my little rump shaker

i'm so so so so sooooooooooooooooooooooo proud of xian!

she got up on stage and wiggled her way to the 2nd prize (K1 category) of her school's talentime contest. catch her in action here:

never mind that she forgot some of her steps mid way or was rather stiff at first - it can be a daunting experience for a little kid. why, some folks never entirely shake away their stage fright.

i decided to gear her up in bright colours and a sporty look, and even added some blusher and lip gloss for good measure.

but most importantly, i think she pretty much enjoyed herself on stage. when she ran up on stage to receive her prize, one of the judges gave her a hi-5 - the rest of the kids merely shook hands with him. i guess they enjoyed her groovy bouncing, which was a refreshing change to all the renditions of feel-good children songs like my wonderful mummy (in chinese), story telling, piano recitals and other predictable kiddie stuff.

the classmate who won first prize sang two "wholesome" songs complete with animated actions - the sort you'd expect to watch in kindergarten concerts. on the other end of the spectrum, xian's performance was daring and unique - which is why i believe she was awarded 2nd place because it proves that being unconventional won't win the top prize. just not the right winning formula. :P

hub was rather disappointed as he'd expected xian to emerge the winner. yes, i was a little upset too. i guess we were both biased. xian's our daughter after all - and parents always think their own children are the most beautiful and talented angels to walk on the surface of earth. no matter how devilish the same said imps may be most of the time.

thundercats - HO!

a few weeks ago, after reminiscing over my favourite 80s cartoon - thundercats - i caved in and scoured around for VCDs/DVDs at shops.

not much luck. so i decided to go online to yahoo auctions and viola! i found a collection of a set of ALL complete 130 episodes for ALL seasons on 13 DVDs. these for a sum of S$65.00 - not too bad a deal even though i only realised that they weren't originals when i opened the package. :(

2 sundays back, the girls and i finished watching 1 DVD (9 episodes) in a sitting until i received a good amount of nagging to tidy up the house. the damage had been done by then - even my rascalrella wen could shout, "thunder, thunder, thunder, thundercats - HO!"

i've decided that this weekend i'm going to have a thundercats marathon! they really *don't* make cartoons now like how they used to. corny one liners included. ;p

hell hath no fury

you know what?

after all that hullabaloo over "important" dates (which destroyed my bintan trip), the hub told me that BOTH meetings (which had been scheduled right smack in the middle of our bintan trip and fraser's hill trip) have been POSTPONED.

all that trouble to rearrange our itinerary and schedules to accommodate the clients (gah-men officials, no less) came to naught.


i'm seething with anger.

wouldn't you be?

i COULD have been in bintan tomorrow.

i COULD have attended marcus' wedding first before visiting the hills (the original arrangement isn't so rushed and there's more time for hub, the driver, to rest.)

unfortunately, we've been inconvenienced by some civic-mindless-ness civil servants. suffice to say, i do not wish to associate myself with these lemmings although i'm now in the civil service too - but thankfully my years of private sector training have not been contaminated by this selfish breed of agents. perhaps i'm immune to their insensitivity, production-style, robotic and insensitive service.

oh, it's perfectly forgivable to mess up other people's holiday plans. after all, we mere mortals will just have to make some *tiny* sacrifices while the higher beings, i.e. the ones who wield the power, absently scratch out appointments with their montblancs. rather, their secretaries perform those menial tasks for them.

on a side note, i've just completed The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, ahead of schedule, if i may add. in the three novels, the power-hungry magicians form the ruling government while the poor oppressed commoners (non-magicians) live in mortal fear of the selfish leaders, constantly being subjected to hogwash propaganda. although it's supposedly a work of fiction, i recognise the parallelism of the political structure to other countries. one in particular, not too far away from the equator.

oh, the wicked world of politics.

as the saying goes: "absolute power corrupts absolutely."

25 May 2045

Was on my way to work when i caught Dan Fogelberg's Longer on my iPod Nano. It's a beautiful, romantic feel-good song - very old-school, very heart-warming.

I can imagine the scene in 2045: a cosy log cabin, with sounds of wood crackling in the fireplace, mugs of steaming hot milo and a plate chocolate chip cookies set on the coffee table, our legs propped up on plump cushions as we sit opposite each other: the hub playing computer games on his notebook while I'm busy typing furiously away to complete my novel/blog entry/poem, silently enjoying each other's company while doing the things we each love best.

And yes, this song playing in the background.

That's how I envision the last few golden years of my life with the hub. We'd be 72 and 71 years old respectively by then. Retired and residing in some countryside. Perhaps ocasionally surrounded by several screaming grandkiddies when they visit.

Happy Anniversary Hubbums. (I know you read this occasionally, perhaps out of curiosity or just to get a feel of what your wife is up to...)

Longer
By Dan Fogelberg

Longer than there've been fishes in the ocean
Higher than any bird ever flew
Longer than there've been stars up in the heavens
I've been in love with you.

Stronger than any mountain cathedral
Truer than any tree ever grew
Deeper than any forest primeval
I am in love with you.

I'll bring fires in the winters
You'll send showers in the springs
We'll fly through the falls and summers
With love on our wings.

Through the years as the fire starts to mellow
Burning lines in the book of our lives
Though the binding cracks and the pages start to yellow
I'll be in love with you.

Longer than there've been fishes in the ocean
Higher than any bird ever flew
Longer than there've been stars up in the heavens
I've been in love with you
I am in love with you.

over the hills and not-so-far-away

i'm still a little upset over my dashed bintan trip. but we've confirmed another short holiday in early june.

my childhood friend marcus will be holding his traditional wedding banquet in kuala lumpur, malaysia and we (parents, kids and us) will be driving up to attend the dinner.

i've known marcus since i was 3 years old and he was 1 plus. our fathers have been friends since their university days and our families have been pretty close all these years. when marcus decided to study in singapore (raffles institution, no less - that brainy dude) my parents were his local sponsors. naturally, he aced his examinations, went on to RJC and received scholarships to the prestigious oxford university, then yale for his masters.

needless to say, marcus is academically perfect, which was disastrous news for me especially since i'm no braniac and the total number of distinctions in my entire academic career is less than the number of aces he scored in a mid-term test.

not kidding. he's quite the genius.

anyway, our original plan was to arrive at KL for the wedding, spend a night or two there before we drive up to fraser's hill which is about 100km away. with the hub's plentiful meetings scattered all over the next 3 weeks, our schedule's all muddled up but we managed to juggle the days and will visit fraser's hill first before attending marcus' wedding.

i was 3 years old (i think) when we visited fraser's hill and it used to be one of our regular holiday destinations. xian's been up there too, when she was almost 2 years old. on our last visit, during the 2004 easter holidays, my dad drove in to malaysia. this time, it's the hub's turn behind the steering wheel. we'll be staying at frasers silverpark resort again, much like the previous trip.


there isn't very much to do up in the hills - but the cool weather's excellent and the fresh air's a welcoming change. i think the kids would like to try horse riding - although it's just a slow, short ride round the paddock, nothing too fascinating. but who knows? perhaps they will enjoy the experience. :)

as for me, i just want to get out of this country. i've been feeling a little too suffocated lately.

D is for...

on wednesday night i went over to hub's office after work to meet him for dinner. (the girls were at my parents' home and the ILs went out.)

the moment i entered the front door, i was greeted by a few of his colleagues who had somewhat sheepish grins on their faces. they were all standing around near the entrance, apparently having a discussion. when i appeared, they stepped away, revealing the hub seated on the couch...

he had a forced smile on his face.

uh-oh. i recognise that look. it was the harbinger of bad news.

after a few theatrics and nervous splutters, the truth was revealed: something urgent and important cropped up, meetings couldn't be rearranged, so the bintan trip had to be cancelled.

...

what could i say?

i was disappointed beyond words.

devastated and speechless.

i was really looking forward to a short break (away from this country) with the kids. we were planning to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary there too. i tried my darnest to put on a brave show in front of his colleagues who were anxious that he'd bear the brunt of my fury. (perhaps they were expecting me to throw a hissy-fit?) but after they walked off, i plonked myself next to hub on the couch - my voice cracked and a few tears trickled.

*sigh*

in all honesty, i wasn't angry with anyone. it's not hub's fault and his colleagues have been trying their best (their harried, worried smiles attest to this) to re-arrange the presentations and meetings but the clients' schedules weren't able to accommodate any other dates. and it would be career suicide for the hub NOT to be present at those meetings - unless he's looking for a premature retirement and i become the sole bread-winner of the family. a terrifying option since i don't rake in millions with my teaching job and my pay isn't going to sufficiently cover the home and car loans and hefty monthly expenditures.

*sigh*

the hub knew i'd be upset, so he treated me to a korean dinner - it was a sweet gesture as he was obviously trying to make it up to me. i told him there was really no need to explain the situation. i *do* understand why such sacrifices have to be made (since i'm also a workaholic and my work ethics are similar to the hub's). frankly, i'd have done the same thing if i were in his shoes.

*sigh*

the only consolation is that we may still be building sandcastles overseas - in sentosa, that is - so no passports required. tentative plan: the girls and i can check-in first while the hub and the rest of his colleagues can join us after their mega major meeting is done.

*sigh*

well, sentosa's better than nothing i suppose. but this time round i'm not getting my hopes up high just in case a new wave of disappointment comes crashing down on me again.

*sigh*

What You Waiting For?

fter ding-donging back and forth on the dates of our bintan trip (too many administrative details involving hub's office matters), the hub finally confirmed that we're setting off on 25 may 2007. which, coincidentally, is our 8th wedding anniversary.

so i guess the little holiday (for me) and company retreat (for sum) will double up as an anniversary present. we'll just have a few extra people celebrating the day with us.

it's going to be quite a busy day. friday is also the last day of the school term and xian's participating in her kindergarten talent-time contest. i'm taking leave to watch her perform and give her some moral support. xian came home with the form a few days ago and when i asked if she wanted to take part, she seemed keen. it was a toss-up between singing and dancing, and xian chose the latter.

that very night, my spunky little girl immediately went through my CD collection and picked out a couple of CDs: Gwen Stefani's Love. Angel. Music. Baby. , Black Eyed Peas' Elephunk and Monkey Business. (yes, xian and i share similar tastes in music...) and then i played the tracks for her while she pranced around to the music:

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (Gwen Stefani)

• What You Waiting For?


• Rich Girl


• Hollaback Girl

Elephunk (Black Eyed Peas)

• Hey Mama


• Shut Up

Monkey Business (Black Eyed Peas)

• Pump It


• Don't Phunk With My Heart

after 2 days of free-style dancing to the songs, xian decided that she'd wildly bop to the beat of Gwen Stefani's What You Waiting For? in case you haven't a clue how the song sounds like, click on the play button to listen.

it's a catchy dance-pop tune. there's still time for xian to change her mind, of course.

but what's most important is that she has fun on stage. that's why i got her to select her own song and by the way, she's choreographing her own little moves inspired by the contestants from the TV shows So You Think You Can Dance and The Dance Floor.

now all that's left for me is to think of a costume for her - one that will enable her to twirl, strut, boogie-woggie and wriggle about freely...

definitely not Gwen-style though. think her teachers would faint on the spot!

:(

mom's the word

Mothers' Day is just around the corner (this Sunday) and my mailbox's inundated with emails about specials/sales from commercial stores and restaurants trying to cash in on the event.

Typical.

As I was sieving out the junk, I read my BabyCenter Toddler Bulletin (have subscribed to this website since my first pregnancy) and thought this was pretty interesting...

The BabyCenter 7: Mom phrases not lost in translation

We asked BabyCenter editors around the world for sayings that reflect common feelings about motherhood in their country. Here are some of our favorites:

Sweet ain't it? I love the Swiss one best!

another fever victim

it's the hub's turn to be consumed by viral fevers.

MIL reckons it was gamboling in the scorching heat that did him in. either that or feasting on durians thrice last week lowered his body's resistance to the army of invading viruses. or possibly a combination of both.

the hub and xian had visited the singapore botanic gardens on saturday (hub's company had organised a mini family day event) while i had to be at school for a partners-in-education seminar. and since it was *impossible* to bring both kids along without me helping out, wen stayed home with the ILs.

it was a hot and humid (as usual) saturday and the hub's face was red when they got back. that very night, the hub started to burn up. so we spent sunday home and had to cancel our weekend plans. (but that was fine as we didn't have anything to start with.)

the poor hub laid in bed almost the whole day, in a half-comatose state.

xian played nurse - every few minutes or so she'd thrust the thermometer into hub's ear and yell, "papa, you still got fever!" and run off to get a cup of water for him, and then ask, "papa you want some more water? when he downed the drink. she even sponged his head with a wet towel, and dabbed his face.

it was *rather* sweet to see my soon-to-be-five-year-old daughter scampering around excitedly and checking to see if her dad was all right. apparently, she told the hub, "papa you cannot die ok?" and when he asked her why, she replied, "because you must take care of me!"

this morning, before i left for school, i checked hub's temperature again. it had been yo-yoing throughout the day and he'd been experiencing bouts of shivers. i advised him to take the day off and rest. since self-medication didn't work, the hub visited the doctor's who gave him 2 days of medical leave.

and as usual, my obstinate husband insists that he's got to return to work tomorrow (tuesday).

oh you know, the office would just COLLAPSE in a heap if he doesn't show up.

*sigh*

that's workaholic-speak for you.

the doctor warned that hub's virus is pretty damn contagious. i just hope the rest of us won't be bitten by the bug. it would be a real pity to be sick on a holiday.

hooray for a holiday

i am *finally* going on a holiday!

yooooo-hoooooooooooooooooo!!!

admittedly i've been consumed with insane jealously after reading miss ene's krabi holiday (and that lucky lady's heading to bali in june) and dev's leisurely visit down-under. the last time i was out of the country was in 2005 - a rushed 2-day business trip to brisbane/the gold coast. plus i was 4 months pregnant and exhausted throughout.

so you can pardon my excitement when the hub said we'll be going to bintan next/following weekend!


never mind that our holiday destination is an hour's ferry ride from our humid (and often humourless) little island. it's still a different country, considered "overseas" and we need passports to get there.

anyway, it's not a long vacation and technically, it's not even a holiday - it's a 3D/2N mini company strategic retreat organised for hub and his colleagues. the girls and i are just tagging along. so while hub and gang are busy charting new directions, missions and visions for their company, i'm determined to take the kids out for some fun-in-the-sun beach action, and maybe take an elephant ride or two. when we visited bintan in 2004 (pictures here) xian had asked to see/ride elephants and we obliged. let's hope the elephants are still around.

we'll probably staying at nirwana gardens though there could be some changes (all arrangements made by hub's company). in our last trip, we put up at the idyllic angsana resort, the more affordable cousin of the luxurious banyan tree. really nice place. great for time-out with the darlings.

this will also be wen's first holiday overseas. xian's a little luckier as she'd already visited japan, phuket, malaysia (fraser hills) and bintan before she turned 3 years old. while i'm excited about the trip, i'm a little concerned about stuff i'd have to pack along to entertain the girls, especially since i'll be alone with them for most parts of the day. top items on my list = wen's diapers, kid's sunblock, caps, medication, baby lotion, paper, colour pencils and maybe a few story books.

yes, travelling with children can be quite a hassle, even if it's a short trip. i have one week to prepare...and brace myself for an adventure.

the djinni Bartimaeus again

phew.

i've done it. completed The Amulet of Samarkand, that is. 1 week ahead of schedule.

i was fortunate that girls were fast asleep after the nasty tongue twister Fox in Socks and Yertle the Turtle (xian's current dr seuss favourites) which allowed me ample time to catch up on my own reading.

and i'm proceeding with great pleasure, the 2nd book of The Bartimaeus Trilogy which picks up 2 years or so where The Amulet of Samarkand left off. let's just hope The Golem's Eye is as delightful as its predecessor. (picture on the right shows how to create a golem, if anyone is keen...)

i love ol' opinionated Barty's wicked sense of humour and sarcasm. it's quite refreshing. for a taste of his self-glorified, pompus narrative style, read here.