Alamak 2010 already ???

Sigh ... seems like only yesterday I posted about bullies :) Seems like I only post in alternating years ... very very bad. It's a function of being busy with other things-lah, and resting instead of blogging when i have some time to myself!! Haha see this year I am going to be brutally honest with self. If you detect a hint of mania, don't worry you're not alone, I'm a little crazy too.

So to bring you up to speed, over the last 15 months the highlights are we gained a dog Sora and a Filipina housekeeper Ms Tat who makes our lives saner, cleaner and our meals a lot tastier ... hey i can almost hear that put to song! We've had two Christmases (2008 in Nassau - same old same old and last year in Orlando-weird but not bad), 3 piano recitals with Bernard making his vocal debut in one and Wayne in the other! Man oh man these guys can SING! Ryan starred in a video for the FIFA conference in the Bahamas. One Jazz summer camp for Bernard at the Washington Jazz Arts Institute where he found his groove-thang! He also made his stage debut with the Duke Ellington School Jazz Band. Ryan stayed on the Honour Roll all of 2008-2009 and earned his Wii finally! We all spent lots of the summer beaching and boating. In October Wayne had a fight with a fork-lift and lost heroically, he did however get to keep his finger (g-rated blog prohibits explicit pictures) and it is now on the mend albeit known as Franken-finger henceforth. We adopted Sora in August 2009 and despite all our best efforts we are still only chew toys to her except for Bernard whom she accepts as Master of her universe. The Master however has not been able to disabuse her of the habit of chewing on our ankles. We went to the wilds of New Hampshire for the summer and ATVd and ziplined to our hearts content. What a RUSH! In November, my best friend got married and they made a baby on the honeymoon! God has a BIG sense of humour :) Ms. Tat came to us in December and we are already running with the precision of a Stepford family but without the scary stuff! We have lots of adventure and good food thrown in. When we saw her at the airport on Dec 8 2009 Ryan said "Wow, she's even smaller than you Mummy!" She was so happy to see us as her plane had been diverted to Newfoundland due to engine problems in a snowstorm. Needless to say we are happy she made if halfway around the world to be with us. We went to Orlando for Christmas and had so much fun we forgot to shop ... nah ya know that's saying alot for a Bahamian family!! Ok, i think that pretty much sums it up to the end of 2009. Enjoy the photos! Tomorrow I will hopefully post about January 2010 :)

Bullying

This past week I attended a Grade 8 class meeting in Bernard's new school dealing with the subject of "Bullying". Posted on the notice board in this room were two quotes:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
and
"The greatest danger to our future is apathy.:" (Jane Goodall)
What an amazing thing to see these kids thinking NOW about their responsibilities to ACT to better their world!

This class of 23 13 year olds is tasked with the job of heightening awareness to bullying in all its myriad forms in order to eradicate it from their school. Their homework this week is to answer trhe following questions:
1. What is bullying?
2. What kinds of bullying occur in our school?
3. What can we do to make our school safe for everyone?

These children are integrating learning and being of service to their fellow men; actions that will serve not only to make them better people but our world an infinitely better place than before.

Jane Goodall also said "Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved." Although she was probably talking about chimpanzees (segue:only 1 percent of DNA separates our species!!) this definitely also applies to humans. If we all have this sensitivity and abhorrence to bullying, no matter when we realise it, we cannot stand by while bullying occurs, whether it's by a kid on a playground or by an unjust government. We have to thank the educators in our midst, the teachers, the activists, the volunteers, the whistle-blowers, the journalists, the investigative reporters and Barisan Rakyat bloggers in Malaysia; individuals who have decided that it isn't enough to be good only in theory. These individuals who take their guts in their hands each day to stand up for what is so wrong even though it is institutionalised. In Malaysia, these individuals who have come to shout together and educate their fellow people are Bangsa Malaysia. You people who have stood up and not only shouted out your concerns and your ideas and you willingness to ACT, but have actually ACTED; I say to you: ROCK ON KAWANS! You have even influenced the tiny group of Malaysians here in the Bahamas to identify ourselves as Malaysians and not Chinese-Malaysian or Indian-Malaysian. YOU ROCK! Don't stop now, you have come so far in such a short time. The time is right for justice to be served. Baha'u'llah; Prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith exhorts us to uphold justice "'O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbour. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behoveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.'
Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words, 2

ROCK ON ZORRO! ROCK ON RPK! ROCK ON HARIS! ROCK ON BANGSA MALAYSIA! ROCK ON!

Update on the boys...

Our boys are all in new schools this year, Bernie moved from Tambearly to Lyford Cay International School, Ryan from Tambearly to The Meridian School and Patrick has started in Rising 3s at The Meridian School! Although there really is only one additional child in school this year it seems like the morning routine has tripled. Wayne and I are up at 6am and still having to rush out the door at 8am! It's crazy but so far we have only forgotten 2 things over the last week. School started last week but due to 2 hurricanes we had Thursday and Friday off. The kids are adjusting well, Patrick is still crying for his mum abit... a fact he tells everyone he meets with sound effects thrown in for good measure so I tend to think that this crying is not really a bad thing! We were most worried about Ryan because he is extremely averse to change but yesterday he told me "I am so happy at my new school" so I am ecstatic! Bernard has taken to LCIS like a duck to water and is working hard already. He is getting his own MacBook later this week and then he will be on cloud 9. Wayne and I are pretty busy these days with work, our own business Pure Bahamas Ltd. and our family but we are pretty happy with how far we have come in 14 years. God only knows how we did it and He continues to hold us in the palm of his hand. I look back over the past year and these are the things that come to mind: 1.I rode the Kraken (huge rollercoaster at Seaworld) and survived. I might do it again and this time try to keep my eyes open but i'm not making any promises. I remember riding my first roller coaster in Genting Highlands with my parents and brother in 1993 and that one was situated at the edge of a cliff...which explains why i never went back on one again until this year! 2. Patrick is potty trained 3.Ryan grew taller and wider 4. we had a great summer 5. Bernie's piano skills are growing exponentially with Ms. Kim 6. We got two fish and they are still alive 7. Kev and Marianne have been married 1 whole year 8. I went to Haifa for 10 days and 9. I'm alive and well and so are my parents and loved ones

Launch!

It's a good day to finally lauch this blog. My eldest son Bernard is 14 today. He is named for my dad Bernard Khoo aka Zorro Unmasked , fearless champion of justice in Malaysia. I started this blog in 2006 at the urging of my Dad but you know I wanted it to be perfect before launching ... those were the days. Now I know that I just have to do it ... don't wait, life is too short and besides who the heck do i think i am or that I will EVER be perfect .... or at least more perfect than I already am :) Gotcha ...
Anyway here goes ... enjoy :)

Bittersweet parting Feb 2006

Three months have flown by and it's time for Mum and Pa to go home to KL... we're all sad but trying to keep a stiff upper lip

We enjoyed their stay very much, all that home cooking and catching up on family happenings back home in Malaysia, travelling around Nassau and showing them Harbour Island. We got to celebrate Patrick's birth,Christmas, Kev's birthday AND Chinese New YEar together and here are some pics to prove it

Here's my support team minutes before Patrick's arrival

And here's Patrick Ross 2 minutes post-womb!

Christmas was a smashing hit of course, we got presents all the way from Malaysia not to mention a Malaysian Christmas dinner!






We celebrated Kev's birthday on Jan 16 ... our present to him was to take Mum and Dad out for a scrumplicious dinner at Cafe Matisse our favourite restaurant

Chinese New Year January 2006

2006 began with a bang! Poh-poh and Kong-kong were still here and we were able to welcome the New Year of the Dog in style. Everyone's been enjoying the great food since Poh-poh and Kong-kong arrived in November to welcome yours truly, Patrick Ross to the family. I was still strictly on baby formula at this time so I'm looking forward to my trip to Malaysia next year to sample all the goodies. Mummy is looking rosy due to the good food and protective care of Poh-poh and Kong-kong during her confinement. It was so effective that she is still rosy a year later heh heh. We are all smiles because it's such a blessing to be with your family and we don't get to do this very often. Kon Hee Fatt Choy!




Look at that spread .. all home made and some hand-carried from Malaysia ... now THAT'S love... Thanks Poh-poh and Kong-kong



The kids paying their respects to the elders ...

Third ...

And last but not least ... we present Patrick Ross born to us on November 3 2005. He was a really calm baby, hardly ever crying when he was first born and truly patient. He looks exactly as baby Bernie did and is pretty laid back. We think he resembles Kong Kong Bernard most of all. Patrick has become much more outgoing and assertive (to put it mildly) as he approaches his first birthday. He is mostly smiley but can be very vocal and expressive when he isn't getting his way. His brothers love him very much and are forever kissing and hugging this bundle of joy. He was the littlest one at birth but the way he's going we think he will probably be the largest of them all when all is said and done.

Second ...

we had Ryan 8 years and 20 days later! He came into this world kicking and screaming on September 28 2002. Ryan was a very loud baby, and God help us if we didn't have his bottle ready and waiting when he opened his eyes. All our neighbours knew when he had to wait for his bottle. Ryan's babyhood was a pretty exhausting time for Wayne and me, what with us both being 8 years older and trying to cope with an intense baby who was very different from our calm Bernie. It was a hard time for Bernie also, trying to adjust to this new addition who was taking up all his parents' time and attention. Needless to say Ryan brought a lot of change and excitement to our family but we all survived him and he is our sweetboy

First ....

we had Bernie. It's hard to talk about Bernie without gushing so you have been warned. Bernie was born on September 8 1994 when Wayne and I were young :) He was a great baby, very healthy and calm. He didn't sleep very much until he was about 3! When he was about 1 1/2 years old he brought us a "B" from his toy set and said "B" and that's when we realised we had a genius in the family.