Books for Iffah

"In September, on the very first day of kindergarten, Ms Bradley said, 'Each day of school, ...' "

These were some of the parts of a book (taken from Nancy Carlson's Henry's 100 Days of Kindergarten) which she had memorised and able to recite it by heart.

I'm glad that Iffah picked up reading at an early age, even though there were some attempts at getting her to know words via flash cards or watching Dr Titzer's VCDs when she was still a little baby.

Trips to the local branch library proved to be fruitful for her reading accomplishments. She would borrow some and we would read to her before her bedtime. Before long, she's able to relate the things which she encountered in the books to her everyday activities eg going to pre-school (ref Henry's 100 Days of Kindergarten) to baking a cake (ref Harvey The Baker).

As such, I managed to scout some 2nd hand Nancy Carlson's books on ebay and got them quite cheaply. These books are recommended for toddlers 3 years and above and also those who are going to pre-school.

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!!











Henry's Show And Tell

Nasty car accident

Something happened today which made me think that God wanted to give me a second chance at life and thus prolong it.

I was involved in a 3 car accident (including my car). Was coming back out of my work place car park ramp after my night shift. Saw an incoming vehicle turning into the car park entrance ramp downslope. My immediate brain reaction was to lift my foot of the accelerator and to jam the brakes hard. But instead of the brakes, I accidentally floored the accelerator instead. So you can imagine the speed upon flooring the accelerator and as such, my car hits the oncoming car (at the driver's side). Also, I had a 2 sec moment where I lost control of the vehicle and swerved my car to the left going into the main road and hit an oncoming taxi in the outer lane before my car came to a complete stop.

I was in a daze for a minute or two after that. I kept thinking whether anyone is hurt in the accident. I'm reliefed that no one is hurt and the drivers involved are rather reliefed too that they are not hurt as well considering the speed of my car at that time. My car is damaged at the front (it is practically smashed, but engine should be alright) and it had to be towed to the assessment centre for insurance claims.

All this had to happen on my wife's birthday (31st July). My wife appreciated me more that I managed to spend time with her on her birthday despite the car being towed away. We had plans to go out at night for dinner somewhere far, bringing Iffah out for a night stroll, etc..

Driving

28th of May is the day I got my driving license. It was my second time taking the test and had chalked up 16 points for the test (compared to 42 points for my first test in 2003). Was extremely happy when get to know the result.

We bought a cheapo car (a COE Honda Civic ESI auto transmission with 3 years left) to familiarize ourself with driving in Singapore. I immediately drive the car to my in-law's place... heheh... had trouble parking the car in car parks. Up till now I'm still trying to figure out the fastest way to park. But I'm very good at three point turns in tight corners.

Speaking about parking, I hit some obstacles (walls, poles) while reversing as it has no reverse sensors. Also the front bumper is scratched as I tried to maneuorve the car park exit at my workplace. Urgh.... luckily it's an old car otherwise it'll be a heartpain if it were to occur on a new car.

Next comes driving in Singapore in general. Singapore has it's fair share of bad apples and wannabe race car driver poseurs with their big mean machines. Also bad driving habits of otheres like tailgating, road-hogging and tailgating make my driving experience here not so good. As much as I can, I try not to tailgate or road hog (especially on expressways). I value safety more than those drivers. Come to think of it, the irony is that professional race car drivers are one of the most safety conscious drivers around. If the road users are more courteous and safetey conscious, there will be lesser accidents and frustrations experienced... Peace

Klipsch ProMedia back in action

My Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speaker system had some problems with its subwoofer some time back and it had been lying in my room for some time. Decided to send it for repair at a hi-fi repair shop in Sim Lim square (name of the shop is Sigma AV and it's in the 3rd floor of SLS). Repair charge was a mere 20 bux. Reasonable considering that there are no electronic parts spoilt. Just a minor readjustment of the woofer cone. Now it's time for rumbling, neighbour-complaining basslines... Dillinja's Jah Know Ya Big sounded sweet on the speakers... hehe.. Google out for the reviews of this speaker

Disney On Ice

End of school holidays (Sunday 16/03/08), we decided to make full use of it by watching the last Disney On Ice show. Bought the cheapest tickets (at 20 bucks per person). As expected, we were thrown all the way back of the Indoor Stadium with a miniscule view of the show (plus some parts of the stage was blocked by the overhead props). 

But when I went to the front of the stadium to get a booster seat for Iffah, I realised how good the view at the premiere rinkside seats were... They were smack right in front of the action where the ice-skating rink is and a very good view of the show. Our seats however, were quite filled with dating couples... No wonder the premiere seats were sold out! Next time we'll get the premiere rink side seats. It'll be a bonus if we can get a show where they feature the Disney princesses (Cinderella, Snow White, etc)

And she did...

For those who don't know, that title phrase above comes from the kids story "Little Red Hen". We went for the Little Red Hen show at Alliance Francaise on 12/03/08 during the school holidays last week. Managed to catch the afternoon show (with many other kids from Kinderland ... presumably they're on a school 'excursion trip'). 

Having read the book to Iffah, I know how the story goes. To those who don't ... err please grab a kid's book and quickly browse through OK? But to watch it on a theatre / musical production, I'm pretty amazed at how a simple story can be very much entertaining. The production is good, stage setup is simple and the actors/actresses are top notch. A wonderful performance for both kids and adults.

Green or Red?

After some contemplation, I jumped ship from the green camp to the red camp! So far no complaints yet... Hope it'll be good for the next couple of years or so.

My fitness level

Fitness level is measured by IPPT test results nowadays... and if you happen to fail your 2.4km run, you fail the test. So does that mean that you're not fit?

This happened to me today when I did my IPPT. Passed with good results for the rest of the mini-tests but flunked the run by 20 seconds!!

I was quite ok previously (many years ago during my active NS years and early uni years). Went to the gym and did some cardio stuff. But I just slacked nowadays. Need to go back to the gym and start back my fitness regime. Plus need to shave off my diet habits too (especially snack cravings!)

Hang In There Iffah

Dear Iffah,

You are now 3 years old.
No 'sleep'.
It is 'bitter' now.
Only Popper Juice or Smoo Milk for you
You cried to ibu yesterday, trying to resist.
I know that it is going to be tough on you
But hang in there dear Iffah.
You'll soon overcome
Soon overcome
And you will become a 'big' girl.
Always will be Ayah's little girl.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Wishing my daughter a happy 3rd birthday!

Daddy duties...

I was on leave since Friday onwards and tried to take care of Iffah alone at home Friday morning. It wasn't all that bad except for the glitch in the morning when she woke up and saw that ibu is not around and she's alone with me. Little Iffah cried for a couple of minutes before cooling down. We went to the playground downstairs around 7:30 am. It's fun and cooling too having the morning breeze tingling us. Then it's breakfast time and entertainment time with her. Managed to give her Blueberry Morning cereal with carrot juice (minus the hard-boiled egg she normally gets when ibu is around). She entertains herself by playing the mini-games in www.barbie.com and gets me to read to her some books. I tried to engage with her in playing the Barbie as The Island Princess game in our new Wii set. Found out that she's scared by some of the sounds which came out from the gameplay and hid in her room. After that it's clean-up and bathe time before finally we went to Atuk's house at around 10:30 am.

All in all, it's fun having her alone with me which gives me more confidence in performing my daddy duties alone next time. :)