Festive Decorations

For the past few years my CNY decor was actually our Christmas tree re-adorned with chinesey ornaments! Yes, really! Silver balls and snowmen replaced with little fire crackers, tiny red scrolls and plastic mandarin oranges. I was simply too lazy to pack up the christmas tree, so I just redecorated it... So clever right, I thought... Yeah, but apparently it was a sight too disturbing to take in for some of our visitors.

This year I decided to abandon this because the tree was just taking too much space in our living room. I reverted back to normal festive decorations, and Cheryl has contributed some too, thanks to her art and craft sessions at school. Cheryl painted this word "chun" (spring) in school and we pasted it upside down on our front door. I think her writing is not bad for a pre-schooler. The couplets I bought at $1 each. They were the only ones I could find that were not too gaudy or chinky.

This lantern was also done at school with the help of her teachers. Using the square red packets given out by DBS Bank this year, I made another 2 more lanterns. It uses 6 square red packets and it's not difficult to make, I'm sure you can figure out from the photo.

With Cheryl's help, I hung various CNY ornaments on the shelf above our TV. These are some of the ornaments I usually decorate the Christmas tree with in previous years.

This coming year being the year of the pig, I decided to give my 2 kids and 2 nieces a piggy bank each together with their red packets. I managed to get these at $4.90 each at Guardian Pharmacy. Yellow for Cheryl, Blue for Isaac, Green for Oli, and Orange for Lauren. I think the kids will like them. I managed to find red packets that will fit into the transparent plastic container for the pigs. I also put two $1 coins into each piggy bank so that the pigs won't go hungry!

My CREATIVE MP3 Players Collection

Just for fun, I decided to take a pic of the collection of MP3 players I have. I've bought other models for friends and family, but these are my own. The first three are MuVo TX FM players of different capacities (Silver:128MB, White: 256MB, Blue: 512MB). The one with an orange dial is the ZenV Plus 1G, and big square one is the MuVo2 FM 5G. The MuVo TX FM players are rather old models and slight bulky in today's standard, but I like it because I can just pull it out to use as a thumb drive. They also have FM and I can do FM recording. In fact all the models I bought with FM because I listen to radio more than to ripped MP3 music.

The range of prices that these players cost me is also something quite interesting. These are what I paid for them in ascending order:
1) $1
2) $8
3) $29
4) $60
5) $124

Can you guess which player matches which price? BTW this is a trick question, so don't bother to try...hehe...Here are the answers:
1) $1 - ZenV Plus 1G. Yes!! I kid you not! Actually all staff were given a $150 Creative Store voucher during our 25th Anniversary last December and I decided to buy this player which was priced at $151. So in effect it costs me $1 lah! This is one of Creative's current players with radio and video playback.

2) $8 - MuVo TX FM 128MB (Silver). Just bought this from our recent CNY Staff sale because it was cheap. Capacity a bit small though. Maybe let Cheryl use it next time for school? My colleague also had the idea of buying these $8 128MB players (there were other models) and put them in red packets and give them as gifts during Chinese New Year.

3) $29 - MuVo TX FM 512MB (Blue). Also just bought during the CNY Staff sale. Will probably pass it to TT.

4) $60 - MuVo2 FM 5G. Bought during the CNY Staff sale. I will be using it more like a portable hard disk, storing larger files like videos and photos. This is an old model, I think not available in retail stores anymore.

5) $124 - MuVo TX FM 256MB (White). Bought this in May 2005, almost 2 years ago and have been using it till now, esp. for file transfer and radio listening. I like it, that's why I bought the other two MuVo TX FM players during the CNY sale. Look at how much it cost me then!

A Romantic Valentine's Day Not

Aiyah, see what married life with kids can reduce Valentine's Day to...
Our original plan was actually to eat the famous Still Road black pepper crab with my sis and Mel (without the kids) on Thursday (as shop is closed on Wednesdays). The four of us are all suckers for crab... But decided not to because we feared the price of seafood could be jacked up during the CNY period. So we just decided to meet up at Chinatown with the kids. In order to avoid the hassle of feeding the kids dinner outside, we had them take dinner at home first.

On the way to Chinatown, we got unwittingly held up in slow traffic, so we made a detour and ended up in Tiong Bahru market. So TT & I had an absolutely unromantic dinner of prawn noodle soup, char kway teow and chwee kueh! haha

After that we managed to meet my sis and family along the crowded streets of Chinatown. My guess was the crowd was not at its peak, but even then it was enough to put me off. Especially with two kids in tow. Didn't buy anything, just didn't have the mood. Since there was school the next day, we didn't stay long there anyway. So that's how we celebrated VD. I'm sure we'll make up for it with black pepper crab another day...*drooling*

Sunny Sunday

In the morning we headed to East Coast Park while we waited for TT who had to visit the temple to perform some prayer rites to his own late dad and brother. The kids rode their kick scooters and played with sand. I guess they sorta missed the outdoors since they were pretty couped up at home during my dad's passing last weekend. To my dismay, the sun was scorching! Kinda wished for the cooling wet weather we had in Dec/Jan.

For Cheryl's art class, they were made to draw some pigs (see pic). Pretty cute. Put it up in a prominent place in the living room as CNY decorations. Did more spring-cleaning and packing. Nothing else exciting happened this weekend.

Spring Cleaning

We spent the whole morning packing up stuff from my late dad's workplace and also from where he was staying.

Also did some spring cleaning in preparation for the Lunar New Year. Because of my Dad's death, we will supposedly not be celebrating CNY in "full force"... This is not by choice, since we're not superstitious. But certain relatives are, so we were told not to visit, since we would be bringing along "bad vibes" into their homes if we visit (or something to that effect). Along the same vein, we're also not supposed to be giving out red packets or "ang pows", Yippee!!! But I guess I can still give ang pows to my nieces and visit my mum and sis since the bad vibes will be flowing internally anyway! haha... And anybody who doesn't mind bad-luck-infused ang pows, I will willingly give!

At night we brought our kids and nieces for a car ride through Chinatown just to soak in the sights. The light-up was totally unimpressive and the place really crowded. Being crowd-phobic, we never stepped out of the car. Saw crazy people queueing for bak-kwa... By the time we brought the kids back, they were asleep, except for Isaac who had a nap in the afternoon.

Rest In Peace, Papa

The last five days really whizzed past in a blur. It all started on Friday
morning (2 Feb) when I got a call at the office that my dad had a heart
attack while he was at his desk. He could not be resuscitated and was already
dead when I reached the hospital (SGH)'s A&E. To cut the story short, it was
non-stop frenzy of rushing from one place to another: hospital, morgue, my
dad's place, casket, his workplace etc; answering and making many phone calls
and messages from both my own and my late dad's handphone; making all the
wake, funeral and cremation arrangements; receiving relatives and friends at
the wake, putting up obituary ad, getting miscellaneous paperwork done.
Frankly, there wasn't any time to feel sad and mope. We're all shocked at his
sudden death because he was always fit and active. Nevertheless he was
actually already quite old (71 years old). We're comforted by the fact that
he didn't have to endure prolonged suffering and pain before he breathed his
last. Everyone, including my mum, is holding up fine and the kids do not
appear to be too affected by his passing. They still don't quite understand
what death is.(Will fill in with more details and some morbid pics (just kidding) later.)

Now with those things out of the way, the sense of loss and the reality that
he is truly gone is slowly creeping up on me, especially when I'm sorting out
his personal stuff like his bag, wallet, medicine, driving license, ez-link
cards etc. There was some cash in his wallet and I unconciously left it in
there...as if I had expected to one day return the wallet back to him again.

Papa, we will miss you...

Day 5 - Collection of Ashes and Columbarium

So what should we do with our dad's ashes?? I expressed my dilemma to the Franciscan priest who did my dad's funeral mass and he suggested that I divide the ashes into two. One half can be put in the columbarium and the other half to be scattered in the sea. The reason why ashes are kept in a columbarium is for loved ones to have some place to come to to remember the deceased. Afterall, the spirits of the dead have gone elsewhere. On Resurrection day, all ashes will gather from all over and believers would be whole again. Well at least that's what we believe. I already know that, but just needed assurance from the priest that a sea scattering would be OK too. So... we finally decided to put him in the columbarium because I guess we still wish to remember him in some tangible way. It's not that we want to go against his wishes... we hope his spirit is in a better place, no matter where the final resting place of his ashes may be.

So in the morning, we picked my sis up and we had breakfast at Clementi Central hawker centre. I had malay nasi lemak topped with some yummy sambal cockles! Thereafter we went to the St Mary's columbarium to make arrangements for a niche there. My dad's ashes will be placed in a niche beside his other deceased family members. We bought a marble urn and and then rushed to pick Oli up from school and dropped her off at our place. We had lunch at ABC market before going to Singapore Casket to get my dad's ashes. They had collected the ashes from Mandai Columbarium on our behalf.

Then went back to Clementi to pick Lauren up from her school bus. We went to Alexandra Village where Lauren had her lunch while I tried to close my dad's bank account. I had to get some other things done before I could do so, so it will have to be done another day. We brought the urn back to my place for a while before we proceeded, kids and all, back to St. Mary's columbarium at around 4.30pm.

A Fransican brother was present to do the rites and prayers for the urn to be placed in the niche. The niche would be temporarily sealed until the inscription of the plaque is ready. Here you can see Bro. John preparing the niche, and the marble urn with my dad's ashes is on the table below. While we were doing the prayers, the kids were rather naughty, messing around with the pebbles and water features around the serene columbarium surroundings. Luckily the Bro. John was very nice.

Phew! Another mission completed today! I hope we made the right decision... If not, my sis and I are expecting dreams and visions telling us otherwise! Will post blog if we have any supernatural encounters...*twilight zone music*

Day 4 - Funeral Mass & Cremation

In the morning we got the kids changed up. Had some trouble finding something suitable for Cheryl to wear for the funeral ... her wardrobe was mostly cheery pink! Finally I found a long sleeve shirt which just had a little unnoticeable red star. We reached the casket about 10.15am. Since there were no visitors yet and the kids were quite bored, we let the kids play some games with rubber bands near dad's coffin (see pic on the right).

We took turns having lunch at the nearby Lavendar food centre. Isaac was cranky by noon time, which was unusual, and so he took a short nap. Which was just as well, because then he managed to be awake for the whole funeral thingy. At about 1pm, the Franciscan priest from St Mary's, Fr. Jivan, came to say some prayers. At 1.45pm, the coffin was closed and we had a short procession behind hearse before the guests boarded a chartered bus which would bring them to St. Mary of the Angels Church at Bukit Batok. The kids wanted to take the bus, so we allowed them to do so with our maid. Apparently Isaac enjoyed the bus ride (I think that's all he remembered of the funeral).


The rest of us drove in our cars behind the hearse. The Funeral Mass was at 2.30pm. This was my first time at this church since its renovation. I read first reading and responsorial psalm while my cousin did the rest. Unfortunately TT didn't manage to take any photos at the church. After the funeral service, again we followed the hearse a short way along the driveway as if we were sending my dad off somewhere. Again the kids took the bus while the rest of us drove to Mandai Crematorium. This is like one big excursion for them!

This was my first time at Mandai Crematorium. Everything was very clean, automated and efficient. Almost impersonal. We had a short service and thereafter guests were allowed to put flowers into the coffin before they closed it for the last time. We were then led to the viewing gallery where we could see the coffin being trolleyed automatically towards the furnace. We said prayers as the coffin proceeded slowly. This was certainly less dramatic than having people heaving and shoving the coffin into the incinerator at the old crematorium at Mt. Vernon. So this is it... this is how it all ends...

The chartered bus was going back to Lavendar Street, so Isaac was disappointed that he could not take the bus back. On the way back home the kids were tired and took a nap. Later we all had a dinner of pizza at our place. That night we finally managed to get a good rest, but poor TT had gotten a cough and runny nose from all the running around, lack of sleep and funeral palour air con...

Day 3 - Funeral Wake

The kids didn't follow us to the wake today, they just stayed at our place with our maid and mum to play. We opened the palour room at about 10.30am and received more visitors today. Here's a pic of the funeral palour. We met up with many relatives and old neighbours and friends whom we hadn't seen since we were kids. It's a pity we only meet up in occasions like these.

In the afternoon, TT took Cheryl for her art class and at the same time fetched my mum to the wake. We catered dinner of fried bee hoon and red bean soup for the guests at the casket. We reached home after midnight. The kids were already asleep. Lauren and Oli slept over at our place again tonight.

Day 2 - Collection at the Morgue

Had to wake up early this morning about 7am so that we can reach the morgue (SGH Blk 9 along Outram) at 8am to claim my dad's body. Cheryl also woke up and we told her we were going to "collect Kong Kong".

TT, being in the police force before, warned me that there might be "kaypoh" reporters and photographers to hound the bereaved families at the morgue. However when we reached there, we found that it was longer like that. There were signs saying that the press were not allowed at the premises. There were several other families there too. I met the Investigating Officer assigned to me and passed him my dad's medication. We had to wait a while and then the family members had to identify the respective bodies. One by one, we were taken to a room and I was able to see my dad's body through a glass window, a bit like doing a criminal line-up identification. This took less than 10 seconds. TT said it was much better now because previously he remembered that family members had to enter the freezing morgue, walk pass some other bodies, then the cloth will be uncovered for the family to confirm the identity of the body.

Then we had to wait again while all the Officers gathered to review their cases with the Coroner. Fortunately my dad's body did not require an autopsy and so we would be able to take the body back in about an hour's time. We decided to drop by my dad's office to clear some stuff there. The office management wanted to perform some cleansing rituals and needed us to help them remove some of my dad's religious items. We would clear his other stuff another day. Then we returned to the morgue to get my dad's death cert and collect the body. The guy from Singapore Casket was there to take the body for embalming. Thereafter we went to my dad's place to get his passport photo which would be needed for his obituary and also to be enlarged for the casket.

We went to my sis' place for lunch. And since we couldn't do anything else till 7pm when the palour would be ready, I attended the music class with Cheryl. Mel and TT went to SPH to get the obituary published in the next day's Sunday Times. Then we all had a quick dinner at our place before everyone,including the kids, headed to the palour at Lavendar Street. The kids were quite excited by the new environment and even helped to arrange the sweets, peanuts, melon seeds and red threads on the paper plate for each table. I suspected they just wanted to eat the sweets.

We had quite a number of visitors, mainly relatives whom we had informed and dad's colleagues. By 10pm the kids were quite bored and so TT brought them back to our home. Lauren and Oli stayed over at our place. I'm sure the kids had fun with the sleepover. After they had gone to bed, TT returned to the wake. It was almost midnight when we closed the palour room and headed home. I was really tired, just took a bath and went to bed.

Day 1 - Heart Attack

I was in the office when I got a call from my Dad's colleague at around 10.30am. One of them had found him slumped on his chair at his desk. He was already not breathing. They called an ambulance and also got a doctor to do CPR on him in the meantime. But all the efforts to revive him were futile. Nobody knows how long he had been slumped at his chair. It was a case of D.O.A (Dead on Arrival) when they brought him to the Singapore General Hospital.

TT & I were on the way to SGH when his colleague called me again to inform me that he could not be revived. I was already mentally prepared for the news because when I was first informed, the situation didn't sound good at all. I broke the news to my sister who was also pretty shocked.

At SGH I identified my dad's body and they returned his belongings to me. Soon after, my sis also came with Oli to view the body. My mum took the news quite cooly and said she did not wish to see the body. She told us to decide and handle the funeral arrangements. Because nobody saw how my father died, it was what they call a "coroner's case". They could not release my dad's body to us yet. Instead it would be transferred to the morgue (Centre of Forensic Medicine ) and the police's Investigating Officer (IO) would be contacting us soon.
The Officer requested that we try to bring along dad's medical records and medication the next day when claiming the body at the morgue. With evidence of an existing medical history, an autopsy may be avoided, and this would expedite the release of the body.

After a lunch of our favourite chicken rice near my sis' place, we went to my dad's place and managed to find the medication he was currently taking. We also took a full set of clothes, including his suit, socks and shoes. We would need to come back another day to bring the rest of his stuff back.

After some discussion, we decided to hold his wake at the Singapore Casket at Lavender Street instead of the church at St. Mary's which is at Bukit Batok. Although it would be more straightforward to have everything held at the church, we decided that it would be more convenient for visitors to visit the wake at a more central location. We also had to get a priest and arrange the time for the funeral mass which we decided to hold on Monday. We also discussed what should be printed on the obituary which would appear on Sunday instead of Saturday, since we do not yet have the death cert.

As you read my account, it isn't apparent how much transpired as we decided on the various arrangements. It wasn't as simple as we thought. Relatives tried to pressure us to hold the funeral on Tuesday as Monday was the fourth day and apparently "pantang" (inauspicious) for the Chinese. Although we respected their views, we felt it was superstitious since we are christians anyway. So we stood our ground. What should or should not be put in the coffin to be incinerated was another minor issue. Whether or not my dad's ashes were to be scattered at sea or be put in a columbarium also became a major bone of contention. My dad had expressed to some, including my mum (but not to me), that he wanted his ashes to be thrown in the sea. However because of my dad's easy-going personality, nobody could ascertain whether he was saying this out of jest or really serious about it. For the record, at this point in time on Saturday, my sis & I wanted to scatter him at sea. But there were violent objections from my aunt (dad's elder and only surviving sister), as well as my cousins.

That night, despite being exhuasted, I tossed and turned in bed. The reality of my dad's death had not yet sunk in and I had so many things on my mind.

My Dad

My late Dad and my Mum have been separated for more than 10 years. For as long as I can remember, their relationship had never been really good. He was never physically abusive or anything, but I've always felt he was not quite cut out for parenthood. Although he did look after me & my sis as children, most of the responsibility fell on our mum. Anyway, when they finally parted ways, I was already grown up and started working. The separation was not really a traumatic experience for me because we weren't that close as father and daughter. After that we still kept in touch and met up occasionally.

When the grandchildren came along, he visited us more frequently, sometimes bringing the kids out and giving them treats. Occasionally he would invite all of us for dinner, including my mum. But my sis & I know and understand why my mum would never be reconciled with him.

Dad was a sportsman, playing soccer and tennis when he was younger, and subsequently golf as he got older. He occasionally played golf with my brother-in-law (my sis' hubby). He was very fit and active and continued to work as a cleaning supervisor till the day he died. At work he was efficient and meticulous. He didn't do the cleaning himself, but oversaw the cleaners and maintenance in various commercial buildings. He had a history of high blood pressure and hypertension and was taking medication for it. From what we saw and gathered from friends, he was extremely careful with his diet. The last thing people who knew him expected was for him to die from a heart attack.

Dad was, as my sis & I say, a free spirit. He couldn't be tied down. He was a well-liked, jovial, happy-go-lucky guy, often called a joker by his friends and colleagues. On the day he died, I discovered that he had planned to go to JB with some friends for dinner! His death was totally unexpected.

An Islander Weekend

In typical Singaporean fashion, we decided to get our money's worth from our recently acquired Sentosa Islander Family card. We visited Sentosa on both days this weekend! Woohoo, is this an overkill or what?

On Saturday, we only had time to take the Express to and from VivoCity before we had to go back for Cheryl's music class. It was just as well because it started to rain.

On Sunday, the weather was perfect. Perfect for me is NO sun, cloudy and windy... actually there were small pockets of pretty threatening dark clouds here and there. We decided to pack lunch of chicken and char siew rice and drive into Sentosa. We parked at the huge carpark at Beach Station and then we took a beach tram to Siloso Beach. Surprisingly it was not as crowded as we expected for a Sunday. We found a nice spot under some coconut trees and the kids played with sand. I just love the sand here. They imported fine white sand from Indonesia to make the beaches here in Sentosa. It's so blardy clean and fine, and because it was slightly damp from the rain recently, it was perfect for making sandcastles. I didn't manage to take any pics of my creations because ZaacZilla destroyed them as soon as we made them. Ate our packed lunches and bought some ice cream too.

We also took a walk across the beach and wooden bridge/boardwalk (see pic above). So many tourists taking photos on the rocks and boulders. We couldn't lose out, so we took many shots on the rocks too! This is TT trying to perch Isaac atop a boulder, below is the shot of the same boulder from afar. Notice a bunch of foreign workers congregating at the bottom left.

More boulder pics...



We visited an IslandLife shop and bought 3 sets of die-cast Sentosa Express model trains for the kids at $12 each (see pic below). Needless to say, the kids were delighted. Blue for Isaac, Orange for Cheryl and Purple for our neighbour Sean. We also bought an orange Sentosa bus.

By the time we left the shop, it was raining. Wanted to take the tram back to the Beach Station but the tram was full. Fortunately it stopped raining, so we trudged back on foot. Time was a little tight because we had to send Cheryl for her art class at 4pm, but we decided to hop onto the Sentosa Express anyway since they gave us free train passes when we entered Sentosa. We thought we'd just take a joyride to VivoCity and back (remember we parked at the Beach Station). Unfortunately it's not a simple case of staying put in the train at VivoCity. We were "chased out" of the train and had to exit at VivoCity and get train passes again from the counter to enter Sentosa. Bother, but no worries, we have the Islander card! *evil laughter* So wasted some time to get ourselves another set of free entry passes and boarded the Express back to Sentosa's Beach Station. Then we had to drive at Formula One speed from Sentosa to Bencoolen for Cheryl's art class. Phew, just five minutes late.

Hey and you thought this was the end of our Sentosa adventure? Think again. When we returned home after class, our neighbour Sean heard about Cheryl's Sentosa trip and wanted to go too. He was also thrilled with the purple train we got him. So after her bath, we allowed Cheryl to follow our neighbours back to Sentosa again! Yes again! They even managed to catch part of the musical fountain show while aboard the Sentosa Express. Isaac was already knocked out by dinner time, so he didn't get to go.

I now have a "collection" of at least 12 Sentosa Express passes, just a few more visits to Sentosa and we would have gotten back what we paid for the Islander card! Sentosa should ban us...

East Coast Park

The weather was fine this morning so we decided to go to East Coast Park for a picnic and to celebrate my mum-in-law's birthday which was actually the next day. The mango cake we had was nice. The weather was a little too hot and humid though. Such drastic weather changes... just yesterday it was pouring. After the picnic we headed to Suntec where we had lunch at Just Noodles. The food's ok, but not fantastic.

Sentosa Express

My neighbour Sean has been eagerly waiting for this day... to finally take a ride on the Sentosa Express! It was just recently opened on 15 Jan. So after Cheryl's Chinese class, we decided to tag along too, because we knew if it had anything to do with trains, Isaac would enjoy it.

Our family, Sean and his dad packed into our car, and we headed for VivoCity. We had our lunch first at Food Republic. This is a pic of Cheryl having paper prata. They spread it out thin and sprinkle sugar on it, so it's crispy and slightly sweet. Tastes yummy on its own. The teh tarik from the same prata stall was also teh-licious (by our standards).

We had wanted to get the train tickets but decided to apply for the Sentosa Family Islander card instead because we figured we might be taking visiting Sentosa pretty often either on the Express or cable car. With the card, we can take get entry into Sentosa and take the Express free, and enjoy discounts for the cable car, as well as other attractions on Sentosa.

The Sentosa Express consists of 4 monorail trains, each of a different colour. Nothing too impressive but needless to say, the kids enjoyed the ride. I wonder if the four trains are capable of handling the crowds when the IR is up.
We alighted at Beach station, which is the third and the last station on Sentosa. We wanted to take the chairlift but Isaac is still below 90cm, so only Sean and Cheryl and the dads took the chairlift and luge ride while Isaac and I waited down below. Isaac spent the time watching the Sentosa Express trains go by. By the time they finished with their luge rides, it was time to go back because Sean had his swimming class, and Cheryl her music class. So to Isaac's dismay, we had to head back home. It was fortunate anyway, because it started to rain. In fact, later on the way back home from Cheryl's music class, we got caught in a jam along Commonwealth Avenue caused by flash floods. Here are pics of the chairlift and the photofinish of the Luge race!

Art Class

I managed to peep in and take a photo of Cheryl during her art class at NAFA. She was doing some messy paintwork. Fortunately I had bought her an apron, so she didn't get her clothes dirty. Bought more art materials required in her course. Boy, art classes can be costly!

While she was at art class, I took the opportunity to explore the Bencoolen area. Nothing much nearby unless I walk a little further to go Bras Basar Complex, Bugis Junction or the National Library. Maybe next time I should bring my notebook and take advantage of the free WiFi at TCC in NAFA or the National Library.

Happy Birthday Mum!

It's my mum's 66th birthday today. After Cheryl's Chinese class, we took her (Mum) along to Giant at IMM because she had wanted to do some grocery shopping too. This is a pic of me with Isaac taking a silly animal ride in IMM. It costs $2 per ride. Later, at mum's request, we ordered pizza, bought salted fish fried rice and fish & chips for dinner. These are some of mum's favourite foods! She didn't want to go to some expensive restaurant. After dinner we had the usual candle-blowing and cake-cutting. We had bought a durian cake earlier that day from Emicakes.
Later that night, I picked our maid up from Changi airport while TT put the kids to bed. My fears of the maid not turning up were unfounded. Yay, our maidless days are over!

2nd Maidless Week

The second week without our maid also went pretty smoothly. I coordinated with TT to take turns to take leave to help mum out at home. Occassionally TT would take Cheryl to my sis place where she would play with my nieces. The week was also very wet, just look at the terrible flooding across the causeway at Kota Tinggi. Our warm beds felt very cosy in the chilly mornings and it was very hard to wake up!

Toothless No More

The highlight for today was that I would be fixing up my broken front tooth! I decided to take the whole day off and run some errands in the morning, like banking in my four $1K cheques from Mr. Sim! Also took the opportunity to realise my existing unit trust and switch to another fund which will supposedly give me more returns.

Having had to endure six days of embarassing toothless smiles and spastic drafty pronunciation, I was actually looking forward to the dental appointment this afternoon. After about 30 minutes of unbearable drilling... lo and behold, I have a new tooth! Because the tooth was orignally slightly crooked, that's why the patched up tooth looks naturally "sengek". It's actually shorter than the original tooth, but I guess it's also not a good idea to make the teeth longer as that makes it more prone to breaking again.

This is supposedly just a temporary solution. No point doing crowning (which is very expensive) now because my tooth could just die on me and I may need to remove the crowning to do a root canal and then crown it again. So it's just a $50 filling for the time being. I will need to monitor the tooth for the next 6 months or so and then decide on my next course of action. The new tooth extension still feels a little foreign and I must be careful not to bite anything too hard. But at least now I don't feel so "naked" anymore and it even looks quite natural. :o) These are before and after pics of my front teeth.

Cheryl who followed me to the dentist patiently sat at the waiting area while the dentist did the job. When I came out and showed her my new tooth, she was quite intrigued and asked me if the dentist had glued my broken tooth back!

Back to Pasir Ris Park!

We decided to go to Pasir Ris Park today as we will be going to my SIL's place at Tampines for lunch. The kids had fun at the big playground, playing with sand and the apparatus. This is the sandcastle I built with Cheryl's help (see pic above). This is Isaac climbing...one of those moments when I really appreciate seeing him well and cheeky again and having fun. Nothing worse than having a sick child.

In the afternoon, Cheryl had to attend her first KinderArt lesson at NAFA. As we expected, she didn't want to go. So we promised to let her do some sand art craft if she went for class. We bought her a new set of 36 oil pastels required for the lesson, along with other art materials. Although she didn't say, I think she enjoyed the lesson, or at least I know she didn't dislike it. While she was having her lesson, we (and Isaac) had a snack of roti prata and teh tarik at a nearby coffee shop along Bencoolen Street.

After the lesson, we went to Suntec City's 3rd level where Cheryl got to do her window art instead, since there was no sand art there. I let her do a large piece costing $8. In the meantime, we wanted Isaac to get a haircut at the nearby Little League shop but he simply refused to put on the protective apron. After that we had dinner there at a Thai restaurant called Tuk-tuk. I don't know about the other food, but the dishes we ate were sub-standard, and I didn't really enjoy the meal.

Back to Busy Saturday

Our busy Saturday routine begins again today. Cheryl had her Chinese class at school in the morning and her music lesson in the afternoon after a 3-week break.

As for me, after much contemplation, I decided to attend my department outing today despite of my fall. My colleagues & I have been planning and organising an outing to Snow City for weeks. About 30 people turned up for the event. I was physically fine after the fall, but I just needed to overcome being too conscious about my appearance. My face is a lot better than what it was 2 days ago, which looked like Rocky after the big fight! But it was really difficult to smile or talk to people with a straight face. What a difference a tooth makes! Now I can't even pronounce my s's and f's properly! But I'm glad I went. I didn't participate in the more physical "winter games" in the snow chamber for fear of another accident. We learnt how to make ice cream using liquid nitrogen and had a ice-cream decorating competition. After that we had a lunch buffet at Sakura in the nearby omni-theatre. I'm glad the outing turned out OK and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Update: I managed to get some photos of the event from my colleague. Here are some pics showing how we made the ice-cream. It's almost the same way I've seen them make ice cream at The Daily Scoop (a small shop at Sunset Way that sells yummy hand-made ice-cream). Except that we use liquid nitrogen to accelerate the freezing, so it took about 15 minutes for the ice cream to be made with constant stirring. We poured the cream, sugar and flavouring in a big metal container and placed this container within an aluminium foil tray. Then liquid nitrogen was poured into the aluminium tray to cool the metal container, while the contents were stirred continuously until it thickened.

The finished product looked like this after we managed to get it out of the metal container. These are pics of how the four teams decorated their ice cream!