Values....a school's part

In an earlier post, I had some thoughts about values and the part teachers today play in imparting such values to our future generation.

I went to Endeavour to pick up Xavier after his badminton training and saw some interesting things which I want to share. These are what the students of the school see everyday as they arrive at school and during morning assembly.

One single banner shouts "No one owes Singapore a living". This is a very direct and true to heart. I wonder if it is a message to the younger generation who seem to lack grit to face adversity. This is less of their own undoing than the result of over-protective parents.

 

No one owes Singapore a living



Various banners



The other 4 banners say:

1) Singapore is our homeland; this is where we belong.

2) We must preserve racial and religious harmony.

3) We have confidence in our future.

4) We must uphold meritocracy and incorruptibility.



 

School values



 

 

 

 

4 mosaic pictures that say Integrity, Compassion, Diligence, Perseverance and Innovation stand guard at the entrance to the school building.

 

I am happy to say that my children attend Endeavour Primary School which has the right environment to drive the right moral values to my children. I am sure that there are many other schools like that. However, I cannot stress more than enough the importance of teachers. An environment is like a shell. The children need the proper guidance from the teachers to form the right character to ensure our future does not end at their generation.

 

Kudos to all teachers who make sacrifices to educate our future!!



7 Days' Juice Fast......I did it!

For the past few months, I have been trying very hard to shed the last few kilos to attain my ideal weight without success. I realized that it has to do with my diet, although I must confess that I am not working as hard in the gym as I did 1.5 years ago when I just started working out. I knew I had to do something to break the plateau.

Due to a happy coincidence, I got to know a couple (Bamm and Christina Hardie) who run a business providing healthy food choices. I started ordering from Munchster by Saladier almost daily. After about 3 weeks of their food, minus weekends and days where I have business lunches/dinners, my digestive system was cleaner and I lost a kilo. The best part is that their food is awesome. The Hardies have made healthy, clean and delicious food something which is attainable. A number of colleagues were sold after they tried Munchster. There is a group of us who order our lunches/dinners from Munchster regularly. They provide deliveries which make it so easy.

After talking to Christina more, I decided to go on a 7 days' juice fast to kick start my system and break my plateau. When I shared my thoughts with friends and colleagues, I received a mixed response. Some were concerned that I was going to suffer and others thought that it was too extreme and I should moderate the fast. However, a few encouraged me to proceed with my plan. With no disrespect to the others, these are the ones who are in truly good health and shape. The few who know that it takes effort to look good and feel good. Effort that is not restricted to just exercise. You need to watch what you eat. 80% of weight management effort comes from food and only 20% comes from exercise. Discipline is the key. That being said, I went ahead with my plan.

My diet consists of the following:
1) Juice from half a lemon with warm water first thing in the morning
2) About 800ml of juice for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and just before sleep
3) Coconut juice or herbal tea in between to stave off hunger pangs

I started my fast on a Monday. I had to make my own breakfast on the first day. It was a watermelon and kiwi smoothie which was quite easy to drink. I then have my juices delivered to my office daily. I consume 4 on the same day and 1 for breakfast the next day. I bring a cooler to the office for the transportation of the juices home for consumption at night.

On the first couple of days, I felt hungry very easily and I drank loads of tea to stave off the hunger pangs. I alternated between Rooibos and Fennel tea. I suffered withdrawal syndromes from the lack of coffee initially. I couldn't stop yawning on the first 2 days! I went to the gym on Monday and Wednesday. The workout on Monday was fine. I did my usual 2km warm up and training with my trainer and buddy. The workout on Wednesday was harder (my trainer pushes me harder when I'm solo) and I felt light headed before the end of the workout. My trainer said he would have offered me candy but he didn't want me to break my fast. That night, I had dreams that I accidentally ate some food!

This next paragraph may sound grotesque to some but it is a fact of a juice fast. Skip this paragraph if you are easily put off by talk of bowel movement. Christina warned me that bowel movement will be a lot more than usual in the first couple of days since the body will undergo detox with all the cleansing from a pure juice diet. The funny thing was that I wasn't affected that greatly because I normally did not have any issue with my bowel movement. I usually go twice or at least once daily, especially after I started taking clean meals from Munchster. During the juice fast, I felt like a baby with a super efficient digestive system! No need to go into more details.

I made it through the work week relatively easily. I think the fact that I lost 2 kg in 3 days helped me persist. I made sure that I planned my weekend activities around my juice meals such that I didn't have to carry my juices with me. It wasn't that difficult when I looked back since it was only one weekend. I simply ordered lunch for the family from Munchster on Saturday. I made sure I went back home after the kids' swimming to drink my lunch before I brought Keane to his MindChamps session. I drank my snack before I head out for the evening activities on both Saturday and Sunday and had my dinner after I reached home. It is a lot easier on a work day though.

The painful times during the juice fast happened over the weekend. I had to make sure my kids had their food but not partake. Imagine walking in the food court with smells wafting from various stalls, beckoning me to take a bite. The most challenging must have been during our regular Saturday movie night. Ryan was having some chips and Vincent having pretzel sticks. Both offered their snacks to me and I had to refuse. I can still vividly recall the smell of the cheese from Ryan's chips!!!

I am happy to say that, as of Sunday night, before my last juice meal, I lost 3 kg over the last 7 days. I am finally less than 60kg! I feel much lighter and happier. I shall try to go on a 7 days' juice fast once a quarter and a 3 days' fast once a month if I can. This week has proven a few things:
1) We can live without food for 7 days. I'm still alive and kicking.
2) We can do without meat. Protein does not come from meat alone!!!
3) We are what we eat. Eat right to live right.
4) Anyone can do this as long as they have the right motivation. Who doesn't want good health?

After interaction with the Hardies, I become more aware of the easy access to unhealthy food. Unhealthy food is cheaper and readily available. There are people out there who would shamelessly sell something unhealthy or unclean in order to make a quick profit. Yes, there are a lot of stories out there on the internet that make such proclamations. Honestly, I tend to take most of them with a pinch of salt. However, I do not disagree that the food industry is in need of a change. People need to be educated about their choices of food. Healthy food should not be something that only the well to do can afford.

To one and all, I encourage you to eat healthy and clean. Would you rather spend more on healthy food choices or doctors' bills in future? No one needs to be a fanatic to have a healthy diet. You just need to be mindful of what you consume and indulge only once in a while. Remember, you are what you eat. Here's to good health....and wealth....cheers!

Where oh where have our morals gone?

We had a big disappointment this week. We found out that Keane has been copying answers from the back of his assessment book during his practices! We were more disappointed than upset with him. We duly informed him that we were sad that he lacked integrity. We suspect that he just wants to get his homework over and done with so that he can play. He did feel a bit ashamed but I wonder how long that feeling will last. It is very disappointing because Keane is very good natured and obedient.

I have been trying to spend more time with him because it is evident that he lacks attention and he is slowly showing signs of middle child syndrome. I am bringing him for hip hop dance class on Saturday and enrichment class at MindChamps on Sunday. I must say that he committed to these willing before anyone accuses me of being a kiasu mother. He has been bugging me about hip hop dance classes for a while. Fortunately the hubby found a school at Ang Mo Kio. The MindChamps was something that just came. A consultant gave a talk at our company and I attended a free seminar, aka selling session, and Keane attended a trial class. He liked the trial class and wanted to go back for more. That episode is another chapter altogether....wait for it.

I had a conversation with Gabriel recently. That is if you consider a chat on Whatsapp a proper conversation. We were griping about how schools seem to have lost their focus on character building and the cultivation of morals. It's all about results, results and nothing but results. We guess that the teachers do have the key performance indicators to meet but the question is whether they are sacrificing the character building of the children in the process. I seriously think that a lot of this focus has to do with the parents. Competitive parents do give the teachers pressure. Another issue is whether we are attracting the right talent to the teaching profession. Are teachers as caring as they used to be? Are parents even concerned if their children are developing the right values as they learn? What are they really learning?

I am glad Xavier and Keane are at Endeavour. Their school values are: EDP=I2C. E is for Endeavour, the name of the school. D=Diligence, P=Perseverance, I=Integrity, I=Innovation, C=Compassion. Xavier knows this by heart. I'm proud that he holds these values to himself. He could articulate that Keane does not have integrity by copying answers from the back of his assessment book.

I can see some changes coming out from the Ministry of Education. As a parent, I am glad that there are changes. We have to build the character in our children! Academic results can only bring you so far in life. The most important thing we have to focus on as parents or caregivers is the ability to arm our children, our future generation, with the necessary tools for them to thrive and succeed. Succeed in their own way, not ours. Succeed in achieving what they set out to accomplish, not what we want them to accomplish. Succeed in making their lives meaningful and being able to do the same for future generations. That is how mankind can survive, failing which humanity may be lost eventually.

I have another interesting story on integrity but shall save that for next time. Later......

I'm back!

It has been more than 3 months since I last posted an entry. When I logged in today, I was surprised that I had more than 3000 hits. I realize that the post on Resorts World and public service were more popular.

I shall attempt to keep this up but since I have an actual full time job that feeds me, it will still have to be an attempt. I do have my priorities right, even though it may be at a bare minimum level.

To those who stumbled upon my blog by chance, do give me an opportunity to share my thoughts or at least entertain you. To those who are very patient with my inconsistency, I shall remain eternally grateful for your support.

Cheers!!

Public service and integrity

Recently there were 2 pieces of news which are grabbing headlines. Both are very different yet similar. One is about cleaning hawker centres and another about a grisly double murder. Both involve public servants.

One of the most important requirement for being a public servant is the ability to be a cut above others in terms of honesty and integrity. Your ability determines how far you can go but honesty and integrity, in my humblest opinion, determines whether you should be there in the first place. Yes, we are humans after all and humans are imperfect. I don't think anyone expects politicians or public servants to be perfect. The expectation, I guess, is for them to carry out their duties while holding their heads up high.

Does this mean that public servants will no longer be allowed to have their own private lives? To a certain degree, yes. You can maintain privacy but you must bear in mind that your life may be subject to scrutiny at any time. This is especially so in today's technologically advanced world. Access to information on the internet is very easy and whatever you do can be captured on a camera and uploaded for one and all to see. This cannot be taken for granted and must be on everyone's mind, politician or commoner alike.

That being said, do we maintain our integrity and honesty only to avoid being caught on camera? I think the motivation for good behaviour should stem from the heart and desire to be good instead of the need to avoid being caught misbehaving. That makes all the difference. If you have the right motivation, you will not fear being caught in the first place. If you force yourself to behave in a certain manner in order to conform, you will get caught out eventually. 纸包不住火，真金不怕火。

The most important guiding principle for everyone is to be true to yourself and choose to do something which you genuinely believe in for the right reason.

Swimming lessons and nasi lemak

The boys started swimming lessons at Yishun Swimming Complex last Sunday. They had their second this morning. I have not been to a public swimming pool in many years, more than 20 in fact. I'm not being atas....I just don't have a reason to go to a pool unless we were staying at a hotel.

 

The boys have group training with a certain Mr Yeow who is a coach with the Singapore Swimming Academy. $90 a month for each. They get a pair of goggles and a swimming cap. Not too bad. There's a play pool with slides. The boys go to that pool after lesson for about 15minutes. I think they secretly enjoy the play time after swimming lesson more than the lesson itself!!

 

 

We went a bit earlier today and the boys messed around in the pool before lessons started. 

 

 

They have been learning how to kick and get accustomed to being in the water. Xavier can swim by himself with the aid of a board. He is learning how to swim without the board. Keane and Ryan are still learning how to kick the proper way.

 

Swimming is a survival skill which every person should have......

After swimming we went to Sembawang Shopping Center for lunch. There is a new restaurant which sells nasi lemak called My Nasi. It's the second attempt by the Paradise group at the same location. It was previously a Kungfu Paradise restaurant. The food was not nice and much lesser value for money than what is available at the food court or even at Aston's. I can see the nasi lemak heading in the same direction unless they make some changes. The first thing they should do is to train the staff to serve the food faster. There was a long queue although the restaurant was not full because the staff took a long time to serve the food. Secondly the otah should not be served in the tiny leaf it comes in. The otah is not big but it is a relatively decent size. However it is served in a leaf that is not much bigger than the otah itself. This gives the impression that the otah is very small. Better to serve the otah without the leaf or with the traditional sized leaf. Thirdly the chili needs to be improved. It's neither very hot nor very sweet. In other words, it lacks character. The oil from the chili was seeping out to the bottom of the plate, snaking beneath the rice.

The only thing that makes me think that the restaurant has a hope of surviving is that I see someone looking vaguely like Eldwin Chua, the CEO of Paradise Group which owns this restaurant and the Kungfu Paradise, in the restaurant, helping out to clear tables. It is probably someone who looks very much like him but at least it appears to be someone from higher management. The people who own the business must have a hand in the business to make it viable. The good thing is the change in concept without much change in the décor or set up gives the restaurant owners a second chance of getting out of a lose making lease commitment. I wish them the best of luck!

Lazy weekend

We didn't do much this weekend. We watched Fast & Furious and Fast Five on Friday night and ended up going to bed at 3am on Saturday morning. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift wasn't as good as The Fast and The Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious so we were a bit apprehensive when we embarked on the 4th movie. It ended up being very much worth the late night.

Father and son walking

The boys slept in on Saturday and Sunday. It was Captain America that kept them awake on Saturday night.

On Sunday we took a slow walk to Sembawang MRT for a train ride to Woodlands. We left our home after 12pm and figured that parking would be a serious challenge at Causeway Point. We were right. When we arrived at Causeway Point, we could see a long queue of cars waiting to enter the car park. Although the train ride would have cost more than the parking, it saved us an inordinate amount of time. Plus the boys were hungry.




We had lunch at Ichiban Sushi in Causeway Point and stopped by Secret Chamber to pick up some Lego pieces. I chose a Grand Prix Racer for myself while the boys selected the following:

Xavier - Legends of CHIMA Eglor's Twin Bike
Keane - Legends of CHIMA Nest Dive
Ryan - Creator Super Racer




Xavier's Lloyd ZX

Ryan's Ninja Kai

Keane's Laval

Any surprise on the selection of key chains? The key chains are now fixed onto their school bags. We are wondering how long they will stay on the bags.



We then went to Gelare for ice-cream. Xavier loves his Cookie Dough and Keane his Cookies and Cream. Ryan is not a fan of ice-cream. Daddy and Mummy had our much needed cups of coffee.








What remains to be seen is the first day of school after a 4 week break. Wish us luck!!!!

Random thoughts

A friend told me that I have this tendency to come up with random thoughts. I have never given it much thought but tried to do an inventory of my thoughts after I received that comment. I realize that I had to agree with him. I can be thinking of what I'm supposed to do in the afternoon but then the thought of lunch will come in. Yes, you may say that I'm probably trying to schedule my day. How about thinking about my facial appointment this afternoon and then about how much I need to go on vacation by myself? Again, you might say there is link.

I am a person who cannot manage lists. I can start a list but I never ever come back to that list. When I was dating someone many years ago, I was looking for what I thought then were things to spice up the relationship. I made up a list of things that we should do as a couple. I wrote it down and then we embarked on this journey to accomplish these tasks. Obviously we never completed the tasks on that list. I forgot about going back to the list and called off the relationship some time after for some other reason. When I look back today, 20 years on, my perspective on that relationship has totally changed. I can only use 2 words "So juvenile!!!!" on the me then.

Lego Supercar

I learned that I'm easily bored. I need to have a very clear objective or final goal to stay focused. And the objective has to be challenging. For example I can stay up the whole night to finish up a novel or to complete putting together Lego's Supercar (which I just found out to be a retired product!!!!). This now brings me to my next challenge of putting together Lego's Extreme Cruiser. I've put it off for a few months now. Time to get to work.



Challenging is when a lot of people say it's too hard or it's very unconventional. I like to be able to tell myself that I am better today than I was yesterday. The way I do that is to always do new things. Yes, yes, some people will say that I am a show off. I do not deny that. But I blatantly show off only to my pals and blame it on my Teochew genes! I would add a smiley behind this but I don't know how to do it yet. (How to show off like that?!?!?)

I lose interest unless the topic on hand is very intriguing. What fascinates me is even more random. I am intrigued by the cultural revolution in China, the thoughts of the Dalai Lama, the mafia in the US, army defence strategy, Lego, Mother Teresa, etc. I'm trying to illustrate the broadness of it all.

Why am I writing about random thoughts? I see a bit of myself in Xavier where this is concerned. Xavier is a very curious child. He can jump from one topic to another very quickly. He gets bored very easily. He can read a few pages of a book and give up on it if it doesn't grip him from the start. On the other hand, he can complete Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan in a few days. He devoured the entire 5 book series of Fablehaven by Brandon Mull in less than a month. He gave up on The Hobbit after less than a chapter. He didn't even start on The Hardy Boys but has completed all of The Famous Five. When he is into something, he gets into it in a big way. He will beg, plead, bug or manipulate his way into us buying the entire set in any series of books that he likes. Or he can eat otah for lunch and dinner for 5 consecutive days, only to give up after a tummy ache.

He saw me making an entry yesterday and asked me why I blogged. I told him that it is to leave something behind so that I can remember my thoughts years from now and for him to see my thoughts if he comes to the blog in future. He got all excited and wanted to update his blog but gave up after all of 5 minutes. That's my boy.

Hello, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.....crazy!

The silent cat has struck again! This time it has struck a chord with Singaporeans who are Kitty crazy. I still don't understand the fascination with a cat without a mouth.

I learnt about the new Hello Kitty series of plush toys when I noticed a colleague having McDonald's for breakfast recently. Let's call him Bruce. Bruce had been having breakfast from McDonald's every Thursday for a few weeks, all in the name of love. Not love for McDonald's but for his fiancé who is a Hello Kitty fan. He was collecting all the Hello Kitty plush toys which can be bought at S$4.60 with the purchase of a value meal or at S$10 without a meal. A new plush is introduced every Thursday. He doesn't even like the cat. This week was meant to be the last week he has breakfast from McDonald's. This week is when they launch the special black coloured Kitty called The Singing Bone Kitty. (The cat cannot sing so the bones had to step up???)

Bruce's plans went awry when tons of other people started out earlier than him. The toy goes on sale from 12am on Thursday morning at 24 hour outlets. Fans were queuing way on Wednesday night. He went to 2 outlets and staff at both outlets had to turn people away when the queue became longer than the supply of the plush toy. He then promised his fiancé to go to outlets that open at 7am way before opening time - 5am. Alas! There were people who were earlier than him! Apparently news of the long queue spread and everyone went to queue earlier than usual. And the queues were again longer than the number of toys available. Lucky for Bruce, fiancé's friend was lucky enough to have bought 2 pieces!! I cannot imagine his fate if the set was incomplete!!!

This phenomenon hit the headlines on The Straits Times this morning. Apparently there were disputes and police were involved at one McDonald's outlet. The funny thing is that not all in the queue were there for the love of the Kitty. Some were there for the love of money. This obsession for limited editions of the cat is obviously a good chance for people with too much time on their hands to make a quick buck. Some of the plush toys went on sale on the internet and after browsing, I came across some sites which had advertisements for the toys. The cats were going from S$20 to S$250.

Is the cat really that cute? Are the toys really that worth collecting? Worth is subjective and one's man meat is truly another's poison. I received a pair of Hello Kitty plush toys as a present before but I don't remember where they are now. I must have given them away. I don't remember the person who gave them to me but the cats must have been worth a lot to him or her. Unfortunately these cats do not strike a chord with me. Can they strike any chord at all without a voice?

The moment the words "limited edition" are used, the value of something goes up. This is pure economics - demand and supply. Low supply matched with high demand result in high price. That price may not be just monetary in many cases. Some people pay with time and effort while others pay with hurt and pain. I'm not just referring to the Hello Kitty plush toys here. If you are in love with a special someone (low supply) who is very attractive (high demand), you may end up paying a price by getting hurt and feeling pain in the process of trying to capture the heart of this special someone. But if you think it's worth it, no one can say you are doing something wrong or something silly. No one can tell you that it's not worth it because that's the price YOU are willing to pay, not THEM.

The pursuit of happiness comes with a price but the reward is indeed priceless. To one and all, I say - to each his own. As long as you are happy, no one can say you are crazy.

Staycation at RWS.....again.......

We were very blessed this year that the haze cleared up during the weekend and we had almost clear skies when we checked in at Hotel Michael on Monday. At least the PSI was in the moderate zone.

Berrylicious smoothie

Hard Rock Cafe - recommended!!

We arrived in Sentosa earlier than check in time so we went for lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. It was a lovely lunch and service was very good. Check out the garnish on my smoothie....I think it was Berrylicious or something to that effect.


It is the fourth time we staying at Resorts World Sentosa but the first time we are booked at Hotel Michael because it is cheaper than our usual Festive Hotel. The kids were a bit puzzled because they are so familiar with Festive that they thought we were lost when we made a left instead of right turn as we came up the escalator to the main lobby.




The room was smaller than the Festive Hotel. My mom was disappointed because when she was given a complimentary stay at Hotel Michael, the room was very big. We figured they gave her a suite rather than a deluxe room. It's funny how hotels make the word deluxe turn out so ordinary. The room was cosy enough except that the bathroom door didn't come with a lock so we had to ensure we coordinated bathroom times to avoid unnecessary embarrassment with our helper.

Oh where are the towels???

The first thing the boys did was to hit the pool. They love playing in a pool and since we don't have easy access to one, they made sure they took advantage of the pool at the hotel every time we have a staycation. They went to the pool for each of the 3 days we were at Sentosa. The only thing was the pool was smaller at the Hotel Michael and there were a couple of pain points. On Monday afternoon, the hotel seemed to have miraculously ran out of towels. The towels are normally placed on the racks unattended. This is convenient for the hotel guests if there are towels. Check out the empty racks.

One of the service staff who happened to walk past helped us to call the front desk to ask for towels. No towels were delivered after 10 minutes. I walked along the corridor and asked a housekeeper who was working if there were towels available. She said she did not have any and there were none in the rooms as well. 5 minutes later I called the front desk to ask for towels. This was followed by another frustrating call another 15 minutes later. During this time hubby managed to find another housekeeper who conjured up 1 towel for us. She had nothing left. The towels were delivered fresh from the laundry 5 minutes after the last call. I did receive an apology during my last call.

We did an analysis and find that there is a lot of improvement that could be made. The fact that the reception area at the pool/gym was unattended poses an issue because guests could just walk off with the towels into their rooms. There was basically no control over the number of towels being returned after use. We noticed that Hotel Michael provided white towels at the pool/gym unlike Festive Hotel which provided orange coloured ones. Guests would easily remember to return the towels because they are of a different colour from the ones in the room. The differentiation would probably make it easier for the distribution of towels after laundry. I wonder if the hotel has an exceptionally high number of inventory loss where towels are concerned.

The accused....the ledge

Another concern was that the lack of towels made the entrance to the pool area very wet. Guests were dripping water on the tiles as they were leaving the pool without towels. It was very slippery. The entrance to the pool area had a door frame which had a ledge on the floor. This made it very easy for highly excited kids, like mine, to trip as they rushed to the pool. This is very unsafe when you add the slippery floor into the equation.



Xavier with his blaster

Keane and his blaster

Anyway, safety issues aside, the kids had a blast of a time at the pool. No picture of Ryan because he didn't have his goggles on.

 

Since the kids don't really go on the rides at Universal Studio, we spent Tuesday afternoon at the aquarium. It was more crowded than it was in November last year. This time we took a slower walk and I was able to capture some creatures on camera.

Belly of mantra ray

Starfish

Here's some undersides for viewing....interesting how the star fish can grip to the side of the wall.

Here's looking at you babe.....

Looking right back at you

The only fish that I could capture easily were the big and slow ones........other than the jellyfish!!!!









Interesting forms of jellyfish......the lighting create some special effects too.








Japanese Sea Nettle

I don't remember the species....yes, was too lazy to write down except for one......but jellyfish are really fascinating in the dark.








Dolphin....?

Black tip reef shark

The one thing I was curious about was whether the dolphins and sharks can really feel comfortable living in confinement.








Nice yellow coloured fish.....again unsure of species, sorry!!!!

Moray eel going after a fish?

Checking own reflection

Some pictures taken by Xavier at the Moray Eel section.








The only other place we frequented (frequented means more than once) was the candy store.

Candylicious!!!

On the whole the trip was fun and we were really fortunate that the weather held in that part of the island for us. I am trying to find another hotel we can stay at next time.

Hazy Daze

For the past week, Singaporeans have been plagued with haze carried by winds from the island of Sumatra. The pollution levels hit record high in Singapore history.

Judging from reactions, the impact from the haze has affected many in more ways than one. Those with a sense of humor conjured up hilarious photos, some of which were not very polite. Others complained about the government's actions in this "crisis" in typical Singaporean fashion. Most of us just tried to carry on as usual while taking precaution against overexposure to the pollutants.

Instead of writing a commentary, I have decided to take the lazy way out and put my comments and observations in point form for easy reading. You can deduce my opinion about the whole situation from there.

1) Indonesian farmers who practice slash and burn are probably doing it because that's how they have been at it for decades. I don't think there is any ill intention, just ignorance or pure obligation to survival. This is not a malicious attack on Singaporeans.

2) I have a feeling that a lot of people, like myself before I came across Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's comment publish in The Straits Times, think that cloud seeding is equivalent to planting seeds to grow clouds. Cloud seeding requires clouds. This link explains that cloud seeding is the process of inducing rain from clouds.
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wxfacts/Cloud-seeding.htm

3) What are clouds? I found this very interesting link when I did a search on Google. It is a page meant for kids and explains clouds in a very comprehensive manner.
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-clouds.htm

4) Politics itself is not a bad thing. It is people that make politics sour with their actions or ignorant comments.

5) Money itself is not a bad thing. It is people's greed that turns money into an evil tool.

6) Yes, we may be a victim of acts committed by another party. But in the scheme of things, if you look at the world globally, there are worse things that could happen.

Today is Impact Journalism Day. Newspapers around the world share stories on creative solutions to global issues. The Saturday section of The Straits Times carried these stories. Read it and feel fortunate that we live in Singapore. Other than applaud the creative solutions, look at the issue itself and see if you can help to reduce such problems - don't waste food, save energy, help others worse off than yourself. Easier said than done but don't give up trying!!!
http://www.straitstimes.com/impact

That as a bit of a side track. Back to the haze situation. The haze eased up a lot today and I could actually see the blue sky. After a week of gray, the blue was magnificent. We really take a lot of things for granted everyday. Blue skies and white clouds......

It was a fortunate coincidence for my family that the boys are home on school vacation now. There was no need to ponder over the dilemma of sending them to school or confining them at home. Ryan had a fever on Sunday so we let him stay at home. When he recovered on Tuesday, we figured that it was better to let him stay at home for one more day just in case he was affected by the haze. The haze worsened by Wednesday so we kept him home for the rest of the week.

We have made reservations at Hotel Michael of Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). Yes, we are staying at a different hotel this year. We have been staying at the Festive Hotel for the past 3 times we stayed at Sentosa. We are trying a new hotel this year because it is cheaper. We are using my mom's reward points with RWS to redeem the hotel stay. Yes, my mom has that many points because she is a frequent patron of the casino.

Ryan has affirmed that there will be rain before we go to Sentosa on Monday. I wonder how he knows.....I'll let you know when the day comes. Wish us luck with the weather.......

Rain, rain, come my way.
I can't wait for one more day.
Little children, little children,
Little children want to play.

Gym updates

I have been going to the gym for slightly over a year now - 14 months to be exact. When I started out last year, I was basically unfit and out of shape. I couldn't jog as I would be breathless after 2 minutes, my muscles existed only for regular movements, I had saddle bags at my hips/thighs area and my waist was non-existent.

If you look for "Journey to fitness fitness takes off" posted in April 2012, you will see I tried a free trial at Amore Fitness and attended the Pilates Basic class. I didn't post anything about the aero-lo class which I attended 2 days later. Let me share that now to put things into perspective. I attended the class thinking that it was really low impact. It was low impact on the joints but my heart and lungs took a beating. Besides, I had lost my sense of coordination. Believe me when I say I could dance in my younger days. I basically left the class feeling miserable because I couldn't follow the routine and I couldn't breathe properly during and afterward.

So I started personal training. I have been training 2 or 3 times a week with my trainer Louis at Amore Tampines1 since then. I did 3 times a week until late last year when I reduced to twice a week but I'm trying to go back to thrice now. When I did my measurements last year, I was supposed to lose a target of 9kg of fats and gain 7kg of muscles (if I remember correctly). I did my measurements last week and now my target is to lose 2kg of fats and gain 3kg of muscles. It is a great improvement but I suspect the PT might be reading it wrong because the printout was very faint due to lack of ink!

But I truly dropped one size, going from a tight UK12 to a lose UK10 for my tops, since last year. The bottom half is the hardest so I'm still a tight UK10 for most bottoms, depending on the cut. I can't really tell the difference so I rely on feedback from friends, colleagues and my trainer. Size aside, I can feel my fitness level improving. I was only able to brisk walk 20-30 minutes as part of my warm-up routine last year. My warm-up routine now involves either a quick 10-15minute run covering about 2km or a slow 30min jog covering almost 5km, depending on the amount of time I have. It helps a lot that I was very fit in my teens and my body has some vague memory and can perform the actions required for some routines.

I shall try to share some of what I call my torture routines from the gym. This is an attempt to motivate those who think it's impossible and to motivate myself to keep those CLP jokes at bay. I tried to draw the steps in the routine but that took too much time with awful results so I'll stick to descriptions for now. This is for those who are not familiar with technical terms, like myself, to understand the routine. I'm more of a writer than artist.

My workout normally consists of 3 sets of a routine so the reps you see in brackets represent the reps I do for each set.

Routine on Monday 10 June 2013:
1) Burpee ending with hop (1 min, 1 min, 1min)
     - do a regular burpee but end up with a hop as you get into the upright position.....continuously for 1 min.
2) Single leg squat ending with a hop on TRX (12, 12, 10 on each leg)
     - stand in front of the TRX with anchor point aligned to you;
     - hook right foot to the TRX and stand on left foot;
     - bend left knee into a squat stretch the right leg backwards - right arm in front, left arm behind in a runner's pose as you bend for balance;
     - straighten left leg, move the right knee to the chest then hop - move arms and end up with left arm in front and right arm behind in runner's pose as you hop;
     - repeat. Switch sides after 12 reps on one leg.
3) Cross lunge (12, 12, 10 on each leg)
     - stand in front of the TRX with anchor point to your left;
     - hook right foot to TRX so your right foot is slightly crossed behind your body;
     - bend left knee into a squat and stretch your right leg - right arm in front, left arm behind in a runner's pose as you bend for balance; 
     - straighten left leg to get into upright position - move arms and end up with left arm in front and right arm behind in runner's pose as you straighten;
     - repeat. Switch sides after 12 reps on one leg.
4) Atomic push-ups (10, 10, 10)
     - get into a push-up plank position with both feet hooked to the TRX - your body is parallel to the ground, your arms perpendicular to the ground, hands are anchor points on the ground, torso aligned with TRX anchor point;
     - lower body by bending arms (like a regular standard push-up) then push up;
     - bring both knees to chest like a crunch;
     - straighten legs;
     - repeat push-up followed by crunch for another 9 times.
5) Pike on TRX (10, 10, 10)
     - get into a push-up plank position with both feet hooked to the TRX - your body is parallel to the ground, your arms perpendicular to the ground, hands are anchor points on the ground, torso aligned with TRX anchor point;
     - raise hips so you look like an inverted V from side view;
     - lower hips so that body is parallel to the ground again;
     - repeat raising and lowering of hips for another 9 times.
6) Mountain climbing on TRX (10, 10, 10)
     - get into a push-up plank position with both feet hooked to the TRX - your body is parallel to the ground, your arms perpendicular to the ground, hands are anchor points on the ground, torso aligned with TRX anchor point;
     - bring right knee to the chest; straighten right leg; bring left knee to the chest; straighten left leg;
     - repeat movement of bringing alternate knee to the chest for another 9 times.
6) Jack knife (20, 20, 20)
     - lie on the floor with arms out-stretched and legs raised slightly off the floor;
     - raise legs and arms so that you from a V from side view;
     - bring arms around legs so fingers touch behind knees;
     - go back to start position; repeat another 19 times.
7) Plank (30 sec, 30 sec, 30 sec)
     - rest on your elbows while body is parallel to the ground (it's like a push-up position but you are resting on your elbows) while ensuring that arms form a 90 degree angle to the ground; feet are together; hold for 30 seconds.
8) Waist plank (30 sec, 30 sec, 30 sec)
     - similar to the regular plank except you straighten your arms instead of resting on your elbows so your body is not quite parallel to the ground; hold for 30 secs.

To have an effective work out you should try to minimize rest throughout the routine. This means the only rest you get during the routine is when you change positions for the next exercise. I cheat a little by getting my towel to wipe my sweat and sip a bit of water after two or three exercises within a set. Then I get a 30 sec to 1 min break in between sets. Sometimes I take a 2 minute break when I am really winded. I find that I need to learn an exercise through practice so I will only be able to do a new exercise with perfect form during the third set. However, I can do with perfect form at the next session. My PT makes sure that every session is different from the last by varying my routine. I have a set of basic movements but I don't use the same movements in the same sequence all the time. This keeps the workout interesting and challenging. See the routines below to know what I mean.

Routine on Wednesday 12 June 2013:
1a) Burpees with press using dumb bells (15 counts in first set only, this is replaced in the second and third set with 1b because I was too winded)
     - place 2 dumb bells shoulder width apart on the floor;
     - as you bend to start the burpee, hold on to the dumb bells;
     - as you complete the burpee by coming into upright position, bring the dumb bells off the floor to shoulder height;
     - push the dumb bells upwards towards the ceiling by straightening arms;
     - bring dumb bells to shoulder height;
     - get into a crouch position to start burpee and place dumb bells on the floor without letting go;
     - repeat burpee and press.
1b) Mountain climbing using dumb bells as anchor points (1 min, 1 min)
     - place 2 dumb bells shoulder width apart on the floor;
     - get into waist plank position (see above - regular plank except you straighten your arms) with hands holding onto dumb bells;
     - bring right knee to the chest; straighten right leg; bring left knee to the chest; straighten left leg;
     - repeat movement of bringing alternate knee to the chest until 1 minute is up.
2)  Single leg squat with press on TRX (15, 12, 12 on each leg)
     - stand in front of the TRX with anchor point aligned to you;
     - hook right foot to the TRX and stand on left foot;
     - hold weight in front of chest (I used the free weight which is round);
     - bend left knee into a squat stretch the right leg backwards - still holding weight to the chest; straighten left leg - still holding free weight to the chest;
     - push weight upwards towards the ceiling by straightening arms; lower weight to chest;
     - repeat. Switch sides after 15 reps on one leg.
3) Single leg squat using platform (12, 12, 10 on each leg)
     - stack platforms used in step aerobics until hip high;
     - stand with platform about 1 foot behind you;
     - rest right foot on platform while holding a free weight in right hand (right arm is straight, holding dead weight) with left hand on hip;
     - bend left knee so you get into a squat position while keeping your right foot on the platform;
     - straighten left leg so you get into upright position;
     - repeat until reps are complete. Switch sides.
4) Standard push-ups to the max (17, 15, 12)
     - do standard push-ups until you burst. Can rest in between push-ups by maintaining waist plank position.
     - Once the knees or elbows touch the floor, you have maxed.
5) T on TRX (12, 12, 12)
     - This is basically a deltoid fly. I cannot really describe this....you have to go look up "T on TRX" on YouTube for a visual!!!
     - But what I have to emphasize is you must maintain straight arms throughout for the effect.
6) Clench on TRX (12, 12, 12)
     - you have to look up YouTube too......notice that I'm getting lazy here.
7) Pike on TRX (10, 10, 10)
     - get into a push-up plank position with both feet hooked to the TRX - your body is parallel to the ground, your arms perpendicular to the ground, hands are anchor points on the ground, torso aligned with TRX anchor point;
     - raise hips so you look like an inverted V from side view;
     - lower hips so that body is parallel to the ground again;
     - repeat raising and lowering of hips for another 9 times.
8) Mountain climbing on TRX (10, 10, 10)
     - get into a push-up plank position with both feet hooked to the TRX
     - your body is parallel to the ground, your arms perpendicular to the ground, hands are anchor points on the ground, torso aligned with TRX anchor point;
     - bring right knee to the chest; straighten right leg; bring left knee to the chest; straighten left leg;
     - repeat movement of bringing alternate knee to the chest for another 9 times.
9) Crunch on TRX (10, 10, 10)
     - get into a push-up plank position with both feet hooked to the TRX
     - your body is parallel to the ground, your arms perpendicular to the ground, hands are anchor points on the ground, torso aligned with TRX anchor point;
     - bring both knees to the chest; straighten both legs;
     - repeat movement of bringing both knees to the chest for another 9 times.
10) Plank on TRX (30 sec, 30 secs, 45 secs)
     - get into a push-up plank position with both feet hooked to the TRX
     - your body is parallel to the ground, your arms perpendicular to the ground, hands are anchor points on the ground, torso aligned with TRX anchor point;
     - hold for 30 secs.

I'm getting tired just listing down these exercises and going through them mentally!!! For any newbie who wants to get into a workout routine, please remember that it takes time and determination to be able to do more. No one can start with being able to do 20 push ups at one go or hold a plank for 30 secs. When I started last year, I could barely hold a regular plank for 30 seconds. Now I can hold the plank on the TRX for 1 minute.

So good luck to all who are attempting to get started on fitness and for those who are into fitness, as my chum Gabriel would say "Pain is the ultimate pleasure!!!".

Madness at Pudong airport

I was on a business trip for the second half of last week. I was due to depart Shanghai Pudong airport on Friday 7th June at 7.05pm to arrive home at about 12.05am. I reached the airport very early, with a colleague who was leaving on the 6.05pm flight to Incheon.

I spent about 2 hours at the cafe after a very smooth check-in and customs clearance. I was downgraded to Krisflyer Silver status on 1st June. I was therefore not entitled to go to the lounge since I'm on economy class. The 2 hours at the cafe was nice nonetheless. Free WiFi, nice coffee.

I got ready 10 minutes before boarding time. As I was walking towards gate 87, I did something that I usually didn't do. I checked the departure notice board. The gate was changed to 229. I turned around and went down 2 floors to gate 229. I settled in for a wait as I saw that the crew were waiting to board as well. There was an announcement of another gate change 10 minutes later. This time I had to climb 2 floors up to gate 61 without the help of an escalator.

Upon arrival at gate 61, the plane was nowhere in sight. That wasn't a good sign. I settled in for another long wait. The wait turned out to be 3 hours. At first boarding was delayed to 7.40pm but after a while they decided to make announcements without committing a boarding time. All flights were delayed. Meal coupons were distributed and this signaled an even longer wait. An airline was actually distributing meal boxes at the gate!

I met a business associate who was with his client. So the 3 of us went to another cafe for a drink in anticipation of a long wait. All this while the rain was pouring, the light poles were wavering in the wind and crowds milled around the cafes and restaurants. The service staff were hassled and moving non-stop. It was a while before our order was taken. We made our way back to the gate at about 9.10pm and were told that they are not sure when boarding would be. However, they are sure that the flight will not be cancelled as the plane is needed back in Singapore.

So we caved and redeemed our meal vouchers. We walked to Burger King and got in line. By that time it was about 9.20pm. Then the announcement for boarding time of 9.40pm was made. We walked back.....another 8 minute walk. We finally board the plane and departed at about 10.10pm.

All this while, my colleague who was headed for Incheon was in his seat on the plane!! He was in a worse situation than I was. I was grateful that I had the freedom to walk around. It reminded me of the time when I was at Haneda airport waiting for my flight out of Tokyo after the 2011 tsunami.

During my visit in Shanghai, I found out that 80% of China's air space was reserved for the military. This explains the challenges passengers frequently face when flying within China air space. Delays are commonplace. The airlines will normally let you board the plane and hang on for an indefinite wait if delays are expected. I don't think it's intentional. I guess it's just the way things are. If you are ready you can be given the all clear by air control.

A lot of my overseas colleagues tell me that Singaporeans are spoilt. We expect the same efficiency we have at our airport when we are overseas. In reality, delays and cancellations are very common in air travel. I guess we should manage our expectations when we are travelling. It does make me appreciate the efficiency and comfort of our Changi Airport. And honestly, we are spoiled in more ways than one......think about it.

Xbox craze

The new Xbox was launched but that's not what I want to write about. A month or so ago my family had its first experience with Xbox Kinect. Since then our lives are not the same.

We resisted Playstation, Wii and Xbox for a few years. Matt gave me his PS (at least that's what I think it was) complete with steering wheel but we never got round to setting it up. (Sorry dude!)  One of the reasons for not getting started is the fear that the kids will be addicted to mindless violent games. 

I caved when I repeatedly saw demonstrations of dance games at the mall. All thanks to the Gangnam style craze which I'm so sick of. What I saw was a chance for the kids to do some dancing at home. A chance for Keane to get a bit of workout while having fun.

So I bought the Xbox Kinect when I found out that there are more wholesome games available as compared to the other platforms available. Besides Kinect offered a hands free experience.

That turned out to be one of the best things I bought for the kids. We started with dancing, then included fitness and adventures. Their favorites include Kinect Sports (seasons 1 and 2) and Rush (A Disney Pixar Adventure).

They learn to take turns as well as cooperation. They compete in singles games as well as doubles games. They also learn how to cooperate to beat the game by letting each person play the part they are strongest at as required. Talk about strategy. And they do sweat after each session. The only thing missing is the fresh air and great outdoors.

The only sad thing is they don't ask to go to ah-ma's home as often. But it keeps them away from shopping. We must sprinkle our weekends with visits to the zoo to keep them interested in the sun.

There will always be pros and cons with all decisions in life. We just have to learn to manage in order to preserve our sanity. Manage our expectations and manage our reactions. A bit of a dramatic description over an Xbox but very true in real life.

We need a professional

It's been three months since Keane has started Primary school. He finally stopped calling his dad from school everyday since March. We went to school for a Parent Teacher Meeting in March. We went to school with a sense of foreboding.

Keane is very different from Xavier and all the teachers from their pre-school realized this very quickly. They subsequently learn about Keane's behaviour and generally when you are in pre-school teachers tend to be more tolerant. I guess it is because the kids are still very young and developing. We were very proud that Keane made a lot of development throughout his pre-school days. He changed from a toddler who would run out of class on his own to a kid who is an active participant in class. His tantrum throwing version of bawling and rolling on the floor became a more subdued trembling of lips and occasional silent tears. This transformation took place over 4 years. But he is still not the same as a lot of the other children.

So we went to see Keane's form teacher first. We had an initial overview of his Math work, which is better than average but not among the top in class. The teacher believed that, with more effort, Keane can do well. The teacher then tried to broach the topic of his behaviour subtly by asking some questions. Then a professional counselor came to join us. We had an open discussion about Keane's behaviour so that the counselor can understand him better.

We shared our own observations of Keane. Keane loves to participate and if he is not selected, he is sorely disappointed. And he is unable to conceal his disappointment. He also expresses his emotions through actions rather than words. The teacher had a few incidents where Keane gave her a shock. He walked out of the classroom because he was unhappy, he banged his books very loudly on the table. In fact, Keane is not able to conceal his emotions most of the time. I told the counselor that Keane has not been very good at expressing his emotions through words, hence the dramatic actions. He called me Mummy only when he was three. He developed his speech slower than Xavier and Ryan. In fact I was planning to bring him to a professional if he continues to show difficulty or unwillingness to talk in complete sentences or express his thoughts. The counselor seemed grateful that we were open to the discussion and that we recognized we had to do more investigation. He didn't make a conclusion about Keane as he felt it normally takes at least 6 months to profile a child, even for a professional. Apparently he has been observing Keane during recess and whenever he could to try to establish a profile. He even noticed the difference between Xavier and Keane, which was pretty evident.

Admittedly we were a bit worried after that discussion but we expected something like that. So we went to see the Chinese teacher and English teacher to get more feedback. The Chinese teacher said that Keane has "anger management" issues but he gives Keane a "cooling down" corner whenever Keane shows signs of being upset. After his cooling down session, Keane is fine. Surprisingly, he said that Keane has made a lot of behavioural improvement over 3 months. He just encouraged us to speak to him using Mandarin more often. Our hearts were not so heavy after that. Next was the English teacher. Hubby was worried because English teacher texted him about Keane throwing away his homework before.

After a long wait, we were finally able to meet the English teacher. She said that Keane has made tremendous improvement over the last 3 months and in fact she was very proud of him! He is able to keep quiet during class when the teacher is not around by reading his story book. He is also good at recital and comes up with ideas. The only thing he had to work on was to be able to write his thoughts. He could verbalise his ideas to the teacher but came up with only half a sentence on paper. The English teacher said that children need to be understood and coaxed. Keane refused to go to the parade square for assembly but the English teacher never gave up trying to coax him. He now goes to the parade square instead of sitting on a bench outside the general office in the morning. He used to boycott mass exercise but the English teacher made it a point to do the exercises with him and now he participates with enthusiasm. The English teacher asked us to let him know that he can always look for her if he needs someone to talk to or to get guidance from. Kudos to Mrs Goh!

After meeting the 3 different teachers, we came to a conclusion that the form teacher was not experienced enough. She has probably not come across as many types of children as the other 2. And she came across as being scared and worried about not being able to handle Keane.

It is expected of a child who has not been tainted with false pretences and lies, even white ones, to demonstrate what adults label as "appropriate behaviour". I'm sure all of us have come across a child who said, "Eeee, Daddy farted!" or "Mummy, I need to go bang-sai (poop)" in a crowded lift or department store. The most important is that we do not expect all children to grow up to be the same. I would hate for my kids to be depressed because they have to do and say what the adults expect them to. They would lose themselves in the process.

Of course, Keane is not perfect. He is what I call a sore loser. He gets upset when he doesn't win at games. We are continuously reminding him that he will not win all the time and he has to accept that. But we encourage him to keep trying and not give up. We do this through playing XBox games. Every time he yells or grumbles about not winning the javelin throw or long jump, we tell him that he has to practice to get better. We threaten to cut off the games if he continues to be a sore loser.

That being said, I would still bring him to see a doctor to evaluate whether he needs further help with verbalising his thoughts. In the meantime, we have gotten used to him calling us Dad and Mum instead of Daddy and Mummy like the other 2. We're guessing it's either through reading Horrid Henry or watching too much TV. It's very funny because it is so ang-mo (Caucasian) to us. Not that Daddy and Mummy isn't....everything is a matter of perception, understanding and acceptance.

Where oh where is that silver lining

I heard an extremely sad story today. A friend's baby passed away at about 5 months' of age. That is a very traumatic thing to happen to a parent. Losing your child at any age or under any circumstance must be extremely trying for any parent.

There is nothing that I can say to make the healing process any less painful than it is. It is during such times when it is best not to say too much and just share the pain through silence. I mean it is already such a painful time, it seems redundant to say "I know how you feel", "You must be strong". I guess all of us try to help by expressing our thoughts. I think it is also how we comfort ourselves.

When life dishes out a tribulation, it is never easy to always see the silver lining behind the dark cloud. But the silver lining is there. It just takes time to manifest itself in ways we can understand. Why do I believe that? Because I believe that God is merciful. I do not think that He would make us suffer for his enjoyment. I do not believe that He puts us through trials and tribulations for no reason. I believe that He truly wants us to learn.

I encouraged this friend to find a religion he can follow. A religion will be able to carry you when nothing else can. When the going is tough, when things beyond our comprehension happen, when we are totally lost and in despair. I want to share this poem which came into my life many years ago when I first found God. I don't know who wrote it and according to Wikipedia, the author is disputed so I am not giving credit to anyone except God for this.

FOOTPRINTS

One night I had a dream...

I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and
across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;
one belonged to me, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before us,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.

I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life
This really bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow You,
You would walk with me all the way;
But I have noticed that during the
most troublesome times in my life,
There is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why in times when I
needed You the most, You should leave me.

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious
child. I love you, and I would never,
never leave you during your times of
trial and suffering.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.

Don't despair, for that silver lining is there.......just let your heart go and you will find it.

Primary 1 woes and joys

Keane started Primary 1 by missing the first 3 days of school due to a fever. He had a challenging first week and the second week didn't prove to be any easier so far.

During the first week, he had a buddy to bring him around during recess for 3 days. He bought his own food and played soccer with his buddy. After the buddy was relieved of his duty, Keane started to go for lunch by himself. He was amazingly independent and was able to use the public phone by following the instructions next to the phone. He called his dad and made small talk. This was the start of what we think will be an ongoing habit. He calls his dad everyday during recess and has even started to call him before school starts.

You would think the phone calls are a good sign of father and son bonding. I don't disagree but there is always a BUT. The flip side is that he uses random coins when he makes these calls so a call can cost 10 cents, 20 cents or 50 cents, depending on the coin he picks and not the length of time he spent on the phone. He came back without a penny today. He started the day with $2.60. His lunch cost $0.70. You do the math.

He also lost his water bottle today. He lost it once last week, as reported during his recess phone call to his dad, but found it and brought it home on the same day. We are waiting to see if he can find it again tomorrow. In case you think I did not perform my motherly duty, I did label almost single piece of his belongings.

On the first day he attended school, he came home and told us that he slept in class!!! The only comfort with that was he woke up by himself. I hope the teacher didn't notice! I'm honestly not sure if he really fell asleep, dozed off or was simply daydreaming.

Yesterday his teacher reported that he threw away his worksheets in class. We guessed it was because he made some errors and he didn't want to do more homework. He forgot to bring his workbook home today and was not able to do his homework.

He also had an issue with sitting at the parade square before flag raising. He would sulk and sit on a bench away from the parade square. During a rainy day, he refused to go to the hall for assembly until his teacher brought him up.
These little things are the least of my concerns. When I asked him if he had any friends in school and he said no. He has been eating his lunch by himself. I asked if he liked his friends in class and he said no. I asked if his friends in class were nice to him and he said no. After some probing he said that one of the girls in his class insisted on opening his book despite his protests. I have no idea why the girl was trying to open his book. With Keane, she could have been trying to do something perfectly legitimate which he cannot explain clearly.

Keane doesn't need to be Mr Popular in class but I hope that he will find a friend soon. All we ask is for our son to be able to find one loyal friend. We are asking Xavier to spend time with him during recess so that he will not be so lonely.

I am worried that Keane has the stereo typical middle child syndrome. I am very close to bringing him to a psychiatrist. I hope that I will be proven wrong very quickly. Wish me luck!!!