Longest. Break. Ever. (or not...)

Today is my last work day - I fly off to Singapore next Friday (yaaay! can't wait!!), and am going to take a few days to just rest, pack, and make sure I can put as much in place as possible before I head home (e.g. need to get translated versions of our Chinese marriage certificate notarized at the Embassy here so that they can be recognized for use in Singapore for whatever purpose)...

I'd already started packing my work station and handing over my work a few weeks back, so there really isn't anything particularly outstanding to do on my last day. I got some really sweet well wishes from fellow colleagues when I sent out my mass email farewell note (not strictly a farewell, since I will be back at work in April 2009 - April Fools', no less!).

The total duration of my 'break' from work is seven months - this marks my longest 'holiday' of any kind since I embarked on my work life some eight years ago, though a colleague reminded me that having a baby would not be a 'break', but be the start of a hectic life. No doubt, and I'm looking forward to this life-changing experience/role!

When I got into work today, my colleague had left me a nice note and a pair of pink booties/jumper suit - Rosabelle's first pair of shoes/clothing, how cute! Tonight, Wayne and I will be heading out for a farewell dinner with my team members... I hope enough of them hang long enough to be around when I am back next year, but I know they are in the good hands of some great team leads I have around...

Well, given that I will not be in the office from next week, I might not be posting blog updates as diligently as I do now (am afraid the workholic in me will be tempted to start checking on work-related emails once I get online at home, haha!), but do continue to stay tuned on our progress!

P/S: Time really flies. We were having dinner with Tim and Vanessa last night - it dawned upon me that Vanessa is going to deliver NEXT MONTH, and I'm going to follow shortly after. Sheesh, you can never be too prepared, can you? I'm going to just crash-course through with my Mum and Sis on all-things delivery and baby care-taking when I get back to Singapore...

A hairy case of bad Freudian slip

A Director-level from the EU arm of a certain PR agency sent a note to his global colleagues (with HQ head honchos/management included, I assume), asking for help in sharing input for a new business they were pulling together.

The email header read: "Any gorilla PR tactics?" (Hmm...were they going to pitch to WWF, or maybe a local zoo? But wait, this company does not do any animal-like Clients...)

The contents touched on the 'hairy monkey subject' with: "Can you let me know if you have any good examples of gorilla tactics that you've discussed or implemented for any of your clients?... are looking to build a series of new and different gorilla tactics...".

It dawned upon many on the recipient list that this Director was referring to "guerilla" tactics. Somebody in their US office was 'kind' (or not) enough to hit the 'Reply All' button, with no input into any 'guerilla' (or 'gorilla') tactics, but with just a picture attached as below. This brave Account Executive left his contact details as well - I'm not sure how much flak he's going to get from his bosses for putting down a Director-level in the EU office (or it could be the case of them seizing the opportunity to take the 'EU versus American English' spate to another level...).

In any case, I give the American Account Executive top marks for bravery and sarcasm, and zero to the EU Director, whom I'm sure is reeling over from being humiliated badly - on a global level. Ouch.

This is NOT supposed to be so darn funny

Spotted on TV yesterday (a show reminiscing the hot hits of Leslie Cheung) -- MTV of his hit 'Monica' (I can only assume the eyeshadow-no-need-money girl with the triangle fizzy hair is the protagonist in question... how...alluring.)

What is with the leotards? Leopard-print leotards, and neon leotards at that?

What is with the wriggling/electrocuted-dance step?

What is with the Maggie noodles hair-do?

What is with the male breakdancers (one looks like a construction worker with his out-of-step sequence)?

What is with the chopping-tree action they all do during the chorus?

And here we girls go moaning about why somebody like Leslie Cheung wants to turn gay (when the women in his MTVs who are trying to 'seduce' him all look like that)...

I had a good laugh, and then I think - well, it's all forgivable - this MTV was filmed in 1984, so the balloon and Powerpoint-like effects, along with all the fashion faux pas, are all acceptable, really. But still, I'm sure this MTV was not meant to be so hilarious...

Killing trees... and everything else

Grrr.

In my last week at work (last day's this Friday, hurray!), I am inundated with finding out the various to-dos/documents I'd need for:

• getting back into China after my work permit/visa expires in end-Dec - this involves a series of steps, organizations, as well as me having to get started on preparations at least 6 weeks in advance... (don't get me started on why it's taken so long for my company to get the extension of their Beijing office company permit beyond end-Dec in place)
• getting Rosabelle back to China in line with my above
• Wayne's papers in Singapore for him to stay for the five months, as apparently a work permit will not do given he does not get salary in Singapore... (ask his HR, you say? heh. hehheh. hehhehheh.)

Looking at the various websites and liaising with the various entities (Singapore embassy in China, Chinese embassy in Singapore, Ministry of Manpower, Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority... and being put on hold for a full 15 minutes before I got to speak to a non-machine for the last one).

Do the government leaders in both countries know what they are talking about when they say they welcome foreign talent, or when Singapore talks about attracting Singaporeans back home (without their foreign spouses, maybe)?

Not to mention the amount of forms we need to fill in, the different visits we need to make, and the trees we are killing with the amount of paperwork (copy+original blah blah blah) we need to submit.

Enough. Grrr.

Bad back, back home, and going back

Poor Wayne is suffering from a mysterious onset of bad back - he only starting feeling the pain late yesterday afternoon, and had to take time off work to see two doctors today - of whom diagnosed him with a bad spinal ache, and also that he could have worsened an existing condition with bad posture/recent exercise. He has been given three full days of medical leave! Hopefully, the doctor's medicines can alleviate the pain, and it does not worsen further (we have friends whose conditions are so bad they are permanently hunched as they cannot straighten their necks/backs due to the pain - yikes!). I also suspect it got aggravated with his recent visits to the blind masseuse parlour in our neighbourhood (nothing sleazy), though Wayne swears by it...

Before he experienced the pain, Wayne and I went for my 30 week routine check-up at the hospital yesterday morning. This time round, I took a heavier breakfast of two toasts+milk since my glucose level was too low in the previous visit, and as I needed to fast for my two-hour glucose reading. Since there was also a trace of protein in my previous urine sample, I also took a urine sample at home after ensuring I had a good wash-down so as not to taint the specimen (haha, oops... too much info!!!). My two-hour GTT this time round was a healthy 6.6, so doctor advised I maintain such levels of breakfast intake, but there was still a trace of protein in my take-at-home-urine-sample, so guess I need to monitor closely when I get back to Singapore.

Since it was our last trip to Amcare Hospital (as my next check-up due in two weeks would be back home in Singapore's KK Hospital), we took the chance to ask our last few questions with the local doctor:

• Q: Is there any basis to what the trainee Chinese physician had told me about cutting down on cooling stuff (Yin types)? (A: No such sayings in Western medicine.)

But Wayne thinks there is still some truth somewhat, so moderation is key lah!

• Q: I at times feel baby kicking more when lying on my sides - is it because I am pressing on her? (A: You could run into the danger of pressing onto the umbilical cord, so just shift positions if she's kicking more actively than usual. Monitor carefully and go to the hopsital if after a bout of violent kicking, the foetal movements do not resume a normal level.)

Yikes, I was so conscious of my sleeping position last night as I wanted to make sure I wasn't hurting Rosabelle! However, it's been really uncomfortable sleeping flat on my back now (which I have to do when doing simple stretching exercises) - I can feel my chest area becoming heavy (NOT to be confused with being heavy-chested), and feeling short of breath.

• Q: I've heard of side effects from taking medication before getting on the plane. Will it affect baby's oxygen levels? (A: Nope. It's safe to take such medicine.)

We also did our last ultrasound of Rosabelle in China at the check-up yesterday (no photos this time round as our girl's face was closely adhered to the placenta, and she refused to face the screen, haha!). But according to the doctor, everything is in order, and she is actually bigger than predicted by my LMP - calculating with the latter, she should be 29 weeks 4 days old, but according to her size, she is a full 6 days ahead at 30 weeks 2 days. Wowee... she is growing fast and strong, attagirl!

She now weights 1,464 grammes (how cute is that?!), and doctor also remarked that the length of her thigh, at 6 cm (how cute is that as well?!) is quite long - good girl, go take after Daddy's height! We also caught sight of a sequence of her opening and clutching her fingers closed (think the action you do when singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars')... (again, how cute is that?!).

Well, Rosabelle and I have been given a clean bill of health to get on a plane in two weeks' time, and we also made copies of our case file so that I can share with the doctor back in Singapore. Thank goodness I've been rigorously taking my own notes after each session, so it's a case of summarizing key findings/concerns (or I'd just faint from having to translate all the medical reports/terminologies from Chinese into English!).

After the check-up, we went for a magnifique, oh-so-wonderful lunch at WISH restaurant in the area (slightly pricey by China standards, yes - about SGD60 for two persons), but our ordering of a divine pumpkin/cod soup (below pic) + beef (below pic) + mashed tofu + kailan + cheese dumplings + signature chocolate cake was all... so.... good. Yummy... and it helps that the service was good (attentive, but not imposing - i.e. not the kinds that whip your plates from under your nose when you are putting that last morsel of food into your mouth), and the ambience was nice... Good food, coupled with good service, always make me really happy, heh! Will try to make another trip there to try out other tempting foods on the menu before we head back!

Succumbing

I. took. my. third. serving. of. ice. cream. in. a. week. Today. A Meiji treat creamy chocolate a colleague bought for all of us.

I had Haagen Daazs on Monday.

And a Dairy Queen cone on Wednesday.

Bad mother, bad mother! STOP!!!

(If you aren't aware of why I shouldn't be taking so much ice creams, other than the fact that 3 treats of ice-cream a week is already in excess by normal standards, for normal people, much less for a preggie lady... you can read more here.)

Yin Yang - cool, or not...

There are two Chinese medicine students who are in our office this week, with some cool gadgets that have attached tendrils/pods to be stuck onto various muscles on your body to alleviate shoulder/back/leg (etc etc) pain. They (the students, not the gadgets) can also take your pulse/blood pressure and advise you of any health conditions. Cool!

As I am not allowed to do massages of any sort during my pregnancy, I decided to let one of them take my pulse (another pregnant lady in the office told they can diagnose the sex of the child from the pulse) - he indicated I have cold/clammy hands (my hands/feet get cold easily, whilst the rest of my body remains very hot/heaty).

I was happy to hear that baby's healthy, and he confirmed it's a girl - hah! - but he said I should take less cooling stuff (e.g. watermelon, pears, ice cream, cold drinks), as it might make Rosabelle have cold hands/feet like me, and make her suffer from menstrual cramps in future. Hmmm... from now on, no more ice creams and cold drinks for me (might even need to cut away my daily cup of Manuka honey)! He said that baby girls are naturally 'yin', and I should then take note to cut down on such 'yin' types of food, so as to strike a balance. Well, according to these websites, I should eat less of the following foods then (classified as 'yin'):

Almonds. Apple. Asparagus. Bamboo. Banana. Barley. Bean curd. Bean sprouts. Beer. Broccoli. Cabbage. Carrots. Celery. Clams. Corn. Corn flour. Crab. Cucumber. Duck. Eels. Fish. Grapes. Honey. Ice creams. Lemons. Mushrooms. Mussels. Oranges. Oysters. Peppermint tea. Pineapple. Salt. Shrimps. Spinach. Strawberries. Soya beans. White sugar. Tomatoes. Water. Watercress.

I love deep-friend stuff, which is 'yang', so good news for me then? Haha! But hmmm... lesser water? Goes against all my anti-water retention measures, and the Chinese medicine student told me I should drink more water (albeit not cold water)... Lesser bananas? What about constipation problems faced by pregnant ladies? Lesser bean curd/broccoli/fish/oranges? But I thought they are great sources of nutrients!

Guess Wayne sums it all up very aptly when he said "Aiya! Baby's already 7 months, it's too late to change anything now - so long as you are happy, can eat what you want lah!"

True, true... but I had my dose of Haagen Daaz and Dairy Queen ice cream this week, and I don't think I will be touching ice cream/cold water for some time to come... just to play it safe, heh!