Horizon Golden Rules

Ace was in a singing mood and he sang the Horizon Golden Rules song for me...

I think it is a really lovely song.. Here is Ace singing the song...


And here are the lyrics:)

Horizon Golden Rules
If you're in the playground, and no one knows your name
Don't feel sad and lonely, just go and join the game
We are kind and we share,
Use our manners everywhere
We're polite, do our best,
Responsible, Honest
As we go around the school
Remember...
Horizon's Golden Rules

What a beautiful way to teach our children good manners:)

When I was doing sales, I was often taught that facts tells and stories sells.. I think using a song with a pleasant, lighthearted tune to ingrain some good manners is actually a very good way to remind the children. It is better than telling them what to do or nagging at them to do ANYTHING:)

I am really thankful that we found Horizon when we decided to send Ace to school here. So far, he is having a wonderful time in school. This week, he will be going to a pizza palour to see how people work there and learn to make pizza for himself.. he will also be celebrating with his friends.. the Golden Jubilee as it is the 60th year of the reign of the Queen of England... so they are going to have parties after parties.. too bad I cant be there in the school to take pics.. should be very interesting indeed!

PS: After yesterday's party, my son learnt how to sing God Save the Queen.. for god's sake.. he cant even sing our full national anthem (Majulah Singapura) except the chorus.. wahahahaha:) Amusing...

Previous Post: Yesterday

Yesterday

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly, I'm not half to man I used to be,
There's a shadow hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say.
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play.
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh, I believe in yesterday...

I found my son singing this song while doing his Chinese homework that I gave him yesterday... I was so surprised to hear him sing this song and he actually got the lyrics right! Just that he was a little out of tune here and there...But this, to me, is a lao uncle song.. wahahahaha...

"Ace, where did you learn this song from?" I asked him..

"Mr Malanga (his music teacher who looks like Santa Claus) taught me.." he replied and continued singing... and after he is done, he asked me.. "Mummy , do you know The Beatles? Mr Malanga taught us many songs from the Beatles.. I love all the songs from the beatles!" he declared.

I nearly burst out laughing! Wahahaaha... my son's fav song is a song not even from my era lor! Lao uncle taste he has...

For me hor, I learnt about this song only when I turned 9 and joined this Fife and Drum Corp called Koteketai (aka Angels of Peace).. and we had to learn to play this song.. as i liked the song, I practiced it well.. it is one of the songs I play best using my Fife:)

When Max came home and I told him about it.. Max was surprised lor.. cos Max din even know wat song this is! hahaha..

And since we were on singing and songs, Ace told me that he heard this song in Daddy's car and he tried to sing it for me, "Bye.. bye, miss american pie.." And then I started singing with him and he looked at me in shock and asked me, "Mummy, how come you also know this song? Why you know all the songs I know?"

My dear, it is because mummy has been on earth much longer time than you have and have been listening to music much longer than you have... wahahahhaah.. but there will come a time, I suppose that Ace will reach this age where he will listen to song I havent heard of before..

Maybe then he can teach me how to sing..

Anyway, he requested that I download a whole list of songs that he likes into Daddy's playlist in the car so that he can listen on his way to school. Wahahaha.. I guess in that case it is good he has lao uncle taste in music cos at least the music he wants to listen to, Daddy can enjoy too:)

Previous Post: Dino Live At Dubai Festival City

Dino Live At Dubai Festival City

In 2010, when I visited Max in Dubai, I saw this DINO LIVE thingy... which I tot is a performance about dinosaurs... and since it has been appearing pretty often on groupon and cobone deal, I tot maybe we could give it a try...

When we were touring in China, I had chanced about one of the deals but by the time max has internet access, he forgot to buy the deal.. by the time he remembered, the deal was already over... so we missed it.. till recently, the groupon deal came back again...

We bought tickets for three and decided to visit it one afternoon... after searching for the location for a really long time, we finally found it! That is Ace pretending to be a dino:)

Our tickets came with free photo... so Ace is climbing up this ferocious-looking T-Rex for a picture...

Up close, the T-Rex does look quite scary..

Our tickets also came with a cup of special juice.. it is just orange juice with ice and my son had like a full whole cup by himself and taxed on ours.. in the end, he developed a cough the next day lor...

Our tickets even included a 3D show and a educational movie. They said the 3D show costs 20aed.. bull shit man.. they just set this up to con people to buying the groupon for it i think.. cos hor, the  "cinema" is just a room with many small plastic chairs and then they just keep showing both the educational movie and the 3D movie in a loop.. the diff hor is just tat if you pay the 20 bucks, they give you these lousy 3D glasses which are made of paper and one side red, one side blue...  There isnt any one at the door. you go in and go out as and when you like.. no show timings also... hahahah...

But I did learn a thing or two watching the movie.. For instance, did you know tat scientists believe that the ancestors of birds were DINOSAURS! My god! How can such SMALL creatures have such huge ancestors.. makes me wonder if BIG FOOT is also our ancestor.. hahahahahahah

This is a herbivorous dino.. dun ask me what is his or her name please..

Ace was so frightened of the dino he did not dare to take pics with them at all.. so i take pic of myself lor:) hahahahahahahaha

This one hell of a tall dino lor.. I really wonder how such homongous creatures can just disappear.. I wonder where dinos fit in the theory of oneness tat I lean towards in terms of my view of how the world is...

These are not so friendly meat eaters...

The dino has this thing on it's head... scientist initially do not know what it is... after much research, they found out that it acts as a horn to give out warning sounds to the herd... so using the shape of this thing on the head, they actually are able to simulate how these dinos sound like. but whether the other dinos "talk", no one knows...

The biggest herbivoures dinos.. their huge size is their protection and they have super long tails tat are super strong so that they can swipe their enemies and push them away...

Crazy Max trying to share a popcorn with one of the baby dinos..

Max: Would you like some popcorn? This popcorn tat came with our tickets tastes like shit.. I would appreciate very much if you would help me finish them...

This one is probably where birds came from...

This mean dino is HUGE.. I mean huge..

It is literally towering over us.. if human beings were around during tat period, i think we will all certainly be dead! How to outrun and outfight  this monster?

Dino skeletons..

Did you know tat if we stood against tat herbivorous dino and stood next to it's bones, we will at best come up to its knee!

Please dun eat me!??!!

Ace still din dare to go near the dino to take pics.. actually even i was a little frightened to go too near.. hahaha:)

Boo hoo hoo.. the movie sort of sucks...

These are the photos they took.. but super lousy lor.. the focus is somehow on the right corner and so everything else is blur one.. fucked up. I wanted to ask them to retake and reprint but Max say nevermind.. totally fucked up..

Not exactly a waste of money since I learnt something and it was quite interesting.. but only 20+ dinos to see and I just feel everything could be better organized.. cos the man who take photo is the same man who collect tickets, act as cashier etc etc etc.. If dunno how to use the high tech digital camera then hor, set to auto mode lah.. sure wun go wrong.. dun geh kiang.... hai...


But I would NEVER go again..tat is for sure...

But if you havent been there and want to go... erm.. wait for the groupon deal.. if not, dun bother.. wahahaha.. actually, come to think of it.. just DUN BOTHER... see my pictures good enough liao.. wahahahahaha:)

Previous Post: I Am Not A Good Kisser!

I Am Not A Good Kisser!

Since we were sort of bored.. we thought we would liven things up a little by visited HRC Dubai again...

But because we were eating the same foods and doing the same things.. it didn't seem as fun as before.. (and the band din even sing songs tat I knew:(... )

As the band only started performing at 9pm and we were there at 7pm, we had two hours to spare... so we entertained ourselves by observing people.. there was a group of birthday girls beside us and they all looked so mature we thought they were 15 or 16.. turned out they were all only 13! What is it with kids these days!

Then we entertained ourselves by looking at another group of 25 pax or so... they were from the same company and it was a farewell dinner.. we were guessing who is the boss and who is the one they are saying farewell to based on their body language and their actions... there is a bald man in white who is running around and doing the ordering of food and a lady following him and helping him.. so we think tat guy is playing Max's role of middle management.. and the lady is like the CS in Max's company.. wahahahaah.. final guess is the boss is the one who brought his WHOLE family along and sat near the head of the table just eating quietly...

Ace staring at this humongous ice cream with brownie!

Then leh, we ordered ice cream and the ice cream and there in the middle of it is a cherry!:)

So leh Max tried to show off his skills and tied the stem of the cherry into a knot. I told Ace that it is said that if you can do that, you are a good kisser.. so Ace wanted to try too...


But try as he might, he just couldn't do it... he tried again and again but he was just not able to do it and in the end, he gave up and was very upset when he declared, "Aw man, I am not a good kisser!" but I told him that practice makes perfect lah.. and then Max said there is actually a technique to it.. once you master the technique, it is easy to do it in 10 seconds!

Both me and Ace think Daddy is very hao lian!:) wahahahaha

PS: I dunno if Ace is a good kisser but he is surely a GREAT hugger:) His hugs always energize me and make me feel much better!:)

Previous Post: I Hug Daddy

I Hug Daddy

Max had to travel overseas for work for one day..

And as usual, Ace sort of fell sick and caught a cold just before his dad left.. But luckily, it was not serious and he recovered the next day.. Before Max left, he told Ace that he can hug his (Max's) bolster at night...

So on the day that Max left,  Ace came home from school and started to cry.. saying that his dad left without Ace being able to hug him... "But Daddy sent you to school before he left right.. so you could have hugged him..."

"I didn't.. I only kissed him and then he go already...." And then he hugged his dad's bolster and continued to cry..

I reminded Ace that his dad was only away for one night and when his dad is away,  his crying doesn't really help me or make me feel better... "I am still here you know.. and daddy is only away for ONE DAY..."

By night time, he seems to be feeling much better and then he hugged all his bolsters and told me.. "Mummy, I am very rich leh.. I am very rich in bolsters.. I have two bolsters of my own and tonight, I also have Daddy's bolster..."

And then he kept asking for hugs and kisses and when I asked him why he was hugging and kissing so much, he said it is his job to hug on behalf of daddy and kiss on behalf of daddy when daddy is not around.. "That is why I have to hug and kiss super alot..." he explained..

Anyway, when it was time to sleep, he happily brought Max's bolster along and said he will be hugging daddy to sleep tonight.. hahahaha.. cos he says the bolster will represent Max for the night...

Anyway, I noticed that Ace really loves to hug and his favourite position to hug is with his torso facing me and his legs opened up to hug my body... just like the way he hugs a bolster:) Hahaha..

I wonder though if it is because when Ace was young, I was still running a business and we often had to be on the go in the car, travelling here and there... and instead of using a car seat, I always held him facing me with his head between my chest while turned to the side and he would sleep on the way to somewhere else... and gradually, it became a habit..

Of late, I have been reminding him that he is becoming heavier and heavier... in a few years, it would be quite impossible for him to hug me in this way... But we have already hooked our pinkies and Ace promised tat he will continue to hug me even when he grows older.. all the way till I am dead:)

But I must say even though I appreciate it tat I have a very expressive son, sometimes it can get overwhelming.. cos you ask him go bath, he also say needs to hug first.. ask him go brush teeth also need to hug first.. do anything also need to hug first.. even before sleep, he has to hug first and if the hug is too brief, he complains!:) wahahahaha...

But I will enjoy his huggy kissy feats while it lasts:)

Previous Post: Hot Chilli Hot!

Hot Chilli Hot!

Ace is developing a healthy curiosity about all dishes tat we say are "slightly spicy"...due to his fascination with spicy toufu from Spring Bamboo Restaurant...

Now, whatever we label as "sllightly spicy" would always be followed by a "Can I try?" request from Ace.

Sometimes, it is a little too spicy for him and he would want to down it with lots of water.

Sometimes he would actually like it and want to eat it too! Sometimes, he just wants to add the sauce to his rice.. whatever his choice, I am happy that Ace is starting to eat slightly spicy foods and can truly eat together with us no matter what we choose to eat;)

The other day, Max was surfing the internet and he says there is a restaurant near our place that has alot of vegeterian options... so we decided that we will try it when we have the chance.. the restaurant is called NANKING.. and they claim to sell Asian Fusion.. I noticed this restaurant but did not think to try it because I see it as those "indian-style" chinese restaurants where they cook chinese foods according to the indian palette....

The other day, after Max's soccer game which ended pretty late, we decided to go Nanking for dinner and it would be easy to head home after that since it is a few minutes drive away from home...

We ordered some satay.. which is actually some veg meat (the mian jin type) heavily brushed with hoi sin sauce.. matched with a strange peanut sauce...

They also served us some pickled veg tat tasted like Achar.. but less tasty...

Even though the satay was slightly spicy, Ace loved it cos it was flavourful but I dun really like it.. it was ok but it was so so... not quite up to MY standard of Zi Zai veg satay:) hahahah

The dumplings were ok but the skin was a little too thick for my liking...

The mock duck is goodness gracious! The same type of meat int the satay in a simlar but actually different sauce.. more of the "slightly" and less of the "different"... what a let down...

The munchurian balls lacked punch.. nothing compared to those sold in Red House!

The only tasty dish of the night was the fried kang kong!:) wahahahahahaha...

And as we sat there for 35-40 min for our meal, we saw 2 tables of filipinos and another maybe 7 or 8 tables of INDIANS!

Moral of the story... NEVER visit a so called chinese restaurant in Dubai unless:
1) You see chinese people inside
2) Malaysian or Singaporean has eaten there before and certified it DECENT

And the cost of the meal was similar to what we would have paid if we had gone to Sino Chai, the slightly more upmarket Taiwanese Restaurant tat Ace favours...

Max says he will NEVER want to come back again..

But leh, like my friend George always said, "Everything happens for a reason, whatever happens will always be a positive experience for me.."

And so it is.. cos in trying to get to this restaurant, we discovered a really huge indian bookshop that sells all types of books and stationary you can ever think of! Even charts and games for children too!:) We have driven past this road so many times and I have walked past this road many times but NEVER have I noticed that there is a bookshop here!:)

We are definitely coming back to explore this place a little more...... we found some cheap story books tat look like some knock offs.. there is cheong version of Captain Underpants and some adult novels as well.. we suspect they are printed in india or something...

I never knew my neighborhood has so many hidden treasures.. I am glad we decided to continue to stay in this neighborhood:)

Previous Post: MCP Ace