Coffee, Tea or Baabooo

Take 45 mins of solitary bliss

2008-03-28T09:39:00.002+09:30

The irony of it all. Even with my newfound emancipation ever since Rhian has graduated away from toddlerhood and is now in full time schooling, it has NOT been easy to find time to write. Whenever I get a spot of time away from the mad rush of drudgery, I just flop and space out. And wonder of wonders, I realized that I have been succumbing to catnaps in the afternoon. A door is opened!!!

I don't know if I should be happy or worried about this. Perhaps my age has dawned on my ignorant body and is telling me to watch it. I'm no spring chicken. What a terrible thought.

Like I keep telling my newfound Japanese comrade in motherhood battle, an "obasan"!

Again, I can't dally as long as I like. When my sandwich is munched up, and my tummy fortified to allay morning rumbles, there's vacuuming to be done, laundry to fold and clothes to iron. This is now almost half past nine in the morning, and by the time all that load is done, I'm probably just in time to do a little lunch. Or not. Depends on how zesty I will tackle the housework this morn.

And I haven't forgotten that I'm down to a quarter tank of fuel, and it needs filling up. I'm nervous about making another trip to the petrol station. I know I have to do it this afternoon before the kids are back, so the car is topped up for the long trip to their Chinese classes tomorrow morning ... but I really don't feel like doing that. really really don't.

I have been out all morning yesterday - shopping! There. The ugly truth is out. However, it's on an important mission. Hey! It really is! My sis will stand testimony to the fact that I'm no shopper. I have been faithfully wearing her hand-me-downs all my life and will continue to do so. She's the one with The Eye. Incidentally, she's the one making me do all the running because I have to coordinate my kids' clothing with hers. Coordinating children's wear across a continent is no mean feat.

My sandwich is gone.

I don't want to go but I have to. My bottom may atrophy onto my carpet if I let be.

Independence Dayzzz

2008-02-29T14:12:00.003+09:30

R has started Pre-School already and I'm rewarded with 5 full days of unnatural emancipation for 6 whole hours to do whatever I like!

Awesome.

The first day Rhian went to school, I was left feeling a little lost though. The house was so quiet. So very quiet without her incessant chatter. Hubby says I ought to make a recording of her voice and play it during the day to make the day seem "normal".

That seems like an idea. I kept wondering at intervals what she was doing at school, and if she was fitting in okay.

The very next day, the second day she was due to attend school, however, the teachers went on semi-strike. They all stopped work for a half-day to conduct a meeting. It looks like they are fighting for good reasons though, which I'm sort of in favour of. I'm still of the firm belief that teachers belong to this very noble group who willingly dedicate their lives towards the education of little terrors. I mean, I'm really up to my neck, and I probably sink many times, so what is my two little ones compared to their class-full??? It's an awfully heavy responsibility to mind and teach them. Not everyone has the emotional mettle to be a good teacher.

So, here I am with a bit of time again. And I decide to start writing a little again. I'm ambling ... I haven't really gotten my mind round to the fact of my 6-hour liberation for 5 days at a stretch! Besides "penning" down my thoughts now and then in this blog, I haven't a clue yet about how to structure my time. In a constructive manner as opposed to my spacing out.

Someone broke into my car!

2008-02-13T13:31:00.004+09:30

We were all trooping back merrily to my after B's Jujitsu class at the Melville Recreation Centre. And me being forever, a Blur Queen, got into my seat, reached for my GPS, and discovered that it was not in the compartment. Still, I continued to calmly rummage around for it at the front. I thought B had stashed it elsewhere for me. So, I got out to get round to to the back. Then, I see this big hole in my side panel window .......

oooh .... my .... god ....

There were shattered glass shards and splinters strewn all over the back seat.

What a baaaaaaaaad way to end the day.

I lost my trusty GPS, the in-car entertainment set for my kids which was 2 TV screens, remote controls, game consoles, and the player itself ... On the bright side though, my lovely boy and girl were not the least bit concerned about losing their back seat entertainment. Instead, they exclaimed, "Oh, poor mummy! How will you get around without the GPS? You will get lost???"

That's me. I'm so hopeless and my kids are so wonderfully aware about this. So, despite the unlucky hassle of not only losing stuff, but having to pay to replace lost items, and not to mention, the nasty cleanup in my car, it does soothe the shaken senses when your kids care more about you than their "toys".

2008

2008-01-30T15:00:00.000+09:30

Glitter Generators

Come and Join Me in Australia!

2008-01-21T15:53:00.000+09:30

Hey Everyone,

Australia is in serious shortage of skilled, experienced engineers for the Oil & Gas sector here. I'm working with a bunch of great guys, or should I say, 2 great guys. Mmmm, sorry girls, these guys are taken. Mine including. Keep coming back and I will unravel the mystery.

Come over and check out Novexx, a niche headhunting firm, with a global recruitment outlook for the energy and resources sector.

Are you game to switch to ...

a happy balance between family and work,
earn a darn sight more,
live on your own land and not some hole in the sky,
have great outdoor spaces and activities for your kids,
to actually believe and watch your kids absolutely enjoying schooling and to realize you're not beset by any exam jitters at all,
best of all, and this one is my personal favorite, to see my husband back by between 5-5.30pm, Mon-Fri
that your husband is fully participating in your kids growth as much as you
your bank savings are earning decent rates from 6% onwards
no silly societal and peer pressure here, so ...
no need to strive for 4Cs anymore, and keep up with the Joneses (or Changs, Durais' or god knows what else may come up!)
no shame in being a bricklayer or in a hard labour trade which rakes in big, big bucks here
no shame in working at MacDonald's or being a cashier ...
no aspiring to climb the corporate ladder because a welder may be earning twice as much as a manager, and yet have less than half the worries ... I really like this as it is such a twist on allthat Machiavellian conniving so rift in the corporate world, nyyyaaaahh! So, basically, a person can say, "B*lls to you, who cares if you're some high-level managerial *ss if you're getting worse ... so don't you stick your snotty nose up at me ..." (me personal opinion and no offense intended, just wanting to highlight the funny but realistic side of this) - cool eh?
almost left this out, the equivalent of CPF here is the Super which totally belongs to you and is yours to manage if you have the experience to do this. You are also free to invest it in a wide-ranging selection from property to stocks, australian or international, lots more - yes, not quite so narrow-minded here it seems. You do not need to have one leg in the grave to touch your super. Just the usual age eligibility of 65 will do. And the government here will not mess with your super or stick their fingers into it.

Now, let's turn to the papers here, in view of this shortage of skilled professionals, to show I'm really not B*llsh*tting.

A look at today's news headlined an article titled, Unconventional recruitment winning, (click to read full article). The following has been excerpted from the article.

According to the RCSA survey, engineers are in the most wanted category, closely followed by business professionals.

Interestingly, the skills shortage top 10 list includes, you wouldn't believe it!
- Receptionists and telephonists !!!

Do drop me a line and give me a buzz if you want to take up this challenge.

Yours truly,
Jas

Lotterywest Australia Day Skyworks Celebrations 2008

2008-01-21T15:07:00.000+09:30

City of Perth

We'll be heading down to Langley Park to have a family day out and watch the kids go wild with all those activities galore starting from one end of the Swan River and swinging right around to the other side. This is a one BIG MOTHER of an event!

Yo people, check out this bursting menu of activities at the Skyworks Event 2008!

And we'll head back to our cosy suburb and nestle down by a good spot at our riverside and watch the fireworks spectacular far from the madding crowds. Bring our trusty picnic mat, picnic basket and we're set to wind down for a lovely evening dinner with a fantastic live dinner entertainment of pyrotechnics!

Cheers mates!!!

We buzzzzz ...

2008-01-21T14:37:00.000+09:30

Merry Christmas! and Getting back in tempo

2007-12-17T10:18:00.000+09:30

Our suburb

Wishing everyone a Very Merry X'mas!

We're finally up and running with the internet after a hiccup-fraught application which took many calls back and forth and 2 failed applications before it took off. Woo! Nothing but the f-word will describe that slow-moving agony ... nope, it's frustration!!! What were you guys thinking of?

Anyways, I believe my blog will stay neglected for a l-o-n-g while because there's too much to do and so much life to catch up on over here, back in Perth, and in a most picturesque suburb imaginable. It's north-facing, our townhouse is north-facing and we're very near the water - the Swan River - so, it's all plenty good as far as SL's career path feng shui goes. I was worried that we would only be getting the tail end of the fair weather after heading back here, since Dec brings back the heat slowly but surely. It's all good so far however, because, there have been cold fronts coming in and keeping the heat at bay. It's now a cool 16 degrees as I type this at night ....... so very lovely and cold ... what more could we ask for? So, before I lose myself and gush you all into yawning boredom, here are some pics to perk you up!

Jacaranda-lined streets make for pleasant walks

Thanks to this beautiful suburb, you find us outdoors an awful lot. The tree-lined streets with their purple over-hanging branches frames the street scape makes walking very pleasant indeed. Top that off with the cool weather favouring us at the moment, and it's BLISS!

My kids love cycling along the river. If we're out around 4pm or so and there are gusty winds coming in, you'll be greeted by fabulous views of the kite surfers with their huge, colorful kites dotting the air pulling the surfers beneath them over the waves. Fantastic sight! It's a popular spot for kite surfing on account of the strong sea breezes. I'm crossing my fingers that lovely, strong sea breezes will keep the summer heat at bay, and hold out all the way until it gets cool around April or so ...

One of our many cycling forays along the Swan foreshore just behind us

Our after dinner sunset strolls

If my kids can't get out cycling, they do it around the back yard. The roses are also coming into season and the terrors have been thrilled with the bursting colours of the blooms.

Mucking around and Roses we picked from our backyard

Flower-giving ceremony for the old folks
at the Fo Guang Shan Temple
where B+R became flower girls and boys

Claisemont Cove, Royal Street at East Perth
where we love hanging out. Now, the picture does not do it
justice but it's absolutely woweee when you're down there in the flesh.
Trust me, this is not your crowded, noisome UOB Boat Quay,
Clark Quay gala. It's much quieter, genteel and family-friendly!
Oh, there's a family pub there too but the noise level is tolerable.
If you don't like that, you can always stroll further down towards the park lands.

Well, that's our little update for now. As it is, we're still finding our feet here, and yes, we're taking our own very sweet time over it. Which, I might add, is very pleasant! Must be the Christmas season lulling us into a slower pace too I guess. There are parties to attend, places to go and to simply soak in the beautiful surrounds.

And until then, please ...
Have a Very Merry Christmas!

Transitional limbo

2007-11-09T13:37:00.000+09:30

Queen's Park, East Perth

Desperation. A feeling I can do less with. I'm glad we got over this. It's been a frustration-filled two and a half week's worth of house hunting. The houses get snapped up so fast. Just gone in a blink ...

There was an open house we went to at 11am. It was advertised for 11am. We planned, we reached, a minute or two before 11am. And when we walked through the open door, we were greeted with

sorry, but it's been leased out ten minutes ago.

Leaves you speechless.

We changed options many times, looking at other areas, other choices. Bought the papers, scoured through the listings faithfully, and went to many home opens, drove by, and around many suburbs to get a feel of the areas - it was a lot of effort. Checked up the real estate website everday, we probably boosted their page views by a fair chunk. Instead of our usual screen savers, you saw the real estate home page. It was that bad, that frustrating, and that desperate.

It's all over now. I'm left curiously deflated. A hurdle crossed. But, curiously, empty. Aimless even. Nothing to solve, nothing to research for the time being. Tell me that again. That humans are strange and contradictory. Maybe it's just me.

At another crossroad

2007-11-05T09:01:00.001+09:30

Good Morning!

Here we are safely ensconced in Perth once again. Happy smiling faces all around. It's good to be back. That's for a million times sure. Internet connection here has been tacky (as usual ... is there ANY place in AU where the connection is not? Since the whole thing is under the whimsical monopoly of Telstra). I have had trouble logging into my blog account. But, since this is a complimentary service that comes with this accommodation, it's still GREAT - yaaaay!

At least, we still get to do a great many things online. Here are some pictures of this terrace we're putting up at. It's a neat little place. Bedrooms, toilet, bathroom are upstairs. Open plan kitchen with full mod cons, dining and living are downstairs. A little breakfast baloney out front, overlooking the pool below - although the pool is closed at the moment ... place is also secure. Entry by keycards, one for the apartment and one for the parking area. Everything hunky dory as far as transitions go. The next step though has proven to be rather ... tricky, to er, put it mildly and to avoid getting my emotions up.

Location is convenient. Riverside is across the other side of the road. I walked to Swan Bell's and the Barrack Jetty with my kids in the bracing coolness. Wonderful!! How we have missed that in Darwin. Brandon was so happy,he kept yelling, "ooh, it's nice and cold! I love it!" We love walking in cold weather. You don't even work up a sweat! How fantastic is that? A pleasant, non-sweaty, cardio workout that you can enjoy together in tandem with your kids!!

YES, we have been walking to our heart's content, everywhere!! Queen's Park is just behind with a beautiful family of cygnets and lots of other water fowl, except you have to watch out for the bird poop. Otherwise, it's a beautiful, postcard perfect park. We've chosen to walk to the Murray/Hay street malls instead of hopping onto the CAT services, since it's not that far, and I wanted to just soak in the city sights along the way.

And oh! the scrummelicious food is pure heaven to get back to! SL is definitely back into his element here. He's been in food heaven ever since. And to sweeten it all, prices here are also wonderfully cheaper than in Darwin ... by jove, it's GOOOOOOOD to be here again.

We've forgotten that stuff in Perth is so much cheaper than in Darwin. Petrol is also cheaper @ 1.28!

What else is different for me?

Well, there are LOTS of vehicles out on the roads. I haven't gotten my nerves up to really drive about here yet ... if I can get them straight in the first place. Maybe, it's because we're smack in the midst of the CBD and that we've to go over the freeways each time we need to go into surburbia. It freaks me out. Too many lanes, too many exits clustered together, and too many roads telling you no right turn here, left turn only ... it's a nightmare gone berserk for a greenhorn like me!

The other royal headache has been the house hunting. It's been an extremely, insanely mad raceto get a rental over here! You can probably guess that it's been a frustrating hunt thus far. Rents have also gone up a fair bit since we've been gone and supply has shrunken to a pitiful trickle. We've been to a fair few viewings but have not turned up anything suitable.

We've just spent the weekends and at least 3 evenings driving about, looking at houses, suburbs ...

It's been tiring for the kids but something we've needed to do. Tiring for my poor man too ...

On happier notes, my kids have been reacquainting themselves with King's Park, and loving it.

They love the lovely lawns and running all over the grounds.

From the high vantage point, we've been able to enjoy leisurely but spectacular views of the Red Bull Air Race. The planes were zipping and somersaulting overhead and we could watch their aerial acrobatics over the river.

Great picnic outing.

So, of course, we did it again the very next day!

Water Garden.

Walkway with Glassed Bridge overlooking the Old Swan Brewery.

We're now starting out our 3rd week here ... and many more to come.

See you again next time, that is, if I can login in ...

Cheerio!!

Versions of Mum,Mummy,Mom,Mommy,Mother ...

2007-10-10T12:29:00.000+09:30

I have just discovered from chatting to one of the preschooler's mom (to Rhian's classmate) that she is working a 20-hour week from home, whilst still breast-feeding her 10-month old baby, and caring for 2 boys, a 4-year old and 6-year old! Wow! It's amazing ... I can't think of any amongst my peers who can juggle it THIS WELL on their own! We'd be screaming up the wall and have regular visits to the psychiatrist or crying for our mum's help, or maids ... ! On top of that, I see her smiling all the time, and she's kissing baby very often too. She's with IBM by the way, and still needs to fly into Sydney on occasion for meetings. Of course, there's a great deal of self-sacrifice there. She does work into the nights, stealing some quiet hours to work when baby's asleep but I still say holy moly ... and I still see her a very normal mum, well-adjusted, no sign of paranoia anywhere.

When I start to grumble I'll have to think twice. Getting your degree does not prepare you adequately to be a great mum. Nobody teaches you that. I don't know which is the worse off. That I'm not working, and have only 2 to deal with - what's that compared to her? Or to actually choose work over having to look after your own kids because you can't cope with full-time ie.,using work as an escapist strategy? Or to choose work over kids for the sake of having more money to pay for the maids, private daycare, extra classes for the kids, keep a bigger car and then grumble about not having enough time with your kids? Some mums are really, really strong! This is what I've been observing and learning here. An absolute sense of independance. No falling back on grandparents, or maids, or childcare. I keep seeing many cases of mums who are totally self-reliant, and hey! I'm learning something everyday. To be with your own kids 24/7 forever and happily after, requires patience of the highest order. This is a level of tolerance and patience which tests me daily. Sometimes I set new records, sometimes I metamorphose into a demented virago. Many times I wished to be single at my most depressed, or at least enjoying a kids-free twosome with my hubby.

Which brings me to this article I found as I was surfing around desultorily wondering why I'm a housewife. Yep, me and my mood fluxes. I'd been reading this article below about how an old couple managed to retire in luxury on $2,000 a month. Now, that cuts through like a shining path of real hope!!

If they can do that, then, anybody can do that!

Crawling along

2007-10-08T09:08:00.000+09:30

Wooooh ... it's just 7.14am and the mercury is rising. It's already warming up outside! Another HOT, HOT, HOT day, and the start of the last school term for the year. Back to school for my kids today. And we're down to 11 days only before we fly. And escape before the cyclone season hits.

Somehow, it feels like I'm going back to "work" today. Have to make 3 tinkles today about our vacating this place and to pass on another challenging task to our removalist. Have to call the pest people. And one very important personal call. Oh, and I have to check my lottery tickets too! That's ultra important too.

Nothing eventful at the moment, nor yesterday. The days are just too hot to be outside, risking skin cancer and gallivanting under an UV radiation level of 14 ... you don't see any kids at all, nobody at the playgrounds, nobody cycling past even at 4pm. It's really too hot. With no social appointments yesterday, we were all snugly at home on a humdrum Sunday, and made chocolate chip cookies. Except for Brandon who got lucky. C - his classmate came over with his Dad to invite him to go for a movie with them. Since, Rhian had no invites, she was stuck with us, but, she gamely proclaimed that it was okay and she could finish up all the cookies for Brandon!

oops, gotta go hustle them to school now.

9am. Golly, almost missed some comments, since my laziness.

First off, a great big thank you to Healy for tagging me. Ummm, you've just tagged an almost hermit, so I've run out of people (bloggers). But if you want me to tag (recommend) books, now that's different! Okay, I've got one overiding wish.
Oh, please keep us midge-free forever. Those are nasty little buggers. One of my friends told me it'd take about 4-5 years for those scars to fade.

And I've to say sorry to Healy. But, my mind is preoccupied with our move at the moment. I've got my mother's gene for worrying. I won't stop thinking about it until it's over and done with. So, this is about what I can come up with ... sorry.

I hope to back online in a more active way when we're settled though.

It's my life ...

2007-10-06T17:24:00.000+09:30

... a new chapter. "It's my life!" that's one of SL's all-time Bon Jovi favourite. Curiously apt for the way we've been going about our lives' business. We've been walking where we have wanted to go instead of having society dictate our steps. I'd rather see it as being for good, since, our happiness factor has been steadily rising up the meter. Guess we must be doing fairly okay so far. In any case, there's no looking back, only forwards, and we must go on.

My apologies for letting this blog vanish off into the ether. My usual, poor banalities on offer here ... tired, hectic, gently making goodbyes, throwing away some stuff that's gotten old or have simply become redundant, a little packing, organizing ... okay, okay, I've been really LAAAZZZy!!!!!!

Had my place sprayed over to rid ourselves of the nasty bugs and crawlies. Chlorinator casing had its final days and cracked under the strain of the sun's heat. Water leaked out and was a potential hazard. It was a 2-week delay before the cell was replaced whilst the pool got dirtier by the day. But thank god, it's fixed by now! Only, the vacuum hose for the pool had to have a last laugh at us, and decided to break itself into 3 separate sections. So, we ended up in Bunnings hunting for the proper hose before we could get the *$#%*&@ pool vacuumed!

It's a burning 35 degrees now in the afternoon. I've got the ceiling fan on and my air-con at full blast. The spiders and midges have reappeared with a vengeance for young blood. Most notably, my kids' blood, marking their victory with many little scars! I'll never forget that one great, big, horrible scab which formed on Rhian's leg, the size of a 20-cent Australian coin (the AU 20-cent coin is nearly the size of a SG 50-cent coin btw). Both of them are sporting many battle scars on their legs. There's a secret society of spiders lurking about somewhere in my house. As soon as the cobwebs are swept off the corners, new ones spring up overnight ... and boy, do the crickets love my place. They're kicking it every night zinging their kind of music. Man, it's a daily battle with the creepy crawlies.

And, according to the news today, things are going to take a turn for the worst!

Horror cyclone season feared

If you've read that news link above, it looks like things can get really, really bad ... Meteorologists here are forecasting at least 3 to 4 cyclones when La Nina hits the Top End. The first cyclone may hit as early as in late November of this year.

Eh, things don't look so bad for me after all. At least, we're going to be well out of the way before any cyclone mischief! It's just under 2 weeks and we'll be flying off. Will probably wrap up the internet service here by next weekend. So, this blog'll take a backseat for a another good while yet. Until I find my feet back in Perth.

Well, another new suburb, new neighbours, faces to get used to, and running the whole, mad cycle again. The intention is to stay longer, but you never how the tides of change will flow. Righteo, my cogwheels are a little on the rusty side here. So, this'll be a short one. I need more gas to fire up my fossilizing grey lump up there. I really must get a move on and exercise it more. Finding it a bit hard to get my thoughts organized ...

Everything's sort of in transit at the moment for me. I'm trying to use up all the perishables in the kitchen. My poor family will be eating lots of spaghetti over the next week because there are 2 jumbo bottles of the sauce waiting to be used. I'm fine with it since I eat to live. But it will test my better half's appetite severely. Spaghetti once a month is just about his limit. But 3 times a week is really asking him his life! May be good for him though. He may go on a voluntary diet for the whole of next week.

Probably have to plonk in a meal at our favourite restaurant here to compensate for the spaghetti, now and then. We've discovered this great eatery run by a Taiwanese boss, who's also the head chef himself. It's not just his superb cooking but it's been very satisfying to be able to converse with someone in Chinese mixed with Hokkien! And - Waaaaah, simply great Chinese cuisine! Never have we tasted such great Chinese cooking. I mean proper, authentic Chinese style cooking. Here, most of the so-called Chinese restaurants are serving mock Chinese food that's been heavily westernised ........................ you can imagine how depressing that's been for the past 12 months we've been here.

Onward ho!

Loose Ends

2007-09-13T15:38:00.000+09:30

Whoopeee! There's a $20 million lottery jackpot this Saturday! Anyone wants to have a potshot at this? Sure would save anybody from the PAP's recent price hike on everything from hospitals to bus fares and anything else they can come up with. Oh, oh, almost forgot the "annuity" component they just slapped on the CPF nest egg. Not that it would be much of a nest egg after that ... Oh, and I've still got prized possession of a virus which sure is, taking its bloody sweet time to clear off.

It got my spirits down to the level where I wanted to can this blog because I didn't have the energy to write anymore.

So, there still is a humongous demand for experienced Oil&Gas people here in Australia. You don't need to contend with a pesky SG government who keeps poking their fingers everywhere into every aspect of your lives. Very low cost education here for the kids who will probably never want to study in a SG school again after having attended just one lesson here. Still affordable property here relative to SG's hole in the sky. You get it landed on at least 500-600 sqm worth of land. Paying a crazy 600K for a pigeon hole in the sky? Why not consider something here? Very nice cars for just $30K a piece with no irritating COE to bugger you, and they all at least 3 litres and above. For that matter, you might be able to afford 2 cars. You are free to manage your own Super (equivalent to SG's CPF) once it hits 200K and over. Invest it in property, stocks, whatever with your own full responsibility. The AU politicians aren't going to nanny you over your money like this. The Unions will be swarming them over if they ever have any funny ideas like this. The Unions are damn powerful here. You seriously don't want to see one at your door. And because of them, everybody works decent man-hours here. You will likely be at home with the family by 5pm.

There are no various petty fees lying in wait for you here and there. The roads are free for your use, any time of day. Except that you will have to pay for parking in the CBD areas of course. Yep, no ERP here. Otherwise, most parking is free. You've got your own garage, so no worries about car park price hikes. The CAT buses plying the Perth CBD area are all free.

No maids here. You are responsible for your own housekeeping, gardening and lawn mowing. At least, that's what is expected of a matured adult. You're probably not going to live in a mansion. 200-300 sqm of space isn't going to kill you, so, it's still manageable by me. You can still have housekeeping services if you can afford it of course. But don't expect to get a live-in, 24 hours service maid hanging around you here. Labour costs are a LOT higher here. I would expect anything from $60-100 onwards per hour.

Yet, despite the high tax, you do accumulate savings very fast. Due to the DIY lifestyle here, you are pretty much in charge of your own life. And depending on how you live, a debt-free lifestyle is definitely within reach.

Just one Kakadu National Park covers almost 20,000 sqkm relative to Singapore's 704 sqkm. So, there's is plentiful land to explore. Go up North for the whales, down south to Bunbury to see the dolphins, Gold Coast is on the eastern seaboard, a varied Sydney is also there to add a cosmopolitan touch. It's going to take you like, a year to go around Australia.

Oh, and Perth is also fairly near to SG, so you can fly back at least once a year without too much hassle.

Any takers out there?

Going ...

2007-09-09T16:33:00.000+09:30

Bugger this lingering cough.

We've got 6 more weeks to go ...

Back to reality

2007-09-07T11:52:00.000+09:30

So much news I've missed out on. So little time. Lots of reading to catch up on to make up for the time I spent mooning in bed. So many things happening everyday, all at once. Time waits for no one, many lives go on and many events keep taking place ... like ...

There's a poop smear on the wall this morning, courtesy of Rhian. How on earth she did that, I'd rather not know. Her brother has no idea how she did it too. The squabbles have also begun afresh after days of quiet solitude as comrades in illness. Brandon bit Rhian on her fanny for some reason too. Well, at least, it tells me they're OK now. But they're both grounded at their desk doing some paperwork for dishing out their nonsense before the day has barely started.

Aussies are finding it harder each day to juggle daily finances on top of rising property prices and rising interest rates, whilst the Australian economy keeps riding new highs on the crest of the China boom. Meanwhile, $55 billion worth of business deals has been inked between Australia and China. The latest is a deal worth $45 billion between Woodside and PetroChina. At the other end of the scale, there's been this very funny bit of Singapore news that still gives me the giggles. The headline reads (drumroll please), "Watch out Google, here comes SPH Search"! Click to read the article's boldly worded non-event. I still cringe when I see it.

It's hilarious isn't it? I can only imagine that the journalist must have been holed up in a well in some ulu part of the swamps in SG to make an audacious statement like this. Either that, or he must be very junior. Geez, don't they know how massive the international competition is outside??? If that's the way the younger generation's mindset is going, it doesn't bode too well for the future. Singapore might be one of the 4 Tigers, but it pays to be mindful and aware and be respectful of the larger economies out there. Bearing in mind our various disadvantages, and a decreasing proficiency in Mandarin ... it's all too easy to get left behind. A $2 billion investment in our country is a mere drop in the ocean, on the global platform. Thank God, Google is so gigantic that it isn't even going to bother with a little flea bite. Or mouse fart, as one of my ex-bosses would put it very aptly.

Resident Evil : V is for virus

2007-09-06T13:26:00.000+09:30

Haven't been to my laptop in ages with one medical crisis after another surfacing at home. It wears you down pretty fast. I've lost some of my precious weight which I'm now having a hard time regaining since my appetite doesn't want to cooperate with me. But that's small sacrifice. My big relief is seeing my kids on the road to recovery at long, long last.

Both SL and I have been battling the devil of a virus that's been hopping from Brandon to Rhian and moi! It started with Brandon first. It spread to Rhian through her own greed. They were both having lunch and Brandon had soup since he had fits of vomiting. Of course, Rhian wanted to have some of what he was having, since she is not one to be left out. She had plopped her spoon into Brandon's half-eaten bowl and merrily slurping and helping herself when I had my back turned to get something else for the table. That did it!! She contracted a fever that very night. By the following day, she had a scorching fever zinging between 39 and 40 degrees!! We had to keep hosing her down with cold water to bring the fever down to less dangerous levels. We were sponging her down through the night - make that 3 nights. She was prescribed the standard dose of antibiotics, Amoxycillin, which she's still on at the moment.

Between Rhian and Brandon, that had to make a drama-filled blood, gore and vomit story. The coughing fits usually triggered a vomit or a nose bleed. That's why my Nose Bleed post below. The bloody sheets, soiled clothes, blood-stained hankies were piling up into a veritable mountain in the laundry basket. I was changing the washing the bedsheets for 3 days, yep, counting today, since I am washing yesterday's mess.

That was pretty bad. There was no song and dance left in her, and she was really, very, very quiet and so still, it was nerve-wrecking for me. Since, I was the main caregiver, I contracted the virus as well since, she was coughing into my face every so often. Involuntarily that is, which is ok by me, since she can't control that. I went down (at last) one night, and SL had to take leave to care for all 3 of us ... the poor man. He wasn't spared either with all of us so highly diseased. Luckily, he only got the tail-end of it which was quickly fought off with a couple of flu tablets and plenty of water.

I'm a little woozy now even as I type this as I've just had my medication. My babes are in my room watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

During my brief periods of bed incarceration, I thank my stars for great Taiwanese varieties, 超级星光大道 where we discovered this great Taiwanese singer, 萧敬腾 who could be the next big thing. 超级星光大道 is like American Idol. Only thing is that I find it even more exciting and challenging than the original! The other one is this fantastic, hilarious Taiwanese talk show, 康熙来了. Hosted by Kang Yong (well-known celebrity author) and Xu Xi Di (of Asos fame). I love their rapier sharp wit and repartee. They sure helped lift up many a dull moments.

萧敬腾背叛

Nose Bleeds

2007-09-06T13:21:00.000+09:30

My kids had blood gushing out of their noses from the distress of coughing, and it scared them pretty bad. It does get pretty frightening for the kids when they see all that blood dribbling out from their noses. It turns into a panic situation when they yell and the blood goes into their mouth, which makes them splutter, cough some more, and the nose bleeds out more! So, I'm jotting these home tips here for reference.

NOSE BLEEDING : Self-Care at Home

A small amount of bleeding from a nosebleed requires little intervention. A common scenario is when a person with a cold or a sinus infection blows his or her nose vigorously and notices some blood in the tissue. Avoiding any more vigorous nose blowing, sneezing, or nose picking is usually enough to keep the bleeding from getting worse.

How to stop a nosebleed

Remain calm.
Sit up straight.
Lean your head forward. Tilting your head back will only cause you to swallow the blood.
Pinch the nostrils together with your thumb and index finger for 10 minutes. Have someone time you to make sure you do not release the nostrils any earlier.
Spit out any blood in your mouth. Swallowing it may make you vomit.

What to do after the bleeding has stopped

Once the bleeding has stopped, try to prevent any irritation to the nose, such as sneezing or nose blowing, for 24 hours.
Ice packs do not help.
Exposure to dry air, such as in a heated home in the winter, can contribute to the problem. Adding moisture to the air with a humidifier or vaporizer will help keep the nose from drying out and triggering more bleeding. Another option is to place a pan filled with water near a heat source, such as a radiator, which allows the water to evaporate and adds moisture to the air.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/nosebleeds/page6_em.htm

Pages from my Princess' Dairies

2007-08-23T18:31:00.000+09:30

Princess told me she couldn't wait to get back to Perth cos' she was scared of the "insects and creatures" (in her exact words) which seem to have a preference for her flesh.

She had a bunch of nasty midge bites which degenerated into very bad sores which haven't healed yet. It's been more than a week already. When I look at her wounds, it worries me but the King says they're nothing to get worked up about. They'll scab over and drop off themselves, no need to go into a panic attack and bring her to doctor's for a needless antibiotic jab over some bites and blah blah blah ...

She's not happy, just cranky and real grumpy.

Easily said but the King's not a mommy. My job is to fret over stuff, big and small. But I do agree I'm not in favour of her getting dosed with antibiotics over some bites.

Still, they sure are taking a l-o-n-g time to heal over. Each time I look at them, I want to pick up the phone and arrange an appointment to see the doc ...

Solved the crankiness with a bag of chips!

Her teacher was worried about them too and was wondering if they could be infected. She was sort of hinting to me that maybe I ought to get them checked out by a doctor and if I'm using an antiseptic cream on her. She must think I'm too lax and switched off ... Hmmm, I'll just hang in there awhile more because it does look like they are drying up bit by bit.

Jas' Stingy Footnote

You know when you have milk that's about to expire soon but there's too much to finish off within the day?

Freeze it!! That's right, freeze it. Get it out from the freezer when you want to drink it, at least a half hour beforehand. When it's half-thawed, give it a good shake-down! Voila! Creamy milk shake!!!

We all love it, especially my kids!

The Lollipop Lady I saw today

2007-08-22T12:50:00.000+09:30

It's so impressive. The regular, volunteer traffic warden for the school wasn't available this morning. And who do I see personally manning the traffic post the whole morning? The school Principal herself! She must have been there since 7.30am until when I left the school at 8.15am, she was still there faithfully keeping an eye for any late-comers.

Wow.

I frequently see her walking about the school grounds before and after school, stopping this or that running student with a firm "Excuse me, but you do not run here! You walk!" or "Will you please get off that ledge, you should be on the ground!" As far as I'm aware, there isn't a discipline master. Once upon a time, ages ago, I had a Discipline Mistress at my school. I don't know if this role has continued its legacy in our Singapore schools. There isn't a critical need for Disciplinarian roles here. The school has Behavior Rules in place for each class, and a Bullying Policy firmly in place. Brandon is also assigned an older Buddy from Year 4. There is a fixed Buddy session each week for the younger kids to spend an hour or so with their Buddies. They spend the time reading books together, and a little Q&A chat session. This is supervised by the participating class teachers.

So far, it's been VERY GOOD! The kids in Brandon's class are all very well-behaved and I do not see any problematic kids. The problematic ones are immediately identified (well, they would be very easy to spot!) and quickly set up with the school's psychotherapist, after consultation with the parents. I am convinced thoroughly that they have a very systematic and comprehensive protocols for tackling any schooling issues!

Incidentally, Brandon's (and Rhian's) school supports education for physically disadvantaged children. Ping more bells on my satisfaction scale!

And Brandon is officially 7 years old as of yesterday!!!

His classmates have been asking him if they could come to his non-existent birthday party since last Monday. But mummy here has fallen very short! Ooooo ... I'm tied up with arrangements for our relocation and have been madly sorting through the documentation for our income tax filing. I have to check, a statement missing, contact, request for statement reprint, gather the receipts. Get hubby's stuff and mine together. It seems like a whole lot of papers when you're in the middle of going through all that!! But I've finally mailed the file out today to our accountant so very gladly, it'll be his baby to handle from hereon! Waaahoooooooooo! One more item to strike off.

And I'm left with a fair bit of guilt over Brandon's non-party. I did buy chocolate donuts and custard tarts for his class though. Sigh ... his classmates would prefer to come to our place for a great big party play for which I'm in no state to handle at the moment. I'll try and think up something with Brandon's teacher though towards the last week of our stay here, to arrange a mini going-away gathering in his class. Golly, Brandon is going to miss all his friends and his teacher, Mrs Strong here BIG TIME! And they have to find replacements for my volunteer tasks in school. I do reader duty on Mondays and Thursdays for Brandon's class, and help make ice-cups for Rhian's preschool class on Thursday afternoons.

Beggars can't be choosers, we have to go where the projects go.

Take 5 - A Holiday Suggestion

2007-08-20T18:54:00.002+09:30

Oooh-la-la! I can see it! It's getting closer and closer after each day!

The December Christmas break is coming up over the horizon. I'm going to have my own daydream especially after a harrowing week.

Imagine and fantasize. A little, cozy trip with your beloved to le grande Paris!
Let's traipse down the Champs-Élysées on a little French rendezvous.

Arc de Triomphe, Place Charles de Gaull

First, we shall check into a luxurious hotel room in the Hotel Moliere, Paris, furnished to elegant perfection. Is that a heavenly bed to lose yourself in or what? Don't fancy that? Something smaller? No worries! Just take your pick of quaint and cosy little hotels to stay in here! Just stroll around and simply enjoy the fabulous chateaux and their famous vineyards which originated famous brands like Champagne and Bordeaux.

Click here to find the best, the cheapest hotel deals in Paris.

Ever since I read Dan Brown's, The Da Vinci Code, I wanted to visit that grand dame of museums, The Louvre. The semantics of the word "grand" is embodied in that institutional icon, which it captures so majestically and timelessly.

The famous glass pyramids in front of Le Louvre

Virgin and Child painting in Le Louvre. Or go and ogle the Mona Lisa painting!

Stay around one of the most famous streets in the world, Champs Elysees (Avenue des Champs-Élysées) and soak in the elegance of the landscape. There are cinemas, cafes, lots of specialty shops selling the most luxurious goods to salivate at. Lots of hoity-toity haute couture and French perfumes to gawk at. Sit down at an alfresco French patisserie, enjoy the well-known pastries, its baguettes and watch the colorful scene in front of you.

Champs Elysees

Towards evening, perhaps some night entertainment? Hop over to the Lido for some exotic (even topless, gasp!) action. Le Lido is a cabaret house on the Champs Elysees. Its shows are said to rival those in Las Vegas!

Le Lido

Oooooh la la!

Feeling ticklish? Itching to do something? Then, go get your travel deal by email now! If that doesn't satisfy, I don't know what will.

In a Boondoggle world

2007-08-17T11:01:00.001+09:30

As my 2-year old nephew will say, when he pulls out every tissue from the tissue box and leave them flying about when nobody's keeping an eye on him, it's a "Mess up!" That gets my lil' sis screaming blue murder at him, since she will be the one picking and chasing down the merrily flying tissues. Secretly, I think tots do it for the fun of it, to watch mummy's reaction.

With the stock market rort, the world has become crazier in an already crazy mess. My book haul from Amazon has landed at my doorstep. They were ordered during the July economic highs, when the Aussie dollar was scaling new boundaries against the greenback. Thus, it became so that it was actually cheaper to buy them in US dollars from Amazon than to get them from a local Australian bookstore here! And that's including shipping charges!!!

Our new library additions from Amazon.com

The Dandho Investor by Monish Prabai is retailing here at AU$41.95. SL bought it from Amazon at US$18.45. The Dorling Kinderley Children's Illustrated Encyclopedia at an just US$28.25 which I would normally have to pay at least AU$50 or more for a huge hardcover like this. Last I checked this encyclopedia is retailing in Singapore for S$40. And we saved on the combined shipping costs.

No wonder Amazon shares have been climbing up.

Rough Day

2007-08-15T18:56:00.000+09:30

Been a rough day and I'm trying to dissipate some of my tension by writing it off.

And that is a great drink I just had. Stone's Green Ginger Wine. Here's a nice recipe to try.

STONE'S GAELIC COFFEE
Make coffee in the usual way.
Put a measure of Stone's Original Ginger Wine in a cup, top up with coffee, add sugar to taste, stir and then add cream to the top.

Unusual and pleasantly different.
Click here for the weblink and more cocktail recipes.

To finish it off after my drink ........

It all started when I awoke with a rough pain in my head. Then, my housewife was late. We got cannibalized in traffic for a day, which made me tough for my meeting with Harry Potter. I apologized ridiculously to him, which seemed to make things high-octane again. But then the meeting turned into sheep, with him yelling and screaming. I went nuts when he dozed off. On the way home we passed a mess of a family. Suddenly the marriage oozed in the road and my housewife had to fighting to avoid it. In the process, I was maddened from the Baabooo, landing on my butt. I was covered in Orange juice from hair to leg. Could this day get any more naughty? My housewife pressed me back into the Baabooo and we made our way back to the kids. I went straight to home. I was bananas!

...

My "Holiday" Scorecard

2007-08-15T14:54:00.000+09:30

So, Brandon's still having his mild fever which comes and goes, and a very bad throat which doesn't stop him from yelling at his sister. Rhian has a cold and bad sores on one little leg which also doesn't stop her from climbing over the lounge and anywhere else. Let me just rehash the things "sick" kids can get up to around the house.

A Face-off (major scolding) with Brandon for swatting his sister.
One Corner stand-in for Rhian for lying to me that she brushed her teeth.
One clean-up after a party hat craft session covering 80% of the toy room. Ok, this wasn't too bad. I didn't faint.
Another mini clean-up not half hour later by Rhian who pulled out all the pom pom balls from the craft box, found her brother's craft bag which Brandon had been saving up to make a paper puppet from, and she snipped that up into gazillion pieces. That led to a screaming brawl. Which, leads to ...
Corner stand-ins for BOTH, a telling off from moi, and they need to submit a piece of written work to me. If they fail to deliver that written work ...
Add one more page of work!
Nags : millions and millions and millions that go in one ear and right out the other ...

And it's just half a day gone by.

Do they sound sick to you???

Commonsense tells me to send them back to school. But the heart is weak. I've learned a new word today which sums up perfectly what my kids are "suffering" from, at least, the acting parts. Valetudinarianism, quite a mouthful of a word, meaning the state of being sickly or infirm. More specifically for me, it just means you're not extravagantly sick, but you're milking your condition for all its worth! Sound familiar?

Lastly, here's some

Extremely Bad Advice for Parents