Last post of the year

We're into the final thirty minutes of 2021. Last post of the year so a piece of golden advice from #wyx6 random writings:

"When you get upset, take a breath and cool down".

New year's eve ... already?!

Did I just realize it's New Year's Eve tomorrow?! And time to change a new calendar the next day?!

Dayummmm where did the year go?!

I played tennis!

What a wonderful wonderful morning on Christmas Day.

Jx picked me and Roy up at 7am and we had breakfast (very good beehoon by the way!) with Ivan before a good 2 hours of tennis! Been a loooong time since all of us exercised, no thanks to Covid, and the healthy competition between us added fun to the game. 

With sore arms and a sprained ankle (Jx haha), we soaked in the cool jacuzzi for a good 30-40 mins chatting and exchanging opinions on retirement, finance, property investment etc. 

Hope for more active, stress-less mornings like this with friends. 

36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36

Tomorrow's my birthday, alas no feeling about it. Weather's been brilliant lately, bright and windy and cool. Aim to slow down the pace this month and take a stock take, and breathe.

December should be awesome!

Noah's Ark

Had an hour's play of Noah's Ark today, she enjoyed the story :)

Errands

It may not be anything impactful, but I do feel a huge sense of achievement when I complete a list of errands. Tasks done this week and the previous:

- Cleared IPPT

- Collected a contest gift that I won, courtesy of a giveaway from Marina Square

- Cleared my MBL

- Cut my hair and the girls' too

- Took COVID booster jab

- Collected a preloved mahjong table that is foc.

Outstanding:

- Buy school bag for Yx

- Change water filter

Fairmont staycay

Wyx6 memories of the staycation ... Happy faces :D. I asked, where's papa in the pic? 

"在大便" 

....

Lounging

My favourite part of this staycay at Fairmont:

A taste of new normal

Feel abit happier and more relaxed today. It could be because it was Friday, or because I'm on block leave next week; but I think my mood is lighter because I am beginning to see signs of life resuming back to normal?

- Dined in with my parents and sis at Tsui Wah Jewel

- Did some work in the privacy of my office cubicle where I could focus

- Did some quick shopping because there were some really fantastic black Friday sales going on

- Also, looking forward to 5v5 futsal two weeks later!

- Feeling Xmasy in advance?

Despite the positive signs, I know I shouldn't be too gleeful yet... We've been here before, this Phase 2 (even Phase 3) only to be jerked back abruptly by COVID clusters and exponential spread... And today news reported the discovery of a new African variant... Sigh. We should refrain from mingling extensively but some social interaction and resumption of normal activities (though limited) is a much needed respite.

Chinese Chess

Been a long time since I had a game of Chinese Chess. Played a few rounds with my FIL that day. Played 4, lost 3. And he was playing with a handicap - without his lao hua glasses!

It was a good workout for my brain. I realized my brain was lazy and rejected thinking more than 2 steps ahead, leaving the planning to "see how later lah".

The 12-year-old me would have won current me. 😪

Ye caring for Yx

Yx's school had someone C+ and was last in the premises last Wed. To err on the side of caution, I decided to conduct an ART on Yx. As expected, she was crying and sobbing and tearing, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Ye ran out of the kitchen, and returned shortly with a piece of tissue (meant to dry up her sister's tears). 

So cute! I feel contented they genuinely care for each other like sisters who care about each other will. 👭

--------

Another occasion:

Ye felt grumpy after her nap, came out of the room whining and crying. Yx went over, hugged her and asked, "你要拿小Elsa吗？” 

This Elsa toy is favourite to both of them and they're always snatching and quarreling over it. To witness Yx offering her sister their fav toy to appease her sister, I am so proud of our first born.

Kaw x x

Me: Just an giant sized balloon made of non biodegradable material of an ugly doll which is severely over-marketed and overhyped.

Annual physical test

IPPT next week!

This year I am more guai, overcame inertia and lazyboneliness and jogged! As I was panting and running and feeling the screams in my calves, I thought to myself and realized that I have to do this (as in yearly IPPT) for 4 more times??!! Every year it gets tougher and tougher 😩

Update on my ippt result next week!

11.11

It's 11.11!

Supposedly the only day of the year with the best shopping deals!

But I have nothing to buy.

._.

Fried carrot cake, beehoon goreng, fried chicken... 

Am craving for all of these right now! 😰

My Secret

Introducing....

My SecretLab limited edition Batman Evo2022 has FINALLY ARRIVED!

I saved $29 to self-assemble and took slightly over an hour. But because I DIY, I realised why the chair is so extravagant - every aspect of the chair is taken care of meticulously, right down to its packaging and the foam moulds! They have even done tests to ensure that the contents are protected when dropped from a height of 5 ft. The material of every component of the chair feel quality, sturdy and durable. After giving it a wipe down with a wet cloth, I sat on it and all I can say is that it it SUPER SHIOK! And the leather gave it a NEW CAR SMELL! Not to mention it has been designed to be extremely ergonomic, there is head and lumbar support and arm rests adjustable in 3 axis, and the bum base is just the right firmness, it is wide enough to support most part of my thighs. 

Am so proud of my achievement!

I prepared very very hard and put in many hours to win this ok...  as there was a VC with the DJs, thinking the contest would be a gameshow format, here's showing you my homework:

Which was not put to use at all rofl. To win one of the 5 chairs, the 26 shortlisted participants had a week to answer:

Name 3 batman gadgets that you wish you could have, name from which movie, and why.

I researched, watched YouTube videos, and watched two Batman movies to gain inspiration. Finally, my answers were:

1) Memory cloth cape

2) Cellphone sonar device

3 Utility belt

Not gonna share my essay here to bore you - but I thought I did a really good job!

--------

With the new chair, I had to declutter and say thank you to the incumbent - a $190 chair from vhive I bought in 2017.

Sold for $15 on Carousell. Thank you for your service and hope you serve your new owner(s) as well as you did to me!

An extremely good weekend

With Covid and wfh, every day passes by without much fanfare and it's easy to just spend days without feeling anything at all.

But I made it a point last weekend to celebrate the small wins. And by that benchmark, it had been an extremely good weekend!

Started Friday dinner with Hairy Crab feast (I won a fb lucky draw contest!) and dad's Butter Chicken.

Saturday:

- It was ballet term break so we drove to CompassOne just to have our favourite Shan Cheng for lunch. Kids had so much fun playing with the dolls at Kiddy Palace.

- Did some housekeeping and threw away 230+ over movie stubs (see pic below)

- Ordered in fish and chips from Big Fish Small Fish for dinner. Kids always enjoy fries. 

- Arsenal won away at Leicester 2-0. Great result and massive defensive performance, keep the momentum going COYG!

- Watched late night match Tottenham-Man U 0-3.

Sunday:

- As usual, wifey and I went for coffee break whilst Yx had her Beary Gym session. Bought a couple of storage containers from Daiso

- Had yummy Tamago-En for lunch

- Brought out my old bus ticket stubs and kids had a terribly mad time messing them up, tossing into the air, sweeping them

- My parents in-law came over for dinner.

- Watched My Name on Netflix with wifey after kids have slept

In summary, what's not to like about the weekend? There were good food, entertaining football matches, kids were happy and entertained, and most importantly? We were healthy and able to enjoy the simplest times together.

Cheers to good weekends!

Booster vaccination

PfPf-Pf or PfPf-M?

Busy Books and the new old doll house

Even though she's played with the same toys everyday for a few years, wyx6 still puts her toys to sleep before she does... 🙂

P/S: I salvaged this doll house from the rubbish bin downstairs! It's in brand new condition!! I believe some angry mother threw the toys away in a fit lol. 

Home goals

Best sisters forever

Singing to a song from Frozen 2, when it goes "keep holding on tight to you", the girls do this:

Sweet sisters they are, really.

When Ye is crying, Yx will get a piece of tissue and dab up her tears.

When Yx was struggling and resisting against an ART test being done on her, Ye grabbed a tissue and threw it to her sister, and plonked back onto the sofa nonchalantly to watching her show. 

"It's okay," they encourage each other.

"So much fun!" They cheer when playing together.

As the younger sibling, Ye usually displays acts of rebellion and selfishness, at times even pushing and hitting her elder sister. Yx, being sensible and gentle, never retaliates nor holds it against her sister.

Yx cares and looks out for Ye.

Ye always looks for Yx for fun and company.

Here, yx was reading a book to Ye, who obviously hasn't a penchant for books, and instead went pointing at the pics within and incessantly asking, "这个是什么？”

My greatest wish is that u girls will be best friends forever.

Battle aftermath

 

This scene is the aftermath of an epic battle between the Busy Books and the Giant Brown Bear.

It was a pretend story that I played together with wyx6. It was only 20-25 minutes but she enjoyed it thoroughly, beaming radiantly throughout and she was also involved in the role play, cooking up minor conversations between the characters.

Wyx6 always looks for me to play with and she's opening proclaimed that "Papa is the best player" haha, but I admit I haven't been playing wholeheartedly with her for some time now. Why? Because most of the time I'm occupied with work, household chores, running errands, playing with the clingy baby who'd otherwise disturb and destroy her sister's creations, etc etc. When I do have time, I have little interest in playing girly topics with her la (you know, princesses getting ready for performance, going to the library, at the dentist etc pfft 🙄). So this time I created this story of a battle and who'd have known that yx enjoyed the plot too lol.

She was also amused when I described there were blood and bones lying everywhere 😬

Damn good news today!

1) Yx cleared her 10 days of QO! Able to leave the house at 12pm. Phew despite being a close contact of C+ case, she and all of her classmates did not contract the virus. Kudos to the centre's very very strict SMM measures.

2) 

Almost fell out of my non-Secret Lab chair!!

Wooooowwwwww!!!!! Congrats to me and myself!!!

One day more

One more day to end of QO!

Arsenal's Asian pride - Tomiyasu!

Arsenal 3-1 Spurs. What a game!

Was it Arsenal? It didn't appear like the arsenal of recent years. This was reminiscent of Wenger's arsenal. Devotion, desire, fight and excellent team play. Needed a north London derby to invoke this in the players, and I hope this is the start of a positive spell for them. 

My MOTM has to be Tomiyasu. Hardly put in a foot wrong and won plenty of tackles and headers. Such a great player to watch. He puts Bellerin to shame.

COYG! 

What Wye2 said about salmon

Was having our family lunch at home that day and I did feeding duty. Lunch for wye2 was salmon porridge and since she doesn't have salmon often, I took the moment to point out to her what salmon is.

"See this orange piece? It's salmon, it's a fish. Do you know?"

Ye looked up at me and replied "mmm" (meaning yes). Surprised, I probed, oh u know what is salmon? 

She replied, "Wiggles.”

"Wiggles? Did they sing a song about salmon?"

She answered me with a jingle, "Salmon says..."

I almost fell off my chair when I linked the songs together. "You mean 'Simon Says'!!" 

Yx was listening to our convo too and all 3 of us broke into a laugh! Rofl!

ART & Chafe

Shit.just.got.real-er.

Awaiting contact from MOH.

Line at C means negative, for the less aware.

Dinner with DJ

Had dinner and chit chat with MediaCorp Class 95FM DJs last Saturday. Don't believe?

So I participated in one of their FB contests and was lucky to be one of the 26 to receive a complimentary dinner (sent to our homes), and qualify for a 5 out of 26 chance to win a ...

-wait for it- 

SECRETLAB TITAN EVO 2022 BATMAN LTD EDITION CHAIR (worth $590)!

What's the catch?

Need to write an essay on a given question! I hope to be able to win it! =D

Getting out of shape

 

Observed that more and more of my male peers are gaining weight, developing a paunch, double chin and... even moobs! One of them used to be so fit and toned and gymed regularly. =(

I belong to the same species and even I find it so unsightly and unglam... I tak boleh tahan if my body goes (even slightly) out of shape. Appearance aside, I feel that a heavier and unfit body reduces the efficiency of everyday tasks e.g. climbing stairs, running after the train/bus.  Despite that I am blessed with a naturally lean body, I'm even more motivated to do whatever I can to avoid looking so uncle-ish at my prime period! Since July I have been doing weight lifting about 2 times a week. It's not much but at least my muscles are getting some exercise!

Jiayou meandmyself!

August Technology upgrade

Continuing with the 2nd-year trend of technological upgrades in August.

1) Finally changed out my gate lock to electronic Yale lock $399. No more swearing moments when one of us forgets the keys!

2) Bought a brand new phone for wifey!

One Plus Nord GE $499.

shambolic

I'm very relieved I made the decision to not watch Arsenal game just now that we lost 5-0 to Man City.

The table doesn't lie.

Arteta out ASAP.

Yx being such a doting sister

11.08.21 Wyx5 being such a sweet elder sister:

So wye2 signalled that she needed the loo (which actually turned out to be false) and I placed her on the potty. Yx, who was doing her own thing at one corner, was alerted. She quickly went over with a stool and a book and began to entertain her sister, flipping through the pages. Reason she did this was because she's seen us do this to keep her sister still on the potty. So proud and pleased that yx took it upon herself to do that, to care for her sister. ♥️

Stir fry chicken and button mushroom

One of our favourite comfort dishes since childhood:

Marinate chicken with light soy sauce and tapioca flour. 

Fry ginger in sesame oil with cooking oil. 

Add chicken. Stir fry with ginger till meat turns light brown. Add oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sugar little and dark soy sauce (for colouring). Stir fry till the sauce coated the meat. Add water and button mushroom, simmer till cook.  打芡。Add chinese cooking wine. 

Spring onion just before dish out.

校长好！

校长好！

6 years into my current company and I finally made it to Principal Engineer (Grade 4, was promoted to Grade 3 in 2017). I thought last year was my most productive and that I worked the hardest too, so this promo may have come in timely as just recognition!

Tbh 4 years from grade 3 to 4 is considered quite fast (as compared to peers), so I thought I'd just reflect on my achievements and contribution that could have made the positive difference!

- Double hatting (EM and BMEP) since Jan 2020. So I was supposed to commence my new role at BMEP but my EM replacement tendered within 3 months (in Mar 2020), then Covid hit and headcount froze, so I was required to fulfill two roles at the same time (!). Thus inadvertently bringing me to the next point:

- Led the investigation of FM200 false discharge incident. It's a once in a blue moon (industry ppl might say once in 10 years) incident. Kena incident most ppl will say SUAY LA! I took it positively - While some might think post-management of an incident is additional workload and leaves a huge scratch on one's CV, but (as cliche as this sounds) "危机" means therein lies opportunity in a predicament. Being the officer in charge of the M&E systems at CTower, I led the post-investigation which included engaging a independent forensic investigator (a first for EM Section!), conducting numerous site visits with SCDF, AAR and many other specialists and contractors, assisting AAR in investigation etc... In between there were several updates to Management plus a memorable one to CAG's Safety Board chaired by then Chairman Mr Liew Mun Leong (go ahead to google why this name is now infamous). At the end of the episode, we replaced the system expeditiously, presented the findings and closed the chapter. Many people came to me for answers/clarifications and I was the go-to for anything relating to gas suppression system. To answer the many questions I had to read up and in the process learnt alot more about M&E systems at the same time, too. Nothing beats OJT and experiential learning, just like being thrown into the deep blue sea.

- Achieving major milestones for the SATCC Upgrading project. In my first year I've had to heavily engage and work with consultants, multiple agencies and stakeholders and also the general public! I found the experiences to be particularly interesting and insightful. Being in this project team allowed exposure too - I delivered my first presentation to the Authority (which I was commended for by my Dir) and on another occasion, a MP of East Coast GRC, and a few to Chairman (which was commended for by 3DDG).

In a nutshell, I think my work last year had been "more visible" to the management. I didn't mention as a factor above but I believe part of it was that the organisation was more generous this year, due to the covid affecting staff morale and retention policy. Well, on one hand I am  very happy of my achievements last year and humbled by the recognition; but the promotion came at a less than ideal time tbh, on monetary terms. The increment is miserable and next year I would be getting a meagre bonus package (the default grade after promotion effect).

Brawl Stars

Been so many years, so many nights, so many bus rides that this game accompanied me through. Got to a point where it finally became stale and unexciting... feel abit reluctant but this too shall pass to make way for better things (the same for Clash royale).... :)

Thanks Colt, Shelly, Bull, Rico, Tara and friends! ☺️

(Sold for $100)

I needed this run

Felt really suffocated after 2 weeks of Phase 2HA (the second time) and having wfh for many months now. I tried to internalize the reason why I am feeling the way I am but couldn't quite fathom - you see, I have a fulfilling job, company at home and I see my other family members every other day? Hell, last week we even asked my sis to babysit for a couple of hours while wifey and I took a breather and had an enjoyable chit chat session at lion's house. This period, I found myself putting more hours into work (voluntarily). When I was not in front of the computer, I was either with the kids and after they're asleep, the TV is my company. Gosh, this predictability of every day, mundane lifestyle and unexciting state of limbo really left me unmotivated, restless and impatient. I told my wife that I actually feel good when working because it's what gives me a sense of achievement and makes me feel fulfilled. 

So I went for a jog tonight late night. I was lucky that Jx joined as well. We chatted, laughed, perspired, panted, heart raced and competed. Ended the night by the roadside, drinking coconut water and chit chatted. It was just what I needed.

Babywye turns 2!

Babywye is no baby no more, she just turned 2!

Lest I forget, these are what she can do now:

- Sings songs, able to sing ABC, twinkle twinkle, songs from Baby Jojo etc

- Follows her sister. Almost her first thought every morning. Always excited to go down to pick her up from sch.

- When she wakes up, she hugs one of her soft toys and comes out looking for me, sometimes greets me "good morning".

- Drinks 180, 150, 18ml. Started drinking independently about 2 months ago. Likes fresh milk too, but we avoid giving her too much as it's chilled.

- Loves strawberry blueberry durian

- Loves carrot cake

- Can speak in (mandarin) phrases comprising 5-6 words

- Identifies herself as her name, but says "mei mei, mei mei" when she asks for sth, like how we usually call out to her

- Automatically hugs nai nai when we visit. Finds yeye with toys after she's done with dinner

- Enjoys hopping

- Doesn't like to pose and/or look at camera for photos

- Sleeps about 11pm+ to 8+ am in the cot without waking up (occasionally if she does, I'll hush her and she goes back to zzz), then latches/ co sleep with wifey until 9+-10+ am

- Doesn't seem ready for toilet training, she signals only after her poop is out

- Porridge for her primary meals still. Tried rice the other day and she took ages to bite. Adept at self feeding.

- Vocab is expanding rapidly every day! 

- When she hears a commotion, she'll invite herself nearer and ask, "Se mo?" (什么?)

- If our response is "huh?" (like, are u sure?), she goes, "Zhen de 真的！"

A short story - written by Wyx5

My paternal great grandfather

 First pic I've seen of him!

Resembles my dad ??!

What do I know of him?

- He lived in Singapore

- My dad lived with him for a few years when he studied here.

- Nothing else.

Euro 2020 final

Putting it down for the record... 

England VS Italy , to be played at Wembley. England were the favourites (1.75 vs 1.90).

Busy betted $200 on England to win the trophy, JX and I ate his bet.

The game ended 1-1 and was decided on penalties. England was unlucky. But Jx and my pockets were lucky 😛

3.00am groggy finals: 

Praying to Phase 2C god

 3-5 August 2021

Happy Father's Day

From my dear wifey :)

Part 2 - polyclinic vaccination

They had done an investigation and interview with the nurse. The manager acknowledged that it was a lapse on the nurse’s part and apologised on her behalf. It was established that the nurse was not new nor unfamiliar with child vaccinations; on the contrary she is quite experienced and thus has little or no reason to have been lax with the procedures. The manager also shared that the nurse felt really sorry about it and requested to apologise personally to me, but the idea was turned down as it was not in line with the company’s policies (and I can understand).

I explained to the manager that the purpose of my feedback was not to cause trouble for the nurse, and that I don’t wish to affect her salary or morale either; whereas my good intention was to bring up my unfortunate experience as an oversight (on the nurse and their management), so that future newbie parents would not be discounted nor disadvantaged. Finally, I thanked the manager for her empathy and the excellent service recovery.

I’m really glad I put my doubts to rest with my feedback and the call from the manager. Hope that future patients will benefit from the improved level of service from the nurse and support system.

Unpleasant experience at Singhealth polyclinic

I brought babywye for a scheduled vaccination last month. For both herself and yx, most of their vaccinations were done at Tampines Polyclinic, so you could say that we are very ‘experienced’ patients. However, this time some very unique incidents happened and they left me feeling perplexed and curious. And the story actually ended with an apology call from Singhealth’s manager. What exactly happened?

(Before I begin, I must declare that I absolutely mean no harm, nor do I harbour ill feelings towards healthcare workers! I’m even in awe of what they do and a huge admirer of their determination and dedication especially during this covid-19 pandemic.)

So on that fateful day, when our number was called, the two of us entered the vaccination room. When I sat down, I passed babywye’s health booklet to the nurse. She looked like she was in her 30s. Flipping through the pages, she asked me, “So, what jab do you want?”

I was immediately taken aback! I initially thought she was joking or making small talk? I replied, “Err… this is the first time I’m being asked this question. My appointment is scheduled and the details are penned down (referring to the type of vax), aren’t they?”

The nurse explained that some parents have differing choices of which vax to be taken, and not. Okay, I can understand this. Later, we proceeded and she administered 2 nos. vax (as planned) to babywye. Quite professionally done, I give credit where it’s due.  

Finally, she opened the door so we can leave. I suddenly felt something unusual about that day’s procedures – the paracetamol! At the door, I turned around and asked the nurse, “How come you didn’t ask me if I needed paracetamol?”

She didn’t look the least surprised. She smiled and asked politely, “Do you want panadol?”

I declined. 

I left the polyclinic with more questions surfacing to my mind. I was curious the procedures today were not as thorough as the usual vax sessions, the following were lacking:

- Height and weight and head measurement were not taken;

- Nurse did not share side effects of the vax (for e.g. after receiving a chicken pox vax, to observe for red rashes that could appear within 2 weeks);

- Nurse did not ask me to wait outside and monitor for allergy/effects for 15 mins;

- Nurse did not ask if paracetamol was needed (mentioned in earlier para);

- Nurse did not share if any payment was required.

I pondered over the questions for the next week or so. Finally, I left a feedback on Singhealth’s feedback channel on its website about 10 days later.

Now, judging from my previous experience of making/rescheduling appointments on Singhealth’s feedback channel, I didn’t think they’d reply me quickly. But, they did. The next day, someone called me to confirm the particulars that I had provided. And the following day, the nurse’s manager called. We spoke for half an hour.

 

Sad news from AMK Depot...

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/workplace-deaths-smrt-workers-pinned-under-bus-wheel-loader-14978742

Feel terribly sorry for the technicians.

This news came as a shock.

But honestly, it was a matter of when.

Safety hazards in a workshop environment are countless. Some are largely visible (moving vehicle); some are modest (platform ladder, mobile hoist); ironically, the smallest and most inconspicuous ones could cause the worst injuries (jack holding up a vehicle, wheel choke, key LOTO)! 

Sure, in any workplace, there are system design, SOP and other safety prevention measures in place - however, unfortunately accidents cannot be totally eliminated because ultimately, the fate lies in the hands of the individual. 

Use a wrong tool to open a wheel nut? A slip of the spanner could cut ur hand.

Do welding without putting on face shield? There goes ur cornea.

Lazy to use a suitably sized jack to hold up a vehicle? Jack fails, vehicle comes down, bye bye to ur limbs/life.

I once held the post of the Workshop Manager cum WSH Chairman of the fateful depot where the accident happened. This title granted me huge power and authority. And I'm terribly sorry the incumbent would have to learn this the painful way - that great power comes with great responsibility.

RIP.

What's scarier

Me with a mask, or

That I'm still wearing a t-shirt from my sec sch days (22 years ago since 1999)???

More drawings wyx5