I ain't no Nigella...

Is It Too Late?

2011-03-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been asking myself that question for quite some time now. The reason behind it has actually got to do with making a career shift at such a late stage of my life. I'm not sure if it is possible, whether or not I'm too selfish for even thinking about it, whether or not I have the time to dive into something totally new (which means that I'll need to take a course, train and somehow get my portfolio up and running to score jobs!) Ultimately, the ability to find work in this newfound career will tell me that the decision has been worth it.

Okay, so what's this new interest all about? Well, actually it is not a new interest, since I've been passionate about it ever since I could remember, going back into my teenage years! It is, in fact, make-up. Some of you who know that I've always been in the journalism industry for most of my post-university life might think, "whoa, this is totally unrelated." And they are right! For most of my work life, I've never really written about beauty so much, more in the music, trade, travel and a little bit of fashion. I can't blame people for thinking that this would be such a silly, and very risky move, if I decide to pursue it.

This thought to dive into the make-up artistry industry started swirling in my mind vehemently since last year and I've not been able to put it out. I'm not sure if this is telling me something. I've been obsessed with anything Urban Decay, MAC and other beauty products, like OPI, Benefit or Bliss. In fact, when I finally managed to grab hold of Urban Decay's star product, the Naked palette, I was beyond ecstatic that the Chubby Hubby thought I had gone cuckoo.

And I think he has also noticed my infinite obsession with make-up and beauty products. I seem to always be on youtube to look out for tutorials, and find it amazing that such a simple thing as your make-up can give the appearance of a changed facial dimensions and shapes, beautifying everything and everybody, no matter what they look like with a naked face. This is one of the reasons, however shallow it may sound, that I love, love, love make-up so much.

So, this has led me to browsing online for places that offer make-up courses around the island. And the Chubby Hubby has even kindly offered to pay for my lessons, should I feel that this was what I wanted to do. Since he's in the film industry, he's even said that I could follow him on shoots whenever there's a need for a make-up artist. So, woohoo to that as it would definitely be great to build up my portfolio.

But, no surprises here, I feel like I'm too scared to follow through. Not only will this be a major career change, I'm not sure if people will like what I do to their faces, whether or not I am cut out to be a make-up artist. "What if I suck?" is a thought that wanders in my mind constantly. My heart is in it, but I don't know if my head is telling me that this is the right thing for me. I think it might be my age talking. The older I get, the less risks I seem to be willing to take as I develop more fear for the "unknown".

I guess until I am able to overcome this fear, I will never be able to make the right decision. But then again, what is deemed as the right decision? All that should matter is the passion you have for whatever it is you are pursuing, as this will form the foundation of your happiness, right?

When I am sure of the path to take, I will no doubt update you again. In the meantime, I have some soul searching and ass-kicking to do before I can come to a decision.

Hop Hop Hoppity Hop

2011-02-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

In case any of you are wondering, the title is in reference to the new year according to the Chinese calendar, which happens to be the Year of the Rabbit. So, before the year ends, let me wish those who celebrate a hopping year full of joy, prosperity, wealth, love and all the other good stuff.

And here's a picture of my gorgeous princess in what looks like a cheong sam to complement my Chinese New Year wish for you guys!

But there is one thing that I dislike about the CNY season, and that's the fact that for those who don't celebrate it, like myself, it gets to be rather boring. With no relatives to visit, besides the mother-in-law, who seems to be the only one in the family that gets in on all the festivities, there's pretty much not much to do. All the good Chinese food stalls are closed and the supermarkets tend to run out of every basic necessities, like bread!!! I can't believe that when the Chubby Hubby ran out to do my groceries over the weekend, he couldn't even find red onions (which are usually in abundance at any other time of the year) and oranges (which are supposed to be in abundance during Chinese New Year!!!). So for the former, he had to resort to buying organic red onions, setting him back $12/pack, and Japanese oranges, which cost him $10/pack. Ridiculous!

But one good thing came out of the past CNY and that was probably my kaastengels (cheese sticks).

My cheese sticks, which I used to make lots of for Christmas, are always a hit at parties. Be warned though that they are addictive and would probably not make for a good companion when you're trying to keep in shape! It is so addictive that I've seen friends gobbling down a whole container without them realising it...ha ha ha!

But today, my normal routine begins again. After the lull preceding the CNY, the corporate wheels are now starting to turn again. It feels strangely like I've just experienced the turn of two new years simultaneously and it is reminding me of my work deadlines *bites nails*.

Adios! I'd better get cracking on my work before the deadlines get up to my eyeballs...

The Power of Skin-to-Skin Contact

2011-01-31T16:15:00.000-08:00

So, I've been assigned a story to do for one of the parenting magazines in Singapore on Kangaroo Care. The topic sounds cute enough, but when I accepted the job, little did I know of the power of such a practise. In fact, this skin-to-skin contact that is usually practised on premature babies, is not only beneficial for the preemie's growth and development, it has also revived a clinically dead premature baby. In Australia last year, there were reports of the Ogg family who gave birth to a dead baby boy. One of a set of twins - his sister was born safely - Jamie Ogg was pronounced clinically dead upon birth. Maybe reacting on a mother's instincts, Kate Ogg then placed the dead baby on her bare chest, and she held him and talked to him for almost two hours, during which he showed signs of life. So when he started gripping on his father's finger and opened his eyes, shocking the doctor and other medical professionals present, this miraculous incident could only be credited to one thing; and that is Kangaroo Care.

Even Kate believed that it was the Kangaroo Care method that revived Jamie, and according to doctors, the skin-to-skin contact acts as an incubator for the baby to keep them warm and helps them to adjust to the physical and physiological surroundings of the new world. After reading the Ogg story, I am still amazed at the powerful impact of such a simple act as holding a baby on your bare body and just simply, as Kate said, "loving them". This was definitely beyond my understanding prior to becoming a mother eight years ago. How wonderful it is as parents to give life to a new being and how our love can transform them physically, physiologically and emotionally. I call this one of the miracles of life and I will never be able to fathom it, nor will I try to.

The bottom line is I'm just amazed at life everyday and stories like this just makes me appreciate life's little wonders even more.

For those who would like to read about the Kate Ogg story, click here.

Where's the Sun?

2011-01-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

I am so not loving the monsoon season this year. It feels like forever that I've seen the sun and the windy weather has been oh-so-cold! For the past four days, it's just been gloomy, cloudy and everything ugly in weather terms. I don't think I've remembered Singapore ever being this cold before. We are definitely feeling the impact of years of neglect on Mother Earth. And yeah I know, we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Sometimes I forget that Singapore is located on the Equator and is a tropical country. I even wait for the winter season to come to our usually sunny island. So can you imagine how ridiculously cold the weather's been here?

Anyway, there's been nothing much to talk about here besides the weather then. So i'll just end with something yummy that I had yesterday for brunch. For some reason, blame it on the cold weather, I woke up with a growling tummy yesterday morning. So, I made myself a huge bowl of Froot Loops, which I gulped down before taking my daughter to her ballet lesson. And the Chubby Hubby decided that we should walk to Katong after dropping Deziree off, as we needed to get something framed up for the house. And once there, this is what we stumbled upon:

The Chubby Hubby claimed that this was one of the best roast and BBQ pork stall in the area and he was right! The stall is in the corner of Lor Stangee and East Coast Road at Carlton Restaurant. Although I was still full from the cereal, yet I couldn't resist ordering a plate too. The BBQ pork was so juicy and the roast pork was the way I like it, tender meat topped with crispy skin (*drool*). The whole thing cost $12, which included some wantan soup and two plates of rice. Needless to say, after that, I didn't eat again until dinner time. Having two breakfasts in a day is probably not going to be a regular thing for me.

Hello World!

2011-01-18T02:45:00.006-08:00

The year 2010 flew by like a dream. I still can't believe that we are now into another year, in another decade. Where did all the time go? Well, a lot has happened in the last year alone, which probably explains my complete absence from blogging. To sum it up, I quit my job at the beginning of 2010, went back to being a full-time mum and full-time freelancer, got into a bit of a family drama and now, thank goodness, all is back to normal!

The most memorable of last year, I must say, was the Japan trip that the chubby hubby, Deziree and I took with my parents and brother. It was so good to be out and about in another country, experiencing life in a different culture and pigging out on all the delicious Japanese food. We were there for almost two weeks, and it was a blast zipping in and out from Tokyo to Echigo Yuzawa, Atami and Kyoto. Free and easy travel is definitely the way to go!

Just look how gorgeous that is. This photo was taken by the lovely Chubby Hubby, photographer extraodinaire, at Echigo Yuzawa, where the people were friendly, the snow was abundant and the weather was beautiful! I could never have been able to conjure up such a beautiful image in my mind. This is only about two hours away by the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo, yet the scenery changed completely from a cosmopolitan hustle of a city to a rejuvenating and scenic countryside. Mind you, taking the Shinkansen gives you different views of Japan every few minutes anyway, as the country is so vastly different from one location to the next. So, the train journeys there are very colourful and exciting, like nothing you would ever see in any other countries in the world.

Kyoto was spent in a dizzying hurry, as you could say. Because of communication problems we had with the front office staff at our Atami hotel, we could only spend 4 hours at Kyoto. Having been told that it was only 45 minutes away, which we found a little bit strange but didn't enquire further, we left Atami for Kyoto by the JR at around 10 am. But when we purchased the ticket, and upon settling in the train, we found out that it would be close to a three and a half hour-journey. So there was no turning back and off we went to Kyoto.

Boy, are we glad that we did. Kyoto was so much fun! Although all of the time was spent inside the Aeon Mall, the shopping was excellent! We got pretty much everything we wanted to buy for our friends and families back home from this gigantic place. I loved it! Pity that we had to, literally, ran back to the station by about 6 pm to catch the last train back to Atami, which was due at 7 pm. It was definitely an experience to remember, and running all over the Kyoto station with shopping bags dangling on both your arms, with a seven-year-old in tow, was no joke either!

Most of the Japan trip was spent in Tokyo 'tho, so we could see a lot more of this city, from the effervescent Ginza to the tech-savvy Akihabara, the hip Shinjuku, Roponggi and the family-friendly Disney Sea and Disneyland. My main gripe about Japan was that, for such a clean country, it was bloody difficult to find a rubbish bin! But, I do salute the Japanese for their highly civilised mentality, their policies on recycling and generally, for their way of life.

So, that was the highlight of my life last year. Just being able to spend time with the loved ones away from the daily grind of Singapore life was a blessing. And to enjoy all that we did, it was just a bonus. This year, I will be taking on more projects on the career front, and hopefully be able to bring to fruition a couple of ideas that I've had for a while. Can't wait to see what 2011 will bring for all of us. But I'll definitely keep you posted!

Until then, xoxo and have a fantabulous year!!

Little Manhattan

2008-03-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

The other day my daughter told me in confidence that she thought her friend, Paul, would miss her during the holidays. She made me promise not to tell her father about this. I was amazed...not at the fact that she knows that boys like her, but just at the thought that someone her age can grasp the concept of keeping secrets about boys from her father. Awwww. Of course I told my hubby in the end, but made him promise me not to let her in on his knowledge. Because I think it's important for my daughter to at least have that kind of trust in me.

Anyway, I'm deviating from the point here. I mean, this may remind some of you about the movie called Little Manhattan. You know, it's a movie about a primary school or kindergarten-going boy who falls in love with a girl. I'm not saying that my daughter is in love with this boy, but it's interesting to see that this kind of dynamics are already going on in the playground. From memory, I don't remember being in kindergarten years ago and even liking boys. In fact, I think, I only started liking boys around grade 5 or 6, simply because I used to see myself as one of the boys, so it was hard for me to see myself liking them in a romantic way.

So, this brings up another thing that I've been wondering about. Are children these days growing up way too fast than they did when I was a kid? Is it the technology and all the stuff they see on TV that play a role in the changing trends in children? In no way am I saying that I'm a prude who is against all this cutesy lovey dovey playground stuff...I think it's cute. But it just makes me wonder about certain issues, such as growing up, relationship and all that jazz.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My .... Everything

2008-03-05T00:27:00.000-08:00

Geez, what a depressing day it has been today. The rain has been pouring non stop and it hasn't helped me recover from my flu either. And to top it all off, I'm having a slow day at work right now, with really nothing stimulating to keep my brains occupied and active. Actually, this "lethargic brain movement" is what has got me to thinking about other things, such as life, relationships and commitments.

A friend of mine has recently highlighted the fact that we are all (myself included, at least in her eyes) independent women. We don't feel comfortable depending on our spouses for financial support and the like. This statement, to me, sounds like independent women are only worthy to be women if they are, for lack of a better word, independent. However, I can't help but question, would it make us less of a woman if we were to depend on our spouse for financial support? Isn't the financial aspect of a relationship only one side of the spectrum? There are other factors, such as the emotional and the physical, for example, that make up a solid relationship.

At the end of the day, in my opinion, it's all about giving and taking. So, if a married person decides to leave the workforce as she'd rather be at home to care for her family, then that should be well respected. After all, I'm sure the husband would be able to work in peace at the office knowing full well that the house and his children are being taken care of by his own wife. And you know what they say, being a mother is the hardest job there is. So, just because it's not a paying job, this shouldn't mean that women that choose to do this should be seen as less of a woman or worse still, as less independent than those with a full-time job.

As for me and my ambitions, I'm not sure really. I mean I just want to be able to concentrate on one thing in life, as I know I'll be more satisfied knowing that I've done this one thing to the best of my abilities, than having to be satisfied with the fact that I've only invested 50% of my time into things. But for me the struggle really has been more financial than social.

Hmmm, this is something worth pondering about. Maybe in this balmy and lazy afternoon, I'll be able to think more and come to my senses.

Back in Business

2008-03-03T18:03:00.001-08:00

Hah! After over one year, I'm finally back to update my blog. How sad has it been that I've not logged on to let all you interested people know about my life...yeah right!

Anyhoo, we're now well on our way into the third quarter of 2008 (how time flies!) and new stuff is happening around us. However, I've not really been doing anything much more different than in 2007. Still trying to juggle work and family and still finding this juggling business a struggle. Actually, for the longest time (since one year ago, to be exact), I've just been itching to be a stay-at-home mum again. Being the perfectionist that I am, I can't stand the fact that I have to split my time between being at work and being a domestic goddess. This way, I'm not able to concentrate on anything properly, and hence, not able to do anything 100%.

But the financial reality of living in Singapore is such that both hubby and I have to work to, well, just to have a decent life. Imagine this, the costs of everything from food to transportation to recreational activities, have gone up almost overnight. My daughter's school fees alone shot up by $300 just like that! I almost fainted when they told us they were increasing the school fee drastically.

So, basically the fact that I still have to be a working mum really bugs me at times. Although, I admit that, as a friend has recently reminded me of, I do have it good, in terms of flexibility in my job, etc, but it's still an added stress. I feel like I have too many things to think about all the time and my brain is literally asking me to make a choice! I can't really take care of the house 100%, neither can I concentrate on my work 100%. I mean, look at all those career women who appear to make it effortless to juggle both the home and the work. But I'm pretty sure that these women also have to compromise certain aspects in their lives. I mean, nobody is able to do two things whole-heartedly, right? So what to do? Who's going to win this tug-of-war?

I will keep you posted in due course, no doubt. In the meantime, I'll just keep trudging on in this battle...things will work themselves out...or at least, that's what people say.

Until next time!

Food for Thought

2007-02-09T00:26:00.000-08:00

Call me a sucker for pop culture, but I'm officially hooked on Heroes. Anybody who hasn't caught an episode really should do so. I mean, millions of US viewers can't be wrong, can they? Oh perhaps, when it comes to Jackass 2, you could say they could be wrong once in a while. But trust me, Heroes is one of the newest television series worth watching. It makes you question human capabilities and whether or not science, supernatural instincts, or whatever you want to call it, can affect your personal life.

Imagine this, you're able to bend space and time and you can teleport yourself to another country. Or you're able to predict the future through your art. Or better still, you're invincible! Wouldn't the world be a better place if these people with these capabilities are able to put their superhuman abilities to good use? I mean, if you're invincible, you're able to save people caught in a fire, for example (as a character has done in one of the episodes). Or if you're able to predict the future through your art, you can alert the authorities to stop the catastrophe from happening.

Only one problem though. Even if you're able to do these things, are they going to believe you? I mean, we humans are suspicious creatures. We tend not to believe things that are out of the ordinary. The few who do are labelled as weirdos, or nutcases. So, what do we do to avoid these labels? We choose not to believe.

So I'm stuck now. I must admit that I'm one of those who fears such labels imposed on me. So I guess I'm a hypocrite for saying these things. But it's food for thought, isn't it? Just imagine the millions of lives that could be saved if, say, someone predicted that the tsunami was going to hit the Indian Ocean in 2004.

Like I said, it's worth thinking about.

Withdrawal Symptoms

2007-01-29T23:38:00.000-08:00

To be honest, the reason I haven't logged on to write in my blog for the past few days is because hubby and I found Desperate Housewives season 3 on iTunes (since it's not yet being shown on TV here), and couldn't resist not buying ALL the 13 episodes thus far. So we did and we watched them all. Night after night, we would sit in front of this huge ass computer screen and watch this oh-so-cool TV series. The dark and gripping reality of suburbia coated with gorgeous actors who frolick on the screen, acting out what looks like a normal life on the surface, is definitely my kind of cup of tea when it comes to television series. Call me sad, but now that we've watched all the episodes, there's nothing else for us to watch tonight...boo hoo...and I'm having withdrawal symptoms: sweaty palms, shivers, panic attacks...hahaa, just kidding. No, my withdrawal symptoms are not that bad, it just leads me to eat more snacks than I usually do.

Now we're counting the days until they uploaded the latest episode on iTunes so we can watch it!!! You'll know, when I miss writing my blog, that probably means that I'm getting my Desperate Housewives fix.

Ta ta..

Winds of Change

2007-01-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

I've been itching to get my fingers typing away on my laptop since this morning. So relieved that I finally get to do it now. I had to leave the house around 6.45am to catch the train to meet my cousin at her kindergarten, where she's teaching. I volunteered to help her out with one of the kindergarten classes on their field trip today. It was exciting to deal with so many children all at once, and thank goodness that they were all well-behaved pupils. Although at times it looked obvious that they'd rather be at the zoo than poring over fabric and cloths, they obeyed our every instruction. I'm just glad that nobody got lost in my hands!

After that, I went to meet my old colleagues for lunch. That was nice to be able to catch up with the few people who made my short stay at my previous company enjoyable. We were giggling like teenage girls with raging hormones over muscles, six-pack abs and hunk factors of certain celebs and even the current American Idol contestants! And to boot, we were mostly married women with children...hah! But I guess girls will be girls and boys will be boys, or as the saying goes.

And now it seems that I've been asked to take on a project to conceptualise some educational materials for the cancer centre for one of the biggest health organisations here. So wish me luck that all goes well with this project.

For a change, I'm also kind of enjoying the weather now that the sun is slowly pushing its way out of the clouds. Let's hope the weather will stay like this or become sunnier over the weekend, as I've just had about enough of the rain...

Dreary Day (with a positive spin)

2007-01-24T17:40:00.000-08:00

It seems like the rainy weather in this part of Asia is never going to end. How I wish for those hot summer days and balmy nights in Australia again. This morning I had to walk my daughter to school, in the rain, and why? Because none of those damn taxi drivers would stop for us. They would rather wait for a call and pick up those passengers instead of one from the street. And all of this for a measly, 'tho rip-off, $4 extra!!! To make matters worse, I had to do the same coming back home. As I saw the taxi queue was longer than a python's body, with no taxis in sight, I was forced to walk home, again in the pouring rain.

But on a more positive note, my daughter had her first ballet class yesterday. It was so cute to see all those little girls in their pink leotards and pink tutus, pink stockings and pink ballet shoes. It's great to also see my daughter having so much fun! At school today, she'll have her first music lesson, so that should be a joy for her since she seems inclined to anything musical or melodious.

Oh yeah, one more thing, I have to agree with my friends who told me that blogging is addictive, because I've truly felt its effects on me. Wow, imagine a space where you can express your feelings, manipulate it as to how you'd like it to be seen and still reflect who you are. I suggest that you try blogging for yourself and experience the therapeutic and hypnotic effects it can have in your life!

Till later...

Disney Channel Overdose

2007-01-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

As any parent of a young child may tell you, their TV may be tuned 24/7 to Disney Channel. As is the case with mine, I've now officially overdosed on Disney Channel!

Ask me to sing any song from High School Musical, Cheetah Girls 1 and 2 or Kim Possible, The Buzz on Maggie and even Little Einsteins, and I can sing it word for word!!! Scary, isn't it, to see a grown woman humming constantly to the tunes of Strawberry Shortcake ("Stru buh buh buh berry") or Totally Spies.

I guess we can blame this either on damn good songwriting or excessive TV viewing habits. In either case, I still love Disney Channel, although I try not to watch it too often. As it does get kind of embarassing when you're caught unaware, singing to the theme song of Mickey Mouseworks in the middle of the supermarket!

Day 1

2007-01-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

Well, well, this is my first ever blog entry. Friends tell me that this can get addictive, so I'm trying it out for myself to see if it's true!

Actually, I have no real reason to start a blog. There's nothing much interesting in my life that anyone would be interested to know about. I'm just going through the daily motions of being a mother to my 3-year-old and a wife to my adorably cuddly hubby. Hence, the title of my blog! This domestic goddess-wannabe is drawing inspirations from Nigella Lawson to try to make my household more interesting (it would definitely help if I had her culinary skills and 'hot' factor...hah!)

Since I've just resigned from my full-time job at a very mismanaged local company (which explains my resignation), I'm cherishing the fact that I'm now able to stay at home again and have more time with the family. From my experience at my previous job, I've learnt that life can be a bitch (and people can be damn evil just so they can get what they want), but it has to go on. So I'm happy to say that...

I AM FREE!!! Free from evil colleagues, free from having to suck up to clueless bosses and free from those pathetic individuals whose revolting attitudes are more renowned than their skills!!!