... so good to represent Singapore at the Asian Junior Championship

So good to hit another milestone. It had always been Kenneth's dream to represent Singapore and he made it at the age of 14 in what is an Under 19 Championship. His path to qualify for the team included playing trials with boys much older (at least by 2 years) to him. He wanted it so badly that in his final match for the trials, he played even though he was having fever. Consequently, he threw up during the match but his other wins and dedication won the selection committee over and he was allowed to represent Singapore in this prestigious event in Pakistan.


Connie accompanied him on this trip. It was a most unforgettable experience - being escorted by commandoes throughout the trip as security was still an issue (with them stationed on every hotel floor that they were staying; having them as out riders throughout the trip, them clearing out restaurants for the team to eat ...). But the team also visited the snow capped mountains of Pakistan, visited Fahim's family home, the markets with the unusual sights and smells. Overall, it was a great time of fun, bonding and squashing with friends all over Asia.

... so good to take short break with the family at Club Med (Bintan)

Quick getaway with the family to Club Med, Bintan. It is getting more and more difficult to take family vacation as the boys are so busy during the school holidays. Fortunately, Club Med (Bintan) is only 45 minutes ferry ride away. Kenneth is taking up squash more but Jon still can beat us playing one against two! Just 3 days/ 2 nights of fun and food!

... so good for Jon to achieve his potential at the PSLE

We were holidaying in Perth with Fong Oi and Oi Lin after Jon's PSLE exams. The results were to be announced whilst we were away but we were confident that he would pass and do reasonably well; so it was not a concern that we were away.

That afternoon Lai Fong went to Radin Mas Primary School after lunch to collect the results. The staff were not happy with her (and us) because she went so late to collect the results because Jon has surprised everyone and was the top student at Radin Mas that year! He was always in the top class but has never been top of his cohort. It was a nice surprise for all of us.

Of course as a result we had to scramble like crazy to submit the forms for EduSave scholarship, choice of school (the top 2% of the cohort was allowed to change their choices though Jon had already decided it was RI - our alma mater!). 

A year later he returned to school and during the prize giving day to receive his recognition for being top boy. 

We are so proud of him but also so glad that he has achieve his potential at this key exam.

...so good to be up in the sky

One of the benefit of being an analyst with Gartner is I get to attend the Annual Sympoisum. Connie and I took the opportunity when I was a the Gartner Sympoisum 1997, Brisbane to tag on a small holiday. I also took the opportunity to try something that I would not have the chance to do in Singapore - sky diving! Ok - so it was tandem sky diving but the experience was exhilarating to say the least. The adrenalin rush as you leap out of the plane, free falling followed by the feeling of weightlessness as you float down on canopy of air. It is good!

... so good to tick an item off the bucket list

One of the things that one must do before kicking the bucket! To fly through the sky - free falling (who cares if there another person on your back). The feeling of just weightlessness is amazing - super cool!


Life is so good ... this was part of the holiday with Connie in Brisbane. Second holiday in a year without the kids!!!

...so good to visit Beijing with Connie

Life is so good. This is probably the first time that Connie and I went on a holiday without the children. We visited all the historical sites of Beijing - the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Winter Palace and the Great Wall. We had a private guide which was a real bonus as he could tell us all the 'stories' around the historical sites.


Did you know that the Chinese had air-conditioning back in those days - the floor were laid with bronze tiles. Below that were passages that had hot water passed through in winter for heating and in summer, iced water was used to cool the flooring.


The big urn around the palace are not decorative but were used to hold water for fire fighting. The urns were heated in winter to prevent the water from freezing over.


The great wall is just a great feat of human will and ingenuity that humbles us greatly.

...so good to receive the PSLE results for Jon

Photo of Jon (wearing Uni New South Wales jacket) after we heard the good news!

We (family plus Oi Lin and Fong Oi) went to Perth for the weekend holiday. The PSLE results were to be announced during the trip but we thought there was not much to it. So we tasked Lai Fong to collect the results on our behalf as we have already submitted the choice of secondary schools. To our surprise (pleasant) Jon did extremely well - in fact he topped his cohort at Radin Mas. As a result we had to fill in additional forms, etc - so there was a mad rush to get the forms completed from overseas and re-select the schools, etc. Connie and I are glad that Jon decided to choose Raffles Institution (our alma mater!). He also received the Edusave scholarship which meant we only had to pay $12/- monthly school fees though RI had gone independent and would have cost $200/- per month. Life is so good!