Red PEA !!!

Brought Jaslynn and Justin to McDonalds last Saturady for some Red PEA. No, it's not a new Kids' menu. It's a new programme that Mcdonald's came up with to attract more children (and $$ of course). Now the kids have 1 more excuse to go to McDonald's. Red PEA actually stands for Play, Exercise & Art.

We were there at about 3.15pm and was informed by the STARs that we actually needed to pre-register for the Art segment. Issit? Nobody told me leh. But they were kind enough to slot us in. There were actually quite a lot of children.

They started off with the Arts segment where they had Face Painting for this 'season' (May - June). The segment was conducted by Little Art Bug Workshop and the materials were provided by Lyra Asia.

The theme for the day was Shrek and since Daddy's art wasn't too good, so had to settle for those easy to draw ones. Drew one of the Three Blind Mice for Justin.

Jaslynn had a Puss In Boots on her left arm.

Justin also trying to have a go at Face Painting.

After the Art segment, we did some Exercise ! This was the highlight of the day where Ronald himself conducted the segment. All the kids squealed and clapped as Ronald made his way to the front.

Ronald led to kids in doing some 'warm up' before the began playing the games. The warm up was a messy 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' where the kids loved and the whole place was filled with laughter.

The last segment was the Play segment. Which was by The Finger Players, who 'provide loads of fun through interactive puppetry and show-telling. Instilling messages of "love, care and family values"'.

The Company's unique brand of puppet theatre has won awards in Singapore and recognition around the world. The Finger Players is a non-profit company with charity status. For the May / June period, they presented Puppets Alive!2.



Justin was a little scared of the puppets at first and he stayed with me at the back. He peeped through the row of kids to catch a glimpse.










He finally spotted his Jie Jie (sister) in the front row and so went to sit on her lap.

For those of you who're interested in bringing your kids to the next Red PEA, the Schedule for June are as follows :

3rd - Bt Panjang Plaza (11.30am), Sun Plaza (1.30pm) and Khatib (3.30pm)
10th - Bt Batok, King Albert Park, and West Coast Park (timing as above)
17th - Queensway, Jurong East, and Science Centre
24th - Parkway, Bedok Reservoir, and Tampiness East CC

Happy Birthday Daddy !! - Part II

For my Dad's birthday dinner, we were actually looking at a few hotels that had international buffets. But in the end, Daddy chose the steamboat restaurant at Golden Mile Complex, which we often go to when we were young.

It had been quite a while since we last went there for steamboat. Things didn't really changed much. Especially the delicious chicken rice, which I used to gobble all up before the food was even ready :)

We invited Daddy's brother (Sa Chek - no.3 uncle, as he's no.3 in the family) and his family along for the dinner too. The food there isn't exactly cheap, but not too expensive also. I'm sure those of you who have been there would agree that the price is reasonable.

Anyway, Jaslynn and Justin had loads to eat, and the 2 oldies (my dad and Sa Chek) had a lot of fun playing with them.



Jaslynn enjoying her steamboat with her 'mahz mahz' and kenny 'shu shu' (uncle).


Justin telling Chek Gong (Grand Uncle) how many fishballs he wants. Actually, Chek Gong also dunno what he's wispering.


The birthday boy with his Grand Dot.

After dinner, as we were walking to the carpark, one sharp eye observer (who is it?) noticed a cafe with this signboard. Guess you can tell its significance?


After the sumptous steamboat dinner, we proceeded to the Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) for some karaoke session. The room was quite big and had a very nice view of the padang and Supreme Court. Wasted my mom's Olympus (u740) camera couldn't take a nice night scene pic.


Jaslynn and Justin telling Kenny what songs they wanted. Justin tot it was a touch screen. Me too.


The Wong oldies belting out a duet. Anyone knows why is Leon laughing so heartily in the background?

The highlight of the evening. The cake was made of very rich chocolate. Almost like eating a chocolate bar.


Oi ! Who pushed me ! Tot should be saboing (sabotage) the birthday boy?


To end the evening, we had Jaslynn showing off her dance moves !!!

Happy Birthday Daddy !!

Jaslynn drew a birthday card for her 'yae yae's 60th birthday. Have a look !

And the inside of the card. Can you tell what she's drawing?

Kids !!!

Brought the kids over to Jit Leong's place as I had to pass him something. My kids loved his place as there were plenty of toys, plus there was a slide somemore. Told my friend his house looks more like a mini childcare centre. Ha ha !!

These photos were taken using Jit Leong's new toy, the Nikon D80, that he bought recently. He couldn't stop taking photos with it. We started photography quite some time back and are quite avid photobugs.

Anyway, the kids really had a ball of time ! Moreover, there were plenty of shelves and drawers which Justin simply loved to explore. Not to mention there were also Ribena and cheese ! My friend sure knows how to keep them quiet. But not for long !!!!

Justin and Jiale 'discussing' which game to play. Think Justin is more interested in his Ribena.

Jaslynn's turn to have a go at the (dunno what you call it) toy.

First signs of trouble. But all's well, just some minor 'disagreements', as usual.

That's Jit Leong's little girl, Jiaxi, wondering what they're doing with her toy. Can I have it back please? Don't spoil it hor.

This was the first time Jiaxi met me, so she was a little apprehensive, as do most toddlers. The way she toddles around reminded me of Jaslynn when she was at Jiaxi's age. I just followed her around with my camera.

She then went to her daddy's study room and when I looked in, she was hiding behind the cd rack. Her expression was one of those like was afraid yet still wanted to take a peek. I like the expression of her eyes.

Anyone trying to take a group photo of kids will know how difficult it is. You'd probably end up with 4 kids all looking at 4 different directions, and anywhere except where the camera is.

A bit better now.

Well, had to call it a day as the kids were getting cranky as it was nap time. On the way home my son kept requesting to 'go to Uncle Jit eong's ouse'.

Happy Mothers Day !!

First of all, I would like to wish ALL Mothers a very Happy Mothers' Day !!! Jaslynn and Justin drew a card for their Mommy. Have a look !!!

This is the outside of the card.

The inside of the card. With Jaslynn's and Justin's 'autograph'.

Zooming on the writing.

Community Service - Visit to National Library

Our organisation adopted the "Singapore Cheshire Home - for the severely disabled". We go there regularly to help with the cleaning up of the place. Sometimes, we also bring the residents on outings. Like to Night Safari, the National Library, RSAF Open House, etc.

The pictures taken were for the National Library Trip. Not all the residents were able to go for this outing.

The ramps were custom made so that the wheelchairs could be pushed down, instead of having to carry the residents down one by one. Innovative !!!

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Our volunteers helping one of the residents get on the wheelchair.

Easy does it......

All of us gathered at the lobby to wait for our guide from the National Library.......

And here is our friendly and helpful guide to explain the day's itinerary to our residents.......

And off we GO !!!

Hmmmm..... So many nice books !!!!

We are now visiting a level where they're showcasing some photos of old Singapore scenes. Some of them were familiar. Some were definitely before my time.

And finally, we go up to the highest level where the viewing gallery is. This level is usually reserved for VIPs and special events / functions. So we were quite privilledged to be given the opportunity to visit this level.

Our volunteers intereacting with the residents.

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And it's time to go home.....

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It was a fruitful day for all of us. Sometimes, we have to take a step back and see what we can do for other people. It may not always have to be making monetary donations. Sometimes, time is more significant. It teaches us what is humility.

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Once again, hope you liked the pictures.

GRADO Headphones - "The World's Finest"

Went to Causeway Point last Saturday and got myself a pair of GRADO SR-80 headphones. Wasn't actually looking to buy headphones. Was supposed to be going for a haircut. Happens that there was this 'Stereo Electronics' beside the barber. Since there was a queue at the barber, I pop into the shop to browse around.

Was looking at the specs of some of the headphones when the salesperson approached me. Discussed with him on the specs and he said that the frequency response is not so critical. The impedance is more important. If the headphones has low impedance, means it's easily driven (means no need so much power). Hmm, learnt something today.

Tried the Audio-Technica (think it's the ATH-AD500 model). The headphones were humongous. He said it was meant for studio recording purposes.

The treble was crisp and clear. And the base was solid. Pity, it was too big. Don't want people to think I'm from Mars.

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Tried a few other Audio-Technica headphones, although they were smaller in size, the sound wasn't as sweet as the ATH-AD500

The guy then recommended the GRADO headphones. He let me try the SR-60 at first, which was the entry level. Hmm, the sound quality was quite close (85%) to the ATH-AD500, and the price was quite comfortable for me.

Was about to pay for it when the guy asked me to try the SR-80. Wah piang ! Tempt me. Ok lor. At least I won't regret getting the SR-80 (I hope).

Tried the SR-80 and DAMN ! The sound quality was almost (95%) was good as the ATH-AD500 !! Somemore got 1 year warranty. Ha ha. In the end, I bought the GRADO SR-80.

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Not your usual plastic headphone packaging. Comes in a box with warranty and warning inside.

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This is how it looks like inside. Pity it doesn't come with a pouch to carry the headphones.

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The salesperson was also very friendly and helpful. Let me test out a few headphones before deciding to buy the GRADO. Didn't get the guy's name. But his hair abit like Beckham's old style, the standing one. Somemore they got dedicated amps to let you try out the headphones.

The shop is at Causeway point, 4th level, #04-08.