Yesterday was the 1st day of registration of Phase 2C of the Primary One registration exercise. Adrian went to TGPS and registered Anthea’s name and came back, feeling so relaxed and happy. He said: “this is the most stress free registration.”
To be honest – I have to APOLOGIES to my children for not making the effort to try to enroll them in a BRANDED schools so that their next, next and next generations will be guaranteed of seats for LIFE.
Phase 2C – For a Child who is INELIGIBLE for or UNSUCCESSFUL in earlier phases.
While having breakfast with Adrian, we had a quick chat on neighbourhood schools. I told him that I had very good confidence that standard of such schools will rise in the coming years. Simply because the new age parents are more enthusiastic towards their children studies and will ensure that their child excels in their studies. It’s a far cry from our times, when our parents (like mine) who are non-educated will leave everything to the teachers.
These days, the schools are also more result driven than our Good Old times... hee : P
Looking at the trend of Phase 2C registration update from the "stock market", it seem like quite a number of neighbourhood school will need to go through balloting... : P
My alma mata seem to be quite a hot spot ...but as it is still a few bus stops away from our house, so i did not register Anthea for the school, although Old Girl will be earlier phase.. : 0
When Anthea came back from school, she said one of her classmate, Ryan, is also registered for the same school as her. I also told her that one of her friend from her previous childcare, Tina, is also registered for the same school. She was very happy to know that she will see Tina again.
Looking forward to the next phase of our Aces Family life and I do hope that my wish will come true... : )
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
TGPS – “Race to Success” Open House
This week I received a notice in the letterbox that informed us of the OPEN HOUSE event at TGPS on Saturday, 26 July. I decided to bring Anthea to the open house so that she(us) can have an idea of the study environment she is going to be in starting next year.
In the morning, after a good breakfast of my dad home-baked chicken pie, Aces family headed to Toa Payoh central to do some shopping for the children’s water bottles. They need a STRING bottle for their Zoo Excursion in Aug. After buying the bottles, we headed to Macdonald for a quick lunch.
Then we went for the open house event that was scheduled from 2 – 5 pm. Upon arriving, there was a receptionist counter that provided us with a “Game Card”, we are supposed to go to individual Station and collect stickers for the card. Each station will introduce the school curriculum to the parents/children. There are total of 14 stations – English, Math, Science, Mother Tongue, TG-ramics, Robotics, Parent-child race etcs.
At each individual station, there will be the teacher and children in attendance to explain the objectives of the games or the subject. It was a lot of fun, especially for Anthea and Anders as these are interactive games.
We won some presents at the games but I think the most VALUEABLE gain was Anthea had enjoyed herself immensely with the games and the environment, she kept saying: “this school is very nice.” : 0
We also had the chance to walk around the school compound and we walked her through the canteen. It brought back a lot of memories for us too. Those good old schooling days.
Times FLY so fast, comes next year, Anthea will be in Primary One and like all mothers, it seem like yesterday she was just a Baby... : )
Friday, July 25, 2008
“Small, Tiny, Miniscule”
On Wednesday, 23 July 2008, Adrian and myself went to view the showrooms of Condo Like Flats - Park Central @AMK. We viewed the 4 bedrooms unit as the 5 bedrooms are way above our affordability… : P
My impression of the unit is are described in 3 words :
SMALL – Living room is small and can accommodate a 2 seater sofa and small coffee table
TINY – 3 Bedrooms are tiny and they had built in wardrobes, all rooms had a 1 meter high balcony wall. This ledge is basically built next to the windows. So it takes up quite a fair bit of spaces. Safety is also another major concern.
MINISCULE – KITCHEN and UTILITY area is a real DISAPPOINTMENT. To me I always view these 2 as the most important parts of a home. I am not a professional chef but still I need a spacious kitchen in order for me to prepare a simple home-cooked meal for my family on weekends.
Utility area is also important as I hand washed the children clothing every day and I really need a good place to air dry their clothing during the day. Also on weekends I do heavy laundries of towels and bedsheets, can’t imagine where to hang all these in the utility area… : P
I think for this new property, the selling point is condo-like, so exterior must look neat and span, interior does not matter much.
I told Adrian that I am a typical HDB AUNTY/ Tai Tai as my top preference is PRACTICALITY and SPACE. Especially with children, all these are our daily necessities.
After viewing the 4 rooms and doing some in-dept discussion with my In-laws, we decided we will NOT try to ballot for the unit. We will wait for other opportunities that are more suitable and affordable for us.
My MIL even said that after viewing the showroom, we will appreciated our Home sweet home more than before and I AGREED wholeheartedly.
My impression of the unit is are described in 3 words :
SMALL – Living room is small and can accommodate a 2 seater sofa and small coffee table
TINY – 3 Bedrooms are tiny and they had built in wardrobes, all rooms had a 1 meter high balcony wall. This ledge is basically built next to the windows. So it takes up quite a fair bit of spaces. Safety is also another major concern.
MINISCULE – KITCHEN and UTILITY area is a real DISAPPOINTMENT. To me I always view these 2 as the most important parts of a home. I am not a professional chef but still I need a spacious kitchen in order for me to prepare a simple home-cooked meal for my family on weekends.
Utility area is also important as I hand washed the children clothing every day and I really need a good place to air dry their clothing during the day. Also on weekends I do heavy laundries of towels and bedsheets, can’t imagine where to hang all these in the utility area… : P
I think for this new property, the selling point is condo-like, so exterior must look neat and span, interior does not matter much.
I told Adrian that I am a typical HDB AUNTY/ Tai Tai as my top preference is PRACTICALITY and SPACE. Especially with children, all these are our daily necessities.
After viewing the 4 rooms and doing some in-dept discussion with my In-laws, we decided we will NOT try to ballot for the unit. We will wait for other opportunities that are more suitable and affordable for us.
My MIL even said that after viewing the showroom, we will appreciated our Home sweet home more than before and I AGREED wholeheartedly.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
再见了！！八年"好友"
Recently I read on Vivien blog about her OLD Washing Machine that had served her well for 9 years. Usually, Home appliances lifespan are about 5 years; anything more than 5 years is a bonus...haha. Otherwise all the Electronics companies will have to close down... : P
We bought our current 29 inch Panasonic TV on 07 March 2000 from Courts AMK (i still keep the receipts for all our purchases for our home). We were very lucky at that time as the set we bought was MADE IN JAPAN. Nothing against products manufactured in other countries but somehow, it does not last as long as the Japanese made products.
Well, after 8 years of serving us loyally and faithfully, the TV set had decided to “retire” itself officially. Since last Sunday, we noticed that there were lines appearing on the screen and I suspect that its pixel is running off. Adrian said it might be due to SCV interruption but I told him there was no message from SCV that mentioned about faulty line.
Yesterday evening, we decided to used our room 21 inch TCL TV to do the testing in the Living room. Not surprisingly, the TV set works well and now it's now sitting comfortably at the TV console. We decided to let the Panasonic TV leave in good “memories”... : 0
Adrian was quite amazed at the rate that things are happening before he goes oversea for his work . I told him this is because he is the Handyman of the family/owner of the house/father to anthea, so we must ensure things (new tv/register for the new house/Primary one registration) are functioning properly before he goes oversea for work.
Or else I will have no one to S.O.S..: P
We bought our current 29 inch Panasonic TV on 07 March 2000 from Courts AMK (i still keep the receipts for all our purchases for our home). We were very lucky at that time as the set we bought was MADE IN JAPAN. Nothing against products manufactured in other countries but somehow, it does not last as long as the Japanese made products.
Well, after 8 years of serving us loyally and faithfully, the TV set had decided to “retire” itself officially. Since last Sunday, we noticed that there were lines appearing on the screen and I suspect that its pixel is running off. Adrian said it might be due to SCV interruption but I told him there was no message from SCV that mentioned about faulty line.
Yesterday evening, we decided to used our room 21 inch TCL TV to do the testing in the Living room. Not surprisingly, the TV set works well and now it's now sitting comfortably at the TV console. We decided to let the Panasonic TV leave in good “memories”... : 0
Our next step – shop for a new TV set. I told Adrian since we had tested the Japanese technology, we should now try the Korean Technology as feedbacks from some Electronics experts are that Korean technology are catching up. Any feedbacks/recommendations on TVs are most appreciated.
Adrian was quite amazed at the rate that things are happening before he goes oversea for his work . I told him this is because he is the Handyman of the family/owner of the house/father to anthea, so we must ensure things (new tv/register for the new house/Primary one registration) are functioning properly before he goes oversea for work.
Or else I will have no one to S.O.S..: P
Sunday, July 20, 2008
EXCITEMENTS!!
The Saturday Straits Times article "Condo-like flats for less than $700,00" got the families all excited. Adrian read the article and called my Parents in law to share with them the news. My Father-in-law is now working in the Property Industry as his retirement career. He started analyzing all the pros and cons of the units, judging by the picture on the article and ahem…we had “shortlisted” which block we would like to apply for. Knowing that we cannot afford a real condo lifestyle, I guess this is the closest we can get to…haha. My PILs and youngest BIL also planned to apply for a unit, looks like competition is going to be tough.
Eventually, it'll still depend on LADY LUCK at the balloting time.
Adrian is scheduled to depart for his oversea attachment on 2nd August and his return date is tentatively 04 October. The excitement at home is building up; he had started packing his luggage. Looking at him packed, I realized that our current Samsonite luggage bag is a bit small for his stuff. So I told him that it’s time to consider buying a new one. I told him that Samsonite had some kind of promotion, so if we are in town, we can check it out.
My MIL had to attend a wedding dinner at Marina Mandarin hotel, so it was actually to our advantage. We tagged along with my PIL and had dinner with my FIL at Swenson in Marina Square. During dinner, we had a very good discussion on our new potential home with my FIl and he was very encouraging toward us getting a unit. It has been 10 years that we had stayed in our current home and it would be good to make a change for the better.
For dessert we had a 1 for 1 Sundae coupon, so we ordered a Banana Split and Frosty Malt… : ) . We even managed to catch a glimpse of the “Black Knights” flying passed the hotel as there was the NDP rehearsal.
After a sumptuous dinner, we took a stroll to Suntec City – to the Samsonite shop. When we reached there, I had a sweet surprised – I met a long time friend – Lillian. She was actually a friend cum mentor to me during my Part time working days as a baggage promoter. I was so happy to see her after all these years. We bought our 1st samsonite bag through her almost 10 years ago. Now we bought our 2nd samsonite luggage with her again…this is 缘分。She even gave us 2 pencil cases for the children.
Now with the new luggage bag, Adrian managed to pack all his stuff inside and there are still rooms left. I am glad that we made this purchase.
We returned to Marina Mandarin hotel to wait for my MIL and since we still had time, we had a drink at the hotel lobby lounge. It was very relaxing and the children enjoyed their juices. We reached home almost near 12 midnite...what a day of excitements.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Our NEW Tingkat Dinner
“回家吃饭真快乐”！！
This week, we are on a 10 days trial with our new tingkat dinner delivery company – Jiale Buffet Services (家乐晚 餐 递 送 服 务).
Before deciding on Jiale, I have been following very closely with Stardust on her feedbacks of the few different potential caterers that we may use. The latest update on both Kim's kitchen and Neo Garden seem to be of negative effect on our decision making.
At the same time, I did some “homework” online and based on this website – Singapore Catering Directory recommendation, I decided to try JIALE.
I called and made a reservation for Trial dinner and the CSO – (her name is Adeline) who answered my call was quite professional. I told her I am ordering a 2 person dinner and only required rice for 1 person. Her replied was they only catered for 2 person rice and would not be able to provide for 1 person. I explained to her my situation and she LISTENED. When she understood my situation, then she agreed to arrange for 1 person rice. I was delighted with her service.
On Monday, the dinner arrived in a 4 tiers Tiffin. Actually it is easier for me with this kind of containers as I will usually heat up the food in my 2 tiers steamer. Previously with Buffet Paradiz, I will need to transfer the food from the microwaveable plastic containers onto those stainless steel plates and put them into the steamer. With the new Tiffin, all I need to do is to put them in the steamer. Only the rice needs to be transfer. Adrian mentioned that this change of caterer seem to be for the better and make life easier for me.. ha ha.. : )
(Also i felt less guilty now since i am not throwing aways containers everyday.. : P)
Our verdict on the food :
- Food taste is good and the children finished their food. (My top priority is always THEM!!)
- Rice portion is sufficient (actually seem to be more than the previous caterer)
- Only thing is soup portion is lesser compared to previous (important thing is children have enough soup, for adults, we are ok without it.)
- The situation awareness was tested. On 2nd day of the dinner, the deliveryman called me and told me that he accidentally dropped our RICE and kept apologizing to me, he sounded so apologetic and was so concerned when he said: “今晚你没有饭吃.” Anyway for us, it's very easier to buy cooked rice from the many coffee shops in our neighbourhood. So I wasn't too worried about it. The rest of the dinner was intact.
Overall we are happy and satisfied with the new caterer service and the food. They are on par with our previous caterer, so all my constant worries on this issue are now settled. We also managed to save a few dollars with the new caterer... : P
Adrian and myself are quite simple and easily contended when it comes to food. We are not fussy with whatever is on the menu as long as they serve our top priority – both Anthea and Anders happily 吃饭．
This week, we are on a 10 days trial with our new tingkat dinner delivery company – Jiale Buffet Services (家乐晚 餐 递 送 服 务).
Before deciding on Jiale, I have been following very closely with Stardust on her feedbacks of the few different potential caterers that we may use. The latest update on both Kim's kitchen and Neo Garden seem to be of negative effect on our decision making.
At the same time, I did some “homework” online and based on this website – Singapore Catering Directory recommendation, I decided to try JIALE.
I called and made a reservation for Trial dinner and the CSO – (her name is Adeline) who answered my call was quite professional. I told her I am ordering a 2 person dinner and only required rice for 1 person. Her replied was they only catered for 2 person rice and would not be able to provide for 1 person. I explained to her my situation and she LISTENED. When she understood my situation, then she agreed to arrange for 1 person rice. I was delighted with her service.
On Monday, the dinner arrived in a 4 tiers Tiffin. Actually it is easier for me with this kind of containers as I will usually heat up the food in my 2 tiers steamer. Previously with Buffet Paradiz, I will need to transfer the food from the microwaveable plastic containers onto those stainless steel plates and put them into the steamer. With the new Tiffin, all I need to do is to put them in the steamer. Only the rice needs to be transfer. Adrian mentioned that this change of caterer seem to be for the better and make life easier for me.. ha ha.. : )
(Also i felt less guilty now since i am not throwing aways containers everyday.. : P)
Our verdict on the food :
- Food taste is good and the children finished their food. (My top priority is always THEM!!)
- Rice portion is sufficient (actually seem to be more than the previous caterer)
- Only thing is soup portion is lesser compared to previous (important thing is children have enough soup, for adults, we are ok without it.)
- The situation awareness was tested. On 2nd day of the dinner, the deliveryman called me and told me that he accidentally dropped our RICE and kept apologizing to me, he sounded so apologetic and was so concerned when he said: “今晚你没有饭吃.” Anyway for us, it's very easier to buy cooked rice from the many coffee shops in our neighbourhood. So I wasn't too worried about it. The rest of the dinner was intact.
Overall we are happy and satisfied with the new caterer service and the food. They are on par with our previous caterer, so all my constant worries on this issue are now settled. We also managed to save a few dollars with the new caterer... : P
Adrian and myself are quite simple and easily contended when it comes to food. We are not fussy with whatever is on the menu as long as they serve our top priority – both Anthea and Anders happily 吃饭．
孩子们快乐，我们就快乐，大家都快乐！！
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Happy Birthday to Andrew!
Some weeks back my Parents in law informed us that Aunty SK will be celebrating his son – Andrew aka Wenyi birthday at my youngest brother in law place on Sunday, 13 July. They had booked the BBQ pit and the function room for the party as he had invited guests of about 50 people.
Last week at work there was a Movenpick Ice Cream sale, so I thought that Aces family will contribute ice creams to the party. I bought 2 tubs of 2.4L ice cream – Minty Chocolate and a Mango sorbet.
The children had an early nap as they had planned to go for a swim at Uncle Terence place before dinner. We reached there around 5pm and coincidentally their favourite uncle Kiat also arrived at the same time. Quickly they changed into their swimming suit and headed for the pool immediately. As the sun was very good, they had a very good time in the pool with uncle Kiat and uncle Wenyi. Anders enjoyed his water play at the children pool.
An hour later, we rushed them to the house to have their shower and changed of clothings. By this time, the food was ready. We had an early dinner by the poolside with all the cousins, uncles and aunties. As usual, there were exchange and updates of each other happenings etcs. The children enjoyed playing at the playground just next to the BBQ Pit. There was so much nice food at the dinner table – mee siam, chicken wings, fish balls, otahs, curry puff, curry and fried rice.
We adjourned to the function room and the children had a great time watching movie on the big projector screen in the function room. We were all impressed with the function room – it had a kitchen area where there was a big fridge and a sink. We managed to put the fruits, cakes and ice cream into the fridge. While waiting for the rest of the guests to have their dinner, the children had the ice cream while watching the movie...what a treat it was for the...: P
Then around 9 pm, it was the cake cutting ceremony and the cakes were delicious. After that we starting packing up and get ready for home. There was food leftover and we managed to bring home some goodies... : )
Wishing Andrew a Very Happy Birthday and May his wish comes true.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
陪读妈妈与“天下”
Recently Adrian attended Anthea’s Parents-Teacher-Conference, he came back and feedback the teacher's comments. Her English teacher – Ms Valentine said that her English is good and she had confidence in her works. Her Chinese teacher – 罗老师said her Chinese needs improvement as she is weak in certain area.
Well, I took the teachers comment very SERIOULY and started to source for Chinese lesson for her. Actually all these while, I had wanted to do something for her English and Chinese but LAZINESS took the better of me... : P
I did some researches and finally decided on this language school – 天下。 My colleague's daughter also did the same lesson in this school and her feedback was good. Needless to say, anything that had endorsement from a mother who is of HIGH STANDARD will win me too...hee.
We arranged for Anthea to have a Friday afternoon lesson after consultation with my mother in law for logistic support. As she is now retired, she agreed to help me bring Anthea for her weekday lessons instead of me “jamming her lessons” on weekends.
On Anthea first lesson on 4 July, my MIL brought her to the school. I guess because of the new environment and classmates, she was a bit tearful. After the lesson, Anthea asked my MIL not to make payment for the lessons. She will talk to me 1st. So after some talks and persuasion, I decided to follow her on her 2nd lesson. I asked the school for permission to sit in during the lesson and they were very kind to accede to my request.
On Friday, 11 July, I fetched her from childcare after her lunch/bath. We headed to Tien Hsia for our lesson. I followed through the 1 ½ hour lesson. The class was small and there are only 5 students in the class. Heard from the administrator that this is actually the 2nd class since the 1st class was full. Good for Anthea as she will have more personal attention from 云芳老师。The 1 ½ lesson was very enriching, the children learnt 拼音，认字，写字。 There is a 听写list for next lesson.
From observation, I know Anthea enjoyed the lesson and I think she just need a little more time to get used to the class.
When we reached home, we revised her lesson and even learn the 听写list. She was very eager to learn them. I am glad that she had interest in Chinese and I know for sure, I would be there to guide her along and ensure that she will LOVE 华文 as much as I do... : )
This was my 1st experienced as a “陪读妈妈“and I know there will be many more to come as she starts her primary school soon.
宝贝，加油，妈妈会支此你！！
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
The "Flying TOD"
Just received an email from Eve from her London Hotel –
“Our trip here on the plane was actually pretty good, mainly because Faith was alright throughout the trip. She had her meals, took an afternoon nap and was entertained the rest of the time either playing with the controls & gadgets on the seats or watching Barney on the portable DVD player. The portable player was a godsend, really :) “
It was a reassuring email from Eve, as all of us at home had been quite concerns about our little niece. Although Faith had travelled on airplane for numerous trips covering – Dubai, Beijing and Phuket. This would be her 1st long haul flight that lasted 13 hours. Glad that she did well on the plane, we are all so proud of her. GOOD JOB, Faith!!
Louis is on job assignment in London for 3 weeks or more, so it was natural choice that Eve and Faith will join him. The MNC that Louis works for is very Pro-family - they provide for the family travel and accommodation expenses as well… : )
Faith is officially the Tan Family flying toddle because of the nature of Louis job requires him to travel a fair bit. I always admired Louis & Eve for their capabilities and courages to travel with a toddle, especially when I see the number of luggage that they needed to pack… hee.
Last Sunday evening, we had our usual family (10 + 1 toddle) dinner gathering before Louis, Eve and Faith departed for London on Monday afternoon.
After dinner, we told Anthea and Anders that Faith mei mei will be taking the airplane to London and we will see her again only 3 weeks later. Anthea said: “mommy, I am going to miss Faith mei mei.” I told her: “yes, we will all miss her but 3 weeks will go by very fast and we will see her soon again.”
I am really happy to see Anthea expressing her emotion and feeling openly nowadays.
May Louis, Eve and Faith enjoy their 3 weeks stay in London, especially family bonding time.
“Our trip here on the plane was actually pretty good, mainly because Faith was alright throughout the trip. She had her meals, took an afternoon nap and was entertained the rest of the time either playing with the controls & gadgets on the seats or watching Barney on the portable DVD player. The portable player was a godsend, really :) “
It was a reassuring email from Eve, as all of us at home had been quite concerns about our little niece. Although Faith had travelled on airplane for numerous trips covering – Dubai, Beijing and Phuket. This would be her 1st long haul flight that lasted 13 hours. Glad that she did well on the plane, we are all so proud of her. GOOD JOB, Faith!!
Louis is on job assignment in London for 3 weeks or more, so it was natural choice that Eve and Faith will join him. The MNC that Louis works for is very Pro-family - they provide for the family travel and accommodation expenses as well… : )
Faith is officially the Tan Family flying toddle because of the nature of Louis job requires him to travel a fair bit. I always admired Louis & Eve for their capabilities and courages to travel with a toddle, especially when I see the number of luggage that they needed to pack… hee.
Last Sunday evening, we had our usual family (10 + 1 toddle) dinner gathering before Louis, Eve and Faith departed for London on Monday afternoon.
After dinner, we told Anthea and Anders that Faith mei mei will be taking the airplane to London and we will see her again only 3 weeks later. Anthea said: “mommy, I am going to miss Faith mei mei.” I told her: “yes, we will all miss her but 3 weeks will go by very fast and we will see her soon again.”
I am really happy to see Anthea expressing her emotion and feeling openly nowadays.
May Louis, Eve and Faith enjoy their 3 weeks stay in London, especially family bonding time.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Our New Luggage Bag
Nope, we are not going for another holiday….haha.
Recently after our Phuket trip, I was unpacking my luggage bag and realized that there was a SMALL Hole on the bottom of the bag. So I thought that I should try to claim via the Travel Insurance that I bought from NTUC Income for the family trip.
So Adrian went to submit the claim at the office in AMK Hub. He was advised by the insurance agent in order to file the report; the insurance company needed an official letter from the Airline concerned. I called Silk air and mentioned to them about my claim. The Silk air agent referred me to call their Airport handling agent which I did and lodged in a report on damaged baggage.
Last Saturday, the representative from the company came to our house to pick up the “Damage Baggage” and mentioned that they will try to repair it.
On Monday, I received a call from the luggage company and they mentioned that they are sending the luggage back to us. I thought to myself: “wow, not bad, repair is so fast.”
At lunch time, arrangement was made for the luggage to be sent to my office. When I met with the representative, I got a shocked. It was not my “DAMAGED LUGGAGE”, it was a BRAND NEW LUGGAGE BAG and it is BIGGER than my original. I asked the rep, “what happen to my old luggage”, he said: “cannot repair, we replaced a new one. If anything wrong, please call us again.”
I was impressed with the overall service that I had experienced with this baggage issue. The only hiccup was I actually logged in my feedback/comments via the SILKAIR Website but there was no response, so in the end, I called them personally. Other than this, the handling agent response to my call was quite immediate which made me think that standard in the Airline industry had gone up a mark since my airline days.
Recently after our Phuket trip, I was unpacking my luggage bag and realized that there was a SMALL Hole on the bottom of the bag. So I thought that I should try to claim via the Travel Insurance that I bought from NTUC Income for the family trip.
So Adrian went to submit the claim at the office in AMK Hub. He was advised by the insurance agent in order to file the report; the insurance company needed an official letter from the Airline concerned. I called Silk air and mentioned to them about my claim. The Silk air agent referred me to call their Airport handling agent which I did and lodged in a report on damaged baggage.
Last Saturday, the representative from the company came to our house to pick up the “Damage Baggage” and mentioned that they will try to repair it.
On Monday, I received a call from the luggage company and they mentioned that they are sending the luggage back to us. I thought to myself: “wow, not bad, repair is so fast.”
At lunch time, arrangement was made for the luggage to be sent to my office. When I met with the representative, I got a shocked. It was not my “DAMAGED LUGGAGE”, it was a BRAND NEW LUGGAGE BAG and it is BIGGER than my original. I asked the rep, “what happen to my old luggage”, he said: “cannot repair, we replaced a new one. If anything wrong, please call us again.”
I was impressed with the overall service that I had experienced with this baggage issue. The only hiccup was I actually logged in my feedback/comments via the SILKAIR Website but there was no response, so in the end, I called them personally. Other than this, the handling agent response to my call was quite immediate which made me think that standard in the Airline industry had gone up a mark since my airline days.
Okie, it's time to plan for our next family holiday since we have a new baggage...haha : P
Monday, July 07, 2008
Friendship Award
Thanks to LZmommy, i received my 1st ever Bloggers Award. I am TOUCHED and really happy to have found this new hobby of bloggings which allowed me to "know" LZmommy and other bloggers.
Having known some many cyber friends has been indeed a wonderful experienced for me. And i am even very lucky to have chance to meet up with some of these blogging friends. The knowledge and experiences that i had learnt from all these friends are PRICELESS.
The chinese say: "在家靠父母，出外靠朋友". So may all my FRIENDS ENJOY this award too!!
I would like to share this award with my regulars:
Vivien - Protector of My Life
Joyce - The Chiah Family
Stardust - All that Glitters about Vincent
Happypig - Obasan & Ajuma (ps: Angelcow has been awarded.)
Saturday, July 05, 2008
“Ah SOHs” meet up – Cycling and makan session @ East Coast Park
One of my long time good friends, Cindy, has a son who is also registering for Primary One this year. Lucky for her, her husband,Dave, is an old boy and alumni of ACS, so needless to say, Angus will definitely get into this school. The other day, I emailed to Cindy and somehow we ended up arranging for a meetup on Saturday for a Cycling session cum dinner @ East Coast Park.
I told Anthea and Anders of our date with Angus kor kor. Both of them were very excited. They had an early nap in the afternoon. When they woke up, both of them were very anxious and kept asking me if we were still going cycling. Reason being there was heavy rain in the early afternoon. I told them: “yes, we are going as the rain had stopped.”
We met with Cindy and her family at the cycling park around 5.45pm. Together we started cycling towards the seafood centre. I had wanted to rent a bicycle which can seat Anders and me while Anthea will ride a kiddy bike on her own. But Anders decided otherwise, he wanted his own bike. So we ended renting 2 kids bikes. Cindy and Dave shared one double bike while Angus rides his own. I am so amazed that Angus had mastered the skills of cycling; he can ride without the additional 2 small wheels to balance. It is very motivating to see him ride on his own, I look forward to the day that Anthea and Anders can do the same.
Adrian jogged along with the cyclists while I walked along with Anders as he still cannot ride as fast as the rest. Anyway it was a beautiful day for cycling as it was very windy and the breeze was cooling. I enjoyed my walk...haha.
After an hour of cycling, we returned the bikes and the children had a quick changed of clothing before we headed off to Jumbo Seafood for our dinner.
Another of my long time good friend, Andrea, joined us for dinner. We had a sumptuous meal of fish, vegetables, meat and of course crab. I enjoyed the dinner very much, not so much because of the food but because of the companionship of my good old friends. At one point when we were taking photos, Dave even commented that it's the gathering of Ah SOHs (阿嫂)。Well, I believe we should be “摩登阿嫂“。哈哈！！
During our school days, we were quite a happening group – we were group of 7 girls and we named ourselves as L.P.A. De Somerset (Levantina Pink Asphalt de Somerset), don’t asked me what it meant, I just knew that it sounded Happenings during the good old days of Centrepoint kids and Far East Break dancers.. : P
Anyway, back to today, we are still in contact and I would always make it a point to be updated with each of them. So far, I am in constant contact with 4 of them. I really hoped that one fine day we can have a reunion of the L.P.A. de Somerset girls.. : )
I told Anthea and Anders of our date with Angus kor kor. Both of them were very excited. They had an early nap in the afternoon. When they woke up, both of them were very anxious and kept asking me if we were still going cycling. Reason being there was heavy rain in the early afternoon. I told them: “yes, we are going as the rain had stopped.”
We met with Cindy and her family at the cycling park around 5.45pm. Together we started cycling towards the seafood centre. I had wanted to rent a bicycle which can seat Anders and me while Anthea will ride a kiddy bike on her own. But Anders decided otherwise, he wanted his own bike. So we ended renting 2 kids bikes. Cindy and Dave shared one double bike while Angus rides his own. I am so amazed that Angus had mastered the skills of cycling; he can ride without the additional 2 small wheels to balance. It is very motivating to see him ride on his own, I look forward to the day that Anthea and Anders can do the same.
Adrian jogged along with the cyclists while I walked along with Anders as he still cannot ride as fast as the rest. Anyway it was a beautiful day for cycling as it was very windy and the breeze was cooling. I enjoyed my walk...haha.
After an hour of cycling, we returned the bikes and the children had a quick changed of clothing before we headed off to Jumbo Seafood for our dinner.
Another of my long time good friend, Andrea, joined us for dinner. We had a sumptuous meal of fish, vegetables, meat and of course crab. I enjoyed the dinner very much, not so much because of the food but because of the companionship of my good old friends. At one point when we were taking photos, Dave even commented that it's the gathering of Ah SOHs (阿嫂)。Well, I believe we should be “摩登阿嫂“。哈哈！！
During our school days, we were quite a happening group – we were group of 7 girls and we named ourselves as L.P.A. De Somerset (Levantina Pink Asphalt de Somerset), don’t asked me what it meant, I just knew that it sounded Happenings during the good old days of Centrepoint kids and Far East Break dancers.. : P
Anyway, back to today, we are still in contact and I would always make it a point to be updated with each of them. So far, I am in constant contact with 4 of them. I really hoped that one fine day we can have a reunion of the L.P.A. de Somerset girls.. : )
Friday, July 04, 2008
"STOCK MARKET"
The Primary School registration has started on 30 June 2008. There are phases to the Primary School exercise. I am monitoring the registration stage as if I am looking at the “stock market”… : P
I guess Parents who had been through this phase will understand what I meant. At each phase, the Ministry of Education will update their website and indicate the available vacancies available for the next phase.
This is an update chart from the website.
School Vacancies for Phase 2A1 (Updated as of 03 July 2008)
Ang Mo Kio
School
Total No. of Vacancies /Places Taken Up at Phase 1/Vacancies for Phase 2A1/No. of Children Registered
Anderson Primary - 270 81 189 0
Ang Mo Kio Primary -240 82 158 2
CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ - 210 77 133 46
Da Qiao Primary - 210 45 165 1
Jing Shan Primary - 240 60 180 0
Mayflower Primary - 240 76 164 1
Teck Ghee Primary - 210 58 152 0
Townsville Primary - 270 91 179 0
We are in Phase 2C for the registration and the dates will be 29 – 31 July, so meanwhile I can only wait patiently and look at the chart after each phase to make a decision.
Actually Adrian and I are quite settled with our choice of selection, so there is not much stress on our part yet. Also it’s a normal primary school, so likely we will not go thru any balloting. I am just toying with the idea of sending her to a “branded” school because of Foster Parents eligibility. Anyway, looking at the chart, I think the chance of registering her in this school is getting lower and lower… : P
So far, our attitude towards the children primary school registration has been quite relaxed. We had not thought of enrolling Anthea or Anders into any “branded” school. I guess this is because neither of us is from such schools, so we would not want to Stress ourselves with all the NEEDS TO DO things to get into a branded school.
I was introduced to this website - http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/
After reading some of the articles, I am not surprised at what some parents does just to get their child into an elite school. I know every parent want the best for their child, especially in our society where paper qualifications are so important.
Good Lucks to all the parents (include us) who are registering their children for Primary 1 in 2009.
Happy Independence Day !!
I guess Parents who had been through this phase will understand what I meant. At each phase, the Ministry of Education will update their website and indicate the available vacancies available for the next phase.
This is an update chart from the website.
School Vacancies for Phase 2A1 (Updated as of 03 July 2008)
Ang Mo Kio
School
Total No. of Vacancies /Places Taken Up at Phase 1/Vacancies for Phase 2A1/No. of Children Registered
Anderson Primary - 270 81 189 0
Ang Mo Kio Primary -240 82 158 2
CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ - 210 77 133 46
Da Qiao Primary - 210 45 165 1
Jing Shan Primary - 240 60 180 0
Mayflower Primary - 240 76 164 1
Teck Ghee Primary - 210 58 152 0
Townsville Primary - 270 91 179 0
We are in Phase 2C for the registration and the dates will be 29 – 31 July, so meanwhile I can only wait patiently and look at the chart after each phase to make a decision.
Actually Adrian and I are quite settled with our choice of selection, so there is not much stress on our part yet. Also it’s a normal primary school, so likely we will not go thru any balloting. I am just toying with the idea of sending her to a “branded” school because of Foster Parents eligibility. Anyway, looking at the chart, I think the chance of registering her in this school is getting lower and lower… : P
So far, our attitude towards the children primary school registration has been quite relaxed. We had not thought of enrolling Anthea or Anders into any “branded” school. I guess this is because neither of us is from such schools, so we would not want to Stress ourselves with all the NEEDS TO DO things to get into a branded school.
I was introduced to this website - http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/
After reading some of the articles, I am not surprised at what some parents does just to get their child into an elite school. I know every parent want the best for their child, especially in our society where paper qualifications are so important.
Good Lucks to all the parents (include us) who are registering their children for Primary 1 in 2009.
Happy Independence Day !!
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