This photo was taken on 3rd Jan 2008, Day 1 of Standard 1. A new school to Iwan as he went to a different pre-school. Believe me the smile and confidence that you see in the photo did not last long. It took me a while to decide to pen this down as the next 2+ weeks that follows are experiences that parents would gladly lived without. Then looking back at what I have stored as memories in this blog, I believe it have been subconsciously edited to include only the better times, so I decided to share this, tough as it has been – I still love every inch of my little babe, that I am certain!

Crying bouts started a couple of week before school actually – at Aunty Julie’s house, oh, Iwan has sometime in Oct started with a new babysitter as Aunty Ho has moved to Putra Heights. We have known Julie for some time now, a friend from church. Reason for crying – I want mommy or I want daddy. Hmm sweet but simply incomprehensible!

So starting a new school with hours till mid afternoon did not make things better. Into Day 2 Iwan was already at the Principle’s office as his crying was interrupting class. Assistant Principle called, I told him if I go today he will be seeing me every day, so please to let him cry it out. Although my heart ache I was glad I decided it that way. But guess what? Dad ended up at the school, hah, good for him as this sees him having to drop by every day for the next few days. :)

Reasons remains the same, I want mommy and I want daddy. It was like living with Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll, when I pick Iwan up in the evening he was totally different and indifferent to what happened earlier…

Mom : did u cry today?
Iwan: got la a bit

Mom : why did u cry?
Iwan : Coz I want u…but mommy my friend..bla bla bla bla bla…

Mom : do u like school?
Iwan : Yes

Mom : will you cry tomorrow?
Iwan : I don’t know. I will try not to cry la.

Hmmm…that went on for about a week and a half after which Iwan came down with flu. He was at Aunty Julie’s and 4th granduncle’s house but NO his crying attack did not stop. I have not seen his eyes so swollen before. That not being enough, to compliment his crying attack he went on hunger strike at the same time! Can you beat that? Prefect meaning to rebel without a cause.

It was very tiring for both mom and dad. We would get calls in the middle of meetings to a crying kid and a screaming babysitter! Threats, scolding, reasoning, nothing works. Miraculously the third Friday of school, Iwan decided not to cry. It has improved significantly since and I am keeping my fingers crossed. We are still coaxing him to eat. Every day mom needs to create an interesting lunch box to spark some interest.

Over and above everything we are very lucky and thankful to have supportive teachers and babysitters and the great “sms” technology, :).

New found interest...

Azman Hilmi

Tang Hong Lee

Ode to Art....

George has always like Lui Cheng Tak, I am lukewarm about his works. Then again, falling for a painting is all so personal and always to each his own. Over the last couple of years I have learnt to appreciate original paintings, it being “the one and only one’ work of the soul in existence…somehow the admiration for the beauty of art in its original form is unexplainable.

I have earlier blogged of my appreciation for the works of Ibrahim Hussein and Yusoff Ghani, I will still at this point need to admire it from afar.

We have been looking around for paintings to own, I have somehow known that we will have a Lui Cheng Tak at home and yes we do now. Cheng Tak to me is pensive, serious with the ability to lock the details of the past in an antic and nostalgic manner.

We also have a piece of Lim Ah Cheng, and of course it has to be one from his "horse" series. Very elegant and strong abstract strokes, I find his paintings mature beyond the age of the artist himself.

Close to a decade ago, I bought a watercolor of Alex Ong. Delicate, pleasant, relaxing...



Azman Hilmi, we have 3 pieces from his Underworld Destination Series. Azman Hilmi will equate colors, vibrant, abstract – when I first show his works it seems to tell me that there is always a different way of looking at life and it can be great, complicated but great!



Our latest additions would be the 2 pieces of Tang Hong Lee’s work. I adore his My Village series. It simply shouts happy!

The accompanying photos of the artists' works are NOT pieces from our private collection.

Along the way we also learnt that buying paintings can be addictive, therefore we made a pact to stop visiting galleries, at least for a while...


Definitely many more that I would love to own – Phan Thu Trang, a young Vietnamese artist would top the list. Of course there are Jehan Chan and many many others.