Leave Cancellation

Since the Tokyo trip has been cancelled, I might as well go back to work and save my leave for some other occasion. I guess I have psyched myself up that I won't be doing work for the entire week that I would be in Tokyo! It felt really strange going back to work lol.

Unsuccessful

After cancelling the Tokyo trip, we tried looking for an alternative holiday over the weekend that we could bring the girls on but to no avail. We looked at Taipei and Korea where it is cold as we were already packed for cold weather. However, either flights are fully booked or hotels are fully booked. :( I feel bad for the girls as they have been looking forward to going away and to a cold place.
To make it up to them, I have decided that I will bring them to Sydney, Australia in June. At least with that news, the girls seem happier now and not so disappointed about not going to Tokyo.

Model in the making?!

Even though our Tokyo trip has been cancelled, the girls went right back to their normal life. Juliane attended her good friend, Miranda's birthday party held at Curly & Spike. It was a make-over birthday party. The girls got their nails painted, applied make-up and curled their hair. Future tai-tais in the making?! Haha :P

Juliane, after her make-over


Juliane striking a "Lady Gaga" pose. Sigh.

Juliane in a pose with her friend, Emma

Juliane strutting down the runway lol

Juliane really enjoyed the make-over birthday party, especially the runway portion. She really worked it on the runway, strutting down with a bounce in her walk. I think she is watching too many "Top Model" reality shows. :P

Going to Tokyo

Updated 11 March 2011, 23:22pm
At 5pm, the girls' father decided to cancel the Tokyo trip. He checked with the airline and the Narita airport was closed. It took some time explaining to the girls about why the trip had to be cancelled as they were extremely disappointed. I was actually relieved that the trip has been cancelled. I have been pretty stressed out at work and would really like to take it easy during the one week break rather than going to Tokyo and squeezing in all the sights of Tokyo in 7 days and worrying about the girls not having enough time to complete their online homework before school reopens!

We are leaving for Tokyo tonight! The girls were so excited that they told the domestic helper last night that they have no school today. Sorry, girls, the flight to Tokyo is tonight, not during school time. Lol.

At 3+pm, the girls' father called to tell me about the 8.8 earthquake that happened in Japan. However, he decided the trip would still go on, citing that the epic centre of the earthquake was not in Tokyo. I am unesay with that decision. We will see what happens as the flight for Tokyo leaves only at 11.55pm.

Packing

The girls helped me with the packing for our trip to Tokyo. They packed their own hand carriers. Everyone is getting excited for the trip. But at the same time, I feel tired, maybe because I was packing the main luggage and maybe because I would still be working on the day I leave for Tokyo.

Submitted

Overjoyed!
Relieved!
Submitted!
PhD dissertation!

iPad 2 Review

Here's an iPad 2 review. Very thorough and informative. Those of you interested in iPad 2, must see! :D



Best review I have seen of "iPad 2"... and the BEST LAUGHS I have gotten! Don't you agree?! HAHAHAHA.

Submission

I have finally been given the approval to submit my dissertation for external examination!! My dissertation was with my supervisor and her Academic Group for internal review for a month. I was just getting hopeless when I received the good news!!
I am so happy that I can finally submit! :) :)

The Girls' Weekend

It's the girls' weekend. I am not talking about me, I am referring to my kids! They had one appointment after another for this weekend.
Saturday
Juliane was at her K2 friend's place from noon till 8pm.
Marieann attended her classmate's sister's birthday party from 6 till 10pm.
I was at home.
Sunday
Juliane attended her classmate's birthday party at Sentosa from 1pm till 6pm.
Marieann had tuition from 3.30pm till 5.30pm.
I was at home.

Hmm, I think I need to have more friends. :P

Glee

My girls are big fans of Glee. They love the songs and dance segments in the show. They would go to Youtube and look up the various Glee songs. They would often show me the videos. Their current favourites are Teenage Dream and Forget You by GleeOnFox.





I am a Glee convert now lol. :)

iPad II

iPad 2 has been revealed!
It is slimmer, lighter, and has more power!
But I will still stick with my iPad.
It is still serving me well.
No plans to replace it... yet. :)

What Popular College Major Are You?

For me, this blogthings quiz result is right on the spot. Give it a try if you are mulling over what major to take after your As lol. You have to be absolutely honest and truthful when answering the quiz. :)

You Are Psychology

You are curious about people, and you'd especially like to know what makes them tick. Absolutely true. I have always been curious about people since I was young and that's what made me take up psychology to study human behaviour and thoughts. The human mind fascinates you, and you are always looking to learn more about your own psychological make up. Strike gold again with this analysis. :) You are a natural problem resolver. If someone is hurting, your instinct is to help any way you can. You are a good listener and advice giver. You like to analyze problems and provide solutions. Screams "counsellor", doesn't it? Lol.

What Popular College Major Are You?

Happy 7th Birthday, Juliane

Juliane is 7 years old today. :)

Happy Birthday, Juliane!
May laughter, joy, and love surround you always.

Reality Shows

I think I am a reality show addict haha. My favorite reality shows are Top Chef, MasterChef, Junior MasterChef and Next Top Model lol. :P Yes, yes, I know. I am sad haha. :P

Paradox

I did nothing, absolutely nothing today. It is liberating but at the same time, suffocating. What a paradox.

Cold Weather Shopping

We will be going to Tokyo during the March break. As the girls have never been to a cold country or experience cold weather before, we took them to buy thermal wear, gloves, etc, at Winter Time, 313 @ Somerset. The girls were really thrilled buying their cold weather clothings.
Before shopping for their cold weather clothings, we had dinner at Kamado. The girls both had the Tonkontsu Ramen ($16.80) while I had the Bamboo Shogayaki Rice set ($15.80). The pork belly was absolutely oily and delicious! :)

To Laugh or To Cry?

It has been a week since my father's cataract operation. He has not really been the perfect patient. He was warned not to do cooking. Guess what? He has found a way around that.
My father loves to cook and he just has to be in the kitchen cooking up something. So now, he wears a pair of swimming goggles when he cooks! I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry when I saw him. My two girls had stitches from laughing too much when they saw their grandfather with his goggles cooking in the kitchen. Sigh.

Japanese? Korean?

Coincidentally, both my girls were asked in school today about their nationality.
Marieann was asked if she is a Japanese. Marieann said, "No, I am Chinese". Straight answer.
Juliane was asked if she is a Korean. Juliane said, "I am born like that". Haha. What an answer.
In my childhood days, I was also asked if I am Japanese. I was often mistaken for a Japanese by the Japanese community at UQ when I was studying there lol. :P
Sorry, we aren't Japanese or Korean. We are Chinese. :)

"Aliens" are Coming!

My girls were shouting that when they rushed into my room yesternight. To prove that they were telling the truth, they dragged me to the window. We saw this.


It was the celebration at Marina Bay Sands. I told them it's too late, the "Gambling Aliens" have already landed. :(

"Early Bird" needs more Sleep!

My domestic helper knocked on my door in the morning and I woke the girls up for school. I was surprised that my alarm didn't go off at 6am. I was still feeling dead tired as I only slept at 2am. 5 minutes later, Marieann noticed that other households were still in darkness and it was very quiet. She saw the time on the clock. It was only 5.05am!
No wonder, my alarm didn't go off. I shoo-ed the girls back to bed for at least another 50 minutes of shut eye.
"Rrring, Rrring, Rrring"
It is really 6am. Time to wake up.

"Early Bird" calls for the Taxi

It has been a long time since I arrive in a school before 7am. The last time was when I was teaching back in 2000. GOSH!! 11 years ago! :P Today is the start of our data collection. I left for the school at 6.30am. I didn't want to try my luck flagging down a taxi on the street at 6+am so I called for a taxi. The journey to the school was smooth as there was hardly any traffic on the expressway. :)

Visit

After our annual staff high tea, another colleague and I went to visit a good friend/colleague who is hospitalised at NUH. However, we were given the wrong ward number, Ward 48 by another colleague and it ended up with us at the O & G ward lol. With the help of the nurse at the O & G ward, we managed to locate our colleague who is in Ward 78! 48 is way off from 78! Lol. :P
We chatted for quite a while with our colleague. Unfortunately, the results of her ailment were inconclusive at the point of our visit and she was waiting for more test results.
I hope that there will be conclusive results soon so that she can have the correct treatment. Sharm, speedy recovery! Come back to work soon. Miss our chats lah haha :P

Annual Staff High Tea 2011

It is the annual staff high tea for our organisation. It is held at Fairmont Hotel this year and there were as many as 70 tables. It was really nice to see everyone all dressed up lol. We were supposed to come dressed in red, blue, yellow and white and lots of glitters! Nah, I didn't follow the theme and came only in a blue strapless dress lol. Our table 46 was very near to the stage, good that we could watch the performances close up but downside, the speakers were blasting away. :( The food and the performances were a little disappointing this year. But at least the company was great. Oh and the lucky draw too haha. As always, I won a lucky draw prize!! :) My friends think I am a pretty lucky person. :) Statistically, it is one lucky draw prize per table as we only have 70 lucky draw prizes. However, at our table alone, we had 3 lucky draw winners lol. We deprived two other tables of a prize. :P

Some photo moments with good friends/ colleagues. :)

Cataract Operation II

My father went for his 2nd cataract operation early this morning. The operation went smoothly and he was home by 10+ am. I only hope he remembers the instructions on what NOT to do after the operation.
There was so much drama at home before the operation lol. First, my father woke up late. He was supposed to be at the hospital at 6.40am for the pre-operation check. But at 6.10am, he was still at home. When walking out to get a cab, we realised he had forgotten to bring his appointment card so had to double back to get it. As we were running late, we tried to call for a cab but to no avail. In the end, the girls' father sent him to the hospital. I was already drained by all that "excitement" before the op. :P

Mission Accomplished

We had a briefing/ training session this morning for the part-timers we are hiring for the current study that will start data collection from 21 February onwards. I prepared most of the materials but my RAs helped in printing them out and putting into folders for the part-timers. I couldn't have gotten everything ready by 10am without their help. Thanks, Ladies!
The briefing/ training went well and we are all confident the data collection will go well. :)

Condolences

My counsellees are really sweet. They found out from the school counsellor why I was absent two weeks ago. When I met with them today, they offered their condolences. I am touched by their gesture. :)

Ambitious?

This blogthings quiz results just blew me away. I have never thought of or seen myself as being ambitious! Totally off the mark in my conscious mind or absolutely on the mark in my unconscious mind?!

Your Dominant Personality Trait is Ambition

You are a very confident, take charge type of person. You know who you want to be, and you're going to do everything in your power to achieve your goals. You throw caution to the wind. You know that risks are necessary to get ahead in life. If you fail, you learn from the experience... and try harder next time!

What's Your Dominant Personality Trait?

Statistics

I tried doing some of the statistics for the pilot study over the weekend as the results might be needed for our meeting this morning. I wasn't sure if I was doing it correctly. When my colleague and stats expert checked it, I was on the right track. Phew. Lol.
I guess stats is a matter of practice makes perfect! Recently I was helping another colleague with stats in his project. So all that "helping out" has been revision and practice for me lol.

Mee Sua

Today, my mother's friends came over for lunch. They wanted to have our Hockchew Red Wine Chicken mee sua. In the evening, my cousin and his wife came over for dinner lol.
My mother will be going back to Taiwan for a couple of months so she has been inviting family and friends over for the mee sua and her other specialities like glutinous rice, chicken rice, and many others.

Bubble Tea

Bubble tea was a craze in the late 90s and then it sort of died down for a couple of years. It seems the bubble tea craze is back again. I know there is Gong Cha and Koi, that are two of the popular bubble tea chains around in Singapore. I tried Gong Cha and found the various bubble tea drinks on its menu fantastic. :) My girls love the "bubbles" (that are small tapioca balls) in the bubble tea.

This afternoon, the girls and I went all the way to Junction 8 just to get our Gong Cha bubble tea drinks! :P Yup, we are hit by the bubble tea craze haha.

Team Players

I am really grateful and glad that I work with a great bunch of RAs. They are independent workers but they are also team players, and we help each other in our work. We will be starting the main study soon and I think we will have fun. I look forward to having a BIG meal out again after the study lol. :)

Teacher Voice

After not having used my teacher voice for at least 10 years now, I am surprised that I still have it. The first day when I used my voice in the class, it was sore because I have not used it for so long. But today, I could project my voice with ease without straining my throat. :) No, I think I still won't go back into teaching. :P Research is way too fun. :)

Out of the System

I think I have been out of the school system for too long lol. I was really tired, being out in the school for the past 2 days. :P I don't think I can ever go back to teaching again. Also I don't think I can ever confine myself to just teaching after having done research. Research is really interesting. :)

Pilot Study II

Today we tried out the survey again and the interview instrument. It has been a while since I used my teacher voice. Took a bit of getting used to. :P

Pilot Study

This week is going to be really busy with the pilot study.
Today was busy trying out the survey. It has been a while since I was last in the classroom. It brings back memories, fond ones. :)

Skyping with Family

Skype is the best tool for connecting with family overseas. My brother and his family in England exchanged CNY greetings with my parents, my girls and I who are here in Singapore. It is really quite funny, all of us trying to squeeze into the frame to talk to my brother and his family who is also trying to do the same. :) It is so nice to keep connected with family.

Relaxing CNY 2011

I don't think I have had such a relaxing CNY before. Ok, maybe once before, I think it was one of my grandparents' death as well. I didn't have to prepare the Ang Baos beforehand. I didn't have to wake up early on 1st Day of CNY to go visiting. :P
It was a nice rest. I could recoup in peace and quiet from all the recent deaths and stress.

Happy Chinese New Year Day 2

We always have our traditional Mee Sua in Hockchew Red Wine Chicken Soup on 2nd Day of CNY. This year was no exception. We have friends who came over for lunch and dinner. They said food very important lol. :P

Happy Chinese New Year 2011

Happy Chinese New Year!
It is the Year of the Rabbit.
May it bring to all good health, and good fortune!

It is Chinese New Year. However, as our household is in mourning, we are not able to celebrate CNY, much to the dismay of the girls because they were looking forward to receiving their Ang Baos. As we are in mourning, we can't go visiting families and friends, out of respect for the dead. However, others can visit us because they are not in mourning! Unfortunately, people can be quite superstitious, and avoided visiting us. I have even heard of some who just stopped email contact because of death in the family. Sigh. Throughout the day, the girls kept looking out the window and asking us when are people coming to visit us. :S
Thank goodness, we did have some friends who came over to visit in the late afternoon and at night. It was then much more like CNY. :) The girls were smiling most brilliantly too.

Eve of Rabbit Year

The girls have an extra day of rest because their school declared today as a school holiday. The girls were extremely happy. But I wanted them to complete their homework first before they have fun. That's my fun lol. :P
For our reunion dinner, we have our usual steamboat. The girls, being older now, enjoyed cooking their food. :) Since we don't have to wake up early to go visiting tomorrow, I allowed them to stay up late tonight to watch the CNY programmes.

CNY In Advance

The girls' school is celebrating CNY in advance today because tomorrow, CNY Eve is declared a school holiday due to the good 'O' level results. The girls could go to school in traditional Chinese clothes. Since the girls won't be celebrating CNY this year, they wore their CNY clothes that were bought in Taipei when we were there last June. The girls came home excited that there were no clashes with other girls in their choice of traditional Chinese clothes. :)
After dinner, I brought the girls for a walk at the Botanic Garden to look at the CNY decorations.

Relieved!

It is certainly a LOAD off my mind now that I have submitted my dissertation to my 1st supervisor for a last look. The other supervisor already feels that it is good enough to be submitted for external examination. :)
Now is the waiting for my 1st supervisor to nod her head.

Finalised

It has been finalised. I have checked and checked till I can't bear another look at it. It will be printed out, ring-bound and handed in.

"Housebound"

I have been housebound for the past 2 weekends. No, I am fine, just that I am trying to tie up loose ends. As it has been really busy at work due to the new project, I could only find time to write really late at night and during the weekends.

No CNY

I just realised there will be no Chinese New Year celebration for us this year. :( With my grandmother's passing, it would be after 49 days when CNY arrives, which means that I could still celebrate CNY. However, with the girls' great-grandmother's passing, CNY would be within 49 days. So NO CNY this year. It is going to be a very quiet CNY.

The Send Off

The girls took leave of absence from school today to attend their great-grandmother's funeral. We went to the wake at 8am because the body would be leaving for Mandai Crematorium at 9am. There was a short service before the funeral hearse left for Mandai Crematorium. As the funeral hearse was leaving for Mandai Crematorium, we walked behind it for a short distance.
We arrived at Mandai Crematorium just after 9am. There was another service and the air-con in the hall was extremely COLD! The girls cuddled up close against me for warmth. We soon moved to the Viewing Hall to send off the the girls' great-grandmother for cremation. There was refreshment after the final send off. The girls and I reached home close to 11am.
At 3.30pm, we had an Ashes-at-Sea ceremony (the girls stayed home). A boat was rented to take 12 of us out to sea to scatter the ashes. The sea was pretty choppy and the boat had to stop in order to perform the ceremony but it went off without a hitch.
Good-bye.

Wake

The girls and I were at their great-grandmother's wake at Mount Vernon. It was an experience for the girls because it is their first wake, and their first Christian wake. We left the wake before the service because the girls still have school tomorrow and Marieann still has homework to complete.
At the wake, the girls, especially Marieann, were initially curious and wanted to have a look at their late great-grandmother. But Juliane chickened out and closed her eyes when she got near the coffin. Marieann was uneasy after the first look. But sil made her look again before we left the wake. I was annoyed with that. It is their first encounter with death and their first close up view of the dead. It is totally understandable if they are uneasy and it doesn't matter if the deceased is family. I know of adults who are phobic of attending wake/ funerals because they are totally uncomfortable with/ about death/ the dead, let alone children. Some people believe in exposing someone repeatedly to something he/she fears and he/she will be cured of that fear. Unfortunately I don't believe that. If anything, it might make things worse, psychologically. Sigh. I didn't want the girls to be traumatised. I conducted psychological debriefing with the girls after we came home.

Operation Success

My father had the cataract removed from his left eye at a 7.30am operation this morning. It was a success. He was able to return home around 11am. He has since been resting and sleeping. The girls thought he looked funny with the plastic eye patch over his left eye. "Ah Gong looks like a pirate, so funny", they said. My father will go back for his post-op check-up tomorrow.

"Compassionate" Leave

At my workplace, compassionate leave is applicable only for immediate family: parents, siblings, spouse, and grandparents. Parents-in-law are still considered as immediate family but others are not. Others mean siblings-in-law and grandparents-in-law. Sigh. I will use my annual leave as compassionate leave then for the grandmother-in-law's wake and funeral.

Inevitable

Inevitable I
My father went to see the eye doctor at SGH. It is inevitable that he needed the cataract operation as soon as possible for he has delayed it for far too long. He will be going in for operation tomorrow morning!

Inevitable II
My grandmother-in-law slipped into a coma after being admitted into hospital yesterday. Today, she passed away in the late morning.

Unforeseen

The girls' father, his mother and his sister were supposed to be off to Hong Kong for their annual family overseas trip. However, a phone call at 2am+ threw their plans into awry. The girls' great grandmother, who is now at a nursing home, took a turn for the worse and was sent to NUH.
Things are not looking good. She is not responding to any medication...

Wedding Lunch

The girls went with their maternal grandparents to a family friend's son's wedding lunch. Only family and close friends were invited. I stayed at home because I needed to work on my writing. According to the girls, it was a nice, cosy wedding lunch held at one of the rented chalets. According to the girls, they ate a lot! :P

Pocket Frogs

I have resisted the Pocket Frogs app for as long as I could. I have heard from friends about how fun it is and from my own girls who played it on their father's iPad. I finally downloaded the app two months back. As I slowly discovered the fun of it, I got more and more addicted to it. I am at level 6 now whereas my girls are still at level 3! Hahaha. :P

Airplane Seat Quiz

This is very interesting results from Blogthing quiz! Especially with regards to what happened recently, and today... :P

You Are an Aisle Seat

You are an assertive and energetic person. You know what you want, and you're very decisive. A colleague and friend said I am an Indian Chief. You are willing to speak out, and you're definitely not shy. If you want the aisle seat, you'll ask for it. My colleagues and friends will agree with this totally, especially with what happened today lol. :P You like to stay busy, and it's hard for you to stay still. You definitely need to "move about the cabin." Again to my colleagues and friends, it is very hard for me to remain ZEN and not do anything!! Haha. :P You don't believe in obstacles... you overcome them. You are a natural problem solver. Maybe it is the Indian Chief in me, need to have control, need to solve... lol.

What Airplane Seat Are You?

It is quite interesting how I used to love sitting at the window seat when I was younger. However, I started preferring the aisle seat in the last 10 years or so. :)

My Father's Eyesight

My father's eyesight is failing him fast. He has cataract. He was advised to have the cataract removed a year or two ago but he kept putting it off. He was worried about losing his "freedom". He is a restless person, he loves going out, shopping especially and he loves to cook. But if he has the cataract surgery, he will have to rest for two/ three weeks, depending on his rate of recovery. I don't think he will be able to do that. But he will have no choice. His driving has become erratic since his return from UK because of his cataract. For his safety and for the safety of others, he desperately needs that cataract operation!
This coming Monday, I will accompany him to see the eye specialist and hopefully a cataract operation can be scheduled for him soon!

Fat Genes

Juliane tried to perform a magic trick with my ring. She ended up with the ring stuck on her finger. I was shocked at how chubby her fingers are!! After a little struggle and pain, I got the ring off her middle finger. I showed her how easily the ring slipped on and off my ring finger! Sigh.
I am afraid Juliane may have her father's fat genes, Marieann too. :( :( (Their father's family is on the heavier side and strangely, exercise hasn't really helped with losing weight, not for their father.) And coupled with the mother-in-law being the girls' "drug" supplier of all things sweet and junk, it won't be easy for the girls to keep the weight off. I hope it is just baby fat for now...

"Will I Die?"

That's what Juliane asked me when she accidentally swallowed her chewing gum.
It happened when it was almost her bedtime but she was still chewing gum. So I hurried her to brush her teeth.

Me: Get rid of your sweet and go brush your teeth.
Juliane: Ok Mama it is gone.
Me: Wait a minute, where did you spit it?
Juliane: I swallowed it.
Me: That's chewing gum!
Juliane: Ahhh I forgot! Why didn't you tell me?!
Me: (started laughing) (reason why later)
Juliane: Will I die?!
Me: Not sure but let me know if you do, ok? Haha.

I laughed when Juliane swallowed her chewing gum because she reminded me of me! I did the same thing when I was young. I too forgot that I was chewing gum and swallowed it. Lol. :P

Mini Spring Clearing/Cleaning

We did a mini spring clearing/ cleaning today. Expected it to take only 2 hours top, it stretched to 5 hours. We, meaning my girls and I, cleared out piles of their stuff (books, toys, junk) in the living room, dining room area and in their grandparents' bedroom.
Now the place looks really neat and clutter-free! :) Just in time, the girls' grandparents (my parents) are coming back from UK tomorrow. Hahaha. Yes, that's our motivation for doing the spring cleaning because we didn't want to get a scolding from my parents for creating a mess in the apartment. :P Yes, even at my age, I dread getting a scolding from my parents lol.

Homework Day

Saturday is homework day for Marieann. She spent most of the day completing her school homework and her tuition homework. She also started to learn some of the words for her English spelling and practised writing the characters for her Chinese spelling. I am glad that she is off to a good start. :)

Submerged! II

The phone call I dreaded finally came. My mother called up and asked about the Brisbane apartment. :( For years, my father has been trying to get me to sell the apartment. But out of sentimental reasons and romantic wishful thinking - forever hopeful that I will one day return to stay in Brisbane, I have held onto the apartment. I told my mother to expect the worst. To my surprise, my mother was zen about it but I could hear my father in the background asking quesitons lol.
I guess she is right. There is no point being upset because it is a natural disaster. It is beyond our control. We can only be strong and move on.

Submerged!

Looking through the Brisbane Times online website, my worst fear has come true. One of the worst hit areas by the flood in Brisbane is St Lucia! :( My apartment at St Lucia, Queensland is definitely hit by the flood. :( I saw a photo of the shops that are on the parallel street to Macquarie Street where my apartment is and they are almost 4/5 submerged by the flood waters. :(
My garage on the street level is completely submerged. My apartment, which is on the first level - I don't have high hopes of it staying dry. I have asked friends in Brisbane to pop over for a look once the flood has subsided and is safe to do so. I may have to make a trip back to Brisbane in the near future.

Back to Counselling

It's nice to see my counsellees again after the December holidays. Quite a few told me that they missed talking to me. That's really nice to know/ hear. :)
I am glad to be back doing my counselling work.

My iPad crashed! II

A kind soul left a comment on my earlier blog post My iPad crashed! providing a possible cause on why my iPad crashed and a solution on how to isolate the cause, usually an erroneous app. Thanks much! The comment is really helpful and I really appreciated it. :) To help others who might have experienced the same situation, I have reproduced ipadupadweallpad's comment. :)

ipadupadweallpad said...
it's possible the crash was caused by one of your MANY apps lol.. sometimes when 'clearing' the apps, it requires that the OS makes a call to the app to close itself, and the app misbehaves and does something illegal (bad programming) such as addressing some wrong memory address, causing the ipad to crash. The ipad in general quite hard to crash and it's usually becos of an erroneous app...

See if you can locate the crash log': C:\users\AppData\roaming\apple computer\logs\crashreporter\mobiledevie\. TO do this you need to sync your ipad to itunes first, which will copy the crash log into your computer. The log name starts with the application name and have an extension 'crash'.

you can read about this here:
http://forum.rf.com/rf-ipad-iphone-ipod-touch/541-how-submit-crash-log-ipad-iphone-ipod-touch-app.html

11 January 2011 22:28

"We do floods now"

It is a truly terrifying sight watching (on the news) the deadly flash flood that swept through Toowomba, Queensland. Cars were tossed around and carried down the streets by the flood waters as if they were weightless! Several lives have been lost and many more missing. :( Hope the missing will be found alive...



It is an inside joke that only residents of Toowomba understood. "We are on a bloody mountain. We don't do floods. Puddles, occasionally." But now Toowomba does floods.
The flood water is now on its way towards Brisbane... the residents in Brisbane have been told to evacuate... I have an apartment in St Lucia, just by the river... Crossing my fingers...

Talented!

The girls found this while looking for the song 'Dynamite'. They showed it to me and I am blown away by this young man's talent. This young man did a cover of 'Dynamite' A Cappella using just his voice and mouth and it is brilliant!
Here's presenting Mike Tompkins and his cover of 'Dynamite' (posted by pbpproductions)

My iPad crashed!

Just before we went out for dinner, I was clearing the different apps on my iPad. As I was multi-tasking - clearing the apps and talking to my girls, I couldn't remember if my finger had hit the power button to switch it off. But I noticed the screen went blank really fast.

While waiting for our food at MeatWorks, I took out my iPad to play and I realised I couldn't switch it on at all!!! :( The girls' father suggested I bring it to the Apple shop to exchange for a new iPad. That will be the last resort. I searched the Internet for incidents of iPad crashing on my HTC but it was slow going. Getting really upset, I finally texted a good friend who has an iPad too. Bless him! He texted back telling me to try holding down the power button and home button together for about 10 seconds and it should start up again. Otherwise it would have to be hard reset via iTunes, etc. That was the longest 10 seconds in my life while waiting for my iPad to revive. And it did! PHEW!! For a while, I thought my jinx on electronic gadgets is back. :S Touchwood!

I am praying hard my iPad will never crash again.

First Illness of 2011

First, it was the girls' father who was down with cold on 1st January 2011. Now it is the girls' turn. Both of them are now down with cold (must have gotten it from their father). :(
Going to make sure the girls drink plenty of water, rest and keep away from me lol. :P

Ghost in the Fan

The girls and I were watching television in the living room after dinner. The fan, which was switched on, was behind us. Suddenly, the fan went "beep, beep, beep, beep, beep". The three of us turned behind to look at the fan when the "beeping" was still going on. Marieann whispered, "There's a ghost in the fan". Collectively, we shuddered and then we turned back to watching the tv with the fan still turning.

There are buttons on our fan that beep when they are pressed. Lately, our fan has been acting strangely. It "beeps" (switches) on and off on its own. Whenever that happens, I would check the timer on the fan but it is not activated at all! Ok with the single "beep" on and off, maybe I can still explain it as the "on/off" button being faulty. But with the continuous "beep, beep, beep, ..." it is like someone or something is pressing on the button continuously. I really have no explanation how that could happen, except...

Come to think of it, it is a wonder the three of us didn't just run off in terror when the "beep, beep, beep, beep, beep" started lol.

Good Start(s)

It's the second day of school. Things are going well. Juliane likes her teachers and her classmates. Marieann is doing her homework without having me telling her to. :) Both girls are off to a good start.

Not long after I have tucked the girls into bed, both of them came rushing out excitedly. Juliane was holding something in her hand and she had a bloody mouth. Oh goodness, Juliane had accidentally pulled out her milk tooth that was loose. After rinsing her mouth, she went back to bed. For Juliane, that's a good start, not afraid of blood lol.

First Day of School

It's the first day of school. To my surprise, everyone woke up on time at 6am! :) Actually both Juliane and I woke up a few times prior to 6am. I guess we were both nervous?! Haha. I made french toast for Marieann as she thought I make the best french toast. :P At 6.35am, I waited with the girls at the lobby for their school bus. It arrived promptly at 6.40am.Although P1 girls could go to school later at 8am, I decided to let Juliane take the school bus to school, together with Marieann. If Marieann went to school on her own when she was in P1, Juliane could do the same! My girls are independent, like me! :)

The sisters waiting for the school bus

I went to SCGS just before 9.30am to see Juliane at recess time. She was definitely happy. I saw her interacting with her classmates. Halfway through recess, I saw Juliane looked for Marieann who was seated at the P3 tables. I am proud of Juliane for taking things in her stride. :)

Thinking about what to eat lol

"Mama", she found me amidst the crowd of parents

Waiting to return to class

I am also very proud of Marieann. She looked for Juliane at recess time and made sure Juliane was doing ok before she went back to her P3 designated tables for recess. That's looking out for her sister. Marieann has grown up. :)

Marieann grinning sheepishly because I caught her with a jelly drink

Eve of New School Year

There are a few restless people tonight in my household. Juliane, Marieann and I. When I walked past their room a couple of minutes ago, I could still hear the girls whispering to each other.
Juliane is definitely restless because she will be in Primary 1 tomorrow! It is going to be a whole different ball game as compared to kindergarten. She doesn't think so but I know she will cope well in Primary 1.
Marieann is restless because she doesn't know which Primary 3 class she will be in and how many of her friends will be in the same class. And she now has the added responsibility of looking out for her sister in school, at least during recess time and after school.
I am restless because Juliane is going to be in Primary 1 and I hope she will have a pleasant 'first day of school' experience. But now I am worried because I am not sure if both girls can get up on time tomorrow! I better have a few alarm clocks on stand-by haha. :P

Happy 9th Birthday, Marieann

For the second year running, Marieann is able to celebrate her birthday in peace lol. :) Usually, 2nd January would be a school day, the first day of school to be precise. As I was busy working on my dissertation, I didn't have the time to arrange a birthday outing for her and her friends. Instead, we settled for a quiet dinner at the restaurant of her choice.
We went to Carousel. We invited Juliane's friend, Catherine too as the two girls are good friends and Juliane has been going over to Catherine's place to play for a number of weekends. It's buffet and I was surprised that the girls could eat haha. :P
There was a surprise for Marieann at the end of the meal. The staff at Carousel brought her a chocolate birthday cake and sang "Happy Birthday". Marieann was speechless and was quite shy about it lol.






Before we went to dinner, the girls were on Skype with their grandparents who are currently in UK. The girls' grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins sang "Happy Birthday" to Marieann via Skype. Marieann was really happy about it.

Happy Birthday, Marieann! Wishing you lots of love and happiness.

Happy 2011!

Happy New Year!
May everyone enjoy good health in the new year.
May everyone enjoy good fortune in the new year.
May everyone have a wonderful and happy 2011!!

Last Day of 2010

It is the last day of 2010. We decided very late to eat out for dinner. We made reservation at Blue Potato, Merchant Court Hotel. The girls were happy to eat out. :)


After dinner, we went home to watch the Countdown to 2011 on tv. We could hear the fireworks, "boom, boom, boom" but our apartment was facing the wrong side so couldn't see the fireworks live. At least we had surround sound for the fireworks lol. :P

Eve of New Year's Eve

It is already the eve of New Year's Eve.
In another 24 hours and 31 minutes, it will be 2011.
Time for remembrance. Time for reflection.

Sherlock

I watched all 3 90-minutes episodes of BBC's Sherlock on bluray in one go. It is absolutely BRILLIANT!
Sherlock is a modern update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The characters are the same, their personalities are the same, the only differences are modern times and modern technology and tools. I love how Sherlock blends into modern day effortlessly and seamlessly. Sherlock now uses texting, internet and GPS in his crime-solving activities and he has a blog, The Science of Deduction! I also love how Watson uses his blog to keep track of Sherlock's detective work. :)
If you love reading Sherlock Holmes, this Sherlock is worth watching if it ever comes to our shores. I can't wait to watch Sherlock series 2!

Here's the trailer for Sherlock (posted by JoeZy27)


Here's the theme song for Sherlock (posted by AledWyn91)


Clips from Sherlock accompanied by Katy Perry's Hot n Cold (posted by chavivi86) :)

Neighbour of Another Kind

I am working from home today since it is the girls' last week of holiday before they start school next week.
In the afternoon, the girls called out to me excitedly from the dining room window. I rushed over and saw our "neighbour" perched on the air-con unit. No, don't panic. Our "neighbour" is not of the human kind but of a feathered kind. The hornbill is back! :)



The hornbill staring right into my camera

For a number of years, a hornbill would fly to a particular 9th floor flat in the next block of flats in our estate and rest there for an hour. But two or three years ago, it disappeared. Now it is back. Okay, it might not be the same hornbill but we are all thrilled to see a hornbill back.

Extra Holiday

Due to Christmas falling on a Saturday, my workplace has declared today as holiday in-lieu.
I have an extra day of holiday! :)

Boxing Day

A Sunday.
A rainy day.
A perfect day.
For staying in, watching tv and sleeping. :)

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

We decided to try something different for Christmas dinner. We went to Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant, TripleOne Somerset. The girls were excited about having steamboat. What I really like was the different soups that one could choose to cook the food in. We went for the traditional pork bone soup and healthy chicken soup. Overall, it was a very healthy dinner. :)

The different kinds of condiment we could choose to dip our food in

Christmas Lights

After dinner, we took the girls and our domestic helper for a joyride down Orchard Road to see the Christmas lights. We left around 7.30pm and the traffic was still pretty smooth but I bet it would be badly jammed later in the night after most people are finished with their dinner.

Firework by Katy Perry

The girls are currently into songs by Katy Perry. I have to admit her songs are catchy. No wonder the girls like listening to her. Here is their favourite at the moment: Firework by Katy Perry posted by KatyPerryVevo.

Prep for School

In one and a half week's time, the new school year commences. Marieann needed to get new uniforms and I needed to collect the car decals for 2011 and not wanting to leave Juliane at home, I brought both girls to SCGS with me.

After SCGS, we went to Tanglin Mall for lunch. Initially I wanted to take the girls to Nando's (which I love eating when I was in Australia) but they wanted Japanese. Sigh. Maybe try Nando's another time.

Tron: Legacy

Goodness, another trip down memory lane lol. Tron!!

The original Tron (1982) was, at least for me, considered darn radical, high-tech and futuristic. :P The new Tron: Legacy is still just as radical, high-tech and futuristic!! :) Lol. It didn't just bring back some of the original cast like Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner, I was really tickled to see the movie also incorporated things from the first movie! :) Never mind if there are loopholes in the storyline, the special effects, sound effects and music score are absolutely awesome and brilliant. Tron: Legacy definitely provides a perfect escape from our world. :)

Tron (1982) posted by FrankSchenk6


Tron: Legacy official trailer #2 posted by DisneyMovieTrailers.


Tron: Legacy official trailer #3 posted by DisneyMovieTrailers.

Hawaii Five-O

I finally caught the new Hawaii Five-O (2010) on tv. Oh gosh, it sure brings back childhood memories, especially the catchy theme song!! :) However the opening credit/theme song for the new Hawaii Five-O seemed very short as compared to the original one.

I managed to find this opener of H5-O posted by DS9Sisko who blended scenes from the original opening credits with the current one. Fantastic job! This is more like it, can enjoy the theme song a bit longer lol. :)



For those who want more of a good thing, here is the full version of H5-O's theme song posted by sunfilling. Enjoy! :)

Family Ties

Today is my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.

Happy Anniversary! :)

In the evening, the girls spoke to their grandparents via Skype and also to their cousins, Yeun Song and Yeun Zhen. It is really cold now in London, snowing heavily. The girls lamented that they wanted to see snow. Don't worry, I will ask your Uncle YM to take some photos of the snow and send over lol. :P

Earlier in the day, I visited my grandmother-in-law at the ICU ward at TTSH. She looked really frail. I hope she gets well soon.

Coming to Terms

I am now slowly coming to terms with my grandmother's death. It was the hardest on the day of her funeral. But I am really glad that I have really nice colleagues and friends and it has certainly helped being in their company. Thanks a lot. I really appreciated it.

Now it is time to get on with life.

ICU

The girls' father's grandmother is admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital this afternoon.
I was told not to visit her yet as her condition was unstable and the hospital was going to change her ward. She was initially in the normal ward and was then changed to the high dependency ward and now, she is in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. I hope she will be alright soon. I should be able to visit her over the weekend.

That Time of Year by Sick Puppies

Another Year
Has Come and Gone again
Look around
And think where have you been
Trace the Lines
On your face tonight
And don't forget
That this will pass in time

It's cold out this morning
You should be getting into bed
Can't believe its that time
Of year again

Curled up tight
A darker shade of white
Thinking Back could be here for a while

Its cold out this morning
And it's getting harder to pretend
Can't believe it's that time of year again

Can you believe the life you led?
Did you achieve the goals you set?
Did you lose your mind?
Well and then

Is there a reason you own them
It is a season that won't end
Can't believe it That time of year again

Another year
Has come and gone again
Look around
and wonder what happened

It's cold out this morning
You should be getting into bed
Can't believe it's that time
Of year again

You're fresh out of warnings
Maybe it's time you called a friend
Forget that it's that time of year again
Forget that it's that time of year again

My Grandmother's Last Journey

Today, my grandmother is setting off for her last journey and I couldn't be there to send her off. It will always be a deep regret for me. Even though I have tried my hardest to get a flight back, even though my Taiwanese relatives have said it was ok, even though my grandmother would understand, I still feel very upset.

Some have said at least I managed to see my grandmother in June and that was better than not at all. But I promised her that I would be back to see her again. Not being able to send my grandmother off, I have broken that promise. There would be no closure for me...


Ah Ma, rest in peace.

love,
your granddaughter in Singapore

End of the Journey?

I met with my supervisors today. They feel I need to do a bit more polishing and my dissertation will be ready for examination. They have set me the date for early January 2011.

I can't believe it. After working on my dissertation for so long, it feels really strange that my PhD journey is coming to an end soon. I actually feel a bit lost...

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I promised the girls that I would take them to the movies during the school holidays. There are a number of options but we finally settled on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The girls enjoyed the movie very much. Juliane thought it was scary at certain parts, especially the green mist scenes. I did enjoy the movie too but I would have enjoyed it even more if there was a big epic battle scene lol. :P

Here's the international trailer for the movie.


Here's two versions of the theme song "There's A Place for Us". :) This one is by Joe McElderry.


This version is by Carrie Underwood. I think I prefer her version. :)

Happy Birthday, YM

Hey YM/ Uncle YM,

Happy Birthday!

love,
Your sis, HM
Your nieces, Marieann and Juliane

PS We called UK to wish you a Happy Birthday but you were all out.

Disappointment

I can't send my grandmother off on her final journey on 14 December Tuesday.
I have tried to book a return flight to Taipei, departing on 13 December Monday and returning on 15 December Wednesday. However, as it is the holiday period and festive season, all flights and all classes are fully booked. For some airlines, the wait list are closed too. I managed to be placed on the wait list for SIA but the agent forewarned me that it is extremely unlikely that I would be able to get my flights confirmed.
After 24 hours of waiting and monitoring, it is confirmed that I won't be able to attend my grandmother's funeral in Taipei. :(

Touched

I am really touched by my colleagues' and friends' concerns and gestures towards me over my grandmother's passing.

Thank you, everyone. I am really appreciative of your concerns and gestures. Don't worry about me, I will be fine.

In Mourning

I received news from Taiwan that my maternal grandmother has passed on this morning. My grandmother's funeral is set for next Tuesday, 14 December at her hometown, Shen Ao. I had to relay the sad news to my mother who is currently in UK. Although I am not extremely close to my grandmother, I am still affected by her passing. I can't imagine the grief my mother is going through right now. I may fly back to Taiwan to attend my grandmother's funeral...

May my grandmother rest in peace.

Home

I am home. :) Tired but I am home. I will try to backtrack and update my blog accordingly. Thank you for bearing with me.

TRUE HOLIDAY!

My best friend, Min and her family were fantastic. They went about their usual Saturday activities while letting me sleep in! I only woke up at 12noon!! This is what a TRUE HOLIDAY should be haha. :P Sleep in and do nothing!
Well, I did wake up briefly at 7.30am. Once a mother, always a mother. You will know when there is a child in the room. Josh came to my room in the morning, trying to get dressed as Min had left with Ben for his sports activities. Without many words between us, I helped him out. He left the room and I went right back to sleep. It was only later in the day that Min and Graham found out I had helped Josh. Oops sorry. It was faster to help him than to have him take his time in dressing lol. :P

Min came home with Josh after his swimming and she made us smoked salmon with avocado sandwiches for lunch. It was so darn delicious!! I should make them when I return to Singapore. :P We also had more time to chit-chat about our lives while deciding what to do on Sunday.

Dinner was the highlight of the day!! Min bought my favourite meat - kangaroo meat and Graham barbecued them. There was marinated roo meat, roo fillet, roo bangas and there was enough roo meat for 3 persons and it was all for me, me ME!! :) I was so happy eating roo meat and was really stuffing myself FULL. :) Have to since I can't get roo meat in Singapore. Graham remarked he has never seen a small person eat so much before hahaha. :P

The uncooked roo meat!

The barbecued roo, beef and lamb together with pasta salad. Yummy home cooked food!

My Best Friend

I think everyone should have a best friend. I am very lucky I have a best friend and I get to travel too in order to see her. :) See, my best friend, Min lives in Sydney, Australia with her wonderful husband, Graham and two awesome boys, Ben and Josh. :)

I really needed a break and my best friend so I flew to Sydney today. :) Min picked me up from the airport before picking Josh up from school. While Min was whipping up dinner for us, Ben came home. Soon after, Min left for her office Xmas dinner and it was just the boys and I. I had a really relaxing first night in Sydney, just lazed around and did nothing haha. :)

It is really fantastic to see Min and her family again. It was March 2008 when I last saw everyone. I am really glad that the boys still remember me. :)

Presentation

I was a nervous wreck on this day of my presentation. I wished I have had more practice. :(
I was the first presenter. Due to my cold, my voice was really nasal and husky and it didn't sound like me at all!! :( I finished my presentation on time and there were a few questions. Thank goodness, I was able to answer the questions. After the session, one of the audience who asked me a question actually told me it was a study well done. I was really happy to receive such encouragement. :)