My first 8km race from Yishun Neighbourhood Park to Sembawang Park

Holy mackerel!!  Who ever said Singapore was flat?  During a moment of lapsed judgement some many months ago I decided that the next natural race after 5km was the NorthPassion 8km running race up north of Singapore.  I reasoned that my daughter could do the 700m Kids Dash, I need to run 8km as preparation for my forthcoming 10km race in November (another lapse of judgement) and why not do a route in an area that I would never otherwise visit.

Now for a lot of countries a half hour car ride to an event is no big deal.  It takes that long to get to the nearest shopping mall. But in Singapore you can cross the whole width of the country from north to south or vice versa of course.  So anything beyond 15min (which is measuring leaving my condo and going into the CBD) is ludicrous and too far away.

What I didn't take into consideration is that I would have to travel to this location twice.  First to get the race packs and second to actually run the race.  I can handle the drive but in a country where owning a car is pretty much unheard of due to its price points, spending $50 on taxis return to collect a race pack is not necessarily financially savvy.  Either way, the commitment was made so just swallow the cost and carry on.

In a rare moment of my husband's lapse of judgement (and it's exceptionally rare) he chose to join me on this race.  Now John is a tall, slender man, naturally fit and sporty but not a keen runner.  He finds it boring.  I still don't understand why he chose to race with me.  I wasn't going to argue, just jumped on the bandwagon and swiftly registered him.

I have so far entered only two running races, both 5km.  First one was the SAFRA run in August and the 2nd the SMU Mile Race in September.  I have only been running since July (I hated running, I strongly believed I was not made for it and it was sooooooo boring. Blah, blah, blah) mostly because my daughter is only six and I am 44 and till recently quite unfit.  I want to be around for her as a strong, agile and physically fit mum for a very long time.

Anyway race day finally arrived.  We kitted ourselves out with our swanky bright yellow t-shirts, water bottles, Spotify and ear plugs on the ready and cash for taxi ferrying.

Fresh faced and unaware of what is yet to come.

The race started on time, pretty relaxed and with an easy pace we set off from Yishun Neighbourhood Park.  The fact that the park was on a hilltop should have been my first warning sign that this race will be different to the other two.  Not thinking anything of it, I set off steadily maintaining an average pace of 6.3km/h.  We had to work our way through a small bottleneck before it opened up on a footpath that ran along a canal for the next 3.5km.  A sea of yellow t-shirts tantalized my viewing pleasure that brought a smile to my face.

Bopping along to Spotify's Running playlist, I happily carried on until I got to the 4km mark (which till now is about as far as I can run without stopping).  Much as I would have wanted to carry on, I was met with my first elevation route.  Protesting quads and knees clearly indicated that whilst the slight hill wasn't so particularly obvious, my legs thought otherwise and I struggled to carry on.  So rather than spoil the race and my mood, I chose to walk it off till I got to the top and then started running again.

However, what I didn't foresee was the next hill and the next hill and the next one.  Darn these hills were worse than my Fort Canning Park race, which I knew was going to be steep and hilly but the hills were in short bursts.  The longest stretch of elevation was along Admiralty Road East which unfortunately was also a very narrow path creating further bottlenecks and difficulties for keen runners to overtake.  Yet again, I walked and as you can imagine my paced dropped to an average 8km/h.

Let me just state though that all along, my dear hubby who has only ever joined me on two short practice runs, is ambling along beside me like an SAS soldier, serene, relaxed and the least bit bothered by the run.

As we reached the 6km mark we grabbed some water at the water station and I was faced with yet another hill.  At this point, I thanked hubby for staying alongside me as much as he did but really now he needs to go off and finish off the race on his own, given that he still has so much left in him. And so he did, bopping along to his own Spotify channel.

John running his last 2km on his own.

Whilst I've not been keen on all the hills, I remained in a very good mood.  Probably because the scenery at this point was quite lovely.  Almost like running through some still untouched jungle, with only small sections of neighbourhood homes occupying some of the space.  Along the way I came across several very large homes, probably closer to mansions at which point I thought: "Ah, this is where you are all hiding."  Because there's not many to be seen near the CBD's surrounding 'burbs.

Prior to Sembawang Park's entrance, I was stoked to see the 7km marker knowing I was on the home run  and promptly took a photo.  Just a little further to go until oh noooo..... another darn hill.  The hill may have slowed me but the best was yet to come when my daughter greeted me at the 7.5km point.  It was priceless.

"Mummy!!!!"

She makes my heart burst and gave me the energy booster I needed to finish off on a high.  I was grinning ear to ear and just took whatever was left of the run in stride along with the elevation in the last 100m to the finish line.

I came in at 58.42min, keeping an overall pace of 7.15km/h.  I'm not a fast runner and it's still very early days for me but I was satisfied that I had finished no matter which way I had to get there.

I am grinning.  It's done and dusted.  Next.

John finished a couple of minutes before so he was nicely rested by the time I arrived not that I think he actually broke out in a sweat or ached in anyway.

From here we joined our little girl during her 700m kids dash which I am fairly certain was not that long but no matter she had fun. She was joined by our fabulous nanny, Dilshani, as the guardian (in case we didn't make it in time for her race) and they had great fun together.

Thanks Running Shots for catching this pic.

Content with our performances, rehydrated and lucky to catch a cab home, we celebrated with dinner at our condo's cafe and a much deserved cold drink.

Overall it was a great event.  I thoroughly enjoyed the one-way route.  It was scenic and challenging. My daughter wants to go back to play in Sembawang Park.  It looks like we'll be back for play time.

More medals for our cabinet.

Abrakadoodle Art Classes for Children

Kids on Canvas Art Camp - October 2012

Founded in 2002 in the United States by two education and franchise experts, Abrakadoodle to date has been the winner of 7 Nickelodeon First Place Awards for “Best Art Class to Bring Out Your Child’s Inner Picasso”.

A comprehensive art education international franchise with locations in US, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and China, Abrakadoodle’s art classes are for children from 20 months to 12 years. The programs are designed with the process of creating art rather than the outcome of the art, whilst the curriculum was developed by artists and educators with focus on developing right brain competencies. 

The same classes are never repeated, giving the child new and exciting projects to look forward to. My daughter relishes telling me each week that she doesn’t know what she will be doing in art class. It is like a weekly dose of surprises.

Only one hour long, once a week, the projects are designed to be completed in one sitting, keeping the excitement and momentum going, whilst providing the child with satisfaction of going home with a finished product. The last 15 minutes of class is dedicated to gallery time when each child talks about their art work before an audience who are generally the students’ parents.

Along with regular weekly classes, Abrakadoodle runs art camps usually during school holidays.  Trini has successfully and with much pleasure completed 3 art camps.  Each one had its own theme, run over 3 days for 3 hours per day.  At the end of each camp, Trini produced 6 pieces of art which are completely original.  By far my favorites are the work from her Kids on Canvas camps where she learned about painting on canvas using acrylics.  In Abrakadoodle's words: "Children use their imaginations in creating artwork based upon the techniques, style and vocabulary of master or contemporary artists from different parts of the world!" Too true.

Such artists include: Pierre Renoir, Piet Mondrian, Laurel Burch, Amedeo Modigliani, René Magritte, Andy Warhol, Mort Solberg, Jane Freilicher, Roy Lichtenstein, Natasha Westcoat, Johannes Vermeer and Yin Lum.  Each accomplished artist imparts an artistic style or technique such as: Renoir is synonymous with Impressionism, Magritte with Surrealism, Lichtenstein with Pop Art and Vermeer was a Provincial painter known for the Girl with a Pearl Earring painting.  Yin Lum is a contemporary abstract artist hailing from Singapore, whilst Mort Solberg is an American artist with an affinity for American Indian history and culture.

Trini has been part of Abrakadoodle for about seven months and I remember her first piece of work which was using sponging and layering techniques to produce Peek-a-Boo.

A few months later Trini experienced her first Kids on Canvas camp and below is my favorite being Trini's interpretation of Rene Magritte's well known Son of Man painting which consists of a faceless man with a bowler hat.

The following week Trini concluded Abrakadoodle's Beach Camp where their art work had a beach theme using various mediums such as paper, sand, clay and screenprinting.

The students' collective work. 
The Sea Shell designs are my favourite.

After a couple of months abroad, Trini kicked off the new year with another Kids on Canvas camp and resumed her regular weekly classes.  More fun ensued and here's her most recent works.

Inspired by Jane Freilicher

Inspired by Mort Solberg

Inspired by Roy Lichtenstein

I don't know how much theory Trini takes in but I know that she is having loads of fun.  I suspect over time, everything she learns and is exposed to will slowly start making sense.  I most certainly notice her work getting more creative, the art more defined (less blobs) to the viewer and her colour combinations (which often reflect pink and purple) are aesthetically pleasing.

My objective as her mum is to delight her with creative opportunities, give her art related outlets to express her imagination and essentially let her dream a beautiful world for as long as possible.  As Pablo Picasso once said:

Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

Singapore Flyer: A Giant Observation Wheel

The Singapore Flyer is an amazing feat of technology made of 1800 tonnes of steel. Standing at 165m tall and 20m taller than the London Eye, the observation wheel opened to the public in April 2008 and within three months it had sold 1 million tickets.

It is currently the biggest observation wheel in the world with tremendous views of Singapore’s major landmarks such as Marina Bay Sands, recently opened Gardens by the Bay, the Esplanade Theatres, magnificent Fullerton Hotel, across the Strait of Singapore with views of Bintan and Batam Islands, Indonesia and on a clear day neighbouring Malaysia.

View of Marina Bay with CBD in the background and
Marina Bay Sands towering to the left.

The striking Millenia Tower with the brightly lit pyramidal roof.

The Flyer’s design was inspired by the London Eye and Eiffel Tower, consisting of 28 fully air-conditioned and UV protected capsules. At maximum capacity the Flyer can carry 784 passengers. Clever boarding design means the Flyer never stops rotating. With a “step on platform” on either side of the capsule, as the Flyer rotates new visitors enter on one side, whilst those on-board exit on the opposite end.

Whilst each rotation takes half an hour, the ride is smooth regardless of wind conditions or altitude height. It doesn’t feel like it’s moving and at certain vantage points it doesn’t even look as if it’s moving. The smooth ride is largely due to the fixed capsules on the single A-frame as opposed to the traditionally open-air ferris wheels which are supported by two towers on either side of the axles.

Ticketing options abound, ranging from the basic ticket which includes one half hour rotation with the general public, to cocktail flights (mocktails for kids) including half hour rotation, souvenir glass per guest and express check-in to themed capsules. For that really special occasion the visitor may consider either a High Tea half hour flight or go all the way with a full butler service, 4 courses dining on a one hour rotation. If that is still not enough there is always the private capsule option.

Souvenir glasses from our Cocktail Flight.

The Singapore Flyer is certainly an experience to be had. Along with another couple and our 4 year sold daughter we enjoyed a Cocktail Flight in the evening. Not fond of heights I was game to give this a go. My desire to view the city from the top was greater than my issues with heights. Any discomfort I would usually encounter was alleviated due to the Flyer’s smooth rotation and large capsule (4m x 7m). The bench in the centre of the capsule gave us a resting place and it could perhaps aid those with fears of heights. The brilliantly designed glass encased capsule provided my daughter with the same viewing opportunities as the adults and saved her daddy’s arms from having to lift her to our eye level in order to see.

A fun experience, which should be done at least once, the Flyer is highly recommended. We’ll return for sure perhaps during the day or on another themed flight.

Having experienced the Marina Bay Observation Deck on the 56th floor, 1Altitute Gallery & Bar on the 64th floor and now the Singapore Flyer, I have feasted on Singapore’s skyline from three very different angles, each one magnificent in their own way.

Rights of a Foreign Domestic Worker - Part 3 of 3

This is the third and final installment regarding Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW).  The online orientation program highlights the rights of a foreign domestic worker and issues that may arise between a helper and the employer.

This is by no means a complete or detailed list but it gives the reader an idea at least:

1. Be paid their salary on time each month.  A leeway of 7 days delay is legally provided by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).  My husband gets paid the day before our helper is paid so it's easy to remember to pay her on time.

2. Minimum one day off a month, although MOM is looking at changing that to every week.  Many helpers don't have the luxury of time off at all, so making it a legal requirements sure provides them with much needed rest, time to socialise with their friends and an opportunity to leave the house and get some mental space.

3. Have minimum 8 hours of rest per day. Helpers typically are on call or working 14 hours a day with short breaks in between.  Many are up well before 6.00pm to care for infants, clean and prepare breakfast before they start the school run and the rest of the day's chores.

4. One return trip to her country of origin bi-annually paid for by the employer. If FDW chooses not to go than the cost of the ticket is paid as cash to the FDW.  For most employers that's less than SGD$500 given that most FDWs are from nearby countries.

5. Be provided three nutritional meals per day. You’d be surprised how many are forced to survive on rice alone as their daily intake.  Not much thought goes into understanding that a healthy and nutritiously fed helper, maintains her immunity and is unlikely to pass on any viruses to the child they are usually in charge of.

6. Tolerance as helper adjusts in new environment and be treated with respect. It is not uncommon for less experienced or timid helpers to be mistreated.  Communication can also be a problem if the FDW is not fluent in the language commonly spoken in the home.

7. Do work for employer's household only and care for employer's children only. Often helpers are made to clean the house of other family members who are not the employer. Their contract is limited to the employer’s home address only. They are not even allowed to work for the employer's business as that is construed as a separate job.

8. Six-monthly GP visits are compulsory and payable by the employer.  Since the employer is responsible for all medical costs including an accidental pregnancy, the bi-yearly GP visits gives the employer the opportunity to repatriate the FDW should she end up pregnant. 

9. Employer to provide basic toiletries such as shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush and a fan.  It is a small price to pay for the service that they provide.

10. An area with privacy to sleep in. Many abodes come with a helper’s room. They are very small (ours is 1.9m x 1.3m) that can barely take a mattress and a couple of drawers. However, you’d be surprised how many helpers don’t have access to privacy and often find themselves sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the lounge room, hallway or often in the baby’s room. We were fortunate enough to find a single bed that fit in the room along with 4 drawers making our helper quite comfortable and with her own privacy.

11. Anything else beyond this can be agreed upon between the two parties.

My final piece of advice is treat your helper as you would like to be treated yourself. Get to know her, her thinking, her values, what she cares about as it will give insight into the kind of character that she is and it may provide you with clues when things may go astray.  It also indicates how she will care for your child when you are not at home.

Be gracious and tolerant with mistakes since we are not perfect humans. Show kindness and patience as she is learning something for the first time. Remember that a happy helper will do so much more for you than an unhappy one. Lead by example and behave professionally rather than emotionally. Your helper is an employee with rights, feelings, wants and needs as well.

Finally, you helper needs to understand and be clear that what happens in the home stays in the home (except for abuse or illegal activities, they are intolerable and should be reported). Agreements between the parties on working hours, time off, salary and such are private. These situations are not open for discussion amongst other helpers. The helper needs to understand that gossip travels and eventually gets back to the employer. The consequences are likely to be unpleasant as trust is broken and the contract may not be up for renewal.

Hiring a Foreign Domestic Worker - Part 2 of 3

As a follow on to my Foreign Domestic Work (FDW) blog, below is an account of the process we went through to engage our helper. So for the curious or interested, read on.

1. Several recommendations have been made on our condo's Facebook group.  We chose an agency that was appreciated for its quick and pleasant service.  We liked the detailed resumes available on their website from where we could make our initial selections.  Ideally you enquire about their services, fees payable, policies such as placement fee refunds, helper replacement if the one hired doesn't work out, renewal of contract assistance.
   
   
2. Select preferred candidates and make arrangements with agency for interview date and times. Aim for a day where all candidates are available and you have a couple of hours to go through the interviewing process and the paperwork preparation.  Prepare a broad set of questions you want to ask.
   
   
3. Agency placement fee is payable on the day. Prices will vary between agencies but be prepared for around SGD$500-$600.
   
   
4. The agency will take you through several forms that need to be completed and lodged with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The agency will complete these forms and lodge them for you but you want to be aware of what that is since you will be signing on the dotted line.  The agency should also offer to renew contracts between you and helper as the work permit is for two years.
   
   
5. Medical and personal injury insurance for the helper is compulsory. Around SGD$250-350 for the duration of the contract (2 years).
    
6. A flat rate of SGD$265 is payable monthly to MOM as levy.  The payments are setup as automatic deductions from your nominated bank account.
   
   
7. Select preferred candidate and go through the contractual negotiations. Other than salary, which is usually indicated on the resume, there are several considerations to be agreed upon between the two parties.
   
   a.   The average salary is SGD$500 per month which is largely dependent on skills and experience. FDW salaries are not regulated, they are left to be dictated by market forces.  Any salary increases are left to the discretion of the employer.
   
   b.   It is not unusual for helpers to only have one day off per month.  As of 1 January 2013, all new permits will entitle the helper to one day off per week.  Some helpers request to have public holidays off which is at the discretion of the employer.  In this situation, for instance, if the candidate is Christian you may choose to only provide Christian public holidays such as Easter and Christmas or you may choose to provide all public holidays off or you may choose none. Be mindful though that this is a negotiation to provide you with a candidate that is more suited to you and your family and so give and take will go a long way.
   
   c.   You may be requested to establish curfew time that may be included in the contract.  Typically 10pm is the acceptable norm providing minimal disruption to the family and it ensures the helper has returned home to have sufficient rest time before the next working day.  If the employer retires for the evening earlier then it may be more suitable to bring the curfew forwards to a more suitable time.
   
   
8. An online orientation program must be completed two days before a work permit for a helper can be lodged with the MOM Online orientation certification.  The course explains the do’s and don’ts of being an employer, responsibilities of the employer and employee during the contract, the rights of the employee, relationship development between employer and helper as it will be different than an office environment given the proximity of both parties in the home, understanding cultural differences, expecting miscommunication and how to manage that, how to deal with problems or even potentially illegal activities by the FDW that may come to the employer’s attention, ie stealing from employer, working for someone else on their day off (FDW’s are not allowed to work for anyone else once they are tied to an employer). The course takes about an hour to complete with a basic test at the end. Once completed an electronic certificate will be produced which needs to be printed and provided to the employment agency. The MOM will note completion of course electronically and in a couple of days provide approval to the agency to proceed with the application.
    
9. The agency will contact you as soon as all forms are in order and make a time for you to collect the FDW from their offices. Copies of paperwork you should be taking with you are:
   
   a. Employment contract between you and helper.
   b. Standard Service Agreement between you and employment agency.
   c. Domestic Maid Insurance Policy.
   d. In-Principal Approval letter from MOM.
   e. Services & Fees Schedule for FDW indicating payments made, such as, agency fee and insurance premium.
   f. Salary payment schedule indicating salary to be paid monthly, date of payment, loan repayments (see below).  This needs to be signed by helper each time she's paid.  It protects both parties to the contract should any disputes arise in the future.
   
   
10. Helper's are responsible to pay the balance of the agency's fees which are substantially higher (as much as SGD$2200) than the fees paid by the employer.  If a FDW doesn't have the required amount then it is progressively deducted from her salary until paid off.  Our helper paid it upfront so we are not clear as to whether the employer has to pay it upfront on behalf of the helper and then deduct from salary or if it's a bank loan to the helper and gets deducted then.  From what I glean on the internet there are some unscrupulous agency activities in relation to this placement fee so be cognizant of the transaction you are entering into.  If you feel you may have been ripped off take it up with the MOM.
     
11. The final step takes place about a week later as the new work permit is issued to the FDW by MOM. This work permit ties the FDW to the new employer for the duration of the contract. The FDWs passport is returned at the same time which may be held by the employer for safekeeping. The work permit must be held by the FDW at all times. Our helper chose for us to look after her passport which we keep together with our own passports. If at any point your helper is travelling abroad with you ensure that all visa requirements for your helper are in order as they may differ for her country to yours, ie until recently Myanmar nationals had to apply for visa into Indonesia prior to departure as opposed to paying the visa fee on arrival like many Western countries do. Also ensure the FDWs passport is valid for time of travel well in advance. This pro-activity will alleviate any potential travelling issues.

All the best to any future FDW employer.  With preparation and knowledge, the experience should be smooth and swift and a positive one.

Foreign Domestic Worker - Part 1 of 3

It’s been a long time coming but nearly two years since moving to Singapore we finally came to the conclusion that we wanted a full-time housekeeper/casual nanny. Without family support to help out occasionally we found ourselves permanently child bound. There are no date-nights, no theatre, no late night adult birthday celebrations. Whilst that is not an issue at the core, as parents there are times we need space to mentally and emotionally regroup and to sometimes engage in activities related to our own age rather than our daughter’s age.

It is cultural in Singapore to engage housekeepers, usually from Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, India and Sri Lankan. Engaging foreign domestic workers (FDW, also referred to as "helper") who usually come from poorer countries, provide middle class hard working families to hire someone who can help with domestic chores and child caring.

This cultural habit is adopted by many expats who no longer have their family support nearby, often don’t have a car (an expensive exercise in Singapore) and generally have very young children. In this instance a helper can do the shopping without carting children around or take-on babysitting responsibilities to free the parents when needed.

I resisted having someone living permanently in my house, wondering if the helper can be trusted with my belongings, trusted with my child and just overall uncertainty of the unknown. I spent a lot of time listening to my neighbours who have helpers (good and bad experiences) and I continued resisting. However, with each passing month as I adapted to my new life my resolve crumbling and I started yearning for someone who could take over the domestic chores so I could spend the kind of time with my daughter that I wanted to.

My girl is currently home-schooled. We spend a lot of time with arts & crafts, swimming, playground, scooting, rollerblading, reading, museum exhibitions, art classes and whatever else comes our way. We spend a lot of time abroad and receive many visitors from abroad. Hubby is often left to fend for himself and manage the household whilst I am away with Trini.

I concluded that a helper whilst a luxury, in many ways is becoming a necessity. Whilst I am abroad, she can manage the home and feed my hubby. If I have visitors, I can focus on being a guide and hostess knowing that my helper will manage the domestic chores. If I need some time off for my writing, my helper can take Trini to the playground or swimming pool downstairs. If I want to paint half a day with Trini, since we derive a lot of pleasure out of this joint activity, I don’t need to worry about meal preparation and can just enjoy my time with Trini. Finally, if there is an adult activity such as, birthday celebration, theatre or other, I can rely on my helper to step up and care for my daughter.

With all the positive attributes of having a helper, I concluded that a loss of privacy is a small price to pay. My husband was extremely relieved in the end promptly telling me that he’s been waiting for months for me to come to the same decision.

The process of hiring a helper was quite easy. Through recommendations we chose an employee agency specialising in FDWs. Through their website we reviewed the helpers available considering their skills, background, religious inclination, family commitments and selected about four to interview. Following an email to the agency requesting to interview the helpers we organised a time and date. We prepared a set of questions pertinent to our needs and wants which we could use to measure who was most suitable for us.

On the day of the interview we spent some time completing paperwork, reviewed resumes for newly available employees and then conducted our interviews.

Our selection was based on several things, such as:

Age – not too young that she doesn’t have experience with children or managing a household but not too mature that she could no longer connect with our child due to generational gap.

Religion – we are agnostic but respect other’s religious inclinations. We were, however, more suited towards Christians since we understood it as Westerners, as opposed to Muslim who have different ways of observing their religion and could cause unintended misunderstandings.

Length of time – with each previous employer and years of experience as a helper. We were looking for someone experienced who could easily adapt in a new environment.

Initiative – a self-starter who knew her job and just got on with it without us needing to discuss schedules, task completions, meal preparations. Not keen on micro-managing, a person with initiative and drive was ideal.

Genuine interest in children – whilst we are our daughter's primary carers, on the odd occasion we would look toward our helper to babysit. It was important to have someone who liked and had worked with children before and had a calm and respectful demeanor towards our child.

Language skills – speak, read and write in English was highly essential. We cook several recipes from books hence the reading requirement; speaking very good English was pertinent to our communication and writing was useful for texting messages when needed and writing shopping lists.

Of the several resumes we reviewed, we interviewed four candidates. We had an interesting range of highly experienced and well-spoken to experienced but lacking in language skills. We deduced fairly quickly that the limited language skills would create frustration and communication issues and the highly experienced person who has managed others before may not find our limited needs challenging enough. We were left two experienced candidates. One was introverted and quiet, whilst the other showed spunk, initiative and pro-activity. Either candidates would have been fine, however, we were concerned that the quiet one would just accept anything that was being requested even if it was not the most efficient or ideal way of doing it.

We opted for the pro-active and forward thinking candidate and so far she has lived up to our expectations. She has introduced us to delightful new dishes, she questions and suggests, she goes about her chores quietly and efficiently, she gives us privacy and basically works out her own schedule. We have never eaten so well or been so organised.

Our daughter, a shy child around strangers and not one to trust easily, is slowly warming up to the helper. They’ve made pancakes together and have small conversations. We are happy with their slowly flourishing relationship.

Making pancakes together.

In summary, so far it has been a great experience. For now, we’ll just see how we go. We hope she is happy in our environment, we hope the good things she is delivering so far will continue and we hope that our daughter will enjoy spending time with her when we are not around. Only time will tell, it is early days.

This link will take you to the process of hiring a helper: Hiring a Foreign Domestic Worker.

Nespresso - My new love affair

A year ago I wrote about my love affair with my new iPad.  Since then, it continues to be loved dearly along with all the other digital gadgets in the household.  However, a new love affair began for me when my gorgeous husband purchased an espresso coffee machine whilst I was abroad visiting family.

Let me introduce you to Nespresso's Citiz C110 Shanghai Tang Limited Edition and his trusted friend Aeroccino 3 milk froth device.  My cappuccinos, long blacks and lattes have never been the same.  I also drink decaf now, which in a million years you wouldn't have me do beforehand.  Actually that's more thanks to my cousin, Agi, who introduced me to it whilst visiting her in Hungary.

My beautiful coffee machine and his friend the frother.

Now my husband doesn't do things by halves.  So when he purchased the coffee pods he went all the way.  Acquiring not just this beautiful presentation box filled with all 16 flavours but also a full complement of 250 capsules. 

Tasting and trialling the different flavours has been a divine journey, indulging in blended varieties along with pure blends from Brazil, Colombia and India.  The beauty of each individual pod is that the coffee's aroma and freshness remains sealed until it's been used.  It also means that coffee no longer needs to be one flavour.  We experiment with lattes, cinos, short blacks, long blacks, decaf, strength levels and give ourselves a whole new experience when drinking coffee.  I no longer need to spend $6 for an espresso that may or may not be to my liking (more often than not, it's not to my liking).

So then who is Nespresso?  A wholly owned subsidiary of Nestle, Nespresso launched in 1986 with all of four flavours and two espresso machines.  They've come a long way in flavours with bi-yearly limited editions launched, along with a current complement of 28 machine designs.  With a global presence of 57 countries and 200+ boutique stores, Nespresso is here to stay and continue delighting our coffee addictions.

As I sit here writing having recently indulged my senses with a decaf latte, I wonder if it's too soon to have another one.  Maybe I can sneak another one in.....

Averting Disaster in the Kitchen

We have been living in Singapore for 14 months and it has taken me 13 months to find a good meat supplier. Don't even say butcher, I may as well leave my credit card with them because meat here is extremely expensive. It's mostly Australian import. And where are they anyway?

Having a car in Singapore is incredibly expensive so most people don't have one. That makes food shopping a challenge. Between my meat supplier and condo mini-mart I make do, get creative when required ingredients are non-existent and am getting exceptionally good at substitution.

Today I was looking forward to making another regular recipe in my household. Nothing fancy, just the good ole' chicken roast and chicken soup.

I have been cooking for about 9 years, pretty much when John started his MBA and went MIA on me, except for dinner time. What we did for food before then is a mystery given that I have never been fond of fast food. Anyway, in the last 9 years I must have made chicken roast at least 35 times so it should be a no brainer but brains is just what I needed to use.

It all started as expected. The chicken was defrosted and dropped in a pot of water with vegies to cook as I always do. Then I dropped it on the tray ready for crisping.

My first wave of disappointment was tasting the stock, which I had hoped to turn into a clear chicken stock and vegie soup with dumplings. Imagine my surprise when the stock turned out completely tasteless. How could this be? I am no beginner with this recipe. Now what? This would be a good time to draw on all my culinary skills but really I am no expert. So I go into problem solving mode and out comes the chicken stock cube. I dropped in one, nothing. Dropped in the second one, a bit of flavour is developing. What the heck, throw in one more and finally the flavour has kicked in. Now I can make the dumplings and finish off the soup. Not quite what I had in mind but it'll have to do.

This one got saved thankfully.

Once the soup was finished I moved on with the crisping and partway through the power short circuits and my oven switches off. John messes around with the switchboard trying to get the oven going again without much success. After a few tries we almost conclude that we need to eat the chicken only half roasted. I am grateful that I cooked it first in the pot so I was only crisping in the oven.

We turned everything off and then gave the switchboard another go and ho and behold the oven is on again. We finished the crisping served the meal and sat down with a lovely bottle of white only to have our first bite and find that the chicken is completely tasteless. Let me ask it again. How could this be? Is it the chicken? Is it my out of practice cooking skills? Is it the chicken? I really do want to blame the chicken.

Well the salt came in very handy.  The roasted eggplants and corn on the cob were very nice, the chicken well.... it tasted just like chicken, somewhat bland and quite boring.  Some chicken gravy would have really saved the day.

Did this experience mess with my confidence? Absolutely. Will I try it again? Definitely. I need to know what went wrong, so I can really blame the chicken if it falters again.

Looks good doesn't it.
Oh if it only just had flavour.

On a final note, a word of advice to me from me:

Cooking like life is a journey
The delicious can't be appreciated without the unpalatable

Repetition creates perfection with the occasional snag along the way

Getting back in the kitchen in order to practice, practice, practice

Is the only way to overcome unfavourable dishes

Reflecting on the First Year in Singapore

Twelve months ago, we were in Melbourne settling the sale of our house, selling all our furniture, shipping or storing our belongings and preparing for a grand adventure abroad.

We arrived in Singapore to an apartment consisting of a mattress that was our bed, lounge suite and dining table for a few weeks and a TV on the floor.  But nothing was more breathtaking than our view across the Strait of Malacca onto Indonesia's Island of Batam.  Located on the 22nd floor with floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall windows, we indulge in the evenings on the brightly lit ships (our very own floating city) and during the day on the downstairs facilities and its numerous pools.

This past year has been a whirlwind of activities and new friendships.  Between us we have travelled to England, Italy, Australia, Bali and Austria.  We have always loved to travel abroad and experience new places. Being in Singapore makes the rest of the world so much more accessible (less flight time along with cheaper tickets).  We have gotten to know Emirates Airlines quite well.  Trini is a pro on planes and loves the whole process of take-off, landing, child meals, watching Disney movies and thankfully sleeping when tired.

Where my Italian trip was laid back, consisting mostly of sitting outside on a swing with good company and indulging in red wine, my Australian trip was an altogether different experience.  A jam-packed diary consisted of celebrating Trini's 3rd birthday, attend a first birthday, help my brother christen little Sophia, too much shopping, drove 1500km in 4 weeks trying to see everyone and flew to Sydney for some colouring marathons with my friend's two daughters. 

For a small country, Singapore has a diverse collection of museums.  Architecturally speaking they are anything from colonial to iconic and modern such as the ArtScience Museum. Impressive travelling exhibits means that we are being cultured (making up for the last 4 decades) and the Singaporeans certainly know how to put on a display.  Here's our roundup:

• Genghis Khan - greatest Mongolian warrior;
• Shipwrecked Treasure - 1000 year old Arab dhow discovered containing 60,000 intact artifacts;
• Vacheron Constantin - the oldest Swiss watchmaker;
• Titanic - a few months shy of 100 years since its tragic sinking;
• Dreams & Reality - 140 Impressionist artworks from the Musee d'Orsay, France;
• Dinosaurs Live - 50+ life size animatronic reproductions;
• Maritime Week - depicting life and work in Singapore's port, one of the busiest in the world;
• Salvador Dali - a unique and eccentric 20th century artist.  You may know him his melting clock sculptures;
• Beauty in Black - a collection of black dresses from the 1950s-2000 and colour black's history and place in today's society;
• History Gallery - depicting Singapore's settlement by Sir Stamford Raffles and its rise as a first world country;
• Philatelic Museum - illustrating Singapore's history, culture and heritage through stamps;
• Toy Museum - displaying a privately held collection of 50,000 vintage toys.

When not enlightened by history we either find ourselves at the brilliant Singapore Zoo or the Jurong Bird Park.  We have visited both parks a combined 12 times in eight months and Trini is already making noises about going again.  The zoo is a highly recommended visit for anyone coming to Singapore.

Alternatively, we hit the shops. With Singapore's heat and humidity we find ourselves indoors most of the time and poolside early evenings.  Of the 200+ shopping malls throughout this country we have managed to explore about 10% of the total.  Most of the 10% are on Orchard Rd which I like to describe as wall-to-wall shopping complexes, each approximately 7-9 levels, ranging from budget to high-end retail.

Throughout the year we entertained my brother twice, my sister twice and two friends once each (hence the many many visits to the wildlife reserves).

We have feasted on local food, indulged in lots of ice cream and lunched at Marina Bay Sands way too many times (it's a boat like structure atop three towers with an infinity pool and observation deck).  The observation deck gives the viewer a wonderful vista across the city, the port and the Strait of Malacca.

Walked 17km on the East Coast Park with my brother and got caught in a very heavy tropical downpour.  We looked like drowned cats, soaked all the way through to the skin.

Along the way Trini went from being held in the pool, to floaties, to no floaties, to treading, to now jumping off a diving board 1.5m above the water level and swimming under water.  She has progressed so quickly in the pool, I think she's ready for an instructor.

John has taken up tennis with the neighbours and I have taken up writing as a way to journal our experiences and share them with our friends and family back home.

The next twelve months are expected to be just as active with a skiing trip in Oz to turn Trini into a mini ski nut like her daddy.  There's a potential travel journey back to my country of birth.  Have not returned since I left 31 years ago, so this could be interesting.  Thankfully my brother, who regularly returns to Romania, will be accompanying me.

Later in the year the Singapore Zoo is opening up its new reserve called the River Safari, designed to showcase the most significant rivers in the world and their wildlife such as: the beaver in the Mississippi River, the giant otter in the Amazon or the rainbow fish in the Murray. Cruising these rivers will certainly be lots of fun for Trini and even more so the giant pandas on the Yangtze River.

In a few weeks Singapore is hosting it's bi-annual Airshow which I missed every single time it was on in Melbourne.  I look forward to some crazy aerobatics, displays of the latest airplanes and tonnes of photos (am a bit of a plane nutcase).

Given the impressive display of the Vacheron Constantin exhibition mid-last year, I now have a wider appreciation for horology and its history, so the current exhibition on Cartier's history is certainly of interest.

Most of all, I hope to continue developing my writing and perhaps one day find something more professional I can do with it.  In the meantime, I'll keep blogging.  Thank you to all my readers who have come back again and again and especially for the feedback.  It keeps me encouraged to keep going.  Lookout for the forthcoming blogs on our recent Austrian holiday.

Polliwogs Play Centre & That Lengthy Walk Home

With delight we attended a 2nd birthday party today at Polliwogs Play Centre on East Coast Park's beachfront, Singapore.  It is a terrific indoor centre comprising of obstacle courses, ball pools and awesome slides.  It has been nearly a year since Trini has played in a play centre so this opportunity was a great experience for her.  The rope tunnel was quite challenging for her little feet, making her work on balance, concentration and a "steady as she goes" approach. The pink corkscrew slide whilst not particularly long, it was certainly fast even for adults.

Balance Beam.

Rope tunnel about 2.5m off the ground.

Super-fast corscrew slide.

From here we braved the Singaporean hot and humid weather and chose to walk home, approximately three kilometres, mostly in the shade.  We passed the time singing nursery rhymes, jumping over cracks forwards and backwards and checking out the red dots on the maps that said "You are here". Trini loved each map and with her little finger tracing the grey footpath that directed us home.

Pitstops along the way included climbing breakwater barriers, admiring the ships, taking turns photographing, twirling and sharing the Pokka carrot juice we picked up along the way.

Makes me think of Rose on the bow of 1996 Titanic movie.

Mosaic totem poles at the Seafood Centre, East Coast Park.

As we are nearing home, so is Trini nearing the end of her strength.  Time for refreshments and a rest at the East Coast Lagoon hawkers market.  Our favorite "juice man" at stall 35 mixes a great, cold and freshly squeezed mango and orange juice.  With princess puzzle in hand (a gift from the birthday party), Trini rests her little feet, quenches her thirst, tops up her sugar and tackles the jigsaw puzzle.

Mango and orange juice, freshly squeezed.

Fitting the last 3 pieces of her  new Princesses
jigsaw puzzle.

A bit of play time before our final part of the journey.

With the weather threatening to open the skies, we finish up at the hawkers market and walk the remainder of our 20 minutes trip with me mostly carrying Trini.  Whilst I really didn't want to get caught in a Singaporean tropical downpour, we still managed snap to a couple of pictures along the way.

I particularly liked this ship.  It was so red, my favorite colour,
it was just begging for a photo.

Just some gorgeous, uniform trees found in East Coast Park.

So we finally made it home, showered and settled down for a coffee for mum and jelly shots for Trini (jelly shots = small individually packed jelly popped into Trini's mouth whilst she's lying on her back.  Daddy thought it would be a fun activity when he showed it to her the first time and since then all jelly are had as "jelly shots").  It was a lovely day spent with my girl and we would do it again, regardless of how tiring (maybe I'll just take Trini's bike with me next time as a back up) but we had fun turning something so simple as walking into a mini-adventure. 

Trini having her jelly shots and off to watch Disney movies.

Singaporean Sunday with Friends

There is never any shortage of activities to undertake in Singapore be it athletic, cultural or just plain fun.  One thing we do know is that as expats in Singapore we want to explore every inch of this beautiful country.

Of course it is that much more enjoyable in the company of friends.  So to share our Sunday experience let's begin with breakfast.

Now John is a brekky specialist whether it's crispy bacon with eggs and hash browns or as simple as toast and jam but today's breakfast is a delightful Spanish omelette consisting of panfried potatoes, capsicum, onions, peas and eggs.  Joining us for breakfast are Marc & Lindsay from our neighbouring condo.  Both are South African born, NZ citizens living as expats in Singapore, having a jolly good time just like us.

Stomach full we are ready to be cultured today and take off for the stunningly refurbished National Museum of Singapore to view a collection of Impressionists artworks.  However, not before Marc & Lindsay devour a five layered chocolate mousse (each layer has different quantities of cocoa), John and I fight over the chocolate cheesecake and Trini demolishes her own red velvet cupcake, along with a round of cappuccinos and tea.

The Impressionists exhibition from D'Orsay Museum, France presents 140 artworks from artists the likes of Gaugain, Van Gogh & Monet.  Personally the icing on the cake for this exhibition is seeing Van Gogh's stunning Starry Nights painting, which I have only ever experienced in print format and let me tell you, it is a superb painting.

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh [1888-89]

Halfway through the exhibition, we took a rest in the interactive space where Trini along with John, Marc & Lindsay created their own work of art featuring Lightning McQueen and Mater from Pixar's Cars movie, a purple Brachiosaurus, 2 pink aeroplanes, Camilla & Charles lookalikes, a gigantic yellow flower and a pink heart. 

The modern artists with the completed artwork [2011]

From here we moved onto the Museum's permanent exhibitions being the:

• Fashion Gallery depicting Singapore's fashion style between 1950 and 1970.
• William Farquhar's Collection of Natural History Drawings.  William commissioned locals to illustrate the diverse flora and fauna of the Malay Peninsula in the 1800s and amassed a spectacular collection of 477 drawings which have over time and through Mr GK Goh's efforts found their way back to Singapore.  The complete set has been donated by Mr Goh to the Museum.
• Food Gallery representing 10 iconic dishes, Singapore's street food culture and its diverse and cross-cultural origins.
• Photography Gallery portraying 100 years of Singaporean life through family portraits and albums of old photographs.

William Farquhar's Durian (aka King of Fruits). Tastes like a rich custard
but has a phenomenonally strong odour that many find offensive.

Watching roti pratha being made in the Food Gallery got Marc's taste buds running a muck and a visit to a roti specialist at Parkway Parade was underway.  By now the typical monsoon season is at hand with tropical rain aplenty but that did not deter us from hopping on a train and then a bus to get to the Mall for some roti (forget the taxis they were nowhere to be found).

In the Mall's foodcourt, John and Marc order cheese roti, egg roti and plain roti. Totalling 12 rotis we left not a morsel in sight.  By this stage it's 7pm and Trini has passed out.  Good ol' daddy works off the roti by carrying Trini and all of her 17kg by heading back to the bus stop because the taxi stand is chockas and booking one is impossible.

Since it's still raining and the bus stops near Marc & Lindsay's condo but not ours, we do a pitstop at their place for a Rooibos tea which is a popular South African tea.  A delightful flavour that to me was a cross between herbal and normal tea, it has no caffeine in it, it's filled with antioxidants and has low tannin levels.  Eventually we brave the weather and make our way home with our own box of Rooibos tea courtesy of our friends.

A long and busy Sunday, we now satisfactorily sit back on our lounge suite with a glass of Red Gum Vale Shiraz Cabernet.

So if you live in Singapore and you feel like being cultured, do check out the Museum's travelling exhibitions.  You never know what might be on display.

Saturday Morning in Singapore

I live on the east coast of Singapore, surrounded by park to the south, condos to the east and west and some more condos to the north.  What makes this location spectacular is the scenic view I have from my lounge room of the condos' facilities (five swimming pools for starters), East Coast Park and the Strait of Singapore sprinkled with maritime vessels.

East Coast Park (ECP) is a 15km stretch of tree-lined walking and cycling paths.  Particularly popular on the weekends with west and north coast residents sojourning here for a day trip, the ECP is a fitness fanatic's paradise.

Singapore may at times come across as a sleepy city with little happening during the day, of course discounting the shopping sprees taking place at nights, however, what a person like myself (I am not a morning person) may not see is the vibrant and bustling early hours of ECP.  It starts around 6.30am when walkers, cyclists, inline skaters or runners hit the pavement.  The fishermen are already at it on the nearby pier and the photographers are taking advantage of the morning light.

During one of those rare sleepless nights, I hit the pavement myself at 6.30am, camera in hand, water in the bag and the pier as my destination.  The pier is bustling with athletes, walkers and fishermen.  The sun is slowly rising on the horizon, the air is mildly fresh and every two minutes a plane is preparing to land at the nearby Changi Airport.

It's 6.30am with the sun rising on the horizon,
Singapore Airlines preparing for landing and the vessels still resting.

My favorite views are the maritime vessels.
Maybe because it conjures images of adventure on high seas.

7.00am on the East Coast Park.

Half hour later I leave the pier and as I walk along the ECP I come across a group practicing Tai Chi and preparations for a charity walk underway.  Hundreds of people of all ages patiently wait for the walk to commence and help raise funds for the Home Nursing Foundation.  The 3km walk may not seem like much but given that a large proportion of the walkers are senior citizens, it is certainly a great way to start the morning, whilst doing something for the community.

They were very smooth in their practice

Volunteers arriving to the event.

Having fun whilst waiting for the event to start.

Ready, set, go....

...and off they walk.

As the morning awakens, the sand castle beach is empty and the hawkers market is a ghost town till late afternoon. Yet the runners are out, the cyclists are pedalling whilst trying to work around the throng of people gathered for the charity walk and the carpark is full.

Each weekend grand sand castles are built here
for all to enjoy and participate in.

East Coast Lagoon Food Centre (aka hawkers market).
Hard to imagine that by 7.30pm this is not just bustling but usually
the several hundred seats are fully occupied.

Looking good.

Pedal away sweetheart...

So the streets may be quiet during the day as locals stay out of the heat and humidity but come the morning and many are out and about exercising, photographing, fishing and generally enjoying the early morning tropical weather. 

Bayshore Park Condos seen from the ECP.