Homesick on CNY

Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!

I think I can safely say that all of you who are reading this blog will be having much more fun than I am during this time of festivities. Can’t believe I missed celebrating CNY in Singapore two years in a row. There is zilch atmosphere here in Brisbane – well maybe there is a little bit but I avoided Sunnybank and Fortitude Valley altogether last weekend. But CNY to me is not just about the lion dances, pineapple tarts and mandarins. It’s more about spending time with the family and close friends, be it sitting around the table eating ‘gua zi’s or sharing a joke or two over the much anticipated reunion dinner.

Having said that, I must admit I had a relaxing long weekend with Pen’s family and my good friend Izaeel. What can I say? Thank God for friends who are in the same boat as you? Haha.

Izaeel and I caught the much talked-about Twilight on Friday night at Garden City. After two hours, it was not difficult to see just why so many teenage girls had fallen for the made-believe perfection that is Edward Cullen. Even us ‘oldies’ were smitten for a moment but were quickly pulled back to reality upon seeing the ring on our finger.

Come Sunday evening, Mummy Luciana once again made us daughters-in-law feel at home by preparing a feast for ‘reunion dinner’.

On the first day of CNY which also happened to be Australia Day (Yay for me coz’ it’s a holiday!), I joined Izaeel, Ranger and their Indo friends for Yum Cha at Shangri-La. That was probably the most ‘Chinese’ thing I did all weekend, apart from giving ang baos to Xiao Xiao and Qi Qi.

So…I don’t suppose you had a more exciting CNY than I did? Humour me.

It's Wicked!

I’m finally going to watch this – on March 14! I’m so excited! Since its launch in August last year, I’ve eagerly wanted to watch it. Problem was, the Broadway musical was only staging at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne and I haven’t managed to steal any time away.

But now I have! They’ve just announced new dates for the musical this year so I’ve tempted Pen to go on a weekend getaway with me to Melbourne! He agreed in a heartbeat and has even booked our air tickets.

Best thing is, the air tickets and hotel stay will be freeeeeee! All thanks to the husband’s job and frequent flyer/credit card points.

Oooh, can’t wait. I’ve always wanted to fly into a city JUST to watch a show/musical. Sounds like something out of Pretty Woman. Haha. :p

Recession shock

Someone whispered in my ear on Friday night at Changi Airport before I left - “Remember, we live vicariously through your blog!” And I remember nodding my head in amusement. So yes, I’m keeping my promise.

Here’s a piece of news for you – I received a rude shock when I stepped into the office early on Monday morning. Apart from finding myself ‘chair-less’, I was also alarmed to find out that…(and I quote my colleague Nicole)

“Oh my gosh! When you were away, Mandy and Tracy got made redundant!”

At this point, I almost fell off my chair (after I dragged it back from Nicole’s little corner). Mandy’s in my team and she only recently joined the company a couple of months ago. She’s a really likeable girl and I’d grown to enjoy working with her. She also used to give me rides to the Homemakers’ Centre (where Pen sometimes parks Shadow) after work every now and then. On the other hand, Tracy our trusty Office Manager, had been with the company for ages. She was our administrative arm who painstakingly took care of our needs. I don’t know what they were thinking retrenching her.

Long story short, apparently the higher powers have decided to streamline all the teams and only keep the managers and ONE senior staff per team. The retrenchment was done while I was away in Singapore but I’m sure they would have planned this way before. This was when I started thanking God profusely for His blessing and protection upon me. In the midst of the current economic downturn, I should be thankful I still have a job. Although I must admit I’m still a bit nervous about the whole episode because this means extra workload for me on top of the fact that I’d have to work extra hard to ‘recession-proof’ myself.

Please pray for me!