After 9 months in Singapore, we made the decision to move to Stockholm. Olof has tried to find suitable employment here since we came here but to no avail. With my income alone, I will not be able to provide for him and Kaige adequately. As if to make matters worse, he has missed a good career opportunity in Stockholm that his former manager has created for him before he left for the US to further his own career. So the decision we made now is really not based on a better job for Olof or myself, but rather we have come to a tipping point where we feel it's time for us to end our nomad adventure in Singapore and establish a base for the whole family to settle down.
Life is full of ups and downs, and I have learnt one thing from our saga in Singapore: You can only plan this much. Go with the flow or what you find comfortable with, and you'll find peace within you.
2011-07-16
2011-02-18
kaige's first post... enjoy
Lil' Kaige writes: nnnnnnnnnnnn,7kj j sn=./"> nbhnh nh6iujhb v hnj hm9 0opokj jmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm6nju mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yimm7j x mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmd vfgn wez
2011-02-06
My trip to Sweden
Can you imagine, it was more than a year since I was in Sweden last time?
We have lived abroad during the past 2.5 years, but I have never before (in my life) been out of the country for such a long time period. After Sam's and my visit to Sweden during Christmas and New Year 2009, we have been fully occupied with supporting Sam during pregnancy, the birth of Kaige and our re-location to Singapore.
Luckily mamma, pappa and brother Staffan, and at least one of my friends (Magnus), have been able to visit us instead. This doesn't mean that I have not missed out anything in Sweden. Sadly enough, I was not present when my farfar Olle past away on Dec 19 at the age of 88.
His funeral is in fact the reason why I travel to Sweden this time. I wish I had met him more frequently the past few years. Farfar brought so much happiness to this world and he had a heart bigger than most others. I do remember a lot of happy memories from when I was younger, not the least our camping vacation in 1989. Farfar also used to read my school work writings so carefully and praise me afterwards. That made me very happy.
It's time to finish this blog posting. I have to go to the airport. This trip to Sweden will be the longest stay away from my lovely wife and son (since Kaige was born). To be such a long trip in distance, it is still a very short trip in terms of duration (less than a week. I will make sure to spend plenty of time with my family and relatives in Sweden.
We have lived abroad during the past 2.5 years, but I have never before (in my life) been out of the country for such a long time period. After Sam's and my visit to Sweden during Christmas and New Year 2009, we have been fully occupied with supporting Sam during pregnancy, the birth of Kaige and our re-location to Singapore.
Luckily mamma, pappa and brother Staffan, and at least one of my friends (Magnus), have been able to visit us instead. This doesn't mean that I have not missed out anything in Sweden. Sadly enough, I was not present when my farfar Olle past away on Dec 19 at the age of 88.
His funeral is in fact the reason why I travel to Sweden this time. I wish I had met him more frequently the past few years. Farfar brought so much happiness to this world and he had a heart bigger than most others. I do remember a lot of happy memories from when I was younger, not the least our camping vacation in 1989. Farfar also used to read my school work writings so carefully and praise me afterwards. That made me very happy.
It's time to finish this blog posting. I have to go to the airport. This trip to Sweden will be the longest stay away from my lovely wife and son (since Kaige was born). To be such a long trip in distance, it is still a very short trip in terms of duration (less than a week. I will make sure to spend plenty of time with my family and relatives in Sweden.
2010-12-29
Laimun
I was immensely moved this morning by a gesture of my elder sister, Laimun. It was nothing spectacular nor complicated. It was as simple as picking a flower or taking a bus. But it moved me totally – the way she put Tiger to sleep. For those who know my family situation well know Laimun has a handicap, but it has not stopped her for one moment in caring for Tiger. She is like a second mother to Tiger. She rocked him to sleep and then gently put him down in his crib. She did not leave the room immediately. Instead, she felt around his crib for his “sleep buddy”, Kalle Kanin, while being careful not to wake him up. She then thoughtfully placed Kalle Kanin sitting up and facing Tiger. This meant that Tiger will wake up to seeing Kalle Kanin and grab it with ease to play with it. I would never have thought of doing that, but Laimun did.
2010-12-21
our dearest grandfather Olof
Lots of love and hugs go out to our dearest grandfather Olof, who passed away peacefully on 19 Dec 2010. He will be missed dearly by us. It is a shame that Tiger never get to meet his great grandfather who was such a doting elder to his father.
Farfar Olle, may peace and calm be with you as you as finally take your leave from all earthily matters.
Farfar Olle, may peace and calm be with you as you as finally take your leave from all earthily matters.
2010-12-08
2010-11-12
how should I begin this post...
ALOT has happened during this one month hiatus from blogging. We moved out from Joo Chiat serviced apartment to our one-year leased HDB flat, then literally moved out of it on the same day, then got entangled into a tenancy dispute, then incurred some losses on resolving the tenancy, then got entangled (again) into a property agent misconduct dispute, then has been camping at my parents' place for almost a month, then Olof got a 3-month contract (finally!!) from Ericsson, then lil' Tiger turned 5 months old yesterday. *Pant* Thank goodness I can say all that in one breathe.
The tenancy dispute was, doubtless, the most challenging and frustrating period for us since we moved to Singapore. Candidly, it was ignorance and ill-informed of the rental practices in Singapore that caused us to land in this thick mud. It's interesting to note that the rental practices between Singapore and Sweden are the exact opposite of each other; Singapore protects the landlord, Sweden protects the tenant. We have learnt alot in this entire saga, but we paid quite a hefty price for it too. Much as we incurred some losses, however, it could have been worse if not we were lucky to meet a responsible property agent who at least uphold certain moral values and exhibit professionalism in his job. Although we are now out of the problematic lease, the issue is not completely over. We are still fighting to get back the commission we paid to our irresponsible and dubious property agent who was supposed to protect our interests in the tenancy but never did. Let's hope that justice is on our side. It is long overdue that this industry and many of its practitioners need to be shaken up and disciplined to truly act like a professional property agent providing trustworthy and quality services to its customers.
We very much hope to put that tenancy issue behind us soon... we have more important things to do - securing our livelihood. Olof has started a 3-month contract at Ericsson while I still do not have any job offers in my basket yet. It's really challenging to look for jobs and care for Tiger at the same time. Fortunately, I have the help of my family to share the task of caring for Tiger. I feel the need quickly return to the working world in order not to be disconnected from it. It's unfortunate for women here that the working world is not very forgiving if you decide to take a few years to care for your little one. Rejoining it after a hiatus of, say, 2 years is extremely difficult.
It has been an uphill start for us in Singapore. But we still believe that we made the right decision to move out of Beijing. Simply being able to go out for walks with Tiger as and when we feel like it and breathe in fresh air sums up the saying "money is not everything." No doubt times are a little teeth-griting for us now, but the stamina that we will build up from this uphill climb is certainly going to propel us ahead when we eventually reach the plateau.
The tenancy dispute was, doubtless, the most challenging and frustrating period for us since we moved to Singapore. Candidly, it was ignorance and ill-informed of the rental practices in Singapore that caused us to land in this thick mud. It's interesting to note that the rental practices between Singapore and Sweden are the exact opposite of each other; Singapore protects the landlord, Sweden protects the tenant. We have learnt alot in this entire saga, but we paid quite a hefty price for it too. Much as we incurred some losses, however, it could have been worse if not we were lucky to meet a responsible property agent who at least uphold certain moral values and exhibit professionalism in his job. Although we are now out of the problematic lease, the issue is not completely over. We are still fighting to get back the commission we paid to our irresponsible and dubious property agent who was supposed to protect our interests in the tenancy but never did. Let's hope that justice is on our side. It is long overdue that this industry and many of its practitioners need to be shaken up and disciplined to truly act like a professional property agent providing trustworthy and quality services to its customers.
We very much hope to put that tenancy issue behind us soon... we have more important things to do - securing our livelihood. Olof has started a 3-month contract at Ericsson while I still do not have any job offers in my basket yet. It's really challenging to look for jobs and care for Tiger at the same time. Fortunately, I have the help of my family to share the task of caring for Tiger. I feel the need quickly return to the working world in order not to be disconnected from it. It's unfortunate for women here that the working world is not very forgiving if you decide to take a few years to care for your little one. Rejoining it after a hiatus of, say, 2 years is extremely difficult.
It has been an uphill start for us in Singapore. But we still believe that we made the right decision to move out of Beijing. Simply being able to go out for walks with Tiger as and when we feel like it and breathe in fresh air sums up the saying "money is not everything." No doubt times are a little teeth-griting for us now, but the stamina that we will build up from this uphill climb is certainly going to propel us ahead when we eventually reach the plateau.
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