Dad responded..

Today when we went to visit him in the morning, dad was awake and he was excited to talk to us but we could not make a word he is saying as no voice came out because of the tube that the nurses inserted in his mouth and prob due to the fracture of his bones and broken jaw. So, we felt he really wanted us to know what is in his mind..so we took out a pen and a paper and asked him a lot of questions and if it is yes, he should only blink his eye.

So, we asked him," first word-how many letters? 1..2..3..4.." So once the number reaches to what he wants, he will blink. Then we asked," the first word, first letter is.. a..b..c..d.." So, we slowly unraveled the characters. I would say it was fun and we were all in high spirits trying to 'solve the mystery' of what was in my dad's mind.

After a while, we finally understood what he was saying. He was talking about "ratana"-his god daughter from Cambodia. He told us that he saw her with a nurse who was in the morning shift. My dad loves Ratana very much and he planned to go Cambodia in August and bring her back to stay with him for one month and even think of finding a school here. So, my dad was pretty excited for her to go to Singapore. When he told us that Ratana came to visit him, we were all shocked..hehe.. Then my mum said that God put an image on him to assure and comfort him.

My mum was jokingly saying that "wha..his mind always on Ratana..I so jealous.." Hehe.. Cos we asked him if he is worried about us..he shake his head and implied, "no".

Dad is running a temperature today and because of that, the doctors cannot take an MRI scan and so, he will not be a candidate for the stem cell injection as they need a scan from him by today. But because he still needs the ventilator and not able to take the scan by today, he will be off the experiment. Then we met up with an admin liason person from Shepherd Centre, Atlanta who was telling us about their rehab prog there.. They have very good facilities and even start rehab for people in ICU. But the cost is crazy..about 3000 US$ per day.

Today, CT went back to work finally..and so CT's colleague who is a technician on shift gave us a lift to hospital as it is his day off today. But after meeting with the person from Shepherd Centre and after our sumptuous lunch at the cafeteria (had roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes,fried catfish fillet,raspberry pie dessert,french fries,jumbo hot dog with melted cheese which all costs only US$12), we asked Pam McCarthy (Ct's american colleague) to send us back as she volunteered.

After going home, we prayed together as a family to submit all decisions to the Lord as we need to make some decisions on whether to stay for rehab or go back singapore. We wanted to commit everything to God. After praying and singing, we all got the impression to go back singapore for rehab...even though we know the rehab here in Atlanta would be much better cos of the facilities and the resources they have here.

We will be asking my mum's friend who is an orthop surgeon in singapore about his opinion as well. And he replied after our prayer and said that if best,just fly him back to Singapore. So, it was a confirmation and assurance. We felt at peace even though we know that Singapore will not be better as America has so many cases on spinal chord injuries and so they have a lot more resources and study done. But we feel, our trust in God will be the best as God is our healer.

We will be visiting him at night again when CT comes back from work. So at the mean time, we went for swimming. Me, bro, Pam and Gek Teng (Kok Fong's wife) went swimming at about 3 plus pm. We had so much fun. I was teaching Gek Teng how to do a somersault in the water. She learnt it fast and was doing it already. SO happy.. I was also playing with bro who can hold the breath the longest in the swimming pool.. We held it about 2 mins. My legs was still hurting a bit but can still swim. Pam was wearing my costume as she forgot to bring hers..I wore my new bikini..to get a nice sun tan.

At night, CT's colleagues went to visit dad as well..so his room were filled with people. Dad again was trying to talk to us so we used the same method, patiently, and we got what he was saying. He wanted to know what was today's date, who visited him, and told us to contact his friend about property,he also said he wanted to listen to music. So, I will bring speakers and player to play songs for him. He only could communicate by blinking his eyes..so, we had to slow read out the alphabets and numbers. Sometimes when we ask him questions, his eye brows knotted cos he was thinking what are we saying..hehe..he looks very cute and it is quite diff for him.

The best thing was when we were going to leave, we said good night to him and told him that we love him. Then he mouth something back..and we said, is it I love you? He said yes. So, he actually said "I love you too".. So sweet. I teared a little cos my dad is so strong in faith and so loving..

PS: Pls pray for dad's fever to go down..he was feeling cold though his body was so hot. Pray he will keep better.

Dad woke up...

Today, when we went to visit dad, the doctor asked us if we like to talk to him. Then of course we said yes. So, they took away his sedation so that he can wake up and when we called him, he woke up and we kept assuring him that we are with him and God is with him. He opened his eyes and wanted to try and talk to us..but we had absolute no clue as to what he wants to say to us as no voice came out and his jaw is broken. So, he was having a difficult time..but he can answer us by nodding his head or saying no.

We were very happy that he can respond and he is clear in his mind what is going on. We kept telling him that all of us are ok and everyone back home is praying for him and loves him. We told him to only concentrate on getting well and not to worry about the rest. However, he kept wanting to talk and it pains us to see him trying so hard to talk but cannot. So, we said, "Just rest and recuperate. Do not strain yourself as we could not understand what he was trying to say." We also started singing to him especially his favourite Christian songs to assure him that God is with him.

I am sure my dad will pull through as my dad is a very strong man. From young, he has always been encouraging me and saying words like, "Get up and win the race" and I do hope that this race, he will be able to get up and be strong.

My dad now is depending less on the oxygen from the machine and depend less on the drip which keeps the blood pressure up..so it is a good thing. He has been recovering very well and everything is doing well.

God is merciful and He always allow things to happen for a purpose and everything is done out of His love for us. I pray that more people will come to know the Lord through this accident.

Update..

Today, went to visit dad during the first visiting hours. We cannot stay overnight with him as he is in ICU, so they do not allow people to stayover and moreover, the doctors and nurses take very good care of him. So, the first visiting hour is at 9am. Usually, I would wake up at 7am and prepare breakfast for not only CT now, but mum, bro and sis-in-law. My bro and sis-in-law, Pam stay with CT's colleague (Kok Fong & Gek Teng) as they stay nearest to us. They stay in a 2 room apartment just like mine.

After breakfast, drove to the hospital which Dad is in- University of South Alabama Hospital. Going to the hospital does scare me a little as the car has to go past railway track each time to and fro. So, I would pass by the railway tracks 4 times each day as we visit dad twice a day. So, my heartbeat will become faster when I am in the car. The first few days, I would close my eyes or once, I actually screamed and cried when the car went on the tracks as my mind would recall back the accident. But, after much prayers and support from my family, I decided to overcome it and now, I open my eyes but my heartbeat still go faster a little.

Dad look slightly better today. He looks cleaner. The nurses have also changed his bed to an air mattress which will move up and down to prevent bed sores. Dad is still highly sedated and is depending less on the oxygen, which is a good sign. So, slowly, the nurses will reduce his dependency on the machines but to allow him to be more independent. I am thankful his surgeries went well yesterday. He had a breathing tube placed in his throat, and rods and screws were placed at the back of neck to stabilise it. The surgeon also put a filter near his groin area to prevent blood clot. The doctor advising the whole operation happens to be a famous doctor who was specially asked to fly down to Washington DC to operated on the president's bodyguard when the president was assassinated. So, we felt so blessed that he is now overseeing my dad's operation. All God's plan..

Whenever we visit dad, we would sing worship songs to him especially songs he love to listen to..and of course, we pray for him and just submit everything to God. After praying, we were leaving the room, when we noticed another patient in the room who seemed to be suffering. So, we went over and asked what happened. Heard that the girl was shot in the stomach by a gun and the mother was crying beside her bed. So, we went over to comfort her and prayed for her and family and told them to trust in the God and just pray.

After visiting dad for an hour, which was when the visiting hours was over, we went shopping today. I know most people would think, "Go shopping when such a thing has happened?? where got mood?" Well, we feel so much peace that we are not worried at all. So, everything seems to be "normal" in a way though we know it will not be the same again. But we know that God is in control and we just feel joyful and praising God continually.

So, we went to a sports shop where all of us bought shoes. Me and mum has to buy shoes as we lost ours in the accident while bro and Pam bought as it is cheap. CT did not buy anything as usual. After shopping, we went to an Arts and Craft shop as Pam loves artwork. We spent some time shopping at the shop and then, we were so hungry that we decided to eat buffet. So, CT suggested Indian buffet since we all missed curry. So, we had Indian buffet which is about 8 US$ per person. After that, we were so full cos you know how buffet is..always make a person so stuffed.

After buffet, we dropped bro, Pam and mum at Walmart then me and CT went to Bel Air Mall to change our car. CT's company suggested us changing our car to a bigger car to accomodate all of us since now, we have 5 people with us. CT's company is really nice and thoughful. So, we changed our car from a Pontiac Grandam 3.4 L car to a Ford Taurus 2005 3.0 L car. Though the capacity is less, the newer car is much bigger and luxurious. The Pontiac car is a sports car so the ceiling of car is so low and the sitting space is very small. We all enjoy our new car.

Then we drove the car to Walmart to join the rest. We did grocery shopping and mum bought some loose fitting shorts so that she can dress easily with her injury like that. Her leg is wrapped up with a mobiliser which has a dial to slowly increase the angle which she can bend..so every few days, she will be able to bend more and more.

After grocery shopping, we went back to apartment to put down our stuff. I drove mum in the car to my apartment office to collect a bouquet of flowers which a note was hung outside a door saying that flowers were left there for us to collect since we were not home. I collected the flowers from the office and read that it was from my good friends from church- Marianne, Joshua, Esther and my god daughter, Phoebe! So happy to receive it. Thanks you guys!

After unpacking our groceries, we went to visit dad again. Bob, CT's american colleague was there with his 2 kids and I really like Bob. He is a great guy and has been very helpful. Recently, his bro-in-law suffered heart attack with 3 block arteries as well but yet he still makes time to visit my dad and mum. He has been a great Christian brother to us. He even activated the whole church to pray with us, having sms and emails sent to everyone in church. Bob was the one who invited us to his church. So, we are really thankful to God for allowing us to know him.

During the visit, we talked to the nurses taking care of him and I must say that the hospitality is really great. They are always so helpful. They say that they will reduce the sedation on Dad so that he can wake up. Slowly, he has to depend less on the drugs and breathing equipment. The main thing is the blood pressure. They insert a drip which keeps his blood pressure good..however, my dad seems to depend on that alot as it will fall once they remove it. So, we have to pray that Dad will be able to keep his blood pressure good and constant even without relying on the drip.

After the visit, we went home and as usual, I would prepare dinner for my family and while leaving the cooker on, I would go help mum to bathe. This time round, she seems to be more independent. I still remember the first time when I had to bathe her and sponge her. It was tough but fun as I love for people to feel good and I know a person will feel better when he/she is clean. But today, we put a chair in the bathtub and she practically bathed on her own. I would help clean her back and feet and make sure she does not fall.

Today, I cooked beef stew with spaghetti. We are all so full from lunch, so it was a simple dinner with less salt as the food we eat outside very salty. Added potatoes, beef cubes, carrots, and celery in the stew. Yummy. I enjoyed it.

Everyday, we keep receiving a lot of calls and smses from Singapore as our friends and family seem to be very worried for us. I am so thankful for everyone of them. The various newspapers also have been calling. I kind of felt tired of repeating my story..so I have slowed down in entertaining already and passed it to my other family members. Hehe..

Today, when we came back from our second visit to hospital, there was a parcel outside our door in my apartment. It was given from CT's vice president of his company. It was a nice hamper with cookies, chocs, lots of cheese stuff.

My family is very grateful and touched by all the many concerns and prayers given out to us. Very humbled.

Encouragement card

Here is what the card, which Pam McCarthy (CT's colleague) gave, says..It is entitled, "You are Never Alone"

There's a wonderful peace in just knowing

that God never leaves us alone,

And whether we feel He is with us or not,

He loves us and calls us His own.

His Word is our hope, and our comfort,

a refuge when life brings our way

those times we need wisdom and guidance

and strength to sustain us each day.

I feel it is very encouraging as it reminds me of how faithful God is and how He has been with us all the time..

Through human wisdom, we may ask why He allows such thing to happen...but my whole family has faith to believe that God always allow things to happen for a reason and just hearing about how my parents' church in Singapore called for a prayer rally and my relatives and mum,sis-in-law who are non-Christians attended the prayer session. It has always been our prayer that our family members especially would come to know the Lord, believe in Him and accept Him into their lives..so, we all believe that God has always been working and is working in our midst already.

Train and car wreck

Have not written my blog for so long as I am sure you have heard about the train & car wreck my family was in. Now, I finally have time to write it down..

My parents came over to visit me and CT on Tues. They purposely come during this period to celebrate my birthday for me. So anyway, on Friday, we planned to go for a game of golf at Magnolia Grove which is one of the golf courses in Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. So, the golf course is quite nice and is near my apartment. So, we left at about 640am to reach there at 7am for the tee-off.

Mum did not play as she does not want to. So, she just hopped onto the buggee with us as I played with my dad 18-holes of golf at "The Falls" course. It is a beautiful course with lake and waterfalls. I enjoyed playing as it was my first time playing on the green since I do not have my license yet. BUt in US, anybody can play..so, I took the opportunity to play and accompany my dad as I know he is very excited to come to US to play. He even bought a new putter (costing few hundred US bucks)the day before to play. The sun was very hot, so after 11 holes, me and mum were complaining already and were starving. So, we hung in there to complete the game and I recommended to go to "Cici's Pizza" for a pizza buffet which costs only US$4. So, my parents were all looking forward to it.

We parked our buggee back at the parking space and my dad went to get the car. I waited with mum for my dad to get it. Dad took a pretty long time as he was washing his golf shoes and changing into his normal sport shoes.

So, finally, dad came with the car and was driving out of the golf course. There is a railway track all along outside the golf course. Actually, the first day we came, we reccee the place to find out where it is and how much is the rate. I already noticed the railway track and did want to ask dad to always stop first and check before driving off. However, in my head, I know I should not nag as my dad should know best as I always nag and people always say I nag too much and to just let them drive. SO, I kept my mouth shut...

So, when we were driving out of the golf course, we came by the tracks again..dad slowed down and the front part of his car entered the tracks when we saw the train coming...Mum spotted first and screamed in the car! I still remembered how loudly she screamed and how me and dad were panicking. I was trying to put on the reverse gear for dad as only the front part car was out..but I couldnt as when I reached out for the gear, the train smashed our car and the next thing I knew, I saw myself turning topsy turvy and hitting a lot of things before it landed on my side of the car. I was beside my dad who was driving. When the car was flipping, in my head, I was thinking, "I cannot believe that this is happening. We were supposed to have a great lunch. Is this true??"

My side window was smashed on the ground as the car landed on my side. When the car stopped, I shouted for my mum as I already saw my dad who was still beside me. I shouted, "Mum mum, where are you?? where are you??" After that, I suddenly thought I would be the only survivor..and I was slightly frightened and shocked cos I cannot believe that it is happening. I tried to crawl out of the car through a small opening at the back and managed to squeeze through when I saw mum on the grass patch wailing in pain as her leg was hurting. She kept saying, "What happened? Why am I here? How are you? How is daddy?"

So I squeezed back into the car to check on dad and he was dangling down from his seat as the car was turned to the right side. So, the driver side(left side) was on top. So, my dad was hung upside down as his seat belt held on to his legs. I could see him using his hands to reach out for something to pull himself up and he was telling me that he wanted to get up. I told him that I did not dare to touch him in case he has a broken neck or something like that. But he said, "it is ok. I want to get up." I could see he needed to get up as his nose and mouth were coming out blood continously. The whole car smelt of blood. So, I carefully supported his neck and shoulder on my lap and hands. However, the weight was overbearing and I had to slowly let go of his head and neck as the fireman came.

I kept telling dad to just pray to God as only Jesus can help us now. Then I told him to hang in there. I could not believe my once healthy and active dad looking like that. I could hardly recognise him. I was not crying but all I could think was to support my family and encourage my parents. So, I went back to mum and prayed with her. I also went to find all my valuables and grabbed hold of it. I saw all the golf clubs being thrown out everywhere and I managed to catch hold of my camera bag with my wallet inside and my mum's handbag many metres away from the car. So, I took it with me. All of us were without shoes. Somehow, we lost our shoes. After a while, I found one side on a grass patch and I took it and wear it on one foot.

I stayed with mum as the fireman tried to get pass the train to our side as the train was blocking. The train driver walked all the way here and released the latch of a part of train so that it can split up for the fireman, ambulance and police to go past it to rescue my dad.

The ambulance took me and mum to Springhill Memorial Hospital while the firemen were still trying to save dad in the car. Mum was put on a stretcher and I was beside her the whole time in the ambulance. Mum kept asking me the same questions over and over again as she cannot remember what happened. I kept asking her to trust in the Lord and stay calm.

Once we reached the emergency ward, I was being asked a lot of questions by the admin while mum was being tended by the nurses. The person asked me about details of me,mum and dad. They also managed to call CT for me and I talked to him. CT was shocked but calm. So I told him to come here now to be with me. Then, I waited for quite a while before the nurse asked me to change into something for me to go for X ray tests. So I changed and rested on a bed. While resting, they took me to the X ray room to test for my hips and knees as it hurts. Then, they wheeled me back to the original spot and wait for their results.

Then I saw CT and Kok Fong. I cried when I saw him and started telling him what happened. He noticed my head had a bump so he told the doctor to do a CT scan for me in case of anything. So, I went for a CT scan. In between all the scans, I waited for hours for the nurses to bring me to the place for scan. While waiting, all I did was pray to Jesus for healing to take place and told Him to be with my dad and mum.

After the CT scan, the doctor cleared it and said everything is normal. Then, I went next door to see my mum and she kept asking me the same questions. She could not open her eyes as she said it was very umcomfortable. I told her to rest and just pray.

Shortly after, the doctor told me that I can be discharged and gave me prescription to go to a pharmacy to get my medicine. Pam and Jim (CT's colleagues) visited me and Pam comforted me. I felt so loved. She told me that she will help me get medicine for me. So, I changed back into my bloody pants and shirt and went to the waiting room where CT was. CT was with his colleagues, including Bob. Bob is a great guy..he was the one who invited us to his church and has been a blessing to me and CT. He hugged me the first thing he saw me and comforted me. I was very touched.

I told mum that I would come back to visit her and told her not to worry.So I left and got back to my apartment feeling quite sad as I returned home to a quiet place without my parents. So, when I was bathing, I just cried and could not believe that this had happened. CT was with me and comforted me. After changing, I went to see my dad at University of South Alabama hospital. He was sent there by helicopter from the scene of accident.

When I went there, I was sitted at the waiting room to wait for dad as he went for some scan. After that, I saw him being wheeled past me and I saw him with all the tubes..The doctor told me to wait for him to come out. So, I was in the waiting area with all of CT's colleagues. CT's colleagues brought porridge for me and my mum. So, I ate some just to fill my stomach a little. Bob also came to visit my dad and bought a sandwich for us and Pam got us an encouragement card, a nice journal and a bag full of snacks for me and CT.

I finally got to see dad and of course, I teared when I first saw him. He was highly sedated so he could not respond to me. After that, I called my bro which was sat morning about 8am Singapore time and when I broke the news to bro, he started crying... I calmed him down and told him not to worry as God does everything for a purpose. So, I also told him that CT's company will pay for his flight here and asked him to let me know soon.

That very day, I slept quite well as I was very tired..but was aching all over. So, I could not move much. I have many bruises on my body and could not walk properly. But other than that, I feel so blessed to be alive as I thought I would die when the train hit me. Thank you Lord.

Went to Gulf Shores

Today, had bread and milo for breakfast. Something funny happened today. Mum was in the toilet when the ceiling started dripping water on her head. Then she realised it was dirty water. So, I had to call the apartment office to repair the ceiling. So, they came over and checked it out.
But before they arrived, when my parents went to toilet, they carried their golf umbrella in to shield.

We planned to go out in the morning to go Gulf Shores...so we left the repairman to do our ceiling. Drove to "Burris Farm Market" first and bought veggies, onions, and lots of fruits. After that, spent some time shopping at "Tanger Outlets" which is a factory outlet branded stores like Tommy, Timberland, Reebok,Nike, Liz Claiborne etc... There are many shops in it. Can actually spend one whole day walking. There is a food court in the area. So, we stopped at about noon time to eat. I had a hotdog while my parents ate stew with bread. Gek Teng came along with us. She had pizza with salad. We spent most of our time at Liz Claiborne shopping for clothes. The shop is so much bigger than in Singapore's. So, we were excited when we saw so many selection of clothings. However, one problem is that the clothes are all quite huge..so it made me looked fat in it. So, I only bought one shirt. But dad chose it for me. He was a great help as he was trying to choose clothes for me.

After a few hours of shopping, we were so tired that we decided to carry on shopping the rest of the area another day. So, we hopped on to our rented car and drove to the beach at Gulf shores. There were a lot of people on the beach as it is the school holidays already. Weather is very hot and sunny.

It was a long drive home back to our apartment..about 1 plus hour. Mum fell asleep in the car while dad was trying to keep awake. After going back to the apartment, the repairman was still around and in fact, there were more people in our apartment trying to fix the problem. The guy said it is a big problem. They told us that they will need to come back tomorrow to fix it. Mum also found out that the water that dripped on her head was faeces water. Ha..

When we reached apartment, mum started preparing dinner in the kitchen. She is in charge of soup today while dad is doing the rest of the dishes. Yay..off day for me! Mum cooked lettuce, tomato, pork, chicken, mushroom, fishball soup. Dad cooked oyster sauce ginger chicken and bittergourd with beef. It was so tasty. I really enjoyed our dinner.

After dinner, as usual, CT will be busy in the kitchen rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dish washer. He is now an expert in using the dish washer.

When the sun was setting, CT, dad and I went to play tennis. I went there to take pictures. Met Teck Meng and Anthony as they were playing as well. Dad played well. Both CT and dad were trying to make each other run for the ball. Ha..Outwit-Outsmart-Outrun...

They stopped playing when it was too dark.

I drove the rented car back by trying out the manual gear. There seem to be auto and manual. Wanted to test out the car. Real fun.

While we went back to apartment, we watched TV together...

Legs aching from the walk..I guess I cannot shop for hours..

It's time to get out!

Woke up at 5 plus am as usual and made breakfast and lunch for CT. I could not sleep after that though I was super tired with my panda eyes as my parents woke up. So, I prepared noodles for their breakfast. I was very tired but to cook for loved ones, is always privilege.

Had noodles with oyster sauce and added sausages, ham and lettuce. Very nice. My mum really brought so much food here that I can now eat as I like and no need to save up for rainy days. Need to thank my mum-in-law too for bringing some soup stuff and dried mushrooms..oh..Marianne, my good friend sent me some stuff as well..as well as my auntie. I feel so touched and cared for. Thanks so much you guys! Miss you all..

After breakfast, I called Gek Teng to see if she want to come along with us...but she was still sleeping so, I went out only with my parents. Brought them to Walmart first to do their grocery shopping and mum and dad bought shoes and clothes there as well. Mum was commenting that she see the stuff in Walmart until blur cos they have a wide variety of everything and has a lot of stuff.

After that, we dropped the stuff off our apartment and I brought them to more shopping places. Ha.. Parents bought some stuff for friends. Then, we had lunch at the Vietnamese Restaurant. I ordered fried noodles while parents ordered beef soup noodles. I always enjoy the drink as it is salted plum drink. Yum..Met CT's colleague-Tee there as he is on MC. He is coughing bad.

After that, I brought them to Asian Market as I needed to buy Oyster Sauce. So, showed them around. Then, went to "Dollar Tree" where everything is one buck. They bought a lot of stuff..as they keep saying," Cheap what".

Then, we went to Magnolia Grove Golf Course. It is a very nice and serene place with lots of trees. Dad went to check out the place and to find out more information about it. We will prob golf on Friday.

All of us were dead tired when we came home. Dad and I were putting and chipping on my living room carpet...real fun. I even hit the table with my golf ball. Ha.. Mum and I were also preparing dinner. Cooked soup. After cooking the soup, I put some in a container and brought it over to Tee, CT's colleague. He told me that he feels so touched. I just feel happy when people are happy.

It is nice to have my mum now helping me out in the kitchen..I have learnt a great deal from her-in every aspect...her cooking, her personality and life.

Dinner was great. Mum helped me prepare the dishes while I cook them. Had egg with chai poh, xiao bai cai, fish, and pork rib almond fig soup. Yum yum...

We watched American Idol together as a family. I heated up my brownies for all of them and added ice cream. Very enjoyable. All of us very tired..my parents kept falling asleep once in a while. Still having jet lag. Ha..

Cant wait for tomorrow when I bring them to another round of shopping...and to gulf coast beach.. Will keep you updated!

Arrival of parents

Could not sleep whole night as I was too excited for my parents' arrival and kept thinking what to do when they come. Slept about 2am last night tossing and turning. Then, woke up at 7am today as the sunshine was penetrating into my room. Being excited, I quickly woke up and started thinking what to do. So, I thought since the weather seems hot, it is a good time to swim as if I do that later, there will be more people in the pool.

So, I got into my bikini which I bought it here and swam about 10 over laps and then, rested under the sun for a tan. That is the purpose why I got a bikini- to get a tan on my tummy. And probably, it will motivate me to eat less.

After a good swim with no one in the pool, bathed and started doing some finishing touches on my apartment to prepare for tonight when my parents come. I went over to Gek Teng's place so that time will pass quicker. Went there to play computer and watch TV with her.

I left about 5 plus as I was feeling very tired. So I went back and rested by watching TV and just relaxing on my own. I was checking the internet for the time arrival of CT's and my parents' flight. CT arrived at 710pm and he came home to bathe first before we went to pick parents up.

I was trying to hurry him as he went to bathe. I was practically running up and down and walking everywhere the house. I was watching American Idol standing up. So you can sense my excitement- of the show and my parents.

After CT bathed, we quickly drove to the airport and waited for them. I was so happy. Dad rented a car so that we can drive the car during the day time. We were given a Hyundai Sonata car. It was very nice car with sunroof where you can open it up by pressing a button. Cool.

I sat with dad in the rented car as he drove and CT was with mum in his company's car. So, we made our way to "Ruby Tuesday" and had western food. We ordered only 3 dishes- New Orleans Seafood, Mushroom Steak and Buffalo Wings. The servings are huge and so, we all shared.

After dinner, drove to our apartment to settle in. Mum started passing me all the things that she brought over for me..one big box of it all! Amazing. The whole night, they were telling me the stories of the plane flights adventures.

Dad straight away headed for the TV and watched his golf channel. Sigh.. Did not sleep too well as the excitement was still in me. Ha.. Kept tossing and turning.

Parents coming soon..

Today, woke up to prepare CT breakfast and made sandwiches for his lunch as he will be leaving for Atlanta today, so wont have time to eat proper meal. Spent the morning cleaning up the house, washing the bedsheets and pillow cases to prepare for my parent's arrival.

It is pretty exciting as I have not have any visitors for almost 3 months. Vacuumed the floor and carpet as well. I do hope my parents will not get bored here. Guess my mum will be happy with the TV and my dad with his golf courses. There are a lot of golf courses here and heard it is cheap to play. So, dad will be bringing his set. Will probably play with him when he comes.

Heated up my leftover KFC chicken for lunch. After that, went over to Gek Teng's apartment to return her bowls. She came over with 2 bowls of soup for me and CT last night as she usually cooks too much soup. The soup she cooked was potato, carrot, tomato soup. It was tasteless as she said she did not put any salt. I left the soup for tonight's dinner.

For dinner, it was my first time having it alone. Actually, Gek Teng invited me over to her place but I'd rather be alone and having the freedom and comfort at my own home. I added rice to soup and had that for dinner. Yummy. Healthy food. Whole night watching TV and playing with my computer.

Now, I am watching iron chef and the food theme is eel. Yum! Tonight, will be sleeping alone..miss CT but I just keep telling myself that it is only a night. :) Cannot wait for tommorow as my parents and CT come! Hope that when my parents come, they will not be so tired as I have planned to bring them to somewhere nice to eat. They will be arriving at 840pm. Cannot wait.

Visited Daysprings Church

This morning, Jamie will not be joining us to go church as she said she will be going Foley,about an hour drive from here. So, CT suggested visiting another church this morning which my mum recommended from her contact in Singapore. So, we went. The church is about 15 mins away.

The service went well. I enjoyed it as the pastor was very detailed in explaining the bible passage and during worship, the lyrics that was projected on the screen was quite high tec. The background was animated! I was amazed at how great the americans are with their IT and video. Service was from 945am to 11am. After service, we drove to "Food World", another grocery shop to get a discount card for free and to buy some stuff from there. I bought bag of fish and prawns. It was buy one get one free offer.

After that, we took away KFC and ate that for lunch while watching VCD at home. KFC did not taste as good as "Church's Chicken". It was slightly dry. After watching VCD, I was feeling very tired. So, I went to catch a nap. Then, woke up and went to pick steve up to go to the cinema and watch "Star Wars: the revenge of the Sith". Many went as well- Kok Fong & wife, Chee Hao, Chen Twok, Anthony, JS. We thought it will be crowded but the cinema was only about 3 rows filled. I love it as I do not like crowded places.

The show is very entertaining and has great effects!! That is the reason why I watched as I am not a star wars fan..but i enjoy the effects..The show was only 2 hours. Quite short. Heard this will be the last time they will show Star Wars. I do wish they can continue and remake the old episodes.

After the show, we sent steve back and invited him for dinner at 630pm. So, I quickly went back and prepared dinner. Cooked the fish I bought today, plus cooked prawns with celery and carrot, finished up my spinach soup and cooked potatoes with minced pork. Steve enjoyed the home cooked dinner which he missed so I was glad I invited him over.

After he left, we continued watching more VCDs.. It is getting very interesting but at times, it can be confusing..hehe..too cheem for my simple mind..

After watching, CT was packing his bag as he is going Atlanta, Georgia for work tomorrow for one night. We realised we did not have extra toothpaste. So, went to "Walgreens" to buy a small tube of toothpaste. So, tomorrow night, I will home alone.. He will be coming back the same night by parents will be coming. So, hopefully, he will reach here earlier and go together to pick my parents up.

Need some rest

After returning home about 2am this morning, woke up at about 830am. It is bright very early here...so the day is very long. After waking up, made ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. Then, went to visit the "Medal of Honor Park" near our place. It is a huge area with tennis centre and stadium. Not the kind of park I expect it to be. After that, went to Asian Market to buy the usual asian vegetables. I bought red spinach and xiao bai cai. Also bought the chinese/asian pear (the yellow big kind).

After that, went home to cook lunch. I was not feeling too well-had a headache and sorethroat. So I cooked spinach soup with dried anchovies added. Also cooked chicken stew with carrots and potatoes. Lunch was nice as I missed eating home cooked food after few days in Tennessee without it.

Tonight, supposed to go Bob's place for dinner with the small group from church, but we will not be going as I needed some rest. And moreover, they will be eating burgers and BBQ, so I felt my body could not take any of that anymore. So, CT had to call to let them know. After lunch, went to Walmart with Jamie and Steve. They needed to do grocery shopping, while I needed to buy grip for my tennis racquet. Of course, at the same time, I bought usual grocery stuff.

Then, went to "Best Buy" to buy a music CD- "Il Divo". I wrote before in my blog about how I came to know this group. They are recommended by Simon Cowell in the Oprah Show. They sang first time in front of America and I was touched by their singing. It is like an emotional rush. If you like songs by Josh Groban, that kind of easy listening contemporary classical music, you will like this CD by Il Divo.Check out their website if you are interested. http://www.ildivo.com/site.php

After that, went home to prepare cooking and watch my chinese VCD shows. Reheated my left overs from lunch and added celery to my chicken stew. Had baked beans with sausages as well and opened up a can of fish with preserved veggies. My fav can fish. So, today was a relaxing day, recuperating from the long journey from Tennessee.

To Gatlinburg, Smoky Mountains

This morning, we checked out and went to Gatlinburg. The town is really neat. It reminds me of a fairy tale kind of town. The architecture is very nice with lots of wood and bricks. There were a lot of shops and fun-mini golf, ripley's believe it or not aquarium,haunted house etc.. The journey in Tennessee is beautiful. The grass is very green and vast. A bit like Tasmania, Australia.

The coach bus dropped the families off at the Aquarium while the rest went to Smoky Mountains to see. We did not have much time, so we only walked about 2 hours to the waterfall and took the nature trail. Not much. Quite disappointed as I did not get to see the mountains and the smokiness of it! However, I bought postcards of the beautiful smoky mountains. Hope to go back there next time..maybe in autumn when the leavs are red.

We went for lunch at the town area. I had an American bacon cheeseburger with large onion rings, while CT had T-Bone Steak. I enjoyed my burger, but CT's steak not so nice. After a short tour of the place, we hopped onto our bus to go back to Mobile, Alabama.

The trip was very very looong.. It was torturous as sometimes, the baby will cry so loudly and disturb our sleep. Sometimes, they will cry and wail for so long..that I do pity the parents..

I did not really eat dinner as I was still full from lunch. I just ordered a milk shake and ate some fries while CT ordered a burger.

We only managed to reach back home at 2am. So tiring..I hated the ride as it was boring. Throughout the trip, I finished one story book already which I bought it here. Think next time take plane flight better. Anyway, I am glad to be back home here and waiting in anticipation for my parents to come.

Excursion!

Today, woke up early and met for breakfast with Gek Teng at 730am down at the hotel. CT and his colleagues had to leave to go to the plant at 730am, so I arranged that time so it will not be so crowded. It was a light breakfast. I had muffins and home,self-made waffles. Yum. After that, we met at 9am at the gym and did some gym. There was a TV at the gym, so can watch TV at the same time. Quite fun.

After a workout, we went back to out hotel rooms to bathe and change to go out at 11am. We were meeting the rest of the wives to go out for lunch and to zoo. There were about 7 wives and 6 kids. We went to "Red Lobster" for lunch, paid by company. So, I ordered a lobster chops. It is lobster and scallops on a skewer..grilled. Very nice! I loved it. Maybe because it was free! The kids were playing and making a mess when they ate. When we left the place, the whole floor was so dirty. The wives with kids are all malays. They were the ones who just came (Technician batch). Only me, Gek Teng and Angeline were without kids.

After lunch,we took the same coach (which brought us here) to the Knoxville Zoo. It was more for the kids. There were not many animals. Nothing compared to Singapore. Do take a look at the pictures I took..

It was tough handling the kids as some of them will start crying..or start running everywhere.. I had a busy time baby-sitting them. Very energy-draining.

After zoo, we went back to hotel and our husbands just reached back as well. I excitedly showed CT my pictures I took. CT also told me what he did in the plant and how it smelled like Chicken Feet. He said the workplace was really smelly. Ha..

CT was supposed to have dinner with the rest of the company people at this sports bar, while the wives had to take care of the dinner themselves. But all of a sudden, CT called and told me to come down and join him as the wives are now invited. So, after a quick bath, I joined him. It was nearby and boy, it was like an adult playground. There were lots of pool tables, arcade machines, soccer tables, and this long table which is called "Shuffleboard". The best thing is we did not have to pay a cent to play and to eat. The food was cathered and it was fried chicken wings, nachos, potato skins...all finger food. So, we ate finger food and drank ice tea the whole night while playing. I played many times of pool and played "Shuffleboard". It is a long table which you are supposed to slide the pegss across the table without your peg falling off. More points won if your peg is closest to the edge on the other side. I was an expert in that as I played against CT's american & Singaporean colleagues. It was very fun. I partner CT's american colleague. It is 2 people in a group...and we trashed the other group! It was real fun.

I also played pool..CT played very well. It was a fun night. However, the only bad thing was that people were smoking..so it was smelly.. We walked back to our hotel with Kok Fong and Gek Teng at about 9 plus while the rest stayed back to drink a lot. Heard some of them got drunk.

After going back to our hotel rooms, we watched TV as we were not tired yet. Watched Iron Chef America. Very nice. I love to watch how they can turn a simple ingredient to something so exquisite. Like magic!

Trip To Knoxville, Tennessee

Woke up at 7am today, made breakfast and did some last minute packing before I left on a coach bus to Knoxville, Tennessee. It was 10 hours drive. There were about 30 of us plus wives and kids. I was sleeping for the first few hours of the ride and did some reading and listening to music with MP3 player.

We had many stopovers especially for the kids as they get restless easily. Had lunch at a small rest area. Ate "Captain D's"- fast food seafood like Long John's silver. I had a grilled prawn salad only while CT had a large combo meal. I took some food from him. I did not want to eat so much, so took salad. We reached out hotel at about 7 plus pm. Stayed at "Jameson Inn". The room was nice and cosy. However, we were given 2 super single beds. So it was too squeezy to sleep together.

We quickly unpacked a little and I took a quick shower before we went out for dinner. Went for dinner with Kok Fong and wife at "Outback Steakhouse". All the meals are being paid by the company. All the colleagues have a company credit card. It is really cool. So, CT uses the card to pay for meals here in Tennessee. I ordered a 12-ounce steak, while CT ordered a 14-ounce steak! wow. Mine tasted nice but it is not the best I have tasted. The salad and house bread is good. It was about US$20 per person.

After a full dinner, we walked back to out hotel and watched a bit of TV before going to sleep. Since the bed was too small, we had to sleep separate.

Packing my bags..

Did not sleep well last night as I just couldn't sleep. So, I was simply staring at CT sleeping and snoring. Ha.. Woke up and made kaya with french toast. Very nice and crispy. I did not go back to sleep this morning though I was very tired, so that I can sleep well tonight.

Woke up and listened to a sermon online by my church in Singapore. I do miss my church's sermons as I realised I learn so much from it as it is very detailed and explains the bible passage very clearly.

I was also packing for my tennessee trip. I will be going to tennessee with CT and all his colleagues & family for work and fun trip. They will be going there to visit a plant, while I will just accompany him and tour the area. Going to Knoxville on the 1st day and to Gatlinburg on the 2nd day. Company has hired a bus to bring us there. Leaving at 830am tomorrow. Think about 10 hours drive.

I spent the afternoon also busy preparing for dinner tonight. Teck Meng will be coming over for dinner as I invited him yesterday so that he can help finish some food for us and moreover, I heard he is trying to save money as he has spent so much on his bicycle.

Gek Teng and Angeline (wives) came over at 3pm today to just spend time together and talking.
I was feeling rather stoned as I was tired. After they left, I continued preparing for dinner.

Pan fried catfish fillet for dinner. Cooked sides like spicy smoked baked beans with minced beef, potato salad and coleslaw. Cooked cream of shrimp soup.. Oh, cooked garlic bread with my frnech toast as well. Teck Meng enjoyed the catfish fillet. He kept asking me how to cook. Catfish fillet is very easy to cook. It is better to cook in Singapore as it is so cheap. Here, is very expensive. In Singapore, you can find 3-4 big pieces of catfish for S$4. Here, probably about US$8! It is crazy. But it is the freshest fish I can find here. The rest, does not taste fresh.

I told Teck Meng to bring his blender tonight so that I can make banana milkshake. I had lots of bananas left that I had to finish it before I leave for Tennessee. So, the fastest way is to make a drink out of it! It taste so good. Reminds me of "Orange Julius".

Dinner went well. Watched "American Idol" at the same time. Sigh..not much motivation to watch now since my favourite is out already. But oh well, I shall now vote for Bo Bice since he is from Alabama..which is where I am at now. :)

Ok, got to go wash up and pack my bags. Will be back on Friday night. So, will update my blog once I am back.

Staying home

Today, went back to sleep after CT left for work as it is Monday...Yes, even tai-tai have Monday blues.. Woke up at only about 9am. When I first came, I was not really used to waking up with no one at home. Before I was married, my house was usually quite noisy with either the noise from TV or my family members talking. But now in US, waking up to no one at home and the place being so quiet, was something I had to get used to now.

After having cereals for breakfast, I chatted with Gek Teng online, checked my email and played some computer games. After that, at 10am, I started cleaning the whole house. I vacuumed the whole floor and carpet, cleaned the toilets and sinks. It was nice to be able to enjoy the cleanliness after that workout! Boy, the american vacuum cleaners are really heavy and bulky.. Doing the vacuuming, reminds me of the scene where Mrs Doubtfire vacuumed the house and dancing around with it. I had to imagine that in order for me to make it fun!

After cleaning, I started cooking soup for dinner. Cooking "Egg seafood corn" soup which my mum used to make for me. I just imagined what she put in it and I did the same. Cooked chicken bones first and then added mixed veggies, crab meat, fishball,prawn ball, cream corn and some chicken slices and of course, egg. It tastes good.

When Gek Teng came over, I gave her a bowl to drink and try. I told her that she is my guinea pig since my husband not here now. Ha..She came over to my house at 2pm and spent the time here playing with my computer and watching TV tog. Though she has a computer at her apartment, it is the company that we both enjoy. I was reading newspaper. Bought newspaper from the stand yesterday but haven't had the chance to read it till now. Sunday's newspapers is really thick. Lots of advertisements and discounts. Quite good. I cut them out so that I will use it.

Gek Teng left at about 4 plus pm. She was telling me about her dinner last night at a BBQ ribs place. She said it was quite good and reasonably priced. Hmm..I will def try.

Ok, CT just came home. He told me he will be going to jog. Yay! Glad he is exercising. We all need it!

Went to the cinema today

Today, Jamie (CT's Singaporean colleague) went with us to church. She attends City Harvest Church in Singapore. So, we invited her and she was willing to go. It was a great service today. CT was crying a little as he was touched as he was singing in church. During the sermon half way, the pastor got everyone to stand up and sing some worship songs. Very ministering..

After a great service, we took Jamie out for lunch overlooking the Mobile Bay Waters.. The view was very nice. Take a look below...

The view from restaurant

The restaurant we went was called, "Felix's Seafood Grill". In the picture, you can see a wine bottle. No...we did not order it. Every table has one as they insert a candle on top. Just to clarify in case all of you think that me and CT has become drinkers eversince we came here. For the record, me and CT are allergic to alcohol. I will get sore eyes and bad throbbing headache, while CT will get rashes all over his body.

Ok,back to the restaurant. This place is quite nice. I enjoyed the view most as I see pelicans standing on the stilts and just looking at the waters has a calming effect. Ordered a seafood gumbo soup ( all kinds of seafood and tomatoes in the soup with rice) and a crab soup. Also ordered calamari as I have never eaten that ever since I came here as the people in Mobile do not believe in eating bait food for the fish. SO, it was unusual to find calamari in the menu. So, of course, being an opportunist, I ordered it! And being a submissive wife, I asked CT first before ordering! For the main dish,I ordered a grilled grouper with turnip greens as the sides. I love turnip greens as it is cooked like Chinese style. Will take a picture of it next time when I eat it again for you to see and learn. CT ordered a stuffed flounder. It was cheesy. Too filling.

We treated Jamie for lunch which costs up to US$56 plus tax. Though it seems expensive, CT gave the ladies a treat cheerfully. :)

After lunch, I went back to prepare for dinner. I plucked the mint leaves from the stem, one by one so that later I can just cook it straight after my movie show. We went out shortly after plucking all the mint leaves. Followed Kok Fong and Gek Teng to the cinema which was about 10-15 mins away. Very nice pleasant drive with little traffic. We went to watch "Kingdom of Heaven". The movie show is by the director of "Gladiator"-Ridley Scott.

I thought CT would like the show as he loves to watch epic shows with a lot of people involved-like Gladiator or Braveheart. So, I took him to watch. This cinema we went to is a different one from the last time we went. This one shows new movies, so it is slightly more expensive- US$4.50. Before the show started, they show a lot of previews of movies coming up during summer. Boy, it looks really exciting. Saw the previews for the new Batman movie, for a action show starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, a inspirational golf show based on true story (which my dad may like)etc..All coming out soon in summer. I will def catch the Batman one since I love shows like these-X Men, Spiderman...

The "Kingdom of Heaven" show is not really nice. It shows the war between Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem. Me and CT did not like it as it is not true history facts. The fighting/war is like gladiator-so violent and like "The Last Samurai" with a lot of soldiers involved..and died..

After the show, went home and cooked dinner. Had roast chicken and mint leaves with egg. I love mint leaves with egg. Very fragrant. Cooked rice as well. Simple dinner as still full from lunch.

Now, watching VCD after dinner and eating the brownies I made for Gek Teng's birthday. She shared some with me.

Went Biloxi,Mississippi

This morning, made kaya bread for breakfast and milo drink. Yum. Steve brought 2 bottles of Kaya for me as I requested. Yay..

Went to Asian Market after breakfast to buy cai xin, fish balls, prawn balls and french loaves. Gek Teng went along with us as well as she has not been to Asian Market on Sats where there are fresh vegetables. After that, dropped by at the WalMart Neighbourhood market to get eggs and milk for the week.

After a morning of grocery shopping, I cooked lunch. Then, we watched our Chinese VCDs. We left with Kok Fong & wife, to Biloxi, Mississippi as Steve tagged along. It was about an hour drive to Mississippi. The water was as brown as East Coast Park Beach, but the sand was beautiful- fine and white. The whole beach was packed with casinos..For pictures of the place, take a look at my photo album in my yahoo pictures..

After the walk at the beach, I spotted a very interesting car on the roads and I quickly took out my camera to take a quick shot! The car has lots of toys stuck on the truck...very cool! You will never see such a vehicle on the roads in Singapore.

Check out the toys on the car

After spending some time on the beach, we took the scenic route back to Mobile along the beach. Went back to continue watching our VCDs..

At about 6:30pm, we went to Colin's apartment for dinner. He invited everyone except the Malays as they can only eat Halal food. We had tom yam soup, potato dish, chicken wings, frenc beans with mushrooms and minced pork. Very yummy. The tom yam soup has lots of big prawns. His place was very crowded and we spent time eating and watching TV.

Gek Teng's birthday

Today, CT came home at 11am! I was so happy as he will not have such opportunity in future. He had to come back early to pick me up to go airport to pick his colleague, Steve up. Steve was from the same company as CT before this job. And now, both of them are in the same company again.

Early in the morning, chatted with HsiangLing, who is in Chicago and Gek Teng through Skype program, in the internet. Quite fun cos all our husbands are working..and we are just at home doing our things..

Today is Gek Teng's birthday (13 May 75) She is same age as CT. I made her a whole pan of brownie and actually invited her out to go pick Steve with us and have lunch together. But, Kok Fong, her husband took the apartment keys and so she had to stay at home. Poor thing.
Take a look at the brownie I made for her, using my new SMARTWARE container. Can you tell what words are shown on the brownie?? CT said he could not tell..hummfgh!

My first homemade walnut brownie!

After picking Steve up, we went to "South China Restaurant" for lunch buffet. We wanted to try it-our first time and Steve wanted Chinese food. After a filling lunch, we settled him into his apartment as he was very tired. Then, we brought te brownie over to Gek Teng and wished her happy birthday. She was touched. She cut up the brownie and distributed some to us.

At about 5pm, me and CT went to play tennis for an hour. Weather was very hot today. Probably about 31 degrees.

After washing up, we went to pick Steve up and took him to Winn Dixie as I wanted to go to the "Midnight Madness Sale" in the store. They actually have special price because today is Fri the 13th. There were so many people and there was not even enough trolleys. Most of the specials were wiped out. After that, went Walmart to shop as well. Then, we drove to Vietnamese Restaurant for dinner.

The Vietnamese food here is almost the same standard as Singapore's. It is quite nice. I took my usual dish-the mixed beef soup noodles. CT ordered fried seafood hor fun which was very oily. Not nice. It is about US$7 per person. Not too bad. What I like is the drink-plum soda. It is like the sour plum drink. Very nice.

After dinner, went home to watch our VCD. Did not watch for a while as Kok Fong and wife took the VCDs to watch first. So, we watched tonight as they have watched a lot already. After the show, it was 11 plus pm. I called back Singapore to Marianne's house as my family are all in her place celebrating her baby's (my god-daughter) first birthday! I talked to my brother to wish him happy birthday(14th May) as in Singapore, it was 14th May already. Marianne bought for Phoebe, my god-daughter a 3D elmo cake. Phoebe loves elmo..so when she saw her cake, she even wanted to hug the cake!! :)

When I called at Marianne's place, it sounded so crowded and noisy..sounds like fun. I do wish I was there...sigh..

Managed to sleep only at about midnight..

Hair Cut!

This morning, woke up and check my email. After that, I was playing with my guitar and then, Gek Teng came at about 11am. She told me to play guitar for her. So, I did. After that, Reeda called and said she was going to pick us up now. Reeda arranged long ago to meet up with me and I told her if I could bring 2 more SIngaporean wives along. She was happy to have them join as she is a really nice lady and like to know more about Singapore as well as she will be going to Singapore at the end of July..for about 2 plus months.

Reeda is a lady from church who plays the french horn in the orchestra band. The church I attend has a small orchestra band. We went to "The American Cafe" for lunch. Jan met us there. We had a great time talking about Singapore. As we talk, it makes me so proud of Singapore. I had cajun chicken salad for lunch as I did not want to eat sandwiches or pasta. I do not want to feel so full. Some of them ordered pasta and could not finish their food. After our talk, Reeda sounds really excited to be there. Hope we did not paint too good a picture of Singapore that she will be disappointed. Ha. After our main dish, Reeda ordered a huge dessert where we all shared. It is melted marshmallows with some part roasted with melted choc and vanilla icecream with biscuits in it. It is very nice and amazing.

Lunch was a treat by Reeda. After that, she sent us back to our apartments. Half an hour later, me and Gek Teng went for a swim, taking advantage of the nice sunny weather. The water was just nice-not too hot & not too cold. After swimming 26 laps (in a probably 20m pool), we had a short sun tan. Yes, I am a bit tanner now. It was a great swim..Went back to bathe and then, I went over to Gek Teng's house to return her something and to tell her where "Church's Chicken" is as she feels like going there tonight. "Church's Chicken" has the best fried southern Chicken so far. So I recommended it to her.

Spent time at her place talking and watching TV. She was also playing "Neopets" (games online)which again, I influenced her and got her hooked up. I am such a bad influence. Glad she and her husband think otherwise-her husband is just so glad his wife now will not get bored!

Angeline joined us later at Gek Teng's house as I guess she was also bored. Today, me and Gek Teng usually go for grocery shopping and our husbands will take us out for dinner. So, it is our day off from cooking. Angeline still cooks. James seldom bring her out as she seems picky in what she eats, so she'd rather cook. I usually go out on Wed with my hubby and Teck Meng. Teck Meng is a funny guy and we are quite close to him.

So, when they came back, we went grocery shopping and then, went to "Cici's Pizza" for dinner. It is a pizza buffet where they always top up freshly baked hot pizzas! It is so fresh as they just took it out from the oven. Pizza tastes really nice when the cheese is melted hot and bread still crispy. There were usually sausage pizza, pepperoni pizza, just cheese pizza, egg and cheese pizza, ham egg and cheese pizza, spinach pizza, hawaiian pizza, spicy pepperoni pizza. My favourite was the ham egg and cheese. They actually crack an egg on the pizza with ham and cheese. Very nice. They also have salad bar and pasta. All for the price of US$5! Which is about S$8! Very reasonable as if I go pizza hut to eat, it will be more expensive...and the food is limited. However, this was buffet so we ate and ate and leave all the crust at the end as that will be too filling. I had about 10 pizzas. They have dessert pizzas too-apple pie dessert.

After dinner, went back and watched "American Idol".My favourite is finally out. It is so strange cos Anthony had great comments from the judges while the girls sang badly. But he was out. Sigh...Anthony is great and he has been through a lot. He went through many throat surgeries when he was young and the doctor told him that he may not be able to speak, let alone sing! That is why he keep saying that this is an American Dream for him. That is why despite whatever circumstances, we have to be hopeful and think positively.

After watching TV, CT told me that he needed a hair cut. I excitedly told him that I could cut for him as I always wanted to try cutting people's hair!! *Muahahaha* (evil laughter). So, I laid newspapers and he sat in it and I just cut. I did not know how to start..and we were both laughing as I was really lost at what to do. But after starting, I kind of gotten the hang of it and begin to visualise myself as a pro. So, I just kept snipping away! His hair went on to my shirts and pants. Oh well..it was messy! After that, I had to use his shaver to cut some parts...it was tough. Take a look at the finished product.

I think CT would not want me to do again after how messy it was with hair all over the floor and how troublesome it was. I wanted to do it as the hair cut here is expensive and some of the colleagues had a hair cut and it turnout out a disaster.

Just had a hair cut by ME!