Invitation to boss' house

On Sat, 27/9/08, my family and I went to my boss house for late lunch. My Indian colleague, his wife and baby also came.

Boss' husband had specially cooked South African food for us. He had barbequed SA sausages, and cooked a pot of ox tail with vegetables and herbs for over 5 hours.

We had lunch by the poolside on a very hot afternoon. Amanda was her usual socialable herself. She clicked very well with boss' twin gals who were one year older than her. I found them to be very sweet and decent gals. Matt on the other hand was very shy when he is amongst strangers.

Boss and her husband were very hospitable and entertained us with their many interesting stories, especially about their experience with the government service in Greece.

Overall, it was a pleasant gathering as we get to know each other better.

P.S. Matt wasn't selected for the Immersion Study Trip to Shanghai. He was a little dissappointed.

Grandma hospitalised

On Tuesday,23/9/08, Grandma was admitted to NUH by ambulance. The first person she called was Amanda. I learnt later that she had lost everyone's mobile no. and she could only remember Amanda's mobile phone.

When I first saw Grandma she looked terrible. She was so pale and weak and couldn't talk because she was breathless. She had a oxygen tube in her nostril to help her breathe.

On Wednesday, Amanda came along with me to visit Grandma. Grandma was pleased to see Amanda. Maureen, her husband and Shyan Ray came later in the evening.

I was so frustrated with the hospital staff. You can't get any help from anyone. When I asked for the doctor the nurse said that the doctor has gone home. I can't get any information from anyone about Grandma's condition. Amanda and I waited for over 2 hours at the ward for Grandma as she was sent for 3 CT scans.

At first, I wanted to upgrade Grandma to a 4 bedded ward but was told that if I do that she could no longer enjoy any subsidy. Further, I had to pay $1,600 cash deposit and all further charges will be on private rate. So on second thoughts, my sister and decided to leave it because the CT scans will cost a bomb!

On Thu, the doctor from NUH called me. She gave update of Grandma's condition. Apparently, there were black spots on the lungs, scaring in the liver and a lump on the throat. Doctor said the lump in the throat is obstructing Grandma's airways. Thus, causing her difficulty in breathing. A 'throat' specialist will assess Grandma tomorrow. An operation to remove the lump may be done. They will do a biopsy to see if it is cancerous.

I've told the Doctor not to operate without keeping me informed as Grandma has some other underlying illness like diabetes, hypertension and heart problems.

So it came as a surprise to all of us when the Specialist, Prof Chia said that Grandma could be discharged on Fri, 26/9/08. However, she will need to come back for a review next Thu, 2/10/08.

Immersion Study Trip to Shanghai

Matt's school has extended an invitation to all P4 and P5 students for a Immersion Study Trip to Shanghai from 4 to 10 November 2008 (7 days/6 nights). Matt was very keen to participate because the students will get to visit the Shanghai Aerospace. I was hesitant as I wasn't sure if he could take care of himself. After all, he has never been away from home before.

Alvin thought it would be a good experience for him. Further, the school will select only 36 students for the study trip. The students would also require to meet certain criterias like Band 2 in Science, good behaviour and recommendations from Form Teacher. Thus, I agreed to sign the consent form and wait to see what happens next.

Windfall

Finally, Alvin had won first prize in the lottery. For two and half years, he had continuously bought 4D on his car number. It was a pleasant surprise and we were so happy for him.

So on Wednesday night, we celebrated in advance and had a sumptuous dinner at Sakae Sushi at Lot 1 Shopping Centre.

On Saturday morning, Phyllis, Pamela and I went to California Fitness for a workout. After that, we had lunch and then proceeded to SMU to attend the Hair and Nails Public Forum by the National Skin Centre.

Later, we had a celebration dinner with Alvin's family at Block 151, Seragoon North Ave 1 Coffee Shop. The food was really good - a real value for money as we had shark's fin soup, fish and extra large crabs. All of us enjoyed the food and we all ate too much!

Uncle Larry's Birthday

Today is Uncle Larry's 52th Birthday. He invited us to join his family, together with Grandma, Uncle John and his family for lunch at The Soup Restaurant, Compass Point. As usual, we ordered too much and ate too much food.

We all sang a birthday song for Uncle Larry, and we had cake (which I bought from Begawan Solo) for dessert. I had intended to pay for the lunch, but as always Jean rushed to pay the bill and refused to accept our monies.

Today also happens to be the Mid-Autumn Festival. Matthew has gone down to the park to play with sparklers and candles.

Spa Treat, Teeth Grinding and Aqua Aerobic

On Wednesday night, 10/9/08, Alvin and I went for a full body massage at the Ultimate Spa, Bukit Batok Civil Service Club. It was a first experience for Alvin and he really enjoyed it very much.

For the last 8 months, I had been so busy with work that I had no time to go for my 6 monthly dental check ups. I finally went to Raffles Dental on Friday, 12/9/08. The dentist said that there were show signs that I grind my teeth. This was due to stress and she told me to relax. I just laughed it off and said that I am less stressful now. When I returned to the office, I had a wonderful surprise. My new boss bought me chocolates, a belated birthday present!

On Saturday afternoon, 13/9/08, I joined Phyllis for Aqua Aerobic at her Fitness Club at Takashimaya. It was a first experience for both of us, and we both enjoyed it. I also enjoyed soaking myself in the hot jacuzzi!

After the workout, we went to Food Republic to eat. I went to Phyllis' house afterwards. Alvin and the kids came to pick me up at Phyllis' home.

At night, we joined Larry, Jean and Bao Li for dinner at Serangoon.

My Birthday, 8 Sep 2008

Gosh, I have been eating a lot in the last few days.

On Friday, 5/9/08 I had dinner with my good friends Pam and Phyllis at Pasta Waraku, Marina Square. After that, we went to the Pan Pacific Hotel Lounge for our "gals talk" and cocktail drinks.

On Saturday night, 6/9/08, my family celebrated my birthday at Marche at Vivo City. Matt gave me a birthday card. Amanda wrote a letter to me, and also gave me a toy flower. I was a bit dissappointed that I didn't receive a surprise present from Alvin. He's not the romantic sort and as expected, he wanted to buy me a mobile phone. We went to a couple of mobile shops at Vivo City. I felt that it was unnecessary to spend the money. In the end, I persuaded him to give me his old mobile phone. So Alvin bought a memory card and new battery for the old phone.

Monday, 8/9/08, my birthday and also my first week at the new job. Definitely a lot less stressful compared to my old job. In the afternoon, Jasmine treated me to a birthday lunch at the Ministry of Food, Suntec. At night, I had dinner with my family at Siam Kitchen, Lot 1 Shopping Centre. After dinner, we went to the Arcade photo booth to take a family photo. For me, this is the best birthday present. In fact, my new job is also a birthday present! I am very blessed to have a wonderful family and good friends. I am so much happier now.


My good friends bought me these beautiful lilies.

Amanda's weight issue & Functional Visual Assessment Report

Yesterday's check up went well. Praise the Lord!

Doctor will gradually reduce the steroids for Amanda. The steroids are making Amanda fat. And she gets upset whenever people mentioned about her weight issue. She has started an exercise regime. But after a workout she eats even more! So doubt she will lose weight. Ha..ha..ha..

I am very grateful to Lay Hong. The Functional Visual Assessment report on Amanda was very helpful. I discussed the findings with Alvin and Amanda. The issue for concern was Amanda's reading rate and reading efficiency. I felt that it would affect her learning process when she goes to higher secondary level. I will discuss this futher with Lay Hong.