Joint account, one big headache

In Singapore, I have both a joint account with Tubby Hubby (TH) and a personal account. I love that personal account because it means I don't feel guilty using it to buy clothes, pay for manicures and get TH's birthday present.

Oh, and squirrel away lots of money for myself, of course.

But in Hong Kong, it's too troublesome to maintain so many accounts so we just have a joint one. Both out salaries go into it so in theory, I shouldn't feel guilty about using it. But I do.

TH's birthday is coming up and he said to take the money for his present from the joint account. But somehow it doesn't feel the same. How can I tell his I got it with my money when it comes from a pool anyway.

Ah well, shall console myself with the fact that at the moment, the contribution's 80-20 (with TH putting in the most). So when I spend, it'll most likely be his money. Way hey! Now, if I can just get rid of this guilt...

TH's new girlfriend

Tubby Hubby (TH) has a new girlfriend. Everytime we go out, he's too busy looking at her to take in the sights. Worst, at night, he takes her to bed with him and prefers to play with her than take part in our usual bedtime talk.

Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that she's easily turned on. In fact, he's got to keep her in that state all the time so that's probably why he's giving her more attention than me.

What am I talking about? Why, his Blackberry, of course.

He brought her back last week. "Office requirement," he said, barely keeping his glee in check. TH's a real gadget freak so giving him one is like giving a toddler a new toy. Since then, he can hardly keep his hands off her.

He thinks I'm crazy to be jealous of a palm-sized thing but it really does take up all his time. And, with his new job, I already hardly see him on weekdays.

So yesterday, I hid his Blackberry. He went into a major panic atack, but not because he was worried his office might need to contact him. "My Blackberry might be feeling lonely," he wailed.

Anybody know of any good Blackberry-obssessive-compulsive-disorder therapist around?

Wife or mistress?

Phew! It's been a crazy, crazy month trying to set up home. That's the view from our new rooftop, by the way. I'll post more when my computer is up and running.

For a week, I had to sleep on the floor in our empty Hong Kong flat while Tubby Hubby (TH) lorded it out in his hotel room. Of course, I could have shared TH's room but then, what about the cat? She had been cooped up in a cage for more than 12 hours just so we could have her in Hong Kong so I wasn't about to leave her on her own in an empty flat. See? That's the cage she came in... it's tiny.

This hotel/flat arrangement suited us fine - except I felt like a mistress sometimes. TH would pop over to the flat for half an hour or so after work and then have to leave to go to this hotel or I would go over to his room, have a quick shower (our bathroom in the flat was woefully ill-equipped) and then leave. It felt more like a tryst than a visit and, by the end of the week, we were getting significant glances from the security guards on both ends.

Once, I asked for the key to TH's hotel room because he was out and I needed to pick something up. The guy at the desk asked me: "Who are you?" "I'm his wife," I squeaked indignantly. "Oh right, his wife," he said, a tad skeptically.

Guess who didn't get a tip when TH checked out then?!