From a nine year old….

excerpts from a blog written by a nine year old boy. Notice that he doesn't just write about one topic only.

"Many children want to be rich and famous when they grow up. I do, too. But many of them want to be lazy. I am not one of them. I think that if someone wants to be famous, they have to put some effort into it. For example, musicians make music and so, they become famous. They probably practiced a lot. Of course, at the end, like when they are older, the momentum will carry them on, but their fame will fade away. Even accidental fame takes same effort, right? Well, I shouldn't look too much of children. Humans were born with great ambition anyway."

Philosophical (Those who aspires to be rich and famous, remember..."No free lunch")

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"When I was thinking of the differences between The United States and Panama, I saw that there were many differences in electricity throughout different countries.

• Light Switches

Personally, I think that the US style switch would be better because that if you lean on the European one, you would turn the lights off.

• Voltage

Voltages are always different in different countries. They should all agree one one voltage shape, meaning that you could go anywhere, knowing that every electronic you have works. This would take time and money, but sometimes sacrifices are made, right?

• Plug shape

This is always a big problem when traveling. I do not understand why governments do not agree to such simple things.
These things are always problems when traveling and moving. I hope they change it immediately."

Scientific (I completely agree with him!)

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"Last week my teacher told us to retake a math test. I have been thinking about it for a while. I realise that a test must be a test. We should have just left it there with low grades. A test is for you to see how good you are at that subject. But if you retake the test, you probably already know what the answers are, and the mistakes you need to fix to get good grades. That would mean if you got a 56% on the first test, you probably got, maybe, a 95%. Yes teachers, you are trying to help us. But no teachers, students should face up to their mistakes."

Human behaviour (So much truth. Teachers, I hope you are reading this)

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Many times there are some rival companies that sell or make things. Of course, in movies, they are usually a street across for convenience. But usually they might be on different streets, maybe on the other side of town. If they are factories, then they should let the company make a little less but a little better. Some people would wonder whether they should have quantity but with no quality, or vice versa. I say they should have quality with less quantity. Then people would trust your company and sponsor and buy from it, and that money will be used to make more, so you will have quantity and quality. If they were selling a product, they should sell it cheap, but, of course, not too cheap. Then people would buy a lot of the product. If you only have a few, sell it at a medium price. If you only have one, sell it at a high price(Of course, this has to be really valuable.).

Economics (Always remember the average Joes and Janes)

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You must be wondering which elite school is he from. Let me tell you, none at all. He is a Singaporean on the move. He has travelled together with his family. Where his dad's job leads them, that will be home. What really amazes me (not sure about you) is his ability to think so widely on various life's issues. Bearing in mind always that he is only nine years old. (He turns 10 end of the year).  If at this age, he can think so deeply and maturely, imagine the kind of contributions he can make towards society in future. By the way, he is also a great musician. He plays the piano, violin beautifully. Perhaps, being a musician makes him think a lot. BUT, I also have many friends who are musician yet do not think like that.

Really, is education just about getting into top schools, gifted programme, integrated programme, straight As…herein lies a potential local top talent! Now, who still needs foreign talent?

If you haven't had enough of his writings, you can go to his blog http://www.jordansthinkingplace.blogspot.com

Being an educated person means you have access to optimal states of mind regardless of the situation you are in. ~ Don Berg

Spring is finally here

Spring is God's way of telling us…"I still love you."

Honestly, in SH, I think there are only two seasons. Winter and Summer. Spring and Autumn come and go at lightning speed.


This is what I will see every day during breakfast with the spouse and lunch alone. By dinner time, it is too dark to see anything. So, enjoy while I am still here!

Country Captain

No, it is not a cartoon character. It is not a name of a kiddo restaurant. It is not a super hero. It is…..


Country Captain

Love this rustic dish. This is really easy to prepare and it is simply delicious. If you are a super health freak, you can use skin-less chicken thighs. For me, I think we do need some fats every now and then. I learned this dish from another episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." I tested it out, and yes, passed with flying colours and will be another great dish for the family. Recipe for Country Captain

But you don't have a helper?

This was my conversation with a mama while waiting for the kids at school…

me : Hi, haven't seen you for sometime?
mama : Yes, cos' these days, I come later. Heard you are going home soon?
me : Yes, at the end of the school year, we will be heading home. My son will finish P6 and will start secondary school back home.
mama : Such a hassle to look for school.
me : No hassle at all. We will look for school when we get back. Wrote to MOE, they will assist us. It has been a long while, time to go home.
mama : So, which place do you prefer?
me : US, of course!
mama : But you don't have a helper there?

...errr, hello,  why would having a helper make a place better to live in? In SG, my helper came in once a week. Even now, my helper comes in only twice a week to help me with the ironing which I really don't like to do. 

Honestly, I find it hard to accept the fact that some people need a helper all day long. Kids are at school from 8am to 3.30pm every day. So much can be done during this period of time.   I know of mamas who would just leave dishes in the sink overnight and wait for their helper to come the next morning to wash them. I know of mamas who literally leave everything to their helper…But you know what? When the helper report sick or has to take leave, these mamas will scream for help. At a lost, don't know what to do. I think I will never allow myself to be caught in that position.  Maybe I am a type A person. I need to have things to do, I need to be working. I cannot just don't do anything. It just doesn't work for me. Different strokes, different folks!

No more child's fare

Was looking at some airfares to fly home with Kai for his DSA entry test. I have come to realise that Kai no longer qualifies for child's fare. The child's fare is only for kids from two to 11 years old. From now on, each time we fly, I must make sure that I buy three adults fare and one child's fare. What does this mean?

My miracle number one, my baby boy, my prince… is no longer small. He is now a young man. The way to teach him, the way to discipline him, the way to guide him, all has to change. The string to the kite has to be loosened a lot more but still hanging on to it. I have to allow him to fly further and higher but I still need to pull him back a little when the wind becomes too strong for him. Child-rearing is indeed not for the faint-hearted but having said that, it doesn't mean you stop doing it. Wisdom is the key.

Is it possible to be too helpful? Can our helpfulness actually make life more difficult for others? Yes, if we’re being bothersome, intrusive, smothering, manipulative, or controlling. If the help we are giving is driven only by our own anxiety, we may be just trying to help ourselves. David H. Roper

Yes, something I must constantly remind myself. Being a mom, it is so easy to be driven by anxieties but I got to learn to let go and let God especially when it comes to the kids.

Fight again

Went to Carrefour to buy my groceries today and people were fighting again. I tell you, some people will fight over everything. An egg, a piece of pork, a fish…practically anything.

Almost three years ago, when I first landed here and for the very first time I saw a fight, I almost freak out. I mean, fighting in broad daylight in a supposedly upmarket supermarket. It was almost unthinkable. Now, I take it as a norm. If there is no fight in a week, it is abnormal.

However, what I saw today was pretty dramatic. Apples, vegetables were the "weapons" used. I do not know the cause of it but I guess it has to do with Q cutting because after that, I saw a long, orderly Q.

Honestly, when you go into the heart of the matter, this place has a long way to go, a lot to catch up.

Someone took pictures of the fight, I shall now move to their local site to check out if those photos have been uploaded. *Grin*

猫山王 – the supreme durian

As we will be heading home soon, we decided to start inviting friends to our house. Instead of having a big group, we thought it would be better to invite individual family, one at a time.  At least, we could sit down and have a good talk and the kids could have some fun together.

As this is a Malaysian family, I decided to make a Malaysian dessert.


The real thing


Durian sandwich cake


Durian puree to die for!

Holiday breakfast

Today is the Tomb-sweeping Day. A one-day break for everyone. What do you do when you have holiday like this? Not a good idea to go out cos' there will be lots of people everywhere. Stay at home and have a hearty breakfast!


Yum…mo!

A new lease of life…

Remember this…

I gave it a complete makeover or rather, I got someone to give it a makeover


Love the bright orange colour and most all, love those flower thumb-tacks. So very retro...I LOVE!

Lost treasure

People ask me, how do I managed to move from one country to another. Moving house is tough enough, imagine moving from country to country. Of course it is tough and it is something you learn as you do. The more you do, the more experienced you are. The secret is planning way ahead. Don't procrastinate. I tell you, if you leave everything to the last minute, you will collapse. Since middle of last year, I have already started giving away clothes, books which my kids have classified as "non-readable" (it is very difficult to get them to part with their books) and many miscellaneous stuff.

Today, I found something…

Kai's very first pair of moccasins. We bought it for him when he was two years old. He has long out-grown it but I just couldn't bring myself to give it away. It is such a nice pair of shoes and the workmanship is simply out of this world. Just look at the shoes. It is well-worn but definitely not torn.


  
These were Kai's and Ann's baby shoes. I framed them up. I remembered the spouse and I were running around looking for a pair of shoes for Ann. It was the eve of Chinese New Year. She has no shoes and we couldn't possibly allow her to go out bare-footed. Finally, at a shop selling baby wear, they had this last pair of shoes on display and we bought it immediately.

Now, you know that I am such a sentimental freak!