Canon EOS Experience, Anyone?

I've just received an email from Canon on their upcoming roadshow.

Canon EOS Experience

5 great reasons to experience the Canon EOS System

Date : 2 ~ 4 Nov 2007

Venue : Suntec Convention Centre Hall 601

Time : 10 am - 6 pm

Free Admission

According to their mailer, the event will be stuffed full with photo activities and eye-candy to inspire our passion for photography. And witness the official unveiling of the much-awaited flagship EOS 1Ds Mk III Digital SLR as well as opportunities to try out their range of lenses and printers.

In fact, I'm pretty keen to go for it as there'll be quite a number of free workshops and seminars by professional photographers. And hopefully, I can pick up some useful tips from there.

Any "kakis" keen or free to go with me this weekend? ... as I think it'll be a little "sian" to go alone leh *wink*

Workshop at the Museum

It was yet another educational experience trip organized by JCK for their K2 pupils.

Samsui Women : Laying The Bricks Workshop at National Museum of Singapore on 29 Oct 2007.

Samsui women - refers to Cantonese and Hakka immigrants from China. Adorned with their trademark feature - red "hat", they performed menial jobs in the early construction industry.

The red headgear was a square piece of blood-red cloth folded in a way that it sat like a fairly large rectangular roof on their heads. These women believed that red can ward off bad luck and it also acted as a protective gear from the sun's harmful rays.

Look! R1 brought back a look-alike headgear made of paper and I quickly grabbed this chance to brush up my photography skills ... hee hee.

The Graciousness of Sharing

My kids' school has been supporting a Christian Kindergarten in Vietnam for the last 2 years, where pupils are requested to play a part in helping them build up a children's library in the Pre-school over there.

According to their school, each pupil can help by donating a NEW story book each - suitable for children aged between 4 ~ 6 years old.

By giving, we can inculcate in our kids the graciousness of sharing with the less privileged. On top of that, these story books will definitely go a long way to help the children over in Vietnam learn English language and to encourage them to develop a love for reading.

Should any of you who are also keen to play your part, do feel free to contact Jurong Calvary.

Cheers!

I'm Being Tagged !!!

Oops ... I've been tagged by Edleen and Anne-Marie ... thanks, ladies !!

1. Link to the person {or in my case person(s)} that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here you go ... 7 random facts about myself :-

(i) I dislike bananas BUT I love Goreng Pisang (deep fried bananas in batter) !!

(ii) I used to collect perfume miniatures before I'm hooked onto scrapbooking ... not much money left for anything else since then ... ha ha ha

(iii) I'm a great Hello Kitty fan since young ... and always dreaming of owning a 100% Hello Kitties-filled home.

(iv) Sun-tanning and swimming are definitely a NO, NO, for me! Yet I've such a tan complexion all these years ... *sigh*

(v) I enjoy thrill rides such as Space Shot, Vikings, Roller Coasters and such ... and find Ferris Wheel a little boring.

(vi) I tend to speed when I'm in a lousy mood ... tried slightly more than 160km/hr while on the way back from KL.

(vii) I dare not sleep alone in any hotel rooms (after some strange encounters at South Africa in Year 2003).

Ok, I'm done !

But I'm gonna "break the rules" a little as most of my blog friends have already been tagged ... so, I'm not tagging anyone for now.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you'll know me a little bit more by now. *wink*

K2 Graduation Ceremony cum Christmas Musical Drama 2007

Time really flies ... with a blink of my eyes ... my R1 is now ready to move on to another new challenge in her life.

Till now, I still can remember very clearly that innocent, lost and helpless look of hers during her 1st day of school (5 Jan 2005) in Nursery at JCK.

With weeks of combine choir practices and dress rehearsal, these young kids really put up a fantastic and eye-opening Christmas Musical Drama - Hark, the Herald Angel this evening.

The kids sang at least 12 songs this evening and R1's favourite songs are ... Talking To The Son, I Want To Be, When God Becomes A Baby and How Amazing! How Confusing!

P.S. 1 of the guidelines from the school is to REFRAIN from taking photos during their performance. But many parents were snapping away like nobody's business ... so I joined in *wink*

It was indeed a pleasant and memorable evening for all proud parents (like me). Although, it was a pity that NC couldn't make it in time to come back for this. Nevertheless, I've placed an order for a DVD on the actual recording of this whole Graduation Ceremony.

Lastly, a great thank you to all wonderful teachers for their labour of love, and not forgetting Mrs Patricia Lin - the Principal of JCK !!

SShhhh ... I'm already anticipating my R2's Graduation Ceremony in Year 2009 ... ha ha ha

The Measurement of LOVE ?

Just a random thought ...

Units of measurement are now generally defined on a scientific basis, and are established by international treaties.

Also, there are lots of instruments designed and calibrated for different measuring purposes such as a thermometer, speedometer, weighing scale, voltmeter, chronometer, a simple ruler or even a milk bottle for feeding babies, etc.

But how can we measure how much are we being LOVED?

Do we simply measure it by using the following 2 factors ...

(I) The amount of TIME that the other party is willing to spend with us?

(II) The amount of LUXURY GOODS or QUALITY LIFESTYLE that the other party can afford/provide us?

Well, I've yet to figure this out ... what about you? ;)

Heidi Swapp in Beijing ?!?!

It was a Public Holiday as well as a Saturday night, but I felt a little lonely & bored at home tonight.

I've tried calling NC in China earlier, as I kinda miss him ... but he was still out running errands, so our IDD teleconversation was short & sweet of merely 10 mins :(

With nothing better to do tonight ... I surfed the net !!!

I chanced upon Heidi Swapp's blog and got shocked !! Guess what? Her whole family of 7 has moved to Beijing, China on 24 Sept 2007.

Heidi Swapp:
"I have made mention of his business dealings and product development here and there … and he and his partner have built a factory in China to produce the garage doors they have developed. (very exciting) … early on, it became clear (and we have both known that it would be necessary) he needed to physically be there. the long trips overseas have been so hard for me, and harder now w/ #5. SO, after MUCH deliberation ... we have settled into enthusiastic acceptance of our family adventure!"

I really can't believe it ... Heidi actually did what I've been thinking of doing (for years), but have yet to do it.

She simply dragged her 5 little kids across the planet to another place with a huge communication barrier on top of the cultural difference. But yet, she thinks that it will be an amazing, unforgettable, life-altering, growth experience for herself & her family.

The idea of relocating the whole family to a foreign country involves much considerations like housing, schooling, work, safety issues, medical issues, etc etc. Hence, I've been trying to put off this entire idea again & again, while waiting for "miracles to happen".

After reading Heidi's blog, I guess it's high-time for me & NC to really sit down, discuss & plan what will be the best for our family.

Families are the compass that guide us.
They are the inspiration to reach great heights,
and our comfort when we occasionally falter.
~ Brad Henry

Passion for Pictures

After a long wait of slightly more than a month, Detha and I finally went for our free Canon EOS DSLR Training @ Canon Digital Lab yesterday.

It was a 3-hr theory-based session, I've been trying hard to figure out what have been taught such as exposure compensation, aperture, shutter speeds, ISO ratings, depth-of-field, metering, focal length, etc etc ... and I ended up with a headache towards the end of it (I'm serious, no joke).

In summary, this training has provided me (i.e. a basically point-and-shoot person) a better understanding of what photography is all about and I'm really amazed at what my newly-acquired camera can deliver.

Our young and good-looking trainer, Mr Jino Lee, has shown us plenty of sample photos taken using various lenses as well as techniques. Those pics really WOW me !!! ... I've linked his site to this post, do check it out (especially those pics under his Travel category) ... they really make me yearn for a relaxing break at any beach resort now ... ha ha ha.

A Fun-filled Afternoon with {CREATE} at P2P

~ Born to Crop ! Not to Mop ! ~

The CropMeet yesterday was a SUCCESS !

(Although it was a little "warm" at the beginning, but we managed to "cool" everyone down shortly ... those who were there will know what I'm referring to ... ha ha ha)

On behalf of P2P, I'd like to thank everyone for making it a fun-filled afternoon with us.

Firstly, a round of applauds to the organizers from {CREATE} for their great effort & time in planning those fun games & challenges. And secondly, sincere thanks to all the participants for their time to come all the way to P2P's new location at the East.

{ These ladies were busy cutting, rearranging, pasting and
discussing on their team's layout for a challenge }

{ Everyone was listening attentively to Aida's great tips on scrapbooking }
{ It's Lucky Draw Time ... and the winner was Ms Sooki !! }
{ A group photo shot with their creatively-designed coasters }
{ Ms Detha was being asked to choose the winner
for this coaster challenge ... a tough decision indeed! }
{ Snack time! And these ladies were so busy chatting with each other }
{ Thanks Aida & Jenn for these lovely handmade gifts for me }

I hope that everyone has enjoyed this CropMeet as much as I do ... and I'm definitely looking forward to the next one real soon.

Cheers!

No More Empty Promises

Promise
~ Noun

1. a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future.

2. grounds for feeling hopeful about the future.

Parents are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't always fulfill promises that they made to their little ones ... and (sadly to say) I'm one of them.

At times, I'll simply promise (without any considerations) whatever requests from my kids, in exchange for more peaceful & quiet time so as to carry on with my own work (p.s. I've been working from home since Year 2004). That's why, there's a high tendency of me on not delivering all my promises to them.

In fact, I've been feeling very guilty about it ... and told myself to stop doing it as this might set a bad example for my growing kids.

So, for now, I'm in the midst of fulfilling my past promises to them (despite my recent tight schedule) ... where #1 is to bring them for kaiten-zushi which means "rotating sushi" in Japanese, but is more popularly translated as "conveyor belt sushi".

Yippee! We went Sakae Sushi @ Bugis Junction on 2 Oct for dinner. The kids were delighted and had fun choosing their own food from the conveyor belt.

But I really wonder does red colour appeal most to little children? ... As R2 kept choosing those in red-coloured plates which cost S$6.50++ each ... can anyone help to explain this ??? ... LOL

As usual, here's some snapshots ...
(blurry ones, I mean ... as I forgot to bring a camera and used my PDA to shoot ... argh)

{ Eeny, meeny, miny, moe ... what shall I eat? }

Let's Crop With Us

How often do I scrapbook?

"Not even a layout for the past 1.5 years! Oh gosh, I better churn out something when I go for this coming Saturday's CropMeet. It's always the getting started part that is difficult ... and I'm hoping a crop session with this group will do just the trick!"

Crop with {Create} & Pictures 2 Pages are co-organizing this event on Saturday, 6 October 2007 from 2pm ~ 5pm.

According to both organizers, there'll be crop session, fun games, door gifts, lucky draw, RAK prizes, delicious snacks to be served and discounts for offline shopping !!

What's more? P2P will also be having it's 1st Open House on that same day from 11am ~ 2pm at their new location.

So, calling all Singapore scrapbooking addicts ... do free yourself up on 6 Oct 2007 and join in for a day of fun with friends with the same passion!

Happy Children's Day 2007

Happy Children's Day to all little ones out there, and especially to my R1 & R2 !!

Last Saturday, R1 popped me a question out of nowhere ...

R1: "Mummy, why didn't you buy Children's Day presents for us? I've received 2 so far ... 1 from my teachers in school and the other from Awana Club."

Me: "No money leh ..." (jokingly)

R1: "Mummy, nevermind. Why don't you draw me a card instead?"

Me: ???????

Isn't it very sweet of her? I'm really surprised that my little 5-yr old girl is so much sensible than expected ... and of coz, I'm touched by her words.

So today, I rushed back home straight after work as I planned to bring them to a nearby shopping mall to have Sushi for dinner. But we've to call off said plan when Granny expressed that she doesn't like Japanese food ...

Nevertheless, Uncle *A* suggested to order Pizza Hut home delivery for tonight. On top of that, he even brought R1 & R2 to Sobasei Japanese Restaurant at Fairway Club to get some Sushi take-aways (as R1 looked disappointed earlier).

Look! Both of them fared sumptuously, although it's just a very simple "Children's Day Celebration" at home ...

NC, please don't forget their presents (as promised) when you're back home.