Sept découvertes cette semaine

1) Beware of free online services that have limited time offers.

2) Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

3) Is looking forward to the rest of the week; 3 musketeers are back together!

4) When people go on vacation, they need to identify backups who can do at least part of their job for the sake of continuity. Or are you that insecure?

5) Loves Molton Brown!

6) Is glad that Mad Men is back! Great first episode!

7) Is in a Japanese state of mind!

M

Undiscovered Treasures

A few weeks ago my cousin from the UK who was backpacking around South East Asia arrived at his final destination of his trip in Singapore. Since I was available, I volunteered to be his driver and go along with him for some sightseeing.

With tourists, the normal programme would be shopping and eating in Singapore. If they wanted to see some tourist attractions, the Singapore Zoo, Sentosa perhaps Chinatown and Little India for the culturally inclined are some place that might be on the cards. But backpackers normally come with a list of activities all planned out thanks to their trusty Lonely Plant guide books.

His first stop was the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery. When he told me that I was dumbfounded and never knew that Singapore had a monastery that was worth seeing. Come on Singaporeans how many of you know about the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery?

To add insult to injury, after a bit of a search we found that the place was just under 4KM from my parents place, where I have lived for about 33 years. Just under my nose. So now I had to see this place! I was blown away with the size of the place and also the fact that it was a perfect day for taking photos! Blue blue sky in Singapore not a regular occurrence.

Have a see!

M Amazed

Sept découvertes cette semaine

1) First public exhibit went off better than I expected. Lots of great comments!

2) Wonders why there are so many vampire themed shows out.

3) Is trying to trace the source of the virus that is plague my household.

4) Injured his hamstring while feeding baby Sophie.

5) Wonders why it takes so long to prepare a simple contract. Patience M!

6) Is starting to remember being a smiley child after seeing smiley Sophie.

7) Loyalty is what I consider a virtue above all other virtues!

M

Photo Project

About a few months ago I decided to take some photography classes. I searched and I found a professional travel photographer called Felix Hug who conducts classes at a more advanced level.

The advanced class was conducted over a period of 4 Saturdays and culminates into a small photo exhibition. Personally that was the main draw for me to have my pictures displayed. Basically what we had to do was to pick a subject that is related to Singapore Tourism and produce a few pictures that would be displayed during the 4th week.

 

Rather than picking the usual, I decided to do something a little different and something that is not photographed very often here in Singapore. My subject was extreme sports in Singapore and in particular skateboarding and freestyle BMXing.

After photographing this subject for the past four weeks, I now have some great photos and even more not so great ones. I have developed a deep appreciation of the sport and an admiration of these young daredevils.  I have made some really good friends and best of all hanging with these younglings has made me feel younger.

So if you are in the area, do drop by and have a see:

Where: SPRUCE Restaurant, 320 Tanglin Rd, Phoenix Park, Singapore (opp. Brunei Embassy)
When: July 18th (pictures should be up for 2 weeks, if I'm not wrong) 
What: Photography Exhibition (I have 5 pictures on display).

M on display

Sept découvertes cette semaine

1) Is getting nervous about his photo exhibit. Is it good enough? -- read next post......

2) Loathes corporate recruiters with fake western accents, come on be yourself!

3) Has found a way to watch Formula One without subscribing to cable tv.

4) Publicly confessed to be a fan of all things Stargate. Facebook is public lah!

5) Already misses his wife who has just boarded a plane to HK. Boo Hoo! (at time of writing though)

6) Loves the Southern Ridges and basically all of Singapore National Parks!

7) Is having World Cup withdrawal.

M

Psychic Daughter

A father put his three
year old daughter to bed, told her a story and listened to her prayers which she ended by saying:
"God bless Mommy,
God bless Daddy,
God bless Grandma
and good-bye Grandpa."
The father asked, "Why did you say good-bye
grandpa?"
The little girl said, "I don't know daddy, it
just seemed like the thing to do."
The next day grandpa died. The father thought it was a strange coincidence.

A few months later the father put the girl to bed and listened to her prayers which went like this:
"God bless Mommy,
God Bless Daddy
and good-bye Grandma."
The next day the grandmother died. Oh my gosh, thought the father, this kid is in contact with the other side.

Several weeks later when the girl was going to bed the dad heard her say:
"God bless Mommy
and good-bye Daddy."
He practically went into shock. He couldn't sleep all night and got up at the crack! of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day, had lunch sent in and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by until midnight he would be okay.

He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at every sound.
Finally midnight arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and went home.
When he got home his wife said "I've never seen you work so late, what's the matter?"

He said "I don't want to talk about it, I've just spent the worst day of my life."

She said "You think you had a bad day, you'll never believe what happened to me.

This morning the milkman dropped dead on our porch!!

Orginial Post on Witty Fish

M

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

It's harvest! A month ago we planted a little herb garden in the plot outside our house. Since then we have been diligently watering and watching the "fruits" start to pop out. So after a little bit of impatience, I have finally decided to take a pair of scissors to prune these little wonders.

One of them was clearly chilli padi but the other was not so clear. The pot was labelled as yellow chilli but after a few Googles I was doubtful. After harvesting and cutting into it, I realized that they are baby bell peppers. So the obvious thing to make was anti pasti!

Of course the chilli padi got sliced and doused in soy sauce and lime juice. The baby bell peppers were quartered, pan roasted till slightly charred and lightly fried with lots of olive oil and seasoning. Looks positively yummy as that was as close as I got to it with my recovering wisdom tooth extracted jaw which has reduced me to the same textural diet as Sophie!

M harvesting  

Sept découvertes cette semaine

1) Has something unpleasant coming up and is not enjoying the wait.

2) Can lose complete track of time when talking about Jesus.

3) Realizing that all things considered, is still the most blessed man on the planet.

4) Loves the intense drama of Hell's Kitchen and thinks that Chef Gordon Ramsay is a genius.

5) Has a new affinity for fish eye lens such a new and interesting perspective.

6) Is delighted that the siblings are now talking via email on a regular basis.

7) Would like to have a vuvuzela!

M

7 months on!

With Sophie crossing the 7 month mark of her life with us, she has developed so much that we are now starting to see her as an individual with her own character and personality. For me the greatest joy is to see a certain trait that resembles me. Like how she gently moves her feet to feel the bed fabric is something that I do till today. It's things like this, that underscores that she is part of me.

Another person crossing a milestone is..., actually it's both of us, becoming 7 month old parents. The journey has been amazing and challenging but a joyful challenge for sure. We have gone from parents who have no idea what to do with a screaming child to what I would like to call as instinctive parenting. We have become so intuned with Sophie that we more or less know what to expect from her. Of course she does throw us a few curve balls here and there to keep us on our toes but in time we are up to it.

Looking ahead there is so much more to experience and to see. I look forward to Sophie's development as I bask in the glory of being privileged to be a parent to my little sweetheart.

M Basking

C25K

 

No this is not the model number of one of my new gadgets but it is a new running program I am following. Yes you heard me right, running. I know that in the past I may have said that running is for losers because it is utterly boring but, I decided to give it a try after reading about this program.

C25K basically mean Couch to 5K as in 5 kilometres. Its a 9 week program consisting of 3 time a week 30 minutes exercise routines. When I say exercise its basically a combination of brisk walking and running. The focus of the program is not so much distance but more consistency. Moreover the program is designed to minimize injuries which is probably the key reason why I dislike running so much. I know its the easiest and the quickest way to lose weight and get active but whenever I start it, I get injured and have to stop thus killing whatever momentum I had.

So far I am in the 2nd week and its has been really good. Unfortunately, I have been sick of late and that has sort of hampered my consistency. I intend to get going the moment I am better, because surprisingly I have found running to be not as boring as I thought.

So this time its the case of the mind being willing but the body being weak.

M running

Sept découvertes cette semaine

1) Last week's list was lost in Cyberspace. Sorry!

2) Has been enjoying this World Cup more, because he has been watching it at home.

3) Does not like hospitals but has a special respect for all who work there.

4) Believes this is his last visit to ER in Jesus name!

5) Is always amazed at Sophie's ability to infectiously smile even when she's unwell to lift the spirits of all around her. (picture taken at the isolation room of Mt Alvernia Hospital)

6) Does not like people with fake accents

7) Proverbs 11:26:
The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

M