Tuesday 29 October 2013

Daddy and 小tz on the bus to Cathay.


One Sunday morning, daddy and I went to Cathay for my dance class.

I like dancing.

After I change to my jazz shoes, my father helped me to tie my shoes laces. Thereafter he went to the toilet to shit and came to pick me up after he was done.

We went to the changing room to change my leotard to shirt and pants. I wore pants with the leotard during my dance class.

I like tap dancing the most because of the tapping sound. I like the songs that I will be dancing for my tap and jazz examinations.

~ The end. ~


Note from Crazy Daddy:

Another guest post by 小tz.

Aiyo... writing about me going to toilet to shit!!! What's next?!?!

On top of this, she have been practicing hard for her examinations. Well... previously was just one song repeating till performance time, now we have 2 songs 13 sequences that she keep insisting we to go through with her. Mamamee ah!

:'(

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Unfortunately, I said...

Talking to my colleague yesterday, he asked if I am getting fat recently. Instinctively, I told him:
"Unfortunately, yes…"

Thereafter, we laugh it off and then he looks at me again and asked:
"Unfortunately?"

Again, instinctively, I repeated:
"Yes, unfortunately."

Towards the end of my day, this conversation keeps coming back to me, "unfortunately". Why is it and why must it be unfortunately when I have the control over my diet and the amount of exercises I wanted. Is not that I am on some kind of medication that causes my weight to balloon. So, why is it "unfortunately"?

I recalled a conversation with a friend year's back when he said:
"Unfortunately, they gave me extra work loads before I took up the offer!"

Why unfortunately when it is not that he was thrown with the added responsibilities when he was already in the job when it is kind of difficult to reject, in today's world. He went for a job interview, he was given opportunities to ask questions on many occasions. The set-up, size, responsibilities, etc, etc, etc. Either he did not ask any of those questions or choose not to process it before accepting the offer. Anyway, heard he did not do well, or rather, choose not to do because he wasn't happy that he got a bigger work load than expected. Not even those portions that he could have managed.

Coming back to my "unfortunately", I regretted saying the word unfortunately. It is so irresponsible.  I am just going to fight obesity and so, I re-installed the Android Application that helps me previously – "Noom Coach" to track my diet and amount of exercise I put in from now.

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Differences with no different.

I was attracted to young lady wearing a tube top, jeans, sports shoes, Samsung Galaxy Gear and holding Note 3. And the old man wearing pyjamas, slippers and holding an old fashion Nokia candy bar keypad mobile phone, seating on his wheelchair pushed by the young lady. Heads turn, including mine, when they appeared. Well... Yes, I was attracted by the pretty young lady. But what really caught my attention was the interesting contrast between her and the old man.

Young versus old,
Trendy versus old fashioned, 
Mobile versus wheelchair bounded,
Energetic versus weak, and
Modern versus traditional.

I heard the young lady was struggling to communicate with the old man with her English accented Hokkien (a dialect). Likewise, the old man was also attempting to communicate to the young lady with his broken, half-past six English.

How on earth can these 2 person be together, harmoniously?!

Every time when I saw such a combination, it was either the old nagging at the young, or the young grumbling about the old being old fashioned.

They must be Social Worker because Social Worker were trained to be non judgemental. Wait, or are they Counsellors because they respect each other's choices, preferences and rights? Anyway, I like their approach and the way the treat each others.

That's the way to live life, isn't it?

Sunday 20 October 2013

We can recycle materials but not life. Think, treasure and enjoy it now.

Another weekend with 小tz, learning and recycling unwanted papers into a book cover at the library.

On our way to the library, we have this short conversation. 

------
小tz: "Daddy, do you like your work?"

Me: "Yes darling."

小tz: "But daddy, you didn't earn lots of money right?"

Me: "Yes darling, daddy's work doesn't pay well."

小tz: "Then why are you still working there?"

Me: "I like my work and it is a promise that I need to fulfill."

小tz: "Next time when I grow up, I want to work and earn a lot of money."

Me: "It is ok to find a job that allow you to earn lots of money. But, you must be happy. Some people earns lots of money but they are never happy. They gets angry easily, always scold people and ended up nobody likes them."

小tz: "Daddy, I want to earn lots of money but I will not be like those people you said."
------

That was the best I can relate to 小tz for now. Therefore, I decided to write it here so that she may be able to read it later in her life.

Life is not just about money. While it would be great to have lots of money or be born into a wealthy family with lots of money. While it would almost be impossible to survive in this world without money. Money, is still not everything in life. 

Money cannot buy happiness and life experiences. Why do we want money when we will not have the opportunity to spend, as we will be busy earning them? Why do we want money when we will have no time for our family and friends, the people that will bring us happiness? Why do we want money when we will not have time to experience life, when we will regret the day we die that we did nothing? Why do we want money when it bring along stress and frustration, when we get irritated easily, throwing tantrum easily and ended up alone?

I am not against earning lots of money. However, each of us is born differently and meant to do different things in life. So, before we get fixated with just money...

Think, treasure and enjoy life, now.

Monday 14 October 2013

2nd Chance.

Oops! You guys still found us despite we having the best hiding place at a hidden corner of the library. 

It is sad and scary! 

Well... Take a look! We are used ice cream sticks, toilet rolls and waste papers that would likely ended up in a rubbish bin, if not for this project. Thanks to the recycling project initiated by the library, 小tz and her crazy daddy, we were given a second chance to live. 

Look! 

We are pretty and unique aren't we? Not only are we alive, we are also given eyes to see this world. Is this what library supposed to be? We see kids runnng around and treating the place like a playground! Ok, air-conditioned playground then. Fortunately, 小tz and her crazy daddy decided not to give us each a pair of ears. OMG!

Now you know why we are hiding at a corner, right?

Please~ HELP!!!

小tz found us and decided to bring us back to her home. What will happen to us?!?!

:'(

Sunday 6 October 2013

Rights and responsibilities.

Having our early lunch at Kopitiam food court after 小tz dance class, I saw the gentleman on a wheelchair. Alone, I saw him order his coffee then detour to the snacks counter to collect the "tim sum" he ordered earlier. Thereafter, he moved to a table for 2 person, shifted a chair and tucked it nicely under the table adjacent to him.

I predicted every single moves of his as I seen him last week while 小tz and I were having our lunch.

"He will shift the chair back to its original position before he leave the food court." I confidently told myself while watching 小tz enjoying her "yong tao fu". 

Bingo! He did not disappoint me and did that. Hee...

Later, after we finished our lunch and left our table, I remembered and pulled 小tz back to our table. 小tz looks a little puzzled and asked why are we going back. I told 小tz what the gentleman on the wheelchair did.

All of us have our rights. The gentleman on the wheelchair have his right to have a proper table to enjoy his lunch. We have our rights to pull an additionally chair from the unoccupied table next to us to put our bags. However, we should also be mindful that with rights, comes our responsibilities to ensure we do not inconvenient others. Just like the gentleman who shifted the chair back to its original position after his lunch, We too should return the chair after we finished our lunch.

After we returned the chair and on our way to the library... ...

Me: "Oops!"
小tz: "What is it daddy?"
Me: "I forget to take a photograph so that I can write on my blog."
小tz: "Go then, daddy. I want to read it!"

What I like about the gentleman on the wheelchair is his attitude towards life and how he balanced his rights against his responsibilities. The responsibilities to ensure that (1) he do not use his disability to gain sympathy and gain unfair advantage or be unreasonable, and (2) he maintain a good image for persons with disability and helps others to be more willing to accept person with disability. 

Hope 小tz will grow up with a good character and attitude towards life.

Authority, leadership and ethics.

A manager ordered to meet the following productivity level in 3 minutes.

Unit A with 4 workers to cut 60 apples.
Unit B with 15 workers to cut 20 apples.
Unit C with 30 workers to cut 90 apples.

The manager did not reallocate nor provide additional resources for the work to be done. Assuming that nobody in history has ever cut more than 1 apple in 1 minute, what is your thoughts on this manager?

Unfair? 
Ignorant? 
Lazy?
Personal motives? 
Favoritism? 

Now, what if the company needs to produce 2 apples in a minute to breakeven and ensure the sustainability of the 3 units?

Ethics! 

My friend who shared this case study did not think so even after I shared that the manager did not fulfill his duties towards the company and his responsibilities towards his team. After all, it is only money that were lost, he said.

So I changed the scenario a little. Assuming that the manager now supervise 3 teams of firefighters. In a fire rescue, he ordered the following without allocating any tools, machinery or strategize the rescue operation.

Team A with 4 men to save 60 people.
Team B with 15 men to save 20 people.
Team C with 30 men to save 90 people.

If on records, it takes 20 minutes to save a person from a burning building and the building starts to collapse after 45 minutes.

Authority, leadership and ethics.

Your say.

Friday 4 October 2013

You stinky daddy.

小tz: "Ha ha ha you are so stinky! Love from 小tz"

Me: "Naughty girl. Home leow huh? Daddy still at Hougang. :-( "

小tz: "Home and bathed already, but you are still very stinky."

Me: "Later I come home then you know. :-/ "



The Facebook message pop up while I was on my way home after work. 

I replied immediately knowing that by the time I reach home, my little fellow would be sleeping. This is the life we have to manage with very little contact time for each other.

I treasure my limited time with yt and 小tz. Limited because a big portion of my evenings and weekends were taken away resulting from work commitments. That's part of the work deal and responsibilities that cannot be changed. That's also part of the reason why I hardly accept invitations for gatherings and wedding dinners after office hours.

If you were to ask me what I remembered about Jack Neo's movie "Money not enough", it's the part where his son insisted that the lights be switched off so he can confirm Jack Neo is his father through his silhouette. You may think it's just blown out of proportion for comedy effect but it isn't. Families with father always travelling out the the country faced such issues. Fortunately, this only happens to 小tz and me during the weekdays. I left home before she wakes up and I normally ended up carrying her to bed after I reached home and bathed. If not for the limited weekends I spend with her, we will likely ended up communicating through her mother's sms and FB messages. 

It's not that I don't treasure the friendship from friends that I keep rejecting invitations on their important days. I felt very bad for rejecting those invitations every single time. However, 
I need to ensure that I bring food to the family table and I wanted to be part of my daughter's life, not just a father that provide materialistic satisfaction. Anyway, I am not capable to satisfy every single one of her wants. 

Last night 小tz was up to her usual trick to request to sleep later, citing it is Children's Day School Holiday today so she need not wake up early. We ended up practicing her dance movements for her upcoming examinations. Well... also the crazy dance thereafter, as usual.

Unfortunately, while she was at her peak, my energy was already at its base. We slept at 10pm under the order of her highness, yt. I collapsed before giving her full head massage and back drumming as she will always request.

Sometimes, I think she is just like me. Every time after a day out, she will just hug yt or my arm and slept through the bus journey. It's just so great to watch she slept in the comfort of my hug. I simply love the feeling of her 2 little arms hugging my arm.

Daddy love you, 小tz.



Picture: Her tattoo from Children's Day celebration at school. She told me: "I ate 6 types of food and you eat none. Na nana bu bu~"

Tuesday 1 October 2013

The sweet little girl with Down Syndrome.

Bringing my daughter for her dance class and thereafter to the library had became a routine for me every Sunday. yt got her break while I got my chance to go out alone with 小tz. Now that 小tz is older and capable of going toilet on her own, we face less difficulties in getting 小tz to go toilet without yt.

Less doesn't meant no difficulties. I can always guard the entrance of the toilet when 小tz visits the toilet. But... how about me? 

Eat less drink less = Less or no toilet visit lor.

On this faithful and usual Sunday, I was sitting at the back of the library children's section watching 小tz listening attentively to the story told by the librarian. At the side of my eyes, I noticed a little girl looking at my phone held on my hand.

Looking up, I got a shocked. A little girl with Down Syndrome. 

I was shocked not because of the little girl's look. Rather than shocked, I should have said I was pleasantly surprised to notice the little girl with Down Syndrome. Unless I intentionally make a trip to the special school, I hardly see little girls or boys with Down Syndrome for a very very long time.

You see... people, especially children with Down Syndrome are sweet, kind, friendly, warm and cute. Just like the little girl I saw. Once I made eye contact with her, she quickly came close to me, almost leaning on me and watching me while I read my Facebook status updates on my phone. 

The next time you see a person with Down Syndrome, if you are not comfortable to wave or say hello, the least you can do is not to run away from them or give them that weird look.

No, I did not gave her any special attention. It's my usual reaction I gave to little kids who are sweet and well behaved. Saying hello, telling her what I am doing and giving her a high 5.

Having said all the good things about people with Down Syndrome, there are also challenges in raising a child with Down Syndrome. In addition to developmental disability, people with Down Syndrome have intestinal and heart problems. They also face the possibility of developing dementia before the age of 45. With the advancement in medical science to detect Down Syndrome before birth and the proven safe procedure for abortion, it is not surprise to see less kids with Down Syndrome in public. What's more, some parents are worried that their kid may be hurt, or others may be affected by their kids that they chose to keep them at home.

So now you know why I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the little girl. I am equally happy that she have a good and responsible father that decided to bring her out, let her be exposed and learned from the public. It's a difficult decision to make in bringing the little girl to this world. It's a even tougher decision to make to bring her out in public.

The little girl's father deserve my respect. 

I must be a natural magnet to sweet and well behaved kids cause the little girl came to me thrice in less than 15 minutes. Or is it my phone that she likes? Hmm.... Anyway, despite me telling her father it's ok, her father still decided to carry her away when she came to me the third time.

Nope, I did not tell her father about my work. Not only that it was nothing to brag about, I also wanted to show her father that I am ok with her daughter. I wanted very much to contribute towards giving him the confidence to bring her daughter out more often.

Join me...

Aiyo, not for food la. Although it's my favorite.

Join me to treat every person with or without disability as equal citizen of our country.

Thank you.