Expiring Passport

We had a major 'excitement' the last few days. For no reason I decided to check the passports on Monday. And lo and behold ... 萱萱's passport expires in less than 6 months. The moment I saw that all my alarm bells blared till I saw red. How is 萱萱 going to come with us next Monday? Indonesia will not let her in with a passport that has less than 6 months on it!

The moment we found out we tried to submit a new application online. Meimei brought 萱萱 to take a passport photo immediately that evening and submitted the application. We also started to explore alternative options such as going to Sentosa or Mandai for a staycation. I had resigned to the possibility of losing the Scoot tickets. But I couldn't care less ... we've tried to use it many times. At this point if it goes to waste I take it as fate and would not give it a second thought.

I googled furiously to see how we can expedite the application and thankfully there seemed to be a way to accelerate the process for special circumstances. Naturally such appeals need to be done in person. So I went to ICA building on Tuesday to make the special request to get 萱萱 issued before end of the week. Thankfully it worked and the passport would be ready by Friday.

I also took the opportunity to complain about not receiving the passport renewal email. I received it for 阳阳 a year ago in our joint email and for mine too recently and was able to get the passports renewed timely. Well ... it turns out 萱萱's email was tagged to Meimei's. So I had the officer help us change it to the jointed email so I could help to track the critical tasks going forward.

Phew .... so glad we managed to get it done. And so thankful this is Singapore. I doubt there would be any other country in the world that would be able to turn this around with such efficiency without special offerings to officials.

 

Packing For Holiday

Pleasantly surprised that 萱萱 has been drafting a list of items to pack for the holiday. Glad Meimei initiate the activity to give her more responsibilities. And after putting the list together, both kids went about preparing the items and put them nicely on the bed so we can pack them into the luggages quickly. This really gives me an impetus to plan for more holidays!

Raid: Another Mediocre Mythical

I don't ever get a break in this game .... another "yap-yap" Mythical champion. Why can't they just give me something more meta.

Kiddos May 2025

I was away most of the month for work in Cincinnati. So I could only catchup on what's happening with the family through photos. 

Fun At The Beach

One of the rare occasions where the stars align and we were able to bring the kids out to the beach for some "Sun, Sand & Fun". The kids were obviously excited. And even more so for Xy since it was probably more than a year since the last trip with us to the beach. The last round she didn't even want to step on the sand. This time she seems to be less picky about the sand and so was having more fun.

Expired Cashcards

There is one carpark in Singapore that is still fitted with 90s technology. You would not be able to get out of the place unless you have a traditional cashcard to insert into the carpark terminal. To pile on the total crappiness, there is no cashcard top-up terminal at the place. This happens to be the place where 阳阳's orthopaedic has her practice. 

And the biggest problem I have? All of the cashcards in the car don't work. And most have expired for years. And unfortunately there is a 2 years grace period to refund the cards. So whatever cash that was on those cards .... all the money is gone. Which is total BS in my book.

Staycation @Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay

To celebrate XY's birthday Meimei and YeeYee had booked a connecting room at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay. It's not a theme room but just as fun. Key was to let the kids have a chance to stay out. They spent the whole trip in the playroom at the hotel. Because it was just a day we didn't pack their swimming suits. Both kids were disappointed about but we reminded that we have a holiday trip coming up.

The rooms were spacious and well furnished. They had a bay window in each room where the maids could sleep so all was perfect. I couldn't squeeze in the 2 bedder so we booked another single room. 

Replacing iMac With Macbook

It's been on the cards for a while but I was lazy and keep pushing it right. I could no longer update the OS on the iMac so the writing was on the wall for more than a year now. It's not like the iMac is broken, on the contrary it's still working fine. Except that it is starting to slow. Deliberate obsolescence by Apple maybe? I'll never know. But anyways since I'm back from US and have a few days off I decided to take the plunge and switch out the iMac for my M2 chip Macbook. I have 2 monitors lying around in the storage room so I took one out to do a clamshell mirroring setup.

It's working pretty good. Didn't have to spend an extra cent as I repurpose stuff on the desk. I was planning to buy a new Windows PC if it didn't work out but now I've saved $2-3K for another holiday!

 

Food At Cincinnati

Tried a couple of new places this trip. Found a nice Japanese restaurant with sashimi at a good price. Also a Mexican restaurant where I could get soup and rice.

Sleeping On The Sofabed

I just can't get a proper night's sleep on the bed. It's way too soft and sinks in at the middle. And the aircon always blows directly at the bed. I think it's a thing for guest in hotel rooms in America but I can't stand it. It gives me a stuffy nose and I can't sleep. 

So I had to devise an alternate sleeping arrangement ... hence the booking for the sofa bed just in case of situations.

This is perfect for what I needed. A harder backing so I can keep my back straight and my lungs open instead of constricting from being bend. The only trouble I have is having to put all the pillows and bedding back where it's meant to be every morning. But its worth the hassle ... I need good sleep to work through the day.

I "Broke" My Door

Came back to the hotel after a long day and as I close the door I hear a loud bang. I thought it was a gunshot right at the entrance of my hotel room and was frantically checking myself to see if I was shot. Thankfully I was unhurt and it took me a while to realise that the top hinge of my hotel room door has been dislodged. No wonder it felt funny this past week when the door seemed misaligned and wouldn't close properly.

So I had to wait for maintenance to come fix the door before I could do anything else. Thankfully they have one onsite even though it's already 8pm on a Friday night. I was prepared to switch to another room for the night if they couldn't fix it.

 

Book Hunt @Barnes & Noble Kenwood Towne Center Cincinnati

Love love love bookstores, especially the big ones. Meimei sent me on a book hunt and I gladly obliged. I just get lost in a bookstore exploring the different genre of books. It brings me back to my young days when I would be a gleeful kid running amok in the bookstore haha. Meimei couldn't find it for a reasonable price in Singapore. The listed price here is a fraction of what it would cost to have it shipped to Singapore.

I tried to find the book but the place is just so big that I couldn't locate the right shelf for it. I made sure I checked online that there was the book before I came. There was a Barnes and Noble just 2 minutes from the hotel but didn't carry this. Eventually I had to enlist help of the staff to find it.

Work Travels: 2 Weeks In Cincinnati

Traveling again to Cincinnati for a workout. This time it's for the project replan. It's been 3 years now since we started the 3rd iteration. Unfortunately the software is simply not ready for what we need it to do so everything just gets delayed.

I would prefer we gather in Bangalore but it seems they want to take turns so the US based folks don't always have to be away from family. There is a plus side though having it in US ... you can limit the number of participants to truly the ones that we need instead of having the entire army of people in the room. 80% of people in the room are typically there without contributing a single input. I think it's a cultural thing where being present is important. So I'm glad we limit it to the smallest number of representative for each stream and get it done.

Packing is easier this time since we are past the cold winter months. I picked a Saturday morning flight so I can reach there by Saturday night. The only down side is that we arrive on Saturday night and Hertz is not open when all the other brands are. The first leg is a direct from Singapore to San Francisco, then Denver before reaching Cincinnati. The one proper meal I had was lunch during the layover at San Francisco. It wasn't anything to shout about but at least it's tastier than whatever they were trying to serve on the flight.

I upgraded to the Volkswagen SUV for this trip. Because it was not Hertz I had to get insurance as an extra add-on ... I received an email from the the company's travel desk to do so.

I booked a nice room with sofa bed this time at the Marriott. I still think the next time we are here I might just switch to staying at the Hilton Homewood Suites. I lost my Platinum status so don't have access to the lounge breakfast whereas the Homewood has daily breakfast included for all guest. Much better deal really and I don't have to drive out everyday to get food.

And not to forgot the essential travel item, a bottle of nice cognac from Changi duty free so I don't have to spend crazy prices to get a drink at the bar.

Love Letters: How Does A Bee Go To School?

 

Kiddos Apr 2025

Only a few pictures this month. I've been in the office for a whole week as we have guest. It's been difficult to get pictures of 萱萱 since she is very conscious of photos being taken of her. I may soon have to put my blog on total private setting so as not to trigger her strong opposition to having any of her pics online.