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Archive for December, 2006

Verve Enharmonics

Sunday, December 31st, 2006

Joel’s a cappella group… Click here to go to their official website.

If you think I’m only supporting them cos Joel’s from church, you’re wrong. I do no such thing. I know talent when I see it, and I see it in them. If you can’t see it, watch their youtube vids!

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There’s more where that came from…

I was already very impressed when they first sang at a christmas party… The arrangement for ’silver bells’ and ’silent night’ were really good! But at that time, there were no mics so we couldn’t really hear the bass singer and the percussionist…

At their performance at Esplanade outdoor theatre… I was floored!!

We were late going to the place and we heard their familiar singing from a distance away… with sounds of a real drumset… When we arrived, we saw the sounds of the realistic drums, cymbals, and high hat came from the mouth of their percussionist! The bassist even made the sound of a saxophone in the middle of a song!

Awed…

I really enjoyed their rendition of Rudolph… You can sample that song and others from that performance here…

TBP Rating: Excellent! A Must-Watch!Â

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Season of Giving

Saturday, December 30th, 2006

I’ve never been a words person… Or much of a gifts person… So, it’s really tough writing cards and buying gifts during the Christmas season…

But I have a bigger problem… I don’t know what to do with the gifts I receive!!

I’ve finally learnt to keep cards… So don’t worry you card givers… Those are thin and can be packed into boxes… But presents?? I have no clue…

I’m not a complete ingrate though… I loved every single present and card I received this year… Thank you!! You all know who you are…

But then, do help me out here too… I’m trying to keep the loft as uncluttered as possible… And it’s tough finding stuff that’s the right silver…

So if anyone is thinking of what to get me for my birthday or for whatever occasion, either make it edible, perish-able or something really practical… Vouchers from Borders, Popular, HMV, Gramophone, or any other CD/book/guitar/camera/electronics/stationery/hardware shop make the best gift ideas!

Especially since I have no money to shop anymore…

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What happens when you drink a Coke right now?

Friday, December 29th, 2006

Lots of bad things apparently… According to Healthbolt…

Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? Itâ€™s because it gets you high. They took the cocaine out almost a hundred years ago. You know why? It was redundant.

In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You donâ€™t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.

20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (Thereâ€™s plenty of that at this particular moment)

40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dialate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.

45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

>60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

>60 Minutes: The caffeineâ€™s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that youâ€™ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.

>60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down youâ€™ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. Youâ€™ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours.

*FYI: The Coke itself is not the enemy, here. Itâ€™s the dynamic combo of massive sugar doses combined with caffeine and phosphoric acid. Things which are found in almost all soda.

Unfortunately, immediately after reading this article, I had a horrible craving for Coke… Silly Coke addict!

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To the Doctors in my life

Friday, December 29th, 2006

Missed seeing Stella today… In any case, I must give my most heartfelt thanx to the new doctors in my life… Namely Jiabinbin, Chris & a bit of David…

It’s nerve-wrecking being a new aunt… It’s terribly frustrating when something sounds wrong or bad with Stella and I can’t understand the jargon… That’s where these new med students armed with the knowledge from their latest exam come in…

If not for them, I still wouldn’t know how jaundice comes about or why they swear by epidural… (I feel smarter already!)

The only problem is, with all that information, I think I’m gonna adopt.

Posted in Family, Friends | 2 Comments »

4 Stages of Life

Thursday, December 28th, 2006

Taken from Banter Magazine (Issue 32)

My life will have the coke bottle for an extended length of time, and no beer bottle…

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More Baby Trivia

Wednesday, December 27th, 2006

First rule of baby care

When baby cries, remember to check for poo poo…

Our lives revolve around Baby Stella now. Went for an interview, visited Stella. Went out with a friend, visited Stella. And I don’t think the schedule is going to change until preggie sis (who is no longer preggie) gets out of hospital and goes home… That’s when I intend to visit her home more often…

Stella’s a fiesty little thing… She doesn’t like her mittens, and would somehow get them off her tiny hands as soon as she is wrapped up… She also likes free movement and would push her arms out of the little blanket (Almost looks like a little person! I could imagine her getting up on her own and walking around)… Then, while she’s fast asleep, she’d suddenly stretch out her arms and punch the sides of the bassinet… I told the brother-in-law to make sure her cot was bigger so she wouldn’t get little bruises on her tiny knuckles from punching the cot…

The most surreal thing happened when the no-longer-preggie sister carried Stella to stop her from crying… The no-longer-preggie-sis took Baby stella into her arms and said tenderly,

“Stella… It’s ok, Mummy’s here. You remember Mummy’s voice right? That’s right, darling, Mummy’s here.”

I know my sister had Stella for 9 months. I know my sister gave birth to Stella on Christmas. But it somehow never registered that my sister was now a Mummy. It was so precious watching Stella carried in the arms of her own Mummy, sleeping contentedly…

Such a curious thing Motherhood is…

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Baby Trivia

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

First rule of breastfeeding

The baby must first be awake. One cannot feed a sleeping baby.

Finally got to see baby Stella today…

The cutest thing I’ve ever seen! At 3.1kg and 51cm, she’s a big baby! Rosy pink cheeks, curly hair, double eyelids, button nose and pretty lips… She’s a splitting image of her mother! When she opened her little eyes, I almost swooned…

Sorry though, there will be no pictures of Baby Stella unless her Mummy & Daddy allow it… Privacy you know… But take it from me… She’s gorgeous!

I’ve never seen a newborn so close before… Stella sleeps with her mouth open (like her mummy), and sometimes she sticks her tongue out… Very very cute! And she makes very strange baby sounds… Once she went, “hai!” and went back to sleep…

She isn’t always that cute and adorable and quiet… She’d cry in her shrill high voice whenever she felt uncomfortable, cold, or unloved… My mother had to carry her to make her sleep… My brother in law later said to us, “Now, I understand the significance of the two words ‘Baby sleeping’.”

Baby sleeping or not, I really admire my brother-in-law… He’s now an expert at picking up Stella from the bassinet, rocking her to sleep, wrapping her up, and preparing her and mother for feeding… And he’s just a first time dad!

Stella’s contented cooing is her appraisal of her daddy’s performance for the year!

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Christmas Stella

Monday, December 25th, 2006

As of 6.08pm today, Baby Stella arrived safely into this world… as Baby Stella & not Baby Artois (the alternative name in case ’she’ turned out to be a ‘he’)…

No more than a few hours old, she is already 1/3 the height of her mummy… She’s clearly got the daddy’s height genes… She also inherited her mummy’s curly locks… And is the cutest little baby I have ever seen!! Sadly, I haven’t seen her, only her pictures… But I’m going tomorrow to visit her again…

Everyone is excited about her birth… Even non-family…

When I arrived home from the hospital and switched on my computer, JBB’s nick said

“yixin’s niece is a xmas baby yay!”

JBB admitted that the news brought him a lot of cheer into the christmas season…

Isn’t she amazing? She brings joy into the life of people around her… Just by her presence… Just like the baby born 2000 years ago in a small manger in Bethlehem… The baby Jesus…

This is my most special christmas ever…

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