Tag Archives: Life

2016 Week 47 Update

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Another hectic week where I was left wondering where the days flew by!

BB went for his school leadership camp for 3 days and GG missed him terribly. She kept asking me when he would come back and that she missed having him around to fight and play with. BB said pretty much the same thing when GG went do her leadership camp a couple of weeks back. Guess this showed me once more the special bond that both have, which is more I think because they shared a womb and have been together their entire life. I really hope GG will be able to cope with BB’s absence during his National Service which will be for two years, though he should be able to make it home most weekends. They’ll be older too, so hopefully more mature. 

You all must have heard of the demonitisation of the Indian rupee which happened two weeks back. What the government did was declare the 500 and 1000 rupee notes not legal tender anymore and it’s created chaos in the country. Suddenly the money people had for their daily expenses didn’t exist anymore and the queues in bank were and are insane. What it means to me is that no bank or money changer in Singapore has any relevant and legal rupee anymore. For us, who are flying to India next week, this has created so much problems. I’ve been running around asking people for whatever small change they have and have just about managed to cobble enough for a taxi ride from the airport to my home! Hopefully there are money changers in Mumbai airport from whom I can change some money, otherwise I have no idea how I am going to shop for the poonal. 

I also decided to take my involvement in BB & GG’s schools up a notch. I volunteered to be part of the school Parent Support Group’s exco committee. I also want to do the same for GG’s school but I am already in what they call the core committee and her school is not so into the PSG as BB’s school. 

We also caught Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them over the weekend and all of us, me, GG & BB loved it. It’s a sort of prequel to the Harry Potter series and I understand this is the first of five movies. If you are a Harry Potter fan, please do see the movie. 

That’s all from us this week. The next few updates will be from India! So more from there….

Have a wonderful week!!

2016 Week 46 Update

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Wow! What a week this turned out to be! I was so busy this week, that almost every day I was out and had to actually think back on what I did each day.

For one, the US elections took centre stage this week and we all now know what happened. I also penned down my initial thoughts a couple of days back in this post.

On Thursday morning, after I woke up, I was reading my Facebook feed when suddenly my phone blanked out. I was initially flustered and then took to Google to see what the issue was. Long story short, after checking websites, chatting with Apple advisors online as well as speaking to a local Apple advisor, I decided to bring my phone to the nearest service centre to see if it can be repaired. My phone was nearly 2 years old, but working well, so I was pretty confident it was a small issue. When I saw an associate at the service centre, I was told there was water damage to the phone and it was pretty much unrepairable! I was upset (understandably) and so had to buy a new phone stat! That was some serious cash outlay which I didn’t want to spend in the first place!

I also took BB & GG to the Singapore National Museum later in the week as I wanted them to have a look at what Singapore went through, especially since this was what they were learning in school. Before we went there, they didn’t tell me they had already been there before (yikes!) but we had a good couple of hours there checking out the various exhibits. I also want to take them to the other museums while I can.

Our India trip is just days away and we are all super excited! I’ve also finalised the photographer and videographer for the poonal and now all I need to do in Mumbai is fine tune the guest numbers for the caterer and also see if we need to add/delete any items from the catering list.

So that’s all folks, have a great week…..

2016 Week 45 Update

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Somehow in the planning for the Sumangali Pooja later today, this week just zipped by. 

Last Sunday, all of us (the four of us plus S’ mum and aunt) went to the Little India district to buy some of things for the pooja like sarees and long skirts to give the people sitting in the pooja as well as some other things. The rest of the week, I was fine-tuning the recipes to be cooked as well as taking advice from my mum and mother-in-law. 

Most of the dishes are done now, the house is clean and lamps lit. The ladies will come home in a couple of hours and then (fingers crossed) everything goes well. I done the bulk of the cooking and hope they taste nice. We can’t taste the food as it has to be offered to the Gods and so cooking for such occasions is usually a test of your skills as a cook. I’ll do a proper post on this function later in the week as putting it down will not only help me later, but perhaps help others who are in a similar situation. 

I also met GG’s English teacher earlier this week as I had not met him earlier during the Parent Teacher meeting. He also had some good things to say about her, especially her command of the language and her writing style. So that is good for her, especially since she wants to further her studies in Humanities. 

I also had some issues with the photographer I had contacted in August for BB’s poonal. Early in the week, after chasing him for almost 10 days, he messaged me that he will be unable to photograph the function. I was so mad at him being so unprofessional, that I messaged him back quite a strong note. Lucky for me, some friends came through with recommendations and I have now 3 quotes which are within my budget. I’ll decide one by tomorrow. Also the original photographer came back saying he can now do it, but I will not go with him for sure!

Ok, gotta go now, cooking to complete. I took a small break to update since I have been up from 4 am cooking. More later. Have a wonderful week folks!

2016 Week 44 Update

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We’re at the end of October and there’s just slightly more than 60 days for thr new year. 

This weekend was Diwali and so pretty much the week was spent getting ready for one of the biggest festivals in India. 

I was busy this whole week, but it was all home related except one day when I had to GG’s school for the parent teacher meeting. 

I haven’t yet heard from the company I interviewed more than a week back, so I will write them off. I do plan to give the HR person who liaised with me on the writing samples I had to produce for them just to get closure. 

As for my reading, I’m at book number 164 with my revised target being 175 books at the end of the year. My actual target (if I manage to get there) is to read 200 books this year, a double from my 2015 book challenge!

Also for the rest of the month, till we fly off to India is my planning for BB’s thread ceremony for which there is still work to be done. 

Enjoy the last day of October and have a wonderful week!

2016 Week 43 Update

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Another week which just went past, without much happening. 

I went for a second interview to a position where I felt I had done very well for the first interview. They asked me for a writing sample and after I sent that out, I learned that they had also contacted my references. At this point, I was quite confident about the second interview, which I (erroneously) that the second interview was just meeting the organisation’s top boss and the head of HR. Then a day before the interview, I get a call asking me for one more writing sample. This threw me off, but I sent them something before the end of the day so that they have something before the interview. 

The second interview was disastrous (in my opinion) and the lead interviewer was extremely aggressive, with questions and comments. I felt very uncomfortable there as this person seemed to pick on every point, designed to show how I am not a good fit. The interview also lasted less than 30 minutes, which I felt was not a good sign. Anyway, the next steps would involve them getting together to discuss all candidates and then come to a final decision. I do not hold much hopes here, so I am quite ok with whatever the decision will end up being. 

I’m busy with Diwali prep now and there’s some issues going on which I alluded to previously, but which can’t be revealed as yet. 

There’s also BB’s thread ceremony stuff to finalise. We’re just around a month away from our India trip, so that’s something to look forward to. 

I hope this week is a better week for me and you all…

Wishing all a very Happy Diwali! May this festival of light brighten up and light up your lives.