All these traveling for work has its sacrifices. I'm missing a lot of family activities. And it's not just when I'm away, but also in the weeks I'm back home because of the jet lag. I could only find a couple of pictures to share this month. No 萱萱 pictures though ... she is in her 'teenage' phase and hates to take pictures.
萱萱 didn't do well for her Math and Science Weighted Assessment in the first term. So we signed her up for tuition at Mindstretcher ... which means additional homework before each class. And as typical of kids this age, they don't seem to recall that they have homework till a half hour before the class. So now every lunch has become a rush to get the homework done while begging to be fed.
Dress up day again at school. I think they do this once every few years. Both kids wanted to go as Harry Potter and were fighting/melting down over the same costume. Meimei has to whip out her magic to come up with another on very short notice. Meimei's the best!
We rarely went to the restaurant this trip. We had a lot of ubereats orders for dinner at the pool. I kinda preferred it too as it's more relaxing. These pic are those where we did eat out at the restaurant.
Going home after a tiring 2 weeks supporting the quarter close. Checked-in on Tuesday and interestingly I was given the option to choose a section of the plane where it was a 2-3-2 configuration on the Houston to San Francisco leg. It doesn't say its premium economy so I thought this must be a smaller plane. I picked one of the 2 seaters on the left since it was further forward.
When I board I was pleasantly surprised that these were premium economy seats. My first time on this class and best part is that these are the new plane configurations where they have a very large LCD entertainment screen on back of each seat. There is also the side panels that lets you lean against with a pillow and generally lots of space on the shoulder rest and legs. They even have a popup panel to raise your feet at a comfortable angle when you lower the backrest.
Pretty impressed with these. Hopefully I'll get more chances to get on the premium economy class, especially for longer flights.
Slow month for pictures. Traveling for work didn't help. I'm very much into getting McAllen stabilised and finishing the quarter close. Hopefully all these will change the next few months since the project is now live.
McDonald's had launch a new burger in the US, the Big Arch. There was some meme going on the internet when the CEO of McDonald's posted videos of him trying the Big Arch and then other fast food chains CEO did the same.
They don't have it in Singapore so I was rallying to try it while I get the chance here in McAllen. I was disappointed they destroyed the old Big Mac taste I was so used to when they introduced a new recipe a few years ago. Been on double burger since but the Big Arch may be a new staple for me.
Turned out pretty good. It seems to have bits of bacon and fried onions on it that gave it that extra flavour kick. I wonder if it'll be the same in Singapore if and when it arrives because the Singapore McDonald's have to be Halal certified so the ingredients they may slightly differ.
Whatever the case, this is my go-to now in the US McDonald's.
The plane was fully packed with only a single seat left on my flight from Singapore to San Francisco. It seems there were diversions of flights due to the Middle East war and many folks who were originally going through Dubai or Doha were instead sent eastwards to get back to the US instead through Singapore. An Indian boy about the age of 萱萱 was seated in the middle seat beside me. My Papa bear instinct kicked in on the trip and I helped him with the food, gave him wet tissues to clean his hands etc. His parents had a baby and were seated further back after the bathrooms.
I came early before the quarter close to make sure we had things nailed down so it'll be a smoother close. Several of the DT team members are also coming on-site. I have Martin for company this trip though so I expect it'll be easier for meals. I requested for a larger car so Martin can get in haha.
2x Primals again. I had 50 shards and wasn't hopeful. It took 197 primals to get the last mid-tier Mythical Fjorad. But somehow it popped after 18 shards. I'm elated but also cursing myself for selling her 6 star soul few months ago. I never thought I would pull her and made the bad decision to sell her soul which would have added another 20 speed. For a buff stipper, speed is everything and I in my foolishness sold it. Bah!
They often squabble like all siblings do. 萱萱 tends to be very stern, less flexible and sometimes in my eyes, bullies 阳阳. 阳阳 is soft, sometimes naughty and dearly loves his sis. I had always wish they get well together because I was never close to my bro. I would like them to learn from Meimei and have a good relationship with each other. But 萱萱 sometimes makes it very difficult to see that.
Until she gets put into a situation where she has to be the big sis. So it happened today where I refuse to carry the swim bags and insist the kids carry their own. Suddenly it triggered 萱萱's big sis instinct and she simply picked up 阳阳's bag too. I like seeing it but also know it's a fickle moment. The challenge is how to make it more permanent where 萱萱 knows she is the big sis and should act like one.
Meimei research and found ActiveSG table tennis training for the kids this week during the 1 week school break. We had briefly chat about picking up table tennis as a CCA during dinner. 阳阳's going to P3 next year and would need to pick one. Table tennis is a good sport to help him build agility and strength in his joints. We had hope this training would spark the interest in table tennis.
Unfortunately the kids had lots to complain about the training. Meimei commented in resignation after that she can give up the idea of getting a table tennis national coach to teach the kids. Well I'm glad Meimei tried to get the kids the best.
We had a tiny stowaway today during our journey home. I had just entered the PIE when something moved in the corner of my eye. I was driving so I had to keep my eyes on the road. But you cannot ignore something that has a wiggling tail squirming past your dashboard. The kids were very excited seeing him though.
I couldn't do anything till we were parked. But by that time, the little stowaway had already gone to the corner which served as a good hideaway when I tried to catch it with a tissue. The kids were irked by it and I took the opportunity to tell them about not eating in the car. We can only hope it finds another place away from our car to hide. It had better not fall onto my face or body when I'm driving though ... that may cause an accident I would definitely be so embarrassed to explain.
The rain was so bad I got all wet just getting to the school gate to try and pick the kids. Ana had already picked them from the gate but I was trying to give them a lift. So Meimei had to be the go-between since only she has the app to contact the kids on their watch.
Eventually we managed to confirm that I would pick them from the school drop off lobby. However when I reached, the kids were outside gate 4 and only allowed to go into the school again when I arrived.
When 萱萱 and 阳阳 got into the car, 阳阳 was visibly shaken and in a foul mood. 萱萱 seemed to be very angry too but trying to console 阳阳. From the bits and pieces of conversation I could make out in the journey home ... the rain was so horribly strong I couldn't hear much ... the school guard refused to allow Ana to go into the school and they were stopped at the gate. The security guard pushed 阳阳 and he nearly fell down the stairs.
So 阳阳 felt bullied and was very angry that he couldn't fight back. So without any way of direct recourse, both kids let out their anger and frustration by drawing up a demeaning picture of the guard together with a few choice words. I didn't chastise them for the strong language as I remember feeling the same utter sense of helplessness and fury when I bullied as a young kid.
I don't have much to share this month in terms of photos. I was away on the first and last week of the month and there are only a few photos I received. Even when I was in Singapore I was dealing with jet lag and trying to sort out the mess of the month end close. I'm glad we went live and close out the first month end process. It's a project I've been working every weekday night for the past 18 months to deliver.
Travelled to Bangalore this week on a short trip. It's a mini Finance workout to run through test cases so it's just me. We went out for lunch each day and the team brought me to try Bryani which is one of my favourite dishes. I discover a glorious treat in a papadum that is topped with freshly cut tomato, cucumbers and onions. I was cautious in eating raw stuff outside the hotel but they assured me that it'll be fine. I also had mutton soup which you cannot really find anymore in Singapore. We went to the same restaurant twice in a row because I loved the food there.
