Ushering In the New Year

Had a relaxing 31st Dec, with great anticipation for the new year. Didn't set any new year resolution as I haven't been able to keep any :p But we certainly look forward to a more fruitful and fulfilling year, with greater joy and surrender to God's purpose for us in our lives.

Attended a count down 'party' at PL school hall organised by church. It's different from the usual watchnight service as this was an outreach event. We were entertained by the youths who put up interesting performance of songs and mime. Many youths attended the party and at times it felt like a rock concert with all that screaming and cheering! The pantomimist did an excellent job depicting a modern story of Christ's crucifixion for our sins. We had a roaring good time counting down with the help of free party packs. The best part of the event was a line dance item performed by our pastoral team. It's priceless cause I bet you won't catch our pastors shaking and dancing to country music again! :)

We are glad that we chose to spend our New Year's eve at PL instead of some exciting countdown party or watching spectacular fireworks with crowd of strangers. We have found meaning in spending such special time to reflect on God's love, and with fellow bro and sis-in-Christ. Blessed New Year!

Christmas Carolling

Christmas eve was spent carolling with LS folks and the family. I love carolling as it's a great time to get to know fellow carollers, and at the same time we bring cheer to the families we visit! I have attended carolling since school days, and still found much joy and pleasure in it.

The first house we visited was in the east with a young couple who are not regular church goers. They had lost their first child to cancer. There were guests at the gathering and I think they enjoyed our singing. The hosts had prepared a variety of delicious food. As I have declined the packet dinner prepared earlier for carollers, I was able to indulge in the feast at the houses we visited. :)

The 2nd house was the Ang's residence located in the east. As we walked into the apartment, we could immediately smell the strong pine scent from the live Noble Fir Christmas tree. It really brought back memories of Christmas in Winter in Canada. We sang carols before John shared with the young children the true meaning of Christmas. He is such an eloquent speaker and I hope the kids understood the message. It was also great to see that his children had returned from overseas to spend Christmas with the family. Later on Dorcas left them to clear up while she joined us for the rest of the evening. She proudly proclaimed that she has never missed carolling in her life!

Next we visited GL's residence. Her aged mum was delighted to have us visit. She sang and clapped along as we sang carols. GL's neighbours were also invited to witness the fun and that brought smiles to their faces. GL's house is pretty big for a 4 room apt. I don't think my place can house so many of us without being confined to their spot.

The next visit was to Steven L's residence. The house is huge and beautiful located in the west. It was there where we congregated with the MS carollers according to plan. He had a number of visitors as well. His young and charming son who had performed on his flute during our carolling 2 years back is all grown up now. It seems he's become a renown musician with the Youth Orchestra and is jet-setting for his performance. How times flies, and we have aged!

The 5th house we visited was Joycelyn's residence in Bishan. She is holding up well years after her husband passed away. As usual, the owner of a large food manufacturer arranged a sumptuous spread of buffet for us. But I was too full by then to stuff myself further. And it was already approaching midnight!

We arrived at the final house slightly after midnight, and after the bus driver had much difficulty manoeuvring the big bus through the TKG estate. The Ang sisters' residence is sparkling white and clean. They have a lovely mini grand piano and beautiful wall paintings. They spoilt us with delicious homemade turkey porridge, samosa, curry puff, fruitcake, almond chocolate, biscotti etc. Despite being stuffed, I just had to eat because of the love and effort that went into preparing the food. Many of us had 2nd and 3rd helpings of the yummy turkey porridge. At our request, the elderly Mrs Ang also entertained us in music using her valued antique harmonica.

We had so much fun and arrived home past 2 am. Imagine still having to get up early the next day to present our choir anthem at the combine Christmas service ...

Simple Gifts

Last Friday evening we attended a Christmas concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall. 'Simple Gifts' was performed by the SG Lyric Opera chorus as well as guests soprano, musicians, and combine choir with ACJC choir, YJ choir and Amadeus Chorus.

The first part of the concert was performed by the SLO Children's Choir accompanied by a harpist. For the 2nd half of the concert, the combine choir presented John Rutter's 'Magnificat' accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra was great and the conductor very charming! The concert ended with a sing along session of popular Christmas carols with Orchestra accompaniment.

It's been a long time since we attended any concert other than our own! The 150 strong choir were dressed in all black and their voices harmonised well. Sam thinks that their basses are weak and our choir is better! Can't comment cause we were seated on the right side of the concert hall, and probably can't hear the basses as well as they were facing the left side of the concert hall.

Anniversary Dinner

It's our 10th Wedding Anniversary on Dec 26! We celebrated it earlier on Sat night with a nice dinner at ilLido at the Sentosa Golf Club.

Sam made reservation in advance for the alfresco dining. The view from the restaurant was lovely as we could see the ships sailing in the reflection from the moon. The weather was cool as it had drizzled earlier in the day.

The restaurant serves fine italian cuisine. Sam ordered the festive set and we shared the entree consisting of blue swimmer crab salad with avocado, and homemade tagliolini pasta with gooseliver, pears and marsala wine sauce. He had chilean seabass with porcini mushroom for the main, and traditional italian pudding for dessert. I had fettuccine with crab and sicilian pachino tomatoes as the main course. We also had red wine for our drink, but can't remember what it's called!

There were a number of guests at the restaurant. Seems popular despite it being pricey. Anyway, we enjoyed the evening, a nice end to a quiet Sat.

Choir Christmas Party

Last Sunday evening our choir had the AGM cum Christmas cum Durian Party. There were more than 60 people in attendance held at AH's enbloc-ed residence which has just been vacated.

The gathering began with the AGM where committee members were being nominated and elected to stand in office next year. Despite much protest, we were overruled and both of us will have to serve in different capacity. Looks like we will be busier next year.

After the AGM, we proceeded to have a sumptuous buffet spread. At the same time, we had AH and some friends who entertained us with their line dance moves. We then sang some Christmas Carols and Songs of Praise, before Mr Ong declared that it was AH and P's 20th Wedding Anniversary. There were roars of laughter when they were made to recount their courtship, and to pretend to walk down the aisle to the Wedding March and kiss each other.

Finally we had the much anticipated durian party courtesy of Rev K. Imagine everyone rolling up their sleeves, sat on the floor with newspaper strewn all over and digging into their favourite fruit. An amusing sight indeed.

Thus end our early Christmas celebration and fun-filled evening.

The Fuss Free BBQ

On Sat, we went ahead with our plan to host a BBQ for the family. I had wanted to call it off after my recent unpleasant encounter, but as usual it went against my nature to harbour ill-feelings or to change what has been planned.

So we spent Friday evening after work grocery-shopping. We had pre-ordered some kuey pie tee from a hawker and BBQ food from a wholesaler, and had asked my bros to picked them up on their way over. Our plan was to have a fuss free BBQ.

The weather was nice as the rain has stopped by mid-day and it was not humid. We laid a small table by the poolside with a disposable table cloth over it. Tealights were placed at strategic location, and we brought along our stereo playing soothing jazz/radio music. We had disposable plates, cups and utensils. The food and drinks were all ready according to plan. We had also bought 2 disposable 'BBQ pit' that consists of special charcoal, wire mesh/grid and aluminium container.

Well, the 'BBQ pit' was a disaster as it took us forever to start the fire which did not last very long and we had to use candle wax to get the fire going. The charcoal burnt out within an hour and we had to make use of the other set of charcoal. We spent a long time BBQing which led bro to suggest that maybe we should just microwave the food! Well, he's also Mr Impatient. And Dad got a little bored after sometime cause we were slow to serve the food, and he was missing his soccer game on tv...

The food was alright, the otah and kuay pie tee were most tasty. We had flan for dessert, specially made by Sam. It was a better 2nd attempt for him, and everyone enjoyed it. It was a long evening but good to be able to spend more time with our nephew whom we rarely get to meet.

We confess, it was a trial BBQ for us so we would know what to expect next time if we were to have another one with 'real' guests. We learnt that it is important to have some cooked food just in case the BBQ fail. And yes, we will definitely buy the conventional charcoal and starter, and not rely on the disposable version. Better still, if someone would bring along their gas grill...

Come Share this Feast of Love

Last evening, after months of practises VOP performed at yet another concert, this time to raise funds for the St Andrew's Autism Centre. The VCH was about 60% full even though the tickets were all sold out. But it was nice that we have the support of the Archbishop as well as our former DPM and his family.

The choir members were visibly tired from the intense rehersals over the past few weeks, and the rush to the concert after a long day at work. Still, we sang to our hearts' content as we were reminded that it is a time dedicated to worship, not perform. And kudos to Emilia our concert pianist who probably had the most difficult task having to play all the 24 chorales. Luke also accompanied in some of the pieces with his remarkable violin skill. The best moment of the evening was when the audience stood to join in the finale 'How Great Thou Art'. And I love how we ended with the last encore song 'Offertory', my favourite piece.

It was a simple concert with little fanfare. Only a few other volunteers were engaged to help in the event. Apart from singing, Sam was also responsible for the catering. Thank God the caterer arrived just in time to setup for the tea reception meant for the VIPs during intermission. They were half an hour later than the planned delivery time!

VCH does not exactly have a very friendly backstage to house 50+ of us, and we were all exhausted from standing through the night on and off stage. Most of our members are in their 50s and above, so you can imagine the challenges they have to face. As for me, I need to get better shoes! Also, we had to ensure that we drink enough water to clear our throat and at the same time, not drink too much as there are only 2 cubicles in each washroom backstage!

After the concert, some of us headed for supper at Kah Soh at Amoy St and had a great time of fellowship. It was followed by dessert at a Porridge restaurant a few shops down the road when we spotted John and his family on our way home. We finally arrived home around 1 am.

Glad that it is over. And we have again mastered some new chorales and proud to be able to serve in this meaningful manner. Our next project will be for a Christmas cantata in KL this Dec and practise will begin next Sunday. Looking forward to that!

A Simple and Lovely Wedding

This evening we attended a wedding of an old friend, Wendy and her beau Tomas. It was held at Fort Canning Park. It was a simple wedding, with the solemnisation held outdoor on a lawn and a buffet dinner at Raffles House thereafter.

Tomas is Swede and they met in SG. Wendy has since left for Sweden with him in 2003 and has picked up a fair bit of Swedish. She loves to bake and despite her short visit actually made time to bake cookies for the wedding's pre-dinner reception. Tomas, what a lucky chap! :) Wendy reminds me so much of my late Godma...

Well, I was kind of looking forward to the wedding and to meeting the old friends. But at the same time I was feeling kind of jittery not knowing what to expect and how to react. It's been so many years and I do not know why we drifted apart, or rather why I am no longer in their lives. I do miss those days when we hung out at MYF and Sunday School. How I wish that time had stood still.

Now everyone's found a better half, and have families of their own. But I know one thing we have in common is God's love for us, and our kinship in Christ. Thank God for that.

Gospel Rally

It's been a long time since I last attended a Gospel Rally. The first time I attended an evangelical meeting was with my grandma and mum, who brought me to the Billy Graham Crusade at the National Stadium in 1978. I wouldn't say that it changed my life, as I was too young to really know what was going on. But I did come out of the stadium feeling really good and covered by God's love, and knew where to lay a firm foundation. It was an amazing turn out and a turning point for many who attended.

Interestingly, I got to meet Billy Graham a second time and it was at the Toronto Sky Dome for an evangelical rally as well. He was already in his 70s then. This time, I got to participate in the combine churches choir that rendered some songs and lead in the worship for the service. I still have the purple polo tee that was given to the choir as the uniform. :)

These 2 nights, our VOP choir is privileged to render some songs at the Chinese Gospel Rally organised by 4 denomination of churches. The rally was entitled 'Who holds tomorrow?' The preacher came from China, and he had with him an influential man who shared his life testimony. James Chu is the man who started the first MacDonald's in Singapore (Liat Tower), Hong Kong and China. He shared about how proud he was of his achievements, his plans, and how he eventually came to accept the Lord as his personal Saviour.

The preaching and testimony moved many to come forward to accept Him as personal Saviour. We were also very touched by the sharing, and there were indeed alot of prayer and effort that went into preparing this event. There were probably more than 2000 people in the hall, and it is the first time that we presentedto such a large audience. We certainly hope that our music has ministered to the people.

Another Year

We celebrated Sam's birthday (22 Aug) earlier last Saturday. We went to our favourite Dempsey Hill for dinner.

It was our first visit to Chang Korean BBQ Restaurant. We had marinated prime rib, BBQ chicken thigh and Beef broth buckwheat cold noodle. Accompanying them were colourful array of complimentary banchan (Korean side dishes) that consist of protein, vegetables and seafood. The food was tasty, service was good (except for the one who took our order who seemed impatient, soft-spoken and didn't understand us). We had to pay a premium for the meal.

After our dinner, we proceeded to PS Cafe for our dessert and to enjoy the rustic outdoor ambiance. We shared a huge white chocolate coffee cake with mashmallows in between and ice cream on the side. It was sinfully delicious!

On the 22nd itself, we had to attend VOP practise for the performance on Friday, so there was no celebration. But I have had his favourite cheesecake delivered to the office so he could share the special day with his colleagues. :)

Seafood!

Got to eat a big feast last Thursday with 3 other colleagues and boss. We went to Owen Seafood Restaurant at Turf City for dinner. What's the special occasion? Well, just a dinner treat from those who received big bonus :)

There was just too much to eat, a King crab on top of the set meal. The set meal consists of crab cooked with salted egg, steam druken prawn, bamboo clam topped with lots of garlic, steamed bean curd with vegetable, Ee-fu Noodle, Bamboo Pith soup, man tou (toast bread) and dessert.

We had chosen the smallest King crab available. But the crab is so huge we have asked to cook them in different style, half chilli crab and half with salted egg. King crab has more meat than Alaskan crab. The pincers are gigantic, each is the size of a palm. Of course, the price of the King crab is also different. That crab alone costs $400+ after a 50% discount.

Boss also brought a bottle of white french wine. The wine definitely tastes different with a nice sumptuous meal. Boss also taught us lessons on wine appreciation, and encouraged us to collect red wines that will appreciate in value and taste.

Well, am thankful for the lovely treat. But... all the cholesterol means I have to work it all out!

Wedding Feast

We attended a wedding dinner on Sat night at the Four Seasons' Hotel. The ballroom was beautifully decorated in classic white, silver and gold colors, with lots of candles and off-white roses as centrepieces on each of the 30 tables. It was a formal affair with the men dressed in suits and ties, and the ladies in their evening best.

At the pre-dinner reception, instead of serving the usual mix-trail nuts, there were lots of strawberries served on shaved ice plateau and fountains of melted chocolate and brown sugar on the side for your fondue indulgence. The ballroom event began with the bride and groom marching down the aisle onto the stage where they cut the 3-tier wedding cake. A Priest was then invited to say Grace before we partake our dinner.

We were expecting a typical Chinese wedding feast, only to be individually served a 6-course fusion of western and chinese meal. The servings were in small portion much like a fine dining affair in a western setting. On the menu were Peking duck (skin), sharks fins, abalone, cod fish, duck meat and mee sua. There were a good beverage selection of beer (from Brewerks), red wine, white wine, and calamansi, apart from the usual chinese tea and soft drinks. We were all served champagne for the toast. For dessert we had the hazelnut chocolate wedding cake. It was delicious!

Like a western-style wedding, the groom (Sam's colleague) gave a speech followed by the best man and the maid-of-honor. The father of the groom, and some friends also shared on their joy of the union, and the speeches were followed by rounds of toasts. Throughout the evening, the friendly wedding couple went around socialising with their guests and thanking them for gracing the occasion. There were no structured photo sessions, or games to embarrass the young couple other than the rounds of toast to get them in 'high-spirit'. It was an interesting union of a Josephian and a Convent girl.

The highlight of the evening for me was the performance by this talented male jazz pianist cum singer. He sang all my favorite jazz pieces like 'Dream a little dream', 'Someone to watch over you', 'La Vie En Rose', 'The way you look tonite', 'Quanto, quanto' ... just to name a few. He also turned ballads like 'Moon River' and 'Somewhere over the rainbow' into lovely jazz pieces and sang to perfect pitch. You get the idea... it was a wonderful way to end the evening.

Celebration

Yesterday was just like any other Sunday. In the morning, I taught the kids some craft work for Mother's Day. After church we went out for lunch at a Beef Ball House at Joo Chiat Road. We went home after that to re-charge and left for VOP practice at 6 pm.

While at VOP they celebrated Mother's Day, but not before Mr Ong announced that it was also my birthday, along with another Alto lady Kathleen. So it was nice to have powerful vocals singing their birthday blessings. We had a nice mango cake and ate lots of home-cooked food. :)

Honked

It all happened yesterday. My colleagues had a whale of a time doing up an artwork for the spare tyre cover at the back of my car. Some also left the office with me in a convoy and took lots of pictures in excitement. They mentioned that the luminious orange sign and glittery flying streamers can be sported from afar! Of course I was oblivious to the prank and drove from the west to central of SG!


There were sporting drivers who honked at me along the way. There was also this car load of people that drove alongside on the highway with their windows wound down screaming and waving hysterically at me. I glanced at them and thought: "Do I know these people??" After picking Sam up, I drove home and parked head in only to realise the gaudy artwork behind the car. Gosh!

We had a good laugh today, but not before I replaced the artwork with 'Go back to work' and kept cool when I got to the office. They thought that I was still unaware of the prank and went to check on the car. I was told that if I had not discovered the sign, they would have replaced it with 'It's my birthday today' instead of 'tomorrow'. Phew! :p

Well, this is a revenge of the prankster, cause we had a similar prank on one of the colleagues 2 years back, though the decor was not so gaudy and elaborated! This reminded me of those IJ days when we used to have lots of tricks up our sleeves.

They ordered in pizza for lunch, had home-made banana shake and raspberry cheesecake today. And they surprised me with a bouquet of flowers too! They had obviously put in much effort into this day. Thank God for fun and thoughtful colleagues! :)

Fine Dining

Last night, we had a nice European-Asian dinner at Ember Restaurant located in boutique Hotel 1929 at Keong Saik Rd. We had to make reservations one day in advance as it is usually full house.

For appetizer, we ordered crispy tofu with mushroom and foie gras sauce, and pan roasted scallops with vegetable. Love the tofu! Our main course were marinated cod with black miso and herbed potatoes, and roasted lambloin with sauteed baby spinach, fleur de sel. I had the cod which was very nicely marinated and pan fried on the outside. Dessert was a warm banana tart with homemade lavender ice cream. The ice-cream was exquisite. It's a MUST TRY!

The price is considered to be reasonable for such fine cuisine. The dinner was delicious and perfect for special occasion :)