Still Kena Thrashed but Improved

Zaky had a game on Sunday morning, which made his half-dead mother climbed out of bed despite the super late night. After years of clubbing, I have come to realize that lack of sleep + hangover = deadly combo, which explained why we rarely go beyond the 2 glasses of house pour that come with the cover charge. Most of us needed to function as if the clubbing incident didn't happen the next day and we are also too sensible to throw good money into drinks.

Anyway, the alarm rang at 8am and the little people were already running around in the house getting ready. I was the last to absent mindedly staggered out of the house. It was a 慢半拍 morning.

Two Sundays ago, we turned up at the Clementi stadium to realise that his game was the earlier slot and we made an empty trip. The schedule kept changing and parents had to rely on these sheets of schedule that were given out, which we probably missed. I really hope that we got the schedule right this time bcos his dear mother sacrifice her beauty sleep and would be very upset if there was no game. Haha. Fortunately, things worked out as they should.

While waiting...

I thought I looked decent in the pictures but actually felt very dead inside. I is the walking dead. Hoho.

Soon, it was Zaky's turn.

I cannot believe how come their team is always so suay and at a disadvantage. There were only 5 in their team, the 6th girl turned up much later. This meant that there was no exchanges for most part of the game. The other team not only had 7 players, 2 to 3 of them were exaggerating tall. They can't be 9 years old. What milk powder did their mother feed them? How come my only free sideways and not upwards?

Zaky's team still lost the game at the end. They scored 8 while their opponents were like 20+ but they played much better. Towards the later part of the game, exhaustion sets in and it was obvious that his team wasn't thinking; they weren't thinking hard to begin with. Haha.

The many hours that Daddy Lim spent playing basketball with the boy must have paid off. Though he is still bad with ball handling, he has definitely improved. I saw 2 occasions that he was opened and tried to score. He would probably passed the ball to his teammate in the past, which he still does when the opponents are in defense bcos he isn't confident. He said so himself. Of the 8 points, 2 were contributed by him. Hehe. Proud mummy moments despite him being one of the weaker links.

His opponents definitely were playing as a team more than his. There were so many times that we see individual who tried to be hero, poor soul who was tackled with no support or poor soul who had to try to be hero bcos his teammates were too tired and walking behind him. Hoho.

Regardless, it was definitely one of the better games that his team had played. The excitement from watching the game woke me up and at least I didn't have to regret giving up my beauty sleep to come watch him. We didn't scold him this time but affirmed that he played much better.

Sidetracked - the posts were so short and cute. Jiejie could probably slam dunk. Hoho.

The season is coming to an end. I am not sure when would be the next one but I would be interested to sign him up for some running around.

Mummy Lim

Mambo No. 2

Auntie S and I had such a good time at Mambo the last time such that she texted me soon after to say that Mambo was again taking place on 23 Nov. Let's go!

As the day approached, we jio-ed more people. Auntie SL decided to give Mambo a chance despite not being a retro fan. She brought along a friend. Auntie SR was deciding and decided at literally the very last minute. She texted when the rest of us have met up, that she will be on her way and will see us in 30 mins. This only reinforces how freaking far JW is from Clarke Quay - I was like on the train like forever before I finally reached the Clarke Quay station but the rest made it easily to the destination.

We decided to meet at 10.30pm, knowing that the music only starts at 11pm and the dance floor gets crowded at midnight. #punchcard

When we entered Zouk, it was very, very empty, more so than our last trip. We figured out that it was Halloween night the last time, which called for higher attendance. This leaves us plenty of time for photo taking.

Coincidentally, we were all in sneakers – the unspoken clubbing dress code now unless one wants to risk breaking the back or knees.

The dance floor was slowed to warm up even when the clock strikes 12. Not many Mambo men crowd the platform; there were much more normal humans this time. Haha. The crowd also appeared younger but there were still plenty of middle age clubbers to allow me to still feel very young.

Clubbing is always full of strange things. It was funny how the people on the dance floor were eager to learn the mambo moves from the few experts on the platform, probably bcos that is like the signature moves. So it was this weird sight of people “gathering” around the platforms, with eyes glued on the Mambo men and following their move. Strange! Ha! Then, there was this drunk lady who fell from the platform and really landed at my feet. She was like rolling down the platform and fortunately Auntie SL jumped out of her way to avoid being knocked down like bowling pins. Auntie S said that she had been wobbly on the platform in her high heels for a long time until the inevitable. The fallen lady must be quite embarrassed and fortunately drunk; hopefully drunk enough to not remember the incident. Haha. Then her friend hurriedly helped her off the dance floor.

We spent the whole night on the dance floor, in between 2 huge speakers. At one point when the music was lousy, I had to take a little walk/ break; I thought my eardrum would burst soon. Lol. We left Zouk at about 3am. Auntie SL’s friend had left much earlier in the night to join her friends at another joint.

It was the usual long taxi Q. While I didn’t get any free rides that night, I did get to cut Q to board a cab that was changing shift and heading to JW. Heng ah, nobody else in front of the Q was fighting for the cab with me. I hit the pillow at 3.30am, in desperate need for a good rest given the early morning and long day and in prep of the long Sunday ahead.

Truth be told, Mambo no. 2 was less fun. Maybe it was bcos the novelty had died down or maybe bcos the DJ wasn’t as fantastic – Auntie SL highlighted that some songs were repeated like 3x??!! I am sure we can easily throw some retro titles if the DJ ran out of playlist – we are still missing Summer Rain after 2 Mambo visits! When will be our next visit? I don’t know. Hmmm….

Mummy Lim

A Busy Saturday

It was a long, long day. WWF had organised its 2nd overseas ride and we had the privilege to be part of it. The ride was meant to be a turnaround at Legoland. Daddy Lim was very excited. I was nowhere near bcos I melt under the sun. Once again, I noblely sacrifice myself, all in the name of looking after the kids. Somebody need to stay sane and alive, isn't it?

I did jio a few other cyclists to form the "send off" team. We rode off together with the pack from Frontier cc at freaking 4.45am. Yawn.

It was an easy spin to Kranji; the main pack still has a long way to go. We stopped for briefing at the Kranji MRT station.

Before the pack moved off. Byeeeee!

I rode back home with the "send off" party and ended off with a nice bfast. Hoho. Happy.

Daddy Lim's Legoland ride went very smoothly. There were constant updates.

Crossing the immigration.

Finally arriving at Legoland.

Of course the pack had to reward themselves with a good bfast on the way back.

Our day without Daddy Lim was equally busy. I was back home just in time to send the kids to the last day of the CNL church camp. The kids done their kindergarten studies with the church and had joined the camp for a few times since they left school. They had fond memories and had asked to go back when our schedule allowed.

We missed it the last year bcos Zaky wasn't keen to attend. He didnt want to have the eat the vegetable served during lunch. I know right, so epic. This year, he was good though he still hates vegetables. Lol. I was hesitant to send them actually bcos the camp was scaled towards younger kids and I was worried that ours would be bored. Moreover, I heard that most of their teachers had left.

The worry was unfounded and the kids had fun nevertheless. Their teachers were indeed missing from the camp but they still found a few familiar faces.

I drove (yes, yes, yes, though unsteadily) and dropped the kids at the camp before heading to the school to buy school books. I was grumbling earlier in the morning while tidying the book list and striking off items. I can't believe that Zaky's books ended up being more expensive than Lil Shauna's when he is the one receiving the hand-me-down books from jiejie. I hated it when we kept the books for 2 faithful years to realise that the school had decided to change to books by another publisher. Why like that?

I managed to sneak in an hour's nap before it was time to join the kids at the church for the closing ceremony. Daddy Lim was telling me how freaking hot it was while queuing at the immigration to return to Singapore. I can already imagine and all previous regrets about skipping the Legoland trip disappeared. Hoho.

He arrived home at about 1pm. Hello Tapir!

I arrived late at the church and the kids were waiting for me. There was the usual worshipping and sharing.

The kids wrote us letters during the camp.

Their favorite kindergarten teacher came back to lead the worship and they were overjoyed. The kids had grew so much that Lil Shauna is already taller than her teacher.

Lil Shauna said that she wanted to come back 2 years from now as a volunteer instead of camper. Nice!

We spent the next few hours nuahing at home while Daddy Lim continued to concuss and recover from the early morning and ride. It wasn't 6pm before he finally agreed to rise and join us from dinner.

The agreement was for Daddy Lim to take over the kids and bring them for Frozen2 movie while I have my free night with the ladies. Hohoho. This calls for another post. Hoho.

Mummy Lim

The Dentist

The Dentist has the same effect on me as The Ring. For many who know, I will never volunteer to watch a horror movie in a cinema bcos it is too tiring an affair. I will have to use my hand to shield the screen such that I only get to see a corner of the screen; hopefully the corner without the jump scare and whatever fingers I have left must be used to cover my ears to block out the scary sounds. By the end of the movie, I  am often not aware of what the movie was.

I hate the dentist equally but am well aware of the need for regular check-up, scaling and cleaning. There was a period of time that I avoided the dentist for as long as possible that ended up with gum disease. That was a painful and expensive lesson.

It had been a good year since I last visited the dentist. I have to summon enough courage before I could make the call for the appointment. The last dentist that I visited have closed down. I bet there are too many people like me who avoided dental checks - no business. Hoho.

I went back to Q&M @ Boon Lay station. It was a small clinic. I didn't have to wait very long, which was great bcos anxiety was mounting with every passing second.

The visit took less than 15 mins. The dentist started with scaling and cleaning, which is antagonising. I literally have to count down the number of tooth that needed to clean to endure the ordeal. The bad news came - I have a tooth decay and needed a filling. "We needed to drill it a little" said that the dentist. I was oftended that he made it sound so causal.

I survived but felt like I went through a traumatic experience. I was so relieved that it was over and am so glad that the next time will be 1 year later. Daddy Lim reminded me that dental check-ups are meant to be 6-monthly. No way am I going to put myself through such trauma 2x a year.

Mummy Lim

All Black Junior Belt

Zaky took his 2nd pom TKD grading test in August. With that, he also decided to take a long break regardless of the grading result. Right after the test, his Master did share that he did well and thought that he would pass but unable to guarantee until the official results are out. We were told that the results would be out in 2 months' time.

October came and gone and I didn't hear from the school. I didn't think much about it and one fine day, I got a text from the school congratulating me on my child's promotion and inviting me to witness his belt changing ceremony. So yay, he passes his 2nd pom!

The ceremony was on Sunday early morning. It had been a long while since Zaky dons his TKD uniform. We teased and asked if he can still fit into his uniform. Hohoho.

He fit into them alright.

Soon after arrival, he was ushered into the center.

The kids were nicely seated when the parents were invited into the center.

Master Kim had to start with a speech. I thought I heard variations of it given attended so many of these ceremonies over the years.

They started for the 1st pom 1st and obviously Zaky got bored after a while, fidgeting and disturbing his Master, asking when it would be his turn.

Fortunately it wasn't a ceremony for hundreds or I cannot imagine what kind of mischief Zaky would get into.

He was finally asked to standby and was still monkeying in front of the mirror. Zzz. Isn't part of TKD is about self control and discipline? Bo leh.

Heng ah, finally his turn before he create more mischief.

He is still a junior black belt (JBB) but his belt is now entirely black.

The ceremony ended soon after the full black belts were given out but not before Master Kim made another of his speech about self constraint for JBB and not put what they learnt into trouble. He was illustrating and conveniently got Zaky, who was in the front row to help with his illustration. At one point, he turned to Zaky and asked, "if anyone ask what is your school?" and he was looking for "Ildo TKD" but Zaky instead replied "WGPS" that led to plenty of laughter from the parents. Master Kim tried a 2nd time and Zaky still replied "WGPS". Hohoho. So funny. At least he got it right when Master Kim asked who would he say his teacher is. Lol.

Finally, the boy has a full black belt.

He proudly posed for me.

We were told that on his belt, one end reflected the school's name and obviously not WGPS.

The other end shows his name in Korean.

He was also given this board with a nice message. He got one too when he passed his 1st pom, which he soon broke into half accidentally. Hahaha.

Last but not least, the 2nd pom certificate.

Will he continue with his TKD in the future? We are not sure...

Mummy Lim

Project Declutter Part 1

It is in my blood to freely throw away things that I no longer need. Yes, I am one of those that contribute to the growing waste that is fast filling the land fills but I really hate clutter. I live by the motto 旧的不去,新的不来 and reckoned if something has not been used for years, it wouldn't be for the next few years to come. Have I regretted? Of course, I just threw away that (fill in the blanks)... s**t.... fortunately, those moments aren't frequent and I get more satisfaction from the decluttering.

We did a major clean up when we shifted into Centris. It wasn't much of a choice; we had to fit into a smaller space. Over the years, there had been impromptu moments that I declutter the storeroom/ wardrobe/ study place... Well, it takes time and a lot of energy. It really depends on how messy the area is and if it is bad enough to give me that adrenaline push. Haha.

The kids' study area gets my special attention once a year. The books, papers and files got stack up like a game of Jenga along the year and at the end of the school year, I get a special high from sorting the textbooks and throwing away the workbook and worksheets. Super shiok.

This year, it was the same exercise but a lot more different. The shelf at the study area is definitely too small thus the Jenga game every year. I had intended to shift a bigger and underutilised shelf from the kids' room to the study area. This would mean that the kids' room had to be packed up. The study area is also too small to accommodate the bigger shelf, which in turn means that the side telephone table had to be clear up to make space. We just terminated the super underutilised phone line and there is no longer need for the side table. Bingo, it all fit nicely like a jigsaw puzzle.

So, the project began with the kids' help. I bet they get the same high from throwing a year's worth of school work. Hoho. They happily sorted out the stuff that need to be kept and the ones to go into the recycle bin.

The living room turned into a war zone and we packed a good 4 big stacks to throw into the recycle bin plus another 2 big bags of rubbish. Daddy Lim then helped to shift the bigger shelf from the room to the study area. Dust bunnies were hopping everywhere. Cough, cough. We briefly cleared up the side table and the kids' room, pending round 2 as the kids moved  off for maths class.

Round 2 was in progress after the kids' class. We added a few more container/ boxes to departmentalise the book shelf and the study area is now completed. Woohoo!

Round 2 was very much focused on sorting the junk that we had collected from the telephone side table. It had quietly became a temporary parking place for all sorts of crazy stuff and majority of those will go into the kids' room. We also had to clear up the kids' room so that there would be space to sleep in the night.

Most of the kids' toys were long gone and converted to more big kids' staff like boardgames. Some of the toys were given away but mostly went into the rubbish bins over the years. Their toys and stuff were kept in the Ikea containers and on the bigger shelf (that had been shifted out) and left untouched for a long time. Nobody really still play toys now.

It was the usual drill that the kids are familiar with - we unturned the Ikea containers, pouring through the content to see what should be kept and what not. It was like a nostalgic path and the kids exclaimed every now and then over a toy/ item that they had not seen for a while. We found new unopened items to pass down.

We also threw out 4 big bags of stuff. Fortunately, we found new home for Zaky's huge collection of hotwheels cars and tracks - to a friend's little boy. These were some of the last toys. We still kept Zaky's Nerf gun collection and a huge Ikea container of Lego.

Zaky was excited and asked if we are going to sell them for money. Lol. I am already so glad that somebody was willing to take them for free.

Tadah!

After hours' of labor the kids' stuff were nicely packed and stacked at where the shelf used to be. The telephone side table also found a temporary home until such a time that we could find a better space or decide that it should go.

The sense of satisfaction was immersed. This is only a part of my intended big project. I have so much more that I wanted to clear and set right. It would of course take a lot of time and we just have to take it one part of the house at a time. Hehehe. So exciting!

Mummy Lim