31 Dec 2020 - Goodbye 2020 and Welcome 2021!

Finally, year 2020 has come to an end.  This is really a "special" year for most of us all around the world.  Though challenging for some, there were also opportunities for others.  However one thing that really affected most of us is that we were unable to go on any leisure overseas trip for the entire year.  That is the main reason why this blog has the least number of posts this year throughout my 14 years of blogging.  Wow......I have been blogging for 14 years.  Earlier, I was reading some of my posts in the past and they always put a smile on my face.  Hopefully I can have the discipline to continue for many more years to come.

As we bid farewell to 2020, let's hope 2021 will be a MUCH MUCH better year for all.  May the new year bless everyone with health, wealth, and happiness.  :-)

29 Dec 2020 - Long Queue at the Store selling school uniform

Jerlene and Javier have "grown" a bit during the current year end school holiday.  As such, I thought of buying a new set of uniform and shoes for both of them.  While driving past the school uniform shop, we saw a long queue of people "snaking" outside the shop.  Seeing that queue, we decided to give up and return home.  Later in the evening, I saw an article on social media saying another school uniform shop at AMK actually called in the police to manage the huge and frustrated crowd outside the shop.  Sigh.....looks like Jerlene and Javier had to wear their existing uniform and shoes when school opens.....despite the slight "tightness". 

:-P

25 Dec 2020 - Xmas Lunch at Aburi-En @ Suntec City

Merry Christmas to ALL!

Tracy and I went out for lunch without the kids as they preferred to stay at home to do their own things, especially when they realized that school is about to start in a week's time.  We drove to Suntec City and had our lunch at Aburi-En Japanese Restaurant.

Specialising in aburi or partially grilled meat, Aburi-EN offers high quality donburi (rice bowls) using premium ingredients from Japan.  The grilled pork is really tender and taste superb.

24 Dec 2020 - A Big Christmas Present

 My Christmas present from Tracy!  Merry Xmas!

12 Dec 2020 - A Useless but Rare Pokemon

To those who are still playing Pokemon Go, have you come across a Pokemon with 0% power (IVs)?  I caught one (below) today.  Not sure if it's of any use but I think it's pretty RARE.  So I'm keeping it.  :-)

11 Dec 2020 - Having Fun at Nex Virtualand

I took Jerlene and Javier out for some fun today.  Places of interest such as the Zoo, Bird Park, Science Centre etc no longer appeal to them anymore.  As such, I brought them to the Virtualand at Nex and they had so much fun trying out the different gaming machines.  We spent more than an hour there.  From Mario Kart Racing......

.......to Air Hockey.........

.......to Dance Dance Revolution (DDR).........and MORE.........

And thanks to me, we did not go home empty handed.  Caught the below plushie from the Claw Machine.  ;-)

8 Dec 2020 - Edusave Scholarship Award

Both Jerlene and Javier received a letter from MOE today.  It's a letter informing them that they have been awarded the Edusave Scholarship for achieving top 10% of their level and course in terms of academic performance, and have demonstrated good conduct.  The scholarship comes with a monetary award too.

Jerlene was overjoyed as she couldn't believe that she also received the award.

Well done, Kids!  Keep up the good work!  :-)

6 Dec 2020 - Mookata Dinner

We used to visit this restaurant along MacPherson Road for its KL Traditional Chilli Ban Mee.  However this evening, we decided to try out its Mookata (Thai BBQ Steamboat).  Nice dinner.  Cheers!  :-)

3 Dec 2020 - Xscape and MBS Light Show

It has been a while since we last played an escape room game together with Jerlene and Javier.  Today we had a game of "Kungfu Panda X - The Return of Tai Lung".  We started as 5 Po Juniors trapped in the kitchen.  Using our wits and fighting skills, we managed to escape and stop Tai Lung from stealing "Wuxi Finger Hold" scroll within the time limit of 60mins.  It was fun!

We then went to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and had Ramen for dinner at Ippudo.  Right outside of the restaurant, we were able to witness the beautiful light presentation of Digital Light Canvas.  Shoals of fish gather in the ocean on the floor while the crystals light up overhead.

The main reason that we decided to visit MBS today was to watch a new light show (Shine a Light) right outside of MBS.  Representing hopes of a new beginning, Shine a Light comprises 60 light beams projecting from The Promontory, illuminating the Marina Bay skyline nightly for the month of Dec 2020.

From where we were standing, we can only see very faint light shining up to the sky.  I believe a better vantage point will be along Marina Boulevard where MBS is at the background of the light show.

Took a quick video showing the 60 light beams projecting from The Promontory towards the Marina night sky.

28 Nov 2020 - Grade 5 Ballet (Distinction*)

Jerlene got back her Grade Five Ballet Exam result today.  To all our surprise, she achieved the highest rating possible, Distinction*.  It is totally unexpected because last year, she only achieved a Merit rating for her Grade Four Ballet Exam.  She was hoping to get a Distinction this time round and getting a Distinction* is really a bonus!  So WELL DONE, Jerlene!  Your hard work paid off.  :-)

She scored a total of 88 out of 100.  Despite the excellent results, the remarks below also show that there are still a lot of room for improvement.  So do continue to work hard and maintain the high standard that you have set now!  :-)

22 Nov 2020 - Windsor Nature Park

Early this morning, Tracy and I decided to do a little hike at Windsor Nature Park, located off Venus Drive at the Upper Thomson area.  We thought we were early but the car park was almost full.  Fortunately we managed to get one of the last 2 lots.

The 75-hectare Windsor Nature Park is a green buffer for the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.  There are several hiking trails in this park and one of them leads to the TreeTop Walk, a key attraction in MacRitchie.

While it is currently predominantly a regenerating secondary forest, much of the land once served as

a rubber plantation. Up until the 1950s, kampong villages and remnants of an aquatic plant farm existed on site.

We took the Drongo Trail, which features a sub-canopy walk where visitors can catch a glimpse of the fauna that are found under the canopy level, in addition to examining the understorey of the regenerating secondary forest.

A wefie taken at the end of the trail.

19 Nov 2020 - P5 results based on new scoring system

Javier will be among the first batch of primary school students whose results will be based on the new PSLE scoring system.  Starting next year (2021), P6 students will no longer see a T-score figure on their slips.  Instead, they will be scored using eight bands known as Achievement Levels (AL), whereby AL 1 will be the best level and AL 8 will be the lowest per subject.  So based on 4 subjects in PSLE, the best result a student can get is AL 4 (with all 4 subjects achieving AL 1).  This year, P5 students started using this new scoring system and Javier got AL 8 in total.  Two of his subjects actually missed AL 1 by one mark.  Though disappointed, at least he now knows that every mark counts.  :-)

The indicative AL cut-offs for individual secondary schools will be released in the first half of next year, based on the results and school choices of this year's PSLE cohort.

His other achievement includes playing the role of School Councillor as well we Vice-Chairman of InfoComm Club.

15 Nov 2020 - Baking Cookies and Blending Smoothies

We actually planned to spend our evening today to go for a walk in a park but due to the wet weather, there was a change of plan.  Instead, the kids decided to put on their chef's hat whereby Jerlene tried to bake some cookies while Javier tried to make watermelon smoothies.

The first batch of cookies were a bit burnt and learning from the mistakes, the second batch of cookies were much better.

Baking in progress.....

Finally it's a job well done, Jerlene!

As for Javier, he found a watermelon smoothie's recipe from the internet and decided to try it out.  I prepared the watermelon (below) for him and he took over from there.

Firstly, he threw in a few pieces of watermelon and a scoop of vanilla ice cream into the blender.

Then he poured some milk into the blender before starting the blending process.

He was very satisfied with his effort as the end product turned out very well.  I tried it and it's really not bad.  Good job, Javier!

14 Nov 2020 - Javier's Eyebrow has grown back!

About two months ago, I posted that Javier had lost a patch of his eyebrow above both eyes.  You may refer to the post here.  Today, I'm relieved to share that his eyebrow has grown back.  We are still clueless about the root cause but we guessed it could be due to the exam stress that he had exerted onto himself.  Anyway, glad that his "look" is back!  :-)

Just for comparison, below is the photo that I posted 2 months ago.

13 Nov 2020 - Javier achieved Gold (Honours) for the Roszania! Imagine Cup

If you had followed my blog postings, you would know that Javier participated in the Roszania! Imagine Cup, which is an annual hackathon competition, sometimes in September.  The results are out and I'm glad to share that Javier had achieved Gold (Honours) award for the Senior Category.

All the Gold (Honours) entries are posted here.  I have viewed through all the projects but I must say Javier's project really stood out among all.  It's the only project that is interactive.  He even coded features such as input validation, which even experienced developers may sometimes "ignore".  So WELL DONE, Javier!

This is Challenge Circuit 1 and there will be a Challenge Circuit 2 soon.  Hopefully Javier can continue to produce more creative and innovative projects.  加油!

8 Nov 2020 - Lunch at Tsui Wah (翠华) @ Clarke Quay

We had our lunch at Tsui Wah (翠华) - Clarke Quay today.  It has been quite a while since we last ate here.  Jerlene and Javier have been asking about this place recently and so here we were.

Jerlene and Javier enjoying their favourite savoury French Toast Bites served with Vanilla Ice Cream after our main meals.

After lunch, we decided to stroll along Singapore River to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere.  However, the sky suddenly turned dark and we quickly return to our car before it started raining.