Mochi Tried to Escape Again

I was working from home on Wednesday. I had to move a lamp that I was giving away to the ground floor for collection and decided to leave the house with the metal gate closed but door opened. It took less than 5 mins. 

When I came back up, I saw a cat that looks like Mochi at the 6th floor lift landing. Of course that was Mochi and of course the metal gate was still closed. I have no idea how he managed to escape. He jumped over the mesh that we have put up on the metal gate? That is already waist height. We have to mesh some more? 

For the rest of the day, I kept the door closed, in case he tried to escape again while I was busy and distracted by work. Later in the evening, he showed me exactly how he escaped. Mochi didn’t jump, he climbed. He climbed until the end of the mesh, then he wriggled his way to the other side of the gate. 

Nana said that we should mesh higher but Mochi can climb until the top do the metal gate. He has done that and didn’t hesitate to show us that the very night. He climbed right to the top of the gate, wriggled his head out and got stuck for a while, until he decided that he would jump back down where he started. It was a big jump and we were glad that he didn’t hurt himself. 

I haven’t decided what to do. Meanwhile, when we leave the door opened, I am constantly peeping to see that we didn’t lose the cat. Zzzzz..

Mummy Lim

Happy 15th Birthday, Zaky!

This time next year, Zaky would spend his bday mugging for O levels. Speaking of which, I proudly showed him what I bought over the weekend. 

I am excited but he is obviously not. Hoho.

Zaky’s birthday fell on Tuesday this year. We almost didn’t get to have a birthday dinner together bcos the kids were at the church’s youth camp over the long weekend. They kindly remembered us and we had dinner on Monday evening. 

The bday boy’s request. 

He said that he wanted crab, but he ended up eating little bcos he was so slow in dissecting the crab. Lol. Look at the size of the Thai milk tea.

Bcos we are so near to Little India now, we had the privilege to drive through it on Deepavali, on the way home. 1st time ever in my life wor.

We got to see people spilling onto the road bcos the walkway was too narrow. 

On Zaky’s bday, Nana had tuition from 7pm to 9pm. It was just Zaky and me. We had Swensen - Zaky’s favorite restaurant. Hahahaha. We barely eat at Swensen bcos I found the food normal but expensive. I duno what Zaky exactly likes about Swensen but he was thrilled. 

Look at him studying the menu so intently. I think he studied it harder than for his exams. Lol. 

He was very happy with everything that he ordered, such that he needed to do a little happy dance with every other bite. Lol.

Of course he finished every bit of food. 

Bcos it was his bday, he got a free sundae. Again, he took some time to decide, looking at the ingredients in details.

That is not all. He got an ice cream bday cake to bring home.

Happy birthday Zaky! 

We are very thankful that Zaky has grown up to be a joyful good teenager and that God has kept him physically safe for the past 15 years. The only broken bone is that of his little pinky. Given how active and lack of spacious awareness when he was a toddler, I thought that we would have more. Hoho. We are also thankful that he had found God as his personal saviour and is surrounded by people who aid in his journey with God. 

Zaky, continue to be happy and may you find a gf soon. Lol. I am glad that you have grown so brave that the USS Halloween night is not scary. Hoho.

Mummy Lim

Zaky Sprained His Ankle

On Monday afternoon, Zaky texted that he rolled his ankle in school. It sounded like a mild case. Despite his injury, he was in the school the entire day bcos there was some cheer dance activity that he was leading for his house. Oh yes, End of Year exams (EOY) are done and there are plenty of non academic activities that kept the students entertained now. 

I thought it was a mild case - he said that he rolled his ankle and it sounded mild plus he was able to do so many physical activities after the injury. He finally limped home  at almost 9pm and his ankle was massive swollen! 

The picture doesn’t show but it was really swollen. I was even worried that he had a fracture. If fractured, youth camp is this weekend and he will not be able to participate in their games. He will miss his NSG too. He is going to the USS Halloween night in 2 weeks. I joked that his friends will probably leave him in the wheelchair in the scare zone. Lol. 

I don’t think it is a fracture. By morning, he could at least put weight on it but was limping around. He missed school on Tuesday bcos his ankle was still so swollen and it didn’t make sense for him to limp around. I can tell that he was very happy to skip school. Lol. 

It is almost a week. The swell is still bad. 

Bruises have appeared too. 

Anyhow, he is still off to Youth Camp. 年轻就是本钱. He will survive and will recover very soon. 

Speaking of EOY, he has generally done decent with a couple of As. I asked if he is (a) clever, (b) studied hard for EOY or (c) SST sets easy paper. He said (a). I think it is (c). Lol. 

Nana is done with her promos too. She said that the papers were so tough and she was worried that she would be retained in Y1. I don’t think so. Anyhow, she scraped past her CL and the rest of the papers are coming back next week. The H1 CL papers are taking place on 27 Oct. She only needed to pass the national exam and will be able to drop Chinese subject thereafter. Fighting! 

Mummy Lim

I Found a Cycling Group!

I cycled with 2 ladies who live around me 2 weeks ago. We have dated to cycle again on last Saturday morning and I was I was very excited. Unfortunately, the ride got canceled as they had other commitments. 

All are not lost bcos one of them happened to be the founder of the Potong Pasir Cycling Group (PPCG). The cycling group usually planned 2 rides in a week - a fast roadie ride on Friday evenings and a chill any bike will work ride on Sunday mornings. I contemplated joining them on Friday evening but I just came back in the morning from Mumbai and think that it would be suicidal. Night rides are not my preference; I am usually zapped of energy and I can’t see very well in the night

It was arranged and I joined them for the Sunday morning ride. I was told that many of them would be on their foldie and the rolling speed is usually below 25km/h. I kept flipping between bringing my lousy foldie or roadie. It is seriously boring to ride a roadie on a long and slow ride but I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to catch up on the foldie. 

What made me decide eventually on using the roadie is - TMCR. Hoho. I am an Easterner already, riding TMCR in bright daylight! 

The meeting point is very near to Rio and took me less than 10 mins to reach. I am very glad to bring my roadie; while 4 out of the 6 of us were on roadie, they all came in their Brompton. That is not a foldie, it is a roadie in disguise. Lol. One other lady came in her hybrid. 

Did they really roll at 25? Yes at times, but things went crazier on the roads. It is not safe to ride slowly on the roads. There were stretches of PCNs that we went below 25 and it was tiring mentally. We rode from Potong Pasir - Bartley - Tampines - Pasir Ris - Changi Village - TMCR - NSRCC - ECP and all the way on PNC via Kallang back home. There was forecast of rain and while it rained cats and dogs in the West, we only got dark clouds. Phew.

The ride ended at about 10am and we stopped for more drinks. I left at almost 11am for lunch at my brother’s place. 

I am so glad that I brought my roadie. Else, I probably kena dropped duno how many times. It had been a long time since I cycled TMCR, that is the “mainly go only during RI rides’ route and it had been ages since I did a RI. 

The group is very welcoming and have invited me to ride with them on coming Friday. Hoho. I have to ride with them for at least 3x before I get the permission to join their group chat. I am excited for tomorrow’s night ride and I hope that I don’t get drop. Hoho.

Mummy Lim

Should be the Last Mumbai Work Trip for the Year

I think my life is getting too boring; that my posts are full of work trips. Lol. Anyhow, another Mumbai work trip for the record. I hope this is the last one for the year. I don’t think I have time to visit again and I hope that I don’t have to. 

It is the usual 5.40am flight but I decided that I probably didn’t have to turn up at the airport 2 hours before departure. It now takes me only 15 mins to get to the airport. Hoho. I left the house at 5.45am and it was raining heavily. I got an Initial D driver, who stepped on the gas even when visibility was low. I hope he is as good a driver as he appeared to be. 

I made it safely to the airport at about 6am. I had enough time and even bought something for Daddy Lim. He had been asking, after looking at the many skincare that I have. 

Flight was uneventful. This time, the bun was not individually packed and I cannot tabao, so I kept it safely in my tummy.

For some reasons, I reached the office later than usual. I am not sure if it was the immigration or the traffic jam but it ye calls started once I was settled in the car and made full used of my time. 

Work got busy and I left the office at 7pm IST. Yes, I was very zonked out. My in-room dining. 

I had oriental chicken soup and oriental chicken and both cooked in India Chinese food style. Lol. The staff asked if I wanted my oriented chicken on gravy or dry. I said dry. Hmmmm… why ask?

I tried to do some work before the Zzzz monster won the battle. Sleep was easy, and I woke up a couple of times but very manageable. 

To the gym! 

Calls started from 7.30am but I had to sneak in bfast bcos I wouldn’t have time for lunch. The chicken nuggets were nice but seriously, anything fried would be nice. Hoho. 

The bfast was heavy enough to keep me full throughout the day. I snacked a little here and there as well but all good. 

Dinner again! 

Gym again on last day in Mumbai. Hoho.

It was again another busy day. I had lunch with the team. The food was great, so different from the mashy vegetarian food that the colleagues usually bring from home and share. We had non-vegetarian and there were a lot of chicken and prawns. I like. 

I headed to the airport at 7pm. I was excited bcos I finally remembered that my Citimiles card give me 2 free lounge accesses per year. I have never use it when I got this credit card before Covid and this year’s passes would expire soon.

The uber ride to the airport was painful bcos the traffic and roads were bad. Not that they were worse than normal, but my patience was thin bcos I was tired and I wanted to go home. I got an impatient driver, who didn’t hesitate to wind down the window to scold another driver who couldn’t make up his mind on where to go and he also use his honk to the max to show his displeases throughout the 1.5hr ride. I made it to the airport in one piece and luckily not deaf. 

The lounge. There were several lounges in the airport and this one is probably for pay per use.

I was surprised that there were many people registering/ paying to use the lounge. It was super crowded in the lounge. Much crowded than the other parts of the airport, such that the plates and cutlery were running out and people whacked the food as if they were starved. 

It took me a while to find a seat. I didn’t like the food. I decided that I am better off with paying for my dinner. I left the lounge. Tadah! 

It was a great choice bcos I enjoyed my dinner and the space a lot more. 

The flight was at 11.40pm. After boarding commenced at about 11pm, there was a long wait on the runway. We didn’t take off until after midnight, such that I was able to catch a movie while waiting. Once the seatbelt light was off, I started off to lala land. 

It was a crowded flight. I had an Indian man beside me and while I had already given him the armrest, but he still invaded into my air space at times. Zzzzz. Sleep wasn’t exactly comfortable. My tummy feels funny and I hope that it wasn’t from the watermelons that my colleagues generously offered me earlier in the day. The turbulences were bad at times too. We didn’t “drop” but it was bad enough for me to register them. I am usually quite immune to regular shaking and tremble during flights. I skipped dinner bcos I didnt need a supper; what I needed and should, is to sleep. 

Home sweet home. I have forgotten to block my morning calendar and had a call at 10am. Wish me luck. 

Mummy Lim

Found New Cycling Kakis

Three weekends ago, I finally summoned my courage and went for a solo ride. It had been more than a month since I last rode on my roadie. I have added a new HP holder and prayed very hard that I wouldn’t lose my way. I think I haven’t rode in too long, such that the bike felt a little wobbly.

I left home at 6.30am, so that the sky would brighten soon. The aim was to ride to ECP and I ended up at NSRCC to clock some distance. I almost died on the service road bcos it was so boring and the head wind didn’t help. It was so weird to not utter a single word throughout the ride. I so need to find a group. 

I have tried; reaching out to several cyclist friends who live or moved to the East. It is so difficult to find a group that rides at the right speed, meet at the right place and on the ideal day and time. Most groups are very fast and I don’t want to waste my life chasing people. 

Then last week, one of the cycling friends connected me to a lady, V, who is living in Whampoa. That is very near to me! The cycling friend sometimes ride with the CSR,  found this lady and connected me. I WhatsApp her and we agreed that we would ride together… next week. 

On Monday, I was working from home after arriving home from the hike at 1ish in the morning. I survived the day and meetings. Then V texted me in the afternoon, asking if I am keen for a ride in the evening. She was riding with another friend, meeting her at 7.30pm. I FOMO and was worried that if I reject her this time, she wouldn’t jio me again. So, despite my tired and muscle sore legs, I went for it. 

I was nursing a headache and had to steal a 30 mins cat nap after the day’s meetings. That nap was a life saver. V arranged to meet me at the St Micheal’s church, which was supposed to be nearby. It was literally the street from our house, which I found out later, bcos I went one big round. Hoho. 

We met up with another cyclist, M, at Potong Pasir, and started riding. I simply followed blindly. We rode on PNC and ended up somewhere in AMK, took the road to Casaurina, down to Lower Pierce, through Mandai and back from Bukit Batok to Moulmein and home. When I was at Mumbai and Batok Batok, I realised how small Singapore is. 

It was already 10ish when we finished the ride. My legs were so sore. I didn’t expect myself to do Mandai the day after a 11 hour hike. They “sort of” sent me back bcos it was on the way and they were heading for a night drink. Of course I had to join; the social during/ after rides is what made group cycling fun. 

During the drink, I got to know more about the ladies and one of them is actual the found of the Potong Pasir CSC cycling club! That sounds like group cycling promising cyclist friend. Hoho. 

Afterall, it was a good ride, though I don’t quite fancy night cycling bcos I cannot really see. Then again, I found out that there are so many night cycling groups. Where did all these cyclists find the energy to cycle after a long day or work? 

We sort of arranged to cycle again this coming Saturday. I am so looking forward. Hoho. 

Mummy Lim

With the Aunties to Mt Ophir: Day 2

The driver picked us up at 6am. He said that he knows of a kopitiam that opens early. We took turns to wake up but were all up by 5.30am. I even had time to make a coffee and munch on bread. 

Bye to the homestay. 

We bought bread for bfast but nothing beats a warm bfast before a long hike and we were grateful for the warm tummies.

We arrived at the base of the mountain at 7ish. Then it was a long registration and collection of deposit, in case we anyhow throw rubbish on the mountain. The process was so slow and took so long. I don’t understand; count $$ also took so long. Haiz. There were quite a few other groups, but they came earlier and set off once they were done with the procedures.

After paying $$, we have to declare all the food and toiletries and clothings and almost everything that we brought up the mountain. That took another good 15 mins. Finally, we were ready to hike. 

1st of all, a safety briefing by Saiful, our guide. Every group needs a guide and we paid for the guide when applying for a hiking permit. 

We were told that the journey up is 6.5km and 6km to descend. The evaluation is about 1,276m. There are a total of 8 checkpoints and cut off time (COT) at some of the checkpoints. If we miss the COT, then we have to turn back to ensure safety. 

There were low steps leading to the start of the hike. 

Then, 700 steps right at the beginning. The steps are thankfully not steep like some other hikes that I had experienced. I thought the steps were very manageable. 

Along the way, other groups overtook us. It is ok, we are a group of aunties, of which, 3 of them had knee pain. Lol. 

Checkpoint 1! 

Checkpoint 2! 

On the way to CP3, at 450m evaluation. 

CP3!

CP4 is at the campsite, which is a detour and we headed straight to CP5. The intersection between the campsite and CP5. Saiful told us that the campsite had been closed since a year back and the management hasn’t decided if they should reopen it. 

CP5! 

Next we came to the KFC - Killing Fitness Center. Hoho. I dun feel that the KFC is particularly more challenging; the hike is generally physically demanding throughout. The KFC is the start of almost vertical ladder (real ladder) climb and some rope climb (easier option available) as well. The rope climb looks damn scary but with the right technique, it isn’t that difficult. 

Completing the KFC, but in actual fact, the KFC is the entire stretch between CP5 and CP7. This signboard is merely for photo taking purposes. Look at that ladder behind us. 

CP6!

At CP6, we were already high up in the mountain. 

On the way to CP7, Saiful pointed to somewhere up there and told us that that is the summit. It looked very far away. #nervouslaughs

It started to drizzle. CP7!

We arrived at CP7 at about 1.15pm, slightly later than then 1pm COT. The guide gave us a choice - proceed or descend using a shortcut. While he thinks that we could still achieved a summit, we would likely take longer than usual group having witnessed our pace. What he wanted to avoid was for us to descend after the sun sets as it increases the difficulty and danger. To discourage that, groups that return to the base and checkout after 7pm will also be fine RM50 per group. Unfortunately, the group cannot be split as there was only 1 guide with us. 

Auntie SL and Auntie S with the most severe (knee) pain among us made the call to descend. We all agreed and proceeded with the shortcut. Along the way to the shelter for linch, some hikers who did the summit overtook us and mentioned that the bad weather made visibility limited and there was no view to speak of.

Lunch! We were cold and munching on bread, energy bars and chocolate.

Saiful brought heating wares and made us kopi o, which was to die for in that cold weather. 

That breakpoint was the only venue with basic toilet facilities. The toilets were very clean. There were also taps with running water and it is supposed to be drinkable but at own risk and not for weak tummies. We didn’t dare risk it. 

After the lunch and toilet break, we officially started our descend. The groups who made the summit started arriving at the lunch shelter. 

We isn’t take any pictures on the way down. Saiful said that normally, descent takes about 4 to 5 hours. Auntie SL was hoping to do it in 4 hours. Auntie SL and R went ahead of us and arrived at the base at about 6.30pm. Auntie S’ knee (and also everywhere else) pain was so bad that every step was in agony. Towards the end, her legs looked like they would give way anytime. We had to stop every 20 steps for her to rest. 

We made it back at 7pm and weren’t fined. After declaring the anount of rubbish, and taking back the deposit, we took a quick rinse in the cold water and changed out. I smelled so bad. 

Mission accomplished!

The driver said that he came early. He thought too highly of us; he thought that we would finish the hike early. He brought us to a nearby eating place. We were so hungry. 

Then, it was a long drive back to the custom. There was a bad jam on the road. I was dozing off while Auntie H and R were chatting away. Then I found that I could lie down on the seats and I slept most of the way to the custom. While the custom was smooth, it was already past midnight when the drive dropped us at Sixth Avenue and 1ish when I finally reached home. 

I was so exhausted that I couldn’t care to unpack. I just needed to shower properly and sleep. I was so glad that I was working from home the next day. 

It was a good choice not to try for the summit. If we did, we wouldn’t make it back in time and I don’t fancy walking on the trail in the dark. I am not sure if I would try Mt Ophir again, at least not in the near future. I was telling the kids that the hike was so fun. They were envious. Hohoho. 

I haven’t washed my shoes. Zzzz. Roarrrr…

Mummy Lim