Just.

It is never easy to juggle work, a demanding boss, the fashion industry, two very very active and exuberant children and a household. Thank God for Big who helps me with SO MUCH now that I can’t do much due to the stupid bad back, and he’s been so good with the kids, I can’t say anything more than that he’s an absolute godsend.

But every now and then the internal system goes haywire and I go a little crazy.

Then one of my dearest girlfriends, whom as you can see from my blog, we are as thick as thieves, saw that I have been going half crazy with juggling work, my dear boss, the children and everything else, and she sent me a card with a very nice message to cheer me up. And then she told me last Friday that she has a surprise gift for me which she thinks I would love (ended up as an understatement)

I opened the gift and took a peek and it took some control not to squeal with excitement!!

comes with matching thongs, garter belt and naughty stockings.. woo hoo!

Sorry dear, I meant to blog immediately about this last Friday itself but have been sooo overwhelmed with stuff and exhaustion…And of course, work had been totally crazy this week. TOTALLY.

You really know how much I love lingerie and it fit me so well! I will take pics and send to you (privately of course). I teased Big about posting them on my blog and he protested with no uncertain terms. Yes, he likes very much what he sees and has but no, he is sooo not sharing with other men. Hahahaha!

Did I mention who much I love it already?

Gorgeous!!!! Thanks my dear.

*edited it was on Wednesday that I met Shelly, not last Friday as I blogged above. Damn I am going senile from all the sex work stress!! Lol!!!

So I had a very good two days literally bagging Guess bags, wallets and clothing. My girlfriends will know that Guess is not really to my taste as I veer more favourably towards understated brands. Guess is simply too flamboyant for me. Heh. The shopping is really for my family and friends.

But damn, I did have a great time shopping, even if it is for others. And no, I am not going to say how much I spend… Big reads my blog. I don’t really want to scare him away at this point. Hahahaha!

Actually he knows lah. We gchat everyday even though we see each other every night (ha!) and just now this came up in our conversation.

I asked him if it freaks him out how much I spend a month on shopping and any second thoughts yet. He said no (of course!) and then I asked him what if I were to spend his money next time? Not that he doesn’t spend on me now, but this is out of his own free will and not because I am not working (and have no choice but to spend his money).

His answer?

“Haha.. when you spend my money, that’s when I am happier.”

Awwwww. This man is such a gem.

Me: But you know i am not the type of parasitic woman who spend their men’s money like there’s no tomorrow.

He : Yes I know. that’s why I love you so much.

Anyway the point is… just because you can… doesn’t mean you have to.

Remember I wanted to get this? The last time I saw it in Tangs, there was no pricing. Then I found out that it actually cost almost $900.

This. is. ridiculous.

Even though I can buy it easily. Even though Big would not hesitate to buy it for me; I only need to say I want it.

But I really think it is ridiculous to spend so much for a baking fancy just because it looks good. And damn it does look good, that fire engine red…

But still.

Unless I get professional (very unlikely!!!) or unless it mixes and bakes on it own, no way am I spending that amount on a whim. Bags, yes, but not a mixer, even though it might be in my favourite colour.

So, the search continues… I might be getting a Kenwood one… a girl friend says it works well for her and I should know, her cookies are to die for.

And if you think I am stupid for not letting my boyfriend buy it for me even though he can and will, more power to you. I am simply not the type to treat my man as a walking atm or a free meal ticket.

People, guess what I did today? Let’s see, I went to the Gap sample sale today. Bought some seriously gorgeous merchandise at seriously cheap prices. Then I had ribeye steak at Pepper Lunch and went to starbucks to get some low fat latte for myself and the lady boss, all on company tab of course. After that it was some lingerie shopping at St Mikes where I picked up a nosebleed inducing lingerie set and a few lacy thongs. Then I swung by Bobbi Brown at Isetan Scotts and had my favourite makeup guy Charles “retouch my palette” with his wonderfully light fingers. Then it was back to office to take dictation from the boss, a few light hearted jokes with him and to “do him a favour by making a cup of coffee for him”.

Hate me already?

Don’t.

It’s all perspectives, my dear. I merely left out the juicy bits.

The real deal is, apart to the above little distractions, I worked my fingers off typing 80 wpm to his relentless dictation, listen to his rant and whine, pacify him, pacify her, mua mua with a few taitais, made and changed and re-made travel arrangements, did expense sheets, tune out the toxic office bitch’s bragging about this and that, putting out fires created by someone who had just upped and left the company, refuting Amex charges, refuting late payment charges, refuting interest charges, refuting all that can be refuted.

Yes, it can and may seem perfect, but look beneath the glossy facade. It’s all running on adrenaline and Starbucks caffeine.

Damn, I am getting a headache as I type. And the reason why I am still here?

Doing a powerpoint presentation for his pet charity.

I love my job, but sometimes, it gets a little too much. That’s when I need a little self reminder, a little self prep talk as follows.

But.

BUT.

I am so very proud of where I am now and how I got here (through integrity, hard work and a little street smarts). Independence.

The sweetness of having the power to buy something for him just because I can. The sweetness of him footing the bill because I can and not because I have to.

Sweet.

So I was doing my usual shop and makan routine during the weekends. Big, being the usual sweetie he is, always accompanies me by giving much valued feedback and by helping me carry the shopping spoils.

Normally, shopping for shoes is a highly pleasurable sport. The trying on, the posing in front of mirror, the asking boyfriend do I look good and receiving very positive feedback, is so very good for the soul. This time, however, I was feeling miserable. Because of the slipped disc, I not only have to refrain from three inchers, I can’t buy anything higher than ONE inch!!

I can’t begin to tell you how miserable I am. I think of my Aldos and other designer three inch babies wasting away in storage and I feel even more miserable, if that is remotely even possible.

So I was at Charles and Keith doing the necessary. This season, they have a decent range of low heels. No way am I stepping into Aldo, Nine West and On Pedder. It’s like heaping salt on open wound.

Am already feeling rather sore and what do you know, I realized I forgot my discount card when I was paying. And they had recently started the store rule that cards must be presented physically for discounts, as opposed to quoting ID numbers in the past. Great.

I must have looked positively murderous.. so the brand manager asked the lady beside me if she would mind lending her discount card, which she agreed without hesitation.

I flashed her a mega watt smile (which must have looked rather psychotic.. .imagine a woman looking murderous.. then flashing a big friendly smile) and then she asked me

“Are you Xtralicious? I read your blog!”

I tell you, the look on my face… PRICELESS.

It’s like getting caught with your pants down. Geez.

And in the midst of my shock and all that, I think I went something like Oh my God, you read my blog how did you discover it oh i see that’s nice thanks blah blah blah. Sheesh, so uncool.

And….I forgot to ask her name!! How disgusting is that? Sheesh.

Hi, if you are reading this, sorry about that! Do drop me a line, and thanks for sharing!

**

Big was having the time of his life as a onlooker. Humph.

Wait till I reveal his blog here. Hah!

I have been terrible at reporting the latest shenanigans in my life. Can I get away with it by saying I am too busy living my life in excitement to blog it?

Like how I have not updated on the first time meet parents and the entire family dinner at Moi Kong Hakka Restaurant.

Heh. Nerveracking, I tell ya, but I think (and he said me so ) that I had *ahem* aced it. *goofy grin*

***

Luvphobia (my latest BFF, yeah Best female friend *sniggers*) and Lian very spontaneously decided to come by my house and chill a little on Friday night. I would like to be all interesting and say that I promptly slapped on some face paint, put on the Chanel twinset and tweed skirt and Ferragamo shoes and put out a hot pot of tea and cupcakes…. but sadly no. Hah! Instead, they brought me Starbucks latte and sinfully decadently delicious cake from Bakerzin!!! Such lovely pals.

I just came back from physiotherapy that day and was feeling rather “oh my god I feel like wasting away” kinda of slack. So they got to see me in all my un-madeup glory, lounging around in my La Senza pyjama pants and St Mikes scoop neck tee. No tea or cupcakes for them but I offered up some Absolut Vodka, red wine, rose wine, irish cream or hoegaarden. Before you think I am some kind of raging alcoholic, the stash is there for guests. I went for a nightcap on Saturday night with lian and her goldies, Monty and Chloe (the darlings!!!), Big and tk and his rottie, Bear Bear after an awesome dinner at Romano’s and turned pink and slightly sloshy after ONE chocolate martini. Oh, the shame.

I think Facebook is the best social networking site that appeals to me so far. I mean, it’s got like, everything and everyone’s grandma covered. Join me and waste some time online as we go about our daily shenanigans.

When my friends get hurt. When I can see it coming and cannot do anything about it..

When I simply feel murderous…

When I feel like tearing the guilty from limb to limb and still deem it too dirty for my hands…

When pure hatred and anger cannot do anything to help the situation…

When I feel simply helpless… don’t know how to help… can only offer a shoulder to cry on.

That’s when I wish for everything in the world to make things better… make things right.

Polyvore.com is my latest discovery. And I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Try it and tell me if you love it too. Of course, I absolutely adore fashion and styling, hence the fascination. What do you think of this layout? This is also my personal style of course.

I wonder if there is a real life job like this. Imagine, playing around with style layouts all day and GETTING PAID for it!

The piled up work is overwhelming as is the people streaming into my office with well wishes and work requests…

Boss’ mum bought a big box of lokum from Turkey for me.. Sweet gesture but the problem is… it is literally too sweet for me… I tried taking it with a cuppa hot unsweetened peppermint tea which seemed to offset the sweetness a little.

Quite a nice way to start off a busy hectic day.

Not Demi Moore of course. That woman has more plastic in her than Silicon Valley. Check these babes out. I hope I’ll look that way in 20 years’ time!

For now, friends who saw me al natural in the hospital told me that I don’t look dramatically different without makeup. The only difference is that I don’t have my usual red lipstick on. That’s a great compliment to me.

I have heard of a taitai who wakes up every morning before her husband does; just to apply makeup and to greet her husband with a fully made up face.

That’s beyond sad.

OK so the good doctor made me stay another night for monitoring. Why? The MRI scan results came out and there were some abnormalities. Namely, the prolapsed disc between L4 a nd L5, and between L5 and S1. There is also an acute annular tear. He might as well have been speaking Punjabi to me. No biggie, I noted the details so that I can do some research online.

And I am not all very pleased with what I found out. Physiotherapy will not eradicate the problem; only alleviate the symptoms. The only way is to go for an operation but I am very resistant about having to be inactive for weeks on end.

This is not good at all.

Nevertheless I want to be discharged today. No point lounging around here when I could easily do the physiotherapy exercises at home too. Moreover I miss the kids way too much. And that techno cat too.
The worst news is I cannot wear my 3 inchers anymore. Not for the next few months anyway.

***

Big came by with the kids and then Serendipity and Janise arrived.. I tell you, I felt like an Empress Dowager receiving her court. Thanks Jan for the lovely fruit basket. Good ole Luvphobia brought his “luv cuisine” which he painstakingly simmered for a few hours. Incredibly smooth century egg and pork porridge with spring onions and shallots. Heeeeaaaven. Germaine, who normally eats like a bird, polished off two bowls!

It was a quaint little party we were having. Then KM and RN joined in too. Man, you can imagine the mini ruckus. I had to shoo everyone home when it got late and I started to feel groggy from the medicines. Sorry guys to be a party pooper! Heh.

Yesterday Germaine’s teacher came to visit me. That’s so sweet of her. Germaine told her that I am in hospital and she took the time to come down and also passed me a box of pineapple tarts. *yummy*

I got transferred out of my A1 room yesterday evening. In fact, everyone in ward 8 got transferred out because they had to use it as some kind of examination room for student doctors and to my chagrin, there were NO MORE A1 rooms!!!

Oh man… And I hate sharing and noise; think clans of relatives who think that the hospital is a chalet or something. They brought me to a B1 room and upon walking in, I reeled in horror. Clans of relatives, check. Noise pollution, check. Right beside the toilet, check.

I put my foot down. No, I did not stamp my feet.

I turned to the nice makcik with a doe-eyed expression and pleaded with her to change my room. “Preferably by myself?” Cajoled her with the maximum amount of manja-ness I could muster.

Thank God I got what I want. I got another B1 room all to myself and then… I watched Incredible Tales at 10pm. One of the nurses got a bit worried and asked me if I would be scared being alone at night. Big couldn’t stay the night with me as they don’t have recliners in B wards. No less than three nurses came in to ask me if I would be scared, being alone in the room.

I think I was more traumatized by the wailing and shouting of the old man in the room opposite mine.

He was making so much noise the whole night, shouting for “Missy…Missy….Missy…Missy!!!!” Every time I fell asleep, he would start his wailing. I got a little irritated, but I held my tongue as he must be in a lot of pain. Some patients went and complained to the nurses though. What did you expect the nurses to do? Shut the old man up? Sigh.

Anyway, good news. I will be discharged today.

I am just wondering how I am going to bring all these flowers home…. No, I am not going to throw them away! They are all so gorgeous (will upload pics later) and they came with love and concern ok.. You know, being the anti social loner that I am, I was touched by the amount of loooove from friends. Heh.

Really looking forward to being discharged and to seeing my girls. I miss outside food too. TK came by again this morning and bought chwee kway (the femes one from Tiong Bahru Market ok!), century egg and liver porridge and coffee for me. *slurp* What a nice way to start the day. And the asshat, as usual, messed around with my msn again.

When we went for the Phuket trip, Big went kayaking with his colleagues. I couldn’t go because my back was already giving me problems then. I went shopping with Godma then chilled at the pool in my bikini for a bit of sun. Yes, guys were looking and one struck up a conversation with me and asked me out for dinner. I told him my boyfriend wouldn’t be too pleased about it. He looked a little crestfallen. Haha. Of course, I would be a lying hypocrite if I said I was not flattered by the attention or the admiring glances or even amused by the poisonous looks from other women.

However, enjoying the attention and admiration is one thing. To be faithful or not to be, is purely a choice, not a state of being. I have friends who are married for over 10 years and they still are head over heels in love with each other. I also have friends who, well, cheat at the drop of a hat because “she came on to me so heavily.”

I don’t like to get all moralistic or judgmental on my friends so I would only say, take responsibility for your actions and don’t regret if you evar get caught or have your heart broken by the other party.

Most of the time, I realize people stray because they are already not happy with the other half. Really then, they should address the problems in the marriage rather than sweeping the dirt under the carpet and hoping the problems will be alleviated. There is of course, that small percentage, who appear to have a loving marriage but the husband/wife is snacking on the sly.

Before I met Big, I attracted all manners of married men hitting on me.. till the extent that I became paranoid of their marital status when they claim to be single. I also thought Big was married, that’s how scarred I was. Hahaha. Thank God he is not. Don’t know what’s up with the married men too. Do I have a face that screams “mistress material”??! Like no lor, the sweet little darling that I am.

My point is, there will always be temptations and opportunities to stray. It is entirely up to one to control himself or herself…

I am rather close to one of my colleagues. He buys me stuff at times where he travels on business trips. We sometimes have makan cum gossip networking sessions. He even came and visited me yesterday in the hospital. I am also close to a guy friend who we like to hang out with and he even bought me breakfast and brought it to the hospital for me. Yes we are close but I really don’t see it happening. Firstly, simply because I won’t and also because I hate cheating.

What defines cheating? This could be a potential Pandora’s Box. Thinking of someone else? Being emotionally attached? Physical transgression? To me, as long as cheating can mean either physical or emotional attachment or transgression. Which just about covers all base.

I don’t forgive nor do I forget acts of unfaithfulness or betrayal. Evar.

 Via Talking Cock

1. Thanks to SMS, you have an extra large thumb.

2. Tks 2 SMS, u oso dun no how 2 spel n e mor.

3. You pat MRT and bus seats to cool them before you sit down.

4. At lunch, you start discussing what to eat for dinner.

5. Your wedding photos include shots of you dressed up like Louis XIV, Michael Jackson, or Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic.

6. When speaking to foreigners, you somehow feel a need to adopt an accent. (If you?re a DJ, this happens even when you?re not speaking to foreigners.)

7. You won?t raise your voice to protest policies, but you?ll raise your fists to whack someone over Hello Kitty.

8. You?re forever talking about businesses you want to set up but will probably never get around to starting.

9. You don?t know ¾ of the people attending your wedding.

10. You separate food into 2 basic groups: ?heaty? and ?cooling?.

11. You?re never completely sure how many times you?ve sung the second verse of the National Anthem.

12. You think that what makes you ?married? is not the legal registration but whether you?ve thrown a 12 course dinner.

13. You marry for the real estate breaks.

14. You have kids for the tax advantages.

15. You move to where you want your child to go to school.

16. You feel you can?t walk around naked in your own flat.

17. You force your children to take Speech & Drama classes, but pray they won?t wind up in Arts later on.

18. You suddenly realize you?re very interested in biotech – just like you suddenly realized three years ago that you were very interested in e-commerce, and before that, engineering, and before that, medicine and law.

19. You think being an entrepreneur is setting up a bubble tea/Portuguese egg tart/gao luck/porridge shop right next to an existing bubble tea/Portuguese egg tart/gao luck/porridge shop.

20. You think people are inconsiderate when they don?t leave their table immediately after eating at the food court but think you have every right to take 25 bites to finish the last red bean in your ice kachang.

21. You find it impossible to make suggestions without drawing a fishbone chart first.

22. If you?re a guy, whenever you get together with your guy friends, you invariably trade army stories.

23. If you?re a girl, whenever you get together with your girl friends, you invariably trade stories about how your stupid guy friends are forever trading army stories.

24. You think the most important sporting event in Singapore this year was David Beckham switching from Manchester United to Real Madrid.

25. You somehow feel that food tastes better when eaten by a longkang.

26. It actually makes a difference to you being called an ?NSMan? rather than a ?Reservist?.

27. You?ve eaten more times at the Esplanade than you?ve actually seen shows there.

28. You need campaigns to tell you how to be courteous, to flush toilets, have sex, etc.

29. When you visit the Zoo, you wonder what the animals taste like.

30. You feel the urge to add the suffix ?-polis? to everything, viz. Biopolis, Airtropolis, Fusionopolis, Entrepolis, etc.

31. You always feel oddly hungry at 11 pm, and are willing to drive to far away places for supper.

32. You meet in hotels a lot.

33. Your children have a rudimentary knowledge of Tagalog or Bahasa Indonesia.

34. You work at McDonald?s when you?re old rather than young.

35. You?ll gladly spend $50,000 on a car, but will go to great lengths to save a few bucks on ERP charges or even a few cents on a parking coupon.

36. Pork floss and mayonnaise on bread is a completely natural combination to you.

37. If you?re pregnant, you have the strange ability to make people on the MRT fall asleep instantly.

38. You ask for the bill by miming a signing movement.

39. You?ve started referring to foreign employees as ?talent? instead of ?expatriates?.

40. At the dinner table, you?re always discussing which other food places serve better versions of what you?re eating.

41. You copy down licence plate numbers of cars involved in accidents.

42. You think your boyfriend doesn?t really love you unless he gives you part of his liver.

43. During sales, you book hotel rooms near malls to enable you to shop more efficiently.

44. You pronounce the letter ?R? as ?ah-rer? and the letter ?H? as ?haytch?.

45. No matter how old you are, you keep associating people with their secondary schools. (alternative: No matter how old you are, you secretly need to know what other people got for their PSLE, O levels and A levels.)

46. You?re always on a quest for the definitive version of your favourite local dish.

47. When you explain things to people, you keep (a) using alphabets, and (b) speaking in point form.

48. You believe that you can generate ?creativity? through rules and committees.

49. You ?chope? a seat by placing a packet of tissues on the chair.

50. You?re very forthright with your criticisms of the Gahmen, unless there?s a chance they might actually hear you.

51. You diligently track the whereabouts of your favourite hawkers, i.e..you know that the famous Tiong Bahru Bao is now in Jurong, the famous Outram Char Kuay Teow is now in Hong Lim Centre and the famous Lau Hock Kien Hokkien mee from the old Lau Pa Sat is now at Beach Road.

52. Your mother probably can?t speak your ?mother tongue?.

53. You?d rather drink your own pee than pay someone more for water.

54. You secretly find that the best part of the Speak Good English Movement is hearing the Singlish bits in their ads.

55. You have an automatic sensor in your head which categorizes people you meet into stayer/ quitter, cosmopolitan/heartlander, normal/ express/ gifted, etc.

56. You think we?re living in a modern, sophisticated country even when our leaders still insist on wearing their school uniforms.

57. You wish your constituency is in a walkover, because otherwise it?s damn ?leceh?.

58. During elections, you decide that there is no credible opposition even though you don?t know the name of the opposition candidate in your constituency.

59. You think having a constitution is like the condition you get when you don?t eat enough fibre.

60. You can never quite remember what ?the core values? of Singaporeans are.

Hilarious! Sly little dig at ourselves.

I thought the movie would be a great laugh, what with the corny hokkien songs, the cheesy getai antics, the over the top costumes etc. Moreover it is directed by Royston Tan…how bad can it be?

OK, so the show was a little too grandiose and indulgent at times for my liking. But the cast was great and the acting natural. I never knew that hokkien songs can be so sad.. And as usual, I cried again at the sad ending.

• Does the housework and laundry when you are in hospital
• Does everything in his power to make you more comfortable
• Sleeps in a couch just to keep you company
• Refusing to let you do anything except relax, eat, shower and sleep
• Shows you he’ll take care of you even if you become an invalid.

Yes, but sorry he’s taken. By moi.

Via Dark Roasted Blend.

Ah, the good ole days where beehive bobs are cool. Totally vintage and old school glamour! Reminds me of my good ole days in SQ.. The kebaya… the red lipstick and nails.. *nostalgic*