Project~Moulding Young Entrepreneurs (1)

Attempt 1 ~~ Failed

The boy has been bringing one or two story books to school.  He lets his peers read the books in school and returns to him before school dismisses.  He also creates games and is happy that his peers happily join him too.  I don't actually like those ideas and would rather he spends his free time at school completing some of his loaded homework.  I choose to close one eye as I know this is his way of making new friends.  He started with none when the school streamed the classes this year.

 

Back to lending of story books, something struck me and with confidence that he can manage his money quite well now,  I wish to graduate him and slowly nurture his entrepreneur skills.  I encourage him to loan books to his peers at a fee instead of reading for free.  He got all excited with my idea and started to count the amount of money he could earn from lending out books.

 

I went to collect the RM100 cash from his class teacher this afternoon and while waiting for my turn, I observed that the boy didn't look easy as though something was bothering him. While walking back to the car after collecting the money:

 

Mom: What's is bothering you?  You don't look like your usual self.

 

Son: Nothing mom.  I just feel a bit strange.

 

Mom: Hmm... About what??

 

Son:  I lent a book to the girl in front of me.  I asked for 50 sen but she asked for a discount so we settled for 20 sen.  I feel strange taking her money.  There's a boy who borrowed another book from me and when I told him he gotta pay me, he says, please let him read for free, please.... and I let him.

 

Mom: Hmm.. Double standard lo like that.  What about the girl? Was she unhappy paying money to read the book?

 

Son: No, she paid me happily, she just asked for a discount and I agreed.  I have been feeling strange and uneasy after taking her money though.

 

Mom: Hmm.. does it help to make you feel better if you return her money this Friday?

 

Son: Yes, I guess.

 

Guess lending books at a fee didn''t turn out to be a great idea after all huh.  Hahaha...  Better think of something more practical.  I have something in mind already, I just need a little bit more time to make it happen. Hmmmm..
 

Vegetables ~~ Bad.Mom..Best.Mom..

Son: Mom, Today hor, Teacher Tan asked us to read "vegetables" as in Ve.ji.tay.bles.  Shouldn't it be read as veg.tur.bles.?  Some more hor, she told us she went to university.  And she made us read so many times ve.ji.tay.bles!

Mom: Didn't you want to correct her?

Son: Surely not! She will kill me right away!

Mom: LOL...


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The boy has been getting loads of homework since the day school reopens.  He knows he has to complete his homework so no issues here but what drives me up the wall is he likes to dilly dally his time away.  He gets up from his chair whenever he hears the slightest sound outside and check if his daddy is home.  He updates me on what happens at school that day which is fine for me as I am more than happy to lend my listening ears but but but... he wants to be part of it too when I chat with his dad and in whatever that we do!! 

 

On days when he comes home with mountain piles of homework and with his dilly dallying attitude, he drags his homework till the next morning which is supposedly to be our revision time.  I am pissed! We had a debate while in the car on the way to school...

 

Mom: I am a bad mom.

 

Son: No, you are not. You are the best mom!

 

Mom: No, I know I am the baddest mom in the whole wide world.

 

Son: NO!!!! You are the bestest mom, only that I am bad..

 

Mom: There are no bad students, only bad teachers.

 

Son: NO!!!  There are only bad students, no bad teachers!!

 

Mom: I am a loser mom..

 

Son: No, No, NO!!! You are a winner mom!!!

 

Mom: If I am a winner mom, how can I not teach the son not to dilly-dally??

 

Son: My bad.  *arrives at school* *gives me a peck on my cheek and looks at me with a guilty look on his face* I'll try not to be dilly dally from now on. Bye mom.

 

Mom: *sighs*

 

 

I have no choice but to be strict on this carefree boy of mine.  Perhaps it's too early to judge, but from what I see these two weeks since school reopens, top class merely translates to more homework and more expectations from the teachers.  He still gets back the same lousy BM teacher which means I'll have to coach him intensively like before, top class or not.  On a positive note, the boy's handwriting has improved tremendously as he wants to be at par with his peers. I welcome this positive influence.  Well, at least some consolations apart from the burden of homework.

 

 

Langkawi Island Hopping Tour

*A very backdated post*

 

Daddy reminded me that I did not finish blogging about our trip to Langkawi in August last year. Okay, now I recall I did the same to our Bangkok trip too!! Gosh.. Okay, okay.. gotta play catch up now..

 

 

We went for Island Hopping Tour the next morning we arrived in Langkawi.  Tickets were purchased from a tour agency across our hotel at RM25 each (Adults) and RM20 (Children)  the night before (they open until 12 midnight). 

 

 

Other tours offered by the tour operator

 

Wanted to play one of these with the boy but weather was not in our favour. :( 

Nevermind, there's always next time. :)

 

We boarded the boat from this beach near Awana Porto Malai Resort

 

The boy got a seat at the side but later convinced by his dad to sit in the centre

for safety reasons

Our journey started.. Woohoo...  Berjaya Porto Malai from far. 

We stayed here on our 1st trip to Langkawi.

 

Passing by a cruise ship

 

and a yacht...

 

With the speed of the boat accelerating, the sea water splashes not only onto

my camera but the camera woman! To the extent I kept sampling the water and my mind kept telling me how salty the water was!! 

 

Approaching our first destination... Pulau Beras Basah where we had

an hour to lepak (stroll) before zooming off to the next destination.

 

The water here is so clear that you can see tiny fishes..

 

A monkey welcoming its guests on the bridge..

 

Poor monkey.. wonder how this can opening got stuck in one of his paws

 

Smile...

 

Some young lass making MTV on the beach, I guess

 

I spotted one big "orang utan", clothes on somemore! LOL..

 

This monkey hesitating but eager to get to a father and son who were deeper in the water.  Apparently it has the most interest in the bag of food that the father held in his hand. 

 

I so love the view of the 4Ss here... Sun, Sky, Sand, Sea...

 

Next destination: Eagle feeding. 

 

The eagles flies graciously in the sky, I didn't manage to get the photos of them zooming down to grab the food.  They did but only once or twice which I missed.  According to our boat operator, they had been fed enough food before us. 

 

Next: Pulau Dayang Bunting.   Approaching the island.  Can you see a pregnant woman in a lying down position from far..

 

Arrived at the jetty.  Another hour for us to explore the island..

 

Took quite a bit of walking up and down the stairs before we got here.

 

The boy was eagered to swim in the lake but I stopped him.  I am hopeless in swimming and daddy was not feeling so well that morning. 

 

So he ended up dipping in the pool

 

When it was about time to say goodbye, again we had to repeat how we got here. *puff puff*

 

The island hopping tour was the highlight of our Langkawi trip and with only RM25 per pax, we had so much fun!  I believe this price is the cheapest around town.  It's a must go tour if you haven't been on one.

 

38 vs. 12

On his first day of school after the long school holidays...

Boy: Mom, today teacher said we are the protected lot in our class.

Mom: Huh??

Boy: Because there're only 12 boys in our class!

Mom: Oh, then I have to go get a set of pinafore just in case you might need it one day. *evil mommy* Hahaha...

Boy: Grrrrrrrr.....

Mom: But then, which one would you prefer, with bullies or the girls??

Boy: *answers without hesitation* Girls!!

Before the classes were streamed, he had bullies in his class and he hated it so much.  I am glad that along the journey, He toughens up and learns to handle them himself.

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The class had their first PE session last Friday and they played the passing ball game...

Boy: Not fair!  The girls passed the ball to girls and only girls!

Mom: Hmmm... Girls don't like Iron Man.  Guess for the next talent show, you'll have to dress up in a character that girls'll like... a Barbie?? *bad mom here grins*

Boy: *shows me his disgusted look* Yucks! I don't want to be a sissy la. Some girls DO like Iron Man and boy stuff.  How I wish CY (A girl, his good friend from his previous school with whom he still keeps in touch) was here in my class. *Sighs!*

The boy has been "moving" ever since he started primary school.  First, moving from his previous school after almost two years there.  Now that he is in primary 4, he is all alone again with his classmates of slightly more than 1 year scattered everywhere in different classes.  I am glad he is adaptive to the change around him though during the first 3 days of school, he kept telling me that going to school's a drag!  "Nothing is constant except change" was what I told him whenever he said that.

Garden Lifestyle Store & Cafe, The Mines Shopping Mall

He reads his book while waiting for food to be served.

 

 

We were at The Garden again after our first positive dining experience at their Sunway Pyramid outlet.  We were at The Mines in Seri Kembangan for our second trip to Big Bad Wolf Book Sale.  It was a weekday and the restaurant was empty when we walked pass the first time.  My boy craved for their chicken chop so badly that we finally decided to have our lunch there after making few founds at the mall deciding what to eat. 

 

We had the whole restaurant to ourselves until half way digging into our meal when a single lady walked in.  I ordered a plate of fried rice and my boy's, his favourite chicken chop.  As it was a weekday and they had kids eat for free promotion, we were given a personal pizza too.  You can see the beds of salad veges being rolled into bouquets and secured with onion rings, one presented in the chicken chop dish and another the personal pizza.  Awww.. so sweet.  I opened up the two bouquets, asked for some salad dressing from the waitress and voila, I had my plate of salad as appetiser!  Full to the brim, I tell ya.. Burps.. Wish daddy was there as we didn't manage to finish everything!

 

 

Garden Lifestyle Store & Cafe, Sunway Pyramid

@ Garden Lifestyle Store & Cafe, Sunway Pyramid

 

 

Another meal using the online discount  coupons purchased earlier. :) This one was really worth it at 50% off.   We redeemed the coupons during the last school holidays when my parents were here. 

 

Spaghetti carbonara, beef steak, teriyaki chicken chop, salmon steak, fried chicken chop and grilled fish fillet, some of which we ordered double.  Food presentation and taste wise, yummy! We ordered few bottles of mineral water to share as the drinks there were super expensive! :)

 

We went home after our day trip to Tanjung Sepat, took a good rest and shower before heading out to Sunway Pyramid for dinner.  We were so happy with the food at Garden Lifestyle Store that we went for a second visit at their other outlet at The Mines Shopping Mall during the recent Big Bad Wolf Book Sale.  Though taste and presentation of food and dining ambience was good, but there was rarely any dining crowd there.  In fact,we had the whole restaurant to ourselves on our second visit there for lunch and I wonder why.

 

There is another ongoing online promotion now and I am going to grab some coupons after I am done with this post. Muahahaha...

 

 

For those who prefer outdoor dining, nice and scenic view overlooking Sunway Lagoon and its hotel awaits.   We chose to dine indoor as it was drizzling the night we were there for dinner.

 

Stay tuned for our second visit to their outlet at The Mines Shopping Mall, Seri Kembangan.

First Day Of School

The boy is in top class this year as his school starts class streaming from Standard 4.  When I went to fetch him from school, he showed me his sulky face and complained that his English teacher, also the discipline teacher was not being reasonable.  Apparently, half of the class got punished for not bringing their English textbooks.  She made them stand throughout the two English sessions and the boy was unhappy with the unreasonable treatment on the first day of school.

Boy: Mom, this's just unfair.  We didn't even get our timetable until today. Teacher Tan is very mean. I think she hates me.

Mom: Boy, it's a mean and cruel world out there.  It's a good training ground for you here, you know.  I think you should hate me instead.  I was the one who stopped you from dragging all the books to school. I am the culprit.

Boy: No, mom. It wasn't your fault.  I don't want to hate you.

Mom: *Teasing him more*  No, I am the culprit. You should hate me and not Teacher Tan.

Boy: I choose not to hate you because you are my family (member).  Teacher Tan is so mean and she's not reasonable at all!

Mom: I think I should thank Teacher Tan by getting her a basket of fruits... hmmm.. maybe a bouquet of flowers? What do you think, boy? *evil grins*

Boy: *he gets so annoyed* What??!! And why??!!

Mom: I trust with a teacher so strict as this one, you will score full mark in your English test this time and look, I have never seen so many notes written in your daily homework record book before! *evil laughs*

Boy: *Getting more annoyed* Are you sure, mom??  I admit I pay more attention when the teachers are strict but do you really have to get her something??!!

Mom: Joking only la..  I just want to cheer you up..

Boy & mom: LOL.....

Joke aside, me too think the teacher was being unreasonable.  Poor boy, he's the only one landed in the top class.  His classmates from Standard 3 scattered everywhere from the 2nd top to the last classes. Good and bad being in the top class, guess the only thing I can do is to toughen him up, further.

Lex Slide @Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang Jaya

1st ride ~ 50 metres.... 5 storeys..... 10 seconds..

 

I "vowed" to use up all the discount coupons purchased earlier before the school holidays ended as we knew there would be busy busy days ahead thereafter, no wastage please!! The "kiam siap" side of me screamed!!  I bought the coupon of Lex Slide for 2 rides online at RM14 and realized I did not actually save much, only a mere RM1. 

 

The boy went on two rides to use up the coupon yesterday on New Year's Day.  I was all ready to play with him if he chickened out but he did not though he hesitated for a while.  After all the 5 storey tall spiral tube slide looked kind of scary even for me and daddy. 

 

You will be given a gunny sack and there's a pouch at the bottom for you to slot your feet in. Then lie back and relax with your arms folded on your chest.  The attendant will give you a gentle shove and here you go.. Wheeeee.... down the spiral tube slide!  It's a thrilling ride but my boy commented it wasn't as thrilling as he had thought.  Okay, boy... wait till you go on your next ride!

 

On his second ride, something was added underneath his gunny sack, a piece of silky cloth and thus the slippery and faster landing and not to mention more thrilling ride!!!

 

Look at the screen below, the force didn't stop  at the end of the slide and he was thrown and disappeared into a pile of bean bags.  He couldn't walk straight when he got up with his body swaying left and right, back and forth.  He told us his chubby cheeks wobbled so vigorously he thought they would fly away when taking the spiralling trip down! LOL... my funny boy.  Having said that, he still thinks it was fun and wanted more rides next time.  Bravo boy!

 

 

 

 

2nd ride ~ 50 metres.... 5 storeys.... 6 seconds!!

Photos taken from the the LCD screen at Level 2 starting point.