The Craftsman’s Forge

Yesterday morning, we received an sms from our Bro-in-law FB that KN had given birth the morning before just after 1am. So much for planning a 7 July 2007 date. So, yesterday evening, after their naps and school, we headed out to visit FB and KN and their new born baby/our new niece, Atina (at least I think thats how its spelt).KN’s put up at Thomson Medical, and is using the same Gynea as Chris. Their room’s nicer though.The kids were all happy to finally see Atina out breathing the same air as them, as she was always “in” their aunt’s stomach. Elkan was still asking when is uncle “F”’s baby coming out! ha ha ha….Here’s a shot of baby Atina. She was lying on her side, and so could not get a nicer picture of her. Still, very beautiful rite?

Anyways, this morning, Elkan finally got to play with his Transformer toys (Optimus Prime and Megatron). He was sooooo happy!

I then took the girls out to buy their scooter, while Chris brought Elkan out for his overdue haircut. When I came back, I was SHOCKED!!!!!!!

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ELKAN!!!??????? OHHH NO!!!!! HE LOOKS SO TERRIBLE NOW!!!!! I can only hope his hair quickly grows out so that he doesn’t have to suffer the repercussions of this dumb haircut anymore. I am so sad….. …. and angry with Chris for doing this to him. Probably won’t talk to her until his hair grows back.

I caught Transformers yesterday morning, and I tell ya…. IT RAWKSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought a Optimus Prime Vs Megatron Transformers morph-able action figure for Elkan. The movie’s too long for the kids, but I’m gonna get the DVD when it comes out. The kids (especially Elkan) will love it!

While I was browsing through the Nature Society of Singapore website last night, I stumbled on an article (from another site) on Qian Hu’s Fish Spa! I had heard of this as a spa offering at some spa on some island somewhere, but this was too good to be true! Apparently, the fishes nibble at your dead skin as you leave your feet in the water. I had to give it a try!

So, this morning, I headed out to the Kranji area. Since I was going to the area, I decided to detour to the Sugei Buloh Nature Reserve to do a spot of birding before my “Spa” treatment. I saw a number of birds which I’ve never seen before, and am in the process of identifying them. Could be lifers for me. In any case, the park was not short of other Vertebrates.

Squirrel so busy eating, that it couldn’t be bothered about me getting close by.

Then, I spotted this spider! Huge……. and kinda creepy too.

Then, I spotted this HUGE, and I really H U G E Monitor lizard!!!!! It must have been at least 2 metres long! It looked so much like a small crocodile.

You can click on these photos to get a larger photo with more detail at Flickr.

But, What must have been most amazing for me was spotting an unusual phenomenon while driving along a secluded country road. I noticed some way ahead of me that there was a flight of swallows diving at some thing on the ground. As I went nearer, I realised that there was a decomposing snake on the road. It must have been roadkill. The snake was surrounded by alot of flies, and the swallows were feeding on the flies! Man! What an interesting activity! Managed to grab a photo of this feeding frenzy, but the swallows were so fast, I didn’t manage to get a sharp photo of them. But, you should be able to see the action. Click on the photo to get a 1024 wide photo, which should be alot clearer.

Then after my birding activities, I headed to Qian Hu for my Fish Spa.

I paid S$10 for 30 minutes worth of fish nibbling at my feet.

When I first put my feet in, the fishes were cautious, but they began coming in droves!

So, how did it feel like? Well…. it was really ticklish at frst, but I soon got used to it. Was it helpful? When I checked my feet after the session, I found that I still had dead skin on my feet. The fishes didn’t manage to clear everything. I think I need bigger fishes like piranhas for that. But, I did feel that my feet were slightly cleaner. More squeaky I think. Will I come back again? Nope.

My brother and his cell group planned an outing to Sentosa last Friday for their kids as a holiday finale, and called to see if we wanted to bring the kids. Kyla and Ariel both had Kumon on Fridays, but we thought that it was good to let them have a bit of fun on the last day of their holidays. Decided not to bring Elkan, as it would only be myself taking care of the girls. With the recent spate of drownings at Sentosa and on the main land, you can’t be too careful.

We went to Palawan Beach, which is a beautiful man-made beach just east of Underwater World. A pity the signs to Palawan weren’t up to the standard. We spent a bit of time trying to get there. But once there, the kids really enjoyed themselves.

It was sand castle building from the “get go”.

Then, the kids went off to play at the fabulous water feature built right in front of the “Koufu” food court. BEST.

Ariel and Kyla really enjoyed playing with the water fountain. Good thing we went early. By afternoon, the water was visibly dirtier! eek!

We had a total of 6 girls there on Friday. Wei Wei, my brother’s daughter, and 3 other girls from his cell group. So princess-y.

Then we went exploring to the island south of the beach. They constructed a roped bridge across, which was very interesting.

So…. what about Elkan? uh… he was in school. Anyway… a photo of the three together, for you Elkan fans out there.

I also couldn’t resist this one. Elkan and Ariel clowning around.

I spent the morning at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and had about 2 hours worth of photography in between sporadic rain. Dang. This is the second time it rained on me in as many outings in the last 2 days.

In any case, the Botanic Gardens is a very lively place, and even with unco-operative weather, I managed to get some decent pictures. This is really my first try out of my 100-400mm lens. I think not too bad.

Lesser Whistling Ducks - They are an uncommon resident as described by “An Illustrated Field Guide on The Birds of Singapore” by Lim Kim Seng and Dana Gardner. [Kim Seng was my Birding instructor some years back, but thats another story. :)] As I was saying, although they are listed as uncommon residents, they have quite a healthy population at the Botanic Gardens. Thriving very well at Symphony Lake. This one seems to be a fledging juvenile. You can see the soft baby feathers on its neck.

This is the very common Eurasian Tree Sparrow. A very common resident. A juvenile.

I waited at Symphony Lake for my friend and favourite bird, Mr Storky. The Stork-Billed Kingfisher. He didn’t disappoint. This is the largest of the Kingfishers in this region. Its an uncommon resident in Singapore, but I know of at least two of these birds in the Botanic Gardens. One at Swan Lake, and the other (this one lah) at Symphony Lake.

Then of course, the Heliconia Walk at the Botanic Gardens attracts some of the most beautiful sunbirds. I was waiting for another one of my favourites, the Crimson Sunbird, but unfortunately didn’t get to see it. But I did see the Olive-Backed Sunbird. Both Male and Female. This one is the Male.

And, this is the Female.

I also saw a Female Plain Sunbird. The male has a metallic green forehead. What a beautiful specimen! I like this photo very much. The bird is sharp and clear.

God really is very creative.

Just got the photos from my Bro-in-law for Ariel’s birthday party last Sunday evening. Thanks Andrew, for taking the photos.

Waiting for instructions from the Maccas “Auntie”

Away we go! And its the boys who are faster off the mark!

But the girls ar catching up really fast!

Ariel and Kyla with Wei Wei (Their cousin) and Sherry, Stephen’s little princess.

Dad and Mum having their dinner.

Both Dads enjoying themselves.

Ariel with her favourite “Gu Gu”

Here’s my other princess. So pretty….

Heres Elkan looking really irresistible!

Finally, Cake cutting time.

I went on an afternoon field trip today to the Simpang area and then to the Serangoon Estuary area to try out my new equipment - A Canon 30D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. Was quite a disappointing day. Not too many birds. Luckily I encountered this little heron. If not, it would have been totally disastrous.

Will try again tomorrow morning.

Went out to Pasir Ris Park this afternoon for a cell group picnic. Brought along my Canon 30D and 100-400mm USM L Lens to try out, and must say that I am very impressed with the lens. Now I can take action shots! Will try it on birds in the next couple of days.

The photos below are severely reduced in size and quality to ensure I don’t break my space on Flickr. So you can’t see the quality of the shot here.

Second good news of the day. Chris passed her driving test!!!!! FINALLY!!!! Woooh Hahhhhh!

Psalm 139
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

This Psalm speaks volumes about how I feel.
Today, I signed my employment contract with my new company. As I sat with the headhunter to debrief all that has happened, I began to see more and more of God’s hands in all of this.

Throughout this whole process, I realised that there was only ONE thing that was important to me and Christine, and that one thing is JESUS. The entire episode was God’s way to get our attention for drifting away from Him, and for being so full and cocky of ourselves. I thought I was so capable, that I don’t need God in my career and life. I don’t need to tithe. I went to church, and that was enough.

In the last 1 month, God challenged our view of things, and drew us back to Himself. I would never have done this any differently. It was the only way for God to get our….MY attention.

I am so humbled when I realised that there were 160 applicants for the job. Many who were more capable than myself. But God made sure only my resume was delivered to the client, and that the job was for me and me alone. Not because I am capable, but because He planned it from the start.

“Oh Lord, let the world see your magnificence and your glory in all of this. Let all who know me, and know of the situation I was in, see your undeniable hands in protecting me, guiding me, challenging me and leading me to a place of victory. Let the world know that You alone are Lord of the earth, and that You alone control the rise and fall of Kings and Princes. You know the number of hairs on my head, and you watch my going out and coming in. You alone Lord are God. You alone are my God. Thank you Jesus for watching over me and my family, and for blessing us in abundance. Let my heart be always supple and hungry for you Lord, and that I will always seek to draw near to You, Oh Lord.”