Singaporeans are queueing again. But this time it's not for collectibles, rather, they are trying/hoping to collect money, if any, from the troubled insurer, AIA. This morning as I stepped out of the MRT station I was received by a long queue of people waiting to get into the building. I thought you only get to witness such a scene on TV... There were people of all ages, races, some casually dressed while others look like they took time off from work. The collapse of Lehman Brothers is a rude shock to many - first thought that came to my mind was, who's next? I hope AIG will pull through this one or you have another pool of jobless folks on the ground. We'll know soon.

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Mom was admitted this morning for her procedure. Sis was with Dad when I called. Mom was wheeled in at 9:30am and they only saw the nurse at about 2pm. Thankfully, everything went well. I remember the last time when Mom had her Angioplasty I was alone. It was a much shorter wait but any wait outside the operating theatre is a long one regardless. Although there's only 1 per cent risk but you don't want to leave it to chance.

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Conversation with the taxi driver on my way home from the hospital.

Driver: Why are you in SGH?

Me: Visiting my Mom.

Driver: Heart problem?

Me: Yes.

Driver: Operation huh? I was a patient of SGH few years ago for 5 days. Doctor wanted me to undergo angioplasty but I refused, and I told her I'm afraid to die...

Me: Oh....

Driver: I started attending medical healing at a church in Tampines St 82 and I've recovered... Won't allow doctors to poke needles into my body, etc. I read some where people die later from too much dye used during the procedure...

Me: .......

Driver: I believe only in Jesus Christ... I believe only in my Jesus Doctor... Want to bring your Mom there? I can help.

Me: It's ok. We're fine.

Driver: Really. I can help. Gimme your number and I can contact you.

Me: Hmmm.... it's ok.

Driver: Believe me. Jesus Doctor can help your Mom.

Me: I'M MALAY, sorry, cannot attend church service/healing

....... silence........

911... A day to remember for all...

For everything there is a season,

And a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate,

A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The same day Champion and another ex-colleague, ML celebrated their birthday. Apparently it's the first time Champ is in town for his b'day hence we made an effort to throw him a party - 2 to be precise; lunch & evening drinks. I can tell he is one happy person that day and it's the least we can do for him. One of the guests commented that a good leader has followers, and I would like to add, "A good leader inspires, influences and motivates people to achieve constructive change. They make a difference and facilitate positive change." I was too shy then to voice my views, rather I choose to pen it here.

The latter part of the party was equally fun. The evening saw bouts of ideas, suggestions and jokes being shared and exchanged across the table. Although it was all fun there had to be ONE dull moment. Because when asked for his opinion he had this to say, "It's for me to know and NOT for you to find out"..... There you have it, another Flipper moment.

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On another positive note, I scored High Distinction for one of my individual assignment. I'm still basking in the joy of the news. Thanks Sis! You were there when I needed help (to login to the portal). You made my evening.

It's Ramadhan month again. We "break fast" at Charsiew's kampung on Saturday. Before that Hubby & I made a trip to Kampung Glam @ Jalan Sultan to get some food. Compared to Eunos it's about one ninth of the former's scale and what was disappointing was I didn't get to eat Ayam Pecek. Nevertheless, we made 2 food discoveries, a nasi padang outlet - Sabar Menati Restaurant on No. 48 & 50 Kandahar Street. They are known for their beef rendang. It was indeed good but a tad salty for my liking. FYI, Anthony Bourdain was one of their many celebrity customers. The other (can't remember the name) is best known for their tulang but we didn't get to taste it yet. Akan datang.

Sumptious spread. Charsiew prepared 2 dishes, Ayam Masak Merah & Fish Sambal.

My all time favourite - Petai

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It's been some time since we caught up with Chee Meng & Bee Kuan. We take turns to buy dinner. This time it's our turn to pick up the tab and it was at the House of Lobster @ Simei ITE. We were busy chatting and eating away and forgot to snap photos, but still manage to take a shot of their house specialty, Lobster porridge - picture speaks a thousand words. The broth is so flavoursome that I will finish every drop of it, nvm if I'm already filled to the brim. Unfortunately, they have closed the outlet at Simei (Sep 7th to be exact) and will focus on the other surviving branch @ Woodlands ITE. I wonder why choose to open outlets in ITE? Cheaper rent? For sure you won't find many students lunching there.

'Worries go down better with soup' ~ Jewish Proverb

Pampering Moments

Hubby's long awaited new 'home' for his camera and lenses finally arrived.

My long-awaited new 'home' for my un-ironed clothes.

And finally..... I got my hands on the iphone, with compliments from Hubby *Muack*. Still trying to get use to its functions but it's a pretty cool phone though, minus MMS function.

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Was suppose to get my phone pouch from epicentre @ Wheelock but they closed early today. It was still a fruitful trip nevertheless as we had our dinner at Shashlik, L6 of Far East Shopping Centre. It's a long-standing restaurant managed by Hainanese elders aka Hai Nam Ah Kor. Food was not too bad - a bit expensive though - but don't expect great service. When I asked the waitress which of their soup does she recommend and her reply was 21-25, which is all that's listed on the menu. Anyway, our order was ab fab!

Will I go back there again? Maybe. Rating: 3/5

This is item #21 - Borsche (sp?) soup made up of cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, with a dash of sour cream. Doesn't look appetizing, not until you've had our first sip.

Shashlik Steak with Russian Salad (boring & served seperately so not in the photo). The meat was lightly seasoned with salt & pepper, no frills. Hubby had the Garlic Steak which I thought was not that great.

An Eventful Week

Thursday

Sis sms to says Mom is experiencing chest pain. I packed up immediately and left for A&E at SGH. Papa was alone as Sis had an event that day. Remember the last time we were there was about 5 years ago when Mom had her first mild attack. Anyway, doctor did all the tests and ascertain it was another seizure. It has been twice lucky as both times Papa was with her.

I've never spent so much time in A&E. We waited... and waited... and waited... and the by the time Mom was wheeled into the observation ward it was past 8pm. Staff nurse told me they were experiencing a high number of adminssions for cardiac cases that day plus all the wards are full so we have no choice but to wait.

Saturday

Mummy was happy because she can be discharged. Did all the paperworks and headed home. But this is not the end as she is due back on the 16th for Angioplasty.

Shortly after dinner I received another call from Sis to say that Mummy's not well. She looked horrible with swollen eyes, redness all over and at one point, went into a seizure. Luckily Papa and Sis were home. Doctor said Mummy was distressed with her condition that her BP level dropped significantly. This time, she was diagnosed with food allergy and the culprit is prawn. So going forward no more prawns, period.

I'm quite impressed by the service level at TTSH, although more could be done at the screening area as they are obviously under staffed. Admission was pretty swift but wait for the on-call doctor was looong... saw him only at 1am. Young chap who can't even say the medication in full. He asked if there was any Med and for a while I was thiking what Maths?!!! Sorry lah, after all the saga I really can't think straight. And the parting words were, "Cool. Your mom is fine...".

"The groundwork of all happiness is health" - Leigh Hunt

Of Mergers & Acqusitions

PLANET FITNESS IS NOW TRUE FITNESS!

What a pleasant surprise. Why? Because I've been contemplating a move to a yoga focused outfit as I've not been visiting the gym for many months now - Hub said - sacarstically of course - I'm a philanthropist.

Anyway, with this news, I'm looking forward to workout sessions again especially since one of the many perks is the facelift and upgrade of all 6 fitness centres. Plus, I get complimentary passes to True Yoga. *wink*.

Flipper aka CMI is out till Wed and potentially Friday. YES!!!

Charsiew, Isa & Evan were over for dinner last nite. Dinner was a simple fare of Sukiyaki beef & chicken. Couldn't find Sake so had to substitute that with H2O and 2 pieces of Royal Honey Choya plums and the outcome was pretty good. Charsiew packet home some tanghoon and vegs. Smart move as that is the best part of Suki as the noodles has all the goodness of the essence infused in it. Would be perfect if there were more ingredients to go with it. Dessert was of course pancakes with vanilla ice-cream, mandarin oranges & blueberries. But my dear Isa said she doesn't like blueberries.... We had a good time and I think they did too ; )

Popped by the new wing of Downtown East for a quick bite at Super Dogs. You have to try their fries, it's just the way I like it, other than crisscut fries from Carl's Jr. Their burgers are good too. In a matter of 40 mins we had our lunch, bought my loaf of bread from prima and picked up some groceries from NTUC. Just when we'e run out of ideas on makan ideas on a lazy Sunday afternoon, we found the place.

'We think fast food is equivalent to pornography, nutritionally speaking'. ~Steve Elbert