lifeskill lessons

lifeskills were imparted to ivy and ida from a tender age. both of them learnt water survival while they were still in primary schools. i started ivy on water confidence and later she had some formal lessons with sng thai soon. ida, together with yuen fei and alvin, had swimming lessons with a swimming instructor at farrer park swimming pool.

as for cycling on two wheels, ivy picked it up together with michelle and gavin. we used to take them to east coast park for cycling sessions. ida had javiar as her companion for her bicycle practice sessions.

one day, after she had gone with her school choir members for a picnic at east coast park, she came home and proudly proclaimed that she could cycle....on two wheels.

in the case of driving, both of them started practising behind the wheels when they were no older than five years old. when we lived at towner road, i used to take ivy to the 'driving centre' at bendemeer mall, where for the princely sum of $0.50, she could drive within the perimeter for about 15 minutes.

when it came to ida's turn, the cost for driving the car or motorcycle around the 'centre' went up to $1.00. her normal practice session was usually 15 minutes although there were times when she went for a longer spin.

they tried their hands at cooking simple meals when they were in their early teens. today, according to ida, ivy can cook a repertoire of western and oriental dishes and ida's specialities include teriyaki chicken and san pei chi.