How I Came To Know God
I believe very much in simple truths, and my early knowledge in God really stemmed from two such truths. Essentially, I grew up in a non-Christian family, my parents being atheistic in fact. However,...
View ArticleThe Marriage Game
Near my work place in the town area, I have a friend, Grace, that I know a while ago from Salmon Run, who helps out in a cafe started by some folks at Wesley. We mostly lost touch after I left my small...
View ArticleA Time For Reflection
The students in my lecture groups will notice that I bring a pint-sized notebook – a Toshiba Portégé 3480 – to school, although aside from the smaller Software Engineering lecture groups on Thursday...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is this war?
I saw a horrific image on the television today – a scared boy surrounded by soldiers, many of them equally nervous, pointing guns at him. This boy was wearing a coat, and underneath it, wrapped around...
View ArticleClik here to view.
All children are blessings
My Christmas post! One of the two discussion books our small group has been studying this year is on family. And as these discussions go, a couple of times the issue of having children has come up a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spoil the rod…
The most dreaded instrument at our home decades ago was the bamboo cane. I have to hand it to our mum. She was a suffer-no-fools, take-no-prisoners person when it came to ill discipline or bad grades....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Normal or not?
It has been a trying period for us after my gynae informed me that my test results showed that our baby may have chromosomal abnormality, especially Down Syndrome. At my age, the average probability of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lessons: Punctuality
We never stop learning. My firmest beliefs in one matter or another comes from lessons in life imparted by people, events and literature who’ve made a big impression on me through the years. So, here’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lessons: “In all things…”
We usually close of our bible study with prayer requests. And recently Ann jokingly remarked that I don’t seem to have many requests.:) There’s a long-winded explanation for that. I don’t have many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lessons: Rationalizing
Taking a break from music posts and returning to an thread where I was writing about lessons in life.:) A groupie in our small group Salmon Run once remarked that the greatest threat to the Holy Spirit...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Growing Disquiet
I typically steer clear of controversial topics on this blog. Over the 18 years I’ve been online now, making my opinion on a sensitive subject known in the public sphere has never led to anything...
View ArticleClik here to view.
!@#!@#!#%%!
One of the weirdest letters to have been published in The Straits Times in recent memory was in last Tuesday’s paper. Here’s what it read (source here): July 14, 2009 Horrified by many profanities in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pictures from the Weekend
Ling was asking the other night why a series of photos I took over the weekend at home haven’t been put up on our blog here nor the Flickr album we’ve got. Answer: I’ve been sitting on them! Half of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
9 Months
Hannah today is exactly 9 months old! It’s been quite the journey as first time parents. There’s been plenty of lows points for certain. There’s been that dramatic change from being in a two person...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Daddy and Daughter
There’s one thing I continue to marvel about Hannah joining our family of two. Yeah, I’ve posted about it here several times now, but it’s still something I just can’t say enough of: that Hannah is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Japan, 2010
As soon as I left for Boston and started posting all those pictures of places I was visiting, Ling began dropping big hints about our upcoming opportunity at the end of this year for a holiday to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“With Wings Like Eagles”
When I was unpacking at home the 37kg of luggage I had with me from Boston, Ling made a remark that I thought was fun: “Wow dear; you really bought a lot of stuff there this time.” And just to put her...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Growing Disquiet – II
This post isn’t about what one of my friends calls ‘Toronto Bashing’, or quibbling with fellow Christians, but a very personal reflection on something that continues to unsettle me. A month ago I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka: Reflections on the trip – Part 1
Our 11:30 PM flight home from Kansai International Airport back to Changi in Singapore was remarkably smooth in one respect. I was semi-conscious until I was awaken seconds before midnight by the SQ...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka: Reflections on the trip – Part 2
Part 2 of our notes on our 10.5 day trip! The Weather We didn’t have much of a choice on when to go on vacation given the large number of limitations to accommodate: Ling’s academic calendar, my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka: Reflections on the trip – Part 3
Part 3 of our notes on our 10.5 day trip! The Currency One thing I absolutely do not like is the fact that you get loose change from every dining and retail establishment that are maddeningly difficult...
View ArticleGaming, Women and Society
A year ago I received a fairly large group of JC students who were at my institution as part of their immersion program to better understand video games in society. One of the topics I spoke to them...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hannah’s Progress Report from Playgroup
I used to write remarks and testimonials for my students when I was a full-time teacher. There were certain dos and don’ts stipulated pertaining to our choice of words. No matter how disruptive or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gleamings from ‘Positive Discipline for Preschoolers’ Book: Power Struggle
Yang got me this parenting book as a surprise birthday gift recently as I kept extending its borrowing period with the library. :) The last time I shared something from this book was about a month ago....
View ArticleHannah: Days of Growing Up
Hannah is fast growing away from her budding cuteness as a junior tot. She is taller now and not easy to carry her in our arms for too long. And that simple innocence in her round eyes and pure happy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gleamings from ‘Positive Discipline for Preschoolers’ Book: Revenge
Playing with sand @ East Coast Park Out of the four mistaken goals in misbehaviour, i.e. undue attention, misguided power, revenge and assumed inadequacy, we have not observed the last two in Hannah so...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Theory of Two
For a long time, Yang and I were content with having just one child. My decision was largely influenced by Yang’s perception of my ability to manage another kid. Other minor reasons include my age...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The secrets of language acquisition in infants and toddlers
This is probably the final segment on my gleamings from the book ‘Nurture Shock’ by PO Bronson & Ashley Merryman. A disclaimer here first – I’m no linguist and definitely not anywhere close to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
!@#!!!%%
It might be middle-age or just maybe the slowly but ever steadily increasing demands and expectations at work, but I’ve increasingly become an angry driver when on the road. Not in aggression or...
View ArticleExperiences of a Second-time Mom: Delivery, Breastfeeding & Confinement
Here I am into the third week of the Chinese 30-day confinement feeling the need to pen down some thoughts and events for keepsake. Pardon my lack of sobriety if my writing appears strange. The Birth...
View ArticleClik here to view.
9 Days in Melbourne – Final Notes and Such
While reading up for our Melbourne trip early on and doing general searches for itinerary planing for a family with kids, I was startled to find that the majority of local blogs seemed to be by ‘social...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Departed with Memories – Part 1
Matt and I were having an MSN chat the other day while I was still in Kumamoto, and one part of it went like this: Matt: “It is a shame you won’t get to see Nagasaki, though.” Me: “Yeah. But Ling is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Departed with Memories – Part 2
There are little observations I’ve made too throughout my 9 day stay. Service standards are incredible. I never met a single customer service person who failed to display the highest levels of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Western Australia – 11 Days in WA – Itinerary Retrospection
Our flight departed Perth on Saturday night and arrived in Singapore just before 4AM on Sunday morning. The Jetstar flight was uneventful. While we don’t mind the absence of in-flight food or freebies...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Western Australia – 11 Days in WA – Final Notes and Such
This has been our second family trip to Australia, and a very different 11 days vacation than the 9 days we had in Melbourne just last year. Specifically, the trip last year saw us stationed in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Phuket 2017 – Itinerary Retrospection
Eight days in Phuket, and as we still have an hour to kill before hailing a Grab Car for our ride from Sino House Phuket Hotel to the airport, I wrote up a retrospective post on the itinerary covering...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Phuket 2017 – Final Notes and Such
Our last post covering our December 2017 trip to Phuket. As is our practice in our family vacations, aside from an overall itinerary commentary, we normally also finish off with final notes and travel...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Things I Cherish About @ The Minton
I think the Government has long realized that Singaporeans are becoming harder to please. I reckon we’re victims of our own success – e.g. considering that our small island’s public branding has been...
View ArticleClik here to view.
11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Reflections – Part 1
I’ve got quite a few notes to jot down here, so my post-trip Reflections will span two posts. I did two trips to Japan previously in 2009 and 2010, blogged here and here. The first visit was also...
View Article
