doors left open

The Chinese New Year break is over. But I had a good time with my family. Had been indulging in some serious FAITHfulness. Took lots of pictures of her. She’s grown a lot. Always count her twice when I count my blessings.

I love her very much! And, I love her mother too.

This is one date that I will definitely remember very well for the rest of my life.

In the wee hours that morning, Jennifer’s water bag broke. Time to rush to Thomson Medical Centre. We were excited, anxious yet calm about it. I drove her safely to our destination. She was escorted up while I went through the paper work.

In the delivery room, she went through waves after waves of contraction. I was by her side, feeling rather useless. All I could do was to comfort her. Seconds turned to minutes which turned to hours. To me it was a long wait. But I think to her it was eternity. Her pain was intense even with the mask over her.

Then the time had to come. Lawrence ambled in. In less than half an hour, the baby was delivered. Time was 7.38 a.m. My little Faith was there in front of me.

By evening, all were taken care of. I was busy taking pictures of the baby. Jennifer looked weary, but she was relieved and happy. I told her I would come early next morning.

Back home, I turned in early, not because I was really tired. I wanted to have ample sleep before waking up at 3 to watch the Champions League final between my beloved Liverpool and Milan. I slept well, probably because of the joy of being a father.

In fact, I slept too well. When I woke up, the match had gone into half-time. When I saw the highlights of the first half, I could not believe my eyes. Liverpool 0 Milan 3! Lost, gone, dead and buried. I shut my eyes, hoping that I could continue my sweet dreams and forget the heart-breaking scoreline.

Rotten luck! I woke up suddenly to witness the first 5 minutes of the second half. Never mind, I should continue to watch the game for entertainment sake. And since I called myself a loyal Liverpool supporter, I must as well…

Then, the incredible happened (something which the whole world of football would know by now). My dearest Liverpool fought back and scored three goals by the 90th minute. The rest……hit the post……Riise missed……Dudek wobbled……Shevchenko missed……Gerrard lifted the cup!

On the day when Faith was brought to Earth by her sensational parents, Milan was brought down to Earth by a sensational Liverpool FC.

How can I forget this day?

(Ps: one disappointment though: Bo Bice lost the American Idol final.)

As the year draws to a close, I think I should reflect on some aspects of life in 2006.

First, my baby girl, Faith, is growing well. Jennifer and I are pleased that she has shown much intelligence and maturity at such a young age (just past 19 months). We had been enjoying almost every minute of our time spent with her. Of course, she cries and whines. But it’s really a pleasure and privilege to be parents, trust me. I hope that God will continue to bless her.

Second, I believe I have done considerably well in helping my pupils pass P.S.L.E. All 6C pupils qualified for the Express stream. The top score was 231 (never in the history of a C class) achieved by two of them. All of them passed English and Math. I am proud of some of my pupils who managed to drag their Math grades from failure to B. I am even more pleased with my second Math class, the group of very weak pupils. All of them came into 2006 failing Math. A few of them were even in the dreaded U-grade zone (means failure to promote to secondary school). Well, at P.S.L.E., 20 out of 34 passed. One of them even got a B.

Third, I have gained another level of experience at work when I completed one year of Discipline coordinatorship. Taking care of prefects in school and dealing with some discipline cases were never easy tasks. But I think I had been rather effective.

Fourth, a door was open for me to go to church again. The experience has been lukewarm but I hope things will get better.

Fifth, the business started. But so far, things have been disappointing. Sometimes, I do drag my feet getting there.

Sixth, I started blogging at such a ripe old age. It has been slow but I do enjoy doing it. Glad to have made some friendly contacts too.

Hmm, can’t think of anything else now. I guess I just have to say it has been a good 2006.

Since I’ve been so busy during this vacation period, I could not afford to go overseas for holidays. Moreover, Faith’s still too young to travel far. But still managed to book a night’s stay at Marina Mandarin on Christmas’ eve. Check-in was delayed by the hotel, so they allowed us to stay til 2.00 p.m. the next day. Spent some time at Marina Square. Got back late in the evening. After putting Baby to sleep, Jennifer and I joined the countdown to Christmas at the corridor. Took some pictures and recorded short clips. After reviewing the pictures taken, our verdict is out: our Nikon machine must be replaced soon. Went to the swimming pool the next day. Then, after some loitering at the shopping centre, we checked out. A very short holiday experience. Similar to our Marriott and Downtown East one night stands in June and August respectively. But far from our fantastic experience in Switzerland in 2004 and Ritz-Carlton a few years back. Plan to go somewhere further in 2007. Australia, perhaps.

moments before midnight, party-goers gathered in anticipation

all hung up, ready for midnight release

balloons released…crowd went wild…balloons popped…

hotel staff were efficient in cleaning the party mess