Preparing for the Departure

As the boxes pile up in my study & our living room, our apartment begins to strip itself of our presences. The kitchen cabinets are half empty. Hubby's toys, which used to be scattered all over the living room, have been safely packed into the boxes. The shoes cabinet has been totally cleared. The chests of drawers in the study & master have been finally purged of all their contents. Winter clothes in the cupboard have been transferred into our luggages. The walk-in wardrobe is almost bare, with just enough pieces of clothes to last us for the next 6 days. SIX DAYS!!!

I think I am accepting the fact that I'll be saying goodbye to my good life soon. No longer as devastated now, I am starting to imagine life in our matrimonial flat again. Weekends spent watching movie in our ER, and with friends over for drinks around our bar. The occasional cook-out in my little kitchen. Surfing net on our desk. Reading on the couch. All the other daily activites in the place we called home.

St. Louis is a marvellous place. Our 18-month stay has been terrific. As good as our lives here are, and as much as I do not want to leave this place, I'll have to acknowledge the fact that we have to head back to where we came from. Dad & mum are both waiting eagerly for our arrival. We can't wait to meet up with our friends and share the goodness of our past 18 months with them. And of course I can't wait to use all the new goodies when we're back home.

Life's been like a dream, and it's time I wake up to face the harsh reality. I think I am ready to go back to the work force again, and to lead a stressful life in the competitive society once more. Bring it on!!!

I've never felt soooo adverse to going back home, back to my family's warmth, & back to my dear frens' fun. I am willing to give up on all the yummy food in SIN, just to extend our stay in STL... but of course it's not going to happen.

I can't help but tihnk of myself going back to suffer; back to the roaches & insects, back to the less civilised world, back to the stressful & congested place.

There isn't any roaches, ants, stray cats & much insects (I hate them all!!!) in STL; unlike in our oven-uous SIN. I havent even seen much flies to be honest. The only stray animals i've seen are the geese & squirrels that roam around our estate at this time of the year.

People here are soooo much civilised, friendlier and welcoming, this I'm sure I've mentioend before in my 1st few entries. Wind down your car window in the hot hot Summer as ur car is parked in the open, and you can expect everything in the car to remain intact hours later. Getting greeted by strangers with a warm smile is such a common sight here. Signal while driving and you can immediately see the car behind you slowing down to give way all the time! Car horn? It's almost unheard of here, unless in a real desperate situation (read: almost causing an accident).

Talking about driving, the driving experience is truly way much better in STL than in SIN. The roads are wider and less congested. Parking lots are bigger and parking is FREE almost everywhr in STL, except for school (ironically students have to pay whr everywhr else is free!) and downtown (CBD areas) which we frequent less than 5 times during these 18 months. Road bullies are also unheard of; friendly & CIVILISED drivers are in abundance.

Weather is of cos far better than in the oven-hot SIN, despite the harsh Winters. Give me fresh dry air anytime, but not polluted humid air that congested our noses so very often.

Lastly, shopping is of cos uncomparable!!!!!!!!! I don't have have to emphasize on that one :p

I have to rush off. There's more to come. SHall update again when I've time.

My last 8th day today.... sob sob....

The 1st Farewell

Jos leaving in a couple of hours time, for good. I said my goodbyes with a heavyheart, as her departure marks an end to our girly luncheons & shopping trips. Future meetups in Singapore will definitely be a vast difference from the marvellous time we had here. Sigh...

I have another 10 more nights in our apartment. Sob sob...

Last Online Purchase

Just checked out from the Aldo website, and bought my last item on the net. To play it safe, I shouldn't be online shopping after today. In the event that my purchases do not reach me before we move out on the 23rd, I can only say goodbye to my $$.

Has been hesitating if I should buy more shoes. Hubby made my decision much easier when he came home today annoucing his $xk "investment". I reckoned I should use his money to buy more stuff before he squanders his money away. Isn't it much better to splurge on shoes than to see money going down the drain?

To digress, I wish my hubby is more money-wise than he currently is. How can a business be an investment when it doesn't seem like it'll generate income or appreciate over time? Maybe I'm too critical, but how can I not be when I look back on historical datas to predict the future values? Random walks? Unlikely. Bleah... I'm talking finance, but I'm making sense! Additionally, since his annoucement doesn't involve any discussion = not respecting my views, I should really spend more of his money. No wonder Mum oways say never let ur hubby's wallet grow too fat. I absolutely agree on this one!

Anyhow, since he's going to squander his money without batting an eyelid, I should also start spending his money without much hesitations. I'm glad I did just that these few days. :p

It's Snowing!

Today we saw the first snow of the season in STL. Supposed to head to Mills for some quick shopping to grab more last min buys, but we reckoned it's better stay indoors in such cold weather. As I type away here, it's -6 degree c outside now, -10 deg c with windchill. Very strong wind indeed! I never thought we'll be able to catch snow in STL before we leave, as the first snow last season was in January. I was told it seldom snowed in December here, much less during the early days of the month. Though the light snow is not enough to cover the ground in white, I guess it's enough to make me enjoy my day watching the flurries drift from above.

It does look like rain in this pic, but I assure you it's flurries!