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Journaling 

Journaling 

I unearthed a forgotten trove of journals when I was trying to locate one of my old travel journals to plan for my next holiday! 


I marveled at how legible my handwriting was! ? Back in 1998! Now, it has been reduced to a scrawl, though not quite up to the standard of the “Doctor font” yet. (Sigh! It goes to show that no matter how badly I write, I don’t have the potential to be a doctor. Oh well!)

I posted the picture in FB and some very wonderful friends praised my ex-handwriting. Ok! For that, I’ll endeavour to improve my current standard!! 

Some others were surprised that I actually kept journals. Yes! I did and I still do (very sporadically now). I’m still quite old school. I need to scribble on something for my ideas to take shape. 

I used to write in my diaries every day. When I go through them now, memories come back to me and yet they felt like a few lifetimes away. Those were part of me and yet, there’s no way I can write like that now. Not at this point of my life, with the current state of mind. I kind of miss the old me, with a naive set of idealism and can-do attitude (to the point of being “ti ki”). Ah! How nice it was, to be young, to have the “anything can be done” ??????, the silly squabbles, the shallow crushes. 

Looking back now, it seems that I had a whole lot more fun than what I have right now. It’s a chore to be a grown up! But at least I’ve had my good old wild days! Been there, done that!

Maybe, just maybe, one day, I can make the choice to unshackle myself from the mundane responsibilities and liabilities and be wild again?! But by then, already become old auntie already leh. Sigh…!

Everyone should start journaling! You will be surprised to read what you are writing now, 20 years later! It’s like recovering parts of your life. ?

*ti ki – hokkien for metal teeth. Aka persistent. 

??Santa Claus is Coming to Town!??

??Santa Claus is Coming to Town!??

小小宝贝 has been in the Christmas mood for the last few months. I’ve been having live carolling in the house. BUT he has a quirky talent of changing the lyrics to suit himself. ?

You better watch out

You better not cry

You better not pout

I’m telling you why 

Santa Claus is coming to town 


He sees you when you’re pee-peeing 

He knows when you are awake 

He knows if you’ve been bad or good

So be good for goodness sake 


Me : Eh it doesn’t sound very right. Can you sing the part “he sees you when you’re…” again??

小小宝贝 : ?He sees you when you’re PEE-PEEING?

Me : pee-peeing!? Isn’t it sleeping?! 

小小宝贝 : No. Pee-peeing. Cannot dirty the toilet! Must pee into the toilet bowl! (Indignantly) Not sleeping!!! 

Me : ok ok. It does make sense. 

小小宝贝 continued his carolling, very smugly.  

 

Swiss Air – Disappointing is an understatement!

Swiss Air – Disappointing is an understatement!

My first time on Swiss Air, probably my last time. Unless, it’s on a business trip and it happens to be the only suitable airline.  Or else… NAH AH!!

I have never taken Swiss Air before, although I have taken quite a many other ones.  Due to the recent air disasters, my company decided to split the whole group of us into 2 different flights – Swiss Air or Singapore Airlines.  Obviously, everyone wanted the Singapore Airline flight…. so we had to “lucky draw” the air ticket.  Lucky me ended up with Swiss Air. (That’s precisely why I stay away from casinos!)  I just thought that, since it was a pick between the 2 airlines, the quality and standard of the 2 airlines should be pretty close.  Although my brother warned me about Swiss Air, having taken it last year.

And Boy! I was utterly WRONG in my assumption. It’s far from the standard of Singapore Airlines.

Listing my reasons in descending order of importance :

9. Earphones?!

The first that struck me when I boarded the plane was, huh?! Earphones?! That’s so 20th century! Most of the flights which I have taken in the recent years have since switched to headphones.  And why am I picking on such nitty gritties? Well, a plane’s a plane.  I can’t inspect the engine so I can only pick on the small stuff.  That’s what makes the whole consumer experience right?

8. No overnight bag

This is the FIRST airline.  FIRST! That doesn’t provide an overnight bag for a long overnight flight! Serious! Luckily, I remembered to bring my own toothbrush.

7. No socket for gadget charging

Ok, this is a very recent thingy.  I have only seen this in the planes which I have taken this year. That’s why it’s low on importance, yah?

6. No moisturiser or amenities in the toilet.

So far, all the airlines that I have taken (except for Scoot, Asia Air, not counted lar!! Budget airlines!! Budget leh!) have moisturisers in the toilets. So giam siap meh?? It’s not like we are paying peanuts??

5. Call buttons are for show

You can press the call attendant button for the entire flight and no one will appear.  I highly suspect that they are simply put there for decorative purposes.

4. Not allowed to pick seats during online purchase of air tickets.

I have been buying my air tickets online.  Heck! I have been buying almost everything online!! I am an avid online shopper! This is the first time, in recent years, that when I buy air tickets online that I am unable to pick my seats. Especially when I am buying a ticket that has a child no-seat ticket attached to it.  Usually the front row seats can be picked.  But to give the airline the credit, they did give us a front row seat for that particular ticket at the “manual” check in counter at the airport.

3. No baby food prepared

Of course Scoot didn’t have that… Budget airline.  I took SQ for the past few times when I was travelling with a baby.  They even gave us a few jars of baby food to pick from and even warmed them up for us.  Ok ok… don’t compare with SQ huh?? So discriminating arh? Ok ok… I try not to..

2. Only one cup of milk

I asked for milk for my girl.  The flight attendant whipped out a little 250ml bottle of milk and starting to open it to pour it out into a glass.  I told her, “Thanks, but you don’t need to pour it out.  She can drink it out of the bottle directly.” Her reply really caught me off-guard.

“Sorry! I can’t give you the whole bottle of milk. Other people may want milk too.  I only have 4 bottles.” What the heck?! 4 bottles of 250ml of milk for half the plane?! That’s a miserable 1l of milk?! I took a sip of the milk. Nothing special leh.  In fact, Meiji milk tastes better. Giam ganah to the max!!!

1. This is the BIGGEST reason that put me off Swiss Air flights! ATTITUDE!!!

Waaa! When I think about it now, as I’m blogging about it, it gets me worked up again. Chill chill! Or else high blood pressure ya?

What do you do when you press the decorative call button for forever and no one comes, while your toddler is screaming his head off, with the hub struggling to contain and prevent him from kicking the dinner tray over, trays on the pulled-out table, and your preschooler suddenly declares, in the midst of the chaos that she MUST go to the toilet now, or else….!!!

So, while I was trying to balance 3 overflowing dinner trays and trying to clear a path for my daughter to visit the toilet, I spied a recess between my seat (I was sitting on the last row) and the wall.  Instinctively, I stacked the 3 trays on top of one another securely on the floor in that recess.  Ok.. problem solved.  Hub was still struggling with screaming toddler, but that’s his problem as he was sitting in the section behind us, separated by a wall. Preschooler was safely back in her seat, after her toilet expedition.

The flight attendant (the same one who refused to give me milk, but ok, that’s not her fault, it’s logistics) came by with her food trolley to clear all the trays. Obviously my tables were empty. In her school teacher voice, she asked,”Where are your trays?”

“Behind me.” I pointed to the neatly stacked trays on the floor behind my seat.

She glared at me, for at least 1 minute (I thought her eyes were going to pop out from their sockets under the pressure), huffed and pushed her trolley away without clearing the trays.  Oh well, I thought, don’t want to clear, not my problem…

A while later, she came back (probably after depositing her trolley). She stood over me and glowered at me, “next time don’t put your trays there!” It was the tone and the words which got to me. I gave her my look-at-her-up-and-down look and said,”My daughter needed to go to the toilet and there was nowhere else to put the trays.”

She continued with her laser-glare while she picked up the trays.

Wa lau eh! That’s the worst service I have ever received!! Super pissed off! The plane can be void of amenities, but bad service is something that gets my hackles up! Come to think of it, I should have taken the cutlery and cups and dishes apart and lay them on the floor so that she had to pack everything together before she could clear the trays. But then again, I won’t be setting a good example for my daughter. Sigh! How I wish I am not a mother and I can do all these nasty things! Couldn’t even swear at her! Must preserve my good mother image… What a sacrifice!

Ok… That’s it.  Rant over! On with my wonderful holiday! Just no more Swiss Air for me after this trip! Don’t let me see her on my return flight siah!!! Or else… I will…. keep pressing the call button and make her serve me 100 times! Hey wait! The call button is gei one… Must think of something else to torture her with!

Say say only lah…

Triapsing on Solo

Triapsing on Solo

I haven’t done this for the longest time ever. 8 years to be exact. The last time I did a solo trip was during my stint in Germany. Solo was the norm because there simply wasn’t anyone else whom I could travel with. Good travelling partners (like my dear Sharon!!) who are game for anything (I mean, REALLY anything, including nutty things) are hard to come by.

Weighing the pros and cons of traveling solo or with a partner whose interest differs greatly from mine, I’d rather travel alone. Holiday time is scarce and short and I simply don’t have the patience, nor do I see the need to spend time on activities that hold no attraction for me.

This solo trip after 8 years hiatus is filled with anticipation and yet, reluctance. Anticipation to discover a foreign place, to leave behind the stress and worries. Reluctance due to inertia and having to leave Yihui behind. We have not been separated for more than 24 hrs since she was created. I can only satisfy my longing with the pictures and videos I’ve taken of her in my iPhone. (the iPhone is a truly wondrous creation. Thank you Steve!!)

Anyway, it’s time to get off my butt and do some exploring. I’m slightly better prepared. I’ve my bus tickets and even a hotel booked!! Compared to my previous trips, (only booked air ticket and rented a car, everyone thought I was crazy to do that) I’m way over prepared.

Czech, here I come!!