Too much good food

Too much of anything is never good.

Have you gotten sick (as in not wanting to eat anymore) from eating too much good food?

Over the new year, I was in Japan visiting the in-laws (photos will follow...) and they prepared a feast over the few days that we were there. Knowing I am a meat-lover, there was Japanese beef and pork and chicken... Japanese beef and pork is very fatty (and therefore very delicious) and I had so much that I ended up not wanting more... stopped halfway after eating too much shabu shabu, and couldn't finish my plate of stir-fried pork.

I guess moderation is everything. I am going to have to exercise a lot to get rid of all that fat consumed. The Japanese probably live long lives because they eat such good food in moderation (most of the time it is simple plain fare) and I guess I need to remind my in-laws that while I appreciate them doting on me, the healthier option may be the better option.

Thanks ANA!

Just want to thank the stewardesses (especially Yamamoto-san) on ANA Flight 901 that departed Tokyo on 9 Jan 2010. Thanks for going out of the way to help us in handling the little "emergency" when the baby dirtied himself twice onboard the plane.

船歌 by 齐豫

姐儿头上戴着杜鹃花
迎着风儿随浪逐彩霞
船儿摇过春水不说话
水乡温柔何处是我家
船儿摇过春水不说话
随着歌儿划向梦里的他
嘴儿轻轻唱呀不说话
水乡温柔像那梦里的画
嘴儿轻轻唱呀唱不休
年华飘过歌声似水流
船儿摇过春水不停留
摇到风儿吹波天凉的秋
船儿摇过春水不停留
鱼儿双双结伴水底游
谁的船歌唱的声悠悠
水乡温柔来到天凉的秋
唱不休似水流不停留天凉的秋
不停留水底游声悠悠天凉的秋
谁的船歌唱的声悠悠
谁家姑娘水乡泛扁舟
谁的梦中他呀不说话呀
谁的他呀归处是我家

(Yet another song that I like by Qi Yu.)

生命过客 by 童安格

在拥挤的街头
你在忙碌的追求什么
在孤寂的角落
你知道失去的也多

在拥有的角落
你是否曾经好好珍惜
在失去的时候
是否依然那么在意
一生要失败几回
才知道成功的意义
一生要爱过几回
才了解爱的真谛
一生要失败几回
才知道成功的意义
一生要爱过几回
才了解爱的真谛

问情 by 蔡幸娟

山川载不动太多悲哀
岁月禁不起太长的等待
春花最爱向风中摇摆
黄沙偏要将痴和怨掩埋
一世的聪明情愿糊涂
一身的遭遇向谁诉
爱到不能爱聚到终须散
繁华过后成一梦啊
海水永不乾天也望不穿
红尘一笑和你共徘徊

(You will probably remember this song from the TV drama series 戏说乾隆.)

Welcome 2010!

Happy New Year! Wishing everyone a good year ahead! May your wishes come true in 2010!

鲁冰花 by 曾淑勤

我知道半夜的星星会唱歌
想家的夜晚它就这样和我一唱一和
我知道午后的清风会唱歌
童年的蝉声它总是跟风一唱一和
当手中握繁华心情却变得荒芜
才发现世上一切都会变卦
当青春剩下日记乌丝就要变成白发
不变的只有那首歌在心中来回的唱
天上的星星不说话地上的娃娃想妈妈
天上的眼睛眨呀眨妈妈的心呀鲁冰花
家乡的茶园开满花妈妈的心肝在天涯
夜夜想起妈妈的话闪闪的泪光鲁冰花
啊闪闪的泪光鲁冰花
天上的星星不说话地上的娃娃想妈妈
天上的眼睛眨呀眨妈妈的心呀鲁冰花
家乡的茶园开满花妈妈的心肝在天涯
夜夜想起妈妈的话闪闪的泪光鲁冰花
夜夜想起妈妈的话闪闪的泪光鲁冰花

东方女孩 by 蔡幸娟

寻遍山外山找遍水中水
谁是你梦中的女孩
走遍海内外巴黎到上海
谁能比东方的女孩
她的眉呀眉像双雁飞过长江水
她的眼呀眼好像西湖水含烟
她的唇呀唇像栖霞山上枫如醉
她的心呀心天山雪般晶莹莹
千万里的胸怀五千年的色彩
孕育了东方的女孩

(A song that I love, it describes how beautiful Oriental women can be. Very simple and short lyrics, yet it fully describes the features that makes an Oriental woman a beauty.)

Whoever Finds This, I Love You by Mac Davis

On the quiet street in the city
A little old man walked alone
Shuffling through the autumn afternoon
And the autumn leaves reminded him
Another summer's come and gone
He had long lonely nights ahead waiting for June

Then among the leaves near an orphan's home
A piece of paper caught his eyes
And he stooped to pick it up with trembling hands
As he read the childish writing
The old man began to cry
'Cause the words burned inside him like a brand

"Whoever finds this, I love you
Whoever finds this, I need you
I ain't even got no one to talk to
So, whoever finds this, I love you!"

Well, the old man's eyes searched the orphan's home
And came to rest upon a child
With her nose pressed up against the window pane
And the old man knew he'd found a friend at last
So he waved at her and smiled
And they both knew they'd spend the winter
Laughing at the rain

And they did spend the winter laughing at the rain
Talking through the fence
Exchanging little gifts they've made for each other
The old man would carve toys
And the little girl would draw pictures of beautiful ladies for him
And they laughed a lot

But then one day on the first of June
The little girl ran to the fence... the old man wasn't there
And, somehow she knew he was never coming back
So she went back to her little room
took a crayon, And wrote

"Whoever finds this, I love you
Whoever finds this, I need you
I ain't even got no one to talk to
So, whoever finds this, I love you!

(An old song that I like. I almost cried when I first heard this song. Very sad lyrics. I prefer the one by Qi Yu, though.)

Giving way to ambulances

You come across an ambulance on the road every once in a while. Yet in Singapore, people don't really get out of the way until the ambulance is right behind them.

When I was in Hawaii, we came across two ambulances (on separate occasions) while on the road. The moment people noticed the ambulance in the distant, cars pulled over to make way (in the midst of a traffic jam), allowing the ambulance an easy path through the crowded street. I guess we still have some way to go before we can call ourselves a gracious society.

Love to swim

We know that the baby loves to swim since the first time we brought him to the pool.
He is also easier to carry in the water, which makes it easy for us parents. :)
We even tried sliding down the waterslide together. First time for me on the waterslide as well, I was a bit apprehensive at first (since it is meant for kids) but for the sake of the baby, I went down with him.
And after swimming in the pool, what better way to dry off, than to use the special bathing towel sewn together by the wife? She even put a ladybug design on it.

Learning to stand

The baby's been trying to learn to stand. Here he is, using his bumbo chair to stand.
And here he is, using his gym to stand.
Caught in the act!
Soon he will be walking, but for now, he still needs his walker to get around quickly.

The Land of Rainbows

I recently went to the land of rainbows, Hawaii (Oahu, to be exact) for a working trip. So here are some pictures (not a lot, since I didn't get to sightsee much).

Rainbows greeted us everywhere. Here's a picture of one.
From my hotel room, I had a good view of Honolulu, and here is the sunrise at Honolulu.
Waikiki Beach is just nearby (within walking distance if you want). It was December, so there weren't as many people on the beach as in summer.
And here's the sun setting over Waikiki Beach.

Visit to goat farm

The wife hasn't been updating her blog of late, so I thought I would help out a bit so that pictures of the baby (he's a toddler now) get uploaded to cyberspace in good time.

We visited a goat farm in Singapore a few weeks back. It was a good break from city life to drive into the countryside (whatever remains of the countryside in Singapore). The farm visit was very short, though, since we are not allowed to come into contact with the goats anymore (hygiene reasons and so on). So we did a round of the farm, saw the goats, and then went off to see fishes (koi, to be exact).
Here's the baby focused on looking at the goats.

Solid food

The baby has been taking solid food for a while now. Here's a picture of him in his bumbo chair (which he thinks is his personal toilet...) enjoying his brunch (looks like a mix of porridge, pumpkin and baby paste food).