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cutie pie

This is my new niece…new cos she is only 4 mths old. I helped out babysitting her hence not much time is left for FB nowadays. See, she stays with me during the weekdays so I try to pinch her cute little chubby cheeks as much as I can before she grows up too soon and starts smacking me back..:P

Life as a baby is great. All they do is eat, sleep and poo. And get entertained by loads of adults who parody other people or animals. Me, I put her in front of the tv or pc and start showing her loads of moving pictures to keep her short attention span occupied. And oh boy, does she have a short fuse…few seconds and she starts screaming or fidgeting already. When she is in a good mood (yes, babies do have moodswings) she will gurgle and laugh with you. She has this little red box with a pic of a girl which she likes to baby talk to. Very entertaining…LOL

happy baby

baby mickey

Yeah, that’s the latest buzzword now, with the Olympics well underway. I was tied up with month end closing but reminded myself to watch the opening ceremony last Fri after receiving some fireworks photos which was captured on the rehearsal night. Managed to make it just on time as was caught in huge traffic on the way back…maybe due to other ppl rushing home for the same reason!

And I have to say….WOW!! It was simply Awesome!! The fireworks, the whole opening performance..was jaw-dropping great. I’ve gotta say that this opening ceremony is one of the best I’ve seen. Directed by Zhang Yimou, the acclaimed director of such films like The Red Lantern with his favourite actress, Gong Li, he managed to encapsulate China’s 2000 year history in 3 plus hours with 22,000 performers dressed in lavish costumes and props. Slated for opening at 8.08pm on 8th Aug, 2008, the extravanganza is reported to have cost an estimated USD100mil. Even tho’ my stomach was growling hungrily as I haven’t had time to get my dinner, I could not tear my eyes away from the screen. Esp loved the part where the performers did some acrobatic stunts on a piece of painting and painted with their bodies on the huge canvas. And the other cool performance was from the group of young men who was very well-coordinated in their movements hidden in boxes like thingy, drumming an image of a huge chinese keyboard forming chinese words with Mexican waves. 

Bird's Nest

Fireworks

Coool…haven’t log on for quite awhile now. Noticed some upgrades done to the website!! Bravo!

Okies, ever since I shifted, as mentioned my journey to and fro my house is rather long….and with the hike in petrol price….YIPES! Since I gotta wake up earlier, I have resorted to doing a lot of things in the car. Errr….not like Mr. Bean tho’ to the extent of brushing teeth and changing clothes in the car…that will cause accidents on the road!! No, but somehow I seemed to be living like a nomad…with my gym bag ever ready at the back of the car…tho’ it’s not like I visit the gym often nowadays…:( …shoes for all occasions stashed at the back (very important since the last time I forgot my work shoes, I had to rush out to get a pair during lunch hour!!) and I tend to eat and drink in my car too to maximise the time spent travelling…:) Shhh….I know I know….we will get fined for eating in the car..also it’s dangerous, not to mention the difficulty in maneuvring the steering wheel with one hand! I also have this bad habit of reading my text and sms while driving…this one I really admire those peeps who are able to text without needing to look at the phone at all…if it’s me right….will prob end up texting something gibberish!

It’s rather interesting to look around and see what other drivers are doing inside their cars…especially when you are stuck in traffic jams (which is practically a norm every morning for me now). Some drivers are really gross…they pick their noses and dig their teeth when they think nobody is looking! Some will be doing their own karaoke in the car and it’s amusing to see the mouths moving…hahahaha….ok, I am also guilty of this…hey, it helps keep me awake mah….Some ladies like to do their makeup…normal…as long as they don’t end up drawing a Nike swoosh as their eyebrow, reckon that is ok.  Some couples like to canoodle while stuck in the jam…hey, if you knew everybody else will be looking, then should be a bit more ‘reserve’ lar….we are not living overseas where this is the societal norm leh…..

On a related note, my pet peeves of drivers on the road

1) who like to accelerate and brake every 50 metre or so…

2) who drives like weekend drivers at 40km/hour and hogs the center of the lane

3) who can’t make up their mind whether to turn right/left or head straight. They put out their indicators then decide to go straight anyway

4) who tailgates you so near you feel they are waiting to bang you or keeps flashing at you to get outta the way since you must be driving at snail speed

5) who drives like formula one drivers switching lanes and racing with other cars

I grew up in a neighbourhood where anything and everything was within a stone throw from my house. The petrol station, kopi tiam, post office, cinema (before it was torn down), supermarket, banks, clinic, dentist, fast food, bus stop, lrt station, etc…you named it, we have it. I never really understand it whenever friends or colleagues tells me how lucky I am to be staying in such a strategic location where practically every amenities is at my doorstep. Well, until I shifted….

Now, I seemed to be living in a jungle where the nearest shops is approx 8 mins drive away…nope, I can’t walk out to the shops anymore. They have the same things ie kopi tiam, post office, clinic, dentist, banks, supermarket, McDonald’s, no cinema tho’ since that has been monopolised by the megamalls of today. But somehow, the feeling is different…I still feel ‘lost’ whenever I need to patronise a shop. Are the sundries cheap and good? Is the service nice? do they have a branch of xxx bank? I once tried locating a post box turning twice to the same road….but still can’t locate it tho’ I remember seeing it previously

So, guess what….sometimes, I still go to my beloved old neigbourhood and goto the banks, eat at the kopi tiam, throw my letters into the post office box etc…I basically know where each shop is located at the back of my hand…I just go there, run in and get out…saves more time that way….also, gives me the comfort that my stuff have been dealt with properly…old habits die hard I suppose…the sense of familiarity is very comforting…

Nowadays, I drive about an hour (min) to reach my workplace. To and fro means approx 2 hours of travelling on the highway. Sigh! My old office used to be a mere 5 mins drive away from my old house…those were definitely the  good old days!! Even my new office was only a 20mins drive away. Gees….now, I know what a godsend my old house is!

Also, being not a natural ‘morning person’, it’s been a difficult process of separating myself from my bed every morning! And hard to make myself sleep at night too. The night owl in me just refused to doze off. At times, I have drifted off while driving on the roads in the morning…dangerous stuff I know..

It will take some time to adjust to the new neighbourhood and learn every crook and cranny in times to come…hopefully this old dog can still learn some new tricks…:)  

Ok, some updates. I know, I know…it’s been eons…I just got to looking at my blog stats and was amused to find my latest highest blog visits happened on my birthday, which incidentally was last Tues. Hmmm….was I supposed to update on that day? Anyway, err…just read my last blog entry. Seems kinda reflective and depressing at the same time. Anyhow, that was my sentiments then so I will just leave it as it is.

Between that period and now, I must say I have cheered up considerably. Not only have I changed gyms, I have also changed jobs and shifted house! Yeah, when it rains, it pours!! Got somewhat overwhelmed at times. New job is more demanding and it was a trying time to adapt to a totally new environment and culture. Moreover, I had to shuttle down to Singapore occasionnally for business trips so it was like Whoooosh……felt myself being pushed into the sea….and see whether I could swim or drown….My family shifted house while I was away in Singapore. Felt somewhat relief that I wasn’t involved in the shifting though I was busy packing before I left. Everything happened so fast I barely had time to sit back and let it all sink in.

Add to that, I got into a new relationship so it’s been pretty much surreal. After last year’s unhappy episodes of change, this year’s change was  definitely much more positive and happier. Suddenly the gloomy clouds are starting to move away and let the sunshine in. My brother was right. After all the bad stuff, comes the good stuff so all those who were in the same boat, I emphatise but hang in there. Your days of sunshine will come! J