Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Happy 3rd Anniversary to Mr and Mrs Tan
How quickly time flies. It has been 3 years since our wedding. Chloe has turned into a bubbly 2 year old. We celebrated our lunar wedding anniversary on Monday at Ristorante Bologna at Marina Mandarin and brought along our little pride and joy, our little Chloe.
Monday, August 22, 2011
3 More Days to Go!
The Tan Family will be spending 3 more nights in Singapore. On Thursday morning, they will be accompanied by Chloe's maternal grandparents on an early flight out of Singapore to Hong Kong!
The following awaits:
2 days of Hong Kong Disneyland and 1 day of Ocean Park
Loads and Loads of Wanton Noodles
Tsui Wah breakfasts and their Milky Creamy Buns
Polo Buns
North Point Gai Dan Jai
Tantalizing Japanese at Senryo
and many more!
The following awaits:
2 days of Hong Kong Disneyland and 1 day of Ocean Park
Loads and Loads of Wanton Noodles
Tsui Wah breakfasts and their Milky Creamy Buns
Polo Buns
North Point Gai Dan Jai
Tantalizing Japanese at Senryo
and many more!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Countdown: 30 days to go!
Today, the Tan family starts the 30-day countdown to a well-earned party for Chloe and Mommy in Hong Kong. Mommy and Daddy are hoping that Chloe will enjoy her stay at Hong Kong Disneyland.
Friday, February 25, 2011
A "Chicken Soup for the Soul" - Song for Thoughts 2
Here is another moment for a song for thought. Coincidentally, just like the previous "chicken soup", this song is performed by Eason Chan again.
The first time I heard the song was when I was watching the finals of One Million Star Season 7 when
If the first song, 床頭燈 was difficult to comprehend due to my poor chinese comprehension, then this other song is more difficult because it was sung in Cantonese.
陳奕迅 - 陀飛輪
作曲：Vincent Chow
填詞：黃偉文
編曲：Gary Tong
監製：Alvin Leong
過去十八歲 沒戴錶 不過有時間
夠我 沒有後顧 野性貪玩
霎眼廿七歲 時日無多 方不敢偷懶
宏願縱未了 奮鬥總不太晚
然後突然今秋 望望身邊 應該有已盡有
我的美酒 跑車 相機 金錶 也講究
直到世間 個個也妒忌 仍不怎麼富有
用我尚有 換我沒有 其實已用盡所擁有
曾付出 幾多心跳 來換取一堆堆的發票
人值得 命中減少幾秒 多買一隻錶
秒速 捉得緊了 而皮膚竟偷偷鬆了
為何用到盡了 至知哪樣緊要
勞力是無止境 活著多好 不需要靠物證
也不以高薪 高職 高級品 搏尊敬 no~
就算搏到 伯爵那地位 和蕭邦的雋永
賣了任性 日拼夜拼 忘掉了為什麼高興
曾付出 幾多心跳 來換取 一堆堆的發票
人值得 命中減少幾秒 多買一隻錶
秒速 捉得緊了 而皮膚竟偷偷鬆了
為何用到盡了 至知哪樣緊要
記住那 關於光陰的教訓 回頭走 天已暗
你獻出了十吋 時和分 可有換到十吋金
還剩低 幾多心跳 人面跟水晶錶面對照
連自己 亦都分析不了 得到多與少
也許 真的瘋了 那個倒影多麼可笑
靈魂若變賣了 上鏈也沒心跳
銀或金 都不緊要 誰造機芯 一樣了
計劃了 照做了 得到了 時間卻太少 no~
還剩低 幾多心跳 還在數 趕不及了
昂貴是這刻 我覺悟了
在時計裡 看破一生 渺渺
The first time I heard the song was when I was watching the finals of One Million Star Season 7 when
If the first song, 床頭燈 was difficult to comprehend due to my poor chinese comprehension, then this other song is more difficult because it was sung in Cantonese.
陳奕迅 - 陀飛輪
作曲：Vincent Chow
填詞：黃偉文
編曲：Gary Tong
監製：Alvin Leong
過去十八歲 沒戴錶 不過有時間
夠我 沒有後顧 野性貪玩
霎眼廿七歲 時日無多 方不敢偷懶
宏願縱未了 奮鬥總不太晚
然後突然今秋 望望身邊 應該有已盡有
我的美酒 跑車 相機 金錶 也講究
直到世間 個個也妒忌 仍不怎麼富有
用我尚有 換我沒有 其實已用盡所擁有
曾付出 幾多心跳 來換取一堆堆的發票
人值得 命中減少幾秒 多買一隻錶
秒速 捉得緊了 而皮膚竟偷偷鬆了
為何用到盡了 至知哪樣緊要
勞力是無止境 活著多好 不需要靠物證
也不以高薪 高職 高級品 搏尊敬 no~
就算搏到 伯爵那地位 和蕭邦的雋永
賣了任性 日拼夜拼 忘掉了為什麼高興
曾付出 幾多心跳 來換取 一堆堆的發票
人值得 命中減少幾秒 多買一隻錶
秒速 捉得緊了 而皮膚竟偷偷鬆了
為何用到盡了 至知哪樣緊要
記住那 關於光陰的教訓 回頭走 天已暗
你獻出了十吋 時和分 可有換到十吋金
還剩低 幾多心跳 人面跟水晶錶面對照
連自己 亦都分析不了 得到多與少
也許 真的瘋了 那個倒影多麼可笑
靈魂若變賣了 上鏈也沒心跳
銀或金 都不緊要 誰造機芯 一樣了
計劃了 照做了 得到了 時間卻太少 no~
還剩低 幾多心跳 還在數 趕不及了
昂貴是這刻 我覺悟了
在時計裡 看破一生 渺渺
Thursday, October 14, 2010
"Though while you sleep, we are apart, your mommy loves you with all her heart"
It has been days since mommy flew out of Singapore to Houston for work. Soon enough, Chloe will be able to see her mommy again instead of talking to her video image on the laptop and kissing mommy on her face instead of kissing the screen. Daddy has gotten to the point of sterilizing the screen every day with Kirei Kirei Antibacterial and Antiseptic soap.
Before mommy left for work, Daddy spent some time at the bookstores and bought a couple of books which would hopefully "ease" Chloe's separation anxiety. Amongst the purchases, the Sleepy Kittens by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (both screenwriters for the cartoon, Despicable Me), was a lifesaver and Chloe's favourite book at the moment. She would bring the book to me to read them several times each day. The book is about 3 little kittens and their mommy. Mommy wants the 3 little kittens to go to bed and she finally sang them a lullaby. Although the story is fairly simple, it does makes a good read for Chloe.
I would love to reproduce all the words from the book but that would not be very kind to the authors. However, I like to quote the last 2 lines from the book as it struck a chord with myself and possibly Chloe when we read the book together.
Good night kittens, close your eyes. Sleep in peace until you rise.
Though while you sleep, we are apart, your mommy loves you with all her heart.
I know that when I read those lines, I am reminding Chloe that her mommy loves her a lot even though both mommy and Chloe are far apart. Every time I read the book to the end, I will, for those last 2 lines, read them as if it was mommy who was telling those lines to Chloe. Perhaps, this is also the reason why Chloe loves to bring the book to me again and again just to hear those comforting words.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Cotton, Paper or China?
It was a memorable wedding that took place 2 years ago. The couple had painstakingly planned the entire wedding without a wedding planner. 2 years later, they have a 1 year old daughter and their lives were never the same again.
According to either U.S or U.K or Modern traditions, the anniversary gifts would be cotton, paper or china while the flower would be Lily of the Valley.
Today, we had lunch at Waterfront Indochine where we had vietnamese rice paper served on fine china. That's probably as far as the paper and china would be used to represent the 2nd anniversary of our wedding.
On the way home, I stopped by the florist and asked for Lily of the Valley. It seems like this is not a popular flower that flower shops will stock up on. Instead, I had to settle for carnations. Carnation was defined as the flower for the 1st anniversary so they would make up for last year's flowers.
Searching around for royalty-free photos of Lily of the Valley, I found the following:
An interesting fact about Lily of the Valley is that it is fairly poisonous and must be kept safely around the house. Well, just as well we did not get to find any Lily of the Valley. At least we'll know that Chloe is safe and sound with a bunch of Carnations. :)
According to either U.S or U.K or Modern traditions, the anniversary gifts would be cotton, paper or china while the flower would be Lily of the Valley.
Today, we had lunch at Waterfront Indochine where we had vietnamese rice paper served on fine china. That's probably as far as the paper and china would be used to represent the 2nd anniversary of our wedding.
On the way home, I stopped by the florist and asked for Lily of the Valley. It seems like this is not a popular flower that flower shops will stock up on. Instead, I had to settle for carnations. Carnation was defined as the flower for the 1st anniversary so they would make up for last year's flowers.
Searching around for royalty-free photos of Lily of the Valley, I found the following:
An interesting fact about Lily of the Valley is that it is fairly poisonous and must be kept safely around the house. Well, just as well we did not get to find any Lily of the Valley. At least we'll know that Chloe is safe and sound with a bunch of Carnations. :)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Happy Birthday to Mama Boo
Happy Birthday to Mama Boo! I hope you will enjoy celebrating your second birthday with Chloe. As I sat in the living room admiring the brilliant handiwork of Mama Boo, so much has changed since we sat in the living room with a birthday cake. There were you, me and little Chloe who was barely 3 days old!
So much have changed over the years and I am sure more changes will be in store. One thing that'll never change is my feelings towards you. You are the love of my life and for as long as we both shall live, you shall always be the woman I hold dearest.
Happy Birthday!
So much have changed over the years and I am sure more changes will be in store. One thing that'll never change is my feelings towards you. You are the love of my life and for as long as we both shall live, you shall always be the woman I hold dearest.
Happy Birthday!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Forever After
I had too many childcare leave which I must consume before they are forfeited. So I decided to take 2 of those days off work for Chloe and Chloe's mommy.
Daddy and mommy planned to catch at least a movie today. We left Chloe in good hands with her Grandmother.
Off with our date! We did so many things together without Chloe. We went to Raffles City and sent our watches to the service center to replace the batteries. While waiting for the watches to be serviced, we left for Marina Square and decided to watch Shrek Forever After instead of Sex in the City 2. Lunch was spent at 2 different Japanese restaurant serving ramen at Parco Millennia Walk.
The reason for watching Shrek over Sex in the City was simple. Shrek would last 1.5 hours while the latter would end almost 2.5hrs later. Being away from Chloe that long would be unbearable.
As a last installment to the Shrek series, this final chapter seemed somewhat to be a "one-last-try-to-milk-the-franchise-attempt". I did not find it as entertaining as the first 3 Shrek movies. However, the moral values of the movie does indeed strike a chord in me.
In the movie, Shrek made the wrong wish to be away from the routines of family life and received the short end of the bargain. Although we would have loved to bring Chloe out on our dates, we decided to leave her out just because...
Even before I had watched the movie, I had already thought about how I would answer a seemingly innocent question of, "Did you and/or your wife ever regret that you guys had too little time for the honeymoon period before having Chloe?"
My answer would be, "Chloe is our pride and joy and we would never regret anything about our lives." An answer my wife also shared.
Of course, there will be days like these when husband and wife takes a break from the daily routine. They won't be many but they are definitely worth a mention.
Daddy and mommy planned to catch at least a movie today. We left Chloe in good hands with her Grandmother.
Off with our date! We did so many things together without Chloe. We went to Raffles City and sent our watches to the service center to replace the batteries. While waiting for the watches to be serviced, we left for Marina Square and decided to watch Shrek Forever After instead of Sex in the City 2. Lunch was spent at 2 different Japanese restaurant serving ramen at Parco Millennia Walk.
The reason for watching Shrek over Sex in the City was simple. Shrek would last 1.5 hours while the latter would end almost 2.5hrs later. Being away from Chloe that long would be unbearable.
As a last installment to the Shrek series, this final chapter seemed somewhat to be a "one-last-try-to-milk-the-franchise-attempt". I did not find it as entertaining as the first 3 Shrek movies. However, the moral values of the movie does indeed strike a chord in me.
In the movie, Shrek made the wrong wish to be away from the routines of family life and received the short end of the bargain. Although we would have loved to bring Chloe out on our dates, we decided to leave her out just because...
Even before I had watched the movie, I had already thought about how I would answer a seemingly innocent question of, "Did you and/or your wife ever regret that you guys had too little time for the honeymoon period before having Chloe?"
My answer would be, "Chloe is our pride and joy and we would never regret anything about our lives." An answer my wife also shared.
Of course, there will be days like these when husband and wife takes a break from the daily routine. They won't be many but they are definitely worth a mention.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Daddy's home
It has been almost half a year since my work assignment took me to Hong Kong. Daddy's back and glad to be home!
Monday, February 8, 2010
A "Chicken Soup for the Soul" - Song for Thoughts
Daddy could not wait to return to Singapore last month. He had received an SMS from SingTel informing him that songs can be downloaded from SingTel AMPed for free. When Daddy had some time over the weekend in Singapore, he activated the iPhone application which he had downloaded many weeks ago but was unable to use because he was not within SingTel Mobile's network coverage.
The songs selection were not plenty and disappointed Daddy. Daddy randomly downloaded a few songs and one of them was Eason Chan's 床頭燈 from his recent album, 上五樓的快活. Daddy did not paid much attention to it because it was a relatively new song and Daddy had not heard about it before.
Last night Daddy listened to the song carefully on his earphones with the iPhone, paying special attention to the music and Eason's vocals. Eason's voice on 床頭燈 was his usual relaxed, soft-speaking yet powerful and almost perfect control over his pitch. Daddy liked the melody of the song. In particular, Daddy loved how the song easily added layers (扑层) to Eason's feelings. Being more of an English-speaking person that Daddy is, the lyrics to the songs were not that clearly understood.
Daddy tried to hear the song again and again as he would when he's infatuated with a song. This time round, he wants to learn the lyrics so he can sing along instead of just mumbling out its pronunciation. Daddy searched the internet for videos of the MTV and was surprised to find that none existed. "Could this song be a non-seller (冷門)?
Disheartened, Daddy tried to search for the lyrics and found it easily. As expected, the degree of difficulty stumped Daddy initially. Copying the lyrics wholesale and translating it with Google' language tools did not yield a correct result. Daddy decided to use his limited understanding of Mandarin and Google's search and language translation tool to translate the lyrics as it should be. After its translation, Daddy finally interpreted the deep meaning of the song and the powerful message its trying to bring across.
Instead of trying to translate the song line by line, Daddy will try to pen down his interpretation of the lyrics:
Lyrics are in reproduced from http://www.easonmusic.com/wiki/%E5%BA%8A%E9%A0%AD%E7%87%88 in its traditional Chinese format.
作曲:李雨寰
填詞:葛大為
編曲:李守信/金木義則/黃冠豪/石博元
監製:林暐哲
搖上車窗 轉鑰匙孔 等引擎熄火 世界難得安靜幾秒鐘
心裡面的鏡頭 突然特寫我 已經習慣多久 得過且過
I wind up the windows to the car and turned off its engine. In that instance, a rare moment of silence engulfed my senses.
Always used to being contented to drift along in life, I felt a sudden sensation of focus upon myself:
曾經夢想 拯救宇宙 許多年以後 在電影院看 天災人禍
快毀滅的地球 總會出現英雄
不知不覺也欣然接受 那並不是我
I used to dream of saving the universe. Many years later, I watched about natural and man-made disasters from the movies. As planet Earth constantly spins towards it ultimate destruction, a hero will surely emerge. Slowly but surely, I have come to terms with my unattainable ambitions. I am not that hero but I am pleased with it.
我慶幸我走在一條 不完美的道路
認清我們 多渺小 多麼脆弱
刺眼的青春宣告沉默 換床頭燈一座
卻照亮了 眼前的 所有
I'm thankful that I'm walking along this imperfect path. It helps me to recognize life's fragilities and all its insignificance. Faced with the glaring truth about my rescinding youth, I finally changed my perspective of my world, akin to the replacement of a faulty light bulb for my bedside lamp. The light from the lamp now illuminates all that lies in front of my eyes.
當生命中 最大成就 不再是掠奪 而是她們 仰望的笑容
情願婉拒應酬 趕回家喊開動
不知不覺也欣然接受 最踏實的我
My biggest achievement in life is this: I can and I will choose to decline invitations from colleagues to hang out after work. So I can rush home in time to start dinner with the longing, smiling faces. Slowly but surely, I have come to terms with my practical self but I am pleased with it.
我慶幸我走在一條 不完美的道路
認清我們 多渺小 多麼脆弱
刺眼的青春宣告沉默 換床頭燈一座
卻燙貼了 我蹉跎的 沿路旅程的顛簸
I'm thankful that I'm walking along this imperfect path. It helps me to recognize life's fragilities and all its insignificance. Faced with the glaring truth about my rescinding youth, I finally changed my perspective of my world, akin to the replacement of a faulty light bulb for my bedside lamp. The warmth from the lamp accompanies the delays along my bumpy life's journey.
我慶幸我身在這場 沒腳本的演出
領悟這個姓名 該起的作用
車窗外 時間無聲流動 我也曾任性過
終於學會了 不再辯駁
I'm thankful that I'm living this life like it was an unscripted performance. I'm awaken to the use of my family name. The world outside the car passes by quietly. I was once willful about this change but now I finally learned the importance of acceptance without refuting.
作過的夢還倒背如流 只是有了不同的感受
不奢想去外太空 躲在被窩 等賴床的周末
The list of ambitions I've made are still vivid in my mind. As I list them now this time, the feeling's different. I no longer need to feel that I'm that astronaut (who saves the world). I look forward to the lazy weekend mornings on my bed.
我慶幸我走在一條 不完美的道路
認清我們 多渺小 多麼脆弱
刺眼的青春宣告沉默 換床頭燈一座
卻燙貼了 我蹉跎的 沿路旅程的顛簸
I'm thankful that I'm walking along this imperfect path. It helps me to recognize life's fragilities and all its insignificance. Faced with the glaring truth about my rescinding youth, I finally changed my perspective of my world, akin to the replacement of a faulty light bulb for my bedside lamp. The warmth from the lamp accompanies across my delay along this bumpy journey.
我慶幸我身在這場 沒腳本的演出
領悟這個姓名 該起的作用
車窗外 時間無聲流動 我也曾任性過
終於學會了 不再辯駁
I'm thankful that I'm living this life like it was an unscripted performance. I'm awaken to the use of my family name. The world outside the car passes by quietly. I was once willful about this change but now I finally learned the importance of acceptance without refuting.
© The English interpretations, not to be confused with the literal translation of the lyrics to the song are copyrighted by Daddy and meant for his two most favorite girls, Nicole and Chloe.
The songs selection were not plenty and disappointed Daddy. Daddy randomly downloaded a few songs and one of them was Eason Chan's 床頭燈 from his recent album, 上五樓的快活. Daddy did not paid much attention to it because it was a relatively new song and Daddy had not heard about it before.
Last night Daddy listened to the song carefully on his earphones with the iPhone, paying special attention to the music and Eason's vocals. Eason's voice on 床頭燈 was his usual relaxed, soft-speaking yet powerful and almost perfect control over his pitch. Daddy liked the melody of the song. In particular, Daddy loved how the song easily added layers (扑层) to Eason's feelings. Being more of an English-speaking person that Daddy is, the lyrics to the songs were not that clearly understood.
Daddy tried to hear the song again and again as he would when he's infatuated with a song. This time round, he wants to learn the lyrics so he can sing along instead of just mumbling out its pronunciation. Daddy searched the internet for videos of the MTV and was surprised to find that none existed. "Could this song be a non-seller (冷門)?
Disheartened, Daddy tried to search for the lyrics and found it easily. As expected, the degree of difficulty stumped Daddy initially. Copying the lyrics wholesale and translating it with Google' language tools did not yield a correct result. Daddy decided to use his limited understanding of Mandarin and Google's search and language translation tool to translate the lyrics as it should be. After its translation, Daddy finally interpreted the deep meaning of the song and the powerful message its trying to bring across.
Instead of trying to translate the song line by line, Daddy will try to pen down his interpretation of the lyrics:
Lyrics are in reproduced from http://www.easonmusic.com/wiki/%E5%BA%8A%E9%A0%AD%E7%87%88 in its traditional Chinese format.
作曲:李雨寰
填詞:葛大為
編曲:李守信/金木義則/黃冠豪/石博元
監製:林暐哲
搖上車窗 轉鑰匙孔 等引擎熄火 世界難得安靜幾秒鐘
心裡面的鏡頭 突然特寫我 已經習慣多久 得過且過
I wind up the windows to the car and turned off its engine. In that instance, a rare moment of silence engulfed my senses.
Always used to being contented to drift along in life, I felt a sudden sensation of focus upon myself:
曾經夢想 拯救宇宙 許多年以後 在電影院看 天災人禍
快毀滅的地球 總會出現英雄
不知不覺也欣然接受 那並不是我
I used to dream of saving the universe. Many years later, I watched about natural and man-made disasters from the movies. As planet Earth constantly spins towards it ultimate destruction, a hero will surely emerge. Slowly but surely, I have come to terms with my unattainable ambitions. I am not that hero but I am pleased with it.
我慶幸我走在一條 不完美的道路
認清我們 多渺小 多麼脆弱
刺眼的青春宣告沉默 換床頭燈一座
卻照亮了 眼前的 所有
I'm thankful that I'm walking along this imperfect path. It helps me to recognize life's fragilities and all its insignificance. Faced with the glaring truth about my rescinding youth, I finally changed my perspective of my world, akin to the replacement of a faulty light bulb for my bedside lamp. The light from the lamp now illuminates all that lies in front of my eyes.
當生命中 最大成就 不再是掠奪 而是她們 仰望的笑容
情願婉拒應酬 趕回家喊開動
不知不覺也欣然接受 最踏實的我
My biggest achievement in life is this: I can and I will choose to decline invitations from colleagues to hang out after work. So I can rush home in time to start dinner with the longing, smiling faces. Slowly but surely, I have come to terms with my practical self but I am pleased with it.
我慶幸我走在一條 不完美的道路
認清我們 多渺小 多麼脆弱
刺眼的青春宣告沉默 換床頭燈一座
卻燙貼了 我蹉跎的 沿路旅程的顛簸
I'm thankful that I'm walking along this imperfect path. It helps me to recognize life's fragilities and all its insignificance. Faced with the glaring truth about my rescinding youth, I finally changed my perspective of my world, akin to the replacement of a faulty light bulb for my bedside lamp. The warmth from the lamp accompanies the delays along my bumpy life's journey.
我慶幸我身在這場 沒腳本的演出
領悟這個姓名 該起的作用
車窗外 時間無聲流動 我也曾任性過
終於學會了 不再辯駁
I'm thankful that I'm living this life like it was an unscripted performance. I'm awaken to the use of my family name. The world outside the car passes by quietly. I was once willful about this change but now I finally learned the importance of acceptance without refuting.
作過的夢還倒背如流 只是有了不同的感受
不奢想去外太空 躲在被窩 等賴床的周末
The list of ambitions I've made are still vivid in my mind. As I list them now this time, the feeling's different. I no longer need to feel that I'm that astronaut (who saves the world). I look forward to the lazy weekend mornings on my bed.
我慶幸我走在一條 不完美的道路
認清我們 多渺小 多麼脆弱
刺眼的青春宣告沉默 換床頭燈一座
卻燙貼了 我蹉跎的 沿路旅程的顛簸
I'm thankful that I'm walking along this imperfect path. It helps me to recognize life's fragilities and all its insignificance. Faced with the glaring truth about my rescinding youth, I finally changed my perspective of my world, akin to the replacement of a faulty light bulb for my bedside lamp. The warmth from the lamp accompanies across my delay along this bumpy journey.
我慶幸我身在這場 沒腳本的演出
領悟這個姓名 該起的作用
車窗外 時間無聲流動 我也曾任性過
終於學會了 不再辯駁
I'm thankful that I'm living this life like it was an unscripted performance. I'm awaken to the use of my family name. The world outside the car passes by quietly. I was once willful about this change but now I finally learned the importance of acceptance without refuting.
© The English interpretations, not to be confused with the literal translation of the lyrics to the song are copyrighted by Daddy and meant for his two most favorite girls, Nicole and Chloe.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary
Today marks our 1st anniversary together! Happy Anniversary to us.
Our 1st anniversary celebration at Amara Sanctuary Resort clad in Liverpool Jerseys
Thursday, August 27, 2009
My Out-of-Office auto-replies
I am parenting away with my newly first-born child and daughter who popped into my life on 26 August 2009. During my time away from the office, I will be swopping Technical White Papers, Infrastructure Diagrams and KBs for parenting books and magazines. (Hmmm, is there a reboot button on this miniature form of a human body that wails non-stop day and night?... and where is the operations manual?...)
I will be returning to office on 14 September 2009.
Thanks for your understanding.
Johnson
I will be returning to office on 14 September 2009.
Thanks for your understanding.
Johnson
Friday, July 24, 2009
An audience with the King
I finally have a chance to meet my boyhood hero in the flesh last night at the Marina Oriental Hotel. He is none other than the King Kenny Dalglish.
Article featuring my question to the King in The New Paper:
http://news.asiaone.com/News/The+New+Paper/Story/A1Story20090727-157248.html
Article from LFC TV:
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/archivedirs/mediawatch/2009/aug/MW14890090801-1125.htm
Article from Liverpool Banter:
http://www.liverpoolbanter.co.uk/2009/08/blood-red-race-against-time-fo.html
Article featuring my question to the King in The New Paper:
http://news.asiaone.com/News/The+New+Paper/Story/A1Story20090727-157248.html
Article from LFC TV:
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/archivedirs/mediawatch/2009/aug/MW14890090801-1125.htm
Article from Liverpool Banter:
http://www.liverpoolbanter.co.uk/2009/08/blood-red-race-against-time-fo.html
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Naming Game
Almost every mom and dad-to-be will surely have been through the phase of trying to pick a name for their unborn child. I knew right from the start it won't be easy. Always finding ways to make fun of people's name, it is now my turn to ensure that my offsprings will not be subjected to any form of ridicule. Singapore's multi-racial mix as well as education and millitary ministries did not help many parents who innocently named their child who ends up with bad sounding names in any possible language.
Boo and I agreed that we will consult the geomancer for the Chinese name. I hope he will be merciful and not give us a paltry list of suggestions that will allow her to be subjected to name-calling bullies much like her dad had been. So it was decided. We shall have fun in our pursuit for the one English name that will set her life in motion. Boo did not want a middle name when I suggested X for various reasons I shall not reveal now. Eventually, we liked Chloe the most. The name, Chloe, originates from Greek and it stands for "Verdant and Blooming". On the particular website where we found the name, it stands for "Young Shoot". We hoped that she will bloom like a pretty flower and be successful in life. I had thought a young shoot may mean that she will be playing as a striker when playing football. Considering that strikers command more pay playing in their position, it may be a good thing if she earns the kind of money footballers are getting these days.
So, a name was born and today (7th July 2009), we finally confirmed her name by buying a fridge magnet with her name boldly printed.
Boo and I agreed that we will consult the geomancer for the Chinese name. I hope he will be merciful and not give us a paltry list of suggestions that will allow her to be subjected to name-calling bullies much like her dad had been. So it was decided. We shall have fun in our pursuit for the one English name that will set her life in motion. Boo did not want a middle name when I suggested X for various reasons I shall not reveal now. Eventually, we liked Chloe the most. The name, Chloe, originates from Greek and it stands for "Verdant and Blooming". On the particular website where we found the name, it stands for "Young Shoot". We hoped that she will bloom like a pretty flower and be successful in life. I had thought a young shoot may mean that she will be playing as a striker when playing football. Considering that strikers command more pay playing in their position, it may be a good thing if she earns the kind of money footballers are getting these days.
So, a name was born and today (7th July 2009), we finally confirmed her name by buying a fridge magnet with her name boldly printed.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sundown Marathon 2009
In less than 3 hour's time, I'll be running the Sundown Marathon 2009. This run is dedicated to Nicole, my wife of 9 months and our soon-to-be-born little girl, Chloe. As I trudged along the paths of Changi, East Coast, Siglap, Bedok Reservoir, Tampines and Pasir Ris, wondering why I signed up for these self-inflicting tortures, I will have to dig deep to visualize the family whom I will embrace in 3 month's time.
Nicole and Chloe, this run is dedicated to the both of you. My lovely angels and even though both of you will not be present at the run, I know deep down that you both will be rooting for me, no better how badly I run. =p
Nicole and Chloe, this run is dedicated to the both of you. My lovely angels and even though both of you will not be present at the run, I know deep down that you both will be rooting for me, no better how badly I run. =p
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Happy Birthday to Boo!
Boo is so glad Bear is able to come back for Boo's birthday on 29 Aug. After a busy day of gown/suit fitting and teeth polishing/whitening @ Toof Doctor, Bear brought Boo to see "Doc Cheng" who "prescribed ang moh fish porridge" (cod fish risotto) for Boo's a week-long cough :P
Bear gave Boo a Billabong bikini as bday present. Hopefully Boo will look fabulous in it when we go for our honeymoon. But Boo had a sliced of the durian emicake which "ah boy" (Boo's very sweet younger brother) bought. Can Boo make it? Hahahah....
Bear gave Boo a Billabong bikini as bday present. Hopefully Boo will look fabulous in it when we go for our honeymoon. But Boo had a sliced of the durian emicake which "ah boy" (Boo's very sweet younger brother) bought. Can Boo make it? Hahahah....
Friday, August 15, 2008
Musings by the Groom (Part 5)
Happy month-niversary to my Boo!
It has been a blast having you as my girlfriend for the last 6 and a half years and knowing that 30 days from now, when you wake up next to me, we'll be celebrating our next month-niversary as husband-and-wife!
It has been a blast having you as my girlfriend for the last 6 and a half years and knowing that 30 days from now, when you wake up next to me, we'll be celebrating our next month-niversary as husband-and-wife!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Musings by the Groom (Part 4)
It has been a wonderful week in Melbourne. Not having my wife-to-be by my side for a month was torture. The cold winter of Melbourne was at times unbearable. Not having a loved one for hugs when the wind blows was bitter.
There were so much we'd acomplished this week. Aside from having spent a month away from each other and meeting each other again thereafter, we also spent my birthday in a foreign country, took a couple portraiture in the city of Melbourne, travelled the Great Ocean Road, visited the bright bath boxes of Brighton Beach and pushed 3 metres off the edge of the Eureka Sky Deck.
All that fun and excitement ended on a Sunday afternoon, or rather, was supposed to end on Saturday afternoon, only for both of us to forget that her passport was left in the safety of the safe deposit in the apartment. She ended up being on time to check-in at the airport but not being able to board the 15:50 flight. The next flight departs at 00:05 flight and we returned to the city for trampoline and dinner and spend a little more time together.
As I pen this entry, my heart is filled with a great sense of loss. That I can't see my wife-to-be for another 2 more weeks leaves an unbearable sadness in my heart. However, I do know that I will need to push on with my work and make sure that my work is done before I return to Singapore in 2 weeks time.
Take care my wife-to-be. Thank you for dropping by and spending a wonderful week with me. I'll be back to see you in 2 weeks' time.
There were so much we'd acomplished this week. Aside from having spent a month away from each other and meeting each other again thereafter, we also spent my birthday in a foreign country, took a couple portraiture in the city of Melbourne, travelled the Great Ocean Road, visited the bright bath boxes of Brighton Beach and pushed 3 metres off the edge of the Eureka Sky Deck.
All that fun and excitement ended on a Sunday afternoon, or rather, was supposed to end on Saturday afternoon, only for both of us to forget that her passport was left in the safety of the safe deposit in the apartment. She ended up being on time to check-in at the airport but not being able to board the 15:50 flight. The next flight departs at 00:05 flight and we returned to the city for trampoline and dinner and spend a little more time together.
As I pen this entry, my heart is filled with a great sense of loss. That I can't see my wife-to-be for another 2 more weeks leaves an unbearable sadness in my heart. However, I do know that I will need to push on with my work and make sure that my work is done before I return to Singapore in 2 weeks time.
Take care my wife-to-be. Thank you for dropping by and spending a wonderful week with me. I'll be back to see you in 2 weeks' time.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Musings by the Groom (Part 3)
Yesterday, marked my birthday, as well as the 7th year when I first set my eyes upon my wife-to-be and fell deeply in love at first sight.
Today, marks exactly 2 months to go before our biggest date of our life, our wedding date.
Tomorrow, will mark the 6 years and 5 months of our love relationship.
The best part of it all, after a month of not being at the side of each other, I now have my wife-to-be for company as she flew into Melbourne to be with me on these very special days of our lives.
I hope you're enjoying my company as much as I'm enjoying yours. And I hope you're enjoying Melbourne too.
Today, marks exactly 2 months to go before our biggest date of our life, our wedding date.
Tomorrow, will mark the 6 years and 5 months of our love relationship.
The best part of it all, after a month of not being at the side of each other, I now have my wife-to-be for company as she flew into Melbourne to be with me on these very special days of our lives.
I hope you're enjoying my company as much as I'm enjoying yours. And I hope you're enjoying Melbourne too.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Musings by the Groom (Part 2)
It has been a week since I'd arrived at Melbourne. There's never a day I'd stopped thinking about my lovely wife-to-be. Every sight and sound, every interesting thoughts and ideas that I've come across, I will think of my Boo. And how much I wanted to tell you about the sights around the Yarra River, the guy standing on the middle of the bridge, playing his bagpipe, the street break-dancers, the beggars (who can afford a McDonald's meal by the way)
I've moved into the long stay apartment yesterday. The only windows in the apartments are the 3 sliding doors that leads to the balcony, which is west-facing. I received a free upgrade from the long-stay apartment establishment. They gave me a 2 bedroom apartment. Sometimes, these companies just don't get it. I'm single, working in Melbourne, and what I need are free washing/ironing/cooking/sports channel with live soccer/fast speed internet access and the lot. Apart from the queen sized bed in the master bedroom, I do not need the additional 2 single beds in the next room.
Speaking of soccer, I'm having withdrawal symptoms from not having seen a live game for more than a month. I do get the occasional snipplets through the free-to-air channels when the sports section is on the news. However the snipplets are much like 5-10 seconds each day. Like a smoker switching from cigarettes to nicotine sweet/chewing gums, my daily dose of sports action are ARL and NRL. In between their matches, I am trying to figure out the rules of the games and all other miscellaneous stuffs. The difference I've noticed so far, ARL players wear sleeveless jerseys. Also, Melbourne has a team that's last in the ARL but joint-1st in the NRL and I can't help but wonder why there's so much disparity between both teams.
Work is slowly creeping up but still manageable. I keep getting invites to meetings but they keep getting cancelled at the last minute. Hopefully, work won't consume me like it almost did in Singapore.
Today also marks 2 months and 22 days to our wedding! In Chinese numerology, the number '2' represents "shuang" or double and is meant to represent a pair, which is a good thing. :)
83 days to go!
I've moved into the long stay apartment yesterday. The only windows in the apartments are the 3 sliding doors that leads to the balcony, which is west-facing. I received a free upgrade from the long-stay apartment establishment. They gave me a 2 bedroom apartment. Sometimes, these companies just don't get it. I'm single, working in Melbourne, and what I need are free washing/ironing/cooking/sports channel with live soccer/fast speed internet access and the lot. Apart from the queen sized bed in the master bedroom, I do not need the additional 2 single beds in the next room.
Speaking of soccer, I'm having withdrawal symptoms from not having seen a live game for more than a month. I do get the occasional snipplets through the free-to-air channels when the sports section is on the news. However the snipplets are much like 5-10 seconds each day. Like a smoker switching from cigarettes to nicotine sweet/chewing gums, my daily dose of sports action are ARL and NRL. In between their matches, I am trying to figure out the rules of the games and all other miscellaneous stuffs. The difference I've noticed so far, ARL players wear sleeveless jerseys. Also, Melbourne has a team that's last in the ARL but joint-1st in the NRL and I can't help but wonder why there's so much disparity between both teams.
Work is slowly creeping up but still manageable. I keep getting invites to meetings but they keep getting cancelled at the last minute. Hopefully, work won't consume me like it almost did in Singapore.
Today also marks 2 months and 22 days to our wedding! In Chinese numerology, the number '2' represents "shuang" or double and is meant to represent a pair, which is a good thing. :)
83 days to go!
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