Moving on

I have moved on to http://tehtariksatu.wordpress.com/

Daddy is up to something ... come back soon!

March Birthdays Boys again

The Birthday Boys

With the rest of us

I am king of the world no more

VS

At the end, the ex-missus took the cake. In fact, it was both the cake and the icing. With both main oscars in the bag, she has finally stepped out of James' larger-than-life shadows. Well, personally I had preferred 'Avatar' to win. For me it was a 3D epic adventure that was just more memorable and exciting than the rest of the lot. I had watched the Hurt Locker on DVD last weekend; it was gritty, engaging and 'real' but it would probably just stay on mind as long as let's say 'District 9', meaning just good enough for a night's reflection. Maybe the war-movie meant a whole lot more to the Americans who has loved ones in the thick of the action. Anyway, the blue army of Pandora gets my nod. Here are a few noatable (and laughable) quotes from the academy awards.

"I want to thank the Academy for not considering Na'vi a foreign language." — Argentine director Juan Jose Campanella, after winning the award for best foreign language film.

"Oscar and Penelope (Cruz), that's an uber-Bingo." — Christoph Waltz, accepting the best supporting actor Oscar. Cruz was the presenter.

"Never did I dream that making a flip book out of my third-grade math book would lead to this." — Pete Docter, accepting the best animated feature film award for "Up."

Hundred Days

Is the 100th day suppose to be a milestone for a baby? Though not as significant as the full month (where she sleeps her way through the celebration), or first year (where she gets her first cake and solitary candle) or the 21st (where she gets the keys to freedom), I heard from someone that it is when the baby gets a litle easier to handle and to read. Well, maybe not exactly on that day, but Cheyenne has indeed changed in the past three months. Here are a few that I can point out ...

1) She is sleeping longer at night now. Although she still gets up for her pre-dawn drink, she sleeps about seven to eight hours straight through the night.

2) She has sort of fall into a routine where she keeps these 3-hour cycles throughout the day, made up of drink-activity-sleep.

3) She has learn to communicate with us in her own way. She will focus on you, maybe let out a spontaneous smile, and sometimes break into baby googly talk which looks like she is trying to tell us something.

I guess in a way, she has also trained us, parents, to read her moods, cries and actions better in the past hundred days. Here are to many more days with Cheyenne!

Post-CNY post

Yep, the festivities are over, at least at my end. I had a week-long restful break back in Muar with plenty of family gatherings and feasting. There was little time for friends though as I now have a little girl in tow who subcribes to a 3 hour drinking schedule. You do not want to mess with this one when she is hungry. So no more late nights out catching up with friends or playing 'in-between' till the wee hours of the morning. Well I did get some game-time though at Vicky's place when her aunts and cousins converged on the fourth, fifth and sixth nights to gamble on black-jack. As parents, we had to tuck baby up to bed first before thinking of joining the lievly crowd at the gaming table. The baby monitor sure comes in handy in times like this.

Here are some photos of the first day gathering at my place.

Cheyenne looking cute in pink

Outpouring of emotions and welcomes as relatives start to arrive

At the main table, from left CW : Janet, Annie, Un.Gan, An.Gan, Un.George, Un. Kay (satnding), An.Mary, and Mom

What are kids up to these days? They definitely do not need TV cartoons to keep them entertained.

A family portrait

More shots ...

Rounding up the Ox

It's been awhile since I updated this blog and now we are on the verge of another New Year. Since I had missed writing a round-up post for 2009, I figure I will do one for the Year of the Ox instead.

We ushered the Ox with gusto but it could not stem the sub-prime tsunami that battered the financial markets and caused many companies, including mine, to shed their workforce and tighten their belts. I was fortunate to be spared and learnt a valuable financial lesson along the way. So career wise, I am still where I am at the beginning of the year.

We found time to travel too. After our exertions in Europe the previous year, we decided to hop on a guided tour to a not-to-distant and less expensive destination. So Taiwan was it. This was our only holiday getaway for the year.

We finally became parents this year. To prepare for our baby, we attended ante-natal classes, borrowed books on pregnancy and baby-care, and did loads of shopping.

Upgraded from public transport to a set of wheels and from a basic DSLR to a full frame.


All in all, it was a pretty good year. I'm hoping the Tiger will be a even better year.