Mike He

tell you, I'll be so over the moon every Monday because I get to watch the latest Taiwan drama on youtube. It's called Bull-fighting with SHE Hebe acting in it. Mike He is just so cool in the show. This is the link for episode 1 if you're interested...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=spgwT7rmcac

Very hectic schedule. We're preparing for a 3-day Tokyo trip and using the free pass to explore Hakone and Utsunomiya. I have taught in Utsunomiya and missed the taste of the famous 'jiao zi'. So we're riding on the bullet train for 50 minutes just to eat dumplings.

ok, here are the photos of our Kobe trip.

Rey getting his favourite Ga-cha ga-cha. It has Ultraman (again) in it.

I have to put sunglasses on Nana again because she did a cock-eye face. Misa is so angry that she scolded her for spoiling the photo. There are like 10 other photos of her silly look.

Rey finally has the courage to hit the crocodiles. Months ago he was still scared of hitting them.

I really don't fancy eating noodles or soup from a can dropped out from a vending machine. Doesn't appeal to me.

Rey's new idol

After my relatives came, Rey has more people to talk to. He is more lively, talkative, playful and naughtier too. Rey's new idol is Nana. He looks up to Nana because she can defeat monsters in the Nintendo DS and she is his bath companion now. I even delegated my duty to Nana so she can sit in the Yamaha lesson with Rey. He sleeps with her, plays with her and breaks all the rules that I had previously set for him. Now he drinks coca cola, eats lollipop and ice cream even when he is coughing and play the DS all day long. He is considered 'deviated' already by Montessori principles (sigh).

Nana rides with Rey in Ultraman

Nana accompanies Rey in his lesson.

Both are engrossed in gameboy and DS, Rey's mind is polluted now.

Nana doing her inner bow, looks scary...



Nana helps to make a 'robot' with Rey.


Learning do re mi on pianica.


in the booth to avoid the strong wind.

As I said, Rey's life now centers around Nana....

please be more time conscious

Whenever my relatives come, they'd complain I always nag at them to rush for the next train or next bus. Maybe they're not used to taking these public transport. Hello, there are time schedules for public transport and I don't ever want to miss the express train when the next one comes only after 20 minutes.

So these are the rules I set for them:

1) bring a watch so I don't have to tell them the time again and again
2) have some time management
3) don't shop too slowly. Want to buy, buy, if not buying, get out of the shop.
4) don't complain whenever I have to rush you for the express train just because you were slow
5) be prepared to walk or take the bus because I don't have a car and I can't drive one. I enjoy pp driving me instead.

Uncle carried Rey for most of the trip.


in Otaru


Sapporo ramen






Our lunch box.


The polar bears enjoying their cold winter while we're shivering. I want their fur coat!


Nana is grouchy, because her shoe sole is falling apart. I had wanted to show you the photo of her shoes (with crossed handiplast but she claimed she has deleted the photo without my knowledge!!!) See the crabs?


buddies


Rey sheltering himself from the snow.


I don't know why but whenever Nana comes to Japan, she will spend loads on bottled drinks. We have vending machines in Singapore too what!


Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, the supposedly most famous zoo in Japan. But seriously, I believe we have the best in Singapore liao. Cannot fight with Night safari and S'pore Zoo.


I'm surprised I didn't feel car sick while travelling in the bus.

ok, finally back to my blogging routine (just for the meantime). It is really hard to concentrate on writing a new post when you have a shadow looming over you (cousin nana) to nag at you to finish up posting.

It was snowing all the time in Hokkaido. Rey got to make his 1st snow ball, and Nana experienced having near frozen fingers. she cried like a baby. We had open onsen in falling snow too and we eat the crab buffet ( i have eaten better grade, sweeter crabs actually) too.

The Hokkaido trip was great if I minus the Kansai passengers. They are the worst of the ugly Kansai people I have ever come across. The trip will be almost perfect without them. So what if you speak Mandarin? They assumed we are from China and simply showed their discrimination against us. Their stares, the rush to get off the bus before us and complaint to the guide that we're not Japanese all show the ugly side of Japanese. Some changed their attitude when they found out we're from Singapore instead of China because they heard us speaking English most of the the time. What's so wrong with China by the way? Heck them, their Japanese kanji (Chinese characters) originated from China, and the knowledge of rice planting is also from China! On the other hand, we showed the more gracious side of Singaporeans by letting the more gentle eldery alight 1st, offering XO when we thought 1 of them is sick, treating the bus guide to a delicious cream puff. Hey, we're more civilized than them. People always have a good stereotypes of Japanese (always polite, graceful etc) but that is because they haven't met the Osaka people. I'm giving up the idea of showing them around Osaka.

off to Hokkaido

My family and I are going to Hokkaido from tomorrow!! I think it is the most undesired place to go in winter. But too bad, my relatives wanted to see snow and I have to bring them there. I'm already feeling so cold now in Kyoto and yet I have to brave myself for a minus 5 degress destination. I'll end up looking like a silly dumpling for sure.
But on a positive note, the tour package is really cheap because of the season. Plus I can go to famous hotsprings, and eat fresh seafood, yes oysters!! salmon roe!! I'm going to eat loads of them! Please see my blog again from 20th Nov. Bye!

have been too busy

sorry ah, I really have no time to write. Have been busy shuttling here and there doing errands and the usual things. I don't have time for dramas anymore. Family is coming and a close friend is here with me. Doreen came just in time to take part in Rey's 7-5-3 ceremony at a shrine. Throughout the ritual, Rey has to sit in front with other kids while I knelt behind him. It took about 15 minutes and I could hear my feet cracking when I tried to stand up. Rey was okay, he waited patiently for the whole ritual to end so that he can get his free balloon as promised.

sunday outing

Sunday was a very sunny and windy day. Perfect day for flying kite..but I'm still waiting for nana to bring the kite over. You just can't find kites over here (frustrated)!! An event was going on and I brought a bag specially to contain all the freebies I can get.

switch off your handphones

One day, I was riding on a bus with Rey and I witnessed an incident that I thought could never happen in Japan. There was this man in his 30s sitting in front of me and I thought he smelled like he has never bathe for days. So I was very shocked when he shouted across the bus at a woman using sms on her phone, something like, "hey, hey, stop using the phone!" The poor woman didn't respond becuz she was too engrossed in smsing (besides, she probably didn't think that someone will shout at her for using the phone even when sms-ing) Anyway, the shouts continued until when the poor woman realised she was being targetted by a smelly man, she quietly kept her phone. The man thought he was being 'righteous' and added, "remember to switch off your phone!". Poor woman, sighed.


Then, that was when Rey started singing on the bus. I panicked and tried to shut him up because I was so scared the man might turn back and shout at me or worse hit my head or what. I off my handphone too just in case. You never know what kind of crazy thing can happen in Japan nowadays. That was the scariest ride on the bus. I have encountered molestor on bus in Singapore but I was daring enough to yell at him, reprimand him for like 5 minutes for doing such disgusting acts. (he tried to touch my arm from the backseat and pretended to sleep when I turned around!). And I had to bang his head with my heavy files, still schooling, mah, to wake him up and scold him in public for the next shioking 5 minutes.

Anyway, the smelly man finally alighted and an old man who boarded the bus took his seat.
"Please stop using your handphone, young man." The old man got the guts to tell off a youngster who was using his phone right beside him! Serve him right, I don't like people directing their handphones at my head when sms-ing either. but wha, now the old pp bue kia si, dare to tell others off. I have read news of uncles being pushed into the train tracks or beaten to death by people who were being told off. In singapore, you might be slashed by parang.

rojak language

Rey is picking up my 'lah' already. The Singlish 'lah'. Frightening. And he can say a sentence with English and Japanese mixed in it.

R: Mummy, today Rei-chan cried. She stepped on the aka (red) and shiro (white) boshi (hat) and koronda (fell down). The floor was slippery because of the boshi (hat).
I: really? Did you help her?
R: yes, I say, 'daijoubu?' (are you ok?) but she still naita (cried)

It took seconds later for me to realise that he is speaking not singlish, but rojak of english and Japanese. I guess when you're bilingual or trilingual, this kind of rojak language comes naturally. Not bad actually. What matters is that you know how to 'switch' to the perfect mode of language in a formal setting. So, this Jap-Eng rojak will be our secret language in Singapore.

Very satisified. I found, borrowed and finished another Sydney Sheldon book in 1 night! That finished my whole collection of SS novels as I have read every one of them. Just find it hard to 'pause' the story for the next day, same as the youtube dramas. I can finished the whole series in 2 or 3 days, never longer.

It's getting cold now and the day has become shorter. That means lesser outdoor activity for Rey and I. He has been sneezing and coughing for more than 1 month. And I'm glad I made the decision to go back to Singapore for 2 months during the winter. Afterall, I don't wanna spend my xmas, new year and b'day shivering in the cold. Rey's summer vacation in Japan has done enough damage to me already. Am going to heal the wounds with my family's warmth, cousins shrieks and update on the latest gadgets, aunts' nagging (at their children), free car rides everywhere, dramas, and hawker food!! wo yao qu SINGAPORE!!!

long hair

Last week another couple mistaken Rey for a girl. Hmm. it's about time I cut his hair, too long. Usually he'll run away whenever I say I want to tie up his hair but this time he says ok just for a few shots.

cake

Oh dear! I just realised that Rey wore his diapers to school this morning! He'll be so embarrassed when he changes into his p.e. attire...

Just thought you might like to see Rey's birthday cake. We had the same cake last year too and all of us loved the chocolate. The green candle on the left was made by Rey.





The letter 'H' has been eaten up by Rey. Most of the thin chocolate were eaten up by Rey before the cakes reached our plates.

biohazard 3

It's Rey's school holiday today and what's worse, it's a rainy day! That means no parks or trips to the library for today.... I'm trapped at home with a child bursting with energy!

Hmmm, wondering if Biohazard 3 is on screen in Singapore. It's a very popular game in Japan and I had played it on Playstation but was too scared to continue the game. You'd just panic whenever you see vampires out there. I watched 1 and 2 on TV for the past 2 weeks and thought B3 should be worth watching too. It's showing on screen in Japan, maybe I'd try to catch the movie when Rey is in school.

arts exhibition at Rey's kindergarten

On Saturday, we visited Rey's school for the kids' art exhibition. These are Rey's work...

butterfly

his own face with vege prints

recycled things

After that, I brought Rey to Kyoto International community house for its open day. There were various food stalls from different countries, all except Singapore. Maybe I'll set up 1 next year myself. What can I sell? Bobochacha or Bakuteh? aiyah, forget it. The highlight was a performance by a Korean group, I think it's the 'chusok' festive dance. And there was a lucky draw at the end of the day. I missed the 5th prize by 1 number!! The 1st prize was a plasma TV! very rich organization. There are few loopholes in the lucky draw actually. You can get many number tickets if you fill in copies of survey forms. No one will know. Will be there next year and I'm going to fill in like 30 surveys, maybe more to increase my chance of winning a TV. hehhe

as you can see, the leaves have changed color

chusok dance

never felt so sleepy

I have never felt so sleepy while watching a rented dvd. Such a waste of money. Know what show it was? The forever-so-fake Ultraman movie with poor and cheapo sound effects. ANd I couldn't help wonder why Rey would stick his eyes to the screen while I tried to resist or end my continuous yawns.

I: YAWN!!! (ready to fall asleep behind Rey on the sofa)
R: Mummy you're so BAD!!
I: What? I just wanted to hug you from behind..
R: no! You yawned so LOUDLY so MANY times!
I: sorry, but the show is so boring and see! (pointing to a scene) so fake whahahahaha!!
R: It's not! It's interesting!
I: ok, you watch, I sleep. (yawn again)

acorns

These are the 'donguri ' (acorns) Rey picked from the park with his grandfather. We can get these acorns in autumn. Rey was admiring and counting his donguri when I thought of a good teaching idea.
I: Why don't we go to the park to get more donguri?
R:Why, but I have enough. 10 is enough for me.
I: We're going to do something interesting with your donguri.....I'm going to teach you Maths plus and minus! (tried to sound like we're going to play an interesting maths game)
R: NOoooo!! No maths for me!

I shouldn't have told him about the maths thing in the 1st place. We'll stick to counting fingers in the bath tub for the time being.


To darren and nana, THanks for your B'day wishes!

Dinner with Rey can be very tiring sometimes, espeically when he decided to show off his skills with his mouth full of food. And I have to chase him down by showing off my caning skills (swish! in the air)