Alternative Parties and PAP

"I explained to them my plans for forming a party to represent the workers and the dispossessed, especially the Chinese-educated, not in order to win the coming election, but to gain a significant number of seats so as to show up the rottenness of the system and the present political parties, and to build up for the next round. - LKY, on formation of the PAP, 1954.

".. it was perhaps fortunate that the PAP had not set out to form a government and therefore would not be implementing our proposals. ..we had aroused expectations of great changes. We had got the people interested enough to come and listen to our speeches, and then tossed them stirring ideas, instilling in them a spirit of defiance" - LKY on the formation of the PAP, 1954.

Way back in 1954, the above reasons were given for the formation of the incumbent party, PAP which was then the opposition or alternative party. However, it seemed PAP has forgotten its own humble beginnings and is now behaving in a thug-like manner towards the opposition/ alternative parties as well as towards its voters who voted them into power in past elections. The founding father of the incumbent has even warned Aljunied voters they will have to live and "repent" for the next five years if they vote in the opposition.

The PAP has forgotten its roots. It started out "not to form a government" but to "represent the workers and the dispossessed" in order to "gain a significant number of seats so as to show up the rottenness of the system and the present political parties". The voters then, listened to their speeches, took a gamble, gave PAP a chance and voted it into power. However, over the years it has slowly become that which it was first formed to oppose. Sadly, money and power have gotten into the way of serving the people.

Are the alternative parties of now any different from the PAP of 1954? It is a resounding no. The alternative parties are doing exactly what was proposed by the founding father of the incumbent back in 1954. The alternative parties want only to "gain a significant number of seats so as to show up the rottenness of the system and the present political party". The alternative parties are not asking to replace the incumbent party but only to have enough alternative voices in the parliament so that there is check and balance. The alternative parties are only asking for a chance to be the voice of the people. However, the incumbent and its supporters said that the alternative parties have not proven themselves, they have no track record and that the alternative parties have not done anything other than talk. It is an unfair statement to make. Without given a chance, how can the alternative parties prove themselves? It will remain words because the alternative parties are not given a chance to put words into action. Imagine if our forefathers decided not to vote for PAP just because they didn't have a proven track record but only stirring ideas, would there be a PAP today? At least our forefathers were fearless. At least our forefathers were willing to embrace change. At least they were willing to take the risk. They voted for the PAP to give them a chance to prove themselves.

Polling Day is tomorrow. I wonder what will the voters of today do? Will they be fearless like our forefathers? Will they embrace change? Will they vote for an alternative voice to represent them in parliament?

It is unfortunate that I have been denied the chance to vote because of the Tanjong Pagar GRC walk-over (yet again). If I can vote, I know where my vote will go. To the party which is willing to listen to the people. To the party who is willing to be the people's voice.

GE Rallies 2011 IV - 5 May 2011

It is the final day of rallies for all parties. Here are some of the rally speeches from the alternative parties. I am putthing up these videos (uploaded by TODAYdigital) here for my girls, especially after the indifferent and "don't want trouble" attitude of their father. They will need to know what really went down in this watershed election in Singapore's history. What about the incumbent party's speeches? Well, I am sure the incumbent party will see to it that their speeches will be around for a long time to come.

Dr Vincent Wijeysingha CBD lunchtime rally


Tan Jee Say CBD lunchtime rally


Nicole Seah Jurong GRC rally


Chiam See Tong Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC rally


Chen Show Mao Aljunied GRC rally


Sylvia Lim Aljunied GRC rally


Low Thia Khiang Aljunied GRC rally (part 1)


Low Thia Khiang Aljunied GRC rally (part 2)


Pritam Singh Aljunied GRC rally

People who live as Zombies II

Someone wrote a comment to my earlier post "People who live as Zombies".

Anonymous said...
It is unfortunate that there are people who still cower at an imagined fear. Fear that they will be robbed of their comforts. Fear that they will be persecuted for their vote. Fear that they will no longer have their luxuries. Fear that their properties will devalue. But these fears have been proven wrong (see The Online Citizen for detailed analysis of each of these).
Ultimately, it is fear of change that such people are really afraid of. Change for the better for everyone is not as important as status quo for themselves.
People should know that their vote is TRULY secret, and they should vote with confidence.
http://wp.sg/your-vote-is-secret/

5 May 2011 00:12

Thanks for the back-up. :) Thanks for the link too. It would be a pity if the girls' father just vote blindly for the incumbent party because the alternative party candidate, Mr Chiam See Tong is good and he has proven track records as the representative of the Potong Pasir constituency in Singapore's Parliament since 1984.

The timing couldn't be better with the below posting on channelnewsasia.com. Mr Chiam telling voters that they shouldn't be afraid to vote for the opposition (I prefer the term, alternative party).

GE: Don't be afraid to vote for the opposition, says Chiam
Posted: 04 May 2011 2354 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore People's Party Candidate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Chiam See Tong, in his opening remarks called on voters not to be afraid to vote in the opposition, citing himself as a living example. He added the residents of Potong Pasir have not been victimised since he became their MP.

He said: "Be brave be courageous...do not read the papers...there is nothing you should be afraid of. I am the living example...and I and all the residents of Potong Pasir have not been victimised. So nothing for you to fear, be brave as you are."

Mr Chiam was speaking at a SPP rally in Serangoon on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, fellow SPP Candidate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Jimmy Lee, said he welcomes the Prime Minister's apology for the government's past mistakes.

But he described it as a symbolic gesture and wants to know when the rest of the PAP ministers will apologise. He also said that having 40 opposition MPs in parliament will mean substance in parliament.

Mr Lee said: "The substance...is in parliamentary discourse. The substance is in discussing policies in parliament, the low down, the gritty, the ground level fight over policy decisions in parliament....that is the substance we are looking for.

"Two alternative MPs in parliament, that is a symbol, that is (a) very important symbol that Hougang and Potong Pasir has been showing to the rest of Singapore for the last 27 years...the rest of Singapore appreciates this symbol."

-CNA/ac

People who live as Zombies

I know this guy who will get to vote in his Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. Out of curiosity, I asked him who he is going to vote for.

Me: So who are you going to vote for?
L: PAP lah
Me: *eyes widened* Why?
L: Don't want any trouble.
Me: *ROLL EYES*

If he had given me a real reason, I would have accepted it as his choice. But "Don't want any trouble" is really just a lame excuse. Yes, unfortunately there are still people like him who are going to vote out due to this "Don't want any trouble" mentality. No balls, I would say. There are still people like him who will take the easy way out rather than take the time to listen and weigh in the pros and cons of the incumbent party and the alternative party and choose the party that will best represent their views and beliefs in parliament. Sigh.
Who is this guy? He is the girls' father.

For people like the above who think that the incumbent party will look at every voting slip to see who has voted against them, PLEASE look at the below video, "Is my vote really secret?" (uploaded by MARUAHSG)

GE Rallies 2011 III

Totally agreed with what Dr Vincent Wijeysingha said. Fear is irrational. Be fearless! Another great speaker, who speaks with great conviction and sincerity.

Vincent: All you do is switch the light on, and then you realize it’s not a snake, but a coil of rope. The PAP’s threats are like a coil of rope. They are terribly frightened that you will put the lights on – the lights in your heart and in your head, and then you will see that those threats are harmless, and will be harmless after the 7th of May.

(uploaded by TODAYdigital)

GE 2011 Humour

I saw this on Youtube and it made me laugh. For those of you into Star Wars and into politics. :)
(Uploaded by sghumour)

GE Rallies 2011 II

Another great speaker from the opposition party. This time, it is Pritam Singh from WP speaking to the rally crowd on 1 May 2011.

GE 2011 Rallies

"During a campaign the air is full of speeches - and vice versa." ~Author Unknown

The first video is Nicole Seah's speech. She was not well but decided to give an impromptu speech. For someone who is not well, her speech is really GOOD and spoken straight from the HEART! I loved the part where she said the following:

Nicole: The government always say to people that they, the opposition wants to have fame, they want to have money. HELLO! If I wanted money and fame, I would have joined the PAP, okay?!

CLASSIC!!! Way to go, girl!


This second video is Tin Pei Ling's speech. There were a lot of "I did this..", "I did that...". She was blowing her own trumpet and it wasn't sincere at all. It was a rehearsed speech and rehearsed "expressions". Whenever she deviated from her rehearsed speech, the "erhm" started...
Yes, I listened to the entire speech. But somehow while listening to her, these words kept popping into my mind, "money and fame, PAP, Kate Spade, money and fame, PAP, Kate Spade,..." lol.


Clearly, one of videos demonstrated that "the air is full of speeches" and one of them demonstrated that "the speech is full of air". No prize for guessing which speech is full of air. Hmm maybe can give a Kate Spade as prize?? Lol. :P
(Thanks to TODAYdigital for uploading the videos)

Happy 70th Birthday, Father/ Grandfather

Today is my father's 70th birthday. He forgot about it lol.
We took him to dinner at Putien Restaurant which serves Heng Hwa cuisine. Heng Hwa being one of the coastal areas in Fujian has similar dishes as the Hockchew which is our dialect group.
We ordered braised pig intestine ($13.90), spinach with salted egg and century egg in supreme stock ($12.90), bamboo herbal prawn, deep fried duck with yam ($15.90), braised beancurd with chinese cabbage soup ($19.90), bamboo clam omelette ($19.90), seafood fried rice ($7.90), and fried Hing Wa bee hoon ($7.90). It was a delicious meal with a cosy homely feel.








After dinner, we celebrated my father's or the girls' grandfather's birthday with a cake and birthday song. The girls enjoyed cutting the cake together with their grandfather.

Singapore General Election 2011

I am still very upset that I have yet again been denied the chance to vote. All because I am unfortunate enough to be in the Tanjong Pagar GRC.
I have never voted once in my life. For many years now, I have been robbed of my rights to voice my opinions with regards to the elected leaders and overall government policies. I have been robbed of my rights to have a say in shaping and deciding my own future...

For those of you who can vote on 7 May 2011, please vote for a party that is really concerned for the welfare of the people and for the good of the country...

"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual--or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country." ~Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907), Vol. IV, p. 256.

PS.
At the Young PAP's 25th anniversary celebration, PM Lee said, "Never forget we are servants of the people, not their masters. Always maintain a sense of humility and service. Never lord it over the people we are looking after and serving."

I found this quote which is very interesting and provides food for thought.
"In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant." ~Charles de Gaulle

Profits Agency Pte (PAP) II

I found a response to the Profits Agency Pte (PAP) situation...

What a coincidence.. we share the same agency Profits Agency Pte too! Our maid's been with us for the longest time, since our child's first birthday. She's also one of the first maids with the agency! She started off as the most promising and respected maid, although other maids do feel, sometimes, she can be a bit authoritarian.
Unfortunately, at 80 over years old, she is showing signs of senility (making spurious remarks, for one). We thought she'd graciously retire, have a good life, write her life story, etc. But she steadfastly refused to quit. We wanted a new maid, but the agency said no. Worse, when we approached the other maid agencies that you mentioned (we tried them!) to look for a new one, they went "oh you have her? we can never find anyone who could measure up to her! Sorry!".
We had such high hopes when one agency Singapore Domestic Agency (SDA) thought they could supply us with new maids, but they pulled out at the last minute.
Lately, our elderly maid has taken a liking to a young army boy. That's a bit worrying for us. If anyone knows of another agency who can help us, do let us know too...

LOL!

Profits Agency Pte (PAP)

Found this plea for advice.

I need your urgent advice about employing a maid. As a busy mother, I need someone reliable to help out at home.
My maid is from Profits Agency Pte (PAP) and she has worked for me for a long time. Her mother worked for my parents and did an excellent job, so I had faith in her. For several years her performance has been very good, but recently she has become arrogant and insensitive, and is making lots of mistakes.
For example:
1) She flooded my kitchen – she told me that the drain pipe has blocked (she was supposed to clear it once a month but didn’t). Then she assured me that it is very rare and won’t happen again in the near future. Guess what? It flooded again within a year!
2) She didn’t close a window and my terrier dog escaped. I was so worried cos he is dangerous and could bite lots of people. After the incident, she didn’t apologise and just shrugged her shoulders saying “What to do, it has happened.” Fortunately my neighbor found the dog and we locked it up again.
3) Without consulting me, she has been bringing in strangers for my house's maintenance work. She says they charge low wages and keep costs down, but they eat my food, make a lot of noise and rest on my bed. I think they even tried to seduce my husband. It stopped feeling like my home, more like a cheap hotel, and I don’t always want to come back at the end of the day.
4) When she first came to work for me, I instructed her to clean the different parts of the house at least once a week. But for some time she has stopped taking care of the bedrooms of PP and H; they are now dirty and messy. I asked why and she told me that the kids had been disobedient, so she was neglecting their bedrooms as a punishment (she has forgotten that she is paid to clean all the rooms).
Even though my maid has worked for me for many years and I value what she has done in the past, I think she is now getting complacent. Her attitude is imperious and dismissive. She ignores my comments and basically treats my feedback as "noise". I wrote to the agency about her behavior; they assured me that they are the best agency around and all their maids are “Committed to Serve” – but I think it is just rhetoric and I don’t see that in her actions. Her salary is much higher than maids in other countries, but the agency say this is to keep her honest and stop her moving to another employer. They say there is a limited supply of maids, and Singapore isn’t big enough for more than one good maid agency, so I should not trust their competitors.
I have to decide whether to renew my maid’s 5-year employment contract. When we discussed this she said that she is now part of a team, and if I want her I must also accept her friends doing part-time work for me. One friend is very inexperienced, can't do basic tasks or explain what she intends to do. I suspect that she is actually underage. When interviewed, she only seemed interested in her days-off and visiting Universal Studios. When she couldn't answer my questions she stomped her foot and exclaimed, "I don't know what to say!" But I am still expected to pay her a high salary.
Now there happen to be a few other maid agencies - Workhard Pte (WP), New Solutions Pte (NSP), Super Personnel Pte (SPP) and Star Domestica Pte (SDP) - that offered me some helpers who seem sincere, genuine and intelligent. They are keen to work, willing to assist me and have a good attitude. I know that they may take a bit of time to learn how everything works, but frankly I am inclined to give them a chance.
People say that the devil you know is better than one you don’t. But I feel that I can’t tahan my current maid anymore. Do you think I should sack my current maid and try out a new one? Appreciate your advice.
Footnote: I live in Tanjong Pagar GRC and it seems like I have no choice about my maid agency afterall - I will have to stick with my current maid. For those of you who are fortunate enough to have a choice, celebrate your blessed privilege and exercise your choice wisely. My best wishes to you.

I can ABSOLUTELY understand how she feels because I am in the same boat. :(

Young Enthusiasts of "Politics"

The girls had no school today because SCGS was being used as a nomination centre. They were pretty happy about the whole thing. I came home early around 12pm from counselling to find them glued to the tv, watching the special Nomination Day news coverage. I was like "HUH?! MY KIDS are following the politics in Singapore?!!". Every time, they cheered, I would rush to see what's happening, and only to see PAP of Tanjong Pagar GRC on tv. What? They are cheering for PAP?! I finally couldn't take it anymore and asked why they were cheering for PAP.
Me: Why you cheering for PAP?
Girls: What PAP?
Me: Those men in white.
Girls: What white men?
Me: No, no, men in white colour clothes.
Girls: Got meh? We are cheering for SCGS!
Me: SCGS?!
Girls: Yar, there, there! SCGS!

I turned and again only saw PAP of Tanjong Pagar GRC on tv. What SCGS?!

Girls: (pointing on tv) See, SCGS pillar. There, SCGS railing.
Me: *Speechless*

I knew SCGS was a nomination centre but I totally forgot that it is a nomination centre for Tanjong Pagar GRC too. Trust the kids to recognise the pillar, the railing of their school lol. I could hardly recognise anything amidst the sea of white.

Ok, so my kids aren't interested in Singapore politics and law :P, except for the enbloc law which they hate as they could potentially lose their home if 80% majority agreed to sell collectively the estate and they could force us (the 20% minority) to sell too regardless we want to sell or not. :( They have been following me round when I talked to residents in our estate about the enbloc - unfair conditions set out in the csa and the cons of enbloc.

Glee "Blame it on the Alcohol"

Some songs from Glee "Blame it on the alcohol" (s2e14)

Don't You Want Me, Baby? (uploaded by blodlaus7bj)


Blame it on the (uploaded by iamgleeker)


Tik Tok (uploaded by joclark)

General Election 2011

This YouTube video (parody of wonder girls' Nobody) sums up the issues that Singaporeans are not happy about. Very nicely done and darn hilarious too.

(uploaded by blacktablecloth)

Practise, Practise, Practise

Marieann's examinations start next week. First, oral, and follows with listening comprehension and composition for both English and Chinese. Time to practise, practise, and practise!

Replacement Trip for March

After leaving Juliane at a birthday party at Fidgets, I went to collect our air tickets and hotel voucher from the travel agent. All have been settled. My girls and I will be off to Sydney in June for 9 days! This is the replacement trip for the Tokyo trip in March. The girls are really excited and so am I. :)

Saturday-like Friday

"It's like Saturday but it is only Friday!", said the girls gleefully.
After Marieann's tuition in the morning, we went to Vivocity for lunch. It has been a long time since we have been there. We had lunch at Earle Swensen's and the highlight was the Topless 5 ice cream that we girls shared. Yum! :)

Extra Day Off

Today is SCGS's Sports Day. Being in the lower primary, both Marieann and Juliane need not attend Sports Day. They were thrilled to have an extra day off. Together with the Good Friday holiday, they really have a LONG weekend, starting today till Sunday!
Hmm, I wonder how Sports Day went? I wonder if Green House is the champion house again. I was from the Green House when I was studying in SCGS and I was the Teacher-in-charge of Green House when I was teaching in SCGS so of course I am rooting for Green House to WIN! Lol. :P

Earth Week 2011

The girls celebrated Earth Week in school. Today they had to wear a green top or blouse with their PE bloomers which is green in colour. Juliane was most happy to wear something that is not part of the school uniform, even if it was only the top. Marieann was not too worried even though she didn't have a green blouse/ top. She just wore her PE t-shirt because she is from the Green house so the PE t-shirt is green in colour lol.

Glee "Comeback"

Some of the more catchy songs in Glee "Comeback".

Baby (uploaded by GleeOnFox)


Somebody to Love (uploaded by Smackers1313)


Sing (uploaded by pannajadowita)

Reef Fishes

My fishes are really thriving! Swimming, feeding, growing, breeding, ... It is also quite soothing to watch them swimming around. :) Tap Reef is a great iPad app lol. You can watch your world ranking climb, with the kind of fishes you breed in your reef. It can be quite addictive too as you have to check in regularly to make sure all is well in your reef. :)

Time has Stopped

My bedroom (wall) clock has stopped working. :( It was a gift from Evelyn (Marieann's godmother) and Pippa (her daughter) a couple of years ago. I was pretty upset. I went to Ikea to get a replacement wall clock but it will never be the same. I miss the vibrant colours that was on my old clock. :( My new clock is now a boring white.

Colour Test

You Are Playful

You are easygoing and carefree. You like to hang loose whenever possible. Your natural state is to be relaxed. You think feeling stressed out is never worth it. You often help others with their problems. You offer practical and workable solutions. You have steady and unwavering energy. You are a person of great endurance.

The Gradient Test

I am playful? More likely I am lazy haha.

Office

My good friend and colleague has finally been given the nod and he is going to have his own office! Wow, his own room. I am so envious lol. But seriously, I am happy for him. :) He deserves it because he works harder than any of us. Good for you, D! :)

Cats vs Spider

I was so tickled when I saw this video. I hate spiders. I love cats. What better combination can there be?! Lol. Loved the commentary and the sound effects. (uploaded by thecatdiaries)

Double Standards

When the other organisation (that we work with) wants something, they want it SOON, with little time given for preparation. However, when you need something from them, they either ignore your requests or they take their own sweet time to come back to you. Why the double standards when we are supposed to be partners?!

Glee Love

Glee's Silly Love Songs episode... :)

Silly Love Songs (uploaded by LOVExGLEE)


The girls' favourite, Firework (uploaded by HeyLittlePiglet)

Work Appraisal II

Today is the deadline for the submission of our work appraisal forms. Within a week, we managed to get everything ready, including filling in certain forms, our boss who was on conference leave managed to fill out some forms too and sent them to me, so that I could collate and submit on behalf of everyone on the research team. Phew!

Ice Cream Party

Juliane was invited to yet another birthday party in the afternoon. This time, it is an ice cream party. Quite different from the usual. :) The kids watched how ice cream is made and even participated in the making process. There was also a competition to see who could decorate their ice cream on waffle most creatively with the ingredients provided, e.g., coco pops, fruit loops, gummy bears, wafer, sprinklers, etc. Of course, there were games too for the kids, in between the ice-cream making and ice cream decoration competition. When the kids were digging into their ice cream and waffles, the parents also had some ice cream lol. Most of us tried the alcohol-based ones. :P Juliane and her creation

Gift

Have been thinking hard on what farewell gift to get for my boss. It has to be something nice, practical and meaningful. Thinking, thinking, still thinking...

RA without Project

I was literally a RA without a Project for 8 days. My last project officially ended on 31 March 2011 but my contract doesn't expire until end June 2011. So officially I am employed but I have no project. That means I am getting paid for doing "nothing"! Hahaha. If only that is true. :P
I have been working on two projects since the beginning of the year. Have been very busy, especially with the new project that is officially supposed to start on 1 April 2011 but has started unofficially since January 2011.
Oh yes, I finally got my new contract today for the new project that I have been heavily involved in. So I am now officially a RA with a Project again. :P

Cooking Papa

There is a cookery video game for Nintendo called Cooking Mama. However, I have Cooking Papa at home. He experiments with different ways of cooking his food, and he is relentless until he perfects the dish, whichever dish he is obsessed with at the moment. So far, we have gone through a week of eating red bean pancake. Now his current cooking obsession is oyster omelette. It was delicious, the first two times. However, we became green around the gills when it appeared on the dinning table every night!
Thank goodness, he has proclaimed that he has perfected the frying of oyster omelette. At least we will get a reprise now from eating oyster omelette until he finds his next food obsession.
The Cooking Papa is none other than my father.

Work Appraisal

Our annual work appraisal is coming up again. There is wide-spread "panic" as everyone was, technically, only given a week to do it! We have to fill in different forms and our PIs have to sit down to interview us about our work and future plans. They then have to fill out more forms. PANIC.

Glee Super Bowl

My girls' favourite songs for this week's Glee, The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle.
Heads Will Roll/ Thriller (uploaded by ShazamLisil)

Bills, Bills, Bills (uploaded by GleeOnFox)

Need You Now (uploaded by KidsVersionRecord)

Gleeful Christmas

Here are some of the nice songs from last week's Glee, A Very Glee Christmas.
Welcome Christmas (uploaded by mistercrett2)

Baby, it's cold outside (uploaded by GleeOnFox)

Last Christmas (uploaded by DisneywatchmeHD)

Chaperon Duty

I have been on chaperon duty for almost every birthday party that the girls have been invited to. Sometimes it is alright. Sometimes, it can get pretty boring. But every time without fail, it is extremely exhausting being a chaperon. Juliane has been invited to a birthday party for the past 3 weekends, including today! Real exhausting for me. She has another party coming up next weekend. :S Better take some tonic to build up my "qi" energy.

Cheerful Hop

As promised, I brought the girls to watch Hop in the evening at Great World City GV. It is a cheerful movie with lots of colours and candies! :) Here are two trailers of Hop. Enjoy. (uploaded by trailers)

Katy Perry Firework (Acapella Cover) by Mike Tompkins

Another talented guy. :) He is singing Katy Perry's Firework. My girls will love this. :) Katy Perry's Firework (acapella cover) (uploaded by pbpproductions)

One Man Disney Movie by Nick Pitera

OMG!! This guy really has talent!! I could hardly believe my ears when he sang as the heroine! Loved his villain too! Lol. It is a fantastic one man Disney movie!! Disney should hire him! Glee should have him!! One Man Disney Movie (uploaded by goonieman86)

Problematic Blackberry and Apple

Just love British humour! :) My Blackberry is not working (uploaded by BBC)

Angry Birds Peace Treaty

A good friend forwarded this video clip to me. I was laughing so much while watching it. I thought I should share it here since I am sure there are many Angry Birds fans out there. :) Angry Birds Peace Treaty (uploaded by keshet)

The Tsunami

Slightly over two weeks have past since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. Survivors are still trying to find normalcy in their lives after having lost their homes, families, ... My prayers will be with them. Watching this video of the tsunami again is just as unnerving as the first time I saw it. Never underestimate the power of nature when it unleashes its fury.

Beautiful...

Beautiful cupcake (at the birthday party Juliane attended) Beautiful double rainbows (the second rainbow is much fainter and above the first one) Beautiful sunset

Earth Hour 2011

This year we celebrated Earth Hour 2011 at Orchard Road. Juliane has a birthday party to attend the next day and we have yet to get the birthday gift. So we decided to kill two birds with one stone. Get the birthday gift and celebrate Earth Hour at the same time. We saw the lights off at Ion. It looked strange without its bright lights lol.

Firstborns more Prone to Food Allergies

According to a Japanese study, presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in San Francisco, firstborn siblings are more likely to suffer from food allergies than their younger brothers and sisters. (The abstract for the study can be found at http://annualmeeting.aaaai.org/, and is No. 525.) (Source: Yahoo News, AFP Relax 24 March)
I think there is truth to this study. Based on my personal experience. :P I am a firstborn and I suffer from several allergies. I suffer from swelling of the airways, swelling of the eyelids, and difficulty breathing (the most severe allergic reaction symptoms. SIGH). My brother used to call me goldfish eyes because my eyes would swell up (HUGE) whenever I have an allergic reaction. Every now and then, I still suffer from them. :( I also know of two other firstborns who suffer from food allergies - my eldest nephew in UK, and a family friend's firstborn son.

Purposeful Visit

As I went into SCGS with my colleagues for data collection on Tuesday, I went with many purposes.
First, as a researcher, I am collecting data for the study.
Second, as an old girl, I am contributing back to the school.
Third, as a parent, I am thanking the teachers on another occasion other than the PTM.
Fourth, as an ex-teacher, I am catching up with former colleagues.
Never expected that I could achieve so much with just one visit. :)

你怕我!

"你怕我!" this was what Marieann said to her grandfather when she came out of the room and nearly bumped into her grandfather. I overheard it and I burst into unstoppable laughter.
Marieann did a literal translation of English "You scared me!" into Mandarin. What Marieann had said in Mandarin was "You are scared of me!" ("你怕我!") instead of "You scared me!" which should be "你吓到我!".
It was so darn funny to hear her telling her grandfather that "he is scared of her"! Hahaha. But Marieann learnt now why literal translation is not good... I think.

Glee "Special Education"

Here are the girls' favourite songs from Glee S2E9

Time of my life (uploaded by jazzylovesjorma)


Hey Soul Sister (uploaded by GleeOnFox)

Term 2 2011

Data collection starts again. After a week of break, it is back to scheduling of backup RAs and being on standby.

Last Day of "Freedom"

It is the last day of the 1 week March break. It is back to sleeping early and waking up early for the girls with the start of the new school term. The girls are looking forward to seeing their classmates/ school friends again but I think they are not looking forward to doing school homework again. Lol. :P

Out, Damned Tooth! Out!

M: Out, damned tooth! Out, I say! One; two: why, then, ’tis time to do ’t.

(Adapted from Shakespeare's Macbeth. Act V, Scene 1)

*One, two, Three! Out it comes!*

Marieann came to me victorious, showing me her (baby) tooth which she had pulled out! She has been complaining of a loose tooth for the last 2 weeks and has been fiddling with it, trying to get it out. She finally did it tonight.

Private Sale

It's Isetan's Private Sale again. :) Since it is the school holiday, I brought both girls along when I went to the sale in the evening. The crowd wasn't too bad. We all left the sale happy as we each bought things we wanted! :)
After the sale, we went to the Isetan supermarket which is having the Spring Kyushu Fair, 17-28 March. There are so many delicious food! If you like sweets, MUST try: the soft serve ice cream Hiryuga Orange! It is not too sweet and it has bits of orange peel, giving it more texture. :)

New Car

The girls' father collected his new car today. After dinner, we went for a ride to Kinokuniya as Marieann wanted to buy a new storybook. We thought the backseat is quite narrow, not as spacious as the previous car, Prius hybrid. We definitely preferred the Prius and I, especially so because it was an eco-friendly car over the new Mercedes Benz C-class saloon. If he had told me he was going to get a new car, I would have suggested BMW. My family had owned both Mercedes and BMW cars at the same time before and the cars could be compared. BMW seems a better ride.

Booked and Ready to Go

In June. :)
We went down to Jetabout Holidays in the morning and we booked the girls and myself on a trip to Sydney, Australia in early June! The girls are thrilled that they will get to experience winter and I am thrilled I will get to see my best friend again! :) We will be staying in the city for the first half of the holiday before staying with my best friend for the second half of the holiday.

Glee "Furt"

We love this episode of Glee, the wedding episode, so gleeful. :)

Marry You (uploaded by Ferialescott)


Sway (uploaded by joels488)


Just the Way You Are (uploaded by tblackbelt798)

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.