I am very much into my exercise regime now and Qi just nagged at me to go easy. She does not want a "bai kah" mother! Given my vanity, I still want to wear my 4 inches heels, so I will not let myself be a "bai kah".

Qi just told me something which shocked me, she will tear and miss home at first when she goes to St Andrews. I had always thought that she would be happy to go out and see the world, experience life on her own, and going to an ancient university has been her dream. I am excited for her.

I can feel Vincent getting the separation anxiety.

I walked 8,000 steps last evening in the estate, and was in quite a fair bit of pain entire of last night. I was so tempted to walk again this morning, to be followed by a brief session at the gym but I thought I better not risk further injury plus endless nagging from Vincent. Qi wanted to register me for Walkers Anonymous! She said I need professional help.

I am going for lunch with Eleanor, and I am going to put on the ankle guard and then find a pair of "short" heels to wear.

Vincent made me go to "su ku" to "treat" my swollen ankle. I think his "su ku" meter went up by a few notch since I last saw him a few years ago.

No walking and no high heels for at least one week? I need to walk, and I think all the sitting around is making the ankle worse.

I had loads of fun in Turkey catching up with old friends like Tayfun, Bilge, Rakesh and of course Muayad (who bought 2 boxes of chocolates for Jer), unfortunately I had a very bad fall on the 2nd day and sprained my ankle very badly and could not walk around much. Vincent had to piggy-back me up the slope when the pain was unbearable. Qi said it was so korean-drama-ish. Even Herbert offered to piggly-back me (I suspected it was to trick me in revealing my weight!!)For the rest of the trip I had 2 "nu chai" to help me fetch and carry.

Tayfun recalled seeing Min's tiny shoes in Vincent's car in one of his trips to Singapore and thought that they were shoes for her dolls!

CL was really fun to be with, and we really missed him at the gala dinner when he went back early. Mr Yung was as usual very serious, but when he did come up with very quotable quotes once in a while, like "the raw salad is as bland as the nun's urine".

I did a "Qi" one morning when Vincent was in the meeting - I took a taxi to Taksim Square (did a bit of shopping) and then found a nice cafe where I drank apple tea. I wished I was able to explore Istanbul more but there was that much I could do while limping around.

I am leaving for Turkey tonight, (finally packed my luggage), but somehow I am apprehensive about going. I am just not in the mood to leave the girls behind (even though all transportation has been arranged). I am not looking forward to the flight.

Lao Shi told me today that the American Chinese lady who asked me for my "wu" is a uni lecturer in Chinese studies.

Today I sent Vincent to the airport. This is only the 2nd time that I have sent him in our 24 years of marriage. The first time was when we were newly married. I sent him today as Herbert was bringing the limited gold bag he bought for me in HK plus Jer's skin care. Herbert's flight was delayed for more than 2 hours due to heavy downpour in HK so he almost missed his connecting flight together with Vincent to Dubai/Kuwait. I got my bag which he hand carried with him, but Jer's skincare were still in Herbert's luggage.

This is Vincent's 4th trip to Kuwait since the beginning of the year.

This is the 1001th time I've walked to the kitchen to get food and I see that you've moved, uh, three lines. Not bad, see you later :D (this is Jer) - and that is because I was busy talking to big jie and jie.

Qi is morphing into Vincent. She has started nagging at all of us to keep the house clean (although she is all talk and no action. She calls this the hallmark of a true excecutive).

Min is morphing into a block of wood. She is in the process of de-tanning and she drinks too much papaya milk but wants to be fair and rosy.

Jer is flopping around colourless like a dying fish (in her own words). Ms Tay calls her transparent.

Ma makes the best red beans chang!

Well, the calligraphy session yesterday at the Art Museum was a success but very tiring. I got one lady and one little girl interested in learning calligraphy. I was pretty impressed with a teenaged girl who asked me what she could write for her father's birthday. She diligently practised "Le tian chang shou" which I suggested and subsequently taught her how to write.

An American Chinese lady currently learning painting from Lao Shi was very impressed with big "wu" that I wrote and asked for it. She said she could almost feel the word dancing. She asked me to write another piece for her friend. I was so happy to know that she appreciated my writing.

Peter bounced the idca of starting a website to sell our calligraphy! I liked the idea alot and told him I would donate the sales proceeds to a charity.

Shang - which the director of the SAM told Lao Shi is very well written.