my ajumma notes

Now the Wynners are coming! Cheapest ticket $78. One doesn't say 'Wynners' without thinking of Chelsia Chan at the same time. But I don't think she'll be here with them.

Didn't go to the Osmonds concert . But I went when they came in the 80s. It was amazing that my dad actually bought us tickets for it. He has zero interest in this kind of thing. Didn't go to see Air Supply either. But it reminded me of another man, my JC teacher Mr H, who appeared surprised that his students were fans of English, Dutch and Italian footballers and Australian bands (not much interest in Japan or Korea in those days!). He had just come to Singapore so I guess he could be forgiven for not knowing that we Singaporeans were/are quite global in our tastes. Wonder how he is now... Anyway, wasn't their old drummer a Singaporean called Ricky or something like that? But I did see Chage and Aska on TV. Didn't know these guys are still singing! Watch Say Yes here! Meanwhile, I've been off the K drama radar for a while but I've recently been catching bits of Formidable Rivals on KBS. This girl is a bit too serious most of the time (haven't watched enou...

I'm sure many of us read those forum letters about the so-called 'sure-fail' tests and exams with interest. It was interesting for me to read letters from students in support of such tests. I myself stand firmly with the opposing camp. Even Chua Mui Hoong (can't find her article now) and Andy Ho were moved to write articles on the topic. Was reading Andy Ho's till my brain was very tired but I found his link between the 'sure-fail' stuff and 'authentic teaching' rather idealistic. I'm sure teachers want to be the best teachers they can be but there are things that are beyond their control. For example, the boy had a couple of - in his teacher's words - 'killer papers' for the SA1 and the teacher was not the one who set them. And so, I feel sorry for the kids who 'suffered' in those papers and the teacher - who may well have been teaching as 'authentically' as possible - for now having to handle the aftermath of a lar...

I was quite wrong about Nadal's prize money. It was one, not five, million euros. Still, that's a lot of money... There are a million things that could be said about that match and about him but the main point is that he's quite untouchable on clay. Sorry to rub salt into Federer's wound but he can stop hoping. I can only think of 3 men who could be permitted to dream of it, namely, Djokovic, Ferrer and Nalbandian. Djokovic because he managed a small chink in the armour by taking Nadal to a tie break in the semi . Ferrer because he made a little dent by taking - gasp - a set off Nadal at Barcelona . Nalbandian - I'm just guessing because he and Ferrer have the skill, the style, mastery of clay, etc, (but both don't have the drive and consistency) and he does have a positive win-loss record against Nadal. However, it has been some time since they last played... Anyway, with Nadal and Djokovic barely over 20 years old, time is not on Federer's side. And not on...

Snugly ensconced in my hotel room, I watched this BBC documentary about North Koreans fleeing their homeland by various ways and means through China. Imagine having to trek for more than 10 days in the dark of night, from North to South China, through Cambodia and into Thailand, all the while knowing you could die, get arrested (and deported), etc, any moment. It made me seem so small-minded to be relaxing in the hotel and complaining about not getting 'live' telecast of the French Open . It puts the 'runaway' food prices I've been bemoaning in perspective. Elsewhere in the world, there are people with no food, people who can't afford food, people who have to risk their lives for food, etc... So, let me re-frame that for myself. Prices here are 'rising' (not 'runaway'). We are in for some 'discomfort' (not 'disaster'), as the minister says . Meanwhile, Nadal pockets a cool more-than-5-million euros for making Roger Federer's w...

Belated thoughts, post Justine's retirement announcement. She was one reason why I started watching tennis again. As even Federer said, she was 'remarkable' in that she was small and yet, how many times have we seen her cream players who were giants in comparison? She has had a number of dubious 'sports-womanship' moments but I admire her guts and grit. The most memorable match in that category was her 2003 US Open semi-final against Jennifer Capriati. And then, of course, there is her backhand, which will be missed for a long time. For once, Serena Williams had something nice to say , "She was a great champion and she gave me a world of trouble, so I hope the best for her. What can you say about such a great champion? I don't think we have enough time." So, looks like the ladies' French Open trophy is up for grabs now. The tournament will be really different without her. It would almost be like having the men's tournament without Nadal. As f...

Apparently, some people think the five fuwa , the mascots of the Beijing Olympics, have jinxed China . Jingjing, the panda, is native to Sichuan, site of the current disaster. Huanhuan, the red one with 'flame hair', has seen trouble with the Olympic torch. Yingying, the antelope (the yellow one) is native to Tibet, site of, well, Tibet. And Nini, with a kite (the green one), represents the 'kite city' Weifang which recently saw a disastrous train derailment. So now, it seems Beibei (the blue one) portends some disaster at the Yangzi River because Beibei is a sturgeon fish, found only in the Yangzi River. Interesting... And we have Yingying and Nini right here in our living room... It is also interesting that in the olden days in both China and Myanmar, disasters of such magnitude were interpreted as unequivocal signs of disapproval (of the ruler) from the heavens. I wonder what is running through the minds of the leaders in both countries now. Well, at least Hu and We...

The ladies are in Berlin. It's not often that you see Justine in an even slightly flouncy skirt. She looks nice in the outfit, and there was this yellow string at the back of her shirt, I think. Her off-court get-ups are often not so exciting, though. Ana's lovely dress. And the Russian tee-shirt look. Pictures from here .

For a few weeks, we had to watch nothing but Life Made Simple because the boy had taken to watching it, on the recommendation of his friends. I do know that the show is/was popular but I don't see it as one of TVB's brightest moments and I couldn't wait for it to end. A big plus point of the show is that it is quite values-laden: friendship, family ties, loyalty, honesty, etc. The acting is alright, too. As usual, Jessica acts well, as does Lo Yuen Yan, who plays Roger's mum. However, I thought it made light of marriage. First, there is Leila wanting, for a long time, to marry Bosco because he is rich. It is unbelievable that they suddenly love each other and get married at the end. After all, for an almost equally long time, Bosco is not interested in her, he likes Jessica (very much), Leila is awful to most people (including Bosco when his company fails) and betrays Jessica. But she does look good in the wedding segment. The worst part of the show is Jessica marryi...

I really like that trophy. It's beautiful. And I have to give it to the Spanish speakers for their court fashion. Nadal's shirt has these stripes over his left shoulder, matching the stripes on his bandana (not in picture). Nadal in red and yellow in an earlier match. Ferrer in red. Ferrer in white, and still looking good. Ferrero in red. Nalbandian in yellow. Not that I'm into such bright colours. I just think these guys are the ones with the attitude to carry off reds and yellows without looking like parrots. White and muted are still stylish for tennis, after all, though I must say that Federer's light blue shirt looked rather old-fashioned. Finally, these two young upstarts in their Monte Carlo casino feature . Nadal was funny when he was holding his bow tie, saying, 'I don't know how to put this.' Pics from Yahoo!Sports and Monte Carlo Masters

I will hold my comments on a certain phantom who, according to some interpretations, may be running loose in our forests (or who knows where) without his trousers. Or worse, only in underwear. Ha... well... Anyway, what I want to say today is that I happened to watch a bit of American Idol last night and I saw this guy singing Phantom's 'Music of the Night', and I thought he was very good! My favourite Lloyd Weber song, however, remains the less well-known 'The First Man You Remember'. Watch here .

It is with some sadness that I announce that I have just collected my first ever pair of reading glasses. Many sighs... Apparently, this kind of condition is not preventable. You know, like how you can't stop the passing of time. More sighs... Apparently also, there are lasik procedures to correct long-sightedness (didn't know that prior to this; thought lasik was just for short-sightedness). However, I'm not really keen on these things. Hence, the reading glasses are here to stay.

I'm no fashionista and definitely not a tai-tai but I do enjoy reading about fashion events and the goings-on there. I was pleased to see that Singapore designers were rather universally (in the local media) raved about in reports on the Singapore Fashion Festival. Good for them! Here is TODAY's take on it. I've always thought well of Thomas Wee and Tan Yoong's designs. Occasionally, I walk past Francis Cheong's boutique and I must say his gowns look fabulous from the other side of the shop window. Well, now that that's over, one event where some real tai-tais will appear once again in all their finery will be the opening of the Peranakan Museum (later this month; not sure if that's the actual name) and there, they will face fierce sartorial competition from the bibiks in their finery. We non-tai-tais will, of course, not be there but I do look forward to visiting the museum. X-tongfang, want to go with me? After all, weren't you once deemed the expert...

Well done, Andy Finally Roddick, for finally chalking up win#2 against Federer . I think the Miami crowd never cheered so hard. It must have been quite something going into the match with a 1-15 win-loss record. 'He hasn't missed a ball against me for about six years...' ha ha... So, now he can be the poster boy for 'Just do it', 'Impossible is nothing', 'No fear', and other things. As for Federer, still looking rather displeased and out of sorts, I think he should just take a month or two off to rest and fully recover. Anyway, for entertainment's sake, I hope it will be Roddick versus Nadal in the final. Picture source

My, my, is this going to be the year of surprising men? Tsonga, Mardy Fish, Mas Selamat, Ma Ying-jeou... Okay, maybe Mr Ma (not the only man these days running on the ticket of 'change' and 'hope') wasn't all that unexpected, though perhaps his margin of victory was. To some. I wonder if we'll ever see the day when such election dolls (centre of picture) appear in our elections. That would be a surprise. ( picture source ) Was amused to hear a Hokkien song being played at the end of Mr Frank Hsieh's thank-you speech. And noted that he graciously congratulated Mr Ma early in the speech. Plus, he said something like although this is a loss for me, it's not a loss for Taiwan. Nice. So anyway, nice also to see Mardy Fish doing a Tsonga. Very interesting, indeed, to see these guys, seemingly coming from nowhere, packing off a string of higher-ranked players. Andy Murray, Gasquet and Nadal for Tsonga , and Hewitt, Davydenko, Nalbandian and Federer for Fish. W...

A reprise of last Holy Thursday's reflection - these words from As I Have Done for You (by Dan Schutte), which they sang again this year... I, your Lord and Master, now become your servant I, who made the moon and stars, will kneel to wash your feet This is my commandment: to love as I have loved you Kneel to wash each other's feet as I have done for you. With this additional point from Fr Romeo's sermon this evening - Jesus washed even Judas' feet. picture from here

There is a strange story in today's ST, 'I think I saw Mas Selamat', a fairly graphic account of this person's (possible) close encounter with the man. A few strange things in this story. First, she said she saw a 'Malay man on the other side of Thomson Road.' How could she tell he was Malay from across the road? She noticed while he was walking near SJI (International) that 'he had a limp in his left leg'. Didn't the police say the limp is only noticeable if he's running or something like that? She said he looked 'scruffy', but why should he? I'm sure that in prison and detention centres, people have their baths and stuff. It's not as if they are left to rot there, right? She also said he looked 'dishevelled' and 'disoriented' and as though he didn't know where to head or what to do. Somehow, I find it hard to believe that an apparently astute and well-trained man like him would appear so 'lost'. Then,...

Warning: spoilers ahead! Never thought I'd ever blog about a Taiwanese drama serial, ha ha. It Started With a Kiss , starring Ariel Lin, Joe Cheng, Jiro Wang (from the boyband Farenheit) and many others. In summary, Ariel from the 'F' class has a crush on Joe, a genius (IQ 200) from the 'A' class. Her dad and Joe's parents are old friends so Joe's family takes them in when Ariel's home collapses in an earthquake. Jiro is also from the F class and has liked Ariel for a long time. I think this show will do very well with a Singaporean audience so perhaps Channel 8 or U should bring it in. The school scenes brought back so many memories - the Principal hauling up the F class teacher for their poor grades, Ariel struggling with Maths, Ariel struggling with her holiday homework, the F class boys falling asleep during the Principal's speech, wanting to do well in the exams, hanging out with your best friends, etc. When I watched the part when they went on...

I'm pretty sure St Peter will not be waiting at the Pearly Gates to collect copies of our children's result slips and CCA records and stuff, so why is it so hard to break free from this fixation on grades and scores? I must confess that it is so easy to drift from CA to SA to CA to SA with the mind focused more on marks than the unquantifiable things that will really count in the end, such as character, behaviour, attitude towards life, relationships with others, etc. Some years ago, my work supervisor told me that her child missed the cut-off for a particular secondary school by 1 point and she told her child to learn a more important lesson from the experience: you don't want to stand before God and miss going to heaven by 1 point because there will be no appeals and no other heavens to apply to go to. (By the way, please do not name any names or places if you recognise this story!) It is something that I have to constantly make myself remember - that in the end, there i...

Okay, so Mr 'I've created a monster' Federer lost another match. The whole (tennis) world seems to be making a big deal about it. And can we blame anyone? After all it is highly, highly unusual for the man to lose twice in a row, and, what more, this time in the first round of a tournament. He himself said after losing in the AO semi-final, 'Of course, I've created a monster, so I know I need to always win every tournament.' Well, he seems to have some difficulty coming to terms with losing to Andy Murray (again). His mean comments about Andy's play were apparently slammed by the British press, and Nadal and Djokovic spoke in support of Andy, and who can blame them? Pic from here . Lessons to be learnt from here and applied to ... umm... other things: 1. If you are world number 1, you have to bear with the consequences of being number 1. People will expect only the best from you and if you can't deliver, you have to bear the consequences of not delive...