Men. Sigh.

They say you don't tell them what you think, how do you expect them to understand?

Ok........THIS is why:
- We talk to them, they don't listen.
- They listen, but don't pay attention.
- They pay attention, but don't understand.
- They understand, but don't take it seriously.
- They take it seriously, but think it's just PMS.
- They realise it's not PMS, but don't take the effort to make it better.
- Things don't get better, we think they don't care.
- And they start wondering all over again. What's wrong??
- And finally, they say you always don't tell them what you think. Again.

Men. Hopeless. Sigh.

Hey Sister

Look at the work of my girl on her brother. I think she's been wanting a sister all along!!! Hahaha!!!

Meeting Manners

Some peeps just simply do not have the basic manners when it comes to meetings. And no, it doesn't get any better as you climb the corporate ladder. And no, I am not naming names, I still have two young kids to feed.

Do switch your phones to silent mode. Doesn't mean that if you hold the highest rank in the room you can leave your phone ringer on and disturb the rest. Worse if it's the case EVERYTIME, this means that you didn't forget to silent it, but rather think that since you are such a big shot, there is no need for you to do so.

Do allow others to talk (as long as he's not talking nonsense) and listen. If you think you're so high up there and do not need to listen, then why involve others in a meeting? If all you want is for us listen to you, then just record it down and email to us.

Try to hear others out especially if they are the ones performing the task daily. Don't impose what you think onto others when you are not the one doing the job. Brings me back to my point that if you don't value our opinion, why hold a meeting? Might as well you decide and just send a memo out or something.

Do close the door behind you if you need to leave or enter the room. I know it sounds a little anal, but yes it happens. There are people who open the door when the meeting is going on, get out of the room and........ leave the door wide open, half open or ajar. Even my almost 3 year old boy knows how to close my room door behind him when he goes out from my room.

Coming to the meeting late and start asking questions which was already discussed previously. And because you are higher in rank, the presenter needs to update you what was discussed all over again and wasting everybody else's time.

Maybe these are the reasons why I am not sitting up there? Maybe I can start by leaving my ringer on during meetings. Let's see if I get promoted soon.

Fishy Business

Happy Father's Day!!!

The kids woke hubby up early this morning and Yun Yi gave him a father's day card which she made herself. Went to my 2nd sis place for lunch for a simple gathering cum father's day celebration.

After which........ we went to a fish farm for "Fish Spa" and "Longkang Fishing" for the kids!!!

Isn't it cool? Hahaha, totally enjoyed the whole experience. The fishes will come to you as long as you keep your legs still. And they will start nibbling at your feet and legs. Doesn't hurt at all, just a little ticklish.

See how tired and red (from the sun & heat) they are!! Tired but happy.

5 Day Work Week

Finally.

I am now officially on a 5 day work week instead of the original 5.5 alt Saturday arrangement. This is definitely good news to all in the office because honestly, who else works on Saturdays except us???

Though it's no difference to some of us cos we still visit stores on weekends. But it makes a difference in a way that we don't have to crawl out of bed with a hangover from Friday night and then drag our feet to the office. And no more worries about working the next day if I play MJ till 4am in the morning. And can you imagine some of my colleagues spending like 3 hours (to and fro) travelling time just to work for 4 hours? I am not even talking about those living in JB!!

So yes, I have no problem with the extra 30 minutes extension to our working hours everyday. Because as it is, we seldom leave before 6pm anyway!!

Now all that's left to make it even sweeter, is the announcement of our bonus this year. Keeping my fingers crossed.

What It's All About

Read from Deniz's blog and finally what I've been feeling has been put into words. With the help from SATC of course. I am so going to shamelessly quote it here as well. I am so happy for you babe. I really am.

How would you know if he's really the one?

This was what I learnt. "That you wouldn't know if he or she will be the one, but it's just the love that you have for each other, so much, that only we can work towards making sure that what we don't want to happen, will not happen. It's a risk."

It's a risk I took. And I am glad I did.

Yadda Yadda Yadda

Brought Yun Yi to watch Kungfu Panda yesterday. The show was awesome and we both loved it to bits.

Had a farewell lunch for 2 colleagues today at Sushi Tei and guess what I had? Seafood salad and chawamushi. Salad, you know, the kind filled with nothing but raw greens and is as satisfying a meal as............. 30 seconds of foreplay. I so hated my food, but hey, because of the fact that the salad cost me a whopping $8, I made sure I finished all of it.

Just came back from getting some samples and groceries from the store together with the rest of the family in tow. My little boy has been irritating his sister quite a fair bit lately. He would disturb her while she's watching tv, so Yun Yi had to watch in our room and lock the door. He would want to snatch her lollipop when he had finished his. He would inch his legs over to her and disturb her while sitting in the car side by side.

And Yun Yi will come running to me every now and then complaining "Mummyyyyyyyyyyyyy, didi is doing/did/done XXX". And every time I will check if he had indeed misbehaved and scolded him for it. He would then give me the "Oh I am so adorable and sweet" smile that could melt all of our hearts and the he gets away with murder. Yet again.

Ok, I know this post is really quite meaningless. But where got so much meaningful things to blog about all the time. Yeah?

Challenge!!!

Just made a deal with hubby.

$100 bucks for every kilo I lose effective today!!! But minimum have to reach 10kg before I can claim.

You just prepare the $1000 for me, I will come for it. Soon.

Wahahaha..... I am so motivated now. Happy.


Update: The deal just got bigger. For every kilo I put back after I claim the money, I will have to pay him back $120!!! Woohoo......

Work Woes

I hate my job sometimes.

As much as I love what I am doing, I just totally hate it when I need to deal with complaints. Hate it when I have to answer for other peeps incompetencies. Hate it when I need to answer when suppliers screw things up.

The problem with my position is that I need to answer for so many things and issues which I am never directly in control of. And because of that, I feel that I am put in the bad light. Everyone (bosses included) will think that because you're in charge of the product, if there are any issues, you answer for it. Not that it's not expected, it's just that if it keeps happening, it kind of takes it's toll on me. And I simply hate it when I start to feel that other people don't think I am doing a good enough job.

Maybe I am just being to sensitive. It has always been part of my job and I really shouldn't complain. Sigh. And it's not even that time of the month for PMS.

I. Am. So. Tired.

I need a break so badly. And no, Amsterdam was definitely NOT a break!!

Amsterdam Trip - Part 2

The next few days were spent exploring the streets and canals of Amsterdam, after attending to official business of course!!

One of the things I love about the city at this time of the year is the long day and short night. The sky turns completely dark only at about 11pm and brightens up again at about 5am. So it's still all bright and cheery even while we're on the streets at 10pm.

See the lines on the road? That's for the city trams. And yes, cars uses the same road most of the time as well except for the more busier road where they have separate lanes for trams and cars.

Most of the buildings and clock towers there are really old. Like the one in the bottom left of the picture, it dates back to 1620!! That makes it 388 years old this year.

Maybe because of the soft soil of the country or because the buildings are too old, most of the buildings we saw are leaning!! Either sideways or towards the front or back. Take a good look at the picture on the right and you will notice that it's leaning outwards already.

But it's exactly because of the hundred of years of civilisation and history that we got to see so many beautiful architectures around such as the ones in the above picture.

Something else which we never get to see here in Singapore, graffiti. It's everywhere and frankly adds a kind of modern rebellion to the otherwise old and romantic backdrop.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the famous flower market of Amsterdam. All kinds of flowers, flower bulbs, seeds, souveniers and all the other flower related stuff can be found here. And no, I not trying to act cute wrapping that shawl around my head. It was raining and I was trying to keep my head dry.

We also went to the infamous red light district which was really an exciting place! Girls on display in the window panels who will draw the curtains once a customer walks in or when you try to take a picture (which is really not appreciated here). Live sex shows and video boxes adds choices to the young (and old) and erm.......needy? Ahem.Another common sight in Holland, bicycles and bridges. Almost everyone cycles to everywhere and they even have special lanes on the roads just for cyclists. And because of the many many canals in Holland, bridges are everywhere as well.

Bridge shots.

We also managed to catch a boat ride one of the nights there which brought us around the city along the canals. The ride allowed us to see the city in a different light and from a different angle.

I guess the locals appreciate sitting by the sidewalks and havinf a beer or a cup of coffee while watching the world go by. Notice the way the chairs are arranged, it's all facing the streets. And most of them will just sit facing this direction and not like us sitting around the table facing each other while talking. So one day, we decided to have dinner at one if these cafes as well and of course, facing the street.

Not only are the flowers great there, the fruits are incredibly fresh and looks oh so yummy! I had strawberries and cream for 5 euro and every single one of the strawberries were so big and juicy and sweet!! Oh my, I could have died of sweetness, expensive yes, but worth every cent of it.

Finally, parting shots. From top left clockwise: small little car which is soooo cute; euro car plate; taxi charges; enjoying a hot cup of hot chocolate after a long day of walking at the exhibition.

That's it for my trip highlights. I am now down with a cold from all that rain. The price I paid.