Took a closer look at the snowflakes and yes, no identical ones!
30.1.09
An illustrator at work!
Kai is very intense when it comes to doing something he loves. Yes, he at his doodling but I must change that --- he is illustrating. Perhaps, my next project with him should be publishing a self-authored and self-illustrated book.
There is just something special about this boy. Isn't he good with his hands.
Kai is very intense when it comes to doing something he loves. Yes, he at his doodling but I must change that --- he is illustrating. Perhaps, my next project with him should be publishing a self-authored and self-illustrated book.
There is just something special about this boy. Isn't he good with his hands.
Left-overs
At this time, where recession hits almost every country, everyone is tightening their belt, it is wise not to waste food!
Had some left-over pasta. Remember, when you make pasta of any sort, never mix the pasta with the sauce in a pot. Pour the sauce on individual plate, that way, you can always keep the left-over pasta in the fridge for future use. A mixed pasta with the sauce, when reheated, will not taste good and after soaking in the sauce over night, it will tend to be more soggy.
Here, I made use of pasta, baby cray-fish tail, baby spinach, capers, mixed with a light yogurt dressing to make a delicious cold salad.
Fabulous, even Kai gave it a try!
At this time, where recession hits almost every country, everyone is tightening their belt, it is wise not to waste food!
Had some left-over pasta. Remember, when you make pasta of any sort, never mix the pasta with the sauce in a pot. Pour the sauce on individual plate, that way, you can always keep the left-over pasta in the fridge for future use. A mixed pasta with the sauce, when reheated, will not taste good and after soaking in the sauce over night, it will tend to be more soggy.
Here, I made use of pasta, baby cray-fish tail, baby spinach, capers, mixed with a light yogurt dressing to make a delicious cold salad.
Fabulous, even Kai gave it a try!
28.1.09
Another cold day... another day without school
Quite a winter storm has made its way across the area, leaving behind a blanket of snow and slippery roads around the region. Snowfall totals range from 1" to 6"... www.wfmz.com
Woke up to a pure white, fluffy, serene sight. The snowfall overnight was heavy. It was snow mixed with sleet. That meant treacherous road condition and therefore, school was cancelled. If I was not wrong, this must be the heaviest snowfall we ever had. Perhaps, it was the mountains, somehow, we were shielded from the strong winter storm...I would rather believe that the angels of God were surrounding us and protecting us. We thank God we still have electricity and could still keep warm with our heater.
Beautiful sight...but that meant, work has to be done....shovelling snow
While I was hard at work, my dear son was happily snapping away!
See how cold it was, even the ducks and the birds were fleeing
Quite a winter storm has made its way across the area, leaving behind a blanket of snow and slippery roads around the region. Snowfall totals range from 1" to 6"... www.wfmz.com
Woke up to a pure white, fluffy, serene sight. The snowfall overnight was heavy. It was snow mixed with sleet. That meant treacherous road condition and therefore, school was cancelled. If I was not wrong, this must be the heaviest snowfall we ever had. Perhaps, it was the mountains, somehow, we were shielded from the strong winter storm...I would rather believe that the angels of God were surrounding us and protecting us. We thank God we still have electricity and could still keep warm with our heater.
Beautiful sight...but that meant, work has to be done....shovelling snow
While I was hard at work, my dear son was happily snapping away!
See how cold it was, even the ducks and the birds were fleeing
26.1.09
Chinese New Year
By the time you read this, you would have finished eating your reunion dinner with your loved ones, finished visiting your relatives, resting now and waiting for day two of the Chinese New Year to come.
Here, it is just another day. DH has gone to work and the kids have gone to school. Nothing, literally nothing is happening, just another Monday after the weekends. Ann's teacher has requested some information on Chinese New Year so she could share with all the preschoolers. Ann has brought some red packets stuffed with gold coin chocolates to school to share with her little friends.
We have spent the weekends calling home, sending Chinese New Year greetings to all families and friends. Listening to the Mediacorp artiste singing Chinese New Year songs (over and over again). Yes they are CDs brought from home, at least we console ourselves, we could a least soak in some Chinese New Year mood. Time is also spent thinking about home, who will be visiting now, what delicious food mum will be cooking, her braised pigs' trotters, her longan water...to all of you who is always thinking of running away from Chinese New Year, let me tell you honestly that it is not a nice feeling...homesickness set in deep and hard when you don't have your family with you...trust me, that few Chinese families that are here, wish they could just get home.
I love Chinese New Year. When I was a child, I looked forward to every Chinese New Year. Nevermind if I have to travel one hour on a non-aircon bus to the Changi village, that was where my grands lived. Nevermind the discomfort, the heat, the sweat, just bring me there! My family and I would visit my grands on the eve of Chinese New Year and stayed there for a night. My mother would buy my sister and I new pyjamas.
All, about 15 to 20 of us (cousins, uncles and aunties) would sit around a huge round table eating my grandmother's old chicken rice. Self-bred, self-slaughtered, homecooked chicken. It was so full of fun. While we were feasting on the chicken on the table, the mosquitoes would be feasting on all our legs under the table. Remember, it was a village! After dinner, all of us would gather in front of a tiny 14" black & white TV, wating for the then Radio and Television Singapore to broadcast the Chinese New Year variety show. We would watched till past midnight. At midnight, my uncles would let off real firecrackers. (I mean real, not the battery operated ones) They would string the firecrackers together to form a really long one and hung it on a tree top. After the last cracker has exploded, my grandmother's front porch would become a red carpet. My grandmother would then start distributing red packets to all the grandkids. As I type, all these just bring me smiles...happiness is what you remember.
I am not an old-fashioned traditional lady but as I became a wife and now a mother of two, I still love Chinese New Year. I love cleaning up the house, decorating the house, buying new clothes and pyjamas for DH and the kids and of course all those marvelous goodies. I love going to the market on the eve of the eve of Chinese New Year to buy things which I may not need! The stalls would remain opened till the wee hours of the morning. On the eve of Chinese New Year, after eating our reunion dinner with our families, all four of us would wear our new pyjamas and just simply having fun at home. I still love watching the now, Mediacorp Chinese New Year variety show and waiting for the only newspapers to be delivered to my house. You see, Chinese New Year is a big thing here, most offices would be closed for two days.
I know many of you detest listening and answering those irritating questions...before you got married, it was 'so when are you getting married?' Then you got married...it would be 'when are you having babies?' Then you have a kid....it would be 'when is the second one coming?'...Argh.....neverending irritating questions from second uncle, busybody third auntie, forth great auntie....let's put it this way, you only see them once a year, listen to them once a year, answer them once a year....do you really need to get all upset over something which you never have to do it everyday? Take it as a break from the monotony of life. Don't all these add colours to our life?
Or you find taking two oranges, travelling round the whole island, making pit-stops every now and then, just to stare into the one-eye monster, watching repeated Jackie Chan movies, eating your number 100th pineapple tart, munching countless love letters and of course, adding to your ever increasing calories... My friend, I wish I could just sink my teeth into one tiny open-face pineapple tart, licking the burnt bak-kwa flavour off my fingers...all these would be heavenly...
I love Chinese New Year not just for the glorious food but also the time where I could catch up with all my once-a-year-then-see relations. Isn't it sad that within the same family, we don't even know each other. Here in the US, Christmas is equivalent to our Chinese New Year back home. It is a big occasion where family members travel for hours and even days just to be home with their families. We often want to follow the trend and the many practices of the west, why not this aspect of theirs where a festival means being home with your loved ones.
So, my friend, run not away from Chinese New Year but soak in the festivities, embrace the love of home and families and savour every minute, every second of it...while you are still in it, ENJOY!
Here's wishing you a very ox-spicious and ox-traordinary year where the Lord's abundant favour continues to rain in your lives...
By the time you read this, you would have finished eating your reunion dinner with your loved ones, finished visiting your relatives, resting now and waiting for day two of the Chinese New Year to come.
Here, it is just another day. DH has gone to work and the kids have gone to school. Nothing, literally nothing is happening, just another Monday after the weekends. Ann's teacher has requested some information on Chinese New Year so she could share with all the preschoolers. Ann has brought some red packets stuffed with gold coin chocolates to school to share with her little friends.
We have spent the weekends calling home, sending Chinese New Year greetings to all families and friends. Listening to the Mediacorp artiste singing Chinese New Year songs (over and over again). Yes they are CDs brought from home, at least we console ourselves, we could a least soak in some Chinese New Year mood. Time is also spent thinking about home, who will be visiting now, what delicious food mum will be cooking, her braised pigs' trotters, her longan water...to all of you who is always thinking of running away from Chinese New Year, let me tell you honestly that it is not a nice feeling...homesickness set in deep and hard when you don't have your family with you...trust me, that few Chinese families that are here, wish they could just get home.
I love Chinese New Year. When I was a child, I looked forward to every Chinese New Year. Nevermind if I have to travel one hour on a non-aircon bus to the Changi village, that was where my grands lived. Nevermind the discomfort, the heat, the sweat, just bring me there! My family and I would visit my grands on the eve of Chinese New Year and stayed there for a night. My mother would buy my sister and I new pyjamas.
All, about 15 to 20 of us (cousins, uncles and aunties) would sit around a huge round table eating my grandmother's old chicken rice. Self-bred, self-slaughtered, homecooked chicken. It was so full of fun. While we were feasting on the chicken on the table, the mosquitoes would be feasting on all our legs under the table. Remember, it was a village! After dinner, all of us would gather in front of a tiny 14" black & white TV, wating for the then Radio and Television Singapore to broadcast the Chinese New Year variety show. We would watched till past midnight. At midnight, my uncles would let off real firecrackers. (I mean real, not the battery operated ones) They would string the firecrackers together to form a really long one and hung it on a tree top. After the last cracker has exploded, my grandmother's front porch would become a red carpet. My grandmother would then start distributing red packets to all the grandkids. As I type, all these just bring me smiles...happiness is what you remember.
I am not an old-fashioned traditional lady but as I became a wife and now a mother of two, I still love Chinese New Year. I love cleaning up the house, decorating the house, buying new clothes and pyjamas for DH and the kids and of course all those marvelous goodies. I love going to the market on the eve of the eve of Chinese New Year to buy things which I may not need! The stalls would remain opened till the wee hours of the morning. On the eve of Chinese New Year, after eating our reunion dinner with our families, all four of us would wear our new pyjamas and just simply having fun at home. I still love watching the now, Mediacorp Chinese New Year variety show and waiting for the only newspapers to be delivered to my house. You see, Chinese New Year is a big thing here, most offices would be closed for two days.
I know many of you detest listening and answering those irritating questions...before you got married, it was 'so when are you getting married?' Then you got married...it would be 'when are you having babies?' Then you have a kid....it would be 'when is the second one coming?'...Argh.....neverending irritating questions from second uncle, busybody third auntie, forth great auntie....let's put it this way, you only see them once a year, listen to them once a year, answer them once a year....do you really need to get all upset over something which you never have to do it everyday? Take it as a break from the monotony of life. Don't all these add colours to our life?
Or you find taking two oranges, travelling round the whole island, making pit-stops every now and then, just to stare into the one-eye monster, watching repeated Jackie Chan movies, eating your number 100th pineapple tart, munching countless love letters and of course, adding to your ever increasing calories... My friend, I wish I could just sink my teeth into one tiny open-face pineapple tart, licking the burnt bak-kwa flavour off my fingers...all these would be heavenly...
I love Chinese New Year not just for the glorious food but also the time where I could catch up with all my once-a-year-then-see relations. Isn't it sad that within the same family, we don't even know each other. Here in the US, Christmas is equivalent to our Chinese New Year back home. It is a big occasion where family members travel for hours and even days just to be home with their families. We often want to follow the trend and the many practices of the west, why not this aspect of theirs where a festival means being home with your loved ones.
So, my friend, run not away from Chinese New Year but soak in the festivities, embrace the love of home and families and savour every minute, every second of it...while you are still in it, ENJOY!
Here's wishing you a very ox-spicious and ox-traordinary year where the Lord's abundant favour continues to rain in your lives...
23.1.09
Sponge bob square rice
Ann's classmate celebrated his birthday in class and instead of giving out goody bags, his mum made this wonderful treat for every child. Very creative of the mum to come up with something like this. Ann was very sweet. While the rest of the kids chomp away in class, she brought it home to share with Kai and to show it to all of us.
Using crispy rice, she coated the top portion with yellow marshmellow and the bottom portion with melted chocolate.
The eyes were made of candies and the nose, ti-tac candy. So well done!
Ann's classmate celebrated his birthday in class and instead of giving out goody bags, his mum made this wonderful treat for every child. Very creative of the mum to come up with something like this. Ann was very sweet. While the rest of the kids chomp away in class, she brought it home to share with Kai and to show it to all of us.
Using crispy rice, she coated the top portion with yellow marshmellow and the bottom portion with melted chocolate.
The eyes were made of candies and the nose, ti-tac candy. So well done!
Candy store
We drove by many times and have seen it many times but we have never visited it. We finally decided to check it out.
This candy store was started in the early 1930s and it is still operating. It has its own candy kitchen inside the store.
Huge, huge selection of candies, chocolates. Both kids and adults can go wild inside the shop...don't believe? Check out their site
We drove by many times and have seen it many times but we have never visited it. We finally decided to check it out.
This candy store was started in the early 1930s and it is still operating. It has its own candy kitchen inside the store.
Huge, huge selection of candies, chocolates. Both kids and adults can go wild inside the shop...don't believe? Check out their site
20.1.09
The 44th US President Inauguration - The First US Black President
I feel privileged to be here in the US at this time. To have witnessed the election of the first US black president and to see the president inauguration. It was indeed a historical moment. It was a touching moment, a moving moment and a very emotional one too.
Full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama's inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.
They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.
To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. (this part of the speech brought me to tears)
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Poet Elizabeth Alexander's poem, delivered at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Praise song for the day.
Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."
We encounter each other in words, Words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; Words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."
We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.
Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."
Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.
In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.
I feel privileged to be here in the US at this time. To have witnessed the election of the first US black president and to see the president inauguration. It was indeed a historical moment. It was a touching moment, a moving moment and a very emotional one too.
Full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama's inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.
They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.
To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. (this part of the speech brought me to tears)
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Poet Elizabeth Alexander's poem, delivered at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Praise song for the day.
Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."
We encounter each other in words, Words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; Words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."
We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.
Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."
Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.
In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.
19.1.09
Our first snowman
Now, don't laugh. Wait till you build one yourself. Those snowmen that we see on TV, magazines and storybooks, they are actually not easy to make. Well, at least we did try making one.
Helping the kids to build the snowman. Ann, building the snowman's head inside a trampoline!
Can you spot the snowman?
Now, don't laugh. Wait till you build one yourself. Those snowmen that we see on TV, magazines and storybooks, they are actually not easy to make. Well, at least we did try making one.
Helping the kids to build the snowman. Ann, building the snowman's head inside a trampoline!
Can you spot the snowman?
Birthday party at bowling center
What we take for granted in Singapore is now a great joy to have and enjoy. Bowling centers are plenty back home, as long as you have the time, bowling is not a very difficult thing to do.
Ann and Kai were excited when one of Ann's classmates had his birthday party at the Emmaus Bowling Center. Needless to say, they had a great time!
Emmaus Bowling Center. They are a very child-friendly place. Special ramps are made to help the younger kids to bowl.
Kids just want to have fun...but they can be very serious and very intense too!
The birthday cake. Did you notice that half of the cake is brown and the other half is white? It's a half chocolate cake and
half vanilla cake. Very special and it will be my next food challenge!
Good old 'paste the donkey's tail' game
What we take for granted in Singapore is now a great joy to have and enjoy. Bowling centers are plenty back home, as long as you have the time, bowling is not a very difficult thing to do.
Ann and Kai were excited when one of Ann's classmates had his birthday party at the Emmaus Bowling Center. Needless to say, they had a great time!
Emmaus Bowling Center. They are a very child-friendly place. Special ramps are made to help the younger kids to bowl.
Kids just want to have fun...but they can be very serious and very intense too!
The birthday cake. Did you notice that half of the cake is brown and the other half is white? It's a half chocolate cake and
half vanilla cake. Very special and it will be my next food challenge!
Good old 'paste the donkey's tail' game
16.1.09
Take pride in our children...and in everything they do
Sometime back, I was at the Love's house. There, Barb talked about her six kids. They were not the rich and famous, but each has a job and their own family and a mum who spoke so highly of them. She talked about one child who is an installer. He works for a company and installs things for all the customers. When Barb talked about him, you could sense a great pride in her.
"Shirley, he is good with what he does. Every customer that call up the company, will only ask for him. He has been good with his hands since he was a young boy."
So much joy from a mother, who takes great pride in her son and what he does. We should learn from her. I sometimes feel that we are a little myopic in our perspective. If our kids are not doctors or lawyers...we avoid talking about their jobs or what they do. I pray that as I aged and as Kai & Ann grow up, I will be like Barb, talking happily about them and whatever they will be doing. This reminded me of a book which I have read, Max Lucado's Cure for the Common Life. The book, in a nutshell, is about discovering your talents, your abilities and doing the best with your abitilties "Success is not defined by position or pay scale but by this:doing the most what you do best."
Yes, when we discover our abilities and talents, we will never need to work all our life because work is no longer work to us but an enjoyment and each piece of work done, is done with great joy and pride! When God made us, He made each one of us with a purpose and with talents to fulfill this purpose. Discover them!
Sometime back, I was at the Love's house. There, Barb talked about her six kids. They were not the rich and famous, but each has a job and their own family and a mum who spoke so highly of them. She talked about one child who is an installer. He works for a company and installs things for all the customers. When Barb talked about him, you could sense a great pride in her.
"Shirley, he is good with what he does. Every customer that call up the company, will only ask for him. He has been good with his hands since he was a young boy."
So much joy from a mother, who takes great pride in her son and what he does. We should learn from her. I sometimes feel that we are a little myopic in our perspective. If our kids are not doctors or lawyers...we avoid talking about their jobs or what they do. I pray that as I aged and as Kai & Ann grow up, I will be like Barb, talking happily about them and whatever they will be doing. This reminded me of a book which I have read, Max Lucado's Cure for the Common Life. The book, in a nutshell, is about discovering your talents, your abilities and doing the best with your abitilties "Success is not defined by position or pay scale but by this:doing the most what you do best."
Yes, when we discover our abilities and talents, we will never need to work all our life because work is no longer work to us but an enjoyment and each piece of work done, is done with great joy and pride! When God made us, He made each one of us with a purpose and with talents to fulfill this purpose. Discover them!
13.1.09
Self-publishing author...at 8!
Kai has always been good with his writings and since coming here, he has been given many opportunties to write. To encourage and motivate him to write more, I have actually helped him to compile some of his writings and publish them in a book.
As parents, beside giving them a good education and a safe environment, one of the most important roles of ours is to help them maximise their potentials. Both my kids do not attend many enrichment classes like most kids but they have grown up pretty well and I believe that's because dh and I try our very best to discover their giftings and work on them. We believe if they work on their interest, they will excel better.
Kai's very first published books have arrived and we were all very excited over them. The book was just 20 pages thick (I mean thin) but it was something that I told myself I must do for Kai and I have kept my promise and it was something that Kai took great pride in doing. As he flipped through the pages, looking over all that he had done, he even picked his own favourite piece.
His pride, our pride!
Kai has always been good with his writings and since coming here, he has been given many opportunties to write. To encourage and motivate him to write more, I have actually helped him to compile some of his writings and publish them in a book.
As parents, beside giving them a good education and a safe environment, one of the most important roles of ours is to help them maximise their potentials. Both my kids do not attend many enrichment classes like most kids but they have grown up pretty well and I believe that's because dh and I try our very best to discover their giftings and work on them. We believe if they work on their interest, they will excel better.
Kai's very first published books have arrived and we were all very excited over them. The book was just 20 pages thick (I mean thin) but it was something that I told myself I must do for Kai and I have kept my promise and it was something that Kai took great pride in doing. As he flipped through the pages, looking over all that he had done, he even picked his own favourite piece.
His pride, our pride!
Hibernating...
If you have been wondering what has been happening for the last couple of weeks...that's because I have been hibernating. The weather only got colder and colder....
It has been raining and the rain has turned into icicle. It was so cold that when the rain water dripped, they immediately formed into ice.
These icicles are pretty dangerous especially when they are formed on the trees, cables running across the roads.
As they fall off, they could easily hurt anybody walking below it.
Schools have been forced to close for a couple of times during these bad weather. After the freezing rain, came the snow...
Between the ice and the snow, I would prefer the snow, at least in the midst of the freezing cold, I could still enjoy the beautiful sceneries...
There was so much snow that the kids could even have some snow play outside the church.
We were also invited by the Loves to have more snow-tubing, sled-riding...Kai and Ann were all excited.
The Love's cottage in winter
The Love's grandchildren were there and that meant Kai and Ann have company!
Ann and Rachel became good friends almost immediately. In a child's world, there are only friends!
How much snow did we get? We estimated at least 4" to 6" deep of snow!
If you have been wondering what has been happening for the last couple of weeks...that's because I have been hibernating. The weather only got colder and colder....
It has been raining and the rain has turned into icicle. It was so cold that when the rain water dripped, they immediately formed into ice.
These icicles are pretty dangerous especially when they are formed on the trees, cables running across the roads.
As they fall off, they could easily hurt anybody walking below it.
Schools have been forced to close for a couple of times during these bad weather. After the freezing rain, came the snow...
Between the ice and the snow, I would prefer the snow, at least in the midst of the freezing cold, I could still enjoy the beautiful sceneries...
There was so much snow that the kids could even have some snow play outside the church.
We were also invited by the Loves to have more snow-tubing, sled-riding...Kai and Ann were all excited.
The Love's cottage in winter
The Love's grandchildren were there and that meant Kai and Ann have company!
Ann and Rachel became good friends almost immediately. In a child's world, there are only friends!
How much snow did we get? We estimated at least 4" to 6" deep of snow!
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