(Z)euters

been awhile. thanks those who had been contacting me by email to express concern. not that i’m not wanting to update, but there have been some changes that took up a little more time than i expected.

rotation to new division

i have finally moved from my previous division to the new one, official since 1 april 08. leading up to this though, i found myself clearing a lot of paperwork (meaning a lot of typing, haggling with clients, and managing boss’ expectations) leaving me drained to type out extensive entries for everyone’s benefit. also, i have been brought around on many interesting meetings under my new portfolio–resulting in even MORE paperwork that i need to handle. my challenge is basically to ensure steady ramp up of my the new job while managing the occasional mismanaged load from the past. this presents quite an interesting proposition. we’ll see how this continues to work out. =)

“us” time

also finding time to spend with lloyd. no other reason, just hanging around because it is comfortable. i would say that the relationship is getting a lot stronger, facilitated by the fact that we see each other everyday with barely a need to quibble. one or two disagreements–what is a relationship without one or two of these? =p–but nothing earth shattering. so long as there’s mutual respect for each other’s opinion, it’s fair to have our own stand on all things.

time has therefore been spent doing miscellaneous things like getting nice food (both pricey and budget), hanging around lloyd while he works off the saturday, or when he’s studying (i usually pick up the PSP for these occasions… i’m a gamer, so sue me. =p), and also catching up with some friends. apologies though upfront to friends who had been trying to get me. i note the re-distribution of the resource “time”, and will definitely make up for the lack of it soon enough.

other significant changes

i’m moving house soon. to kembengan this time. yes, some people will grouse at the fact i’m losing the convenient city location–especially the parking!–to hit the heartlands, but the decision was not mine to make. however, i DID have a hand in making some minor decisions regarding the interior design. so hopefully when i move to the new place, it would be stepping into something that feels more like home. =)

period of change

i suppose there are lots of changes already happening, more than i care to update at this point. i’ll wait for the dust to settle a bit first, then i’ll make a more focused entry on these things. but as you can tell from above, there’s enough change in my life now that i’m also barely above water myself. here’s wishing all the best to myself, eh? =p

the issue, for the large part, has been resolved. all i have left is the residual feeling that i could/should have been able to react better. but there’s usually no point crying over spilt milk; only a point to learn from and prepare for the next time should the issue arise again.

i don’t think there’s a need to blog the details of the situation. suffice to say that i have, through this incident, learnt the most important lesson:

lloyd is very important to me, and should he ever come to be in any compromising situation that he cannot easily extricate himself, i will step in first (and beg forgiveness later if wrong) than hang back and expect a drowning loved one to suddenly float to shore.

if keeping the above promise labels me as being “controlling” rather than “protective”, so be it.

i haven’t felt like this in awhile;
restless, but can’t get things done
awake, but not quite around
pining, but without end
to the pangs…
hungry…
… for attention.

every year, my uncle will offer to host everybody for an evening of debauchery, revelry and celebration to welcome the lunar new year. this year was no different. so after a whole day’s worth of visiting to collect red packets, the evening of the first day was the perfect avenue to pit the red packet dollars to the test in hope of getting more! except…

my uncle’s place was a row of semi-d’s, with a road that had space only for single lane traffic either way. continuous white line, so it didn’t normally offer very much in parking space. because the neighbour’s house appeared drab and without lighting, one of the younger uncles decided in all his regal glory to park his car blocking the driveway, thinking that the place was abandoned.

into the evening, up drove a battered down black car headed for that seemingly unoccupied house. stopped. a series of urgent horns. even as the young uncle made a dash for the car to drive it away, saying “sorry” all the way, the guy got out of the car and made a big hoohah about “what sorry?! sorry no cure!!” or something to that effect. *shrug*

with my uncle’s car driven away, the guy proceeded to park his car, got out with his family, and went into the house. i noted that he stood at the front door for awhile and stared outside. 15-20 mins later, the police came. i think we all know what happened. by this time, my sis and i made our move to head home. no need to complicate more matters.

i heard however that my uncle, owner of house, went out to talk to the police. while i don’t know the details of what transpired, i gathered it must have been something placating, cos the police was all ready to leave without another word. but just as they were about to leave, the neighbour came stomping out of the house and made another commotion, obviously trying to create more trouble for everyone.

i don’t know the conclusion of this saga yet. cos my parents made a move soon after. so much for neighbourliness eh? =/

destination #1 – mom’s side, grandma’s place. got quizzed again if i had a girlfriend. followed very very swiftly by whether i was going to get one soon. so i smiled and i said “not so fast.” but i guess i can only do that for a few more years before it becomes blatantly obvious, no? darn. but man, the food my grandma cooked was good! couldn’t stop eating, especially the tau kua in braised-duck-sauce thing… to die for!

destination #2 – dad’s side, uncle’s place (dad’s cousin apparently… so it’s an extended family sort of thing). mom didn’t go, so dad, za sista! and me trouped along to “sit and engage in lively small talk” with some distant cousins we only meet once a year. ok… it’s a lot better than i put it, but i think za sista! was actually feeling blue about it. met up with long-time-no-see cousins from states though–bruce and jingfei–who both admitted to at least 10 years of not being in singapore for CNY. before i could leave, though, my aunt from hong kong made it an obligation for me to at least twiddle on the piano before making a move. i guess when you round off the impromptu performance with majulah singapura, you know you need to know more songs…

destination #3 – by this time, i was really missing lloyd. still had dinner (steamboat, sumptuous), and was supposed to start some mahjong game but there was a lack of tables (all the likely candidates for mahjong were used to prop up the 3 steamboat pots in the garden). so instead, i watched young cousins play metal slug on the wii (the bet was on how many more times they must die to complete a stage…), and maybe one round of black jack (was a draw with the banker, so i made my exit right after. =p). found out za sista! and za boyfriend! were exchanging pointers on relationships over the phone around 10 pm or so, and i guess this is where we were about to make a move for home. by then, a not-so-neighbourly neighbour of my uncle came home to kick up a fuss about one of my uncles blocking his driveway with the car even though we apologized and responded as quickly as possible to remove the obstacle. details in another post, but man, some people really know how to spoil other people’s fun… so much for the CNY spirit eh? *shrug*

it’s only been day 4, and i started writing poetry. i guess i AM as insane as i thought i’d be without someone around. and unlike others, i tend not to bottle it up, but rather let it all out in some form of artistic expression or another. but i must admit, poetry isn’t one of my preferred mediums. never found out the reason why.

anyhow, putting together what happened for easy reference as well:

friday, 1 feb 08 – dinner at boss’ house. nasi lemak for dinner, then followed by a relatively exciting mahjong game. unfortunately me got no luck, and because of my own stupidity, made an astounding loss. luckily we were capping the number of “doubles” in the game, else it’ll be even more out my pocket. >.< but i had fun cos the “competition” were great khakis! fun to banter, then play serious, then banter again. lively. =) got home nearing midnight, exchanged some sweet words with lloyd, then it was bed.

sat, 2 feb 08 – woke up early enough, but lazed around in bed till 830 am. to my surprise, parents already up and out to polyclinic to get mom’s dressing changed. so had breakfast with za sista! instead around 9 am. dropped her off at school around 10 am, then back to play games till around 1155 am. this was when dad decided to get smart and unplug my internet connection without telling me to “repair” the plug (he changed it from two to three pin), so you can imagine my amusement of seeing lost connection to map server… on my screen. stopped playing, went lunch with parents instead. then dance (but talked to lloyd first). then meeting with fanny and en min (who came back from HK specially for a wake and funeral… sigh). followed by evening out with borna and alex (all the best to borna in breaking heart-breaking news…) to play boardgames at minds cafe, then lan gaming for 1 game, then home and phone with lloyd. then sleep. had some weird dream which was a thriller-like thing… cross between star wars and romance of the 3 kingdoms… with me running from the “enemy” a lot. woke up feeling weird, like i ran a mile or two…

sun, 3 feb 08 – day 4 of no-lloyd, and i’m feeling a little blue. but looking forward to meeting up with derek for some droolsome hunk phototaking and a movie probably. we’ll see how this goes. since it’s only 1015 am right now, might go gym pre-lunch. undecided. see how…

note: chronology of events up until departure. 

tues, 29 jan 08 – borna called to say that her granddad passed away in bangladesh on mon, and considering that she was rather close to her granddad, she didn’t really sleep the night at all. alex couldn’t get leave off training to be with her, so i thought it good to arrange a quick meet with her during the evening. ended up borna and lloyd both came over to my house first to sit around and talk to mom. brightened the day a bit. then it was off to lloyd‘s for the remainder of the evening with borna at the helm of her mazda 3. makes me wish i had one sometims… =/ anyhow, borna left shortly after a few madelines to meet with alex while i stayed over at lloyd‘s for a simple meal of lovingly-prepared mushrooms, bittergourd soup and pig trotter… sumptuous. =) sleep came swiftly… and so did the sun… =/

wed, 30 jan 08 – … which heralded what could have been a sour morning. but everytime i wake up with lloyd around, i must say it’s a little hard to be down. guess we started on the right footing anyway, with food, then mrt, then work… with me pining for end of day. found out during though that one of the directors who fought cancer for the longest time passed away the night before. *sigh* anyway, arranged with za sista! to do some travelling by car in the evening. so she helped to go to lloyd‘s to ferry some luggage over, but not before picking up damian and stopping for a japanese dinner at thompson. (i’m skimming over the fact that i managed to make the car jump a little over a kerb…) home was almost immediately sleep… but not before i got a few beautiful song dedications… oh, and arranging for a taxi in the morning.

thurs, 31 jan 08 – 515 am, alarm rang. on both phones. 605 am, all packed and dressed. 615 am, taxi ride to changi terminal 2. 635 am, arrived, and queue for silkair check in. 700 am, done check in, then to breakfast, 745 am, done with breakfast at terminal 1 food court. 8 am, back to departure gate in terminal 2. 805 am, lloyd crosses the immigration counter, then phone call. 810 am, started feeling a little sad. 820 am, got on mrt to work. 9 am, arrived at work. throughout all this, i can only say what stood out most was how very happy i was with him around. well, only 14 more days to go.

2 weeks. either a blink of an eye or trying experience. we’ll know in a few days time which is it more likely to be. but to be fair, i’ve done all this before, so i’m familiar with most of the feelings i’m getting. guess i didn’t get as good as i thought handling it. but have to give him a lot of credit. msging once in awhile, and a phone call or two. helps keeping me positive i suppose. anyhow, i’m wishing the chinese new year were here and gone. then it’ll only be a few more days before i get to see him and feel complete again… *wistful look*

i haven’t had time to put this down. and i guess this makes a very good blog entry, and a warning to all who needed some information regarding this person.

matthew lee shao cheng is the “bastard” so named. got together with him in 2007, i believe june or july. got out of the “relationship”–more like a fling, considering it was barely 2 months before i ended it–around august 2007. the exact dates are a little hazy now. wish i had written these things down earlier. regardless, loaned him a piano during this period because he said he was going to take music lessons again. yea, i was THAT gullible.

anyhow, post-”relationship” in december 2007, i was taken in by lies to loan a substantial sum of money to matthew. *shrug* even MORE gullible. =p the structure of the lie is given below:

1. matthew‘s youngest brother maynard was going to international school and needed to pay tuition
2. family out of town on holiday, leaving maynard alone at home
3. matthew was supposedly out of town onboard a ship, unable to come home
4. matthew cancelled own line and started using a new line, and using this new line, masqueraded as his younger brother maynard to message me specific details, including how they have moved to orchard-grangeford (a lie), and how he needed a large sum of money to repay all this. this “maynard” also referred me to msn often to speak with matthew for confirmation.
5. did a series of net transactions to get money over to “maynard” on the pretext that there were some checks coming in to return money (another lie)
6. all the time, matthew gave the impression he was NOT in singapore, all the way till post new year 2008 (a lie)

yes, i was very gullible. *shrug* i think my downfall is being too nice, and having already met maynard before. anyhow, ended up sometime in early jan, i had a hunch to check matthew‘s blog. that’s when i noted a few things:

1. matthew was blatantly in singapore during december 2007. sure, he was in the army camp at times, but definitely in singapore
2. matthew had a new boyfriend zee and even celebrated the new year together, again in singapore

that’s when i realized i was taken for a ride. so a few things immediately needed to happen:

1. get piano back
2. get money back

so last weekend, went to confront the parents. i had a hunch that matthew didn’t move to grangeford, and i was right. demanded my piano back, had a conversation with parents. the details i’ll gloss over, but suffice to say i wasn’t the only one being cheated of money. got my piano back, thanks to the parents. and right now, waiting for the money. the deadline for that is 1 feb 2008. otherwise i think it’s about time i leave it in the hands of the proper authorities, i.e. the police.

lessons learnt:

1. i’m too nice; too gullible
2. need to be wary of persons asking for money in future

sigh. =)

mom fell and fractured her right thigh bone on last thursday eve.

this was reminiscent of the time two years back when she had a more nasty fall at chin swee area fracturing her LEFT thigh bone. in fact, the doctors were equally amazed/mortified that the x-ray showed the exact same spot being fractured just on a different side.

a few things were considered:

1. osteoporosis – doctors did the same series of tests before but did not find conclusive evidence that osteoporosis was the cause of either fractures
2. drug side-effects – some drugs may have long-term side-effects that can cause bones to become brittle and vulnerable to fracture. in fact, the head doctor heading the team asked at least 5 times whether or not the patient was taking any other drugs/medications that could have contributed to this. answer of course is no.
3. trauma – technically, a simple fall could NOT have caused the fracture of one of the strongest bones in the body. hence, at first, the doctors suspected some foul play, i.e. someone pushing or some abuse or another. they even called in the police to file a report! yea, my mom was amused by then. =)

so right now, still no conclusion. but luckily, the doctors put her operation on priority, so she was op-ed on thursday late evening itself, and already on the mend pending discharge today–dependent on final check up of course.

considering that she’s been relatively active of late (getting more business and such for her financial planning), i guess this is some superpower’s way of imposing rest. =p but jokes aside, i’m hoping she recovers soon too. luckily, there’s been a lot of people showering concern over her making her feel happy.

a big thank you to lloyd, henry, shawn, norman, dick and jason for visiting, sending fruit baskets and well-wishes!