Positive Infinity

All morning the war has raged
T'wix fierce Sleep and weak Awake.
For Awake to win is vital
Yet Sleep puts up a struggle
Unwilling to be defeated
but yet it must be! for abit.

Awake is mustering all her power
For Sleep had lunch in his favor
and used it to his advantage
to gain an upperhand on stage.
In turn Awake is using caffeine
and blasting Sleep to smithereens.

This hapless human, the battlefield,
Is begging the warriors for a truce
But neither is willing to give in
For both are desperate to win.
If only Sleep were satisfied
to reign as King of Night
And save Day for the Queen
It would be one compromise
where everyone would win!

~ E.L.
17 Aug 09

(Upon suffering the aftermath of an average 3-5 hours of sleep for the past week)

 It seems that my body has its own way of Checks & Balances. 

Whenever it feels that I am cheonging too hard or packing in too many activities into my schedule, it signals to my autoimmune system to pull the handbrake and promptly hands me a heavy dose of Hives and an MC for the day.  And contrary to popular sentiment that Medical Certificates (documents which we present to our boss that grants us medical leave for the allotted days) are much to be hailed for, receiving an MC is usually a cause for frustration and a tad of exasperation, especially when there is much work to be done, in office or elsewhere.

Yesterday morning shortly after reaching office, I started feeling queasy, something of no consequence which I labeled as a reaction to lack of food (I skipped breakfast because there was no time to eat).  At lunch, though, I was unable to finish half of my ban mian and now had a wonderful combination of headache plus severe nausea.  I walked extremely slowly back to office and then spent the rest of the afternoon struggling to do my work in between running to the washroom several times when the feeling of throwing up nearly overcame me.  But there was no food to come out. 

I hung on till 5:30PM and then headed home and straight for bed.  There, I popped two panadols and tossed and turned, feeling feverish chills and having a full-blown outbreak of hives all over.  At 10plus in the evening, I got up with reluctance to go to the Raffles Hospital A&E, as that is the only medical places open 24 hours. 

Due to the effect of the two panadols earlier, I thought my fever was relatively cleared, and went willingly to the medical booth that has been set up ever since security measures were heightened due to Swine Flu.  The medical officer took my temperature as I was recording down my contact details and then exclaimed, "38.5!  You should be in quarantine by now!!"  I looked up at him startled.  "Here, this one is for you," he said, passing me a mask to wear.  "And this one for you too."  He passed another to my mom and instructed me to bring my piece of paper (upon which he had written a very big 38.5) to another counter. 

For a few brief and awkward moments, I had the sensation of being an infectious leper. 

Anyway, after a long wait during which I fell asleep twice, I finally saw the doc who prescribed me some meds and gave me a referral to a specialist whom I had seen last year before.  When I reached out from the hospital, I whipped off the mask with relief.  It felt wonderful to once again breathe in fresh air. 

Today I went to see the specialist and then came back to rest.  Though not back to normal, the nausea pill has been working so far to keep the unpleasant feelings at bay.  

The one major regret of it all?  

I didn't get a chance to carry my beloved niece when she came last night for dinner with the family. :(   Here's some pics, though, to make up for it ;)

    

I just received news via SMS that baby Avril is finally here!  

She looks absolutely ADORABLE, as much as I can see from scrutinizing the little phone screen of the photo my bro took and sent with his phone camera.   I can't wait to see her and carry her finally for the first time!!!

Thank God that Amber had a relatively delivery, and that both mummy and babe is safe and sound. 

Now I'm just waiting for 5:30PM when I can dash out from office away away away to the hospital. =) 

The minutes are ticking by, agonizingly sloooowwwwww.....

I love this inspirational quote I found.   It sums up my perspective of life pretty well, that of living life to the fullest.

Lolz.

So guess what we Singaporeans just spent the evening doing? :)  

We found - or rather, we were introduced (courtesy of JW) to a new Japanese restaurant!  And believe me, maybe it works out well that I'm running an "intestine infection" (according to the doc, anywayz) and couldn't take in more than a few delectible mouthfuls... as it is, I sat there in torture as the rest of the gang enjoyed themselves immensely!  Atleast, I managed to capture some pics of the food, so there is still a feast for the eyes if not for a sick tummy:)

Instead of the usual sushi and stuff that you would normally order in a restaurant such as this, we decided to go on recommendations by our "food guide" JW.. and ordered Japanese pizza as one of our centre dishes! 





The here is another Chicken Udon dish.. ordered by Ben..

After using the shower, I was just about to stroll out of the bathroom when I glanced into the mirror and found it irritatingly fogged up.

The first thought that came to my mind was "clear mask." 

It's the third day that Sylvia needed to take MC, after falling sick during the past week's holiday.  ^_^
The past few days have been hectic. 
Today, being the month end, I was even hectic-er (yes, M'am, I know there's no such word). 

I feel like I've been doing alot of mountain climbing.

Conquering several mountains each day....
some more challenging than others.
visiting the valleys
and
pausing triumphantly at each peak..

or encouraging a fellow climber..
and being encouraged..

when lor-sor sales bring me to
the verge of frustrated tears,
or a daybrightener comes
in the form of a surprise taro pie...

when Lois and I make milo dinasaur
in the pantry at 4:30PM to motivate ourselves...
or taobao lunch in just coz 
Doreen isn't feeling well... 

when sales write notes of appreciation,
when you are lent inspirational books for reading's sake..

and yet learning so many things through it all.
Things which I hope will lay the foundation
and stepping stones 
for a successful climb up the career mountain.

Carly Fiorina's Tough Choices is really power-packed.  Literally, yeah.

Today was an interesting day.   Here it is, short and sweet:

~  It's friday!! That in itself was a great motivational factor;-)

~  Work was good today... comparably smooth and not too busy.   

~ Spent almost every free moment in between work coordinating with my friend on the plans for the evening.  And with my sis.  And with my bro.  And with my mom.  It's sometimes a madhouse when you're coordinating for a group, isn't it? Lol..

~  Went by my beloved MWL in the evening while waiting for the rest to join me... Was great to catch up with Chenta, Satasha, and Marcus again... And the nutella milkshake recommended and prepared by M was delicious!  (Just that with the drink composed of 3 scoops of ice-cream and chocolately lumps of nutella, I couldn't help but be highly conscious of its high calory-input factor!)  And I'm also putting the blame on it for my not being able to finish the carrot cake that I bought for dinner after that. :P

~  Got to watch The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor tonight with Kim and two other friends!  It was fun chilling out together, and getting to talk in between as well.  I was somewhat hesitant at first upon seeing the title, but after the show was over, I concluded that it was more of a comedy than a scary film - some parts were just downright hilarious!:P  You have to see it to know.

Reached home late to walk through deserted streets - Seventh Month has begun - and now I seriously ought to be heading for the bed.  I have dr's appointment tomorrow morning at 9:30AM, and I have been fighting a pretty bad sore throat and flu this past two days.  *hopefully* it has passed its peak this afternoon... 

House cleaning cum painting is on this weekend!!  Jason just received the keys to his new house... so its the usual clan clean-up.  I'm excited for him:)  But there is SO much to be done with SO little time!!! 

Sigh, there is so so much else that I wanna say, but I seriously had better get a move on - tomorrow is going to be another full, exciting day... Wow, I can't wait. :)

*flies away*

As I got ready to leave the house, I had the sudden fancy  -- to walk on stilts all the way to work, so that my shoes wouldn't have to get wet and yucky from the puddles that I'll definitely have to pick my way through.

In the end, my white heels made a poor but more realistic substitute. ;-)  

I've sat here for the past 5 minutes trying to put my thoughts down into words.  

It's tough.  

Maybe the song that is currently on my playlist is a fitting one.. "Still" by Hillsong:

Hide me now under your wings,
Cover me within your mighty hands.

When the oceans rise and thunders roar,
I will soar with you above the storm.
Father, you are king over the flood --
I will be still and know you are God.

Find rest, my soul, in Christ alone.
Know His power in quietness and trust. 

On to other things...firstly, a little update of the going-ons over here.  This past week my boss Vera was back from her 2-week break (attending Johanna's wedding halfway around the world;-).   Understandably, the stress level in our department picked up considerably (not to mention the noise level...:P *grinz at Johanna*).   Please don't misunderstand me, though.. I still love my job.  There are many things that I am learning, and am definitely adding to my experience in dealing with people.   Weird as it might seem, I am most enthusiastic about the resites job that my department has just taken over - coordinating the shifting of Funji Xerox machines from one location to another, a job which my colleagues have mostly been complaining about.  The chief reason behind my enthusiasm, although it is very time-consuming and more stressful to be coordinating directly with customers, is that I am working directly with customers.  Frontline sales.  Howbeit, telesales.  Probably the only problem with customers liasing with us would be that we'll also get to hear firsthand their unhappiness or disatisfaction should there be cause for any.  Last friday morning, I had about 5 different customers and sales calling and asking where was the delivery crew.   "Calling and asking" might be a little too mild a description.  But ... whatever.  It's all in a day's work, I guess.  I'm way too absent-minded for my own good, though.  That, as well as meticulousness in my work, are the two things I am striving to work on.  After all, when it takes just this much to get my boss blowing off her top, it certainly helps to be careful.  It doesn't help when most of my other colleagues have been in this job so long that they have no problems with the stuff that I occasionally trip up on..

Upon leaving office on Friday evening, i couldn't resist playing the most adrenaline-pumping songs on my mp3, to match the inward beat - I was just too happy.  The end of the workweek is finally here!! That night, we chilled out with some friends at Dempsey Lane's Ben & Jerry's.  It was nice...both the place and the company.  We talked and talked, and enjoyed the small live band that played from 10-12.   

Then yesterday, we attended BASIC from 3-5PM.   They have plans to revamp the structure of the Youth groups.. it's a little too complicated to explain in detail.   I do have my own thoughts about it, but I'll save that for another time.   After it was over, Kim and I went over to her company's BBQ at ECP.   The heavy downpour that came midway did interrupt the dinner a little, accompanied by our mad dash for shelter with food in hand.  But after it passed by, we went back out to where the fire amazingly had NOT gone out, and carried on with our barbequeing. :-)  I think I enjoyed the roasted marshmellows best of all!  lolz...  I sound like a little kid all over again. :P

Anywayz, today's sunday service was held at the new ARPC building.  It's really really nice.  And among the musicians that were playing were some of our friends from BASIC too.  Well, that was a nonessential clause.  Lol.  But it was inspiring to watch their musical talents, and to see their giving God the full glory as well.   

Did I mention about the phenomenon of how the weekend passes with a simple blink of an eye?  ANd that tomorrow is ONCE AGAIN, back to work in office... :)  It's high time to knock off.  But it's great to finally get some thoughts down in words.;-)

Tata for now..

Since I had a little spare time this afternoon, I decided to make good my word to delightinginhim and post some pics of my latest scrapped pages:-) 



I had been dying to use the wordsy paper (black one with pink script, down the middle of the page) ever since I came across it in the scrapbook shop... it was really satisfactory to see it come out just like how I pictured it in my mind:-)



This was one of the pages that I did during Kelly's Glutz Glunch workshop.  I love doing her workshops because we share similar tastes and styles!  Having an *excuse* to get away for a few hours and just s-c-r-a-p is so therapeutic to a work-weary soul... ;-)
  


One of my favorite pages at the moment!!  I've had this particular pic for quite a few months already, just haven't had the right opportunity to scrap it.  I'm glad it came out the way it did! :-)
 

Scraps on Scrapping

The day has been long –
I can’t find a song
To which to sing along:
I let loose through scrapping! 

The weekend is free—

(I rub my hands in glee!)

Don’t bother to find me:

I’m in my room scrapping.

 

It’s tearing me apart—

I don’t know where to start;

There’s too much on my heart:

I find my balm in scrapping.

 

It’s Mom’s birthday;

A friend’s going away;

It’s someone’s big day—

I say it all with scrapping.

 

“What a waste of time!”

“You’re splurging your dime”;

I flash a smile sublime,
And go right back—to scrapping.

~ EL (16 May 08)

Comment and I will...

1. Tell you why I friended you.
2. Associate you with something - a song, a color, a photo, a word etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
6. Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.

Now admit it - how many of you actually breathed a sigh of relief that you can comment on this one and not be bound by your word of honor to a clause to repost it? LOL..

Wait - this opportunity must not be passed up. I'm sitting with the laptop balanced on my knees and trying to type an LJ entry while reading the emails and surfing on FB... with guess-who sitting beside me making bleah comments.

So. Talk about the hassle of getting to bed. Last night, the two of us (meaning guess-who + I) stayed up till 2:30am working on the cards and banner and flowers and gifts in preparation for this morning's celebration. Then after we'd finally finished and guess-who had already fallen into a coma on her bed, I switched off the lights and lay in bed, trying to sleep. Just as I felt the waves of sleep sweeping over me, a thought struck me "like i had run into a wall" (compliments from guess-who) : I had forgotten to eat my medication. I was supposed to have taken it at 12:30!! :o So I dragged myself reluctantly out of bed to the kitchen where I had to take half a slice of raisin bread before downing the two mini horribly-bitter white pills (Do I sound like a drug addict?) It was only 3 before I finally dozed off again...

Only to be rudely awakened by the CAT smashing around the room, jumping on the pile of plastic bags at my bedside (from the presents we bought), wacking at the belts behind the door, and generally making such a huge ruckus, such as should NOT be going on at 6:45am!! Well, let's not kick at a dead dog. (erm, cat?)

Moving on, guess-who and I woke up soon after and whipped up such a storm in the kitchen as has not seen the face of the earth! We made cheese sausages, french toast with a pandan-karapan twist, scrambled eggs peppered with ham bits, cheese cake (yum!), three types of bread, and complemented the dishes with cranberry-pomegranate-and-apple juice and carrot juice. We laid the pretty tray set as well as a wooden spatula (a random suggestion by.. guess-who), along with the card, and draped a humongous bouquet of flowers over. The overwhelming theme was pink - pink trays, pink card, pink flowers, pink wrapper.. boy, I thought it would never end. (lol!) Anywayz, the end of the matter is this - SHE LOVED IT. And that was all that mattered...really. ^_^

ps. trick question: guess who is the guess-who?? Hahaha... high-five to the person who gets it right! ;-)

It's interesting how everyone you come in contact with can teach you something. It doesn't matter that the person might be older or younger than you by a few years or more than just a few. And certainly it is not always the same lessons... but the individuals that walk in and out of your life each day can leave footprints.. if you let them..

Daniel has been staying with us for the past two weeks. The little cutesy learns things sooo fast! One moment my brother was doing push-ups after his run - the next moment, he looked over to see the little fella on the floor opposite him, trying to imitate his movements! LOL. Coming home is always so welcoming.. once he sees us, he shouts out our names and proceeds to tell us the happenings of the day..

"Che Che HAM!" (that's his nick for me)

"Hello Daniel! What have you been doing the whole day?"

"Daniel fall DOWN..Daniel running running - run and then he - fore down!"

"Oh, is that right?"

The little face puckers up as he nods seriously.

"Let's build house!" He proceeds to suggest, most enthusiastically, tugging at my hand...and then my evening is gone...spent building memories with the little one..




Here he is, perched on a wooden log at Bintan...




And then another one of him trying to look cool... isn't he adorable?;) I couldn't resist taking some more shots of him last night, when he put on the huge headphones and tripped around the house in his white PJs, telling me about his "heleecoter"..

My little teacher reminds me to enjoy the moment.. not to be so worried about past or future, but to just relish the NOW before it slips past.. to delight in the little things of the day.. his stickerbook, his building blocks, and his storytelling of the "shark that bit jason korkor" (it was a jellyfish sting, just for the record:P)... To see the world anew through the eyes of a child! ANd then, to have him rest his head so trustingly on your shoulder when he is weary, to clasp his little arms around your neck and bestow a whole-hearted kiss on your cheek...It brings out all that is maternal in me. ;) He's going back home to KL this evening, but I will definitely miss him, and hopefully see him again soon in a few weeks!

I love it when the sales crowd around
And there is work to do;
When something lost is finally found
After much search by us two.
The looking forward to lunch
Upon reaching in the morning;
The looking for things to munch
By the time it reaches evening;
The punching in the calculator;
The answering of the phone's ring;
The noisy typing in the computer;
The laughter that the sales bring;
The handy eraser; ever disappearing stapler;
The pad to scribble numbers in;
FSMA charts, the calendar;
The little red-white rubbish bin; 
The playful scolding at the lor-sors
When they bring in weird figures;
The running up to fourth floor
With a whole stack of papers;
Listening to catchy music play
That keep me 'on the ball';
Oh, it's the little things of the day
That are the real ones, after all!

You Should Be a Film Writer

You don't just create compelling stories, you see them as clearly as a movie in your mind. You have a knack for details and dialogue. You can really make a character come to life. Chances are, you enjoy creating all types of stories. The joy is in the storytelling. And nothing would please you more than millions of people seeing your story on the big screen!

You'll Find Love Where You Least Expect It

You're the type most likely to find love... surprised? You shouldn't be! You're a fun, independent woman who is always out and about. And you're smart to sometimes leave your girlfriends behind and go it alone. Men love to approach you when you're out by yourself - including Mr. Perfect!

Don't lose your way
With each passing day
You've come so far
Don't throw it away
Live believing
Dreams are for weaving
Wonders are waiting to start
Live your story
Faith, hope & glory
Hold to the truth in your heart

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I

Souls in the wind
Must learn how to bend
Seek out a star
Hold on to the end
Valley, mountain
There is a fountain
Washes our tears all away
Words are swaying
Someone is praying
Please let us come home to stay

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
Where clouds roll by
For you and I

When we are out there in the dark
We'll dream about the sun
In the dark we'll feel the light
Warm our hearts, everyone

If we hold on together
I know our dreams will never die
Dreams see us through to forever
As high as souls can fly
The clouds roll by
For you and I
 
~ Diana Ross

 So many things upcoming in the next month!

Going to be out of town over the next two weekends, and the in-betweens filled with really busy work schedule, and then the week after that wrapping up my stuff before i leave Printworks, and the week after that starting work at Fuji Xerox!

I've got tons of things on my to-do list:
~  get a dress for the wedding reception on Feb 1st
~  pack for the upcoming days spent outside town
~  change desk with Deren on Feb 6
~  study the Advanced Theory books for the trial test on Feb 20
~  prepare for change of work location to Fuji Xerox
~  get something for my colleagues if possible.. 
~  etc.

Just hope I don't forget any important things.  Anywayz, it's good training. ;-)

Hmm..lots of ups and downs these few days recently.  Guess it's probably a combination of factors, like lack of sleep + stress at work, etc.  And I've been learning lessons too.. life lessons.. though some the hard way because I didn't think carefully before doing what I did.  I've been pretty mad at myself for some things which I've tripped up.  Disappointed and a little discouraged.  Especially when it comes to dealing with others - friends, acquaintances, family, etc.  And it adds to the stress when your bosses are stressed out at work too, coz it means they're more on edge about problems and mistakes that may crop up..  Ahwellz.  I'm sure I can learn from them.  I just pray I'll keep my ears and eyes open to be attentive to whatever I may be taught through the mistakes i make.  

Watching thought-provoking movies can be pretty pre-occupying too. Heh.. just watched the movie 27 Dresses just now.  My bros found it boring because it was to them a chick flick.  For me.. well, think it was one of the few times that I cried so much in the movie theatre.. ahwellz.  ;-)

Okee then, another update soon!  Tada..