2 seasons

we actually finished 2 seasons of the popular comedy modern family.

not an easy feat i must say.

thats a total of nearly 44 episodes.

that takes commitment.

but it was easy since every single episode was quite enjoyable

the show is also very reflective our our everyday lives, albeit with a bit more drama and a bit more exaggeration.

but its a fun show.

 

season 3, where art thou????

Sept 21st 2011

:-)

Roll out.....

We've actually accumulated a collection of transformers toys over the years.
All legends class, mind you .

The 1st one I bought at a 7-11 across the hospital when #1 was first warded.
And the rest collected across hospital stays or rewards for them.
Some i got pretty cheap from eBay.

The last 2 I got for them from Spore for abandoning them since they were strongly voicing objections abt me leaving them behind.

Hound
Jazz
Bumblebee
Optimus animated version
Starscream
Optimus movie version
Ironhide movie version
Barricade

The one that is the most nicely built/engineered is jazz. Easy to transform and looks true to form.

Waiting game

It's always the experience I say..

We went it the floating bookstore and we were queing with s literal mob for 40min. We then spent about 45min looking at books. Then another 50min trying to get out of the ship and waiting for the pouring rain to stop.

we went up the hill, well, actually to sit on the new super fast train.
We queued nearly 30min to get up the hill and another 30min to get down.
To add to that I was parked nearly 800m away from the train station.
The boys did not appreciate the view, just the train and the cool buggy ride.

So actual experience time was actually much less than the travel time.

but i dont think they care. 

as long as the boys are happy.

Happy feet

Got new sandals and shoes.

Actually, the shoes or loafers are new but the new sandals I got is the same design as my old pair.
I was reluctant but no new designs and these were comfortable, so I  just went with it .

Both cost $376 altogether.
Comfort comes with a price.

Last minute

8am, Thursday morning.
I'm at the stationery store looking for glass paper and wire for #1's art school project, which he needs to bring to school today.
His mother spend 30minutes locating the items from home this morning.

Need him to be more responsible.

I hope he appreciates how we always scramble for him.

Pls boy, if ever you're reading this in the future, pls remember how much time we spend for you .

sgtcc 2011 shots

 

stgcc 2011

i went.

i saw.

i bought.

i ate.

i'm back.

 

if i had to sum it up in a word : "anime"

 

anime overload actually.

ok, there were lots of people dressed in costumes

BUT..

there were just lots and lots and lots of young kids dressed up as japanese anime characters.

only 5% was really marvel /dc comic based costumes

i saw 2 catwomen, 3 iron men, 1 war machine, 1 indy jones, i spidey and 1 red skull

and that was it.

damm....

 

luckily, there was a legion of stromtroopers, the 501st, vaders fist.

bobafett, artoo and vader was there too with a few jedi/sith.

 

the place was pretty small, we walked it in 3 hours.

a lot of comic and toy retailers.

so if you want to buy lots of comics and toys, you're in paradise.

we wanted to buy comics but we're too out of touch.

do not recognise the teams, characters or artists.

everything seemed to hv rebooted.

 

it was an interesting experience though but i dont think i'll be back here for "this"

san diego comicon anyone?

we need a family trip :-)

Stranger in a stranger land

The people here seem so polite. So strange.

Saw a very nicely dressed lady cab limo driver who wore heels. Her cab was too expensive anyway.

Our own cab driver was very polite as well. He actually drove from our instructions and never argued.
Really.

 

Also so many expatriates here.

Mainland Chinese, angmohs, Japanese, Indonesians and us.

i think the expat population is already outnumbering the locals.

singapore united nations football team is a good example.

And the folks here are mostly either middle class, upper class or just plain filthy rich .
Saw so many ferrari's already.

 

if you ask me,  its actually the simple things that make a difference:

Clean roads,

no trash,

nicely maintained buses, trains, taxis & apartments.

lots of information everywhere.

good transportation system.

concerts, plays, cultural entertainment.

 

they're not so much different. just a different culture.

sure, parking is expensive, cars are expensive, houses are a bomb but i think the other things compensate.

do they not? i wonder if they are happier or sadder than us? pretty sure they're happier in some ways.

 

and "big brother" is always watching and tracking you :-)

he knows where you go or park or even if your car gets stolen.

he "protects".

 

oh yea,

there a proven theory that ALL Sg drivers almost always do reverse parking

but for us, our cars go nose in.
You can literally see it in all the car parks.

Millions

The house I'm staying in is in a gated community. Think around 30 units.

clustered bungalow.
Very exclusive place in a nice quiet neighbourhood.

The concept is very nifty and nicely executed.
Its a cool 4 level hse with basement carpark and shared infinity pool. And it has a freakin lift.
It's supposedly 5million. 13 thousand rental a month.

And this area that it's in is sort off like "jesselton" and houses here are 10 to 20mil. Wow...
Talk abt crazy prices.

The number #1 problem about moving here will be housing, followed by transport.

I think it would still be an interesting place to settle in.
Given the right pay ...

Boys n toys....

It's cool when you hv 3 guys over 36 , eating hotdogs, sipping coffee, munching on eclairs and pie and talking about comics movies tv and books.
A bit surreal.
And lots of fun.

Gifts for all and my meager haul...

Got her some really cool green tea chocolates and a bar of rum and raisins.
Got the kids some transformers, bounty and twix..

 

well, the bounty&twix is for me too...

 

i managed to get a free comic and some free button badges.

the only thing i bought was the sdcc2010 captain america.

looked nice .

not sure if i'll let the boys play with it yet though.

 

Go dark...

I'm literally off the grid the last 48hrs.
My phone can hardly connect to any cell lines.
And theres no free WiFi.

Sigh...

1st beer in a very long long time..

Definitely Carlsberg....

Touchdown...

Flight was 60mins. Lucky I had my ebook to read on my phone . Managed to finish a chapter on tyrion.

Also, I now remember why I hate to fly. Headaches. Lucky I didn't throw up.

Hate planes . Especially the smaller type planes ... too steep angles during flight.

I hv 3 trips to Oregon and 1 to Ireland in 2012.
I think I'm definitely going to skip a few .

And so it begins...

My trip to the convention with my old pal .. we started with half boiled eggs and toast ..

Then he asked me ' so what Crap do you want to eat ? '
Music to my ears.. so far its pork ribs, knuckles and hot chocolates .

And nice to hv a long conversation with him. We haven't talked I'm ages .

Surprisingly, the mobile check-in was super smooth and fast.

Attack ?

Today I thought I was having a heart attack.
I had some of the symptoms. Slight pain on arm and midriff ,  discomfort , dizzy ..
Add that to the stress at work & home..
and plus my irregular and crappy meals at the office.
Quite scary.

I was actually in denial but I read online that that's a possible sign as well.
I had my doubts .
I was reluctant to get it checked out. I finally relented and went to the clinic .
Better to over react than die a sudden death. Right ?

I did not want to die .

Turned out to be indigestion. And bad sleeping posture .
Thank god for that.

What went thru my mind in those panicked moments when I thought I was going to die ?
My wife and my boys .

Tripping

Going for a toy and comic convention.

Going with my oldest best pal and his brother.

Flying there on sat morning and flying back on Sun midnight.

Sounds geeky right?

but i'm really looking forward to going.

i think it will be quite an intersting experience.

 

i dont think i'll be buying much toys or comics though

i'll definitely be snapping lots and lots photos and soaking in the atmosphere.

 

i think there'll be a "special energy" in this kind of events.

 

 

Injury week

It's injury prone week for #2 .

First, it was a backflip over the couch and he fell on his arm. Nothing broken but soft tissue damage, luckily . Rushed to the Er at 9am and had an Xray taken. In semi cast and sling for 1week.

Then yesterday he got his finger caught in his brother's bicycle chain. Scared the hell out of me.

Then last night we saw spots on his hands, foot and mouth .
Not good.   

So here we are, back in paeds again.

Btw , confirmed hfmd ..
7 day cycle.
Sigh.

Messed up day..

I had a plan.
It was a good plan.
Really .

Drop off boys .
Go for my medical checkup.
See my skin doc.
Hv lunch at gurney.
Maybe watch a movie or buy some books .
Come home early for a nap.
Read my book .

But all good plans hv saboteurs. Sigh.

New lists ...all for #2
Check injured finger .
Check spots for potential hfm.
Check his nose and lungs.

Priorities.

Babysitter

We actually managed to get a babysitter so that we could have a few hours out for dinner .

Actually she offered to help and for that we were very grateful  . She was as usual very good with the boys  because in the end they wanted her to sleep over . She said they sucked at hide and seek .

And what did we do ?
We had a very nice and quiet dinner followed by some shopping for "her" and ended the night with some coffee at Starbucks.
We even managed to do a bit of grocery shopping .

Better.....

My skin is actually better...
I'm amazed thyself.

Should I account it to the loads of medication or just a change in my attitude ?

Words that come to mind..
Nonchalant
Serendipty
Acceptance
Tolerance
Anticipate
Stress free

I now try to keep all the above in mind whether in work or at home. Mostly at work.
Why worry Abt things you have no control over ?  

E + r =o

What a day...

A hectic Saturday....

Prep 3 load of laundry ... and hung them all out to dry by 9am... I started 2 loads already last night .

Prep all the clothes to be ironed by the maid .

Breakfast and feed #2...

Cleaned out 5 gig on office hdd . Not an easy feat .

Prep #1 kgrow lessons.

Accompany #2 to 1hr music class. 1pm to 3pm plus travel time.

Took the boys to buy their bikes, pitstop at bank then drop everyone home, unload bikes  and send #1 to catechism by 4pm .

Free time for a cuppa coffee and read my book for 60mins til 530pm . Nodded off a few times... coffee did not help.

Office calls at 530pm . Escalation.

Pick up #1 from catechism and do a "scare" to threaten to leave him at grampas place since hes been quite difficult. 40min drive to and fro.
Sleepy.............................

Home at 630pm. Bathe #1 .
I Finally shave and shower.

Dinner and log in to solve escalations. Make a few phone calls . Reply email.

Vacuum dustmites. 3 beds .
Sigh...
Shud have done this before my bath . Sigh again .....
Set air freshener.

Do more work. More emails .
Make #2 sleep time milk.

Change all bedsheets.
Take up all the dried clothes to sort.

do the dirty dishes. Wash wok.

Final load of laundry put in at 930pm .

Put boys to sleep .

1015pm
All is quiet .

What do I do now ?

sir, yes sir.....

Trying to get the boys to play with the toys of yesteryear.
Plastic soldiers bring back Memories of the combat tv show.

Well and now toy story as well.
Bought them in a pack for $ 10.