flowering perennials @ canora

we have what i believe are hybrid kingfisher daisy (felicia bergeriana) perennial outside our house front that i am especially fond of. it's really brighten up one's day just by looking at them when in full bloom every morning. and late into the day, it too look forward for a good rest with petals closed.

the key

today is a significant day, albeit a low-key one (pun intended).

this humble key will shape the next few years (maybe decades) of our lives.

favourite bedtime story II

dr seuss is starting to leave an impression on her of late. fagan's grand-uncle gave her a dr suess story book last month in adelaide and that got her going.

this week, `green eggs and ham' is required reading. luckily there is an accompanying cd in this book we borrowed from the library. i will pop the cd in the cd player she can listen to it when i am done reading it umteenpth time.

as i write, `sam-i-am' is ringing in my ears.

9 august 09

as i write, singapore is probably in the thick of action with her usual dazzling national day parade at marina bay. we never did see a parade `live' other than on tv and on occasions, we drove closer-by to witness the spectacular fireworks. in a way, we miss the excitement this year.

we kind of commemorated this with a small gathering of singaporean here for a makan session at my place yesterday. kok wah and family, who migrated here about a year earlier than us, joined us with chin yuen and his wife. kok wah is a colleague and my cycling kaki now. chin yuan and his wife will live here for 3 years as his wife is on a singapore government scholarship doing her doctorate at the melbourne university.

after a short cycle session at the eastlink trail, we replaced all burnt calories had a hearty meal of decidedly singapore fare of ngo hiang, prawn noodle soup, curry chicken with bread, bubur cha cha, tapioca cake, amongst others.

it was a very nice catch up for all of us.

happy 44th, singapore!

mcg - afl - richmond tigers

Richmond Tigers is the football (Australian football) team I support. As part of the AFL multiculture program, Michael, our football coach said that we could get free tickets to a Richmond game. I was so excited and I couldn’t wait to tell my parents. I told my father and he was excited. My family and I went the MCG, we were amongst the first people to reach the stadium.

We waited so long that I thought that the coordinator won’t be able to make it but finally we got the tickets. We got in and it was so cool how we could see the entire field. This was my first time ever watching a football game live. At first, Richmond was leading but Melbourne caught up, but then Richmond fought back again.

We had to go home at the last quarter. When we got home, I was pleasantly surprised when my father told me that Richmond won the game. Richmond won by a last minute goal. It was so cool. I thought that Richmond was going to lose like the last time.

I enjoyed myself. by Paisley Chiew

paisley embraced the footie and richmond tigers when the team did a school visit earlier this year. her interests in the team grew a little fanatical when she started a scrap book on all things tiger. even her clothes' choice of colors are tiger coordinated on match day. so when her school offer the opportunity to watch the tigers in action this sunday, we thought it is a good opportunity to spend sunday doing what many melbournians do; attending a sports event.

richmond tigers is well over a hundred years old and has cult followings amongst victorians even though success evaded the club for quite a while already. today, it is a mid-table club that's struggling a little bit.

unsure of the crowd or traffic condition, we left early. when there, fans are already there mingling. there is only friendly rivalry between the tigers and the demons fans. i guess it is down to the fact that we are 2 teams from melbourne competing and crucially; the two teams are not really contending for honors this season. as i said, tigers are a mid-table team while the demons are the current wooden spoonist in the table standing.

the mcg is truly an extraordinary sports venue. it has a mammoth 100 000 capacity and a rich sporting legacy. i would love to explore the sports museum and its surrounding on another occasion.

i was completely ignorant of the footie game but admittedly, it has grown on me. i would say i understand about 60% of the game. prior to that, i am always bewildered by this game where grown men run around an oval and inevitably getting into a flare-up at every game. however, once one has basic understanding on the footie, it is quite a remarkable spectator sport.

we left towards the end of the 4th quarter where the 2 teams were neck to neck in the score and exchanging leads. in the end, richmond tigers prevail. and that made someone in the family (very) happy.

match stats:
richmond tigers - 86
melbourne demons - 82
crowd: 37,438 at MCG

1 august 2009

afternoon stroll at the bellbird dell reserve, which is a stone throw away from our new (future) home.