About Michelle

2 things happened over the weekend that were related to Mich.

First thing. We went to her niche at the church on Sat. It is a quiet little space but it has already been tastefully done up by Sean and Mich's parents. There were tufts of fake grass, some fake flowers, a keychain bearing her name and a little note from Nellie and Hwei Ming sending their birthday greetings to Mich. Shyan added her little cards telling her Momma how much she loves her. Mich looked beautiful and full of life in the photo on her niche.

Second thing. Some weeks earlier, when I was logged on in FB, I saw a little FB reminder that said "You have not been communicating to Michelle Ong Lee Eng. Write on her wall." (or something to that effect). Back then, I wondered if I will continue to get such poignant reminders and what I should do about them. And then last weekend I read on newspapers about memoralising a loved one's FB account after the person has passed on. Should we do that for Mich?

The many faces of Yan

 

The many faces of Rui

 

Some VIPs we took pictures with / of

Was going through my phone camera and found these.

Rare to get snapshots of important people. So better feature them here.

Met Mr Teo Ser Luck at the Sengkang Punggol Run. Bumped into Dr Mahathir in a KL mall!

I want my sweet!

Yan was running a fever last night. We woke her up to feed her ibrufen to ward off the fever. She had earlier tasted paracetamol and didn't like the taste. So she struggled in her sleep and resisted the ibrufen as it tasted similar. To entice her, I said "eat your medicine and mummy will give you sweet ok?". She didn't relent. We had to force the meds down her throat as she howled.

Later, as I was patting her back to sleep, she mumbled, eyes still closed "Tomorrow give me my sweet ok?" I didn't think she was listening just now and was surprised she wanted me to honour my promise. What a glutton!

It's Taiwan afterall...

The final scoreline. 0-1 to the parents.

We have decided we will go Taiwan afterall. We have been to HK too many times and Taiwan seems like a better place to enjoy scenery and the natural environment. We can always visit the theme park when it opens in Singapore IR next year.

I am so excited!

To taiwan, or HK?

Ben and I are planning a trip to somewhere in March 2010. We had initially decided on Taiwan. I have always wanted to visit Taiwan. I look forward to all the 小吃，夜市，民宿，温泉。We had almost booked airtickets to Taiwan.

Last night, Rui overheard us talking about booking flight tickets. She asked if we are going Disneyland. I said no, it's too expensive to go there. She was visibly disappointed and even threw a slight tantrum. I told her off, saying that we are not very well off and going Disneyland would mean we will not be able to afford the frills in life. I told her that she can't always get what she wants and that there are some children who can't even afford basic needs like food and clothing and education. She sounded convinced, albeit reluctantly.

Ben, the more obliging parent between us two, decided we should follow the children's wishes and go to Disneyland. "Afterall," he reasoned, "there's nothing much for the children to do in Taiwan". I agreed, and so it's off to HK and to Disneyland now. I am not so sure if we are sending the right message to Rui though.

1-0 to the kids.

Chinese Opera, Italian Style

Picture this:

A long table of 7 adults and 8 kids. Delicious italian food on the table. Spaghetti, pizza, rosemary chicken, chips, drinks...you name it, we had it. And chinese opera going on in the foreground. That was our dinner setting last night!

After a hard game of badminton and other sports, we headed to Pizza De Donato at Ghim Moh for the yummy italian fare. What we didn't expect, was a prayer session going on next to the restaurant and chinese opera playing at the same time.

The children had never seen a chinese opera show before (sadly, our younger generation is out of touch with its roots). They were intrigued by all the gongs, the high-pitched singing, the painted faces and the opera dancing and movements that came along with it. They were running around, half-watching the opera, half-eating their dinners.

This must be the most unique dining experience we have ever had.