With love, from Singapore :)

We're bacccckkk and our furball is very much alive and adapting really well back home. :) We arrived a couple of weeks ago and the first thing that greeted us was the heat. It sure hasn't been fun settling in feeling all hot and sweaty. Didn't help that our tenants had left us with a bunch of things to fix around the apt. Sigh. Anyway, things are slowly moving into place which is a relief. Am glad to finally have my home internet up and running so now I can blog again! I've got plenty of catching up to do on my blog reading as well! :)
On a more exciting note, my series of interviews for the new job is well on the way. I have cleared round 2 so far and am moving on to the third this week - lunch with the Chairman. I can think up a whole lot of things that can go wrong during the lunch meeting - veggies stuck between teeth, choking on food mid-sentence, sauce around the mouth... I seriously need to think through my food choice carefully. ;)
Will keep you all updated on my progress. Wish me luck! :)

April

I turn a year older! *Bells..whistles..balloons popping*

Spring is taking its time to make a grand entrance. We hope it would be sooner than later!

We turned a 5 hours drive to Grand Rapids into 8 hours by falling asleep at a rest stop. Heh. Weather was nasty but we were happy to meet up with old friends and made a stop by the pet cemetery where my first bunny, Warewee, was buried.

Been trying to pack for our trip back. Getting nowhere with half the things still in usage. Our apt is emptying pretty quickly though. No more comfy chair to watch TV on!

My mum arrives today! [Doing some last minute cleaning so I don't get nagged at tonight!]

Off traveling next week! Looks like it is going to be a wet trip but hopefully no major storms and a glimpse of sunshine every now and then!

And...a couple more weeks before we are headed home...boohoo! :S

Reeling from CIFF...

...The 35th Cleveland International Film Fest, that is. It officially ended last Sunday. Am still recovering from having to wake up too early for the morning [volunteer] shifts but it was well worth it! :) There were some truly bizarre films but here's two of my favorites from this fest:





Films like these make me wanna smack myself for whining so much and start doing something constructive already!

The city that never sleeps...

It was contagious. I had sleepless nights in the Big Apple. Overstimulation from all that excitement bubbling through the city perhaps - The sights, the sound, the lights and all that diversity of people. (Kinda reminds me of home actually but more exciting!) The trip itself was really rushed with us trying to cram in as many sights as we could in that few days. We also underestimated the weather and did not layer enough - it was freezing and we had so much walking to do outdoors! *Brrrr...!* But that said, we had a great time and I am definitely returning! Here are some highlights of our trip:

A bit of Irish luck

One of our girlfriends had her car broken into on St Patrick's day. I would like to think that the thieves didn't manage to take off with it (despite all that sawing to get to the engine), well, perhaps because the car happened to be green. I was convinced a little bit of Irish luck must have rubbed off on her. We went around town that day with clover necklaces and a huge clover printed top hat and decided we were going to throw an Irish themed dinner party. So last evening, the group of us each prepared an Irish dish and turned up at my place in various shades of green. It was a fun evening as always. Hopefully, the Irish luck will continue to stay with us for a long time!:)

Dishes include Irish lamb stew, colcannon, soda bread, fish, sausages, salad and a very green trifle dessert ;)

Moving with the winds [of change].... Again!

Here's the news - we are packing our bags and heading home in less than 2 months! Yup, you heard right. We are going back to our tiny little island. Crazy, eh? It's all good really. Opportunity knocks for hubby and it would be a waste not to answer it. In all that excitement, I've also decided to venture out of my comfort zone and have applied for a managerial role in another institution back home. I've been in one organization all my life and I think it is time to move on. Well, I guess it is now or never. Fingers crossed that I get the job! :)
Busy past weeks and I was often in a daze. I had to work out the list of stuff we needed to sell, pack & ship. I went into an online shopping frenzy for work clothes and shoes. Made a last minute trip to NY with my friends just last week and am planning a 2 weeks US trip with my mum this April. I have also volunteered for a week long of the Cleveland Film Fest this month (& catching as many films as I can), so that leaves me with very little time. But things are moving along which is good. Honestly, I am a little halfhearted about going back to pressure cooker land but at the same time, I'm excited to be able to work again. I think I've had enough fun for now. ;)

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Random happy things...

It hasn't been fun recovering from a very persistent, nagging cough. [It's been 2 weeks now!] The weather hasn't been agreeing with us either - mostly dark, cold and dreary. Well, times like these call for happy thoughts so here goes:

1) Bargain movie Mondays! (even though I should avoid going down the dark path. Both "Black Swan" and "Biutiful" were terribly depressing! It will definitely have to be a happy movie the next time!)
2) A round of applause - Received a compliment note from a head usher I work with at the theatre. It is always nice to have your work recognized. However small. :)
3) South Pacific - an evening of fun-filled musical
4) Tea with friends on a stormy winter day. The pastries at Presti's bakery are oh so good!
5) This polka dot dress:

Currently, way beyond my budget but I shall wait patiently for it to go on sale. :)

Our Reunion Dinner.

It was a simple fare. Just hubby, me & our little bunny - he got to eat his favourite cilantro while we ate abalone. ;) CNY has been rather quiet here but we're planning a little celebration next Saturday with a cooking competition thrown in so that should be pretty fun! I'll probably be doing a sweet and sour pork dish. Sure hope it turns out well! :)
In the meantime, here's wishing all my Chinese [& non-Chinese] friends out there a prosperous and bouncy bunny year ahead! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

K-drama. Uh-Oh.

No thanks to the flu bug that kept me housebound, I've started on Korean drama series again purely out of sheer boredom. Sounds harmless enough but trust me, it can be sooo addictive!! I have killed a few DVDs players in the past simply from marathon watching. Strangely, they usually go kaput after I've completed a series! Anyway, not looking forward to going cold turkey again when the time comes [took me great pains to wean myself off the last time!] but I shall enjoy it for now! I've got an excuse afterall! ;P

Hello again, Wintry Cleveland!

The trip back home was good but I'm actually quite happy to be back in good ol' Cleveland. Singapore was just crazy busy with people and cars everywhere! Weather was surprisingly cool at first but then it got hot and humid again. And it didn't help that I had caught the flu bug that was spreading rampantly on the sunny island. I had to cancel on friends and spend two days of my two weeks at home. Boo! Still, I had fun catching up with everyone and satisfying all my food cravings!
Am currently still nursing a bad throat but finally getting the rest I needed. (Yes, I've been sleeping a whole lot since I returned 2 days ago!) Hopefully, I'll be well enough soon to indulge in the last lap of winter activities! It's plenty of water and rest for now!
How have all of you been? :)

Wide awake! @@

It's 4.20am now and I am still sooooo awake! Hubs is playing computer games in the other room. Feel like a mouse in this house right now with all that whispering and tiptoeing around. hehe. Must try to get to sleep soon! I am so going to be a zombie in the day! @@

Home sweet home!

We finally made it home this morning after a gruelling 30 hours journey (including a 7 hours layover at JFK airport). Thank goodness for the skyclub lounge which made our long transit in NY more tolerable! We have been stuffed silly with loads of food since we came back. Supposed to go out for dinner this evening - hopefully I'll able to keep my eyes open then! Will write again when my brain is less fuzzy! Going to snooze now....

A cleaner home and I'm set to go!

I have been spring cleaning for the past week. It's amazing the amount of junk I've accumulated over just a span of less than a year here in Cleveland. The leaky air mattress I acquired, those few cable/ telephone wires I have no idea what to do with (Well, I did make a funny hat out of them for X'mas!), lots of paper/ magazines/ newspaper, boxes after boxes....I still have not completely sorted them out but at least I managed to clear some. All will be cleared out by Chinese New Year, that's for sure!
And I'd be on the other side of the globe by this weekend! Yay! My calender is filling up really quickly. Wish I had more time! I'm just going to make the best of it - eat as much as I can, meet as many friends, and spend as much time as I can with my family. I'm not looking forward to the long haul flight but the inflight movie marathon should keep me entertained. Will try to update when I'm back home but if not, I'll be back in two weeks!

The new millenium begins!

I woke up this morning to the sound of a happy bunny doing his speedy Gonzales happy run - the perfect energy to start off the new year! And in all my excitement, I've succeeded in breaking one of the blinds [yet again]. Oops!
We'll be heading back to sunny island for a short hols in a week. Looking forward to being with friends and family again and all that food I miss! Not to forget that much needed haircut! One of my mission for this trip is also to declutter the [plenty of] stuff I have back home. My motto for the year is to live a fuller life with lesser things! Let's see how far this takes me! ;)

Happy 2011, everyone! :D

A hike to celebrate winter solstice...

...on a perfect evening. I like! :)

In all seriousness...

I was at a Christmas party the other day and everyone was supposed to name one thing they were thankful for in the last year and a prayer request for the new year. I was particularly touched by the honesty and sensibility of some of the young ones. No, they did not ask for the latest Xbox game or a pretty doll to play with. Instead, they prayed for good health for their sick grandparents, ability to do well at school and for everyone in the family to be happy. Wow. I was truly humbled.

Mother Nature's Artwork

I finally got to see the lighthouse encased in ice on Lake Erie. Quite an amazing piece of work by Mother Nature, don't you think?

Dancing with Kinect

The console finally arrived yesterday! I had called DELL up the beginning of the week to find out the status of the delivery only to discover that they had cancelled the order because they had no stock! I was pretty upset at first but immediately found a deal for the Xbox console (the last one at walmart!) and the kinect sensor separately which turned out to be cheaper. So yay!
I'll be practising my moves this weekend (in between grocery shopping and a caroling session) and I'm so gonna beat hubby in the game! Woohoo!

Tea bag wisdom

"A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Considering the amount of tea I drink, does that make me even stronger? Hmmm...;)