At Punggol Park With DHS Friends : Jul-14

2014 is a year for reunions.


Ever since our chairman from the band has grouped us together on a Whatsapp group chat, we were able to stay a lil' more updated on the status of this group of friends.  We even managed to add some less noisy band-mates, some of whom we have not met or chat up for decades, on the chat!  I guess the hitting of the 40 mark must have ignited something in all of us.. we all agreed to meet up for our own 40th birthday bash!!  To enable most of our overseas friends to also attend this bash, we went to the extent of confirming a July date many many months in advance, to coincide with as many of us in Singapore as possible.  Hence July 10, Thursday, it was confirmed.

My bestie flew in with her family in late June, and would depart a day after our bash. To catch up with one another and their families, a date at Punggol Park was set.  This was a part at the far end of Punggol I have never explored.. We turned up with some bicycles and many children!!  It was a short afternoon of healthy fun and catching up!! (^^)

En insisted on bring her own bike!

We do selfie too!!

Our group pic before our ride!!  Err.. with one family missin tho..

Our children on kiddie bikes..

Actually not all children were on kiddie bikes!

A parting shot with beautiful sunset in the background..

Baby Budgie Bird Tobby, growing up video: Jun-14

How could I have missed posting this cool video in my blog.... missed those fun days of watching this baby Tobby grown into an adult bird.

Short break at MBS Hotel : Jun-14

For this June holidays, we did not plan for an overseas trip as the gals needed to attend to their school activities.  So I thought we would just spend a day of hotel stay at the grand MBS and enjoy some family fun together.  Through a colleague whose wife works at MBS, I managed to reserve a room at a good discounted rate.  Coincidentally, the date we had the room booked was on Father's Day!

On the morning before checking into the hotel, we went exploring the new children playground at Gardens by the Bay.  It was scorching hot, a lovely day for photography but not so lovely to enjoy the playground facilities.  The humidity and heat 'attacked' us ferociously, resulting in five sticky and sweaty bodies.  We soon needed to retreat to the shady food centre and indulge in some nice cold desserts.  Everyone could not wait to check into the hotel and have a dip into the pool.

When checking into MBS, I requested for a room on a higher floor.  The receptionist was kind enough to acceded my request but we had to wait for a while for the room to be available, which was fine.  After spending a brief visit to the Sky park, we proceeded to retrieve our keys and almost immediately, we set off to the famous MBS infinity pool, right on the 57th floor.  The spectacular pool was crowded with guests like us, taking photographs at every nook and corner, many even from the pool!  Likewise, I snapped away frantically, trying to capture the magnificent view all around.   

After a good two hours' dip in the pool,  Shin Yang treated us dinner at the MBS Imperial Treasure Chinese restaurant to celebrate Father's day.  I took my tripod along to try out some night shots at the Bay, they turned out pretty decent.  While walking along the MBS shops, Xuan pleasantly offered to buy me some cakes to celebrate Father's day in the room.  I also bought some strawberries and we continued our second round of celebration.

Following the eventful day, Shin Yang posted some of our photographs on her facebook and commented me to be the most patient papa and wonderful hubby... while I admitted I had longed to be one like what she had described, I was not sure if I was anywhere near there yet.  It was a lovely comment nevertheless, from a person whom I love most.

Dawn from our MBS room

Uncluttering again : Jun-14

 We often required to perform several major housekeeping activities in a year to unclutter the old stuffs.  One of the most painful area was our study room, the mess consisted of so many things that easily drive my mind crazy and heart heavy.  It normally took me a while to straighten my thoughts on how we could start.  This time round was no different and we spent a good 10 hours as a family to tidy it up.  With this as a reminder, I hoped it could last a bit longer... :-)

 

Our selfie queen : Jun-14

When it come to self-photography, no one could beat our pretty Qiqi.  Since young, she possessed a surge of self-confidence which we were also not sure where she had acquired from.  So I supposed it was this wave of confidence which drove her to perform selfie.  She could spend many hours making up, then taking photos and videos of herself.  Like any diligent individual, she had improved and perfected her skill through the years. Her sense of accuracy and success rate was high, trustworthy!



Recently she did another scary makeup and 'performance' which stirred up intense controversy within the family.  Personally I felt quite amused and recognized the simple fun she was creating.  Well, to pay her back on her efforts, I decided to make her a movie with a bonus trailer.  More importantly, I would help to fulfill her dreams by publishing and promoting her selfie talents. Enjoy...

2013 Taiwan Trip video : May-14

After our Taiwan trip, I had wanted to produce this video but just did not manage to have that drive and time. So finally, I took a day off and determined to create this clip where everyone enjoyed the holiday so much. Maybe we should start planning for another soon... :P

Lion dance competition at Johor Bahru : May-14

Lion dancing had always been a passion within myself.  While i had not been actively participating in any event recently, it was always fun to watch and enjoy the dancing and drumming.  After NYJC Alumni pugilistic society was disbanded, Adrian and team had setup two new clubs to continue our passion, 新洋 and 勇洋.  They had developed the teams well, achieved remarkable results and gained good popularity through their diligence.

As the team leader, Adrian had never stopped engaging the older Alumni members like us.  He would consistently update us on their events and progress, a virtue i found pretty admirable, especially among younger generation nowadays.

This May, 新洋 was scheduled to have a competition in JB and Adrian invited us to join them as usual.  Bee Seng, Daniel and myself went and supported them and also took this rare opportunity to catch up.  For myself, it was 'double' happiness, as I also took along my DSLR along and practice on my photography skills.  It was a long competition event with 30 teams from Malaysia and Singapore participating.  We did not managed to stay through the event but 新洋 did very well to emerge 9 out of the 30 teams and 2nd among the Singapore teams!  Great results, great fun.

Simple Sunday morning fun : May-14

On a Sunday morning, Macdonalds breakfast -> Playground... :-) Swings are such great lasting invention with great fun for all ages.

Ally is 1 : May-14

This month, my dearest niece, Ally, turns ONE!  We are invited to her birthday party at papa's place where Dor and Hong prepare a sumptuous BBQ dinner full of beautiful decorations.  On this joyous occasion, I also grab the opportunity and happily utilize my two DSLR, taking shoots continuously.  It is always encouraging when there are nice pictures taken and there are people appreciating them, the memories captured are also priceless.

The party is filled with great food, hardworking cooks, fun games and generous prizes by Dor too (we emerged the 1st).  Most importantly, the weather 'cooperates' and stops raining during the party.  Everyone including the dogs enjoy themselves!

Mother's Day 2014 : May'14

For the second year in a row, En was the most excited about this special Sunday known as Mother's Day. 

My first Mother's Day gift came from laogong. Upon my request, he bought me a set of 3 Corelli casserole dishes from OG. (^^)

This year En did not draw me so many pictures or cards but she did give me an A4 sheet of paper with her drawings and a paper holder; she said it's a folder for me to put my documents!! On top of that, she also gave me a star with ribbons hanging; she said it's a keychain!! (: And a bangle.. actually she's got two of them, one in black and the other turquoise, and she's asked me to choose; when I selected the turquoise one, she had insisted i should take the black one as it's more mature!!? She also gave me a Minion wallet which she did not want.. (^_^"')

I had thought only En would give me gifts for the day so I was pleasantly surprised when Xuan also drew me a card in the evening.. 

Well, Happy Mother's Day!!