hello from london

it's my first day of work in the london office today

when i checked the weather forecast while still in hong kong,
it said it's going to be sunny and warm for the week.

this morning, when i woke up and looked outside the window, "uh-oh"!
it was raining really hard .....
and chilly too!
good that somotu made me bring along my trench coat.  ^_^
had to ask the hotel for umbrellas
but that wasn't enough, i had to run to Boots to get a pair of panty hose.... 

the hotel we are staying at is very close to the office.
just a 5 mins walk....
and in nice weather, it will be a nice walk too. 
the hotel and the office are on the opposite side of a little river, so i just had to cross a bridge to get to the other side.
the other nice thing was having somotu with me... he walked me to work.... 
i don't get that in hong kong, i mean him walking me right to the front of the office...  it felt good  ^_^

back to my first day of work,
i didn't really do much other than meeting all the colleagues, sitting down with my managers....
my managers asked me to leave at around 5pm....  but i felt bad leaving so early....
i haven't really done anything today!

tomorrow will be the first day of the offsite conference....  so should be packed
then followed by dinner...
somotu will have to be on his own for dinner tomorrow.

and i am missing my babies....

getting ready to fly

one of the few doilies i made recently....
it is in fact the most calming activity, especially when you don't want to use the brain after work...

actually i am thinking of bringing along thread, pattern books and hooks to do some crocheting while on the plane....
haven't made up my mind yet.....  cuz i want to travel light


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

have been quite busy the past couple of days
need to run around to get misc items for the london trip tomorrow
and lots of preparing items and packing things
because i am packing for four!
brownie and sugar, somotu and myself

brownie and sugar's stuff are relatively easy to pack...
but my own took longer...
especially important are my work stuff, notes and contact numbers for the office...
afterall it's my first visit to my new firm in london
getting a bit nervous

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

just now, we drove brownie and sugar to my brother's place
they will be staying there until somotu and i return to home.
though it's been over a year since their last stay,
they seemed to be pretty relaxed when they arrived at my brother's place.
as soon as they "landed", they ran around the house as if it was their own home.
brownie was sniffing around....  and even started playing with his smelly toys as soon as we took them out of the bag.
soon after, sugar was already rolling over, showing her belly, wanting my brother to give her a massage!
sugar is always the shy one, she is extremely shy in front of most people....
so her showing-her-belly-act shows that she likes my brother and ah king! hohoho.....

i hope they won't make a mess!!

oh, and the "marks" left by brownie on the front door during his last last stay were still visible!
i feel so bad, we will need to do something about it when we return!

a happy story

a little vintage novel
i wonder what kind of story, character lie in these pages
i would like to think of it as one with a happy ending

thanks dear....

young ladies

a year and a half ago, the four babies played together
adria holding up brownie, walking around
sasa being kissed all over by brownie.....
the four babies are relatively similar in size

couple weeks ago, the four babies met again
but all is different,
two of the babies have grown into young ladies
wearing pretty floral dresses, with long hair
standing much taller than brownie and sugar...

when i asked sasa (the younger lady) whether she remembers brownie,
she said "NO!" 
!!!????

and when adria was asked whether she would like to play with brownie and sugar,
she shook her head.....

i guess the young ladies have grown out of brownie and sugar
they are no longer interested in brownie and sugar.....  haha

instead of playing with brownie and sugar,
the two young ladies are into drawing now....

lucky i got a box of colored pencils which could occupy their time....
otherwise, i don't think i have anything else in the house to entertain them!

see how sasa is proudly showing off her master piece.
i think the drawing is supposed to be a friend of hers...

and adria being busy drawing non-stop....
she even drew a picture of somotu, brownie, sugar and me....
though somotu asked adria, "how come brownie and sugar look like clouds?"

when i looked at these two young ladies,
i am amazed at how fast kids grow up.....

"big head shrimp"

i was too concentrated at work, reading notes, preparing myself to meet my new managers that i became absent-minded (a.k.a "big head shrimp")....

if it wasn't because of my colleague asking whether i knew the car pickup arrangement at Heathrow Airport upon my arrival on Monday, i wouldn't realize that i haven't printed out the e-ticket and hotel reservation!

then when i was heading home after work, i suddenly realized i haven't exchanged any GBP!  i immediately called somotu, who jokingly said "oh no!".......  "but i exchanged already.... because i know you are silly............"

i am seldom like this....  i hope i won't be forgetting anything else for the trip.....................

do's and dont's

mama is already missing you two.....

but mama knows you two are going to be in good hands....  which gives me some comfort.

while staying over at ah di gor gor and ah king jei jei's place,

please DO:
* behave 
* eat your meals
* sleep when it's bedtime
* what ah di gor gor and ah king jei jei tell you to do

and

please DON'T:
* weewee and poopoo on the wrong spot
* eat the table and chairs like last time - otherwise, you two will need to work and earn $$ to buy new table and chairs for ah di gor gor and ah king jei jei!
* (for brownie) try to escape, thinking you will find mama and papa, by dashing out of the house and into the lift lobby - no, the lift won't bring you to mama and papa.... besides you aren't tall enough to reach the "G" button
* eat ah king jei jei's slippers

one piece of good news for you two though:
there won't be any bathing time this weekend because mama and papa won't have time!
so brownie, no wet-look for your this weekend!!

hand hand & *pat pat*

work

so i have started with my new job

yesterday was my first day,
and surprisingly i got the essentials set up pretty quickly, faster than i had expected.
got my email account up and running,
got my phone set and extension,
set up the voicemail,
even got my name plate which is now sitting nicely on top of the monitor....

today,
i got access to some of the shared drives so that i can start reading documents and stuff.
set up a few meetings with some of the people whom i will be working closely with.
to be honest, i am not great in dealing with people i just met....  hmmm
but it's just something i need to do.

and yes, confirmed the flight and hotel booking for next week.
i will be flying off to london for the whole of next week.
there is an onsite conference for the global team and then i am to meet my direct managers....
finally can meet them in person.... as so far, i have only been talking to them over the phone (even my interviews!)

i need to check what the weather is like over in london

somotu is also going to come along....

my brother and ah king have kindly accepted the "important task"!
the task of having brownie and sugar at their home while somotu and i are away....

it's quite a rush...  so lots to take care before we fly off this weekend.....

i am already missing brownie and sugar.....

a little fan

got a copy of GLASS
because maggie cheung is on the cover

wahaha

look at this


and


look at this

doing nothing

ran around too much the past few days

so i decided to stay home on my last *free weekday*
originally i planned to make some new necklaces and brooches,
but i ended up spending most of the day sleeping zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
woke up once in the morning to feed the babies
then went back to sleep till past 4pm!


shortly after, somotu came home from work....
chit chat a bit, and it was close to 7pm already!


how time flies!


today is a day which i didn't do anything at all....
a bit scary...  usually i need to make myself busy all the time....
somotu said i am not normal....
he said i should sometimes just do nothing... hahahaha


i did do one thing today,
which was yelling at the babies cuz they were too noisy and naughty
i had to make them sit still till i said ok

as usual, brownie is the one who couldn't stand still....
kept sliding his front legs forward and falling asleep while sitting

new stuff

this week just flew by
next monday, i will need to start working again
at a new place, with new colleagues and environment
am starting to get a bit nervous....

yummy laces

got a few vintage slips
love the soft material, delicate lace and details
very different from the ones i find on the street nowadays which are all of the same design.
plus, the vintage ones are usually longer in length not like the new ones...
i guess probably no one is as conservative as me, as i only wear dresses or skirts that can over my knee.
most of the new ones i find nowadays are too short for my dresses and skirts....
yes, i think i am a little old lady....

and this is my favorite one,

tiered like a pretty wedding cake

i think if i find the right top or cardigan to go with it,

it can pass as a dress....

but i haven't made up my mind yet
as i am struggling whether to cut off one tier....
i don't know...

issue 10

got my copy of issue 10 couple weeks ago,

it was the last copy on the shelf,

the shop owner told me he lost the phone book (in which he keeps the names of his customers and their desired magazines) and therefore couldn't call me when the magazine arrived....

if i missed this copy, i would have to wait for six months for the next one to come out

this issue is yummy

because there are models dressed as characters from strawberry shortcake

like blueberry muffin,

orange blossom,

rainbow sherbet,

huckleberry pie

and of course strawberry shortcake!

reminds me of the bedsheet and pillow case i used to have when i was a child....

it was printed with strawberry shortcake and her friends....

i missed those good old days...

when life was simplier and happier

sometimes i wonder,

it's not such a bad idea to live in neverland?

eternal childhood...............

...... and just some more

bare

i am beginning to feel that my zakka room is too bare
yes, there are lots of little things and zakka inside the cupboards and stuff....
but the walls are a bit bare....
apart from the mirror, there is nothing else on the wall....
too white and neat....

i wanted to do something with the wall
maybe hang a garland on the wall,
or put up a few little ceramics birdies on it....
but it will require the hammering of nails into the wall
i have tried to run this idea by somotu
but he didn't really like the idea....
he doesn't like adding nails to the wall....

just like last time, when i wanted to put up the mirror on to the wall,
he asked me zillions of questions.....
i had to insist to get the mirror up.... haha

if i can add a few nails,
i want to make myself a garland full of little hearts in pastel color....
that would make the wall less boring....

rolls and rolls of them

some of the vintage lace i got lately
no, i still haven't got a chance to really sit down and read the two new books on lace i got....
i hope i will have some time to do so this week

i am still thinking how to make use of them....
am thinking of making a bag or some tops....

failed.... again

they didn't dry nicely in the end.....

they were all wrinkled and have shrunken much

it's not the first time....

hmmmm

i wonder what went wrong or what's missing

maybe our home is just not dry enough

sorry busma ~ can't show you nicely dried hydrangea......

last day

around 5:30pm today,
i sent out my "thank you and goodbye" email to friends and colleagues at work.


i was asked many times how i felt on my last day,
how i felt leaving a place where i have spent so much time,
how i felt leaving friends,
how i felt leaving "the best firm"....


frankly,
i didn't have any strong feelings.


possibly,
partly because this day has dragged on for too long,
partly because i do really wanna leave this time,
partly because i am too tired,
partly because there are too many things i need to do or wrap up before i leave,
and
i guess mostly because today is also the day i get "the result" back....


from 5:30pm onwards was a rush....
needed to answer more questions from colleagues,
the phone kept ringing,
kept getting IM and email messages.....


then needed to rush to the other office building to return all the "firm owned items" like the blackberry, access card, business cards, security ID, medical card, corporate card......


*phew*


finally done at 6:30pm


i felt my shoulders became lighter by pounds....

issue #11

from the last issue of the littlething magazine::

issue #12 is out now

it's five am in the morning now
and i couldn't go back to sleep
i was woken up by the lightning and thunder
it reminded me of the night before you left us and joined the land of the fairies and angels
that night, the lightning came through the gap between the blinds
it was sharp and fierce

since that night, i have grown to be afraid of that gap

collector of aged stuff

over the years, i have grown to become a collector of *aged* stuff

be it a vintage watch

or vintage buttons

i am drawn to these things

i find the worn-out look, yellowish accent attractive

to me, these *aged* items are much finer in design and craftmanship than items made in recent years....

i guess that has to do with the world nowadays....

everything is about cost, efficiency and profit reaping

...  which means mass production