Father’s day

We celebrated Father’s Day by having a fun bowling. Bowling is Alvin’s favorite sport. He’s been an active member of FBCS (Filipino Bowlers Club of Singapore) from 2004 to 2005 but since we moved to Sengkang, he didn’t find time to play again.

We had lunch at Kenny Rogers at Suntec Mall. After our lunch we went to Toy’s R Us to claim my voucher and used it to buy Hot Wheels cars for Albert’s. We then went to Marina Square to play bowling. Alvin and I played 2 sets while and Albert and Juvy only played one set. It was a fun day. Maybe we’ll play again next month.

Smalish Citizen

Last year, I have been bringing Albert to Ikea-Smaland for at least twice a month during my off. I was waiting for Albert to turn 4 so he could be a “citizen of Smaland”. With that, he can participate in indoor and outdoor fun activities of Smaland. Last week, we visited Ikea but I forgot to bring his birth certificate. Today, we went there again and I managed to apply a “Smaland passport” for him.

Here are some of the rights of Smaland Citizen:

· Every visit, can scan at the smales shroom (coupon machine), and receive a sticker for passport (maximum one per day). By scanning the passport, a visit will be registered and he will receive S$0.50 Smalish sants.
· The smalish dollar and sants can be withdrawn and printed from the smales shroom.
· By scanning the passport, a Smalish can also receive a coupon for one discounted kid’s meal and one free drinks at the Ikea Restaurant from a price S$2.90 to S$1.50.
· A chance to participate in special activities and events of Smaland

Funny little fish(reading at 4yrs Old)

Two weeks ago I ordered a book series from Colliman.com, the distributor of Paul and Mary.

We’ve been reading at least once a day with Albert for almost two weeks. It takes Albert a longer time to recognize all the words in the story which has longer sentences and more new words.

click here video

I miss

I miss colleagues at RSH(Gina, Joy, Mylene, Mina and Rose)

I miss my housemates(Anita,Mars and my crying partner Ems)

I miss my college friends(Leizel, Marshia, Hermie, Winnie and my Betchay)

I miss my high school friends( Angela, Sheila, Catherine and partner Claudette)

I miss holy week

I miss Christmas

I miss Glorietta, Landmark and Greenbelt

I miss SALE in Megamall

I miss Rocks, sbarro and jolibee

I miss LFS(last full show)

I miss Halo-halo, Bibingka and palabok

I miss ube-cake and ube ice cream

I miss my Mom’s cooking and never ending reminders

I miss my Tatang’s face when he’s mad

I miss my ugly sisters who are now very pretty and smart

I miss Victory liner (Makati-Guagua)

I miss jeepney ride

I miss Ate Rose our landlord telling me “sana next time no more telebabad”

I miss kids at Tuloy-Don Bosco

I miss my YMC-Makati Aikido group

I miss Don Bosco Church

I miss Greenbelt Chapel

I miss rushing for work and cursing the traffic

I miss jeepney’s horn & noise pollution

I miss PICC jog during weekends

I miss family and relatives who always says that I’m pretty (feeling)

…I miss the smile of fellow Filipino people.

Day-out

It’s school holidays here in Singapore now and I managed to invite my friend Karen for a play-date with our kids and the two of us had some chikka moments.

We went to Ikea and left our kids in Smaland to play for an hour. Meanwhile, Karen and I walked around and talked about many things under the sun. After an hour, we went back to Smaland to fetch our kids and went for lunch at Ikea Restaurant.

Karen has been my chat mate for almost 3 years already and we talked online almost everyday. But even though we chat a lot, we seldom go out because of our busy schedule with our small business and own families. I realized that it’s really hard to find real friends and I’m certainly glad to know I have them around like Karen.

"our" room

It’s been a while since we had a guest in our home so we decided to make one or our rooms useful. This weekend, we emptied one of our rooms and made it as our activity room. A library for all or us, a play area for Albert, a room space for our Tomy(our hamster) and a work place for me and Alvin.

We bought some furniture from Ikea to make the room more organised and neater. It was a fun weekend activity for us building the furniture like Lego puzzles. Alvin was so exhausted after all the carrying and assembling, especially the book case which took us more than an hour to complete. After everything was done, Albert became very enthusiastic playing even with his older toys in the room.

Sixty piece-puzzle

Just a while a go Albert completed his Thomas and Friends 60 piece puzzle. Albert had been trying to complete it since Sunday. Finally he made it!

Hamster

The night before Albert’s birthday, I showed him our plan to visit Escape Theme Park at Down Town East. I showed him the rides we planned to take.

The next day, on his birthday, just after he woke up, he told us that he didn’t want to visit Escape. Here was our conversation:

Mommy & Daddy: Happy birthday Albert!
Albert: I don’t want to go to Escape. I don’t want to ride car rides.
Daddy: Then what do you want?
Albert: I want a pet.
Mommy: What pet do you want?
Albert: I want to have a horse.
Mommy and Daddy: A HORSE?!
Albert: Yes a horse
Daddy: How about smaller one like a hamster?
Albert: Hamster is ok.

After having a birthday lunch at Swensen’s, we had a colouring activity at Kiddy Arts Paradise. Albert specifically chose a car to colour. Then, he went for a merry-go-round and rode a choo-choo train.

We went to Serangoon North Pet Center to fulfil our promise to Albert. We let Albert choose the hamster. After looking at different hamsters, he settled for a gray-coloured one.

click here photos

In Lucerne, Switzerland

May 15th was our last day in Bremen. As our train would depart early at 7:15 in the morning, we woke up as early as 5 in the morning. After the early breakfast, we rushed to the train station and got to the right platform just in time. We traveled from Bremen to Kassel then transferred to another train from Kassel to Frankfurt.

After having lunch at Frankfurt, we headed to Zurich. We were supposed to alight at Basel to wait for our train to Luzern but along the way we decided to drop by Zurich instead since the train was going there. The train reached Zurich at around 3 in the afternoon. The weather was not very good at Zurich but at least it wasn’t raining.

We left our luggage at the storage lockers which cost us 18 Swiss francs (8 for the locker and 10 for the store-a-bag counter). For toilet use, one needs to pay 2 Swiss francs. After walking around the area, we had our snacks at Burger King. We had to pay 29 Swiss francs, really expensive for 2 burger meals! We took the 8 p.m. train and reached Luzern an hour later. We arrived at Hotel Seeburg past nine and we all quickly dozed off.

The hotel served good breakfast, a mix of different types of breads, cereals and cold cuts. I made sandwiches for our lunch J so we could save some money. We went to town and followed the walking tour suggested by the tourism office map. In the market place, I found a very nice leather bag but didn’t buy it.

The following day, we went to “The Swiss Transportation Museum” which was just a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Of course, Albert enjoyed this day seeing all kinds of transportation. He especially enjoyed the train exhibit as he really likes trains!

Before heading for Geneva the following day, we took a day trip to Engelberg and Mount Titlis. The trip to Engelberg itself was quite fascinating. The train had to ascend a mountain slope. Albert enjoyed the journey especially every time the train sounded its whistle. It sounded like Thomas, his favourite tank engine. Engelberg was quite foggy when we reached there. It was very cold; the temperature was probably less than 10 degrees C. The cable car to Mount Titlis was 10 minutes away (by walking) from the train station.

The ride to the top of Mount Titlis was divided into three segments. On the first segment, we took a cable car that could fit six persons, similar to the ones in Sentosa. On the second segment, we took a big cable car that could fit more than 30 persons. On the last segment, we took a rotating cable car which could also fit more than 30 persons. When we reached the summit, it was darn cold. It was snowing and windy. Despite that, Albert enjoyed playing with the snow while Alvin and I were shivering. After a while, we managed to adjust to the weather and threw snow at each other. It was cloudy so we couldn’t see anything far. But it was good to touch and play with real snow.

We went back to Luzern to collect our luggage at the hotel. Alvin went alone to the hotel and we waited for him at the train station. While we are in the train station I bought food for our trip. We managed to catch the 5 p.m. train to Geneva.

click here pictures

Paul and Mary(reading 4years Old)

Yesterday was the last day of Albert’s first school term and his teacher’s assessments were good. He also got a book from the school.

After reading with him for 3-4 times yesterday, this morning(his birthday) he tried to read by himself.

click here video

In Bremen, Germany

Our SQ flight left Singapore at 11:50 p.m. and arrived at Frankfurt at 6:30 a.m. the following day, Sunday. The total travel time was around 12 hours and 40 minutes. On board the flight, they served us three meals. Since we couldn’t finish all the stuff in the meals, especially Albert’s, I packed some of those that we could still eat (we still had to take a five-hour train to Bremen) so my bag became really bloated and heavier.

During the flight, Albert was behaved quite well which was really good since we didn’t want to disturb the other passengers. He watched two movies, his favorite “Thomas and Friends” and “Bolt”. He also was kept busy by some computer games. When he got tired, he managed to sleep for three hours. He woke up two hours before we landed in Frankfurt and saw the pretty sunrise from above the clouds. My two boys greeted me Happy Mother’s Day!

I was not really impressed with the Frankfurt airport terminal (the airport seemed comparable with NAIA terminal 1). There were only four immigration officers on duty at that time (two of which were handling for European passports) so there was a long queue for non-European travellers.

We had a sort of difficult time looking for our connecting train. Luckily, we arrived there three hours before the train departure so we had enough time to look for the train. We followed the signs (saying “long distance trains”) but were led to the wrong train terminal. The German train system is quite complex and they have a lot of train types (city trains, regional trains, long distance trains, express trains, etc.) The express train that we were taking was in another terminal, but also in the airport. Luckily.

Anyways, Alvin had to have our rail passes validated first before we could board the train (or else we might pay a fine). It took him around 30 minutes to do this because the queue was super long! For our food, I bought two cheese buns (costing 0.90 each), a chicken sandwich for 4.50 euros, and 1 L Evian bottled water for 1.90 euros (bottled water is expensive in Europe and I only saw three brands: Evian, Volvic and Vittel).

We went to the designated train platform 20 minutes before the train arrived. It was really cold! The temperature was probably 10 - 13 C. The trains were very punctual and departed on time. A practical advice: it’s good to arrive several minutes before the train departure to know the exact location of your train coach as the trains can really be very long! It’s also advisable (always is) to travel light as the train floors are not levelled with the platform. You have to lift you luggage by yourself and do it very quickly.

The train (ICE, or inter-city express) departed Frankfurt at 9:57 a.m. and we had to travel for another five hours to reach Bremen, Germany. The train could go super-fast, up to 300 kph, but amazingly there was not much vibration that you could feel inside the coaches! The travel was much smoother than the MRT in Singapore even when the trains were running at blistering speed!

I feel that travelling through the train was really more enjoyable than if we travelled by plane to Bremen. We had a good view of Germany’s beautiful countryside landscape, old castles on hilltops, villages and towns. The train passed and stopped at the following cities: Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn, Koln (Cologne), Wuppertal, Hagen, Dortmund, Munster, Munster (Westf), Osnabruck and lastly Bremen.

When we arrived at Bremen, there was a football riot. Police were all over the place and the rioters were shouting and marching through the train station. Not really scared, just shocked with the very loud noise. We took a cab from the train station to the Hotel Bremer Haus. The hotel was actually near from the train station but we were very tired so we just decided to take cab.

We reached the hotel around 4 p.m. After eating the cakes that I packed from Singapore Airlines and the Rollo(cost 4.20 euros) I bought from the train station, we all went to bed.

click here pictures

The Journey (Euro Trip)

Our SQ flight left Singapore at 11:50 p.m. and arrived at Frankfurt at 6:30 a.m. the following day, Sunday. The total travel time was around 12 hours and 40 minutes. On board the flight, they served us three meals. Since we couldn’t finish all the stuff in the meals, especially Albert’s, I packed some of those that we could still eat (we still had to take a five-hour train to Bremen) so my bag became really bloated and heavier.

During the flight, Albert was behaved quite well which was really good since we didn’t want to disturb the other passengers. He watched two movies, his favourite “Thomas and Friends” and “Bolt”. He also was kept busy by some computer games. When he got tired, he managed to sleep for three hours. He woke up two hours before we landed in Frankfurt and saw the pretty sunrise from above the clouds. My two boys greeted me Happy Mother’s Day!

I was not really impressed with the Frankfurt airport terminal (the airport seemed comparable with NAIA terminal 1). There were only four immigration officers on duty at that time (two of which were handling for European passports) so there was a long queue for non-European travellers.

We had a sort of difficult time looking for our connecting train. Luckily, we arrived there three hours before the train departure so we had enough time to look for the train. We followed the signs (saying “long distance trains”) but were led to the wrong train terminal. The German train system is quite complex and they have a lot of train types (city trains, regional trains, long distance trains, express trains, etc.) The express train that we were taking was in another terminal, but also in the airport. Luckily.

Anyways, Alvin had to have our rail passes validated first before we could board the train (or else we might pay a fine). It took him around 30 minutes to do this because the queue was super long! For our food, I bought two cheese buns (costing 0.90 each), a chicken sandwich for 4.50 euros, and 1 L Evian bottled water for 1.90 euros (bottled water is expensive in Europe and I only saw three brands: Evian, Volvic and Vittel).

We went to the designated train platform 20 minutes before the train arrived. It was really cold! The temperature was probably 10 - 13 C. The trains were very punctual and departed on time. A practical advice: it’s good to arrive several minutes before the train departure to know the exact location of your train coach as the trains can really be very long! It’s also advisable (always is) to travel light as the train floors are not levelled with the platform. You have to lift you luggage by yourself and do it very quickly.

The train (ICE, or inter-city express) departed Frankfurt at 9:57 a.m. and we had to travel for another five hours to reach Bremen, Germany. The train could go super-fast, up to 300 kph, but amazingly there was not much vibration that you could feel inside the coaches! The travel was much smoother than the MRT in Singapore even when the trains were running at blistering speed!

I feel that travelling through the train was really more enjoyable than if we travelled by plane to Bremen. We had a good view of Germany’s beautiful countryside landscape, old castles on hilltops, villages and towns. The train passed and stopped at the following cities: Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn, Koln (Cologne), Wuppertal, Hagen, Dortmund, Munster, Munster (Westf), Osnabruck and lastly Bremen.

When we arrived at Bremen, there was a football riot. Police were all over the place and the rioters were shouting and marching through the train station. Not really scared, just shocked with the very loud noise. We took a cab from the train station to the Hotel Bremer Haus. The hotel was actually near from the train station but we were very tired so we just decided to take cab.

We reached the hotel around 4 p.m. After eating the cakes that I packed from Singapore Airlines and the Rollo(cost 4.20 euros) I bought from the train station, we all went to bed.

Trip prepations

I was quietly stressed and filled with fears and so many what ifs about the swine flu pandemic news. But still, I set aside my feelings because I didn’t want this to ruin my planning.

I even home quarantined Albert from school. I didn’t send him to school since Monday for fear that he might catch some virus from school and get sick. Kiasu Karen J

With some hesitations, I still continued thinking and buying stuff for our trip. I even documented the packing of our luggage which I did last Tuesday.

Today’s news made me happy and less worried because the Ministry of Health – Singapore raised down the alert flag from orange to yellow.

click here photos

Our Luggage(Europe 2009)

Finally, we’ll be flying in several hours time. I planned to sleep longer than usual but still woke up at my normal waking time. I was probably just excited (and anxious) for the trip.

We’ll be traveling for 18 days (including air travel times) and will be visiting places where the temperature ranges form 8-18 degrees Celsius. Winter Time and Cold Wear’s list suggests that we need 3 layers of clothing. I spent a lot time just planning what to include in our luggage…I didn’t want to spend extra money to buy necessary things in Europe (because I heard that its expensive to buy stuff there). After listing down everything that we would need for 18 days, I discovered that we needed to pack at lot for the three of us. Instead, I decided just to pack for 7-9 days and we will just find a laundry shop around our hotel.

Our packing list
Alvin’s Conference
4 Long sleeves
2 Pants
1 Coat
2 neck tie
4 handkerchiefs
1 belt


Tops
Inner (long john, intimate wear, shirts)
6 Dad
6 Mom
8 Albert
Mid Layering (sweater/cardigan)
2 Dad
4 Mom
4 Albert
Mid Layering (long sleeves)
3 Dad
3 Mom
3 Albert
Outer wear(jacket/coat/windbreaker)
1 Dad
1 Mom
2 Albert
Sleepwear (tops and bottoms)
4 Dad
4 Mom
6 Albert

Bottoms (corduroy/jeans)
2 Dad
4 Mom
3 Albert
Underwear
8 Dad
15 Mom
8 Albert


Accessories

Cotton socks
6 Dad
6 Mom
6 Albert

Belts
1 Dad
1 Mom
1 Albert

1 Backpack
1 umbrella
1 water bottle
Sunglasses
Albert’s milk powder

Toiletries
Lip balm
face moisturizer
body moisturizer
tooth brush & tooth paste
comb
nail cutter
shaver
shaving cream

Medications
Pei Pa
Cold & flu remedy
Fever & pain
White flower
Plasters
Bengay ointment

Extra for suppers
3in1 wheat sachets
Biscuits

I managed to pack all of the above in 1 large and 1 medium luggage bag. I also packed 1 empty sports bag as spare.

Planning our trip was really fun indeed.

Europe Trip 2009 (Planning Stage)

In March, Alvin’s research paper was accepted in a conference to be held in Germany. I actually didn’t have a plan to go to Europe but after seeing the different sights, I decided to “tag along” with Alvin and visit other places in Europe.

I actually started looking out for popular tourist destinations in Europe using Google Earth since late last year (even though we had no immediate plan at that time). We “officially” started planning after Alvin’s paper was accepted. We first applied for an entry visa. The processing took 10 working days.

Just want to share what I learned during the planning:

A) Visa Processing Requirements:
1) Airline itinerary: can get from travel agencies for free
2) Hotel bookings: Can get bookings online
3) Child does not need to pay visa fees
4) Insurance: NTUC is cheaper than AIG and more comprehensive

B) Airfare Comparison (SG to Frankfurt):
1) Etihad Airways (has stop-overs) was the cheapest but they don’t fly daily
2) Qatar Airways (has stop-overs) was also cheaper than SQ but they have a stop-over of more than 15hrs in Qatar.
3) Qantas Airways flies direct and cheaper than SQ by a few hundred dollars
4) Singapore Airlines flies direct but more expensive than Ethihad, Qatar and Qantas. But if you get the odd flight times, it will be cheaper than Qantas and Qatar Airways.

C) Euro Rail
1) Can by online thru www.eurail.com.sg (Dynasty Travel)
2) Point to point 2nd class seat is much more expensive than Global Pass (if you are going to visit several countries).
3) Global pass are 1st class seats and Flexible for 15, 30, 60 days.


D) Hotels
I compared the prices of several websites such as bookings.com; hotels.com; and Octopus.com. We used our Marriott points for our accommodation in Paris.

E) Clothing – For a budget-type like me…
1) Cold Wear – I got some cheap on sale clothes from here
2) Winter Time – They have more variety than Cold Wear
3) John Little – Cheaper than 1&2 but lesser options
4) Song Song – Cheaper than the rest J bought some cotton turtle neck shirts.

F) Museums Pass
Paris Museums pass: www.Paris.concierge.com
Metro Pass: www.parismetro.com
Disneyland Paris: www.365tickets.com
Switzerland Tours: www.viator.com

G) Reference books for our itinerary
1) Europe Eyewitness
2) Lonely Western Europe
3) Frommer’s Europe
4) Budget Europe
5) Lonely Planet Switzerland
6) Switzerland Brochures: you can request online and switzerland will send you by parcel

G) Itinerary
At first, my itinerary was for 21days and was very ambitious. I had to revise it 14 times to get a more realistic one. Some of the revisions I made:

1st version: Germany (Frankfurt, Bremen, Berlin), Netherlands (Amsterdam), Belgium (Brussels), France (Lille, Paris, Versailles), Switzeland (Geneva), Italy (Milan, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Assisi, Venice)
2nd version: Germany (Frankfurt, Bremen, Berlin), Netherlands (Amsterdam), Belgium (Brussels), France (Lille, Paris, Versailles), Spain (Barcelona, Madrid)
3rd version: Germany (Frankfurt, Bremen, Berlin), Netherlands (Amsterdam), Switzerland(Geneva), Belgium (Brussels), France (Lille, Paris, Versailles), Spain (Barcelona, Madrid)
.
.
.
In the end, we had to cut down a lot of countries (as the cost was too much!) and going thru many countries was not practical and realistic for a very short time. We settled down to three countries, namely, Germany (Bremen, where Alvin’s conference will be held, 5Nights), Switzerland (Lucerne 3Nights and Geneva 2Nights) and lastly France (Paris 5Nights and Versailles)

Hotels:

Bremer Haus Hotel(BREMEN, GERMANY)
The hotel is in the city’s historical core, just out of reach of all the hustle and bustle of the city on a peaceful sidestreet; the perfect Bremen getaway. Start your day with the hotel’s hearty breakfast buffet, then head out and discover all the city’s hidden treasures. For business travelers, the hotel is close to the exhibition grounds, and for those who want to extend their sightseeing to the outlying area and nearby towns, the railway station is also nearby.

Address: Loningstrasse 16 - 20, 28195 Bremen, Germany
Rate: SGD212/night winclusive of breakfast


Seeburg Hotel, Luzern (LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND)
Situated in lush green surroundings in Seeburg, 3 km from the centre of Lucerne and right on the banks of Lake Lucerne, Hotel Seeburg offers stunning architecture and great views.

Spend peaceful nights in tastefully furnished rooms and enjoy the wonderful views towards the lake, the mountains and the forest.

Choose between the elegant Alexander restaurant serving gourmet cuisine and selected wines, and the stylish Seerestaurant with its great views on Lake Lucerne, Mount Pilatus and romantic sunsets.

Enjoy inspiring conversations in the Sunset City Beach Light bar, where all Lucerne meets in summer under the open sky.

A wide range of stylish and fully equipped seminar and banquet rooms are at your disposal as well in the Seeburg hotel.

Hotel Rooms: 57

Addres: Seeburgstrasse 61
6006 Luzern, Switzerland
Tel: 041 375 55 55
Rate: SGD242/night inclusive of breakfast


Renaissance Paris Hotel La Defense(PARIS, FRANCE)
The Renaissance Paris Hotel La Defense is in the heart of La Defense district of Paris, France. Just next to the Grande Arche de La Defense this Paris hotel is just a few minutes from the capital's famous attractions: only 6 metro stops from the Champs-Elysees. Guests can walk from the Renaissance Paris Hotel La Defense to the large shopping center "les 4 Temps" as well as to the CNIT conference center. Whether you come by train, metro or taxi from Paris airports, access to the hotel is easy and for those coming by car there is a private and supervised hotel car park. This upscale hotel provides spacious hotel rooms with Marriott bedding, air conditioning, Internet access, premium TV channels, and in-room safe. For successful conferences and events there are 13 meeting rooms with natural daylight and broadband internet. Hotel guests have free access to the fitness gym with sauna and steam room. Guests can enjoy traditional French cuisine in the hotel restaurant and a relaxing atmosphere at the Colonial bar.

60 Jardin de Valmy, Boulevard Circulaire, Sortie 7
Paris La Defense Cedex, 92918 France
Phone: 33 1 41975050
Rate: SGD321/night inclusive of breakfast

Making Faces(Reading@47months)

For the past few days, Alvin took over the night reading sessions with Albert while I was busy preparing for our trip. Alvin taught him how to read the short story entitled “Making Faces”. It took Albert two days to read the story on his own.

Click here video

My Mommy (Reading@47months)

Teaching a child to read is very challenging and needs PATIENCE but the result is very rewarding for me as a mom.

Click here video

47months "One Little Rabbit"

I’ve been busy planning our trip and forgotten to take videos of Albert’s reading lessons for sometime. Here’s a video of his latest reading lesson.

click here video

Up in the sky

Last week, we went to Kinokoniya Ngee Ann City to find maps for our trip and to buy a book for Albert. But we never found a book that is suitable for our reading lessons (that is, with large fonts and minimal pictures.) So I decided to make a book for him myself. I searched for simple stories from the web and printed it out using big fonts.

On that same day, we let Albert read through the book and today, just 3 days after, he almost can read the whole story with minimal assistance.

Click here video

Here are some of the tips that I got from the book (How to Teach your Baby to Read by Glenn Doman ) which I think are quite effective based on my experience:

1) Show your child the words in lower case letters except first letter of a proper name and in large font.
2) 5-minute sessions several times a day in order not to tire out your child (Vocabulary of the family environment; Vocabulary to build sentence’s structure; Phrases)
3) Follow text with your finger as you read
4) Teach according to your child’s mood. Do not force!
5) Build up the confidence of your child, appreciate his accomplishments
6) Don’t start a session when one of you is tired, hungry or bored.
7) Have fun together; take this as your bonding time with your child.

Albert’s development

Albert’s progress for the past months:
1) Drinks formula milk only before sleeping
2) He hasn’t been wearing diaper for the past 3months
3) He talks a lot
4) He uses Google to search for games or Thomas J
5) He eats the same as our meals
6) He can play a memory matching game of 3x6 in 2mins
7) In the process of constructing asking questions
8) He can color nicely if he in a good mood or not rushing to do other things
9) Less “NO”
10) Less tantrums

Recap

Kinareer naming lately dito sa bahay ang mag-reading sessions with Albert.

We have been very enthusiastic with the progress of our reading lessons. Even Albert himself looked very interested also. When he wakes up in the morning, he always wants to read his flash cards and he says “put in youtube ok” hahaha. Really encouraging even his playgroup teacher made a comment on my facebook and encouraged me more to continue with the reading lessons faithfully.

Today I tried to recap our one week of reading lessons. We had a total of 110 flashcards containing 171 words. I shuffled the flash cards and the result; Albert managed to read 90% of the flashcards.

click here video

"Sponge" Albert

After our two-worded reading sessions, i was becoming really amazed and filled with excitement with the progress of our reading lessons. So last night before i went to sleep i made new flashcards for Albert and this time containing phrases.

In the evening, after our 2 session(morning and afternoon) i tried to have 1 round with him before our friends arrived for dinner and the results were very amazing.

I realized that a child's brain at this stage is really like a sponge. It can absorb many things. Even though i have just shown the flash cards twice before this video was taken, he able to remember and read the words correctly.

click here video

Visita Iglesia 2009

Good Friday is holiday here in Singapore and for the first time we thought to visit 7 churches in Singapore. We went with our friends who were on vacation in Singapore and met some old and new friends during the visiting.

We started our first leg at 9am to St Anne Church which is just a walking distance from home. Then we took a bus to the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary followed by Immaculate Heart of Virgin Mary and managed to catch a mass. Then we headed to City via MRT. We alighted at Little India station and took another bus to Our Lady of Lourdes. Then we walked thru Queen street to St. Joseph followed by Sts Peter and Paul and lastly to the Cathedral of Good Shepherd. We finished our Visita Iglesia before 3pm.

We reached back home at 5pm. I thought we’re all very tired and I think also because the weather was very hot. All slept and woke-up before dinner.



"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."
~ C.T. Studd

First 2 worded Session

After finishing almost 200 words, we tried to test if we could go to next level using two-worded flash cards. Im proud to say that Albert memorized the words within two days.

Click here video

47.3 months old

Albert memorized all the words in one day only. We just did the morning, afternoon and evening session.

click here video

47.2 months old- reading

Teaching your child with fun and love is more fruitful.

Program: 3days X 2-3/session

click here video

Albert can read

When Albert was two years old, we tried to teach him to read. We created flash cards containing familiar words and flashed them to him as suggested by a book. Unfortunately, it didn’t really work out because he couldn’t speak that much yet that time.

Several days ago, we tried it again. Surprise! In less than two weeks, he could read more than 70 words. For the next two weeks, we will start showing him adjectives and articles. Then after that, we will try out with couplets and phrase.

click here video

2009Jan - New Word "Sand dune"

Last night before we went to sleep, we talked about what we could see in the countryside. Albert made several suggestions. Here was our conversation:

Mommy: What are the things you see in the countryside?
Albert: Lake
Mommy: Lake. Good, what else?
Albert: River
Mommy: Yes river. Anymore?
Albert: Pond
Daddy: Very good, what else?
Albert: Fish in the pond
Daddy: Wow fishes in the pond...
Albert: Ah, mountains...
Mommy: Yes, mountains.
Albert: Trees.
Mommy: Good..trees
Albert: Sand dune
Mommy: Ano daw, daddy?
Daddy: Sand dune.
Mommy: Ano yun?
Daddy: Parang field sa desert...
Mommy: Next, what else? (I learned new word from albert, hihihi)
.
.
car
road
bus
train
.
.
.
zzzzzZZZZ

2008 Oct - Days 2-3: Family Retreat at Punta de Uian, Zambales, Philippines

I planned this vacation while still in Singapore. While browsing through possible vacation places, I was impressed with Punta de Uian and decided to have our family retreat there. At 10 in the morning, we were all set to go to Zambales. We rented a 10-seater van so we could all fit together in one vehicle and enjoy the journey.

Alvin and I were impressed with the new expressway from Clark to Subic. The toll was a bit expensive but it was worth it since we saved a lot of time. Our driver was a bit careful as he drove a little bit slow. Slowly but surely, we reached Punta de Uian at around one in the afternoon.

When Albert saw the pool, he became excited and wanted to have a swim right away. The rest of us were thinking about lunch as the long trip made us starving. Our packed lunch was really yummy. My mom packed dinuguan, shrimp, friend chicken, chicken rolls and kilawin (writing this part of the blog makes me hungry again!)

Punta de Uian is a secluded beach resort and is really on the remote part of Zambales. However, its seclusion is really one of the things that attracted me to it the most. It’s really quiet and it seemed like we owned the place when we were there (we were the only guests at that time.) From the beach, we could see two beautiful islands. Those looking for private and silent moments should visit this resort!

Click this to view more pictures

On day 2 of our retreat, we went for a 30 minute boat ride to Anawangin. The land around the beach is teeming with young pine trees. Anawangin is like a cove surrounded by mountains. It seems that there is no way to get here through land (unless you don’t mind to climb the mountains around it.) Anawangin’s beach has fine sand and is very fantastic.

After our Anawangin side trip, we had to pack up and go back to Pampanga as my sister Joy had a duty at 2 pm. It was a short but fun beach vacation.

Click this to view more pictures

Later at dinner, Tatang (my father) suggested that we go to Jerry’s Grill where he ordered his favorites: cristy pata, specialty rice, sisig and some veggies.

2008 October :Family Retreat at Punta de Uian, Zambales, Philippines

I planned this vacation while still in Singapore. While browsing through possible vacation places, I was impressed with Punta de Uian and decided to have our family retreat there. At 10 in the morning, we were all set to go to Zambales. We rented a 10-seater van so we could all fit together in one vehicle and enjoy the journey.

Alvin and I were impressed with the new expressway from Clark to Subic. The toll was a bit expensive but it was worth it since we saved a lot of time. Our driver was a bit careful as he drove a little bit slow. Slowly but surely, we reached Punta de Uian at around one in the afternoon.

When Albert saw the pool, he became excited and wanted to have a swim right away. The rest of us were thinking about lunch as the long trip made us starving. Our packed lunch was really yummy. My mom packed dinuguan, shrimp, friend chicken, chicken rolls and kilawin (writing this part of the blog makes me hungry again!)

Punta de Uian is a secluded beach resort and is really on the remote part of Zambales. However, its seclusion is really one of the things that attracted me to it the most. It’s really quiet and it seemed like we owned the place when we were there (we were the only guests at that time.) From the beach, we could see two beautiful islands. Those looking for private and silent moments should visit this resort!

Click this to view more pictures

On day 2 of our retreat, we went for a 30 minute boat ride to Anawangin. The land around the beach is teeming with young pine trees. Anawangin is like a cove surrounded by mountains. It seems that there is no way to get here through land (unless you don’t mind to climb the mountains around it.) Anawangin’s beach has fine sand and is very fantastic.

After our Anawangin side trip, we had to pack up and go back to Pampanga as my sister Joy had a duty at 2 pm. It was a short but fun beach vacation.

Click this to view more pictures

Later at dinner, Tatang (my father) suggested that we go to Jerry’s Grill where he ordered his favorites: cristy pata, specialty rice, sisig and some veggies.

2008 October - First day of our trip in Philippines

It had been two long years since we last went back to Pinas for a vacation. We really miss our family, friends, food, culture and the more laid back pace of life there. We’ve been planning to have a vacation earlier but couldn’t due to our hectic schedule here in Singapore. We were like “forced” to have this short vacation because Alvin needed to attend his close friend’s wedding.

So on October 11, we packed our bags and flew via Tiger Airways. Fortunately, Albert didn’t throw tantrums while we were on board. But he was a bit agitated when we were about to land. Tiger didn’t provide the immigration forms on board so we had to fill up in the terminal. This was very inconvenient and Alvin had a hard time chasing Albert in the terminal.

After getting out of the airport, we headed straight to Jun-jun’s Friendship for our yummy lunch. One surprising thing that I noticed was that almost the entire street (where Jun-jun’s was located) was swamped with Korean billboards. Probably a sign of a different kind of “Korean invasion” in Pinas.

After our scrumptious lunch, we went to the Mount Carmel Monastery in Angeles City to thank the Almighty for the safe trip that we had and to bless our one-week stay in Pinas.

We then headed to my mom’s place in Floridablanca and took all the food for Albert’s celebration at the DSWD Orphanage in Lubao, Pampanga. It was already dusk when we reached DSWD. We handed our donations (Nespray milk 1&2, diapers, Milo, sugar and clothes), and started to prepare for the celebration. Then orphanage has quite a number of children, toddlers and infants. We believe that our donations were not really that much but at it really felt good to give to those who need it most. It was truly heartwarming to see the kids enjoying the food and the toys that we brought!

Click this link to view our pictures of the first day or our trip.

http://karensumang.multiply.com/photos/album/97/2008-_Alberts_3rd_Birthday_Celebration_DSWD_centre_in_Lubao_Pampanga

So that was it for our first day in Pinas. I’ll be posting our escapades for the following days shortly!

Phuket, Thailand Trip 2008

On the 20^th of August this year (2008), Alvin and I had a short escapade in Phuket, Thailand. Our Tiger Airways flight left Singapore Budget Terminal on time at around 8:15 in the morning. We reached Phuket at 9:00 in the morning (local time).

A Marriott vacation club offered us a free taxi (and massage) from the airport to Marriott resort and spa. In exchange, we had to attend a 90-minute sales pitch. We took the offer and soon arrived at the hotel after around 30 minutes of travel. The hotel is located on the northeast side of the island near a park/reserve. We had a “VIP” welcome as a hotel staff adorned us with orchid garlands. As we arrived too early, the room was not yet ready so we decided to visit Phuket town.

The taxi (which was actually a private pick-up), cost THB1400 (back and forth). The town is actually quite far from the hotel, around 1 hour of travel time. We reached town by lunch time and by then, we we’re craving for some authentic Thai food. After some discussion and tip from the taxi driver, we decided to have seafood. The driver took us to a seafood restaurant by the bay. One thing we really liked was the tomyam soup. It was really good! We ordered a lot we had to pack the left over so we could have something for dinner at the hotel. After the heavy lunch, we headed to Central Festival and Big C to buy some delicacies to bring back to Singapore. We didn’t find anything fancy to shop.

http://karensumang.multiply.com/photos/album/91/2008-08_Phuket

We went back to Marriott hotel at around 4pm and walked around the beach. A red flag (warning) meant we couldn’t go swimming in the beach. So we just took some pictures and walked around the resort and had a swim at the pool. At dinner, we ate what we packed from the seafood restaurant.

On our 2^nd day, we went to Phi Phi islands. We left our hotel at 9 in the morning and reached Phuket Marina around 9:30. After 30 minutes of waiting, we finally went aboard a speed boat together with some 20 other tourists. Our first stop was at Ao Ling (Monkey Bay) on Koh Phi Phi Don. After that, our boat took us to Hin Klang where we snorkeled for half an hour. We relaxed at Koh Mai Pai (Bamboo Island) before arriving at Koh Phi Phi Don for a buffet lunch. We spent the rest of day at Phi Phi Leh, visiting Maya Bay – where the “The Beach” was filmed. The tour cost us THB3200 per pax, quite expensive but a “must go” experience. Fruits and drinks after stops were provided. On our way back, we had a very bumpy ride and we’re all wet.

http://karensumang.multiply.com/photos/album/93/2008-08_Phi_Phi_Islands

Our 3rd day wasn’t so great as it rained heavily the whole day. We didn’t manage to swim in the resort’s beach. So our appointment for Marriott sales presentation was just nice because of the very bad weather. The presentation was quite enlightening for us. We were toured around their Vacation Club which was just next to JW Marriott. The sales pitch was 3 hours instead of the supposed 90 minutes. We didn’t rush as we couldn’t do anything anyway because of the heavy rain. After the long presentation, we decided to sign up for their basic Time Share at Marriot Vacation Club Mai Kao Beach. I will write a separate blog about the Time Share business of Marriott. After we signed, Mark the sales person gave us a lot of freebies. Free massage, THB2000 which we spent for our dinner, polo shirts and free 3-nights accommodation at Ritz Carlton Bali. After the talk we went for our scheduled massage.

http://karensumang.multiply.com/photos/album/92/2008-08_Marriott_vacation_Club

Our Last day….we are very excited to go home coz we missed Albert so much. Our flight was at 9.15 am so we took our breakfast quite early at the hotel. Tiger Airways was once again on time as we touched down at around 15 minutes past noon in Singapore.

Previous Blogs

Visit my past blogs at http://karenvalera.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/

Terrible two

This stage of Albert is really driving me crazy. He is now on his 30^th month and going thru what seems to be known (and rightly so) as the "terrible two" stage. From what I've read, kids at this stage are trying their skills at making their own decisions and forcing the parent to agree with them. My Albert is no different. When he wants something, he makes sure that I give it or not stop him from doing it. If I disagree with him, he will scream and hit my face. Anyway, here's my top 5 list of his terrible two antics:

1) Scream & cry when he does not get to do what he wants to do.

2) Do the opposite of what he's been told to do.

3) Spank my face when when I disagree or stop him from doing things. He can somewhat sense my objection even when he's not looking at me.

4) Throw tantrums anytime, anywhere.

5) Uncontrollable anytime, anywhere.

I didn't really expect how difficult this stage would be. It was really a heartache when he started to show these kind of behavior. I tried talking, scolding and even smacking him when he was on his worst, bu it didn't seem work. I even cried because I even can't do anything. There were times when I really felt helpless because I couldn't control him.

Well, one consolation is that this stage is not forever. I just hope that Albert's terrible two stage would end as soon as possible

2007 October

It's been a year since I last posted in my blog.

Just a quick update about myself and my family. I'm still working with the same company…yes for almost seven years already. Alvin is now working with a research and development firm. And about our Little Albert, he's now on his 28th month. He's been attending playgroup school since July 2007. His 1st week was very tough for him because he didn't want to stay with his classmates & teachers. Finally, after 2 week he managed to accept the environment.

Five months ago, I was so depressed. We sent Albert for a check-up and vaccination against Pheumococcal. I asked the doctor about the Albert's situation because he still couldn't say at least 8 words frequently. All of his words were mumble sounds but he also knew at least 15 letters of the alphabets. I was frightened from what the doctor told me. The doctor said that at age of 24 months, he should have been saying at least 50 words or more. She said Albert might have mild autism and after that word, I did shed some tears. Alvin was also shocked from what the doctor said. We were both speechless and we just let the doctor say whatever things she wanted to say. All I can remember was after the mention of mild autism, my mind couldn't listen to the doctor anymore and I just wanted to end the consultation.

I read and researched from the internet and journals about mild autism. There were actually no signs except the that he still can't talk much. I'm depressed for a month after hearing those words from the doctor.

Now five months after the check-up, Albert can read all the letters of alphabet (upper & lower case). He can recognize numbers and count from 1 to 10. He has more than 40 words (although he can't pronounce exactly but can 75% are understandable):

reality/flashcards/drawings
car, bus, truck, train, A for apple (I don't know why he don't want to say the word apple), nana(banana), orange, grapes, baby, Elmo, flower, lamp, glass, mug, iron, house, tub, brush (toothbrush), leaves, snail, bird, dog, cat, house, green, blue, red, circle, triangle, square

Action/instructions words
Come, there, sit, play, can

Conversational words
(Phone) Hi-Yes-Bye, bye, love you, care (take care)

Pork Menudo

Pork Menudo

Description: One of favorite dishes of Filipinos with appetizing smell & taste. This dish is a Spanish heritage. Preparation time around 45mins.

Ingredient:

Olive oil

6 cloves garlic (minced)

1 medium size onion (diced)

½ kilo pork tenderloin (cut into chunk cubes)

¼ kilo pork liver (cut into cubes)

1 big green bell pepper (diced)

1 big potatoes (peeled, diced and deep fried)

1 big carrots (diced)

½ -cup raisins 1 teaspoon

Italian herbs salt and pepper to taste

1 can (305ml) Hunts tomato sauce

¼ cup Del Monte tomato ketchup

2 tablespoon Thaisweet chili sauce

¼ cup Silver Swan soy sauce

2 tablespoon vinegar

Procedure

1. Boil pork w/ salt, pepper, soy sauce, vinegar & 1/2 liter of water. Boil for 15mins untile tender.

2. In a cooking pot, heat olive oil. Then saute garlic, onion.

3. Add the boiled pork w/ the water used for boiling. Mix & simmer saute for 3 mins.

4. Add the carrots, tomato sauce, tomato ketchup & Thai sweet chili sauce (optional).

5. Let it boil for 5 mins

6. Add in fried potatoes, fresh greenbell pepper, liver, Italian herbs and raisins.

7. Simmer until pork is tender for 10mins until the sauce is thinken.

8. Season to taste.

9. Serve hot with rice.

Singlish Dictionary

English is widely spoken in Singapore ... or is it? Many first-time visitors have been confounded by the colloquialisms that pepper Singaporeans' speech. This is because we speak very quickly (or so it's been said) and with a distinct Singaporean accent. Over the years, Singaporeans have developed their own brand of English fondly referred to as 'Singlish'.
With our multi-racial background, it's not surprising that 'Singlish' borrows from the many different languages spoken in Singapore. Here's a collection of 'Singlish' terms which you might find handy on your visit to Singapore.

Action (verb)Derived from the English language meaning to show off.
Example: That fellow always like to action, walking around with his Rolex over his shirt sleeves.

Arrow (verb)Derived from the English language meaning to be given a task that you don't want to do.
Example: I was arrowed to paint this wall.

Blur (adj)Derived from the English language meaning does not know what is going on.
Example: He hasn't read up on the background to this project and was very blur at the meeting.

Boh-Chup (adj)Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning couldn't care less.
Example: Ah, boh-chup, I'm not going to hand in my assignment.

Chim (adj)Pronounced 'cheem'. Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning profound.
Example: The professor's lecture was very chim.

Chope (verb)Derived from the English language meaning to reserve.
Example: It's free seating at the concert, we need to get there early to chope seats for our group.

Gostun (verb) Derived from the English language (go stern) meaning to reverse.
Example: He overshot the turning so had to gostun back up the road.

Havoc (adj)Derived from the English language meaning wild and uncontrollable.
Example: That person is very havoc, always out late every night.

Kayu (adj)Pronounced 'kah-yoo'. Derived from the Malay language meaning dumb or stupid.
Example: How come he is so kayu? Teach him so many times and he still cannot do it.

Kiasu (adj)Pronounced 'kee-a-soo'.Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning afraid to lose out to others or not to lose face.
Example: He sent his family to line up in different queues for the same item, so kiasu.

LahThe most famous of Singaporean expressions used at the end of sentences for emphasis.
Example: Very funny, lah!

Langgar (verb)Derived from the Malay language meaning to collide. Example: This van suddenly pulled out and langgar my car.

Obiang (adj)Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning ugly or outdated.
Example: This dress is so obiang! Who is going to buy it?

Pai seh (adj)Pronounced 'pie-say'. Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning embarrassed or shy.
Example: That's the third time I've forgotten her name. So pai seh.

Shiok (adj)Pronounced 'shee-oak'Derived from the Malay language (Straits Chinese) meaning fantastic or marvellous.
Example: That prawn mee soup was shiok!"

Sekali A word meaning suddenly.
Example: "I was about to make a right turn. Sekali this car appears from nowhere and nearly langgar me!"

Solid (adj)Derived from the English language meaning great or superb.
Example: Did you see how he scored the goal? Solid, man!

Sotong (adj)Derived from the Malay language meaning does not know what is going on. Similar meaning to 'blur'. (Sotong is the Malay word for octopus which squirts ink and clouds everything.)
Example: This has been going on for months, didn't you know? Sotong!

Suaku (noun)Pronounced 'soo-ah-koo'. Derived from the Hokkien dialect meaning country bumpkin.
Example: Don't be so suaku lah, don't you know what a VCD player is?

Terok (adj)Derived from the Malay language meaning troublesome or difficult. Example: That customer was very terok.

Tompang (verb)Pronounced 'tome-pang'. Derived from the Malay language meaning to ride on or request a favour.
Example: You're going to the post office? Can I tompang some letters to be mailed?

Ulu (adj)Pronounced 'oo-loo'. Derived from Malay language meaning rural or a deserted place.
Example: This place is so ulu, you hardly see a single soul around even on weekends.

Ya Ya (adj)An expression meaning boastful or arrogant.
Example: Wah, he's so ya ya

LOST main characters

Matthew Fox
Dr. Jack Shephard
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Spinal surgeon, just like his father
· So driven by his need to help others that he married a woman whose life he saved
· Betrayed his alcoholic father to the hospital board after a patient died under his knife
· Went to
Australiato find his missing father only to discover he'd drank himself to death
· Bringing father's body home from
Australiafor burial ON THE ISLAND
· Reluctant leader who made decision to cremate the passengers who didn't survive
· Euthanized US Marshal after a botched mercy killing attempt by Sawyer
· Solves disputes with reason but not afraid to use guns or torture if necessary
· Discovered caves with fresh water supply for shelter
· Found father's coffin, but no body
· Trapped by cave-in, rescued by Charlie
· Tried but failed to save Boone's life
· Competes with Sawyer for Kate's attention

Evangeline Lilly
Kate
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Fugitive from justice for several years
· Crimes included armed robbery, assault, resisting arrest
· Caused the death of her childhood boyfriend while resisting arrest
· Extradited to US to stand trial ON THE ISLAND
· Bravely led the first exploration into the jungle
· Helped try to rescue Claire and Charlie when they were kidnapped by sinister Ethan Rom
· Recovered US Marshal's Halliburton case full of guns from island pond
· Also in the case was her most cherished possession, a metal toy plane that belonged to her childhood sweetheart
· Delivered Claire's baby in the middle of the jungle
· Exposed to the group as a fugitive by Sawyer after trying to steal his place on the raft

Dominic Monaghan
Charlie Pace
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Bass player for successful
UKband Drive Shaft; his younger brother Liam was lead singer
· Heroin addiction lasted far longer than band's fame
· Turned to crime to support his habit
· Went to
Australiato convince brother to re-form band ON THE ISLAND
· Locke helped him kick drug addiction
· Rescued Jack from cave-in while in withdrawal
· Befriended Claire, convincing her to move to caves
· Almost killed when they were kidnapped by sinister Ethan Rom; Jack saved him with CPR
· Hunted down and shot Ethan Rom in revenge
· Tempted by heroin found on wrecked smuggler's plane
· Nicknamed Claire's baby Turnip Head

Jorge Garcia
Hugo "Hurley" Reyes
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Won $156 million lottery with numbers from patient in a mental institution: 4 8 15 16 23 42
· Suffered from bad luck after win: grandfather died, new house burned, mom broke foot
· Bought the box company Locke works for with his winnings
· Traced the numbers to another unlucky man in
Australia
· Almost missed the flight, but tenaciously made it on board in spite of several omens warning him to stay off the plane ON THE ISLAND
· His laid-back humor keeps the survivors' spirits up
· Secretly believes his bad luck caused crash
· Owes Walt $20,000 for losing in backgammon
· Developed two-hole island golf course
· Took census revealing Ethan Rom wasn't on plane
· Panicked when he saw the winning numbers on the mysterious hatch right before Locke blew it open

Malcolm David Kelley
Walt Lloyd
BEFORE THE CRASH:
· Nine-year-old son of Michael
· Lived with mother Susan and her husband in
Australia
· Going to live with Michael after the death of his mother
· Attached to his dog, VincentON THE
ISLAND:
· Befriended by Locke
· Likes reading a Spanish-language comic book found after the plane crash
· Burned the raft his father built in an effort to stay on the island
· Kidnapped after setting out on the rebuilt raft with Michael

Naveen Andrews
Sayid Jarrah
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Communications Officer for Iraqi Republican Guard in first Gulf War
· Tortured and interrogated prisoners for the Iraqi government
· Helped his childhood love Nadia escape prison
· Recruited by US and Australian agents to infiltrate a terrorist cell which included his best friend from college
· Foiled the terrorist cell's bombing attempt but watched his friend commit suicide as a result
· Racing to LA to reunite with
Nadia
ONTHE
ISLAND
· Repaired transponder, picked up distress signal
· Attacked by Locke while locating signal transmitter
· Mistakenly tortured Sawyer to get hoarded medicine
· While exploring, captured by crazy French woman who's been alone for 16 years—escaped with her island maps
· Despite romance with
Shannon, stopped her from killing Locke in revenge for Boone's death
· Rigged radar for raft

Harold Perrineau
Michael Dawson
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Construction worker, sketch artist
· Brutal car accident resulted in long hospital recovery
· Ex-girlfriend used accident to gain full custody of their son Walt
· Got custody of his son back when the ex died from a rare blood disorder
· Afraid he can't take care of Walt by himself ON THE ISLAND
· Befriended Sun, which made her husband jealous
· Envious of his son Walt's friendship with Locke
· Finally bonded with his son over box of drawings and letters to Walt that the ex had kept hidden
· Built raft, but his son burns it to remain on the island together
· Built and launched second raft, only to have his son kidnapped several miles from shore

Josh Holloway
James "Sawyer" Ford
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Watched parents die in murder/suicide after being swindled out of their life savings by "Sawyer"
· Became a con man and adopted the name and methods of the man he holds responsible for his parents' deaths
· Obsessed with hunting for the original "Sawyer" for revenge
· Killed the wrong man thinking he was "Sawyer"
· Encountered Jack's father in an Australian bar
· Deported from
Australiafor head-butting the Minister of
Agriculture
ONTHE
ISLAND
· Good ol' boy plays all the angles and hoards supplies, booze, sunscreen, etc.
· Stubbornly allowed Sayid to torture him
· Carrying on a hot and heavy flirtation with Kate
· Bought his way onto raft with hoarded supplies
· Shot by Walt's kidnappers during incident on raft

Terry O'Quinn
John Locke
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Collections supervisor for a box company
· Master of war and strategy games
· Raised in a foster home
· As adult, found his ailing biological father who conned him out of a kidney then cruelly cut him off again
· In wheelchair for last 4 years—reason unknown ON THE ISLAND
· Miraculously able to walk again after crash
· Uses his skills to hunt and live off the land
· Discovered unnatural sealed hatch to unknown underground area
· Visions led him to drug smuggler's plane
· May have caused Boone's death by allowing him to explore a plane wreck precariously perched in a tree canopy
· Unafraid of island's "monster security system"
· Believes the island has brought them all here for a reason—it's their fate

Daniel Dae Kim
Jin-Soo Kwon
BEFORE THE CRASH
· A fisherman's son who courted Sun in secret but insisted on asking her wealthy father for permission to marry
· Worked for her father as an enforcer after their wedding
· Refused to tell Sun about her father's shady dealings
· Planned to run away with Sun while on a business trip in the
USON THE ISLAND
· An outsider because he doesn't speak English
· Tried to make friends by sharing seafood he caught
· Wears handcuff souvenir from a fight with Michael
· Estranged from Sun when he discovered she secretly learned English
· Made up with Sun before leaving on raft
· Dove off raft to rescue Sawyer after he was shot

Yunjin Kim
Sun Kwon
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Rich girl who married Jin despite him being from a lower class
· Only companion was Shar-Pei puppy Jin gave her
· Learned English in secret so she could run away from her failing marriage
· At the last minute, decided to stay with her husband and board flight 815 ON THE ISLAND
· Eager to help, but Jin's jealousy holds her back
· Cured
Shannon's asthma attack with herbal remedy
· Planted herb garden to grow "medicine"
· Revealed she could speak English to the group when her husband was accused of burning the raft
· Estranged from Jin because of her secrets
· Attempted to poison Jin in order to keep him from risking his life by going on the raft

Emilie de Ravin
Claire Littleton
BEFORE THE CRASH
· Her boyfriend convinced her to have his baby
· Desperate to give up her baby for adoption after he walked out on her
· A psychic insisted she must raise child herself, "Danger surrounds this baby"
· Out of the blue, the psychic arranged adoption in
Los AngelesON THE ISLAND
· Feels outcast because of her pregnancy
· Thinks the psychic knew the plane was going down
· Kidnapped with Charlie by stranger Ethan Rom
· Reappeared with no memory of time since the crash
· Kate helped deliver her son, Aaron
· Helped Locke make cradle for Aaron
· Relieved to discover Sawyer's voice soothes her crying baby
· Remembered escaping from the French woman by scratching her

Christmas day

Christmas is about giving. :-) But this year, we only received gifts because, well, we couldn’t afford to give gifts after our huge house renovation and moving expenses. Since I started to work (which around one decade ago), I think this is the first time that I received something without giving in return. :-) I want to say thank you very much to those people! :-)

On Christmas day, we invited Alvin’s colleagues. I prepared pizza, baked mac, baked potatoes, fried chicken wings and lasagna. I’ve prepared all BAKED foods because I wanted to try my oven. Our guests left around 10pm and we slept past 11pm. It was a lucky night for us because Albert only ask for milk once for the whole night. Maybe he was also tired, ha ha ha!. Albert woke-up at seven but I passed him to Auntie Leng for their morning walk then I continued my sleep. I felt really tired. It was like the combined tiredness since renovation, packing, moving, unpacking and cleaning the new home. Alvin and I only woke-up around 12pm. It’s been awhile since I slept that long! I think the last time when I was still working in the Philippines.