月亮光光， 骑马燃香；
东拜拜，西拜拜；
月婆婆，月奶奶；
保佑大姨做买卖；
不赚多，不赚少；
一天赚：三个大元宝！
（2008 年中秋节，WF 之说说演演 - AMK）
Friday, April 24, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
KH: Good Teacher, Even Better Friend
When I was in BPS, the regular band instructress we had was a lady trumpeter whom we called Ms Chan. Then, one day, for reasons I still don't know today, she left us. To replace her, a young man called Mr Tay came to conduct the band.
This Mr Tay's name is KH. He is a very jovial and rather fun man to be with. He always had encouraging words for us, even though (as we all know it) our standard of playing in BPS band was really quite low. KH is a very good musician and he plays the clarinet. He has a very strong and good singing voice, too.
One day, KH came to band practice with a new hair cut - an army-style crew cut! This caused us all to wonder if he was going to join the army or something, and some girls also laughed because he looked quite different in that hair cut. The bubbly young man told us, "Oh, I fell asleep in the barber's chair. When I woke up, I realised that this was what they had cut for me."
We all went incredously, "Ha??!" We rallied around him and showed him, in our own small ways and as best as we could, our sympathy. It was funny because KH himself seemed ok about it and remained as cheerful as ever.
A few days later, while discussing school with CP, I learnt that the brother of one of CP's friend at TJC had gone to a barber and fallen asleep while having his hair cut. And the end result was that the brother looked like he was going to be enlisted into the army! CP's friend had shared this funny 'story' of her brother with CP for a good laugh.
When I heard this story, I told CP that that was what had happened to my band instructor, too! And then later, we found out that KH is indeed the brother of CP's friend. CP's friend is KHwee. What a small world it is, I remember thinking to myself.
At the end of P6, I did very well for PSLE with a score 4 points short of the national top score that year. But alas, I didn't get into the school of my choice. Instead, I was posted to TKGS. See other post for details.
As I didn't like the idea of going to TKGS, CP decided to introduce me to KHwee. KHwee is an old TK girl. We went to KHwee's house in Geylang East one evening, and KHwee spoke to me about TKGS, telling me how a wonderful and good school it is etc. I also saw some awards that she had received in TKGS. After the visit, I felt better about TKGS and a little less 'resentful' about going there.
*************
When I became the band major in TKGS, KH suddenly called me one day and asked if he could visit the band. His purpose was to see if there was anything he could do to help improve the band's playing - KH's really into the band circuit then.
Although the culture of the TK Band was such that 'outsiders' were never welcome, I decided to go ahead with a 'tutorial' session with KH. But to keep it a low, low profile thing, I chose only a handful of my closer friends, mostly my committee members, for the session.
The small group of us, each on a different instrument, felt so exhilaterated after the short 1-hour session which was just before our formal band practice. KH was a very good and careful critique, giving us tips and words of encouragement all the time. Before that day, we never knew we could sound so good together.
Later, some juniors who had arrived earlier for band practice that day asked me, "How come the band practice started earlier today?" When I told them that it was only a handful of us practising 'on our own' in a classroom just above the band room, these juniors could hardly believe me. I remember one of them said, "But it sounded really like a whole band at work, leh?!"
I never forgot this invaluable experience with KH. Although my thanks to him may not have been very profuse then (of course, I did thank him lah), I always knew that we were the lucky ones to have been through the session with him.
*****************
Never did I know that when I went to the TJC Symphonic Band, I would once again meet KH.
One day, when band practice was about to start, our band leader told us that an alumnus has come to offer us some comments on our playing. When she brought the alumnus into the band room, I saw to my greatest surprise and excitement that it was none other than KH!
I had no idea whether KH had recognised me at that time, but as he went on to give us tips on how we could better play the college anthem (which, by the way, was always played super-lousily because most of us couldn't be bothered about it), a deep, deep sense of pride started to fill me. Pride, I suppose, because he was no stranger to me (but my friends in the band didn't know him!). And also, he looked rather dashing then.
After this critique session with KH at TJC, I had a brief chat with KH. I think he mentioned something about going to Japan for further studies or something. I didn't (dare) ask too much for fear that the others around might think that I was asking for his attention etc - you know, those silly girly things that we get teased about often in those days.
*****************
When I went onto FB last month, I found many of my friends who were fellow band members - one in BPS band, many in TK band and a handful in TJC symphonic band. I thought about my friendship with each and every one of them, and reminisced quite a bit of the times (mostly good) with them.
Then, one day, I remembered KH. And so, I decided to 'look' for KH on FB. With almost incredible ease, I succeeded. Then I sent him a message and we are now linked on FB.
Last Friday, we had dinner together at Canele. Except for the little bit of white hair on the sides of his head, KH looks very much the same. And he speaks very much the same, too, with the same sense of humour, same very inspiring and motivation-speaker-like tone. So, it's no surprise that he is now a business development consultant and deals with many high-profile and important clients and associates. I think he is very well-connected, so to speak.
KH travels around quite a bit, he says, although his specialty is in the North-East Asia. He still stays in GE, however, because he likes the place (he says so). And as he calls himself, he is still a GE boy.
In the course of dinner, KH asks about HA - he remembers HA, leh! I told him that HA is working and living overseas, and that HA is also on FB. I also told KH how grateful I have been for all those band 'tutorial' sessions which he had so generously shared with my friends and I. My 1st and only visit (so far) to CCHMS was because he had invited me there!
Anyway, we chatted for quite a while after dinner. Later, we took the mrt train together - KH's plan was to ride his foldable bicycle that evening, but its tyre had punctured in the afternoon, so the next best mode of transport would be the mrt, lor.
We continued to chat on our way home, and KH told me a little of his university in Japan. It must have been so beautiful and invigorating, I think, to go for lessons anywhere in Kyoto - one of the most picturesque places on earth. How nice, hor?
As we headed for GE (for me, slightly further at PLW) from the Aljunied MRT station, we agreed that we should meet up again. I told KH that this time, I would like him to meet R, WY and WF, too! :)
This Mr Tay's name is KH. He is a very jovial and rather fun man to be with. He always had encouraging words for us, even though (as we all know it) our standard of playing in BPS band was really quite low. KH is a very good musician and he plays the clarinet. He has a very strong and good singing voice, too.
One day, KH came to band practice with a new hair cut - an army-style crew cut! This caused us all to wonder if he was going to join the army or something, and some girls also laughed because he looked quite different in that hair cut. The bubbly young man told us, "Oh, I fell asleep in the barber's chair. When I woke up, I realised that this was what they had cut for me."
We all went incredously, "Ha??!" We rallied around him and showed him, in our own small ways and as best as we could, our sympathy. It was funny because KH himself seemed ok about it and remained as cheerful as ever.
A few days later, while discussing school with CP, I learnt that the brother of one of CP's friend at TJC had gone to a barber and fallen asleep while having his hair cut. And the end result was that the brother looked like he was going to be enlisted into the army! CP's friend had shared this funny 'story' of her brother with CP for a good laugh.
When I heard this story, I told CP that that was what had happened to my band instructor, too! And then later, we found out that KH is indeed the brother of CP's friend. CP's friend is KHwee. What a small world it is, I remember thinking to myself.
At the end of P6, I did very well for PSLE with a score 4 points short of the national top score that year. But alas, I didn't get into the school of my choice. Instead, I was posted to TKGS. See other post for details.
As I didn't like the idea of going to TKGS, CP decided to introduce me to KHwee. KHwee is an old TK girl. We went to KHwee's house in Geylang East one evening, and KHwee spoke to me about TKGS, telling me how a wonderful and good school it is etc. I also saw some awards that she had received in TKGS. After the visit, I felt better about TKGS and a little less 'resentful' about going there.
*************
When I became the band major in TKGS, KH suddenly called me one day and asked if he could visit the band. His purpose was to see if there was anything he could do to help improve the band's playing - KH's really into the band circuit then.
Although the culture of the TK Band was such that 'outsiders' were never welcome, I decided to go ahead with a 'tutorial' session with KH. But to keep it a low, low profile thing, I chose only a handful of my closer friends, mostly my committee members, for the session.
The small group of us, each on a different instrument, felt so exhilaterated after the short 1-hour session which was just before our formal band practice. KH was a very good and careful critique, giving us tips and words of encouragement all the time. Before that day, we never knew we could sound so good together.
Later, some juniors who had arrived earlier for band practice that day asked me, "How come the band practice started earlier today?" When I told them that it was only a handful of us practising 'on our own' in a classroom just above the band room, these juniors could hardly believe me. I remember one of them said, "But it sounded really like a whole band at work, leh?!"
I never forgot this invaluable experience with KH. Although my thanks to him may not have been very profuse then (of course, I did thank him lah), I always knew that we were the lucky ones to have been through the session with him.
*****************
Never did I know that when I went to the TJC Symphonic Band, I would once again meet KH.
One day, when band practice was about to start, our band leader told us that an alumnus has come to offer us some comments on our playing. When she brought the alumnus into the band room, I saw to my greatest surprise and excitement that it was none other than KH!
I had no idea whether KH had recognised me at that time, but as he went on to give us tips on how we could better play the college anthem (which, by the way, was always played super-lousily because most of us couldn't be bothered about it), a deep, deep sense of pride started to fill me. Pride, I suppose, because he was no stranger to me (but my friends in the band didn't know him!). And also, he looked rather dashing then.
After this critique session with KH at TJC, I had a brief chat with KH. I think he mentioned something about going to Japan for further studies or something. I didn't (dare) ask too much for fear that the others around might think that I was asking for his attention etc - you know, those silly girly things that we get teased about often in those days.
*****************
When I went onto FB last month, I found many of my friends who were fellow band members - one in BPS band, many in TK band and a handful in TJC symphonic band. I thought about my friendship with each and every one of them, and reminisced quite a bit of the times (mostly good) with them.
Then, one day, I remembered KH. And so, I decided to 'look' for KH on FB. With almost incredible ease, I succeeded. Then I sent him a message and we are now linked on FB.
Last Friday, we had dinner together at Canele. Except for the little bit of white hair on the sides of his head, KH looks very much the same. And he speaks very much the same, too, with the same sense of humour, same very inspiring and motivation-speaker-like tone. So, it's no surprise that he is now a business development consultant and deals with many high-profile and important clients and associates. I think he is very well-connected, so to speak.
KH travels around quite a bit, he says, although his specialty is in the North-East Asia. He still stays in GE, however, because he likes the place (he says so). And as he calls himself, he is still a GE boy.
In the course of dinner, KH asks about HA - he remembers HA, leh! I told him that HA is working and living overseas, and that HA is also on FB. I also told KH how grateful I have been for all those band 'tutorial' sessions which he had so generously shared with my friends and I. My 1st and only visit (so far) to CCHMS was because he had invited me there!
Anyway, we chatted for quite a while after dinner. Later, we took the mrt train together - KH's plan was to ride his foldable bicycle that evening, but its tyre had punctured in the afternoon, so the next best mode of transport would be the mrt, lor.
We continued to chat on our way home, and KH told me a little of his university in Japan. It must have been so beautiful and invigorating, I think, to go for lessons anywhere in Kyoto - one of the most picturesque places on earth. How nice, hor?
As we headed for GE (for me, slightly further at PLW) from the Aljunied MRT station, we agreed that we should meet up again. I told KH that this time, I would like him to meet R, WY and WF, too! :)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Walk & Smoothie Bomb
I collected my new glasses last Saturday. As WY wanted to go borrow some music scores from the NLB library at the Esplanade, R let me alight at Nicoll Highway so I could drop by the optician's shop before re-joining him and the boys at the Esplanade after that.
The new glasses were ok - they felt kind of weird, actually, but everyone keeps telling me that I look good in them. Anyway, after collecting my glasses, I decided to take a walk to the Esplanade.
As it turned out, it was a big joke to try to walk from Beach Road to the Esplanade in the 2pm sun; it was simply too hot that afternoon. In the end, I made it only to The Gateway, which was one bus stop away from the building where the optician's shop is. The bus service 107 which I eventually boarded brought me all the way to Clifford Pier.
From there, I took a very long walk along the Esplanade Drive towards the 'Durians'. Along the way, I helped a couple take some photos of themselves - it was weird, I thought, that they specifically asked to have the HSBC building in the background?! I obliged them anyway, so they were very happy. Maybe, they were HSBC staff??
Then, I walked further and was soon in the promenade overlooking the Marina Bay, right in front of One Fullerton. I guess you could call me 'sua-ku' but I was surprised to see that one of the many drinking holes there actually had big, square sofa sets laid out in the outdoor refreshment area! The sofas (I suppose they are meant for clubbers to unwind lying down while sipping their drinks? after taking their shoes off?) look exactly like a big double/multiple bed!
When I came to the Merlion Park, many tourists were busy posing for photos with the now-working Merlion. I quite like the spouting Merlion, actually, although it is popularly regarded as nothing more than a tourism symbol of the STB/Singapore.
As I made my way up to the Esplanade Bridge, I suddenly remembered that hey, I had the camera with me! And so, like the other tourists strolling around in the hot sun, I also started to snap some random photos from atop the Esplanade Bridge. All the clicking in this direction and that direction, made me feel very 'touristy'.
When I finally reached the Esplanade, it was such a relief to be in the air-conditioned mall. The decor/exhibition at the atrium has now changed; the lampshades of the hanging lamps looked like some used/unwanted skirts from someone's house, right? But they certainly look quite interesting! Anyway, I certainly prefer this to the broken-wire-mesh or broken-tyre-mess that had been displayed here some time ago. The air-wells were also decorated with some giant flower display.
I found R, WY and WF in the library cafe. By then, I was quite 'shacked-out' by the hot afternoon sun. These 3 boys, seated on the high bar stools at the service counter, were all so 'cool', obviously enjoying their lunch of pasta, nachos and don't-know-what-else and 100% nonchalant about my 'arrival'.
To cool myself down a little, I got myself a Mango smoothie. It cost a bomb and wasn't worth its price. But then, I also sympathise with the cafe operator - if they don't charge a bomb for each of their food item or beverage, how can they survive the ridiculous rents costing them an arm and a leg, too? Sigh.
The new glasses were ok - they felt kind of weird, actually, but everyone keeps telling me that I look good in them. Anyway, after collecting my glasses, I decided to take a walk to the Esplanade.
As it turned out, it was a big joke to try to walk from Beach Road to the Esplanade in the 2pm sun; it was simply too hot that afternoon. In the end, I made it only to The Gateway, which was one bus stop away from the building where the optician's shop is. The bus service 107 which I eventually boarded brought me all the way to Clifford Pier.
From there, I took a very long walk along the Esplanade Drive towards the 'Durians'. Along the way, I helped a couple take some photos of themselves - it was weird, I thought, that they specifically asked to have the HSBC building in the background?! I obliged them anyway, so they were very happy. Maybe, they were HSBC staff??
Then, I walked further and was soon in the promenade overlooking the Marina Bay, right in front of One Fullerton. I guess you could call me 'sua-ku' but I was surprised to see that one of the many drinking holes there actually had big, square sofa sets laid out in the outdoor refreshment area! The sofas (I suppose they are meant for clubbers to unwind lying down while sipping their drinks? after taking their shoes off?) look exactly like a big double/multiple bed!
When I came to the Merlion Park, many tourists were busy posing for photos with the now-working Merlion. I quite like the spouting Merlion, actually, although it is popularly regarded as nothing more than a tourism symbol of the STB/Singapore.
As I made my way up to the Esplanade Bridge, I suddenly remembered that hey, I had the camera with me! And so, like the other tourists strolling around in the hot sun, I also started to snap some random photos from atop the Esplanade Bridge. All the clicking in this direction and that direction, made me feel very 'touristy'.
When I finally reached the Esplanade, it was such a relief to be in the air-conditioned mall. The decor/exhibition at the atrium has now changed; the lampshades of the hanging lamps looked like some used/unwanted skirts from someone's house, right? But they certainly look quite interesting! Anyway, I certainly prefer this to the broken-wire-mesh or broken-tyre-mess that had been displayed here some time ago. The air-wells were also decorated with some giant flower display.
I found R, WY and WF in the library cafe. By then, I was quite 'shacked-out' by the hot afternoon sun. These 3 boys, seated on the high bar stools at the service counter, were all so 'cool', obviously enjoying their lunch of pasta, nachos and don't-know-what-else and 100% nonchalant about my 'arrival'.
To cool myself down a little, I got myself a Mango smoothie. It cost a bomb and wasn't worth its price. But then, I also sympathise with the cafe operator - if they don't charge a bomb for each of their food item or beverage, how can they survive the ridiculous rents costing them an arm and a leg, too? Sigh.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Good Friday 2009
At the end of our previous outing with the family of WF's 文化艺术团 classmate, Andrew, 2+ months back, we had arranged to go on a picnic at the Marina Barrage on Good Friday because 1) the children will have no lessons (school or enrichment) that day and 2) we all love the Marina Barrage - for its space and its views.
And so, for many weeks, WY and WF had been counting down to Good Friday. R and I discussed and we felt that a picnic, by itself, may seem a little 'dull' for the energetic little ones. So, we 'brainstormed' for a while on what could keep the children occupied while the adults sipped on our drinks (Edward - Andrew's father, had said that he would bring some beautiful red wine).
After much deliberation, we decided that we will let the children have a go at kite-flying! Afterall, WY and WF have never tried to fly kites before, and it would probably be a very refreshing experience for everyone, including R and myself (since we also have never tried flying kites either).
We intitially wanted to keep it a surprise for Andrew's family. But about week before Good Friday, Andrew's mother, Anne, called to check with us what we had planned to do at the picnic. So I told her about the plan to fly kites, after which R and I went about sourcing for the kites.
Surprisingly, there are not many shops selling the easier-to-fly diamond/square kites which we used to see commonly on sale at mama-shops when we were young. Most shops, including big toy departmental stores like ToysRus, carry only the bigger and more elaborate fabric/canvas type. And of course, these are more costly, too.
But being the very resourceful persons we are (ahem, we really are!), I eventually found some 'simple' kites at a rather inconspicuous HDB shop at Chinatown. This shop carries a small range of designs but for us (novices), I decided that they would be good enough. The shopkeeper was very helpful, and after a little sales talk, I paid a total of $16 for 5+1 kites - 4 diamond/square ones (clear plastic, not paper) and 1 fabric/canvas one. They all came with strings twined onto easy-to-grip platics holders.
Later on, we checked with Anne again on the picnic menu and this was our final list: buns, watermelon, cookies and crackers (kerokpok). Our plan was that we would meet at 4:30pm at the Barrage and then after our picnic and kite-flying, we would go for dinner together.
Also, another family of WF's another 文化艺术团 classmate, Zhi'en had agreed to also join us for the picnic and kite-flying. So, the picnic was to be for 12 persons.
***************************
On Good Friday, the skies were relatively clear in the morning. We got a surprise call from Anne, however, at almost noon. She said, "Ay, how ah? It is drizzling quite 'heavily' now at our place leh. What shall we do if it rains later at the Barrage ah?"
Andrew's family lives in the central/western part of Singapore, Ghim Moh. Anne went on to ask, "Er, how about Kallang Leisure Park? Will the children be interested, you think, in maybe ice-skating or bowling or something?"
"Erm, I don't know, actually. The skies look ok here now," I told Anne. Then I tried to reassure her that it was still a good 4 hours or so from our picnic time, so we could see how things go first.
At almost 3pm, R and I brought WY and WF out. Our plan was to go to Raffles City to pick up the cookies from Subway, then proceed to Marina Barrage. WY and WF were especially excited; they both voluntarily carried the kites and crackers (keropok) for our picnic.
We arrived at Raffles City rather early. So we roamed around a little, looking at the new shops that have sprung up since the mall underwent some upgrading 1-2 years ago. We also went to Robinsons, where I bought a UFO gadget for WY. (WY has been tsked to master the gadget and perform for us the UFO show when he's ready.)
At Robinsons, R looked outside the glass windows and saw what he said was a drizzle. Later, we went to MPH at the basement and whilst we were browsing the books, R received a call from Zhi'en's mother, Wendy, telling us that it was raining cats and dogs, so we probably have little choice but to cancel our picnic! After much conferencing over the phone amongst R, Edward and Wendy, it was finally decided that we would give the picnic a miss this time. But we would all still meet for dinner at 6pm at Suntec City.
"Oh, man...." groaned WY and WF when they heard the newest development. WY was rather upset but said in an upbeat voice, "Mum, Dad, maybe the rain will stop before 4:30pm? Perhaps we should still check out the Barrage."
WY was very persistent and it soon rubbed off us. R and I decided, ok, we'll still check out the Barrage and see if the skies would clear by then.
However, we all got a big, rude shock when the car moved out of the basement carpark - it was not raining only cats and dogs! It was more like the tornado had come - the rains were lashing mercilessly and streaks of lightning intermittenly flashed across the sky! I think visbility was about 10m, so I kept reminding R to go slow on the accelerator as we climbed the Benjamin Sheares Bridge.
Meanwhile, WF kept asking earnestly, "Where will Andrew and Zhi'en be? Are they at Marina Barrage already?"
When we arrived at the Barrage, R was able to find a parking lot close to the path leading to the main building. The storm was still very relentless and as we sat in the car waiting for the rain to subside a little before we went out, WY noted how quickly the winds were blowing the clouds westwards towards the land.
After a while, the rain did seem to ease off a little, so we quickly got out from the car and managed to get into the building relatively dry (with the help of 2 giant and one small umbrellas). WF was still asking me, "Now, where is Andrew?"
I had to tell him several times over that the picnic was off, and that we would be meeting his friends only for dinner later. Poor WF was so disappointed, he said indignantly and with his eyes reddened with disappointment, "But we are supposed to have the picnic! And our crackers!"
Fortunately, we had brought the cookies out with us and so we munched on these as we waited the rain out.
R took some photos and video clips of the currents at the crash gates at the Bridge. In the video clip, the currents look 'normal' but they were really quite 'rushy' that afternoon.
We stood around amongst the scattered groups of visitors also forced indoor by the heavy rain. Later, we decided to take a stroll through the Gallery once again. When we arrived at the hall showcasing the model barrage, WY suddenly pointed out to us excitedly, "Mum! Dad! Look! The rain has really stopped!"
After some hesitation (on my part), WY was allowed to go to fetch 2 kites from the car so that he and WF could try flying them. Then we all proceeded to the green roof.
We opened the bags holding the kites and after some fumbling tying the strings to the kites, WY and WF started on the layangs.
To everyone's surprise, WF's kite went into the air in no time! And to WY's 'relief', his also flew up into the sky and was gliding high up there soon after. R and I were quite surprised that the gentle breeze was sufficient to bring and keep the kites up!
While flying the kites, WY and WF met a couple of siblings who seemed very keen to try their hands at flying the kites, too. So WY and WF let them try the kites intermittenly. It's quite amazing how easy it seems to make acquaintances when we are having fun.
Then, later, while flying WY's kite, the boy caused the kite to be gone - it fell into the water. And was eventually washed out into the sea (because the crash gates were still flushing out the water from the reservoir). Although I tried to subtly 'console' WY about his lost kite, I was actually a little put-off by the boy's failure to apologise for the loss. After a while, they left.
R also enjoyed the kite-flying. I saw him tug gently at the remaining kite with (or was it for?) WF. WF gestured to me to join them in the field, but looking at the puddles at its edge, I just smiled and said, "No, no. I take pictures for you!"
We left after another 10 minutes or so, for Suntec City. R and I agreed as we walked towards the car - we will definitely make time for this simple pleasure again some time soon.
The boys were all very excited when they saw one another at Crystal Jade where we were to have dinner together. Dinner was a simple selection of some dishes (mainly for the children) and rice. It was rather noisy that day, so chatting amongst the adults across the big, round table took some effort. I forgot to take any pictures at this light but enjoyable meal.
After dinner, we adjourned to Swensen's for ice-cream. Since R's birthday is in April and he holds a Swensen's VIP card, we also ordered an ice-cream cake for all to share. Coincidentally, Edward's birthday is also in April, and so the cake became the celebration for these 2 April 'boys'.
WF sat with his friends and had a whale of a time 'experimenting' on the dry ice in his 'Volcano' ice-cream. WY shared a chocolate fondue set with R and I. But R hardly ate it because he was too busy taking turns with Edward to 'saw' the ice-cream cake. WF and his friends also came by intermittenly to ask for a marshmallow here and wafer there, depleting the fondue items more quickly than it would otherwise have been. Eventually, I ate only about 10% of the fondue.
We stayed on until about 9:30pm. Just before we parted ways, I gave a $1-dollar coin to each of the 3 boys (WF, Andrew and Zhi'en; Andrew's sister, Lynette didn't want any) to let them get themselves a toy each from the capsule-machines just outside Swensen's.
Edward and his wife, Anne as well as Vincent and his wife, Wendy, agreed that we will try to meet up for an outing again during the June school holidays. This time, we hope the skies will be clear and we can really have a go together at the kites.
And so, for many weeks, WY and WF had been counting down to Good Friday. R and I discussed and we felt that a picnic, by itself, may seem a little 'dull' for the energetic little ones. So, we 'brainstormed' for a while on what could keep the children occupied while the adults sipped on our drinks (Edward - Andrew's father, had said that he would bring some beautiful red wine).
After much deliberation, we decided that we will let the children have a go at kite-flying! Afterall, WY and WF have never tried to fly kites before, and it would probably be a very refreshing experience for everyone, including R and myself (since we also have never tried flying kites either).
We intitially wanted to keep it a surprise for Andrew's family. But about week before Good Friday, Andrew's mother, Anne, called to check with us what we had planned to do at the picnic. So I told her about the plan to fly kites, after which R and I went about sourcing for the kites.
Surprisingly, there are not many shops selling the easier-to-fly diamond/square kites which we used to see commonly on sale at mama-shops when we were young. Most shops, including big toy departmental stores like ToysRus, carry only the bigger and more elaborate fabric/canvas type. And of course, these are more costly, too.
But being the very resourceful persons we are (ahem, we really are!), I eventually found some 'simple' kites at a rather inconspicuous HDB shop at Chinatown. This shop carries a small range of designs but for us (novices), I decided that they would be good enough. The shopkeeper was very helpful, and after a little sales talk, I paid a total of $16 for 5+1 kites - 4 diamond/square ones (clear plastic, not paper) and 1 fabric/canvas one. They all came with strings twined onto easy-to-grip platics holders.
Later on, we checked with Anne again on the picnic menu and this was our final list: buns, watermelon, cookies and crackers (kerokpok). Our plan was that we would meet at 4:30pm at the Barrage and then after our picnic and kite-flying, we would go for dinner together.
Also, another family of WF's another 文化艺术团 classmate, Zhi'en had agreed to also join us for the picnic and kite-flying. So, the picnic was to be for 12 persons.
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On Good Friday, the skies were relatively clear in the morning. We got a surprise call from Anne, however, at almost noon. She said, "Ay, how ah? It is drizzling quite 'heavily' now at our place leh. What shall we do if it rains later at the Barrage ah?"
Andrew's family lives in the central/western part of Singapore, Ghim Moh. Anne went on to ask, "Er, how about Kallang Leisure Park? Will the children be interested, you think, in maybe ice-skating or bowling or something?"
"Erm, I don't know, actually. The skies look ok here now," I told Anne. Then I tried to reassure her that it was still a good 4 hours or so from our picnic time, so we could see how things go first.
At almost 3pm, R and I brought WY and WF out. Our plan was to go to Raffles City to pick up the cookies from Subway, then proceed to Marina Barrage. WY and WF were especially excited; they both voluntarily carried the kites and crackers (keropok) for our picnic.
We arrived at Raffles City rather early. So we roamed around a little, looking at the new shops that have sprung up since the mall underwent some upgrading 1-2 years ago. We also went to Robinsons, where I bought a UFO gadget for WY. (WY has been tsked to master the gadget and perform for us the UFO show when he's ready.)
At Robinsons, R looked outside the glass windows and saw what he said was a drizzle. Later, we went to MPH at the basement and whilst we were browsing the books, R received a call from Zhi'en's mother, Wendy, telling us that it was raining cats and dogs, so we probably have little choice but to cancel our picnic! After much conferencing over the phone amongst R, Edward and Wendy, it was finally decided that we would give the picnic a miss this time. But we would all still meet for dinner at 6pm at Suntec City.
"Oh, man...." groaned WY and WF when they heard the newest development. WY was rather upset but said in an upbeat voice, "Mum, Dad, maybe the rain will stop before 4:30pm? Perhaps we should still check out the Barrage."
WY was very persistent and it soon rubbed off us. R and I decided, ok, we'll still check out the Barrage and see if the skies would clear by then.
However, we all got a big, rude shock when the car moved out of the basement carpark - it was not raining only cats and dogs! It was more like the tornado had come - the rains were lashing mercilessly and streaks of lightning intermittenly flashed across the sky! I think visbility was about 10m, so I kept reminding R to go slow on the accelerator as we climbed the Benjamin Sheares Bridge.
Meanwhile, WF kept asking earnestly, "Where will Andrew and Zhi'en be? Are they at Marina Barrage already?"
When we arrived at the Barrage, R was able to find a parking lot close to the path leading to the main building. The storm was still very relentless and as we sat in the car waiting for the rain to subside a little before we went out, WY noted how quickly the winds were blowing the clouds westwards towards the land.
After a while, the rain did seem to ease off a little, so we quickly got out from the car and managed to get into the building relatively dry (with the help of 2 giant and one small umbrellas). WF was still asking me, "Now, where is Andrew?"
I had to tell him several times over that the picnic was off, and that we would be meeting his friends only for dinner later. Poor WF was so disappointed, he said indignantly and with his eyes reddened with disappointment, "But we are supposed to have the picnic! And our crackers!"
Fortunately, we had brought the cookies out with us and so we munched on these as we waited the rain out.
R took some photos and video clips of the currents at the crash gates at the Bridge. In the video clip, the currents look 'normal' but they were really quite 'rushy' that afternoon.
We stood around amongst the scattered groups of visitors also forced indoor by the heavy rain. Later, we decided to take a stroll through the Gallery once again. When we arrived at the hall showcasing the model barrage, WY suddenly pointed out to us excitedly, "Mum! Dad! Look! The rain has really stopped!"
After some hesitation (on my part), WY was allowed to go to fetch 2 kites from the car so that he and WF could try flying them. Then we all proceeded to the green roof.
We opened the bags holding the kites and after some fumbling tying the strings to the kites, WY and WF started on the layangs.
To everyone's surprise, WF's kite went into the air in no time! And to WY's 'relief', his also flew up into the sky and was gliding high up there soon after. R and I were quite surprised that the gentle breeze was sufficient to bring and keep the kites up!
While flying the kites, WY and WF met a couple of siblings who seemed very keen to try their hands at flying the kites, too. So WY and WF let them try the kites intermittenly. It's quite amazing how easy it seems to make acquaintances when we are having fun.
Then, later, while flying WY's kite, the boy caused the kite to be gone - it fell into the water. And was eventually washed out into the sea (because the crash gates were still flushing out the water from the reservoir). Although I tried to subtly 'console' WY about his lost kite, I was actually a little put-off by the boy's failure to apologise for the loss. After a while, they left.
R also enjoyed the kite-flying. I saw him tug gently at the remaining kite with (or was it for?) WF. WF gestured to me to join them in the field, but looking at the puddles at its edge, I just smiled and said, "No, no. I take pictures for you!"
We left after another 10 minutes or so, for Suntec City. R and I agreed as we walked towards the car - we will definitely make time for this simple pleasure again some time soon.
The boys were all very excited when they saw one another at Crystal Jade where we were to have dinner together. Dinner was a simple selection of some dishes (mainly for the children) and rice. It was rather noisy that day, so chatting amongst the adults across the big, round table took some effort. I forgot to take any pictures at this light but enjoyable meal.
After dinner, we adjourned to Swensen's for ice-cream. Since R's birthday is in April and he holds a Swensen's VIP card, we also ordered an ice-cream cake for all to share. Coincidentally, Edward's birthday is also in April, and so the cake became the celebration for these 2 April 'boys'.
WF sat with his friends and had a whale of a time 'experimenting' on the dry ice in his 'Volcano' ice-cream. WY shared a chocolate fondue set with R and I. But R hardly ate it because he was too busy taking turns with Edward to 'saw' the ice-cream cake. WF and his friends also came by intermittenly to ask for a marshmallow here and wafer there, depleting the fondue items more quickly than it would otherwise have been. Eventually, I ate only about 10% of the fondue.
We stayed on until about 9:30pm. Just before we parted ways, I gave a $1-dollar coin to each of the 3 boys (WF, Andrew and Zhi'en; Andrew's sister, Lynette didn't want any) to let them get themselves a toy each from the capsule-machines just outside Swensen's.
Edward and his wife, Anne as well as Vincent and his wife, Wendy, agreed that we will try to meet up for an outing again during the June school holidays. This time, we hope the skies will be clear and we can really have a go together at the kites.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Food Poisoning
News headlines yesterday and today: 'Woman dead after eating at Geylang Serai food stall' is so scary. I never knew that food poisoning can actually kill.There was once, I remember, many years ago when CP, R and I had food poisoning after a dinner bought from Geylang East. CP and I had quite a bad bout of diarrhoea and some vomiting within hours of each other; I think CP's was worse than mine. Weirdly, though, R had some stomach cramps only.
We had suspected that the culprit was the Indian rojak from a stall in Geylang East then. So, we reported that stall to NEA (in those days, it was called ENV). The ENV investigation yielded nothing, so there wasn't anything we could do - not that we would have done anything either, if the investigation had thrown up some evidence.
Later on, however, I suddenly remembered that dinner that day, we had also taken some steamed chicken. Given that cooked chicken left in the open is very prone to becoming contaminated, on reflection, I think the real culprit might have been the chicken rather than the Indian rojak. This is consistent with the extent of the diarrhoea we had - CP had taken the most chicken (hence the worst diarrhoea), and R the least (hence no diahhroea,just some cramps); all 3 of us had taken an almost equal amount of Indian rojak.
Anyway, we recovered. And henceforth, I am very wary of eating steamed chicken for dinner. (In a course at NUS during my JC days, a lecturer had taught us that steamed chicken - usually hung up after being cooked - would be a great host to a whole lot of bacteria which starts to build up from the time the chicken is cooked to the time it finally gets into our stomach.) But to think that a person can actually die from food poisoning! I mean, what a 冤枉 way to pass on!
I sympathise with the poor woman who had died and her family. I hope the survivors recover well.
Valentine's Day 2009
On Valentine's Day this year, we went to CP's place for dinner. CP got some VD presents for the children:
WF, J and S were especially delighted at these sweeties. WF and J each had several servings of the mashmallows, I think. :)
WF, J and S were especially delighted at these sweeties. WF and J each had several servings of the mashmallows, I think. :)
Stained 'Glass' Colouring
When WY was about 4-5 years old, we were very much into stained 'glass' colouring. Basically, it's putting colour paint onto plastic moulded into different figures/shapes. R, WY and I loved it tremendously.
It was easy - no brush was needed. It was 'free-and-easy' - there was no fixed rule on what colour should be applied on each segment. It was fun - many possible colour combinations were free for us to explore. And best of all, it was clean - no mess!
So, during those times, R and I bought many plastic moulds of varying designs and sizes each time we went to the bookshops. Some of the moulds were sold in sets; others were for us to choose. The paints usually came in small and slim bottles, handy for WY's (little then) hands. Some paints were 'matt'; some had glitter in them.
We all completed countless pieces of this art. Unfortunately, we were not systematic about keeping them after we had completed them. Many were lying around, collecting dust in every other corner of the house. We had meant to string them up to decorate the windows, but somehow, we always procrastinated and never got about to do it. As a result, many were discarded/lost after a while.
Eventually, when we did some spring-cleaning 1-2 years ago, we gathered some of the coloured stained 'glass' pieces still around. Some of the pieces were done together with WS, too. Not knowing what exactly to do with them, I suggested to WY to let CP have them. WY agreed excitedly because he knew that CP would be able to appreciate all the hard work we had put in these.
However, CP was at first rather sceptical of these seemingly useless stuff. In fact, she had hesitated on accepting them at first. But I managed to persuade her to keep them.
This CNY, CP put these stained 'glass' pieces up on her wall outside her bedrooms. When we visited during CNY, I was very surprised to see how she had them mounted on the wall (instead of having them stringed up and hung).
Ah, I was so overcome with a deep sense of nostalgia when I saw them. It felt as if it had been just last week when we were poring over the plastic moulds to painstakingly add the colour paints to them......
It was easy - no brush was needed. It was 'free-and-easy' - there was no fixed rule on what colour should be applied on each segment. It was fun - many possible colour combinations were free for us to explore. And best of all, it was clean - no mess!
So, during those times, R and I bought many plastic moulds of varying designs and sizes each time we went to the bookshops. Some of the moulds were sold in sets; others were for us to choose. The paints usually came in small and slim bottles, handy for WY's (little then) hands. Some paints were 'matt'; some had glitter in them.
We all completed countless pieces of this art. Unfortunately, we were not systematic about keeping them after we had completed them. Many were lying around, collecting dust in every other corner of the house. We had meant to string them up to decorate the windows, but somehow, we always procrastinated and never got about to do it. As a result, many were discarded/lost after a while.
Eventually, when we did some spring-cleaning 1-2 years ago, we gathered some of the coloured stained 'glass' pieces still around. Some of the pieces were done together with WS, too. Not knowing what exactly to do with them, I suggested to WY to let CP have them. WY agreed excitedly because he knew that CP would be able to appreciate all the hard work we had put in these.
However, CP was at first rather sceptical of these seemingly useless stuff. In fact, she had hesitated on accepting them at first. But I managed to persuade her to keep them.
This CNY, CP put these stained 'glass' pieces up on her wall outside her bedrooms. When we visited during CNY, I was very surprised to see how she had them mounted on the wall (instead of having them stringed up and hung).
Ah, I was so overcome with a deep sense of nostalgia when I saw them. It felt as if it had been just last week when we were poring over the plastic moulds to painstakingly add the colour paints to them......
Wushu Competition 2009
This year, WY was entered for the Wushu Competition for 南拳 which was an 'individual' assessment. The Competition was held at Tao Nan School.
The wait for WY's item took a long long time. We could see that WY and his team members were already tired out from the long wait. We ourselves were also quite 'sian' standing, then sitting, around.
After a long while, WY and his team mates finally changed into their costumes. But it's weird that the coach did not get them to do some warm-up exercises etc. They all just continued to sit around in their cluster.
R and I tried to cajoule WY to do at least some stretching along the corridor outside the hall. He got up reluctantly, and to his greater dismay, I asked for a few photo shots. See the unwillingness in his expression?
Everyone in the hall had their eyes fixated on the contestants in the courts. There were 2 courts that day. During our stay, the contestants were mostly being assessed in 拳: 南拳、长拳、舞拳 and 长枪 (only younger children for this).
Some contestants were really quite good. They had the '劲' and powerful strikes most of the time. So these performances kept us entertained. But others, including WY, had vast room for improvement. Mostly, they did not have the 'force' - 劲 in their strikes.
We learnt that the contestants were required to complete their set in a given time; if they finished before the time, they would be penalised ('insufficient time'). Other penalties we observed that afternoon were 'starting position incorrect', 'ending position incorrect', 'incomplete steps' and 'incorrect steps'. There were even 2-3 contestants who gave up midway because they couldn't remember their strokes. No score was given for such 'give-ups'.
As we waited for WY to come on, I told R that WY had not been practising very much this year. In fact, he had found out all the 南拳strokes only about 2-3 weeks ago, right? And we never ever saw him practise even once at home.
Anyway, we think he put on his best performance he could manage that day. But WY was disappointed at his score of 6+ points although personally, I think it was quite a commendable achievement.
To cheer him up a little, we bought him a snack as we went to KHS to pick WF up. In the car, R suggested to WY that he should now 'teach' R the 南拳 set, so that both father and son can practise and master it together. (So far, I haven't seen this materialise yet - the morning stretching exercises that they are both supposed to do, haven't been really regular yet.)
The wait for WY's item took a long long time. We could see that WY and his team members were already tired out from the long wait. We ourselves were also quite 'sian' standing, then sitting, around.
After a long while, WY and his team mates finally changed into their costumes. But it's weird that the coach did not get them to do some warm-up exercises etc. They all just continued to sit around in their cluster.
R and I tried to cajoule WY to do at least some stretching along the corridor outside the hall. He got up reluctantly, and to his greater dismay, I asked for a few photo shots. See the unwillingness in his expression?
Everyone in the hall had their eyes fixated on the contestants in the courts. There were 2 courts that day. During our stay, the contestants were mostly being assessed in 拳: 南拳、长拳、舞拳 and 长枪 (only younger children for this).
Some contestants were really quite good. They had the '劲' and powerful strikes most of the time. So these performances kept us entertained. But others, including WY, had vast room for improvement. Mostly, they did not have the 'force' - 劲 in their strikes.
We learnt that the contestants were required to complete their set in a given time; if they finished before the time, they would be penalised ('insufficient time'). Other penalties we observed that afternoon were 'starting position incorrect', 'ending position incorrect', 'incomplete steps' and 'incorrect steps'. There were even 2-3 contestants who gave up midway because they couldn't remember their strokes. No score was given for such 'give-ups'.
As we waited for WY to come on, I told R that WY had not been practising very much this year. In fact, he had found out all the 南拳strokes only about 2-3 weeks ago, right? And we never ever saw him practise even once at home.
Anyway, we think he put on his best performance he could manage that day. But WY was disappointed at his score of 6+ points although personally, I think it was quite a commendable achievement.
To cheer him up a little, we bought him a snack as we went to KHS to pick WF up. In the car, R suggested to WY that he should now 'teach' R the 南拳 set, so that both father and son can practise and master it together. (So far, I haven't seen this materialise yet - the morning stretching exercises that they are both supposed to do, haven't been really regular yet.)
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