Cannot Imagine ....

Really. I can't. I can't imagine that such things would happen...
Riots in London.
Hurricane in New York.
You know... people always have their branches/ stores in London, New York, Paris....
I wonder if something is going to happen in Paris next.
I'm sure Parisiens will say "choi choi. Luei hau swei kong koh". Errr... I suppose Chinesey Parisiens. Hahahaha

Just been reading Yahoo News on New York. Go here to read the article.
Broadway shows cancelled. Starbucks closed. And so are the Golden Arches!
Can you imagine a deserted Times Square? Empty Grand Central Station on 42th Street?
And after the storm, I am sure the city will be in a mess.
I can't help it. I have thoughts of Will Smith's I am Legend playing in my head.
Scary..... Really quite unimaginable.

Great photos

Did I mention to you that my dive instructor is a travel journalist?
Why am I suddenly bringing her up when it has been ages since I got my advance diving certificate? Well, I just saw her Facebook update that she is now in India doing a piece. I'm sure she'll have wonderful photos to accompany her writings. I remember the wonderful underwater photos that she took with her waterproof cameras when we were out diving. Did I show you the photo she took of me? Here it is.....

Yup. That's me being the horsey.....

Sizzling Hot!

Ssssssssizzzzling HOT! Check out these sexy bodystockings!
As I am turning 40 soon, I have been using FABULOUS FORTY very very often. In fact, was just chatting with my sisters about what theme my 'birthday party' should be. All RED. All BLACK. WHITE AND BLACK. Or what? When I saw these sexy bodystockings, I thought maybe I could get these sexy bodystockings! Errrr.... only problem is that my H will not be going back to see this sexy hot mama. He has to stay put to babysit the boys while I jet back to KL for the party. Alright. Alright. Not exactly a big party... but nevertheless a party with my sisters, and then the following day, my alma mater is having a reunion and 40th birthday party for everyone... Well... everyone turns forty this year!
Can't wait!

Mange

How ignorant of me!
When I saw the word mange, the immediate thing that pops in my mind is Japanese comics.
Ooops! I could not be more wrong that this.
Mange is actually a painful skin condition in pets caused by mites!
What is scary is that mange can occur in people too!
We used to have four dogs in my parents' house, and though they did have some problems with mites some time or other, I'm not sure if they did suffer from mange.

Second Wives, Mistresses and Girlfriends

H had a meeting the other day.... and as he parted with his business associate, the associate asked "Settled? Where is your new place now?"
H answered "S.M. It's near...."
Associate ' "Oh. I know. I know."
H - "how do you know?"
Usually, we have to explain to people where it is..... in relation to one of the popular supermarkets.

And you know what he said? "That place ah? All the Second wives, Mistresses or girlfriends all stay there!"

Obviously, when H came back and told me... my immediate thought was "mmmm... is that woman with something wrong with her hands a mistress????"

Now, when I pass any woman in the lobby, I eye them and guess if she is a Second wife, a Mistress or Girlfriend! Hahahha
Ok. Ok. I only do that with the local ladies... Not the many Japanese ladies that also live here...with their little toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Mmmm..... wonder if anyone thinks I am a Yee Lai... Hehehehe

Good Employer

We are in the process of employing staff for the centre. My partner and I have had numerous meetings to discuss on the remuneration package for our employees. We strive to be a good employer that employees will feel happy working for us. However, as a start-up we are limited with what we can provide. So salary aside, what makes a good remuneration package?
Is it the number of paid vacation days? Medical benefits? Allowances? Or is it the annuities?
What say you?

McDreamy....

What comes to mind?
Let me tell you what comes to MY mind...
Those hunky doctors in their medical scrubs in the TV series Grey's Anatomy. Mmmmmm... Dreamy yummy doctors.
Ever fantasized about a doctor in his uniform?
Oops. Better stop now before I reveal too much. My boys do read this blog of mine. Don't want them to think that their mommy has gone whacko!

Do you know how to use one?

Do you?
A micrometer I mean.
In the first place, do you know what micrometers are?
They are precision measuring devices for measuring lengths. I supposed in our everyday lives, we do not really need such precision. However, precision is important in industries. For example, how do we know that the electrical cables are 1.11 mm thick and not 1.05 mm? Can you measure such difference with a normal ruler? You can't!
But you can with a micrometer.
So if you need such precision, do go get a micrometer from the hardware store!

What is wrong with her hands???

I don't even know why I am blogging about this. Basically, really none of my blardy business.

I went down to the apartment gym this afternoon for my long overdue workout. And halfway through, a woman came in followed by her maid (I guessed it is the maid. Looks like a maid. Dress like a maid. And behaving like a maid). The maid brought her little bag and towel.... I was like "What is blardy wrong with her hands? Come down to the gym to workout, and cannot even carry her tiny bag". Besides the gym is only downstairs of the apartment.
How far does one need to walk to the gym???

I really beh-tahan. Why are these ladies so blardy pampered to this extent? Or should I say so pann-yia? Really wanted to go up to her and ask her if she has got problems with her hands.

I told H about it, and he joked that next time, HE will carry my towel and water bottle down for me. Aiyo.....

Some people will probably say that I am JEALOUS because I am not priviledged enough to have someone carry my knick-knacks.

But do you think that I am the kind of WOMAN that wants people to tag behind me with my handbag?

S2 promoted?

I thought I should have a different post for S2... cause the other post on S1 was already MEGA long.

S2 is now in Year 7! My little fellow is now in Secondary School... I refused to buy new uniforms for him so he is now swimming in his kor-kor's old uniforms. hahaha...

When I found out that S1's old Maths teacher was going to be the head of Year 7, I was mega scared that he was going to be S2's class tutor or Maths teacher. Thank goodness. NO. That did not happen. This teacher will be teaching Set 5.

My S2 - whom has a more natural knack for numbers did do well in his assessments (when I was tutoring S1, he actually did some of the math problems and had correct answers!), and is in Set 1 for Mathematics... so no need to FIGHT hard for him. And I know this guy is quite competitive and he will want to work hard to remain in the top set, so no need to worry so much.

When he came back on the first day, he told me that he is in Set 1 for Mathematics, then showed me his sad face and said that he is in the last class for English. Me being the mean old nasty mom was like "See. I told you that your English sucks. " This S2 of mine always refuses to read or do any work. Then S1 piped in "I'm sure you are mistaken. You cannot be in the last class. Maybe Set 2 or 3 but surely not last". That. I have to agree. Can't be the last set. Go find out properly. Case closed....

Over dinner the next day, S2 was like "what is criticise?" I was like "hah??? You don't know what is criticise? That's why we all say that your English sucks! That's why last set!". Then the fella was like have this cunning smile.....
"Actually. I am not in the last set. I am in a special set. All the kids from last year's 'authors in the making' are all in my English class." then proceeded to name the others. Then continued with "What is patronise? " and some other words that I've forgotten.
I asked "is this what you have to do in school today?"
S2 - "Nope. I searched Dictionary.com myself"
He was pretty pleased that he was 'promoted'. Just him being DODO lah. Never find out properly, and be sad on Monday for nothing.

Overall, I think he is pretty happy in Year 7. Errr... but then, it has only been a week. Was very motivated to finish his homework. His dad took him out to the DVD/games stalls in the morning, and he kept telling his dad that he had to go home and do his homework. And he was doing his "Health and Safety" poster for ages last night. Rewriting and rewriting to get it perfect. Hopefull this lasts, and I don't have to ngamm-ngamm-chamm-chamm the boys to do their homework.

Okay lah. Better go do MY homework.

S1 promoted ...

If you recall... I had written many previous posts whereby I vented about the Mathematics in the boys' school? Do you remember the part whereby S1's teacher said "let's look at his final exam results and we'll see if he is WORTHY for promotion". Yes. THOSE exact words.
You say lah. This mom .... always keep quiet. People think she pussycat tai-tai. Donno anything. Never see my TIGER mom face before.

So... that was the start of S1's intensive tutoring from Yours Truly. Everyday (except one or two days lah) we worked on his Mathematics - from the basics up for an hour minimum. Sometimes two. Obviously, our effort paid off. S1 did pretty well in his final exams. People even queried if he copied! What an insult! He had better marks than quite a number of people in the top set (the set that I want him promoted to... because only kids in this set get to do Additional Maths) so obviously, I would assume that he will be promoted. He did surprise a lot of people - my tidak apa attitude son. One friend actually commented "What happened? You used to be F-king stupid. What happened?". An insult or a compliment?

For the next week after the results were out, I kept asking S1 if they told him that they will be promoted to Set 1. His reply "My teacher said MIGHT". What kind of C!B@I answer is that? Toying with my son ah? F%$K man. So I wrote to the teacher and then only the stupid fellow replied to say that "We in the Mathematics department have decided to admit S1 to the Top Set on a TRIAL BASIS blah blah blah ". I told S1, the teachers are WAITING for you to slip to bring you back down to Set 2. And S1 was like "that is mean!" ... but it is true. Because I was fighting so hard to justify my son's place in the top set, and he did prove to them that he can indeed do it when they are so adamant that he does not have the 'special mathematical skills or love for subject'. Thank goodness that it is a NEW teacher that is teaching him this year. One that is not yet in cohorts with the OLD gang.

School has started for a week... and obviously I continued to encourage S1 to do work - at least bits of it every day so that he will not be overwhelmed with so many subjects. He is quite receptive... doing some topic revision when I told him to last Thursday - which paid off on Friday's end-of-topic assessment. He said he aced it with 100 percent. I think that brought some feeling of satisfaction... hopefully that will motivate to continue to work hard.

Seriously, there's really so many subjects. On top of the usual Maths, Sciences (Physics, Biology and Chemistry), English, there's Mandarin (which he says it's easy), Resistance Materials, ICT, Economics. Quite a handful .... He asked if he should drop Resistance Materials and take up Geography instead. And if resistance materials more useful than geography. I was like ahhh-errr...And he said "or you prefer that I take PE instead of Geography?".
Me - "I am not a geography person. Nor a history person. I don't know. If for Resistance Materials...if you are learning about properties of materials and their uses, then it is good. Why do aircrafts able to fly further? It's because of the materials of construction...."
Then he himself added about the new properties in Speedo swimsuits which can be streamlinedto an extent that the resistance in water is reduced dramatically such that it is banned in competitions.

I didn't really want to force him to do this or that. Because some people want to balance out with easy to score subjects with harder ones. So no need to study so much. I think he did decide to stick with this option, which may require him to do lots of project and design work. This, I think I can help. Cause when I looked at the textbook, it's alot about processes, project management using Gantt Charts, flowcharts etc.... which is sort of my forte. :-) Thing I can't help him is identifying type of wood joints. Yikes! But shouldn't be that hard lah. I did learn about type of weld joints when I was working. Other subjects I cannot help with...biology, ICT, English and Mandarin. Economics can abit lah.

The only thing is that we were working so much on the Maths that we neglected the sciences. He did well but not good enough to be in the top set. So instead of doing the triple award, he is only doing the double award, i.e. doing three sciences but only getting two credits.
Yes. WEIRD British system! Too late to fight for him for this. :-P

Turned down 5 students ....

Yup. Had to turn down 5 students in the last 3 days. I just couldn't take them on.... With my current schedule of trying to get the Centre on-line, I hardly have time to tutor my own kids.

Okay. I didn't turn down my girlfriend. I was ahhhing...errr-ing.. and then she was quick to reply "better not. I know if you say yes, it is out of obligation. If she really needs it, she'll have to travel to you".

I have to say that it felt good that I am actually wanted! It felt even better to hear that my tutoring did help them in their exams last term. :-) These kids are all from the boys' school. Although I did 'promote' my Centre, I don't think they will be so hadap for my tutoring that they will actually travel to my Centre. It is located in the other side of town. I haven't decided yet, but I probably WILL have my kids travel to the Centre for tutoring....

Why have it on the other side of town? My partner and I felt that that is the ideal location to start, with many International and National-Plus type schools offering the Cambridge, IB and HSC Curricula. We will be the only centre focusing on Maths, Physics and Chemistry in English Language. Read more here, if interested. Errr... why not Biology? Perhaps later. But at the moment, I can only teach these!

This blog will remain to be an 'anonymous' blog about my private life.... :-)

Do you think my maid is priviledged?

Yes. This post is going to be about the maid AGAIN.

Seems like of late, I have many posts about my maid. Read here, here and here. She will be famous soon!!

I can hear you ask "now what?"

Ok. Ok. I know you guys are going to say "serves you right for spoiling the maid". Read here for the TV we bought her.... My Ibu friends here were rolling their eyes all over when I told them about my maid.

Let's start from the beginning.... ever since we moved into the apartment, i.e. July 2011, she has had less work to do - smaller sq footage, no garden to sweep, no plants to water, no terrace to sweep and mop, no garage floor, no service area etc etc.... So senang, right? And when we moved here, boys were on holidays and mom was over to help with the move. Mom was here for three weeks. And throughout mom's stay, the maid actually woke up later than mom every single day.

I have also been waking up early for the last few months, and I usually make my own coffee/tea or breakfast, and didn't reprimand the maid even when she only shows her face at 7.30 am and sometimes even at 8.00 am! I was like 'cin-chai' since boys on holidays, plus I don't really care as long as she does the work. So... whole of July and half of August, our sleeping beauty has been taking her own sweet time to start work.

Come Sunday night... I told her that tomorrow (15 Aug), boys will have school. Prepare breakfast to be served at 6.20 AM. As a maid, you should also know your place right? School starts mean no more sleeping till 7.30 or 8 AM right? I tell you..... I was FREAKING MAD on Monday morning. Really really mad.

My alarm rang at 6.00 AM. I went to wake the boys, then thought I should just go check on the maid. WALIOW! She also just woke up and in the toilet. I went ballistic! I really screamed at her. And she dared to answer back and said "you said breakfast at 6.20 am".

After the boys left for school, I really gave her a long screaming session. "For one whole month and more, I didn't say anything when you started work at 7.30 am or 8.00 am. But when boys started school, shouldn't you WAKE up earlier and make sure bottles are wash, filled, tables wiped and breakfast is prepared. You tell me. As a maid. You wake up same time as the boys. Got meaning or not? Some days, even Pak has gone to work then only you wake up. You say Got meaning or not? Where in any other households, where maid wake up later than boss one? ALL households require the maid to make coffee and breakfast for the boss. You? Wake up later than boss. Got meaning or not? You want to work or not???"

Then she said "if you still want me, I still want to work"
I shouted back at her "you work like this, I don't want you ah! Don't think that just because I am busy, you are indispensable. So many people downstairs want to have your job. Moment I ask, many people want your job. Easy job. Cook 2 omelets in the morning, clean for 2 hours, load clothes in washing machine, then 4 hours free, iron some clothes, free time, cook dinner, and then free... soooooo much free time. And all I have to do is make a call, and my mom or dad will fly here to train the new maid. Easy. So you think you are indispensable? Forget it. Even when my kids were little, and very attached to a nanny, the moment they act up or say want to leave, they expect me to say PLEASE stay, I increase your pay. NEVER! I would never. Want to go. Go. So you??? My kids are big. You think I will ever ask you to stay? Even if I am soooooo busy with work? NEVER! "

Waaaaaaa.... I tell you, so so mad. And then on Tuesday morning? 6 AM, our friend was up and cleaning the floors and what-nots. Let's see how long this last.

Actually, got some more story. ... Other day, I told her to collect the boys from downstairs when they return from their Chinese. Have to collect because this apartment funny one. Cannot buzz from upstairs. Must go down and collect people and boys don't have the key card. Boys buzz and our friend donno dreaming or what (or happily watching her Sinetron hearthrob). So didn't go down and get the boys, and obviously boys got maang-chang (especially my big one) and I am the one that faced the maang-chang-ness. Of course I scolded her again lah. "go down and get boys so simple to do, also cannot do. How can I use you??"

I donno lah... let's see how many more posts about my current maid UNTIL I get a NEW maid!

Are you a surprise gifter?

I mean do you give surprise gifts for no apparent reason?
I for one, am not.
And if someone were to give me a surprise gift for no apparent reason, I would be highly suspicious of his/her motives. Why do I have this kind of skeptical attitude?
Can't that he/she just appreciates me as a person and want to do something nice?
Maybe I should start the trend and be a surprise gifter... starting with a surprise food-ladengift basket for dad, and spa product basket for mom. What say you?
Bet they would be wondering what ulterior motives I have!

Vail vs. Lake Tahoe

We are in the midst of planning for our year-end holidays. Boys decided that we should go skiing together with another family.... and that would be in Vail, Colorado. But H was saying that we should go to Lake Tahoe, which is about 3 hours car ride from San Francisco. And there seems to be more to do at Lake Tahoe. But our friends are loyal travellers that will not budge from Vail. So how? Wherever we choose, I want to stay in a down-to-earth lodge that has log cabin beds and fireplaces.Ooooooh... I can imagine the warmth and romance!

School STARTS Tomorrow!

This year, the school term is starting a week earlier.... Not only that, school day will be 30 minutes longer now. When they first announced it, lots of hoo-hah from the angmoh moms and moms of little kids. I, on the other hand, welcomed it in a way. Okay. Granted. The traffic is the killer. But I think the kids do need the extra time to cover everything in the curriculum.

Starting tomorrow.... I have TWO in the Secondary school. No more visiting the Primary school. S1 will now be in Year 10, i.e. he will be taking his iGCSE examinations in May/June 2013. And my S2 starts Year 7.

I had to run to the bank to pay their school fees last Friday (deadline is Monday. Otherwise they charge interest! Darned school!). I have to say that I have never carried so much cash in my life! At the counter, the guy was like "did you confirm?". I was like "Ah??". And he said that above a certain $$ have to confirm. Confirm what I don't know. Then he went off to ask his superior if he could proceed with the transaction. I had a whole list of errands to run and I certainly was not going to carry the $$$ USDs in my handbag! Thank goodness his superior said okay.

I tell you... only in this country that they are soooooooo particular with the notes. They will only accept the USDs in a certain H series and up. And the notes must be crisp. No folds. No tears. No blah blah blah. The guy actually CARESSED every single bill. No joke.

I had a note that is really 'charnn' and that one they totally did not want it. No need any CARESSING. After CARESSING 204 pieces of the notes, he said that I had TWO bad notes. I was like "so what does that mean?? Those came directly from Citibank". They were surprised that Citibank had BAD notes. Seriously, the notes look okay and crisp. But like I said, he was CARESSING it like nobody's business... and found that the little silver strip on the side is 'broken'. So what it means is that I have to pay USD 3 per BAD note. Damn cut-throat. So... I had to pay an extra USD 6 for them to accept the two pieces of BAD notes. .... ONLY in this country that the USDs must be like newly-minted.
In America, even if the note is damn 'charnn' and had SHIT, also good as gold.

I tell you ah... I damn 'simm thia' man.... especially when I am not exactly satisfied with the academic quality of the school. Pay so much, and still not as expected. *Sigh*
We told S1 that since we are paying school fees now, perhaps he should think of going to a better school in one of the countries that the Ah Ees reside (England? Australia?). But he doesn't want to, of course. His friends are all here... plus he is still a bit young, hor?

Anyway, there are two more terms of fees to pay. And each time I have to do this, I will moan and groan.

What happened to his e cigarette?

H used to smoke his e cigarette instead of real cigarettes. But I don't know why he has reverted back to real cigarettes. The real stuff is not only unhealthy but cost a lot more, plus it leaves a bad stench! The e cigarette on the other hand, is cheaper and smokeless. Not only that, it is cleaner - doesn't have the yucky ash that needs clean-up. I remember when we were in New Orleans last year, the lady at one of the cafes was pretty surprised when H took a puff from his e cigarette and then put it right into his shirt pocket. You should have seen her face!

Don't you hate it?

.... When you are involved in a collision and it is NOT your fault?

Don't you just hate it when the other driver thinks the road belongs to his grandfather and just swerves into your lane? Sometimes we are able to avoid the stupid driver. But other times we are not so lucky. So it's not our fault, right? But whether it is his fault or other, we still have a damaged vehicle. And it is such a bummer to have a collision estimating company to assess the damage, submit to the insurance companies, wait for approvals, send the car for repairs etc. etc. etc.
One word - HASSLE!

Lazy Days in Bali....

Yes. Lazy Lazy Lazy indeed!

We went for 4 nights. Read my earlier post here. Stayed at the Melia Bali at Nusa Dua. Hotel and rooms were decent enough. Kids had their DVD and PS2 players in the room. Service was pretty good. But the real bummer was the shower! Aiyo... I think this hotel needs a major refurbishment of their plumbing system. Seriously... the shower's trickle was a smaller flow than my pee. And quite a few times, no water actually flowed from the shower head. And the water temperature was like up-and-down and no where near the temperature that I like. So will I stay here again?
I don't think so.... Errr.. actually, I try NOT to stay at the same hotel anywhere. To me, staying at a different hotel is like part of a new vacation. Isn't it?

Other than the Quicksilver Cruise out to Nusa Penida, we did nothing touristy. I slept and slept and slept. I slept out on the balcony. I slept by the beach. I slept on the bed. H was like "why are you sleeping and sleeping and sleeping?". But isn't that what a holiday is all about??

We did try to go cycling as a family... But that didn't work out too well. S2 was like goyang-goyang. I was like goyang-goyang. Because we wanted to cycle out to the Nusa Dua kampungs on the road, H was not too happy about it. So Activity abandoned. We tried again a couple of days later, and same thing. S2 and I were still goyang-goyang on our bicycles. Hahhahaha... So we decided that just he and S1 should go ahead on the bicycles, S2 and I will follow suit on foot. Needless to say, we were the tortoise and the hare (except for the ending bit lah).

I think S2 was the most active of all. He could actually sit out on the beach by himself...enjoying the waves. He was moving from beach to pool and back. Participated in the beach soccer games, played tennis with his father etc. S1 was either reading his book or in the room watching TV. H played tennis twice and joined S2 for beach soccer (errr damn funny). Me.... err... laziest of all. SLEEP only lah. Not to mention EAT and DRINK as well....

All in all, it was a good break for us .....before chaos. School starts tomorrow!!!

Big FOUR-ZERO

Yikes! Day is getting closer to the BIG FOUR-ZERO.

Am I scared? Excited? Or what?

I really don't know. No feelings whatsoever. I don't feel old. In fact, I still feel like I did 20 years ago..... emotionally, I mean. Physically? That's a different story.

So what's in store to celebrate this BIG FOUR-ZERO?
Some school friends (YES. From 25 years ago.....) are planning to have a dinner to celebrate ALL our BIG FOUR-ZERO together... in mid-September. I am still contemplating whether to go. But I think I should. It's not everyday that one turns FOUR-ZERO! Right?

Perhaps I should get everyone an artcarved rings as birthday/souveniers. Mmmm.... wonder how much that would cost though.... as you know, I am a pretty stingy person!!!

They don't cook.

....nor wash the dishes. Nor throw the garbage.

Who am I talking about?

Well, I am referring to the 'IBUs' here. Take my apartment as an example. I have two kitchens, thus two cookers and two sets of stainless steel sinks. Unfortunately, the cookers are the small ones that you can't exactly fit a wok over. And gosh... the flames are too small to make a good Malaysian Char Kway Teow! Know what I am talking about? And the sinks? Mmmm... they are the single bowl/single drainer type. I like the double ones.

And the garbage? Well, when I first moved in, I asked my landlady where do I throw the garbage. She was like "errr... I don't know. The maid does it".... and she had lived here for 6 years before she decided to move to a house.

Basically, the 'IBUs' here do not lift a finger. My girlfriend said that she had seen IBUs walking straight into the car with the maid walking behind her holding her handbag. Really? What is wrong with the 'IBUs' hands, I don't know!!!

It is so common here. 'IBUs' walking hands-free and the poor maid with TEN things in both hands trying to keep up with the IBU. No wonder... the doormen at my apartment looked at me funny the first few weeks of moving in.... cause my hands were always as full as my maids, if not fuller! I think they have never seen an 'IBU' (errr... I am also sort of considered one) carrying a table and what-nots!

How Chinese am I?

In recent years, I've been saying that "the older I get, the more Chinese I get"

Errr... But is this true??? We went in the Quicksilver Cruise today (actually, cruising back to Bali from Nusa Penida as I am typing this), and the whole boat was filled with Chinese. Yes. China Chinese. Though our skin colour is the same, we may look similar, we are worlds apart. After today, I feel that I am not that Chinese after all. I guess I am a Malaysian?? But those sword wielding fellas call me a pendatang. So what or who am I??

How things have changed... In the olden days, (okay..not that olden la) people were all learning to speak Japanese to earn Japanese Yen. Now, everyone is learning Mandarin to earn the Chinese Yuan. All the cruise guys started speaking to us in Mandarin first... And naturally my H and my S2 was like blurr. Whole boat of hundreds, only 2 sets of Caucasians. My S2 was like "finally! Some western people" cause whole boat was chattering in Mandarin...

And now on the return trip, there's karaoke!! When the first couple went up to sing, H was like "I knew there's going to be trouble when I heard the music!" hahaha... And S2 commented "their singing is worse than yours!"... Meaning I should be happy that I am better than some people??? And the cruise director or what you call her is singing Mandarin songs....with an accent of course!

I was telling H that times have really changed. Even when I was shopping in Ubud market, the market vendors were all hawking their goods in Mandarin!

Okay lah.. Later

Hello BALI!!!

Yup! In Bali....AGAIN.

Flew here this afternoon... Decided to take the boys for a short vacation before school starts in less than two weeks! The boys have basically been cooped up in the apartment for the whole Summer holidays. Poor guys! Or maybe not... Depending on who you ask. Cause they have been sleeping late, waking up late, watching tv, playing games and eating junk! I supposed it's my fault too. Been so busy. Even this morning, we were supposed to grab a bite before heading out to the airport. But I was working to try to send out an email before I leave and by the time I was done, it was too late. We HAD to then eat at the airport.

Even though I've been to Bali countless times, it is still a nice feeling. The moment we arrived, I could feel the breeze, see the bright blue skies. Oh...how blue the skies were today! This time, we are staying in a hotel in Nusa Dua. Booked a split-level family room. Boys downstairs. Parents upstairs. Because it is a family room, the kids area is equipped with tv, DVD player and Playstation (on request). Don't know if I did the right thing of requesting for it....as I am trying to pry boys off those electronic games and gadgets!!! But when I told S1, he immediately came to give me a hug. Talk about addicted to games!!!
Once school starts, all these games stuff will have to stop!

Anyway, we decided to eat in the hotel as I didn't fancy traveling out to Kuta or Seminyak for a meal. And what do you know...the barbecued pork ribs were sooooooooooo yummy and tender. Really melts in the mouth. H had so much that he said that he doesnt want any pork any more. ....and added "including your porky mommy" to the boys! He said he must have eaten my thigh's worth! Hahaha...

Okay... Better go back into the room. Have been blogging via my iPad out in the balcony, and it us getting kinda chilly.

Later...

Happy Birthday, S1!

My little baby turns 14 today!!!

Seriously no longer a baby...though he still sometimes behaves like one. That fella is already about an inch and a half taller than I am. Overtook me about a couple of months back. And you know that I am 165 cm, right?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, S1!!!

AWOL Maid did come back....

She came back at about 7 am the next morning. I was working at my desk and she came to apologize and wanted to explain herself. I said "no need. You wait for Pak". Well, usually I am the one handling the domestic side of things, and when H opens his mouth, means serious liow. H started by asking if our room is miles away from hers that she will take hours to travel to tell us that she needs to take leave. One more time she does this, she won't have a job in our home.

Again, like I said... They uinderstand but don't understand. Know what I mean? I pay her a fairly decent salary. When we go away, she gets days off too. Yes. Paid off days. For example, When we went to the Statesfor 3 weeks, she actually had three weeks of paid leave. And then there's the other shorter breaks...like now! She will be getting 3 nights off. So a pretty good job conpared to many maids here. And she has kids that go to school blah blah...so she should know that she should work hard and not piss this ibu. But does she know that? I doubt it.

Anyway... I'm sure there will be loads more of maid stories!!