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Mar 10 2010

Buying a new Car

The last few weeks, I had a sudden inclination to go to the showrooms to test drive some cars.

I guess the main cause is that COEs have been going up, and also because recently my Toyota Wish has been giving me problems.

The Toyota Wish is a real functional car, but it has grown to a bit cramp for the family. With the 2 car seats, and 1 booster seat, the car is always fully-packed when we go out. In terms of the car interiors, the kids have maximized all the compartments, and even my cup holder has been stolen by the kids. (Read about it here)

I decided to test-drive a mini MPV instead of a full size MPV(as they have better fuel consumption), and after driving Japanese all my life, I decided to test drive a European car as they offered better road handling and safety.

I was looking at 2 essential ingredients: Safety and Performance.

With these factors in mind, I looked at:

1) The Volkswagen Touran

2) Citroen Grand Picasso

Both of them are Ranked 5 star in terms to European Safety standards and in terms of Performance:

Both cars have a turbo engine, but the Volkswagen has more power and offers better fuel consumption. (I will spare you all the techie specifications, as it might be a bit boring to read if u are not a car enthusiast)

The Volkswagen also needs a smaller area to make a turn, and it is therefore more agile as compared to the Citroen Grand Picasso.

When looking at the Interior:

The Volkswagen is very simple and functional. This is German Efficiency at its best, and everything is placed with no frills and made with a “boring” efficiency.

For the French Citroen Grand Picasso:

The Driving Console was artistically done, with lots of extra compartments to put all your essentials. The car also has a “moon roof” and it has increased visibility with it’s larger than life windscreen.

In the Volkswagen Touran:

Last row seats were small, which were similar to the Citroen. However, the car seemed smaller than the Citroen, and it felt cramped when the family squeezed into the German Automobile.

Both Cars could fold their 2 and 3rd row seats down, so as to carry more luggage, and both had European simplicity in shifting the chairs.

Hmm…Which car should I choose? Power or Functionability?

Find out in the next post…

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Mar 8 2010

New Location for City Harvest Church

This was the most exciting day for us as members of City Harvest Church!

After weeks of speculation and theorizing as to where the location of the new church building is, the answer was finally flashed in front of our very eyes…

We are shifting in March 2011 to…

SUNTEC CITY CONVENTION CENTRE

With emotions ranging from shock, surprise, joy to euphoria…we are definitely excited about being part of history.

Who would have thought that a simple church that I joined in the Geylang Area would one day be named as Co-owners of an Iconic Convention Centre in Downtown Singapore.

The magnitude of the dream is astounding, and the delivery of the dream only shows that…

With God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

As we watched the video presentation of the location in the service, the breakthrough and size of the breakthrough, slowly “sunk” into our hearts.

(For detailed FAQs about the church location, click here)

When the call was given to Arise and Build, the whole congregation gave a resounding “Yes” and we took a step of conviction onto a highway of uncertainty.

As we filled our Building Fund pledge cards, my family gave with tears in our eyes, but we are glad that we are sowing into something eternal and putting substance into our faith.

In closing, there may be many ways to build a church. There is the Cell Group System, the G12 system, decentralized churches, Weekday Bible Study classes…the list goes on and on…But I believe that they most important thing is that we stay faithful and focused on the dream that God has given us. All we need to do is to ONLY BELIEVE!

Suntec City – Here we Come!

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Mar 5 2010

New Building for City Harvest Church

This week is going to be an exciting week at City Harvest Church.

The church has been in negotiations for a new building, and this week the location will be announced!

Pastor Kong Hee has been talking about a Church in the Marketplace and in the CBD for a long time, and finally it is coming to past. He has also updated his blog and given the reasons for the New $310 Million facility.

(Check out his blog and the reasons here)

Personally, we are really excited, and our 6 weeks of speculation is coming to an end.

The Speculative Locations are:

1) Marina Bay Golf Course – I hear that a lot of golfers are praying very hard against it, as they don’t want to lose a decent golf course.

2) Marina Bay Sands Casino

Btw, Sands got this piece of land at 1.2 billion dollars from the government. Will they let us have a part of it for $310 million?

3) National Stadium

The stadium is slated to be redeveloped into a new Sports Hub, but due to the financial crisis, the developers have sort of given up on the project, due to the high construction cost.

Will City Harvest be given a National Project to redevelop?

4) Padang

This iconic field has been the host of National Day Parades, Numerous Sports Events, and this is also where the British accepted the Japanese Surrender in 1945.

The Rumour is that we will develop the field, and have a auditorium was a glass ceiling, so that when the congregation looks up, they can see the stars!

Where do u guys feel the building will be at? Anything stories that are really mind-boggling?!? Do Share…

Well, for the rest of us, we are waiting for twitter to give us the location, when the 1st service kicks off in Jurong West in 24 hours time…

It’s coming soon….(excited anticipation!)

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Mar 3 2010

Nursery Rhymes Song

Mummy blogs (Part 2)

I realised I’m not alone in remembering Fairy Tales!

Well, I really like music, and singing and reciting nursery rhymes are always fun for kids. They love the tunes and they love the repetition in rhyming words.

BUT, I can’t remember exact words! I usually remember the 1st few lines and after that it is Lah lah lah lah lah…

Furthermore, sometimes the rhymes just don’t make any sense at all!

I am just so bad at it! Do u guys have similar problems?!?

For Example,

1. 3 Blind Mice

We usually remember this part:

3 Blind Mice, 3 Blind Mice, see how they run, see how they run,

But after that, It is really very patchy…

They lah lah lah lah lah lah lah lah, lah lah lah lah lah lah lah lah

And we end with:

3 Blind Mice…

2. Yankee Doodle

Yankee Doodle went to town, to fetch a pail of water (opps…isn’t that Jack and Jill)

3. I’m a little teapot

I’m a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle, here is my sprout.

When the lah lah lah lah (Mummy can’t remember), pour me out, tip me over, and pour me out.

4. This Old Man

This old man, he plays one (?!?!), he plays knick knack on my thumb, lah lah lah lah lah lah (I remember can’t remember a lot of this rhyme)… paddy whack, this old man came rolling home

Oh my… I really need to brush up and read more AND commit them to memory.

And most importantly, I’ve got to pray hard the kids don’t ask me what these rhymes mean! Some obviously have none!

I’ll leave you with video of This Old Man: (the lyrics were an eye-opener!)

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Related posts:

Children’s Fairy Tale

tags: Children Nursery Rhymes, Famous Nursery Rhymes, Musical Nursery Rhymes, traditional nursery rhymes posted in Parenting

Mar 1 2010

Yona Yona Penguin

Last Saturday, the kids had the privilege to go to Jurong Bird Park for a special preview of Yona Yona Penguin. Tickets were kindly sponsored by OMY.sg and many thanks once again to the OMY team for selecting us!

Making its debut in Singapore, this animated film is by Japanese Anime Studio Madhouse.

Directed by Japanese animator Rintaro, director of Metropolis, Yona Yona Penguin is a Japanese animated movie with English subtitles about the amazing adventures of Coco, a small girl with a penguin coat, as she journeys through a world of fantasy and magic to save her friends from the Emperor of the Dark.

What’s fun about this event is that it was screened outdoors at the Pools Amphitheatre and it was a special one-evening only preview.

Nicole was all excited about her outing to the Bird Park. Previously when we were here, it was also for an OMY’s event, when we won a Canon Camera and Canon Selphy Photo Printer. (Check out the contest entry here)

The excitement rubbed off on Nadine as well, and the 2 girls were all giggly as they entered the park with their tickets.

The Park’s Amphitheatre was crowded by the time we got in, as many families were there with their Potato Chips and Burgers and having a quick bite before the movie started.

The whole outdoor ambience actually reminded me of my younger days, when Dad and Mum brought me to the Jurong Drive-In Cinema, except that this time, we were not in our cars. It felt “rustic” but certainly a different experience for the kids and the parents.

We sat near the projectors, so that the kids could catch a glimpse of these big machines working.

At 745pm, the show started promptly and the projectionist got the machines into action!

Sorry, but got no pictures of the movie, as we were not allowed to take any pictures when the show started.

Synopsis: The show is about Coco. A rather adorable and fearless child, Coco lives alone with her mother not soon after the death of her father. Being a young girl in love with Penguins, Coco spends many a night frolicking through the streets wearing her favorite outfit — a penguin costume — trusting that one night she might magically take flight to see her late father again. Critics will says that Coco’s youthful naivete is the film’s centerpiece.

The movie lasted for 88 mins, and the girls were ready to go home after the event.

Thanks once again to OMY, for making it a special Saturday for the family.

Btw, today was an ALL Girl’s event for the family.

Nathan got a virus, and he was at home resting with Popo.

But Daddy was happy to be surrounded by all his favourite women in the world!

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Feb 26 2010

Technology at Guardian Pharmacy

Technology seems to have really taken over the local Pharmacy!

Just this week, I was having a flu, and I went to the Pharmacy to get some Clarinase (If u have a cold, take Clarinase and your cold will disappear in 24 hours).

I went in the middle of the afternoon, believing that the Pharmacy will be quieter. True enough, it was so quiet, that the Pharmacist went out for lunch!

Thinking that I would need to come back later, as Clarinase needs to be administered by the Pharmacist: the staff at Guardian did not refuse my request.

Instead she started typing busily into her PC, and was busy clicking at the icons on her screen.

Suddenly, she turned her monitor around, and she ushered me to talk to the Pharmacist.

(I was thinking like where…and then I saw a Pharmacist starring at me, from the webcam monitor in her PC)

I was shocked…Wa…(In Singlish: Now go pharmacy, so advance one!)

The Pharmacist proceeded to ask me (via the webcam and computer speakers) whether I had any allergies to the drug, and began to give me directions on how to use the drug.

It was quite a different experience, but overall I was quite happy that I could get my medication, despite the fact that the resident Pharmacist had gone for lunch.

I chatted with the Guardian Pharmacy staff, and she began to tell me that the Pharmacy has been using this webcam technology for the last few months.

I told me that it was really helpful and best of all: I got the medication that I wanted!