Counting My Blessings

Counting My Blessings... for the things I take delight in

1) Knowing that my Living God loves and cares for me
2) Having God-sent friends who truly care and help you in times of trouble
3) Being a Singaporean and lives in a safe country with different races
4) Doing absolutely nothing while enjoying the sea breeze and the awesome sea
view with sun- rays hitting the waves and the trees swaying as if dancing by the sea
5) Watching my 2 kids blow bubbles in the wind and chasing them around
6) The simple pleasure of enjoying ice cream with my kids and seeing their face
beaming with joy
7) Knowing my family will always support me in whatever I do
8) Having a decent home to live in and a car to drive me wherever I want to go
10) Having a job that puts bread/ rice on the table
11) Eating shell fish with my spouse and watching comedy Korean drama
12) Tickling my kids and hear them roar with laughter
13) Having the luxury to travel and shop overseas
14) Never forgetting to thank God for a healthy body to skate in and shop non- stop when opportunities arises

All set? What do you pack for travel?

What do you pack for a trip?
You will amazed that women in general pack an enormous pile of stuff for their trip versus their "MARS" partner.

Women's Toiletries:

1. toothpaste + toothbrush
2. facial wash
3. serum, moisturiser, toner
4. paper panties
5. tissue + wet tissues
6. cleanser+ eye make- up remover
7. cotton wool
8. sanitary pad
9. tooth floss
10. lingerie
11. a set of clean clothes for each new day
12. snacks for kids if any tagging along
13. cameras
14. make- up
15. vials or fragrance
16. pen and notebook
17. sun glasses or shades or caps or hats
18. extra slippers for easy walking
19. hair spray, gel, clay + comb
20. calculator for some women who can't convert currency fast enough
21. mobile phone
22. A book or magazine to read during the flight or journey

I am sure there is so much more. Now you know why women's luggage is almost always heavier than men's...

We just have to well- prepare for the road.

Well, that also account for why women have nicer things, cos more demand means more supply and that explains why there is more women's boutiques and skincare than that catered for men.

Now, I wonder if Venus is heavier than Mars??

The Flight of Time- Lesson from Penny Parrot

My daughter's dream came through when a little visitor flew in to visit our HDB room on the evening of 22 June 08 Well, she has asked me for a pet, be it a puppy or a parrot but I had said no. Her school has asked her to do a power point on "Groom a Pet" for the June holidays and I have given her play dole to mould a pet parrot as her project. So, imagine her delight when she spotted the beautiful creature visiting our home!

I must admit, I was both scared and thrilled though. Wondering how I should deal with the uninvited guest. It was very pretty, with green feathers and a red face and blue tail. It chirped and stood on my coffee table while my daughter and I were both having dinner. First instinct, I gave her some cooked rice but she does not seemed satisfied and flew onto my dining table and perched on my dish of sardine. My daughter rushed to tell her dad in the bedroom while I tried shoo it away. The next thing you know, it flew on and hung on to the back of my clothes and I was terrified, running around in the hall. My husband opened the door and asked me to get out so that it can fly off. We did not want to keep the bird becasue of our 1 year old toddler. We were concerned about the hygiene and the receent bird flu case. He opened the door and the bird flew but did not went far away. Then it perched onto the latch on the parapet of the building and stopped there. We kept saying to it, fly bird, go free. But it would not go. I went back to the house and gave it a slice of apple and it looked like it enjoyed and nibbled and ultimately finished the whole slice.

My neighbour, an old lady came and commented on the beauty of the bird. Then, another neighbour from another unit came back. I asked the young girl if she has any cage since she has a hamster before as the bird refused to leave and I was afraid that other people or a cat would catch the bird. She came back with the cage and we managed to put the bird into the cage.

After bringing back to the house, we admire the pretty birdie and seem to have some emotional connection with it. It looked so cute and friendly. Then, I looked at my son and was instantly worried about the hygiene again I told my daugther to give it to the school aviary where there is alot of birds, but she wanted to keep it. I told her the bird would be lonely but looking at the beauty of the bird told her alright, maybe we can find its owner (maybe staying nearby and lost the bird) or keep it for maximum 1 week.

The next day was school re- opening day and my daughter brought the bird to school. The children liked it very much and they decided that she is a female and named her Penny the Parrot. Unfortunately, the form teacher was sick for a week and a relief teacher took over for the few days. So, we decided to keep the bird till she was well and present it to her then.

Everyday, we looked at the Penny (well, if it is male, then we decided that it would be Peter) and talked to it. It even "played" with us, swaying form 1 side to the other, as if playing hide & seek with us. It was simply adorable and playful. My domestic helper would clean the cage at night (after my son slept) with gloves and we would feed it with rice, apple, water and even pumpkin.

Late last night, which was the fourth night, however, it seemed weak and tired. I thought it was sleepy and told my daughter to go to bed and let' s not disturb the birdie. I did not know it would be our last time to see it alive.

The next day, it was dead. I was devastated. I wondered why. Was it lonely? Under- fed? I asked if my maid fed it well. Was it sick? I was depressed. If only I had given it to the aviary and it would be well- taken care of. Did it flew in and court death? I mourned for her. True, it is only a bird, but it is still a life. A beautiful creature wasted away in my hands...I felt remorseful at not giving it away earlier and guilt consumed me for the whole day. I should have let it go but looking at its beauty, I thought maybe I can keep it for alittle while. It felt it was my fault. If I had truly love it and meant it well, I would not have kept it and unwittingly caused it to die? It also started to set me thinking that life is short and fragile and every moment is fleeting.

It's death taught me to take a close look at my own life. How would I want to spend in my limited time on earth? I have been so busy, I did not even had time to give it a decent burial. I must take a deeper examination of what I am doing to life currently. The flight of time was scaringly short with the little pretty bird. It maybe pretty, but it's span on planet earth, short.

I prayed that it's soul rest peacefully in heaven.
Rest well, little Penny, hope to meet you in heaven someday.
We truly missed you, rest In Peace, our feathered friend.

Funny Cabin Crew Stories

I was a cabin crew 15 years back. I had a great time going to wonderful foreign places and getting to know all sort of people from all over the world.

There were funny things which happened on board the plane all the time and I still smile when I thought of those funny moments.

1) When asked whether she would like to have beef or fish, an old woman with no teeth, could not pronounce properly and kept saying "Bish". After much struggle, we decided that fish is probably better for her as she may have no teeth to chew and encouraged her to take that.

2) "Treasure" Hunt- An old woman has completed her meal and returned her tray told us much later during the flight that she must have misplaced her prized posession (dentures) in her tray. We have to search and comb through all the carts to find her lost treasure.

3) A man must have thought that the airplane was a fantastic invention with superb gadgets. He must have thought that the air vents were microphone and kept standing up to shout near it that he would like to have 2 glasses of coke. The cabin crew who walked by, controlled her laughter and handed him the drinks he requested. To her dismay much later, he did it again, requesting for another glass of drink. Maybe some one can look into inventing a "drive through" order concept near the seats?

4) 15 years back when passengers were allowed to smoke in the aft rows, there was a man who did not noticed that there was air vents on the top of his seats. He tried to ignite the cigarette several times but the strong gush of air from the vents detered him from lighting it up. After many attempts, he lowered the shades from the window and put his hand over the cigarette and it was successful. The crew who saw the whole thing was at first speechless but laughed secretly afterwards as she thought it was quite amusing.

5) An inexperienced traveller reported to the crew that the "washing machine" took too long and she wanted to have her clothes back. My colleague was dumb- founded and had to explain that it was a toilet bowl and not a washing machine!

6) We had a flight training and during emergency landing, we are supposed to shout "Run, jump, Help at the bottom!" But I remembered one of our colleagues from another base/ country shouted "Run, jump, HELL at the bottom!". Alot of Singapore based, roared with laughter as she mis- pronounced it. Think no one would jump if HELL is at the bottom!

7) Check out some of the crazy things flight attendants do- http://sg.video.yahoo.com/watch/4743429/12668935

Well, I must say that all the laughter made us enjoyed our jobs more.

Important Telephone Numbers for Travellers

Important Telephone Numbers for Busy People:


1) Singapore Automated Flight Information 542 4422 (toll free- key 1800 infront)
2) Singapore Airline 6233 8888
3) Taxi to Airport (Citicab) 6553 8888
4) Insurance (DBS Traveller Shield) 222 3333 (toll free- key 1800 infront)
5) Banks (UOB) 24 hours 22 22 121 (toll free- key in 1800 infront)
(DBS) 111 1111 (toll free- key in 1800 infront)/ 65- 6327 2265 (from overseas)
(Citibank) 24 hours 6225 5225
6) Singtel Mobile 1626
7) Your Travel Agent - Please fill
8) Your Hotel - Please fill
9) Who you are meeting upon arrival - Please fill