all my wisdom is gone!!

The last time I had 2 wisdom teeth at the right hand side removed in Sept 2011. After procastinating for a long time,I removed the other 2 on the left hand side TODAY! Yay!! I am sooo done with wisdom teeth now!! Dentists.. pls stop pestering me!!!By the way, I decided to go with another oral surgeon, hoping he is better!!! πŸ˜€ Now I just hope that it heals fast and painless!!And they didn’t keep my wisdom teeth for me to take a look *again* !

Binghuan’s 2013 Year In Review!

Numbers just keep adding up doesn’t it?
Things were sort of chaotic this year.

1) We move to an older place. First time we compromised our living conditions in hope of savings. We did save more alright but not sure if its worth our sanity.

2) I changed teams for the first time in MS. Sort of change since I rejoined my old lead and another colleague. I don’t think that was a mistake, leaving my comfort zone. It also made me realize how much more I like Kirkland compared to Bellevue. Still love Redmond too..

3) We went out of our way to look for a home for us. We were really serious and I think we found a place (Took months cause we were soooo picky) that we know we would love only to finally decide against it. I will put that blame on me. Won’t go into details why but we just didn’t.

4) We didn’t go for any travel at all (beside San Jose which I will go into later). Once again, to save money…

5) I won a Hackathon! My very first one too, the Paypal Hackathon was an eye-opener. I got to visit Paypal HQ, meet new people, play with new technology. It was tiring but I have no regrets. The final for the big money was sort of a let-down, the other teams that placed in top 3 was okie and I thought we did well enough to place but apparently not. Maybe it was the MS connection that pulled us down.

6) Lots of savings! I just calculated and it was incredible the amount we saved this year. It is hard to see the amount as it is spread across a few accounts but I was really glad the compromised above wasn’t for nothing.

2014 will be a super exciting year, I cannot even wait!
1) GC process is finally moving to the last stage. Which means I will get GC, Amanda can be free to choose what she wants to do! For me is probably more of a job security as I can jump to other places but I can’t really decide if I want to. I have some friends here, and Seattle isn’t that bad besides the cold weather. San Fran would be nice but property is so expensive there that I can’t really put myself through moving all the way there.

2) We might just decide to move to another rental if the HDB appeal failed. No point suffering, and lots of new places around so maybe we will just move to enjoy 1 more year of rental.

3) I do want to return to Vegas with Amanda. We skipped it for 2013, lets return to our annual routine. πŸ™‚
We will also be flying first class to… BALI haha on SQ. Okie, short trip but hey still first class! Can’t wait for that too.

Some longer term goals?
1) I really want to go Peru and visit Machu Picchu. Not sure when but soon I hope. If not too old to climb… πŸ™

2) The elusive home that we can grow our family in. I really hope appeal goes through and allow us to sell our hdb.

3) Maybe a cute dog? πŸ™‚

Mini surprise!

It had been about 5 months since we have Mr Hyde. Then one day, we received a package in the mail….

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Turns out to be a goodie bag from Mini HQ! wah.. I didn’t expect to receive any more stuff from the car dealership since “the deal is sealed” but these arrived! Most of the things are junk….except a really cool 1 GB USB thumbdrive.. oh… and I love the mini cooper shaped paper clip!

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haha… Here’s the gift our Motoring Advisor ( salesman) sent us:

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Love that picture! πŸ™‚ Now this mks me wonder… IF I were to purchase a BMW, what kind of freebies would I get?! hehehe

The satisfaction :)

Today, BH came home and told me I have a fan mail from a kid! Well…. Turns out that it is not a fan mail, it’s a card from the educator. I ripped open the envelope.. And saw a picture which she took of me during he summer camp. I was touched to tears! Aw…. I didn’t expect anything out of volunteering and I got a ‘Thank You!’ card and a nice pic of me in action πŸ™‚ This made my day.. A whole lot!!!

I rem the last day of camp.. I was feeling really sad that I won’t be seeing these kids anymore and I don’t even have a picture of them for keepsake… Just at this moment, a little girl came and hug me goodbye… That moment.. Priceless!!!! I controlled my tears from falling down.. How silly of me.. Haha.. The joys of volunteering πŸ™‚

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Hi Mr Hyde!

BH and I had been thinking of getting a 2nd car for awhile. We have been looking for something we both liked.. however, it’s really hard to find a used car of our criteria. In the end, we pulled the trigger on a custom build Mini Cooper S. Yes.. we decided that since we are only young ONCE..and the chances of driving a coupe in future is silm..so we just went for it πŸ™‚

We ordered our car on April 26 and only received it last week! It was a long wait but worth it! After 6 months of searching, we bought the car! that’s how long we took!

Here’s the process… Once we ordered the car, we could track it’s process on the Mini website

May 9 – Hyde built and waiting for transport on vessel Tulane

mini awaiting

June 2 – Hyde arrived at PORT HUENEME, CAΒ 

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June 3 – Arrived at distribution centre

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June 8 – At our dealer!

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June 15 – Collected!

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More pictures of our baby πŸ™‚ It’s a Mini Green Park package!

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It was LOVE at first sight!!! So difficult to take our eyes off it πŸ˜€

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[P/S: The above is the best picture of us with our new bulldog, Mimi, plush toy given to us by our dealer. Pardon the reflection on BH’s forehead]

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Yay to more new adventures! πŸ™‚

Summer camp for the first time!

This week,Β  I have been busy volunteering at a 5 day summer camp. This is a 3 hour day camp for children 3-5 years old! The camp is called Art Explorers! Children will explore with paint, shapes, texture and create new art pieces. It’s amazing that the children know so much!

The campers are so adorable! They are just so young, sweet and innocent. My favorite part is when they hold my hand or want to sit next to me πŸ™‚ My heart just melts. Being a volunteer is just so different from being the teacher. I actually enjoy helping out, cleaning/washing and preparing. I must have said this a million times but I’ll say it again… the smiles on the child’s face…. priceless….

Anyway, I have been so out of touch with helping children !! I used to be able to last 1 full day at school…. NOW.. I feel 1/2 dead after the camp ends. Gosh.. so glad I am only just volunteering for 1 camp.

My first fan art – It may not mean anything but it just felt good πŸ™‚

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How’s it going?!

I guess.. it’s only right to blog about this small ‘milestone’ in my life πŸ™‚ no wild thoughts please!

Getting my WA driving license, did open up some opportunities in my life. I can drive anywhere I like (provided that I have the guts and car to). Out of nowhere, I have also decided that.. I want to volunteer ( also known as community service) ! I began to look for non-profit organizations that I am interested in and send in my applications. Not many places get back to me ( maybe the volunteer market here is very hot?) .. BUT there’s this Childrens’ museum who got back! Finally!!! I was so happy and excited!

Many asked.. why volunteer? I really want to give back to the community – I just want to be someone useful. Since I have the time and ability to do so, why not?! Volunteer mean no pay – That’s what I like about it! No expectations.. no stress! I can do what I really love doing wholeheartedly

I went for orientation and started my first weekly shift last week. Most of the time, I was cleaning and ensuring that everything is well-maintained. I also get to interact with children. Their smiles… priceless! How they laugh at your jokes (which adults will think I’m crazy) makes me feel young again! No…. playing with children and having your own or being a teacher is very different! I can be myself – I don’t have to be stern, firm or fierce!

Then I wonder… If it makes me sooo happy, why didn’t I do this earlier? On the other hand, I’m glad I did what i did – at least, it’s not too late to start!

[Maybe it’s a good sign… because… on the very day i volunteered at the museum, the tortoise in the aquarium (a fish tank!) laid eggs!! wow! It doesn’t happen often!!! ]

 

 

 

 

where do I begin?

I had been feeling very upset for the past few weeks. That’s why I haven’t been blogging.

#1: I regret moving

we moved because of some reasons that can’t be revealed here. At first, we were quite contented that we found a suitable place. However, I recently noticed some disgusting insects in the house. I had been telling BH that I tried cleaning the place over and over but it didn’t feel clean. BH brushed it off and said “You are just being OCD” well.. I thought he was right.. until I took a closer look at what exactly these dirt was… oh my gosh.. they are actually insects!

I don’t like insects. we always try to stay in new apartments and on a higher level. this time round, we didn’t. We decided to try staying in a very old community and on the lowest level. Guess what?! That’s when the insect problem arise.

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This is a silverfish. No. They don’t fly or bite but it’s just gross to see them crawling on the floor. I am very disturbed. We found them in the toilet… and now they are going to the kitchen. yes.. we already sprayed pesticide but it does not get to the root of the problem. I really do not know how am I going to stay here for 2 yrs!

Anyhow, I freaked out after I found one on the stove (big fat one some more).. we informed our landlord. He is the nicest person ever. The pest control will be coming on monday to take a look at it. Pray that this issue will be resolved soon πŸ™

#2 I caught a cold

This is also related to #1. No, I am not pregnant. We realised that the electricity bills here are very high πŸ™ We don’t really have a choice.. old places are not exactly energy efficient πŸ™ Decided to turn down the heat… and I caught a cold. This cold lasted for 1.5 weeks.. and I’m still not feeling that well… sucks. I used to really love my life here… now.. what i really want to do is to go home..

#3 There’s no where to go

This also related to #1. I can’t really go anywhere here. I used to be able to walk to the supermarkets, library, go to the gym.. and now… there’s NOTHING. Hope MY car comes soon…

FML

Moving for the 4th time

It’s a bz week. BH and I had moved to another apartment. This time our apartment is in a very old community but the interior had been recently renovated. Well… Just when u thought that everything is new and good… The kitchen and toilet sink is leaking! Thank God that the owners are responsible and are doing their best to solve the issues.

I think we moved the most times among our friends. Moving is super tiring. Things just pile up over the years, regardless of how u clear them.

First move (SG to Seattle) : Very easy
2nd move (within Seattle) : easy
3rd move (Seattle to Redmond) : it was ok
4th move (Redmond to Bellevue) : just kill me

So…. A lot of our items are ruined because of our moves. Our ikea chest of drawers are coming apart. Our sofa bed became 3 legged. I was super stressed and upset. BH was delighted – ” yay! Let’s buy new ones!” anyhow, we managed to get rid of these big damaged items – phew.. 1 man’s trash is another’s treasure!

We are still clearing our stuff from the old place :/ to blog more soon…

Happy Lunar New Year!

It’s the year of the snake!! shiver.. I am horrified of snakes.. haha.. Wishing all who read this blog ζ­ε–œε‘θ΄’! 万事如意!

Well… I caught a cold during the weekend of the lunar new year. It had been such a long time since I fell so ill. I had bad sore throat, fever, headache, runny nose – FULL package deal! As a result, we didn’t meet any friends.. neither did we celebrate by baking goodies or cooking good food. I was taking medication and resting most of the time. Fortunately, I woke up feeling much better today – slight cough BUT better overall. Thank God!

Over the weekend, while friends and family in SG went visiting.. BH and I also went to look at other apartments we can move to as our lease is coming to an end. We didn’t find anything better than our current place :/

Actually, I have got lots to blog about. We came back from LA last week and I haven’t blog about it yet… Stay tuned!