Happy Birthday Sophie, Baba & Nai Nai

Amazing birthday cake of Sophie, YL and Nai Nai (maternal grandmother) baking and cooking up a storm in the kitchen. More professionally-taken photos here.

The family spent a good half hour taking photos of the cake before we actually acknowledge the stars of the night and started to celebrate them instead of the cake.

The stars posing with their respective figurines.

Back from Europe

After an arduous 32-hour journey from London-Paris-Singapore, I'm finally back in the comfort of home. The second part of my English Channel-crossing adventure saw me getting up at 5am in London to try to catch an early morning Eurostar to Paris. My original train was for 10:30am but it was cancelled because they reduced services due to the fire. I managed to get onto the 7:27am train, but it meant that I had 12 hours to kill in Paris.

Crippled by my luggage (mostly stuff we left behind in January which we could not fit into our bags), I decided to loiter around the Printemps and Gallery Lafayette mega malls until it was time to meet Lydia for dinner. Spent most of my time reading in the cafe on the 6th floor of Gallery Lafayette. I am not a Marc Jacobs or Chloe girl, anyways. (I also cannot afford them, of course).

Earlier in the week, I had a blast in London with the girls. Besides lots of eating and shopping, we also caught Al Pacino and Robert de Niro in Leicester Square promoting their new movie, Righteous Kill. FINALLY, I can say I've met a celebrity in London.

Aunty Christine looked the same save for the distended stomach. (Newsflash: Baby Kieran popped just after I arrived back in Singapore. I seriously think it's because of all the walking Chris did with me when I was in London)

Stuck in Paris!

Here I am, in my hotel room in the colourful Montmarte area of la chic Paris, but neither its temptations nor its blue skies can lure me out onto the streets. I would much rather be squashed between large-sized Europeans in the Eurostar (an Alstom high speed train, no less) speeding towards ol' Blighty, straight into the loving arms of a very pregnant Aunty Christine, a beaming Uncle KM and an estatic Aunty Aileen (I'm bringing her clothes hangers from KL).

The Channel tunnel which allows for easy commute between Parisiens and Londoners was shut down on Thursday evening following a fire. God knows when it will reopen. I should feel lucky I was not in the tunnel when it happened because 32 people were hospitalised for smoke inhalation. But then again, I have been looking to going back to London for so long! So now, I'm stuck in gay Paris, feeling miserable and lonely, and cheated out of 24 hours with the girls.

Add to that, I have an extremely loooooooong travel ahead of me tomorrow. This morning, after spending a frantic hour in the Gare du Nord station, I managed to get my shaky hands on tickets for the first train out of Paris to Boulogne where I will wait 3 hours to catch the first fast-speed boat across the English Channel to Dover, UK. Thereafter I will travel 2.5 hours by bus to London. Assuming my connections come through, I will finally plop my head down on Aunty Aileen's welcoming sofabed after 12 hours on the tracks/sea/road.

And 2 days later, I'll do it all over again.
(my flight back to Singapore leaves from Paris)

What is a baby?

"You are such a baby!", Mamma said one night at bedtime.

"No, I'm not!", replied the 3-year old.

"Yes, you are! You cry a lot, you suck your fingers, you want to be carried...".

Pause.

"But babies wear diapers and have no teeth", she argued, stabbing at her pearlies.

"I have lots and lots of teeth, and I wear panties".

Case closed.

Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka!

Happy Independence Day, Malaysia!

Many unprecedented developments took place in the political scene this year. YL & I are heartened that change can take place in a system that seemed so entrenched. What does it mean for our future? What will our 51st year of independence bring?

My heart has remained in the country of my birth even though I lived half my life away from her. It is lost in the diversity of her people, nature, and experience; it is coddled by her warmth and sincerity, easy camaraderie and simple shared values. I wear my Malaysian badge proudly in places far and wide. I proclaim my identity loud and clear.

Despite that, I echo Susan Loone's sentiments, "I think I'll never stop crying for my country Malaysia..." for the unbounded potential that she has, all washed down the monsoon drain by our incompentent leaders and thoughtless policies.

Change. It's the one thing I have to look forward to. Change, and Hope.

East Coast

Fooling around while waiting for our chilli crabs at the East Coast Seafood Centre along the ocean promenade

Fireworks

The Singapore Tourism Board organised two nights of fireworks display at the Marina Bay area near the business district this weekend. We had free first class view from my office on the 27th floor in one of the buildings in Raffles Place.