I Surrendered

I'm feeling relieved today, as it's my last day with Altus Group ... hmmmm ... well, I've decided to stop trying and surrender.

In fact, I've made this decision on 14 Feb 2008 and my superior even asked me why am I giving him such a big Valentine's Day present (ie. my resignation letter) ... ha ha ha

However, I'll definitely miss those fun-loving & helpful colleagues of mine.

Happy Birthday To Mum & *Apple*

TODAY = my dearest mum as well as my best friend's birthday ... and I remembered saying these every year ...

"Happy Birthday To Both,

Happy Birthday To Both of U !!!"

Anyway, my Bro *A* has taken the initiative to book a table @ Tung Lok Restaurant - The Arena Country Club this evening, for a family dinner to celebrate my mum's 59th birthday.

In fact, we used to arrange for such dinner on everyone's birthday in the past. But ever since NC is travelling more & more over the years, this little family tradition of ours has been tentatively discontinued ...

However, I managed to snap some shots during our dinner ... so as to prove how happy my mum was earlier :D

4th Day of New Year

Time flies, flies, flies ... today is already the 4th day into the Lunar Year of Rat.

For the past 3 days, we've been busy going around visiting relatives & friends, giving out & receiving "Ang Baos" and of coz, loads of catching up {as we hardly meetup these old friends since NC is not in town for most of the time}.

I only managed to snap a few pics, here & there ... coz I find it a hassle to lug my camera along *LOL*

Here you go, something to share ... ...

"Gong Xi Fa Cai ! ... Hong Bao Na Lai !"

Mass "Lo Hei" - meaning "tossing up good fortune".

"Wanna have some ??"

*Sigh*, *sigh*, *sigh* ... after having a great time this CNY holiday ... I gotta go back to work tomorrow & there's more work, work & work waiting for me.

On top of that, NC will be going back to China for business again ... and I wonder when is he coming back home again ??? :(

::: Gong Xi Fa Cai :::

Wishing all my dearest friends out there,

新年快樂 ,

身体健康 ,

万事如意 !

Energizer Bunny ... Keep Going !!!

A sincere thanks to my dear friends ... *Apple*, *FS* & *Ed* for all your kind words & encouragement today.

Don't worry, I shall adopt the Energizer Bunny's "Keep Going & Never Say Die spirit" ... ha ha ha.

1st Day of Work

Yesterday was my 1st day of work ... hmmmm ... I really don't know how to express my mixed feelings in words right now.

In summary, there isn't any HR personnel/dept in this organization for the past 18 yrs of their business. Therefore, needless to say, there's no proper documentation, filing, payroll system at all.

On top of that, this organization is expanding (by way of merger &/or acquisition). As such, there are a number of smaller subsidiaries (both locally & overseas) with their own Compensation & Benefits packages, their own set of working guidelines, etc ... it seems very "messy" & out of control to me. As a parent company's HR personnel, all these will become part of my job & responsibilities ... sigh, sigh, sigh ...

After a short meeting with the organization's CEO yesterday, I kept pondering over issues like, Can I manage this post (after 7 yrs of gap)? Can I perform up to the CEO's expectations? Am I doubting my own abilities? Did I make a wrong choice? (should have opted for the one "up on the mountain"?) ... ...

Apart from that, I missed my kids right after lunchtime ... and I quickly made a call back home to chat with my little R2 for awhile. The next moment, I started to countdown till 5.30pm ;)

I'm in a dilemma right now ... should I take on this challenge or should I just get a stress-free part-time job to pass time (as I've plans to venture into another business real soon) ???

My Dream Room

What a gorgeous room !!!

I happened to chance upon this post from {Benita} at Two Peas earlier & I'm overwhelmed with the amount of scrapbooking goodies that she owns. Besides that, she's really good at organizing her space, and look at how creative she is by using curtain rods to display her layouts.

It's a SCRAPBOOK HEAVEN and I'm luvin' it !!!

A personal note to NC :
Can I have something like this in our new apartment ... PLEASE ?? ... hee hee

Back to Work

Whoo-hoo !!! ... After 7 years of running my own &/or hubby's businesses, I thought I could never be a "9 to 5 OL" again.

However, I managed to get 3 job offers this week after struggling thru' a total of 4 interviews altogether ... Lady Luck is watching over me these days, thanks !!

To be honest, I hate going for interviews as most HR Managers will "bombard" us with all sort of questions. On top of that, as a job seeker, you will have to sell/promote yourself to the hiring manager ... it's a sickening task which I hate most!

Nevertheless, I've accepted a job offer which expects me to commerce work on 1 Feb 2008.

I took up said offer after much consideration on issues like travelling time, working hours, overtime requirements, learning opportunities, etc. Coz my main focus will still have to be on my 2 kids, and I don't want said job to take up too much of my time.

I just hope that everything will goes well for me ...

Missing In Action ...

A quick glance at this blog of mine, made me realised that I've not been updating it for almost 2.5 weeks ... hmmmm .... some of you might be wondering why am I missing in action again ??? (ha ha ha)

Time really flies, and here's a summary of what I've been busy with for the past half a month ...

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12 Jan 2008 : Jazzscraps was here in Singapore with her hubby for a short scrapbooking-shopping trip ... ohhhhh ... I'm green with envy :)

Despite her super tight itinerary, Detha and I managed to meet up with her over dinner at Tambuah Mas Indonesian Restaurant. Our talking point for the whole dinner session was none other than SCRAPBOOKING !!! Simply fun !!!

Jazzscraps and I didn't see each other since her previous trip to Singapore in Year 2006, however, we still update each other thru' our blogs as well as Google Chat.

Anyway, see YOU again in June !!!

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16 Jan 2008 : Received a SMS for another dinner get-together session with a group of ex-colleagues (back in Year 1999). It was an evening full of eating & non-stop talking although there were only 4 of us ... indulging in reminiscence of the great old times working together.

Not forgetting to thank BH for her dinner treat at Swensen's :p

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Besides that, I've been running around sending/fetching R1 & R2 to tuition & enrichment classes ... 6 days in a week.

I'm also trying my very best to coach R1 in her schoolwork on a daily basis, without me throwing my temper at her (this is the reason why I'd rather engage a tuition teacher for her).

Other than my kids, I'm also in the midst of hunting for a full-time job. With CNY just around the corner, there's also loads of spring-cleaning & shopping to do ... busy, busy, busy, busy ... is the only word that I can think of now.

1st "Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So" Lesson

Whoo-hoo !!! R1's long-awaited piano class has commenced this afternoon ... she was enthusiastic about her 1st lesson since last night *wink*

Another great news is ... my Sis *J* has agreed to accompany R1 for lessons on my behalf ... ha ha ha ... (I've heard from her teacher that it's best to attend lessons with the child throughout the 1st year of said program ... oh no ... it's a one-year committment.)

As the music school is right next to the library, I've decided to spend our time there while waiting for R1.

Look, R2 had totally immersed himself into a few piles of story books ...

Money Doesn't Grow On Trees

Since R1 will be given pocket money on a daily basis, I thought it's an ideal time to begin teaching her about the value of money & the importance of regular savings.

Otherwise, in a child's world, money comes from Mummy and Daddy's pockets. And when we are tapped, a machine magically spouts dollars after merely pushing a few buttons. It might be natural for them to assume that money is readily available whenever it's needed.

So, on the very 1st day of school ... I took out one of her birthday presents from her ex-classmate - a Chip 'n Dale coin bank - and encouraged her to put all her balance pocket money into it. After which, I shall bring her to deposit her savings into her bank account when it's full ... (sounds good, huh? ... hee hee)

Hopefully, this will help R1 to develop a strong saving habit & to learn how to make smart purchases.

Perhaps even learn why they can't immediately get everything they want - as adults often save their money for items they want to buy - and definitely not "I want ... Buy me this ... !".

Hello, I'm Tigger

We bought this Tigger costume from Hong Kong for R2 way back in Year 2005 ... that's why, it looked a little small on him now. In fact, we chucked it into his wardrobe and totally forgotten about it ... ha ha ha

This little brat found it yesterday and eagerly asked Granny to put it on for him. Therefore, I quickly snapped some pics while he can still fit into it ... and he's simply too cute !!!

R2: "Mummy, can you help me to take a picture of my tail?? ...
Coz I can't see it from here."