We first met Yew Chong (Y.C) back last year during an impromptu visit to check out his murals at Everton Road. There he was, unassumingly painting and adding the finishing touches to the Barber mural at Everton Road, under the humid September sun. Take a sneak peek at his murals here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8XS9lN432Y Since meeting the artist himself, we’ve taken quite a liking to his murals. Not only are they exceptionally well-painted, his attention to details and the … [Read more...]
Penang…with a Penangite
I was born and bred in Penang. Spent 20 of my formative years there before I headed overseas to study. It is no surprise that Penang will always have a special place in my heart even though I've now relocated to Singapore. My family, along with many close friends, in fact, are still there. So what does a Penangite do, where does he eat and go whenever he goes back? Well, here’s taking you on our trip last Dec (Yes! This is a super late post!) when we brought Buddy … [Read more...]
‘Think Happy Thoughts’ – My 1st MRI Experience
I held on to the blue squeezy thing with my right hand…not too tightly. My heart palpitating, my mind racing fast. “Should I squeeze it or should I not ?” this thought raced through my mind hundreds of time within those few seconds. 5 minutes ago, the nurse had just had me strapped in. ‘Alright, Mr. Sim, this will take 20 minutes. We will begin in 50 seconds’. These were the words of the nurse as she strapped me securely to the MRI machine, tugged me in a warm blanket, gave me ear plugs (It … [Read more...]
Street Art of Singapore @ Everton Road
Take a stroll down memory lane...at Everton Road. Ever had one of those rare ‘Hmmm…I wonder what shall we do today' days? Well, today was it. Rare as it was because I decided, quite simply, to procrastinate, slow down and commemorate Teachers’ Day by experiencing the joy of spending a weekday morning with my own kids…for a change. After bringing the girl for her specialist medical appointment in the morning, we decided to take a detour to Everton Road to check out the new street arts … [Read more...]
On Our Top 10 Most Popular Singapore Blogs Award 2015 Win
By any account it was a long and lousy day. Due to some contingencies at work, the day had stretched into the evening and the evening into night. Plans to have dinner with Angie and attend the Singapore Blog Awards night together had to be shelved. By the time I reached home, the kids were fast asleep – kind of like the same way I left them when I left for work early in the morning at 6:30am. It is exactly this sort of day that inspired me to write – a day in the life of a working parent, … [Read more...]
Queenstown Heritage Trail: Dawson & Alexandra
At last year’s inaugural Queenstown Heritage Trail led by volunteers, we explored parts of the Tanglin Halt and Duchess which proved to be an eye-opening, educational experience for me. Being a naturalised Singaporean, I’ve always been keen to discover more about my adopted country and hopefully enthuse my children to do the same - to appreciate the heritage that is their home. So when the invitation came again to discover the other parts of the 'Queenstown Heritage Trail', I … [Read more...]
View from a plane ride…and what it had shown me: A tribute to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew
What do you remember when you were 4? For me, not much but among the few early memories I can recall is a flight. Probably my first. I remembered my mum excitedly asking me to look down at the lights below. Yes, it was a night flight and we were returning from my very first trip to Singapore. What do you remember when you were in Primary School? For me, apart from the wonderful memories of friends, teachers, family moments and my first school, were our regular visits to … [Read more...]
‘Get off B****! ‘ : Close encounter of the offending kind
I had an extreme encounter recently at a local 5* family resort, all within a span of 10 minutes. The first encounter began with me standing in line for my Egg Benedict, freshly made by a friendly elderly lady who was manning the egg station. In her soft, grammatically-correct English, she asked, “Did you study there?” pointing at the T-shirt I was wearing. I looked down and it was a ‘Harvard Dad’ souvenir tee bought during our visit to Harvard, Boston last June. I was quite taken aback … [Read more...]
The strengths in our stars – helping your children discover themselves
"Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name.” Isaiah 40:26 (NIV) Photo Credit “ Daddy, what’s special about me? Do I have talents?” the daughter asked. Now that the daughter has started Primary 1 proper, the entire family has made significant lifestyle changes to go to bed rather early. So imagine my surprise when I was asked the above question by the inquisitive daughter at bedtime … [Read more...]
Primary One Prep…From a Laissez-faire P1 Mom
Picture Credit Just when I thought we had survived the worst of all nightmares a P1-to-be parent might face (i.e. the balloting), I realised how naive it was of me to think that we could breeze through the start of P1 with our eyes shut. Part procrastination and part reluctance on my part to see our 6-year old start formal schooling system so soon, I practically did zero preparation for 'D-day'. All we did was to turn up for the Primary One Orientation in November, ordered her textbooks … [Read more...]