I don't usually write to-do lists. Haha. And it's not as if I have a lot of things to do now here in Sweden. But well, there are some things on my mind for the past few weeks and I think I need to go about executing them out one by one and stop procrastinating!
There are two videos I need to do. One is halfway through, which is on our Baltic Sea cruise on Royal Carribbean, and guess what, it happened during August LAST YEAR. Haha. I promise and told myself that I I will make a video for each of our overseas holiday for Angel so that I can make her a DVD and keep all these precious memories which can be easily looked back on next time.
I started learning knitting this week and I cross my fingers that I can finish making a beanie for Angel by end of the month. I doubt it will be pretty or very wearable but I wanna complete it! Knitting is tough and time-consuming! Haha. But yeah I'm sure I can do it right.
Next, I just got our mics in working order today. Jw and I haven sang songs for maybe half a year? Haha. I'm determined to learn some new songs so that I won't feel so outdated when I go back sg to K with the girls. Keke. I love singing! Good way to relieve stress and another emotional burden too.
Also, I think it's time to start thinking of how we wanna renovate and decor our new house. We are going back sg in may to collect our keys! Although I honestly think nothing much can be accomplished in the short over 10 days that we are there, but it's a start and I have to think bout it since we decided I'm going to be the 'interior designer' for our new house. Hehe. I am so excited that we will finally have our own house. Though jw's parents will be coming in to stay, at least it's my home, my place with my loved ones and somewhere I hope I will live comfortably in.
Good night. Time to go zzzz with my little Angel..
Monday, March 07, 2011
Why Karlskrona is a nicer place to live in...
No, it's not that I don't love sg, however, staying in Karlskrona for nearly three years has exposed me to more of the world out there and honestly, I began to understand why people would decide to migrate to live overseas.
There are plenty of factors that play a part, from culture to weather to living conditions to the people around you. And from the bottom of my heart, I must say that I think Karlskrona will make a better place for retirement. =)
1) The weather and the four seasons
Yeah yeah, it's true that winters may be harsh, terribly cold and long, especially this year. And the thick layers of snow makes travelling difficult, not to mention you gotta shovel and dig every morning just to drive your car out. But, it's also cos' of the snow that we get to indulge in winter activities like skiing, snow sledging and even dog sleighing. Apart from winter, the weather is really nice in spring, autumn and abit hot in summer, but never ever as hot and humid as it gets in sg. Never!
2) Less people, less cars, less pollution
Somehow, all these makes the air nicer to breathe in and you don't get so overwhelmed when you hit the streets. No pushing and shoving amongst crowds like you do in sg (remember the MRT in peak hours? or during GSS? *gasp*), no more endless traffic jams, horning, ERPs and selfish cutting of lanes (I don't even think we have gotten horned at once in the past 2.5 years! and the people here are generally nicer and more patient on the roads). Having a sparsely populated environment with better air also makes it harder for you to fall sick. We feel so much healthier and less prone to illnesses here, just think about the hand foot mouth and SARS in sg.
3) Friendlier people, kinder souls
It's not that all singaporeans are ugly, I know that many of us are still kind at heart. RIGHT? But somehow, it's just that we are not as helpful and we are too engrossed in our own minds own activities sometimes. I remember last year in sg, I was travelling via the MRT with Angel on my own. She started getting cranky in her stroller and I had to carry her out, which at the same time my stroller fell over and so did my stuff. Amazingly, at the crowded MRT station, no one, yes I do mean NO ONE, came to my aid. Some turned over to look at me and my crying baby, but no one came forward. I was so shocked. In Karlskrona, even old aunties would offer to help jw shovel the snow and to push his car when he needs help. People would hold the door and elevator for you, let you cut queue in supermarkets if you're only buying two items, and help you lift your stroller up the steps. Yar. It's that extreme sometimes. You really see the difference in attitudes. Another thing, Angel loves to wave to people when we go on holiday and it's usually the ang mohs who wave back, smile at her and come forward to talk to her. When she waves to Asians, they generally think we have a problem, or they give a very forced smile and continue doing their own stuff. I dunno why. But it's really evident. Maybe we are just more introvert, more skeptical and suspicious of people generally.
4) A simple, relaxed pace of life
Yeah, definitely sporeans work much harder and live at such a fast pace of life that we sometimes don't know how to slow down and appreciate the simplicity of life. Maybe it's just me, I like simple and I am simple. I don't know why we rush to and fro so much (like going to be reincarnated!), why we work so late and pack our lunches to office so often, why we are so kiasu and kiasee, why we have to be up to date with newest technology, why we are so overstressed and end up overstressing our kids by loading them with tonnes of tuition and extra curricular activities. It's just peer pressure and the result of the environment, sometimes. You don't wanna lose out. And in the process, we forget how kids should have a happy and more carefree childhood, and when kids grow to adults, they become like us too, living the life of a headless fly, bumping here and there endlessly. It's a vicious cycle we will never break free from. Oh well. It's not that bad. But you know what I mean. We need to SLOW down, but we can't, and all we do is keep stepping on the accelerator so that we are not the last in the race. So somehow, I appreciate the relaxed pace of life here. People get off work early to enjoy family quality time in the evenings, shops close on sundays and work half days on saturdays to give shop workers a well-deserved weekend break, and very seldom do you see people working OT (even in audit firms like Deloitte which is right across my house!). I would say there is more of a work life and family balance here.
5) Road trips and holidays
Another good thing about staying in Europe is that you can get to go on road trips often without spending a big bomb. You can drive to nearby countries, go on long summer road trips, or just take the budget airline to nearby countries for a short getaway. You get to see so much more of the world that you don't see when you stay in sg. I'm so glad I had the chance. I was sort of the mountain turtle back in sg, less travelled and not well informed of the world. I did not see much of the world nor get in touch with other cultures and civilisations other than in Asia. But now, even if it's a short 3 day weekend, we can still drive to germany or even norway and spend a weekend there. Cool huh? Like when popo was here, we brought her on a road trip and like what she said, she ate breakfast in sweden, lunch in denmark and then dinner in germany. Wahaha. I hope I can continue to travel, go climb mountains, go explore unseen parts of the world when I turn past 50 (like my adventurous and fit ah yi who just conquered himalayas!).
Ok. That sort of sums it up. I can list out more, but you get the idea. Despite saying all, we will be heading back to sg soon and join in the rat race again. It's my home and no matter what, I love singapore. I just wish I could still lead as simple a life as I have been living for the past 2.5 years. With my hubby, my baby, and me, in a small, cosy and happy house, leading a simple but blissful life. =)
~Summer~ 6:37 AM