MH370 Unresolved

On 8th of March, I woke up to a trending online news relating to Malaysia. My heart sank.

 Piers Morgan Live On CNN

A Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight scheduled to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing reported missing during its journey. All over the internet, social media and tv, it became top news. A total of 239 pax inclusive of tech crew, cabin crew & passengers went missing with the aircraft. It's a baffling mystery.

from english.astrowani.com

Well, ya, I know... it seems a bit late that I am only blogging about it now since it happened 75 days ago. My Canadian in-laws were here to visit us and esp. to meet our newborn baby when this saddening news came along. I was very affected by it but I had to hold it in as I did not want to pass such negative vibes to my baby and my in-laws holidaying in the UK.


I am affected by it for several reasons. Firstly, I was a cabin crew with MAS and though I do not fly in the uniform anymore, I still do have ex-colleagues that are still with the company. Though none of my batch mates went missing with the plane, the crew on board might have crossed paths with me some time ago. I had a flashback of words by a trainer at the MAS training school, "Never leave home without making peace with your loved ones... you'd never know what happens next". I am sure I am not the only (ex)crew who feels it could have been anyone else going on that plane... it could have been me.


 
Secondly, it's not just a tragedy happening to any nation but to one I am very much a part of. A tragedy of such scale would usually draw the world's sympathy. But it gets personal when it is your tragedy. Your world comes to a halt. For at least a while. To me it is personal because I do somehow feel emotional whenever something good or bad happens to my birth land. 


Lastly, seriously... I did not expect this but a few days into the big search of MH370, a close buddy from my high school told me that the missing aircraft is directly affecting someone we know. My primary cum high school mate, YY, who just got married in December 2013 is devastated that her husband boarded that missing plane. I can only try to imagine how overwhelming it is for her. Well meaning friends on social media were messaging her and trying to console & encourage her. I did nothing to contact her as I do not think it would make her feel any better and I think no one in her position would care much for social networking at that moment.

from thestar.com.my

By day 17 of the search, the Malaysian PM made an official announcement that all lives on the MH370 is deemed lost. I have yet offered any condolences to YY as I do not believe the PM's announcement is valid. It is unfounded. I do not know what to think other than it is a rash conclusion and it is not a proper closure for the families of the 239 missing persons from 14 nations.





During this period, some opportunists took the advantage of the trending news by starting FB pages, publish books (while mystery still unresolved) and create more havoc in the local political scenes - all for their own gain. To my shock, even the entertainment world is making a commotion - Zhang ZiYi suggested people to boycott Malaysia & its products. This led to chinese netizens urging to also boycott innocent Malaysian artistes such as Fish Leong, Gary Chaw, Lee Sinje and Ah Niu.

 

 

I think it got really out of hand when these netizens started cursing Fish Leong and her unborn child. The anger has been wrongly channeled. Sigh. Isn't there already enough pain? Drama indeed! I wonder why they did not highlight the bigger Malaysian names like Designer Jimmy Choo, Actress Maggie Q... or even Actress Michelle Yeoh whom Zhang worked with over a couple of international films (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon & Memoir Of Geisha).

While the world slowly pulls away from this tragedy to another (South Korean Ferry, 276 Nigerian Girls and etc), I am still affected by this one.

 
As of now, I still choose to pray and continue to hope that the 239 people are surviving.

Pray For Mummies

Wishing all mummies, 

Happy Mother's Day.

Saying a prayer 

for mothers of victims of 

#234NigerianGirls, #SouthKoreaFerry and #MH370.

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Bas Sekolah Friends & Pat-A-Cake Games

                             

 It was a lovely sunny weekend. Met up with a good ol' friend from primary school days. We were from different schools but we took the same school bus. 

Photo by Scim 1033 on Pinterest

Together with a few others, we used to play all sorts of silly games & activities on board to while away time during the journey home which coincides with the traffic jams during peak hours. Among the many things we did while the bus was on the move were sinnet weaves for key chains, sharing junk food, pat-a-cake clapping games, thumb wrestling, water guns, exchanging name cards (with a cartoon or an artiste's photo) and autograph books (covers were wrapped in gift wrappers)...

Photo by doyouremember.com

 

and blowing elastic bubbles. There would also be a whole different set of games when the bus stopped at a station for 30 to 60 minutes. 

 

We also had many memorable experiences together - attending the neighbourhood night market for the first time, visiting a famous water theme park, picnics, birthdays and not to mention admiring the cool popular guys always standing at the bus entrance with their fly-away hair.

It seemed interesting when I explained to my parents who I was meeting up for coffee. We had a mini bas sekolah (school bus in malay) reunion. All of us are now working, some married and some with kids. Everyone is still looking good and youthful :)

   

Calligraphy Pays

The mister messaged me from work and asked me if I could do his colleague a favour by doing some calligraphy work for them -  to be used in their presentation to a client. I was thrilled. I immediately said yes. 

This is not the first time I did calligraphy for a company. The first time was when I was commissioned by Van Cleef & Arpels to write the names on dinner place cards for their guests. It was for the dinner launch of the brand in the Malaysia outlet. My eyes widened when I saw the name list which included the King, the Queen, the infamous local stars, tycoons & etc. Felt so honoured to have the privilege to write their names and be seen by them. And some other times, I did calligraphy on invites for my previous employer.


Anyway, the mister came home with this.

 A lovely gesture for helping them out.

 

Yumzer.

This was a demo I showed them. I can do several different types though.

And these were the actual calligraphy done on the special art paper provided.


Well, I know these days the computer has so many type fonts, hand calligraphy is seldom needed and appreciated. But I must say the elegance & the sophistication of the real calligraphy can never be replaced by the rigid perfect strokes of the printed serifs. And it will always be an art appreciated by the aristocrats.







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Origa-Me

These shots were taken in conjunction of my Big 3 celebration.

I enjoyed making this piece of origami gown (made of fabric!) & headpiece. Click here to read and see how I made them.





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Lost & Found

A rare stroll with bubba since confinement.

What was rarer? We found a set of keys by my feet just where we stopped for this pic. Fortunately, there was a Sainsbury Nectar card attached to it. So we handed it to the nearest Sainsbury and suggested them to contact the rightful owner as the membership number on the card would have the details needed. They said they would also contact the police as part of the procedure. A few days after that, I even emailed Sainsbury to ensure the keys would not be ignored and forgotten. I know how inconvenient it could be when one loses keys. I just did last year.



I realized just how beneficial to have a membership card of some sort attached to keys.Without it, the keys would other wise normally be unidentified when found. Unless it is a criminal or special case when they actually bother to run forensic tests and all.






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Baby G's Full Moon

We celebrated Baby G as she turns one month old.

As this celebration is a Chinese tradition, we also made sure we made 

 some red eggs. The egg symbolises fertility and birth 

while the colour red signifies health, happiness and fortune.

 

Both my mother and mother-in-law helped prepare the red eggs 

which were given out to guests who came to celebrate Baby G with us.

 

Our ideal celebration always does revolve around yummy food. So we called for a celebration 

over a dim sum luncheon in town.  It was a lovely time introducing Baby G 
to some friends and family.

We are grateful for the support of our friends that have been there for us throughout the journey. 
Your gifts for Baby G are much appreciated. And your presence and thoughts 
are valued far more than you realise.

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Baby Arrival

 Ta-dah! 

My fluffy little marshmallow a.k.a Baby G is here. 

After 37 weeks + 1 day, I finally got to cradle her in my arms on 7th December 2014.

She just made it to full term and weighed a mere 2.1 kg at birth.

 

 Her feet size in comparison with a regular lip balm :)

 

 This new world citizen slept well during the first two weeks. 

She even smiled and occasionally did silent laughters in her sleep.

My husband and I had to cancel our 6th Wedding Anniversary dinner at an Italian restaurant 

to give way to Baby G. After one night in the hospital, there she was back home with us 

on our anniversary day. What better way to commemorate our union. PTL.

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Wet My Pants

Friday. Winter. Sunny blue sky.

Yup. At 8.30am in the morning, I felt like I wet my pants. Was not too sure if it's that or... my water broke. I did not tell my husband before he left for work. As this was my first pregnancy, everything was new to me.

But somehow by 2.30pm, some very mild sensation tells me I did not just pee in my pants. Though I was home alone, I was not scared at all. I was overjoyed and excited that this special moment was coming. I broke the news to my better half and told him not to rush home but to do as much as possible today for a proper hand over before going on paternal leave from tomorrow (Saturday) onwards. 

Then, I messaged my parents 6,500miles away. My mother freaked out and called me right away. I had to calm her down. She was so surprised I am still so chill. I surprised myself too. Hahaha...

 

I also told several friends that my water has officially broken. Dear S who just gave birth 3 weeks before me, volunteered to chauffeur me hospital for assessment. God bless her. While waiting for her to arrive, I quickly finished my half-packed maternity bag, tidied the house and tried to make sure all baby stuff is ready & in place. Oh, I couldn't help smiling from ear to ear. I couldn't contain my joy.

There I was at the *hospital at 5.00pm. I was on my own and the midwife did the assessment on me. The graph showed that my contractions was very mild and I was told to come back the next day at 7.30am to get induced. I was not pleased with that suggestion.

 

When I got home with the help of another friend, D, it was already dark. This calendar note says the right thing at the right time. 

My husband and I had dinner and exchanged our wedding anniversary gifts (which was supposed to be done next day). We had to cancel our dinner date for our pre-anniversary gift ;)

Before we went to sleep, we had communion with Him and we claimed His truth against fear (which could greatly & so unnecessarily intensify pain even before anything happens). We prayed against induction and I meditated upon His love that drives out fear.

 

We woke up at 4.30am the next day to pray for stronger contractions so that I could reject induction and be allowed VB. By 6.00am, the contractions were close enough to be admitted to *hospital. And again, our friend, D, came at this hour to chauffeur us . PTL.

* In case you wonder why I was still lingering at home since my water broke and returned home after the assessment, it is because the NHS hospital would tell preggers to go home as they do not accept them until their contractions start going strong & consistent.

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About To Pop!

 Counting down to my bubba's arrival. Anytime between now and 26th December, 

I would be cuddling my heartbeat in my arms.

 I hardly look pregnant when I was five months along. 

 

While I furnished the nursery corner, I couldn't resist the idea 

of hand making my bubba a soft toy. 

Hello cloud buddy :)

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Antenatal Classes

Well, I won't have long before my little bubba would be out to greet me. Though the pregnancy has not been an easy one, I have been filled with joy and excitement. It is interesting to watch how my tummy changes shape within seconds as she shifts and rolls. Sometimes gently, sometimes rather painful especially when she kicks my rib cage. Ouch! 

My parents says probably she would love football like her daddy.

As the big day is drawing near, my hubby and I attended two antenatal classes 

and one water birth class. Some things we did in the classes were quite fun.

They handed me an oriental looking baby

during a training session.

Learning the stages of labour.

One type of pool available for water birth. Different hospitals 
or labour centres would have different versions.

Interactive sessions include nappy changing, 
how to massage pregger and ways to manage contractions.

This is a book I have heard about since 15 years ago while I was still a teenager. Towards the third trimester, I began reading this book and claiming God's truth against fear. The prayers in it helped me keep calm and focus on God's goodness and not pain. From it, I learned not to anticipate pain or anything negative but to be positive and to turn my eyes to My Deliverer.  

It is subjective on how much this book really helps respective preggers. In my humble opinion, it depends on how much you believe in it and how determined you are in claiming God's truth. I highly recommend this book.

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70th Birthday

Privileged to have been commissioned by my senior pastor's wife to make a special card for a lady in church.

I love how this lady present herself. She is posh but actually blends well among the congregation. Meek, wise, supportive, a role model. May God enable me to age as gracefully when I am her age.

Crafty Niggles

The gloomy wet season is back. Days like these often make me feel like hiding indoors and cuddle up in my warm duvet.

But thanks to friends that think of me every so often, luring me out of my shell with the lovely all-so-familiar comfort food to melt the blues away.


The pregnancy was challenging with many bouts of nausea, rendering me exhausted. During this period of time, I had put my craft and card making on hold. And since I do not need to be rough with my fingers, I could have fancy nails.

Last year, I had a blog entry about my favourite hues for nails. I admire those crafters that display pretty manicured nails in their tutorials. I for one find it hard to maintain the polished nails as I can be rather mean with my fingers when I cook, wash or craft. Hehehe.





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Precious

Recently, I have just returned to my parents' house and looked through my old stuff. I was on a mission to find an old garment among many other things. Guess what that was?

 

 It was my 1st birthday suit worn in 1984. For many years, it was nicely kept by my mother until sometime during my teenage years, she just decided to hand it to me for my own safekeeping. And guess what again? This lovely suit is now home with me...

 

...as I anticipate the arrival of my little one in just a couple of months time. This very same suit shall be worn by her. And perhaps when my hair turns grey, it would be worn yet again by someone along my line.

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