Young people love cars. The moment they reach the age they can drive, they will bug you to pay for their driving lessons.
After 2 cases of 'licence' abuse (one by the elder sister and the other by the driver), Tim decided to put the brakes on paying for the licence of the youngest daughter. Despite her badgering, complaining, nagging and arguing, daddy would not budge. He said that there was only 2 cars in the family, one for him and the other for the brother to drive to college. Amanda, the ever determined girl she was, decided to work to save money to pay for her licence.
A very noble thought indeed but I have learnt that sometimes the glam and the glitter of KL shopping malls (modern temple, as a preacher called it!) will quickly put paid to any ideas of saving for driving lessons, purchase of cars or holidays or whatever else....alas after deducting EPF, SOCSO and all her shopping bills at Uniclo (you guess it she worked there and was tempted by the staff discounts) nothing much was left for her at the end of the day. The only treat she probably gave us with her pay (unless my memory failed me) was a MacD big breakfast on the way to Singapore during our March holiday this year on the ship, Libra.
At the end of the day, mummy had to graciously give her some money to help pay for her driving lessons (as an ample excuse in case daddy asked mummy, we conspired to say that it was an ang pow for her for good results). However this is a fact which cannot be denied as she did get sterling results for her second re-sit of the Maths, Bio and Chemistry paper for her Foundation in Science.
Anyway, she just completed her driving exam. Whilst all of us passed ours at first try, mummy being the oldest at 34 (yep, that's how old I was when I took up the wheels but I passed) she made family history by being the first to fail her exam!
I wonder who is going to pay for the repeat lessons? Don't look at me!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Sweet girl
Each child in my family is unique. They are really specially created by God to fit into our family. My eldest daughter is a lovely and mature girl, wise beyond her years. My son is funny, jovial and a quiet person but my youngest girl is really sweet. Amanda is my constant companion whenever she is home. She finds time to be with me and to go shopping with me or just generally chit chat. I love to hear her playing on the piano, singing and talking in her lilting voice.
The other day, she took my hand and told me "Mummy I pray for you everyday. I pray that you don't get cancer." As it turns out, one of her friend's mum had cancer at a young age and he had to skip a year of uni to take care of her. Amanda told me that she prayed hard for me that I won't get cancer as she loved me so much.
It is moments like this that makes you weak in the knees and brings tears to your eyes. How wonderful to have your children telling you that they love you so much....
Amanda suggested that we visit the mother of her friend who was recovering from cancer and I willingly took her there. Her loving and kind heart has touched me once again....I must have done something right in bringing her up....
The other day, she took my hand and told me "Mummy I pray for you everyday. I pray that you don't get cancer." As it turns out, one of her friend's mum had cancer at a young age and he had to skip a year of uni to take care of her. Amanda told me that she prayed hard for me that I won't get cancer as she loved me so much.
It is moments like this that makes you weak in the knees and brings tears to your eyes. How wonderful to have your children telling you that they love you so much....
Amanda suggested that we visit the mother of her friend who was recovering from cancer and I willingly took her there. Her loving and kind heart has touched me once again....I must have done something right in bringing her up....
Stress
What do you do when your young adult tells you that he is stressed out by his studies?
I have experienced stress in my job. That's because I use my brain, eyes and grey matter quite a bit and I work more than 8 hours a day..... but a young person telling you he is stressed? Apparently this comment seems to be commonplace nowadays. My god grandson was saying to his friend that school stresses him out! I was rather shocked when I heard it. Stressed in studies? I wonder what will happen to them when they come out to work.
Well in Samuel's case, he decided to do something about the stress. He made the decision (without consulting us) to skip one term of college and take a break from his studies. We thought that he was going for classes as he left and came back at his usual time. Later we found out that he did go back to college but only to play badminton.
Imagine our shock when we found out during his Uni open day, that he had opted out for a term to escape the stress of studies. That really made the father boiled. He was on the war path with his son and there was a shouting match at home. When the situation calmed down, we realized that what's done is done and we had to leave him be. At 21, we really could not take the belt or spank him across his buttocks or give him a tight slap. Yelling and screaming did not changed the status quo. My son is as stubborn as he can be, just like his father. That leaves me the mother peacemaker having to sit down and ask him some probing questions on why he did what he did.
We sought counselling from his teachers and decided to let him take his course at the pace that's best suited for him. After all he had 5 years to finish his diploma. So what if at 25, others would have graduated with a degree ahead of him (especially his younger sister) and that he had only a diploma.
When something like this happens, we will often try to evaluate where we have failed in our parenting duties. Oftentimes I will also compare him with other young adults who seem more to be more accomplished than him.
I have decided to let him be. He is 21. If he finds his studies stressful and that he needs a longer time to complete his course, I will have to accept it. It is his life and his future. The more important thing is for him to graduate one day. I am looking forward to that.
I have experienced stress in my job. That's because I use my brain, eyes and grey matter quite a bit and I work more than 8 hours a day..... but a young person telling you he is stressed? Apparently this comment seems to be commonplace nowadays. My god grandson was saying to his friend that school stresses him out! I was rather shocked when I heard it. Stressed in studies? I wonder what will happen to them when they come out to work.
Well in Samuel's case, he decided to do something about the stress. He made the decision (without consulting us) to skip one term of college and take a break from his studies. We thought that he was going for classes as he left and came back at his usual time. Later we found out that he did go back to college but only to play badminton.
Imagine our shock when we found out during his Uni open day, that he had opted out for a term to escape the stress of studies. That really made the father boiled. He was on the war path with his son and there was a shouting match at home. When the situation calmed down, we realized that what's done is done and we had to leave him be. At 21, we really could not take the belt or spank him across his buttocks or give him a tight slap. Yelling and screaming did not changed the status quo. My son is as stubborn as he can be, just like his father. That leaves me the mother peacemaker having to sit down and ask him some probing questions on why he did what he did.
We sought counselling from his teachers and decided to let him take his course at the pace that's best suited for him. After all he had 5 years to finish his diploma. So what if at 25, others would have graduated with a degree ahead of him (especially his younger sister) and that he had only a diploma.
When something like this happens, we will often try to evaluate where we have failed in our parenting duties. Oftentimes I will also compare him with other young adults who seem more to be more accomplished than him.
I have decided to let him be. He is 21. If he finds his studies stressful and that he needs a longer time to complete his course, I will have to accept it. It is his life and his future. The more important thing is for him to graduate one day. I am looking forward to that.
Money matters
Normally before Tim and I embark on our travels, we will count the pocket money we give the children and give them a little extra just in case of emergencies. It is not uncommon for us to give the young adults RM500 to RM700 before we depart for a 10 day sorjourn overseas. The money is to cover their food and transport and other expenses for the entire time we were away.
Usually it is enough. Except for the 14 day holiday we took to England this year when Amanda blogged to say that she missed us so much (that entry really made my day) the India trip was well managed in terms of finances for them. For the England trip, her money just ended a day before we returned and she was 'desperate' to get more money from me. For India, she had to dip into the emergency funds I left her as she had to pay for school books and other stuff.
Well, its understandable that there will be minuses in the budget especially in dealing with young adults. They must have their MacD's or KFC's or their Starbucks or movies or the occasional dates. They also need now and then to buy the latest concert tickets like Planet Shakers and maybe the latest t-shirts at Uniclo which happen to be on sale. It is inevitable that we as parents have to cough up some of the money to pay for the occasional treat!
In order to maintain good relationship with them, we have to be generous when it comes to allowances and not be tight-fisted. Money goes a long way to build relationships. Giving them a lump sum to handle each time we travel helps them to learn responsibility and accountability in the handling of their funds.
Money does matter to young adults and you have a winnable formula if you are willing to dip into your pockets for the little luxuries they will ask you now and then to finance.
Usually it is enough. Except for the 14 day holiday we took to England this year when Amanda blogged to say that she missed us so much (that entry really made my day) the India trip was well managed in terms of finances for them. For the England trip, her money just ended a day before we returned and she was 'desperate' to get more money from me. For India, she had to dip into the emergency funds I left her as she had to pay for school books and other stuff.
Well, its understandable that there will be minuses in the budget especially in dealing with young adults. They must have their MacD's or KFC's or their Starbucks or movies or the occasional dates. They also need now and then to buy the latest concert tickets like Planet Shakers and maybe the latest t-shirts at Uniclo which happen to be on sale. It is inevitable that we as parents have to cough up some of the money to pay for the occasional treat!
In order to maintain good relationship with them, we have to be generous when it comes to allowances and not be tight-fisted. Money goes a long way to build relationships. Giving them a lump sum to handle each time we travel helps them to learn responsibility and accountability in the handling of their funds.
Money does matter to young adults and you have a winnable formula if you are willing to dip into your pockets for the little luxuries they will ask you now and then to finance.
Samuel's new passion
Well, my son is staying home more nowadays. I think there is something about pets that bring out the loving nature in children and even young adults. Since getting the family of hamsters from his younger sister, I can see that he has enjoyed taking care of them, feeding them and playing with them.
All their previous hamsters have died an untimely death. Tim just cannot stand the sight of hamster parents biting off the heads of their young ones. According to Amanda, we should not be touching the babies too much. It is the human touch smell that triggers the 'killer instinct'. The other thing that Tim absolutely dislikes is the hamsters escaping from their cage and biting the sofa sets in the house. As long as they were kept inside Sam's room, it was fine with him.
So far so good I must say....at least I don't see him playing computer games like crazy before. He used to sit in front of the PC from the time he woke up (usually 4 pm) till 4 am in the morning!
Pets, no matter what shape and sizes does do something to the children! Somehow it makes them more responsible and caring and brings out tenderness and love in them.
All their previous hamsters have died an untimely death. Tim just cannot stand the sight of hamster parents biting off the heads of their young ones. According to Amanda, we should not be touching the babies too much. It is the human touch smell that triggers the 'killer instinct'. The other thing that Tim absolutely dislikes is the hamsters escaping from their cage and biting the sofa sets in the house. As long as they were kept inside Sam's room, it was fine with him.
So far so good I must say....at least I don't see him playing computer games like crazy before. He used to sit in front of the PC from the time he woke up (usually 4 pm) till 4 am in the morning!
Pets, no matter what shape and sizes does do something to the children! Somehow it makes them more responsible and caring and brings out tenderness and love in them.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Kew Gardens
We had to take the tube to a village called Kew in order to visit the famed gardens. At the village, we sat down for lunch at a country shop selling fish and chips. Kew village reminded us of the small villages north of Newcastle. It was quiet and had quaint speciality shops selling all kinds of stuff that were uniquely English. I am always fascinated by the English butchers as they operate from shops and display their ham and sausages in glass showcases. I love looking at the different meats on display. After a good meal, we were ready for our long walk! One had to be physically fit to move around in London. Imagine walking over 6 hours a day traversing the tube up and down the stairs and then walking again once we reached our destination.
Kew gardens does not charge visitors but do accept donations in order to ensure that the gardens are well cared for and beautifully manicured. Many themed gardens such as tropical, alpine, japanese, chinese, mediteranean dot the landscape of the gardens. The Princess of Wales greenhouse is located here. However because of the garden's sheer size it is practically impossible to see it all in one day. Almost 3 hours admiring the gardens, the green houses and exploring some of the themed gardens, my legs were giving up on me. I gave up and opted to wait for Tim at the cafe. The cafe itself was interesting with many items that were perculiar only to the gardens like potted plants, postcards of the flowers, pots and seedlings. There was also chocolates specially packed for sale at Kew. I bought some unusual chocolates like the sea-salt and elderflower bars to give away as gifts.
After about an hour or so, Tim returned from exploring the gardens and told me that he too could not visit all of the themed gardens. On the way back to the station, we stopped at the butchers (I was admiring the showcases earlier) and bought 2 ham and chicken french loaf for our dinner. The sandwiches were fresh and tasty but did not quite satisfy our hunger.
We then made the journey back to Southwark for Anne Boleyn. I sat in the gentlemen's box on a very high stool which was not comfortable at all. However it was better than the crowd standing and watching the play. All in all, it was a bit of a dissapointment as I could not hear the dialogue (the actors and actresses did not use any mircrophone or sound systerm). I was a bit envious of the standing crowd who was laughing away at the jokes of Henry the 8th!
Tim met me after the show at the entrance of the teater. He had a good time taking pictures of London by night. We then took a train back to Lambeth North and ordered chicken chow mein takeaway from any Chinese takeaway near the hotel. The chow mein had bits of char siew and onions and was delicious. The only setback was that it was cooked with bean sprouts, which I did not like.
I woke up at 3 am and decided to go the 24 hour store opposite the hotel to buy a bottle of aspirin. With 2 aspirins, I managed to sleep till about 7 in the morning. I was still in the throes of my jet lag.....
Kew gardens does not charge visitors but do accept donations in order to ensure that the gardens are well cared for and beautifully manicured. Many themed gardens such as tropical, alpine, japanese, chinese, mediteranean dot the landscape of the gardens. The Princess of Wales greenhouse is located here. However because of the garden's sheer size it is practically impossible to see it all in one day. Almost 3 hours admiring the gardens, the green houses and exploring some of the themed gardens, my legs were giving up on me. I gave up and opted to wait for Tim at the cafe. The cafe itself was interesting with many items that were perculiar only to the gardens like potted plants, postcards of the flowers, pots and seedlings. There was also chocolates specially packed for sale at Kew. I bought some unusual chocolates like the sea-salt and elderflower bars to give away as gifts.
After about an hour or so, Tim returned from exploring the gardens and told me that he too could not visit all of the themed gardens. On the way back to the station, we stopped at the butchers (I was admiring the showcases earlier) and bought 2 ham and chicken french loaf for our dinner. The sandwiches were fresh and tasty but did not quite satisfy our hunger.
We then made the journey back to Southwark for Anne Boleyn. I sat in the gentlemen's box on a very high stool which was not comfortable at all. However it was better than the crowd standing and watching the play. All in all, it was a bit of a dissapointment as I could not hear the dialogue (the actors and actresses did not use any mircrophone or sound systerm). I was a bit envious of the standing crowd who was laughing away at the jokes of Henry the 8th!
Tim met me after the show at the entrance of the teater. He had a good time taking pictures of London by night. We then took a train back to Lambeth North and ordered chicken chow mein takeaway from any Chinese takeaway near the hotel. The chow mein had bits of char siew and onions and was delicious. The only setback was that it was cooked with bean sprouts, which I did not like.
I woke up at 3 am and decided to go the 24 hour store opposite the hotel to buy a bottle of aspirin. With 2 aspirins, I managed to sleep till about 7 in the morning. I was still in the throes of my jet lag.....
Globe Teater
On our second day we had breakfast at Costa, a cafe next door to the hotel. We had croissants, tea and coffee. After breakfast, we took the Jubilee line to Waterloo station. At the Waterloo intersection, we took the grey line (District line) to Southwark for our guided tour of the Globe Teater.
Tim had booked a visit to Globe Teater on the internet before our London trip. Before the tour, there was an exhibition on Shakespeare, his works, his life and his plays. A very animated guide took us on a tour around the teater. The heart of the teater is a circular open-air teater with seats in an ascending manner and arranged in a semi-circle. The seats looked out onto a stage with an extended platform in the middle of the stage. Unlike the stage which is covered, the extended platform is not. Spectators can buy tickets for shows performed on the stage, the cheapest being the 'standing' ticket i.e standing up in the open space before the stage to watch plays being performed. GBP 5 for 2 hours standing up watching a play with a 15 minute toilet break!
The roof covered the ascending seats. According to the guide, the straw and hay used to make the roof had to be imported with Norway as England had run out of it due to global warming! Over time, due to pollution the straw changed to a silvery grey from its original color of golden brown. The seats and the teater were made of oak with nary a nail in place. What held them together was only giant wooden pegs! Amazing.
In the 1600, Shakespeare's plays were performed for the working folks at 1 p per show standing up. For those desiring to sit in the stalls or the gentlemen's box i.e where the gentitlity sat be prepared to pay up to GBP75. In fact when the queen attended one of the shows at the teater, she sat at the gentlemen's box. There were also seats or stalls with railings for the more bawdy kind. The railings were to prevent the drunkards from falling over onto the stage below! In those days going to the teater like the Globe Teater was like going to the cinema. On the spur of the moment I decided to buy the last seat in the gentlemen's box i.e. seat no: 6 for the 7.30 pm show of Anne Boleyn. Tim decided to spend the time taking pictures of London after.
However as the guided tour ended about 11 am and we had time to spare before the show at night, we decided to visit Kew Gardens.
Tim had booked a visit to Globe Teater on the internet before our London trip. Before the tour, there was an exhibition on Shakespeare, his works, his life and his plays. A very animated guide took us on a tour around the teater. The heart of the teater is a circular open-air teater with seats in an ascending manner and arranged in a semi-circle. The seats looked out onto a stage with an extended platform in the middle of the stage. Unlike the stage which is covered, the extended platform is not. Spectators can buy tickets for shows performed on the stage, the cheapest being the 'standing' ticket i.e standing up in the open space before the stage to watch plays being performed. GBP 5 for 2 hours standing up watching a play with a 15 minute toilet break!
The roof covered the ascending seats. According to the guide, the straw and hay used to make the roof had to be imported with Norway as England had run out of it due to global warming! Over time, due to pollution the straw changed to a silvery grey from its original color of golden brown. The seats and the teater were made of oak with nary a nail in place. What held them together was only giant wooden pegs! Amazing.
In the 1600, Shakespeare's plays were performed for the working folks at 1 p per show standing up. For those desiring to sit in the stalls or the gentlemen's box i.e where the gentitlity sat be prepared to pay up to GBP75. In fact when the queen attended one of the shows at the teater, she sat at the gentlemen's box. There were also seats or stalls with railings for the more bawdy kind. The railings were to prevent the drunkards from falling over onto the stage below! In those days going to the teater like the Globe Teater was like going to the cinema. On the spur of the moment I decided to buy the last seat in the gentlemen's box i.e. seat no: 6 for the 7.30 pm show of Anne Boleyn. Tim decided to spend the time taking pictures of London after.
However as the guided tour ended about 11 am and we had time to spare before the show at night, we decided to visit Kew Gardens.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
First night in London
As it was still very bright (in summer, the sun sets only about 9.30 pm), we took a walk to the Imperial War Musuem. We saw some graduates having a dinner reception in the garden of the Musuem. We took photos posing beside a huge cannon and some of the lovely flowers grown in the gardens. In Britain, lovely flowers of all colors and designs bloom freely especially in parks and gardens.
We took a slow walk along the river Thames. We saw many big and small ships carrying tourists on board. Almost every major city in England is located near a river. For e.g. Newcastle upon Tyne is located on the Tyne river. Arundell is located on the river Avon. Llangollen is on the river Dee. London on the river Thames. Many centuries ago, the river Thames was a bustling commercial waterway on which many merchant ships sailed up and down loading and off-loading their wares. It was the Thames river that brought about London's economic prosperity. Life revolved around the rivers in every major cities in England!
We saw many cyclists and joggers along the banks of the river. The beautiful Westminster and the Houses of Parliament are located here along the river banks. Malaysia's parliamentary democracy is based on the Westminster model. To see the intricate and detailed building from afar with its golden hues practically shimmering in the setting sun was something special. It was simply stunning and truly an architectural marvel!
I bought the local mobile phone pack for GBP10 called Lycamobile at the convenience store opposite our hotel. It was really cost savings as I still had credit left even when I left England!
We ate at Meeting Point, a chinese restaurant that opened till past 11 pm near the hotel. For GBP15.90 we had spring rolls, soup and rice with chinese and pork dishes ladled onto our plate. It was a bargain by London standards as we were also given fresh fruits and a pot of chinese tea. Despite the heavy meal, I woke up at 1 am and could not sleep till 6 am....was it the jet lag or the chinese tea?
We took a slow walk along the river Thames. We saw many big and small ships carrying tourists on board. Almost every major city in England is located near a river. For e.g. Newcastle upon Tyne is located on the Tyne river. Arundell is located on the river Avon. Llangollen is on the river Dee. London on the river Thames. Many centuries ago, the river Thames was a bustling commercial waterway on which many merchant ships sailed up and down loading and off-loading their wares. It was the Thames river that brought about London's economic prosperity. Life revolved around the rivers in every major cities in England!
We saw many cyclists and joggers along the banks of the river. The beautiful Westminster and the Houses of Parliament are located here along the river banks. Malaysia's parliamentary democracy is based on the Westminster model. To see the intricate and detailed building from afar with its golden hues practically shimmering in the setting sun was something special. It was simply stunning and truly an architectural marvel!
I bought the local mobile phone pack for GBP10 called Lycamobile at the convenience store opposite our hotel. It was really cost savings as I still had credit left even when I left England!
We ate at Meeting Point, a chinese restaurant that opened till past 11 pm near the hotel. For GBP15.90 we had spring rolls, soup and rice with chinese and pork dishes ladled onto our plate. It was a bargain by London standards as we were also given fresh fruits and a pot of chinese tea. Despite the heavy meal, I woke up at 1 am and could not sleep till 6 am....was it the jet lag or the chinese tea?
Heathrow and the tubes
First time in Colombo and we could not see much of the city in the dark. The van took us past winding roads to a seaside hotel called Jetwing Star. Opposite the hotel we could see rows and rows of shops and restaurants very much like Tanjung Bungah in Penang. Although it was almost 11 pm, the shops and restaurants were still opened. The hotel is a 5 star hotel located near the ocean. The moment we stepped into the cool interior, we could hear the roar of the ocean. It felt like the ocean was just at our doorstep! We could smell and feel the salty tang of the sea. The friendly receptionist and waiter served us a glass of papaya juice each and it was delicious. I loved papaya but papaya juice.....? This was something unique.
We were led to our room. There was a big comfortable bed almost 10 inch thick. It was a marvel because the bed was placed on a cement platform! We marveled at the bathroom. With its brown marbled floor and our essential toiletries in little gunny sacks, we were thanking Air Lanka for this special treat! The room itself was really 5 star by any standards. Unique lampshade accentuated the white marbled floor and brown wooden walls. We were told that dinner was free. We took some photos at the poolside and had dinner at the restaurant facing the roaring sea. We had fruits and cauliflower soup....again something unique to Colombo.
We slept fitfully and had to wake up at about 2.30 pm to wait for the van to take us to the airport. To our surprise the van driver could speak good English. However when we gave him RM5, he asked for RM10 instead saying that he can change it for 50 rupees. We said no! This was something we did not quite like about Colombo. Even in the airport toilet, the cleaning lady waits upon us to hand out toilet tissue and then ask for money!
Will we make a trip to Colombo? After the experience of losing my neck pillow in the van (I was very sure that I lost it while getting down from it), I will not give it a priority that's for sure.
An 8-hour flight took us to Heathrow. Why is it that whatever my meal choice for breakfast and lunch could not be accomodated by the air stewardess? On both occasions I was given what I did not ask for. Some kind of cheesy seafood with rice and vegetarian vermicelli which tasted dry.
We reached Heathrow Terminal 4 (I don't know why there were so many terminals). We were really tired after the long flight. We had to take a red Avis bus to Avis office to confirm our car booking. Avis allowed us to take the car from their office near Waterloo station on the 1st of August as coming back to Heathrow would be really troublesome. From Avis, we took the bus provided to Hatton Cross station at Terminal 5 to Picadilly Circus. From Picadilly Circus, we then took the tube running on the Bakerloo line to Lambeth North.
This was to be our routine for the next one week in London, getting on tubes, changing tubes, checking out the different colored lines on the signboards to find out how to go from one place to another. The most convenient and cheapest way to travel around in London is by the tube or the underground stations. You could get from one town to another just by changing trains. Trains run on different lines for e.g. Bakerloo, Picadilly, Victoria, Central London. Waterloo, Kew, Lambeth North and others. They are denoted by different colors such as white, black, blue, green, yellow, red. You just need to check out the different lines on the many signboards all over the station and then disembark and embark on the stations where the train lines intersect.
If you know English, you can never get lost in London as the signs are really really clear and are located everywhere in the stations. You only need a strong pair of legs and hands if you are carrying luggage as there are long flights of stairs to climb in order to change stations (not all the undergrounds have lifts or escalators).
At GBP7 a day, you can hop on hop off at different stations the whole day long and travel the length and breadth of London.
At Lambeth North, Tune hotel (our home for the next one week in London) was just a block away from the station. Facing the hotel was 2 chinese restaurants and a 24-hour convenience store. A very good location indeed!
For GBP 65 a night per room, Tune hotel is a bargain! TV is free for the first 24 hours, thereafter GBP 10 for the duration of our stay. Breakfast is GBP5 per day (we only paid for 3 days). New towels and toiletries will all be charged extra. London is expensive but Tune hotel is considered cheap compared with the other London hotels (some charged upto GBP 100 a day).
Our hotel room is windowless so we lost track of night and day. There was no wardrobe (we had to hang our clothes on racks above the mirror). The only was to keep our luggage and boxes was under our bed. However it was clean and the bed and pillows were super-comfortable. The toilet was very small but clean.
More coming up.....
We were led to our room. There was a big comfortable bed almost 10 inch thick. It was a marvel because the bed was placed on a cement platform! We marveled at the bathroom. With its brown marbled floor and our essential toiletries in little gunny sacks, we were thanking Air Lanka for this special treat! The room itself was really 5 star by any standards. Unique lampshade accentuated the white marbled floor and brown wooden walls. We were told that dinner was free. We took some photos at the poolside and had dinner at the restaurant facing the roaring sea. We had fruits and cauliflower soup....again something unique to Colombo.
We slept fitfully and had to wake up at about 2.30 pm to wait for the van to take us to the airport. To our surprise the van driver could speak good English. However when we gave him RM5, he asked for RM10 instead saying that he can change it for 50 rupees. We said no! This was something we did not quite like about Colombo. Even in the airport toilet, the cleaning lady waits upon us to hand out toilet tissue and then ask for money!
Will we make a trip to Colombo? After the experience of losing my neck pillow in the van (I was very sure that I lost it while getting down from it), I will not give it a priority that's for sure.
An 8-hour flight took us to Heathrow. Why is it that whatever my meal choice for breakfast and lunch could not be accomodated by the air stewardess? On both occasions I was given what I did not ask for. Some kind of cheesy seafood with rice and vegetarian vermicelli which tasted dry.
We reached Heathrow Terminal 4 (I don't know why there were so many terminals). We were really tired after the long flight. We had to take a red Avis bus to Avis office to confirm our car booking. Avis allowed us to take the car from their office near Waterloo station on the 1st of August as coming back to Heathrow would be really troublesome. From Avis, we took the bus provided to Hatton Cross station at Terminal 5 to Picadilly Circus. From Picadilly Circus, we then took the tube running on the Bakerloo line to Lambeth North.
This was to be our routine for the next one week in London, getting on tubes, changing tubes, checking out the different colored lines on the signboards to find out how to go from one place to another. The most convenient and cheapest way to travel around in London is by the tube or the underground stations. You could get from one town to another just by changing trains. Trains run on different lines for e.g. Bakerloo, Picadilly, Victoria, Central London. Waterloo, Kew, Lambeth North and others. They are denoted by different colors such as white, black, blue, green, yellow, red. You just need to check out the different lines on the many signboards all over the station and then disembark and embark on the stations where the train lines intersect.
If you know English, you can never get lost in London as the signs are really really clear and are located everywhere in the stations. You only need a strong pair of legs and hands if you are carrying luggage as there are long flights of stairs to climb in order to change stations (not all the undergrounds have lifts or escalators).
At GBP7 a day, you can hop on hop off at different stations the whole day long and travel the length and breadth of London.
At Lambeth North, Tune hotel (our home for the next one week in London) was just a block away from the station. Facing the hotel was 2 chinese restaurants and a 24-hour convenience store. A very good location indeed!
For GBP 65 a night per room, Tune hotel is a bargain! TV is free for the first 24 hours, thereafter GBP 10 for the duration of our stay. Breakfast is GBP5 per day (we only paid for 3 days). New towels and toiletries will all be charged extra. London is expensive but Tune hotel is considered cheap compared with the other London hotels (some charged upto GBP 100 a day).
Our hotel room is windowless so we lost track of night and day. There was no wardrobe (we had to hang our clothes on racks above the mirror). The only was to keep our luggage and boxes was under our bed. However it was clean and the bed and pillows were super-comfortable. The toilet was very small but clean.
More coming up.....
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Ayu Buyon
Well, I am back!
After a 2 week sorjourn in London, which was quite an experience for me and Tim, I felt happy to be home. Sleeping on my thick comfortable bed and eating my usual meals (chinese dim sum, fishballs, yong tau foo, fried koay teow, rice with dishes) and drinking teh tarik from porcelain cups made me glad that I was not a permanent resident of Britain!
Unlike my sister who has been there for the past 30 years, this was my second trip. Each time after flying into England, I will be suffering from homesickness. Homesick for teh tarik and chinese food!
Our journey started on 25th July in the afternoon. We chose Air Lanka as it was the cheapest. At RM3k per person round trip from KL to Heathrow, it was a real steal. The only snag was the short transit at Singapore. We had to disembark at Changi and let the authorities rummage through our bags. Singapore was so much stricter than KLIA. Tim lost his favorite scissors key chain. They made him threw it away at the security check. From Singapore we flew for 3 hours to Colombo. Air Lanka is not too bad if you don't mind the food. Sometimes the food you want may not be available thus you would have to eat whatever is available. In my case it was some kind of cheesy pasta that neither looked nor tasted appealing.
It was about 9 pm Colombo time when we touched down. Bandaranaike airport was very sparse. Small black chairs lined the arrival and departure halls. Looking at the chairs, I was just thinking 'how could we possibly lie down on those uncomfortable chairs'. They look like office chairs with their low backs and small seats. Yet I could see many transit travellers having a shut eye on them.
The immigration officers who stamped our passports did not seem too friendly. One guy even asked us why we were in Colombo until his colleague told him that we were in transit! There was only one restaurant but many small stalls selling handicrafts. There was one duty free shop and a shop selling electrical items.
However we were delighted when Air Lanka told us that we were to be given accomodation at the Jetwing Star due to the long wait till 6 am for our connecting flight. God is good! We met a Pakistani family travelling back to Karachi who was also given accomodation in Colombo while waiting for thier connecting flight. I told him 'Wasn't Pakistan the place where Osama was killed?' The friendly father told us that Pakistan is really safe and a nice place to visit. They told us not to believe everything we read in the papers about Pakistan!
Thank God for Air Lanka! We will certainly consider flying her the next time although we may have to endure the food on board.
AYU BUYON (Singhalese for Welcome)!
After a 2 week sorjourn in London, which was quite an experience for me and Tim, I felt happy to be home. Sleeping on my thick comfortable bed and eating my usual meals (chinese dim sum, fishballs, yong tau foo, fried koay teow, rice with dishes) and drinking teh tarik from porcelain cups made me glad that I was not a permanent resident of Britain!
Unlike my sister who has been there for the past 30 years, this was my second trip. Each time after flying into England, I will be suffering from homesickness. Homesick for teh tarik and chinese food!
Our journey started on 25th July in the afternoon. We chose Air Lanka as it was the cheapest. At RM3k per person round trip from KL to Heathrow, it was a real steal. The only snag was the short transit at Singapore. We had to disembark at Changi and let the authorities rummage through our bags. Singapore was so much stricter than KLIA. Tim lost his favorite scissors key chain. They made him threw it away at the security check. From Singapore we flew for 3 hours to Colombo. Air Lanka is not too bad if you don't mind the food. Sometimes the food you want may not be available thus you would have to eat whatever is available. In my case it was some kind of cheesy pasta that neither looked nor tasted appealing.
It was about 9 pm Colombo time when we touched down. Bandaranaike airport was very sparse. Small black chairs lined the arrival and departure halls. Looking at the chairs, I was just thinking 'how could we possibly lie down on those uncomfortable chairs'. They look like office chairs with their low backs and small seats. Yet I could see many transit travellers having a shut eye on them.
The immigration officers who stamped our passports did not seem too friendly. One guy even asked us why we were in Colombo until his colleague told him that we were in transit! There was only one restaurant but many small stalls selling handicrafts. There was one duty free shop and a shop selling electrical items.
However we were delighted when Air Lanka told us that we were to be given accomodation at the Jetwing Star due to the long wait till 6 am for our connecting flight. God is good! We met a Pakistani family travelling back to Karachi who was also given accomodation in Colombo while waiting for thier connecting flight. I told him 'Wasn't Pakistan the place where Osama was killed?' The friendly father told us that Pakistan is really safe and a nice place to visit. They told us not to believe everything we read in the papers about Pakistan!
Thank God for Air Lanka! We will certainly consider flying her the next time although we may have to endure the food on board.
AYU BUYON (Singhalese for Welcome)!
Friday, July 15, 2011
A very present help in times of trouble
Ps 46:1 "God is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in times of trouble"
When I read this, it felt that God was speaking to me directly about my situation in the office. God has helped me in the past and will help me in the future but more than that he is also my helper in the present. Everyday in the office there I faced new and difficult challenges. Some of them really test my patience and my staying power. Many times, I felt like it would be easier to just throw in the letter and stay at home like my husband. Nobody to return you documents you have drafted (and redrafted) with remarks in red ink all over, no one to ask you to 'explain' why you had overlooked certain things and made you feel like you have done a big mistake that would put your job on the line, nobody to make hurtful comments about you, nobody to do things to you that tend to humiliate you (signing in/signing out/barring you from the internet) and the list goes on. However to her credit and as a testimony to God who answers prayers, my boss has changed much over the years I have worked with her. Indeed she had lost a lot of her hardness and unreasonableness and what I call 'scolding zeal'. As my relationship with her improved so the scoldings also became more manageable. It is not to say that they ceased all together, it is just that I responded better.
Anyway this verse really encouraged me. I kept praying over it and meditating on it all day long. God is my present help. He is not just my past help or my future help, he has promised to give me help NOW and TODAY!
There was a particular paper I dreaded doing. I kept putting it off day after day as I knew that it would be difficult to write. However when I read this verse, I knew that God will certainly be more than able to help me write it. So write I did....in 3 days or so I finished a 9 page paper with over 8 attachments! Finally what I kept putting off was crystallized into words! Praise God!
However boss wanted me to put all that I had written in the 9 page paper in a pictorial format. Now how could I possibly do that? She said that I had used too many words! I told her that I wanted a comprehensive paper. I prayed and prayed. God, you are my present help in times of trouble. Help me Lord!
While praying during lunch time, I saw the whole picture! God gave me the pictorial format! I was able to put it in a one-page diagram and I must say it looked very impressive....Thank you Lord!
When I read this, it felt that God was speaking to me directly about my situation in the office. God has helped me in the past and will help me in the future but more than that he is also my helper in the present. Everyday in the office there I faced new and difficult challenges. Some of them really test my patience and my staying power. Many times, I felt like it would be easier to just throw in the letter and stay at home like my husband. Nobody to return you documents you have drafted (and redrafted) with remarks in red ink all over, no one to ask you to 'explain' why you had overlooked certain things and made you feel like you have done a big mistake that would put your job on the line, nobody to make hurtful comments about you, nobody to do things to you that tend to humiliate you (signing in/signing out/barring you from the internet) and the list goes on. However to her credit and as a testimony to God who answers prayers, my boss has changed much over the years I have worked with her. Indeed she had lost a lot of her hardness and unreasonableness and what I call 'scolding zeal'. As my relationship with her improved so the scoldings also became more manageable. It is not to say that they ceased all together, it is just that I responded better.
Anyway this verse really encouraged me. I kept praying over it and meditating on it all day long. God is my present help. He is not just my past help or my future help, he has promised to give me help NOW and TODAY!
There was a particular paper I dreaded doing. I kept putting it off day after day as I knew that it would be difficult to write. However when I read this verse, I knew that God will certainly be more than able to help me write it. So write I did....in 3 days or so I finished a 9 page paper with over 8 attachments! Finally what I kept putting off was crystallized into words! Praise God!
However boss wanted me to put all that I had written in the 9 page paper in a pictorial format. Now how could I possibly do that? She said that I had used too many words! I told her that I wanted a comprehensive paper. I prayed and prayed. God, you are my present help in times of trouble. Help me Lord!
While praying during lunch time, I saw the whole picture! God gave me the pictorial format! I was able to put it in a one-page diagram and I must say it looked very impressive....Thank you Lord!
Invasion of the young people
Well, over the past months, our youngest daughter had her Uni friends stayed over at the house. At one time, I had to gingerly stepped over sleeping bodies all over my living room! There were young people sleeping on the floor, on the sofa, 3 to a bed in the bedrooms....I think if the kitchen floor had wood panelling, some of them might even sleep there too! Anyway, I was glad to get to know Amanda's friends. These bunch of boys and girls conversed mainly in Mandarin. Thanks to them my youngest daughter could speak Mandarin fluently. What we could not achieve with all the tuition teachers when she was young was achieved with her spending a year and a half at the University up north! God had given my youngest daughter a special grace to adapt and to pick up languages with ease.
Anyway, at least 2 young men and a young lady stayed for a slightly longer period than the others. One of them had started working in the No. 1 Japanese boutique, Uniclo and needed a place to stay. Being the kind hearted folks we were, we agreed to Amanda's proposal to let him stay for a nominal sum. The other stayed for about 2 weeks as he had was from Penang and needed a place to stay temporarily. Like Amanda, he had to repeat some foundation year papers at President College. The other girl opted to re-sit 4 papers. Many of my daughter's classmates did not get the required CGPA for dentistry or medicine but they were a determined lot. Re-sitting the papers in another college was the best option in order to ensure a place in the private medical universities for the courses they wanted!
Seeing them in the house, talking to them and watching them interact with each other made me recall the question I was asked during the supermum contest on board the Virgo "Do you think you could have been a better mum with more children?". I answered that its not the quantity but the quality that matters. But seriously looking at the young men and young women playing cards, cluedo, monopoly and badminton with each other, hearing their light and easy banter and seeing them giving Samuel other options of leisure rather than his computer....I really wonder....would it have been different for my son if he had a brother to play with?
Anyway, at least 2 young men and a young lady stayed for a slightly longer period than the others. One of them had started working in the No. 1 Japanese boutique, Uniclo and needed a place to stay. Being the kind hearted folks we were, we agreed to Amanda's proposal to let him stay for a nominal sum. The other stayed for about 2 weeks as he had was from Penang and needed a place to stay temporarily. Like Amanda, he had to repeat some foundation year papers at President College. The other girl opted to re-sit 4 papers. Many of my daughter's classmates did not get the required CGPA for dentistry or medicine but they were a determined lot. Re-sitting the papers in another college was the best option in order to ensure a place in the private medical universities for the courses they wanted!
Seeing them in the house, talking to them and watching them interact with each other made me recall the question I was asked during the supermum contest on board the Virgo "Do you think you could have been a better mum with more children?". I answered that its not the quantity but the quality that matters. But seriously looking at the young men and young women playing cards, cluedo, monopoly and badminton with each other, hearing their light and easy banter and seeing them giving Samuel other options of leisure rather than his computer....I really wonder....would it have been different for my son if he had a brother to play with?
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Hard Rock Hotel Singapore
Day 4 (Wednesday), whilst the children played chess with giant chess pieces on the 13th deck, Tim and I played several rounds of ping pong. Other than ping pong, there is a mini golf course, a small wall for climbing, a basketball court and a games room where we could borrow board games to play. After having a hearty lunch at the Pavillion, we checked out and said farewell to the lovely cruise staff on the Virgo and stepped off the beautiful ship....we will be back next year! O yes, I also bought the supermum video for keepsakes! Imagine being the 1st runner up of a beauty and talent contest at 51 years old!
The check out was dissapointing as we had to queue for almost an hour or more before leaving Harbour Front. We took a taxi to Resorts World Sentosa and checked into Hard Rock Hotel. This boutique hotel has black and purple as its theme color accentuated with bright white and orange lights. The concierge was really friendly and helpful giving us maps, umbrellas and MRT cards. The reception staff did not wear uniforms but dressed like they were on a night out!
The Hotel is dedicated to all things rock. Black and white pictures of rock stars adorn their walls from the foyer to the corridors to the rooms. The lifts had crystals covering the mirrors on the side panels giving the place a cosy and romantic feel. The rooms were huge - it could easily accomodate 4 persons. The beds were soft and downy....like Amanda says "I can fall asleep just putting my head on the pillow". The room chandelier was unique as it dropped down from the ceiling encased in a cylinder. As for the bathrooms the dressing mirrors looked like mirrors from the changing rooms of a theater or concert hall with round orange bulbs encircling its sides. Hard Rock Hotel had humonguous rooms, almost twice the size of my bedroom back home!
On the first night, we decided to watch the much acclaimed show "Voyage de la vie" at Resorts World. The performances comprised unique chereography, lavish period costumes, singing interspersed with acrobatic acts never seen before by us and a story-line. We saw world class trapeze artists, motorcycle riders weaving up and down cylindrical globes, a William Tell-like archery demonstration, rope acrobats, a juggler whose little balls literally flowed out of his fingers, a comedic illusionist and his team which did a stunning illusion right in front of our eyes...and many more! In Amanda's words "This is the best show I have seen. It made the Virgo shows seems so 'chapalang' (slang for low class)" - sorry Harold Q, no hard feelings!
The illusionist deserved a little mention as he did one illusion which was very clever. He sawed his partner (who happens to be a guy and a pianist) into 2 and pushed the front part of his body close to the piano and as far away from his pair of legs as possible.The partner then played the piano face up in a reclining position with half of his body showing, the other half was sent to the far side of the stage! Long after the show, we were still trying to figure out how it was done. (You see, Tim and the children have watched the show "Breaking the magician's code" several times and something they like to do is to figure out how a certain magic act/illusion was carried out).
The following day we had a hearty buffet breakfast at the Starz and made our way to Vivo City at Harbour Front to do some shopping. For one thing, electrical gadgets such as hand phones and computers were cheap (even after conversion into SGD) and we inspected and tried out many models of i-phones, i-pads, berry(s) at the different shops at Vivo City. I toyed with the idea of an i-phone so that I could update my blog anytime any place....however I just did not feel that I could take on the responsibility of taking care of such an expensive piece of gadget, having lost my phone on the monorail sometime ago.
Needless to say, we also visited the Uniqlo outlet and admired the wide range of clothes available.
We took the cable car back to the Hotel and enjoyed a scenic view of Singapore. Towering buildings, hotels and the theme park dotted the landscape. We checked out about 1 pm and took a cab to the Golden Mile Complex at Beach Road where our double decker bus fully equipped with an in-house TV, kitchenette and plush chairs was waiting for us....
This holiday bonded the family together like never before. Somehow we always feel closer to our children after a few days away together....(see our photos on facebook)!
Goodbye Singapore, goodbye Virgo....see you next year!
The check out was dissapointing as we had to queue for almost an hour or more before leaving Harbour Front. We took a taxi to Resorts World Sentosa and checked into Hard Rock Hotel. This boutique hotel has black and purple as its theme color accentuated with bright white and orange lights. The concierge was really friendly and helpful giving us maps, umbrellas and MRT cards. The reception staff did not wear uniforms but dressed like they were on a night out!
The Hotel is dedicated to all things rock. Black and white pictures of rock stars adorn their walls from the foyer to the corridors to the rooms. The lifts had crystals covering the mirrors on the side panels giving the place a cosy and romantic feel. The rooms were huge - it could easily accomodate 4 persons. The beds were soft and downy....like Amanda says "I can fall asleep just putting my head on the pillow". The room chandelier was unique as it dropped down from the ceiling encased in a cylinder. As for the bathrooms the dressing mirrors looked like mirrors from the changing rooms of a theater or concert hall with round orange bulbs encircling its sides. Hard Rock Hotel had humonguous rooms, almost twice the size of my bedroom back home!
On the first night, we decided to watch the much acclaimed show "Voyage de la vie" at Resorts World. The performances comprised unique chereography, lavish period costumes, singing interspersed with acrobatic acts never seen before by us and a story-line. We saw world class trapeze artists, motorcycle riders weaving up and down cylindrical globes, a William Tell-like archery demonstration, rope acrobats, a juggler whose little balls literally flowed out of his fingers, a comedic illusionist and his team which did a stunning illusion right in front of our eyes...and many more! In Amanda's words "This is the best show I have seen. It made the Virgo shows seems so 'chapalang' (slang for low class)" - sorry Harold Q, no hard feelings!
The illusionist deserved a little mention as he did one illusion which was very clever. He sawed his partner (who happens to be a guy and a pianist) into 2 and pushed the front part of his body close to the piano and as far away from his pair of legs as possible.The partner then played the piano face up in a reclining position with half of his body showing, the other half was sent to the far side of the stage! Long after the show, we were still trying to figure out how it was done. (You see, Tim and the children have watched the show "Breaking the magician's code" several times and something they like to do is to figure out how a certain magic act/illusion was carried out).
The following day we had a hearty buffet breakfast at the Starz and made our way to Vivo City at Harbour Front to do some shopping. For one thing, electrical gadgets such as hand phones and computers were cheap (even after conversion into SGD) and we inspected and tried out many models of i-phones, i-pads, berry(s) at the different shops at Vivo City. I toyed with the idea of an i-phone so that I could update my blog anytime any place....however I just did not feel that I could take on the responsibility of taking care of such an expensive piece of gadget, having lost my phone on the monorail sometime ago.
Needless to say, we also visited the Uniqlo outlet and admired the wide range of clothes available.
We took the cable car back to the Hotel and enjoyed a scenic view of Singapore. Towering buildings, hotels and the theme park dotted the landscape. We checked out about 1 pm and took a cab to the Golden Mile Complex at Beach Road where our double decker bus fully equipped with an in-house TV, kitchenette and plush chairs was waiting for us....
This holiday bonded the family together like never before. Somehow we always feel closer to our children after a few days away together....(see our photos on facebook)!
Goodbye Singapore, goodbye Virgo....see you next year!
Tuesday on the Virgo
We had a lovely Chinese breakfast on Tuesday at the Pavillion. The ship had docked at Langkawi about 8 am in the morning and many guests were signing up for the several tour packages available. The children wanted to go on the flying fox and abseiling but we were told that the tour had to be cancelled as they did not have enough participants. Many opted for eagle feeding and fish farm visits. We chose the shopping tour with stops at the Underwater Seaworld and the Eagle Square at Langkawi.
Much had changed since we last came to this beautiful island. For starters there were whole families of dwarf African penguins in a glass aquarium which we had not seen before. The colorful fishes, sharks, stingrays, starfishes, arowana, eels etc were simply stunning. After the aquarium visit, the tour bus took us to the fame Eagle Square for some photo shoots. The last stop was to a duty free shop to buy some of Langkawi's cheap chocolates...forero roches, after 8s, hersheys, mentos, tobblerones truffles were relatively cheaper than those back home. We must have spent over RM300 at the shop...I also bought some chocolates for church members and colleagues.
Back at the ship we got ready for the pre dinner cocktails with the captain and the ship senior management. We also had photo taking sessions with the captain. Pre dinner cocktails of champagne, mix cocktails, Japanese sushis were served also served. Every Tuesday on board the Virgo is gala dinner time, a time for guests to dress in their best finery and dine on an exclusive dinner menu. We saw a group of Chinese nationals dressed to the nines....the men were in tux, the ladies in black dresses and decked with jewelry. Some were dressed casually but most were formerly dressed. I had to buy a lovely (bling bling) necklace from the shop on board the ship to add a little pizzaz to my white Uniqlo top in order not to look too casual.
The Western dinner at the Bella Vista was a memorable experience. Lovely salads, soups and fish were served in just the right portions. Before the dinner ended, the kitchen staff came out with flags from their respective countries and greeted us with cheers and singing....it was an atmosphere of great fun and camarederie!
On this final night (tomorrow we would have to bid farewell to a wonderful cruise) we opted to watch the 10 pm Russian acrobatic show. The Russian acrobats were truly Olympic standard.....a lady who could twirl many hula hoops around her body, a young boy with strong arms who did some stunning acrobatic moves just twirling and twisting on a rope right in front of us, two men in flowing white pants did some stunning visual aerial acrobats that were just exquisite, a couple who did some incredible pole aerobics......!
The acrobatic performances were interspersed with dancers in beautiful shimmering costumes dancing traditional Russian folk dances with stunning chereography....truly an apt finale!
Tomorrow - Hard Rock Hotel, Singapore!
Much had changed since we last came to this beautiful island. For starters there were whole families of dwarf African penguins in a glass aquarium which we had not seen before. The colorful fishes, sharks, stingrays, starfishes, arowana, eels etc were simply stunning. After the aquarium visit, the tour bus took us to the fame Eagle Square for some photo shoots. The last stop was to a duty free shop to buy some of Langkawi's cheap chocolates...forero roches, after 8s, hersheys, mentos, tobblerones truffles were relatively cheaper than those back home. We must have spent over RM300 at the shop...I also bought some chocolates for church members and colleagues.
Back at the ship we got ready for the pre dinner cocktails with the captain and the ship senior management. We also had photo taking sessions with the captain. Pre dinner cocktails of champagne, mix cocktails, Japanese sushis were served also served. Every Tuesday on board the Virgo is gala dinner time, a time for guests to dress in their best finery and dine on an exclusive dinner menu. We saw a group of Chinese nationals dressed to the nines....the men were in tux, the ladies in black dresses and decked with jewelry. Some were dressed casually but most were formerly dressed. I had to buy a lovely (bling bling) necklace from the shop on board the ship to add a little pizzaz to my white Uniqlo top in order not to look too casual.
The Western dinner at the Bella Vista was a memorable experience. Lovely salads, soups and fish were served in just the right portions. Before the dinner ended, the kitchen staff came out with flags from their respective countries and greeted us with cheers and singing....it was an atmosphere of great fun and camarederie!
On this final night (tomorrow we would have to bid farewell to a wonderful cruise) we opted to watch the 10 pm Russian acrobatic show. The Russian acrobats were truly Olympic standard.....a lady who could twirl many hula hoops around her body, a young boy with strong arms who did some stunning acrobatic moves just twirling and twisting on a rope right in front of us, two men in flowing white pants did some stunning visual aerial acrobats that were just exquisite, a couple who did some incredible pole aerobics......!
The acrobatic performances were interspersed with dancers in beautiful shimmering costumes dancing traditional Russian folk dances with stunning chereography....truly an apt finale!
Tomorrow - Hard Rock Hotel, Singapore!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Monday on the Virgo
On Monday, I decided to join the Superstar Virgo Supermum contest. What was required for me was to show my talent in any area, singing, dancing etc. I told my family that if I could write a poem on mothers I will sign up for the contest. After a delicious western breakfast of several varieties of eggs: poached, sunny side, runny, omelette, croissant, brioche, cereals. nasi lemak, turkey ham etc, I rushed to the Celebrity Disco for the rehearsal.
10 of us had signed up for the contest: 8 Indians, 1 Filipino and me the only Malaysian. We had to give a short intro of ourselves. We were then ushered into the Lido where we were required to rehearse the following:
1. give our names, country and a one liner on "A mum is.....",
2. our standing positions, our numbers which were pinned to us (yours truly was no: 4), our posing and our movements on stage,
3. our talents (I did not read out my poem as I had not really finalized it. First Harold gave us one minute then he decided to increase it to 2 minutes, so I had to write 2 poems to accomodate the time!),
4. 3 pieces of linen bedsheets were given to us. To show our creativity we had to wrap it around our bodies and come up with the most creative wear. It was not easy as the linen was long and the size of a single bed. I spent the whole afternoon trying to figure out what to do with them. For the first piece I made a pareo with it. For the second, I made a long wrap. For the remaining piece, I folded it into a handbag and tied it loosely with a beautiful necklace I had bought from the Ports O' Call,
4. we then had to wear our evening wear (clothes we bought for the gala dinner, though I did not bring anything special as I had no idea about it) and show it off to the judges,
5. finally we had to answer one question from our judges.
My family waited around for me from 11 am to about 2 pm and then we had a quick lunch at the Mediterranean buffet. At about 3 pm, they went to see the magic show, while I continued fine tuning my poem about my mother. At about 4 pm, the crew gave a lively dance performance (again I had seen it before on the Libra last year).
Well all the hard work finally paid off. The judges loved my poem and I won the first runner up! The prizes were: a bottle of champagne and a ticket to the Las Vegas show 'Casanova'. I was also given a certificate and a sash. The winner was a Filipino Chinese who won a ticket for 2 on board the Libra! Well never mind if I missed that as I made some nice friends from India. They were really talented. Some of them did Bollywood dances, some sang, one did a yoga....it was all good fun! One of the judges came up to me later and told me that he really loved my poem!
Here is the poem for my mum written on the Virgo that clinced me the prize (for the record, this is the first time I wrote a poem on board a ship and the first time at 50 years old I had entered a Supermum contest and won!):
"Though my mother is not with me on this beautiful ship today
Allow me to say a few words on her behalf on Mother's Day
Mum is 76 years old this year, but really her eyesight is good, her mind is clear.
She did not go to University but her words of wisdom remain with me.
She did not climb Mount Everest but she ensured that we (her 5 children) had the very best.
Cooking the most nutritious home cooked fare, yes, my mum is truly chef extraordinaire!
Though she did not sail the seven seas, her zest for life inspires me!
I remember how at each festivity, she will have lovely dresses sown for me.
She made sure that we dress nice and neat, politeness and respect for others
the hallmark of our speech!
And when we fall sick, she even treats our maladies, cough medicine, aspirins and medicated oil for all emergencies!
She is no Donald Trump or Bill Gates, she did not start a business conglomerate,
but all 5 of us had a good education - an auditor, a lawyer, a speech therapist, a business woman and a trainer economist!
To all mothers on holiday here today, this is just what I want to say.
Thank you for taking care of us with unceasing patience and unfailing love!
Your work is 24 hours and your salary is pure love!
And if we have not said it before, we want to say it again....
Thank you mums and a million thanks, hugs and kisses again and again!"
The question the judge I chose (he was the head chef) was: Would having more children make you a better mum? My answer: It is not the quantity but the quality as the job of the mum is to raise up children who are well behaved, polite, hard working and responsible citizens of a country and who themselves will be examples and models for their own children!
What an experience! We could not stop talking about it after the contest and there were endless photo taking. In the evening we had a lovely western dinner and decided to take a taxi to the Sri Bhurapa cashew nut factory at Phuket. There we bought many packets of cashew nuts and my favorite anchovies.
The only disappointment was that Samuel did not get to watch Phuket Fantasea. Daddy did not want to take him as 1) he did not have enought bhat and 2) he had seen the show before on Astro. It was also raining heavily in Phuket. The taxi driver was friendly and spoke really good English. I promised Samuel that if we come back to Phuket for the next cruise, I will make sure that I had enough money to take him for the show.
What about Amanda? She was busy studying her Maths. She had to re-sit her Maths paper as she had failed in it. Her exam was on Friday, one day after our return to Malaysia. Before we left, Amanda got her results for her foundation in science. She had a B and 2 Cs. That put paid to her desire to do dentistry as the minimum was 3 Bs. Finally daddy relented and agreed to let her do law, apparently her first choice. When she went to HELP to see whether they could take her in, they told her that she had to pass her Maths.
I guess sometimes as parents we really want the best for our children (maybe even for ourselves). Children with vocations like doctors and dentists will earn more money, more money means bigger allowances for us in our old age!However I realize that this may not be what our children wants. Further we need to be fully aware of what they can/cannot do and their natural inclination.
From this experience, I can see that things will always come full circle. Water will always rise to its own level. I truly hope that Amanda will shine and excel in her chosen career...will write later!
10 of us had signed up for the contest: 8 Indians, 1 Filipino and me the only Malaysian. We had to give a short intro of ourselves. We were then ushered into the Lido where we were required to rehearse the following:
1. give our names, country and a one liner on "A mum is.....",
2. our standing positions, our numbers which were pinned to us (yours truly was no: 4), our posing and our movements on stage,
3. our talents (I did not read out my poem as I had not really finalized it. First Harold gave us one minute then he decided to increase it to 2 minutes, so I had to write 2 poems to accomodate the time!),
4. 3 pieces of linen bedsheets were given to us. To show our creativity we had to wrap it around our bodies and come up with the most creative wear. It was not easy as the linen was long and the size of a single bed. I spent the whole afternoon trying to figure out what to do with them. For the first piece I made a pareo with it. For the second, I made a long wrap. For the remaining piece, I folded it into a handbag and tied it loosely with a beautiful necklace I had bought from the Ports O' Call,
4. we then had to wear our evening wear (clothes we bought for the gala dinner, though I did not bring anything special as I had no idea about it) and show it off to the judges,
5. finally we had to answer one question from our judges.
My family waited around for me from 11 am to about 2 pm and then we had a quick lunch at the Mediterranean buffet. At about 3 pm, they went to see the magic show, while I continued fine tuning my poem about my mother. At about 4 pm, the crew gave a lively dance performance (again I had seen it before on the Libra last year).
Well all the hard work finally paid off. The judges loved my poem and I won the first runner up! The prizes were: a bottle of champagne and a ticket to the Las Vegas show 'Casanova'. I was also given a certificate and a sash. The winner was a Filipino Chinese who won a ticket for 2 on board the Libra! Well never mind if I missed that as I made some nice friends from India. They were really talented. Some of them did Bollywood dances, some sang, one did a yoga....it was all good fun! One of the judges came up to me later and told me that he really loved my poem!
Here is the poem for my mum written on the Virgo that clinced me the prize (for the record, this is the first time I wrote a poem on board a ship and the first time at 50 years old I had entered a Supermum contest and won!):
"Though my mother is not with me on this beautiful ship today
Allow me to say a few words on her behalf on Mother's Day
Mum is 76 years old this year, but really her eyesight is good, her mind is clear.
She did not go to University but her words of wisdom remain with me.
She did not climb Mount Everest but she ensured that we (her 5 children) had the very best.
Cooking the most nutritious home cooked fare, yes, my mum is truly chef extraordinaire!
Though she did not sail the seven seas, her zest for life inspires me!
I remember how at each festivity, she will have lovely dresses sown for me.
She made sure that we dress nice and neat, politeness and respect for others
the hallmark of our speech!
And when we fall sick, she even treats our maladies, cough medicine, aspirins and medicated oil for all emergencies!
She is no Donald Trump or Bill Gates, she did not start a business conglomerate,
but all 5 of us had a good education - an auditor, a lawyer, a speech therapist, a business woman and a trainer economist!
To all mothers on holiday here today, this is just what I want to say.
Thank you for taking care of us with unceasing patience and unfailing love!
Your work is 24 hours and your salary is pure love!
And if we have not said it before, we want to say it again....
Thank you mums and a million thanks, hugs and kisses again and again!"
The question the judge I chose (he was the head chef) was: Would having more children make you a better mum? My answer: It is not the quantity but the quality as the job of the mum is to raise up children who are well behaved, polite, hard working and responsible citizens of a country and who themselves will be examples and models for their own children!
What an experience! We could not stop talking about it after the contest and there were endless photo taking. In the evening we had a lovely western dinner and decided to take a taxi to the Sri Bhurapa cashew nut factory at Phuket. There we bought many packets of cashew nuts and my favorite anchovies.
The only disappointment was that Samuel did not get to watch Phuket Fantasea. Daddy did not want to take him as 1) he did not have enought bhat and 2) he had seen the show before on Astro. It was also raining heavily in Phuket. The taxi driver was friendly and spoke really good English. I promised Samuel that if we come back to Phuket for the next cruise, I will make sure that I had enough money to take him for the show.
What about Amanda? She was busy studying her Maths. She had to re-sit her Maths paper as she had failed in it. Her exam was on Friday, one day after our return to Malaysia. Before we left, Amanda got her results for her foundation in science. She had a B and 2 Cs. That put paid to her desire to do dentistry as the minimum was 3 Bs. Finally daddy relented and agreed to let her do law, apparently her first choice. When she went to HELP to see whether they could take her in, they told her that she had to pass her Maths.
I guess sometimes as parents we really want the best for our children (maybe even for ourselves). Children with vocations like doctors and dentists will earn more money, more money means bigger allowances for us in our old age!However I realize that this may not be what our children wants. Further we need to be fully aware of what they can/cannot do and their natural inclination.
From this experience, I can see that things will always come full circle. Water will always rise to its own level. I truly hope that Amanda will shine and excel in her chosen career...will write later!
Superstar Virgo
Family holidays are happy events. We look forward to them as they are fun and enjoyable and present great opportunities for family bonding. Well, for this year, our family signed up for a 4 day 3 night cruise on board a ship. This time, we took a bus to Singapore to Harbour Front for a cruise to Phuket and Langkawi aboard the Superstar Virgo, the largest ship in the Star Cruise family.
We left on Sunday May 8 which was Mother's Day. Amanda treated us to a wonderful Macd breakfast with her first pay from Uniclo (the no. 1 clothing store in Japan and no 3 in the world). The day before we had spent over RM1,400 buying all sorts of shirts and cardigans from the store which had newly opened at KLCC. I had to take leave for half a day to buy a few things for Amanda and get some freebies like tote bags and a one of its kind tumbler for a certain amount of purchase. I take it as us 'supporting' Japan in her recent earthquake.
For the first time, Amanda gave me money to buy her clothes and money for her hand phone bill. This is a record of sorts as usually poor mummy has to pick up her bills. Sometimes her hand phone bill can exceed RM200 a month!
The double decker bus which we took at Corus Hotel was very comfortable. However I prayed hard for safety and protection as I was well aware of a recent accident involving a double decker which overturned and killed a number of people in a serious road accident.
Mamak mee was served on board with hot drinks. There was also a small toilet for light usage. The journey was restful and we stopped at the Pagoh rest area. We reached Singapore about 1 pm. At the immigration, we were told to throw away our chewing gums....I had no choice but to throw away a brand new pack of mints (won that during team activity at church camp recently). We were made to bring down all our bags. The Singapore Customs police were really fierce. They literally shouted at a group of Indian tourists. Our conductor told us that you cannot answer them back, they will 'bark' at you.
We reached Harbour Front at about 2 pm and checked in our 5 bags. We then visited Uniclo outlet at Vivo City which was adjacent to Harbour Front.
At about 3 pm we boarded the ship. Took us an hour to queue. Many holiday makers from India, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, France and other countries also boarded with us. We were informed by one of the guest that India was having a 6 weeks school holiday (no wonder half the guests were from India). We seem to be the only Malaysian family!
The room at Virgo was bigger than the Libra. 2 beds facing one another and a retractable upper bunk. There was a sofa bed for the 4th person. I really love the plush carpet with sea motives. The toilet also was bigger.
We ate our tea ravenously...fried rice, pizza, muffins, pitas, sausages, sandwiches...at the Mediterranean restaurant. This proved to be a favorite restaurant among the Indian guests as they served a variety of delicious vegetarian fare as we found out later. However it was not so popular with the children and Tim. I loved buffet restaurants generally because of the salads available.
About 1,600 guests had boarded the Virgo for a 4 days 3 night holiday to Phuket and Langkawi. We also found out latter that the Cruise director was Harold Q (bald headed young looking chap with little dimples when he talked). He told us that he was transferred from Libra (yes, we met him and Hendricks last year). Harold is something like a drag queen!
The ship was huge. It has 13 levels. Facilities include a well equipped gym, 2 pools, 2 jacuzzis, a winding slide snaking down to the pools, a spa, a theatre (Lido) with terraced seats, a smaller hall (Galaxy of the Stars) for game shows, a library with many books, 3 restaurants (non paying) and 4 more (paying), 2 shops, karaokes, glass encased lifts, hair saloon, nail art shop, photo gallery, games room, mini golf course, wall climbing (or is it rock climbing?), a movie theater hall.....and many more. To truly explore the ship will take us a week, I think...
At night we had dinner at the Chinese Restaurant. The food was delicious. We then watched a world class magic show Philippart and Anja. I was a tad disappointed because I had seen an identical show on board the Libra last December....but never mind, its so good that its worth re-watch!
We had our first and last supper on board the ship on our first night stay. We had salads, bread, porridge, koay teow, fruits, India vegetarian food, cakes, muffins, sandwiches.....Stay tuned.....
We left on Sunday May 8 which was Mother's Day. Amanda treated us to a wonderful Macd breakfast with her first pay from Uniclo (the no. 1 clothing store in Japan and no 3 in the world). The day before we had spent over RM1,400 buying all sorts of shirts and cardigans from the store which had newly opened at KLCC. I had to take leave for half a day to buy a few things for Amanda and get some freebies like tote bags and a one of its kind tumbler for a certain amount of purchase. I take it as us 'supporting' Japan in her recent earthquake.
For the first time, Amanda gave me money to buy her clothes and money for her hand phone bill. This is a record of sorts as usually poor mummy has to pick up her bills. Sometimes her hand phone bill can exceed RM200 a month!
The double decker bus which we took at Corus Hotel was very comfortable. However I prayed hard for safety and protection as I was well aware of a recent accident involving a double decker which overturned and killed a number of people in a serious road accident.
Mamak mee was served on board with hot drinks. There was also a small toilet for light usage. The journey was restful and we stopped at the Pagoh rest area. We reached Singapore about 1 pm. At the immigration, we were told to throw away our chewing gums....I had no choice but to throw away a brand new pack of mints (won that during team activity at church camp recently). We were made to bring down all our bags. The Singapore Customs police were really fierce. They literally shouted at a group of Indian tourists. Our conductor told us that you cannot answer them back, they will 'bark' at you.
We reached Harbour Front at about 2 pm and checked in our 5 bags. We then visited Uniclo outlet at Vivo City which was adjacent to Harbour Front.
At about 3 pm we boarded the ship. Took us an hour to queue. Many holiday makers from India, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, France and other countries also boarded with us. We were informed by one of the guest that India was having a 6 weeks school holiday (no wonder half the guests were from India). We seem to be the only Malaysian family!
The room at Virgo was bigger than the Libra. 2 beds facing one another and a retractable upper bunk. There was a sofa bed for the 4th person. I really love the plush carpet with sea motives. The toilet also was bigger.
We ate our tea ravenously...fried rice, pizza, muffins, pitas, sausages, sandwiches...at the Mediterranean restaurant. This proved to be a favorite restaurant among the Indian guests as they served a variety of delicious vegetarian fare as we found out later. However it was not so popular with the children and Tim. I loved buffet restaurants generally because of the salads available.
About 1,600 guests had boarded the Virgo for a 4 days 3 night holiday to Phuket and Langkawi. We also found out latter that the Cruise director was Harold Q (bald headed young looking chap with little dimples when he talked). He told us that he was transferred from Libra (yes, we met him and Hendricks last year). Harold is something like a drag queen!
The ship was huge. It has 13 levels. Facilities include a well equipped gym, 2 pools, 2 jacuzzis, a winding slide snaking down to the pools, a spa, a theatre (Lido) with terraced seats, a smaller hall (Galaxy of the Stars) for game shows, a library with many books, 3 restaurants (non paying) and 4 more (paying), 2 shops, karaokes, glass encased lifts, hair saloon, nail art shop, photo gallery, games room, mini golf course, wall climbing (or is it rock climbing?), a movie theater hall.....and many more. To truly explore the ship will take us a week, I think...
At night we had dinner at the Chinese Restaurant. The food was delicious. We then watched a world class magic show Philippart and Anja. I was a tad disappointed because I had seen an identical show on board the Libra last December....but never mind, its so good that its worth re-watch!
We had our first and last supper on board the ship on our first night stay. We had salads, bread, porridge, koay teow, fruits, India vegetarian food, cakes, muffins, sandwiches.....Stay tuned.....
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Traffic summons
The other day my husband discovered a traffic summons for a speeding offence for his car the details of which were posted on a government website monitoring such offences. As the traffic offence occurred somewhere along the highway he knew that only our son could possibly have incurred it. He had no choice but to go through Sam's things to look for the summons. The summons was found and it was noted that the date of the offence was sometime back. Probably out of fear of being scolded by his father, he had hidden the summons from us.
In his 3 years of driving, Samuel had collected more summons than myself and Tim put together! If it was not for speeding, it would be for illegal parking.
When we questioned him about the latest summons, he admitted that there were a lot more traffic offences in the past. How did he get out of it? He proudly told us that he was able to get out of each offence by bribing the policemen! He said it unashamedly because according to him all his friends were doing it!
We warned him that bribery was against God's word. Not only was bribery morally wrong but it was also a criminal offence. Bribery is corruption and one day if he were to attempt bribing an honest policeman, he could very well be hauled up to the police station and face a corruption charge!
According to Samuel, he had heeded our warning. That was why for this latest offence, he did not attempt to bribe the policeman (although he wanted to). He said that he quietly sat in the car and waited for the speeding ticket to be issued to him.
When we heard his explanation, we decided that no deduction will be made for the RM250 summons from his pocket money the week ahead but that we will bear it this time around. However we gave him warning that if it were to happen again the next time, he would have to bear the fine himself!
In his 3 years of driving, Samuel had collected more summons than myself and Tim put together! If it was not for speeding, it would be for illegal parking.
When we questioned him about the latest summons, he admitted that there were a lot more traffic offences in the past. How did he get out of it? He proudly told us that he was able to get out of each offence by bribing the policemen! He said it unashamedly because according to him all his friends were doing it!
We warned him that bribery was against God's word. Not only was bribery morally wrong but it was also a criminal offence. Bribery is corruption and one day if he were to attempt bribing an honest policeman, he could very well be hauled up to the police station and face a corruption charge!
According to Samuel, he had heeded our warning. That was why for this latest offence, he did not attempt to bribe the policeman (although he wanted to). He said that he quietly sat in the car and waited for the speeding ticket to be issued to him.
When we heard his explanation, we decided that no deduction will be made for the RM250 summons from his pocket money the week ahead but that we will bear it this time around. However we gave him warning that if it were to happen again the next time, he would have to bear the fine himself!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Working late
Well for the first time in my 5 years with the Bank I had to work until 2 am in the morning last Friday. It was really no joke having to stare at the paper that I was drafting and making no sense of it. It was even worse when amendments had to be made to the paper which required some skillful typing but my best clerks who had helped prepare the first draft had gone home.
Past 12 midnight and there seems to be a faint throbbing pain in my head. I was dirty, smelly and simply fed up! I had felt the oncoming wave of a blackout but thank God I felt incredible peace (at that time my life group members were meeting in my house and I knew that they must have been praying for me).
When I think about the long hours at work (working till 8 or 9 pm lately) I am really thankful for my late father. He worked 3 jobs to support the 5 of us. He was a full time book keeper, a part time nyonya kuih maker and he also worked on weekends at the turf club taking bets on the horses from potential gamblers. My father did not have any vices and he provided the best he could for the family. While my mum was the homemaker, he was the sole breadwinner. However as he was only a bookeeper there was no way he could sponsor us without the 2 other part time jobs he had. If he was alive today he would probably tell me that the hours I keep in the office are nothing as compared to his working hours when even weekends are not spared!
For this reason my elder sister chose to go out to work after Form 6 so as not to burden him financially. As for me, by God's grace I had a Kuok Foundation loan and a Lim Lean Teng foundation grant.
My third sister had a full scholarship from British Council and she went to England to do her Masters in English. She later did a degree in speech therapist and settled down in England. My dad had to sponsor my youngest sister and brother in their education. Sister no. 4 did ICSA at TAR College and my youngest brother did a Science degree (twinning program) with Campbell University. I remembered that we did not take any of our wedding dinner angpow money. The dinner was sponsored by my mum-in-law and Tim and I was fine with my dad collecting all the angpow given to us from my side of the family to help pay for my siblings' education. Those were the tough years for my dad. He had a heart problem but due to our financial situation chose not to go for any treatment so as not to divert the funds he had set aside for our education. He used to tell us that he did not have anything to leave us except a good education.
Today I hope that my children know the hard work mummy is putting in to see them through University. When friends and family enquired as to whether my children had received any scholarship or PTPN loans, we will always reply that they are on FAMA scholarship (Father & Mother)! How previleged and blessed are my children to have parents who are able to fully sponsor their education till the highest level. Now my eldest daughter has said that she would like to continue with her Masters in England and the youngest one wants to do dentistry. Well, Samuel says he would rather go out and work after his diploma....whatever their plans may be, I have faith that God will provide for them.
I was really touched by my youngest daughter who sms-ed me recently "Mummy and Daddy I just want to say thanks for everything you have given me and I am sorry if I ever take things granted. Thanks for being one of the best parents in the world. I love you both."
To get such an sms from my children makes all the late nights in my office simply worth it!
Thank you to my lovely daughters and handsome son. Please study hard and make us proud of you! And behave uprightly so that you will not bring shame to your parents!
Past 12 midnight and there seems to be a faint throbbing pain in my head. I was dirty, smelly and simply fed up! I had felt the oncoming wave of a blackout but thank God I felt incredible peace (at that time my life group members were meeting in my house and I knew that they must have been praying for me).
When I think about the long hours at work (working till 8 or 9 pm lately) I am really thankful for my late father. He worked 3 jobs to support the 5 of us. He was a full time book keeper, a part time nyonya kuih maker and he also worked on weekends at the turf club taking bets on the horses from potential gamblers. My father did not have any vices and he provided the best he could for the family. While my mum was the homemaker, he was the sole breadwinner. However as he was only a bookeeper there was no way he could sponsor us without the 2 other part time jobs he had. If he was alive today he would probably tell me that the hours I keep in the office are nothing as compared to his working hours when even weekends are not spared!
For this reason my elder sister chose to go out to work after Form 6 so as not to burden him financially. As for me, by God's grace I had a Kuok Foundation loan and a Lim Lean Teng foundation grant.
My third sister had a full scholarship from British Council and she went to England to do her Masters in English. She later did a degree in speech therapist and settled down in England. My dad had to sponsor my youngest sister and brother in their education. Sister no. 4 did ICSA at TAR College and my youngest brother did a Science degree (twinning program) with Campbell University. I remembered that we did not take any of our wedding dinner angpow money. The dinner was sponsored by my mum-in-law and Tim and I was fine with my dad collecting all the angpow given to us from my side of the family to help pay for my siblings' education. Those were the tough years for my dad. He had a heart problem but due to our financial situation chose not to go for any treatment so as not to divert the funds he had set aside for our education. He used to tell us that he did not have anything to leave us except a good education.
Today I hope that my children know the hard work mummy is putting in to see them through University. When friends and family enquired as to whether my children had received any scholarship or PTPN loans, we will always reply that they are on FAMA scholarship (Father & Mother)! How previleged and blessed are my children to have parents who are able to fully sponsor their education till the highest level. Now my eldest daughter has said that she would like to continue with her Masters in England and the youngest one wants to do dentistry. Well, Samuel says he would rather go out and work after his diploma....whatever their plans may be, I have faith that God will provide for them.
I was really touched by my youngest daughter who sms-ed me recently "Mummy and Daddy I just want to say thanks for everything you have given me and I am sorry if I ever take things granted. Thanks for being one of the best parents in the world. I love you both."
To get such an sms from my children makes all the late nights in my office simply worth it!
Thank you to my lovely daughters and handsome son. Please study hard and make us proud of you! And behave uprightly so that you will not bring shame to your parents!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Chinese New Year
In another one week's time, it will be Chinese New Year or CNY. I don't remember much about CNY during my childhood days except that we used to get RM2 angpows from our uncles and aunties. Those days people were not very rich and RM2 was the standard rate, although I had a rich uncle who used to give us RM50!
My mother has 2 sisters and 4 brothers. In Hock Kien (my dialect) we had to respectfully addressed them as tu-an koo for eldest uncle, jee koo for second uncle, sar koo for third uncle and se-an koo for fourth uncle. My eldest auntie had to be addressed as tua-ee and youngest auntie, se-an ee. When we visit them for CNY and vice versa, we had to greet them by their titles as a matter of respect. It was only after greeting that they would hand us the customary angpow. This was the highlight of CNY for us not to mention the delicious jew hoo char and other nyonya food that my mum used to make for the festival.
Mother was a great cook. She used to make those fantastic nyonya stuff like lor bak, poh piah, chye boay, poh lay kan for our reunion dinner. I remember that we did not have sit down families like some families....we just ate whenever we wanted. My husband and I decided that this was not to be so for our own family and every year we have been arranging our own reunion dinner with our children and my mother. This year, Tim and his brother is hosting a dinner for his brothers' wives and children - steamboat.
My nyonya grandma was someone really special. She was a grand old dame who, when she was alive, was the uniting factor in her family. Every CNY eve, she would host the best steamboat dinner in town in her little house cum shop in Ayer Itam. Grandma and grandpa ran a shop in Ayer Itam near the famed Kek Lok Si selling famous Penang food stuff like nutmegs, cincaluk, hea kor, tau sar pneah, pong pneah and all sorts of stuff that appeal to tourists.
As children, we used to run in between the red-clothed tables from the back to the front of the shop just taking in the charcoal smell of the steamboat containers and the sight of the delicious raw seafood prepared for the steamboat. My grandma was also a kapur sireh addict and we would roll her sireh for her whenever she wanted. It was fascinating to see the red stains on her from chewing the kapur sireh (translated nutmeg chalk).
However due to the financial constraints of my family, my mum would collect all the angpows from us for recycling purpose. The same angpows will then be re-packed for her to give out to others. As my family was considered a big family (5 of us) we can be regarded as a money spinner indeed! However I never begrudged her because I thought that was what all mothers did with their children's angpow. Later I learnt that most children got to keep their angpows, not surrender them to their parents.
When we grew older, mum heard our grumblings and complaints on this practice and she allowed us to keep 50% of the monies collected.
Today my children do not have to surrender their angpows to us or pay us angpow tax! Thanks to my late father who ensured that we all had opportunities to study up to tertiary level, all my siblings have done well in their chosen profession. Even though we are 4 girls (with one boy as the exception) we were well able to buy houses and cars of our own. We are even able to send money to my mother every month! I hope my children appreciate what we have done for them and not squander away their educational inheritance by being lazy in their studies!
My mother has 2 sisters and 4 brothers. In Hock Kien (my dialect) we had to respectfully addressed them as tu-an koo for eldest uncle, jee koo for second uncle, sar koo for third uncle and se-an koo for fourth uncle. My eldest auntie had to be addressed as tua-ee and youngest auntie, se-an ee. When we visit them for CNY and vice versa, we had to greet them by their titles as a matter of respect. It was only after greeting that they would hand us the customary angpow. This was the highlight of CNY for us not to mention the delicious jew hoo char and other nyonya food that my mum used to make for the festival.
Mother was a great cook. She used to make those fantastic nyonya stuff like lor bak, poh piah, chye boay, poh lay kan for our reunion dinner. I remember that we did not have sit down families like some families....we just ate whenever we wanted. My husband and I decided that this was not to be so for our own family and every year we have been arranging our own reunion dinner with our children and my mother. This year, Tim and his brother is hosting a dinner for his brothers' wives and children - steamboat.
My nyonya grandma was someone really special. She was a grand old dame who, when she was alive, was the uniting factor in her family. Every CNY eve, she would host the best steamboat dinner in town in her little house cum shop in Ayer Itam. Grandma and grandpa ran a shop in Ayer Itam near the famed Kek Lok Si selling famous Penang food stuff like nutmegs, cincaluk, hea kor, tau sar pneah, pong pneah and all sorts of stuff that appeal to tourists.
As children, we used to run in between the red-clothed tables from the back to the front of the shop just taking in the charcoal smell of the steamboat containers and the sight of the delicious raw seafood prepared for the steamboat. My grandma was also a kapur sireh addict and we would roll her sireh for her whenever she wanted. It was fascinating to see the red stains on her from chewing the kapur sireh (translated nutmeg chalk).
However due to the financial constraints of my family, my mum would collect all the angpows from us for recycling purpose. The same angpows will then be re-packed for her to give out to others. As my family was considered a big family (5 of us) we can be regarded as a money spinner indeed! However I never begrudged her because I thought that was what all mothers did with their children's angpow. Later I learnt that most children got to keep their angpows, not surrender them to their parents.
When we grew older, mum heard our grumblings and complaints on this practice and she allowed us to keep 50% of the monies collected.
Today my children do not have to surrender their angpows to us or pay us angpow tax! Thanks to my late father who ensured that we all had opportunities to study up to tertiary level, all my siblings have done well in their chosen profession. Even though we are 4 girls (with one boy as the exception) we were well able to buy houses and cars of our own. We are even able to send money to my mother every month! I hope my children appreciate what we have done for them and not squander away their educational inheritance by being lazy in their studies!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Handphones
I think the most popular invention of this century must be the handphone.
Handphones are pretty handy as they are portable and can fit snugly into our pants pocket or handbag slots. They also offer the option of verbal or non-verbal communication. You don't want to talk if you don't want to..... just sms. If you need to access the internet using the handphone, just click the required function.
My youngest daughter has 2 handphones which she alternates in using. Mummy picks up the bill at the end of month for one of them. At one time, her monthly phone bill even exceeded mine! She can sms during meals, while travelling, while talking to us or watching TV....if there is a contest or a marathon for the most sms in a minute, I think she can win it hands down!
The other thing about handphones is that they can be stolen easily. I got mine flicked in the monorail while I was travelling home from work. One of my life group member shared on how her daughter was robbed of her handphone by two thugs, one of whom had put a knife to her neck. It was a traumatic experience for her. Another member won a blackberry during an office lucky draw. It was timely for her as she had prayed for a handphone after (also) having lost hers. As for my youngest daughter she had lost her handphone 5 times in a row!
All I can say is that this generation is a blessed generation. In my days, the handphones we had seen looked like a huge walkie talkie. I recalled that they cost around RM3k or more and only the very rich could own them. We communicated with our friends via the conventional phones in our homes or the phones in the public phone booths. These conventional phones are box like gadgets. To use it we had to insert our index finger in the little numbered holes on the slopping surface of the phone and dial. At one time, my late father got very upset with us as the five of us were costing him a fortune in phone bills. He made a decision to buy a mini padlock to lock up the phone! Still we found an ingenious way to dial the nos we wanted despite the lock and all. Well, if I tell my children this they will surely not believe me....my father had to buy a pay phone to deter us from racking up exorbitant bills!
The fact is this, when our young children grow up in adulthood, they discover this phenomenon called 'friends'. Their friends become their confidant and at times even closer to them than their parents. This is because they are looking for acceptance and a sense of belonging/identification with a peer group. The phone becomes their networking tool with this new group. Later when boyfriends or girlfriends come into the picture, they will begin to 'boil porridge' over the phone i.e what the Chinese say 'poh chok'.
I guess there is no way to avoid this new invention....we are resigned to this generation being hooked on the handphones or their little 'berry(s)'.
Ok....time to check my handphones for messages...ah...to hear the lovely ringtone indicating that I have mail........
Handphones are pretty handy as they are portable and can fit snugly into our pants pocket or handbag slots. They also offer the option of verbal or non-verbal communication. You don't want to talk if you don't want to..... just sms. If you need to access the internet using the handphone, just click the required function.
My youngest daughter has 2 handphones which she alternates in using. Mummy picks up the bill at the end of month for one of them. At one time, her monthly phone bill even exceeded mine! She can sms during meals, while travelling, while talking to us or watching TV....if there is a contest or a marathon for the most sms in a minute, I think she can win it hands down!
The other thing about handphones is that they can be stolen easily. I got mine flicked in the monorail while I was travelling home from work. One of my life group member shared on how her daughter was robbed of her handphone by two thugs, one of whom had put a knife to her neck. It was a traumatic experience for her. Another member won a blackberry during an office lucky draw. It was timely for her as she had prayed for a handphone after (also) having lost hers. As for my youngest daughter she had lost her handphone 5 times in a row!
All I can say is that this generation is a blessed generation. In my days, the handphones we had seen looked like a huge walkie talkie. I recalled that they cost around RM3k or more and only the very rich could own them. We communicated with our friends via the conventional phones in our homes or the phones in the public phone booths. These conventional phones are box like gadgets. To use it we had to insert our index finger in the little numbered holes on the slopping surface of the phone and dial. At one time, my late father got very upset with us as the five of us were costing him a fortune in phone bills. He made a decision to buy a mini padlock to lock up the phone! Still we found an ingenious way to dial the nos we wanted despite the lock and all. Well, if I tell my children this they will surely not believe me....my father had to buy a pay phone to deter us from racking up exorbitant bills!
The fact is this, when our young children grow up in adulthood, they discover this phenomenon called 'friends'. Their friends become their confidant and at times even closer to them than their parents. This is because they are looking for acceptance and a sense of belonging/identification with a peer group. The phone becomes their networking tool with this new group. Later when boyfriends or girlfriends come into the picture, they will begin to 'boil porridge' over the phone i.e what the Chinese say 'poh chok'.
I guess there is no way to avoid this new invention....we are resigned to this generation being hooked on the handphones or their little 'berry(s)'.
Ok....time to check my handphones for messages...ah...to hear the lovely ringtone indicating that I have mail........
Friday, January 7, 2011
Manicure
During our recent family holiday on the cruise ship Libra, my daughter came to me excitedly and told me that the manicure offered by the ship's beauty parlor cost only SGD25 which was 50% off its usual price. She wanted to have her nails done on board as back home, it would cost her about double the amount in Malaysian currency. I was not too pleased as I consider manicure (and pedicure) a luxury. I mean why is there a necessity to do up our nails to have the colours come out a few months later? Also colours that fade off done-up nails are not a pleasant side. They come out like splotches of paint leaving the pink of the nails showing through in odd places.
I was not too keen to fork out the money to pay for the manicure. Considering that mumsie had only one proper manicure done in her entire life and that was before my wedding day, I didn't see why she could not emulate my example. However if you know my youngest daughter, you would not be able to out-talk her (except maybe her father). She argued and pleaded and cajoled us into agreeing with her request. Her rationale was that the manicure would be able to last her for a long long time and that it was much much cheaper than in KL, thus it was really worth it for her to do it on the ship.
My daughter was smiling from cheek to cheek when she showed me her nails. Everytime I see them done up in black with little white polka dots, I really wonder why she finds it so attractive. I still think that our nails are their loveliest when they are in their god-given natural colour, a healthy pink with reddish hues.
Posted by mummy
I was not too keen to fork out the money to pay for the manicure. Considering that mumsie had only one proper manicure done in her entire life and that was before my wedding day, I didn't see why she could not emulate my example. However if you know my youngest daughter, you would not be able to out-talk her (except maybe her father). She argued and pleaded and cajoled us into agreeing with her request. Her rationale was that the manicure would be able to last her for a long long time and that it was much much cheaper than in KL, thus it was really worth it for her to do it on the ship.
My daughter was smiling from cheek to cheek when she showed me her nails. Everytime I see them done up in black with little white polka dots, I really wonder why she finds it so attractive. I still think that our nails are their loveliest when they are in their god-given natural colour, a healthy pink with reddish hues.
Posted by mummy
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Cheese baked rice
On new year's day, we took Amanda and two of her friends for a new year lunch at this new restaurant near our house. I had assam laksa, her girl friends had noodles and Tim had rice. Amanda ordered cheese baked rice which was served last wrapped in foil and steamed in a rattan basket. She had trouble finishing the rice because she said that the chicken tasted rubbery. Unable to finish the dish, she passed it to Daddy to finish. Tim ate a spoonful of it and realized there and then that the chicken was not fully cooked.
We complained to the manager about it and she promptly sent it back to the kitchen and voila, in 15 minutes, a new one was prepared for us! Of course having lost her apetite by then, we requested that the dish be packed for us to take home to Samuel.
If not because of Amanda, we would certainly not be aware of our rights concerning food. We would probably have put the cheese baked rice aside and resolved not to patronize the restaurant again. Amanda often tells us stories of friends who had complained of finding 'things' in their food in restaurants and how by pointing out the same to the management, they would get a replacement meal on the house. Well, all I can say is that this is the first time we had been emboldened to make a complaint about a dish and to receive a new one so promptly.
Thank you Amanda for making us more aware of our 'food rights'!
We complained to the manager about it and she promptly sent it back to the kitchen and voila, in 15 minutes, a new one was prepared for us! Of course having lost her apetite by then, we requested that the dish be packed for us to take home to Samuel.
If not because of Amanda, we would certainly not be aware of our rights concerning food. We would probably have put the cheese baked rice aside and resolved not to patronize the restaurant again. Amanda often tells us stories of friends who had complained of finding 'things' in their food in restaurants and how by pointing out the same to the management, they would get a replacement meal on the house. Well, all I can say is that this is the first time we had been emboldened to make a complaint about a dish and to receive a new one so promptly.
Thank you Amanda for making us more aware of our 'food rights'!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Clothes allowance
When I look at my youngest daughter I wished that I had a parent like me!
Yes, my youngest daughter is now a tall willowy and pretty young lady with long 'brown' hair (dyed, of course) with her own fashion taste. Quite unlike her older sister who dresses simply, this youngest girl of mine has quite good taste in clothes. Back in those days when I was a teenager our 'boutique' was the fashion magazine and there was no such thing as following the trend of the season. A few months before Chinese New Year my mother will take us to a close cousin of ours who happen to be an expert tailor for our 'fittings'. We will be given fashion magazines to peruse. I used to 'ooh' and 'aah' at the lovely designs and wish that I could have all of them but my mother allowed us only 2 or 3 per year. If we like a particular dress we would point them out to my cousin. Our measurements will then be taken and viola, before the festive season we will get to wear our chosen dresses right out from the pages of a fashion magazine! This was not so bad considering that before we got to choose from the 'boutique' my mother used to get my cousin to make us all dresses of the same design and at times the younger ones had to wear hand-me-downs!
My daughter will probably call those dresses of that day and age very 'auntie' yet to us they were special because we chose them and the design was probably the only one of its kind. Today's fashion is so different from our time. My daughter wears trendy jeans, fashionable tops, billowy dresses with jackets made of soft fabrics that drape around her slim frame. If I were to suggest that she go to a dressmaker like I did at her age, I can just visualize the horror on her face. She will probably tell me that the cost will be more expensive and that it would be cheaper for her to visit her favorite shops at Pavillion or Times Square for the latest fashion.
That's why today I had to part with some money for her yearly clothes allowance. I guess it is much easier to shop for clothes given the no. of shopping complex in town and the megasales every now and then.
Posted by Mummy
Yes, my youngest daughter is now a tall willowy and pretty young lady with long 'brown' hair (dyed, of course) with her own fashion taste. Quite unlike her older sister who dresses simply, this youngest girl of mine has quite good taste in clothes. Back in those days when I was a teenager our 'boutique' was the fashion magazine and there was no such thing as following the trend of the season. A few months before Chinese New Year my mother will take us to a close cousin of ours who happen to be an expert tailor for our 'fittings'. We will be given fashion magazines to peruse. I used to 'ooh' and 'aah' at the lovely designs and wish that I could have all of them but my mother allowed us only 2 or 3 per year. If we like a particular dress we would point them out to my cousin. Our measurements will then be taken and viola, before the festive season we will get to wear our chosen dresses right out from the pages of a fashion magazine! This was not so bad considering that before we got to choose from the 'boutique' my mother used to get my cousin to make us all dresses of the same design and at times the younger ones had to wear hand-me-downs!
My daughter will probably call those dresses of that day and age very 'auntie' yet to us they were special because we chose them and the design was probably the only one of its kind. Today's fashion is so different from our time. My daughter wears trendy jeans, fashionable tops, billowy dresses with jackets made of soft fabrics that drape around her slim frame. If I were to suggest that she go to a dressmaker like I did at her age, I can just visualize the horror on her face. She will probably tell me that the cost will be more expensive and that it would be cheaper for her to visit her favorite shops at Pavillion or Times Square for the latest fashion.
That's why today I had to part with some money for her yearly clothes allowance. I guess it is much easier to shop for clothes given the no. of shopping complex in town and the megasales every now and then.
Posted by Mummy
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