Before & After

BEFORE
Chunks and chunks of unhealthy carpet that has been contributing to Arissa's allergy.

AFTER
I likey!!

Bilrich came highly recommended by 2 family members who had good experiences with their service. Our project coordinator, May, was excellent and it was a smooth-sailing transaction from Day 1. She came to our house and gave us a quotation on the spot and followed up tenaciously. She was on top of all my other extra requests thrown at her.

The only thing I would suggest is to pop down thei warehouse to pick out your flooring AND skirting as the latter is limited in colours and you may not get the same colour flooring and skirting if you're not careful.

They can do your floor on weekends and PHs. We required them to tear out our carpet and fill the huge gap between my wall and toilet door but they got everything completed in 8hours, ready for me to move back in.

The room is looking like a proper hotel room, compliments hubby and I am one satisfied customer.

Bedtime Stories

When I bought Arissa her first 'proper' book with paragraphs of words and pages full of colour pictures, I wasn't prepared for her obsession with it. Up til this point, all she ever does to the little popup/baby books I've bought for her were to chew it up like a little hamster.

But now...she is loving her Winnie The Pooh Thinking Spot series. She is constantly flipping through it, pointing at Winnie or Tigger or Roo and giggling to herself.

I bought 2 books from Popular bookstore titled 'Why Does It Have to Rain' and 'How Do You Hop So High'. Each story incorporates simple scientific facts while examining how young children learn through listening, questioning, observing, comparing, and experimenting. And every story ends with a hands-on activity but she's too young for that.

I started reading her the books last week, usually after her bedtime milk whilst she's unwinding in bed, and now she brings it to me every night. The best thing is that she lies still and listens to every word I read aloud, and then falls asleep without any fuss when I'm through reading and turn off the lights! Like Disney Magic!

When I'm not too tired, I'll do the whole Brit english accent (actually I should be doing American cos it is Disney cartoons. pah.) but when I'm totally shacked and have taken off my glasses I will translate to her in 'chapalang' Malay cos we want her bilingual?!? *heh*

Must say I really enjoy our quiet bedtime together, and I only dream about the colourful Hundred-Acre Wood these days. :)

Me, the Career Woman

Jonathan, an ex-colleague rang me the other day to say hi and we got to talking about our kids (what else). His little bub, Josh Blu, turned 1 on Xmas and his wife, Gloria, is expecting again. "It was a case of Oops, we did it again", he laughingly added.

This was great news to me! Joshy was conceived right after I announced my pregnancy to the office. It was great being able to share my pregnancy blues with an office partner whose wife was also going through the same deal. We shared bibs and bobs of useful (and useless) pregnancy information. And now, they're on to No 2...

I've always felt guilty about admitting this but Jon came right out and took the words from my mouth. "I don't look forward to my weekends anymore," he starts saying. "I love Josh but I get so fu*&in exhausted by Sunday afternoon that I actually feel glad I'm off to work the next day. Its awful isn't it?" I almost died laughing in agreement, I always thought I was alone in my selfishness. To a large extent, I feel a lot more relaxed at work than at home taking care of a tot.

I took leave yesterday because I wanted to spend more time with my 'lil pumpkin who was having viral fever and by 7pm I was begging Hafidz to take me to the kopitiam. Or somewhere in the middle of Timbuktu.

"Dear, I don't think I can ever be a housewife lar..." I 'fessed up. He looked at Arissa who was busy flinging all her blocks and plastic farm animals from the sofa to the floor and shrieking at the same time and smiled wisely...

Mum & Bub

"Stop trying to perfect your children, but keep trying to perfect your relationship with them"

http://www.coolnsmart.com/

Three's a crowd

Had I known the 3 of us would be cozying up in 1 bed, I would've listened to Fidza and bought a King sized matrimonial bed.



From Day 1, we taught Arissa to sleep in her playpen but somehow she'd always end up on our bed, sandwiched between Hafidz & me- her favourite position.

We then tried putting her to sleep in our bed (a mistake but makes sleeptime a lot more manageable with less tears) and then move her afterwards. This worked erratically- sometimes she'd sleep through the night, other times she'd wake up screaming for us.

She was also quickly outgrowing her playpen so we bought her a pretty little girly bed and placed it next to ours. Its an extendable bed from Ikea and pretty large so she can thrash around in her sleep comfortably. Alas... it has now become MY bed. She has purposefully taken over my side of the big bed, right next to Daddy. And she claims her rightful place every night when we hand her the milk bottle.

I think my spine will be permanently bent into an 'S' position if this goes on any longer. :[

@ 16 months

Time Waits for No Man

...which also means "A Sale Waits for No Woman".

With the Canon Sale ending on 2 Mar, I rushed down to Audio House with Hafidz and the Godparents to pick out my next digital camera- the Canon Powershot SX100 IS.

And I am back in love with the wonderful world of technology.


:::Image with no zoom:::





















:::@ 10x Digital Zoom:::





















:::Indoor MACRO without flash:::





















I've used it all of 3 days and an amateur like me is still learning the workings of a mini SLR (the manual has become a permanent handbag item). I'm still slow deciding on the correct settings to pick- Portrait/ Landscape/ Nightshot/ Kids&Pets/ Special Scenes (indoor/fireworks/nightscene/aquarium/snow/beach!!!) but here's a quick rundown of the things I already love about it:

a) Colours are lovely and vibrant.
b) Using flash does not wash out all the colours.
c) Point & Shoot 'Auto' feature is still a favourite for basic use until I learn what the other stuff's about.
d) Easy menu bar and dials.
e) Chunky but not heavy.
f) 10x Digital zoom
g) Pixelated photos are a thing of the past (hurrah!)
h) on MACRO setting, it takes a really sharp closeup of subject.

I must say it is well worth the money! :)))

'Lil Miss Sniffly

So its another trip to KKH, this time we had a set appointment with a respiratory doctor.

Although Arissa gets sniffly less frequently now (and I believe loading her up with Scotts Emulsion has a lot to do with this, we give her direct 2ml twice a day), I needed to know it isn't an allergy or sinus that Hafidz has. The appointment was set for 11.30am but we got to see the doctor only an hour later, so much for setting an appointment a whole month in advance. It was my maiden KK visit (after 2 years?) so this was a rather insightful trip for me. Wow! A play area.. Wow! Helpful nurses who s-m-i-l-e..

Anyway the doctor, a youngish pregnant Dr Goh, fired off a list of questions when I explained why we were there:

1) Family History?
Father has sinus, Mother's family has asthma.

2) Carpets in the House?
Yes, my Master bedroom is fully carpeted.

3) Any smokers in the family?
Yes, Father smokes but never around Arissa.

She then methodically pulled out all the things that have been playing in the back of my mind. I supposed I always guessed at the reasons for her sniffles but never really accepted them, wanting to believe its simply a long-drawn cold.

1) Father has sinus, Mother's family has asthma.
Both sinus and asthma are genetically passed on so there is a 50-50 chance that Arissa can have either. Or both.

2) Yes, my Master bedroom is fully carpeted.
Bad idea. Carpets breed allergens. Remove them (GAH! She made it sound so easy and cheap!)
3) Yes, Father smokes but never around Arissa.
Doesn't matter. The cigarette smoke and particles will cling to hair, skin, clothes and these allergens will trigger her sensitive nose so get the Father to quit. (Yeay! I finally have Arissa's health & a good medical reason to put forth to The Addict)

A quick examination revealed swollen internal nose glands, confirming that it isn't a long-drawn cold but a likelihood of sinus. She prescribed a bottle of antihistamine, Cetrizine, and some nosedrops which needed to be taken daily for 4 months before another followup examination. On hindsight, I should have asked for something OTHER than nosedrops as Arissa downright despises them and it always ends up with me losing my temper and her throwing a tantrum. The only time I get the nosedrops properly executed is when she is sleeping, even then I need to pick a time of deep sleep (anywhere between 2am-5am).

Hafidz & I are now picking a date to get our carpet removed and laminate flooring installed, but that is another nightmare altogether.

PS: It was a nice surprise bumping into Siti (of Yishun Sec Sch) who is now a mother to a 4year old son Aniq. I knew her through a schoolmate and she was one of the 'wild' girls but always friendly. How nice to see her again after so long, all mature and sensible! :)

Nikon vs Canon

I've been chewing on this for about a month now...

My old crappy Lumix needs to be replaced as its dying of old age and natural causes. I made the mistake of buying a Panasonic in the 1st place- I hated it from the word 'Go' (sorry Joe, know you're trying to convince me otherwise). When I bought it 2 years ago, it was the most expensive entry-level camera on the shop's shelf (setting me back $599). Acting on impulse, I bought it without as much as 5mins research on the product, based on sales person recommendation- what a mistake.

Thanks to this review website, I can now view the pictures taken by the cameras before deciding on one. And it has come to an age-old competition between Nikon and Canon. I must say I love my 1st Nikon in terms of colour quality & ease of use but I'm also itching to try a Canon.


IF i decide to take photography up as a hobby (hey, its kinda work requirements), makes more sense to get:





NIKON P5100



CANON Powershot SX100IS

But can I really be arsed? I mean I hardly have time to read a book, much less consider taking up a new hobby so its point-and-shoot, no fuss, entry-level cameras? For that I must say, I like this one best!

CANON IXUS 75t

Article on Common Cold

Do you feel as if you're constantly wiping your baby's nose? You probably are! The common cold strikes most healthy babies at some point — often repeatedly.

Most colds last a week or two, but some linger even longer. In the meantime, there's plenty you can do to help your baby beat the common cold.

Classic signs of the common cold

The common cold is an upper respiratory tract infection caused by one of many viruses. The first sign of the common cold is often a congested or runny nose. Because babies' nasal passages are quite small, it doesn't take much swelling and mucus to cause congestion.

Nasal discharge is often clear at first. As the cold progresses, the discharge usually becomes thicker and turns shades of yellow or green. Later, the discharge may become clear and runny again.

Other signs of a common cold may include:
· A low-grade fever
· Sneezing
· Coughing
· Watery eyes

Toughing it out

Your baby's immune system will need time to conquer the cold. Since colds are caused by viruses, antibiotics won't help.

If your baby is younger than age 3 months, call the doctor at the first sign of illness. For newborns, a common cold can quickly develop into croup, pneumonia or another serious illness.

Most of the time, you can treat an older baby's cold at home. Consider these suggestions:

Offer plenty of fluids. Liquids can help loosen the congestion. Encourage frequent feedings for younger babies. Offer older babies water between regular feedings. If you're breast-feeding your baby, keep it up. Breast milk offers extra protection from cold-causing germs.

Thin the mucus. Your baby's doctor may recommend saline nose drops to loosen thick nasal mucus. Look for these over-the-counter drops in your local pharmacy.

Suction your baby's nose. Keep your baby's nasal passages clear with a rubber-bulb syringe. Squeeze the bulb syringe to expel the air. Then insert the tip of the bulb (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch) into your baby's nostril, pointing toward the back of the nose. Release the bulb, holding it in place while it suctions the mucus from your baby's nose. Remove the syringe from your baby's nostril, and empty the contents onto a tissue by squeezing the bulb rapidly while holding the tip down. Repeat as often as needed for each nostril. Clean the bulb syringe with soap and water.

Moisten the air. Running a humidifier in your baby's room can help soothe irritated nasal passages. Aim the mist away from your baby's crib to keep the bedding from becoming damp. To prevent mold growth, change the water daily and follow the manufacturer's instructions for cleaning the unit. It might also help to sit with your baby in a steamy bathroom for a few minutes before bedtime.

Avoid cough suppressants and other cold medicines. Coughing helps clear the mucus from your baby's airway. For otherwise healthy babies, there's usually no reason to suppress it. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against giving cough and cold medicines to children, especially those younger than age 2 years. Cough and cold medicines haven't been proved effective for children — and for young children, an accidental overdose could be fatal.

Remember, over-the-counter pain relievers and cough and cold medicines don't kill the viruses that cause upper respiratory infections. And low-grade fevers — which do help kill viruses — don't need treatment. If you give your baby an over-the-counter pain reliever, follow the directions printed on the label.

When the common cold becomes something more serious

Most colds are simply a nuisance. But it's important to take your baby's signs and symptoms seriously. Again, call the doctor at the first sign of illness if your baby is younger than age 3 months.

If your baby is age 3 months or older, call the doctor if he or she:
· Isn't wetting as many diapers as usual
· Has a temperature higher than 103 F for one day
· Has a temperature higher than 100 F for more than three days
· Seems to have ear or sinus pain
· Has yellow eye discharge
· Has a cough for more than one week
· Has thick, green nasal discharge for more than two weeks
· Has any signs or symptoms that worry you
· Seek medical help immediately if your baby:
· Refuses to nurse or accept fluids
· Coughs hard enough to cause vomiting or changes in skin color
· Coughs up blood-tinged sputum
· Has difficulty breathing or is bluish around the lips and mouth

Think prevention

The common cold typically spreads through infected respiratory droplets coughed or sneezed into the air. The best defense? Common sense and plenty of soap and water.

Keep your baby away from anyone who's sick, especially during the first few days of illness. If you have a newborn, don't allow visits from anyone who's sick. If possible, avoid public transportation with your newborn.

Wash your hands before feeding or caring for your baby. When soap and water aren't available, use hand wipes or gels that contain germ-killing alcohol.

Clean your baby's toys and pacifiers often.

Teach everyone in the household to cough or sneeze into a tissue — and then toss it. If you can't reach a tissue in time, cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm.

Simple preventive measures can go a long way toward keeping the common cold at bay.

In spite of ongoing studies, the scientific jury is still out on popular cold remedies such as vitamin C, echinacea and zinc.

Here's an update on some common alternative remedies:

· Vitamin C. Vitamin C doesn't appear to prevent colds in most people, but taking large doses — up to 5,000 milligrams — at the beginning of a cold may reduce the severity of symptoms. Lower doses — 200 to 300 milligrams — may shorten a cold's duration. Just what constitutes an optimum dose isn't clear, but amounts in excess of 2,000 milligrams a day may cause nausea and diarrhea.

· Echinacea. A National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine study released in 2005 found that echinacea did little to prevent or shorten colds. But testing herbs is difficult, and scientists say more research is necessary. Some people swear by Airborne, an herbal cold remedy that's sold over the counter in many drugstores.

· Zinc. The cold-fighting reputation of zinc has had its ups and downs. That's because many zinc studies — both those that find the mineral beneficial and those that do not — are flawed. In studies with positive results, zinc seemed most effective taken as a lozenge or nasal spray within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. Taking zinc with food reduced side effects, including a bad taste and nausea.

From MayoClinic.com Special to CNN.com

Breast is Best then comes Cod Liver Oil

Before she turned 1, Arissa hardly ever falls sick. I loved that she never fell prey to any colds or coughs or the common baby ailments. She was sturdy even though we took her out pretty often amongst sick, sniffly cousins.

I think it all boiled down to the fact that I was breastfeeding until she was 8.5 months, even with the hassle of pumping at work and taking expressed milk home. Although my milk supply was not impressive, I made sure she had a full feed in the morning, 1 expressed breastmilk feed whilst I was away at work, and 1 full feed before bedtime. If she got hungry in between, she would be supplemented with formula milk. Of course, there as also the inconvenience of having to watch what I eat (nothing spicy, nothing cold).

I must say I enjoyed all aspects of breastfeeding. I miss the closeness most of all, the only reason I stopped breastfeeding was because she grew teeth and started biting. With no direct feed, my supply dwindled even further.

Now 7 months later on full formula and solid food diet, she is constantly down with something. Its either fever from teething or the sniffles or some persistent cough that refuses to go away. I am at wits end. We give her the best formula milk, the same stuff Zoe Tay regularly promotes. We have spent hundreds of dollars on various doctor/hospital visits and get the same advice over and over that I've committed it to memory. I know I needn't worry too much as she remains active and has a good appetite throughout but as a mom, I just want her in the pink of health so I needn't have to keep wiping her tiny nose for fear it would get blistered..

I dropped into a pharmacy one day, not in search of meds, this time to thoroughly comb through the vitamins counter. Everything was new and complicated but 1 packaging caught my immediate attention.

It was like I travelled back in time! Without haste, I paid for it and took it home. I'm now halfway through the 1st bottle and I must say that there has been improvements in her health. A few days after we started her on Cod Liver Oil, her runny nose dried up. For about a week afterwards, she was sniffly only on 2 occasions- when we were in Palawan beach in Sentosa (she was wet & cold?) and when we were having dinner at Mak's Place (definitely freezing in the a/c section).

We mix 1 teaspoon in her first morning milk. She is usually too sleepy to notice the spiked milk but Mom has started giving her direct and she doesn't seem too bothered with the taste. In fact, I'm going to start the whole family on this supplement. Its cheap (S$7) and after doing some basic research online on the product, it seems like nothing bears testimony like a product with a 125 year old shelf life. My mother 'borrowed' some of it when she had a nasty cough and it went away in a day. Its a health supplement, best of all, and I'm a firm believer in Prevention is better than Cure.

They say breast is best but my 2nd option has to be Cod Liver Oil.

**I read that if kids are already on Emulsion that they shouldn't be given multi-vites. Scotts is concentrated in Vit A and an overdose can be fatal. Something to research more on?

Closure

Funerals are never a good start to the year. On 13 Jan, in conjunction with awal Muharram (the 1st month of the Islamic calendar), Hafidz's maternal grandmother passed away.

Yani & Amzhar had just flown 2 days earlier to Manchester and New York for their honeymoon so wasn't around but the rest of us were called in by her doctor on Sunday noon as her condition worsened. Although she had been hospitalised for almost 2 months now, diagnosed with lung cancer almost 2 weeks prior to her death, she had been eloquent and alert when we visited her the night before.. so we really didn't see it coming. When we arrived, she had already deteriorated and was gasping within the confines of her oxygen mask- in the final phase of 'nazak'.

The death certificate issued said time of death was 5.30pm, just after asar. Out of nowhere, I had an image of me and Dian in our madrasah uniform sitting in front of Ustadzah Latifah in Al-Muttaqin Mosque prayer hall whilst she told us that a 'good' time to die is after asar on a Thursday.. I can't for the life of me remember why though but I do recall Dian & me promising to each other (at the naive age of 7) that we would both die at 5pm on Thursday in Mecca :)

The burial was smooth, the weather was nice and warm although it was the monsoon season still and we all went home feeling saddened that Arissa never will knw her Nyang but glad that we had the last 15 mins with her on Saturday night as she nodded to us and gave a weak smile on our way out..

Innalillahi Wa-innailaihi Raji'un... al fateha to Hjh Zaiton Bte Burhan (1930-2008).

Dawn of a new Era

A year has come and gone. 365 days of my life gone, never to be returned, with only memories for posterity. And what a fantastic year it has been for memories. Nothing beats having kids (A kid in my case)- they make you grow up like nothing else can. Yet, you also start seeing how simple life can be from their perspective.

We ended the year with a mini getaway with Hafidz's family to Batam Island which has flourished nicely. Big malls, brand names, coffee culture, donut culture- all alive in this little nook called Indonesia- living side by side with the traditional padang food and teh Sosros. It was too short a holiday but I got to spend quality time connecting with the extended family.

Then a very nice surprise came along and we ushered in 2008 as a complete gang again (well, minus 1 family in KL). Of course, when the gang gets together its got to be a foodfest.

With all that catching up to do, we ran late for the countdown and all the roads leading to town were blocked so it was the 7 of us celebrating in our own individuals cars watching the skies light up from Benjamin Sheares bridge. I must say we got to the best point at the stroke of midnight so Arissa got a fantastic view of the fireworks.

It was a good ending to 2007. Hopefully a new beginning to 2008 with more good times to come.

Gymboree Weekend

O-v-e-r-w-o-r-k-e-d

Yeah, I bitch and whine and whinge and complain. But for some morbid reason, I find it exciting to be at work. My brain has a million things floating in it... it trickles in bibs and bobs like a leaky tap- like when I'm having lunch I will remember "WAIT! Alex's press visa for UN Climate Change Conference for Bali isn't sorted! Fudge Fudge Fudge!!" and lose the rest of my appetite...

Here's the list of projects this month:
BRAINLAB SHOOT
SCIENCE CTR CORPORATE VIDEO
SHELL SHOOT
AJI EDIT
SWISSTV ASEAN SHOOT/EDIT
QUINTUS COMPILE EDIT
DIWALI TRANSCRIBE
GLOBECAST DVCam SHOOT
APTN ASEAN SHOOT/EDIT
GLOBECAST SX SHOOT
APV MEDIA SHOOT
GUT.TUT.GUT DOCUMENTARY SHOOT
GLOBECAST - CTN SHOOT
APTN CAMBODIA DRY HIRE
EBU UN CONFERENCE IN BALI DEPLOYMENT
SWISS TV BALI DEPLOYMENT
APTN DRY HIRE
DIGIPOST RSAF TVC SHOOT

Somebody shoot me.

PS: I have 34 days of leave but can't even take half day off until things blow over... Sapna doll, sorry I havent been calling. I am drop dead tired at the end of the day- I sleep like a log. Lunch & maternity-wear shopping next week?

Bday Celebration Part II

BDay Celebration Part I

Turning 1

My little princess is turning 1- its unbelievable how quickly time flies when you're having fun.

Like a colleague said, "1st birthday parties are more for the Mummies and Daddies to show off right... not so much for the bub"- how true!

We wanted to book a chalet but it's all booked out from 6 months back. Oh well.. We have other plans to celebrate her 1st birthday and take as many photos for posterity:
1) My open house cum cake-cutting w all the relatives on 3 Nov.
2) A cake cutting ceremony w immediate family & Godparents on birthday night.
2) A trip to zoo with Faiz, Sanah and Rifqi on 10 Nov.

Mummy's hope is she turns out sugar & spice and everything nice, and smart to boot.

Arissa's 1st Eid

Bad Zen

My Zen balance has been upset.

A couple of friends are going through rough patches of their lives- 2 married couples are going through the motions of dealing with infidelity, another couple has broken up for no strong, apparent reason. I have had to deal with long phonecalls from the 'victims' of infidelity as they flit from 1 emotion to the next- one husband is blaming himself for his wife's infidelity; another wife is pissing mad at her husband and not able to cope with his disloyalty. I've had to make myself available for another friend who is on a verge of depression to help keep her spirits up.

Need a break from all this bad zen to get my balance back. A long overdue holiday is most welcome at this point.

My last entry was in Mar and now its Aug- where did 5 months of my life go!!! I installed an upgraded version of Norton in my lappy and it blocked access to this website. Argh.

Arissa is 9 months and 8 days today:
*She has 4 top teeth and 2 lower ones
*She can crawl at olympic speed
*She prefers to curl up between Mummy & Daddy in the big bed at night (there goes the Romance)
*She bites, pinches, smacks anyone who dares irritate her
*She participates in most of the games we play with her (peekaboo/monster chase ..)
*She gets sleepy automatically at 11.30pm
*She sits in the toddler car seat now
*She relishes her Baby Bites anytime
*She rocks back and forth and shakes her head when we recite La Illaha Illallah
*She clenches and unclenches her palm when we sing Nang Neng Pong/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/Pok Amai Amai
*She puts everything she finds on the floor/table/bed in her mouth
*She loves to jump on your belly and throw her head back to an upside-down position
*She giggles with glee when you throw her in the air
*She hates wearing shoes/hairband and tugs at them
*She hates having to 'salam' anyone and hides her hand when she hears anyone saying "SALAM?"
*If you make her lie down, she will get offended and pop back up like Jack-in-the-Box.
*She needs her pacifier during bed/naptime
*She loves to shred tissue paper to bits
*She know how to plant a kiss on your cheek
*She says MAMAMAMAAM for food
*She yells in her top voice just to be funny and laughs along with you

:op

Old mates

Been bumping into all these old mates lately from Anderson... I think a reunion is highly overdue.

First bumped into Sulaiman, whom I hadn't met since I was in NUS and he was in SP. He was a high school 'boyfriend' in a monkey-love situation. I think we were in Sec 2 when he decided he liked the geeky me, glasses and all. I still wonder why..Of course it didn't get anywhere past the 'going to school together' date.

Then I bumped into Marlina. Once upon a time, she was the 'happening' one. She was the oldest in the clique and introduced the other naive girls to tea dances (remember those!?!?) and Giordano (when Giordano was HOT HOT HOT!). She also persuaded the other girls to do a dance routine on National Day (on stage!) to Janet Jackson's "Escapade". I remember Razif and Joe sitting beside me in hall, laughing so hard at the lot of them in tight skirts that they were rolling around on the floor with tears in their eyes. She's now a mother of 2.

Last week I bumped into Sunarti- the smart one. She sits with Sanjay in Malay class- the Sanjay who never got a Malay sentence correct his entire secondary school career and relentlessly let him copy all her work. She was in NUS with me, though I hardly ever saw her (as I was always skipping lectures and most tutorials, that was how much I hated NUS). She is married to Razid, who is another Andersonian, and they have an 18 month son, Zikri, with another Zafira on the way.

She told me Suzanna, my Malay class desk buddy, has just given birth to her 2nd one. She is married to a rich ang-mo banker and is a tai-tai (my favourite form of existence). I'm sure both her kids are gorgeous.

Then I called Aisyah who is the loopiest amongst us who insists on visiting Sunarti when she is in confinement so we can all have a reunion at Su's house. Sounds loopy? :-P

Postnatal hair loss

The word of warning came from my hair stylist Omar in late October when I was heavily preggers and getting a haircut in time for Eid Mubarak. "Watch out for the hair loss later" he says. 3 months after birth, my hair is still ok and I'm thinking he doesnt know what he's talking about, him being a man and all.

One day sometime in the 3rd month, it just started suddenly. I think i must've pulled out 50 hairs when I shampooed that morning... and it hasn't stopped til this day, some 1.5 months later. I get so freaked out when I shampoo my hair every morning that I've decided to shampoo alternate mornings. Same result. Although I've always had fine hair, I start seeing more of my scalp in the mirror and figured I need to do something before I develop a bald patch that would complement my eye bags (not!).

I went back to Omar who sat back wisely and said "I warned you...". He gave me a short spunky hairstyle that didn't need blowdrying everyday and some Redken products that ought to fix my problem but also sets me back S$200. I like my hair do but my wallet still hurts.

NB: Will post new face soon.

Finally in my Dream job.

I joined IFA as 'Office Manager' in 2004. Little did I realise I was to be the "know-all, do-all" person taking instructions from 5 bosses, managing the accounts and sitting in the office all day. I love my office job during its busy period, but I what I love more is the exhilaration of being posted out to some disaster location.

Before I went for my maternity leave, my MD asked me what I'd like to do as they've hired an accounts assistant for me. I suggested they let me do the marketing for the company as that's what I've been trained to do.

So now, I'm finally able to get into my dream job- and I'm going all out on this one.

www.infocusasia.com

*Bintang*

Hafidz has been so busy at work with Timur TV for the shoot of Bintang. He comes home at 5am, up at 11am to go to work and work 24-7, I hardly ever see his face anymore. One day, I got a classic shot of a tired man- sending an sms in his sleep.

Earthquake Evac

When the first quake hit, my colleague Jacintha and I were hangling over who gets to pay for coffee at Qiji. My phone rings and it says IFA Yazid (another colleague), I hear him panting on the other line:

"Rina where r u? We're evacuating the building, there's been an earthquake!"

I immediately went on high alert, recalling that week in Nias Island where we had worked 20hours on the earthquake devastation of the island.

"Will I be posted out to wherever the earthquake is?" "Who will take care of Arissa when I go?" "How will she cope without me?"... questions popping in and out of my head as I turn to my boss Joe and told him. A seasoned news cameraman, he immediately got on the phone for deployment news. I felt an enormous anticipation, hoping and not hoping to be sent there. No one knew where it happened yet and the phone lines were jammed up from people calling here and there, searching for answers.

We went back indoors after 20 mins (standard quake procedure, says Joe who has lived in Japan) and I went to the USGS website for some information.

Epicentre: Padang
Magnitude: 6.6
Tsunami threat: negative as quake happened under land

When the 2nd quake hit, I turned to Joe and stared at him wanting to get an affirmation before I hit the panic button. He looked back at me, then s-l-o-w-l-y the realisation dawned and he ran into the gallery and told everyone to evac. In the meantime, I could REALLY REALLY feel our 1974 building swaying and saw Anthia and the rest of the BBC people hitting the stairs. I fled shamelessly jumping 2 stairs at a time, clutching onto Lawrence. All I could think of was "You've been in worse situations than this! Why are you panicking?" and the answer to that is sweet and simple- my daughter. I have a baby who needs me and if anything happened to me now, what will happen to her?

So here I am awaiting news of deployment, hoping that there aren't too many deaths to interest those in London.

NB: Today Arissa has learned to laugh @ 7.30am. And I mean a full throttle laughter, not the chuckles she usually gives out.

Suraya (Mentel/Mental)'s Bday Dinner Pictures!

suraya.fadzil@dhl.com
1800-Call Me Baby


Post-pregnancy figure (Phe-weet... buntot cam J.Lo)


Fidza looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights
Syifaa & Me always look sweet
Suraya looks like Patpong girl with sore eyes


The money shot

Oii... tengok sini lerrrr...

Sume montel-montel so hv to squeeze a bit (except me la).

Jgn marah, nanti kena jual...


Do we hv to stuff our faces for every birthday!?! Whatever happened to the original plan of going for a spa treatment for anyone of our birthdays.... Thank God I'm still stick skinny after all that binging (the only one, mind you). Happy Bday tua. Ok la, kau pun tetap maintain, cuma buntot cam kuih Lopez :o oink-oink

Mini Holiday (KL, Bukit Tinggi & Genting Highlands)

Just what I needed after 9 months of pregnancy, 8hours of intensive labour, 3 months of confinement and 2 weeks back at work- a mini break!!

Arissa is 3 months and a darling. She's a social butterfly and even melted the hearts of the burly guys at PS Boutique (hence giving me a good bargain) with her giggles and smiles.