Jay & Baby Kay

Raising a kid is easy, but raising two is a different story.



Remember I shared with you chapter 1 of the story, where Baby Kay giving Jay a present a day few days before he was born. That went very well. The intentions is to make Jay Jay believes that those presents really was given by Baby Kay. (i.e. Baby Kay asked PaPa to go buy these presents for Jay)

Jay Jay now has this huge thinking that Baby Kay likes Jay Jay a lot, that is why Baby Kay gives Jay Jay so many presents. Now, this is Chapter 2 - Story of the 2 brothers.



We placed the Baby cot in Jay's room. We also have a portable day bed setup in the living room. We have informed Jay that Baby Kay is going to sleep together with him in his room. Jay was very happy. But during the first night, you can see a slight jealousy there. Jay was not happy that mommy spent a little bit too much time with Baby Kay. So, a bit of crying here and there on the first night. Well, this is expected and manageable. Jay comments that night was: "Baby Kay can sleep outside..."... hahaha.... naughty naughty...

The next day, we continue spent a lot of time in explaining the importance of taking care of Baby Kay to Jay. Jay understood a bit. And Mommy let him carry Baby Kay. A about to turn 3 years old carrying a baby... sounds very unreal. And this is where further bonding was established. This is the first time Jay carry and hold his little brother in his arms. So, we took that pictures of him holding the baby... that night, we have a more peaceful night, as Jay did not cry too many times... The next day, Jay commented "Jay Jay very good, never disturb mommy yesterday..."...



So, we decided to let him carry baby Jay as and when... and I think we have achieve our purpose. Jay now has a little bit improved thoughts and now, let mommy feed baby Kay as and when... and asked him to hold and carry baby Kay, he is more than willing to help out.

However, the time is still early... there are still many many years to go ahead... so, always keep in mind to always build the brothers bonding .... What we hope to see in future is, Jay Jay sharing toys with his brother, Jay Jay not fighting with Baby Kay over things... Let's see what is the next development in Chapter 3.

The Breast Feeding Story

For the first baby - Jay, the breast feeding isn't that successful at all. Therefore, the breast feeding lasted about 2 weeks, baby Jay weight went down from 3.03KG to 1.80KG, where we decided to gave formula to Jay since very young, plus the precious little breast feed express milk.

This time, we came prepared. Thanks to a lot a lot of people's help. Here are some of the facts that we have learned and we finally figure out what went wrong for the unsuccessful breast feeding for the first child. :) The good news is, Kay is sucking a lot of milk from his mom, and mom's milk supply is growing, and no complaints on milk supply, etc etc. It is so successful this time round, therefore I decided to take notes about this topics, and hopefully this can be a references for people who needs it. :) I am not the expert here, but I am speaking of experience only. It may or may not work on other people. Just read it for fun lor...

1. We went to Parent Link, and the consultant there - Katherine, actually explains 2 important facts - the colostrum, the first milk produced after giving birth is very important, and it is not necessary to be a lot. Baby usually taking only a "pill size" of colostrum will be good already. We didn't know about this last time, that is why Boon was a bit upset about having so little milk 3 years ago. This time, we know even 1 single drop of colostrum is enough and also precious, that is why I am very happy to deliver even single drop of colostrum from Clementi to Mount E. :) Of course the other fact is that Kay's stomach is a size of his fist. So, even drinking 5ml or 10ml is enough already at the beginning stage.

During the past 2 days, I delivered few trips of 1 drop colostrum milk. I am happy to do so, and I actually watch Kay drinking that precious colostrum. It was fun to watch, and I felt very good after that...






2. There are 2 types of pumps from Mandela. The one usually you get from the retail store are actually good when you have a steady flow of milk supply. This type of pump may not be suitable for the beginning few days after birth. So, it is best to use the hospital supplied pump. that is because, those Mandela pumps comes with a more sophisticated control that can self adjust the pressure. And this can help to produce more milk at the initial stage. By the way, in Mount E, you can rent the pumps home...

3. OK. If everything else does not work, don't be afraid to consult people, BMSG, or any one who can provide knowledge. In our case, we talked to Katherine from the Parent Link, who taught us the post-natal refreshment course. She is very experience and have provide a lot of solutions, and she is very helpful too. We have to thank her this time. Yesterday, my wife called her couple of times to seek for consultancy. She asked her not to use the pumps and express the milk using hands plus heat pads. And it actually works, and the milk supply is really encouraging last night, and baby Kay really have a full doze of milk for the night.

4. Feed the baby 8-12 times. It is the frequencies that counts. Not the pressure on the pumps or the duration of the pumping or expressing the milk. This piece of info is very useful. As last time, we remember that she only feeds Jay when Jay was crying. It was a bit late when you hear your baby cry. So, don't be lazy, feed him every 2-3 hours even if he or she is not crying...

5. Get the best consultant. For our case, you have to talk to the top of the notch breast feeding adviser, then you understand the whole concept about breast feeding... In our case, the gynae, called to Mount E, and book a sister named Tan Guat Choo. And we went to see her today. And she is really good, using 1 finger poke here and there, and pre-warn my wife that it will be very painful... and after she press and a few screams from my wife, the milk really flows... then I suddenly know what does "打通任督二脉" really means... to her, it is really simple, and most people will stop when they feel pain, but without pain, the milk will not flow, and it will be blocked...

Later when we spoke to Guat Choo, and we found that she has worked in NICU for 9 years in London. And she has a lot of experience, and she can tell what went wrong and offer immediate solution. After a few simple poke here and there, we strongly believe of her abilities. Because we almost give up Mount E's advisor. Then we realizes that both Jay and Kay was born on a Friday night, and then Guat Choo was off during weekends, and we never get a chance to talk to her at all... until just now... She is really good...

We have to thanks... all these people help for the past few days and given us all the knowledges and guidance and make Kay's breast feeding to be so successful. We enjoy the whole event today... as today is the first day where Mommy breast feed Kay... and the Kay latched on Mommy on first try and had been very successful. The first feed was 10ML, second feed was 20ML, and then 25ML.... so, feeding is successful, the baby is happy, my wife is happy, and as for me, I am happy too... the whole day pass by just like that... instead of sending the milk, the milk cow is actually been delivered to Kay, and he got the feeds every 2-3 hours... steady...

:)

Project codename "K"

(Originally posted on Notes @ Facebook on Aug 22)

Project codename "K" involved the three characters: Supermom, agent "J", the Dad.

{Act 1}

Since Supermon stayed into the hospital 3 days ago... "J" or Jay (my son) has been received about 4 presents. All the presents have a small little card, and a toy that Jay loves it so much...

"Hi J, I have not come out yet! love, K" - Mater from the movie "Car"

"Hi J, thanks for taking good care of me. love, K" - A fork lift truck from Bob the Builder

"Hi J, one more day, love K" - A highly flexible Ultraman

"Hi J, I am out. Please take good care of me from now on. love K". - Mac from the movie "Car".

And guess what...

the Dad: who gave you all the presents, Jay?

agent J: baby K.

the Dad: Wow... why baby K gives you so many presents?

agent J: be-cos baby K likes Jay Jay.

the Dad: and ...

agent J: I like baby K too.

This is where the bonding starts... and I am glad that I got this important tip from a good friend recently. And I have been building up this chapter of the story... and now Jay is fully up to take up the huge responsibility of taking care of his little brother Kay.

{Act 2}

The water breaks at 1pm. The joker (the Dad) is in the delivery suites entertaining the 2 nurses & mid wife as well as the Supermom. It was fun that the hospital CTG is hooked up and wired so that you can see other delivery room's CTG. There was this poor lady trying to give birth in suite #6. I was told that she is 2cm dilation, and I saw the CTG graph that she is doing 2 minutes contractions... Then my wife - the supermom started to comment "Aiya... she is on Epidural"... I don't believe, so, I asked the nurse, and the nurse happily says "Yes, how you know? She is on Epidural, so, she won't feel pain", but she may have hard time to open up to the final 10cm.

Good long contractions will help to open up to 10cm. And comparing to the Supermom, my wife is a good healthy 3-4 minutes apart long long ... this will prevent "tear". tear will couse pain later as experience during Jay's birth.







The Dad continues his massive jokes, makes all the atmospheres warm and happy. Supermom keeps acting cool during her contractions. at 4PM, the contractions getting stronger... Dr. Hagarthy came in from another surgery, that is where the roller coaster starts... Dr. Hagarthy asked if Supermom needs pain killer or Gas, the Dad & Supermom says NO.

At 16:15, baby "K" is finally born. 2.8KG, 4.9cm length. And the best thing is, every one is clapping their hands and cheer for the SuperMom who has not used any medicine, pain killers, laughing Gas etc at all. She wanted to do this all along, she believes the family traditions of "fast labor", and with a high level of pain endurance, she made it... I am glad about that... and she deserves to be called SuperMom.









So, it is possible to have a baby as naturally as possible. It is really possible to have the baby without pain killers. But the Dad must be strong and control the situations, and the Supermom must be strong and determined, really not to have the medicine. The trick is to have the breathing correctly. I am very glad that the mid wife are very experience and give correct breathing instructions, I am happy that Dr. Belinda (the baby doctor) also came to cheer for my wife. Surrounded by all the joy and cheerful encouragement, Supermom finally made it and have the baby without any drugs. and of course, she deserves the baby to place on the tummy skin to skin even before the baby was weighted, and clean. That really can come later. Thanks Katherine from the Parent Link for giving us this tips that baby need not to be clean right away... Don't let the baby bond with the equipment. So, baby K stays in mom's tummy for a nice 20 minutes before cleaning up.








{Act 3}

The Dad start joking about every single thing in the delivery room.

The Dad makes all the nurses smile and laugh.

The Dad of course makes the wife laugh in pain.

The Dad had to hold SuperMom's leg during the final dashing for 30 min.

The Dad's back is in pain.... but he has to keep holding the legs and guide SuperMom.

The Dad breath in and out to guide SuperMom.

The Dad cut the cords.

The Dad give body warm to baby K.

The Dad start taking pictures and videos.

The Dad starts all the paper work.

The Dad sent baby K to Incubator room.

The Dad sees the SuperMom off.

The Dad quickly go home at 7pm.

The Dad quickly drove the in laws and Jay Jay to hospital.

The Dad bring in laws to see baby K as the visiting hour closed at 8pm.

The Dad finally sit down eating his lunch and dinner.

The Dad makes all the movies (private)... not approved to be posted...

The Dad hits the bed and ends the exhausted yet another happiest day.

The Dad prays baby K to stay healthy and strong in the incubator.

The Dad prays hard.

The Dad slept.

{End of Act}

Jay & Singapore

We bought a Singapore red T-shirt for Jay to wear. It was a "Singapore day" in his school. When he comes back... this is what happen next... It is amazing that what the school teaches him. I have no idea that he can remember all these little things... He will make a good Singaporean. :)

1) He came back with a face painting, a Singapore flag on his face. He is very reluctant to wipe
it off. he wanted to even sleep with it. We spent a lot of efforts to clear it off peacefully.

2) While we are eating dinner at the dining table, Jay suddenly shouts "Majulah"..... (very loud)
"Singa-pore" (he does not know how to say Singapura.) This comes very suddenly and
give us a shock... hahaha

3) The whole night, he was singing "One Nation"... "One People"... "One Singapore"...

So, the next day, I downloaded all the NDP songs for him. And he likes the "Stand Up for Singapore" very much. Every time he will stand up when he heard this song. Now some of these NDP songs are in our iPhone, our Apple TV, our iMac, our Laptops, etc....

So, we sent him to Auntie Betty so that he can play with Silas ko-ko & Eliza jie-jie. All of them when to the Hill Street Centre (my sister's Church) to see the fireworks and performance.

And he comes home with a big smile and "bom bom bom" (fireworks) and telling us all about the helicopters flying here and there with a big big flag...

I guess this is the first time the boy has enjoy the Singapore National day... an unforgettable National day celebrations... and me and my wife have a candle light dinner @ Patara first time without Jay too..

Jay & his old Car Seat

(Posted on Notes @ Facebook at Aug 14, 2009)



For 9 months we have countlessly exposing Jay to the concept of having a little brother... Concepts such as "Sharing", "you are now a big ko-ko (brother)... It is important to create that very first bonding, from the elder to the younger...

This is one of the thing that we taught him... his old car seat is going to be inherit by his little brother - baby "K" (to be born). So, get it out, ask him to clean it, help to reassemble it, and wala... his old car seat, if he can remembers it...

This is when you show his old photos and video clips of a younger him sitting in the car seat... of course, he will say "No... No"..."so funny"... but yes, that small little baby is you, my dear Jay....

not convince yet? Then, you ask him to try to jump into the car seat and see what happen, wow.. it is way too small for him now, and he is stuck... what happen? you have grown larger, and now become a big ko-ko liao... so, this car seat have to passed to baby K, and let him enjoy the seat.. so that the car seat can protect him also...

Immediately, he understand... so, make sure you make a small video funny video clips so to remind him that... he is too big for that... hahahaha....

concept learned...

- going to gave a baby brother

- car seat is for baby brother

- car seat used to be mine, but I have grown up

- must take care of baby brother

- must share share with baby brother

- no why because you simply are big ko-ko

Job done... now, we have done this for the baby bed, we have done this for the baby seat, the next thing that we almost forgot is breast feeding... let me think how to convey that.. hahahahaha must be a very genius way... and he will immediately understand...

Jay and the Bus

Aug 6 is the first day we put Jay onto a school bus. Jay has grown up and its time for him to take a school bus - to be independent. After almost 14 months of ferrying him to and from the school, Jay somewhat got used to the car ride... Everyday he look forward to either mommy or daddy come and pick him up...

So, in order to make the transitions very smooth, whenever I am free to pick him up, I will stay a little while longer and wait for the time where some of his classmates has to wait for the bus. I then asked, where are your friends going, Jay, simply answered "They sit bus". "Do you like to sit on the bus?" "You can see a lot a lot of 货柜车 (transportation trucks), Shell truck, and so on... This is to build the excitement of taking bus, this is to solidify the concept of "kids must take bus to school"...

So, when it comes the time - Aug 6, we let him take the bus on his own for the first time... and he loves it... and very excited when the bus comes. To make sure he really likes the bus ride, I went to the school that day, and observed, and guess what, Jay refused to take my car home, and instead, he wanted to sit on the bus... He wants to be with Gabi, TV, Lily and YouYou to sit on the best...

This is where we felt happy... as Jay really grew up and can choose what he wanted to do... after a few days later, he is still fond of taking the bus. Guess what the bus uncle said... Jay really likes to take his bus, and he had never see such a happy face taking the bus... hahaha

Now, Jay's mom can stay at home and rest and awaits for Baby "K" arrivals...

Some thoughts on baby's first hour...

Came back from the Parent Link postnatal course ... and learned an important lesson. When the baby was born, who actually gave the rights to the doctors to move the baby away from the mom, the dad? This is a question that we may want to think...

Today, hospital are clean, they have SOP - Standard Operating Procedures. And yes, the SOP will ensure the baby chances of getting infected, but these SOP does not care about the "human touch". Are we very sure that the baby, when he/she is born, she wanted to be clean up, or wash up? Are you sure, he/she wants a needle to poke into his arm or legs for vaccination? Are you sure, he/she wants to be weighted on the scale? Although staying in the infant care room is good, are you sure the baby wanted to be separated from his/her parents?

The baby is seeking to build a bond when there are born. Look at the puppies, or the kittens, when they are born, they will automatically stay close to the mother's body as the mother's body will automatically adjust the temperature to protects the baby. Then, the baby started to amazingly looking for the milk from mommy. So, the scary thought is... if the baby is born and separated immediately from the mother, and placed into a room that has all these equipment then, may be the baby will bond, but he/she will bond to the equipment, the lights, instead of the mother.. what a scary thoughts...

After taking yesterday lesson, which is our last, there are some deep thoughts of changing the birth plans. We have not thought of so much during Jay's birth. But for baby "K". I think we wanted to do something special... this is what we going to try to do...

- Dad has no rush for cutting the cord

- Baby will go directly to mommy's body for skin to skin contact to enjoy the
happiness the parents are feeling... and thus build a very very deep bond with
the baby...

- Baby to room in with mommy

- mommy will start to feed the baby....

Oh yes, beside this bonding knowledge, we also benefited a lot from the breast feeding lesson... it is really different when the postnatal course was taught by a pro in breast feeding... I think my wife learn so much yesterday.. and this time, I think we are going to do a lot a lot of the right thing - the natural way...

Can't want to see Baby "K" to be born... still waiting... still waiting...

Scratching my heads on the design

(Originally posted at Notes @ Facebook on Aug 10, 2009)

When it comes down to the design of the new place, I am scratching my tiny little brain, and how to make everything works... We need big room for the 2 boys, we need guest room for in laws and friends, we need a play room, and not to mention a decent place for the maid to sleep... we need a big living room, we need a place where mommy can have teleconference without disturbing every one, we need a place to watch movie, etc. etc. etc... Wait... we also need a place to put Mommy's pottery throwing wheel and kilns... scratching my heads ar...



At first, we thought of the design to have 5 rooms (this will makes all the room very small).... later, come to think about it... may be we should stick with 4 rooms... 1 for the master bedroom, 1 study room for mom to work, 1 bedroom for the kids (yeah... 2 boys bunk in together), and 1 playroom/guess room... How to make it look big... scratching my heads... with this design, we will address 2 big issues... a guest room as well as the study room for mom's late night conferences...

Next, human rights issue, where will be our maid going to sleep? So, let's design a cozy little place for her, with attached bathroom, a bed with storage area for her, and to have windows and of course a small working area for her to read books and write letters... OK... that's done. Although it is at the back, but as long as it is cozy, I think she won't mind... by the way, she will be sleeping in the apartment's primary fortunate area (according to the Feng Shui)... I leave this huge task to Loo (our faithful contractor all these years) to work on it...

Since now I have chosen and pay for the Sofa I want... the next thing I need is to see where to place it, and how to make it look nice. Since the Sofa looks very oh-biang! Ha Ha Ha... This Sofa is really good and comfortable... so, Living room will be design according to suit this Sofa... headache again....

To have a small pond or not in the Balcony?? I need to have some living fishes there... How How how??? I think have to go look see around to find something that is suitable... Of course, to expects lots of greens in the Balcony... like the existing place...

Since we are adding one more room, not really sure if we can have a comfortable dining table set in the middle without blocking everything... Got to hunt for a good dining table... this time, I want a round dinning table since going to have the second kids coming... A round table ... a real family table, a round table of knights... those that is spinning spinning one...

Now, which room is for study and which room for the boys? if facing Ave 6, it will be noisy.. so, got to sound proof the room, if facing the north, is is a smaller room... hmmm... have yet to decide that yet... Put them in the East or put them in the North?

Master bed room, again... have to expand the toilet... make it big big... that will eat into the room area... and what shall I do about the balcony area? sealed it? I think need to think hard again on that... Room become smaller now if the bathroom expands ... where is my cozy corners? and not to mention the TV... should I put TV in the room, Feng Shui say no, but thousands of my brain cells telling me to put a TV in the room... I have yet decided on that... I'm going to miss my TV in the room if I chosen the Feng Shui way... arhhhhh...

Conclusions.... I think... the upcoming design of the house, has to be comfort living, not good looking... I am very very sure of it. When my in laws and my mom are here, I make sure there are 2 rooms for them to stay (converted to guest room). The kids must feel like a very family place... a home... it is most likely that I am going to have one TV only this time... or two... (have not decided yet)... not to mentioned we need to make the whole house "Green"... save energy, save water, and save the world...

Now, the most important thing is to wait for the arrival of baby "K". Jay ("J") has been asking mommy when baby "K" coming... we are still waiting... while I have some times, I will regroup my thoughts of the design again...

Me & Sofa

(Originally posted at Notes @ Facebook on August 2, 2009)

Last week, I was at Sungai Kadut and fell in love with a Sliding Sofa chair... It was soft, comfortable and nice, especially the sliding part... Almost wanted to pay already...

This week, just came back from the Furniture Mall, and have been wondering in a shop for almost 1 hour, just looking at this very O-biang Sofa... It is a reclining sofa, and it is I would say very very comfortable sofa... Was trying to leave the shop, but I could not... have been making a lot of mistakes in buying sofa for the past few years... So, should I buy this or not?

There was this guy... very familiar face... also trying to decide whether to buy the same set of sofa or not... so, he asked me a question, where do I want to put the sofa, I told him in my living room... and he noded... yes, it will be O-biang... he wanted to put it in his room... so that he can have a place to read book, etc. He told me, he also been choosing a good and comfortable sofa for long time, and it is impossible to get "Good looking" sofa and "very comfortable" sofa together... He too, spent about an hour in the shop...

I suddenly remember who is he... Samuel Chong (张永权)...



So, after exchanging opinions, and then keep trying the sofa, sitting on it, sleep on it, I finally place the $500 down as deposit... to take the offer to enjoy the 30% discounts... and then I will decide in 2-3 weeks time which one I want to get... Worst case, I will just spent the money to buy the 1 seater recliner sofa...

I think Samuel is right, "good look" and "comfortable" really does not come together.. and I want to make a decision that I want to get a sofa chair that I really like and spent time sitting on it to watch TV... instead of getting somethings that looks really nice in my new place...

As for Samuel Chong, he too end up buying the recliner sofa too..

Feng Shui & Harry Potter

Just come back from the cinema after watching Harry Potter - the Half Blood Prince... Here are some thoughts which relates back to Feng Shui...

Remember, Feng Shui is about how to make you feel good, and once you feel good and feel high spirit about yourself, you can do almost everything.... It is how to make you believe that you have cover everything with Feng shui and thus generates all the positive thoughts and thus pull success together...



Here in the movie, Ron need something to feel strong during the Quidditch game. So, Harry Potter pretend to drip some "Liquid Luck" potions in his drink. Ron thought it was the real Liquid Luck and suddenly become very high spirit. During the game, he defended all the attacks and instantly becomes a hero. So, Feng Shui works exactly the same way. How you control Feng Shui knowledge is up to you, as long as you found a reason that makes you very high spirit, then you are half way to success.

Have fun and Good Luck...

Feng Shui House

(Originally posted at Notes @ Facebook on July 24, 2009)

Buying a house or apartment is a very serious matter. As most of us dump in our entire savings and lock down into a long term loan from the bank just to get the house. Therefore, for such a high commitment, you should be very careful and serious in house selections.

Here are some of the tips that may be useful to you... Remember, Feng Shui is just an aid and the important thing is to find that extra bits of info (Feng Shui related) that implies you have bought a good home... that will make you happy, and thus, staying in this happy home will be very auspicious. If there is anything that you read which is negative... you know, Don't let Feng Shui control your mind, you should be the one that is controlling the Feng Shui... there is always a fix. So, don't feel bad about it.

1. Feng Shui is an aid. Purpose is the No. 1 reason. A home provide you shelter. Where the home located is the next question you want to ask. For example, a lot of people wanted to stay in my estate here, because of Nan Hua Primary School. Another example would be, my friend just move closer to her parents place. So, obviously those reason should be your No. 1 reason why you want to select this place. As it is always makes you feel good. So follow that and be happy about it.

2. Once you decided why you want to stay in a particular area, then, you can start looking for houses or apartments around this area. Go take a look at each house and each home. This is when Feng Shui comes in. If you are the breadwinner of the house, the Feng Shui orientations will follow your Kua Number. For example, I am a East group person, Kua number 3, which has the most auspicious direction in the south. This is where you tell yourself, you will try to find a South Facing house/apartment.

3. So, for me, I always have a compass with me, on my watch or either with my iPhone 3GS.
So, try bring that when you go see houses. Usually the agent may have one compass with them. If you manage to find such house that matches your best direction, congratulations, you have found 1 conversation piece of topic that will follow you for life time. So, in my opinion, finding the right house can creates a lot of such conversations topics. And this will encourage your relationship with your friends and relatives. As you become more talkative and felt proud of yourself, the positive energies/Chi will definitely goes up. And you know, there is no magic in Feng Shui, when your positive spirits is high, everything will seems to be success to you... and that will create a snow ball effect... and add in more conversations topics for you....



4. Next important thing, is to look out from all the windows, balcony. Do you have a nice view? Do you like the view? If yes, you are 50% set. Wait, let's look carefully, is there any small little things that is bothering you? How about that building that has its edge pointing directly to you? It looks like a knife cutting you, will that bother you? will that bother your friends who come and visit you? If you are fine with that? That is ok. If you think in future, you are going to blame any failure to this "Pointing Arrows", then re-think again.

5. Usually, you can never find a perfect house. As all of us know, living in Singapore, each land is worth a lot of money, so, apartments has to be build close to each other, and you cannot avoid all these unpleasant scenes. So, what you do is to collect all these small little things which may be bad, and then list it out later. Ask yourself if you can accept these imperfection or not? For me, if my balcony can see the mountain and see big piece of low floor estates, I will love this place as it has good view. For those imperfections, we will find reasons or "cure" to fix them later.

6. Now comes the most important thing. If you are buying a new house from a newly development estate. Usually you do not need to think about the previous owner. The only thing to think is before they develop this place, what was it before? Please don't buy new home building on a previous cemetery. and so on... Of course, if you really like the estate and you wanted to stay in the high floors, but all high floors are sold out, and the agent says that you are lucky, there is one more left in level 2, please ask yourself again, do you want to compromise this? Always trust your deep feelings and thoughts... not impulse feelings.

7. If you are buying a house or apartment from a previous owners. You want and must ask about the owners history. How many years they stay here. Is there major problems? It is very auspicious to move into a house where the previous owner is very successful. If they are upgrading to another bigger house, that is always a good reason to buy. What if the couple is divorcing and they need to sell this house. Will you get it? For me, I will need to look at his home to find out what went wrong? Recently I was visiting this place, and actually the place is done is a very proper Feng Shui manner. And the agent told me that the owner is very successful business man. But then when I look at his place, WOW, it is very Feng Shui protected. But I felt that something was missing, the warm tone is missing, when you step into the house, it is simple, and cold. But all the Feng Shui element are considered and seems to make sure that the breadwinner of the house to earn big money. But it lacks those warm element where a usual family should have. No wonder the family is broken up. So, you know that this is a scenario where, the owner has believed in making himself successful by following the Feng Shui and family were neglected some how. So, you still have to answer to yourself if you can accept that? If yes, then buy. If no, look elsewhere. The common tips is usually, don't buy house that has people just die, or they have to put it on auction as the previous owner went into bankruptcy, etc.

8. Next thing to cover is to look at the numbers. Do you want to buy No. 24? No, right? So, find a number that you are comfortable with.

9. That's it. Those are the simple things to look for when buying a house. Of course, if you want to cover more Feng Shui staffs, you can always buy any of the Feng Shui books and read about it. But remember, don't get too deep into it, and always finding every flaws you can think of. Feng Shui is to find obvious flaws, big huge flaws. Not finding small little flaws.

10. Once you make a payment, don't look back, and don't regret. And this is a good time to get down to the tedious work of designing the new home. More Feng Shui stuff will start to roll in then...

11. Even if you don't buy the house for staying. You only want to invest and rent out the place. Don't you think a little bit thoughts about Feng Shui can attracts positive tenants?

12. Sometimes, do bargain with the agent and owner. Sometimes do look at your financial capability. If the house truly likes you or you think it belongs to you... that house will find its way to you. Sometimes you will have these feelings and thoughts. If such case happen, then, that house is really auspicious to you.

13. Of course, look into the calender to find out which date is the perfect day to start renovation, sign contract, sign loans, etc. Which ever thing make you feel good, do it. You usually don't buy house during ghost month, etc.

I think that is all for the Feng Shui house that I can think of. I really likes the idea of a house choose its rightful owner. This has happened me. I saw a place, I like the place, and I prepare the 1% option fee cheque on the same night. I told the Agent, this is the price I agreed to pay which is the price he offered. You know, most places in Singapore are co-broker by multiple agents. Then, the next morning, Agent come back to you and tell you there is another party by another Agent, and they are offering 5% more than you. What do you do? Do you top up? or Do you let go. So, I told my agent, I like the house a lot, and a deal is a deal, you cannot increase price after I put down the option cheque. On the same night, the Agent come back, and told me that story about the other bidder, they went to see bank and try loaning the money, and ask owner to give them more time to confirm the loan. But owner finally honor my cheque. And this is where I will tell my friends and relatives all about how this house choose the correct owner. Its a good story to tell, and it is something that makes me happy.

Me & my Kua Number

(Originally posted on Notes @ Facebook at July 23, 2009)

Yesterday, when I was listening to the FM933 radio station, the DJ played the 2 Korean songs that he usually played on daily basis. He mentioned that he likes this two songs a lot, and although you do not understand what the lyrics meant, as long as these two songs can make you happy, you keep listening to it.



Sometimes, Feng Shui may not give you full explanation how it come about. But there is this known template that has been used by mankind for thousands of years. So, it is up to you whether you want to follow or not follow. This is very similar to the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Until now no one really fully understand why this grass mix with that seeds can cure coughing, etc etc. You mom will usually says don't ask, eat the medicine, etc. And it does the work.

So, Feng Shui offers you some rules and templates to rely on. When you follow it, and it is most of the time work. That is because you have given a full thought, and believe that by following a certain rules, it can improve your life. Subconsciously, your mind is working hard and bring in all those positive energies that you had never have before. And you shall have better chances to succeed. Even there is a slight mis-fortune, your higher spirits has overwhelmed over this mis-fortune and makes it hard to see. There is no rocket science here. So, when it succeed, you tell the story to every one and you feel very very good. It's all about your mind.

So, the very first thing in Feng Shui that you believe is find out what is your Kua Number. All humans born in different timing. So, each human may have its own different Kua Number than others. So, based on this Kua Number, you can find out 4 Good directions, and 4 Bad directions. The root of Kua Number is hard to understand. But the outcome is easy. Once you know your best direction, you will try to sit facing this direction. And it is believed that once you always face this direction, somehow the magnetic field makes it very compatible with you body flow, and all the positive Chi will flow thru your body.

This does not mean that you have to sit in that direction every day, every single minutes. Usually, identify those facing that you usually face. For example, your office sitting or when you play Mahjong at your own home, or where you usually sit facing when watching TV, etc.
By following this Kua direction, your mind automatically register a positive hope to improve your life. All these positive energies and thought will kicks in to try to make to your goal unknowingly. And when you got your success story, you always give the credit to Feng Shui. :) Well ... the real culprit to make you success is yourself. If you think hard, next time, you will how to be successful even without the help of Feng Shui. That is something harder.

How do I know what is my Kua Number? There is a lot of websites offering this service.
here is one such example... http://www.about-fengshui.info/kuacalc.html

So, in my case, I am a East group person. and my Kua is 3, and I belong to the Wood group. So as my Son, Jay. And my best 4 directions is in the following order...

1st: South - Sheng Chi - create wealth, best luck, main door should face here.

2nd: North - Tien Yi - health & safety direction.

3rd: SouthEast - Nien Yen - is my relationship direction.

4th: East - Fu Wei - stability, clear thinking...

At the same time, you also find out what is the 4 worst directions you should not be facing...

1st: East - Chueh Ming - total loss, demotion, job loss, illness, bad bad bad

2nd: NorthEash - Liu Sha - face legal problem, family ill problem

3rd: NorthWest - Wu Kuei - fire, accident, back stabbing, quarrels

4th: SouthWest - mishap, accident, leads to losing money, etc.



What I will do with this is...

a. make sure my office desk is not facing the worst direction. to make me feel good.

b. I place a "hundreds birds" picture at southeast at my desk, as too boost the relationship
corner. Remember? The conversation piece.

c. at home, sitting on my sofa, and face East watching TV.

d. when keep losing mahjong, you know you need to bring a compass.

Now, words of caution. If one have a Kua Number and the other significant other has another Kua Number which is conflicting, what and which should you follow? For example, my wife is Kua Number 6. And my best directions are all her worst directions, then how?

This is where your logical mind come back to work again... Think of a reason to be together. Because fate brings 2 of you together must have its reason. And Feng shui should not stand in the way. This is where you will think of positive reason to make yourself feel better. If at this point, you cannot think of anything to make yourself better, and cannot think logically, then, my advise is you should forget all about Feng Shui. Don't ever let Feng Shui to control you. Always remember this! so, some useful assumptions are as follow...

i. if you live together, then, the breadwinner of the house is matter. Follow that.
ii. Fengshui is science, right? if both Kua are opposite, then how, it attracts in someway.
follow that thoughts.

So, remember, do not simply any how to break up or divorce your SO because of Feng Shui. Feng Shui only teach you how to improve your life if possible. So, it is not a strict rule, and it can be any rules in fact, as long as it makes you happy. If after you know that the Kua is conflicting, and you keep on thinking about it... that is a big No No. So, remember, Don't let Feng Shui control you!

Finding your Kua number is very important when you designing your home. Where to put the beds. Which room has the best energies. Where should I put my Sofa. Is the toilet or kitchen actually in your best direction? etc etc.

Me & Feng Shui

I was having lunch with my brother and a friend the other day. My brother, went to church since young, always asking my mom why I am so "superstitious" and so in to Feng Shui. The other friend, have a new found ambition to become a Feng Shui master, and he has paid thousands of dollars to take part in the Feng Shui courses (in English as he Chinese is not that good). So, since I am with them, I decided to give both of them a lesson on the Feng Shui that I knew.



Feng Shui is something like science. Feng Shui is being around for many thousands of years. So, thru out the years, of course, mankind trying to perfect the knowledge by adding a lot of schools of knowledge and thoughts in it. So, if anytime you think that certain Feng Shui tips does not make sense, you can choose to discard the knowledge. For example, some pointing arrows from other building are pointing at your apartment, some Feng Shui master will do a lot of stuffs and put a "San Hai Zhen" (山海阵）or "Ba-Gua" mirror just to reflect it. Well, if you come to think about it? Does this really make any sense at all? Nope. So, you can choose not to carry out this Feng Shui remedy. How can a mirror do the magic to change the fate? It is not scientific at all!!! As you can guess, I don't believe these remedies.

Feng Shui is not about believing everything you learn from Lilian Too's or others' Feng Shui books. It is like a philosophy, who you choose to learn from. Do you want to believe in Kong-Zi (孔子）or Lao-Zi (老子）teachings, or you want to believe in Bush or Obama political views. It is all about thoughts. Who you want to learn from? What do you want to learn? And all these will form the basic of you! Most importantly does it make any sense at all?

I believe we all live in a "Matrix" which is created by Aliens. Aliens planting clues all over the place so to make us think all the time, and evolve. As you can guess, I like the movie - Matrix. We are all living in a big huge "Sim City". All fates and all destiny are fixed. I am talking nonsense here, and I am making no sense. The mankind is evolving on top of languages and math. Who created English, and who discover math? What can you tell from the following statement... (which I got from my twitter friend)

Eleven plus two == Twelve plus one (i.e. 11 + 2 == 12 + 1)

Do you ever notice that the addition of the english alphabets on both sides are the same as well (count how many alphabets and why are the alphabets on both sides adds up to the same, same set of alphabets, sound number of alphabets i.e. 13 alphabets). Now, this is getting very freaky! As you can guess, I like the movie - "Thirteen Floor". Especially when the actor drive his car to the end of the edge/world and discover the green and black computer grid and found out that he (the actor) is just a computer program that has thoughts, just like the one in SIM city. This is just a fantasy side of me. and It has nothing to do with Feng Shui. Now, back to Feng Shui. So, what do I believe?

1) If you sit in my car, you see the "blue Rhino" hanging just under my mirror. Lilian Too's says, put a blue Rhino in the car so to avoid accidents. Normal people, go to WOFS shop buy and put it. That is superstitious. Me - put some thoughts on it, and try to make some sense out of it, the scientific way. So, as you drive your car, and when you drive so fast, it builds up momentum in the blue rhino. A slight shift in directions, the blue rhino will shake. If it shakes violently, hey buddy, you are driving to fast. Put one hand on the wheel, and the other hand to hold the blue rhino so to calm it down. So, what happens here? The blue rhino actually will warn you, and put your thoughts together again and think why are you driving so fast. Slow down. So, it cuts down possibilities of accident. So, is this science or Feng Shui?

2) I love to eat. I love to hunt places to eat. So, I need to drive out to eat. I also know eating the wrong food will invite bad illness. So, how do I warn myself of this? From any fengshui book, carry a "Hu-lu" (葫芦）with you. So, I found this cute little colorful Hu-lu that fits into my car keys. So, I carry the hu-lu around with me all the time. Whenever I reach for the car keys I will see the colorful hu-lu and thus reminded me not to eat too much. I got health problems.... So, does this make sense?

3) Why you do not position your bed too close to the toilet in your room. Toilet is a dirty place. You wash, you clean up, you shit in the toilet. So, the air may not be a good air. So, make sure your toilet has enough ventilations (i.e. windows). And do not sleep with your head facing the toilet. As other people open the toilet door, the dirty air (bad Chi) will flow into your face. You do not want to get sick, by breath in these bad air. Does it make sense? Is it science or Feng Shui?

4) Lilian Too says buy a "Thousands Birds" pictures and hang it at your relationship corner. So, I did that. And guess what? A lot of people saw the pictures and asked what is it? So, there goes the conversation. And there goes the interactions. So, it is just like magic. But I treated it like a conversation piece. Something to talk about. After the talk, high chances that you feel good.

So, as times goes by, people thought I am very superstitious, so keep on buying these Feng Shui presents for me. So, I just keep adding my collections of conversation pieces. Just to keep these positive interaction Chi going on.

After hearing all these, my brother eyes were big. He did not know that there are so much theory behind this Feng Shui. I am not saying that he will start learning Feng Shui, but at least, I get him to learn that I am not those superstitious guy who blindly believe in Feng Shui without thinking. And I am sure he is not going to bother me again telling me that why I am so superstitious, etc etc.

As for my friend. I told him, he has much to learn about Feng Shui. But if he wanted to choose this path. He has to really think thru what is he learning, and how all these Feng Shui knowledge works and interacts with our surrounding. I told him to believe things that he thinks is making sense. And thus perhaps he can create his own style in 1 year time. My last questions for him is.....

a. What car are you driving now?

b. What house are you living in now?

c. Do you consider yourself as successful?

So, after 1 year later, he has to ask all these questions again and again. Why? If you want to become a Feng Shui master, first, you must make changes to your life. And if these changes can make you happy, successful, then you already succeeded. I merely giving the example for him to set his own target and goals. If he is successful, he will be driving big cars staying in big houses and have lots of successful stories to tell. Then, he is qualify to become a Feng Shui master than. If after 1 year, he is still driving his small car, living in small HDB flat, I don't know about you, but will I choose to believe what he want to share about Feng shui if he can't even improve his own life? May be I am a bit too cruel.

As a summary, Feng Shui is about science. Must always think about it before you practise. And the most important thing is You gets to control it. Don't let Feng Shui take over you.

Have fun!!!!

iPhone

(Originally posted at Notes @ Facebook on July 8, 2009)

When iPod first came out in year 2001... Steve Jobs market it as "a Mac compatible device that has 5GB of harddisk and you can put 10,000 songs in it." By the way, it can play those music.

So, today, when I go lunch with my friends, we were discussing about the iPhones, Android, Nokia, Samsung, etc etc... so, my answer to them is iPhone is not a phone, you do not need to compare it against windows mobile, etc etc... iPhone is a computer that runs lots of lots of programs... iPhone is another iPod, and by the way, you can make calls with it...

Here are my thoughts...

1. no single phone are able to achieve what iPhone done today.

2. Android is not a threat... really... 1 reasons... 1) look at the name... it is Android...
its OS name not a phone product... so, if you have so many manufacturer doing
the Android phones... guess what.. who is going to have the iTunes store... ALL of
them will have.. and then eventually to make it different among all the brands,
each brand will create their own version of slightly different OS build... then you
will have situation where developers don't know how to develop for which platform...
etc etc..

3. The real threat is Palm Pre. It is by now the only phone that can compete with
iPhone in terms of speed, usability, and functions... And in future, once the
API came out... it will be only develop for Palm device....

4. One big apple disadvantage is cannot change battery. Yes, that is a big no no.
But I am very sure that the love you gave to iPhone will always be bigger than
this small issues...

Btw, second year in the roll, I will be getting my iphone on the first day offering
in singapore.... :)

Jay & The Fever Centre @ NUH

(Originally posted on Notes @ Facebook at July 8, 2009)

Jay was infected by virus the other day. He was having high fever and running nose. His eyes started to discharge yellowish thingy. That is when we decided to go to the NUH the other day at night time.



A&E is really different nowadays. It has been converted to "Fever Centre". It is like, no matter what emergency you have, as long as you came to NUH's A&E, by default you are H1N1 carrier. So, this is the A&E which I am not familiar with.

Temperature check is a must. Asking a lot of questions. Only 1 parent allowed to go in, so mommy (preggy wife) have to stay outside. All wearing the protection mask, of course.

Once you are inside, I think they did greatly in the sense that, you get to see the doctor right away as my 2 year old is the patient. That is good thing. Young kid, preggy, old folks get priority first.

So, the doctor ask this and that, check here and there, and comment that it is virus infection. Need to take medicine, and eye drops to fix it. But as a precaution, they force you to take the Swine Flu test. Very simple process, stick the cotton bud into the nose and get the sample, and you will know by 36 hours. And guess what, it costs $250 and all fully paid by the government. That is another good thing.

Now, after the doctor, the nurse come and get readings for the blood pressure, and so on. And then, it is waiting time. This is the part where it is no fun. As we need to wait almost 45 minutes for the medicine to arrive. I have seen how the pharmacist work, it is as slowly as what I can remember. So, seeing doctor is efficient, but waiting for the medicine, is damn painful wait.

Why, look around you... and it is not hard to notice the harmony and synchronous coughing symphony. Ha Ha... one cough, and every body cough around you. So, I look at the nurse, and the nurse also shake the head and said "bo pian". Finally, they bring us along with another kid and her father to another waiting area, and telling us, it is better to wait in this waiting tent, and they will deliver the medicine to us. As too many people coughing in the fever center (a.k.a previous A&E center).

So, we went there, there are lots of fans and ventilations. Finally the nurse came back with the medicines. And we are all clear to go. But wait, a security guard must be present to escort me to my car. Why? because they have to make sure that you really drive a car, and really get on to the car and drive home. Otherwise, they will use ambulance to ferry you home.

Jay gets 10 days MC and needed to be quarantined at home. but next day, the doctor called and cleared that and tell us that it is just a normal virus infections, and it is negative of H1N1. So no need to quarantine. One thing puzzle me, if my kid gets 10 days of MC, why as the parent who take care of the kid. why the parent does not get 10 days of MC too leh?

Final thoughts...

1. 1 Thumbs up for the whole process.

2. 2 Thumbs up for the doctor giving priority to young kid.

3. 2 Thumbs down for the pharmacist. Still very very slow. The same every time.
During my last visit, the nurse is playing PSP. Can you imagine that?

4. As H1N1 getting worst, and you still go out shopping without wearing a mask,
there is always chances that you may get infected by it. But need not to worry,
many people in the hospital will care about you. The government is doing
everything to make sure that the H1N1 is spread thru controlled ways.

5. If you decided to not come to the hospital, I am very sure that at any GP clinics,
those doctor will not hesitate to call 993 for you. :) So, you end up in A&E or
fever center again.

6. always carry Dettol with you. Watch around, move away from people who is
coughing and sneezing.

Changing harddisk in your MacBook

(Originally posted on Notes @ Facebook at April 17, 2009)

I am very amazed with Apple.

My harddisk crashed the other day. So, I went to get a 2.5" SATA 320GB harddisk
and prepare to change the harddisk myself.

Changing the harddisk... i.e. 5 minutes...

Step 1. unscrew the cover with a coin.

Step 2. take out battery.

Step 3. unscrew 3x screws and take out the L shape metal piece.

Step 4. pull the harddisk out.

Step 5. Change the harddisk.

Step 6. Push the harddisk in.

Step 7. put back the L shape metal piece, and screw all 3x screws.

Step 8. put back battery.

Step 9. screw back the cover.

That's it.

Reinstalling the Leopard MacOS 10.5.. i.e. 45 minutes...

Step 10. put in the DVD installer disk.

Step 11. click click click... and install.

Step 12. system self reboot...

That's it..

Restoring the data... i.e. 50 minutes...

Step 13. plug in the USB cable for Time Machine...

Step 14. Select to restore everything...

Step 15. Wait...

That's it...

And then, when you have the system back on, it looks exactly the same as
few days ago, when you do the backup... Everything is restored perfectly,
including all the softwares, i.e. Microsoft Office, iLife'09, etc etc. My Apple
TV is connecting correctly to my iTunes... with all the credentials password
properly restored and configured...

I am still amazed by how easy that is... If it is a Windows XP or Vista,... I think
I will have to spend 1-2 days to do recovering and it is not 100% recovering...
...

Apple rules...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdOeMCdQwd8&feature=related

Our Sun...

(Originally posted on Notes @ Facebook at April 30, 2009)

http://science.solidot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/22/107213&from=rss

Basically, scientist has found out that our SUN has very low activity, and the last time it
happened, it is followed by a small ICE AGE... hmmmm....

inputx 写道 "一些天文学家表示，太阳目前出现不同寻常的沉寂，令人难以解释。科学家说，太阳活动的周期一般为11年，在最活跃的高峰期会释放出巨大的耀斑和尺寸如行星大小的超炽热气团。高峰期过后会出现一个相对平静的阶段。
按照这个规律，太阳在一段平静之后应该在去年进入活跃的高峰期。但出人意料的是，太阳陷入了超常的平静。科学家通过观察发现，太阳风的风压目前达到50年来的最低点，电磁波辐射为55年来最低，而黑子活动则为100年来最低。英国伦敦大学学院教授哈拉说，目前出现的情况还无法解释，也不知道太阳会在什么时候再次活跃。
太阳曾经在17世纪中叶出现过一次长达70年的相对沉寂，导致了一次"小冰河期"的发生。一些科学家表示，类似的事件可能正在发生，从而消除人类对全球气候变暖的忧虑。英国南安普顿大学教授洛克伍德对此持有不同看法。他说，太阳活动从1985年就开始减弱，但是全球气温还在上升，这说明太阳活动的减弱没有起到冷却地球的作用。"

Why buying a Mac?

(Originally posted on Notes @ Facebook at April 30, 2009)

Was lunching with a friend, and a question pops up... he is wondering whether he should get a MacBook...

The reason why you go for a MacBook.. very simple...

1. No waiting start up.

2. Easy to use.

3. Never crash.

4. Got to love iMovie, iPhoto...

5. Its a unix platform.

Jay's Skin & the Culprit

(Originally posted on Notes @ Facebook, on July 4)

Got to thanks Erin for this tip.



When Jay came to this world, he is perfect. However, since young, he has this
problem with his skin. Quite sensitive and easily to get rashes. When you
touch the skin, is like uneven surface.

No doctor can explain what it was... and they simply said it is like that, some kids
born with this.

That day, we were having Erin, our good friend from Hong Kong, for dinner, I
brought her to West Coast plaza to get a herb roasted duck from Dian Xiao Er
(店小二) and guess what, she was having this comments asking me not to let
my wife to take it, as it is very toxic (好毒）

I didn't know what it meant, but told her that my wife was having duck for
lunch at least few times a month. Why is it toxic? Then, she explained to me
that eating duck is toxic to the new born according to the old folks. And
the duck will cause skin problem to the new born. And indeed, my first
reaction is to link Jay's skin condition to this myth, and indeed, my wife
does eat a lot of ducks lately... So, it could be the culprit that causes Jay's
skin problem.

Well, what has been eaten before cannot be gotten rid of, so, all we can do
is wait and see... If baby Kay came up with an uneven not so smooth skin,
then we can confirm this myth.

According to Erin, her brother's wife is very cautious in her dietary, and she
really follow the advise and 戒口, never eat any duck although the 深井烧鹅
is her favorite. Never drink coffee, tea (not include mint or camomile), never
eat crabs, oysters, etc etc. So, the two kids they have have very very smooth
and white skin, and very healthy too. And compare to Erin's sister, as her
sister loves to eat and cannot 收口 (cautious in eating). As a result, her kid
skin is not as smooth, etc etc.

So, let's wait and see.... if this myth is true or false.... Shall reveal the answers
with real experiment by September.

Reorganize the Blogs

I am going to reorganize the blogs... so that all the blog posts can be in MiniLiew and automatically got picked up by Facebook Notes... Will be doing the migrations these few days...