At Sophia's

It has been a long time since I blogged. So many things happened in this last 4 months. I started work in the first week of Jan 2011, planning on our wedding and also of coz, the GE which was held on 7th May.

I shall dedicate this post on our wedding preparations. Lets see. We finally secured our photographer for the customary and ROM and we went for our first gown fitting at Sophia in April! It was really fun fitting gowns and also seeing other brides fit the gorgeous gowns. As there is limitations on the type of gowns I can select, it was still an fun experience of a lifetime.

For months, I have been scouting on magazines on the type of halter that suits me. Found some samples and one of them is designed by Sarah Burton (Kate Middleton's designer). So the ideal dress I am planning to find will be of a similar design as these as I have a long skinny neck and chest scars which I need to hide.

The WG I chose was the first gown I fit. Sometimes, you do not need to look very far for the best things in life! It was also pretty straightforward for the outdoor gown, as there were only two gowns which has a halter neck design. We were not allowed to take any photos but we managed to squeeze in some.

As for the EG, it was really tough. Most of them are bustier, i.e. tube gowns which I could not wear. Hence there is no choice but to tailor make for a semi halter dress for the EG. Just cant wait for the first fitting of the EG in May, and hope that by then there will be more choices available for my ROM and tea ceremony dress.

I think Desmond looks great in the beige and black suits. But we chose a grey and back suits ultimately due to practical reasons, he can keep the grey suit for future work and casual use.

So the widely anticipated gown fitting ended within 4 hours, which is by all means, fast. Though disappointed that I did not get to use the gorgeous bustier dresses, I was really glad that I found the halter dress that I want.

Oh yes, I was got a pair of bridal shoes from Anna Nucci. It was a off white, blinky strappy heels of only 2 in! The ideal height that I was looking for.

My journey continues...

I remembered how I spent my new year last year. Desmond bought 6 big balloons with "2010" printed on them, to my ward and we watched the fireworks light up the sky, using a mini potable tv. At that time, I still cant talk or walk and was still badly infected. But I recalled i prayed very hard for a better and healthier 2010.

Another year has passed and so many things had changed in my life.

In Feb, after 6 months in ICU, hooked on the ventilator, doctors allowed the removal the trachaestomy tube which had helped me to breathe for half a year. The was the first indication that any recovery was possible for the very fragile and delirious Lilian. My resting heartbeat was still more than 130 per min.

In April, with intensive speech and physiotherapy, I was allowed my my first mouth of water. Subsequently, my first soft diet and my first murmur. I have not heard myself for very long and the nurses and doctor has never heard me speak.

After moving to the normal ward on 3rd May, I stood for the first time using the AJO. It was extremely painful to even straighten my knee, let alone walking. I stood for 2 secs during the first attempt.

In June, I started to walk slowly with a walking frame. This slowly evolved into a robotic walk which barely looks elegant. Every morning, afternoon and evening, I will have physiotherapy and I was very tired every day.

On 7th July, I was transferred to St Luke's Hospital and met many elderly friends during my short stay there. I was able to make myself to the toilet and shower. I started to learn how to climb stairs and carry some load while walking. I begin to make plans for returning home.

On 4th Aug, 3 days before I was discharged, my sister told me that Mama may be dying from colon cancer relapse. I cried the whole night and the following night too. I thought that she had been healthy all along and I hated myself for not being there for her when she needed me.

On 17th Sept, Mama passed away peacefully, with everyone around at her death bed. I begin my new life, with Papa, in a home which missed Mama's love and presence. I started going for chapel lessons with Desmond and Papa, and it had enriched my life every since.

On 27th Oct, I went for a day surgery to close my trachaestomy hole. It seemed to be the best decision I made this year as I never enjoyed better fresh air every since. Scars and wounds now ravaged my whole body but I don't care about them now.

I spent most of my time rehabilitating and learning new things during the last 3 months of this year. I researched on home buying, spent a considerable amount of time on the spa saga, made scrapbooks for friends, and also spend quality time with Papa, sister, Desmond and Desmond's mum. I rescheduled and made plans for my wedding in Oct 2011. I bid goodbye to my twenty-something friends and joined the exclusive 30's club on 6th Dec. I can now manage walking 1-2 hours in the shopping centre before stopping for a rest.

It had been an eventful year, a year which changed my life forever. I lost some friends and made new ones. I start learning to take things slowly and cherish the people around me. And now I am going to start work soon, after 17 months of break.

I hope I am ready to go, not run. As I continue with my journey, I thank God and my dear family and friends for being there for me when I needed them the most. And I know Mama is shining down on me from heaven.

Wish that everyone will be in the pink of health. I love all of you.

A Letter to Lee Kok Heng

Dear Kok Heng,

I read about you in an article in The New Paper published on 11th Oct 2009. I don't know you but I hope that you are doing fine now.

I was surprised to hear of your plight as, we are in the same boat. We were the first two patients in Singapore to have survived the H1N1 viral pneumonia, with the help of the ECMO machine. I see that you you were hooked on the machine on 11th Aug, 3 days after I was hooked on, on 8th Aug. We both had high fever above 39degC, visited GPs and hospitals in July 2009, but were told to go home, without being screened for H1N1, or prescribed with Tamiflu.

I did not know from whom I got the virus from, do you? I did not go overseas or come in contact with any sick people. I was also in the low risk group and had no previous medical or health history. Before I was ill, I enjoyed long distance running and all kinds of sports and I ate healthily.

Similar to you, i walked into the hospital in early Aug 2009, relatively healthy and thinking that I would be discharged within a few days. But within hours, I was close to dying.

I read with emotions on how you felt during the ECMO treatment. Because I had exactly the same feelings. I was sedated, hallucinating, and cannot differential from what is real and what is not. It felt like my soul left me and came back again. I had strings of nightmares and dreamt that I was held captive in a faraway land by terrorists. It was worst than hell.

I was glad to know that you stayed in SGH for less than a month. I was not so lucky. I had heart failure, followed by multiple organ failures, after which i caught bouts and bouts of pneumonia. I was on ventilator for many months and lost the power to speak, walk or even cough. I also had to go though 7-8 open heart surgery within a period of 2 months.

Everything is over now, thank God. And I was lucky to have survived, and was discharged from NUH after 11 months.

Now, back at home, I suffer from chronic heart failure and cannot engage in physical activities like before. I am doing rehabilitation everyday and hope that one day i will return to one of my favourite love, running.

If you read this, can you pls contact me. I would really love to meet you. Wish you good health for the new year,

God bless you,

Qiaohe

Fistula after fistula

2 weeks ago, I went for a day surgery under local anaesthesia to close up my trachestomy hole, which is also known as a fistula. Although the hole is only less than 1cm in diameter, surgeon had to cut open a larger hole at my thorat in order to stich up the gap. Normally this done under general anaesthesia due to possible pain and trauma patients have to go through.

However due to my weak heart, GA is not a possibility, so I went for LA. Doctors warned me that if I can stand the pain halfway through the operation, I need to signal them to stop and they will make me go under GA. Well, there is no way I want to be under GA, as a breathing tube will be inserted to help me breathe and I dont want to go through that again.

But the LA experience is not as bad as I thought. Despite feeling hallucinated (because I was given sedation), there was not much pain during the surgery. The feeling is like being fed with illusion pills, and you see people sweeping by in front of your eyes, you hear muffled sounds, but you dont know what is happening to you.

A day after the surgery, it was great pain and misery for me as LA ran out of effect. I cant speak, eat or even slightly open my mouth. But after enduring all that, Im so glad that the hole now is healing properly and I can also speak and breathe better now.

Yesterday I saw my heart doctor again. I was told I had an artery which was fused with a nearby vein and some blood is seeping from artery to vein as a result. That condition is also called a fistula. It was a result of the vascular catheter insertion at my neck during my stay in ICU early this year. Well, the heart doctor didnt know what to do, but referred me to a vascular surgeon on 23rd Dec. He will then decide whether I need to go for yet another surgery to separate the artery and the vein.

I was very depressed after hearing that. The miserable feeling of getting hospitalised and going under the knife came back to haunt me, once again.

Flight or Fright?

Today, Desmond went for his third referee assignment for Asean Basketball League in Brunei. He had been to Indonesia twice last month and this time was a refreshing change to Brunei. Apparently there is no direct flights to Brunei, because "Brunei is not a very pro-tourists country" as quoted by Papa.

Anyway due to officiating assignments, Desmond has been busy travelling to neighbouring countries this year. Besides a few sessions in China in 2008, he has been to Malaysia, Indonesia. Myanmar, Philipines and now Brunei.

Sounds pretty fun to fly? Not for me. Actually I'm not so sure when I will have a chance to fly again. The last time was... erm...in 2006 to Bangkok for shopping? Ya it was that long ago. With my weak lungs and heart now, it will be even more dangerous to fly, due to the low air pressure during the flight.

I was reading the SMS diary which Yanli compiled for me during my stay in hospital, yesterday. It collected all the SMS updates with vivid descriptions which Desmond sent to Yanli and the girls during my most critical moments from Aug 2009 to Jan 2010. To read all that I have been through proved too much for me and I ended up trembling in fear. But reading it made me cherish what I have even more than ever.

So, it ok not to fly la. At least I can walk quite fast now.

Poetry Days

I was browsing through my old computer today and discovered that I used to have a erm... hobby. It is such a long time ago and almost forgot about it. I used to write poems between 2005 to 2007. And I actually have a large collection of them in my even older computer which crashed and I never recovered them.

Nevertheless, I still have 2 of them left and in case I lost them again, I shall post them here. But I think my English have a lot of room for improvement!

I written the first one in early 2007:

The Wind Mill

We all knew what we want; that’s why we came here
But at the first innocent glance; it wasn’t crystal clear
The foliages and blossoms, so colorful they blinded me
Distracted by the mystified sky, I know not what is mockery

Brawn and sturdy, the windmill stood
Barely oblivious, it did what it could
It can’t leave the lush; it felt it needed them
It was their immaculate glamour, that shaped its lifeless fans

The time has arrived. I am ready to run.
To race for the tireless blades; and all its glorious garland
But what stood in front, was a barren field
As now the mill turns, for the other in lieu

Arriving at the new town, I’m helplessly lost
‘Cause we were never far away but our paths never crossed

The second one was written in late 2007 to take part in a ST Life Home Renovation Competition. It was never published of coz.


Space @ My Humble Home

The smell of home is in the Air.

There is no luxury of space, nor splashes of lavish paint;
Not to mention, that its sense of modern cosmopolitance is faint.
But it is filled with sweet memories of nostalgic childhood;
Coupled with the simplicity of life and its all we asked for, if we could..

Tired of the colorful, vivid world,
And disheartened by what power and dollars can lure.
We yearn to return to a home of lush and serenity;
Affection and warmth… just you and me.

This unpolished piece of raw jade;
To us, it is already heaven-made.
What mattered is the love that went into its creation;
And the inherent affinity for bliss in this space.

We already have a dream…
And what we envisage that is not at all warped
It just needs the special magic wand, to power it up.

I wished I was able to retrieve my previous collection of poems. Because I think I will not be able to do anything like that anymore

A+ for Apple

The iPhone4 makes me dizzy during the first week I used it. The rapidly swiping pages up and down, left and right was too fast for my eyes. I also didnt like the computer style keypads as I now sms at least 3 times slower than when I was using dictionary texting on Nokia phones.

However, besides the easy interface for FB and emails, there are a few applications which I really liked:

1. SG NextBus and SG Buses: Predicts the arrival times of buses near where you are or specific buses at an user-input location. But they are not very accurate, usually predicts longer arrival times than actual.

2. ShowNearby: Use it to find nearby ATMs, bus stops, carpark, clinic, hotel, petrol station, and even supermarkets. Can become very useful when I am in need of something urgent.

3. Gothere.sg: I like this the best.. tells you the best way to travel from A to B, the cost and time required, including peak hour traffice considerations, erp charges and waiting time. There are four methods of travelling: By Bus, MRT, Cab and Drive. Shows directions for the cabby drivers too.

4. SG malls: Good for calling up shops to check whether certain stocks are available, prevents one from making a wasted trip.

5. Shazam: Tells you the song wherever you hear it, at shopping malls, on radio, on someone's ipod in the mrt..

Besides being a bit bulky and heavy, I essentially have no complains about the phone. Camera is good and easy to use. I should not be able to get lost anytime as long as I have the iPhone.

In any case, stupid people need smart phones.

妈, 我回來了

Today I passed by Crystal Jade @ My Bread and Desmond asked me if I want to buy some 老婆饼. Crystal Jade makes the best and tastiest 老婆饼 in town and is also my Mum's favorite snack.

My first response in my mind, ya why not? Then after one sec, I realised she is already gone. It is a weird feeling but subconsciously, to me, she is still alive.

Mum's cancer relapsed in Oct 2009, two months after I was admitted to ICU. But because of my critical condition, I did not know of her situation. Whenever she visited me, she was always cheerful and looked healthy. I did not suspect anything. I got to know her condition only in Aug 2010 when I was discharged from hospital, just one month before she passed on.

I remembered her during her last week of ordeal. She could not eat, or sleep or pass urine. Due to liver failure, her skin and eyes were completely yellowed by jaundice, her feet swollen and she barely had strength to speak. Her breathing was laboured and occasionally dropped a tear.

On her death bed, everyone was around. We took turns to talk to her, out of which my father's speech touched me the most. Although she could not respond, I knew she heard what we said to her.


During my illness for the past year, my father visited and took care of me everyday, and she would be at home, alone and lonely. She did not complain, despite her health going downhill. She sacrified her life, for me. If not for me, my father and I would be at home, taking care of her and supporting her. If not for me, her health may not detoriate so fast. If not for me, she may have less stress and worry and they would become a catalyst to speed up for relapse. I feel really really sorry.

I thank God for letting me come home in time to support and see her before she go.

妈妈, 我好想你...放心去環遊世界吧

The Begining of my Ordeal

10 months of long silence, I am finally back.

For all the dear friends who have been encouraging me through this ordeal, and for my own personal keepsake, I have decided to record down as much details as I can of the events that took place for the past year.

On the morning of 7th August, the last 4th day of my H1N1 quarantine, I felt exceptionally terrible. I was breathless in bed and even grasp for breathe when eating breakfast. We immediately revisited the GP who would later refer me to NUS for a more detailed checkup. The GP suspected bronchitis.

As I arrived at NUH, my condition deteriorated quickly. Immediately put on a drip and taken blood and X RAY, the medical officers confirmed that my lungs are "infected". I had to be admitted. I remembered sms-ing Desmond who was waiting in the visitor lounge to inform my parents that I will be hospitalised for "a few days" for lung treatment. I was not worried as I was not supposed to be the H1N1 high risk group. My GP has said that I can recover without taking Tamiflu. As my SpO2 was not healthy, I was transferred to Ward 26 - Medical ICU for further observations.

I kept coughing all the way to ICU. My lungs felt like flooding up and I was very breathless. When I finally get hooked up to monitors in the ICU, my phlegm started to dispel out. Coughing became more and more tedious, more and more intense. This continued for a short while, when I coughed out a mixture of water, phlegm and blood. At that moment, I felt that my lungs are totally blocked, I cannot breathe through my water soaked lungs. I half shouted to the nurse "I cant breathe!".The last I can remember is that I turned around to look at the SpO2 monitor which showed 75% (Anything less than 88% is dangerous). I then fainted.

I cannot remember anything after the above event, as I was placed under sedation and ventilator to help my lungs to breathe. Subsequently I was told that I has a major operation to remove the water and blood clots in my lungs and heart. The operation was on 8th August 2009.

How I hoped that that will be the end of my ordeal. Unfortunately, a few days after the operation, my heart and lungs were still unable to function on their own as they were badly infected by the virus. As such, I had to be placed on an ECMO machine ( Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation). A simplified explanation of ECMO (from Wiki):

"An ECMO machine is similar to a heart-lung machine. To initiate ECMO, cannulae are placed in large blood vessels to provide access to the patient's blood. Anticoagulant drugs, usually heparin, are given to prevent blood clotting. The ECMO machine continuously pumps blood from the patient through a "membrane oxygenator" that imitates the gas exchange process of the lungs, i.e. it removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen. Oxygenated blood is then returned to the patient.."

This procedure was considered as the last resort as there will be many complications which may arise from its use, such as stroke, excessive bleeding etc. This treatment was continued for another grueling 2 weeks. If my condition deteriorate during this period of time, I will staring right in to the eyes of death. Furthermore, ECMO has never been a proven safe method.

The next moment which I could recall, is when I was semi-conscious. I had a very long nightmare which I can remember clearly even until now. The nightmare was about how I was captured by a group of masked terrorists and brought to a faraway land. For most of the time, I was tied up, gagged and tortured. The nightmare ended when my sister brought the terrorists up in a flight and threw them one by one off the plane. A real sadist dream but not as cruel as the reality.

Sometime in late August, I woke up from my long sleep. Lying motionless on the bed in CT ICU, I could not move my whole body, I could not speak and I could not eat. Countless tubes were attached to my nose, throat, limbs and body. I was using a ventilator to breathe and there was a trachea hole in my airway. I could barely open my eyes. I felt very, very exhausted.

I saw my family and Desmond around me. If I had the strength, I would have cried.

I am Positive

It has been 3 months since I last blogged. But I have never wanted to have so much at hand such that I have to blog about it.

I fell terribly ill last Thursday, finding myself at 39.2 degC at one point in time. The clinic at AMK Ave 4 did not help me much.On Friday, I cant get out of bed, due to a bad low back sprain. I had to half limped half walked to NUH where I received two painful painkiller jabs and was placed on 3 packets of drip. I had both my chest and lower back x rayed and blood tested. I have not had so many things happened to me in just one day for a long time.

On Sunday, my fever did not subside.Visiting my GP at Margaret Drive led me to do a throat swap for H1N1. I was given more cough, phlegm and fever medicine and was given another 4 days of MC.

Today, the GP called me to confirm that I am H1N1 positive and I need to quarantine myself until 11th Aug. Already been locked up in my small room for the past 5 days, this news is really cruel. I have not finished my lectures, tutorials and revision. I had missed my gown fitting at Sophia's. I missed the JC gathering with Joyce who just returned from Dubai.

I am going crazy soon.

The worse thing is I have to ensure I keep the virus within me and my small room. My parents belong to the H1N1 high risk group and I cannot afford to let them fall ill.

I need to learn to live like a lone ranger. Learning to have my own personal cup, bowl, plate and cutlery. Having my face mask on at all times. My own tissue box and rubbish bin. My own thermometer. My own toilet. No TV for another 7 days.

This is terrible. Glad that I still have facebook and youtube to keep me alive.

Story-Telling

Yesterday I was reading to Paige when I was babysitting her and Matthew.

I read three stories, "The Ugly Duckling", "Rapunzel" and "The Enormous Turnip". It could have been more if not because I was too tired to read more. Story-reading, contrary to common beliefs, IS tiring.

Maybe it is because my command of English has dropped. It has been more and more difficult for me to summarise the story lines from 3 paragraphs to one. To think that it is only a children's book.

Maybe it is because I was fascinated by the stories which I have lost touch with for a really long time. As I read, it seemed the story differs quite a bit from the version I read more than 20 years ago.

Maybe I was trying too hard to think of the morale of the story. I feel that a story is never complete without telling the child what is the story really trying to teach us. Especially for "The Ugly Duckling", I felt accomplished after educating Paige to love everyone beyond their looks.

It was tiring babysitting them. But it was also very enriching to story-tell.

Securing the Date

The Carlton saga ends it all.

While Carlton Hotel remains as the best choice in terms number of tables, location, food, pillarless ballroom with high ceiling and reasonable rates, their service irked us to such an extend that we decided to give up with them. All their perks which was thrown in were all not reflected in the contract. Furthermore, their verbal promises twisted and turned at the time of contract signing. One word. Ridiculous.

Marina Mandarin Hotel became our immediate backup plan. This was despite the fact that it was not even in our original hotel list of considerations, primarily due to the minimum number of tables to meet. Nevertheless, besides the "not-so-high" ceiling and a minimum of 35 tables to fulfil, everything seemed perfect about them. They can even provide us with a solemnisation venue despite that the solemnisation date is a day before the banquet. The forum also raved off their food, service and excellent efficiency. I guess this is really a blessing in disguise.

Have not signed the contract yet, but if nothing goes wrong, we should be announcing the date of the big day in 2 weeks time =)

The Real Meaning of a Race

Desmond has always encouraged me to watch The Amazing Race on CBS. But since the telecast every Monday clashed with Campus Superstar, I never did watch a full episode of the program which features teams racing around the world.

This afternoon, while waiting for Desmond's 3 hour long car wash, I watched all the 6 episodes which I missed, on Youtube. And I derived much learnings besides watching them compete for a million bucks.

1. Jaipur, India - Never consider yourself unfortunate

As teams raced for monetary victory, deaf-mute Luke (and Margie) broke down after he saw Indian children running around shackles naked, feeding themselves with garbage. Think he realised he is definitely not alone in his struggle for leading a normal life.

Luke broke down in Jaipur

2. Siberia, Russia - Wear "proper" undergarments

Poor gal from one of the teams had to stripped to her lingerie and run 2 miles in the -4degC Russian city. Worst thing is that she is wearing nothing but a sports bra and a black thong (Yes thongs!)

Shots of her running from behind were censored of course!

3. Phuket, Thailand - Mummy is the greatest

Bionic woman Margie wins the day again by running on Luke's behalf when she realised how difficult it is to give her deaf son directions while sitting on a rickshaw. In the end, she suffered a heat stroke after running 2 miles under extreme hot and humid weather, nearly fainted and had to be sent to hospital.

Just before Mummy Margie fainted in Phuket

4. Beijing, China - Never give up, even if it is your greatest fear
College athletes Kisha and Jen fear for nothing but water. Unfortunately one of the detour for the China leg is to choose a task from "Swim" or "Sync". Jen broke down as she could not overcome her fear for the waters and was unable to finish neither tasks. Imagine performing a task which is your greatest phobia..Kudos to Jen.

They tried but was unable to overcome their phobia

5. Translyvania, Romania - Pick yourself up, where you fall

Good looking lawyer Victor led her sister Tammy on a wild goose chase in the woods looking for coffins, only to realise that they have been following the wrong arrow directions (white red arrows instead of the official yellow red arrows of The Amazing Race). This should be the first and last time viewers see Victor broke down and cried, before regaining composure to end up at second last place, after skydiving down from the first position.

This is clearly not the race's official direction sign

I had always loved geography back in school, even though I seldom travel. But the amount of knowldege you learn when travelling in a trip, is limitless and invaluable. In fact, I don't think any of the team will regreat this journey even if they did not finally win the race.

Seriously, I cannot wait for Episode 11 to be screened tomorrow at 830pm.

Little Mr and Ms Bump

Last week was definitely NOT our lucky week.

On Thursday, Desmond's car got bumped at the back by a series of cars, after their failures to brake in time in slippery weather. This cost Desmond not only a sprained neck, but also three days without his Rio.

On Friday, I had a freak fall while stopping after my hour long ran around the neighbourhood. Although I only hit my knee, it left my knee brazed with at least 10 strokes of broken skin.

On Saturday, I slipped when I stepped on "freshly" sprayed insecticide in Desmond's room. Fortunately I landed on my bum which caused no more than a false alarm.

I hope we will shed off the title of Mr and Ms Bump next week.

Keep On Improving

The first lecture in my life. I must do it good and right.

That was why I arrived at 730am on 20th April, a far cry from the usual 845am. Lecture is suppose to start at 8am, and a considerable amount of preparation is needed, even though I had physically went through the syllabus the week before.

I arrived at LTQ2 20min before the official class starts at 8am. Pleasantly surprised, there are already many students waiting outside the LT. I saw one of my mentees sitting quietly in a corner bench. She did not attend orientation but I recognise her from my photo class list. I said hi to her and made my way to LTQ2.

Taking in a deep breath, and looking at the 90 empty seats in front of me, I felt strangely excited. This is what I have been waiting for the last 9 months in NYP.

My first lecture session.

As the students streamed in, the excitement grew. Soon after excitement turned to anxiety as the projector screen failed on me! Can you imagine... First lesson on first day of school of Semester 1.

Nevertheless I maintained talking by introducing myself and the module Materials Science.... miraculously the projector screen came back at 830am. I lost 30min but managed to gain back my composure.

The rest of the lecture went well. I found out that it is not easy to deliver a good lecture. From voice control to creating humour, to clear explanations, these skills will only sharpen with time. Fortunately, this batch of Year 1 students seem much more diligent and attentive, compared to the previous batch, which makes the job of new lecturers like me easier to handle.

Like what I told my students " I hope you will continue to improve", I truly hope I will also keep on improving.

Peak-A-Boo!

I have never done as much research and homework on HDB housing regulations until a week before. All thanks to the 5 "Peaks" below.

The newly launched DBSS project "The Peak" at Toa Payoh Lor 1 is not those type which will appear to be immediately attractive. Compared to its counterparts at AMK and Bishan, it is an elderly town. There is also less vibe considering there is no major shopping malls nearby. Nevertheless, due to curiousity, we went to view the showflat last sunday and we were pleasantly surprised and delighted by the stylish design of the flats.

After viewing the second time, the two flats we eyed on are the 21st storey high ceiling 4-room flat at $500k, and the 18th storey 5-room flat at $580k. And yes, both are at atrouciously high prices. After some research, older flats with similar floor area are costing as much in the TPY and AMK area, and so I stop feeling short-changed =)

With flats priced at $730k at the 42nd floor, I really wonder if flats in Singapore will ever break the 1M barrier?

Sigh, What to do... the lows of property market in 2001-2003 is long over, and flats at premier locations come at a premier price. Furthermore, TPY flats have always stolen the limelight but topping the list with the highest average COV among HDB estates. What attracted us most, is that The Peak is only mins walk from TPY MRT station and the lifts come with security card accesses just like a condo. The interior renovation is also provided, from full tiling, wall painting to build-in wardrobes, water heaters, stoves and air con. Pretty enticing to me =)

But seriously, I will not be overly disappointed if we did not successfully ballot for the TPY flat, as Bishan is going to be THE place to live, at least in the next 10 years. With the MRT circles line interchange opening this month, lift upgrading, property prices in Bishan is likely to soar to another new level....

So, lets just cross our fingers and leave it to Heaven's will =)

A Night of Glitz & Glamour

After 3 months of planning and preparation, CPT dinner & dance 2009 was finally held at NUSS Suntec City Guild House yesterday!

Graduating student with Lecturers

Happy faces from the graduating students

We received rather encouraging turnout this year, with 86 students and 12 staffs signing up for the event. Although 3 students did not finally come, the whole event can be considered rather "successful"... The highlight of the event, in my opinion was the PEM class awards to their personal mentor where the students thank their lecturers for their hard work and care throughout their 3 years in NYP. It was sincere, warm, and full of emotions.

Hwee Mei, Natalia and Me

All thanks to staff of SCL(C) who contributed a whooping total amount of more than $1000 for all the game prizes, door gifts, lucky draw, and also subsidies for the student tickets. Kudos to organising committee students from SCL club students as well, great job!

SCL Club organising committee

Toasting session

Prom King & Queen

I hope the event will leave an imprint on the graduating students for a long time in their lives.

My Dream Garden

After a month of research and browsing, here are the list of hotel banquets which has been shortlisted. The wedding theme I currently have in mind in a Garden Theme.. It is really difficult to tell which is a better pick until we really recee the place to have a look and feel of the ambiance. Anyway, each of these selection has their own specialty and uniqueness which stood them out from others, besides cost (^o^)

1. Mandarin Oriental

Have heard about friends and relatives raving about this hotel since it was renovated in 2004. A quick step into the hotel last week also gave us a very good impression of the lobby setting. What is most attractive is their 4 new themes. I particularly like the garden theme where the whole ballroom is decorated into a huge fan-shaped garden! Birdcages, twigs and sunflowers.. its like a walk in a park! Natural and surreal feeling, nothing exaggerated!

2. Conrad Centennial

Love their magnificent foyer reception in front of the Grand Ballroom and the long titanic winding stairway at the lobby leading up to the ballroom! The most fairy tale march in we can ever ask for! Although I have only been there once for a wedding in 2006, it still left a deep impression in my mind until now. It was the only shortlisted banquet which has tables for 12 which may pose a problem as we do not have so many guests to fill their minimum 30 table criteria.

3. Carlton Hotel

Not the 6-star Ritz Carlton, but Carlton Hotel at Bras Basah Road. According to my sis, this hotel's Wah Lok Restaurant serves the best Cantonese Cuisine in town. This alone is attractive enough to draw me in as delectable food is my top priority. Too bad we can only have food tasting after confirmation for the banquet.

4. Swissotel Merchant Court

Colonial feel never fails to mesmerise me. Although my top colonial choices: Goodwood Park and Hotel Intercontinental falls out of our budget, Merchant Court will be a good substitute. The reception area is also spacious and wide, and can be conveniently decorated to the graden theme.

5. Restaurants

Imagining converting all the perks that hotels offer to wedding couples, such as bridal suite, favours, vouchers into better food quality... that is what restaurants can offer. For the same amount of money, restaurant food will be of superior quality in the expense of ambiance. That will be a very selfless way to hold weddings as the guests will get a better value for "Ang-Bao".

Most importantly, a wedding banquet must elude genuinity and sincerity regardless of the venue. In 2005, I attended a really warm and lovely wedding at Peony Jade Restaurant (above) at Clarke Quay which has such strong oriental and overwhelming homely feel that I wanted to have mine there!

On the contrary, I once attended a wedding at a 6-star hotel, which was at one glance, an extraordinary expensive affair. Rolls Royce bridal car, all night Mediterranean live band, and 4 changes of bridal gowns! Everything was gold plated and glittery but to me, it was over-commercialised, emotionless and bland. The whole night, I was left feeling with a lack of warmth and love that a wedding banquet should have.

That, in my opinion, loses all its appeal as compared to a simple restaurant wedding =)

Its Too Stiff

This is how my neck bones look like under X ray, after a car collision on Thursday. Stiff as a bamboo, the doctor at Mt Alvernia said.

It was a freak car incident at NYP compound on Thursday, when a car hit my dad's cab shortly after I removed my seat belt. It was less than 50m from my destination and both cars are already travelling at snail speed!

The slight collision actually threw my body in all directions as my instincts told me to hold on to the seat in front of me to prevent further vibrations. Nevertheless, the impact was too big on my neck such that it felt sprained and twisted after I went home the same night. It hurt my left arm as well as it knocked hard on the car door.

As all kinds of injuries / medical conditions post accident are claimable, the agent brought me to Mt Alvernia to get my neck checked on Friday evening. By then, my central neck bone and nerves were so painful that I can hardly turn 90 degrees to my right. My neck was swollen and stiff.

Luckily there were no complications, as the X ray films showed. But a normal neck is C shape, as suggested by the doctor. And mine, is as straight as a bamboo, which seems to imply to me that I need to resume my new massage package at Kenko Wellness Spa. Heh.

Muffin Tops

I need to get rid of my muffin tops!!!

Of course, the picture below is not me, but due to months of sloth, my muffin tops are growing. I can still remember a year ago, I follow a strict regime to ensure my figure is kept in check:

1) Stand and walk for at least 30 min after every meal
2) Never sleep less than an hour after a meal
3) 30-50 upper and lower abdomen crunches every morning
4) Dumbell (2 kg) training twice a week
5) Bedtime stretched to tone side abdomen muscles

But I no longer do that now. Where has the health and exercise freak Lilian gone to? Nevertheless, in order to ensure I get the best figure for my bridal PS at the end of this year, I am giving myself 3 months to resume the above. Moreover, the bridal pictures are going to last me a lifetime.

The stakes are way too high to be lazy.