Christmas holidays

So, we spent 4days in versailles
at in laws place for christmas
after the long christmas eve
We had a good christmas lunch
for christmas day
after that we went for a walk
to the chateau versailles
to burn some fats
Haha

After was a simple dinner
and nuaing time 
Reading, chatting,
watching tv and sleep..

26th december
husband and sil ran for 10kms
while I was still in dreamland
I dont even run in summer
how to expect me to run in winter..
haha

After lunch
we went to sil and bf place
to play boardgames 
and had some chinese takeaways
for dinner

27th december
we went to grandparents home
which was 2.5hours drive
for a long lunch
that lasted 5 hours!
I was suffering from food coma
since the middle of the meal
till we reach in law home
Im doing a great job in being a pig
for christmas ya?

And today
we had lunch at in laws place
and catch a train back to paris..

4days really flew past
but im happy to be home
on my small sofa
under the smelly blankets
haha

Summary of my gifts:

Pearl set
and groupon resturant voucher
from parents in law

Boardgames 
Zen coloring book
coloring pencils
from sils and boyf
okay, 1 boardgame from husband

The trendy blanket scarf
from husband

And plenty of food
from everyone
More food but im lazy to unpack
our bags to take photos of them
haha

merry christmas!

Merry christmas everyone!
as usual we are spensing christmas
at my in laws place.
Husband ended work early
and we arrived at about 4pm

After helping to prepare dinner
we dressed up for the dinnee
dinner startedvat 730pm
and ended at 130am
yes, traditional long dinner!
we did took breaks between the meal
with game, smoking break
and to open presents at midnight.
But I think our weight will increase
after all the good food.
haha

Christmas is such a big event here
feels like cny!
hope everyone is having a good christmas..

Cousin in da house!

Husband is very close to his cousin
They are playmates and close friends
since young
and i cant count the number of stories
how they used to spend every summer and christmas holidays together
However, due to some unknown saga,
Cousin and aunt stopped spending christmas with them.
I think it had been many years until our wedding
that cousin and aunt met the whole family

Husband is still very close to cousin
consider the fact that he was his bestman for the wedding
despite the fact that cousin currently works in south america,
husband do try to keep in contact
and spends all the time with him when he is in Paris
And luckily,
every december, cousin comes to Paris for his meeting
it was like the official time for husband to catch up with cousin
and plenty of parties
haha

This year, cousin can only stay 3 days in Paris
husband got a little upset that cousin was considering to stay at a friend's place
and not at our home
I guess cousin didnt want to bother us
since our apartment is small and we are married
in the end, my sister in law decided to come meet cousin
and requested to stay at our place for 1 night
so we agreed

FRIDAY
Husband left work early so that he can meet cousin early
See! so excited!! haha
Cousin and friend K arrived at ou home
and suddenly the party started at our home
instead of the designated pub 
all the friends started arriving at home
Thankfully, friend A came with more beers and snacks
After 2+ hours at our small appartment,
they finally moved to the pub
which i excused myself to clean up the apartment
and enjoy a quiet evening

based on husband's account,
they went to the pub till closing time
then a disco till closing time
and finally another disco till closing time
well, they arrived home at 0630
I was really surprised that cousin returned with them
and ended up sleeping at our home

SATURDAY
Due to husband's drunk sleeping style,
and the waking up
i ended up leaving home at noon
to grab a lunch and bought breakfast for them

Friend M arrived at 1400 to wake up drunkens up, haha
despite the brunch appointment at friend A home
the group left at 1630 for dinner instead
while sister in law returned to versailles

I get to enjoy another quiet evening again
before the men returned at 0230
because husband was down with flu 
thats why the night ended early

SUNDAY
I think we woke up around 1300
and waited for the rest of the guys to go for lunch
which started at 1500
i went along since it was the last lunch before cousin leave for home
Cousin and friend M left at 1700 to catch their train
and we stayed till about 1800 to finish the drinks

I guess husband is really happy
to spend so much time with cousin
and that he slept over at our home for all the nights
although he is disappointed that cousin didnt prepare christmas presents for him
I guess it will be long again before we get to see cousin again

PS: the arrival of cousin and intense gatherings

made me felt really lonely

at times i do understand the conversations

but most of the time, i was just dreaming in my head

I really miss the times to hang out with my friends,

having random conversations , drinks and parties

And I do miss spending time with my family too

I guess its normal to be home sick

even after my relocation for france for a year

I hope life will be better for 2015

especially my social circle...

Sick

I am / was sick
I cant say is a past or present tense
because i am continuously sick!
The month of december has been the month of sickness for me..
when is suppose to be a relax month without work
hmmm, im a workaholic??
I guess I can blame the weather for being unhelpful in my recovery
is getting cold

It started with bad cramps and all PMS that accompanied my period
that lasted a week before and after 
from end of november to start of december

after being happy from free of pain for 1 day
I got a very bad mirgraine
which was so bad and different from what i ever encountered
that i visited my first GP in France
just to be sure im not dying

The mirgraine causes 3 areas of my head to be in constant pain
and felt like someone hit my head with a baseball bat
whenever i have a sudden movement
eg from lying down to sitting up
i started by taking normal painkillers
but it was still here
One night, i had a terrible backache
that spread to my chest
and i couldnt breathe well
that was a sign to see a doctor

after the doctor assured me that it should be a mirgraine
and probably a gastric pain caused by painkillers
i was given stronger painkillers and mirgraine medications
thankfully the doctor spoke english
and now i have an official family doctor!
While im happy that is nothing serious,
the doctor added that if i still have pain after 3 days
or im in serious pain 
i should go to A&E immediately for a brain scan
and wrote me a reference letter to bring to hospital
ehhh suddenly sounds so serious
-,-''

Thankfully the medication works
and the mirgraine went away in 2 days
before i can celebrate my painless day
i started to have running nose
and i suspect that i have caught a cold
well, sadly, i did have a cold
the usual headache, weakness, running nose and cough
the cold weather doesnt help to improve my nose
and my dry cough transformed into an old man's wet cough

It has been 9 days since my flu started
now im still stuck with the cough
but all is better

I cant believe i have been sick for the whole month of december!
 husband caught my flu 4 days ago
OPPS?

Love-hate relationship with french classes - 5

I unofficially terminated my french classes

I cant find an easier way to explain what happen

except by a timeline:

9 dec - first day at new school with all the drama

10 dec - no school

11,12dec - MC

15 dec - Despite being sick, i went to school

i think i was sounding really bad

or feels like im trying spread my virus to others

that the teacher say i can leave class

after signing my attendance

which was done first 30mins of the class

but i stayed till 12pm

Had difficulty to catch up in class

16 dec - the day before,

teacher told me that i can stay home if im still sick

so i stayed home

17 dec - no school

Received a text from classmate N

there will be a level A2 test

the next day

is normal to have a level test to make sure we understood the level

before the end of the course

considering how many days i missed,

how yucky the previous teacher was,

i know i wasnt apt for the test yet.

18 dec - I was sure i will need to retake this level in 2015

and that im going to miss 3 last days of the class

because of christmas holidays

which means i wont complete enough hours to get the certificate of completion

i decided to stop attending the class

So, unofficially, i stopped attending my class.

And im glad i did it

at least i appreciate the time to recover,

to prepare for christmas

and enjoy the last bit of holiday

before work restarts in January.

Just to follow up on my class buddy's story.

After her 1 week holiday (which the previous teacher approved),

she tried to contact the teacher but she didnt reply.

When the teacher finally replied by text,

how professional huh,

she told class buddy that there is no more vacancy in the new school,

she will need to retake the level A1 in January 

and to pay on her own 

since gov funding is only for 2014.

Eh, in the first place

at the beginning of the course,

class buddy told them that she cant attend the course

because she has a 1 week holiday

but the school was desparate for money

that they told her is fine to go for holiday

as long as she attend the rest of the course

now they simply kicked her out,

because she went for holiday???

All of the sudden, it became her fault

I missed class 2 days for my trip to bordeaux too

but lucky for me,

that happened in the old school

where the previous teacher dont mind

I am speechless.

Anyway, i guess since we are going to be paying customers

we will definitely not choose this school 

to repeat the course.

I guess I really appreciated my first course

that helped me to improve my french

but for this second course,

I am glad that it is over...

 

Inspirational speeches

Inspirational speeches

Just to share some speeches that i watched recently
i think they are really great in terms of stage presence,
engagement, entertainment and content
kinda make me miss my old job..

anyway, i am really impressed with Chew Chor Meng
I dont think i can ever do such speech
in mix of mandarin, teochew and hokkien
If interested, google on youtube!
:)

My nightmare with UPS

Sadly, I think international delivery services dont do their job well
in france / paris
Especially when most people live in apartment 
that require access codes into the building
and there is no door number stated in the address
all you get is the building address
My first nightmare was to receive the juicer from Aven
which was delivered by Fedex
they did informed me of the delivery date and time
but did not call to ask for the access code
so they simply left and stuck a notice
in front of the building door
Despite of this, at least i just called them,
provided the access code, 
which level im living,
and schedule for a redelivery
and it was done.

I ordered some stuff from Forever21
to be included into the christmas gifts
and i made sure that i ordered in time that it will arrive this week
before Christmas
I was not able to choose the company for delivery
and they used UPS
Since we will be in Versailles for Christmas
and not at home
but the package was returned to the sender
WTF

Anyway below is my complaint letter to UPS
because im lazy to explain the whole incident:

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am truly disappointed by the following delivery incident that i will like to lodge a complaint.

Despite UPS's good reputation in the delivery services in the world, I am truly disappointed and shocked by this incident and how it is being handled. I believe UPS understands the importance of timely delivery, especially during this festive season.

Firstly, I was not informed of the delivery. I did not received any email or phone call to ensure that someone will be present to receive the package. 

Secondly, I live in an apartment thet require access code to enter the building, which was not provided to UPS as I was not informed of the delivery. It will be impossible for the delivery to gain access to the building and delivered the package. This led to my displease that the reason for the return of the package to be stated as (on your package tracking progress status website ) :"The receiver does not want the product and refused the delivery". This is totally unacceptable that I, the receiver, has been blamed for the return of the package.

Thirdly, I believe UPS is aware of the massive amount of delivery request during this festive season and will ensure that customers placed their trust to ensure that their package will arrived before Christmas. I abided by the recommended timeline to ensure that i will be able to receive the package before Christmas as it contains gifts for my family. However, due to this incident, I will not be able to receive the package in time when i placed my trust in UPS.

Fourthly, I did not received the UPS InfoNotice® to inform me that an delivery attempt was made. 

Fifthly, according to your package tracking progress status, the delivery attempt was around 14:00 and within a few hours, the package was returned to the sender. This short time window did not allowed me to contact UPS to clarify the situation or to schedule for a new delivery schedule for the package. Since I was not informed of the first delivery, I am not allowed to schedule for a second delivery?

Lastly, based on the above mentioned, I think it is totally unprofessional of UPS to simply advise me to contact the sender to rearrange for a redelivery when UPS has failed on its part to ensure the timely delivery of the package.

I regret to inform that I will not be able to entrust UPS for delivery services in the future.

Anyway, I dont think I will receive any formal reply from UPS

at most maybe a sorry for the incident blah blah blah

I have emailed Forever21 for them to resend the package

but no reply from them yet

and i guessed the package has not reached them

I guess i will not see the package till Christmas is over

for anyone who want to send me a package

I will really prefer to receive it at the post office

at least its just 200m away

and i know it will be there

Love-hate relationship with french classes - 4

Luckily or unluckily
i fell sick and need to see a doctor
and ended up with 2 days MC
So, i didnt went for class.

First, i receive a text from classmate N (lucky 4)
that she was alone, 
none of us came
so i told her i will be back on Monday

then, i receive a text from classmate T (unlucky 2)
that her name is not in the class
so she is leaving and to find out what to do

after, i received 2 calls from the school
asking why im not in
and i explained that i have 2 days MC
both calls reminded me to return to the new teacher class
on monday
i guess that means i definitely can continue my class
in the new class and teacher
and shall see how it is

im worried for my class buddy
because she is away for vacation this week
and will only be back on Monday
I am unsure what her arrangement will be
because unlike our teacher 
who claims this class is not required
and we can go for vacation
the new school is super strict
like checking whether i really have a MC

I really felt that we are abused
no explanation
last minute changes
although the classes are free
i guess the governement pay the school
and i think we deserve better
not sure how its going to work
since i wont be able to attend class after 23 december
i wont be in paris for the week
husband and i think that we may need to write a formal email
to complain and request that i can continue in January
frankly, after all these dramas,
im not sure whether i want to continue the class here
oh well,
i hope all will be fine on Monday....

love-hate relationship with french classes - 3

Since my friends were here from Singapore
I tried not to be bothered by the drama
and just wait for the call / text
but till 7pm,
i received nothing
whats new right?
i texted our teacher for the location and hours for thursday
and now she insist that nothing is changed
im to go for class with the new teacher
WTF??!!

The crazy thing is i received a voice message 
from our replacement teacher 
that i can join her class in the afternoon
and she will text me the address
which she did not.

But its totally crazy to expect me go to point A to have class at 9am
and at 1pm to go to point B to have class
so i text our teacher what am i supposed to do
then she claimed that she couldnt contact our replacement teacher 
so i just go back to the new teacher
so much for being responsible and organised huh!

Next my classmates started texting me
because they didnt receive any calls or texts
so i just told them that our teacher asked us returned to new place
nothing is resolved again
and we are back to square 1
No idea when our class will end
and not sure how long we are to stay in this class..

And i shall see what happen the next day...

love-hate relationship with french classes - 2

Husband thought its wonderful i get more hours
but anyway,
i woke up super early on Tuesday
and was happy to see my classmates
because we have no idea which class we will be in
Initially, we waited outside the class of our level
and i realised there were 7 of us!
Must be the effect of changing teacher
haha

After 10 mins,
we were informed that the class is full
it is impossible for all of us to attend the class.
I guess our teacher didnt check it before sending us here
and we returned to the waiting area
where i think our presence totally freak out the receptionist
and this wait became a wait of 3 hours!

Our teacher was uncontactable
she claimed she is in class and will call
finally she called and explained the situation
to the receptionist
but it was not helpful
because the class is full!
Ended up it felt more like a class gathering
than a class

At 11am,
some of us were thinking to leave
and our teacher finally text us to wait for her till 1130am
finally, a ray of hope!
I guess we didnt mind whether there will be class for the day
but we just want an explanation
then till 1145am, there was no sign of her

at 12pm, she texted again to say wait till 1230pm.
I dont know whether is because im sick
But i was really pissed off
At 12.15pm,
the receptionist informed that we are to split up into 2 classes
for me, i was among the lucky 4 to be in the same class
for 2 of my classmates, 
they are to attend moning class with group A and teacher A
and attend afternoon class with group B and teacher B
which i feel is totally unfair and bad for learning!

As the receptionist rushed us to join the class
since it will be lunch time soon
I called our teacher, and guess what?
She said she wont be coming and she want us to go to the class now!
WTF?!
It means from 11 - 1230,
she was never on the way??
We will simply waiting for someone to come up with a solution?!
Despite my explanation that is unfair for the 2 and the split up issue,
she simply tell me that she will call us to explain.
I WANT A FACE TO FACE EXPLANATION
NOT BULLSHIT AGAIN!!!
Which till today, i didnt have it...

By the time, we went to class,
it was lunch time so we need to wait till 130pm.
And the 2 classmates left because they want to call our teacher
and clarify what is happening.
I was a little worried about the class
becaue im unsure whether we are of the same level
especially when my classmate spoke to the teacher
before the class,
and the teacher insisted that she should be in class A1
and not A2 because her french is not good enough

Lucky, all was well in the class
except my terrible headache
which i think was worsen by the morning drama
apparently the class started a week after us,
so we are about the same level
but then the news came,
the class is to end on 31 december!
which means it is going to screw up my christmas holidays
because initially my class was to end 23 december..
WTF

But the class was nice 
and after we did the usual self introduction
the lessons started
and i think this teacher is better than our teacher
in terms of her ability to explain and engage
so, it seems great that i can finally stay in the class...

i have no choice but to text our teacher
to ask when is our end date
now, she claim she will be checking with our usual replacement teacher
to take us in from Thursday onwards
and we can end the class by 23 december, 
so all we need to do is wait for her call on Wednesday

And as usual, shit continues...

love hate relationship with french classes - 1

Despite the usual post-holidays blues
I returned to class on monday
sadly, the usual shit is still shit
there is no heater in class,
apparently the building didnt pay.
there was only 4 students,
including me.
Before you start thinking is great
to be in a small class
I must say I hate this class to be small
because we finish more assignments
since we do it faster
but end up we are constantly 
Responding to the teacher
that I felt I have no time to think
before it was my turn again
or another topic.
then again,
I dont know why the rest are not coming
maybe because no one really like the teacher

New happenings...
the toilet lights dont work
the electrical sockets dont work
and no toilet paper
-.-"

By noon,
another classmate decide she was leaving
she felt cold and 
that she wasnt learning
So the teacher decided to end the class
instead of 3pm
she decided that class is too small
and room is bad
that we should go to another location for class
that she will text us by evening
of the new address

End up no news from her
and she finally called after I texted her
talk about being responsible
-,-"

So new changes,
apart from changing location
Which will take me 45mins to go,
the hours will be 9-5
And days to be mon, tue, wed, fri
and a new teacher!
I was pissed at the last minute change
the hours are longer than before
and I am lucky that I took off from work
cant imagine if im still working..
and my friend was coming
I planned to meet her on wed,
which I cant because of the new schedule
but the teacher assured that 
our group will be together
and I can inform the new teacher about wed

I guess the idea of a new teacher
sounded so good
that I decided to try the new place..

Thats when the nightmare starts..

Paris syndrome

I recall reading an article
about paris syndrome
which is depression etc caused by
expectations differences
when people arrived in paris
yes, it exists
and apparently affects mainly asians
I think japanese

I guess I did have high expectations of paris
like how husband always wonder
why there are so many pictures of effiel tower
used on notebooks, cups, etcs
to indicate love in singapore
subconsciously, we are to think
paris is the wonderful city of love
or the place to be??
anyway, for my first few trips here
I admit im facinated by the city,
language and culture

But now, coming to a year
of living as a normal citizen
I guess most of the fascination wears off
despite of scary stories from friends,
my sister's encounter,
my personal struggles, 
experiences
and my constant struggles with the language
I think I kinda of fitted into life here

when friends are paranoid 
when they are here,
people giving my contact to friends on trips
in case of emergencies,
When my classmates speak
about negative experiences,
It surprised me how im starting
to defend paris. Haha

Well, it may not be the safest city
in the world,
I still get shit from people,
and I cant stand the inefficiency
but hey,
im starting to get used to this home!
thats a good news right??

I guess maybe 
I didnt had the paris syndrome..

Ps to anyone reading this
im not complaining 
about stop being paranoid here
because you really must be cautious!
Dont stop giving my contact to people
im still very happy to help anyone
just that im glad I got over
some parts of my own paranoid
Yay to that!! 

Our short trip in bordeaux

I was really looking forward
To a short break from school
Although im not working
Well at least for this month
The daily school
And mandane daily activites
Do tire me out
So came the opportunity
For us to take a short trip
To bordeaux to visit grandparents
The last time we saw them was for our wedding
And is my first trip with mother in law

I have no idea what to do in bordeaux
Except to eat canalles
But thankfully mil is our guide
That husband and i just follow
For the 3days trip
Haha

Strangely we sleep and wake up early
I guess when in rome
We do what the rome do
husband even woke up at 7am for breakfast
When normally he cant even wake up 
At 8am for work...
Ehh i only woke up at 830am
Im fine to miss the cozy 7am breakfast..
Haha

We didnt do much exploration
Except visiting the city centre
Big shopping mall beside us
Christmas market
The quay
And the random streets
Christmas lights everywhere!

Is not my first time to visit christmas market

I been to a small one in paris

And another in compiegne

But the one in bordeaux is the biggest i have been

But sadly,

It was selling more clothes, jewellery etc

Than christmas stuff

I guess is like sg pasar malams nowadays

Where you can find more handphone stuff

Than traditional stuff and food...

But we did have a nice hot spiced wine

On the way back

Husband and i were excited to see 

The shelock holmes pub!

We have been huge fan of sherlock holmes

Since we watched the serial "sherlock"

Okay, husband been a fan since young

Reading the books

And me..just for the cute actor, haha

Too bad we were rushing home for dinner

Else, i think we will go in for a drink

I think the best of the trip is the food!

Grandmother in-law is a great cook

That i end up having 2nd/3rd servings

And is strange how she can make me finish

My garlic, leek and parsley

Because she make them taste so good...

Is really authentic traditional fremch food

Now i truly understand

The taste of grandma's cooking

Is better than any restuarant!

I have been cheated by husband's cooking

That i assumed that french food is often

Full of cream and cheese...

Haha

Is crazy how i put on 1kg in 3days!

I think it doesnt help that we take a nap

Straight after lunch

Hmm if we lived here for 3months

I will suspect is a conspiracy 

to sell us to a butcher

After making us fat!

But the good food is worth

The extra weight to bring home

Oh well, the winter weight 

To hide under the thick coats..

Tonight is our last night here 

husband and I are doing the usual tv surfing

That we do whenever we travel

Because we do not have tv channels at home

Okay time to enjoy our last moments

In bordeaux...

My first french exam - part 2

After a short drink
We returned to the exam halls
We will put in waiting rooms randomly
There are 7 examiners
Who went to the rooms and search for candiates
I guess they can reduce search time
If they have made us sat in certain order
Oh well

My appointment was 1130am
And i was called at 1140am
All was done by 1150am
It was really fast!
Unlike trial tests,
The examiner dont ask much,
Dont ask you to stop,
Or give any response
So you are to babble on
Till you say you are done for the question

I dont know is it im nervous
Or the question is hard
My grammar was all over the place
And i was struggling to continue to speak
I was really glad that it was over...

Since i need a total of 50/100 
I guess i should have no problem passing it
Even if i did badly for my oral
Oh well, shall see the results in january
By the way, in age of internet and rapid post,
We need to go down to collect our results..
Sigh

Anyway is holiday!
currently enjoying our short weekend
At bordeaux
Visiting grandparents
And stuffing ourselves with awesome food!

My first french exam - written

Finally the time came
For my first french exam
Well, the only compulsory one
For my visa.
I was feeling quite confidence
After scoring 93/100 on my trial test 
And now in class A2
Which is 2 level above the exam
But i knew that oral will be tough
Because i will be super stress.
Anyway husband helped me
To practice the oral questions
And i did 2 more trial tests at home
Thats all for revision!

For most of my classmates 
9am written exam at place A
4pm oral exam at place B
Lucky for me and class buddy,
We are having both exams at same place 
And before noon for oral
Means can get it over in 2hours!

As usual,
french admin never fail to surprise me
We were reminded to arrive early
So we arrived at 840am
We were asked to go to the respective rooms
Indicated on our letters
The room opened at 905am
We were asked to find our seats

The tables and chairs were placed so close
That i only have the width of the chair
Between 2 table
Basically the table is pressing on my tummy
And not because i have a big tummy
Oh and my row of lights were not working

After the examiner mark the attendance
One by one
And we waited till 9.30am 
for latecomers
Finally, the exam starts at 935am

I guess there are some students
Who are really not ready for the exam
Be it unable to understand the instructions,
Or not listening well,
For whatever reasons,
Is sad that the examiner was so impatient
Or maybe just being french
Opps

But she is like saying 
- you understand nothing, why you are here?
- i repeated 5times, all of you cant understand french?
Added by her impatient tone and look
I think she increased the anxiety
Of the students

But i guess she really want everyone to pass the exam
Because she is constantly repeating
The instructions
The questions
Sometimes even the answers
But to the last moment
When the next question was starting
So i found it so distracting

Anyway i found the questions
A little more difficult
Than the trial test
But im sure that i attained the 50/100
To pass even before the oral
The exam ended at 10.40am
So class buddy and i went for tea
While we wait for our oral exam...