My 5th Christmas in Singapore!

A New-to-Singapore Photo

This year marks my fifth Christmas celebration in Singapore. I came here in December just a few days before Christmas in 2005. I remember vividly every detail of my arrival and how I struggled to adjust to a new and completely different environment during the first weeks and months of my stay here. I can still recall the small tree which I had setup on Christmas Eve. It was a multi-colored cardboard "magic tree" I brought from home, which when drenched in water will bloom cotton-like leaves of different hues.

That night was also my first night after a week-long stay at my company's staff house. Fortunately, I have a colleague who generously accepted me to stay with them in their small apartment. I had no room then. The living room couch had been my bed; my luggage had been my closet. They just asked for a small sum for the utility bill and the food cost is shared among us. I had the means to rent a room (since I'm already working) but my friend told me he will also shift to another apartment soon, so I waited.

Months after, we finally moved. I got a room of my own.

More months later Jane and I got married. She also went to Singapore to stay with me. I got a better-paying job. We had Ashrie, our precious daughter. And after moving from room to room, we are now staying in a rented apartment of our own.

Yes, it's my 5th Anniversary in Singapore, no lavish celebrations but a solemn meditation of God's providence, goodness and mercy. Although it is not a "happily-ever after" story yet, I have faith that things are looking up and a better year is coming.

As I end today's post, I would like to quote one of my favorite Psalms, in chapter 23:6 it reads, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

The Big O

It's the ultra-modern steel sculpture at Suntec City, located at the junction of Temasek Boulevard and Raffles Boulevard. It is entitled Abundance III by Sun Yu Li. From one side it looks like a big horizontal cylinder but the cross section is actually oval, thus creating an interesting optical illusion.

We passed along this giant art installation and almost automatically had a quick photoshoot. Ashrie enjoyed every minute of it and as we leave she said, "Ashi, sit, chair, oval!" which translates to Ashrie sat on the oval chair! And truly she did.

Indulgence at Häagen-Dazs

Icy creamy ice cream, very sweet, Icy creamy ice cream, can't be beat,
Icy creamy ice cream, I giggle when I eat, My icy creamy ice cream, what a treat!
~A song from Barney Goes to the Farm DVD

Häagen-Dazs's Paradise

Their Version of the Banana Split

Well, we love ice cream! That's a fact. We love the local cut ice cream sandwiched with either wafer or white (most of the time it's multicolored) bread. We also love Ben & Jerry's, Gelare and of course Häagen-Dazs. This ice cream will truly melt your heart as you indulge on it spoon after spoon, so to speak. But what really makes this blissful experience even more heavenly is the great service we had at their outlet in Suntec City last weekend. The staffs were friendly enough not to be pushy. And most of all, after we devoured the delectable feast on our table (ice cream should be eaten fast right?) they did not clear away our plates hence giving the idea that we can stay a little longer to relax after a long day in the mall.

Yummy Treat!

Hug Time!

Ashrie inspecting the outlet's Christmas Tree

Lesson learned: Sometimes, not being too close with the customers is the formula to be truly close to them. Will we come back for more? Not too soon, but definitely YES!

At BookFest@Singapore 2010

Ashrie @ the BookFest

The event was advertised by a major parenting magazine, there were signs scattered at the convention center's lobby and there’s even a "flyer-giver", but the Korean Kids Boutique sale turned out not meeting my personal expectation. Probably, I'm not familiar with the room number so I expect the sale to be big, with numerous stalls lined up and consumers will be spoilt for choice. It was the opposite. Nevertheless we got few good pieces for Ashrie.



What really made our day is BookFest@Singapore. The fair is a book lover's haven covering the entire floor area of Suntec International Convention & Exhibition Centre’s sixth storey exhibition halls. There are rows upon rows of numerous titles from baby books to self-help books. There are also gift items, school and office supplies. It’s in a very good timing because books make good Christmas presents and school opening is just around the corner.

My wife and I love books, and we are so glad that Ashrie is such a little bookworm. We bought new books for her to catch up with her age and skills. Added to her library are the following titles:



New additions to her collection!

Playtime Songs Peter Haddock Publishing

Bedtime Songs Peter Haddock Publishing

Wake Up and Stretch Buster Books

Morning Noises Buster Books

What Shall We Do Today? Buster Books

Ready, Steady, Go! Buster Books

I Love You Color-A-Day Cube Modern Publishing

Fun With Numbers (10 Adventure Story Books) Piggy Toes Press

Letters Fun Activity Pack Priddy Books

Mama Loves Me Reader’s Digest Children’s Books
I Want To Be A Ballerina Igloo Books

By the way, there’s another book sale. This time it’s the MPH Warehouse Sale to be held this weekend at the Singapore Expo as advertised in this blog yesterday.

Brooch+Playground

Seems like an unusual combination, but our little girl is starting to have preferences in dressing up. She likes donning necklaces and hats. That's the reason behind the very glam beaded brooch while in the playground.

Good thing it's just a brooch she wants to wear and not a tiara!