DOTS

It has been a while since I last updated the blog. I was kind of busy with catching up with the Korean drama which almost everyone was so hyped up about, Yes it was Descendants of the Sun (DOTS). I saw many posts on Facebook and many were talking about it. I started off to want to see what the big deal was. And I am a convert too. :)

The 16-episode Korean drama caught my heart with its plot, its very charming actors, its songs and its pace. It was not a typical korean drama that usually portrayed some traditional family or office setting, about in-laws or families, This drama is nothing quite "korean" about it, except for the language, The Song-Song couple was the key attraction. They make really attractive on-screen couple and many netizens hope they are real-life couple! Song Joong-Ki and Song Hye-Kyo made really good chemistry and they easily convinced us about the love they have for each other in the drama.

And unlike the other kind of dramas, the pace was fast and spontaneous. How the plot developed and escalated with no "dull" moments. But of course, not all might feel that way. Like a colleague of mine, who did not feel moved at all about the scenes. It almost sounds like she is a heartless person, LOL!

The songs in the show were great and I had them on loop when I needed some "peace" and waking up in the office. Great soundtrack for me to keep my focus, :)

So yah, the past weeks, I was busy with this drama... rewatching the episodes which I have fast-forwarded and watched its epilogues too.

Great show, great cast, great songs. :)

Evans and Stomach Flu

Evans had not fully recovered from the "flu" from the staycation. Though he was not feeling nasty, he did sound like he has got some phlegm and is coughing on and off.

Last Sunday morning was quite an episode. I thought he was sleeping quite ok until at 5 to 6am, he started to cough and it led to him puking. Oh the mess on the mattress and on him. Woke me and my hubby up and we frantically tried to clean up the mess. Evans felt bad and he puked a few times in the toilet too. I was hoping that this was a good sign that he could throw up the phlegm, which it looked like it. And I tried to pat him to sleep after tidying up his mess but he just wouldn't go back to sleep. When asked him if he wanted to eat any breakfast, he said he wanted milk. I was happy that he asked for food but then turned out, after 1 sip of milk, 1 bite of the bread, he appeared uncomfortable and said he was full. It was wasteful but no choice. And we thought the oatmeal might perk his appetite but he ended up puking a little bit more. Poor boy boy.

So got to miss his Heguru class, as I thought better bring him to see Dr Tan. My preference would be to go to his PD but her clinic is not open on Sundays. Nonetheless, Dr Tan showered him with care and talked to him very nicely so that Evans was not afraid of him. Dr Tan explained that similar to the last case, it was flu virus entering the stomach. The flu might have lingered for too long and it now became stomach flu, that triggered his vomiting. This was slightly different from the last experience when he has bad diarrhea. Evans was having a slight fever too.

One thing I am also afraid of is feeding him Dr Tan's medicines, I think some of them tasted bitter and very "medicinal", Evans did not like it. The older he is, he is more fussy over the tastes of the medicines and he would gag if he did not like it. I was able to feed him for the 1st time but who knows at night, when I fed him with the "Wind" medicine again, he couldn't contain his dislike and he just gagged and threw up again. Hmm, another mess in the kitchen. Not just the medicine but the porridge as well. Mama helped a lot to clean Evans and to clean up the kitchen. Really thankful for her help. Evans also spent the night with her and was glad to know that his sleep was ok. But he got to miss school the next few days because he was tired. But when he finally got to go school on Weds, he was very excited. According to my bro, he was "yay yay yay-ing". Such a cutie. :)

Character or Just Plain Rebellion

Today a few conversations which I had with my colleagues made me reflect about my blunt expressions especially to the people or colleagues whom I dislike.

Put it nicely, I am being real and authentic. But is it healthy? I am not trying to find excuses but usually if I appear cold to you, it must have been a cumulative effect of the things you have done that irk me to the max.    Or it could plainly be a clash in personality or values. After understanding myself on what really irks me, I think I need to justify the value behind being this real to the people I dislike. It is not as if they really care and I am not changing anything for the better. Hmmm... it will be difficult because I have tried to be non-chalant to their presence but I felt irritated by the things they said or the way they said certain things. I know I would not be the one asking them to join in lunch. Talking about this, I really should learn from the older folks for being so approachable to everyone and lunch with anyone is easy.

I am now more aware of my behaviour and certainly hope I can pull my brake on my instant reflexes when I am face to face with those I don't like. I shall see.

The Impromptu Staycation, at the Merchant Court

Hubby suggested a staycation over the weekend on Friday! How impromptu was that! With his credit card privilege, he booked a 2 days 1 night stay at the Merchant Court Hotel. Besides me, Evans was also surprised that we were going for a staycation. He was all delighted!

The check-in process was a breeze and very soon we got our room. Our initial room was pretty small and the layout of the room was a little awkward with the edge of the study table "blocking" part of the walkway which might be a little dangerous for an active boy. But we were offered to upgrade the room for $50 and glad that we did. The 2nd room, though was a little further away from the lift lobby, has much more room and nicer view!

This is the smaller room.

This is the bigger room

A nice view of the Singapore River

The bathroom supplies, nice smell and very generous 

The hotel is just right next to the Central Mall so we spent most time shopping around there, for lunch, for dinner... A little disappointed that there weren't much for me to shop, particularly clothes suitable for a big pregnant one. Anyway, it was still fun as it gave us a rare chance to walk around there,

Enjoying a cuppa at Ya Kun after lunch and had a lot of laughs playing with the Snapchat

Dinner was at Shabu Sai, Japanese Steamboat buffet. Personally I thought the standard was not as good as the one at Orchard Central. I think the soups were not as good and the choice of food was limited as they did not serve the cooked food like sushi. Their rice was also not as fragrant. But then after that we saw a sign that this branch would be closed end of the month,

After dinner, we took a walk along Clark Quay and we were submerged in the mood which we were once familiar with... the pubbing, the music, the crowd... It felt nostalgic but might not be so suitable for Evans. Luckily he was not too disturbed by the noise but could tell he couldn't wait to go back to the hotel room. 

It was a nice night and Evans slept well. I couldn't quite sleep even though the bed was comfortable. Late into 3 to 4am, could still hear some sound outside, late clubbers or people drinking and chatting around Clark Quay. I enjoyed the night view though...

The next morning, we went for our breakfast. The spread was standard and I did not have anything which I fancied which I wanted to take a few rounds. Hubby, on the other hand thought the breakfast was slightly better than the one we had at York. 

After our breakfast, the boys got ready for a swim and Evans was very excited to play with the baby slide at the small pool. 

Evans had so much fun that he kept asking to stay another night, like the last staycation. He also kept saying to bring my parents and bro here as well as he really enjoyed the stay at the Merchant Court. 

Here is the sulky boy who really wished to be able to stay another night

Thanks to hubby for the lovely staycation and a great weekend spent.

After note: sadly after the staycation, Evans seemed to have caught a cold. I think he must have caught it during the play at the pool, coming out of the waters to play on the slide many times and it was windy. :( 

3-in-1 Girls Afternoon Out

Took a half day off to meet up with an old friend, an ex-colleague with Miss Ang. Very amazed by how “long-winded” we could be, settling at “Brunches” from the entire afternoon till 5.30PM for all the catch up and talking about the old times.

We talked about the kids, the work, the funny old happenings (which we could never forget)… and wondered how come we were so juvenile and clueless, yet we thought we were of some character! Hahaha! The old experience never failed to amuse us yet at the back of our mind, made us be thankful for the genuine friendship that lasts, despite we seldom meet up with one another.

Like what I posted on my FB, I really like how we have watched one another grow over the years and yet part of us still remains the same, that make us, still us. Just being very thankful for it.

From our previous gathering at Irodori

我们的故事 Long Long Time Ago

This is a Jack Neo's movie which I don't normally have much expectations in the movies he made. But I went ahead to watch this movie Part 1 and 2 with my folks and brother, just treating it as a rare movie outing with them. It turned out to be one of the better movies I have watched.

You really need to watch both parts to get the story flow and impact. Besides on how Singapore has progressed for the past 50 years, the movie covers a lot about the kampong life, the traditional thinking of boys are better than girls, the big family life, etc. One reason why I like this movie so much is it is realistic, with the appropriate props, costumes and the acting impresses me. The actors are so fluent in their Hokkien and Malay and they just bring out their characters so smoothly. I am admire Aileen Tan for her acting and image. And Mark Lee makes us hate him a lot because the baddie he played seems so real and I am sure a lot of viewers feel like giving him a few slaps. The kids actors were very professional as well. I am impressed that a few of them seems so young like 4 to 5 years old? I wonder where they get the courage and confidence from.

Bro said that Part 2 is a bit too draggy but I thought it was ok and a good ending to the story. To me, part 2 seems more real and I feel more connected. Though the ending message to the movie was quite "corny" about cherishing the people around you (particularly being filial to your parents while you have the chance), it was quite apt to the movie and reminded us to be grounded.

So yes, good choice and I am glad to have watched it. Encourage my friends to bring along their parents to watch it as well because I think they can relate very much to the story.

I secretly also wish to have such a chance to be able to act in a movie!!!?

Saturday Dinner, Gardens By the Bay

It was an impromptu dinner decision. Hubby got a few groupons for meals and one of which was a diner at the Gardens by the Bay (GBB), Oriental Western Bistro. Evans and I were a tad excited as it was our first time dining there and it did sound like a nice place.

There were many tourists at the GBB but the restaurant was not crowded. Along the stretch of restaurants, there were Texas Fried Chicken, Peach Garden, etc. Oriental Western Bistro is a small diner in-between. Its food was American and pretty simple but good enough for our dinner.

Evans's OOTD

 

Waiting to go into the carpark, nice view

A nice cooling evening

Evans on his papa's shoulders

happy at the bistro, waiting for our food

 

While the food was not really the impressive kind but I enjoyed the dinner because it wasn't rowdy and I love to see Evans and hubby enjoying their food. It felt really nice to also have my root beer float. Evans had the kid's set with tomato spaghetti with grilled chicken fillet while I had the same but with butter rice. Hubby ordered the pork chop and it was tender. We shared the fried chicken wings and fries, not too bad.

 

Spicy chicken wings with fries, something to share

The boys, enjoying the food

Evans took a shot of me with my butter rice.

 

I still remember how I dug into the food, feeling quite satisfied. I realized I had too many fries today. Fries in the morning at Han's and dinner. But Evans enjoyed his few fries, dipping in the sweet chilli sauce. Really enjoyed seeing him having "fun" with his food and eating so well.

 

The stretch of diners, I am sure we will be back again :)

Our night ended with a stroll at the GBB with beautifully lighted up "trees", I loved how the colours of the trees transformed from one shade to another. Very romantic... and the night was made more comfortable with the breeze and nice music. The surprise came when the Light Rhapsody started. The lights were dancing to the broadway kind of music and it was beautiful. While Evans thought the music was too loud, I thought some of the songs brought me back to the clubbing days. :)

 

A lovely evening indeed. Hope to bring my folks there one day.