Finally...a decent posting!

Its been many days since I've last blog and I felt as if something's missing now that I don't blog daily, as part of the routine that I've established during my 2 months hiatus from work. Wonder if that qualifies me as a avid blogger :)

Having Louis back home is a wonderful thing, albeit I still pick on him at times for some of his little endearing [read annoying on days when I'm being a grumpy grouch]habits of leaving trails of clothes and what-nots around the house. But then, as he is oft to remind me, I should be more appreciative him since he is fastidious about washing the laundry twice or thrice a week, fold the dried clothes, irons the clothes or basically making himself useful in the house. And indeed I do! My bark is just worst than my bite *grins*

We spent Fri night catching up with our close-knit group of friends, having dinner in a nice Japanese place along Quayside, call Bon Gout (which means good taste in French). And what a difference a couple of months had made to the Quayside area. We were all surprised at the number of new cafes and restaurants that sprouted out, some of which were restaurants that were recently reviewed by The Straits Times e.g. Brussel Sprouts. Dessert was at this Les Amis group chain called Canele, complete with a great tart au citron, mocha mousse, macaroons etc. Louis and I would like to bring the family here for dinner one day.

Weekends were spent catching up on grocery shoppings and other errands, in between catching up with different groups of friends. Having gotten use to the vast space and wide roads in the US, Louis felt a little claustrapobic in the narrow aisles of the new NTUC Xtra at AMK Hub.


Yoonmi, our Insead Korean friend, is in town for 3 weeks for training. Hence, we spent Sunday afternoon having a leisurely lunch and catching up on old times and of course, the latest updates on everyone else's life/work et al. And knowing that I do like a number of Korean dishes, Yoonmi hauled along some items from Korea like the pancake flour, bibimbap sauce, bulgogi meat wrap sauce and quintessential of Korean cuisine...kimchi. Lotsa lotsa kimchi. With my new goodies, I believe that I am now ready to kick-start my own little Korean Kitchen and whip out some [hopefully] sumptous Korean dishes.

An interesting bit of trivial for nursing moms is that in Korea, women during their confinement would drink a soup of beef with seaweed. Seaweed is touted to cleanse the blood and also increases milk flow for the breastfeeding mom. Now that sounds waaay better than the vinegar and ginger pig trotters soup that everyone has been telling me that I ABSOLUTELY MUST ingest to get rid of wind in the stomach post delivery.

Oh, did I forget to say that Louis ordered me a watering can pot of flowers to perk me up on the day that I returned to Singapore from Houston? Well... admittedly, Louis and I are not the most romantic of couples, but my hubby does surprises me occassionally, especially with lovely gestures like this. Like most females, I do love being on the receiving end of flowers. Thank you, darling.

No time to blog!

This is my 2nd week at work and already, I'm wishing that I had taken a leave of absence for 2 years instead of coming back to work until my delivery.

I've been wanting to blog but yet have been so busy at work and tired after to even think of logging on.

So, today's posting is going to be tres court i.e. I'm going to end it here. I just needed to tell the people who might be reading the blog that I'm too busy to be able to blog.

Anyways, Louis will be back in Singapore on Thursday. Can't wait. My pillar of support is coming back and all will be right with the world again. Hahaha...

Baby Notes & Fatherhood

Yesterday, I've heard over the Morning Express show on Class95 (a morning segment show on Singapore's #1 English Radio Station) that people who spend 15 minutes daily penning down something in their diaries would have better health. Since blogging is the new-age form of writing a diary, isn't it great that active bloggers now have one additional reason to rejoice :)

Unfortunately, now that I've started working, it takes more effort to post regularly on the blog since I would like some R&R time after work. Inevitably, R&R means that I become a couch potato or am in bed reading a book rather than to log onto the Internet.

As I enter into my 3rd trimester, I've noted that there are further changes to the body. Where I once was able to brisk walk everywhere, I now am walking a little slower simply becos I feel the weight of the stomach. Further, after prolong periods of standing or sitting, the stomach seems to weigh heavily and I feel that I need to hold my belly when I walk [which I resist and succumb only in the confines of my own house]. I'm hoping that this is an indication that Baby is growing well inside and that the strain I'm feeling is due to the weight of Baby. However, given the rate of growth, I think I will soon be waddling *cringe*

On the other hand, Baby is definitely more active in the stomach. Where I used to feel Baby's kicks mostly during periods when I'm resting, these days, I just seem to feel Baby move about in the stomach throughout the day. I've read that fetal movements would be more pronounced during the 20-28 weeks, after which, fetal's movements would be impeded by the amount of free space left within the uterus due to its growth.

Apart from a number of office colleagues who were suprised to note the size of my 7-mth pregnant belly (they didn't even know that I was 4 months along as I wasn't really showing when I left 2 months ago), I've had a few more encounters with strangers or vendors who were similarly amazed that I was so compact [read small] at 7 months. So far, those who have seen my belly have predicted that Baby would be a boy. Is Baby really a boy? I guess only time would tell :)

Thanks once again to technology, Louis is still able to croon to Baby nightly through the handsfree mode on my cellphone. In addition to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars", Louis has expanded the repetoir to include a French nursury rhyme called "Frere Jacques". Of course, being the ever "gan cheong" and protective father-to-be, he's asked that I do not put the cell phone too near to the belly in case there is radiation through to Baby.

According to my MIL and a few other sources, its not uncommon that most women would deliver 1-2 weeks earlier than their EDD. If that's the case, then, I might be due sometime in end Mar or early Apr.

In a way, I'm looking forward to Baby's arrival. Apart from the open fact that I would be stopping work after delivery, its that I've seen facets and glimpses of Louis effortlessly slipping into the role of a father figure. His eagerness to embrace fatherhood in the face of my own residual fears of motherhood's responsibilities both touched and humbled me.

To me, seeing Louis rejoice in his new role as a father and Baby's actual arrival would be my best present for the year of 2007.

Jetlag & Hacking Cough

I passed my 1st day at work in a semi-comatose state due to jet-lag and a fair amount of exhaustion from all the hacking cough wracking through my body. Unfortunately, I didn’t even make any sort of dent in clearing my 2-months worth of office emails as there were a number of people who dropped by or whom I met along the office corridor to chat on all that’s happened while I was away.

A number of my colleagues were surprised to see my pregnancy bump as I wasn’t really showing at my 4th month when I left for the US. Most were actually surprised when I told them that I was at the start of my 7th month of pregnancy and commented that I was quite compact for my time. A few speculated that Baby could be a boy since I was carrying with a narrow and sharp belly. Hmmm… only time will tell if their predictions are right.

At 5.45 pm, I decided to call it a day at work and go home earlier to get some rest since my chest was aching from all the coughing that started in the afternoon. The good news is that my gynae had prescribed me with antibiotics and medication for my cough that I could ingest knowing that was safe for pregnant women. The flip side was that the antibiotics didn’t seem to work its usual magic and I was still wracked with coughs and tossing and turning in my bed on my 2nd night back in Singapore.

On my supposedly 2nd day of work, I had to call in for MC and head to my GP in the hope of alternative medication and some bed rest. My GP told me that the medication prescribed by my gynae was top of the line and were highly effective to treat cough. He deduced that my cough could be a viral infection that could not be treated by antibiotics. Nonetheless, he gave me 2 other medication that I could interchange, one of which could cause drowsiness. I had requested for that in the hope that it could result in some drug-induced sleep to combat my other problem – jetlag.

Certainly, pregnancy does exert its toll on the body and its not what it once used to be. Pre-pregnancy, jetlag would typically mean that I culd sleep but end up waking early in the morning. Now, I had no problems going to sleep at night, but I would wake up after 2-3 hours and then spent the remaining time staring up at the ceiling only to fall asleep only at dawn. From the flying experiences over the last 2 months, I know it would take me some 1 week or so before the body adjusts.

That wouldn’t have been a problem apart from the fact that I needed to get to work in the morning. This means that I only catch about 5 hours of sleep each night till the body adjusts to the time difference.

I guess that means that I would be staggering to work, blurry-eye for the next 1 week. Geez, I hope my bosses and colleagues would be patient till I get back into the swing of things *fingers crossed*.

Lost in Transit

After a 2-month hiatus, I’ve finally touched down early morning in Singapore after a total flight time of nearly 21 hours. I’ve asked for a meeting service to help me offload my 3 pieces of luggage from the carousel since it wasn’t possible for me in my current stage to lift the 29kg bag on my own.

I was really eager to unload all the goodies, household items, clothes and bags that I’ve shopped and bought in the last 2 months. So, there I was, waiting and searching for the grey luggage and the 2 white Crate & Barrel boxes to slowly make its way to me.

Perhaps its divine intervention or bad luck, but after 15 minutes of waiting, it dawned on me that my luggage did not make their way through from Houston to Singapore after all. Verifying with the ground handling staff on hand, he confirmed that all luggage from SQ37 has been unloaded onto the carousel.

All that I had to bring home was what were in my tote bag, which comprises of a box of petite dejeuner biscuits and Fauchon pain d’epices. I was guided to the Lost & Found department to file a report so that the airline could help me track and trace where my luggage was. The service staff told me that they weren’t able to verify exactly where my luggage was but they would query both IAH and LAX to track it down and to call me within 24 hours to notify me of the status.

I was supposed to turn up for work the next day but I had all of 2 maternity pieces in the wardrobe at home as I had brought my nicer pieces to the US and they were now in the luggage that was lost, along with all the new maternity clothes that I had bought while in the US.

Some emergency shopping was in order for me to replenish the more critical items like my contact lenses, cosmetics, facial products and clothes. Dragging my jetlag body, I had to skittle all over town to get the items and also to make it in time for my gynae check up.

Thankfully, Baby has been doing well for the last 2 months, even though my weight gain has been on the lower end of the recommended scale. The gynae said that Baby should weight about 1 kg now and current size and proportions were in the normal range of a end of 6-month fetus.

I was kinda worried about my luggage, wondering if they would be able to track it at all and bring it back to me. Louis, ever the optimist, told me that it would arrived in due time and to look upon it as a blessing… perhaps neither my MIL nor I were supposed to manage all the luggage on our own and thus, some higher order up there decided that some intervention was needed.

Finally, at 10 pm that night, the Baggage section called me to inform that they have tracked down my luggage. Somehow, it was directed to Bangalore and they have tagged it to return to Singapore by the next day. What a relief!

Eve on her way home

Eve is enroute to Singapore as I am writing this.

It was with mixed feelings today that Eve went back to Singapore. Because of project delays, we weren't able to go back together. In addition, she had already taken two months of leave and we both felt bad about her extending it any further. And as importantly, we wanted to make sure that Eve and Baby got a thorough check-up after being away for two months.

Still, it is strange to come back to an empty hotel room. It seems a long while that we've been here in Houston and a long while since I've been alone here. As an optimist however, there is a positive side to things. Not only does Eve's going home mean that we are soon into the third tri-mester; it also means that I'd be soon on my way back to Singapore to reunite with everyone. Both are things which we've been eagerly looking forward to.

As if reading my moods, the weather has turned dark and it has been a little rainy this weekend. There are a number of people who checked into the hotel today because of a marathon tomorrow. Hope all goes well for them. As for me, I'd be waiting to hear from Eve as she touches down to Singapore. At the very least, she is on an SQ flight, so I'm quite reassured that she will be well taken care of.

7 Months and Counting

Due to the holidays and festive season, our blog postings were mainly focused on our travel adventures and a little sadly, mere passing mentions about Baby's development.

The 2 months that I'm on leave have been good for Baby's development. Unless I plan to display significant portion of my bare and hang-out-there belly, not to mention the discomfort of feeling like I'm being squashed into a t-shirt that is one size too small, all the pre-maternity tops that I brought along were now relegated to the bottom of my luggage. Thank goodness for Gap Maternity. I've bought a number of affordable but nice outfits that should see me till delivery and post-delivery too.

And if my friend, Paula's weighing scale is telling the truth, then, I have gained about 5kg in the 2 months that I've been away. Which, coincidentally, is the total weight gain for my entire 6 months of pregnancy.

Today, Baby is now into the 7th month of development and I am at the start of my 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Whoppie! Three more months and we'll finally get to see how Baby will look like and the all important question -- whether Baby is a He or a She :)

Louis and I are having a lot of fun "communicating" to Baby and seeing some response to our requests. Louis' bedtime singing would usually result in a few good kicks from Baby that continues to thrill us to no end. And because Baby is growing, I can occassionally feel the taut stretching of my belly and protrusion of some parts of Baby.

Sometimes, it feels big and round and for all we know, it could well be Baby's head or butt. Unfortunately, Louis and myself are so clueless that no amount of touching could help us determine exactly which part of Baby's limbs were we feeling.

Just yesterday night, we could see Baby's movements through contortions underneath my skin where Baby moved for the very first time. Its kinda like if you wrap your hands under a blanket and move, you would see the movement and shape of your fisted hands.

In another 3 more days, Baby and I would be flying back home to Singapore. Louis however, still needed to stay back for another 2 more weeks before he could fly back. I'm sure Baby would miss the sound of Louis' nightly singing and the comfort of Daddy stroking him/her through my belly.

I've read in some books that some fathers feel a little lost and perhaps jealous of their unborn child for taking away some of the attention that they used to get from their wives. For Baby and me, the whole experience of this pregnancy was made more fulfilling, joyous, tender and at times, poignant with Louis being with me every step of the way.

From the ritual nightly singing or bedtime reading that we've established, to the constant urge to want to stroke Baby through my belly and the many moments of protectiveness that he has exhibited towards Baby's wellbeing, Louis is gearing up for fatherhood and eagerly anticipanting the time of Baby's arrival.

So, to my loving hubby, companion, best friend and soul mate, I just wanna say a big "Thank You" for being there for me every day of our lives together.

Hints of being away too long

In 2006, the family has been travelling quite a bit with Adrian going for training, myself in this job (and Eve following me), dad and mum going to Australia, the kids' first time on a plane, Terence and Cherry going for their hols and also on their jobs. 2007 is starting out to be another travelling year, with Astee going overseas, Terence in his new job.

Eve and I will however, try to be in Singapore more this year, subject to my work assignments, so to make sure we remember our travels, here's a list of things to remind us when we've been away too long.

"You know you've been away too long" when
1. You have a haircut four times overseas
2. When we start ordering General Tso's pork ribs to get closer to home-Chinese food
3. A family reunion of one hour in London can mean so much
4. You have four types of currencies in your luggage
5. Blogs become the primary means of communication with your family and friends
6. You stay long enough in a hotel to order things online and have it delivered
7. You stay long enough in a hotel to know most staff and they know you by name
8. You take a membership at the local YMCA just so you can go swimming
9. Your swimming trunks is getting loose and you're waiting to go to Queensway
10. You have a set of cutlery, can opener etc to use in the hotel

Looking forward to going home

As Eve pointed out, we were glad to be back in Houston. The sunny weather was a great respite from the dark and dreary weather in London.

Nonetheless, Eve and I will be glad to return to Singapore, not lest because Eve isn't able to take any medication here even if she is feeling a little sick. As a result, she has to sleep it out and eat plenty of fruits and drink plenty of water.

In just over a month's time, it'd be Chinese New Year. I'm looking forward to it because it will be a time for reunion and a time when the family can spend an extended weekend together. Terence has already complied a list of family travels. For me, I might have to come back to Houston for a week after I come home on late Jan, but I'd be back for Chinese New Year. Time flies. I am trying to recall what I did last Chinese New Year, but we have trouble remembering.. :)

Two Sick Cats Back in Houston

Its nice to be on a holiday; meeting up with friends, absorbing new sights, tasting new food or reliving old memories. But for all that travelling and living out of a suitcase, its sometimes nice just to be home, even if home for Louis and I is temporarily Magnolia Hotel Houston.

As much as we like London, Louis found the dreary and dark weather to be rather depressing for his moods. Hence it was indeed nice to touch down to Houston on Fri afternoon with bright and cloudless sky and a day temperature of 24C.

I can't believe that I'm now on the final week of my 2 months of holiday. So, we spent my last weekend in Houston frantically buying all the goodies to bring back home and stocking up on Baby's stuff and my kitchen supplies. If only some of these outlets like Pottery Barn Kids or Crate and Barrel would ship to Singapore. I've seen some really lovely kid/baby furniture that I'm not sure I would be able to get back home. But it just doesn't make sense, money-wise, to buy and ship them home.

Anyways, with all the stuff that I have bought over the last 1 1/2 months or so, I'm really not so sure that I would be able to cart everything home on my own since I would be making my way back to Singapore without Louis now that his project has gotten extended. Nonetheless, I don't want to have any regrets about not buying some of the stuff here that I know I either can't get back home or at a much higher price.

Not to sound totally critical of America but having enjoyed all the food we ate in London and Paris, we had forgotten how different food tasted in Houston. No doubt things are definitely much cheaper and reasonable on account of the exchange rate. But Chinese food certainly taste a little coarser and rather localised for the American taste bud. Especially that Louis has been through the gamut of fever, sore throat and cough since New Year in London, and I have just gotten a bout of sore throat, we were really longing for comfort Chinese food. So, on Sunday, we decided that we shall stick with Japanese instead and that was a much better plan. Becos Japanese in Houston is actually quite good and still very reasonable.

Therefore, for my last week in Houston, I think I will stick to Japanese and Vietnamese :)

Thanks for the memories

After two weeks, we've come to the end of our Europe holidays. To Ajay, Manisa, Paula, Ian, Meera, Arvind, Prasoon & Raji...thanks for everything!

As some of you know, for the remaining part of our UK stay, we had put up with Ajay, Manisa and Saniya in their very nice home beside the docks, smack in Canary Wharf. Every evening, when Saniya came back with Manisa, she'd be looking for her "eve auntie" and "louis uncle". I think all of us - Abijay included, were happy to see how happy she was. Saniya has grown a lot since Eve saw her in Fonty. She now speaks like an adult and has a mind of her own - what to wear, when to sleep, where to go, what to eat etc. Eve and I are simply looking forward to our next reunion to see how much Saniya has grown again.

Prasoon and Raji threw a small get-together at their newly-owned apartment. The food was fantastic - especially Raji's lemon rice. Prasoon also gave us a rendition of his "pipe" blowing - some instrument that he had brought from his days in Australia.

And it was so nice to meet Ian and Paula again. As Paula later told Eve, it was indeed nice that it seemed like we never left each other. Even though we've not met for a year and a half now, we could still talk about everything. And Paula cooked a fantastic meal of tapas - my favourite was the quiche that she home-made. Eve promised that she'd do it once we're back in Singapore.

As we make our way back to Houston, Eve and I are happy that even though we may not see the folks anytime soon, we are leaving knowing that we have friends for life, no matter where we are.

Cost of Living in London

Staying in London with local friends allowed us to get a first-hand account of how expensive it is to live in London.

When we were out and about in London today, it dawned upon the two of us that it was not just restaurant food, but also daily groceries and public transporation that were quite expensive in London. For example, we had paid about 5 pounds for an all-day pass in London and about 9 pounds for two bottles of fruit juice and some shredded vegetables and mushrooms.

When I came back to Ajay's place today, I had a conversation with his brother who is an auditor and who is well-conversant with the income tax and cost of living in London. The long and short is: unless you are really making lots of money (for eg. in investment banking), you will save very little money working in London, compared to the same lifestyle say in Singapore.

The tax rate in London is as follows:
Starting rate:
£1 to £2,150 --- 10%
Basic rate:
£2,151 to £33,300 -- 22%
Higher rate:
£33,301 and above --- 40%

Keep in mind a fresh graduate will earn around 17K pounds. Let's say an experienced professional earns $60K pounds annually, he then pays $18,608 pounds (31%) in tax. If he earns $100K pounds annually, he pays $33,747 pounds (33%) in taxes. On top of this, you also need to pay around 12% for National Insurance (which from what I understand, is a right to be part of the pension plan - it isn't something like the CPF in Singapore where individuals contribute to their own account). In all, you spend between 42% - 45% of your salary on taxes and contributions.

On top of this, there is a 17.5% VAT rate which is essentially a sales tax much like the GST in Singapore.

As such, if you make 60,000 pounds a year (ie 5,000 pounds a month), then you end up with about 2,800 pounds a month. Of which, you spend about 100 pounds for public transport (adding an occasional taxi ride), say about 900 pounds for just a simple, shared one-room rental apartment with utilities. That leaves 1,800 pounds.

An decent cooked-in breakfast, lunch and dinner will cost about 25 pounds daily - which makes 750 pounds a month for meals. That leaves about 1,000 pounds on a very strict allowance for other things such as clothes, reading, exercise etc. And this is just catering for one person - much less bringing up a family.

Am glad to be in living in Singapore :)

2007

It has been several days since we last posted. And today, I actually went through all the new blogs that came up on ACE's, Rachel and Eileen's and Nell's sites related to 2007. It seems like everyone had a wonderful start to the 2007 and it made me really happy that everyone is remembering to keep the blog posted. As a result, Eve and I have been able to keep updated with everyone. At the same time, I had mixed feelings that we aren't able to be in Singapore this time round to share the New Year with everyone back home.

Being an optimist, I am sure that in retrospect, this holiday of 2006 will be fondly remembered and treasured by Eve and myself. We are ever-convinced that life will be different when Baby arrives in April, and one of the things we will miss is our friends here in Europe and our memories here. Travelling for leisure will also be a thing of the past for us, at least in the near future. Unfortunately, there is always a trade-off that one has to make in life. Being in London also means not being home. And we are constantly reminded when we see the blogs that home is where the heart will always be.

In 2007, one of the biggest thing we're looking forward to is the welcoming of Baby into our family. Not only will Nicole, Anthea and Anders get a new cousin to play with, this also means that the Tan family will sit a family of 11 at future Chinese dinners. Myself, Eve and Baby (3), Adrian, Astee, Anthea and Anders(4), Terence and Cherry (2) mum, dad (2). Fortunately, with Baby still in a Baby Chair, I think we can still make a table of 10 comfortably.

2007 will be the year Eve and I join the league of parents with kids. From all I see, this is a more major jump than joinining the league of married couples from being boyfriends and girlfriends. The foundations however build on the latter. And for all the mistakes and lessons we know we will go through as parents, one thing is for sure - that Baby will be one more reason for Eve and I to bond even closer.

2006 was the year when Eve and I started blogging. We started it first as a means to keep in touch with each other. Then we blogged as a way to keep in touch with friends and family back in Singapore. In 2007, I hope that these reasons will change. Just simply because I hope to be back in Singapore if not all the time, at least, during the weekends. Under those circumstances, our blog will be used more to keep in touch with our friends overseas - friends like Yoonmi for example, whom I know tries to read this despite her busy schedule. Our hope is that because Eve and I will not get to travel as often, that these friends overseas can pass by Singapore when they can.

Our 2007 wishes are thus three-fold: that our small family unit of 3 learns the trials and tribulations of family life with as much love as Eve and I have built this family of 2; that our extended family will continue to be the picture of health and happiness; and that our network of friends globally will continue to be our constant reminders of how rich our lives have become from friendships beyond the family.