The Unbalanced Libra..

I took my driving test for the third time today.  When i woke up this morning at 7am, my feet started to itch.. Then when i ironed my blouse, i burnt the ironing board fabric cover.  I should have know those were bad signs.. 

Nonetheless I still did my best.. compared to the last 2 times, I think I did much better.  No immediate failures this time.  Just a whole load of demerit points.  Another $200 down the drain.  I've already spent so much money for this stupid license, which seems so difficult to get! I've never failed a test or exam in my life, so this is really demoralizing.  Plus it's getting very embarrassing  every time i take leave from work to go for my test, then when my colleagues asked about it when i go back, i have to say i fail again.  I swear I won't tell anyone when i take my next test!

Anyway, when i got back home, i was totally not in the mood.  Only Bria could cheer me up.  I'm so glad i have her. I was so sad i kept asking Bria to hug and kiss me.. haha.. Initially, i thought i would go back to work for half a day, but in the end, i had a shower and took a 3 hour nap. 

When I woke up, i took Bria and C to C's maid agency to apply for her home leave.  We took the train, then switched to the bus.  Which i regretted.  Cause Bria kept wanting to get down and walk on the bus.  I had a hard time distracting her and holding her tight.  That kinda reminded me why i never took a bus with her.

C's going home for a week on her birthday so it's going to be just me, K and Bria.  I took leave from work, but K didn't, so i guess it'll just be me mainly.. I'm so used to having C's help that I hope I don' screw up when she's gone!  More importantly, I hope she comes back. Otherwise i will have a HUGE problem.  Then again, i don't think she is so ungrateful.  I pay so much for her ticket and home leave let her celebrate her birthday with her son leh!  And her contract is not even up yet.  How many employer will do that.. only nice people like me.. haha

After our visit to the maid agency, we headed to Parkway Parade to look for gold.  Literally.  Cause C wanted to buy a gold pendant for her son.  She already got the gold necklace last week, so just missing the pendant.  The first shop we visited, Princess Jewellery, has such nice people.  The ladies there carried and played with Bria.  They even gave us water before we bought anything from them.   Eventually, we walked out empty handed cause we wanted to find more designs and compare prices.  So we trotted over to Poh Heng.  What a huge contrast.  Firstly, the people there ignored my daughter.  And they gave only one bottle.  I reckon that's for me, so C had none.  Then when Bria started to whine, one of the female staff there looked at her and shake her head in disgust.  I was so pissed, but i didn't say anything.  Despite all this, we bought a pendant from them, cause C liked the design and it was relatively cheaper.  I still cannot get over the guilt of not buying from the nice people at Princess Jewellery!!

Tomorrow is April Fool's Day.  And the start of a really busy busy month for me.  3 business trips, 2 events, 2 project launches and loads of presentations to complete.  All within one freaking month.   Arghhhh!!!  I want to quit..

K is coming back from Shanghai tomorrow!

He's been gone for 5 days now, and i miss him terribly.. = (  For some strange reason, i keep dreaming about him these few days.  Never happened in the past when he travels.  Stupid haze has subsided a bit today, but i still didn't want to bring Bria outdoors, in case she falls sick.  So we stayed indoors today, and only went out to my grandma's place in the evening after my driving lesson.

I had a talkative instructor today.. But he's quite funny lah, kept making me laugh.  Good and bad, bad cause i wanted to concentrate on my driving.  Good cause he help to make me feel more relaxed.  Went on 4 test routes today, and had at least 5 "immediate failures".  Sigh.. i really must pass my driving the first time.  Don't want to waste money retaking.  I can do it!!  Tomorrow another lesson, at 430pm. I really hope K's 3pm flight will land earlier, otherwise i will be late for my driving lesson.  And i really want to go airport to pick him..

This weekend is kinda boring.  K not around, plus the haze, so never go out at all.  But i guess i got my wanted rest.  I have been complaining to K that every weekend is so packed with activities that we never seem to get enough rest before the work week starts again. 

Bria is sound asleep on my bed now.  And suddenly, i got nothing to do, so got time to blog.. She really fills up my life, this little baby!

While playing with Bria in the car this afternoon, I saying the alphabets to her.. 

Instead of the usual "A for Apple", i thought of the following:  "A for Adeline", "B for Bria", "C for Charina", which is essentially all our names!  But I got stuck cause K's name is starting with K.  Then C said: "D for Daddy!"  So now our family has our very own ABC.. haha.. 

My helper is so smart.. = )

After pampering myself yesterday afternoon with a massage and pedicure, K brought me along to do some "Chor Gang" (rough chores) in the evening at Page One Vivocity.  The Moleskine notebooks he was selling had a month long event for their new "Passions" range, so yesterday K had to tear down all the posters and dismantle the props on display at Page One.  We stayed there from 830 to 10pm dismantling the props and posters and rearranging the notebooks that had all been messed up by consumers who don't care less.

It was quite fun though, just the 2 of us husband and wife doing this kind of work.  I even got to push one of those trolleys and went into the loading lift to load and unload the props.  

Here's a picture of me taking a break and posing with the huge ass Moleskine notebook mock ups on display. = )

K and I attended 2 seminars over the past 2 days.. On Thursday, we attended this Young PAP talk at NTUC Income Center on "Long Term Strategies for Singapore's Economy".. They had 2 MPs, and a NUS Professor from Department of Public Policy to give the talk..  Yes, K is a member of the Young PAP, but the only reason i wanted to go was for the free buffet dinner.. haha..  But the seminar proved to be an interesting experience.

While having our food in the lobby, we saw a few aunties who looked like they were in their 40s coming for the talk.. I thought it was for Young PAP, but K said since the "old PAP" is already in his 90s, the Young PAP cannot be too young... haha..

During the seminar, i learnt that our population is now 4.9million, of which only 2.9m are in active workforce, of which 1m are foreign workers.  And, we are short of 20K babies every year in order to totally remove the need for foreign workers in the future.  And, we have 160K Singaporeans who are based overseas.  Why am I not in this 160K???!

My favorite was the Q&A session.  We had a few queer characters asking the funniest questions.. The whole seminar was supposed to be on strategies to improve Singapore's economy, but somehow got diverted to defense and National Service.  There was this young chiong-ster looking guy who introduced himself as being from the alcohol industry.  He asked the speakers if the government can consider making NS optional.. haha..

Then there was this middle aged China looking man, who came up and asked why foreigners who come to Singapore has to do NS if they become PR.  If Singapore do that, they will never be able to attract the top foreign talents.. 

Then there was another chiong-ster looking guy who suggested that Singapore developed a happiness index like that of Butan's so we can have more work life balance.  When one of the speakers rejected this idea, he just burst out saying: "So basically Singapore have no work life balance lah?" Hilarious..

This afternoon, after the Miata photoshoot, K and I attended another seminar organized by Brand's Essence.  We went with 11 other fellow from the Miata club.  The seminar was about Traditional Chinese Medicine.  There, i learnt about balancing the yin and the yang, what different chinese herbs are used for, and what are the benefits of various types of Brand's chicken essence.  I love the speaker, some TCM doctor.. Very casual and funny man! In addition, we got free buffet lunch, and a goodie bag filled with Brand's Essence!  The bummer was when we lef the NTUC Income building, the car park came up to $20.. So i guess there really is no free lunch in this world! = )

K and I drove past this durian store at Jalan Eunos called "Durian Lingers".. They have this banner promoting their Ladies Night promotion on Tuesday.  Apparently, ladies get a 30% discount on their durians on Tuesday nights.

Even durian stalls have Ladies' Night now.. How interesting.. = )

I went for my Basic Theory test yesterday morning.. Although i bought the book more than 1 month ago,, i only started to read through the night before my test.. Actually had to burn midnight oil cause i was so busy visiting over the weekend!  It's been such a long long time since i last studied for a test or exam... = )

When i reached the Ubi test center yesterday morning, i had to queue outside the classroom to register.. So many people were doing last minute studying while queuing.. I felt so nostalgic all of a sudden, and wanted so much to go back to school!!

The basic theory test is so high-tech now, with touch screen and all.. K told me during his time, he still had to use pencil and shade the answers on paper.. Sigh.. i am SOOO lagging behind.. All my friends passed their Basic Theory like more than 10 years ago loh!

Anyway, the important thing is, I PASSED!!!!  I was so happy when i saw the word "PASSED" in capital letters on my computer screen after the test.  However, i was quite disappointed that they didn't show me my score.. I'm so damn curious to know if i got any answers wrong.

I read so many books yesterday on how to help baby sleep, baby's development etc.. My reading yesterday further convinced me that i shouldn't let Bria sleep on her tummy.. Apparently, sleeping on her tummy will increase her risk of Sudden Infant Death.  And infants between 2-4 months are at higher risk!  So scary.. yesterday night, C and I tried to put Bria to sleep on her back for an entire hour.  She refused to, and even spit out her pacifier when we try to soothe her with it.  She just wants to have something against her tummy or have the feeling that someone is carrying her.  I racked my brain trying to think of how to make her feel like someone is carrying her, cause we can't possibly carry her throughout the whole night.. Then i recalled some of the tips i read at Borders and decided to try swaddling her.  And it worked!!!  So now Bria can sleep on her back.. Yay!!! = )

My baby is 2 months old now!!  She is still looking very different everyday.. And her pattern is changing again.. Past few nights she hasn't been sleeping, both day and night!! Sigh..  My poor C cannot sleep at night, then day time still have to help me do spring cleaning.. I just saw one big pimple on her forehead today, really hope she won't fall sick!

On the positive side, Bria has been smiling a lot more recently, and it's just SO SO SWEET!!  I think i kissed her all over the body at least hundred times today.. haha.. She loves to smile at me especially in the morning, and after bath when i am dressing her.. will try to take a video and upload soon!

There's this guy who has been cycling around the world.. When he stopped over in Singapore, his bicycle got stolen at Orchard Road..K heard this over the news and shared with me.

Uncanny!

I brought C for her medical check up at a private clinic below our house yesterday afternoon..  Had to bring Bria along cause K had a conference call at home.. And since i had to pay the road tax at the AXS machine at the MRT station, we decided to go to the clinic at the MRT station, although i hated walking the route there cause there is a lot of renovation work going on and it's really dusty. 

Anyway, we reached the clinic and the receptionist asked me for C's work permit and the medical examination form.  After looking at the form, the girl told me they cannot do the check up cause the form has already been signed by another doctor.  Apparently, the stupid Indian doctor at Geylang Polyclinic had signed on the form after he checked if C was pregnant or not.  Arghhh!!!  I was so pissed off then i could have strangled the doctor if he was standing in front of me!  So we left the clinic, walked all the way home again, so i can download a new form and bring C downstairs again.  This time, i left Bria at home cause K had finished his call already by then.  Sigh.. wasted so much time and energy just for this stupid medical check up! And of all times, the deadline must be exactly on Chinese New Year when everybody is so busy!

K and I went shopping at Orchard yesterday evening for his new year clothes.. we've been shopping quite a lot these days.. all last minute shopping for clothes mainly.  Adidas has this new limited edition range of Star Wars clothes and shoes that's making K go gaga over it.  After contemplating whether to buy the shoes for 3 days, he finally decided to get the shoes.  So we went to the Adidas stores in Orchard road, only to find out that there are no more stock for K's shoe size.  Apparently, it's so limited edition that they only have one pair for each size.  But there's a store in Queensway that has stock.  So we went to buy that pair this afternoon.

We ended up spending nearly $500 on 4 pairs of the Star Wars shoes.  One in the Darth Vader design for K, and 3 pairs in the Storm Trooper design.  One for Bria when she is 1-2 years old, one for when Bria is 6-7 years old, one for me, and one for K.. so we got one family set.. haha..  = )

This is how mine and K's look like.. will post Bria's another time (not available on internet must take photo)!

I am SO black listing this stupid Geyland polyclinic!  All their staff, from the counter girls, to the filing attendant, to the doctor and nurse. All of them are just plain stupid!

On Monday, I brought C to the clinic for her medical check up.  And because K wasn't at home, i had to bring Bria along.  I really hated the idea cause it seemed like i've been bringing Bria to the clinic / doctor a lot these days, and there's a lot of virus and germs in these places.  But i got no choice cause the deadline set by MOM for C's check up was 14 Feb, which is Chinese New Year!

So anyway, we went to the clinic and waited for about 30 minutes before we could register C .  I had to feed Bria at that time, so C went to the counter to register herself with her passport and work permit.  After that, we were directed to a room on the 2nd floor to wait for our turn to see the doctor.  We waited for nearly 1.5 hours outside the doctor's room.  By the time it was our turn, there were only 2 other patients left waiting.  And the 1.5 hours wait was not an easy wait for me cause Bria kept fussing and I had to carry her and keep moving / walking about instead of sitting down.

When it was finally our turn, we went in and saw this Indian doctor.  He looked through C's patient file, then told me that i had to come back another day cause the lab to do her blood test was closed.  Bloody hell!  I tried to keep my cool and explained to him that i didn't want to come back another day because of the MOM deadline, plus i had waited for 2 hours at the clinic for this.  So this doctor made a few calls that nobody answered, before asking the filing attendant what to do. First, the filing auntie told me to go to Counter 9, then after that, she asked me to go to Room 15.  Cannot make up her mind.  So after waiting for 1.5 hours, all the stupid doctor did was test if C was pregnant or not.

I proceeded to Room 15 after that, and spoke to a nurse who was supposed to help me do the blood test.  First, she asked me to take a sit inside the room.  Then she asked another patient into the room, which made the whole place more cramped and pretty awkward.  Then she asked me to wait outside the room.  Also cannot make up her mind. By then, i was starting to lose my temper cause i was carrying Bria and i felt like i was being  made to go around in circles.  Never mind. 

I waited outside for another 5 minutes before the nurse called us in.  She took a look at the file, and then told me that the clinic doesn't do medical check ups for foreign workers.  Wah lau, by then I buay tahan liao, so i just scold them loh.  I had been trying to keep my cool cause i didn't want to get angry while carrying Bria.  But i was so damn pissed!  Not only did they waste 2 hours of my time, but they also wasted my cab fare!  I even had to pay extra $1 peak hour surcharge cause by the time we left the clinic it was past 5pm already.

Apparently, the counter girl didn't know that the polyclinic don't do medical check ups for foreign workers.  So even after C showed her work permit and told her that she needs to go for a medical check up, the stupid counter girl still went ahead and issued us a queue number to see the doctor.  And apparently, the stupid  Indian doctor himself also don't know that the clinic don't do medical check ups. Still ask me to come back another day. Lucky i never listen to him!

I really condemned the whole clinic liao.. Counter girl cannot make it, nurse cannot make it.  Even the doctors cannot make it.  The last time i was there, the doctor told me Bria had a serious case of skin infection and recommended me to go to the A&E department.  But according to my Pedi, it's actually just baby acne.  Even the filing attendant cannot make it.  Come into the doctor's room also never knock the door. Just open the door without warning and nearly bang into my baby the last time i was there.  Then after that still can scold C for standing too close to the door while carrying Bria.  Damn fed up with that auntie also.

Before i left the clinic, the nurses kept apologizing to me.  After my initial outburst, i sort of cooled down and told them to stop apologizing cause it's not their fault.  It's the counter girl's fault.  I asked the nurses to feed back to the counter girl on how her ignorance had caused me a wasted trip.  Hopefully there won't be another victim! In either case, i don't think i will go back to this clinic again.  Blacklisted!

I visited 2 doctors today.  Well, i wouldn't say "doctors" per se, rather, they are both medical professionals..

Took Bria to her pediatrician at Thomson in the afternoon for her skin problems.. Apparently, the pedi just casually waved it off as a common case of cradle cap and baby acne.. Sickening GP at the polyclinic told me it was a bad case of skin infection, got me so worried!! At least now i am more reassured.  But the next problem is how to handle all the questions and advice from the relatives when they see Bria's baby acne during CNY! = (

After the first doctor's visit, i went down to Clarke Quay for my follow up interview for the pasta project.  Took a bus from Thomson to Clarke Quay and nearly burnt my ass sitting through the whole journey.. I rode on the bus for more than an hour before i reached my destination. Can't even remember the last time i was on a bus for THAT long! Plus, i missed my stop and had to cross the road to U turn and take the bus back.  Silly me..

In the evening, K and I visited the dentist.. Wanted to get our teeth cleaned up before the CNY.. Again, something i haven't done in donkey years. I think the last time i went to the dentist was when i was in secondary school! Fortunately for me, i have a nice set of pearly whites.. Even the doctor say my teeth are in good condition.  Just that i need to floss more, and that i lack calcium.  He also commented that i am very "heng" not to have wisdom tooth. = )  The whole experience was kinda fun.. I think it's so ironic that the whole process SOUNDS so scary with all the loud drilling and digging, when it's actually painless. I still remember how much i hated visiting the dentist when i was a kid because of all the "scary" gadgets and the loud noises that they make! = )

K and I got ourselves a new toy today.. our second car!

We spent the whole afternoon going to car showrooms and used car shops.. For the past few weeks, we have been deciding between buying a brand new car, or a used car.. but definitely a 5-seater car that can seat both of us, baby and C.

It was either Option A: Buy a brand new high end car and sell our beloved MX5, or Option B: Buy a lousy used car and keep the MX5.

For Option A, we went to Cycle & Carriage to test drive the new C-class 180, but it turned out to be a lousy drive and not as comfortable as we thought it would be.  Then we went to the Renault showroom and test drove the Megane.. we had shortlisted a used Megane on SG car mart and thought we would test drive a new one and check out their financing.

For Option B, we went to a used car company in Tagore and test drove the Megane we targeted on SG car mart.  This was by far the cheapest and most worthwhile car to buy in the market in terms of depreciation.  Plus, according to K, the Megane boasts an excellent safety rating of 5/5, something that most other Japanese or Korean cars dare not even mention.  Definitely an important feature given that we will be driving my precious baby in this car!!

If everything goes well, we will be able to drive our new toy home tomorrow!! = )