Monster Ru

and so i went back with my camera...

this is a really cool kid. he sure knows how to have fun and is friendly with the other kids too!




oops, i guess! this kid slipped and fell several times, and sometimes it looked like it really hurt as he laid there being still for a few moments before getting himself up and playing some more like he never fell. anyway, 'twas a really nice way to spend an afternoon, sitting around watching kids play. There is something about this that warms your heart.

Oh, and i even had a bratwurst. Just no beer. :-)

Labels: kids, kingston, play, water fountain

posted by 儒 @ 23:49 2 comments

raincoat girl

This little girl stood very very still next to the jet of water. I thought it was very cute that she had a raincoat on and yet, was still very cautious not to get too wet.

i'm glad that there is the equivalent of the Bugis Junction water fountain here in town. There is a nice atmosphere and you can even get German sausages and beer. If only the weather was a bit nicer more often.

posted by 儒 @ 13:19 0 comments

when you wake at 5am and its not light,
when you are out at 8pm and it's already dark,
(even feels like Singapore at christmas - the cool air after it's just been raining... blame it on the lights on some trees outside the futon shop!)

you know that summer has GONE...

posted by 儒 @ 22:00 0 comments

"Highly Effective" my arse

I got this in the email, and it made me sick in the stomach. It not only brought back bad memories (of when i was teaching), but also reminded me of the "kiasu" culture in Singapore. And also the fact that i've said to some of my (then) colleagues and friends, that if i ever have a child/children, i would be reluctant to let him/her be educated in Singapore.

The words "Highly Effective", "empower", and "success- driven" make me cringe. i blame this on the ex-job. but this sort of marketing strategy just makes me nauseous. You are not supposed to (God forbid!) ignore anything that claims to make you "Highly Effective". Especially if it is something that will "empower" your child/children and make them "success- driven"!

But what is really wrong with this ad? Let's see. How do you "Nurture" a "Natural Genius"? And do you still need a "Success Formula" for teens who are already "Highly Successful" anyway?

Oh, and the one that irritates me the most. "The Five Emotions that Drives your Children". Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong here... i hate to admit it, but it's the teacher in me reacting here.

Imagine when your child delivers your eulogy, " my mother... she was highly effective..." WTF?? i think i would rather be remembered as a loving, encouraging, caring, or even fair parent. But "Highly Effective"? No thanks. And so what if my child is "success- driven", i would rather he be successful! Haha!

i was talking to my mum the other day about the retirement age in Singapore going up. Then she said that she felt bad for all those old aunties and uncles who have to work at the food courts and hawker centres collecting the dirty plates and bowls. I think she felt a sense of embarrassment and shame that they are the ones cleaning up after us when they are supposed to be enjoying their retirement. i guess in Singapore, where the support network for old people isn't all that great, behind people's preoccupation with success is the fear of ending up like them in one's old age. And you are well and truly screwed if you have "success- driven" kids who do not have the decency to return the favour and take care of you when you're old.

posted by 儒 @ 00:28 1 comments

what i like about the UK is...

not the weather! Haha. Well, actually, what i like about here is the fact that i can walk into a library, look through 2 shelves of "Summer Bumper Sale" books and pick out 4 for the grand total of 60p! (Even less than the 99p i spent in Oxfam Books for Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea.)

i got Mark Helprin's "A Soldier of the Great War", Michel Houellebecq's "Lanzarote", Henry James' "The Aspern Papers and Other Stories" and David Knowles' "The Third Eye". Well, i've never read any Helprin, but that one looked quite promising...

Oh yah, and also that the museums are free (well, except for special exhibitions). It's really cool that if you've got a couple of hours to kill, and you don't want to spend too much money, you can just walk into a museum and get to see some really cool stuff...

posted by 儒 @ 22:36 2 comments

X - updates

last sunday we finally splashed out and bought a bouncy chair for the boy. A disney "Baby Einstein" infant-to-toddler rocker that's got speakers and features "Limitless Audio Options!" because it has a (wahj - i think you'll like this) jack to connect to an iPod. It even has a pocket on the under-side of the chair to slot your iPod in! i guess it is "limitless" as long as you are willing to keep expanding the size of your iPod...

well, the boy seemed to enjoy it the first time we put him in there.


NAB swears by the "vibration" feature, but the first thing he said when he found it was "you're not allowed to use it!" Well, me, i'll be satisfied if this musical vibrating machine buys me 20 mins of hands-free (haha!) time during the day.

the boy has also seemed to have suddenly grown quite a bit. he's nearly too big for his cot & moses basket. it doesnt take much kicking for his head to reach the top of the cot/basket:



i think it's nearly time to fix his bed up... but i'm trying to delay it because at the moment, with his basket right next to me, it's really easy to pick him up for night-feeds. Depending on where we put the bed... it'll take more effort. =)

Labels: baby, bouncy chair, xander

posted by 儒 @ 13:45 1 comments

A List

This was found in a book that i bought in a charity shop. Strange to be writing a "to-bring" list in a book, don't you think?

As far as i can make out, the list includes

water
shoes
??
suntan lotion
nasal spray
tissues
sunglasses
wallet (?)
Telephone

Looks like s/he was on a nice beach holiday. i'm full of envy.

posted by 儒 @ 17:15 0 comments