Thanks!

Thank you, God for blessing all of us. We are safe, have a shelter over our head, food on the table and warm beds. We have good jobs, my boys are getting a good education, we are relax when we walk out in the street as it is very safe, we have good bookshops and libraries, world class transport system, affordable eating out - ubiquitous hawker centres, fine dining and many different ethnic food.

Life is good in Singapore. No bitter cold. We love the snow and does miss White Christmas. Life is in a fast lane and limited space, fishing is hot and sweaty sport and other disadvantages such as traffic jams. Hey who say life is perfect. It is perfectly good!

So my graditude and thanks to God, Angels, Kuan Yin and Buddha.

Hopes for 2010

Today end the year 2009 and usher 2010. The economy is improving and looks like 2010 will be a far better year than 2009. What is better? Better in terms of job prospects, business outlook and better pay for the employed.

Will it be better for the environment? Will there be more natural disasters like earthquakes or typhoons?

Air travel is a challenge with the recent attempted terror attack as security tighten. I pray that there are no more terror attacks as it become a real hassle for travellers. My job includes plenty of travel and tight security will make it more arduous.

I am not a Miss Universe contestant and a lot more realistic. So I will not wish for World Peace. I am hopeful. I hope more people become environmentally concious and start the 3R that is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. I hope we use less energy and do less damage to Mother Earth. I hope business improve and happiness infect everyone I know. I hope my team members have great family life. I hope my team improve in our business performance and everyone makes more money than in 2009.

I hope my readers all "Fa Chai" i.e. prosper.

Perculiar!

Yahoo was not down but my internet system just prevent Yahoo from working. I reset my computer i.e. shutting down the computer completely and reboot 3 times and finally get it back working again. There may be a bug in our internet system infecting all our computers at home. Or it may be the cable modem from M1. This 100mbs or megabits per sec is not really at 100 mbs. It perform even slower than my previous 10 mbs twin wire system from Singnet.

Anyway, it is good to know Yahoo is working all the time as my friendly neighbourhood blogger tells me he did not have any problem with his Yahoo mail.

Yahoo is Down

I could not believe it when my son, B1 ask me if yahoo mail is working. I had an open browser with my yahoo mail. It is! I replied. Then I try to read my mail and lo behold an error message pop up instead of my mail. I had used Yahoo mail for many years now. This is the first major failure I have experience. I know Yahoo is not doing well financially or at least it is no Google. I do not know if it is a systemic failure or someone in Yahoo did not pay the bill.

I hope it is not some malicious virus or intentional email blast by someone to overload the system.

The Lazy American

First was The Ugly American, now it is The Lazy American. I am quite very impressed by the article in the Boston Globe. The 31 year old writer teaches in Babson College and she finds her American students tend to not to focus in class and distracted by sms or emails, refused to take notes and are tired and sleepy. Whereas foreign students put in plenty of effort and energy, rewriting their papers many times to improve grammar and structure.

She is politically correct by making sure she did not forget to state the fact that there are good American students as well. She writes beautifully and I cannot do justice with my summary so here is the link to The Lazy American for you to read the original article.

Different!

B2 the middle is cranky and does not like his baby brother to play with him. He is so serious and rude and very insistent! It is very traumatic for me, a father. I wonder how did my wonderful adorable boy who was so fun and cheerful growing up because a grouchy, irritable teenager. The hormones must be kicking in. No doubt, my skills and patience are pushed to new limits every day. Little incidents become a royal fight and he become a rude and unreasonable person.

I wonder how long this nightmare will last...

Wrapping Up 2009

2009 is a year to remember. Business went on a roller coaster ride. It is also the first year I did not earn any incentive since I work in sales. On the personal and family side, it is going well. My boys did reasonably well in school. We had a 10 day holiday in Malacca. While our income has dropped dramatically, we also tighten our belts and spend a lot less.

We are thankful that we have a good life. We can still afford little luxuries like eating out, stationery, tuition and books. We have a nice roof over our heads. My mum came from Canada to visit, my neices are gainfully employed, my nephews did well in school, we are all healthy and well. We are indeed blessed.

We are welcoming 2010. The year will definitely be better. After all, the only way is up when you reach the bottom.

Hams and Turkeys at Half Price!

Yes, 50% discount in Cold Storage. Christmas is over and all turkeys and hams were on distressed price. We ordered a cooked turkey which we paid at full price but bought a ham at half price. Not bad. The ham taste good too.

My sisters came with my nieces and nephew. They brought curry chicken and glutinous rice. B1 made his signature garlic bread which was very popular.

Christmas is the time for family. I love it....

Boxing Day

It is the day for boxing up the presents you do not want. For me, I got a present for myself from Toy R Us! It is a micro light helicopter-like contraption. It is basically a rotary flying wings. B3 wanted to play with it after I opened it up. So we recharge our AA batteries, need 6 of them and fire up the gadget. It requires some learning curve. We get the hang of it after a few flights. The poor thing that quite a lot of abuse in the sense that it keep knocking into chairs, cupboards, ceiling and just about anything in the way. Learning to fly is not an easy thing. It is great fun with B1 and B3. We each take our turn to pilot and all of us telling the one with the control what to do. Backseat pilots!

It is fantastic bonding time.

Lee Wei Ling - the Writer

Last Sunday, Wei Ling wrote about the simple holiday she had growing up. She is nostalgic about the days where she spent time at the beach and do simple stuff like collecting seashells and play games. She also talk about playing with CN Lee, son of KC Lee. CN Lee is now the Head of Cardiothoracic in National Heart Center and she is the Head of Pediatric Neurology.

I know CN Lee a long time ago when he was a Cardiothoracic Surgeon when National University Hospital just started. He did not want to be the Head of Department and deal with the politics. So he invited Saw Huat Seong over from University Hospital in KL to be the Head of Dept. After a few years, he left for private practice and recently, that is a few years ago, he was invited back to head up the National Heart Center. I am only speaking this from memory through reading the news. So I may get a few things wrong here. So don't quote from this blog:)

I enjoys reading Wei Ling's writing. She is an accomplished overachiever and is nostalgic about simple things in life. She espouses frugal lifestyle, actually more spartan than I prefer. Her flashbacks on the good o'days are something I can identify. She was in Pre-U when I started my secondary 1 in the same school. So when she talk about her school days, I experienced part of it. She was a runner and broke some records in school athletics as well.

The Best Christmas Gift

Today, I received my best Christmas gift. My maid is back from her home leave. Our floor is no longer dusty. She is busying cleaning up after she arrive home. It is really nice to get good help. I am so happy to have her back.

Christmas Eve

Exciting time for millions of kids on Earth. Santa Claus is coming to Town. Tomorrow morning will be the squeal of delights. Santa will be very busy tonite as he will be going into all the chimneys and distributing gifts.

Orchard Road is closed to cars tonight. It is the only time pedestrians can walk safely on the road. Christmas is special time for my family. We spent 7 winters in Canada and celebrated 6 Christmases. I was alone for the first winter. We were in Canada twice. The 2nd round, our boys were in schools and their classmates will be comparing notes and sharing news on what Santa gave to them.

The cool weather and dark skies bring back the festive spirits of Christmas. Snow would make this atmosphere complete.

Manglish?

I have a Malaysian friend visiting us. They were disappointed with the Famous Jalan Kayu Roti Prate. So we bring them to Thomson Road Roti Prata. Over the crispy pratas, we had an interesting conversation about the English in Malaysia. It is so bad and mixed up. The best part is the Malaysians with horrible English think their English are good. The most basic and simple rules of grammar are violated all the time. They think they are doing it right and reject any feedback on their poor English.

The standard responses is "Noted" which mean I am Not listening or I am Ignoring you. It is amazing that they can mangle up English so badly that it is painful and pathetic to hear them speak. I am no English expert nor am I self-righteous.

While many Malaysians love to mangle up English, many do who speak well and write well. Malaysian are so good with many dialects and speak Malay well. MM Lee is right. There are only so many languages you can learn, but to master of even two language is a daunting challenge for most of us.

It is very interesting that my friend's wife is a Singaporean and is of the opinion it is better for their kids to stay as Malaysians for better future. Then continue to relate how they have experienced two burglaries in their home and many of their tenants do not pay rents for the properties they rented out. It is very interesting. She gave us lots of advice like not to wear expensive clothing or jewelleries, must dress like "aunties" etc. It is obvious she loves Malaysia even though the country has so many warts.

2012 - The Movie

This is a movie on Great Disaster. The Earth come to an end. It massive destruction of every kind imaginable. Of course there is still a lot human stories, the spirit, the leadership - the captain stays with the ship. American family value we all stay together no matter what happens and nobody gets left behind. Many heroes sacrifice so that others can lives. There were some selfish acts too.

There are many exciting close shaves and terrible injustice as well. They complimented the Chinese for building the montrous Arks in the shortest time possible. I think the movie will sell well in China.

Getting To and Back from Malacca

Boh Tong, my favorite blogger asked me to write about getting to Malacca. There are a couple of options. Driving up is one option many Singaporeans chose. It is convenient and very low cost. It has the most flexibility as you can go at any time and leave at any time. Best of all you can drive around for sightseeing.

Another option is taxi. The cost of taxi is S$160 to S$180 and you can only board in Queens Street. The taxi will go via causeway which is perpetually in traffic jam. Last option which my family took is by bus. Even bus there are several options. One leave from Queens Street and I understand there is a regular scheduled hourly departure bus at Lavender Street. Bus 707 cost S$45 for two way and can drop off and pick at the Equatorial Hotel or Holiday Inn.

Regular scheduled bus leave from Melaka Sentral to Singapore 3 times per day and cost RM22 per head.

We took the bus option as we do not want to take the risks as travelling on the highways in Johore has plenty of hazards. It is more relaxing to sit back and let someone else drive. However, it is frustrating as the driver may detour as in our case so that he can have a free lunch at the rest stop. A four hour trip became six hours.

Last Day in Malacca

Finally, our holiday in the historic town is ending. This holiday went by fast. Although the price of food and most things are low, we spent quite a bit of Ringitt and contribute much to the local economy. B1, B2 and B3 all have their allowance to spend and B3 is the most spendthrift and used up all his allowance as well as the monies his grandma gave him. B1 and B2 have learned the saving habits and spent only part of their allowance.

There are a lot of interesting stories we get to heard from the taxi drivers. One driver told us there is a spirit guarding the cementeries. Three Mayors who approved and signed the papers for removal of cementeries so that the land can be developed for other more productive use did not complete their terms. So the cemeteries remained until today. I told him in Singapore, this will not happen. Government of Singapore removed many cementeris and made them in Housing Estates. He laughed and said in Singapore the stamp is very powerful. The moment the stamp is on the papers, all the spirits run away! The best part is we get to ride in an antique Mercedes Benz that is 30 years old. The vehicle has been on the road since 1979.

It is with mixed feeling that we leave. I enjoyed the holiday and my boys get to experience authentic Peranakan food and life in a small town where history is still alive. The roadside stalls, pasar malam, kampong and even making of loveletters. Signs of progress are also abundant. There is a Megamall today, Courts Megastore and a new about to open huge bright and shiny department store, Justco. Hopefully the new do not overwhelm the old charms and we can always return to experience the slow and easy life of a kampong/village.

Pasar Malam at Jonker's Walk

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jonker's Walk held a pasar malam or night market. It was pouring on Friday night. Last night was clear. So we go to the pasar malam and boy! crowded would be an understatement! It is a river of humans walking and browsing on the novelties, souvenirs and eating at the streetside stalls.

I am green and have no desire to buy anything as it will destroy the earth. So window shopping it good enough for me. I did buy food items such as deep fried fishmaw at RM30 a bag which would probably cost $30 back home. I love fish maw with our steamboat during Chinese New Year reunion.

Chi Massage

My first time getting a chi massage. The masseur talks non-stop and makes a lot of outlandish claims. He says he can help people sufferring from stroke to walk, my surgical wound to heal better, facelifts and reduce weight.

He is very enthusiatic and I started to think how he can help my mum who is no longer mobile. Later he tried to help my son to clear his right nostril and no change. I was getting more and more skeptical as he cannot demonstrate his claims. He massage my wife and then say the massaged area is different. He demonstrated by pinching. However, I feel it is unscientific as one side has oil and cream whereas unmassage side is still dry.

Anyway, now I don't think I am going to send my mum for this massage as I am not sure it will work.

Love Letters

There are still villages where houses are made with planks and roofs with zinc sheets. B1 and I wander about. We can see the villagers going about their daily activities. One was putting soil in a pot, another was just sweeping the dead leaves outside their compound, there was a little girl reading, and most interesting for B1 is a lady making love letters for using traditional method. She is making them by hand using the loveletter makers grilled in charcoal. There are six makers and she just keep opening and flipping out the nicely browned one and rolling them. She has amazing patience and will be sitting there all day grilling and churning out love letters. Per bottle is RM19. B1 get to try out the not so good looking love letters for free. It was good to see the good old days leading the Chinese New Year.

I am very happy that B1 followed me to explore life in a village. There is a coffee shop with several mobile carts selling noodles. Fried kuay teow is RM2.50, Mee Rebus is RM1.70 and Wan Tan Mee at RM2.50. Looks like inflation has not reach the local population of Malacca.

Avatar - 3D

We watched the latest movie, The Avatar in 3D. It is a long movie at 2 hours 40 mins. The movie does have excellent special effects. The luminous seeds, plants and flowers. The 3D effects were good. I feel a little disoriented after the movie. However, it is really amazing as I remembered the first 3D movie I watched was disorienting that I felt sick after a few minutes. And the horrible nauseating will remain for the rest of the day. This time, the effects were clear and the polarized glasses were of high quality. Now on reflection, it is incredible to last 2hours 40 mins watching 3D with little or no ill-effects.

The storyline is about a tribe whose village sits on a rich deposit of "Unobtainium". The company represented by humans has all the resources, technology and science. The Avatars embrace nature and give reverence when they hunt and kill the animals for food. The special effects were magical with luminesence trees, flowers and seeds. The storyline is simple. The humans have been unsuccessful so far sending in all the scientists who have a cloned Avatar that they can control and communicate with their minds through a special machine. This hero was send in to replace his twin brother who was killed in an accident. You need identical genes to control the Avatar.

The protagonist Avatar(whom I call the hero moving forward) met with the heroine who save him from attacks by wild animals. Heroine brought him to the village to meet the tribal leader, her father. She was given the unpleasant task to training and teaching him the ways of the tribe. Hero fell in love with Heroine and switch side from humans. However, humans attacked and hero is now ostracised and suspected by the Avatars as well. So the hero has some convincing to do. He took on the biggest and most terrifying pteranodon and won the respect of the tribe. He gain re-entry and organised all the tribes to fight against the human. He also prayed and asked the Mother Tree for help. Mother Tree sends in all the wild animals to help in the fight.

In the end, the Avatars won and the humans were sent back. The hero who is paralysed waist down do a soul transmigration and became a Avatar permanently.

Frustrations!

My computer is extremely slow and performing weirdly after my IT guys did some updates. I also took of some programs whom they say will speed up my system. I should not have done them on my own. I may have taken more than I should have and cause this royal slowdown and major meltdown of my trusty workhorse.

It is horrible to operate at 10% capacity in terms of speed. I have to wait and wait. This is absolutely frustrating to the nth degree. I have to wait for so long yes, it now take minutes for every key action such as launching the internet browser which used to take one or two secs. I am in serious trouble with a misbehaving system.

Hopefully, I can get it fix by my IT guys after my holidays.

Portuguese Dinner

We had dinner at the Seafood place. It is known the Portuguese Lison Place in Malacca. It is regular seafood zichar i.e. freshly cooked dish stalls. No. 1, the most popular stall is not open again. No luck in trying the food of this stall.

There were horseshoe crabs at RM20. You just eat only the eggs. Our friend told us it can be dangerous just like eating puffer fish. The intestines are pull out and if it contaminate the eggs, consuming them may be fatal. We dare not try after hearing this.

The food were ok as there is only one dish of chicken and the rest were seafood, not exactly my favorite kind of food.

Walking Tour of Malacca

My family and I walked all the tourist spots of Melaka. It is actually not too big. I saw the Chicken Rice stall my team and I ate 6 months ago. I have vivid memory of this stall. In fact I was so sick after the meal. Everyone else was ok, so it is not likely to be the chicken rice stall as I was feeling sick before the meal. All I remember was feeling terrible and have to go back to the hotel and rest. Back in my room, I vomited and has a short nap and recovered.

However, this time, I managed to walk from start to finish the complete length of Jonker Street. Chicken rice balls is popular. However, I find the chicken quite tough previously. I have not tried the chicken rice yet. My boys prefer fast food rather than traditional local food. Tomorrow I will be going to KL for work. It will be an early start.

What a Night!

The laid back small town is no more. The night was filled with loud party noises, people are talking and laughing so loud that I can hear it through my airconditioned room. There must be illegal speeding by souped up motorbikes and cars. Maybe it is Saturday night. I hope the night activities do not repeat tonight and on week nights. Otherwise our holiday will be spoilt.

I hardly slept a wink. My wife woke to check and saw people are out and about at 4:30am. By the time I fall asleep, the birds are chirping and it is morning. Look like I have to nap in the afternoon by the pool:)

Amazing Melaka

Malacca is a small Peranakan town. We are here for laid back, relaxing holiday. Or at least this is was the plan. We took a bus from Queens Street in Singapore right to our hotel in Malacca. The road trip took more than 6 hours. Crossing the border took more than an hour. There is a couple from China who made all in the bus wait for long time as they did not realise they need to get to back to the bus after the immigration. Then they were delayed at the Malaysian immigration as they did not obtained a visa before boarding the bus.

We started our journey at 8am and reach our hotel past 2pm. It is much longer than the usual 3 hours. Town centre is one gigantic mall and the roads are mostly one way street with no traffic lights. For what I thought a slow and easy holiday, it seems many others have the same plan. The town is extremely crowded and traffic very heavy both vehicles and human.

I took a walk around with the boys and along the way we met other fellow Singaporeans exploring the place as well. There are many Peranakan resturants, all well patronised. The hawker centre is selling mee goreng or fried noodles for RM3 per plate or the same price as back home except it is now in ringitt. At the exchange rate of S$1 to RM2.40, it is very good value. Cost of meals is at less than half the price. It is good to have a more cost effective holiday.

Life without a Maid

My Wife has been busy with housework. She is always doing the laundry. Doing laundry for 3 boys is a gigantic chore. The amount of clothing they go through is incredible. Their clothing are all stinky and dirty. I add to the load with my cycling. I have two sets of sweaty smelly T-shirts and shorts every day.

We have to eat out most of the time or eat ready-to-eat snacks at home. Good thing is we are going for holiday and will be living in a hotel.

Life without our household help can be enlightening. Our boys have to help out with the chores. They learn responsibilities of the household. It also bring out the worst. B1 was upset as he does not like to be told how to do the chores. He is very testy. Meanwhile B2 and B3 are adapting well to life without someone picking up after them. We learn more about our boys. I also feel our boys are learning not to take things for granted. We will be very happy when Felma is back and we appreciate her much more. As the saying goes Absence makes heart grow fonder...

Bicycle do tell a Story

My son's bike rear brake wire broke. So I send it to the repair man to fix up a new wire. At the same time I also send in my bike which the first gear is not engaging properly. The repair man was not in when I sent in our bikes in the late afternoon. So I have to come back at night to pick them up. I asked if he managed to fix the problem and he say the gear shifter was bent and needed to be straightened out. It is due to a fall.

My bike did retain the clues of my fall. Like Sherlock Holmes, the repairman could tell exactly what happened. I looked at the gear shifter and it is mounted on the right side of the bicycle. I broke my right wrist, have a deep gnash in my right chin and abrasions on my right cheekbone.

Now I know why my right handle grip slipped out of position. All these signs and symptons were caused by my fall while riding.

Cycling University

I have audio tapes (now should be CDs) on various subjects like leadership, grammar, vocabulary and presentation. I used to listen to them while in the car. In Canada, the drive is usually long and monotonous. So it is not only break the monotony, I gain knowledge as well. Tom Hopkins, an American author on Selling call this Automobile University. Automobile University is for busy Sales Professionals who have plenty of windshield time but no time for training or seminars.
Learning-on-the-Go! What a wonderful way to better use of the time while getting from place to place.

I have been cycling for exercise. With my latest gadget, the iPhone, I now listen to music and audio books. It is wonderful to "read" and learn while exercising. It is like going to University albeit minus the Professors and interaction wtih other students. I listened to Grammar Girl, Dynamic Vocabulary, Selling Skills, Leadership Skills, and others. I am looking forward to borrow some fiction books and get entertained while cycling.

CU, Learning on the Go.

Warmed

9 o'clock news. The UN Climate Report show that our Earth is warmest this year. Two days ago, there was another report that 1.3 billion people in Asia will be impact by the gracier melting as the source of water will first flood then reduced or disappear forever.

The hope is mankind will heed the warnings and do something on global warming by reducing energy usage, carbon emissions and methane production due to livestock rearing. Eat less meat as sheeps and cows produce a lot of methane which is a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide.

I am happy my family is reducing our carbon footprint through Prius, the hybrid car.

An Authentic Traditional Wedding Dinner

A colleague of mine invited me to his wedding. He was with this girl for more than 8 years and finally decided to settle down. The dinner was held in Sunway lagoon. It is a wedding that is living history right in front of my eyes. The female folks were in their finest gowns and dresses. Those who own strategic assets are displaying them with finese. It can be distracting for single and available men.

Both father-in-laws made their speeches, the table to table yam-seng, the groom address his newly wedded wife in public display of adulation saying how lucky he is to marry such a wonderful woman. Wow! wow! wow!

It is a wedding refreshes my memory like a dynamic RAM. Really traditional and old fashion goodness and celebration of love in this joyous occassion.

Congratulations, KH and Jen! May you wake up everyday loving and feeling loved.

My Boys' Lucky Day

Today is a really lucky day for my boys. There is an Apple Road Show outside Plaza Singapura. By showing your Apple product, you are allowed one spin on the Wheel of Fortune. There were many giveaways. Premiums, T-shirt, cash vouchers and even iPhone. All three boys won cash vouchers of $10 and $20. Between them, they won $40 worth of vouchers. Mum decides to join the queue and she won iPod nano. So now even B3 get his own Apple gadget as Mum has committed to him the prize if she won one.

All three boys are excited and happy to won something. I am very happy to see them happy.

What a Suah Ku!!

I am a REAL Suah Ku (Hokkien for mountain beetle). Suah Ku is Singlish for ignorant. I only know 3 nature spots to go in Singapore. My reader gave me a laundry list most I have not heard off..."We have more than Botanic Gardens, Macritchie Reservoir and Sungei Buloh.
Try the Southern Ridges, Kent Ridge, Sentosa, Changi Village, Kranji farms, Keppel Island, and the four other reserviors."

B3 is looking forward to Universal Studios. He is always asking when will it be open. This is our next new thing to do.

Singapore is a place to work and raise kids. I am not sure about nature, fishing, space and even simply just driving around a reserve. In Canada, Algonquin Park in Ontario is a 3 hours drive. Just driving around to "eat wind" i.e. sightseeing by road is simple pleasure in Ontario. We just drive around in summer, drop by farms in fall and have picnic in the many parks around Oakville. We loved going to Maple Chicken farm to eat the deep fried chicken(way better than KFC) and buy home the different frozen chicken parts for cooking. Or pick apples and drink fresh apple cider. Maple farm is another of our favorite to-do.

My boys now know only Takashimaya, Plaza Singapura, Suntec City, Vivo City, and ION. For my Canadian readers, they are all the names of the different malls in Singapore.

313 Somerset

Singapore really lack alternatives for pastimes. We have only Botanic Gardens, Macritchie Reservoir and Sungei Buloh. Then our weather is hot and humid making miserable to spend too much time out without feeling sweaty and sticky all over.

So when B1 suggest going to a new mall as it is connected to Somerset MRT station, we decide to check it out. Many other Singaporeans are doing the same. The food court, Food Republic brimming over its capacity. Uni-Glo must have some opening promotion. The queue are ridiculously long just to enter the store. After queuing up to get in, you have to queue up at the cashier. The deals must be amazing.

There is a small bookshop, Harris and CD/DVD store, HMV. I do not know if we ever get mall weary. There is really nothing new except for F&B. Same cookie cutter shops.

How to Improve Your English

English is the key medium of communication in our current business world. Writing clearly and concisely is an important way to be sure we are understood. Here are some of the ways I employ to improve my English:

a. Use dictionary to make sure I get the exact meaning and spelling of the words I am using. I have two computer versions loaded in my computer and both can do pronounciation.

b. Learn the basic rules of grammar. Malaysians from Chinese schools speak and write English without subjects and objects. They expect their readers and listeners to read their minds.

c. Read voraciously. Reading and getting more exposure to the language is learning by immersion and practice.

d. Ask someone with better English to help vet and correct your written document to get rid of glaring grammatical and spelling errors that computer software cannot correct.

e. Always use the software tools such as spell checker and grammar-check to do clean up.

It is not difficult to improve your English. It just requires some good habits.

Christmas Spirit

We have our Christmas tree up and decorated with all the ornaments and lights. We even have a wrapped present under the tree. The weather is cool like winter. B3 is always counting down the number of days to Christmas on my phone, the amazing iPhone. He is right besides me and tell me it is 24 days to Christmas. We also took out all our old toys to play. We have a hovercraft, a speed boat and mosquito helicopter.

The kids in the estate are out in force. All were in the pool in the cloudy afternoon. The school holiday, the Christmas Spirit, the countdown...it is bringing the festive mood. B3 must watch his behaviour as he may end up in the naughty list and ended up with coal on Christmas morning. I am so glad Santa is coming to Town.