The tough plant

Its 12.50am and I just watered the only plant I have.


Will he/she/it get irritated for I 'woke' him (for simplicity, let's assume he) from slumber? Are they tuned to day and night like us? I dunno, I mean they do photosynthesis and all and that happens during the day, I guess he must sort of have a night? Anyway, I really dunno as I am simply terrible at science coupled with no interests to google and find out, tsk tsk...

Oh well and since I'm at it, a quick introduction to my (err, actually, our) one and only green plant - haha this is how much we contribute to the leafy green world.

He has been with us since the day we got our new flat and, more amazingly, survived the years. We got him from Ikea and WK was the one watering him when he was at our flat. I simply dont have green fingers and on top of that I really could not understand how can plants live on JUST water? I mean its so simple, dont they need anything fancy? I'm thinking gastronomical delight like what we have in our world??

Well this strong fella never did, for all his 6 years of life (hey he is even older than our kids and about the same age as Rusty!). All he ever got was water, and this too... usually on a weekly or fortnightly basis (not to mention he was also frequently abandoned when we left home for weeks in a row - I rmbr WK pouring like 500ml worth of water into him to prepare him for his famine days ahead ie when we go away :P). I never did cast him an eye in those days as well, he was just a plant.

But now, I am his sole care provider and I enjoy him a whole lot more. He still decorates (his main job description) as he sits prettily in our toilet (to be precise, on top of our toilet cistern). He is looking a whole lot more grand as well as his limbs are now more perky and tall like the picture above. In the past, he used to be all limpy and droopy - which was a state I would visually look out for to indicate watering needs. 

Hehe happy also to say he now gets a whole glass of tap water every 3-4days and his strategic spot does allow him a daily dose of sunlight at a particular time of the day. Looking at him now delights me.. hehe. And I even find him a carer when I am away for hols!

He is really easy to look after I guess, else he would never have made it. Over the 6 years, other than the occasional watering and light, he did once get new soil top-up (somehow the original soil level dropped to half about 1.5yrs back). He also survived some plant fungal infection when the white spots on his leaves went away.

Yeah he is scrawny and sparse, but I still enjoy looking at him as he gives a burst of green fresh energy :) I'm glad he made it and I hope he will grow more stalks soon! Though he is hardy, and perhaps fail-proof on his own, I can get credit for some green fingers, no? :) And definitely not, I am not rushing out to get another pot of plant as this one will do. Just nice for me.

So world, meet our indoor money plant!

Western Australia Trip - Photos (6th day)

My memories are fading!!

Where was i??

Our 6th day in Australia - At the farmstay - It was an eventful morning for the children as they get to see, touch and feed the animals. It was such a rare sight!! Especially for Singaporeans living in a concrete jungle.

The kids loved it and the adults enjoyed themselves as well. I almost wanted to ask the owner if there were any job opportunities for me....

The cool weather made it easy for us. The animals were pretty clean by my standards and the kids get to see different types of farm animals, ranging from sheep, goat, a****??, ponies?...argghh.. should have asked the farmer myself then...

After the feeding session, we headed out to bunbury for the underwater observatory centre. It was a pity the centre was closed due to bad weather and rough sea. Nevertheless, we managed to snap a few Kodak moments.

Kayden and Grandpa doing their balancing act on the railway track. 

We then stopped by a nearby lighthouse for a visit. There was a guide that took us up the lighthouse and it was pretty interesting . 

Ironically, we were all a little bit disorientated after the lighthouse tour.... we didn't know where to go next...

We then drove back to Margaret river and our first stop was at the olive soap factory where the products were all olive related items.

Daddy gave Kayden a lesson on catwalk outside the outlet.

The factory outlet itself was pretty interesting. There was a hand wash area for customers to try out different kinds of olive soap. 

I tried my hand at taking candid shots..... can you spot my master piece?

Along the way, we stopped at an outlet selling nuts. There was a field (obviously) outside the outlet with a goal post and a soccer ball. There kids had fun playing ball. 

You can see Sophie playing goalie and Kayden shooting at goal in one of the photos. Reminiscence of my childhood days playing ball with my brother.

The cheese factory was also one of our stops but i was too particularly impressed by it. I suspect that we probably can find more varieties of cheese on sale in Cold Storage Jelita.  

We stopped by the famous Candy Cow and the kids loved it. This was a huge Candy Store with visibly attractive Candies and soft toys on sale. 

Sophie happily grabbed 2 soft toys... greedy gal..

The colorful lollies caught every one's attention.

We ended our day back to our farm, not forgetting to pile up on the firewood before last light. 

We were all glad it was not as cold as we thought it would be. 

And that night, i dreamt i had an encounter with Tiger snakes.

The neglected child

Before Sophie... there was Kayden....
Before Kayden .......there was.... Rusty... the forgotten child/dog...

The cruel facts of life - Rusty was like our first child. He was the first living object of desire shared between TT & myself. I remember the day when we first met Rusty - TT & i had just moved into our new Jurong West flat. It was a rather hasty decision, to have bought him straight from the pet shop while we were walking home from the mall.From that faithful day onwards, he became our 'child' - our first darling, before the kids came along. I remember at 6 mths old, Rusty had to be taken care of like a baby. We had to wake up 2-3 times a night, to clean up his pee and poo. (Yes, Puppies pee more than 5 times a day.) We did not have a garden then, so it was pretty much a nightmare.

Just like our kids now, Rusty was very much a part of our life. When he was sick, we took child care leave (or rather emergency leave) to bring him to see the vet. When we bathed him, it took hours..... 3 man-hours were required for the task which included shampoo-ing, conditioning, blowing dry, combing, cutting his nails and cleaning his ears. At one stage, we left him at home alone while we went to work. We took turns calling home to ensure the ringing phone help keep him company. Obviously, it wasn't such a great idea, cos we ended up coming home to shredded newspapers, poo pee everywhere, torn curtains, sofa,.... list goes on..

Still, he was our baby... we showered him with luxurious dog treats, bought him shirts, the best shampoo, the best comb. I had to clean his ears almost everyday, brushed his teeth, cut his nails. It was pure torture but our love for one another made the whole process sweet... torturously sweet..Rusty was such a darling! He would pounce on us when we returned home from work and licked us all over. We would spend lazy afternoons on the couch together and even sleep in the same bed. (it only stopped after our room was infested with lice) and yes, i was bitten ...
Rusty was even featured in our wedding photo album and wedding dinner presentation. He was such a big part of our lives!.... not just now.... How can i better describe this??? He had not just his paws but his existence imprinted in our minds and heart forever.....
We had neglected him for a loooong time...... since the arrival of Kayden. He probably receive more scoldings than kisses from TT for stealing food from the kids. The maids bathed him nowadays and he no longer gets brushed. Once in a while, we sent him for grooming but i know what he yearns for is our attention.

Despite spending less than 5 minutes with him everyday, I've not forgotten about him, he is still very much part of my family of 5, we will always live together under the same roof no matter what or where and for this, i promise him.
And so, with TT and the kids away for the week, i shall once again play the role of Papa for Rusty.. the neglected child. I promise to at least shower him with love and care, to remind him that his owner have not forgotten about him.

The tea post

Whoops! Didnt realise previous post written on WK's account! I'm the black tea, he will never be black tea, ever. We're as different as chalk and cheese.

The kids and I got back yesterday... their flu seems to have disappeared (thank goodness) but I am still deaf - my ears get blocked easily when I sneeze as the phlegm and fluid will enter my middle ear etc. So I am now, really as deaf as a mule... I can barely hear a thing, and I cant even hear Mei on the baby monitor last night, yikes! Hope it clears soon as it is so irritating to be deaf.

What tea are you?

Not a fan of personality tests, especially those that are super long and time consuming. But was reading this blog and gave the link a try.

I am below... Pretty accurate I must say.

============================

You Are Black Tea

You have a bold personality. You're not afraid of simply being yourself.

You have the courage to speak the truth. You are fearless in your actions.

You come off as a bit intimidating and unapproachable. Only confident people are attracted to you.

You don't try to scare off anyone. You're just an intense person!

===========================

The link is here, check out what tea are you?

Goodbye my friend....

8 Aug 2008 - A close friend of mine recently left Singapore for China for purpose of career advancement. It has been a month since he left and i hate to say that i kind of misses him (It sounds really gayish from a man's point of view). Well, it happen that he was my lunch kaki for more than half of each work week and my only available karaoke buddy. For the record, he wasn't even working near my office, but rode his bike down to Amoy Street to meet me for lunch. For my part, i was his listening ear and one of his few advisors (i think) with regards to matters of the heart. It was a great brotherhood relationship especially precious for daddies who had wandered out of their pre-marriage "circle of trust" gang.

It is not easy for a father (at least for me) to maintain relationship with old friends especially when all my close buddies are single and available. Even occasional meet-ups require a lot of coordination. Our conversations do not circle around family and kids matter, so it takes some attuning to. I remember reading some article before that relationships need to be maintained. Otherwise, they will die off. Its the same for most friendships. However, i do believe there are some relationships that will never die off, but rather forgotten. Good close friends can easily carry off from where they left off.

So for his farewell, we had a karaoke session, the same old activity that brought us together as friends 9 yrs ago.. that night, i never held back.... i sang to the best i could...i sang like it was my last song...(it probably is... since i only go to karaoke with him).. it was fun and memorable.. and here are the photos


















































6 Sep 2008 - i went for lunch alone today at Amoy food court.... the sight , the sound of the environment suddenly reminded me of my friend... sigh... it was kind of sad feeling for me, the lost companionship of a lunch time kaki... but its time to move on... it is just another part and parcel of life...

Our experience - Malaysia healthcare

Today is Thursday - our planned day of fun and sun in Lumut. But looks like we may not be making the trip...

We spent the whole of yesterday morning at the paed in a private hospital...

Kayden had vomitted 2 mornings in a row (ie since the day after we arrived), and he was running a temperature from then. The PD diagnosed him with a viral infection and the boy was given anti-vomitting medicine plus a whole host of others ie fever, runny nose, suppository etc. He vomitted a total of 5 times to-date, and thats a first in his life. It has since stopped.

This morning, I found dried pus on his outer left ear and I withdrew an ear thermometer that was covered with ear wax, ala Shrek, haha. Per my suspision since the boy complained of earache since Monday (I googled it), he should be having an ear infection (no prior experience as none of my kids had that before). I cleaned his left ear, all moist and dirty with wet ear wax... And am slightly bewildered that the PD had dismissed this possibility and brushed it off as nothing more than dirty ears.

And poor dear Sophie, she has bronchitis! After nursing a still chesty cough and 2 weeks of running nose, the phlegm is now in her lungs and she needs to use the nebuliser. We were told to use the AeroChamber as that is the alternative procedure to the neb. She is also prescribed an antibio course plus the usual fever, cold medicine. Noticing an irregularity with the prescribed dosage, we went back to see the PD and she apologised for an error - Sophie's weight was charted incorrectly on the card and thus she was given a dosage twice her usual. Whoops!

All in, their bill came up to RM281.60 and we have to return in 2 days for a follow up on Sophie's condition. The cost of living in Msia is sure high, as comparatively, the cost of a PD visit in Singapore ranges only from $50-100 per visit (inclusive of meds).

As for my running nose and cough, my mom brought me to a government health clinic to which the cost of treatment (inclusive of medicine) is only RM1 for citizens. My first visit. And haha, did you notice the contrast between my mom and I - ie my kids go to a specialist while I have go to the cheap govt clinic, kekeke. But OK lah, so I am an adult.

In contrast, my health official (they are not doctors) did not even so much as touched or talked to me. Upon entering the room, the nurse (his assistant) asked of my illness. I babbled running nose, cough, sore throat, and I am breastfeeding. The official kept on writing on my patient card without looking at me. The nurse took my temperature with an ear thermometer (I noticed she didnt change the sleeve!) and I was clear. All this, the official was busy writing with his head bent staring at my patient card, and then the nurse passed me the prescription slip to collect meds at the pharmacy on my way out. Amazing. I felt like I had gone to see a pharmacist, but then again, I am sure there will be some interaction between a pharmacist and I to find out more about my symptoms. So there, this is my first experience with public healthcare.

But it didnt stop there, I checked the prescribed cough mixture Nilco syrup, and true to my expectation, the medicine is not suitable for nursing mothers as small amounts of diphenhydramine are excreted in breastmilk which gives a risk of adverse effects of unusual excitement or irritability in infants. My thoughts, "What a waste of goverment fund! The meds are wasted" and "My goodness, how many Malaysian children/infants have been affected by a wrong prescription of medicine to nursing mothers!"

Overall, my personal comment is that there are lotsa room for improvement in basic Malaysia healthcare. I choose to believe though, that the ineffeciencies and errors in our visits' probably more an exception than norm.

Hello Penang

Hello from the cloudy shores of Penang.

I am back in my hometown for a week for our bi-annual visit with the kids and Gigi in tow. Poor WK cant join us as he is unable to take leave being the busy budgetting period in the office. So we jetset and arrived here yesterday without him. The weather is nice and cool as it seems to be the rainy season now? Dark clouds hovering outside and it looks like going to pour. Good day to stay in, with nothing to do :)

Soph's still sick! Seems like its the 3rd week? She was recovering but caught the bug again when she metup with a sick classmate for a play session last Friday. They had lotsa fun playing but nursing the fever, cough, cold, phlegm is horrid! I wonder when will this flu season at home end? Hmmm.

Today is a special day as its the 1st birthday of my nephew Nathaniel. He's grown really big and strong, and he seems to weigh the same as Soph now whilst his feet is definitely bigger than hers - closer to K's size :P The happy Michelin baby seems to love the kids' company, and I do hope they will grow up to be really close :)

We'll be going down to the town of Lumut, opposite Pangkor Island this Thursday for a short hotelstay/get-away with my mom and (hopefully) my brother's family. Hope the kids will be healthy by then to be able to enjoy the pool and sun! No other plans for now, other than a day to visit my relatives. Its totally R&R when we come up here as there is no class schedule to follow nor time to chase. Its always a good break and the kids love seeing their Grammi as well as being able to play the whole day with a different house to explore. As for me, I love the familiarity and well the relax-ness of it all.

Btw, sorry no photos as I didnt bring the DSLR as its too bulky and I cant afford attention looking after it over the kids. Tatas and will write again!