Malaysia Singapore Night 2008

It’s Malaysia Singapore Night (MSN) 2008. Daddy performed with Gardenburst last year, and so he’s doing it again. It’s been one whole fun-filled year with the band. Daddy is looking forward to performing some Malay music. It’s quite rare, since the band like to play mostly English covers.

In the afternoon, Daddy brought the kids to the venue to practice. The performance isn’t until later tonight, but Daddy thought Nenek could use some rest before tonight. We took the bus, and hung out for a while.

Before the show started, Daddy borrowed Uncle Steve’s car to pick-up Nenek. Thank you Steve!!! Nenek brought the kids to the auditorium with the kids, while Daddy prepared a little more with the band.

The performance went pretty well. Just as we started our first song, there was a circuit break, and the entire stage was dark. Only some lights were working, and the PA system was completely out. We improvised, and performed our famous “More than words” acoustic rendition (really acoustic, without even amplifiers). Melur sang along, and some people laughed when they heard her.

The power came back on midway through the song, and we were able to complete our set without any hitches. You can check out the band called Gardenburst here.

We soon had an intermission, when food was served. Nenek has the chance to meet some other Malaysian, namely the people from the Consulate General of Malaysia, and also from Tourism Malaysia.

The kids were getting pretty tired, and since Daddy was done performing, I borrowed Uncle Steve’s car again, and drove Nenek and the kids back home. I wish Mommy were around to experience MSN with us.

After sending the Nenek and the kids, I went back to the venue to clean up and say goodbye. Will Daddy be performing next year at MSN 2009?

Go Gardenburst

Trip to UBC Hospital

A few days ago, Nenek slipped on some ice, and hurt her wrist. We took her to the clinic after work one day, and the doctor suggested an X-Ray. So today, Daddy took the day off, and we made our way to the UBC hospital to get an X-Ray. We hadn’t gotten Health Insurance for Nenek in time, so for this visit, we’ll be paying out of our pocket (She’s covered now, though). Many places don’t even accept patients without insurance, so we purchased one immediately. Luckily, UBC hospital accepts such patients. Hopefully, it’s not too expensive.

We decided to walk to the hospital. It’s only about 1-2 blocks away. We braved the snow and made our way slowly there. Melur and Arman noticed a Snow Man on the way, and stopped to admire it (or should I say, play with it).

The people at the hospital were really nice. While we waited, the kids played with a jigsaw puzzle just laying around in the waiting room. The entire trip to the hospital was about 20 minutes, and the physician was kind enough to examine the X-Ray and let us know Nenek should be fine (even though the X-Ray is suppose to be taken back to the original clinic for diagnosis).

We headed back by bus. We’ll need to go back to the clinic with the X-Rays for the official word. Hope you feel better Nenek!

Snow Day with Nenek

It’s snowing!!! We left early this morning to go to Safeway for some groceries. This would be Nenek’s first trip on the bus. I thought it’d be a good adventure for us. It was snowing lightly when we left, with slight accumulation. I let Nenek use Daddy’s old winter jacket. I hope it’s warm enough.

On the way to Safeway

The kids were playing with the wet snow, and Melur’s shoes got wet. So we didn’t want to stay long at Safeway. After purchasing just a few important items, we waited for the bus again and headed home.

That was when we noticed the snow getting really heavy. When we got off the bus near our house, everything was white. Hard to believe that less than an hour ago, there was hardly any accumulation at all. I think the kids (and also Nenek) were excited to see snow again, after such a long time. Arman and Melur spent the past few months in warm and sunny Malaysia.

On the way back from Safeway

When we got back, we warmed ourselves in the living room. I don’t think Nenek is used to the cold yet. But the kids seemed quite comfortable. Hey Mommy! Want to play with some snow? Come back soon…

Registering Arman at VSB

It’s Monday! We’ve been back about 2 days now, and before we return our rental car, we have an urgent piece of business to do – Registering Arman at the Vancouver School Board (VSB), so that Arman can start Kindergarten this fall.

Well… a short summary of what happened yesterday: Despite having a rental car (which we paid for), we ended up sleeping most of the day and not going anywhere. Aww…. I guess we were really tired.

Bright and early this Monday morning, after sending Melur to school at around 8 am, we headed over to VSB. Despite arriving at around 8:45 am (It opens at 8 am), we were number 6 in-line and finished at 10 am. I’m very impressed. We just have a bit of groceries to do before I return the car downtown.

We’re missing you Mommy. Hope you’re doing well over there. Come home quickly…