Hate bites

I need the pink of health to return immediately for the remaining days in 2010!!!

Pissed mad at how after a swarm of mosquito bites (never before in my own room and of which already left me very irritated), I applied Tiger balm twice and guess what? I am down with a pretty bad skin allergy. Two big patches of irrita

ted skin that is damn itchy and quite painful (after scratching). In Dyason's words, he said with a smirk on his face, "Yi, Yi, why your mosquito bites look like maps?". I was rather impressed with his interpretation of the allergy on my legs and he was absolutely right, they look like shapes of the continents on maps, the only difference is the colour.

No choice, I went to see a doc. Antibiotics, anti-itch mediation and cream. He sort of teased me in disbelief when I told him I got this after I applied tiger balm. I had probably applied too much because the first time i applied, it did help to stop the itch and the mosquito bites were less red.

I cannot understand why my own homeland mosquitoes would leave me with such bad bites. They seem to have injected some really bad toxins into my skin because the bites were not only big and swollen, they were very red and was a little painful. The last time I had these bites was when I first got bitten by the mosquitoes in China. They say it's because I was from a foreign land, so mosquitoes tend to want to bite me more. It seems my own Singapore mosquitoes are not recognising me. This is perhaps the way for me to get my membership. Please make sure that after this big sign up, the mosquitoes would spare me.

Till now, I still cannot figure out where the swarm of mosquitoes come from.

It's a nightmare.

I curse all the mosquitoes in the world.

Last week of 2010

I had a good christmas this year. The dinner was enjoyable though the food could have been better I feel. I was a little disappointed at the food for lunch as well. Not sure if it was my tastebuds or that the food is really just average. And for seasons of celebrations, food is important.

Another reason may be that I am suffering from stomach flu. I look forward to eating each meal but the moment im into like the third spoonful, I start to feel nauseaus and there goes my appetite. And my stomach churns and yes, this has been going on for the past 1.5 weeks. I refused to go see a doc because I remembered how the doc will just prescribe pills to stop nauseaus and diarhhoea but nothing to really clean the bacteria up. This was the same in Nepal and China. I just had to wait for the system to clean up the bacteria in my stomach. Not sure what I ate but I hate stomach flu. CC nagged and nagged and I promised him that I would go see a doc tomorrow. He said he had severe food poisoning that left him with acute pain in melbourne before and he didnt want me to go through the same especially when im travelling to HK soon.

I am trying to adjust to this LDR. It requires a lot of intangible efforts in a lot of ways. So far so good but the real test will be the next few months.

I spent quite a bit of time surfing through Nippon paint website and I must say they have a really comprehensive and informative one. However, at the end of it all, I have decided not to paint my room. I do not have the luxury of time with just 3 days left and I do not want to pressure myself into something I am not sure I am capable of finishing. The last thing I want is to start painting and not to finish this week. The big nightmare will come if I have to start travelling within 2 weeks of my new job. I shall not be so ambitious for now.

I am happy with the size of my room now. It is pretty spacious without the clutter. 3 days more of fine-tuning. I want to run to JB soon for massage and to do up my nails to get ready for my HK trip.

Last but not least, I may have to stay away with skirts and dresses for a while cos I had this really bad mosquito attack over the last few days that left me with big patches of skin allergy. Not sure if it was due to the tiger balm or the bites. ARRGGHH. I hate mosquitoes!!

Memories

I went through my personal box of old letters/cards. I read through each and every one and that was really quite a nostalgic process. I saw how I grew, and much I changed and of course I'm very happy and blessed to have all these dear friends around.

I cleared out quite a bit. Those which didn't matter anymore.

I think we should keep cards and letters going. It's a wonderful habit.

They are the best historical records of relationships. Friendship and kinship alike.

Back to my packing and hopefully to discover more beautiful memories!

Fundamentals

I think it's time i get back to the fundamentals of life.

I have to rely less on virtual world and stay close to the organic development of my personal well-being. In all aspects.

I am beginning to understand why I cant be a stay home mum.
I enjoy the freedom now but this is not real freedom. There are a lot of obligations the moment I get back. I have yet to miss my life away from home but I know I cant do this on a long term basis.

Im happy that the festive seasons are around the corner.

Things seem to be a little fishy. Haha, CC flying to moscow, then beijing then yantai then back to SG? I hope im not getting a surprise early arrival visit. Anyway will pray that your flight out of moscow can be on time admist all these weather woes and flight delays.

Looking back and forth

2 weeks left and I havent accomplished much physically. Emotionally and spiritually yes.

More to go:

1) Place order for the Chocolate Truffle Log Cake. Hmm Im looking forward to this dinner. CC please come back in time. Xmas dinner in JB and Xmas lunch in SG. You would be the best Xmas pressie!

2) Phase 3 of part 1 of my room makeover needs to be done today. I dont actually have a complete plan yet. But the purpose of me penning things down now is so I can organise my thoughts and clear them one by one.

Part 1 - Packing and throwing (4 phases)
Part 2 - Painting
Part 3 - Getting the furnitures (But the resistance for change is setting in and so much so im not sure if this is going to happen) Discipline, discipline.

3) Get my diploma credits converted into my CII credits. Apply for exemption.

4) Done shopping for gifts for the kids. Havent shopped for the rest on the list. Aye Aye...

Im happy and excited about the remaining two weeks. It's great to end it all with a trip to hongkong!I have been resisting a lot of temptations to shop this xmas season as im saving all for the hongkong trip. Gotta change my wardrobe as I cant dress the way I used to while in Orchard. Now I have to dress for Raffles place. There is 啊 certain level of pressure to dress well and moreover as a broker, I have to be constantly presentable.

I remembered how I felt back then when I first joined the yard. I still hold the same excitement for this new job. The only difference being I know better what I am in for and I wasnt here to explore to find out my passion, I am here to do what I like and I am also more aware of my dislikes, my weaknesses so I will keep in mind that I dont get entangled in situations too sticky for me. New hope, new motivation and a whole plethora of challenges awaits in line. The happiest part being - I know Im working towards a career. Not a job.

CC told me a lot of them thought I resigned to marry him and to stay home with the kids. He laughed and told them he cant keep me home. He says as a witty young lady, I need to be out there to build my career and to work on that aspect of my life. Im happy to hear his reply because it shows how much he understands me and he was always stingy with his praises. Im very touched.

I went through a very difficult phase at work a few months ago, he was there for me. I broke down quite regularly but I fought and made it to the end.

I cried when I was pushed way past my limits.
I fought and hung on because I didnt want to give up. I have my own expectations to live up to. He was there for me though there were a few times I knew he was frustrated but he didnt say.
I got all emotional again when I resigned. It was my first resignation. I remembered how belle teared about her first resignation back then. I couldnt relate. But now I totally understand.
I cried again the last few days in China.

He wiped away my tears, held me in arms and told me that he was proud of me. I couldnt remember his exact words but they were to the meaning of how he could see me handle difficult situations myself, even if i teared, I could eventually resolve and make the best out of it. This was touching because he used to tell me that I tear because I lack experience (not entirely wrong), that I was young (not that he was very much older, 4 years isnt a lot). I used to think that his view of me lacking experience from the work I was doing was not relevant because I was always handling projects that nobody in the company did before. But now I know the experience he meant was the experience of self discovery, of being pushed beyond my limits and setting new limits at the end. From looking at me as a half cup empty, to recognising that I could fill the remaining half because of my half cup full, I felt honoured and truly touched.

My last day in the yard, I wasnt emotional until after lunch when I had to bid goodbye. I was still busy with a training session for Project Team in the morning. I had to rush through to pack my desk in China. Yingying was not her usual jovial self. Maybe because I didnt have time to think but I could tell she wasnt as bubbly. When she sent me out,standing beside our finance building, we hugged each other and cried uncontrollably. I spent a great deal of time with her everyday. She is funny and she always took care of me. I would invite her over to our place for dinner and we would go over. We went clubbing and we went KTV. We shopped and we shared so much. That was quite a moment leaving the yard which I grew up in especially with the people I shared a bond with and I may not see them ever again.

I sent Lao shi an sms to bid her goodbye. I told her I dare not go look for her because I would really break down. She told me when she received my sms she was in a meeting but she couldnt get out. After that she called me when I was back at the apartment frantically packing for my flight in 3 hours' time. She said, “尽管你在公司很能干， 我也不觉得那有什么特别， 可是让我觉得你最可爱的是， 你仍然有这么感性的一面， 这非常难得。 ”

Packing 3 years of barang in 1.5 hours was tough. I blasted music with the song "礼物“ which Yingying sang for me and introduced me the day before at KTV. Filling up 40kg of luggage and singing along while wiping my tears was quite beyond words because of the sadness from leaving these people who made my china experience complete yet deep down inside, I know I am leaving for the better.

Anyway, with the end of 2010 drawing near, I am closing this chapter in my life.

The last 10 years has been the most amazing.

I am grateful for having so many loved ones around. I love my family and I treasure my friends. I was blessed with good bosses and I hope this to continue in 2011 and beyond. Good health is important and I look forward to the coming 10 years.

Primary sch outing

It was a great primary school outing. Fun and I'm glad we all met after so long. Things are still the same after all these years!

I have to believe that I CAN DO IT!

So much to do and so litle time.

I love my new lappie. I settled for HP in the end. Haha. No I didnt pick a real loud and colourful one. I didnt pick a 1.5kg and below model. The only thing i kept close to was that it must be smaller than a 14" cos that was the size of my last office lappie and I do not want a biggie like that.

I have a problem. What am I going to do with all the books on the shelf? I dont want to throw them away! But I would like to make more space in the room for a Queen size bed frame. I have been throwing and throwing the past few weeks. The whole process is just boring! I hate doing all these packing and throwing because I get very distracted after a while. I end up surfing the net, watching tv, checking fb, anything but to finish up what I have to do.

I have to make a trip down to SCI on monday. I hope my conversion of credits are still valid.

To my surprise, I have actually completed my Diploma in General Insurance and Risk management. Haha, maybe because my goal was ACII so I didnt have that in mind. No wonder Mr Chan called me yesterday to ask me to go collect my certificate. The only dumb thing that I did not do and have procrastinated was not to convert my credits into the CII standard. Argghh.

I am about halfway through my goal. I hope to complete the advance diploma next April with 3 modules. It may be tougher but I thought, if I can make it for 2 modules with all the intense travelling previously, surely I can do 3 right? This will really hasten up my professional qualification process and speed up my career advancement. I hope I can be granted an exemption for Business and Economics module since I have completed a Business Degree and have taken 2-3 econs module.

A primary school gathering and a wedding this weekend. Next week is all I've got to clean things up. I should really buck up with the packing.

I can do it!

Room makeover in progress

I'm excited about revamping my room. It took me quite a few Days to get the momentum going. With nelle around I think it helped me to keep things in check. I am forced to take up a more routine life than to while my time away. But I must say though I didn't accomplish much last week, doing nothing was really therapeutic. I kind of regret gg to zouk out, the only consolation was that at least now I know that it was really not worth the effort and money and a very big part was only to support Tracy.

I'm not sure how far I should change my room because I would really prefer having cc bk to choose furnitures with me, help me with ideas and to have things move much faster and this I mean literally move furnitures for me. Haha

I like to visit ikea for inspiration.

The only thing I hate about this whole revamping is that my face is down with rashes again. Is it the dust or the heat? I miss my 10 deg c.

I woke up this morning with great frustration from the intense drilling from outside my unit. I thought the official first day of freedom meant I could sleep in to my heart's content but I was wrong. Anyway, since there will also not be any electricity until 130pm I decided to go for a morning jog, breakfast and spend a good amount of time in AMK hub 's ntuc mega mart to kill time till the electricity returned.

I am also determine to shed the excess kilos I gained over the years from staying regularly in china. For a start, I had teow chew fish soup with slices of bittergourd. No noodles, no rice, not even the Fried egg they always throw into the soup.

I spent $70 on groceries ( healthy ones) and cleaning products so I can start my room makeover. The most expensive items were the vacuum storage bags for bulky items like my winter wear. I had to buy these as 40kg of luggage is still waiting for me :(

I am excited about revamping my room, completing the jigsaw puzzle I got from Beijing. The puzzle is a picture of a cafe off the streets in Spain. Since the picture was taken in 2009, I should still be able to visit the place within the coming two years I hope. This completed puzzle shall also be hung on the wall of my new room.

All in all, I am very happy to get this three weeks of break. It's full of hope, excitement and motivation. The only issue that is slightly bugging me is putting me in a dilemma. KW sent a quote to me, if I don't ask, the answer is always no. I should try. But I shall not attach too much emotion to it. I am happy for now, I guess that is the most important.

The new end, old beginning

This week whizzed by and I felt like a total zombie. Zombie not in terms of looks but the fact that I was without a soul. Not much feelings, no excitement, no thoughts. That's not me.

Yesterday was the best closure for me 4 years with the company. Mc, Dc, Gl, Ld, wow, very glad to have them all present during my farewell lunch. I have to attribute my achievements and simply whoni am today to all of them.

Now bk to the excess baggage of the demobilization from china, 40 kg awaiting. I am never good at packing and managing household logistics. Too many details for my liking. If there were ever a course like the above, I would gladly sign up and learn from one of these housewives.

Project revamp is up next. I have to revamp my room. I hope two weeks is sufficient. Gambatte!

Season of change.

Toast to a better 2011. Excited abt my new year eve trip to hongkong.