The Garden

I grew up in a corner house, where there was a lawn spacious enough for us to play badminton. My parents grew bougainvilleas and other flowers, flooding the lawn with vivid colorful blooms which the envy of the neighbours.

Then the three of us came to Singapore to study, and settled down with our careers. My elder sister married a Singaporean, and virtually gave up her Malaysian citizenship. I worked in a high-tech industry where there were limited openings in Malaysia.

It came sooner than expected.

My parents started to talk about living with us in Singapore. We were glad that they were willing to leave their home for so many years to join us, yet sad that our home would need to be sold.

There was no way my parents could have held onto the houses (the corner house, and another spacious, airy double-storey house in the same estate) when they were in Singapore. They decided to sell.

So two large properties were sold, and the amount of money could barely buy a 4-room flat in Singapore. And to purchase a landed property here, well, you'll need a gazillion dollars.

Sigh.

I miss walking out to the lawn to enjoy the flowers.

One Week of Laziness

Today marks the start of the one week Christmas shutdown my company effects every year.

One week during which I could sleep until awaken naturally, not by the annoying tinny beeps by the hand phone.

So what are my plans? I don't plan to join the exodus out of the country. Furthermore it's crazy to travel in this period, what with the screaming kids/brats on school holiday and absurd peak period surcharges.

The year I went to Taiwan, I paid a large sum of money to spend 60% of the journey riding the bus, 30% being dragged through local shopping outlets so that the tour guide could get fat on commissions.

So I'm going to while away the week, reading and drinking tea when it rains, binging on DVDs and visit the Louvre exhibits on loan in the National Museum of Singapore.

Sounds good, no?

Hugh Grant Sings!

I first heard of "Way Back Into Love" in a karaoke session with my karaoke-mad colleagues.

"Eh, that sound like Fish Leong & Ping Guan," someone remarked when we were busily keying our prefered songs into the system.

Yup, it sure was. And it was a jaunty, sweet song too.

Although we did think that the title was a bit weird.

A Google search turned up interesting information, such as "Hugh Grant"!

Wow, didn't know he could sing.

My eyes are getting misty, damn.

Enjoy the original version of "Way Back Into Love" by Hugh Grant & Haley Bennet.

Moonlight In The City

I've always liked Mavis Hee's Moonlight In The City.

Her ethereal voice really conveyed the regret and longing of lost lovers.

But it never really blew me away till last night, when I came across this music video.

Any song/video that can make me cry deserves a space here.
Kudos to Kinetic-core for sharing this mind-blowing work.

Enjoy.

I Apologise (2 Years Too Late)

When I was under the employment of a US MNC (one of the biggest one in the world), I got to know a host of interesting people, my seniors from Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia who were ever willing to teach me the tools of the trade.

One of the people sharing the same office was a Field Service Engineer who was from another department. Let me call him C.

C was a quiet guy, and kind of shy. Yet he would be happy to chat whenever I walked past his cubicle.

He also dressed in a funny manner, wearing shirts instead of polo t-shirts that other engineers were wont to wear. His shirt would have charming floral patterns at the edge, sort of like those you'd see local big shots wear to community functions.

The draughtsman remarked one day, "This C always dresses like a Datuk's son."

I nudged him, "Don't say that C dresses like an uncle leh, that's very unkind of you."

Draughtsman blinked at ne and laughed, "C is really a Datuk's son."

"No!"

"He is. His car has this crest, that's why he always covers it with the tarp."

Oops! So it was actually me saying C dressed like an uncle.

For those unfamiliar with this term, the "Datuk" or "Dato" is an honorary title given by the Malaysian state or federal leaders to outstanding citizens. Hong Kong drama serials are particularly fond of depicting Malaysian Datuks as arrogantly rich men being chaufered around in Rolls-Royce.

I'd like to apologise to C (even though it's unlikely he'll ever read this, or even if he does, he wouldn't know he IS C), for knowingly or unknowingly making fun of him. And not responding to his invitations for dinner.

For not having the patience to get to know him better.

Sorry.

Birthday

My birthday arrived and left without much fanfare this year.

Which is exactly the way I like it.

Coincidentally, the company's, or rather business group's, Dinner & Dance was being held on the same day. Drat.

I sweated buckets for days at the thought of my colleagues announcing it to the world and ensuring that I get dragged up to stage for an impromptu monkey-jig.

As Someone Higher Up would have it, I managed to landmyself a stomacache, just in the nick of time, 3 hours before I was scheduled to leave for the hotel.

Yipee... was I lucky or what? Or I could be psychic (as if) as I'd been wishing for something similar to happen.

My colleague, upon receiving my message notifying her of my high chance of absentism, yelled at me, "Stop your nonsense lah."

Oh my.

Instead of a ten-course Chinese dinner in a 5-star hotel, I sat down to dinner with my family. My birthday feast... two hard-boiled eggs stewed in Chinese herbs.

Life is good.

Maslow's Hierarchy - Which Level Am I At Now?

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is one of the many ways I look at myself.

Where am I currently? Where was I ten years ago, and where will I be twenty years later?

Will I be climbing up the pyramid at the speed of a starving nail? Or slipping down the slippery slope as the middle-agers are wont to do in the fiercely competitive Red Dot, faster than the grease-slicked water luge?

I hope to be able to say that I am at level 4 now (green), but I've got only one foot in, and another foot hovering in the air.

I've skipped level 3 altogether? WTH?!

My Knees Are The Pits

I'm getting old, I'll admit.

I was in Korea in late June for a few days due to urgent business escalations from the local folks. We were up to our armpits in boxes and pallets of cargo, checking through to see if any of our products were salvageable for customer shipment.

Pull container into warehouse (figuratively);
Pull out pallets;
Open boxes;
Take a sniff and do a quick check;

I was squatting up and getting up multiple times the first day we touched down. And stayed on until 2am the next morning. When I walked into the hotel, I was already walking stiff-legged, trying not to limp. My colleagues were ready to support me to my room.

A long soak in the hot bath didn't help. So I spent the remaining of my stay in Korean in a stiff-legged mode.

No siree, no squatting for Sylvie.

The one hour of torture where I sat through the traditional Korean meal (we were all sitting on the floor) nearly killed me.

That was almost as bad as the condom wrapper I found in the Korean guy's car when he picked us up at the hotel.

But that was another story altogether.

:P