Estelle's Crawling!!!

Remember when I had said a few weeks ago to keep an eye on your kids cos they grow up so fast? It's truly incredible!

Estelle is practicing how to crawl after 5 mths!!! Not very steady but she managed to keep moving forward to reach for what she wants!

First haircut

Estelle had her first haircut! Although we could not bear to cut her hair but it was getting a bit long for her own comfort and convenience. *Sob* It was really really painful and sad to see her long, beautiful, curly, stylo-milo, Japanese/Korean hairstyle from birth been cut! We dun think she enjoyed it too... *Sob sob*

2nd one?

After the govt had announced more financial perks, tax reliefs and additional leave to encourage Singaporeans to have more babies, I had friends and colleagues asking me when my 2nd kid is coming.

The answer is, "Not anytime soon."

The perks benefitted couples more who are having their first child and swayed those on the verge of considering one. Their net gain amounted to significant thousands whereas the gain for having a 2nd one, in my case where Xiaomin doesn't work anymore, is minimal. In my case, there is only an increase of $1000 in Baby Bonus for having a 2nd. We could benefit more from the rest of the additional perks such as maternity and childcare leave and tax reliefs UNLESS Xiaomin goes back to work. But I am not for this idea cos I highly regard the importance of having one of the parents bear the responsibility of bringing up the children than any centre, grandparents or maids. So this announcement did not send me over the moon and persuaded me to have a 2nd one anytime soon. Of course, having children is not totally about $ from the govt but it is helpful. Ultimately, it's a personal decision about our lifestyle. And I'm not the least influenced to change mine yet.

We went to visit 上羊, 佩恩 who just had their 2nd son, 天诺 in their 2nd year of marriage. I must salute them for their courage and faith to have 2 kids given their circumstances. They dun exactly get any benefits from the Singapore govt yet their mentality is what the govt hope Singaporeans would have. Maybe that's just how the Singaporean society works. We need incentives and fines to tell us what should or should not be done.

What the medal means to Singapore

The Olympics Women Table Tennis Finals could not be held at a time more aptly than on the day of the annual National Day Rally. And the PM made the right decision to delay his 'live' telecast of the rally to broadcast the game. He knows that the game will be able to "rally" more Singaporeans than his own "rally" that night. A true leader knows how to make both the right short-term decisions and the necessary long-term plans to attain the desired effect. And he did this to to the effect of reinforcing his points about the Foreign Talent Scheme during the rally too. What better ways and timing to do this than during the game itself?

PM noted native Singaporeans' concerns over foreign talents taking away jobs and depressing wages. It is a genuine concern and it has been around for quite some time. The silver medal reminded Singaporeans that we have got to open our mind and wake up our ideas. There is much to gain economically and culturally from them. If we had clung on to our “纯种意识”, we would still be trapped in our "well". The silver medal demonstrated again how we could make a name in the international arena, raise our bar and inspire Singaporeans that we CAN achieve great things.

We should look at this medal on the broadest picture possible. This is when, sports is not just about the game. This is when, sports is a country policy and a governmental strategy. We should not belittle the weight that sports have on a country. Ultimately, all of us want to "Shine for Singapore" and for the country to stand proud. So let us face the bare reality. To do this, we must remember that the pioneers of Singapore's history are once made up mainly of foreigners too. We are a smart population but we are limited by resources and our size. To grow, improve or even to survive, we need to do all that is necessary and sometimes seemingly awkward. Lucky for us, our leaders have the foresight and the courage to implement what turned out to be an exciting and moving medal in Singapore's history.

A Proud Silver

Congrats to the Singapore's women table tennis team! A well fought game that did us proud! It was nice to see them smile during the game despite the pressure.

Mambo Bumbo!

Estelle's neck is pretty strong now and she's able to sit up with some support. So we got her a "Director's Chair" to train her as well for us to manage her better. She looks so cute in the lime green Bumbo!

中国“疯”

I know I'm late in posting this cos the opening was like almost a week ago. But watching the encore telecasts gave me goose-bumps again and reminded me of China's power. Anyone must be “疯” to underestimate or ignore their capability. Although I'm not a 'Chinese' Chinese, I'm just as proud to be a Chinese. The Chinese can do anything bigger and better than anyone in the world if they put our heart and soul into it. It may be about 面子 they did a fantastic job in wowing the world. Photos are by Getty Images.

"好"邻居

It's important to have good, considerate and understanding neighbours. You can try to be one and still not do enough to please. I didn't know I have a super surround sound system in my room that can rattle walls and windows and frighten little girls. Wonder what will "come up" next.

Before one sees the splinter in other people's eye, look at the beam in your own. So door slamming in the middle of the night is alright meh?

"要是我有一百万..."

is a Hokkien song sung frequently at getais during the Hungry Ghost Festival. Recently it attracted more media attention due to "12 Lotus", a new 'getai' film directed by Royston Tan. He sang this song at the Jurong Fishery Port getai which I feel reflects what he must have in his pocket now ... lots of "一百万"... haha :)

I was at the getai to cover his appearance to promote his latest film and took the chance to take a pic with him during the interview.

Express Yourself!

比上不足，比下有余

Just something that came across my mind during a course I attended recently. I was reminded that there are smart people with "足" to learn from and we cannot be complacent with our "余". We can learn a lot from not-so-smart people too. There is always a “上” and learn from the right “下” too.