Monday, December 29, 2008

The Day for Consolidation has Arrived

Today is the Islamic New Year and a public holiday in Egypt. So here I am taking the little recious time I have to relook at my online presence. After logging into all my sites, Facebook, Blogspot and MSN Space, I asked myself why not keep everything at the same place. Well, the reasons for this decentralisation was mainly because the different sites serve my different needs The MSN Space is good for photos but not for blogging. Blogspot is good for blogging but not really engineered for photo albums. I joined Facebook much later and I thought moving everything over will be too much work.

Thinking again, I do not really have to "move" everything over. I just have to set a cut off date and start blogging and loading albums on Facebook from then. My old blogs and photo albums can remain where they are in Blogspot and MSN. There are already links to them from Facebook so my friends will still be able to dig up my past quite easily.'

So, the day for consolidation has arrived. All eggs in one basket. My slavery to Facebook is now complete. It's quite scary coming to think of it. If Facebook unplugs, I am gone as well. I hope that there are ways to backup my stuff on Facebook. This is what I have to find out next.

Anyway, this is the last blog I am posting on Blogspot. Go to my Facebook for the next posting.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Working Through the Long Week of Holidays

It has been almost nine months since I arrived in Cairo. This is probably the longest single period of time I have been away from Singapore since the first time I flew out from Singapore to Taipei in Feb 98. This outpost period will be just over ten months by the time I return to Singapore for my first relief break in late Jan 09. I yearn for the day to come soon to rejoin with my family back home.

Time is passing fast in Cairo and work never ends. Tomorrow is the Eve of the Hari Raya Haji (Eid Al Adha or Greater Bairam) and the start of a week long holidays. While my office is closed, I will be going to work like any other day. Without the day-to-day disruptions and slew of fires to fight, I should be able to work on some of the less urgent more certainly more important long-term issues. Otherwise, I really do not know what to do over the long holidays alone other than to stay at home and rot in front of the TV or the PC.

I am easing out of my culture shock well and I felt I am in better control nowadays. There are many challenges at work and sometimes I still get the sense of being overwhelmed by demands from all directions. Fortunately, lady luck has followed me to the overcrowded and polluted Cairo and I am getting lots of help and support from everyone that I worked with. On the whole, I can say that I have passed the crawling stage and now beginning to walk briskly. Hopefully, I can start running soon before I end my posting in 2011 with a final 100m sprint.

Monday, November 03, 2008

泪在眼眶里打转

泪在眼眶里打转。我以忘记曾经何时感受过同样的没落。今天我目送着妻子和儿子进入登机门内,千万的不舍涌入心头,泪水几乎夺眶而出。这次是奕云第一次独自带着我们两岁大的儿子乘坐长途航班。希望她能应付得来。他们现在正在飞往新加坡的途中。一个钟头内就要落地了。要不是迫不得已,我真的不希望一个家人分居两地。可是乐乐的近来状况真的不是太好。三个月来他不断的生病,令我好难受。看他瘦弱的身躯和暗淡的脸颊,最明智的决定就是提早让他回国,在他祖父祖母们的呵护下好好的休养生息。唉!这几个月好不容易建立的一丁点父子之情又要受到岁月无情的啄食。希望明年我回国度假一家团聚时,乐乐他还会记得我这个父亲。

Friday, October 31, 2008

A Painful Decision

The past three months have been very difficult for me and my family. Times were so bad that I have to make a painful decision... to send my wife and son back to Singapore. Actually, they were supposed to fly home today but I had to postpone the flight to Sunday because Irene fell sick two days ago. I had to stay home for the two days to look after her and Le Le. I had to keep the two apart as much as possible to avoid Irene passing on the flu bug to the boy.

Le Le has just recovered from a serious bout of gastroenteritis. Just last month, he was sick for a week from acute bronchitis. And in August, he was down for almost two weeks from flu. I think it is time to pack them home. I believe they will be better off in Singapore to recuperate where the air is cleaner and public hygiene is better.

I really do not want to risk them staying on and be hospitalised should more serious ailments hit them. More importantly, they will be well looked after by our parents back home. I think I have made a right decision. I will miss them dearly, especially my son who has just started to bond with me. I don't know if he will still remember my hug and scent when we next meet in Jan 09, three months from now.

I was away from them too for about the same period last year when I was in Cairo for language training. Looks like we will going to have this separation annually until I complete my posting in 2011. It's going to be a cold and lonely winter again for me in Cairo. I guess I will seek refuge by working doubly hard.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Birthday Boy Sick

Today is 18 October 2008, our son's Le Le second birthday. Compared to his first birthday bash in Singapore, this birthday is starkly quiet. I was planning to celebrate his birthday with the cake cutting at home before heading out to Al-Azhar Park or Magicland for a family outing. Unfortunately, our birthday boy fell sick last night. He started vomiting in the middle of the night. He threw up a few more rounds until about 4am before going to sleep leaving his tired parents a big mess to clean up. We had to changed the bedsheets twice. He threw up a little after the morning milk but the vomiting ceased but diarrhea set in straight after. One big poo was followed by numerous liquid poos and we had to change his diapers so many times until we were both exhausted. I called our pediatrician and he prescribed some medicine for now. Hopefully, the vomiting and diarrhea will stop. Le Le is now asleep and so is his mum. I am too tired to sleep and so here I am putting this unfortunate episode on record. I think we will not be heading out today except probably to see a doctor in the evening if he does not recover well. So no birthday photos or videos to share this time round. We will definitely make it up to him next year.

Monday, October 13, 2008

New Videos and Photos

Our little family has been taking turns to fall sick over the past few weeks. While I have fully recovered, Irene is still nursing a cough. Le Le, who recovered first about a week ago, appears to be falling ill again with block nose, sneezing and occasional cough. It must be due to the seasonal change. The mornings and nights are becoming cooler as the days go by. It's great that the summer is finally ending and the most comfortable season of Cairo is arriving soon - cool and no rain. I just hope the air clears up a bit. The pollution is getting worse I think. That is probably due to the burning of agricultural plots after harvest. Anyway, we are doing fine and here are some of the recent videos to share. I have also updated my photo album with the latest snapshots of our boy Le Le. Enjoy.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xQmCpKhzDg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opzmMQ3b7Bg

Saturday, October 04, 2008

夏去秋来流感肆虐

夏季即将过去而秋意以渐渐涌入这拥挤的开罗城。早晨和晚间的秋风也稍感寒意而下午的日头却酷热无比。这是季节交替的普遍现象也是大人小孩容易生病的时候。乐乐两个礼拜前就生了一场病。起初是伤风的症状,鼻塞,喉咙不适。接下来就发烧,咳嗽,喉咙发炎。看了家庭医生可是药到病却不除,一度发烧至39.8度。我们夫妻俩彻夜难眠,不停的为他以冷毛巾降温,注视体温。我们也找了儿科医生来诊治,换了一次药乐乐的病才逐渐好转。他现在已近乎痊愈了。只是还是稍微有一点咳嗽。医生说这是正常的症状,需要一点时间才会完全康复。喂这小坏蛋吃药可真是痛苦。一个人要喂他可真的很不容易,他头左右摇晃,小嘴紧闭。通常我们得二人总动员,一人抓住他另一个人用无针针筒把药水慢慢灌入。可爱的乐乐每次看到爸爸妈妈拿着药走向他就会意识到吃药的时候到了而无助的找寻可藏之处"避难"。逗得我们哭笑不得。乐乐也因为生病而有好一阵子没去上兜兜班了。上个礼拜天带他回学校,从老师口中得知这段日子有好多小同学也病了。小孩子似乎对换季所引发的流感比大人较为敏感。说迟不迟,我们夫妻俩这两天也开始感到身体不适,喉咙疼痛。看来我们也快病了。等会儿医生就会来诊治,开药方。希望我们两不会一起病倒。

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Taking Stock

It has been almost two years since I started this blog on 8 October 2006. That was about 10 days before the birth of my son, Shanle. This life altering event prompted me to blog and to share my joy and thought with my friends near and far.

"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."

The above is the first paragraph of my first blog post and it is still the primary motivation that keeps me blogging. The number of posts has dwindled over the years but I try to blog at least once a month. Sometimes, I wonder how many of my friends are reading my posts and what are their thoughts after reading. Feedback is very limited but occasional words of encouragement from friends who read my blog really brighten up my gloomy days.

This 100th post came at a very trying time of my career. I have passed the "honeymoon" of my posting to Cairo and now I am still in culture shock. It is really challenging to operate well in this part of the world where uncertainty rules the day. Nothing is for sure and contracts are just for reference. Reliable information is hard to come by and no operations go as planned. I have yet to find my groove and I can't help but feel defeated when things go wrong. I think it will take a while before I get used to the way things get done here.

Life is full of ups and downs. My life so far has been quite smooth sailing so I guess it is time for the down swing. I will have to brace the fall, bottom out and find the right momentum for the next upswing.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

New Videos and Photos

Here are some new videos and photos of our boy Shanle. He is now going to the Irish School nearby in the mornings. So far he is settling down well and he no longer cries whenever we drop him off at school. But the teacher said that he is not mixing with the other toddlers and he usually be on his own. Perhaps it is because he has been alone with his Mum for the first few months in Cairo and is not used to interacting with others. Or maybe it is due to his own personality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2AlckPGSSo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcMCk1ZlaoM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL0JIZdpAOg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBnA9czfxdQ

Updated photo album...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

千头万绪

匆匆的一个月的时光飞逝,真的是岁月不饶人啊!最近我经常感觉有千斤重担日日夜夜压在心上,有种千头万绪,不知如何应对的挫折感。每天早晨一苏醒,我的胸口就感觉到无形的压力,神经紧绷,呼吸不顺。胃口很差而且有作呕的感觉。心中一直反复思绪堆积如山的工作和问题。天天都处在危机当中,身心相当疲惫。从上任到今,我已经瘦了五公斤有余了。回想起来,这是我从来未有的经历。

其实,我心里很清楚其中的原由。离乡背井,新的生活和工作环境,文化的差异,语言的隔阂,家庭的负担,缺乏固定的运动,等等。这一切综合在一起,同一时间,是会产生相当大的压力的!这是对我抗压能力有史以来最大的挑战。目前为止我还没有想出一套妥善的作战方针。

不过,我想现在的当务之急就是把身体健康照顾好。唯有强壮的体魄,才能应付所有的挑战。所以我打算每一个周末都要去俱乐部运动,打打高尔夫球,上健身房还有游泳。由于开罗的交通十分拥挤和混乱,周日是没法子到俱乐部运动了。每周两日的运动要比完全没有来的强吧。

接下来就是要逐一的排除工作上最紧要的问题和巩固管理系统。要在这第一年内把基础打好才可在接下来的后期有所作为。下定决心,排除万难!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Moving Around in Cairo

I have arrived in Cairo for over three months now with my family but I still cannot say that we are well settled into our new home. Reason is that I am still waiting for my car to arrive. Moving around Cairo is not an easy task, especially if you are not sure how to say where you are going in Arabic. Forget about the unmarked micro buses plying the busy streets. Not knowing your destination in Arabic means that you can forget about taking taxis too unless you want to risk a merry-go-round and get ripped off. To have a decent life here, you need a car to move around and better still a chauffeur so that you can also forget about the parking problem.

I placed an order for a brand new Opel Vectra last month and I am now in the final stage of clearing all the paperwork. Hopefully the car can be delivered before the end of the month. This is a huge purchase for me and my first car. I thought of buying a cheaper Japanese or Korean car but they were mostly locally assembled and I do not find them tough enough for the harsh roads of Cairo. The Vectra is assembled in Germany and it comes with 6 air-bags and a whole suite of state of the art features like Easytronic transmission, a hybrid of automatic and manual transmission. Bottomline, Vectra is a very sturdy car and I really feel safe in it.

I also considered buying a second-hand car from other diplomats in Cairo but I dropped the idea. I just want to have a brand new car with warranty, no hidden history and no nasty maintenance problems. Also, I did not come across any suitable cars since my arrival. I am ready to bear the depreciation for the first few years so buying a new car is a natural choice. I am starting to read up about cars and I'm feeling excited about driving in my Vectra. Only then I can truly start to settle down to life in Cairo.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Recent Videos and Photos Taken in Egypt

I have not uploaded new video clips and photos for quite sometime now. Here are the three recent videos I have uploaded on my Youtube channel and a new photo album on MSN Space. Enjoy!





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_UKodBWJDs


Watch two other videos through the links below:


Below are a couple photos for your preview. Click here for the album.




Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Settling Down In Cairo

It has been more than a month since I arrived in Cairo with my family. Swarmed with work and faced with the challenge of adapting to the new environment with a family, I was unable to find the mood to blog. To recap, we stayed at the Cairo Marriott Hotel for about 3 weeks before moving into our rented apartment near my office. We had to extend our hotel stay because of an unexpected delay in the arrival of my shipment. Our mover explained that the delay was due to bad weather and port congestion. There is nothing much we can do about that. The hotel stay was nice but we really yearned for our own home to settle in. Living in a hotel for such a long time can be quite unsettling and costly as well.

We were overjoyed when our shipment was delivered but we have hard work cut out for us at the same time. Given the short notice of delivery, I was unable to clean up the apartment beforehand. All our things were unpacked and placed in the dirty cabinets, shelves and floor. The whole apartment was in a mess. I had to toil through the day till late night cleaning the kitchen, dining area, master bedroom and the living area so that Irene and Le Le can move in. The amount of dirt was unimaginable and I had to keep changing the mop water which turned black so quickly. After much hard work, I managed to keep the mess to the study and guest rooms. We moved in a couple of days after the delivery of our shipment.

The cleaning work did not stop after moving in and we had to take turns mopping up the place and tidy up the mess. It has been two weeks now and we are left with only the two guest rooms to shape up. Fortunately, I managed to get back the cleaner I engaged to clean my apartment during my language studies and she will be reporting to work tomorrow. Besides the cleaning, we did tremendous amount of shopping for household items. Every trip to the hypermart left us drained and tired. Le Le was usually asleep by the time we reached home. After a few rounds of shopping, I think we have almost fully equipped our home in Cairo.

The only problem we faced was looking for the child-safety doors to our staircase. After searching through all the places we can think of, we were unable to find a suitable door off-the-shelf. In the end, we had to call in a carpenter to custom make two doors, one for the upper floor and one on the lower floor. Yes, we are living in a duplex. Given a choice, we would have opt for a one floor apartment for child-safety and comfort. We are really not used to climbing up and down the stairs so frequently. Irene is now complaining of aches in her feet.

That's all for now folks. I will upload some photos and videos when I can find time.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Goodbye My Friends

Dear Friends,

I will be leaving Singapore today and relocating to Cairo for the next three years. The run-up to my departure has been a very busy time for I and my family. This is the first time I am going on a posting with my wife and son in tow. Preparation has never been more tedious and time-consuming. Hence, I was unable to catch up with many of you before I depart.

As I have written in the introduction of this blog, "living a nomadic lifestyle, I have more friendships than the time I have to nurture them. I hope you will understand. Do stay in touch and continue to keep me posted on the major happenings in your lives.

In the past one month after I returned from Cairo from my language studies, I managed to make a trip to Taiwan to catch up with some old friends there. Sorry I was unable to announce my visit earlier or contact many many good friends I have in Taiwan. The trip was a short one and I had to set aside a few days to visit Tainan and 溪头. I will post the photographs taken on the trip on my MSN Space after I settled down in Cairo.

The taxi will be coming in about an hour time. It's going to be another emotional time of separation. This time it's not just about me, but also my wife and our son. His grandparents naturally cannot bear to see him go but I have to bring them along. I think it is important for us to stay together as a family. I believe we will survive this posting well and enjoy our stay in Cairo, leaving behind beautiful memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

Wish us well my friends. If you plan to visit, do drop us an email and we will gladly play host.


Kee Chor, Irene and Shanle

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

回家

开罗就快开春了。不在感觉到那寒风刺骨也没再下那冷酷细雨。我要回家了!和家人离别已有四个月了。不知道我那年幼的孩儿是否依然记得我这个爸爸。为了这次驻外的机会,我的牺牲不小,错过了我儿子初学逐步的宝贵光阴。现在他走路已稳健了不少,不再摇摇晃晃招人欢笑了。可惜呀可惜。他最近生病了。病得不轻以至在医院住了三天。到现在他还没完全康复,叫人牵肠挂肚。初尝为人父的酸甜苦辣的我心里五味杂陈好不难受。真希望能在他身边用心呵护。这几天来也苦了孩子的妈了。我于心不忍却也无可奈何。回家团聚后我必须好好的补偿补偿她的辛劳。我要回家了。下个月,家就会暂时迁移到开罗了。到时候,我就能天天回家了!

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Days Without the Internet

About three days ago, a break in two fibre optic cables in the Mediterranean Sea disrupted communications across the Middle East and into India and neighboring countries. Suddenly, I wasn't able to video call my wife in Singapore, no Facebook updates, no Youtube, no online newspapers, no movies download and no otlob.com for home delivered meals.

I understand perfectly how my life has been and will continue to be entwined with the Internet. But when reality hits, it was simply too painful to bear. The blessing in disguise was the greater amount of time I put into revision. Being too lazy to cook my own meals, I had to drag myself outside for meals. I hate to dine alone outside the comfort of my home.

Fortunately, the breakage was repaired and here I am back into the virtual world. Two weeks from now I will be on my flight to Singapore. Much has been accomplished so far and I have found the apartment to stay when I returned to Cairo with my family in Mar 08. I am glad that I can do away with the prospects of househunting around the chaotic city with my wife and toddler. With the accommodation settled, I will be able to concentrate on taking over the work and get off on a good start.

The Lunar New Year is drawing near. This is not the first time I will be missing the reunion dinner. But I never wanted to be at the table with my family so badly in the past. This will be my son's second reunion dinner but sadly his Daddy will not be there to give him his big angpow.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

开罗下雨了

开罗下雨了。这是我抵达开罗两个多月后的第一场雨。听当地的朋友说,开罗一年下来下不到十余次的雨。而且这雨往往下得细细的也维持没多久时间。可是今天这场雨下得还真不小。仿佛在反映我内心的惆怅。奕云今天凌晨搭机回新加坡,结束她短暂的逗留。如果我的心当初有随着我的身子来到开罗的话,这次它肯定一同和奕云飞回家去了。

这次安排奕云来开罗是为了让她熟悉一下这里的环境,看看房子也顺便到较偏远的西瓦綠洲度二次蜜月享受一下二人世界。毕竟,等三月带着年幼的乐乐来开罗正式上任后,我们就不可能去到那么远的乡村地方了。虽然只是短短的六天,我们享受了地中海的微风轻吹,綠洲的清幽还有大沙漠无边无境的壮观景致。这短短的聚会也增进我们的感情,重新点燃遭生育过程冲击的激情与热恋。

转眼瞬间,时光飞逝。奕云回了,回到乐乐的身边。我有千万不舍也还是不希望他们母子分隔太久。在机场目送弈云步入门禁,我的心是灰色的。眼泪虽在眼圈里打了个专却也没有滴下来。在一个多月我们就能一家团聚了。我是这么安慰自己。老天却忍不住泪水,让开罗下雨了。

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Visit to the Siwa Oasis

During my recent break from my Arabic studies, I arranged for Irene to visit Cairo. The trip was meant to be a familiarisation trip for her so that she can cope better when we return to Cairo in Mar 08 with our young boy. Besides walking about our office's neighbourhood, I also brought her to City Stars, Maadi and the Coptic Cairo. We also did some house hunting and found two suitable apartments. Negotiation is in progress and hopefully we can seal the lease even before we arrive in Mar 08.


As this may be the only chance we can get together with our boy in the good care of my mother-in-law, we went on our second honeymoon to the Siwa Oasis in the far-flung corner of Egypt near to the Libya border. It took us 10 hours on the bus to get there. To break the long journey, we stayed a night each at Marsa Matrouh, a beach resort on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea six hours away from Cairo. As it was winter time, the little town was quite asleep and the beaches were deserted. The view was magnificent and the Beau Site Hotel we stayed in was quite good. We thoroughly enjoyed the quiet time together.


It took us another four hours on the bus to get to the Siwa Oasis. The rustic oasis was quite busy as winter is the peak season for tourists. Naturally, tourists were abound but due to its remoteness, the place was not overcrowded. The hotel we stayed in, Siwa Safari Paradise Hotel, was not full. On the first day, we rented bicycles and visited the various tourist spots in the oasis - Shali, Cleopatra Bath, Temple of Amun and the Temple of the Oracle, which Alexander the Great visited in 331 BC to seek divine recognition as the son of Amun. On the next day, we got a 4x4 landcruiser and a driver-guide for a full day safari desert trip deep into the Great Sand Sea. The honeymoon was great!


Click here to see the photo album.

Music Nournishes The Soul & Mind (Chinese Songs)......