A Toy Story Celebration

Last week had been a very busy week for me. On Tuesday & Wednesday, I was busy with Round Table meetings. On Thursday, Friday and this Monday, I went along with my MD for meeting with clients.

It had been a very steep learning curve for me but I truly enjoyed these meetings and trying my best to soak up as much information as I possibly can.

Honestly, in Asia culture, nothing beat a simple handshake or hello and this will make a world of difference for future correspondences.

On Saturday, one of Adrian’s buddies – Kenneth, celebrated his son 9th year old birthday at his home. K’s wife (Joanne) had kindly extended the invitation to our family a few weeks back. As Adrian was scheduled to work on the NDP, I decided to bring the children to the party on my own.

As their home is near to Buangkok MRT, so our easiest route was to go via MRT-CIRCLE LINE- NEL. For the 1st time, Anthea and Anders had the chance to travel on the Circle Line. Honestly, it is pretty much like MRT, so it does not really make much difference to them. The only complaint they had was – why were we changing so many trains…haha.

We arrived at K’s home around 6.30pm and coincidentally, as we were walking toward his home, we saw the F16 flying passed us. They were heading toward the Padang for the aerial display.

The birthday celebration was held at the BBQ pit and there were lots of delicious BBQ food. Both Anthea and Anders had great fun at the playground located just next to the Pit. While we ate, we also had the chance to catch up with his buddies on their latest development.

I am impressed that all of them are upgrading to condominium and living an impressive lifestyle. Well, I guess that’s why the Chinese saying – “一种米养百种人“。 We belong to the Low-income family group, thus we can only stay in our humble HDB home…keke : P

To me, the utmost import thing is family happiness and health. Seeing the children growing each and every day and learning the right values in life beat the luxury of life. The best deal is we are debt free and I am able to choose my current role as a work from home mommy. Truly able to take things in my own stride and as the family progress, the role can be upgraded too. I believe in 一份根耘，一份收获。。

友谊万万岁！！

Last Saturday, I had a wonderful gathering with a group of closed friends at the Global Kitchen in Pan Pacific hotel.

I had known this group of friends since my working day with the travel agency. After I left the agency in 1995, we still keep in touch. A few of them are still in the Travel industry with their new employer and some left the industry totally, like me.

Our last meet up was 2 years ago at my house and this time round we decided on a Hi-Tea meet.
We arrived at the venue around 1pm and everyone started, eagerly, to find out who is doing what now and where the person is working in…hehe.Throughout the 3 ½ hours of gathering, there were so much laughter and noise coming from our table. As the saying goes - 三个女人，一个巴刹。。There were 6 of us…: P

Beside enjoying the food and great selection of teas, I truly enjoyed the company of my dearest friends. The 3 ½ hours passed by so quickly.

When the Hi Tea buffet came to a closed, everyone was asking “where are we going next?” well since the mood is so HIGH and MIGHTY, we should go to Marina Bay Sands. I proposed and all concurred.

So we took the FREE shuttle bus from Pan Pacific hotel to MBS. As one of my girlfriends has a contact point in MBS. She contacted the person in charge and the Sales person brought us around the Hotel, the casino and Convention area for a quick tour. We even had the chance to visit the Sky pool. The view from the 59th floor was magnificent and we took the opportunity to take some group photos.

After the tour of MBS, we said thank you and good-bye to the Host. It was almost 6.30pm when we left MBS. As the evening weather was still good, we decided to walk back to Pan Pacific hotel. Along the way, we saw the Helix Bridge and try a walk on the bridge. It was a bit shaky and my girlfriends commented that it felt like earthquake.

At the same time as there was NDP rehearsal at the Padang, we saw the Singapore Flag flying passed above us and also the F15 jets. They were flying so low and so near to us, the sound was deafening.

Four of us decided to adjourn for a drink while the other girlfriends left to join their family/friend. My girlfriend brought us to the Mandarin Oriental hotel poolside for a drink. We were considering viewing the NDP fireworks from the poolside.

We ordered our drinks and some light snacks to go along with the drinks. As we drank and enjoyed the snacks, we were watching our time. Yes, at 8.15pm, the fireworks started and we were pleasantly surprised that we had the best spot to view the fireworks. This year, the fireworks displayed not only came from the platform, there were also “firing” it off from rooftops of Ritz Carlton hotel, a few buildings in CBD and the Padang too. So imagine our excitement when we can see all the fireworks from the different spots. It was just too spectacular.

When the fireworks ended, the hotel guests whom were at the poolside with us, clapped their hands in appreciation. At that point, i felt so proud of our NDP Fireworks. : )

We continued with our drinks and food after the fireworks and chatted till our hearts contended.

We, finally, called it a day around 10pm and went home feeling so Happy and High in mood. This had been the best gathering for our group and I know there will be more fun outings with my 大姐们 and I look forward to our next meet. Till then – 谢谢你们真挚的友情和陪伴。祝我们友谊永柱！！