Love children? Or simply looking to support a cause? We welcome you to join us in making I LOVE CHILDREN a success.

A little about I LOVE CHILDREN:
It is an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organisation led by a group of passionate individuals.

Perpetuating the celebration of kids and the joy they bring, I LOVE CHILDREN has recently launched Maybe Baby – A one-stop online portal that provides parenthood-related information. Its comprehensive content includes pregnancy, fertility, intimacy, finances, work-life balance and other lifestyle issues.

It is also supported by organisations such as Abbott, Canon, IKEA, HITACHI and NTUC Club to name a few.

Learn more about Maybe Baby here. http://www.maybebaby.sg

To this end Paprika is helping with a Facebook Page for Maybe Baby (http://www.facebook.com/MaybeBabyS) and we invite you and your friends to join us.

Participate in their current activity and stand to win $50 Sakae Sushi vouchers!

There’ll be more exciting activities throughout the year so “Like” it to receive useful information and alerts about other prize-winning opportunities!

Log on to the Facebook page for more details. http://www.facebook.com/MaybeBabyS

Please do share the news with your families, friends and colleagues!

A couple of my friends got together and opened a guesthouse in Kuala Lumpur. They threw a slumber party for friends to celebrate this which I thought was a wonderful idea as I got sleep in their rooms and experienced first hand the coziness and quietness of the place. The guesthouse has little details left over from the original house which gives it a nostalgic atmosphere as well.

My friends say it’s a no frills kind of place but I think with the decor of the rooms and friendly ambiance it’s a little on the luxurious side of no frills. Of course the place is Wi-Fi enabled and there are even 2 internet stations upstairs making it easy for guests to get connected.

I believe a trip can be made of broken by the location of the place you stay. Sahabat Guesthouse is really centrally located as it’s walking distance to the great clubs and bars along Changkat Bukit Bintang, some really great shopping at Pavillion and the most amazing food just round the corner at Jalan Alor. Despite its central location, the guest house is nestled in a quiet area where many locals live.

We all were free to pick which room we wanted to spend the night in so having arrived early I chose the Suite which has it’s own balcony and is the largest of all their rooms. They have a total of eight rooms; 2 standard rooms, 3 deluxe rooms, 1 superior and 1 suite ranging from RM120 – RM180 per night. All rooms have their own attached toilet.

Yam cooked up a storm and the food was delicious as always. Pictures of us having a great time are below.

I tweeted about the slumber party and someone tweeted back that it would be a great place to take up for a hens-party or a birthday party. She was right. The slumber part was great fun as we all made a lot of noise laughing, playing and run around to each others rooms. We designated one of the bigger rooms as the hang-out area.

Just to make sure we weren’t making too much noise I actually took a walk around the front and back at the height of our rowdy slumber party and I can safely say you can trust buildings of old to take into consideration noise pollution.

So if you’re looking for a nice cozy place to stay at a great price or are thinking of a place where you can book out all the rooms which won’t be too hard on your wallet, try Sahabat Guesthouse.

Check them out at their website http://www.sahabatguesthouse.com.

Mom

My Mom was a key figure through my youth as she constantly pushed me to grow and tested the limits of my ability. She used to task me with all kinds of maths, science, English and educational quizzes every spare moment I had. My smart-aleck retorts would sometimes irritate her but she was a strict disciplinarian and she beat a habit of hard-work and humility into me. Her old school values of respect for elders, perseverance, self-reliance, doing your best, discipline, house-work and putting family and others before oneself are priceless lessons that have carried me very far in my life’s journey. I’m forever grateful for that and I’m really glad we’re now able to be open and unrestrained in our expressions of love and long talks over the phone.

My grandmothers despite all my mischief showered me with much love and I’m blessed to have many beautiful memories of them and to remember what it feels like to be held in their embrace.

My literature teacher from SJI pushed me towards the performing arts and I’m thankful for her suggestion that I audition for Youth Theatre Singapore when I was 15. It was there that I met my best friend and soul mate and it is through theatre that I discovered my love for the stage and dance. Theatre and dance particularly has been a life changing experience. Those years of training, performing, teaching and creating are so important in shaping what I’ve learnt through life and have enabled me to do my current work to the level I am able to. I would be a lesser person if I hadn’t gone through YTS, STARS, the SAF Music & Drama Company, Beauty World, Boom Boom Room, Singapore Ballet Academy, Singapore Dance Theatre, Wild Rice and Dream Academy and had just pursued a more conventional career path.

In my second year in advertising, it was the Design Director of the Integrated Design team at Saatchi & Saatchi whom I have to thank for my quick rise in the industry. Claire Parker saw potential in me that I didn’t know I had and fought for me to be promoted from an Account Executive to Senior Account Manager. She actually was pushing for Account Director given that I had take on most of the responsibilities of the AD who had resigned but internal disapproval meant that I needed to serve a few more years to be a director. I never got a chance to thank her and it was only years later that I realised how big a vote of confidence and how unusual a promotion all that was. Thank you very much Claire for believing in me. Hope you’re proud of where I am now.

The above are just a few of the women who’ve touched my life in special and ever-changing ways.

There also those that have a unique place in my life given the bonds of closeness we share, like Andrina, the first person I came out to, Emma Mayhew, my close girlfriend I love talking and partying with and Serene Chen Hui Ling, who’s daughter Ella was one of first babies I carried willingly. And then there were the many stewardesses in SIA who guided me and taught me many galley and passenger tricks as well as the best places to shop and eat.

It’s all these women who have such wonderful hearts so willing to share and nurture that have moulded how I want to share and give back to people and society.

Women are such important pillars in all our lifes.

Here’s to all of you to say thank you for everything and for being there.

The following was written by my dad who also wrote Singapore’s first geography textbook. This article was published in the Straits Times on 5 August 2006.

Aunty Ying And My Dad, Jerome Toh

English is used by over a billion people today and barely a quarter of those speak it as a mother tongue. Of the 2,700 world’s languages, English is the richest in vocabulary. The Oxford English Dictionary lists about 500,000 words and a further half million technical and scientific terms remain uncategorised.

English grew from a minor Germanic dialect in the fifth century to its position today as the world’s first truly global language. Along the way, it took on elements of Latin and Greek, French and Saxon, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi, and an American adoption.

Today it continues to be shaped by the ways of life of its diverse speakers, and takes on more variety of expression and more local colour.

The dynamism of English is echoed by Melvyn Bragg in his book, The Adventure of English – The Biography of a Language. He wrote “A characteristic of English throughout is the ease with which it can borrow or steal words from other languages.” Unlike any other language, 80% of the ever-growing vocabulary of English is foreign-born.

From its early humble beginning, English has grown to be a big family of many regional varieties – 104 territorial varieties of English as tabulated by Tom McArthur in “The Oxford Guide to World English.”

Among others, are the English variety of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, United Kingdom, United States, India and Singapore.

The many varieties of English reflect regional differences in the form of accent, dialect, vocabulary and minor grammar variation. Such differences are too found in the British, Irish, Scottish, American and Canadian varieries of English, and it is such difference that characterises Singaporean English.

The indigenization of English in the form of local language influences (Gaelic on Scottish Highland English and Irish on Irish English), has led to first language speakers like Scot, Welsh and Irish speaking their own distinct variety of English. Singaporean English shows many features comparable to indigenised Scottish and Irish English. Singaporean English sits on a spectrum of local language influences notably from such Chinese dialects like Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese, Malay and Tamil.

The indigenization process is unavoidable; it is the influence of the customary way of speech, thought and conduct of a nation of people. It is this part of Singapore that shapes and influences Singaporean English. We are second language speakers. For us, English is not a native but a learned language.

English was used in Singapore for a hundred and eighty years, and it was made an official language when it became independent. After all these years, a recognizable Singaporean English or Singlish, with its own accent, vocabulary and idiom, has emerged.

I take Singlish to be the Singapore variety of English and not the pidgin form of the language, which is found in other global varieties of English too.

Singlish is growing and developing despite much efforts to discourage it and root it out. Melvyn Bragg in The Adventure of English – The Biography of a Language, explains this by writing “Some scholars believe that Singlish indicates the way in which future Englishes will develop.

In so many ways, it fits the tongues and the traditions and the vocal rhythms of the people of Singapore much better than official English and could threaten to replace it. And is it not another dialect of English?”

To Melvyn Bragg, words such as makan, cheem, ang mo, blur and kiasu are now being used as part of Singapore Standard English and they will change it greatly. He further adds that phrases like ‘You go where?’, ‘She so pretty’ and ‘Why you so stupid?’ are easily comprehensible to more traditional English users, often full of bite and wit and energy.

Robert McCrum, William Cran and Robert MacNeil in their book, The Story of English, have this to say of Singlish, “ … and Singlish phrases like ‘I scold like mad but what for?’. None of this is hard to understand, nor is this extract from another Singlish writer, Catherine Lim:

Yes, Madam, quite big family – eight children, six sons, two daughters.
Big family! Ha! Ha! No good, Madam. In those days, where got Family
Planning in Singapore.”

Like other varieties of English, Singaporean English consists of a range, with an international standard variety at one end and a pidgin colloquial variety at the other.

The international standard variety is used in writing and in more formal situation, while Singlish is used in more casual interaction. Many Singaporeans shift from a standard usage to the more relaxed and local style of Singaporean English, comfortably and often effortlessly.

It is heartening to read what Tom McArthur has to say on the future development of Singaporean English in his Oxford Guide to World English, first published in 2002:

“It seems very likely that its social flexibility will ensure that English becomes more and more firmly grounded in Singapore, and its range of usage from ‘broad’ Singlish to the standard language will make it, in twenty years or so, very much like any other English-speaking nation.”

Language is an important nation building-block and history has shown that language alone had held a nation together, as it did for the English when Norman-French threatened to overwhelm it.

Singaporean English is our heritage and an essential part of our history and should command the respect and gratitude of Singaporeans.

Just as Brooklyn English speakers will feel at home with the pronounciation ‘erster’ for oyster, and Australian English speakers with ‘as scarce as rocking horse manure’ and ‘garbo’ (garbage collector), feelings of home will be evoked and my heart will light up when I hear “ This is too cheem (deep), I cannot understand” spoken on a street in Vancouver.

Jerome Toh
Richmond BC Canada

Last year it was pink blossoms adorning the corner of the living room as well as red and purple lanterns hanging here and there in the house. This year I came back home from my ten day Singapore trip and I was greeted by potted plants & red banners, red blossoms in the living , red-lanterns and pussy willow in a glass vase wrapped with red ribbon.

For a moment I thought I had walked into the red lantern district. At least this year everything is colour coordinated. Pictures of what our place looks like are below. I want to say that I’m not mocking my brother’s taste in decor. I’m really thankful that my he loves to decorate as it’s quite entertaining for me to be surprised each Christmas and Chinese New Year. It tickles me that he can sometimes be quite “Leisure Mall” in his home decor inclinations.

Just in case you are wondering, here’s the significance of some Chinese traditions:

I never quite knew why we cleaned our houses till they were spotless. My mom made us do this since as far back as I can remember and I carry on this “fixation” till today. I just read that its to clear away misfortune and bad luck of the year that’s passing to make room for good fortune in the coming year.

Live blooming plants are bought and placed in homes to symbolize rebirth and new growth. Flowers are believed to symbolise wealth and high positions in a career.

If you’ve wondered why we bring oranges when we go visiting, it’s because they are symbols for abundant happiness.

Red packets, “hong pao”, “laisee” or “lishi” given from the married to the unmarried symbolise good luck and protection. Some also believe red packets are a sign of prosperity.

The most interesting discovery I’ve made is why we celebrate Chinese New Year. Legends from long ago suggest that there was a fierce man-eating creature called the Nian. This beast was actually a sea-dwelling creature which would emerge during the eve of Chinese New Year to devour humans and their live-stock. This fearsome creature however was sensitive to the colour red, fireworks and loud noices thus these were used in abundance during the period to ward off this evil. To protect children from the Nian, they were given red paper.

Another version of the legend has it that the Nian had a body of a bull and the head of a lion. It would be terribly hungry during this period as it had little to eat all winter long. Villagers, in an effort to chase the Nian, stayed up all night one year. They lit fires in front of their houses and made lots of noise as the hour came when the Nian usually appeared. This terrified the Nian and it ran away, never to be seen again. The villagers were so happy they celebrated for days after thus the tradition of staying up on Chinese New Year eve and the subsequent celebrations.

So these are the things I thought I’d share this CNY. Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and thanks for visiting my blog. Virtual oranges and red-packets are accepted.

Jerm says: so i meet u at 6.30 later at Plaza Sing?
we grab a quick one at the food court then go watch the movie?

Robin says:
tu peux parler en francais?

Robin says:
a quick one?
but too quick how to grab
it will run away

taken from our daily exchange of nonsense

Robin says:
I can’t run
I have bad feet

Robin says:
although I have nice shoes

Jerm says:
sigh … u know ..maybe u shud do stand-up … that way u won’t need to use ur bad feet so much and can terrorise the audience with ur bad lines?
so when they run away u won’t be able to run after them too?

From all accounts by my folks and various other relatives, I was quite a handful when I was a kid. Stories of me scheming to lower cousins down to the ground floor from the second storey using a woven basket and bedsheets make me laugh along with memories of screaming at the top of my lungs as I sat on some uncle’s shoulder. My aunt is still trying to find a picture of me hanging upside down whilst on a ferry with my grandma looking on with a frown and holding on to the other cousins so they would emulate my antics. I guess my grandma didn’t name me “dai guai tau” or chief devil for no reason.

Besides being prone to mischief, I had a built in rebellious gene that was super active in my teens. It kicked in the moment I was told to do something by any person of authority. I used to think I was smart enough to handle most things by myself and was ready to take the whole world on with no paper qualifications.

That stubbornness and arrogance subsided through the years and in karmic fashion has now come back to haunt me in the form of a god-brother 11 years younger.

I now understand what was going through my mom’s mind when she complained that I treated our home like a hotel or whenever I didn’t help with the housework. I get the slow burn of irritation they probably felt when things get used up without a word or without being replaced. I feel the frustration my folks must have felt daily when I refused to listen to any of their advice and insisted on doing things my way.

The realisation that no matter what I say or do, my god-brother would do things his way has made me learn patience and find other ways to get my point across. I now use the temper card after a multitude of incidents occur so it gets more mileage and I resort to using the mom and dad card when I really need to get through or mediate a stand-off. This family sure is one full of strong and stubborn personalities.

It’s funny how much perspective and affinity we gain only after having charges of our own.

So this is to say thank you mom and dad for all that you put up with. Now I know.

moar funny pictures

moar funny pictures

Was at Peace Centre in SG for dessert. I used to wait on the 2nd floor at the banister for my dad to finish work to get a lift back home aft school.

Amazed the place still looks & feels the same.

I even got picked up here once … was only 14 when that happened!

Interesting childhood memories this brings back.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Its been a few weeks since Bryan and I brought home a little grey ball of fur.

When i got to the pet-shop, this guy got up from the back of the kitty pen and walked right up to me and leaned against the glass.

I let Bryan name him and the first name that came out of his mouth was Lollipop! He was at a lost so I gave him a few to choose from amongst them being Storm & Prince.

Storm it is. Wong ’cause its his first pet and I wanna make sure he takes him to the vet.

Kim Huat is robingoh‘s suggestion as he thinks we shouldn’t let people know Storm’s secret identity.

So in the day its Lollipop and he’s STORM by night … fighting cat crime!