June Holidays and the Young Talent Project 2013

This June holidays, I felt, had been a holiday most well spent for Renee and being so, it had, in Renee's own words, 'seemed longer' too, :).

Since the time she's started formal schooling last year, I've been looking forward to these school holidays when we can relax abit on her daily routine and look forward to some outings/fun, but not this June.

From the very first day of the holidays, she's had her violin exam at Nafa and then, concert(Vienna's) rehearsal the next. 

On Monday, together with the other 9 grand finalists of the Young Talent Project 2013(the finals were held a couple of wks ago), she was at Mediacorp's for an interview and some publicity activities.  Needing a mobile phone replacement(my i4's damaged by Rachel, :D), we were dropped off at Paragon and ended up with a Samsung S4(papa's choice).  Then, it turned out that it was only the LCD screen of my i4 that was damaged and repairable at a minimal cost of $70, not like what the staff at M1 had advised - its motherboard damaged...

Tuesday, as we have not packed the luggages, I planned to have a nice quiet dinner at home but papa thought it'd be nice for all of us to dine out and we could also try to get a new pair of sneakers for Renee, for the trip.  The unpleasant experience at the Streats restaurant(they had refused to let Rachel have her own home-prepared food and she was crying whilst we repacked the food back into its container before leaving the place in frustration) spoilt our mood, but as we were already too late to go back to Swensons(need to re-que), we headed for a quick bite at Macdonald's.  I've already lost my appetite by then...  Luckily, we managed to grab what we needed at the last minute and rushed home to complete the packing.  When it was time to leave for the airport, Renee came out of her room, hugging her meimei and crying sadly.  Why? Well, we had initially planned to go on this trip as a family but we had to cancel my and our toddler's tickets when we were informed later, that the arrangements might not be convenient/suitable for our younger one afterall, haiz.  We had to forfeit a  good amount of the ticket fares(both SQ's and the internal flights in Europe) as a result.  Anyway...  Renee cried all the way from home to the airport and our little one wasn't spared the separation agony too.  She kept crying for chehcheh and papa and was so tired that she dozed off sobbing.  I was prepared for the 'saying goodbye' part but I didn't expect that she'd wake up every 20-30 mins after I left her in the room, thinking that she's fallen deep asleep....   However, it didn't take her long to recover from her 'sadness' and was 'okay' the next day onwards.. Perhaps, she really  understood the need of papa and chehcheh going on this trip.  Of course, my being home with her and the rather frequent visits from my sisters had helped too I supposed, and I'm truly thankful for that.  Rachel even got cosy with my gf, Vicky, when she came over, :).

15 days passed quickly and Rachel was really excited abt their return(18/6)  but the holiday mood had to 'end' for Renee as she had only a few days left, to prepare for the Gala Concert.  Due to jet lag, the few days following their return were really bad, and though there had been some practices, they were minimal and hardly of any quality as Renee was constantly feeling lethargic and sleepy...

Then, on the same week, we received a pleasant surprise! - an invitation by the Symphony92.4FM, to go on an exclusive live interview on the news radio 938Live(on the 25/06, 7am) with their VP, Ms Wang Ya-Hui, whom is a renowned International conductress before she joined the Mediacorp.  We are honoured and thankful for this special opportunity...

Ms Wang had kindly arranged a violin loan for us and although we were presented with 2 newly custom-made ones, 1 of which came with a really good bow.  Unfortunately, Renee's unable to use the violin as the bow's much shorter than what she's currently using and we also did not want to paste any cushion padding(which Renee would feel uncomfortable without...) onto the instrument(s).

On 26/06, Renee was dropped off at Mediacorp's, for a pre-event get together session with the hosts and on the 27/06, Rachel was brought to my sister, Eileen's home, as I had to stay with Renee at Mediacorp(for some sound tests/runs, which lasted til ard 8pm).  Prior to bringing Rachel over, I've actually prep-ed her, letting her know that we needed to put her there as I was required to accompany chehcheh's somewhere(related to violin).  She seemed to understand the situation when I spoke to her and told me that she will not cry when there. She really kept to her words, but maybe Li being there to keep her company had  helped too.

28/06 - the day which all these rushing/preparations were all about/for, was most exciting for Renee.  As required, we had arrived at the tv theatre since around 1pm+, for the final sound-tests/runs and whilst the pianist(s) were allowed to go off for the break at mid-afternoon, we had to stay behind.  Many were seen practicing during the wait-in-between hours but we didn't quite manage to find a quiet corner to let her do it, so I simply let her have a break.  She did however practice abit on her own during dinner break(teacher had also stayed around).

Parents were given complimentary VIP tickets for the event but with Renee being so young and nervous, I thought I had better stay at the back stage.  She had said it was ok for me to leave her there by herself, but I felt I should just be there for her.  Fortunately, I did, 'cos when it was near her turn to perform, she was sooo nervous that she almost cried.....  Facing a big event like this(a competition that's going on tv...) for the 1st time, I guess it's natural for someone as young and inexperienced as her to feel such great anxiety, nevertheless, I still felt for her. However, there's really nothing much I could do at that moment but to tell her that, at that point, it's no longer about winning as we're already very pleased for her to have come this far, and all she needed to do was simply to enjoy her playing/music.  Needless to say, the words didn't work its magic and she was still extremely nervous and had played the piece abit too fast, :).  Although we can't blame her for her nervousness, we hope that this experience can/will help guide her on how to gain more control over her nerves and playing for her future competitions/public performances(if any)...


*This event/competition has been a great learning experience for Renee and though she didn't win the competition, we all felt that she's already done a great job to have come this far and compete at the grand finals against experienced performers and award winners(something which we only noted later from the programme agenda provided).

We thank all whom had gone to the tv theatre to render their support to Renee that day and our sincere appreciation to her teacher for his dedication and moral support...

As requested by the station, I am unable to upload her performance on that day but, for the benefit of those whom would like to listen to her playing the piece, here's another video:

http://youtu.be/lktU-mGWCGk

Our Trip To Korea

Oh my!  Time really flies!  I can't believe that my last post was dated more than 3 months ago!  I've been so caught up with the daily stuffs and I dunno, somehow, I just lacked the energy to blog...  However, this trip is something memorable to me(us) and I want to jot it down if possible, so here I am, heeee.

 

Those who knew us well will know by now that our trips(due to hubby's work commitment/schedule) have to be planned 'last minute' and this one I must say, was really super last minute - it was only planned, confirmed and booked just a few days before we depart!(hopefully our next one won't be soo last minute)

 

We took the midnight departing flight and so the kids slept on the plane... :D.

 

Whilst waiting for our flight(we had tim sum whilst Rae fell asleep and Ne self-entertained, lolz)

 

Arrived! Waiting for our stroller
(cheh cheh had gone with Papa to look for the stroller but the staff brought
ours, together with some others', to where we were waiting, heee)

 

We first stayed at Polaris Hotel at Bucheon as it's nearer to the Incheon International Airport and was recommended by papa's business associate.  The room was very spacious(due to upgrade), with a platform for beds, a living area, etc... It was raining when we had settled in the room and so, we didn't explore much further and had only the nearby restaurants to try our luck with. We really had some difficulty placing order for our lunch!  Luckily, a young man who came into the restaurant later understood abit of English and helped us with our order - but, we still ended up with 2 claypots of this popular ginseng chicken due to miscommunication, hahaha:

 

Their kimchi seem to taste different(better) this time, perhaps it's becos we got to taste them at non-tourist area restaurants, unlike our 1st trip there, when we'd joined the tour group

 

Our 1st 3D2N at the Polaris Hotel

The Jaccuzzi tub where the 3 Tohs had their bath, together, every night there, :)

 

There wasn't much around for us to explore around this area, so we didn't get to buy much(as it's not in the shopping belt, which is in Seoul, and the things there didn't look any good to us), but since it's only the 1st day, we weren't 'worried', heee.

 

 

It was better in the evening, we 'strolled' out further, found more eateries and finally settled for 'Mr Pizza'.  The food tasted really good! lolz, but with Renee being a small eater(unless it's her favorite food), we had to pack some of our pizza back to the hotel.

Gearing up for the evening outing 

 

 

Look how nicely they've packed up our 'un-finished' food!

 

This was what Rachel would ALWAYS do whenever we got
indoor(and she felt warm) - Fussed to have her jacket taken off!

 

And this, was what she'd do whenever we need to put the jacket on her whilst still indoor!

But, once we're outdoor, she'd freeze in action(try to watch out for her 'frozen' look in the pics), lolz

 

 

Day 2, we woke up early to go for our breakfast so that we could be ready on time for papa's Korean counterpart to pick us up. 

Cldn't resist this shot when I went to wake them up after I've gotten myself and stuffs ready, :) 

Honestly, I was prepared and hadn't minded to stay-in at the hotel as the kids really enjoyed playing in the room(climbing up and down the platform was Rachel's favorite pastime[used to be Renee's], hahaha) but from the experience we've had at lunchtime the day before, papa was worried and wanted us to go with him - a pretty long ride to the factory! but well... another experience for the kids, :)

Hey, the staff was even allowed to bring her puppy to the office!

They took us to a sumptous lunch and when the kids(errmm, actually it's Rachel, haha) started to fuss, one of them turned on the cartoon on his mobile phone for some kiddos' distraction, hahaha:

 

 

We were brought back to the hotel after the visit/meeting at the factory so that they could continue with the meeting at their office, and the kids could have a rest/break.  In the evening, not wanting to go through the same search for a restaurant within the area, we decided to go back for more pizza but this time round, we even had to pack the whole plateful of chicken wings/tenders appetizer back to the hotel, :P.

 

Self-entertainment whilst waiting for papa's return to the hotel, :)

 

Yes, we're back at Mr Pizza, haha, with a food-fussy kid and one whom's too young

to be too adventurous with food, we have no choice and daren't take the risk... 

Just look at what this notti girl has done with cheh cheh's shoulder/neck rest? lolz

 

Her signature posture when out in the cold and she'd not move even
an inch when u fuss around her during those moments, hahaha

 

 

With a cab on call(taxi fares r really ex in Korea!), we proceeded to and stayed at the N. Four Seasons Hotel(where Namdaemun market is near to) from day 3 onwards, and right after our lunch at a nearby restaurant(surprisingly rather cheap and good), we went shopping!

 

The room @4 Seasons was smaller, as compared to the Polaris' but it's
super new and clean, so I like it! :D (we dun need e space, I had a hard time watching over Rachel at Polaris'! ) 

This is the result of not drinking enough water, haiz....

They sell these paos freshly steamed and seeing the crowd waiting,

we couldn't resist but to give it a try.  It's nice and got us returning for more another day, :)

Rachel wanted a try-on too, seeing cheh cheh enjoying her new box
of rings(and she lost this particular one she's put on!), lolz

 

Day 4, and it's fun time @Lotte World!  There didnt seem to be much changes to this place since the last time we've visited but Rachel was frightened by the parade which started right when we got in!

 

 

We had only just entered Lotte World when papa said we had to go out(more choices)

for lunch 1st, oh man! hahaha

 

Renee's enjoying the parade whilst Rachel got frightened, lolz

 

 

The only 2 characters that Rachel's not afraid of, :)

 

Saw Renee looking at this big carousel but she didn't ask for a ride, so we didn't join the que...

 

 

The que to the 'hot air' balloon - our kids got to experience what we've had before! :) 

 

To kill Renee's boredom, we left papa + Rae at the que and went for some games but

we didn't know how they work mostly(incl this...), hahaha

 

Trying to figure out how this game works, hahaha

 

Back at the que, I saw a young guy(whom we later shared our contacts with, after

chatted with him further) came back with ice-cream cones and I asked

him where I could get them - wanted to cheer Renee up 'cos dunno

why, she didn't seem to be up to the holiday mood yet

 

Boarding the Gondola

 

View from the hot air balloon

 

Some of the rides from bird's eye view, lolz

Look at the que for the Viking! (wonder how long was the que to the mini indoor roller coaster!)

In the que for some Tea in a Cup!

 

This is a shorter version of their 'tea-cup' ride.  See how Renee was wondering at e speed

of the other tea-cups? hahaha, Papa was busy video-ing his girl that he forgot to figure out

why their cup was the only slow moving one, hahaha!

 

 

It was total darkness inside the Mirror Maze but some TV screens were made available

outside for companions like myself to watch what was going on within and I saw Renee

doing really well in the 'laser' section - she's managed to avoid all laser rays, unlike Papa, haha!

 

Not sure which of my girls will be the 1st person to use these clips, :)

 

On reminder, we even managed to get her specs customised the same evening!

(though I wonder if she'd really get to use it at all since it'd be school holidays by the time we got home, hahaha)

The original plan was that we spend our 1st day in Seoul shopping at the nearby Namdaemun market, Lotte World the next, Everland on the 3rd and more shopping on the 4th.  However, upon learning that it'd take us 2hours(either by taxi Or by train + bus) to and fro, to Everland, we decided against it on the last minute of that morning.  We felt it'd be such a waste to spend 4 hours on travelling to get to a 'fun land' where all we could do was merely 'sight-see' ('cos from what we remembered, most of the rides are for older kids/teens) and so, we went shopping at Dongdaemun market instead...  But before that, we stopped by their History and Cultural Park :

 

Since the time she was asked to collect leaves for an artwork @Nafa Arts and thereafter by her current school, she's always been keen to collect leaves...

 

Having a break in-between more shopping!

(although I was afraid that so much of cheese, coupled with caffaine

might trigger my migraine but I simply cldn't resist!...)

 

After shopping, we went to catch a glimpse of their lantern festival

 Their X'mas Light-up along the way

We thought to give this a try but not sure how to go about it and being tired from a whole day outing, we decided to spare ourselves the language barrier agony + crowd squeeze and give it a miss, hahaha 

 

 The slope that led to our hotel and it's what helped burnt our calories, hahahahaha

I really loved this rice ball!  Even tapao-ed to the airport, heee

Papa's biz associate'd bought a bag of these(he chose walnut type) for Renee,

when we stopped for a break on the way to the factory, it's nice! 

 

Saw some local ladies taking pic of this - just see how high this man can stack his stock on his bike!

 

We spent our last day shopping at Itaewon.

On our own, we got to travel around on their subway, which is a better experience

for the kids & their fares are cheap too! Many hadn't bothered to buy tickets even, geez!

(we got a shock initially when they simply followed us through the wider gates[for strollers/wheel chairs] when they were seen to be making phone calls standing nearby and we were actually wondering why they were on the phone talking whilst still inside the station instead of getting out 1st)

 

 Can you spot it? - Pigs can Fly!

We try to make it a point to try out the known fastfood outlets in other countries

(we managed to try McDonald's and KFC there, amongst their local ones, heee)

 

Lazing around...

 

 

Managed to find these shoes last minute!

 

 Were greeted by this 'scene' when we arrived @ the airport for our return flight home

 

cheh cheh pre-occupied, so mei mei had to find her own entertainment...

 

 

 

I know, and in fact, I've told myself not to get these 'cakes' cos they're rather common in Singapore these days, but when I saw these fish shaped onest at the airport, I cldn't resist, hahaha

 

Cheeky Rachel trying to wake a napping in-transit passenger!

Enjoying her in-flight 'Men in Black III' movie(whilst papa & cheh cheh were sleeping...)

 

This trip reminded me of how I dislike what the cold/dry weather does to my hair - makes it flattened!  My hair became super manageable after we came back! hahaha.

 

*Hope I've 'captured' most, if not all, from the trip...(there r of cos more pics/buys than what're shown here, :D)