Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Final Year Internship
We are so proud and happy that Jas was assigned to DBS HR-Training dept. for his final year internship.
We have to go shopping for his office working clothes and shoes.
He really looks smart and was commented as so even by our neighbourhood maid.
He has changed his sleeping habit a bit ( sleeping before 12 mid-night and waking up around 7:30am ) so as to be able to wake up early for work, with some help from us... of course.
Time really flies and soon, he will be graduating in May 2013...!
We have to go shopping for his office working clothes and shoes.
He really looks smart and was commented as so even by our neighbourhood maid.
He has changed his sleeping habit a bit ( sleeping before 12 mid-night and waking up around 7:30am ) so as to be able to wake up early for work, with some help from us... of course.
Time really flies and soon, he will be graduating in May 2013...!
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Letting Go More...
Jason is 19 this year and in his final year diploma study in Singapore Poly.
Some of his friends, who went to Junior College, are now in National Service (NS) and it means that they are only available to meet up on weekends.
We said that weekends are family time together but have to give in to Jas so that he can catch up with his NS friends.
Jas has been going out more often and sometimes past mid-night too.
I have highlighted that I do not like to see him go clubbing and drinking at his current age but maybe latter when he start working full-time and then it is a matter of choice of lifestyle he wants.
I also do not like him to stay past mid-night, for safety sake, and I asked him to sms us when he is delayed or on his way home so that we do not need to worry for him or stay up for his return.
I hope the foundation that I have laid down for him over the past years will guide him to make the right decisions and make the right kind of friends.
Many a times, I was not happy with him and it was a dilemma as to how to correct him without getting into an argument; eg forgetting to sms us of his delay coming home esp past mid-night and he did not answer our sms, for some reasons...sigh
I tried not to confront him immediately especially when I am in a state of anger and address the issue the following day.
I also feel that I have to address the issue else I may be seen as condoning his behaviour and I am not doing my part of a responsible parent.
In short, Jas is definitely growing up and being more independent and making more friends outside. We, as parents, have no choice but to let go more and respect that he will have a life of his own eventually and have lesser time with us.
I really miss hugging him and holding his hands when we go out .... those were the days..!
Some of his friends, who went to Junior College, are now in National Service (NS) and it means that they are only available to meet up on weekends.
We said that weekends are family time together but have to give in to Jas so that he can catch up with his NS friends.
Jas has been going out more often and sometimes past mid-night too.
I have highlighted that I do not like to see him go clubbing and drinking at his current age but maybe latter when he start working full-time and then it is a matter of choice of lifestyle he wants.
I also do not like him to stay past mid-night, for safety sake, and I asked him to sms us when he is delayed or on his way home so that we do not need to worry for him or stay up for his return.
I hope the foundation that I have laid down for him over the past years will guide him to make the right decisions and make the right kind of friends.
Many a times, I was not happy with him and it was a dilemma as to how to correct him without getting into an argument; eg forgetting to sms us of his delay coming home esp past mid-night and he did not answer our sms, for some reasons...sigh
I tried not to confront him immediately especially when I am in a state of anger and address the issue the following day.
I also feel that I have to address the issue else I may be seen as condoning his behaviour and I am not doing my part of a responsible parent.
In short, Jas is definitely growing up and being more independent and making more friends outside. We, as parents, have no choice but to let go more and respect that he will have a life of his own eventually and have lesser time with us.
I really miss hugging him and holding his hands when we go out .... those were the days..!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Playing the Guitar
5 years ago, Jas wanted to learn to play the guitar so I enrolled him into Yamaha School to learn classical guitar with a friend of his.
Months later, he wanted to play acoustic guitar with an amplifier so we bought him a simple set to start him off. To-date, he still likes this guitar very much and many of his friends have played on it and lik it too.
His guitar has been upgraded ( change to a better pickup etc.... recommended by his friend ) and recently no sound came out of it. But the estimated epair cost was more than 50% of the guitar price so I felt that it was not worthwhile to repair this old guitar.
Since he is now confirmed that it is something that he likes and wants to pursue further, we decided to let him buy a better guitar and advance it as his Poly graduation present due next year.
Jas just made his debut in playing for a band during his Poly CCA Showcase 2012, here is a video of the 2nd song that the band played ans he played a bit of solo later in the song. We were invited to see his perform and we are really proud of his achievement in his guitar playing.
BTW, during my time, playing in a band is look upon badly.... long hair, tatooed, drugs, etc.....
But not today or this generation, even my friend's daughter is playing the electric guitar around the same time as Jas.
A year or two later, he wanted to learn the electric guitar. He learned to play it from friends and thro' the YouTube ( BTW, I think you can learned anything from the Internet... if you know how to search for it....!).
However, I was not not inclined to buy him an expensive electric guitar as I do not know how serious he was then. But I explained to him that he should start with a entry level electric guitar first and then when he knows it better ... then he can upgrade and buy a better one.
So my philosophy is to start it easy and not go for the best as your interest may not be there and importantly, you do not really know what to buy. Part of the fun is going for upgrades..... right?
Unlike a friend of ours, who bought an expensive electric guitar for his son against my advice, and he is hardly playing it now.
Jas started to get better from playing with friends and going to jam in the studios. We also upgraded his small amplifier to a bigger one for his birthday and a few friends even contributed to it too.
I also let him take some drum lessons too as it was recommended to him so as to get his tempo or rhythm better. So it went on for a few terms too.
His guitar has been upgraded ( change to a better pickup etc.... recommended by his friend ) and recently no sound came out of it. But the estimated epair cost was more than 50% of the guitar price so I felt that it was not worthwhile to repair this old guitar.
Since he is now confirmed that it is something that he likes and wants to pursue further, we decided to let him buy a better guitar and advance it as his Poly graduation present due next year.
Jas just made his debut in playing for a band during his Poly CCA Showcase 2012, here is a video of the 2nd song that the band played ans he played a bit of solo later in the song. We were invited to see his perform and we are really proud of his achievement in his guitar playing.
BTW, during my time, playing in a band is look upon badly.... long hair, tatooed, drugs, etc.....
But not today or this generation, even my friend's daughter is playing the electric guitar around the same time as Jas.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Dengue Fever
The new year started with Jason having quite a bad sore throat and he recovered from it after taking some antibiotics for 5 days.
After a few days, he came down with fever and it happened to be Friday the 13th morning ....a coincidence ?
He had a very high fever, hitting 39.2 C and hovering in the 38 C range. Even after sponging him with wet towels and asking him to take a shower, the fever refused to come down. So after dinner, we decided to return to the clinic but it was closed so we went to a 7x24 clinic instead. They could not find anything wrong and the medication given seems correct so we went home.
That night, his temperature continued to hover between 38 and 39 C and he shivered quite badly when I sponged him with a few wet towels, a few times. Eventually, I gave up as I was too tired from lack of sleep... around 4am.
On Sat morning, I called the clinic and after discussing with the GP his condition and also the fact that there was at least once case of dengue fever in our area, I took Jas to the hospital lab to test for dengue fever.
After 2 hours of waiting, the GP called me and that Jas indeed has dengue fever but his blood count was still within range but at the lower end, borderline... at 156!
The GP actually was quite sure that it is not dengue fever as typically, it does not come with a sore throat and cough but just high fever only.
But I was not comfortable with it and I know that Jas normally would have a day of fever only and not as high as 38C and above so I was more concerned than ever.
I am glad that the GP realised my anxiousness and offered me the option of doing 3 blood tests; one for dengue fever, another for the blood count and another to identify if the fever is caused by bacteria or virus ( antibiotics can treat bacteria fever but not a virus fever and you have to ride it out ).
Now, we know what we are dealing with and able to handle it better and not second guess on what could be happening.
My advice to you is that you must know your children well to be able to spot any unusual deviation and then pursue the matter accordingly.
After confirming my son's dengue fever, we shared the news with our neighbours so that they could take some precaution as it is so near to them ( eg spray Shelltox and put on mossie repellant ). One of them called me for more info as their son has been having a fever and other complications like mouth ulcers for almost 7 days but the Dr did not think it is dengue fever. I suggest that they take him for a blood test to either rule it out or confirm that it is indeed dengue fever. It was confirmed that the son had dengue fever after the blood test.
It was painful to see my son shivered when I sponged him but once we knew it was dengue fever, we were able to handle the situation better and not worry unnecessary.
BTW, one concern I had was whether he could have some form of brain damage for having such a high temperature of 39C and above. The Dr assured me that it is quite safe as he is much older unlike if he is a baby or much younger. So this info was a big relief to all of us and I can sleep in peace even when he was still running a fever.
After a few days, he came down with fever and it happened to be Friday the 13th morning ....a coincidence ?
He had a very high fever, hitting 39.2 C and hovering in the 38 C range. Even after sponging him with wet towels and asking him to take a shower, the fever refused to come down. So after dinner, we decided to return to the clinic but it was closed so we went to a 7x24 clinic instead. They could not find anything wrong and the medication given seems correct so we went home.
That night, his temperature continued to hover between 38 and 39 C and he shivered quite badly when I sponged him with a few wet towels, a few times. Eventually, I gave up as I was too tired from lack of sleep... around 4am.
On Sat morning, I called the clinic and after discussing with the GP his condition and also the fact that there was at least once case of dengue fever in our area, I took Jas to the hospital lab to test for dengue fever.
After 2 hours of waiting, the GP called me and that Jas indeed has dengue fever but his blood count was still within range but at the lower end, borderline... at 156!
The GP actually was quite sure that it is not dengue fever as typically, it does not come with a sore throat and cough but just high fever only.
But I was not comfortable with it and I know that Jas normally would have a day of fever only and not as high as 38C and above so I was more concerned than ever.
I am glad that the GP realised my anxiousness and offered me the option of doing 3 blood tests; one for dengue fever, another for the blood count and another to identify if the fever is caused by bacteria or virus ( antibiotics can treat bacteria fever but not a virus fever and you have to ride it out ).
Now, we know what we are dealing with and able to handle it better and not second guess on what could be happening.
My advice to you is that you must know your children well to be able to spot any unusual deviation and then pursue the matter accordingly.
After confirming my son's dengue fever, we shared the news with our neighbours so that they could take some precaution as it is so near to them ( eg spray Shelltox and put on mossie repellant ). One of them called me for more info as their son has been having a fever and other complications like mouth ulcers for almost 7 days but the Dr did not think it is dengue fever. I suggest that they take him for a blood test to either rule it out or confirm that it is indeed dengue fever. It was confirmed that the son had dengue fever after the blood test.
It was painful to see my son shivered when I sponged him but once we knew it was dengue fever, we were able to handle the situation better and not worry unnecessary.
BTW, one concern I had was whether he could have some form of brain damage for having such a high temperature of 39C and above. The Dr assured me that it is quite safe as he is much older unlike if he is a baby or much younger. So this info was a big relief to all of us and I can sleep in peace even when he was still running a fever.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year in 2012
Our family photo taken with Jack, our beagle, too this year in front of our small xmas tree.
I wish that the new year will be a healthier and safer year for all of us.
Besides my parents and mum-in-law being sick during the 2nd half of 2011, Jason twisted his right knee and had to undergo a full ACL Reconstruction surgery and still having physiotherapy sessions now as part of his recovery.
You can read more about it at this blog as I wanted to share the experience that I went through. It was a bit difficult to find some information from local sources.
http://twistedkneetornacl.blogspot.com/
I have not been updating my blogs as often as I would like to as I was so busy caring for my aged parents and Jason's knee recovery too.
Anyway, I wish you good health and some wealth too in this new year.
Besides my parents and mum-in-law being sick during the 2nd half of 2011, Jason twisted his right knee and had to undergo a full ACL Reconstruction surgery and still having physiotherapy sessions now as part of his recovery.
http://twistedkneetornacl.blogspot.com/
I have not been updating my blogs as often as I would like to as I was so busy caring for my aged parents and Jason's knee recovery too.
Anyway, I wish you good health and some wealth too in this new year.
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