NO Internet Connection @ Home

Sorry friends, I don't mean to "wash our dirty laundry" openly here ... but I really need some outlet to voice out my discontentment. Hence, please bear with me ...

*A* & I are having a cold war since 17 Mar 2008, due to some housing/room-sharing issues. But this has worsened over these 2 months ... and evolved into a "yours & mine" attitude lately.

As he's paying for the monthly Starhub Broadband at home ... it's being locked against any authorised usage (only he can enjoy it, sharks!).

So, 2 pathetic souls (ha ha ha ... namely, Sis *J* & myself) are sitting at the nearby National Library right now ... surfing net & blogging, while R1 is reading as many story books as she can.

Luckily, I still have access to the internet to surf/blog/MSN during normal office hours :) However, this affects my Sis *J* the most as she can't do her school project at home :(

Hard Work is the Yeast that Raises the Dough

R1 & my hard work really pay off ... from drawing up a study timetable, loads of revision exercises, tuition, 1-to-1 coaching & the "reward" system ... really help to produce good results.

Since my last trip back from China in March, I've decided to put in more effort in R1's school work so as to prepare her for the mid-year examinations. I've been trying my best to tame my temper & give R1 a little more patience ... and I've "sacrificed" my personal time to sit beside her while she's doing her homework &/or revision exercises on a daily basis.

Today, R1 came home with her Report Book, with quite pleasing results (#2 out of a class of 29, #32 out of all 346 P1 students) ... ** smiling from ear to ear ** ... BUT, we still need to strive for better ranking among her peers after the June holidays.

Rachel, well done! Keep it up!

A Day At The Beach

A day at the beach ... overlooking the sea,
contemplating the waves as they kiss the shores ever so gently.

Bro *A* & my mum brought both kiddoes to East Coast Park this afternoon, despite the 33°C hot weather lately.

** Phew! Luckily I chose to stay at home ... coz R1 & R2 came home looking very tan. ** However, from the "evidence" below, both of them have enjoyed themselves to the fullest !!

I've made a little request for my mum to take some pics of them ... so here you go ... these going out specially to Daddy *NC*.

Where's My Adhesives ???

It's a long weekend here in Singapore ... as next Monday is a gazetted public holiday (i.e. Vesak Day) = NO WORK !! .... Yippppeeeee !!

Having 3 full days of free time on hand, plus a rather "stay-at-home" mood but I've got nothing much that I'd love to do ... what a waste !!

So, as usual, I hopped around those scrapbooking blogs for the whole afternoon & I'm inspired to start scrapping all over again (after an extremely long break).

For a quick start, I think this Pencil Lines site will be able to help me to get the ball rolling ... but hold on, where's my acid-free adhesives ?!?! and where's my 12 x 12 trimmer ?!?! ** alamak !! **

Here I go again, giving myself silly & lame excuse of ... "It'll be much easier to start with; after I do some scrapbooking shopping to get my hands on some "latest & greatest" products." ... ha ha ha

Happy Mother's Day 2008

Wishing all wonderful mummies out there, and especially to my dearest mum & mother-in-law (back in Hong Kong) ... HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !!!

By large, mothers and housewives are the only workers

who do not have regular time off.

They are the great vacation-less class.

~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

As for myself, I've received these inexpensive yet heartwarming pressies from my kiddoes. These really melted my heart ... thank you very much !

From HER,

R1 spent almost 70% of last Friday's school allowance to get 2 of these handmade flowers from the bookshop ... one for me & one for granny (how thoughtful of her).

From HIM,

Last Friday, R2 brought back 1 handmade card, 1 stalk of carnation & 2 cookies from school ... but he couldn't resist the temptation & ate 1 cookie before I reached home from work (ha ha ha ... ).

4th Day of Work

Work saves us from three great evils:

Boredom, Vice & Need.

~ Voltaire

Today, is my 4th day of work ... on the other hand, it's also *Jennifer's* last day of work with the organization.

I've been trying very hard to "master" her duties & responsibilities within such a short time-frame. And I just hope that I can perform just as good as her (cos it's human nature to make comparisons). ** aiyoh ... it's making me so stressed up **

However, I just wanna wish *Jennifer* all the best in her future endeavour and thank her for everything !!

{ This will definitely liven up my work space }

S-P-L-U-R-G-E

One more LV for me please ...

This Louis Vuitton handbag has been on my Wish List since it's first launch last year.

Look, I've finally got my hands on it today !!! ... Yipppeeeeee ...

This afternoon, I managed to convince myself to splurge on it ... as I needed a new bag for my new job, which is commencing on 28 Apr 2008. Oh no, I think it's a pretty lame excuse to use ... isn't it ??? But whatever it is, I don't care ... as it really feels good to spoil myself once in awhile. ** wink **

Anyway, who says WE (i.e. women) need any reasons/excuses to go shopping & indulge ourselves with little gifts to make ourselves happier ??? ... LOL

What Am I Waiting For ???

I've mentioned in my previous post that I've an opportunity knocking on my door lately ... yeah, I've decided to seize it !!!

Well, actually it's a job opportunity offered by my ex-company (which I worked for merely a month). As I got along quite well with those colleagues there, so right now, they are offering me a post which is totally different from what I used to do as a HR personnel ... a CEO's SECRETARY.

I've no formal secretarial experience, but I'm pretty surprised that my boss-to-be is willing to train me up & fill the gap. So, my friends were asking me : "Then what are you waiting for ??"

Hence, needless to say, I'm going for it !!! ... & hopefully everything will go well for me this time. ** keeping my fingers crossed **

On the other hand, I'll have to forgo my upcoming fully-sponsored trip to Beijing in May 2008. ** weep, weep, weep **

Philosophy of Life

"人生路漫漫 , 山水有相逢" ... ... NC will always remind me of this statement when it comes to handling people & relationships.

In fact, he's indirectly telling me to give some leeway to others now, as there may be a time when their help will come in handy in the future.

This is just his "2 cents", but true enough, it works !!! ... An opportunity is now knocking on my door !!!

R1's 1st Pair of Spectacles

眼镜, 眼镜找朋友 ... this is R1's 1st pair of spectacles (i.e. her new acquaintance) & she seems pretty happy to get to know this new friend ... ** Arghhh !! **

Anyway, I'll update this space soon on her new look ... hee hee

R1's school will be conducting a Semestral Assessment 1 "Show & Tell" Presentation for all P1 pupils next week. During said presentation, every pupil will be given 3 to 5 minutes to talk about "My Favourite Toy", and this will form one of the components in their Mother Tongue language examination. ** super stressed out **

While helping R1 with the above preparation, then I realised that her favourite toy is Barbie Doll ... hey, I used to play with that too ... hmmm ... around 20 over years back !!

However, I've bought this sweet-looking, little Japanese dolly - Mell Chan for R1 today. My intention is to motivate her to work harder for the upcoming SA1 exams in early May.

On the other hand, I'm wondering does this trick work ??? So, let's wait & see ... ** keeping my fingers crossed **

Managing Time

It has been 2 weeks since R1 started her own { Study Timetable } at home ... but of coz, it was being drawn up by her mummy ... ME !! ... hee hee.

After I've created the below, I did MSN it to NC for his info., but his first reaction &/or comment towards it was ... "All work & no play, R1 will be going crazy soon !!!" ... LOL

For the past 3 months, she always seemed to have loads of homework to be done BUT not enough time for them. Hence, I thought this method might help R1 to manage her time more effectively.

Surprisingly, this little kiddo has been much excited about it and did try her best to follow as close as possible. (I just hope that this excitement doesn't go away just too soon.) So, I must think of some rewards to keep her going ... hmmm.

眼镜, 眼镜找朋友 ...

R1 & I went to Jurong Medical Centre - Eye Clinic @ 8.30am today for her eye-check appointment.

She was given a day of Medical Leave from school, as she received a dilated eye examination in order to prevent "accommodation".

Our natural lens is able to accommodate or adjust the eye’s focus until about the age of 40. Children are especially good at this, and their ability to accommodate sometimes prevents the doctor from getting an accurate refraction for glasses. That’s why young eyes are often dilated for a “wet” refraction so the doctor can get a true picture of what the child’s prescription really is.

After 3 hours spent over at the clinic, the OUTCOME = R1 is diagnosed with rather high myopia (considering her age at 6) ... Oh gosh !!!

Anyway, there's no point crying over spilled milk. But rather, I've got to accept the fact & start working on all suggested eye-care measures to help R1 to delay the progression as she grows ...