Table Tennis At Home

Date:  Apr 22, 2014

This is how you can change your dining table into Ping Pong table.  

This table tennis net can be adjusted.  It can fit almost any width (normal table).  Up to 1900mm.

It can clip onto any thickness.  (50mm)

Quite stable when it clips.

Let’s play ball.

Where I get it?  Taobao of course.  HaHa… I think I got it at about RMB35 which is about S$7.

Click below link...

http://s.taobao.com/search?spm=a230r.1.8.3.zdIOee&promote=0&sort=sale-desc&initiative_id=shopz_20140422&tab=all&q=%BF%C9%C9%EC%CB%F5%C6%B9%C5%D2%C7%F2%CD%F8%BC%DC#J_relative

Now, whenever it rains and we feel like doing exercise, lets play ping pong ball (table tennis)!  It can be very sweaty too.

Haw Par Villa

Date:  April 20, 2014

There is this place in Singapore where a lot of people have already forgotten.  For me, my last visit is some 10-15 years ago.

So, it has been recently renovated.

My Taiwan tour guide friend, Danny came to Singapore.  So, we brought him there to take a look.

The admission is FREE.  

The car park is $5.  You can park in front of the Villa, or you can take this road up and drive up to the parking lot on top.  

YES.  You can drive up.  In fact, the exit is at the back.

Perhaps one of the most exciting things to do in Haw Paw Villa is to bring the kids to visit the hell.

Wow, I have to explain to Jay & Kay in very details what is a “Hell”?

Sometimes you hear your neighbour friends say “What the hell?” (instead of what’s on earth)… So, you don’t know what does “hell” mean right?

Well come to hell.

The boys initially got very excited… but after they walk in there...

You can see their eyes started to stare with a hint of scare... 

Wahahaha Welcome to Ten Courth of Hell.

A place where adults can teach the kids about  ethics and morality.  

(It contains very violent graphic images so parental guidance is recommended)

Wow… It is indeed too graphic intense..

So, as parents, you keep reminding the kids ...

Don’t cheat in exam...

Must look after your parents...

Don’t steal...

Don’t betray your friend...

Must respect elders...

Don’t lie...

….

There will be explanation beside every “bloody” display of what will happen if you do something bad...

OK… let’s get the “hell” out of here… hahaha

When you come out form the 10 court of hell, it is time to do some damage control.

This is when you tell your kids something nice.

Don’t worry, as long as you don’t lie, then, this will not happen to you...

Something like that.

It’s time to take pictures...

Tiger Mobil.

Chicken Man talking to Duck Lady.  鸡同鸭讲。 

Riding Leopard.

Tiger Rider.

It is kind of nice learning journey.

The kids do have lots of fun!

Here is my comment about Haw Paw Villa.

1.  It is a very education place to go, if you really want your kids to learn what is ethics and morale.  Every graphic display have explanation.  If the kids can read, they can read it for themselves.  Although they do not speak out, you can see the fear from their face.  

2.  Surprisingly a lot of visitors visits Haw Paw Villa.  I did not imagine that it has such a nice crowds.  Why?  Because it is FREE I think.  It attracted a lot of visitors.

3.  The signage of car park is not clear.  Nobody knows that you can park your car up there.  Now, here is the problem, the small little hill is still a hill.  So, if you park your car up there, then, you will have to walk from up there to down at the entrance.  After you finished every thing, think about it, you need to walk back up.  Wow!  that is a killing.  Wahahaha.  But there is only some 20+ car park lots at the entrance site there.

4.  Surprisingly there is no shops open on Sunday.  It is a tourist attractions, it should have shops selling uniquely Singapore staffs, you know.  So, it gives people a very “run down” tourist attractions.  Nobody know if it is a private attraction or a STB approved tourism spot?  If this is part of Singapore, STB better sent people to take a good look and see how to make it better.  

5.  Overall it is a great place to bring kids to, but someone need to make it better.

 

 

 

 

A very Nice Noodle Mixer

Date:  Apr 20, 2014

Yesterday we make Kale Noodle.

What is Kale?  It is the world’s most healthy antioxidant vegetables.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

 

Wow.  the noodle really smell like Kale strong smell.

Of course, I can make a heavy 炸酱面 meat sauce.  But let’s try vegetarian sauce.

This is the vegetarian marinated meat with mushroom sauce.  It’s name has “meat” inside, but it is vegetarian meat, which is mushroom.

It is from Taiwan.  I got it from the Organic stall from Harbour Front.

It is a healthy food.  

100% Natural Fermented Process.

No Preservatives.

No Artificial Flavoring.

No Artificial Coloring.

And It taste real good with the noodles.

I think you should be able to get it from most of the Organic stalls in Singapore.

It is S$8.50.  Well, all Organic food comes with high price tags.

So, what you do is to mix your noodle (after boiled) with sesame oil, soya sauce, abalone sauce, and 2-3 teaspoon of this and mix it well!

And you got yourself a very nice plate of Noodle.

Eat healthy stay healthy.

Kay Kay Swimming Progress

Date:  April 20, 2014

It is another week of swimming lesson for Kay Kay.

This time, the reward is we will watch "Captain America - The Winter Soldier” if he does not cry, learn well in class, listen to uncle Soh, and perform great in class.

Of course, Kay has heard of this “The Winter Soldier” for so many times from his classmates and he wanted to watch the movie.

So, after the lesson, I played with him and teach him new tricks.  So, we learned that he is actually holding a long breathe to swim with his head underneath.  

Sometimes, it is funny to see his face holding the breathe.

So, today, we will focus in blowing the air out from his mouth.

And because his mood is very good today, so, he is able to do that.  Cool.

Many times.

Then, we teach him to blow the air out from the nose. 

So, keep doing it so that he is familiar and not feeling scare.

Then, we ask him to try slowly jump into the water.

And surprisingly, he says “Again, again!"

So, we let him run and jump.

We let him jump and swim.

We let him jump, and star float.

We let him jump, dive and blow bubbles and swim.

Tried all the combinations.

And I made a home movie for him.  It is very important to keep all these video very handy and can be watch any time if possible on the TV.

He always enjoys watching his own movie.  And he learned too.

Nice Nasi Lemak

Date:  April 18, 2014

Yesterday after a golf game at Horizon Hill, my friend Weng Hong strongly recommended this Nasi Lemak.

And it is good!

I always hated the nasi lemak in Singapore, as most of them does not have “character”.  Singapore nasi lemak is not nasi lemak.  They added in so many things such as chicken wings and otak and fish and so on...

I like the nasi lemak that is simple, with nice sambal, that is not burned.  

Just take a look at the simple egg nasi lemak.  

OK.  Enough said.  Where do we get this?

From a Petron Kiosk at the last rest area towards the Toll and Custom in Malaysia.

Just before you reach the toll, there is the rest area after the Gelang Patah exit.

That is the Petron kiosk.  FYI.  Petron is the merger of ESSO and Mobil and they rebrand it as Petron.

The nasi lemak kiosk is just outside the petron mini mart.

So, you take a basket and get whatever you need and bring it inside and pay.

There are three flavours, blue one is fish, red one is egg and the other one is chicken.

This is the type of nasi lemak I like to eat.  It can be a bit expense when you drive in to Malaysia and you need to pay the toll from both side.  But if whenever you come back from Malaysia via Tuas, no harm give it a try.  I think they should have a lot of nasi lemak there, but it is running out very fast.  HaHaHa… so, it is also depending on your luck huh… hahaha Yesterday, we reach there just before 9 I think.  So, there is not much left and almost every one in the queue bought this.  I also bought some curry puffs and doh doh.

Thanks buddy!

P2 Journal - Teaching Kids How To Write A Book Review

Date:  April 14, 2014

This week journal topic is to write about a book.  

Yeah!  A book review sort of journal.

This is how I teach Jay what is a book review.

Again, you need a whiteboard and a stage.

Instead of starting from a very thick book, I advised him to start on a very simple book first.  

Although this is a very simple big letters book, but because he watched the movie before, the impression of the story is deep.

So, first thing I taught is to write in the following format.

1.  My daddy bought me a book last week….

2.  The book is called ….

3.  It is written by Helen Murray, and it is published by DK Readers ...

4.  SUPER SUMMARY:  This is a book about ….

That is the first 4 sentences in Paragraph 1.

He was having huge problem in summarising the story.

And he started with, Emmet is a construction worker, and he works in… One day, he fell into a hole, and he met WyldStyle….

and he continues.

So, I teach him that is not a “SUPER SUMMARY”.

Super Summary has to be one single sentence and tell you about the story.

So, we go on with the brain storming session.

This is a story about 

- Who?  An ordinary guy called Emmet.

- What he has done?  He becomes a Master Builder.

- To do what?  To defeat the Lord Business.

- And?  Save the universe.

OK.  Once you have done the pointers, who, where, what, etc…  It is time to summarise it into a SUPER SUMMARY. 

==>  This is a story about Emmet saving the world by becoming a master builder.

That’s it.

So, to strengthen the idea…. you give another example, on shows he has seen before...

Who?  Anna and Elsa.  Two sisters.

What happen?  Elsa cannot control her power.  So, she stopped playing with Anna.

What happen?  Anna look for Elsa, and try to help her.

What happen?  Elsa can control her power.  

What happen?  Elsa can play with Anna again.

Super Summary ==> This is a story about princess Anna, who helped her sister, Queen Elsa to learn how to control her super power, so that they can both play together again.

Yes, it does take some time, but it is worth it.

打铁要乘热!

Let’s do another one.

Who?  Dusty.

What is Dusty?  He is a crop duster plane.

Is Dusty a racing plane?  No.

What happen?  Every one laugh at him.  Because he is a crop duster plane.

What is Dusty dream?  He wants to race in a race.

Who won?  Dusty.

Super Summary ==> This is a story about how a crop duster plane, Dusty race and win the Wings Across the Globe Race.

Oh ya, you got to use the word “Super” in Super Summary to make it sound very excited.  HaHaa...

Next paragraph, then, you guide him a little to write the “Longer Version” of the story.  What do you want to write?

5.  Emmet is an ordinary construction worker...

6.  Emmet is not a super hero.  He is not a master builder….

7.  Emmet build a funny looking double decker couch.

8.  His friends all laugh at him.

9.  When his friends are in danger, it is the funny looking double decker couch that save them all.

10.  Emmet shows that even an ordinary guy can become a master builder.

11.  His friend Wyldstyle start to ask all ordinary people to become master builders.  Changing ice cream truck into flying machine...

12.  Finally, they defeated Lord Business.  And Save the world.

This is where they learn to do a longer summary of the story.  They have to learn how to pick the stories and put all them together.

Ask them to remember what is the fun things, or funny things in the story, and elaborate from there.

Make them stand on the stage to give out that idea.

hmmm…. double decker couch.

hmmm…. ice cream truck that can fly.

Lastly, the most important thing of all….

13.  What did you learn from the book?

Actually after you have done step 1-12, Jay has already have a good idea of what he wants to write.

Any ordinary guy can become a master builder as long as you willing to use your brain to imagine and hardwork.

Yeap, he got the idea of the story.

Re-interate it thru the story of Frozen and Planes. 

And let the production begins!

30 minutes later.  This is is very first book review.

So, I taught him the most important of all is “What have you learned from the story books?"

You can learn a good behaviour from it.  You can learn good knowledge from it too.

For example, I took out the Geronimo Stilton story books about Niagara Falls, and asked him what has he learned.

He stumbled a while, and give up.

So, I gave him some examples… You learned how to build a camp, and starts a camp fire.  You learned what to bring in your bag when you go camping.

Oh Ya!  That is what he needs to find from all the books.

That is why I flipped thru the pages of Geronimo Stilton book before I bought to see what kind of knowledge I want the kids to learn and what I think he is interested to learn.  

I know Jay Jay appreciates all this great time spending together to discuss how to write the journal.  And I know he learned it bits by bits.  

I don’t expect for him to become expert right away.   But, at least for a role of daddy, I have done my very best to teach him in the way that what I think he could benefit.

One last thing… you will see there are a few mistakes in grammar in the journal.  Don’t point it out to him.  Let the teacher do that.  His teacher will circle and reminded him why he cannot write “a ordinary construction worker” things like that.  HaHaHa.  He will benefit more that way.

So, when you teach your kids, it is not necessary that you tell him all the answers.  Guide him the way to answers and let him work out the answers himself.  

Do not correct all his mistakes.  Only correct his concepts.

Leave those grammar mistakes for them to be spotted by teachers.

Teacher can do a better job in teaching our kids those grammar mistakes.

And they will remember.

"It is awesome to lose”… Kids has to learn how to lose, how to make mistakes.  And this will be great opportunity.  Parents and teachers will work together to make them learn.

So, from now on, he knows whenever he needs to write a book review it will always be the same format...

[First Paragraph]

1.  Where you get the book.

2.  What is the title of the book.

3.  Who is the author and publisher.

4.  what it the SUPER SUMMARY of the story.

[Second Paragraph]

5.  Tell me the story.  (short).

6.  More details.  What you think is funny?  What you think is important?  Is it really important?

[Last Paragraph]

7.  What have I learned from reading the book. 

So, this is also a way to teach him that, only read books that you can learn something from.  So, next time, whenever he picks up a book to read, I will ask him to give a SUPER SUMMARY.  Ask him what is the story about?  And what has he learned from the book.

Welcome to THE NEXT STAGE of learning.

Reading with Your Children

Date:  April 11, 2014

Something to think about, daddy!

I saw this statement on the web...

“A poll commissioned by the National Center for Fathering in 2009 showed that 55 percent of fathers read to their children at least once or twice per month.  The discouraging news is that this poll also revealed that 39 percent of fathers never read to their children."

"Reading with your children and having impact on their education is not just a mom thing.  In a 1997 study by the U.S. Department of Education, researchers surveyed more than 20,000 parents.  The results of the study indicated that when fathers took an active role in their children’s education, the children were more likely to make A’s, participate in activities like sport and dubs, enjoy school and were less likely to repeat a grade"

So, I did my part, as I often read to the kids too.  Let’s hope the kids keep up the good work too.  Cheers.. 

Where I Go To Fix Dents & Scratches on My Car

Date:  April 7, 2014

That day, my car was hurt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OUCH.  So, both panels hurt badly.  The door panel and the back panel (double layer) was dented pretty badly.

I was making a turn within a very tight car park lane, and as and when I try to avoid, the car parked on the left side, did not have enough clearance and kiss the pillar.  At first I thought it was a small scratch, but later, after I sent my friend to the airport, and have a look. WOW.  Big huge scratches.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I called up my friend and ask him where does he sent his car to fix the dent and he recommended me this place.

This is my first time. 

So, I drove my car to Bluwel Automotive Service Pte Ltd.

Met up with this guy called “Kenny Yap” (As Soon).  He is a very nice guy.  Quickly take a look and say, no problem.  

And quote me on the spot.  

So, I also take the opportunity to show him all the scratches I have done before, including a pillar mark that I hit when I did a reversed parking and sensor could not detect the bar.

He took a look and say no problem.

I asked him what about the colour, he say no problem.

4-5 days works.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And 4-5 days later, I got my car back.  And it looks like it never happened before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the scratch and dents are not there any more.  So, you can compare the photos and you will see that they actually fix my car for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the back?  I forgot to that the “Before” photo, but the vertical dent and scratches just beside on the right of the Peugeot Lion icon was all gone!  Great Job Kenny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And all these cost about S$700 only.  

So, when you scratch your car, and you had an accident, and you have dents on your car, don’t sent it to the work shop.  Ask around, and there will be very good skilful people around and their price is very reasonable.  I am sure that if I bring it back to Peugeot, they will charge me at least $2K-$3k for the fix and man hours.  But here I feel that I save quite a lot.  Who knows, may be all these car agents also fix thru them and did a huge markup?  You never know.

So, I was so glad that they fix it so nice on my car.   

So, that day when I sent in my car, Kenney asked me if I need a car to drive while my car is in his workshop?  I told him no need.

So, I look around, I asked, wah… even your customer event sent in the Lambogini for your to fix the dent.  Kenny smile at me, and say “No, that is my car."

WOW… speechless.