Family T-Shirts

Whenever we go on a family vacation, I will somehow get paranoid that my S2 will wander off on his own and get lost. I know he is already 11 years old, but that doesn't stop me from worrying. I actually told H that I wanted to get Personal Creations Tshirts for all of four of us .... All the T-shirts will have the same colour and have a distinctive look that is uniquely for our family. And if any one of us gets lost, we can report "so and so is wearing exactly like me"! Good idea?

Am I drowning yet???

Not yet... but almost!

Really have been soooooo busy with all sorts of things. See my last post on the list of things that my feet have got into. Plus I have resumed my painting sessions on Mondays......as if I have a lot of leisurely time. As we usually say "no time to even pang-sai"! Errr... actually that isn't quite true as my belly hasn't been well for awhile, I have been running to the loo pretty often.

S1
For some time now, I have been tutoring S1 every night (with some exceptions) to ensure that he is confident in his Mathematical concepts. End-of-Year test is in a few weeks time, plus there is a end of Key Stage 3 Standardised Testing. As he is keen to get to the top Maths set, he has been quite determined. No need to nag him to do those past year exam papers. And today, he came home with 3 sets of past exam papers..... He knew that he needed the practice and I am stingy with my printer ink so he got it all printed at school..... all out of his own initiative!
I have to say that I was impressed and a little bit proud. For years, I have been complaining about his tidak apa attitude. This new determination to excel is a great change. ... Err but of course he is still determined to have his weekend PS3 Game time!!!

S2
The ABRSM results came back. Our friend just narrowly passed! He was pretty disappointed with his results, of course. Told him that he should practise more diligently the next time. I kept reminding him that Grandma complained that he didn't even practise for 15 minutes, when he should have practised for at least an hour. Hopefully he has learnt his lesson and will not be too over-confident about his abilities. Next year then....

Private Tutoring
.... from zero student last week to three this week. Yesterday was my first fee-paying student. Don't know whether if I was boring or she was really indeed tired as she kept yawning and rubbing her eyes (she came straight from school and said she was up earlier than usual). Not sure if she will continue....although her mom wants her to. But teenagers being teenagers, cannot force them if they are not willing to. I mean I could be blabbering for 2 whole hours and if she is not concentrating, she will not be learning either. And tomorrow I will have 2 students in 2 different sessions - 1 in the morning and another just after lunch. Hopefully they will be awake.

TESOL Course
I am only at Unit 2 and there is still 18 units to go. Want to pengsan liow. Have to squeeze-in time to complete each unit. Took me about 3 hours to complete Unit 2 today. Prepositions, Conjuctions, Infinitives, Gerunds, Adjectives... Waliow! Cannot remember all liow....
In case anyone is interested, I am doing this with ITTT. Don't ask me if they are good cause I don't know....

Business Start-UP
Quite a number of challenges....that is keeping me up in the night thinking and worrying. I know it is rather silly to be worrying in the night when I can't actually solve anything. But what to do? I am a worrier. Been so stressed that pimples are coming out everywhere..... and I mean everywhere! Leave it to your imagination on where exactly pimples are coming out! Hahaha...

House-Hunting
Yup! We may have to move to another house. Why?
Because we have been living in this house for the last five years and things are all starting to wear and really tear. H just came in and told me to get someone over to fix all the toilet bowls... water flowing continuously. And a few days ago, water was leaking through the S1's ceiling and some of his books were soaked. Boy! Was he mad!
Plus we want to find somewhere cheaper and within a complex. At the moment, we are paying almost USD 700/mth for our security guards, and that is a lot of money. Especially when it is out of our own pockets. So...wish me luck to find a lovely and affordable home.

Okay lah.... gotta go. Gotta send out a work email.

What kind of jobs?

What kind of jobs will always be in demand?
In my opinion, I would say healthcare jobs - doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, lab technicians, and the list goes on. Afterall, one does not choose whether to fall ill or not. And people do fall ill in both good economic times as well as bad.... although I have heard of the phrase "too poor to fall ill"! Aside from illnesses, there are medical emergencies that arise from accidents and disasters - which definitely one does not choose to be befallen!

What happens?

I wonder. I wonder what happens to one who is injured and finds himself no longer able to work.
What if he has no proper insurances and no able family members to support him?
What happens then?
Where can he turn to?
Some governmental-run social bodies? Charities?
Is there some kind of a disability appeal?
I would be interested to know where one can seek help if such a calamity has happened.
Please do share your information.

We are HOUSE fans

Almost everyone in the family... Except for S2. The hubs, S1 and I are all HOUSE fans. I try to get up on all the episodes whenever I have some downtime. The last episode that I watched was when Cuddy broke up with him AGAIN and he had been back on Vicodin. Why can't House just clean himself up GOOD? He really needs to find a mighty effective place for hydrocodone vicodin addiction detox. Maybe someone should tell him to go to Malibu Horizons. Might be good For House to get some real Californian sun whilst undergoing the detox program!

I am absolutely Knackered!

You won't believe how much so....
Was rudely awakened up at 2.15 am by my own heart palpipations.
Yeah. GILA right?
I supposed was just a little worried about my S1.
Found out yesterday that his supposedly close friends have been calling him 'Chicken', and as a consequence he has been ignoring them and blocking it all out.
My initial question was of course ...whether if he had provoked them or whether if they had asked him to do something that he had refused hence the name-calling?
He said that he hasn't and doesn't know why.

He doesn't want me to get involved and says he will handle it himself. Of course, the mommy in me really wants to pounce out and protect my cubs!

Didn't managed to sleep till about 4.30 am.. and then woke up at 6.10 am as usual. Made Lor Pak Kou in the morning, then had a meeting with my "business partner"', and then met with a rep from one of the institutions.. came home. Was almost zonked out. But here I am still awake... trying to supervise the boys on their Mathematics revision/homework (and blogging at the same time).

Can't wait for my head to hit the pillow!

Myriad of Activities

A fellow mom from S2's class was lamenting about the myriad activities her kids are taking up. Or should I say the fickle-mindedness of her kids. There was the Tae-kwondo phase, then the horse-riding phase, then the Kendo phase etc etc. She said she wouldn't be complaining so much if it weren't for the amount of money spent on buying all the equestrian riding apparel , the Tae-Kwondo or Kendo attire. She had accumulated so much stuff over the years and wanted to put those items for sale. But when she looked at the little and cute tiny sizes, she just couldn't part with them. Talk about hoarders... she sure is becoming one.

Challenging but Exciting

Don't know if you have heard.... but I am finally doing it.
For years, I've been talking about this but not acting about it.
As people say... NATO (No Action, Talk Only)!
Do what?
Start-up a business.
What business?
Can I not divulge until paperwork is in place?
Basically, we have big dreams for this start-up....perhaps even to the point that we can provide franchise opportunities to interested parties.
One step at a time.

Need to De-Stress

I have been quite stressed the last few days... boys, the business start-up, my online course amongst other things. The worst is that H is not around for me to moan to, nor to give me a comforting hug. Where is he? Still in Europe... I am so stressed that perhaps I should get him to buy gurkha cigars from the duty free shops on his way back. Do you think this will help me de-stress? Afterall, H smokes when he is overly stressed....

General Updates - 30 April 2011

Yeah. What a boring title for this post. But what to do?
Cannot think... plus this post will have a myriad of topics...

PJ Visit
Took boys back to PJ during the 2-week Easter Break. Arrived in KUL on MAS on Saturday afternoon (9th April). Normally, don't really take MAS but as we booked quite last minute, the price on MAS worked out better compared to both AirAsia and KLM.

As you know, I left the boys with my parents and flew-off to the States with H on Monday (11th April), only arriving back in KUL on Friday (22 April). Basically, did some last minute shopping, visited the dentist, checked my eyes at Vista and then flew off the next day with the boys. So no time to do anything else. Didn't meet up with anyone..... Perhaps next trip.

US Trip
This trip was basically a vacation for H. He was so busy working prior to the trip. Weeks in Europe and then conference calls till 9 - 10 pm. Many times, I had to bring his dinner into his 'conference room' (which is actually our downstairs TV room). And now, he has gone to Europe again. My mom always says that my husband takes the plane as if it is a bus.... He arrived home on Friday (US to Asia), and then left on Sunday for his work trip (Asia to Europe) - basically circumventing the globe.

I have to say that we did nothing except eat, sleep, shop. No rushing to places. No visiting of touristy sights etc. Only touristy thing we did was watch The Jersey Boys.
The whole trip, my DSLR did not see the light of day. No photos to scrapbook with
So what's the use of me buying more scrapbooking stuff??
H thinks it is so that I can compete with my girlfriend KL, on who has more stuff!!!
hahahha... eh. But she wins hands-down lah.
Go check out her stuff.....

Start of Term 3
Term 3 of school started on the 25th April, 2011. So basically, boys only had Sunday to chill out before going back to school.

This term, both S1 and I are going to work hard for the Year 9 Assessments. He needs to show that he can do well to get into the top set. I have droned on-and-on about the stupidity of his school in my older post. They have decided that they will not extend the Additional Mathematics class to the 2nd Set (which is where S2 is currently at). As my friend kept saying " The School is 'DUMBING DOWN'".
I can accept all the nonsense if this is a FREE Public School... but it is NOT.
So you can imagine how frustrating it is.

Starting a Business
Yes. I am going to do it. This time for REAL.
Have been talking about doing something for years, and it was all NATO.
No Action Talk Only ....
Lawyers have been engaged (and paid) to draw up papers.....
Will let you know more details later when things are firm-up.

Tutoring
Okay. This one still NATO.
Only action that I actually did was to purchase the relevant books, and studying... Maths, Physics and Chemistry. I have the leaflet (to advertise my tutoring services) prepared but yet to be printed out. Still need to amend some text.
I probably only want to have one or two students per week. Need some time for all my other pursuits (be it fun, work or mommy obligations).

Online Course
I have recently signed up on a TESOL online course, i.e. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Errr... not that I really want to teach, I just want to get the Certificate. Why? Not sure why yet. Hahahhaha
Just did my first Unit yesterday, and have yet to receive feedback from my tutor.
There will be some kind of test (not sure how it is going to be done. Perhaps I have to go to a Center in town) at the end of the Course, in order to be certified.
By the way, did I mention that I actually went to take the IELTS test?
My score?
9.0 of course... Ahbahden??? hahahah

Okay lah... S2 is up. Need to ketuk him to complete some Math worksheets.
(What to do? All these ang-moh schools don't do enough.....don't give homework... don't challenge kids. Need to send them a copy of Amy Chua's book!!! )\

Malibu Beach House....

When we took the boys to Malibu beach last December, somehow the topic of owning a beach house in Malibu came up. And my boys actually said that they would buy us one in Malibu! So sweet of them!
I don't know about Malibu beach houses, but I did check up on the house prices on Manhattan Beach, which is located just south of LAX. Still pricey but I am sure we can afford a tiny-weeny holiday apartment to squeeze both H and I in when we retire..... And you know what I always wanted?
Shutters.
Yup. I just love shutters on the windows. So if we do buy a little place by the beach, I will install custom plantation shutters on my windows. And for a beachside home, it will have to be WHITE!
We have dreams of owning a chalet up on the Swiss Alps too... and of course, shutters on my windows too... As for the colours, .... perhaps BLUE....or GREEN.... with a pretty flower boxes ...
Dreaming......Dreaming......

Father's Day Pressies...

Did I mention that my H is away in Europe again?
For work, of course.
He's been pretty busy with his work.... even when he is home, he would be on conference calls till 9 pm. At times, he had to skip dinner as the calls were made with colleagues stationed on the other side of the globe. With all that he does to provide for this family, I wonder what we can get him to show our appreciation this Father's Day. Know any father presents that would appeal to my H? Something that will make his day unforgettable?

Did you watch THE ROYAL WEDDING?

I almost missed it!

Well, I never ever turn on the cable tv as I seldom watch TV on my own accord. So when I turned on the TV at 2 pm (local time. Wedding at Westminster at 5 pm local time, but there was already live coverage), the stupid scream display read "SmartCard is Expired"!
Wah! Boy! Was I mad! I immediately called the Cable company and complained!!!

Luckily they managed to fixed it. Otherwise?????

Did anyone go "Awwww...." when they saw Diana's little boy all grown-up? ...with a wee bit of tears?
I have to say that I did.
She would have been sooooooooooooo proud and happy.
Errr... except she probably would wonder "Why does he have to have his father's hair??Why? Why? " or rather the lack of it!

Anyway, here is The KISS......

I too, want a KISS! But as H is thousands of miles away working in Helsinki, I had to resort to a kiss from someone else.
Who did I call upon?
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My S2. Of course!
He gave me a big smacker! Hahahhaah

And with all wedding commemorative items, you will get some tasteful ones and some ghastly ones. Check out this Wills and Kate PEZ Dispenser!!

ADOI is the word, indeed!

And you know what was the other thing that caught my eye? Besides the ugly hats and dresses worn by The Duke of York's two daughters? Really fashion faux-pas!!!

So who caught my eye???

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David Beckham!

I was never a fan, and he never really appealed to me.

BUT. I thought he looked pretty dashing at the Royal Wedding...

He certainly looks good here...
It's something to do with age? Like Richard Gere? I think he looks damn good too!

Okay. Gonna go droooooool now. Hahahhaha

Leaving the City of Angels...

It has come to the end of our trip. Time does fly real quick. And in about an hour and a half, we will depart from LAX.
Didn't do much here either... Other than SHOP SHOP SHOP!!
I tell you ah...America is one big big big shopping mall. Laundryamah will go crazy when she cones later this year for her Laundry convention!!!
We went to the Caramillo Premium Outlets on Monday (The same company is opening up in Johor in November 2011!) and Banana Republic had shirts going for 13 dollars! Some dresses for 20 dollars!! Timberland shoes from 30 dollars!! And when we were at Beverly Center yesterday (Tuesday), I saw a pair of Banana Republic trousers at the retail shop at 8.97! And it's another 40% off! 5 dollars for Banana Republic trousers??? Where can find such deals in Asia???
And scrapbooking stuff... Said I wasn't gonna buy anything but of course I did. But not that much la..just 3 DCWV stacks, some Stickles, and punches. So basically, this was a shopping trip ...YIKES! As if I dont have enough things to pack when I move house!!
Errrr GILA us also bought hand soap from Bath and Body Works, plus shower gels and lotions. Not forgetting the vitamins for the boys...
And a Kate Spade handbag for MIL's birthday....and one for moi.....
Really cannot shop anymore... I supposed we did the right thing when we turned down the job in Dallas, otherwise ALL we do will be Shopping! haha....
Okay lah... Later

Utter Laziness in the Big Apple...

.... We have been here for four nights and all we have done is eat and sleep. Actually more of sleeping than anything else. I supposed that's what a holiday is all about. Utter relaxation and laziness!
Since I have already done most of the must-do touristy stuff the last two trips, I didn't feel the need to pester H to go on any sightseeing tours. Initially, our plan was to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday (Saturday, 16th April) as H wanted to show me the REAL Assyrian Lion. As I am not exactly a keen museum visitor, I told H that I would probably say MY Assyrian Lion looks better (go to artbynomadicmom.blogspot.com to have a look of MY Assyrian Lion) so ended up not going and stayed back in the hotel to zzzz. Basically, we shopped and ate in the morning/ early afternoons and then head back to the hotel by late afternoon.

Where did we stay?
The Hudson at Central Park South. Only one block from Columbus Circle Subway Station..very good location, I must say!! Well, I didn't pick this hotel, of course. As usual, it's good ole Priceline's Name Your Own Price that selected the hotel. Got it for USD 155 plus tax per night. The cheapest rate I could find online for our dates (if the hotel name is known) was USD 220 plus tax. So we sorta saved USD 65 per night. How was the hotel? Errr...rooms as usual was tiny but at least bigger than The Paramount, which we stayed-in for New Year's 2010. But the bed was very very noisy. So cannot be too notti. Hahaha... Hotel had lots of bad reviews but overall I thought it is kinda okay. Philip Stark designed rooms, and the dark lobby was kinda cool.

What did we eat?
Think the best meal was at Eataly on 23rd and 5th Avenue (I think). We had Parma Ham (yum yum), some other cold cuts and a myriad of Italian cheeses, Baked Sea Scallops and French Fries of the Sea paired with crisp Italian white wine. We also went to Gramercy Tavern, Bourbon Street Bar & Restaurant, Red Lobster. Worst I think was this morning's Dim Sum meal in Chinatown. Not only Dim Sum was sub-standard, we had to 'tapp-toi'. Have not done that in ages!

What did we buy?
Nothing much as we didn't go to Woodbury Common this time. So just some GAP shorts, Naruto T-shirts and a G-shock watch for S2, 2 tops each from Loft and Uni Qlo for me, Cole Haan sneakers for me, 2 pairs of Fitflops for me, some Calvin Kleins for H, iPad pen and some scrapbooking stuff (they were 50% off in this Paper Shop on Spring Street). Looks like I didn't get anything for S1...but he was very specific on what he wanted...some cards that will be launched tomorrow and I am to go to ToysRus to get it.

What did we watch?
A visit to The Big Apple will not be complete without watching a show on Broadway!!
This time, we Saw The Jersey Boys. Didn't even know so many songs are by them.

This trip is really such a lazy trip that I did not even take a single photo!....... Although I did lug my DSLR and zoom lens with me..cross the Pacific Ocean, and then across continental USA! I suppose good also la... Less photos to develop as I have yet to develop our December holiday photos with the boys. Speaking of boys... Where are they? With their grandparents back in PJ lor. Mommy and daddy off and away on holiday without them.... H says last December holidays was not a holiday as he was so stressed with the boys constantly fighting o er everything. After this trip, he'll be off to Europe for work again. And I have to continue with my studies...
But until then, we still have few more days of our holiday to enjoy. We are off to Los Angeles now...

My Mind is Rev-ing Up...

Yes. Indeed. My mind has been rev-ing up in the last week..... after being dormant for the last five years. And I kid you not, it is not an easy task of re-starting an idle mind. At the end of the day, I am dead tired. Though I can doze off quite quickly, I find that I wake up before the alarm clock which is a NO-NO in my books! Even woke up at 4 am the other morning and couldnt' go back to bed. What do I do to try to compensate? Snooze in the car if the opportunity arises. Hope my driver didn't see my dripping saliva!! Hahhahaa

So what have I been up to?
Studying!
Hahahhaha....
But it is true. I have been brushing up on my Maths, Add Maths, Physics and Chemistry.... well at least to the iGCSE Levels for the time being.
Why?
Two Reasons:
1) My brain will go kaput if I don't do something.... So have decided to offer private tutoring to students in the boys' school once Term 3 starts. This will force me to 'work' the brain. '
2) S1 needs to work hard to get into the Additional Maths group, and also ...he takes in iGCSE in 2013. Seems distant but need to start condition him. (Hey! I will even make him complete a couple of Maths problems in the plane later...and he agreed!)

Actually, already decided before I went to Bali with my girlfriends a couple of weeks ago. There are also a few things that is in the pipeline.... partnering with a Malaysian and some local partners. Will update when it is MORE official.

Okay. Better go to see if there is any last-minute packing...
Boys' two week Easter Break starts today, and we are flying off to KUL this morning.
ADIOS!

HOT and COLD...

HOT and COLD... Opposites right? But what would you think if I said "Hot and Cold goes together?" Will you be thinking in terms of Physics, say Heat flowing from HOT - a higher temperature body to COLD - a lower temperature body? Or would you be thinking about the HOT and COLD moods of your spouse? I actually have something totally different in my mind... thinking more of the simple pleasures of life. .... Have you ever sat out in your backyard or terrace in front of an open fire pit, sipping a mug of hot cocoa in the middle of winter? I tell you, it is rather exhilarating yet comforting at the same time. Yes. Even in the -10 deg Celcius Helsinki temperatures, HOT and COLD goes together. Ever heard of jumping into the famed frozen lakes after a sauna?

Sleeping on Someone Else's Bed Tonight!

THAT statement caught your attention, didn't it? Wondering whose bed am I going to be sleeping on tonight? What will my hubby think? Oh! Mon Dieu! Hahahaha ... Well, in case you are wondering, there is nothing sinister nor having any tinge of hanky-panky going on. In fact, I will be on my mother's bed tonight.... all comfortably fitted with sferra sheets. Surprised? Don't be. It's the boys' two week Easter Break starting today, and we are flying off home in about 4 hours time. See you around town this evening!

Offshore Engineers.....

Did I mention that I am a trained Chemical Engineer? Before I joined the work force, when I was still a fresh-eyed student, I had dreams of working offshore in an oil rig. The thoughts of working 2 weeks on, and 2 weeks off seems so ideal. But my vivid imagination squashed all those ideas, as I kept thinking about the what-ifs. I kept thinking of my safety.... I mean most oil rigs will be filled with men, and I really didn't fancy to be the only female on the rig. In addition to that, Offshore Accidents can happen and I am a scaredy-cat. What did I do then? I opted to start off in a water and wastewater engineering firm.....

What really works to get rid of thunder thighs?

My friend recently took me to a 'Beauty Clinic' for treatment of a cold sore that popped out by the side of my lip. This 'Beauty Clinic' seems to provide a whole lot of services from consultation with dermatologists, to normal facials, to IPLs to injections with Vitamin C to dissolve body fats. I was a bit surprised with the Vitamin C injections, but my friend who has tried it swears that she no longer has thunder thighs. I don't know about 'injections'.... scardy-cat like me would probably just get a bottle of adapexin-p fat burner pills and try my luck.