So it seems there is a going to be a new Marathon in town. The previous yearly Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon or SCSM for short will be discontinued and a Marathon will take its place. So what will the new Marathon be called … now wait for it …. wait for it …. drum roll … its going to be called the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore !! Now that’s original.
It has been happening over the past few years that we have been having our reunion dinner not on the eve of Chinese New Year any more as that is always a rush. We now have the traditional reunion dinner earlier. This year was no exception.
Some years we do eat out but most years its a simple home cook food, steamboat with chicken rice normally and a few other side dishes. We had our reunion dinner recently and this year had it at my parents place since with 2 young ones it was not going to be easy to eat out.
It was a simple fair nothing fancy this year just dishes no steamboat since it would have been too troublesome with the kids. That’s done so now it’s to prepare for the official Lunar New Year celebration as we say farewell to the year of the Ox and usher in the year of the Tiger.
It's Nigel's and Natalie's one month celebration and besides the cakes and vouchers that were sent out to relatives and friends. The immediate family had a get together and dinner at Lao Beijing to celebrate their 1 month birthday. We prepared them early they had a wash and had their meals and diaper change before they left the house. They had new clothes on as well but they were too wrapped up to get a good picture of it, nanny wanted them wrapped up as she feared they would get cold in the air-con environment.
It was an 8 course dinner celebration and we managed to book 3 tables in rooms for privacy. We basically had the entire room booking, as there were only 3 rooms. It was a nice sit down dinner but the 2 guest stars basically slept through the entire proceedings. They had their photo taken with aunty and uncles but they were basically sleeping all along.
They had pictures with Grandma and Grandpa and with our maid and the nanny who would be leaving us soon (and the fun would begin after she left us). Here are some pictures of the occasion and amidst all the excitement, I think we forgot to take a picture of just them and us the parents. What a waste.
Our confinement aunty with the twins and us.
Aunty with our helper.
More Family photos
Little Natalie
Little Nigel
Some friends who came visiting.
The little received their fair share of little gifts including their very first Levi’s set and the cutest pair of Nike’s ever ! But they are probably still too small to fit into them yet.
They had their own little cake which included a pair of booties of top which Nigel is currently able to wear and another set of Diaper Cakes with about 120 diapers which will probably last them …. oh about 1 week !
So the little ones turn 1 month and it's time for that age old Chinese tradition of distributing their one month cakes to family and friends. Me and the missus decided on something which had elements of old and new, old - the red eggs and Ang Ku Kueh, new - cupcakes and fruit tarts.
We had our list made up of the various relatives and friends and what was needed before we placed our order with Sweetest Moments (www.sweetestmoments.com.sg) You can order from them online by making your choices and they will do up the card for you as well. They confirm and even sent you preview of what the cards would look like. They were pretty good and they delivered early as well. Since we had twins we split the boxes equally to be half pink for the little princess Natalie and half blue for the little prince Nigel. We even ordered a few more smaller boxes and a whole box of extra cup cakes.
They had various designs and we pick out a few. Some of which are shown below both big and small. They come in boxes of 6 for the smaller ones and 10 or 12 pieces for the larger ones.
So I took half day leave for the big island wide distribution. The cakes arrived in the morning. The missus checked them and they were lovely they had their own boxes with carrying handles and each came with the name of the twins and a card. The Cupcakes even had their initials on it 'N'.
After a quick lunch and allocating the boxes out to which ones go to whom, we were ready to set off. We started at 1.30pm, first stop was to my parents house to delivery boxes which they would help distribute to some relatives for us. After a couple of house visits, I picked the missus up and headed for the office. Then it was off to more parts of the island going east and west before heading north. Made it back for a quick dinner and then it was off to church to meet up with the RCIA group who were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the little ones. Spent some time there before heading home for the little ones to rest but there was still more places to go for me and the missus a couple of central locations were next. Finally the last of the boxes were delivered and I arrived home at 10.30pm. All in, it took 9 hours of cake box distribution. It has got to be a record I think. Totally exhausted from all that travelling.
You know how tourist tend to take photo’s of everything and anything that they see during their travels. I have to admit I too would fall under that category but sometimes I think tourist just get carried away. I mean ya taking photos of food items like Ice Kachang, Chilli Crab and maybe even the king of fruits the Durian is to be expected together with landmark buildings and other tourist attractions but recently I was at the bus stop and saw a tourist taking pictures of the Bus Guide !! you know those that they put up to tell you the bus routes. Maybe they wanted to know where they were going or to have a record of where they were suppose to get off or maybe it’s just a novelty item that they don’t have in their country. I’ve even seen people taking pictures of lamppost and street signs, maybe the latter was justifiable.
So what was my most outrageous photo item that I took, well probably something I took more than 10 years ago and if I remember correct it was the room key. Now why in the world would anyone ever take a picture of their room key ! I don’t think anyone would even think of taking a picture of their room key. I guess at that time it was a novelty as the key tag was huge and I mean HUGE, about the size of a dinner plate. never seen such a huge key tag before.
What has got to take the cake for pictures was this group of foreign worker ho took turns posing beside the object that they all wanted to take photos with they even pointed to it and had some ‘action’ shots with it. They were quite happy to click away at the object as they took turns photographing themselves with it. I think they were using handphone cameras. So what was this object that they so greatly admired? It was your average everyday green colour rubbish bin !
Finally Nigel and Natalie came home on 30 Dec 2009 just in time to Celebrate the New Year. They were brought home and had their first night together where they both shared the same cot for the time being since they were small enough to fit into one the other cot we could put aside until they were a little bigger.
Here they are sleeping side by side in their new cot after they had freshen up from their ride back home from the Hospital in their car seats. Pictures below were taken during the journey home.
The little boy wanted to stay up to welcome the New Year and he just would not sleep, he was having a little tummy ache, so daddy and mummy had to rush and get him some medication (Pu Yi oil or something like that) It really helps as after applying, he quieten down and went to bed. The little girl on the other hand slept through all the excitement. That was the first major emergency.
Nigel was the handsome boy at the hospital nursery, since all the nurses who met us would immediately recognise us once we tell them we were the parents of the twin boy and girl. Nigel is eating well but he is a little fussy as to where he sleeps and bath time is something he seems to dislike a lot. Nappy changing seems to get him really agitated although he would ‘signal’ that he needs a change but when you want to change him he gets a little worked up. But over time he is quieter during nappy changes now. He seems to be going on a growth spurt as he is drinking lots of milk, hungry little guy. We went to the doctors for their first checkup and all seems well for him. He now weighs in at 2.9kg (more than his birth weight of 2.5kg) And the little handsome boy below all wrapped up after a good shower.
Natalie was the little Princess at the Hospital Nursery since she was the only girl in the ICU ward together with her brother and another set of twins both boys. She is very different from her brother, a slower drinker but she is getting better as the days go by. She is not so agitated during bath times and nappy changes and tends to sleep anywhere since we have 2 cots, 1 playpen and a baby rocker to choose from, the rocker seems to be what she likes most. Car rides seem to bother her a little but still early to tell since they have not been on many. At the checkup she has gain weight and now is about 2.4kg which is much more than her 2.1kg birth weight and the doctor was pleased considering she put on more than her brother. And the little princess girl below in her rocker.
I don’t use the car too often these since I take public transport to work on most days but it was time for the 6 monthly car servicing, It is suppose to be the 30000K servicing but my mileage was only 20000K but I knew since it is already 6 months and with Chinese New Year round the corner, I might as well get the car serviced.
I booked my appointment with Kah Motors Leng Kee road branch for 8am. I reached there slightly after 8 as there was a jam along the way. I got a number 21 (there were serving 10 at that point) I actually waited only 10 minutes before my number was called. There was TV to watch during that time and at the same time they had people going round asking you if you wanted a drink and would have made you coffee or tea. You could actually do it yourself but if you did not know that they had a coffee machine the lady there would help you. Its the first time they had it there probably newly implemented procedure. There was even internet access if you wanted to surf the net.
After the standard talk with the service staff on what I wanted done I waited for their shuttle service to the MRT station. It left at half hour intervals which I thought they could have made it 15 min intervals. A short 3 minute ride to the MRT station and I was on my way home.
The car was ready by lunch and I picked it up after lunch again a very smooth ‘checkout’ with the service staff giving a quick run down on what was done.Heard the strangest Loo conversation ever today. I happen to be in the loo early in the morning at Bugis. As I sat there doing my thing, 2 guys walked in and one of them went into the cubicle, guy 2 on the other hand stayed was outside. They then had this conversation, now mind you this is a conversation between two guys (I was in the men’s loo naturally, it’s not one of those Ally McBeally unisex type of Loo) with one of them in the cubicle and the other at the urinals. Guy 1 was in the cubicle, Guy 2 was at the urinals and wash basin.
Guy1 : “ Hey I have stomach ache, you don’t mind ah ”
Guy2 : “ No go ahead “
Guy 1 : “ You wait for me “
Guy 2 : “ Ya I wait for you here “
{now what the hell was that, when I heard that I was thinking, why would you wait outside the cubicle when your friend is having a freaking crap in there}
There was a few minutes of silence when, Guy 2 has moved to the wash basin now.
Guy 2 : “ After this we go Lucky Plaza “
Guy 1 (still in cubicle) : “ Can not need to sleep, wah really got stomach ache “
Guy 2 : “ Its because you eat so much breakfast “ {and then he goes on and list the stuff his friend had}
Guy 1 : “ I think eat too much, if cannot go Lucky Plaza we go somewhere near to buy the stuff you need “
Guy 2 : “ We decided later “
Guy 1 : “ The toilet just clean right “
Guy 2 : “ I guess so but it still smells “
Guy 1 : “ ya still got smell “ Now I need to add here that the second part of the conversation you can actually hear the ‘stress’ (if you know what I mean) in guy 1’s voice as he is talking to his friend. Man I’m thinking why does he not just go crap quietly and be done with it. Now that was the weirdest Loo conversation that I have ever heard, I left after the smell part.A new year and a new set of resolutions. This will be the third year I am actually setting out some resolutions. Sometimes not able to complete all of them but at least it gives you a goal to work towards. Have been thinking about it since last week and finally I have decided on the following 5 resolutions for 2010.
1) Baptism of the Twins
Have to start working to get them baptised, the usual venue for baptism, then need to get their godparents in, rehearsals and picking the day. Not to mention the guest list and after event photo taking and gathering, makan if any. But at least 1 thing is already done. Me and the missus have already decided on their baptism name. We just hope the kids will grow up to like it.
2) Catalogue my comic collection
Since I have the details (took 2 years to get that done) now it is time to put everything into the system. Hopefully it will not take another 2 years.
3) Lego and Photos
To finally complete that AT-AT lego that I have been putting off for more than a year and to take photographs of my lego collection which I have been meaning to do since a year ago.
4) Complete a Full Marathon
An ongoing progress since 2 years ago when I started with a 10K run followed by the Half Marathon in 2009 and I hope to do the Full Marathon this year. Target time 6hrs.
5) Finish 3 Xbox Games
Well not to be too ambitions since being a new parent there are other responsibilities, hopefully 3 is a target that can be reached. Maybe 1 is more likely but lets see.
So those are my 5 resolutions for 2010. Back again on 31st Dec 2010 to see how it’s all progressed.Well its the end of another year and its time to stock take again. The year began like any other year, not much of a difference, but by the second quarter we had really good news that my missus was expecting our first child and not one but a set of twins ! We were overjoyed. We were even further blessed by the fact that soon they told us that we would be expecting a boy and a girl ! Now that can only be God’s gift. We were thrilled, most of the other half of the year was spent in preparation of the arrival.
Mid year was also when I changed my job and after 6 months on the job it was going well. I guess it might be something that suits me more. Last quarter saw me going for a Tonsillectomy where I had my tonsils removed after all these years. Did not want to really see it go but I guess did nto really have any choice as it was just not going down with 3 rounds of antibiotic treatment. My running also picked up as I went for longer runs slowly graduating from 10K to 15K to the half marathon which I completed in 2hrs 28mins. It felt good the only thing that spoilt it all was no photo of me again similar to last years run.
So most of the year was spent in preparation for the arrival of the babies, first they surprised us with the pregnancy then that there were 2 of them and then it was boy and girl. Finally they gave us the ultimate surprise and Christmas Present – they arrived on 20th Dec 2009. (they were originally expected on first or 2nd week of Jan 2010) The 2 little ones were full of surprises. It was a really panic rush on the 20th as we were both not expecting them I thought I had at least after Christmas to prepare for their arrival. But they really are the two sweetest gifts that God could ever give to us and we thank him for answering our prays.
So that was the year I guess 2009 will be remember most for the year of the babies. But what about my New Years Resolution it’s time to have a look at them.
1) Complete 4 XBox games :- well in the end I only managed to complete 1. I was tied down with the other things this year and the baby took most of my time.
2) Complete Comic Book Cataloguing :- I have managed to finish getting all the info down on paper and sorted out my comics and stuff into boxes, but now still need to key them into the system that is all.
3) Complete my Mighty Muggs Star Wars collection :- I finally found the last piece that I needed at the Comic and Toy fair this year and my collection is complete.
4) Run a Half Marathon under 3hrs :- I did that on 6th Dec at the Standard Chartered Marathon where I did the half marathon in 2 hrs 28 mins.
5) Keep fit and loose some weight :- The beginning of the year I actually gained about 2 to 3 kilos but then it slowly stop and only after my operation to remove my tonsils did I loose some weight (due to not being able to eat) I did managed to keep it down and overall at the end of the year I lost 1 kilo from the beginning of this year. Well that’s a start.
Well I guess you can say I definitely completed (3) and (4), for (5) yep I did loose some weight but not my ideal weight lost, need to bring it down a little further to healthy levels but it was an achievement. (2) I would say partial 50% and finally (1) was the only one I was not able to get anywhere only 25% done. So all in not a bad year at least better than last year where I did only 1. For this year I completed 3 and the other 2 were partial. So tomorrow a new set of resolutions will begin, now I have to starting thinking of some … in the mean time …
HAPPY
NEW
YEARWell decided to do a write up of my running year for 2009. In all this year I signed up for 6 runs, but I had to skip the Passion Run as I was sick on that day and was not feeling well. The other runs I signed up for was the Army Half Marathon/Sheares Bridge run (10k), Nike Run (10K), Yellow Ribbon run (10K), REAL Run (15K) and the StandChart Marathon (Half Marathon). I have to admit this year the great thing was the use of disposable timing chips, all the runs I participated used them except for Nike which used a disposable D-Tag, with the chips you actually could keep them and I collected the 4 that I had.
Every run had a slightly different feel to it and each carried its own memories for me. She Army run I guess was the only one which feature the Sheares Bridge, it probably would be better if I had gone for the Half Marathon instead of the 10K. Well next year will definately go for the Half Marathon.
There were 2 runs which had the most innovative starts – The Yellow Ribbon run and the Nike Run. For the Yellow Ribbon run the start had these 2 dummy Prison gates and we had to run through them. But I guess the Nike run beats them all when you run UNDER a band they built the stage right across the running track, not only that the countdown was done by the rock band themselves.Now how cool was that. But the Yellow Ribbon run takes the cake for the most unusual ending point – within Changi Prison itself. Now that is the first time I have ever gotten to see what was behind those barb wire/fence up area.
For terrain it has to be the REAL run since it incoporates a multitude of running surfaces, from bush to road to track to beach to an airplane runway. I really like this run and it was the first time I tried the 15K route. I really enjoyed myself on this one.
The year ended with the season ending Standard Charted Singapore Marathon. It was the furthest that I have ever run in a long time as I entered for the Half Marathon. Again I enjoyed this run. It seems the longer distances I enjoy more than the shorter 10K runs, I am not sure why although it could be due to the slower start or it’s just me always taking a long time to warm up and I only get into the rhythm at the 6/7 km stage. But whatever it is 2009 saw a few first including the Visit to the Prison, running under a Band and doing a Half Marathon.
So what will 2010 bring ? Goal will be to complete the full marathon at then end of 2010 (the Stand Chart event) but along the way I plan to do the REAL run again and the Army Half Marathon hope they will run across the Marina Barrage again. I have already signed up for the Addidas Sunsdown Half Marathon and likely to sign up for another event before that. Of course hopefully more Racing Chips to Collect ha ha ….
Boy has it been a very surprising week, it all began on Saturday the 19th of December. We had our family Christmas get together, there was a Church get together 2 days ago. Our families came over and we had the Christmas Tree up with lights, presents and lots of food. We forgo the turkey in favour of chicken, honey baked ham, curry, noodles, german sausages, otah, salad, cakes, ice cream and a couple of other dishes. The charades was hilarious and everyone went home happy and in the Christmas mood.
The night was like any other night, we cleaned up after the party, watched a little bit of TV and went to bed. At around 2.15am the missus woke up and exclaimed ‘oh no, I think my water broke’! The missus was expecting our twins and they were not due till early or mid Jan 2010. We soon realised that her water had broke. Me being the super unprepared husband panicked a little, all I could think of was to get her to the hospital. I called the hospital emergency line and they told us to come in to A&E. So I bundled the missus into the car and off we went to the hospital. Took about 20 to 25 minutes to get there.
We arrived at the A&E at 3am and the attendant on duty calmly wheeled the missus up to the delivery floor where a couple of nurses were on standby for our arrival. The missus was placed in the delivery ward and a round of questions was asked to ascertain what was going on. The missus was having some contraction. Her doctor was called and the doctor told the nurses to administer an injection and to monitor for an hour. It was about 4am now and I asked the Nurse what was going to happen next. She said they will just monitor and then they will see how it goes, it sometimes takes a couple of hours or even 12 hrs or more she said. Boy was I a sucker for that. So I asked if I could go back and get the night bag since we had rushed out and had not really packed. They said it was ok as long as I kept my handphone on, nothing to worry about they said. Boy was I in for a surprised.
So I headed back home, had a quick shower and was packing my bag when my handphone rang, it was about 5am. It was the hospital and they said that it was time for the delivery, the doctors are on their way in and they asked if I could return to the hospital. So I said ok will be there in half an hour. They said, if I could make it there in 10 minutes and they will wait for me. I said ok ok can can will be there in 10 minutes. So I grabbed the only bag I had ready which was my camera bag and got into the car, time check 5am, arrived at hospital, parked car – time check 5.08am. I made it in 8 minutes, there was not much traffic at 5am in the morning and the lights were really in my favour. But as I got out of the car, there was a slight smell of burnt rubber, guess I accelerated and braked a little hard along the way.
I was with my missus when they started to roll her to the delivery room as it was an emergency c-sec I was nto allowed in. It was 5.15am. The doctor arrived at 5.20 and she spoke to me before she went into the operating room. The paediatrician came at 5.25am or so. soon everyone was in the room. I waited outside. Got time then to SMS the family on more happenings. My sis drop by at around 5.55am and at 6am the doors opened and out came a nurse with the 2 cutest little bundles of joy. The twins have arrived. They were being wheeled to the Neonatal ICU center. The paediatrician came out and spoke to me told me to follow the babies up first and half hour later my missus would be ready to come out of the operating room.
I went up to check on the twins, managed to say hi to them, but as they were in ICU I did not really want to stay too long in case I got in the way of the nurses. Met up with the missus after she came out of her sedation, told her the twins were find and here’s the first look at them. Nigel and Natalie, the Lord’s little Angels.
It was the Night after the Party, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse.
The plates were all washed and kept my dear,
In hopes that our babies will soon be here.
When out of the blue there arose a shout,
I sprang out of bed to ask "What it's about?"
"It's burst, it's burst" exclaimed my wife,
What a shock I got, a real shock of my life.
I knew in a moment that it must be the babes,
All ready to come into the world of late.
Now Nigel ! Now Natalie ! you have to wait,
While Daddy and Mummy get out of bed.
And then in an instance the water came,
Down unto the floor and into the drain.
I bundled the missus into the van,
Away to the hospital as fast as I can.
Calm down dear sir the nurses said,
It'll be a while before we operate.
But the little babies had other ideas,
To miss Christmas was one of their fears.
"It's time, It's time" I was told,
Soon the babies will reach their goal.
Mummy was wheeled into the room,
While Daddy sat outside looking gloom.
It's 6am and the doors flew open,
Out came the babies wrapped in cotton.
The new born babies were a joy to hold,
A parents joy it was to behold.
Not one but two special ones to lift,
Nigel and Natalie were heavens great gifts.
Mummy is well, and Daddy smiles bright,
A Blessed Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night.
A little drama happened near our place last night. About 10pm.the sound of sirens filled the air. Me being a little curious poke my head out the window and saw a fire truck at the opposite block of HDB flats. A Red Rhino was also pulling up the flashing blue and red lights making it look a little like a Christmas Party down by the road side. Spotted a couple of fireman running around (ya they were running not walking and although the flats were not near, I could actually here them shouting something to one another. I told the missus “hey something’s going on over there, maybe fire”. A police patrol car then arrived on scene. It was soon followed by another patrol car and I could just vaguely make out that blue and white police tape being strung up.
The missus at this time was a little excited and asked me to go investigate. So off I went down to be like one of the many ‘Kay Pohs’ There was already a crowd gathering. Soon a third patrol car joined in and then came the arrival of one of those big Fire Engines, you know the kind with a ladder attached. Looks like a fire or something was happening in one of the flats since a few firemen were wearing those oxygen tanks on their backs and the fire hose were laid out, the hydrants were open and the pumps were working. But I could not see any smoke or anything in any of the flats. The Ladder Truck shone its spotlight up to the 3rd floor window but can’t really see anything happening from where I was standing (with the other KPOs, in flip flops and pyjama's) I stood there for about 10 mins and then I guess it was over as the firemen started packing their things. Not sure what happen, but I could see a lady talking to a Police Officer and the Fire Chief or whatever they are called those Firemen in white helmets.
I tried walking round the block but could not really see anything and so I went back reported to the missus that it was probably a fire or something but could not really tell. Anyways the missus was watching one of those Chinese Drama Serials on TV and had become less interested in what was happening downstairs. I think she’ll probably stay and watch her drama serials than evacuate a burning building.
I don’t believe it !! 2 years in a row and no official picture of me running the SCSM !!
Heres’ what I got when I search under the photo section.
And this was last years 2008 run where I did the 10K
Every other person I know of that ran the race got a photo I even (well being a little KPO) checked it out and the minimum was 1 at least with the max being a friend of mine who ran the Full Marathon having 12 shots !! That’s right 12 shots and what do I get ….. a big fat ZERO. NIL, KOSONG, ZI TAN.
Well at least the consolation was I had a friend around to get pictures of me. And they did put up the video of the finishing and this time I could actually spot myself in the video. Whereas last year I could not see myself. Did managed to get a video grab of me finishing the race. That’s me there in the center in blue with white trimmings on the side (not the guy in white or the guy with the headband). Running in my sexy Nike shorts.
