Happy 80th Birthday Engelbert

May 2, 2016 – Engelbert Humperdinck is 80 today!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish this great man a very Happy Birthday and would like to wish him lots of love and health!

His birthday is an occasion for celebration! Although extraordinary persons like him should be celebrated every day, not just once a year!

The advantage of him being 80 is that throughout his life, he had the opportunity to spread his love through music to so many people.

Engelbert Humperdinck was born Arnold Dorsey in Madras, India on May 2, 1936. He was 30 when he had his first hit ‘Release Me’. Then in 1967, Engelbert had three hits that went on to become classics with ‘There Goes My Everything’, ‘The Last Waltz’ and ‘Release Me’. These three songs he cannot not do today at his concerts. I have attended four of his concerts and I do not recall once that he did not do any of those three songs!!

Strangely, I was only born 10 years after that, yet I am a huge fan! His music has helped me through difficult periods in my life. His music and him alone have allowed me to make special and fond memories with my mother and my late grandfather. He may not know it but in his own special way, he has helped me through life… I hope to get that opportunity in July to meet him again and tell him.

I want to tell him ‘thank you for being there for me no matter what’. He is a wonderful source of joy. He brings so much joy through his music and his special ways and now he's sending out love and good vibes via Twitter.

I shared the love for Engelbert Humperdinck; a great entertainer and human being with another great man; my late grandfather. I will never forget the times I would listen to Engelbert’s music with my grandpa. His favourite was “Love Me With All Your Heart”. We even sang it in Church before sending my grandpa off on his final journey. Till this day, I cry whenever I listen to that song. But it is the most beautiful song! So to honour these two great man, I had part of the lyrics to the song tattooed on my arm. I am fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to show it to Engelbert himself personally in 2012 when we met in Singapore.

Words alone are not enough to express how happy I am that Engelbert is celebrating another year of his life! My wish for him on his birthday is that he is, and will always be, happy and healthy! Always stay the same Enge - genuine and true.

May your special day bring you an extra share of everything that makes you the happiest in the world. Hoping your day will be as special as you are.

Happy Birthday, Engelbert!

You’re the best!! See you in Singapore in July!

Sixteen Years Together

Today my husband and I will celebrated our 16^th wedding anniversary. It is amazing how time passes with the blink of an eye.

When we got married, I weighed about 120 pounds. And yes, I thought I was heavy even then. Fast forward sixteen years, two kids and about a zillion pounds later, one thing hasn’t changed. That man I married still makes me feel like I am the only woman on Earth for him.

This evening, we will spend a few hours alone together. We will have a nice dinner and listen to some good music performed by an old friend of mine. We can talk and laugh about the past, present and future…. and like the clock striking midnight in Cinderella, we will head back home to our beautiful ordinary life so gratefully knowing how blessed we have been all these years.

 

To me, I feel that wedding anniversaries are most enjoyable when the couple has stood the test of time, faced the storm and the rain and yet are still together. And it is such a joyous moment when family and friends come congratulating them for having made it so far…. That is exactly where my husband and I are.

Our marriage may have been a bumpy ride with many speed breakers but that is what that has made us circumvent those obstacles.

My friends often quote my marriage as an example of a perfect marriage but what they fail to see is that the honest truth is that my marriage is actually the coolest adventure that two people ever took!

The adventure that most would think are only stories they would read in books which may not even be true but for both my husband and I, we know it is for real because we are the characters in that story…

A girl from a small but bustling city, meeting a guy from a small quiet town 12,000 miles away from her. How did they meet? Over the internet. The adventures of traveling half way around the world to see if this connection of love was as true as it was in real life than over the internet. The heartaches of leaving everything I had built behind and not to mention family and friends so I could build a new life in a country (America) I had always dreamed of moving to. The pains of adjusting to a new country where I would be an ‘alien’. The pains of settling immigration matters.

But we did it together. We made it work because we worked together. There was never an “I” or “Me” or “Yours”…. It was always “Us” and “Ours”. That’s the difference.

Imagine, we made a long distance relationship work long before there was Facebook, Skype, or even Whatsapp. We depended on emails, mIRC, messenger, and tons of calling cards which we spent a fortune on. But we made it work.

And as my husband and I continue to grow old together, I know for a fact that every wrinkle would signify a beautiful memory that we have shared together as husband and wife.

Our marriage is nowhere near perfect. We fight like any other married couples do. But we work things out and move on. The important thing is, we support each other and encourage each other to be better people and to do the best we can whether as parents or at work.

I hope my husband will know that every time when we do fight or argue, I may have a thousand reasons to be angry at him….but I also want him to remember that I also have a million reasons to love him too.

Through it all, the best thing that we have done together is raising two beautiful smart children.

Nevertheless, on our 16^th anniversary, I would like my husband to know how much I have enjoyed annoying him all this time and how excited I am to keep doing so in the years to come…. *wink*

When I got married, I did not only get a husband but a best friend.

So my dear friends, if you would be so kind to raise your glasses with me: to sixteen years of marriage and a lifetime of good health, love and happiness.

Concert Of A Lifetime

The date was February 19^th 2012 – that was four years ago to date.

This date will forever hold perfect memories of a lifetime… or until I grow old and senile or start suffering from dementia…. but until that happens (hopefully not)… I hope to forever keep this memory close to my heart.

Months prior to this date, I heard Engelbert Humperdinck would be performing in Singapore again. I was thrilled as the last my mum and I saw him in concert was in the year 2010 but I will get to that later… Of course I bought the most expensive tickets for both my mum and me. Unfortunately, we did not get the best seats as I was so caught up with work and did not buy the tickets when it first went on sale. But we were just glad to get tickets even though we were in the 16^th row or something like that from the stage.

Gosh the last we saw Engelbert in concert before this was in June of 2010 in Malaysia. We did not get to meet him though. But before that, we saw him in concert for the first time in October of 2003. I was then living in USA and I bought my mum a plane ticket to come visit me from Singapore so we could go see Engelbert at Foxwoods Casino. That was our first Engelbert concert and the first time we got to meet him!!

Anyway, to fast forward all the nitty gritty details…. my mum and I were fortunate enough to be given backstage passes to meet the Legend himself again and not just that, but we were given concert tickets – front row seats!

Engelbert was amazing as always. He gave his best to his fans who like both my mum and I, thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of the concert. I was torn though…. towards the end of the concert, I was feeling sad as the concert was over and I did not know when I would see him perform again….but I was also excited because we will finally get to go backstage!

As both my mum and I sat backstage and waited for Engelbert, we mingled with his band members and I swear my heart was beating so hard and fast I thought it was going to pop right out of my chest! A few minutes after, Engelbert walked out and everything felt a lot better. I guess that is the kind of energy he gives out…. He lets you feel so much at ease to be around him.

He was absolutely gorgeous inside and out!! First thing he did was to give both my mum and I the biggest and warmest hug. Yes, he gives the best hugs!! We introduced ourselves and we just talked as if we had known one another for a long time. I showed him the tattoo on my arm that had part of the lyrics to “Love Me With All Your Heart” and he said to me, “you mean you had it tattooed?” I went on to explain that I did it in memory of my grandfather as it was his favourite song.

The best part about this meeting was the fact that we also got to meet his family; Scott, Louise and Patricia!! My regret…. that we did not ask to have a photo taken together!!! I sure hope we get that chance one day in the near future.

We presented him with a little award we had made for him and also had him sign on one which we had planned to put in our showcase.

It was a meeting of a lifetime!! Engelbert has got such a beautiful warm heart. You can’t help but love him and feel so much love for him especially when you’re standing right in front of him and looking in to his eyes. 

Till this day, I am still very grateful to the Legend himself for taking the time out to meet with both my mum and me after his performance. I especially appreciated it because I know he must have been exhausted, yet he gave us so much love. I am also truly grateful to the people who made it possible for us to make this memory.

No one can take Engelbert’s place. In fact, lots of other celebrities should follow in his footsteps. He’s so down to earth. He gives so much back to his fans. He appreciates his fans and never fails to show it to them every single day. He takes the trouble to respond to his fans on social media. He makes us feel special. This is a true gentleman. A true celebrity who deserves all the success.

He may not know it, but a simple gesture of ‘liking’ or ‘retweeting’ my tweets about him ,goes a long way. It can turn my most awful day in to the best day ever. It can put a smile on my face for the whole day and it lifts my spirits up without fail…. And when he does ‘tweet’ me….. I am on cloud 9.

I am one person who has to deal with a lot on my plate so in all honesty, Engelbert has been helping (without even knowing) me see the brighter side to things and life in general.

I hope to tell it to him one day. I hope to get to thank him one day.

“Never underestimate a girl’s love for her favourite band/singer. Never think, even for a minute, that she won’t defend them to her death. Because it’s not just the music that makes the band/singer her favourite. It’s the guys, it’s the girls, it’s the fans. People whom of which she has interacted with, thanks to the band/singer. That band/singer might have saved her life. Or maybe they just make her smile every day. That girl’s favourite band/singer, they have never broken her heart. They have yet to leave her. No wonder she finds such joy in her music.”

Twenty Four Years Ago

The date was February 8, 1992 – twenty four years ago. I was a few months shy of being thirteen years old. Have been a fan of NKOTB since I was 10 years old. So meaning, I had to wait three whole years before I got to see them LIVE in concert in my country, Singapore!

My family were not very rich. We were not poor either. When NKOTB announced they would hold a concert in Singapore, my dad had to buy three tickets. One for me, one for my brother and one for my mother who had to chaperon us…but don’t let her kid you…she was a fan too! We didn’t get the most expensive tickets, but we did get the tier below the most expensive.

Imagine ticket prices then were only S$30, S$40, and S$70 yet we could not afford the most expensive tickets.

We had nose bleed land seats. NKOTB were as big as my thumb from where I was standing. But I was just happy to be there, to experience them LIVE. I won’t deny I was envious of the girls who were out in the front…. and wished I was them….

Who had cams with zoom back then? I did not even own my own camera! The photo you see at the beginning of this post are photos from the actual February 8 concert here in Singapore but it wasn’t me who took them. I had recently gone down to the press room to pull out these old photographs and purchased them at S$8 a piece!! Daylight robbery but all worth it.

I remember planning for this concert weeks in advance. I made a poster with silver sparkles. I planned what I would wear (denim mini skirt, NKOTB t-shirt and a black hat like what Jordan Knight wore). The day came and we were at the Indoor Stadium hours before hoping we could catch the boys as they arrived.

They did. We saw them. But they were quickly rushed in to the venue by security. We climbed the walls just to get a peek! I saw them for a brief second before security drew the curtains closed.

In all honesty, I don’t really recall everything about the concert. I can’t exactly remember the songs they sang or what I actually did during the whole duration. I wish I did remember.

I was just happy I got to fulfill that dream of seeing them LIVE. I had everything with their name and face on…from jackets to sweaters, towels, books, magazines, dolls, water bottles, etc etc. I swore I would one day go to Boston to find them…. (which I did 7 years later but that is a story for later)…

I watched their concerts videos on VHS over and over again till I memorized every bit of it.

I was a Donnie girl in the beginning until I learned he was a bad boy then I kind of gradually moved to Jordan because he was handsome. I guess I never realized at that age that the bad boys are actually the hottest!

They disbanded not too long after their concert in Singapore which left me with a broken heart but I soon got over it and although I kept listening to their songs whenever…. I was also a teenager and started to date and I slowly forgot the NKOTB. Not exactly forgot them but I wasn’t crazy madly deeply in love with them. I was in love with other boys.

But I held the memories of NKOTB close and dear to my heart.

Seven years later, I moved to Boston after meeting my husband online. But it never hit me then that seven years ago, I swore I would get to Boston to look for guys from NKOTB! I lived in Boston Massachusetts for a good seven years without the thought of maybe looking them up. My god!! Jon Knight was in real estate…..I was in real estate!! We could have met in our course of work but I never gave that a thought until 2007 when I met this lady by the name of Carol through MySpace.

Carol knew I was a Jordan Girl although I do not remember putting it on my profile. But she told me he would be doing a solo concert and asked if I would go with her. And so we did. I got to meet Jordan for the first time in 18 years! The funny part was when I told him about the story and he said, “Where have you been? We are practically neighbours!”

It was then I started to get back in to the NKOTB craze.

I still tease my hubby saying I only married him because I wanted to move to Boston to meet NKOTB!

Sadly, I moved back to Singapore in late 2007 for a better future for my children and not long after NKOTB announced their reunion. Dammit! If I knew, I would have remained in Boston a few more years longer!

Five years later, they finally announced an Asia concert although not in Singapore.

I paid big money to attend both shows in Jakarta and Manila and took my mum with me. It was a dream come true! I finally get to meet the boys in person after all these years. It was everything I could not have imagined. I honestly do not think it would have been the same if it happened 20 years ago when they were in Singapore as they were young and so was I. The meeting was perfect. I still remember every detail of it like it was just yesterday.

They sure are five amazing guys. Not just in talent and looks but personality. They give their all to their fans and that means a lot. Not many celebrities are like that.

A reporter even interviewed me about my meeting with the guys and had a full page article on it.

And a year later, the same reporter who I had become friends with… invited me to her house when she did a phone interview with the guys.

NKOTB had played an important role in my life and they still do today. They took me away from all my sadness and hurt. Listening to their songs took me to a different place where everything was better. My husband knows it thus why he kind of supports my obsession with them.

The many times Donnie made contact with me via Twitter or Facebook sent me to Cloud 9 and kept me happy for days. My hubby says to me, “That is a fine gentleman and as much as I do not fancy NKOTB, I love how they treat their fans and especially how they make you happy.”

Yes, I am a Jor-nnie girl and proud to be. What is a Jor-nnie girl? I am torn between loving Jordan and Donnie. That does not mean I do not like the other 3 guys. Danny is pretty quiet but a sweetheart. I will forever remember how comfortable he made us feel during M&G when he petted the sofa and asked my mum and I to join him. Joey has a memory of an elephant and comes up with the most random stuff. Jon is a sweetheart! But my heart belongs mostly to Donnie!

Donnie can make my god awful day turn sunny and bright instantly by just being him! You can never ask for a better human being than him. God did a fantastic job and sent him to us.

And through these 5 guys, I have made good friends whom are known as BH sisters. We share the same interest, the same love for the guys. We do not just talk about the guys 24-7 but we confide in one another even with personal issues. I am fortunate to have met many great sisters who never fail to put a smile on my face on a daily basis. But I have also met bad apples who are simply just jealous, arrogant and rude! But there are bad apples everywhere you go so I do not let them bother me. But I would like to shout out to the few BH sisters who I am in touch with on a regular basis….. I love you girls!!

As Alex Gaskarth once said, “Never underestimate a girl’s love for her favourite band. Never think, even for a minute, that she won’t defend them to her death. Because it’s not just the music that makes that band her favourite. It’s the guys, it’s the girls, it’s the fans. People whom of which she has interacted with, thanks to the band. That band might have saved her life. Or maybe they just make her smile every day. That girl’s favorite band, they’ve never broken her heart. They have yet to leave her. No wonder she finds such joy in her music.”

Signs That You Once Were In an All-Girls School

I was surfing Facebook as usual and I come across this article/link about “10 Signs That You Once Were In an All-Girls School”. Of course it caught my attention because I was from an all-girls school. I wanted to see how much truth was in that article and how much bullshit too.

So here are my thoughts….

Just in case, if you would like to read the whole article, it can be found at this URL:

10 SIGNS THAT YOU ONCE WERE IN AN ALL-GIRLS SCHOOL

I am not sure if it was the best decision my parents had ever made for me but I am guessing it was the most convenient as my mum was from Katong Convent, and technically there wasn’t much needed for me to get a direct entrance in to this popular all-girls school. But I am glad they chose the easy route and that I went to KC. So much life lessons learned during my years of schooling there, so many great friends made who I am still in touch with today and best of all, so many wonderful memories made.

But emerging with great stories and lifelong friends even after graduation and after all these years…. I cannot disagree with that.

OK so the first sign they mentioned was “There is no Valentine’s Day. Only Friendship Day.”

This is utter rubbish because I remember us celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 14 and Friendship Day somewhere in August if I am not mistaken. Of course Valentine’s Day in an all-girls school would mean that we just exchanged cards and gifts… some would buy themselves flowers from the market across from our school. But being from KC, we were lucky that St Patrick’s (all-boys school) was right across the street from us and was connected by a bridge that was called “the love bridge”.

For me, personally, I always celebrated Valentine’s Day since the day I started life in KC Secondary school and yes, I would be one of those girls who would be spoiling the market because I never had to buy myself flowers on Valentine’s Day. Be it a boy from St Patrick’s or Maris Stella. (You know who you are because you’re still on my FB friend list!!)

Still on this topic, my group of friends and I got the all-girls school nonsense beat. During school hours, we were with the girls but after school, it was a whole different story. We’d make friends with the guys when we hung out at Parkway Parade and better still, we took Squash (Racquetball) for CCA so we could go over to St Patrick’s School for lessons.

We sit with our legs open in class

It says in the article that the more “chor lor” (meaning; rough or crude in Hokkien) you are, the better. What nonsense!! Have you heard our school’s motto, “Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty”? Haha…..

But seriously…. I know some girls then who sat like truck drivers. They would have their PE shorts under their uniforms so no matter how wide their legs were apart when they sat, you will never see their panty!

For me, I was a little “chor lor” but deep down I was still a lady. I sat with my legs crossed all the time… well mostly…. if you would consider these photos below “chor lor”…. but to my defense, I was wearing jeans. 

We have a #girlsquad

I don’t think back then we knew how to use hashtags (#) or what exactly they were except for calling it the pound sign. I also do not think we called our group of close friend the ‘girlsquad’. To be honest, I don’t recall what we called ourselves or what we were referred to as. You could not say gang because that would be a BIG no-no at that time…. So whatever it was, we did have our own little group of friends who were almost inseparable. We were ever so ready to beat up the guy who made our friend cry. We shared every little secret with one another and at times we even fought over the same guy… but through it all, we were still the best of friends.

Every male teacher is an eye-candy

Say what you want. As much as eye-candy options were limited in an all-girls school…we were not blind, desperate or stupid. With the male teachers we had for choices …. if they were the last guys on earth, even at that young age, I would rather be single or lesbian.

You can shamelessly ask to borrow a pad

I am not too sure about this though. If I remember correctly, during my time in school, we would be embarrassed about periods or having to change in class, in front of all our classmates when we had PE classes.

I guess times have changed and girls these days are more open and straight forward when it comes to things like this. I think it is because of the different upbringing. Girls these days are more exposed to sex education classes and parents are also a lot more open when it comes to the birds and the bees.

Everyone farts

Excuse me?? Of course it is human to fart but KC girls don’t go around farting like truck drivers! As I said “Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty”. But seriously, I have never ever heard any girl I was with fart and neither did I. Even till today, after 15 years of marriage, my hubby have not heard me fart. Don’t believe me? Ask him!! A lady always does it (fart) discreetly….

You Watch Mean Girls

I don’t even know what Mean Girls is? A movie? A TV show?

Back then, we WERE the MEAN girls!!

You had to play the male lead

True that someone had to do it when we had plays and such as we could not just ignore the male characters. Who would be Macbeth or Romeo? However, I never once was asked to play any male roles as I was too girly-girl.

Popular kids wore really short skirts

According to this article the nerds wore skirts below their knees and the cool girls wore short skirts way above the knee….

I have to say although that statement could be quite true in most all-girls school….My friends and I got that beat!! We were cooler in every sense of the word COOL. We made fashion statements. We made the school Principal seem fickle minded.

In the beginning, the school rule was to never have your uniforms above your knee. You should not wear socks that were too short. Do not puff out your uniforms over your belts…blah blah blah….. FINE! We wore our uniforms touching our knees, with our belts loose, and high socks. We made it so fashionable that the Principal had to bite her tongue making a statement saying that we could not do that…. So it was back to the short socks, tight belts that would puff our uniforms and a little above the knee uniforms. You think we bothered? Nope. We stuck to what we started….

We didn’t use make up but we sure sprayed on some expensive Calvin Klein perfume which used to drive our principal insane. Oh and we also carried designer bags!

Boy school guys are gems

We never had any exchange students from the boys schools but being in KC, we were damn lucky that St Patrick’s school was right across the street from us and Parkway Parade mall was nearby so we could hang out and meet boys there after school.

For me, the boy school guys were gems in my early years of Secondary school life. It was great when you had your boyfriend there waiting for you after school, etc etc. I’ve been through happy times and heartaches….. But it was all a learning journey. The journey that would mold me in to the person I am today. During my upper Secondary school days I discovered that I looked mature for my age and didn’t care much for the school boys. I started dating the deejay that worked at Parkway and moved on to a tattooed gangster who protected me like nobody’s business. It was all fun and games till I discovered the white guys….. that soon led me to my husband.

Now I have a daughter who is turning 13 years old in two weeks and studying at KC. God help me!

You used period to skip PE

Of course we took advantage of that and always used that as an excuse to skip PE. We were at the age where our boobies were growing and doing jumping jacks made us uncomfortable. But our PE teachers weren’t stupid…..she knew how many times a month we would lie about having our periods. So we just started skipping it altogether…. hiding in the toilets or just not going for the class.

So there you go, that was my time in an all-girls school. I never regretted it. I hope I made the right choice for my daughter too. I hope the time she has in KC, teaches her how to be street smart. I hope she experiences the good and the bad in order for her to grow. Whatever it is, I will be behind her to help her through this difficult time called “being a teenager”. 

Happy Birthday My Son

My little man celebrated his 9th birthday today. He makes me so proud. As I watch him grow each day, I see him transform in to a pure gentleman, a gentle soul, a person with a big heart and so full of love. Both my husband and I sometimes worry that our loving son may actually be too good for this world....but then again, this world does need more people like him around as it's already filled with so much hatred.

Anyway, my little man's requests for his special day was simple. He wanted KFC for lunch and BBQ at home for dinner. And don't forget that big Chocolate Black Forest cake!

I still cannot believe how time flies and how far he's come.

My heart aches knowing my son have not had an easy start and even though he has over come and grown out of a few issues, he still battles a couple more. Nothing major but even the simplest of problems I have to watch my child face each day breaks my heart.

The poor boy had a rough start to begin with when he was put in the NICU for 9 days after he was born. Imagine my pain having to leave my son behind at the hospital... seeing him under all those lights for jaundice... seeing them take blood from his poor little feet every 2 hours or so.... having an IV placed in his head.... it's wasn't picture perfect and the visions of that are still vivid in my head. But that made us and him stronger as individuals.

Then the move back to Singapore and the first time we ever experienced him going through a convulsion episode. I still remember we were at Orchard Road, he was riding in the stroller and I suddenly felt the stroller shaking. I checked on him and was in a panic! I didn't know what was happening.... neither did my husband!! We picked him up and ran for a taxi which took us to the nearest hospital.

It never was the same after that. I don't know what brought that on but since that first episode, this convulsion episodes happened pretty frequently....each time he had a fever, he would have an episode.

The many times my heart ached seeing my son go through that. The any times I was scared I was going to lose him. The many time we stayed up all night to make sure he would be ok. The many times we have been in and out of hospitals and emergency rooms and specialist clinics to make sure this is not affecting him in any way.

Thankfully the doctors were right and he did outgrow that.

Just as we thought we had gotten over all of that....he has eczema. We are beginning to think that the eczema started from the convulsions. He has good days and bad days and we try to deal with the situation however best we can.

We are all learning each day. Learning to take each day in stride. We still count our blessings knowing what we are going through is just something small compared to what others are facing.

Even with this, Logan is still a healthy normal boy. He makes us proud each and every day. He's doing so well in school and is a very smart and loving kid.

I just pray he will get over all of this as the years go by and his life will be filled with everything his heart desires.

I love both my children so very much and I will love and care for them till I take my last breath.

A Look Back At 2015 And A Peek Into 2016

2015 had been a memorable year. Lots happened. Lots experienced. Lots learned. There were ups and there were downs. New friends made and friends lost. Happy moments and sad moments. But whatever it was, I have hit rock bottom before and survived so there are very few things in life that can scare me or keep me down for too long.

My Precious Babies:

2015 held milestones for my angels.

My daughter Lani completed the most important year of her Primary school life. She finished her Primary 6 and passed her PSLE examinations with perfect results. I could not be happier and proud. The day she attended her graduation party, I secretly shed a few tears of joy. My heart was overwhelmed with happiness. I spent weeks on her grad dress because I wanted her to stand out from the crowd as she always would!

Lani had also started designing and sewing her own cosplay costumes. And she does a damn good job at it!

The other milestone for my daughter was when she went out with her friends without us tagging along. She went ice-skating. I have to say it was also a milestone for me as a mother because I am learning to trust and let go.

My little man Logan has done well too and made me proud. He’s scored perfect results and have been promoted to one of the top 3 classes for Primary 3! I have never ever dreamed that I would one day be a mother… let alone have perfect kids. He is such a good natured and loving young man. Sometimes I worry because I feel he is too good for this world. But the world does need more of him around!

Family:

There have been ups and downs. I won’t deny that. I dare any one of you to tell me you have a perfect family and everything is peachy, I would stick my middle finger out to you and ask you to go F*ck yourself.  There is no such thing. No matter how bad anything gets, we work through it, and learn to live with one another and love one another.

2015 didn’t really start on a good note beginning Chinese New Year but we got through it and things got better. I won’t lie but sometimes it gets tough trying to please everyone. I guess we just have to start by learning to please ourselves first.

In May we worked together and converted the spare room into my daughter’s room. She is going to be a teenager soon and will need her own space and that was exactly what she got.

My children and I were also featured on TV for being a Cosplay family. That was exciting especially for the kids!

Friends:

Oh 2015….. on February 2, I lost a good friend Jamey Griffin. When I first heard the news, I hoped it was another hoax. But this time it wasn’t. I was truly affected by the loss. I cried for days. But I managed to get through the difficult time with the love and support of my family and mutual friends of his. But friends lost and friends made. Through all of this, I made new friends. Friends who shared the same love as I did for Jamey.

I also met friends from Facebook who I have been communicating with for the longest time. New friendships blossomed.

Work:

The year 2015,  I have been at Advancelab for 1.5 years. It’s been a great journey so far and I look forward to many more years growing with the company. I have learned a lot. I have been given opportunities to show what I can do….I have been given the opportunity to learn new things and to grow.

At one point, I was about ready to quit when I was given the responsibility of the export/shipping department. The first ever project I handled was a mess and I fucked up big time. But my bosses were very patient and helped me along the way. Not to mention, my supportive husband had help by encouraging me. Now, I dare say I am almost a pro when it comes to shipping and export.

At the end of 2015, alone, I organized and put together a Client Appreciation Dinner for my company. I even surprised my bosses with a magic show I put together with the help of my dad. Everyone had a good time. Everyone was happy. I was happy because I felt it was a success.

Couple Time:

My hubby and I set a milestone for ourselves in 2015. After 12 years (since our first child was born), we finally took a short little getaway vacation together (alone). We celebrated our 15^th Anniversary in Batam. Three days and two nights without the kids. It was tough. We missed the children but we also enjoyed our alone time together. Will we do it again? I am not too sure….

Concerts And Events:

May 2015 held a very special and exciting time for me. I attended the Backstreet Boys concert here in Singapore and got to meet them! I am such a fan girl. Not as big a fan of BSB as I am of NKOTB but these are the two boybands I really enjoy.

I attended a concert with friends in September called “Hits if Yesteryear by Meltones” at the Esplanade. My friend Jimmy was performing and we went to give him some support.

In November, I took my mum and granny for another local concert called “A Date with Friends”. My granny is a fan of Vernon and such so I thought it would be a great treat for her since the day after would be her birthday. It was great because Vernon sang her a birthday song in front of the whole auditorium! It made her birthday all the more special. 

Healthy Living:

Never thought I would ever come to this point but May 2015  I began my journey to healthy living. I aimed to work hard at losing weight and to be the skinny minnie I was before. It wasn’t and isn’t easy but I am trying like hell and so far I have already lost about 10kg in total.

I have had bad days too…. There was a time I pushed myself so hard, I hurt myself and could not exercise for a week or more!

But I am honestly really happy with how far I have come and how I am not able to fit in to the clothes I could not fit in before.

What started all of this was when my lady boss asked if the girls at the office wanted to join her for Zumba at the swimming club.

I was always shy to join classes like this and the first Zumba lesson I was pretty much awkward but after that, I enjoyed it so much!

This And That:

What else happened this past 2015?

In March our founding father LKY passed away and it was a time when the whole nation wept together. It was a time it really opened up my eyes as to what he had done for this tiny little dot we all call home. It might have been too late but I tried to do my part and volunteered to help out at the memorial they had for Mr LKY at Bedok.

We also had the elections in 2015 which was a special one seeing that it was the first time my husband, as a new Singapore Citizen could vote!

And right after the elections, I was given the chance to meet Dr Maliki!! That was the biggest moment for me! YAY!

So that was that for 2015.

What have I got planned for 2016? I don’t really have anything planned to be honest. I will take whatever life throws at me.

I simply want to continue living my healthy lifestyle and losing more weight. To get my foot corrected so I can exercise and get on with my daily life without pain. I want to continue working hard to help my company grow. I want to continue working hard to give my family all they deserve. I just want to be a good person with good friends all around me all the time.

I am ready to face new challenges and I hope 2016 will be a better year for my family, friends and myself!