What a whirlwind 4 days it was!

It seems that what I've been missing for the past 3 weeks while overseas was almost made up for in the last four days since I came back! Let me see...Since I came back, I:-

1. Had pizza at, where else...Pizza Hut. With the family. New location at Lot 1. That dinner lasted 2 hours!
2. Had dinner at Secret Recipe with the family. At IMM. First time we've eaten at Secret Recipe at IMM.
3. Had dinner at Mad Jacks along Bt Timah with the family. This has become our favourite haunt whenever we feel hunger pangs between Orchard Road and home!
4. Had my regular 3 kosong, 1 egg (prata lah!) which I could not get in Taiwan! The only prata-like food in Taiwan was served in the ubiquitous 'Ninja' van that also served wild boar meat! Tak payah ler...
5. Had my regular mochacinno at McCafe at United Square.
6. Had our regular breakfast at McDonald's at Lot 1.
7. Had lunch at Sakura International Buffet with the wife's side of the family. The one near Masjid Tentera. That one I belanja the whole lot as it was my MIL's birthday. The girls gave her birthday cards, we gave her our latest family studio shot and Mars gave her a bag. It was either the Harrod's or LeSportSac one...me not sure which one!
8. Attended our first Monthly Cousins Gathering (in a long while!) at Faurin's with the wife. It has been a while since we've had one and you can tell from the atmosphere that IT HAS BEEN A WHILE!!! There was a whole bunch of food from 'Curry-in-a-bun' sponsored by yours truly, fried chicken, murtabak, popiah basah, pizza, fruit salad and ice-cream.
9. Attended a Man U vs Chelsea get-together at Nya'i Bik As house where once again there was food glorious food. Mak said that there'll be 'rojak keling' (I know that sounds so politically incorrect but that's how it's always been called!). But of course there was much much more than that - fried mushrooms, nasi lemak, fried chicken, fruit cocktail, etc...
10. Attended my last lecture for the semester. My very animated lecturer summarised the works of Mary Shelly, Turgenev, Byron and the Women Poets of the Romantic period. I was left in a dizzy...
11. Attended my first piano lesson in 2 months!!! Those fingers were sure creaky! The parents and younger students (average age about 8-10 I think!) waiting outside must have been surprised hearing such halting play from a grown man when I finally finished my lesson. Learning to play the piano at my age sure is a humbling experience!
12. Brought the family to feed the fish, tortoises, birds and ducks at Symphony Lake in Botanical Gardens. This was one of the list of places my 2 girls have listed down as places they WOULD like me to bring them to. It rained when we reached there and we took cover at a small shelter overlooking the lake. It was kinda nice feeding the fish and tortoise with rain pitter-pattering. The girls enjoyed themselves thoroughly...
13. Went swimming at the pool below with the family. It has been a while. Kakak was like fish to water. It was simply wonderful as I watched her dived deep into the deep end of the pool - the stillness and 'blue-ness' of the water surrounding her as bubble trails floated upward seemed almost poetic...Adik took a while to warm up to the pool. But once she was OK, there was no stopping her! The wife was deeply embarrassed when I came up below her and lifted her up on my shoulders! The pool echoed with her protests and my cackling laughter!
14. Went for a much needed spa session with the wife. We came a bit late so no hydrobath for us (crystals...we needed the crystals!) and the facial therapist girl was on off. So only massage then...As usual, the wife said I snored but this time not so loud!
15. Watched 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' with the girls. Made popcorn for them. It was afternoon at the movies for us! Sweet...
16. Sent the wife's Nokia E65 for repair (LCD screen not working). A new one would cost about $500 without plan. So at about $60 for the repair, it was worth it!
17. Sent my battle-scarred, well-worn, beat-up Nikon D70 for a much needed R&R&R - Repair, Restoration and Replacement! There was something wrong with ON/OFF switch and the CF-card base was faulty. Total cost was $250. There was also something wrong with the locking mechanism of the VR lens that caused it to slide down by itself if carried in a certain angle but at $180 for the repair and because it does not affect the quality of the pictures taken, I decided to give it a pass.
18. Collected my newly tailored No.5 uniform from Javini's. I've been chosen as the ADC to the President for the 6th year and apparently the material for the No.5 has been changed and hence the need to re-tailor.
19. Exchanged the spoilt Walter for the spiffy new Walter! This one was done at Times Centre near Paya Lebar. Walter is one of the main products of the Child's First Library we recently bought for our girls as an 'investment' and also in a bid to put them ahead of the rat race at an early age! (Hah!) Poor Walter could only say "Hi! My name is Walter!" and that's it! His scanner didn't work anymore and thus he had to be exchanged!
20. Bought a new GPS car mount for my trusty 60CSx...the old one was lost somewhere in the mountains of Southern Taiwan...dang!
21. Bought some 'nice' clothings for the wife online...funny how so little material can cost so much...ahem...!
22. Bought "My Sister' Keeper" by Jodi Picoult at Kinokuniya.
23. Bought the girls new shoes. In anticipation of our trip Down Under in 2 months time. So that they will have time to be 'broken' in...
24. Bought myself new pants from Columbia. Ever since my first pair, I've grown to love it's comfort and ease of use...pants with no need for ironing! Can be worn for trekking or shopping! Cool...
25. Bought myself new cardigans. To wear during cold lectures, movies and Aussieland!
26. Bought 'couple' watches for the wife and I. From Solvil et Titus. I just love the classic advertisements on TV. (Hey! Ads work after all!). I'm not really a watch person but the last time I bought a watch was 2 years ago and even then it was for training...so it was high time for a new timepiece for the both of us...
27. Bought the wife this...but a purple one, of course...

There...squeezed as much as I could in these 4 short days...Of course, it could not make up for the time I've been away from the family. Thank you dear wife for doing all that you did while I was away - keeping our girls safe, warm and happy, keeping our home safe and sound and looking after yourself well...I HEART YOU!