Connie Talbot - Over The Rainbow (BGT Final)

This is such an amazing voice. Such tremendous voice in a little body.God lives in this little girl...brings tears to my eyes too.

Por Kee for Anniversary Dinner

I took these pictures of our dinner at Por Kee to celebrate our wedding anniversary but forgotten all about it. I like the food at Por Kee, being traditional cantonese cuisine and at reasonable prices. I had wanted to book a nice place, like Grand Shanghai but in the end, we chose a no ambience place for economy and great taste.

As usual, our dishes are quite predictable. Cereal fried prawns, crabs, chicken wings. Guess the whole family including Tobey shares the same liking for food and seafood especially. Tobey just loves prawns and crabs so much that we have to stop him from eating too much of it. But I am glad he is not a fussy eater. He enjoys food of different cuisines just like us! I guess since he was young, he has been expose to all kinds of food and how he is expected to finish all his food to the last grain...even at times if his dinner lasts 1 hour, he was not allowed to leave his table untill he finished.

At Por Kee, we also tried their signature pork ribs. But we ordered the wrong kind. We had wanted the strip version which is much tastier. The crabs were quite a let down. We still prefer the ones at Ban Leong (Upper Thomson Road), which is another of our favourite eating place. But the prawns were shiok. On a side note, Por Kee being in Tiong Bahru, is a special place to me because I spent about 6 years growing up in this neighbourhood. Long before time, there were no such thing as neighbourhood shopping malls and we usually bought our clothes and necessities from the Tiong Bahru market. Reminds me of those childhood days...the whole neighbourhood still retains its nostalgic flavour.

When we are not who we are anymore

As some of my friends already know that I am getting my papers for Canadian PR. I have came this decision not because I want to leave here, but because there are priorities in life that I have to make. There are many things to consider especially leaving the land that you grew up in for a couple of years or perhaps more. It is not just a simple decision to make. There are considerations from the personal, child, education, spouse perspectives and the broader context of the extended family. I want to put in writing that I am not leaving Singapore because I have grown apart from it. I just needed a larger perspective and in terms of education, I just cannot foresee myself furthering my studies here anymore, and some other reasons. There are things in Singapore that one as a Singaporean will and cannot forget. I don't think I can call myself a Canadian and just wipe off my nationality as a Singaporean. So it really disturbs me when people imply to me that we cannot behave or think a certain way that is so "Singaporean" especially in front of other Singaporeans in a foreign land. I want to put on record that I am leaving Singapore,for Canada, sacrificing many positive things that I have grown so accustomed to, rather than the other way around. I am sure Canada is a beautiful place to live in and Singapore will always have a place in my heart. I feel that rather than conformity, we bring with us different perspectives, cultures and way of life that contributes to diversity in the place we live in. And I feel people will respect us for that and not how well we should assimilate into the new place to their habits and cultures. I hope this is something that I hope my child will never forget..his roots, culture, language and the whole meaning of embracing diversity.

I HEART YOU

This is one of those days that I count my blessings and thank GOD for the things that he has given me. You see, I was quite down-hearted that past week, thinking too much about life and life's purpose. Nothing could brighten me up, not TS's jokes, Tobey's kind words, not even 2 K-dramas.

But this day, I was sitting by the window, enjoying the morning's breeze when suddenly out of the blue came 4 fighter jets, I think it is Singapore's "Black Knights" flew into the skyline right in front of me. The amazing thing is, it was so quiet despite the speed they are travelling. They split into two groups, one going upwards on the right, and the other two, to the left. And they went out of sight into the horizon. I was shocked at what I saw.

Can you see it, can you see it? It is faint but it is there.

I almost teared! Okay, I am being childish, emo, crazy, mad. But I jumped up in excitement. I reached for the phone and called TS immediately,

ME: THEY DREW ME A HEART!
TS: What heart?
ME: THEY DREW ME A HEART! The fighters flew in and drew a heart in the sky, right before me! This makes my day!
TS: Aiya, told them 14th Feb, they come so early.
ME: Huh?
TS: A heart, right? ya, I booked them for 14th Feb, but they came today instead. I am going to call them up to ask for money back.
ME: Ya, sure, very funny.

Down Memory Lane

the clock tower, Ryan says the whole place looks very errie at night.

empty basketball court...in those days, it is packed with students playing basketball, catching zero point...

the eatery on the 4th floor of coronation plaza serves some good western food. A popular haunt of the schools nearby.

I took half a day to settle some urgent outstanding personal matters and thought i might as well go fetch Ryan from school. It is a trip down memory lane for me cos it is where I spent 6 years of my primary school life. I was quite an "active" and "talkative" student, simply cannot keep still. You would see me, in my prefect sash, doing the monkey bars, performing somersault stunts on the low bars, pitching against others much taller than me (I am very small you see) in 'zero point' and playing catching. Thinking back, I was really a hyper kid. And I don't know why the teachers made me a prefect. Maybe because they think I am loud enough to command people? Or that they want to give me more responsibility? But come to think of it, I did my duties well, but off duty, that's a different story. I remembered running down a slope every day after school to the bus instead of taking the steps. Once, I rolled down and scrapped my knee caps. I was definitely not your usual Singaporean "model" student. I was quite a daredevil, and played more than I studied.

But these days, things are quite different in NYPS. You don't see children running around, playing catching or a basketball game. They either go for their enrichment lessons straight after school or hop onto the buses home. Very civilised. The school still retains many of its traditions till this day. The uniforms, the leaders' sashes...Even the old school next to the new one is preserved (now the kindergarten). Only that now girls are allowed to have long hair. Those days, I remembered lining up to be spotted check. If we hair is longer than 2 fingers below our ear, we will be the punished.

Something that made my day

Tobey has melted my heart again. He drew this card and gave me yesterday (not his own initiative, but his teacher asked them all to draw). It is not mother's day or anything like that, so I thought, what is the occasion? He said, he doesn't know. Anyway, it was so touching to read those words, addressed to "my beloved mum". I find that very amusing, where did he learn to write such mushy stuff? And there is this "secret compartment" where a heart is hidden inside. At the back of the card, he drew a diamond. Good, he knows diamonds are women's best friend.

Mummy thank you for taking care of me and showing your love for me. But sometimes I just lose my temper so please forgive me

okay, what happen to all the punctuation????

Chasing grades, not dreams

It is a brand new year, am I ready for it? I am not too sure. I guess it is age and I have been thinking about many issues about life. Just two days ago, I was at the bookstore at Thomson Plaza and I saw this mother squatting on the floor, with 3 school-going children around her. What caught my eye was 2 baskets of assessment books. They were all sitting around to examine each of these assessment books. I was very perturbed by what I saw. One of the boys said, "I must have this assessment, it helped me got my A1 last year."

I don't want to turn out like that! Yes, I buy assessment books, because I feel have no choice. The system especially in a school like the one Tobey goes to, requires enrichment. If not, you get lost in the system and more importantly, I worry for Tobey's self-esteem if he doesn't get by well enough. Much as I want to say, this is not school life should be and character is more important than chasing grades, I find myself drawn into this system.

In another example, I was at a friend's party and sitting at the same table as this ivy league undergrad who came back for holidays. He was talking to a friend of mine. He was talking all about himself. It went like this,

"Oh, by the way, I am studying in ABC uni, back for the hols. I just had my 1st semester and I did well, oh IN FACT, I did VERY well! All As, and I beat all the ang mohs. Actually, not difficult to do well there lah because the ang mohs, they all go uni to play but I just study a bit harder."

Okay, don't need to exclaim your achievements, I thought. I feel sorry for that guy, probably a scholar of some Ministry in Singapore but I also pity the people he has to work with or his subordinates in future if he continues to behave like that. Is this the kind of attitude or behaviour that our schools are nurturing? Grades and achievements are important but let's not forget about basic human social and life skills like humility.

I told myself, Tobey may not be a A star student with A star grades but I glad for who Tobey is. He is a well behaved, considerate, caring and wonderful little boy. That's enough for me. Let's look at the strengths and the inner needs of every child.

Happy Happy 2008!

We ushered in the new year at home, partly because we know that all the ships in front of us will sound their horns and shoot their firecrackers. Moreover, we didn't want to be with the crowds in Marina Bay where the real fireworks are. 5 minutes before midnight, the ships and yachts blow their horns and it was really a different experience for us urban folks. Then the private yacht in front had a mini firework display that caught us by surprise.

To all my friends, and loved ones, here's toast to a brand new year! And the song that comes to my mind is my favourite singer, Barry Manilow's song..."If I Can Dream".

I hope everyone's dreams will come true in 2008!

There must be lights burning brighter, somewhere
Got to be birds, flying higher in a sky more blue
If I can dream of a better land
Where all my brothers walk hand in hand
Tell me why, oh why, oh why can’t my dream come true
Oh why

There will be peace, and understanding sometime
Strong winds of promise that will blow away
The doubt and fear
If I can dream of a warmer sun
Where hope is shining on everyone
Tell me why, oh why, oh why can’t that sun appear

We’re caught in a cloud, with too much rain
We’re lost in a world, with too much pain
But as long as a man, has the strength to dream
He can redeem his soul and fly, and fly

Deep in my heart, there’s a trembling question
But I am sure that the answer’s gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark, there’s a burning candle
And if I can think, if I can talk
If I can stand, if I can walk, if I can dream
I’ll make my dream come true

Deep in my heart, there’s a trembling question
But I am sure that the answer’s gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark, there’s a burning candle
And if I can think, if I can talk
If I can stand, if I can walk, if I can dream
I’ll make my dream come true

Right, Right now… Right now
Please make my dream come true
Right now