VivID DreAMeR

This is an amazing story about how life can be so unpredictable…. read on an be amazed….

Sue gave us this book a few Christmas ago… a simple wish that my kids were to fulfill for her…. one that we would only know when they’re all grown up and able to think for themselves (hmmm… how that sounds a little wrong)…

Sit back… relax… enjoy….

The Paper Bag Princess - Story by Robert Munsch

  Elizabeth was a beautiful princess.  She lived in a castle and had expensive princess clothes.  She was going to marry a prince named Ronald.

  Unfortunately, a dragon smashed her castle, burned all her clothes with his fiery breath, and carried off Prince Ronald.

  Elizabeth decided to chase the dragon and get Ronald back.

  She looked everywhere for something to wear, but the only thing she could find that was not burnt was a paper bag.  So she put on the paper bag and followed the dragon.

  He was easy to follow, because he left a trail of burnt forests and horses’ bones.

  Finally, Elizabeth came to a cave with a large door that had a huge knocker on it.  She took hold of the knocker and banged on the door.

  The dragon stuck his nose out of the door and said, "Well, a princess!  I love to eat princesses, but I have already eaten a whole castle today.  I am a very busy dragon.  Come back tomorrow."

  He slammed the door so fast that Elizabeth almost got her nose caught.

  Elizabeth grabbed the knocker and banged on the door again.

  The dragon stuck his nose out of the door and said, "Go away.  I love to eat princesses, but I have already eaten a whole castle today.  I am a very busy dragon.  Come back tomorrow."

  "Wait," shouted Elizabeth .  Is it true that you are the smartest and fiercest dragon in the whole world?"

  "Yes," said the dragon.

  "Is it true," said Elizabeth, "that you can burn up ten forests with your fiery breath?"

  "Oh, yes," said the dragon, and he took a huge, deep breath and breathed out so much fire that he burnt up fifty forests.

  "Fantastic," said Elizabeth, and the dragon took another huge breath and breathed out so much fire that he burnt up one hundred forests.

  "Magnificent" said Elizabeth, and the dragon took another huge breath, but this time nothing came out.  The dragon didn’t even have enough fire left to cook a meatball.

  Elizabeth said, "Dragon, is it true that you can fly around the world in just ten seconds?"

  "Why, yes," said the dragon, and jumped up and flew all the way around the world in just ten seconds.

  He was very tired when he got back, but Elizabeth shouted, "Fantastic, do it again!"

  So the dragon jumped up and flew around the whole world in just twenty seconds.

  When he got back he was too tired to talk, and he lay down and went straight to sleep.

  Elizabeth whispered, bery softly, "Hey, dragon." The dragon didn’t move at all.

  She lifted up the dragon’s ear and put her head right inside.  She shouted as loud as she could, "Hey dragon!"

  The dragon was so tired he didn’t even move.

  Elizabeth walked right over the dragon and opened the door to the cave.

  There was Prince Ronald.  He looked at her and said, "Elizabeth, you are a mess!  You smell like ashes, your hair is all tangled and you are wearing a dirty old paper bag.  Come back when you are dressed like a real princess."

  "Ronald," said Elizabeth, "your clothes are really pretty and your hair is very neat.  You look like a real prince, but you are a bum."

  They didn’t get married after all.

Sue’s message was clear and simple… To Ally that all men are bums and that women like us can simply do without them and are better off without them and never let men put you down in anyway… to Miggy that if he ever turned out to be like Prince Ronald… all of us would simply just kick his butt… 

Go get the book… the pictures are fabulously drawn… this book is definately a keeper that should be passed on from generation to generation.

Thanks Sue for the wonderful book… I’ve been diligently reading to the kids

Finally it’s over!  It’s been a long wait and gruelling preparations have been made but the nightmare of the school’s annual concert is over.

In a way I have to say I’m happy that everything’s over… no more rehearsals and having to fret about the costumes anymore…. but it is a little emotional for me as it’s my last concert.  Suddenly it just hit me that I will never have to do something like that in my entire life again.

Parents were congratulating me for a job well done… for those whose kids have been with me since I joined the school, thanked me for taking care of their kids througout this time and wished me all the best… and everyone asked when my last day was as they wanted to throw me a farewell party.

As terrible and horrible they might be sometimes when it comes to their kids…. but no matter how bad they can be they still show their gratitude (in different ways) toward the teachers.

It will be another emotional taxing farewell for me on my last day… As much as I want to say goodbye to my current job and be free from kids (not talking about my own) there is an attachment that has already been formed and I can’t deny that I will miss them.

I’ve watched them grow up from their playgroup stage till now where some of them will be going to K1 in the beginning of next year…Not only am I closer to the kids at my current centre but to my colleagues too…. whom I will miss dearly. 

BUT… Smile… It’s not the end of the world… it’s a challenge for me to have to keep in touch with more people whom God has chosen to be part of my life.

I’m blessed… definately blessed with wonderful people around me who constantly show me their love and support… what more can I ask for?

We were watching Peter Pan’s Return to Neverland the other day when Ally decided to scream out loud… "Mommy I want to fly!"

How was I to explain to her that it’s impossible for her to fly without wings?!  Then she goes to the room to get her pair of fairy wings and her wand out and starts running all around the house performing her fairy dance and sprinkling Ally dust all over Cody our dog.

Sigh… I think it would take a lot for me to have to explain to her and burst her bubble that faries don’t exist or… do they?!  More research for mommy I guess. Does it also help in anyway that she knows her Mommy is known as superwoman to all her friends?!

But do faries really exist… really?  And why would anyone wanna be shrunk to the size of a thumb?  Maybe it’s her way of saying she wants freedom… but from what?!

Luckily she didn’t go to the extent of taking out a fairy dress or her ballet looking slippers and even worse… jumping from the chair.

But no matter what… I thought it was quite a funny question and a funny ambition for a little girl to want to be a fairy…. maybe she’ll want to put this in her resùme when she starts working life.

This weekend has gotta be the most miserable one in a long, long time…. I’m filled with mixed emotions…. I dunno if I want this weekend to pass quickly so that I can go back to work.. or whether I just want time to stand still….sigh!

It all started with a job offer which led to a talk with my bosses who refused to state me a figure and annual leave that I want….. it was only until I handed in my resignation letter only did I see results…. but how much?  A pathetic $75!  After all my efforts… this is how much I mean to them… and this is their way of trying to keep me… they apparently tell my colleagues how much they value me…. SHOW ME THE MONEY MAN!!!!

My colleagues are putting in more effort in trying to make me stay…. they have asked me to talk to them about giving me more…. and bigger benefits…. but I don’t want to talk to them anymore….

To me… all this goes to show how sincere they actually are about keeping me…. Am I cheap comodity?  I must be mad.. nuts… out of my freaking mind to stay for a $75 increase!  When the other side is offering me lesser hours and better medical benefits for myself and my children!  Something that they can’t provide…. and the question is that… Why must I hand in my resignation letter to get what I want?!  And when asked what I’d do with a 2 hour break…. I was APPALLED!!!!!  Is it any of your business what I do with my time?!

So never mind about that I don’t have any morale to work anymore…. I try to divert my attention to doing other things…. like what?!…. Trying to cheer a friend up and trying to help chill out a little…. but advances were rejected and would rather drown himself in work…. sigh…. now it’s not just no morale to work… but no morale to do anything!  Thank God for the kids cos…. without them… I think I’d just stay in bed and rot the weekend away!

I think my bosses didn’t have a good weekend either and definately wouldn’t have a good business trip… and maybe I should have turned in my letter on Wednesday as planned…

Anyhow…. decision is made up… it’s not everyday that someone comes knocking on your door…. offering you the same pay and lesser hours!!!!  They have this bad habit of thinking that God’s always on their side and will always take care of them… well… it’s time they were shown that life isn’t all that rosey… and now is the perfect time to show them the reason why God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nites!!!!!

I consider myself to be very blessed…. Who am I to complain about life?  I have been blessed with wonderful friends and family who care for me…. I have food laid in front of me everyday…. a warm house to go home to…. but most importantly…. I have 2 very beautiful children.

Today I received a very devasating piece of news…. that my colleage had a miscarriage…. I never had to go through that kind of anguish…. but as a Mother…. it’s already painful enough for a parent when the kids fall sick…. heart breaking - that’s an understatement.

I look at Ally…. and then at Miggy…. and now at Christopher…. and I thank the lord for all of them… especially my two children…. impish at times but hidden behind that ‘mask’ are two very beautiful angels.

Life is so precious…. Ally was very excited about the pregnancy…. but when I broke the news to her… her face fell…. and all that came out from her was…"Oh!  So sad."… she’s only 5… but for her to say something like that means so much to me.

I wish I could lend her my shoulder to cry on… to share with her her silent pain and suffering…. I feel so miserable for her and the atmosphere at work was so solemn… I just couldn’t to wait to get out of the office.

I see children as a blessing from God… you can’t plan when you want them… he just gives them to you…. Nobody is ready for motherhood…. I know I wasn’t but God was there with me… I trusted in him that he would take care of us and he did… and he gave me the strength to take on my two children and move on with life.

I can’t and will not deny that I have no fears… nor pain… but one thing I know is that I cannot imagine losing my children to anything or anyone in the world… they are my pillars of strength…. cos’ without them, I’m no energizer bunny… nor am I any superwoman…. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

"Lord, I am in no position to question you.  All I ask is for you to give them all the courage that they can receive, help them pick up the pieces through this period of time…. I pray for the strength that you can bestow upon me…. make me your instrument to help heal their wounds."

What a weekend…. My sister went into labour on Saturday and after her 18hr stay in the labour ward she finally gave birth to her baby boy at almost 3am in the morning!

WELCOME CHRISTOPHER GEORGE into our world.  He’s a pretty big baby weighing 8lbs and pretty long - 52cm… but still Miggy holds the record for the longest baby in the Bong family side.

Ally and Miggy were so excited… they kept asking about when they could see the baby… Miggy’s extremely excited because finally there’s a boy to play with in a family full of girls…. the family is indeed growing from 2 grandchildren (Ally and Tasha) it became 3 (Miggy)… then 4 (Nicole)… then 5 (christopher)… then 6 (My eldest sisters’s upcoming baby girl expected in Jan).

Running to church only to see Daniel so sad we decided to go to Parkway to get "provisions" for my sister in hospital and of course to keep Daniel company for a while… hoping that things will turn out brighter for him…. then running to my Godma’s house for Jordon’s birthday party… then home again to get more provisions for my sister and to feed the kids their dinner….. while they were playing with their treasure from the party…. I didn’t expect Ally and Miggy to be such good sports… especially Ally who happily played pass the parcel with a whole group of unfamiliar kids.  SO PROUD OF MY BABY!

So finally in the evening… we went to see my little nephew and my sister…. He was big…. now the kids can’t wait for him to come home… I dunno how the house is gonna be like with 3 kids and 3 dogs… maybe you guys wanna come by and see the situation and judge for yourself… I bet it’s gonna be SHEER CHAOS!

Read the words….. Very meaningful (From Code Red’s Missing You Already)Take My Heart(Lew/Graham/Cohen)I’m in love with a girl and she’s youAnd I know this time that it’s trueSo unique, so completeUnlike any love there’s beenAnd the loneliness I felt has goneCos I know you care, and I swearI won’t let you downAs long as you want me aroundChorusWherever you go, whatever you do,No matter how far,Take my heart with youWhenever you need, however you choose,If ever you leave,Take my heart with youFrom the moment you wakeWherever, whatever, no matter how,Just take my heart with youSometimes love, though it hurts,I must say, I wouldn’t have it another wayThough I’ve lost, this time I’ve wonCos look what our love has becomeSome people never find what we have foundThey look to the past, think it won’t lastBut that’s a mistake that we haven’t madeChorusTake my heart with youSo that I can be with youYou know my heart, can’t be apart from yoursChorus

Finally…. my divorce has finally been settled on Wednesday 16 Aug 2006….. the day where I claimed back my freedom!

Things haven’t been going well for me the past few months as most of you guys should know…. Now, the tables have been turned… Alan’s got to pay me a bulk of his pay…. part of my lawyer’s fees and although he got granted overnight stay after three months from Sept…. I doubt he would ever visit the children…. and if so, I will have to tell my lawyer and then she’ll tell the court.  When I told my colleagues…. they just told me…"Mel, he just asked for it to hurt you…. knowing how much the kids mean to you".

Just the other day while on the phone with my dear Grandpa Fred from OZ….  he asked me if I ever thought I made a mistake…. I just told him like I tell many other people…. "NO"… God makes things happen for a reason….Cos’ if I didn’t get married, I wouldn’t be blessed with two beautiful children….. who mean the world to me…. who give me priceless moments to share with them…. not many people can boast of.

Yes… the road will be tough…. For one thing, I never did say that life would be a bed of roses…. but I’ve got good colleagues, friends and family as my pillars of strength…. My Mom especially has been great…. giving me all the support and love that I could possibly need.

Further more, I was just appraised by my boss…..all went well, though there will be more work but all is just, I will get a pay increase and more leave…. and I’ll be going back to school!  My bosses have agreed to sponsor my course next year which is a really great start.

I always tell my Mom not to worry…. In the past, She worried about how I was going to pull through… now she’s worried that I will never find the right man who would accept the kids and me all at the same time…. She’s afraid that later on in life, I’ll be lonely with nobody to take care of me…. but I tell her that God’s watching…. and he’s guiding me through life.

This is a chapter…. a new beginning not only for me…. but for the kids…. and I thank God for all that he’s done for me! :O)

I just couldn’t wait for the clock to strike 4pm yesterday….. WHY?!  Cos I had a date with my brother-in-law’s friends from the UK…. truthfully, I was more excited about going out to see Sam more than Shafi.

So I went down to Far East to meet them and boy…. these guys went nuts!  They’re the male versions of me when I shop…. going in from one shop to another….. I had a really good time that I didn’t wanna go home!  It’s not everyday that I get to shop with two cute guys who enjoy shopping as much as I do and… THEY’RE NOT GAY!

After that we went to the cafe at the Marriott to get some drinks because Shafi was dying to get his Corona… so Sam and I got these really huge glasses of Erdinger and my brother-in-law (Justin) got a Kilkenny… I was high by the time I finished that whole darn glass…. I reckon I couldn’t walk straight… but I thought… WHAT THE HECK…. if I fell, at least there’ll be two cute and strong guys to carry me home… HAHAHA!!!

So more shopping after that where I brought them to Wisma, Takashimaya and the Heeren…. where Shafi wanted to get a pair of converse but decided that he didn’t wanna…. then when we sat down to get another drink (this time non-alcoholic)... Sam and I had to persuade him to get it so we went back to the converse shop to get it.

I’ll probably be seeing them next week…. they want me to take a day off and bring both Miggy and Ally out as well…. I’ll most probably do it…. cos they’re so in love with the two of them…. Ally would love to go shopping with them… I reckon it’ll be her first trip with two guys!  Hahaha!

So… my shopping date with my eye candy has come to a close… maybe round 2?!  But all I gotta say now is…. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I should say that it was a great weekend…. for starters, I went out with Ivy and got the latest scoop in the other centre…. Hahaha…. turns out that things aren’t very rosey for the teachers over on the other side…. thought that the politics on our side was bad….. well, not till I heard what happens on the other side.

Anyhow, took this wonderful lady friend of mine to CONCOURSE to shop…. I think we didn’t imagine ourselves to spend so much money on junk like that…. Hahaha… anyhow, we had fun and the kids and I decided to take her to our latest hang out… MARINA SQUARE!

Just like me… it’s been ages since she went there…. looking all around… I bought myself a pair of shoes and bought the kids clothes from FOX KIDS…. AND…. just for the record….

…AFIZA SAYANG, THEY’RE SELLING 2 T-SHIRTS FOR $12 EACH…. NOT 2 FOR $12 LA ;o)

It was the usual for the first part of the morning on Sunday…. everyone couldn’t get up and Miggy and Mommy had to make a mad rush to go to church… Hahaha… TYPICAL!

After church, we had to rush home which made Miggy pretty cranky cos he didn’t really get to talk to Godpa that day since Godpa also had a short choir practice session…. sigh!

Anyhow, we also had guests coming…. my brother-in-law’s friends from UK were in town and were coming over for lunch…. Shafi and Sam were very nice people… at first I thought they were gay cos they were so enthusiastic about shopping(that’s so not a typical male thing to do)…. but then when they talked to me about this girl whom they met at the pub…. I kinda figured that they were straight.

Sam was like EYE CANDY… he’s not exactly tall but he’s got really broad shoulders…. Phew! I was supposed to take them shopping today but I gotta fetch the kids so we’re gonna settle for a shopping trip tomorrow…. I’m so excited… not only do I get to see Sam again but also…. I’ve never seen two  STRAIGHT GUYS so enthusiastic about going SHOPPING!!!

Then my parents-in-law came by to see the kids…. I applaud my Mom really for being so civil to them…. and she told them that they were more than welcome to pop by to see the kids.  Just like I told Jinny this morning…. I think it’s the kids that they think about…. they have more feelings for them as compared to Alan cos they spent more time with them than him….. I think they’re also at a loss as to how they’re gonna man-handle their son.

After that, our family friend came…. just so that she could see my Mom one last time before she flies off to Australia for three weeks.  Also to see how the kids and I are holding up.

We didn’t expect to have so many people come visit us… I think the kids had lots of fun and they were very happy…. Back to reality now….. It’s Monday…. a start of a new work week…. Also the start of a new nightmare…. where I can’t wait to see how I can manage the kids without my Mom and my grumpy Dad barking down my neck half the time.  It’s time to BREATHE!!!!