Reddie's Page - 鸿屋

Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Fondue Evening

2011-12-05T00:43:00.001+08:00

We'd been wanting to treat ourselves to a session of Chocolate Fondue but hadn't had the right opportunity until this evening, after an egg-citing session watching the variant dark side-ish Humpty Dumpty story in the Puss in Boots movie. It was all a whim of the moment thing and the gooey chocolate was indeed satisfying. TW was mentioning this was her first chocolate fondue, when I decided to show her pictures of our previous session at the Chocolate Bar at the Esplanade, where we had some smaller versions of chocolate fondue along with other exotic chocolate goodies, among other chocolate adventures which I did not document. Ah-ha! Gotcha! Who said we should be lavishing luxury on kids before they have memory-retention powers? This is the important reason for the existence of this blog.

The Häagen-Dazs chocolate fondue set was SGD $49.40 after GST and service charges, totally satisfying 4 chocolate craving souls.

Choc Muffins for brekkie

2011-11-20T10:28:00.001+08:00

Haven't baked muffins for some time. Somehow the leisurely post-exam Sunday morning provided enough incentive for my exam-wrecked soul to bake something.

But, just as usual, the folks just can't take much of what I had to offer. The kiddos loved the idea, but just can't take too much of sweet stuff. Delicious, as usual, they'd say, but they'd just be satisfied with a tiny one or two.

Oh, well, will save up for later. Now I must hatch a plan to starve them first…

My cute new egg pan

2011-11-06T10:05:00.001+08:00

Ok, this pint sized pan has been on the shelves for a really long time and I'd just only bought it a couple of days ago, because I couldn't justify buying a pan just for the purpose of frying eggs. But, at $4.99 a piece with multi-colour choices, I just couldn't resist it.

So this is part of breakfast today. Like my omelette? My folks do.

The Timer Chime

2010-09-24T15:01:00.004+08:00

I let TW have some time for water play in the bathtub this morning, and to prevent her from going grossly overtime again, I plonked a kitchen timer on the bathroom counter top where she can see the minutes and seconds counting down. She loves these water play sessions still, and it's also a good time for me to tidy up the room while she's at it.

The timer would chime in a continuous stretch of about half a minute when the countdown is due in the following fashion: di-di-di-di, pause, di-di-di-di, pause, and so forth. TW got quite irritated by the first series, and started telling the time to stop.

Still, the first aliquot of time wasn't quite enough fun. She asked for an extension, and I agreed. Second round of countdown on the timer.

When the countdown chimes sounded again, it went something like this:

Di-di-di-di, di-di-di-di...

OK!! Stop it!

Di-di-di-di, di-di-di-di...

I said, stop beeping already...

Di-di-di-di, di-di-di-di...

Hey, stop the noise!

Di-di-di-di, di-di-di-di...

Ok, you've made your point!

At this point, I could not contain my giggles any longer.

Afternoon tea

2010-08-02T17:07:00.000+08:00

TW and TF have been asking me to bake cookies for them for some time. Finally got into the mood to do it one afternoon.

The first batch of six 3-inch choc chip cookies were gone before my second batch (in picture) were cooled and brought out.

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-10T10:38:00.009+08:00

I noticed a flurry of activity yesterday morning, aka Mother's Day, between my bedroom and the kids' room before I emerged from my morning ritual in the bathroom.

TF had prepared a series of clues for my treasure hunting activity in search of the Mother's Day gifts he'd prepared for me.

So I started out on the 1st clue, which led to another, and yet another. One entailed opening up his little code-protected coin bank, and another was hidden behind his bedroom door alarm mechanism.

Finally I can display my bounty for all to see.

From Reddie's Page - 鸿屋

I was taken aback. How did he manage to choose such lovely tasteful gifts? So it was his school's Parents Support Group (PSG) that put up this idea for the boys to buy small gifts for their mothers. He said he simply chose the most expensive items out of the lot, which cost just a few dollars. Smart move, and smart talk. That sets me thinking about the thought and effort that went behind this initiative put together by the PSG. This has helped make it a memorable Mother's Day for me.

TW felt so upset that her older brother has managed to pull off such a great feat she spent the rest of the day designing a diary out of scrap paper and more paper hearts for me.

12th anniversary 结婚十二周年纪念

2010-04-15T21:47:00.001+08:00

Hubby Q and I were married for 12 years, and we celebrated our 12th anniversary on this Valentine's Day. It also happened to be the first day of the Chinese New Year in 2010.

After going through the necessary family visits and gathering in the earlier part of the day, we went out to buy a heart-shaped cake I'd seen in BreadTalk shops that's been on sale specially for the occasion (VDay). TW has been especially excited, but couldn't quite grasp the significance of this.

Is it someone's birthday cake? She asked.

No, it is for celebrating mummy and daddy having been married for 12 years, I explained.

Oh, so that's why you need a birthday cake for the celebration?

Er, sure, darling...

今年的年初一是我和老公的十二周年结婚纪念日。同舟共济了十二年，却也很难的，决定买个蛋糕庆祝一下。到BreadTalk买了个小小心形蛋糕，再点上一支大蜡烛、两支小蜡烛。就这么简单。

小廷慧为我们突然买了个蛋糕而深感不解，直问，到底是谁的生日，为什么要吃蛋糕？

我指着睡房中挂着的婚纱照，尝试解释，那是为爸爸妈妈结婚周年的庆祝。

所以要用生日蛋糕来庆祝？哦！原来是这样！

有两个小宝贝陪同，已觉得十分幸福。

Breakfast at IKEA

2010-04-13T11:01:00.000+08:00

Sent our car in for servicing this morning, and then popped by to IKEA next door for the free members' coffee.

This is one place where the food photo didn't do justice to the actual food served. The croissant & sausages are much fuller and bigger than those in the advert pic, and the scrambled eggs was also a much more generous portion. Too bad I devoured the whole chunk before taking a pic of my serving. Great ambiance, as always, too. All for the grand price of SGD$1.50, with FOC freshly brewed coffee.

And there's no one to chase people away after their meals. Unlike my one awful experience at this sandwich joint in Novena Square recently.

I'll be off to loiter my time away now before other duties call. Happiness from simple life's pleasures...I'm loving it.
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld from M1.

Prize Presentation Ceremony

2010-01-22T17:57:00.002+08:00

It was a special morning for us all, although busy papa has to go to work as usual...he couldn't bear to get make others do double for his duties. It was the Prize Presentation Ceremony at school, and TF is one of the prize recipients, for his good work put in, in his Primary 4 academic performance last year.

TF nearly could not make it for the ceremony, as he had been absent from school for the past 2 days, nursing a fever at home. I had to cajole him to get up and go for this special event early this morning.

Somehow we had to endure the sorts of things teachers say to the pupils, which reminds me so much of those usual scoldings we'd got as primary students in days bygone.

The general feeling goes somewhat like this:

Scolding (mild)

More scolding (teacher shouts)

High intensity scolding, getting everyone, including parents, to behave, get back to allocated seats / areas. Keep quiet.

VIP gives encouraging speech.

More scolding

Announcement of prize winners names

More scolding....

Then as we leave the school hall, more scolding from some teacher who berated the rest of the pupils seated on the floor who'd been cheering for their fellow schoolmates in the past hour, for 'behaving badly' when their deserving friends who had 'worked very hard' were getting their rewards.

So much for encouragement for the little souls. That's a typical Singapore boy's school for you...

Chocolate Bar @ Esplanade

2010-01-03T23:16:00.001+08:00

We aren’t die-hard chocolate lovers, but we had fond memories of death-by-sweetness at this eatery when I dragged hubby along to this unique place a couple of years back. Just 2 of us then, without the kiddos. Pure romance.

This time, on the 2nd day of 2010, we chose to bring the kiddos along. There used to be large thick slabs of chocolate stacked on the bar counter of the cafe, which we don’t see anymore, but the chocolate-in-every-menu-item eatery did work its charms on our little friends.

We ordered a ‘Suckao’ (what a name) – which is a DIY hot chocolate drink set – melt the chocolate chips in the candle-warmed tumbler, add desired amount of milk, stir with the metal spatula, then drink through the metal straw which forms part of the metal spatula.

Next is the dark chocolate cappuccino, which is served in a tear-drop shaped receptacle with no handle. The aromatic drink is totally full-bodied - god knows how much calories are packed in there.

We ordered a chocolate pizza too, filled and topped with white choc bits, peanut butter and more choc syrup. It was so inviting we started attacking it the moment it was put down I’d forgotten to snap a pic of its full glory…snapped up it was, all the way to 4 gluttons’ stomachs.

This cozy little cafe is located on level 1 of the Esplanade. Lovely place to while away a sweet afternoon, staring into one, or many, sweethearts’ eyes. Friends intending to visit can give me a tinker – I don’t mind going again to try other fun items in the menu.

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Our Family's New Year Day 2010

2010-01-03T17:53:00.002+08:00

Hubby wasn’t working this year’s New Year Day – a rarity – and the weather was superb, so we decided to finally try out the kites the kids received as presents from a nice uncle during our visit to Shandong, China, last year.

We went to the East Coast Park – my, there were lots of tents and people! TF had great fun on his maiden attempt learning to fly his kite, and TW decided it was more fun playing sand on the beach.

The kites were hand-made by a famous kite-making factory in Weifang. TF’s kite is a green falcon, and TW’s a blue butterfly. They were packed neatly in paper boxes, so we have to assemble them first, and tie them to their spools of kite-strings. The kites are unbelievably flimsy, but they flew rather well, even for novices like us.

After a satisfying time at the beach, we saw storm clouds approaching from the southern part, and quickly took flight. Enough outdoor fun for the day.

To round off the evening, we settled down for a home video, complete with popcorns I made using our own stove with an impromptu search for the recipe on the internet.

My morning ride

2009-11-26T16:28:00.001+08:00

Went out for a short ride this morning before the kids were up. I expected myself to huff and puff a bit more…it was so long since I’d been regularly biking around and working up a sweat. Maybe 2 months? Or more. Yep, must have been the beginning of all the exams preparation that provided that lame excuse. And then my stamina went down considerably, unfortunately, inversely proportionate to my weight. The ride up Braddell Road leading up to Bartley Road was quite a struggle, compared to my last ride weeks ago. It was quite effortless then.

I’m not an adventurous roadie (biking jargon = riding on the roads). I stick to the pavement as much as possible. So, therein lies the challenge of avoiding pedestrians incessantly, twisting and turning to stay on wheel-able paths while maintaining balance cruising on super-slow speeds.

So, no pics here. It’d be dangerous to bike and shoot at the same time. Also, this country isn’t exactly bike-friendly – hardware and people-ware wise. Or maybe I’m just not savvy enough. But bringing my kids out there on bikes is a no-no – I’d get shot at home.

Back to my morning ride. I was turning round Lorong Chuan towards Braddell Road when I saw 2 kids riding bikes along the pavement with their mother riding behind. All 3 of them are genuine blonds, so I’d gather they’re ‘ang-mohs’*. They’d deftly negotiated past some paths partially blocked by road works on the pavement itself, heading forwards towards the Australian International School just about 100 metres away. Their mother carried one school backpack, so I suppose they’d park the smaller bikes at school when mummy heads back home during school time.

* ang-mohs: local term, referring to Caucasians.

Earlier this year, we somehow caught on the biking craze, and I’d fetch TF from his school, riding to the meeting point on my bike, with a kick scooter strapped behind, so we can both ride home together. His school is less than a kilometre away from home. It was great fun, until I started going to work sometime after, and had to stop this. I liked biking to his school instead of driving – it sure beats the crazy traffic when the 4 car lanes right outside the school get jammed up into 1. The situation can be so bad sometimes the traffic police had to be activated.

So when I had to hand in a document to his school’s office one afternoon some weeks ago, I chose to ride there, and was promptly scolded by the security officer for being ‘dangerous’. Think I really deserved that, since I rode right up to the lobby in front of the general office. I took the chance to ask where the boys could park their bikes if they ride to school, and she (the security officer) immediately retorted, “How can? So dangerous, you know?”

That means, that driving up to the school compounds and then dropping the boys from those metal-shell cocoons would be the best solution for transporting the all-important future generation to and from their molding facilities, whereupon they should be immediately strait-jacketed to think, learn and act the way they’re expected to be by the system.

I’m quite sure the International School pupils & mama I saw this morning don’t have this problem, or see it as a problem. That’s 2 different cultures co-existing along the same stretch of road, one institution training conformists and the other, free-wheeling development.

It’s little wonder why creativity has to be taught here.

TW’s Froggie Doodling

2009-11-20T10:15:00.001+08:00

The kids love dining at Pizza Hut. So do I. The lovely thing they have there sometimes, is the kids’ menu on a large colour sheet, with a drawing activity printed on the reverse side. Saves me the trouble of finding my notebook and pen to occupy TW while waiting for the order to be served, though, can’t do without the pen yet.

So the rest of us continue with our catching-up-the-day conversations while TW diligently went on her doodling expedition, and came up with this.

I had that proud-mummy moment when I saw this. Ok, she isn’t an art genius (though she’d won first prize for that art & craft competition in her kindergarten back in HK), but I thought it was a great copy using an un-erasable ball-point pen. Just to show the full-page instructions:

See the Broccolis along the way?

2009-10-21T18:56:00.001+08:00

It was a decision made at the spur of the moment (which, incidentally, lasted the whole morning), that I decided to fetch TW earlier from her full-day childcare early today, just before she was to prepare for naptime at school. The load of library books are due for return today, and I think it’s high time I should bring both kids to the library again. (That meant it’s 3 weeks from the last visit – the loan period from Singapore public libraries.)

On the way home on foot from the MRT station, TW & I enjoyed a leisurely walk under the 1pm blazing sun. Ample time to smell the flowers and name flowers along the way. Then, TW pointed to the row of trees by the pavement and exclaimed, “Look, mummy, BROCCOLIS!!!”

Reminds me, that she used to like the broccolis I used to cook for her. How sweet is that…

How to reject the SnS sticker auntie

2009-09-13T16:59:00.004+08:00

The 'Shop N Save' supermarket chain in Singapore has this great savings programme - for every $15 spent at the outlets, you'd get 1 sticker, and you'd get $9 to use at the supermarket when you've collected 12 sticker stamps within the calendar month.

I remember a time when I'd look out for aunties to give my Shop N Save sticker to, because I knew I'd probably not be able to finish collecting all the stickers in time for the end of month redemption. That is, until a certain time I realised that there are now 'professional' sticker-collector-aunties waiting in right behind the cashier lines, specially targetted for your wanted or unwanted stickers. I meet them almost 24/7 - everytime I shop at the SnS outlet near my place - and it's getting a tad annoying.

So what do I do? Had been trying to be a bit more creative than nasty during these encounters, until I met one enterprising auntie who tried to befriend me at the tofu counter this afternoon.

Let's call her 'Auntie Tofu'. Auntie Tofu asked, "Missy ah, do you collect the stickers?"

"Yes," I replied. You could almost see that exhilarated glint in her eyes. And I caught that spark and continued excitedly, " Oh! You have stickers to give me?!?"

"Oh, I was only thinking of asking if you are participating in the collection only lah..." The traffic police could issue a ticket for how quickly Auntie Tofu fled from me...it was, like, a nanosecond?

Boy, I'm thinking of printing and donning a T-shirt declaring my stand each time I visit SnS outlets now. That is, until the time when the scheme's (and associated aunties) no longer there.

And there she goes again

2009-08-07T14:22:00.001+08:00

For the past few days we’d been quite flustered with the MOM officer’s message that we were supposed to pay the overstaying fine of $300 because this runaway maid has overstayed on Singapore soil. Apparently, the police did not charge her, and MOM said there was no proof that she had done anything wrong under the Penal Code.

We don’t intend to take all this nonsense hands down. However, before any side has taken any action…

I received a call from my maid agency yesterday, telling me they’d intend to repatriate this maid back to Indonesia that day, but our amazing friend has managed to run away from the agency’s boarding house.

Now we wonder. So we were supposed to forfeit the security bond of $5,000 because she went missing from our house, and then the embassy. Then she was found, and the $$ imposed is now changed to ‘overstaying fine’ on her which we had to pay, with whom we should have no relationship whatsoever, after she had unilaterally terminated our employment contract by running away. And now she has gone missing again when under custody of the maid agency, with no contact with us at all. Say if she were to be found again one year later, or 10 years later, are we still liable to pay for the x number of years of overstay she’d done?

I seriously doubt that the issue has been thought through thoroughly by the relevant officials. Someone will have to pay some fine for some anomalies, apparently, as the local system goes, and it’s not the policymakers/implementers’ business to care.

The Maid Saga Continues…

2009-08-03T21:46:00.001+08:00

Following the last piece of news that my former maid has run away from the Indonesian embassy after running away from my house one fine afternoon in June, there had been no news of her until last weekend.

I received a call from the Woodlands Police Centre informing me that she has been found. The police officer was rather concerned when he called me, and the first thing he asked me was whether I had forfeited the S$5,000 security bond. Incidentally, I had just drafted and sent an appeal to Ministry of Manpower 2 days before this. MOM was about to take action to demand my insurance company to pay out the sum of money.

Having treated my domestic worker rather well during her employment with us, I do not feel it is fair to me as an innocent employer, who has contributed little to this girl’s decision to venture off elsewhere, not fulfilling her obligations, leaving us worried, anxious, thrown into pandemonium, and still, ultimately, having to pay for what she has done on a whim, financially, emotionally, physically and psychologically. We had been victimized throughout this whole affair, and now I have to shell out more money to pay for someone else’s crime? This just doesn’t make sense.

This morning, I received a call from an officer from MOM, who has read my appeal email. She said I will have to pay up an overstaying fine on behalf of this maid. I think I almost lost it there. I referred her to the maid agency, which has undertaken to repatriate the girl, and would be liaising with the police. Why can’t the police charge her? She was found at the Woodlands checkpoint and detained by the police there. Isn’t this clearly indicative of her criminal intent? She wanted to cross over to JB. How she had survived for almost 2 months here in Singapore is a marvel, and we really wonder how much cash she may have pilfered from us, or she may have an accomplice, or found some other source of income somewhere, somehow.

Why should I, as a innocent employer with proper intention to hire a domestic helper, pay for an ill-intent this employee had? Just because the security bond says so? I believe the security bond was conceived to deter potential maid abusers so that they will have to pay for their wrong-doings when their domestic workers cannot tolerate further abuses. Then, where is the protection for good-intentioned employers? The average citizen who needed a little extra help at home, and has paid for such arrangement fairly?

This girl clearly is a criminal now. So if I will have to be responsible for her own wrongdoing, which I had no part of, i.e. pay overstaying fine or other what-have-you fines or charges for her when she’d decided to run away on her own agenda, does it mean I’ll have to pay bail for her if she were to kill someone, rob a bank, etc etc?

Sometimes I find government policy implementers ridiculous. Just like how we aren’t even allowed to drink any sip of water on MRTs these days. Singapore will probably be world-famous for yet another reason besides the chewing gum issue in time to come.

Free Flower

2009-06-20T17:01:00.001+08:00

I was browsing around in the Watsons shop located at the Toa Payoh HDB Hub and a tall young man dressed in a white suit just gave me a single pink flower on a long stalk. I stared suspiciously at him, and he understood my signal.

“It’s free. You don’t have to pay anything, and I’m also giving you this voucher for you to get a free pink pouch when you buy 2 packets of our product.”

Guess what’s the product he’s selling? It’s the Carefree pantiliners – new packaging, new look, new selling approach.

Then I was remarking to the cashier that it’s so funny that you’d get sweet young girls to sell stuff to men, and now a male to sell women’s stuff. She couldn’t restrain a giggle. What’s next? Intriguing.

Decepticon in the Car Park

2009-06-20T16:44:00.000+08:00

There’s been quite some Transformers fans dressing up their cars in the likes of their heros, and this one caught my attention on my way back to my car in the Toa Payoh Hub Car Park today.

Take a closer look. The red lights move along a horizontal panel outwards and then inwards again while the vehicle is parked there, much like the Knight Rider’s KITT. Cool.

Why, oh why?

2009-06-10T12:43:00.003+08:00

If you've seen my previous blog post, you'll know that my Indonesian domestic helper has run away from my house suddenly, brought 2 other runaway maids to the Indon embassy the next day, and then run away from the embassy 2 days later.

I did some simple searches on the web on found quite some 'horror' stories involving domestic helpers. Then, again, there will always be another camp of dissidents who are totally unsympathetic to victimized employers and these are usually the world most perfect employers with zilch real-life experience.

We've been wondering and wondering and this incident totally took over our idle thinking time. Why, oh why did she have to run away? This is one of the cute stuff which may provide the answer:

Notice the lower right hand corner, spelt out in big capitals: BORING. This kind of doodling turned up in some other random pieces of paper retrieved from her stuff left behind, but they weren't as cute as this page with the smileys all over.

Lest you think we've been cooping her up all day at home all this while, we've taken special planning to bring her on some recreational trips. Here are some pictures taken during our East Coast Parkway and Singapore Flyer outings.

Oh, if I might add: she'd ballooned up (gotten fat, lah!) quite a fair bit since she came 2.5 months ago.

And she'd scorched my favourite Esprit top, broken a few mops (with aluminium handle, we are really quite perplexed...like, how?), torn a curtain and a few other stuff around the house...and we hadn't even reprimanded her one bit, and attributed all that to her needing some learning and adaption. It was like, she informed us such and such thing was spoilt, and we'd utter, "Uh, ok. Can, thanks."

Or maybe the Singapore Flyer was so anti-climax it bored the hell out of her? One previous maid also quit right after we brought her on a Star cruise to Langkawi about 9 years ago. Seemed to us it isn't advisable to bring maids on holidays after all.

My Runaway Maid

2009-06-08T15:25:00.002+08:00

Ever seen or heard of the movie "Runaway Bride" played by Julia Roberts? She played a commitment-phobic bride who kept running away from the altar in the movie. I've actually yet to see it in the reel, but now I'm experiencing something similar in real life.

My new Indonesian maid came to work for us in late March, and her work has been quite good. We taught her the required duties and she had performed satisfactorily. We think we're rather reasonable employers - we don't need her to look after the children (we DIY or get grandparents' help usually), and she usually get all the time to herself after dinnertime, which seldom stretch beyond 8pm. I find this maid taking naps almost anytime in the day - randomly found her sleeping at 11am, 3pm, on different days, but we didn't quite mind, as long as most chores are done.

In order not to let her feel too lonely, we planned weekend trips, restaurant dinners, shopping trips with her, and even brought her to the Singapore Flyer just last Saturday. Nothing too exciting really, since the anticipation exceeded the experience quite a fair bit, but we hope she'd enjoyed it.

So imagine our shock when we came back home last Thursday at 6pm and found her missing. Here's a chronology of the events that happened since.

4 Jun 2009 4:40pm - Received call from maid asking whether to cook dinner.

4 Jun 2009 6:00pm - Returned home to find maid missing. Dinner materials all washed/chopped and left on kitchen counter. Main gate's remote control left in the letter box.

4 Jun 2009 7:00pm - Informed maid agency about missing maid.

4 Jun 2009 8:00pm - Lodged missing person report at our neighbourhood police post. Police office called all major hospitals to confirm no accidents were recorded with unknown runaway maid. The ordeal took almost 2 hours.

5 Jun 2009 4:10pm - Received call from maid agency informing that maid has gone to the Indonesian Embassy.

6 Jun 2009 10:00am - Packed maid's belongings and brought over to agency. Decided to hold on to the items and look for her at the embassy instead and try to talk her around to come back.

8 Jun 2009 10:00am - Queued for almost 1.5 hours at the Indonesian Embassy to speak to the consular officer who told us that she'd run away (again!) the previous day (i.e. 7 Jun).

According to the officer, our dear friend turned up at 11am on 5 Jun with 2 other Indon maids at the embassy, talked about returning to Malaysia during her brief stay there, and then decided to proceed on her journey on stealth mode just yesterday (7 Jun). The embassy had to wait for 24 hours to lapse before lodging a police report too. All this while, she'd been making her way around the island without her passport and work permit, and, heaven forbid, if she has cash on her, it'd be ill-begotten.

I hesitated to rummage through her things at first, since I was hoping she might still return, but later decided to just try to find any evidence of any reason she may have to do this. We found this un-dated letter she'd written, apparently to her family, and not sent out, which we brought to the maid agency to help us decipher.

In her letter, she revealed that she had run away from her previous employer in Malaysia too, and did not complete her 3-year contract then. She'd claim that she completed her contract with her Malaysian employer in her biodata. Can't blame anyone for that, really, as she hadn't come clean with her information, and if she had, who'd employ her? Even the Indonesian consular officer advised us not to hire her even if she comes back.

We think she must have been a highly accomplished apprentice of Mas Selamat, making her way off to the next mission...

Now, if only I can find someone to help do the dreaded chores...

Great Supper Sale? 宵夜大热卖？

2009-05-23T15:42:00.001+08:00

I was miffed when I saw these posters all over a 'THIS FASHION' shop in Kovan Heartland Mall today.
Question: Is this sale limited only to supper time?

You can have a super supper, but rarely is a sale limited to supper, especially during GSS.

今天逛街时看到这海报布满了一间服装店，让我不禁好奇：到底是新加坡‘超级大热卖’，还是‘宵夜大热卖’？真是耐人寻味。

TF is Swaveboarding! 廷丰玩浪板

2009-05-18T18:03:00.002+08:00

TF was in a swaveboarding frenzy, and he'd picked up the skill pretty quickly, notwithstanding the usual falls and bleeds. I think it's time to showcase his new-found skill here.

刚给廷丰买了个浪板，那是近来相当热门的新潮运动玩意儿。他很快就上脚（上手）了，当然少不了一般的战痕。我想是时候记在这里了。

Little Treats 生活小点

2009-05-15T02:18:00.003+08:00

TF came back from school a couple of days ago while I was at the study doing my online activities, as usual. He turned the chair the other way to face the wall away from me, and started to tell me about school.
廷丰前几天放学回家时，我象平时一样，在书房上网。他把椅子转了，背对我，面向墙壁，开腔了。

"Mummy ah, I got fourteen... and a half... upon... 100 for my Science Formative Test leh." What on earth is a formative test? I had been wondering that day he told me he was preparing for it.
“妈咪呀，我的Science Formative Test 得了...14.5分，总分...100分。” 鬼知道Formative Test 是何方神圣，到今天我还搞不清楚。

"Oh, that's nice." I said.
“哦，那好。”我应道。

He could barely contain his excitement much more. His impish smile gave it away.

So it was 14.5 for a 15-mark revision test paper. And the teacher gave him and some others who scored similarly well a sweet and a sticker for the achievement.
没几秒钟，他就忍不住在偷笑了。原来是总分15分的试卷，他得了14分半。老师就给几位考好的同学一粒糖果、一张贴纸作奖励。

Freak accident on Moulmein Road

2009-05-05T22:47:00.001+08:00

I'm surely into reporting freaks these days, though this one has been quite delayed.

If you'd been on the CTE going towards the city near the Balestier exit, or lamenting why there was such an atrocious jam along Moulmein Road and Balestier Road in the direction towards the city on that fateful evening on 25 April 2009, read on.

Traffic on the CTE expressway towards the city on Saturday evenings were usually bad only at the exits leading to Orchard Road, but that evening, we were going towards Moulmein Road, and got ourselves stuck in paste-thick traffic, inching forward slightly every few minutes. Couldn't even extricate ourselves from this.

The usual 3-lane traffic had to squeeze into one lane, and even that lane is moving superbly slow. It wasn't until we neared the choke point when we saw the police car straddled across the 2 left lanes.

What'd happened?

And then the bus that'd been obviously stuck together with us in the jam tried menacingly to squeeze in front of us. It must have been grossly behind schedule and worried about adding to the unfavourable statistics.

So now we have a better view.

Someone had driven the truck into the traffic light, and the whole structure lay across the main road, blocking off the usual traffic, and attracting 4-D/Toto subscribers at the same time. I wonder if the driver had a valid licence at all, but he'd sure gotten himself (and lots of other people) in a lot of trouble.

Freak storm in Singapore & the MET service

2009-04-23T12:20:00.008+08:00

Read about the freak storm wreaking havoc on the island late last night, and recalled hearing the howling winds and banging sounds just before retiring my flu-beaten body. Thank goodness we're safe and sound inside our sturdy houses - the children hardly knew about it. Luckily the rotten mango trees near our house has been taken care of just a couple of weeks earlier, or it would have fallen on something/somebody, and I'll have lots to lament on.

Surfed by the NEA's meterological service website - a whole labyrinth of links which does not give one a good gauge of whichever wealth of, or lack of, weather reports that is really important. This is in stark contrast to the HK Observatory website which is updated in real time in all 3 languages (English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese) and provides the really important stuff right there on the very first landing page. I use this website on a daily basis while in HK - it gives good information on weather, climate, typhoon warnings - much as many HK people complain about some inaccuracies occasionally, it has been a truly helpful website, and behind it, you can really appreciate the hard work put in by the meterologists and systems people, making timely updates a possibility.

Blame it on the serenity of the island's weather - we've never had tropical cyclones on a regular basis before, or maybe they all come by stealth mode - one 15-minute attack past the island and all you can do is reminisce about the transient episode.

Missed the days looking forward to experiencing the typhoons in HK and waiting for the signals to go up to No. 3 (when TW doesn't have to go to school) and No. 8, when it's a declared holiday for all schools and workplace. Generally the havoc wreaked hadn't really affected us much, being safely tucked away in the concrete jungle, and there are obstinate 70+ beings insisting on swimming in the rough seas when the No. 9 signal is hoisted, and children going out there to experience the No. 10 winds, captured on the news. We have gone through at least 4 typhoons in HK (kinda lost track of the total number), and appreciated the way the city is built to minimise damage during these times - carparks are usually built covered (in the basement or ground floor, with apartments built above), bushes and twiggly art ornaments are tied up before an impending storm, and all the TV stations will have clear warning signals all the time on most channels. But can't much about the signboards/billboards - they so characterise the city you just can't remove them overnight, or there just might be one less difference between HK & SG (notice our city, barren with signposts? Apparently, there are strict rules govening that.). Never mind about one signboard that had decided to dislodge and smash into a neighbouring apartment window in Quarry Bay during one typhoon episode just last June. We reckoned Spiderman can't visit HK too often either, given the risk of swinging into one every so often.

And about the rotten mango trees - that deserves another rampage post.

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TW is sick

2009-04-20T23:40:00.006+08:00

TW started having fever last evening. It started with some cranky behaviour during dinner, and she started having chills and weeped. At one time, she measured 39.1°C, so we promptly gave her medication.

She fell asleep pretty quickly at bedtime, so we didn't think much of it. After all, she hadn't been really very sick for the past year. We didn't have to worry about her having fever at all while in Hong Kong the whole year.

So the habitually nocturnal parents turned in at 1.30am.

2am. I was suddenly roused by hubby talking rather loudly to TW, and then making a dash to the bathroom. Instinctively cupped one hand at her mouth while supporting her body. Started to realise what's happening, and find my hand ridiculously small for holding whatever she's intending to fill it with. Realised no backup's gonna show up any split second soon. Left her on the bed to get 'ammunition'. Hubby came back to bring her to the bathroom to clean her up - vomitus all over the blankets and pillows, her pyjamas, her hair. I had apparently missed some earlier action.

I believe I have not attained the awakened state yet - tried to clean off the vomitus with wet tissues off the beddings. Hubby cocked his head and asked, perhaps we should change the bedsheet? Damn, yes. This sounds ridiculous.

Settled off to bed after a whirlwind of activities. TF slept through the whole affair, and lived to tell his tale the next day, about hearing me swear...oops...

4am. Heard some dreaded conversation between TW and hubby again. Not again?!? Pass motion. Oh, you've passed out already? No. I want to pass motion. She said surely and distinctly. Ok, off she got whisked to the bathroom again. I zonked out already, can't tell you what'd happened next.

So she stayed home today, and I had to pass up meeting 2 really nice friends I'd been looking forward to meet after a long time. We'll meet again, soon, I hope.

She's dozed off running another fever spike now. Cross fingers and hope there'll be less excitement tonight.

Some more HK Street Snacks 龟苓膏+西樵大饼

2009-03-30T01:43:00.003+08:00

I love that little shop along North Point just next to the old Sunbeam Theatre （新光戏院）, because we can get cheap and nice street snacks there anytime. We'd always get some small egg pancakes when we pass by the area, and this time, we added a couple more items.

每回到北角，总会到新光戏院旁的一间小食店买鸡蛋糕吃。这回又尝试一些其他的东西。

I have been having some mouth ulcers those days, and they just disappeared after one dose of this omnipotent eat-already-can-cure-any-problem jello snack. Miraculous.

那几天正好咀里有些口疮，吃完龟苓膏第二天，全都没了！太奇妙了。

又是一顿养颜润肺、经济实惠的美味点心。

The Xiqiao biscuit is famous for its large size. I had TW hold it so that the size is apparent. This snack originated from Foshan, and has had over 300 years' history as a Cantonese snack.

西樵大饼是出名的大。我让廷慧捧着作比较。这甜饼是源自佛山，拥有三百多年历史的广东点心。

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Scone memories 自制英式松饼

2009-03-29T21:27:00.005+08:00

I was in a bout of baking mood in those last few weeks just before saying good-bye to HK earlier this month, and was rather proud of the first batch of scones I've baked. Pumpkin scones they are, and I love the way they split in the middle - felt like small little beings bursting with laughter...

The final dough before shaping up for the oven.

离港前特爱烘培，第一次烘制一批英式松饼，觉得效果还不错。我特别喜欢这批南瓜松饼由中段崩开的样子，象是卡通小人物捧腹大笑的模样。

原料加入搅拌后，就搓成圆球状送入烘炉。

My jolly split scones 我的开心大笑小松饼

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Random 5 mins of joy

2009-03-28T21:14:00.001+08:00

TW has a boisterous, infectious laughter.

I looked up from my notebook to see why she's been moving back and forth right in front of the TV that's just been switched off, letting out her trademark hysterical peals of laughter in between. I had to move to a spot at right angles to her movements to see that she'd been amusing herself just by observing and feeling her fringe (hair) stick to the TV screen because of the static electricity. Her brother joined in the fun and the duo had a good full 5 minutes of laughing fits.

Hubby Q

2009-03-28T01:43:00.002+08:00

Introducing - my adorable husband, aka Hubby Q in some posts. We've just survived our 11th (!) wedding anniversary in HK on Valentine's Day. Thanks to his humourous nature, the atmosphere is always lighter at home with him around, though his idea of celebrating our 10th long years together was spending this one year in Hong Kong...

I chose this picture for this post because (i) he's shy, so covering half the face doesn't 'expose' him too much (ii) no prizes for guessing what he does to support us, coz this pic shows him actually in action (iii) kiddos and me think he looked really macho in this pic.

Giving away free stuff

2009-03-18T15:26:00.003+08:00

Quite a lot of dumping to do these days. We had to dump things before moving out of our apartment in Hong Kong, then back home in Singapore, there has been loads of stuff screaming up to us once we're back.

Then there are stuff to give away. So while searching for channels to dispose of some bigger items we thought were too good to be just destroyed forever, I stumbled upon this Yahoo Groups website that allows group members to post things they'd like to give away, as well as things on their wishlist. Reasonable ones, of course.

I started with my 20-inch Philips colour TV. It's in perfect working order, and had served us well faithfully for the past 10 years. I had 30 over responses overnight.

Then I found some maternity clothes I'd stashed up, listed them and put up on the groups website. 20 over responses.

Next, I fished out my old packed-away Hewlett Packard iPAQ which I'd retired after getting my then-prized Dopod 838Pro back in end-2006. 110+ responses in 24 hours and still counting...

Had a hard time screening through the emails screaming for my attention for my 'kind' offers. Tried to choose people whom I think may benefit most and for good causes. I do suspect some responders may be just looking for free stuff to sell elsewhere and earn quick bucks, at my expense, but, what the heck, as long as my true intentions were genuine, it's up to the recipient to do as it was intended.

If you're interested in this online group too, do go check it out! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SgFreecycle/

Breakfast

2009-03-02T01:06:00.002+08:00

I was in a mood to finish up the foodstuff at home, so I've been cooking and baking a little more than usual. This was what I made for breakfast for my darlings:

Sinful stuff...

Somehow, the self-mixed pancakes browned more easily than pre-mixes, but my 'customers' couldn't tell the difference. And the oven here is slightly more eccentric than the one I have at home in Singapore, because the heat is measured in Watts! Haven't really found a direct conversion table to convert that to any handy unit, so I went through the process by feel.

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Farewell makans

2009-02-22T00:34:00.002+08:00

This week had been peppered with farewell dinners for Hubby Q, but we were so lucky to be included in the guest list. So it has been a 1-plus-3 situation for both dinners on Wednesday and Friday.

Hubby's 'boss' here in HK gave a grand buffet spread for us at the newly opened Hyatt Shatin, which is located right next to the Chinese University of Hong Kong. It was a sumptuous selection with the usual Western and Chinese delicacies - oysters, crabs, sashimi, sushi, pizzas, lasagnas, fish ball and Wan Ton noodles, not forgeting the fresh fruits, yummy cakes, freshly prepared waffles and a selection of 6 ice-cream flavours plus cones to go with. The hotel itself was just open for one week at the time of our visit. Yep, the furniture and flooring gleamed and the whole place glistened like diamonds in the Orient... maybe we could suggest they should add a chocolate fondue corner, a rather popular buffet item these days in Singapore... quite sure they must have it somewhere in HK too. Oh, and the service was impeccable...the service personnel sensed that we spoke English and switched to that language quite comfortably, giving our specific needs really close attention.

After their palates and curiosity were satisfied, my kiddos decided to dwell in some mischief, unfortunately - my boy happened to stand up from a squatting position on the common path a feet away from the table, but instead of just standing up from his spot, he moved rather quickly obliquely, and into the path of one young waiter going forward to the other tables with a serving tray in one hand. He gave a swift twist, steadied his tray with the other hand, and moved on without missing a beat. I watched the action with bated breath. Thank God, disaster averted. That wondrous chap must have mastered Qing Gong （轻功） somewhere...

Just last night, we met hubby's other group of colleagues in Ma On Shan （马鞍山） and had another round of sumptious steamboat dinner. Hubby got me to prepare some home-made cookies, individually packed, and gave each pack, together with some mementos from Singapore to the sweet ladies who brought us all out to dinner, towards the end of the evening. One of the ladies was so gratified she shed tears...oh, how adorable hubby must have been to garner such emotions!

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Roasted Goose Dinner 烧鹅

2009-02-17T11:30:00.003+08:00

We've been hearing about the famous roasted goose meat from Shatin since time immemorial, and dining at the roasted goose meat restaurant was one item on our HK checklist. There is this restaurant Hubby Q would pass by on the MTR on his way to work every day, and we decided we'd go to join him there this last Monday after work for dinner. I brought the kids out early to wait for him at the Tai Wai Station. They were so excited (yes, just meeting daddy outside) I had to make them hug the pole so that they don't bump into people in the spacious concourse.
不知打从何时就听闻沙田烧鹅比，而老公每日上班途中总会在铁路上经过大围一家烧鹅餐馆。我们就乘在香港的最后数日去尝尝。星期一我带着小朋友到大围东铁站和老公会合。小朋友们兴奋得在车站内乱跑，我只好就让他们去抱柱子了。

It was a short walk from the Tai Wai East Rail MTR Station, and the shopfront is impressive.
从大围地铁站行走一小段路，店面可是蛮可观的。

However, the food is really so-so, I think the usual roasted duck we get from the Singapore hawker centre was better and healthier. You can see the remnant fats and oils on the plate in the last picture below.
很可惜，事物不怎么样。觉得新加坡小贩中心的烧鸭都比这儿的美味、健康。可以在下面最后一张照片中看到那鹅有多肥。

We did not order much food, and bill came up to HKD$353. Not too fantastic. Sorry to disappoint, but worth mentioning that we won't be re-visiting.
没叫多少菜式，埋单港币353。应该不会再光顾了。

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Trashed Hearts 粉碎了的玻璃心

2009-02-16T21:00:00.008+08:00

On Valentine's Day evening, we sent my parents off at the airport and then took a quick fast-food dinner before heading home on the AirBus, which brought us almost straight to the doorstep right in front of Cityplaza.
情人节傍晚，我们到机场送我爸妈的飞机，就在机场吃快餐解决完饭，搭‘空中巴士’回家，路经太古城。

While walking past a cleaner lady clearing the shiny trash bin next to the escalators, we noticed her examining a huge bouquet of pink flowers which she obviously has retrieved from the dump, hesitating what to do with it. The bouquet was attention grabbing - measuring about half a metre in length and almost as wide. The pink flowers were large and tastefully arranged.
走过一位情节女工，正在清理电动扶梯旁的垃圾桶，注意到她正看着手中的一大束粉红色的花，包装精美，整半米长。很明显是在垃圾桶那儿发现的。

Oh, boy. Someone's heart has been broken to pieces ... and trashed...
又是谁的玻璃心被敲碎了呢？真伤感...

How was your Valentine's Day?
你的情人节又是怎么样的呢？

Mixed signals

2009-02-15T01:03:00.002+08:00

Seen on the MTR on 14 Feb 08 somewhere in Hong Kong

Observation:
Snow boots = cold
Hot shorts = well, hot

Doesn't that send a contradictory message? This usually happens exclusively in the female species. Only the feet require more weather protection than the legs. As well as anywhere else of the body. The 玉腿s are meant to fend for themselves.

Courier Service on the cheap 廉价速号

2009-02-13T11:57:00.003+08:00

I was travelling on the MTR one weekday and saw someone dragging this trolley onto the train, fall asleep during a one-station ride (cross-harbour, though, from Kowloon island to HK island), then wake up to drag the trolley up escalators, knocking heavily on the escalator steps with the trolley. Probably that's the way to cut costs and provide courier services on the cheap.

有一天我从九龙区乘地铁过海到香港岛时，看见这位仁兄拖着这手推车上下电动扶手梯，不顾手推车大声碰撞电梯，然后上了列车，睡了一站（由九龙到香港岛的一段较长的路程），醒来又继续拖着推车到处碰撞。经济不经，也许就是这样保持廉价服务吧！

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Poo-poo story 大便的故事

2009-02-11T13:28:00.002+08:00

Teng Wai usually has no problem clearing her bowels every day at bath time, but I think she must be quite excited while staying at grandma's place for the night, and started to give reasons for not passing out the usual bulk.

She reiterated the list of items she'd consumed earlier in the day:

"Mummy, I think the egg yellow and egg white and mamee (dried noodles) and chocolate and rice and sweets decided to come out tomorrow. They are not coming out today."
"Egg yolk, you mean?" I offered.
"Yeah, egg yolk and egg white."

And then she concentrates, and out came a little blop.

"Oh, the egg yolk and egg white decided to come out today. The others decide to come out tomorrow...I'm sure they're not coming out today. Pleeeeeassssse!!! Can you shower me now?"

廷慧每天洗澡之前都会通便，一向都没多大问题。昨晚在外婆处过夜，想必是想缩短如厕时间，借故快点开溜。

她开始讲述一天来吃过了的东西：

“妈咪，我想那蛋黄和蛋白、干面、巧克力、饭和糖果都决定明天才出来了。他们今天不出来了。”

然后她的小脸蛋一阵严肃，马桶出现一小块粪便。

“哦，那蛋黄和蛋白决定今天出来。其他的还是决定明天才出来。我很肯定他们今天不出来了。请你现在给我洗澡，好吗？”

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TF wins a prize 廷丰赢奖了

2009-02-05T17:26:00.004+08:00

TF came home with a ToysRUs-wrapped toy this afternoon, and proudly announced that he'd been awarded this prize for being in 1st place for a Brainteaser quiz held some time ago in school. This was a school-wide quiz for all Primary 3 and 4 pupils. It is a Rubik's Snake Twist from ToysRUs, something he'd been eyeing for some time already, so it is really a timely win.

So TF has had some achievement since coming to SIS(HK). He joined the school on 28 April 2008 in the final term (Term 4), coming after his first term of Primary 3 in his primary school back in Singapore, and sat for the final exams of Primary 3 in early June. Yeah, you've read right - he missed TWO terms in between. Not only did he pass the finals for P3, he'd also achieved the best score for the Maths final exam paper in his class. It was a pity it was an unrecorded achievement, as he was not in school in the earlier terms to complete the whole year's records.

Time for a celebration - dinner out tonight...no need to suffer mum's (yours truly) cooking :P

廷丰今天下午放学回家时带着一包‘玩具反斗城’包装的玩具，原来是在学校举办的小三和小四脑筋智力赛中，获得了第一名。奖品是玩具反斗城的Rubik's Snake Twist，而且还是他曾很想要的玩具，所以真是很及时。

自从廷丰去年在新加坡的小学读完小三第一学期后，我们来到了香港，就在4月28日开始在香港的新加坡国际学校就读三年级的第四学期，6月初就参加年终考试。我们捏了一把冷汗，就在一个月内赶完整年的课程。结果不仅过关，他的数学还考得全班第一。只可惜因为他是插班生，所以没有整年的学业记录记入成绩单里。

今晚我们就出外吃完饭庆祝，不必忍耐妈妈（在下）煮的粗茶淡饭了...

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My Mum on Facebook?

2009-02-03T22:55:00.003+08:00

My mum's finally coming to visit us in Hong Kong this week, towards the end of our year-long 'exodus' from Singapore. So the hotlines went abuzz: my brother ICQ-ed me, Dad Skyped me messages, and then Mum called on fixed line this morning. And I was told I was 3rd in the line of her planned calls, after an aunt in Indonesia, another aunt in Taiwan, and she'll be going on to another aunt in Hong Kong, and then another... just to keep everyone in the loop.

I imagined what it'll be like if all of them were to be on Facebook.

Reddie's Mum is going to Hong Kong.
Aunt #1 commented: Oh, when are you going?
Aunt #2 commented: So you're finally going to see your grandchildren?
Aunt #3 commented: Remember to bring back some melon seeds from xx (exotic dunno-wat-king shop in xx (some secluded-faraway-tucked-away-corner) of HK.
Aunt #4 commented: I thought you were in HK all this time? Isn't it freezing cold now? Why don't you just wait for them to go back?
Reddie commented: This is a recorded message. Please leave your message after the beep.

Wouldn't it be wonderful? Then she'll only have to explain anything and everything once - saves lots of time and long-distance call charges.

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TW's last day of school

2009-02-02T01:53:00.002+08:00

TW's last day of school in HK was on 22 Jan 09, which happened to be the school's Chinese New Year celebration. All the children were encouraged to dress in traditional costumes, and they did come in various colourful Chinese ethnic costumes. I let her have a bit more fun with her friends at the playground next to her school where she'd usually 'hang out' while I 'hang about' after school. After all, it's her last day of school that day. TF was having some fun testing out his experimental paper planes in various designs, and the younger boys were imitating him, folding rather simpler ones, so I encouraged him to help fold nicer ones for TW's 2 boy classmates.

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Imaginary Playground Adventure 游乐场幻想乐

2009-02-01T15:49:00.003+08:00

Both the kids were having their 2-week Chinese New Year break from school, and had been aching to go down to the various playgrounds available within walking distance from our flat. I'd been feeling rather under the weather just last Friday, and was quite reluctant to brave the cold weather with them.

After some attempts, TW seemed to have given up pleading. I turned around to find her face-down on the wooden floor, motionless, yet with a smile on her face.

"What are you doing on the floor, my princess?"

TF started 'waking' her up, calling to her.

"I'm down at the playground - my spirit left my body, and I'm playing at the playground already. Now you've called me back up to my body." TW explained matter-of-factly.

Ok, I get the message.

小朋友们正放两星期的农历新年假期，成天烦着要我带他们到附近的游乐场玩。上星期五我稍感不适，很不想到楼下去受冻。

廷慧等我睡醒后，问了几次，放弃了，不一会儿，就看到她面朝下，趴在地上，一动也不动。脸上却挂着奇怪的笑容。

我问：小宝贝，你为什么趴在地上？

廷丰上前"叫醒"她。

廷慧很理所当然地说：我在游乐场玩呀！我的灵魂离开身体，下了楼到游乐场玩去了。你现在把我的灵魂叫了上来，回到了我的身体。

真拿她没办法...怕了她了...

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HK CNY Bazaar 香港年宵市场

2009-01-25T13:38:00.002+08:00

We went to the Chinese New Year Night Market at the Victoria Park, Causeway Bay on Friday night, and it was a real bump-to-bump experience we haven't had in years! There are lots of cute stuff on sale, mostly giant versions of everyday stuff - giant turd cushions, Ferrero Rocher, egg cookies, milk cartons - mega versions of them all, and of course, the usual street snacks that are sold at twice their usual price, as well as pricey and that awful single flavour pearl tea...

Our catch of the day? A helium-filled helical balloon and hand-launched parachuters for TF, and a cute little pink round donut cushion for TW.

我们前晚到铜锣湾维多利亚公园逛/见识了香港的年宵市场。一片人海，简直水泄不通，真吓人！市场中很多有趣的商品，多数是超大型的日常事物：象金沙巧克力、鸡蛋糕、牛奶盒和用来扔曾荫权的巨型香蕉。当然还有平时的街头小食，只是在这儿卖得一倍的价钱，和那平淡无弹性的珍珠奶茶。

我们又买了什么呢？一个螺旋形的氢气气球，和手握式降落伞玩具给廷丰，廷慧却挑了个可爱的小救生圈。

[How to get there] Alight and follow the signs (and crowd) at Tin Hau MTR Station. Expect crowds, and stay cool, but keep warm!
【怎么去】在天后地铁站下车，跟着人潮和指示牌漫步。轻松心情不可少！

The 10 Anomalies of Shanxi 陕西十大怪

2009-01-20T23:33:00.010+08:00

Have you heard of the famous 10 anomalies of the Shanxi province in China? So it was claimed that the Shandong province has another 3 anomalies. Maybe these are the main selling points that characterise each province, just like special products you can find from some provinces. Perhaps we can draw a collateral with Singapore's 3K's (kiasu, kiasi, kiabo), or should it be the fictitous Merlion that symbolises the country? Well, then, the 10 Anomalies that the Shanxi people are proud of are displayed at most tourist spots, and these pictures we caught are at the foot of Mount Hua, which, of course, is in the Shanxi province. Sounds familiar? Yes, it's the Huashan mentioned in the numerous HK pugilistic / martial arts period dramas.

听过陕西省的陕西十大怪吗？原来山东省也有山东三大怪。也许这些就是各省的卖点，就像各省的特产。这可跟新加坡男人的“三大怕”（怕输、怕死、怕老婆）相比吗？又或者是那代表着狮城的虚构吉祥物：鱼尾狮？相片中的陕西十大怪的牌子就是在华山山脚索道旁摄的。华山，当然就是在陕西省喽！不就是《华山论剑》的华山嘛！

1st Anomaly 第一怪 - noodles are as thick as belts 面条象裤带
2nd Anomaly 第二怪 - biscuits are as large as wok covers 锅盔象锅盖
3rd Anomaly 第三怪 - chillis are the main dish 辣子是主菜
4th Anomaly 第四怪 - bowls are as large as basins 碗盆难分开
5th Anomaly 第五怪- old ladies use handkerchiefs as headdress 手帕头上戴
6th Anomaly 第六怪 - houses look like they're built on one side [save materials, cool in summer, warm in winter, good Fengshui) 房子半边盖
7th Anomaly 第七怪 - Shanxi ladies don't marry people from other provinces 姑娘不嫁外
8th Anomaly 第八怪 - people prefer to squat on seats 不坐蹲起来
9th Anomaly 第九怪 - people prefer to use bricks as pillows 睡觉枕砖块
10th Anomaly 第十怪 - people prefer thunderous opera singers 唱戏吼起来

All the phrases consists of 5 Chinese characters only, and they rhyme flawlessly, with a '-ai' sound on every last word. Gotta give it to the people/person who came up with this cute poem-like slogan.

十大怪的十句念起来象是五绝诗，而每一句的最后一个字都是押韵的。真佩服想出这‘宣传诗’的人！

气温

2009-01-18T02:37:00.001+08:00

刚刚这星期领教了香港的冬季，气温介于9至14度之间。今天才刚放缓，觉得较暖和了。

晚上小朋友入眠后，觉得蛮热的，原来已达17度。廷慧闷得哭着踢被。我抱起了她，开开窗，通通风，感觉就像是开了冷气似的。外套也就除下了。

不一会儿，又觉得开始冷了。查看天文台，原来温度已降至16度。我们也开始穿上外套。难道一度的差别就这么大吗？太奇怪了。

刚有个美国网友说她那儿的温度近来都是保持零下，想想都发毛。多伦多早些时候还大停电。希望不会有太大伤害。昨天发生事故的美国客机蛮轰动的，机长品着高超的技术、冷静的思考，救了一百五十多人，顿时成了名人。想必在水上救援搭客时，也是凌风彻骨的吧！

奇怪那零下温度的气候下，那水为什么没结冰呢？

A Visit to Drawing Out Conversations: HK Leg 参观《对画：香港角》

2009-01-15T01:15:00.017+08:00

Ling Nah is my varsity pharmacy classmate in NUS who had ventured into Art, having found her higher calling in life. She specialises in charcoal drawing, draws life-size drawings in exhibition halls, and won numerous awards for her work in this area. Read about her and see her work at her website, and be impressed...

So when she invited me to see the exhibition Drawing Out Conversations that was to be held in Singapore last year (2008), I was rather disappointed as I wouldn't be able to make it there. Never mind, she said, she'll probably be bringing it over to HK the following year. Wow, I will attend it if it really comes, and so I did, when she told me it would open last Saturday, 10 Jan 2009, at Fo Tan, in the New Territories. TF would be having his mid-year exams this week, so hubby stayed home with him, and I brought TW along.

It was a long MTR ride from Tai Koo to Shatin, and then we took the Green Minibus no. 60K to the Wah Luen Industrial Centre where the exhibition studio is. Well it is somewhere I've not set foot on in HK before, and quite an eye-opening experience it was.

Ling Nah's works were displayed in a filing cabinet. Her charcoal drawings were really impressive, but unlike the previous exhibition I saw in Singapore where her works were displayed in full scale on the walls of the hall, it is rather difficult to appreciate it in its full glory. However, we get to see some work-in-progress plans and notes that glimpses into how she plans her masterpieces.

Then comes the unexpected Godzilla attack!

And the tools of art becoming the subject of art itself.

Then comes my personal favourite - the pencil art drawn by a young accomplished Singaporean artist, Genevieve Chua. TW had a real long chat with her up at the studio owner's living quarters, and promptly declared her as her new friend, all the while I was catching up with Ling Nah & understanding more about the exhibited works.

One other highlight is the Performing Art photography which featured the artist himself. I could see the old person's skin, sepia feel, broken feathers, and electrical wires wound tight round the artist's leg. Grey, depressive, smells of forlorn and death. I seem to feel the atmosphere turn even colder than the 12°C it should be as I'm writing this now.

The event will be held on this weekend, and you can also read more about it and see the numerous pictures at the Facebook event website.

Our pictures & videos

2009-01-15T00:37:00.002+08:00

Here's an updated list of our media collection:

Hubby Q's selected photos: http://quanchan.shutterfly.com

Reddie's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=janechansh

Reddie's Picasa photo album, where I keep most of my blog photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/reddiechan

Reddie's Flickr photo album, where I keep my earlier pre-blog photos. Still contemplating whether to upgrade my account...: http://www.flickr.com/janechansh/

Spending winter in Hong Kong 在香港过冬

2009-01-09T12:59:00.002+08:00

Having stayed in Singapore where it's sunny all year round, I'd been pretty apprehensive when we decided to move to HK for one year. I'd even told my husband I may just escape from the bitter cold with the children when the weather gets too unbearable. Of course, HK isn't the coldest place on this planet, but, cold enough to make some adjustments.
当我们决定在香港呆一年时，我最怕的就是冬天的时候。因为新加坡常年是夏，最低温度也只不过是办公室里的摄氏18度，我一直想着随时可能会‘弃寒（暗）投暖（明）’，带着孩子们先逃离，回到温暖的狮城。当然，香港并不是最冷的地方，只是还冷得须要些生活调整。

The HK Observatory forecasted that this week will be a really cold week, with temperatures dipping down to 9°C today.
天文台预测这星期将会特别寒冷，温度降至摄氏9度。

The general temperature right now is 14°C, which is actually quite bearable. And TW is on her way to her afternoon kindergarten session, which will be holding a birthday party for the birthday boys and girls for January, and she'll be one of the stars today! She's estactic.
现在温度是摄氏14度，其实也好好。廷慧正准备上幼稚园，今天下午他们将举行生日庆祝会，为一月出生的小朋友庆祝生日。廷慧将会是其中之一，她还很兴奋呢！

Merry Christmas! 圣诞快乐！

2008-12-25T01:10:00.002+08:00

Here's wishing everyone out there who reads my blog a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2009, and thank you for coming round to read my babbling!

我在此祝愿各位来浏览我的网志的朋友，希望你们过个愉快的圣诞佳节，2009年里事事顺意！谢谢你抽空来‘帮衬’我！

We'll be going to Shenzhen's new tourist spot - Interlaken OCT and some other fun places, this time on a package tour with the China Travel Services. We'd tried going into Shenzhen just earlier this year in April and had quite some unpleasant experiences then, though all survived to tell the tale :) To make a long story short, my mobile phone was stolen from my jeans' back pocket on our way back to LuoHu on the Shenzhen metro. So we're going to tie everything to us real tight this time round, and cross our fingers and hope for the best.

我们明天一家会随中国旅行社的团到深圳的最in旅游点 - 东部华侨城。很想看看国产大峡谷和翻版瑞士因特拉根小镇的风采。这次学乖了，决定跟旅行团去，因为上回四月份自行乘地铁去深圳时，遇到好些不愉快的事。还好都安然无恙！其中最刻骨铭心的就是搭深圳地铁返回罗湖途中，我的手机从裤袋被偷，而且是正中匪徒声东击西的老掉牙手段！我们这次当然会更小心，就不知还会发生什么事？

Gonna wake up at 5am later to catch the coach ride... ciao!

明早还要五点起来到红勘赶搭旅行车，就到此为止了！bb!

Busy Wanchai overhead bridge

2008-12-23T01:12:00.003+08:00

Audacious anti-China govt posters seen along the overhead bridge linking the Wanchai MTR station to major buildings in Wanchai (HK Immigration Tower, BOC Building, HKCEC, Bauhinia Square). Pedestrians get waylaid by a myriad selection of leaflets & promoters & fitness buffs peddling/jogging desperately in the multi-level fitness centre right alongside the bridge. Getting excited/inspired? The boys are ready get your name down & offer you a trial session anytime, right there on the bridge.

Popular Book Fair in HKCEC 大众书展于香港会议展览中心

2008-12-23T00:47:00.002+08:00

Book Fairs organised by Popular Bookstores are almost a staple annual affair in Singapore, and here in Hong Kong, it is Popular's first BookFest, as it is called. The event is held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in Wanchai, the centre of bustling activities, well-populated with high-class hotels, ferry terminal (for ferries from Tsimshatsui & Hung Hom), MTR (Wanchai, Island Line), and right next to the Bauhinia Square, the location of the HK 1Jul1997 Handover Commemoration.
在新加坡，每年年底都会有个大众书展。在香港，今年是头一遭。书展地点在湾仔的香港会议展览中心，就在金紫荆广场旁边。位于繁华的都市，周遭是高级旅店、渡轮码头（来往尖沙咀和红勘）和港岛线湾仔地铁站。

The Convention Centre is humongous - there's an original building right next to the Golden Bauhinia by the seaside was built on reclaimed land, and a second phase built on an artificial island (see pic below).
展览中心大极了 - 金紫荆广场旁的原址就靠海边，就建在填海的土地上，第二阶段则是建筑在人工岛上（见下图）。

We were given a promotional pamphlet and free tickets for a family of 3 (2 adults + 1 child) only, so we had to buy a HKD$10 ticket for our 2nd child. Those tickets were given to us for participating in a book donation drive organised through Teng Wai's school, and Teng Wai decided she'd part with her Chinese Belle (Beauty & the Beast) book. As for why a set of family tickets provides only for 1 child - I'm perplexed too, but that seems to be the norm for young HK families. I don't remember paying for admission to the Singapore Book Fairs, but this one is payable. Hardly an incentive for the current economic situation.
我们参加了廷慧学校的捐书活动（廷慧毫不犹豫地送出她的中文贝儿故事书），就获赠书展的宣传单和一家人的入场券（2大人+1小孩），所以我们得为第二个小孩买张十元的儿童票。至于为什么一家人的票不是2大2小，我也觉得很奇怪。却注意到街上很多年轻的香港夫妇大都带着一个小孩。我到新加坡的书展没印象有付过门票，但这个展览却是须付门票的。要不是想看看这展览馆，顺便看看书展，我才不要来呢！

Inside the exhibition hall, there are sections of English & Chinese books, adult & children books, toys, souvenirs, and 2 rows of cashiers. We notice that the cashiers next to the Chinese books tend have longer queues than the English books' side. Actually hardly populated at all.
展览厅内分不同部门，有中英文书籍、大人与小人书、玩具、纪念品，和两排收银柜台。我们注意到中文书籍旁的收银处的‘生意’比英文部的好得多。

Teng Foong & Teng Wai seemed to be rather obsessed with that hi-tech i-pen, and it's price is amazingly much cheaper that the one sold in Popular Singapore (I've been eyeing it for some time already), so we decided to buy the Oregon gadget together with an English/Cantonese/Mandarin Picture Dictionary, so that Teng Wai can continue learning Cantonese when we get back good ole' Singapore.
廷丰廷慧都蛮喜欢玩个新型高科技的i-pen，而这神奇笔在香港的价格要比新加坡大众书局卖的便宜得多（其实我已注意多时），所以我们就连同一本英文/广东/普通话的i-pen幼儿图画字典一起买下。新加坡可是买不到的喔！

For the record, we bought the i-pen here at HKD$180 (2nd pen would cost $140), and the online price on Popular Singapore website is SGD$59 (approx HKD$300), last checked 20Dec2008. The promoter was trying to get us to buy a 2nd pen for Teng Foong, but thankfully, he doesn't need the pen already, and has long progressed to thicker books than the range available. That night, the whole family had a fun time pointing the pen at all imaginable areas of the book to test it out.
i-pen在香港的售价是港币180蚊（第二支就140蚊），回家查看新加坡大众网上价格还是新币59元（约港币300）。推销员想推荐我们买两支给两兄妹用，才惊叹哥哥已不需要科技帮助，能自行阅读更深的英文书籍。是晚，全家人就玩这新玩意儿，整本书乱点，玩得不亦乐乎！

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Xmas @ Cityplaza 太古城的圣诞装饰

2008-12-13T23:50:00.002+08:00

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4-year-old homework logic 奇怪的字母

2008-12-13T23:42:00.002+08:00

TW has writing homework everyday, and I was quite alarmed to see that her alphabet homework was done in this fashion, and promptly set about to erase and instruct her to write her alphabets in the correct order. She maintained that the order is correct, and so were the alphabets that were flipped over, because they're supposed to follow the sequence.

廷慧在幼稚园每天都有写字的作业。当我检查她的功课时，赫然发现第二和第四行的字母都反转了，急忙要她改正。她却理直气壮地说她的写法是对的。她是按字母的排列法而反转地写了那些字母。你能看得出个道理来吗？

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Orange Skin Boats 橙皮小船

2008-12-08T01:41:00.003+08:00

TW asked me to cut an orange for her this afternoon, and told me to cut it in a particular way so that she could avoid the bitter pith. Thereafter, she decided to do some enhancements to the leftover skins while I busied myself with ironing the weekend laundry.

今天下午廷慧跟我要求要吃橙，还交代我要如何切橙。切完后我就继续忙我的家务事，而她吃完橙后却另有打算。

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Happy Darlings 快乐小天使

2008-12-08T01:22:00.004+08:00

We went to the Paradise Mall for dinner again tonight. It's a mall right next to the Heng Fa Chuen MTR station, the 2nd last station along the HK Island Line, somewhere we've accidentally discovered, and loved going to for a peaceful evening, away from the hustle of the larger mall (Cityplaza) - incidentally, the one we stay nearest to. People are perpetually flocking there (Taikooshing), and you can find nonsensically long queues outside popular eateries, even Pizza Hut and MacDonald's. Here at Paradise Mall, we get to sit and eat whenever we choose, and we'd never had to jostle with the crowds. Bad for business for the mall, I know, but we are the crowd-avoider type. It's almost really paradise-like, to us.

我们今晚又到了杏花村吃完饭。到这广场很方便，就在港岛线柴湾方向的最后第二站。我们是无意中发现这个地方，并马上爱上它那种世外桃源的感觉。当太古城挤得让人透不过气时，我们就到这儿‘远离世俗’，清静地吃顿饭、过个悠闲的晚上。

Today, the children get to play with the Nutcracker soldier - a Christmas prop, which has a lever behind the life-sized toy soldier to open and close the nutcracker mouth!

今晚，小朋友们有得玩一些圣诞装璜，就像照片中的玩具士兵。

Some pictures we took during our first visit to Paradise 8 months earlier - this is a main feature in the basement alley where the restaurants are located - a magical fountain with lovely sculptures. The children had to join hands so that they can link with the two copper baby angel statues in the picture to hear the music.

我们第一次来到‘世外桃源’是在今年四月中旬。这广场的底层就是食街，装璜采用古典希腊式主题。下面是当时两兄妹联手同时碰触两个小小铜铸天使的指头。只要一通过人体导电，就会有音乐开始播放。多奇妙！

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TF off to camp! 廷丰去露营！

2008-12-04T19:48:00.005+08:00

SIS has an annual camp for the older students, and all the P4 students are having a camp in Sai Kung today, for one day. TF had been looking forward to this day for quite some time - to be away from squabbling with TW, to have more time to play with his peers, and enjoy just being somewhere else. We hope he'll be enjoying himself thoroughly, and will look forward to see him again tomorrow.

新加坡国际学校一年一度的露营项目终于到了。所有小四的学生今天一同到香港西贡去露营。说是露营，却不是搭营帐、露宿草地的。你看他那兴奋的模样！难得一天不用和妹妹怄气，太开心了！希望他玩得开心，明天安全回家。

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Choc Chip Cookies

2008-11-23T17:05:00.002+08:00

Found a really simple chocolate chip cookies recipe somewhere and decided to make some for my darlings. Yes, left my baking tools back in SGP and could not resist buying a few tools. It turned out really quite well. And it's gone really quickly, too!

150g butter (accidentally bought unsalted)

1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup dark choc bits

The usual cookie baking instructions - cream sugars & butter, add egg & vanilla. Fold in flour and choc bits, then bake for about 15min at 170 deg C.

Will probably try another one with slightly more chocolately variation another time.

Who's/What's Disabled?

2008-11-23T01:11:00.000+08:00

My boy asked me what is the meaning of this:

Who or what's disabled? The person or the toilet?

More Sheung Wan Sights - Playground, temples & Western Market 上环游乐场、庙、西环市场

2008-11-21T23:19:00.019+08:00

To retrace our footsteps a little - we took the MTR to Sheung Wan Station, trekked up through Wing Lok Street to Hollywood Road where the Antiques Street is, went up the Ladder Street, got fumed over at the Man Mo Temple, then stopped over at the HK Museum of Medical Sciences. Then the children caught sounds of delight that boosted their spirits quite a few notches... the Playground!!
上回提到我们由上环地铁站，经永乐街上古董街、楼梯街，拜会文武庙，到达医学博物馆。由博物馆出来，很快就听到儿童嬉戏的笑声，原来是个游乐场。

Introducing the Caine Lane Garden. T'was a lovely place, and it was the first time I saw 3 parallel slides coming down from different heights, and an interesting see-saw that isn't the usual single beam type, but the swinging partner is actually one sitting diagonally opposite. Then there was an ang-moh daddy letting his baby boy go head-first down one of the slides, while firming grasping the toddler's legs. I could imagine getting lambasted (by everybody & anybody) if I were to do such a thing to my children, you know, the usual people who couldn't keep their comments & instructions & spittle to themselves.
这里是坚巷花园，设施新颖特别，小朋友们玩的不亦乐乎。

See what I mean? 这儿的秋千设计是头一次见识。

On the way back down to the city centre, there are temples along the way - Tai Sui Temple & Ji Gong Temple. 下山路上有观音堂、太岁庙、济公庙。

And some glam fetish shoe shop. 还有古怪的名贵鞋店。

We had our dinner at the typical noodle shop... 我们随便在一间普通粥面店解决了晚餐



...and then proceeded to find the Western Market. 填饱肚子再找西环市场



More new-old stuff: 更多新型古怪东西

And for the bus model fanatics: 还有香港怀旧巴士模型店

Think I'd rather spend HKD$1680 on a decent jacket for winter than a model. Then again, people like such things for different reasons.
我想我宁愿花这笔钱买件漂亮的大衣好过冬。但之所以有这些商店的存在，必定有他的价值。

This building has only 3 storeys - first storey with the Bus Model shop, some special stones jewellery shop, a desert shop, and a cafeteria. 2nd storey was a whole chain of cloth shops and ang-mohs going round with shopkeepers fawning over them. 3rd storey is supposed to be a Shanghai retro-styled theme restaurant. It was closed to the public for some company event, so we didn't get to set our eyes on it.
整个建筑物只有三层。第一层是不同精品店，第二层尽是数不完的布料店，而第三层就是复古式餐厅了。可惜那天被某件公司包下了，我们没机会看个究竟。

To end the evening, we did the typical tourisy thingy - took a tram ride all the way from the Western Market stop (NW part of HK island) all the way back to Taikooshing (NE part of HK island). The night autumn wind was cooling and the ride was long. We took an hour to reach home, twice the time we'd need if we'd taken the tube, but the scenery was superb. And the tram ride fee? HKD $2 - world's cheapest sightseeing ride.

回家路程选择搭电车由西环市场（港岛西北部）一直坐到太古城（港岛东北部）。全程一个小时，比搭地铁多出一倍时间，却只有港币二元。哪儿还有这么便宜的旅游配套？还有微微秋风，多写意！

Sheung Wan (Playground/Temples/Western Market) 上环（游乐场、太岁庙、西环市场）

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Appreciating Buildings

2008-11-21T02:50:00.002+08:00

I'm no architect, but can't help but be impressed with this building. Seen in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.

Sheung Wan (Antiques Street & Man Mo Temple) 上环古董街和文武庙

2008-11-21T00:34:00.017+08:00

On our way from Sheung Wan MTR station to the HK Museum of Medical Sciences, we had a few choices of routes, so we decided to see the Antiques Street (Hollywood Road) and the Man Mo Temple （Civil/Military) at the same go.

从上环到医学博物馆有一段相当远的距离，可选择不同路径走。我们选择经古董街和文武庙，一次过看一下这些景点。

Antiques Street has a whole collection of shops that sell old stuff, anything and everything - you can find old-old (really used and antiquated) stuff and new-old (modern replication of old-fashioned items) stuff. There are even toys from eons ago - those God Mars 6-combination robot （六神合体） that my brother still has in his possession. There was some musty smell floating in the air, and nary a youngster you would see around the place. I think my children must be the youngest walking beings to trot the ground there at that hour. In fact, they found a way to dispel boredom by playing pretend hypnosis on each other. Usually it's one way - TF on TW, the younger one, who loves playing pretend.

古董街尽是卖古色古香的东西－有真的旧东西（二手‘古物’），还有新制的‘古董’。还看到不知多久以前的玩具，记得老弟家中还放置的六神合体卡通机械人。这地方很少年轻人，相信我的宝贝们应该是当时在场的最年幼的人物吧！他们闷得发慌，开始玩互相催眠的游戏解闷。由照片可以看得出是谁向谁施咒吧！

Some accidental findings along the way...
巷子一角发现稀奇的图案



...and some other little treasures...

还有一些古董宝贝



Linking the Antiques Street and Man Mo Temple is the Ladder Street, which really is a series of stairs cutting perpendicularly across the streets of interest.
楼梯街连着古董街和文武庙

Finally, the Man Mo Temple. It happens to be quite some attraction, we saw a couple of coaches bringing in multinational tourists during our short visit there. However, the incense fumes filled the atmosphere, and my eyes start to water and a migraine threat began setting in real quickly.

终于到达文武庙。小小一间庙，却有不少不同国籍的游客。只是庙里香火弥漫，乌烟瘴气，不一会儿我的眼睛就开始起反应。再不逃生恐怕就要偏头痛了。

Some popular fictional characters on the rooftop - can you make out who they are?
屋顶上的传奇人物，你看得出是什么人吗？

En route to the HK Museum of Medical Sciences!
直上医学博物馆了

Sights we'd captured on the way up:
路上所见：

Benevolent act by a memorable character.
故人的善举

Does this setting look familiar?
觉得这景色有点儿象是在那个电视连续剧看过吗？

See the whole album:

Sheung Wan (Antiques Street & Man Mo Temple) 上环（古董街&文武庙）

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HK Museum of Medical Sciences 香港医学博物馆

2008-11-20T01:00:00.018+08:00

HK Museum of Medical Sciences - it had been on my list-of-places-to-visit-in-HK-before-returning-to-SGP for some time. Why? Yes, it's rather close to heart. We took the MTR to Sheung Wan station, went out through exit A2 at Wing Lok Street, and followed the street signs uphill to this serene red-brick building.
香港医学博物馆是回新加坡前希望一游的其中之一的景点。我们搭地铁到上环站，由A2出口永乐街跟着街道指示走一段挺远的路，来到这红砖博物馆。

A brief history on the subject of medicine and medicine in HK is on display just outside the museum building. Hmmm... so Chinese Medicine is a few centuries earlier than Western Medicine in terms of traceable historical development.
博物馆外摆着中西医学和香港医学的简介。原来中医还比西医更早开始记载医学历史。

One of the detailed displays and write-ups on the ancient Chinese practice of foot-binding. Gross, isn't it? In fact, the brocade shoes styled for the 3-inch 'Golden Lotus', as bound feet are called in Chinese, are sold at the Antique Street further down Hollywood Street.
馆内陈列许多古今医学历史和仪器。下面是解释缠脚的医学简介和相关的并发症。看看三寸金莲的模型 - 还是我这大脚妇幸福得多！下山路上的古董街就有售卖三寸锦鞋，供游客选购。

One of those innocuous exhibits that rouse my interest...
还有我情有独钟的药箱...

Another of the Top Ten Exhibits in the Museum - wax figures of medical students (with pigtails!!!) studying the plaque in rats. Can you tell which one was the infected rat?
另一馆内最热门陈列品：研究鼠患的古代医科学生的蜡像，还帮着马尾呢！你看得出哪一只是疫鼠吗？

More interesting exhibits. No, no, the mortar & pestle wasn't for spices...
更多有趣的陈列品。这杵和臼不是用来磨香料的...

And hubby Q highlighted the story of how this hospital came about. So sad, yet romantic...
香港一间医院的由来。一段多么凄美的故事...

More old machines and set ups. Won't be surprised it they're still used in some remote corner of the earth.
更多陈旧医学机器和用具。可能世界某个角落还有用得着呢！

And then the history of HK Medicine wouldn't be complete without these:
香港医学历史少不了这些：

See my whole album on Picasa:
来看看更多照片：

HK Museum of Medical Sciences (Sheung Wan) 香港医学博物馆

or visit the official website http://www.hkmms.org.hk/
或浏览官方网址

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My darlings 我的两个小活宝

2008-11-20T00:34:00.001+08:00

I was preparing the stuff for lunch and brought out the bean sprouts to process on the floor. The curious duo came around to ask how this is done, and set about helping me with the chore, while I could proceed on to other steps. How nice.

星期天拿出豆芽来准备午饭时，好奇的小朋友都靠过来看个究竟，然后齐齐坐下来帮手。我就可以继续做别的步骤。

Here's the dynamic duo waiting for daddy to bring in the food at the food court later in the evening. There just isn't a dull moment with them. You can see TF trying to make an imprint on TW's nose in the photo below.

傍晚时到食阁用餐，小宝贝们在等着爸爸买晚饭回来，又想出新点子玩。廷丰用指甲压着妹妹的鼻子，看看留下的印是怎么样的？

Interesting Car Plates in HK

2008-11-12T02:04:00.003+08:00

Saw this 'DEAR MOM' car plate in Sheung Wan. Couldn't believe this is actually allowed! Then I caught sight of ‘VERSACE' and 'DR 800' right outside our block.

From Sheung Wan (Playground/Temples/Western Market) 上环（游乐场、太岁庙、西环市场）

Free public transport for elders this Sunday!

2008-11-11T23:39:00.001+08:00

Saw this posted at the MTR station - free rides on the MTR, linked Light Rail and MTR Buses for all elders with valid elder Octopus cards this Sunday!!! Now, is that fantastic or what?!?

TW wins a prize in school 廷慧又获奖了

2008-11-09T01:06:00.006+08:00

TW's teacher told me that TW has been awarded a prize for producing one the 6 best play-doh projects in school (she had previously won a prize just a few months ago). I've yet to see her art again this time, but she said it was a snake she'd made during the session. Thanks to creative papa for playing with the kids at home - maybe that's where she'd gotten the idea from. Her prize? Another set of Play-Doh + PD apron.

廷慧的老师告诉我她学校里举行了个捏粘土比赛，廷慧的作品被选为最佳六个的其中之一，所以就赢得了一套粘土玩具和围裙（前几个月刚赢得美劳冠军）。我也没机会看她的得奖作品，但廷慧说她是捏了一条小蛇。也许是多亏她爸爸在家里和小朋友们玩粘土时，给了她一些启示和创意。

TW describes her 'boyfriend' 廷慧介绍她的‘男友’

2008-11-07T23:50:00.008+08:00

We had a good laugh listening to TW describing her 'boyfriend' in her kindergarten class one lazy weekend morning. If you're wondering what she's distracted by (she's constantly looking away from the camera), it was the TV showing Cartoon Network programmes right behind me.

上星期六早上，我们听着廷慧叙述她的‘男朋友’如何挤压她的纤纤玉手...真滑稽！录影时，她还不时向我背后的电视机张望正在播着的卡通片。看她还毫不羞涩地讲述着，想想过几年就要开始会害臊了。

Inside a HK Post Office

2008-11-06T00:40:00.002+08:00

Inside the Taikooshing Post Office

Post box & automatic stamp vending machine just outside the post office

Stamp vending machine dispenses stamps - not stamp labels. Rather archaic, but hey, it works!

Mysterious creature at the MTR Station

2008-11-05T01:27:00.003+08:00

Gothic costume, boots and all. It's not a hologram, it doesn't show its face. And it decided to sit together with the passengers in the first carriage of the MTR heading towards town area.

Spotted a weird creature in the Tai Koo MTR Station this afternoon waiting for the train going towards Central. A rare sight not to be missed. No fear! Blogger Reddie is going to take this down!

This is Halloween...Pumpkins scream in the dead of night...万圣节南瓜头

2008-10-31T15:03:00.005+08:00

It's Halloween today!!! Funny how we hardly even notice when Halloween is in Singapore, when it's hard to miss it here in Hong Kong. It's everywhere!!! Shops, restaurants, Watson's, hairdresser's, Ocean Park, Disneyland, Ice Skating Halloween Party tonight...
今天是万圣节！在新加坡时都不怎么注意，在香港却是逃不过。到处都是万圣节装饰和商品。海洋公园、迪士尼乐园、溜冰场、理发店，全都不放过！

I bought a small little pumpkin at Jusco (Jap supermarket) for the fun of it, and Hubby Q decided to carve it with a penknife. Don't you think it's really cute? Notice the 3 teeth jutting out from the bottom, I couldn't quite capture it in its full glory.
日前我在吉之岛超市买了个小南瓜玩玩，老公便打算用刀片刻个南瓜头。你觉得可爱吗？注意到下面三颗牙？我拍的角度似乎没有显示出来。

Come to think of it, I think Hong Kong catches on trends from Japan rather quickly. Even the English teacher from Teng Wai's HK kindergarten who hails from North Ireland said there's hardly much Halloween celebration back there where he came from, compared to so much commercialisation in HK. I remember my trip to Kobe late last Oct - you'd see Halloween decor in most places too, and our favourite Jack Skellington fidgeting with glee in ToysRUs.
觉得香港接受日本传来的潮流真快。连廷慧幼稚园来自北爱尔兰的老外老师也说他那儿较少这类的大肆庆祝。记得我去年十月底去神户，也是看到许多万圣节装饰和商品。

The children had been fans of Jack Skellington (Nightmare Before Christmas, in the wonderful Disney/Tim Burton Halloween Cartoon Movie) for quite some time, thanks to an introduction to the show's CD by my quirky brother. We're hoping to catch him again, real soon...

多亏我弟弟介绍，小朋友们已成 Jack Skellington （迪斯尼万圣节南瓜大王）的粉丝一段日子了。我们都希望能再一睹他的风采...

Visit SG Roadshow 新加坡旅游局路演

2008-10-26T13:32:00.005+08:00

There are frequent roadshows at MTR station podiums, especially the more frequented ones. Weekends are the busiest at the Tai Koo MTR station. Some are repetitive (promotional events by mobile phone companies), some are seasonal (mooncakes and dumplings), and this one in the picture is a rare one.

It is a promotional roadshow conducted by the Royal Carribean cruise lines in conjuction with the Singapore Tourism Board. Took this picture just yesterday - it should still be there today (Sun 26Oct08).

香港地铁站经常有促销性活动，尤其是较多来往的地铁站。太古地铁站就每个周末都很精彩。一些是重复性（电讯公司），一些是季节性（月饼和粽子），昨天就有个稀客 - 新加坡旅游局。

原来是新加坡旅游局和皇家加勒比海（一家挪威游船公司）一起合作的促销活动。摊位摆着很多介绍新加坡的旅游资讯册子。就不知在经济不景气的当儿，销路又是怎样的呢？

Nostalgic HK Street Snack 小小鸡蛋糕

2008-10-25T23:52:00.005+08:00

I remember having this snack as a child - it is a traditional confectionery made from eggs and flour freshly baked and sold, and you can smell the sweet aroma from a mile away. It is still dispensed in brown paper bags, and is still a hot favourite with kids, especially mine. You can get one from about HKD$10 per bag. We found this vendor along the streets in North Point.

记得小时候就在香港街头吃过这些可口的鸡蛋糕，几乎可以跟着它的香味寻找摊位。包装和味道一样，一层不变。老少咸宜。价钱也不贵，一包只卖港币十元。我们是在北角的街道上找到这一摊。

Graffiti in North Point MTR Station 北角地下铁站涂鸦艺术

2008-10-25T23:32:00.003+08:00

TW in ballet costume 廷慧穿芭蕾舞服装

2008-10-18T02:10:00.011+08:00

It's TW's first time wearing her new ballet costume to her ballet class this evening. She's been looking forward to it so much the week actually past so slowly for us - for her because of her anticipation, for me because she's been asking me almost every other waking hour for the past week.

今天，廷慧第一次穿着芭蕾舞服装上课。她盼这天的到来已盼了整个星期了，感觉这星期过得实在慢。对廷慧来说，因为她分分秒秒就盼着这一小时的课。对我来说，因为她几乎每隔一个钟头就问到底那一天是上芭蕾舞课？

Lift Adventure 电梯历险记

2008-10-18T02:02:00.002+08:00

TW got lost last Tuesday for about 10 minutes. 廷慧上星期二失踪大约十分钟。

We were going home - TW, TF and me - when TF & I were held up outside the lift lobby for a while, and TW went straight ahead with a crowd of people into the building. When I tried searching for TW after coming into the lift lobby, she was nowhere to be found, and one of the 3 lifts was on its way up.
我正带着两个小朋友回家。当我和廷丰在我们居住的大厦外耽误了一下时，廷慧跟着一行人走进了大厦内。我赶紧跟着去找她，一会儿就不见她踪影，只知道三个电梯的其中一个已开始向上移动。

I watched the lift's floor indicator with bated breath and saw that it stopped at the level where our flat is. TW is actually too short to reach the button on the normal lift panel, but the one that she had apparently wandered into has a special lift panel for the handicapped, and she has been playing with the controls on a few occasions before this.
我望着电梯门上的显示屏，看到电梯在我们住的那一层停顿。其实四岁的廷慧还够不着电梯里的普通按钮，但她误闯入的电梯内幸好有个专为残障人士安装的按钮屏。在这之前，她也好奇的玩过这按钮屏。

Imagine my relief when I brought TF up to find TW waiting right outside the lifts. Her face brightened up immediately when she saw me, and then almost as soon, broke into tears - because I scolded her for wandering off without us.
可想而知，当我带着廷丰上楼后，看到廷慧就站立在电梯门外等着我们时的心情。她的小脸蛋马上亮了起来，随之就因为我一开口就骂她就又哭了起来。

She was quite adamant that she knew what she was doing, and could proceed to describe how she managed to get herself off on the correct floor, using the accessbility panel.
之后大家都冷静下来，她很有信心地叙述整件事的经过，说电梯同行的姐姐问她妈妈在哪里，又说她怎么自行按了旁边的电梯按钮而到家的。

So in order to prevent the mini-drama from happening again, TW was subjected to intense counselling. She's been curbing her tendency to run off alone these days, but who knows when she'll be reckless enough to roam off again?
为了避免闹剧重演，我们就慎重提醒廷慧不可以再自己乱跑。至现在为止，她倒是比较小心跟着我们，较少再随心所欲地乱走。谁知那一天她又是按耐不住呢？任性的小不点有时也真难处理。

TW helps with laundry 可爱的小帮手

2008-10-15T11:11:00.001+08:00

I was in the bathroom this morning when the washing machine beeped after a full wash and dry cycle. I came out to find the laundry basket for cleaned clothes filled. TW, my 4-year-old girl, has stopped the machine, opened the latch, taken out all the cleaned clothes and left them in the laundry basket (perched on a stool) quietly without a hoot. I was both amazed and touched.

今天早上我还在洗澡房时，衣服洗完也烘干了，洗衣机就BB叫。后来走出来，发现置放干净衣物的篮子里放满了温温的衣服。原来四岁的廷慧已静悄悄地帮忙把洗衣机按钮转好，并把衣物全拿出来，放在凳子上的衣篮里。我顿时感觉又惊讶又感动。

Wong Tai Sin & Sik Sik Garden 黄大仙祠和啬色园

2008-10-13T00:21:00.018+08:00

The Wong Tai Sin Temple is one of the most famous spots in Hong Kong, especially for devout believers. It is also one of the staple items in Hong Kong travel itineraries. This place is really easy to reach - just follow simple directions from the Wong Tai Sin MTR station and you're there in a jiffy.
黄大仙祠是多数旅客到香港必到的景点，听说是出了名的灵验的。要去黄大仙祠很容易，只要乘搭地铁到黄大仙站，跟着清楚地路标，很快就能走到。

Just watch out for the illegal joss-stick peddlers. 只要请你小心卖香烛的阿婆们。

They start waylaying the unsuspecting visitor, pushing their products in front of you, even asking for pity on themselves as old folks when you try to walk out of their reach. I tried to wriggle out of their grasp by pretending to be a Japanese. To be fair, those joss-sticks and joss papers they're selling aren't too expensive, and you'd think they'd be of use when you reach the temple.

她们在往祠大殿的必经之路拦截毫不知情的旅客，哀求买她们的香烛。可怜可怜老人家吧！她们会说。我只有搬出半咸不淡的日语假装听不懂。说实在的，她们卖的香烛其实也不贵，只是到了庙宇的门口，就有你好看！

Bad news is, the big banner posted right outside the temple states clearly that only certain simple types of joss sticks are allowed, and no joss papers are allowed in the temple. There at the entrance, you can see the big make-shift garbage station of joss-sticks and joss papers discarded by visitors who have been duped into buying from the innocent-looking old ladies.
原来来宾只能带入某些清香入庙里，其他一概都得丢弃在门口的大垃圾袋里。天晓得‘可怜的老人家们’是不是定时到这儿拾起‘新货’，在到地铁出口再求你‘可怜可怜老人家’？

I think it must be a conspiracy. Let's just leave it at that. Just be warned if you're considering a trip there.
你说其中是不是有阴谋？现在知道了，可别上当！

The Sik Sik Garden is just next to the temple, and it is another of the man-made serene gardens, well, a notch less tranquil than the Nan Lian Garden in my previous post. There you can find the Nine-Dragon Wall, with literally, nine dragons carvings on the wall in a horizontal row.
啬色园就在黄大仙祠隔壁，亦是个景色宜人的公园。其实可比美上回去的南莲园池，只是园地的宁静感就差一点。这里最特别的应该是刻上一排九条龙的九龙壁吧！

On the way out from the temple grounds, there would be signs leading you to a building that houses numerous shops where the 'soothsayers' would explain the divine lot you've gotten from the temple (that is, if you've requested for one).
走出园地，跟着指标就能找到数间解签的商店。

From Wong Tai Sin Temple & Sik Sik Yuen 黄大仙和啬色园

Come to my online photo album for a closer look!
来看看更多像片吧！

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TW's Halloween Hat Trick 廷慧玩巫婆帽

2008-10-11T01:34:00.004+08:00

TW imitates the magic hat in the scene which Harry Potter was allocated to Griffindor House in the first instalment of the Harry Potter movie series.

廷慧用玩具店的巫婆帽模仿哈里坡特电影里的一段。

Milan Station 米兰站

2008-10-09T02:09:00.001+08:00

This is one station that looks like an MTR station (it even has the typical green MTR Exit sign) that doesn't carry people, but lots of women get carried away. Look closer - it's a leather bag store.

此站非地铁站，而是卖皮包也！

Chanel Bag 超大手提袋

2008-10-09T01:54:00.005+08:00

Could this be the world's largest handbag? Personally I don't think it's a sound fashion statement to carry around. Where is this? Chanel (what else?) store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

这会是世界最大的手提袋吗？不像是能带出街的哟！这是在铜锣湾的 Chanel 商店的橱窗摆设。

Don't cause dirtiness

2008-10-06T02:23:00.004+08:00

As convoluted as the written word can be - this seems to be the style of the English word prevalent here, causing wordiness, confusedness and bewilderedness. Can't fault it much though - every word in the sentence can be legitimately found in a dictionary. Just the way they're put together in a public sign that seems so amusing, nevertheless! Thought such convoluted stuff usually appears only in legislation.

From Kowloon Walled City Park 28Sep08 九龙寨城公园

The other thing about this sign is the seriousness of the message, that isn't much supported by the medium in which it is displayed - laminated piece of office paper, signed off by the relevant authority.

I guess I'm too used to reading signs written the Singapore way. Short, crisp, to the point and no reason given. Let's see, a typical sign in Singapore that would be set up to deter feeding of birds would simply read:

No feeding of birds. Fine $1,500.

Why no reason given? Because:

You are assumed to be a mature, thinking adult, which by virtue of that, you'd know this act, will, consequentially, dirty the place (instead of causing the place to be dirtied, the indirect speech, which is so annoyingly prevalent here in HK street signs my eyes tend to twitch).
You may not understand the rationale for this prohibited act, but you are expected to heed the sign anyway because you're expected to respect rules set up by the authorities, in this very fine place.
Feeding the birds may carry so many consequences there's just isn't sufficient space to list them all -

some food pieces are going to spill and you'll definitely not clean it up
you may contact bird flu
the bird may get your flu
the bird or other animal may peck at you or your little or old ones and you're going to make a complaint, which is of utter unreasonable nature, but just in case you're going to turn around to give us trouble, you're hereby prohibited to start any trouble of such sorts
etc, etc, etc

Oh, there's another point - the sign proposing to rip you off $1,500 should at least appear in a more permanent form of medium (read: metal signs), however warped it may be rendered sometimes.

Kowloon Walled City Park 九龙寨城公园

2008-10-04T02:41:00.006+08:00

We'd gone garden-trotting again, this time to the Kowloon Walled City Park in Kowloon City. This is where we met Uncle Min, the paper-tearing master I'd mentioned in an earlier post. We took the MTR to the Wong Tai Sin Station, exited at C2, and caught a red minibus going in the the Mongkok direction, which brought us to the East Gate of this Qing Dynasty styled garden.

我们又去走公园了，这次是到九龙城的九龙寨城公园。也就是上回提到遇见撕艺大师敏叔的地方。我们搭地铁到黄大仙站，由C2出口处找往旺角的红顶小巴带我们到公园附近下车，再走约五分钟到达公园东门。

East Gate 东门


From Kowloon Walled City Park 28Sep08 九龙寨城公园

The Walled City was first built by the Qing government in 1843, but was torn down during the Japanese Occupation Period (World War II), and for purposes of providing stone (!!!) for the then Kai Tak International Airport. The original South Gate was later found during excavation in 1994, when the HK Architectural Services Department decided to build the garden based on the Jiangnan garden style of early Qing Dynasty. The garden was subsequently open to the public on 22 Dec ember 1995. For the official history, click HERE.

寨城原本是由满清政府在1843年建筑，于第二次世界大战日治期间被拆毁，以供材料（真开玩笑！）兴建启德国际机场。原来的南门就在1994年挖掘工程中被发现，保留为园中的其中一个景色。当时是香港建筑署为建造以清初江南园林为设计模式，而前往中国实地考察，并于1995年12月22日开放使用。欲知更多详情，请看官方记载。

Old South Gate 旧南门

From Kowloon Walled City Park 28Sep08 九龙寨城公园

Mountain View Pavilion 狮子窥园
Apparently one can see a magnificent view of the Lion Rock Mountain from here, but we missed the view, distracted by Frisbee and the interesting Uncle Min.
按传单介绍，由此可远眺狮子山，但我们却忙着丢飞盘和看敏叔表演。等下回吧！

From Kowloon Walled City Park 28Sep08 九龙寨城公园

Chess Garden 卵石棋盘
We took off our shoes to test the foot reflexological healing properties... ooh, ooh, ouch!!
我们脱了鞋子，尝试一下卵石的脚底按摩作用...痛得要我老命！

From Kowloon Walled City Park 28Sep08 九龙寨城公园

The restored Yamen - the only historial building left in the Walled City.
这修复后的衙门是寨城内唯一保留下来的古老建筑物。

From Kowloon Walled City Park 28Sep08 九龙寨城公园

From Reddie's Page - 鸿屋

See my online album for more pictures of this yet another astounding place!
点击这里来看看更多照片吧！

Kowloon Walled City Park 28Sep08 九龙寨城公园

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Devouring books 看书

2008-10-03T22:52:00.013+08:00

One of the various perks of being a SAHM (stay at home mum) is being able to read when the children aren't disturbing you i.e. stashed away in school.
当全职妈妈的一个好处就是当小朋友都在学校的时候，有些清静的时间看书。

Since coming to Hong Kong this March, I was lucky to come across this HSBC book sale promotion with the Commercial Press chain bookstore in Hong Kong, and picked out some reads at half of the already attractive price. And especially exhilarated at having found a captivating novelist, Jodi Picoult. So I'm onto my fifth paperback now - The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. Quite a luxury considering just how bogged down I was previously juggling full-time work and motherhood.

自三月到香港后，有幸在一次商务印书局和汇丰银行信用卡促销时以半价买到好几本畅销读物。最兴奋的就是有机会读许多脍炙人口的感人作品。尤其喜欢一位美国小说家Jodi Picoult，所写的小说虽是虚构，但引发读者深思一些真实的社会问题。我已陆陆续续的看到第五本小说了。比起之前全职工作后已精疲力竭，回家后还要跟小朋友周旋，实在幸福。

During the short break this afternoon when both children were in school, I was at the bookstore again. This time, I literally devoured three books at one go, in less than an hour. Oh, they were rather easy to read books with few words and many pictures, all written by the advertising guru, Paul Arden:

Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be
God Explained in a Taxi Ride

今天下午乘两个小朋友都在学校的短短几个钟头，我又到书店逛了。这次一连看完三本书。都是由国际广告界名人Paul Arden写的，也都是很容易读的刊物 - 字少少，图多多。

So thankful for the bookshop people for keeping them unwrapped.
真感谢书局的人没把这些书包起来。

As one may expect, the main style for all 3 books is the surprising, thought-provoking, unconventional thinking behind people who made it being different. Laid out in a common-sensical yet sarcastic way of looking at the world - one such picture is that of an old man in a bathing suit positioning himself at the jet of water shooting out from the you-know-where of a gargantuan baby boy statue fountain. The caption for that picture was What the young can do to the old.

三本书的主题大都相似，以鲜明、不寻常的手法带出作者的信息，却又带着一些讽刺。其中一段故事提到A先生在年轻时加入某公司，一路平步青云，直到中年，公司上层觉得他太过一层不变，不能带来更多新手法来带动公司发展，便舍弃了他。而B小姐却是一直寻求创新点子，虽然不时遭到排斥，却在长远的日子里建立了她不断创新、推陈出新的独立性格。不过，在概念的应用上，我个人认为目前应该也只比较适合美国人的社会、思想，和某些商业界的发展方向，不能一概而论，或直接套入东方社会的运作。

TW with friends at the Playground 廷慧和同学们嬉戏

2008-10-03T00:17:00.009+08:00

TW loves to go to the playground just outside her kindergarten after school, because many of her friends would also be there right after school hours, and have a lot of fun doing the usual kiddy chase stuff. Sometimes a little one would fall, pick themselves up, cry a little, and then carry on the madness. Mothers and grandmas would also catch up with each other during this time while the children sweat it out.

廷慧很喜欢放学后和朋友在校外的游乐场一起玩。看他们玩的就是追来追去的游戏，却也都玩得很高兴。偶尔有个小朋友跌倒了，哭一阵，拍拍屁股，又参入追跑游戏。妈妈婆婆们也乐得有谈天对象。


From Reddie's Page - 鸿屋

Funny music

2008-10-01T14:51:00.007+08:00

This is a pair of my favourite new age classical music performers. I'm revisiting their clip for the umpteenth time.

Click on the video for a marvellous performance. It starts with Mozart's ~~Little Night Music~~ Symphony No. 40 and then progresses to the James Bond theme.

Ooops: my friend, ranma, reminded me that the clip in the beginning is actually Mozart's Symphony No. 40... Thanks, ranma!

Chinese Paper Tearing Art - Uncle Min 敏叔撕艺

2008-09-30T00:35:00.027+08:00

We met a most extraordinary character yesterday. He approached us while telling my children how to throw the Frisbee they were playing with, and offered to take a family picture for us. My children behave muted to his approaches in Cantonese, and I had to explain that they could not understand him at all. Upon hearing that they could only understand Mandarin, he immediately guessed that we must have come from Singapore, because he gathered that we do not look like Taiwanese. Thereupon, he pulled out his Chinese flute and started to play the tune Bengawan Solo. I'd only managed to record the 2nd part of his rendition.

我们昨天巧遇一位很特别的仁兄。他看着我的两个小瓜在玩小飞盘，就向前以广东话告诉他们该怎么玩法，又自荐帮我们拍照留念。当小朋友们都象哑巴似的没理睬他时，我只好解释说他们听不懂广东话。一听说我们是讲普通话的，他马上就猜我们是来自新加坡，因为我们‘不象’台湾人。然后，他拔起竹笛就吹奏了一首印尼曲给我们听。

He asked for my daughter's name, and then proceeded to take a piece of paper from his shoulder bag and started tearing little holes off the paper just with his fingernails, all the while chit-chatting with us, and telling us about himself. My daughter's Chinese name '慧' slowly took form on the paper in his hands. He encased the completed work in a little plastic pouch and gave that to her as a souvenir, and then proceeded to make another one for my son, for his name in Traditional Chinese '豐'.

他跟我们证实了女儿的名字后，顺手就从包里取出一小张纸，就开始一小块、一小块地用手指甲撕。不久，‘慧’字开始出现了。撕完后，他还取出一个小套封，套起了他的作品，送给廷慧。接着，又开始斯廷丰的名字，却以繁体‘豐’字作样本，原来简体‘丰’字不容易作撕艺。

原来我们的两个小宝贝还是‘慧豐’（译音：汇丰银行）呢！

We asked Uncle Min how he came about doing this art. He said he simply picked up a piece of paper one day, and started tearing words out of it. That was in 1983. Today, he is a volunteer tour guide at the park we went to (more about this in a later post), and he had been featured in newspapers, invited to perform to international diplomats and teach this form of art to various people. Apparently, he has self-taught this art himself, as well as playing the Chinese flute. Remarkable! He said he is at the park almost everyday. I did a simple search later in the day, and true enough, he'd been featured in quite a bit of Chinese articles; you can also find him on YouTube and Flickr (mostly on Chinese word search).

敏叔是怎么开始做撕艺的呢？他说，一天他拿起一张纸就开始撕，就这么撕出了个名堂来！信不信由你。那是1983年。现在，他几乎天天到这公园作义工向导，而且不时也有报章刊登关于他和他的艺术。他也曾受邀表演撕艺给一些外国大使看，并还有开办课程教授撕艺。剪纸艺术看得多了，撕艺倒是头一遭。原来是自学的，连吹竹笛也是自学的。真了不起！回家上网查看，果然找到不少有关敏叔的资料。

MTR Slogan for Kids 地铁给小朋友的信息

2008-09-29T00:23:00.007+08:00

Finally managed to snap a good resolution pic of this slogan along the interminable escalator down from Cityplaza down to the Taikoo MTR underground station. Try to say it in Cantonese, it rhymes beautifully! Literally translated, it means "Little children should learn good posture on the escalators. Be careful, or the edge of the escalator may 'chew up' your little feet!"

We remember hearing another version meant for the older folks (which also rhymed in Cantonese) the first time we saw these slogans last December in HK's MTR stations. Essentially propagating the same message, but we don't see it much since coming to HK this March, but the kiddo version stayed. What do you think could have happened?

终于在连接太古城中心至太古城地铁站的超级长电动扶梯的中端拍摄到这张布条了。这标语以广东话来念，嚷嚷上口。其意是：年纪小，要学好搭电梯的姿势，并小心小脚脚靠梯边太近而夹到小脚趾。

记得去年十二月第一次在地铁中看到此类布条，还包括另一款，是特为老人家而设，信息是相同的。可是自三月来港后已不再看到。不知是为什么呢？

Pedestrians Beware 小心过马路

2008-09-24T00:55:00.003+08:00

This is a typical zebra crossing on a street behind my block in Taikoo Shing, a housing estate, where TF's school bus pick-up & drop-off point is.
这是廷丰校车接送点,地点在我们居住太古城的大厦以北。需过了马路才能到达。

Don't be fooled by the zebra lines - it seems to be a zebra crossing, but it isn't. Because the vehicles are in so much of a hurry to pass this stretch of road before having to stop to wait for the slow-moving human forms, which most often manifest as children, students, domestic maids, mothers, grandmas and other defenceless lot, that they usually speed up to look menacing enough to discourage the average pedestrian from stepping onto the striped lines and into their way before they clear this stretch. So having a number of women, usually laden with cartloads of grocery shopping, strollers and kids in tow waiting around the pedestrian crossing for a rare motorist to give way, or for the whole fleet of brats on wheels to go past, is a common sight.

This is one of the jarring occurrence I've found upon arriving in HK. So much so I queried if the road traffic rules here actually states that these zebra crossings meant a crossing where pedestrian may cross only if there aren't any cars threatening to run over them in the midst of it, or it would be a you-know-what-I-mean - zebra crossing?

看上去像是斑马线，但其实不然。因为每当手无寸铁的行人需通过这条过道，走到马路对面时，都得小心奕奕，等到那些遇到斑马线就加快速度行驶的车辆都过了，才能快步走过。就算哪个有良心的司机停下让你先过，人还没过到另一端，车子已从你身后奔驰而过。这是我自来到香港之后发现的社会现象。让我怀疑这里的斑马线到底是不是行人过道？还是只是马路上的摆设品？

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Typhoon Hagupit 180km SW of HK at 10pm on 23Sep08 台风黑格比

2008-09-23T22:38:00.006+08:00

Typhoon Hagupit is raging past Hong Kong (see little red cross in map from HK Observatory above) at the time of this post. The No. 8 Strong Wind Signal warning is in force now, and we can hear the howling winds from the comfort of our bedrooms. The children were thrilled that they may not need to go to school tomorrow, but are afraid of the eerie wind sounds all the same.

台风黑格比在这时（九月二十三日晚上十点）最靠近香港（图中红色小叉叉），按天文台预测，将会向西北方向移动，往广东沿岸方向。天文台正发出八号台风信号，而我们在家中也可清楚地听到外面强风的怒号。小朋友们希望明天继续挂八号台风信号，就不必上学了，但却也很害怕外面传来的风声。

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Coffee Mix Source 咖啡冲剂来源

2008-09-22T22:49:00.007+08:00

Bought some coffee mix to replenish our stocks - obligatory coffee drinkers we are - and saw, wonders, coffee stick snakes! Never seen coffee packed this way before, so I looked around for the 'Made in' prints. 家里的咖啡冲剂快喝完了，就买了包填补。今天打开包装一看，25支小包连成5条小‘蛇’，从来没看过，真有趣！

The labels were printed in Bahasa Indonesia, and stated clearly that this product is made in Indonesia, under licence from the parent company in Switzerland. 找找看，原来这咖啡冲剂是印尼制造的。

Looks like it's safe, for the moment. 看来，目前为止还只有靠它‘过活’了。

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TW the Leader 小组长

2008-09-21T21:02:00.007+08:00

TW came home with a tag 'Leader' on her uniform. Much as I am curious as to what type of leadership she's able to contribute as an alien to her class, I have yet again forgotten to ask the teacher what this is all about...

廷慧一天回家时，校服别着“组长”的牌子。我也很奇怪到底她在一句广东话都不会说的情况下，能在班上有什么作为。可我又忘了问老师了...

Codeine Paranoia

2008-09-21T01:03:00.012+08:00

Caught a flu on Monday. Bad one - body aches, nasal voice and that perpetual cork in the ears. A brief account of the drugs I've popped:

Polaramine - clears up the runny tap and post-nasal drip
Pseudoephedrine - unplugs the nose & ear blocks
Celecoxib - kills the body pain and fever

Towards the end of the week, the cough takes centre stage and quickly evolves into a hacking one. At this time, my only saviour is a codeine-laced liquid poison which has proven its worth time & again. My Procodin supply is running out, so I go to a nearby pharmacy.

Setting: a pharmacy outlet in Cityplaza, HK
Characters: Sweet-young-thing wearing the white coat & me

I, with a nasal, raspy voice: Hi, do you have Phensedyl syrup?
SYT: No, we don't, but we have another, P.E.C. syrup, that is similar to it. How's your cough?
I, with a nasal, raspy voice: Very dry & itchy.
SYT: Ok, we just need you to fill up your personal particulars in this book (produces a thick yellowed record book) for the purchase. You can take 5ml of this medicine three to four times a day...(usual yadda yadda)

I'm in eternal bliss for the moment. Hallelujah!

Reminds me of last Oct/Nov, when I was last inflicted with this kind of cough, and wanted to buy the same thing at a Singapore pharmacy.

Setting: a pharmacy outlet in somewhere in SGP
Characters: Some-sour-young-thing wearing the white coat & me

I, with a nasal, raspy voice: Hi, I have this very itchy cough. Do you have Phensedyl syrup or anything similar?
SSYT, eyes me with disdain+disgust+contempt: No, I don't stock them (full-stop).
I, with a nasal, raspy voice: Then would you have any other similar ones?
SSYT, eyes her computer screen: No, I don't stock them (FULL-STOP).

I tried to enquire at other outlets, until I realised that you can't buy anything with codeine over the counter anywhere anymore. There were some other white-coat ladies/gents who were nice enough to suggest other alternatives, but SSYT especially left an indelible impression. She made me feel like I'm the world's most incorrigible drug addict, and the heavy nasal sounding vocals must be the result of continuous drug snorting of sorts. Go raid someplace else, you mugger, I'm not falling into your trap, and I'm sick of telling everybody for the thousandth time, I DON'T STOCK THOSE ILL-BEGOTTEN STUFF! Now, buzz off! I've got to continue my love affair with the computer...

Body language speaks out loud enough for the sensitive.

Now that I've found my new source, rejoice! Let me now indulge in mai presheous...

Poisoned Milk Powder 有毒奶粉

2008-09-18T10:43:00.010+08:00

The milk powder fiasco is the biggest news hogging the headlines everywhere in HK now. Who would have thought anyone could be cruel enough to adulterate milk powder for the innocent young things? Just when we thought the previous tainted milk powder incident (recall 'Big Head Babies in Harbin Sep07') could be sufficient warning for the food approval system. To add melamine into milk powder! Goodness! I thought that's what we use to make bowls for kids to use. And the older folks would say we should not even use melamine ware for the youngest babies, because you'd never know what effects these 'plastics' will have on the babies' body systems. Lucky for me, both my children are off milk powders.

有毒奶粉事件目前是香港首号头条。谁会想到会有人残忍得在婴儿奶粉中下料以从中获利？一年前哈尔滨大头婴儿毒奶粉事件似乎没起什么足够警戒。在奶粉中加三聚氰胺？！太过分了！三聚氰胺是用来制造成塑胶碗碟，不是用来喂小孩儿！一些老人家甚至劝导我们盛婴儿食物时不要使用三聚氰胺制成的器皿，天晓得这些塑胶对小朋友的身体会有什么影响。还好，我的两个宝贝都不再喝罐装奶粉了。

Now let's check on the food inventory in the house: 现在看看家里存放的食物：

Fresh milk: made in Hong Kong (or so it claimed) 鲜奶，香港制造（能相信吗？）
Fresh orange juice: packed in HK (so made from?) 鲜橙汁，香港包装（在哪儿制造？）
Chilled milk coffee: made in China (oh dear!) 冰冻加奶咖啡，中国制造（糟糕！）
PET Pepsi: made in China (we're doomed...) 百事可乐，中国制造（我们完了...）

I cringe to go on the list of biscuits, confectionary and other consumables...

我不敢再继续看下去了...

So what should be done to the culprits who reaped profits at the expense of innocent lives and heartbroken parents? My suggestions: 那些丧尽天良的罪魁祸首，应受什么样的处分？我建议：

Slap a heavy monetary penalty (needless to say, this would happen) 重罚至破产
Make them consume all the recalled milk powder (for breakfast, lunch & dinner) until the supplies end or their lives end, whichever is earlier 让他们三餐全‘享用’回收的奶粉，直到存货用尽，或生命结束
Make them feed their own family and children all the recalled milk powder (for breakfast, lunch & dinner) until the supplies end or their lives end, whichever is earlier 让他们的家人和孩子三餐全都喝回收奶粉，直到存货用尽，或生命结束

And all three conditions should be imposed together. 以上三项同时实施。

...Just one of the reasons why I shouldn't make judicial decisions... 够毒辣，嘿嘿，想到都痛快...

Some Things Never Change 一些不变的事物

2008-09-17T21:00:00.003+08:00

Having stayed in Hong Kong earlier in my life, some things strike me as rather nostalgic, especially now I've come to live here again with my own kids. Some things just don't change at all, all these 30 years! Things like: Typhoon Signal No. 8 = no school = yippee!...
我小时候曾在香港住过一段时候，现在三十多年后再次来到香港居住，发现一些三十年不变的事物。譬如：八号台风风球警告=不用上学=开心的一天...

...and...Yakult - comes in a single 'original' flavour with no drinking straws attached ... [Yakult in Singapore comes in 4 different flavours - original, orange, apple, grape, and always comes with straws attached in a pack.]
...还有单一口味的‘益力多’，没有附送吸管的包装...[在新加坡售卖的‘益多’共有四种口味：原装、鲜橙、苹果及葡萄，而包装内一律附送一包短吸管。]

...and the Garden Brand 'Life Bread' - same colour, wax paper wrapping and texture. Oh, of course the price is much different...

...还有嘉顿‘生命面包’，和三十年前的一模一样：一样的颜色、一样是用蜡纸包的，面包也是一样的味道。当然，价钱已今非昔比...

Nan Lian Garden 南莲园池

2008-09-16T22:48:00.019+08:00

In one of my older posts, there was a picture with TW looking at the aerial view of the Nan Lian Garden in Diamond Hill, Kowloon. It was a most extraordinary find - lush, clean greenery built in Tang dynasty style - it's almost out of this world, well, concrete Hong Kong, at least.

在我前几天的纪录里，有一张是廷慧看着南莲园池的平面图的照片。南莲园池位于九龙钻石山。它的建筑是仿唐山水回游式设计的庭园。我们难得找到这么一个山明水秀的一片花园，简直是世外桃源。至少在香港是难得一见的。

The weather was scorching, but the view was well worth the trip. There were water mist sprays all over, coupled with the zen-like music floating around, creating an almost poetic atmosphere, if not for the sweaty feel and ... apartment flats, and more flats and flyovers just surrounding the vast garden. The construction for this garden began in 2003, commissioned by the HK government, in conjunction with the Chi Lian Nunnery, and was open to the public by Nov 2006.

我们去的那天，阳光普照，至少也有34度吧！园里有许多隐藏的水雾喷射器，并一直有抒情平静的音乐播放，真的是诗情画意！唯有煞风景的高楼大厦和汽车天桥比比皆是，围绕着整个园池。南莲园池是香港特别行政区政府于2003年委托志莲净苑建造，为推广中华传统文化，并于2006年十一月开放。

The garden was designed with a one-way circular path that brings visitors from the entrance (Shadow Wall/Black Lintel Gate) through the Myrtle Path to the Chinese Timber Architecture Gallery, Zi Bridge/Pavilion of Absolute Perfection, Stone Gallery/Penjing Garden, Xiang Hai Xuan, PineBrook/Song Cha Xie Teahouse, the Tang Gallery (where you can buy small little knick-knacks or expensive precious stone ornaments) to the Silver Strand/Dragon Gate Tower, which houses a vegetarian restaurant.

园池里的路径设计是单程式走过园池的景点，从入口处的乌头门，经紫薇山路、中国木结构建筑艺术馆、圆满楼/莲池、石馆/盆景园、香海轩、松茶树、卖纪念品的唐风小筑、可以歇脚吃斋食的龙门楼/水车磨坊，直到志莲净苑。

Most of the facilities were kept nice and incredibly new, and after chatting with one of the many security guards there, we learned that most of the lovely exhibits and pavilions were meant for aesthetic purposes only - the architecture may not support human traffic, especially prying fingers and thunder steps of the smaller beings.

园里设施保持得十分干净优雅，并有很多管理员看护。原来一些设施、摆设及楼阁只供摆设美化而已，并不能容纳观众进入，更不用说好奇爱逗的小不点了。

We took the MTR to the Diamond Hill Station, exited from C2, followed the signs and walked about 10 minutes to the opening. A leisurely stroll through the garden would take about an hour.

我们乘地铁到钻石山站，从C2出口处，跟着指标步行约十分钟就到达园池。在园池内漫步约一小时走完主要景点。

Click HERE to see a slideshow of my photos on Flickr, or see the album. You can also find more information at http://www.nanliangarden.org/.

点击这里来看看我们的照片吧。你也可以上以上网址索取更多资料。

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Simple Joy to Behold 不简单的快乐

2008-09-14T13:53:00.012+08:00

On my way breezing through a common passageway to the mall where hubby & children were waiting for me, I happened to pass by an elderly couple walking alongside a younger person. It would be a rare sight for a middle-age person to be strolling peacefully with his parents in hectic Hong Kong, except this is one with Down's Syndrome.

There had been a couple of other similarly afflicted families living around this estate. Peaceful, patient people, usually.

As I neared them, I heard the old woman exclaim in Cantonese to her son (I presume), 'Aiyah! Lei Dou Sek Gong Ah?!', meaning 'Wow, I didn't know you can say that!'. At my present stage of parenting, it is quite often that I marvel at how my young children display simple new skills they've learnt every so often, but, no, I don't think this will continue right up to middle age. After all, praise should commensurate with ability, right? But I think bringing up a 'different' child is so tough that you'd celebrate little accomplishments, every day of your life.

It's always a humbling experience for me. I don't know how I would shoulder through such trials in life, and I solemnly respect these parents for doing what they do - the simple act loving their children.

What is TW looking at? 廷慧在看什么？

2008-09-13T11:25:00.002+08:00

Coming up in my next post.
不日公映...

simplylife cafe 咖啡时间

2008-09-13T00:17:00.007+08:00

This is a cafe that bakes its signature breads in the cafe premises on the spot. Its kitchen is an open-concept space styled very much like Jamie Oliver's Fifteen in London where diners can see the chefs and bakers in live action. The ambience is warm and inviting. Location: Cityplaza Shop 142A, 1/F.
这间西式咖啡店位于太古城中心一楼。厨房是开放式感念-顾客可以看到厨师现场准备食物及招牌西式面包。餐厅弥漫着浪漫的氛围。

Parenting Poster 育儿经

2008-09-12T23:56:00.004+08:00

Saw this poster in my girl's kindergarten. Some food for thought for the day...

在女儿的幼稚园看到的海报，引人深思...