Merlion Sentosa. A tourist in Singapore.

My intention of blogging Day 2 of Korea was not welcomed by Simba since he desperately hopes that I blog about our recent trip to Sentosa first. Lol. I think he has this burning desire to be a blogger but his laziness got better of him, and I'm here to blog in place of him.


Now, look back and try to recollect the last time u went to Sentosa to revisit the attractions u visited when u were a 7-year-old. I bet you don't remember when! :D

We were all ready for some SEA Aquarium and Adventure Cove Water Park thrill until the counter staff went, "Please be aware that there is currently a 3-hour queue to the entrance!" Jaw-dropping news. Lol. How can there be a 3-hour queue to anywhere, not to mention an attraction which was supposed to leave a good, lasting impression to tourists? The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. We had to forgo the idea of visiting this long-awaited attraction and decided on the spot that we would take leave on one of the coming weekdays to come back there.

Hence after some (window) shopping at RWS, we went to apply for the Choice Play Pass! The Choice Play Pass entitles you with a choice of play for 4 out of 16 attractions at a price of $44.90 per person. We reminisced the good old days of Singapore in the Images of Singapore Museum, embarked on a journey on the latest Extreme Log Ride and the Journey 2 the Centre of the Earth 4-D Adventure, and a cable car ride back to Harbourfront!

We were so eager to view the Sentosa city from the Merlion Observatory that we bought "ala-carte" tickets just for it.


We started the day with lunch at Vivocity before taking a stroll down the Broadwalk to Sentosa. Other than being truly a fan of Korean food lately, I also crave for the cupcakes from twelve cupcakes.




I chose the Expresso flavour, a flavour I have never tried before, which tasted good but not as good as Baileys Chocolate, Lychee Martini and Red Velvet! :D
Do u think he has slimmed down a little and his hair grew back a little?




Although the name of twelve cupcakes has already been established, he still maintained his persistence for me to be an ambassador for the cupcake maker. :D

Being too full from lunch but still wanna a mouthful of the cupcake, I shoved the rest of the cupcake down his throat! Lol.

My double chin has formed after I started working and felt richer, in which I mean I ordered an additional side dish to each main course, ate desserts and ice-cream more frequently and even ordered drinks at restaurants (I used to just ask for iced water)! Lol. I was told that I grew fat since June last year, but recently I received feedback that I slimmed down a little, but I think I can never be back to the size I was 2 years back. :D





A boh-geh cum gluttony photo here. Lol. I love how I look; totally into the cupcake. My eyelashes are now less cluttered together as I switched my mascara brand from Maybeline Volum' Express to Kiss Me Volume & Curl.
Another addition to my usual makeup stash was the Stila brightening primer (first time I was using it in this photo), a serum recommended by Ying, and it works great. My colleague said I look more radiant with it. Thanks ying, you surely live up to the name of a Beautician!




The lion that Sang Nila Utama first saw in our island.






My honour to stand in front of the national personification of Singapore!




Spot him!





We spotted a professional photographer who is superb at multi-tasking; he is taking photos and taking care of his kid simultaneously. We really didn't wish to disturb him but we really admire his skills, so mustering all our courage, we asked him with such pleading eyes that he couldn't reject us. Lol. Nice photo he took of us, it was so kind of him to kneel all the way down as if he was proposing to us just to capture this shot!




A zoom-in version by the pro photographer.





He paid tribute to Sang Nila Utama by pretending to be the deer which ran to the top of the hill opposite Singapura, and diverted his attention of hunting to beholding our magnificent island, saving its own life in the process.







His idea. I think all he ever wanted in his life is for me to be devoured by a lion! Although he didn't talk most of the time in our relationship, his actions tell it all!





We came into a cave that tells of how Singapura was founded.





My long-sleeved romper was one of my favourite buys this year hoho! 





Mermaids, their beauty is unquestionable. They are the most beautiful, aspiring creatures in the whole legendary series! 





The loch monster which emerged in the midst of the roaring storms that smash through the sea during the voyage of Prince Sang Nila Utama and his crew of sailors.





The sea dragon which commanded the sea to regain back its serenity after the prince instinctively threw his crown into the sea to appease it.




The lucky coin which brought us our mystery gift.




The view from the Merlion Mouth Gallery. 





Exposed to the risk of being clamped by its sharp fangs!
No smoking in its mouth by the way, merlions don't smoke ok!











Killer stairs that required me to summon all my strength in heading up to the Head Gallery. Lol.




The wind was so furious at this high altitude it could have blown us away, but we were lucky that our fats held us in.





Cable cars!

















Something that caught my eye in the souvenir shop was this t-shirt that features a highlight of Singapore, a t-shirt to pay tribute to the industrious trishaw pullers who work really hard to bring our tourists around Singapore (I mean around Bugis area).




The first souvenir shop that didn't get us to buy anything from it. Lol. Singaporeans don't buy "I Love SG" shirts, do they?

Simba is losing weight speedily and I would better cherish these days of me being slimmer than him before he regains his original form. Lol. I always secretly wish that he would become fatter than me one day, but never thought that it would become true because of a disease. I'm really sorry.

Anyways, fat or no fat, what matters now is him staying healthy, so as long as he doesn't become emaciated, I appreciate him all the same.

Korea. Incheon Airport. Homestay at Seoul Station. Hongdae.

I left this space isolated fo 3 weeks! 
I didn't have some alone time since Feb, after the part-time teaching at the tuition centre on Saturdays and that the full-time work kept piling up. Work was never ending; the second I thought I could finally rest I was given more work at the next instant. The initial stage of having known his disease was saddening, I spent nights brooding over it. I recounted the times I came to work totally drained and CS commented for that few weeks that I looked absolutely rotten. Lol. 

U can ask Simba when was that last weekend we spent a whole day out! I think the last one was early April; the one we went to Gardens by the Bay to catch a glimpse of the Easter-themed Flower Dome park.

After his operation, I didn't even have the time to be there to watch his recovery. I was there but wasn't exactly emotionally there as I was doing, and doing, and doing all those brought home work while he watched me do them. And at one point of time I realized this was it. I can't make myself carry on this way anymore. Life is never all about work, everything else is just too important to miss out on. The feeling of helplessness, fragility and gnawing anxiety during the days that Simba grew weak was so vivid and excruciating; tears just instantly formed the moment they came to my mind. I spent days thinking of the What Ifs. What if the tumor is malignant? What if he eventually gets heart disease? What am I gonna do if he passes away? If ever this happens, I will keep the house and stay in there alone for the rest of my life. I held onto all sorts of negativity I thought I'm never gonna wake up from this nightmare. 

I came to a conclusion that life is too short and unhealthy for me to be expending time and energy on work. When the person I care about needs me, I need to be there. I need to quit my job. I need to find a job which can provide me with work-life balance, a job that does not have deadlines breathing down my neck, a job that gives me time to smile at my loved ones, and a job which I can gain job satisfaction from. 

8th Sept, my last day. (I asked for an extension of my contract to be thorough in seeing through my project, and mostly to soothe the overwhelming sense of guilt if I were to leave the workplace with things undone.)


Let me catch you up on my recent trip to South Korea. 

Not knowing what is to come for Junwen's op, with the help of the Endocrinologist's letter, I appealed to Cathay Pacific to have my bro to go in place of Junwen's. 

On the day when I was going to depart for Korea, Simba was so in denial that he formed an illusion that he could come along to Korea and packed his things to get ready for some thrill, only to come to his senses at the last minute. Lol!

Korea has overtaken Taiwan and emerged as the winner as the top destination to visit! Lol. I an heads over heels in love with Korea!

Perhaps my love for Korea was nurtured by the Koreans I met in Singapore and it flourished after I spent 6 nights in Korea. Did I tell u that 100% of my tutees showed improvement in their grades for their SA1, with one improved by a whopping 13 marks?
One girl even asked, "Will u be disappointed if I tell u my grade?" That's so cute and sweet of her! She made my day! I think my job satisfaction largely stemmed from giving tuition.


We reached the Incheon Airport later than usual due to the unexpected flight delay. As we were far behind our itinerary schedule (and my bro could eat a horse), we took an Express train from the airport to Seoul Station for just $9 and the journey took just 43 mins!





First pic I took in Korea. The perky sea lions (or seals) were publicising for the 17th Asian Games that will take place over 16 days in Incheon, Korea, from Sept 19 to Oct 4, 2014.





The luggages were too cumbersome for me to carry and Bro had to help me with them, so in many of the pics taken following this I look alot happier than him! Lol.







We ensconced on comfy leather seat of the express train, picked up some reads (The mags are all in Korean, we just leafed through them with occasionally glances at the pics in them) and saw Lee Kwang Soo in one of the pages! He is really a model, let's not doubt him anymore, shall we?


The moment we alighted from the train, the lady who lent us her studio apartment for 6 nights was already there to pick us up. (Yes, I tried home stay for the first time! As I had to sponsor my bro for accommodation in Korea, I sought a cheaper alternative so that my bonus wouldn't be spent away at an accelerated rate.) She is irresistible and has such vivacious personality, I was so attracted to her. Lol. As promised in her account of the airbnb website, it was just a 5 mins walk from Seoul Station. We crossed to the opposite of the Seoul Station, walk along one alley and there we were standing outside her apartment.






She also gave us a brief walkthrough on how to use the appliances in her apartment. After she left, these wildlife-themed lamps hanging in her kitchen caught my attention!

I copied and pasted from the website the following description her husband wrote about their offer to engage tourists: 

"Hello

I'm Mr.Bang.

When you travel with your friends or family, My studio will be better. I designed the Interior Space by Minimalism.
I think it will save your budget. And I provide all of stuff for cooking and bath. So it makes your luggage slim.

I give you,
Pots, pans, ladles, spoons, chopsticks, knives, cutting boards, spice, washing-up gloves, oil, plates, cups, bowls, microwave, gas stove, refrigerator, kettle, toaster
For cook.

And I give you
Washing machine, detergent, iron (on request)
For wash.

Also I give you
Shampoo, conditioner, body shampoo, toothpaste, facial cleansing foam, hand wash, shower ball, towels, hair dryer, full-length mirrors
For bath.

It's not share another guest. Everything is owned by you."

I told my bro that it's such a great deal. We were given everything in their apartment for just the price of $400! At the end of the trip, he was so tempted to pack their vacuum cleaner into his luggage.

But in the end as much as we want to grab the washing machine, we didn't as we as kind-hearted people didn't want to take advantage of others. Lol.

Bro and I were pretty satisfied with the cleanliness of the apartment and availability of resources that hotels don't even provide.  





My bro who slept on the upper deck of this double decker bed was immensely troubled by the short distance between his position and the ceiling! Lol. I think he banged his head a few times when he got out of bed in the morning.


After unloading our luggages, we headed to Hongdae! Hongdae is an affordable place for shopping and dining since it is catered for University students. :D

The airport is such a placid place, but Hongdae, which was swarmed with Koreans, made us do abit of the getting used to.




We made a beeline for the first Korean BBQ restaurant we saw, after it caught Bro's eye. I realised that guys cannot bear with hunger, they look so weak if their stomachs aren't filled with something. The buffet only cost $12 each, but limits us to only 1.5 hour of eating.

After some efforts in attempting to communicate with the staff, we finally understood their restaurant rules. We derived at a conclusion that Koreans understand English but aren't fluent enough to speak to foreigners like us with it.



Hence, we tried to get the best out of the 1.5 hour with chatting, furiously eating and drinking Soju, an alcoholic beverage only native to Korea (only costs $3 in restaurants, and $1 in the Lotte Mart).




Look at the big pieces of meat on my left! 





The alcoholic taste of Soju was too strong, so strong that we ordered some Pepsi to mix with it, and that's how both of us struggled to finish the whole bottle.
Our plan of spending more time in the restaurant foiled when the restaurant waiter showed us his watch, tapped his finger on it, to send us a heads-up on the time (time for us to leave the restaurant). Lol. 





Music performance in the streets of Hongdae. Bro, who practises the guitar day and night, was so attracted to it and was full of praise for this talented musician the whole night long. 




Etude House.





Many Koreans gather in the BBQ restaurants after work to enjoy friends' company with food and beer. (There is always at least one type of beer on every table.)







Street tap dance performance to publicise their underground pub. :D








Cute game stall in Hongdae.

Kitties Collection

I'm sorry that the tomorrow I promised didn't come! :D

Junwen is collecting kitties again!

Update soon!

Will update tomorrow I promise!

Work is so hectic, I worked till the very day I left for Korea and didn't even have time to plan my itinerary, blog, and watch Running Man and The Big Bang Theory! 
More about that tomorrow!

Jun Wen has gone back to working, reducing his cortisol intake and exercising a little. Hoho! He's awesome!

2 months post braces.

2 months post braces.
Less than 2 years to straighter teeth! 





The metal doesn't hurt me no more. :) Cool! 
Still, nothing hurts more than the ligament tear, so I appreciate gravely my new $13,000 surgeon-crafted ligament. 


Colleague said I am so busy! I see the physiotherapist once a week, and orthodontist, orthopedic surgeon and beautician once a month! They are gradually making my life better, but also at the same time making me really broke. I'm seriously reconsidering the decision to rot at home after quitting my job. Lol.

Cushing's Disease Part II

On the 22th of April, he told me that his surgery was scheduled on 26th April, and I got really worked up. Here is the story:

The endocrinologist at TTSH diagnosed him with Cushing's and followed up with him for the months of Jan to Mar, and prescribed him with medicine to adjust his potassium and cortisol levels. He is a very meticulous person and thus took some time to monitor and analyse his condition, before coming to a main decision at each phase of monitoring. He wanted Simba to have his cortisol level lowered by a great margin before the surgery can be proceeded. The surgery was intended to be done in Mar, but the decision to have him operated shifted to April, and then to June. His reason for the delay was the risk of complications post surgery, one of which was blood clots in the legs as a result of high cortisol level.

His parents got so distressed and impatient, and worry that the more the doctor procrastinate, the tumour has already grown bigger and would trigger more problems in Simba's health, and went ahead to ask for a second opinion from Mount E.

Both the endocrinologist and surgeon at Mount E were assertive in their advice for Simba to be operated soon, without waiting for his cortisol level to be lowered first. If he continues to wait, his symptoms would worsen, and he's going to suffer more from them.

"Better to be safe than to be sorry" was my opinion. The tears just flowed when I advised Simba not to be in a haste on his choice, and to reconsider his parents' and his decision as blood clots in the legs can cause drastic consequences, but in the end, I gave in because I knew I could trust his judgement, and did not hinder his decision to go ahead with the surgery.

Accompanied by his parents and I, Simba went through the administration and got prepared for the surgery on 26th April. He got a little tense during the administration, because of my overwhelming anxiety (They say anxiety is contagious, aren't they so true?), but despite the spontaneous look on my face, I spoke from experience and assured him to trust the surgeon. All that the patient could do then was to cooperate by keeping calm before and post sugery. Basically, I told him that his job was to just sleep and the tumour will be removed on its own. Lol.

After the registration, we followed the nurse to his ward so that he could get ready for the surgery. Here is Simba changed in his surgical robe!

 


I followed through the whole procedure of his preparation of the surgery before the door of the operating theatre shut on me. Got really emotional while standing outside the waiting room to eavesdrop on the anaesthetist's advice to him about pain management post surgery. Why does he have to go through all this? I then understood why people always say it's your loved ones who hurt the most when you are sick and why the wedding vow includes the part of "love in sickness and in health".

Couldn't really keep my mind in focus at work that day, hence left early and scooted to the hospital with a feeling of being suffocated by emotions on the way. 

He was already in the ward (see pic below) when I reached, and looked really exhausted, but greeted me with such lightheartedness that I became so impressed. He pretended to sleep but wriggled his toes and wish me happy birthday occasionally to catch my attention (I was always busy talking to his parents).








Although his parents were really superstitious about taking pictures in a ward, they couldn't quit their habit of taking some especially they came to explore a new place.

His robe was not worn on properly as his parents didn't know how to put it back on for him after showing me his surgical cuts. Lol.




Suaidah, our NTU coursemate, who is working in the hospital as a Biomedical Engineer currently, saw us at the registration area, and came to visit him after his op. :D
Being very familiarised with the ward, she taught Simba to use all the controls at his convenience. Lol. She also demonstrated how to play Angry Birds on Smart TV using the remote! I was so touched that she specially brought over a extravagant gift for Simba the next morning (It was a Saturday morning) when she returned home really late that day because of the visiting.




Joe, Miao and her boyfriend came soon after.
Poor Joe reached early but went to the wrong Mount E and had to take a cab over.




Miao told us to give sad looks when Simba looked so filled with delight. Lol.






Spent the next hour playing Angry Birds. Simba didn't have the energy to talk or stay awake, so I entertained his visitors lol. But I was so apologetic that when he said he wanted to pee and needed privacy I didn't hear it and was still happily chatting with my friends, and that I didn't discover Simba struggling to stay awake until Miao's observant boyfriend told us so. What a "great" girlfriend he has! Lol.




He felt so much better the next day, and regained his appetite. His parents gave me the nod for deciding the menu for the next 2 days, but were so angry when they discovered I chose hamburger as his lunch. Lol! Wait, I can explain... He ate Chinese food the previous day, and the Malay and Indian food involved curry, which were unhealthy too.






The sinful hamburger for a patient who had just undergone a surgery. Look at that oreo cheesecake; I ordered it as his dessert so that I could have it for myself lol.





Colleagues and friends visited and some even wrote Get Well Soon cards. So sweet of them!







Solo picture of the oreo cheesecake before I savoured it.




27th April. My birthday. Simba's parents bought me a small slice of cake and his brother came with a cookies and cream cupcake from Twelve Cupcakes later. Omg. I regretted eating that oreo cheesecake in the first place!




The 2 cakes that I ate with difficulty. Lol.





Birthday girl on the hospital bed. Cute pic with Simba pretending as if there were no occasion, and his brother photobombing.




Simba trying to act suave in his monk-like hospital robe. Lol.




Lol. Miao said Simba was always the background in all the pics he took with me at the ward.
Happy birthday to me!

Simba surprised me when his sec sch friends came into the ward with a cake and a bouquet of flowers singing the birthday song to me. That was the first time I met his friends and they sang a song to me with my name in it ("Happy birthday to hui jin...")! He only walked a small distance from the door to me and stood for a few photos before his wounds hurt and had to get back to bed after that. He also asked his mum to bring his gift for me he bought a week before. Effort appreciated! :D




Three of his long-term friends who helped in the surprise. :D





I only saw this old picture of them before, and thought they are not only similar in their looks, but have similar height and weight (ostracising Simba). Lol.

And girls, these are the 4 best men u are gonna deal with next time. I think they are really nice people, since they endured through the annoying youtube videos Simba showed to them in the ward. Lol. Simba said you can torture them whichever and whatever way u want and they will play along. :D





Mount E's classy food and classy ward.


Thank you friends who have visited. Thanks to my girls and Joe who have showed concern about Jun Wen's progress. :D

Jun Wen has been a undefeatable person; he never complains, never blames anyone or god regardless of how difficult the situation may get. His take on life is admirable; he stays positive and takes things in his stride. He never once showed signs of defeat or despair throughout this period, and tried as best as he could to fight the high levels of cortisol; he abstained from drinking coffee, slept at 11pm everyday, did workouts specially for limbs strengthening, took medicine punctually and switched to a hairfall retaining shampoo.


During the most recent consultation with the surgeon, we learnt that the tumour was completely eradicated and was assessed to be benign. This was such great news!


I guess his positive psychological state accelerated the rate of his recovery. He began with walking short distances on the second day post surgery, and increased these distances at the park. Now at 2 weeks post surgery he can watch Ironman 3 in the theatre and chat over coffee at Starbucks. I read from Google that after the removal of the tumour, the patients return to their original healthy state after half a year of dieting. In fact, I think his face has slimmed down a little now.





Simba. 15 days post surgery. His double chin is gone! Lol.








For a student who studied Biology for many years and couldn't remember a single thing from it, I applauded myself for knowing Cushing's Disease by heart. I was almost registering myself for the support group for Cushing's.

The ordeal is so over. :D

Wishing Simba a speedy recovery!