Christmas came early for us. I joined The Joy of Being There contest organised by Dads for Life and my entry won both Ikea and Crystal Jade vouchers. The Ikea vouchers were from the pick of the week for week 2 which was chosen by the Dads for Life panel. When I picked up the vouchers, a staff from Dads for Life said she liked my ending "I'm still learning the ropes on how to be a better father but whatever happens, I will always be there for him, for better or for worst."
And the Crystal Jade vouchers were from being one of the top 15 highest voted entry. Like to give a BIG thank you to all those who voted for us on Facebook and Dads for Life for organising the contest. Xavier couldn't be happier. THANK YOU!
The S95 grip I ordered from Richard Franiec's Camera Accessories just arrived. It looks like a shark's fin on first look. Made from aircraft-grade aluminium, you will feel the weight and the quality of this product once you have it in your hands.
Essentially what the grip does is it allows you to hold and operate the S95 using a single hand. There are two common methods people use to hold the S95. The Pincer Style using both thumbs to support the base of the camera and gripping the top using the index fingers or adding the middle fingers against the front of the camera body for added support.
The grip allows the right middle finger to warp around the camera body natually and grip the camera in an assuring way. Now one hand operation is possible and the grip makes two hands operation more comfortable and less tiring. People with a DSLR and using this as a second alternative camera will definitely welcome this grip with open arms.
Singapore International Salsa Festival (SISF) 2010 happened last weekend while we were in Bali. If you missed it like we did, below are some of the video clips.
Seeing these guys performing on stage makes me wanna dance again. I would definitely want to salsa (and maybe tango) again once Xavier is much older and more independent. Maybe I might bump into Xavier on the dance floor. If you wish to move like those dancers on the video or simply learn something new and make some friends in the process, JJ SalsaRengue is the place to go.
I wanted to have a look at Crumpler's Thirsty Al (M) as a possible pouch for my Canon S95 but they were sold out. My eyes however caught a red hot sleeve with an orange imprint of a retro camera on the outside, The Grub (L).
Tried it and it fits well on the S95. It wraps the S95 like a glove and there is also sufficient space for the Richard Franiec's grip which I have ordered pending delivery. This would be the new home of my S95.
Back of The Grub (L)
Front with S95 inside
Top with S95 inside
According to the staff, this sleeve is a new arrival to the store, so new that I could not find any information about it on their website or Google.
This is not a Kaka, it's just a black particle on the floor.
I am referring to Kaka as in insect (in Hokkien) and not the super rich and handsome soccer player from Brazil. Earlier in the after I spotted a black insect about 1cm long. Thinking it would be good to teach Xavier a new term and that he shouldn't catch it and put in his mouth if he sees one, I brought him near the insect.
Xavier was smart enough to stay a distance from the insect and ask me to catch it. So mission accomplished and I caught the insect using a piece of tissue and dispose it.
However, moments later, he began calling out to us. Thinking he spotted another insect, we came to his "rescue" only to find that he is now pointing out every single dirt and black particles on the floor thinking it's an insect. And he actually climbed up the sofa to get pull out tissues to pass to us to "catch" those particles.
These are the moments we didn't know whether to laugh or to pull our hair...
I bought a t-shirt with the above graphics from Bangkok many years ago but it still puts a smile on my face whenever I wear it. Guess it sums up what a Geek I am.
I haven't been playing much games on my PS3 ever since I decided to use the time to shred some weight. I am on my mandatory leave these two weeks and decided to gathering some friends over for a PS3 night after some super value, yummy and sinful dinner at Tung Lok Signature (we used the voucher from the Nike 10k Run race pack and the total bill come out to only SGD83.55 for four adults and 1 troddler).
As I do not have much games on hand, I thought it would be nice to have a new racing game so we can have some high speed fun. There are two highly anticipated racing games out this November; Gran Turismo 5 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
Gran Turismo 5 is only launched in Singapore on 24th November 2010 so this game is out. To say that the whole PS3 community is waiting for this game is an understatement. I heard of XBox fans vowing to abandon their XBox and buy PS3 and the Logitech G27 steeling wheel just for this game. This is the closest gaming experience ever to real driving experience. With over 1,000 cars to choose from, it would probably take you close to three years to try out all the cars if you play a different and unique car every day (simplified thinking). I will want to buy this game at a later stage, probably on secondary market when some rich kid gets sick of the game and wants to sell it off.
So that leaves me with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. I bought this brand new as it just launched 4 days ago and nobody is selling their copies yet. Turned out this game is heaps of fun. You can rise in rank playing either as a racer or a cop and the cars featured in this game are all the super fast and exotic cars which would cost many, many, many times my annual salary, if on sale at all. So imagine the pleasure of going over 250km/h in these cars and crashing them in spectacular, slow motion fashion. Currently I addicted to this game (having played it till 4am for two consecutive days) but I am going get a hold of myself from tomorrow onwards and play this in a sensible fashion. I must fight my geeky side!!
Anyway check out the following awesome promotional video using real cars. Remember to wipe your saliva after that.
Dads for Life turns 1 today and they had Ms Erika Chen perform their commemorative sandart piece for their Dads for Life 1st Anniversary event. I have only seen sandart performed on Taiwan variety shows but never knew we have a sandart artist right here in Singapore.
I haven't been able to shoot as much as I would like to on my Canon 50D. The thought of bringing out the heavy DSLR sometimes (or most of the time) puts me off, especially when going out with Xavier (he has become very needy, wanting us to carry him most of the time). Hence I've been on a lookout for a small compact camera that has full manual functions like those DSLR. I was very tempted by Canon PowerShot S90 so when Canon launched the S95, I took the bait.
An upgrade from S90, it added HD (720p) video recording capability to its host of powerful functions. This is a very welcoming feature for me as it doubles as my video cam. I can now capture more videos of Xavier (like his dancing moves) in HD clarity going forward. It also has a Control Ring surrounding the lens which you can use to control various functions depending on the shooting mode you are in. This is one of the main selling point of S90 & S95 and it really is a wonderful feature. Controls and settings could be easily adjusted with a small turn of the ring.
At the back there is also a rotating wheel that enables fast setting of parameters and scrolling through photos in review mode. This is very similar to the wheel on 50D and I absolutely love the wheel.
It has a very fast F2.0 lens at 28mm. Paired with a high sensitivity sensor which keeps noise at bay, it enables low light shooting that was previously very noisy on our old IXUS 800IS. And at a price of SGD531.00 after trading in the super old IXUS V2 (under the Canon Privilege Purchase Program), it looked like a steal.
I manage to get this camera in time for my Bali trip and it comes in very handy. Most of the time I just took the S95 out to shoot during the trip, leaving the 50D in the resort room. I haven't been able to review the photos yet as Adobe Lightroom 3 does not support the S95 raw file as of now. But it should be by version 3.3. I'll probably make do with the Canon DPP program for now.
This camera is so feature packed yet in such a small body that I nicknamed it Mighty Mouse. You can google its specifications online easily. My only complain is that it doesn't come with a hardcopy manual and trying to read the PDF format on the tiny iPhone screen while on holiday is !@#%$#^%^&! Hopefully I can master most of the functions before the end of my long leave.
We decided to bring Xavier for a early morning beach walk on day 4. Clubmed has this big Trapeze were both kids and adults can try out for free. We didn't try though, just took a photo of it. On the way to the beach there were many squirrels sighted on the trees and roaming about the resort.
The shots below of the beach were heavily processed. I wanted to have the white sandy feel and sort of bleached the colour away.
We walked towards a few locals who were doing some fishing. Took a shot of their catch too.
As we head back to the bar, a group of guests were having fun with the daily aqua-aerobic.
We met up with Elsie and Zachary at the bar where they were having "Happy Croissant Hour". Elsie had a taste of bringing two toddlers out and I think her tee-shirt sums up how she feels.
One of the rare family shots capturing Xavier's cheeky face.
I think Eric's face sums up how the holiday went. Taking young kids out for holiday is no easy feat. I sort of concluded that Xavier would have the same amount of fun with a Sentosa Staycation, so long as there's a swimming pool.
If you missed the post of Xavier's first experience on aeroplane, you can read about it on Day 1 post.
A good breakfast is the best start to you can have to any day. And both the kids and their parents love the variety Clubmed offers for their buffets. They have these kid's tray where you can put different food on a different colour.
Clubmed offers to take care of kids age two years and above. For kids below two like Xavier, they require us to engage a nanny (with their contacts). We were initially planning for that so that we could do some activities on our own (like try wind-surfing etc.). However, after speaking to the external coordinator to arrange for a nanny, we didn't have the confidence in the service. Hence we decided to look after Xavier on our own. I guess being first time parents we tend to treat Xavier like our little precious.
Its playtime at the pool again. This time, we got the kids a beach ball to play. And boy did they have fun.
We decided to bring Xavier to the beach after lunch. It's just a stone throw from the Bar. Something caught my eye when we pass by the bar. It's a mini table-tennis table. The GO was having a game with the old man. I too join in the fun and play a game with the old lady, and lost! The old couple is from Korea.
The first time Xavier been to a beach was at Sentosa during our Staycation last year end so this would be his second time going to the beach. He had fun picking sea shells with mummy. The wrist bands you see in the middle photo are Clubmed's form of identifying we are their guests.
Eric and I decided to try out Archery in the afternoon. And I won a medal by being 2nd in the mini competition.
And while we are shooting arrows, Xavier was keep himself busy throwing tennis balls in the tennis court.
Before we know it, it was dinnertime. Clubmed has a daily theme and the Ang Mos really dress up for dinner. And I talking like dresses ladies and shirt and pants for guys. We obvious were not prepared (or bothered). Today's dinner was somewhat special though, as the chefs prepared a number of food carvings. I find the watermelon carving of the crab and rabbit very interesting.
If you missed the post of Xavier's first experience on aeroplane, you can read about it on Day 1 post.
The rooms we booked came with a small balcony. There were coconut trees all over the resort and a small pebble pool near our block. Our room was closer to the main pool whereas Eric's rooms (yes they gave his family 2 rooms as they have 4 occupants) were further away from us. Lilian commented that the rooms looked nicer on my photo than it actually is. There was no bath tub, just shower facilities. But they did provide a tam pui (baby toilet bowl) for toddler use.
We were up bright and early to make full use of the day. Met Eric's family at the restaurant for buffet breakfast. Food and drinks are never an issue in Clubmed. They have buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner and an Ala-carte restaurant for the other times when you want to eat something in between the timings. Plenty of baby chairs upon request and heaps of food to choose from. The kids love this place and who wouldn't when you have unlimited raisins, yoghurts and coco crunch. Even I couldn't resist the humongous food spread ("eating selectively" pledge was thrown out of the window). I rate the spread (in terms of variety) second only to The Line at Shangri-La Singapore. Its just too good to pass.
We went for a guided tour of the resort after breakfast. The GOs showed us where the various facilities are and what we could do. We went back to our rooms to rest after the tiring walkabout as the kids needed their naps. Rest and relax was the order of Day 2. Next program, fun at the pool in the late afternoon.
Its the first time Xavier's going to the pool to play. You can see his excitement in the top left photo. He gathered his bag and rushed off when we said we are going to swim at the pool. Below are three video clips of him having fun with Lilian and myself in the pool.
Sidenote on S95's video capabilities: You can only use digital zoom during recording and not optical zoom. It also doesn't refocus once you start recording. Despite the shortcoming, it shoots in HD (720p) and the recording in stereo is very clear. Afterall, it's a camera that shoots HD video and not a videocam.
While Lilian puts Xavier to sleep, I went to shoot the night with my 50D. The party had just started in Clubmed. The GOs were bringing the crowd to a high to the tune of YMCA. They even have a surprise treat with some male GOs dressed as party girls. The free flow of cocktails help gives everyone the party spirit.
Sidenote on shooting party night shots: The S95 did well to capture the poolside bar (top left photo). I steady it by the ledge and used long shutter to soak in the night colours. The rest were shot using the 50D at high ISO of 1,600 and 3,200. I didn't want to use flash so I used high ISO to allow shootable shutter speed. I then used Lightroom 3 to take away most of the digital noise.
If you missed the post of Xavier's first experience on aeroplane, you can read about it on Day 1 post.
More beach and pool fun coming up in Day 3.
More beach fun and squirrels sighting in Day 4 and 5.
Clubmed recently had a Natas 1-for-1 promotion for some of their resorts and we take the opportunity to plan for our first family vocation to Clubmed Bali with the Leong family. As we had to take into consideration flight timings that were more child friendly, we only had 3 full days in the resort although the rooms were for 5D4N.
There are many first for Xavier on this trip, including his first experience on an aeroplane. We were lucky to have an empty seat on our flight there so Xavier had his own seat. He was had "Talking Tom" on iPhone to keep him company so he was in great spirit. Below are some photos on the plane and a video clip of Xavier during the take-off.
We choose Clubmed Bali as it is family and kids friendly and one of the better Clubmed resorts in Asia. By the time we reached the resort it was late night, just in time for us to dump our luggage for dinner before the closing time.
The fun starts in Day 2 with Xavier's first pool experience.
More beach and pool fun coming up in Day 3.
More beach fun and squirrels sighting in Day 4 and 5.
It's amazing how time flies when you are with the person you love. Lilian and I were lawfully married on 20/05/2005 but the wedding ceremony was on 12/11/2005. You can view the rest of the scanned wedding collarge on my Flickr.
I remember spending sleepless nights before the wedding doing our photo montage to be shown before our first march-in, partly to save some cost and partly because I wanted something at the dinner which I did myself for us. It was done as a slideshow on Powerpoint.
Recently I took it out from the wedding folder in my PC and wanted to link it for this post. That was when I realise how scrappy it was. So I decided to redo the whole thing and call it Wedding Montage 5th Anniversary Edition.
Although we have been married for 5 years, we have been together for 15 years already. It was a wonderful journey filled with heaps of love, laughter, hugs, kisses and some tears and frustration. I believe we understand and love each other even better now. Thank you Dear, for always being there for me. Love You Always! xoxo
Xavier is 21 months today and he is showing heaps of curiosity for things around him. He is also seeking more attention by calling us (papa or mama 101 times) till we give him attention and then tell you the "fresh" object/subject he saw. And he will keep repeating the object/subject even after you acknowledged him, until something else grab his attention again.
At the same time, he also shows his timid side, telling people he is afraid of the very same "fresh" object by his frown and his gentle patting on his tummy (instead of on his chest) and saying "怕怕".
He wouldn't go near mascots, or even fake animal status like the crocodile near the zoo entrance or the cows outside Marché.
He is able to sense our displease or anger when he does something we disapprove. He would bow his head and let out sobbing sound.
I find myself enjoying fatherhood more as I adjust my expectations and control my temper better. I found my previous outbursts of anger usually worsen the situation.
What I do now is I would repeating (or nag) what I want from him (could be behaviour, action, item, etc). Example: he wants me to play "Row your boat" song in the car. So we nag to him that he has to ask nicely, "Daddy please, play Row". Sometimes he would throw tantrums. We just have to be firm and let him know he will not get what he wants by throwing a fit. We usually say, "Daddy cannot hear what you want when you are crying. Stop crying and tell daddy nicely what you want." After a few times, he gets the message and it works nicely now.
Of course there are times when it doesn't work for Xavier, especially when you are refusing him food/snack after he spotted it. Someone told me before that kids usually look for short term gains. They do not have the patience to look long term. So I either try to divert his attention or if that doesn't work, I would then "bargain" with him.
Xavier saying "bye bye horse" to a
cartoon of a camal after finishing the jelly.
Lastly, something we found useful is the "bye bye technique". We taught him to say hello and bye bye to people on the street, at the market, in the lift, etc. Then it was applied to animals like dogs on a stroll or birds in the park.
Then we found this "bye bye" is actually very powerful as it signals to him its time to detach from a certain object/subject and leave.
Example: He loves those coin operated rides now, especially the Barney and Thomas the Train rides. So if we are just passing by and do not intend to let him sit on the rides, we would tell him" Xavier, say bye bye to Barney". He would happily wave the ride goodbye.
Or if we are in the toy section, it works wonder too. "Say bye bye Xavier, we will come back another time" and he completely detach from the toys and happily leave them.
Our previous Mini Compo in the bedroom decides to stop playing Xavier's Barney and Thomas the Train DVDs and retire permanently. Due to the space constraint of the slot where the Mini Compo is to be placed, my replacements were narrowed to two models, Philips MCD122/98 or Sharp XL-DV75HMKII.
How do we decide which model to get? We get Xavier involved of course, since the system is going to be playing his DVDs most of the time. What we did was we got Xavier to dance when we try out the sound of the two systems and let his dancing decides which to get.
Just joking. We picked the Sharp system as the sound was heaps better. But his impromptu dance just made our day. BTW anyone knows the name of the Mambo song playing?
After successfully bringing my weight down (see previous post), I realise that there are simple steps in our daily life that you can make to lead a healthier life. Let me share some tips I have learnt about eating.
Summary of the tips:
- Eat a full breakfast
- Cut your carbohydrate intake by at least 1/2 for dinner.
- Eat more meals and stop eating when you are not hungry.
- Avoid fried and sweet items.
I love eating. It was one of the hardest habit to change for me initially. I told Desmond (my personal trainer) I can do all the exercise and endure all the tekan (punishment), but I cannot give up eating those yummy food. Its just too tempting and hard. But after some research on the net, its is very doable. Just need to take the first step.
The simple steps revolve around the Chinese saying, "早餐吃得饱, 午餐吃得好, 晚餐吃得少". Its similar to the saying "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper". The other principal is not to stave yourself as it does more harm than good. Let me elaborate.
Your body need a certain calories intake everyday in order to maintain your body weight. There are many calories calculators online which can calculate the calories you need to consume to maintain your weight. I did the lazy way out and bought a Tanita weighting machine that can tell me that. The idea is to consume about 500 calories less every day in order to shred fats and weight. If you try to drop it drastically and stave yourself, your body might go into what they call "starvation mode" . So instead of burning fats, your body now burns lean tissue and muscle. You may lose weight but you are not losing fat. Also, muscles help to burn fats as you go through your dailies activities so having more muscle means burning more fats. As you build more muscles via strength training, burning fats become easier.
So given that you have to consume a certain amount of calories everyday, the whole idea is to eat big in the morning and eat little at night. It makes lots of sense as your body need the energy in the day more than at night when you are sleeping. So you try to fill up your calories quota when the sun is up and eat less when the sun is down. Eating breakfast is very important. Let me say it again, eating breakfast is very important. I have been without breakfast for years, preferring to eat an early lunch instead. Now I can't start my day without eating anything in the morning. Food in the morning wakes your brain up and give your body the energy to start the day.
Another pointer is to eat more meals and "do not eat till you are full, but eat till you are not hungry". Plan healthy snacks in between meals. Try to look for healthy alternatives so that you do not need to face drastic changes to your diet. If you have craving for something yummy yet unhealthy, eat them in moderation. Do not think just because you have a craving means you have to eat more of it and upsize it. I learn to give in to my cravings but I make sure I only have a small portion of it just to satisfy my craving .
For many of you, dinner might be the heaviest meal of your day because you entertain your clients, or have gatherings, or have company and wedding dinners to attend. The simplest way is to cut your carbohydrate intake by at least 1/2 for dinner. If you can do without any carbohydrate after 6pm, even better. This is because your body usually do not use up all the energy from your carbohydrate intake and most of it stores as fat when you sleep.
Lastly, avoid fried food and sweet stuff if possible and take more vegetables and fruits.
Now you might ask, so how do I know the calories in the food I eat everyday? There are websites that you can register for free and input what you eat on a daily basis and it calculates and track your calories intake for you. I use to use My Plate @live.strong.com but am now too lazy to do it. However, I strongly encourage you to do it at least for 2 weeks. The first week to track calories of your usual diet and the second week when you do changes to your diet. Then you know if you are on the right track.
I love the Initial D anime series from the very first time I watched it. I even bought an Autoart Initial D AE86 diecast model as I dream of going to Japan to learn how to drift and soaking in the adrenaline rush of drifting around mountain roads.
My first and only car.
That will remain a dream (till maybe when I strike Toto). But a step forward would be to take an advance driving course. I been looking for one since I got my own car but it was either unsuitable timing (on my part) or cost. Hence when Chris from FootWorks Media sent an email about organising a defensive driving course for a small group of 20, I immediately forward to several friends to see who is keen. Johnson responded and boy did we have fun last Sunday.
The venue is set at Singapore Turf Club coach bay as most of the Kallang carparks are already closed and the only one left is not suitable. Arrived to a small breakfast spread of curry puff, siew mai and soon kuan. Plesantly surprised as I was expecting packed economical beehoon kind of breakfast.
About 18 of us turn up and the car lineup range from compact hatchbacks like Kia Picanto to SUVs like Subaru Forester to roadsters like Mazda MX5 and Honda S2000 to coupes like BMW 325i Coupe and Mazda RX8. There were three lady drivers and three young drivers (age 20 and below). Pretty good mix.
After a short briefing by Chief Instructor Sylvester, off the first car went to try out the Slalom. As the area was pretty small, only one car could do the drill at anytime. So there was a fair bit of waiting. But that provided time to mingle around too. Shalom looks easy but its not when trying to do at faster speed. The idea is to do the left and right turns in a smooth movements (as opposed to sudden sharp turning) and to keep your car to the cones as close as possible.
Next up, Handbrake Turn. This is fairly difficult to execute, especially for the AWD and RWD cars. But once you get the hang of it, its heaps fun. I was able to execute it pretty well on my Honda Jazz after some practise. The trick for my car is to turn the steering wheel in one swift motion and yank the handbrake as hard as possible. For once, drum brakes seems more fun than dics brakes (its easier on drum brakes as the contact area is larger compared to dics brakes).
Next was E-Brake followed by Brake and Swerve. As most modern cars are equipped with ABS, this exercise allow participates to get a feel of ABS at work. I tried the E-Brake on my own before and I know how it feels. I must admit the first time I feel it kick in, I thought my car was going to fail apart. Chris mentioned that many a times when people apply E-Brake during a real emergency, the ABS kicks in and they let go of the brake thinking something is wrong with the car (and the consequences are bad). I feel this exercise is crucial.
J-Turn was next and Sylvester says this exercise is 包吃, as its so easy everyone can do it. Just turn the steering wheel in one swift motion, no brakes needed. If you are good, you can change gear (from R to 1 or D) while your car is turning and speed off when you car is facing straight. This is heaps fun.
The day ends with a little friendly competition to complete a mini course in the shortest time. The course consist of the Slalom, Handbrake Turn, then Slalom again before stopping at the designated area. Sylvester shows us a demo of how its done.
When you put a few simple stuff together, things begin to complicate. As I wasn't prepared mentally, I found my hands in the wrong position after the last Slalom cone. So my Handbrake Turn looked more like a U-Turn. This is how a noob like me do it.
Overall I find the course heaps fun, doing things you normally do not do on everyday driving yet at the same time, knowing more about your car and its own limitations. Now to find a suitable area to practise it, safely.
