A Crapped Out Family 'Vacation'

It wasn't a holiday at all. We didn't go out of the hotel except for the wedding. The rest of the time we were either in the hotel rooms or just briefly at the beach in front of the hotel.

This was originally a vacation with the kids. We could have played in the private pool, go out to town for a quick excursion etc. But atlas none of that was possible with a very sick OO. We didn't have any mood other than watch her and make sure her fever doesn't creep up again.

YY was pretty bored too. He constantly points at the hotel door and wants to go out. Haiz ... Siti brings him out for short walks but still it doesn't amount to really anything fun.

Thankfully the trip back to Singapore was uneventful. Everyone's glad to be back home. It'll be awhile before we'll travel again given this experience. Haiz.

Staying Put At Hyatt Regency Bali

The original plan was for the whole family to move to another hotel with our own villa suite. The villa had 4 bedrooms, a kitchen, dining area, private pool etc. However I was reluctant to move as the new location is rather remote and OO was sick. Her fever ran up to 39.5 during late breakfast and we rushed her to the in-house clinic. That's probably something you won't see in many other hotels. Plus we were close to the hospital if we truly had an emergency.

So we stayed put but had to wrangle hard for side-by-side rooms. We had already checked out earlier before our late breakfast and the rooms are now gone. The place seemed to be fully booked and it wasn't till 7pm before we finally managed to get rooms. 

The place is nicely equipped with 2 restaurant, a 24 hour room service, a clinic, a convenience store (where I was getting Bintang beer) and a OCBC bank with ATM. I was able to draw IDR to pay for GoGek meal deliveries. We won't get any of these conveniences in the other hotel. So yah definitely cemented the decision to stay put.

Wedding At Plenilunio Villa Bali

It was a long arduous journey to the wedding venue. It took close to 2 hours in scorching afternoon sun, in a mini-bus whose aircon was not working properly. Seriously? People loose their common sense when it comes to weddings? I'm so so glad we kept ours simple.

It took me awhile to decide to go with OO. Meimei had already left earlier at noon so she could make it for the tea ceremony. I stayed behind to watch the kids. OO was still at 38+ and it was a very challenging decision on whether we would attend or not. I literally decided at the very last minute and we rushed to change her and get to the bus. 

We were last to board but thankfully we had the front seat and first row after the front to ourselves. Everyone had packed into the other rows to the back. I suppose this is a wise choice to pick back seats when it comes to safety but when you are travelling at 10-20km consistently it didn't really mattered. With all the jam and hot sun, the rest were barbecuing at the back. It was hot for us but at least we were closest to the aircon vents.

Although we had to feed OO Ibufen along the way we reached without further incidents. We went straight to Nyaong-Nyama's room immediately on arrival. I think the kids were glad to be out of the bus and were in high spirits.

Anyways we didn't stay for dinner ... it wasn't starting early and we didn't intend to stay over at this remote no-where. OO and YY were not feeling well and we left for the room immediately after the ceremony. We called a Grab early to brave the long journey back to the hotel. It was close to 9pm before we reach and dinner was yucky GrabFood from nearby restaurants.

4th Febrile Seizure

It happen sometime at 5am. Yeeyee ran over to the adjacent room where I was accompanying YY. OO just started a seizure and was still in the midst of it when I ran over. This was a surprise, she was perfectly fine when she went to bed.

There was a little blood as she bit her lips. We stuffed a doze of the anti-seizure into the buttock after it ended. It kinda irritated her and she kept screaming and her fingers were twisted in a weird way like those with extreme autism. Scary shit. We checked and she was at 39. Crap ... why is this happening at a foreign place.

She eventually calmed down with YeeYee's singing. But the bigger problem was that we didn't have Ibufen. We only brought paracetamol ... how in the world did she get so sick over the course of a few hours??! So we could only administer paracetamol and try our best to cold compress her.

We sat out the next few hours and then Ibufen came. Meimei had a Indonesian colleague who helped to order meds off Go-Gek. I didn't know this was a thing but it seemed like a common thing in Indonesia. Anyways we gave her Ibufen at 8am ... hopefully this will help to keep her temp in check.

Travelling To Bali

We had flew to Bali yesterday evening to attend one of Meimei's cousin's wedding. It was YY's first time on an airplane and we were excited to bring the kids on a holiday.

We arrive around close to 7pm local time and had to take about an hour odd taxi ride to the hotel. By the time we reach it was already close to 8.30pm. We didn't get to check-in and had to go to an open patio for alfresco dinner.

It was simply crappy. Food was bad, we were tired, the kids were definitely tired. This could have been better planned. Phhfffff. Not happy with this odd arrangement.

Voluntary Carpark Refund

At the first of the month, I exited our carpark and was charged $12 for parking. As a season holder, I've never been charged for single exit charges at our carpark. So I was livid at the unjust deduction on my cash card.

Then I thought ... could it be the charges because I only paid on the morning of the 1st and this was the charges for the time from midnight to the point I paid? But I was never charged even when I was late with season parking renewal for a couple of days. Crap ... they've caught on and this is the punishment for late payment?

Even though I was irritated with the charges, I decided it was going to take more effort and time to bring up a case on this .... just to claim $12 back from HDB. So I put it down to my bad luck and promise myself I will pay timely going forward.

So it came as a genuine surprise when I receive a call from unknown caller asking if I recall a deduction earlier in the month. The moment I heard it I knew she could be referring to this deduction, but given that I could not verify her identify over the phone I played it coy and prop further. Eventually she asked for my bank details to remit the refund. But I wasn't about to give her anything so I asked for a cheque mailed to my address instead. She was able to read out my address so I kinda think it's real.

Hopefully the cheque will come through the mail in a week or two. Pretty good that HDB has a reconciling process with the gantry vendor. I'll be even happier when I get my money back hehe.

Double The Window Gazers

YY loves to follow what his 姐姐 does. That includes all the naughty and dangerous stunts more suited to an older kid. But he doesn't know he is smaller and younger. He only knows that he is going to try and emulate his big sis and possibly one up on the deeds hehee.

He has learned how to climb up the sofa and make his way to the window. He even knows how to push them open so the cool breeze comes blowing into his face. Both of them are incorrigible, as are most kids when it comes to the 'fun' stuff.

Playing Cars Like A Boyboy

Just a couple of days ago, YY started playing with toy cars and carts. He would roll with them on the floor, which kinda scares me because I was afraid he might roll and have his face fall flat on the ground.

My fears aside, I'm glad he is playing toy cars like other boyboys. I suppose I have this traditional preconception that boys should play with cars and girls play with dolls. I'm happy he is having fun rolling the toys around the house, even if they may scratch the marble. Anything for my little babies!!

Barrier To Kitchen

Meimei has been talking about getting a gate barrier to prevent YY from going into the kitchen. He ventures there sometimes, in part I believe, because Siti brings him there often when they are home alone. She has to do her chores or chitchat on her phone at the kitchen counter table and brings YY with her so she can 'look after' him.

We finally got the barrier from Kiddy Palace. I had to make a second run for an extension as the initial gate was not wide enough. Hopefully this will keep him out of the kitchen ... that is if everyone is diligent and keeps it close.

Long Flight Home

I got onto a flight to San Francisco at 7am Friday Morning to catch an international connecting flight straight to Singapore. It was 6.45pm on Saturday evening when I landed. Such is the time zone wrap that we gain a day on arrival and lose one on return.

The day started at 3am on Friday. Thankfully there was a fresh pot of coffee at the hotel reception. Again this is why I love this hotel. It was much needed since I had only a couple hours of sleep. The drive to the airport was a breeze, I wasn't expecting much traffic anyways at this time of the day.

There was no food on the Cincinnati to San Francisco flight so I had to grab a bite. Breakfast was a latte and a stale cold chocolate croissant. Yucky food basically.

There was also no in-flight entertainment whatsoever on the flight. Its a small single aisle plane anyways so I wasn't expecting much. I popped on my headphone and tried to get some sleep.

The flight back to Singapore was uneventful ... thankfully. The only silly thing was finding a TSA inspection leaflet in my baggage when I unpacked. They must have suspected the powdery bottles and opened the luggage. Oh well no biggie. Glad to be home safe to my 3 babies.

Minimal Shopping

I didn't get another luggage this time. In fact I travelled there with a half full luggage and only filled it another quarter. There isn't sales at this time of the year. The only real deals I gotten were at Gymboree since it was closing down and had everything at mark-down. I was late to the deals though and many apparels were already gone or at either newborn or 7-8 year old sizes.

I focused mostly on YY's clothes since I had bought many for OO on the last trip. Plus I was getting escalated by Nyama and Siti for being 'bias' and not getting clothes for YY. I swear I wasn't ... I just it's just the 2nd child syndrome.

Meals At Cincinnati 2019

Most of my meals were at the Applebee's across the street from the hotel. It wasn't till the last night that I went to another restaurant for dinner. Which is a silly thing considering that there are quite a few restaurants around the hotel. I'll be more adventurous the next time round.

Also I couldn't take many pictures, there were lunches with colleagues and it wasn't convenient to be taking pictures like if you were a tourist. Overall I ate well, breakfast at the hotel is always the wonderful perk-me-up in the mornings. Lunch was simply finger food at the training location and dinner was usually at a nice restaurant.

Shrimp & Chorizo Quesadilla @Union Street Gastropub, San Francisco Airport

Room Service @Hilton Garden Inn West Chester

Steak & Seafood Combo @Applebee's West Chester, Ohio

Chef Bulgarelli's Stuffed Rigatoni & Tomato Meat Sause @Applebee's West Chester, Ohio

Grilled Shrimp & Sirloin @Uno Pizzeria & Grill West Chester Ohio

Same Hotel Same Route

Familiarity is important, especially when you are travelling alone. So I purposely chose the same hotel as last year's trip, the Hilton Garden Inn West Chester. And it's not a shabby choice by any means. It's a very good hotel with good rooms, nice breakfast and free coffee every morning.

It definitely helps that I am used to the route to/from the airport and office. In fact I drove straight to the hotel from the airport for a hearty breakfast. I knew that's the best place to get a good meal at 7am in the morning.

The Ride @Cincinnati 2019

Since I was travelling alone, I could only get a small sedan. I was expecting to get a Volkswagen but they only had a couple of Nissans, Kia and Toyotas in the cost category I selected. I forgot to ask for a GPS enabled vehicle so I had to drive around with Google Map navigation. Thankfully I was on familiar grounds, not much has changed since last year's trip.

YY @14 Months - Cheeky Little Fella

This little boy is a very different baby to OO. He has a lot of Meimei's cheekiness which is a good thing.

Purposely lying on 姐姐

Sharing a pair of Nyama slippers each

Nyama's soup is the best!

Up To No Good Look

Corporate Card BooBoo

It's embarrassing to say the least, especially when you had contacted the whole team over WhatsApp and also emailed the MD's secretary to check on your behalf.

Because it was a corporate card, I had assumed that the card was naturally activated for overseas use. It's a Amex travel card after all, only to be used for travel or company business entertainment.

I was further snook-ed because I had used it at a restaurant at San Francisco transit to pay for dinner. And then again at the Starbucks at Cincinnati Airport earlier this morning to pay for coffee before I set out to drive to the hotel.

It turns out that both F&B outlets had used the card chip to book the charge. But when I was getting the car at Hertz, they tried to swipe the magnetic strip to book the charge. That failed since I had not activated it and had to use my personal card.

Well I finally sorted it out at the hotel. Thankfully they let me check in after I arrive instead of having to wait till 3pm. I was then able to login to the hotel wifi to activate the magnetic strip on the card. The star hub calling card had the tethering function disabled on the SIM card ...

Anyways I had to copy my new 'boss' too on the return email to the MD's secretary so he knows to approve the exception charge on my private card. Haiz ... so embarrassing ....

Crushing The Specs

A picture says a thousand words. Imagine being on the plane, you place your spectacles in the front pocket for a nap and when you wake up you cannot find your spectacles. And to make matters worst, your eye sight is so bad everything looks a blur and you have to drive from the airport to the hotel.

I woke up from a nap on the plane to utter dismay of not being able to find my spectacles. I searched for it frantically for a good five to ten minutes before the old lady behind me said that she picked up a pair of spectacles and passed it to the air stewardess. I immediately rushed to the service stations, only to find that my spectacles were crushed.

The right arm was totally bended and the lenses were popped out from the frame. I tried my best to put it all back together but couldn't get the transparent strings holding up the lenses to tighten. I curse and swear at my luck ... here I am on a plane half way round the world with my only pair of lens which I totally depend on for sight. 

Arrggghh the agony and frustration. Just a few hours ago I was happily swooning over my 'good' luck that a father switched his aisles seat with my middle seat so they can sit together as a family. Now I'm kinda regretting it ... if I had been in a middle seat, my spectacles may not have for god know what reason landed on the aisles and trampled upon by god knows who.

Dammit ... now I have to gingerly handle my spectacles to last the week. That or plan a trip to a optician to fix it. But I'm in a foreign land and where am I going to find an optician at 6.30am in the morning when I land? Haiz ....

Traveling For Work 2019

I'm travelling to Cincinnati again this year but unlike the last, this time it's voluntary. In fact I had to push pretty hard for it to happen.

There is a self service program on digital tools and the product owners were inviting expert individuals who are familiar with the tools to become global digital trainers. Naturally I was interested since I've been teaching it unofficially for the past 2 years at the local site. So I put forth the request a months ago and somehow it ding dong for the longest time before I finally start to hound my manager on the status. I was adamant to travel there since this will put me and the site further ahead in terms of digital initiatives.

I eventually receive the travel approval 3 days before I was to fly today. It was a mad rush to get tickets, book the hotel and pack the bags. But I gladly do it all for the opportunity to be there and have myself certified as a global trainer. If there was anything I wish different, it would be that the approval came earlier so I have more time to prepare for the trip.