I met up with an old friend from Raffles Junior College days... He's doing well now, as an investor dealing with private funds. It's quite amazing how they can deal with so much money, money I can only dream about at this stage!
Anyway... what started out as a get together turned out to be a mini business discussion. It was quite an eye opening experience talking to someone who is purely into number crunching the the business end of things. Unlike myself, when it comes to the clinics I admit getting a little sentimental about them and feel bad about letting patients down or missing out on potential business.
So what he told me was that based on figures and the current situation, it wasn't ideal for me to be running 2 places. 48clinic hours with only 24 dr hours. The drive to and from the clinic also took time away from the business. Finally, the actual figures that were needed to keep the clinic running.
He listened to my sentiments and then suggested that it would be better renting the premises at Joo Chiat out and collecting the cash then to have to worry about it making money. It was the priorities, he said. If I had a choice, what would I choose? The clinic business? My family? The answer was obvious. In that case, then I should not try to use all my energy and time to try and make 2 clinics succeed. The Balestier clinic made sense since it is close to home and also has the added advantage of the dental business.
After talking to him the decision to transfer the Joo Chiat clinic to Balestier was made alot clearer and easier.
And of course as soon as I made that decision patients started popping out to see me at Joo Chiat!
But my mind is made up. We are also doing some minor adjustments to the clinic at Balestier so that workflow is more streamlined. Then the machinery can be moved over into the spare areas. Am thinking of doing some clinic advertising too, once the renovations are complete.
I feel more confident and less stressed now that I know I only have to concentrate on one location everyday from now on. I was getting quite down worrying about 2 clinics doing well, and having to do the terrible commute everyday, sometimes twice a day to Joo Chiat. Traffic is getting from bad to worse on the expressways and roads here.
I think if the decision feels and sits well after it is made, it is probably the right one. No one will ever know otherwise, because the alternative is not done. Here's to the Heal Balestier Clinic!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Phuket trip 2010
Karon beach, Phuket, Thailand...
We were in Phuket over the most of this week.
Chris and Pa were there to attend a Plastic Surgery conference, while Ma, Geok, myself and the 2 kiddos tagged along for the holiday.
This was our first trip together with the 2 kids. There were 7 of us altogether so we booked a family suite and an extra room. Geok and Elizabeth were leaving a day earlier to meet Munhon in KL so the extra room was booked for a day less. We stayed in Movenpick Resort and Spa in Karon beach. The conference hotel was fully booked by the time we had finally decided on who was going to Phuket.
So.....we left on Tuesday afternoon at 630PM on a Silkair flight. The flight took just under 2 hours. The 2 kids were relatively well behaved during the flight, except that Madison started to whinge and cry just as we were landing.
We were greeted at the airport by hotel staff( which was a blessing!). Then it was an hour long car ride to the resort. By the time we arrived, we were exhausted and the 2 kids were asleep. It took some time for the front staff to check us in, and by the time we were settled the 2 kids woke up! Geok managed to put Elizabeth back to sleep but we allowed Madison to stay up and run around while we had some room service for supper.
On the first day, Chris and Pa attended the conference. Chris left first, after breakfast. Ma had realized she'd forgotten to bring her glucometer test strips so we had to go and buy some. We were told that there were pharmacies in the street just outside the hotel so we took a walk in
search of them after breakfast.
MY GOODNESS. The sun was blazing hot by mid morning and after 15minutes we were hot and thirsty. Most shops weren't even open at 10am and the pharmacies that were, didn't sell the strips. We ended up taking a taxi into Patong in search of a larger pharmacy.
By the time we'd found the strips, we'd also had to buy a stroller to pop Madison into while she napped . Then it was time to head back to the resort to sort out the kids' lunch. That took a while. Madison was terrible at mealtimes the entire trip... whingy and spitting out all the food. First 2 meals I got so mad I was losing my temper at her, but after that I'd become used to it so I let her be. Perhaps it was the hot weather, or that she'd gotten a viral fever on the day that we left for Phuket ( the fever went away after the first day or so )that made her appetite disappear.
In the evening we finally headed for the beach for the first ( AND ONLY ) time. Seriously, it was baking hot most of the day, and I don't know how sunbathers can stay under the sun the entire day! We had fresh coconuts too, but just as we were about to enjoy them, the weather suddenly changed and we had to run back to the resort to escape the lightning storm.
The rain did not abate by dinner time so we decided to stay in the resort and try out El Gaucho, the hotel's Brazilian Churrasco restaurant. The food was average, which explained why it was half empty. Madison didn't have much dinner ( as usual for the trip ).
The second day we went to the hotel pool pretty much after breakfast. The pool was definitely the highlight of the stay. The resort has 3 pools, the main one being the largest and most popular. It had a water slide, a pool bar and areas of different depths, the deepest section at 3 metres! Only downside? IT WAS SO SLIPPERY! I fell into the pool the minute I stepped into the shallow section, nearly dragging Madison down with me.
I was already having some nagging right sided back pain when we started the trip, but after the fall into the pool I could barely move! IT was agony, sharp shooting pains into the butt whenever I tried to put weight onto my right leg. It took pretty much the rest of the trip to recover some mobility in my back. Fortunately Pa and Ma were there to help with Madison.
After the swim we headed out to Chalong Bay for lunch at a seafood restaurant by a jetty. The place was recommended by the concierge and I would say it had the best food of all the places we ate at during this trip. We had fresh lobster, half done sashimi style and the other half cooked in butter and garlic. That set us back SGD $130 already. BUT it was sweet and succulent, and accompanied by freshly grated wasabi! In Phuket! There was also freshly grilled fish,mud crab in a curry sauce, tom yum seafood soup, Pad Thai, and some vegetable. The bill came to Baht7000. Almost SGD 300.
Well fed, we stumbled out of the restaurant in search of transport. Obviously tourists, we were soon approached by a guy who offered to take us around town for the rest of the afternoon.
First stop: elephant ride. Obviously touristy, but since none of us had ever ridden on one we stopped to try. Only 2 adults were allowed per elephant so Pa gallantly offered to wait while the rest of us went on the 30 minute ride.
It was quite an experience! Within 5 minutes of the ride our elephant decided to pee and poop,which greatly displeased our guide. Instead of waiting for it to finish he poked and prodded the beast to hurry. Of course the elephant was pissed off and started to lurch and protest. OMG.
Fortunately that passed and the rest of the trek it was fairly calm. Still, it was a rather slippery kind of ride, with the hot sun baking us and making the seats slightly sweaty and slippery. Each downhill traipse was a major exercise in clinging onto our seats for fear of slipping off our chairs.
Towards the end of the trek the guide pointed his thatched home out to us. Apparently he is paid Baht2000/ month for work, of which half went into feeding his 2 kids and wife. I guess he makes some more in tips, which was what a sign advised us to do at the end! I tipped him with Baht100. Another Baht100 went into buying 2 baskets of sugarcane to feed the elephants.
The rest of the tour was pretty much driving around Phuket, with a stop to buy some local foodstuff at a one-stop food speciality store. Typical tourist type shop. Still, we ended up with bags filled with cashew nuts, dried mango, freeze dried durian and mangosteen.
By the time we returned to the hotel it was time to give the kids dinner, then sort our dinner out. We took a walk along the beach in search of a decent place to eat. Karon beach had many restaurants and hotels, most of which seemed to cater to the European taste bud. There were influences from Germany, Netherlands and the UK. We ended up at another seafood place, but the food was not that great. It was also unpleasant trying to eat in the oppressive heat and humidity, being rather used to dining in air conditioned comfort. ( Yes, we are the stereotypically spoilt Singaporeans!) It was great getting back to the cool comfort of our rooms. Madison slept really well that night, having run and swum off all her energy during the course of the day. Oh, and she finally pooped after 3 days...
Friday came soon enough and Geok was off to Singapore, then to KL. The rest of us had breakfast as usual at the hotel, then Chris went off to attend more of the conference. The rest of us headed off to the pool... the water was fabulous as usual, warm and soothing. Chris came back in time for a drink with me at the pool bar, de rigeur in a place like that!
We'd arranged with our driver to take us out at lunch time and he arrived punctually to pick us up at 1130. It was a 20minute drive to Phuket bay for another seafood lunch by t. This time we had fish, mud crabs, tom yum soup, crab meat omelette and pineapple rice. Madison refused to eat lunch again, even refusing to eat any of the Pad Thai we'd ordered separately for her after we'd finished our lunch!ARGH.
I think in honesty we were probably just dying to go back to the cool comfort of our rooms to relax, but since we'd hired the driver for the day we had to plan some sort of itinerary. After lunch he took us to yet another tourist trap, this time the jewellery store. We refused to get out of the car and told him to take us to see Wat Chalong instead. ( that was at the spur of the moment, after see
ing the signs to it on the way to the store!)
Wat Chalong is one of Phukets' most famed Buddhist temples, and there were quite a few tourists and locals alike when we were there. The midday sun was baking hot, and whenever we took our shoes/slippers off to walk around they were invariably burning hot after 5-10minutes!
After that we asked the driver to take us to a local market, but for some reason he drove us to a complex that sold clothing and shoes. He gave us 80minutes to wander around, but after 30 minutes we surrendered to the heat and called him to pick us up. Sat at a local noodle cafe nursing icy cold drinks while waiting for him to come.
We were pretty frustrated and worn out by the heat by then so we begged him to take us to a fruit stall and then pretty much back to the hotel. Even then he nearly took us somewhere else, were it not for Chris who noticed that we were heading towards the airport!
The fruits were pretty amazing though. 2 types of local mango ( which Madison adored ), Longkong ( a golf ball sized fruit ), mangosteen and pomelo. All of which were sweet and juicy. They were pretty expensive though, the mangoes costing slightly more than what they were in Singapore. Still, we'd been through so much travelling to get to the fruit shop so we had to buy some.
IT was fantastic to return to the hotel and immerse in the cool of the pool again. The clouds had come again so the heat had abated, and we spent another 40minutes or so enjoying the water.
Come dinner time, it was yet another lightning storm. We took a gamble and waited it out. Eventually it stopped enough for us to catch a taxi down to Patong for dinner.
What a world of difference Patong beach was to Karon beach! Shops lined the street, from seafood and pizza parlours to Starbucks, MacDonalds and Subway. We had dinner at Savoey restaurant, again another reccommendation from the concierge. Sashimi lobster, huge tiger prawns, mud crabs and seafood tom yum soup. We ended the meal with Ma's favourite dessert: mango with sticky rice, and an ice-cream sundae( which Madison gobbled down, of course )
After dinner, Pa and Ma took Madison back to the hotel while Chris and I wandered around Patong for a bit. Now I knew why it was a ghost town during the day. Come nightfall, bars, nightclubs and sleazy parlours spring open. Tourists and party-goers throng the street, together with transsexuals and prostitutes, openly canvassing for business. There were leaflets advertising "ping pong" shows every 10 metres, free "girly" shows and pole dancers strutting away on platforms for everyone to see.
Sadly the trip came to an end Saturday morning. Bright and early at 0630am we had to wake up, go for breakfast and take the hotel transport to the airport. The holiday seemed like a dream, we were just arriving in Phuket and now we were on the way back home. We arrived at the airport pretty early and after clearing immigration had to wait an hour to board the plane. The flight back was uneventful, with Madison whinging and then finally falling asleep just as the plane landed. A taxi ride later we were back in the comfort of the Novena house, with the 3 helpers to greet us and assist with the bags. What luxury!
It was a good trip, but we were glad to be home. The hotel was great but the island was just too hot and not much else for kids to do during the day. Food was a problem too, as it was mostly seafood and too salty or spicy for young tastebuds. But the Thai people were hospitable and generally honest, and were very accommodating of young children and families.
Sawadee Krap!
We were in Phuket over the most of this week.
Chris and Pa were there to attend a Plastic Surgery conference, while Ma, Geok, myself and the 2 kiddos tagged along for the holiday.
This was our first trip together with the 2 kids. There were 7 of us altogether so we booked a family suite and an extra room. Geok and Elizabeth were leaving a day earlier to meet Munhon in KL so the extra room was booked for a day less. We stayed in Movenpick Resort and Spa in Karon beach. The conference hotel was fully booked by the time we had finally decided on who was going to Phuket.
So.....we left on Tuesday afternoon at 630PM on a Silkair flight. The flight took just under 2 hours. The 2 kids were relatively well behaved during the flight, except that Madison started to whinge and cry just as we were landing.
We were greeted at the airport by hotel staff( which was a blessing!). Then it was an hour long car ride to the resort. By the time we arrived, we were exhausted and the 2 kids were asleep. It took some time for the front staff to check us in, and by the time we were settled the 2 kids woke up! Geok managed to put Elizabeth back to sleep but we allowed Madison to stay up and run around while we had some room service for supper.
On the first day, Chris and Pa attended the conference. Chris left first, after breakfast. Ma had realized she'd forgotten to bring her glucometer test strips so we had to go and buy some. We were told that there were pharmacies in the street just outside the hotel so we took a walk in
search of them after breakfast.
MY GOODNESS. The sun was blazing hot by mid morning and after 15minutes we were hot and thirsty. Most shops weren't even open at 10am and the pharmacies that were, didn't sell the strips. We ended up taking a taxi into Patong in search of a larger pharmacy.
By the time we'd found the strips, we'd also had to buy a stroller to pop Madison into while she napped . Then it was time to head back to the resort to sort out the kids' lunch. That took a while. Madison was terrible at mealtimes the entire trip... whingy and spitting out all the food. First 2 meals I got so mad I was losing my temper at her, but after that I'd become used to it so I let her be. Perhaps it was the hot weather, or that she'd gotten a viral fever on the day that we left for Phuket ( the fever went away after the first day or so )that made her appetite disappear.
In the evening we finally headed for the beach for the first ( AND ONLY ) time. Seriously, it was baking hot most of the day, and I don't know how sunbathers can stay under the sun the entire day! We had fresh coconuts too, but just as we were about to enjoy them, the weather suddenly changed and we had to run back to the resort to escape the lightning storm.
The rain did not abate by dinner time so we decided to stay in the resort and try out El Gaucho, the hotel's Brazilian Churrasco restaurant. The food was average, which explained why it was half empty. Madison didn't have much dinner ( as usual for the trip ).
The second day we went to the hotel pool pretty much after breakfast. The pool was definitely the highlight of the stay. The resort has 3 pools, the main one being the largest and most popular. It had a water slide, a pool bar and areas of different depths, the deepest section at 3 metres! Only downside? IT WAS SO SLIPPERY! I fell into the pool the minute I stepped into the shallow section, nearly dragging Madison down with me.
I was already having some nagging right sided back pain when we started the trip, but after the fall into the pool I could barely move! IT was agony, sharp shooting pains into the butt whenever I tried to put weight onto my right leg. It took pretty much the rest of the trip to recover some mobility in my back. Fortunately Pa and Ma were there to help with Madison.
After the swim we headed out to Chalong Bay for lunch at a seafood restaurant by a jetty. The place was recommended by the concierge and I would say it had the best food of all the places we ate at during this trip. We had fresh lobster, half done sashimi style and the other half cooked in butter and garlic. That set us back SGD $130 already. BUT it was sweet and succulent, and accompanied by freshly grated wasabi! In Phuket! There was also freshly grilled fish,mud crab in a curry sauce, tom yum seafood soup, Pad Thai, and some vegetable. The bill came to Baht7000. Almost SGD 300.
Well fed, we stumbled out of the restaurant in search of transport. Obviously tourists, we were soon approached by a guy who offered to take us around town for the rest of the afternoon.
First stop: elephant ride. Obviously touristy, but since none of us had ever ridden on one we stopped to try. Only 2 adults were allowed per elephant so Pa gallantly offered to wait while the rest of us went on the 30 minute ride.
It was quite an experience! Within 5 minutes of the ride our elephant decided to pee and poop,which greatly displeased our guide. Instead of waiting for it to finish he poked and prodded the beast to hurry. Of course the elephant was pissed off and started to lurch and protest. OMG.
Fortunately that passed and the rest of the trek it was fairly calm. Still, it was a rather slippery kind of ride, with the hot sun baking us and making the seats slightly sweaty and slippery. Each downhill traipse was a major exercise in clinging onto our seats for fear of slipping off our chairs.
Towards the end of the trek the guide pointed his thatched home out to us. Apparently he is paid Baht2000/ month for work, of which half went into feeding his 2 kids and wife. I guess he makes some more in tips, which was what a sign advised us to do at the end! I tipped him with Baht100. Another Baht100 went into buying 2 baskets of sugarcane to feed the elephants.
The rest of the tour was pretty much driving around Phuket, with a stop to buy some local foodstuff at a one-stop food speciality store. Typical tourist type shop. Still, we ended up with bags filled with cashew nuts, dried mango, freeze dried durian and mangosteen.
By the time we returned to the hotel it was time to give the kids dinner, then sort our dinner out. We took a walk along the beach in search of a decent place to eat. Karon beach had many restaurants and hotels, most of which seemed to cater to the European taste bud. There were influences from Germany, Netherlands and the UK. We ended up at another seafood place, but the food was not that great. It was also unpleasant trying to eat in the oppressive heat and humidity, being rather used to dining in air conditioned comfort. ( Yes, we are the stereotypically spoilt Singaporeans!) It was great getting back to the cool comfort of our rooms. Madison slept really well that night, having run and swum off all her energy during the course of the day. Oh, and she finally pooped after 3 days...
Friday came soon enough and Geok was off to Singapore, then to KL. The rest of us had breakfast as usual at the hotel, then Chris went off to attend more of the conference. The rest of us headed off to the pool... the water was fabulous as usual, warm and soothing. Chris came back in time for a drink with me at the pool bar, de rigeur in a place like that!
We'd arranged with our driver to take us out at lunch time and he arrived punctually to pick us up at 1130. It was a 20minute drive to Phuket bay for another seafood lunch by t. This time we had fish, mud crabs, tom yum soup, crab meat omelette and pineapple rice. Madison refused to eat lunch again, even refusing to eat any of the Pad Thai we'd ordered separately for her after we'd finished our lunch!ARGH.
I think in honesty we were probably just dying to go back to the cool comfort of our rooms to relax, but since we'd hired the driver for the day we had to plan some sort of itinerary. After lunch he took us to yet another tourist trap, this time the jewellery store. We refused to get out of the car and told him to take us to see Wat Chalong instead. ( that was at the spur of the moment, after see
ing the signs to it on the way to the store!)Wat Chalong is one of Phukets' most famed Buddhist temples, and there were quite a few tourists and locals alike when we were there. The midday sun was baking hot, and whenever we took our shoes/slippers off to walk around they were invariably burning hot after 5-10minutes!
After that we asked the driver to take us to a local market, but for some reason he drove us to a complex that sold clothing and shoes. He gave us 80minutes to wander around, but after 30 minutes we surrendered to the heat and called him to pick us up. Sat at a local noodle cafe nursing icy cold drinks while waiting for him to come.
We were pretty frustrated and worn out by the heat by then so we begged him to take us to a fruit stall and then pretty much back to the hotel. Even then he nearly took us somewhere else, were it not for Chris who noticed that we were heading towards the airport!
The fruits were pretty amazing though. 2 types of local mango ( which Madison adored ), Longkong ( a golf ball sized fruit ), mangosteen and pomelo. All of which were sweet and juicy. They were pretty expensive though, the mangoes costing slightly more than what they were in Singapore. Still, we'd been through so much travelling to get to the fruit shop so we had to buy some.
IT was fantastic to return to the hotel and immerse in the cool of the pool again. The clouds had come again so the heat had abated, and we spent another 40minutes or so enjoying the water.
Come dinner time, it was yet another lightning storm. We took a gamble and waited it out. Eventually it stopped enough for us to catch a taxi down to Patong for dinner.
What a world of difference Patong beach was to Karon beach! Shops lined the street, from seafood and pizza parlours to Starbucks, MacDonalds and Subway. We had dinner at Savoey restaurant, again another reccommendation from the concierge. Sashimi lobster, huge tiger prawns, mud crabs and seafood tom yum soup. We ended the meal with Ma's favourite dessert: mango with sticky rice, and an ice-cream sundae( which Madison gobbled down, of course )
After dinner, Pa and Ma took Madison back to the hotel while Chris and I wandered around Patong for a bit. Now I knew why it was a ghost town during the day. Come nightfall, bars, nightclubs and sleazy parlours spring open. Tourists and party-goers throng the street, together with transsexuals and prostitutes, openly canvassing for business. There were leaflets advertising "ping pong" shows every 10 metres, free "girly" shows and pole dancers strutting away on platforms for everyone to see.
Sadly the trip came to an end Saturday morning. Bright and early at 0630am we had to wake up, go for breakfast and take the hotel transport to the airport. The holiday seemed like a dream, we were just arriving in Phuket and now we were on the way back home. We arrived at the airport pretty early and after clearing immigration had to wait an hour to board the plane. The flight back was uneventful, with Madison whinging and then finally falling asleep just as the plane landed. A taxi ride later we were back in the comfort of the Novena house, with the 3 helpers to greet us and assist with the bags. What luxury!
It was a good trip, but we were glad to be home. The hotel was great but the island was just too hot and not much else for kids to do during the day. Food was a problem too, as it was mostly seafood and too salty or spicy for young tastebuds. But the Thai people were hospitable and generally honest, and were very accommodating of young children and families.
Sawadee Krap!
Friday, March 26, 2010
First drop off class
Today Madison attended her first drop off Mandarin class.
She's been attending the accompanied class for almost a year now, and the lessons were starting to repeat.
Also, her classmates were gradually getting younger as the older ones left for the next class up.
Hence, the decision to start her on classes that she attended on her own.
Wow. The screaming lasted a really long time. I guess the teachers are used to it; they didn't even bat an eyelid with all the cries that came from the classroom. I thought I should stay around outside just in case the teacher decided she couldn't cope, but boy, was she determined! In the end I had to go take a walk to escape the noise.
The lesson went on for 2 hours, and when I went to check in 45 minutes later there was peace. Wow.
At pick up time she was all smiles and didn't want to leave. Lao Shi ( teacher ) was smiling when she came out too. And then she mentioned that Madison REALLY liked the cakes that were served for tea. ( GASP .. the class runs from 4-6PM.. there goes dinner! )
The Botanic Gardens is just next to the school, so we went to Casa Verde for dinner. As expected, she was not hungry and didn't eat much. But the rest of us had a great meal. A mini celebration for a small milestone.
Well, I am hoping for the best for the next class, which will be on Tuesday. I'm expecting another showdown, but hopefully it'll not be for as long.
And yes, I think I should tell the teacher to try not to give her too much snack just prior to dinner! She missed a good meal at a nice cafe!
She's been attending the accompanied class for almost a year now, and the lessons were starting to repeat.
Also, her classmates were gradually getting younger as the older ones left for the next class up.
Hence, the decision to start her on classes that she attended on her own.
Wow. The screaming lasted a really long time. I guess the teachers are used to it; they didn't even bat an eyelid with all the cries that came from the classroom. I thought I should stay around outside just in case the teacher decided she couldn't cope, but boy, was she determined! In the end I had to go take a walk to escape the noise.
The lesson went on for 2 hours, and when I went to check in 45 minutes later there was peace. Wow.
At pick up time she was all smiles and didn't want to leave. Lao Shi ( teacher ) was smiling when she came out too. And then she mentioned that Madison REALLY liked the cakes that were served for tea. ( GASP .. the class runs from 4-6PM.. there goes dinner! )
The Botanic Gardens is just next to the school, so we went to Casa Verde for dinner. As expected, she was not hungry and didn't eat much. But the rest of us had a great meal. A mini celebration for a small milestone.
Well, I am hoping for the best for the next class, which will be on Tuesday. I'm expecting another showdown, but hopefully it'll not be for as long.
And yes, I think I should tell the teacher to try not to give her too much snack just prior to dinner! She missed a good meal at a nice cafe!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Baby 2 and preschool hunting
All seems to be ok with baby 2. I had the fetal anomaly scan on the 22nd of March and everything seemed to be fine. And it's confirmed, we're having a baby girl..
Time flies quite quickly, it's already midway through the 2nd trimester! Another 14 weeks or so and she'll be here. I can't imagine what life with 2 will be like, but everyone survives it... so I guess we'll get there.
In other news, I've been preschool shopping for Madison. Since we've been back from Melbourne, I've been to see 3 different schools.
The first was Preschool for Multiple Intelligences( PMI ). Grounds were a little small but mostly the principal intimidated me a little. Well... she did run something for NTUC, so she kinda reminded me of a strict primary school principal.. they run on the concept of appealing to different "intelligences" that a kid possesses, doing a different theme everyday. Only trouble was that the "intelligences" classes were all held in the afternoon. Hence she strongly encouraged us to do "full" days rather than "half" days. But 830am to 5 Pm 5 days a week is quite tiring for a not-yet 3 year old?
The next school I went to was Pat's schoolhouse at Whitley. It's been newly renovated hence the classrooms were superb. The principal was really friendly and patient, taking me through the classrooms without rushing. The kids all seemed to like her too. Only downside to them was their waitlists. Unless I started Madison this year in the toddlers class! And the noisy, dusty piling works next door on a residential project.
The last one for the week was the Montessori school at Newton. Again, really nice principal. I didn't know anything about the Montessori methods of teaching, so was a little surprised to see all the kids ranging from 3 to 6 all mixed up in one classroom. Each quietly doing their own activity, with the teacher moving from kid to kid supervising them. Great in my opinion for the 3 year olds to be able to mix and move quickly upwards in terms of their skills. But what of the 6 year olds? Still in the same classroom as the 3 year olds? Another drawing point? Proximity to the Novena house. So someone could walk over and pick Madison up from school.
Next on the list... carpe diem at Watten estate, another Pat's at Buckleys and Cambridge at Novena... it's pretty good to visit the schools, to get a clearer idea of what each does during the day... so that we know what $700 -$1000+ /month gets us!
Time flies quite quickly, it's already midway through the 2nd trimester! Another 14 weeks or so and she'll be here. I can't imagine what life with 2 will be like, but everyone survives it... so I guess we'll get there.
In other news, I've been preschool shopping for Madison. Since we've been back from Melbourne, I've been to see 3 different schools.
The first was Preschool for Multiple Intelligences( PMI ). Grounds were a little small but mostly the principal intimidated me a little. Well... she did run something for NTUC, so she kinda reminded me of a strict primary school principal.. they run on the concept of appealing to different "intelligences" that a kid possesses, doing a different theme everyday. Only trouble was that the "intelligences" classes were all held in the afternoon. Hence she strongly encouraged us to do "full" days rather than "half" days. But 830am to 5 Pm 5 days a week is quite tiring for a not-yet 3 year old?
The next school I went to was Pat's schoolhouse at Whitley. It's been newly renovated hence the classrooms were superb. The principal was really friendly and patient, taking me through the classrooms without rushing. The kids all seemed to like her too. Only downside to them was their waitlists. Unless I started Madison this year in the toddlers class! And the noisy, dusty piling works next door on a residential project.
The last one for the week was the Montessori school at Newton. Again, really nice principal. I didn't know anything about the Montessori methods of teaching, so was a little surprised to see all the kids ranging from 3 to 6 all mixed up in one classroom. Each quietly doing their own activity, with the teacher moving from kid to kid supervising them. Great in my opinion for the 3 year olds to be able to mix and move quickly upwards in terms of their skills. But what of the 6 year olds? Still in the same classroom as the 3 year olds? Another drawing point? Proximity to the Novena house. So someone could walk over and pick Madison up from school.
Next on the list... carpe diem at Watten estate, another Pat's at Buckleys and Cambridge at Novena... it's pretty good to visit the schools, to get a clearer idea of what each does during the day... so that we know what $700 -$1000+ /month gets us!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Holiday withdrawals
It's true... you do get post holiday blues...
It's kind of an adjustment type of disorder.. from a carefree, fun existence where everyday was a breeze back to the daily grind.
Also the weather in Singapore isn't really the best... hot, humid and sticky to say the least. Melbourne was refreshingly cool, dry and occasionally sunny. It was certainly a nice change to be able to function outdoors without breaking into a drenching sweat in 5 minutes.
Today the Heal Joo Chiat Clinic had a clinic inspection. The inspectors came last week while I was away in Melbourne, and made an appointment to return today. Unfortunately they weren't able to give us an approximate time that they would be coming by so I had to be at the clinic from opening hours onwards.
Days like that really made me feel that maybe I should have just stuck to being an employee, rather than being the one responsible for the clinic. Go to work, see the patients and then leave and the rest of the business just simply wasn't my problem! Now I have to worry when there aren't enough patients, listen endlessly to staff issues and of course, be around for official events like clinic inspection!
Waiting for the inspectors felt like I was sitting for another examination.... fortunately Jolene
( clinic assistant) was pretty on the ball and did most of the work cleaning and sorting things out.
Finally the inspectors arrived, and to their credit, they were actually really nice. Being a quiet sort of clinic we were generally pretty tidy and they were able to quickly assess the clinic.
So..one down... now for the clinic at Balestier to undergo its' inspection.... sigh...
It's kind of an adjustment type of disorder.. from a carefree, fun existence where everyday was a breeze back to the daily grind.
Also the weather in Singapore isn't really the best... hot, humid and sticky to say the least. Melbourne was refreshingly cool, dry and occasionally sunny. It was certainly a nice change to be able to function outdoors without breaking into a drenching sweat in 5 minutes.
Today the Heal Joo Chiat Clinic had a clinic inspection. The inspectors came last week while I was away in Melbourne, and made an appointment to return today. Unfortunately they weren't able to give us an approximate time that they would be coming by so I had to be at the clinic from opening hours onwards.
Days like that really made me feel that maybe I should have just stuck to being an employee, rather than being the one responsible for the clinic. Go to work, see the patients and then leave and the rest of the business just simply wasn't my problem! Now I have to worry when there aren't enough patients, listen endlessly to staff issues and of course, be around for official events like clinic inspection!
Waiting for the inspectors felt like I was sitting for another examination.... fortunately Jolene
( clinic assistant) was pretty on the ball and did most of the work cleaning and sorting things out.
Finally the inspectors arrived, and to their credit, they were actually really nice. Being a quiet sort of clinic we were generally pretty tidy and they were able to quickly assess the clinic.
So..one down... now for the clinic at Balestier to undergo its' inspection.... sigh...
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Holiday in Melbourne: Part 2, Madison's birthday
The next few days the weather cleared up significantly. The weather was quite cool in the mornings, but would warm up nicely by mid morning to early afternoon.
Friday night was spent in the company of old uni mates, who are now consultants or fellows in various departments of hospitals.. Austin booked us for Rockpool at the Crown casino at 630PM, but by the time everyone arrived it was probably closer to 8PM!
Still, the company was good, food was decent-- the steaks were well cooked but the other mains were not as impressive. Chris had a rib-eye steak that was tender while my pigeon was dry in some areas and undercooked in others... the sides were unusual.. mac and cheese, mushy peas to name a few. Service was prompt and efficient, once everyone was seated and the orders taken the food arrived fairly quickly. They were good in replenishing the table bread as well as water.
Only Angus, Chris and I had dessert: Angus had a chocolate mousse with a rice crisp base while Chris and I shared a passionfruit pavlova. Desserts were above average though not the best we've had.
Saturday arrived quickly enough... it was a flurry of events. Of course it didn't help that Madison woke rather early and was grumpy by 10 in the morning. We'd been on a whirlwind "tour" of the Queen Victoria Market, buying our meats and vegetable for the party first thing after we woke.
Next stop was to collect our helium balloons from "pinocchio" master.. we took Madison along hoping she'd have a nap while we were at it... as soon as she nodded of we took a detour to the beach to buy a cup of hot chocolate. Of course the cafe we chose HAD to be so popular it took 20 minutes to finally receive our order. I forget the name of the shop. nine something or other..
The balloons nearly didn't fit into the car! Chris could barely see with them all over the front and back seats! They were really colourful though ... we got Madison an Elmo balloon as well.
By the time we got back, preparations for the party were in full swing. We were so fortunate that the family all chipped in to help. Many thanks to Chris' mum, Anthony, Neil, Kei, Chai and Han Ting, and of course not forgetting my helper Warni. After that it was a simple act of transporting the gear to the park and setting up the tables for the party.
Unfortunately... we lost the Elmo balloon... the string broke and it flew away in the park(sob)...
Otherwise, the rest of the party proceeded without event... I have to thank Neil for kindly doing ALL the bbqing during the party, allowing Chris and I to entertain our friends. Madison had a great day out in the sun, running around in the park and being entertained by his uncles and their girlfriends.. Cheryl brought Kayla and Paul, Olivia brought Sam, Helen brought Praise, and Selene, Chung Fei, Peter Kelley, Michael, Yen, Angus and Lydia were the other guests.
It was a beautiful day that ended with an equally beautiful evening. We had a little thank you dinner at Beachcombers at the St Kilda beach. I think there was a stunning sunset that night too. After dinner we dropped Madison off at home and went to Brunetti's at Lygon street for dessert and drinks.
Sunday was the last day in Melbourne... we had lunch at the Callabrian in Carlton then it was pretty much packing and off to the airport. We had a tense moment organising transport to the airport, but in the end all was good...we made it in good time and we were soon in the plane back to Singapore.
The return flight was fairly uneventful.. Madison took awhile to finally fall asleep, but she woke just prior to landing. Pa and Ma picked us up from the airport and amazingly Madison stayed awake all the way home even though it was past midnight. The night, needless to say, was terrible... she woke crying several times because she was now used to having us sleep next to her.
All in... a great holiday and a well-deserved break from the monotony of daily life back in Singapore....
Friday night was spent in the company of old uni mates, who are now consultants or fellows in various departments of hospitals.. Austin booked us for Rockpool at the Crown casino at 630PM, but by the time everyone arrived it was probably closer to 8PM!
Still, the company was good, food was decent-- the steaks were well cooked but the other mains were not as impressive. Chris had a rib-eye steak that was tender while my pigeon was dry in some areas and undercooked in others... the sides were unusual.. mac and cheese, mushy peas to name a few. Service was prompt and efficient, once everyone was seated and the orders taken the food arrived fairly quickly. They were good in replenishing the table bread as well as water.
Only Angus, Chris and I had dessert: Angus had a chocolate mousse with a rice crisp base while Chris and I shared a passionfruit pavlova. Desserts were above average though not the best we've had.
Saturday arrived quickly enough... it was a flurry of events. Of course it didn't help that Madison woke rather early and was grumpy by 10 in the morning. We'd been on a whirlwind "tour" of the Queen Victoria Market, buying our meats and vegetable for the party first thing after we woke.
Next stop was to collect our helium balloons from "pinocchio" master.. we took Madison along hoping she'd have a nap while we were at it... as soon as she nodded of we took a detour to the beach to buy a cup of hot chocolate. Of course the cafe we chose HAD to be so popular it took 20 minutes to finally receive our order. I forget the name of the shop. nine something or other..
The balloons nearly didn't fit into the car! Chris could barely see with them all over the front and back seats! They were really colourful though ... we got Madison an Elmo balloon as well.
By the time we got back, preparations for the party were in full swing. We were so fortunate that the family all chipped in to help. Many thanks to Chris' mum, Anthony, Neil, Kei, Chai and Han Ting, and of course not forgetting my helper Warni. After that it was a simple act of transporting the gear to the park and setting up the tables for the party.
Unfortunately... we lost the Elmo balloon... the string broke and it flew away in the park(sob)...
Otherwise, the rest of the party proceeded without event... I have to thank Neil for kindly doing ALL the bbqing during the party, allowing Chris and I to entertain our friends. Madison had a great day out in the sun, running around in the park and being entertained by his uncles and their girlfriends.. Cheryl brought Kayla and Paul, Olivia brought Sam, Helen brought Praise, and Selene, Chung Fei, Peter Kelley, Michael, Yen, Angus and Lydia were the other guests.
It was a beautiful day that ended with an equally beautiful evening. We had a little thank you dinner at Beachcombers at the St Kilda beach. I think there was a stunning sunset that night too. After dinner we dropped Madison off at home and went to Brunetti's at Lygon street for dessert and drinks.
Sunday was the last day in Melbourne... we had lunch at the Callabrian in Carlton then it was pretty much packing and off to the airport. We had a tense moment organising transport to the airport, but in the end all was good...we made it in good time and we were soon in the plane back to Singapore.
The return flight was fairly uneventful.. Madison took awhile to finally fall asleep, but she woke just prior to landing. Pa and Ma picked us up from the airport and amazingly Madison stayed awake all the way home even though it was past midnight. The night, needless to say, was terrible... she woke crying several times because she was now used to having us sleep next to her.
All in... a great holiday and a well-deserved break from the monotony of daily life back in Singapore....
Friday, March 12, 2010
Holiday in Down Under Part 1
We're in Melbourne at the moment...
And it's been great fun. I'm so glad I decided that Warni had to come along to help so that we could all relax and have a proper holiday.
It was a real hassle organising her visa and Madison's passport but it's all worth it.
We took a gamble and decided to fly at night. Madison did pretty well. She fell asleep just prior to boarding the plane so it was an easy take off. She woke though, about halfway through the flight and was a little figety. I broke out the entertainment and between the 2 of us, managed to keep things calm. She fell asleep again just before we landed too, so that was great.
We arrived on Sunday morning and the rest of the day was quite a blur of events. It felt like a super hang over from the lack of sleep on the flight and time difference ( Melbourne is 3 hours ahead ). Chris' mum and Anthony came to pick us up so that was really nice. We went to Ikea to pick up a baby chair as well as a mattress for Madison.
Selene invited us to dinner at her house Monday night, so we got to meet up with Cheryl, Jake, Kayla and Paul; Chung Fei, Dean, Mei and Damien, Lok and Jia Jia. Selene's house is huge by our standards; only thing it is not quite in the city. She's expecting her first child th
is year too.We hired a MPV and drove to Belgrave to catch the Puffing Billy on Tuesday morning. It was a cold drizzly day but we still made it. The Puffing Billy is a heritage steam train that takes people on an experience of old Melbourne. You get to choose the distance that you want to take, ranging from 20 minutes to over an hour. There was a big group of tourists with us, but they got off at the next stop ( Menzies Creek ) just like us. Anthony picked us up from the station. ( takes 6 minutes by road and 20 on the train! )
After the train ride we had our picnic lunch at Emerald Lake, 15minutes drive from Menzies. It was so wet and cold. Fortunately the picnic site had sheltered picnic tables so we were eating in the rain, surrounded by all the wetland birds. After the picnic we HAD to get some hot cocoa and dessert at the little town nearby.
Next stop was the Dandenong ranges, a 30 minute drive from Belgrave. We went to Sky High, where there is a hedge maze and some tearooms. The maze was unfortunately closed due to the bad weather, but we did wander through some English Gardens.
Wednesday was spent at the Werribee zoo. Initially we were intending to go to Healesville Santuary, but after having the drive to the Puffing Billy we'd had enough of long car rides.
Again, it turned out to be a wet and cold day. Fortunately the showers never lasted terribly long so we had periods of sunshine. We had a safari bus tour, which took 45 minutes and took us through different types of grasslands. We walked around after, had a look at several different types of animals in their enclosures before breaking for lunch. Post lunch we were fortunate enough to be in time AND be able to observe lions getting fed. Apparently they normally aren't fed daily to mimic their natural pattern.
Dinner was at home, steamboat courtesy of Anthony. IT was really nice having the hot soups in the cold weather. Post dinner Chris and I met up with Michael and Yen for drinks at San Churros in Lygon street. It's a place famous for spanish donuts with thick syrupy hot chocolate for dunking. The food and drinks were average, but the donuts were a tad expensive. Almost $7 AUD for 3 little pieces of donuts.
Yesterday the weather was slightly better, albeit still quite cold. We took Madison to the Melbourne sport and aquatic centre to play in the wave pool. MSAC is great when fairly empty during off peak hours and they have multiple pools for different activities that seem to run through the day.
After the swim we went to MART 130 for lunch. It's "tram" spelt backwards, and Chai reccommended it to us. Service was quite good though the wait staff were, what shall I say... quite sharp with their words.. ?sarcastic?. Had their famed corn fritters, pasta, lamb salad and eggs. IT was a tad pricey but the food was good. Also quite difficult to find, as it was on the side of the road that was opposite to all the other stores.
The afternoon Chris had to attend a funeral/wake so I didn't go with him. Shopping was on my agenda. I got dropped off at Chadstone shopping centre to wait while Chris went to the memorial. Managed a spot of shopping in the 2 hours or so that I was there. Shops in Melbourne close rather early so we left by 4. Next stop was the balloon shop selling party supplies to buy stuff for her birthday party on Saturday.
The shopkeeper at the party supply shop seriously reminded me of Gepetto ( of Pinocchio )! He was friendly and quite helpful and seemed like a pretty nice guy in general. We ended up ordering 30 helium balloons for the party and getting some Elmo themed table covers and cutlery. He was probably more expensive than other shops but I guess he could use the extra business... we'll see... the balloons are to be picked up on Saturday.
The day ended with dinner at Shark Fin house. I had a feeling the "English" menu was significantly shorter than the "Chinese" menu... unfortunately my written Mandarin has deteriorated to the stage that I am unable to comprehend a Chinese menu in a restaurant... we were charged for a dish that we didn't order but was delivered to our table... I felt we shouldn't have to pay for it since it was the restaurants' mistake and not ours.. we honestly didn't realize it wasn't the correct dish until another one arrived. I didn't want to pay and was persistent about it enough for the charge to be taken off.
Now ... just awaiting for the weather to clear up and for the party to begin...
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