in and tells me that he is not behaving normally. Even when he had punemonia and was so serious that he needed hospitalisation, he was not as lethargic as now! Gosh! What am I suppose to do? I pride myself for being knowledgeable in medical terms, medicines, procedures and such. But now, I am at a loss!


I am angry because
of a stupid customer! I am a very accomodating seller. In most cases, I will accomodate to customers' needs, that is, as long as they are TRUTHFUL to me. But this idoit tries to cheat me! She must be thinking I am stupid or what. She ordered clothes and they were shipped to her. She wrote and told me she didn't recieve all her orders. C'mom I am not stupid. All shipments can be tracked. And the shipping record showed all orders were sent and in order. When I wrote to her about this, she still insisted that her clothings were not sent and she tried to be nasty somemore! And guess what? She chose the most expensive items and claimed that they were missing! I cannot accomodate her any longer. As long as there is a "justice" element involved, I would not bow down and I would not relent! However, I also know that by me being impetuous, I may ignore the "full" picture and my reputation would suffer. As a result, there may be a loss of income due to drop in reputation. Still, I cannot make myself give in to cheats. I told hubby I would let him handle from here.

Justin is sick

Justin is sick. He is running a high fever and his temperature is often more than 40 degrees. The thing about Justin is that when he has a fever, his fever will usually go very high and that worries me alot. The last time he was hospitalised, he had pneumonia.

Despite medication, I am still unable to bring the fever down. I have been sponging him and showering him with lukewarm water. I have also been using the fever suppository. However, I can only limit the suppository to every 8 hourly. Everyone is falling sick and it's making me stressed!

Not long ago, I received an ancient and antique coin from a customer as a gift. She wanted to thank us for being so nice to her. According to hubby, this coin could easily be 1000 years old. It is shipped to us from Belgium. I don't know whether the coin has any impact on us. It is valuable but I just can't get away that naggy feeling. I mean, why wouldn't she keep it for herself? Maybe I am too imaginative. Jin, any comments?

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

About Jin

Since Jin wrote about me, I am going to write about her too. kekeke..

I am not writing all that I know about her. Just a few very special points.

One of the things that stands out among her many special points is her tolerance. She is very tolerant of human fragilities and weaknesses.

You can also be very comfortable with her. She doesn't look up to you because you are rich. Neither will she look down on you because you are poor. You can just be yourself and she accepts you as who you are. That is the thing that I enjoy being with her the most. I don't have to pretend to be someone I am not. Sometimes I want to be cheapo or stingy, and it doesn't bother me to let her know. You don't have to worry that she will chide you. Sometimes, when I need to be extravagant on myself, she understands too. There is no need to pretend.

She is really not as fierce as she seems to be. You can joke, you can call her names and that is totally fine with her. But of course when she is provoked, God bless you. Like I say, she has a very high tolerance level, therefore, the chances of her being antagonised is very slim. She needs alot of pushing to reach that limit. And sometimes, however hard you push her also won't put her to that limit. It is most likely she will ignore you. But once she hits that limit, being slashed into half is an understatement!

She is sensitive. She is really not heartless or like what she mentioned, "emotionally retarded" eventhough she does take sometime to react to emotionally challenged situations. LOL. Through the times that I know her, she is, in fact, a sensitive person.

She treasures the loved ones around her. I guess, it's through the hard life she leads that she treasures those who stay around her. However, it's not easy to break through a wall that she firmly builds around herself.

She is demanding. Haha... that's one point that Miracle takes after her. If she wants something, she will get it and she will learn it. That's how she creates a blog all by herself eventhough she is a computer idoit! I am similar to her in this aspect. When I want to learn something, I will learn no matter how, in whatever ways. But if I don't want to, no amount of pushing or forcing will make me do it.

That's all I'm writing about her today. There are more but this will suffice in my blog for the time being.

This is my views. Jin, if you don't agree with me, just too bad :)

Just rambling...

I know it's going to be tough when I come back from my holiday. It is indeed exhuasting!

Gosh! Everyone is falling sick. I still have past days of work not done. And I still have days of work ahead of me not done. I told the hubby that I would seriously think twice before leaving for any overseas vacation in the future.I am tired too, and I am feeling edgy!

Tomorrow, the repairman is coming to repair all my windows and to replace the missing ones. That leaves me to complete all of tomorrow work, today. Next week, I am leaving for yet another business trip and all work has to be completed in advance again. The past 5 days of unattended enquiries and shipment have to be done today. Hubby is sick so there is a limitation what he can complete. There are nasty customers to be taken care of too. Phew...

Actually, the reasons why everyone is falling sick is because of the sudden change of temperature. From super warm, to cold, to super warm again. I am alright because I dressed warmly when I was in Hong Kong so that my body adjust gradually. I had been to climate below 0 degree, therefore I know what to expect in a cold weather. The kids are small and thus they may have a problem adjusting to the temperature switch. It is understandable why their bodies have a hard time adjusting. This is the first time my helper has been to a cold climate country, so it is not surprising that she falls sick.

The hubby needs to be bashed though. He catches a chill and that's because he's stubborn. Everyday, he dressed himself in a thin cotton T-shirt and a thin windbreaker (not very effective in blocking the wind) and venture out. That is ok, I guess, but on the coldest night we were there, he took off his jacket and with his thin short sleeve shirt, he stood at the streets and feel the chilling wind for a pretty long period of time. Everyone was looking at him in surprise. They were all wearing several layers of wooly wintry clothes but yet this silly man was standing there, with a pale face and feeling the chilling wind. The next day, he was already cold but he insisted on a big cup of mango ICE-blended shake. I had one too but couldn't finish because I was too cold. I had a hard time walking as I was shivering. But this crazy cold man told me it was so cold that it was shiok! Now, he's feeling the after-effect of it.

He would go to a doctor later on as he told me he is having the full blast symptons of flu. For me, I just have to take my work one step at a time. I just hope I don't fall sick as there are alot of things for me to attend to.

Hong Kong Photos

Joel at the Harbour City Shopping Complex



Justin is tired



The MTR station that we take everyday



Night scene



The shops selling Wanton Noodles





Streets in Hong Kong. We were trying to locate the Jade market here but were in vain.

Views of my trip

Just back from my trip. If you ask me whether I want to go back to Hong Kong for lesiure, my answer is no. To me, there is no difference between Hong Kong and Singapore. The only difference I see is that the people there are more crude. I mean, I don't mind the high expenses and the high prices IF it's well spent. However, I don't see how my money is well spent over there.

HOTEL
We booked into a 4 stars hotel by Marriot which is supposedly good. It did impress us on the first day. But as the days go by, you will feel that the hotel lacks the warm human touch. We could hardly get any directions in Hong Kong from them. Maybe I am used to good services when I am in other countries. But there at this hotel, you hardly get any smile. Even if they manage to answer your question and you say a polite "thank you", they feel that it's their god damn right to accept your "thanks". On the final day, when we asked for the hotel's help to call up the airport to confirm our flight, they flatly refused us, saying that we have to do it ourselves. Arrghhh! I don't have such problems when I am in OTHER hotels in OTHER countries.

They seem to be rude to everyone so we don't make a big issue out of it. Moreover, having stayed in Hong Kong for the past couple of days, we were used to their sucking attitude.

On top of that, our hotel room was not "very clean" as told by the hubby. Actually, I did suspect that there was something wrong with the room. I could feel chills from time to time but the final straw came when I was taking a nap and I felt a heavy weight on top of me and "something" brushed past me. Whenever I was in the toilet, I could feel being "watched" and always got this unknowing discomfort and a feeling of unsettlement when I left the kids there.

That aside, the presence was not very threatening. I wasn't very afraid so I guess, it helps in certain ways since I have some confidence. It is just a very odd feeling of being watched all the time.

All in all, I have very negative feelings towards this hotel. It is far from public transportation eventhough the map states that it is VERY near. Service sucks. But I am not complaining since it seems to be their way of life there.

Transportation
The MTR (which is similar to our MRT in Singapore) is nothing great. It can be quite confusing. Also, it's expensive. In fact all transportation in Hong Kong is expensive.

We bought Octopus card (similar to our MRT card) for ease of travelling. When we returned the cards to get a balance refund a day before we left, we were told they they would charge us HKD7 per card for returning the cards within 3 months. We asked them "are there no incentive for tourists?" since it is not quite possible for us to stay in Hong Kong for 3 months. They told us "No". We were charged about SG$10 for returning the cards. They told us the cards can be kept for 10 years if we decide to keep them. I told the hubby to return the cards, paid the "fine" and get back our balance store value, as I have no intention of returning to the country anytime in the near future.

FOOD
That is the GREATEST disappointment. When we went there, we thought that food is similar to Singapore, if not more. But it is not. Initially, we thought that it's the area we stayed but after exploring a few different areas in Hong Kong, we find that they are all similar. BBQ and roasted meat and wanton noodle. They don't have food courts or hawker centres like those in Singapore. What they have are individual shops selling only a single type of food. And even the most dilapidated shops don't sell cheap food. The cheapest we could find cost SG$5-6 a bowl. A small bowl of red bean soup in those small shophouses costs SG$3 and it is considered cheap. Other than these shops, it's the big restuarants that charge exhorbitant prices. We did try out these expensive highly recommended restuarants but they are really nothing great. We went for dim sum and we ordered a few types and paid quite a bit for them. Conclusion, it's not that great. Singapore's dim sum from Crystal Jade and Lion City Hotel beats them hands down, and cheaper.

The hubby tried the smelly bean curb that is famous in Hong Kong. He felt that they were nothing great too and he doesn't understand what is the raving about. It was sour and tasted like garbage. The siew mai tasted like it was made of pure flour.

The only thing that is nice is probably their soup. They make good soup. We did see snakes stalls selling their blood and gall bladder. The hubby didn't try. He was worried it would be too heaty in our kind of weather. And he may not be able to take it with his high blood pressure.

PEOPLE
People there are well dressed. I hardly see any slops around. Their hair are nicely combed, they wear long coats and boots with lovely make-up. But, their attitude really sucks. There was once the hubby wanted to buy 2 gameboy cartridges for Justin at one of the roadside stall. He was asking the owner, "if I buy 3, would you offer me a cheaper price?". That man immediately bombed his answer loudly "If you buy more, I may as well give you FREE for all!". Gosh! So damn freaking rude! Then there was another time he tried to ask for a cheaper price for some things we buy. The hubby asked a couple of times. That stupid man took out our things and said, "don't want to pay then don't buy". It was through all these experiences that we were so hesistant in buying anything from them.

There was once the hubby was shoved hard by one of the woman because he was blocking her way. That was a hard shove that took the hubby by surprise. He didn't expect a lady to do that!Justin and Joel were shoved alot of times. No body gave up seats for Justin and Joel on the train. In Singapore, people pretended to be asleep by closing their eyes because I guess they were guilty, but yet unwilling to move their butt. In Hong Kong, they look right at your eyes and sit there without any guilt. I also have to constantly remind the kids not to touch anythings when we were walking. There was once Justin was curious and touched something, and he was scolded.

Like I was saying in my previous entry, there was no "thank you", "excuse me", "sorry". There was once someone bumped into me and she said "sorry". I was so surprise and I wondered whether she was a local. LOL

If there is any hongkonger reading my blog, too bad, this is how I feel about you people. If you don't like it, don't read it. Oh yeah, I learn to be nasty these couple of days *evil grin*.

PRODUCTS
If I am talking about imitation products, I could get them in Thailand at half the cost or less. What is worse is that the hubby and I are conned by them and that make us freaking mad especially we paid quite high for the products. Call us stupid but I think we were too naive in dealing with these kind of people. The hubby bought 4 watches, 2 for himself and 2 for our parents. Out of the 4 watches, 3 are most likely defective. The thing is, we can't detect ant fault with them. It's only after a day or two that you will notice the time is slower, or faster or stop altogether. And it so happen that it's today when we are scheduled to fly back that we realised that the watch are defective! So to anyone who wants to buy imitation products in Hong Kong(which is what they are famous for), be warned.

I bought a Longchamp bag. The person told me it's "shui huo", meaning geuine products obtained directly from the factory by other means. I was so angry when I went back to the hotel and realized that one of the spelling "Longchamp" was wrong on my bag. It was a FAKE and I paid good money for it! I felt so stupid for being so trusting and not checking properly. Maybe I felt very rushed with the kids by my side. The brand name was located at a corner and it took some time at the hotel for me to realize something was wrong with my bag. A bloody waste of money!

Other than the imitation goods, most of the products are obtained from China and they can be bought cheaper in Thailand. Most of the items are priced more expensive than Singapore and it's not worth buying.

WEATHER
That is probably the only thing that is memorable. The weather is cold and it is a break from Singapore's hot weather. On the first day we were there, temperature was about 16-20C. On the second and third day, temperature fell to 8-10C with strong wind. The kids couldn't take the cold and the wind and wanted to return to the hotel whenever we were out. So sometimes, we left the kids in the hotel while we ventured to some windy places on our own.

NIGHT LIFE
Who says that Hong Kong is a city that never sleep? Most of the shops close at 9-10pm. Even the shops in ladies street start closing at 10 pm. By 12-1am, there is not much life in the streets, besides the pubs, which is similar to Singapore. It can also be dangerous to stay out in the streets after 12 as they are almost deserted with just those "gansters" hanging around. On our second night there, we returned to the hotel late at night and we were quite fearful. The subway and roads were deserted and there were a few suspicious people hanging around. Our keys (aka our secret weapon) were ready between our fingers to japped anybody in the eyes if they threatened us.


CONCLUSION
After my days in Hong Kong, I am beginning to appreciate what we have in Singapore. My kids can't wait to return home, as there was simply nothing in store for them. Ocean Park was a disappointment. When my parents asked Justin and Joel whether they want to return to Hong Kong, both of them answer "NO". Even with their disneyland this year, we won't return there. It would most likely be flood with many rude people who can't wait to shove us out. If I ever return to Hong Kong, it would only be because it is neccessary for my business. Never for lesuire.

Brrrrrrr.......it's cold!

Day 1
We touched down at Hong Kong's airport at about 7.45pm. The airport is bigger than I expected. We have to take a train to the immigration for clearance and to collect our baggages. Then we had to look for the car park where our booked cab was waiting for us. It was very confusing as they had several carparks. We took some time before we found the carpark and it took the cab driver 2 IDD calls to our auto roam handphone before we finally reached him.

The cab driver was very nice. We didn't know what our hotel name in chinese and he didn't know English. Nevertheless, he was very patient. He called his friend and after much searching and communication, he finally knew our destination.

When we reached our hotel, we were hungry. We thought that it was easy to find food but we were wrong, all the shops were closed (about 9.30pm) and we were not left with much choices besides Mc Donald. We bought Mc Donald back to the hotel and Justin settled with cup noodles. We had an early night.

Day 2
We plan to spend the day at Ocean Park. We took a ferry to "Central" and from there took a cab to Ocean Park. At Central, which is their CBD, we tried to find food for breakfast. To our dismay, we couldn't find any. Justin and Joel complained of hunger and we were quite desparate to just find anything to eat. We finally found a small fast food eatery with no chairs. We had to stand to eat. The food was nothing fantastic. The bun was hard but we had not much choices. We quickly finished our meal and took a cab to Ocean Park.

Many people rave about Ocean Park but to us, it was nothing really great and cost a bomb. We paid nearly SGD200 to enter (for 3 adults, 2 kids). In addition, we had to pay for some of the rides and games. The cable car ride was nice and exciting. Most of the rides were similar to Genting. The only thing there that was spectacular to us was the big aquarium where they feature the sea animals. We didn't eat anything there as the food was really expensive. We planned to have a feast after the Ocean Park trip. The kids were getting cranky as there was nothing much install for them. We took a cable car up to their mountain top and as we viewed their attractions, we travelled down the hill. Half way through, there was no longer anything much for us to see and we decided to head out. Imagine, we had to climb all the way up the mountain to reach the cable car. We had to carry the kids as they were already too tired. By the time we were out of Ocean Park, we were exhuasted.

We took a cab to their city (Tai Yuen Street) recommended to us by the nice cab driver who took us to the hotel. He told us not to go to the tourist area as it would be expensive. Tai Yuen Street catered more to their locals. However, Hong Kong stuff are not cheap, if not, more expensive than Singapore. Most of their toys and clothes are more expensive than Singapore. The hubby actually wanted to buy some toys as the street was famous for toys but all the shops were selling, on average, double the price for the same items we can get in Singapore. It is not worth it to get anything there. We left the place without buying anything.

By the time we reached the hotel, the kids were exhuasted. The train station is not located near to our hotel. It is about 15mins walk and alot of stair climbing. At this point in time, we were desparate for food. Our impression of food stalls scattering around proved to be wrong. It is not easy to find reasonably priced food anywhere. We were even desparate enough to eat any road side food. The kids can't possibly surivive on cake and instant noodles! However, it's restaurant everywhere and food is VERY expensive. I still thought that the hotel that serves $18 for a bowl of porridge is expensive. I realize that it is not very expensive afterall.

Tonight, the kids settle for cup noodles again. They told us they don't want to go out anymore. So, the hubby and I decide to venture to Woman Street on our own. We think it is not a good idea for them to go anyway since it will be packed with people. We looked for food when we stepped out of the train station. We bought some fishballs, fried squid and siew mai from the roadside. It costs us about SGD12.

Actually the locals there are not very friendly. Don't expect a "thank you", excuse me" or "sorry". It is not a norm for them to say such things. They also find that it is their god damn right to shove you. But because we already expected the worst, we were not really surprise by their attitude. So, we took it quite well :) But we do fear alot of being scolded and curse when we asked for the prices of their items and we didn't want to buy because the prices do not meet our expectation.

I manage to buy an LV wallet that is an imitation. It looks good, cute and real. I wanted to buy other brands but they seem to be selling all LV on the day that I went. Anyway, if any of you see me with an LV wallet, you know it's a FAKE. LOL. But seriously, I dont know whether I will use it or not. I may just use my current REAL wallet.

Other than that, I didnt see anything that catch my eyes. I mean, alot of stuff, I could have get them cheaper either in Singapore or Thailand, so I find no reason why I should buy them in Hong Kong and put up with their attitude. We went back to the hotel totally exhusted. Still, we have to continue with our business through the internet in the hotel.

Today's weather is warm, about 22C. I was told that the weather would be cooler tomorrow and on Sunday.


Day 3
Today is cold. I wake up to cloudy skies. I change and venture to Mc Donald to buy breakfast for the family. By now, I've already given up on food. There is no restaurant or food stalls near us. Only posh restuarants that is too ridiculous to eat in. The prices of Mc Donald is the same as Singapore prices so it's not too bad. After breakfast, we decided to go to the *biggest* toysrus in the world.

When we reached there, nah... it was nothing great. Not very big. Our previous toysrus in Marine parade is bigger than this. Prices are also more expensive than Singapore. A small tomy car which costs $2.95 in Singapore cost almost SGD5 in Hong Kong. The shopping complex that we went is similar to Forum in Singapore with alot of kids boutiques. I was looking for a cardigan for Boo. They have alot of nice jackets but I find them unsuitable for our Singapore's weather. Too thick and furry. I'm sure Boo will not wear them. I finally bought a disney jacket that is thin and made of cotton but the look is not up to my expectation. However, it has to suffice for the time being until I find a nice and thin one. When it comes to clothes, I have very high expectation, probably due to my job nature.

It was soon lunch and we had another big headache again. FOOD! We looked up and down and we couldn't find something suitable for us. All we wanted is a place that sells either porridge, noodles or rice but there was not a single damn place. There was pizza and japanese food which didnt suit my kids. We hunted up and down, was led to many places before we found a small cafe that was packed with their locals. We ordered 4 bowls of rice. There was just some meat on top of the rice and each bowl costs us about SGD8. Well, normal price for the locals, but is considered expensive by our food court standard. The thing about eating in Hong Kong is that you have to eat fast and leave or risk being chased away. We ate fast and quickly moved off.

The cost of living here is very high. The thing that I'm impressed with is that the people here dressed very well. In contrast, we look like slops with our jeans and T-shirts. I feel so self consious here. I don't mind sitting in a cafe and look at the people. Their clothes look so cool, certainly much better than Singapore.

Weather is very cold now. It is going to get colder in the night and the whole of tomorrow. When the wind blows, I am freeze. LOL.

That's about all for now. Tonight, I guess we will venture to Woman Street again. And maybe to the harbour to look at the scenery. Hopefully, we can get an ice cream and freeze together in the cold. I wonder how is the weather like in Singapore.

Leaving for my trip tomorrow

Tomorrow, I'll be leaving for Hong Kong and I guess I won't be blogging for the next couple of days.

It seems like Joel is coming down with the flu and I hope he would be fine for the trip. At this time of the year, Hong Kong's temperature is cooler than Singapore. I checked their temperature forcast and it is predicted that for the next couple of days, temperature would range between 11-20C with Sunday being the coldest. It is a break from the warm weather here. So Jin, if you feel like you can't stand the freaking warm weather here, don't worry. I'm helping you to enjoy the cold weather in Hong Kong. LOL

Till then, bye everyone!

I just become a MAN *SOB*

Today, I went for a hair cut and it was horrendous! I look like the hubby. I told him we are brothers now.

I went to Supercuts at Parkway Parade Shopping mall. My hair is below shoulder length. I told the guy "I want to cut it short". He said "I'll cut it to a length that still allows you to flip your hair to behind your ears". Thinking that it's chin length, I said "ok".

Guess what? He chopped off my hair so much that it is almost the length of the hubby's with that "tomboyish" look. He asked me "have you ever cut so short?" I said "errr..., no." To my horror, he chopped off some more of my hair!

I look terrible. I look like any other guys on the streets. I called the hubby after my hair cut and told him "we are brothers now". When he came to drive me back, a look at me, he smiled and told me "cute". HA! Usually, it's "lovely", "beautiful", "sexy". Today, it's that word "CUTE"!!! I look him in the eyes and asked him "How on earth are you going to make love to me when I look almost like a man?" He smiled and told me "it's ok, I can differentiate."

It doesn't help that when I reach home, my boys came running to me and shouted "Mommy is a BOY! Mommy is a BOY!".

So now, I'm stuck with this bloody hairstyle that brings out the worst of me. *SOB* It's going to take forever to leave it long since it's SOOOO short! The hubby said "it's ok. You will be able to work better cos more airy". Gosh! Why is it that today all his words sound so wrong??

I feel so shitty!

*SOB*

I want a Pug

That grumpy-looking dog. And it reminds me of hubby and his grumpy looking face. LOL

The only thing that is stopping me from having one is that my dad is afraid of dogs and I really won't do anything to make him frighten.

Nothing much to say

I don't have much things to write as I am feeling moody.

Tomorrow, I would probably get a hair cut and I mean a short one. I had originally intended to leave it long but the length is getting on my nerves and making me very warm.

Joel's birthday is this coming Wednesday. He has asked for a milk chocalate cake and a tranformer toy. I will try to fullfill his wishes.

Well... nothing much to say. I'll just stop here.

If I am RICH

This has been my dream since my younger days.

If I am rich, I won't buy a posh car. Neither would I indulge crazily in material stuff or stay in a big house. My dream is to set up a hospital in a poor, developing country and provide free treatment and medication for the poor and ill. To be denied of treatment because of poverty is the saddest thing that could happen to someone.

In life, there must be a purpose. There is no point that I accumulate my wealth without a meaning. At the end of my life journey, I want to look back and know that I have done something, and I have touched the life of others. I want my next generation to understand that it's not all about work and money. There is love, there is the poor for us to reach out to, there is the deep satisfaction that one could achieve just by helping others.

I will strive hard to achieve my dream. I have a hubby that supports my goal. If one day the hubby and I make it big, together we will make it happen!

Sad

I'm feeling depressed. Just went out for dinner with my parents and know that my dad is in alot of pain again.

I'm very sad that I can't do anything to ease his pain. The thing is, whenever he is with me, somehow, his pain will ease off and he would feel better. But, somehow, he seems to avoid being with me, or rather with us. I try to spend more time with him but whenever I ask him out, he would always reject me.

So sad :(

Cruelty to Animals

I couldn't manage to finish watching this clip. I was already very upset at the beginning of the show. Be warned, this clip is emotionally upsetting, and I don't think it's suitable for pregnant ladies. It shows how fur is obtained. It is downright cruel!


http://my.so-net.net.tw/sirwang/fur.wmv

My stupid in-laws

Today, my sister-in-law called and told the hubby to pay for his late granny's transfer of ashes from the crematorium to a temple as well as the ritual fee. He has to pay half of the expenses for the ceremony. It is estimated that the ritual will cost more than a thousand dollar because they engaged a very "good" medium to conduct the ritual.

How my in-laws define as good? This particular medium charges more expensive than the rest of the medium. Because his charges is more expensive, he must be very good. What stupid logic is that??? They are all praise for him. We had our doubts. He was the clown who asked the hubby to smash the tablet of his granny and dumped it under the tree. That ritual was done because his dad didn't want to have an altar for his granny in his house so he had engaged the medium to bring the altar away. I really feel that if smashing of tablet was neccessary, his dad should be the one to do it and not the hubby because the hubby wasn't staying in that house at all. At that time, the hubby was totally heart broken to smash his beloved granny tablet with his hands. Yet, everyone including his dad, had made him do it.

The hubby doesn't have a say in this issue but yet when it comes to money, he has to pay half of it. Again, what stupid logic is that?? His granny has daughters (who are RICH) and sons and lots of grandchildren. Why are they not paying a single cent and the hubby has to bear half of the cost?

I am not at all too happy about this but I will not make life difficult for the hubby. If he decides to foot the bill, I will not object to it. When it comes to issues revolving his late granny, the hubby can be quite "blind" and will do almost anything for her. They shared a very special bond when she was alive.

I know some of our personal information has to be given to this medium so that he can calculate whether the date of ritual would clash with our year of birth. The hubby has told me he would not give our detailed information to this medium. I just hope my smart ass mother-in-law would keep quiet and not divulge the hubby's details to this medium. She won't reveal mine for sure, because I had refused to give her my details when she asked for it.

Haunted Hotel

This happens to me during one of my business trips in one of the hotels. It was the first time the hubby and I stayed in that hotel. We chose that hotel because all the hotels in the area we wanted were fully booked. Somehow, before the trip, I already had a naggy feeling that something was going to be wrong. It just didn't feel good.

It was supposed to be one of the top hotels and from the picture in the internet, it looked nice. When we reached that hotel, we were dismay. It was in the middle of a crowded market and the hotel wasn't as grand as we thought. It was dim and everything about the hotel just felt weird. We did the neccessary documentation and checked into the room. The corridor was errie and very dark with scary figurines hanging along the corridor.

My memory is failing me and honestly I cannot remember much of the incidents that follow. All I know was that the hubby told me, in the hotel, that "this hotel cannot stay", and after that word came out, everything went wrong. We met hiccups all the way and the hubby felt that he was "attached". We quarrelled for unknown reason and we were totally lost. The hubby kicked a shop's offering accidentally. This was no joke as we had offended "something" in the shop. It was like we were double whacked. At that time, I knew something was wrong. The hubby was worse off than me so I took it upon myself to watch out for him because I knew "something" could be trying to "attack" him if given an opportunity. I was very afraid because we were in a foreign land and we were lost.

Again, I cannot remember what happens after that. But I knew that I did not dare to step into the hotel. I spent the night in Mc Donald's and I didn't dare to leave. I like the warmth at Mc Donald because there were alot of people there. But alas, I had to return to the hotel when Mc Donald closed for the day. I was in fright then. The hubby assured me that he would stay up the whole night to keep a lookout for us. We took a cab and when we reached the hotel, I realised that I didn't close the cab's door properly and I could have flown out. We returned to the hotel and we didn't even shower. I lay on the bed and I felt that the bed was shaking. Then, I don't know whether it was a dream or a vision. I had a thought I was a little duck and I was surrounded by crocodiles trying to eat me. A voice told me to thread every step very carefully. I guess by then, attention by the negative forces was focused on me, to "attack" me. Most likely, the hubby was supposed to get it because he had done the wrong thing, but because I tried to shield him, I got it instead.

Just then, my dear friend, Jin, called me at my handphone. I was not myself and I communicated jubberish to her. I didn't even know what I was talking! She sensed something was wrong with me and told the hubby to make me sleep early. Then she heard it! She heard chants at my background. Not one, but a group. They were coming after me!

I don't know how I manage to last through the night. But I survived. I flew back the next day. From then on, I no longer step into this hotel and even the area. It is a nightmare which I will never forget. And it is taking me alot of courage to recap my meomory to write my horrific encounter. *shudder*

I am STRESSED!

ARRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I AM STRESSED!!!!!!!!!!!

I am feeling so edgy today. And it is a day when things just don't seem to go right.

First, is my sneezing marthon. I freaking sneeze the entire morning until it kicks start my migraine!! It is nothing uncommon that I sneeze everyday with my sinus. Just that some days, I am more fortunate and sneeze less times. Today, I have lost count how many times I have sneezed but it is a non-stop thingy since I wake up!

Then it is the FREAKING suppliers. I HATE dealing with those stupid suppliers? They are never on time, totally unreliable and forever screwing up my orders. I feel like kicking them in the ASS!

Then I just don't understand why the kids have to fight so much! Why can't they live in peace and harmony? It really gets on my nerves when they squabble and I am dealing with migraine! I feel like kicking them out of the house!

The poor hubby gets the lot of my frustrations. When I was rambling away, he needed to excuse himself because he was rushing and late for a project meeting and I snapped at him for being unsensitive towards me and threw down the receiver. He called again to make peace with me and I slammed down the damn phone again before he could speak. He called the third time and invite me again for a dinner date to de-stress. Ahhhhh... how sweet!

I have popped the painkillers and going for a nap, hopefully to recharge. Otherwise, I will go round biting everyone off!

Dangerous driving

I obtain my license since November last year and have been driving on a daily basis. I would consider myself a safe driver. I drive within my speed limit, always give myself ample time to change lanes, never tailgating, always alert, rarely honk eventhough some drivers are idoit and deserved to be shot. I feel that when I am behind the wheels, I am responsible for my life, my passengers' life and the other road users' life. So, yes, I am a careful driver.

I have rarely taken public transportation since I started driving and I think I almost forget how is it like to be driven. Yes, I have been driven by the hubby before but I know I have some control over the journey. Like when he is driving too fast, too close, I will just alert him of the dangers.

My last trip to Thailand, the journey by cabs took me by surprise. I mean, I already know that they were fast but back then when I didn't know how to drive, I didn't bother. Now that I know how to drive, my adrenaline shot up to all time high. I was holding to the cab handle with my life as the cabs met with alot of near-accidents situations. I am amazed that I am still typing this and not recovering in a hospital.

I was absolutely nervous over how they handle their cars. Their dangerous way of driving seems to be part and parcel of their life. They are used to it but I am not. Being skilful is one thing, being dangerous is quite another thing altogether. Most importantly, I don't want to die in their hands. I still have my kids waiting for me back home.

I still remember when I reached the airport, I was relief. At least now I could go back to my familar way of driving.

Jin, I know you would probably be laughing. This is chicken feet to you man. You could probably drive "better" and "faster" than the most dangerous driver. That's why, I swear to myself I won't sit in the car that you drive. LOL

My old house

I am a coward when it comes to animals. But the one and only which will never fail to make me go hysterical with fear is snake. It has got to do with my childhood. When I was young, I stayed in a very old semi-detached house. There were lots of creepy crawlies and snake was one of them. It was common to have snakes dropped from the roof. We had poisonous snakes, pythons and those harmless-but-equally-terrifying snakes. I remember that my mom used to use those bamboo sticks to hit the snake and dumped them at the big rubbish bin near the road.

I slept near the window and I used to very worried that snakes would crawl in from the windows. There was once my dad located a snake nest just outside my window! There were roaches, centepide, lizards and even scorpion in my house. I hated to go to the toilet because there used to be those extremely big spiders (the size of a palm) hidden in the toilet.

Beside my house stayed a bomoh. He often performed black magic in his own house. The scent of the joss stick would fill the air whenever he performed one of his rituals. I still remember his look. A very sharp face with piercing eyes that seemed to look right through your soul. People came to his house for all sorts of reason but the most common was to obtain love charm from him. There were also people who were possessed and brought to him for "treatment".

Opposite my house was a bungalow that was rumored to be haunted. Nobody ever stayed there for long. Rituals were often seen performed in the house to get rid of spiritual presence. Still, the house was never occupied for long. It was only a few years ago, that the house was rented and used as a prayer hall (with the 4 face buddha) that the house was finally occupied.

Behind my old house was also a house rumored to be haunted. I was told that the lady had hanged herself and her spirit roamed the place.

In fact, now when I recall my childhood, I couldn't imagine myself staying in my old house. In my growing up years, whenever I have nightmares, it would be revolving the house. In my nightmare, whenever I was chased by spirits, I would be trapped in that house. Even when I moved out of it, my nightmares continued and I felt tortured.

In my recent years, from time to time, I still return to the steet to have a look at my old house. I used to fear going anywhere near there especially with my nightmares and all. But eversince I shifted to my current house, my nightmares relating to that house have reduced and I slowly find the courage to take a second look at my house which had brought me so much joy and fear.

My daily routine

I'm so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. So, I'm going to make this entry short.

My daily routine goes like this,

Wake up
Drive Justin and Joel to school
Breakfast
Work
Drive Justin and Joel back from school
Work
Lunch
Work
Nap for 30 mins
Work
Drive to pick the hubby from his office
Dinner at parents' house
Rest
Work
Sleep

I have to continue this routine irregardless of whether I am well or I am sick. I don't have any off days. I work on public holidays. I cannot go on holidays because I have no one to take over my job. If I were to leave for any overseas trip, it would mean days before my departure and days after my return, I have to slog.

The good thing that comes out of it is that I am able to be there to overlook the care of Justin and Joel. I am able to work in the comfort of my own home. But it sure is tough and I am getting drained! The hubby has been asking me to get someone to help me. I am trying but I know I am very selective. For the time being, this routine will stay. I take heart that I have achieved so much in life. Healthy kids, loving husband, food on the table, simple luxuries.... what more could I asked for?