The Craftsman’s Forge

Before I go on, I have to warn that this post is picture intensive, so proceed only when you have time to read.

The morning air was crisp and cold, but there was a hint of an overcast possibility and rain. But anyway, we had to bring Ariel to the doctor as the mucus from her nose had turned greenish yellow, and this was a sure sign that infection is setting in.

We found a small clinic, or what they call a medical centre near our apartment. To cut to the chase, the consultation fees came up to A$68 (and really not worth it, cos we knew what medicine we wanted). The medicine, an anti-histomine caused us another A$28. Total rip-off.

Surprisingly, Ariel was still feeling quite energetic, and didn’t seem to be sick at all. Maybe we were too over anxious. So, after the doctors and pharmacy, we headed to Dreamworld!!!!!

And… who was there to greet us? It had to be DORA THE EXPLORER!!! I tell ya… the kids went crazy!

After the inital excitement died down, we went on to the Nikolodean park, where there were lots of kiddy rides. Too many till it made me giddy. Of course, we had to get on Blue’s Skidoo, which was a ride with Blue or Magenta.

Then of course there was Scooby Doo’s beach train ride.

And…. the usual merry go round….

But…what was the highlight of the day, was the Sponge Bob Square Pants show, which had the kids totally entralled. They sat still for close to 30 minutes!!!!!!!!!! Thats a real miracle!!!

I even have the video!!!

Australia Zoo was also originally in our plans, until we found out how far it was from our location (damn it….. should have gone and met the Crocodile Hunter the last time) so, when we chanced on this croc, the kids just gave it all they had.

Of course, one of the main attractions at Dreamworld was the Wiggles World, and the kids made a beeline for that.

This picture of Ariel shows her walking towards Dorothy the Dinosaur, but in reality, she chickened out! Scurried quickly back to me once Dorothy started talking to her. ha ha…

We went on a ride on the Big Red Car.

My goodness!!! I have never seen so many things Wiggles in my life! Crikey!

Then there was the candy store. MAN!!! you have to see this to believe it. Shop stacked full of artery busting sugar!!!!

Of course, there are the stupid touristy poses we had to go through…. Unfortunately, Chris was not gamed enough….. and YES, that is a GENUINE limited edition U21 Polo-T that I was wearing.

Finally, the once single picture that tells the whole story… It was such an excellent day, and we were completely tired out!

Technorati Tags: Singapore, Gold Coast, Dreamworld, Spongebob, Craftsman

I must confess that 2 weeks into my current job, I had asked myself why I left my previous position at a cushy university. The stress was tremendous, and I had on my lap, an US$2.8 million IT project to build my company’s IT infrastructure up from scratch in 12 countries. All this, I had to do by 1st Oct, as we were cutting off IT services from our shareholders.

I remember the first week at work when alot of the project was still in its infancy, and the statement of work was still being drafted, and, to top it all up, dad was in hospital for his mini stroke attacks.

Those days were pretty much one of the darkest periods of my life when everything seemed to converge at the same time. It is a miracle I didn’t collapse and implode. It was obvious God was in control, and that He saw me through the period.

Today, as I look back, I realise the incredible amount of work that was done. We disconnected existing IT services from our shareholders, set up our own enterprise domain and e-mail, financials and reporting systems, infrastructure setup in all 12 offices across the region, supporting close to 600 users spread across 12 countries. I also put in place IT teams in all 12 countries, ensuring we have IT expertise and support in all the countries.

Today, the enterprise e-mail system is supporting all of our users, and the financial system is up and running. All before 1st October, and a fantastic testament to the ability of God to do the impossible.

Every IT colleague I described the situation to in April this year said it was impossible. Thank you God for proving them wrong. All Glory to you Lord!

On our second night on the Gold Coast, we decided to visit the heart of the Gold Coast for dinner…..Surfers Paradise. But before we headed out, we all took a bath, and the girls enjoyed a hot bubble bath!

When we were all finally ready, Elkan was the first to stride out to the lift landing. Cocky little guy yeah? He is so growing up…my boy.

I had been some time since I was last here, so I couldn’t quite remember Surfers very well, apart from the rows upon rows of shops opened and owned by the Japs. It seemed this hasn’t changed. Oh well… there are other things to look forward to… Like Hard Rock.

The sight of the three kids taking care of each other while exploring the rows of Japanese shops also melted our hard, making us go… “oh…. so cute”… but all that warm fuzzy feeling dissappeared once they went back to bickering.

I had this great craving for a nice seafood dinner, I told Chris. So, we looked around for a nice joint. Didn’t take us long to find the seafood place. Couldn’t miss it. Written in clear bold fonts, the name of the place literally screamed out at us! Seafood Mania!

Any place with such bold words must be good. Oh Well… no one to ask if it was a dud. Have to try it out ourselves. Thankfully, the food was pretty ok. The prices were a little on the high side though. But then again, we’re on Surfers’ Paradise, and we didn’t expect to be paying Macdonald prices for a plate of fish and chips. Thankfully the kids enjoyed it too. Elkan was diggin right in, and while enjoying his food also became the talk of the table behind him.

After a HUGE dinner, we took a slow and laboured walk on the terrace, and there was this busker with his Elvis act. I must say that he was quite entertaining, and we found ourselves stuck there for quite a while watching him.

After Ariel and Kyla donated to Elvis’ retirement fund, we headed to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream before heading back to the apartment. Ariel’s also developed a nagging cough which we’re quite concerned about. A little more on that on the next post.

Technorati Tags: Singapore, Gold Coast, Surfers’ Paradise, Seafood, Craftsman

I’ve been so busy lately, and have not been able to upload anything in the last week or so, prompting Budy to ask if I’m ok. Thanks matey. Anyways, heres the next installment of our Gold Coast Trip. Some videos no less!

Being in Australia, you cannot forego going to a traditional Australian farm where you can get to watch sheep shearing, sheep herding, billy tea, boomerang throwing, and of course have an Australian barbeque. So, on our second day at the Gold Coast, we went to Paradise Country, an Aussie farm tour right in the heart of the Gold Coast. The last time I was here in the Gold Coast in 96, there was no such farm yet. So, it’ll be a nice expreience for the entire family, especially the kids.

Paradise Country is not really a real farm. It’s a “pretend” farm put together for tourists. The staff here are actors, and you can see that. They are really good.

We sat through a sheep herding show, where this poor Japanese tourist was really made fun of. It was funny.

Then of course, there was the standard Billy Tea affair. For something as boring as putting tea leaves into a small bucket, and swirling it to get normal tea, I really admire them for creating a show just to entertain sotong tourists.

If you think about it, it’s really a waste of time. But… hey… we’re tourists!

Of course, there is no escaping the Kangaroos. Elkan developed such a stong liking to these animals, that up to today, he still goes “Tan-ter-too”

You can see that he is quite fearless of the animal. he’s chased a couple around the compound, and its really funny how they all hop away from him, and he chasing them with his short legs gong “tan-ter-too!!”

The kids spending time with the pigs, lambs, etc.

Of course, there is also the Sheep Shearing.

Finally, a nice picture Kyla and I took while rolling around the green grass on the farm. We were spending a little quality daddy and daughter time together.

Technorati Tags: Singapore, Gold Coast, Paradise Country, Farm, Craftsman

Crocodile Hunter…Kyla, Ariel, Elkan, Chris and I will miss you deeply. Rest Well…..

Technorati Tags: Singapore, Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, Craftsman

Lots of events this weekend. One of the things I wanted to do was to head out to the Comex show at the Singapore Expo to look around and maybe buy some stuff. But, that didn’t materialise. Instead, we got three free tickets to Kid’s Central Live at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and since Kyla and Ariel have been clamouring to go, Chris and I thought we’d bring the kids. Some more free tickets…. stupid to reject right?

So, we headed out to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for Kid’s Central Live!

I looked at the tickets, and realised that we had row 3 seats!!! “Wah!”, I thought…Christine’s vendors must be really generous. Give us row three seats. Must have cost a bomb.

Then, I realised after reaching the Singapore Indoor Stadium, that row three seats may not be the row three seats I imagined!

This was the orientation of our seats.

Goner! I thought. how to see!!!!???!!! This was basically our view.

Goodness! While I appreciate the free tickets, I vowed to personally buy my own tickets for better seats next time I ever bring the kids out to an event. It just doesn’t make your night as enjoyable as it should have been. They weren’t even allowed to run to the area before the stage, where all the activity were happening. I felt really bad for them. In any case, I think Kyla and Ariel made the best of it.

Technorati Tags: Singapore, Kid’s Central Live, Family, Craftsman

Heh heh… Elkan the banker….

Technorati Tags: Singapore, Financial Times, , Craftsman