Pam Ling’s Ramblings

Ok. Not physically as in changed postal address but virtually as in blogging address

Friendster’s blog site has gotten too small for my tales of a growing Janine (and her "growing" parents) and my mumblings and groanings. So another blog site had to be sought ;oP

Can u believe it?? I have no more disk space left on friendsters server! @.@ Oh well, could be because I hv been blissfully uploading up to 1MB photos totally ignorant to the fact that my limit of 50 photos for a month (and this includes "spoilt" uploads) is also pegged to my 50MB server space :oP

Whoops!

Never mind lah. A friend of mine has taught me clever trick to save disk space by uploading my photos to flickr ;o) Don’t know why I never thought of this earlier @.@ Hopefully this will work out better for the new blog

Anyway, you can find (virtual) me at this NEW blog address:

http://kidkat075.blogspot.com/

where I will continue to update on the cheeky antics of Janine and/or just "complain" about anything under the scorching Singapore sun ;o)

To more blogging days!!!! Cheers!

The "fellowship" of Janine’s shoes

One little girl to wear them all

One little girl to strut them

One little girl to dirty them all

And in the playground lose them

Certainly a collection to rival her mother’s!

In defense, all I can say is that we only bought her 3 pairs. The rest were presents from family and friends. I was very much tempted to buy her more but KY (and the shoe cabinet) wouldn’t allow it ;oP

Nonetheless, A BIG THANK YOU to you who have contributed to Janine’s "little" collection. Without which, her mother would not be able to have so much FUN coordinating Janine’s outfits ;o)

(Disclaimer: This combination of footwear was entirely Janine’s choice. She passed us the shoe and we just helped her wear it. This is the honest truth! lol)

Last Sunday, my parents’ neighbours must have had the biggest scare in their lives.

Black smoke was billowing out of the living room window of my parents’ flat and Bobby,my parents’ dog was barking like a maniac!

Thinking that a fire had broken out in the flat and my parents may still be asleep (or worse rendered unconscious by the thick and pungent smoke) inside the bedroom, they banged their fist endlessly on the metal gate and wooden door, at the same time shouting for my parents in a bid to rouse them from sleep. Their worst fears seemed to be confirmed when it was only Bobby’s incessant barking they heard. Desperate, they called for the police.

Coincidently, Sunday was April 1st (April Fool’s Day), and the police thought it was a prank call (can you blame them?). But I guess the urgency in the voice of that phone call proved otherwise and they appeared minutes later with men from the civil defense by their side.

To get into the house, they broke the lock on the gate (sawed it in half with a hydraulic saw) and would have smashed down the front door if it had been locked too. Inside, they found, not a fire in the kitchen (*phew*) , but my mom’s already charred black pot bubbling and spewing pungent charcoal coloured smoke on the stove.

Apparently, my mom was heating up some soup on the stove before she went to church. In the rush, she forgot to turn off the gas stove. So when all the liquids in the pot evaporated, whatever that was left and the pot just got burnt ;oP

My parents didn’t suspect anything even when they returned from church and met a small crowd of people who had gathered below the block to gawk at the commotion that was going on floors above. My mom even thought that all the commotion was because someone got stuck in the lift.

They got a rude shock when, just as they reached the void deck of their block, my mom got a call on her handphone from Aunty Judy, a church friend whom the police (through some clever detective work) contacted in an attempt to reach my parents, informing her of the little accident at home.

They rushed upstairs, hearts in their mouths, expecting the worst. Imagine their relief when they realised there wasn’t much damage done and the flat was STILL intact.

Really THANK GOD for alert and caring neighbours who responded aptly. They truly exemplify the chinese saying, "yuan qin bu ru jing ling". Because of what they did, all there is to remind us of this episode is JUST a blackened pot, a spoilt lock, a dent on the front gate (where the hydraulic saw left its mark) and the lingering smell of burnt metal.

On monday, I took the bus to work and I noticed this interesting "phenomenon":

The bus I boarded happened to have leaky air con vents. This resulted in quite a lot of seats being semi flooded. And although there WERE empty seats available next to other passengers, EVERY person (myself included ;oP) that boarded the bus still chose those empty 2 seaters where half the seat was already wet from the dripping air con vent overhead (and which was still dripping and splashing water), prefering to sit with half their butts hanging over the edge of the seat and compromise their comfort (and safety) then to endure the 10/15 minute ride sidled up next to a stranger.

This led me to come to the conclusion that people would rather sit next to a puddle of water than a human being.

Hmmm…

Are we being anti-social? Maybe we can argue that in space starved Singapore, we need our some room for ourselves, and we would jump at every opportunity to put some distance between us and the next person…even if it comes at the cost of wet pants and an unnatural sitting posture.

Last week, my poor baby was food to some bugs ;o(

Look at the angry red welts all over her arms. I counted more than 12! And I haven’t "stock take" those on her legs/body ;oP

We just can’t figure out which bloodsucking vermin would do this to Janine.

Could it be mosquitoes? She couldn’t possibly be attacked by SO many of them? Especially since we religously put anti-mosquito oil/lotion all over her before she sleeps every night >.<

Could it be bed bugs? But the mattress in her cot is suppose to be anti-mites!! And we change her bedsheets very regularly >.<

Could it be flea bites (from Bobby, my parents’ little pooch)? The last time he went for a groom he came back with MORE than just a cute cut. But that was such a LONG time ago and since then we have treated him. Plus he has been relegated to the kitchen ever since we started putting Janine at my parents’ place during the week so there shouldn’t be renegade fleas in the bedroom/living room >.<

Could it be some other biting insects? But insect bites make hard bumps and these welts are soft >.<

So what can it be????

Anyway, in the meantime, while we try to single out the fiend, we are VACUUMING her mattress, changing and washing her bedsheets and blanket AGAIN, sunning and washing ALL the cushion/pillow/softtoys and wiping her cot frame.

Today, on my way to the loo, I walked pass Soon Beng’s usually empty desk.

Only now its not empty.

Someone was setting up a computer at the desk and then a while later, someone else (accompanied by a group of ppl…his friends/team mates) placed even more stuff (mug, files, jacket, photo frame and other personal artefacts) on the desk.

Ahh…a new guy has joined the organisation and he is taking over Soon Beng’s place.

People come and go and even within the office we "move house". So what’s the big deal? Why am i being so sentimental?

The "deal" is that that Soon Beng may still be around if not for the horrific accident that he was involved in just outside my office which took his life.

I don’t really know Soon Beng very well, but I do see him around in the office and on those few occasions our paths crossed, we manage some small talk, jokes, etc. And then suddenly, when this familiar personality is gone, you still do feel a sense of lose. Like the time when my team mate Luda passed away ;oP

And, like with Luda, ever since his death, his cubbie was kept empty. Nobody took over that spot in office and no one used that space for "extra storage". Its like out of respect (or maybe fear? hmmm…) that it was left as it is…like although he is gone, he still has a "place" in our lives ;oP

So today when I saw the new guy "moving in", it felt like an official acknowledgment that Soon Beng is gone.

Sigh…

Some people wonder why there are people who stop at only one child.

Well, I don’t!

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!

"Whoever guards his tongue keeps his soul from trouble" - Proverbs 21:23

The entry from "Our Daily Bread" devotions on Tuesday (20 Mar) reminded me that our tongue, though a small part of us, can be so destructive. While it has the potential to lift a downcast soul, encourage and spur on a friend, it also has the potential to tear people down or even kill. A powerful yet fearsome tool indeed!

It struck me too that on top of watching what we say (our verbal communications), we also need to watch what we don’t say as well (our non-verbal communications). It extends to what we ’say’ in our emails/letters to friends/colleagues/family and even what we write in our blogs! Also, our body language when we interact with others also ’says’ something…even HOW we say what we say is saying something. And don’t we already know that "action speaks louder than words"?. In a nutshell, we need to be mindful of not just we say, but the ‘doing’ as well. Its like a "whole package" thing.

Waaah…not easy sia ;oP

But if we make that effort to discpline ourselves in this aspect…not only is it good for us (we lessen the risk of saying something stoopid/regretful/that could possibly endanger our lives or others) but its good for the people ard us too (they receive encouragement or have loving words spoken to them as oppose to being condemned or emotionally scarred by the things we say). ;oP More importantly, a way to reflect God’s work and love in our lives ;o)

It seems like a very impossible task but with God’s help, I believe it can be done!! "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26)!

It’s my prayer too that as she grows up,little Janine would learn to master her tongue and that God will give her the wisdom to say the right things, do the right things (hence the ‘hui’ in her Chinese name) and thus, be a channel of His blessings to the people ard her.

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." - Colossians 4:6

Last night was the night that Janine slept through (no waking up at 3am crying for mommy)…Unfortunately, it was also the night that KY had to suffer from an attack of the sneezles >.<

So for a change, it wasn’t Janine’s crying but rather her papa’s rather explosive sneezing that roused me from my sleep

Sigh…

The ever elusive good night of rest ;oP

The last weekend was one filled with a lot of "first" for Janine ;o)

Besides her First Bus Ride on Friday evening, she also had her First MRT Ride!

We (My parents, KY, Janine and I) were on our way from Simei to City Hall. The papas were gg to visit the IT fair at Suntec to take advantage of any last minute offers, while the mommys decided to leave the men to their toys and do their own brand of retail therapy. Not to bad a deal eh? lol

Here we have Janine and her papa at Simei. While, Janine doesn’t seem too impressed, Her papa, on the other hand, was excitedly showing her the sign boards and route map at Simei and her mommy looked like a tourist taking pictures and trying to get them to pose near the tracks.

For safety reasons, we got her to sit in her little buggy ;o)

Here she is sitting rather nicely and prettily in her stroller.

However, after a while, Janine had other plans ;oP

I guess if all you had to see were legs, legs and more legs on a crowded MRT, you would try to climb to higher ground to get a "better" view.

Haiyah…this girl can be so sam seng sometimes. I would think getting her to wear pretty pink dresses, clips and shoes will make her more ladylike. Obviously NOT! Haha.

Anyhow, I think Janine prefered the return trip from City Hall. Firstly, she got a chance to explore the station (We didn’t let her walk on her own at Simei. Didn’t want to risk her falling into the tracks!)

Secondly, Janine being Janine made friends with the commuters standing near us! She was laughing, chuckling and teasing them (peering ard the metal bars to look at them, followed by more laughing and chuckling) all the way back to Simei. She really entertained them (and us as well) with her cheeky antics. And mind you this was ard 10.30 pm…way past her bedtime. She is so full of energy!

There were other "firsts" as well that day ;o)

Just before dinner on Sunday (after the papas finised ooggling and drooling at the IT fair), Janine had her First Ride on a Kiddy Ride (whatever u call those).

She was happily turning the steering wheel of Oscar the grouch’s cart clearly imitating her Papa when he is driving. She was having so much fun that when a another little girl tried to clamber on to join her, she rather forcefully pushed her away (lucky the other little girl’s maid was holding her!). This is very much her experience and Janine was not letting anyone cramp her space @.@.

Well, you can be sure that after such a display of selfishness, she didn’t get to sit on the kiddy ride very long after. We apologised and quickly whisked her away (but not without a stern admonishment from her parents) to Carl’s Jr for our dinner where she had her First Taste of Fast Food!

Here she is contentedly munching a FRENCH FRY! She has already chewed off 3/4 of the fry and we, her crazed parents, were gleefully handing her more to savour. Who cares if its laden with salt and possibly dripping in oil. She looked so cute and she was soooo happy (plus that kept her in her seat for the whole duration of dinner! hehe). Ok Carl’s Jr stuff isn’s exactly THAT unhealthy..I find it considerably healthier than our other fast food options in Singapore but still…fast food is fast food and Janine had her first taste of it ;oP

Hopefully this will not be (actually it jolly well better not be) the beginnings of endless trips to some fast food joint just so she can get a toy, gobble up trans fat and sip carbonated liquids. That’s her parents job(the gobbling up trans fat and sipping carbonated water part). She just do the plays-with-toy part. Hahahahaha!

So with another weekend ahead of us, my mind is churning out ideas and possible activites we can do with or bring Janine to. She is at this age where its really fun to play and interact with her. So much so that you just want to make each day as memorable for her and yourself. I think her carpe diem mentality is infectious!