Jason Develops Double Eyelids

Jason developed a fever last Thursday, so we brought him to see the doctor on Friday. He was rather listless over the next 2 days, and slept a lot more than usual, but at rather short intervals.

Thankfully, he recovered by Tuesday, although there was a very mild case of rash outbreak. The interesting thing is that he developed very prominent double eyelids during his illness, but they seemed to be slowly disappearing. The double eyelids actually changed his appearance remarkably – he looked perpetually sleepy/bemused, and made him bear a strong resemblance to his sister. The doc says that it's something that occurs to some people when they fall ill, and he will probably go back to his single eyelids when he recovers.

Before and After
One of Jason's favourite pastime is playing his little soccer ball. He would hold it with one hand and wave it towards you while making an "Aeey" sound to signal that he wants you to play with him. He would then bounce the ball towards you, and when you bounce it back to him, he would grab hold of it happily. Physically, he is more well-coordinated than Jaslyn when she was his age. Think Jaslyn only knew how to bounce a ball when she was much older.

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Jaslyn's school is having a photo-shoot for the children tomorrow, and she has been rather excited about it. She told us yesterday that she will need to go to school early, and that we have to wake her up at night to drink milk. (She usually drinks her milk before going to school in the morning, but would sometimes take a long time to finish her milk, hence her request that we wake her up at night.) She also informed me that I will need to comb her hair and put on hair clips.

I asked her yesterday if she wanted to wear sneakers to school instead of sandals. Think she has the impression that sneakers are more for boys and had always resisted them. I assured her that I will get a girly pair. She frowned, then said, "No, I want you to bring me to buy. I want to choose myself."

Sigh. Only 4 years old, and she already distrusts her dad's fashion sense.

Mini Updates

Hey, it's been only 2 months since the last entry! Feels a lot more than that though. Celebrated Jason's birthday yesterday. It was a rather nondescript event – we bought a chocolate cake from a bakery shop at Jurong East and brought it home, sang a birthday song (which he seemed to enjoy) and so on. Think Jaslyn was happiest since she got to eat most of the cake. We only allowed Jason a small spoonful, and he was quite unhappy about it.

Also celebrated Jaslyn's birthday last month. We had a mini celebration at my in-laws' place with Liyun's family. Jaslyn was of course quite delighted with the whole thing – even the fact that the ice-cream cake melted didn't faze her.

Jaslyn's Report Card

It’s been a while... Just completed my 6th In-Camp Training 2 weeks ago. That was 2 weeks of not needing to use the brain cells at all – we just sat around and waited for instructions, moved only when told to. There was no need to make decisions; even meals are a no-brainer affair: you just eat whatever is served. It was just fantastic. Maybe that is why I am feeling so burnt out now. Adjusting back to civilian life has been one long and steep up-hill climb.

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Jaslyn brought home her mid-term report card last month. The grades were not too good – mostly Bs and Cs. She was graded for things like: Able to greet teacher spontaneously, Able to make friends, Speaks up often in class, etc. Was rather upset with these measures – at just four years old, these children are already being graded on pre-conceived traits which society deems socially desirable. I understand the argument is that we have to be realistic and that people who possesses such traits are indeed probably the ones who will do well in society. And what better time to start cultivating such characteristics than when they are young?

But I find it ridiculous that 4 year olds are already receiving C-grades simply because they are introverted in nature, as if that was a short-coming, or a flaw in personality. Furthermore, I meet Jaslyn's teacher every morning when I bring her to school, and she is not that gregarious a person either. Ironic that Jaslyn should be graded by one who would probably do as badly, and sad that the school should choose such criteria to grade a child.

Contemplated switching schools for her, but Jaslyn appears to get along with her friends, and I am not too sure how wise it would be to uproot her when the new school might not turn out to be any better.

In the end, I dutifully signed the report card and handed it back to Jaslyn, who remains blissfully unaware of its contents.

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Jason is a little tornado. He's very active and restless – normal for a boy, I guess. He refuses to stay still, and would crawl all over the house, pulling things down along the way. He also takes a perverse delight in making his way to the wall socket outside the bedroom and playing with the switch, which means that we have to constantly run after him and carry him back to his play area. He screams if you try to restrain him, so you let go and he quickly makes his way to the wall socket again. And the cycle continues.

Jason laughs less now, compared to when he was a newborn. He still enjoys a tickle and the occasional game of peek-a-boo with his blanket though, and remains entertained by his irrepressible sister.

Mini Updates

It’s been a while... Everyone has been down with some form of flu – I had a bad throat infection over the New Year, and Jaslyn had been coughing terribly as well.

Have been trying to teach Jaslyn to read the alphabet – she has a very short attention span and doesn't seem to be able to remember stuff well (can't blame her though – she must have gotten it from me), so it has been rather discouraging. Or maybe I am just being overly concerned again; after all, I started learning my ABCs only when I was in Kindergarten.

Still, she is a cheerful, sunny, bright and very mischievous girl, and Jason is hugely entertained by her – he makes this short, happy shriek every time she makes a face at him.

Down with Herpes

I am down with herpes!

Went to see the doctor on Monday for a very bad backache which I had been having since last Thursday. Thought that it was a slip-disc (haha) but the doctor noticed the bit of rash on the skin and said, "I think you have herpes."

"Herpeees?" I said, horrified. Isn't that a sexually-transmitted disease? I thought.

The doctor read my thoughts and clarified, "It's shingles."

Apparently, shingles is like chicken pox redux. It's something you get when you are under stress and your immunity is low. What happens is that the affected skin area will break up in blisters and you get this torturous pain in that region because it affects the nerves. It can be passed to other people through skin contact or air.

The doctor gave me an mc for the rest of the week. Contemplated staying in office to finish some work but my dear paranoid colleague LG said curtly, "I have chicken pox before. I might get your shingles. You better go home." And to show that she was sympathetic, she added "Haha" with absolutely no humour in her tone.

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A few weeks ago, was working with LG in a meeting room on the 18th floor of a building when we heard some splashing sounds on the window. We looked up and saw 2 Bangladeshi workers standing precariously on a platform washing the window. Paranoid LG said to me, "Damn, they might be able to look in and see my notes," and proceeded to cover up the work papers before her while looking very annoyed. Was so utterly stunned that I forgot to hide the "Are you insane?" look on my face.

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Anyway, I am working at home now. Liyun and the children are staying put at my in-laws' and I miss them badly. Supposed to be doing work but ended up spending most of the time watching The 70s Show, so much so that the television went bonkers an hour ago and refused to project any image. Maybe that's also God's way of saying, "No more TV for you!"

So, I am now sitting in the living room with a headache typing this and thinking of the huge amount of work I have to finish, and the amount of washing I will have to do over the weekend (for the bed sheets, clothes, etc.) to clean up the germs. Am also thinking of washing the curtains (which have never been washed since we moved in 5 years ago).

Oh well... Better get started then.

The Making Of A Tomboy

Brought Jaslyn to see the doc on Wednesday night as she had a bad cough, runny nose and an on-and-off fever. The doc listened to her cough and asked, "How often do you change the bed sheets?"

"Er, once every 2 weeks." I lied (It's more like once every 3 weeks).

"You should change once a week!" The doc admonished, and told us that we should also dust or sun the mattresses regularly (our mattresses have not seen the sun ever since we moved into the house). Jaslyn's cough was probably an allergic reaction to the dust, and if this goes on, she would develop asthma.

Felt like we had failed as parents... Think we will begin by making an effort to clean the bedroom once a week.

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When we brought Jaslyn to the toys section of a department store some time ago, Liyun's sister commented that Jaslyn showed no interest in the girly toys (dolls, doll houses, etc.) but wanted things like cars and trucks. Some time last week, we brought Jaslyn to Kiddy's Palace at Jurong Point. She went to the toys section and I asked her if she wanted to get anything. She looked past the musical instruments, dolls, etc., and pointed at a gun: "I want that one!"

Think I am partly at fault for this. I have been encouraging her interest in boyish toys (trains with railway tracks). I have been strongly discouraging her interest in girly stuff like Disney princesses. The last time she asked me to read Show White and the Seven Dwarves to her, I spent half the time making snide remarks about what a bimbo Show White was. As such, her reading list consists of very non-romantic stories like Wizard of Oz, Dick Wittington, Pinocchio and Dumbo. She sleeps on Cars bed sheets (featuring Lightning McQueen) and her favourite show currently is Bob The Builder ("Can we build it? Yes, we can!").

Maybe I should start exposing her to more girly stuff...

I Try To Convince Jaslyn NOT To Go To School Again

Jaslyn recovered from her fever last Friday, but it came back yesterday. I told her this morning that she could skip school if she wanted to. She insisted that she wanted to go to school, and nothing would change her mind. Think this is the only stage of a child's life where the parent and her could have this conversation:

Parent: "Why don’t you stay at home and sleep? If you do that, I will buy you a present."

Child: "No, I want to go to school!"

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Jason started being able to hold his head up when you put him on his tummy about a week back. He would then drool happily and leave puddles of saliva on the bed/couch.

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Been feeling a bit blue lately... Think it's all the stress from work, the mundane routine of everyday and the lack of focus/purpose in life. Perhaps it's very early mid-life crisis: when you are in your thirties and it hits you that your career is going nowhere, you have mortgage loans to pay-off and 2 children to care for. Guess it's time to seriously think about what I want to do in life...

I Try To Convince Jaslyn NOT To Go To School

Jaslyn came down with a fever on Monday evening. Other than waking up more often at night and having less of an appetite, she does not seem too affected by it; she is still her usual chirpy self. Thought of letting her stay at home today instead of going to school, so when she woke up at my in-law's place (about 6.30am), I told her she could skip school and just sleep. Jaslyn started protesting and said that she wanted to go to school.

So I woke her up at 7.50am and told her that she could continue sleeping if she wanted to. Jaslyn started sobbing and insisted that she wanted to go to school. She even rejected my offers to bring her to Tiong Bahru Plaza to buy pao or a present in the evening if she would stay at home.

Mini Updates

Jaslyn has been a bit difficult of late. I think it's because she is starting to feel a slight bit resentful of the attention we are giving to Jason. This is of course perfectly understandable – she used to be the centre of our Universe, but with Jason around, our attention is now divided.

Also, she is actually rather fond of her little brother; she always tries to hug him or holds his hands. Sometimes, she will pry his hands open to help him hold on to a shaker or tambourine. However, she might exert too much force (completely unintentional of course) and we would tell her not to do it. There have also been a few times when we ask her to not disturb the baby when he is sleeping, but she will inadvertently do something that will startle him. And after telling her a few times to be mindful of Jason, our patience tends to run out and we will start admonishing her.

It's been rather stressful. As Jaslyn becomes more difficult, the need to give her more attention (so that she will not become more jealous of her brother) increases, which results in less time for Jason. Guess we will just have to pray for more wisdom and patience in raising the kids.

Jaslyn Contemplates Marriage

Was reading the story of Moses (from the Children’s Bible) to Jaslyn yesterday night and told her about the 10 Commandments. Number 6 was "Husbands and wives must not commit adultery".

Jaslyn asked what 'husbands and wives' meant, so I explained that when 2 people get married, the man will be known as the husband, and the woman will be called wife. For instance, daddy (me) is the husband, and mummy is the wife. When she grows up, she will also marry a man, and he will be her husband, and she will be his wife.

Jaslyn frowned and asked, "Who will I marry?"

I told her she can choose any man she wants, the sole criteria being that he should be a good Christian man.

She frowned, then asked, "Daddy, can you choose for me?"

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Jason is a joy. He always responds with a big grin when you say hello to him and would kick his legs excitedly. Have not been able to spend as much time as I like with him due to my being at work during the day and him spending most of the time nursing in the evenings.

Sigh.

Jaslyn Attends Nursery

Jaslyn started attending her new school on Tuesday (Monday being Children's Day holiday). Liyun and I took the school bus with her on Tuesday. Have mixed feelings about this; she's only 3 and rather small to already be taking a school bus. Going up the bus by herself is a problem as the first step of the bus is beyond her reach (fortunately, there is a lady on the bus who would help the children up). And I find myself worrying a lot – whether she will be able to adapt quickly, whether she will be able to get along with her new friends, if her teachers will like her, etc. It's just that I feel she is still too young to have to start dealing with all these things.

For instance, my wife told me yesterday that Jaslyn wet her shorts while going to the school toilet. I began worrying if the school expects her to go to the toilet by herself, which would be a problem as most sitting toilets (even those for kids) are too high for her, and since we always pull up her shorts for her afterwards, she has not been in the habit of doing so by herself. So I brought her to school today to observe how she goes to the toilet, and noticed that the toilet seat was indeed too high for her and she had problems pulling up her shorts as her skirt keeps getting in the way.

The teacher assured me that they always supervise the child when they go to the toilet, but I find myself worrying anyway.

On the other hand, maybe it's just me; Jaslyn seems to be adapting fine – she does not seem too bothered by all these trivialities and is always in high spirits. She has also been telling us about the friends she made in class and singing songs that the teachers taught.

Jaslyn's Last Day at Play School

Today is the last day of play school for Jaslyn at efuture before she starts attending nursery at YWCA next week. Feel a bit sad for her as she has been with her friends for so long. Jaslyn seems to be taking it better than I am though. She does not seem bothered that she will probably never see her 'old' friends again and will have to start adjusting to a completely new environment. Well... I should learn from her.

Jaslyn's last day at her old school (Front row, first from right)

Mini Updates

Went with Liyun and Jaslyn to check out a nursery school (YWCA) near Outram this morning. It's 3 bus-stops away from Tiong Bahru, and the environment is quite nice. School hours are 8.30am to 11.30am, which would give my mum-in-law a brief respite in the morning. The plan is for me to bring her to school in the morning, and she will take the school bus back to my in-laws' place after school ends.

Mini Updates

Jaslyn had been having a bit of problem sleeping recently. Usually, Liyun will pat her to sleep, but with Jason around now, it is rather difficult for Liyun to breastfeed Jason and pat Jaslyn to sleep at the same time. Anyway, Liyun was rather tired last night so I carried Jason and found out that he likes lying on my chest (flat on his tummy) and having his back rubbed. He fell asleep rather quickly and for quite a while too.

September Break

I have just been informed by my company that I would not be able to take leave from now till the third week of December due to work exigencies.

Jaslyn is having her September 1 week break now. She has been waking up only at 11am for the past 2 days, as opposed to the usual 8am. Was driving home the other night when she asked, "Daddy, why I no need to go to school?"

So I told her that it was because of the 1 week holiday. She asked, "Then why you not on holiday?"

"The holiday is only for school children," I replied. "Not for working adults. But daddy would like to be on holiday too."

She thought about it and said, "I call your boss to ask her to let you go on holiday?"

I said okay, and she proceeded to dial her imaginary phone and said, "Hello, boss? Can my daddy go on holiday or not?" After a pause, she put down her 'phone' and informed me, "Daddy, your boss said no leh. You cannot go on holiday."

And to add insult to injury, she proceeded to call her friend, Dylan. "Hello, Dylan? Tomorrow also holiday you know?"

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Had not been spending much time with Jason. Well, I know that he's only one and a half months old and there are not a lot of things you can do with an infant. And most of his waking hours are spent breastfeeding, which I am hardly equipped to do. But remember spending more time on Jaslyn when she was an infant because work was less busy then and I didn’t reach home at the end of everyday feeling so burnt out.

The government has been desperately trying to get Singaporeans to have more children. However, with the kind of working hours most Singaporeans are keeping, it is highly unlikely that we are going to see a significant rise in growth rate any time soon despite all the incentives they keep handing out.

Jaslyn Beats Up A Boy

Liyun told me today that Jaslyn hit a boy on the head in school today!

Jaslyn has this good friend called Zi-An, and the teacher has forbid them to sit together because they would talk non-stop. However, while queuing up to go home during dismissal time today, Zi-An wanted to stand beside Jaslyn and one of the Dylans prevented her from doing so. That was when Jaslyn hit him on the head with her water-bottle.

Couldn’t quite bring myself to really scold her. I mean, would you believe this sweet innocent girl to be capable of hitting someone?

Jaslyn and her Weapon of Mass Destruction

Anyway, I told her that it is wrong to hit other children, even if they are naughty.

Diaper Changing

Jason poops very often!

Had been having a difficult time changing his diapers. A typical routine goes like this:

1. He poops.
2. We wipe him clean and change his diapers.
3. Five minutes later, he poops again.
4. We wipe him clean.
5. While wiping, he pees. Inadvertently, the pee follows a trajectory course and lands on his shirt.
6. We change his shirt, wipe him clean, and change his diapers again.
7. Ten minutes later, he poops.

We are disposing of the soiled diapers with such regularity that we are contemplating using newspapers to wrap him instead.

But Jason is a lovely child. After Liyun finishes feeding him and changing his diaper, he would just lie down and tilt his head around, staring at his surroundings with wide-eyed wonder. He appears to be a rather inquisitive and curious child.

And he has very nice hair too! It almost looks like he had a barber trim his hair before he came out from mummy’s tummy.

Jaslyn has been making herself useful by helping us to get diapers and wet wipes whenever he poops. She dotes on him a lot too, and would frequently pat him and try to comfort him when he cries.

Jason's Arrival

Baby Jason was born on 24 July 06 at 7.50am, weighing 3.295kg and measuring 51cm.

Liyun woke me up on Monday morning at 12.30am, saying that she felt funny. We then drove to her mum's place to settle Jaslyn down just in case she really needed to go to hospital. At 3.30am, she woke me up again and said that it was time to go to the hospital.

Things happened quite fast from then on. We were given a room. The contractions started coming with more regularity and pain. Liyun declined the offer of epidural ("Biggest mistake of my life," she said after the baby came out) and requested for the laughing gas instead. The gas was actually quite effective – I inhaled once deeply and immediately felt woozy.

Doctor Mary Rauff came at about 7.40am, took a look and told the nurses to prepare for the birth. She stepped out for a quick errand and before you could say "Wait!", Liyun gave a yelp and the baby just spilled out in a grimy mixture of slime and blood right into the nurse's arms. I was rather taken aback as this was vastly different from Jaslyn's birth which involved a lot more huffing, puffing and pushing as well as much less slime.

Mary Rauff came back in time to cut the umbilical cord though. Jason was brought to one side and the nurse inserted a long suction tube down his nose and mouth to remove the blood and mucus. The doctor then reminded me that I could take photos if I want to and so here’s a pic.

Jason was surprisingly alert (and spent the next 2 hours with his eyes opened staring around). Liyun had her milo and biscuits (which I have come to associate with congratulatory post-birth snacks) and we were then sent to our ward.

Jaslyn, who was still at her grandma's house, woke up as usual (being none the wiser) and went to play-school. She only got to see her baby brother at about 7.30 pm when Liyun’s brother brought the family over. I think she was slightly intimidated by the presence of so many people and did not dare to touch her brother. However, after everyone had left, she insisted on carrying him. I gave her the Pooh camera and told her that it was a gift from Jason which scored a lot of brownie points with her.

Jaslyn has been a very good sister so far – she does her bit by always patting him, singing Twinkle Twinkle when he cries, helping him to wear his mittens and booties and other miscellaneous chores. But I think she can tell that Liyun and I are busier now with a newborn around and she is trying to test how far she can get away with being naughty before we punish her...

Anyway, we spent the first night as a family in the hospital room, with Jaslyn and I sleeping on a very creaky sofa bed. I made the mistake of asking whether she was comfortable on the bed and she pressed the mattress around her and complained, "It's not comfortable."

Me: "It’s nice; see – it’s so soft. Lie down and sleep, okay?"

Jaslyn: "But it’s not comfortable."

This went on for a good half hour until she got tired from complaining and decided to go to sleep after singing some nursery rhymes.

Jason slept without waking much through the first night. However, he spent most of the second night crying, so Liyun and I did not get much sleep as we took turns feeding and carrying him.

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Brought Jaslyn to Clementi for dinner on the second day. As she had not napped during the day, she started nodding off while in the car. Kept talking to her to try to make her stay awake and told her I would bring her to Big Bookshop to buy a Winnie the Pooh book of stickers if she would stay awake. Jaslyn then said miserably, "I’m trying to stay awake but my eyes keep closing."

She managed to stay awake long enough for us to reach Clementi so I fed her dinner before going to buy her sticker book.

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Liyun was finally discharged yesterday. However, Jason has jaundice and we had to go back to the hospital this morning to test his jaundice level. Although it is still not too high, we will have to bring him to hospital again tomorrow for another test.

Jaslyn Is 3 Years Old!

Have been terribly busy for the past few weeks... Two of my teammates (two out of a team of 4 persons!) at work have quit, another went for an overseas course and so it was left to my boss and I to hold the fort. Things were so bad that I could not even take leave to bring Jaslyn out to celebrate her birthday last month and I felt really bad about it. Thankfully, my sister-in-law took leave and celebrated Jaslyn's birthday with her classmates together with my mum-in-law and brother-in-law's girlfriend.

There are 2 boys in the class named 'Dylan', and they are both in the photo above. I'm not too certain, but think the boy beside her is the Dylan she likes more (well, duh).

After work, I drove over to my brother-in-law's place to pick Jaslyn up. She was in tears – apparently, while walking to the lift, Liyun bumped into a friend of hers (Linda) and stopped to chat. Jaslyn ran into the lift when the door opened, which then closed with her still inside. Fortunately, Liyun managed to press the lift button in time and got Jaslyn out. Everyone was rather traumatised by the incident, especially Jaslyn who was still sobbing when she was brought down. But she got over it fairly quickly when we brought her to ikea and treated her to her favorite meatballs and chicken wings.

A Tribute To Superman

I was not old enough to remember watching Superman when it first came out in 1978, but I remember watching Superman II in the cinema. As a kid, I was thrilled. It did not bother me that there were some key points in the movie that did not make sense. What was important was that it made you believe that a man could fly. The rest of the world must have been equally thrilled, for both movies turned out to be box-office hits.

Superman's popularity as a comic character has declined over the years, and the most common grouse is that he's too super and as such unrealistic; at least, Batman is a normal human being with normal human abilities. (And if someone thinks that the concept of a person who dresses up as a Bat at night, takes on gangs of thugs (kicks their collective asses) and reverts to his role as billionaire playboy during the day is realistic, well then, who am I to say different?)

There have been other complaints that he's too perfect – he can fly, has super strength, vision and hearing, shoots lasers with his eyes and freezes oceans with his breath. He's the perfect goody two-shoes, the guy who would never cut corners, who always knows what's the right thing to do (and does it). He's just not that relevant anymore in this complicated age. Compare this with your other superheroes, who have limited powers, and are really much more angsty: Batman is driven by a desire to avenge his parents' death (when what he really needs is some therapy), Spider-Man's loved ones are always under threat (plus his on and off relationship with his super-model wife), the X-Men are supposedly feared and hated by the world (but they have cool powers and live in a mansion), etc. And Superman? Er, he's just motivated by the desire to do good. How exciting.

Which is why writers have pitted Superman against the most ridiculous foes, and the stories just get more outrageous and silly. Fighting against bland monsters like Doomsday, dying and coming back to life as two energy-beings (one red and one blue)... What were the writers thinking of? And more relevantly, what in the world were they smoking?

For me, the most interesting stories about the Man of Steel have been those where he uses his powers to try and help people, change the world, make it a better place for us to live in. He was sent to our world with all these powers, and he felt that he had a responsibility to use these powers for good. And while he may not be as angsty as your Batman or Wolverine, the obstacles he faces are even more overwhelming. He is not trying to defeat some super-villain; he is trying to liberate people, overcome oppression, change mindsets, and these are tasks so mammoth you know he’s doomed to fail. Yet he carries on alone, because he believes in what he’s doing, and because he genuinely cares.

We have become a very cynical generation. The actions of the government have caused us to distrust people in authority. We are wary of our neighbours and suspicious when people show kindness. The advancement of technology has also lessened our need and desire for human interaction, and we have become a bit more selfish, more cold and distant. The line between right and wrong (or less dramatically, what is acceptable and what is not) just gets more blurred everyday. Which is why I think Superman is even more relevant in today's context. He is this person whom you can trust, depend on, and whom you know will always do the right thing. He is the character we should be looking up to, whose example we should follow.

Despite the many flaws of Bryan Singer's Superman Returns – he has got one thing right, and that’s Superman himself. Consider the scene where Superman flies over the ocean to Lois’ rescue. Something happens which makes him realizes that Metropolis is in imminent danger. You see him in conflict. Should he go to Lois, or should he save the city (and risk losing the woman he loves)? The answer is a no-brainer, really - he heads towards Metropolis. Why? Simply because he is Superman, and the lives of other people will always come before his own interests.

Alex Ross's graphic novel on Superman, Peace on Earth, is perhaps the only comic which captures who Superman is. In this book, "Superman makes a holiday decision to feed the entire world for one day... Food riots, dictatorships and xenophobia hamper a mission that ends incomplete and in failure... He learns the enormity of the task of fixing the world, and remembers that the smallest gestures are important places to begin." And in Alex Ross' own words: "Superman can remind us of certain ethics and moral choices... We could only benefit from the example of his never-ending battle."(From Metroactive)

Superman was such an iconic character that the Superman radio series was even used to discredit the Ku Klax Klan in the 1940s. Wikipedia: "Concerned that the (Ku Klax Klan) had too strong connections to the government and police forces, (Stetson) Kennedy decided to strike at the Klan in a different way. He contacted the producers of the Superman series and proposed a story where the superhero battles the Klan. The producers... eagerly agreed to the idea. To that end, he provided information, including secret codewords and details of Klan rituals, to the writers. Kennedy intended to strip away the Klan's mystique, and the trivialization of the Klan's rituals and codewords likely had a negative impact on Klan recruiting and membership." (This was also extensively covered in Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics.)

Superman was created more than 70 years ago, but he has not changed much. He is still wearing his underwear outside. He is still donning the bold, and iconic colours of blue, red and yellow. He is still fighting for truth and justice. He is still a symbol of peace and hope. No matter how our world changes, you know he will always remain the same. And this is why he is the greatest Superhero of all time.

Alex Ross' Superman

Pixar's Cars

Took another half day yesterday and went to watch Cars with Liyun and Jaslyn. Jaslyn became restless quickly – not because the movie is boring, but I guess asking a 3-year old girl to sit still for 2 hours is a bit too much.

Cars was fabulous! The story is slightly cliché – a self-absorbed hotshot racer named 'Lightning McQueen' takes an unexpected detour, ends up spending a week in a small town on Route 66 and learns that loyalty, community, and an appreciation of life's detours matter more than individual advancement. The fictional town, called Radiator Springs, used to be a bustling stopover whose status rapidly collapsed once the interstate insured that all cross-country traffic would be diverted away from the town.

This animation is essentially a loving tribute to the good old days when life was slower and people friendlier. In our bid for greater efficiency, we have built 'interstates' in our lives to get to places faster and in the process, complicating our own lives in some meaningless pursuit and losing focus on what's of importance.

Photo Session With A Purple Dinosaur

Took half day from work yesterday to accompany my wife to the gynecologist for a scan of the baby (who will be due in 2 months). After that, we went to Clementi Polyclinic to get some medicine for Jaslyn's eye infection. She had had the infection in her left eye for close to 5 weeks now (we asked the doctor for the cause of the infection, and was told that it's like a pimple – it just comes, and is not something we could have prevented). Anyway, Jaslyn used to cry and make a lot of noise whenever we told her that she has to see the doctor, but now, she's actually pretty cool about it. She even greeted and grinned at the doc yesterday.

After the polyclinic visit, we went to IMM to catch the Barney show. It was about 5pm when we arrived; the show was scheduled to start at 7pm. The exchange for a Barney pass (which entitles you to a photo opportunity with the purple dinosaur and his equally weirdly-coloured friends) starts at 6pm, but to get this pass, you have to produce a receipt by spending $30 at any shop. Since there was already a queue forming (!) and there were only a measly 20 passes available, Liyun asked the security guard if it would be possible for her to queue first while I go and spend the $30 to get a receipt.

The security guard was quite reluctant, so Liyun said that she did not want to have to spend $30 and come back to see all the passes given away. The security guard glanced at her big tummy and said, "Well, since you are pregnant..." So she got into the queue and we got our pass.

Not too proud of this actually... Was feeling gleeful at how we managed to get the photo pass (with Barney the Purple Dino, you know?) and at the same time thinking we have officially joined the ranks of your typical kiasu Singaporean parents. Anyway, Jaslyn enjoyed the show, which was the important thing, and well, we do have a photo with the purple dino.

About Being Average...

I have been thinking about the blog that I wrote a while ago on 'Being Average'... and I think I should clarify that it was more a tirade against the obsessive pursuit of materialism, the tendency of people to define Success and Excellence (and hence their lives) based on the material wealth they have amassed, or their relative position and standing in society. I still think that being 'average' is completely alright in this regard. However, when it comes to evaluating oneself as a person, a husband, a father... Well, I guess one should then strive very hard to do better than 'average'...

Jaslyn Gives The Finger

Jaslyn’s finger got caught in the door the other day. The nail is now hanging loose from her finger. It has not fallen off, and Jaslyn refused to let us cut it, so we are keeping her little finger wrapped in a plaster instead.


Jaslyn showing us her finger

She is also suffering from a sore throat, slight cough and ulcer in her mouth. She must have felt really unwell yesterday morning as she missed playgroup, something she normally looks forward to going. Think I am partially to blame for her sore throat because I let her help herself to a generous portion of french fries and ketchup when I brought her to Tiong Bahru Plaza for dinner last Friday.

We will be keeping a closer eye on her... Can't be careful enough especially with this Hand Foot and Mouth Disease going around.

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We are quite hooked on the Korean drama series Da Chang Jin, which is on Channel U Monday to Friday from 10 to 11pm. The story is very engaging, and the fact that it is not fluffy/slow/weepy (like the typical korean drama) is a huge plus. Of course, Jaslyn would sit down and watch with us, and I worry that she is turning into a TV addict.

The (Almost) New York Trip

Was originally scheduled to go to New York for a course in May, but have just received a call from my boss informing that, whoops, sorry, the course is only accepting one participant so I will not be able to go.

This is rather ironical, actually. When my boss first brought up the subject of going on an overseas course, I had told her of my reluctance to be away in view of Liyun's pregnancy. She advised me that due to budget constraints, there might not be any more courses next year, so I should go for this one. The fact that it would be held in NY and for only a week was of course a huge plus. Everyone started telling me how wonderful NY was, how cheap the children's clothings and toys were, etc., and pretty soon, I went from a state of reluctance to Well, okay, this sounds pretty good to Man, I'm so looking forward to this and then to It's going to be the Best Week of My Life! and now to This sucks the big one.

I had also told a few people about it, mentally made plans on what stuff to buy (clothes for Jaslyn and baby Name-Not-Confirmed-Yet, Disney figurines, USD9.99 dvds, books, a Canon digital camera, etc.), and wrote a very self-important letter to my camp on why I should be excused from this years's In-Camp Training (ICT):

"Dear Sir, I have been specially selected to attend a Very prestigious course in New York (NY!) in May. Unfortunately, it clashes with my annual ICT. As such, I find myself in the unenviable position of having to decide between serving my country, and flying off to the US of A (NY!) to attend a course which I will probably not benefit very much from. After much deliberation, I have decided: Screw the country. As such, I would be extrememly grateful if you would approve my leave."

Not blaming anyone for this, but it's just a truly terrible thing to raise someone's hopes and then dash them. Now, I will have to go around announcing that I won't be going to NY after all and endure the inevitable Oh-you-must-be-so-disappointed string of conversation. I will also have to write to my camp and tell them that I have decided I love my country more than NY so can they please ignore my earlier letter?

My boss told me that she will look out for some other course to make up for this. With my luck, it will probably be either an in-house course (Cheerful trainer: "It ends at 5pm so you'll still have time to go back to work!") or a 1-month course held in Afghanistan.

"It's a...!"

Accompanied Liyun to NUH for a detailed scan of the baby yesterday. We brought Jaslyn along because my wife felt that it would be nice to involve her as we would get to know the gender of the baby from the scan.

"Do you want a didi or meimei?" We asked her.

Jaslyn frowned and said, "I want a baby!" Think she doesn’t really care about the gender so long as she gets a baby to play with.

We arrived at the clinic at 9.25am sharp. However, Dr Mary Rauff was called away for a delivery, so we went to the downstairs cafeteria for breakfast, and only got to see the doc finally at 10.30am. The baby was fine, though a bit on the plump side.

"And do you want to know whether it’s a boy or girl?" asked the doc.

My wife nodded.

"Well, there’s something in between the legs, so..."

So we now have a son, and Jaslyn has a baby didi.

A lot of people have been asking me if I prefer a boy or another girl. Truth is - the idea of having a son fills me with a sense of trepidation. I am not sure why... Maybe a reason is because I feel that being the parent of a son entails much more responsibilities in this society compared to a daughter. Societal expectations of a man are simply much higher (and though this might sound chauvinistic, I believe it to be very much true). Society expects a man to be confident, self-assured, able to take charge, provide for the family, etc. Of course, women are able to have all these qualities, and they may even do better than a man, but in general, these are qualities we expect a man to naturally possess.

Not that I think raising a daughter is easy or takes no effort – I am determined to bring Jaslyn up the best way I can, but it’s just that I feel if I screw up as a parent, the consequences are more disastrous for a son than a daughter.

And maybe... It is also because I do not have a very close relationship with my father, and I am worried about how I would turn out as one with my son. I hope that we will not have a relationship that is as awkward and distant as that of my father and I. Nobody starts out wanting to be a bad parent (or bad anything!), but the demands of life can be so overwhelming at times that people are just unable to cope. I think that is how most relationships sour... When you are unable to cope, you withdraw from the relationship, whether physically or emotionally, and that is when it all goes downhill.

Does my father have any regrets, I wonder...? Does he wish he can turn back time and do things differently as a parent?

My prayer would be that at the end of the day, when my children are adults, they would be God-loving, strong, wise, assured and compassionate individuals. And I would be able to look at them with no regrets, content with the knowledge that I have done the best I can.

RT Session Part 4

Well, this will be the last entry regarding my RT sessions...

Gave Andy a lift to the MRT station after RT the other night, and did a bit more sharing on the gospel with him. Even though I feel that I have done a less than adequate job in the sharing, I am really thankful that God has given me this opportunity. And God has done the arrangements marvelously – the night when I gave Andy a lift home was actually the last time I talked to him.

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Anyway, after 20 sessions of RT, I finally passed my IPPT.

When Liyun heard that I had passed my IPPT, she commented, "I knew miracles could happen!"

Most people were amazed to hear that I had passed my IPPT. Frankly speaking, I was astonished myself. After all, I had gone for the test feeling fatigued, and was thus really, really surprised when I managed to finish the 2.4 km route in less than 13 minutes (something which I had not managed to do for the past 12 years). And considering that it had been 12 years, it is no wonder that everybody felt it was due to divine intervention.

The Mindef website actually captures an individual’s IPPT results for the past 10 years; I have reproduced it duly below:

RT Session Part 3

Part 3 of my blog on the RT sessions...

I bought the book 'A Purpose Driven Life' by Rick Warren for Andy quite some time ago. However, having left the book in the office, I kept forgetting to bring it with me to the RT session so that I could pass it to him.

Anyway, I finally remembered to bring it today, and after having registered my attendance, sat myself down beside him. We started chatting, and I wondered how I should give the book to him. Should I just take it out of my bag and pass it to him? Wouldn’t that seem strange?

Me: "Here, I just thought that this book would be suitable for you."

Him: "'A Purpose Driven Life?' Are you insinuating that I lack a purpose in life?"

I could not really think of a way to give him the book without making it awkward, and finally decided that it might be easier to just pass it to him after the entire RT session was over (i.e. at the end of the 20th session).

And that was when Andy turned to me and asked, "Have you heard of this book called 'A Purpose Driven Life'?"

I was so taken aback that I did not know how to react for a moment. Here I was, fretting over how to give the book to him, and along came God to pave the way for me! So, I took it out of my bag and said, "Yeah, in fact, I got the book for you!"

Think he was pretty stunned as well.

God truly works in marvelous ways!

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It's Valentine's Day today, and for some strange reason, the number of persons attending RT were more, filling up almost the entire parade square. The instructors were scratching their heads and wondering out loud, "Why so many people here today huh?"

Personally, think many of the guys might have opted to go for RT so that they would not need to bring their girlfriend out for dinner / get V-Day gifts.

Girl: "Dear, look at this ad! A V-Day Dinner and a bouquet of roses at this fancy restaurant for only $200+++!"

Guy: "Um - er - Oh yeah, I actually have RT on that day!"

Another Reason Why I Have Not Blogged In A While...

is because I have been busy with this other blog that is taking up most of my blogging time... Just felt that it would be meaningful to maintain a blog containing news and other stuff which I read / am interested in...

Here it is:
CKLrecords

Family News Update

Haven’t blogged in a while – had been awfully busy rushing end of year stuff, as well as beginning of year stuff...

My wife announced that she was pregnant last month. The news was a relief as well as a source of stress for me. Relief because we have been trying for a while, and well, finally, here’s the good news, and stress because of the doubt that we will be able to cope with another child.

Unlike the first time, we did not tell anyone we were trying for another chills this time round. You see, we have learned our lesson. Tell someone that you are trying for a baby and you will get asked constantly: "So, how is it coming along?" After a while, you start getting extremely stressed trying to answer these questions... "Um, no, still zero." The nicer blokes will nod and smile sympathetically; while some others will make remarks like, "Hm’n, firing blanks?" which makes you want to give them a hard kick in the groin. Let’s see who will be firing blanks then.

So, if you are trying for kids, do not tell anyone - especially your parents. While your friends might be too polite to probe further, parents feel no such compulsion to restrain themselves, and will hound you incessantly, asking questions so embarrassing that they will make you wish you were an orphan: "So how many times are you doing it? / Are you doing it right? / Are you still wearing tight underwear? / Drink this – it’s supposed to increase your - / Maybe if you try different positions -".

And when finally your wife’s pregnancy test kit turns positive, it feels like a massive weight has fallen from your shoulders. Once again, you can hold your head up high. "Yes! I am virile! I’m not firing blanks! My little boys can swim!"

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And then, there’s the stress. You wander what you had been thinking. You can barely manage your own life; how in the world are you going to cope with - not one, but two kids?

You worry that one of these days, your boss is going to discover that you have no idea what is going on at work at all. You worry about paying off your mortgage. You worry about whether you are spending enough time with your kids. You worry about bringing your children up right, and being able to give them the best things in life. You worry about whether you are living your life right before God. And then, you remember that the bible says "Do not worry about tomorrow..." and you worry if you have been worrying too much.

But of course, the bible is right (as usual). We spend too much time worrying about tomorrow, and not enough time cherishing the present things in our lives. Right now, I should just stop thinking about how to cope tomorrow; instead, I will just celebrate the fact that: "Yes, I’m not firing blanks!"