Had wanted to go on a weekend getaway -Hong Kong in mid april. Afterall, I've not travelled on the plane for more than 10 years, the last trip being to Thailand in 1998. Since I became a Mrs- I travelled mainly on the cab, mrt and bus and the occasionally torturous KTM to Kluang to visit mil. Now that Rachel is 4 and fully toilet trained, I longed for a family holiday!
The plan was to meet Yan after his work at Changi Terminal 3 and catch an evening flight to Hong kong. Another thing as a local bred Singaporean, I've yet the opportunity to travel on SIA. The last good holiday i had to Europe in 1995 -graduation year, we chose Air France over SIA to save a few hundred dollars getting into Paris and back from London. That was by far the most memorable trip of my life. I spend 32 days in Europe and I need to return to this beautiful continent often and much. Perhaps we could live in some cities for a few years to soak up the culture and the history and the life!!!!
Accordingly we would check into a good hotel in the Tsim Sha Tsui area in Kowloon overlooking the harbour. It is also walking distance to the Hong Kong City Cultural Centre where my current violin idol David Garrett would be playing my favourite Bruch Violin Concerto in G minor on Saturday 18 April. Earlier in day, I thought it would be great to spend a few hours at Hong kOng disney land where rachel begins her" initiation rites" I've been a fan of Euro Disney but Yan is not so pro Disney neither is he pro Pixar. Shopping and dining will be given their priorities as well.
Unfortunately, it did not materialise. A part of me was bitterly disappointed. The other part was numb and sad that after tithing much and giving to the building fund, our basic needs are still not met. I say basic since we did not even have a honeymoon and as a full time mum, I do not enjoy even a day off though realistically after a trip the mother still had lots to unpack and wash. It just saddens me much that we have basically zero travel budget.
My only comfort lies in Rachel resuming her violin lessons. Its almost $400 monthly for our fees and just yesterday, our angel said she want to audition for a place in music school. Well we have until Nov to get ready for the intake beginning Jan 10. What surprises me was neither the teacher nor Yan said anything negative. It was all peace and green light. Amy in particular felt it was good to work towards something and accepted the task of getting rachel ready for the all important admission auditon. Well. I fully believe GOD alone will bless us with talents, favours and plentiful opportunities.
Perhaps one day, rachel will play on the same stages with the same orchestras as David had done before. What a comforting thought! *smile*
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Recharging -Omnitrix way
Sigh....so tired. Been playing and attending to rachel's every need while cleaning the house and doing laundry. Yes, sometimes I wish I have an Omnitrix and can therefore turn myself into Four Arms so I can complete the many chores earlier leaving time to rest and practice the violin. Other times, I wish I could be an Upgrade, not the mechanical metamorph alien but upgrade the lifestyle so I just supervise the cleaning of the entire house. After all, aint it more important to coach my only child who is home-schooled and learning so fast and of course, devoting myself to upgrade my musical skills as well.
Ben 10 cartoon is such a god sent. Rachel is blessed with so many dvd titles and a huge library of books and activities and a toy room even but there is nothing like Ben 10 cartoons that we both love. It has the ability to capture our attention for more than 2 hours. With the subtitles she is learning sentences way above her nursery level and of course, I've started to teach her mandarin which also means that the language options in dvds become very useful a teaching tool.
Some may argue that its a mildly violent cartoon but come on, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that I grew up with and Transformers are no better. I do not believe in over shielding a children so as to prolong their innocence in a "make believe fantasy world". Even at age 4, I discuss with Rachel events like the Italy earthquake, the geylang serai food poisoning and also the tragedy at NTU campus. I want her to understand that this is not a perfect world that we live in and yes mummy gets tired sometimes, she is no Gwen (Alien Force version) and needs time and space to chill, to re-charge. Even the Omnitrix needs that.
Last night was silly. Imagine I sprinted home with Rachel so just she could catch her Alien Force episode on TV after dinner at Thai Pan. Its no joke! The amount of stress the mummy had speed eating the curry fish head while making sure the kid does not sprint out of the restaurant in its all too familiar surroundings, since we used to reside in Mandarin Gardens. One must always be vigilant about the swimming pools near by and the fact that rachel had yet to start her swimming lessons. This year the focus is on violin lessons which costs $150 a month.
(personally I almost drown not once not twice but thrice as a toddler so I am not taking any chances concerning this.)
Finally, I have found a new way to relax. Playing Monopoly Jr and Monopoly as a family and of course enjoying Ben 10 Alien Force. The relationship between Gwen and Kevin is so reflective of similar experiences. It helps too that Kevin Levin looks hunky and manly while Ben at 15 still looks like a boy. or as Gwen used to address a "dweeb"-unimportant, insignifcant person or "doofus"-stupid, incompetent, foolish person. Ha
Ben 10 cartoon is such a god sent. Rachel is blessed with so many dvd titles and a huge library of books and activities and a toy room even but there is nothing like Ben 10 cartoons that we both love. It has the ability to capture our attention for more than 2 hours. With the subtitles she is learning sentences way above her nursery level and of course, I've started to teach her mandarin which also means that the language options in dvds become very useful a teaching tool.
Some may argue that its a mildly violent cartoon but come on, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that I grew up with and Transformers are no better. I do not believe in over shielding a children so as to prolong their innocence in a "make believe fantasy world". Even at age 4, I discuss with Rachel events like the Italy earthquake, the geylang serai food poisoning and also the tragedy at NTU campus. I want her to understand that this is not a perfect world that we live in and yes mummy gets tired sometimes, she is no Gwen (Alien Force version) and needs time and space to chill, to re-charge. Even the Omnitrix needs that.
Last night was silly. Imagine I sprinted home with Rachel so just she could catch her Alien Force episode on TV after dinner at Thai Pan. Its no joke! The amount of stress the mummy had speed eating the curry fish head while making sure the kid does not sprint out of the restaurant in its all too familiar surroundings, since we used to reside in Mandarin Gardens. One must always be vigilant about the swimming pools near by and the fact that rachel had yet to start her swimming lessons. This year the focus is on violin lessons which costs $150 a month.
(personally I almost drown not once not twice but thrice as a toddler so I am not taking any chances concerning this.)
Finally, I have found a new way to relax. Playing Monopoly Jr and Monopoly as a family and of course enjoying Ben 10 Alien Force. The relationship between Gwen and Kevin is so reflective of similar experiences. It helps too that Kevin Levin looks hunky and manly while Ben at 15 still looks like a boy. or as Gwen used to address a "dweeb"-unimportant, insignifcant person or "doofus"-stupid, incompetent, foolish person. Ha
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