The cafe of Lisette Cana
All are welcomed to hear the truth
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Photo taken by Lisette
Lisette, 3 yrs old, can take good photographs. When faced with 3 remote controls, she knows exactly which one switches on the TV. Lisette will also ask that the air-con be switched off when she is sick/cold; request to change her daily fruit from an apple to an orange; request for a fried egg to be added to her dinner. It's fascinating that a 3 yrs old can articulate what she wants.
And while reading bedtime stories to Lisette... it just dawned upon me questions like:
- In Goldilocks and the 3 bears, why is the papa bear's bed hard while the mama bear's bed soft, in which case, does that mean that they sleep on different beds indicating marital problems?
- In Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf shut the old grandmother in the closet. Now, shouldn't the Big Bad Wolf just eat the grandmother as she is an easier prey?
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Friday, November 30, 2007
young shepherd boy
Tell you a story..
Once upon a time, God spoke to a wise man and he began seeking for a young boy to be chosen. This young boy will be someone who will be very important to the people of the land. The wise man found and spoke to a father who had many strong and mighty sons.
The father went forth and promoted his sons, one after another, from the strongest to the smartest to the bravest... to the wise man. However, the wise man would reject one son after another.
At the end of which, this father began thinking, all my sons do not qualify, my strongest, my tallest, my most capable.. then, he thought of the last of his sons, a shepherd boy who was tending to the sheep. And since this was his last available son, he presented it to the wise man.
The wise man was delighted at the first sight of this young boy. He was immediately chosen.
This young boy's name is David and he went on to defeat the giant Goliath and many other enemies of the land. David rose to become a great king bringing peace and prosperity to the land.
...
Sometimes our colleagues, friends or even our parents will have little faith in our capabilities and might believe that we are not destined for great things. David's father believe David is good enough to tend sheep. Never in his wildest dreams would he imagine his son would rise to become the great king of Israel.
Friends, do not despair if people do not believe in you and think that you are destined for a normal life, for if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you shall move mountains. If God is for you, who can be against you. Have faith that you are an overcomer, an achiever and you can do all things and become successful and prosperous!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
toddler use stylus
a toddler is beaming with energy. you can't catch up. you have to admit age is catching up with you. but having a child is so much fun. it's more fun than playing some simulation game like nintendogs. by the way, lisette can bathe the dogs in nintendogs. she knows how to use a stylus before even knowing how to use a pencil. lisette may grow up never needing a pencil, replacing it with a stylus. wow.. if we don't keep up, we will be the seamstress, bus conductor or cobblers, the forgotten profession of yesteryears.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Lisette vs Lucia
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Lisette & Lucia
Monday, May 28, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Eye-hand coordination. For a toddler, it's very tough to stuff coins / notes in. Lisette tried and tried for an entire day before succeeding. Looking at Lisette is just so inspirational. How many times do we try opening a jar before blaming the last person for closing it so tight? How many times are we willing to fail to learn something new today?
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Strange human psychology
1. When you buy a stock, you want it to go up, that's natural. But when you sell a stock, deep inside most people's heart is this: it mustn't go up further, in fact it must fall. If it goes up, emotions ranging from 'sayang', regret to anger will emerge. Hello... when you sell, it's no longer yours. Somebody else bought it from you, this person also need to make money, right?
This strange psychology also extend to relationships. When you dump your girlfriend and she went out with a karung-guni man with a limp on the leg driving a run-down pickup.. wah.. shiok. When you dump her and immediately a sauve businessman driving an S-class scoup her up... wah... shit. The beh-song feeling will come up from nowhere.
If you have this strange psychology of pride+greed, please seek help.
2. I saw some credit card company offering 3 months interest free payment for grocery purchase from Giant. I was like "huh?! what's the world coming to?".
Now, if you have a credit card, you must earn like a min of RM2000 a month, right?
And you need 3 months instalment to buy grocery?
It's bad enough that we need to buy a house or car in credit. It went down another level with furniture and electrical appliances loan. Now, it's all out crazy to buy grocery on credit.
My suggestion is that if you require this facility, you are as good as taking a plastic bag, going to the nearest hawker centre and ta-pao the leftover on the plates home for dinner.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
Speak positive words of encouragement
When facing any situations, you have a choice.
You can either think of all the bad things that is going to happen or you could choose to break the spirit of negativity by speaking positive words.
When you demean something, it goes down in value.
When you say something good, it goes up in value.
Always praise your loved ones. Always encourage.
Try to make a conscious effort the next time you face a situation, and see the power of positive words changing the colour of your future.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Lisette is having a fever since Sunday. Today, it's the 4th day and the temperature is still not coming down. We are really worried. Yesterday and this morning, she vomitted her milk + medicine out. Need to go back to the doctor again. Please pray for God to heal Lisette and for Lisette to get well soon.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Harbour City, great factory outlet shopping. Cheap genuine Nike, Adidas and Converse. Had kebab for lunch, but the mutton seriously smelled like sweaty armpits. Chicken would be a better choice. By the way, Ashley loves the taste of Lift, so when we came home... i squeezed 1/2 a lemon into a can of ice-cream soda = homemade Lift.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Friday, October 06, 2006
lisette loves...
lisette is growing smarter by the day. she can say words like - moon, kakak (elder sister), pa (climb), papa, na (take), nana (banana), hsieh-hsieh, mama, ma (horse), ce (car). and she can help throw rubbish into the wastepaper basket. after eating cheezels, you ask her to throw away the wrapper, and she will happily help you throw it away. but days later, to our horror, we found Ashley's handphone and spectacles inside the rubbish bin. apparently, lisette loves to 'throw away things'.
ashley is reading Neil Humphrey's "Final Notes"... one day lisette picked up the book, looking at the cover and promptly raised her hand looking like saying "Bye!". ashley didn't get the joke until she looked at the cover of her book again. lisette is imitating neil on the book's cover.
lisette loves the tv remote control. it gives her a sense of control. usually we will be so engrossed in watching CSI, trying to figure out who, how, what happened. and at the crucial scene, when things are being revealed, lisette will switch the tv off. prompting a 'hey!' from ashley.
lisette eats hot chicken curry, debunking the myth that toddlers can't take chilli.
lisette holds the pen like we do, unlike kids who grab them with all 4 fingers.
Thursday, September 21, 2006

When your next door neighbour has an argument, what do you do? Condemn the neighbour and ask that peace and democracy be restored swiftly? I love the official statement of the Chinese goverment: "It is a domestic matter". Precisely. Don't kay-poh other people's business. Angmoh countries love to kay-poh, and preach their brand of democracy. Democracy works only after certain criteria in a country is fulfilled.. US pushed democracy in Afganistan and Iraq ... it doesn't work because the government elected will be too weak to stop sectarian violence. You need a strong man with an iron fist to stop the violence and rebuild the country.. not democracy. Look at 'democracy' in Taiwan, they are scaring away the tourist and foreign investors. Roll in the tanks like in Tiananmen, and the fight will stop. Allow other people to practice what works best in their own country. I believe, without corruption or nepotism; democracy, communism or theocracy will work. Simple formula: Love others as you love yourself... the world will be a beautiful place to live in.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Scream (or The Cry). This painting is very the pessimistic lor.. the anguished expression of isolation and fear will pull you into a vortex of despair. But.. paintings can be positive, bright, sunny and encouraging too. Painting seems like a good form to express oneself, must try to paint. Taka got dedicate a whole level to selling canvas, brushes and paints. Will go buy and try to paint. By the way, i saw that day.. a painting of a kampung or chinatown or temple selling for a mere S$850 only, nowadays things are so fantastically reasonably priced hor?
Friday, September 08, 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
Texas Chainsaw Gore

This weekend i had the priviledge to watch 3 dvds... it's been a really long time since i could watch dvds. because if i turn up the volume and there is a scene of car crashing or loud shriek... baby lisette will get a fright. but i got the opportunity to watch 3 dvds this weekend.. baby lisette seemed to be able to differentiate sounds from the movies and real life.
but i want to complain... i watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre... i thought horror = scary, but apparently horror is now gore. Gore is no fun to watch. Ashley watched 1/2 way.. and she's immediately transported to the meat section of the market with bloody red beef hanging on hooks, and blood all over the floor.. way too much gore, Ashley stopped watching and walked away.
gore is disturbing. then i watched The Hills Have Eyes... and guess what... gore again... gortesque deformed gore.
but at least 1 movie was good.. The Benchwarmers.. it's politically incorrect, poking fun at midgets, nerds, gays... but it's wicked fun. reminds me of stephen chow. he was so good, so funny.. 10 years ago.
Monday, July 24, 2006

this is me in pink in singapore @ grandma's place. my parents went for a marriage course in church. my mum and dad said it's awesome. i am glad because statistics show that 1 in 4 marriages in singapore ended in divorce. a broken family is not a good place for a child to grow up in. pyschologically scarred manifesting into anger, low self-esteem, trust problems and all kind of doo-doos. i love my parents to love each other.
Friday, July 21, 2006

lisette cana wanna be the official spokesperson for osim igallop. it's great exercise even for baby lisette. a 1year old can use osim igallop for fun and exercise. it tones muscles, helps posturing and builds confidence. sometimes i am just wondering, product placement is so prevalent today. it's in the tv programmes, movies and even in video games.. did someone watch Lost Season 2 on TV lately, it seemed that a new nalgene (plastic water bottle) has been found. Season 1 never see Matthew Fox drink from nalgene bottles leh. then i caught Jack Neo's I Not Stupid 2... wah... product placements aren't even subtle.. it's blatant. UOB Bank signboard so big.. even a blind can see lah. Advertising now targets the subconscious mind. Be on guard, when you go buy shampoo, will you grab a red coloured bottle of sunsilk? because it locks in the colour... ha..
Wednesday, July 12, 2006

this is lisette new hairstyle.. lisette's mommy cut one. look a bit like a footballer haircut.. world cup influence lingers on. this is lisette's 1st visit to Secret Recipe. the 'cake' is good here. to me, a brownie and all things baked from flour = cake. cookie = biscuit. ashley was baffled by my lack of vocabulary. ha..
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
The new cleavage?

i have something to say. and i am not happy with how fashion has progressed. there seemed to be a new cleavage in town... the butt cleavage. every single time i see it, it makes me wanna puke. look at the photo... do you see anything sexy? appetizing?
to me, it doesn't make a difference whether it's a beautiful girl or a fat uncle with this butt cleavage. if baby lisette wears her diaper so low, i am gonna put a handiplast to cover the crack. it's a disgrace.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006

lisette: " i wanna open the cupboard!! ".. now i know why some people dun wanna have kids.. they tear your magazines, vomit on your carpet and smear food everywhere... but i just love it... your marriage will never be complete without a moving kicking mean-looking demolisher. try it... it's fun. (by the way... u were like tat when u r young... just that u don't remember the kind of sh!t ur parents went thru.)
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
Thursday, May 04, 2006
shopping JB
i go this french hypermarket shopping. it's the best because their trolley is new, clean and the wheels can turn. u ask me what is "wheels can turn"? go to Giant hypermarket and you will know what is wheels cannot turn... you practically have to push and drag the trolley. i guess Giant business too good. they want you to buy less. if you buy a 10kg pack of rice + 3kg of chicken + all kind of stuff = 40kg... then imagine pushing the trolley with 2 wheels jammed... eat strength ah, hokkien say chia lat. and somemore the trolley rusty.. want the customer to kena tetanus is it? i know m'sia rain, trolley kena rain, trolley rusty.. then change new trolley lah. that's why i shop carrefour. nice..
Thursday, April 13, 2006
die, $ give who?
Maybe i am simple-minded, but may I ask a simple question to unmarried millionaires like Olivia and Kenny... when you die, your money want to give to who ah?
Yes, marriage and children causes inconveniences. But it increased my capacity to love, to care and to give. Baby Lisette is my sunshine in times of darkness.

Lisette checking her father's accounts to ensure there is no over-spending and sufficient funds for her education. And by the way, i always hear people say that providing education for your child will be very very very costly. That is an urban legend to stop you from propagating offsprings, thereby wiping off your genetic imprint from the face of the earth. It is a genocidal conspiracy.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Super 2006 !!!
Sorry that we are so busy we aren't able to update Lisette's blog as often as we wanted to.
But because of God's blessings, it has been a tremendously hectic time in our business.
Business surged and our lack turned into abundance.
God is truly able to do exceedingly and abundantly above what we can think or imagine.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Gong Xi Fa Cai
Do we really need to send someone a new year greeting card?
With the prolifilation of technology, a mass sms greeting will save time and money.
What i noticed is a shift in business models.
A shift from traditional-based business to technology-based enterprises.
Post offices are making way to telecommunication companies.
The beast that devours makes small incremental gain towards the prey.
Slowly but surely, the predator will prevail.
When is the last time you have seen a seamstress, a cobbler or even a tailor?
If the MRTs can run unmanned, then basically the driver loses his job.
Soft-drink dispensers are edging into your friendly cheng-teng seller's territory.
Look at what you are doing now...
Are you the prey waiting for the python to squeeze you till your last breath?
Friday, January 13, 2006
cold weather - rain = good
I love cold weather.
I love it when it shows 26'C in my living room even without switching on the air-con.
Cold weather is such a blast. Reminds us of Melbourne.
I dun really enjoy the rain though.
Rain + baby = a great deal of hassle.
We can be drenched, take a hot shower, and all's well.
But baby lisette must be accorded 100% protection from the rain, lest she falls sick.
Rain softens the ground and creates potholes on the road, making rides bumpy.
Not baby friendly.
Rain = traffic jam.
Cold weather = more babies 9 months down the road.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Evolution?

evolution or intelligent design?
did life start as an amoeba (single cell organism) --> fish --> baboon-faced monkey --> prehistoric man --> the modern man?
personally, i just cannot fathom how the complexity of a human body can come forth thru a lightning striking some chemical mix zillion of years ago.
i thought i learnt that any theory must be proven scientifically. why wasn't this magical moment of lightning striking some chemical mix to produce the 1st amoeba been proven before? yet it is accepted as the origin of life?
i am a firm believer of an intelligent Creator out there.
if we look at ourselves, we can see the evidence of an intelligent Creator.
Did a pile of metal accidentally come together to form a car?
Did some colours just seep into a canvas to form the image of Mona Lisa?
Certainly not!
Henry Ford created it. Da Vinci painted it.
I believe that we are created in the image of our Creator.
That inherently we have the creativity of our Creator.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Monday, November 07, 2005
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Monday, October 17, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
冰封三尺,绝非一日之寒
This a chinese proverb translated to mean:
Three feet of ice does not form through one day of freezing weather.
The situation we are in today, be it career dissatisfaction, marriage life or poverty is not the result of bad luck, a single mistake or a wrong choice in life. It is usually created by ourselves through a period of events, by continuing to walk in the wrong direction.
Just imagine ice forming in your freezer, taking over inch by inch of your freezer space.
Do you defrost the fridge or continue allowing the ice to invade your freezer space?
If something in your life is not right today, wouldn't it be better to defrost now than to allow the ice to continue growing?
Do take a positive step today to rectify the situation in your life now. The ice in your life might not defrost in 3 days. But if you start now, 3 weeks, 3 months or 3 years down the road, things will definitely become better.
The journey of a thousand mile begins with the first step.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Monday, September 26, 2005
Trumpet blower
There is a 70 year old client who comes to the company regularly. He is my colleague's client. Let's call him TB (trumpet blower) for short.
TB was an english teacher. He is now retired with quite a bit of money at his disposal.
So here he comes and open 3 trading accounts with 3 different dealers in my company.
The reason i get so annoyed with TB is the purpose of him opening 3 trading accounts.
A usual day will start with TB coming to our company to visit dealerOne, spending 2 hours to blow his own trumpet. Then proceeding to dealerTwo, to re-blow his own trumpet for another 2 hours. Gets a bit thirsty, goes for tea. Following which, he will come back and blow his trumpet again to dealerThree.
I know he is lonely but he drives me nuts.
Imagine hearing him boast about himself repeatedly.
TB will write some poetic prose which he will claim that nowadays, very few could appreciate lest understand. Then he will proceed to ask dealerOne to photocopy 10 copies to be given out.
As dealerOne speaks to TB, he will proceed to correct dealerOne's good English to British Queen's English. TB will also lead you in a conversation that ends with you knowing that he stays in a landed property behind Orchard Road.
Everyday, after 2 hours of trumpet blowing, TB will ask dealerOne if it is OK for him to take dealerOne's newspaper. Something which cost RM1.20 (less than S$0.60).
Analysing human psychology is cool. But listening to a trumpet-blowing miser isn't.
True independence
Over the weekend, I learnt what true independence meant.
I have friends who got married and continue to stay under their parents' roof.
Their parents poke their nose into the young couple's life and basically irritates the young couple. As you know, parents will impose their view on how many children to have (usually as many as possible), when to have them (usually the sooner the better) and what to eat to stay healthy (usually that's what they like to eat now as older people - stupid wholemeal bread, quaker oats and other tasteless shit).
My friend would also complain that they have no privacy.
I think my friend failed history in secondary school. If not, he wouldn't land himself in such a situation today. Maybe he fell asleep when we learnt about the British and Japanese Occupation.
Some people have tyrannical parents, some benevolent parents.
But regardless of whether we are ruled by the Japanese or the British, you have no say.
Only upon independence are we free from our colonial masters.
That's what history taught me.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Being GOD is a tough job
Sometimes i really think that being GOD is a tough, thankless job.
GOD created humans.
Humans want prove of the existence of GOD.
Humans want to see God in order to believe.
Yet, they cook food without ever seeing the microwaves in their ovens.
They listen to radio, use handphones, watch TV without seeing how the sound, voice and pictures are transmitted to them.
Humans want to experience GOD.
GOD shows miracles and healings in His church.
Humans see with own eyes, yet humans cannot believe.
If GOD shows tsunamis and hurricanes.
People say they cannot believe in GOD because GOD is suppose to be loving.
How can GOD allow 100,000 people to be killed in 1 disaster?
Go read Noah and the ark.
If I am GOD almighty, I couldn't care less if you believe or not...
anyway it is your eternal destiny at stake, not mine.
If you chose to burn in hell, go burn in hell.
But then again, I am not God almighty.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Friday, August 19, 2005
:)

lisette smiling...
it brings us so much joy watching her smile.
lisette has learnt to vocalize instead of crying.
vocalize meant growling and grunting to indicate initial displeasure prior to a full blast crying.
on the whole, lisette is not a fussy baby. she doesn't cry much. the last full blown cry we remember was on day 60, it's a present from the pediatrician, a big swelling after an injection.
however when lisette does cry..
it's like vol|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||23 all the way up.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Friday, August 12, 2005
Thou shalt not burn thy forest

thou shalt not burn thy forest.
and thou shalt put out the fire in thy country.
please be more considerate lest another tsunami strikes.
love thy neighbour.
sometimes it is not easy to know whether another person is a 'neighbour' or a Moabite or Amorite. whether we are to love this person or to defeat him in battle?
the only way is by walking close to God, then will we be able to discern.
I love you

i love you.. baby lisette. sometimes you are so demanding, sometimes you are so cute. it seemed surreal to be a parent. mixed feelings of tiredness, responsibility, joy and fulfilment. mother ashley always seems to know what you need. when you cry, mother ashley would know if it's a call for food, waste disposal or plain pampering.
when was the last time you demanded someone to pamper you?
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
Innocence

I love babies. How they feel are written on their faces.
They don't need to smile when they don't want to,
Or hold back their tears to hide their feelings.
Why can't we be like babies, maintaining the innocence in us.
How wonderful will this world be if there are no liars and conniving backstabbers around.












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