Patience Test !

Being in the US allow me to experience a different aspect of life here. Personally I feel that we are more efficient in Singapore. Such an example is visiting a Doctor. On Monday evening, Paul told me that he had a bump on the back of his head and it hurts. Being his wife, I told him to see a Doctor. Being a man and a husband, he said "No, I merely bump my head on a wire and it's just a bump and it will go away." Stubborness seems to be a quality which he is proud of but not to his advantage in this case.

3 days later, the pain persist and became unbearable and it's beginning to shake his stubborness. Due to the pain, he was losing sleep for 2 nights, tossing and turning and whimpering in bed in the middle of the night and it drove me mental. I don't know what he was fighting about - from my advise to prove that he is right or the pain that he is a Man and he can conqure it ?! From the moment I knew abt the bump, I have been urging him to see the Doctor and allow the professional to investigate in the mysterious bump and solve the mystery and diminish the pain. And since then I have turned into a broken recorder (which I detest with a vengence) as I was constantly on his case, telling him the same old thing "See a Doctor" and with that I received the very same reply "It will go away, I am not seeing a Doctor from a bump I got cause of a knock on my head". While Stubborness was his best friend, Frustration is my Partner.

Until yesterday, the bump had grown double it's size and the area became infected and turned red. Paul described it as a hammer that striked him without mercy. And he finally decided to pay the Doctor a visit. Like a kid, he wants me to be there with him.

So there we were at the Doctor's office at 12.30pm on a Thursday afternoon and after Paul registered with the nurse, we sat patiently in the waiting area before being summoned by the Doctor. A long 2 hours later and we are still in the waiting room to be call upon. Then another frustrating hour passed and Paul was wringing the couch armrest to divert the pain caused by the bump, accompanied with some curses and complains of the wait. He started pacing back and forth in the waiting room and going to the nurse's desk to enquire when will it be his turn... Needless to say, the nurse pacify him with the politically correct answer which a nurse normally give "Shortly".

So after 4 hrs waiting for the Doctor, it is finally our turn and we finally manage to "SEE" the Doctor. By then Paul was simply in great agony and pain, both from the bump and the wait.

Apparently the mystery bump is an ingrown cycst that is ruptured and filled with pus. The Doctor had prescribed him some Anti-Biotics and painkillers which hopefully will subside the bump and let it go away. After collecting the written prescription from the Doctor, the torture is not over yet. We still have to drive to the pharmacy and get our medication. Which is another round of waiting for the Pharmacist !

This system drives me mental ! Imagine if you are having a high fever, can you visualise that you spend about 1 hr or more (if you are VERY lucky), waiting for your turn for the Doctor to check on you AND THEN drive to the pharmacy with your fever and prescription AND THEN wait for your medication AND THEN collect your medication AND THEN drive home and finally take your medication ????!!! Gosh, I would have died right there and then at the carpark ! Oh Oh, did I mention that to see most Doctors here, you have to make an appointment ? And check if your health insurance is accepted by him and if not, you have to hunt for one who accept your insurance coverage ????!!!!!

It's so different from Singapore where we just need to visit the Doctor, wait a maximum of 30 mins for the Doctor and collect our medication right there and then at the Doctor's office and be home within an hour.

Anyway Paul is in observation stage from now till Monday. If the bump subside, then it's honkey dorey marvellous. But if it remains, he would require a minor operation to drain the pus out.

So I was telling Paul, in US, the patient does not die from the illness. They die from THE WAITING !!!

Sleepless in Oviedo

It's 5.20am and Paul's alarm rang like it's invincible and there is no tomorrow. My wonderful husband have this daily ritual, he sets the alarm clock at 5.20am and set it on snooze mode. If you wonder what snooze mode is, it's this annoying setting that after the initial buzz, the alarm will go off again in an interval of 9 mins. So when it first rang at 5.20am, he hit the button and resume sleep. 9 mins later the alarm starts screaming AGAIN and same thing, he hit the snooze button. And AGAIN try to steal some MORE sleep. When that happen for the 3rd time, he jumped out of bed and got himself ready and look stunning for the day ahead. From the moment the alarm first buzz till he finally gets out of the house - a total of 30 mins.

As for me, the moment his alarm's initially set off at 5.20am, it will wake me up and my routine ?! If I am lucky, I will not hear a single thing and sleep right through. If I am semi-lucky, I will toss and turn and managed to resume my beauty sleep. And if I am unlucky, I will be awake for the rest of the day and yes folks, it's 5.20am rise and shine !

Like any other day, Paul did his ritual but today it's the unlucky day for me, my eyes are wide open and my brain/mind is speeding at 200 miles an hour for no particular reason either. So the whole time, I observe that body lying next to me and watch him get ready and leave for work while I am sleepless in Oviedo.

So I decided to drag my butt out of the bed and jump on the truck and drove my happy butt to the gym. Oh yes, it's 6am and to my surprise, it's kind of crowded for that early in the morning.

Thus I did my gym's ritual of stationing my butt on the cross trainer and work my ass off for 30 mins, spend 1 hr on the weights machine and torture every single muscle of my body and then back on the cross trainer again for another 10 mins before I drag my "shag-ker-dalic" body home. And no, I do not enjoy self-torture either. Just believing in the saying of "No Pain, No Gain... No Guts, No Glory" *lol*

After the icey cold shower, I do feel good - awake and glad to be alive. As for a 2nd round of sleep ? Forget it, Paul just rang and drag me with him on his site inspection. I don't know how long this "healthy" lifestyle will last but I just take one day at a time... right now I need to search for some yummy food to compensate my trembling arms and shaky legs.

SHOPPINGGGGG !!!! =)

In Singapore, one of girls' fav past time is SHOPPING !!! I am glad that I have a few shopping buddies but the best of them all is Tricia and Angie (oh yes Angie, it's u and the best part, we can share a cab together after all the walking ! ) And one of the best place to shop and spend a Saturday afternoon is definately in Orchard Road. With all the Malls congregate on both sides of the strip, you know you have some conquring to do. And don't forget to put on a good pair of walking shoes, heels or no heels Iit's like a workout as well) and don't leave the VISA or Master Card at home either ! And you'll be assured you'll have a good afternoon, weekend or a whole week ahead... oh yes, all the Good Buys and Best Buys waiting for you to bring them home. Hey, there are days when it's so crapy at work, I just make a mad dash to Orchard Road and hunt down any "must have". Definately a form of therapy or rather retail therapy for me !

In US, I learned another form of shopping - ONLINE SHOPPING and it's great. I must admit I am rather skeptical about purchasing anything online. All the news abt hackers and I am not known to be patient. I detest waiting for a week before my "priced bargains" reach my lap !!! I am still old school, I want to touch, fondle and feel the item before I bring it home with me. It would be wonderful if the voice within me scream "I NEED TO BUY IT !!!!" or "I WILL KILL TO HAVE IT !!!!" . But again, some of these online sites offer the best prices and bargains that you can't find in store, such as http://www.overstocks.com/. I have to clarify that they did not pay me to advertise nor promote them and I am merely sharing my findings with you folks about this site. The marvelous part abt this site is regardless how many items you purchase from them, be it 1 or 10 items, the shipping cost is flat at USD2.95 And they have some of the best bargains especially on books (it's even cheaper than Amazon and Borders) but the downpart abt them is ... they only accept an US registered credit card and they only deliver within US. Oh yes, bummer !!

I love reading novels and especially sharing them with pals. Our Book club consist of 2 other readers who are Tricia and Chris. So when I am in Singapore, we would either buy or rent books and then sharing it with each other. But book stores in Singapore is not "Buyers friendly" such as, Borders they really rob the daylight out of buyers. Whereas over here, it's affordable. Last friday, I bought 2 novels 1) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and 2) Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. The total damage for these 2 books including shipping - USD23.75 !!!! Unbeatable huh .

Now I am waiting very unpatiently for the arrivals of my purchase. It's 4 days and counting and I am getting a little nutty, keeping my ears highly tune and ready to pounce the door for any knocks from the postman and wondering constantly .... "Are they here yet ?!"

A Walk down Memory Lane

Oviedo is a new city to me. Infact it's not a city, it's a county. {Oh, Sommer had pointed out that Oviedo is indeed a city and so is Sanford and both are part of Seminole County which I am living in =) } Coming from Singapore, we don't have a county nor a city. We are a small country but we are efficient and a progressed country and we are still progressing. As for the historic buildings, it's normally revamp and re-touched with a fresh coat of paint.

So when Paul decided to drive me around the other county and show me where he grew up, I was excited and can't wait to see the place where he grew up and the places he ventured and explore when he was a kid. Paul is 36yrs old and when he showed me a Dairy Queen (ice cream) store which his dad brought the whole family to on sundays for ice cream, it's "WOW" for me. Imagine he had frequent that store since he was merely 6 yrs old. And the shop is still there. Thus the shop is like more than 30yrs old now. And according to Paul, nothing have changed in the shop. Even the deco and the posters are still where it was before. Even till now, parents still bring their kids there for a treat.

How casually it was for the folks to parked their car beside the lake. Find a good spot and station their chairs with a beer on one hand and a fishing rod on the other and ready to fish and spend their sunday by the lake. Definately something which I would like to do someday !

Paul showed me Sanford (another county) which buildings impresses me so much that I have to take a stroll and admire the buildings. The old library that Paul visited when he was a kid have been changed to a Tourist centre. I love the way Paul described the places he visited when he was a kid and the way he recall and told me how it was back then. And sharing his memory and childhood with me.

I can't wait till we're back in Singapore and it'll be my turn to show him the places where I grew up, the shopping mall where my classmates and I hang out after school. And not forgetting the island (Pulau Ubin) where me and my pals went camping !!!! Those good old days....

Our Date !

Last Friday, Paul came home after work and announced " I want to take you out tomorrow. It's a date and I want to bring you to the Zoo and we can laugh at the monkeys !"

Okay, I am touched that he is planning a date for us and bringing me out to explore new places together like the Zoo. But laughing at the monkeys under the 40 Degs heat ? I am not so sure if we are laughing at them or if it's the other way round. But I am still game for what he had proposed but I have high expectations of the Zoo. Why you may ask, cause we Singaporeans know that Singapore have one of the best Zoo in Asia and we even have a night safari to boast about. When Paul knew about my "expectations", he out frontly told me "Baby, don't get your hopes up."

So here we are, on a hot sunny blazing Saturday afternoon, holding each other's sweating hands and having a good time. I love it that we explore undiscovered places together. Okay, the Zoo is visited by many but definately not me and not a long long time for him. It's like instant flash back for me back to my Primary/Elementary school days out on a field trip with my classmates, all excited, curious and going "WOW" all at the same time.

Yes, I don't deny that the animals stink and perhaps they think we do too but hey, it's fun and it's refreshing. Paul seems to be more excited than me when visiting his "friends". He was making strange noises to the monkeys trying to wake them up from their nap, stalking after the Cheeta, whistling to the exotic birds like they are having a conversation and even threatening the turkeys that he will be back for them and make them his Thanks Giving meal. As for me, I am just trying to survive the heat and trying to keep my husband under control.

While trying to survive my heat stroke, I managed to take some pics of the residents of the Zoo, ENJOY !!!

Today I vow....

Today I vow to TAKE A STEP FORWARD AND NEVER LOOK BACK !

I don't deny that there are many days when I miss Singapore. I miss my life, I miss the convenient transportation system that Singapore offers. I miss the comfort of my family and I miss my friends. But what good is there to always look back ?

Question : Why does God put our eyes infront of us ? Is it because he want us to always look forward, move forward and strive towards it ??? I have no answer to that but I know there is definately a reason.

This is NOW and I am Here. There is no denying, there is no escaping. I have to be brave and embrace myself and face each day chin up. So taking a cab here cost a leg and an arm but I will be brave and drive. Afterall, I did go through the gruesome driving lessons, annoying theory test and horrific practical driving tests in Singapore. So I am scared of driving, at most I'll die and take someone down with me (haahaahaahaa). So I am not familiar with the routes here, I have a husband who can or will be my Driver and I know who love to do so.

So my BFF and Blood Sisters are not with me. But we have our weekly online chats and I know that I can ring them when I want to. So I can't see my nieces and nephew but I can hear them screaming on the background whenever I ring home. So I don't have any family here but I have a great Sister-in-law whom I clicked with. So I miss doing whatever I want but I have a husband who lets me do whatever I want.

SO Life really isn't that bad if I look at it from a different perspective. And I am paying attention to the butterflies for a change instead of looking for the storms. Granted, I may not see the rainbows now but it's still nice to see the butterfiles....

Oh ! Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to forget my roots , where I come from and who I am. Infact, I am proud of who I am and where I come from. If I can, I will even plant my Singapore flag right at my door step ! But while I am holding on to my roots, I would like to embrace and welcome another culture and life.

I would love to think that I have gained enlightenment or perhaps the sun, shine at me at a right angel today ! But as long as I have a tomorrow, it means that I still stand a chance to make things better and so it really isn't that bad....

What about you ??? =)

Marriage !

MARRIAGE - Before it was a big word to me and now it is an even bigger word for me. Infact I think anyone would agree with me that it is a life changing word. If you asked me what is the most difficult things in life, Marriage would definately be one of it.

Leaving behind my life as a Singleton which I enjoy tremendously and stepping into a role of being someone's wife is something I never consider before. I enjoy my freedom, I love my independence, I thrive at doing things at a moment of impulse, I want to see and explore the world. Most importantly, I don't want any baggage or anyone to tie me down. I consider myself a loyal friend, a good daughter(at least I think I am), a good aunt (to my triplets), a crazy and fun co-worker but a wife ???!! That role scares me and is one which I am uncertain if I can fit in. I always ask my married friends "How do you know if he is THE ONE ?" .

To me, there is a long list for THE ONE to fit in. THE ONE includes being a loyal friend, a faithful companion, a good listener, a provider, a supporter, a cheerleader, a shoulder to lean on, a pillar to support on, a potentially good father, a good son to his and my parent and most importantly a good husband.

I have stepped into this new role and a list which I am sure my husband look for in a wife as well. It's a challenge for me cause marriage life is something that I have never experience before. From living life just for myself to putting someone before me. From thinking of Me, Myself and I to focusing on We, Us and Together.

It is a life changing step for me but I am glad that along the ups and downs, I have my Husband along the ride with me and I am not alone. Most importantly, I have my friends to talk to, supporting and cheering for me. Married friends to share experience with. At the end of the day, I have a Husband who will hug me, make me laugh and let me know that my efforts are worthwhile.

Until I am 6 feet under, no one can really tell me if my hardwork really pay off. But right now, I have to continue to work and make the big mark which is still 5 more mths to go before our 1 yr anniversary. Each day, it is a challenge for me, a challenge filled with surprises, laughters, anger and perhaps a little frustration ! =)

But I am glad that I have friends and family whom I can share my experience with and whom I know will support me unconditionally and regardlessly.

P/S : For the married folks, enjoy each moment and yes, it takes effort and hardwork to make it work (You are not alone, I am part of the population as well) . For the singletons, enjoy your freedom. For the dating couples, think before you leap. It is not as easy as you think ! =)

6 Degs of Separation

Sometime ago, one of my friend Klarie asked if I would be watching Singapore's National Day Parade online via webcast (Singapore's National Day is on 9th August. It also resemble the Independence Day as in the US). Unfortunately I didn't get to watch the parade but I did explore the Singapore website which Cecilia had found for me, http://sgconnect.ning.com/

With a twist of fate, I discovered that this website http://sgconnect.ning.com/ is an interaction/interactive website for all Singaporeans who are overseas and away from their motherland. A site that contains Singapore's info, news and activities. A site for us Singaporeans who are in a foreign land looking for our fellow mates. A site that gathers and allows Singaporeans in the US to contact each other and encourage each other to organise and participate in activites. Unfortunately most of them are located in West Coast (i.e California) whereas I am in the East Coast.

Without any delay, I registered. And within 2 days, I received an email from my fellow country mate who currently resides in Missouri, US with her 6 yrs old daughter and her loving husband. It didn't take long before we exchanged email, chatted via Yahoo messenger and chatting over the phone. It felt good to talk to a fellow country mate who understood what I am going through, my views about life here away from home, my craving for our local meals and our similiar passion for anything spicy. The best part of it all, we clicked !

I read from a book that between humans, it's only 6 degrees of separation. Not only have I experienced that, I experienced the wonders and magic of internet as well. It felt good to know another person and to have another friend.

So for those of you who have friends living in the US, ask them to drop me a mail. I would love to know them and I am sure they would love to know another fellow Singaporean who is like them away from our Motherland.

As for the rest of you, enjoy and cherish your friend !

P/S : TO my BFF - Tricia, Have a SPLENDID & WONDERFUL Birthday ! =)

Breath Taking !

At times, during Paul's working day, he will bring me along with him when he go for site inspection. It's nice for me cause I get to see the different and various part of Florida and the numerous housing subdivision here. It is a change cause growing up in Singapore, it's a concrete jungle for me. Each building is taller than the other and even the housing apartment is nothing less than 10th storey. For me, I lived on the 13th floor in Singapore and I love the unblocked view from my bedroom.

Over here in Oviedo(or Orlando), unless it's the business district would you find high rise building. Other than that, the houses here are at most 2nd storey, the shopping mall is the same at 2nd storey (unlike like ours which rises to 4th storey or even higher) and apartments are at 3rd storey highest. But I love the openess here and not forgetting some of the unique and rare sight which I would never see in Singapore.

What rare sight you might ask, well it's kind of normal to see cows and goats in someone's barn which is like at their backyard. Or even seeing chickens and rooster at the back of the restaurant (not all but just this particular one in Oviedo), sometimes there's horses in their backyard too. And squirrel climbing and hopping on the trees. Some have told me they even see deer running across their backyard ! And just yesterday I saw this Sand Hill Crane that stroll down the road which causes Paul to stop his truck just so the crane can cross the road.

I was excited and beyond believe ! Seriously, we would never witness such sight in Singapore. But here it is, this crane just take it's own sweet time to cross the road, with no fear for us nor the traffic. Instantly I whipped out my camera and started snapping pictures of it. I am even more shock that the crane did not attempt to run away even when I wind down the window and poke my head out of the window and started taking pictures. The crane just stood beside me posing gracefully like it know I am taking pictures of him/her.

I wish you folks can witness this and admire the beauty of this crane. It's something like I would see when I go to the Bird Park in Singapore but here it is, standing on the roadside just staring at me fearlessly. Gosh, it's kind of tall too and I think it's almost the same height as my 2yrs 4mths old nieces and nephew and it's beautifully breath taking.

Anyway here are the pictures, enjoy !

Space Shutter Launch !

Hi Folks,

I just wonder if you feel the same way as I do that growing up in Singapore, we are a very realistic bunch. It's either from your upbringing or from the environment, that I have yet to figure it out. And it's so down to earth that your parents' "approved" life ambition for you is either a lawyer, engineer, teacher, pilot, doctor, accountant or even working in a bank and they would think you've made it good or they would have a "wow" factor when they heard someone's kids is any of the above.

But when you announced that you want to be an astronut, your parents would perhaps shake their head, smile and secretly wish that it's a phase that you'll get over tomorrow or the next day. Cause in Singapore, it is not happening !

Being in US, everything and anything is possible. If a kid's dream is to be a rocket scientist, the parents would be supportive and encouraging. If she aim to be a president someday, the parents would be thinking of a campaign slogan for her the very next day. Why do I suddendly have such a change in mindset ?

Cause the Kennedy Space Coast is merely 40 mins drive away from me. From that, how can anything else be unachievable ? Last evening, I was fortunate to witness a Space Shutter launched which is heading towards the orbit and the outer space, collecting samples for research. It's incredible to witness it's launch, cause being in Singapore my entire life, I can only see airplanes take off. Seeing the shutter going across the sky leaving a trace of smoke and suddendly vanished into the sky and heading for it's destination is amazing. It makes you wonder about the outer space and maybe there are some aliens or flying saucer that is heading towards Earth.... So to all the parents out there, regardless of what your kids' dream is, be supportive. As cliche as it is, they are afterall our future and our hopes !

Paul took some pics so that we can share it with all of you. We took these right from our door step.

Mad Scientist

After years of eating ice-cream, it's always been my dream to own a homemade ice cream shop. Beside the usual vanillia, strawberry and chocolate flavours, I want to spice it up with adding special ingredients such as vodka, rum, or even whiskey. Hell, if eating ice-cream is to give you pleasure, might as well go all the way ! =)

Finally on my 31st birthday this year, Paul had bought me my first ice-cream/yogurt/sorbet maker and a recipe book thus I am 1 tiny baby step towards fulfilling my dream. As usual, with my vivid and wild imagintions, ideas instantly flooded my mind, as wild as creating an ice-cream line call Diana & Diana or Diana & Paul (afterall he did buy me my first ice cream maker) and defeat Ben & Jerry. Of course this was all my insane thoughts, but hey, big things always start small !

So what better ice-cream to make rather than creating with my favourite ingredients -Berries ! Being the Berry Monster, I've found the perfect recipe "Summer Berries Yogurt" (not too bad cause yogurt have slimming effect too ??!!) and I decided to make Lemon Sorbet to reward Paul for his wise selection for my birthday present (he loves sour stuffs to shock his taste bud). Without any delay, I headed off to the supermaket and gathered my ingredients.

It was fun, cause it was something that I always wanted to do and most importantly it released the mad scientist in me. So here I was following the recipe of the Summer Berries and then I realised "Hey, I have a bottle of raspberry vodka sitting in the fridge !!!" And then wicked ideas took over and before I knew it, I started pouring the magic potion (a couple of shots, OK, maybe more than a couple) into the berries mixture which is happily churning in the ice-cream maker....Thanks to the automatic function of the machine, I just need to prepare the ingredients and throw them all in the machine and let it will work it's magic.

And the end result of "Summer Berries yogurt WITH Raspberry Vodka" - simply delicious and butt kicking good. And the best part beside the yummy flavours, it makes me happy too. However, I have not sorted out if the happiness derives from my accomplishment of my creation or from the vodka !

But who cares, it is doing it's job as an ice cream to make me happy ! =)

p/s : Check out the pictures, it shows you the steps of creating yummy Summer Berries yogurt WITH Raspberry Vodka !

The Undomesticated Goddess...

I am not domesticated and I am honest about it. Why hell, I even openly told my FIL that I am not domesticated. No point trying to be the ultimate housekeeper & chef when my phobia is splattering oil, heated stove, gutting fish or chopping a chicken into pieces. I think I am preety good at housekeeping but I am definately not a chef nor even confident to cook a decent meal.

Hell, I've never cooked a meal in my entire life and being in Singapore with the easily accessible and affordable foodcourt, hawker centre, restaurant and food eateries, who needs to learn how to cook. However, I do have a skill or two when it comes to cooking edible instant noodles.

So here's the irony, now I am in US and eating out is a luxury, something which you do once or twice a week and so how do you fill your stomach for the rest of the time ? YOU COOK !!!

You might ask how did I managed to survive all these while. Well, basically I combine breakfast and lunch together and make it brunch. I will throw something (like chicken nuggets, which I am addicted to now) into the oven or toaster and let the appliances work it's magic. For me, a meal is just a meal and since I can't cook, I don't really complain nor am I fussy about food.

As for dinner, Paul dearest have been sweet enough to cook our meals thus so far I am able to escape from the stove. But lately I realised that I need to conqure my fear of a heated stove and fight my phobia of splattering oil and perhaps release the inner chef in me (if there is any). Baby steps - I keep telling myself, so I started out with those canned meals which you just need to switch on the stove, throw in the ingredients into the pot/pan, stir it up, heat it up and serve. Good thing Paul doesn't complain about that either. I reckon he had made peace with himself and accept the fact that he had married a wife and not a chef. So he basically eat whatever that is served to him.

Last evening, like a lightning strike, I decided to have a go with the stove and cook him a decent meal... or a chinese speciality - Fried Rice. I know some of you may think I am too gutsy but hey, I better do it before I "self-discourage" and talk myself out of it. So here I am gathering all the ingredients, slicing up the bbq roast pork, fried the eggs, throw in the white rice and let the inner chef in me take over the wok and spatular and conqure the scene. It was an out of body experiece for me, cause I even grasp the knowledge and timing of when to add the garlic, pour in some soy sauce, spice it up with chilli powder. And before I know it, my masterpiece is done ! It's a giantic step for me considering the fact that I have never cooked a meal before and now I am frying fried rice. I just wish my blood sisters are here to taste it. Oh, not forgetting my mom who think the stove is my nemesis.

Regardless, I was so excited with my fried rice that Paul's "It's okay" comment didn't even register with me. I am just so proud of myself and busy eating my yummy fried rice. I am not boasting, it's really yummy. Not too bland, not too salty and very favourful but I know there's always room for improvement but right this moment I am just so proud of myself. Hey, maybe there is an inner chef in me !!

Since you folks can't taste it, check out the evidence ....

My Deadly Craving and my saviour !

Growing up in an Asian country like Singapore gives me the best of both worlds, we have the asian upbringing but same time are exposed to the western culture. From Paul, he feels that asians are more adventurous with their taste buds and he derives that from me from my likes for Prawn Crackers and Fish tibits.

I enjoy food and I am open to the various options which are available to me. But as compared to my friends, I am not as hardcore like them. I enjoy escargot but I detest oysters. I like Pig's blood but I don't fancy pig's feet. Regardless, my favourite passion is tibits and desserts. At times I would subsitute dinner for tibits and gosh, there are so many varieties available in Singapore. But I always have a soft spot and a deadly addiction for my favourite tibit, I call it the fish roll ! At any mahjong gathering, as long as there is my favourite fish roll, I am a happy and satisfied mahjong player. Infact I look forward to the company and the tibit as compared to winning the money.

So here's the tough part, when I am here in US, my tibit is totally unheard of ! No one can even believe that fish is incorporate fish as an ingredient in a tibit ! I am sad and the craving for my favourite tibits is driving me mental and slightly delusional, it's like drugs to me and I am deprived of it. The craving gets more intense day after day and despite my attempts to distract my craving towards potato chips or ice cream, it just doesn't feel the same, something is missing !

Then one fine day, the postman ring the door and pass me a parcel. I was excited cause it was something for me but I am estatic when I saw my favourite tibits all packed neatly in the box ! A total of 5 packets of my WORLD'S FAVOURITE TIBITS !! Yooohoooo !!!! Guess what, it's from my WORLD'S BEST FRIEND - Cecilia !!!

I am beyond touched and if she was here with me, I would be hug her and squeezing her tight, laughing and screaming all at the same time. It's like she brought part of Singapore to me. She brought me memories of our mahong sessions, memories of our laughters and it hit me. After 31 yrs, she taught me the meaning of "It's the thought that counts."

As the tibits is affordable about $1.50 per packet but the postage is insane. Just 5 packets of tibits, the postage is $33 and personally I feel that it is not worth the shipment. But she did it for me. And she done it not once but TWICE !!! I mean she send me 2 parcels twice !!!! So how can someone not love and be blessed to have a friend like her ? She did it just so I can be happy, which I am estatic. She did it just so I can satisfy my craving, which I have. She did it just so she can bring a piece of home to me, which I am grateful and treasure. She did it just cause she thought of me and know I would like it. For that I am touched and speechless. It's a kind of feeling that you know you have a friend who would be your Best Friend for life.

This is my friend, my WORLD'S BEST FRIEND, whom I don't know what I would be today if it wasn't for her ! She taught me the meaning of "It's the thought that counts".

THANKS AGAIN, Cecilia ! I don't know how I can thank you so this page is dedicated especially to you ! Thanks for Everything ! =)

P/S : I am the winner !!! For those of you who know Cecilia, you know her trademark of writting any card. It would be "Happy Birthday, Love Cecilia". She doesn't even bothered with adding a "Best Wishes". But on my birthday card, she actually wrote and filled the complete card with her own words which is more than "Happy Birthday" ! Oh yes, it's unbelieveable and it's record breaking and I am the record holder Hahhhhahahah. Oh, BTW, the card is sticked to my fridge door as a remembrace that I am the record holder ! =)