HAPPY NEWWWWwwwww YEARrrrrrrrr!

恭喜发财，身体健康，万事如意！

(Gong Xi Fa Cai, Good Health, May All Things go Your Way!)

To all dear lovely friends, the New Year 2008 is soon coming to a close, let's us welcome Year 2009 with open hearts and hope that everything would be smooth sailing, everyone's health is at its' best and so on!

Guess what I have been up to recently? Something unglamourous, shocking and truly strange...

Hubby and I have been going "crazy" prawning, in case you don't know, it is prawn catching. We have been at reservoirs' legal fishing spots to catch prawns and baby crayfishs / lobsters, we have managed to get a good catch of about 20 crayfishs / lobsters so far. This is shocking becos we have never been into fishing, I am still twitching and don't even dare to touch my own catch! But, somehow, it's just so fun that we are hooked on it crazely at the moment. We have even got a guy friend of ours into this new found hobby. His aquarium is full of the baby crayfishs peeping from into the wood pieces he had provided for them to hide in. Hubby and I have got 3 little fish tanks to keep ours in.

We have got 2 red ones and 2 blue ones (with a red streak on each claws) living in one of our bigger tank, while the rest of the babies are residing in the other 2 tanks. I will post of photos of them in here soon.

Just the last trip, we ventured down to Kranji Reservoir at around 5:30pm and found that on the other side where the nature reserve is, people are digging for la la (clams) in the low tide mud. I persuaded hubby and our friend to go take a look at what the crowds were doing, found them having bucketfulls of la la. But if you are as scare of earthworms (big fat red ones) as me, complete with yucky sinking dirty mud, then forget it. By the time we were through, our feet were just so dirty and covered in mud, I felt all squisy seeing big fat red earthworms everywhere on the mud!

The walk was still great, I found many marine lifes along the mud which is nearer to the water edge, seems like corals which actually opens up into a flower... Then, there were a lot of horse shoes (a kind of crab) around.

If you like such stuff, bring your family or friends down. Be sure to check up on the low tide timing and be extra cautious not to venture out too far.

It's Christmas Eve, following by Christmas Day...

How's everyone of you?

It's Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the next,

have you bought all the necessary gifts?

I have been busy preparing for my colleagues, friends and most importantly, my three little sons. Finally, it's time for me to take a short break.

I wish all of you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,

Eileen

Nothing in life is perfect, I am trying to be strong each day...

A lady walks into Tiffany's. She browses around, spots a beautiful diamond bracelet and walks over to inspect it. As she bends over to inspect the bracelet more closely, she inadvertently breaks wind.

Very embarresed, she looks around nervously to see if anyone has noticed her little accident and prays that a sales person doesn't pop up right now.

As she turns around, her worst nightmare materializes in the form of a salesman standing right behind her.

Cool as a cucumber and displaying complete professionalism, the salesman greets the lady with,

'Good day, Madam. How may we help you today?'

Very uncomfortably, but hoping that the salesman may just not have been there at the time of her little 'accident', she asks,

'Sir, what is the price of this lovely bracelet?'

He answers,

'Madam, if you farted just looking at it, you're going to shit yourself when I tell you the price.'

How many times have I been sad, as in real sad, this year 2008? I know that nothing's perfect in life, it's the salt and pepper occassionally that will make you appreciate your life better. I have a family, my husband and 3 lovely kids, including a house, a maid and a car... There is my career that I can't complain much about in this gloomy economy, friends both good and bad to balance out each other...

Okay, it's Christmas Eve tomorrow and I'm feeling really down. Something happened, and I am very very upset right now, I need to find someone to talk to, but I can't seem to find that someone. How many colors can you see around you? I can only see a shade of grey. 我的世界是灰色的，一片黑暗的。

My life has dropped to a the deepest of the deep, just the other day, someone was still sending me something about whether it's possible to cry when you are underwater. Yes, I am certain it's possible.

Bringing You WINTER from Sundsvall

Snowy white winter, so very magical and mysterious, I am going to save up very hard to spend at least a week of winter in a snowy white country! My boss sent me some photos of his hometown Sundsvall in Switzerland, now it's winter and snow is everywhere, this will be so till March 2009.


Look at the all the white snows covering the trees, it's freezing cold and animals such as the porcupines, the bears, the snakes, all are hiding up somewhere sleeping.

Look at the moon! White as the snow, hanging up high in the sky, shining down. It's so so magical.

During winter time, the daylight is short, darkness approaches so quickly that it sort of turns people lazy and depress. Sort of makes you felt like going to sleep early and no mood to do any other stuff such as shopping and taking a walk in the dark out on the snow...

All the snow needs to be clear away, especially when your car is cover fully in snow, one needs to ensure it's not going to freeze your engine. Walkway needs to be clear too, so that one could travel around.

Alright, it might not be much fun for people whom lives in such countries where months of the year are spent getting all freeze up and not able to travel much with all the snow. But I still love it! Just like how my boss love our sunny island and getting all sun tan to get his skin damage! haha!

He hates the part of ensuring the house is equipped with well working heat insulation and heating system during winter, wearing thick clothes and having problems with laundry (the part in getting them dry), being stuck at home most of the time when everywhere is covered thickly in snow, day turns to night so fast that it makes him depress... haha! That's the different pespective of views when each side of the penny thought that the other side is always better.

It's December once again! The lovely month of the year which is just great for a escape from our daily slogging at work. Are you thinking of escaping to a quiet relaxing place which allows you to leave all the stress which you have been carrying for the past one year?

I am thinking of doing just this, a voice inside me is telling me to escape, break loose from the daily timetable of reporting at work lifestyle. I'm dreaming of a lovely sandy beach complete with gentle blue sea for me to take a dip in. Just like a hermit crab, relaxing in it's own world.

Green palmy trees surrounding me as I relax, birds chipping away and the bright sunlight shining down on me. So Zen and Calmy on the soul.

FRIDAY!!!

Yes! It's good old friday, my favourite day of the week, and Monday's Hari Raya Haji which means that it's going to be 3 days of rest away from the office.

I finally got the confirmation this week, that I'm confirmed entry to the course which I have applied for. The lessons are going to be twice a week and in all, it would be for 20 months. The company's sponsoring me for the course, I'm going to be bond for 6 months, that means I would have to work for the company for 26 months, I hope nothing bad happens during this period to make my life unbearable. Really grateful to my business unit bosses' support, they have been encouraging me to go for it. Hope I don't fail the exams and disappoint anyone. It's going to be tough since my brain cells seem to be deteriorating rather badly nowadays. Haha!! Alrite, perhaps it's my 3 sons whom have been taking all the calciums and brain cells from me over the past few years?

It's highly likely and logical...

Oh, I'm feeling so sleepy, been yawning away since after my lunch hour... the sleeping bugs are going round, Lay Peng is feeling sleepy too. Perhaps it's cause the office is just too quiet? Most of the guys are travelling except for Pow and Janetud, so it's only 4 of us at our business unit section.

Later after work, I still got to attend the 1st teambuilding session at the institute, following by another session tomorrow morning... Agrrrhhhh, already feeling lazy just imagining myself taking the mrt downtown again to the institute on a weekend morning. It feels so much like going to work.

Counting down to Christmas 2008!

Christmas 2008 is approaching.....

Hubby and I were at IMM's Giant supermart over the weekends and we came across Christmas Trees that weren't too costly... We bought one at the height of 70 inches at $12.99. Plus a box of blue and silver decors going at $26.90 and musical flicking lights at $23.50. We were thinking of giving our 3 little boys something to remind them of their childhood christmas, since hubby and I did not have any christmas tree in our homes before.

The kids were excited when we got home, it took quite a while for me to get the tree standing up, pulling at the branches and trying to make them look bushy... (I'm already dreading the job of keeping it after christmas and was telling hubby perhaps we can keep it till Chinese New Year to hang red packets!). The 3 kids were gathering round and trying to help, I told them they could help hang up the decors after mummy's finished struggling to pull out the branches in making them look like a tree.

I choosed to place the tree in the living room, but Christopher asked me why we can't place it in our other living room which is just outside our bedrooms... kids will be kids, always having funny ideals, I had to tell him that it wouldn't be the centre of attraction if it's kept in the living room away from the main door.

Finally, I'm done trying to make the tree look bushy, it's time to put up the decors. The 3 boys were all excited and started to hang up the stars, balls and everything else. The result, the tree ends up looking like a grape tree, with 3 to 4 balls hanging together at the tip of one branch. Hubby and I had to laugh, the kids were all happy and proud while mummy started to tell them that some parts of the tree looks bare and they have to adjust the "grapes" to look more spread out and even... haha!!

Finally, all decors and the lights were up! We switched on the power and WOW! Everone loves it, the kids were very happy and they asked me where's the presents to put under the tree... Luckily Hubby and I purchased advance Christmas gifts for the 3 of them, and they were allowed to place them under the tree : )

A little about my Company's 2008 Dinner

My colleagues, my joy, this is one family I have been with for one year three months. Alrite, there's Bjorn, Lay Peng, Pow, Benny, Ang, Nelson, Murugan and Janetud. Year 2008 year end dinner was a joy and lovely evening at Orchard Hotel's Lavender 2 ballroom on 24th November 2008. What makes a good dinner would comprise of whom you are dining with, and in this case, I have the joy of sharing a table with people I love.

Lay Peng was my best buddy in the office, this is a rare find. Especially considering she's my senior whom's been with the company for ten over years.

She's always guiding me along, patient, kind, wise, lovely, pretty and everything. How often is it that you could actually find a buddy whom treats you like a sister in the work place? I am appreciating her alot and one of the factor that makes me looking forward to each day at work, would be her and the other great guys in our business group. Haha, I am getting all sentimental on a Monday afternoon. This is so strange, perhaps it's the powerful lunch I had just a short while ago and the chicken rice is doing something funny to me??! Nelson, whom you won't see in the photos here, is my boss in charge initially...

But well, things kind of change and following, there's some reporting changes in our work. Oh well, anyway, he's still my boss. A kind bespectacle teochew man who is always busy, with piles of paper on his work desk... Something funny too, he's got about 4 - 5 suitcases in his room, each is designated for which countries and length of stay he would be on a business trip. I remember one of my 3 sons asking him why his room is so messy when they were visiting me in the office one day. Haha, kids would be kids, so frank and innocent.


Then, there's Mr. Bjorn and Mr. Benny, two swedish men. Mr. Bjorn is our business unit's vice president and Mr. Benny's our senior inspector. Both are rare men whom doesn't womanize, rare because to me, all Ang-Mos are flirts and womanizers. Haha, sorry!!! Opppppps.... Benny's very cute, he's sometimes shy when I tease him about his Singaporean chinese gf, he's sweet becos he's always offering us lovely sweets from Sweden when he's back from his home trips. There's the unique black swedish sweets which taste salty!

There's Janetud, a Thai nationality whom is firm and sometimes joke with us alot, a good homely guy. Pow and Ang is really good uncles, they took good care of me and Lay Peng, always stuffing us with food such as you-tias, han ji beng and cakes... I'm seriously getting so fat. Murugan's an Indian and he's seriously funny too, he can do serious stuff of yoga, bending over into half, touching his forehead against his knee caps. Perfect and wow!