Looking Back at 2014

It feels like forever since I updated my blog and its almost the end of 2014. I must apologize for the lack of updates as I have been mad busy. So, here's looking back at what I managed to achieve the past one year.

1. Got a place to call my own and rented one room out. With the rental yield, I managed to get a personal accident, life insurance and an endowment policy for Larissa and myself!

Exactly how I felt when I got my own home

2. Backpacked alone in Hoi Chi Minh for the first time in my life survived a horrible bout of fever during the trip that came out of nowhere and subsided as mysteriously as it came. #didnotdie

 3. Completed the foundation course which is a Certificate in Business Management so I can start on a private diploma in 2015. Not to mention that I didn't do too badly for it. 2 As, 1 B and 1 C. Yeah, I know...only a certificate but still...

4. Completed my first half marathon, the Penang Bridge International Marathon! My timing was crappy though. I haven't ran for more than 7 months and to think that the first run I go for is a half marathon. I wore ill fitted running shoes and two weeks after coming back to SG, there was pus leaking from underneath my toenail and I have to cut the damn thing off.

5. Found partners to start an online business, assisting another in her online business, managing a Facebook group and also starting a forum!!!!

6. I am now in the midst of organizing a major donation drive for a childrens' home as well!

7. Starting picking up make up tricks to make myself look more presentable so this is what I look like now.

It really doesn't feel like much now that I've typed it all out but it has really been a mad busy year for me and I'm looking forward to 2015! I bet you must be wondering about Larissa. We just celebrated her birthday in Penang during my run. Its funny to think that I was just carrying a baby and she has now turned five. Time really flies. Anyway, this is what she looks like now. 

I think that's all for now. Till next time!

A Mother's Nightmare: Hair Lice

On Saturday, I was preparing Larissa for dance class as usual when I noticed something odd. She had white specks on her hair near the roots of her hair.

I felt a little puzzled and decided to do a thorough check when it clicked. Larissa had hair lice. It then dawned on me that her complains of itch on her head is because of these little bastards!

I decided to let her skip her dance lesson and brought her to let my mom check. I recall having had hair lice once when I was a kid and we managed to get rid of it.

After letting my mom check, we confirmed that its hair lice. I went over to the Chinese medical hall and bought a bottle of hair lice lotion. Yeah, they sell it there! Its Malathion Lotion and you can buy it over the counter at any major pharmacy. The medical hall I bought it from was selling a bottle at $7 and Unity Pharmacy sells it at $8 per bottle.

Unfortunately, for the lotion to be applied properly/evenly, it meant that Larissa had to lose her curly long hair. We popped by the hairdresser and had her hair snipped to a short bob. Do note that even with her short bob, we had to use a full bottle of lotion on her hair.

The lotion has to be left on her hair for 12 hours so I applied it at about 6pm in the evening to be left overnight. As malathion is highly flammable, leave it to dry on its own and do not attempt to dry it faster by using a hair dryer. Place a towel under the child's head to prevent staining the sheets.

The day after, I washed her hair with normal shampoo, changed the sheets and brought the used bed sheets to the laundromat near my place.

I used the hot sterilization wash to kill the lice and its eggs. By the way, I also got the lice as we share a bed and had to use the same lotion on myself.

To ensure that the lice are all killed, repeat the lotion 7 days later to kill any other lice that have hatched.

We are now lice free and I have informed her childcare. They did a check on the rest of the kids and none of them had hair lice. Perhaps we are just unlucky and one lice crawled onto our heads. Anyway, having hair lice is not the end of the world. Lice does not spread diseases and are just pretty uncomfortable.

Always make it a point to check the kid's head for lice if they are scratching excessively. :)

Discovering the Arty Farty Side of Me

I have always had my own interpretation of art but I have never really looked into it because I am horrible at art. I mean colors, drawing and sketching that kinda stuff. I can't tell many colours apart and I draw horribly. Anyone who sees what I draw will probably start foaming at the mouth. LOL

This week was a little different. After the very long procrastination, my friend and I visited the Singapore Art Museum and NAFA respectively on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The current exhibition going on at the Singapore Art Museum is titled, "Terms & Conditions".

From the website:

The phrase “terms & conditions” often refers to the fixed set of guidelines at the basis of any official contract or agreement. While these extensive specifications are sometimes overlooked in everyday practice, their implementation can powerfully dictate the representation and interaction between people, entities and countries, as well as set parameters that appear rigid over time. Yet, taken apart, the words “terms” and “conditions” convey fluid and precarious concepts that can, in actuality, be continually negotiated and modified.

Many artists with roots in the Arab world work simultaneously across different geographic, physical and cultural contexts, making it difficult to define and constrain them to specific identities and representations. Their work is thus a result of a variety of techniques, which enables them to navigate and speak within multiple contexts.

Terms & Conditions presents an open-ended debate into how history and social realities are represented, with an emphasis on the Arab world. One of the first Southeast Asian surveys of contemporary art from this dynamic region, the exhibition showcases works by artists with roots in the Arab world. These artists work across different geographic and cultural contexts, and through a combination of techniques, to produce unique artworks that fluidly traverse and defy social identities and representations.

It was interesting looking at all the art pieces and wondering what was the artist thinking when they created it. Do pay the museum a visit since admission is free for Singaporeans. Just remember to bring your NRIC and don't be a goondu like me to leave mine at home. It will cost you 10 bucks for that admission ticket.

Wednesday was NAFA's 75th Anniversary's Opening Ceremony and I just tagged went along with my friend who was invited. *shhhhh*

My friend was saying that the art pieces at NAFA are of a higher caliber and of course, more "deep", which I had to agree. I really had to stand in front of it, stare at it for ages to try and contemplate what is it about. This auntie has got rusty old brain that hasn't been used for quite a while okay...

We also watched a video by local artist, Ming Wong titled, "Angst Essen – Eat Fear". According to my friend, Ming Wong is a pretty famous guy who is known to act all the characters in his movies. As I only watched it partially, I went home and did a search on YouTube to try and find the full movie. Here's the trailer to the movie by him and here's the original full movie.

I still catch no ball as to why Ming Wong wants to redo a movie, acting all characters on his own though. I've tried to read a few articles on him but still no clue. Okay, maybe I'm shallow like that lah.

"Angst Essen – Eat Fear" is about a German woman who marries a Arab man half her age. Due to the fact that he is a lot younger and a foreigner, the woman was viewed as a whore by everyone around her, even her own children who disowned her. Ming Wong's version of the movie made me laugh and isn't as "heavy" as the original. Perhaps he is redoing it to bring the movie to shallow people like me. :p

I also kissed a frog at NAFA!! Local artist, Ezzam Rahman put up a exhibition where we got to fish for a frog from the water and bring it home. Only condition is that we promise to take care of it and we tag our photos on Instagram.

Mad cute right? HAHAH~!

My mom was asking me about the frog this morning and she wanted to throw it away. My reaction, "but mommy, if you throw away my frog, I will never find my prince!" So drama right? By the way, I thought Ezzam is really cute. Oh well. :p

My frog did not turn into a prince though. Maybe there will be a miracle as long as I keep hoping.

Okays, enough for one post now. Till next time. :)