Virtual Real Friends

Virtual Real Friends may sound grammatically incorrect - as opposed to Virtually Real Friends. But factually, it is more correct than Virtually Real Friends - which sounds as though it is "almost-but-not real friends" - and that is certainly not the case.

Apologies if I have thoroughly confused you - I am talking about a wonderful bunch of friends that I have the pleasure of knowing - through blogging. We're all bloggers, and mostly mummies, and hence we have lots in common. 

Like having last minute plans sprrrrinnng into action, for example :) Here's us! It took us less than half a day to throw this impromptu gathering together. Someone suggested something on a whim, and the rest took it and flew with it. Within a few hours, we were gathered on this patch of grass at The Botanic Gardens of Singapore (that's probably the official name now - must have The at the beginning, and Singapore at the end ;p). Note: I've just been told the official name is likely to be Singapore Botanic Gardens - but my version makes it sound so much more dignified!!! :p

Scoot here now, quick!

We just wanted to be outdoors, to breathe some fresh air, get some sun, and let the kids move about. And the kids did! Run, scoot, cycle, chase and scare geese...

Actually, what I wanted to say in this post, is that my virtual real friends, know me pretty well. They've read me on my blog, heard and seen me talk - they know "my pattern". They know how I'm like. How I have been complaining to them that I want to blog more, but I have so much to say, that I tend not to be able to find time to write the crazy pam-like long blog posts that I usually do. 

So my dear friends say - just do short posts!!! :) And I will. And this is the first short post!!! In honour of good advice and all that, ya know ;)  It's not going to be easy for me to be short and concise and not turn everything into a 3 page article. But I shall certainly try!

Keeping a safe distance - cautious kids, good!

So if you think the kids in these pix look familiar, that's probably coz you may have already read about some or all of them in these blogs!

• Life's Tiny Miracles
• Owl's Well
• Life in the Wee Hours
• MamaWearPapaShirt
• Life is in the Small Things

We wanted to get the kids all in one picture. But to get them all together, and looking at the camera - that was tough!!! Until someone had a great idea! She told the kids to line up by height as we wanted to see who was the tallest child! And they did! :)

Who's the tallest of them all? The eldest one, naturally! (Though not necessarily!)

And then, being a little ambitious now. I said:"Do you kids want to look like you're all the same height?" "YES!!!" they chorused! And gamely stood still while I adjusted myself trying to take a picture where they all look equally tall. Well almost. Now, the youngest one of all looks huge! :) 

Love these pictures, a shame not to blog it. So there! :)

Don't we all look like we're all almost of the same height?!

Missing our Virtual Real Friends from Little Blue Bottle, A Dollop of Me, A Juggling Mom, Scissors Paper Stone, Missus Tay, and many more!

Q&A Throwback: Balik Kampong - The Finale!

My sincere apologies! I took so long to write this post, that MediaCorp has taken the Throwback: Balik Kampong episodes off Toggle.sg! No, it's not because of me! *indignant* I am neither contracted by anyone, nor paid to blog about our experience at Throwback: Balik Kampong. Wrote it all out of free will, and all opinions are mine, unless stated.

It is quite upsetting to realise that they took the videos offline - when we were told they'd probably be on there for years afterward. Ah well... In any case, I manage to find this clip on youtube - a little behind the scenes walk with Rozz & Fuzz at the kampong.

Now, even though the episodes are no longer available online for you to watch, I shall still complete this post. People who watched it would appreciate it more, and probably know what I am talking about more than those who did not manage to watch the final episode of Throwback: Balik Kampong.

The Tan Family emerged Ultimate Kampong Champions of Throwback: Balik Kampong

Q: So who was the Ultimate Kampong Champion?
A: We are! The Tan Family won! Thank you so much for all your support! Without the support of you, our fans, and family and friends of friends - we couldn't have won. Big thanks to all of you, from the bottom of all five of our hearts! *muakz*

Q: How are the winners determined?

A: We are told that the votes that audience have voted after each of the first 7 episodes of the series were collated for a final figure. The family with the largest number of total votes is the winner.

Q: Did you know the results right from the start?

A:  No, we did not know the winner until the studio portion of the final episode (Episode 10) was filmed. Episode 10's studio segment - where they announced the results - was filmed only after Episode 7 was screened. This way, they had all the votes collated, final vote count tallied, in order to know who the winner is.

Q: Was it the prize money that made you join in this show?

A: No it wasn't. In fact, we did not even know there was going to be a prize - much less what prize was going to be.

Q: Then why did you want to join in this competition in the first place?
A: We did not even know it was going to be a competition. We were told it was going to be an SG50 show, to commemorate how our forefathers lived back in the 1960s, in kampongs. We knew there were going to be two other families - a Malay family and an Indian family there with us. But we thought this was more for racial diversity - since it is an SG50 show, right? We didn't know there was going to be any competition during filming. And neither did we know that audience would be asked to vote, after the episodes were screened.

Q: Wait, so exactly WHAT did you win, again?

A: The prizes for the Ultimate Kampong Champion was S$10,000 in cash, a stay at The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore, and a Bosch appliance. However, as mentioned on the show, we are going to share S$2,000 each with The Awads and The Azimullahs. So, we will have a balance of S$6,000 for ourselves.

Card and foam art photo frame for our friends, The Azimullahs! :)

Q: Whose idea was it to share the prize money?
A: It's quite a coincidence. Matthew and I spoke about this after filming for the final episode ended, and we confessed to each other that the thought of sharing did cross our minds (individually) - but we didn't even discuss it with each other because we never thought we would actually win. We thought The Awads would win - so it was a moot point that didn't need to be discussed. However, what actually happened on the actual day was: Matthew and I were stunned that we won and it was in fact Isaac who suggested sharing the winnings with the other two families. Rozz was quite funny, she said "Woah woah woah! Isaac, you can't decide such things on your own. You better check with your parents first." This is where I said "Yes, we'd share S$2k each with the other two families." - and this is what they showed in the final cut. We suspect they cut out what Isaac said because they couldn't get a clear shot/recording of him saying that.

We thought it was a pity they did not ask us to re-enact that to show Isaac making that suggestion - since that was what really happened. After all, this was THE BOY who has been CRYING and CRYING through the entire series - oh alright, at least the first half of the series! But yet, he is the one who suggested sharing his family's winnings. Matthew and I are very proud of him for being so generous and for making it through the entire kampong experience intact!

Q: Why did you agree to share the prize money?
A: It wasn't easy on all of us three families out there in the kampong. It would have been great if all three families had won some prize money - but I guess that wasn't in the plan. So since we won, we have the power to decide to share, and so we did! :)

Q: Weren't there prizes for the other two families?
A: Yes, thankfully, there was! They both won a one night's stay at Turi Beach Hotel on Batam Island, Indonesia. They also won a Bosch appliance, each.

Q: Have you given the other two families the money?
A: Yes we have. We mailed them a cheque each. Isaac drew a card each for the families, and the twins made a foam art for them too. Look at the collage above and below! :)

Card for The Awads, illustrated and designed by Isaac Tan! :)

Thus this post completes the Throwback: Balik Kampong post-per-episode series of blog posts brought to you by Mrs Tan of The Tan Family, Throwback Balik Kampong. Feel free to state your questions in the comments, if you have more questions. Also, I do intend to blog more about our experience at the kampong, so stay tuned! :) Thank you, once again, for making us the Ultimate Kampong Champions!

Kids with the foam art and card for The Awads :)