Wrinkly

I often take cabs from TTShospital's taxi stand
as it is the nearest to my project site
and there are always old pp in the queue
sometimes on wheelchairs
sometimes w a protector over an eye
and most times frail, wrinkly and boney

pains my heart to see them hobble
and get into the cab with difficulty
and often needing assistance
and it's worse if they are alone

very sad ='(

christian, jude or hugh?

recently HBO has been relentlessly screening
the dark knight day and night
it was screening when I was playing mj
it was screening when I was at my eye surgeon
& it was screening on new year's eve and day.
not that I minded it terribly
at least the lead actor was swoon-worthy

playing the "these are a few of my favourite things" game in my mind,
i was thinking to myself if i were asked
"who is your favourite actor, yh?"
I can't really decide who to name as my fav actor -
should it be the steely christian bale as the dark knight
the suave and sleek jude law as dr. watsons
or the slightly pudgy now, but terribly dry-humoured hugh grant as mr. morgan?

and i thought to myself,
i think my choice will be mr. morgan. =)
although not very suave nor cool
mr. morgan kept me laughing & laughing
next to him i think i wouldn't have to pretend to be cool,
look smart or think of before answering lest i sound stupid.
i could, just simply, be myself =)

so, who is your fav actor?

on new year's eve

the office has very generously given a half-day off on new year's eve.
so here i am doing something i really enjoy
and used to do often when in melb -
spending me-time reading and sipping coffee in a nice cafe

read several good reviews of the coffee at Oriole
and decided to give it a try -

disappointingly, the coffee wasn't as good as i had expected

it arrived too hot, and there was a faint burnt smell

the one i had at publico . hk was way better

but well, it did look good

whilst sipping my flat white and munching on bruschetta

i came across this in the mag i was reading

and it made me laugh and concur

what a miserable time i had when i was doing my internship!

but as L said, it was that meanie that made me who i am today

and thank God that i have such a nice boss and mentor now

and then, very indulgent me, went for a facial and massage!

at the tamarind spa near my place

i have so many "knots" on my shoulders it hurts even if gently pressed

really need a good shoulder and back massage

bought some proscuitto ham and foie gras from huber's next door

(i know, sooo indulgenttt rite, but but it's not those super ex kind,

it's called foie gras d'oie, not that i know what it means,

but the brands' Feyel, and it cost $22.50 - affordable luxury laa)

and took a nice slow walk home...

then i received a very nice ny's eve sms from S

asking me to spend the remaining 5 hours of today nicely,

and i think i have done pretty well so far! =)

happi healthy new year to all my dearest family and frens!!

xxxoooo

always from her heart

ma is 68 already!

this makes me sad sometimes...

she's really good with her hands - at sewing, cooking, crafting... 

& used to be a seamstress - sewed all my new year clothes, 

my barbie's clothes, my pillow and bolster cases

i remember her teaching me how to fold my first origami - the crane

when i was a tiny kid of 5

she kept emphasizing, "the corners must meet exactly"

by her standards, a well folded crane was one with a very sharp beak, and wing tips

if these points were blunt, or the whites of the origami paper showing, 

it was a very poor crane, and she'ld make me unfold the piece of paper again, and re-fold it.

that's ma, always setting very high standards in whatever she makes.

and finally finally, i'm done with "re-folding" ma's blog, 

redesigned a new logo, took better pictures, 

and got it ready just in time for christmas

http://pietstatting.blogspot.com

do give it a visit! 

might give u some ideas for christmas gifts this season!

what's important in life?

seeing to the end a building u've designed, put in thousands of hours labouring over drawings, finally built?
taking the exam and getting the paper that allows you to legally call yourself an architect?
everytime i fall ill and get rest days off work
my mind starts wondering and questions like these always pop up
i so relish spending day time in our house
tending to my plants, cleaning the house, tidying the mess,
i even thought of baking! i used to bake ginger bread cookies, bread loaves, pizza bases...

life's like that isn't it...
if i do make it a full time job to be housewife
such domestic activities might soon bore me & evolve into chores...

but for now, i really feel so tempted to let go off everything
(imagining myself unclenching my tightly clenched fists,
and everything falling off one by one)
and just do the things that i enjoy
not checking shop drawings, worrying if things are built correctly,
not self-doubting if it will turn out good,
not having to argue with incompetent lazy contractors,
not having to manage everyone's expectations,
appease those lofty foreign consultants...

i really just want to sit and read inspiring books,
(just finished reading alligators, old mink, new money)
package, manage & perhaps making into business mum's tatting & baking,
giving new leases of life to old unwanted furniture,
open a cafe/florist/retail shop,
enjoying a cup of good coffee in the afternoon, in a nice cafe, & reading

i need some courage.

do u think it's a bit too much

having had no shopping activity for the past 2 months
me went into a bout of shopping frenzy at JB yesterday
this is what me gathered:

a pair of shoes - grey patent w black ribbon trims
a bangle - made up of round grey timber pieces & a painted pic of a girl with a laissez faire slouch
a vintage bracelet - 5 round pieces w gold trimming, each w an ivory heart on dusty pink background
a pair of jeggings - new fashion term for leggings + jeans
a pair of leggings - black w leather embossing
a lantern skirt - black & white checkers
a dress - w fringes lining the skirt & matt gold studs around e collar, and shoulder pads! - very balmain-ish
a shirt dress - long behind, short front
a midnight blue blouse - collar details made w zippers
a tube top in jeans + floral fabric (can also be worn as a high-waisted skirt)
a white tee w black rose prints
a white tee w sky blue stripes, reminds me of "coco-coco-et-coco" by the sea
a shirt w victorian floral prints
a long sleeves grey top, comes with a skinny stripey (again) scarf
a brown vest
a deep purple crocheted scarf
a midnight blue scarf w the tiniest white checks

and the damage?? SGD$450 ! Yikes! =p
what a binge!
No more shopping for e next 3 months at the very least!

But can't deny it was a darn shioks retail therapy i've had in ages! :)
k commented that it was the first time ever
he saw me shopping in heels w/o a word of complaint!

pre-loved destash

if u get bored over the coming long weekend (sun-mon)

drop by dempsey for a nice cuppa at jones

and come by this flea market for some gems :)

it's been almost a year

since my first flower arrangement class

very settling to snip and trim and arrange

and so, it just continued week after week, 

series after series...

and most happy that the teacher started a new series - 

ikebana! 

today's arrangement - very high feel-good-factor

cos it smells and looks nice =)

cooking for two

seemed a lot easier and effortless in melbs -
pork chops & mushrooms,
or a pot of chicken curry and frozen pratas toasted,
and it was a most satisfying meal already
(perhaps being students back then, and it being so cold,
everything tasted better.
these days, the palate's too spoilt for choice)

and it's strange to find that we cooked better and faster then
back home in singa, we've tried cooking after work
and always having to only start eating at 10pm!

it's really quite an effort to cook with both working
and with such late hours...
but we've always enjoyed cooking together
so we're learning to be savvier cooks
think k is a better cook than me,
but 'cos i dread washing more than cooking
so he lets me have the hand at the stove =p



look at how dark the sky is, gonna rain anytime soon
just nice for a steamboat-dinner-for-two
we've learnt that since we cook so rarely,
and there's only just but the two of us
it's makes more sense to buy quality ingredients, which are pricier,
but the quantity smaller and quality better,
so there's less wastage & makes for a healthier meal


healthy and effortless steamboat-for-two menu includes:

red grouper fillet
tiger prawns
pork sirloin, thinly sliced
fish dumplings
salad cos - get organic ones, they really taste sweeter

soup base
ready-packed chinese herbs

staple
because we no longer keep any rice at home,
(major breeding ground for evil weevil, yucks)
we bought tang hoon as the staple
you can replace wtih udon or rice vermicelli

and all these for only $25! :)

UP, up and away!

it was both a sweet and sad movie

darn hilarious too

always luffed chubby kids, and russell, chubby, cute, sincere & earnest

the love story between carl and ellie, endearing and beautiful

& to have your house travel with you,

and bring all your favourite things along,

such a wonderful adventure

"for every laugh there should be a tear" - walt disney

and this is such a movie - please don't miss it!

on a cool & balmy friday nite

was supposed to be playing netball with ah kHai
but the sloth monster got the better of me
so here we are, enjoying an after-dinner-night-cap
at gastro bar (retrofitted fire station along upp bukit timah road)
on such a cool & balmy nite
enjoying my fav - creme brulee & mojito,
listenin' to live jazz music & singing,
under a starry night with half a moon-face hanging by,
feels somewhat like being back in melbs...

sometimes, singapore can be so-nice too =)

ooh she's singing bizarre love triangle now(!)

IT's...

... my first IT bag!


one that 's not second-hand, worn or a flea-market find
(the mulberry's from tanglin flea market, so worn, the handle broke off when i was happily swinging it
the balenciaga's from a garage sale at hotel phoenix, in soft red leather, but it suffered a really bad stain from a Sharpie)

but this time, this one, is mint-fresh!
like the casual doodly colourful Fs
like that it's just right for a mobile, wallet and keys
like that it goes with jeans and tee, or dress and heels
like that i've found my perfect weekend bag! =)

i've had my filled of merriment

29 feb 2009 . our 5th year anniversary

this special day comes every 4 years & there's actually no such date this year, but, who ever needed a reason for celebrations?

venue  don quijote (spanish restaurant along the street of our place)

kk received  book [rules of the red rubber ball] + braun shaver

me received  nintendo ds!

17th april 2009 . my 30th birthday w old pals

it was just like old times enjoying great food & shouting at each other, only thing lacking was leaving toe-prints on tea's windscreen!

venue  en bar@crown centre; Picotin@turf club rd

frens  e1, tyre, tea, eva, kk

me received  tres chic white leather passport holder from kate spade (fr e1)

19th April 2009 . my 30th birthday shindig

nothing beats spending a sunday afternoon with frens over beer and buffalo wings 

venue  brewerkz@bukit timah

frens  jian+grace, wynne+tx, bozo+winnie, libin+kev, wilson, katty, eunice, mo+gf, wilson, dr.+mrs wong, kk

me received tons of gifts! thank ya all!

20th April 2009 . my 30th birthday, the actual day

scrumptious dim sum brunch, walking like "ya-ya papaya" around shenton way on a weekday afternoon, visting haji lane, bought a lottery ticket... one of the most shioks monday i've had this year

venue  lei garden, shenton way, haji lane, sakuraya

me received tiffany's mesh ring! =) =) =) all smiles...

10th may 2009 . our 1st wedding anniversary

venue amara sanctuary resort. sentosa

kk received hugo boss leather belt

me received oh-my-gosh...georg jensen cave collection diamond earrings!!! super cannot believe it larh...

time to rest, recuperate... & gear up for the next cycle of merriment!

i seriously love a good celebration - with booze, frens and plenty of laughter to go round... =)

van haar hart aan haar handen

which means "from her heart to her hands" in dutch

ma's homepage Piet is up at http://thepietnio.blogspot.com/
- delicate handmade lace




these make thoughtful easter/christmas gifts
more to come - lace bracelets, chokers, brooches...
customisable too, just let me know your ideas
& we can choose the colours and designs with Mdm The :)

i heart,

fresh-water pearlies from k!

i feel like some merriment

invite frens who will enjoy many rounds of beer with me

indulge in some good chips

sit at the balcony 

& have really long chats about everything and nothing

- end of part 1

two things happened, this lunar new year

1
woke up last sunday morning to hear noises coming from the living room
i scurried out from the bedroom to find toppled, my vase of dried branches
and then, something flew past me

it was a sparrow!

honestly it was trifle alarming to see a bird in the house
i scurried again towards the balcony to slide open the doors wider for the sparrow to fly out
but before i could do so,

"PIAK!"

the poor bird whacked itself into the sliding door and dropped to the floor!
aiyohs, it really scared the wits out of me
somehow it managed to pick itself up only to fly a short distance
before hitting against one of the dining chairs

this time it stopped moving

k and i peered over the poor creature
it was blinking and still breathing,
its chest heaving up and down
k gingerly picked it up with a towel and brought it to the balcony

then i heard it again

"piak! piak! piak!"

i approached towards the source of the sound
*SCREeeeECH*!!!! there was another sparrow in the guest room!

this one was a tad smarter, despite several futile attempts to fly out through the closed windows, it didn't knock itself out as it was hitting against the glass with its feet.
i hurried to open the windows to release it and it flew with all its might out to freedom :)

(thank God the other poor fella maanged to recover by itself, by the time we returned home in the evening, it was gone =). k almost wanted to bring it downstairs to leave it by the tree! what if the cats got to it!!! hmmph!)

(we forgot to take pictures of the knocked-out birdie on the balcony! because: #1 - i was so caught up by the event, and rushing off to church, totally forgot to do so. #2 - k deliberately not suggest taking any, as he was worried the bird would not survive)

2
books galore!


my favourite delicious second-hand bookstall at beauty world plaza!
this elusive bookstall sets up periodically and sporadically
so the only way to find it is to chance upon it
and its my favourite haunt because you can get really rare finds here
so i greedily gobbled all these treasures with some mahjong winnings

1. the ever quirky Dr. seuss Dictionary! how cool is that! this one is printed in 1964!
"this dictionary has a serious purpose.
there is nothing more serious than helping a child learn how to read.
but the editors... who put this dictionary together,
decided they could be serious...and still avoid being stuffy.
so they made this book of words just as funny as they could make it.

it's full of ridiculous alligators, foolish bears and giraffes' uncles,
all racing around and getting involved in nonsensical adventures. - Dr. Seuss"

2. The Pooh Story Book, with original pooh illustrations by e.h. shepard -
nice nice lovely sketchy illustrations, unlike the pristine and flat illustrations of the commercialised pooh we commonly see now

3. Giant Treasury of Peter Rabbit
with beatrix potter's orignal illustrations of course

4. love and be wise
it's a children's story book adapted from a french book "riquet a la houppe" by charles perrault.
haven't read it yet, but this is one of the 3 morals from the book -
"if your lover's handsome
only in your eyes
is he deluded
when he thinks you wise?"

imagine, this in a childern's story book!

5. water voices
a book on water in different forms - rain, ocean, morning mist...

6. trashy novels! to unwind whilst chugging beer and chips :)

*

all in all it was quite a bountiful new year!

if u stir the pot anti-clockwise,

u might have been a witch,
or simply that u are left-handed.


k took this snapshot, with his new mobile phone (finally),
of me stirring a pot of creamy pumpkin soup - my first attempt!
made several improvisions to an online recipe to make it easier to make with my limited kitchen equipment


ingredients -
1 pumpkin
small tub of heavy cream
chicken stock - just dissolve a chicken stock cube in water for instant chicken stock

steps -
remove skin of pumpkin, cut into small cubes
pour chicken stock & pumpkin into rice cooker
use the slow-cook function to cook for 3-4 hours (i went to bed after that)
use a potato masher (i bought one from cold storage for $4) to mash the softened pumpkin
(the original recipe called for a food processor to process this - pretty sure not many amongst us own a food processor, a simple masher will do enough good, it gives the soup more texture anyways)
transfer the soup into a pot and simmer over small fire, stirring constantly.
add heavy cream.
pinch of salt (or if u are me, many pinches! =P)

and you'll have an entire pot of yummy creamy pumpkin soup all for less than $8 to enjoy this rainy season!

my new -year's-eve wages

before the start of each school term

we will help out at my in-laws' shop

selling school uniforms, shoes, socks and stationery

after spotting serveral primary school kids

trying out those white canvas mary-janes

i really wanted a pair for myself

and they cost only $5.50!

but here's the snag - i not allowed to pay for anything from the shop

which means everything's free for my taking

i always feel extremely pai-seh to take stuff from the shop

in the past i've seen puffy stickers that were only 20 cents a piece

which i could and would have bought 20 of them!

& in the end i had in possession only 1 piece!
although it was free for my taking, i couldn't take all 20 pieces could i?

& neither could i buy them all, 'cos remember?

i'm not allowed to pay for anything.

i really couldn't take my eyes off those shoes

so i told k,

i'm going to buy them from another shop!

he exclaimed i was mad, and took a pair for me.

i was highly embarrassed.

dad-in-law said, "oh, u going to draw on them is it?"

i managed a sheepish smile.

i gleefully tried them on - oh they look so preppy!

and i'm really happi! haha

new year's eve at the shop -

"silent night, holy night...

didn't deliberately plan anything on christmas day itself
but we decided to give ourselves a treat and bought some foie gras
& made a baby spinach salad with an asian-style salad sauce aunty grace taught us when were were in melbs

asian salad sauce ingredients:
- thai sweet chilli sauce
- juice from a lemon,
i substituted with lime cos dad & mum bought me a lime plant!
so i had the thrill of plucking fresh limes from my balcony
- coriander,
which i substituted with lemon thyme leaves from my new herb garden!
it felt altogether very jamie-oliverish


christmas supper!

in the background is a minty green cup covered with hearts
which was k's early christmas pressie to me
& SATC dvd! cos k didn't catch the movie with me
and i so wanted him to watch it , so he got it for me as a gift
it's the second time i'm watching it
and it still made me cry

this was a gift i 'fought' valiantly for and fobbed off several attempts
to challenge it from me at Tea's christmas party -

& it's exactly what i wanted to get myself for christmas this year!
a radio for my bathroom.
so pleased with this one cos it's really unique and the sound that comes out from it is a little squeaky and rattly, like those old records
which i really dig

wend! always gets me such quirky gifts -

and i couldn't resist piecing this together the moment i got home
it's those primitive model planes that you have to piece together
and this one is really handsome
it's now swaying in my balcony overlooking my patch of green!

...all is calm & all is bright."

my little patch of green

for a while now k has been treating the 2 tiny pots of plants

i bought at a carnival with much disdain.

"oh no! the leaves are drooping again! i just watered them 2 days ago!"

"hurh. they don't really do much."

"they are PLANTS, they don't need to do anything."

i know he's harbouring thoughts of hoping they die a natural death or be accidentally blown away by the wind.

so i made us a trip to the nursery today and told k we will find plants that can do something.

i chose a pot each of sweet basil, mint & lemon thyme

got a long planter box and the nursery guy transplanted them all in one box

and now i have a miniature herb garden!

"i'll look for recipes that make use of these herbs!

and and i can make you that vietnamese drink you like with the sweet basil!"

i got another planter box and filled it with gardenias and citronella,

"ya know, i keep getting mosquito bits leh...

and this mosquito plant, it repels mosquito!

& this gardenia, when it flowers, will give off a very very nice fragrance

that... that... really makes me happy!"

i was beaming all the way home.

"oh no! k! how about the 2 pots of plants at home now? should i transplant them too?"

"orh, if want to, transplant lor, if not, just THROW away lor."

i knew he hated them.

rabbit without ears

was a joy to watch

not to mention the darn good looking lead actor

k kept saying the character of the lead gal was like me

i think the similarity stopped at the glasses =p

i want that rabbit without ears!!

christmas is coming

& if you are fretting over christmas gifts
amidst the gloom and doom of the economic crisis
perhaps you can find the right gift at the right price from these frens
who make and scour -

onebowl

the buyer

somewhere over the rainbow,

way up high
there's a land that i heard of
once in a lullaby

caught a rare sight of an almost full, double bow
whilst enjoying a steamboat dinner with dad, mum & k
really made my day

once on a road trip in melbourne
i saw at least SEVEN rainbows along the way
that really really made my day

have always had an affinity for rainbows, the rain, and sky
raindrops and colour of the sky were inspirations for the facade of the building i am designing

but sadly, although the client accepted my concept
he didn't embrace the manifestation to my greatest disappointment
i'm thoroughly drained
wonder how i am to cough up another design
and how many more rejections i have to be subjected to...

anyways
a rainbow is a symbol of God's promise
guess i'll just have to keep faith that He will provide

it's getting christmassy

a l'il bit of christmas for the door

a l'il bit of christmas for the lamps

and our first l'il christmas tree for the house

i simply can't get enough of these tiny metal christmas decorations from daiso

feel like buying a hundred of  those tiny tin soldiers & lining them along my whole balcony

this little robin-egg blue

has been one of my favourite colour for a while now

and this is my third purchase from tiffany's this year

the first 2 for two old frens

and this one we bought for k's sis who got ROM-ed on thursday

i couldn't stop smiling when i walked out of the store 

swinging this little blue bag in my hand

even though it wasn't for me

it's a lovely lovely green quartz pendant

& k's sis wore actually wore it that day even though we didn't ask her to

glad she liked it =)

ps i love u

my favourite programme (excel comes a very close second)
such a quaint self portrait

i like the l'il pots of colour swatches

why do i love thee so

i truly am profusely immensely & utterly attracted to old stuff like these
just can't get enough of them
already i have 2 original Thermos thermos-flasks aged beyond any good use sitting inside my vintage cupboard (which in itself is a salvage from salvation army)

one tattered old leather luggage with a loose handle,

another gem of a doctor's handcarry in tan leather with a broken handle (by k's friend who happens to be a doc too (sob-sob))
an old red made-in-japan typewriter bought from the theives' market at sungei road,
and loads of other useless old old stuff...
that i can't bear to throw out nor bear not buying more of...

Christmas, is jus 'round the corR-ner

so excited !

4 doctors and 2 jabs later

i'm still not sure if i have the dengue
as the blood test results will be out later today

sounds really serious huh
but the 4 doctors didn't all attend to me at one go
nor did i have to consult 4 different doctors for a clearer diagnosis

it all started with an innocent dry cough
which led to a full fledge freaking high fever that wouldn't subside
that i have had to visit the doc 4 times in the span of 5 days

& this funny little clinic that i visited for the first time in my life
had a different doctor each time i visited it

results should be negative for dengue as the fever has subsided
and i can type this blog entry! :)

beginner class

found out 3 weeks ago the class i have been attending

was actually meant for advance flower arrang-ers

good thing the instructor offered to teach the few of us

a beginner's course

the extra fun bit was having LB & B joining HY & i

really liked this week's arrangement, 

a long and horizontal piece

sits very nicely on our 2m long dining table

arrragements 3,4,5

#3 - for mid-autumn festival (the fan is supposed to represent the full moon)


#4


#5


the next lesson will be the last of the series...

think i'll continue with another series! =)

it's on its way

sold...

sold...!

sold...!!!


to me! =)

the beautiful things in life

blooming flower

this pot of plant was a gift from k  

when i first started work 3.5yrs ago

it was flowering when he gave it to me 

after that it never got to flower

the buds would always die before getting a chance to bloom

and 3.5 yrs later it finally bloomed!

only one precious stalk though

the other buds didn't survive

furry butt-looking peaches

pretty peaches! $7.30 from cold storage

absolutely juicy and pure sweetness

the instructor is a psychologist

this was yesterday's arrangement

it was largely rearranged by the instructor

after my first attempt

he came over and said

"your flowers look stressed,

you have to let them breathe

give them space

don't force them to go a certain way

are you feeling this way?"

oh...

"this is what you will be doing today"

my slightly effeminate sounding instructor over the phone

is a burly, rather beefy man in real life

i looked at the arrangement, and thought to myself

"oh... pink roses and heart shaped card..."

not allowing myself to be crestfallen i stayed positive

at least the room smelled nice with the fresh flowers

the results of my first arrangement

couldn't really bear to bring myself to stick the red heart-shaped card in it

learnt the proper names of some flowers

wax flowers - pale pink and whitish flowers with a waxy appearance, releases a nice fragrant when u cut flowers - (i really like these, they remind me of Christmas)

bear grass - the long willowy green blade of leaf

statice - purple papery flowers (which i didn't use, purple and pink really shouldn't be together)

and i had quite  a bit of leftover flowers 

which i had fun planting at the few nooks in my home

one for k's bathroom


one for mine

and one for the washroom

pink roses and heart-shaped cards weren't ideal but it was fun and relaxing,

snipping away at the flowers is indeed "a kind of soothing monotony" =)

how timely

on the day of my great escapade some ten days ago,
i met up with the gals for drinks at emerald hill
(how timely that when i sms-ed them,
all 3 were free to meet up for drinks that night)
k said i was darn lucky, i thought otherwise,
most times and most things are always about timing

& over drinks and wings 

mrs L mentioned that she was going to take up - floral arrangement classes,
asked if i were interested
how timely, thought i again
that i had just today, 

bought 2 books on floral arrangement (michael george's)

and so i made the call to sign up for the class
and the instructor informed that all that was required

was a pair of scissors that could cut stems

so i made my selection very carefully and made k "present-me" this:

and if time becomes timely again, 

this tool might perhaps one day become my means of business ;)

ten green bottles standing on the wall...

did this invite for a colleague's house warming party


have had a craving for all things green for a while now

Many gardeners will agree that hand-weeding is not 

the terrible drudgery that it is often made out to be.
Some people find in it a kind of soothing monotony.
It leaves their minds free to develop the plot for their next novel
or to perfect the brilliant repartee with which they should have 

encountered a relative's latest example of unreasonableness.
~Christopher Lloyd
The Well-Tempered Garden, 1973

time to get some green for the house!

these are a few of my favourite things

"raindrops on roses and...
bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings,
cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,
door bells and sleigh bells and...
wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings...
snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
silver white winters that melt into springs,

when the dog bites, when the bee stings,
when I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
and then I don't feel so bad..."

picked the lines which described things that i liked
and this is one of my favourite corner in my apartment
which houses a few of my favourite things

the walls are caving in...

i felt like christopher in the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
on his journey alone via the train to his mum's place
like there was a balloon inside my chest
except that i couldn't do mental math formulas to placate myself
and something was really going to burst within me if i didn't get myself out of the room

so i took the other half of the day off
took a bus that brought me to town
hoping that perhaps i might find solace at the malls

when retail therapy didn't work for me i wondered aimlessly
and found myself in the comfort of the kino bookstore at taka
i embarked on my journey within the store starting at the magazine section
there was nothing there for me today
but this was my oasis, and i had faith
there were still shelves and shelves of other offerings to satiate me
was most satisfied to have found a japanese book on tatting for ma
this is quite a remote form of craft so it was really quite a joy to find a book on it


and i got myself these 3 other books to add to the shelf kk made
where i dedicated one corner for all my-favourite-books


it was still sunny and warm on the bus ride home
as i lugged my bag of loot home
it felt really good to be away from that cold intense room

i should seriously reconsider my options...

i could get used to this

not working that is.
woken up every morning, not by the alarm ringing,
but oh-so-naturally, by my own body clock,
gently nudging me to open my eyes slowly...
wah. shioks siah.
this would be one of my perfect daydreams.

happy to say i've actually lived like how i had imagined my daydream to be for 38 days now
except for moments where my heart would drop when ma's health paled,
it was all together oh-so-very indulgent.

moments of indulgence
in melbourne




in huahin




in kilat
my new home.
haven't taken any pictures of it yet
but i can tell you there's plenty of beer in the fridge.
and i have a bath tub - all to myself.

in another 11 days this daydream will vaporise and
it will be back to my reality of a cold hard concrete world, literally.

he makes me smile

i used to be terrified of anything that moved on its own,
(worse if it was furry)
that probably covers every living creature on earth except for humans
dunno what i was thinking when i encouraged k to get that brown ball of fluff
from vic mart nearly 4 years ago
perhaps it was the attitude - it had a "i can't be bothered with you" look
stuck on his face, sat in one corner of the pen minding his i-dunno-what business despite his other siblings scampering wildly over each other
to our tapping at the glass pane
when he first came i didn't even dare touch him,
squrimed when he tried to lick my toes
and kept having to go round in circles to avoid him,
which only made him want to come nearer
thinking it was a game i was playing with him

without him, i probably would never have overcome my fear of animals
(but i'm still very terrified of cats)
he's such a joy to our lives
no one else greets me with as much enthusiasm and elation as him
so earnest in wagging his tail when he sees us
that his entire butt gyrates as fast as his wagging

not your typical dog who turns himself over for you to tickle his tummy,
with his big attitude, he would not be able to share our special day with so many people around

so it really warms my heart for us to have shared a sunday afternoon
with him walking in the rain
and having it all captured on film for keepsakes
(many thanks to the very talented brian)

& he really loved the rain that day

"little fishes swimmin' in the deep blue sea...

...on a country road or a city street
waves slappin' time out on the ocean
listen to the rhythm, put your hands in motion!..."

this is a song from a cassette tape ah kHai got me years back
i lost it many years ago (i keep losing things... very scatterbrain)
but even till now i can still remember many of the lyrics
'cos i listened to it over and over so many times

... & this little whale which reminded me of this song,
is handmade by the very talented Ms crocheThea
(you can see her many wonderful creations here)
who made this upon my special request as a kind of award
for the cutest baby of the year (declared my me)
who's name has a special association with whales

... & this made me realise i'm surrounded by many people
who are all very good with their hands
ma, with her hands at making the most delicate lace tatting, dainty leaf-shaped pineapple tarts, all my pretty dresses when i was a kid;
onebowl, with her hands at stitching together tiny pieces of fabrics to make pretty happy things; limegreenspyda, with her hands at playing the piano and cello

... & thought to myself, how nice it would be
if i can bring all these hand-y people together.
in a large and airy workshop;
with a sky light and garden of greens,
with vases and vases of fresh cut flowers,
rows and rows of yarns, fabrics, spices, ingredients,
with an old wooden piano and a lazy dog,
stitching, baking, sewing, crocheting, tinkling...

.... how nice...

the importance of being right

struck by a moment of epiphany, i asked k in the car on the journey home,
"what's the difference between wrong and incorrect?"

"orh", he went without a moment of hesistation
i wasn't expecting him to be so ready with an answer.
so i was all ears.
"wrong, is, when u get all the answers wrong in mastermind -
that is, both colour AND position wrong;
and incorrect is when you get the colour right but the position wrong!"

the look on my face was in all bewilderment.

he even tried to help.
"mastermind, you know, the game - mastermind??"

we definitely definitely hail from different planets

"i think," as i tried to explain,
"wrong, and right, are less absolute than incorrect and correct;
wrong is subjective, incorrect is definite and objective - within set parameters.
for example, an answer is incorrect and an opinion wrong"

"orrh," he went again.
"like when you ask someone, blah blah blah... right?,
the right is in a questioning manner?"

i blinked twice.

i think he's right!

next stop, riverside point

a shot from my to-be wedding photographer's recent portfolio caught my eye
and it lead to k squinting his eyes very hard to see the words on the label
he was quite good this time, given his poor myopic vision
it read: michal negrin

it was most gratifying to find that they have a branch locally
at a shopping mall by the river side
sounds really picturesque
but this again is one of those neglected shopping malls
that seems to be on the brink of closure any moment

will make that my next stop on a less hectic weekend

my life is erratic like weather melbourne

we used to say this a lot in melbourne
that the temperament of a woman is like the melbourne weather
erratic, unpredictable, swinging from one spectrum of mood to the other
ie hail in the morning, bright sunny day in the afternoon, and rain in the evening
all in the effort of a day
and this is how i feel about my life now!
so intense!
like the span of 10 years squashed, squealed, stamped on hard and condensed in such short spurts and it's barely 2 months into the new year
attended another funeral today
was shocked when i entered the room which held the coffin
never knew the endearing old man with thick black framed glasses
was the father of a dear sunday school teacher
almost fainted on the spot when i saw the black and white pictorial
walked for very long the area of katong for the third time in my life today
to bring architects from amsterdam for site studies
climbed 100 steps today from the last floor the lift would go to reach the highest floor of a uncompleted construction site
for views good enough to capture some precious view angles for presentation

i smiled, was saddend, entertained socially, got shocked, felt grateful, was hypocritical, frowned, perspired, felt pensive -
all these hosted in the length of one single day

i really should spend a moment to pray for a cloudless, windless, calm and quiet day

i wanna believe in fairy tales

i grew up on a diet of fairy tales and fables
not just disney ones and lasses with golden locks
but chinese folklores and phoenixes and dragons too (way before harry potter)
i used to have stacks and stacks of story books
and there's nothing i loved more than to come home from school,
have my lunch, then climb onto the upper deck of my bunk bed,
book in one hand and strawberry-flavoured yan-yan on the other,
devour both at the same go, and then, fall asleep...
(that probably explains how i developed the bad habit of having to read a book, even it it's just one sentence, in order to fall asleep)
aesop's fables, 365-poems-&-stories-for-everyday,
strange series of thin old books with unattractive swirls of patterns on the cover - their contents written in both english and chinese
most of these books were pass-me-downs from ma's friend's daughters who've outgrown them
i no longer have any of these books with me, i really don't know what happened to them
been trying to rebuild this collection rummaging through second-hand bookstores (very difficult i tell you)
on one occasion was also most elated to discover in the neglected shopping mall (this i'll write about in another blog entry) near my new house, a vendor from somewhere (i've checked and they don't have a shop in the mall), sporadically sets up stands in the atrium displaying rows and rows of second-hand books
till now i've yet to find any of the books i used to have
i'll keep looking, and i'll find them.

that's what happens in fairy tales

one of the items on my wishlist: i call this "fairy-tale-gone-wrong trapped in snow globe", designed by martin & munoz .

he was a good man

attended the funeral of a good man yesterday
quiet and genteel elder heng was a kind and unassumig elder
the gentlest person i've come across
although i've not had direct contact w him,
only w his granddaughter who's a dear friend,
he was always there to shake our hands at the end of service
i would always choose the queue to shake his hands instead of the pastors
(not that the pastors were mean, they just made me feel guilty =p)
& elder heng would always shake your hands gently with a slight and sincere smile
it always felt nice and comforting
today's sermon "count your blessings" was a tribute to him
closing song was a song i loved "make me a blessing"
(out in the highways and byways of life
many are weary and sad
carry the sunshine where darkness if rife
making the sorrowing glad..."

somehow his presence hung in the air throughout the entire service
and i feel priviledged to have met such an exemplary man in my life

count your many blessings

would i get a tattoo?

late working hours narrowed tv watching to a sliver of an hour in order to get decent amount of sleep
and my to-catch bedtime programme would be miami ink (travel&living.ch16.11pm)
it's addictive watching the tattoo artists transfer images from paper to skin
favourite aritst of the four is chris garver, next favourite would be kat von d (who has left the group & started LA ink)
ma is disgruntled about the addiction to this programme (she watches the programme with me as this is the only time she gets to see me everyday)
as i would always go,
" nice tattoo huh?"
she would nod, and i would go
"i wouldn't mind getting one"
every time i try this, every time she would say i'm crazy.

nevertheless, it doesn't stop me from trying, even though i know the answer.
because if i do get a tattoo, it's going to be of my ma's name.
she has the coolest name i've ever known.
being an indonesian-chinese, she has a chinese name translated from her indonesian name
and the dialect version of her chinese name was made up with enunciations of the dutch langauge (indonesia was a dutch colony)
i've even decided where it's gonna be: on my right hand, the portion between the thumb and wrist
this patch of skin is also where i've always scribbled important reminders
and it'll serve as a reminder of how great at her hands my ma is

'cos if i should a tattoo, it'ld be when my mum can't say i'm crazy anymore

labour and wait

finally caught an episode of Livingetc. on travel&living channel by chance (channel 16, saturday 2:00pm)
been waiting in anticipation when they advertised at the beginning of the year the telecast of this new series based on the UK design magazine - Livingetc., but never caught any announcement of the screening time
Livingetc is refreshingly informative compared to pretentious local mags


http://www.labourandwait.co.uk/

"Labour and Wait" was a store featured in that episode.
love the name
and love even more what was in store
the store stocked only items that had a function and nothing ornamental


content with online shopping for now, i picked something i'ld love to work my hands on


it's the kind of store i love and would love to own