Raising Rockstar

1) Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder…… And the blind can see beauty like no other.  Blind People Describe Beauty.

It occurred to me recently that the insecurity of a rich man is similar to that of a pretty girl. (What do they love about me, just my money/ good looks?) Pick the right couple and you have absolutely a juicy reality tv show :D. While I don’t discount the value of initial physical attraction, I actually consider it a mild insult to a person, to only see they’re good looking. Especially as looks will not last. I’ve had this opinion since I can remember – that looks should not be placed too highly on The List because when that fades they will simply be stuck with someone who is used to being treated like they look beautiful – and isn’t even that anymore. (This is when Kings usually goes “I look so ugly meh” 😀 No darling, maybe I do :D) Choose instead the person who isn’t spoiled on the inside, used to being given everything. Because marriage is a long journey to take with a spoilt person… I’m just saying. Anyway…

“Losing my sight has been a blessing… I don’t care what nationality somebody is, I don’t care how tall somebody is, I don’t care how big or small they are….”

“…Beauty is personality….”

“…Beauty is experience….”

“…Beauty is finding joy.”

Being blind can help you see.

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2) Somewhat related, it takes about 4 months to teach monkeys math. (Any teachers palming their foreheads out there?) It’s because people are trying to find new ways in which human and simian brains work… also loosely related, the plot of my favorite John Travolta movie, Phenomenon. Main character suddenly develops special abilities, people start wondering if it’s supernatural, finally it turns out he has a tumor and before it kills him it’s pressing on certain parts of his brain, stimulating it to superhuman feats.

Think I read somewhere how stimulating kids with music, motor skill activities, painting etc helps them learn better. Y’know, so you have to scream at them less? 😛

Oh, and a former boss used to quote some obscure study about stock trading, whereby if you put a monkey (real one, not metaphoric one) at the keyboard to randomly hit “buy” and “sell”, you would still come up about even. But thinking traders can easily lose money…

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3) First impressions count, right? Right. Because fixing an initial impression is much harder than forming one. Creative Business Card Designs.

I especially like the DIY of this one…

Q: Who out there paid money to have the wine glass ring printed on the card?

A: The person who had like, 5000 cards made…

Also, you want people to carry your card around, have your business details handy, right?

Right.

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4) Just in case your first impression was off……. 

Epiphany: Coming in after 10 years in Singapore, where I did tertiary education and was on basic government grant bond 3 years (like, no Malaysian doing that uni course wouldn’t accept the bond I think, it’s just wayy too expensive), my Cantonese was nowhere. And therefore so was I.

But at some point I realized we’ve also done 10 years here. I have amazing friends who still read my blog from back in Singy (I used to go by Singy Girl on email at one point), I’ve made amazing friends here. Heck, I’ve made amazing friends online who still live in Malaysia too, they just don’t want me to link to them 😀 First impressions do change, and I was surprised to find I really enjoyed this one: 39 Things Only People in Hong Kong Will Understand.

Self explanatory. (And try to avoid crowds in summer unless your nose is blocked anyway.)

Well this is why they have proper taxi complaint hotlines (but the baby’s face is so CUTE)

(You should note the time, duration of ride, where you got on, where you alighted, taxi license plate and yes, the fare, if you call the hotline. Otherwise harder for them to mark it officially against the driver.)

One day I realized I took for granted the little cards with the taxi registration number and hotline numbers that they hand out at the airport – to deter any would-be cheating drivers from trying to take advantage of tourists who don’t know how prolific the hotlines are. I shouldn’t. Because along with the aggressive opportunism that prevails living in Hong Kong are the aggressive deterrents authorities put in place. I mean, I generally dislike the aggressive opportunism and cynicism, but on the other hand it makes people alert to it and I think in general fewer people ultimately get away with it than in places where people still close one eye… Even on the street… A lot more blatant queue-cutting at taxi queues say, so a lot more people scream at queue cutters on the street if they cut queue…

Oh yeah, and I really understand this one.

I get chased off crossings while pushing the stroller all the time, by fruitcakes driving these things.

If you are about to cross at the crossing and the approaching vehicle appears not to slow down……. don’t cross. They really may not slow down 😀

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5) Rockstar sometimes already sounds like a smarty-pants teenager. Was wondering what he would be like as <shudder> a teenager (and his parents are dinosaurs):

22 reasons parents shouldn’t text.

Like so…

And so…

But I think this dad nailed it. LOL.

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6) This weekend Kings guests in The Rockstars’ skits. Y’know, the way Stan Lee cameos in the Marvel comic book movies…

Episode I is Daddy Photobomb!

Note Rockstars’ expressions (crickets chirping) (actually don’t know why they happened to looked like that when I took the pic)

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Episode 2 occurs while swimming one day. Kings lifts the Miss up out of the pool, and I see….. peeking out of the back of her swimsuit………. a little black dragon fruit seed.

Things That Make Ya Go Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Me: How is there a dragon fruit seed –

Kings: <thoughtfully> Because…. BECAUSE SHE JUST POOPED IN THE POOL!!!! GET HER OUT GET HER OUT GET HER OOUUUTT!!!!!!

<mad scramble ensues>

<giant bewilderment on part of the Miss at the fuss>

We shall not be looking at dragon fruit the same way again.

Rockstar shall not be looking at a shower stall the same way again.

This is him alternating laughing hysterically and clinging to the stall door because he doesn’t want to go in even though we assured him many times we cleaned it already

Fortunately Rockstar couldn’t cling that well because he was laughing too hard so we didn’t have too much problem peeling him off the stall wall.

The End.

Have a good weekend dears.

ps: No pools were harmed in the making of this post. We mostly caught it in time. Mostly. Just in time.

1) It’s Easter Weekend! Obligatory egg-and-chick snack ideas that come with!

We’re aspiring to do this one – carrots, eggs, cherry tomatoes, olives – all stuff Rockstar likes.. from somethingswedish.wordpress.com

For real though, I love Easter stuff. Fluffy chicks, Playmobil Eggs (plastic figurines in them), those other eggs with pet owl, rabbit or dinosaur that “hatch” in water, this family eats a lotta hardboiled eggs in general……. My beloved maternal grandma (who btw was from Guangdong, my other 3 grandparents being Nyonya) used to ceremoniously serve hard boiled eggs when her charges were really little, and say “Today is a big day, you have eaten a whole chicken!” Not actually why this family ingests a lot of hard boiled eggs  a week (she wasn’t doing that for my bday for one thing haha), but it was a nice memory, she’s been gone almost 15 years now but I love her so much still…

Anyway, we got these for the Rockstars and some friends – no prizes for guessing which one was Rockstar’s – pic from best daily.co.uk

And the Miss had this one…  I didn’t like the very princess-y ones and she likes butterflies (pic from coupondipity.com)

Couldn’t resist getting one for the Miss, but do note these Playmobil eggs are NOT intended for toddlers. After Rockstar assembled it for her I superglued the small bits together. Seriously. That’s not the first one where I superglued the smaller pieces together either. She doesn’t really put stuff in her mouth anyway, but regardless Imma gonna do it til she’s old enough to keep re-assembling her own because I really hate lost pieces. (Like, why would I lie about something this embarrassingly obsessive compulsive?)

This….. is Rockstar’s latest “Science Experiment”. It’s one of those expandable animals in eggs that slowly absorbs water and breaks out of its shell. Pretty authentic looking though…

And this was inspired by the Miss’ Easter egg art from Bebegarten…

(The original eggs didn’t make it back, the plaster was still wet and when it rubbed against the paint on her other egg art both were ruined… But I saved the little glass chips and bought more plaster and had the two Rockstars put their handprints on… Rockstar was of course really pleased about how much bigger his hand was…)

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2) And now, the reason for my post title. Flying Dogs Give Superman Run For His Money.

Of course I picked the border collie

…though I couldn’t resist also putting up General Zod.

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3) One of those little things that remind you miracles do happen. Dog lost in blazing home reunited with family 7 years later. Just too bad dogs don’t write their own biographies, I’d really love to read what this one has been doing for the last 7 years before he was found wandering and very healthy and they scanned his microchip.

OOPS What am I saying. Easter. Of course miracles happen. Something I had to mention however… that the “concept” that first defines a Christian – the belief that Jesus died for us on the cross and acceptance of Him as our personal savior – rests on horrible injustice. Betrayal. Evil seemingly to “win.”

I write as a Christian who worries sometimes I don’t “get” it fast enough (yes that is actually a caveat for reading me – what I’m really doing is trying to follow church sermons so please just go there for the real message), but I write anyway because this is me: on a personal level, in that micro, self-centered way, I have found strength and motivation in the story of the injustice, betrayal, and the complete and beautiful way in which Good triumphs from a seemingly impossible angle. It is a reminder that God can use the worst of circumstances and experiences with the ugliness in people, for Good. It is an inspiration not to give up no matter how tough things get, because of miracles.

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4) Heroic Bomb-Sniffing Dog Retires With Full Military Honors. Know what he has to look forward to in retirement? Being on the sofa, sleeping on the bed….. There’s some other dogs at the bottom of the link too, not sure what the red tape is, but apparently some people campaigned years and years to get their working dogs to go home with their families. It’s nice they didn’t give up for 5 years etc, but….. it’s like 35 freaking dog years, why don’t they just let them have the dogs…..

pic from lifewithdogs.tv

More coverage here. His name’s Eddie.

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5) Huffington Post’s Behold The Majestic Dog.

‘Nuff zzzaid.

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6) Ok it’s not just dogs… 30 Happy Animal Facts.

#17: Oysters can change gender depending which is better for mating

But why I really chose the oyster was because it turns an irritant it cannot get rid of in its shell into something beautiful and valuable. (Ever thought WHY oysters make pearls? From the oyster’s point of view?) Life metaphor for Easter Weekend…

Though #29 Goats Have Accents was pretty cool too.

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7) The Miss has the skit again this weekend, titled “Rabbit.”

(As in, she went everywhere in the mall seriously telling passersby that that was what she was.)

Happy Easter Everyone!!! (She’s still showing the ears and saying “Rabbit.”)

1a) Facebook messages beginning with, “To the fatty running on the track this afternoon,” usually make you steel yourself for the unkind words that remind you once again how ugly people are, don’t they?

This one ends, “If you’d only look up from your feet next time we pass, you’d see my gaze has no condescension in it. I have nothing but respect for you…..”

Pretty awesome, right?

Only problem is if people don’t tell me it’s going to end well, I usually don’t read beyond “to the fatty………” 😀

b) WAIT. There is a reply. Guess what it says?

“…Many of us have been that person being judged and then twirled into some weird inspirational story. I was judged at the gym at 400 pounds….. I was embarrassed at 300 pounds….. honestly I was the same person at 195 pounds as I was at 420 pounds.

I tell people now that weight loss should not make you love yourself more. That is the mistake I made.

So next time you look at me on that track do yourself a favor. Look away… I do not want to be your inspiration or your motivation.

I am a runner. I was a runner at 420 pounds and I am a runner today.

And runners do one thing.

They run. Not write about other runners.”

c) Wait. There is a commentary from someone else.

“…….It almost doesn’t matter if the things you want to say are positive or negative – both are alienating, because both require that I be specially singled out as different. 

……….instead of talking to me like a normal person…… you’ve made a series of convenient, grandiose, sweeping assumptions. Assumptions that let you think that telling me “you f***ing rock” is kind, and makes you a very good person for saying something so nice.”

And o-kay, I’m going to stop now. But –

EVERYBODY. JUST. LOOK AWAY. DON’T POST ON FB. JUSTLOOKAWAY!!!!!

<frantically un-likes original like-ing of FB post>

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2) Pew Research Article Indicates Rise In Stay-At-Home-Mums For First Time In Decades. I know why! I know why! To support schoolwork and pack lunch boxes and stuff! I’m serious; I started checking my Facebook more often and you should see some of the things mums make for lunch box lunches. Quiche made from scratch. Potato gratin bakes. Seriously exotic fruit salads.

(These two pics below are from Yee’s Kitchen on Facebook. How can I type kiddie lunchbox and not remember they have these hor?)

This one’s Lunchbox Dad on boredpanda

I shouldn’t be surprised technically, because several of my Korean mum friends have patiently tried to explain to me how they order ingredients from Korean grocers to make their special sushi, but….. some of the offerings….. I can’t even. Oh, wait, wait I think you can save money by being a stay-at-home-mum – because you won’t need to pay for therapy for your child when a helper parents them wrong. You can save all the therapy packages for yourself. Excellent. My work here is dones. <dusts hands off>

(For real though I’m kinda off the hook with Rockstar – he says don’t bother too much about lunch because he “needs” to go play. I can remember Kings telling me not to cook so he wouldn’t feel obliged to come home for dinner if a client meeting turned up last minute. Sound familiar?)

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3) Environmental Working Group (EWG)’s “Clean 15” 2013 – list of fruits and veggies least contaminated by pesticides. (And the most contaminated – unfortunately apples are no.1 on the Dirty Dozen list.)

Evil. (pic from trans-high.com)

(Been researching more diet and nutrition particularly for the Miss… As in planning intake frequency for certain foods, not actual recipes – I shall take a lesson on preparation anywhere, from people who are actually good at that and enjoy it. Me, I’m more rough-mental-checklist-of-what-they-take-in-every-week person. How many servings of salmon a week, almost an egg every day (boosts memory), that kind of stuff….)

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4) Prizewinning Catholic Biologist. “….the popularity of his text… make him one of the most influential “teachers” of evolution in America… many of his fellow evolutionists recoil from the old-fashioned religion that sits so comfortably in his soul, seemingly at peace with his science….”

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5) Weird Ballpark Food.

Dis is a pulled pork parfait (“porkfait”?)

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6) Frozen Dress Sells For USD 1600. (Told ya this week was about stretching your imagination. As in This Is How Far People Go For Their Kids – imagination – the original retail for the dress was… 20 bucks? 🙂 

“Frozen.” Now, there’s a market for picking the next insanely popular thing kids want. Y’know, because us parents are just cray.

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7) The Year Of No Sugar. Family of 4 undertakes a pledge to ingest no sugar for a year. While cutting out sugar is a good one itself, what I found really interesting was how the family coped with doing without. For e.g., the mum encouraged their 11 year old daughter to keep a diary “because I knew there were times she would be mad at me and not want to talk about it.”

8) The 20 Most Peaceful Countries In The World. So, my geography in secondary school was pretty bad. I don’t know all the countries in this thing. Oh, you too? So your geography in secondary school was pretty bad too.

9) This week the Miss’ skit is in 2 parts:

“After my cuppa…………”

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“I’m WIRED!”

(haha no lah, she had a 4-hour nap is why)

Good Weekend, Dears