Inconsiderate

I was looking for a parking space in a place where parking spaces are really really limited.

The law of "when-you-are-rushed-for-time-no-parking-space-is-available" kicks in.

I have driven very slowly around the place 3 times when I saw this lady walking towards her car. I quickly reversed and waited behind her Proton Waja. This lady certainly saw me.

She continued talking into her phone - ok, I can be patient.

With her phone in between her ears and her shoulders, she rummaged through her big 'Coach' bag. - I'm drumming my fingers on the steering wheel.

Ah - found her keys! Dropped her keys! Pick keys up, Coach bag fell off her shoulders! Nearly drop her phone. Drop keys again!! She shot a quick look towards my car - ok, ok, take a deep breath.

Finally she got into her car!!! - Yay, I might not be late for my appointment after all. Got ready to zoom in as soon as the Waja is out!

30 seconds later - what's she doing? Putting on lispstick!!!!!! What the f*** !!! - I started chanting "I am calm and peaceful"

Now she's applying mascara!!! - I politely gave her a honk

She's applying face powder!!! - I not-so-politely gave her two honks.

She turned sideways to look towards my car. Oh S***, she answered a call on her handphone, then appears to be searching for something in her car... found it - the handsfree earphone - plug it into her phone. - I am rummaging in my car for a gun!

The Waja right signal started to blink, the car moved slowly out of the parking lot. Then it's gone!

I was a about 2 mins late for my appointmnet, but the other person was 15 minutes late!

Earth Hour

Kids were excited over Earth Hour. Kept a countdown since they heard about it in Church 2 Sundays ago.

10 days before Earth Hour:
Jeremy - "Switch off lights only? So, can still watch TV?"

8 days before Earth Hour:
Jo - "Will the police come catch those people who don't to turn off their lights?"

5 days before Earth Hour:
Someone asked Stephanie what Earth Hour is all about. She answered "I think God made the Earth on March 28th at 830pm a million years ago."

2 days before Earth Hour:
Damian - "How are we actually helping by switching off the lights for only one hour?"

5 1/2 hours before Earth Hour (4pm)
Blackout @ Jalan Puteri Senggang, Sri Petaling
Called TNB - "Ada kerosakan sikit, cik. Kejap lagi api balik" ("There's slight malfunction, miss. We'll have the energy back in a short while")

5pm -
No electricity,
Brenda & Dylan (Kids' friends from school) came over to play.
They've not heard of Earth Hour!!!!?????
Invited them to stay for Dinner, so can experience Earth Hour together. Their mom said ok

6pm
still no electricity

6.30pm
had dinner outside the house, sitting at the porch.
Ice-cream for dessert.
Benjamin, Marcus, Denielle (the cousins) came over to celebrate Earth Hour with their parents and dog, Rusty.

7.30 pm
Electricity came back on. Yay!
Kids quickly switched on the aircond to cool down their room!! ;-)

8.30 pm
Earth Hour! (lights off by choice, this time).
9 excited kids talking at the tops of their voices. Madhouse!
Ate doughnuts by candle-light. Sugar everywhere!
BIL irritated the adults by shining his powerful torch in our faces, but the kids thought it was fun!
Played "Spelling Bee" A-N-T ant, T-R-E-E tree, E-N-T-E-R enter, R-O-C-K rock, (do you see the pattern?)
Played charade

9.30 pm
"No, no, don't switch on the lights yet. We're having sooooo muuuucccchhhh fuuuunnnnn!!!"

Happy

The family's so happy! Happy came to us last Saturday 21 March 2009. Sine then, the home is filled with cheerful cries of "Happy!! Happy Come here! Happy Stay! Happy Stand! Happy Fetch!!"

Happy is our new Dog! She is a beautiful mix of 'something' and 'something' = MONGREL

I got to know about Happy through the lady who sells chicken at the market. Apparently the previous owner has nose cancer and the doctor said 'No dogs!" They're looking for someone to adopt their beloved dog. Otherwise, it'll have to go to SPCA.

Growing up, we always have dogs around. But since I got married and have kids, we did not have any pets. My record isn't very good when it comes to dogs.

About 3 years ago, we got a stray dog home. We named her Princess. But Princess was sick, and the vet advised us to put her to sleep.

Then a friend gave us "Max", a mix-bred Terrier who was a bit mad. The kids were terrified of him. For such a small dog, it could bite! So, we gave it away to my aunt's friend who has a big Mastiff. They're adorable together, but when Max got out of line, a growl from the Mastiff is enough to make Max cower.

After that we adopted a 'vegetable-dog' aka market-mongrel named Bubbles. Bubbles was great until, one night as I was driving my car into the house, she broke free of her chain and ran off. She came back to the gate and when I opened it for her, she ran off again. She kept at this several times until I got fed-up! It's already 1 am! So I left Bubbles outside and never saw her again!

Now we've got Happy!!! Happy has been to dog training school. She knows where her 'toilet' is (on a patch of grass in front of the house). She knows that when we start the car, she must go into her cage (or she might be runned-over). We don't even have to lock the cage! She's gentle and friendly. She's obedient. She's clean and disease free. She doesn't touch our shoes! She's a fantastic dog, and we're happy with Happy!!

It's so nice hearing "Happy, Happy, Happy" ringing through the house.

Hmm... I'm thinking... maybe we should get another dog and name it "Money"!

Jeremy's "achievements"

WSL asked about Jeremy's recent 'achievements' in school. Should I tell? Ok, ok, I'll tell a bit, just so we can laugh about it when he grows up and blackmail him with it!


Jeremy's in Year One now. And in the 1.5 months since school started in January, the teachers have spoken to me about Jeremy 3 times!

1st time - he got into a fight, don't ask me why - I'm stil trying to get to the bottom of it. Everyone who claimed to know the truth, gave different versions. Started kicking and screaming at this boy and a few busybodies who crowd around to watch got kicked as well.


2nd time - When it was time for some written work, he told the teacher that he can't do anything as he does not have any books. After I helped him pack his bag the day before, he took out all his books from his bag. It didn't really dawn on me to wonder how come his bag was so light when we walked to school in the morning. I was still half-asleep :-P


3rd time - He disrupted the Monday morning assembly by singing his own version of Negaraku very very loudly. His version goes "Blah Blah Blah Blah". A teacher went to him to stop him, and he started kicking at the teacher. The whole assembly 'tergendala' (pause-mode) because of him!

The teachers sympathetically implied that, yes, parents will always 'manja' (spoil) the last child in the family. I tried to tell them, no, no, we didn't spoil him, in fact we were the strictest with him - but do they listen and believe me? Hah!

A friend said that God is very fair. What goes around comes around blah blah blah. She said it's because I made life a living hell for my teachers last time. I've known this friend since we were 7 years old. Memory is such a funny thing... how come I remembered myself as a sweet lovely girl, but my friend insisted I was a terror? :-P

(Yes... we disciplined him. The last incident happened mid Feb. It's now almost end March. So far so good..... keeping my fingers crossed, and the rotan in full view!)

Jeremy!

Ok... it's finally Jeremy's turn. Jeremy..... what can I say? He's the youngest, and even tho we (Anthony and I) have consciously make it a point not to treat him like the 'baby of the family', everyone else does! Kor-Kor Damian, his two big sisters and the maid! As a baby, all he has to do is to open his mouth and scream, and everyone (except the parents- seriously!) jumped to give him whatever he wants.

When he was a wee toddler, whenever he doesn't get what he wants, he'll throw himself on the floor and banged his head against it! My friend KT called him 'head-banger'. I'll rush to pick him up and dump him into a play-pen with soft sides (set away from walls, of course) so that he can continue his tantrums in peace.

Jeremy's really sweet. He'll unexpectedly come up to me, put his arms around me declare his love for me, give me a wet sloppy kiss and then swipe his own lips! He says things like "Do you know why God give us birthdays? Because He can't buy us presents and ask other people to buy for us." (He went pretty deep there).

He really loves playing with Lego. And not just those big mega blocks we all started with. He likes those tiny pieces ones. He'll play till his fingernails are all chipped and broken. He'll be able to go through complicated instructions and put together a set in half the time his father or brother could. Jeremy could also invent his own super-duper spaceship or vehicle using pieces from different sets.

We went to this Lego shop in The Gardens, and he fell in love with everything there. His absolute favourite is the Millenium Falcon (of Star Wars fame) with over 5000 pieces, the largest lego set ever made. It's for age 16+, but Jeremy wanted it. When I told him that it cost almost RM3000, he exclaimed "Wow, so expensive. I need a Fairy Godmother!"

He'll be turning 7 this July. His Godma (AST) is no fairy. She said that she herself needs a Fairy Godmother! Anyone can help find us a fairy?

Star Cruise on SuperStar Virgo

I know I'm supposed to write about Jeremy next, but I just feel like writing about the Star Cruise instead.

Hubby and I qualified for our FitLine sales incentive Trip - 4 Nights/5 Days Star Cruise on SuperStar Virgo. We left on Sunday (8 March) and just got back today. A total of 58 Achievers qualified for this trip. Our itinerary:

8 March

Left Port Klang by bus to Singapore at 5am! (We were in Port Klang by 3.45am!). Boarded the ship @ 12.30pm. Our room is so small. Lucky it's twin sharing. Some of my friends have to share 4 to a room!

I was the emcee for Fitline's Congress on Cruise :-) It was great witnessing my teampartner-downlines receive their Achievement Awards. Cindy Wong won the Top-Sponsor Award (a Sony Ericson handphone - wow!) and the Sponsoring Incentive Award (a limited edition Fitline watch). Husband & Wife team - Chua and Agnes - won the Top Quick-Start Sponsoring Award (an Acer laptop) and also the Sponsoring Incentive Award (the limited edition Fitline watch)

9 March

The ship arrived at Penang. While most decided to tour Penang, Anthony and I decided to stay on board and explore. Ended up, we 'explore' most everything in an hour! Hmm... what did we do? Just spend some time with friends and teampartners. Swim, Spa. Watch live shows. The food and the shows were good.

10 March

Tour in Phuket! We were taken to this very expensive shop selling various Thai goodies. Then to a jewellery factory where we 'dream' about buying all those lovely pearls, and garnets, and sapphirres etc. My fav is amethyst. After that we visited the cashew nut factory. Then to Lunch. I was looking forward to a Thai lunch, but instead it was international food. Ceh!

After Lunch we were taken to the biggest shopping mall in Phuket! Everyone was telling me that Wacoal bras are cheap-cheap. But no my size! I was looking forward to a good Thai massage at Patong Beach, but no time! Instead went on a mad-hunt for souvenirs for the kids! I'm sure we got fleeced, but never mind la.

Gala Dinner with the Captain. Where's the captain? I didn't even see him! But we all look great! We were served pre-dinner cocktail. Got a bit tipsy from the champagne.

Big boss also gave us a treat to Vegas-style Topless show by artistes from Ukraine and Belarus. It was so boring that I nearly fell asleep. No acrobatics, no magic... only dancing, and lots of bare skin. We noticed some men with binoculars in the audience!

11 March

Fitline Farewell gathering. I was Emcee again! Exciting listening to so many Achievers sharing their testimonials and experiences. Very motivating. I love MLM. This is THE business that celebrate success which is achieved by helping others achieve their goals and dreams

Some of the Fitline Achievers disembark in Singapore today. The rest of us free and easy. Swim, talk, eat, karaoke and disco till the wee hours.

12 March.

Missed breakfast. Woke up too late. Have to pack. We arrived at Port Klang. Time to go home.

So, what did we do the last 5 days? Just relaxing. Really didn't do much. I talked to other passengers. Being a networker, we can never stop talking and making friends. That's how I qualified for this trip anyway!

There were almost 3000 passengers on the cruise. Most people are interested to know a little more when I give them my name card. Hee-hee, some of my downlines and sidelines even asked for more of my cards so that they can give it away (with their names and contact numbers written on it too la, of course!)

Will I go on another cruise? Yeah, why not? It's good to just do nothing but relax. Next time... must bring my kids along.

Josephine

It's Josephine's turn. She was born exactly a year after Stephanie. They call babies born exactly a year apart 'Irish Twins', maybe because the Irish multiplies like rabbits and I was following in their foot-steps!

Saves a lot of money celebrating 2 birthdays at the same time. But we always have two cakes, not one. They both deserve their own cake, and the rest of the family gets to eat 2 different types of cakes. Good deal.

Jo is the 'artist' of the family. She thinks that she's not good at Maths (which is of course NONSENSE! as being good at Maths runs in the blood!) She just prefers to spent her time in front of the mirror, imagining herself a supermodel. She likes to pick up my clothes and tell me what to wear with what. On the rare occasion I have to put on eye-shadow, she'll want to choose the colours! And she has pretty good taste too!

Jo modeled for One-Utama Magazine Sept 2007 issue

Jo-Jo likes to draw little cute cartoons with speech balloons that says "I love you Mommy" or "I am sad". She likes to collect cute little stuffs. At one point (when she was about 2) she colllected those small cute little erasers and she'll hold one in her hand all the time, like a security blanket. Now she collects - fashion jewellery! Mommy borrows from her all the time :-D

Josephine was devastated last December after Sunday school. Her teacher (with the motivation of telling the truth about Christmas,) announced to the class of 8 year-olds that Santa Claus is not real!! Of course some of the kids already knew that - but not my little girl! And if Santa is not real, that means the tooth fairy is not real either!! She was also upset that I 'lied' to her!!!

My sin? All I wanted is for my kids to enjoy their childhood and discover things at their own pace. I believe our children deserve that! I believe that learning to be positive and happy is their birth-right! I will uphold this belief at any cost. Meanwhile - I feel like stranggling that teacher!!

Stephanie

Stephanie turned 9 in Nov 2008. She was born in USA, and she proudly proclaim herself to be an American. Of course she's a bright and smart girl. She's good at Maths (because it runs in the blood - my whole family is good at Maths!), but she can't seem to pick up BM. She said it's because she's American!

Stephanie (left) and Jo (right). These 2 angels share the same birthday - 28 November!

When she was only 6, Stephanie decided that she wanted to be a 'sister' (a Catholic Nun). She wanted to go to Africa to dig wells for the poor people there and to teach the children how to read. Big dreamer. She did not once change her mind about being a "Sister' for the next few years until last year when election fever hit USA. When Obama won and everyone is talking about the first black President, she declared that she will become the first Chinese-American woman President! She figured that she could be a Nun who's also a President and can help the entire world, not just Africa. Wow!!!! Big Big Big Dreamer!

I'm not going to be the one to tell her that she might not bcome the President of the USA. She'll discover it on her own soon enough. Why not let her enjoy her dreams a little longer? But one thing I'm sure - she'll impact the world in her own way.

There are just so many people so eager to burst that bubble of enthusiastic confidence and expectation. So many people who can't stand it if someone has a ig dream, because they have lost the ability to dream themselves.

She once asked me, "Why are there so many people who are impositive?"

"Impositive? What's Impositive?" I asked

"You know - positive / impositive, possible / impossible"

Oh I see! How clever.