Lindsay's 4th Birthday

Just a few weeks back we celebrated Lindsay's 4th birthday.  My wife had arranged for a celebration in her school earlier which I did not attend.  So I only celebrated with her at home in the evening.

It was a small and intimate celebration for Lindsay.  My little girl is a year older now, naughtier for sure....  but lovely as always.

Happy birthday my little lovely angel...

~ Photos taken with Sony RX100 Mk 3~

Seoul Biz Trip Feb 2017 - 안녕하세요

Last week I just came back from a business trip to Seoul.  It was the first time in my life I had ever been to South Korea as I had never thought of or imagined travelling here. It was definitely an eye opening trip for me.

The Singapore to Seoul flight was at 2:45 a.m. in the morning, I really hate night flights because I have trouble sleeping in aeroplanes, and true enough I could only manage 1 hour of sleep in that 6 hours flight.  I was in the same flight as my boss by the way, but we had different seating.

That's the plane to Seoul - RX100Mk3

Home Made Cold Brew (みずだし)

So a colleague in office told me that he likes cold brew coffee.  I had tried one in Starbucks but was not really impressed by it so I dismissed it as some hipster brewing method for people with too much time.  However, I also know this colleague of mine to have quite a distinguished palate - at least for coffee.  So if he said cold brew is good, then it must be good.  Perhaps the one in Starbucks had not been up to my standard, so I thought I'll try to brew one myself.

The brewing instrument I use this time is a Hario Mizudashi pot.  I bought this pot in Batam 6 years ago and used it to brew tea instead....  Well, now I use it to brew coffee.  

As for the coffee itself, I used 100% Java Arabica at 100 grams.  The ground has to be medium coarse.  A good reason for a medium coarse ground is so that the water can pass through the ground coffee and then through the filter when you pour it in.  Coffee connoisseurs might say that it is for better taste and less grimy final solution (whether coarse or fine you'll still see some sludge deposit at the bottom of the container).  Well, I'll just say use medium coarse ground and let it stay at that.  

100 grams of Java Arabica from Excelso

Chinese New Year 2017

This year we celebrated Chinese New Year in Jakarta.  It was a quick 4 days and 3 nights trip and again, I decided to stay in Pullman Central Park for its convenient location.

The flight was delayed by slightly over an hour in Singapore but the kids were in good spirit as always, if not, too loud at times.  

We were already waiting, but the plane still wasn't there yet - X-T2 + XF16mm F1.4R WR

The First 3 Weeks of 2017

By now, Lincoln had finished 3 weeks of Primary 1.  It has been a trying period for him, I & my wife.  There's no change in the time he has to wake up every morning, but his new routine (which is not well controlled) is causing quite a bit of problem.  Fortunately Lindsay has been adapting well in her new child care, Mandarin and reading class, I just regret that I have been neglecting her studies as I'm too preoccupied with Lincoln.

Lincoln's problems:

1. he doesn't want to take naps after school and since both I and my wife are working, nobody can force him to - this means that by the time I get home and guide him to do his homework he'll be too sleepy to pay attention.  I end up having to blow my top every weeknights just to guide him with schoolwork.

2. he doesn't jot down his homework details so I don't know whether he's doing enough or less or more... But after the 1st parent teacher meeting yesterday, I can safely say he's not doing enough..

3. his Mandarin is..... hopeless I guess.... he just can't remember the letters and he can't get his 笔画right. With weekly 听写on every Tuesday, that's also giving me a lot of pressure..

4. Due to 1 to 3 above, Lincoln has been showing his rebellious side more prominently as of late, partly because I limit his TV time to weekends only now.  No tablets and phones either.

The teachers will list down the homework there, but Lincoln just won't write them down in his communication book - took that photo during parent teacher meeting yesterday

So It's 2017 Now

New year was uneventful.  We just stayed home and slept.  Not that I'm complaining, I'm not into those countdown parties and such.

Usually this is a time to reflect on what had happened so far, be grateful for the blessings we received and the good things that happened while trying to learn from the bad experiences we had.  

Just a day before new year I also learnt of a sad news about a boy from Batam who had been fighting cancer and eventually lost the battle.  I first knew of his plight just slightly more than 3 years back when I was still in Batam; gave a small donation for his chemotherapy treatment in Singapore after reading his mother's heartfelt plea for help through Facebook.  After several sessions of chemotherapy in Singapore he seemed to have recovered and I thought things were going well.  So it was quite a shock when I learnt of his passing from a common friend in Batam.  Hopefully his family will find strength to overcome this difficult period.  

As for me, my company is expected to release further update of the merger after Chinese New Year.  While I look forward to it in order to get some understanding of my fate I also worry about the kind of card that will be dealt to me.  In a nutshell, shipping does not look good, especially with the TPP unraveling.  China on the other hand is making her presence felt in the region with some major projects that may impact Singapore's shipping industry as well.  Overall, 2017 does not look very promising for shipping although I strongly hope that I will be proven wrong.

It's at times like this when I really wish I had a Nanyang MBA...

And oh yeah... I have some things to fix too which will cost quite a bit.  That really turn me off....

With China Town New Year light up coming this Saturday, I might have something to distract me a bit.

On a brighter note...  today is the first day Lincoln started primary 1 while Lindsay also moved to a new child care.  Lincoln adapted very well to the new environment, he seemed to enjoy school; came back with all smiles today trying to describe what he did.  Lindsay was predictably difficult with eating.  The teachers advised that she ate very little for lunch, otherwise she was mingling very well with the other kids and had no problem adapting too.

When I watched Lincoln walk back to his class after recess, it suddenly dawned upon me that I need my children more than they need me.  Despite them giving me a hard time (yelling at them, going through lessons with them, getting frustrated at them, etc.), they also give me a lot of happy moments and a sense of achievement when I see them reach a certain stage in their life.  They really are a blessing in this otherwise bland and perhaps self-centred life.  

Here's a closing shot for this rambling entry - I have a lot to get off my chest!

The Dark Knight - Fairy Style

~ Photo taken with Nikon D750 + Sigma 24mm F/1.4 DG HSM (A) ~