Live The Dream

I don't know what I've put myself into.

My good friend, Joyce, from Dawnbreakers' Choir in Wesley has nominated me for the Live The Dream singing contest. This is the equivalent of Singapore Idol, except that it is for older folks - that is, 25 years and above.

Live The Dream is organised by MediaCorp S'pore, but oh my, oh my, I have to give an answer to them if I will be participating!

MS' concerns:

1. What on earth am I doing this for?
2. What about time for kids and family?
3. Am I serious or insane to join such a 'national' contest?

MS is definitely not interested in public fame. Please, none of that please. Let others 'increase', I don't need that. I can shine in my own home, my bathroom especially, when I can sing till I turn blue!

Still, will it be that one chance in one's life to do something insanely different than life's routines? Or that only chance to take that amateur singing to a higher level, as Joyce reasoned again and again? After all, she just cut a CD, for herself and for legacy. (More about that in next post. But you can buy her CD in EQ Music from July onwards. CD is entitled Close To Me - Joyce.)

OK, OK, someone, please help MS decide!!! Would all this be just a wild dream??? ;- )

En Bloc Bummer

I'd be frank, I'm not one to make loads of money. Definitely not with en bloc sales.

Just take the mad frenzy in property prices lately in Singapore. The craze for en bloc sale of entire estates has taken on dizzying heights. One wonders how the developers can eventually sell off the redeveloped houses that they are going to build, especially at $1,000 psf (targetted amount).

The object in question is Farrer Court, which we owned a unit previously, and sold off in 2005 at super low times. Reason: avoid a mortgage and move in with MIL, who needed companionship after the death of FIL.

We had bought a property in the west of Singapore before moving over, and that is due for TOP in a year or so, barring no more sand ban from Indonesia, which has delayed construction.

But hang on, the topic is on enbloc sale, and Farrer Court is up for sale as the "largest en bloc land for sale, with potential to build 36 storeys, with every owner set to pocket about $2.4 million"! What a bummer!!!

Oh, why did we sell off FC? It was not that we needed the money. In fact, we used the sale money to pump into the new house. The reason lies in two facts: that I am still a working mum, so help is needed to look after the girls; and that we didn't want a maid in the long run, hence, the need to be with MIL to be the caretaker in the day. And since MIL did not want to come over everyday to our house in FC, we decided to pack up and move over to her place. So we sold off FC, after a conversation with a veteran estate agent, who calculated that FC has too many units for the potential developer to payout to.

Sigh... deep sigh... I do feel lousy, but I also cannot bear the thought of receiving 'poison letters' from neighbours if I had chosen to opt out. And FC residents are mainly retirees, educated, and have nothing much to do except to wait for property prices to go up. I do not think I am exaggerating. The neighbours are sweet, but at the same time, they can be an ugly bickering lot. That's why I packed off fast, despite FC being a nice estate, with many trees around.

I am really not good at making money. I am even more upset that the decision to work has led to missed opportunities.

But I received a ray of hope recently through a super wild thought. When the FC deal gets through, what would these retirees do with their $2.4m? Put $1m in their retirement fund for sure, but they'll need a place to stay! They're unlikely to move to the east nor north; not even central Singapore, where all the hot property action is happening with high prices. That makes the west or south west very attractive. And that's where my new place will be. So hopefully, they'll pump in their remnant $1.4m to me. And it is possible, cos Hubs just received a call yesterday from agents who are seeking out units at the west, where a new MRT Circle Line will pass through and Clementi will be developed. Oh, goody, goody, so brilliant, and yet so speculative. Let's just wait... (with wide, greedy eyes shooting out).

OK, girl, get real, read what the Bible says:

Do not weary yourself to gain wealth
Cease from your considerations of it
When you set your eyes on it, if it is gone
For wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

Proverbs 23:4-5

There you are, this is not pouring spoilt milk over the brilliant idea. Rather, a firm reminder that wealth really has wings, it flies off so fast, that the pursuit of it can be in vain.

Get out of the frenzy girl, and find a home for your family, and not a house. That is the main object in life.

Elephant's Foot

Heard of that?

I was scrambling in the internet to find info on that plant. Yes, it's a plant. And despite so many references of it as a yam-like plant, Faith, the object of whom I serving for her Science project, insisted that it is a green plant.

Take a look. Can any green stem out from this 'elephantiasis' kind of plant? There was a near-tear-your-hair scenario this morning before going to school, but MS decided to leave it our from her project. Too bad, no info, she'd better rely on her friends.

Right after I've posted this picture, I found this picture, but without much info.

Now, did I miss this out? Oh well, let her check it out for herself. It was found on google and not the wiki. Lovely flower, eh? But what an incongruent name!

Hello

It's been many months since I've last come to this blog. It was the fatigue that grabbed me, I could hardly talk about blogs for a long while cos it just sapped me totally. I think it was because I had a community of friends, and they are all lovely people, and I knew there were people reading the blog, and it bugged me that I had to write for an audience and not for myself.

I dunno, I chose to stay away just to keep off and come back again when I'm ready to write my own personal diary. Yeah, that's what I had always wanted to, to write personal things that mean much to me.

Well, here am I now...

Faith has just turned 9 on May 6, and we had a simple do at Secret Recipe after church & lunch with friends. It was a day prior her exams and I just wanted to make her happy. She didn't do extremely well for her exams, but we just kept up with the encouragement to push her on. It's like this in Singapore, you may be good, but your good is always not good enough. It's hard to live on mediocrity when the society is all about meritocracy. I do so wish I can provide her with something that she truly enjoys doing, like art, and more art.

Last Friday, she acted in The Golden Goose in the Musical Theatre for Primary 3s. She was one of the many narrators, but that she agreed to go on stage again was an achievement, since her disaster on stage for Spelling Bee last year. I'm proud of her.

The thing about Faith is that she's very principled, especially in money issues. For example, in choosing to buy things, she'd say, "pick the cheapest Mum". I asked her why, she'd say, "pay up the house, Mum". Yesterday I asked her what she would think of me joining the Live Your Dream (aka adult Singapore Idol for those from 25 to 99). She said, "Don't join, Mum."

"Why? Don't you like me singing?"
"Yes, but don't waste money."
"Huh? What's that gotta do with money? You mean I'll have to buy clothes to wear on TV."
"It's just not necessary, Mum. Save it for the house."

My girl, I wonder how she is often more principled than her mother, who could even think of joining a talentime of sorts, at this age of past 40. Hmmm... hiya, Mummy...

Grace has grown to be a real sweetie too. I've learnt to treasure her a great deal and she has spoken many words of wisdom to me beyond my imagination. Her classic is, "Mum, think before you speak." Whoa, from a 7-year-old, that's amazing.

But I was really sad this evening when I showed her a picture of both of them on my mobile phone. She said she looked so ugly.

"Oh, but why? You're my sweetest darling!"
"Yes, but I still don't have my two front teeth."

Poor girl, she's been toothless in front since one and a half years. But there is a silver lining, cos I do see some white specks on her gums. Oh Lord, let her have her two front teeth before Christmas.

Alright, I'm pooped now My new boss is so charismatic, I have to keep up with his many queries and meetings with the team and others.

Let's hope I won't take too long a break now. Maybe I'll write more than post more photos. That'll be a lighter toll on me for sure.

'Nite!

Lost in Words

Lately, I have been so exhausted from work, I just couldn't begin to blog. But since I started bloggin about a year ago, I'd bring you my first piece where I talked about myself. Narcissism? Nah, just an expression of thoughts and taunts.


First Date

Today's my red letter day to blogging. Although I've been reading web-blogs for a while, I've never plunged into the real blogopolis. So thanks to the Asia Blog Conference for Corporate Marketing recently, I've jumped onto the blog wagon. I told Mr Miyagi I would try, and he was very encouraging.

Anyhow, first things first, esp on first dates. I'm not a nun, nor a Catholic, nor a narcissistic mother. Just can't think of a better title for mothers who are oh, so wonderful and important. You'll only hear from me occasionally though, or whenever, cos looking after kids is damn tiring, ok!

Talking about being tired, I wonder how much sleep working mothers get each day. I mean, although I said looking after kids is tiring, with maids around these days, surely it's not so bad, yah? On average, I sleep about 5 - 6 hours. 5, actually, cos No. 1 girl gets up at 5:30am to catch the 6:10am bus to school!!! And she's not the first to be picked, she's about the 5th, so God bless those other girls who wake up earlier than No.1!!!


Yep, it's been a year, and I'm so glad to have made friends on blogsphere. More interestingly, I have met a couple of them, enough to keep a small kiasuland community.

As with friendships, you don't need much words to say things. So with that, I'll be taking a fairly long break to focus on kids' holiday engagements, and re-strategising a new team at work. And to help out in all the Christmas singing, maybe one or two in Orchard Road.

Till then, I'll still be with you on comments. ,-)