Congratulations to Najib, the world's first murderer/minister

This is when I love to shout out "Malaysia Boleh". Ironically, this was a chant created to help the confidence of Malaysians to compete in the world arena by our dear Mahatir. However, we all use it for all the things that are wrong with the country, someone becomes prime minister after there is conclusive (the judges would deny this though cause they are not puppets of the administration!!!) evidence pointing him to the murder.....Malaysia Boleh!!! Indian protesters jailed for voicing out their opinions and how they felt after being suppressed for so many years.....Malaysia Boleh!!! Corrupt Indian MIC leader who has no constituent to govern can still remain as the party leader .....Malaysia Boleh!!!Religious freedom is denied to the minority, although allowed in the constitution, if you so much as express yourself, you're thrown in jail but the majority can yield their "keris" and talk down on other religions and it's perfectly ok.....Malaysia Boleh.

People leave their birth place for different reasons, but for Malaysian minorities, it was too obvious. When I tell people in America that minorities are below worse than animals in Malaysia, they seem shocked cause that only existed in the 50's. Well Malaysia is in it's 50's, sad to say. Why has there been no progress...(please don't look at the Petronas Towers and tell me that is progress....i would have to spit at that), 2 words "brain drain".

Brain Drain people brain drain....and mind you it's because of the exodus of minorities who knew a long time ago that they never stood a chance in the country of their birth. What happened after that, they all moved across the border south and made that country a jewel in South East Asia. Don't believe me!! If you can get your hand on the number of Malaysians in Singapore that are currently working there or converted their citizenship from Malaysian to Singaporean, you will be shocked. To this is say ......Malaysia Boleh!!!

Have fun Najib.....hope you and your crony's get rich during your term.

Shaayla's Winter Show

Today, we felt like our little girl Shaayla is really growing up. She's been practising hard in school for their winter show and finally, today was their performance at the Milpitas Community Center. She's been really enthusiastic about it and practising hard every evening as well.

This was going to be the first time she'll be performing on stage in front of a huge crowd. We had no idea of what to expect. But it turned out really well and she looked like she enjoyed herself.

Our 'Twin' Bundles of Joy

Suresh and I are constantly amazed at how alike Shaayla (when she was a baby) and Shayman look. We decided to dig through Shaayla's past photos for a comparison and these were what we found. They both have the same light-up-the-face kind of smile...such a joy.

Thank you, Po Po

It was with much sadness that we drove Shaayla's Grandma to the San Francisco Airport late Thursday night. Six months had gone by in a flash. Poor Po Po barely had time to get over her jetlag and Shayman was born...barely a week after she arrived. Since then, it's been busy busy almost everyday. But I think the greatest joy was seeing Shayman grow, becoming more cheeky and naughty each day. Without my Mum around to help the first couple of weeks, I think Suresh and I would have been running around like mad dogs.

Shaayla also enjoyed Po Po's company very much. Not a day passes by without her asking Po Po to play ball with her or to read her Princess stories to her. At times when my patience had been stretched thin, Po Po would still be very patient with her.

We only managed two very short holidays in the six months. One was to Fort Bragg in June and the other was to Santa Barbara and Solvang in August. We did manage to catch up with our friends at birthday parties and gatherings as well. And of course, Shaayla made a birthday card for Po Po's birthday on Aug 16.

Maybe Shaayla is really growing up. While she was sad that Po Po was leaving, somehow I think she understands that Po Po is going home. She has been great the past few days and we keep reminding her that we'll see Po Po in Nov when we make a trip to Singapore.

Talking Politics with Shaayla

This being the presidential election year in America, Shaayla's school is also taking the opportunity to educate them on the meaning of elections and of course, who's running for presidency. There's no doubt Shaayla recognises Obama and McCain now. She even points out the name 'Obama' on bumper stickers. She's also made up her mind about who she thought would make a better president...

This was how a conversation with Shaayla went one evening :

Me : (pointing to an image of McCain on TV) Do you know who this man is?

Shaayla : John McCain

Me : That's right..just like Obama, he too wants to be the President of America

Shaayla : What's President?

Me : A president is like a leader...just like the line leader when you line up in school? He takes care of everyone.

Shaayla : oh...

Me : So, who do you think will be a better President?

Shaayla : I think Obama

Me : Why? Why not John McCain?

Shaayla : Because I think Obama is a better line leader!

Me : ?!?!?!?

Shaayla's in the Olympics

Shaayla started her new school year in Junior K on August 18 with Merryhill School. It's a familiar place to her as she had been there since Jan 2008 for preschool. She took to her new grade really well and as her teacher, Ms Aimee, says...she's very sociable. She enjoys her classes and even enjoys homework. They receive about 3 to 4 worksheets each day and she's very enthusiastic about doing them (and doing them properly!).

Her school organised the first ever Merryhill School Olympics and they even had an opening ceremony this morning.
Shayman, our little boy, is also growing fast. He just turned 5 months old last week and is now a busy and happy baby. He hasn't yet learnt how to roll over, but has instead got the hang of sitting unassisted.

He also enjoys visits to the park when his big sister will push him on the swing.