Brunei Life « JEWELLE TAN

Beach Dream

After the many activities my daughters had the past few weeks – on some days, having to ferry them to school back and forth so many times in a day – it’s amazing that the calender still says February!

With the kind of schedule my daughter has being involved in just TWO extra school activities, one thing is for sure – working mothers will go nuts being expected to drop everything at a moment’s notice to accommodate their practice and rehearsals.

At this stage of my life, I don’t have a life- beyond being ready for anything when it comes to what their activities demanded. Fellow mothers whose kids are in the same boat practically live in school on some days!

I shudder to think what it will be like when the other two start to get their teachers’ attention.

It’s STILL a month away from the next school holiday – but honestly, my mind is already on a beach somewhere, lazing around and happy that I could ignore some indoor tanning lotion reviews because I will getting a proper tan – even if what I need to be is at least two shades fairer!

17Feb

Driving Around Day

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One of the thing my husband and I enjoy doing is to drive around unknown neighborhoods.

We like to discover parts of town we are not familiar with and the kids simply love to be on a drive as long as their movie is on.

Fortunately we have a car nearly as big as an RV without having to endure hefty rv insurance – with enough space for everyone to stretch but without the parking issues that big vehicles like RVs entail! It’s not one of those luxurious vans with automatic sliding doors but it is spacious enough for the kids and windows big enough to give unobstructed outside view.

But this car is just an added bonus. Even with our regular 5 seaters, we enjoy driving around too.

Besides, at my kids’ age, going places take too much effort and there are times when we just wanted to go out without the stress of handling 3 very different needs and wants.

08Feb

Short Escapade

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There was a line in Adam Sandler’s movie “Bedtime stories” where he said that if a hotel is too much like home, one might as well just stayed home.

And I understand that perfectly.

It’s not that we want to escape home – but home comes with many responsibilities and there are times when we just want to forget those responsibilities for a short while.

Apparently, my daughter understands that part of me well too now as she explained why our recent Miri holiday was a good thing – “Mama will get to rest and she can watch TV or read her books. If she wants anything, all she has to do is call Housekeeping“.

But she was right actually – to some extent. There were many things I did not have to do although it also meant that I had to be extra vigilante about making sure that their physical and verbal energy and exuberance do not get us kicked out – and that probably did not happened because both rooms besides us were vacant…

So it was not some fancy Branson getaways in the USA but this short break over the Brunei border was enough to recharge my energy to face all that I need to handle as a mother to 3 handful children.

02Feb

Not Crisp New Notes

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Today I completed my annual ritual as a married member of a Chinese family – preparing the Chinese New Year angpows!

Since the first year I entered this family and assumed this role, joining the queue at the banks to exchange for new notes would have been the norm.

But this year we had been too busy with the everyday happenings that the only time we were free – was when the banks were closed, as reminded by my husband recently when I running through the list of things to do one Saturday afternoon.

Seeing no other time when I could do this was a slightly stressful situation – until I was again reminded that while new notes are welcome, it’s the value of the notes that is welcomed more. It’s just like when we buy gold coins or receive gold jewelry – it matters little how they look but how many grams they are.

So this year, all my ang pow recipients will not be getting notes that are fresh off the printing presses but rather from the ATM machines.

But rest assured that while they look 90% new, they are 100% in value.

19Jan

3 Weeks Into The New Year

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It’s only 3 weeks into the new year but it felt like it’s already mid-year.

Our daily routines on school days are already so tight that it’s a wonder that my littlest one is still full of energy at 8 pm (of course she got to napped at 4 pm). This is despite a day that starts from nearly 8 am and that involves travelling to and fro her big sisters’ school – just for this month alone – 6 times in a day, most times stuck in snail pace as I try to find parking spot.

But of course, her issue was only boredom and restlessness.

Whereas I had to be on the move, every tasks geared towards preparing the kids for school and extra-curricular activities from the moment I wake up until around 10 pm when the kids are in bed – and other incomplete chores will just have to wait until tomorrow as I rest my weary self and mind.

I am already missing the “rest” I had when I was warded at the hospital last week.

Of the whole 5 days that I was there, the only stressful thing was the anxiety of being on the emergency exam table being grilled by the doctor. Having the rather painful IV antibiotic shots was not fun but like the daily blood tests and sugar tests (which also involves needle), you get used to them. Even being up from 4 am until nearly midnight was not an issue as the only strenuous thing I did was explored the grounds of Ripas Hospital whenever I could escape from the ward.

There, I was tired of not being able to rest properly and of being unproductive but it was actually relaxing compared to now.

March school holiday could not come soon enough.

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