2013 - Year of Adventure

A very belated 'Happy New Year' goes out to all those who read my blog! 2012 is now a memory and as we pass the 10th day in January, I can only imagine what a year it'll be!

As I mentioned in my last entry of 2012, I'm starting 2013 with a *bang*! In just two days' time, I'll be off on my first solo journey, out of the Asian continent into Europe! Woweeee!!! If someone had told me that I would be going to Europe, specifically Berlin, this year and that I would be staying there for TWO MONTHS, I would laugh! Me? Travel to Berlin? Yeah right! But...as fate would have it, here I am, trying to finish packing (by rolling all my sweaters, jackets, socks) and trying hard not to have my luggage overweight. It's winter in Germany now, and I HATE the cold! How I'll survive despite wearing layers is something I'll update you on in a few days' time. :p

Just like how I was in India, my blog would probably be VERY active. :-) And also my Facebook.

Right after Berlin, I'll be off to Manila for about a week. I hope I would have recovered from my jet-lag by the time I fly off again. So far, those are the two travels I have within the first quarter of this year. I have no idea though, if I would be traveling again further into the year. Ever since I joined my organisation, I have traveled quite a bit, not as much as my other colleagues; but then, when I do travel, it's usually for long periods i.e. one month in India, nearly two weeks in Bintulu and then another two weeks in India again. This time, it's two months!!

As much as I am excited and nervous about this trip, I'm also dreading the homesickness that I will no doubt feel. Plus the 7 hour difference between the countries is no help! I'm pretty sure I'll have tears in my eyes when I say goodbye to my family. Thank God my room has WIFI. This is indeed a very good opportunity and it would be such a waste for me to turn it down simply because of the fear of leaving the nest. So many people have told me to just enjoy myself to the maximum and hopefully return with "someone". Lol!

Well....let's see how I cope and adapt. I'm pretty sure I'll be ok but then again, I have this inherent fear of people not liking me; of me not having any friends; of me being lonely...

People have also advised me to travel to the neighbouring countries like Poland. But that will depend on whether I have enough money with me. Although it does make sense to go to these places since I am already there, I don't see the point of spending money that I can't afford and then suffer when I am back home. Let's just see how it goes. After all, I have two months....

And so...till my next entry from Berlin!! 

2012 as it was

So it's 3.51pm on New Year's eve and here I am sitting in front of the computer, writing my last entry for 2012. Unfortunately, I'm not proud to admit that I can hardly recall what happened throughout 2012. *grimace* Now I know the importance of either updating my blog regularly or keeping a written journal; neither of which I have done properly this past year.

Nevertheless, there are things that happened this year that are still etched in my memory. And just like the rule of the universe, it's good and bad. :-( Sighs.

The good: My sis and I finally started our (we-hope-to-be-yearly) travels. The destination this time was Singapore as it was on my sister's bucket list of things to do. What a blast we had in Singapore. From walking down Orchard Road, sitting by the "river" at Clarke Quay, to winning at the Marina Bay Sands Casino to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!!!! This amazing trip was courtesy of both our North-South parents. :-) It was truly a memorable trip and Singapore is definitely home No.2. We'll definitely go back, whether we're wanted or not! Lol! Plus, since I now know how to get to the flat in Toa Payoh, we can just surprise our South parents. *grin*

Another good thing that happened this year: my sister started working and my brother got engaged!!!!!!!! Woo!!!!!!!! :D

The bad: Sadly, as much fun as we had in Singapore, just 4 months prior, something that should never have happened, happened. I did not have easy time accepting what happened. Losing, or rather ending a friendship with someone whom you've known for more than 6 years, where you've studied together, graduated together and continued to be close friends despite having different careers, is tough. The sad thing is, back when we were in college, we had decided that nothing should/would get in the way of our friendship, be it boys/men etc. That's a decision that we both thought we could keep but unfortunately, it is something easier said than done. We both have our own opinions and though there are times when we usually don't "get" each other, we're most of the time on the same wavelength. We click despite our differences. 

I'm pretty sure we both have different takes on what exactly happened. And that neither one of us are going to budge. I guess that is expected from two people who have strong opinions. As far as I know, the friendship has ended (though as far as I remember, things just ended abruptly. There were no more SMSes or calls or chats). People have asked me what happened, but I just smile and say that people change and times change. Sighs.

It's weird. Now that I am writing about it, it sounds like I was in a relationship with someone and that relationship has gone sour. Lol! 

Anyway, another bad thing that happened, which suddenly just came to me was the constant nagging by my grandparents to get married! That's not a topic I want to get into at all. I occasionally do get those feelings where I feel that I'm lagging behind when I see my friends getting married and having kids. But then, I tell myself that this is the path that I have chosen and I am happy. So why compare?

Well...that's the end of this entry. There are some things that happened in 2012 that I will learn from and there are things that happened that will last forever in my mind. 

As 2013 approaches, I look forward to newer, greater things happening. As it is, the first great thing about to happen is me spending two months in Germany!! I can hardly believe that I will be experiencing winter, be living on my own and....living in a place full of Europeans. Lol! I only hope I'll adapt fast both to the place and weather, and that people will like me. :-) Who knows? I might meet someone there. Lol!

Here's wishing everyone a WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!

Long Overdue

This entry is long overdue, simply because I was too lazy to sit and type out what's on my mind. In my last entry, I started with describing the first day of my trip to Singapore. I ended it by saying that I would just give the highlights and low points of the trip. So here goes:

Day 1:

Highlight: Arriving in Singapore of course!! What else? And of course meeting Aunty Esther and re-uniting with our Singapore family!

Low point: Orchard Road was still "dark". It was also drizzling. Still managed to get some nice pictures though.

Day 2:

Highlight: Visiting the oldies and listening to their stories from THOSE days - Grandma Grosse and Uncle Maurice. Touring, buying souvenirs and having dinner around Chinatown ended a great day! Also went to Clark Quay.

Low Point: We did not get to meet Uncle Jeff's mother.

Day 3:

What can I say? Uncle Stephen was off! Universal Studios Singapore!!!!!!!!! Marina Bay!!!!!!! First time in a Casino (legally)!!!!!!!!!!!!

Low Point: It was rainy towards the end of the day. And....it was our second last day in Singapore. Sighs.

Day 4:

Highlight: Finally met Aunty Teresa. Had lunch and spent some time at home.

Low Point: It was time to leave! In addition, our flight was delayed!

Overall, I had a great 4 days in Singapore! We did as much as we could in those four days, with promises made to return and continue the touring of Singapore. USS deserves a second visit and I should sit on more roller coasters, at least before I turn 30 (which only gives me one more year)!

Thanks so so so so so much to my Malaysian and Singapore parents for making this trip come true. :-)

Days of being spoilt and pampered

So after all the dressing up and stuffing ourselves with delicious, home-cooked Indian food, the day after Deepavali saw dad, mum, Vay and me up at the break of dawn, getting ready for our long awaited trip.

We were out of our house by 8am to avoid the morning work traffic. Thankfully, as some people had taken the week off, traffic was not that bad. We reached the airport, checked our bags in, sat around for awhile, then it was bye-bye to our dear parents. I hope the next trip, all for of us will travel together.

As Vay and I walked through the international departure gate and immigration, excitement built-up. We were going to Singapore!! I can only imagine how Vay was feeling then - to be returning to Singapore after 18 years! I was there two years ago but it was such a short trip! It was simply not enough. Plus, I had traveled 10hrs by bus and by the time I reached Singapore, it was midnight. This time, we were traveling by plane and with lady luck on our side, we arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule!

We passed the Singapore immigration, got our bags and out of the arrival door, we see....Aunty Lita and Aunty Esther i.e. second mum and bro's prospective mum-in-law. After rounds of hugs and introduction (as it was our first time meeting Aunty Esther), we went for an early lunch. We had noodles and drinks at Ruyi and after chitchatting for nearly 2 hours, we sent Aunty Esther off.

Then the holiday began! We took the Skytrain to the MRT session and from there it was a few stops to the Braddell station. On the way, Uncle Stephen i.e. second dad met up with us at one of the stops. It was like a big family reunion on the MRT. Hugs and kisses went round! :-)

It was slightly drizzling as we walked from the MRT station back to the flat. But as all the walkways were shaded, am umbrella was unnecessary. While Uncle Stephen and Vay took the lazy way up to the flat which was on the FIRST floor, Aunty Lita and I exercised our leg muscles and took the stairs.

The flat has changed much since I was there two years ago. It has a more "womanly" touch to it; with the curtains and house ornaments etc. It looked like a home. Not that it didn't look homey the last time, but you could just tell that a MAN was living in the house back then. Hehe!

After getting settled in and having coffee, that night, we went to the famous western food shop for dinner (fish and chips and chicken chop) before heading to Orchard Road to see the lights. As it was raining and I think still too early in the season, not much lights were up. But there were enough lights for us to take some pictures.

That day also marked the beginning of a cough that haunted me throughout my trip. *cough*

Note: My sis did a pretty good job of detailing our trip to Singapore. Therefore, I will not repeat what she has done. I will instead, give the highlights and low points of the trip in my next entry. I've posted this rather long description of our first day as it was written quite awhile ago. 

Deepavali

Deepavali preparations this year were hectic. For some unknown reason, everything was done at the last minute. We rushed to get our Deepavali shopping done: biscuits, muruku, mum and dad’s new clothes. Heck, we even bought OUR own clothes at the last minute. I’m not sure if it’s because we’re choosy or that the styles this year were just horrible. Nevertheless, after 3 rounds of roaming around Little India and visiting Kamdar where we got our outfits last year, Vay and I finally managed to buy our Punjabi suits – in Little India!! They cost more than what was budgeted but we decided it was worth it.

What do you think?

Our annual family dinner on Deepavali eve was the usual fanfare. Everyone was there sans some cousins and uncles who could not make it. The food was good and the company was great. We got ‘angpows’ too!

Deepavali day itself was fun. Of course, sis and I were excited to don our new outfits and get decked out in all the accessories. This is one of the few times a year that I actually dress up and am girly. Hehe! The whole family went to my grandma’s for brunch. A few of dad’s friends came over and mum met one of her old friends whom she hasn’t met in years.

That night, dad went for dinner at one of his friend’s house while mum, sis and I stayed home to finish packing for our trip the next day. And in the spirit of Deepavali, we watched a Tamil/English movie too!

So that was Deepavali this year. The next entry should be more exciting!! :p

November already?

October just flew by and I don't even have ONE entry for that month! Hmmm.....

Well, the last few days of October saw me sick. Literally glued to the bed. Was on sick leave on Monday but had to return to work on Tues and Wed as the boss was leaving to Oslo. So much to prepare. Suffered through the 8+ hours and then "died" the moment I reached home. Poor sis didn't have dinner for like 2-3 nights coz I fell asleep the moment my head touched the pillow. Only got up to bathe, have a drink and it was back to bed.

Thank God, I'm starting to feel much much better. And it could not have come at a better time as Vay's convo is tomorrow and it's also less than two weeks to Deepavali and then the much awaited trip to Singapore!!!!

I still haven't decided if we're doing murukus this year. Should I or should I not? Mum says no need since we won't be here anyway but then, after having reached near perfection last year, I'm eager to see if we can nail it again this year. Hmmmm....

The weekend is approaching and it's going to be a hectic weekend. There's the convo, then there's Deepavali shopping to attend to, and if I decide to make the murukus, at least 3-4 hours will be spent on that.

But just as October flew, I'm sure November will just as well zoom past us and before we know it, it's Xmas, New Year and then 2013!

September Planning

September was a month of planning. Back in August when Vay fulfilled her probation period at work and was subsequently confirmed, we had a discussion about finances and future plans. We talked about how we would divide the household expenditures between ourselves; while at the same time have enough to save. We not only came up with a plan to save for a rainy day, but we also came up with the idea of having a ‘travel fund’.

Apart from shouldering the household expenditures and having enough $$ to spend monthly, we decided that a portion of our salaries would be saved for anything major etc and another smaller portion would be put into our ‘travel fund’. The idea is to build the ‘travel fund’ and at the end of every year or two years (depending on how much we have saved), the money would then fund our year-end trips.

So as said in the beginning, September was a month of planning. Although we have yet to start our ‘travel fund’, we decided that we would treat ourselves to a holiday this year. And thus, the planning began.

First on Vay’s list of places to visit is Singapore, having last been there when she was 4 or 5. Besides the “need” to re-visit Singapore, there’s also the added incentive of our second parents and beloved great-grand-uncle living there. They’ve always asked us to go down south for a holiday and I went myself back in 2010. Now it’s Vay’s turn.

After deciding that Deepavali would be the best time to travel (Vay and I plan to take a week off), we researched for the best travel options: bus, train or plane. Thanks to the internet (I really don’t know how life without Google would be), we found that we had two options: save money, take the bus and waste 20 hours travelling or pay more, fly and save the hours.

Days and weeks were spent thinking about this. And finally, we decided that it was not worth it to waste 20 hours just travelling and spending only 2 nights in Singapore. We chose to fly and thanks to Air Asia, we managed to get not-too-expensive flights!

However, before we could move forward, Vay and I had to get out passports done. Vay hasn’t had a new one since she was a toddler and mine expires early next year. But getting the passports done was easy. Within hours we had our passports!

The next hurdle came when it was time to purchase the tickets. My friend had agreed to buy the tickets for me online. Sadly, she was hospitalized (nothing serious thank God) and as days passed, the cost of the ticket increased much to our dismay!!!

Then our second mum came to the rescue! She offered to buy the tickets for us first before the price went up again. Much to our surprise and delight, our second parents decided to pay for the tickets for us as a Deepavali and Xmas gift! Woohoo!!!

And so now, with our passports and flight tickets ready, Vay and I just can’t wait for November to come. Nevertheless, being the slight OCD that I am, I still need to come up with a budget plan so that we can estimate how much we’re going to spend and how much $$ we need to bring. Since our tickets are already paid for, the bulk of the expenditure would be paying for USS. But heck, it’s not everyday we get to go to USS and it’s a MUST GO place!

Can’t wait for November!!!!!!!!