Christmas with the Changs

So blessed to spend Christmas this year with the Changs - my family in Singapore.  This year, we headed to the Royal China at Raffles Hotel for dim sum.

My godsons, Justin (in checks) and Jared (in blue shirt) are incredibly patient with their lunatic Aunty Jojo.  We have so many fun and crazy conversations and I have really enjoyed seeing these boys grow into fine young men. Yes, I have been reminded time and time again not to hug in public but do I care?

Lu Meng and I first met in classroom 30 years ago and have been good friends ever since. God has been very good the both of us and we are eternally grateful for His wonderful grace.

The Chang family, including daddy Jimmy Chang, are my de facto family in Singapore.  We've had so many Sunday dinners together that we often miss each other if too many weeks go by without our regular catch up.  Especially when I'm travelling.

Marina Bay Sands Skypark

When I was offered the opportunity to chair the 2010 HR Asia Summit at Marina Bay Sands in exchange for a stay at MBS, I gladly accepted. The view from the 57th floor Skypark is phenomenal and it's no wonder that the Skypark has quickly become one of Singapore's must-see tourist attractions. And because I was a house guest, the normal SGD20 entry fee was waived, so I took the opportunity to share it with my "family" in Singapore - Lu Meng, Jimmy and my godsons, Justin and Jared, who dropped by one evening for a visit.

View of Singapore skyline from my 37th floor room at Marina Bay Sands

Aunty Jo Jo enjoying the night views of Marina Bay with Justin and Jared

The Chang family posing by the infinity pool on the 57th floor Skypark

Second home

Aunty Jo Jo with Zachary, Alyssa and their daddy, Andrew in Melbourne

Two weekends before my unexpected trip to Australia, I was chatting on Skype with my little god-daughter, Alyssa, who asked me, "Aunty Jo Jo, why do live so far in Singapore? When are you coming to see us?" Lo and behold, a business class ticket appears on my desk and I was on my way to see her. Never again will I dismiss the innocent prayers of a child.

We sat down to a lovely Vietnamese dinner and Alyssa and Zach kept me entertained with their playful antics, while their daddy, Andrew Wong, updated me on his latest edition of corny jokes. I met Andrew way back in 1990 when he was doing his accounting internship in seedy Kotaraya in downtown KL. We became such good friends, he started calling me Dragon Sister...go figure!

Andrew and his wife, Carina, are wonderful hosts who have always made me feel like one of the family. Sometimes I feel as if Melbourne is my second home.

My little princesses

I've been a proud godmother to a pair of beautiful twin girls for almost five years now, and I never tire of them calling me "Mama Jojo"! On a recent trip back to KL, we trooped off to a modern photo studio at the Gardens Mid Valley for a photo shoot.

The girls were so excited when they saw the princess dresses and couldn't help parading in them. Here's a series of photos starring Kiersten as Beauty, Katelynn as Cinderella and Mama Jojo as the (what else!) Fairy Godmother!

Just call me Godma

Baptism ceremony & Noah's ark cake for Alyssa and Zachary

Today, I had the honour of officially accepting Alyssa Wong as my god daughter. The ceremony took place in a Catholic church in Melbourne.

The setting was peaceful, serene and very symbolic. It was interesting that the unlikeliest couple were asked to be godparents given that I'm a Protestant and AJ (the godfather) is of Jewish descent. You should have seen the look of his face when the priest asked us if we "believed that Jesus Christ is the son of God, was crucified, died and rose again for the salvation of sins"! AJ stood stone still so I quickly said, "We do"! :-)

I also enjoyed helping to make the Noah's Ark cake to mark the special occasion. Carina, her aunty & I slaved for over 6 hours to create the masterpiece and judging from the response, it was well worth it. During the lunch at an Italian restaurant, other patrons came over to our table and started snapping photos of the cake :-)

I shall have to spend more time in Melbourne so that Alyssa won't forget her Aunty Jo Jo.

Familiar faces & places

"Aunty Jo-Jo, why haven't you blogged for such a long time? Busy ah?" asked Reco, my Taiwanese friend yesterday. It was that gentle reminder that made me realise that Aunty Jo-Jo has been silent for most of December & January. Thanks Reco!

Well I have been on the road but mostly to familiar places to catch up with friends and family. Some of whom I haven't seen for a LONG time. First stop - KL. To attend Deva "The Stallion"'s wedding at JW Marriott Hotel. It was so good to catch up with the Family: ex-colleagues from my very first job at Arthur Andersen. We sat there teasing each other, imitating old bosses and laughing over the same old jokes while the spouses looked on in bewilderment. It was a pity that Li Ki & Lily couldn't join us.

Seated L-R:Connie, Yee, Manjit, Raten

Standing L -R: Sreedhar, Joanna, Rajen, Shirley

Mum's birthday celebration @ Victoria Station / Hunting down hawker food @ New Lane

I also made a stop in Penang to celebrate Mum's birthday. The birthday girl chose to dine western-style so we reserved a table at Victoria Station Steakhouse. My parents also invited their church pastor, Earnest & his wife Ee-Hui. The steaks were delicious and our conversation was lively & animated. It was a very enjoyable evening, probably because the pastor, his wife & I are around the same age so my parents had the excuse to act "young"...haha...

Also took the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to my second-favourite hawker centre in Penang: New Lane. It's right next to Sunway Hotel in the heart of Georgetown. There are dozens of stalls lighting up the night with an amazing array of Penang delights. We had our fill of curry mee, chee cheong fun, dumplings, chee chap chok and nyonya kuih...burp...

Aunty Jo-Jo with her beautiful godkids: Katelynn (pink), Kiersten (white), Jared (blue) & Justin (orange)

Then it was back to Singapore to celebrate Christmas with my beautiful godkids. The twins holidayed with me and I loved spoiling them. The most exciting thing we did was a train ride from Orchard Road back to my condo in Kembangan. After which Kiersten declared "Phew...we made it!" They also provided many hours of entertainment with song & dance routines including "Ke Len Lai" and "Hokey Pokey". History was also made when I got a chance to introduce the twins to my favourite boys, Justin & Jared. Both families had a delicious seafood & Hokkien mee dinner at Big Eater. After which Jared declared "We finally get to meet the twins..after so long!"

I really should blog more often about familiar places and faces. After all, they make up the memories that never fail to put a smile on my face :-)

Simple Pleasures

I'm back in Singapore and loving it! This weekend, I even got to try something I've never done before - kite-flying. Yes, I've jumped out a plane, run off a cliff, climbed a mountain but Aunty Jo Jo has never flown a kite until today.

I often spend time with my long-time friend, Jaclyn and her family whenever I'm back in Singapore. Her boys, Justin and Jared, are my godchildren and they have a special place in my heart so I take every opportunity to spoil them with gifts. This time, I brought back a large eagle kite from Shanghai. So, off we went to East Coast Park (ECP) to try it out.

Aunty Jo Jo with Jaclyn, Jimmy, Justin and Jared (yes...we love our "J"s)

Boys being boys, they managed to fit the pieces of the bird together without any instructions. Thank goodness...I would have tied the string to the beak! Very soon, we were proudly showing off our unusual kite to all the Singaporeans dotting the shores of ECP.

Jared, Justin and Aunty Jo Jo showing off our kite

Up, up and away!

We spent a happy hour watching Archie (that's what we named our eagle) soaring in the bright blue sky, while enjoying the delicious sea breeze. We also traded stories and jokes between gulps of green tea and handfuls of Lay's potato chips, while the boys tussled over the latest collection of "cool" songs on my iPod. These are the simple pleasures that I'm so grateful for, especially since I'm on the road so often.

Season's Greetings from Joanna (2005)

Dear Friends

Has 2005 been good to you? I bet it has. It’s just whizzed by for me - filled with work, work and more work. Very challenging year on the career front, as I consolidated by skills and knowledge as a HR & Change professional.

Still, I’ve found time to make some changes and collect new experiences. First change on the vanity front is my hair - it’s now long, straight and flecked with chestnut streaks..super cool!

Other highlights include:-

• Taking ownership of my property in January. First came the keys; then came the light fixtures, wardrobes, cabinets, air-conditioners, bathroom fittings as my poor wallet groaned in agony. Still, I’m happy to report that it’s now gainfully collecting rental so eat your hear out, Donald Trump!
• Visiting Hong Kong for the first time in July. The food is amazing -roast goose, dim sum, shatin pigeon, XO sauce chicken, “char chanteng” goodies – I ate myself silly. Hong Kong is also the most brand-conscious city I’ve ever seen. Everyone was Gucci-ed, Prada-ed and Burberry-ed from tip to toe. Not wanting to be left out, I quickly bought myself a gorgeous Louis Vuitton handbag (that almost required me to take out a second mortgage J)
• Learning a lot about occupational psychology – trained as a psychometric test user and Responsible Gaming counsellor. BTW, that was the real reason for my trip to Hong Kong
• Playing golf for the first time…err.. actually, my game looked much more like hockey. Complete with bald patches spread liberally throughout the course
• Appearing in the local newspaper as a poster girl for British Postgraduate Education – what a laugh that was!
• Preparing for my sister, Julie, to spread her wings and leave for USA. She’ll be pursuing her nursing career and earning US$ for the Yeoh family. HURRAY for JULIE!

Introducing Kiersten & Katelynn...

Julie & I also became godparents to twin girls, born September 18. These little angels are such a delight to be with!

I love spending weekends with them – cooing, bouncing, feeding, cuddling, singing and talking gibberish. I bet they often wonder if Aunty Jo-Jo is actually a blithering idiot disguised as a career woman :-)