This Blog is for Kee Chor's friends. Living a nomadic lifestyle, I have more friendships than the time I have to nurture them. I hope to keep in touch with my friends here. 這空間是為朋友而設的. 過著飄泊不定的生活,所累積的友誼比我能夠交心的時間還多. 希望可以通過這空間和朋友們保持聯系.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Crunch Time
This is crunch time for me. Fatherhood may be delightful but it is certainly time intensive. Besides taking care of Shanle and his mother, my wife, I have to plan Shanle's 1st Month celebration. I'll be resuming work tomorrow and there are loads of work to clear after the nearly two weeks break. This is really a test of my wit and perseverance. I hope I can pass the exam and complete the course but I have little confidence as I struggled with the first two questions of this third assignment. Two down and two more to go... back to the books now!
Friday, October 27, 2006
Growing Up - Shanle is Nine Days Old
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Insurance for Shanle
I left the office at about 12 noon and rush off to meet my friend and financial planner to finalise the insurance plans for Shanle. In the end, I bought a life plan, Child Accident Shield, Bundle of Joy, Pink of Health plus the standard Healthshield. As I have limited resources now, medical coverage will take priority over education plans. I spent quite a lot of time thinking about this well before Shanle arrived. It is not so much about protecting Shanle, but more about ensuring that I will be able to take care of his needs, if they ever arise, which I hope not. This is the same line of thought that led me to buy a life plan and the Women of Wisdom for Irene shortly after our marriage. In the face of rising medical costs, I think it is wise to insure my family as comprehensively as possible.
Of course, being a key breadwinner of the family, I have to cover myself well for the sake of my dependants. Given the tight cashflow, I will have to postpone my coverage review to probably late next year.
Night Feeder
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Shanle is back home
Shanle apparently enjoyed his first 10 minutes of DIY phototherapy, stretching and punching the air throughout the therapy session. Doc advised that he be sun-bathed at least 10 miuntes on the front and another 10 minutes on the back everyday. If the jaundice remains under control this Friday, we can stop giving him light. He's doing great now... and sound asleep.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Shanle Hospitalised
Shanle is doing fine except for the jaundice. His current weight is nearly back to his birth weight. The nurses said that it is normal for newborn to lose some weight in the first week. I'll be paying him a visit shortly after I finish blogging. Watch this space for updates.
哄寶寶入眠的感動
Sunday, October 22, 2006
我的新志願
Saturday, October 21, 2006
An Invitation to Shanle's Full Month Party
Little Shanle says hi!
Please mark your calendar. My full month party is scheduled on 18 November 2006 (Saturday). As hordes of relatives and friends will be coming down to meet me, we will need to arrange different Meet-the-People-Sessions (MPS) for different groups of relatives & friends.
My parents, Kee Chor & Irene, will be contacting you soon either by phone, email or SMS. This is their first big assignment for Shanle. The tentative plan is to have two MPS. Lunch (11 am - 2 pm) will be mainly for our relatives and family friends. Afternoon Tea (2 - 6 pm) for friends and colleagues. The reason for doing so is to avoid overcrowding so that I can get to say hi to everyone. The segmentation is flexible. It is perfectly okay if you wish to come at a different timing that suits your schedule. The important thing is that you let my parents know well before hand so that we can cater sufficient amount of food for everyone.
I don't think my parents will be inviting the whole world to my big day. They are shy people and they may not want inconvenience you unnecessarily. If you are free to join us on 18 Nov, do drop my Daddy an email to let us know in advance. Alternatively, you can indicate your interest by writing a comment for this posting.
I understand from my parents that choosing gifts for newborn can be quite a hassle. To make things simple for everyone, I will love to receive gift vouchers from any store that sells baby products (e.g. Kiddy Palace or Mothercare). It has come to my attention that there are already a couple gift sets of newborn clothing for me before I was born. If there are more coming, I will be very disappointed if I outgrew the clothing before I get a chance to wear them. My parents are really great people and they will use your vouchers to get things that I need as I grow up ;-) If I am not wrong, Ang Pows will also serve the same purpose. I got a couple of them just hours after I was born. They got me useful stuff like Similac, pampers, toys and even painful vaccinations.
As my parents work on with this big assignment, I will do my part to eat well, stay healthy and prime myself for the big day. There will be a lot of photo opp for everyone, and trust me, I will look gorgeous! See you all soon!
Friday, October 20, 2006
為我們的寶寶取個好名字
我的名字 '基礎' 是我婆婆為我取的. 我大姐取名 '美愛', 二姐取名 '也好'. 就是要讓我有個 '愛好的基礎'. 婆婆希望我會腳踏實地的做人. 婆雖然在我很小的時候就以不在人世, 但是她對我的影響可是至深至親. 一路走來, 我都謹記婆婆的意願, 做個踏實的有用人.
我希望我也能為我的寶寶奠定良好的基礎, 首先為他取個好名字. 我和奕雲想了好久, 終於擬定以 '善' 為 我們孩子的名字重心. 這男娃兒就取名為 '陳善樂'. 希望他這一生萬事都 '以善為本, 為善最樂'. 我們終究無法照顧他的一生. 我們可以做到的就是灌輸他正確的價值觀, 讓他一生受用不盡. 我們深切相信, 只要他能以善待人, 他會感覺他的人生是快樂的.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The Real Thing - Birth of Little Kee Chor
Irene is currently resting at Thomson Medical Centre and I quickly came back home to find the receipts for claiming against the Medisave and to bring our original marriage certificate for the birth registration. Time is short so let me just briefly describe the whole experience.
Before we went to sleep last night at around 11:30pm, Irene felt some discomfort at her cervics area. The pain was so slight and we decided to wait and see. At around 2:30pm, she woke me up again complaining of more pain. Is it another false alarm? I loaded the lessons learnt from the ante-natal classes and asked Irene to describe her pain - is it regular? is the pain coming on stronger increasingly? is the pain similar to cramps just before her period? Irene couldn't really describe her discomfort and so we waited. She went to the toilet shortly after. She has bled again, but the stains were not bright red or brownish, but pinkish. This is one of the three signs of labour that we learnt. I quickly gave my father-in-law a call and started to pack in all the toiletries in the maternity bag. We were off to the hospital in no time.
Irene was warded in the delivery ward immediately and dilation has started. It was 4:09am. By 9:00am, the dilation was only 1 cm and we thought it could be another false alarm. Our gynae came and we found out that Irene's waterbag has ruptured and the baby has to be delivered today. As the contraction was slow, labour was induced and epidural administered.
By 1:00pm, the dilation came to about 8-9cm and we were told that our gynae would be here anytime soon to deliver the baby. Irene was oblivious to the pain becasue of the epidural. Our gyane arrived at around 1:30pm and the pushing began. It was a painless process and with the help of the vacuum cup, our baby was delivered at 1:56pm. The epidural has greatly distorted our excitement. It was only when I held our baby in my arms then I realised I am now a father. The feeling was strange... The more I looked at our baby boy, I more I grown on him. I am going to spoil him I think. Let's hope not.
I will have time to share my feelings and thoughts in my future postings. Now, I better go back to Irene. She's now in pain after the epidural withered off.
More pics and video clips coming your way. Watch this space!
Monday, October 16, 2006
False Alarm
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Birthday at Covo Bistro & Lounge
The setting was great with a small little candlelight with an open top. The only problem was the noise from the TV on the upper floor. But it was okay... quite interesting. You can choose to be indoors or sit at the bar counter. There's a small room for about seven for private gathering. The room even has its own music player for those who want to listen to different music. There are also a couple of outdoor sofa areas for people to retire for a nice drink after the main course at the table.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
For Food Lovers
"For all you food lover out there. Tired of having the same food day after day? Now, you can plan where to have your makan outing with this comprehensive and informative web site, The Internet "Best Food Guide". This is a site that gathers all the best, delicious and tasty food which
are all favoured by Singaporeans. It will help you to navigate your makan trips via 5 different regions.
So, here is your chance to search and try out all various food to fulfill your appetite. Visit http://www.sbestfood.com"
I paid the site a visit and I was truly amazed! I heard my stomach groan as I browse through the links. I am never going to succeed in losing weight I thought. I weight about 75 kg nowadays. That is a decent weight for my height of 173 cm. The problem is the extra fat is gathering around my waist instead of my chest and butt! I am feeling tight in my 35-inch pants. I used to be 29-inch before I left for Taipei in 2002. I thought maybe I can cut down after returning to Singapore. But the signs are not encouraging. The blame is mine alone. I was just too lazy to work out regularly. Well, after our baby is born, I will definitely join Irene in her weight-losing regime. Wish me success!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Wedding of Karyn and Lawrence
I knew the two of them during my posting in Taipei. But I only knew about their long long courtship of nine years at their wedding yesterday. Nine Years! I have to take my hats off to them for sticking together these long years, peppered with frequent trips, relocations and time apart. My message to them, which I wrote in their wedding book for well wishers, is "Have kids, the more the merrier!" I am looking forward for a kids gathering with our ex-SAROC gang... the second generation...
It was a fun wedding... I was glad that Irene and I did not have to go through the same 'tests': smelling out the right hubby, passing bananas through the pants or lap dancing. I was lucky! Fortunately or unfortunately, Irene was not there. She may have missed the fun, but I would worried if she could take it, late in her pregnancy, the non-stop laughing during the games.
Thanks to Karyn and Lawrence for the great time. Sorry that I had to leave early as I got a pregnant wife waiting for me to coax her to sleep. For that, I had to miss the Patissier wedding cake once again (I missed it at John & Jenny's wedding last year). Who's next?
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Baby Arriving Soon... Fatherhood Imminent
Being an anxious husband and a soon-to-be father, I posed this question to our gynae last Saturday. After doing all the ultrasound scan and checks, he said that the baby was doing great, weighing 2.5kg. He estimated the baby's weight at birth to be slightly over 3kg. As for the small tummy, he explained that the 'compactness' was due to the relatively small amount of liquid in the womb. He added that this was a good thing because the baby would not 'float' around too much. Thank goodness, the baby's head is down, ready for birth.
Irene is now in her 37 weeks of pregnancy and our baby boy is mature enough for birth anytime soon. I am going to be a father! Besides learning the tricks of coaxing our baby, feeding, cleaning etc., I got to spend some time thinking about how I am going to bring up my boy. Friends, if you have some advice for me (other than 'getting enough sleep') on fatherhood, I will be grateful to read them here.
This Space is for my friends 為朋友們而設的'基礎空間'
Living a nomadic lifestyle, I have more friendships than the time I have to nurture them. I hope to keep my friends abreast of my life, share my photo albums, videos and the little things happening along the way before we next meet.
這空間是為朋友而設的. 過著飄泊不定的生活,所累積的友誼比我能夠交心的時間還多. 希望可以通過這空間和朋友們保持聯系.
I was known by different names at the different stages of my life. I was known as "Jichu" (基礎) since I was kid till I graduated from secondary school. I was known as "Jeffrey" in my polytechnic days and "KC" in my army days. Since I ORD from the National Service, I have been using my first name "Kee Chor", until today.
我在人生中的不同階段有不同的名字. 在中學之前,大家都叫我基礎(JICHU). 理工學院期間,我是JEFFREY. 當兵服役時我就叫做KC. 自從退役后,我就開始用 KEE CHOR, 我身份證上的名字.
For the information of long-lost friends who bumped into this space, I am happily married. My wife, Irene, is carrying our first baby boy while I am blogging away. Our baby should be due on 28 October 2006. If you want to know more, I have some included links to my wedding homepage and videos in this Space for your leisure surfing. I am currently working for the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). I have been posted to Phnom Penh and Taiwan since I joined the Ministry in Feb 2000. Take your time to browse through the photo albums here. I will upload more photos along the way.
如果你是我失散多年的朋友,我想法讓你知道一些我的近況. 我結婚了. 我妻子,奕雲, 現今正懷著我們的第一個男寶寶,預計今年十月二十八日出生. 如果你想知道更多,你可以遊覽我的婚姻網址還有這空間所連接的影片. 我現今就任於新加坡外交部總部. 自從在2000年二月加入后,我曾經外派到金邊和台北. 這裡也有電子相片供大家觀賞. 未來的日子里,我會上載更多相片.
As I slowly learn to become a father, I will have lesser time for my friends. I am a typical Cancer, home-loving creature, who spend more time with my family. As I move where my job takes me, I will make more and more friends from around the world. At the same time, my list of long-lost friends will also grow longer . It is my hope, with the help of this Space, to find all my long-lost friends and stay in touch with all my friends.
就當我慢慢的學習如何當個父親,我能騰出來的時間會相對的減少. 我是個標準的巨蟹座. 顧家的我會自然的花多點時間在家人上. 在我四海為家的打拚時,朋友會不斷增加,失散的朋友也會更多. 我希望通過這空間找尋我失散的朋友,並且與所有的朋友保持聯系.
If you are a friend of mine, I welcome you to leave your words here. Thanks!
如果你是我的朋友之一,我歡迎你在此留言. 謝謝!