Housewarming? Fat hope

Disappointed to learn that the reason we cannot see your house

Is because of the biasness against us from your spouse

I'm not convinced you spoke up for us

To much u remained silent and reluctant to discuss

After 30 mins of Peppa Pig every day

Yx speaks English with a British accent now. 😅

Arsenal in shambles

Can't identify the Arsenal I watch nowadays. Pathetic. When Arteta took over, fans were excited. The first few games he took over, we knew he was someone special, someone who cared, someone who picked up the players and played with a mission.

This season we started our first 5 games well, and then we hit shit. 5 losses. 3 straight home losses to mid table teams. Yesterday's North London derby was pit bottom. We allowed Kane to score against us AGAIN. Our attack was toothless, midfield bereft of creativity, strikers in one of their worst forms ever. 10 goals scored in 11 games; that's the same number that Son Heung Min (who scored against us last night by the way) has scored by himself so far.

Our worst start to a campaign in our entire history. We still believe that Arteta is the right person to lead but something has to change to steer us out of this shithole. Anything. 

Babywye's sleep routine 16mth

Babywye had just emerged out of a growth spurt. She's coming to #16months in a few days.

The so-called "wonder week" was really terrible and stretched my patience beyond its maximum, I exploded. She rejected milk totally. Prior, she was having like 360ml a day; during the wonder week she only took 0-20ml. We were at our wits' end. She wouldn't reject the teat but wouldn't suck on it for a good 20 mins. I was so furious I vented my anger on my table, on the milk bottle etc. Thankfully I received some good advice and support from fb and learnt to 'let go' a litle bit.

After a week or so, babywye displayed the following noticeable changes in behaviour and growth:

- Understood more words and extended her vocab

- Could identify family members and recognise places (e.g. when we reach the exact spot at the void deck, she knew that's where ah gu walks a separate way, ye waves and says bye)

- Sleep pattern became more routine and predictable, yay!

- Began taking to milk again! :`)

Looks for minnie mouse for her naps

This has been her typical day for the past week plus:

10.30am - wakes up
11.00am - milk 120ml
12.30pm - porridge 1 bowl
1.30pm - 1st nap (30 min - 60 mins)
5.30pm - 2nd nap (usually 3 hrs from the time she wakes up from her first, for 30-60 mins)
7.00pm - porridge 1 bowl
10.45pm - night routine
11.30pm - 7++am - SLEEPS THROUGH! (occasionally needs a quick carry once or twice)

Comewhat this chilly breeze and old school Jay Chou hits

It's just past midnight and the house is quiet... wifey and the kids are fast asleep. The steady breeze coming into the room is gentle and chilly. Temperatures said to hit as low as 24 deg C, NEA said of November. 

For some unknown reason, enjoying this breeze led to me plugging in my earphones to Jay Chou's hits from his first 2 CDs (i.e. ban dao tie he, an jing, jie kou, xiang hui dao guo qu, kai bu liao kou etc)... there's certainly no time travelling technology yet but this combo of chilly breeze and old school hits teleports my mood back to my carefree, naive, happy-go-lucky teenage years where we couldn't care less about things other than homework and what to do for the holidays...

feels

Yeah, and so listening to these songs are urging me to go emo-singing in a KTV lounge with my buddies...

My favourite weekend afternoon view

This used to my favourite weekend afternoon view:

View from floor, lying down on the laminated floor

Weekend afternoons are best for taking a nap. No stress, no deadlines, peaceful and quiet, breeze from the ceiling fan give the optimal condition to nap as long as I wanted. 

Looking up the ceiling always reminds me of how silly I was in 2007, when my family were doing up the reno for this house. We were designing the lighting layout of my room and the term "L-box" was used so frequently, I deduced that it was referring to the L-shaped layout of the light fittings (refer to pic). Only realised in recent years that I was so wrong... lol...

Presentation at AM

On 29 Oct I presented at the Authority Meeting (AM) for the first time in my current co (after 5++ years).

Our item was initially tabled in the agenda but got withdrawn one week before the meeting. A day before the AM, the mgmt decided to table it up again and we quickly informed the Secretariat to insert the item back in. Presentation slides were done up and reviewed that night itself. Given the last min notice, I only began practising for the presentation around midnight (after putting Ye to sleep). The good thing was, the slides were somewhat similar to an earlier deck tabled for MCM a few weeks ago.

So after a cup of hot tea and some mouth muscle exercises, the AM presentation went by smoothly without much fanfare. Budget was approved!

Checked my phone after walking out of the Conference Room and saw this msg from my Director:

Such recognition adds to the justification of my decision to request for a rotation to my current Section... my previous portfolio had none of this due to the nature of the smaller projects. Although there's more on my plate and the stress level is undoubtedly higher, the exposure to Management and other Gvt Agencies and opportunities are abundant.

Office cubicles

It's nearing the end of October 2020. 

What an unexpected twist of fate we find ourselves in - last year this time, staff were presented several options and were asked to vote the new office layout and theme. Notably, all of the options were open office concepts with smaller cubicles with less walls and compartments. Finally, the results concluded on a minimalistic concept. A sample photo of my current cubicle for your reference:

With privacy and comfort afforded by the luxurious desk space and high partitions, needless to say I wasn't looking forward to the reno. According to plan, the reno would commence in Oct and staff would have to work offsite in the interim until reno completes in Feb.

And here we are, in October, still in our "old" cubicles. Instead of open concept office, we are enjoying an even bigger work area due to alternate team working arrangement. Instead of encouraging mingling, socializing is now limited. 

Due to the lack of (revenue) and funds, it's a no brainer that this project will be halted indefinitely. 

Which is good for me. Haha.

Sensible Yx

It was a Sunday PM and we turned on the TV, just for awhile to occupy the girls while we settle the chores and whatnots. 

Handing Yx a cup of water, I asked her to take a few mouthfuls. After she was done with the cup, she got off from the sofa and intended to rest the cup on the high shelf. Unintentionally, her movement caused some water to be spilt onto the floormat... Her eyes still peeled on the TV, Yx ran to take a piece of tissue and wiped up the water!

What made me feel so proud of her was that Yx did this out of her own conscience and despite being engrossed in the TV, she had the responsibility and initiative to clean up the mess! 

This girl is so easy to love.

Enjoying our tea break of Yan Yan

Funny quip from wyx

Funny quip from wyx5 :

(Randomly) I asked her, "If you have a problem with Math in future, would you look for Papa or Mama?"

Yx smiled and replied, "I will look for the calculator."

🤣

Gadget upgrades! (bye $$$)

 When too much of WFH takes the toll, retail therapy is the way to go! :D

Introducing my purchases on gadgets in the month of Aug 2020 alone:

1) Tablet with sleeve

This is mainly to aid wifey's reading for her post dip studies. This sells for $198 at major retailers but only $180 on Shopee. Furthermore, I utilized vouchers and took opportunity of the NDP promotion and got it cheaper - $188 with sleeve.

2) Home TV

Actually I've always been very satisfied with my TV. It was bought in 2014 from Mega Discount store, a Samsung 46" LED for $880. Basically no complaints la, pic sound display apps all working good all these years.

Until Covid-19 pandemic struck which forced us to spend more time at work. I found myself entertained by Netflix shows and would spend 1-3 hours every night on it. And then eye green green liao lor, noticed how come other ppl's TV got super HD whereas mine looks pale and blurry. So I began to read up on several brands and listed my TV on Carou$ell - was I shocked to receive multiple offers of $250 for a 6-year second hand TV?! I sell my current TV so will need a new one, right? I was THIS close to getting a local-made Prism 55" @ $499, until I read numerous negative reviews on HDZ forum...! 

So fate had it that Busy Roys was working at Samsung and could get electronics at staff prices, I enquired the latest 55" UHD, 2020 model which was retailing at $1,099 at major retailers...

Got it @ $796 inclusive of delivery and tabletop set up!!! How not to get it right...?! Besides the cost, one of the considerations I chose Samsung over Prism was that the former could garner a high 2nd-hand value. In fact, I sold my 46" on Carou$ell for wait-for-it - $280!!!

Totally awed by the ultra clear display, vivid colours and speedy quad-core processor. I joked to RMJ that I feel a status change to "high SES" with this TV... hahahaha. Even wifey, who was initially questioning the need to change TV, was blown away by the significant upgrade. Since we're spending hours on the TV every night, I think this has got to be the best decisions ever!

3) Mobile phone

22 months into my CIS plan. I planned to recontract and get the Huawei P30 Pro, and pass my P20 to wifey to use (since her xiaomi pocophone like quite cui liao). Until I received feedback that the huawei cam isn't the best... Actually there's no 1 phone in the market which I am very gian, and my existing 2yo Huawei P20 Pro is still in brand new condition, so I decided to continue using it, and sell off the sealed Samsung phone for a profit.

Paid $898 for the preorder of Samsung's latest Note 20 Ultra 5G and got it delivered to my doorstep in 2 weeks.

Carou$ell is the best app man!!! While one of the major hp giants Hitec is offering only $1520 for the set and the ear buds, I sold it for $1560 excluding the ear buds! 

------------------------------------

Summary of the cash flow:

Accounts paid: 188 + 796 + 898 = $1,882

Accounts received: 280 + 1560 = $1,840.

Nett = ($42).

Apart from the shiokness of using the new gadgets, I also derived extreme joy knowing I got those items on a steal. Hahaha =D

------------------

Update:

Dug out and sold off our old game consoles PS1, PS2 and Sega game cartridges. Holy moly OLD IS GOLD!!!

Update 2:

In line with the August Gagdet theme, we sold off our preloved Tefal City Space vacuum cleaner for a cordless Karcher! Got a massive massive discount courtesy of my brother who is an employee. Big big wins!

Yx answers what she wants for her birthday

Yx has always been one sensible kid who asks for simple things and one who is quite easily contented - A bus ride, a chocolate treat, a book, simple activities. She asks for only us to play toys with her and that would make her day. For her 4th bday present, she asks for only "a book".

As her 5th bday was round the corner, we asked what was her birthday request.

Yx replied, "A chocolate cake."

Silence followed. Was that all?

"Yes, there will definitely be a cake. Is there something you would like as a present?"

Yx thought hard and relented, "Ok lah, a book on space and solar system."

Such a simple and straightforward request, nothing close to extraordinary like asking for rainbows, mermaids or magic. 

So blessed we are with this cheerful, sensible kid... I'd like to believe that is because we've already been supplying her with all the love she needs. <3

Retirement home goals

 Note for future self

Balcony with unblocked, panaromic view.

Good for coffee, reading, day dreaming, comic reading.

Yx can't nap when nainai snores

Funny quips between my mom and wyx4:

On usual weekday afternoons, Yx takes an afternoon nap and either my dad/mom would lie beside her. It's the only way Yx will fall asleep. So Yx shared with us that on some afternoons, she was unable to nap because nai nai snores very loudly.

She complained to nainai, "Don't snore!"

Nainai retorted, "我要snore才可以breathe, 我是 old lady!"

1 min superstar 2nd place

Amidst the 100% WFH arrangement to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak, my company was concerned that staff were going crazy cooped up indoors, or feeling alone and dejected from the lack of mingling with our usual lunch kakis/team mates.

One of the activities they organised was a 1-minute Superstar challenge - to encourage staff to showcase talents, and encourage participation from family too.

The initial window period for submission was 2 weeks. However, due to a lack of participation, it was extended not twice, but thrice. That's how passive and unsporting the staff are... me included. Then the organiser XY texted me personally and asked me to participate. I was quite sian at first. Like, no mood to do anything leh. But we brainstormed and when I tried playing some songs at home with the ukulele, wyx4 was eager to join in and her interest spurred me on!

Submitted a short clip of us playing 细水长流, me on the uke while she played percussion (a baby shaker actually but it worked!).

Surprisingly we got 2nd place ($100) hehe! Timely money to buy some milk powder and groceries =)

Babywye milestones at 8 months

I'm guilty of not documenting babywye's milestones frequently enough. Her boundless physical activity is overwhelming our mental ability to pause and breathe!

Ok maybe it's the 2nd child syndrome ._.

Babywye at 8 months:

- Sits very firmly. Able to transit comfortably between crawling and sitting
- Crawls very quickly on fours
- Holds something for support and stands quite firmly
- Sleeps (rather soundly) from 11pm - 4pm.
- Loves food. Always eyeing intently on our adult food. Able to do blw rather well (soaked bread, biscuits, brocolli).
- Drinks about 3-4 bottles a day of 100-120ml each. Very little, but we've changed to a bigger teat and a sweeter brand of formula milk to no avail. She just doesn't want to drink more.
- Doesn't take to books or flash cards. Distracted very easily by sounds and movement.
- Begins to understand and follow when we say, "clap hands"
- Doesn't like to lie still when diaper changing
- Can drink water from a cup rather comfortably
- Likes the company of her sister. Smiles when she sees her. Always turning her head to look at her. Wants to touch the same things as her sister is touching.

She's really a handful, as compared to her elder sis who was more bookworm and sit-still type. Nevertheless, babywye is starting to grow on us with every day!

Yx's comic

Recently, Yx is very much into drawing.

She will sit at her table, grab a pen and quietly doodle.

A few days ago, she came up with a few sequential drawings of her family and herself, they seem almost to form a comic of a morning routine. I love the fact that she draws happy faces of everyone and that she's integrated her baby sis into her perspective :)

Description of the drawings, as explained by artist Yx herself:
1) Yx and meimei waking up in the morning
2) Morning toilet routine
3) Yx makes milk for her sister
4) Yx carries her sister to choose what clothes to change into
5) Yx and sister entering their parents' room, who are still asleep
6) Sister lying on the sofa, and Yx peering over the back of the sofa
7) Playing in the living room.

How I feel about paying taxes

Gone, money, gone.

Bedtime routine with Yx

22 Mar, Sunday.

For the longest time now, we developed a bedtime routine for Yx. It comprises brushing teeth, washing feet, changing into pyjamas and reading of books. Wifey and I take turns to do it, while the other will carry out Ye's set of bedtime routine in the living room. Yesterday, I had the luxury to do bedtime routine with our darling first-born. After completing it, Yx asked for my company to sleep with her. Wifey usually does this, but yesterday wifey relented to Yx's request.

 I turned off the lights. I was beat and I closed my eyes in a bid to sleep. Yx didn't have her usual afternoon nap that day. Despite the room being dark and it being late at 10.30pm, Yx was as perky. And talkative.

"Papa, do you know this that this that.... (I forgot what she said)."

I acknowledged, "Mmm."

A few seconds later, Yx went, "Papa?"

I didn't reply cos it was time to wind down and I didn't want to engage her in any conversation? She called out "Papa?" again.

I replied curtly, "Ya?" 

She went on to comment about sth (which I have now forgotten). As soon as she finished, I said, "Okay it's time to sleep."

And now, she was ready to sleep. After finishing up a typical female's quota of 10,000 words a day. "Good night, silly papa," she said.

"Mmm, good night," my lips murmured, on the edge of falling asleep.

"Good night, funny papa."

"Good night, noisy Ying Xi."

Promptly, she turned onto her right side, hugged the bolster and went into slumber.

Yx's song

A day to remember, a moment to hold dear.
A sweet phrase that melted my heart, I wish our connection will never too far apart.

At SICC, walking towards the lift holding yx's hand. Walking with a skip, she sang, "Papa, papa, I'm happy when I'm with Papa."

I wished I could have taken a video of that moment.

Bye to 2019 and to the decade!

It's 2020. Believe it. The first year of yet another decade. OMGGGG. How did 2010-2019 pass??!

Time for a yearly review...



Review of targets set for 2019:

- Achieve Silver for IPPT

Result: Failed. 

I really hate the new system la. It's tweaked to decrease the number of people who fail. It is very very easy to pass and if you're a little bit less pathetic, pass with incentive ($300). But at the same time it's made it more difficult to achieve silver. I trained harder than last year but it was really tough to break through.

- Be more involved at work

Result: Yes, albeit in terms of CCAs. Was heavily involved in WCACEF, Charity Comm and then WIP for SA2020. My primary job not so. Was actively looking for a transfer and there were a few opportunities: 1) PM for SAA Spatial Transformation; 2) Head(FM) for SAA and 3) BMEP. After considering many factors, I decided on 3. No doubt the job will be busier but it will be more fulfilling and allow increased exposure to mgmt and the industry. To be effective 2 Jan 2020!

- Bless Yx with a healthy sibling

Result: TG for a healthy baby :)

- Try to spend less money

Result: Maintained our financial situation, which is sustainable and good.

----------------------------------------

Reflections of 2019:

Health
I went to the gym many times this year! Feel so proud at how disciplined I was, lol. Started going once a week in June to serve as training for ippt. A few years later, I was surprised to see and feel the effects on my body. I actually developed bigger biceps! They're not a size to show off but they're definitely 100% firmer and felt more 'solid'. After my ippt, I continued to visit the gym once a week. It wasn't easy; to go to the gym firstly I had to convince my lazy body; secondly it was the sian decision to forgo usual lunch/kopi with my talk cock lunch clique! But every gym session was gratifying from the increase in adrenaline and the calming hot shower thereafter... and I would reward myself with a bowl of thai beef noodles. HAHA. But as time would tell, I became lazier and lazier and gave excuses to myself... weekly gym became fortnightly became triweekly... =X

Family
No amount of words can describe the gratitude and appreciation I have towards my family and in-laws for all the help we've received. Cliche as it sounds - it takes a village to raise a child, let alone two children with one being an infant! Truly thankful for all the extra hands and legs to allow us a breather every now and then, or when the need arises.

Religion
No new updates.

Next, a quick recap of the monthly highlights in 2019!

January - 
Cruise with in-laws on Genting Dream. Very shiok, ate like a king, entertained non-stop.

March - 
Casual visit to Bangkok (again lol).

April -
Silver for WSHC Contest. Proud achievement sia.
LO (3rd time in my career liao!) for Wcacef, enjoyed the camaraderie with my colleagues nonetheless.

Act cool like boyband only

This fruit tart was simply unforgettable. I kept stuffing myself with it cos it was just plain delicious!

May -
Was invited by INSPIRIT to be one of the panel speakers for Advisory.sg's Discovery Series.This was a session targeted at youths who're considering a career in aviation/engineering fields. I felt really privileged to have the opportunity to share my experiences and insights!

July - 
Long-awaited Busy Roys' wedding. I was the emcee for their outdoor solemnization ceremony. Many asked Roy and Hm if they engaged a professional, hahaha.

Felt grateful to be a great part of Busy's big day before babywye popped a few hours later!


October - 
Simple ukulele performance at SAA's annual cultural night.

Busiest time of the year running the Charity Event. Proud moment of the year seeing to the planning and successful operation of the event. Received many positive reviews from management and guests.

My trophy cheque-mates who made it great

November - 
My first biggest scale performance at our company's DnD. Was my idea, we successfully integrated ukulele with the ATS acoustic band and we entertained the crowd with a few songs that got the audience whipping out their mobile phones and swaying the flashlights macam concert! Bucket list ticked... :)

We were on stage for 30 mins or so, but the preparatory work was immense. From the selection of songs to the recruitment of players, to the many hours jamming together at an old school music room at Aljunied (which was dam fun by the way), and not forgetting the countless times I looped the same songs over and over again every night.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Targets for 2020:

1) Be prominent in my new work role.

Actionables: Pick up quickly to establish myself as the primary officer in-charge. Speak up during meetings. Be involved.

2) Train earlier for IPPT.

Actionable: Weekly gym 2 months' in advance. (dreading it as I'm typing this...)


And stay healthy and free from illnesses! Being sick compromises on the quality of time spent with my family.

Have a fruitful year too, my friends!

Amusing drawing by wyx

Yx is recently into drawing and writing. Very much. She would grab a marker and paper and sit down at her table, fully engrossed in letting her creative juices flow. She also learnt how to write words by referring to her books.

Love how randomly funny her drawings are. Sometimes she draws us and/or her friends. Sometimes she draws cars. Sometimes she writes random words in erroneous spellings. Presenting an example:

At the top right: Bob and Larry, from her favourite DVD cartoon 'VeggieTales' (below image from google). She drew them from her memory.

Centre left: Herself (labelled), with a red face. Wifey asked why her face was like that, and Yx replied it was because she was angry that mama wanted her to eat potato. You can see a chicken hand (apparently mama's hand) holding a round thing (potato). LOLOLOL this kid!

Some other drawings:

That's YE laying on my lap

Yx waking up papa, but she is sad because papa asked for 1 more min.