Comics

Caitlin enjoys reading very much and since acquiring the skills to read on her own, she's been reading almost anything she sees that has words - billboards, labels, signages, fine print on boxes (she knows now that some of her toys are made in China!), and of late, comics.

A New York Times article recently mentioned that comic strips as an 'alternative pathway to literacy' are catching on in the United States. It cited growing efforts in using comics to promote literacy after pilot programmes yielded promising results.

"Proponents of comics in the classroom say that they can lure struggling readers who may be intimidated by pages crammed with text. They also say that comics, with their visual cues and panel-by-panel sequencing, are uniquely situated to reinforce key elements of literacy, like story structure and tone."

One day, the attractive graphics and colours of my Archie comics caught Caitlin's eye and she picked one up to read....I don't think she cound really to relate to the American high-school Archie, Betty, Veronica and gang's antics but she sure did enjoy the funny things she saw and read about in there.




I've been looking out for more age-appropriate comics for her lately and discovered that they aren't in abundance over here. Some I've come across are the Winx Club, My Little Pony and Scooby Doo ones.

Weight loss

I consider myself pretty fortunate to not have a problem with my body weight. It is however an issue that many people around the world face. Being overweight, fat, or obese could be due to various reasons and reasons as simple as not taking care of your diet or simply having it in your genes.

Remedies for weight loss are abundant from herbal ones to exercise, pills etc. Some could be dangerous. I've read of cases of liver failure, fatalities and other problems when people are not careful with the steps they take in order to lose weight.

I would think that it's best, if you have a weight problem, to get a proper medical examination and consultation from a qualified medical practitioner.

Medical science has advanced so greatly that now, there are even surgical methods for la weight loss. One of them is the Lap-Band System by JourneyLite. It is an outpatient laparoscopic procedure where you can be discharged from hospital a few hours later. It is a gastric banding procedure that is adjustable and reversible. What it does is it restricts food intake without interfering with your body's normal digestive processes. According to JourneyLite, this procedure is less invasive compared to a gastric bypass as there is no cutting or rerouting of the small intestines, so risks of complications are greatly reduced.

JourneyLite specialises in bariatric medicine, the surgical treatment for the disease of obesity, and offers its services currently in California, Texas and Florida in the United States.

According to its website, some of the benefits of the Lap-Band System include long-term control, low risk of complications, reversability, adjustability, shorter recovery period and weight loss of one to two pounds per week.



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What do you eat?

I came across this CNN article titled "Bad foods that are actually great for your waist". The power of the media is amazing. We all have to be very smart nowadays in deciding what's good for our health.


The CNN story quotes dietitians and research findings. Hmmm, are you convinced that meat (saturated fat), processed meat (chemicals), and ice cream (articial colouring, flavouring, sugar) are good? It mentioned that ice cream is good because "a recent Swedish study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that women who have at least one serving of full-fat dairy products a day gain less weight than women who don't. Researchers aren't entirely sure why, but it's believed (italics mine) that a compound in milk fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) may aid weight loss". They covered themselves with the word "believe".

Health Ranger Mike Adams who advocates natural fresh food, vegetables, fruits, fresh juices etc has lashed out in his website in this article CNN Health Story Promotes Pizza, Ice Cream, Burgers as "Great for Your Waist".

I agree with fresh and natural food, more vegetables and fruits, and less meat, fats and sugar. "Everything in moderation" and "you are what you eat", as they say....Plus exercise, of which I am still guilty of lacking!

Back to school

School re-opened yesterday. Caitlin was eager to go. She woke up on time by herself at 7.00am (we have to leave home by 8.30am as school starts at 8.45am). I was pretty surprised as in the past six weeks, she would wake at around 8.00am as she goes to bed very late. (Attempts to re-train her to sleep earlier in order to wake earlier were not succesful.)

She was cooperative in getting dressed and having breakfast. She even reminded me that she had to brush her teeth and told me that the "long hand is past six" indicating it was past 8.30am and we needed to get moving to go to school.

She said she likes her new teacher, Teacher Kai Ling, and her new class. A number of her classmates from last year are with her. Her class size is larger this year. I hope the teacher can manage all 24 of them.

We have put her in the Mandarin stream, hopefully to 'acclimatise' her in a Chinese-speaking environment in preparation for primary school next year. She said she did not really understand what Teacher said yesterday but Teacher also did speak in English. (Most instructions are in Mandarin). I noticed from the list of names that there are non-Chinese, like Malay and Punjabi, kids in her class too. Many non-Chinese parents are sending their kids to Chinese schools nowadays.

New Year's Day Outing

ACE did two new things on 1 January 2008. First, we visited for the first time one of KL's latest malls, Pavilion. (It is built on the site where the old and famed Bukit Bintang Girls' School once stood. When the school was scheduled for demolition for this development, there was much hue and cry and protests to protect its honourable history).

Pavilion is the epitome of modern-city malls. It has wide open walk ways, lots of glass, contemporary design, and well-planned layout to cater to the (expensive) tastes of affluent KL-ites. You can find most designer-brand outlets there. The supermarket on its lower ground floor even has a designer-type name, Le Mercate while its food court, Food Republic, has earned my praise.

Food Republic caters to local and international taste buds, featuring a good spread of various countries' fare on one side, local fare in open 'islands' in the centre and restaurants and cafes on another side. Tables are aplenty. We managed to find one quite easily at peak lunch hour yesterday, a public holiday; while I noticed those who had to wait for others to vacate their table didn't have to wait too long. The place is clean and spacious. There seems to be enough workers to clear the tables efficiently as I did not see any table piled high with used bowls and plates or food scraps. Even our table was promptly cleared just before we got off our seats.

The main entrance of the mall descends via two deep flights of stairs into a grand concourse area which is currently decorated with a five-storey high Christmas tree-like centrepiece. A wind ensemble entertained shoppers-turned-spectators who sat on the steps to enjoy their a medley of Christmas and well-known tunes. Caitlin enjoyed the performance too.



After checking out the mall, we proceeded to Lake Titiwangsa where The Eye On Malaysia (a scaled down copy of London's Eye) is located. It costs RM15 per adult and RM8 per child (age 3-12) for a 20-minute ride in its air-conditioned gondola (which can seat up to eight people) for a view of the city skyline. While the cloudy weather helped us feel more comfortable (we got there in the afternoon), some of our photographs had to be compensated by the use of fill-in flash. We enjoyed the ride as it was Caitlin's first time on a ferris wheel and Eugene and my first time together on one. Here are some pictures.








Daddy, please, please, pleeease, may I have one balloon?



Mmmm, I guess my pleading worked and I got the most expensive (RM7!) one.