River Hong Bao 2010

Hi,

We used to go to see the River Hong Bao when it was held along the Singapore River, next to Boat Quay and Empress Place.

heow it is held at th Marina Bay Floating Platform where they also held the National Day Parade (NPD).

Besides the main attraction, the background view of the Financial Center of Shenton Way or Boat Quay was beautiful.

The Flyer was also nearby.

We were also attracted by the Calligraphy stall that was giving a demonstration and giving their paintings away.

If you missed it this year,( tonight is the last night ) then try to go next year as it was very entertaining.

Sitting at the stand, you can have a good view around the area and enjoyed the breeze too coming from the sea.

So here again, wishing you a Healthy and Wealthy Tiger Year...!

David

Chinatown Lights Up for Chinese New Year 2010

Hi,

My family & I would make an effort to drop by Chinatown to soak in the Chinese New Year (CNY) festivities and do some shopping especially the candy that are sold by the street stalls and maybe some CNY decorations too.

We tried to avoid the peak period like weekends or eve of CNY but we only managed to go there a day before the eve of CNY. Some stalls were already taking it as their last night as they want to celebrate their Reunion Dinner on the eve or some may need to go back home in Malaysia.

We took advantage of it and manage to buy a string of orange lights decorations at a huge discount..!

As usual, I took some photos and also bought some Taiwanese candies like mochi.

Wishing you a Healthy and Wealthy Tiger Year...!

David

River Hong Bao 2010

My family and I decided to visit River Hong Bao as the last time we went, it was held along Singapore River.

It is now held at the Marina Bay Floating Stage where we also held a few of the National Day Parade (NDP) too.

Since I have never been to this place, I decide to do so as it is so difficult to get tickets for NDP.

Here is a photo of the River Hong Bao taken from the spectator seats:

There is a big stage where performances are held; eg acrobatic acts and songs sung.

The tall statues is the God of Wealth, of course.

The background is our financial centre....Shenton Way & Raffles Place.

You should visit it next year if you cannot catch it by this Saturday, the last day.

Happy Chinese New Year again and wishing you a Healthy and Wealthy year......

David

Valentine versus Chinese New Year

Hi,

14 Feb 2010 is the 1st day of the Lunar New Year but also the Valentine Day too...!

The good news is that most of us, as reported in the papers, place family and our Chinese New Year celebration above the western Valentine's Day occasion.

I would say that we were so focused on the CNY festivities that we almost forgot about Valentine's Day ..... but I did wish my dear wife a Happy Valentine's Day and gave her a branch of a new Hibiscus species that I plucked during my walk with Jack, my Beagle dog, a few days ago. I told her that this is the gift for the occassion...ha...ha...

Cheapskate?

No..lah.... it is the thought that counts and she is onto growing Hibiscus.... look at this white one, lovely, isn't?

We spent yesterday together, without Jason, watching a movie with dinner too.... so that can be considered our belated Valentine's Day celebration.....

Happy Valentine's Day, Darling!

David

First Day of Chinese New Year

Hi,

Once again, I wish you a Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year .....!

We actually held our reunion lunch a weekend earlier at my brother-in-law flat but my family still dine with my mother-in-law last night.

Every Chinese New Year, I would take a family photo for keepsake......

So here is this year's family photo for the album.....



I have just printed it on my photo printer in A4 size and will frame it later....

This will replace my last year's family photo on the wall.......

As usual, we gathered at my Mum-in-law home for lunch and exchange greetings and 'ang pows' with each other and that's it..... same thing every year.....

As we are not able to fly back to Penang to visit my parents, I just give them a call and greet them accordingly.......

So once again, wish you a good healthy and prosperous new year.......

Oh.... better check my 5M TOTO results.....ha....ha....

David

Happy Chinese New Year 2010

Hi,

I like to take this opportunity to wish you a

Happy & Properous Chinese New Year in 2010.....

The year of Tiger...Grrrrr!

Here is a photo taken in Chinatown last night.

Will write more in the coming few days after the 1st day of visiting, of course.....

David

My 24th Wedding Anniversary

Hi,

I have been so busy with household chores and Jason's recent 'O' level results and schools + courses nomination that for the first time, I forget my wedding anniversary until my wife reminded me a few days ago.

My brother, who married on the same day a year earlier, also sent me an email on his plan to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

So my wife and I decided to go to Vivocity to do some shopping, catch a movie and dine at one of our favourite restaurants.

Here we are at the upper deck of Vivocity with Sentosa as the background.

You know, I think we do not look our age as many strangers think we are easily 10 years younger and I have to show them my ID card to prove it.... ha...ha...

We invited our 16 years old son to join us for the movie and dinner as we really enjoy his presence and he obliged us.

Here I am with Jason..... he is most as tall or same height as my wife and I....!

BTW, I have this photo of my wife and I taken during our honeymoon in Phuket....

Those were the days.... young and carefree as a newly married couple.....!

Happy Wedding Anniversary....!

David

First Day of Year 2010

Hi,

Another New Year........ so soon.......?

The young ones want to grow old faster so that they can do adult things but old folks like me wants the year to slow down a bit so that I can enjoy my current situation and not visit my ancestors so soon......ha.....ha...

Anyway, here is a reflection of my past year........

1Q 2009 :

I found a new stream of income for my Internet Business initiative...... and it started to grow slowly resulting in a consistent monthly income throughout the year... but still small income though! However, this is the result of the 1st year of building my IM business.

I was excited and wanted to push up my income but then got distracted by health problems within the family.....see below.

Jack and Ruby got very sick but managed to recovered after medication from the Vet.

2Q 2009 :

My Mum had a minor stroke and I have to fly back to Penang almost weekly initially and then every month subsequently until recently. Took a lot out of me and I did not manage to work on my IM business to increase my income but managed to maintain a steady income, as mentioned above. Most traumatic event of the year..!

My dear wife started calligraphy class and also played badminton with her new found friends.

I was supposed to have started swimming in Bedok public pool for my lower back and knee pain but never got to it..!

3Q 2009 :

Spent most of the time caring for my Mum in Penang.....

Thanks to budget airline like JetStar, I could afford to fly back very often to care for my parents.

Also, managed to see my bro and sis from Melbourne in Penang, as they are came home to care for my parents....

Gave a lot of moral support to Jas for his preparation for 'O' level exam..... advice and encouragement, etc....

4Q 2009 :

My Dad started to have problem in his neck and lower back. He got 6 injections on his neck to ease the pain caused by the degeneration of the spinal bones there. Did some physio too but it seems to be helping a bit only and no cure other than pain killers....sigh....wear n tear!

My mum-in-law also have severe knees joint pain and got 3 injections but no help so pain killers too...... again, wear and tear!

Both parents are in their 80s already.... but this older generation does not like to seek medical treatment until they cannot take it anymore so it has been very tough to help them too......sigh

Ruby, my Corgi, was successfully re-homed as she was bullying Jack , my Beagle, and bit him on the body.....sigh.... we decide that it is not fair to Jack and Ruby has to go...... Ruby also bit Jack's ear when she first came into our family!

Jack got sick and was operated on his tummy to remove an accumulated mass of grass, his hair + sand.....!

Jas put in a lot of effort in his 'O' level exam. and we think that he should have done reasonably well, we hope.

Our maid of 12 years has gone home for good and we have decided not to have any replacement but we went for 'tingkat' food during the weekday, as we do not really cook.

In summary, we have quite a few incidents of medical problems and both LLM & I are also experiencing lower back and knee joint pain too.....wear n tear.....sigh

Throughout the year, I managed to strike 4D on and off but small wins only..... resulting in a net loss, of course..... but just tried my luck and some form of cheap entertainment. Also, sponsoring Tote Board generous donations to the charities.....ha....ha....

Also, good to start having a steady income though small from my IM initiative.

So any resolutions for the new year 2010......?

I hope the family will have less medical problems but then we are all aging......sigh

So we need to try to take better care of ourselves .... now that we have learned from our parents experiences.

I hope Jas will get into the JC or Poly of his choice..... we have yet to finalise his intentions pending his results in early Jan 2010.

I target to double my IM income, at least....... hopefully, no major distraction so that I can spend more time working on it from home.

I hope that I can go back to doing some part-time work commercially else then commit to some voluntary work.

Well, Jas is now in a Downtown chalet with his friends to celebrate the new year.

My wife and I have an eventful or fruitful first day of 2010 together.

So here again, we wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year in 2010...!

David

I Survived One Month Of Housework

Hi,

My maid left for good one month ago and we have decided not to have a replacement since Jason is in his teens already.

Also, an 'Aussie' friend of mine told me to imagine that I have migrated to Australia and have no maid in the household....ha...ha.....

But we ordered 'tingkat' food for dinner during the weekdays as we do not really cook...!

It definitely needed some adjustments as we were so used to being served by Jean but now, we have to spend time to do all the household chores like laundry, ironing, mopping the floor, etc....

I used to read the papers first thing in the morning as I like to know what is happening locally and overseas but now I have to find time to read the papers and sometimes even just browse through them only........

Why?

And guess what is the first thing I do every morning?

Well, Jack barks at 7am for his food and I have to wake up to feed him before my neighbours complain about his barking especially on weekends......sigh

Walk Jack too else he will bark for it again around 8am....sigh

Make breakfast, clean up some plates or cups left overnight, do laundry as it takes about 2 hours for the washing machine to complete a cycle....... before I can sit down to read the papers!

There are days where I went back to sleep and if I am really tired, I may sleep for another hour or so...ha....ha......

I dislike cooking during weekends as while I can 'cook' ( after 4 years as an overseas student ), I feel pressurised to cook a decent meal for my family esp Jason as he is still a growing boy.

Anyway, I suppose it is just a matter of the whole family chipping in and getting used to it.

Any tips for my me..... drop me a line.....

David

Christmas Lights in Orchard Road

Hi,

I make it a point to take a stroll along Orchard Rd to enjoy the decorations and soak into the Xmas atmosphere....

This year is different too as there are new shopping malls like Ion, Orchard Central and 313 at Somerset.

Here is a short slide show of some photos taken that night.

Merry Christmas....!

David