chasing the K-drama

of cos, I have never cease doing so!
and of cos im on the hot bandwagon just like everyone else chasing the super popular K-drama of the moment - 來自星星的你!
finally caught the last 2 episodes of the series this week.
it is a good series indeed and it may, im saying, it MAY be in my top 5 K-drama list of all times.
but again, I need to re-look at my top 5 list ha.
and it was indeed a teeny weeny bit draggy from ep 11-15...

oh well, true to my 喜新厌旧 character, I've started chasing and getting hooked to another show even before the stars show has ended. :P
急诊男女 that is!
if you like the only female MC from running man and the elder brother in "Heirs", then this show is for you!
essentially a rom-com but the premise makes you think.
plot is simple enough: a couple who divorced 6 years ago ended up in the same intern team of an emergency department of a hospital.
so obviously the plot line going to evolve from the 2 leads not seeing eye-to-eye and eventually falling in love again.

depending on the ending, but somehow I find myself liking this show more than stars despite the staggering popularity of the latter.
somewhat more realistic and sets you thinking about love and marriage in its more naked form.
after all the magic has dispersed and reality sets in, how to keep a marriage going?
is it possible to fall in love with a same person twice?
when you look back at a relationship, do you remember the good times or just hung up on the bad stuff? this mentality makes a difference.

this "emergency couple" show is going to keep my weekends very happy for the next 5 weeks. :D

the right person at the wrong timing aint gonna work out.
the wrong person at the right timing aint gonna work out too.
so love and marriage to me is always about the timing and never about THE ONE.

aging body

after a hiatus of 3 weeks from yoga, Tuesday session just kills my old joints!
ended up with stiff and sore neck and shoulders yesterday which didn't ease up by this morning.
in fact, the aching got worse!
so much so that I have to be on medical leave today and seek some massage to ease out the tight knots.
gosh. old age indeed. @_@

bin bin's bday @ &made

met up with the gang for gb's belated bday dinner yesterday.

we tried &made this time round.

a concept restaurant opened by a 3 michelin star chef...

the food is nothing of Michelin standard but is pretty decent for its pricing.

though you can probably skip the house wine - tasted like water. *blech*

 

B burger for me - beef patty with cheese & caramelized onion

truffle fries

appetizers: pate & escargots for us

and of cos, there are always the desserts.
we adjourned to marmalade pantry for yummy ones - sticky date pudding!! my fav!

top: with the birthday boy

bottom: with zm!

it's been so long since i've a shopping post....

can it be the case of a jaded me emerging or subconsciously im just saving up for the upcoming HK trip??

I feel a little unbalanced not having new clothings but nothing really catch my fancy when I browse the stores.

what is happening!?

 

for 2014 so far, I've only bought like a down jacket + a top!!

that is like incredibly little for me!

oh well, the mystery is why aint my savings balance going up..

where did the moolahs go!?

 

we are fast forwarding to Mar and im still trying to grasp what am I trying to get out of 2014.

not good.

maybe I should just learn to go with the flow..

 

some outfits for the week:

left: long sleeve denim shirt from uniqlo, cropped pants from  gg5

middle: top and cropped pants from zara

right: top from seoul, cropped pants from gg5

 

yes, same pants worn twice in a week.

all good to be thrown in the washer now. :D

has it been 11 years?

well, almost.
10.5 years since I first laid my eyes on a Bernini's sculpture in aug'03. :(
I think the time is long enough that I dun sound like a spoilt brat when I shout ITS time for me to go back to rome no?
I must be responsible for that coin that I tossed in trevi fountain.

ive been thinking recently what is important.
like what is really important in life.
and the only answer I can think of is the answers are always changing.
apart from the no-brainer health, family & love ones, you will realize what is important in life is really sum of many small parts.
and you do realize those who eventually ended up unhappy in life are usually those who anchor too much of their time and attention solely to few or one aspect of their life - say work or kids.

I think to have a good career that gives you financial stability as well as some sense of work satisfaction is important.
I think to have a good network of friends is important.
I think to have a good portfolio of investment or similar and retirement plan of some sort is important.
I think to be physically, emotionally and mentally present for the kids is important.
I think to take care of the partner's needs is important.
I think to hang on to that one passion in your life, be it running or just drawing, and not let life's other demands snuff it out is important.
and there are many more areas that are just as important.

and I do realize by now, at the young or old age of 33, that success does not equate happiness.
successful people may not be happy and happy people may not be successful.
and of cos, the fluid definition of success really hinges on one's expectation.

so I have been answering my own question with more questions recently.
do I want to be successful or happy - which is a stupid question.
but you will realize success is a subset of happiness for many and for myself too.
and there lies the complication.
to remove success from the equation requires zen and nirvana that eludes me for the time being...

and so!
whats the link between a Bernini sculpture in rome has to do with happiness for me?
im sure the link is direct but I need to come up with a more elaborated and convincing manner to convey it.
to the husband at least.

I have a project for 2014/15.
and it involves a still life painting of Caravaggio, sloped marble floor of pantheon and gelato that melts slow.
and maybe, just maybe, Italian blokes with curly black hair.

arrivederci, Borghese.

another working week passed!

this is quite scary for half of feb is gone.

gosh, im still getting used to the idea of 2014...

 

the team dropped by my house today for a spot of MJ!

guess my luck is still ok for I won SMALL. :P

 

it has been a quiet weekend for the ng family.

all of us except the husband are sick...nursing flus and coughs.

zzzz.

 

some outfits for the week:

 

left: top from gg5, skirt from topshop

right: top from gg5, pants from bysi

12 years anniversary with the man

today marks the 12th year anniversary with the husband.

yes. I started dating mr ng on 12.02.02!

just 2 months past my 20th birthday and I was tricked into a relationship with him!

ok, it seems to be the other way round if you ask the man...

 

we used to celebrate the occasion on a monthly basis.

yes, you hear me right. monthsary it was...

until we got married and it became a yearly affair much to the relief of hubbi.

 

so for today, both of us took PM leave.

nothing special planned but just some time off for ourselves without the boys. :P

 

the husband came fetch me around 12+ and we made our way for lunch @ au petit salut at Dempsey.

we had good memories of our last time here - when I was preggy with YR.

yup, 4 years back!

 

but sad to say, standard seems to drop compared to the last time...

 

my appetizer - escargots aint too bad though culina serves nicer ones

my trout could be juicer....

 

after lunch, we went for my favorite activity - movie! 

American hustle @ vivo gold class!

gold class is really not for us.. our old bodies were actually aching after the whole lying down experience... @_@

 

and the movie!

it was without subtitles which can be such a pain for im accustomed to reading lines off the screen. :(

still, it was good.

and J.law is a hoot inside.

totally believing with the dolly parton's hair.

she was so good as the sneering wife with all the poisonous traits.

ahhh... Im being biased here huh?

she has to be one of my favorite actresses of all times.

 

and I just have to say it here.
there is an endearing trait of the husband that stands the test of time:
falling back at times waiting for his arm to be taken up by me.
I feel needed.
and its a good feeling to have in any relationship.
:)

some traditions are meant to be followed

some traditions are just meant to be followed, don't you think.

i am pretty surprised why some people just do away with traditions when they didn't strike me particularly as very forward-thinking or modern people.

no new clothings for CNY? not even day 1?! that I really cant fathom.

 

at least for me when im growing up, buying new clothings excites me (now, still do :P) and it was great bonding time with my parents hunting down the perfect clothes, shoes and even bags for the few days of celebration.

and it symbolizes a new beginning and in some sense, it helps to cultivate a good mentality of looking back at the past year, summarizing the ups & downs, learning from the year and then looking ahead to the new year with good aspirations and feeling hopeful.

and its our Chinese roots. if you strip away all these symbolism, then perhaps its really no different a CNY day to you as compared to any other day.

but its the meaning behind the festive season that forms our Chinese culture and history.

 

but of cos sometimes, it really depend on one's perspective.

if you choose to see the meaningless in everything then well, a day is a day.

that's your choice.

 

and so in the good spirit of upholding traditions, the gang did our annual CNY gathering at dd & grace's house!

and it was a whole day affair of get-together (gambling)!

 

some of us met up at dd's house at 11am and after the bai-nian "ceremony" to his mum and gramps, we started our MJ session without further ado! *hiaks*

it was 1 round of MJ before we adjourned to grace's house at 1+pm.

 

and from there, we continued another 2 rounds of MJ!!

we had zi char dinner & lohei with a lot of crazy "auspicious" phrases thrown in when tossing the yusheng. LOL.

 

 

the 2 preggies were missed. one is waiting for delivery anytime, the other has family dinner.

self-portrait shot with zm's S4 @ grace's house

4 of us continue our 3rd round of MJ after dinner while the rest transformed to couch potato to watch Ameizing concert.

but we were all singing her good old songs out loud the whole time.

ahh... revealing our age. :P

 

AND then, its the customary BJ session which lasted all the way until 1am... @_@

i was so tired out by the time I reached home yesterday.....

and i lost money from all the gambling. *pui*

first time for so many years running.

evil monkey zm won from all 3 of us roosters at the MJ table!

isn't it a good year for roosters rather than monkeys??

 

oh well, it was good fun with the peeps!

next gathering: gb's bday!

yet another closing is over!

as we have an extra day of holiday on monday, it doesn't mean all deliverables got pushed back automatically by another day. @_@

so Tuesday was pretty much a mad rush to churn out reports that are normally due in 1.5 days...

plus, i was down with a pretty bad flu.

sigh, it really suck being sick during closing days..

 

but the whole closing process was still pretty smooth.

we stayed late till around 8+pm on tues and were pretty back to normal pace for rest of week.

going to work these few weeks is like going through some emotional turmoil...

too many things going on, too much emotions surging (from others and myself) and too much speculation going on.

i just hope everything will settle down soon.

 

outfits for the week:

left: top from MNG, jeans from guess by Marciano

right: top from topshop, pants from zara

CNY 2014 is a quiet affair for us

CNY is getting quieter and quieter as the years passed.

what the boys are experiencing now is nowhere near what I enjoyed in the past.

i still remember CNY day 1 is such a fanfare for me last time.

by 9am+, my family + 2 other uncles' (2nd & 3rd) families will moved out of ubi together (by lorry or public bus) and make our way ever so slowly to my big auntie's house at yishun.

so 6 adults + 7 kids will chit-chatty non-stop during the almost 1 hour journey to the north!

 

and over there, we will meet up with the 6th uncle at my big auntie house.

snacking on all the new year goodies and having early lunch there.

from there, the whole group will adjourned to bendemeer road to visit my mum's uncle house (my granduncle).

the group will split up by either public transport or cabs (my uncle are taxi drivers.. ha).

and of cos, young ones like us have to take the public transport which is another hour from yishun to bendemeer!!

but it was so much fun, chatting with all the cousins.

 

and after some time at the granduncle house, we will finally make our way to the final stop of the day - my gramps/big uncle house at geylang bahru.

by then it would be almost 3pm.. and we were all feeling dead beat..

but the visiting hadn't stop yet! my mum's cousins will come visiting so the small 3bedrm flat was always super crowded and my cousins and I have to settle in the bedroom to make space for the visitors where we will play blackjack/dai di non stop! :P

 

and after dinner, without fail, I will went to catch late night movies with the cousins so that by the time CNY day 1 is over, it would have been a long crazy day for me!

 

now the routine with the husband and boys is much simpler and boring if you ask me..

late morning is to my in-laws house at the west. simple lunch and some catching-up then its directly to my big uncle place.

then early dinner and we will leave by 6+pm...

and that is it for CNY day 1....

 

still, the boys seem to have fun yesterday.

though yz and me are feeling a little under the weather...

and for today, no house visiting at all.... @_@

so just rest at home.

 

indeed, a quiet CNY....

 

ready to start our limited house-visiting!