Wei's First Chess Medal, 2012

Wei brought home his chess medal today.  His school came out 2nd in the zone for the team Chess Competition 2012, and Wei is a proud member of the Boys Under-12 team.  And I am a proud mom ;-)

Yuan's Hair Salon

This sign was posted up on the kid's bedroom today. Yuan the hairdresser / entrepreneur.

Swimming Again

It all started with a pedometer that my boss bought. She became obsessed with making 10,000 steps a day, or at least 8,000 steps as advocated by our MOH.  Since then she has led a more active lifestyle, taking walks around the park even after work. Hearing her stories, I began to feel that my life was very sedentary and lacked the fitness goals that I always want to achieve for 2012.
So I decided to go swimming twice a week, in the morning before work.  I have always tried swimming after work, but it never took off because I often come home too late for anything else.

So it has been a month since I started swimming every Wed and Fri before going to work. I used to swim, but after delivering BabyXin, I hardly went back to the water. At first, I was very reluctant, thinking of the unpleasant cold water in the morning.  But when I actually did it, it wasn't so bad.  I feel more positive every day that I swam, like I could overcome anything and achieve everything that I want to. Then I noticed that my energy levels also improved and lasted longer into the day, so much so that at 7pm I still feel OK.
This is a great routine and I have the determination to continue this indefinitely.  

Remembering My Father

Yuan asked me today, what my Dad was like.  My Dad passed away 14 years ago when he was only 50, a sudden event from an illness. I told Yuan, that my Dad was the kindest and most patient father in the world. He would never get angry with children, even when we did something wrong. And that was true, too.

So Yuan, with her ability to imagine what "the wrongest" thing you could do to your Dad, said:
"He wouldn't get angry? Not even if you broke his laptop or something?"

I chuckled and said, "No, not even that."
(Computers existed in the form of Ataris and 286s, what more a laptop).

"Gee, he must have been the best father in the world....."

Between Planning & Taking Action

Over the radio today, I heard a good story which I would like to share here.  It's regarding one of the radio station DJs who is on duty every afternoon. Because of his working hours, he used to just sleep in the morning until 10 or 11am.  Then one day he shared his plan with his friends, that he would wake up early at 7am every morning to take his parents to the park, so that they can get some morning exercise.

And he really did it.  The 1st day, after the morning exercise, when he went to work, he told his colleagues that he felt very tired.  The 2nd day, his mom woke him up saying: "Wake up! I thought you wanted to go for morning exercise?"  And then this new daily routine continued for 2 weeks. The parents became more motivated to go because they met other old people at the park and made new friends.  At the end of 2 weeks, he had bought 3 pairs of sports sneakers, 1 each for mom and dad, and 1 for himself, to continue this morning exercise routine.  After the exercise, they would have a hearty breakfast together.  Hence, the start of a healthier lifestyle and a great way to spend time as a family.

The story was told as an example of having an intention to do something, or planning, and actually putting the plans into action.  It takes a great deal of effort to overcome the inertia of doing things the old way.
But if we have a plan and put it into action, we will see the results, even if it is just something as simple as taking mom and dad for morning exercise.

National Age Group Chess Competition - Day 2

I am a very proud mom, even for a little bit of progress!  Today Wei won 2 out of 3 games, and ranking improved 6 places.
Tomorrow, 2 more games. I hope it will be a good confidence-boosting day for him.

Wei in National Age Group Chess Competition 2012

Today is the first day of the 3-days competition. There's Wei, unranked and without much of a chance, but participating for the experience and building character. Sportsmanship, competitive pressures, playing with national-class champions, those are really the experience that I hope that he would get. And, my poor dear, on his 1st day of competition, lost 2 games and won 1. That's already great for me.
Gambatte Wei, for tomorrow and Tuesday!