Rich Wife, Poor Hubby

Have you ever felt so worried for someone that you wish you can trade places with that person? Given a choice, you would rather suffer instead of seeing that person suffer and you remain helpless.

I just recovered from a very bad bout of flu just weeks ago. Memory still lies fresh in me. Sore throat that feels like there is always something stuck there which you can’t swallow no matter how much water you drink. Fever that operates like a rollercoaster ride, up and down, never really subsides. So hot that you feel you are going to be brain damaged and turn retarded. Cough with phlegm that tickles you every now and then, vicious. Blocked nose battling to take oxygen and life away from you. Horrible. It took more than a week to fully recover.

However whatever I felt back then was nothing compared to seeing Lao Gong fighting against high fever now. Accompanied him to the doctor this morning and his fever has been up and down ever since. Placed my hand on his tummy and forehead every now and then and it is burning hot many a time.

Was in fact crossed at him this morning when we were at the doctor. The doctor diagnosed he is running a high fever and offered to give him a two days MC. Lao Gong requested there and then if it is possible for the doctor to give him two MCs, one for 14th July and the other for 15th July. The doctor went, “Huh? Why?” Think nobody ever asks of this, she is dumbfounded. She don’t know what this sick man is up to, she must be thinking, “Is he really ok? Why so weird?”

I tried to explain but not without giving Lao Gong an “I can’t stand you” look.

“Doctor, he is thinking of going back to work tomorrow, if he recovers.”

Next I turned to Lao Gong and told him, “2 days you just take. If you ok, just go back to work. No need to be so troublesome.” He is sick already and he still has the mind and energy to think about work and concerned himself with such trivial stuff. I wondered if I should be proud of him (due to his passion for his work) or should be disgusted that he does not know how to take care of himself.

The doctor is on my side. She told him flatly using a pretty professional tone (I like it) that she does not think that he will recover so soon, yes, he should rest more. Besides, she added, if he really feel like going back to work, he can go ahead and submit the 2 days MC to HR even though he only took one day MC, HR will know what to do.

Exiting the clinic, I told him off for being silly. Nobody will reject another day of rest, except him. Besides, for strategic reason, going back to work on the second day when in fact you are still on MC reflects that you care about your work. Compared this to the 2 separate MCs scenario where nobody will know your sacrifice. Well, this is my Lao Gong - silly, not scheming, woodie-goodie.
Precisely, this is why I married him.  So why am I unhappy? He is consistent in the way he treats me and other aspects of his life. I am just so hard to please. I have to be more appreciative and doting.

Glad that Lao Gong’s appetite is better in the evening, he finished up the whole big bowl of Udon soup I cooked for him. He never fails to compliment my culinary skill by finishing what I prepared for him. (My joy in cooking is not derived from the process of cooking but in seeing the food I prepared being gobbled down, enjoyed. Wanted to be a chef, did not manage to fulfill this ambition, but being able to cook for one’s loved ones is just as satisfying. I am sort of an exclusive chef in a way, better than a commercial chef. Me and my self-consolation.) And when he got better, the first thing he thought of is bringing me out. I should have said no, but I didn’t and halfway during our stint in IMM, his fever came back again. Seeing his blood shot eyes, I felt ashamed that I am not a good wife whilst he is the best hubby.

It has been a few hours since we came back and I am glad that whilst I was typing away, his fever subsided once again. However I am not leaving things to chance, I will wake him up to take medicine as it has been six hours since he last took his medicine. I know I am a log when I fell asleep, even alarm clocks cannot wake me, and so staying up here is like killing two birds with one stone.

I feel rich because of Lao Gong, he give me his everything. I impoverished him. My poor Lao Gong.

Power to the People

Apparently the People have won. To appease the public and regain donors’ confidence, a new board for NKF will be elected.

What a swift change in events! Everything happened so fast.

The mass withdrawal of donations, petition and bad press is really powerful.

I wonder if Arroyo, the President of Philippines will succumb to her people protest and resign too. She is pretty fierce in declaring that even if half a million of her country’s population went out to the streets to protest, she would not budge.

On our side, the NKF man under scrutiny was once quoted in the papers saying, “I will not resign unless the public want me to.” Indeed, shortly after, he got what he wanted.

Hey, be careful of you wish for, because sometimes it will just comes true.

NKF vs SPH

<<<<<<< Please note: The following paragraphs are written on 14th July 2005, completed around 1am, but not posted till 15th July 2am. >>>>>>>

Let me make a prediction. The number of calls made to support the NKF-backed Cancer charity show tonight on Channel U will hit an all time low.

Despite having three veteran singers up on stage, you can’t pacify the people; you can’t stop public outrage, at least for now.

Returning from work, Lao Gong told me that he heard that there is an online petition to remove the CEO of NKF from office. I checked my email awhile ago and it is true. A friend forwarded an email to me about this, I went to the link; noticed the number of signatures standing at 18299. In fact while watching the news an hour ago, the newscaster state that the number of petitioners was around 10,000. At this rate, it is definitely hitting the 20000 mark and escalating beyond.

Having made donation calls for the Cancer show just recently, I have also learned from the news that I have the option of canceling my donations. Not that I am going to, but news reported that angry public have started flooding the National Council of Social Services hotlines to make their stand – they want their money back. Can’t help but wonder is there anyone trying to cheat (混水摸鱼) as it may be because they never win any lucky draw prize during the shows?

No, I will not have an outburst here. I will control myself, I am not going to defame anyone and get sued. For a factual account of the NKF vs SPH saga, click here and make your own judgement. Lao Gong jested to me yesterday, ‘Go write about this!’ I returned him a ‘you deserve a beating’ smile and tell him to go write it himself.

Lao Gong has donated to NKF fervently in the past but for sensible reasons turned to supporting SPH School Pocket Fund about 2 years ago. Quoting him, ‘Education is the most important. It’s for our future generations. Even Creative’s Sim Wong Hoo also gave to this cause.’

Lao Gong is pretty supportive of our fellow countryman and local products I must say. When he is choosing between what brands of MP3 player to buy for me, he made a decision that flabbergasted me. Apple’s I-Pod is so very cool and aesthetically appealing however he bought Creative’s Zen Touch for me. He chose functionality (longer battery life, potential to contain more songs) over appearance. This is very unlike him. I mocked him and say I can’t believe he loves Singapore so much. Substance over form, he maintained is very important. Anyway, he wins, I win, and Singapore wins.

To draw a parallel, no matter which organisation we decides to pledge our donations and support to, everybody still wins. Since the NKF vs SPH saga broke out, there are still a lot of people who are matured and sensible enough to remind the angry folks to cool down and continue to give to the needy. If not, everybody loses in the long run.

施比受,更为有福. (Giving is much more gratifying than receiving.)

<<<<<<< Please note: The above paragraphs are written on 14th July 2005, completed around 1am, but not posted till 15th July 2am. >>>>>>>

This is My Wife’s Taxi

We have ordered our first new car in late May; car collection was last Wednesday, 13th of July.

Asked Lao Gong if he feel excited about collecting our new car last week and he told me that the excitement wore off due to the long wait. We were told when we made the down payment that delivery was scheduled in late June. However it was not to be so.

The delay impacted on the number of our car license plate. He was hoping that our car license plate would start with the alphabets SFV. Instead we received a SFW. Lao Gong is pretty particular when it comes to certain things. He feels that SFV looks aesthetically more appealing, more shiok. SFW tak shiok.
(Shiok - malay word for a wonderful feeling. Tak shiok - malay word for not exactly a wonderful feeling.)

To add to his blues, I refused to let him bid for the car license plate he wants. Poor Lao Gong.

I have my reason. In Singapore, to get one’s preferred car license number, one need to fork out at least $1000 to take part in the bidding exercise. Some drivers would think otherwise, especially the older generations. Have heard incidents in which car owners paid more for this 40cm by 10cm piece of metal than the vehicle itself. Of course, the numbers in contest must be highly auspicious hence widely popular number such as 8888, 168, 1, etc.

I think it makes no sense and cents to spend $1000 on something which is not affecting the driving experience.

Lao Gong has his reason too. He wants to put my birth date on the car plate as it means something to him. I know, I understand. If it is free or can be done at a fraction of the cost, I would not stop him. It is for me anyway, I appreciated it. In the end, we agreed that we would bid for our preferred number the next time - when we buy our next car.

The car brought me excitement as well as disappointment. I have been learning driving since Feb this year and I failed in my first attempt in the practical driving test held in June. I planned to pass the test and get my license in June so that I can drive when our car arrives. And the bad news is that the earliest retest date is in Oct. What a wait! God is testing my patience and resistance to succumb to temptation. It is very tempting to just drive without a license as I have one set of the car keys. Wait, if I do just this, I think I have a license of another sort – license to kill. Better not.

Fail is fail, no more grouses, no more lamenting but I have to let it out loud that I feel the tester is unfair in according me that immediate failure. I really saw that lorry in the second lane on the main road when I decide to join the first lane from the side road. How am I supposed to predict that he would lane change when I filter out? The tester never asked me to explain my actions there and then and later on he just failed me as he deemed me as an unsafe driver. If I have no intention to be a safe driver, why does he still have the chance to deduct 6 points from me as he felt that I took too long a time checking my blind spots on three occasions?

I am not going to suffer in silence the next time, will defend myself when I need to. So what if you are tester? I have to be fair to myself.

Okay back to the happy stuff.

A new car requires new fittings such as Vkool for UV protection, storage boxes/trays at the boot and other stuff to make it driver-friendly and comfortable. Lao Gong chose to personalize ours with a car decal which read, “This is My Wife’s Taxi!”

This is very sweet of him. However, comes October, I look forward to replacing the decal with another that reads, “This is My Hubby’s Taxi!”

It is a luxury to be chauffeured around by Lao Gong all these years, however a part of me just want to be self-reliant.

The other person – 阿嬷(Ah Ma)

This blog is set up with the intention of sharing my experience of living and caring for an elderly, in my case, my grandmother, otherwise known as granny, or ah ma (as it was called in Hokkien- 阿嬷 – a Chinese dialect).
The other intention is to translate our interactions into something more tangible, with words and pictures so that I can remember her always with the passage of time. And maybe my children and grandchildren will have a better understanding of how it was lived.

Have not mentioned her as yet as I’m afraid I have just too much to share.

Let me start with a fact file. Easy – no emotions involved.

Name: Ah Ma
Age: 75
Race: Chinese
Dialect Group: Hokkien
Height: Shorter than Xiaofen
Weight: Heavier than Xiaofen

Realised halfway that Lao Gong is always involved in my everything so changed this blog heading from EVERYDAY With 阿嬷(Granny) to EVERYDAY With 阿嬷(Granny) & 老公(Hubby).

It is not easy living with your spouse; different habits, different ways of squeezing toothpaste tube, different views on everything trivial to major… With Ah Ma into the picture, things will naturally get more complicated.

Everyday with both 阿嬷(Granny) & 老公(Hubby) is indeed interesting. I am challenged daily.

M.I.L.K. Run

3rd of July 2005 was the day M.I.L.K. Run was held.

As the name suggests, it was a running event. As the name suggests too, people wondered if MILK is going to be distributed during the race or after the race.

Nope. From what I know drinking milk is not a better alternative to a nice cool cup of 100plus or plain sky juice when you are sweating it out. I have never tasted milk during the numerous races I have been to.

M.I.L.K. is an acronym for Mainly I Love Kids. Ok, so this run is organised for the kids, so most likely that is why the word MILK was forcefully tagged to the run and hence the misunderstanding.

Previously known as the Streetwise Run, it has been held on every National Youth Day since 2001. This run was held to raise funds dedicated to the purpose of fighting juvenile delinquency. In addition, the event’s main sponsor also deployed 200 of its staff to train and encourage underprivileged children in their preparations for the M.I.L.K. run.

I took part because Lao Gong works for the event’s main sponsor. As his Lao Po, that is the least I could do - to support him and his company by participating in this event with him. Moreover, running was my forte (though no longer true). 5km this time round should not be a problem.

{{{ {{{ {{{
Come to the question of, “Since I excelled in it, was running ever my passion?” Forte = Passion? Yes, only if the competitive element is removed.

I was in cross-country otherwise known as long distance running back in high school days. Training back then was three times a week during relaxed stages, four times weekly when we are near competitions. Distance covered per training can amount to 16km when we are in the endurance phrase even though most of our competition requires us to cover 3.2km only.

Still remember the old days when we were racing in MacRitchie Reservoir, can never forget the intense pressure faced at the starting line before take off. Competitors staring at you, competitors rubbing shoulders with you, the humidity you felt on your body and the ironical dryness you experienced when you breathe…
3.2 km just seemed to last forever even though you have managed 5 times that distance during numerous training.
Competitive running is not what I like to face on a permanent basis. Glad that now I am free to run as and when I like it. No duty or obligation to run for the school. No pressure to win. Between enjoying winning and enjoying running, I chose the latter.
}}} }}} }}}

Back to the present, my ever encouraging Lao Gong somehow always marvels at my consistent capacity to be able to recover promptly and easily after our jog. He will said, “Wow, your base is still around after so many years.”

Well, when I was in high school, the training though physical, was much more mentally challenging. At present, I can still run at a comfortable pace even though I have not been training or jogging on a regular basis as up there, subconsciously, I know I have been there, done that.

Getting back to the event…

The starting point was at the barren ground opposite Zouk disco, which was beside Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. (Must mention the hotel cos’ I have spent 8 months undergoing internship there, a lot of memories.)

Reaching the place, I was taken aback initially as I have not taken part in a run of this scale for a very long time. Seeing the thousands of secondary school kids brought me back to the days when I was just like them. As the M.I.L.K. run was not so much of a competitive nature, but rather an inspiring one due to its charitable cause, schools sent their pupils here in doves. That explains the crowd and high energy level. I felt old standing among the kids.

Was surprised to find a high school schoolmate, Daphne standing among the crowd, we were in the same Home Economics class before. She has a twin sister and they were both in the same class, I was in another.

I decided to go forward to say hi to her since she is alone. Glad that my memory did not fail me, I got her name correctly. I have a 50% chance as she & sister are identical twins. Once we started chatting, the usual topics came up, my early marriage and my involvement in long distance running back in high school. Cross-country somehow gave me more exposure and hence a higher profile than other students.

{{{ {{{ {{{
I would like to convince myself that my involvement in cross-country is the sole contributory reason for being known by peers, but I have to be honest and acknowledge that having a petite frame has given me more fame than I enjoy. Since primary school, I have been conferred nicknames such as 小蚂蚁(Little Ant), 小辣椒(Chilli Padi), etc. The not so edifying term -‘Cute’ has always been associated with me. Cute means ugly but adorable.
}}} }}} }}}

Daphne took part in the run as part of her training preparation for the Standard Chartered Marathon event held in coming December. I can’t help expressing my admiration for her there and then; for her courage and discipline to train and do it alone (I will never jog alone), besides, she was the introverted type last time. It has been almost ten years since we last met. Time changes, people changes.

The run was good.

Daphne never stopped and she thrived the 5km by winning the endurance battle against her tired mind.

I stopped at the halfway mark as I heard an ongoing rumbling sound in my internal organs. This old problem resurfacing disturbed me quite a bit. However I do not know which organ exactly as I never took biology.

Pleaded Lao Gong to continue his jog; however he was insistent to accompany me walking after I am sure it is okay to continue. He won. I took a few sip of water and off we go again.

At the initial stage, we overtook a couple who was running together; they overtook us when I stopped. Has a silent rivalry begins? I guess it had. Much as I hate competition, there is still this competitive streak in me.

The rivalry has begun way before the horn was sounded. That gal caught my attention way before the race, she was simply too drama-mama for my liking. People can hear her without seeing her; from afar. She really enjoys heaping attention on herself. I also heard (not overheard as she is very loud) that she has been training for this event and she is not shy about it. I told Lao Gong that I have this desire to beat her and the best part is I never trained for this event anyway. See if she dares to show off next time.

Seeing that couple overtaking us when I stopped also spurred me on as I am reminded of the vow I made to beat that gal before the race. I want to seek justice.

While ahead, that gal was always turning back her head, to look behind; it may be she is looking for her other friends or it may be she is watching out for us. It is more of the latter as reading her look; I believed she also deemed me as her target to beat. I hope she saw that it is mutual.

Yeah! After a few hundred metres, Lao Gong and I managed to overtake them. While passing them, that gal took to a walk and proclaimed loudly to her companion, ‘Where are XXX and YYY? Let’s wait for them.’ I think she is trying to find excuse for herself to stop. Loser. Nei nei nei boo boo, you cannot catch me.

I know the race does not end here after we overtook them, the finishing point is still 1.5km ahead. Perseverance. Lao Gong and I pressed on.

Guessed what’s next!
The guy overtook us alone without the gal. I was thinking, thankfully my Lao Gong is unlike him. Lao Gong could have run much faster but he still chooses to run with me all the way. Competition will not drive him to abandon his partner. True gentleman.

We completed the race with a decent time, not my best, nowhere near my best in the past, but I completed it with Lao Gong, for my Lao Gong. That guy was ahead of us, that gal finished behind us, mission accomplished.

This race was made memorable because of Daphne, the couple which I bear no hatred against, but thanks to them, I was motivated and did a better run than I expected and I am once again assured of Lao Gong’s TLC for me.

One good Run deserves another!

“What’s the biggest difference to your life after you got married?”

An acquaintance posed me this question during my friend’s wedding.

“No difference.” I replied with a smile. That acquaintance was puzzled. He was expecting more.

I explained, “No difference as in I am still who I am after marriage. Marriage has not required me to become a changed person. I am accepted by my Lao Gong totally – (照单全收) a complete package. My irrationality, tempers and unreasonableness resurfaces at times; just like before. It is just that now, whatever I do, whatever I experience, I have Lao Gong to share it with, be it good times or bad times, and I have grown to be a more self-assured person as every step I take, I know that I have someone with me, for me.”

He smiled. Think he understand what I want to express there & then.

Marriage - you have to experience it yourself. Others can say so much about theirs, but nothing can be compared to going through yours on your own. You are your best judge. Do not be afraid about committing to marriage, there is bread & butter issue to tackle in marriage of course, however, love will keep the marriage.

I was often posed this question by people who know me and people who just get to know me. The reason should be this: - compared to a lot of folks around me, I got married at a more tender age. So naturally they will ask why. Why I get married so early? Why only less than a year of courtship I got hitched? How I know he is the one for me?

It is a step of faith. I believe we can always wait and can even chose to be more proactive such as constantly trying to seek someone better, seeking that perfect someone. Nothing in this world stays the same, the only constant is change. It is my choice, a risk that I made. I never regretted this choice. (Oops, sometimes when we quarrel I do ask myself why I get married and subject myself to more happiness and more heartaches. However when everything is over I’m glad we understand each other better through the incident and we resolved our differences as we have a common goal – keeping our marriage alive.)

Get to know my Lao Gong in Nov 2001. Courted for less than a year and we decided to ROM in Nov 2002. Chinese wedding held in June 2003. It has been 3 year plus but somehow I felt that it was just yesterday that we both just get to know each other. When you like someone, you just wish that you know that person much earlier as time is not enough. We are both nearing thirties, we only have about forty more years to spend with each other, and life is just too short.

To get back on track, actually I found it a little awkward talking to that acquaintance at first as I recollected almost instanteously when I saw him again after so many years; that he was my good friend’s ex. He can’t recall I was his ex’s pal from high school and all three of us were in the same JC when he was dating her. They have gone their separate ways after ‘A’ levels, before my pal proceed to abroad for further studies.

Now I gathered he is attached and my pal whom I still keep in touch with, is getting married next year. Told him about this and I can see that he still remembers my pal with fondness even though they did not stay in touch after their split. Lao Gong told me I have given that acquaintance the closure that he needs in order to move on. I hope so.

And from our conversation, he shared about his desire to go on a back packing trip with his partner though his partner is not exactly keen at this stage. I could sense his disappointment when he added that he will realize this in his dream. I offered him the opinion from his partner point of view; females want their honeymoon to be romantic and hassle free, he can bring her to where she wants for their honeymoon and the next will be where he wants – India. I’m sure she will be happy twice!

He is just an acquaintance but I still wish him happiness in his relationship.
I strongly believe if every one of us is brought up with love, treated with respected and love by others, there would not be so much unkindness in the world.

Still remember I have an ex-colleague who was both envy and jealous that my Lao Gong fetches me from work to home everyday without fail. She told me she complained to her hubby that he did not do the same for her and her hubby commented matter-of-factly that my Lao Gong and I were simply still in the honeymoon phrase of our relationship - that is why he is so good to me. A little sour grape element when I listened to her recollection. Went home and told my Lao Gong and guess his reply.

“What your colleague said is true indeed. However ours is a honeymoon that never ends. Tell your colleague this.” I was wooed by his wits. He has a way with words. Or am I too easily contented?

Nostalgia

It was my JC mate Big Day on 2nd of July 2005. She is Finally getting married to her primary classmate.

Finally because they have been in this love marathon for about 8 years and they know each other for more than 14 years. Finally because she is Chinese and he is Malay. Still recalled when they become a couple back in 14th Feb 1997, I did ask her if her parents object to their being together. She said yes.

Having met her parents before, I felt they are the kind who will object. Well, we came from similar backgrounds; conservative parents don’t like their children to marry someone of a different race.

Anyway to lighten things up, I remember myself saying something silly to encourage my friend back then… It goes like this, “Anyway you don’t like pork, so I don’t think it will be a big problem for you to convert to Muslim next time.” I have to admit I am quite naïve, I think so far for my friend to think about their different religions and about conversion for her. Maybe they only adopted a try-try attitude. Why I so KPO? I also dunno.

The wedding dinner was held in a hotel ballroom.

Lots of their studio bridal photos were on easel stands at the reception area, nice – just like exhibition.

One thing I must mention is that there is a photographer taking instant pictures of guests with a Polaroid camera. Guests took pictures and wrote down captions and words of blessings for the married couple. This is the first wedding I attend that make such brilliant use of the Polaroid camera. Maybe I have not attended alot of weddings to witness this yet. Anyway, I’m still impressed.

Simply Nostalgia! Memories! Still remember I took one such Polaroid picture in a career fair with her about 8 years ago. We were such good buddies then.

We knew of each other’s existence back in JC year 1, and really got to know each other and 14 others better during an OBS 5-day course. The images:- studying together in fast food joints, the writing of cards, notes to encourage one another, executing ad-hoc school activities as department representatives in school, attending of performances, sharing of hopes, thoughts and fears… fading yet powerful memories.

To witness her happily marrying her first love was like experiencing a fairytale coming true. No words can describe the happiness I felt for her.

Felt sad and 可惜 (it’s a pity) that after the ‘A’ levels we were not as close as we used to be as we went to different universities. We did not contact each other frequently as we are basically both very independent individuals. However, deep in our hearts, we know that if we need a friend, we can always count on the other for an ear or a hand.

When I wed, I invited her but she has to give it a miss as she & family were going on a trip to Japan. Now that it’s her turn, how can I give it a miss?

Lao Gong has a little misgiving at first as her invitation to us reads, “Dear XXX & Hubby”; I persuaded him to 赏脸 (give face) and attend the dinner with me. Lao Gong felt that to be sincere, she should have asked me for his name before sending the invite to us. Well, I have to admit he is pretty particular about these things. Anyway, Lao Gong was a little upset when we arrived at the reception counter as my name was in the seating plan but his wasn’t, nor was XXX’s hubby. I tried to pacify him.

A misunderstanding might have occurred as I did not RSVP. She smsed me prior to her sending the invite to notify me about her wedding. And I gave her my word that I will attend. However she made no mention that she is inviting my Lao Gong as well on the sms. When I received the invite which is addressed to both of us, I take it that my Lao Gong should attend together with me as I gave the word that I am coming. Maybe this was why the miscommunication occurred.

Due to this oversight, we are seated not with the two friends we came together with but with another table of her JC ECA mates. However, it was a pleasant surprise after all as I know four people out of nine at this table. My Lao Gong is of course not surprised at all that I know them as he know me best - I am the extrovert kind back in school days. Was concerned that he might felt left out as he was not from NJ like the rest of us, however am thankful that our table folks are pretty friendly and initiated talk with him – an introvert.

Anyway, Lao Gong is definitely not an introvert when he is with me or with closed ones. With my aunties or cousins, he will gang up with them and teased me. With his family, he is the noisy and mischievous one.

It was a good dinner on reflection. My friends & I managed to witness and share in the joy of the wedding couple; listened to the groom sincere speech in English and yes, in Chinese too for the benefit of his in-laws family and earning their approval too; catch up with friends we have not seen for a long time; stomached multi-cultural dishes of Malay, Chinese, Teochew and Indian origin.

Having organised our own wedding, Lao Gong & I agreed that it was an arduous task to see to everything. I would have done a lousier job in planning the seating arrangement if I have 40 tables to work with instead of 20 which I managed during our wedding.

Am thankful that Lao Gong keeps me company during this event even though he doesn’t know the married couple. He has all reasons not to attend with me yet he chooses to.

No secret? Part 2

The next night before we turned to bed, my Lao Gong quipped, “I can't get to sleep…”

“Huh?” was my tired reply. I was clearly suffering from the lack of sleep as I turned in only this early morning instead of last night. Reason: I had to familiarize myself with Blogspot's offering as I just set up my own blogspace and this process took time. However at this moment I am drifting into sleep.

Lao Gong refused to let me sleep peacefully, he must irritate me. He professed, “Since I can't get to sleep, I want to set up my own blog NOW, just like you!” and he gestured that he is getting out of bed and sneaking off to the study where our computer and the gateway to blogging lay.

His statement came as a surprise. Thinking for awhile, I dismissed his claim, laughed and told him off coolly, “Don't fake. You are trying to spike me. But still I'm not telling you my web address. And don't think you can barter addresses with me.” He admitted defeat, smiled and we turned to bed.
I still have the upper hand I thought and I remind myself before I sleep to be very alert for the next few days and not let him have such chance to disturb me again. I believed, at that same time, he is planning his next moves too. He's a sly one.

Two year plus of marriage, three year plus of knowing each other, till this day, we are still pitting our wits against each other on a daily basis. And we enjoyed it. :)

老公, 算了吧! 你是斗不过你老婆-我,的! 省省吧! (Hubby, Let it be! You can't beat me at my game! Save your energy!)

No secret? Part 1

Did not ever mention to my Lao Gong that I have been contemplating or toying with the idea of setting up my own Blog and yes I did it just 2 days ago.

However, I believe that there should be no secret between a husband and wife; so the next day, I smsed him while he was at work and informed him that I set up my own blog as I can't get to sleep the previous night.

Lao Gong called me almost instanteously upon receiving the sms and asked me curiously, "Why? Where?" He has always been very interested about my everything.I replied pretty smugly, "一股冲动(sudden spate of interest) Just want to try try. Not going to tell you my address. Haha."

He tried to probe but I just said I have nothing on it anyway, just a template and the headline.So he tried to get the headline out of me but I just refused to say. However, as he is very good in web design I mentioned to him that if I want my template to be unique I will need his help in time to come. {History: We met each other because of a web design course, which mean I am also capable of coming up with my own template, but I still want my Lao Gong to do it for me.}

Quite 霸道(aristocratic) I am. Lazy is the truth.

We ended our conversation. I know I have got what I want(preparing him to do a blog template for me) and not giving him what he want (by not revealing my blog address).

On the way!