Little Red Dot

Singapore was once called a little red dot.

I hereby present THE little red dot. Try it. Its irritatingly addictive!



Put The Big Red Button on your site

O God, You Search Me - Psalm 139

Another beautiful song


O God, you search me and you know me
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze
When I walk or lie down you are before me
Ever the maker and keeper of my days

you know my resting and my rising
You discern my purpose from afar
And with love everlasting you besiege me
In every moment of life or death you are

Before a word is on my tongue, Lord
YOu have known its meaning through and through
You are with me beyond my understanding
God of my present, my past and future too

Although your Spirit is upon me
Still I search for shelter from you light
There is nowhere on earth I can escape you
Even the darkness is radiant in your sight

For you created me and shaped me
Gave me life within my mother's womb
For the wonder of who I am I praise you
Safe in your hands all creation is made new

Open My Eyes

OPEN MY EYES
(Jesse Manibusan)

Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see your face.
Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see.

Open my ears, Lord. Help me to hear your voice.
Open my ears, Lord. Help me to hear.

Open my heart, Lord. Help me to love like you.
Open my heart, Lord. Help me to love.

I live within you. Deep in your heart, O Love.
I live within you. Rest now in me



Here is another version by Vanessa Morissey


Very simple song...but a wonderful prayer to do. Let us start today.

Mouth Brooders

I have read about it. I have dreamt about it. Now I am living the dream.

I have a tank with at least 7 female cichlids with either eggs or emerging fry in their mouths.

To an unfamiliar eye, one will not be able to tell if a female is hiding a surprise in their oral cavity, however, once you know where to look, it is actually surprisingly easy to spot

Now I can't wait for the fry to emerge.

Cichlid Heaven!

My fish tank is alive once again.

After a period of recovery from a not so successful planted tank, I had enough of an empty fish tank in the middle of my living room. And after the fiasco of having plants in my tank, I have gone back to the first fish I kept when I started the hobby.

The decision to go back to keeping cichlids was quite simple.

Firstly, they are one of the most colourful species of freshwater fish you will be able to find, rivaling the colour of a marine tank.

Secondly, keeping them entails creating specialised water and tank conditions that will allow the fish to thrive. The tank I did up, recreates the rocky waters of Lake Malawi in the african rift valley. Hard, alkaline water with a rocky habitat are what these fish call home.

Thirdly, these fish really have got character. Fierce, independant and displaying behaviour beyond any other species of fish this size.

The list goes on...

Words don't mean much so take a look





More pictures at my Cichlid Photos

If you want a guided tour to the biotope of Lake Malawi in a living room, give me a buzz and drop by.

Litany of Saints

I have been looking for this for such a long time.

It is a beautiful rendition of the Litany of Saints. This solemn prayer and invocation brings to mind the multitude of holy people that have come and gone before us. They show us a way to our God and that a life of holiness is not unachievable.

And as we recall each and everyone of these men and women of God, we pray that they will help us in our own pilgrimage.

Listen to the Litany of Saints and tell me what you think.

Elijah's Baptism

Welcome to the family!

Elijah Michael Tan has been officially baptised into the Christian family today at the Church of the Holy Cross, among the company of family, friends and all who are dear.

That makes us a whole catholic family, does it?

Photos of the event will follow, so look out here for a record of this wonderful event!

Stokke Xplory

Our Stokke is here!!!

And though it has a funny look, it sure is fun to use.









Read more about the details here

Our package finally arrived from the US after some fiasco with delivery over in the US. We liked the fact that it has an adjustable height allowing a young child to have a ride height that is above the level of an adults knees. This is after observing our niece having to endure the view of the table bottom during family dinners.

In addition, it has rave reviews from celebrity users. See their reviews

So if you see a red stokke pram. honk and wave

First Trip to the Zoo

We had to go out for some fresh air and sunshine. It was also an opportunity to test out our new pram which came over the weekend. And so we thought the area outside the zoo and night safari would have been a nice place to walk.

So Elijah has already been to the zoo and the tender age of 12 days :). And in anticipation of future trips to the zoo, we excitedly got ourselves signed up as Friends of the Zoo. This will allow us unlimited access to the zoo itself and other discounts e.g carpark, F&B ... The cost of it was SGD 150 but with a 10% discount with the ikea friends card. Since an adult admission to the zoo is about 16 bucks, 5 trips to the zoo for fran, myself and rlijah would more than make up for the membership to the zoo.

This will require a little re-think about the way we plan zoo trips. No more of those entire day, see the whole zoo type of trips. Rather, we should plan short, a couple of hours type trips to see specific exhibits or shows.

This was really quite a fun day.

(will follow with photos)

Did You Know?

Did you know that...


Shit from a one week old baby can: Fly through the air, more than 30cm, in stream and really soil you... if you are not careful.

That is exactly what happened during yesterday's diaper change and it had to happen past midnight. Not exactly a bargain just before going to bed.

One really had to see the humour in the situation and it still brings a smile to my face even when I think about it now.

his nails are SHARP!

Do not let anyone tell you that a baby's nails are not sharp. Apart from inflicting little scratches on their faces, these claws can actually cause quite a little bit of pain.

But I guess I deserved it for tricking the little one with my non-existent breast... Ouch, when he reached out and dug in with his claws. :0

The Many Faces of Elijah

Its amazing how many faces one baby can have. Its his 6th day of life and the little one already has a myriad of expressions on his little face.

It really is amazing and how wondrous a miracle life can be. We can already see subtle differences in his behaviour, expressions and development from day to day.

Enjoy his little faces..

Baby Elijah is here

Things have really been hectic and surreal since Monday, but the good news is...

ELIJAH is HERE!

The little one was born on 12 Feb 08 past midnight, weighing in at 3455 gms. Fran had to undergo a C section after a prolonged period of labour but thank God that both mummy and baby are safe and healthy.

I will be following up with photos here...so hold on tight

Update:
Follow the link here for photos!

Elijah Michael Tan

We have settled on a name, after mulling about it for a long time. The name is important and it gives meaning to what we hope for him as he grows up in our family, under our guidance.

So if you think Elijah is quite uncommon and why this name? Elijah was a prophet of God, set in the old Testament. Characteristically; bold, direct and obedient to God, he went about challenging the authority of the kind and the worship of false gods.

The painting below highlights some of the scenes from the story of Elijah including the call of fire from the sky to light the offering on the altar, the raising of the dead son of the widow of Zarephath, and his rising to heaven in a fiery chariot.

St. Michael, Mont St Michel

Photo by Adrian. f4, 1/10 ISO 1600

And then Michael? Michael is going to be his baptism name. We were very taken with the image of Michael the archangel during our pilgrimage to Mont St Michel. Michael, one of the archangel means "who is like God" is also traditionally depicted as a warrior with a foot over a defeated serpent. We hope these bring meaning to how we hope to bring up our little boy... an obedient servant of God and a defender of the faith.

Last Weekend as 2

It just struck me as we entered the weekend, that this is the last weekend that Fran and I were to spend as a couple.

Wait...let me correct that statement. It is the last weekend that Fran and I were to spend together as a 2 member family. Baby Elijah is due on the 8th and if all goes well, the next weekend will see 3 members in our family.

Well, I say this not because it is a problem and I made the correction of the first statement, as Fran and I can and will continue to make time to spend together as a couple despite the arrival of the child.

However, the permanent change lies with the fact that when I refer to our family... there will be an additional member. :)

Adrian's Mussels

If you thought this was a narcissistic post...well it is

Just to describe my inaugural attempt at cooking mussels. Having tasted these first in the UK and France a couple of years back, the concept of Belgian mussels have lingered close to my heart. Or rather my tastebuds.

Mussels and fries, or rather moules et frites is really quite something. Cooked in a iron pot, steaming in a broth of white wine, cream or even Hoegaarden and accompanied with a basket of crispy fat fries. The succulent mussels are plucked from the shells using the shell of another, rather like a tong.

One tends to think that 1 kg seems like quite a lot of mussels, but it disappears rather quickly so when ordering, go for a minimum quantity of a kilo. 500 grams will just leave you a little disappointed.

So back to my attempt. Here are the photos to prove it. 2 kg of green lipped mussels served in 2 different sauces; white wine and Hoegaarden.




I am actually quite proud of it.

Now, should I follow up with a recipe on this?

Promotions

Guess what came in the mail again...


A seemingly innocent mailer from Home-Fix regarding my loyalty card. But on closer look...

Haha. Me... PROF!

Surprise, surprise

Guess what came in the mail today...

Now I am an official UNDAC member

Sir Edmund Hillary 1920-2008

Today, the world has lost a great man. One who at an early age, braved tough and difficult conditions to achieve what was thought impossible, to stand on the the roof of the world. Together with his sherpa partner Tenzing Norgay, they stood on the summit of Mount Everest, 8850m on 29 May 1953.

If one thinks that climbing Everest today is a difficult task, think back 50 years when the luxury of modern equipment and technical clothing were absent and their achievement becomes ever more significant and admirable.

What is even more admirable was the friendships he developed during his climbing days in the Himalayas and these became a driving factor in his quest to provide for the needy communities in the country of Nepal and the Himalayan region. It was so fitting that he spent a greater part of his life giving back to a place that made his name one remembered throughout the world to this day.

If you know the story of this man,it is a sad day for the passing of one of the greatest mountaineers in our time. If you do not know the man and his story, maybe take some time to find out a little of what he did and how he went about doing it. A very interesting read will be a memoir entitled, The View from the Summit, which details not only his extraordinary climb but his friendships with the sherpas and ultimately his projects in the himalayas.



God bless his soul.

Our 9th Meeting 4 Jan 08

35 weeks, 2.2 kg

5 more weeks to go. I actually feel jumpy and impatient about it. I can' wait! His movements have been a lot more and he is really an active fella. I want to see how he looks like and I want to hold him in my arms.

The past few weeks have been busy, taking advantage of the holiday season to pack and prepare for his arrival. The room has been cleared out, his cupboard bought and the little odds and ends for his survival and comfort. The first trip out, I could not believe I was queueing up to buy sterilizers and milk bottles. However, since that trip, it got more and more exciting each time we went to buy furniture, fixing it all up as well as putting the seats in Miss Daisy for the baby seat.

Here are some photos


Look, it really is a boy!


A side profile of the head


His hands and holding on to his feet!

Time to meet soon!

Mother Monkey

Was driving home today when I witnessed something that made me a little pensive a moody the rest of the evening.

It was along Mandai Lake road just at the junction to the colambarium. I slowed Ms Daisy, seeing that there was a monkey in the middle of the road. Due to my approach and that of a taxi, the monkey looked up, hesitated, then ran to the side of the road. There was a still something left on the road...

It was a the body of a baby monkey, probably knocked down by another vehicle earlier. In the rear view mirror, I made out the monkey bounding back onto the road where her baby laid.

Do animal really not have souls? It was behaviour too human-like to ignore...

What a day