... so good to celebrate Connie's 60th Birthday

10 July 2016 marks not only Connie's 60th birthday (and officially becoming a senior citizen) but also marks our 34th wedding anniversary. 

As in our tradition, we gathered our close friends for a Chinese dinner with karaoke! This year the group was extended to include Lawrence and Cindy. Lawrence has always been a close friend of Connie and unfortunately the relationship was strained over the last decade but things seems to have been patched up. 

It was additionally special that Kenneth was back from US for a friend's wedding but also managed to celebrate the occasion with us. He made a guest appearance before heading off to the wedding. Of course, her BFF were all present. We thank God for these friends that have shared our lives over the last 40-50 years through thick and thin, ups and downs. joy and pain! 

We had a second round of celebration with the family at Woollonmooloo Steak House. Though the name is Australian (Woolloomooloo is a suburb of Sydney) it is actually an Hong Kong chain.

Their speciality is the Tomahawk steak which was about 2+kg of meat that we shared. We definitely rate it better than Morton or Lawry. Great food and feeling so blessed to be surrounded by family. Nathan is 4 months old and a very behaved baby - such a blessing that he can be with us through dinner without fussing.

Thank you, Connie for 34 years of continually supporting me. I know at times you may disagree with my decision but you have never failed to stand beside me. As the mother to our children and grandmother to Nathan you have done an excellent job of loving and caring for them. I am eternally grateful to God for bringing you into my life!

.. so good to extend the Chan family line

12 Feb marks a major milestone for the entire family with the birth of Nathan Chan at 10.03am. But the drama started the night before around 10pm when the contractions started. From then it was a real roller coaster experience for his parents and the grandparents.

Before that Andrea had requested that we prepare some jello for her to have as sustenance during labor. Connie was supposed to cook that night but the call came in even before the jello set.

We all rushed down to the hospital but the dilation was so slow that we were advised to go home and come back the next day. Furthermore only Jon was allowed to be in the delivery room with her. So reluctantly we left but even before we could drive out of the car park, Jon called to say that Andrea wanted to come out and be with us. So we all turned around and headed up the delivery area again.

Andrea was determined to deliver naturally without any pain killer but we could see that she was in intense pain though dilation was extremely slow. We stayed for a couple of hours after which Andrea really had to go back in and rest as the pain was getting too intense.

We went home but for the rest of the night, we slept fitfully half expecting a call from Jon to say Nathan was delivered. It wasn't until early morning to say that the gynecologist was coming in to deliver Nathan. So we rushed down again at about 7am. But we had to wait for another 3 hours before we could see Nathan being wheeled out of the delivery ward to his room.

We went through the whole range of emotion - excitement when we first heard that Andrea was going into labour, to pain as we shared the intense pain of her labour, to anxiety as we did not know what was happening through the night and finally the joy of seeing Nathan - healthy and full of hair!

When Jon was born it was an amazing miracle to us - how we could instant love him and want to protect him. Nathan's delivery brought us to an even higher level of love! This day will always be a special day in our lives along side our wedding day, the birth of each of our son! Praise God for the miracle of life!

Thank you Jon and Andrea for sharing with us this wonderful day!

... so good to start a new tradition

This is the first Chinese New Year since Jon and Andrea got married. So Connie wanted to start a new tradition of having a steamboat dinner on CNY eve. Looking forward to many more such meals especially when we can have 3 generations at the same table!

Connie prepared a great spread with scallops, sliced beef, sliced pork, prawns, crab sticks, many different kind of balls and lots of veggie.

Though Andrea was close to the delivery date of our first grand kid she continues to have a healthy appetite as she did not experience any morning sickness. Actually she had a great pregnancy with little discomfort.

Really thank God for the easy pregnancy and the gift of a grand kid!

This year Christmas party was a smaller party as Dave and Wai Sin; Johnny and Oi Leng and their respective families were away on holidays.

But we kept the tradition and had a small and cozy gathering. Andrea and Jon joined us for dessert! It has been a tradition for years and we hope that we can continue to celebrate the birth of Christ and the redemptive act for many more years to come.

We also joined the Baker's traditional Christmas lunch. So good to have an extended family to celebrate the season with.

Of course, Shirley and Yew Kong (and family) joined us in spirit! Life is good!

... so good to reach the big six-O

Reaching sixty meant several birthday cakes and celebrations. Started with celebrating with the Chan family at home with a cake baked by Michelle. Followed by dinner with the core group and then another with the ex-IFS/Infor friends.

Feeling wonderfully blessed to have great friends and family to celebrate with.

Six decades of life - half of them spent with Connie - my lovely life companion, friend, travel partner, , mother of my children, wife and confidant! Life has indeed been good to me. As I have always stated ... 死而无憾 (hee hee... not bad for a RI boy who failed his chinese at O level)

... so good to welcome our grandson

UltraSound Scan of our Grandson

On our return from US, we attended David's wake. Jon and Andrea picked us up and send us home that evening. In the car, Andrea gave us the news of the year - we are going to be grandparents in Feb 2016

Connie was so tired that she did not hear the announcement and only later when I repeated it to her  that she realised it and was overjoyed. It was a surprise to them and us but it  was truly a blessing. On hindsight I think they realise it is a good thing that the 'accident' happened.

So good to know that another generation is on the way!

... so good to see Jon and Andrea tie the knot

Today will be one of the most memorable day for Connie and I. We have not travelled for almost half a year in anticipation of this day and it has been all worth it. I have not seen Connie as excited about anything as this wedding.

Jonathan has always made us proud in everything he did, every decision and how he has grown into a matured young man. Andrea is also a well brought up intelligent and loving lady. Perfect couple.

The church ceremony was really meaningful. The tea ceremony was simple but significant. Dinner was perfect - the food was great, the band entertaining and the speeches well crafted and delivered. Perfect day!

Words cannot express the joy we feel today! Just like a sense of wonder over came as when we first saw Jonathan as a baby, today a sense of fulfillment, pride and achievement swept over us!

... so good for Jon to finally propose

finally 7 months after buying the diamond, Jon had the stone set and proposed to Andrea. They took a short vacation to Hong Kong and he proposed. BUT the ring was too big and now has to be resized!

Unfortunately, they have also leased out their apartment for another year until Jan 2015. So wedding will have to be sometime in the first half of 2015. Lots of preparation ahead - including wedding preparation course, etc

They also did a guest count and came up with 300! for a what was supposed to be a small wedding.

... so good to have birthday dinner at Singapore Cricket Club

Jon had a company trip to Bangkok, so we had a belated birthday dinner at SCC when he came back. Actually we were also away in Batam on Connie's birthday.

Connie and I both had tenderloin steak and it was really nice. Unfortunately, they didn't serve crepe suzette which would have made the perfect meal. But we had a great time with Jon and Andrea!

Thank, Jon for a lovely dinner! Love you all!

... so good to attend Ken's commencement as a family

The whole gang (Connie, Jonathan, Andrea and I) made the long trip to Yale, New Haven to attend Ken's commencement. It was a long weekend starting from Saturday climaxing on Monday at Berkley College where Ken received his diploma. 

It is Jon and Andrea's first visit to Yale and the 'Hogwart' like campus like the Berkley dining hall below.

... so good to celebrate Father's Day at NUSS Bukit timah

Connie and Jon bought me lunch at the Bukit Timah Guild House. As usual great ambience, wonderful western food and ... so good to be remembered. 


Father's day is usually not celebrated and it was good to be remembered. 


PS: Jon and Andrea even bought me a belt!

...so good for Jon and Andrea to buy their first property

Jon and Andrea today placed a booking for a 2 bedroom ground floor unit at The Spectrum, 501 Pasir Panjang Road, #01-01. It is a huge commitment but at least they are on boat the property train. 

... so good to back in Singapore and celebrating Jon's birthday

Got back from US on Wednesday, 22 Feb at midnight. We are still in a daze from the jet lag but went out to watch HSBC Women Golf Championship on Friday. Was extremely fortunate to get TMCC pass that allowed us to watch from the club house (and free flow of beer). On Sunday, we belatedly celebrated Jon's birthday at NoSign Board Seafood - the crabs were yummy! Great to have the family together.

... so good that Christmas came early!

Christmas came early this year. For the longest time, I have been thinking of buying the Mac Air but just couldn't bring myself to spend $2,000 on a new notebook. It was so cool for Jon to offer to get it for me as Christmas and birthday gift! So good to have a filial son.

... so good to be greeted by picturesque scene early in the morning

Had to wake up early this morning to pick Jon from the airport. His flight back from his South Africa holidays arrived at 5.30am but I left at 6.30am to pick him. On the way to the airport, I was greeted by this lovely scene. Just had to capture it - used my phone whilst driving!

... so good that all are safe and sound

...no photos. Nothing worth showing.
The last seven (7) days have been traumatic to say the least. It started on 26th August (my birthday) half hour past midnight, Jon called to say he had an accident. He was coming home after sending Andrea home. He was driving the CRV along Clementi Road and just outside the Ngee Ann Poly entrance, he lost control of the car ... the car hit the kerb and a tree. The undercarriage was badly damaged, the driver side back wheel completely came off, both front tires burst, the windscreen was cracked! Miraculously he managed to bring the car under control and stopped on the slow lane. He was not injured and no other vehicle or person was involved. Thank God for looking after him.

Over the weekend, a hurricane (Hurricane Irene) hit the east coast of US; first hitting land in North Carolina and then moving north to New York and Connecticut. Yale was bracing for the worse stop in 50(?) years. Power outrage, flooding were expected, all services (except essential services) were shut down. Students were told to stay in rooms without windows in case the storm blew out the glass panes. On Sunday, we got news that the hurricane was downgraded, hit Yale and caused some damage but everyone was safe. Now it is just an experience to be remembered. Thank god. (The week before there was an earthquake in New York but Kenneth did not even feel it).

Is this the work of the seventh month? Glad the month is coming to an end.

.. so good that Jon is finally called to Bar

.. so good to see Jon be accepted into the Bar. The final step to being a lawyer. It was a rather solemn ceremony presided by the CJ. The president of the law society and CJ both gave short speeches focussed on not being arrogant, helping out the poor, continuous education and being professional.

Finally, Jon is independent. So good that at least one birdie is now flying on his own. Now it is up to him to chart his own course.

..so good for Jon to land his first real job

Jon was offered a permanent job with Drew & Napier, the largest law firm in Singapore, where he is serving his pupilage. So looks like he has sold his life to them for the foreseeable future but at least he is assured of a reasonably well paid job! Maybe he can start paying his own way from now on.

... so good to see Jon turn 26!

We (Connie, Andrea and I) celebrated Jon's birthday at Lawry's. The food and wine were great and we had a great time. Not sure where the photo they took went but here's some shots from that night.

.. so good to pass PLC

Jonathan got the results of his PLC exams yesterday and passed. Another hurdle cleared - with his practice certificate, he can be called to bar once he complete his pupillage.