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Squeals of Delight

1 Feb

Saturday night was such a trip down memory lane. I met up with old high school friends after so long. Arrangements were made several weeks ago to gather as many as possible as one of them was coming back from Hong Kong for a visit and requested for a reunion of sorts.

It took some effort but it happened. Thanks to Facebook and WhatsApp, within days most whom I reconnected with agreed to come.

When one by one walked into the restaurant on Saturday night, there were repeated squeals of joy and delight, followed by hugs and laughter. It was indeed a delight to see old friends again after 30 years. Yes, I admit, we are dinosaurs, 30 years.

Thank goodness, the restaurant was pretty noisy, so our squeals, giggles and chatter did not make heads turn nor bring the roof down. So many questions, so much changes (physically especially) yet we all still looked the same. For a brief moment, we seemed to have been transported back in time to our boisterous and giggly teen selves of the good old high school days. It was nostalgic.

In that four hours, much was exchanged amongst us, updates on life, pictures of family and all.

I am glad those who showed up did. As we are not getting younger, such occasions are moments to cherish. My only wish is we could do this more often, get together over dinner or drinks to continue to shape this beautiful thing we call friendship.

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Chatterbox

11 Jan

Once upon a time, when I was just 20 months old, I followed my older sibling to kindergarten and loved it. And I kept following him to school until Mom had no choice but to enrol me. 

During the first few days, I was such a quiet little child and coped well, Mom was relieved it worked out fine. But after one term, the Report Card came back and it stated I was a “Chatterbox” and very talkative in class…

I guess some things don’t change, the chatterbox in me even when I am down with laryngitis.

It’s a new week and I have not recovered from my laryngitis. Some people think I sound sexy; M2 thinks I sound cute. I am just a little thankful that at least some sound comes out, awful as it may be.

Maybe it’s because I have been talking too much, straining my voice box that it is taking so long to recover. I can’t help it. Unless I stay home and vegetate, when I am out I have to talk.

Chatterbox.

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First Day

4 Jan

It’s the first day for everything in 2016, school for M2, work for us and classes for M1 too except that her first day will be our tomorrow, being half way around the world from us.

It was a quiet start for me, with the laryngitis still persisting. I went and played golf on Saturday hoping maybe a sweat will work wonders. It did somewhat, some sound can be heard when I speak. But I think it was mostly a good rest over the long break that did the trick.

I am still thinking about the book to read to kick off the year but I am very pleased that my virtual games all progressed very well. Levels that I was stuck at were finally overcomed and it feels good.

Looking forward to a good year ahead!

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Chat

Sleepless Nights

29 Dec

Monday morning was a zombie day for me because the night before I did not sleep at all and a little headache was building throughout the day. Anxiety, fits of cough and stomach cramps all rolled into one the whole night as I willed time to speed up a little so that we can know M1 is safe. 

Thanks to technology, we were able to track her flight path through flightaware.com and managed to connect with her when she transited in Narita. She told us they departed 20 minutes late from Changi but yet managed to arrive 20 minutes early. Amazing.

Even with such connectivity, there was worry in us. Parents. I simply cannot fathom back then how Mom and Dad felt when I went off to college with the wait and anxiety. Maybe like this but worse without the two things we have nowadays, technology and instant connectivity.

There was one year I came home for Christmas and it took a total of 36 hours, starting with a bus ride down from Flagstaff through the icy roads to Phoenix to catch my flight at LAX but was rerouted via San Francisco instead to head on to Hong Kong, Singapore and finally, Kuala Lumpur. 36 hours, what a marathon.

M1’s journey was not as crazy as mine, thank goodness but still, it’s a long way. It was slightly after 1.40am my time when she landed and two hours later, we heard from her. I then slept better. 

No more sleepless nights!

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Too Much Happening

28 Dec

It was an intense two weeks with M1 back; there was so much eating and traveling. And suddenly, it’s all over. She left for the States yesterday night via Changi Airport, Singapore. Although there was an hour delay from KLIA2, the 5 hour buffer is sufficient for her to catch her connecting this morning, unlike her 50-minute gap the other day. 

That one, all legs of the flight were delayed (from the US-inbound to outbound) and she had 10-minutes to run to the gate at Narita. But thankfully, it worked out fine then.

By the time this gets posted, she would have flown only a few minutes to Narita International and a long way more to go.

Yes, I am tracking her flight on flightaware.com. And it was a restless night in between anxiety and fits of cough. It will be a restless next 24 hours until I know she’s arrived safely. Unfortunately, it has been several restless nights for me with this awful infection that I am having that has caused me to lose my voice.

I thought my record of getting laryngitis would be broken this year (three years in a row I had it) but no, it struck the week after we returned from Penang. So now, I am into my second week of this suffering. The inflammation in the throat has gone but so has the voice!

I guess it didn’t help that during the Christmas Eve dinner, I bravely downed red wine, white wine, coffee and whiskey. I didn’t overeat, I just drank a variety of drinks. I thought heck, why not? Alcohol kills germs. Plus, we were celebrating a happy occasion and let’s be merry about it!

Then on Christmas night, we went for steamboat, to complete M1’s ‘to eat’ list. Golly, by Boxing Day, I was rendered speechless. I am not even hoarse, just totally speechless. It takes a lot of energy to muster up even a tiny bit of strength to speak and even then, I cannot be heard by all three of them. (Silent sigh)…

So when M1 left, whatever that has to be said has been spoken (thankfully much earlier before my illness struck); whatever else that still needs to be spoken was left unspoken as a result of my inability. It’s tiring to aggravate the vocals.

Maybe less words spoken at this juncture is better. It was a quick emotional goodbye, a hug and again, some tears and she went through the gate. Hubby and M2 held up much better.

Unlike her first time leaving home in March, this time I take relief in knowing she’s going off to university as a Sophomore and being more exposed, I shouldn’t worry too much and should focus on getting my voice back. It has been too intense for me. 

(Silent sigh)…

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A Little Bit of Everything

21 Dec

Saturday was a little bit of everything. We had a leisurely breakfast, then we walked along the beach enjoying the breeze and watching the busy activities. As we strolled along, we discovered a pod-like jelly creature, which we initially thought was a jellyfish pod carrying eggs. How ignorant we were.

Accordingly to the local chap who came up to us and educated us on this creature, it is not a jellyfish but something else, and it’s not poisonous but edible! One should just gut its innards out and then throw it into a Kerabu salad. Hmm… Interesting but I don’t think I will be adventurous enough to try this. Furthermore it’s a little too slimy for my liking.

After the stroll, we went back to our room and packed, getting ready to check out. As much as we enjoy Penang, it’s time to say goodbye. But not before making a stop at Kuantan Road to buy some ‘Beh Teh Saw’ biscuits and then to Sunshine Farlim Mall for another biscuit purchase. 

We decided to have an Assam Laksa, Chee Cheong Fun and Chendol lunch before we left the island. After all, these have yet to be checked off the ‘to eat’ list.

By two, we left the island and headed further North to visit hubby’s parents. We had a good dinner with his parents that evening since it’s hubby’s birthday and it’s been awhile since he last celebrated this occasion with his parents.

By Sunday, we had to make our way back home, detouring to Ipoh again – this time to buy a Salted Baked Chicken for dinner. The drive was rather tiring because traffic was quite heavy along certain stretches and it rained every now and then. Traffic on the highway will get worse as Christmas draws closer with loads of holiday makers on the road.

It has been a whirlwind week with M1 back; we’ve literally covered from South to North of the Peninsular. This week, we are staying put in town to finish my Christmas shopping and to fulfill M1’s checklist of ‘food to eat’, ‘people to see’ and ‘things to buy’ before she returns to university.

Yes, it’s a short time we have with her but better to have something than nothing at all.

  

Incoming para-sail!

   

Check those innards out!

  

All line up please

 

 

Everything was so good!

 
 

Brinjal, Tofu, Steam Fish, Chicken & Veg

 

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Chat

A Long Day

14 Dec

Saturday had never felt like such a long day. We had a hearty Indian breakfast before leaving home, taking a leisure drive to Singapore to meet M1, due to touchdown pass midnight at Changi Airport.

Along the way, it rained making the drive not so pleasant but we prevailed and got to the hotel by mid-afternoon. After checking in, we rested a bit but then decided to head out to kill time. Can’t be cooped up in the room twiddling our thumbs while tracking her flight path. She was delayed at Narita. This was what I had feared earlier. The 50 minute gap is just insufficient but thankfully, her ETA stated half an hour late.

It was only six o’clock and we still had seven hours to kill. We had local food at the food court in Albert Centre, close to where we opted to stay this time, Ibis Bencoolen. Away from our usual choice of Shangri-la, Bugis Street was a new place to explore.

The shops along this tourist attraction reminded me of Chatuchak in Bangkok. The only difference being here, the overall place is smaller and most stalls have air-conditioning. We explored as much as possible but there was only so much walking we could do and decided to head back to the hotel. 

By nine, hubby and M2 were sleepy but we had to stay awake. One decided to watch a movie, the other gave in to forty winks.

In the end, the anxiousness got the better of us and we left Ibis at 10.15pm. We decided to take the SMRT to the airport and then later, catch a cab back. By 11.15pm, after one train change at EW4, we arrived at the airport.

Changi is huge. We had to walk quite a distance to get to T1. In the process, all three of us got hungry! Well, dinner was at 6.30pm earlier so that can’t hold the tummy with all this extra walking and anxiety.

ETA showed 0057am, Sunday morning. We still had time to kill. Gosh… It’s rather excruciating when every minute stretched and felt like an eternity. We found a great spot at Starbucks, overlooking Belt 20 where the flight’s bags would come out. Tick… Tock…

By 0056am, her flight from Narita touched down! Yay… finally. It took a while before we spotted M1, sauntering cooly towards Belt 20. She didn’t look tired or zombied after that 24-hour journey. Phew. After lugging her bag off the conveyor belt, and in a blink of an eye, all that waiting and worried thoughts (especially on the delay) vanished when she came through the doors and we hugged her. Relief and happiness set in but the day was not done yet!

We took a cab back to the hotel and with all this excitement, it was hard to wind down. But when it finally did, it was 3.45am when I hit the pillows.

What a long day.

Together again!

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I’m So Excited

11 Dec

It’s so cliché to say how fast time flies but it’s true. Tomorrow my M1 returns from the USA for her Christmas holidays! Whee… and when she comes back, she has gotten this whole lot of Oreos for us! Double whee…

We will of course be tracking her flight and arrival. It will be an anxious time especially when she has that connecting flight to take at Narita International Airport with just a 50 minute gap. I don’t want to dwell on this and just hope no delays in between.

Can’t wait for the moment when the family gets to hug her again. And all that glorious Oreo… Wheee…. 

 

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Wonderful Times

27 Nov

The holiday season is here for Christmas shopping and a ‘Toys R Us’ catalog came in the mail recently. It was fun to look at the pictures of the offerings the toy store has for this year. It also brought back memories of when I first worked on a ‘Toys R Us’ catalog when I was an intern in New York City.

A semester prior, I had engineered an opportunity (before graduation) for a summer internship at WBMG, Inc. in New York City. The time, both in New York City and at WBMG, was exciting and the experience priceless. I had the privilege to work with Walter Bernard and his excellent team of designers as well as being counselled by Milton Glaser. My Polaroid picture is still on their website after all these years! (hint: look out for the bright green tee shirt and big glasses me!)

The project was to design a catalog for Toys R Us among other projects. During that time, the studio also redesigned Adweek, which I also assisted and eventually led to a full time job with the magazine.

Ahh… Such wonderful memories. Would I turn back time now to relive it? A definite yes! Do I regret leaving it? Well, no. I know this is contradictory to my earlier yes to turning back time but my life now is equally wonderful, with my two precious M1 and M2. So I will leave it as memories are meant to be made and cherished. Time and life is meant to be lived, move on and go on.

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Chat

All Planned Out

24 Nov

The year end school holiday has started and M2 is left to her own devices. This is the first year she will be alone as you know, M1 is at university. 

And she has it all planned out. This morning, we saw a checklist of movies and shows to watch, sitting on the sofa.

36. That’s how many she will be watching. I guess I don’t have to scratch my head trying to figure out what activities for her to keep her busy.

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