50 Shades of Brown

We were queuing and waiting for a table at MacD when I suddenly realised how tan our family members all are. This triggered a comparison of who is darker. 

It was decided that it is Daddy Lim, Lil Shauna, Zaky then me. Really? I am the fairest in the family???!!! 我也会有这一天? 

Hohoho, I am the fairest of them all. I am thank not my parents but the sunblock that J diligently slapped on before my every ride. Hoho. 

Mummy Lim

Weekend

Auntie SL asked what were my weekend plans. I realised that it is the same - cycling, rollerblading/ skatepark, ice skating, off ice training, Sunday school/ youth/ church and Zaky's Chinese tuition. The activities may switch around but took place almost every weekend. Yawn, so predictable. 

I slept really well on Friday night after that glass of red wine. Hoho. I was up at 5ish to join the WWF for a ride to lower Pierce Reservior. I was riding with a mild headache and I again blamed that red wine. Daddy Lim skipped the ride and brought Zaky to ECP for his aggro skate lesson.

Yes, the ECP skatepark is finally opened after the long closure for maintenance. Zaky had his 1st aggro skate lessons at the ECP skatepark like over a year ago and never been back. The boys had been looking forward to its reopening, to the big slopes and multiple grinds. 

After Zaky had ended his expensive private aggro skating lesson with EXIS, we had been looking for aggro skate coaches for him. I almost got one who ghosted me and I didn't want to haunt him after chasing him a few times. Zaky and M took their 1st lesson from Coach Nizam yday morning. He used to be with EXIS and was the same Coach who took him for his 1st aggro skate lesson. Zaky was thrilled to have M with him for lessons.

The boys came home telling me how great the skatepark is. Did Daddy Lim attempt the huge ramps and big bowl? He funnily related how he and Auntie M discussed that the bowl was slightly damp and not to be attempted (by the adults). The kids bravely dived in though. Hoho. 

Saturday afternoon was spent in the production line. 

Lil Shauna insisted that her friends love her baking and made me baked with her 2 batches of the chocolate chip cookies, intending to bring a box to school. 

I almost was confused to thinking that CNY is coming again. 

In the evening, Lil Shauna went to the rink for extra practices. While she worked hard in the rink, so did I. I was standing outside the rink taking videos, giving suggestions on how she can better her jumps and spins. The Google earbuds worked really well and didn't lose connectivity like how the other wireless earphones we had did. While the rink was also crowded, there was few crazy kids, which made it easier for her. 

This morning, I was up at 4.30am to meet a usual ka to cycle to LP1. I was to meet him at 5.15am and didn't think that it was that early until I realised what time I had to wake up. Why did I do this to myself ? Hahaha. 

It was still dark when we reached LP1. It is also early by the time I was home and got to sneak a quick nap. 

The boys are still talking about heading down to the skatepark in the evening but it had been raining non-stop. Hmmm.... 

Mummy Lim

Learning

I am not an alcohol person. I don't enjoy alcohol generally and found them bitter. Even the sweet wines are bitter to me. Many moons back, during the party days, alcohol was essential to build up the mood and I thought I had built up a good tolerance then. Even back then, my choice were like bourbon coke and vodka ribena, relying on the sweetness of the mixer to cover the alcohol bitterness. Red wines are super foreign then. Red wines not only taste weird but also doesn't give the kick as quickly as hard liquor bcos of the lower alcoholic content. 

With the party days gone, as well as the need to get high, I rarely touch alcohol. I am sure my tolerance dropped until... and I have this face that I looked like I drink very well. Zzzzz. 

Back in my previous company days, where the global meetings and company dinners were rarely without alcohol (mainly red wine). I wanted to learn how to appreciate red wine. I tried but they really don't taste good in my perspective and thus I gave up working to learn that "appreciation". I don't understand what is so good about something that tastes bitter and sometimes sour. 

There had been a couple of informal company dinners in the last few months and plenty of alcohol each time. I didn't quite dare to drink actually bcos I don't know how well I can hold my liquor. My desire to 1st increase my tolerance and then to properly drink red wine is once again fired up. 

2 nights ago, we opened up one of the old bottles. I cannot even remember when we brought/ got the wine. We are always joking that we can't tell even if the wine is spoilt. It doesn't taste good; it was spicy. I thought maybe proper wine glasses would help and thus a trip to Ikea.

I thought the red wine was more tolerable the 2nd night. Is it bcos it had been oxidised more or the wine glasses really helped? I have no idea. It was more tolerable but still not nice. The ones at the wedding dinner was much nicer. 

It is OK, we have a few more bottles at home. Hahaha. 

Mummy Lim

Wedding Dinner

I was invited to a colleague's wedding dinner last Tuessay. It was at this fancy cosy restaurant at Collyer Quay - Monti. 

The last wedding dinner that I had attended was years ago, of Daddy Lim's cousins. Obviously I don't have many friends around me of "marriageable" age. I guessed the next wave will come when my kids and my friends' kids are of marriageable age. Hoho. 

Due to the covid restrictions, it was 5 to a table and no intermingling across tables. It was a 4 course ang-mo dinner, which I thought was very appropriate with the restrictions. 

What I used to hate about wedding dinners was to be allocated to a table of strangers, making these long dinners even more antagonising. I got to sit with colleagues this time, and was well entertained with chit chats on current affairs, work and life. Not bad. 

I had forgotten how tiring wedding dinners can be. At 10pm, we were all hoping that the dinner would end soon. It had been a long work day and another one the next day. Given how cosy the dinner setup was, it wasn't appropriate to leave early. 

Finally, the crowd started leaving with the MC's announcement. We made our way out for the customary handshake with the newly wed. Huat ah! A colleague gave me a ride to Dover mrt. I am super thankful bcos taxis/ gojek/ grab are impossible to book at 10.30pm bcos all pubs now close at that time and everybody is trying to go home at 10.30pm. Tested and proven. 

It was already 11.30pm when I finally reached home. 救命啊... Wedding dinner on weekday is super taxing physically. Haha. I told my kids that I don't need them to host any wedding dinner next time if they don't want too bcos mummy is very tired. Hahaha. 

Mummy Lim

The Last One - The 1st Jab

We are vaccine friendly parents; Lil Shauna took her 1st jab earlier than I did and had her booster jab lined up. I was hesitant for Zaky initially but so many other kids had taken the jab; I was assured me that things would be fine. Then it was about waiting for the 良辰吉日. He was taking his aggro skate lessons and I wanted to clear that 1st. 

It dragged a little too long until Zaky asked me when is his turn. He said that he is one of the last few in his class who have not been jabbed. We finally booked him for Valentine's Day. So lomantic, 手牵手 with Daddy Lim somemore. 

We opted for the nearest vaccination center, which is 5 mins drive away. His appointment was at 7pm and there wasn't much of a crowd. 

The children vaccination area is nicely done up. We have a kid, who is bigger than some small adult. Haha. 

It was soon his turn and he took the jab very bravely. In exchange, he took for himself 3 sweets. Kids get all the perks. A big TV was set up in the observation area and he enjoyed the cartoon screened. He was so well entertained that the 30 mins passed very quickly. 

Any headache? Anywhere feeling unwell? Any pain? Yay, all good and good to go. Bcos Zaky had his jab in the late evening, there wasn't time for the side effects to set in (I think lah). Zaky self declared that he would skip school if he didn't feel well the next morning. Win already. 

Did he go to school the next morning? Of course not lah. I woke him up and he said that fatigue has set in and he was tired. I didn't force him to go to school bcos I didn't want to receive a call from school to go pick him up later. I was supposed to go to office somemore. 

I heard that he had a good time resting away the fatigue at home. He said that he was at least responsible enough to find out the homework and did the work that I assigned him. 

One jab down and one more to go. One step nearer to a family overseas holidays when psle is over and when the covid gets a little more tamed. Yay!

Mummy Lim

No More

This is a long story that goes back one year.

Sometime in February last year, Zaky came home and told us that he was invited to be interviewed for the prefectorial exco and we were teasing him that the school must have made a mistake. Lol. One week later, he came back and said that he was appointed the Assistant Head Prefect. We were very shocked, very unexpected but couldn’t be prouder. The 1^st thing that came to my mind was how I could use Leadership for his DSA and I remembered telling him to keep his title. Hoho.

2021 continued to be a disruptive year with 2 episodes of HBL and Safe Distancing Measures very much in place. P5 camps, immersion programs, NDP previews were all cancelled, and I wondered on several occasions what were Zaky tasked to do differently from before he was made the AHP. Bo leh.

I also did research on DSA using Leadership. There aren’t many schools that offered that without obligations. Some school required the student to join an uniform group. Skip. The only one that caught my eye was SJI but I was hesitant bcos it would take more than 1 hour of travel time 1 way.

In the beginning of this year, Zaky came home one day to tell us that he was told by the teacher-in-charge (TIC) that he would be stepping down from the exco. I asked him why and he shrugged. I asked him if he was disappointed, and he shrugged again. I thought long and hard about the issue and eventually decided to approach the TIC in hope to better understand the situation so that I can help Zaky to manage (if needed).

I ended up having 3 calls with the TIC and wasn’t pleased with how the school had handled the situation. I asked and was told that Zaky was appointed bcos he was strong academically and vocal, which we already know. However, they found that he has gaps in Leadership (which we also suspect bcos we don’t see that side of him at home, probably bcos he is the youngest) but decided to give him a chance and to groom him. The school has decided to remove him bcos they found that he lacks proactiveness and initiatives, which are the same Leadership traits that they are looking for and knew from day 1 that he lacks. Errr…. yes… they appointed him knowing full well that he lacks in the Leadership aspect and they now failed him for the same. Leadership is a big word even in the adult world. I questioned if the school had done enough to even help him close those gaps in the 1^st place, in a year that was so disruptive.

We all know that Zaky is no saint. The TIC says that his teachers had feedback that he was unable to keep his class quiet on many occasions and was sometimes even part of the rowdy crowd. I can totally imagine that. Haha. I understood that the school has their own system but I am upset that the parents were not involved in such major situations/ decisions; we are now left to manage the mess. What I am even more upset about is that the school did nothing proactively to help him to manage the situation. They simply told him that he is stepping down and that he is not proactive enough. Nobody preps him on what will happen next, nobody taught him how to answer to his school mates when students start asking why he stepped down. So much for a school who failed a student on the basis of lack of proactiveness. What if his confidence, morale and motivation get affected and in turn affect his PSLE?!!?? For sure, nobody in the school thought about it. The TIC simply tells me that they are ”monitoring” and will send him to the school counselor if needed. Isn’t this a reactive measure?

The poor TIC was at the receiving end. I ended up speaking to the Principal, who used a lot of motherhood statements like how she believes that all her students are resilient. Zzzzzz…. But she at least suggested that she will speak to Zaky and see if more needs to be done. This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t made noise.

I spoke with Zaky after the P has spoken to him. He was taught that he can tell his friends that the school has decided to give other students another chance. I asked him to add on to say that he is not interested anyway. Hahaha. The P also asked him to channel the extra time and energy into his studies to get good PSLE results. This he already knows and a question of whether he can really do that.

He is still wearing his VHP vest. I am not sure when the relinquishing of role would be effective. I had been tried to assure Zaky several times that this doesn’t define him. He sounded like he understood. I hope he is as resilient as what the Principal believes him to be. Haiz, I don’t like the school and I cant wait for Zaky to graduate and move on. Zzzzzz.

Mummy Lim

When Popo Goes Cruise

Everytime Popo goes for her complementary Dream cruise, it is also like a mini holiday for us. I have been so encouraging, asking her to book for the complementary cruise so very often. She needs to get out of the house and we also needed her out. 

We were so upset to hear about the Genting HKG financial difficulties resulting in liquidation bcos Popo's cruises will be affected. Without real holidays, these little vacations are what we had been looking forward to. Sob. 

Meanwhile, we enjoy while it lasted. Popo was away last weekend. We made plans. Lil Shauna went to Auntie H's home for sleepover after netball on Thursday. Oh, Boo is in NH and in netball as well. The girls had HBL together on Friday. 

We hosted the Chan Family for dinner on Friday evening. Then it was Boo's turn to sleepover on Friday night. 

On Saturday, we baked. I finally got the oven repaired. Moisture built up due to prolong non-uasge and tripped the electric circuit when I tried to turn it on. It cost us $220 to get the technicians down to service the oven. 

I hope some investors will help with the Genting HKG difficulties. We need our little vacations.

Mummy Lim

CNY Gathering

For several years, we had our CNY gathering at Ms Teo's place. It doesn't sound like a big deal but only if you know where she lives - TAMPINES! That is like the other end of Singapore from where we live. T.T 

For a long time, I refused to think too much about it. I didn't even know who would be turning up at the gathering; we had to split the group to 2 different weekends to adhere to the 5 visitors rule. Auntie S asked how I would be going to Ms Teo's place. I seriously didn't know and didn't think of it until Saturday morning. 

I ended up taking the MRT. It was an hour's ride and I even managed to complete a work task on my laptop. It had been at least 15 years since I took a MRT to the East side. I cycled to the East more often than taking the MRT. Hohoho. 

This is where I grew up and spent my teenager years. It is so different yet a sense of familiarity. Auntie S met me at the mrt station and was orienting and reminding me of what this building used to be, what shops/ restaurants used to be there. Wow, how time really flies. 

Sidetracking, Auntie H randomly sent us these pictures taken at her wedding back at 2007. That is like freaking 15 years ago. 

I stared at the pictures for a long time. We were so young and carefree then. I can almost feel the youthfulness oozing from the pictures. 

We finally arrived at Ms Teo's place at 1.50pm and I left home at noon. Woohoo! 路途遥远, 长途跋涉. It was another round of catching up, listening to Ms Teo's accounts of how students are so difficult now and how parents (of the students) are equally, if not more difficult. Hoho. I know right. 

Time again flew by and it was soon 5pm. 

How did I get home? No way was I going to take another train from East to West. I got a grab to save my sanity. The map on the grab app showed a horizontal line from East to West. Woohoo!

We talked about gathering one day as a big group again. It had been more than 2 years! At full force, we are talking about 9 adults (without including the spouses) and 15 kids. I think we need a really huge place. I can't even remember how that felt like. It only sound like a very scary thought now. Hohoho. 

Mummy Lim

Happy虎年!

Bcos of the covid restrictions, it is another inbound year. Once upon a time, CNY means an opportunity for a short trip, be it to our neighbour across the causeway or a ferry ride to Batam/ Bintan. While I don't miss the horrible jams at the custom/ immigration, I miss terribly the oversea holidays, away from life and routine in general. 

This is again another quiet year but I do appreciate the extra rest days (PH). Reunion dinner took place on Sunday night bcos.. I don't know why actually... I just follow. But I did enjoy the steamboat thoroughly. Hoho. 

My bro's family came over on CNY eve for lunch. Daddy Lim was working and bcos we already "supposed" to have had reunion, Lil Shauna went for lunch with her friends and didn't come home until 5ish. The eldest F did likewise with her friends too. That left popo grumbling bcos I think she wanted 2 reunion meals. Aiya, keep things simple leh, reunion meal need not take place before CNY, we do that so often anyway. I cannot take too much of this "popo go into overdrive mode" too much bcos she is so busy planning in her mind to cook 满汉全席. 

Bcos there was no reunion dinner, Daddy Lim and I brought Zaky for an evening ride to WCP. Good, I need to burn some calories. 

At WCP, Zaky helped us take a picture but I am quite sure that it was taken anyhow, bcos.... 

Muahahaha... at least I look skinny in this shot.

Popo and Lil Shauna had left for my bro's place for sleepover when we were home. There was no dinner left. Zaky and I had a quick bite before the ride but not Daddy Lim. So at 9ish on CNY eve, we went in search of dinner, which was not an easy task. It took us several attempts before finally found and bought mala home. Luckily I love Daddy Lim to run around with him like that on CNY eve. Hoho. 

Why didn't Zaky go sleepover with jiejie? Bcos we promise him the skatepark on 初一 morning. So happy to find MacD open. 

We thought the skatepark would be empty but there are many crazy ones like us. I completed my 虎年 set. Huat ah!

Morning greetings from the sleepover gang. 

We headed over to my bro's place for more eating after the skatepark.

Then to nainai's place for more eating. Sob, I am rolling around. Blob, blob, blob.. that is the sound of my fats blobbing around. Hoho.

On 初二 morning, it was skatepark again. We had Lil Shauna with us. 

It had been such a long time since Lil Shauna joined us for a family activity session. Daddy Lim and I were joking that the feeling almost felt foreign. Haha. 

The last stop of the CNY visitation was to Daddy Lim's Auntie's place.

CNY had been surprisingly tiring even with the few visitations that we made. Why ah? Maybe I had imagined it to be 2 days of nuahing and any moving around is too much. Haha. 

Happy 虎年! HUAT ah!

Mummy Lim