the lastsplash

Ever dream of having a garden in your own room? Blue skies, plane flying through the clouds... little ladybirds, dragonflies zipping between the flowers... chirping birds, balls of petals and grass floating through the air... That is the room I wanted to create for my little boy. And I did so last Saturday - with the help of some fantastically designed decals. At each step, I explained to him the next piece I was going to put up. He watched on intently. Then he smiled and melted my heart. I hope this garden will create a carefree and happy environment for him to grow. At least for now, the garden brings much joy to child and parents alike. Every time I step into his room, it is like walking into a room of a childcare centre, filled with fun and cheers! The coolest thing is Mummy had recently bought him a pair of ladybird and bee wristlets. Perfect compliments for the garden. I can imagine him coming to me one day, to tell me that he had spotted them in his garden! Some may ask if the r

This year's reunion dinner was extra special. It was the first time we had it in my flat, two families coming together for steamboat. Our mothers took much time to prepare the ingredients. Our darling Bertrand can only watch us eat. He had his "reunion milk-milk" earlier on! This is from his view in the rocker. The prawns weren't the most popular dish in this year's reunion dinner. So my wife and myself embarked on a massive de-shelling exercise. Tada! The product! But guess what happened? Yep... the spoon I used to de-shell the prawns bent! It reminded me of another incident ... when I broke some on the first day of the Chinese New Year, due to my "bull-strength"...

There was a variety show on TV last night where foreigners working in Singapore were invited to discuss about topics in Mandarin. While it is facinating to hear them speak in a language other than English or their mother tongue, I find it extremely interesting to hear them revealing their cultural differences. One of the topics discussed was the nationality of colleagues whom they dislike to work with. For example, there was one who disliked Thai because of their laid back attitude. The speaker politely explained that the stressful office environment may detrimental to their mental health. Another commented that he did not like Chinese as he thought they are often boastful and less capable than what they claimed. A Chinese defended that they are just being more competitive. A job in Singapore may have 5 applicants, but that in China may have 500. This is their way of making themselves outstanding. One American commented that he disliked working with Germans as they are too serious at w