hogmanay.2011

As the year draws to a close at midnight, another year begins. A year of hope, dreams and plans to look forward to.

2010 has been a rather eventful year...
...I became an aunt to the lovely Emma and visited the U.S of A for the first time!

...TheOtherHalf bought a new flat and we decorated the place together, which was a huge learning curve in our relationship

...I became more involved with work, learning more and understanding a little more; corporately; globally; CSR-ly (Corporate Social Responsibility) and travelled quite a bit for work

...Corporately, I enjoy my field work with the Environment sector

...Globally, I've travelled around The Netherlands and met many colleagues from our Dutch Operation Companies

...CSR-ly, participated and climbed my first Munro ~ Ben Wyvis raising funds for WaterAid and organised an auction raising over £1,700 for UN-HABITAT

...completed my one year service for the local Cubs group and still going strong, with a recent promotion to Cub Scout Leader

...attended my first Hen Night and Scottish Wedding of Mr & Mrs Stirling and it was a blast!

...spent 15.5 hours in the car, when it is typically a 2.5-3 hours Monday morning commute, with most of the 13 hours parked up on the M80!

...had my family over for Christmas and New Year

In 2011, some of the things I am looking forward to are...

...welcoming a new member to the family ~ a brother in law!

...going home for the happy occasion and seeing family and friends and Emma again

...sit my RICS Final Assessment in Spring 2011 (need to get Critical Analysis started if I really want to do it)

...and so many things to plan for and achieve.

So, as the new year begin with 365 days of potential and possibilities, happy new year and may 2011 be better than 2010!

snow.snow.snoooooww!

It had started to snow in Glasgow last Friday, but the snow had started a week before in the North East of Scotland.

There is something about the snow that makes me excited. Perhaps not growing up with snow is one of the reasons. The other could be because of the white blanket of snow somehow exudes magic and romance.

Of course the down side of snow is the travel chaos and slushy mess.

There always seem to be such a palaver with snow in the UK. In fact, the UK seemed not to cope with any adverse weather condition: heavy rain, snow, and heat, there is always something happening in these times.

Luckily this year, I don't have to travel across east to the micro-climate of a place call Livingston. I heard parts of the surrounding area there have about a feet of snow, compared to our inches of snow.

If I get paid for playing snow, I would do it. In the meantime, work beckons and bills have to be paid.

I'm looking forward to going up to Aberdeen this weekend as there are so much to do including putting up an IKEA daybed. However, I'll need to pop into IKEA to pick up some items that was missing in the packaging.

Somehow the travel chaos and airport closures bring back memories of December 2009. Last year, after meeting up with my dad and his family in Paris, we were stranded there unable to fly out because of the white stuff.

I just hope that my family who will be visiting in two week's time will not be affected by the snow, other than just enjoying it.

december.already?!

Just this morning, I was wishing my BossManPaul, "Happy December". Time seriously flies.

There is so much to look forward to in December. A lot of things revolve around the festive season and the fact that it is that time of the year where we reflect on the past year and look forward to the coming year.

This week:
~ I'll need to finish as much of my Christmas shopping and wrapping as possible. Need to remember mom’s birthday present too.
~ Dig out and sort out Christmas cards.
~ Dig out Christmas deco, which I doubt much to dig out since I need the space more. No tree in Glasgow this year.
~ Pack my bag and ware for Christmas.
~ Tidy the flat.
~ Plan the Cubs Christmas Party, which I think am almost done with some help from my cousin Lissa.
~ Plan Christmas food shopping.

Next week:
~ More tidying up of the flat, laundry, spares, etc.
~ Finalising of Cubs stuff for the Christmas Party.

The week after next:
~ Pick up my sisters and niece from the airport.
~ Cubs Christmas decoration evening and last minute stuff of Cubs Christmas Party.
~ Enjoy the week with my sisters and niece.

The week before Christmas:
~ Pick up my mom and aunt from the airport.
~ Enjoy the week with them before heading up to Aberdeen.
~ Family photography session.
~ Pack any last minute item for trip up to Aberdeen.

Don't seem like a lot but yet felt like a lot of things to do. Ah yes, have to be careful of that dreaded "procrastination", so to make sure that all goes well and smoothly.

we.miss.you.Bulgie

Our beloved oranda Bulgie went to Goldfish / Oranda heaven yesterday.


I felt sad but I know that Bulgie had put up a brave fight. He had been ill for slightly over a month.

The thing with fancy orandas, they are very susceptible to illness. Bulgie never had the easiest of times.

I remember when we first got him, he was one aggressive fish. We had to quarantine him in a separate net area, which we call "The Cage" (doesn’t sound good I know). We later found out that because of his bulging eyes and the type of fish he was, he could be blind and unable to see his food. The hunger thus made him aggressive. Ever since then, we had to make sure that he gets fed during meal times.

Of recent times, Bulgie developed some balance problem. TheOtherHalf said that he had seen Bulgie being a bit unbalance. We gave the tank fish tonic, and all sorts of medication (where appropriate), including treatment for swimbladder.

Bulgie went through floating perpendicularly to the water surface, to the other way where his head was 90 degrees to the gravel. Of his last weeks, he was floating at a bend. Initially I thought he broke his bone, but actually one side of his belly was inflated compared to the other side.

Some days he was better than other days. I knew it was going to be a long battle but I think the long fight made it easier for me to cope. Although I did had a chat with TheOtherHalf about this last week.

Although I grow up with pets, since my mom used to run a pet shop, I never thought that I would be affected by the lost of a goldfish. When we lost our first black moor, Blackie, I was devastated. It took us a long time before deciding to get a replacement or more fishes.

This time around, I feel about the same, not rushing to get a replacement. Perhaps it could be because I have a clutch of oranda roe to deal with right now.

R.I.P. Bulgie, we'll miss you and your little antics...