I just ended a frustratingly hilarious (sounds contradictory right?) Bahasa Melayu (BM) homework session with Caitlin. Of course my daughter's BM sucks since we are an almost-100%-English-speaking family. Our fault for not making the effort to teach her other languages...
She is pretty advanced in speaking and reading English for her age and coming along quite well in reading Mandarin with the extra classes she goes to. As for BM, she's only exposed to it in school.
Her handwriting is the 'frustrating' part of 'frustratingly hilarious'. She is an impatient kid who can't sit still for long so although she can write properly if she focuses, she 'prefers' to write quickly (so that she can move on to more fun stuff like books, toys or TV), resulting in overly large, misshapen letters with inconsistent size and spacing. So my patience is always tested here in trying to get her to focus and write properly.
Me: Caitlin, you need to write on the line and don't write the letters too big, otherwise there's not enough space to finish the sentence.
Caitlin: Mum, do sharks eat everything? (see what I mean? I sometimes wonder what goes on in that whirring mind of hers, always 'jumping' around different thoughts)
Me (rolling my eyes and feeling @#&*?): What does your book about sharks say?
Caitlin: It says they eat everything, even shoes, rubbish...
Me: That means we must not pollute the sea. The sharks will die if they eat everything. Now, write!
Then I thought I'd get her to read and understand/explain the sentences she had written.
Caitlin: Ibu membeli dua biji durian di pasar. (Mother bought two durians from the market).
Me: What does it mean?
Caitlin: The durian is round.
Me: LOL (this is the 'hilarious' part of 'frustratingly hilarious'). It means mother bought two durians from the market....
Caitlin: Dua ekor burung sedang menyanyi (Two birds are singing)
Me: What does it mean?
Caitlin: The birds cannot sing well.
Me (trying hard not to laugh): No, the birds ARE singing. "Sedang" means they are "doing something". Why can't they sing well?
Caitlin: Because the music notes are all crooked in this picture (the picture illustrating the sentence).
Hellllp....she's going to Year One in proper school next year (read more homework!)....
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Don't show off
Caitlin is a confident kid and also one who loves to be the centre of attention. Every chance she gets, she will 'show off' whatever about herself or anything she has that she thinks is good, impressive, clever, pretty, etc etc. If you pay her a compliment, she'll readily agree without batting an eyelid and thank you for it.
Caitlin (flexing her biceps): Mum, see, my muscles are getting hard right?
Me: Well, not too bad....
Caitlin: They are medium hard?
Me (trying to grab opp to 'psycho' her): Yes, if you eat healthy food and sit quietly at the table while eating, then you can get stronger. Do you want to call Daddy and tell him about your muscles?
Caitlin: No.
Me: Call lah...
Caitlin: Nooo, I don't want to show off.
I was so amused that she said those words!
Caitlin (flexing her biceps): Mum, see, my muscles are getting hard right?
Me: Well, not too bad....
Caitlin: They are medium hard?
Me (trying to grab opp to 'psycho' her): Yes, if you eat healthy food and sit quietly at the table while eating, then you can get stronger. Do you want to call Daddy and tell him about your muscles?
Caitlin: No.
Me: Call lah...
Caitlin: Nooo, I don't want to show off.
I was so amused that she said those words!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Domestic help
This is my semi funny take on the whys and why nots of having live-in house help, or what Malaysians refer to as 'maids'.
Why I don't have/don't want a maid
Can't afford one i.e. acquisition fees, salary, full board costs
Don't want additional person to be frustrated with
Don't want additional headcount to care for
Don't want another crybaby if she is the emotional type who can't take correction
Don't have to worry about walking around the house in my undergarments
Can go out or holiday without worrying where to park her if we don't bring her along, or if I'd return to find her (and contents of my house) missing
Don't have to worry where and when we do 'it' as long as kid is asleep (not that we are such horny beings-lah!)
My kid will not speak with Indon or Filipino accent
No worries about maid seducing hubby (LOL! but actually I've heard of such cases you know...)
Don't lose money to agent or get blacklisted by the authorities if maid runs away
Don't need to do quality control check on housework done
Why I would like a maid
Can pretend to live like 'tai tai' or designer mum
Don't have to clean meat, fish, vege after marketing
Don't have to wash, cut, chop food to prepare for cooking
Don't have to do laundry, dishes, house cleaning, ironing
I will not have hand dermatitis, instead can have manicure and pedicure everyday
Can park maid and kid at home or bookstore while I do my own shopping in peace
Can enjoy my dinner with other adults instead of sitting at the kiddies' table, or hopping between adults' and kids' tables to make sure the kid is eating and not just playing with other kids when we eat out.
Can exercise, watch TV while the housework gets done by someone else.
Looks like why I don't want a maid outweighs why I want one.... Damn! Hee hee, so I've been maid-less for two years now. Hooray...or sob sob?
Why I don't have/don't want a maid
Can't afford one i.e. acquisition fees, salary, full board costs
Don't want additional person to be frustrated with
Don't want additional headcount to care for
Don't want another crybaby if she is the emotional type who can't take correction
Don't have to worry about walking around the house in my undergarments
Can go out or holiday without worrying where to park her if we don't bring her along, or if I'd return to find her (and contents of my house) missing
Don't have to worry where and when we do 'it' as long as kid is asleep (not that we are such horny beings-lah!)
My kid will not speak with Indon or Filipino accent
No worries about maid seducing hubby (LOL! but actually I've heard of such cases you know...)
Don't lose money to agent or get blacklisted by the authorities if maid runs away
Don't need to do quality control check on housework done
Why I would like a maid
Can pretend to live like 'tai tai' or designer mum
Don't have to clean meat, fish, vege after marketing
Don't have to wash, cut, chop food to prepare for cooking
Don't have to do laundry, dishes, house cleaning, ironing
I will not have hand dermatitis, instead can have manicure and pedicure everyday
Can park maid and kid at home or bookstore while I do my own shopping in peace
Can enjoy my dinner with other adults instead of sitting at the kiddies' table, or hopping between adults' and kids' tables to make sure the kid is eating and not just playing with other kids when we eat out.
Can exercise, watch TV while the housework gets done by someone else.
Looks like why I don't want a maid outweighs why I want one.... Damn! Hee hee, so I've been maid-less for two years now. Hooray...or sob sob?
Malaysian missing in Montana
Last week, I read news about a young Malaysian man who went hiking in a national park in Montana and has been reported missing. This came just a few days after I watched the movie version of Into The Wild, the book which I read and blogged about not too long ago.
Yi-Jien Hwa, 27, started his hike on August 11th and was due back a week later. Till now, he's yet to be found. He's a seminary student in Kentucky and from a family well known among the Methodist church circle back home. My heart goes out to his family as they continue to fast and pray and keep their faith and hopes up. Quite a few sites and blogs have news, sharing of thoughts and personal emails from his mum about what they're going through at this trying moment.
Yi-Jien Hwa, 27, started his hike on August 11th and was due back a week later. Till now, he's yet to be found. He's a seminary student in Kentucky and from a family well known among the Methodist church circle back home. My heart goes out to his family as they continue to fast and pray and keep their faith and hopes up. Quite a few sites and blogs have news, sharing of thoughts and personal emails from his mum about what they're going through at this trying moment.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Fish spa experience
One weekend when we visited Pavilion mall, we chanced upon the fish spa that is quite the novelty lately. It's a place where you pay to get your feet nibbled by fish for 'therapy' to remove dead skin cells, rough skin etc. Caitlin was very fascinated by it as they had a glass window display at the shopfront where shoppers walking by can see people's feet getting nibbled.
She had mentioned wanting to go try it a couple of times when something triggered her memory and finally this evening (yesterday actually since it's past midnight now), we literally took the 'plunge'. We went to their outlet in Mid Valley mall. After paying (RM38 for adults and half price for kids age 4-12 for 30 mins), we washed our feet and found one 'tank' to put our feet into. Eugene did not join us as he had tried it before during his lunch break one day.
I had read in their website that different tanks had different sized fish, the bigger ones nibbled harder while the smaller ones were recommended for first timers. Unknowingly we dipped into the one with larger fish and immediately we both felt so ticklish we burst out laughing and almost couldn't stop.
Two Japanese women who were already there were quite amused with us and pointed out the tank further away which had smaller fish. The smaller fish's nibbles were more bearable, my feet felt slightly tickled and tingled. After awhile, I got used to the sensation. Caitlin however refused to put her feet in after the initial experience with the bigger fish. Only after much persuasion (I wasn't going to let RM19 go to waste, man!), she finally found the courage to put her feet in for the last remaining 10 minutes.
My feet
Caitlin's feet
When time was up, she said she wanted to do this again, but at Pavilion the next time...
My verdict? An interesting, fun and ticklish first-time experience. The hard and dry parts of my feet feel slightly softened. I guess you need to go frequently to get the full effect. The difference between this and using feet pampering products like foot baths, scrubs, lotions, etc is that you get the additional 'tickles' and you just sit and relax with drinks/snacks (they have a small menu) and reading material (provided free)instead of having to work on your feet yourself (unless you go to a pedicure or spa).
This place also offers a range of other pampering services like reflexology, head, neck, hand, shoulder, and body massage. Certain outlets also offer full body fish spa. Imagine dipping your whole body into a tub full of fish and getting nibbled!
Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa
She had mentioned wanting to go try it a couple of times when something triggered her memory and finally this evening (yesterday actually since it's past midnight now), we literally took the 'plunge'. We went to their outlet in Mid Valley mall. After paying (RM38 for adults and half price for kids age 4-12 for 30 mins), we washed our feet and found one 'tank' to put our feet into. Eugene did not join us as he had tried it before during his lunch break one day.
I had read in their website that different tanks had different sized fish, the bigger ones nibbled harder while the smaller ones were recommended for first timers. Unknowingly we dipped into the one with larger fish and immediately we both felt so ticklish we burst out laughing and almost couldn't stop.
Two Japanese women who were already there were quite amused with us and pointed out the tank further away which had smaller fish. The smaller fish's nibbles were more bearable, my feet felt slightly tickled and tingled. After awhile, I got used to the sensation. Caitlin however refused to put her feet in after the initial experience with the bigger fish. Only after much persuasion (I wasn't going to let RM19 go to waste, man!), she finally found the courage to put her feet in for the last remaining 10 minutes.
My feet
Caitlin's feetWhen time was up, she said she wanted to do this again, but at Pavilion the next time...
My verdict? An interesting, fun and ticklish first-time experience. The hard and dry parts of my feet feel slightly softened. I guess you need to go frequently to get the full effect. The difference between this and using feet pampering products like foot baths, scrubs, lotions, etc is that you get the additional 'tickles' and you just sit and relax with drinks/snacks (they have a small menu) and reading material (provided free)instead of having to work on your feet yourself (unless you go to a pedicure or spa).
This place also offers a range of other pampering services like reflexology, head, neck, hand, shoulder, and body massage. Certain outlets also offer full body fish spa. Imagine dipping your whole body into a tub full of fish and getting nibbled!
Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa
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