Wednesday 24 December 2014

the spirit of christmas

I am not Christian but I tend to get into the spirit of Christmas each year.

As a non believer of religion and perhaps even God, there is nothing in the calendar year that makes me want to spend time with family or actually have any goodwill feeling towards my fellow man.

 Throw a few lights on a gaudily decorated tree, blast some Christmas songs in the decorated malls and I become a totally different person. I embrace the consumerism of Christmas to the point that I am eagerly shopping for interesting gifts for colleagues that I actually feel goodwill towards.

My family tend to get together on Christmas eve to have a couple of drinks (lots of drinks actually) at the Club but this year Mum isnt too well so we wont be going.  We will however be having dinner at Mums on the 25th.  My older sis likes to do the turkey and all the trimmings, she spent 15 years in Hawaii doing Thanksgiving then Christmas and cant seem to stop herself from celebrating the Christian holiday and as her turkey is really good, we don't mind!

But its not just about eating and being merry, it is time to reflect on what we have and being thankful and thinking of others that  don't have as much.

So to Christians and all non Christians I say Merry Christmas and love and peace to all.  Can we please just forget for one day that there is so much hate and anger out there all for the wrong reasons...

Sunday 21 December 2014

the voyeur in me

Online dictionary definition of Voyeur -

1.  A person who obtains sexual gratification by looking at sexual objects or acts, secretively
2.  a person who derives exaggerated or unseemly enjoyment from being an observer.

So I guess I get unseemly enjoyment observing others... secretively.
People watching, taking photos and perhaps watching porn could all be voyeurism.  Introverts like me I guess are labelled weird anyway so voyeur is just another noun (it is a noun right) to describe me.

I recently went to the Botanic gardens again to take pictures as I am learning more about my camera each time I go out, and am enjoying it immensely.
This time my compositions were voyeuristic.  It started with a statue of a mother & child and somehow the pictures through the bushes were so much more interesting....
Then at my favourite pagoda, I was happily taking pictures when a young couple came along and spoilt my enjoyment.




 Lots of young couples come to the gardens to take pictures for their wedding albums.....
The one below is from one of my earlier forays in the Botanic Gardens, a Russian couple with a selfie stick



selfie
I am sure there is some etiquette or rule when taking pictures  of people you dont know.. but in a public place it would be considered fair game if you strolled into the path of my camera....and the voyeur in me just absolutely finds it hard to resist...........






Sunday 14 December 2014

it doesnt help when I bake and eat cupcakes......

So yes indeed,  the exercise that I said I would do 2 weeks ago hasn't quite got off to the start I expected it to......
It actually never got started ...

It didn't help that I saw the French butter that is absolutely delicious, on sale in the supermarket, which in turn led me to a gluten free experiment of a very old cup cake recipe that we have used since we were knee high girls ( well not so quite knee high)

mess/prep
Your mood is reflected in your cooking.  If I am in a bad/foul mood, my cooking suffers.  When I am happy and relaxed, my cooking is pretty darn good, and baking is no different.  I was excited to try the cup cake recipe with that French butter and  make it gluten free.  I was even singing while baking.....

in the oven
I am not sharing the recipe as its not mine to share, its from an old Australian cookbook from the 1960's that a friend gave to Mum and we still use the basic foundation recipes for cakes from that book.  Its absolutely a hoot to read, especially the front pages advising women how to get more from the cuts of meat, cheap cooking and how to set a table etc....If I find the book online anywhere I will link the recipe but....

I even iced them
Anyway
the cupcakes came out divine...I do have an intolerance to dairy and butter is hard for me but sometimes nothing else will do....

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Epic fail.......

I still haven't got around to losing weight

I blame work of course, as I am too busy and stressed to eat right and fix proper decent carb free low fat meals for myself.
I lost 1 kilo then promptly put it back on and the exercise every morning ground to a halt.  I was stressed at work and with the year end Christmas party invitations coming in I was eating fabulous food with no exercise or restraint.....forget gluten free, I was popping everything into my mouth....

I hate the extra weight, I look like a ripe pumpkin ready to burst!

But the lack of discipline is what is getting me into this situation.... And the fact that I have no man to be slim for....yes we do it for a man.  No matter what sort of feminist independent career woman we are, we still go for fad diets and think about our weight and looks all for that man.
So I am doomed to be fat and fifty

I shall try, for next week to skip all carbs and get up early and exercise ........pipe dream or something I can do........I wonder

the walkway code

There should be a test for all pedestrians  to take, like the highway code test for drivers.

Living in a crowded city like Singapore, where you encounter swarms of people everywhere you go, walking is becoming a hazard.  Malls, pedestrian walkways, streets and train stations are places that should have signs put up for easy flow of traffic.

I commute to work via the underground train lines and one of the instances where human traffic is fucking scary is crossing from one part of the station to change lines.  Somehow the powers that be misjudged the sheer numbers that would use the trains as a means of transport.  This is one of the times where the walkway code would come in handy.

I imagine some of the rules of the walkway code would be:

1.  Speed limit in walking zone
2.  Slow walkers have to walk on the left
3.  Overtaking only from the right
4.  2 way lane traffic to be strictly enforced
5.  No Tailgating
6.  No using mobile phone while walking

Other places I see benefiting from the Walkway code would be the shopping malls and the streets.  Its bloody frustrating when you are in a hurry to have to walk behind people that are strolling along happily right across the whole walk way and people that are glued to their mobile phones.
City in China

There is a city in China that has opened a walkway for pedestrians using their phones.
See article HERE
Its a damn good idea........




I live in hope that someday the Walkway code will be created and implemented, saving pedestrians from each other......

Thursday 20 November 2014

some people dont like me....

Most of us have the need to be liked, appreciated and respected.
I am no different.

I realised that some people didn't like me in the office pretty quickly.
My job requires me to be strict and instill discipline in the office and the managing of suppliers and purchase orders for events.
It is not easy trying to get adults to see that the office is not where you can mess things up, leave coffee cups all over the place, use meeting rooms like it was a lunch room and generally act like spoilt brats thinking that the office cleaner was there to pick up after them
(I blame the Singaporean culture of depending on maids to pick up after them at home)

I also had to set rules and create processes on getting purchase orders to suppliers before the events happened and take a look at the teams cost estimates before they sent them out to the clients.  Change and new rules have always ruffled feathers and I tried to ease them into it.  It has been 8 months with these new rules and people are still ignoring the process.  So I have to enforce the rules,  which makes me the really bad guy that everyone loves to hate.

I want to be liked, but not at the expense of losing who I am.  So its OK that I don't get the little goodies they give out to those that are in the "liked" group,  in appreciation of their work, its OK that I don't get invited to some of their parties.....
The people that matter like me, and that is good enough for me.  The rest haven't bothered to get to know who I really am and why should they,  its just work........

I have to remember that the next time I am not given the tasty little goodies.......






Thursday 13 November 2014

public displays of affection

Living in a crowded city and travelling the trains cheek to jowl with your fellow commuter makes for interesting journeys.

Each morning I squeeze into a train bursting it seams with human traffic and try to ignore the loving couple pressed up close to me.

Its like having a front row seat at a porn movie, fascinating yet squirmy.

I can understand that its lust in its infancy ( and no not all the PDA's I see are teenagers going at it) but I do not need to be up close and right next to their faces when they kiss.

having his hand brush against me then have it cup his girlfriend/wife or partner's bottom was very distracting, to say the least.  I have nothing against two people in love/lust touching each other in public, but I do abhor the displays when they are in my personal space.

Why do they do it though?  Do they really have to keep touching each other in full view of the public, or in this case pressed up against a few of us who knew exactly what his hands were doing?

and to make matters worse they seem to have this smug look on their faces as if to say " hey look I am getting some"  it annoys me.

So next time you are on the train and have this immense desire to grab your girlfriends bottom when you are pressed close to other commuters.....stop and think about how it would make others feel.......
A big ask I know.....but one can hope that people would actually realise that it does make the majority of us  uncomfortable to be right next to a touchy feely couple....





Friday 31 October 2014

standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams......

I find it really hard to make a decision.  I tend to mull over things and complicate everything in my mind.

I run each and every argument through my tiny little mind hoping to find some answers.  I toss the pros and cons around hoping that somehow the gods of decisive thinking will rule and show me the path I have to take.

I wish someone would tell me what to do, or perhaps steer me on to the right path with good advice..... Except that I dont take advice when I get it.

I guess decisions are based on knowing what I want.....herein lies the big problem....I have no fucking clue what I want.

I stand alone trying to figure out what I want, no one can tell me what to do, no one can make this decision for me.
I am afraid of making this decision.  I am afraid of the future.  I am afraid of what lies in wait for me after this decision is made.  Will I regret my decision?  I want things to be tied up neatly and no repercussions after I make up my mind.

But life holds no guarantees does it?  We take one path and never know what the other path would have been like, but human nature likes to wonder if the grass is actually greener on the other side......

For now I stand on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself its not as hard as it seems......but it is.....


Monday 20 October 2014

I am sure that weighing machine is faulty.....

The initial diet a few weeks ago died a natural death.
It was resurrected last week and I stuck to a salad for lunch and no carbs for dinner.....

On Friday we had an office lunch which was catered,  everything deep fried and lots of rice, and on Saturday I experimented with another recipe for  butter chicken.

This morning I got on the scales and the slight weight loss during the week came back with a vengeance.  So it must be that the scales are faulty..... Right?
It could of course  be that creamy rich sauce for the butter chicken that I had on Saturday and Sunday.

I  started some minimal form of exercise, last week I managed to get up earlier and go for a walk twice, this week the aim is to increase that to three times...so far so good.
The haze is back though which makes it harder for me to breathe but I am determined not to make any excuses and continue with my exercise plan.

Having a goal helps but I loathe tagging a 'lose x number of kilos by when' date as I know I will falter and kick myself should I not achieve it...so I am just going to eat as healthy as I can and keep doing the necessary evil that is exercise.....fingers and toes crossed

Tuesday 14 October 2014

a scotsman named Paolo

I have discovered a new singer.....

Well not exactly 'discovered' but I only heard this young man sing very recently.  Hes been around for a bit, having released his first album in 2005 when he was 18 years old.

I admit his name made me think he was a by product of the  Simon Cowell school of music, cheesy and poppy but a good looking young Italian boy...   I  made up my mind without listening to him sing.

I heard him sing earlier this year on the Graham Norton Show, a song off his third album and I was more than pleasantly surprised at the funk feel of the music. His voice made me sit up and take notice, and hearing him speak in that lovely lilting Scottish accent, I was smitten!
Paolo Nutini the half Italian Scotsman..
so cute!  

My pre conceived notions stopped me from listening and appreciating a young singer with bucket loads of talent.

This song is part of my morning commute playlist.......Better Man...... click  Here and listen.  The song reminds me of that movie with Jack Nicholson where he says to Helen Hunt "you make me want to be a better man"

I am sure a lot of women will agree with me when I say that those words are probably the best thing any man can say to a woman.
Cheesy I know but this kind of cheesy isnt bad, it fulfills our romantic desires...

So for now I will have Paolo in my ear every morning telling me that some men out there actually do feel that way about their women..........


Wednesday 1 October 2014

fat dresses to the rescue

The extra pounds have crept up on me again......I don't know how they do it  but somehow without me knowing or realising, they find me and pounce and stick to me for dear life....

I have got smarter though...Instead of fighting and cursing that I have nothing to wear when the pounds increase,  I bought a few dresses that would tide me over while I was in my fat phase......

So now in the morning I don't have a very wide selection of clothes,  which makes choosing the wardrobe for the day so much easier that I am actually early for work...Perhaps it has its advantages...

It is now harder to lose the pounds, I used to be able to stop eating carbs for a week and I would be back down a couple of kilos, now it takes twice as long as I get bored with salad and buy chocolates before I hit the 8th day of no carbs.

Son no 2 said I need to exercise.....Horrors!  But he is right.  I do need to get off the ever increasing butt and start an exercise regime.....One of the good friends,  WL, even put a Pilate's workout on a thumb drive for me (I can plug it into my TV) but I still haven't had the motivation to do anything about it. Menopause doesn't help as somehow all the pounds seem to sit on the tummy!

I feel like Menopausal Barbie!
I have been on a diet now for 3 days ( help!) and will have to curb my natural tendency to cook lots on the weekend as I do go overboard and cook curies that just have to be eaten with rice.  Even gluten free hasn't helped as I have found a gluten free sweet cereal that tastes so yummy and on days when I was too tired (lazy) to cook, that was dinner.

But the bad eating habits have to stop...... am serious about this diet to lose those pesky pounds as I do not like my tummy looking so huge!
Next step is exercise......



Sunday 28 September 2014

bali....

view from restaurant in Ubud
I like Bali, I think its a peaceful sleepy little island that one can go to for relaxation and to unwind........well that was what it was like a few years ago.  I hardly took advantage of the close proximity  to visit often.  I was there in 2009 for a friends wedding and again,  last weekend.

There didn't seem so many people about in 2009 but last weekend it felt  almost claustrophobic.  The main tourist area of Kuta was crawling with tourists and the once quiet area of Seminyak was now bulging at the seams with  new restaurants and hotels on every corner.

rent the land?

After the bombings, people stayed away from Bali and it affected everyone's livelihood . Things started to get better and now Bali has become one of the "must do" destinations.  The place for everyone to come  looking for their eat pray love moment.
I know that with the tourists flocking back into Bali and all the new hotels opening up, it is good for the Balinese economy.

good quality plumbing........St Regis Bali
But I hate it....I hate that Bali is getting busier and crowded and full of people looking for cheap drinks and cheap thrills.                            I probably  sound like a broken record,  lamenting the loss of innocence and hoping that progress would slow down.

I guess if I had pots of money I would buy my own island and build a fabulous villa with good quality plumbing and nothing else on the island.

But that of course is just a dream.....like the rest of the world I have to jostle and fight my way to work each day and when on holiday we cram every bit of free time with forced relaxation on tranquil island havens that are fast disappearing.
Chasing the sunrise on whatever island retreat we go to, and posting it on facebook, instagram, or twitter or what ever social media that is the current hype.
I sound bitter....and I think I probably am.  tired of the rat race and hamster existence....
Oh for a a simple life......................
sunrise 


Thursday 18 September 2014

why cant we have sanitisers in all public toilets?

One of the biggest pet peeves  I have is the state of the public toilets/mall toilets in Singapore, and this isn't my first post about it either......

Women wont sit down on the seat but they hover over it and splash pee all over the toilet seat and the floor, as sitting on the toilet seat will give you a million diseases.

But does it? I consulted the sage of all sages ( Google) and read here what the WebMD said about what you can catch in a public restroom ( although why they call it rest rooms I dont know, one hardly rests in there)

yes I took a picture of the sanitiser at IKEA
I was at IKEA on Saturday and had to use the toilet and when I went into a cubicle,  I got a little cheap thrill....they had seat sanitisers in each cubicle!
They have them at the airport and at my favourite bar so why cant they have them in every single public toilet/mall toilet in the country.

We would of course,  have to have a public campaign teaching everyone how to use the sanitisers on the toilet seats.  To educate women so that they can finally put bottom on seat and pee comfortably.

One can dream about having piss free toilet seats and less puddles on the floor......

Friday 12 September 2014

home improvements...

I came home from work yesterday to find that I had a new sink and a new toilet....

When I first bought my flat in 1997, I didn't have the money to do any renovations or touch ups to the place.  Slowly over the years I have added new furniture (as opposed to having all the 2nd hand stuff) changed a few bits and bobs and now finally I am updating the toilets and sinks and giving the place a fresh coat of paint.

I gave the contractor a key, and I was a bit worried that I  let men into my home with free rein to wander around while I am at work... its a bit scary.
I wonder if they will go through my drawers and yes am terrified that they will manhandle my underwear.  Several people that I mention this to, think I am crazy, and some think its highly comical and some think that perhaps if they do want to rifle through my underwear I should be flattered.....

Its also scary as I am way out of my comfort zone....as in being in control of the painting and repairs and being there in the house while they do it.....

Painting started today and I had intended to take the morning off work and be there to make sure that everyone knew what they were supposed to do.  I gave them whatever  instructions were required and then I found that I was getting in their way, so I left them to it and went to work.  In reality they didnt need me there at all for any instructions.  I just stressed myself out with my need to be in control!

When I get home tonight I will have a freshly painted bedroom and the place will be in a mess.
 Its going to be total chaos with the painters coming in for the next few days but I am actually looking forward to having this mini home improvement done.

Time to go shopping for new curtains ......

Tuesday 2 September 2014

i wonder about me sometimes.......

So I discovered something new today

Not a new discovery that everyone would go Wow, that's fabulous..... but something that's been available for some time now but I just never though about doing......

Online grocery shopping....

I have been stressing about the fact that my lactose free skim milk is only available at one of the branches of the supermarket chain I shop at, not where I usually go do my food shopping.... so I have been planning my weekly shopping around the place that stocks gluten free cereal, then lactose free skim milk then the usual food shopping......
Its been driving me absolutely bat shit crazy trying to get all the groceries done and get the milk etc etc....

then I got a brain wave, why not see if the milk was available on the online shop, as not all the items I want to get is available for delivery.... The milk was available and so were all the heavy duty large items that took me two or three trips to the supermarket/ shops.  I could actually choose these household cleaning thingys, toilet paper, olive oil...all the large bulky items I stressed about getting as I don't drive and I do all the shopping on my own..
They fucking deliver on a Saturday too!

So yeah, I wonder how the hell I brought up two sons and have a job and pay my bills on time and yet couldn't figure that I would be less stressed if I did some of the shopping online....

in Singapore we call that a "slap head moment"

Saturday 30 August 2014

me me me me me me....and me..and only me... well mostly

I took Friday off and had my me day.

It started off pretty much like any other day, getting up bright and early, but this time I was waiting for the contractor to come around to give me a quote for painting my flat.  I could do it myself, but that would mean me taking leave ( or unpaid leave) and getting totally exhausted painting everything...so no...I am getting in a contractor to do it.  I also need to upgrade my bathrooms a bit, so some money will be spent there sprucing up the old bathrooms..

spot the bee....
By mid morning, after checking the weather, I was ready to head out to spend my day wandering around taking pictures.  I got some really good shots and I totally bombed at some of the close up ones, I should have checked my pictures after taking them but I was so excited at getting the close ups of the grasshopper
bird in a tree

that I just forgot to check my shots....unfortunately the grasshopper ones were so overexposed that my limited knowledge couldn't save them.  I got close enough to a monitor lizard but again those shots were not good enough....too blurry....I was a little afraid too so camera must have shook every time it moved!
I did however get nice flower shots and bees and butterflies..... really

enjoyed chasing the butterflies......

I don't want to crowd this post with pictures but if you do want to check out my pictures, go to my flicker page - and you would be able to see the bees and butterflies I was chasing at MacRitchie Reservoir  - https://www.flickr.com/photos/102809648@N06/

Wednesday 20 August 2014

time for another me day

I have been hurtling along at breakneck speed that I am sure I have whiplash.

Work has been challenging, and back somewhere in the murky past I did say  I wanted a job that challenged my mind....be careful what you wish for people......
Anyway
Doesn't she look calm and capable...
I am totally zombified by the end of the day and don't have the energy to cook a  proper meal, and  I end up compromising on eating healthy which is why I haven't weighed myself in a week....
Saturdays I am running errands and trying to cook a few things to freeze but I find myself exhausted by 2 in the afternoon and end up sitting on the sofa catching up on all the programs I recorded during the week.  I did think that I was finding excuses just to sit on the sofa and watch the telly but I am so tired that I am in bed and fast asleep by 10pm on a Saturday.

I wont bore you with the details of Sundays but lets just say that I somehow end up doing what I am obliged to do.


I am constantly tired and weighed down by what I have to do....so its time I took a me day before I explode.

This coming Saturday I am seeing the Boob man, my yearly mammogram and check as I do have issues with the lumps in my breasts and  I have to be in town for that. Which means I will probably end up hitting the malls for retail therapy after I get my boobs manhandled.

But what I really want to do is take a day off and play with my camera.  maybe next week..................

Sunday 10 August 2014

When your kids are more adult than you are.....

I don't know if  it's menopause but I am going to lay all the blame for my recent erratic behavior down at the feet of this change.

I chat with son no 1 more or less every Saturday and these last few weeks he has  been listening to me rant about work, and how I quit and why I quit...

He politely, subtly told me that I wasn't put on this earth to save anyone, let alone this company and that while I didn't necessarily have a big ego, I sometimes can be irrational.    (his almost exact words were "its not your responsibility to save the company or anyone")

It made me think, as I do want to save the world and I get frustrated when people don't get with the program..... it made me call my boss and apologise for my resignation and while I know they want me back I need to be a little more humble, focused and less erratic and flaky.  I must try to stop rushing into making hasty decisions...

It's a strange day when your children are more adult than you are.....

Wednesday 6 August 2014

not adult enough to make decisions.....or... i shouldnt be allowed out unsupervised...

I am quiet and not one of those people that likes to be the center of attention.  I am happy to hide in the back and be part of the wallpaper.  However if you piss me off or I think that I am being unfairly treated, well, then I  tend to get out my soapbox, climb up on that and become quite unbearable.

Or I do something rash, like my recent 'conversation' with the customer service of the papers.   I cancelled my subscription to the papers just because they pissed about with getting me my log in details for an online subscription.  My temper does get the better of me and I am always trying to extricate myself out of stupid situations I put myself into........

My ego is about the size of the island I live on which makes life quite stressful.  My recent foray into extricating foot out of mouth or someones rear end is another example of my ego and temper taking over my normal complacent mild mannered self ( I can hear my friends snickering at that description).

I quit my job..... and now have no idea if I want to keep this job or go find something else....

I know there is no ideal job where I go to work and everything goes swimmingly well and I breeze through the day without encountering assholes, dickheads and generally higher management that likes to think that when they say jump we say how high.  I know I am paid to do someones dirty work.  I know I am paid to just be that rubber stamp that doesn't need to think and just shut up and do it.....
But
I hate doing that.  Why hire someone like me and say, come and make changes and help us, then turn around and tell me, but that's how its always been, and we really just have to follow the old way.

So after a week of being pushed around and told to just shut up and do what I am told, I handed in my resignation.  that was a couple of weeks ago and now that I have calmed down I wonder if I should just shut up and do the job and feel miserable and angry because I know things can be so much better if only they did think and listen.... or do I at 51,  start looking for another job....or perhaps finally go do something of my own......

Decisions........

Saturday 26 July 2014

my friends are all under 40 something

I kind of did things the other way around

My youth was spent with my babies and husband and only in my mid 30's did I start working on the corporate goddess in me.  Most people my age were already firmly entrenched in their careers, they had a vision while I had stumbled along and clung to whichever job that would pay me enough to feed and raise and my family.

young friends...horsing around
old enough to drink, young enough to enjoy it








Which is why my colleagues were at least 10 years younger wherever I
went, then they got younger and younger..... and some of them became really good friends.  Colleagues and ex colleagues who are my good friends who I know I can trust and should I need a helping hand, I know they will be there.  They give me advice and I do give some back....as I am supposed to be older and wiser... supposed to be..
 I never really got on with my school friends, except for a very small handful of them and they all went off and had careers and husbands and kids and we drifted apart and they are very different to who I have become. I may be 51 but the mind hasn't quite caught up yet.....

So I hang out (when I do go out) with this younger bunch of girls who keep me sane, keep me insane and young at heart.


Tuesday 22 July 2014

card carrying feminist

Its official... I am a card carrying feminist.

My card arrived in the post a few weeks ago.

What does it mean....feminism.....is it a militant movement that advocates the superiority of women?  No.  Is it lesbians all fighting for gay rights?  No.  Is it man hating sex deprived  women fighting for the right not to shave their legs and armpits and enslavement of all men..... No

So what is feminism.... what does it mean to you.....

To me it is having equal rights, freedom to be able to earn the same wage for the same job, it is being able to be head of my household, equal rights as a human being.  To not be judged by my gender.

My favourite blogger Jenny Lawson, posted this post today, there is a  Tumblr group, women against feminism photo collage thingy and I went on tumblr and took a look at some of the photos and I noticed that alot of the photos posted on why they were against feminism seemed to me to be trivial and frankly first world problems.   I wonder if these young women actually thought about what Feminism really means........
take a look at the Tumblr page  here at what they think feminism is all about....

It seems to have been lost in translation....... Feminism was about giving women the choice, the freedom to choose, the freedom to be able to go out and choose to be wives, mothers, career women, the freedom to travel without restriction or fear, the freedom to be able to earn a living any way we choose.  The freedom to have your voice heard.  The freedom to choose to have an abortion, the freedom to choose to wear what we like and not be branded sluts or accused of dressing to incite rape.
 Its not about having a man open a jar of pickles or carry the fridge for us...

I am not saying all the feminists are right, as I too believe that some factions of the feminist movement are too 'militant', and I think that some women play both cards, they say they want equal pay/rights but then on a date expect the men to pay for everything.  Like everything out there, Feminism has had its main function and purpose spread out to include every grievance imaginable.

Young women forget that the privilege of getting an education and the freedom that they now have to choose their spouse, career path, the right to vote,  was brought about because of the feminist movement so for that one young woman who put up the picture that said she didn't know one instance where the actions of the feminist movement didn't result in more destruction and violence"  let me say this.... you got an education because of the feminist movement, you got the right to be able to own a camera, phone, the ability to think, because of the feminist movement.

Yes there are several factions to the feminist movement, and you don't have to agree on all if its manifestos but don't dismiss it completely.  Its up to the 'normal' feminists to spread the word on what we believe in, that while not perfect, it  is certainly not a militant anti men establishment, if you look at it at the purest level, it is the fight to be heard as an equal,  the freedom to be equal.

I for one am a proud card carrying feminist....

Sunday 20 July 2014

what happened in London

So I am back from London after a two week "holiday" My sister had surgery to reconstruct her right foot and I volunteered to spend a couple of weeks with her, post op.
sis napping at home with her kitten

after the op 
She spent a couple of nights in hospital,  with me and her partner taking turns to be by her bedside.  I must say there is a dire shortage of nurses in London, the orthopaedic ward at Guys Hospital had brilliant nurses but they were run off their feet looking after all the people on the ward.  Anyway....
While she recovered in bed, I actually had a very relaxing time being her cook/carer/gossip buddy and occasional housekeeper.


view at 9pm
Helsinki Airport 10pm
Its been awhile since I spent a summer in  London and I seemed to have forgotten that summer in London doesn't necessarily mean warm temperatures. There were days when the mercury hit 27C  but mostly it hovered around the 18 - 22C mark, which definitely was not shorts and tank top attire for a warm blooded Singaporean.  After I left they had the hottest day of 32 C....

The other thing that fascinated me was the long days, it would be bright as day at 9pm at night which was a little confusing.....

new cast 
2 weeks post op check up...
she has an arch!
I do wish I had had more time in London to be with my sister while she recovered as she is not supposed to put any weight on her foot for 6 weeks.  For someone like her to sit still in bed and do nothing, its going to be tough...but she will have a new foot,  and walking and standing wont hurt any more.

All in it was quite a good break for me, away from the corporate bullshit and office politics and just being "mother" and looking after the people I love.
.

Thursday 3 July 2014

The end of the newspapers?

I have had my papers delivered to me for some time now and I enjoyed the fact that each morning I had the daily news waiting for me when I opened my front door at 6am.

I loved the feel of reading and flipping pages and holding that paper in my hands while I have my coffee and breakfast.
As I recycle old papers, and had the recycling people come to my door previously I could put my old papers out and have them pick up all my paper.  That ended recently and I was stuck with so much paper and no where to recycle it ( the bins they put down at the bottom of my block of flats were inadequate)  so I decided to change my subscription  to just an online subscription..........  easy..... well not quite.

standard response 
As I work during office hours (duh!!) I didnt have the time to sit around calling the customer service of the papers to change my subscription,  so I sent an email. ....  and I get the standard response ........
after tooing and froing on emails for a couple of weeks I called them to clarify everything and told them what I wanted which was a subscription for my Ipad.    So the delivery of the physical paper stopped on the 26th of June and I was supposed to get an email giving me details for my online Ipad subscription activation.......... I am still waiting.

So I sent them a polite email asking when I would get my subscription activation details.....
I got this response (after the standard response of course, and why do they assume everyone is a Sir??)  that they have assisted me in activating my account and can I try again...... really?  how did they do that and how do I try again when they never fucking sent me anything to activate any fucking account!!  So I sent them another email asking them that very question (politely without the f words of course) and of course I get the standard response again......

So for people publishing papers which communicate to people all the news of the world, they dont seem to be very capable of communicating with their subscribers.....
Will I cancel my subscription I wonder or wait this one out.

UPDATE
I received a reply informing me that I had to download an app then only could I log on......question is why the fuck didnt they tell me that from the beginning!!  so I cancelled my subscription.  cutting my nose off to spite my face i guess.....

Monday 30 June 2014

so I feel quite stupid.......

You know how we think everything high tech is complicated......

In my previous post about arriving in London and not being able to use my phone etc etc, I thought the problem was because I had forgotten to release a locked SIM card or something complicated like that..... 

I sent via email a "please help me I cant use my phone" email to my phone provider and they even said they would call me in London to see how they could help.  This morning I got a call on my sisters London land line, and the woman said " Err you cant use your phone in London because you dont have international roaming"

Well the nice people from my phone providers then got me all set up for roaming and my phone is now connected........

I really feel dumb right now.......

Sunday 29 June 2014

Summer in London

Yeah that's right I am in London!

But not for a holiday.....looking after my sister as she just had her foot reconstructed.  She was born with flat feet, and being on her feet for the last 49 years plus being a hairdresser and busy working mother, and not wearing proper shoes ( she also found out she had an extra bone in her right foot which made it hard to wear proper support) finally came to a head and she couldn't walk without pain, hence the foot reconstruction, one foot at a time......

I don't know about you but having a sister around when you have had surgery is probably the most important thing........a sister to care for you and cook you nutritious soups and just have that support of someone who knows you, can't beat it.  Which is why  I am here.
I think I enjoy being needed and looking after people, especially people I love, and who would complain about being in  London during summer!

The days leading up to my departure were as always fraught with disasters........ Too much work to clear up in the office ( I have to be online everyday for an hour and do a con call while on holiday!) I was tired, stressed and worried about my sister......
As her operation date was fixed late, I didn't get a very good deal on the ticket and flew Finnair .  Another airline to talk about!  Did you know you had to pay for alcohol on some European airlines!  Well beer and wine with dinner was free but other than that you had to pay for it!  I am so spoilt!
Gluten free food was shit but that's because it came out of Singapore airports catering!  Other than that Finnair was fabulous!  I must say these Scandinavians are a very civilized lot, perfect manners, gorgeous to look at, hard to believe they were blood thirsty Vikings once! Must be evolution!

I was in transit at Helsinki airport for about an hour after which I got on a BA flight to London, all good, no complaints until Albina the Ukranian that lived in Helsinki, sat next to me.
Conversation started innocently enough until she asked where I was from....
"Singapore"
Blank stare.....
"Is that in China"
In went downhill after that.......for an hour, worse thing though was that I couldn't stop looking at her mustache......
"Do you think all the suffering in Asia is because you all aren't Christians, it's a cursed land"
This time I had the blank stare..... She went on and on and the best was
" I am sorry to say but you will burn in hell for not being a Christian"
My retort
" but Albina, if  we are all Gods children why should it matter that I am not a Christian..... And besides I don't believe in heaven or hell so to me I won't burn in your idea of hell"

Not a very comfortable conversation 30,000 feet in the air......

Anyway I got to Heathrow in one piece, God hadn't punished me for my blasphemous views but then my phone didn't work at all, and I couldn't get in touch with my sisters partner via call or text or what's app to let him know I was on the tube on the way as he was supposed to meet me at the station and help me with my bags on the bus and back to their flat.  It's a good thing I remembered the way, so I lugged my 20 kilo bag (not overweight for once) which was full of food things for my sister, through the station, across the road, on the bus, then crossed the road again and up to the flat........then I realized I didn't know what number the flat was so couldn't buzz her partner....... Thank goodness someone let me in and I went up to the flat...... I knew where it was just not the number on the door!

I later realized that I actually had to release the SIM card on my iPhone before going overseas........ And worse still I hadn't done the same thing to my credit card.......

So perhaps Albina the Ukrainian living in Helsinki had a point........I was doomed........ Yeah right!

Anyway I am here for 2 weeks to be mother to my sister, to love her and look after her.  I wish I had been able to take more time off but I know she will be in good hands after I leave,and I get to come back in six months or so when she does the other foot........

Sunday 15 June 2014

time to start worrying about retirement???

Every Singaporean, when they start work automatically gets enrolled in our Central Provident Fund.  Its like a forced savings plan which helps you buy your first home and set you up for medical savings and retirement.

Our government controls the fund and makes changes to it off and on with regards to how much money you can withdraw when and what is the minimum amount you should have in the fund  by the time you reach 55.

There has been alot of debate recently about the minimum amount and the fact that we can't withdraw all the
article in the Sunday times today
money when we want etc etc.......
There are two sides to this, as in every situation....

The first is
Its my money!  Its my life! Its my hard earned money so why do I have to listen to the government about investing my money.  Why cant I just get the whole amount in there and do what I want with it.

The second is
Its a prudent retirement plan which will ensure I have enough money when I retire.  It will give me money to look after myself when I am old and I don't have to depend on the state (we don't have much government assisted schemes for the unemployed, poor or old and sick, which is why we enjoy relatively low taxes as we don't believe in taxing people half their salaries so that the unemployed and old get handouts)

Now while both  sides have their merit, I have some questions as I will be 55 in a few years and I will see my money frozen in the retirement account and perhaps my home too, depending on which scheme I opt for.

First question
Its my fucking money and I don't want either plan you have listed so what else can I do?  There is an option to show the government any other life annuity plans one might have bought privately or topping it up with cash to be frozen....

Second question
What gives the government the right to tell me that I have to pledge my home in one of the options?  When we bought our homes and you happily told us that we could use "our" money in our CPF accounts to pay the mortgage, why didn't you tell us then  " oh by the way when you retire you have to pledge back this very home up to the amount you used from your CPF to top up your minimum sum".

Third Question
As I know I will not be able to retire at 65 and I will have to continue working at any job I can get, why are you putting all my money into the retirement account when I reach 55?

 It sounds to me like strong arm tactics.  It sounds to me that the government is being big brother and bullying me into choosing one of the schemes.  It sounds to me that the government is being the nanny in this nanny state when they (the G)  protest that we the citizens have to stop expecting the government to be the nanny.

While I can see its a good way to plan for retirement, and I didn't plan for my retirement as I was too busy trying to feed my children and keep a roof over my head for too many years, I still think strong arm tactics are not the best way to explain it to people like me who are facing the prospect of seeing their hard earned money kept frozen out of their reach.

The CPF thing is a complicated maze and its still not clear to me so I will be calling the CPF  to understand my options better, so this post could just be a rant about nothing, or it could just be the tip of the iceberg.......

Monday 2 June 2014

Single again

So I am back where I started, single again, as I broke it off with P.   Too much of a coward to do it in person so I broke up with that lovely man via text.

I was very flattered when I first started going out with P, flattered that a man actually wanted to spend time with me , but after awhile I also started to resent his intrusion into my life.  That's when I realized that something didn't quite feel right.  I had let the flattery and the attention P gave me, take over from what I was actually feeling.  I let my head rule and I didn't listen to my heart..... Not a good option for me.

I was stressed out these past few weeks knowing that I didn't feel as much for him as I should.  I struggled not knowing what to do as I really liked P but I was fast realizing that it was friendship rather than love.  I kept telling myself  that here was this  nice man who likes me and  who wants to make me happy, but I knew that I felt a deep friendship for him and nothing more.  I felt like I was leading him on.  This man deserves someone to love him completely, to cherish him and to make him happy.  I am not that woman.

So this leaves me with a lot to think about.  I keep saying I want someone to share my life with me yet when I find a nice man who wanted to do just that, I shut him out.  Am I too set in my ways and too independent that I can't let anyone in or is it that P just wasn't the right man?

All I know is that I am single again..........



Saturday 17 May 2014

if i could drive....i would be the original hipster...

I never learnt to drive.

It never bothered me much before, this lack of driving ability, except recently.  Living in Singapore one doesn't need to drive, as public transport is excellent and affordable, even with overcrowding and recent train breakdowns, its still an excellent means of getting around the island.

However, the lack of a vehicle and the means to operate said machine, has made me a bit frustrated at times.  I cant just plan a route to several pit stops through out the day to purchase stuff or just to browse through places.  Its limiting my weekends in that I am unable to fulfil my wanderlust.

my dream.....
If I could drive however what car would I see myself in.....
I think of that alot
The mini is definitely the car I would drive, its small, its easy to park and manoeuvre and I am sure it wont be too hard to zip around in that.
I of course always wanted a Vespa....instead of a motorbike.  yes the romanticised version of the motorbike is probably my favourite form of transport.

This morning in the papers I saw my dream vehicle.  A vespa with a side car!!  How Brilliant!  me thinks perhaps I should go get my licence just so that I can go buy one of these.  There even is a guy that customises them  ( See an article about the guy here)

Something to add to the bucket list...........

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Recycling the Singapore way

I was,  until a few months ago extremely lucky in that I had people come to my doorstep to collect my recyclables.  No big deal you may think but I live on the 13th floor in a block of flats.

I just had to leave my paper, glass and plastic outside my front door and some little lovely elf would come collect it and leave behind the bags I needed to use for the next 2 weeks collection.

That all changed at the end of February.

Due to manpower shortage, they were no longer able to go house to house to collect the recyclables and were going to be providing recycling bins at the lift lobby.  All good, no problem, we could go down and sort our own recyclables and put them in the appropriate bins.......
well that didn't quite happen.

the recycling bin
We got one bin for everything, and it was left out in the elements where rain would of course damage all that paper.  So I did the normal thing I do, I wrote in to ask what the hell was going on and where were the proper recycling bins...
I sent them the picture on the left and asked if this was what they thought was an effective way to recycle.
To their credit they rectified part of the problem by placing 2 bins, on another side of the lift lobby but they couldn't put a bin for each category of recyclable.
I was told to put the items in a plastic bag and then place that bag into the recycling bin.

the irony was obviously lost on them.....

Monday 12 May 2014

sharing my space

With A telling me that I was only good for sex ( well he did put it a bit better than that but....) I was quite determined to not let sex be the drive that makes me start a relationship ever again.

Lust was put in a box and buried in the garden. and frankly it hasn't been that hard to abstain.  Perhaps its because I haven't wanted any other man to touch me.
These past few months I have been seeing P (Ice Cream Man, so named as our first date was meeting for ice cream) on and off and taking it very slow.  We hang out and enjoy each others company and he is quite happy to not force or cajole me into being intimate before I am ready.

P chases marathons, yes this man likes to run, and he was planning to run the Great Wall Marathon in Beijing on the 1st of May.  He asked me if I wanted to go along, and I said no, too soon.  Then a few weeks ago I said yes, I would go.   Two days before we left I changed my mind about Beijing ..... And I told P it's best we don't see each other anymore.

Any man would run screaming from me, I seem to be dragging all my baggage, an overweight  baggage allowance at that, with me  and can't seem to move on from A.  I don't know why, even with A telling me he only wanted a sexual relationship and not love......... Shoot me now!

So instead of being with P in Beijing I was here, alone with my camera.  But I needed that time alone, I needed to address the imbalance.     I spent the days doing things I loved, at my pace with no pressure from anyone to give any part of my time.  I regained some of my balance and realised that my space, as in my me time and the physical space was very important to me.  P still wants to see me...............

I have to think carefully as I don't want to play with emotions or hurt anyone.  Am I content in my own solitary world or can I let someone in.  I always said I wanted to share my life with someone but how much of that am I willing to share.  I like my own space, so  can I stop being so selfish to allow this man in?

 I am going to try and who knows it may not end up as the perfect relationship or P and I may find that we just cant let go of our respective baggage.  But we are going to be patient with each other and give it a go.

Fingers crossed...........

Friday 2 May 2014

my art deco fantasy

you can see the guards sitting there..... and on the right the
new roof of the new stadium

Thursday I went to the Kallang Airport, an Art Deco airport terminal built in 1937 or so.   I love Art Deco buildings... so this is probably the first of my art deco posts........



The Old airport still stands and with the development of our new
stadium, which is a stone throwing distance away, they are going to redevelop the the old airport terminal as a lifestyle hub.....horrors!  One hopes they don't gut the grand old dame and 'refurbish' the building and interiors.
looking through a hole in the hoardings
I wasn't expecting to find the gate open and did walk straight in but a couple of guards sitting under the porch of the building blew their whistle at me several times ( as I ignored the first few times) and waved me away....lazy bastards I should have continued walking to see if they would leave their shady respite and haul me off but being the good citizen that I am, I left.  Most of the perimeter is boarded up but I still walked around the whole plot trying to get a good shot.  I would have liked to get pictures from the inside but oh well....perhaps another day....
the old dame locked away with progress in the background


wanderings

last couple of days I have been wandering around alone taking pictures.  On Wednesday it was in the Botanic Gardens and I took so many pictures and enjoyed my day so much that the Gardens deserve another post.....
the old Pagoda

old bungalow, was a French restaurant









The botanic gardens balanced my equilibrium and put me at peace with being me.  I had slathered sunblock and happily spent all late morning and early afternoon wandering the gardens and taking pictures.  I walked the entire length of the gardens, looking to find my favourite spot for future picnics.  I found art in the gardens too.

I saw the gardeners working in the gardens, saw men in trees, saw a little girl chasing butterflies, and try to stomp on it, much to the horror of her mother.  I saw families, tourists, students, people intent on exercising while looking at their mobile phones, forgetting to look up and appreciate the peace and tranquillity of the gardens.
by the swan lake...seriously that's the name of the little lake
spot the man in the tree