Year after year, I kept postponing my trip and finally this year, some 2-3 weeks before the program was due to start, I suddenly had an inspiration or rather, a message.. that all that I have been going through the whole of last year was preparing me for a big step forward this year and the Mastery Program will be an integral part of this step forward.
I am used to having these sort of "messages" come to my mind. Throughout most big events in my life, I usually have messages come to me but because I was then not that aware what they meant, I usually just ignored them and then go.. "Wow... that actually came true." and forgot about it:) haha... I remember that when I was about to have my first boyfriend, a week before I met him, a voice told me, "It is time to start falling in love!" and I did.
Before I got pregnant with Ace, I kept getting visions of me celebrating Chinese new year with a baby and soon after, I found out I was pregnant.
And now that I am more aware that these messages are really inspiration and am starting to learn to listen to them, I decided I shouldn't ignore it and I asked Max if I could go for this program cos it meant that I will be away for two weeks and that he would have to do all that I have been doing at home.
Max said ok at first and added "Even though actually that is a busy period for me..." And then he went on and on about how I have to do certain things before I go and for the next few days, he kept telling me things like I am not allowed to go because of this reason or that... Which I took to mean that he thinks it is ok that I go but he is two minds and is working on his own emotions about me going.. so I just let him be and went ahead to book everything.
When he found out that I was all booked and ready to go, he seemed really surprised but already at the point of no return liao lor. He did not seem to happy that he has to do my job but he stopped bugging me I guess since things were set to stone.
On my part, I tried to clean the house and do whatever needs to be done before I leave. I prepared my itenary and sent it to Max. I made a timetable of Ace's schedules so that Max can refer to it and know when he needs to bring Ace where. I ironed all his shirts so he will have some shirts to wear. I made sure to wash all of Ace's uniform so he has most of the first week covered.
After dinner, he came and sat beside me and said he wanted to sit with me.. and then he said he wanted to sit in my chair. He stuck to me like a sticker and said he will miss me very much.
Then he asked me for a shirt that I have worn before in aircon to put over his soft toy so he can smell my smell when I am away. Then during our usual bedtime chat, he made me promise to listen to the song Ass Back Home everyday cos the chorus goes, "Get your ass back home..." Hahaha... not before he reminded me that I should get him a present!:) He also told me that his friend said that the pineapples in Hawaii are delicious and that I MUST try them if I get the chance and I promised to do so.
After he had fallen asleep, I packed my luggage and tried to get some sleep as I had to wake at 4am in the morning. It did not help that I have not been sleeping much in the past few nights.
Max sent me off tot he airport and I said goodbye and checked in...
The 9 hour plane ride to Japan was long and I slept a little and watched a little bit of TV.... Caught Robert De Niro in The Intern and drifted in and out of Lalaland. They served us food and I had the strangest egg ever. It was supposed to be scrambled egg with sausage but strangely, both egg and sausage tasted the same... it is not that the taste is the same, the texture is the same too... only thing is they were different shape and colour.. strange...
I sat next to a woman with a year old baby and a little girl that looked about 5 or 6 and I was thinking... siao liao lah... I cannot sleep liao. But then when I sat down, I realized she was struggling with her two kids and her daughter was crying as well.
I remembered how a kind gentleman helped me when I brought Ace to Dubai and so I thought I must pay it forward. I tried to talk to her daughter and chat with her and then once I became a friend, I played the ipad games with her and chatted with her. I found out that her name is Lela and that her mother is from Turkey, Istanbul and there were visiting Singapore where her father was on a work trip. They now lived in the US though and that she celebrated her 6th birthday in Singapore and even though she did not like to eat cake, she wanted a rainbow cake very much and so her parents bought her one. She got to take photo with it but did not get to eat it and so is still upset over tat:) I also found out that her favorite colour is all shades of blue... especially dark/navy blue. hahaha.... She even tried to teach me how to speak Turkish!:) Such a cute, lovely girl.
When we arrived in Narita, it was super cold! Brrrrr..... I started to sneeze and I knew I had to get some sleep soon to get better.
Our transit was a few hours and so we walked around the airport. I tried to find the Tokyo Banana biscuit tat Ace and Max liked but could not find any. But it was still interesting to see the things they sold at the airport...
My travel mates, who will also be my roomies for the next 2 weeks told me that usually they will buy these carbo blockers here in Japan. If I had known I would be eating so much in the next two weeks, I would have bought them I think:) hahahahaha
Almost time to board. Went to the toilet and took some quick photos...
Finally, after another gruelling 8 hours, we arrived in Honolulu Airport! Woohoo! And by the way, while the food still sucked.. they served a fantastic green tea ice cream!:)
Here you can register online to get a free voucher.. with the voucher, if you do bulk purchase you can get more discounts. And then if you give them your email and sign up for something, you get more discounts. If you buy something, when you pay, they give you a voucher to encourage you to use in another different shop under the same owner.... and the discounts are usually discounts on discount so you really can get quite a steal...
I walked around not buying anything but just enjoying the shopping but then I came to Nine West and saw a shoe I had been looking for.... so I bought it.
Next stop was Clarke's and I remembered that Max's brown shoes were old and needed to be replaced. I saw something similar, took a picture and sent to him..
WL told me that the scenery here changes everyday due to different weather and I am looking forward to seeing that:)
Cos it is an old barn converted into a small two storey room. Comes with training room, an office, two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen:)
Then it is time to head towards our home for the next two weeks!
After we rested for a while, we went supermarket shopping for food we can cook and eat for the next few days. The supermarket was really cold and in some ways, the supermarket, SAFEWAY, reminded me of SPINNEYS in Dubai given the type of things they sold.
Almost everyone had the SAFEWAY card cos it actually gives us discount on some of the items;)
Then since we were near this place called Teddy's Burger, WL suggested that we have dinner there cos apparently, they serve the best burgers ever!:)
I mean... the tomatoes are not only sweet, they are rich and the french beans are so tasty raw! So are the capsicums (which I usually dun eat) and I just love love love all the veggies here!:)
But here is a picture of something we tried I got off the internet:) Their spicy sushi was really tasty lor;)
The service there was quite slow but the food was good! Hahaha... Our classmates ordered and shared the food and I got to know a few other classmates from Chicago, UK and China.
It was an interesting day. We got sorted out to our groups and my group leader, H, who was french is so cute lor:) He is very handsome and he is so romantic when he talks about his girlfriend!:) hahaha. He is like walking poetry in motion!:)
And we were a rather quirky, but very sweet family group. There is the gentle and romantic French guy, the petite but powerful Taiwanese lady, a steady and caring Brit/Canadian, the courageous powerhouse from Hongkong and of course, this "Angel" from Singapore...
My buddy was a lady who is sort of semi retired though she is very young. She runs a business without needing to manage it and she is also working on applying to become a POV trainer. If buddies are a reflection of ourselves, does it mean I am going to get somewhere in life already? Hahaha...
But truth to be told, my buddy at the start seemed quite distant. I was avoiding her and she was avoiding me. Part of it has to do with the fact that I projected all my hidden neediness on her and it was annoying that I had to heal THIS again!:) hahahaha.. I used to have lots of needy people around me and I thought I had already healed that cos I dun see them around anymore!:) hahahahaa.... But know she must be the most suitable buddy for me lah.. so I prayed that I can move closer towards her faster and get to know her better :)
After the workshop, we took out the "alchohol" we had in the fridge at home and had a drink while chit chatting. I think based on Max's standards, this one is NOTHING lor.. cos only 2.45% or something:)
Chatted with Ace for a bit as well. Seems that the boys had fun too:)
And then Ace complained to me that the tshirt that I gave him to tie over the soft toy no longer had any smell.. I told him I did suggest another shirt tat had more sweat in it and Ah Yee said maybe I should have given Ace my ZUMBA shirt:) hahahaha
Ace told me also that there is only 1% of the population in Hawaii that holds guns. And I was like.. "How did you know?"
"I checked lah" he said. I asked him why did he bother to do that and he said he did that to protect me and to make sure I am safe cos USA is a dangerous place since everyone has guns.. hahaha:) Sweet... Seems like now that he is a little more grown up, he has a different idea of how to protect me:) When I went for my Apprenticeship in Macau in 2010 (when he was 5 years old), he told me to call him if I met bad guys and he will beat them up:) hahahaha...
We left house quite early and the weather is a little different and everything looks a little different:)
I thought it is more of a Chinese sort of thing... I watched a program the other day and they said that Char Siew came about because when people roasted piglets, there is this part that they will cut out and is left over and so they roasted that. But each pig only had one small part like tat and there was not enough to go around and so someone came up with an idea to skewer them all in one row and roast them with red sweet sauce tat brings us the char siew we have today..
Was too tired to chat with Ace but Max sent me pictures to let me know they are doing well:)
His dad was suitably impressed and posted this on FB:
I suppose when a person is forced into a situation, he has 2 choices; whine or grow. I am glad that Ace has taken the opportunity to be Independent, Reliable and Sensible.
He followed the schedule that his Mummy Angel Peng has put out for him, did his chores, and volunteered to do some of mine.
I have given him some leeway to go for lunch with his mates, and he kept me updated of his movement.
And even when i tempted him to lets watch 1 movie every night when Mummy is away, and sleep at 2330h instead of his usual 2100h bedtime. He finished up what he's supposed to do, came to claim his hug and promptly went to bed by 2100h.
And of course he kept prompting here and there, "Daddy, what's the plan for the weekend?". With his excellent performance, he will be rewarded. Maybe not this weekend or the next, but i know he will Win in Life with this Attitude!
Arete Ace!
I think Max was missing me too... he said he got all teary missing me and banned me from EVER going away for so long:) hahahahaha... But dunno if he was kidding or really missing me THAT MUCH:) I shall believe that he is really missing me that much:) Feels good to be loved and missed :) Hahaha....
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