I need a holiday to recover from my holiday!

tei o 9 Comments

Holidays are meant to be relaxing. It’s meant for you to detress, to recharge, to enjoy.

No problem with that.

Problem is the before and after holiday.

Before holiday:
– frantically trying to finish all the work that I should have done a few days but kept putting off before because there’s a ‘tomorrow’.
– requests that came in from left, right and center because *ting! ting!* they suddenly realised I’m not going to be ‘around’. Never mind that half of these requests are not important or urgent.
– leaving a page long of instructions for the family to please ‘water the plants’ and ‘buy bread’ etc…

I usually end up packing like 3 hours before my trip and am always amazed that I managed to get on the plane/ coach in one piece….

After holiday:
– clearing emails, junk mails and snail mails but no cute males.
– catching up with work. Why do all the exciting/ important things always happen whilst I’m away?
– unpacking, doing the laundry, more laundry and even more laundry
– sorting out photos

Work should be banned. It’s bad for health. We should be on holiday all the time.

I’m so tired… and sleepy.

And I feel totally fat. Bleah! Too much eating.

The break was great. No doubt about it. I enjoyed myself with my friends. Defintely.

I just need a holiday…. to recover from my holiday. Sigh….

Girls just want to have fun

tei o 2 Comments

We’re all going on a spring holiday
No more working for a day or two
Fun and laughter on a spring holiday
No more worries for a day or two

-Slight edit from the song, Summer Holiday by Clif Richard. Sorry Sir Cliff Richard..*curtseying to Sir Richard*

Well, I’m finally going on my chick trip tomorrow or rather today.

My bag is packed, I’ve changed my money. I’ve got my passport in my bag. I’m pretty ready.

Actually, we’re only going up to KL. It’s not really that an exciting place compared to HK or BBK, in my opinion. But a holiday is always full of anticipation and excitement, even if you’re only going to Sentosa.

Of things that could happen and might happen. Knowing that you’re doing things that are not routine. Of not caring. There is a sense of liberation.

That’s why a holiday is good for the soul and mind.

That’s all they really want
Some fun
When the working day is done
Girls- they just want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have fun

Credit: Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun

My husband thinks KL is in danger with the four of us up there and reckons someone should warn the authorities.

Silly man, KL is perfectly safe. Now if it was Seoul…….

hehe!

Parliament dissolved! Got holiday or not?

tei o 5 Comments

NEWS FLASH!

Just heard on the radio. Parliament is dissolved.

That means election is round the corner, probably int he first week of May.

Not that it affects me as it’s a walk-over in my constitiency but it’s still exciting.

Called up hubby to tell him the news.

Like any typical Singaporean, he said: “Wonder when is the election. Will there be holiday?”

Knowing the ever productive Singapore government, it will probably be on a Saturday, to minimise work disruption.

Wait a minute… my husband isn’t a Singaporean leh….

Oh no! He’s been infected!

*EDIT*

I just heard. Election is on 6th May. A Saturday. Our government is so predictable.

PKL OWO

tei o 6 Comments

Yesterday I woke up @ 6am to have a free breakfast. It was one of the many, empowered, networking sessions organised for entrepreneurs.

It was supposed to be for about 20 people only but there were at least about 40 of us there.

Not all of these people are ‘full time’ entrepreneurs. Many of them hold a day job and moonlight/ freelance in their own business. It is not surprising that so many want to be their own boss. I guess everyone thinks of making it big on their own.

And entrepreneurs mean anyone who is doing their own thing…. from insurance agents, to freelance designers, to consultants to people who may have have a few thousand people under them like Li Ka Shing.

The lure of being answerable to you, yourself only is surely tempting. Just imagine:
– no more reporting to your boss
– no more preparing reports/ proposals that you boss will either not read or will tear them to pieces
– no more long meetings
– no more office politics
– no more trying to reach sales target
– no more jostling with the thousands of people on the way to work

That’s what all my friends say to me enviously.

Nearly 7 years after being on my own, I can only say this:
– no more reporting to your boss, but you report to your customers
– no more preparing proposals that will go unread by bosses, instead they will go unread by your customers
– no more long meetings, but you also end up with less ideas and no one to blame for projects gone wrong
– no more office politics but that also means no one to speak to (unless you want to call in to radio stations)
– AND no sales means no income

Many of my friends are now GM, VP or hold some high profile positions. They are earning more than me too. Sigh… My namecard doesn’t have any position. If I could, I will probably put this down:

CEO/ Sales Manager/ Receptionist/ Office lady/ Deliveryman

In short, a PKL OWO…
A Pow-ke-liao, One-Woman-Operation

But it would be misleading to say I’m regretting everthing now.

I still enjoy what I do….and I do get to do things that I want to do only. There are aspects of my life that I woundn’t give up now. Perhaps one day I will be a billionaire like Bill Gates or Li Ka Shing… though I seriously doubt it. But I can always dream right?

Now excuse me whilst I have my cup of tea in the balcony.

14 Men and an oval ball

tei o 4 Comments

It’s really hard to ignore the World Cup fever that’s just round the corner.

From tvs with BIG screens to recorders, to beer to airline adverts.

But for me, it doesn’t have as much thrill and excitement as rugby. Sorry, football fans.

In rugby, you try to bring down the opponent with the ball, you push against each other for possession of the ball. You run with the ball to the other end to score a touch-down. Much more exciting and ‘rough’ than football. I mean if you are going to run around a field chasing a ball, you might as well fight for it, right? Hmm…. says something about my character. No wonder I ended joining judo instead of gymastics.

Anyway, last weekend, we went to watch the Rugby 7’s at the National Stadium, an international series hosted by Sngapore. Not that Singapore is any good, but that’s another story.

In the 7’s series, there are only 7 players instead of the usual 15 players. The playing time is shorter too, only 7 minutes. This means that not only the men has to be fit, they have to be fast as well.

And if you think big men can’t run fast, you should think again. And you should see some of them holding onto the ball with one hand, pushing away an attacker with the other hand, AND running towards the goal line at the same time. Quite something.

What I really liked about this event, which I’ve been going for the last 3 years, is the very ‘family’ and carnival atmosphere. Maybe because the fans are more cosmopolitan. So you see children running around, balllons shaping and face painting for kids, bagpipes players, drums group and the infectious music being played during all the breaks. You’ll laugh but songs like YMCA (by Village people), Delina (Tom Jones), Oh Carol gets the crowd on their feet, singing, dancing and tap along, including my 2 left-feet husband. Oldies but goodies, definitely.

But what really got me amused it this:

You get a chance to be in this cool pool when you buy your beer. For half an hour, you’re allowd to soak in the cool water, a respite from the hot and get free beer…….IN PUBLIC.

Can you imagine any women wanting to be in the pool? Me either. I guess that’s why there were many more men than women. But the men were really, really enjoying themselves.

Knowing my Korean craze, my husband asked me who I was supporting in one of the finals, which was between Korean and China. Silly man, need he ask?


Hehehehe!

Singapore, unfortunately, is just not quite up there, though they played much better on the 2nd day than the 1st day. Thankfully, they finish the tournament by scoring some points in the last match…

Husband finally convinced himself that he should really, show off his support for his home team, and just before going off to the game on Saturday.

You can tell he’s really pleased with it….

I am woman, hear me complain

tei o 4 Comments

My girlfriend wants a change.

She wants to change.

To be specific, she wants to change her nose.

She thinks her nose is too weird and would like to have a sharper nose. She’s been talking about going to Korea to ‘have’ a new nose. And while she’s at it, she figured she might as well have a double eye-lid job too. I don’t think she’ll actually have them ‘changed’ in the end (the cost is an important factor) but I do think it’s on her wish list.

I guess women are never truely satisfied with our looks. We all think there’s an improved version of ourselves hidden somewhere, we just need to unlock it… via slimming pills, diets and cosmetic surgery and what not.

This morning I looked at myself in the mirror…. :

– non existent eyebrows
– flat and stumpy nose
– small, panda eyes (too much K Dramas and internet into the late night)
– double eyelid in one eye and a half double eye-lid in the other (I kid you not, the line stops halfway!)
– funny mouth
– thin limp hair
– too short, way too short!
– fat arms and thighs
– bulging waistline (sigh….)

I think the only asset I have is my err…*adequate* chestline.

I wouldn’t even be amongst the top 100 if there was a beauty contest held wihtin my estate.

Sigh…. and double sigh…

I am not graceful and am no demure Asian woman. In fact, one of my ex-boss used to say that she needn’t employ any security guards because the way I walked would have frightened off any potential thieves in the shop. 🙁

But you know, some of the actresses that I really admire are not exactly what people would say “beautiful”. But they all have that certain grace, charm and elegance. And they are all not young either….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maggie Cheung

I remembered when Maggie Cheung first joined the entertainment scene. She had slightly protruding teeth, which she got fixed, like BYJ. Over the years, she’s truely blossomed. Just look at her now. Maggie Cheung is 42 this year.

Lee Mi Sook

I first saw Lee Mi Sook in An Affair and have since seen her in a few other movies and she has never failed to amaze me with her acting ability. But that game room scene with Lee Jung Jae is still one of the most sexually charged scene without the usual nudity parts, in my opinion. And in many of the press conferences for Untold Scandal, it was her that drew my attention, not Jeong Do Yeun. Lee Mi Sook is 46 this year.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry simply took my breath away when I saw her in this James Bond movie. If that is not sexy, then I don’t know what is. Just look at that figure! Halle Berry is 40 this year.

I supposed as these people are actresses, they would have made huge efforts to stay in shape and maintain their complexion which us lesser mortals don’t have the luxury of time and money to do so.

But I think one of the main characteristic that I found in all of them is Confidence with a capital C. The self assurance that comes across when you are beyond trying to impress the world. The acceptance that this is who I am and I am happy with me.

Borrowing a tagline from the Mastercard advert: “Priceless”

I can’t end off this post without a note on my favourite actress of all time. Even if you haven’t watched any of her movies, you would have seen her face in many magazines, even though she is long gone.

A friend sent me this link this morning. I guess I’m not the only one who thinks Audrey Hepburn is class itself. Thanks CW/CG.
BBC article

Needless to say, my favourite song is from one of my favourite movie of all time starring my favourite actress. I think the song is a favourite with many as well.

Moon River as sung by Audrey Hepburn in the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany
Moon River by Audrey Hepburn

I asked my husband what did he find attractive about me, and of course, having been well trained, he gave me politically correct answer:
Your personality, dear

However, I don’t think he would have married me for my non-existent figure or looks, so I guess the answer must be quite correct.

Still, it would be nice to have bigger eyes and a better figure.

Perhaps in my next life?

Girlfriends

tei o 8 Comments

For those who grew up in Singapore, the East Coast chalets would have been familiar with you. Like the Zoo and the Bird Park, the East Coast Chalet was one those places that you go at least once. It’s part of your teenage life, part of growing up.

Who could forget those red brick walls? The tiny room with 2 beds? Marinating the chicken wings in the even smaller toilet.. making the salad, starting the fire for the bbq and burning most of the food.

And yet, why was it that the food tasted so good then? Why was it fun to have 5 or 6 people squeezing onto 2 beds?

Staying out with friends by the sea, bbqing, eating, cycling, playing games and talking through the night about love and dreams.

Thinking back now, those days were some of the best days of my life. Some of these girlfriends are still my best friends today, friends that I really treasure.

And so, almost 22 years after the above picture was taken, 3 of us, with another friend are going to take a ‘chick trip’ (as my husband said) next week. To celebrate our milesstone for reaching the big “40′ this year, to celebrate over 20 years of friendship.

What are we going to do?

Shopping, eating, chatting, more shopping, eating and chatting.

Things that you can’t do with husbands. Things that you wouldn’t want to do with husbands. Because they wouldn’t be any fun.

I’m so looking forward to it. ^^