Seimpi Lesson 4

30 Jan 2011 (Sun):

Lesson 1 missed...
Lesson 2 missed...
Lesson 3 missed...

We attended lesson 4 & did some revisions.

Remember these tempos?

Adagio - A slow tempo
Allegro - A fast tempo. In Italian the word means lively or merry.

Andante - A moderately slow tempo. In Italian the word means walking.

Largo - A very slow tempo. In Italian, the word means broad.

Presto - A very fast tempo. Faster than allegro.

Then we did Step & Skip -

STEP: space to space or line to line, eg C ~ D or E ~ F ( note to note)

SKIP: space to line or line to space, eg C ~ E or D ~ F (skipping a note in between)

Also covered Time Values & Musical Symbols.

Semi Breve - 4 counts ( 1st ladybug top left hand)

Dotted Minim - 3 counts (3rd ladybug bottom left hand)
Minim - 2 counts (1st ladybug top right hand)
Crochet - 1 count (3rd ladybug bottom righ hand)

Fermata - like a car stopping at a traffic light

Slur - like a boy skating

Tie - like twins holding hands

Staccato - like a ball bouncing

Rachel seems to lost touch with keyboard & its relevant notes. Well, blame it on mummy who did not revised with her since last performance in Dec 2010. Its been a month & a half till date. So this 2 days, i better spent some time revising together with her.

Absent from Seimpi

The new term was supposingly to start 09 Jan 2011 but Rachel was having fever 2 days ago so i called the school to inform we were not coming. Then on the 16 Jan, we skipped class again as Rachel's fever bug came back. On the 3rd lesson, 23 Jan, i was so exhausted by the spring cleaning going on at home that i called the school to inform we were not coming in again.

3 lessons missed in January & i have not even paid the fees yet. Yikes! Better buck up here. So on 30 Jan, i better be a good mummy & attend the lesson & pay the school fees, which speaking off, i better settle the Feb fees as well.

*************************************************

Yesterday evening, 25 Jan 2011 (Tues), i had a little reunion dinner with my collagues @ J Pot, Vivo City. There were 7 of us & the total bill came up to S$160++. This is a very good steamboat buffet & you get to make your own very special condiments. No matter how u mixed, it will still taste as good. Say u can have a combination of soya sauce, fried garlic, sesame oil, garlic oil, "sha cha" sauce (this was what i have mixed) & it matches perfectly to my little steamboat ingredients. For soup base, we had chicken stock, tom yam, laksa & bak kut teh. Super solid!!!

We adjoined to desserts @ Mun Kee (Honeymoon) a few stores up front. Ordering by the numbers shown on the menu sent us into fits of laughter. Its as though we were reporting the winning numbers for TOTO: " 19, 30, 31. 35, 42, 24, 29....

The evening was enjoyable for we had good food, good company. :)

D&D 2011

21 Jan 2011 (Fri):

We had our company's D&D @ M Hotel, Anson Road. There were some pre dinner games being played & I won a gift sponsored by Chartis.

Then there was the karaoke singing competition from various departments. Some contestants were "equipped" with strong & powerful voice; they were really good. And of course, we also had the best dressed awards. Theme of the evening: Wild Wild West.

We had a 9 course dinner which consisted of the yu sheng, cold platter, shark fin's, roasted chicken, steam fish, herbs-boiled prawns, scallops with brocoli, lotus leaf rice & yam paste with ginko nuts for dessert.

** If you look at the below pic, notice the top right corner: handsome looking yu sheng. then compare to the aftermath, top left hand corner: the untidiness. Hehe.

We had so much fun & laughter thru out though our MD gave such a serious speech. Kinda spoilt our evening for a moment.

My lucky draw prize: 4th prize. 2 nights accomodation in Sydney, 1 night accomodation in Melbourne & an adventure tour to either the Great Ocean Road or Penguin Reserve @ Phillips Island for 2. Note: No air tickets involved. If i wanna redeem this package, i got to first: buy both international & domestic tickets and hello, those tickets will not come cheap. My colleagues told me i can do a self drive from Sydney to Melbourne but hello again, its gonna be a 10-12 hrs drive, heck, no way. Second, sad to say, the 2 nights hotel accomodation in Sydney will be spilt; 1 night in the city & another night up in the mountains - Blue Mountains. So i have to find my own transport up the mountains.

So although its the 4th prize, its not interesting to me at all. I will asked my colleagues to help me, if possible, to sell away as individual items or as a package. For those travellers looking at a specific area, this would be good. If you are interested as well, do let me know.

Overall, good food, good friends, good food & atmosphere. Great fun!!! A bunch of fun-loving buddies & friends, especially at our table.

12 o'clock: Yvonne & Betty

3 o'clock: Yvonne, Daniel, Steven, Cecilia & Richard

6 o'clock: Cecilia & Daniel

9 o'clock: Richard & Yvonne

12 o'clock: Yvonne & Daniel

3 o'clock: Yoyo, Yvonne & Alice

6 o'clock: Yvonne & Joe

9 o'clock: Angie & Yvonne

12 o'clock: Yvonne & Cecilia

3 o'clock: Trevor & Yvonne

6 o'clock: Patricia & Yvonne

9 o'clock: Yvonne & Isabel

** Uploading video **

Drunkard

I was on my home one evening when i noticed the outline of a man lying across a pavement beside the housing block. A person under normal circumstances would have walked past but i stopped dead in my tracks & stared at the man lying on the floor. He was cuddled up like a cooked prawn & there was a trail of water leading to where his feet were. His slippers were flung beside his legs & this led me to wonder what on earth happened.

It was quite dark around 9pm & not many people passed by at that moment. Besides, one would have missed the man as you walked unless you turned your head towards ur left. I was contemplating to call the police. The man would have been hurt or fainted or worst, dead. Wild thoughts ran thru my mind. I dared not touch or shake him but i did tried to call out. No response.

At this time, another uncle walked past me & he too, saw the man lying on the floor. I asked the uncle if i should called the police. The uncle stood down beside the man & called out. Still no reponse. He gave me a nod to go ahead to call the police. I was about to take my hp out when the uncle stopped me & told me the man's waking up. Indeed, whe i turned around, i saw the man sitting up but looking blur. The uncle asked if the man's ok & his reply: " I'm ok, just drunk".

What a bizzare evening!

2011 Fever ** updates **

What a title! Both kids got their very 1st fever for 2011. The bug found its way to Rachel first, invading her on last Fri evening (07 Jan). However, she was still very energetic. Paracetomol was given & a cooling gel pad was on her forehead thruout the whole night. Mummy's not taking any chances here.

Comes Sat, she was okay the whole day & her temperature stays at the healthy range of 36.4 - 36.7 degrees. However, her temparature shot up late in the night to 38 degrees. Another round of paracetomol & cooling gel pad was given. Four hrs later, she was still hot to touch so Mummy gave another round of paracetomol, 3ml each time.

Sun morning, she was okay but a little lethagic & restless. We went for breakfast & she was like a jelly bean immediately after BF. The bug decided to leave her body & find another owner. But mummy's still not taking any chances & continued to monitor her body temperature. Okay. Seems fine - 36.4 degrees. I called teacher Marcia to inform we will not attend any lessons today, given Rachel's just recovered from fever.

Well, the next unlucky person to be invaded by the bug is none other than Lionel. He was a little feverish on Mon (10 Jan) evening. So paracetomol was given but no cooling gel pad. Mil sponge him instead. He went to sch the next morning as usual. However at 10am, his teacher, 张老师 called to inform me Lionel's having a fever at 37.8 degrees. The school practices taking all students' temperature twice every morning & twice every afternoon.

I called mil & Lionel was brought home. He saw the doctor & medication was given. Tues, 12 Jan, he did not attend school & stayed home to rest. I saw him in the evening & mil told me he's feeling much better.

Today, 13 Jan, i'm not sure if he went to school as he was not at home with us. Will check with my mil this evening.

** updates @ 2215hrs, 13 Jan: Lionel attended school this morning & was okay. However, he still has to finish the anitbiotics given & not consume any fried or heaty food such as biscuits, chocolates, etc.

According to the Chinese Physician, Lionel's having throat inflamamtion. In medical terms, its known as Tonsillitis. It's an inflammation of the tonsils and will often, but not necessarily, cause a sore throat and fever.

Excerpts from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatine_tonsil

So whenever he's got an inflammation, he will tend to get a fever, difficulty in swallowing food & sometimes, pain will be encountered. So long as fried & heaty food are avoided, his inflammation will recover with the help of antibiotics.

N2's Speech & Drama ** Updates**

I called the school yesterday to find out if the timing of Lionel's S&D can be changed. It was usually right after school hours at about 12 noon last year but according to Ms Zana, they have to coordinate the timing with the external teachers there, so a change is needed.

So Lionel will be having his 1st lesson in S&D 2011 today @ 415pm. I also received a form from Rachel asking if the parents would like to enrol their child in either Computer, S&D or Abacus. Before i can discuss & reply, Ms Zana had already pre arrange Rachel's S&D slot to 330pm, also starting today.

How in the world did Ms Zana knew that i wanted to enrol Rachel into S&D??? Anyway, i had informed my mil prior that both kids will attend S&D. My sil (elder LK) was against the idea of both kids having their classes at such an odd timing as it clashes with the kids' noon nap. She wanted to enrol Lionel into Abacus instead which falls on Sat morning. My arguement is that the class (S&D) is only once per week; what's the problem of having to miss one noon nap? Oh btw, Lionel will be in P1 next year. Is she going to tell the teacher that he needs his nap at 3pm should his session starts in the afternoon? Really wondering what's her problem here!!!

** as for Abacus on Sats, if she wanna enrol Lionel into that, its fine with me too but my mil seems to be against that idea. Lionel is having too many enrichment classes at such a young age - arts (creative drawing) class, chinese martial arts & now Abacus?? And all these classes were initiated & supported by both sils ( elder & younger LK)), so they were the ones paying for the fees. **

** I did think of enroling Lionel into Abacus classes but not till he's in primay school. Goes the same for Rachel. We'll see about that next year **

So anyway, a mum always has the final say. I reminded my mil ( not going to care what my sil insists on) that R's class starts at 3.30pm & L's at 4.15pm, immediately after R's session. She said will get the kids ready accordingly.

** If they feel that its a chore having to bring 2 kids over one by one, its fine with me if they wanna bring Lionel over with Rachel @ 3.30pm, then pick both of them up at 5pm, whichever way they feel convenient & if the school's fine with the arrangement. I think the school should be ok with that. **

Will ask Rachel if she likes S&D tonight when i see her. :)

@ 10pm: Rachel enjoyed the lesson very much. I'm glad to hear that. I'm also surprised that my sil (LK) called me in the afternoon to double check on the kids' S&D's lesson timing. I thought she might call me just to argue with me again. But she was also a little shocked to learn that the lessons will start today cos she heard that it should be starting next week instead. anyway... :)

Trip Up Melaka

01 Jan 2011 (Sat):

"Brriinngggg......" the alarm clock went off at 4.30am. I ignored it, hoping to sleep in. Neither the kids nor the Dad heard the alarm; they were all sleeping soundly. I was against the idea of waking up early in the morning & arriving in Melaka with no attractions to see.

The alarm went off the 2nd time. I ignored it again but Lionel heard it this time. He woke Dad up & Dad saw that it was already close to 5am. Oh boy! I got no choice but to roll off the bed as well.
A quick wash, a change of clothes & a bottle of milk each for the kids & we were off. Traffic was smooth & we were soon on the highway but not before a little roller coaster ride ard JB. You see, we turned off at the wrong side after the Msian customs & found ourselves heading towards Senai airport/Jurong/Tuas instead. A big circle made before we were on the actual highway towards KL.

We stopped at Machap for a drink of teh tarik & some snacks for breakfast. I love their teh tarik. Both kids were sleeping soundly so we didnt wake them up for the snacks.

We arrived into Jasin, Melaka where our friend lived & rang their doorbell. I felt bad about having to wake them up from their sleep. It was only about 8am. Surprisingly, 2 kids were already up & about & were watching TV. One of them ran to the door & opened it for us. The father, upon hearing the sound of keys, poked his head out of the room, wondering who on earth had come so early. He was equally surprised to see us standing outside his gate. Haha.

Our first stop was the temple after everyone woke up & got dressed. Getting 5 kids (age 10, 8, 7 , 2 & 8mths old) ready was not an easy task, especially when everything was done by the mother herself. ( i'm speaking of our fren). Due to a long queue & a large crowd at the temple, it was almost 2 hours before we were seen to. By the time we left the temple, it was already 1.30pm.

Next on the agenda was Jonker's Street, Melaka's Chinatown. We all had lunch first as our stomachs were all growling, hunger for food. I wanted to try the chicken rice balls so we proceeded to A'Farmosa Chicken Rice. We ordered 2 plates ( 10 balls on each plate), kampong & roast chicken, eggs, roasted pork, fishball soup & veggies. Total amount came up to RM$85.70

Then we walked around Jonker's Street till about 5.30pm before proceeding to our hotel for check in. We booked Time Hotel, situated along Jalan Melaka Raya 12 thru Booking.com at MYR120 per room night for a Deluxe Standard Room. For a family of 2A & 2C, the rooms was basically clean, air conditioned, spacious & the basic amenities well provided for. Though the many reviews were more of negative than positive, we find it good enough for us.

After a rest & shower, we went back to Jonker's Street again for its night market. Every Fri & Sat, the streets would be closed to traffic & there would be many additional push cart stores on the road. Its a tight squeeze as u try to navigate your way in & out & around but it was fun. We walked from one end to the other end & back. we had our dinner at one of the coffee shop famous for its " Luk Luk ". Its bite size pieces of food skewered onto satay sticks & dipped into hot satay (spicy peanut) sauce. There were many varieties & we ate till our hearts content. Cost: RM$101.

We retired early for the night & hb was very tired from his driving. While in the room, i heard " pop pop pop ". Wondering what sound was that, i peeped through the curtains & saw millions of colourful, tiny stars high up in the sky. You guess it! Those were fireworks. Hmm, what event was held out there? Both the kids were mermerised & so was i. The fireworks displayed lasted for about 10 mins & we went back to bed. I was so captivated by the display that i couldnt be bothered to bring out my camera. Yes, i thought of taking pictures or maybe even a video but i couldnt bear to tear myself away from the window. Too bad hb was out cold else he could have watched it together with us.

The next morning, we woke up early as hb wanted to have the "Dim Sum" he saw yesterday while driving. We spent mins going round & round in circles along Jalan Hang Jebat, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock & Lorong Hang Jebat. Hb knew it was somewhere around but just couldnt find the exact location. Finally we found it.

Dim Sum Garden. 园林点心屋. Address: No 3&5, Jalan Thamby Abdullah, 75000 Melaka. Tel: 06-2816204. http://www.dimsumgarden.com.my/

The normal way to eat Dim Sum is to look at the menu then order what you like right? But not here. The moment you sit down, the staff will bring in all varieties & you just pick what you want. Then they will note down on on a piece of paper what you have took. One after another, the staff will just keep on bringing different types of food, non stop. Then they will also go around 2nd time to see if you want more. If you want something they didnt have on their trays, you can always go to their food counter to get it. Their way of operation is something similar to the Hong Kong style where the lady would go around pushing a trolley & start shouting " Har Gow, Siew Mai, Lo Mai Gai " but there is no shouting here. Hehe. Cost: RM$96.50.

After a full stomach, we visited the Admiral Cheng Ho Museum & the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum. The Cheng Ho Museum was big & we have a guide showing us around. RM$10/adult & RM$5/child above 5 years old. The kids had a wild time with the guide who was better known as uncle Doraemon. After each introduction or explanation, uncle Doraemon would asked the kids some questions & whoever answered correctly, they will get a gift.

Then its off to the Nyonya Museum. Same amount of admission fees but i felt that the staff was kinda snobbish. She spoke to us as if we were a bunch of school children who couldnt follow instructions & had to be told off. She kept on reminding us that no photo taking is allowed & there are many CCTVs ard. Oh please! I felt like telling her to shut her mouth. Yes our frens may not understand English perfectly but i am there to know where's she driving at.

Then there was this museum guide who's also snobbish & rude. Her reaction when she saw our 7 kids was: " Why still so many children around? i thought we had already GOT RID most of them since the school holidays were over." I told her off: " Miss, you dun have to use the word GOT RID. That's very rude. Its still school holidays for the kids. Btw, we are not locals. (even if our Malaysia frens were with us)" The guide appeared shock but not apologetic. Either she was shocked that i answered back or that my English was equally fluent? Haha..

Lunch was at MacDonalds & after that, we bid our frens farewell & was soon on the highway towards Singapore. Hb had to work later in the evening so we had no choice but to made our way home early.

Though its a short 2 days getaway, the kids had fun & i managed to capture some memories. Did I mentioned i had been to Melaka about 2-3 times before, some 10 years back but at that time, i didnt know about blogging & so i did not keep a record & no photos were being downloaded for memory keepsake. Maybe only a few photos were being developed but where's my album now? Yes, somwhere in the house but where? No idea. :(

Uncle Doraemon demostrating on 2 wind-up toy rabbits. In the past, when Chinese got married, they would put 2 chickens under the bed; 1 male & 1 female. Then they will scatter some food outside. Whichever gender comes walking out first, this means the newly married couple would give birth to a baby of that gender. Say if the hen walks out first, the bride would give birth to a baby girl. If both chickens walked out together, this means the couple would be having twins, & so on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_0xW9z0X4s

The popiah man on rickshaw. Kole, if u are reading this blog, is this the same popiah man on mobile u talked about in ur blog as well? This guy is selling RM2 per roll. But seriously speaking, his popiah is not that tasty; there are no crunchy bites & the sweet sauce is defintely not enough. His white radish is tasteless too. Overall, 4/10. :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdWQAGjQYnc