Friday, July 20, 2012

Chenya is ONE TODAY!

Yupe. Chenya turns ONE today!

Time flies. It was like yesterday that we were eagerly awaiting her arrival and then went through the one month of confinement with the confinement lady from hell and now she is ONE.

She is definitely a fast learner, with minimal patience and always know how to get what she wants. She plays guns and not dolls. She climbs and seemingly not afraid of anything at this point in time.

We miss her since we could not celebrate her birthday with her as both of us are now in Atlanta USA. Mommy's company normally has a meeting in USA around July every year and it looks like there is a likely chance that we might miss celebrating her birthday every year .....sigh....

Anyway, just happy that this little princess of ours is turning ONE and we could not wait to get home and cuddle her because we miss her and Ryan so much....


Thursday, July 12, 2012

Are we any different? I wondered ....

When I first informed some of my friends about our coming relocation to Beijing, one of the most common response that I have received was "Huh? You sure boh? You can get used to it ar? China wor?"

We have heard much about China. We have heard how China has turned from a rather conservative country into one of the big super powers that she is today, clearly a force to reckon with globally.

When China sneezes, the world stops ....

On the other hand, we have also heard much about the ugly side of China either through word of mouth, rumors, stories and the media. I must said that I have a lot of reservation about relocating there as well. Firstly, because I am a `banana' who could not read nor write Mandarin. My stammering Mandarin will probably be just enough to get myself a sunny side up in the hotel during breakfast. 

We all have heard or viewed the ugly video of how a poor little boy who was knocked down by a lorry and no one apparently stopped to help. I have seen for myself men in China sitting in coffee shops with their T-shirt rolled up exposing their belly, sipping their coffee and having a good time. I have seen for myself, cars and taxis that stopped by the middle of the road, oblivious of other users need to pass, just for their own convenience. I have seen cars cutting into cues without any signals, expecting you to give way. 

There were even stories of how unsafe it can become if you were to walk alone in China. But really, is it?

The question today is are we any different? 

Malaysia now is a proud owner of an equally interesting video of an old lady lying by the road side, hurt with passers by just walking past and not lending a helping hand. If this scene is somewhere in China, we would probably go "What lar this Chinese? No heart one ar? See people hurt like that also don't stop to help?" and another party would probably responded like "Ya lar. What to do? China ma. They are like that one...."

But the scene IS NOT CHINA! It is Penang. Like at the back of our very own courtyard.

And if you think only Chinese in China rolled up their T-shirt and expose their belly in the public, you are dead wrong. I was waiting for my wife to finish her facial in Subang and I was parking in front of a mamak store. Right in front of me was this middle aged man (race not important) with his T-shirt rolled up exposing his ugly belly, having his teh tarik with his friend.

Drivers in China are definitely aggressive but we have our fair share of aggressive drivers and road bullies back home. Just the other day, as I was taking a leisurely drive on Sunday to go out for breakfast, a blue E-class Mercedes driven by a lady driver just zoomed past on the outer lane which was meant to go straight and turned right, cutting right in front of my car because she wanted to beat the traffic light, expecting me to brake (which I had to). And this is in a residential area. If you drive in KL daily, driving any less aggressively in the morning or evening rush will get you no where and ages to get home because no one will give you the right of way. You would have to fight for it. Using the signal light to indicate intention of changing lanes is strongly not advised because this will disclose your intention to other drivers who will close up the gap to prevent you from doing so. Am I guilty of it? Very much so. Guilty as charged! So, then again, are we any different.

We have heard of how unsafe it is to walk the streets in China. I remembered I was told when we were visiting Shenzhen some years back to be extra careful. If we read the news of the crimes that were being committed today in our media, of how women are being assaulted in car parks of shopping complexes, of how little children were being abducted, molested and killed, of the number of innocent deaths due to snatch thieves and car windows being smashed at traffic lights ...the question today again is ....are we any different?

I have always treat our relocation to China as a learning experience and once in a lifetime opportunity albeit with reservation, and the first lesson that I have learnt is never judge another and arrive to a conclusion without first experiencing it yourself and always ask if you are any better.

"Let the one who have no sin, cast the first stone" Christ said.......

Are we any different? I truly wonder ........

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

I was lectured !

I received a pretty good lecture from my son Ryan 2 nights ago. Yupe. My 4 year old son gave me a piece of his mind.

We were having dinner at Citta Mall and he wanted to follow along. Ryan, being Ryan, he would definitely want to order something that he likes. This time, he ordered a bottle drink since he already had his dinner prior to this.

We were happily enjoying our dinner and he was happily playing with his iPad and drinking his juice that he ordered himself.

When we were about to finish, he realised that he still have half a bottle left and he requested that he be allowed to take the bottle home.

"No problem." I said.
"But..I need straw wor ..." he replied.
"Can. Then you asked uncle to give you a straw to take home lor ..." I continued...
"OK..." he replied and immediately wanted to get up from his baby chair to go to the counter to ask for his straw...

"Wait lar ....wait for uncle to come and ask ma..." I stopped him...

He looked at me with a very frustrated look and a frown on his face ...

"Why you don't let me go? Huh? You said go and ask uncle for the straw. I want to go but daddy said Cannot Cannot Cannot! Always said CANNOT! But you asked me go ma ...Now you said CANNOT!" he rambled, frowning and with his arms crossed .....

At this juncture, my wife cannot stop giggling, looking at how her son is grilling his daddy and obviously enjoying and savoring every moment of it. As for daddy, guilty as charged.

What choice do I have? I did not specifically said "Ask from uncle AFTERWARDS" did  I....?

So I helped him down from his baby chair and he happily ran to the counter and got what he wanted ... a straw so that he can take home with his drink...

And what did daddy get? A lecture from his son ......:)

Monday, July 9, 2012

Chenya at 11 months ...going on ONE

Time certainly does fly. Before we realize it, Chenya is now 11 months and turning to one this month. I can still remember blogging about the nightmare confinement lady we had and the trauma she put us through. It was just like yesterday. Children do grow up pretty fast nowadays and before too long, they will be off from the nest doing their own things, leaving behind us, the old folks trying hard to hang on to the wonderful and sweet memories we had with them when they were babies and toddlers, with our ever failing memory...

Chenya at the Loft, Bangsar Village, getting ready to order her food ....

Herein, lies the whole objective of this blog, to pen down as much as I could of the sweet moments I have with them and what I am experiencing now, so that I could always read back should my memory fails me when I grow a little senile in my old age....

So, how has Chenya grown in the past 11 months....


Physically, Chenya is definitely taller than Ryan when Ryan was 11 months old. We got a feeling that Chenya will take after me and would definitely be taller as compared to Ryan who is taking after her mommy who is ....emmmm....(need I state the obvious).

She was crawling all the house when she was barely 8 months old. By 9 months she was already attempting to stand up, the moment she grab hold of any support. By 10 months, she was already taking her first few steps. Today, she can walk unaided for quite a distance and is already climbing or trying to climb sofas and chairs at home without a single indication of fear....

She finally got her first front teeth last month, much later than Ryan. Her favorite toys are pretty much what Ryan is playing, which unfortunately turns out to be guns and swords. We have given her a nick name at home whenever she brandish her kor kor guns at home....Lara Croft!

Our very own Lara Croft ....

Unlike Ryan whose first few words uttered were daddy and mommy, her first few words were `nen nen' (milk) and 'ta ta ta ta' (beat beat) - I am not sure what and who she wants to beat initially, but now, whenever she gets hold of Ryan's swords, she will be 'ta ta ta' ing all over the house. Her grandma managed to teach her to say 'bird bird' when she brought her out to the park last month.

And one more thing, she whistles. Yupe. I was whistling in front of her one day and she was putting her lips together but nothing came out from it. One night a couple of days later, while we were about to sleep, I heard someone attempting to whistle on the bed. I thought it was Ryan but to our to surprise, it was Chenya and when we looked at her, she was giggling cheekily ....

From her character perspective, she definitely has a temper and patience is certainly NOT her virtue. We are still debating as to whom she has picked that up from...


And lastly, we discovered yesterday, that she certainly loves to eat. We were at the Loft Bangsar Village and while we were eating, she was making so much noise that she wanted some too. When we fed her with some bread crumbs, she was so so happy and was laughing out loud everything we gave her a piece. And the love to eat, certainly comes from the mommy .....


Unlike Ryan who is extra friendly, Chenya is the complete opposite. Ryan can be carried by almost anyone and till today, he can initiate and hold a conversation with a complete stranger. On the other hand, Chenya will yell at the top of her lungs if a stranger touches her ....(but then again, she is still a lady ain't she).....

Saturday, July 7, 2012

I am dumbfounded ....

I was picking up Ryan from his daycare yesterday and he was all excited about a piece of sticker from one of his teachers. He was in his usual talkative self and was talking non stop in the car. I must admit that I was not really paying much attention, firstly because, he can get rather annoying asking you the same question over and over again and secondly, I was negotiating my way over some heavy evening traffic.

Then out of the blue, he asked me, "Daddy, did you listen to what I say?"

I was caught....

"What did you just said?" I asked.

"I said I got this piece of sticker from Ms Jess." he replied and waved the sticker at me.

Honestly, I was just entertaining him and was not really paying much attention.

"What did  you get?" I asked again....

"This sticker lar ....!" he replied, this time, rather impatiently ....

"What sticker?" I asked without actually looking at him...he was sitting at the back of the car...

"THIS STICKER LAR!" he replied ...

"Who gave you the sticker?" I asked, hoping to strike off a conversation ...

"Ms Jess LAR!" he replied, obviously annoyed with me for not paying attention ...

And the next sentence got me all dumbfounded ...

"Daddy, you must put on your BIG EARS and open your BIG EYES when I talked to you..OK?"

I was like "Huh?"...."Put on my big ears and open my big eyes..?" I asked...

"Yes, teacher said 'Children, put on your big ears to listen and open your big eyes to see'?" he replied.

What can I say except "I am sorry Ryan..."

This son of mine is growing up fast ....

Friday, July 6, 2012

Our eldest daughter turns FIVE today

Yupe. Our eldest daughter, Zoewe, our very lovable toy poodle turns five today.

It has been a wonderful five years having her as our constant companion. She is such a mild manner pet and she is constantly ready to cheer us up anytime and anywhere. She does not have a temper, does not throw tantrums, does not yell at the top of her lungs for food, sits quietly by our side while we watch TV, snuggles up to us and insists on dumping his butt on my head and sleep on my pillow when there is a thunderstorm in the middle of the night.

Over the last five years, she HAS NEVER ONCE growl, bark or even loose her temper with either Ryan and Chenya despite being bullied by these two super active siblings. All she does at most is to run and hide under the massage chair.

She is ever so cuddly and eating is her favorite past time. Anytime, anywhere and any day is a good time for a snack, hence earning herself the nick name of `piglet' from her vet.

Her favorite toy is pebbles and balls and she will constantly bring you either a pebble or a ball, asking and begging you to play fetch. It is such a joy just watching her bouncing and jumping after the pebble and ball all over the car porch. All your stress will just automatically goes out the window. She is just simply amazing.

We are looking forward to spending many many many more birthdays with her and she is definitely a part and a very very important part and member of our family.

Happy Birthday Zoewe....we love you dearly .....

You might want to catch up on some previous post I have written on her ....
http://babynme2008.blogspot.com/2008/11/our-daughter.html (Our daughter)
http://babynme2008.blogspot.com/2009/06/best-of-friends.html (Best of Friends)
http://babynme2008.blogspot.com/2009/07/zoewes-2nd-birthday.html (2nd birthday)
http://babynme2008.blogspot.com/2009/09/sore-loser.html (A sore loser)

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Determination and NEVER GIVE IN and NEVER GIVE UP ....

I was reading the "Be Inspired" column today in the Star about how this Indian boy whose father and mother are odd job workers, hardly earned enough to eat and where he and his siblings would often go hungry for days. He had no proper shoes and would wear his totally worn out shoes and walked kilometers to school but with one fierce determination to learn and to succeed. He would improved his English through reading old Star newspapers that his mother picked up to generate additional income. Despite being hungry and wanting in so many departments, he did not give up but strive to study hard, scoring straight As in his PMR and his SPM examination. With a state funded scholarship, his dream of furthering his studies in France has finally came true.

All these brought me to recall two of my childhood classmates, both from the same class since Form 4 and 6 in ACS Ipoh. One from an average family and another from a poorer family living in Jelapang. Both equally determined to excel during our school days but unfortunately both ended rather differently in life.

I met Poh Cheng, a Chinese educated student when we did our Lower Six in ACS Ipoh together. He was well built, evident from his years of practicing Wushu, shy but ever so cheerful with a perpetual smile. We were all in the Bio-Math stream and he was exceptionally good in almost every subject from Chemistry, Physics (which I was totally hopeless at), Biology and Mathematics, all this despite his constant challenge in understanding English since all our reference books then were in English. His biggest fear was "Kertas Am" (General Paper), because this was a Bahasa Malaysia subject where a good grasp of Bahasa Malaysia is almost a must in order to get through.

But he was determined and I remembered him reading and reading and reading, just to improve his grasp of both these languages.

One thing that strikes me the most is that he cycled to school every morning from Jelapang to ACS Ipoh, a journey that would cover more than a few kilometers. He was not one of those richer Ipoh kids who took buses and were chauffeured driven to school. Being a school prefect myself, I honestly do not recall him ever going in late for school.

I remembered one time when we had to prick our own fingers to get blood for one of our biology lab class and my dear friend almost fainted at the sight of blood.

Needless to say, he passed his STPM with flying colours.

Today Dr Liew is my son's pediatrician. He has certainly come a long way. Even when he first started his clinic, I remembered him working very long hours to establish himself. Today, he has a beautiful family, established career, driving a posh 2 door imported car, traveled the world and financially more than stable. He is still as jovial, ever smiling and ever so friendly.

His fierce determination to succeed has found SUCCESS.

Then, there is other friend of mine. Kim Seng was a skinny fella but super talented in art. We both took art in our Form Five SPM and I remembered that we were constantly competing to see who got better grades. Even now, I fondly remembered his superb rendering of the water droplet in water colour on fruits and leaves. Till today, I still could not reproduce the same.

He was from an average family and he too was equally determined to do well and was studious, unlike me who got a little too active `chasing girls' and getting involved in almost every organisation that is to join to get to know the opposite sex. (ahem!). Despite his efforts, we both did not do that well in our STPM. I went on to study at TARC while he went on to resit his STPM.

On his second attempt he passed and got accepted into a university in Singapore. We communicated once during that time. When he was in his second year while I was doing my third in TARC, I received the dreaded news from my Ipoh classmates who were also studying in Singapore. Kim Seng has committed suicide by hanging himself. He left behind a letter for his parents, asking for forgiveness for letting them down.

Till today, I do not know the exact reasons that had drove him to end his young life in such a tragic manner. I am sure that he thought that whatever that he was facing then was insurmountable and he gave in to the stress and he gave up his will to fight on and live ....

Today, Kim Seng remains a memory of a good childhood friend and every time I see a water droplet on an apple or a leaf, I can vividly see his face ....

Therein lies the importance of possessing both of the above, a Strong Determination to Succeed and an equally strong conviction to NEVER GIVE IN and NEVER GIVE UP!

"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." (Sir Winston Churchill in his famous speech to the students at Harrow School in 1941)

Monday, July 2, 2012

Would you help or wouldn't you?

Scenario one month ago....

I was being fetched by my colleague to Kota Damansara from Ara Damansara for an appointment. As we were just about to reach the Seri Selangor Golf club, we saw an Indian man carrying a child and a woman holding a baby in her arms, frantically waving us down. There was a motorbike parked by the roadside.

I was afraid that there was an accident and they needed some emergency help. We both decided to stop some distance away as we have already driven past them at this stage. I ran back to them and asked them what was wrong.

Both the man and woman looked worried, the baby in her arms were almost lifeless and the small boy in the man's arms looked weak and was hanging on to his daddy. Being a daddy myself, my immediate reaction was, what could be wrong with these children. The boy was barely 3 or 4 years old (like Ryan) and the baby girl in her woman's arms was barely a year old (like Chenya), I guessed.

The man told me that the boy has an asthma attack and they needed to get to the clinic as soon as possible but they have NO MONEY!

Now, normally, when I hear this, I would have back tracked immediately but here before my eyes were a couple who seemed to have one very weak boy and the other hardly moved. I asked them how much they needed and they said RM300. I only had RM30 in my wallet that day. If I had RM300 in my wallet, I probably would have given him the RM300 he needed for his sick child. I opened my wallet and took out my only RM30 and gave it to him and told him that that was all I had. I told him to try to get others to assist as well. He was disappointed but thank me nevertheless. I left and went on for my appointment.

In the car, we talked about it and I told my colleague that all my gut feel tells me that he is out to con me but I could not help myself from giving him that RM30 because I was afraid that if it was true and if something happened to the child, I would have not done anything even when I was approached. In my heart, I was just hoping that there is still some truth in this world and that I have genuinely helped, although it was only Rm30 but I have done what I could at that point in time.

I have not given it much thought until last Saturday when I was driving for my appointment at Oasis Ara Damansara. Just as I was about to turn into Oasis, there was this same couple with their child again, only this time, the woman was carrying the baby, who again was sleeping in her arms. They were again running into the middle of the road, frantically trying to flag me down. I drove past, looked at them and pointed my finger at them and went on for my appointment as I was running late.

I felt cheated. Above all, I was disappointed that my hope that this couple was genuine was dashed and crushed. I was kicking myself that against my better judgement, I went ahead to give him the RM30. It was not the amount that bothers me but it was the betrayal that left a very bad taste in my mouth.

When I came out from my appointment, I intentionally drove past the same place and when I could not find them there, I purposely drove around the surrounding roads looking for them, with the intention of telling them off, but they were no where to be found.

Would you have help or wouldn't you?

And if you do come across an Indian man and woman with one or two children on a motorbike looking for help by the roadside, do be cautious.
More Pictures on Jeju Island Coming up NEXT!