It was Hari Raya last week. The end of the fasting month for the Muslims. For the last 20 over years, it also provided a time for a group of old friend to meet and catch up Nora’s place.

We would all happily eat the spread of food prepared by her mother and talk the whole afternoon away. Sometimes the husbands would come along. But more often than not, after the obligatory first visit, they stay away. Because not only are they clueless about our conversation, they are also rather intimated by the prospect of facing over 10 girls.

The gathering is always very informal. She doesn’t send out any formal invitation. It’s understood that we’re to just turn up somewhere in the afternoon. BUT, this year, she actually sent out invitation via sms. It caught all of us by surprise and was a hot topic of discussion during our gathering. hehe!

I still remember the times we spent together in Biology class. The fun we had in that old fashion lab. Nora, Irene and I were always somewhere at the back and we did fool around abit. I don’t think we did a lot of studying but somehow by some miracles, we managed to pass. No doubt due to the fact our teacher was ‘fond’ of picking on us.

Ahh.. to be 16.

Who cares about study? (Actually we did lah but it’s not very cool to say so.)

We did a lot of shopping in Orchard Road.

We ate at MacDonald’s (the first MacDonald’s opened around then).

There was often some waiting at the school bus stop for a certain number bus at certain time.. because that was when the boys from a certain school nearby would be in it.

Ahh… those were the days.

Over the years, the group of us have grown up… some have found boyfriends, gotten married, gotten divorced, had children. But still, we meet about once a year and catch up. It’s good to have friends. ^^

This photo was taken during our prom night when we were 16. It was the first ever prom night for the school and was held in the school grounds. We looked a bit ‘biang’ hor? But this was more than 20 years ago and we were alot more conservative then. Those of you reading this.. can you recognise yourself? haha! Luckily for me, I think the photo too blur to see me. ^^

Aren’t these 2 boys cute? Once upon a time, their mothers were talking about boys. Now they’re the mothers of boys. One day soon, these boys will also be looking out for girls.

Not sure what she is doing now…

Probably shopping in Myeongdong or having lunch in Gorilla or maybe eating one of those delicious cake in O’sulloc. Whatever it is, I’m sure she is having a great time… eating all my favorite food in Korea. See my post here

Or maybe, she’s just sipping coffee in one of those posh cafe in Apgujeong…looking out for good looking actors…

Sigh… I know she already saw one yesterday… This man—–>

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA! Many, many happy returns!

And for the other pretty girl…. looking forward to seeing a brand new you soon…. ^^

Just in case you ladies want to have some nice cakes and are reading this blog… check out the KNTO site here

The Plaza Hotel sells specially made Sam Soon and Sam Shik cakes…. yummy….

Can’t wait to see you girls and catch up on all the news. : )

p/s- Could you please either bring back either my main dish or any of my side dishes….*hoping*

For the past few years, I’ve been meaning to visit the Chinese Garden during the Mid-autumn or Mooncake festival but just never seemed to get around to doing so. Everytime I look at the photos of the various lanterns on display in the newspaper, I regretted not going. This year, I was determind to do so.

And so on Tuesday night, both hubby and I made a trip out to Jurong to the Chinese Garden to look at the lanterns on display.

It has been years since I went to the Chinese Garden. I think the last time must have been when I was in Primary or Secondary school, during one of those school outings. There just doesn’t seemed to be enough of a pull for me to want to travel all the way there. I have very hazy memories of this place..except for the pagoda.

There are 2 themes this year…. insects (????) and icons of the world. I gotta to admit that some of these ‘insects’ are pretty cute.

And some of the icons…I don’t think I need to say what they are.

Of course, the Chinese icon (The Great Wall, with a flapping dragon and phoenix) is one of the biggest and the most elaborate…. like all things Chinese.

There were various stalls set up… including one from Osim.. offering free massage. Hmmm…. There are the usual stuff.. like sparklers, lights, ice-cream etc being sold. They also had a sort of fun fair going on..mainly for the kids. There weren’t really many ‘traditional Chinese’ stalls. Maybe there are more during the weekend. The one stall that is traditional was this dough figure maker. Cute right?

The one thing that I did remember about the Chinese Garden was the 7 story pagoda. I don’t recall this pair of 3-story pagoda. They looked rather pretty though, especially with the reflection in the water. Of course there were lots of people taking photos. A group of teenagers was attempting to try to take a self-timer photo by placing the camera below, with them on the 2nd level!

I was just telling hubby, somehow in my distant memory, the 7-story pagoda seemed larger than it is now. I think it will look really pretty on Friday, with the full moon. We climbed to the top and looked at all the twinkling lights below us. It would have been rather romantic..except that you’re sharing this romantic view with about 20 people. That didn’t seemed to stop a young couple though, who was quite ‘busy’. I’m sure there are lots of dark bushes in the garden below. Must be the moonlight.

It was rather busy for a Tuesday night so I dread to think of the crowd during the weekend. I wish I had a lantern whilst I was there. I saw many in the crowd holding one but just couldn’t figure out where they were being sold. Although I must say most of them (especially the children) were holding a football lantern???!!! But really, I guess it was not so strange on hindsight now… as we used to have lanterns like ultraman, hello kitty, boat etc. That’s why we loved lanterns then because they came in so many shapes and sizes.

The pond here has lots of koi….all looking rather fat and plump. ^^

I think I would have enjoyed myself better if I could have walked around the place at a much slower pace and also visit the Japanese Garden, which was just next door. As it is, it felt just a tiny, tiny bit of a let-down. And it wasn’t cheap either. During this festive season, it’s $8 for adults during weekdays and $10 during weekends. Ouch!

One of the last photo before we left.. hehehe! How do you like my warrior? Yes, I was bored.

Just some information on the Chinese Garden:
Built in 1975 and designed by Prof. Yuen-chen Yu, a well-known architect from Taiwan, the Chinese Garden’s concept is based on Chinese gardening art. The main characteristic is the integration of splendid architectural features with the natural environment. The Chinese Garden is modelled along the northern Chinese imperial style of architecture and landscaping.

Taken from Asia-Planet.net. They have more information about the garden on their site.

You can see some photos from this site

What are you going to be doing this Friday night?

I’m all prepared already..

I’ve got my lanterns, my mooncake, my pomelo, my tea….and my hubby… hahaha!

Happy Mooncake festival everyone! ^^

Did you know that it was Children’s Day yesterday? Those with children in the primary school level and below would know. There would have been lots of celebrations in school on Friday and it would have been half day for them.

Anyway, as in every year, the volunteers at SHG- CDAC would plan food and games for the kids. And so on Saturday, 30th September, our kids got to celebrate Children’s Day one more time. (See my blog on SHG & CDAC here)

Actually, there were lots of activities going on that day as CDAC had a couple of events on as well. The kids were having a wild time watching and participating in the fun. Naturally, they were alll distracted and it required conjoling, stern warning and bribery to get the kids to even study for that just one hour.

Finally, at 3.40pm, the kids were let off and it was time to party!

The Food Spread

Food for the kids…volunteers not included and… close encounter of the food kind

The Kids
What were they playing?

I discovered that they have a Hello Kitty version of the game UNO..I think I very ‘suaku’.

Two of my charges- the boys in red t-shirt and striped t-shirt.

The Games
You know, kids will be kids, whether you are 10 or 13. When we thought of the games, we were alittle hesistant as we weren’t sure if the kids would find it interesting. But guess what, they enjoyed themselves immensely. There were different stations and points were awarded for how well they do at the stations.

This proved to be more difficult than we thought for the kids as not many of them could do it. I tried it and managed to knock down the …..box. hahaha! Well, all the cans did fall but no points.
🙁

A look of concentration as he attempted to pick up as many marbles as possible. I was quite amazed as most of them were quite adept at this..though they weren’t necessarily holding the chopsticks right way.

This was probably one of the easiest game…. mini basketball.

Memory game- you have to match the cards. Obviously some did better than others. Hehe! I like this kind of game and often play it on my PDA.

The kids were supposed to fold their own paper aeroplanes and fly them. This was easier said than done but I think the boys enjoyed it especially. When was the last time you fold a paper aeroplane?

We thought this would be difficult for the kids but they seemed to have no problem as well. Should have asked them put 2 bean bags on their head. hahaha!

Waiting for the results….who won the top prize? That was the one most important question.

And the answer is……… Nicole!

I think his winning points was in the bean bag station where he managed to do 15 times. Nicole is in Primary 6. Rather naughty but I must say quite good looking. Don’t know whether he will become more trouble when he goes to Secondary 1 next year. I suspect there will be girls problem…if he doesn’t have them already.

The brothers

I really like this photo. The older brother is now in Secondary one. For the past 3 years, he has been been coming to CDAC. This is his 4th year now. And ever since I can remember, he has always been scolded by all of us for being naughty, for being rude, for being a sore looser, for crying easily. And yet, he still comes to the centre on a Saturday afternoon when he could be out with his new friends. I mean, when you are 13, do you really want to hang around younger kids and do work on a Saturday afternoon? But he and some other kids that we’ve been teaching still come down and seemed to enjoy it too. If nothing else, it keeps them off the street and the danger of mixing with undesirable characters. I guess we must have been doing something right somewhere along the way.

His little brother is in Primary 4 this year and is just as naughty. I’ve been taking him for the last few months when I waa recalled back to help out. Often, I have to tell him not to behave like a gangster. But boys will be boys and there are often fights and quarrels amongst them. But 10 minutes later, they will be sitting next to each other and be the best of pals. So it’s a real test of judgement to decide if you should play mediator when quarrels break out.

But I really like the kids I’ve been teaching and hope that they will benefit from their brief interaction with me.

The whole gang

Volunteers and children.

Children are always a treasure and it is a joy to watch them enjoying themselves. That’s what childhood should be about.

Happy belated Children’s Day to all… the young and the young-at-heart.

I love books. I’m one of those who hates to fold pages, cut them up or draw in them, (beyond writing my name on the first page of the book). I try to keep my books in good condition and really, really hate to throw out books…even if they are trashy ones.

I used to read alot when I was younger, unfortunately, I just don’t have as much time to do that now. Then, I could bury myself in a book, slumped in a chair and be lost in another world for the rest of the day. It was very easy to entertain me.

As much as I love movies, books are really quite something. Without the moving pictures and the sound, you have to use your imagination to ‘view’ and ‘feel’ what the author has written.

Hubby subscribes to this club in the UK called the Folio Club- they published books in hard cover. Not just hard cover… but bound in leather or cloth…you know… the old fashion type.

The type of books that belong to old, wooden shelves, in a nice library, and where you can imagine yourself sitting down in front of a fireplace/ balcony/ garden, with a cup of tea and reading the book. You get what I mean?

As much as I love the books that I read now, it’s the books that I read in the past that I have fond memories of…

Mostly alot of Enid Blyton’s like the Malory Towers, the Famous Five, the fairy tales etc. The Borrowers, Mary Poppins, Beautrix Potter, Heidi, Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women… they all accompanied me through my childhood years.

Do children read these nowadays? Or is it mainly all those ghost/ monster stories that fascinate them?

One of the series that I liked was the Anne of Green Gables series. It was even filmed into TV series a few times but I still prefer the book.

It’s a simple, simple story.

A little orphan girl was mistakenly sent to an elderly couple by mistake, who had actually requested for a little boy…to help them out in the farm.

This sparky little girl never lets anything her down, is always optimistic and adventurous. She is direct but not mean and loves those around her. Naturally, the elderly couple grew attached to her.. and loved her dearly, as she did to them. The rest of the story is really about her stay there on the farm, her adventures as she grows up.

See, it’s a very simple story right? In fact, somebody would probably say it’s too goody-goody. Thank goodness for such ‘goody-goody’ books when I was young then.

Even today, it’s still good to reach out and read these ‘do good, be good and feel good’ novels. It’s great to escape from the real world for awhile and relieve the age of innocence.

I wonder if anyone will laugh at me if I go out and buy the entire Fanous Five series. Maybe I can pretend that I’m buying them for my nephew….

Isn’t the illustration beautiful?