Shaayla's First Day in Pre-School

Shaayla Ren Jie Sasidaran, our little girl, has grown up fast. It seemed liked yesterday that we held her in our arms all bright eyed and bushy tailed youngen and now off to pre-school. Anyone who is a parent would know how though first day of school is, for the parents that is! Pauline could not stop crying for almost the length of the time she was in class. I think that was approximately 4 hours (I was not the one counting). I understand that it is not easy for a mother, who has been by a kids' side every waking moment, to leave the kid in a strange place even for an hour.

We enrolled Shaayla at Maryhill Pre-school, a 20 min drive from where we live. After looking at a number of other schools nearby we felt that this was the best place for her, although the school fees was ridiculous but we are strong believers of early education (builds the foundation) and therefore we did not think much of the amount that we were spending on her education, mind you there are pre-schools that are even more expensive that public universities back home.

We arrived at the school at around 8am on Dec 31, 2007. There weren't many kids there today since it was the eve of the new year but we thought it would be a good day for her to ease into the school environment and not be overwhelmed on her first day. We brought her in to the class and introduced her to the teachers. She was a big apprehensive at first but the number of toys in that classroom and the kind and friendly disposition of the teachers must have made her and us feel comfortable.

When we saw that she was getting quite comfortable with the teacher we slowly sneeked out of the room making sure she did not see us leave. The true heartbreaking moment came when she peeped through the classroom window, like a prisoner in a jail cell, looking to see if we were coming back. That was when Pauline could not hold back her tears anymore. But it was important to us that she did not see her mother cry. The sight of Pauline crying would have broken her confidence. 1 week before school we kept reminding her that she was a big girl and it was time for her to go to school alone. I kept repeating that mantra to her while walking her to the car this morning and to my surprise she said "I am a big girl, I have lots of friends to play with and I should not be afraid". My girl is growing up.

Goodbye Ernst and Young - Hello NetApp Inc., (Network Appliance)

It's been 8 long years in External Audit at Ernst and Young (EY) and 11/30/07 marked the last day of my long career as a public accountant (or maybe not), cause you can always go back to public accounting!! The most important think to ask myself is what exactly have I learnt being in public accounting? Was it worth the 8 years? If I had a choice, would I have taken another path (i.e. leave EY earlier)?

Right after graduating from QUT (Queensland University of Technology) in Brisbane, Australia, we were told that the best start to an accountant's career was to join the Big 5 ( way back then it was the Big 5) accounting firms. The wealth of knowledge gained from being in public accounting would be valuable. But no one prepared us for "slave labour". Why slave labour? Cause you worked 12 hour days for 7 days straight with no additional salary, let alone recognition from the partners of the firm or the Senior Managers or Managers, for the hours that you put in (for free). Ask anyone who has worked in public accounting before and 8 out of 10 would let out a huge sigh before telling you that it was a learning experience.

In a nutshell, public accounting firms work like a pyramid scheme. The guy on top of the pyramid gets all the "dough" while the guy below works real hard, thinking that there is going to be a pot of gold at the end of the tunnel (i.e. the harder you work the likelihood you would make it to partner). Thus began my frustration with the way things are run at a public accounting firm. It's ultimately a business and the owners need to enrich themselves at the expense of their employees. That was when I knew I had to get out to get my experience in industry.

As a new Staff person at the Singapore office, I knew I wanted to audit banks and I pursued this relentlessly. I approached Harsha, who was then the Senior Manager on Maybank and requested to be put on the team. Your guess is as good as mine what the answer was. NO!! Why? Too many people on the team and they need to watch their budget. So if I am not getting the experience that I desired, then why am I in public accounting. I knew auditing banks was a niche and it was a specialized skill and therefore I wanted to do that, but there were no opportunities for me then. Fast forward 8 years later and EY Singapore is scrambling for auditors to audit banks. What a twist of fate. I surrendered to the fact that God may have a bigger plan for me and financial institutions were just not my thing.

I moved up the ranks slowly but surely and through my years there I noticed one thing. If you put in long hours without question (i.e. do almost anything that may not seem logical, like fold workpapers to fit the file in a japanese origami style or print out tonnes of workpapers in hardcopy just cause the partner cannot review workpapers via the computer) then you're the favourite. But to my surprise, a lot of these so-called "favourites" do not last long in the firm. Why? They get burnt out from doing japanese origami all day and night. To survive for long, you needed to be smart. That to me, meant that I should strike a balance between working hard (i.e. doing things that do not make sense) and pretending not to know certain issues so that you do not get picked on tough jobs which would guarantee early exit from public accounting.

As a Senior it was time for me to move out to industry and I began looking at the Straits Times classified ads like every other Singaporean. The Saturday edition was not to be missed cause every employer would place their need for resource there. Equipped with my 3-odd years in public accounting, I thought this was my big break and applied to almost 50 job opportunities over the course of 3 years. But someone forgot to tell me that if I wanted to be an accountant in Singapore I had to be Chinese. Why? Cause all the advertisements have this 1 line that I can never forget. To be a accounts assistant you would need all the essential accounting skills plus "the knowledge of Mandarin". Last I checked, 1,2,3 was 1,2,3 even in Mandarin. The politically correct explanation was that they had business in China and needed people who could speak the language. Err!!! but I am applying for the job of accountants assistant not CFO. It was clear that I had to find a way to move out of the country or stay in EY Singapore. That was when I started speaking to HR asking for a way to transfer to other EY offices in Australia or the US.

2004 I started applying to EY offices in Australia and the US. I landed an offer with EY Philadelphia and was on the verge of accepting the offer when Pauline told me that she was expecting Shaayla. My move to the US had to take a back seat for now. In 2005 I tried again but this time I tried San Jose, California and accepted the offer and moved in May of 2005. Being new to the country, EY San Jose did a rather poor job of preparing us for life in the US.

For anyone who moved from anywhere else in the world would agree with me that this country has the most complicated system which only adds to the cost of running the country. EY did not prepare us for a lot of things (e.g. Credit History, Loans, Credit Cards). I was surprised that they still had that tagline "People First". But luckily for me, I knew fellow Singaporeans and Malaysians who were really helpful and we got through all that hurdles.

After getting all that administrative stuff done, it was time to focus on work and get the "valuable" experience I needed to move on with my career. But there was one problem, my salary was not enough to cover our living expenses in the US, plus I had to go back to Malaysia for my sister's wedding. After our trip back to Singapore/Malaysia, we were in debt. In addition to that I crashed the car while driving up to Sacramento for an audit, which added on to the debt. I had to make a series of balance transfers just so that we do not miss a payment, which would affect our credit score. In the US, credit score is everything. It's the difference between paying 11% or 7% on your car loan. We liquidated our investments in SGX, to help pay off some of our debts. But it was not enough. The only way out would be for me to move out to industry and make more money.

In early 2007, I started connecting with recruiters who told me that I should wait for my title as Audit Manager before making the move out of public accounting. Apparently, industry thinks that if you're an audit manager you're suppose to be smarter than someone who does not have the title of audit manager. If only they knew how EY promotes someone to Manager!!

From what I gathered, through my conversations from a number of recruiters and friends in industry, my market value as an Audit Manager in EY was worth around $115 to 125K per annum. What was I getting as an audit manager in EY, you may ask? A miserable $83K. But before you choke, please understand that the disparity is for the "valuable" knowledge that you gain as a public accountant (i.e. ticking and tying, using different coloured pencils to mark work done, etc...). To be honest, 3 years in EY US and I have not learnt anything new in terms of accounting skill that I did not already know coming from Singapore. I picked up US GAAP knowledge ( which may become obsolete with globalisation) and SOX 404 (which is a compliance thing). So in essence I paid a tuition fee of over 32 to 42K per annum for the "valuable" experience when I could have received it in industry for free!! Go figure!!

I started going for numerous interviews with various organization and after 4 months of intense interviewing, I landed an offer with NetApp Inc., (Network Appliance). An up and coming data storage company which saves organizations tons of money storing, archiving and efficiently moving data in the organization as an Internal Audit Manager.

With the salary I received from NetApp, we were able to clear all our debts and start our lives fresh in 2008. This would probably be the year that would determine if I had made a good choice in picking a career in Internal Audit or is it back to the drawing board for me. But one thing for sure is that we are out of debt and that is the single biggest relief for me and Pauline.

Our little girl is growing up

The past few weeks have seen many changes for Shaayla. It's almost as if after she turned 3, she suddenly 'grew up'. She's almost through with potty training, wearing diapers only during her afternoon naps and bedtime. During the day, she hardly has any accidents too.

She also started sleeping in her own big girl bed in her own room. We started her with her naps for a week or so, then one night we just decided to try to convince her and it worked fine. She cried a little around midnight, but was quickly soothed back to sleep. But she woke at 5.30am and without calling out for us, dragged her blanket and soft toys back to her old bed.

This morning, about 2 weeks of successfully sleeping through the night, she woke at 6am and did the same thing. Guess the heavy rain outside must have woken her.

She's also enjoying her ballet and gym class tremendously. She also does very well in gym. Might consider continuing her with the classes next year.

My birthday dinner at Black Angus

Tue Nov 27 was my birthday. Suresh had said he might be able to take the day off, but as usual, it didn't turn out that way. It was just another ordinary day, except we managed to have a fantastic dinner at Black Angus Steakhouse.

Suresh and I took the 4-course dinner for two - he had the fillet mignon and I had my first New York steak. The Baked Potato Skins for starters were great...even Shaayla enjoyed them tremendously. The Chocolate Baked Alaska would have been a wonderful end to the meal, if not for the fact that we were too full to enjoy it fully. But the chicken strips from the kids menu we order for Shaayla was nothing to shout about. The chicken was a little tough and the french fries were rather ordinary.

Well-Check Up at the Doctor

Shaayla had her 3 year old well-child check-up at Kaiser Santa Clara 3 days after her birthday. We saw a new PD this time as the previous had moved to another Kaiser centre which was too far for us.

She did really well at the check-up, answering all the doctor's questions with confidence. She was due for a Hep A jab, so I had to prep her for it, reassuring her she'll get a Little Einstein plaster when she gets back home. I had thought she would wail her lungs out but she just said 'ouch' when the nurse poked the needle in. But 2 seconds later, I guess the pain registered and she started crying. But a Dora sticker from the nurse stopped the crying immediately. She was really brave!

The doctor said she's growing well. She was 14 kg (31 lbs) and 94 cm (3' 1"). Her next visit will be when she turns 4.

Shaayla turned 3

On Nov 18, we had a small birthday party for Shaayla. It's one day earlier than her actual birthdate, but it was the weekend and convenient for all.

We had it at the Emma Prusch Farm Park, which was great because we had a small hall to ourselves and the kids could run around at the huge playground outside. It had been quite hectic preparing for it as Suresh away for work the whole of the previous week. But thankfully everything turned out pretty well.


The kids had a fun time with their crafts, playing musical chairs (a first for Shaayla) and pulling the pinata strings (another first for Shaayla).

Of course, the best part for her was tearing open the wrappers to open her many many presents.

A budding mathematician??

This morning while I was preparing lunch, Shaayla gave me a shock.

She was rattling of "one plus one equals two, two plus three equals five, 2 plus two equals four....am I right, Mummy?" I was like, so shocked. But I managed a "Yes, you're right, Shaayla". Spatula in hand, I hurried over to where she was coloring, eager to find out if this daughter of ours was a budding mathematician. But discovered that she was reading the numbers straight off her Curious George coloring book "1+1=2, 2+3=5,2+2=4" !!

For a moment there, I was almost speechless. But at least we know that she knows the "+" and "=" signs.

It's an...eartthquake!

Last evening, we had our first taste of an earthquake having lived in the Bay Area for almost 3 years. It occurred at 8pm, measuring 5.6 on the magnitude scale. It was considered a moderate one, but it was clearly felt as it only occurred 5.7 miles under the ground.

I had just strapped Shaayla in her car seat and started the car to pick up Suresh from his client's place. When I felt the violent rocking of the car from side to side, my first thought was something was terribly wrong with the car. I quickly pulled the handbrake, by which time, the shakes had subsided. Shaayla was not disturbed or affected at all.

Immediately, I received a call from Suresh who was with his colleagues. Suresh's first instinct had been to dash out of the building, but his 'more experienced' colleagues told him to duck under the table. It was nothing to them and they were all trained from young to duck under the table. After that the security guard told them to pack up and leave.

We made a brief stop at the PW Supermarket and saw that a few items had fallen off the shelves, but no serious damage at all.

In that split second when everything was shaking, it was perhaps more than a sign from a greater power up there. Everything that we hold so dear to our heart, our worldly possessions, all so nicely packed away, would have meant nothing. We were all subject to the mercy of the forces of nature, who, in it's unpredictable way, remind us of how vulnerable we really are. It was a humbling experience, to treasuring what we have taken for granted.

Princess Aurora aka Shaayla

This morning was Shaayla's first Halloween trick-or-treat. Her ballet class at the recreation center had organized a trick-or-treat for all the students of the class. Although she hardly knows what Halloween is about, one thing is for sure...she knows it's all about dressing up in a costume and getting candies.

Since she's into a Disney Princess craze phase, we bought her a Princess Aurora costume (aka Sleeping Beauty). She looked really adorable in it.

What's been going on...

I admit, I had been lazy and neglected this blog for the past month. But then again, so many things had happened in just this one month...unbelievable.

First, the most exciting news was the confirmation of my pregnancy (yeah!!!!). So, I'm now about 12 weeks pregnant, and finally ready to put the nausea behind me. The unpleasant experience so far had been the 3-hour glucose test. Because I'd failed the 1-hour glucose test, I had to endure the longer test to confirm that I wasn't at risk of gestational diabetes. Thank goodness everything turned out fine after the test.

Then, on Oct 13, it was Hari Raya and we had a 'Singapore-style' celebration at Wan's home....complete with sayur lodeh, ayam masak merah, beef rendang, satay, and nasi kunning. Nora had also ordered a marble cake and a banana cake from me for the occasion.

And on Oct 14, after 6 months here in San Jose, CA, it was time for Suresh's Mum to go back home to Malaysia. She had come in mid-April and the 6 months had passed in a flash. Shaayla had enjoyed playing with her Pati, not to mention, bullying her as well. we hope she brought back wonderful memories of her short stay, especially our visits to Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and not forgetting, Disneyland.

With Shaayla's 3-year old birthday less than a month away, we've decided to organize a birthday party for her. She's been to so many parties of her friends and it just seems about time she had her own. So, we went ahead to order the Disney Princess package from BirthdayExpress.com. Also got a few sets of Disney cars for the boys who'll be at the party. Hope the weather holds up on that day.

Now, she's going on and on about a princess costume for Halloween next week. Her ballet class has a trick-or-treating session so we're trying to get her a costume for that. It's her first 'memorable' Halloween anyway.

Eating & Shopping...that's life

Today was a day of eating and shopping and more eating. After last night's late dessert of Belgain waffles with Alya and her parents at IHOP, we all woke late this morning. We had also ran out of bread and chee cheong fun, so we were cracking our heads over what to have for breakfast when Suresh suggested dim sum.

We got to Hong Kong New Saigon Restaurant slightly after 11.30am and there was LONG queue outside. Suresh, not being one to wait in line for food, headed straight for ABC Seafood Restaurant instead. But, what do we see when we get there? Another queue! But I quickly wriggled my way to the front desk and showed her '4' and how lucky we were to get a table straight away.

Then, it was non-stop har gao, siew mai, char siew bao, fung zhao, shrimp dumpling, law ma gai....yummy!!!!!

Time to walk off the calories at Old Navy where Suresh's Mum needed to get some shirts for Dhini. Then it was major shopping at Costco before heading off for home.

Suresh and I then made another trip to PW Market to get the ingredients for dinner - fettucinne alla carbonara. He got the inspiration and the recipe for it after watching Nigella on Food Network in the morning. Worked well! I added bacon, portobello mushrooms, chicken breast and some peas. The sauce was an easy mix of parmesan cheese, heavy cream & eggs.

I'm on Facebook

It's easy to be out-of-touch with the 'real world being a stay-at-home mum, so when I heard about Facebook, the latest social networking thing to hit the web, I thought it wouldn't be such a bad thing to be on it.

After an hour or so tinkling with the profile and applications, I finally set up my Facebook profile. Hopefully I can find some long-lost friends.

A weekend of endless makan

This past weekend has been an endless round of makan. Mariam hosted a farewell dinner On Sat for Aunty Geok and Suresh's Mum since they were going back to Singapore/Malaysia soon. I made just a simple bubur cha cha for dessert since there was to be plenty of food there. And indeed it was. The kids also had a blast when Natalie brought some paper lanterns that her sister had brought from Malacca.

It was Shaayla's first time playing with a paper lantern. And I was rather worried when she started waving her lantern around, oblivious to the fact that her lantern could burn down any minute. But the kids had a great time talking a candle-lit walk around the neighbourhood.

On Sun, still tired out from the night before, we made an easy fish paste & potato bagedel. Had wanted to make Thai otak, but it proved to be too much work.

Our Disneyland Summer Vacation

After a fun-filled, tiring and HOT holiday weekend at LA and Disneyland, we finally got back home on Monday. It had been unbearably HOT throughout the time we were there....what a time to go...there was actually a heatwave, and we were walking around in 95F/37C heat!

We got a relatively early start at 10am, and after a smooth drive down south, we finally checked in to the Best Western Park Place Inn & Suites at about 4pm. The hotel couldn't have been in a better location...directly across the Disneyland Resort main entrance!! A mere 5min walk to Disneyland!


A quick dinner of leftover Caribbean black bean rice & tender BBQ chicken & ribs, it was time to hit the shops of Downtown Disney. Our first stop....World of Disney. Turns out, this was our ONLY stop for the night. Decked wall-to-wall with all things Disney, it was no surprise that we left the shop with overflowing shopping bags....and it was just the first night!

After a hurried breakfast the next morning, we were eager to start the day at Disneyland. We got a leisurely start with Jungle Cruise at Adventureland, followed by a ride in a beehive on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Guess Shaayla didn't like the cruise too much after a 'crocodile' popped up from the river. But 2 rides on the Flying Dumbo and the King Arthur Carousel later, she was all ready for anything. She wasn't the least bit afraid when Dumbo started flying up and down. In fact, she was busy manipulating the lever to make Dumbo fly up and down. The queue for the Peter Pan ride was long, but she enjoyed the ride in the dark nonetheless.

The mid-afternoon heat really got us down, but she lighted up when she saw Mickey's and Minnie's Houses. And of course, taking a photo with Minnie really made her day.

About 30min before the afternoon parade, we grabbed a great curbside spot along Main Street. But the scorching heat from the pavement meant it was a butt-warmer of a wait. But the smile on Shaayla's face made up for all the waiting. She wasn't fussy at all waiting and sat patiently on her stroller. When the parade started, she kept pointing out the characters that she's so familiar with from her storybooks. It was like they all came alive for her.

On Sat, we were supposed to start the day with the new Nemo ride, but the queue was ridiculously long. We didn't want to waste time, so we headed off to Autopia. One round around the track later, we all got our Disneyland driving licence.


Then it was off to California Adventure for the 'live' Playhouse Disney. It was a relatively long 30min wait, but it was worth it when we saw Shaayla singing and clapping during the show. It was definitely a show for the tots.

The next attraction was the Aladdin & Jasmine Musical Spectacular show. But not before I scooted off to get FastPass for Suresh and myself for Grizzly River Run and Soaring Over California. The musical show was truly spectacular with colorful costumes and catchy tunes. But I got to say the star of the show was really the Genie. His humor made sure the adults in the audience enjoyed the show as well. But the Genie emerging from the lamp would have been quite scary for young kids.

While Shaayla chilled out with Suresh's Mum in the shade after lunch, Suresh and I hurried over for Soaring Over California. It was a hang-glider simulation ride over the famous sights of California. What topped the experience was the incorporation of wind and scents of the scenery such as the ocean and the forest. Grizzly River Run was a rough ride down rushing waters with a drenching end. It was welcome relief from that scorching afternoon heat.

Then it was off to our next hotel at Manhattan Beach, the Springhill Suites by Marriott. It was to be our 'base' for visiting Hollywood and Santa Monica/Venice Beach. We headed off to Venice Beach early the next morning. The cool ocean breeze made the early morning walk quite pleasant. After some souvenir shopping, it was off to Hollywood. The suffocating heat proved too much for all of us. After a quick stop at Souvenirs of Hollywoood, we quickly drove over to Thai Town for a late lunch of Thai food.

As lunch was digesting in our tummies, we drove down to the city of Bellflower to Toko Rame, a highly recommended halal Indonesian restaurant, famous for its Nasi Bungkus. It was a 45min wait for the 4 packets of Nasi Bungkus that we were buying back for our friends. Meanwhile, a super-sweet drink of Chendol and Chin Chow quenched our thirst. Now we know why our friend, Sam, keeps talking about Nasi Bungkus from Toko Rame. It's as authentic as you can get from an Indonesian restaurant back in Malaysia/Singapore. But we would recommend going much earlier than the stated business hours. We were there 10min before 4pm, plenty of time before their posted closing time of 5pm. But slightly after 4pm, when customers walked in, they were told that the restaurant was closed!!

Enroute home, we stopped at the Malibu Hindu Temple. A beautiful temple hidden away in the hills just behind the famed Malibu Beach. The sculptures were amazingly intricate.

Then it was a smooth 5hr odd drive back up north to San Jose. Traffic got held up slightly along Highway 101 near Gilroy as everyone was turning to look at the huge forest fire burning at the Henry Coe State Park in the distant mountains.

If not for the heatwave, it was an otherwise wonderful summer vacation.

Take me out to the Ball Game!!!

Me and my 3 co-workers and best buddies (Kenta Fukami, Andrei Panchenko and Justin Holland) had free tickets to one of the Giants' game last night at the AT&T Park. It's not a game I am crazy about, but hey, who can say no to a free ticket worth $85 and I was 5 rows from the diamond plate. And of course, the chance to watch the legend of baseball Barry Bonds in action. Although we didn't see him hit a home run but he did hit the ball a couple of times but it was quite awesome!!!

Curious Shaayla

We had a good afternoon gathering at Natalie's place to visit the new baby. She just turned 1 month a few days ago. And of course, it was another occasion for Shaayla to play with her friends Alya, Katelyn, and Adam.

After that, we all had dinner at Red Kwali, an Asian restaurant. It's a Singaporean / Malaysian restaurant serving quite a wide variety of food that we're very familiar with. The mee goreng was great...spicy, but great. The laksa was not too good, though. But the kids really enjoyed the satay, roti prata, and char kway teow. We rounded off dinner with ice kachang. It was very far from the version that we're used to Singapore. It lacked gula melaka, and there was none of the color syrup or the carnation milk. The food quality is not too consistent at this restaurant, but it's one of the better Singaporean / Malaysian restaurants around.

By the time we got back home, Shaayla was obviously tired, but certainly not too tired to do a 'Curious George' stunt. She experimented with Daddy's shaver and managed to nick herself on her upper lip and chin. It was just 2 little cuts, but guess she was quite stunned by the blood. She didn't even burst out crying immediately after cutting herself. It was only after I noticed it when I walked into the bedroom. Well, there's no doubt she knows what NOT to play with the next time.

All Red for National Day

Last Sunday, we had a wonderful summer picnic up at San Francisco's Crissy Field. It was a good opportunity to celebrate Singapore's and Malaysia's National Day. Thanks to Johann, all of us were decked out in bright red t-shirts. And of course, Shaayla had a great time with her best friend, Alya.

And what's a Singapore/Malaysian picnic without satay and kuih.

Shaayla's First Visit to the Dentist

Suresh and I were apprehensive about Shaayla's first visit to the dentist this morning. But she surprised us both by behaving like a big girl throughout the visit.

After searching for pediatric dentists on the web, we finally decided on First Smile Pediatric Dentistry at Sunnyvale. She played with the toys and read the colorful books at the waiting area while I completed the paperwork. Then an assistant showed us a funny video of a monkey's visit to the dentist. That video really amused her. The examination room was bright and cheerful too and she had a fun time using a giant toothbrush on a toy dinosaur. She also listened attentively when the assistant how we should brush her teeth.

When she was told to lie down and they pinned the paper towel and shone the light down, we thought she would protest, but she was very co-operative. They even gave a pair of sunglasses to shield against the bright light. Throughout the cleaning, polishing and application of vitamin, she didn't flinch at all. Straight afterward, she got up and was all smiles. Guess the goodie bag made her day too..it was filled with a Piglet toothbrush, toothpaste, sticker, crayons and pencil.

Guess she's getting to be a big girl now and knows there's nothing to be afraid of.

Bravo, Shaayla!

A World of Discovery

We had a fun time at the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum today with Alya and her mum, Salizah. Both girls' summer classes have ended and we had to keep them 'entertained' for the next few weeks before their fall classes start.

The girls had a great time playing dress-up, baking pretend pizza, having a picnic with the animals and most of all, playing with water at the Water Works area.

The morning outing ended with lunch with Daddy and Aunty Wan at Falafel Drive-In.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat...well, almost

After getting our picnic lunch all packed up, it was off to Vasona Lake Park. The ride on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad was great. It was a short 7-min ride on an open-top train around the great expanse of the park. Despite being apprehensive about getting on the carousel initially, Shaayla got over her fear quick and it was all smiles the whole ride through. A shady tree provided the ideal spot for our picnic lunch of hotdog, hamburger, and egg sandwich.

A short drive to the other end of the park and we were at the boat launch area. After getting fitted with our life-jackets, it was off onto the pedal boat with Shaayla, our Captain, steering the boat.

A cool ice-cream provided just the right respite from the oppressive heat of the day.

Click on the photo above for all the photos of our picnic.

I MADE A PIZZA!

It was Shaayla's last class at "Imagination Station" on Wednesday and it was fitting that it ended with the kids making a pizza during the class. Throughout the entire session, the class learnt the song "I am a pizza" and it's now one of Shaayla's favourite.

We had a good time making the pizza with muffin bread and topping it off with cheese, pineapples and olives...although she only ate the muffin cheese in the end.

Fun at the Fair

Last Friday, we went to the Santa Clara County Fair with Salizah and Alya. It was an exceptionally hot afternoon as we 'cruised' the parking area for an available lot. Can't believe it was only the afternoon and the carpark was already full.

The fair looked rather exciting from the outside, what with the ferris wheel and rides. But, there was nothing much inside. We brought the girls on the carousel ride first before heading off to the petting zoo. The highlight for the girls was the petting zoo, I'm sure. They had a great time petting the small rabbits, feeding the goats and avoiding the pecking chickens. The stop at the livestock area was great too as we encountered sheep, cows, and pygmy goats.

Click here to see all the photos that we took.

Power of One!

Today was a turning point in my life as I discovered the "Malaysia-Today" website created by Raja Petra Kamarudin (cousin to the Selangor Sultan), who is a strong critic of the Badawi "Pak Lah" government. For the past couple of week I have read his blogs, which focus on telling the truth on the dirt of Malaysian politics and was astonished by the content in his blogs. You would have to read the blogs in their entirety to get a feel of what is going on in Malaysia today. Believe you me, it is not pretty. Never have I dreamt that Malaysia's problem with corruption and nepotism is huge, perpetrated by the big guns in Malaysian politics, would have escalated to such a scale. From corruption charges on the Police chief to Badawi flying to Australia in the middle of the night to talk to investigators from Washington on his son-in-law's corrupt involvement in the Iraq food-for-oil program. Thanks to the Internet, such information cannot be silenced by censorship, jail, death or the ISA Act. The Internet is as powerful today as television was in the 50's.

As you would have guessed, the Malaysian government tried to stop his blog by taking Raja Petra in for questioning, in relation to the comments placed in his blog. However, they (the infamous Malaysian police) could not arrest him. Why? 'Cause what is on the blog is the truth. I do not think the public would tolerate another "Anwar Ibrahim saga" (wonder what stories are being created to get Raja Petra in court). His blog not only digs out the dirt but in some cases, displays evidence (black and white). I can go on and on about what was written, but I would like to urge those who read my blog to spend a few minutes, take your cursor to the far right of this blog and click on the link that I have conveniently displayed (there is also the Keadilan site for your perusal).

You might ask me. What does us reading the "Malaysia-Today" blog got to do with title "Power of one"? Well, for the first time in my life, I felt that I should make a difference by spreading the truth on Malaysian politics and it starts with introducing those who visit this blog to "Malaysia-Today" site. This would be my contribution to the cause. The "cause" is to build awareness to those who read this blog. I am sure everyone is familiar with the phrase "You can bring the horse to the pond but you cannot force him to drink the water". My blog is the pond and you guys can choose to read the link or not, it is totally up to you. But for most of us being humans, we would like to drink from that pond.

Incidentally, this blog would also serve as a record to my future generations as evidence that their father, grandfather or great grandfather was not a man who worked, brought home the bacon and died. He contributed to society in some way by bringing forth awareness (it does not have to be big one). He believed that people were entitled to the truth and the truth begins with education and awareness.

My personal wish : UMNO to be defeated at the next elections and Anwar Ibrahim made the next PM of Malaysia. This is my honest solemn wish. I hope the guy up there is listening.

Disneyland here we come!

After several days of trawling the Net, we finally booked the hotels for our much-anticipated trip to Disneyland and Los Angeles. Although the trip is for the end of August, Shaayla is already very excited about and keeps talking about going to Disneyland to see Cinderella and Mickey Mouse. We've even done a calendar for her to cross out each day before our holiday!

We'll be doing 2 days in Disneyland to cover Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Then another 2 days further down south nearer to Redondo Beach, where we'll explore the famous Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach. And of course Suresh can't wait to explore the many restaurants at LA's Thai Town!

Of Chicken Rice and Bubur Cha Cha

Last night, Suresh's co-workers Daniel and Desiree came over for a casual get-together and dinner. Made chicken rice and bubur cha cha. Chicken rice turned out really well and all but 2 drumsticks were wiped out. Instead of just the usual coconut milk gravy, I added gula melaka to it and it was really much richer...and nicer.

Birthday Surprise for Johann

On Sunday, a surprise birthday party was organised for Johann. We brought Putri Salat and Chocolate Ganache cake. The cake turned out really well, with Suresh adding the icing letters on the cake.

Shaayla also tried riding on a 'big girl' bicycle for the first time. Guess we were surprised that she was actually tall enough to reach the pedals AND cycle! Our little girl is growing up...

Sunny Sausalito

It was a beautiful sunny day at Sausalito, a tiny seaside town just a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. A short walk among the gift shops later, we lunched at a very cosy pizza cafe. While the pizza was good, the same can't be said for the mushroom omelette which was rather bland. Can't blame Shaayla for abandoning that in favour of the Italian pizza. Click here to see all the photos of our day trip.

The ferry ride on the Blue & Gold ferry across to Fisherman's Wharf was great. We stood by the rails on the top deck and with wind in our hairs, we slowly sailed past the (in)famous Alcatraz Island before docking at Pier 41. The place was, as usual, packed with tourists. The earlier seabreeze worked its charm and Shaayla was slowly lulled to sleep in her stroller. She slept through the shopping trip at "After the Quake" and another souvenir shop where Pati got a few SF gifts for every one back home.

A quick trip to the vista point later, it was dinner at Indonesia Restaurant. Food was excellent, especially the Sambal Udang and Oxtail Soup. Definitely worth a second trip back!

Exciting new recipe website

While browsing the web for chocolate cake recipes for Johan's birthday surprise this coming Sunday, I came across a really exciting website -- http://www.recipezaar.com. The collection is amazing and literally thousands of recipes...from main dishes to desserts. They are also conveniently categorised, with useful tools, such as handy recipe conversion and printing and consolidated shopping list. This is one site I'm definitely going to frequent.

Our blog...at last

Finally, this afternoon, I sat down and decided to try my hand at creating a blog for us. Must say it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. But took me sometime to get used to editing photos on Photoshop...again.

Last week, we attended Katelyn's 3-year old birthday party and Shaayla had her arm painted for the first time. She didn't want her face painted, but she was game for butterflies being painted on her arm. I also made a steamed nine-layer kuih for Katelyn's birthday party.