transposable element

school interrupted

ruth — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:17:12 +0000

looks like jan’s class won’t be learning that much in school the next week. they don’t report for school for two days this week while the sixth graders sit their school leaving exams. on monday, after a 4-day weekend, they’ll watch the table tennis event at the YOG and on wednesday, they will have a mini-excursion. by the time they get back on track next week, there’d be cobwebs on their school furniture… and maybe in their heads, too.

why-oh-gee 2010

ruth — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 01:36:37 +0000

awesome. dazzling. breathtaking. spectacular. all superlatives aren’t enough to describe the visual extravaganza during the opening ceremonies of the youth olympic games, and i’m only talking of images that we’ve seen over tv. i can only imagine how exhilarating it must have been on site.

it’s a pity that jan missed it as he was on a sleepover, but maybe we can still snatch tickets to some of the events. being the first ever youth olympia, and being staged right here on our backyard, it would be a pity not to take the opportunity to see any of it live. pity that taekwondo is almost over now; he’d have been interested in that. hm, we’ll see…

citizens of the world

ruth — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:19:51 +0000

as our adoptive country turned 45 years old yesterday, a flag hung on our balcony’s parapet. at exactly 20:10, my son stood straight to sing the national anthem and recite the pledge. my daughter happily chanted “singapore, singapore!” while watching the fireworks display on tv (which was breathtaking as always, like some Designers Fountain Lighting. geez, my children hold german and filipino citizenship, but seems to be more singaporean than anything else!

cinderella feet

ruth — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:25:36 +0000

in my three years here in singapore, i think i have never successfully found a pair of shoes that really fit my feet. not only is the sizing confusing, having to perpetually convert from american, british and euro sizing, but i think my foot size have actually been changing these past couple of years. and it doesn’t help that usually, there are no half-sizes, so i have to buy a pair that’s a tad bit tight (and possibly injure my nails) or a pair that’s a tad bit loose and put insoles and heel grips (not Spenco, unfortunately) to keep me from losing them.

if i had the $$$, i’d have shoes custom made for me!

bookcrossing

ruth — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:53:40 +0000

i’ve been trying to relieve some of our bookshelves of their burden. much as i want to get rid of them, it doesn’t feel right to simply throw books away, so i’ve been looking for places where i can drop or donate them. the national library is an option, but while browsing online, i came across book crossing, and i think it’s cool!

basically, you tag your books, and then set “free” them into the “wild”– park benches, taxi, bus seats, or diner tables– and track how it changes hands, and perhaps travel around the world! cool, eh?