Raising Rockstar

Not a single traditional tanglung in sight…

We bought traditional ones as well, but it was instead a mercifully breezy night this otherwise record-breakingly hot summer, and so everyone whipped out their neon light sticks…

This the Miss engaging any light stick-wielding older boys who care for a sword fight…

(Some of these boys had sisters waving neon hoops about but Xena Warrior Princess was all ninja.)

Miss: Imma Ninjaaa! Hi-yaa!

Rockstar: <totally getting into this> Ok! You need to pass the Ninja Test to be a true ninja! 

“Ninja’s have to be able to climb up rope ladders holding their swords!”

Miss: Ok, Ko-ko! 

“They have to slide down slides really quickly!”

Miss: I can slide down really quickly Ko-ko!

“What.”

R0ckstar: I said –

“Wait -“

“Yeah ok fine, ninjas need to be able to do that too.”

Rockstar: A-and… 

“To be a REAL ninja……”

(Why, yes, she can pop her hip)

Rockstar: You have to be able to jump from here to…… there. <indicates a destination some 10 feet away>

Me: Hey. No, no, don’t –

Rockstar: It’s ok, Mum. She can do it.

Me: Uh.. (I want to say he shouldn’t set completely unattainable goals for her)

Rockstar: I mean, I couldn’t do it, but she can totally do it. Go on, Miss <nods encouragingly>

Miss promptly jumps on Rockstar.

Without missing a beat, Rockstar carries her to the other side, much to her delight

Rockstar: See, Mum? Told you she could do it.

Me: <speechless>

Rockstar: I can’t even make it that far, Miss. But, see? You can do it!

“Congratulations. You are now a NINJA. Strike a pose.”

Rockstar: And with a Fierce Attack Dog.

“Who can hold your sword while you get your scooter”

“…And make sure the coast is clear when you climb things you’re pretty sure you wouldn’t otherwise be allowed to climb”

All in a day’s work for the Newly Initiated Ninja and Fierce Attack Dog (who is mild-mannered Agility-trained house pet JD, by day) and the Ninja Trainer…

…whom, we are mildly dismayed to find, started carrying her scooter while she walked wherever she pleased…

Ok that’s better…

And that’s also Happy Mid-Autumn from the Ninja Team.

All the very best blessings, dears.

Because, if nothing else, I am a glutton for punishment. 😀

She wants to hold all kinds of critters. That’s Bud, btw. And it could be a scorpion or a snake and she’d probably be fine with it too… This round they wanted salamanders, but we couldn’t find any, last minute

(For real though, thought we should wait til Kings could make it lantern-shopping for Mid-Autumn – so we went uh, critter shopping, which we do now and again as well.)

Some weeks ago the Backyard Safari kits off Gilt.com that I’d gotten on a whim for HKD 100-something arrived:

pic from frogdecorideas.com

(Always on the lookout for new things to entertain the kids with and it continues to amaze me how much you can save by buying online, off-season, and selecting the absolute cheapest shipping options, compared to regular popular toy stores in HK.) Plus, if you don’t tell the kids you ordered something, you can happily carry about your regular business without them going WHEN IS IT GETTING HERE every 30 seconds and then squirrel away “surprise packages” around the apartment til you need them. Rockstar in particular often polishes off 3-4 slim kiddie novels during the week and then starts searching our home for things to entertain himself with 😀

So anyway that tank is meant for amphibians (frog lifecycle for e.g.) but for some reason the rockstars both agreed they wanted “lizards, not frogs”. I think cos they want to handle them and Rockstar doesn’t like the hopping in case they lose them and the dog eats them 😀

So if someone knows where to get these things in HK please let me know – I’ve seen them for sale in Singapore years ago, but not here yet, even when we used to visit Goldfish Street – pic from arkive.org

Which is how we ended up hopping in a cab and ending up outside this place in Tai Hang. Literally got in the taxi when a class got cancelled and asked the cabbie where he knew of. We were in luck, he was a nice guy – glanced at the kids, pulled over and started calling around with the meter still off.

Newsflash: We just found a use for the unpleasant grouches of the world – they make us appreciate so much more, the kind and nice ones. Public service message: put in the extra effort for the ones who are nice. You want to encourage them to not give up being nice, right?

One of the well-known writers of derivatives-related materials – either Satyajit Das or Nassim Taleb – described the trader perspective whereby once you took on a position it sat in your portfolio and ever single tick up or down meant you were making or losing something.

Imagine what that does to the way you look at things, that every conscious market position you take is always In, Out, or very rarely right At, The Money. Imagine if, instead of “just” the trading markets, your every conscious movement in the world at large could be viewed in that way on some cosmic scale. The Kindness Portfolio. Every time you take a conscious position, respond positively, to an act of kindness. On some small level that someone else goes away even more encouraged to do another. And another. And another.

Don’t ever think you can’t change the world. Imagine instead how much you probably didn’t notice before that your actions might affect the world. My work here is dones <dusts off hands><trips off to play with the kids> 

(Why, yes, Rockstar’s been losing teeth too)

…And then my old love for catfish came back. As a little girl I had one that used to come to my fingers and root about on my hand looking for food. When he got bigger he sometimes sucked so hard on my skin that it hurt… Never got any other of these fish to do that, but I know someone else who had one that did that and so I keep trying every now and again…

We’re looking about for a very-much-in-demand taxi in crowded Tai Hang when the Miss alerts me to the fact the fishes’ bag is leaking. Kudos to her on staying calm and holding it that way because Rockstar totally freaked that they might die if he held the bag… (But the rest of the time I held the bag and the Miss’ hand in the end la)

But everyone makes it home alive.

Home, Sweet Home

Epilogue:

And for those of you who like that kinda thing, these two are named…..

The Dragon Of The Rainbow (from the Geronimo Stilton Fantasy Series), and Bud, Too! Yay!

These two have a way to go before parenthood anyway <shrugs> Y’know, how the (mis)naming of your kid could set them up for therapy someday……. Bud, Too! Yay! might be set up for life, though. Hard to pull off a cheer and 2 exclamation marks in your name without coming across as a poser but somehow this one makes it.

Just so 🙂

#381/ #64

I ask Rockstar to read to the Miss…

Miss: No. Stop. I will read to you, Rockstarrr. <assertively takes book from him> 

Rockstar: But you can’t read.

Miss: I can too read.

Rockstar: No you can’t read. Because you never want to listen long enough to learn anything <rolls eyes>.

Miss: I. CAN. TOO. READ. <slams book on lap for emphasis>

Rockstar: YOU. CAN’T. READ! OK. Fine. You know what? Fine. You read. 

Miss: <enthusiastically> Tabby McTat, was a busker’s cat, with a meow………….. <trails off><forgets the rest> a-and, he had…… one, two, three, four…. five…. six whiskers, Ko-ko! 

Rockstar: <laughing> That’s cute. But it’s not what it says in the book.

Miss: It IS what it says in the book! LOOK! One, two, three, four, five, six whiskers! It’s here. I saw it. 

Rockstar: But that’s not reading.

Miss: IT IS READING!! LOOK, it’s in the book! 

Rockstar: IT’S NOT –

Miss: MMUUUUUU—-

Rockstar: -UUUUUUUMMMM!!! Get over here!

Me: Uh….. I heard. Technically…. the cat in that book really does have six whiskers?

Miss: See? Mummy says you’re stupid. 

Me: What? No, I didn’t –

Rockstar: <indignant> Yes you did! 

Me: No, I didn’t.

Rockstar: Yes you did! You totally said –

Me: I said the cat had six whiskers!

Rockstar: <huffily> I’m upset. I’m going to watch Youtube. <gets up>

Miss: Bye-ee Ko-ko. <sweetly> Mummy read?

Me: NICE TRY. Partners In Crime. (Both of them laugh). How much of that was planned?

Rockstar: Mm.. Maybe half? 

Me: And then the rest just fell in place?

Rockstar: Yeah <quickly> so can I watch Youtube?

Miss: <plaintively> Mummy. I don’t want Ko-ko to read to me <pouts> 

The Partners in Crime……

Doing…… SOMEthing……..

#380/ 63

Miss reaches for Rockstar’s foam frisbee… Without looking up from his laptop, Rockstar reaches out and holds it down on the table.

Me: Ko-ko, can Miss have it please?

Rockstar: <still not looking up> You’re not Miss.

Me: <to Miss> Ko-Ko wants you to ask nicely for it.

Miss: <dutifully> Ko-Ko, can I have it please?

Rockstar: <still not looking up> Why?

Miss: Be-cause…. Be-cause I want it?

Rockstar: <still not looking up> Not good enough, why?

Miss: Be-cause…. Be-cause I want to play with it?

Rockstar: <still not looking up> Still not good enough, why?

Me: Ok. Remember when I made her ask you nicely? Now I’m making you let her have it nicely.

Rockstar: But she hasn’t convinced me yet. 

Me: She’s asked you nicely.

Rockstar: Fine. <lets her have it><turns back to laptop>

Miss casually starts swatting him over the head with it 

Rockstar: Ow… Ow… <still not looking up> Ow.. …..Ow…

Me: Stop it. How come you think it’s ok to hit Ko-ko with his frisbee.

Miss: <smiling delightedly> Because I want to play with it? <still swatting Rockstar who’s still staring at his screen occasionally going “ow”>

Me: I said stop.

Miss: <automatically> Why? 

Me: Because – because you can’t hit your brother –

Miss: <automatically> How come? 

Me: Because- because – Ok, this is ridiculous. Who is the parent here?

Miss: Um.. You? 

Me: Right. <mildly surprised>. So if I say stop what do you do?

Miss: Um… <thinks seriously> Say “I don’t want to?” <smiles winningly>

Rockstar: <snorts> For that Miss, you can carry on hitting me.

Miss delightedly carries on flapping the foam frisbee across Rockstar’s head…

Rockstar: Ow. Ow…. Ow. Ow…..

Miss Brazen strikes again… He happily held this thing and walked around shopping for books after she handed it to him and said “Ko-ko hold this and be a ‘Water King'”

Last Friday was one of Rockstar’s school dress-up days in honour of the UN’s International Day of Peace, happening across the world in another hour thereabouts. The batik shirt I sourced (because he turned in homework about traditional batik printing for the learning unit) however ended up not having any the colours of our country flag that I thought we were supposed to dress the kids in, so Rockstar went to school like this:

(sheepish) He knows the Malaysian flag is red, white, blue and yellow, but we realised on the day that his hipster Space Panda shirt was more lime than the right shade of yellow. And then… of all things waiting for the school bus, one of the plastic poles at the bus stop came off in his hands… Right after this pic was taken a bunch of boys started running about with it

Lots more boys were similarly casually dressed, but wow the girls went to town – beautiful Korean Hanbok, Chinese Cheongsams or Japanese Kimono, and all with their hair nicely done. Still, kind of outfit FAIL to me (but not him – agreeing to wear anything bright red is already quite a feat because if he could he would live in school uniform, navy blue-anything, and hipster phrases and pics – ergo he insisted on that baseball cap) so at least lemme make good with Rockstar’s first actual drawing of a Malaysian flag for school:

Think this was his first flag, back in Kindergarten… He was about 4, here…

He’d said (and school staff had written down) “Malaysia is very hot because it’s near the equator and the equator is near the sun…”

Now, international celebrations and cultural holidays tend to be extremely good learning opportunities in schools in Hong Kong like the rockstars’. Each year at a glance I would say Rockstar’s class has been made up of roughly a third Caucasian kids, a third Caucasian-Asian mixed kids and a third Asian kids. And that doesn’t include the Caucasian or Asian (say, Dutch + Australian, English + Kiwi, Chinese + Korean, Korean + Japanese) mixes that aren’t immediately evident until they tell you.

When they break out the Who We Are learning unit each year, it’s amazing what nuggets of information Rockstar comes home with, about his friends. (Last year some of the activities on their cultural day included chinese dumpling-making, and German story telling (think Brothers Grimm)). One of his current bus buddies is from Romania. Last year his bus buddy was from Colorado. He says he’s sitting at the same table with a new kid from Mongolia. His current daily bunch of buddies on the playground consists of Japanese/Korean, Aussie/British, Japanese/British and of course Indian, local Hongkie and Malaysian. The girl next door he sees most frequently is Korean/Chinese.

I trust it’s ok to say that in previous years some of us volunteers would get confused – one year a Caucasian mum matter-of-factly told me how her daughter always got mixed up with another blond-and-blue-eyed girl in class. “I don’t think it’s too hard (to tell them apart), mine is the chunkier one” (not sure about that part, but certainly some Asian mums admitted to having problems telling the girls apart)… Then, for a time there were these Indian and Asian kids who had this brainwave – when one of them got in trouble they would straigiht-facedly give the volunteering mum, particularly if she was blonde-and-blue-eyed, one of their friends’ Indian/ Asian names. Kind of like what twins probably do on a daily basis, but on a more erm, “international” level 😀 In that Ah, Parent Volunteer, Fresh Meat For The Lions kind of way :D. Not to mention, they kinda know who is less likely to be able to tell them apart haha. (Please don’t anyone take offence ok, none of the mums I’ve spoken to have ever found this less than amusing, maybe even a little endearing..)

Anyway I really liked the message in the school newsletter:

#379

Rockstar often builds things for his sister in Minecraft… A yellow school bus filled with farm animals… a lighthouse patrolled by a dozen dogs with different coloured collars… A library inhabited by spiders and cows (many of which she named “Sophie”)… And then… 

Rockstar: AAAAAAARRRGGGH. Miss is so. Naughty. I’m going to teach her a lesson. D’you know what I did? Do you know? Guess? 

Me: Erm… Tell her you’re not happy with her?

Rockstar: I changed her Minecraft World from Creative to Survival! Hah! Take that Miss!

(Miss stares at him blankly with raised eyebrows; obviously she just looks at the Minecraft screen when he’s talking to her – Pig. Cow. Spider. Spider. Spider. Loads of spiders. Creeper. Where’s my sword? Ah, school bus! I know that one – The Wheels On The Bus Go Round-y Round…)

Me: Um, she’s three.

Miss: <patiently> Yah. I’m three years old, Ko-ko.

Rockstar: Well that’ll teach her! She’ll be re-spawning randomly everywhere! HAHAHAHA! See, Miss? Be naughty some more?

Miss: <unconvincingly> So-ree Ko-ko…..? 

Rockstar: And she’s still messing with my stuff! Miss! Stoppit. I’m going to delete your world right. Now.

Miss: <cheerfully> Ok Ko-ko. Make another one for me.

Rockstar: Oh, ok. What do you say? 

Miss: <automatically> Please! Welcome! Thank you!

Me: Can’t believe I was standing by to mediate that.

Rockstar: What? I like making worlds. 

Me: I wasn’t really required in this conversation, was I?

Rockstar: <not looking up> Not really, no.

(And that’s the two of them messing with the dad’s car one rare weekend he was around…)

#378/ #62

Miss: Ko-Ko, don’t watch me doing Lego.

Rockstar: What, I love Lego, I want to watch.

Miss: I don’t like it.

Me (to Miss): You watch Ko-Ko minecrafting all the time, why can’t he watch you?

Rockstar: Wait- wha- why are you doing that? Is that the right piece? Is that in the instructions? WHERE does it say to do that? 

Me (to Rockstar): Ok fair enough she has a point. Go read your book.

Rockstar: Aw, why?

Me: Because you’re a – a – backseat Lego builder. She’s supposed to be trying her best to build, and you’re standing there looking over her shoulder and making all these comments while she’s attempting to follow as many of the instructions as she can, before I jump in and help her. That’s a largely un-age-appropriate set of Legos (it says 6-12 on the box but she insisted she wanted to build that boat). It’s a big step for her to insist on trying this thing first without any help, she’s such a little kid and for her that’s a really challenging Lego set. Little kids especially need all the encouragement they can get, so they don’t give up because they’re scared of making mistakes. You guys learn how important it is in school to be “risk takers” right?

Miss: <Without looking up> Also, you’re stupid.

<I spit my coffee>

Nasi Minyak Dinner Talk (someone corrected me haha)

The Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong and Macau had to shift their Nasi Lemak Lunch Talks to dinner time, following participant and member feedback. People were saying they couldn’t finish asking guest speakers their questions, before having to get back to the office after lunch break. As a not-for-profit aiming to provide a service to members and members’ friends, MayCham duly complied. NLLTs shalt henceforth be known as NLDTs. Except this one was Nasi Minyak. Ok fine, got “N” got “T” can? (“N” for “Nasi” = Rice; “T” for “Talk = “Ceramah” 😉 )

Kinda like the concept of “Hong Kong home dining,” this one, where some really good home cooks decide to have a few tables in a cosy setting but at HK prices 😉 (went to one long ago – very good Chinese food served at ~HKD 500 per person) but with more people, unlimited good Malaysian food, HKD 200-300 and an informative talk with lotsa giveaways.

Event gallery here; downloadable slide presentation here (url seems to still be main page, if you are directed there then go to past events and find “Nasi Lemak Dinner Talk #4”). Of course then you don’t get the yummy meal, camaraderie, to ask the speakers your own questions, or in this case……

Father-and-son stand-up comedy routine property research talk, with another friend to answer questions specifically about Penang property.

Mr Ho Chin Soon: My son signs my pay checks. 

Ishmael Ho: I don’t sign, he cut me out of his will.  

Oh, yums

Full house

Or, a bit over full house; the number of people who squeeze in last minute sometimes pushes expected attendance up 30% thereabouts. Which then sends MayCham volunteers scurrying out to tar-pow extra food on standby because God forbid the lovingly cooked homefare runs out. (Any regulars reading out there, hint, hint – IF you can, signing up early really helps MayCham volunteers. But if you can’t, PLEASE JUST COME, WE WILL FIGURE IT OUT!)

Empty plates

Selfies. Of course.

Enthusiastic Q and A

(You guys know right, when you see speakers flown over for our friendly events, NOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO GRILL THEM, ask them all your burning questions! All the preso notes available freely; you have to be there though, get the home dining-quality traditional Malaysian food, entertainment or Q n A…) Guests ask questions about entrance and exit points on various kinds of property, some linger an extra hour after the dinner “officially” ends…

Mr Ho talks about how he’s slowing down, how it is now his son’s time…. He quotes, “The imperfect man would wish the best for his son; what more our Father in heaven?”

“…We have a competition going – who can make the audience laugh more. …I think I won. Next time if you call us here again, talk to my son – I come on vacation.” 

…..Just so.

Oh, and the maps were in especially hot demand too…

#377/ #61

A sudden loud beeping can be heard from Rockstar’s play space under Miss’ loft…

Me:What are you doing?!

Rockstar: Motion sensor.

Me: I know what it is (one of his old toys). I’m asking why it is.

Rockstar: I don’t want the Miss to touch my stuff when I’m not looking. So I’m putting this here so that if an alarm sounds I’ll know she was in my space   <proud>

Me (to Miss): Did you go into Ko-ko’s cave?

Miss: Yes!

Me (to Rockstar): Why d’you need a sensor?

Miss: I go in many times, Ko-ko! Then I take your things out and I leave them everywhere! 

Me (to Rockstar): Why d’you need a sensor?’

Though this day it looks like we might need an exorcist

Rockstar (to Miss): <sternly> What do you say?

Miss: <automatically> PLEASE! THANK YOU! WELCOME! pleasethankyouwelcome please thankyouwwelcome