Greater Things

It was a difficult shot, even for the veterans.
The air was crisp and cool, as it should be for this time of the morning in early spring.
The sun had just barely awoken over the horizon and wasn’t strong enough yet to chase the dew away.
Carlita muttered to herself as she eyed the flag about 120 yards away.
“Trees gonna clip the shot”, she said.
Her father smiled quietly. “No worries baby. Flag’s always going to be there. Its your call how you want to play the shot.”
Carlita shifted her weight. She had been up since the before sunrise. But walking the course with her father was something she wouldn’t have missed for the world.
She looked up at the trees, then at the rapidly brightening sun. The clouds seem to part at that particular moment like a thin veil rising. The sun smiled more brightly at Carlita.

Two years ago, no one in the family would have even imagined that Carlita amounted to anything in sports. She was mediocre at best, with a preference for swimming. Actually, nothing pleased Carlita more than battling goblins or dueling Jedi on her game console. Not really sport, but definitely more exciting and less sweaty.
Then one weekend she had wondered into her uncle’s garage and found an old set of clubs. Curious and bored, she pulled out one of the irons. She’d heard enough about the game to know that this is what is used to hit the ball with. She rummaged thorugh the bag. There must a ball in here somewhere. Bingo! Two yellowish balls. Her uncle wouldn’t mind if she had a hit. He was always saying how wonderful a sport this was.

Carlita timed her breathing unconciously.  In her mind, she could see the ball sailing pass the grasping fingers of the trees to plonk itself down just at the edge of the green. “That’s my shot”, she said to herself.
Everything was balanced now. Carlita made the shot a reality. The ball rolled forward another few metres stopping withing a tap from the flag. She smiled at her father. The game was hers. Might as well be the best birthday present too, for a 9 year old.

 

Enjoying Home

I haven’t done any blogging since 2008 began. My lame excuse is that work and family kept be too occupied. I wouldn’t be lying there.
With so much travelling required by work these days, its just a joy to spend much of doing simply absolutlely nothing at home but listen to the banter between my 2 girls.
There is the occasional help with the homework (yes, its the parent that ends up doing the projects). Daddy is the resident researcher on matters of science and technology. He’s also the editor, producer, and copywriter.
Of late, the younger of the 2 has realised the freedom of cycling on 2 wheels. Its quite astonishing how easily she worked out her balance. The only mishap she had thus far was trying to cycle on water, unintentionally. As with any youngster, speed is thrilling. However, having not yet comprehending the physics of propulsion and friction, she realised too late that it was harder to turn quickly at high speeds. Before she knew it, she was sputtering in the wading pool. Nothing like a bit of real-life application to get the lesson across.

 

One if Life’s Wonders

Have you ever wondered about what we, as a normal person, take for granted each day?
Take riding a bicycle as an example. Assuming you know how to ride a bike, have you ever thought about the apprehension and determination it took for you to get going?
We hardly ever recollect the falls, frustration or fears we experienced in the early days of getting started.

On this very afternoon,  the 22 day of September, 4pm, many of those memories came rushing back as I watched my 7 year old girl struggle with great determination to cycle without her training wheels.
For me, it was a bittersweet moment when I recalled the time my father taught me to ride. Did he also worry that I would crash and hurt myself as he ran alongside my wobbly bicycle?
And did he feel that pride that glowed warmly when he saw the success of the moment.
I shared my daughter’s triumph today. I also realised its not about “teaching” her to ride, but more like providing support and encouragement.
As this was a ‘first’ for me, I was just as surprised when I used the same tips that my father used to tell me. How is it that something said 40 years ago remains forever etched in my mind? Will I remember that 40 years from today when I try and help my grandchildren with their attempts on 2 wheels I wonder.
Oh well, that may be best left to my children, when as parents, they too will experience the joy and pain of having kids of their own.

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bicycle, children, parenthood, father

 

A moment in humility

In our often hectic life, we so very often overlook the smallest gestures of courtesy or kindness that is given to us. It often takes a bigger and more pronounced gesture to make an impact in our own little world.

I suppose we have been immunized by the vast amounts of violence and disasters that have happened over the past few years that, that it really does take something very personal to happen in one’s life to “wake us up”.

So it was with great relief and renewed respect, that I give kudos to the crew of Qantas QF0072 and the staff of Changi Airport (especially that energetic fellow that wheeled my mom around).

You see, mom is as stubborn as mothers can be, well at their age (which I cannot disclose for fear of reprisal). She had just about recovered from a bout of ‘flu and being a little more fragile at her age, we did advise her against travelling. But, ho.. no way was she going to listen. “There’s the kitchen to be cleaned. Your father’s probably made a rightful mess while I’ve been away. And who’s tending to my garden?” and on she goes.

Mom had been staying with us for her usual month-long break – to get away from winter – as well as to spend time with her grand-daughters. For the record, its true that grandmothers do dote on their grand-kids.

On that fateful morning of the 12th July, mom looked fine and cheery. Maybe she was well enough to travel after all. Everyone went downstairs to see her off at 7am.

10:30am and I get a call.. from mom, at the airport. She had gotten off the plane.

What transpired was that mom had suddenly felt faint and nauseous just as the cabin doors closed.

She called for the flight attendant, who summoned the leading stewardess. And it’s at this point that I realized how much attention must have been given to my mom. They were willing to make her as comfortable as possible; explaining that oxygen and ‘possibly’ a doctor was on-board. However, it was also made clear to her that it would be a 5 hour flight. The flight crew didn’t pressure mom at any point. It was all done very professionally. The choice was gently explained to mom that if she felt she couldn’t continue on the journey, she had the option to get off the plane and her luggage would be removed. I think at this point, mom knew that the flight was going to be delayed because of her. She felt really bad about this, but she made the choice to get off the plane.

I can empathize with her. It can be torturous enduring a long flight when you are ill. I suffered terribly en-route from Bangalore back to Singapore. The after effects lingered on for weeks after that, especially the tinnitus.

So, at this point, the words “the need of the one outweigh the need of the many”, has a real and physical essence. We don’t know how long the plane was delayed for. It may have been an hour, or maybe half that (the people at SATS are usually very efficient).

Whatever it was, this is an apology, and a thank you, for understanding.

Mom’s stuck with us now for another couple of weeks. She could only get a flight back to Perth at the end of July. But that’s good anyway. At least that’ll give her time to fully recover.

I don’t think the kids mind having ‘grandma’ around the house for while longer. And in the end, mom will have to attend her sister’s birthday on the 21 July.
 

~~ The moral of all this is. Don’t travel if you are not well ~~

 

Poor Neglected Blog

I’m guilty. Such a terrible crime to commit… leaving my blog unattended for so long.

I even told myself that work was to blame for the dearth of any entries… and I know it’s a lame excuse. Even a couple of lines would have sufficed. My original target was at least one entry per month. And even that was not realized.

Admittedly, when I started creating my blog, I really wanted it to be something attractive. Hence, the pretty women at the start of the blogging entries. I also realized that the blog would be so much more interesting if it had pictures. In fact, more pictures, less words.

Unfortunately, of late, there hasn’t been anything really worth posting… not really.

Oh! But I did get to see the remarkable Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner in their 3^rd installment of Pirates. And this was on the opening night as well, courtesy of ABN AMRO.

Har! Har! Rollicking good fun it was. Would recommend that if anyone was going to see it, do try and watch Dead Man’s Chest and The Curse of the Black Pearl first. Could be a bit confusing otherwise.

Cheerio!

 

The Dental Experience revisited

That’s so funny. Never thought I’d use that phrase like that, but how can I express the situation I have put myself in?
Following on from an earlier blog about my dentophobia, I have discovered that true to the laws of the professional industry, that there are mediocre professionals and there is “greatness”.
If one doesn’t explore the choices, then what one knows as “great” was in actual fact only “mediocre”. And until you come across the definitive professional, you will always live for “mediocre”.

In my case, the dentist whom I have entrusted my very first visitation in some many many years, initially “great”. “Great” until I happened to chance upon another dental clinic. Actually, it was an appointment made by chance. My wife decided that she didn’t need the slot and we had to go anyway, for the sake of my younger daughter. So, I took the appointment, seeing how I kept missing the other one.

The amazing point here is Technology. And if made available to the right professional, wonderful things can happen.
So this latest visit to a ‘new’ dentist was an eye opener.

3 things stood out. First, the people and the level of service. They really made little Megan feel comfortable. Second, NO PAIN! Yes! For the first time in any dental visit, an anesthetic jab was given without any hint of pain. That, to me was amazing. And thirdly, the use of lasers for dental surgery. That was the technology bit. And oh, the service… they actually called the day after the surgery to see if I was OK. That was a surprise.

 

Good one Google.. hur hur hur

Its 1st April. Does that ring a bell? Helloooo0…
Er.. Palm Sunday? Yes, that happens to be today as well.
BUT… it is also April’s Fool Day. And I wonder how many souls suffered the fool when our favourite corporate search engine giant launched one of the most elaborate jokes that I have ever seen.

The whole “prank” starts off on the main Google search page as a link to a new beta product called TiSP.

Go ahead try it out… before they take it off. Click on the link in their site.. and have fun.
They even had a really good Press Release page…not to mention FAQ pages.. that got me laughing so hard, my sides ached! (see final picture below)

The Final Word from Google TiSP..

 

Colourful goodies of CNY

CNY ( Chinese New Year) has always been a colourful and auspicious occasion in Asia. Plenty of reds and gold abound, as these colours represent luck and wealth.

I was in Taipei just before CNY this year and it was really an eye-opener for me. This was how our neighbours in Taiwan prepared for the New Year!
It was an amazing kaleidoscope of colours in their segment of Chinatown; a place called Di-Hwa street. Every stall along this bustling narrow street offers you a free sampling of their goodies. Its said that if you sampled everything from one end of the street to the other, you would have had your fill for lunch! Well, I wouldn’t pig out on the sort of snacks these vendors were offering. They were all very much the same type of foodstuff; from sweets to exotic fish roe. Some of the things.. well, you would have to acquire a taste for it.
For me, I simply wanted to take in the sights, smells and the whole atmosphere.
It was also the best opportunity to buy some goodies home for CNY and sweets for little Megan’s birthday.

 

A father’s anguish

Megan Nicole had just turned a cheeky 5 years old on 14th February. Born a Valentine’s Day baby, it was decided to avoid all the overly commercialised expense of St. Valentine by celebrating her 5th birthday on the weekend of 11th Feb.
Days before, she had come down with a fever and a tummy ache. The local doctor diagnosed gastric flu and prescribed the necessary medication.
Megan was really looking forward to her party as she had invited most of her kindie class over. With her fever going up and down like a yo-yo, it was really uncertain if the party could go on.
Then miraculously, on the night before the party, her fever subsided. The next day, she was hunky dory. All perky and excited. The party was a success.
By evening, her fever was back with a vengence. The battle to resolve the cause of her 39˚C temperatures went on for a week. When the fever was down, she was as perky as a chihuahua.  When the fever rose beyond 38.5˚C she was listless. All that medication didn’t help. And Megan was not the best patient. She had this innate ability to regurgitate the medication at will. So getting the antibiotics down her was a real battle.
On her actual birth date (14th Feb), we had a small cake and candles for her. It was a quiet family affair. She loved it.
By 15th Feb, the fever was still hitting the high numbers. By some instinct, as a parent, I came home early from work. Megan was running one of her fevers. This time it was a fiery 40-plus centigrade. And she was pale, her eyes looked glazed. She didn’t even sit up to greet me. She needed to see the pediatrician again and urgently. I bundled her up and put her in her stroller. Man, she was really burning up. At this point, I was really freaking out. I have never seen her like this.
I called ahead to the specialist clinic. As luck would have it, her pediatrician was on duty.
When I wheeled her in to see her, even she was quite shocked by the subdued little girl.
“Admit her” – those were the dreaded words I did not want to hear. But what choice did I have?
So, just one day after her 5th birthday, she was admitted into Mt. Alvernia hospital. She was so subdued that when they put the IV needle into her hand, she hardly struggled. What touched me was that her own pediatrician came in that night after her official work hours to perform the IV procedure herself. It was also the best time to do the blood-work. The sooner the blood tests got going, the sooner they could find the cause.
Megan was put on the drip and a administered a broad spectrum antibiotic intravenously.
Just as well she was on the drip. The initial results in morning showed she was so dehydrated.
Both mum and dad stayed with her in the hospital the whole time. Sleep was… difficult. We were totally helpless. I was berating myself for not getting her to the specialist earlier.
The wife was also admonishing herself for letting Megan swim so soon after her previous illness.
Still, the tests that came back only showed inconclusive presence of some bacteria. There was nothing specific. That was the worse bit. That was no specific target.
As such, they could only continue to bombard her system with a broad barrage of antibiotics… and hoped that it would kill off the offending germ.
Over the next 2 days, the IV antibiotics started to work and the fever gradually became less vicious, with only 2 high spikes occurring. We lived from one temperature reading to the next.
On the eve of Chinese New Year, we were resigned to spending the auspicious evening confined to the hospital. Megan had had a fever of 38˚C that late afternoon. Though not as bad as the previous occassions, it meant that the fever was still there. Paracetomol was administered. An hour after, her fever dropped to a low 37.5˚C. Knowing that reunion dinner was important on the eve of Chinese New Year, her doctor made the allowance for a bit of “home leave” for the traditional reunion dinner. Megan was suddenly almost her chirpy ol’ self. Her appetite was back and that was good news. First time in almost 5 days, she asked for 2nd helpings. Maybe it was the detachment of the IV tube from her hand that also perked her up.
It was very difficult for our elder daughter, Callista, that evening, when after dinner, we made to return to the hospital. She had been very brave the last few days, when both had to stay with her sister  at the hospital. So, I guess it was all too much for her finally and she broke out crying when we headed out the door. What touched me was Megan consoling her elder sister.. that was a sight.
That whole night, mum and dad wondered when the fever would spike again. Each time the nurse came in to take Megan’s temperature, we would be up as well. We would wait expectantly for the readings.
The fever did not appear again that whole night. It had finally broken in the early hours of the Chinese New Year, 18th Feb.
Based on the down trend of the fever, Megan was discharged from the hospital late that morning.
This was certainly the most memorable Chinese New Year for us as parents. This year, we have real meaningful blessings to count,… we have our family back.
That afternoon, when our 2 kids were making a ruckus, I just smiled. I didn’t care if they made a mess or bickered. Kids are… just kids. You learn to love the unique sound of their presence around the home. Its the absence of their voices that frightens me most.

 

The Girls Next Door

It was an interesting afternoon on the 25th Jan. In the heart of the busy business hub at Caltex House, and in the midst of the lunch time crowd, FHM Singapore introduced its 100 hopeful contenders for the title of FHM ‘Girl Next Door’ (a.k.a GND) 2007.

Now, in my younger days, the girl next door (whom I dated for a short while) would have readily qualified for this title.
LOL, her fave outfit was even the similar to the choice FHM chose to deck their 100 contenders in over at Caltex House, i.e. hotpants and tube tops.
OK, enough reminiscing.. have a look at some of the young contenders this year.