Ermm.... just as i was lamenting the lack of inspiration for my new entry, hb provided me with THE topic. Actually, he din say anything, except he gave an exceptionally loud snort, to an article he chanced upon on Asiaone.

After digesting the article myslef, (man! i almost got indigestion, reading that blood-boiling article), i found myself giving 2 times louder snorts than hubby's. Whats happening to the younger generation? No, i sincerely apologised, cos i know my statement is harsh, and not all the "Y" and "Z" Generation are birds of the same feathers.

In summary, the article talked about this first year student in our local uni, having no qualms about her extravagance, and feels seemingly no harm about her lavish lifestyle. I do agree to an extent, that based on the news article, she is nowhere near to be classified as "filthy rich". Still, with the expensive presents showered to her from her family, for instance a LV bag for school (yup, you heard me right, for school!), $500 pocket money since 16 (double "wow"!!!) and minimum $1000shopping expenses, that leaves me thinking, and probably you, too, the below questions.

1) Whatever happened to the good old then-fashionable label, EastPak? I mean, i recalled fondly that in my era, having an EastPak is so so so upmarket!

2) I have never had more than $100 as pocket money, whether i was 16 yrs old, or 20yrs old. and every end of the month, i still had remaining left, to feed my "porcelain piggy bank". How did i survive, now that i am a 30yo woman?

3) I had my first vacation with my frens at the ripe old age of 24?? And all that i spent, excluding airfare and accommodation were probably less than 5000thai bahts (approx. S$200)? I shuldda go bang toufu and die (from shame in comparison!)

Well, of cos, it may not be any issue to anyone, the way this student lives her lavish lifestyle. Much has to be blamed on the society, for being increasingly substandard in the treatment between the rich and not. Being materialistic and overly idealistic (that recession will not affect these folks) are probably the best shields for them, as the picture of poverty may be unbearable, and in my own words, disgusting, for their world.

But, the million dollar question here is, are these folks ready for whatever economy downturn that may come their way? If they are, well and good. What can be so difficult, to grit the teeth and march on, surpassing all obstacles? However, what happens if they are not ready to give up their materials, their more than too many vacations and all? Will they make hasty decisions and obtain their material needs via the wrong routes? If this happens, who is the eventual "director" directing them these routes? Their crave for a "better" (read lavish) life, their parents for sheltering them from pictures of poverty, or MONEY?

Well, one would say, "Aunty Cat, stop being a prude. We are not living in YOUR era". But you cant blame me, for besides the above questions that had surfaced in my mind, i am making solid comparisons. While this leading cast has plans to purchase a $4k bag from her first paycheck, i know of many of my temp staffs, working hard, even during exam time, just to earn meagre amounts, in bid to quickly pay off their study loan. Sometimes they even take on 2 jobs on the same day, giving their best for each job they are doing, so that more jobs will come their way. Many times, these temps, same age as the leading cast, dun lead any "glamourous" lifetsyle, and are yet not losing out, comparing to her! What they earned, are the "thumbs-up", the "well-done pats" and "RESPECT".

I guess, its really destiny, for not everyone is borned with silver spoons. But, clay-made spoons may not necessary be a bad thing afterall. They mould the character in one!

Looking at myself, i got my 1st LV wallet only early this year, to congratulate myself for turning 30, and for my past years of hard work! I guess i could have gotten the wallet at a much younger age, but it would be just so wrong. I mean, should i have gotten the label younger, i may not treasure my hardworks and all. My mum, got hers at 53yrs old! Ask me if she's considered too old for luxurious goods? NO! She deserves it more than me, for her efforts in putting up the home for us.

I certainly hope the economy will quickly turns positive, so that whether the poors, the needies or the materialistics will be able to survive. Sigh...

A Bad Cut

It was a bad Saturday, for all of us. Just as we thought we can get some good rest on a free Saturday, Daryl Darling suffered a bad cut. Yes, by bad, i really meant bad.

I was downstairs surfing my web, when Daryl walked up to me, after his bath, saying," Mummy, got blood..". He did not shed a single tear, nor was he shocked, and he was so normal that i thought he was joking with me. When he held up his chin, i got the rudest shock of my life! His under-chin had a deep cut that (i am not exaggerating) besides the blood oozing, i could even see the flesh! Gruesome sight, i must confessed.

I began screaming for hb, hysterically, that hb sensed the urgency and fright in my voice, that he scrambled down from our room, to the living room. He could only spurt out a series of," what..... what.... what....". While the 2 adults were in such frenzy, the brave junior proceeded to explain what had happened. Apparently, after his bath, he wanted to walk down the stairs to show his mummy dearest, that he could imitate a caterpilar. But as he was all wrapped up with his towels, he promptly fell to the floor, without realising that he would need support to prevent his face from getting "slammed". But what got us adults wondering, was how on earth did he suffered the sharp cut, if we followed his side of the story? It would likely be abrasion if he had just rubbed his chin on the tiles. And we did a thorough check that the tiles weren't popped up, hence unlikely was a cut by the tiles. So, how his his flesh split????

We wasted no time, and rush him down to our GP. Throughout the 5 mins walk, he was so brave! No tears, just nodding of his head when asked if he's still in pain. Naturally, we had to prepare him that during the treatment, it would be pain, and he needed to be mentally prepared.

At the doc's room, doc laid him on the leather "bed", and assessed the split. From that same angle, hb n me could clearly see the split, and it was really bad! Still Daryl Darling laid as still as possible to allow doc the convenience of checking. Then, doc dapped his cotton wool with antiseptic, on the surrounding of the wound. Poor Daryl, was in such pain that his big tear drops flowed freely from his eyes. He was choking and saying," mummy!! very pain... very pain..." (gosh, as i m recounting the saga, i can now feel my tears coming back again..) HB held one of his hands, while i rubbed daryl's other hand, tellin him to be brave, and that he should not be crying, else, the tears would flow to the wound..

All this while, doc was so calmed, almost devoid of any feelings, merely concentrating on his work. As he dabbed gently again, Daryl was squeezing his eyes shut, so tightly, and crying, that i teared too... my brave Darling dun cry easily, and thats what daddy hates about him. Hb always say he's too strong for a 5yo, and thats not a gd sign at all. Kids should learn to express all feelings, and not hide them, especially when in pain. But now that Daryl's crying freely in pain, we as his dearest kins, could not take the pain. Honestly, i recalled myself comforting our son, in a half choking manner..

Hb, was tearing too, not the sissy style, but the tears of a daddy would melt any diamond. Much as daddy always chides the son, daddy knows best and loves most. With daryl's tears, cries and pain, hb surrendered. Hb turned pale, and honestly, i havent seen hb's paleness before.. I could see his jelly legs, and i told him to move out of the room first. It would be messy, if doc hasnt finished his treatment and gotta tend to a fainted man. I realised the strength of a woman, especially if she has the title of a "Mother".

By then, doc had "joined" the cut together, and taped the slit with some tapes. At that instant, Daryl seemed to be a little more comforted. Next, doc folded a piece of gauze, over the wound, as a cushion, to prevent any accidental touch, which may cause the wound to split or bleed.

Daryl Darling had his tears dried up, and was propped up, sitting on the bed now. He listened attentively to doc's advise, to keep the wound dry, for fear of infection.

Well, he rested at home for a few hours, before we depart to nik's place for another round of bbq. This feisty son of mine, was once again, playing with Baby Shyuen,, at the gardens, in the rubber pool. So much so for the ordeal... Sigh...

Its a Girl!!!

Yesterday early morning, hb mumbled that he was unsure what he was excited about, that he couldn't sleep. I teased at him, saying he is probably anxious to see our baby. Ya, we went for my monthly gynae check up yesterday.

At the gynae's, my feeling was indescribable. When she did the scan, pointing out the limbs, the crown and all, i was just smiling sweetly. HB and daryl were lookin intently at the monintor. From the bedside, i could see Daryl Darling waving at the Baby in the monitor.

As Dr. Sim was scanning and talking, she suddenly said," This could be a baby gal. Not too clear, but should be." Whoohooooooo!!!!! Hb and me looked at each other in the eyes and smiled. Poor Daryl Darling was saying," No!! Must be a boy... i want to call him Ben!" wahahaha

And so, after i got dressed and left the clinic,m we had our lunch at Delifrance. I was so busy texting my loved ones, telling them that i am carrying Baby Gwen! heehee... from Close Fren, to GES Gang, to Sel n JC, my own family etc.. All felt happy that my wish came true. Like what Close Fren said," So Perfect!".

It surely felt good..... Baby Gwen will be her name. As for the Chinese name, i shall leave that to the experts... :P

Family Escapade to HKG 14 - 18 Oct 2008

Oh my!! I am just so lazy to blog... i guess i must be still in my holiday mood.. refusing to lift my fat fingers to type. Well, i think i will give a brief summary of the trip, even though i am dyin to share all my thoughts during the trip. keke

Day 1 - 14 Oct
Darn! The flight was at 6.40am, and hence we gotta book a maxi cab for 7 of us, pick up point at our office, to proceed to T1, at 4am! Had BK for brekkie, but all were either too excited or it's just too early to fill our tummies with bacons and all.

Board plane, reached HKIA at 10.25am, as expected. Great job, Jetstar! Met Skyline, our driver at HKG. He's Leah's colleague's bf, and charged us a special rate of HKD$1150 for 5 hrs disposal. Since the Giant Buddha at Ngong Ping is at the same Lautau Island, as HKIA, it made sense to visit there first.

We had a lambasted time, taking lotsa pics at NgongPing. Am so glad i brought along the DSLR. There is indeed a vast difference btw a DSLR and digicam! Took cable car across to the Giant Buddha, toured around, goofed with our cam, and returned back to point one.

Headed to Citygate for lunch, and shopped ard. Most major brands have their "factory outlets" nested there. From Timberland to Giordano, Esprit to Le Sauda, Adidas and Nike etc... Hehehe, i bought 2 incredibly cute baby shoes for Gwen (yup, my new daughter's name!) At less than $20 per pair!!! What a steal!!!! Bro got a pair of Nike at S$60+..hehehe...

At 4pm, Skyline came by to pick us to check into our hotel. What a boo-boo!! We were supposed to go Metropark Mongkok, but he sent us to Metropark Kowloon, which is also in Mongkok... kekeke.. finally, we managed to check in by 6pm, and by then, we were tired and famished, again! Popped to the nearest Cha Chan Teng to eat, and then proceeded to Fa Yuen Street (Flower Garden Street). That is a stretch of night market and whoohooooo.... i have absolutely NO IDEA how many sets of baby wears i got for Gwen! It must be at least 15 sets? And i got 5 sets of PJs for Daryl Darling too, from Power Rangers to Ben 10, to Transformer etc... He was a happy boy! Headed back to hotel to sleep cos must replenish energies.

Day 2, 15 Oct
Decided that we will go Macau only on 3rd day, since we wanted to cover Hkg first. Patronised Xi Ji congee shop right below our hotel That was fantabulous piece of art!! Smooth and tasty, totally seduced all my tastebuds, fending off potential rivals, from getting into my mouth... hahaha... it was just THAT good!!

Got ourselves Octopus Cards at the MTR station, and headed for our 1st stop, Wong Tai Sin Temple. So talked about, that i must go take a look. Indeed, the crowd is as huge as our local Waterloo GuanYin Temple, all devoted and conveying their wishes to the "Higher Authorities".

Then we proceeded to Apliu Street, where 2nd hand electrical and electronics are sold at damn cheap price. Too bad, i cant find any SB600 (flash) for my Nikon... Just as well, to save $! By the time we had our lunch at Cafe De Coral, it was almost 2plus. well, with elderly and the young, we naturally headed back to hotel for napping session, to recharge and continue for the evening.

After R&R, we headed again, to Mongkok area to browse at Ladies Street. Another round of shopping and bargaining before we walked off with our winnings...hehe.. Had dinner at a Shanghainese restaurant.

Afterwhich, it was Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), where we watched the Symphony of Lights. I think thats pretty lame that the HKG tourism made it such a "must visit"... I mean, whats so interesting about the buildings with lasers?? We strolled around the Avenue of Stars, snapping pics and all. Then, stepped into Sogo, to use the loo. Well, an accident occured. Bro was putting on his jacket for Daryl, when he missed a step, and fell down the stairs. It all happened so fast, that we were dumbfounded. Next, we saw him slided across the floor when he landed, and knocked his head on a sharp edge of a display table... Ouch!!! He insisted he's Ok, and we proceeded back for fear he may feel concussed.

Day 3 - 16 Oct
Hb's bday!!!! Mum gave him a red packet in HKG dollars. wahahaha.... we had brekkie at another Cha Chan Teng, and rushed to Harbour City, TST, to get our Ferry Tickets. Whooaa.. the ferry ride is indeed bumpy... so much so that i was worried that my folks will start the merlion act! heng ah, nothing happended,..

When we stepped into the terminal at Macau, a swarm of those transport operators "swam" towards us, each recommending their service to bring us around. One even quoted HKD$700 for 3 hours. We brushed them off nastily, and walked to hitch the public bus at HKD$2.50 per pax. See how much they wanted to fleece us?? But one bad thing when we DIY, is that we gotta knw where to alight. We were on the way to visit Ruins of St Paul's. Well, naturally, we overshot lah.. Just as well lah, cos we had one of the most wonderful lunch. Eventually, with kind guidance, we got to St Paul's. It was breathe-taking. The architect is magnificent. after pic takings, we went and got many food products, before leaving for the Terminal. Due to time constraint, we culdnt visit the casinos, specially the Venetian.. Sigh.. next time then.

5.30pm ferry, we reached almost 7pm, to Kowloon. Everyone had bland/light food. Guess we were all tired and had no appetite. Dad even was in naseous state. We left for hotel... hoping to hop into bed to sleep immediately.

Day 4 - 17 Oct
Headed to Hongkong Island's Causeway Bay to shop, and also got our chance to try the eletric tram. What a good feeling it was! we travelled on the tram for a long time, sightseeing, and it was one flat fee of HKD$2.50!!! Had lunch at a restaurant that left us too full to walk... Then we went to Causeway's Lane Crawford to shop. And i saw THAT Kate Spade and was instantly hooked! So damn like it, but gotta give it a miss, cos no point i pay S$500+ for a small bag... the money can save for LV..oppsss.... i mean baby..wahahaha

By the time we got back, was abt 4plus already. Everyone napped, while me and hb slipped out to the nearby markets for a good 2 hrs, for our own sweet "we" time. I really needed that, to be away from the folks, to have our own romantic time.

Headed back after dinner to pack....

Day 5 - 18 Oct
Skyline's colleague picked us up at 8.45am and we headed to HKIA to board our Jetstar... reached Sin at almost 3.30pm and home by 5pm. Finally can rest our feet till 8pm, where we headed to Nik's new home for hb's post bday celebration...

Ok, more pics at my facebook... have fun viewing!

Eve of Family Escapade to HKG

eh, did i mention i love the anticipation of going on a holiday? especially on the eve of the departure? I love the feeling of "rehearsing" the "procedures", from running thru the packing list, to reading up again and again on the itinerary, to doing more research than i should to suss out the "Must Visit, Must Eat, Must Try" activities. Then, i would be busy with sorting out my paperworks. Not work leh! My paperworks, as in my hotel invoice, the air tickets, my maps, etc. I love love love such busi-ness.

But . . . i seemed to lost the feeling of anticipation, for my recent trips. From my Shanghai trip last year, to my GRT to BKK with the gals this year, and for tomorrow's HKG escapade. In replacement, the anticipation turns into restlessness and with me, becoming a worriesome Cat. Now, paperworks are no longer for pleasure, but for official stuff, like last minute correspondences with clients, endless briefings for my office staff and temp staff, and worst of all, my clients. Wahaha... no wonder client commented that," hannah! just go enjoy lah... dun be so lor-sor lah...lol"

Still, i am determined to make this trip a relaxing one. Must ask the rest of the kampong to bear with me and go with my pace, for, "how can a pregnant woman go fast pace???" I figure that as usual, i wun have much shopping to do, and i would be spending most of my bucks on food, and various transports (Star Ferry, Electric Trams, Duk Ling etc !!!! Just the thot of that makes me a happy woman!), and of cos, stuff for Daryl Darling and Honey! I have decided to officially nicknamed my new baby as "Honey", becos i dun want Daryl to feel that his "Darling" title has been robbed away by the new baby.

Well, the flight is at 6.40am!!!! OMG! What was i thinking when i booked the flight?? Thats like waking up at 3plus am.... Sigh.... Still, not too bad lah. By the time we reach HKG, its only like 10plus am. That leaves us with sufficient time to visit the Giant Buddha and outlet shoppings!! I shall blog abt the itinerary when I'm back this Sat.

Ok, am gonna do more last min reading in case i miss out potential spots. Till then, take care!!!!!! Dun miss me too much. :)

Airwavers BBQ Session

Its Sunday, and I am taking the liberty to update yesterday's BBQ session, in the office while HB is busy packing the stuffs for the roadshows later... :P

Met Alssionx, Jason + Vivian at Giant Tampines at 3.30pm, for the marketing session. Its funny, how the few of us always rush to volunteer for the marketing bit. Instead of feeling tired or bored, we all adore marketing. Its fun! We headed straight to settle the "equipments", like getting the wired meshes, brush etc, before getting the food. This time, i brought along my own small portable pit that i got from Carrefour sometime ago, at a ridiculos price - $8.50!!! Tell me, what a steal is that??!!! I was so elated at this good buy, and can finally let it make its debut appearance.. lol

We bought all the marinated chicken wings and meat, all costing us only less than $25. Got 2 big packets of prawns too, and oh, chicken franks and crab sticks for the kiddos. Decided to do without fish and crabs cos too leh-chey to clean up. Best part was the sweet potatoes. The leftovers at the tray were so CMI, that we were in dismayed. And, 2 swet chaps from Giant came by our way, with 3 cartons of bright purplish stuff. Before we knew it, they started pouring the contents onto the tray. YES!!! freshly flown (i supposed lah) sweet potatoes, that looked good outside and bright yellow on the inside.

We had collected $15/pax, and Duck Rice had proudly sponsored his $100 voucher from his recent Best Airwave contest. Thank you Alan!!! With $300 on hand, we were worried it might not be enough, but what a pleasant surprise it was, that the total bill from Giant was $100! Well, thats the difference in getting us to do the big job of marketing. Cheap and good!!

Reached ECP at abt 5pm, and settled nicely at a hut. Fantastic weather and cool breeze. The boys wasted no time to set up my portable pit and Daryl Darling was "supervising". Me? Journalist of the Day, started taking pics with my digicam. I lost my configuration for the DSLR and was waiting for the help. I also started posing, in a bid to capture as many pregnancy pics as possible... The others were laughing like hell, that i can be SO vain. Hey, "SO" is understatement! When Mavloo strolled into the hut, i thot i saw my saviour!!! Wasted no time to get him to check my configuration. When its done, i was like," Finally, baby!!! Time to shoot!"

Many others started strolling in by 6plus, and by then, the first batch of BBQ wings were out. BBQed to perfection! Thumbs up!! And pregnant ladies ALWAYS get the privilege, to start eating first! hehe ... When all the other OCs arrive, we retreated to a corner, sat on our portable chairs, and started the baby chats straightaway. Since all of us are young mums, our topics revolved around the delivery process, the taboos, that "what to eat/not" etc... Our juniors were already almost out of sight, running around, cycling etc... I guessed it was good fr us parents, to let loose of the kids for once, and for the kids to be "uncontrolled" too!

Then, our group of DSLR freaks, started the snapping. In 2 minutes, at least 3 DSLRs (2 nikons and 1 canon) appeared and lights started to flash. Then, they got busy ith taking pics of my bulging tummy, and me? gladly posed for them lah! Even told them i can be their model if they want to take pregnancy pics!!! Got them puking quite a bit thou. hehehe

Time passed damn fast, and we started to pack ard 10.45pm. Its so auto!!! Everyone simply just knew what to do. Some packed the leftover food, the guys settled the 2 portable pits, others kept the portable chairs etc. By 11pm, all got into the car and departed for home.

Well, i reached home, feeling dead tired, but still managed to upload pics into our web gallery, as well as my facebook. I will put some pics in the blog tonight. For now, if you wanna see the pics, its here in our gallery : http://picasaweb.google.com/sg.airwave/BBQSessionEastCoastPark#