A dash of vinegar over chips and salaries

Oops, I forgot to complete this post after writing "let x be ..." in January :p Forgot parts of our discussion and added some. Sito said this is chim-er than before! Oh well...

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After the craving for Singaporean food ended with morning sickness, I went back to wanting angmoh food. So we headed out for some Irish pub grub - bangers and mash, fish and chips WITH VINEGAR! Omg, that was good..

Besides eating, we had one hell of a time coming up with a way to settle this ministerial salary thing. Ya, great dinner topic - money..

It started with Sito suggesting that we continue to pay MPs what they were earning before being elected. Let me present the result of our discussion as follows:

Let
$p = last drawn basic annual salary before being elected
$a = basic annual salary after being elected, i.e. entry-level pay for MP
Sh = salary add-on for office holders, i.e. for Parl Sec, MOS, (Acting) Minister
$r = the debated and accepted recommendation of MP's salary
$b = annual bonus
N = number of elected MPs
n = number of office holders; different n for each level

(Familiar format?! :p)

Then,

1) $a = $p if $p is smaller or equal to $r for new entrants; existing MPs whose $p are long out of date can take $r. Over time as existing MPs retire, salaries will adjust to a new equilibrium.

This means that those coming in from high-paying jobs will see a cut in their salary but those coming in from lower-paying jobs will not see a dramatic increase. This way, people are not motivated to join politics for money, and those who are already highly-paid can remain so subject to a cap. (If $a is deemed too low, one way is to up it to $a' = Σ$a/N. But what is too low? Anyway...) The remaining difference should even out as the better ones take on more responsibilities and move up the salary scale, i.e. + $h.

2) $h should be set at appropriate increments for each successive level, e.g. a single increment could be $i = Σ$a/10N and depending on the office and $h could be $i for Parl Sec and x$i for Ministers.

3) $b = xΣ$a/N + yΣ$h/n where
- x is a quantum obtained by weighing various economic and social indicators; the four indicators under the accepted National Bonus structure should do fine, and,
- y is a similar quantum but could vary for each office holder.

Note that $h = 0 for MPs who are not holding office.

4) As per recommendations, no more pensions; just CPF like every other Singapore.

5) There is no annual increment; the basic salary is fixed for the entire term and revised when new MPs come in. $r may be also be revised at the end of each term. How? I don't know :p Maybe based on real income growth of the 50th percentile?

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And just this week, we also discussed salaries for civil servants. We don't think that civil servants should be subject to the whole "privilege to serve" thing. First of all, we have professionals in the civil service with very comparable equivalents in the private sector - just think teachers, healthcare professionals, lawyers, social workers etc. Then, for the rest of us who are not in professional wings, there are content experts in their respective areas and those who have experience and overview in more than one policy area - necessary for a whole-of-government approach. (Love that term hoho!) At the end of the day, civil servants are doing a job, doing something worthwhile for a cause they believe in, serving the people indirectly through implementation. Politics is not their war.

Sito did a little "rally speech" in his PJs on how the civil service and the politicians should be separate entities altogether. I'll like to make a little flag for him :)

Things we talk about when we have time. Bliss.

Happy V Day, every day!

We happened to have some strawberries in the fridge so I made a little arrangement in his cereal bowl this morning before I left for volunteer work. Happy.



Walked to school after that to meet him for lunch at the school cafe, buffet style. It being today, there were pink sponge cakes and red velvet cupcakes on a table decorated with candies. Sweet.

We spent the afternoon washing clothes, changing bed sheets and doing homework before taking a nap - he in the fresh sheets cos he'd had a shower and me in the sofa cos I didn't shower until just now. Very normal.

It was 8 pm (!) when I woke. We weren't very hungry so he cooked instant noodles for himself while I made myself a bowl of granola with yogurt and fruits. Our dinner was topped with the nth rerun of "Die Hard with a Vengeance" on the tele. Perfect.

And now, I have cotton pads of Epsom salt solution on my pimply face while he studies. The only sounds in the room are my sniffling, his typing and some background noise in the building. Again, very normal.

So, we are having a very normal day which happens to be Valentine's Day. We agree that every day can be Valentine's Day for us :)

Lounging in my PJs (again)

I haven't stepped out of this building apartment since Friday... Well, what's new? :p

Anyway, this relatively warm winter seems to be becoming a normal one after all. It started snowing on Friday just as I was returning from the clinic. Within a few hours, the temperature went from 1C to -12C!

This weather and all my hormones are making my nose worse these days. I'm really not getting much sleep at night. And once the day breaks, I find it hard to stay in bed to try to go back to sleep, partly cos of my nose and partly cos of insane hunger. So I've been waking up pretty early these days. After breakfast, I'll laze on the sofa or creep back into bed to read stuff on the iPad before waking Sito if he has no school.

Yesterday morning was quite funny. After waking Sito at noon (!) and a very long stage 1 (lazing in bed), he made an ultra fast transition from stage 2 (sitting up in bed) to stage 3 (off the bed) - and he proceeded to make the bed with me in it! I was very tickled :p

Had chee cheong fun for lunch. Of cos it wasn't enough so I made some bread rolls to eat with peanut butter :p Later, Sito got hungry too but he doesn't like peanut butter so...



Yes, bah kwa bun! :p He had two of those, yummy...

Woke to a very sunny morning today. So sunny that my neck was burning as I was brushing my teeth cos the sun was coming through the window *.* So sunny that my bread rolls were warm when I got to the living room! :)

Sito didn't sleep well but had to wake for a morning meeting. So we went back to bed after lunch :p and I had three hours of blissful sleep! Sito reminded me that I woke somewhere in the middle and told him to go drink the barley! But I must have dozed off quickly after that so it still felt like continuous sleep. I was so grateful! Seriously, I haven't slept for more than two hours at a stretch for a long time..

Really should get back to my afternoon naps.. Forgot to nap in the past week cos I was busy planning for our holidayS :) Be going away the first weekend of March, then spring break, then another weekend in April.. Details later! :)

A new discovery at 17w5d

I hesitate to put my kid's genitals on cyberspace but since HE wasn't shy at all...



Yes, it's a boy!

First thought: No stress for dragon year cohort P1 registration at the alumni phase!

So, Sito's guess is right. And apparently my dream too.

A few weeks ago, we had dinner with WSY and her husband and they said that in Korea, their dreams would tell them the gender of the baby. There's even a book with such interpretation! Of course, take it with a pinch of salt la.. She dreamt of a tiger which supposedly meant a boy but they're having a girl.

That very night, I had a strange dream of a cartoony crocodile trying to eat a little girl. WSY checked online and found that it meant a boy. But I was unconvinced. I kept feeling it was a girl due to this chart I found early in the pregnancy and what the TCM doctor said. But Sito had one data point - obviously a more accurate one - which was the darkening hair on my belly *.* "Must be the testosterone!"

Well, we would have been happy with either boy or girl, so long as it's healthy. I couldn't wipe a silly smile off my face as we walked out of the hospital =D So nice to know baby's gender!

Anyway, this sonographer was very nice. She took a quick look and told us that baby's heart was going at 157 bpm and that things looked normal on the surface. We'll do a detailed assessment in two weeks' time. The main purpose of today's visit was to check my cervical length, very good at 3.8 cm; it should be more than 3 cm. But the placenta is currently rather near the cervix so they'll monitor its position later as it can move as baby grows; too near may complicate natural delivery.

Second thought came from Sito, which wiped the smile off my face: Shall we delivery here or in Sg?

Maybe as a girl, I'm not in the best position to say this. But something must be wrong with our NS when our men don't want their sons to serve NS!

I'm pretty sian cos I want our kids to be Singaporeans! And I don't want to stay here until August! And I'll feel much better in the hands of my gynae in Sg!

Well, I intend to buy our one-way tickets after the detailed assessment. We'll have two weeks to think about this..

In the meantime, show off a cute shot of Sito Jr - "buru buru buru"



:)

An unquenchable thirst

Very very thirsty since dinner. Tried miso soup, soy milk, 1% milk, water. Nothing helped.

Please don't tell me I need beer *.*

Guess that leaves only one thing - sleep.

But I'm pretty disappointed that water didn't do the trick. A couple of days ago, I found that I was able to take water again without feeling gassy. My fluid intake is now no longer restricted to Pepsi, milk, soy milk, tea, Milo and the pathetic half cup of warm water I bluff my tummy into taking every morning. I can now have water at any time of the day! Yeah!

I have been reading two pregnancy books from J - in Chinese ok... So I don't understand the names of minerals and certain foods. But otherwise, I find the info quite interesting and different from my Mayo Clinic book. Besides the usual, the Chinese versions also give food suggestions using ingredients familiar to us, like goji berries and black fungi! I like :) At the same time, I notice that the Chinese versions tend to be more paranoid, like cannot take cold foods.

Um, I've been taking a lot of cold stuff leh.. Especially drinks when I had morning sickness. In fact, I still want cold drinks now. I feel better drinking cold stuff unless it's tea but my teas are not all decaf... And I've been having lots of ice cream too :p I guess if it's edible and generally not harmful to a normal person, I should listen to my body and eat whatever I like, right?

miso: Right!

So there, I'm going to have some soy milk* and go to bed :)

* Btw, soy milk in the local supermarkets is not soy milk. Really. At first, I wondered if the Sg soy milk was very processed, it being so smooth and yummy. But no. T made some soy milk from scratch - i.e. real! - the other day and it tasted like the soy milk in Sg. I was reminded of Ah Yee's homemade soy milk years ago... So, never buy soy milk here unless it's an Asian brand or unless you want to feel gross *.*

Sprawling in front of laptop..

Am feeling sick the second night in a row. From overeating. Yes, my fault. Serves me right :(

We had Prima Taste laksa last night:



And you know, usually in Sg, I don't finish up the laksa soup. I finished it up yesterday.

And you know (again), usually in Sg, laksa itself makes a meal, if I have laksa at all. I also had half a big plate of bacon, chicken and cabbage stew.

This morning, we had breakfast at Le Peep with some friends. I ordered this big plate of scrabbled eggs with spinach and chicken, potatoes and an English muffin, and a flask - yes, a flask and I must have had 60% of that - of decaf coffee. And I stunned bits of Sito's pancakes.

Just now, we had the leftover laksa soup with some rice and noodles and separate meat and vege, followed by fruits, keropok and Yan Yan.

Now, I'm burping both coffee and random parts of dinner.

And my tummy is so big - all my fault, not baby's! - that I couldn't bring myself to give myself a pedicure in the bathroom just now. You know, pedicure, must bend over a bit. Tummy in the way *.*

It's been such a lazy Saturday. We hopped back into bed after breakfast to catch up on more sleep. Then I did some chores while he carried on sleeping. Finally woke him up to drink some barley. Then we stayed in bed chatting and playing games on the iPad. Wonder if we would be able to have such lazy weekend afternoons when we go back to Sg.. Maybe before baby is born cos after that, we'll be at its beck and call!

Back to food... Some stuff we've had since the last food update..

Sito tried to recreate 沙河粉 with chicken and prawn stock. Didn't look like it but it was quite nice!



Now, check this out - rojak ingredients!! Just you tiao, taupok, cucumber and bean sprouts. The peanuts were actually honey roasted peanuts from a can - I rolled a water bottle over them in a ziplock bag to crush them..



And I even used a plastic plate to make it look more "hawker centre"! And those were toothpicks, not satay sticks - purposely didn't take in the whole toothpicks :p



Got the "exotic" ingredients from Argyle last Saturday. We were wondering why Argyle was so crowded that day until we walked out of lunch into the LNY parade! Didn't expect to see lion dance and dragon dance here!





Think we happened to be in Argyle for the same parade last year but we caught only the firecracker part, if I remember correctly.

And on Argyle, on our way home from our previous trip there late last year, we found a "magical string" on my coat - got Sito to take a video, quite fun!

Looks and personality

Whenever we talk about how baby would look like, I would say that I don't need our kids to be good-looking; I'd rather them be friendly kids and happy adults.

But last night, we had a long conversation in bed, and an old adage came to me: A little beauty goes a long way.

I think "beauty" here refers to more than just good looks. Good looks are just one part of the whole beauty package. I recall a line from Sex and the City: Sexy is the thing I try to get them to see me as after I win them over with my personality. Well said, Miranda.

In situations as trivial as ordering food at a hawker centre, some beauty could get you better service, more vege, a little discount. Uncles and aunties like the pretty girl, the handsome boy, and also the funny OL and the plain young man who always strikes up a conversation.

And in situations that do matter, like landing a job or chasing skirts, the first impression can sometimes really make or break. And guess what the first impression is made up of?

I love looking at Sito. I always think he's good looking. But he says I'm subjective. Fine. He is no *insert name of yummy celeb*. But oh my, he charms me no end :) So that's his success in chasing skirts :p

But I'm certainly objective when I say he looks good in work wear, especially a well-tailored suit. Now that's a very good first impression before he opens his mouth and shows his smarts to interviewers. Oh yes, smarts are still important!

Yours truly looks good in a suit too, btw :) But not everyone does. For example, thin people. Really, I just realised this after years of fussing over my tummy! On the other hand, someone with some meat or muscles (oooh!) fill up a suit nicely.

And sometimes it's more than the clothes. A guy down the hall thought his beard would make him look more knowledgeable and reliable to prospective employers, but was told by his friend - bluntly - to shave it off. He took the advice and got a job! No more Shaggy! Of course he's also smart la... Oh, much of our conversation was actually on interviews as it is recruiting season right now..

So does this mean people who look and/or come across as less impressive are at a disadvantage?

I've had the opportunity to be part of an interview panel last time at work. First impressions seem to correlate with eventual success or failure. There was this pretty fresh grad, smart answers but rather tai tai and fragile - can she tahan the hours? We put her through to the next round but she gave us up. A mousy middle-age guy came for a higher-level job. Asked him the usual stuff but his replies were as mousy as him - rejected.

At the same time, we had a lot of interviewees who impressed at first sight but crumbled upon further scrutiny. On the other hand, I remember vividly, we had a timid and quiet fresh grad who looked lost and then looked like she was going to cry with each new question! But she managed to give sensible replies despite obvious stress. And she didn't cry. She was eventually hired.

I guess it takes the whole package to be considered favourably in job interviews. But a good first impression will give one person the edge over another if they both have the same aptitude.

So, baby, we don't need you to be very good looking - actually, you won't be cos your parents aren't the yummiest couple around hoho! - but some amount of looks will be much useful to you! Good luck in your development! *pat pat*

A beautiful winter day

It's such a pleasant day today that I walked 30 min home instead of taking the bus after tutoring at the elementary school. A squirrel obviously thought the same as it ran from a lawn to a tree - I haven't seen these furry cuties since late last year! Although a frozen and very dead rat was spotted just outside our building a couple of weeks ago *.*

Now our windows are open and the breeze is refreshing. And driving out the smell of fried luncheon meat from our apartment :p I don't even feel cold wearing a sleeveless top sitting at the window. And my decaf genmaicha remains warm.

The trees are still bare. Some big piles of snow remain in the carpark downstairs. Otherwise, this could have been a spring or early summer day.

Stay, you beautiful weather, please stay :)

Thinking about my housewife/working mum-transit

Some work stuff came up for three consecutive days.

Wednesday, I dreamt that Sito and I were both consultants but for different companies. I carried my poor baby everywhere with me and at every hour until I got fed up and came up with some system (god knows what!) that allowed me and subsequently the whole company to have better work-life balance!

Thursday, I prowled SGDI to check out the departments in my old office which had been revamped in the past year. I realised that I may have a problem at the end of my no-pay leave.. All the positions appeared filled. Non-MAs/AOs will probably be there to stay. MAs/AOs will be posted out but they may be replaced by incoming ones. So will there be a role for me?

Sito suggested trying MOE. Bigger ministry. There are probably vacancies? Possible. Education is close to my heart. And it's near home hoho! I mean, 做生不如做熟, but if the 熟 has become 面目全非 (revamped already), I may be better off in the 生 right?

Or maybe I should heed the "advice" of that dream and look outside the public sector...

Friday, i.e. today, got a nice message from TC that they all missed me! Nice bunch of people but too bad I'm not interested in what may kill me - stats! No, it doesn't make me stronger *.*

I've decided that I will go back to work (forgot to publish this last week - be nice to me and go read it :) ), but I'm seriously wondering what kind of job I'll be in comes 2013. Should really tidy up my resume and tune my housewifey brain a little. I'm really rusty now. Having such a relaxed and laid back life for such a long time has slowed me down. And I've never been quick to begin with! How to field questions from bosses like this?!

Being pregnant doesn't help. I don't know why but this afternoon, I used four cups of rice for one packet of chicken rice mix instead of my usual three. And I almost cooked four cups of plain rice. Luckily I caught myself before I washed the rice because all these were for a dinner of four and one serving is typically half a cup!

Anyway... Yes, I'm already thinking of work - the job itself, how I'll re-adapt to work, how to manage work and family. Will need to talk to some people by mid year and make some decisions. My to-do list upon returning to Singapore is getting longer every other week!

15w6d and happy!

When I was suffering morning sickness, I commented that the fear of morning sickness could make me stop at one, although it seems that people keep having children because after the delivery, they forget how difficult a pregnancy can be.

Well, I was wrong - I've already forgotten the pains of morning sickness!!

Granted, I still can't drink plain water without feeling gassy and I now have a constantly dripping nose. But I haven't puked for three weeks and the last time I felt nauseous was two weeks ago. The nose, well, it isn't like I haven't dealt with that before so yes, I'm managing.

The biggest setback is that I can't sleep through the night since about week 12. I'll keep waking and if I'm lucky, I doze off pretty quickly but mostly, especially if I wake around 5 am, I'll stay awake trying to make at least one nostril functional until the sky lights up. Tmd.

So for about a week now, I've been trying to nap in the afternoon. I even set an alarm to remind myself to sleep and another to wake me two hours later. Unfortunately, I'm not used to napping and if I manage to doze off, it would be only for about 30 min. Well, better than nothing!

This morning, I was tossing in bed, hoping to sleep until noon cos I was so tired! But suddenly, I got hungry. Very. Hungry. I couldn't wait to brush my teeth! And I skipped my half cup of warm water with lemon and went straight for the oatmeals. This was the second time this week. Am I going to start gorging myself henceforth?? Hmmm, I don't mind.. Haha!

Skyped with Jo the other day. She said I seemed to be showing already. Alas, it was just my spare tyre! All these years, I've always been pulling in my tummy muscles to keep looking slim - vain :p But since the morning sickness started, I felt so bad I couldn't be bothered anymore - just let it loose! Now I'm all natural!

But she was right - I should continue to keep myself pretty! So I'm going to freshen up even though I'm just going out to run some errands. And for dinner with the girls tonight, I'll doll up like I did for LNY eve! Only that I WILL remember to cleanse and detox my face properly this time!

Overall - happy :)

大年初一喽！

Check out our dinner party last night at T's place!



S (T's husband) is soooo lucky.... I told Sito I also wanted a wife who could cook well :)



Oh yes, it was the same group as Christmas, except that R was replaced by his newborn son :)

It started raining heavily just as we left the party. I must have caught a chill somehow cos this morning I started sneezing again. Or it could be because I slept late at 1 plus. No, it wasn't because I was 守岁-ing; I quit doing that when I got sick of the LNY show years ago. (And if it's good, there's the repeat telecast the next afternoon! Why suffer panda eyes??) I was up watching 步步惊心 :p It's such a good show! I think I'll finish it tonight...

And I called back of course, partly obligatory. You know, after last year's episode... But well, managed to tell Mother about little baby:

mf: 你要抱孙了！
Mother: 谁？
mf: ...

难道是那两个未娶未嫁的弟妹么？！

Anyway... I also spoke with Ah Yee who still sounded the same and very busy with the festivities. Now no more Grams to help with the steamboat... And of course Yan who is back in Sg now - so envious! Don't know when I'll see her again.. Won't be able to go to her wedding reception this April - trying to reduce long flights - and next year, I hope for her that it will be her turn to be unable to take long flights :)

I'm now sitting here with a thick layer of detox cream mask on my face. Should have done that last night cos I put on makeup for the dinner. Now I'm suffering an emerging pimple with a potentially devastating radius on my nose :( You know, I just want to blow my nose without feeling more pain than there already is. Of course it's best if I don't have to blow my nose at all but it doesn't look like that's possible in this weather and with my hormones wrecking havoc. Bah.

Just sent a message to remind Sito to buy milk on his way home from school. I'm too lazy to go out for just a gallon of milk :p And yes, I'm still in my PJs. Going to read more blogs before Sito comes home for lunch. I'm pretty excited about cooking today - first day of the new year ma, must cook something nice! Nothing exciting for lunch though, cos I have leftover sausages for pasta - my version of 年年有余? :p But for dinner, we're going to have mapo tofu!! Found a new bottle of spicy bean sauce from one of the graduates last June - more spicy dishes to come!

Happy 龙年!

Yeah, it's Lunar New Year! :)

Yes, "lunar" instead of "Chinese". That's been the trend for a while, although the abbreviation LNY will still take some getting used to...

In multi-racial Singapore, I believe it isn't just the Chinese who celebrate this festival. And, it's the more accurate translation of 农历新年 anyway.. Hope we don't see any more horrendous translation of "Chinese New Year" to "中国农历新年"!!

Making our usual Sunday lunch now - porridge :) Tonight, we'll be heading to a friend's place for a big dinner! Can't wait to welcome the dragon year!

Happy dragon year! 恭祝大家新年快乐，万事如意，龙年行大运！Huat ah!

miso interviews mf

I have been waking up in the middle of the night. Sometimes I'll doze off. But I'll wake again. And I'll lie there watching the sky turn bright.

Had some thoughts during those sleepless hours in the past week. I'll organise these thoughts with the help of miso..

Years back, I said that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mum. But after all these months of being a housewife, I think maybe I cannot stay at home. There are only so many dramas I can watch! It's quite a chore trying to think of things to cook. And in Singapore, I don't really need to cook. I'll be more bored! But maybe it's because baby is not in my arms yet - less things to do... Anyway, I figure that to keep myself occupied - and for practical financial reasons of course - I should get my ass back into the workforce.

miso: So, what is your motivation for work?

Our kids. I want our kids to have a better life than I ever had as a kid. And when they grow up, they should be able to have their own life without worrying about their parents' financial needs. Having an income additional to Sito's is a means of doing that.

miso: So will you be looking for some high-paying jobs?

Money is just a means of providing for our kids; it's not everything. So I must balance income level and time. Sito may be travelling lots. So I must be around for our kids. I'm hopeful *fingers crossed* that my old department with its increased strength will be less hectic than before. After all, my unit has been split into three!

miso: So... You're motivated by a desire for public service too?

Um, not really.. Maybe when I was younger.... I know that the work can have a positive impact on the country, on many people. Unfortunately, no matter what we do, it's never enough, and/or there will always be people who are unhappy. And unhappy people tend to be louder. There is just too little positive feedback for public service to be a motivator. It can only be a cause to believe in. Motivator, no.

Besides, I don't earn hundreds of thousands :) Which lead me to a thought on the ongoing debate over political salaries - it reminded me of that GP discussion in JC1 on the meaning of life. It was such a long and pointless discussion! No one was satisfied with any answer. Yet we all went on living, didn't we?! I'm being practical - there are more pressing matters than frivolous discussions on philosophical ideals and principles.

miso: Earlier, you mentioned a better life for your kids. So you believe in social mobility?

When I am a product of positive social mobility, of course! My parents were hardly educated; among the three of us kids now, we have two degrees and two poly diplomas. We went from under the 10th percentile of household income to about the 40th percentile when MZ and I started work. My current household was doing even better before we left our jobs in 2010.

But I had a little discussion with a friend lately. Social mobility, especially economic mobility, can be easily wiped out in an instant say if old parents with no CPF and little savings succumb to any major illness. That's why we must work hard to also ensure that we do not burden our kids in future. The whole 养儿防老 thing is bullshit. I must make sure that I'm the last generation in my family to fear its repercussions.

And, social mobility varies from generation to generation. My generation has gone much further than my parents' generation because they started at a low base. We can help our kids go the furthest they can, but realistically, I cannot expect them to achieve another quantum leap in standard of living. Well, unless they work on Wall Street or become amazing entrepreneurs or something along those lines. I can hold only such aspirations for them but not such expectations.

miso: What if your kids are not smart?

Then I hope they're willing to work very hard! 就算扫地也要扫到最干净！That's what we said when we talked about this a while ago.

But I had a little rethink this week. My little girl from the tutoring programme came back from winter break unable to tell "no" from "on"! Now I'm seriously wondering if she is dyslexic... I could hardly communicate in English at that age but I could actually read a story book. Maybe she isn't making enough effort..

So, the bigger question for me is whether I can be patient with kids who are not like me, be it in terms of um, intellect (I believe I do have some smarts!) or willingness to work hard. I guess I won't know until it happens.

*** some days later ***

miso: You idiot! You forgot to publish this!!

*.*

I eventually clicked "Publish" on 27 Feb 2012, when I was trying to make a reference to this post but couldn't find it... Guess my smarts are limited *.*