Home Sweet Old Home

I was logged into our desktop computer (because I left my laptop charger at my friend's office yesterday, argh!!!) and was surfing about some websites that were bookmarked on the computer. There was this one which brought a smile to my face.

We were looking for a buyer for our home 3 years back and I created this blog for interested parties to find out more about the property. Our old home really sounds like paradise from what I wrote in the blog!!! Haha!!! I'm quite the saleswoman!!! or maybe just a good copywriter. Notice too that the mess is nowhere to be seen, having been temporarily banished into the cupboards, storeroom, anywhere that it could be stuffed into.

I also created an online ad that would appear along the side when someone searched for Premiere@Tampines, a DBSS project that was launched around that time and was proving to be quite popular. I didn't think it made sense to pay so much for a HDB flat when you could get a condo in the same vicinity for about the same price. So the GoogleAd was meant to direct people to a better buy, heh heh.

Eventually the apartment was sold to a couple who lived in the same condo, in the block just opposite ours. So they know full well how the afternoon sun blasts mercilessly into the living and dining rooms (hence the Luxaflex blinds) and one of the bedrooms and heats up the wall of the master bedroom, turning our sanctuary into an oven. Yes I neglected to mention this little detail, but that's advertising for you!!!

Civic District / Singapore River Heritage Tour

I had planned this field trip months back and it had taken me a whole day to work out the route we would take and also read up on the points of interest. Finally this morning, we were off on our Civic District / Singapore River Heritage Tour!

We started off at the Civilian War Memorial, dedicated to the civilians who died during the Japanese Occupation. We'd passed by this monument countless times but this was the first time we actually went right up to it. Ah, so this is what it looks like within the 4 pillars.

Civilian War Memorial with its 4 pillars, one each for the Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians killed during the Japanese Occupation

Then it was off to the Esplanade Park. First stop: Tan Kim Seng Fountain erected in 1882 by the Municipal Council in recognition of Tan Kim Seng's $13,000 donation to the Singapore Water Works. I wanted to kick myself when I got home and was uploading the photos. I had forgotten to take a picture of the beautiful Victorian fountain. Arghhh!!! So instead, here is a very very old photo of the fountain in its original location at Fullerton Square (see bottom left corner of photo). The fountain shifted to its present location in 1925.

Looking at the photo, it would seem the fountain, nicely shaded by some trees, was a popular place to sit and watch the world go by, or you could imagine people saying, "let's meet at the fountain". In its present location, it stands away from the hustle and bustle of the city, as if the excitement were all too much for the grand dame.

"Meet you at the Tan Kim Seng Fountain after work!"

The next monument along the Esplanade Park has a special place in my heart because it was the site of one of my favourite childhood photos. Here is the shot taken at the Cenotaph more than 30 years ago:

And here's a remake of the shot. I'm not sitting half as elegantly as Mummy and the girls are much bigger than the original three munchkins but it's a good attempt at repeating history. And notice that the steps are so much dirtier now... eeeww!!!

The next point of interest is a very well known one, if not by sight then by name - the Lim Bo Seng Memorial. I imagine there can be no student in Singapore not already familiar with the the name of this WWII hero. While not taking away any of his deserved glory, I like to remind the girls that Lim Bo Seng was but one of many people who sacrificed their lives for their country.

The other war hero often cited by the powers that be is Lt Adnan Saidi of the Malay Regiment who fought valiantly at Bukit Chandu. Notice that we have one Chinese war hero and one Malay war hero? *wink* *wink* My theory on this focus on particular individuals is that it gives school children specific individuals to look up to and emulate, something less easily accomplished where the subject is a group of people. They think of everything don't they!

Lim Bo Seng Memorial. If you have not heard of Lim Bo Seng, you either are not a student in a Singapore school or you absolutely do not pay attention in class.

After walking through a tunnel under Fullerton Road, we arrived at the Dalhousie Obelisk. I feel sorry for the merchants who contributed money to erect this monument in honour of Lord Dalhousie's visit in 1850. They had hoped that the Governor-General of India's visit would lead to dramatic improvements to public works, amenities and administration of the settlements. But the VIP came and left and the flattery did not result in much progress so I think the obelisk was a bit of a waste of money. They say that the monument also acts as a reminder of the benefits of free trade. Yeah whatever...

The Dalhousie Obelisk. What's the point?

A short walk away we come to someone who really did make a difference in our history. Standing in front of the Victoria Theatre and Victoria Memorial Hall is the bronze statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. It was unveiled at the Padang facing the sea in 1887 and shifted to its present site in 1919 during Singapore's centenary celebrations.

Here's the statue in its original location in the middle of the Padang with St Andrew's Cathedral in the background. After suffering hits from soccer balls and being used as a seat by spectators, the statue was moved to a safer site where it could better maintain its dignity.

"Ouch! Damn soccer balls!"

We went round the back of Victoria Theatre and found ourselves at Old Parliament House. "Old" because it is no longer used as a parliament house. Neither was it originally meant to be used as such. Constructed in 1826, the building was designed by George Coleman as a residence for Scottish merchant John Argyle Maxwell who leased it out to the government to use as a Court House. It is the oldest surviving structure in Singapore but has been modified so much over the years that little remains of Coleman's original design.

Old Parliament House with the Elephant Statue, a gift from King Chulalongkorn, in commemoration of his visit to Singapore in 1871, the first visit to a foreign land by a Thai monarch.

Maxwell's House designed by George Coleman

Heading towards the river, we arrived at the Raffles Landing Site, supposedly where the founder of Singapore set foot on this island. The white polymarble statue of Raffles found here was cast from the original 1887 bronze statue.

Ok enough walking. After cooling down with some ice cream and green tea, we were ready for part 2 of the tour - a ride up and down the Singapore River on a bumboat!

The cruise was much more pleasant that I had anticipated. I didn't realise till now that the bumboats ran on electricity, so it was nice and quiet (save for the commentary which fortunately was not annoying). The gentle breeze made the ride all the more enjoyable such that I quite regretted not taking the longer route that runs all the way to Robertson Quay. If we had gone that way, I could have pointed out to the girls where Pulau Saigon used to be. Not many people know that there used to be islets along the river, one of them being Pulau Saigon. The condominium River Place and part of Clemenceau Avenue are situated where the islet used to be.

The boat made a U-turn at Clarke Quay and headed back towards the mouth of the river and we got off at Merlion Park. I asked the girls what two animals is the Merlion a composite of and they replied "mermaid and lion". The correct answer is fish and lion. Apparently, the lion head symbolises the legend of the rediscovery of Singapura by Sang Nila Utama and the fish tail alludes to our humble beginnings as a fishing village. Hmm, good job by the souvenir committee of the Singapore Tourism Board.

With that we came to the end of our heritage tour and we started on our way to Raffles City for lunch. We took the opportunity to walk across Anderson Bridge. This bridge was constructed in 1910 to cope with the increasing traffic which was putting a strain on neighbouring Cavenagh Bridge. Following the opening of Anderson Bridge, Cavenagh Bridge was converted into a pedestrian bridge.

To get to Raffles City, we had to pass through Esplanade Park again. We walked along the side of the park and were excited to find a Cannonball Tree. We picked up a cannonball fruit from the ground and from its size and weight, it was easy to see why the tree was named such. Closer to Raffles City, near the underpass exit at the end of Esplanade Drive, we found another Cannonball Tree, this one heavily overladen with fruit; it was quite a sight! Arghh I should have taken a photo of that one too!

Finally we made it to the air-conditioned comfort of Raffles City. Tai Pi and Pumpkin had fun with the Japanese toilet seat with integrated bidet which seems unique to this mall. We had lunch at Shodoku Japanese Food Bazaar, a favourite with the girls and a satisfying end to our excursion.

The girls' favourite corner at Shodoku

Old photo sources:

* Photographic Views of Singapore, G.R. Lambert

* Singapore Then & Now, Ray Tyers

Dream of Amsterdam

Our geography lessons have taken us to Europe this time, after we completed Asia and the Americas. We started off in northern Europe and had fun learning some Norwegian words. Now as we moved a little south, the girls have become fascinated with.... Amsterdam! We watched a travel show (Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown, borrowed from the library) and the girls were awed by the beauty of the Amsterdam canals. Tai Pi insists that we move to Amsterdam ("It's so beautiful, not like Singapore!").

So beautiful!

The girls know exactly what they want to do there - live in one of the houseboats moored along the canal, visit Anne Frank's Secret Annex and of course the museum dedicated to their most favourite artist Vincent Van Gogh.

This morning they watched the travel show for the 3rd time and continue with their demands to go to Amsterdam. Sigh... I would love to visit Amsterdam too, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, having never set foot in that continent except for that little bit of Istanbul that sits in Europe but that doesn't count. Hopefully someday soon, someday soon.

One of Tai Pi's favourite Van Gogh paintings -

Wheat Field with Reaper at Sunrise

One of Pumpkin's favourite Van Gogh paintings -

Portrait of Dr Gachet

Sai Pi's favourite Van Gogh painting - Sunflowers

Our old yellowed copy of The Diary of Anne Frank

which Tai Pi is now reading

How to end a war

Couple of days ago, we were having an NE (National Education) lesson and were discussing the topic of WWII and the Japanese Occupation. We got to the part where the Japanese were defeated and the girls learnt that what brought the Japanese to their knees were the atomic bombs dropped onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I asked them what they thought about how the Japanese were defeated.

Tai Pi: It's not right. We are doing to them what they did to us [referring to the Japanese bombing of Singapore].

Me: What would you have done then to end the war?

Pumpkin: Talk it out?

Tai Pi: Use sexy women as bait and trap the enemy then threaten to shoot them unless they surrender!

Sai Pi: Make them something they like, like pie and if they want the pie they must surrender.

So you see, there really are less destructive ways to end a war if you put three little girls in command.

Green Art

I would like to think I do what I can to help save the environment although I know there's more I could do.

Let's see how we're doing:

REDUCE

The stallholders at the wet market are familiar with KK and I by now - the couple with the Tupperware and their own plastic bags.

RECYCLE

Now and then we make a trip to the recycling bins at Marine Parade to dump our recyclable waste. The bins are always full; I wish they would clear them more frequently.

REUSE

This one is fun! Here's what we did with egg cartons, cereal boxes and soft drinks boxes this past couple of weeks:

Made from egg cartons - colourful caterpillar and a scene from The Story of Redhill (notice the boy lying at the top of the hill which is red with his blood)

Play slippers made using cereal boxes and soft drinks carton boxes. The pair at the bottom right also makes use of the mesh covering used to protect some fruits.

Sai Pi wearing her home-made play slippers

Waking up to a nightmare

On 6th October 30 years ago, I awoke early in the morning to news that would change my life forever. Mummy had been rushed to hospital the night before and had passed on without even saying good bye. She was 34 years old. I remembered thinking that it couldn't be, and for many nights after that, I would tell myself that it was all a nightmare and that when I woke up, Mummy would be there and everything would be back to what it was before.

Now 30 years later, on the morning of 27th May, I again awoke to devastating news. Pa was operated on the night before in what was supposedly minor surgery carried out under local anaesthetic to have blood drained out from his head. When the neurosurgeon, who happened to be one of Pa's golfing buddies, was down to the last 3 stitches, Pa had a seizure and subsequently fell into a coma.

This was his second head surgery, the first being in March to have a blood clot removed, and that time he had recovered well and was scheduled to fly to Singapore on 3rd June.

I rushed to Khon Kaen Thailand the next day with Sui Kou and her husband. When I saw Pa at the ICU ward at Khonkaen-Ram Hospital, I was beside myself with anguish. Listening to the neurosurgeon's narration of what happened brought more tears. I cried so much that day my eyes were swollen and I felt nauseous.

Once again, like 30 years before, it seemed I was in a nightmare that I could not wake up from. It felt so surreal. While my life was changing in a fundamental way, it was business as usual in Restaurant City. The cooks were busy at the stoves, food was being served, dishes cleared, ingredients traded. While in Khon Kaen, I found escape in Restaurant City before and after the daily hospital visits.

Also giving me solace was the care and support I received from friends and family. A primary school classmate, now an anaethestist, offered advice and helped put me in touch with a neurologist at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Friends I happened to catch on MSN or Facebook (thank god for Internet) were a great comfort with their offers of help and prayers. And throughout the ordeal in Khon Kaen, Sui Kou was my pillar of strength; I don't know what I would have done without her.

At first I was hopeful that Pa would suddenly awake from his coma the way it happens on TV. But a week after surgery, a CT scan showed that he had suffered bilateral strokes possibly a day or two after falling into the coma. This was really bad news and the doctor said that we should prepare ourselves to accept that he might never recover.

Sui Kou told me that Pa related to her a nightmare he once had where he is trapped in a dark place and hears Mummy calling him. Could this be his nightmare? Is he trapped, suspended in a barren zone between life and death?

Meanwhile, everywhere we were in Khon Kaen - Big C, Tesco-Lotus, Pa's home, reminded me of happier times we spent on holiday there. Just last November I had gone on an eye-opening trip there with the girls where we got to visit a village school, harvest rice, learn about sericulture and agriculture. And just a month before, I had gone up to visit a week after Pa was discharged from the hospital after the first surgery, bringing Sai Pi along as a surprise.

Thinking about the April trip I made with Sai Pi was especially painful. Pa was making such good recovery and Sai Pi got to spend time with her Kong Kong without having to share him with her sisters. Here on the front porch, we had breakfast together just the month before. And here in the living room Sai Pi had an indoor picnic with Kong Kong. And we sat somewhere around here when we had lunch at the foodcourt at Tesco-Lotus and over at the corner is the indoor playground where Sai Pi was playing happily not so long ago. Sigh... so little time has passed, yet so much has been taken away from us.

Pa was still in a largely vegetative state when I left Khon Kaen. As he was running a fever, the cause of which the doctor was not able to ascertain, the medical evacuation team could not fly him back to Singapore till weeks later.

Pa was wide-eyed and looked almost bewildered when I met him at the A&E entrance at Tan Tock Seng Hospital the night of his arrival from Thailand on 1st July. It was great to see him looking more conscious and such a relief to have him back in Singapore.

Since then I have settled into a routine of homeschooling the girls in the morning followed by visits to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in the afternoon or evenings. Tai Pi shows a lot of concern for her Kong Kong and asks how he's doing everytime I get back from the visits, although my answer to her is always the same - Kong Kong is awake but not speaking or moving but maybe given more time he will recover, and that's what we look forward to.

Sai Pi having an indoor picnic with Kong Kong at his home in Khon Kaen

in April a week after his discharge following the first surgery

Harvesting rice with Kong Kong during our Khon Kaen village holiday last November

The girls with Kong Kong and No.2 Mama at a rice field in Khon Kaen Thailand

Our latest craze

What have I gotten myself into??  I just wanted to see what this game Restaurant City was about, a game in Facebook that Tai Pi's friend wanted her to play.  I went in yesterday afternoon and before I knew it, I got hooked.  The girls are just as mesmerized and we spent much of yesterday staring at the computer screen cheering on my restaurant workers and visiting friends' restaurants.

I had wanted to let the girls play Restaurant City and other computer games, using it as a carrot to get them to do all their duties and bathe by 7pm and tidy up the place, so I wouldn't have to keep nagging them.  So Tai Pi and Pumpkin finally have their own Facebook accounts, but unfortunately they somehow have not able to access Restaurant City.  We'll keep trying.

In the meantime, I've reached Level 6 and have 4 workers, some nice wallpaper and floor tiles and a couple of awards.  I've named my restaurant "Ku Cafe" which would have been the name of the cafe that my friends and I almost opened in Siglap many years ago; so I do finally operate an eatery, even if it's only a virtual one.

My restaurant is the plain one on the left 

next door to a fancier one on the right

The pleasant cheerful interior of my restaurant

Here I am in jeans and a cool t-shirt and 

hair tied back into a ponytail.  Cute eh?

The sand, the sea, and a little green cup

The girls had their last paper of the mid-year exams this morning so in the afternoon we took off for the beach to celebrate the end of exams (certainly not to celebrate their exam results because as far as those are concerned, we should really be in mourning).

Here we are at our usual spot close to Marine Cove with our goodies from the nearby 7-Eleven store - Cheezels and Corntos and some drinks.  I like lugging our stuff to the beach using this plastic laundry basket (which actually does function as the girls' laundry basket when it isn't having a day off at the beach) as the sand washes off easily with just a bit of hosing down.

The girls and I LOVE the beach, even the non-idyllic ones we have in Singapore.  There's something about the sound of waves lapping against the shore and the gentle sea breeze that makes me feel like I'm on vacation.  I glance at my handphone and notice that the network has switched from Starhub to INDOSAT so now I could even imagine I'm on holiday on some Indonesian island!

The girls were having fun along the seashore as the tide came in and then tragedy struck!  An innocent little green cup, one of a set of cups of different colours that nest inside one another, got mercilessly dragged out to sea by the tide.  This set of cups has been with us for years; I believe it was one of Tai Pi's toys from her infanthood.

The green cup bobbed up and down, all the while crying out for help  - "Save me!  Save me!" (cup's voice courtesy of yours truly to add to the melodrama).  The girls could only watch helplessly as it drifted further and further away from shore.

The unsuspecting green cup in happier times 

(bottom right corner of above picture) 

The girls watching helplessly as the green cup floated away

To bring some closure, Tai Pi created an obituary on the sand - "Green Bucket R.I.P."

When I put Sai Pi to bed, she said to me that the best part of the day was building the sand faces (see below) and the not so good part was "the green cup got washed away by the sea.  I feel very sad because we will never ever see it again."  Well, you never know; maybe someday we just might come across a little green cup washed ashore on the beach, waiting to be reunited with its family and the three little girls who loved it so.

Sand face by Sai Pi.  

Happy childhood memories are made of these.

Black Belt at last!

May 3rd 2009 was a proud day for Tai Pi and Pumpkin.  On that day, they received their black belts in Taekwondo three and a half years after they started out.  There was a ceremony where Master Santos Rivas, the principal of J H Kim Taekwondo presented them with their black belts which have their names embroidered on one end and the name of the school in Korean on the other end.

I'm especially proud of Pumpkin for having persevered when there were times when it seemed she would never go beyond the higher grades.  She had wanted to quit soon after getting the black belt but now she has said that she wants to go for first dan.  Way to go Pumpkin!

More on the girls' journey to black belt here, here, here, here and here.

Tai Pi receives her black belt from Master Santos Rivas

Pumpkin receives her black belt from Master Santos Rivas

The girls and Shiggsel with Master Santos Rivas

The girls in their new black belt uniforms 

 

And God Created Appendix

"Why did God make appendix for?!  Want to kill us ah?!"  screamed Pumpkin.  I was telling her not to do cartwheels immediately after dinner or she might get appendicitis.  This leads her to ask me about god as she is apt to do now and then.

Pumpkin: "Is there a god or people made it up?"

Me: "Some people believe that there really is a god and they don't think they are making it up.  And then there are other people who do not believe that there is a god so they think that god is made up by man.  What do you think?  Do you think there is a god?"

Pumpkin: "No I think people made it up."

"God is real!"  Sai Pi protests.  "My teacher said if you don't believe in Jesus Christ you will go to the Devil."  I see that church kindergarten of hers has been planting ideas in her head.  

Ok back to Pumpkin.  

Me: "Why do you think people make up god for?"

Pumpkin: "To scare people."

Me: "And why would they want to scare people?"  

Pumpkin: "I don't know."

Tai Pi joins in with her two cents worth: "People made up god because long ago there was no science.  Now there is science and science explains everything."  Ah, spoken like a true atheist.

Mummy's little helper

I swear the best sales promoters in Singapore are found at Waterloo Street.  I'm talking about those promoters with microphones strapped on who tirelessly market anything from graters to miracle tonics.  I fell victim to these smooth operators and made a couple of purchases recently - a handheld sewing machine which I'm sure I will find handy some day, and a Shimono vacuum cleaner.

The latter is proving to be an excellent buy.  We have been using it everyday and sometimes even several times a day because it is so compact I keep it in a little box at one corner of the living room so it's really convenient to just whip it out whenever I feel the floor's getting too dusty.  And it comes with a strap so the vacuum cleaner can be carried about easily - genius! Now even Sai Pi can help with cleaning the floor.  Best $70 I spent!

The day Mas Selamat forgot his funky wig

The authorities were closing in on him.  They had narrowed it down to just two places - he was either in Singapore or outside Singapore.  And now 13 months after escaping from the Whitley Detention Centre, terrorist Mas Selamat has finally been captured.  

I showed Sai Pi the good news first thing in the morning yesterday.  Her reaction?  "Aw now I can't see him with his funky hair!" referring to one of the possible disguises Mas Selamat might have used.

Maybe Mas Selamat should have tried the funky afro hair disguise.  Certainly would have fooled me!

The Phua Chu Kang disguise is my favourite

CATS...now and forever!

"How's it going?" I SMS-ed my brother who was over at the AWARE EOGM as an associate member.  "I'm sure this is more entertaining than CATS!  This is worth the $40 I paid to be a member, " came the reply.

While the cat fight (apologies for using this sexist term) was going on at the AWARE EOGM at Suntec City this afternoon, KK and the girls and I were enjoying a catty entertainment of a different sort.  Finally, the girls get to watch CATS live after watching it on DVD a million times.  I had caught it the last time it was in Singapore almost 20 years ago and enjoyed it tremendously.

Because the girls were already big fans, we were buying CATS merchandise at the stand even before the show - a t-shirt for Tai Pi which she wore during the show, key chains for Pumpkin and Sai Pi, a CD featuring the original London cast, and the programme.

The girls watched the show with great anticipation as they were by now so familiar with all the songs and dance moves.  Tai Pi kept turning to me to point out the differences between the stage performance and the DVD version.  I must say that the DVD cast is certainly way better than the stage cast but understandably so as the DVD is a permanent record and the producers would have made sure that only the very best would be cast in each role and of course re-takes are possible in the filming.  But as I keep saying to the girls, watching a live performance has its own enjoyment and excitement that you don't get from watching a DVD.

I do hope that CATS goes on playing forever so that the girls might one day get to bring their own children to catch this most fantastical musical.

All ready for the show

Posing with Rum Tum Tugger

Rabid fans with their CATS merchandise