X'mas pressie from me to me

Look what arrived in the mail today!

The Christmas present I bought for myself!

Ta-dah! It's another NBX toy for my collection!

It's Oogie Boogie vs Jack Skellington!

Up close

View from the top

After nearly a month of waiting, my Nightmare Before Christmas Oogie Boogie vs Jack Skellington boxed set arrived!

I'd spent too much time hemming and hawing over this boxset since last year and I should've gotten it as it cost only USD29.99 then. When I finally decided to give myself a treat and buy the toy this year, the price had risen to USD49.99! And it's a good thing I bought it last month because it now costs *gasp* USD99.95!

Did I hear someone say DAYLIGHT ROBBERY?!?!?! You bet it is!

Yes, I bought it from Amazon.com and shipping to the USA vpost office cost me an additional USD11.95 - which wasn't much of a big deal till I realised that the international shipping charges from USA to Singapore set me back SGD102.50. After conversion, I eventually paid SGD183.60 for this NBX toy.

It's my most expensive toy to date - mostly due to the shipping charges that I'd to fork out.

And I very nearly didn't get it because for some strange reason, the packaged was returned TWICE to the sender (NECA) and they were equally puzzled. I didn't have any problems when I bought my Nightmare Before Christmas Lock, Shock & Barrel Bathtub boxed set last year from Amazon, so I couldn't understand why there was a problem. Disappointed I was and I half expected that I'd have to cancel my order and ask for refund.

But all went well. And now I've added another toy to my NBX collection which is housed in my office because I've run out of space at home.

I'm a happy mumsy. Very happy indeed. Happy enough to forget about the emotional tug-of-war that's clawing at my mental defenses for the last few weeks. Like I said before, it takes very little to make me smile.

Right now, I'm beaming.

Merry Christmas to Me!

Midnight Movie Date

We're boring folk.

That's the conclusion the hub and I resignedly came to on Saturday night.

It was an unusual Saturday night on all counts. Both MIL and FIL were at home as they didn't go over to either BIL's places for the weekend. MIL was still nursing a bad cough and didn't want to spread the bug to her other grandchildren.

So the hub suggested, after dinner, that we catch a movie since we've got help to mind the kids.

Now, watching a movie on a Saturday night may be a De facto activity for dating couples but it's a rare treat for those married with young kids. More so for boring people like the hub and I.

So why do we classify ourselves as "boring"?

Well, as far back as I can remember (since mid 1995 when we started going out) the both of us have probably watched a midnight movie together a grand total of...

*shudders embarrassingly*

...less than 5 times in 16 years!

Amazing right?

Neither did we notoriously club-hop, wantonly pump alcohol into our systems and wildly party till the wee hours of the morning. Plus, I just don't like the stale smoke smell on my hair and clothes. Our self-imposed curfew was to reach home before midnight (yes, even when we both started working) because it was just expensive to hail a cab after midnight and we were trying to scrimp and save every bit we could for the wedding/house/future.

Yes, we are geeks in our own right. The hub's a computer nerd (whether he cares to admit it or not) and used to spend hours on end playing computer games although the xbox 360 is now collecting dust because he doesn't have the luxury of time to play the long-drawn games for hours. He's now mucking around with simple games on his iPhone 4.

I'm not too cool myself either and in the precious pockets of time I can steal for myself, I prefer to plonk in front of the computer to pen my blog (a rarity these days), update my tweets (not as frequently as others) or play games in Facebook. When I used to commute via public transport, that was my chance to catch up on some reading. My all-time favourite genre? Children's Fantasy novels like the Harry Potter books, LOTR etc. I own about 300 movie-inspired toy collectibles from the LOTR trilogy, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas. And I'm an avid film and TV buff.

Anyway, I digress.

So yes, this middle-aged geek couple decided on Saturday to do what most normal couples do: go on a movie date. It was a toss-up between Thor and Priest but the only problem was that all the tickets were selling out fast so we journeyed to AMK Hub which was about 15 minutes drive from our home. Unfortunately the earliest show we could get reasonably good seats for was midnight. We went ahead to buy the tickets to Thor anyway.

Trouble was that it was only 9.30pm and we weren't sure what to do so besides, well, our regular obligatory grocery shopping duties at NTUC supermarket.

How positively romantic. Heh. But there wasn't much of a choice as all other retail shops were drawing their shutters down.

Even after we bought our weekly supermarket supplies, we still had an hour to spare and wandered into McDonald's for a snack. The placed was packed and were both surprised that so many people milling about so late in the night. (Don't forget that we hardly ever venture out of our front gates after 10pm.) We found seats and I got a Apple Crumble, Cinnamon Melts, a Cappuccino and a Mochaccino from the McCafé section.

Surrounded by noisy chatter, it wasn't exactly an idyllic setting for cosy tête-à-tête but we made do and enjoyed our little quiet time and supper together.

And then it was movie time!

On our way back, the hub commented that we're really a very "unhappening" pair. While dating couples usually enjoy a more eventful life before marriage and kids, we only started injecting some measure of excitement into ours recently by attending concerts and performances -especially now that the girls are older and more independent.

Indeed, we're starting to spend more quality time as a hub-and-wifey team sans kids. That's something nice to look forward to every once in a while.

NBX Toys!

Last week, I decided it was time to reward myself for all the extra work that I've put in over the last few months - the added responsibilities that come with my recent appointment.

There are very few material things that delight me. Diamonds aren't my best friends and retail therapy for branded goods don't appeal. Much as I'd like an exotic holiday or a trip to cooler climates and continents, the reality is that it's getting expensive to travel for a family of 5 + 2 so I'm content with short breaks to the neighbouring regions.

Only two things will really rock my world: books and toys.

I've bought a couple of books (work-related, parenting and fiction) but haven't found the right time to sit down quietly to and leisurely leaf through the crisp, smooth pages. Before I picked up driving again, I'd use the opportunity while waiting for buses to enjoy a good read. Obviously that's not possible these days when I'm trying to keep my concentration on the road while zipping around in trusty ol' Pollie.

And since my LOTR collection is as good as complete, I've moved on to collect other action figurines. I started collecting Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas (NBX) and Corpse Bride toys about two years ago and am proud to say I'm almost done with the figurines - mainly because there are less characters to collect compared to the LOTR series.

I still have some missing NBX action figures and have been trawling the net in search of these rare gems. My usual source e.g. ebay didn't offer many choices and I wasn't about to pay an exorbitant USD200 for each a toy. I may be a fan but I do set certain limits for myself.

Finally, I resorted to searching through Amazon.com and was pleased to find two items: NECA Nightmare Before Christmas Lock, Stock & Barrel Bathtub Boxed Set priced at USD39.95 and NECA Nightmare Before Christmas Series 1 Sally Action Figure priced at USD54.99. Not exactly within my budget, especially after the shipping costs, but I figured "what the heck?" and proceeded to click "buy".

NECA Nightmare Before Christmas Lock, Stock & Barrel Bathtub Boxed Set

NECA Nightmare Before Christmas Series 1 Sally Action Figure

Needless to say, I'm now eagerly waiting the arrival of my new toys. I'd also bought a couple from ebay UK and sent them over to Liz's home. She'd brought 4 back to Singapore but couldn't fit them all in her luggage so her hubby will be lugging the remaining few when he flies from UK in November.

At least that's something to look forward to as I tread cautiously into the final two months of 2010. :)

the final 3

as most of you know, during the 2 weeks before i gave birth to terrorliza, i'd taken leave and stayed home to prepare for her delivery.

naturally, with some spare time during the mornings when my older girls were in school, i squeezed out some "me time" and spent the hours surfing the net for - what else - the remaining few LOTR toys missing from my collection.

i tracked down 3 rare (and expensive) figurines, lost some of the bids on ebay (i'm not that desperate to pay hefty sums for the toys, no matter how much i want them, especially since i had to pay for international shipping, plus they were in USD) and finally got them!

FOTR Orc Overseer

FOTR Orc Warrior

TTT Moria Orc

yes, all the hideous orcs which wen calls "mummy's mor-mors" (monsters). they've arrived safely from USA and are peering evilly out from their boxes.

total damage? US$63.52/S$88.41

• FOTR Orc Overseer and FOTR Orc Warrior: US$8.99 + US$10.99 + US$20.25 (shipping) = US$40.23 /S$55.78
• TTT Moria Orc: US$10.50 + US$12.99 (shipping) = US$23.29 / S$32.63

the hub didn't even bat an eyelid when the packages arrived from the States. he just shrugged his shoulders and gave me the "whatever makes you happy" look.

anyway, i'm quite certain there aren't any figurines out there left for me to buy. the ones i don't own are the ones i don't really fancy.

so yeah, i think i've just bought the last 3 of the LOTR toybiz figurines i want.

this time, i really think it's the end. :P

more toys!??!?!??!!!

i've been at it again.

just when i *thought* there weren't anymore LOTR figurines i'd be keen to get, i was lured to surf ebay sites last week because i was, well, bored.

really didn't expect to bid for anything, since i've got most of the toys. but there were still a few rare figurines which have eluded my grasp, mostly because at the peak of LOTR's popularity, these items were too expensive to consider buying. the prices have gone down a little though i'm still prudent in overbidding.

but what reignited my curiosity was the special delivery made by my trusty lieutenant’s brother.

that's right. the purchases i'd made last year were sent to my lieutenant’s home in UK, and when her mum and brother visited her, they lugged back 6 toys for me:

• Deluxe Horse and Rider Set Arwen and Asfaloth


• Grima Wormtongue


• Grishnákh


• Prologue Bilbo


• Rohirrim Soldier


• Ugluk

oooooooo. that was the catalyst which prompted me to search for more treasures to add to my collection.

since last week, i've acquired 3 more LOTR figurines from ebay (USA and UK) and yahoo auctions locally:

Saruman with Palantir

Elven Archer and Berserker Uruk Hai

Gorbag and Webbed Frodo

looks like i'm still as mad over my LOTR toys as ever, and this song by depeche mode sums it up:

renewed family ties

boy, am i glad it's friday!

this whole week's been a real mad rush. i was on a 2-full day (9am to 5pm) external training course at the civil service college but had to rush back to work on the 2nd day to facilitate the school's workshop from 6-9pm.

then i returned to work on wednesday for my full teaching load plus extra make-up sessions and another round of 3-hour workshop session in the evening.

and unfortunately, my thursday and friday timetables included 9am classes, which meant that my brain had to start cranking up way before my physically fatigued form did.

suffice to say any activity in my brain cells is going the way of the sabre-toothed tiger.

i really need to recharge the batteries this weekend.

nevertheless, it's been a fully enriching week. i managed to squeeze some time out to catch transformers with the hub and xian, visit the ol' right hand's newborn son at the hospital and won a bid for Deluxe Horse and Rider Set Arwen and Asfaloth on www.ebay.co.uk (which will temporarily stay with my trusty lieutenant) at a cost of £14.74.

all right, if you don't already know, i'm still obsessed with my LOTR collection even though toybiz has stopped churning out new figurines since 2005.

but what made my week extra special was that i'm now in touch with my cousins through MULTIPLY, thanks to my aunt who's hooked us up through this channel.

the importance of fostering family ties never occurred to me when i was younger. but now that i'm in my 30s, married with 2 children of my own, i suddenly realise that having a supportive network of loved ones, friends and relatives is crucial especially when one's emotional well-being is concerned.

it's been YEARS since i last kept in contact with xx though i occasionally sms her brother who recently migrated to new zealand with his family. i'm ashamed to admit that i don't really know much about xx. we're almost complete strangers. she's always been a bit shy/quiet and we hardly communicated while growing up. so it's quite heartening to see that she's opened up a little.

i look forward to catching up with her - to me, it's never too late to renew family ties.

ooh, somebody stop me!

it's JULY already!

every month, the same thing happens. i get all upset over how time speeds by, vow to accomplish more significant achievements within the month, fail miserably then grumble and moan about it publicly.

the month of june came and went
with a great deal of money spent
no thanks to a trip overseas
and a few minor shopping sprees...

apologies. i'm in a rambling mood.

the so-call great singapore sale is still on but i'm not really impressed. perhaps it's because i haven't really gone shopping at the major malls. and even though it was my birthday month in june, and i was entitled to 20% off my purchases at selected retail outlets, i didn't really maximise these offers. my major credit card killers were mainly from http://www.ebay.com/, the body shop, kinokuniya and http://www.acmamall.com/ (i stocked up on dr.seuss books on at the last 2). i also bought some clothes for the girls and birthday presents for my nieces and nephew.

and then, of course, little prince arif gamboled into our lives. the hub and i coughed out 2k each for the puppy. technically, arif's purchase has got nothing to do with the gss. he wasn't really on sale.

to add insult to injury, i foolishly destroyed my credit limit further by adding 2 more rare LOTR figurines to my expanding collection on friday through ebay - a very detailed rohirrim soldier and a hideous uruk-hai leader ugluk. a £22.50 damage approximately equivalent to S$71.00. still, it was steal! in singapore, both toys would cost about S$50 each as loose figurines, and probably more if they're in mint condition. and as usual my lieutenant will keep them safe in UK first:



methinks the hub's gonna stab himself with a spoon till he faints when he receives the credit card bill very very very soon.

Yellow Star

guess what? i've earned a star for being a good ebayer.

and i received a "certificate" as well!

and as you may very rightly guess, all my transactions are LOTR related. yes, LOTR figurines which i bid for, won and purchased from USA, UK and Canada. unfortunately, i didn't receive 2 of the figurines as i'd arranged for them to be shipped to my cousin loong in Canada and coincidentally, his office relocated at the same time and he hadn't informed me so the toys got "lost".

tough luck. but i still managed to get some pretty good deals and saved a tidy sum as the ebay auction sites are still a lot cheaper than online toy stores like http://www.toywiz.com/ and http://www.toyglobe.com/.

as a matter of fact, more than 1/2 of my LOTR collection were purchased either through yahoo auctions in singapore (where i've made about 40+ purchases) or ebay. it seems that yahoo's got a larger fan base here as compared to ebay. but it's the reverse overseas where ebay rules the online auction arena.

and this is all jules' fault. he introduced me to yahoo auctions and i got hooked. (thanks bro. i owe you!)

i still monitor the LOTR figurine sales occasionally even though i've got about 90% of the toybiz figurines already. a couple are still priced way out of my budget - i love them but i'm not mad enough to spend USD100 on a toy. throw in shipping costs and i think the hub would file for divorce on ground of insanity. (me insane over LOTR and him insane from having to put up with my LOTR obsession.)

2 weeks back i decided to give myself a birthday treat and bought 2 LOTR figurines from ebay: Grima Wormtongue and Grishnákh which are presently at my lieutenant's home in the UK. i'll only get them when her brother returns from visiting her, probably next year. but i'm in no real hurry and besides, i need to look for shelf space to house the latest additions.

in the meantime, i'm still on a lookout for rare LOTR figurines - boxed and in mint condition no less.