SG Fairy

Woke up at frigging 7.30 am this morning..... a Saturday morning miracle in my opinion.

Reason for it: to go to my brother's school with my mum for a 'Meet The Parents' session.

My brother's first term results were SHIT.

He basically failed everything but E Maths. And if you fail english, there is nowhere you can go from there.

LAZY IDIOT... I wonder how serious he is about taking his O's.

His form teacher basically gave the same feedback and advice that we've been telling him for ages. And mind you, he doesn't get caned for bad results, nor has he been grounded.... so unlike my time :P

Yet, with all that gentle advice given to him, you would have thought he would have been grateful he hasn't been punished for shitty school work. But nooo... he just had to be an ass.

Whatever.

Anyway... after we got home at about 10... i smsed my god-sis Zhen and invited her over for a swim. I had read in her blog the previous day that she had thought about attempting to exercise a bit, lol. God knows I need lots of that too.

So we had a lovely time swimming, then resting, then swimming again, and resting.... I think we did not bad, considering how we were so breathless after just 4 laps. :P Blading and cycling can be very deceiving sports... they make you think that hey, you might actually still be quite fit. But once you're in the pool, you realise, hell no! Coz swimming actually requires more strength and stamina... it is a full-body workout after all.

Now i'm nicely red.... got a good tan out of the whole swim. We didn't make a conscious effort to tan... it was just all the time in the pool which got us there.
I dun think I'll peel, but my skin does feel a little sore.... kinda sad when you think about it... I mean, just 2 hours under the skin and I'm feeeling like that already.... huge diff from the past.

:P

Been sick for the past few days.... pounding headaches that quickly turn to migraines, giddiness, and in extremely terrible moments, I'll feel like puking.

I dun like this sort of 'sick'. If it were the flu or fever, it's sorta like more clear-cut. You know exactly what is wrong with your body, and you take the right medicine to get rid of it.

But headaches... you can just moan and groan, pop some painkillers and hope for the best. And panadols so do not work!

But today, I'm feeling much much better! :)

Woope! The sun's shining, baby!

I really pray I never have to experience this week all over again, EVER.

took a half day today... feeling worse last night... yet, i couldn't sleep. i'll keep waking up in the middle of the night, so the disrupted sleep wasn't exactly helping me recover. i found that valium helped knock me out.

really isn't very good, needing valium to have a good night's sleep.

anyway, by the time i got into the office today, i felt much much better... was able to fully concentrate on work... woah!

i hope this keeps up

So I was on the train on my way to work this morning, and I overheard this telephone conversation between the girl (we'll call her B) sitting next to me, and her friend (call her C).

Basically, B had this opportunity to go to Italy for a holiday but had decided against it because she said her boyfriend wouldn't like it. B went on to tell C that her boyfriend's very insecure, so she doesn't want to make it difficult for him, eg give him sleepless nights, or worse, have him in a rage.

B sighed and complained to C that it was a real pity, since she has never been to Europe, let alone Italy, and would really love to go.

And I thought, err... so is this love and sacrifice, or stupidity?

You tell me.

My dad had this sudden idea to go to Desaru for the weekend... just a 2D 1N thing... drive in on Saturday morning, by back by Sunday evening, meaning, tonight.

I was a little reluctant at first... it meant that I wouldn't be able to sleep in on Saturday (yes, I'm a bum!), not be able to sneak a couple of smokes out the bedroom window for a night, and well, just laze in front of the tv. Plus, I had a huge load of ironing to do.

But oh well....

My reluctance soon gave way to excitement though, as I realised that my family hadn't exactly gone for a holiday overseas for years now. I figured, just treasure the time spent together and enjoy!

And enjoy I did. Because monsoon season is approaching, the waves at the beach were rougher. All of us swam a little out to sea and just floated around, trying to ride the waves without getting thrashed by them. Whenever a huge wave of the surfing variety approached, one of us would scream a warning and then try our darnest not to have it crushing down onto our heads. It may sound childish, but boy did we have loads of fun with it. And the beach, gosh, it was so clean and lovely... and natural, unlike Sentosa's sand.

Then in the evening, we have a lovely seafood feast *big grin*

So I returned a little darker... and very pleased with the great time we had together as a family. I know I complain about them sometimes, but well, they're still family after all... you get both the good and the bad moments.

And I think I'll remember this good moment for a while :)

Went for a seafood and teppanyaki buffet at United Square this evening...

The sashimi was quite fresh, the oysters very fresh, and the various other seafood good. The teppanyaki mutton was excellent - no strong smell, soft and tender, very delicious.

That's really all I need for a good buffet, you know.

But the rest of the dishes were good... and the dessert... yum yum. The only problem I had was with their soups... their shark fin's soup looked like it should have been called 'crabmeat and egg soup' and their chinese medical type soups like 'fish ginseng' were more salt water than anything else. But oh well, for such a price, you can't really expect too much. I was happy with the seafood, and that was quite enough.

after that, we headed to the german pub at the other end of the building... i will definitely visit that place more often. their prices are fairly reasonable, normal rates... like $13 for a bootle of belgium beer, so that's ok... i wun go to places where they charge something like $25 a beer. we tried about 4 bottles in all, of their belgium beer, the sweet sort with flavours like honey, passion, cherry and fruit punch. the next time i go, maybe i'll try their chocolate one... if i feel adventuous enough.

the conversation flowed between moments of silence as we stoned... and no, we didn't have deep profound discussions on evolution. just something nice and simple... where you relax after a long week... letting your brain rest. It's really nice to do stuff like that every now and then. Maybe that's why i kinda prefer such dinners to the "we're not seen each other in years!" reunion dinners coz then you'll have to find the energy to be all gay and excited and chatty. not that i wouldn't like to meet old friends... but i wish people didn't feel obliged to relate every single detail that happened to them since the last meet years ago. wouldn't it be better to just sorta like, pick up where you left off, chill, and slowly, bit by bit, let the bits of information be exchanged between sips of wine? Or with the very talkative friends, for that matter - i wish they'll learn that you dun have to fill the entire time with conversation; i'm too old for that sort of thing. I like having the, short bursts of conversation where you get all excited over something, like hugh grant, chatter on for 10-15 min... then be quiet and recharge, before you start on another 10-15 min on a great shopping trip, and so on... no endless chat, please.

lol... now where did all that come from? i dun know.... i just appreciate having a fren who'll happily pig out with me (between promises of, 'i'll go blading soon'), chat with me on mundane stuff or, once in a while, have deeper discussions with me, and basically, know how to chill.

Nis, I wanna go have brazilian meat next!

when you start developing what looks like it'll be a very bad headache less than half an hour after you woke up... you cannot help but wonder if it's any indication of a bad day.

better not be... i've two stories to write, apart from a shitload of other stuff to do.

i wished they'll serve decent coffee here... the coffeeshop uses a local coffee brand that has too much maize in it... leaves a very bitter aftertaste.. too much.

coffee bean would be nice.... cafe latte, or cafe mocha... those are my favourites...

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Nis just smsed me.... dinner and drinks this friday! yeah! though one wonders if she just wants an excuse to get hold of my 'desperate housewives season 3' dvds.... i've watched the entire thing already btw... hahaha

now, just got to think of a nice place we could go to...

first attempt to cook a full meal using the oven was a success!

3 different types of whole chicken:
a) Paprika, rosemary
b) lemon juice, dill, sage, rosemary
c) black pepper, salt, rosemary

then.. all their juices dripped down into a tray of vegetables and potatoes... yum yum

i wanna try a shepherd's pie next... and lagsana.... and a dessert pie of sorts...

ambitious hor?

guess how i spent my day?

sleep sleep sleep!!!

Only woke up at 3 in the afternoon today.. i did feel kinda bad about it and thought to myself, "i've 'wasted' the entire day!"

Good in that i at least dare to realise how much of a pig i'm looking, AND at the same time, good also in that i dun feel guily enough to vow never to wake up so late again.

hehehe...

sleep's like... my personal time...

that pretty much sums up today.... so tired...

it's kinda strange... i mean, it's not like we were super busy in thailand... but yet, we were tired...

*yawns*

So I’m back….

This trip was a rather fruitful one. I think I sounded intelligent and professional enough during my interviews… they went very smoothly. I think I even looked the part of a smart reporter… do you know how frigging uncomfortably hot wearing a suit in our tropical climate can be? I’m sure all those people you see walking down shenton way breezily have build-in air conditioning units in their suits.

So I’ve started writing my articles… always with this mental image of Woody Allen banging away at a typewriter in my head; don't’ ask me why, I just have that image.

Didn’t do much shopping, save for a novel from AsiaBooks and oh, just 2 suits, 2 skirts, and 2 blouses. Got them done at a tailor for a very reasonable price of US$189… and He paid for them :D
I swear the tailor guy, while measuring me up, had his fingers lingering on parts of my body for a longer period than was necessary. I felt a little violated. He didn’t believe me when I complained to Him at first, but later, He noticed it during my last fitting. The tailor guy kept telling me how nice and long my hair is – normally I’ll feel very flattered and happy, but to have the same guy repeat it many times, well, it turns freaky after a while. While measuring my bust, his fingers rested directly over my nipples – at first I thought it was just an accident, but after a while, I thought, wait a min, that’s not really necessary! And when he measured the groin area… I felt violated.

Oh well.. I shall just comfort myself by thinking that I just have too appealing a body to resist.

I try, at least.

He brought me to this place called ‘Cabbages and Condoms’ – a restaurant whose profits fund this non-govt charity, Population and Community Development Association (PDA). Why the word ‘condoms’ in the restaurant name, you ask? Well, rural people = more babies – more mouths to feed – more strain on the wallet. So the PDA educates people on family planning and of course, sex safety via condoms and birth control pills. That was the initial game plan. Now, they’ve also branched out to other areas which need help like providing school lunch money for the tsunami kids, scholarships, and environmental conservation. Apparently, they now also a resort place in Pattaya.

But all the good charitable works aside, the place serves up good food… like, really good food. Probably one of the best eateries I’ve ever been to in all my trips to Bangkok. And the deco was lovely too… trees all around, wooden and bamboo paneling, potted plants, lights… creates a very exotic tropical sort of atmosphere.

We didn’t do the whore sightseeing this trip… and I had such mixed feelings about it. I’ve been to Nana Plaza before, and thought it might be interesting to visit Soi Cowboy – I know, how much different can it be, right? Still pretty much the same thing – girls in pieces of cloth selling themselves. But there is that bit of curiosity to satisfy.

Yet on the other hand… these clubs… they leave a very bitter aftertaste in the mouth after you’ve left. I dun think I’ll ever be able to understand how men could find girls (and some ain’t got pleasant bodies or pretty sweet innocent faces, mind you) with no expression in their eyes, and totally empty faces shifting their body weight from one foot to another in their attempt to dance. Granted, there are girls who can dance and even know how to behave as though they’re really enjoying it… but for the majority… you can just smell the air of desperation hanging about them. It’s just major depression, big-time. And you wonder, how could guys possibly enjoy all that? Especially the angmohs (called ‘farangs’ in Thailand)…. I mean, do they like, not get any at all back home?

Some would say, oh, but there’s all those tiger shows in Patpong for example… interesting what, see girls shoot darts from their cunts to burst balloons…. Or ping-pong balls, depending on which segment of the show you’re watching… and a whole other variety of insertions. But, well, err, how fun is that? He brought me to see such a show on our last trip… in the beginning, it was quite interesting. I sat there thinking, how the fuck did she do that?!?! Gosh I really have got to do more of those tightening exercises. But it just got tiresome after a while you know… and I felt disgusted by those young angmoh guys whistling away in glee when a girl shot a ball right into the face of one of their mates. Sigh… probably virgins.

But anyway…. It’s like a love-hate relationship…. You got curiosity to kill, and you know the girls need the money. Yet on the other hand, it is a complete turnoff for me, and another reminder of how some guys can be such losers. :p this trip… I was quite tired, and was also not really in the mood for all that, even though I had brought clubbing clothes along. And when He also didn’t like, want to go to those places, I felt guilty, wondering if He somehow caught that lack of enthusiasm from me. :P

Oh well.

But this trip was a really good chill-out one… work to do, yes… but in the evenings, He relaxed, and we’ll just chill. And later at night, He’ll get all energetic on me big grin

So yup… nice nice nice.

Next trip is a girls’-only one… off to Phuket in a month… I really cannot wait for that! :D then maybe back to bbk for another exhibition.

Women, take heart... even as you continue to struggle... take heart that people have at least bothered to dedicate a day to you.

A commentary published in the Today Papers today titled 'Those who lose out" on pg 18 highlighted some interesting points:

1) Women in Kazakhstan get almost 70% of what their men get, compared to Singaporean women who only receive 65.5% of what their male counterparts get
- Singapore was ranked 65 out of 115 countries surveyed in a gender gap study by the World Economic Forum (WEF); contrast that with Kazakhstan's ranking at 32.

2) Even though women in Kazakhstan earn only one-third of what Singaporean women are getting at S$25,194 per year, in terms of how equally resources are distributed in each country, vs women's empowerment and access, Singaporean women get the lousy deal.

3) You could have a government that brings in pro-women policies but if without the culture needed to support gender equality, there's no guarantee the policies will work.

4) Once working women become pregnant, they become a financial liability and equality is taken away - a culture where taking care of children is valued as being just as important as going to working is needs to be nurtured.

5) A recent report by the London School of Economics said that women would have to wait 150 years for equal pay as men, because they are currently penalised severely by the labour market for sacrificing career for family

6) Progress on wage equality has almost stalled for the current generation of women compared to the previous generation.

And then on pg 4 of the same paper, beneath the title 'Expect 450,000 jobs over the next 5 years', you read that Manpower Minister Ng Eng Heng has said that "We are poised to move up the ranks of developed nations" and so hence "Singaporeans can face the future with confidence and optimism, with an abundance of job opportunities ahead."


My question is this, Mr. Ng:
How many of the 450,000 jobs are open to women, at what level of the corporate ladder, and is the pay going to be of the same level as that of my male counterparts?

Why are women penalised for shooting babies out of their wombs when the Government is encouraging more births?
Why are women who choose to devote full attention to their kids by resigning, viewed as lesser beings?
Why are women not given the recognition they deserve for taking care of their families? Aren't family unit sthe building blocks of our society, the very foundation on which we stand?
Why are housewives not getting any of the money the Finance Minister is giving away in His Budget?


A couple of things for you to think about...

He has gone, and now, i'm alone....

sigh...

on the bright side, i'll be seeing Him in Bangkok this sunday!

It's gonna be a busy week... lots of research and other preparations to do before my bangkok trip.

No, it's not research on hot shopping spots.... it's WORK.

Yup... going there for work... interviews etc.... quite exciting... i'll be the media person i've always dreamt of becoming as a kid, interview big shots and all that.

But at the same time, it's also freaking me out... the Boss spoke to me a couple of times last week about the interviews.... basically, it's like, don't make it an interview but rather, a conversation - that way, you get more info out of the guy.

And that's what freaks me... to be calm, posh, savvy.... know how to bluff your way out, appear very knowledgable, and basically, lead the conversation.

And dah i need new clothes.... i've been eyeing this business suit i saw in G2000.... but as we all know, that's freaking expensive...

whatever.

:) i get some personal time with Him in bkk.... i think, we do need to really take a time-out from work and just spend time with each other. i dun care if that just involves watching cable in the hotel room... but i do miss Him. we see each other everyday, but we've both got work to do so we dun exactly get time. when we go for drinks, we discuss mainly work again. :P but at least we've not been arguing over work this week. :)

:)

Someone please tell me why we need to have committees and research and surveys done on the whole 'women and babies' topic when the answers are really oh-so-simple.

Just think - generally, companies in Singapore discriminate against pregnant employees (so many sacking cases), they're not open to the idea of flexi-work hours or work-from-home, and women are still paid lesser than men (and to think males lament how NS sets them back 2 years in thw corporate world when they'll still earn more/get promoted faster at the end of the day).

My main reluctance about having a kid is resultant from the fear that I will not be able to spend enough quality time with him, nor have finances adequate and stable enough for me to give him the best stuff (face it, we'll all want the best for our kids).

What's the point of having a kid when you're not going to be there to watch him take his first steps?

Which parent won't want to beable to buy the best milk formula for their kid?

So.... why have the damn kid? Just so that I can get child relief?

It's sad that one of the first solutions proposed by any person in government when the issue is raised is to give out more money.

Yes, money is good... we could all do with that financial help.... but it's like, the government dangling an expensive carrot before us. My womb's not for sale.... the whole concept can be liken to the government paying us to have babies... how wrong is that????

Stop talking about money... stop churning out those posters of happy families - we get that families are nice, warm and fuzzy *roll eyes*

Start working on the real solutions needed to boost our population:
- get rid of the fear that we women could lose our jobs just by being pregnant,
- give us more maternity leave,
- change companies' mindsets about flexi-hours and work-from-home and other related schemes
- start schemes/programs that'll make it easier for fathers to take care of their baby too (mum's not the only one bringing up junior, you know)
- encourage childcare centers to open earlier, close later
- provide funding for IVF; some do want children, but they just need medical help.

so there!