Apparently Sophie have been correcting everyone's pronounciation - not just English, mind you, but Mandarin as well. She informed her Popo the correct way to pronounce fever in Mandarin is "fa shao" instead of the corrupted Malaysian way of "fa sao". She gently pointed out the difference between British and American pronounciations to her teacher in school.
Now if she would only teach her Baba to speak proper English.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
"New" Home
We moved into our very own apartment over 4 months ago, and since then it has been messy, messy, messy, then busy, busy, busy, then lazy, lazy, lazy. Finally here are some pictures if you are curious how we have settled in.
Before - Renovation mess
After - Ordered mess
The showcase of the apartment - Sophie's room
YL's domain - The kitchen
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Renewing Passport at the Malaysian High Comm
I am writing this down so that hopefully 5 years later when I go through the whole ordeal again, I will remember why we should only have to go through this once every 5 years.
1. Download the application form from the Malaysian High Commission website.
2. Prepare all the documents according to notes found on website. Include photocopy of Singapore IC.
3. Arrive at High Commission by 7am to pick up your queue number from the security post. I arrived at 7:25am this morning and there were at least 30 people already in the queue. The submission of forms begins at 8am.
4. Proceed into Immigration hall.
5. If you have not brought photos, get a queue number from the guy who mans the instant photo booth. Cost is S$6 in either notes or coins. I recommend to bring lots of S$1 coins.
6. Photocopies cost 30 cents if you forgot to bring any.
7. At about 7:55am, someone will start hustling people to queue in front of Counter 1 according to their queue numbers.
8. The purpose of this counter is simply to check that your documentations are complete. The (very rude & impatient) lady behind Counter 1 will issue you with another queue number after being satisfied that your questions and pleasantries have been thoroughly ignored.
9. You will also be asked to write your Singapore address & phone number at the bottom of the form. But I won't recommend doing this unless being instructed to do so, since I expect they change their practice every now and then depending on the phase of the moon.
1o. Sit down and wait for your new queue number to be called.
11. Submit all documentations when called.
12. Proceed to payment counter with exact change in cash. The amount today was S$128. This changes apparently with changes in exchange rates. It was a good thing that I hoarded all the small change I could find in the past week in preparation for this visit. Imagine going through steps 1-11 and finding out that you do not have exact change...
13. If you are lucky, you will get to see all the wonderful people at the High Comm again in the same afternoon to pick up your brand new passport.
14. Surrender your security queue number at the security post when you leave. Despite what my husband says, you cannot keep the queue number for collection in the same afternoon.
15. Keep fingers crossed that your new passport will be issued correctly at the appointed time.
The advantage of doing this while I'm pregnant is that I could get a "special pass" which are also issued to the elderly, and other needy people who cannot take the stress of dealing with Malaysian High Comm staff (hmm....). You have to specifically ask for them at the security post, though. So I was catapulted from a normal pass No. I039 to special pass No. E002. I waltzed straight to the start of the queue, to the indignation of everyone behind me.
The disadvantage of doing this while I'm pregnant is that my Rudolph-worthy red swollen nose is now immortalised for 5 years in my passport.
1. Download the application form from the Malaysian High Commission website.
2. Prepare all the documents according to notes found on website. Include photocopy of Singapore IC.
3. Arrive at High Commission by 7am to pick up your queue number from the security post. I arrived at 7:25am this morning and there were at least 30 people already in the queue. The submission of forms begins at 8am.
4. Proceed into Immigration hall.
5. If you have not brought photos, get a queue number from the guy who mans the instant photo booth. Cost is S$6 in either notes or coins. I recommend to bring lots of S$1 coins.
6. Photocopies cost 30 cents if you forgot to bring any.
7. At about 7:55am, someone will start hustling people to queue in front of Counter 1 according to their queue numbers.
8. The purpose of this counter is simply to check that your documentations are complete. The (very rude & impatient) lady behind Counter 1 will issue you with another queue number after being satisfied that your questions and pleasantries have been thoroughly ignored.
9. You will also be asked to write your Singapore address & phone number at the bottom of the form. But I won't recommend doing this unless being instructed to do so, since I expect they change their practice every now and then depending on the phase of the moon.
1o. Sit down and wait for your new queue number to be called.
11. Submit all documentations when called.
12. Proceed to payment counter with exact change in cash. The amount today was S$128. This changes apparently with changes in exchange rates. It was a good thing that I hoarded all the small change I could find in the past week in preparation for this visit. Imagine going through steps 1-11 and finding out that you do not have exact change...
13. If you are lucky, you will get to see all the wonderful people at the High Comm again in the same afternoon to pick up your brand new passport.
14. Surrender your security queue number at the security post when you leave. Despite what my husband says, you cannot keep the queue number for collection in the same afternoon.
15. Keep fingers crossed that your new passport will be issued correctly at the appointed time.
The advantage of doing this while I'm pregnant is that I could get a "special pass" which are also issued to the elderly, and other needy people who cannot take the stress of dealing with Malaysian High Comm staff (hmm....). You have to specifically ask for them at the security post, though. So I was catapulted from a normal pass No. I039 to special pass No. E002. I waltzed straight to the start of the queue, to the indignation of everyone behind me.
The disadvantage of doing this while I'm pregnant is that my Rudolph-worthy red swollen nose is now immortalised for 5 years in my passport.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Mother's Day gift
Sophie's teachers helped her and her classmates to make this heart-shaped pizza for their mothers on Mother's Day. She was in charge of the toppings. Of course it was delicious....
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Yeh Yeh & Nai Nai's visit
Yeh Yeh and Nai Nai visited us last weekend, and we took them out for a treat to celebrate Ye Ye's birthday at Chef Chan's located in the National Museum of Singapore. It was also an excuse for us to check out the famous restaurant.
The chef has won many accolades from helming several big name Cantonese restaurants in the past. His current establishment have been cited by Miele (publishers of the Michelin guide) as one of Asia's Finest Restaurant. The restaurant has only 7 tables and patrons must make reservations at least one day in advance to dine there.
So is it worth all the hype? Well, let's put it this way - while the food is good, it is not that good, and certainly not worth the price tag. Ouch!
Showing off her chopsticks skills
The next day we took everyone for a morning stroll along the East Coast beach.
A dating photo
The Soongs
Ye Ye & Sophie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Japan in Summer
By now, I have travelled to Japan 3 times, which puts it in the leading position on par with China as the country that I have visited the mo...
-
Here is the long-awaited sequel to the "Only in France" post: - When learning how to count in French, it is best to simply skip... -
We moved into our very own apartment over 4 months ago, and since then it has been messy, messy, messy, then busy, busy, busy, then lazy, la... -
After my irrefutable conclusion at the Tate Modern in London that modern art is cr*p , we decided to give it another go, and see if the Fre...