TWIST AND TURN

Let's go with Alice and the Mad Hatters to her Wonderland

You are as bright as this balloon, Risha

The beauty and her work of beauty

The power of the hands that can sculpt things

A twist and a turn there for the perfect shape

It's easy Ma'am and the balloon won't burst easily!

Discussing the tea session amidst a rubbery atmosphere

The motif on my baju kurung is like the stem of the flowers

Kamilah, me and Norisha over a cuppa!

Don't sulk! Just get on with your work, will you?

I beg your pardon...I never promise you a balloon garden

Friends forever with balloons to keep company

More balloons will come your way, Mdm!

I had a great ballooning time with Risha and Kamilah

BALLOON TIME

She does not need to huff nor puff like the evil wolf which hopes to bring down the brick house of the three little pigs.

Instead she pumps with the air pump and wrestles with the multi-coloured rubber. She gives it a twist, a pull and a yank there and knots it over to keep it in shape. The cylindrical rubbery millipede- shaped balloon transforms into a flower, a sword, a heart and a poodle at the mercy of her well-manicured fingers.

That's Norisha, our resident balloon sculptor. I did not know of this talent of hers until we had the opportunity to sit down and discuss a tea session we had to organise. While penning down some ideas, out came a stretched balloon which Risha manipulated and tortured into the shape of a sword. But, hey I am not that an ardent fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean nor Captain Hook appeals to me with his cold steel S-shaped hook hand.

With my crestfallen face staring right into her brown eyes, she pulled out two more coloured balloons and shaped them into a poodle, hoping that Clown Bozo's smile would hang on my face. I am not keen on a poodle either. With her deft fingers and some strength to boot, she sculptured more balloons effortlessly. She won me over finally with her stupendous gigantic flowers. I opted for a flower to bloom forever at my workstation. Too lazy to water it nor whisper sweet nothings to it every morning. At least I will keep the Aedes mozie away and be safe from Dengue.

More friends were distracted by the commotion at my table and Risha was complying at the demand of those around her for the balloon sculpture's masterpieces. Crash course on ballooning was held immediately.

Risha is multi-talented. Guess what else could she do? She had worked as a clown before, earning big money at making people laugh at her sadly painted face. Maintaining her poise and elegance, she roars and weaves her way on our tarmac roads with her 1000c bike. She jams the brakes with her killer stiletto shoes, melts her biker partners with her pair of well-eyelined charcoal black eyes and cocks her Transformer-like helmet at the change of the traffic light. She rides herself like a moving and graceful art piece on our expressways.

I still haven't fully discovered what other talent she is hiding in her sleeve. I am safe enough if she does not hide me in her sleeve.

May I have a teddy bear balloon next, Risha? You promise me that.

SEMBAWANG SHOPPING CENTRE - SPLASH PARK @SSC

Giant looking pipes and funnels spouting H2O

A burst water pipe?

Give that Peace sign to your mum who is waiting to drag you away

Colourful and striking colours to attract the kids

Another happy boy at the wet splash park

Mum and her side kick

Mum and her right arm lady

Mist of water envelops the arch

The space looking structures with 'aliens' hanging down from the poles

It was a nice cloudy that day

See the water coming out from the ground too

Slide too for added fun

For agility and balance

Enjoying the sound of water splashing down

A colourful backdrop behind us

Hear the horn blaring away?

So what are you waiting for? Bundle those kids here

Just soak in the water and fun

It's safe. The kids won't slip and fall on the rubber ground

A water haven on a hot day for the family

Run through and get wet

Mummy and daddy can keep an eye over their kids here

A H2O PARK

If you are at your wits end and do not know where to bring your kids out on a hot day, spare yourself of that 'head banging against the wall' punishment. Drag those screaming kids of yours and let the Splash Park at Sembawang Shopping Centre douse their anger, frustrations and tantrum for a therapeutic effect.

The Splash Park is located on the third floor of the shopping centre. Admission is free and the kids would be bowled over by the colours, structures and off course the wet experience of playing and running around water that spouts out from funny and colourful looking robotic shaped structures or getting drenched from bucketfuls of H2O pouring down their heads. Let them have fun and don't bother about them getting wet. Just bring some spare clothes for change and a towel to wipe them dry.

This heartland splash park is opened from 11am-2pm and 5pm-8pm in the evening. If you are wondering why it's not opened for the whole afternoon, it's because the kids would not want to be pulled back to go home after finding their 'water haven' on a third level story high concrete building. The afternoon closing hours would mean the mums or house husbands could call it "QUIT" after the morning day off at the H2O Park and go home to attend to other things. It's tough I bet. Just check with my husband who had to get a crane to pull and tear me away from the park for dinner as the 'child in me had gone loose and astray' that evening while we were there.

Good Luck at getting your kids to go home!

BONDING AND BEATING AS ONE

My buddy and best friend

Friends request your company often

That's Fahmy with the Bruce Lee's pose

Friends walk and stand beside YOU!

Bonding as one in each other's cultural costumes

Some friends want to remain mysterious and anonymous

A wonderful friend and a sister to me

Hosting a concert with a friend

You can meet friends everywhere...

Former students who are now my friends

New form of relationship as friends through motherhood

Car rally friends looking for a female officer

Friends paint colours to your day

Surrounded by the leaders of tomorrow

Let's spread our friendship to the rest of the world

Vince - a good friend of mine

My 24 hour friend and confidante

We've known each other for more than thirty years

Friends come in different ages

Having a bowl of time with friends

Time flies when you are with friends. Find Fahmy.

Friends who love anime and anything Japanese

Friends to fill our lonely moments

United We Stand. Divided We Fall

Friend from across the causeway

With a new found friend

Regardless of race, language or religion

Friends from outer space?

Celebrating with friends

Friends to while the night away

There are no strangers among our midst, just friends to say 'Hi'

Friends to give you support when the climbing gets tough

Friends to rock your sadness away

TO LOVE IS TO LAUGH

He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare,
And he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.
Ali ibn-Abi-Talib, A Hundred Sayings (602 AD - 661 AD)

A Definition of Friendship
Friendship is the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring all right out just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful friendly hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping and, with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away.

There are no strangers you haven't met, only friends. How wonderful life would be if we are surrounded by friends and no strangers at all. Besides families, friends fill my world with their different colours, religions and culture. My friends and I bond and get along well, despite the difference in age and IT saviness that may keep us apart. The relationship we have is an amalgamation of beautiful and complex feelings, which may not often be described in words.

Defining a relationship is never easy, as there are so many facets to it. However we don't need a bunch of words to make us realize the deep meaning of friendship. As I get to know my friends longer, the bond just gets stronger with time; the trust between the two people grows and so does the attachment. This is the beauty of the relationship and is the essential meaning of friendship. Being friends means being there for each other at all times, whether it's good or bad. A friend needs to be very understanding and give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Searching for the meaning of friendship has always been a burning question. There's none that can give a perfect answer. However as soon as we meet our friends all these questions get answered automatically. The answer to what is the meaning of friendship lies within our hearts, because true friendship can only be felt, and not expressed. Something so pure and essential is not always visible to the eye, but is felt by the heart.

That is what I call as BONDING AS ONE!