Goodbye Mr Lee

Mr Lew Kuan Yew passed away on 23 March 2015, leaving behind a lasting legacy and a grateful Singapore forever in his debt.

 

I am not here to wax lyrical about how great he was, how great his contributions to our island state were. There are too many articles circulating around Facebook and newspapers for that which has probably been shared to death (no pun intended). He may very well be smiling all the way to wherever dead folks go at the thought of joining his beloved wife again. 

 

I wanted to write this blog as a memory of what has transpired since the announcement of his death. From the 8-hour queues by the public just to enter the Parliment House where Mr Lee's body lies in state, to the anecdotes on how loving he was towards his wife and the red box where he kept his official work, to my visit to Tanjong Pagar CC where he was MP once (the fact that it was within walking distance from my office didn't hurt either).

 

The latest drama brewing in my handphone now is an initiative by SMRT to extend their operating hours till midnight so that people can pay their last respects at the Parliment House. Some idiots on FB took this chance to ask for FOC rides or post comments on how they hope the trains do not break down from overuse. I rate these idiots down there with the idiots who asked when a public holiday will be declared to commemorate LKY's death. I took the chance to lambast the morons who posted stupid comments...

 

A colleague and I went down to Tg Pagar CC to pay our respects to him as well. It was a somber moment as the fact sank in that this much revered (or much feared, depending on which Singaporean you are talking to) powerhouse is gone. Dead just like many other humans before him and plenty others will be, after him. But one thing is for sure: a greater man we will never see in this lifetime. 

 

Bouquets galore (we contributed 6 champagne roses and accessorizing flowers and leaves)

In memory of Mr Lee

  

A picture dedicated to him on his 75th birthday

Thank you sir, for all that you have done for us. Rest in peace, and may your reunion with Mrs Lee be a happy one...

Just Cruisin'

Some updates on the teething monster here:

As suddenly as the symptoms came, K's teething woes have subsided (for the time being) and she is back to her usual sunshiny self. She is smiling at everyone who does funny stuff to make her laugh and is generally in a good mood most of the time (except for times where Bad Mummy actually dares to pour water down her gullet so that she doesn't shrivel up with dehydration). Thank goodness, I say! I can even put her straight to bed without having to pat/rock/all sorts of funny things to make her go beddy-bye while my lunch or dinner is quietly growing fungi in its bowl.

Another milestone achieved: she can pull herself up from a sleeping position to standing up now. Probably not long till she starts a-cruisin' and begin her collection of bua dukus (a bump never kill anyone, except if u got it from falling from the 10th floor. Then a bua duku will perhaps be the least of your worries...).

Ending off with some random pix of Princess K here.

Really look like a boy here, much to Mummy's consternation

Getting a clothed sun-tan while gor gor is water-playing

Hello? Hello?

Using 吃奶的力 to pull herself up

Trying to find the right combination for the Disney channel

MS DOS vs Windows

I once came across an analogy while scanning one of those books which try to explain how men and women are aliens from completely different planets:

" Men are MS DOS systems - they are programmed to only do one task at a time.

Women on the other hand, behave like the Windows OS - they can put on mascara while juggling 2 babies with the other arm AND talk to their friends on the phone."

Or something to that effect.

The point is: males can't multi-task for squat while women excel in it. Which rings quite true in the HG household, at least where the minors are concerned.

When T was a baby, he hits his milestones like a man (well, the typical man type anyway), aka singularly and systematically. There were signs that he will be reaching a milestone soon and he got there gradually.

With K, I am reminded of an octopus. One who wants to stick her tentacles in every single pie (a Jack of all trades if u will).

One day, she is trying to crawl, next minute she's trying to do cruising pull-ups, yet another she's learning to sit on her own. As of now, she's hitting many milestones at the same time but doing each one only satisfactorily. Mum's pride is one thing, but I am also objective when looking at her milestones. Wobbly crawls, half-completed pull ups and strange sitting positions does that to u.

But they sure make me smile, especially after a long day at work!

Girly Boy?

This is the desktop background on my work comp now - a picture of K and the Husband when we were out one day. Point of highlight: K was wearing a pink halter sundress.

Words of emphasis: Pink. Sundress.

So I was at work this morning with an extended desktop (simply put: a laptop with an external monitor) cos civil servants all have to work with lots and lots of info/data eh? Anyway, a colleague walked past my work station and asked: "Oooo! Is that your son?"

I shall not break into an angry tirade here (though I wanted to at that point in time).

PINK!
SUNDRESS!!

Which part of those 2 words sends (misguided) messages to your neurological faculties that she is a boy??? Gah...

Chua Sai

I love my boss. I really do.

I am one of those lucky workers who do not roll their eyes when talking about their superior nor at the risk of incurring $500 fines by wanting to spit at the mention of their boss's name.

It is her boss who scares me. Yep, my big boss.

Right from day 1 where I had my 1st (and only) interview at my current organisation, my hairs stood up when Ms B sat in during the interview. Even now, an innocuous comment from her has the ability to turn me into a gibbering mess. Not very impressive on the few ocassions I had to have one-on-one discussions with her.

Had another of those gibbering sessions with her today and my heart was heavy when I left her office room, wishing I could have done better. Now I know how my friends felt when they met my papa last time. Sobz ~

Sunday Night

Not sure I shd be sad or happy now that its Sunday night. Sad cos work starts again in approximately 10 hours. Happy cos I dun hv to jaga a teething baby and a chatterbox at home.

As sudden as they came, K's teething symptoms has subsided somewhat, probably cos the little edges have finally poked through her gums. But she is still demanding a lot of attention cos someone MUST be in her line of vision at all times. Guess who's the fall guy? I am not complaining, but there are still chores to be done and tasks to be completed (yeah, I'm looking at u Laundry Basket!) and its not possible to just be there all the time.

As for T, heaven forbid those lips will stop yakking! Won't say much on this, but he has gotten more than a few scoldings for talking and talking and talking when I really do need a moment's peace. I admit: Mother Theresa's patience I have not.

Goodbye Sunday night. It has been a trying one, like the many ones before u. And in all likelihood, the ones ahead....

Saying Goodbye

We bid farewell to T's first school bag yesterday.

It's a Skip Hop frog bag which was acquired after great pains cos it is a model that has already stopped production but the little owner likes green and so Mummy did her best to get a bag which is green AND is not camouflage.

The froggie bag served T well for two years before, as Papa describes it (and I quote per verbatim): "the frog turned into a toad."

A very strange description perhaps, but an apt one. The pictures below show why.

The frog which turned into a speckled toad (see the dirty stains on its belly)

His new bag 

(yep, it's a chiong one. I saw the light and realised that he doesn't actually need such a good bag which will only land up being manhandled anyway)