Little Tot, Big Splashes

We were blessed with great weather this morning. So, as promised to our little girl last week, we brought her back to the newly opened outdoor playground at IMM, for some fun splashing time.

We had assumed that the splash area already be in operation when we reached the playground at 0920hrs. Nope, it wasn't. The water systems were not turned on yet. We quickly found out (with some eavesdropping from the other aunties present) that the water would only come in at 10am. Not an issue. We'd just enjoy the regular playground first.

When the fountains came alive and the water jets started spraying, they were greeted by cheers and exclamations of joy from those children who, like Jaimie, had been waiting for this moment. For warm up, Jaimie started playing with those little nozzle fountains, but quickly moved towards the larger, wetter ones.

It was great fun. Only drawback was, one of us had to get wet with Jaimie. Angie got to get me a fresh change of T-shirt from the shops afterwards.

Jae having fun getting wet.

The IT Family were there too (They had immaculate timing - arriving almost immediately after the water sprays kicked in). The mommies share a kodak moment.

So did the daddies.
It's not often that we get to take a 全家福 shot. And this is one that we like a lot. Thanks, Idy.

喝益多，益处多

The cultured drink in the famous little bottle is something that we've been drinking since we were kids. And we are still drinking it now. It's one of those beverages that seems to have been around for as long as we can remember. Like Milo, Horlicks and Ribena.

Yakult is full of the good bacteria strain L. Casei Shirota, which aids in digestion and can lead to better natural defences. Or so says the advert that we've watched since childhood.

There is now yet another benefit of drinking this tiny bottled milk drink.

Behold, the Yakult Catepillar - crude looking improvised toy fabricated by Angie, by stringing together empty Yakult bottles. Jae seems to like it, though...

A Million Sweet Dreams, Sweetheart

For the longest time (err...well...I guess it's more like a week or so), Jaimie has refused to have me put her to bed for her nighttime sleep. Each night she'd demand for mommy, and mommy alone, to sing her lullabies, to pat her into slumberland.

My bad, actually.

I'd underestimated a child's ability to remember unhappy experiences.

About a week ago, that was the last night I accompanied Jae as she went to bed. She was slightly cranky and kept sitting up or even getting to her feet. Each time I lay her down on her pillow, she'd very quickly get back up again. Having had a tiring day in the office, and expecting a rough day at work the next day, it didn't take long before my patience ran short. Not wanting to enter into yet another bout of attrition, I imposed the most obvious advantage I possess over the little one - size and strength.

I held her up by the armpits and sternly told her that she had to listen to Papa, stop being naughty and quickly go to sleep. Then I held her down on the mattress, restraining her struggles to get up, and ignoring her cries of objection. She soon got tired and eventually relented, quitening down to my rhythmic patting and humming, and fell asleep. Job well done, I thought.

Well done, my foot!

It didn't take long for me to realise that this little episode wasn't without repurcussions. The very next night, she left no room for doubt who she didn't want singing her lullabies. My usual line of "It's ok dear...Papa is here...", which used to work well whenever she cries, now sounded more like a threat rather than a reassurance.

I was rejected by my baby. Completely and utterly.

And this went on night, after night, after night. I had no chance to redeem myself at all.

Until tonight.

There was something different in the way she looked at me when I asked her "Papa pat-pat 你睡觉, ok?". She still appeared to be somewhat uncomfortable, but did not go into her vigourous head-shaking-hands-waving routine. Anything different is good, I thought. So I signalled to Angie that I'd take it from here. When mommy left the room, Jae cried and wanted to get out of the mattress to look for mommy. Fortunately, she wasn't totally unconsolable tonight. With much cajoling and trial-and-error humming of lullabies, I managed to hit jackpot with "End of The World". Not sure why I picked that song, and I couldn't recall the lyrics properly, so I ended up humming the tune instead. In any case, that was the turning point, when Jae really calmed down and became receptive to my half-baked hum-singing, my gentle scratching on her back, my light patting on her arms...my presence besides her.

I feel like I have crossed a hurdle, reached a milestone and learnt a lesson, in the journey of Fatherhood. It's not a lesson I'd readily forget anytime soon, for sure.

As I gaze upon her lightly shut eyes and tiny movements of her tummy rising and falling, I thought of how people always say to count your blessings. And I realised that I couldn't do it.

For how does one count something that is so bountiful that it sees no boundaries?

媛媛有个好爸爸

这个post绝对是出自于真心的，完全没有阿谀奉承的意思。

自从有了孩子之后，我看到了舒珩特别温柔、慈爱、耐心的一面。有一段日子，当我们很彷徨、很生气、很无奈的时候，舒珩的脾气是明显的暴躁，而且思想极端，言语偏激。那时，我有一度想：“放弃领养孩子吧！这样的爸爸给孩子怎样的影响啊？”但是，事情是冥冥中注定的。孩子给我们带来的快乐是无与伦比的，孩子对我们的影响，也是我们始料不及的。

看着孩子一天天的成长，我也看到孩子的爸爸一天天地变成一个更好的人。我看见他温柔地给孩子讲故事；我看见他热心地参与网络的讨论区来学习育婴的知识；我看见他耐心地教孩子各种各样的知识；我看见他兴致勃勃地带孩子出门玩乐；我看见他在我很累或很忙的时候，体贴地帮我带孩子，让我休息；我看见平时相当节俭的他慷慨地买玩具给媛媛；我看见他俯首甘为孺子牛；我看见他扮演严父，培养孩子的好习惯；我看见他慈爱地抱着孩子，教他唱歌；我看见他从零开始地学习如何泡奶、换尿片、给孩子洗澡；我看见他积极地要做一个好爸爸；我看见他脸上无限的感恩；我看见他心中满满的都是爱。这些改变，都让他成为了一个更好的人。他在很努力地改变自己的一些坏习惯，做一个好榜样给媛媛。我真心觉得，媛媛有一个很好的爸爸。

因为有了媛媛，我们的家庭变得更加快乐和圆满。有不少朋友说我们给媛媛带来了幸福的生活。我纠正他们说，我们和媛媛给彼此带来了幸福的生活！为了媛媛，我们决定领养第二个孩子。我们一直都觉得我们会是两个孩子的父母。虽然有第二个孩子会带来更多的挑战，我们也会更忙，但是我有信心，有了第二个孩子，我们会成为更好的父母。

孩子是上天赐给我们的宝贝。孩子通过不同的管道来到不同的家庭。我们都很珍惜这前世修来的缘分。更感谢孩子让我们成为更好的人。

亲亲我的宝贝

昨天，我坐在地上把一些益多饮料的空瓶子打洞、用绳子串起来，想做一个玩具给媛媛。就在我全神贯注地用螺丝起子在瓶子上穿洞的时候，冷不防脚上一股刺痛！原来媛媛坐在我的脚边，好奇地用她的小手指刮我脚上被我抓伤的疖子。

我看了她一眼，一边继续低下头用力穿洞，一边说：“媛媛！妈妈的脚痛痛了！你抓到痛痛了啦！”

媛媛的下一个动作是出乎我的意料之外的。她竟然俯下身子，去亲亲我的伤口。

媛媛啊，亲亲的我宝贝！但愿你心中永远都充满爱，并且把你心中的爱散播出去给所有你爱的人，还有爱你的人。

左拥右抱

Papa: Come come, take a picture with Papa, my precious...

Mama: Oooh...let's get a nice shot taken together, my princess...

Jae: Where're my fries?

Being the only child in the family, Jaimie has never had any issues with getting the attention she desires. From parents to grandparents to uncles and aunts, she is always at the centre of attention, and has always been spoilt for choice.

Too much of a thing is never good.

For sometime now, we've been thinking about adopting Number 2. To provide sisterly companionship to Jaimie. To develop an environment where the values of sharing and caring can be readily inculcated. And to naturally moderate the level of attention that is currently converging onto Jaimie, so she doesn't grow up to be a spoilt, tyrant Princess.

泡汤

今天原本有两大计划，但是都泡汤了。

今早，我们原本要带媛媛到夏氏农场去看挤羊奶，还约了阿敏一家人。但是阿敏昨晚发简讯告诉我他们恐怕不能去了，因为她老公生病了。没关系，我们还是可以继续我们的郊游的。但是昨晚媛媛不知搞什么，起来哭了好几次，一直爬到我身上来要我抱，好象做了什么恶梦那样。而我也莫名其妙地失眠，一直到了凌晨4点多才朦朦胧胧地入睡。今天我的黑眼圈比熊猫还美丽，媛媛也频频打呵欠。挤羊奶的时间是早上9－11点，是媛媛早睡的时间。因为下午还有一个聚会，所以我们就取消了到农场的行程，让媛媛好好睡觉。结果她从早上9点30分，一直睡到11点30分。

中午，我们到delifrance吃午餐。天色很暗，随时都会倾盆大雨。我回到家后，便忙着解冻食物，因为原本今天下午4点在植物园有 Bayb Supplies Forum 网络妈妈的聚会。大家都会带一些食物去野餐。相当期待看见 Wolfie 和 Idy 的小宝贝。但是天色越来越不对劲。最后收到 Idy的简讯，说聚会取消了。

唉，今天真是没有选择好黄道吉日安排聚会咧。

最重要的小事 之三

我们在KBox群英会上，第一次看到《最重要的小事》的音乐录影。MV一开始，大家都不约而同地问：“什么来的？谁点的？”因为荧幕上出现的是京剧《霸王别姬》的片段。

我没有看过京剧《霸王别姬》，只有看过陈凯歌导演的同名电影，当然还有李碧华写的这部电影的原著小说。

我思索了很久，就是不能明白为什么这个MV的导演周格泰要用京剧《霸王别姬》作为开场和结束。楚霸王也没有为虞姬买果汁或提哈罗吉蒂的袋子嘛。我的意思是说，项羽忙着和刘邦争天下，他根本没有空啦。虞姬最后为楚霸王殉情吔，这不是什么小事吧？这是很大的事。唯一和歌词有点关系的，是“动荡日子”，还有虞小姐对她阿老从一而终的爱情。项羽有很爱虞姬吗？我不是很清楚。但是虞姬很爱项羽倒是真的。项羽不爱江山爱美人吗？Sorry,不是。项羽如果不爱江山，干嘛去和刘邦争天下？项羽爱死了锦绣山河。是虞姬死心塌地地爱项羽，到最后项羽狼狈地只剩下一匹马和一个女人，马不肯离去，女人也不肯离去。最后都为他自杀，给了他最后的尊严。我看来看去，真的想不透这和《最重要的小事》有什么关系。要传达“不爱江山爱美人”的意思，有好多段子可以用吧。如杨贵妃与唐玄宗。杨贵妃爱吃荔枝，唐玄宗就把这个小事看成是很重要的事，跑死了几十匹马把新鲜的荔枝从岭南送到长安…。

《霸王别姬》这个段子，用得不是很贴切吧？还是我没看的太深入？

最重要的小事 之二

今晚一打开这个部落格，就看到老公写的这一篇感想。我其实这几天都在构思要写关于这首歌，谁知道被他捷足先登了。我想，我们都在五月天的《Jump!离开地球表面》演唱会被玛莎自弹自唱的《最重要的小事》深深感动了。记得那时听到玛莎的演唱时，我的喉咙硬了。

没错，孩子的每一件小事对父母来说都是很重要的。但是，听这首歌的时候，我没有想到孩子。我想到的是婚姻的经营。

很多人大概都会在不同是时候做梦，希望自己能有轰轰烈烈的爱情故事。做梦归做梦，在现实生活中，没有多少人需要他的伴侣割肝、送眼角膜、为对方壮烈牺牲。一对夫妻要能白头偕老、举案齐眉，其实就是建立在互相尊重、互相敬重。每一件小事，都看成的重要的事，贴心而温馨地为对方去做。很多人的婚姻生活不愉快的原因之一，就是大家都把这些生活上的小事完全忽略了。忽略对方的感受、忽略对方的心情、忽略对方的重要性。大家在庸庸碌碌讨生活的时候，也许是被生活的压力压得透不过气而不再有精力去在乎彼此生活中的小事。生活，就是由小事构成的。没有任何一件事，比小事还要重要了。

老公，谢谢你为我做的每一件小事。我觉得自己是非常幸福的。因为你从来没有把事业放在第一位，并且非常非常用心地经营我们的婚姻。有一些小事，是我不会忘记的。像你第一次在我生日时秘密烘蛋糕给我，像你在一次的情人节时在我们买来玩的magnetic doodle board写的话，像你在我们的感情出现风浪时的包容和忍耐，像你在BOC时写给我的信，像你买Bert and Ernie的娃娃给我，像你特地跑到IMM买我爱吃的薄饼给我……太多太多了。

我们彼此都有缺点，彼此都有看不顺眼对方的时候。但是，就是“最重要的小事”，使我们14年的感情，还是有新婚一样的感觉。

我不想在部落格里说，但是觉得不说不能为这篇感想做一个总结……。

“老公，love you!”

最重要的小事

好喜欢五月天“为爱而生”专辑里的那首由玛莎作曲，阿信作词的 《最重要的小事》。在歌里，五月天传达了“只爱美人不爱江山”的一种情怀。歌词写道，无论你是多么大牌的一号人物，都会渴望有个深爱的人，来疼，来照顾。通过平凡的事件也能找到不平凡的感动。

我想，为人父母对于孩子们，也何尝不是如此这般的心情？发生在孩子身上的点点滴滴，即使再平凡，无论多琐碎，都觉得是最最重要的！

最重要的小事 (曲:玛莎词:阿信)

我　走過動盪日子　追過夢的放肆　穿過多少生死
卻　假裝若無其事　穿過半個城市　只想看你樣子
這一刻　最重要的事　是屬於你　最小的事

世界紛紛擾擾喧喧鬧鬧　什麼是真實
為你跌跌撞撞傻傻笑笑　買一杯果汁
就算庸庸碌碌匆匆忙忙　活過一輩子
也要分分秒秒年年日日　全心守護你
最小的事

我　就算壯烈前世　征服滾滾亂世　萬人為我寫詩
而　幸福卻是此時　靜靜幫你提著　哈囉凱蒂袋子
這一刻　最重要的事　是屬於你　最小的事

世界紛紛擾擾喧喧鬧鬧　什麼是真實
為你跌跌撞撞傻傻笑笑　買一杯果汁
就算庸庸碌碌匆匆忙忙　活過一輩子
也要分分秒秒年年日日　全心守護你
最小的事　(最重要的事)

你笑得像個孩子　每個平凡小事　變成永恆故事

终于办了国家图书馆借书卡！

我从半前就说我要帮媛媛办图书馆借书卡了。但是，迟迟没有行动。为什么呢？主要是每次都忘记带媛媛的出生证出门。

今天，我终于心血来潮，把媛媛的出生证带出去了，给她办了借书卡。我这个懒妈妈心里想：“嘿，不能再拖了！”

会心血来潮的原因，是媛媛最近很爱她爸爸读书给她听，陪她看书。这又是令我感到十分汗颜的。我一直以为身为教师的我，会比老公更有方法和耐心教媛媛。但是令我自己也觉得惊讶的是面对一岁多两个月的小不点，我竟然很容易毛躁和失去耐心，反而是老公不厌其烦地陪媛媛玩玩具、读故事书、教她认识颜色、教她纪律！惭愧啊…

2007年6月10日，黄靖媛成了国家图书馆的会员了！恭喜妳，小朋友！希望妳会和爸爸妈妈一样，在书的海洋中寻找到无尽的宝藏和快乐！

妈妈的心得 之三

女儿一天一天的成长。所能够掌握的技能和词汇可以说是“与日俱增”。我和舒珩心里充满了喜悦和骄傲。真的。除了为人父母者，没有人可以理解孩子的每一个动作和话语所带来的快乐和满足。

有些人整天把自己的孩子挂在嘴边，觉得自己的孩子是最棒、最可爱、最逗趣、最聪明…心中有骄傲是无可厚非的，但是对孩子的爱溢了出来，变成炫耀，泛滥成灾，并不是一件好事。所以，当媛媛学会了一些新的事物时，我反而很压抑自己，常常说：“每个孩子都是这样的，没什么特别啦！”

舒珩却告诉我：“我们是为孩子学会了一个新技能而高兴、为她能到达一个新的里程碑而高兴。不是因为她很聪明而感到高兴。”这番话，犹如当头棒喝。我感到十分汗颜。是啊，我的焦点放错了！我说我不是要栽培孩子成为天才，可是，我的刻意压抑情感，却间接抹煞了她学习的快乐！我不需要她与众不同，但是当媛媛和别的小朋友一样的时候我却在她背后吝于给她很多的肯定。我把焦点放错位置了。

孩子，妈妈从现在开始将为妳抵达的每一个大大小小的里程碑而大声喝彩！加油，我的宝贝！

Jae & Billy Goat Gruff

鸟 人

That's what Jurong Bird Park (JBP) really is all about - lotsa birds (鸟) and lotsa people (人). I shall not dwell into discussions concerning a specific kind of people termed '鸟人' right now...

7 Jun 07 marked Jae's very first visit to the JBP. We'd originally intended to make the trip in the morning, just as we had done for the zoo trip. However, the little one decided to wake up exceptionally early that day, so mommy projected that her battery would need recharging not long after the park's opening hours @ 0900hrs. So, we decided to let Jae have an earlier morning nap, and make the journey to the west about noon time.

At the park, we noticed (with some amusement on my part) that there were many many Indian and Japanese tourists (what is it with Indians and Japanese and birds? I mean, we didn't see that many of them at the zoo the other day...). While Jae had her porridge lunch that Angie tar-pao'd for her, I went to a snack counter near the entrance to grab our lunch. Not much choices...so ended up paying 10 bucks for a hotdog and a chicken pie. Damn steep. JBP is really into ripping off these Indian and Japanese tourists big time.

In that 2+ hours that we spent at the JBP, we:

(1) Had lunch
(2) Watched the "Children's Parrot Show" at the Pools Amphitheatre
(3) Saw many many birds and uttered the phrase "Look! Birdbird!" many many times
(4) Took many many photos (some of which are not featured in the slideshow below)
(5) Spent a short while at the park's "Splash and Play" area.

At half past two, it got too frakking hot and Jae started to display signs of tiredness (Angie started to display signs of tiredness way before halfpast two), so we headed home.

Zoo, Reloaded

Jaimie went on her second visit to the Singapore Zoological Gardens on Tuesday. This blog entry is all about this trip.

A picture says a thousand words, right?*. So a slideshow comprising 48 pictures would say, well...48,000 words. That's a lot of words.

(* True sometimes. Other^ times, it's just plain laziness on the blogger's part)

(^ This blog entry, for instance)

Tag:我们最爱吃的食物

我们被 Mama Tang 带（tagged）入这个话题。老公迟迟没有动笔。当被 Idy 问为什么这么久还没有写的时候，老公就马上把这种“小事”丢给我处理，叫我代劳。

好吧！反正我写的文章也蛮精彩的嘛。嘻嘻！

我们两公婆都超爱吃卤面。只要听说哪里有好吃的卤面，我们就会不远千里地去品尝。最后，只有一摊卤面是我们固定光顾的，那就是中峇鲁小贩中心178号摊位的鲨鱼肉卤面！

一碗三块钱新币的卤面，卤汁浓稠又带着八角香，配上4、5大块炸得黄灿灿、香喷喷的鲨鱼肉，已经是物超所值了！吃卤面，当然少不了黑醋、蒜泥、小辣椒还有辣椒泥。蒜头的味道混合着卤汁的芳香配合着辣椒的刺激，送进口中的每一口卤面，都在你的口里热情地爆发着自己的香味，好象是在争妍斗丽的妃子，竭尽所能地讨舌头上味蕾的欢心。

最后，来一杯鸳鸯（豆花水加凉粉）为这碗卤面写上一个完美的句号……我们两人立刻觉得此生无憾了。

KBox群英会

2007年6月6日是我、Idy 和 Wolfgirl 订下的战期。我们要在这一天来个KBox群英会，一较高低。我们在网络上已经先温习了好几次的在线卡拉ok，为的就是2007年6月6日！

后来，又发了英雄帖给 Clement 和 Jeannie，想让整个群英会更加热闹。但是 Jeannie 最后无法出席，就由我们东邪西毒、南帝北丐拼个你死我活了。

我们在 Cineleisure 的 KBox 第50号厢房里各出奇招，有“蛤蟆歌喉”、“走音神掌”、“耳聋十八掌”、“杀鸡指”等等。大家越唱越起劲，最后还使出所有的秘密绝招！Wolfgirl 还到福建省去请神，让《拢是为着你啦》的原唱者上她的身。Idy 也不甘示弱，哀伤悲痛如杨过地用“黯然销魂曲”演唱江美琪的《亲爱的你，你怎么不在我身边》。Clement 更不用说了，他简直就是慕容复！不但广学天下所有派别的武功，还可以“以彼之道，还施彼身”，杨培安怎么唱，他就怎么唱，五月天怎么唱，他也照样怎么唱！当然，慕容复虽然学得很像，但是还是骗吃骗吃的。我嘛，就是杀鸡门的掌门人。武林至尊，杀鸡屠龙。阿频不出，谁与争疯？

到了下午5点，我们还是没有办法选出一个武林盟主。于是，只好下次再约，继续论贱！

Toy Story

Partly because the Great Singapore Sale is on, and partly because almost all of Jaimie's existing toys are hand-me-downs, Angie decided to go on a toy shopping spree when we were at IMM last Sunday.

Among the toys that she ended up buying are:

(1) Train Fun - a toy train set that moves on a colorful track that features rotating segments. Jae doesn't have too much patience with this one.

(2) Park! Amusement - a musical ferris wheel set that plays tunes such as "London Bridge is Falling Down", "Marry Had a Little Lamb". The playset also spots blinking lights, jumping pellets and a little train engine that goes round and round...very fun!

(3) Catepillar stuff toy - with the numbers 1 to 12 along its body, and the 24 alphabets on its two dozen legs. Jae calls this thing "Ka Ka".

(4) Mickey Mouse Mechanical Arm - a half-meter long plastic claw thingie that can be activated by tugging on a lever at one end. According to Angie, this is more for me to use to pick up dead lizards and cockroaches KIA in this house.

(5) Magnetic Draw - magnetic doodle board, with doodling pen and 4 stamping tools. Doodles appear in colored gradients. Cool.

The box in which Park! Amusement came in is funny. See pics here:

Doodling Jae

Angie bought a magnetic doodle board for little Jaimie two days ago, at IMM. It comes with a drawing pen that has a fine tip on one end and a broad one on the other. Other accessories include 4 stamping tools - hexagon, heart, circle and star shapes.

This one is different from the previous one we had many many years ago in that as you draw or stamp on the board, the doodles appear in different shades of color instead of monochromatic black. Contrast not that great, but still quite cool leh. Ok....I think I quite suah-ku.

Jaimie seems to enjoy playing with this new toy of hers.

Here's the first totally unassisted doodle she made!

爱爸爸

最近媛媛最爱的人是她的爸爸。

早上一起身，就“爸爸爸爸爸爸爸爸”的叫，把她亲爱的爸爸从睡梦中叫醒。起来后就一直缠着她的爸爸陪她玩玩具。按到有音乐的玩具就硬是要她的爸爸当她的舞伴。爸爸开车的时候，她高兴不高兴也开口“爸爸！”“爸爸！”的喊两下，喊到爸爸昏头转向。那颗心啊，是泡在糖水里然后裹上蜜糖再撒上糖霜。

我告诉媛媛亲爱的爸爸说，孩子爱你的时候，缠你的时候，叫你的时候，好好享受每一刻、好好享受每一个叫声。女儿长大了之后，也许就不会和爸爸那么亲热了。那时，他只好对着录象，回忆孩子把他当偶像的时刻。

我们做父母的，只有拼命的收藏回忆。将来媛媛长大了，会有一段时间朋友比较重要了。将来媛媛长大了，会有另外一个男孩比较重要。到时，在祝福她长大、祝福她找到终身快乐的时候，我们俩就一起回忆女儿小时候所有的点点滴滴吧。

放假 I-N-G

What's a five letter word that means you don't have to set your alarm clock before you go to bed at night?

The answer is "Leave".

Having accumulated 10 years of working service since last year, I'm now entitled to 28 days of vacation leave per annum, up from the previous 21.

Shiok.

This morning, at 0709hrs, I got yanked out of my sublime dream state by a string of repetitive sounds. "Hey wait a minute. I'm pretty sure the alarm clock wasn't turned on last night!” I thought as I reluctantly transited from the realm of the Dream Lord into the waking world. Gradually, my consciousness crept in and with that kicked in my sense of hearing.

No, it wasn’t the alarm clock.

It was Jamie. Standing on her mattress, looking over the foot of our bed and calling out, in her little melodic voice…

“爸爸，爸爸 ….”

I can’t think of a better way to wake up.

Something's Different

Something's different. I can feel it.

It's like....

My focus depreciated
My attention diminished
My efficiency dropped
My productivity dipped

I am having difficulty in getting the red of my Lotus Notes inbox to black.

I am even struggling to pick up the ringing phone within 3 rings.

I feel slightly light-headed. There's a strange sensation within my entire being...

Something's different. I can feel it.

I know.

It's holiday mood.

Happy Vesak Day (advanced), everyone!!

Missing You

I'm officially "On Duty" right now. Yes, it's the monthly DCPO task that I've got to perform at HQ SCDF. Since my current posting at the MHQ allows me to report to work in CV, the DCPO duty is the only reason why my Number 4 uniforms have not been sold off to the karung guni man.

Normally, for weekend duties, I'd pick the Sunday night shifts but today's duty was picked by Rachel on my behalf upon my request (was incapacitated when the i-DO system was opened for bookings). Night shifts are better than day ones 'cos you get to legitimately get some sleep (they call it 'rest' since sleeping on duty doesn't sound too good). In a typical 12 hour night shift, I'd usually get some 3 hours of shut-eyes. Now weekend 1st shift is from 0830hrs till 2030hrs. Frak, that's like from breakfast to dinner. And you don't get to make time pass faster by hitting the deck. For 12 hours, the golden hours of an otherwise beautiful Sunday no less, you get to fulyl appreciate just how slow time crawls when you're doing something you don't particularly enjoy doing. And when you're missing someone.

Especially when you're missing someone.

Weekends are really precious 'cos they are the 2 days when I can spend quality time with my two girls at home. This is just the way it is, with us being working parents and all. On weekdays we get but a miserably small window of family time after dinner and before bedtime. Can't really do something substantial, like going to a park, or a swim etc. Weekends are the only days in the week when me and the girls get to enjoy each others' companies from the moment we open our eyes (naturally, and NOT forcefully by the buzzing alarm clock!) till we slip into slumberland after spending an entire day's worth of activities together. As a family.

This morning, I left Angie and Jaimie after our breakfast at Blk 628 coffee shop. The trip to the playground would usually be something I look forward to after a weekend breakfast at that joint. But this morning I had to wave goodbye to my girls. Duty calls. Can't really complain, though. This is part and parcel of my job. And this job brings in the dough. And the guni hoon. And the pampers.

While at my DCPO desk, I got a call on my mobile at 1637hrs.

“你女儿要跟你讲话。” It was Angie on the line.
“哈啰？” I uttered each syllable slowly and deliberately.
“.......” said Jaimie.
“哈啰，媛媛。叫爸爸。” I tried again.
“....爸爸！” Came the reply.
“嗯。妈咪叻？叫妈咪。”
“妈妈！” shouted Jaimie. She doesn't do '妈咪' very well, yet.
“哇，媛媛好乖。要不要爸爸读 bookbook 给你听？”
“啊！”

And then Angie voice returned on the line. She said the little one slept for only 35 minutes during her afternoon nap, after a tiring one hour struggle to get her to fall asleep. “哪里有乖？！”, she complained.

It is now almost 8pm. Half an hour more till I stand down from my 12 hour shift. By the time I get back home, Jaimie would most likely already be in bed. I can almost picture her now... pacifier dangling from her half-opened mouth, pink blanket over her little torso, tummy rising and falling rhythmatically, a tired but blissful-looking mommy by her side...

I miss you, my dears.

David vs Goliath

For almost an hour and a half, we struggled.

Goliath wielding all his strength to put David to sleep. He tried all tactics, hard and soft. He cajoled and offered incentivising promises. When that fell on deaf ears, he attempted to capitalise on his large intimidating frame to issue out threats. These too, were ignored by the equally strong-willed David, who despite being grossly out-sized, refused to relent without putting up a tough fight. David tossed, squirmed and wriggled, little body evading the grasp of the mighty Goliath.

It was a war of attrition, with both sides attempting to wear down the opponent first. It was as though the two were so equally matched that the battle would last forever.

Finally, at 1548hrs, I, Goliath, emerged victorious. With barely enough energy left to place on record this momentous episode. With sheer tenancity, Goliath triumphed over David and history is thus rewritten.

Behold. David, the little one who put up such a hard-willed fight. Sleep well my worthy opponent. Until we face off again at your next nap time.

女儿名字的由来

我们女儿的名字，一直是我们的骄傲。因为我和舒珩非常喜欢"黄靖媛"的读音、结构美和意思。

我们很早以前就在想名字：黄飞鸿／黄蓉／黄耀明／黄花。。。全都有考虑过。但是都是哈哈大笑之后就算了。

后来，很认真地自己算算笔画，结合自己略懂的一些皮毛，找了一些字拼拼凑凑，看可以拼凑出什么火花。结果，拼出了"黄靖媛"。

靖：国家太平的意思
媛：美女

先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐。国家要先太平，自己的人生才能够太平。希望女儿生活在一个太平盛世，无灾无难。

云想衣裳花想容。每个人都爱漂亮，我们不需要去扮清高。但是，我们要孩子记住：美，是来自外在和内在。两者俱有，才是真正的美女。

这是我们的想法。

后来我们想到"黄"是"黄蓉"、"靖"是"郭靖"！这两个人物都是我和舒珩喜欢的人物！太好了！希望媛媛有黄蓉的活泼聪明、郭靖的正义耿直，做一个有智慧、有道德的美丽女孩吧！

至于英文名Jaimie，我们要找一个意思是"爱"的名字。在网上搜寻了一阵子，找到了这个法文名字，意思是"我爱"。太完美啦！"我爱黄靖媛"这个名字就是这样由来的。

做一分钟的英雄

Yesterday was Mother's Day. It was also the day I got to sing into the same mic as taiwanese singer 杨培安, who is now fast becoming Angie and mine latest idol.

杨培安came to Bukit Panjang Plaza to promote his albums (both the debut as well as the 2nd album, which is, quite oddly, released in Singapore concurrently). The event is entitled 杨培安《我相信》音乐会，which we came to know about a few days back cos we noticed the backdrop being put up at the 2nd level foyer of BPP, which is adjacent to the playground where we always bring Jaimie to play.

Anyway...having decided that we would attend the event, we deposited Jaimie at MIL's place (which is just across the road from BPP) and went to the mall's foodcourt for lunch. When we got to the foyer where the temporary stage had been erected, 10 minutes before 2pm (which was the time the event was slated to commence), there were hardly any gathering. A couple of girls and one guy waiting at the stage front. That was all. I suggested that we sit somewhere to wait but Angie said no. "I want to wait here. In front. At the centre." she said. Ok lor...

What do you know. Once the 100.3 DJ came on stage and said “ 哈罗！大家好！”，people started streaming in from nowhere and congregated real quickly at the stage area. Soon, there were like at least a hundred strong audience waiting eagerly for the appearance of 杨培安. The DJ host did a good job of priming the audience by giving anecdotes of the singer, on how he began his singing career at pubs at age 17, but only got discovered and offered the opportunity to cut his debut album 《我相信》 at the ripe age of 35. Etc etc.

杨培安 was called onto stage amidst bouts of shoutings and clappings at around 2.15pm. Not surprisingly, the first song he belted out was the 主打歌 from his debut album “我相信”。 As the 过门was playing, 杨培安asked the audience if anyone knew how to sing this song. Having watched the YouTube MV of this song in the BayB Supplies Forum thread posted by wolfgirl, I have since learnt the lyrics by heart. So I sort of nodded my head in supportive response. I mean, singers usually would rally the audience to sing along with them, clap hands and all that. Right? What I didn't expect was when 杨培安 told me he'd come to me and have me sing the chorus portion together with him! Alamak! First thought that flashed through my mind was "What if I 忘词？" Well, there was nowhere to run, nor hide. I was stuck in the front row, pressed against the railing, and had a huge crowd on either side and to the back as well. So, that was it. I braced myself when 杨培安 jumped down the stage and came towards me, thrusting the mic towards my face.

And I had my one minute of fame.

You Always Have A Choice

Watched "Spiderman 3" with Angie last Friday. Thought that is was a really strong film, even though both of us would still pick the second installment as our fav within the superbly crafted trilogy.

Despite the fact that Spiderman 3 was predominantly an action-based movie, the movie managed to do a wonderful job in developing their characters, by putting them in real-life situations and dilemas where the audience can really connect, and emphatise with. Unlike most other Superhero movies where the main characters are always infallible when it comes to choosing the side of good over evil, Spiderman is essentially flawed. With his Spidey suit on or off, Peter Parker is always struggling with problems including his romantic attachment with MJ, paying his rent for his miserable apartment, mending his strained friendship with his best mate Harry, and basically balancing his whole life between his dual identity. And when the time comes for Spidey to make choices, he does not always make the right ones. It is precisely because of his vulnerabilities and weakness that makes Spiderman all the more endearing since we can identify with him as a fellow human being, rather than someone who has come from a far away planet.

In Spiderman 3, the theme of "choice" runs very strongly throughout the movie. When Peter learnt that Flint Marko was the real killer of his Uncle Ben, he was filled with hatred and the thirst to exact revenge. At the end of the movie, however, he chose forgiveness over vengeance. When the symbiote fused with Spidey's suit turning it black, Spidey experienced new found power enhancement. It felt wonderful but he realised it also adversely affected his personality. As a result, his relationship with MJ crumbled, his best friend Harry ended up disfigured. I particularly loved the scene where, at the bell tower of a church, Peter struggled with all his might to rip off the symbiote suit. It looked painful, as all hard decisions are bound to be. Even Harry Osborn made critical choices in this movie, when he eventually decided to bury the hatchet and went back to being Peter's best buddy, and ally...for one final tag team battle that he ended up paying with his life, to save that of a dear friend. I thought it was a particularly nice touch that in the beginning of the movie Harry made the omnimous comment that Peter Parker and Mary Jane are two of his best friends, whom he would willingly give up his life for.

I think that in real life, the lesson of making choices is an important one. Often we'd hear about people grumbling about being burnt out from work, having no time to spend with family cos work requires much travelling, children growing up spoilt because no time/means to discipline them etc etc. Whenever I hear such things, I can't help but think these to just be a bunch of excuses. Excuses that these people conveniently utter in an attempt to convince not only other people, but also themselves, for their inability and/or unwillingness to make the right choices.

I mean, if one acknowledges that family and health should come before work, then one should take steps to strike a balance between work and home. A balance where these priorities are aptly reflected. Granted, sometimes it is easier said than done. But my feeling is that people who gripes about these inadequacies often do so without even trying to make amendments.

The worst are those who have kids and go around telling people how difficult it is to raise kids...no time to discipline them...maid/ caregiver not doing a good job...now kids become rascals, but no choice cos there's nothing they can do...blah blah blah.

No choice? Bullsh*t. These people should have considered all these before choosing not to put on that bloody condom.

You always have a choice.

Writer's Blog....Block

Just barely a week ago, Angie asked me to help her start up a new blog. She said she wanted to do some online version of that 《交换日记》books, with her friend-colleague. Ok...so I set up a blogger site for her. The name she wanted "2bestfriends" had already been taken, so I took the liberty of registrating the new blog under the name of "exchangediaries".

Since then, Angie has been pretty active in her postings. I would see her logging on and writing blog entries while waiting for Jaimie's midnight feed. Quite prolific. Well, definitely more so than I am.

Perhaps I am inherently a boring person, with a life quite mundane that there usually isn't much that is worthy of documenting down in a blog. Perhaps I am having writer's block. Perhaps Arts graduates write better than Engineering ones (unless of course we're writing a physics paper).

Or perhaps women just have more to say than men.

My Visual Profile

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

彩虹的約定

彩虹的約定
-------------------

小寶貝我用彩虹和你約定
風雨過後陽光會微笑
平安的長大
迎接希望的未來
就像紅橙黃綠藍靛紫

小寶貝我用彩虹和你約定
一起走過童年的記憶
快樂的長大
迎接燦爛的未來
就像紅橙黃綠藍靛紫

彩虹是希望的約定
也是最真的愛
親親寶貝
我們愛你到永遠

彩虹是幸福的約定
也是永恆的愛
親親寶貝
陪伴你直到永遠

Heartwarming lyrics to a lovely song, arn't they?

Through these simple words, a vivid picture is painted. One on the vibrancy of hope, the innocence of childhood and the vastness of a parent's love. Bound to bring a smile to your face and warmth to your heart.

Unless of course, you know of the association of this song to little 宇廷. In the short 11 months of his life, 宇廷 had been bedridden. In place of toys, candies and playgrounds, 宇廷 had drip tubes, needles and injections. I can't even begin to imagine living a life where the only constant, the only certainty, the perpetual sensation...is Pain. 宇廷's (and his parents') struggle has now ended. The little boy had decided to leave this plane of suffering, to journey on to another place....

Where his body can be whole,

Where there are no tubes sticking out from various parts of his tiny torso,

Where the rain no longer falls, and

Where he can finally view the magnificent Rainbow.

自己跌倒，自己爬

Have been video-ing quite alot of Jaimie recently, and there is this particular one that I like. Captured by Angie during our visit to IMM playground yesterday, this clip shows Jaimie demonstrating her new 'kungfu' moves - the "Shadowless Palms of Fuoshan" aka 佛山无影手. This session at the playground also made us realise that our Jae is indeed growing up to be quite a resilient little girl, and not some 'softie fruitcake'.

I've always held the belief that the opportunity to 'strive' against adversity is a crucial component in growing up. It is through hardships that the most valuable lessons can be learnt, and potentials developed. Initially, when Jaimie falls, or knocks herself onto household furnitures, Angie and I would be quite kancheong. My natural instinct was then to immediately cuddle her, sayang sayang, siusiu etc. I realised this only fueled her cries and screams, and reinforced her reliance on us. Then I remembered the story of the man who witnessed a butterfly pupa struggling, with much difficulty, to break out of its cocooned shell. Out of compassion, he cut a slit on the cocoon with his knife to facilitate the exit. It helped. However, after the butterfly emerged from its former confinement, the man was surprised to find that it could not take flight. Depriving the butterfly the opportunity to struggle on its own, to build strength in the process, the man had inadvertently stunted its natural development.

Now, whenever Jaimie takes a fall, I'd remind myself of the lesson behind this story. I'd offer my encouragement to her to get up and try again. No, I do not wish for Jaimie to have broken wings.

Get up, Jae. And take flight!

Jae's Place

Went to Jack's Place for dinner last Friday, cos I got $50 voucher redeemed from Citibank. Ordered lotsa stuff and ate till very full.

But 重点 is that we realised that with Jaimie now having reached the phase where she is really trying to express herself, both verbally as well as physically, a 'quiet and peaceful' family dinner out is not something we'd be getting anytime soon.



Why post this now and not earlier, you ask? Well, it is only now then I managed to encode this video clip taken from my Dopod smartphone (with Super) and I thought, what the heck...havn't been posting to the blog for sometime liow, so might as well put this up and clock as an entry.

滥竽充数.

烂.

Jaimie The Toddler

6th April 2007 was Good Friday. It was also the day Jaimie the infant transformed into Jaimie the toddler. Yes, Jaimie has turned one! Excuse me if I come across as overly self congratulatory here as I give myself a pat on the shoulder for having survived my first year of fatherhood.

One year old. 说大肯定不大，说小呢又不是太小。This is the awkward stage that when we are out and come across a newborn (or a young infant), we'd tell Jaimie "Look. Baby. Baby.". At the same time, when other parents with kids walk by and notice us, we'd hear them exclaim exactly the same thing in our direction. Oh well.

This little milestone seems like a good point to do a little "stock taking". Here're some of the more prominent skills and capabilities Jaimie has picked up in her first 365 days:

Vocab

- Baba
- Mama
- Gorgor
- Nainai
- Mummum
- ...string of other non-intelligible syllables

Signing

- wave "bye bye"
- signal "come" (sometimes indistinguishable from bye bye)
- blow flying kiss
- signal 怕怕
- gesture 恭喜恭喜
- hit head for "伤脑筋"
- Clapping (拍拍手)
- Raise arms(手高高)
- touch various body parts when these are named e.g. ears, nose, tummy and ermm...nipples (mine).

Psychomotor

- Walking
- Crawling
- Ascending and descending stairs with hand-holding
- Picking up pea-sized objects with fingers
- Grabbing and throwing objects
- Squatting to pick up object and reassuming standing posture

Angie organised a little get-together lunch to commenmerate the first candle-blowing opporuntity for Jaimie. It was a buffet-style makan session held at Bukit Batok HTNS's Guilin Restaurant. We were given a private function room (谦卑房) to use, so it was pretty cosy. And convenient since we did not have to clean up after. The birthday cake was a double-tiered "lychee-martini" flavoured one, courtesy of Ah Leong. Tasted good, not oily nor too sweet. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Alright. Nuff talk. Here're the pics. Happy Birthday, dear!

Yes, we're now prepped (both mentally and psychologically) for more challenging times ahead with the one-year-old....

I'd Like To Thank The Academy...

I know I just missed this year's Oscars...I was too small then and my facial muscles not developed enough to be able to articulate the full range of expressions expected of a profession as demanding as that of Acting.

Well, not any more! And there is always the 2008 (and future) Oscars! Papa says it is never too early to start honing my acting skills.

Hollywood has been doing quite a bit of Sports Movies lately, like Million Dollar Baby, Goal!, Bend It Like Beckham and Rocky Balboa. So, for warm up, I'm gonna do a couple of sportsmen of my fav game, basketball. I love Michael Jordon and Yao Ming!



Hmmm...recently docudrama seems to be also getting lots of attention. Who knows, I might be called upon to play the President of the US of A.


I saw this guy in The Scorpion King and DOOM, and papa says I do a better impersonation of The Rock than he does.


I know being in showbiz is tough. It's a good thing I am not choosy. I can play the occassional ape if being called upon. What? No hair? Ermm...I'm working real hard on it, believe me.



Action roles? No problem. Papa says this next move even he cannot perform...



Hollywood, here I come!

我姓方，名字叫向痴

左右不分，是我最大的问题。如果需要我给开车的人方向指示，我只能够说：“转你那边”，或是“转我这边”。要思考这边是左还是右，最少需要三秒钟，然后嘴巴说出来的却又是相反的方向。我这个毛病，常常给开车的人带来很多苦恼，甚至让他们火冒三丈。

但是，我为人又十分热心，常常在路上看到旅客在看地图或问路，就会不自量力地充当旅游亲善大使。我不止一次信心满满，心肠热热地扮演仙人指路。当对方连声道谢随着我指的方向走后，我大概过了三分钟才发现我给错指示了。这时已经是亡羊补牢了，只能默默在心里向对方道歉，并希望他能找到真正的贵人给他带路。

最可怕的一次，是在旅游的时候，我左问问右问问，问到了旅店附近有一间书局。欢天喜地地扛了一大叠书会旅店的途中，遇到了同样在找书局的团友。我又极其古道热肠地把方向告诉她，他三步拼做两步就急急往我指的方向迈去了。我正为自己做了件好事而沾沾自喜的时候，猛然想起把其中一个转角的方向说错了！但是，要买书的人早已走远，我自己又拖着两大袋的书，实在没有办法去弥补自己的过错。第二天吃早餐的时候，我拼命向对方道歉。还好她表面上看起来并不生气，只是告诉我她奇怪自己怎么走到了天涯海角似的还看不见书店，最后便折回旅馆了。我羞愧难当，唯有不停地道歉。

我想呀，我还是要自量一点。看地图给方向指示这回事，可不是光凭一股热情就能办好的。我还是先搞定了自己，才给别人带路吧！

BayB Get-Together

What started as a simple advance celebration for the Apr 06 babies snowballed into a considerably large-scale lunch get-together involving 17 adults, 2 toddlers and 9 babies, at Vil'age, China Square Central.

This was the first time we met up with other mommies and daddies whose forum userids we've grown so accustomed to through our regular exchanges over cyberspace (not counting the two occassions where we'd coincidentally bumped into Idy Tan and Chin Mama). It's great to now be able to put a face to each of these hitherto faceless nicknames and handles. Thanks goes to Vivian aka ezrababy for organising this event!

Managed to snap some pics amidst the "organised chaos". Here they are - 世界未来的主人翁！(The real babies, not those overgrown ones).

Trilogy

It appears that more and more, Hollywood are churning out their movies in installments of 3. Trilogies are really getting quite prevalent lately.

Recent examples include The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Mission Impossible, Blade, The Fast and the Furious, Final Destination, Star Wars Prequel...

More movies, with already a sequel tucked under their belt, are going for the power of three with an upcoming 3rd installment. Some of these to-be trilogies are:

- Spiderman (with Spiderman 3)
- Ocean's Eleven series (with Ocean's Thirteen)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (with POTC: At World's End)
- The Ring (with Ring 3)
- Rush Hour (with Rush Hour 3)
- Jason Bourne series (with The Bourne Ultimatum)
- Sin City (with Sin City 2 this year and Sin City 3 in 2008)

It's great actually, cos most of these movies must inherently possess sufficient merit in order for them to make it to number 3. Just check out this trailer of the POTC: At World's End, which is just released. It's HOT! It's got Chow Yuen Fatt too.

Elle-You-See-Kay

Obi-wan Kenobi said to Han Solo in Star Wars Episode IV, "In my experience, there is no such thing as Luck."

I think that is because Obi-wan had never won a lucky draw throughout his Jedi life. Pity. So much for the Force.

Maybe this new Golden Pig year is having some favourable effects on my lucky stars. Maybe the Fengshui Master's tips truly are taking effect. The fact is, I feel damn lucky!

It was midweek when I got the call.

"Hello. Is this...mmm...Ng, xxx, xxxxx?"

I glanced at the caller ID. Not a familiar number.

"Yes, this is xxx xxxxx." I replied in my so-what-do-you-want-to-sell-me-this-time voice.

"Hi. This is Eileen calling from FiRST mag. Do you remember you entered the “FiRST Favourite Cover – Readers’ Choice" contest in Nov last year?

"Mmm...yes, I might have."

"Well, congratulations! You are one of our lucky winners of the Panasonic Viera 26 inch LCD TV. Can you come down this Friday to SPH to collect it?"

It took me a while to take in this totally unexpected message. I mean, this is really good! This must be the biggest thing I've ever won so far in my life. After thanking Eileen profusely (after switching voice to the oh-so-thankful tone) over the phone, I sms'd Angie to tell her the wonderful news. She asked if I was bluffing her.

The new TV set is now sitting comfortably in my living room. Its arrival is actually also very well coordinated, and at a time when I was grieving over my stroke of bad luck. See, my Palladine LCD TV recently broke down after a thunderstorm which tripped the electric circuits. It is now still with the Palladine repair guys and wouldn't be back until next week. Come to think of it, the breakdown might also be a sign of good luck, cos it happened just half a month before the 1 year warranty expires for this equipment

I think Han Solo was right when he said to Luke, "I call this Luck."

I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes.
Well luck is all around me, and so the feeling grows.
It´s written on the wind, it´s everywhere I go.
So if I'm really lucky, come on and let it show.

全职妈妈最伟大

假期来了，我原本有一系列的假期计划，包括去瞎拼去练瑜伽去图书馆等等，但是我妈妈捷足先登，说她要到中国去探亲，我的完美计划立刻泡汤。

于是，我再度成为全职妈妈。每天一大清早开始就忙着熬粥帮媛媛洗澡搞她睡觉陪她玩耍消磨时间带她到游乐场喂食做运动。一天下来，满身臭汗，蓬头垢面，气喘吁吁。哪里有上班时的衣着光鲜？哪里有上班时的美丽彩妆？我完全就是一个欧巴桑！

我突然觉得，能在职场上呼风唤雨没什么大不了。你能在家里全职全心全意照顾孩子，才叫厉害。

Rise & Shine, My Baby!

Jaimie woke up at 7am this morning. She was in her usual good mood. What was unusual was that I too was in just as good a mood as her. Why? Cos I AM ON LEAVE, BABY!

I think only babies TRULY rise and shine when they wake up in the mornings. I mean, who else can exit from slumberland and NOT have a bad hairdo, NOT have amouth that smell like something died inside there over the night, and have that smile that makes the person seeing it feel like a million bucks?

Petals Around the Rose

Met Gobi in Windows Messenger for the first time last night. He logged on at almost precisely the moment I made the decision to shut down the PC and get to bed. It was 0052hrs.

After some exchanges, he asked if I would like to have the Singapore Zoo pass which he was holding on to, but couldn't make use of because of Pam's last minute committment over the weekends. I said yes, and we made arrangements to meet up in the morning, at 0800hrs at the foyer of his block (just a street away from mine).

When we met up this morning, besides having the Zoo pass change hands, he remarked that there was this "game", which could be played on the internet, which had him stumped.

"It is called "Petals Around the Rose" and basically it involves throwing of dice and then you're to guess the 'roll' for each throw. The name of the game is supposed to be the clue. Apparently Bill Gates played this and like solved it after one and a half hours"

"So you're supposed to do what? Break the code? Find the formula issit?"

"Yah. Hey, if you solve it, you have to tell me the secret ok? Don't leave me having sleepless nites over this!"

"Walow...you think too highly of me lah. IF I solve it, then say."

And we parted ways.

It was quite an eventful day today. We made a trip to the Zoo right after having bf in the car (大包). In the afternoon, we shuttled down to Suntec, to the IT Show 2007, where Angie purchased a DELL Inspirion 640m laptop. She only told me this morning after we woke up that "I think I shall buy a laptop with Wifi capabilities." I said "Ok, I will help you source which are the star buys you can get over at the ongoing IT Show at Suntec." And that was it. Sounds like an impulsive, spur of the moment thing? No lah...this is typical of what happens in this family.

While driving home from Suntec after evacuating from the uncomfortably congested mall, I sms'd Gobi to tell him that I'd drop off the Zoo pass into his letter box. He said ok.

"Any luck with the rose qn?"

"Nt tried yet. Morning zoo. Nw juz coming bk fr IT show."

Ok...I thought. Now he has really gotten me curious. Must try this later. And I did.
After reading the descriptions on the website, and the constant reminder that the "name of the game" is the important clue to breaking the code, I tried out the game proper.
Now this is gonna sound like quite haolian...but actually, it didn't take me long at all. It really helped that I jotted down the throw combinations and their corresponding results and then just stared at these lines until I could see that "pattern". The rush that I felt when the answer suddenly struck me was exhilarating. Wow! I wasted no time in verifying my hypothesis at the website with another 4 throws, and was shouting out silently inside when they were all correct. Whoa.

Guess who my immediate next sms went to? Hahahaa.

I am not gonna tell him the answer but give him some clues and encouragement so he could have a chance to experience the high of solving the puzzle by himself. Good luck, Gobi.

For anyone reading this who wishes to have a go at the game, here's the link:
http://www.borrett.id.au/computing/petals-j.htm

All the best!

妈妈的心得 之二

当妈妈们一碰头，便会大谈妈妈经。

“我的孩子X个月大就会爬了！”“我的孩子X个月大就长牙了！”“我的孩子X个月大就会拍手了！”“我的孩子X个月大就会叫妈妈了！”“我的孩子X个月大就会拜拜了！”……一个母亲的骄傲，常常在言谈之中不经意地流露。

我从来都不为媛媛的生理进展或学习进度烦恼。因为，一个在10个月会走路的孩子和一个在15个月会走路的孩子，在他们2岁的时候有什么分别？同样的，在10年后又有什么分别？他们迟早都会他们该会的。我在孩子身上也学到学习瑜伽的道理：别着急。有时候学瑜伽有点气馁，因为有些动作别人做起来轻而易举，而自己学了那么久的瑜伽都做不到！啊，我学会了别着急！就好像我们走路是轻而易举的，孩子学步时却是踉踉跄跄，还跌倒摔交，最后才学会轻而易举地走路。每个人有每个人的学习进度，不需超之过急，不需与人比较。让我们的孩子的每一个学习过程都是愉快的吧！

Spiderman's Identity Revealed!

James, no wonder you've got no time to reply our emails, and always tell me your work keeps you busy. I can see why that is so now.

I notice that you've been working out too. Nice bod.

Hang in there, bro. With great powers come great responsibilities, yah?

Jae Walking

One small step for Man. Many smaller steps for Jaimie.

Technically, Jaimie’s first steps were taken on 20th Feb 2007, at Uncle Yeow Seng’s place. That was 大年初三 and we were having a mini-gathering at YS’s. Trust this haolian baby to pick a time and place to perform this feat to impress us all. Show off!!

Since then lil’ Jae has been demanding for more walking opportunities. She’d protest pretty hard if she was being carried, at times when she wanted to be on her feet, usually with one of us holding on to one of her hands.

Well…Four legs good, two legs better, eh?