Tag Archives: Skype

What to Name Your Fish

15 Oct

With the new aquarium and four new fishes, we were at a loss what to name them as we decided to give the name ‘Bob’ a rest. M2 and I separately checked out websites for ideas; she at bettafishhome.com and I at cuteness.com. My site had 100 popular names for fish and incidentally, Bob IS on the list too, sitting at number 42.

It’s hilarious what we found. In the end, she named her Betta, Svetlana (chortle!) as if it’s Russian or Eastern European when most Bettas are usually Asian especially from Thailand, hence Siamese. 

I decided to go with a less exotic name, Bubles and hubby named his, Finney. The fourth fish remains unnamed. Perhaps we will Skype with M1 for suggestions.

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College is Tough

14 Aug

I listen with awe every time when we Skype with M1 on how she’s doing. Paper after paper to write, little quizzes here and there, meetings with TAs (Teaching Assistants) when necessary and group work efforts. I could never do what she’s doing.

I don’t recall my workload during my college days to be such. But then again, it could be the major that I was pursuing versus what she’s taking now, Graphic Design versus declared Food Science & Technology.

I remember my Typography class where the professor would come into the class for just ten minutes or so. He would mumble some project to the class and then disappear into his office to smoke his cigar, leaving the classroom of students to their antics. Some students would leave, others would just chatter. I was diligent, sat there with my headphones in place and did the work though.

I also remember sauntering into Design class on time but leaving early, informing my professor I had to go home to watch my soap opera, Days of Our Lives, before my scheduled work slot at the bookstore.

Ahh… Those were the days. I never had that many papers to write nor did I ever met up with any TAs. And what’s this clicker thing that they use nowadays? Maybe times have changed. I seriously think if I ever went back to college, I would fail miserably. 

The workload would be too much. So I am very pleased that M1 is coping well and holding up okay at university. Summer classes ends today and she flies off for a well-deserved break, heading two states away to spend some time with my girlfriend who lives there.

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So Emotional

22 May

A card from M1 came in the mail yesterday. I was surprised and didn’t think that she would write to me because we Skype and WhatsApp just about everyday. It was a Mother’s Day card that my firstborn made for me albeit two weeks late. But does it matter that it came late?

It’s the thought that matters. And when I opened it and read it, I cried.

It moved me beyond words and made me realize I did good. She’s all grown up and appreciates all the goodness that I instilled in her.

Tears are welling up again as I am thinking about it. Sniff…

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A Proud Moment

27 Apr

I can’t remember the last time I went up on stage with an auditorium full of audience. What more to receive an award. Or awards. It was indeed a very proud moment for hubby and I to be able to savor this moment as M1’s high school awarded her with various study awards.

It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon when the Awards Day took place at a music auditorium. Initially hubby and I agreed we would take turns to go on stage to receive the five awards that M1 has achieved. But in the end, it was me who went up to receive all because hubby was on Skype with her for her to witness the moment live. She stayed up past midnight to be with us for this occasion.

Her decorated awards are Best Student in two subjects, Leadership Award as Head Librarian, Best Student for her school year (2014), Best Top Scorer (10A’s) in the 2014 national public exam, SPM, and Overall Outstanding Student of the school. The last award, the Tan Sri Dato’ Asiah Award, is the highest accolade from the school to the most outstanding student for the school year and it was my M1 who took this honor. I had some watery eyes when I went on stage for this final acknowledgment to receive the award on her behalf.

No parents could be more proud than hubby and I are of our firstborn. This must be what good parenting is about. Her achievements are also our achievements. Her glory, our glory. As she is now away in university, the distance has not dampened the moment and we are truly blessed with such a wonderful child.

  

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Guess What?

20 Apr

We decided to take a break from life and are now in Hua Hin, Thailand for some golfing fun with our regular buddies. Yesterday we departed from KLIA. Playing two rounds in Hua Hin and then back to Bangkok for one round, this has been a much anticipated trip. Thanks (again) to cuegolf.com for their services in providing us excellent golf experiences.

M2 had been prepped prior to our trip and she is fine. The maid will take care of her. And with WhatsApp and Skype, we are reachable. In fact, M1 said she will Skype her to keep her company despite the different time zones that they are both in.

It was a long day of travel with delays at takeoff, touch down, followed by baggage coming out and traffic on a Sunday evening. Ahh… Well, we are not in a hurry, after all we are on holiday. 

Dinner was at a leisurely pace before we arrived and checked in at midnight.

Black Mountain Golf Club awaits us for our first game today. Looking forward to it despite only four hours of sleep.

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Progress!

13 Apr

There has been a sense of acceptance and calmness in me knowing that M1 has settled down on campus very well because we WhatsApp and Skype often. So now I focus on M2, spending a lot of time with her and constantly giving her the encouragement to do well in school so that she can be on the right path like her sister.

I have gone back to playing golf and my routine with my virtual games has progressed well too. A fellow candy crusher informed me that Level 875 was a tough one to cross but luck was on my side. I did short-work of it and currently, at Level 879 in Coco Crossroads. Another tough one to cross I must admit.

As for Candy Crush Soda, I have moved to Level 325 but looks like I will be stuck here for a bit; not an easy level to overcome. And for Farm Heroes, it was very trying to pass the two difficult levels of 726 and 728. Sitting at Level 730 now. So yeah, much progress.

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Just Like Grandpa

9 Apr

Not too long ago I told M1 that her Grandpa diligently wrote me letters when I was in college every single week and she requested that I do the same for her. So I decided to write real letters and mail them weekly to her at university in the USA, just like Grandpa did. Sometimes some things ought to be done the old fashion way. 

There was no such thing as emails back then. Technology was probably at its infancy and for me to even get close to a computer to send emails was unheard of. Moreover, mom and dad didn’t even own a computer! So snail mail was the way to go. I still have all those lovely letters from Dad.

Besides, making phone calls were also very expensive back then in the dinosaur era. Nowadays, we are very fortunate to be so connected with WhatsApp, FaceTime and Skype.

But all in all said for the effort, I find it funny to be holding a pen and writing so much! All these while, with the advancement of technology, one just sits at the desk and type away on the keyboard to compose what they want to say in the email without holding a pen. Now I find myself struggling to pen decent looking sentences that hopefully, she can make out what I am writing!

Then again, I am pretty sure my handwriting will improve with time. For the sake of keeping up with what my Dad did, I will continue with weekly scrawny handwritten letters and snail mail them to her.

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Coping Well

30 Mar

It’s been slightly more than a week since M1 left. We are adjusting. Suddenly the house seems too big and too quiet despite the fact we still have M2 around. Life goes on… starting with a no carbo regime for me to get back in shape.

Thank goodness for technology, we ‘whatsapp’ all the time, sometimes at the oddest of hours forgetting the different time zone and Skype twice a day, once in the morning and again at night, our time. Both hubby and I are very happy and pleased that she has settled down well in the dorms and enjoyed her one week of orientation.

Classes start today.

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Anxiety and Relief

23 Mar

It’s hard to drive when one has blurry puffy eyes. Thank goodness hubby was much stronger and did not shed freely at the farewell like me and M2. After we hugged M1 for the last time and said our goodbyes, there was much anxiety that followed the heavy heart. Until we hear from her only the anxiety went away and relief set in.

My neighbor saw us when we got home on Saturday night and called me. She insisted I should go over and have some wine, which turned out to be a good thing. Looking at my miserable state, she consoled me. At the same time, she welcomed me to this phase of life when the children would leave home for their tertiary education, gently reminding me she experienced this twice with her children and totally understands my emotions.

The wine helped dull the heavy ache and provided a good buzz to sleep. But I managed only four hours of uncomfortable rest. Anxiety.

By Sunday morning, we managed to Skype her when she was in transit at Incheon and again, at Narita; it was good to hear her voice. But we had to wait longer before we heard from her again when she did the final leg of the journey.

Her journey was approximately 24 hours of flying with the two transit stop-overs but not counting the time to clear immigrations and customs, followed by a 90-minute bus ride to campus. By the time she arrived at campus and checked into the dorm, it would be another good six hours added on to the journey. How tiring!

Last night, I tracked her aircraft on flightaware.com and was able to monitor the flight path and ETA. Amazing what technology can do these days. Thankful that she arrived safely and on schedule, and with both immigrations and customs cleared without a hitch, hubby and I can breathe easier. Relief.

M1’s life as a freshman at university officially has begun!

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Staying Connected Anytime, Anywhere

20 May

The mobile phone is truly a wonderful must-have device today, keeping us all connected 24/7. With the variety of smartphones available now and with apps like Viber, WhatsApp, Facetime and iMessage to name the ones I use, we are always connected, be it the normal telco connection or via wifi/3G. During the dinosaur era when I was 17, mobile phones were unheard of and I would be hogging the house phone for hours to continue conversations from school with my best buddies.

But of course, you don’t see that with the children of today, hogging the house phone that is. They tweet, Skype, Instagram or status update on Facebook. However, with more and more social app choices available, it is hard to keep up. All I know is my girls are using something that I am not!

When M1 turned 12, both the hubby and I decided maybe it was time for her to have her very first mobile phone. But being only 12, we felt the phone shouldn’t be very expensive yet has all the cool functions. We got her a Sony Ericsson and put her on a post-paid plan instead of pre-paid. The rational was to monitor the calls instead of capping the usage at a monthly fixed pre-paid cost.

That first year, she must have discovered the wonders of staying connected anytime, anywhere. Ten months into ownership, her bill came to a whopping figure, it shocked the daylights out of dear hubby! The amount was more than what he and me uses—combined—for a month! My goodness, you could see smoke coming out from his ears… The punishment: deductions from the daily allowance to settle the bill.

Since then I guess M1 must have learnt her lesson for whenever I try to call her, it is so difficult to get her. She hardly or never picks up or answers the call promptly and will always go to message, which annoys the daylights out of me. Everytime. Hrmph.

When M2 turned 12 last year, the thought of getting her a mobile phone never crossed our minds after our experience with M1. So we left the situation as it is although she had hinted for a mobile phone every now and then. Whenever the situation arises, and in order to justify her need for a mobile phone, I would gently remind her by asking where is the old Samsung phone that she had inherited from me. Knowing full well the reply would be “I don’t know…” it was a practical reminder to her that she is not ready yet to own a mobile phone.

Undeterred, she found a way to overcome this. Proudly she tells me she has been saving her pocket money to buy one, sharing her dreams to have the latest Samsung models or the Apple iPhone5S. I even encouraged her to keep up the good saving trait. But my child being my child, she daringly pestered me to upgrade my phone to the iPhone5S so that she could inherit my old iPhone4; thus her saved funds can be used for something else! Behind the efforts taken, she was worried the fund was very slow to grow and lamented that by the time it became sufficient, she would be looking at probably, an iPhone10! While I did not budge on the upgrade idea, circumstances had me changing my phone this year. So now I have a spanking new iPhone5S and the old iPhone4 is just laying around, doing nothing but collecting dust waiting for new ownership.

And the lure of owning a phone has cropped up again with the 13-year old M2 who aspires to stay connected anytime anywhere with her friends, more than her parents. It remains to be seen whether the old iPhone4 remains to collect dust or be adopted.

So the house phone still has its usage after all.

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