The Electric Plant

Today Son No 3 asked me another profound question.

He had earlier learnt that electricity was carried to our house via electric cables and that the electricity came from electric plants which could be normally found in the mountains.

"Who make the electric plants?"

"Engineers."

"Then who make flowers?"

"God."

"Why God make flowers but not electric plants?"

"Hmm... flowers are natural, but electric plants are made by people...."

(Pause)

"How the engineers know how to make electric plants?"

"Engineers go to University and they learn how to build all types of things."

"But not flowers?"

"Not flowers..."

"But why don't GOD make the electric plants?"

"Err...."

=^=

As the conversation continued, it dawned on me why Son No 3 was confused and why he kept drawing a parallel between the electric plant and the flower.

Son No 3 thought that the electric plant was actually a REAL organic plant - you know, the type with green leaves and all! LOL!

A real plant that could produce electricity???

Hmm... something for our environmentalists to think about...!

G*U*N*S

Yesterday, Son No 3 got another belated birthday present. (WHAT, is this birthday thingy never going to end???)

It's a pair of Ben 10 walkie-talkie. Son No 3 was very excited and possessive over the new toy. But this is one toy that is really no fun playing on your own - so in the end, all the boys had a go at it. I was quite happy to leave them alone playing with their new toy while I did my own thing on the computer. They were shouting inane messages loudly from one room to another - their actual voices drowning the transmitted voices - but no matter...

The next moment when I turned around, who knows, the walkie-talkies (see picture) had morphed into a pair or guns, lol! The boys were no longer contented with the game of transmitting voices but were now leaping off the sofa, hiding behind walls and aiming at each other with their "guns" - shooting, dodging, reloading..... are they creative or what? A two-in-one toy!

Sigh! Should have known this would happen.

I have never bought a single toy gun for my three sons - but this had not stopped my three sons from developing this fascination with guns and shooting. They somehow manage to turn whatever they can get hold of into their "guns", whether we like it or not.

You're right, it's in the male genes.

*Give up*

Mothers of daughters only will not understand.

I learnt very much earlier on, thanks to the boys, that the versatility of Lego building blocks makes them ideal for the construction of all types of fanciful weapons.

Disposal wooden chopsticks are also good materials for shaping into guns or bows and arrows.

Plastic drinking straws are easily available and quite malleable.

Even crackers can be bitten and shaped to become a 2-D pistol.

Ya, the boys' imagination knows no bounds when it comes to creating the things that they like (and forbidden).

And when absolutely nothing is available to them, then their thumb and first finger, shaped into the familiar L-shape, will give them the instant gun that they desired!

It's amazing how realistic the boys can be with this shooting-thingy. I notice that, a split second after they have fired a shot, their arm will jerk backwards - as if it was pushed back by the recoil force. Ah, where did they learn that - Newton's 3rd law of motion?! Dodging imaginary bullets, rolling on the ground injured, pretending to be dead - hmm, they can be really good actors, these boys. Hey, no need to go for drama classes-leh...

I have no doubt that, from here, the two younger boys will eventually move on to first person shooter video games - like Son No 1.

Last night, I heard a stream of merry laughter coming out of Son No 1's room. Curious, I went in to check what movie he was watching on his MacBook. But no... it was not a movie he was watching - he was laughing out loud for shooting the wrong people in some computer game. Really.

*Give up*

Women will never understand, I guess.

Restaurant City

The three boys and I have moved on from Pet Society and are now playing Restaurant City.

Both games are found in Facebook.

If you have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, this is the game for you :)

Restaurant City is a game in which each player runs a restaurant. The game is quite simple.

The aim is to (1) run the restaurant efficiently so that customers are satisfied and (2) to grow the business so that it is the highest-ranked restaurant and/or the most beautiful restaurant.

Briefly, the modus operandi is as follows:

1 The number of workers and the size of the restaurant is contingent on *gourmet points* earned based on customers' satisfaction. To level up, players need to collect these points. Customers give a thumbs up for a meal promptly served, thumbs down for a long wait or unclean tables. At higher levels, customers also demand clean toilets.

2 The player hires the workers from the pool of Friends. These workers are designated either as Cleaner, Cook or Waiter.

3 For each meal served, dollars are earned. These dollars are used to upgrade the restaurant or to buy other functional items to improve the popularity of the restaurant. Full discretion is given to the player with regards to the aesthetics and the layout of the restaurant. Dollars are also used to buy food for the workers. If the workers are not taken care of, they will stop working.

4 The menu is dependent on the ingredients collected by the player. Each day, a free ingredient is given when the player logs in. Nevertheless, to make a meal, necessary ingredients can be traded with Friends (ah, there's where the social networking element comes in).

5 The efficiency of the restaurant is measured by the popularity indicator. The absolute maximum is 50.

Watch this space for tips on playing the game!

Postscript: The restaurants depicted above belong to the 4 of us. Come and visit!

Oscar Biggies 2008

I know the Oscar season is over - but it is only now that I have managed to catch most of the big 2008 shows:)

First of all, a word of thanks to the *sponsors* - the blackmarketeers of DVDs - without whom I would not be able to watch the latest movies or TV series in the comfort of my home at a fraction of the cost.

And thanks to their sophisticated technology and know-how, these DVDs are crystal clear and they come with good English subtitles, audio options for many Asian languages and even special features for most. What more can you ask for?

Ya, I ought to be shot... but I am not going to get on the high horse :)

I have watched most of the contenders for the major awards and my take is this:

Slumdog Millionaire: Overrated. The plot is predictable yet unbelievable - is that an oxymoron? Not really. If you, like me, have grown up watching melodramas from Asian film-makers, particularly those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, you would recognise the same elements - once you take away the "Millionaire" subterfuge. Suffice to say, there is nothing new in this show for me. I find the show - contrived?

The Reader: The best movie of the lot. Movies about the holocaust tend examine the extremes of human nature - from the diabolical to the heroic - but this show focuses on the question of morality, a topic which always intrigues me. Kate Winslet and David Kross (who is NOT the guy from Narnia) are both very good.

Revolutionary Road: Powerful - and emotionally draining. I find the notion of "hopeless emptiness" in the show - with the emphasis on the "hopeless" part - depressing. This is not a feel-good show, but it is a show that one will not forget easily. Kate Winslet thoroughly deserves the Golden Globe Best Actress for this show.

Milk: Stories about true public figures are always somewhat educational and I enjoyed the learning process. Gay rights continue to be a contentious issue that is divisive in most Asian societies but whichever side one is on, if we look at the show from the general angle of how a person can overcome overwheming odds, it is an inspiring show. Sean Penn is not easy on the eye (the reason why Son No 1 did not want to watch the show). But well, pretty boys seldom get to win the Oscar - just look at Tom Cruise nominated for 3, winner of none.

Doubt: Disappointing. Good acting notwithstanding, the entire show is really much ado about nothing. When I compare with the other show about nuns, "Agnes Of God", this show is paler than pale.

Frost/Nixon: Interesting perspective of another historical figure. Excellent acting by the entire cast. When anyone were to mention Richard Nixon now, I can only visualise the face of Frank Langella - who is incidentally my choice for Best Actor award.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona: So-so. Not much impression. Forgettable. Penelope Cruz was lucky to have garnered the Best Supporting Actress Award. I would have given it to Viola Davis from Doubt.

Rachel Getting Married: This is a heavy drama - make no mistake about it - it is certainly not My Best Friend's Wedding. Watch this show for the unconventional wedding ceremony and celebrations.

Changeling: Memorable and engaging show. Angelina Jolie is very watchable. I love the 1920's set design - the manual switchboards, trams, and T-Fords.

The Dark Knight: I am not a big fan of the superhero genre - but I must say this show is awesome. I'd like to think this is the thinking adult superhero show. Oh, the mind games played by the Joker are good. So is Heath Ledger.

The one biggie that I missed is The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. For some reason, our regular DVD could not get a decent copy for us.

So there you are. My brief take on the movies of 2008. Comments welcomed :)

Belated Birthday Treat

Son No 3's birthday celebration ain't over yet!

Owing to our hectic schedules over the past 2 weeks, we have not had time to keep our promise to bring him to MegaKidz, the huge indoor playground at the Mid-Valley Megamall. It was to be his birthday treat. So yesterday, we finally made our way there. The children spent 4 hours there crawling through tunnels, sliding down the mega-slides and jumping at the bouncy castle. Hmm... it's a good way for them to expend all their excess energy :)


Good thing the place was located within the Megamall. Hubby and I left our maid, Siti, there with the children and had a pseudo-holiday - in mini-Singapore! We had lunch at the Food Junction, shopped at Robinson's and enjoyed coffee and kaya toast at the Killiney Kopitiam for tea, lol!

That night, we celebrated Siti's 26th birthday at home with pizza delivery and a cake (see below).


Well, I guess another to look at it is that we went to MegaKidz today to celebrate Siti's birthday!

First Taekwando Competition

Son No 1 went for his first taekwando competition yesterday. He has been attending taekwando lessons for more than two years and now holds the red belt, which is one grade below the black belt.

As this was his maiden competition, the aim was to get match experience. He was such a novice that he was still learning the rules and how to score points just before the match, lol!

To us, it was an eye-opener because we did not realise that it was such a popular sport. There were many serious competitors there - and we were like the most "recreational" type that you can find.

Son No 1 did not win his match but got the match experience that he needed and which would come in useful for future competitions.

After the match, Son No 1 complained that his jaw hurt - but as we reviewed the mini-video recording that we made, we could see that he gave as much as he got. His ego probably got more bruised in the process, but hey, don't forget it's The Climb -things can only get better from here!

Below left: Son No 1 waited for about 4 hours for his match
Below right: Son No 1 was the competitor in blue, executing a kick

Turning 6

So now my baby is 6 years old.

More than one well-wisher have wistfully reminded me to enjoy the children while they are young.

I know.... very soon, my baby will be in primary school and when that happens, he will enter a new phase of life.

What will I miss?

1. Someone who is still keen to tag along when I run my errands


2. Someone who skips in the carpark on the way to school


3. Someone who tells me all the details of what happened in class


4. Someone who calls me on the phone when I am not around


5. Someone who laughs out loud at his own lame jokes


6. Someone who laughs out loud at my own lame jokes


7. Someone who thinks I know everything and am the greatest


8. Someone who holds my hand tightly for comfort or security


9. Someone who helps me look at the world thru a child's eye


10. Someone who can be delighted by the simplest things - like an ice-cream or a sweet

But most of all, the 3 things I will miss:

1. Someone who welcomes my bear hugs and hugs me back tightly


2. Someone who still enjoys being kissed


3. Someone who murmurs softly, at the brink of falling asleep... "I love you the most."

Sigh....