Science - knowing or KNOWing

As I was waiting for the slight traffic jam to clear, I was stuck next to some ixora bushes. I was staring at the flowers when my random thoughts fired up.
*so many flowers blooming* *singapore is so fortunate to have all these plants surrounding the city* *how did the skinny bud pop into the petals*



then my papa's education on ixora came up. I remembered how without knowing the actual name of the flower in the bushes, I learnt many things from papa on this red flowers.
1) it's Non- poisonous flower
2) you can take the nector from sucking it from the root
3) you can make a chain of flowers from by sticking them into the holes between the petals

but it's risk from my papa cos he was plucking the ixora from streets. But it's was thrilling and fun for us. To first taste ixora's nector and second have a little custom made accessory from my papa.
We were 6 and 4.. When science at P3/P4 gave description on Frangi Pani and Ixora.. I've already some good knowledge of EXACTLY what the teacher was saying. At that time, of cos, I was too timid to share my experiences with the REAL thing.

my thoughts wandered through on how Science is being taught today. Everything via textbooks and assessment. That being said, I am guity too.
Hubby teaches science with a twist. Google, experimenting..
my guess is that he would probably added to my 3 items.
- Ixora comes in other colors besides red - they are orange and yellow.
- purpose of it (ixora)

When we moved to our (rented) landed place, we grew (edible) various fruit bearing plants and (my beloved) herbs.

My laksa leaves bloom like they were grelims in the pool. *POOF*
my spicy basil died.
I hardly harvest my sweet basil which is a waste.
My aloe vera is still puny.
My rosemary and chilli just dried up.. didn't die though
Our favourite pandan leaves flourished.

My helper harvested a few rounds of bittergourd.
Had tons of potato leaves (the more you harvest, the more they grow)
Mr papaya finally came up but we will need to say goodbye to it.
our passion fruit.. budding well and sweet.

And we adopted a big size dog.
there are (more) various types of lizards, roaches, bugs. Rats..

With all these around us, it's hard to ignore nature and gain some science insights.

.. I've said so much.. cos I miss how my papa taught us science when we were younger.

China - Hainan Island holiday

This year, it was really tough to make a choice on where to go for our couple trip. I wanted to make it special since the hubby also turn 40 this year.

Last year, we did a Shenzhen/Hong Kong and we had a fight whilst we were in HK.. That is another story but that episode made me think harder on choosing the destination and activities to do together.

We deliberated from Bali, Korea, Japan.. but since we will do a extensive NZ trip end year, we decided to take the cheaper(est) option.

4D3N - May 30 to June 3.

Effective "summer" in an island which shares exactly the same climate as Singapore/Malaysia. And it's OFF peak season - not the most interesting place for mainland chinese to visit another sunny island during summer. End year is super peak since they will seek places to wear off the harsh cold climate.

I left the research to the hubby on places of interest but he complained endless that he had a really tough time. I had the easy job on booking the hotel and air ticket *phew*.

On transport:

Air tickets on promo can get really cheap. We took Jetstar to Haikou airport which cost less than S$500 for a couple. Inclusive of all the taxes and baggage fees. And it reaches the destination around noon. There's no time difference between Singapore and Hainan island.

After clearing the real seamless custom, the exit will lead you to Meilan railway station.



You will need to take a 5mins walk in the super clean underpass to the ticketing booth. Foreigners will need to purchase the tickets from the counter - which potentially can take up a good 10-15mins. Depending on the crowd. When we were there, the queue had about 10-12 pax in front of us but there is only one counter. It took us about 15mins to finally speak to the customer service officer who answers everything we queried curtly. Because of the 15 mins wait, we were unable to take the earliest train to Yalong bay station but had to take a later one to Sanya railway station..



the Queue

note:
1. you will need to provide passport to make the train purchase.

2. altough they serve local meals and beverages on trains, I would recommend that you  buy some bread, cake, pie, cup noodle, biscuits etc before going on board. At the waiting lobby for your train, they provide piping hot water for your cup noodles, beverages.

3. keep your tickets well, you will need to exit with it at your final destination.
4. it is worthwhile to pay for class 1 tickets - designated seats and comfortable cushion seats.

5. it takes 2.5hrs to travel from Meilan railway station to Sanya railway station.



really nice experience on train

The sights along the railway tracks were pleasant, very neat plantations - rice, bananas, acres of coconut trees...

When you reach Sanya railway station, you would need to take a public cab to either the town or yalong bay - where the beautiful beach is.

Metered fees to town from Sanya station will be 50yuen. Whereas to the area of yalong bay hotels will be about 60yuen. that is, if you don't get rogue driver who drives you around the place on metered fees.

On Hotels:

We stayed at a villa at Pullman Sanya yalong bay resort and spa. Do print the chinese version of the hotels' address or name. the local cab driver don't know English at all.

The villa is alright, nothing like Bali W's resort.. but clean enough and facilities reasonable.



private pool





Jet Tub big enough to fit both of us!

on EAT!

We went to the overpriced market to have our tunch.

第一市场 Di(4)yi(1)shi(4)chang(3) :

- Enter market to get the seafood of you choice. Sea urchin, fresh fish, lobster, clams..

- choices of about 15-20 eateries to cook your seafood. they call this 加工.

- the eatery will provide anything you want, however you want. Juice, beer, vegetables..
- it's quite warm so.. so be prepared.

We actually did the reverse by picking the eatery first as the person from the shop assisted us on advising what to choose and play part on bargaining.

the market



clams - alot more varieties!

mud crabs





abalone



fresh sea water fish







Sea urchins - steam with beaten egg



lobster - fresh and steamed



beer - to cool off the heat and goes well with seafood



how the shop looks from sitting from the inside..

This tunch cost us around S$100 for 2 of us. Really expensive considering the place. We hear that it would likely cost us half the price if we've weren't that hungry and would try somewhere more "local".

other things we ate:

- KFC - cheap and good breakfast

- 渔人码头 (new) - the locals may ask you the new or the old one as there are quite a fair bit of development so road names changes, new building sprouts.

This building has at least 5 restaurants worth trying. We had hot pot, delish soup in big bones and sides.



the yummy hotpot



the seeds

cat eyes with veg



sea cucumber in abalone sauce



don't order this.. taste like cold beehoon

coconut juice - comes in milky form

 -We also patron twice at a HK dessert shop, the mango wrap is soo yummy as it's in season. They gave us free egg custard..

- One of the best thing we had when we were there was a bowl of very chilli hot soup noodles. cost us S$2.
 

 

 
- Hotel restaurants - various hotels have offers depending on the time. We were suppose to go for a BBQ at globe hotel but decided to go out for food instead.
 

During the cab rides, I noticed that there are huge restaurants along the way and I do suppose it's catered for drive ins and tour groups. Next time perhaps.

- Fruits.. huge variety of tropical fruits... but not sweet. We tried the lychee which is sour. The peach is totally disappointing. The mango should be good but it's larger than the usual ones so it's kinda suspicious.

Oh and they are tough to bargain. U take it or leave it.

- before we left home.. we had to try a plate of hainan chicken rice. The rice has very very slight chicken stock fragrance... chicken fresh but tough, reminds me of the lean chicken I had when i was young. nothing to shout abot, definitely old school. S$10 bucks for this set.

DO!

What do we do when we are near the sea? And this island is termed to be Eastern Hawaii? Sea sports of course!

So we tried to SCUBA dive. with no expectations but with a little fear since we don't know what to expect in terms of quality. at that time, I just pray that I come out alive and well. You see, doing the dive there doesn't require you to be properly trained. Lots of first timers there and the divers there does massive crowds day in day out.

The recycled equipments, suits, gears..  are in good condition. It's compulsory to purchase your own mouth piece. Don't ask me if they are recycled as I didn't even have the chance to try away the mouth piece myself, it was left with the company.

At 30m down the sea waters, I saw some sea urchins, quite a number of starfish, unattractive corals, specs of fishes and jelly fish.... Redang offered much better view even just snorkelling..

The whole experience cost S$100 per pax exclude meals. Total of 3-4 hours with taking a cab and boat rides, looonnggg wait and the whole diving ordeal is only about 15-20 mins..



the chartered boat that brought us to the island



We realised thereafter that there are 2 other better ways to experience this:

1) charter a boat that comes with fishing, diving, meals etc. (pre-book with any of the tour tug) though risky.

2) hotel beaches offers all sorts of water sports. including scuba dive. Comparitively cheaper since you don't really need to spend on taking cabs and boat rides. AND the hassle shuffling through the places and the wait with the BULK of tourist. It'd make more sense to try that out at the comfort of the hotel dedicated sea sport centre.

- other stuffs we did at the beach:

swim (duh?!) but it was not enjoyable since I got bitten by the jelly fish. What do you when you are stung is to wash with plain water, ask the bodyguard for a lotion to put off the swell.

What will you then do if you can't really swim in the b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l waters with the clear blue sky? read and sleep with the sound of waves..  until you are disturbed by some shrilly, sultry voice of women trying to get pictures.

then try to rock on the hammock... and occasionally you will get a see a french hunk or babe.

otherwise? stare into nothing. haha.

but the beach is really nice, soft white sand, clear sea water.. with good facilities.

                   

Night walks are romantic and nice. I wanted to see the sunset but was a little sabo-ed by the cab driver but saw the moon instead. It happened to be full moon so it made it especially awesome.

- 温泉, about S$40 per pax, you get to dip into 20over spring pools that has various flavours. Milk, ginseng, lavender, red/white/yellow wine and alot of other types of medicine and flowers.. good for blood circulation, smoothing of skin, healing etc.

they also have a pool where you can do fish spa.

that all?

For now I suppose, we didn't have any transport on our own thus time were spent on waiting and resting. We also treated ourselves a bit by hibernating at the villa.. pool, game centre.

to add some spice to the trip.. we spoke a fair bit with locals, cab drivers, tour sales person and even had a good conversation with a couple who shared the cab with us from XiAn.

We could be going there again - hopefully the next time, we will find the real stuffs of the island.

L.O.V.E.

This is our Crystal Marriage age. Things have become crystal clear that this man I married is THE ONE.

When I posted on my teenage "love" blunder, I actually didn't remember my anniversary. Not that I am no good at remembering such a day but over years, I've learnt the only way to "mellow" down is to convenient forget and don't expect.

It wasn't so during those infant/toddler years of our marriage.  Our passionate character brought us tons of adventure together but it was also disastrous when we disagree! So much energy wasted on those fights. We made it through, we *try to* understand each other's peeves and not provoke it. The fights become less intense, plus the fact that I tend to rely and expect of him much much lesser than before. And he tries to tolerate my nonsense.
Then, there were also times where I think that the marriage is getting functional - for the kids, for sex, for sharing of house, religion ... WHERE is the LOVE? Well, the good thing is - those are passing moments/years.

When we discussed our love language, I'd say I need them all - touch, gift, service, words, time.. greedy? Maybe it's because I think it's possible to execute all of the above if you truly love the person, didn't that happen during courtship?

I have to agree that I am super senstive, demanding and not all considerate. I certainly did not deliver all the love language to him though I ask for all of it. But isn't that our priviledge? for today, a woman has to work outside for the money and take care of the household.

Now - that is me but I am not a meanie. My hubby still loves me till today is on the credit that I do my duty as a wife as best as I can.

So this year, I am pleasantly (not overwhelmed though) surprise that he made the effort to plan, prepare and cook for our dinner.

Tadah! 300gm of Grade 7 Wagyu Sirloin Steak with salad.


He also went to my (our) favourite Darcius to get the lemon tarts and macaroons. Sweetie pie. He didn't perfect it with some flowers or music or candles. But it is his maximum effort and for that, I love him to bits.

He finally got it after so many years! for the upteen times, I said I just want to be in his thought during these special occasion. Not those expensive bouquets, fancy dinners. He finally GOT it! woot! I am happy girl.

My daughter during dinner asks - what did you guys do last anniversary? We were both stumped. I think we were either at GDOP or Wesley Methodist's Aldersgate. haha! IF that happened for the past few years, can you tell that it don't really bother me anymore on this special day.

So cheers to us and more blissful and blessed marriage years to come.

what is LOVE? momo's contribution.
feeling to want to reach out to touch him, look at his every features and memorise them. urge to hold him so close that the breathe momentum becomes one.

what is LOVE? Wikipedia contribution.

Love may be understood as part of the survival instinct, a function to keep human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species

When discussed in the abstract, love usually refers to interpersonal love, an experience felt by a person for another person. Love often involves caring for or identifying with a person or thing (cf. vulnerability and care theory of love), including oneself (cf. narcissism).

A core concept to Confucianism is Ren ("benevolent love", 仁), which focuses on duty, action and attitude in a relationship rather than love itself.

a dark secret

ready?

I saw this "joke" and reminded me of what I did which ruin some friendship and relationship. I do have some confused character back then!



In Poly year 1. I was showered with endless attention from the engineering folks. ME, EE, ELE. I was not very confident of my assets - I didn't think I was pretty or beautiful at all. But then again, there were so little girls in those departments! But I was definitely basking in those attention.

I was working full time at the Co-op and before long, I got to know three male buddies : KA, J and LH.
I was particularly attracted to LH who had a gf. J and KA was interested in me with all kinds of hints but I acted blur. I was trying to buy time to enjoy the attention and the group dates.
Subsequently, I was tricked into single dates with J and KA. KA was older, could drive and sometimes drives his family car. At that age, you get impress with boys who drives. And then, before I knew it, in some stupor condition, I actually accepted KA's "steady" proposal. J keep saying that I was cheating his feelings. Of which, I didn't think going on single dates means I was commital. Plus, J thought good looking was really not my type.

However, I was still looking out as I didn't think that I will last with KA. I was not mature to be in a relationship but don't really know how to get out of the nasty situation... and I was also having crushes on a few other boys everywhere. i.e. church, workplace etc..

THEN, one day, the three of them decided to pay a prank on me. They called me using an external phone.  I've always spoken mandarin with them and never held any conversation in English. So LH started conversing with me in English that he was particularly attracted to me, got access to my number and hope to be my friend. I was pretty flattered and of cos was gushing and flirting on the line. I had no freaking idea it was LH! KA was naturally super upset with me. His "gf" of less than 1 month flirting with another guy.
I caught their reaction when I reached the place where they made the "con-call" and their expression was pretty classic. Diverted eyes from LH and J.. KA made an excuse that he had a class to go to. then for the next couple of weeks, I saw nothing of KA, very little of J and LH. All I knew was that it was a silent breakup and J told me that KA was getting drunk almost everyday. I cared for KA though I didn't like him that way. I called him to apologise and all so that was an episode to learn how to handle "heart-ship". Crystal clear till today cos it was such a huge mistake!

after a hiatus

I did say that I was gonna continue writing - whether there is an audience or not. Strangely, I was reminded of this blog cos I googled "DSA guzeng" trying to figure out the DSA for Tasha... and YES! time flies and now I'm in my second and final P6 exam!

Facebook does take away all the postings and such cos it's quicker to load status and pcitures. take a glimpse of what goes on in 2010.

We had Tasmania trip. Shape run. wonderful family outing at universal studio, parks, autumn festival. Adopted Floppy from Jin. Penang, Zhuhai trips.. Nikki passing on. Nathan underwent one (final) op on his arm. Woah, what memories!.

Lesser updates in 2011 though more eventful...

So I had a great mother's day. cook some really great dishes. Went to Vegas for the first time. did amazing race with church. hosted Tassie classmates. had some real quality time with family.

snapshots into a yr's updates/memories. not bad :)

on blog, funny how I read the (only) 2010's entry, I could still feel the "rage" during that conversation with my brother and mother which seems a little silly now.
Things between us have naturally "mended". The "mother" test across Desiree and my brother clearly didn't stand a victory. I suppose they (D and bro) are still really great friends but just not couple in front of us anymore.

It was also during the time when my mother was diagnose stage 3/4 breast cancer Oct/Nov 2011, all their family trials elevated. She attributed her cancer to various things - including the glucosamine pills I gifted her sometime ago. But this mischievous cells, you never really quite know. My mum did not breastfeed any of us, I know because she urge me to take the pill to cut my milk so that my breast won't sag and cos she did so (I refuse and that is a total other story). There were frustrasted moments and one of which were when she refuse to do chemo initially. Mostly out of fear and self-fishness. Fear that she will die and "wasting" money. Selfish cos she wants all the attention and money from the daughters. She is not a good fighter mentally - she is doing great physically.
That episode was pretty much over and over the months, she managed to get her church friends to send her to hospital, accompany her to hospital, . She will be on her last dosage of chemo this friday.Afterwhich, she will go for an operation to take the lump out in a matter of weeks. My only hope is that after these ordeal, my mother will grow to be more appreciative of people around her, less vicious in the choice of words she uses. I have more or less given up on relationship with her - for she has already decided that the girls she have belongs to another family. she will only stand by her own son - no objections to that. Not just because we have gotten used to it, it's not worth fighting anymore.

last couple of weeks was CA1 and boy, there is so many updates on FB on everyone working hard with their kids. It's getting so stressful even for P2s.. my heart goes out for all the parents.

I had no idea Tasha was having exam as the notice came when I was in states. Her daddy had no clue that he is suppose to at least make some preparation for her. But oh well, Thank God for the tuition she started earlier this year. With her tiny steps towards changing her attitude on handing in homeworks and taking ownership, the wind is finally changing direction. I praise God for all the prayers heard.
It was much better than P5's CA1 where she got 50s and 60s. It's in the regions of 70s and 80s.

So this is my dilemma - I was very confident of Nathan's academic strengths at high 80s and 90 region. To apply for his DSA for NJC, HCI, DHS was a breeze - through academic. He passed the interviews and GAT with flying colours. His results then could appeal him into RI but we finally decided against it - mainly because HCI has CO and RI protrayed a stronger emphasis on sports.

Natasha has potential but her attitude slacking every now and then. I say that because she (nathan alike) never had external tuition except P6. she had 94 for Math in P4 CA2! (And she was rewarded aptly for that). But she spiral down to 65 in P5 mid year. my darling girl is really hard to guage.
She is like a miracle sometimes, she give me surprises especially when whilst teaching her, she demostrates no inclination of understanding.
So, as much as I hope for a miracle.. it's so tough to do any DSA for her!

only DHS which accepts Guzeng. Cedars, St Nicks, NYGS, SCGS - so many great girl's school but very tough to apply for her :(

I'd just leave it to God and her good hands. She has very different talents... as long as she puts her heart into doing it, she excels. The difference is, she don't persevere as well as Nathan.

On Nathan, he is driven in his own way in terms of academy. He however broke my heart and soul on mother's day when he told me that he is struggling his belief with God and wants to stop attending church.
I couldn't stop tearing. I could hear my heart cracked into pieces and then my soul was grieving so bad that I felt weary.

The greatest gift I can ever give to these two fellas are really the relationship with God. Nathan has depended alot on his own strength and he felt that his prayers didn't work. I didn't probe any further cos it doesn't make sense to drill. Let love be. I just have to continue to pray, love and trust God that all will be well.

I have to give it to him that he is decisive and non hypocrite. I did let some shady thoughts depress me - for instance on being an ill example when it's comes to bad temper - flaring lesser than before but there is no 365 of peace loving Mona. Or some months of non-reading of bible. Or Sin..
I've let that go and God teaches me every step, His guidance so loving. Definitely missing the 4some going to church but one day it will be better than that! Amen!

matters of the heart

Which parents on earth would not give anything to have their children safe, healthy and free from troubles.
My heart crack into million pieces when my son (finally) blurted out last night when his emotions kicked in real bad - on how he hates being zero on gross motor skills thus he needs to be hero on his studies.
Man, it's hard to hear it from him that he hates all these operations, how he strives to do (very) well in his studies to comfort himself from the hurting (albeit probably unintentional) words that he is lousy at sports. And now, the operation on his right hand forbidded him to write.
How he loves watching and reading 'sister's keeper' as he could relate himself to Kate. My poor son.

yet, i can do nothing. my heart squeezed and my tears might as well be the blood that's pumping out from the arteries.

Thank God we have Him. In times like this, what can we do? how do we heal? how do we find encouragement and strength?

when I first started writing dairies, it was filled with unhappiness, fears, wishful thinkings, sad moments, depressing thoughts ... lesser of the happier moments.



I tried to keep blogs to track happy occasions, rounding up of what had happened..lesser of darker side.



Last week was practically a real testing one. On Monday, the hubby was not feeling well and I got all the frustrastion banged on me and I was really crushed to know that he sees me alot lesser than what I thought I was to him.

Then, my brother and his mother had some argument over the girl staying over --> paying of utilities etc. his mother actually said that monthly expediture is S$1k!

Meanwhile, the girl stated a fb comment that set me all fury. Me being quick and hot, had a huge bickering session with my brother and his mother. It was all seemingly well at the end of the day but it spelt the end my cordial relationship with his mother.

It may just as well be good riddence. But I do have feelings and does feel awful about it all, not because of retribution or whatever. It's more the guilt towards my father, I felt so bad about not doing enough for him when he was alive. And also my Christian living, by upholding all other virtures, this forgiveness to render can take away my entire earthly happiness - and I ain't joking at all. It might as well drain my soul, my strength, my breathe.. and love which only Christ can give.

Then, on thursday, work this time got into me. I could not bear the unsupportive boss's comments and give him a nasty shot of answer, I could almost see smoke fizzing out of his head. Something I would never have done in the past. But I am really at my wits end on the tons of issue and work on my plate that I could not mince my words before it's out.





---- after all the above said, I was totally humbled by James 1:19; quick to listen, slow to speak (hurting words) and slow to anger.

Reebonz - Unveil The Surprise

I want!!! This will be perfect for my family to do some real great rest and relax - the high life way :)

of 2009

the past few months came and went slowly but quickly. The harder bits slower and the happier times quicker.

In Oct - we were totally like just doing the PSLE. Since preparation was done in earlier part of the year.
Once the results is announced in late Nov - We've visited Taiwan for the first time and loving it. Not bad a place to do spa, shop, eat - affordable too. The kids had their fair share of fun.
On the results - Nathan made his grandparents and us very proud. He scored 264 with merit for higher chinese for his PSLE.
Since we had made the choice to DSA to Hwa Chong, we did not deviate from the choice and went ahead without much thoughts to appeal to Raffles. But when we did our registration for his Japanese (3rd Language) course at Ghim Moh, we learnt that HCI boys does their French and Jap at Ghim Moh and RI goes to Bishan. No point transferring since the flock differ. Oh well - it's gonna be a long thursday for him for 4 years.

KK and I did the annual standard chartered run. His first time and my second. My timing is better this year - woot!

Nathan tried to SYCO but did not get it, the kids there who were auditioning were really talented and good.

Natasha was not selected for the GEP but she is still in the level's top 2 classes.

Christmas was fabulous. We had a walk from Hort park to Hendersons wave. Breakfast at Telok Blangah rise and short cut back to car. afternoon break then mini get together at my place from his family. We had guesstures (like charade), MRT stations (like calling each other's names) for all the oldies and the young ones.
A short carolling time. then games and makan till 11pm.

We also did some garang thing - we chiong up and down Malacca on 27th and 28th. but it was fun for a night out at Malacca, eating peranakan food, navigating with virtually no help, the kids shopping for their own stuff.

So it's New Year's eve tomorrow. What is my 2010 outlook???

of Tasha again...

what should i do with her.

my heart is so broken with her sensitivity. But when she put me into frustration, i really am at loss on what to do with her.

- a pile of school work done not handed in/undone hidden
- chinese oral results are out but she hid it in her drawer
- a note written : i hate, hate hate hate.. isaac.. fucking.

talk, pray, counsel, scream, scold, cane ... all done. what else can i do to help her???

how would you react

My lunch today was at Sembawang hill where i saw a father dropping off his 14-15 yr old boy who is wearing his uniform from branded school, off whilst he look for parking.
The mum was waiting at the hawker all ready for him to be seated. She asked what he wants for lunch and gruffly asked back what is there to eat.
boy seated, mum stand bending down.
mum ran through the hawker's food list and he chose. Mum wonders off to order food for herself, her son and father.
boy finished food, pulled out phone to play. Mum asked question, little response from the prince. Mum pass tissue for him to clean his face. Prince takes tissue, clean and continue playing his phone game.

I was not exactly feeling very much but just thought if i knew the boy, he will either get a huge sacasm or a head smack from me.

My thoughts? This boy is spoilt from the mom and the hands, legs and brain is just used for study and play. And he totally has no initiatives to do anything for himself except to be waited.

what is yours? Feeling indifferent cos it's common. Or none of my business? Or there is absolutely nothing (so) wrong her? Are you being too strict/harsh?

Bangkok trip

An acct so that i can remember this sister trip to BKK. 17th Oct to 19th Oct 09.



Day 1 - Cab from Airport to President Solitaire (near Nana BTS) is Baht400. Cab insisted we pay Bht500 but we didn't have much choice.

Reached hotel safe and checked in at 8.30am, after a short freshen up and adminstrative. We were out at 9ish. Ate at an amazing road side stall, chicken rice noodle at Bht25. Proceed to take train to CTC market. one day trip pass = Bht 120. Their charges are by Zone. Mo Chit is where CTC market is. Happier shopping at designer's area, had a great chill out time at Lita where they sell unique bags and play great Bossa music. Coconut ice cream was great @bht25. There's a shop that sell great T's and racers. At 5ish, we left the place to freshen up at the hotel and headed for an aroma massage at the hotel Bht866 per person after 30% discount. Very shiok and then dinner at nearby Japanese restaurant (Bht 660 for two) which is not worth mentioning.



Day 2 - scrumptous breakfast at the hotel. Out at about 9ish to shop at Platinum. It's at chitloam station but a long walk to Zen->Isetan->across the bridge then platinum. Bad shopping from 1st to 3rd floor. but after that, there were great finds of accessories and gifts and one store which sold korean look alike clothes. Ate at the top floor where they serve almost similar sg food - chicken rice, beef noodles, braised duck rice/noodle, Kuay chap.. Sis treated bird's nest.

Took BTS back CTC mkt for last minute chiong of the weekend mkt and bought more clothes. It poured and we had to make our way back to hotel at 8ish. showered, freshened up and headed for Patpong area for massage and food. I thought we could find the ones I used to enjoy but did not. We had thai massage (Bht330/pax) at a sleazy shop, though good, my angmoh "neighbour" asked for "additional" service so really spoilt the serenity. But my legs were much better.

We had a hassled dinner at KFC (Bht 200 for two) and took the train back. However, we missed our station as we were laughing too hard at the advertisements and took a joy ride back to our NANA station. By the time we hit bed, it's midnight.



Day 3 - another heavy breakfast before we head out. Went to Isetan and roam around a bit. Went back to Platinum to finish what we left out. Shop "gusto" has some nice things too. Walk to Siam station and roam Paragon, Siam centre then really tired out by the time we reached MBK. MBK's attraction is still there - for electronics, for titbits and small items. They have great restaurants there too. went back to hotel, freshen up, checked out at 4pm, did foot massage and manicure nearby (which we should have on Day 2) at bht250 for foot and bht200 for mani. Back to the hotel, collected our luggage and paid bht370 for tolls, extra tax and metre fees to the airport. despite the jam. Found that onthe next lane from Nana station, there sits my black canyon cafe and seemingly better massage shops. There's always next time :)



Note: departure/airport tax (passenger service charge) will be included in the airline ticket price!! cos of that, we each had Bht700 with us unspent... hahaha..



total damage: S$300 for airline tix and hotel each. expenses including food, massage, shopping for myself is S$475 cash and S$200 on card.

Happines with sister: priceless.

We went for our Bintan trip despite the prelims and CA2 looming around the corner. Like previous exams, I am always preparing way in advance and then totally relax one week just before the exams.

This time, we managed to organise this for my side of extended family though there is not much - mum, bro, sis n family and ours. All 10 of us including kids. We sure had a great time sharing stuff and relaxing at the pool, the beach for a while, watch the sun rise and our very own BBQ ... hopefully we will have another such trips again in future.

Bintan 21st to 23rd Aug

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Nathan thought he did quite ok for his chinese oral on 19th Aug. What he had "aimed" and gone through before came up so he is confident.

The second day for his English oral (20th Aug), he felt totally bummed out on the conversation dept. He was asked to describe a good act he came across. His mind was totally blank on good act.

He laments how he's not see a real good act for a long time! He was quite affected by it but it's time we taught him how to move on after feeling disappointed with self.

Natasha is consistently prepared for the CA2, except Math, she seem to have alot to catch and I can't really put my finger on where she don't get it. Anyhow, she always surprise me with her results - pleasantly, let's hope she does it again.

The month of July/Aug was busied with DSAs.

DSA - Direct school Admission
IP - Integrated programme
GAT - General Ability Test
HAST - Higher Ability Selection Test
RI - Raffles
HCI - Hwa Chong
NJC - National
DHS - Dunman
PSLE. Everyone know that means. There was once a facilitator who said that it means Passing Simple Love to Everyone. But it's not what that means when you or your child is in P6.

----

We discussed through the schools to apply for and we picked HCI, NJC and DHS. I for one is most impressed with DHS's principal - for his humbleness, unassuming body language and encouraging speech. The student's performance displayed how they love their school life. HSI overall wowed me over. NJC didn't give an open house we know that it's a great school by it's own merits.

We made our trips to and fro Bukit Timah for briefings, tests, interviews and what naughts. It's been an eye opener for what your kid can be drilled through for scholarships and such. We had a good laugh over his interview Q & A, how he "spied" other people's academic results during the submission, he quickly made some friends during the short stint and did discussion over their experiences. It's been tiring but fun. I sure learnt much about his "ability" since he's gone through various tests and he has his fair share of how things work. We also "tasted" how to balance the run arounds with so many things still going on. And this fellow can still ask me when i am starting his calligraphy lessons... kuakua.

Nathan at this point was shortlisted by NJC, accepted by HCI and no reply from Dunman yet. He has already made his choice.
I am not sure if it means more work for me but I just want to remain really happy for him at this juncture.

Tomorrow is his PSLE oral. and he is still having tons of school work from his teacher and doing his ErHu lesson as I am writing this. This is what life will be like soon I suppose.

The last line...

I totally agree on this from http://tribolum.com/:

Like the poem, we all see this coming, for all our relationships. It’s what you do between the first line and the last line that matters.

-> like my Dad.. I was there when he was hospitalised, was there when he was sick and send him for medical checks. Thought of his birthdays and father's days. But was simply not able to see him for the last time even when asked to cos I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
It didn't matter what was done in-between. It matters what I did at the last leg. Like the last line of the poem.

Oh well...

August is a real exciting start. I had alot pack in action this month but the flu virus has more in store for us.

family time table and the "add-on":

1 Aug- Nathan shortlisted for NJC. went for day camp
4 to 11 Aug - H1N1 virus healing and qurantine
8 Aug- help out for H.O.P.E.
9 Aug - farewell for Ong family as they are doing 2 yrs in USA.
10 Aug - H.O.P.E fair and Public holiday
16 Aug - Safra Bay run
20 and 21 Aug - PSLE oral
21 evening to 23 Aug - Bintan weekend break for my younger brother's BD
24 to 28 Aug - P6 Prelim and P3 practice paper 2
28 Aug - Natasha GEP screening test
29 Aug - Natasha school briefing on rebalacing affliation (to sec school)

As much as I love meaningful events, being sick is something I don't appreciate. Esp when it happens to my kids.
The H1N1 virus made me work harder at home but helped me to bond again with the kids. I've not had been the 24/7 mum for them since they're... P1? In terms of physical needs, I don't need to coax them, feed them, monitor them constantly. I am only with them on brain wave level - coach their studies, give them spelling and assessments, read newspapers, scream at them to DIY...
If you ask me, I'd prefer taking care of physical needs anytime. At least, it's immediately appreciated and the hugs means alot more.
The latter, is really for them to appreciate when they reach their 20s/30s and it's really much harder work.
But in anyway, they need to grow up and the latter will definitely take place more.

The worst of the virus is over - I pray that there will not be any more high fever and severe headaches. they are enjoying each other's company playing the computer games - whilst the rest of the schooling kids do their time at school.
This National day holiday will promise alot of indoor games - mahjong, carrom, movies since we are not going out.

on growing...up and old.

I feel proud each time I announce my kids age till recently. I reckon that as their age increase, I age too. It's not that I want to be forever 25, I'm vain but not that vain. It's just that it didn't felt like an achievement anymore, there are just so many other things to be achieve and not done yet.

Last month, when I met up with friends I've known for more than 2 decades, I noticed deep lines below the eyes, old age pigmentation, white hair.. But these are just "face" value depreciation.
I felt we were now more stable emo wise, more in tune with our own instinct, confident of status - be it single or married or attached without commitment, happy with the decisions made, glad to be able to plan for the next decade, calm to face any tomorrows...
That to me is a huge diff when we met at 30 and again at 35. I can't wait to talk about our 40s.

I'm inspired with how some women of this century looks darn gorgeous at 40 and beyond - Jennifer Aniston (yes! she's 40!!!), Halle Berry, Vanessa Williams and oh wow Monica Bellucci .. So first, I am going to do something that is cosmetic - nothing too drastic, I just need to do something with my crowning glory.

Smiles

My son is so funny sometimes. The weekend has been a wreck but he made my day and i smile everytime i think of it.

During our brunch on Sunday.
EZ: what do you think Satan was doing when God put light on the first day?".
I had no idea..
EZ: Satan was formulating a rectanglar thing that also gave light but it was bad. It became TV..
Me: tell me more
EZ: then God made animals, Satan created hamburgers and made it staple. God made plants and Satan make them into potato chips.

har har har har!!!

Then he continued.

EZ: remember the part when God told Adam and Eve not to eat the apple in the middle of the garden? Well, Satan said - fruits we eateth not but give me potato chips anytime!

WOAHHAHAHA... this can be found from Reader's Digest this month and the words may not tally word for word. I am just as appreciate to my son for putting in an effort to make me laugh.

Family eat out

Crisis or no crisis, hub and I are became more conscious of our eat-out habits. I mean restaurant eat out. It started when we realised that we are spending about 200 to 300 bucks on restaurants every month and that is excluding our weekday groceries and our "special" occasion meals.

Eating in Sg is really reasonable if you go for simple hawker fare. A typical meal of such will cost about 20 to 25 sgbucks for the 4 of us. Price varies though at food court - Banquet, kopitiam, food republic. You don't really get to choose the (brand of the) food court as they are located at various vincinity. And you end up eating there because.... you really wanna get that chicken rice or Ngoh Hiang with air-condition. That would have cost about 30 to 40 sgbucks for our family.
There are times when we are really sick of eating typical food. Because, as much as being relatively cheap, it's loaded with carbohydates and MSG. That's when you start to explore either to cook gourmet or pamper ourselves with "good" food.

It used to be Japanese or Crystal Jade that did the trick. Lunch or dinner at the such restuarant would set us back at 70 to 100 sgbucks. However, it does not necessary mean that we are satisfied with the food. Those days, I'd wish I could whip up some really good dishes at home so that such monies don't get to go to waste. There are also times when you had such a good time with the food, you don't mind going back for more when budget allows.

Over the years, there's more than than Japanese food or Crystal jade - Thai, Korean, Western, Gourmet Chinese and Vietnamese.... aren't we spoilt for choice for such a tiny island?

Nathan and Tasha adore Din Tai Fung's 小笼包 to bits. We indulge in that more cos I can't replicate that dish.

Over the CNY weekends, we found a new haunt, - Tang Dian Wang Shanghai restaurant. To be honest, I have no idea what Shanghai cuisine has, but this place has good soup value for money and yummy lotus leaf rice. And this desert/side dish really completed our lunch.

prawn roll in mango sauce.

Fresh ingredients cooked al dente is the best.

So where to eat next?

Actions of our belief

Lunar New Year can be such a contradicting period for us - the Christian Chinese.

There's so many superstitious beliefs that contradicts with the Christian belief. Usually, we go by the rule of thumb - as long as it does not stumble another to understand Christ.

One of the actions I've learnt along my Christian walk is to decline graciously. In the past, when colleagues around me ask me to join them to buy the "hongbao toto", I would scoff at their idea and give them the "i-am-proud-and-mighty" speech. OR, I would go into the extreme, not utter a single word about it and wait for them to collect the monies (which goes into the drain 100% of the time).
Last year, before I can reject it nicely, they have kindly included me into the purchase so that I won't feel left out. I thank them for their thoughtfulness but joke that we may not win cos God won't grant me such luck.

This year, I thank the (another) group for asking but decline nicely. They somehow were quick to detect the reason why I am not participating so they were respect it anyway. Perhaps they are the lot that are kinder and respectful on people who are slightly different.