Patrick Pang | www.patrickpang.com

Transforming a bin into a creative art piece

May 22, 2013 – 11:53 am

HDB recently organized Bin Art Fest @ Punggol where residents were invited to participate to paint and decorate bins. We see the bins everywhere but in fact, we can decorate these bins into creative art pieces. One of my Twitter friends @justbeingarlyn came and participated and many of my fellow neighbours came and participated too.

I feel that this is a meaningful event as it gets everyone in the community to be involved in the shaping of our precinct. The shaping of the precinct not only includes providing feedback on improvement, but to little things such as designing the bins to create and add colours to our living environment. Moving forward, I do hope that we will be able to organize more of such activities and have more people coming forward to participate.

Tags HDB | Category Punggol | Permalink | Comment (0)

2 months after going to school

May 21, 2013 – 11:13 am

2 months after going to school, Evan seems to be adapting well. If we look at him and compare to Ethan and Ezanne, he is definitely doing well. At the same age, he is more independent and is less reliant on us (not too sure if that is a good thing). He doesn’t cry anymore and walks in to the centre by himself. He will even wave to us goodbye at the window, something that we don’t do with Ethan and Ezanne, not because we doesn’t want to do it but for them, they will start crying after doing so.

We hope he will continue to enjoy going to school.

Category Evan | Permalink | Comment (0)

Learning through playing

May 19, 2013 – 10:54 pm

Learning through the books maybe a difficult thing in today’s context given that our children are more active and creative. They behave like a grown up and always attempt to be independent. As such, our teaching methods got to evolve to keep up with times.

Recently, as we were preparing for our grocery shopping list, we decided to get the children involved. For Ethan, we wanted him to think of what he wanted to buy and draft out his shopping list and include the quantity. For Ezanne, it was for her to practice her writing skills and for Evan, its just about having the write posture of holding the pen.

In the end, Ethan draft out his shopping list of 5 items that he wanted to get. As a form of encouragement, we got him what he wrote. Hopefully, we will be able to incorporate more day-to-day activities into home learning.

Category Ethan Evan Ezanne Family | Permalink | Comment (0)

Gift from Wife

May 15, 2013 – 9:33 pm

It has been many months since my birthday and wifey has also told me that she wants to get me a watch. She did not get 1 for me first because she wanted me to choose it myself and to put it simply, its not easy to find 1 I like. But recently, I saw 1, a G-Shock, which I really like and we decided to buy it.

Thank you dear wifey.

Tags G-Shock | Category Family Me, Myself and I | Permalink | Comment (0)

Charlie Brown Cafe

May 15, 2013 – 12:22 am

Recently, we brought the children to Charlie Brown Cafe. The cafe is said to be Southeast Asia’s first peanut themed restaurant. So basically, you will see Snoopy and friends at the cafe.

We checked the website before we went and it was indicated that the cafe opens at 8am. However, we reached about 10am and it seems like it has just opened as the staff was busy setting up. We got the children around the small area and took pictures with Snoopy and Friends. We ordered pancakes and crepes for the children. For the children, the servings seems just right, but for the adults, its definitely not enough. In terms of pricing, its not really cheap though. We paid about $80 for the breakfast. I guess we were just paying for the experience rather than the food although we feel that the food was quite good.

Tags Charlie Brown, Snoopy | Category Ethan Evan Ezanne Family Food Review | Permalink | Comment (0)

#darkclouds

May 8, 2013 – 10:19 am

I’m not being negative but these days, weather has become unpredictable in Singapore. I’m beginning to learn to appreciate the dark clouds that I see. Sometimes it can be pretty but sometimes it can be scary. If you are interested, you can search for #darkclouds on Instagram or follow me on Instagram to view the pictures.

Category Others Photography | Permalink | Comment (0)

Punggol Ranch @ Punggol End

May 6, 2013 – 12:15 am

Drive along Punggol Road and travel all the way in to Punggol End, you will see a new attraction of Punggol Town, Punggol Ranch. Personally, I feel that Punggol Ranch is currently in its “running in” stage with its facilities opening gradually. At this current stage, you can experience horse riding, booked for a night stay at its chalet or simply just walk around the area and enjoy the countryside feel.

Last week, I brought the children for a horse riding session. Depending on their height and weight, they will either ride a horse or a pony at $10 each. Ethan, Ezanne and Evan were all ready for the horse ride.

The rain came and in the end, only Ethan and Ezanne took the horse and pony ride. Evan decided to give it a miss. Ethan was the first to go and he had the chance to take the horse and pony ride. According to him, he preferred the horse ride as it was more stable. As for Ezanne, the pony ride was an enjoyable one for her.

I thought the children should get near and have the opportunity to learn more about the animals up close. This time round, I’m glad they enjoyed themselves but I’m sure we will return to explore more.

Tags Punggol Ranch | Category Ethan Evan Ezanne Family Punggol | Permalink | Comment (0)

Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro

May 5, 2013 – 5:13 pm

Other than the usual restaurants, its quite a challenge to look for Halal restaurants which can cater to a large group of people. Therefore, I was quite excited when I was told of one and it was Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro. They had 2 outlets, 1 at Beach Road and the other at Millennia Walk and I went to the one at Millennia Walk.

For me, I tried the grill chicken. Although it was just a piece of chicken, but it was a filling one especially with the 3 pieces potatoes that came along with it. The only thing that I didn’t like was the excessive olive oil. My friends tried the meatballs and they enjoy it too. Ice water are served t $0.50 each (refillable).

Overall, Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro is worth a visit.

Tags Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro, Millennia Walk | Category Food Review | Permalink | Comment (0)

Building the kampung spirit

May 4, 2013 – 11:10 pm

Many many years ago when we still have kampung in Singapore and when TVs were not a usual thing in household, people will gather at either a community gathering point or visit their neighbours at their homes and watch TV programmes together. As the country advances and as more people begin to own TV at home, we start to watch TV in our own home.

As grassroots leaders, it is our duty to bond the community together. Personally, I always like to see people coming together and starts chatting with each other and understand one another better, thus strengthening our community bond and building the kampung spirit. We started a movie screening event where residents young and old come together and watch a movie together. Subsequently, we created a platform for our own residents to sell and exchange items and having our fellow residents supporting each other.

I do hope that more people will be able to join us at our activities and events and lets build our kampung together.

Tags Punggol Gardens RC | Category Punggol | Permalink | Comment (1)

Evan’s first hospitalization experience

May 4, 2013 – 10:25 pm

Evan was recently warded at KKH due to an infection after being bitten by an unknown insect. We were quite worried when the doctor informed us that he had to be warded as we were not sure how he will cope with the new environment. For 2 nights, Evan was behaving well as we were trying hard to keep him occupied as he had show signs of homesick. Constantly, he had been asking about Ethan and Ezanne.

At the hospital, they have toys and rides to keep him occupied and it was definitely not easy for mummy as he accompanied him for 2 nights. We were delighted that he recovered quickly. Its definitely an experience for us as a fam

Category Evan Family | Permalink | Comment (0)