My Interview

Yes, I am out looking for a job again!  I’ve applied for a few jobs in December and one of the companies called me up for an interview few weeks back!  I was telling myself, no harm going for the interview and finding out more about the company and IF I do get the job, we shall see how from there!

The interview went great but I didn’t hear from them until last week.  They said that they couldn’t pay my asking salary!  Sigh… If only they knew, I would take what they offered me.  It would be great to work in that environment!  It is a school and,… its a CULINARY school, and I love baking!  Well, they invited me down for another interview for another position, PA to the CEO!  Wah! So high class!  So I went, not knowing what to expect, and I realised that the CEO was a 37 Bachelor French Chef!   Heard he was the Head Chef of The Ritz, before moving to this school.  He even wrote a book called ‘Asian Tapas’.  It would be a dream to work for him!

I had the chance to speak with his current PA and found that this is not an easy job as she has to not only arrange his appointments, but also be in charge of inventory of books sold, the copier machine, phone system.  She did even say that she doesn’t even have time to MSN at work!!!   Well, I think I’d rather be THAT busy than not knowing what to do at work each day!

I have this fear that I may not be able to meet up to this CEO’s expectations as his current PA is fantastic!  She is neat and tidy, no filing left on her desk, her diary planner and Outlook was SO organised!  She is meticulous!  I guess the fear is because I did not know their work system, filing system and how the company is run, so I guess it is all just jitters and excitement.  Thus, I shouldn’t worry so much!

Well, now, my fingers are crossed, hoping that I’ll get that job and leave my current job.  Sigh… work hasn’t been that fantastic of late.  I’m still doing fine, the boss still thanks me for the job that I have done but then, there are other issues which I have not been pleased about.

I think my current job deserves a new article!

Hiccups!

Bloody Hell!  I’ve got hiccups!  Excuse me if I have  been typing wrongly!  I have tried taking a deep breathe, and I still have the bloody hiccups!  I am holding my breathe this very minute!  Instead of a ‘hiccup per second’. it is now ‘hiccup per micro-second’!

I tried holding my breathe for few seconds, and the hiccups stop for the few seconds!  The minute I breathe, OR stop breathing, it comes again!!!  So the ’stop breathing’ technique doesn’t work!

Argh……….! FINALLY!  No more hiccups!

 To start off, it has a hell of a nite!  A friendly game with another pub, then hving to be anchor player!  SO STRENOUS!  Thank goodness my buds won the first 3 games, so the doubles and last singles was not that stressful!  I managed to ‘luckily’ win my game but WOW! one hell of a stressful game!  Heading back to my home ground was just as stressful , but we could have left earlier and do what we want!

On top of the whole scenario, it was saddening to find out problems with my 2 best buds!  One felt sorry, the other tried feeling strong.  Both forgave each other, but I realise, no matter what, the hurt will always remain!  It did take awhile, but I think we have overcome that stage in life whereby we can stand up for what we want, and/or what we need.

 All I do believe is GIRL POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Take control of your life, take control of what you want to do in life.  The rest is history!

Chinese New Year is coming!

Its that time of the year again!  I have to start packing up the red packets with money….  I am going to be really stingy this year when I give Ang Paos…. Too broke you see… :p

The hubby had mentioned that he may invite his friends over to our flat on the third day of CNY.  And I have been asking him day after day if it is confirmed!  If his friends are coming over, then I’d have to really clean the place up and also buy some food to standby when people pop over!  I have already planned to buy loads of frozen food to stock in the freezer, either to fry, bake or grille them if his friends do come over.  Maybe some packet of Chicken Nuggets, Fishball, Sotong Ball, Samosas, and whatever I can find in the frozen section of the supermarket.  I may also cook something simple or depending on my mood, may cook my beef stew… DAMN! I don’t have a rice cooker at the flat!  Note: To bring rice cooker from home…. Or maybe buy frozen french loaf from Delifrance, just throw into oven and it will be good to dip for the stew.

I’ll decide that tomorrow!  Better get to sleep!  Dreaming of the menu and what I shall bake for that day!

Kueh Lapis Baking Class

I went for a baking class today.  I’ve learnt how to make Nonya Kueh Lapis and Nonya Prune Lapis, and I realise that it is actually quite simple to do.  The only problem is that it is very time consuming!  The class lasted about 3 hours!

I couldn’t wait to taste the Kueh Lapis when it was baking.  It was oh so fragrant!

I had actually registered for the class with Cat, not knowing what to expect as the information was very hush hush.  I had emailed them for their address but all I was given was to make payment first, and then they will provide the information!  The class cost $80 for both of us (Early bird discount) and I thought, fine, if she ran away with the $80, I can still earn the money back.  Thank goodness, she emailed me with the full address when she received my payment!

The class was held in a HDB flat, and I was shocked to know that there were 27 of us there, waiting to learn the art of baking Kueh Lapis!  Cat and I were there before 7pm, and there were people cracking eggs, separating the egg yolks, chatting amongst themselves.  And I realise, these people must be regulars!

I found the class to be informative, except for a few aunties asking the same old questions, again and again and again!  We were recommended to use Golden Churn butter, Sunsweet Prunes (as they were sweeter than Del Monte), and also reason for using Hong Kong flour, instead of others.

Overall, I think I did enjoy the class.  And I WILL sign up again if there is a class that I am interested in.

I CAN Cook!

I had meant to write this weeks back, but I have been ever so busy that I had totally forgotten to write about  ‘Party for 4: Part 2′!  Actually, its not for 4 people, its more like 5!

I had my usual guinea pigs to try my food AGAIN, and I guess it was pretty successful!  On the menu, Linguine with a choice of cream sauce or algio olio.  Well, thanks to my sister-in-law, she had taught me how to make the cream sauce easily, by just mixing full cream, parmesan cheese and an egg!  The only ‘work’ to be done was to fry the sliced bacon. I actually added some pesto sauce and threw in some of the Aglio Olio sauce into the cream sauce, and it tasted great! The Aglio Olio was a tough one cos I’ve never tried that before, but from my recollection, I threw in what I felt would taste great!  Fried the chopped garlic with butter, threw in the chopped onions, cook til softened, threw in olive oil, threw in sliced button mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, and Voila!  Of cos, I guess it would be better if I had white wine…..

Vicky had 2 portions of cream sauce pasta and 1 portion of aglio olio, while the rest had their portion of Aglio or cream sauce.  Vicky took my portion cos he said he wanted more, so I actually surrendered my portion to him! Sob sob!    But then, I was really hungry, cos I guess all the cooking made me lose my appetite.  So maybe I should be picking up more cooking!  Then I’d lose weight more!

I have tried cooking Western and Italian, what should I do next?  Maybe Chinese?  Or Malay?  I know!  Beef Stew!  With loads of carrots, potato and onions!  But then, I must think of another dish then…. 1 dish isn’t enough for those pigs!  Maybe a roast chicken?  Should we have rice or french loaf?

I think with comments of me being ‘Motherly’, I think I should start writing a cookbook, or ‘An Idiots Guide to Being A Mother’!  Inside shall have portions of how to look after your kids, how to cook, how to bake, how to do the laundry, how to clean the house….. WAIT A MINUTE!  I don’t even do my own laundry, or even clean the house, even my own room is a total mess!  OK, I think I shall forget about that book, maybe I should….. tidy up my room abit first… then take a photo of it, before and after, AND blog about it!  Hey!  It will be an achievement for me, you know?  Ok, stay tuned to the before and after photos of my bedroom!  (But that may take some time too!) 

An Unforgettable Day

What a whirlwind day it was for me yesterday.  Full of ups and downs!  I can’t believe that a colleague quit on us today!  He just threw in his key and walked out the door after a small spat with the boss!  Imagine how stress I was to start looking frantically for relief teachers to take over the classes he abandoned!  Well, it was a stressed out time for me, knowing that I had to remember to book a table at a restaurant and order a cake for THE husband (it was his birthday you see), and at the same time, sorting out the mess, checking out how to cancel the teacher’s employment pass and all.

It was also satisfying that I had managed to talk to the teacher later on in the day, persuading him to stay for awhile, at least til end of term, or even better still, til end of next term, so that we can source for teachers to replace him.  It was great to know that he obliged and was willing to compromise.

With that, I ended my day celebrating with a mug of beer and preparing for a night of DDD (Drinking, to Destress and Detox the next day! :p ).  It had been an enjoyable evening with me kicking ass on the pool table but somehow, the night got wierder as I was suddenly attracting attention!  An old man introduced himself and said, ‘I’ve seen you play, you play really well! I really enjoy seeing you when you play! And you carry yourself well!’  Erh….. Ok….

Next was 2 men whom I have known for ages from Chinese Swimming Club.  I’d better not reveal their names in case their kids or spouses chance upon this page!   Anyway, I had told them few days ago about this pub and they have promised that they’d head over on Thursday to find me, which they did!  I could see that they were enjoying themselve totally!  I popped over their table a few times to have a drink with them and suddenly, one of them told me, ‘SHA-NA, there was a girl sitting with me just now, Wah! her boobs damn big!! As big as yours!  But only difference is, I can touch hers, but can’t touch yours!’  Oh My God!  Can’t believe he said that!!  Well, the other sleazy friend of his had to act gentlmenly, by saying, ‘A! Quiet ah!’ then saying to me, ‘Ah yah, excuse him lah, he’s drunk!’  And I was thinking to myself, you’re no better than him yourself!

The finale of the night was having a Malay Rocker lookalike (imagine, tight jeans with big belt buckle, long curly hair, you get the drift?) chatting up with me, admiring my pool skills, and challenging me to a drink!  I imagine that he had one too many drinks too, cos he started getting closer to me and tried hugging me!  I had to push him away saying, ‘A! Bra-der! Wait my husband see ah, you kena whack ah! You lucky he not here now!’  And his friends laughed at him!  I thought I had gotten rid of him but to my horror, he got more open in his advances!  When I was playing the ‘Spot the Difference’ game on the computer with some friends, he came behind me, hugging me and rubbing my butt!!!!  I moved aside, he followed!  I quickly walked away to my table and sat down!  And lo and behold, he came strutting towards me, smiling at me, giving me the ‘I’m-God’s-Gift-To-Women’ look, and I tried to look away, then he came close enough to tell me, ‘I’m going off already!’ and tried to lean towards me to hug and kiss me!!! YUCKS!!!!  I pushed him away, shaking my finger at him, smiling sarcastically at him, and he understood that if he had taken one small step towards me, I’m gonna make a police report against him for sexual harassment!  What an asshole!

I just realise that nowadays, men don’t care if you are married or not!  If they want someone, they go get it!  Gosh! Talking about thickskinned!

What a day it had been!  And as expected, I have been ‘detoxing’ myself today.  I really can’t remember how many times I have visited the toilet today!

Stressful Kid and Stressful Mum

Nicole is turning 5 yrs old this April.  She is in Kindergarten 1 this year.  Big girl, I tell her.  Which means, bigger responsibilities too!  WHICH also means, a more stressful mum!

I’ll just give you a scenario of her weekend schedule, starting Friday, after her school.

Friday:        Gym – 6.15 to 7pm

Saturday  : Chinese lessons – 1 to 3 pm

                  English lessons – 4 to 5.30pm

Sunday:      Swimming – 9 to 10.30am

                 English lessons – 11.30 am to 1pm

Ok, before you start off with ‘You shouldn’t be stressing your kid!’, let me explain.  She enjoys her gym classes and she is good at it, so why stop?  She doesn’t want to stop either.  She enjoys her swimming, so why stop too?  As for her Chinese, she really likes going to that school and really likes the Chinese teacher.  She’s always ready to leave the house for Chinese lessons and since no one speaks Chinese at home, it is good for her to go…..  Lastly, why did I put her in twice a week English Enrichment Class?  Well, cos its free!  That course would have cost me $300 a month!

In between this hectic schedule, she’s got homework from school to complete by Sunday night, in time to hand up on Monday!  There is the Chinese words that she had to copy repeatively for her spelling on Tuesday, then her English words, to copy too, for her spelling on Thursday! AND not forgetting her book review!!  Yes, she is only 5 yrs of age, but she still has to do a book review!  I have to read the book to her, then she has to fill up the information, such as her name, date, name of author, title of book, illustrator, etc.. then how did the story make her feel?  From my understanding, she had to then tell her classmates about the book!

When I was her age, my mum said I was like a stupid idiot, ‘everything also don’t know’, I think when I was in Primary 1, I was just learning how to write cat and dog!  And now?  My daughter is more advanced than me!  I think that by the time she reaches Primary 1, I would not be able to teach her any longer!

 Maybe in order to help save money for myself and to get tuition for her then, I should open up a tuition centre!!! It will be a win-win situation! :p

Motherly Me

I heard a funny joke last Monday.  I was at a pub with some gal pals, drinking ourselves silly and shooting some pool.  A girl from the next table was chatting with a friend of mine.  Next thing I was told by my friend, ‘Hey Shan, she just said that you look kind and motherly!’.  I smiled my ‘motherly’ smile at her (could be a glare actually) and said thanks.

The funny thing is, I never thought that I would EVER looked motherly!  Come on, I’m always in my jeans, with a cigarette in my mouth and cursing everyone around me!  Fine, I have a daughter, but that doesn’t make me MOTHERLY!  I’m one HOT MAMA!

So now, I’m thinking to myself, should I take it as a compliment or an insult?  For now, I think it would be closer to an insult!  That lady didn’t know I had a kid.  Maybe its because I was abit more dressed up than usual, in pants and stripped shirt, that made me look more ‘matured’, but that doesn’t qualify me as motherly!

MAYBE it could also be because I’m the oldest in the group!  So I have been mothering those little girls of mine! Hmmm…..  I wonder…..  By end of the night, Syl’s friend came up to me, grabbing my arm, and said, ‘Shanna, I’m so glad I got to know you.  You’re like our big jie jie (Big Sister) to us!’.   Ok, this is getting creepy.  First motherly, now big jie jie?  So does she mean ‘big’ as in ‘humongous’ or ‘gigantic’ or does she mean big as in I’m MUCH older than she is?  She looks so young, she could easier pass off as a 16 year old, petite, slim, big doey eyes…  Maybe she just needed someone to look up to, maybe I AM the big sister she never had!

I’M OLD!!!!!!

I think I should start hanging out with older people, but then, I’ll start looking at older men as ‘Dirty Old Men’.  Speaking of which, I was at another pub on Thursday, and this caucasian guy, with his wife, was sitting at the next table.  I’ve known them for ages.  The wife is really one hot mama!  Always dressed to kill, though some women may label her as SPG (Sarong Party Girl).  Anyhow, by end of the night, the guy kept staring at me, came over a few times to try some small talk, and then he mentioned, ‘You’re looking classy babe!’.  Was it my mother’s ear rings?  Or was I sitting too demurely?  Or was I batting my eye lids at him?  Anyway, I remember my conversation with him saying that I’m looking more gorgeous each day and how I’m getting more beautiful each time he sees me.  Now, at this point of time, I was getting paranoid, did he mean ‘gorgeous’ or ‘gorges’?

I think I have passed the phase of ‘young working girl’ and into the ‘matured working girl’ phase now.  Sigh… I’m even thinking of cooking up a storm for friends and family and baking cakes as and when I have time!  Yes, I have resigned to my own fate!  I am turning MOTHERLY afterall.

Inspirational Quotes

I recently bought a new phone and signed another 2 year contract with Singtel.  Its not that I needed a new phone, or my contract is up.  Its just that I LOST MY PHONE one drunkard night with a group of bitches (A.K.A. BGF-Bestest Gal Friends).  Well, that may be another story to write on huh?

Well, back to my phone and contract.  I signed for a few promotional services, FOC for a limited time.  One of the services is Inspirational Quotes SMSed to my phone each morning.  Some are really meaningful and just in case I lose my phone again, let me leave those quotes here for me to remember.

1. A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.  David Brinkley.
2. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.  Ambrose Redmoon.
3. Millions saw the apple fall.  But Newton asked why.  Berbard Baruch.
4. We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.  Japanese Proverb.
5. Dreams are answers to questons we haven’t yet figured out how to ask. X-files.
6. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.  Sydney J. Harris.
7. The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen.  Sarah Brown.
8. The walls we built around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.  Jim Rohn.
9. The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together & said, “If we’re going to charge $10 an hour, we can call it jumping up and down”.  Rita Rudner.
10. Faith is putting all your eggs in God’s basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch.  Ramona C. Carrol.
11. To avoid mistakes and regrets, always consult your wife before engaging in a flirtation. E.W. Howe.
12. Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.  Jim Davis. “Garfield”
13. There is an easy way to return from a casino with a small fortune.  Go there with a large one.  Jack Yelton.
14. If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.  Unknown.
15. A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad.  Arnold H. Glasgow.

There you have it!  Guess there’ll be more to come from tomorrow onwards.  So I shall collect and collect til this free service is over!

Tired and Loving It!

It seems like ages since I wrote something here.  I guess it boils down to me being too tired!  I’ve been working so hard in my new job that by the end of the day, I just want to plop myself onto my bed and rest!

So far, I have been keeping close to my New Year’s resolutions though.  Since I started work, I have been sleeping earlier than my usual 2 to 3am sleeping time, usually around 1am, being the latest.  There is no need for me to TRY to sleep early as I am usually tired out before the day is through!  Which is pretty good news for me.

I have also cut down on my cigarettes because I’m always in the office.  So my smoking times usually coincides with my toilet breaks or lunch breaks.  Instead of my 1 stick per hour average, it is now a one and a half or sometimes 2 or more hours before my next cigarette.  The only problem is, after work, I’ll still be back to my per hour smoking!  Well, we’ll take one step at a time, shall we? :p

My drinking is now my standard once or maximum twice a week.  Thursdays are team mates nights out, while another day could be with my bestest gal friends!  Not so bad afterall eh?  Now, my target is a once a week outing.  I can’t afford to go to work so tired out and stoned out and reeking of alcohol!

Next I have a few topics in mind to write, its on my mind, but now to have the time to blog.

Watch this space!