The heat here is debilitating!!

I think I move like a sloth here ... the heat just drains you of all your energy and it's so super bright in the day, it's so awful. I am always closing my curtains and grumbling .. my hubby has of course joked that I am like a vampire preferring the house to be what he calls "dark as a cave" as opposed to being flooded with sunshine.

HUH. Flooded with sunshine? .. You gotta be kidding me .. it's so bright it's like the sun is IN MY HALL. It's HORRIBLE. I hate having the curtains and windows thrown open in the afternoons. Cos it's HOT and HUMID.

How hot is it ..? Well, it's about 90 degrees fahrenheit and the relative humidity is between 55-95 %. Well, it's like Florida .. EXCEPT that it's like this ALL YEAR ROUND. It's blardy awful. I've lived here ALL MY LIFE and I can't take it. I remember on our first roadtrip to Florida to Disney World ... as our vehicle got into the area and we stopped for gas .. the minute I stepped outta of the car, it was like coming home ... *shudder* But still it was different cos in the evenings, the weather there cools down considerably ... in Singapore, IT DOESN'T. EVER. It can be 7 in the evening, and it'd be still hot and humid .. just no direct sunlight that's all.

The 2 years we spent away from Singapore in Clovis, NM were the most glorious times for us .. I love living in the States partly cos of the 4 seasons. It's such a nice change from just wilting in the heat and humidity ALL THE TIME. I spent time outdoors with my girl doing GARDENING. And taking the dog for a walk. We visited parks and I wouldn't COMPLAIN how hot it was cos it was springtime. Even when we were in Pheonix during the summer .. yes that was HOT .. u could see those wavy lines as u drove down the street .. but it was still bearable cos it wasn't HUMID. Hot yes, but you weren't sticky. Here, your skin is forever like fly paper. And your face is OILY ... really very uncomfortable. I make it a point to only visit our zoo in the early mornin before it gets really hot. I remember in the States, we were in New Orleans once .. and we took the chance to visit the Zoo there - The Audubon Nature Institute - AWESOME place. The weather was nice and dry .. so the zoo was practically ODOURLESS. I kid u not. We were at the elephant enclosure and I remember seeing heaps on dung .. and I couldn't really smell it. That is not the case in the Singapore Zoo. Everytime I go, I complain to my maid that we're there to smell the animals and their POOP. UGH.

I wish it would snow here. I really do. JUST ONCE. PLEASE.

Parking Woes ...

I enjoy driving. Even in jams or slow traffic .. I don't really get stressed or agitated with other drivers. In fact, I take great glee in purposely driving other maniacal drivers insane by blocking them and slowing down .. lol !! .. All done safely lar .. :)

So hubby has decided that he is sick and tired of driving .. and he can finally sit back and enjoy the ride ... NOT!

On top of er, instructing me how to drive *me rolling my eyes here* .. he has now taken to jumping out of the car and trying to direct me when parking.

Yes, the man has fallen off his rocker. My wonderful Odyssey though it is sizable is not really huge as compared to my Dodge Grand Caravan (mine was white in colour though) back in the States in 2002. It was 3.3 litres and there was no need to even fold down the middle row to access the 3rd row of seats. And I didn't even have any kind of reverse sensors or rear cameras in that vehicle. In my Odyssey, I have a rear camera .. AND reverse sensors - every lazy person's dream for parking. There is no need to even open your car door to check distance from the wall to your bumper. And btw, before u wonder whether I am one of those drivers that take forever to park ... going in and out of the lot adjusting this and that .. I AM NOT. I park relatively fast and my vehicle is STRAIGHT.

SIGH.

And still the man has taken to quickly getting out the car and then comes the hand signals .. and waving ... which doesn't help cos I get IRRITATED. We were at Shaw Centre on Sunday cos hubby wanted to go to the Apple shop and as we were rather early into the carpark ... I managed to find one of the parallel single lots ... let me tell you that these lots are huge .. as Claudia would say ... "easy peasey" to parallel park in ... but no, the man scrambles out and starts marshalling me.

SIGH.

Same thing happened when we wanted to leave the lot a few hours later. I grumbled that I had been driving for YEARS so what was his problem .. blah blah ... and the man came up with some crock of bull about Crew Resource Management and how I was the driver and he was the vehicle commander (some thing they have in the army apparently) and it was his job to ensure nothing happens to the vehicle. BLAH BLAH BLAH .....

EH, whatever man .. I wasn't the one who backed into a pillar at Vivocity RIGHT AFTER THE BUMPER WAS REPLACED --- this was our Stream years ago .. bumper was replaced cos we were involved in a chain collision (also not ME driving) .. and that weekend we had gone to Vivo for shopping and uncle backed into a pillar crushing the SPANKING NEW, JUST REPLACED BUMPER. Granted the pillar happened to be totally white and was the only one not marked with a strip to give drivers a heads up when backing up ... but that is not the point.

So everytime I was backing the car up .. I could SEE his upper body and face in my mirror .. and his legs and feet in my rear camera .. HALLO ... then I don't need him to be there behind my car now do I ??!! I was tempted to just step on the accelerator and at least HIT him abit - cause him some blardy PAIN .. but then he knows I won't ... not so much for LOVE .. but more of his "goose and the golden egg" theory .. :p

He is pretty much right though. LOL !! ..

I told him that he should wear one of those sleep masks (the ones that cover the eyes so u can sleep in darkness) whenever he's in the car with me .. lol !! .. and ear plugs too so he cannot hear or see anything and hence cannot COMMENT and INSTRUCT.

HEHEHEHEHE!!!

damn HDB ...

and their multi-storey carparks .. I'm talking about the older ones that have no lifts at all. Gosh, those are a horror to park in .. narrow and cramped lots .. and the stupid design is such that if you park in the row of lots at the middle of the the structure .. if you drive a SUV or MPV ... the metal grating will hit the rear of the vehicle. But if u don't back up ... your vehicle will stick out in the front ... so you have no choice but to look for a lot on the opposite side .. which is against the wall instead.

That's not even the worst of it ... the worst is that as you drive up ... you realize with absolute dread .. that the lots on the first 3 levels are all red lots .. ie meant only for the residents there. I tell you .. I wanted to DRIVE HOME. We were at a HDB multi-storey carpark last night cos Lauren's best friend in kindy was having a birthday party and of course she was invited being besties and all ... I SHOULD'VE gotten Stanley to drop us off but as it so happened, the timing was just no good so I drove there myself. And as I don't park in these places often, I didn't have enough parking coupons with me.

Blardy hell.

I estimated that since the party was on a weekday evening ... an hour's worth of parking ought to do it.

I was dead wrong. The food and cake was not served an hour into the party ... and so leaving Lauren behind to play with her friends .. I trudged down carrying a very heavy Calista .. (she is freaking 10.4 kg thereabouts) and dragged myself and her up freaking 4 storeys to extend my parking coupon by another half an hour (cos I only had that last one coupon left by that time) .. and did I mention that I had mistakenly parked at the multi-storey carpark slightly further away so I had to walk a bit too? ... I was cursing and panting and swearing and panting and generally trying NOT TO DIE as I made my way up the multi-storey carpark.

I dumped Calista in her carseat, strapped her in .. and decided to move the car to the multi-storey nearer the flat so that it wouldn't be as torturous later that evening when we left the party for home.

I tell you. For a minute or two, I was tempted to just drive home and leave Lauren at the party and pick her up later. LOL!! Hunger and exhaustion from the climbing I assume.

I got back to the party .. the cake had been delivered by then (stupid Bengawan Solo), and dinner was also being served SLOWLY ... it was 8pm. My coupon was expiring at 8.40pm. I knew there was no way we were going to make it. And HDB carpark wardens ... let me tell you ... there are PLENTY of them.

We left the party at 9pm. YES, 20 minutes after my coupon expired. I nearly died again climbing up 4 storeys ... Of course, Lauren being all of 5 years old and generally being bouncy and active was happily bounding up the stairs ... and chatting with me. I couldn't answer a single question of hers except . "No, not this floor ... go up" ... when she wanted to get out at the 2nd storey.

We encountered a family going down on our way up ... and the father smiled broadly seeing me leaning against the staircase panting and looking like I was going to collapse anytime. hahahahahahahh!

We got to the 4th floor .. and I put Calista down so that she could walk cos I was about to drop her anyway. lol ! .. She was wearing her squeaky sandals .. u know, the ones that go "squeak, squeak" when she walks .. and nearing the car, my heart sank big time .. I saw a ticket on the windscreen ... blardy hell !!! .. I exclaimed loudly ... "HAIYA!!!!!!!!!" snatching the ticket off the windscreen to see what time the parking warden had ticketed me.

I squinted at it (cos the lighting in these carparks isn't that solid) and as I realized it WASN'T a ticket but some Shop and Save receipt, I heard laughter from parking deck adjacent to me.. and Claudia came running down.

It was my blardy husband. He was on the way back after accompanying Claudia to ballet class .. and he KNEW that I might bust my parking so he "wanted to teach me a lesson" .. as he put it.

damn man. I couldn't even scold him .. I was still panting from the climb up ...

hahahhahahahahahahhahaha!!!! Claudia said it was really funny .. they were waiting by daddy's bike ... then all they heard were the squeaking sounds from Calista's sandals .. then my very loud, "HAIYA!" ... and then they both burst out laughing. I have evil family members. lol.

Anyway, as I was driving down the multi-storey carpark, there was a parking warden walking around on the 2nd level ..issuing tickets to cars ...

HENG ah!!!

Driving Mr Stanley ....

ain't no picnic I can tell you. Uncle comments on and attempts to correct what he views as "bad driving" ... the whole time he's sitting in the car with me.

sigh.

I was COMPLAINING to my maid that it's not like I JUST passed my driving test. I passed my test in Dec 1998 .. that's like 11 years ago. And out of that 11 years, I have been driving almost EVERYDAY since 2002.

That's like freaking 7 years. And the man still thinks he needs to instruct me. And correct me. And criticize my driving. And comment that the way I take a turn etc I am damaging this part and that part of the car .. WA. LAU. EH.

sigh.

I usually humour the man .. and either agree or just nod my head amiably just so he MOVES ON to another topic. But of course, who am I kidding? ... Cos more often than not, he continues commenting and instructing ALL THE WAY TILL WE REACH OUR DESTINATION.

Before these last few days ... I would insist he drive whenever we go out cos I disliked hearing his comments ... but awhile ago, I started driving off and on with him in the car cos I told him I have a healthy self-esteem and I know I can drive and so I really didn't care about his opinions of my driving skills or lack thereof. lol ! .. I don't get honked at by other drivers, I am not slow and I don't road hog, I have yet to hit another vehicle (touch wood) ... and I haven't gotten a speeding ticket too. And I can drive with the baby crying and the kids chatting and the radio on all at the same time ... if that's not decent driving, then I don't know what is.

Anyway, the man started on his commenting the minute I pulled out of Suntec City carpark. Guess I was at the end of my patience too ... cos I FINALLY got irritated with him and his comments ... and we started arguing in the car. And of course, it ended with me saying .. "You drive when you're at home" ... cos I thought I was doing him a favour cos he wants to relax when he's home on weekends and he hates driving in Singapore ... so I agreed to drive even though he was home this last week so that he could get some rest ... cos I go up and down fetching my girls a number of times in a day ...

But is the man grateful? No. He thinks I am on some extended driving test where he is the instructor .. and he thinks he can go on and on about my "lousy" driving and I'm supposed to take it lying down.

When are they going to invent a car with an "EJECT" button? That's the car I want. lol !!

My aunt drops by !!

My aunty Joan dropped by on Saturday for a visit with us. Awesome! She's my Dad's youngest sister .. the girls enjoyed her company immensely cos she's really good with kids. Of course, the Christmas pressies for them helped a lot. lol !