Friday, March 13, 2009
GMT -5
Few weeks back, I received email from a colleague based in UK:
Please call me on Monday to discuss. I will be available from 0800 (GMT-5)
on +1 703xxxx
Assuming that he’s still in UK on that day, I called him at 3.30 pm Malaysian time, which is about 8+ am UK time.
Ring..ring.. The dial tone from his phone sounded different.. like an engaged dial tone. I began to feel suspicious. Not much later, a woman answered the call and she sounded coarse..probably just woke up from sleep.
WOMAN: Hello
ME: Hello, may I speak to DS?
WOMAN: Huh? I’m sorry…
ME: *Increase my volume* Hello, may I speak to DS? *Feel strange already*
Then my eyes caught the word GMT –5 big and clear from the email in front of me. Gosh…he’s in US, not UK!!
ME: *Panic* Er..sorry. I called you at an inconvenient time. I’ll call back again. Sorry again.
WOMAN: No, DS is beside me.
Then she passed the phone to him.
After that, I apologised few times to DS and arranged for a later call. Later that day I sent an email to apologise.
So sorry for calling you at such an inconvenient time. I really need to
apologise profusely for this... my mistake as I've overlooked the timing you
stated in the email below. Please convey my apologies to
your wife/partner..sooo sorry.
He accepted my apologies of course. And mentioned it’s no big deal cos he has 5 kids.
Much later, it struck me. No wonder his wife or maybe ‘partner’ (who knows??!!) sounded so suspicious having to answer DS’ mobile with another woman’s voice. Oops!! Hope he didn’t get grilled later. And call me blur!!!
Another afterthought, I don’t think his wife would have follow him on his short biz trip all the way from UK to US!!
Lessons learnt:
1) Please read every line or detail before taking action or shooting emails like bullets
2) Do give a ‘quick call’ on travelling hubby on odd hours. Just in case ;)
Monday, February 23, 2009
White lies
It’s raining, it’s pouring, at the time of writing.
Which brought me to the scene 2 days ago. Kat was asking me, Mum can I watch TV? She asked not once. Not twice. But like 1001 times. At the time of the drama at home, there’s more drama with the weather outside the house. It was raining. It was pouring. And there were thunder and lightning. Whip crack sounding thunder.
So, I said NO. NO TV. And by default, Kat responded by crying and shouting, I want to watch TV, mum. As long as I said NO, she would put on the same response and I would continue to say NO. It’s like replaying the same scene in a drama. But I hate this scene so much so that I was really running out of my patience quota of the year.
So finally I said, ‘FINE. If you want to watch TV, the TV will be spoilt and mummy and papa will have to work more to buy a new TV for you. Is that what you want?’ And miraculously, she kept quiet. And didn’t ask for TV again…maybe once or twice, but then the crying and ranting stopped. Phewiee…
And speaking of which, I was brought back to the scene few weeks back. Hubs and I were going to fly off to Hanoi for a vacation. And we had childcare of the kids all planned out. Explaining to the kids especially Kat, on why we need to be away was a challenge though. So here goes the drama
ME: Mummy & papa have to go away for work. So you stay with aunty, kong2 & po2, ok?
KAT: No, mum. I don’t want to you & papa to go. *Cry, sob, boo-hoo-hoo*
ME: But kong2 & po2 will come and stay with you.
KAT: No, mum….. *Cry, sob, boo-hoo-hoo*
ME: Losing patience .. OK, if mummy and papa don’t go to work, we won’t have money. If no money, no TV.
Kat was quiet. Sobs stopped and peace at last.
Well, the trip to Hanoi is over. We are still having our plasma TV. And my brain cells have been so challenged these days because of a stubborn headed TV-obsessed totally parents-dependent 4 years-old.
White lies, yes..I did have to tell to preserve my sanity. Also partly due to the fact that to answer my own kid is harder than answering my boss.
Which brought me to the scene 2 days ago. Kat was asking me, Mum can I watch TV? She asked not once. Not twice. But like 1001 times. At the time of the drama at home, there’s more drama with the weather outside the house. It was raining. It was pouring. And there were thunder and lightning. Whip crack sounding thunder.
So, I said NO. NO TV. And by default, Kat responded by crying and shouting, I want to watch TV, mum. As long as I said NO, she would put on the same response and I would continue to say NO. It’s like replaying the same scene in a drama. But I hate this scene so much so that I was really running out of my patience quota of the year.
So finally I said, ‘FINE. If you want to watch TV, the TV will be spoilt and mummy and papa will have to work more to buy a new TV for you. Is that what you want?’ And miraculously, she kept quiet. And didn’t ask for TV again…maybe once or twice, but then the crying and ranting stopped. Phewiee…
And speaking of which, I was brought back to the scene few weeks back. Hubs and I were going to fly off to Hanoi for a vacation. And we had childcare of the kids all planned out. Explaining to the kids especially Kat, on why we need to be away was a challenge though. So here goes the drama
ME: Mummy & papa have to go away for work. So you stay with aunty, kong2 & po2, ok?
KAT: No, mum. I don’t want to you & papa to go. *Cry, sob, boo-hoo-hoo*
ME: But kong2 & po2 will come and stay with you.
KAT: No, mum….. *Cry, sob, boo-hoo-hoo*
ME: Losing patience .. OK, if mummy and papa don’t go to work, we won’t have money. If no money, no TV.
Kat was quiet. Sobs stopped and peace at last.
Well, the trip to Hanoi is over. We are still having our plasma TV. And my brain cells have been so challenged these days because of a stubborn headed TV-obsessed totally parents-dependent 4 years-old.
White lies, yes..I did have to tell to preserve my sanity. Also partly due to the fact that to answer my own kid is harder than answering my boss.
Labels: Kids, parenting, SPECIAL MOMENTS
Thursday, February 19, 2009
25 Random Things About Me
I’ve been tagged in facebook!! Thanks to Bren. So here are 25 random facts about me (CW):
1. CW gave birth 2 naughty, mischievouse & loveable girls 4 and 2 years ago and it's the best thing that happen to me
2. CW doesn't believe in assisted birth (if situation permits); as how on earth did our mums gave birth to us?
3. CW had a keyhole surgery for removal of 5cm ovarian cyst
4. CW had her 4th car stolen
5. CW defaced her 1st car on the 1st day of driving with a valid license
6. CW had been caught red-handed by traffic police twice but managed to get out of the situation without any ‘donation’
7. CW passed her driving test 1st time without any ‘donation’
8. CW had once a blind date with someone from ICQ
9. CW had once blacked out/fainted in Sg Wang carpark
10. CW hopes to lose at least 2kgs by cutting down coffee and drinking green tea. Anyone know if it works?
11. CW is hoping to find a long lost fren - CLLL…
12. CW was knocked by a Volvo on Christmas night when she was 17. Survived with scratches.
13. CW luv to cook and hope to host ppl for makan2; if they dare to take the risk
14. CW had tried matchmaking once but failed and never tried ever again
15. CW luv to travel and wish can travel more and has a good travel companion in the name of epio
16. CW hate to ask favor frm people or depend on ppl. Yes, I'm fiercely independent and so are my kids!! ARGH!!
17. CW is shy to say that I have a blog and hope to make some living out of it ..hehe.
18. CW had a boss from hell from my first job. His initial is VO..if you ever want to guess who he is.
19. CW thinks it’s better to be single than to marry the wrong one.
20. CW thinks that love in action speaks the loudest
21. CW is reading Maeve Binchy’s books and adores her
22. CW hopes to learn cycling and see her kids to cycle too
23. CW is immuned to being called Cendawan
24. CW wish she can drink coffee all day long without being heaty, hyper and ‘chubby’
25. CW dreams of running an inn in Grampians and feed kookaburras when retire
Labels: ME, Strange/bizarre, TAG
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
What we do during Chinese New Year 2009
Last nite I had a shock of my life. At 12 am, my neighbours decided to burn fire crackers and woke the whole neighbourhood with the ruckus. Not only that, they wait for each other to finish their rounds and took turns to burn the crackers, fireworks and anything they have; to make the air smokey and smelly.
Well, that explains my lack of focus for work today. Yeah, yeah…I’m normally not focused, but today is one of my worst days. Any minute now I can doze off in my seat and ….zzzz.
So …where am I? Oh yeah, what I wanted to write here is that, Chinese New Year (CNY) for 2009 is quite special because
1) My mom had a biopsy and the reports came out few days before CNY and turns out negative - no malignant cells
2) Kat and Kayleen are big enough to hold the teacups and serve tea to their Kong2 and Poh2
3) I have lost weight since last year’s CNY and manage to get myself in an M-sized dress!!!
However mundane reasons I have here, CNY is indeed a special time to celebrate, with loved ones. Though we do almost the same things year in, year out.
We serve tea to the partriarch and martriarch of the family and respect them while they are alive
We play mahjong. And oh yeah, there is a junior league going on
When bored, we go and disturb the dog
When even more bored, we’ll watch the idiot box and go bonkus with cheesy Canton movies. But this year, FINALLY I managed to watch CJ7 which was in the cinemas early last year. It’s indeed one of the best Stephen Chow’s movies I’ve watched in decades. Oh, oh we also watched Money No Enough II. Also another heart-warming family story. Also a delayed screening by my family.
Sadly, the idiot box doesn’t have good movies all the time. So we had to fulfill the ritual of visiting a shopping mall. This time though, the girls had their first game of bowling; without the ‘longkang’ feature. The kids had fun I think. Thank God they are still too young to know that their mummy & pa-pa scores suck.
And finally we manage to get in touch with my aunts, cousins, friends and cell members. I don’t have pics as I was busy catching up. I’m truly happy to be able to see them again, and let them see me in my M-sized dress..mua haha.
I really have a great time in CNY, and hence…find it so tough to start my engine for work. Sigh..have to get back to work now.
Well, that explains my lack of focus for work today. Yeah, yeah…I’m normally not focused, but today is one of my worst days. Any minute now I can doze off in my seat and ….zzzz.
So …where am I? Oh yeah, what I wanted to write here is that, Chinese New Year (CNY) for 2009 is quite special because
1) My mom had a biopsy and the reports came out few days before CNY and turns out negative - no malignant cells
2) Kat and Kayleen are big enough to hold the teacups and serve tea to their Kong2 and Poh2
3) I have lost weight since last year’s CNY and manage to get myself in an M-sized dress!!!
However mundane reasons I have here, CNY is indeed a special time to celebrate, with loved ones. Though we do almost the same things year in, year out.
We serve tea to the partriarch and martriarch of the family and respect them while they are alive
We play mahjong. And oh yeah, there is a junior league going on
When bored, we go and disturb the dog
When even more bored, we’ll watch the idiot box and go bonkus with cheesy Canton movies. But this year, FINALLY I managed to watch CJ7 which was in the cinemas early last year. It’s indeed one of the best Stephen Chow’s movies I’ve watched in decades. Oh, oh we also watched Money No Enough II. Also another heart-warming family story. Also a delayed screening by my family.
Sadly, the idiot box doesn’t have good movies all the time. So we had to fulfill the ritual of visiting a shopping mall. This time though, the girls had their first game of bowling; without the ‘longkang’ feature. The kids had fun I think. Thank God they are still too young to know that their mummy & pa-pa scores suck.
And finally we manage to get in touch with my aunts, cousins, friends and cell members. I don’t have pics as I was busy catching up. I’m truly happy to be able to see them again, and let them see me in my M-sized dress..mua haha.
I really have a great time in CNY, and hence…find it so tough to start my engine for work. Sigh..have to get back to work now.
Labels: CNY, Fun, SPECIAL MOMENTS
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
CUTE QUOTE: Don’t say ‘STUPID’
I was talking with hubby in the car, and I mentioned the word ‘STUPID’.
Kat heard from the back of the car and immediately corrected me, 'Don’t say stupid, mom.'
Slapped my head and mouth and said, ‘Yes, Kat’.
Kat heard from the back of the car and immediately corrected me, 'Don’t say stupid, mom.'
Slapped my head and mouth and said, ‘Yes, Kat’.
Labels: CUTE QUOTE
Monday, January 12, 2009
CONTENTMENT
Ah, I forgot to put this in my ‘DO OR DIE’ resolutions for 2009. Until I read about Steve Job’s hormon imbalance problem, or John Travolta’s son passing on. I’m reminded again that how short our lives are. That money is not enough. That what Jesus said 2000 yrs ago about ‘storing riches in heaven, not on earth; for moth or thieves will steal our riches away’ is not too outdated an advise.
So I will start to be contented and not wanting or expecting more out of myself and my loved ones. I’ve already heaped a lot of expectations on my poor hubby and kids. In the end, we may end up killing each other or ourselves. READ: German billionaire kills self, family says
As I write this, am reminded of my stolen favorite car back in 2004. I thought I locked the car door and all, but alas there was nothing I can do or undo which will bring my fav car back to me. Some acquaintances of mine reported how sad they felt when they lost a mobile phone each year. I was thinking, 'Hah, you can't beat mine. I lost a whole blardy car'. Cruel..but true. A mobile phone. You are moping around on lost mobile phone when many would have lost their loved ones in Gaza now. And then, the same acquaintance complaint later...aiyah, I always put on weight. If my specs don't lie to me, that person has 3 kids and still wearing Medium sized Asian clothes, I don't know what is being fat or putting on weight really means.
Enough said, here's a blessing (or two!!) which I'm really grateful for, despite of their tantrums and keenness on testing my patience..
So I will start to be contented and not wanting or expecting more out of myself and my loved ones. I’ve already heaped a lot of expectations on my poor hubby and kids. In the end, we may end up killing each other or ourselves. READ: German billionaire kills self, family says
As I write this, am reminded of my stolen favorite car back in 2004. I thought I locked the car door and all, but alas there was nothing I can do or undo which will bring my fav car back to me. Some acquaintances of mine reported how sad they felt when they lost a mobile phone each year. I was thinking, 'Hah, you can't beat mine. I lost a whole blardy car'. Cruel..but true. A mobile phone. You are moping around on lost mobile phone when many would have lost their loved ones in Gaza now. And then, the same acquaintance complaint later...aiyah, I always put on weight. If my specs don't lie to me, that person has 3 kids and still wearing Medium sized Asian clothes, I don't know what is being fat or putting on weight really means.
Enough said, here's a blessing (or two!!) which I'm really grateful for, despite of their tantrums and keenness on testing my patience..
Labels: Reflection
Friday, January 02, 2009
Bye-bye 2008 and Welcome 2009
I just wrote a note to SY & Bree to wish them Happy New Year. I wish them well and really pray that God will lead us to better prospects – at work, in relationship/friendship, health, spiritual and personal growth.
I don’t think I’d like to dwell on 2008, what has been and what has happened. As many times when I tried to recall the good things, my mind will cross over the bad things. And these things are the ones which give me heart aches.
So, looking forward, I’ve pick up a few to-do things or ‘resolutions’ for year 2009. Hope this will keep me going with much better anticipation:
RATING: DO OR DIE
1) Spend time with the rascals (my kids) especially to..
2) Improve ABCs and reading skill with Kat
3) Potty train Kayleen
4) Read, read, read!! I’ve done 2 books for year 2008 (hey…it’s an achievement for me ok)
5) Work hard, love all and..
6) Count to 10 when on the verge of losing the battle to anger, foolish words and flares of temper
7) Facebook only on weekends
RATING: NICE TO HAVE
8) Wake up earlier, go to work earlier and leave work earlier
9) Buy a bike and pick up cycling (yeah man..I’m a real city bum with no cycling skill whatsoever)
10) Get those jogging shoes running again. This time with my dog Santa
11) Go for a trip with Bree
12) Go for a trip to Rome/Paris
So Happy New 2009 and may God bless us with more wisdom, courage and strength to face the year ahead.
I don’t think I’d like to dwell on 2008, what has been and what has happened. As many times when I tried to recall the good things, my mind will cross over the bad things. And these things are the ones which give me heart aches.
So, looking forward, I’ve pick up a few to-do things or ‘resolutions’ for year 2009. Hope this will keep me going with much better anticipation:
RATING: DO OR DIE
1) Spend time with the rascals (my kids) especially to..
2) Improve ABCs and reading skill with Kat
3) Potty train Kayleen
4) Read, read, read!! I’ve done 2 books for year 2008 (hey…it’s an achievement for me ok)
5) Work hard, love all and..
6) Count to 10 when on the verge of losing the battle to anger, foolish words and flares of temper
7) Facebook only on weekends
RATING: NICE TO HAVE
8) Wake up earlier, go to work earlier and leave work earlier
9) Buy a bike and pick up cycling (yeah man..I’m a real city bum with no cycling skill whatsoever)
10) Get those jogging shoes running again. This time with my dog Santa
11) Go for a trip with Bree
12) Go for a trip to Rome/Paris
So Happy New 2009 and may God bless us with more wisdom, courage and strength to face the year ahead.
Labels: Greetings, Resolution