We were watching "2012", and as scene after scene of mass destruction unfolded -- buildings collapsing like cakes without yeast, expressways breaking up like kit-kat bars, terrible explosions, blinding storms and 10-storey high tsunamis --- my daughter turned to my wife and pronounced, "This makes me feel so good to be alive!"

And we're off to New Zealand for 2 weeks! To live, to laugh, to love...and to feel alive again.

See you all soon!

Sent a care package to Eleanor a few weeks back. I was worried I wouldn't be able to fill it up, but thankfully, I managed to stuff it with quite a lot of things.



It reached her safe and sound. Coincidentally, a coursemate of hers received a box of a similar size, and it contained one right shoe! Apparently, he left for NY in such a hurry he packed two left shoes!

( Secret contents unveiled! )

I was walking with Erin to buy breakfast. As we crossed the courtyard (which is really a bare patch of concrete dotted with some young shrubs and trees), Erin stopped, and turned to a nearby bench.

Erin called out, "Daddy, come sit with me!"

I glanced at the darkening sky, and replied, "Erin, it might rain very soon. We need to buy our breakfast now!"

Erin had already sat on the bench. She patted the space next to her and repeated, "We're always rushing around. Daddy, come sit with me."

I capitulated, thinking it wouldn't take more than five minutes.

As soon as I joined her, she clasped her hand in mine and leaned close.

"Isn't this nice? Daddy, let's enjoy the day!"

I leaned back, stretched out my legs and smiled.

Erin looked around her, and pointed, "Look Daddy! There are some beautiful flowers and trees!" She ran to the shrubs, and chased a butterfly which just happened to fly past. Then, she plucked a flower and gave it to me.

I hazarded a guess, "I think it's called a hibiscus, dear."

(Actually it was a peacock flower.)

Erin cocked her head, and said quizzically, "Hi-biscuit? It's not a hi-biscuit!"

I laughed, "No darling. A hibiscus."

Erin dashed to the shrubs again and gingerly placed the flower on the leaves.

"Daddy, come and find the hibiscus! I hid it!"

I went over, and pointed to the flower. Erin and I shared a laugh, and we went on our way.

It was the best five minutes I ever spent with Erin.

Published in the June issue of Motherhood!

"Come and experience 2 hours of exhilarating fun swinging from tree to tree five metres above the ground!"

The website says.

Five metres above ground? Hmph, I swear my 5-year-old daughter Erin jumps that high when she watches Kung Fu Panda and reenacts the fight scenes on the family bed! I have a concave mattress to prove it.

Swinging from tree to tree? I snorted at the computer screen. Must be a figure of speech, because photos show children wearing helmets and safety harnesses, instead swinging on vines ala Tarzan.

What I was most attracted to was "2 hours of exhilarating fun". Yup, Erin will be occupied for 2 blissful hours while I sit down and lim ko pi. After all that exhilaration, she'll probably need some rest, which gives me another 2 hours to do whatever I want. Sounds good, no?

In no time at all, I was on my way to Bedok Reservoir Park with Erin.

It was rather easy to find, but what the guide books don't tell you is that you need to walk another 300m from the nearest car park to the actual venue. Erin and I enjoyed the walk nonetheless, thanks to the cool afternoon breeze.

When we finally reached the site, we saw an intricate suspension of boards, planks, ropes connecting one tree to another. And although we were there on a weekday afternoon, we saw quite a few kids carefully negotiating their way from one tree to the next. My heart skipped a beat when I didn't see any nets, but then each kid was wearing a harness and secured to a safety line.

Erin's eyes widened like saucers. "You mean I get to go up there?" She asked. "Yup!" I said. She promptly gave out several squeals of delight. "Quick! Quick! I wanna go! Now!"

My initial fears that Erin would back out of the course evaporated. "That's my daughter all right." I thought proudly. A friendly instructor got Erin suited up in a helmet and harness, and she was on her way, climbing up a ladder to her first challenge. Erin was to move from one tree to the next by walking on suspended planks.

The first hint of trouble came when the instructor asked Erin to stretch her arms repeatedly to touch the pulley. She's supposed to be able to push the pulley in order to move from one challenge to the next. But Erin's arms were clearly just a tad too short to do so.

The instructor looked straight at me and said, "I'm afraid I've gotta let her down. She needs to come back when she's a bit older, say, in 6 months' time."

"But, but..." I stammered, as I saw Erin's face fall.

To the instructor's credit, he was really nice about it, and told me he understood how disappointed I was, having taken time off work specially to spend time with my daughter. He also offered to let Erin down the zip line (what's more commonly known as the Flying Fox) instead of having her climb down the ladder, so that the trip wouldn't be a total waste. Finally, he offered to give me a voucher so that Erin could come back in 6 months' time for free.

I appreciated the fact that the instructor had Erin's safety in mind, but I was reluctant to let Erin give up without giving it the first challenge a try at least. The instructor agreed, so Erin got to walk to the first tree, then return to the starting point. Erin's face showed slight nervousness but she overcame it by taking one step at a time. And she made it in the end! And when she came down the zip line, she was all smiles again!

When we went to collect the voucher, the instructor praised Erin for not kicking up a fuss. Indeed, I was very proud that Erin had taken the news quite calmly, and promised to reward her with an ice-cream. Just as I was thinking these happy thoughts, I heard the instructor say, "So Erin, you have to take more vegetables and take up skipping so that you can be taller and stronger okay?" Erin nodded enthusiastically, and started jumping in agreement. "Oh no!" I thought, "I need to buy a new mattress!"

Afternote:
We went again 6 months after I wrote the above article. I think her smile says it all!

Erin turns 6 today.

This was what happened, as she was putting on her sandals.

I said, "Erin, you know what day it is today? It's your birthday!"

She probed, "Daddy, do I look mysterious? Do I look different?"

It took 2 full seconds before I answered, "No darling."

She was crestfallen, "You mean I'm still 5?"

I didn't quite know what to say, "You're 6, darling! You're 6!"

But I wonder.

Happy birthday, my darling!


The light of my life

Erin and I were in the car.

Erin sneezed. She turned to me and asked, "Daddy, do you have tissue?"

I looked around cursorily, "No dear, I don't have it."

Erin's reply?

"Let's improvise."

My jaw dropped.

Sigh. Will be joining her in NYC on 2 Jul though.

Will stay for 3 days, head up to Boston. Will spend a couple of days there before going down to Washington DC. Then hurry back to NYC for more musical-watching, shopping and whatnot before coming home to be with Erin.

Any recommendations on what to do, where to go?

Aiya, was hurt when wife said, "XX and YY behave so lovingly together, like 老夫老妻, unlike us."

So I asked Gabriel to take photos of us as the first of my 3-part Valentine's Day present. We enjoyed our brief session tremendously; looking at the results, I couldn't be happier.

Gabriel was worried after looking at the photos he took and messaged me, "Is it okay if there are so many wacky photos of your family?" My reply, "Of course! That's us!"





My beautiful wife. She still takes my breath away



Can always count on Erin to spice up the photo!



Gabriel had a hard time finding a pic which has the three of us looking at the camera!

More beautiful photos here!
Next up, Valentine's Day dinner at our favourite restaurant of the moment, House, and weekend getaway to Bali (we might go here)!

Brought Erin to the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden on Sunday. Eleanor was in Bangkok, so it was just Erin and me.

( Some photos )

Here's an example of why I love her so:

I like oranges. So I was peeling one halfway when Erin stretched out an open palm at me and shook it, indicating that I should hand the orange over to her. I did, and she took it and started to peel it. Piece by piece. It was tough work, and she had to exert a lot of strength to finish the job. Despite my protests, she continued until the orange was peeled. Then she handed the orange to me with a smile. I thanked her, and she said two words that melted my heart yet again, "My pleasure."

Conversation No. 1

Yesterday evening:

Erin (whines): I WANT to go to PO PO*'s house! I WANT to eat PO PO's food!

Dad: Haven't I taught you to ask politely for the things you want? What happened to your "please" and "May I"?

Erin (stays silent for a second, then speaks): My "May I" escaped from me.

Dad (chokes): ...

Erin: Everytime I want to say "May I", my "May I" is gone! I think "May I" is tired, or sleepy. I call, "May I!", "May I!", but there's no answer.

Dad (nonplussed): Right.

Two seconds pass.

Erin (says sweetly): May I go to Po Po's house, please?

Dad (acts surprised): Your "May I" and "Please" came back!

Erin: Yeah! They did!

*Po Po - grandmother


Conversation No. 2

This morning:

Dad: Buckle up your seat belt please! If you're cold, go and hug Molly (soft toy)

Erin (whines): I'm TIRED! Don't ask me so many questions!

Dad: I told you to hug Molly. I didn't ask any questions.

Erin (keeps whining): I don't wanna hug Molly!

Dad (makes fatal mistake): Oh, why?

Erin: "Why?" is a question.

I was driving Erin home one evening, and I asked her what happened in school that day.

She hesitated, and admitted that she hadn't been a good girl.

"What did you do?" I asked. When she didn't elaborate, I pressed her for an answer.

"If I tell the truth, you mustn't be angry." She's trying the old George Washington And A Cherry Tree trick again.

When I agreed, she revealed she was chided by her teacher for talking when she wasn't supposed to.

"Erin, although I'm not angry at you, I will remove a heart from your sticker book."

(Back story: Erin has a sticker book, and she earns a sticker (in the shape of a heart) for good behaviour. Conversely, a sticker is removed if she misbehaves.)

Erin's voice dropped an octave, "I'm going to cry."

Two seconds pass. I remained silent.

Erin's lower lip trembled, and she warned me again, "I'm going to cry."

Another two seconds pass. I was unmoved.

Big, fat tears began rolling out of her limpid black eyes. Her shoulders shook and she started to bawl.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

Her reply was instantaneous, "I told you the truth, and you were still angry." She turned reproachful, "You wanted to take away my heart!" I began to waver, and when Erin saw the indecision in my eyes, she delivered the clincher, "I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!"

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Have been extremely tardy with regard to uploading my travel photos. Thanks, Angie, for reminding me.

These are some of my favourites from my camera; the rest are with my wife.


Erin having the time of her life at the carousel



Eleanor spinning madly in a tea cup



Eleanor was so happy she found this top for Erin.






A surreal moment for Erin

Tomorrow is my 6th wedding anniversary. My wife and I, with Erin in tow, are flying off to Hong Kong for a long overdue vacation (anniversary present for my wife!). Yeah, life is good.

My darling daughter was due for a nap. So I told her, "Erin, dear, close your eyes and try to sleep."

Her priceless answer, "Daddy, I can't. They are too big."

(Nope, I don't have an answer to that either. Was too busy laughing.)

Oh, this article left me in stitches.

Strategic staircase? Granularity? How do people come up with these phrases?

(Took a bit of artistic licence when writing this article for a magazine. Hope it gets published.)

:EDIT: Yay, it did. June 08 issue of Motherhood!

It started like any other morning.

I was driving my 4-year-old daughter, Erin, to the child care centre. The drive is about twenty minutes, and every one of it is precious to me. It's my time, and mine alone, to spend with Erin.

That morning, she was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and eager to play. She asked, "Daddy, can we tell a story? The Big Bad Wolf And The Three Little Pigs! You'll be the pigs and I'll be the wolf!"

I was tickled. "You sure you want to be the wolf? Okay then!"

Erin began, "Ha! I see the little piggy building the house of straw! I'm gonna eat him up!"

Getting into the mood, I squeaked, "Oh no! The big bad wolf is right behind me! I'm gonna hide in my house of straw!"

Erin was snarling, "You think you can hide from me? I'm gonna huff, I'm gonna puff, I'm gonna blow your house down!" Then she blows with all her might, splattering little droplets of saliva on me.

My voice rose even higher as I 'ran for cover'.

"Brother piggy, brother piggy! Please help me; the big bad wolf just blew down my house of straw and I need to hide from him!"

I continued, dropping my pitch slightly to represent the second pig. (It was still a pig-like squeal, nonetheless.)

"Don't worry, come and hide in my house of sticks!"

Erin's eyes sparkled as she huffed, puffed and blew my house of sticks down. Yes, you guessed it: more droplets of saliva rained on me.

I then proceeded to 'run' to the third pig and tried to hide in his house of bricks. That's when Erin protested. "No Daddy, it's sticks! House of sticks!"

I was puzzled. "But you blew that one away. I should be in the house of bricks."

Erin was adamant. "Bricks are too heavy. You must hide in the house of sticks."

Right. You can guess the rest of our story. By the end of the twenty minutes, the three little pigs had seventeen other 'brothers', running helter-skelter between flimsy houses of sticks and straw. I was exhausted, not to mention, drenched in saliva.

That evening, I recounted the episode to my wife. I was slightly worried, "Do you think it's strange that Erin wants to be the Big Bad Wolf? I mean, why can't she be the dancing princess, or something sweet and innocent?"

My wife was doubling over, doubtless at the mental image of her husband pretending to be pigs.

"Oh don't be silly. You're reading too much into these things. Just let her imagination run free!"

My dear wife is right of course. I missed the wood for the trees. Rather than fixate on the fact that my daughter wants to play the 'bad guy' in the story, I should revel in the knowledge that my daughter's imagination (and vocabulary) is taking flight.

Hence, I dutifully played the game of Three Little Pigs with her for several mornings until she got tired of it. I was overjoyed when she wanted to switch to The Little Mermaid. "Really? Wow, that's great! Do I get to be Triton, King Of The Sea?"

Erin looked straight at me and said, "Of course not. you're Ariel. I'll be Ursula and I'll be taking away your voice."

In her deepest, most guttural voice, she commanded, "SING! Keep SINGING!"

Erin has mastered the too-cute-for-words, cock-head-to-one-side-while-doing-the-two-handed-V-signs pose.

A pity you can't see it clearly here.



Edit: Took a closer look, and it seems like I'm wearing black thongs over my cargo pants. Ugh.

I spent an enjoyable 5 hours in Sentosa with Erin this afternoon.

Just the two of us.

Some beautiful memories:

- We did the Skyride/Luge combo a grand total of 4 times! I think I was crazy to have chosen the family package, but I wanted to kill time before Songs Of The Sea (we gave it a miss in the end because it was starting to rain)

- Each time we careened down the slope in the Luge, we made as much noise as possible (shrieking Woohoos! mostly), causing some people in front of us to turn their heads back, just in time to see us woosh past them in full career. Losers!

- As we rose higher and higher in the Skyride, I pretended to be afraid of heights. Erin patted my head, and said calmly, "It's okay. Never mind. You are a brave man."

I'm so excited about this:


Will be doing my bit for charity by performing some jazz standards from 9.15pm - 10pm.

Come and join me!

More details here

What you need to know:

Event: RED – Party with Passion

Date: Saturday, 18th August 2007
Time: 9:00pm to 1:00am
Location: One Rochester
Tickets: $40 Presale / $50 at door
Contact: charmix@gmail.com

Proceeds go to the Singapore Children Society