Jayden's 2nd Month Swim

Jayden turned 2 months 2 days ago. As a treat, we brought him for a swimming session at HarbourFront.

Now, this is a baby who enjoys his twice daily warm bath tremendously, so we figured that he would definitely love a swim.

Of course, we can't be too sure. Not with him giving us that "are you guys sure about this?" look.

But off we went to the swim centre and got him changed into disposable swim diapers. Every time we take off his clothes, it never fails to amaze me how much he's grown in 2 months.

Then comes the moment of truth, and it was just as we imagined it to be. In fact, it was even better.

Jayden simply loves the water. While all the other kids were crying and wailing their lungs out, the little one can't stop looking excited as he moved his arms and kicked his legs in the water. Very much a natural.

We're definitely bringing him back again some day

I'm a Dad!

Monday, 7th of June 2010 was an extraordinary day, to say the least. I was preparing to go for my hand surgery (to remove some titanium inplants) in the afternoon, but before I did that, I had to accompany Daisy for her routine gynaecological check-up in the morning.

Daisy was already 36 weeks pregnant and by my estimation, we would expect a baby by the end of June. In fact, Daisy already had strong contractions when she was 33 weeks in (she was even admitted for one night), and has been taking medication to delay delivery till the baby is full term. The deal is, for as long as she's taking her meds, she won't deliver. That way, by the time the baby is delivered, my hand would have healed nicely.

But the good Lord had different plans for us. The routine tocographical measurements that morning showed that she's already having contractions at intervals of 10 minutes. The doctor ordered that I cancel my surgery and admit her to the delivery ward that afternoon. I was still in a daze; not entirely sure if the doctor was sure of what she's doing.

True enough, within half a hour, Daisy started feeling the pains of contraction. I called off the surgey while she called the office to say that she won't be coming in, and we just grabbed a few things from home and headed to the hospital.

We've already decided that morning that some epidural would be good. No point making it any more difficult for her, is my thought. Lucky for that thought, for that made the whole experience so much more bearable in terms of pain and anxiety.

We checked in at 12pm. By 2pm, we could hear the gynae going through the other delivery rooms, telling her other patients to "Push!" Just before 4pm, she came into our delivery room. After some checks, she decided, "okay, let's delivery this baby now!" A few "Now, push!" later, my life has changed forever.

Baby Jayden came into this world at 1607hrs and he just amazed both Daisy and myself. After a few cries as he came into this world, Jayden just lay there at the baby cot and started to curiously check out his surrounding.

Almost immediately, Daisy started trying to breastfeed him and within a few minutes, the little baby learned to latch on for sustenance.

Jayden was born exactly a month early, weighing 2.8kg. We stayed 2 nights in the hospital and went home to Daisy's parents place, where we would stay till he's a month old.

Since coming into our lives, he has filled our days (and nights) with anxiety, fatigue and exasperation. More than that, however, he has also filled our lives with joy, wonder, amazement and humility at the goodness of God. If I may say so, he's one heck of a cute baby!

We thank the Lord for this wonderful gift of love and will strive to be good parents.

We would also like to thank all our friends who came, called, SMSed, left messages and sent bouquets of love. We really appreciate your well wishes.

Today, Jayden is one week old. We just got his birth certificate done back at Parkway East Hospital this afternoon. My son is officially a Singapore citizen, haha!

Now that I'm a dad, I'm definitely looking forward to what this next chapter in my life holds!

Ultimate Parker In Asia

I decided a couple of months back to do something a bit adventurous and signed up for the Ultimate Parker In Asia wine grand tasting event. I even got a ticket for my father in law.

So, on the 1st and 2nd of May, I spent the entire weekend sipping fine wine at the Fullerton Hotel Singapore. We did see Robert Parker, but he was too busy with his book signing event to socialise with anyone.

Besides tasting hundreds of fine wines at the Grand Tasting, participants to the event were allocated 3 master classes each, and I chose to attend the following wine master classes; Fine Wines of Austria, The Rise of Cool Climate Syrah/Shiraz Around The World and Landmark Australia.

For Fine Wines of Austria, we tasted the following wines.

2008 Huber Gruner Veltliner, Berg

2008 Jurtschitsch Gruner Veltliner, Kaferberg

2007 Salomon Undhof Kogl Reserve Reisling

2008 Leth Roter Veltliner, Scheiben

2007 Reinisch Rotgipfler Reserve

2007 Temend Sauvignon Blanc, Zeiregg

While Austria is primarily a white wine producing country, we were also fortunate to try some of their best reds.

2006 Juris Pinot Noir, Haide

2007 Markowitsch Rosenberg, Carnuntum

2006 Arachon T.FX.T. Arachon Evolution

2006 Weninger Blaufrankisch, Durrau

2005 Tschida TBA Samling

For The Rise of Cool Climate Syrah/Shiraz Around The World, we tasted a total of 9 wines.

2005 Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz, Grampians, Victoria, Australia

2006 Heathcote Estate Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria, Australia

2005 Yering Station Reserve Shiraz Viognier, Yarra Valley, Australia

2007 Shaw & Smith Shiraz, Adelaide Hills, Australia

2008 Man O'War Dreadnought Syrah, Waiheke, New Zealand

2007 Trinity Hills Homage Syrah Viognier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

2004 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage Petite Chapelle, Rhone Valley, France

2006 M. Chapoutier Cote Roti Les Becasses, Rhone Valley, France

plus a mystery wine, which I forgot to note down, haha!

The last wine master class we attended was Landmark Australia, simply because the bulk of wines we find in Singapore today is mostly from Australia.

Landmark Australia introduces 11 great wines:

2003 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon, Hunter Valley

2002 Pewsey Vale The Countours Riesling, Eden Valley

2007 Shaw & Smith M3 Vineyard Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills

2008 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay, Margaret River

2008 De Bortoli Reserve Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley

2004 Wynns Coonawara Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra

2007 Cullen Wines Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River

2007 Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, Hunter Valley

2005 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley

2006 Glaetzer Anaperenna Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley

Seppeltsfield 1909 Para Tawny, Barossa Valley

Yup, that last wine was actually a 101 year old Tawny!

Tasting that century old port wine was a humbling experience. I don't think it's on sale in Singapore, but make a trip to the Seppeltsfield estate, and they will sell you a small 375ml bottle for A$650!

101 year old wine! Now, that's definitely an experience!

Marche

Was at Marche @ 313 Somerset to celebrate one sister's birthday, and another's farewell

More Furniture In The House

This morning, another piece of furniture was delivered to Chai Chee Avenue.

Truly, things will never be the same again... oh boy :-)

Back To Hall

A number of us were back at Raffles Hall over the weekend for Prof Seah's farewell as hall master.

The place have definitely undergone some improvement in terms of structure but it still invokes plenty of memories.

This was the place we called home for 4 years; in fact, 4 of the best years of our lives.

Here's a picture of Block 5 where Daisy and I stayed in during our first year in NUS. We stayed in separate wings, of course. Taken with N97

Ah, the memories!

When There Aren't Enough Trees...

Party At The Chens'

Meals at the Chens' have always been special events. From whisky parties, to home-cooked feasts to rooftop BBQs, they have always been most enjoyable. That's why, when he called me on Friday to ask if I would like to drop by his place for dinner, there can be no other answer but YES!

Apart from the glorious food, there is always great company.

And premium booze.

Apart from whiskey, there were plenty of beer and wine. One wine in particular, an Australian shiraz by Flying Fish Cove was simply lovely. Will definitely be looking out for this baby in the future.

No dinner at the Chens' is complete without some premium cigar. Last night's cigar of choice was Trinidad, and my goodness, it left me feeling a little anti-gravity in the head.

The missus definitely seemed to have enjoyed herself.

And that's the most important thing :-)

Welcome To The Kop End...

Seen at a local pub.

Funny as hell

The Weekends Have Been Different

It hasn't been about movies or restaurant hopping for a while now..

We've been shopping for different things lately.. very different indeed...

So Good...

Penfold's Private Release.. Exquisite

Rooney's Goal.. Glorious!

Park Ji Sung's Winner.. Song Boh!?

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

My mum keeps a number of these birds in the backyard in Kuching.

But I definitely did not expect to see them at a public carpark in Singapore. The carpark in question is the one next to Bagus Yong Tau Fu (my favourite yong tau fu place in Singapore), at the junction of New Upper Changi Road and Still Road.

One group of the Japanese chicken were just relaxing at the entrance of the carpark.

Another group was wondering around the lots, while yet more birds were running around in the vicinity of the building behind the carpark. I believe that's where they're actually kept.

I've seen them at East Coast Park, but this is the first time I've sighted them so openly in an urban setting.

Got Food At Home?

Suppose I felt hungry..

Heck, I am hungry!

What's there to eat at home?

On the living room table...

In the refridgerator...

In the freezer...

On the food counter...

and in the instant-noodles-drawer...


Feeling hungry all the time!!! Argh!!!

Cakes And Calories

Put on 4kg since the start of February. Bad, real bad.

Skipped dinner today, hoping to get back on track...

End up snacking on chips, cookies and cakes.. Oh dear..

Tough la! The temptation is great. Is this how Jack Neo feels all the time?

Love Birds

These two were happily romancing on the perch at my house

Enjoying the view of Chai Chee Avenue...

Right under my Renomas!

KNS!

EZ Pack

I just got back from CGH and was yearning for some bah kwa. Now, I am also aware of my weight management issues and did not want to over-indulge. So, I thought, why not grab a pack of those vacuum-packed mini bah kwa that Bee Cheng Hiang produces? A mini pack a day, ain't gonna be too harmful. Brilliant right?

Problem is, they did not last beyond 12 hours. They were so good, I gobbled up all 300g of them! Sigh...

N97 - I'm Loving It!

Daisy found her N97 too bulky so she gave it to me instead. The N97 being my dream phone then, I gladly accepted and bought her a Samsung Jet in return. A few of Nokia's machines are really pretty good and I'm proud to have owned some of them; 8250, 8310, 6300, 6500Slider and now the N97.

When I first got the N97, I immediately liked it. The transition from the 6500 (S) to the N97 provided large amounts of exploration and fun.

This week, another major landmark development happened. Nokia's new Ovi Maps 3.03 now comes with free navigation for a wide range of Nokia products. Woohoo!

Suddenly, the N97 thrumps the iphone on more fronts.

In-built FM transmitter... the songs I play on my phone can be played over a radio. Today we were listening to music from my phone in the car, when suddenly, the sound of snoring can be heard over the radio. Apparently, the wife used my phone to record my snoring to prove a point.

Default Message Reader... No need to read SMS while driving anymore. Let the phone read the message out loud for you. Only problem is, if kanasai is written as KNS, then the phone will read "kay-Ann-Ass".

Dual LED Flash... doubles up as a torch light.

5.0M camera with auto-focus and Carl Zeiss lenses... nuff said

Physical QWERTY keyboard... when we need precision typing. Although, I still use the alpha-numeric keypad most of the time.

I'm not too concerned about software comparisons as it's clearly only a matter of time before both phones have identical software support and applications range. It's the hardware that makes more things possible.

All hail the N97!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

So who's looking more out of place now?

Miss Singapore World?

Seriously can't imagine how she could have won the title. Was the quality of the competition that bad?

She said, and I quote, that she's "not afraid of embarassment, just want to be famous." At least she's achieving her declared objectives.

Where got swee?

Project68 [03/01/10]

One year ago, I declared that I would 'work towards' bringing my weight down from 75kg to 68kg. After one single update, it became stagnant, and then went back up to 73.5kg! I got too paiseh and gave up updating.

It was only after coming back from Europe and seeing my glorious double-chin in all the photos that I decided, enough is enough! From then on, it was no drinks with meals, no snacks, minimal carbo and as far as possible, no dinners.


After a few months of lethargy and giddy nights, I'm glad to say that I've done it!!!


Now to maintain and do some exercise to up my fitness. Due to the lack of energy and exercise the past few months, my muscles have all become jelly. Gotta fix that.

The plan is to pick up badminton. Time to improve my game :-)

Happy New Year 2010!

This year, Daisy and me spent New Year's Eve resting at home. She had to rest (and boy, so did I!) so we cancelled all prior plans and just watched a movie in the comfort of our living room. Sincere apologies to all whose parties we could not attend.

Ever since I started writing on a web log, I've managed to document the arrival of 2007, 2008 and 2009. Brings back tons of memories, as I look back at those fun times!

Nevertheles, it's no less meaningful spending alone time with Daisy at home and watching the fireworks from our window.

As our home also overlook the sea off East Coast Park, we could see fireworks going off in Indonesia as well as numerous flares being fired off the commercial vessels that line the waterline.

On another note, the four of us - me, Daisy, Minh and Andrew; finally opened our Christmas presents on 30th December 2009! Woohoo!

Happy New Year 2010 Everyone!