Last Day of 2018

woah. 

finally..... 

last day of 2018!!!!!!!!!!!

好快啊!!!!

knocked off at about 3pm.... then went back and brought mr rayous out to westgate for makan, some quick shopping (of new towels and children clothes), and playing at the arcade. 

then went back to fetch the didi. but this didi.... refused to come home w us and wanna stay with the ah ma instead. grrrr... tried super hard in coaxing him to come home w us, but he just dont wanna. haii. sad. 

then, we went to the hawker centre wanting to tabao some food. who knows, there was this spinning wheel game taking place, and there's a chance to spin for each $5 spent at the hawker centre. 

super looooong q. so, since got to q for our turn, we might as well eat at the hawker centre. 

and so, tada! hokkien mee and fried rice. yummz. 

and yeah, spinning the wheels!

and won ourselves $21 worth of food vouchers (to be used at the hawker center). LOL. 

expiring in march 2019, and apparently with no minimum spending. not bad! 

and, going to count down to the new year liao. 20 more mins. 

planned to go to the countdown party at the neighbourhood, but 算了吧... mr rayous is already fast asleep, and didi is also not here w us. grr.

ok, 8 more mins to go! 

happy new year in advance! 

while i continue to write on 2018 and 2019... 

LOL 

MIL's BdaY

MIL's bday in Nov. celebrated for her at this restaurant at chevrons.

it was a monday night. the whole restaurant was empty, i think we were the only table there. 

ha. 

and looking at the pic, MIL really lost alot of weight over the yrs. last yr, she also not so skinny leh. why this yr 好像廋好多....

again, no words can express my gratitude towards her, for agreeing to taking care of the 2 boys and doing a great job. without her support, i really would be very very much worse off. and i also know, she doesnt really like this maid, but she was still willing to house her, without complaining much..

hopefully things will be better next yr, when small boy also goes to school liao. 

for a start, probably she still has to travel to and fro to the school to pick up the boys at different timings (cuz hubb only wants raythorous to start on a half day basis, not full day yet, though we r paying the full day rate), but at least in the morning, she's quite free liao...

and with both boys at school most of the time, the maid probably need not go to her place on a daily basis liao. and... hopefully, she will be happier with this new maid who will be coming.

yeah, dont know la. lots of planning and logistics to do...

shall c how. 

BBT

ha, finally get to drink this highly raved about bbt.... 

my colleague queued 1hr for them.... seriously???!!

honestly, nothing fantastic.

it is exactly like drinking melted ice kachang water. i couldnt even finish one whole cup. 

when i was young, i already only wanted the brown syrup for ice kachang. i never liked the green and red syrup, hence always only requested the brown syrup. 

who knows so many yrs down, this brown sugar bbt thingie became a popular item. 

hahahahaah

and yea, looks like this bbt thingie is back again!

so many new brands appearing again. 

and just my good old neighbourhood already have 2 bbt stalls! 

ohohohohoh! 

Merry Xmas

Merry Christmas! 

But it really wasn't so merry. 

For the past few days, I was likened to be thrown into a state of depression.

Literally.

Super depress and sad.

I guess it all started some 2 or 3 weeks back when didi fell sick. Then Mil fell sick. Then I had to take urgent leaves. Then back to work and things at work are stuck. Then had a little fell out with my team lead. Then when I tot things are finally back on track, I'm sick! Sick liao still don't dare to take mc. Until I finally buay tahan n took mc on Fri. And yeah, the maid problems also..

 honestly, till now, I'm still not totally well. Still having a runny and blocked  nose, and head still feels heavy. Wanted to c doc again on eve, but clinics were closed.

Siann.

I think I'm overwhelmed. Everything coming at once.

Like I said, I had expected the yr to end swee swee, but it ended up with so many crisis.

Oh. And the damn auntie of the month happened to be this same period.

Worried abt nt enough leaves next yr, worried abt the new maid, worried abt didi starting school, worried abt work, worried abt colleagues.. and w pms and falling sick and not recovering after so many days, how not to get depression, u tell me.

Really super Siann. 

And the pple at work.... sigh. 

Everything is a problem.

Everything is in a mess.

Need some time to sort things out.

When can I have that time and space to truly sort out what I need to sort out?

I guess the only good thing that happened, was i finally had some time to do the hair treatment that my hair deadly needed.

Yeh. That cheered me up a bit for Xmas. 

Ha.

this december.... really not so shun......

small boy fell sick, then mil fell sick, then maid wanna leave, and now im sick.

actually been unwell since tuesday, but i just self-medicate and continued w work. 

cuz last week already went on urgent leaves for a couple of days (cuz mil sick, remb). not so nice if this week bomb mc again. and not to mention the stuff at work. even if were to mc, come back, the work will still be there. so might as well just bite the bullet and continue working. 

so ate panadol and some of the old medicine. well, after taking the panadol, the fever does subside and i do feel ALOT better. but after the panadol subsides, the fever is back again. so ytd buay tahan liao. went c doc during lunch time. was given mc for the afternn and today as well. so, quickly cleared off and handed over some of the stuff on hand, and told them i need to take mc today. 

and lucky i took mc today. feels really sucky. ate panadol and the meds and slept almost the whole day liao, but now still like not any better leh. sore throat, runny nose and back aching. and still running a temperature. 

sighhh.

really v siannn. 

tot can close the year with bo daiji. 

but..... 

haiii. 

anyway, on tues, we went back to the agency and yes, we r still eligible for a replacement. so, we went thru a few, and finally settled on a philippino. only photos available, but did talk to her over the phone. ok, her level of english is still ok. so we decided to take her.

we managed to get the current maid to stay till latest 1feb. and this new maid will be available in about a month's time. so hopefully, the current maid dont chu pattern again and insists on leaving early, else, there will be a period where i have no maid liao. 

and hopefully, w the new maid being able to speak (better) english, there can be less communication problems, less misunderstandings, closer expectations and more positive feelings. 

please......

and so, it's a $700plus damage. $200 for replacement fee, $200 for additional agency fee cuz changed from indon to PP, and another $300plus for new insurance fee. and still have to fork out $2K+ to help the new maid pay off her loan 1st (though that will be returned to us via her pay later on...). 

nvm. 破财消灾.小钱不出大钱不来.

and already good thing that we are still within the replacement period, else have to pay the full agency fee ALL OVER AGAIN. 

so, maybe i should thank this current maid. for telling me earlier that she wants to leave liao. if she tells me after the replacement period, it will be worse off. 

haha. 

ok, jiayou. 下一个会更好.

Crisis. Again.

Yr end. 

But.. crisis again.

My dear maid said she wanna go back home to further her studies.

Good excuse.

I think the real reason is that she had enough of me.

Not that I don't have enough of her.

But.. was just 忍ING and hoping to 有一天过一天.

Who knows, now she 下手first. 

Actually it did not come as a surprise.

She gives us the vibes that she 可有可无this job.  And from the whatapp pics etc, can see that her family not that jialek and hard of money...

And.. not the first time she said she doesn't wanna work liao. A few times we crossed fire, she already said she wanna go back. Just that I took the humble pie cuz the agony of finding a new maid, the cost involved, and the hassle involved.. r just too much to bear.

Sian.

I honestly treated this maid much better than the previous one. Though at times, I still do get mad... but..

Hai..

Now just worry if the agency can give us the so-called free replacement. Else, have to pay the agency fee all over again. 

Super Sian.

Why like that. 

Back to work from crisis.

Disappointing to know that most of the work has been left unattended, when u were hoping someone could help.. 

真的只可以靠自己。

And the last thing I need is a f***king s*******.

Really don't know how to continue. 

How?

Crisis Again...

sighhh....

still tot i could end the year with bo daiji.... 

who knows, now crisis again.. 

raythorous fell sick ytd... then this morning... MIL fell sick too...

so im on urgent leaves today and tmr. 

haiiiiiiiiiiiiii

really no more leaves liao lehh.

last yr, i rolled over 11.5days leaves to this yr. and this yr, i also have additional tenure leaves. but now, still 沦落 until almost no leaves. next yr how????????????

somemore raythorous will be starting school in jan. sure sick very often again....

siaooo liaoo... worrying... 

in the past, i only aimed to roll over 5days leaves every yr. dont want to roll over so many days, scare 拿不完. now?? 真的不夠用!!! jialek lahhh... 

another agony faced by working parents!

really lucky still got MIL to help (though now she also KO liao....). really cannot imagine those without any help at all. forever either the husband or the wife.... no other pple to help... 

but then, parents in law may be shifting over to stay with hubb's 2nd bro next yr, when their new flat is ready. the new place is not that near to the school. so, am also wondering what should we do. 

the best case scenario will be BAU, but that will trouble MIL quite abit cuz she has to travel further. and the dear maid leh? also not sure if hubb's bro is ok to house her.

the worse case scenario, will be we bring and fetch the kids ourselves. but that will really mean no more 'after-work' life liao, cuz have to fetch the kids from school everyday. 

OMG!

now still can go pak-tor every now and then, and i can still meet my friends every now and then. if really next time have to fetch the kids myself, then really no life liao... 

scaryyyyyyy...

and the maid? i also dont like the idea of having her at home all alone......and to let her have the keys???? 

oh no...

haii...

siannnn..

year-end liao, should be chill and relax de leh..

sighhhhhhhhh

Mum's BdaY

it's mommy's bday! 

celebrated for her at the prima revolving restaurant

the food is not bad at the restaurant. quite nice. 

happy birthday mum!

wishing u good health, happiness and longevity!

Hubb's Bday on AgEaN PaRaDiSe CruiSe

ohhohohoho.... for hubb's bday this year, we went on a cruise!!

not royal caribbean, not star cruises, not dream cruises, nor princess cruises.....

it's argean paradise cruise!!!

woooohooo!! 

never heard of it??

LOL!!

it's a casino ship! 

hubb has always wanted to try, but i was always against the idea, cuz it sounds sleazy and very wrong to board a casino ship. 

but then, since it was his bday, and after checking it out on youtube, i was ok to give it a try. it doesnt look so bad on youtube. 

and so, we brought the folks, miss quek, and mr rayous along! 

hahah!

ok, the journey is a little tedious. 1st, have to board a ferry from tanah merah ferry terminal. the ride is approx 1hr.  then, transfer to another ferry for another 15mins, before transferring to the cruise at the sea. 

the 1st ferry ride was quite a nightmare. it was really fully booked. so we just grabbed whatever seats left. 

tada, finally entered the cruise.

our balcony room. not too bad, really. quite spacious. clean also. 

and then, lunch! 4 meals a day. bf, lunch, dinner, supper. 

the food is quite decent and yummy also. dont expect international buffet la, but satisfactory and to my likings =)

the best part is, unlike royal caribbean where the restaurant is like a giant foodcourt packed with pple, the restaurant here is quite empty! no issue finding seats at all! 

after that, explored the cruise abit. got a shop selling tidbits and souvenirs.. things onboard are also not expensive. super reasonable. 

the pool! ok, it's really a small pool and i tot it looked dirty and un-maintained. but miss quek was ok to give it a try, so i accompanied her lor. 

and hey, not too bad ok! the water was very clean and clear. can see our feets from the top ok! except that it was really salty. think is seawater. but overall ok, we enjoyed the pool. not as bad as it looked, really.

and then dinner time! 

me with the 2 kiddos, while the rest all went to gamble. diaoooo...

snacking in the room....

after gambling, it's ktv time! unfortunately, hubb and i did not get to sing, cuz too many songs being queued liao, and we gave up waiting for our turn. grr..

and then supper.......... woohoo... really eat non-stop xia...

and we celebrated hubb's bday onboard, though it wasnt 12o'clock yet.

yeah, they do sell cakes onboard. hahahah

and then the next day. we skipped the breakfast, cuz by the time we woke up and get ready, it's time for lunch liao.. 

after that was some last-min photo-taking 

we slacked in the restaurant while the men went to do some last-min gambling 

and then ferry back to sg liaooooo.. same thing, cruise to ferry, then ferry to another ferry.... 

look at my super big cracker.. haa

and everyone fell asleep... best...

 back to sg and celebrated hubb's actual bday at swensens.

and a cake to be cut with didi...

supposed to go back to work the next day, but we decided to extend our leave for one more day, cuz really too tired liao. and we went to buy his gift - a coach belt, again. last yr, i also got him a coach belt. LOL

yup, overall the cruise is really not too bad. and it was really cheap. the ferry tix is $48 per adult and per child, but for senior citizens, the ferry tix is only $28! the room rate is also not expensive. for the balcony room, it's $80 per night. 4 meals inclusive, got casino, got ktv, got swimming pool, got gym, why not? good for a short getaway. and really not as sleazy as i thought. but really not many children onboard la. saw a few only. hahah.

we will visit again. cheap and good. =)