Liberation

Today I did something that I haven't done in the past 2 years. It's something so simple, yet I've actually forgotten how it felt like before.

happiness doesn't have to come from big events. Even a small achievement like today's brings so much satisfaction, although I'm still getting used to the attention (or the lack of it).

Never felt so great! Life's wonderful again =)

Alcohol and Broadway music... Weird combination, but strangely it works for me =)

Update

Past 2 weeks has been an extremely busy period for me. Due to several things happening all at once, I had the unenviable task of coordinating logistical side of the many problems that occurred.

It started with my trip back home to Batam to visit my little niece giselle xelenia, who's 2 weeks old now. She's the cutest thing ever, but who doesnt say that abt their own little cousins/nephew/nieces right?

That was the fun part, and then came the news on the day when I was supposed to return to sg (last saturday) that my grandma had been diagnosed with stroke, so I decided to stay behind and tag along to the hospital to find out what happened. Well actually we found out she had a stroke after we got her to sg, coz the incompetent batam docs couldnt find out what's wrong with her, and actually told us it was ok to bring her home!

Her condition deteriorated on the 2nd day, so we rushed her to sg and I had to organize everything from ambulance, making the booking with the emergency ward and specialists, as well as picking her up from the harbour. Now it wouldnt be that bad if my mom wasn't scheduled to have her surgery on the 2nd day of grandma's hospitalization, and to top it off their locations aren't exactly the closest in distance!

Anws, mom's surgery was a preventive one (typical female prob with cervix and uterus) and it went smoothly, so now she's already back at home for recuperation. First 2 days was pretty bad for her as painkiller on the drip made her drowsy & giddy, so doc took it off and she felt quite a fair bit of pain. Now she's just on regular panadol, so everything's back to normal.

Grandma's case wasn't so straightforward though, and her brain got affected big time by the stroke. Doc pointed out to me one major brain vessel was completely gone on the right side, so she's having difficulty with speech and swallowing, on top of the loss of control on her left side of her body. Other smaller vessels have also thinned considerably, putting her at risk of a 2nd stroke for the next few years. Now she's already back at Batam, and we've hired private nurses to take care of her for 24 hrs, along with physiotheraphy and acupuncture sessions. Doc mentioned 1st month after stroke is the most crucial time, so hopefully she'll be able to regain some of her body functions after that.

So this ends my hectic 2 weeks. There's a silver lining in every cloud though, and here we proudly announce the arrival of our latest family member, Giselle Xelenia! I'll leave you with the pictures of the cutest baby in the world =)

Money, the root of all evil?

It is the taboo word in any friendship, and it is suffice to say that unless you're a multi-millionaire, it will remains so for a long time to come. I learnt it the hard way...

Ok so the story goes that a friend from m'sia required a large sum of money for 'family emergency' back in november last year. We've known each other since our days at melb (so it must have been a minimum of 3 years already), and till then I've known her to be a reliable person, and I've regarded her as a trustworthy one as well.

So when she came to borrow the money from me then, I lent to her around 90% of the fund for my personal use (five digit figure in sgd). I really didn't hesitate back then as I thought it was an emergency, and I trusted her words that she'd pay me back immediately when her cash flow got better in december.

Fast forward to March 2009, and not a cent has been repaid yet. Zilch.

I didn't need the money then, and nor is it that important to me now. While it is true that I could have put it to better use (ie. on holiday trips or buying my favourite Seiko or Tag Heuer watches!) if it still remained in my account, I wouldn't be struggling without it.

It is just the fact that she didnt even bother to explain to me what happened with the money and if she intended to make repayment at all. In fact, until I called her 1 week ago, I haven't heard from her since she took that pile of cash from me back then.

If she had called and explained to me she had been in a tight spot these few months, and she needed to take a few more months before she could pay me back, I'd have accepted it and perhaps even help her by pushing back the repayment date till she's more comfortable.

I just hate the fact that there's no accountability to whatever my money is used for. Since I had no hesitation at the beginning to make a five-digit loan to her, shouldn't she be obliged to at least call me up to say 'thanks' after her problem is resolved?

I told myself that if she didnt intend to pay me back, then I guess our friendship was just worth that five-digit figure to her. Since I was prepared all along, I guess I shouldnt be complaining, but I'm pretty dissappointed that it should come down to this.

Well there's nothing I can do about it now, so the ball is entirely in her court, and till she hits it back I won't have a shot to play.

Definitely won't be holding my breath for this game....

Mom has been preparing home cooked food for the past few days since she came to visit. Living outside means slowly (but surely) getting bored and tired of eating outside, and yearning for home cooked food which I always tried to avoid back at indo (coz eating out with friends was the 'cool' thing to do!).

Feel so blessed!