Your first summer job

I offered you at the beginning of this summer to earn from money by helping shred my old files. I offered $10/box and I had 5 boxes. I had reminded u a few times since I offered. I haven't seen u coming. It's almost the end of the summer holiday. I suddenly got a phone from you yesterday that you wanted to come today.
The reason you decided to come was because you accidentally deleted your family value points at home. You need those point to pay for the day camp at the cruise in 10 days. You remember my offer and called me yesterday. Both your mommy and I are so proud of you being responsible and looking for alternative.

This is our BOY Deon!!

Below is the message between your mommy and I just earlier today.

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

-----Original Message-----
From: pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:59:26
To: Dragon (Amy's travel BB)<dragon@digipad.org>
Reply-To: pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net
Subject: Re: Tropica

I am proud of him too!!!
------Original Message------
From: Dragon (Amy's travel BB)
To: pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net
Subject: Re: Tropica
Sent: Aug 15, 2010 5:02 PM

I was so proud when he suddenly came out and told me to needs to go to ur house to work so he can earn some money to pay for his day camp on the cruise since he screw up and accidentally deleted the family value sheet on the computer which confirms the 900+ points (that he read many chapters of Harry Porter and earned over last 2 weeks) that he lost. Glad that he accepted since he screwed up, he accepts consequence and is looking for alternative ways instead of playing the victim role

----- Original Message -----
From: pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net [mailto:pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net]
Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 04:53 PM
To: dragon
Subject: Re: Tropica

Hahaha....he's doing great! Just my shredder over heats sometimes and need to wait before he could start again. He's almost done with the 1st box. He seems quite enjoy it and good attitude towards his job. Lol!
------Original Message------
From: Dragon (Amy's travel BB)
To: pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net
Subject: Re: Tropica
Sent: Aug 15, 2010 4:57 PM

Ok. Ty. How is he doing? Must be super tired?

----- Original Message -----
From: pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net [mailto:pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net]
Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 04:47 PM
To: dragon
Subject: Re: Tropica

I already have dinner plan at 6:30 at Banana Leaf. I can drop off De at Tropika at 6:40.
------Original Message------
From: Dragon (Amy's travel BB)
To: pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net
Subject: Tropica
Sent: Aug 15, 2010 4:50 PM

U wanna join us for dinner at Tropica at 6:30?

Consequence/Effect

Uncle Allen brought Javier and Samantha to play with you tonight. They were in the pool while you decide not to swim since you swam quite a bit in the last while. You all had fun together.

We, the adults, were singing in the Karaoke Room. About couple hours later, you came in and wanted to talked to your mom. What happened was you accidentally broke the Towel Rack in the basement washroom while drying your feet. You were very upset of yourself for that had happened. Uncle Allen saw you in the basement. You said to him that you expected mommy to give you hard time. You knew you wouldn't hide about this. You went to tell mommy about this. Your mommy went to the basement with you to check on the damage. Your mommy knew you didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident. However, had you taken the towel down from the rack to wipe your feet instead of the pulling from the rack with your feet lean against the rack, this would not have happened.

Your mommy didn't give you any hard time or penalize you. She wanted you to know the consequence or effect of your action although it was an accident. Your mommy explained to you the procedure to get the towel rack fixed. It needed 4 trades all together to complete the job. Your mommy asked what were you planning to do about it? You told her you want to pay for it but only you didn't have enough money. All you could give was $53. Your mommy told you if you were willing to give all you had, she would pay the rest. Your mommy came back to the Karaoke Room and told us the above. 5 minutes later, you came down with a $50 bill and a $5 bill to give to your mommy. You seemed to feel good about your contribution and being responsible for the effect of the action.

It was a lesson for you to learn that there is effect in everything we do whether it's intentional or unintentional. We all have to be responsible for it. I am glad and proud of you being a thoughtful, responsible and taking ownership of your action.

Well done Deon!

Trusting Kid

Hi Deon,

Your mommy discovered the nice beach in the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. She wanted to take you there. Below was the conversation you and mommy had. It was very sweet and heart melting. I am sure when you read this in later days, you will appreciate your thankfulness, trust and the intimacy you have with mommy.

Love ya!
Kaima

Sent: Jul 25, 2010 3:59 PM

This morning De ask "so how was dancing last night"

Amy said "it was good, is that what you wanted to hear?"

De says "no, I want to hear it was "great" instead"


This afternoon Amy says "De, I want to take you to Vegas for the beautiful man-made beach in Mandalay Bay"

De says "but I need some notice to pack"

Amy says "that beach is so beautiful, bring me my laptop and I will show you"

De says "No need"

Amy says "Why?"

De says "because if you say it is beautiful then I know for sure it must be beautiful"
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network


Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

My Precious God-Son

Hi Deon,

I am very proud of you. You have always acted as a big brother to the kids who are younger than you. For example, when we took Katelyn or Celine out, you always let them sit on the booster seat in my car. You felt you're bigger than them and they should sit in the booster seat although that was your seat. That is a very caring side of you.

Just this past weekend, we went to the Kid's Market in Granville Island with Jordan and uncle Monjie. Not only you let Jordan sat on the booster seat, you even told me to give all the tickets to Jordan from the game I was good at. I usually get a few hundred tickets for you every time we went. Because Jordan was with us, you were so sharing and caring to offer all my tickets to Jordan. I am so proud of you Deon. This clearly demonstrates how mature you are as a big brother, a playmate and most importantly a role model. How can I not love you dearly my precious god-son?

I love you!

Kaima

Cello

You started to learn cello about a year ago. In June, there was a Year End Concert from your school. You of course played cello. I missed the concert. Glad you mommy took some photos. If not, I wouldn't be able to see how good you look on a cello. I want to blog this for you although I was not with you at that time. I will support everything you do. I love you very much my dearest god-son.

Point System Progress

Hello Deon,

It's Kaima again! Well, who else can it be now to blog your little life journey at this time since I haven't told anyone about it yet, Lol!

I mentioned in May about the Point System that your mommy set up. This point system seems to be working quite well for you. It helps to find ways for you to earn your playing time. It also opens your mind to try different food that you wouldn't have tried otherwise. How?? Your mommy gives to extra points when trying new food. Your mommy will award you these point to finish the new type of food. Once you try and don't like it, it's ok. If you happen to like it, you earn extra points.

What do you do with these points??? They represent electronic/technology playing time. One minute play time with every point you earn. Wow, that works well. There are other ways to earn points as well, ie reading. At this time, you get 10 points for every Harry Potter chapter you read. You used up all your points last week. That meant no playing time for you. You then read 5 chapters and earned 50 points, so 50 minutes of playing time.

I think this point system is working so well. It teaches you how to earn what you want and be more open minded to try new stuff. I'm very proud of you Deon!

Kaima

Sensational Deon

We received this email from your mommy tonight. I can imagine how sad you felt………

---

From: Purple Dragon [mailto:purpledragon1628@hotmail.com]
Sent: June-02-10 8:57 PM
To: kelvin.cheung10@gmail.com; Pandora Ng; Maggie; daniel@alchemax.com
Subject: Poor De

I came up and noticed De locked himself in the room crying just now. I asked him why. He says he can't hold back his tears when he sees the Debbie's (his tutor) binder. I got an email from his teacher saying she feels De is confident and good enough to go into grade 4 without needing further English tutoring in Sept/10 therefore today is his last day with Debbie. He said saying good-bye to Debbie, whom he had been seeing for the last 3 years is really hard... :(( I was surprised to see how sensitive and kind-hearted De is. I had a long talk with him then he stopped crying but I see tears shredding again while he is trying to sleep now... :(

---

Pop Quiz

Hey Deon,

You have been giving Pop Quiz to your mommy recently. Last night, you gave mommy a Pop Quiz. Your mommy was so “duh” in answering your questions. You had to give her the answers of course. She forwarded to us to see who could answer. Uncle Daniel not only could answer all of the questions correctly, he gave a couple questions to challenge you. I think it is funny and warm for our messages. I blog it so you may read it when you grow up and see if you remember this Pop Quiz time……

Mommy wrote:

Does anyone know the answer to these 3 questions?

1. Which is heavier? A pound of GOLD or a pound of FEATHERS? Why?

2. If both gets drop at the same time from high, which lands the floor first? a tennis ball or a watermellon? Why?

3. If both gets drop at the same time from high, which lands the floor first? a tennis ball or a piece of tissue? Why?

Guess what I got right out of 3? YUP 0 is correct! I swear I gave it my very honest effort to answer already. I feel so "duh". I wonder if I will be the ONLY one with 0/3 right??? Lol

Uncle Daniel wrote:

1. Same weight. They are both 'a pound'.

2. With no other forces (like drag due to air resistance) involved both will hit the floor at the same time.
F = ma

F - Force
m - mass
a - acceleration

Why? Gravitational acceleration (g) on Earth is a constant at 9.81 m/s^2 and mass doesn't change that. Objects will fall at the same rate of descent regardless of their weight.

Layman's explanation of Why? Meaning a heavier object doesn't fall to Earth faster than a lighter object if no other counter forces are involved. In other words, a larger and heavier 10-kg cement block would not hit the floor before a 5-kg cement block that was cut from in half from an identical 10-kg block if both dropped simultaneously from up 'high'. Or imagine if the two cement blocks each exactly 5-kg that was cut from a 10-kg block were to be glued together with an infinitesimally small bead of glue and then released simultaneously against two separate 5-kg blocks. Would the barely conjoined 5-kg blocks now fall faster to the floor than two 5-kg cement blocks that are not so conjoined? Certainly not!

3. Same as 2 assuming no other forces in play and these are not 'trick' questions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a question for Deon:

If you are freezing and came across an empty cabin with a fireplace, lamp and candles, what would you light first?

Answer: You would light the match first!

Get him thinking laterally.
And another question:

Why would a starving Inuit living in Nunavut die than eat penguin eggs?

Answer: Penguins do not live near the Arctic.

Mommy wrote:

#1 - Deon says he wouldn't even go in because it's not his cabin.

When I told him about the matches, he said, he can use 2 stones to make a fire too.

#2 - He thought Penguin lives in the arctic??

Uncle Daniel wrote:

What a good boy to not go into a stranger's cabin even if he was freezing to death?! :) Don't you just love the innocence at this age.

As for the stones, one of the two stones have to be a special stone like a flint stone that can produce a spark. At least, Deon didn't say that he'll just use his cigarette lighter from his pocket. lol

And you got him good with his Arctic Penguins! :) Deon's a smart kid so he'll never forget this.

Here's another question you can ask Deon:

Why do Chinese people eat more rice than Japanese people?

Answer: There are more Chinese people than Japanese people

Mommy wrote:

Good one! LMAO!!!

Believe it or not, I also got 0/3 of your questions Daniel. :((

See why I am so attracted to knowledge, intelligent, and wisdom?

Point System

For a 9 year old kid, you're a very busy kid with school and all the different activities you're learning. You like every kid out there who also wants to have time to play with your computer, DS and watch TV. Your mommy came up with a Point System for you to earn time for your favourite activities. For the daily activities that you do well (i.e. Chinese, piano, math and etc or being responsible to certain areas), you get points.

This morning, your mommy came up with additional ideas that can you can earn these points or have deduction on points you've earned. Haha! That is, if you ask a "duh" question, you get 5 points deducted. If you surprise us by good stuff, than you get 5 points. Your mommy, Kelvin, Jody and I can all participate in this part of the point system. What is a "duh" question?? Like this morning when you went to breakfast with your mommy. You asked "Are we there yet?" after your mommy started driving. That obviously is a "duh" question. You got 5 pointed deducted. If you tell us anything that we don't know of and surprise us with the answer, then you get 5 points.

I think this is a great system to get us all be part of it and have fun. With everything you learn in school that at least your mommy and I don't know, I think you'll get a lot of points in no time.

Cheers!

Kaima

Patience

Hello Deon,

I just love to blog all the little moments of yours, you and your family's and ours.

We went to watch Shrek Forever After. Your mommy came as well. This was the second time she came to watch movies with us. She didn't have the luxury of a childhood. She never really watched any cartoons. Needless to say she'd understand them.

We both enjoyed the movie. Your mommy didn't understand all. When the movie was finished, she asked you questions about it. You explained some of her queries. After a few questions, you said, "I'm not saying anymore". I explained to her. She got her questions answered. Mommy then told all you needed was to be a bit more patient.

You know what Deon, your mommy is trying very hard to learn how to be a great mom. She missed out a lot of the childhood moments that most of us had. Understanding cartoon stories is a challenge to her. If u give a little patient to explain, she'll understand and have just as much fun as you do when watching cartoon. I'm sure you realized this as soon as she mentioned to you that you just needed to be a little more patient.

I wish you'll have fun watching all of your cartoon movies with mommy from now on.

;)))
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Life is Good!

Hello Deon,

Ever since the pool was completed in your new house few weeks ago, you have been swimming a lot with your mommy, Kelvin and Jody. Earlier today, your mom sent us a message about you saying "Life is Good!" She even took a picture of you laid down on the beach bed. We thought it was too cute. I have to blog it for you to read back in the future.

Mommy said: De just finished swimming, now taking a nap. All of a sudden, he said "life is good, life is good". Lol

Uncle Eric said: All he needs now is a young girl to feed him grapes and another to fan him.

Uncle Daniel said: I miss the kid already. He's got an old soul in a young body. Not too surprised after spending time with Deon and also hearing some of the stories. Took me a good part of 4 decades to get it and this kid does it in less than 1! Life is unfair. ;-)

You are so cute and "mature" sometimes.

Love you lots!
Kaima

Small Brain, Big Wisdom (小腦袋, 大智慧)

Deon,

Ever since you start going to school, you've learnt so much new stuff. A lot of them even new (or news) to your mommy and I.

I remember your mommy told me about the trip she took you to Australia where you visited LD, your God-Father. Your mommy told me how surprised she was to find out how much you know about all the different things. You guys went to this zoo in Australia, you were able to identify most of the different kinds of animals, mammals, birds and etc. She could only identify some of the them, and mostly just the species family as a whole. She was amazed by how much you know. Once you could find someone whom to could talk to about these subject, or any kinds of subjects that interested you, you became so much more "talkative".

Again, when I was swimming at your house last Saturday while uncle Daniel was visiting your family. Uncle Daniel is another one of your mommy's friend who also knows a lot of things. Your mommy told me that you and uncle Daniel was chatting non-stop about a lot of topics, i.e. science, wild life animal and etc.

For me, I am always amazed how observant you are. I think maybe you were only 4 years old. You could already recognize whether the route was to go to your house or mind. Also, when I started to take you to Granville Island, I didn't tell you the name of the place. I mentioned to Icy (my sister) after we went. You remembered the name and told me the next time of this place we went. I was "wow"!!

With your growing up so fast and learning so much new stuff everyday, your mommy and I will pretty soon have to ask you for answers to a lot of the academic questions. Lol!

Keep it up Deon!

Alarm Clock Setting

One of your favourite TV shows in on every Sunday morning at 7am. You always asked mommy to set the alarm for you to go off at 6:50am. There was this one time your mommy accidentally set the alarm for 6:50pm. You missed that show that morning. You were very upset. However, your mommy discussed this incident with you and explained who's responsibility it was. You realized you were the one responsible to make sure the alarm was set correctly. Ever since that time, you set the alarm yourself.

Last night, I was swimming at your house with you, your mommy and uncle Daniel. You left about 11pm. When you left, you asked mommy if you could set the alarm for 6:56am. That was no problem of course.

After you left, your mommy was telling us about the accident I wrote above. Why did you have to set it at 6:56am and not 6:55 or 6:50? She said you started setting your alarm at 6:50am in the first week. You realized your were a little bit too early. You still had time left after brushing your teeth. You started to start a minute later every week. Your last week was 6:55am. You still found that you were still too early. That was why you set at 6:56am this week. Your mommy even said if you find 6:56am is again too early, then 6:57am next time.

When I heard it, I couldn't help but laugh. Why? That is totally the genes you got from your mother. I was also glad that you took ownership and managed your stuff this well. Great work Deon!

New Background on Blog

Hi Deon,

There were some new background to choose for your blog. I browsed through and picked this one with a hand putting money in a piggy bank. Why did I choose this one?? Well for many reasons.

1. When we were born, we were like an empty piggy bank that had nothing inside, maybe just a lucky penny that mommy gave us. As we grow older, we gain experiences. That is when our piggy bank starting to load up. These experiences will someday turn to wisdom through many process. I hope you will be very open minded to embrace many of your life experiences.

2. This is also your LOVE piggy bank. The more love you generate and save up in your LOVE piggy bank (or the Love Tank in EQ language), the easier it is for you to overcome many obstacles in life.

3. This is also to remind you of money management. Always save for the rainy days.

I hope you like this background. If you wish you change it in the future, please go ahead. :))

Love,

Kaima

Consequences vs. Punishment

Deon,

We all used to use punishment a lot in different situation. The "we" I mention here included your mommy and I of course. Your mommy will punishment you on stuff that you didn't do or you violated some rules. For example, if you didn't do your Chinese homework or didn't practice piano, she would penalize you not to watch TV for a certain amount of time.

Ever since she took the courses in ESP, she realized punishment is not the correct form to teach you on stuff you didn't do. Instead, she realized teaching you the consequences is more important. You will learn directly from the situation itself. Punishment does not make you understand the direct relation, i.e. You are punished to not allow to watch TV for not doing your homework. Your mommy will start teaching you the consequences of every decision you'll make. What do you base it on when you make a decision? What is the consequence of making that decision?

As realized, she told you she would not punishment you anymore. You seem to welcome this decision quite well. I'm sure you'll learn it in a much healthier way with your mommy's guidance.

As you grow older, your mommy is also wanting to grow intellectually and to have greater wisdom. She will always be your role model.......

Survival

Deon,

You take lessons on different activities, ie piano, swimming, chinese and etc..... Of all these activities, you like piano the least. I remember there was one time when your mommy was away after you moved to the Mansion. The piano was still at 48th. Auntie Joyce had to drive you back to 48th everyday to practice. You got very cranky that day. You insisted that you only want to practice much less time than scheduled. Auntie Joyce negotiated with you and you didn't take any suggestions. You cried so loud when Auntie Joyce called me and told me about you. You finally came to term to practice. Auntie Joyce had a conversation with you after and suggested you to discuss with mommy if you don't like piano this much.

Soooo, what happened next???? After your mommy came back, you didn't tell her directly that you didn't like piano. Instead, you asked her how piano is related to survival since she always told you stuff you learn now is for your future survival. Your mommy was a little surprised by the way you asked. She told you piano was the foundation for anything you want to do in music in the future. You seemed to accept her explanation and didn't ask about the survival part anymore.

When I heard it, I was amazed how smart you were to ask your question so diplomatically. Deon, you are being nurtured so well. I am sure you will become very successful in whatever you do in the future.

Love you,

Kaima

I will not lie again!

Deon,

You have been a very honest kid.  Honesty is your mommy's highest value.  She's taught you to be honest and don't lie.  She always says, "Lie ruins the trust between people."  

You're still in your Spring Break.  You don't have a lot of work to do.  Your mommy has put a limit of 30 minutes each time when you playing video games.  You've been attaining to this no problem.  Last night, your mommy went to class after dinner until about 10pm.  When she asked you how long you played.  You said 20 minutes.  You know what?  The reason she asked is because she could tell from your face that you played more than 30 minutes.  You told her you only played 20 min.  She trusted you she said.  She only wanted to check the video cameras just for the record that you indeed only played 20 min.  By that time, you said, "fine, I lied."  The consequence of this lie was to write "I will not lie again" a thousand times.

Today when I went to your house, your mommy told me about this and said you were upstairs writing.  Well, you're not the only.  Jody and Kelvin had done the 1000 times as well when they were young.  They even had to write all of the Family Values that your mommy had set out.  You, at some point, are lucky to just write the one sentence.  Lol!

By dinner time, you finished 250 with 750 to complete.  Your mommy didn't give you a deadline of when to complete.  The only condition was you couldn't watch TV or play anymore video games before you finish writing.  Kelvin, your dearest brother, said if you ate the corn and the chestnut from the dinner dishes, then that would offset 100 times.  From there, you started to negotiate with mommy.  By the time dinner was done, you managed to offset about 300 times.

You came to your mommy's office after dinner and negotiated again!  The deal was finally sealed that you'd allowed your mommy to bite both side of your butt to offset 175 times.    Then you asked Jody to do same to offset 50.  At the end, you only had 250 times left to write.  You completed them tonight.  Now, you could watch TV.  

I'm sure this experience has given you a valuable lesson of not to lie anymore.  :)))

By the way, today is your birthday.  Happy Birthday Deon!  It's such a meaningful day to learn your lesson.

Re-do Human

Re-do Human" is a word your mommy always used when she felt she hadn't been productive. She'd "re-do human" to catch up on her work, work extra harder to make up for the time that she was not productive. She's used this for a long time. She also had successfully taught you to use this word as well. Anytime she noticed you haven't been responsible or productive, you would voluntarily said that you'd "Re-do Human".

It's your 2-week Spring Break since March 27. Your mom sent me a message today about this topic. I've cut and paste it here, thought it'd be cute to blog it.

------Original Message------
From: Amy (rogers)
To: Pandora (BB)
ReplyTo: Amy (rogers)
Subject: de
Sent: Apr 5, 2010 12:52 PM

He got in major trouble today for lack of responsiblity. He agreed he too focus on spending time in bsmt with Kel so Now re-doing human in his room.

------Original Message------
From: Pandora (BB)
To: Amy Lee (BB)
ReplyTo: Pandora (BB)
Subject: Re: de
Sent: Apr 5, 2010 1:14 PM

What happened?

------Original Message------
From: Amy (rogers)
To: Pandora (BB)
ReplyTo: Amy (rogers)
Subject: Re: de
Sent: Apr 5, 2010 1:16 PM

I guess he's been "Heart shattered" from no school and I am not home. His room is a mess and he sudenly feels he only needs to clean only the areas I asked him to only instead of the whole room. He hasn't been doing nightly reading. He missed 4 days of chinese writing over the last 10 days.

------Original Message------
From: Pandora (BB)
To: Amy Lee (BB)
ReplyTo: Pandora (BB)
Subject: Re: de
Sent: Apr 5, 2010 1:18 PM

I c.....what does the "redo human" activities include?? Does he have to catch up on the reading and chinese that he didn't do?

-----Original Message-----
From: amylee@rogers.blackberry.net
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 20:20:51
To: Pandora (BB)<pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net>
Subject: Re: de

Hahaha. So far re-do human is just includes making his room nakely clean. He got 3 garbage bags of garbage out of his room so imagine that!! Then he vacuum after it's tidy.

But the gulity look on his face is funny. Like he agreed he was at fault kind of look

-----Original Message-----
From: pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 20:23:14
To: Amy (rogers)<amylee@rogers.blackberry.net>
Subject: Re: de

3 garbage bags???? Could this be an actual size of 1 garbage bag??? Knowing he's got ur blood in the packing dept?? Haha??

-----Original Message-----

From: amylee@rogers.blackberry.net
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 20:24:50
To: Pandora (BB)<pandora.ng@rogers.blackberry.net>
Subject: Re: de

Hahaha. No, the small grocery bags size only

9th Birthday Party

Hey Deon,

You're turning 9 this Wed (April 7). We decided to have your birthday party today (Sunday April 4). Unlike the years before, you wanted to have your birthday party at home instead of at the Crash Crawley's. You moved into this new house last year. You liked this house a lot. It's a mansion. You have your own games room. You decided to invite your friends over instead of having your birthday party anywhere else.

I hired a magician for a performance at the birthday party. You, as the host, had set up a few board games at different stations.

Your guests started to come around 3. You showed them the games and started playing with them. When the magician came, you invited them to the Karaoke Room to watch the performance. You all seemed to enjoy it very much. We had pizza and your ice cream birthday cake before the party ended.

You called to say Thank You for arranging the party. That was very sweet of you. I hope to organize your many birthday parties down the road....... :)

No more Kai Ma???

Hi Deon,

I'm not sure if there was anything I did recently. You haven't been willing to call me as "Kai Ma" for a while. I didn't take seriously. Last Sunday when you came to my place, I asked to you call my cleaning lady "Hi Auntie". You insisted of just calling "Hi". I asked a few times, and you still wouldn't change. I told you calling people my name or by their ranking (auntie, uncle) is something is important coming to my place. You chose to stand by the door for not calling instead of to come in and sit down.

I tried to explain to you. You seemed you understood. You said you would want people to call you by your name, not just "Hi"; and you do the same to people. The truth was you were not doing it. I couldn't understand why. I know if it was your mommy who asked you to call people by name or ranking, you'd do it without delay. I also tried to find out why you haven't been willing to call me "Kai Ma". Of course, I didn't have an answer from you.

When I called you on Monday night (just the next day), you even called "Hi Pandora". I asked if that was how you want to call me from now on. You first said yes then you said no. I wasn't mad at all, but was wondering "hm.....what happened between us?"

I'm not sure if there was anything I did that upset you. You don't seem to want this Kai Ma around. If this is the case, I am pretty okay with it. We didn't give you a choice to have this Kai Ma. We only told you I am your Kai Ma. Whether I'm your Kai Ma or not, I still love you as who you are. However, I'd like to find out what caused your attitude changed toward me. Was it something you felt I changed. Like your mommy said "action and reaction". I hope to do better next time if I am going to be a Kai Ma again. No matter what, as long as you live happily and healthily, it really doesn't matter if I'm your Kai Ma or not. :))

Love you lots!

Good Night!

Hello Deon,

On Thursday night when your mommy just left to Thailand til next Sunday. You called me at 8pm. I thought there was something you needed that was why you called.  You said you just wanted to say. You knew the nanny was usually on the phone from 8 or 8:15pm. You wanted to call ealier to make sure you could say Good Night. That was so cute of you!

I wondered why you called since you never did.  When we went out for dinner last night.  I asked what made you called me to say Good Night??  Your answer broke my heard, lol!  You said you were only calling mommy's # to hope that she'd pick up so you could say Good Night to her.  Since I picked up the phone, you said Good Night to me instead; knowing mommy didn't have her phone with her.  At least I have to give you credit for being honest.  Well only 50 % honesty you had there.  Why?  Because you said that night you called to say Good Night to me and didn't mention that you were actually calling your mommy.   Sooo, I guess you have your mom's "twisted words" blood as well eh?

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

3D Movie

My Dearest God-Son,

I remember it was last year when I took you to watch Monster vs Alien 3D cartoon.  It was your first time watching a 3D cartoon.  We went in just before the movie started.  The theatre was packed.  We had to sit at the front, like row 4 or 5.  

The movie started, we put on our 3D glasses.  It was too long after the movie started, the 3D images started to make you dizzy.  You even felt sleepy.  So cute!!  

I had to go to my friend's shop to pick up something after movie.  When we went in, I asked you to say hi to those aunties.  You refused to do.  You were so tired.  You were giving me some temper tantrum.  I thought you were funny!

You even said you'd never watch a 3D movie again.  Do you remember we went to watch another 3D movie a few months later?  That was the G-Force.  We went with Justin and Auntie Anne.  That time, we sat close to the top and far from the screen.  You were fine.  I know we'll watch a lot more 3D movies cus 3D is the norm now.  In fact, we said we'd watch "Who Train the Dragon" in Spring.

Rule Bound Kid

Hey Deon,

You really are a rule bound kid u know???

You have a school handbook that is to be signed by your mommy everyday. You often forgot. Teacher complaints a few times. Your mommy decided to make sure this is your responsibility. She made you a sheet with stuff you have to do everyday. When it's done, u can put a check mark beside it so you know you've done it. Your mommy told you to put the handbook on her desk everyday so she will sign it. That's because she may not be home every evening to sign and give it right back to you. Once you do that, you can put a check mark on it. Mommy will give it back to you after it's signed.

Last night, you gave the handbook to mommy to sign in person, instead of leaving on her desk. She then left to her Writing Class. When she got home, she saw your handbook was put on her desk when she signed it already. She went up to your room. Guess what she saw??? She saw you put a checked mark on the sheet for putting the handbook on her desk. Why would you put the handbook there when it's already signed??? Was is just because you could check it off that you've done it regardless it was already signed? Do you know the reason behind putting the handbook there?
In our opinion, you did it because it was on the list. It appeared that you don't understand the reason behind it. Both mommy and I don't want you to do it because it was a rule. We don't want to see you do things because it was the rule. Rule is a fear based. We want you to understand the reason behind it.

Your mommy will have a tough homework to do in her "ha kong" days now. That is to help you see and do things that you understand the reason. :))
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Meditation

Hey Deon,

One of the activities you enjoy big time is playing on the computer. You're only allowed to play max of 4 times a day during weekend. 30 min max for each time you play. You have to ask mommy, Kel or Jo for permission each time you play.

You often asked mommy for permission just shortly after you played the last time. You would claim you were bored and had nothing to do. The last time you said that, your mommy told your bored was when you were disconnected to yourself. She told you to do some meditation to connect to yourself again. Since then you didn't tell mommy you were bored anymore. Instead, you'd find stuff to do, ie read.

Yesterday morning, your mommy called and told me this:
On Sat night, You and mommy were in her room. She was watching TV and you were reading. Jo didn't go out that night. She kept saying she had nothing to do. Of your new house for 11000sf, all 3 of you "squeezed" in mommy's 250sf bedroom. How ironic?? I remember when you guys temporarily moved to a 1500sf apt in downtown, you guys were all so cranky by bumping to each other all the time and claiming so little space. Now that you guys each have an average of 2750sf to use, you're all in a 250sf room. Lol!!

Anyway, as Jo kept whining for nothing to do and bored, you suddenly told your sister to go do some meditation. Both Jo and your mommy didn't know how to react other than laughed. They were amazed how keep it has "engraved" in your heart about the meditation. I could imagine that scene when your mommy told me. You were so cute!!

Stubborn or Keeping your words

Deon,

Do you know you can be very stubborn sometimes???

Uncle Kam and I were at your house last night for dinner. When I got to your house at 6:45pm, Joyce EE was waiting for u outside in the car. She asked me to tell u to come out. I looked for you when I got in. After some yelling of your name, I found out you were downstairs with Kel. I went down to tell to you go out. You said it wasn't 6:50pm yet. I told you Joyce EE had been waiting. When your mommy and I told you it didn't matter for just the difference of few minutes. You didn't seem to care and just kept emphasizing it wasn't 6:50pm. Your eyes were even turning watery as if you were being penalized for not sticking to your words. You just would not change once a rule is set.

You know what Deon, mommy and I do appreciate you keeping your words. We also don't want you to drill on the promise for the sake of a promise if there are other ways that can make the situation better for everyone, ie Joyce EE in this situation. If you would go out sooner, since you were only playing with Kelvin, then Joyce EE wouldn't need to wait, you would finish practicing piano sooner and come back to play with Kelvin again. You would not lose any playing anytime at the end. You see!

Finding alternatives from being grounded - Feb 6, 10

Amy was busy tonight, so I brought you to my place to sleep over. When I picked you up, Amy told me that you were grounded from DS, TV and computer (your 3 favourite activities) due to teachers' complaint and you weren't doing well in piano. All you could do was read. You downloaded some books to Amy's eReader to bring it to my place. Off we left.

It was not too long after we got in the car, you asked if we could get a board game to play with. Well, you sure isn't a "duh" kid. You thought of the alternatives right-a-way other than reading. Since I don't have any board games at home, so I said yes. We went home first for about an hour then we headed for dinner. When we got home, you didn't bother to bring your stuff up to my apt. You said you didn't want to. Those stuff that you didn't bring it included the eReader.

We went to White Spot on Cambie & 12th. White Spot is your favourite restaurant for dinner. Every time we go out for dinner, you have to go WS, no other suggestions you'd go for. You always order the Pirate Pal from the Kids Menu.

During dinner, I asked you why you didn't bring the stuff to my place again. You still said you didn't want to. I asked you if you'd hided the eReader. You said "no". I continued and said what if someone walked by and broke the car window and stole all of your stuff including the eReader? You looked at me with a little shock face. I said we should hide the stuff that are valuable to us if we decided to leave them in the car so to avoid accident like this happen. I wanted you to be more aware of the stuff you got and take care of them, whether they are yours or someone else's. I asked you what would you do if what I said did happen when we went to get our car? I think by then you realized the possibilities of losing the valuable stuff and got scared. You kept saying, "can we change to another topic?" You probably were a little worried to answer.

When dinner was served, you ate very happily. You also played with the straw from your drink. You sticked the straw in between your teeth and asked me to pull it out. I took a few pictures from my blackberry and captured this look.

After dinner, we went to Toy R Us and got a Sponge Bob board game. It was more like the 飛行棋 I used to play when I was little. This has more features. We played a game. Of course, you won.

Oh......when we got home. You proudly told me that your packed everything into the little back pack and brought it up to my place. Cute kid.... :)

Deon wanted to see Stephen - Jan 9, 10

Amy went to Panama Cruise and won't be back until the 16th. She forwarded her phone to my phone. I am getting all of her calls on my phone.

On Jan 6, your daddy called your mommy. I told him she was away. We chatted for a bit. He said he may take you out for a few hours this Sunday. He would call me to confirm.

Since Amy left, I've been having dinner with you on Saturdays nights. Before I went to pick you up that evening, I thought of asking you about your daddy. Although I know you didn't remember much of him. Unlike LD whom you have such a deep relationship with. LD no doubt plays a big father figure in your life....at least in the last couple of the years. You remembered all of the times spent together with LD. For your daddy, you didn't have much memories of.

During dinner, I asked You:

Pan: Deon, do you want to see your dad?

Deon: Yes

Pan: Do you miss him?

Deon: No

Pan: Do you miss Kai Dad?

Deon: Yes

Pan: Oh, then why do you want to see you dad if you don't miss him?

Deon: I don't know

Pan: Do you remember where are the places your dad took you before?

Deon: No (after he paused a couple of seconds)

Pan: Do you remember going to Crash Crawley's with daddy?

Deon: No, I had my birthday party there.

Pan: Do you remember going to daddy's house?

Deon: No

Pan: Do you remember going swimming with daddy?

Deon: (Deon thought of a few seconds then said) That rings a bell.

It is funny that a kid who rarely sees his father, knows anything about his father, but wants to see his father. I guess this is what the Chinese saying "blood is thicker than water" (血濃於水). I guess there is always a connection between parents and their children no matter how distant they are.

Deon, you have been getting the best that your mommy can provide and nurture you. Although your father didn't play an important role in your life, I am sure you sure you will thank your father (not just your mother) for bring you to this world.

Singing Sponge Bob Song

Your mommy left to the Panama Cruise yesterday. You stayed with me for the weekend. As usual, your activity was to watch DVDs. Your favourie cartoon was Sponge Bob. You have quite a few Sponge Bob DVDs at my place.


I remember your mommy told you were so cute singing the Sponge Bob songs at the end of each show. There you were, sitting on my couch singing the song as the show ended. I sneakingly recorded this moment, although you did notice at the end. You were so so cute. I even uploaded it on Youtube for your mommy to watch while she was on the Cruise. I tried to upload the video to this blog, but failed after so many tries. Instead, here is the Youtube link to your video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0DaBPhs-5A

Kids Market at Granville Island

I don't even remember when was the first time I took you to the Kids Market at Granville Island, probably when you were 3 or 4 yrs old. You always like to go when I'm with you on weekends. You stayed with me this weekend cus mommy was on the cruise.

We had breakfast at McDonald's, as usual. We headed to the Granville Island. Ever since you realized how good I was on the "truck and coin" game, that is the only game I'd to get our coupons. I usually can get 500 to 800 coupons everytime. You also had a game that you were good at!!!

You used to spend all the coupon we got for the little toys, such as mini yoyo, tiny soldiers and etc. I remember one time I told you that you didn't have to spend it all. You could save some for next time, or even accumulate to more coupons to get a bigger toy. Since then, everytime we won coupons, you'd only pick one or two small toys. I hope you will learn from this small example to not used up all your savings or bullets when negotiating with people. As you grow older, you will understand how important it is to have back ups and to think ahead on everything.

Todate, we have saved 7500 coupon. Wow!!! That is a big achievement for both of us. You are so close in getting any big toys that need 8000 coupon. I am so proud of US!!!