Unidentified Monster Spotted In Vacation Town

Found this in my camera today.

Guess who took this? It is amusing to read into the mind of a seven year old. Looks like these pokemon monsters are off duty from their daily affairs of terrorising others. Even monsters need a break, it seems.

"What are they doing?"

"Suntanning, swimming, and watching others swim."

"There is one more in the picture, you know?"

"Oh no! Where?" (okay...) "Just what is that guy doing then?"

You wanna guess what's in Ryan's mind? (I know the answer already, pretty funny!)

You Can Call Me, "The Boy With Paper Eyes"

I had a good laugh over this pair of glasses which a student of TS made and wore around school. He even made a hole in the iris of the "eyes" to peer through. But the teachers were obviously not amused. It was confiscated.

A Quiet Sunday Morning

We have the Great Singapore Sale. Now we also have the Great Singapore Queue. We were in town yesterday to "revamp" TS's wardrobe for the new year. You know how guys only shop once a year? We saw queues of more than 50 people for every restaurant that we passed at Takashimaya. Even the donut shop at City Hall had people queuing for 1 hour! The food court, no better. People were standing next to those who are still eating, a physical signal to "move off once you finish". I don't know what these people are thinking...but they obviously think alike. They are willing to queue for their food.

We decided to find a quiet spot for breakfast this morning. After what we saw at the Mall yesterday, we just want to have our own square feet of space. So this morning, we went to Ulu Sembawang for a breakfast...without competing for a space to sit and a place to eat. And we took some scenic shots of some untouched areas in Singapore along the way.

What a breather.
Ryan said, "So doomed"

I took the picture above, I think it is a nice shot!

Do Not Disturb While We Xbox

High-Tech Masak Masak. Uncle Edwin, you wanna join us?

Just You and Me...

It was one of those gatherings where we talked about our lives and where we are heading. But it was the lil ones who stole the evening. So sweet...

I am a road hazard

This post is dedicated to all the cars behind me at the Macrithie Reservior Junction yesterday who missed a green light because I failed to move off. You have been kind to honk me only once. And to TS for not getting flustered and mad at me, or rather, my driving skills recently. Thank you!

P.S The picture has nothing to do with this post...just what I had for dessert yesterday.

Wushu Spotcheck

I did a spotcheck on Ryan yesterday at school. I am not being kiasu. Just being kaypoh.

I think it a good training for discipline, accuracy and strength. Manage to learn some moves myself too.

The Life of Me

Driving a manual is taking the life of me.

TS has a philosophical approach to this, "You need to have a clear mind".

"But how does one concentrate on the movements of all four limbs, remember your last gear, look out on the road and manage other signals of the car?"

I thought manual will not be a problem for me, I mean, I likened it to an organ (I mean electone). If I can play the electone, surely, I can drive a manual car!

TS had a good laugh. "You played an organ?"

This is NOT funny. If I cannot drive a manual car, that means I will still have to take the public transport.

"You are not going on the road on your own. Not for at least another 10 more lessons!"

Okay, no chance.

The Art of Listening

Ryan's Q: What makes music come alive?

Ryan's A: When I play music that makes me feel happy.

Good question, Ryan.

Music is organised sounds which is usually expressed in terms of elements of music: rhythm, pitch, timbre, texture, dynamics and articulation. Silence is also music.

In 1952, David Tudor walked on stage, sat down in front of a piano for four minutes and thirty-three seconds and did nothing. The piece 4'33'' written by John Cage, became one of the most famous and important piece in 21st century music, breaking all conventional music traditions. Cage believes that the primary act of a musical performing is not the performance itself but listening.

By listening to what you play and making sense of how you play, you are enjoying the process of music making. Music comes alive when it is interconnected with your emotions and feelings.

Our "car" has arrived!

Totally thrilled. Our "car" arrived today. We have been trying to beat the odds by going car-less but we failed...after 96 days. It is an Opel Combo 1.7 Turbo. Don't feel like buying such an expensive vehicle in Singapore. No point...petrol is expensive, COE, insurance, road tax. Just need a four wheel to take us places.

Only one hinge. It is MANUAL! I have not driven a manual in 10 years. Never felt so insecure in my life!

It's RAINing in Singapore!

Rain is in town. The mega pop star from Korea is on his 5 month Asia Tour. Don't know much about his music or bio except for his acting in one of my fav korean show, Full House. I thought he was only an actor. My gosh, this guy is multitalented - can act, sing, dance, model. And he is only 24!! He was put on the list of 100 most beautiful people in the world and one of Asia's most influential artiste...move aside, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, and what have you.


From what I have gathered, he found his passion when he was in 6th grade and began to fervently pursue his dreams. Coming from a really poor background, he sacrificed alot to achieve his dreams. How many kids can tell you what he really wants to do at 6th grade and fight for their dreams?

His company is currently conducting auditions in Asia to search for the next "Rain". Forget it if you are born out of the range of 1982-1996. Even Ryan don't have a chance! haha.

Q: What does it mean to be an international star?
A: When the national carrier decides to sponsor your tour and bear an illustration of you on their commercial aircraft.



Happening.

Holy smoke!

The Chinese calendar is abit tricky for me to grasp. I thought, we only burn incense and paper for the dead during the 7th month, The Hungry Ghost Festival? But since moving to the Northern part of Singapore for the past one year, these burning rituals is literally a regular affair for the folks here. For those who are not entirely aware, the Chinese belief that the smoke from the burning of Paper money will carry the essence of the money to the ancestors in the spirit world. This is a practice to pay respects our ancestors.

My neighbour burns twice a day; once in the morning, and then again in the evening. Eerie it might sounds, she burns in a metallic tin that she places right in front of the lift door to "welcome the spirit of her deceased husband" (our assumption). Fortunately or unfortunately, we are greeted by the smoke when the lift door opens everyday. It does not help that we have sensitive noses and when we are suffering from congestive nose ailments like...now. Talk about fresh air...

Interesting article: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1146812006

Paper Wrapped Chicken

Hard to come by. Have not eaten it in years! But saw it at the City Hall foodcourt so had to buy one. But it sure doesn't beat the ones my mom used to make when I was young.

Going to find out how to cook this paper wrapped chicken...wish me luck!

The Great Aphrodisiac

Name of cake: Aphrodisiac

It is a GREAT, GREAT cake. We went to Big O for our dinner, one of my favourite restuarants. Nothing fancy, open concept, unassuming decor, okay service but GOOD food. Steak was pre-cooked in some sauce before putting on grill. So it tasted really tender and shiok.
The cake...the best TS has eaten. "Can we ever bake this?" he asked. Impossible. Momo has failed 9 out of 10 times in baking so she is laying off baking for at least 6 months. And to show his total devotion to this cake, he insisted no cocoa dust shall be wasted.
After dinner, we went to see our new place again, but still very much "building in progress". It is tiny but I think I will like it there...10 minutes to town, quiet and you get some famous eateries within 200m. District 11 has a lot of potential in the near future so I think we will just stay in it for awhile before being a nomad again.

As bad as it gets

Today is of one of those "as bad as it gets" days. *Diversion*. This makes a good plot for a script! *Back to story* The events of the day are simply unacceptable by Momo's diaries' principles.

Storyline 1 - Case of the bad service
4:30pm. T.S called up a property agent and arranged to view a place in District 10. 5:30pm was the time for the appointment. And what was the time?

4:32pm. I have less than 1 hour to dress up, powder up, bring Ryan to MIL's place, walk to the bus-stop, change 2 buses to reach Bukit Timah, whew...from Yishun. *Pause* From Yishun to Bukit Timah - 1 hour bus ride.

But we went ahead, determined as we are to quit living out of boxes in this 3-room flat. It is called a 3-room flat in HDB's theory only but in actual fact, it only has 2 rooms. But anyway, we went, in pouring rain. It is the rainy-floody season in Singapore.

4:50pm. On the way, we had a call from Mr. P, who is our car agent, scouting us down for our signature on the papers before we change our mind to buy this "CAR" (another story). We alighted from the bus to meet him at the a bus stop, *time ticking*. We signed, and he offered to send us there, *great!*.

5:30pm. We reached on the dot, gave a call to the agent and she said something like this:

"Oh you are there? Just now, I received a call from a lady who said her husband called just now! I thot it was you! Aiya! Then she said she wants to close the deal without viewing! You there now? But it is sold already. SOLD"

But missy, we came all the way from Yishun in the rain and you don't have the decency to apologise, for whatever reasons why you didn't turn up? She was lucky that it was T.S who talked to her, I would have gave her a piece of my mind.

5:42pm: Reversed our journey back to Yishun, wet from the flooded pavements and rain, fuming mad at the service.

Storyline 2 - The Curse of Sentosa Lagoon

The spirit of Sentosa lagoon has claimed yet another victim (refer ST, 11 Jan). Every year, it claims at least 1 victim. But what is most appalling was the behaviour of the life guards on duty who watched the victim struggled in water, believed his friends that they were only "playing", witnessed his friend pushed his shoulder once more in water even when his body was already afloat, chest and back on the surface!

This boils me. This is ridiculous. Are they trained? Are they thinking? Talk about professionalism, common sense, duty. I feel for this because my colleague lost his son 5 years ago in this lagoon, trying to save his friend from drowning. The irony is, he is an abled swimmer but he died, while his friend survived. For many years, my colleague could not come to terms with the loss of his 18 year old son. Haiz, very sad. So,The question is, where was the life-guard? What was he doing?

In disgust, I wrote to ST Forum. Filled with angst, I filed in "Momo's Diaries".

The End.

T.S's got a new T-shirt

Some people says the shoes you wear tells you alot of the one's personality. I wonder what was T.S's student thinking when she bought him this shirt. I mean, that is a cool piece of artwork, but how in the world to wear it? Some things look better hung up. Well, all's not wasted, it has transferred ownership to my FIL whose policy is to keep everything for 30 years, you never know when you need it. According to T.S, she bought him this shirt after a parent-teacher conference when he told her in front of her mother to return to Indonesia, since she is not making best of her time and her parent's money studying here. Poor girl...at least she is taking it well and bought him a shirt from Indonesia to thank him for waking up her senses, or did she not? According to T.S, she is taking her revenge. Hahaha! I didn't think of that...

The power of your voice

The power of your voice

What can I say? The human voice is a powerful instrument. It is an instrument you carry with you everyday. Watch this Honda Civic video. Amazing!

Colourful Steamed Buns

Those who were born and reared in Singapore will definitely remember these colourful steamed buns. Reminds me of those younger days when we "fight" over the choice of colours. And I am glad that they are still sold at Pasar Malams (night markets) in Singapore till this day.

Afternoon Tea with Mummy

Afternoon tea with Mummy is going to KFC to enjoy a pipping hot whipped potato (note: must be at least a medium size cup). And no sharing is allowed. Mmmmmm. Apparently, Canadian's KFCs does not have this on their menus.

Time to sort things out

I just feel frustrated right now. No, let me correct myself. It has been for the past few weeks. There are so many uncertainties. Maybe it is what they call the mid life crisis. I have a list of unanswered questions. Maybe, I am just losing myself. Sometimes, I feel being in the C.S all these years has slowly eroded a part of my confidence, but anyway, that's another story. So, here's the list.

1) When am I going to finish the paper that I have been working on for the past 5 months?
2) Should I just go get a car for goodness sake?
3) Should I just conform and have a maid?
4) Do I REALLY have to go back to work?
5) When will I STOP living out of boxes?
6) Can I do something else with my life, besides going back to my old job?
7) Can I sincerely support my spouse to quit his job?

Beeline: I have to sort out my life.

Goodbye 2006, Welcome 2007

"Goodbye 2006, Welcome 2007.
Happy New Year!"

Cool Toy

Ryan took this shot of one of his fav edutoy. I think it is a cool toy to learn about all the planets and their relation to other planets. It lets the child paint the planets themselves and arrange the various planets according to their orbit around the sun. I have always been interested in the universe. Ryan says Pluto is not a planet, it is a star because it is too small. Not sure if that is the real logic behind its changed status.

Pizza is my Favourite Food!

Pi-ZZA!
All mine!
Mummy cooked a pizza today and we ate it for lunch. Hmm, give me a pizza or spaghetti anytime...