as i near my next birthday...

i find myself having wierd dreams.

of those dreams include me going back to SIA and getting back to dancing proper.

of course, these are merely themes of the dreams. the ways which the themes appear are rather interesting. ah well.

this also means i haven't had much sleep, since dreams mean that your brain's working overtime.

i've been looking forward to this friday for a couple of weeks now, because i'll be able to spend the whole day with the hubby and family.

and so, i'm trying to get everything done before friday, so i can enjoy the day, then head back to books before going to class on saturday.

yes, saturday. sigh.

and i had hoped i could bake another batch of something this weekend.

last saturday we baked a batch of yummy coconut-chocolate chip cupcakes, with coconut-vanilla frosting (homemade) and coconut flakes on top.


and it got rave reviews!

you can imagine my elation since this is my first real try at baking. =P

after which we all packed off to chomp chomp for dinner...before heading back home for a round of saturday night mahjong...


el dia this year is going to be a small and quiet affair, even though it's on a public holiday.

quite unlike last year's...which was rather quiet, but not so small.

i will miss josee on this day, because she was the sneaky one who hatched the plan (which included snuffy hubby) for my little celebration last year.

i hope she likes our gift. =)

on a separate note, i love how snuffy hubby sends me messages and the occasional mms through the days to perk me up. especially during really long days at school.

here's one of the pictures he sent me last monday while i was recording my radio show in school with the tag "Save me!"...

The Leap Years

the hubby and me finally went to catch the movie tonight, after much procrastinating.

we read the reviews about how lackluster it was, and got smses from friends on how good it was...and they encouraged us to watch it because Corrinne May's songs are featured in the movie.

we weren't really that keen, but i guess i gave in to the gnawing feeling to see what the movie was like.

the storyline had seemed rather interesting.

now that i've seen it, i have to say i'm rather disappointed.

the two leads were very good-looking, but had no chemistry whatsoever. they were individually rather emotive, but together...there was just no spark.

the only believeable relationships in the show were that of mother and daughter and li-ann's group of girlfriends.

it's set in singapore, and at the windows cafe, which brings back many good memories for me. our office was once situated at club street, right above senso and the wine bar. the boss and i would regularly head down to windows for a chat and coffee. windows has since been torn down to make way for a new cafe. and the club street area has changed tremendously.

seeing windows on the big screen and club street the way i remembered it was rather heartwarming. so that did it for me.

the music featured was appropriate for the movie, but was not appropriate in the way it was used in the movie. long excerpts of Corrinne May's songs were used for several sequences...and even though they seemed to fit the mood of those sequences, they were overused. the movie almost seemed like a prolonged MTV with some speech and drama embedded inside.

there were also too many obviously voiced-over bits and somewhat jumpcuts. it seemed like the whole movie was done in soft focus, which made me wonder if the makers were trying to hide something. or did they just want it to be dreamy?

i love Corrinne May's music, and bawled when "Little Superhero Girl" played (because that was the song that kinda brought the hubby and i together). but there was just a little too much of Ms May in the movie.

perhaps the content is just not movie material. after all, it spans over several leap years and putting it on the big screen could make it rather draggy.

i've only read a couple of catherine lim's books to date, but i'm quite sure her novel (which the movie is based on) should be comprehensive enough for a good read.

maybe we should've stuck to going for "no country for old men".

but on some level, i'm glad we watched it.

perhaps only the hubby will know what i mean.

some positive reinforcement for the crazy week that was...

last week was a crazy one...but i've finally handed up my chinese essay.

now to get started on our group chinese essay assignment. =P

so the hubby and i decided to reward me with a chill day at the SMU animal day and an evening of mahjong with my family.

snuffy hubby and me love dogs to bits, so today was a dream for us.

some of my favorite shots of the day...

let's dance on the street...

it's been such a long time since snuffy hubby and me got on the dancefloor.

the last time was probably the singapore salsa festival. =P

last night was a must-go for two reasons:

1) it would be interesting to see salsa from the tertiary crowd; and
2) it was webster's farewell party

i was more inclined to go because i wanted to say goodbye to webster and catch up with my salsa buddies from way back.

the hubby and i haven't been dancing much since we got married, and since school started last year, our salsa outings have pretty much become non-existent.

it's a shame, because we love dancing. and we love that we both share that passion for it.

so last night was good for the both of us...we scored a couple of dances together and even managed to dance some with our old pals. =)


it was nice seeing the union square gang again as well...simon, gloria, sunny boy, jackson, june...

and it was slightly sad saying goodbye to the big guy - webster.


he's the kinda fella who you'll look at and go "my gosh, if he can learn to dance, so can i".

in a good way, that is. =)

the other part of the party was watching with pride as some of my classmates performed with the team. they've come a long way.

and it's great to see how enthusiastic they still are about dancing.

rock on, people.

the hubby and me are aching to put on those dancing shoes again.

snuffy.

the brother, hubby and me went to dim sum dollies last night.

i've been to the show at least two other times before, and am coolness impressed by the recency of the jokes and quick wit. =)

they've only got tickets left for shows on monday thru thursday, so go grab them!

the brother is also rather groupie-like so we were second-in-line for the autograph session after the show...


it as also airshow weekend and we spotted a whole load of AIRSHOW BMWs at the marina square parking lot.

i couldn't resist snapping a picture of one of the license plates...


and today was snuffy hubby's gramp's birthday.

we went for seafood at IMM and then over to her place for some durian birthday cake.

snuffy hubby and me even managed to sneak to mini toons for a bit to grab a stuffed snuffleluffugus.

we've been eyeing this for quite a while but finally decided to get it.

and i brought it back to the parents' place with me for the evening.

i've got way too much work to do and an assignment to hand up tomorrow.

desperate times call for desperate measures so i tore myself away from the hubby to fully concentrate on work.

i will miss him tonight but at least i've got snuffy with me.


i just hope he gets why i need to be alone tonight.

i love you snuffy hubby.

in marriage...

happy valentine's day, snuffy hubby. =)

he reads to me...

i felt real low saturday night.

the tummy felt like it was up in knots...

and so, the hubby tucked me into bed with a hot water bottle and read me a part of "Marley and Me".

he said he had never read to anyone before that, so i should tell him if he was going too fast.

he is such a great book-reader-a-louder. =P

i love it when he glances over at me at times to see if i was falling asleep, or just to look at my expression.

and there were occasions when he would stop suddenly, widen his eyes, then fall onto bed in a heap.

like, seriously.

after the second heap, he gave up and went to bed.

and i read the last three pages of the chapter myself. =)

patron's day photos...

some belated photos of mr president...


...and dr richard hu. =)


oh...i emceed the event. =)

back to books...

school starts tomorrow and i'm feeling slightly bummed.

not sure why but i feel perpetually tired, and slightly frustrated about some things that are outta my hand.

it's also that time of the month and even though i don't get terrible mood swings, i get horrible cramps that last me through days...=(

the cramps render me totally helpless, and in bed. and if you know me, you'll know how much i hate that. bloody unproductive.

on the flip side, thank goodness the cramps came after the first two days of the chinese new year.


baby haley (cousin tim's kid) loves to put those red packets into her mouth.

the first night of the chinese new year...at my uncle's annual big gathering.


bro and me at the nanny's place...


the cousins and me...all of us were taken care of by this wonderful woman and her husband when we were wee toddlers.


i love that the hubby was right next to me through the whole visiting craziness this CNY.

we made the red packet distribution and visits fun for each other. =)

Food season has begun...

friday marked the start of my family's chinese new year.

we had the maternal reunion dinner at pu tian, kitchener road.

the uncle seemed to have had a great time belting out hokkien and mandarin songs while the rest of us pretty much watched and chimed in from time to time. =)

'twas a satisfying dinner.

saturday was schoolday, followed by an afternoon with the girls. it's been quite a while since we last hung together. =P

it was an afternoon of board games - stampede, saboteur, zeus and pic pic nik - and a fantastic evening of japanese food and mindless chatter.

i love how candid we are together, and that we are able to talk about almost anything.

most of all, i love the honesty we share. =)

the hubby and i both agreed that it was a really fun night, and we'd want to have another session like that soon...

which is one of the reasons we'd love to get our own place. we love having friends and relatives over.

i miss the days when my brother would wake up, sneak into my room, and place soft toys all around me. and i'd wake up with gwizzly and the piggies next to me.

of course, i miss doing the same to him. =P

the hubby knows. and he encourages me to spend time with my brother by asking him to stay over and us staying over at my parents' place at times.

today brought back all those feelings when my parents' humble place was filled with the paternal relatives because of our potluck of a reunion dinner.

the house was filled with such warmth that makes the house a home.

i'd want a cosy little nest like that one day. =)

ah well...everything in its time. at least we know we can afford something now.

and oh, we caught sweeney todd. fabulous.

'twas a great weekend.

it's like a replay of our honeymoon...

i got a pleasant piece of news today.

it seems like i'll be heading back to new york city this july...and the hubby will be joining me towards the end of my school-led trip!

it's new york again, but i'm happy all the same. =)

snuffy hubby is excited as well since we had such a good summer in the city last year.

the image of sully and viktor reminds us of how much fun we had...hairspray, wicked, just for laughs, shopping...weeeee


anyways, these pictures from at-sunrice are long overdue...

saturday the folks brought us out to hot stones, clarke quay, for dinner.

and here's our verdict...

it's three strikes...and you're out!

the food wasn't too good, the service was slow and bad (the servers forgot what we asked for and gave us the wrong bill four times) and we were the second party at the otherwise EMPTY RESTAURANT then!

alone again, naturally.

people used to ask why i was so angsty.

i could never quite pinpoint a reason except for hating how people judged. me or others.

i just spent three of the last four days crying my eyes out, stopping during the day because of the distraction called school.

i felt extremely angry. i still do.

i was/am angry at how some treat my husband.

even if i don't think the insolence is intentional.

i am angry that i'm treated as a child.

i try to provide input to seemingly receptive ears. what a waste of breath.

tonight, i cried for a different reason.

i was ACCUSED of being a bad daughter-in-law by someone in my family.

simply because my husband couldn't make it to my parents' house for dinner. (he had quite a chat with his parents and it lasted till way past dinner time, so i'm staying over for the night and he's at home)

how someone can draw such assumptions, i don't know.

but i'm very very angry at how being outspoken, honest and confident can make me seem such an undesirable daughter-in-law.

I AM PISSED.

Teos can cook...

our recent attempt at cooking proved that we both work great together as a team. =P

everyone had a hard time getting down all the food, but there was across-the-table approval for the quality of the dinner we prepared for the family last evening.

eric had made most of the mashed potato by himself (working with the masher for quite a bit). we were very proud to tell that it was home-made and not from a quick-mix.

as we drove back to the east with his parents, we toyed around with the idea of buying over my folks' place when the time comes.

my heart leaped with joy because i love my parents' place and its location. It's a cosy little flat.

and i'm glad snuffy hubby is not adverse to considering it.

this man has made my 2007 helluva adventure, inclusive of:

1) proposing to me at hong kong disneyland in january;
2) embarking on some really fun wedding-planning;
3) getting married at the arts house on 070707;
4) going on our honeymoon and catching the just-for-laughs festival;
5) starting school at SMU; and
6) a wonderful christmas and new year.

thank you, eric, for asking me to marry you and being the extremely giving and thoughtful person you are.

special occasions aside, each day spent with you is an adventure in itself because you never fail to surprise me with your sponteneity and...umm...military vocabulary.

you understand how it feels like to have love trying to bust out of every pore of your body.

and while i cry to relieve myself of all that pent-up love (because i can't hug or kiss you or tell you 'i love you' enough), you do a little dance to express that love you can't show in normal, tangible terms, which gets me rolling on the floor with laughter.

thank you for telling my mother that you love me with all your heart. she loves that you've become her ah boy too. =)

my brother loves you for being real, and sharing the same gaming pleasures as him.

and my dad...i guess he loves you for showing that you can take care of me.

thank you for 2007, eric.

a happening last week of 2008...

so investor central had our year-end dinner at hard rock cafe last night.

it's been such a roller-coaster 2007, with changes galore...most for the better.

here's presenting team 2008:

we'll also be having an american intern starting january.

i'm glad we can all laugh and smile the way we used to before IT happened.

the boss did the whole "thank you" spiel to everyone on the team, and tried to squeeze in whatever he could say before the food arrived.

a round of drinks and way too much food later - nachos, cobb salad, quesadillas, surf and turf, fajitas, salmon pasta and some - the girls got the giggles and started taking weird-ass pictures with the boss.


we even dedicated "grow old with you" to the boss, but the band played "living on a prayer" instead. =P

of course, we were all head-banging away and screaming the lines of chorus.

onward, investor central!

a little more from the christmas day roll...

a bunny for the niece...

what an interesting weekend.