Celebrates GOOD Times...

BONUS DAY !!!

My company practice paying variable bonuses in the Month of April. Last week, i received my letter from my HR as my GM is vacationing in Australia.

The letter was a booster to my moral for the rest of the week. On thursday night, i gave a dinner treat to Lao pa & Lao ma at Ban Heng Restaurant on Boon Keng Road. It is a small teochew restaurant and food was good.

On Friday, our department decided to give ourselves a GOOD treat, for lunch, we went to Aquamarine at Marina Mandarin hotel. It was a buffet and the spread was fantastic.

Well, it's a very good feeling to receive BONUS and for me, beside giving myself good Treats, i will set aside some monies for the children eduction fund. Last but not list on my shopping list - buy a nice present for our new family member - Faith.

Saturday, 31 March

In the morning, i fetched lao pa to the Changi Budget Terminal for his flight from SIN - Haikou. He will be spending a month in Hainan.

In the afternoon, Aces family was invite for lunch at Louis and Eve's place. This is because Eve is doing her confinement and the Confinement Lady has cooked a big pot of Pig Trotters. Knowing that this is one of Adrian's favourite, Louis and Eve had kindly included our shares.

For us, it is also a good time to see Faith as Anders has been asking us the whole week that he want to see Faith Mei Mei... : )

This is my 1st time carrying Faith and when she sleeps in my arm, i feel that the whole world is so peaceful, she is really a darling. I know for sure, i myself, will definitely pamper her alot as she grows. Can't resist no loving her.

Dinner was at S28 coffee shop near our place, we tried AMK Mall but all the restaurants had LONG Q-s. Adrian, anders, Siti and myself had a good meal at the $4.80 'zi-char' stall. Anthea went with mom and dad to a 1 year old birthday party.

" I want to paint "

Since Monday evening, Anthea has been requesting for me to bring her to Junction 8 because she want to do one of her favourite activity - Painting.

Due to weather, i have been pulling it off. So finally on Wednesday night, we went to J8. On the way to J8, Anders kept telling me " mommy, i also want to paint leh"...then i told him he can help Anthea jie jie to do hers. But Anthea said she want to do one by herself, so 2 of them are agreeable that each will have their own picture.

Nowadays, the 2 A's junior are doing a lot of negotiations between themselves and i am happy most of the time (says 80%) they can reached an agreement. The others 20% will required some mediations from mommy or daddy.. : )

Once we reached J8, Anthea chosed for herself a Minnie Picture and Anders chosed for himself a Mickey picture. As this is Anders 1st attempt in doing his own picture, he was very excited and started using all the colors. Daddy was sitting beside him to monitor his painting, without doing for him. Finally the picture turned out.....

Well, for a beginner, i would says it is quite a "masterpiece"....haha.

Anthea's picture -

I believe this kind of painting activity not only help in the children motor skills, it also helps them in their creativity, especially on the colors combinations. I am glad that they liked it.

Because of the childcare renovation, Anthea has been going to another centre in Yishun via the school bus. She is happy with the Yishun centre but her personal preference is still the AMK Centre. I believe this is because she needs to wake up earlier to get on the school bus on time. So it was quite tiring for her.

I am glad we have this experience, so now we know the convenience of having a Primary school nearby and she need not wake up like 6am to get on a schoolbus.

Now with all the conveniences just within walking distance - AMK Mall, Schools, Wet Market, hawkers Centre, 24 hrs MacDonalds etcs. We would not dare to ask for more !!

Development Assessement - Anders 3rd Years

This morning i brought Anders to Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic for his 3 Years old Development Assessment.

Height - 95 cm below 50%

Weight - 14.1 kg - 50%

He has passes for followings:
- Personal Social
- Fine Motor Adaptive
- Language
- Gross motor

Overall, his assessment is good, only thing is he is shorter than average .. ... : P

I smsed to informed Adrian of the review, he replied "shorty are more intelligent"...hmmm..i am not very sure of this theory. My concern is he may has problem getting a Girlfriend...hee.

Tall, short , fat or skinny - the most important thing to me is he is growing up Happy & Healthy.

Faith has Arrived...

My 2nd brother in-law and his wife, Louis and Eve, is expecting their 1st baby and the estimated due date is 10 April 2007. However, Baby has decided to come and see the world earlier.

This morning, Adrian got an sms from Louis mentioning that Eve's waterbag burst and they admitted to Mt.Alvernia.

At around 7am, Louis called and said that baby has arrived. All these while, both of them has decided that they do not want to know the gender of the baby till delivery. So finally, today we know the answer - a Baby GIRL. Louis and Eve has decided to name her Faith Tan, as for the chinese name, they will consult a Feng Shui shi fu.

Officially, i am promoted to a 大婶 status today. I have requested to Louis & Eve that Faith should address Adrian and myself as 大伯父 & 大婶 then just Aunty. Reason being the children are already losing the ability to speak Teochew as they don't have any exposure. So the least we can do to help them, is perhaps, the correct way to address their elders.

Anthea and Anders are looking forward to welcoming their new cousin. I know for sure, now the Tan Family is getting bigger and noisier with the additional of Faith. Also, Anders and Faith birthdate difference is only 1 DAY... : )

"Dear Faith, All of us are looking forward to your arrival and showering you with lots of Love and Care. May you grow Happy & Healthy. "

Anders is 3....

Anders is 3 Years Old on 22 March.

We had a small Birthday celebration for him last Sunday. I ordered a Power Rangers SPD Cake for him, as chosen by himself. We had dinner at Qian Xi restaurant in Civil Service Club. Food was average but service was off standard. Nonetheless, important thing is Anders enjoyed his birthday song and cake. That covers all the shortcomings.

3 Years is not a LONG time, neither is it SHORT. I am happy to say that he is a Happy Boy, easily satisfied with whatever he has. Also he is very lucky to have his "meme" Siti who looks after him like her own son. So this 3 years has been a very smooth years for all of us.

His birthday presents:

- Mask rider toys from Daddy

- Justirizer from Siti

- A pair of Crocs from Uncle Louis and Aunty Eve

- A Disney Tee-shirt and water bottle from Nai Nai & Anthea jie jie.

- Power Ranger cake from mummy

- Ang - pows from Ah gong, ah po and Er-jiu.

At 3 now, he is learning progessively well since he started childcare and i am happy at his progress.

All i wish for my lovely son is

Good Health and Happiness Always !!

Amazing Hong Kong !!!

I am back from the 1 week break and time really flies when you are enjoying it.

We departed on Monday, 12 March from SIN-HKG on SQ flight. As usual, SQ flight is good and entertaining. As we were on the new B777-300 series, it was really a very good overall experienced. Then from HKG Airport, we were transferred to Shenzhen Sheraton Hotel. For 3 days we had our event there. Well, i don't really like Shenzhen,so not gonna write much of it...hee : P

Day 1: Discover Hong Kong


On Wednesday, 14 March, we went back to HKG Airport and my colleagues left for SIN while my vacation starts from here. I waited at the HKIA for mom and anthea arrivals. They arrived around 4pm and we took the Airport Express to Kowloon Station. From here we took the FREE shuttle bus service to our hotel, Miramar Hotel. I am really impressed with Hong Kong Public Transport systems . They are so efficient.

After checking in the hotel, we went for dinner. There are so many restaurants around our hotel and finding food is not a problem.Afer dinner, we went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the next day.

Day 2 - Magical Day at DISNEYLAND

Woke up and had a nice local breakfast, i went around and da-bao back the breakfast. After breakfast, we started our day to Disneyland. We went via the MTR and it was really easy to get around with. Once we reached Disney, Anthea was totally engrossed with the Disney characters.
She had a very fun time and was busy taking photos with all the characters. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto etcs. Plus all her PRINCESS - Snow White, Beauty, Cinderella, Mermaid etcs. We went for a few rides and finally ended the day with the Disney Parade. End of the day, we were all exhausted but felt very happy as it's been a MAGICAL day for us.

We went for a swim when we reached the hotel as Anthea kept requesting for it. Thereafter, dinner was at a Porridge restaurant near our hotel. Food in Hong Kong is generally of good taste and big quantity, so we really enjoyed it.

Day 3 - Ocean Park Deluxe

After breakfast, we set off for Ocean Park. It was quite easy to get there on our own. Anthea saw the Sharks and Coral Aquarium. As it was a Friday, they had a 11.30am Dolphin Show, we were really very lucky, otherwise will need to wait till 3.30pm for weekdays. After the show, we went back to the lowland via the Cable Car and Anthea enjoyed the cable ride. This is her FIRST Experience on Cable Car and i must said - She took it really well.

After Ocean Park, we headed to Causeway Bay for lunch and also to buy "老 婆 饼". I managed to find the famous Hang Heung Cake shop, recommended by my cousin. We were not disappointed, the biscuits are Delicious and Fresh.

We met Cherry, who is working in Hong Kong for a month, in her hotel Island Shangri-La in the evening. She brought us to this very posh and nice restaurant in IFC for dinner. The name of the restaurant is Cuisine Cuisine. The food was delicious and service was TIP-TOP. She also bought. Another brand of the biscuits for us to try. After dinner, we said goodbye to Cherry and went back to our hotel.

Another power packed and fun filled day.

Day 4: Home Sweet Home.

In the morning, on recommendation of the hotel, i managed to find a restaurant nearby for "Yum Cha", the dim sum was good and anthea enjoyed the porridge very much. After a hearty breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and got ready for our departure flight back to Singapore. We took the free shuttle from hotel to Kowloon Station and we did a Down Town Check in. After that we traveled on the airport express from the Kowloon to Airport, all in good comfort.

Flight back to Singapore was smooth and upon reaching Singapore, our welcome gang was at the arrival hall waiting for us. As usual, the warmth of the family is felt upon arrival. Anthea was so happy to see all of them and started to relate all her Hong Kong experienced to her favorite "ye ye".

Overall, this has been a wonderful trip for me and I am really happy that Anthea and mom had a good time in Hong Kong. Only regret is - we had no time to SHOP...so i know for sure "I will be back in Hong Kong".

"Radio Silence" Mode....

I am having a bit of mixed feelings a day before my departure.

a) Happy - finally getting a good break from my monotonous routine. Comes April, when Siti goes back Indonesia, i believe LIFE will be more demanding for me, so this is a good time for me to re-charge.

Also mother in-law is brining Anthea to Hong Kong to meet me and we will be vacationing there for the 3 days. So far, we are on a F&E schedule. However, I have planned up an agenda packed of activities for ourselves, based on some useful informations provided by Hong Kong friends and my cousin, Herng, who has been there.

b) Sad - will be missing the 2 A's for the 3 days that i am in Shenzhen for company Event.

c) Guilty - Much as i would like it to be an Aces Family tour but decided against it because Anders is still not as manageable at this age. And also there is lots of movement in Hong Kong, so it will be too taxing for him. So leaving Daddy and him on home based.

I know for our next oversea trip, it will definitely be as a FAMILY unit.

With this blog, i will be going into "SILENT" mode for the next few days and after this week, i would love to share my experiences with the rest of the family and friends. Till then..

ADIUES !!!

Ding - Dong ...

I am really happy to mention that Anders is adapting really well in the childcare.

Now, when we leave him in the morning, he will wave Bye Bye to us, look a bit sad but NO TEARS.

Usually i will ask him :

"Anders, what you do in school" and he will reply me with his daily routine:

- "Study with Teacher Jessie or Lao Shi"

- "Go outdoor play"

- "Eat lunch, bath"

- "sleep, wakes up, eat bread etcs for tea-break"

- "then Ding-Dong Ding Dong...Meme comes and fetch me" (I believe the Ding Dong derived from the childcare security system where we need to key in password to unlock the door).

He always come home A VERY HAPPY BOY, Anthea is also enjoying the school very much.

I am glad that i have made the decision to change to this new childcare. I find the communications here are very open and ongoing, so it is very good for both the teacher, child and parents.

In about another 2 week time, the childcare will be undergoing some renovations. Anthea class will be affected and she will be going to another childcare centre in Yishun. I hope the transition will be smooth for all of them.

Next week, i am getting the painter to come and paint the house. Well, i have to abort my DIY plan to color the house because i think it is still more economical to get the professional to do the job. Anyway, this painter is Er-ge's good friend, so i got a very good Quotation for the job.

元 肖

Read this from a Chinese website :

"Yuanxiao Festival or the Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, fourteen days after Chinese New Year's Day (around the end of January and the beginning of February).The most popular food for this festival is yuanxiao, a kind of sweet dumpling made of glutinous rice or wheat flour. "

In celebration of this special day, i decided to fry some 年糕 for the family. This is my yearly contribution to the family. Hoping that all of us will 步步高升, in respect of quality of life and career.

As today is the official last day of collection of Ang Pows, i have summed up both Anthea and Anders's ang pows's and will banked them into their Bank Account. This will be part of their education fund.

Hmm..talking about ang pows - would like to pen in this small incident in my office. On Friday. our GM was very kind to give the department staff one ang pow each, totalled 5 of us. Before getting my ang pow, my colleague kept telling me that "Boss had given a VERY BIG Ang Pow." When i got my share, my colleague ORDERED me that i should keep only $20, the rest shall be given back to Boss as ang pows for his 2 daughters. Well, i am not against the idea of giving ang pows to his daughter as chinese we always return ang pows. The thing i am troubled is my colleague being so AUTHORATATIVE and controlling our ang pows $$. This is what i am upset about. Well, i would think the returns should be according to my own liking and not CONTROLLED. Anyway, just my thoughts.

May all of us have a Happy YUAN XIAO jie !!

Happy Birthday to ME...

My Birthday falls on 6 March, Tuesday. As it is on a weekday and also Louis will be flying off on Monday for his work assignment. The family decided to has an early celebration on Saturday.

We booked a table of 9 at Carnivore at Vivo City. This is a Brazilian Churrascaria restaurant, so it is ideally a place for MEAT LOVERS. The family had a good time with the food and the ambience was also very Lively and Happy. I was telling Adrian that you hardly get service staff who are so full of LIFE and ENTHUSIASM. He said probably of the culture and also some of the staff are not locals.

After dinner, we had a small Birthday Cake cutting ceremony. Nothing beat celebrating birthday with your Love Ones, especiall hearing Anthea and Anders Singing the Birthday Song, it TOUCHED my heart. Honestly i would not trade anything for these families that i have. Although it's just a simple celebration, it's really the togetherness and warmth that we shared.

"Dear all, Thank YOU For being with me on this Special DAY !!"

Company Lo-Hei

This has been a busy week for me. On Monday & Tuesday, i attended a Minutes Meeting course at the British Council in GB Building. Well, after working 2 years in the "wood jungle", i find it a bit hard to be in sync with the 'concrete jungle'. Anyway, it is good to experience it once in a while.

On Wedneday, when i was back in the office, i found a small CNY Hamper on my desk and it had all the CNY goodies in it. At lunch, there was a Lo Hei session organised by the Management. To our surprised, the new CEO Dressed as FORTUNE GOD and distributed ang-pows to all. Followed by his CNY Speech, we lo-hei and then buffet lunch.

On Thursday, we had our own Department Lo-Hei lunch at Teochew City in Centrepoint. The Lo Hei set included a Salmon Yu-sheng and our GM said he liked it very much. The rest of the food were also very delicious. After lunch, we pooled our investment and "invited" our GM to buy Toto for the department. So May today be a GOOD and HAPPY day for us and most IMPORTANTLY : WISH COMES TRUE !!!