Our new home

Posted on November 24, 2011 · 8 Comments

What a hectic 4 long months it has been since we collected our keys at the end of July and to the start or renovations in September, on the historic date of 11-11-11, we have moved into our new home in Kota Kemuning!

Red cloth up, before all our items are moved over!

We took delivery of our property 1 year ahead of its projected completion date. The entire construction to VP period took only 21 months, from the time we signed the S&P agreement. I still remember I was 4 months pregnant at that time!

The last couple of months have been crazy. It all began when we put our (first property) apartment up for sale in August. We didn’t expect it to be sold within a week. Then the roller coaster ride began…

Thank God the interior makeover and renovations was quite speedy, and it only took the contractor 5 weeks to complete his job.

We had the whole of October to furnish the house; from curtains to buying furniture…everything had to be ready by our auspicious move in date!

Moving our TV over first with the Astro technician in tow so he can make sure Zack the VIP gets full access to BabyTV on Moving Day.

Moving is not something I want to experience again anytime in the near future. It’s stressful, tiring, and definitely not the easiest task to manage. Every little thing needed our consideration; paint colours, light designs, cabinet finishing, EVERYTHING. Put aside the stress from managing the cost of renovation and managing the budget for the furnishing, just the act of preparing to move is a big headache. Keep in mind we also have to tend to a constantly active toddler who’s already sucking up whatever energy that’s left in our system!

Packing was another story. I still cannot compute how on earth I managed to stuff all the things I had in our 750sqf apartment having only lived there for 4.5 years. We had to throw away a lot of stuff, donated some, and moved the rest over. A big thank you shoutout goes to our friend Juan from MightyBox for the box rentals.

[Free plug: The MightyBox surely beats your regular corrugated carton boxes. Made of heavy duty plastics, each box is clean enough to store clothes, and sturdy enough for pots, pans, and fragile items. It was worth the investment and removes the hassle of hunting down carton boxes. Sustainable and functional! For more information do check out their Facebook page!]

Thanks to my anal-ness, moving day was quite organised. We got a 3-tonne lorry to transport all our stuff over (costing us RM 500 for a move that was approximately 2 kilometres from old house to new house), and boy, the 2 fellas that came with the transporter are so strong! It was as if they were lifting cotton candy!! The lorry arrived at 12.30pm and we were unpacking at 3pm! Amazing or what?!

It’s been almost 2 weeks since we moved in, and we’re still getting used to the new house (i.e. still figuring out where stuff is, which light switch is for what, etc…). I’ll leave you with some photos of our brand new house which we now call home for many years to come

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Reflections

Posted on September 26, 2011 · 4 Comments

Last Thursday, I turned 30. It felt like any other day, had a lovely dinner to celebrate the occasion with David. In the car on the way back, I was thinking of what I could blog about to commemorate my entry into the 4th decade of my life. I could only think of one word: Blessed.

Here’s the backstory…

Four years ago, when I first joined my current boss, I wasn’t so clear headed. I was clouded with the thought of making as much money as I can. Don’t get me wrong—I agree that money is important. After all we need money to pay for food and commitments (and a little bit of guilt free shopping!). It’s the greed of money that is dangerous.

(A bit of history: My current boss runs a pretty small outfit, there’s 15 of us managing 7 – 8 events annually, and the reporting system in this office is very flat–just me, the boss and one assistant helping me out. We travel in small teams and my teammates are very dedicated, responsible people. In a nutshell, I work for a really small events management company, with not much opportunity for career progression (hence the flat structure). The office is near home, which cuts the travel time, and the pay I was getting for the job I’m doing is actually quite good.)

After a few months on the job, I was actively job hunting as I had felt a bit of regret joining this tiny events management company. I was stumped that my career seems to be going in a regression–first a multinational, then a medium sized international firm, and now I’m in this little walk up office in Subang Business Centre! I remember getting excited over meeting another potential employer for an interview, just on the basis of the dollar figure. I didn’t consider the other factors like travel time to work, or even crazy working hours (it was a fairly senior position). All I could think about was the money I was going to get. I was so hungry and motivated by money. I did get the job offer, but I turned it down after considering how much time I had to take travelling, and that I may not be ready to take on the responsibilities required of me for that senior position.

Even after declining the offer, I kept on thinking how it would have been like if I did take the job, and if my life would have been changed with the extra money I got.

I also remember at that time, we were preparing to get married; David had just started his own business and we were constantly worried about money. We argued a lot about money—and they were all petty arguments over how money was to be spent on the wedding and on furnishing our new apartment. Soon after the wedding, David temporarily retired his own business as got a job in a leading web agency. He was making a decent amount of money—but we were spending less time with each other because he was constantly busy with work, even on weekends!

I found it so tiring, to keep thinking about money all the time. And I thought to myself; is the “tiredness” worth it if money was all I ever wanted. My mind was messing with me as I kept thinking about all the things I could have if I had a lot of money. I kept comparing myself to my peers, and what kind of status I wanted to project, just to seem like I “fit” in.

My mind-set really changed when David quit from the agency and went back to working for himself in August 2009. At that time we also just found out that I was expecting.

I finally came to understand that I’ve been chasing for something that is not a priority in my life.

We simply cannot have a number of priorities in life.  A priority means the ONE thing that’s most important to you and my priority is the time spent growing the relationship with my family. Of course there’s nothing wrong with “making a lot of money” as a priority! But consider this: If we get caught up in the rat race trying to make more money for the family, that priority is the job/money. What I’m saying is that we must be able to define the priority and not use the excuse of “improving/enriching the quality of life” as an excuse for putting “making money” the most important in our lives. We need to stop and understand what it means to live a contented life. We need to be able to stop and say “I’m grateful for what I have, and I’m happy with what I have. I am blessed.”

I’m gonna say it. Making more money, for me, is not a priority.

On my 30th birthday, I found that I’ve grown deeper in love with my husband as we travel together in our journey of living a simple & contented life, and having the time to enjoy and grow in our relationship as husband and wife, as a son(in-law) and daughter(in-law), and as a mother and father. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not slobs or living off old money (not that we have access to any, LOL!). We still work to earn money for our family, and when we find opportunities to make more money, we catch it (of course we won’t let good opportunities pass us!). The only difference is, we are satisfied with what we have and we’re happy with the work we do. We don’t see the need to keep growing our debt, for the sake of “upgrading our outlook and status”.

Live simply“Live simply”. Photo credit to _yupa_ on Flickr

I’m very blessed. God has been very good to me and my family. I thank God for blessing us with Zachary, blessing me with a very loving husband and a best friend, and blessing me with a supportive family. After 4 years with my current boss, I’m still happy to stay on and work for him, to continue and enjoy doing the work I do. I thank God for the peace that I have in Him, and giving me the wisdom to understand what it means to live simply.

Remember; if you are greedy, you’ll never have enough.

“Live simply so others may simply live.”― Mother Teresa

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Hanging tough

Posted on August 11, 2011 · 4 Comments

Life is ToughPhoto credit to allthewhile on Flickr

Growing up I always hear people using this phrase – “Life is tough”. I am guilty of using it sometimes too during my teenage years, you know-lah, all the pressures in school, getting sucky grades, trying to be cool and what not. Then my parents will taruk me and say that we’ll know how it’s like to be an adult when it is time for us to be an adult; apparently that’s when life gets really tough.

Oh well, in another 5 weeks, I’m going to be 30 years old.

I wouldn’t say life is tough (not for me to say anyway considering how blessed we are compared to the less fortunate) but I would say my life has had a variety of challenges. For one, being a parent is tough. Taking care of the little one has been a challenge from day 1; particularly challenging when the kiddo is unwell.

The first time Zack caught the bug from my Mom, we didn’t know what to do. We were on a short getaway on Valentine’s day and we were staying the night at a hotel in KL. He got up in the middle of the night crying and I felt he was really burning up. I didn’t pack the thermometer with me, and I didn’t have any fever medication with me. We were panicking not knowing what to do, immediately packed up our things, checked out of the hotel at 2am, decided to drive straight to the hospital!! Halfway on our way to SDMC, we took some time to think about it and we decided to head back home to get him temperature taken first, give him some meds and then see how goes.

We got home, Zack took his meds, temperature went down, he was sleeping again. The next day we brought him to the doctor’s, found out it was the usual sore throat/flu bug, got some meds and he was on his way back to his normal self soon after.

Lesson number 1: Don’t panic, think of an action plan, and think of an alternative to the action plan. Oh, and always pack the thermometer and meds on trips.

Second time around, Zack caught the bug again, this time from David. He was cranky, crying non-stop, and just burning up quick. Every time his temperature hits the highs of 39.5°C and above, I go into a panic mode and can’t think straight. His endless crying prompted us to pack up his stuff, and head over to SDMC. I remember it was 3am-ish and we were driving halfway to the hospital, when Zack just stopped crying and started smiling at us. His temperature went down and we made a u-turn back home.

Lesson number 2: Remind self to not panic. Don’t co-sleep when one is sick. Always wait for the meds to kick in before panicking. And try other methods of bringing the fever down i.e. sponging

Third time around, we got another surprise. After our holiday in Singapore recently, Zack had very high fever that comes and goes, even after taking paracetamol. However, he was pretty much his usual self, eating his meals, drinking his milk, playing his toys. He only got cranky when the fever returned. Having learnt from previous occasions, we monitored his fever closely, sponged him, and kept him hydrated as much as we could.

Again, his fever spiked up and this time it was over 40°C!! Panic mode jumped in and being a weekend, our usual ped is closed, hence a regular GP was all we could consult. The GP mentioned that Zack’s throat was very inflammed, instructed us to immediately start Zack on Augmentin, a brand of antibiotics which is commonly prescribed to children and adults alike. I take Augmentin too, so I knew it was an effective antibiotics. We had some qualms about giving Zack antibiotics but we trusted the GP and gave it to him anyway. Giving meds to Zack was another challenge—we literally had to pin him down and restrain him to get him to eat the meds. So heart-breaking to see the little one struggling at every feed.

Two days after the antibiotics, a rash broke out on his chest, back and stomach and again we panicked, we brought him to see our usual ped who then diagnosed it as Roseola (in chinese refered to as fake measles). She also said that the fever will not come back anymore and we were to expect the rash to disappear in a couple of days. Our ped also told us to chuck the Augmentin, as Roseola is a virus and not a bacterial infection, hence the antibiotics is not required.

The ped was right and sure enough his fever was finally gone, and his rash disappeared but reappeared the next day this time on his arms and legs!!

Now, being a first time parent we just assumed his Roseola attack is probably taking longer than expected. Time passed and it’s been almost 10 days since his fever started, 8 days since has his first dose of Augmentin, 5 days since seeing the ped, 4 days since the rash disappeared and reappeared on the other part of his body.

He was scratching badly, and it didn’t seem like it was Roseola anymore. The rash was raised, reddish pink and was making him really uncomfortable. At one point it covered all of his legs and hands and cheeks!! Off again we saw the ped and *drumroll* it wasn’t Roseola anymore!! We finally found out that Zack is allergic to amoxicillin, a type of penicillin in Augmentin. An allergy to Augmentin apparently only appears 7-10 days after first consuming it!! I am allergic to ampicillin (which is closely related to amoxicillin) as a kid, so it was likely Zack may be allergic to it too. We found out the hard way

Lesson number 3: It’s a fact. Your kid will continue to be exposed to a host of other problems which is new and foreign to you.

Tough. It was so tough on David and I. Not only we were being judged by our own parents (that we suck at parenting), we were also suffering from the lack of sleep and rest in the last 2 weeks! It was so mentally and physically challenging to the point I couldn’t focus at work—I was constantly worried about Zack! The lack of rest made me really cranky too!

I know there’s more to come. I know that there is no way we can outsource parenting just to “have it easy”. I know Zack will always be depending on us to take care of him. I know we can learn from these experiences and grow from it.

So, is life that tough? I would say “a very small part of it, yes. The biggest part of it, no.”

The bigger part of life is just a journey of challenges that we need to confront and overcome as we experience the growing up process. So, hang tough fellow young parents, let’s keep learning and keep growing!

Filed Under: Life, Parenthood Tagged With: , , , , ,

Zachary turns 1!

Posted on March 28, 2011 · Leave a Comment

What a year it has been. Quoting my husband, “we survived our first year without a mommy and daddy manual”. One thing we know for sure is that being a parent is an ongoing and continuous process of learning.

Having Zack has brought so much joy to my life. Watching him grow, achieving his milestones, saying Ma Ma (or perhaps mam mam?) or simply hearing him laugh is enough to put a smile on my face. All the worries and stress at work just disappears. All the small things don’t matter anymore. All because of this one small little guy.

Happy 1st birthday Zack. Mommy and Daddy loves you!

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Michael Bublé: Live in KL!

Posted on March 14, 2011 · Leave a Comment

I have a confession to make. I’m going to be 30 this year, and last night was the very first time I attended my very first concert. But not any concert. T’was the one and only, King of Swing, crooner extraordinaire, Canadian singer Michael Bublé!

The show last nite was part of his ongoing Crazy Love Tour.

I simply enjoyed myself! Listening to him live is unreal; nothing can compare (even my entire CD collection of all his albums!). He is a great performer, and he knows how to engage his fans during his 2 hour concert at Stadium Malawati last night. He could even pass off as a part time comedian with his witty jokes. I couldn’t control my laughter as he randomly poked fun at his band mates.

Not a wonder that it was a sold out concert with 9,000 fans screaming, waving, singing along, dancing and clapping to his hits one after another! In between his songs, he even managed to pull off some pretty entertaining impersonations of Michael Jackson and a cover of the Glee hit “Don’t Stop Believing”!

Looking forward to the next time he’s back in KL! It will be worth saving up and invest in them VIP tickets!

Up next: Related blog post on the concert organizers JAG Events who did a shit event management job; they almost ruined our 1st ever concert experience!

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Happy 3rd Anniversary

Posted on March 8, 2011 · 2 Comments

PC&D_THCeremony.jpg (81)

3 years ago today, David and I were holding hands during Pastor’s message. I remember my heart was beating really fast.

Minutes later we exchanged our vows with God as our witness.

Happy 3rd Anniversary to my partner in crime, and, loving hubby.

xoxo

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3 years!

Posted on March 3, 2011 · 1 Comment

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3 years ago today on 3.3.2008 we registered our marriage at JPN Putrajaya

I kinda miss my long curly hair ….

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Happiness

Posted on January 13, 2011 · 3 Comments

Had some good news earlier this week. Feeling extra happy!

happiness is lovelier | the both and | shorts and longs | julie rybarczyk

Photo credit to Julie Rybarczyk on Flickr

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My 2010 in review

Posted on January 9, 2011 · 3 Comments

Family

My first photo with Zachary

What a year it has been. The highlight of the year is no other than our little boy Zachary Wang arriving on March 28th. It definitely was a life changing moment—and both David and I are still in a journey of learning about parenting (and why babies cry)! 2010 has been challenging in terms of adapting to caring for a little human being. We had a major lifestyle change. No longer we live our pre-baby life (you know, stuff like going to the movies, hanging out till late, going on impromptu road trips), now everything we do and every decision we make has Zack in mind. All praise be to God for Zack has generally been an easy baby to take care of and to date we haven’t got any major meltdown yet! He’s eating well and growing well; and he is currently weighing in at a grand 10.1kgs!

Zack has definitely created an even stronger bond between me, my family and my in-laws. Zack helps create “issues” to talk about and “incidents” to laugh about. He is THE attraction. I love him to bits.

I was heavily pregnant. About to pop anytime

My husband David has been the pillar of my strength. He is always supportive, always encouraging, always understanding. He is the super-dad, managing to take care of Zack on his own when I had to return to travelling. I know how tough it is to take care of a baby, especially the night duties; so I REALLY appreciate him even more when he’s gotta do it on his own! I’ve grown to love him more and more everyday as we travel together in this journey of parenthood.

Personal & Career

2010 was also a year where I learnt a lot more about myself, more specifically what means the most to me in my personal and work life. I have a better understanding of my financial goals, and what direction my wealth management is leading to. I’m learning to live a contented life. I want to wake up grateful every single day.

Still got lots of stubborn weight to lose!

I also learnt how important it is to eat and live healthier. After the baby arrived I was horrified that I had gained more weight than I should have. I told myself if I wanted to live longer I needed to pay more attention to getting back in shape and eating right. It wasn’t just about the weight or the body outlook; it was also about my general well being. 9 months after Zack arrived, I’ve succeeded in going back to my pre-pregnancy weight. The next step for me is to continue to move towards achieving my optimum weight and incorporate more physical activity into my lifestyle.

Career-wise, I’m still happy where I am. My job function has widened—I can’t complain especially when I’m still growing in my role. There is one thing though that I want less of, is to limit my requirement to travel. With Zachary in our lives now I find going for my business trips a real chore—I feel lousy being away from him, and even lousier when I have to leave the parental duties to David alone. The good news is, in 2011 I will be able to travel less, now that my assistant is ready to enter the battlegrounds on her own! I’m also grateful that my boss understands why I want to limit travelling—I enjoy working for him and I guess I’ll be sticking around

On a separate note, I’ve been asked on numerous occasions if I’d quit my job and be a stay home mom. Ideally, I would like to—however in reality (and at present) it is likely not possible within the short term due to our financial commitments. It is however, a goal we’re moving towards.

Travel

Our first trip together – to Singapore

Before Zack arrived, together with my girlfriends (with husbands and a toddler in tow) we went to Penang in January to satisfy my cravings for char kuey teow and curry laksa. After Zack arrived, we did manage a short breakaway to Singapore in October for a cousin’s wedding & a road trip to Fraser’s Hill last week. Zack survived the plane ride to Singapore, but the drive to and from Fraser’s wasn’t what he signed up for. Poor boy vomited when we were coming down. Lesson learnt from this is—make sure baby is asleep before we begin the drive! Another thing I learnt was that travelling with baby meant we had to pack half the house with us. This year we’re hoping to make more trips with Zack; especially when he’s able to walk!

4 generations in the Wang family at our Fraser’s Hill getaway

Work-related travel last year brought me to India for the 3rd time, Egypt for the 2nd time and South Africa for the 1st time! Nothing different for Mumbai; it was the same hole it was in 2007 & 2008, whilst seeing the pyramids of Giza for the second time is probably something I didn’t expect happening. Cape Town was the most enjoyable—definitely one of the highlights of my 2010. My work travels has continued to broaden my understanding of the different cultures and people of the world. One thing for sure is, every time I arrive back into Malaysia, I can’t help but say “there is just no place like home”.

With the team in Cape Town

Other highlights

The progress payment on our new home is almost complete. The developer has been building ahead of schedule, which is good news as we can probably expect getting the keys to our house this year instead of the promised date of September 2012. I am very excited about this as our current apartment is growing smaller and smaller from the day Zack arrived.

On to more good news; David’s business has improved in 2010, for a small outfit the revenue last year alone was close to 6 figures. I am proud of his achievements and I thank God for his provisions.

In October I settled the hire purchase loan on my trusty 5 year old Myvi. It’s a big achievement for me as a first time car owner baybeh! We also traded in David’s faithful Proton Savvy and got a new car in November (a Proton Persona to be exact), and we have never been more excited about the bigger boot space. So big we can fit 2 strollers in there OK!

2010 has been good to us. Looking forward to bigger things in 2011!

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Zack’s first kiss

Posted on December 9, 2010 · 6 Comments

While I was away for work last month, our friends Aylwin and Li Ann dropped by my in-law’s place with their 2 kids Arielle and Ashton.  Zack is still a bit “cautious” in front of other babies–not sure if its because he rarely hangs out with other kids OR he’s just a shy baby. I reckon the former cos when he’s around us, he can really turn the house upside down.

Here’s Arielle answering the “phone” and Ashton exploring the surroundings and Zack’s just not sure what’s going on. Then, it happened. My son, my baby boy, my lil tiger… got his first major kiss from a girl! Check out those pouty lips!!

Priceless look on the face or what?

Filed Under: Family, Life, The in-betweens Tagged With: , , , ,
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