My Humble Abode - Redecorated.

My home in 2007 to 2008. That was the first major renovation. The walls were painted Apple White, which gave a greenish hue, and gave me a heart attack when I first saw it. Just last year, I loved it because mint became my favourite colour. But then, when the Scandinavian Nordic white and clean lines took over, it was time to repaint and redecorate the house again.

See the greenish hue?

Just before repainting.

Our new dining area. The mirror made a significant difference to the brightness and size of the area. And mirrors are said to be good for feng shui because it reflects the food on our dining table, which means we double our abundance...and errmm also waste. So we are will not waste food now. See the positive effect?*grin*
We used Nippon Brilliant White 1001 Odorless Paint. It was REALLY odorless, and very easy to remove if you get them all over the floor or on your body/clothes.

That beautiful Chinese calligraphy on the piano is made by my talented colleague. I feel so peaceful and joyful.

 And to this room where I spend 6-7 hours a day unconsciously...heheh.

BEFORE.

There used to be a dresser here, but it was revamped and used as a desk for Darren now.

AFTER.

 11 things in this photo are from IKEA. You know me.

Snapshots around my nest...

Made this bolster cover from this very adorable fabric I bought from Etsy's luckyshop0228.

An additional art decor piece. The horse's legs match the Chinese character, yes?

I feel like I've arrived...

Dresser To Desk

Darren requested for a 'homework table' because his brother has one. Since he is starting school, I thought of revamping my old dresser and make it as a desk. 

This is my first furniture makeover! 

First we had to sand off the shiny layer of veneer in order for the new paint to be applied on it.

These were the different sandpapers I tried. The finer ones worked better.

 Then I applied a pre-coat or primer, in two coatings. At this point, I went "What was I thinking.." but Darren was all excited and anticipating his new desk. How could I disappoint the little guy.

Second coating of primer.

Finally, after 2 coatings of paint! NOT BAD!!! I love the result. Bu the paint smell was still lingering and it took a week before I moved it in. I also placed a couple of potted spider plant on it because it is known to purify the air efficiently.

Worth it!

Gunung Pulai and Kukup Trip

On Christmas Day, we went close to nature... forest, hills, streams and the sea. Pao ka liao!

There are apparently Gunung Pulai Pekan Nenas and the Gunung Pulai Kulaijaya. The latter is closed to public. 

Quite an easy hike. The ground was wet and a bit muddy when we were there.

We saw this beautiful flora growth on the rocks. 

This looks harmless, but really it is very steep, and we all went down it like a pro.

Children-friendly stream.

Small Johor towns typically look like this, defined by rows of shophouses. Yep, that's a town alright!

Kampungs.

Fishing kelong in Kukup.

Nothing changed. Same old same old. The spitting fishes were still there but some dunggus were FEEDING them bits of ikan bilis (of the lowest grade). I was like "Why in the world did you do that, NOW they won't perform their super sharp sniper spitting skills for you!" Those guys are scarily accurate.

So, kids, STOP feeding the spitting fishes, ok? Until next time!

The Flower Dome @ Gardens By The Bay

I brought my mom, and the boys to Singapore to celebrate Christmas and her birthday. It was eve of Christmas Eve.

My plan to have buffet lunch at Basilico tak jadi due to delays at the Woodlands checkpoint. Issshhh. You see, my momma loves parma ham and Basilico is recommended for its buffet lunch because they have one of the best parma ham there.

We went to Vivo City first instead, for a late lunch at Sushi Tei. So during lunch, I was already planning for dinner. I called Pollen, a restaurant at Gardens By The Bay that grants diners entrance to Flower Dome for free. Fully booked!

Panic.

Called Basilico, praying they have a table for dinner. Oh thank goodness, they have one, AFTER 8pm. No problem! After our late full lunch, I doubt we'll be hungry at 7pm.

Did a bit of shopping at Vivo, and off we went to Gardens By The Bay.

Did you know if you'd keep your mouth shut and purchase tickets at the counter, you'll be charged local fare by default? I did not keep my mouth shut, and was charged foreigner's fare instead, which is slightly more expensive *facepalm*

OK, fine, we're here for a good time, yes?

Here are some pictures if you'd like to see. Christmassy and all.

There were fake snow that felt incredibly soft and real. I was told it's the same absorbent material in diapers. Ohhhh....

It is pretty cold inside the dome. Does the cold make you run all the time? I think it does because half the time, my boys were running like what old folks say, "Just come out from jail"

And there's this region where they feature a lot of succulents and cactuses. My favourite!

Prettiest Christmas tree I've seen this year.

Then to Basilico at Regent Hotel. Oooo, quite the 'atas'.

Daniel's fee was half, Darren dined for free. He ate ham and cream cracker sandwich, so cute.

On the way back, we passed by half of Orchard Road and saw the decorative lights outside ION and Tangs. I felt so contented and thankful for our day. My heart just welled up inside!

Thank you for this wonderful day :)

Where Was I

Josie, my trusty helper went back to the Philippines for 3 whole weeks. So I had 3 whole weeks too, during Christmas, New Year and the first 2 weeks of 2015. Thinking back, we did a LOT of things!

I brought my mummy dearest and the boys to Gardens by the Bay, and dined at Basilico.

We walked Gunung Pulai and Kukup.

We went to Kidzania (the husband and the boys) and IKEA (just me, OH THE JOY).

We went to the Doraemon's 100 Secret Gadget Expo at City Square.

Darren officially starts kindergarten.

I made my new IC.

We went to Legoland. I realized our annual pass is expiring this Feb, so we'll be going again..and again...and again...

And.............................

We repainted and redecorated our home. I feel so at peace now!

Happy 2015!

Mummy Sleep With Me?

Daniel is going to be 10 this year, and he still make the 'sleep with me?' request at bedtime.

And almost always, I gave him an unfavourable response. I would immediately and naturally put on the mad look that conveyed "What the... I am tired and I still have so many things to do, YOU THINK I'M SO FREE AH!" message.

And every time I tell him "No, go sleep", my heart crushes but my body is dying to go back to my own bed to retire for the night.

What happened Ally. I feel so disappointed in myself. From the start, even as a newborn, he'd want me to lie down beside him as he falls asleep. It was rewarding many times but there were times I felt I wasted hours away just lying there, just waiting for him to doze off while thinking about the unfinished laundry, the unwashed dishes, the unswept floor, the undone everything. It also meant I could only sleep later, and that meant I would be more tired. Imagine this on a daily basis! How not to feel mad. I had wished he could understand me when I said "Can you just give me a break tonight?"

All those bedtime clingy years passed, and now, though he is not so clingy anymore, which is healthy, he'd still long for that bedtime accompaniment. And I want to have our bedtime rituals, I want to share secrets and talk about our day and I want him to tell me about his inner most feelings.

However, I don't know how to really explain this little voice inside me, it feels like my instincts are telling me to gradually let go and let him grow into a man now. Which means no clingy needy lovey dovey cuddly mushy kissy huggy nights. I don't mean cutting it off totally, but rather cutting down the frequency.

This reminds me to start preaching him on finding his spiritual self. Or is it something you naturally discover by yourself? Whatever comes naturally, I will still cherish our bedtime rituals until he doesn't want me on his bed anymore...

*sob*

This article woke me up.

How to Email A Busy Person

Taken from here.

How to E-Mail a busy person.

While I don’t really like to consider myself as a busy person, but with an average of 200 E-Mails I receive a day (not counting social/promo emails),
I do have troubles catching up with everyone while still trying to get work done at the same time.

I pride myself in answering every single E-Mail I get as long as it’s not a mass E-Mail. I do this since many years, but I learned that this isn’t a scaleable solution.

Here is what I personally learned — And remember, it’s not about ME answering your E-Mail, it’s about YOU getting what you want by using smart tricks.

1. The elevator pitch

Whatever you’re writing about, begin your E-Mail with a short summary explaining what this E-Mail is about. Don’t do the “How are you, I’m fine whatever” bullshit small talk. I know it’s hard because we don’t want to sound rude, but it’s more rude to steal someones time with just throwing around words. Write a clear action oriented intro, if you need to add details they should be optional to read.

Try to not talk too much about yourself — Just add a link to your bio online if you want to add some extra credibility. (which does help a lot)

2. Say what you want

Write what you want upfront, then go into details if needed. Trust me, busy people appreciate nothing more than this. In case you write a non-busy person this rule might not apply and you begin with some irrelevant small talk trying to be polite — That’s great, but doesn’t work here.

Be friendly and polite but get to the point and say what you want. If you don’t actually want anything, just put FYI in the subject line but don’t expect a reply.

3. Don’t try to score on the first date

There are a few things you might want to achieve when sending an E-Mail. You’re either trying to establish a connection, or you try to get something specific. While I strongly encourage getting to the point and say what you want upfront, it’s important to know that there’s a fine balance and always two sides of the coin.

Trying to score on the first date is dangerous, it can ruin the whole relationship immediately. If you want something, first tell me WHAT and then tell me WHY this is beneficial for both of us. This is of course a case by case example, but trying too hard on the first date is not the same as saying what you want upfront. Busy people are usually willing to help without getting anything in return, but they do expect some WHY to do the effort.

4. Format your E-Mail

Don’t send a wall of text. Use breaks and format your E-Mail properly so it’s easy to digest. Most E-Mails that don’t get a reply are horribly formatted and a pain to read. Chances are high you won’t get a reply to an E-Mail that is not formatted at all.

5. Use numbers

Every time I reply to E-Mails I take them apart and give key sections of the E-Mail numbers, as I do in this article. It takes me a lot of time but helps the recipient to digest and get back to me in the same fashion which then saves me time in return. With that I give clear action steps. If you send me numbers back, I can easily reply to 1,2,3 and boom done!

This is one of the most important tricks to get E-Mail done for me. Don’t make me format YOUR E-Mails, just so I can reply to them. The easier you can make it for me, the higher the chances that I reply with exactly what you’ve been looking for — And isn’t that what you want?

I don’t think E-Mail sucks, but the way we write them does.
We need to fix the problem at the source.

6. Send it again.

I do this too. If you haven’t received a reply in more than a week, copy the same E-Mail and send it again. Don’t add more things to it or ask me if I got the E-Mail or why I didn’t reply. Just send the same E-Mail again. Every time someone does this I’m very thankful because it either serves as reminder, or sends me the E-Mail again I might have overlooked.

It’s not rude to send exactly the same E-Mail again (you might even optimize the intro part or subject line) — But it’s rude to reply on your own E-Mail asking me why I haven’t replied. Why? Because then I need to find the original E-Mail with no context which will delay the reply even further.

7. Don’t send NDA’s

Please do not send secretive E-Mails with NDA’s attached about this new awesome cutting-edge thing you’re working on but can’t talk about. There is just nothing actionable we can do here. Remember, busy people are not sitting bored at home waiting for random NDA’s to sign — If it’s a really important project, there are other ways to get the message through.

8. Question to ask Question

Sending an E-Mail with the question if you can “pick my brain” to ask me even more questions. What do you expect me to reply? Send questions through right away if you want answers (and use numbers, see Nr. 5)
If you plan to ask 10 questions but know I might be overwhelmed, send me 5 right away and the other 5 after I replied. It’s important to get to the point, but at the same time not overwhelm the person on the other end.

9. No bullshit office jargon

If you write something like “holistic high level overview of potential synergies using cutting edge technologies” my brain is already dead before I can hit the reply button.

“Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.”
—John Lennon

10. Use a GIF & be funny

You can’t believe how much a funny GIF helps. Everything that makes me smile is a bonus. Time I enjoy wasting, was not wasted.

One of my favorites.

_____

These are my learnings & how I try to write E-Mails myself as well whenever I approach people who I identify as busy. I believe E-Mail is as great as the people who write them. The known problems we face with E-Mails are because of the way they’re written (or written at all), not because of the technology.

If you enjoyed this article, feel free to share and/or follow me on Twitter.

Thanks for reading,
Tobias

Taobao Spree

Again!

And fabric!!

This time, I engaged the forwarding services of eazyla - easy to navigate, reasonable fees and I was able to pay by paypal. Only thing is that they don't check your goods when they arrive at their warehouse, maybe it's because I didn't request for it. But if you do, perhaps they will inspect the quality of the goods first.

Ok enough, Ally!