1st day of Yr 2011 - Party !

HAPPY NEW YEAR !
HAPPY BDAY YUXIANG!

We partied our way through the 1st and 2nd day of Year 2011.
Wohoo~ what a great way to begin a year with. haa haa

Day 1 (01-01-11) - A simple celebration @ home
YuXiang is happy to choose his own bdae cake from BreadTalk.


Day 2 (02-01-11) - Song singing & cake cutting @ OH Farms' Yr end party
Feels a bit weird to interrupt OH Farms' company event but...well...at least Ah-Ma is happy to see her great-grand children.
Cake designed by Auntie GeokTin. Sponsored by Huixi and Huimin.
A 3-kg DURIAN, Thomas the train & Cars bday cake !


Pressie missing? Of coz NOT!

1. Chuggington Super Big Puzzle (just 24 pieces only) - from Linda & family


2. Battery operated car Playset - from Bro & XueYan


3. Army Vehicles Carpark Building Play set - from Huixi & GuiLong


4. Pin Ball / Hammering Set - from Vincent (Huixi's gd frend)


and we still have a few more pressies...
coin-eating doggie money bank from Wendy & Jiewen. We have a video on YuXiang & YuKua demo this money bank but not sure if able to post it now.
remote control car from Bro & XueYan...

See, so touching rite... we are a closely-knitted family.
Thank God for that ^_^

Xmas + Bday celebration Yr 2010

We have 2 Xmas party for Yr 2010 !!!

24th Dec - Family Dinner gathering @ dear San Yi's hse
25th Dec - Chen Shi Dao Kins lunch gathering @ junbao / Meijie hse



and then... and then... My Bdae pressie...
this is pressie is all prepared for my studies in Apr 11.

Yr 2010 - Bdae I was working. I thought as one get older, bdae really feels ordinary just like another day. But I prepared gifts in advance for Chen Papa and mama.

My way for showing my appreciation to them for bringing me into this world.
A diamond pendant - Destinee from Lee Hwa for dear mummy.
Yesss... very ex, cost me abt a mth salary but I really wanted her to have at least one in her lifetime. And a goldlion wallet for papa.

I can tell both of them like my Yr 2010 pressie.
So Proud that Yr 2010's gift selection is a BIG success ! hee hee

And speak abt bdae, so luckily that Icing Room has a newly opened @ shop J8 (Bishan).
In conjunction with the opening, the shop has FREE Bade cake for the month of Dec 10.
And yes, yes... I "redeemed" my free bade cake of course... see...who is doing the deco for the cake. hee hee

Our YuXiang surprised us with his growth~

YuXiang saw train set with Bridge and he kept saying he wanted a bridge too. We didnt get one for him of coz and then... He made one for himself. See, nice ...


He also surprised us with his creativity.
Using Mega Block to Deco our Cabinet's knob. See, can't help feeling so proud of this boy. hee hee

Ah Ger is gg back to sch !

oh yes oh yes...
I missed my 13th bonus but SMRT is giving me another BIGGER bonus !

I have received an email from HR Snr Mgr that my application for sponsorship is successful ! and how much is the degree course fee? $18k +++, add gst wld be near $20k.

that becoz there would be a 2 or 3 year bond after completion of study, that would also mean I would be in job for the next 4 years at least. wahaha.

And then for this year's bdae pressie, bro and XueYan gave me a Bag, and a Parker pen set to prepare me return to school. See, how sweet of them. hee hee



Of coz, there are still many things hanging in the air waiting for me to attend to it such as
- ask Desmond frm Safety how the procedure like for applying for sch thrg company
- ask the Kaplan lady for my course timetable so tt i can plan for next year holiday and also to discuss with Marlina on my request for flexi work hours.

So Yr 2011 and 2012 will be a busy busy year.
Jia YOu, Now I have been given the opportunity to fulfil my dream to get a degree cert. Will be challenging for sure becoz there's work and family with 2 young kids. But with supporting family members, I STRONGLY BELIEVE I CAN. YES, I CAN.

Chicken POx Days

Remind me again what's the reason for starting a blog?
Knowing that I have a weak memory power, my supporting spouse suggested I have an e-diary so that I would be able to "answer" all the history queries our boys ask when they are older.

So...
Q: WHEN DO I HAVE CHICKEN POX, Mummy?
A: Yukuan - 28 Oct 10 to 09 Nov 10
YuXiang - 12 Nov 10 to 21 Nov 10

Yes, one after another. And dear mummy took a total of 6 days unpaid infant care leave for this. It's not a feel-good experience for me when I got to know unpaid infant-care leave has the SAME EFFECT as no-pay leave.
The EFFECT is that I'm not entitled to my 13th month bonus this year.
Well, not really grumbling because personally I still prefer not to engage maid services. I believe we can do everything ourselves. We are super parents. and that is of course with the help our family members.

During this end of the year period, some changes to our life...
WE CHANGED our 20-YEAR old WOODY chair set!
let's take a look at the BEFORE & AFTER picture.

Moblisation Exercise

30 Nov 10 @ 3pm ++, hp started beeping...Incoming message read
" [OpsRED2] BPLRT system wide power failure [Update]: RIMP activated. "

But no one in the office moves. I felt weird that I didnt receive the sms for this.
I sms my team leader on the activiation message and his reply message came
" Please report to Choa Chu Kang Mrt stn (CCK) now. RIMP activitated. Thanks"

I jumped into action, shut off my PC and off to take the transport out of office.
By the time I reach CCK at 5:45pm, the service has long been resumed. But we cant go off yet because CCK is our zone area, so we are still on stand-BY.

My zone area: Woodlands to Choa Chua Kang Mrt Stn.
And a moblisation exercise like yesteday ended at 7.10pm when we received sms to STEP-DOWN.

Yes, I am part of the Customer Service Team (CST) and this is one of the many CCAs that I'm doing. My other CCAs include being:
*green office of my dept
*IT coorindator of my dept
*1st aider of my dept
*Internal auditor of ISO 18001 & 14001

The CCAs are all interesting and it opens me to different areas which I would have never explore on my own. However... if they were to eat into my after-office hours, this is something which I am not too willing to compromise.

I am a strong adovcate of work-life balance.

My dream. My Degree Cert.

Date: 23 Nov 10.
It was a tuesday late morning and I was sitting in front of my PC (as usual).
An email came it. It was from Ms Sharon of HR Dept and her mail read
"Congratulations, you have passed through the first level of shortlisting for the LEAP. We will like to invite you for the panel interview that is taking place this Friday (26 Nov), 3.15pm at SMRT HQ, meeting room A2-2."

This is my dream. My Degree cert. (to-be)



My application for my degree course sponsorship successful cleared stage 1. Next is stage 2 and also the final stage - PANEL Interview which comprises of 3 interviewers from Vice President level. VP level is 1 level abv HOD.

(Wide smile) I can't hide my excitement and started sharing this piece of good news with my dear family and a few closer colleagues.
Lots of congratulation & encouragement words from them but deep inside I started to feel nervous about the interview because I know if I'm not well-prepared this time round, I would face the same results 5 years ago.

Seems like back to poly days when I would try to spot exam questions.
I did a few and is pretty satisfed with the answers after edition (with the help of my supporting spouse).

Example? Ok, here's one of them.
Why do you choose the course? How does it relate to your work?
I always have an interest in Business Management and this course will provide me with the appropriate knowledge in this aspect. At the same time, it also provides me a chance in attaining my dream in getting a degree.

Isnt it beautifully answered? (Wide-silly smiley face)
(raise arm) For tomorrow's panel INTERVIEW. Gambete~O !!!