I know I haven't been blogging as much but you know, when you are buried in work all week (and the occasional game of DOTA — ooh, look! Two new heroes and snow!), you just want to either watch your DVDs or spend time with the kids. Even reading newspaper coverage about the retirement of the Minister-cum-Secretary General of the Singapore National Trades Union Congress elicited only a sigh and a chuckle from tired old me. Maybe numb until no feeling liao (raise GST ah? Ok lor...). Flipping page upon page of gushing tributes and adoration from every minister, unionist, and their mothers. I had to order my teh-orh kosong.
That is why I like the microblogging that Twitter lets me do (if only I can make my Twitters into blog posts for others to link to and comment on, that would be nice). And also the whole mobile video and Youtube thing, because sometimes, a video says a thousand words.
Like this gem my wife took of Isaac at his first day at nursery. Isaac does not seem to have problems adjusting to his new gig at nursery. Because we were clueless parents who did not know that at 3 years old, he was too old for playschool (we found out, like, one week before playschool reopened), there was a mad rush to find him a place in a nursery nearby.
Thank goodness there were places at this one. What to do, we never went through this with his older sister Faith, because she went to an Early Intervention Programme for autistic kids and then to Special School. So now we know how the schooling system for regular kids works.
When we went there to enrol him, the principal told us it was already Day 2 of the new school year, and they were putting the kids through orientation in order to transition them properly, to get them used to the longer hours and not having mommy/maid around. So the principal was wondering if it might be better if he joined in the next batch.
I come from a heritage of going to pre-school late. Mom preferred to let me go late, and I joined a little house church kindergarten during mid-term in K1. I only spent 1.5 years in kindergarten. So I really didn't think the boy would be scarred or lose out going to nursery later.
The nice and well-spoken lady principal at the kindergarten made me conscious of my English. Wait she think I teach my son the broken English how? I made sure my grammar is the all correct type and enunciated my words more than usual.
Just as the principal told us about the transition details, my son wanders off into the corridor and I see him walking towards the uniformed kids being led to their classes, two by two, and he is shouting, "Hey kids! Where are ya goin'?"
Wah lau, the accent. Must be too many Wiggles DVDs.
So much for shyness or him needing any kind of transition.
So on the first day of school, he dons the uniform, his old man is $700 poorer (first term's fees, miscellaneous fees, deposit, and we wonder why people aren't having babies), and off he goes to nursery to play.
And in this case, to sing and dance. Mommy shot this video with her N73 (note to self: teach her to shoot in the correct orientation or Papa will have to spend time rotating and cropping her videos), and damn, I wish I was there to see it.
