Big and Small Kids

4 years ago, Nana took her PSLE. Zaky went through the same pain 2 years ago. Once they entered secondary school, I happily relinquished my “part time tutor” role. Not that I don’t want to but I seriously can’t help unless I start studying the subjects myself. No! 

I have 2 very different kids. Nana had asked to have maths tuition in Sec 1 and then moved on to A Maths tuition in Sec 3. In that same year, we started her on Physics as well. This year, she is taking her O levels and the Chinese paper is as early as May. Yes, she started Chinese tuition as well. We moved several tutors/ tuition centers. We had to when there is no result. She is now taking Chinese tuition from 2 different tutors bcos she cannot decide on which one. Zzzzzz. Then she wanted to switch her Physics tuition and then tell me that she thinks she needed help for Chemistry too. Zzzzzzz. 

I don’t think Nana is so weak academically. Her panic button has been pressed and she thinks that she needed help in everything now. However, school work is hectic and so is her social life. She simply doesn’t have time. One late Sunday night, we sat down to strategise and she now soon has to make a decision if she is to concentrate on A Maths, Physics or Chemistry. She after all only needed 6 subjects for O levels and to go to JC. This is provided that she does well for her Chinese in May. 

Her recent new Chinese tutor asked for her Chinese 10-year series and she drew blank. Nana said that her school didn’t ask her to buy. It is unbelievable, for NH, a SAP school that focuses so much on Chinese to not ask their students to buy the Chinese 10-year series. Zzzzz. I wouldn’t be surprised that it is sitting somewhere at home or in school.

I didn’t expect that I have to help her study for O levels but my mummy gear kicked in. The day after, I got her the 10-year series. 

Fortunately, Chinese is the only subject that I am able to still help. Our resolution is to finish the 10-year series paper 2s before her paper in May. I don’t know how do-able that is but we will try. As for paper 1, we will try to run through ideas but the actual coaching will have to come from the tutor(s). So far, we have accomplished 1 paper and we deserved a pat on our back. 

Zaky is totally opposite from Nana. He had been waving me off whenever I offered him tuition help. So far, he is not acing his papers but at least not flunking big time too. He is into many non-academic crazy stuff. Last months, he was trying to make $$ through dropshipping. Unfortunately, his idea that $$ can be made easily by buying and selling didn’t quite work. After realising how much administration, logistics and challenges, he gave up. He then started talking about trading in shares. Zzzzz. 2 weeks back, he went to interview at MacD and then did a 4 hour training session in MacD, earning $25 allowance. MacD eventually didn’t call him up. I think MacD has plenty of people who wanted to work than him who can only do Sunday afternoon shifts. 

Was he upset? Not exactly but the training was a good experience for him. He is also very proud to tell me how the McaD system works whenever we go to one. Hoho. What is surprising is that MacD paid $10.5 per hour now! In my times, it was like $4?!

Last Sunday, he said that he needed me to bring him for Muay Thai trial class. 

It was fun and he enjoyed it.

Then I realised why I had to bring him. Well, he is underaged and does need a parent/ guardian to sign the indemnity but more importantly, it was Evolve MMA, an atas brand and is very expensive. For $400 per month with a 1-year commitment, there is no limit to the classes that he can take. Bcos it is so much financial commitment, that is why you need the parent. 

Did we sign up? Of course not. It is even more expensive than my gym and I go about 3x a week. I bet there are many more Muay Thai lessons out there. 

Last but not least, the Mochi fur kid. Ever since we shifted, we had to make sure that we are home to feed Mochi his meals, which takes place in the morning and evening. On days that I go to the office, I would be worried that Mochi would be hungry, which I know he totally can do with a late dinner or even no dinner for a day.

I finally set up the automatic feeder. Hohoho. I attempted it when I was in the office. Got camera and mic some more.

I think it took him a while to figure out what was going on but food is food. Soon, the kibbles were gone.

While he would still need his wet food. This will definitely tahan him for a while.

Mummy Lim

The Fruit of my (Butt) Pain

I inherited my dad’s greying hair genes. Not only me but my siblings as well. I spotted my 1st few stands of grey in my secondary school years. At that time, spotting a few strands of grey hair was actually quite cool. 

Many years later, spotting grey hair is no longer trendy and in Asians’ context, it is very visible. I have seen ladies who tried to grow out their greys but we just don’t look as good as ang mos. Plus the transition period is unthinkable. 

I have resorted to coloring my greys. In the beginning, I can go for 4 to 6 months before starting to look hideous. In recent times, this has been reduced to 6 to 8 weeks. 

Coloring the greys is not only only an expensive business but also a time consuming one. I was with Jean Yip for a long time, until that branch that I frequent pissed me off. They were super pushy with sales and charge so much and I felt frequently like a carrot head. Then, I started “jumping salons” and even DIY-ing. I didn’t quite care if I ended up with super dark cover or different shades, it is better than spotting peeking grey. Not only does grey hair makes one looks older, it makes me look unprofessional. 

My last visit to Jean Yip was months ago. I finally decided to go back, not only to color my grey but also to refresh my highlights and to treat my poor scalp. This is my 1st visit to the BPP branch. I was told that it would take 3 to 4 hours. I brought my laptop and the hair stylist was telling me that I can work while I had my hair done. I know, but I didn’t want to work. T.T

I am Lion King!

After the highlights were done, the hair dye were slapped on. I felt like I just dunked my head in mud. Super heavy.

After a painful 3.5 hrs and a very aching butt. I am finally done and I love the colors. Hohoho.

Did it cost me a lot? Of course. The highlight alone was $208 and this is on top of the coloring and treatment, that I had pre-purchased some time back.

Fortunately, I enjoyed my new hair very much, making my butt torture worth. Hopefully the highlights would make the new greys look less obvious. The hair stylist was telling me that I should go back to her and not DIY so that she can help with keeping the color consistency. I just felt my wallet lost some weight. 

Mummy Lim

Mochi and His “Toys”

I read that cats like all kinds of insects bcos they fly, hop, move, zig zag, whatever. Mochi wasn’t interested in the ants. They were probably too boring for him. 

Bcos we live in an old unit, there are plenty of interesting other insects for Mochi. Occasionally, we found dead cockroaches. Ewwwkkkk.. At least I only need to pick those up and throw them. That day, there was a bee that flew in through the kitchen window when I was trying to hang laundry. In my panic state and Mochi super excited state, he sneaked into the kitchen where the window was left opened (to facilitate the bee’s exit) and I almost locked him there. Then, I had to “rescue” him and had the bee joined us in the living room. I eventually managed to grab Mochi and kept us both safe in the bedroom, much to Mochi’s displeasure, which he show, through his incessant meowing. 

One of the weekdays last week, Daddy Lim told me that Mochi was playing with a huge grasshopper that probably flew in through the kitchen window too.

No escape even when it tried to hide under the cabinet.

Mochi looked that he was enjoying himself. I had to google and found that grasshopper doesn’t bite, even if it is huge but the hard casing would cause indigestion in cats. I hope Mochi was not hungry. 

When I came out of our room, the grasshopper was nowhere to be found. Daddy Lim only found a leg. Poor grasshopper. 

Later in the day, Nana sent us this. The legless grasshopper.

Did it jumped on Nana? I think not. Mochi probably decided to take it out from somewhere to continue playing with it, even if it was very dead. 

I wonder what we would find the next time… my heart cannot. T.T

Mummy Lim

Genting with a Gang: Day 4, Home Sweet Home

After the super late night, I really couldn’t wake up the next morning. The alarm rang, asking me to wake up for my HIIT. I snoozed and did wake up, changed and even went to the corridor. Then the HIIT video started playing and I reckoned that it was too much hard work. 3 HIIT in a row is way too boring. I went back, took off the shoes, jumped back into the bed and snoozed some more. Hoho. Mission aborted. 

We planned to meet at 9.30am to check out and have bfast. I am sure it was not only our family who struggled. Even Daddy Lim who turned in early was sleeping late. The kids were the best, waking up at 9.15am.

We managed to throw the last bit of stuff into the luggage (and also into the rubbish bin to satisfy my holiday fetish) and were almost on time. The other 2 families did better than us and were waiting at our door.

Bfast was at JR curry and we had prata. We had a little time to spare and the best way had to be more pool and darts games, which were conveniently located beside the restaurant.

The buses were scheduled to leave at 12pm and we were to checkin at about 11.30am. We literally finished the games on the dot, rushed for toilet and then 大包小包 to the bus terminal. 

The Liow and Fung families were in the same bus home. The Chan family drove and left slightly earlier for their 2nd part of holiday to KL. I was hoping that we have better seats this time. 

Zzzzzzz…. I don’t have such long legs and don’t need this leg space lor.

I think this bus was older compared to the one that brought us to Genting. Nana’s seat cannot decline properly and other than me, Daddy Lim and the kids had lesser leg space compared to earlier. Nevertheless, I rested well. 

The bus was supposed to leave when the passengers fully boarded. We didn’t leave until 12pm and that was when the last passenger turned up. He wasn’t wrong, bcos he was right on time but the whole bus was early and we were all waiting for him. The woes of group travel. 

The moment I boarded the bus, I turned on my sleeping mode. I wasn’t too successful when going down the mountain bcos the road was too winding. It was only after the 土产 shop that I powered up and slept for a good 2+ hours. In my half awake state, I was telling myself in my head that I should start working. There was a shitload of emails to clear. 

I finally woke up when Zaky asked for snacks and I realised how much I didn’t want to start my email. lol. But all good when I finally moved my ass and spent the rest of the journey clearing a good part of work. 

We stopped for a late lunch at Yong Peng and the 2 families were at the same eating place. It felt like holiday again. Haha. 

There was unfortunately a traffic jam on the road, caused by some traffic accident. We got to the custom slightly later than usual but clearing the custom (both sides) was easy. We arrived back at the BPP taxi stand at 7ish and had a quick dinner. 

Daddy Lim and Nana went to pick Mochi; I was busy unpacking and doing laundry. Zaky simply took care of himself and got out of my way to avoid my post-holiday wrath.

I hope Mochi enjoyed his staycation as much as we did. Nana said that he was meowing pitifully all the way home. SS updated us regularly on his well-being while we were away, mentioning that he seems to get used faster this round and that he was super chilled most of the time. 

Mochi was trembling when he got home and was meowing a little, hiding a little but overall he appeared ok. He ate well the next morning and was very normal. He did take a while before he started using his litter box. We have a cat who is full of shit. Haha. 

It was a really enjoyable holiday. It was years before Covid that we traveled in such a big group. While there was a fair amount of waiting and coming to a consensus wasn’t the easiest, we all had loads of fun. Spending time with the ladies was wonderful. The kids took great care of themselves and I think I bothered them more than they bothered me. I duno when we will get to travel together again and hope for it to happen soon.

Mummy Lim

Genting with a Gang: Day 3, Outdoor Theme Park

This was a super tiring holiday. It was even more tiring than working but at least we were having fun. Lol.

I had to drag myself out of the bed for a light and easy HIIT. I patted myself on my back for my discipline and will power. I wished to be lazy too but I was reminded of the eating ahead.

It was an outdoor theme park day. The park was opened from 11am to 6pm. Bfast was noodles and tim sum and then we had more darts games. 

We headed to the theme park with an eager lot. Somehow, we all looked forward to the outdoor theme park more than the indoor one. 

The kids led the way most of the time. The adults were busy trying to log into the SkyWorld app, linking the tickets to the app, creating group for all the ticket holders, so that we can request for the VR pass, which is essentially a scheduled fast pass. We ended up utilising 2 out of the 3 passes bcos some of the interesting rides ran out of passes and the other rides were not crowded.

I definitely enjoyed the outdoor park much more than the indoor one. There were a lot more things to see and the rides were more than just spinning round and round or kena throw around like rag dolls. More importantly, I had the uncles and aunties for companion for the rides. 

The kids worked out among themselves on who to sit with who on which ride. I heard it was a noisy affair at times. We stayed out. Zaky was very popular with MM and she was constantly seen talking to him, holding his hand, asking him to piggy back throughout the day. Later in the day, I had to rescue my son from the little girl, helping to fend her off. So funny. 

This is what you have after a while, when the adults ran low on battery.

We chose to be bag caretakers.

We left when the park closed at 6pm. We (or the kids) could have gone on much longer. These 3 had a similar picture taken the last time we visited Genting. Zaky was much smaller then.

We settled for dinner at some bbq place.

The food looked better than it tasted. The meat was dry or maybe I overcooked them. 

Our family obviously finished dinner a lot faster than the rest. The other families either have little kids, small eaters or both. Hoho. We decided to go for dessert while the rest finished their dinner.

That completed the meal and left our tummies much more satisfied.

The night’s live band plan was called off bcos 3 late nights in a row was way too tiring. Daddy Lim wanted to turn in early. I was planning to do some karaoke with the adults but there was no immediate room available and required some waiting. We opted for plan B, which was to chill in one of the rooms while the kids chilled in another one. 

Ended up. It was another late night. We chit chatted until 2.30an and the kids did likewise in the other room, until we went to “collect” them. Only Daddy Lim was happily asleep in our room. Hoho. 

This holiday is so tiring. Hoho.

Mummy Lim

Genting with a Gang: Day 2, Indoor Theme Park

Despite the late night, I was disciplined and woke up to do my HIIT. I didn’t want to wake the rest and decided that I would exercise at the corridor. We were obviously not the only tired ones bcos I didn’t see any of our “neighbours”. At some point, I did scare myself silly a little bcos I saw the corridor lights flickered. You know, like those horror movies. Hoho. 

All done. 

I was very happy to fill up my calories tank for the good food to come. 

The rest were still in lala land.

We met at 9am at the Malaysia Street Food place for bfast. I just remembered - I still have credits in the food card and I forgot to ask for refund. Looks like the perfect reason to go back to Genting. Hoho.

The food was good and we were happy. 

We were happily chit chatting and the big kids got too bored. They started roaming in their common t-shirt. They looked like part-timers for some events. Hoho.

The indoor theme park doesn’t opened until 2pm. We headed to Riley’s Believe It or Not. Our Pattaya experience was interesting enough to want to try the Genting one. Only the big kids went in. 

There were 5 parts to the attractions and one of it is the Zombie Outbreak. It took them a while to decide which package to buy bcos there are many scardy cats. We ended up buying tickets for all 5 attractions bcos it was cost economical. 

Nana said that Pattaya one was better.

While the big kids were in the attraction, the parents had fun at pool and darts. So fun! 

Parents Chan brought the little ones to the park and they were happy just running around. 

Many times during the trip, I forgot that we brought kids. Hohoho. 

We had lunch, which we originally intended as a snack, at the youtiao place.

The kids came to join soon after. They did all the attractions except for the Zombie one, even after many discussions. Only Boo was gamed, Zaky and ER chickened out and the rest were sitting on the fence, leaning more towards “maybe not”. There was talk that maybe the adults should take over the tickets for the Zombie walk. Hmmm… no thanks.

A light meal so that nobody vomits after being thrown around by the rides. 

Soon, it was 2pm and the theme park now comes with self service machines. All collected. 

Parent Liow and Daddy Lim opted out of the rag throwing fun. The unlimited rides tickets cost RM65 per pax while the single ride tickets are at RM15 a piece. Parents Fung and I were very focused on completing at least 5 rides to break even. 

My 1st one, asking the kids along, has to be the Crazy Spins, which is essentially a variation of the Viking and I love Viking. 

Did I breakeven? Of course! I took this Crazy Spinner like 4x. Hoho. The kids were even better at making our money worth. 

At some points, they also had to take a break bcos their organs had changed positions from all the crazy rides. 

We had more rides. Then, the non-theme park people came and waited while we had a few more rides. Dinner was at a nearby 茶餐厅 that had space and no Q. The food was very decent. 

We took a few more rides after dinner and left at almost 10pm, fully making our tickets worth. We had wanted to bring the kids to the live band place but they were too tired and opted to go back to the rooms.

I almost didn’t make it out of the room after sending the kids back too. It took the last ounce of will power. Hoho.

We changed a live band place bcos the previous one sang too many HBD songs. Then, we still kena 3 HBD songs. Apparently, 10 March is another good date to give birth. At least the band sang only in Chinese (plus dialect) and English. The last session ended at 12.45am and we headed back for the much needed bed. 

Again, I found the kids in bed. It was a very tiring holiday. Hohoho. 

Mummy Lim