2x in a row!!!!!

I never thought I would be so "lucky"! I logged on to my yahoo mail this morning and saw an email from my interior designer. All was well until he "announced" that he had resigned from the company! #$^*&^! This is the second ID that quit on me! I am beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with the company and I hate to have to run through everything all over again with the new chap!!!!!Moral of the story.....never ever use an interior designer! Anyone with a good contractor to recommend?

1 year anniversary....

You were the best among the batch.
You were full of character when we met.
We had great times together.
Playing hide-and-seek, trying to find each other.
27 Dec 06, the day when our game did not end.
Not being able to find you was not our intent.
The questions of "where are you?" and "how are you?" always linger.
Sometimes memories of you just trigger.
I pray that you are well. I pray that you are happy.
Hope we will have a chance to meet again......

Something playful III

Since Chloe is the only girl in this "Something Playful" series, her photo montage will have something extra :P Can you spot it?

Something playful II :P

I was sorting out all my pictures and came across the series of Fu's photos his mum sent me. I thought it would be quite cute to arrange them in a sequence. That was how "something playful" was created. "Something playful II" is for Darren. Hope you like it :)

P/s to Chloe: Yours got to wait ok! Ganma needs to scout for photos :)

Botanic Garden, Singapore

Something Playful :)

Christmas in Moscow :)

24 Dec, a day many get together to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25. We, in Moscow, did the same. As Russians do not celebrate Christmas until 7 Jan (as they are Orthodox Catholics), the Christmasy feeling is not as strong as what we have back home. So, we chose an American restaurant hoping to get a little more of the festivity, besides the wintry weather outside.

Journey to the restaurant was not at all pleasant, especially for Eugene and May who came to pick us up. The normal ride of 10 minutes (from their place to ours) took 1.5 hours in this weather. By the time we got to the restaurant, it was already around 8pm (poor John, Soe and Eddie had to wait for us for almost 30minutes).

Though there weren't many of us in Moscow (yes, we are missing Reuben, Tracey, Cecilia, Steve, Annice and Mike), we still manage to gather a group of 8. Those who could drive made it a point to either take the metro or be driven by drivers. This is so we could all drink! The night ended with nice company, lots of laughter and catching up, below average dinner (imagine an American restaurant which ran out of fries!), not so fantastic service and ok beverage. To all my friends, Merry Christmas and a fabulous year ahead. CHEERS!

A Safe Haven In the Cold

A friend brought Adrian and I to Mother Theresa Home yesterday. She was going to deliver some Christmas presents she and her husband had prepared. Walking through the cold and slippery door way, we were greeted by 2 of the residents. Both should be in their teens. Though visibly mentally slow, we were greeted with lots of hospitality from the pair. They brought us to the room where we hung our jackets and changed to slippers and excitedly vanished with the 2 packets of presents.

I must admit that I was not prepared for the excitement the children displayed when they saw us. I found myself being surrounded by children who expressed their friendliness in a way I am not used to. One took my hands and gently swung them as though she wanted me to dance with her. One just needed to feel you with his hand for he seemed partially blind.

I was attracted to this 11-year old who was suffering from Cerebral Palsy. A very sweet looking girl but paralysed from waist down. At some point, she seemed to be calling out for her mother who had not visited her for 2 weeks as she was sick. Her teary eyes made it unbearable to look at her.

The Sisters who keep the place going give the children their unlimited love and care. Their commitment to them makes me feel so small and insignificant. It is not easy looking after children with special needs. It's not just about providing a roof over their heads. It compasses understanding them, empathising with their handicap, guiding them and treating them just like their very own.

The visit made me feel that there is still warmth and love in this very harsh and cold country.

Mr Cat - The 11th Month

The smell of Mr Cat is getting lesser. Mr Cat was Pebble's favorite toy. She liked to grab it by her mouth and toss it up into the air. The smell came from the saliva left behind after all these chewing and grabbing. Now, it is the only smell that is left behind by Pebble. Today is the 11th month :(

The Lure of "S" & "11"

Many of us will envy people who do not need to plough for money. Nonetheless, realistically, how many of us can be in that category? Day in day out we are worried if we are earning enough, if we will earn enough, what if it is not enough? I started my 3 weeks of hell to minimise my problem of "what if it is not enough?" today. Going through the first report was a breeze. But the second one stopped me from going on. "This one is going to score badly", I told myself. Anyhow, the motivation factor is the "S" with "11". 加油!

Made In Singapore

I was shopping with Adrian last week and we stumbled into a shop called "Loang & Noi". Maybe you have seen this shop in Vivo city or Paragon. Maybe you have seen their advertisement in the magazines. Adrian used to think that "Loang & Noi" was probably Vietnamese but he was wrong. Both Loang and Noi are Singaporeans. The interesting thing is that all the jewellery you find in there are exclusive, i.e every piece is unique. For people who likes the idea of "one and only", this may be a place you can take a look. Maybe it is a kind of "selfishness", I quite like the idea of having something that is unique to me, something that review some bits and pieces of my identity. Am I having identity crisis?

Being DIPLOMATic

Life as a diplomat had made quite a difference in our stay in Moscow. Here's why....

Even though working life had been as busy for Adrian,

he is supported by capable and supportive local staff. They are....Elena, his marketing officer and Sasha, his driver (cum bodyguard :)).

Besides assisting Adrian, both Elena and Sasha had been a great help to me too. You may not be able to see the car clearly but it is a Volvo S60. The great thing about this car was not its model but the fact that it had a red car plate. In Singapore, red car plate means weekend car but in Moscow, red car plate means diplomatic car, = police would think twice about stopping you, some hotel would offer free parking, cars on the road would try to avoid you (they have this thinking that diplomatic drivers are reckless drivers) etc.

For those who had visited Moscow before, you might had bad experience at the airport customs. Many had been "detained" for quite a while before the stamp finally got "chopped" on your passport. However, if you have the above, all else do not matter. If they make trouble, just point to the word "diplomatic". You will be surprise how many of them are "blind". It is also very effective if they decide to check your luggage. Just give them the passport and they will signal you to pass. With this, you can also use the diplomatic lane for faster clearance at immigration.

Next is this diplomatic card. In Moscow, you always have to bring your passport wherever you go. But if you have this baby, you will not need to bring your passport and will never get "extorted" by policemen. Sigh! I will sure miss these conveniences.....:(

Get Together...

One of the things that always draw me back to Singapore is the pals I have here.

These are just 2 of them.....

She is one of our 2 new additions. Line said she caught me drooling over her many times during dinner. How not to right? :PUs and the next generation. (Missing : Rachel & Fu, Fang & Chloe, Darren)

10th Month...

It's the 10th month today. Saw the "Caesar" advertisement yesterday. The westie in there reminded me of Pebble when she was young. So cute..

First Home Restaurant in Moscow

Tonight, I decided to bring some of my closer friends to the first home restaurant in Moscow. I don't really know the real name of the restaurant as we conveniently called it "Emily's" (named after the owner). Emily had stayed in Singapore before and maybe that's why we felt totally at ease in her "home". Menu at Emily's is quite standard but definitely not unimpressive. The chef, who is her mum makes fabulous Russian home cooked cuisine. My favorites are her piroshki, stewed pork, plov and cheese cake. Yummy! If you are wondering why there is no photo? Well, my camera ran out of battery!

Emily paints too and you can see some of her paintings hang up on the restaurant's wall. If something catches your eye, you can always buy it off. Besides paintings, you can also find traditional Russian embroidery there. Occasionally, you can find yourself dining with her cat and her 2 dogs. They are likely to be sitting around your table, making themselves at home too, just like in your very own dining room.

On the whole, it is a wonderful place to share some private, comforting times with these great pals whom we would not have met if we had not landed in Moscow. Cheers my friends!

原点

今天的心情很乱但不糟.
心的深处埋着一丝丝的依憾,
一丝丝的不舍,
一丝丝的伤感,
一丝丝的委屈.
心的一个角落却很感激他给我的终止,
让我回到原点, 让我轻松地放下这不必要的包袱.
对不起, 朋友, 只能陪你走到这里.
要健康, 要快乐喔 :)

Essentials for winter

The temperature has been hovering between -1 to 2 degrees and it is time to pack the bag with winter essentials.

a. Gloves - to keep upper extremities warm.

b. Book - to wild away time while waiting for friends as traffic is a killer during winter.

c. Music - to create your personal space while wilding away your time. Get lost in your own world.

d. Scarf & hat - besides your feet, the next 2 important areas to keep warm is the head and the neck.

My favorite coffee house...

It was a snowy afternoon, my friends and I decided to get out of the house for some fresh cold air. We headed for one of our favourite hunts in Moscow, the Coffee Bean. This is not the Coffee Bean chain that we are familiar with back home. It is rated one of the more desirable coffee place because it is a totally smoke-free coffee house, something very rare in Moscow. Sitting there, you really miss all the nice, cozy coffee places in Singapore. You imagine yourself sipping coffee, plugging into your IPOD and reading a book in a big cushy couch, occasionally looking out of the glass panels watching the world goes by. How peaceful. What a luxury....:)

Do people like your face?

I was playing around with Facebook recently and was pleasantly surprise to receive an invite from a friend who has not been in contact for many years. I was telling Ah Line that it was a very nice feeling to know that people still bother to look for you after so many years. On the other hand, I begin to wonder what if someone rejects your invite to be added in Facebook? That will be an awful feeling won't it, especially if that person also has a facebook account?

It's October..But snow has arrived..

It was only 3 days ago when I posted the photos of the fall. Today, heavy snow everywhere. Cars were begining to be covered with piles of snow. Here comes winter....