2005 23rd May to 28th May Photo Album : Our KL Trip Read also Our journey there Nostalgia Shop till we dropped! Meeting up with friends

The trip to KL was not all about food and shopping.  I met up with some of my primary and secondary school friends.

Primary School Friends

This is a picture of Choo Lian (on the far left), me, Su Zan and Siew Pei taken at the main gate of our Primary school on the last day of Standard 6 before all of us went to different secondary schools. YES! We still keep in touch though the last time I met up with any of them was more than half a decade ago!

I knew Choo Lian since Standard 1. We kept in touch via email after her family migrated to Australia. Every Christmas we would send each other our greetings the traditional snail mail way. The last time we met was in 1999. She transited in Singapore on the way back to Melbourne from a business trip. We spent the whole day catching up with each other since we have not met after primary school. That was a good 15 years in between!

Su Zan was one of my closet friends in Primary school. We always chat on the phone! I’ve joined her for numerous of her family outings as her mother so kindly invited my sis and I along for swimming and meals.

Siew Pei visited me in 1996. She stayed at my place where I played “Aunt Agony”! I am glad she finally found her other half, happily married and expecting more additions to her family. This trip our sons got to play with each other. I look forward to my next trip where our kids could form the 5 member ABC – All BOYS Club.

I consider myself the odd one out in the group. As a kid, while the trio were studious, I was ‘wild’, often seen with messy hair soaked in perspiration and undone laces, whom academic position never made it to the top ten (not even top 15) in class. While my friends were happily exchanging stamps, I would be seen basking in the sun, gleefully playing in the mud-filled field with the boys and while they enjoyed reading storybooks, I prefer to whisper and giggle about BGR!

Looking at the Enid Blyton that line my shelves and my good collection of stamps, one could understand how thankful my parents must have been towards the positive influences of friends like these.

(Siew Pei was the one who inroduced me to Enid Blyton when I was in Primary 3)

Another primary schoolmate of mine, whom I have lost contact with is Melissa Lim. We were classmates till Standard 3 when she joined another primary school. During a prefect selection in standard 3, I was thoroughly disappointed that I was not selected but seek solace at the fact that such a pretty, well-behaved and sweet natured girl, like Melissa was also left out! My conclusion – the teachers were BLIND, that’s why they missed US!

Melissa and I kept in touch and met again when we went to the same secondary school. I‘ve so many fond memories of the time we spent together as kids, especially visits to her house where her mother would served us with delicious sandwiches and finger food.  When we talk of this friend of mine, my sis always recall the fun filled birthday party where her family invited a magician.

Heard that she’s in UK. 

Secondary School Friends

This is a photo of me (middle) with Sook Yeen and Jo Anne taken at a class party, when we were 15!

Sook Yeen bought us to this real ‘happening’ place called Sri Hartamas for lunch.  We heard that Sri Hartamas has, of late, been touted as the next Bangsar – in fact this place is reported as one of the top four entertainment hub and the most happening place in Klang Valley. An array of interesting restaurants lined the place. We had lunch at Souled Out, a top rating café bar with friendly and efficient staffs. Yeah, the chief-in-command, Fred, made friends with Yihang and invited him back for meals every week!

During lunch, we recounted the good old days where we spent time chatting about boys and doing more ’decent’ stuffs like baking pineapple upside down cakes, playing piano and watching videos!

Due to my out going nature which seeks fun at every opportunity, I made lots of friends during my secondary school days. Sook Yeen was one of my good friends. Others whom I have not met but still kept in touch with include Yoke Keem, who’s happily married with a pair of twin girls as pretty as her and Angeline, who’s in Singapore; though we rarely meet, we knew we could count on each other.  The kind of friendship best describe with the proverb ‘Good friends are like stars….You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there’

 

That’s Yoke Keem on the far left and me on the far right, with Angeline beside me. This photo was taken in Form 4 outside our classroom just before I left for Singapore.

Managed to meet up with Jo Anne the night before we left. She made my son’s day – it was a treat to Swensons Ice Cream!

I knew Jo Anne since Form 1 and we have been classmates till Form 4 when I came to Singapore to continue my education. We chatted on the phone for hours, we stayed over at each others’ place and talked about boys till the wee hours in the morning, we spent hours deciding on what to wear to parties, we devoured sweet valley high books and of course we studied for exams together too.

I could never imagine my teenage years without the company of a friend like her.

Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget

Malaysian currency is pegged to US Dollars. Meanwhile, the US Dollars has declined relative to other countries. The current exchange rate of the Singapore dollars to Ringgit is approx 2.28.

We felt rich with this big wad of spending power! So the next few days were dedicated to shopping, shopping and more shopping!

Klang Valley is indeed shopper’s paradise due to the number of shopping malls that have mushroomed all over.  There are many mega malls which boast to offer a wide range of quality products all under one roof. Consumers are spoilt for choice.

25^th May, Wednesday : Day 2

We went to IKEA to pick up a bed tray, an item which is discontinued in Singapore. I don’t fancy having breakfast on bed – but this tray is excellent for surfing tyhe net and blogging on bed!

After lunch we went to One Utama, a mega mall which sprawled over 2 million square feet of shopping space – yet we ventured not far beyond Jusco Supermarket where we (rather ME!) spent quite a bit on apparels.

Generally, products which are produced locally like food and clothing are god bargains. Some imported goods, like electronics, watches and designer brands are costlier than in Singapore. That’s because a weak ringgit makes foreign goods more expensive. Also, Malaysia imposes taxes on many imported goods, raising their prices.

26^th May, Thursday : Day 3

After lunch, we took the LRT to KL Sentral to refund the train tickets since we had decided to fly home. As expected, Yihang enjoyed the train ride. After which, we went to Suria KLCC, Malaysia’s premier shopping destination nestled between the world’s tallest twin towers, Petronas Twin Towers.

KLCC showcase a wide variety of international brand names like Guicci, Louis Vuitton and Hermes, which explains why that was a window shopping trip. 

27^th May, Friday : Day 4

My aunt treated us to a sumptuous ‘tim sum’ lunch followed by more shopping at mid-Valley Megamall.

And that was not all - we went to Pasar Malam (Night Market) after dinner to check out some good bargains. It was not surprising that we had additional 2 luggages when we headed home to Singapore!

Day 1 : recuperating and Jaya Supermarket

We reached KL before 8am.  

This train ride evoked many memories. When we were young, my sis and I used to travel by train to Penang every year to visit my grandparents.  Rolling hills of verdant oil palm trees, barren banana plants and small-scale vegetable farms and occasionally, there would be cattle grazing – though basically that was the scenery for the 6 hours ride back to my hometown, I never got tired of looking out of the window. Not anymore, after my family migrated to Singapore and my grandparents passed away.

Unfortunately Yihang did not see much of the sceneries as he woke up about half an hour before we reach KL Sentral. As I stepped out of the train, I was awed by the futuristic, state-of-art transportation hub, though I missed the former congested, well worn and bustling railway station with its distinct Moorish architecture. Also, gone is the scene where mob of taxi drivers touted for passengers as they stepped out of the station. We had to queue up to purchase coupons for the prepaid service.

We settled the refund and had breakfast at KL Sentral before heading to my Uncle’s home in Petaling Jaya. We were so tired slept the whole afternoon.

In the evening, we called a cab and headed to the nearest shopping complex, Jaya Supermarket. This is one of the oldest shopping centers in the Klang Valley, strategically located In the well-established commercial district of Section 14 Petaling Jaya. Though my cousins frowned at my most ‘un-glamorous’ choice for shopping destinations, the place brought back fond memories of yesteryears. This was the place my parents often brought me when I was just a kid. I met Santa Clause for the very fist time in my life in this premise. And just across the street, I had my very first bite of MacDonald’s burgers more than 20 years back.The night was spent catching up with my relatives and for the little ones to get acquainted with the great-grandparents as well as their grand uncle and grand aunt.

Day 0 : Train ride to KL, Malaysia

 

We took a week long vacation to Malaysia to visit my grandparents and relatives. After much deliberation, we decided to take a train to Kuala Lumpur. Besides it being a more comfortable and relatively inexpensive option (approx RM$270 for the whole family!), taking a train would be a great experience for YiHang. We were captivated by KTM’s newly-introduced coach, the Premier Night Deluxe. 

 

Each cabin is designed for use by one or two persons. It comes with two sleeping bunks. The upper bunk is foldable in cases where cabins are booked for individual use. Each cabin is equipped with an individual controls for lighting, shower and toilet facilities, hair dryer and baggage rack. Room amenities such as soap, towel, shaver, toothbrush and toothpaste are also provided. There is a staff call button in each cabin, in case of emergency or if passenger wish to make an enquiry.

In the spirit of kiasuism (a local word meaning gaining material advantage for onesself), we lugged two backpacks, a pram, a baby and a toddler over the causeway as boarding the train from Johor is significantly (approx 50%) cheaper than boarding from Singapore due to the exchange rate.

We were contemplating to take a bus across the causeway but the thought of having to alight from the bus, go though the Singapore custom board the bus to alight again at the Malaysia custom with all our baggage puts us off.  Thus after dinner, my sis dropped us at Queen’s Street where we took a cab (S$8 per pax – regardless of babies, infants, or the aged!) to City Square, Johor. Since the train station is just a stone’s throw from the shopping complex, we plunged into shopping almost immediately. It wasn’t until most of the shops were closed for the day, we found our way to the train station across the road.

Yihang was bursting with excitement and kept asking to board the train. It was an agonizing half-an-hour wait in the hot and stuffy station equipped with air conditions which were not working before the train finally arrived at 11:20pm.

We were making ourselves comfortable in our little cabin when an attendant came and took orders for our supper and breakfast. It was only then we learned that a railway bridge near Kulai has collapsed. Apparently, there was a big notice posted at the entrance of the station and announcements via the PA system. Somehow we just missed them! We disembarked at Kempas Baru after half hour ride and board a shuttle bus to Kluang where we continued our journey by rail.

Upon reaching the station at 3am, we rushed into the waiting train. There were no sleepers. We sat all the way in the frigid steel compartments shared by at least 50 other passengers. We’ve got no blankets, no jackets!  (Remember, we were supposed to travel 1^st class with blankets provided!) As the train cruises, halts and breaks the still of the night, I hugged my baby who was resting snugly in the sling and trying to catch a near impossible wink of sleep myself.

 

Piles of plates

Heaps of laundry

 

Loads of ironing

Toys littered everywhere

not to mentionMischievous Toddler

Crying Baby

 Whenever the phone rings or the doorbell buzzes, my heart beats with excitement and filled with hope that help is on the way

Desperate housewife redefined! 

Tian How is clearing leave and hence ‘enjoying’ his one month stint as a Stay-At-Home-Dad. Mummy is not working. Papa is not working. Wow Wee… One Big Happy Family!

Oh, I should mention that we had kindly allowed our domestic help, Lilik, to go back to Indonesia for a two and a half weeks holiday. *regrets* So that leaves us with one rowdy toddler, one high need baby and endless household chores.

Cooking. Washing. Feeding. Mopping.    

A typical day goes like this :

At 7am (YES! 7 AM before the sun rises!) Papa has been volunteered to undertake the mammoth task of waking Yihang up and getting him ready for school. Yihang, who refuses to sleep early every night, will have to be literally dragged out of bed while moaning, crying and shouting “I am so sleepy!” The commotion never fails to wake didi (弟弟) up! The whole household sprung to life! Fortunately Yixiang is rather co-operative and is happy to be zooming around in his walker while I fix breakfast. Then another bout of coaxing, pleading which soon turns to threats, as Yihang’s breakfast lay untouched and he’s running late for school.    We look forward to the peace and quiet after Yihang goes off to school and Yixiang takes his morning nap. Well, we would love to enjoy the morning papers over a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, this precious time is used to tidy up the place, do laundry and prepare lunch before picking Yihang up from school.

I enjoy the rides home where we would sing Mother Goose nursery rhymes in the car. Once home, Yixiang will need to be fed first. While Papa baths the little one after his meal, I will feed Yihang. And when its Yiahng’s turn to shower, I will rock the baby to sleep. We are getting better at this partnership thingy!

By mid day we are exhausted. The house looks like war zone and we definitely looks like defeated soldiers.  Usually my mind is so numb, I could hardly recall how we manage dinner and putting the kids to bed.

Our lives starts at 10pm after the kids are in slumber land. Our lives meaning hubby stares at his computer monitor while I stare at my labtop!

Indeed a rare opportunity which we must treasure, to be spending some precious time together as One Big Happy Family.

  After bo pian faithfully serving his six years sentence bond with ENV/NEA for taking up the PSC scholarship, Tian How finally took a leap of faith and left the civil service for greener pasture. It was a deliberated decision. A significant move as it means courage to leave his comfort zone in pursue of his dreams, at a ‘little’ cost.

  *****HubbyIn the midst of uncertaintiesYou needed affirmationI am beside youTo hold your handWhen making decision is difficultYou needed supportI am behind youTo lend you strengthIf the road ahead seems unclearYou needed guidanceI will be ahead of youTo lead you throughThrough thick and thinFor better or for worseI will be with youFor I love you soWifey*****

We practice attachment parenting thus we have been co-sleeping with YiHang since he was born. However, with the arrival of YiXiang, our humble Queen size bed got too crowded for comfort. As YiHang had his share of our company, it’s YiXiang’s turn now. We decided that YiHang should have a room on his own.

We wanted to make Yihang’s room an inviting and pleasant place for him to be in. The atmosphere should be attractive and comfortable. Thus we painted the room in pastel purple, his favourite colour.

According to Maria Montessori, the environment itself has a profound influence on the child’s development and learning. YiHang’s bedroom is planned in such a way that Montessori ideas become practical possibilities.

We used Montessori Play & Learn. A Parents Guide to Purposeful Play from Two to Six, as a reference while planning his room.

 Singapore NLB : Call Number q649.68 BRI

 

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In a Montessori classroom, most of the things are child sized. This is because the classroom is meant for used by the children. It is literally as Montessori called it, Casa Dei Bambini meaning Children’s House, in Italian. This was the main principal in the setup of Yihang’s room.

 

 

We got Yihang a low level bed so that he can get in and out by himself. He is provided with a comforter quilt instead of a blanket as it is much easier for him to make his own bed.

Practical life activity:

“To encourage your child to make her own bed, make a game of shaking out the comforter. Stand her on one side of her bed while you are at the other. Get her to hold the two corners at her end, while you hold the other two at yours and then shake the quilt up and down so that it makes waves over the bed. When you’ve finished the game, you can help her put the quilt back on the bed. When she gets bigger, you can gradually persuade her to straightened her bed herself.”

 

In his bedroom, Yihang has his own special shelve he can reach, where he display his favourite photographs and toys – like his POWER RANGERs, ULTRAMAN and of course, Thomas the Tank Engine!

 

Books are displayed on this child sized bedside table so that he could have access to his reading materials easily.

 

Closets and drawers are child-sized, allowing easy access to take things out and, and more importantly, to put them away again. Drawers slide easily, but there is a ‘stop’ on them so that they aren’t constantly pulled right out and emptied all over the floor. Drawers have labels to indicate the different kind of clothes kept in each one.

  “Your child will soon tell you if a pair of socks has wandered into the sweater drawer.”

 

When we have done a batch of washing, Yihang helps to sort his clothes into piles and put them away in the correct drawers.

“She can either sorts them into types of clothes (sock, underpants, etc), into matching colors, or even into textures or materials. An older child could try to guess which pile has the most item, then count them to see whether she is right. (This helps judgment : after all, six T-shirts look a lot less in a pile than three pairs of winter pajamas)”

We have created a large play area for Yihang in his room.

 

We also put up some low level shelves for his toys so that he can reach them easily and attempt to keep them neat. Plastic boxes in different colours are used to organize his toys. Again these boxes are labeled.

One large toy box is not a good idea because it encourages disorder, and your child will soon stop caring for her toys because they are always jumbled up and messy.

 

 

The bedroom was too small for writing and craft based activities. Hence we placed his desk in our study room. Again, his writing table was a low one, with decent work space complete with low chairs. The writing table has a plastic surface so that its easily washable. We also equipped it with a good table lamp.

There is also some wall space for him to display his work. We used a cork board so that items can be pinned up and change regularly.

 

Teasing is part and parcel of life. It was no big deal. I’ve endured being teased but I was guilty of teasing others as well. However, it can be exasperating when your child is being called names.

Because of his genetic condition Yihang’s scalp hair is sparse and absence in some parts. There were many occasions when other children pointed at him and called him names. Though many were just passing comments and did not mean to hurt, it was enough to make me go ballistic. I was tempted to confront their parents but Tian How held me back, “Can you be by his side all the time and protect him forever?”

We’ve adopted several strategies to prepare him to deal with such hurtful situations.

Well meaning friends and relatives have been asking us to allow Yihang to keep his hair. However, his existing hair will not be able to cover the bald patches. Also, there’s nothing shameful of being bald. We don’t see why he needs to hide that. For the same reason, we do not make him wear a cap. In fact, I’ve met many ‘botaks’ who are capable, attractive and confident.

We help Yihang develop a positive view of himself. We get Gong Gong (公公) to shave his head every week. We have been telling him that his ‘botak head’ looks great. He looks special. When he was younger, Gong Gong would dab after shave lotion on his head after shaving it. It smells and looks great but Yihang will not let anyone touch or kiss his head, “You will dirty my botak head”. Indeed he’s very proud of his ‘botak head’.

Sometimes, we joked that his head is so shining, it looks like a light bulb. He learned to laugh it off.  

We feel that ignoring negative comments is a great way to rob the teasers of his or her fun.

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping with Yihang and a little girl pointed to him saying  “Eee..BOTAK! 没有头发 (no hair)” There was no reaction from Yihang. I was curious and wanted to know if he heard the comment so I asked.

Yihang said “I heard. Just don’t care”.

This morning I was telling Tian How that someone passed a comment about me. Yihang butt in and said

“Mummy, Just don’t care!”

I held back my tears of joy. 

 Nah!…Not my Hubby!

  

I lurve presents which come in nice wrappers and fancy ribbons.

Surprises are Sexual!

But my [not so romantic] husband laments that he always run out of ideas of what to get to humour his [ever romantic] wife.

            These exquisite elegant handmade bags from Exclusively Meg are flown in from Vietnam. I simply adore the fine embroidery on each piece.

What gems! 

 

Pizza has always been the classic order-in meal. But this evening, we discovered that making our own pizza can be real fun.

Yihang had a great time in the kitchen. He helped spread tomato puree over the crusts, arranged the toppings and sprinkled the grated cheese before baking them in the toaster oven.

Apart from being an alternative to television and computer games, it’s yet another activity to keep my hyper active four-year-old engage and hence helped preserve my sanity. We made a real mess and spent more than an hour cleaning up. OK! The credit goes to Papa who vacuumed and mopped.

Our sizzling pizza, covered with melted golden brown cheese tastes simply YUMMY-LICIOUS!!

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Ingredients (from NTUC)

Kontos Pizza Crust

Hans Tomato Puree

Danish Danes mozzarella cheese (specially for pizza)

Capsicum (Red and Green)

Onions

Chicken Ham

A can of Pineapple

 We forgot Mushrooms!

Tips

Toddlers are easily excited and very impatient. Hence it’s a good idea to prepare the utensils and toppings in advance before engaging their help. In our case, Kakak helped sliced the ham, onions and capsicums and placed them in bowls ready for assembly!

The pizza crust came in a pack of 6. There were more than enough ingredients to ‘assemble’ all of them. We baked 2 and kept the rest frozen for future consumption.

I used aluminum foil as the base. Hence it’s real convenient to remove the pizza from the freezer and place them directly in the toaster oven.

Good Luck!

 

  While I’m not a big fan of Elmo’s distinctive laugh, I was with my four year old, glued to the tube watching the high-spirited little red monster rambled about he wanting to be a tree sometimes and a doctor at other times.

So, I asked Yihang what would he like to be when he grows up”

 

[Ohhhh…please say you want to be a Lawyer, a doctor or anything that can earn loads of money....pleeze...plezze!!]

 

Yihang, gave an affirmative answered

 

“TRAIN”

 

“HUH!? Train!? What train? Your sure about that, hunnybun?!”

 

“TRAIN”

 

“SURE”

 

“TRAIN”

 

What an out of the world ambition !

YiXiang is a chubby, alert and adorable baby who gurgles and laughs when he’s well fed and in mummy’s arms. He never fails to attract loads of attention from passerby whenever we bring him out. We were often asked what formula he’s on.

 

 

Grinning from ear to ear, with a certain air I in my voice I replied

 

 

“Mummy’s Milk, the Winning Formula!”

 

 

We’ve signed him up for the Best Breastfed Baby Contest.

 

*****

Updates : 22nd July 2005

Nope! Poor YiXiang did not even make it through the first round!

But he’s always been the best in our hearts.

 

In 2003, I had my share of fame when I was featured in a women’s lifestyle programme, Ladies First, on Channel 5. It was a 13-episode series premiered on 1 July 2003 at 7.25pm on Channel 5. The half-hour programme hosted by Li Lin featured different segments on women’s issues, health, finance and beauty. The segment that I appeared in deals with issues affecting young working women today.  In that segment, I shared how I had successfully juggled family life, career, and personal interests.

 Many are often curious how I manage to get a role in the programme. I could still remember that  morning vividly. I was in class when my collogue, Mrs Lee, came to see me. Holding a piece of paper in her hand, hardly containing her excitement, she explained that her daughter, a script writer, was working on the cover story of ‘super women’ – women who could juggle work and family.  The first person that came to her mind was me and she urged me to try for the role. I went for the interview and was selected.

 Just last week, almost TWO years after the programme was aired on Channel 5, a friend called and said “Hey! I saw you on TVMobile when I took a bus to work” Its pretty embarrassing, especially now that I’ve stopped ‘juggling’ and settled for the less glamorous but more meaningful option -  My Family.

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Aired on 2nd September 2003, Channel 5, MediaCorp

7:30 pm Episode 9

- Transcript -

The role of women has certainly changed in the last century. While most of our grandmothers and mothers devoted their time to the family, women today have their careers on top of their responsibilities at home. In fact 51% of the workforce in Singapore is women. But are you willing to give up your job in order to start a family?

 

[Interview NOT transcripted: Public Views on which is more important - Career or Family]

Next, we will meet somebody who has not only found time for her family and her job, she has found time for her community and she has found time to study for her master degree.

 

While many of us are still tucked in bed, Janice Chuah is already on her way to work. As a school teacher for the last 3 years, Janice tells us that working with children keeps her on her feet.

“I joined the teaching profession simply because I love working and interacting with children. Their sincerity and innocence has kept me going.

Kids can make you laugh and cry at the same time. And I derived so much joy through my daily interactions with them.”

Her love for teaching is evident. Janice was a top student during her training days. And not only that, she has found time to serve her community, get married after and start a family while working at the same time.

 

Both Janice and her husband were overjoyed when they became parents. However, they had to deal with a situation that their son was born a little different.

“Our son’s condition is known as Ectodermal Dysplasia. He experiences heat intolerance as he does not have the ability to perspire. We have to take certain precautionary measures to ensure that he does not suffer heat stroke – when he’s outdoor, we make sure that he drinks plenty of water and sometimes we may need to spray him with water when he gets a little over heated. Other than that, he’s growing up like any other kids.”

But Janice is not on her own. Her husband, Tian How ensures that he makes time to help out around the house, even with his own challenging job as an engineer.

[Interview: Tian How]

“I think in modern families, it is essential for husband to lend a helping hand to their wife, especially when many women are working in today’s society. As a modern man, I do my part to help out in all aspects of our family life.”

 

In addition to their demanding family responsibilities and careers, both Janice and Tian How are also studying part time at NTU and NUS for their master degrees. Why did they choose to load up their responsibilities?

 “It’s difficult to determine an appropriate time as every phase in parenting poses new problems and challenges. We believe in making the best of every situation.”

 

With so much on her plate, how did she juggle her time and cope?

“I cope with the help of my family. They all put in a lot of effort to take care of my little one so that I have time to do things that I wanted to – like studying.”

Despite the demand on her work, study and family, Janice feels that one should not neglect personal time. Again, with a little help form her parents, she takes time off for her husband and herself.

 

    “When my mother-in-law comes over to look after my little one, that’s when I will steal time off for myself.”

While Janice juggles her role as teacher, wife and mother beautifully, a lot of women are putting off having a family in favour of their career.

[Interview NOT transcripted: A family Counselor]

The working women of today want it all. A successful career, happy family, leisure time and room for self improvement.

Janice Chuah shows us that it can be done but not without determination and a whole lot of love. 

 

Slurp! Statistically Cheesy offering home-baked cheesecakes by Lawrence, a Scientist holding an MBA, are making me droll all over like my baby! Sinfully Delicious. Completely tempted.

 If you are not a fan of cheesecake, visit the site written with a tinge of humour by the ‘deviated’, ‘out lier’ statistician cum baker.

The names of the cakes are real hoots – ANOVA Oreo, Nonlinear Regression Bailey’s !

 Get your bibs ready anyway!

One hot and boring morning

Mummy said, “I know what let’s do.

We’ll get a few friends

And go visit the zoo”

 

We’ll watch the creatures

Play around the trees

Fly above the mountains

And swim beneath the seas

 

The Tigers and the Tapirs,

Gemsbok and Nyala,

The Penguins and The Bears,

Leopard and Zebra.

 

The Monkeys and the Snakes,

Mandrill and Gnu.

The Rhinos and the Hippos,

Iguana and Kudu.

 

The Cows and Goats,

Crocodile and Raccoon.

The Kangaroos and the Camels,

Otter and Baboon.

 

Not even the Komodo Dragon,

Could catch Yihang’s attention.

For all he wanted was Ethan and Jospin

To enjoy a chase and play session.

 

Its always interesting to know what Yihang is learning in school. He told me that they were talking about ‘gerby’.

Papa      : Wah! CHIM ah! What is ‘gerby’?

Yhang    : If you don’t know, go to GOOGLE and find out!

*GEEK!!*

Mummy  : OK! How to spell ‘gerby’?

Yihang   : Don’t know! You just type in, if wrong try and try again.

From our conversation, I gathered that ‘gerby’ is an animal since the smart alek mentioned about it being furry, with ears and legs. I googled with the following key words

Gerby

Gerbis

Jerby

Jerbis

Gerbils

And VIOLA!

 

  A gerbil is a rodent halfway between a rat and a mouse in size. They’re usually 2-4 oz, and have a slightly different facial shape than a mouse or rat. Their long tails are also covered in fur and end in a bit of a tuft. Their eyes are deep black or ruby red, and they come in dozens of different colors, from regular agouti, to black, to siamese, to even blue! Gerbils make fun and entertaining pets for both young and old.

 

 We leaned something new

Want to find out about something … just GOOGLE !