Parenting

Natasha is now 19months old. For the past 19months, I am thankful to God for blessing me with such a lovely daughter. As a baby, she has always been a smiley one.. As a toddler now, she is still smiley, but also very mischievious. Somehow I think she has inheritted both mine and Nic's stubbornness, which makes her super stubborn! She hasn't given me much problem except for her poor eating habits and now, her tantrums.

So now I am just wondering, what is a good parenting method? One that will make her listen and not do the wrong things.

To be honest, I am struggling within myself. I do not know if beating her will be an effective method especially since she is so stubborn. But then again, if I do not beat her, how else can I let her know the seriousness of my words? I have read alot of parenting links online and found that all of them seems to be saying beating is not the best method. Most website discourages beating. Well, if possible I would also not want to beat her. But sometimes it's so hard to control my anger (perhaps I should go for some anger management course).

Just the weekend that passed, I have already beaten her a few times: once for not eating and throwing tantrum when we don't give her the French fries she wanted; once for not eating and spitting out the food that's in her mouth (which she is most probably doing it deliberately); and once for not wanting to take her medication and spitted out all of them. Actually, looking at these incidents, I think the only issue that I have with her is her poor eating habits! Gosh, i guess it's time for me to stop feeding her!

I really feel sorry everytime I beat her, and I know I shouldn't have. But how else can I teach her not to spit out her food and to eat properly? Big sigh! Perhaps i really should let go and let her be. Probably she will know what's the best for herself?

Anyway this post is just for ranting purpose. Hopefully the next time when I read this post, I can say that I have managed to control my anger.

The birth story of Natasha Lee Ya Qi

Date: 23 March 2011

How it began..

It was about 2am in the morning and I still can't seem to fall asleep. Been tossing and turning around in bed and baby seemed to be moving alot inside me. Felt a little crampy but not pain. So just wondering to myself if its time. Suddenly, I felt something weird "down there" and decided to get up and go to the toilet. Just as I stood up, I felt a gush of water flowing out, hence I knew its time.

Not panicking (although I felt abit excited), I went to relieve myself before waking Nic up from his sleep. After that, I took a quick shower and we took the hospital bag and called for a taxi. Nic made me a cup of hot milo while we waited for the taxi to arrive.

Upon arrival of the taxi, we headed to the hospital. Thank God that it was in the middle of the night, hence there was no traffic and the journey was smooth. In the taxi, Nic started sending out SMSes to friends and relatives to inform them that action is about to begin.

We arrived at the hospital at about 2.45am, and headed straight to the delivery suite. There I was brought to the observation ward where the nurse gave me a robe to change into. After changing into the delivery robe, the nurse did an examination on me and found that I was already 2cm dilated. She then proceed to strap me on the monitor to monitor the baby's heart rate as well as the contraction.

The contraction pain was not that bad in the inital stage. I managed to adopt the deep breathing method to ease myself during contractions. I can only describe the pain as that of menstural cramps. At about 8.45am, Doctor Joycelyn Wong came to did an examination on me and told me that I was 4 to 5 cm dilated. As my cervix did not dilate at the rate of 1cm/hr, Dr Wong suggested that I should be put on a drip to quicken the contractions, otherwise I might have a longer labour. As such, I was put on a drip. Shortly after, at about 9+am, I could felt that the pain was getting intense. At this point, I could no longer smile or talk. Nic has been a great support all these while. He tried to comfort me by talking to me and also offered to massage me.

At about 10.30am, the pain was getting unbearable. I started to moan out loud, at the same time, holding on to the bed rail and lying on my side. Shortly after, a nurse came and told us that she will be pushing me to the birthing ward. After I was in the birthing ward, she examined me and said that I was already 9cm dilated. 1cm more to go before I can start pushing. However the pain was really excruciating. No words to describe the pain. All I knew was I was screaming whenever the contraction kicks in. The nurse, saw me in such a pain, offered me to use the gas as a pain relief. Initially I was reluctant as I have heard of side effects, however I decided to just give it a try. Whenever the contraction starts, I just kept breathing heavily through the gas mask. Although I can still feel the exact amount of pain, but the gas made me feel high and I didn't struggle that much.

It came to a point when I suddenly have the urge to push. So Nic called out to the nurse to inform her. At first, the nurse said I wasn't ready as I was only still 9cm, however shortly after, they gave me the "permission" to push. The nurses also place my legs in a wide open position and told me to grab onto my thighs whenever I push. At about 11+am, I started pushing. When the baby's head was crowned, the nurse asked me to not to push so hard. So I did the 'breathe in and pant' method to prevent myself from pushing the baby out before Dr Wong arrives. At the interval of each contractions, I breathed through the gas mask to relax.

Soon after, Dr Wong arrived at the birthing ward. I was then told to push hard. I did a total of 6 pushes (3 contractions) before my baby is born. The time was 11.59am.

Straight after the baby was out, Dr Wong placed her on me. She was wailing and her body felt so warm. At that moment, all the pain that I felt was gone. All I could think of was the baby and I thank God for giving me a healthy and beautiful baby. The nurses then brought Nic and the baby out for a clean up and also to take her measurements. She weighs 2.725kg, with the head measuring 32cm and length being 48cm.

What should be done?

The only question I have in mind now is whether to get back to work after the 4 months of maternity leave, or to take no pay leave from work or if that is not permitted, should I resign? There's so much to consider. I really don't know what should I do. I hate the idea of placing my baby in an infant care centre at the age of 4 months old, but if I don't my only other options will be either to get a nanny or to stop working. There is really no one available to take care of my baby.

What should I do??

I hope God can give me some enlightenment on this soon.

Meanwhile I should just relax and eat more to grow my baby!

My poor baby is still underweight as of the last scan. Next scan will be next Thursday, which I hope by then my baby will have grown much more.

Go Baby Go!!!!

The wonderful journey of pregnancy so far

Happy 2011!!

It has definitely been a great year for myself in 2010, where I experienced the two major events of my life: Marriage and getting pregnant. This year will be an even greater year for both myself and Nic as we will be welcoming the arrival of our little bundle of joy (Princess) into our family. We are definitely looking forward to the coming of that day... although for myself, its definitely a mixture of feelings, scared and happy at the same time.

Anyway, since it has been awhile from my previous post, I have got plenty to write this time, mainly on the journey of my past 28 weeks of pregnancy.

First trimester:

My pregnancy was not a smooth sailing one to begin with. During the first trimester, I experienced several times of spotting and hence was give a month of MC to rest at home. But thankfully, baby and I managed to tide through this difficult period. It was definitely torturous to stay at home and in bed for the whole 1 month, but for the sake of my baby, I am willing to go through anything (i guess that explains the power of a mother's love).

Because of the spotting, I was asked to see the doctor every week during the first trimester. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, as being so, we are able to see our little one every week.

Here's a few scans and a video of our little princess till she is 12 weeks old:

(Baby @ week 5)

(Baby @ 5 and 6 weeks - left to right)

(Baby @ 7 and 8 week - left to right)

(Baby @ week 9 and10 - left to right)

(Video of a scan when baby is 12 weeks old)

Second trimester:

The second trimester went past smoothly. Everything went well and because it happened during the peak period of my work, I didn't really do much during those 12 weeks except working. And because its already the second trimester, we only visited the doctor once a month. We also did a detailed scan when baby was 20 weeks old. Results were positive. During my 24th week visit, doctor noticed that the baby was a little underweight (based on the estimation of the tummy size) and hence she told me to eat more carbo and meat. But nothing worrying since baby is actively moving inside me.

Here's somemore scans and video of our little princess till she is 28 weeks old:

(Baby @ 12 and 16 weeks - left to right)

(Baby @ 24 and 28 weeks - left to right)

Currently, I am in my third trimester. Been feeling her movements inside me alot, especially in the morning and and night. She probably sleeps during the day. Hopefully she won't become a night owl after she is born. :) Feeling her movements is the best part of the pregnancy, as this is when we know and can tell that she is healthy and active. So really thank God for this wonderful gift and for keeping her safe and sound all these while.

The next thing to look forward to will be the labour day itself. Although I have been watching many shows and hearing alot of stories about delivery, but I suppose nothing will be as real as experiencing it myself. And since young, I have always wanted to find out the level of pain the labour provides, therefore I am opting for natural delivery without epidural. I have always thought that I have a high level of threshold for pain, so let's see if its true. But I have been telling myself that as long as the baby is alright (i.e. not jeapordising the safety of the baby), I will strive to endure all the way. Anyway, will leave everything to God and pray for his blessing during the L-day itself.

Oh, forget to mention, we have also thought of a name for our little princess. Her name shall be Aleisha Lee Ya Qi. :))

We love her so much!

2 weeks of good news, 1 week of bedrest... Will it be a GO or a NO?

The good news was discovered when we decided to take a test on 22 July 2010. When the positive result came on, we were still in an unbelieving state of mind. Never would we have expected God to bless us with this baby this soon (considering we just got back from our 1 month Melbourne trip). Nevertheless, this is definitely a great piece of news, a piece of news that got rid of my fear of not being about to get pregnant.

We didnt managed to get an appointment with the doctor till 2nd August 2010. Till then, everyday was a worry for me. Being a worry freak, I worry about every possibility of a bad event happening, which in this case was being worried about the test result being false, worried about the pregnancy being an abnormal one, and etc. Just worry. My mind was only rested after the first doctor's visit.

During the first doctor's visit, we did an ultrasound scan to see for ourselves if we are really having this baby and also to get the EDD (estimated delivery date) for the baby. When our gynae showed us the waterbag and the little blinking light inside the waterbag (which is the heartbeat), we were elated. No words to describe that kind of happiness, but we definitely are looking forward to becoming parents to this baby.

Everything went well for the next few days. I had no morning sickness and no other discomfort except for some mild cramps which the gynae said was normal. However, on the morning of 7 August 2010, I woke up and felt some fluid trickled out from the V. Thinking that it would be just normal discharge, but no, it wasn't. I saw blood, not alot, perhaps I would describe it as a drop of blood. Of course seeing blood is not something normal, especially not red fresh blood. So immediately, I called my gynae and made an appointment to see her. Nic was out for soccer then, so I quickly called him to tell him the situation. At the same time, I was praying very very hard that it would not be anything serious.

Our second visit to the gynae was on 7 August 2010. She did a scan again to make sure that there's nothing wrong. This time, we still saw the heartbeat (thank God!) but when we scanned further to get the rate of the heartbeat and the size of the baby, apparently the results wasn't positive. The rate of a normal baby's heartbeat should range from 150bpm, however mine was only at 100bpm, and the size of the baby wasn't ideal too. At these results, we were all worried. The gynae explained to us the possibility of having a miscarriage but also told us to keep our hopes high as long as there is still a heartbeat. She then gave me a week's MC to stay at home and rest, and also a hormones jab.

Now, its only 2 days left before we get to see her again on 14 August 2010. Hopefully the baby's heart is still beating and the size of the baby can grow to at least 12mm.

I pray that my baby will be strong and healthy. We really want this baby to be a part of our family.

10 months of planning, 6 days more to go...

Its has been a long while since my last update. Been busy lately with the wedding preparation. Been doing alot on my own as I would like to get things moving faster, plus I guess I feel more assured with myself overseeing all the preparation. As of now, things are moving slowly but surely, just hope to finalise the guest list by mid week and to get all the duties delegated and sorted out by next Friday. Next Saturday is the big day, and hopefully everything goes as planned and God can bless us with a wonderful weather!

Anyway, perhaps just to note down what happened during the wedding preparation phase:

1. Bridal shop hunting

Luckily this was done way before. Settled on Volans Couture (don't ask me why), and till date I am still not 100% pleased with my choice of bridal boutique. But as I have always believed, things happened for a reason, and perhaps the reason of my choice of Volans is so that I got a chance to be a model for a day as they have chosen me to model for their gowns. But then, I don't think they are really satisfied with the photos in the end cos I did not personally see them displaying my photos in albums to show their customers. *disappointed* But again, this is a good experience and in return, I got to be dolled up once more and gotten 8 more photos from them for free to add into my own bridal album. So perhaps its not that bad afterall. Plus I still do really like their make up artist, Vivian. Anyway, I guess God will definitely bless me with a good choice (even if I cannot see it now.)

2. Videographer

We ended up using Sean & Shyan Videography. Well, the main reason we chose them was because they are within our budget (unlike those professional ones, they really cost a bomb), and they are really quite experienced. These 2 videographers are still uni students, studying filming I suppose. But they have got good creativity and they are really nice people to work with. Just today we had our pre-wedding video shooting. It was quite fun and I guess Nic and I both enjoyed the whole process. And thanks to Sean and Shyan, we managed to get some ideas and constructive feedbacks from them, and hence I believe this video clip should turn out great. So now just waiting to see the final product!

3. Photographer

We are using Teng Ngan, the same photographer who did for Kor and Jie's wedding back in 2005. And of course, we got a 'friendship' quote from him. Plus he was quite good back then, so I suppose he should be better by now. ;p

4. Hotel for Wedding Banquet

We chose Meritus Mandarin to hold our wedding banquet. One of the main reason is because we know the director of catering in the hotel. And that being so, obviously we got a good deal out of it (not disclosing it now). We went for the food tasting, though we ended up making quite a number of comments, but overall the food still taste good. We will be swopping some dishes, and the food tasting will be held on the coming Monday. So hopefully everyone will be satisfied with the dishes and we can have a great dinner!

5. Wedding bands

We have 'custom-made' our ring from this factory called Poh Kim. And apart from the wedding bands, I gained an Eternity ring (with 0.02 carat diamonds) and a Solitiare (0.65 carat, F colour, VS2). *very happy* :D

6. Brothers and Sisters

We managed to gather 5 brothers and 5 sisters for the wedding.

Brother gang: Gerald Low, Gerald Ying, Jelvin Soh, Yap TX and Peter Zhong
Sister gang: Janice Chan, Linda Tan, Elaine Chua, Sonia Yang and Fiona Qiu

And fyi, I believe this is the only wedding where all the brothers and all the sisters are so good looking! *wooohoooo*

Anyway, they have been cooperative so far. Apart from the fact that its rather hard to gather everyone together for meetings, but each brother and sister have really been very helpful and supportive towards us. So really appreciate their help.

So having said the above, I believe though we have not really put in 100% effort from the beginning, but I do think (and believe) that God has blessed us with wonderful people and wonderful decisions.

Now we just pray that everything will turn out perfect and we can live happily ever after! ;p

Something inspirational~~ Life is like a Busstop?!

Suddenly thought of this when I took a bus home earlier:

Life is like a busstop

Don't you find this saying so familiar? But do you actually ponder what this phrase means? Taking it literally, a busstop is where people wait for the bus that they plan to take to embark on a journey to a destination which they aimed to go. So how can we apply this phrase in our daily life?

Simple..

Look at it this way... The destination of our aim could be our career life, our relationship or anything that we planned to do. And what usually happens at a busstop? Well buses come and go, and we jolly well know in mind what kind (or rather number) of bus we want to take (just like our ideal job/partner). So when one crowded, old and non-airconditioned comes along we would often decide to wait for a 'better' one and thus waited. We always have the thought that the next bus will always be 'better', just like the other saying goes "the pasture will always be greener the other side".. but how certain are we to say that? Can we 'predict' what lies ahead of us? Can we be certain that the ideal one will definitely come into our life? Be it the ideal job or the ideal man... We must stop complaining and be contented with what we already have. Say for example, a worker will always complain that working at a particular company is tough and unbearable, thus decide to quit and seek another job. Another example will be a husband/wife complaining that their other half is not good enough, always comparing him/her with someone else's partner or some character in a movie, worse still, living in the past of their own life and compare their current partner with their previous one. Ironic isn't it? In the first place if the previous one was so good, why bother to change? But that's human.. that's how we will always think. In a way its good as it helps us to improve ourself by wanting to become better.. but at the same time, being so unappreciative/discontented in life will often cause us to bring hurt to others.

Back to the busstop.. So when a 'lousy' bus comes along, we thought we would definitely get a better if we wait for the next bus.. and the next bus.. and the next bus... and by the time the better one doesn't come, we are too pressed for time that we just have to board anyone that comes along.. even if its an even lousier one... Come to think of it, don't you think that this scenario is also applicable to relationship/career? Example, say we decided to leave our current partner in search for a better one (or to be with another one which we think is better), and when the better one doesn't come along, getting older and older.. and when time is running out, when we are pressured by people around us to settle down, we just got to settle with any one that comes along the way even if they are worse off than the one we left. Same goes for career. We leave the current job thinking that we can find a better one but not knowing there will never be a better one as we are always greedy and not satisfied. So when such things happen, we tend to regret... yes, the word is REGRET!. We often look back to think that why didn't we this why didn't we that.. but have you ever thought of it in the first place, why can't you just be more appreciative and contented with what you have? If you have made the decision to stick to what you already have and bend yourself to make sure that things go the smooth way, then you could also be satisfied and be happy.

Life is always about decision making. We can choose to decide what we want to be, who we want to be. We can choose to love, we can choose to bring hurt... what do you choose then?

Remember, life is never smooth sailing.. its through set backs that make us stronger.. its through the decisions we made that make us what we are. A marriage can be a happy one if we decide to make it one.. A job can be fulfilling and satisfying if we decide to appreciate and see meaning in what we are doing.

So the morale of the story:

"Make the right decision, be appreciative and thankful to what we have, and be contented..."
"The pasture is NOT always greener at the other side"
"The sky is NOT always brighter at the other part of the world"
"Life is full of uncertainties... so why not choose to be certain about it with what we are already certain of?"
"Sustaining a marriage is about decision making, not about feelings"
"Enjoying a piece of work is about understanding and knowing the meaning to it"
"If there is a will, there will always be a way"


In my case, I have made my decision and I am happy with it! :)

-End-

its been a long time.....

Quite sometime since my last post back in July... well, these 2 months flew by quickly...

So where shall I start... ok let's talk abit about work then... since that's probably where the bulk of my time is spent on.. hmmm... let's begin: well, I am still working in EY.. but just transferred to another department beginning of this month... to be honest, deep down I am regretting alittle cause life in the new department is a little tougher than what I imagined.. not that the people are not good, in fact people are very nice there. its just that the work is really new to me.. previously I have not taken any local tax law studies before... so everything is fresh from the start... need to do a lot of self learning.. and seeing that everyone else are so willing to sacrifice their personal time for work makes me very guilty for not being able (or rather not wanting) to do so... to me, work is work.. I definitely need to balance my life with work, gym, dramas and relaxing at home with my love ones. so really looking forward to every weekend.. but guess I will have to see how it goes.. perhaps I really do have to give up some freedom to climb far... that's reality... *tata*

Alright, next... Wedding... its really getting closer now... as of now, we are only left with 4 months to prepare... I would say most of the preparation are still undone though.. looks like we got to fasten up our pace... the things that are still pending are:

- wedding invitation cards (church and banquet)
- flowers for church
- my bridesmaids' dresses
- invitation list (now that I might have to invite people from my new department)
- wedding cakes
- misc. issues...

So hopefully we can be on time... guess more or less we know where to get the stuff... just need to contact those people... we are also done with our photography and bridal album... the photos are really nice.. so satisfied... and good thing, I don't look fat in the photos... *phew*.. really thank God!.. our rings are also ready.. we tailor-made them from this factory that makes jewelleries for those retail jewellery shops... and got a good deal too.. so whoever wants the contact, can get it from me..

Well.. guess that's about all to blog at the moment. need to catch an episode of my korean drama and then off to bed.. need to wake up at 5am tomorrow for gym before work... tired.. tired.. tired.. but good thing that this weekend is a looong weekend... :)

Ciaoz....

Its really difficult to churn out the invitation list...

Got to take into considerations of the feelings of those people who will be seated together; will they feel comfortable with their fellow guests on the table, etc. Or is it me that is worrying too much?

Anyway, since there's still much time left, guess I can do this slowly... *headache*

Going to source for some wedding bands later....

And once again, pray that it will not be a rainy day on Monday....

Sneak preview: Wedding Gowns....

Alright, after a long while... finally I am done with choosing my gowns... Will be going for my photoshoot session next monday... pray hard that it will not be a rainy day... anyway, enough of words, have a preview of my gowns! :)

(Front view - Outdoor White Gown)

(Back View - Outdoor White Gown)

(Actual day White Gown)

(Actual day Evening Gown)

The one I love best is still the blue evening gown... will post up the 'real' photos after the photoshoot!

Finally, we have decided on the bridal shop to use: Volans Couture.

So far, the reviews of Volans on Styleweddings have been good, and plus when we were there, the service provided was good and we are all satisfied with the gowns and photos. So hopefully *keeping our fingers crossed* that everything will turn out superb! :)

Now that we have settled one issue, and more or less done with the church and hotel banquet, the next issue to settle is our guest list, my gown and our weight! lol... time to lose weight.... for my once in a lifetime BIG day, I am going to put in 102%... :)

Alright, update again in time to come.

A leap to the next phase of life...

Its finally decided that 30th Jan 2010 will be the day for us to enter into the next phase of our life - marriage!

The topic seems so far, but yet so near. Can't believe that it is finally happening (as though I have been waiting for a long time).. anyway, for the past weekend, we have finally embarked on the preparation of the wedding.

Saturday was a tiring day for Nic cos he has got to 'accompany' me and his parents to survey some bridal shops. We went to a few of the shops along Tanjong Pagar road, but none of them were perfect (i.e. nice gowns + nice photography + reasonable price)... however we manged to shortlist a couple out of the few that we enquired: Digio & My Dream Wedding. Will have to continue to survey more bridal shops until we find the perfect one. The dateline for us to sign up the bridal package will be end of March cos after that we will have to start doing preparations for other stuff. And most importantly, I got to continue losing some weight before the wedding.. :)

As for today, Nic finally sat down for a formal dinner with my parents to ask for my hand in marriage.. hehe.. so now, everything is sort of confirmed. If nothing else goes wrong, we will be holding our wedding on 30th Jan 2010, OLPS Church for day and Meritus Mandarin ballroom for night!

Need to also RSVP my close friends to be my sister gang.. :)

And btw, work at EY has been good so far. Made a few friends at work. Am really happy to have found this job. May God continue to bless and guide me in my daily life! Amen~~

A start to my career path

Finally got a decent job! ;)

Started work at EY yesterday... mixture of feelings.... scared, anxious but yet happy to work in EY.

Anyway first day of work was quite bored... Didn't have much to do as everyone else was busy. So ended up reading notes and some tax guide for the day. At the end of the day, I was so mentally drained! lol... but today was alittle better. Went for a few hours of training with a senior and was briefly taught how to fill in the respective forms in order to calculate the taxable income. It was really confusing... so now I am a little worried I might not be able to perform as expected.

Nevertheless, will still try to do my best! ;) Never give up!! Never say die!!! hehe...

It has been a long while since my last post... Not that I am lazy, but just nothing significant to take note of. Today I am just too bored at work, so decided to just drop by and write a few stuff... Currently temping at Luxury Tours again. Suppose to be back for some project work.. but seems more like being a office-girl... Hate to say, but the past one week here has been quite a waste of time..

Anyway, went for an interview at EY last wed. Followed up with a phone call last friday and was told that I have been selected for the position. Was told that HR will call be by Mon, but now its already Tue and no call still... getting a little worried that something 'bad' might have happened and I may have lost the job without even starting it. :( *praying very very very hard to get the call soon*... Late is better than no call...

During the last weekend, we (Nic's family and myself) have been discussing about some serious issue... "Wedding" and "Renovation for Nic's house"... As we will be shifting in to stay with Nic's family after we are married, the parents are thinking of extending the house to make it more spacious for everyone.. especially there will be more than 10 people staying in there... so the plan is either to renovate the house first then hold the wedding, or to hold the wedding first then wait till economy is better then do up the house. We are seeing at the latter option, so started looking around for bridal places and hotels... Our choice of the big day is on my 25th birthday... but when we called up the hotel, it was already booked, so got to change to another date... tentatively will be in Jan 2010... anyway, still got lots of aspect to settle... so shall confirm the exact date later...

Sigh... now just want to get the call from EY.... *bless me*

Back in Singapore

Just arrived in Singapore... getting really hot and sweaty... :(

For the past few weeks in Melbourne, we have been spending most of our time fishing and catching up with mates...

New Year 2009

We welcomed 2009 in Lakes Entrance... spent a whole week there... had 3 days of good fishing, and the rest of the week, the weather had been bad hence no fishes caught. We spent those days playing scopa (Italian card game), and even gave Lazza a nickname, Cacca (which means shit in Italian), cause he was shit in Scopa even though he was meant to be our 'master'. We had lots of fun learning some italian words, and some italian culture.

Packing the House

After the week's break, we got back to Melbourne and started getting ready to return back to Singapore. We packed our stuff in boxes and luggage, shipped some back and the rest came with us on the plane. We spent approximately 2 days cleaning the house and officially bid farewell to the apartment on the 16th January. It was sad to leave the place, afterall it has been our home for 2 years...

Moving into Lazza's place (Parkdale)

After moving out of our apartment, we moved into Lazza's place and stayed there for a week. The week flew by so quickly as we spent most of our days going to the beach, shopping, drinking, eating and playing scopa.

Our flight back (SQ218 Depart 1.05am 23 January 2009)

Last night, Amar, Lazza and Andre took time off to send us to the airport. It was really nice of them and I am really very glad that Nic has got such a good bunch of soccer mates... and we managed to get so close to the extend that Lazza actually sobbed when we were entering the gates of the immigration. When Nic saw him crying, his tears too flowed uncontrollably. It was really a touching scene, and I was quite surprised as I didn't expect Lazza to be such an emotional person..

Alright, time to take a rest... the flight back was not a comfortable one as we travelled on the old SQ plane instead of the new 300ER plane.

First Christmas away from home

Merry Christmas!!

This is the first time in my life that I am spending Christmas away from home... not that great to be exact.. though Christmas back home isn't that fun too, but I must say its still more enjoyable to spend this day with family members... but now, its only Nic and I... but we will be having a Christmas BBQ at Amar's place again... having seafood and some steak... awww... feel so full.. have been eating for the past two days... and hopefully all the massive eating won't cause any weight gain for me..

Anyway, we will be heading to Lakes this coming Sunday, and might spend a period of 1 week there. No concrete plans as to what we will be doing there, but I suppose its just fishing all day long... so pray for some good catches... ;)

Its less than a month before we head back to Singapore. Still in the midst of selling away our stuff.. we have just managed to sell off our fridge last Sunday, so now the items left are just the bed, the sofa bed and washing machine... and also the car.. so hopefully we can sell them away shortly after we get back from Lakes.... looking forward to go back too...

As for today, we did a bit of shopping at Chadstone and had dinner at Amar's place. Now we are back at home, going to bed soon. Gotta wake up for Christmas mass tomorrow morning...

BBQ at Amar's

Just got back from Amar's place and had a nice hot shower. It is a cold summer night. We had BBQ dinner over at Amar's place, to try out his new BBQ. Nic had prepared lamb and beef for the dinner. They taste great and everyone at the table was praising his dishes. :) He did put in quite a bit effort in marinating those meat I must say... for the lambs, he used a lamb leg, red wine, italian herbs and garlic, and marinated them for 2 days; as for the beef, he used rump steak and T-bone steak, garlic, HB sauce, oyster sauce and Johnny Walker to marinate the meat.

Anyway it was a nice dinner, and its also sort of a dinner to send Reuben off for his trip back to Columbia, and it might also be the last few times we will be meeting him since he will only be back to Melbourne on the 27th Jan, and by then we would be back in Singapore.

Its really sad to have to bid farewell to these people. They are really nice and sincere people, and they treated us really well too... They have been encouraging Nic and I to look for a job here so that we can stay on, and they are rather sad that we have got to go back. But well... Nothing much we can do especially since we have yet to get a job here. Hopefully they will come and visit us in Singapore, or that we might be able to get a PR here after applying it from Singapore. Anyway, I am not going to fret over it as I believe that whatever God has arranged for us, will be the best path.

Nic is drunk tonight, so he has gone to bed. I am going to watch one more episode of the HKG drama online before going to bed!

Just a quick one...

Thought of dropping a few lines while waiting for the drama to load.

I have received my results last Thursday, and did pretty well for the two papers. Better than what I expected. Well at least I have managed to complete my Bachelor studies with a HD/D average, and did not let my parents or Nic's parents down. :)

Its almost mid-December now, and we are only left with less than 2 months in Melbourne. Thinking of this brings about a mixture of feelings.. Happy and yet worried. Happy that I can get to see my parents, sister and Rico soon, worried about the outlook of my future. Wondering if it will be easy for me to get a job in Singapore. At the same time, I do feel a little upset at the thought having to say goodbye to my friends here. Hopefully in future, there will still be a chance for us to come back here, or for them to visit us in Singapore. It will really be a pity to lose contact with all the friends here.

Anyway, we shall see how it goes. We might probably come back next year to attend Tim & Michelle's wedding. Hopefully Nic will be willing to come back. Arghhhhh..... I am goonnnnaaa miss Melbourne!!! Melbourne is really the best place to live! Nice people, nice environment. I have never regretted choosing Melbourne as a place to study, and I am really glad that Nic made the decision to come here instead of going to Perth. :) Oh well.... no matter how good things are, there will still be a time to say goodbye....

We have also started to sell all our stuff now... furnitures, fridge, washing machine, car, etc... hopefully we can managed to sell them off before we go back. We haven't really started our packing yet, but will probably do so soon... its so frustrating to see the house in a mess...

Sigh.... but nevertheless, I am still looking forward to spend CNY back home... lots of goodies to eat! ;p

Lakes Entrance Trip Nov 2008

Nic and I spent the past weekend at Lakes Entrance, with Lazz and Deanne. It was a great get-away from the 'busy' city life in Melbourne. We spent the weekend fishing and eating. :)

Day 1 (Sat - 29 Nov 2008):

We departed Melbourne at 7.30pm, and drove 3 hours to Lakes Entrance (the first long-distance drive in our Skyline)... We arrived at Lakes at about 10.40pm. Our initial plan for the night was to have BBQ, but when we reached there, the BBQ that Lazz has over at the Lakes was ruin by the the mud-slide which was probably due to the heavy rain some days ago. So we just prepared something simple as our dinner (or rather supper)...

(The holiday house!)

(feasting on our food after a long drive.. yummy!)

Day 2 (Sun - 30 Nov 2008):

We attended Mass at 9am. After which we went over to Lazz's aunt's place to drop off some stuff. In the noon, we went for a fishing trip at the Tambo River. Prior to the fishing trip, Nic & I had a quick 'course' with Lazz on how to prepare the rod and tie the hook to the fishing line. Apparently the weather was too windy to fish in the ocean, thus we got to settle ourselves at Tambo River which is the next best alternative to the ocean. We casted out fishing line and waited for quite some time. We almost wanted to give up and go to another spot when the other people who were fishing near us came to share with us their fishing achievements. They managed to catch a few big breams and a carp, which they had to discard it at the side as it is a pest fish and is illegal to keep the carp. Upon seeing their catch, we decided to stay on. After a while, we got our first bite - a small bream. :)
We caught a total of 3 breams for the day.

(learning to fix up the rod)

(attempting to tie the hook.. be careful not to hook your finger Nic!)

(my very first catch!)

(our catch for the day!)

After fishing, we returned back to the house and pick up the stuff for crabbing. We went to the pier and tried crabbing for an hour, but no catch. Seeing that the sky is turning dark, we decided to head back to prepare for the BBQ.

For dinner, we had pasta prepared by Deanne, BBQ sausages, beef, chicken and the fishes that we caught, and a bottle of red wine.

(setting up the Weber for BBQ)

(our sumptuous dinner for the night!)

After dinner, everyone else rested on the sofa and doze off, while I had an icy shower (cos the hot water has been used up), and watched the Bee Movie before going to sleep.

Day 3 (Mon - 1 Dec 2008):

The initial plan was to head back to Melbourne in the evening, but in the end we postponed our return to the next day instead.

As we still have some leftovers from the previous night's BBQ, we invited Lazz's aunt and uncle for lunch. After lunch, we decided to go for more fishing. This time round, we managed to catch 11 Breams and 5 eels. As no one knew how to prepare eels, we gave some to Lazz's uncle and released the rest. We spent a total of 5 hours fishing.

(team at work - cleaning the fishes)

We had pizza for dinner. That night, we planned to watch the horror movie - Dead Silence together, but end up I was the only one who was awake to finish the movie. Was a bit disturbed by some of the scenes, hence decided to play another movie to get those scary images away from my mind before going to bed.

Day 4 (Tue - 2 Dec 2008):

We woke up at about 5.30am and did our packing and cleaning, and left the house at 7am. Drove for another 3 hours before arriving at Melbourne. Lazz and Deanne got to head for work, while Nic and I came home to rest.

We might be going up again to spend the new year, hopefully by then the weather will be good and we can fish more and get some tan.. :)

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Last night, we went over to Lazz's place to feast on the fishes that we caught on Monday. Deanne prepared some using her style, and we prepared one fish using the sambal paste that was given to us by Tania.

Yummy...

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Few more hours before results are released. So anxious... pray that I can get satisfied results... :S

A wasted day..

Went drinking last night after the poker session, mainly to have a chat with Keith and see if there's anything we can do to 'save' his marriage with Karmna. Apparently, they are now facing a possibility of divorce, which is due to problems such as Karmna restricting Keith's drinking and poker sessions. From my point of view, I can understand what they are going through now. I truly believe that for 2 person to be together, they must learn to compromise and respect each other, and of course, Love. I believe that what is lack in their marriage is the level of compromise. I must say that I am in no position to give any advise or influence any of their decisions, but if what we as friends said can help to salvage their marriage, and so that they don't simply give up the relationship just because of some personal nonacceptance, I suppose that will be the ideal. Its simply not easy to maintain a relationship, let alone a marriage. But since the promise to love and care till death is given, this promise shall be kept as far as possible. Marrying someone is definitely not a child's play. It is a form of responsibility for both parties, therefore it is not permissible to just divorce because of matters which are within control.

Obviously, I do not agree that in a relationship, one party should try and change the living habits of the other so long whatever he/she does will not bring harm to the relationship. I have came across couples breaking up due to issues such as smoking, drinking, etc.. What I feel is that as long as those things doesn't 'harm' the relationship, why make it a big deal?? Is it worth to lose the person you love or you have promised to love just because of such immaterial issues?? I believe the restriction is imposed out of concern, but to end up quarreling is definitely not worthwhile. So this is where compromising plays a part. If each party in the relationship is able to let go and don't be so persistent on things like that, I am sure everything can be worked out.

Anyway that's my personal views, and that is what I have always been doing in my own relationship with Nic. I must say that both Nic and I are very different in many ways, and also very stubborn. But one party must definitely give in and not be so obstinate, so if the situation is such that Nic cannot give in, I will give in. If the situation is that I cannot give in, Nic will give in. I must say that somehow this year has been pretty good so far. We haven't had major quarrels as often, and we are somewhat more loving. And of course, I am happy for what I have.

In a nutshell, being together requires alot of effort by both parties. The relationship will never work out if only one party is giving in while the other is not.

Ok... Back to today.. The reason why it is a wasted day is because I was so pissed last night. Had too much to drink.. and I had such a bad hangover that I puked the whole morning and spent the whole day lying down... Today is suppose to be my gym day, but since I am so drunk, I can only go to the gym tomorrow... :( So in the end, I made a vow not to drink anymore!!! Nic said that I will never be able to achieve that.. But I am so going to do it.. Hate getting drunk.. its no fun!!!

One more week before exam results are released.. Pray hard that I can do really well... though I am quite certain that I will do pretty badly this semester... sigh!!! Regrets... Regrets.... Should have studied harder.....