19 Oct 2006 — Just a couple of days ago, I received a few more pictures of Felix from Katie. He’s sooo cute, really blossoming into a stud.

And who’s Katie? She’s my ex-colleague from GNC, my best ang-mor friend here, and just about the most bubbly, warm, sun-shiny person I know! The “Whoo-hoo!” that I sometimes slip out? Caught that from her. Truth be told, in the 5 years that we’ve been here, Ah-Bi and I really haven’t made that many ang-mor friends, our closest friends tend to still be Asians. But Katie, and Mark her hubby, well, they are special. Always so sweet, kind and oozing genuine love, care and concern. They are the ones who took care of Bodhi for 2 whole months when we went back to Singapore to ROM, and for the first time in his feline life, ah-boy was actually marginally plump! Which is why for all the above reasons and more, when Katie first broke the news that yes, she’s finally preggers, I just knew whoever the bub was, he/she’s gonna be one lucky kid!

Well, in July this year, that turned out to be Felix, and for the past few months, I’ve been getting a steady stream of his baby pics from Katie who excitedly sends them out. Hmm… 5 years ago, or even 2 years ago, if I had a friend who repeatedly sent me photos of her baby, I’d probably wince everytime I got them… but now, probably ‘cos it’s Katie, probably ‘cos I never thought I’d admit this but yes, I’m getting clucky myself, and more likely because I’m always kay-po to find out what these babies of inter-racial marriages turn out to look like, I actually don’t mind it. Not only that, I’ve committed an album entirely to the little tot in my gallery, so if you’re interested, it’s under Mates & Relos, called “Babilicious Felix“.

With the whole anglo/afro thing working for him, I won’t be surprised if in 18 years’ time:

16 Oct 2006 — Ah… it’s 16 Oct! The first day since 26 Sep that Billie and I are FINALLY alone again… sigh… a quiet house all to ourselves… and in true form, Bi is walking around once more in his maroon undies (hee hee, never provide visuals here so as not to scare kids off). And yay… after 21 days, tonight no need to sleep on air mattress anymore!

So yes, last night, after two weeks, we finally sent my mother-in-law off.

Phew… Read more »

7 Oct 2006 — Yes, the day has come. You knew it was inevitable. For those who have yet to find out for yourself, I am sad to announce that today 7 October 2006 marks the day I add Google ads to Taming the Monkey Mind. Yes, I know. I am a total sell-out! I feel like one. It’s as if I’m prostituting TTMM. It’s all William’s fault! He kept urging me to do it, I resisted for the longest time, I swear! But ALAS that fateful morning, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was there “du-du-du-du-du” innocently minding my own business when he squealed out: “Whoo-hoo! I’ve just been paid $0.76 by Google ‘cos someone clicked on an ad from my site!” And INSTANTLY — faced with the notion of limitless impending wealth, a whole new chapter where I’ll never have to work another day for the rest of my life — the corrupt, materialistic money-mongering side of me faltered and conceded. (Cue: Thunder roll.)

You think YOU are upset, check out the side of me that loathes selling out to these big corporations:

够狼狈吧?!!

Sigh… but since the harm is already done, then show some support and feed me lah. Click, click, don’t shy.
Aiyah WAT… afterall, William works so hard, I being unemployed, this is the least I can do to contribute to the household income right?…

4 Oct 2006 — I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, and now with Auntie Karen’s (Adeline’s mum) go-ahead, I’m happy to announce the launch of Perfect Fairy Cakes spearheaded by a website under the same name. Yay!!!

So what’s a fairy cake you might ask? Well in the simplest term, it’s a cupcake. Or since pictures speak a thousand words…

I know! Don’t they look absolutely scrumptious!!! And no factory line here, they are all lovingly hand-made, yes, each and every one of them, by Auntie Karen’s own hands! And of course she uses nothing but the freshest ingredients. Take my word for it, judging from all the yummy food I have been so fortunate as to savour in her kitchen, she is one person who CAN cook to save her life!!! I’ll bet these beautifully crafted morsels are every bit as delicious as they look, and are definitely calorie-worthy!

So yep, if you have a sweet tooth or are looking for ideas for house-warming presents or get-togethers, look no further. Perfect Fairy Cakes’ your best bet!

They also make large cakes, bread and butter puddings, birthday cakes and even those multi-tier cupcake wedding cakes that are oh so “du jour” !

Heh heh, and if you’re still not convinced, just see how much Nat Nat (Natalie, Ade’s sis) is enjoying her fairy cake. As we all know, kids don’t lie.

3 Oct 2006 — Finally the wedding shoot is over and done with! Yep, so what happened was that William and I arranged for the bridal team from J&M in Singapore to come to Sydney to take our wedding pictures here. And before you go thinking we’re acting like spoilt rich brats, we have our reasons, good ones too.

1. It costs the same to fly ourselves back to Singapore, as it would to fly the photographer and make-up artist down to Sydney.
2. No, I don’t think we are creative enough to scout out any more new and unusual places to take our photos in Singapore, and no, we don’t just want a rehash album filled with photos of us at Sentosa, Botanic Gardens, Changi beach, Chinatown, you name it.
3. We’re probably leaving Sydney soon, and wanted something to commemorate the time that we have spent here.
4. We don’t trust the local ang-mor photographers to do the job because (do you realise?) in Western tradition, they actually do not have the concept of doing this, i.e. having a pre-wedding photoshoot. In fact, it’s probably pretty weird to them since in their culture, the groom isn’t even supposed to see the bride in the wedding gown until the wedding day!?! Right Joerg? The only photos ang-mor brides and grooms take are the actual day spontaneous ones where they pose naturally in their actual wedding gear. Thus we didn’t feel we could communicate to an ang-mor photographer what it was we were after, not to mention having to scout for a separate hair and make-up artist here, and what about the gown???
5. We figured it would prolly cost us a whole lot more if we were to do the photoshoot separately from the rental of the gowns and suits + flowers + car + car decor. Believe me, signing up with this sort of package is actually a lot more cost-efficient even after taking into account the 2 extra plane tickets.

Ok, so hopefully I have convinced the skeptics out there that no, we’re NOT trying to throw money down the drain.

So, it’s been a week and sadly, Elbson and Adrian have taken their leave. Yes, actually we had such a great time with them that we are really sad to see them go. And I think it’s safe to say the relationship between them and us has become a tad more incestuous, we’re definitely more than mere bridal studio and client now. Awww….

Where do I even begin? Firstly, they turned out to be really down-to-earth and easy-going — they didn’t mind flying Gulf Air, nor putting up with us in our apartment (Elbson even said that it’s nicer than a hotel?!?). They were also very appreciative and was never giam-siap to show it (unlike some other people we know) — haha, especially Adrian, especially with regards to all the makan places we brought them to. Hmm, wouldn’t be surprised if he’s put on a kilo or two!

They are also very far-ni, with Elbson, the designer, being the 典型 glam-queen “sister”, and Adrian, the photog cum 老板, being the typical roly-poly goofball. I mean look, isn’t he a dead ringer for NONO from the Jacky Wu show?!?

And looking like that, how serious a person can he possibly be?… So yes, many a moments, the photoshoot was filled with ease, laughter and sheer enjoyment; and sharing a natural sort of chemistry that fuelled us, the “working” hours actually passed fairly quickly.
Read more »