Two Peas in a Different Pod

TS is going on a working trip..for 10 days! He is a total neat freak. I cannot imagine how neat he can get at times...look at that packing! I would never be able to achieve that kind of standard, maybe 60% of that skill. And he went on containing his shampoo, conditioner, powder...into small bottles for a compact travelling experience. I would presume an average traveller would just throw all the toiletries in its original state into the bag (or is it not?). I would.

And this is the same man who would totally object to me ironing his clothes cos no extra seams or lines must be seen on his shirts or pants. I give up. We are simply two peas in different pods.

Look What (Who) We Brought Home!

We brought home TS's girlfriend, a.k.a Hello Kitty today. Isn't SHE the cutest thing? I went into the hello kity store today, saw these new editions and said to TS...

ME: Na, buy for me!
TS: (to the salesgirl) Ok...how much is it? (I just knew he would ask this!)
ME: $100! (Interrupting the salesgirl before she could speak, cos I already found out the price earlier on)
SG: No lah, this one very cheap, only $49! It will be snapped up very fast, and only 4 of them arrived yesterday.
TS: Ok, go choose a nice one.

Okay, I was behaving totally like a five-year-old, hugging to the hello kitty! But deep down inside, I know I am NOT going to leave this shop without her. But turns out, TS is also "in love" with her. We acted like two five year olds when we reached home.

Multi-poly Not Mono-poly

Worked from home today and Ryan coerced me to play a game of monopoly with him...first thing in the morning! I said I needed to read the papers first, but the boy made it very convenient for me. He said I can read while playing, so he puts the set on the sofa...next to the coffee table, so I can sip my daily dose of tomato juice. He had it alllll planned...talk about multitasking.

But he didn't know something...he is up against the Monopoly Queen, haha!! I used to beat my sister and father every time in this game, haha!

Where the Sun Sets

This is the route I take home everyday from work. The bus service from NTU made it very very convenient, else it would be like a 2 hours journey home with transfers from bus-mrt-bus. But with this service, it is only like a half hour journey home, in comfort.

It is nice to see the sunset on the way home everyday (well, except for the occasional rainfall). "Another day has past" and it's going home to see my family...who interestingly, peeps out of the window at 6:30pm to see, no, "spy" me walking home on this stretch with another colleague who lives just opposite.

Growing Joys

How do I know my little boy has grown up?

1) He is learning to savour Black Pepper Crabs (Singapore style)...coming from a boy who cries and screams when he tasted a tinge of chilli in his food.
2) He is opening up to adults, making small talks.
3) He shares riddles and cracks jokes.
4) He orders "Curry Beef and sphagetti" for dinner.
5) He tells the hairdresser the exact type of haircut he wants (no more than just a "trim". To TS's dismay, "Did you cut???")
6) He is dead serious about keeping his sideburns.
7) He has a certain way of "styling" his hair.
8) He colour coordinates his dressing and differentiates dressing for "going to town" and "going downstairs".
9) He watches horror movies(behind our backs!)...and narrate the whole story after that to us, complete with some drama
10) He shows you how he tackled a difficult maths sum (which he had great difficulty in the past)
11) He acts like a little gentleman in front of little girls, much to their delight.
12) He is reading "Lord of the Ring" (I would think a younger Ryan would be put off by the density of words on the pages)

How time flies, my little spiderman is almost all grown up, but he stills wants Mummy to put him to sleep...every night.

Flower Power

We needed something to cover an empty area next to our sofa. So after scouting for weeks for a nice pot of plant, we realise just how expensive the shops were selling them. Take "I Wanna Go Home" (a home decor store in Singapore) for example. A simple arrangement can set you back by $200! We decided to buy the articial flowers from wholesale and did a simple arrangement. I think, we got the effect we wanted!

Excuse Me, You speak 华语?

I was testing Ryan in the Chinese Oral Exams the other evening. I gave him a picture of a zoo and then he started to describe the details of the picture in Mandarin. He went on and on, enthusiastically in his "interesting" sounding mandarin. He speaks very little mandarin at home, but he studies in a school immersed in the Chinese culture and tradition and has a great tuition teacher from China. I am just thankful that he is appreciative of the language which is so important because I have always wanted him to know his roots and appreciate the rich Chinese culture. He was excited about the orals, describing enthusiastically but some stammering along the way...UNTIL the final, concluding statement.

我们不应该做弄动物因为如果老虎抓到你，你就会死得很惨。
(We should not provoke animals because if the tiger catches you, you will die a horrible death.)

Good grief. Are you going to say that to the teacher for your exams tomorrow, son??

WCP

Working from home today. Decided to start off the day with a nice quiet morning in the park. So we hopped over, had Mac's Breakfast, and took a walk around the park. Ryan and I talked and got some quality bonding time. This is the kind of things that I had been missing out on few years ago. I realised, we can have both fulfilling working lives and quality time...and I am really glad I moved on.

Ryan himself said, "This is Life!" A friend said he has this ability to relate things in his own way, and he is very sensorial learning type of person. At first, I put it down as having some really wild imagination about things. But having said that, I guess he is!

WCP is just a beautiful place, away from crowds and you feel space, something that is becoming scarce in Singapore.

I am a Texan, that's why.

"Give me beef!" That's what Ryan asked for at one dinner.

"Are you sure...you can eat the whole thing?"

"Can!"

Okay, here's an 8oz beef steak for you. And my goodness, he really wallop the whole thing. Just beef, nothing else...oh, and the "grass" too.

Maybe it has got to do with the large amount of beef I had consumed when I had him. Yes, I had my share of beef, the Texan way. My favourite those days, a whole T-Bone, shiok!

Now we know he does have the Texan blood in him. Way to go, Cowboy!

Beauty

It was a well hidden sanctuary. We could see from our apartment a bird's eye view of the park and coastline. After an early dinner, we decided to venture into the woods. And we found a gem...and best of all, there are few people and it is relatively unspoilt.

Simply beautiful. It looks and definitely feels like a different world. We could hear the soft music playing from one of the private liners, diners at the private club, soft lapping of the waves, with the skyline of the setting sun. We stopped, and admired the scenery, soaking in the peacefulness and that was enough for the weekend, which otherwise seems to pass by so quickly.

The day I got not 1 but 2 Hello Kitties!

Who says I am too old for this?

Dawn came back from Japan and bought me these wonderful gifts! When TS saw it, his reply was, "Don't you think you are too old for this?"

That, to me is another hitback on hello kitty, to which, I retorted,

"No, I think I am never too old for this."

I remembered having this wallet when I was young. And yes, I will using this wallet.

Thanks a zillion, Dawn!

The Ultimate Hello Kitty Despisation

I have officially opened and used my birthday present.

I didn't get my hello kitty balloon, or a hello kitty cake nor a hello kitty gadget. I call it the ultimate hello kitty despisation.

But I got an ipod. No complaints.

And I Still have not forgotten about my hello kitty, TS.

B.H

Friendship

It's so heartening to see how young kids develop and learn in their growing stage. Caught this picture of Aidan (Ryan's cousin) and him playing in the pool. It is so relaxing observing them. Notice how Aidan is helping Ryan into the boat with all his might.

This is not their boat. They cleverly "barter-traded" their torpedo toy for moments in the boat (from other children).

Ryan's 8th Birthday!

What a day! I procrastinated about having this birthday party. Being the "kancheong" freak I am, I just wanted the easy way out and have a simple family birthday celebration. But Ryan (or rather, his friends who called me "evil" for not having them around) was adamant about it. Needless, to say, the kids had a ball of a time, we adults had our backs breaking at the end of the day.

It was not difficult to think of a theme for the party. Ryan is a Spiderman fanatic and everything was spiderman, as you can see, he even wore his spiderman suit throughout and his birthday song was "Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to Spider...Man, Happy Birthday to you!" It was quite hilarious. We even had a movie screening of Spiderman 3.

At first TS was really worried that the kids would spill their food and drinks all over the new place, it turns out quite differently.

TS: Do you realise that none of the kids made a mess? Do you know who did?

It was me, who spilled the coke all over the kitchen floor.

Ryan had fantastic presents from all the aunties and uncles... thank you very much!

Aunty Serene & Uncle Edwin - Spiderman Suit (without it, it won't be the same)
Aunty Dawn - Gundam (Ryan mentioned that Aunty Dawn chose a really great toy)
Aunty Skuan Kei, Uncle Roy & Meredith - Spiderman Monopoly (Oh man!!!)
Meredith - what a sweet card!! notice the heart shaped cheeks (I assume that is Ryan and her?)
Aunty Michelle - Spiderman Bedsheet set (now everyone walks into the room and gasp!)
Aunty & Uncle (Edwin's parents) - Spiderman mobile (apparently a water gun too!)

And thank you to Ryan's friends (Joseph, Nathan, Aidan, & Brandon) too for their wonderful gifts.

We bought Ryan a webblaster which is a really cool toy!

It was an amazing day. I don't think Ryan will ever forget this day!

Musical Savantism

The human brain works in mysterious ways.

Stephen Wiltshire: The Human Camera

Tutorial one: Individual Differences

Savantism refers to mentally handicapped people who possessed exceptional talents, usually in one area of human activity.

Why I Didn't Write

Why I didn't write...

1. recuperating from an accident scare
2. excited over the arrival of my sis and baby Lucas
3. No internet connection at home
4. new home is still 80% undone...demoralised
5. 7th month
6. busy gorging myself with food
7. no hello kitties on my birthday..BUT got a cool ipod, courtesy of TS.
8. submitted the hardbound thesis
9. fussing over the curtain designs and cost

You're My Hero

Hello Kitty simply looks too angelic, even in a Zorro suit and cape. Can you imagine a life size Hello Kitty in this suit? I would like to see one in front of me. It would be hilarious.

What if there is no tomorrow?

Something happened, and I don't wish to elaborate on it. Met with an accident. But all I can say is, I was reminded again, that we have to treasure our loved ones now because you never know what will happen tomorrow. I always have this paranoid feeling that I will never live long, maybe it's got to do with my background. And I have seen death more than once. I know what it is like to see someone going through it. But with all busy lives that we live and the "take for granted" attitude when we get too complacent with life, cherishing your loved ones becomes all forgotten.

What happened had got me thinking about the past. Too much to say, too little to cherish. I could not get over what happened, so I gorged myself with food, and some super unhealthy ones at lunch today. This is what I ate for lunch at the NIE canteen, in order to appearance:

1. fried mee goreng
2. chicken wings
3. fried potatoes
4. chocolate cake
5. camomile tea
6. apple

For me, I am going to "live like I never lived before, and eat like I never eaten before". Till I get over, feel better and regained my sanity. The only thing that can uplift my spirits now is to see a thousand hello kitties dancing in front of me...