What are you waiting for?

Well, well, what are we all waiting for in this game of life ?.... to win the lottery of course, but how can you win the lottery if you dont buy one? So, how can you achieve anything if you dont try?

Must say I didnt try anything new this year and, low and behold, its coming to an end. So what's my new year resolution? Try to get a free ticket to go to the moon ?....nuh,...no shopping mall there and, its colder than Beijing. Try to look like Claudia Sheiffer, fat chance in hell, wrong body, wrong color, wrong height, wrong wrinkles !!!

So? where does that leave us normal people living in the outback town of Sandakan....give me a second !....hmmm...the good life of course, air fresher than in KL, traffic jams only 15 mins long, power cuts, so sleep early, good for your health, no noise pollution except for the odd malay wedding thats goes on through the nite, no shopping malls , so save a lot of money, fresh and cheap seafood that we always boast about, but pay alot in HK to eat when we are there. If you check the fish you would probably find that it came from the waters off Sim Sim.

Personally I am not waiting for anything....oooophs, not true, I am waiting for a cream that can get rid of eye bags. They seem to grow on the face when you are not looking, and these days I literally dont look in the mirror unless I want to upset myself for some excitement,...sick huh?

I had lunch today with Sui Ping, Elizabeth, Joanne and Siew Siew. We were talking about lasik. Well, according to the eye specialist in Singapore , dont do it cos as you age, the eyes like other parts of the body, dry up too...the body parts dont only droop down , now I am told they dry up too, luckily nothing explodes. Hold on! something does explode...the tummy . Of course we are too polite to say so. We chinese will say that its the prosperous look...ok,ok, so I am jeolous, I dont have that prosperous look. Do you? Me, I am trying to look like I just walked out of Africa...so sue me.

Tomorrow is new year's eve. To those who are celebrating with friends at the various venues, I wish you a very happy new year. Eat and be merry, its too late to worry about that on coming explosion. Can't start the new year looking like a stick insect !...bad feng shui ! Just dont forget your earplugs and sunglasses! You dont want someone to step on your ears on the dance floor..hahaha

To those like me who are celebrating with family and friends at home have a fun filled evening reminising about the days when wan tan mee costs 20 cents a bowl, when you see this pretty smooth face in the mirror with jet black hair, when " age" was a word in your grandmother's vocabulary......hmmm, where did the time go?

So, what are you waiting for?.... live I say, let your hair down ( whats left of it ) ....happy new year to all my friends and my sons friends where ever you are. Till we meet again. God bless all of you.

OMG its raining in Brisbane

Guess what? its raining here. Jordan says it has only rained a few times here since he came over in Feb. So, we must have complained so much of the heat that God has blessed us with rain, glorious rain. Tonite my friends. will be nice and cool ....yippy!!!

Its sunday today and we have had breakfast of porridge, left over rice + water = porridge. We had lunch at Subway, 1 foot long sandwich....dont worry, Edwin and I shared , so 6 inches each . Actually, I could have finished the whole foot, but , didnt want to be so greedy-lah! So, break the meal into 2 parts, for dessert I had a 4 inch white chocolate soft cookie....hehehe. Nevermind, as long as I am here I am slim. In Sandakan its another story.

We plan to go to church at 3.30pm...Hope Church Brisbane. See how the bottom half praise and worship. Are we far south enough to be upside down? Nah!..I want to thank the Lord for this wonderful holiday and for my son's success....not to mention my success in expanding my waistline. This is life at its best!

My kids are glued to their computers, so am I . Nothing to do so and nothing to watch on TV. The shopping centres close around 5pm so....relax, eat somemore and blog.

3 more days then we are going home...cant say I will miss this place. I like my town and home and friends better....this is what half a century does to a person. No matter where we go we want to go home. Then at home, we complain about the water, electricity, holes in the road, stupid politicians, sesb, etcetc....and still want to go home. Something wrong with this story? What can I say folks ? I love Sandakan.

Aussie Chaprter 2 : Mt Tambourine

Yesterday we all, 12 Tsens and Chongs went for a day trip to Mt Tambourine in 3 cars. Left late as usual, but made it in time for lunch of pies. The pies about 6" in diameter costs AUD$7.50 each. My kids had 2 each ! We stopped converting some time ago otherwise cant eat.

The weather was fine by aussie standard, hot,hot,hot. Linda and me had our hats on, long sleeves and lots of sunblock. The quaint little town was fun to walk around and shop. Yes! shop! The shops sold cute stuffs...of course , some made in China. What do you expect? The aussies cant make anything cheap.

Of course we went for wine tasting and to a cheese outlet. Tried cheeses that we dont ormally get in Sandakan. After trying must buy lah! Cant let them think we are cheap chinaman. Luckily no one was wearing black socks and white shoes !!!

Since I cant drink wine, I sat and watched the rest nosh up. Out of pity the man served me with plain water. Life sucks sometimes when your DNA is different . Our group bought enough wine to keep them happy working overtime. The lady serving is chinese and she didnt mind working past closing time. Unlike the other winery we went to. Closing time means 'sorry, go away'

Then we went to Ikea for sweddish meatballs...or so we thought, but Douglas got the days wrong and Ikea was closed at 7pm. The next best place was Jing Star, chinese food....the food disappeared so fast that even 2010 was considered slow....hahaha, 12hungry wolves.

This morning, 19/12 , is a do nothing day. We were supposed to plan something but as usual, everyone was too tired to initiate a pow wow last nite. I am very sure none of the Chongs are up. 2 Tsens are still sleeping and its already 11.30am.....so tidur lah.....zzzzzzzzzzzz

Aussie chapter 1 : One more for the album

Well, the event we have been waiting for 21 years finially came and went...graduation day !!!!. My son Morgan graduated on wednesday 16/12/09 in Business ( accounting ) . What a relief !....RM300,000 later all he got was a piece of paper...hahaha. We had to pay for the seats in the auditorium and the parking. One would think after all that investments to QUT, at least the parking should be free...no,no,no...nothing is free here.

Really!! We went for dimsum and guess what, we had to pay for the chilli sauce, yes, pay for the chilli sauce. How to eat dimsum without that? They gave us one small saucer of chilli sauce and soya sauce....for 5 people.

The only thing that is free is the toilet paper, thin, very thin, but free. You have to pay for tomato sauce too. next time I will not leave home without it...chilli sauce I mean !

Anyway, the ceremony was interesting, seeing all the different shapes and sizes parading up front. Some dressed for the occassion and some graduated in shorts and slippers, jeans, t-shirts...oh so sampah!!!! the aussies are so laid back.Even some parents came in everyday clothes, maybe they havent got time to iron their formals. Who knows ?

Of course all the asian parents came dressed well, well at least in their going out clothes. They drink before the ceremony, drink after the ceremony and probably got all noshed up after too. Asian parents would probably go home and take more pictures...hahaha. Well, we didnt, cos we were so hungry we had to fill our stomachs first. But what a day. It didnt bring back memories cos our own graduation took place in another century that I have forgotten what it was like....hahaha....ok.gtg...eat again what else ?

Goodbye 2009

Ok, the year end is fast approaching and what have we all done to say we had a good year??. Did we win the nobel prize? Did we save a child? Did we help a deserving family? Did we do a good deed without being asked? Did we achieve all our resolutions set at the beginning of the year?. Did you increase your waistline?...woah!!! ..well at least something got bigger!

Well, if you can answer yes to all of the above, kudos to you, but if you can say yes to some of the above, congratulations you tried ! However if your answer is no to all of the above said questions then,....sorry lah you have just wasted 1 year of your precious life doing nothing, achieving nothing and worst of all learning nothing from all your past failures.....doom and gloom awaits you at the gates of heaven !!!! Go drown yourself at the gates of KFC.

As for me, at least I can say yes to some. No nobel prize for me but I did achieve some of the goals I set and more, thanks to my friends in my Ladies Sharing Group. I have learnt alot about God, the bible, and about sharing and caring. I am a better person for it but there is still a mega size room for improvement. As the lord is my shepherd I will be OK.

My family is doing well. My son Morgan will be graduating in December. My son Jordan did very well in his foundation. My son Sheldon brought back a glowing report card . My son Noel is happy working at BMW. We are happy cos our kids are all OK. Praise the lord for these many blessings upon the Tsen family.

I have gone religious this year cos I have found God again. I found that by allowing him to lead me and take over my life I am less stressful, more forgiving and less petty, but I still have to work at my temper. That seems to be getting shorter and hotter as I age. Blame it on the menopause. What is the use of having it if I cant blame it for something.....hahahah.

Exercising more also helps. I am now so into yoga that I go without fail 3/4 times a week. It helps me to relax inspite of the aches and pains due to not breathing correctly....so says the teacher. Exercising the mouth after yoga class also helps to relax...hahahaha, (more then the actual yoga itself.)

Life and romance doesnt end at 50. In fact it starts at 50. I think its because I know exactly who I am and where I am going. I dont have to take a year off to look for myself, like the american kids nowadays ! I have self confidence, I have fine lines, I have wrinkles, I have eye bags, I have loose skin on my arms, other unmentionables have gravitated down, I have white hair all over my head and eyebrows, I have deteriorating shortsightedness and I am hard of hearing at times.

The grand prize : I have attained maturity that only comes with age. Its a prize worth waiting 52 years for.So if some one says growing old sucks, then he or she hasnt found God and hasnt walked the walk and hasnt lived life as God intends. Be happy, live today, who knows what will happen tomorrow.

This will be my last blog for 2009, what a smashing year it has been for me and my family. So we wish you all a very merry christmas and a very happy new year.

SESB...sandakan everyday sure blackout

Wow what a fitting name !...guess you can only call an ass an ass....so mad. Trying to watch Ugly Betty on Tv shack and cant even download 1% in 20 mins. Might as well be living in Inner Mongolia at least I know there arent any line going out and into the Gur.

Mas has so many promotions...yeh yeh ...on paper only, tried getting in...." no match "....maybe if I choose to go somewhere not on their promo list or even on their flight route , I may just get a ticket...hahaha.

As if all this daylight robbery promos arent enough, we get fleeced by sesb and the telecoms too. Gosh we are so stupid, cheated left right and centre and still we pay our bills on time and upgrade our computers and built bigger houses which consume even more electricity which we dont have. We talk about it everyday at the coffee shops, the men I mean,....talk talk talk, blowing hot air, ...still no electricity, no fast internet connection, no water, no power to do anything !!!!

We Sabahans are a peaceful lot. So peaceful that we can fall asleep with our eyes open. If you think its hog wash, then think again...how many years have we suffered this and how many years have the people sitting up there done doodley squat for us?

I blame it all on the Mas and Airasia promos.....they have all gone on a permanent holiday !! So what are you waiting for? In true Sandakan fashion, if you cant beat them join them.........have a nice holiday, that is, after you have spent all your holiday money giving angpows to the numerous weddings slotted for this auspicious month and the next!!!....hahahahahh

If you feel miserable after giving away a small fortune in red packets to people you dont really know or like, then go and watch 2012...it might make you feel better cos ...you wont be needing all that doe anyway....have fun !

Hu ?

Guess what President Hu jin tou of the China visited my family home in melaka and no one invited me?.....hahahaha, not that i would have gone cos it would be the chicken and duck senario all over again !!! Anyway I am sure my parents who got to be there and shook hands with him were happy, I can only guess. We left China so long I dont think there is any "family ties" there....so remote that even Tibet seems like next door.

What an event. According to my mum it was more like the circus came to town. There were 'pat pors and pat kongs' than the visiting chinamen. All the local digitaries who wanted their faces plastered in the newspaper were inattendance, as if Mr Hu needed them to hold the toilet paper for him. Oh well, politicians will be politicians, empty vessels.

For what its worth it was still an honor for the Chan family. Guess his photo will be up next to the photo of ' The little Nonya ' Soon we have to put up a wall of fame like in those restaurants visited by all the you know whos.....kaypos and the kaypo-chees as we Nonya would say....lol... wait till the president pf North Korea visits. Then the whole state of Melaka will be filled with NATO security people.

I was just thinking, luckily he didnt ask to eat babi ponteh....hahaha...now where would we get halal pork to feed all the dutuks who were in attendance??

Give it a miss

If you read of a new eating place opening up in town, I suggest you give it a miss till after about 3 weeks. If they are still open then by all means go. We went to have breakfats at the new place at mile 4 ( Datuk Hon's developement ) called Yum Yum. Well, bring soemthing to read cos the food took 40 mins to come out that is, they forgot the order and then took so long to serve. Talk about teething problems.! This is mega denture recontruction!!! A table of men just walked off!

I heard that Secret Recipe was full everynite they opened. Good for them. Dont go either until everyone has tasted it and got fedup of paying so much for something which costs a fraction if eaten outside.....hahaha.

Heard that another place sells very good nasi lemak. Will tell you where when I remember...hahaha. The question is what is "good" . For those who havent tried the nasi lemak from west malaysia would say that those sold here is good. Let me enlighten you, the nasi lemak sold in west malaysia, especially if the stall is beside a big and dirty monsoon drain, by a main road with heavy traffic passing by is the best! Those sold in cleaner environment ....humm, not so tasty....go figure it out!! This friday i will try the steamboat at 1 Malaysia in Trig Hill...its by the road right? Then maybe ....

Where did 2009 go?

Oh my gosh! 2009 is almost over and I still havent been to the moon, won a nobel prize, got elected PM , learnt how to cook,sew and garden and worst still havent even finished reading the bible I started ions ago.

Where have all those days , weeks, years and decades gone to? One day I was 18 and now....hmm past half a century. I really dont know. Now it seems the days are zooming past. Everyday my hours are full to the point of spilling over to the next day. Is this good or bad? Seems like I dont have time to stop and smell the roses or, in this case in Sandakan, smell the tong sampah pah!!!!.

2 weeks ago I was in Sri Lanka and now I am thinking of what to pack for Australia. Next year I plan to learn new things if I can find time to do so. The kids are growing older and we are aging....ahhhhhh. I am begining to see eye bags and fine lines around you know where. The small cabin bags around the eyes are turning to super size luggage. Beware all, once you reach the ripe age of 50, everything either drops , thanks to Einstein and his theory of gravity or, increase in multiples of 7. The worst thing to me is the worsening of the eye sight. Now I have to wear my reading glasses just to eat fish!!!.

The only good thing about aging is that you dont give a dam about what people say and think....cos you cant hear them anyway...hahahaha....although you still have to act civilized , that is until you reach 80, then you can say and do what ever you want and blame it on senility!!!! Not much to look forward to is it?

On the brighter side of life, all your friends are either older then you..heheh..or only slightly younger. I like being me now. I find life fun and precious. I feel blessed that my boys have their heads screwed on the right way 90% of the time. How I got this right for all 4 of them only God knows. Praise the Lord for this miracle. If I could patent the formula I would be richer then Bill gates. The other 10% of the time my boys "think" they know more then us about life and reality. Guess we have to let them discover for themselves, only then will it become a lesson in life. As long as they dont plan to join al Queda or join a jihad, they are 'free' to explore ( within limits, of course )

News flash!!!! there is no such thing as freedom, not even when you turn 80. And that, children IS a fact of life.

Home at last

Oh its so good to be back home. I have been away for 19 days. The first 7 days all i saw was the hospital and its canteen. I did go to the shopping centre but it was only for 1 1/2 hrs. Then, after that I had no transport so stuck again at the mercy of others...hahaha. It was only when we went to Sri lanka that we all enjoyed ourselves so much.

What a great country to visit. We saw many Tamils but no tigers. We had a lot of Sri Lanka food, its isnt the same as Indian food, but to the chinese taste buds all curries taste the same.

The hotels we spent our nites in were as good as those here, 5 stars, the service was very good and the toilets clean !....oh so important. The best part was the fellowship we had together. We started as strangers and ended up as friends with plans to visit each other. The world isnt that big after all.

The ladies in Sri Lanka were so friendly, the beauty of the inner wheel friendship sisterhood! They laid out goodies for us to eat, that its no wander they need 6 yards for their saris!. If we had stayed any longer we too would have to buy saris and wear as our clothes wouldnt fit.....food glorious food !

There are many places of interest to see but bacause of time constrains and our meeting schedules in Colombo and Kandy we only saw 1 of the 7 world heritage sites this time. We visited the Holy temple of the Tooth ( Sri Dalada Mallgawa )the most sacred shrine in Buddhism. It is here that the sacred tooth of Buddha is enshrined. Opened to public once in every 6 years. Of course we missed it by a year or so....hahaha. So we saw only the "casket", actually I would call it the pagoda which enshrined the sacred tooth. We were all looking for the casket as in "coffin' so, many of us didnt see as we were looking for what we thought as coffin !....haha.

All in all it was a great trip, the tip of the icing. More to come if we visit Sri lanka again.

Anyway I feel that this country, Island of prosperity, Sri meaning prosperity and lanka meaning island, deserves another visit. Now that i know how good the food is, I will get ready my 9 yrad sari so i dont have to worry about ill fitting clothes.

God be praised

What do you know? My dad has been home for 2 days already. And he is bored sitting around....hahaha. He forgot he has to convalesce. He wanted to go out to pick his grandkids from school. He also has his appetite back. Thank you to all of you who prayed for him.

This morning I too went to Pantai Med Centre for a "Women Wellbeing check up"....hahaha, under the menopause package. Not too bad, everyone was so polite and gentle. Was there from 9.20 till 12.30 just to do a few tests. Oh well, could have been worst. Still have to go back on monday for the results.

Then I went with my son Jordan to 1 Utama for sushi. Its amazing how much a growing young man can eat. Thats where American Express got their logo...never leave home without it!!!!...thank god for credit cards.

Kl can be very boring when you have no plans. How I wish I am home in Sandakan. Its difficult to go anywhere when you dont have a car and driver....hehehe. I have been taking the taxi here and there. Wow its expensive. Normally we have a car but it is in the work shop so , public transport it is !

Life here is ...ahhhhhhh. Nothing like the old small town. 5 mins and you are there. Glad I married a Sandakan man.

On wednesday we are flying to Sri Lanka for a 5 day tour. The flight leaves at 6.15am, so we have to be at the airport by 5am. . I tried their web checkin, made a mistake and only one of us got checked in. So tomorrow I have to call airasia for help.

You can workout what time we have to get up....zzzzzz. My first day in Colombo will be seen through my eyelids. Better bring toothpicks to keep them open. Yawning will be part of the iterinery for all of us. Will tell you more when I return.

Di tepi pantai II

Hello all, There is good news and there is good news...hahah. My dad is recovering well. The day after the operation already nagging so all is well . He looks rosy and can move all his extremeties with no problem. I think its because the pain killer is doing its job. The Dr says that 80% is all due to pain control. He is on morphine but no, he is not hallucinating or anything. I am very sure!!!

Every morning young and pretty physiotherapists come in and make him do some exercises. They taught him the correct way to get out of bed without pulling the stitches etc etc. the doctor comes in about 3 times a day....that will go on the bill I am sure...heheh.

Just to see him back to normal after the surgery is reward enough. This morning he got up and went to the toilet . How strong the pain killer must be!!!! He stood up and didnt feel any discomfort! Even when I gave birth I was in pain for 2 weeks cos the the d.... stitches.

Anyway, I have been here since sunday. Still I havent gone through all the food on the menu at the cafeteria ....hahah. Still many days to go. I have finished reading 2 books and going on to the 3rd one. How I wish to be back in sandakan...but duty calls.

Di tepi Pantai

Hello all. I am blogging from Pantai Hospital. They do have wifi and internet access from the international lounge where my father is roomed. There is free coffee tea and holicks and biscuits in this lounge too. Not bad for a private hospital.

Well today at 5 pm my dad will be wheeled in for his operation. He is in a very positive mood. No more eating for him from now for a few days as he is on drips. We are sitting and accompanying him, not that he needs the company. He falls asleep so easily. Anyway my mum feels that he need someone to be around. Tried the food at the canteen...ok lah! But I think my mum and her maid had a tummy upset from last nite's dinner here. The food , I am afraid isnt in the same class as the hospital...hahah. But having said that, there is Starbucks, Hotdog 1901 and Ice cream shop ( cant remember the name)by the cafeteria....pity no McDonalds or Big Apple. Better still a shoping centre beside this hospital.

The doctor has asked for a family memeber to be here during the operation. Guess why? No,no not to give us a cigar after he has delivered a baby boy, but so that he can show us the section of the colon he has cut up....ahhhhh....witness that they have indeed taken it out!....no no ...hahah....for us to have a look before he sends it for biopsy. Seriously. May be thats is why in the movies we see family sitting around when one is in the op theatre. Now you know the reason.

Anyway, while I am here I signed up for a full package of tests for women. Why not eh? 2 in 1 sort of thing.Now that I have found this internet room and it is free, I wont be so bored....hehehe.

Vampires are peanuts

If you had a choice between being bitten by a vampire and having an operation, which would you choose? Well the less painful one I think ( as I have never been bitten by one, dont quote me ).. you can still defend yourself against the vampire by holding a crucifix, or if you have garlic breadth after a meal of chicken rice or you can simply hit him on the head with your Jimmy Choos or poke him in the eyes...have you ever seen a blind vampire?....no, cos they'll fly into the lamppost and crack their skull and die anyway!!. But if you have to have an operation then you have no choice but to put your life in the surgeon's hands ( just hope he is not a vampire too )....heheheh

I know I am rambling on but as my father needs to have an operation to remove a tumor in his colon, L am just feeling the fear creeping in, all the what ifs come crawling into my already jammed mind. Never in a million years did I imagine it will happen to someone I hold so dear, its always about someone else isnt it? ...till its your turn to face it. We talk and we laugh but deep down inside we are worried....I take the vampire anyday,....

Tomorrow he has to be admitted early in the morning so that they can clear his system for the operation to be performed on monday at 5pm. Its going to be a very taxing day as we wait for the clock to tick second by second . I am sure all sorts of thoughts will go through my mind as I keep him company but, I hope my faith in the lord will keep me and my dad strong for the ordeal.

Its times like this when friends rely and comfort me with their prayers and good wishes for my dad. Winnie has a been a great source of support to me with her pearly words of wisdom. Others have sms me with their kind words and concern. Thank you all.Today we are all still ok....had babi pongteh for lunch. Tomorrow I am sure some hands will shake when we have to fill in the forms, hearts will be pounding when we listen to what the doctor has to say upon reading the tests results and, maybe tears will flow. I am just guessing as all this is new to me.

On top of this, my sister's mother-in-law passed away so she has to be down in Melaka. It never rains but pours ! So, till tomorrow then, will let you know whether we had an internal tsunami or not. Till then your prayers will be greatly appreciated, may it be to God, Allah or Buddha !!!!.

who ate my moon.......cake?

Hari Raya has come and gone. All that fuss over ketupat and beef rendang! Well I had a sumptous affair at Cindy's open house. Kudos to Alice ! And again at another open house on sat...nice! Now we are fussing over yet another event...PMR. To those parents who are running around with high blood pressure, hey, take it easy. Its just the PMR, not the exams for the nobel prize.

I have friends who ran around like chickens about to be slaughtered over the UPSR, now, its the parents of those taking PMR who will be having a sleepless nite tonite worrying about something which is beyond their control and over something which will not stop the world from spinning. Relax folks, your kids got everything under control, believe it or not, they dont want to fail either. Some are still going for tuition tonite....hahah...if they dont know their lesson by now its too late....let them watch TV and relax. A relaxed mind can think clearer and faster.

Of course I am very relaxed, I dont have any doing this wretched exam! Even when my kids were doing it dont think I was in do or die mode. To tell the truth this PMR exam doesnt prove a thing. Even with 5/6 As, the kids can still be average once put outside their comfort zone. Ask them about world affairs, about earthquake,floods, poverty and terrorism and, I bet you they cant tell you anything. Why? Cos it is not in the text book. Preston forgot to add it in....hahaha

How can we expect them to know all these when they have time to read the newspaper. So sad. But that is education in Malaysia. We all survived it and moved on and learnt from it . Sadly the education minister still lives in the past.

Life goes on. We learn, we struggle, we survive and we live on to see our kids make the same mistakes all through their student days, but they too will learn and survive and see their kids do the same. Life is a vicious circle. The only way to break that circle is to send them overseas. Sometimes they move out of the circle so far that they never come back. Also so sad. Just when we can rely on them to take care of us they are so far away. I see so many old parents living on their own in Sandakan cos their kids have all migrated. The old folks struggle with their wizen limbs just to do their daily chores. They try to sound happy when the kids call even though they are in constant ache and pain, even though they are lonely and would like some company, some TLC, some words of comfort when the limbs and joints go on strike.

I was once told that parents can look after 12 kids but not even 1 kid can look after 1 parent . Why is life so cruel? When a baby gets sick the mother stays up all nite nursing him, but when an old parent gets sick, no one wants to volunteer to nurse him. How selfish we all are ? I am no saint either. May god forgive us.

Fountain of Youth

Last thursday my son Sheldon had about 10 friends over for dinner. The usual 10 young people, noisy and lively, so happy just to be in the same room with one another even though they have been together everyday in school for the last 5 years. Such is the friendship and bonding of the young and carefree. It was certainly a privilege for me to be part of their world even for a brief moment.

They laugh at everything and poke fun at each other without fear or favor, without worrying that someone might be offended or take heart to something said in jest. Ahhh...where have our time gone to? We used to be like this, life was simple....eat, sleep and exams !. Laughter heals a lot. Now , we are cynical and judgmental, we have to think before we say anything as once spoken, retraction is impossible. Sensitivity lurks in every corner....this is the curse of getting older , where wisdom is overtaken by pride and the "kiasu" syndrome......

How nice it is to be young ,restless and innocent,...well be may not that innocent, they know more in detail about everything then we ever did when we were that age.Its just that the young dont use their knowledge to criticize, to ridicule hurtfully or to downsize their peers, unlike adults. Adults tend to categorize people,size them up, label, box and store , to be retrieved later when the occasion arises.....in other words, to be used as information for gossip !!!

Wouldnt it be nice if we could remain young at heart for a wee bit longer. I know we cant wish to remind young physically ( now that would mean we would have to be like the McDonalds potato fries soaked in preservatives so they wont go bad even after 6 months in a jar!!!) but we could wish to remain mentally young with a touch of innocence ...hahaha...like asking for the moon to be made of cheese!!

Oh well, for what its worth, its always good to be in the company of the young. It never fails to make me happy to see and hear them all talking a mile a minute, their laughter so invigorating and contagious. Although I must say it makes me feel old sometimes as I have known many of them since their days in Chi Hwa. Now they are talking about going to university. What happened to kindergarten, primary school and high school? Where did the years go? Soon they will be telling us what to do and what not to eat and when to take our medication . It was just like yesterday we changed their diapers.....

To my sons and all their friends whom I know, it has been an experience, a pleasure and a privilege to have had the blessing of sharing your joys, your growing pains, your I hate school syndrome and, to still be able to remember that once you all stood just below the height of my dinning table and now, you tower over the tallest of us. Stand tall and proud children, and never say you dont know who you are ( like the stupid americans , always having to take a year off to find themselves).

God bless all of you. To those sitting for your UEC exams, I wish you all the best.

Not my favourite time of the year

Its definitely not my favourite time of the year....hari raya !!! We get the long holidays but we also get the keys to the house work, meals, pet management and out right boredom....aaahhhh !!!!!

I am not so worried about food cos I have asked my maid to cook a few dishes and freeze them, for emergencies. But I hate sweeping the floor and doing laundry, and oh, feeding the dogs and cleaning their bowls......well, actually I just dont like all of the above and more. But what to do, next time I will plan for us to go away at this time. This year we cant go away cos my son Sheldon came back for hari raya.

Luckily Cindy has her open house on the first day of HR. At least we will be eating well on that day....hahaha. Apart from that nothing exciting is happening.Perhaps it would be a good time to go learn play mahjong. Guess we will be having marathon TV watching sessions....beer anyone?

Eat sleep and no exercise cos even my yoga teacher is taking 5 days off, strange considering non of her students are malay. I shouldnt be complaining cos lots of people are looking forward to this long break. So, enjoy your break and hope on one will die of boredom !!!!

Raining durians

There seems to be so many durian sellers sprouting out of the woodwork these few weeks. Guess the durian season is in full swing, thorns and all. The $1,000,000 question is 'to eat or not to eat'? Eating one or two seems fruitless as you do not get that "ummmm wah so nice feeling" . Eating a lot then you attract the " wow, you have put on weight" comments from people who have nothing better to say....or they are jeolous cos they have no free durians to gorge on.

For me, I have eaten a few. What to do, courtesy of friends with good intentions. However, my problem isnt the oozing waistline. But.....pimples! Yes, at my age, to be having pimples is a privilege...what ???? huh?.....well you see , only the young have this pimple problem. Its a curse for them right?....the operative word being " young " . So, like Benjamin Button, I have also gone younger....hahaha. I had more pimples in the last 2 weeks then I have ever had when I was in my teens !

Well, actually I had 4 of these little buggers. Thats a lot for me! I didnt celebrate though, maybe I should have thrown a party to announce my coming of age...haha. Instead, I did what I have always told my sons to do, wash the spot with soap. It works like magic! As much as I like being refered to as 'young or younger' pimples are not what I had in mind as a retirement present, no matter how lovely the box is!

So, back to the question of ' to eat or not to eat' cos I still have durians in a box outside my house.....hhmmm....durian curry, durian stew, durian cake, durian pie, durian pudding, durian punch.........Zx43!2#@

After the durian storm, came the baby storm....no, no,....not to worry I am not in this picture as a participant,....three of my friends became grandmothers this month. Congratulations to Ah Moi, Mary Ho and Lai Gin. Guess what? All baby boys! If I say 'all the more to celebrate' then I am discriminating against the sexes. But chinese being chinese, especially if its the son's son, then I guess the smiles are wider. Sorry girls, no disrespect meant! I come from a family of all girls. Anyway, there will be lots of 12th day and full moon celebrations in the pipe line....maybe they may have durian cooked in pig's trotters, boiled eggs and vinegar ...you think?..........hahaha.

Life in Sandakan is never dull. We have a line up of wedding invitations to eat through, on top of the 'baby dinners' and fellowship nite! Have you ever thought that the pressure of all these eating frenzy and merrymaking is a Privilege? Why? Cos its means you are till alive, you can still eat and laugh and more importantly you have Friends! Smile and the world smiles with you !

W is for Wow !

Just got back from KK after attending a wedding dinner hosted by Mr and Mrs. Vila Tan for their eldest daughter Sarah. The wedding dinner was at Magellan Banquet hall at Sutera. I must say that the deco was fantastic and so romantic and very very beautiful. The hall is big and it wasnt packed with tables elbow to elbow. There was a lot of spaces between the tables, a stage for the performers dancing punjabi dances and a live band " The dreamers" . All in all it was worth our trip there.

Sarah is soooo pretty and tall and so gracious. Her husband Kevin is American and also very handsome and friendly. The bride wore an oh so gorgeous cheongsam.....everyone wants to know where she got it from, including me. The groom wore a chinese jacket and all the inlaws and parents and relatives wore saris. Sarah's american mum in law looked so pretty in a blue sari. The father in law wore a batik. When I have a photo of us taken with her I will try to put it in my facebook.

The speeches were short and sweet and the music was so catchy. I wanted to stay and dance but, everyone started to leave when the dinner ended...so typical malaysians !!!.Kudos to Vila and Jamit for hosting such a memorable wedding for their beloved girl.

Half the hall was packed with people from Sandakan. Cocktails was served at 6pm. There was quiet a lot of finger food and free flow of drinks. Dinner started at 7.30 but the food was only served 15 mins later as the people were slow in coming into the hall.

The card stated " smart casual" but I knew no sane malaysian lady would go to a grand wedding at Magellan in smart casual....hahaha, and so as I guessed correctly everyone was dressed in their finest, with one ot two exceptions but the rest of us were in semi-formals. Some even in their evening gowns.

Ok, that is all about the wedding. The rest of my KK trip was boring. Jalan-jalan around Wisma merdeka and 1 Borneo. The highlight of the walk around 1Borneo was buying big apple donuts....you know, deciding which to get out of the dozens of choices.Now that took time and alot of decision making.....greentea or chocochip, no, no, maybe nuts and white chocolate?...ah yah all also so fattening. So just pick the most fattening ones as they are the tastiest. Worry about XXXXXX when we get home.

Luckily I booked for us to come back the next day. Dont think we can take all that excitment of walking around malls anymore. Nothing like home !

HP of Micheal Jackson's doctors, anyone?

Now I can understand why MC ( Micheal Jackson ) needed so many drugs to go to sleep. No matter how I placed my tired body I just couldnt fall asleep on the plane. The eyes were so tired but the mind just wouldnt let go. If I had the HP of one of MJ's doctor I would have called him....ahhahah. Today is the 2nd day home and I am still feeling tired. It wasnt like this last time. Oh well, I know what you think , yes I am 43 going on 52. How can I forget? The body reminds me everyday. This part doesnt work well on monday, that part doesnt work at all on tuesday. Sometimes after walking a whole day I cant even see my ankle bones cos of water retention and limbs do go on strike ...hey! not funny. Why do you think there are so many pharmacist in mile 4 alone ? Its us,not so young people supporting them !

If I ask the traditional therapist, they will say...angin. Where did all that angin come in from? heheh...guess you all might have some idea but, seriously, why are we so windy? Its not like I have holes in my body or a vacumn pump sucking in air. Perhaps if I talk less, covered my ears with ear plugs and breathe only when necessary, less angin will come in, you think? . Everytime I go for a massage they say its the wind causing all that bodyache....I say damn the wind, go bother someone else for a change ! Go blow over Siberia and cool the ice so it wont melt. Go blow around the globe and keep the planet cooler. Go blow the UV rays away to Pluto ! Just stop bothering me.

Today I learnt from my Filipino massage lady that we shouldnt bathe at 6 pm and at 9 am. Why? Well that is the time the 'others' bathe. Dont laugh. Others meaning those we cant see. So I asked my maid whether Indonesians believe that to. Well, ....they do and for the same reason. 15 mins after 6pm or 15 mins after 9 am , ok, no worries. Just not at that time. Ripley's believe it or not. maybe we should ask the myth busters to find out eh? So you ask, what happens if you do take a bath at those 2 appointed time ?.....well your eyes pop out, your nostrils flare and fire comes out of your ears....hahahaha....of course not, dont be silly. You will feel ill or unwell and you may feel itchy. Not sure which ailments fitswhich time but thats the gist of it. Try and let me know. But you probably have to try several times if you have thick skin!! OK, gtg. Dinner time.

A mole in Changi Airport

Hahaha,.....hello people, its sleepy me from Changi Airport Singapore. Now I am in the departure lounge waiting for my flight to KK. There is free internet everywhere in this beautiful airport except the toilet, well one day !

I tried to sleep over 3 chairs like I used to see tourists do but, let me tell you, it is impossible to sleep unless your spinal cord is wavy. Then you have no where to put your hands. One on your head and the other hanging by the thumb in the belt loop. Then there is the ceiling lights shinning into your eyes. Ok, problem solved by using the boarding pass to cover your eyes....hahah, very useful information??

Sorry for the rambling, this is what lack of sleep does to a normally rational person. Well, will tell you more when all my faculties are gathered and intact after a good rest. So chao ! hear from me when I am in sandakan.

Life in the slow lane

If retirement means life like this in Brisbane.....waking up late , eat, clean, shop and rest, then I dont want to retire! I had more things to keep me busy in sandakan then I have here. Dont think I can shop everyday. Buying toilet paper was the highlight of the afternoon at Woolworth....ohhhhh.....8 rolls of kleenex brand toilet paper costs AUD$5.90.....anypne has extra banana leaves??

Edwin cleaned his son's fan this morning while I vaccumned the clumps of dust that fell onto the floor. The fan was covered in dust but my son says its ok as it still works !!

Its getting so difficult to wake up as the weather is cool and its ideal temperature for snoozing . We had to wake up because Edwin insisted on cooking bacon and eggs this morning. The bacon had been in the fridge since merdeka and the eggs , well only the chicken knows. The bread had plants growing on it...3 dimentional too!!,...it could have a new species called Jordii ( after its grower Jordan ) or maybe, just the run of the mill fungus....so, it went into the bin.

Did more window shopping at DFO and bought 4 plates as they were on offer....kiasu lah, buy just because on sale! Well actually they match the plates I have at home and at half the price of what I would have to pay in malaysia, why not?? My suitcase is slowly but surely getting full and fuller....can I say this?... , like dumb and dumber....

Well, catch up sometime later. Time for dinner soon...Korean tonite.

Maids wanted

We came all the way to Brisbane to be free maids for the boys. Guess most parents know what I mean. Yes we spent the whole morning on thursday cleaning the place. There were dead clothes all over the floor in the bedrooms.The clothes somehow died of a mysterious infection called laziness or tardiness. Like H1N1 , there is no cure for this but it can be prevented by a vaccine called ' elbow grease'. Luckily we have that. The whole morning was spent cleaning up the place....where is kakak when you need her?

In the afternoon we had to top up our depleted energy so we went to Chelmside shopping centre, the biggest one here. Had sushi and more sushi, cleaning a stamp size apartment is very tiring when you are not used to it!!. Then we went window shopping. Of course we bought a few things we dont really need. But what the heck they were on sale!! For dinner we took Kai out for vietnamese beef noodles. The bill came to AUD$60 for 5 bowls of noodles! The soya bean drink costs AUD$3 each. What a laugh, we could have drank that at mile 4 market for RM$1 !

For supper , oh yes! you must eat supper when you are on holiday....caramel cheese cake! The nite before we had apple pie. I can see the begining of a small bulge around my midrift....if you know what I mean. Well that was one day gone.

Today, friday, Morgan is free, so he drove us around....where else another shopping centre.! Had kebab again for lunch. The kebab shop was run by 2 chinese ladies speaking cantonese....hahaha. Bought some more useless things ! I think they have feng shuied the shopping centres so people will come in and buys things they dont need. Tonite Edwin is cooking for 9. We will be having steak, salad and of course dessert!!. And I am going to have some chips before dinner....what the hell, break all the rules, have fun and grow fat....this is the land of ' oink oink ' OK gtg to buy steak for dinner....and the chips.....hehehe

Hello from Brisbane

Maybe I should be saying G'day...like the aussies do. We arrived yesterday at 6.40am after a 7 hour flight from Singapore. The flight was pleasant and uneventful. Not many people coughing or sneezing ,no babies crying or kids running about so I didnt bother to use the mask. Didnt want to look like Zorro. Even in the airport at Changi no one was using a mask. Guess the H1N1 is now considered just a flu!

It was a long flight for me cos I couldnt fall asleep no matter what position I took. The man beside me was snoring away. Felt like giving him a mask to lower the snoring noise level! Watch 2 movies and so arrived in Brisbane like a zombie. Had to check out through the red lane cos I had fried onions to declare...yes!...fried onions for Jordan. It is his favourite and he says cant get small onions in Brisbane . Well apart from orang utans now you know we have small onions which Brisbane doesnt have. Do you think we should put this in the tourist brochure?

Anyway, 2 zombies arrived at Morgan's place at about 8am to be greeted by no one as both the sleeping beauties were still in bed. We were tired but going to sleep would be a big mistake so 2 zombies went out. Hey! This would make a good title for a movies...' malaysian zombies in brisbane ' ....hahah.

We expected the apartment to be untidy but didnt expect it to look like a tropical storm had just blown through the place. Could see the legs of the table but wasnt sure if it was the dinning table or stall at mile 4 market selling food ! Walked into Jordan's room ...well at least I thought it was his room , maybe it was the store room....no, it was his room. OMG.....it you are one of Jordan's friend reading this and laughing, well look around your room , I am sure I have just described your room too huh?

Well the rest of the house was just the same......so we went out shopping, the scene was not beneficial to our tired eyes....out of sight out of mind. had a nice sushi dinner in the city and went back to have our apple pie. First day and already my belly is begining to look like an aussie tummy. Must say that I feel so slim here. everyone is so plump ( actually i would say fat but so rude lah! ) Really even young girls are plump. Must be all the fast food they shaft into their mouths a mile a minute! The right word is 'obese'.....anyway, like I said, if you want to feel like a super model even if you have a waistline of 31" and above come to Australia ! ....hahaha

ok. gtg. Jordan wants to use his computer, till tomorrow.......

What a surprise!

Like I said in my last blog, my DC ( district chairman ) Uma, came and went. Left this morning. We did the usual visits to the Agape centre, Cheshire Home and centre for the Deaf and Dumb....and of course to all the famous eating places.

The first nite we had dinner and meeting at my home. That was a good nite of fellowship and laughter.There were hitches with XY42@$# but otherwise it went well.The next day we went on our official visits, did our rounds in record time. Again there were hitches with XY42@$# as we were 'lead' to the wrong place at the wrong time.

Our poor secretary was blamed for it, even though she was totally innocent.She was MAD, so mad, so very mad. If her head was a balloon it would have burst, her eyes crackled and her hair in flames. Though all was not forgotten, we learnt perseverence and diplomacy and had a good time at dinner of bak kut teh. Well, none of us choked on the meat balls but, if looks could kill....'murder she wrote'. Anyway the DC is of the opinion that we are matured and experienced enough to keep the club on the right track despite ' the meteorite shower '. Lord give us the strength to accept what we cannot change and the wisdom not to commit murder' .

Anyway, things went off without a hitch this morning at breakfast and then at the airport. So all in all the DC had a good time in Sandakan.

The surprise?? Well, the DC studied in the same school as me ,ie, CHIJ Melaka. She was my sister's classmate and her husband was Anne, Dr.Lau and Dr.Sylvester's classmate at MU. What a small world indeed. Someone living in Kuantan , who came from Johor went to the same school as me living in Sandakan, who came from Malacca and whose husband from West Malaysia, living in Kuantan was classmate to one living in Sandakan and two from Kuching....well if you are confused never mind...the bottom line is that we all found friendship in the least expected place at the least expected moment....that is why its such a nice surprise.

Uma will never forget her visit to Sandakan and we will never forget this particular DC.

Waiting for midnite

No, I am not waiting for a secret friend to pop up at midnite,...well maybe I am....for AIRASIA....hahaha. I want to try my luck ! Havent decided where to go yet but what the heck! I cant sleep cos of the mocha ice cream so ...Tony Fernandez give me a seat !

Tomorrow I will be too sleepy to carry on a conversation with Uma the District Chairman of the Inner Wheel Club , who is here on a visit. Oh well! Our club president can have that honour. Uma might be a tad confused after that but she will survive.

Tomorrow morning we are to be at the airport at 10.30 am to welcome her to Sandakan. then to the hotel followed by lunch. This is going to be an eating visit. Both the guest and the host will be expanding side ways.

Tell you more after her visit.

OMG

What on earth is happening here? Two more suicides by hanging ! Guess its becoming fashionable ! There are other less dramatic way to get into the headlines.Heard its all to do with $$$$$$. What else is new ? They gamble and then owe and then pay....with their lives, leaving behind the grieving widow , kids and shocked family members. Why?

Why indeed? Who knows? A lot of 'maybe' and 'if only' . Well, what ever the reason it wont bring the dearly departed back.

We have more important issues to content with, like the spread of H1N1 slowly but surely into the schools. The current frying hot weather, the typhoons in the NE of the globe and the TBH video. Everything will go on in the news except the last one which will die a natural death like everything else that happens at the top.

Life is a blast if you are not involved in all of the above. Humans have a short memory. Like the pain we experienced at child birth. I remember saying ...never again... in between huffing and puffing in the labour room, listening to the doctor's voice saying 'push now',...all I could think of was , you push , I just want to get out of here and be in Hawaii. Guess what? A few years down the road I was in there again, screaming bloody murder in between contractions, and yet again for the third time...twice in 6 minutes. See what short memories we have of pain, sleepless nights, soiled diapers and puke ! To think that I even volunteered to do it for the forth time. Fortunately, the financial logistics of good parenting put a stop to that.

Now the pain is not so bad but it lasts the whole day...pain in the back, pain in the knees, pain in the shoulders, blurry eyes, receding hairline, greying hair, flatulence, heartburn and arthritis . OMG !!!!

Well, as long as you are still breathing using your own lungs and not through a ventilator, walking with your own legs and not stuck in bed and eating through your own mouth and not through a tube, seeing with your own eyes and not with your fingers, hearing noisy neighbours yelling and not complete silence , life is a still a blast, enjoy every moment as " yesterday was history, tomorrow is a mystery and TODAY is a gift, that is why its called THE PRESENT "

My monologue with GOD

This morning Patricia and I went for holy communion at Basel church. We try to praise the lord in his holy temple but,sometimes the devil plays hookie and we opt for kon loh mee at Hung Fatt coffee shop instead. Forgive us lord for we are weak...food, food.....

Well this morning, Rev James talked about taking time to talk to God. Well we all do ,talk to god when we need his help. Which I must say, is a lot of times in a day!....well for me at least. I talk to him and thank him or ask for his help for many things,...like the hymn " Lord, I place into your hands the things I cant do .." Then after finish praying, I say 'amen'. Then I am off doing something else. Does it sound familiar?

Then in the course of the day, month or year, we wait for the lord to either answer our prayers or not. I used to think he was totally ignoring me, well, of course that isnt true.

However,the question here is, why doesnt he talk back? It would be nice if he started like...."well Viola, about your......"

Do your know why we have never heard him reply? His cell phone battery went dead? His fax machine broke? The microphone isnt plugged in?...hmmm.

The answer is simple.

We never spend time after saying our prayers, after ' amen', to sit quietly and listen. Listen for the sound of his voice...'Captain Kirk calling Mr. Spock'. We dont spend quiet time with him. How can he talk to us? How can we listen to what he has to say? How can he counsel us when we are off to our next task at hand immediately after AMEN ? Its like talking to our kids and before we can finish talking they say....mum I have to go!. Sounds familiar?

So the moral of this story is, even though God can multitask, we still need to give him our complete attention if we want to hear him. Sorry God doesnt do SMS or email....well not in our life time anyway, hahah.

He hears us every time we pray. We have to take the time to listen for his answer. Ok? understand?....and so, in Jesus's name I pray that I will not be deaf, dumb and blind, intentionally or otherwise, conveniently insane, partially amnesic, or out walking the my pet toad,...when he next talks to me. AMEN. ..ok got to go..........chao !

Talk to them

Last week I was told of the death of a young man. This week an old lady took her own life. Seems to be a epidemic of a small proportion on suicide in our town. What is the matter with us? have we grown to be so modern and busy that we forget our old folks at home. I must say I am guilty of it. However I think I am not the only one not spending enough time with the ones who took care of us when we were too little to fend for ourselves, who stayed up till the early morning to make sure our fever hasnt gone up, who cleaned up our vomit when we had the stomach flu, who cleaned the toilet when we missed the toilet bowl completely, who brought water up so we could have our medication in the middle of the nite, who rub our chest with vicks or fung yu on our tummy when we had wind and who, how annoying they were to us that time, kept pushing us to do our best!

Now in their golden years, are alone because we are too darn busy with our kids and our activities. We assume they are ok as they never complain, they never drop in at dinner time, they never ask if they could have a small piece of the cheese cake we made for our friends the nite before. What happened?

It is so convenient to forget them. It is so inconvenient when we call and they go on and on about their aches and pains and, we have to rush out to pick the kids from school or tuition. It is so boring when they repeat their same old ailments week after week. We get annoyed when they are too stubborn to listen to our advise. They keep eating the things they are not suppose to,...what do the doctors know? What is wrong with this picture?

We grew up and they grew old, thats what happened ! We grew stronger and got busier and they grew tired and got slower. We have our kids at home and they lost all theirs. We work hard to give our kids a good life and a good education while they got bored and lonely cos their kids became global players and moved away.

The good news is that, for some of us it isnt too late to pick up the phone and chat with our parents and visit them. The bad news is that it will happen to us. The million dollar question is....what can we do?

I have no answer to that. If I had I would be on the Oprah show already!

However, I do have some suggestions. Maybe if we live by example, the the kids will follow. If we visit them ( our parents), take them out for dinner, lunch, tea or for shopping, keep them involved in our kids lives and ours, by our words and deeds show the kids how important they are, to be loved and respected, then maybe, when it is our turn, our kids will remember us not as old suitcases to be kept away in the attic, out of sight out of mind, but as their loving parents who have nurtured them when they needed us most. Dont you think?

I call my mother and father once a week, ....other wise my mum will scold me...hahaha. I am told that girls tend to call home more often then boys. Now you know where that puts me! Girls tend to chat and tell their mums about their day or their activities. Trust me, boys dont. Guess I am doomed huh?

Anyway, to get back to the old lady I was talking about, guess she was so lonely and felt so unloved that dying was a better option than living knowing that your kids dont care. Hell has a place for them !

So to all the parents..... dont do unto your parents what you dont want your kids to do unto you......16th commandment!!!!.

Talk to us

Today at my ladies sharing group I learnt of the untimely death of a young man. He killed himself because he had some problems. I dont know the nature of the problem but, the point is why did he have to end his life. As parents we are truly saddened by news of this nature. He was only 34. What serious problem did he have that he could not talk about with his father, mother or pastor? I feel for his parents who now have to bury their son, who have to live with the guilt that maybe they could have done something, maybe they had.., if only....all the maybes in the world would not bring him back.

We asked ourselves this morning, will our children talk to us if they have a problem? We couldnt honestly answer 100% "yes". I dont know if my kids will tell me if they have a very serious problem. Small problems they do tell me. I pray they will never have to face any problems alone. We are always here. Never be afraid to tell us even if you think it would make us so angry or that it would be a burden to the family. Dont say 'I dont want to trouble my parents' or 'I dont want to worry them so' As a mom I prefer to share your troubles/burden and talk and work it out together, then to journey the rest of my life alone carrying the guilt of 'maybe' and 'if only'

What can be so bad that we cant solve? We love our children. If we cant help them who can? We are experienced in "worry". Once we have kids 'worry" becomes our middle name. To my boys, I want them to know that I am here, dad is here, our lives revolve around our kids. They are the light of our lives. A friend once said to me , without the kids and grandkids what do we have to look forward to? I didnt quiet understand why he said that. But after today, I get the picture. Love is only real when it is shared. We work all our lives for our children. We spend sleepless nites worrying about them and for them. We are happy when they are happy. We share their disappointments,their successes, their ups and downs, our lives are so inter-twined that when one branch breaks, the tree of life becomes lop-sided.

To all the kids who may be reading this, you can never disappoint anyone to the stage where you have to kill yourself. You may give them a bad hair day but, so what?... talk it over.

Who invented the Virus ?

Whose great idea was it to add dirt to an already polluted world ? Now my computer has a virus H208N411....aahhhh. It has to go into the workshop for treatment. I didnt do anything illegal ( as if I know how )but to open emails, facebook, blog and some attachments. This is what the government means when it says the virus has spread internally. Someone should invent a computer panadol.

Virus in the computer. Virus on the planet. What next? Now I have to decide to go or not to go to Brisbane. Want to go but,then again not necessary . Go but kids busy with college and Uni. I would have jumped at the chance to go anywhere a few years ago. Now have to think and think as if ....I think we are getting too comfortable at home. The thought of being displaced, ie, different beds, different toilet, having to do laundry, washing up and living out of a suitcase is so traumatic, hahaha, sorry, I think its the "50 going on 60" syndrome.Travelling used to be fun, an adventure, cant wait to leave for the airport, but now its like, huh? where? when? why?...if only we can teleport back and forth. Where is Mr. Spock when I need him? Earthling calling Vulcan!

Even going to KL I have to think and think, KK included. Why is this happening? People say when the kids have left home you are free to travel but, well, not so cos there is no place like home to me. We were planning to do a lot of travelling now. Unfortunately earthly viruses have put a temporary stop to that.From andamic to epidemic and now pandemic. Earth quakes, floods, bombs, bridges collapsing, roads and new building falling down like rain drops, a volcano in the Philippines about to erupt and closer to home, my Honda is dented, my dog has died, there are scratching sounds under my roof ( no,not a ghost, more like a rat!)the water pressure was so strong yesterday some pipes busted...what else need I say?....but life is still beautiful cos I only have to decide ( for now ) to go or not to go.....lol

Fishcakes and Fiddlesticks

Says who doing things on the computer is easy? My son is guiding me on how to install Skype all the way from Brisbane and my shoulders are aching.Either I am simpleminded or out right s----- !
I rather think I am not too computer savvy.....being born in the " hand written" era and all that, .....but maybe , just maybe you can still teach an old dog new tricks eh?....well, at least the skype is slowly being downloaded as we speak , but the million dollar question is ..." will it work?"....hahaha have to wait and see. Jordan says its suppose to take 3 mins. But now its still going on and its part 2
....aahhhhh!!! what have I installed?.....Have I opened the gates to hell?.........

It works !...well nearly, called Jordan but he didnt answer.

Worth the ticket

Last night we went to the cinema with Sheldon , spontaneously, and watched Ice Age 3. Oh its definitely a must see. We watched 1 and 2 and now 3.....well we really enjoyed the hilarious punch lines coming out a mile a minute from " animals " ....so clever, hmm, so funny, cute (maybe), cuddly (sure), stupid ( of course) but ...you must go and watch it. I love cartoons. They bring out the best and worst of everything and everyone.

I grew up watching lots of Mickey Mouse, The Jetsons, Flintstones but I also love Sponge Bob Square pants and occasionally The Simpsons. Though I find Homer too dumb even for a carton character.....

However, I really do not understand cartoons like Animae, Dragonball and most of the japanese cartoons,....maybe I need a doctorate in " how to kill your brain cells painlessly "....as if not enough plunging into this deep dark world of absurdity, some young people in Japan actually dress in their favourite characters....why would a young handsome man want to look like a fruitcake? Or a young girl like she fell into a cupcake making machine and came out on the wrong side of the universe ?....beats me.

Life is strange, just dont fall into this melting pot of absurdism, neurotic hotch potch and cyber sickos.! Watch but do not follow, learn but do not copy, listen but do not repeat.....experience life the normal way !

Tell me something I dont know

Everyday its the same news.....no current here, no current there, weather so hot, traffic lights not working....why are all these things happening and no one has gone on strike like in other countries? Maybe we are so used to it that we have become complacent and immune...grumble grumble and then delete. When election time comes we choose the same goof balls. So why complain? I have given up complaining of all these negative news. Just accept and get on with life. No current ?. So? Find something to do that doesnt need current. When life throws you lemons make lemonade.

This morning it rained, yahoo!....free watering service for my garden and free water for my pond! The rain would have washed away all the mosquito lavae so, goodbye dengue !!.....

Well, any complains????....yes, the clothes cant get dry ! ...hahahaha ......which goof ball should I call to complain to?? Now excuse me, I have to make a phone call to Jabatan Alam Sekitar to see if they can get the sun to shine so my clothes will dry by 6 pm....malaysia boleh right?....1 people, action now !!....anyone has Najib's HP no ??

Optimus Deception

Well, we finally went to watch the greatest movie of the month. Transformers ! My kids said we must not miss this movie. Well, I must say they are right...lOl...if you blink or sneeze you will miss a fair portion of the action. My goodness, the movie went by at the speed of lightning. There is actually no time to absorb and reflect and ponder what is going to happen next. Didnt think my eyes and brains could move that fast, I am sure I missed alot. If breathing wasnt automatic the audience would have fainted within the first 10 mins as you dont have time to remind yourself to breath. My son says you have to watch many times before you can actually see all the scenes as and when it happens. Dont even scratch...some robot would have been blown away!! You need bionic eyes to capture all the images. Really! before the image can reach the brain , 100 images would havel filed past.

I would suggest that you dont watch this movie unless you have either watched the first one and can comprehend the story line or your kids have explained to you, who is who, at least 6 times and, you actually understand or you want to be cool and show off that you have seen this movie..( but dont even try to talk about it ).

What I found disappointing was that the hero, Optimus Prime died so soon and so fast and, only fought for a wee while at the end. In between everyone else did the fighting while he was laying flat and relaxing. The human hero, Sam did he bit and earned his salary, the heroine ran around half naked, in spagheti strap tee while everyone else were fully clothe, as usual....and now we wait for part 3 ! ....stupid or what?

How can you climb up a pyramid with rocks falling in every direction and not get hurt??....and climb so fast too !....must ask him what vitamins he is taking. Oh, another piece of advice, if you normally go to bed early dont go to the 9.30 show, it finishes at 11.55, and if you are above 55, you may just fall asleep inspite of the terribly loud explosions occuring through out the movie......heheheheh....no, I didnt fall asleep at all.

Ok, if you are not convinced go and waste $10 and enjoy 45% . To enjoy 100% you have to go again and again.......good luck!

Anyway, the producers of the movie are laughing all the way to the bank and back. So, if you havent seen it yet, wait for the DVD and buy it for $10 and watch slowly. You can rewind if you missed a part.

Que Sera Sera

What will be will be ! You have heard of this song title ? Well, now I dont want to worry too much about anything as I feel that my family is on track. My sons control their own destiny. If they want to taste the sweetness of success than they just have to slog for it, there is no easy way.

Me, I am taking it easier and doing things I should have done moons ago, like exercising and getting to know God. Its never too late and its even better when you have less to worry about,... what day? what tuition?, what lesson? which Taman? etc etc. Now its like what time is lunch and where and with whom?

Well, of course I have some worries. Are my kids alright? Did Noel get home safely? and so on and so forth, your normal everyday mummy's concerns. But I have learnt to put my fears and worries at the feet of someone who loves me so much that he died to save me, "J" . He will take care of me and my family. I sleep better now too. I am not trying to preach here but telling you the change I feel ever since I shifted my needs and trust in him. I am so glad that 3 of my boys have found him too.

If you think its hog wash, so be it. You can only experience it if you believe. I believe. Hence the title Que Sera Sera, what will be will be....we can only live life day to day and treasure it every second and be grateful for it, both good and bad, as that is our destiny. As we cant change our destiny, why complain?

However we can make the journey less stressful by " Having the courage to accept what we cannot change, the strength to change what we can and, the wisdom to know the difference. "

Lost for words

??????.....:p ;P :(......what did you expect? told you I am lost for words.

Antipodes

If you dont know what this is then please continue to read. If you know then you are cleverer than me, pat yourself on the head and go watch your animae.

Riddle: where would you end up if you dug a hole to the other side of the world? Of course I am assuming that you survive tunneling through the molten innards of the earth . No, this is not an episode from X Men!!.

Now if you look at the map of antipodes- places on exact opposite sides of the globe, an american digging through would end up in the Indian Ocean, and not China as many kids think. Someone from China would end up, after zillions of chopsticks later, inChile. Interesting isnt it?

So, if we dig from Sandakan, where do you think we will end up?

People from Bermuda would end up in Perth, Australia....not bad for all those years of digging. Diggers from Timbaktu would end up in Fiji ( an island). If you dig from Siberia, thinking you would end up in somewhere warm.... :( ....you will find yourself in antarctica...sorry still frozen ! Hey, I didnt draw up the map of the world.

So where would we be....huh? all you clever students ?.......Brazil....sorry not disneyland! that one you have to pay money....hahah .

This is a game you can play, so you can act smart in front of your geography teacher...go ahead and ask her/him.

Ok, now for a parting brain tester...How can we squeeze more food from a raindrop?

It is the simplest, most natural of acts, akin to breathing and walking upright. We sit down at the dinner table, pick up the fork/chopsticks and take a juicy bite, oblivious to the double helping of global ramifications on our plate. Our food comes from all over the world, out a plastic bag or box . We dont have to grow our own food in our backyard, in exchange for simply paying for it. Only when prices rise do we take notice. And the consequences of our inattention are profound ( quote from the Nat Georaphic ). Those of you who like challenges, go find an answer to the above question. The world needs a miracle and who knows you may be the chosen one!!

Tributes to my sons

Just a short passage to wish my son, Morgan a very happy 21st today. Sadly we wont be celebrating this mile stone in his passage to real adulthood with him. At least he will be surrounded by his . He is a good son and I want him to know that both his mum and dad are very proud of him. What a fine young man he has turned out to be, if I may say so myself. Thank you lord for this great blessing. Happy birthday son.

Next in line is my third son, Sheldon. Thank you for being so patient in teaching me how to download the photos. He didnt once raise his voice or loose his temper, quiet unlike someone we all know.....but I love that one very much too. Love you a lot too Sheldon. Next he has to teach me to download photos from the camera to the computer.

What a family I have, boy, boy, boy and boy, followed by dog, dog,dog, and dog, and many fish, turtles, birds, swallows in the garage, lizards and others....dan lain lain....lOl..

Elegance is an attitude

What does it mean?....dunno...I guess it means that even if you are dressed to the tee, or in the latest outfit or very expensive gown, or decked in exquisite jewelery, you still wont look like a princess ( the late lady Di ) if you dont have the right attitude. The botox face lift alone wont help, maybe for the first 5 minutes, till the foundation warp and fine lines appear on the caked face....hahaha. But if you are a person of grace, humility, kindness and compassion, then I think, even if you are in a rice sack ( cheetah/ nicole/giodano brand ) you would look ........like a person wearing a rice sack!!!!......hahahah. what can I say?.....ah yah.....ok,ok, forget about the rice sack, jeans and Tshirt...do you think you can look elegant in them?

Yes, if you are cloacked in the aforesaid mentioned attributes. As beauty is only skin deep ( said the sour grape ), and for many of us, even Estee Lauder cant help as time has played a trick on us, why not personify elegance instead ?.....for those who cant understand what I am talking about....in a nut shell,.... if you dont look like Elizabeth Taylor or if you look like Micheal Jackson after his nose caved in, never mind Ah Ee!!....if you are beaming with grace, kindness and humility and compassion, you will look 'nice and sweet'....( sorry, cant say sexy and fabulous, then I would HAVE to go for confession )...at least the mosquito wont drop dead of shock when you passby.....hey! at this point in time, after 5 decades, this is the best we can expect....if you feel upset after reading this true evaluation then.....go, go take your nap now, so when your 1st grandchild draws you he/ she will find it very easy to draw as your body will just be parallel lines from shoulders to hips.

Then you will need a kingkong size attitude to look elegant. My dear even adjectives have their limits! Ever wander why the garment factories dont go beyong XXXL ?...the next size after this is eloquently called PLUS SIZE.....plus what?....plus the calories, fat and cholestorol from the fatty siew yuk, chee kiok skin and all, and the 3 tai paus you had for breakfast just because you didnt want to waste them!!! .........oh dear, you didnt???

Stay within the boundaries of plump or slightly poddgy, just dont open the gate to obesity. That road only goes down, down, down....dont bother to call superman to help you up and out, he is not listed!

For those who are Olive Oil skinny, eat more, come suffer with us!!....heheh. Who is Olive oil? Popeye's girlfriend! If you have never met her , sorry lah, which planet have you been hybernating in? Its easy to draw her too, just draw a long pencil and put in the eyes .....XXXS.

So which one are you? Do you ooze with elegance or, with layers of extra cells and cellulites or, no layer and no rings of anything, just skin and bones? Too shy to tell me?, never mind go find a very thin and long mirror, that may help !....lOl.... :p :p :p :p :p :p ... :( :( :( ...what the heck!....:p :p :p


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My holy brains

See I told you so, that I would most likely forget what I had learnt last nite. I only managed to download the photos from CD to desk top. Then I got so lost in cyber traffic, dunno how to get it into facebook. Now I have to wait for the 'clever one" to come back from badminton. I tried and tried but , holy moly, my brains just cant recall what he did last nite. Have to start taking gingko to plug the holes lah!

Oh I can resize the photos also....not bad for the holy brain, but .......the moral of the story here is, have 8 kids, then someone will always be at home to help mum....you see , by the time the last one leaves home you probabaly cant see the keys or remember all their names or aim the finger onto the right key, so no need to email any of them anyway....hahaha

The time has gone by so fast. Last week I was in Melaka. Now I am sitting here trying to recall what I did that sunday.....no prize for guessing, of course I cant remember the whole day but I do know I had good food....heheheh. But I didnt put on weight, either that or the scale is lying!...good scale huh?. Want to know the secret? , eat but cut down on the rice or noodles. Go for the vege or meat if you must. Have your cream donut , even a chocolate sundae( from macDonalds, my favourite. A 'must' eat at the airport.)...after all Sandakan doesnt have so, eat !

Went to church this morning. But didnt ask God for anything for myself for a change! maybe it was because the sermon was so boring I fell asleep!....just kidding! Today I received the holy communion, so hopefully I am a better person today then I was after the last one. My friends from RC told me as we are swallowing the body of christ, he is living inside us.....well ( joke) dont think he would like what he sees inside mine!. First he sees the teeth, all full of patches of grey/white, then he sees the lungs, not pink enough ( asmatic lah) then the stomach, full of gas ( masuk angin)....wont even dare to tell you what else is in there.....anyway you get the picture.

Ok, time to relax. Bye, enjoy your sunday, smell the roses, see the beauty in everything, feel blessed that you are alive and relatively well, dont complain about the weather and tell your family that you love them !

Salute to the President

Last nite we had our Installation dinner. We meaning The Inner Wheel Club of sandakan. We had it at D'Palm. The dinner was nothing to shout about. Almost all turned up except for 6 and 1 no show. In view of the current economic crisis we had a 3 in 1 dinner,....monthly meeting, AGM and installation....so no need to think about what to wear 3 times....ladies' problem all over the world, yes, even Michelle Obama.

Anyway, the nite went well, nobody spilt anything on the blue checked table cloth, nobody dropped their not so tender steak, too sweet lamb chops...nobody compained about the fish or chicken to me, so,...guess we behaved well!! We were noisy, ah....maybe very noisy but what do you expect when you put 20 over ladies in a little room ????

Everyone looked pretty, thank god for the dim lighting!..well only about 4 were under 45,....years of age lah!!!. I can guess the conversations were about kids, more kids, husband ( boring!!), cholestoerol levels??...hahah, Micheal Jackson..nah!!!, H1N1..maybe, shopping...definitely!,..grandkids...for sure ( for sure) ....and of course, what else??....the weather!

The conversation, would go something like this: Wah outside so hot! Yah lah everyday so hot! I dont want to go out ! After shower also sweat. ...and so on and so forth. Did you know that complaining about the weather wont make it any better?. Like they say in hakka : sai si kan!!!

Think cool!! and stay at home, use a bottle of sunblock if you plan to step out, block all your pores with it, guess its better then getting brown spots huh? One note of advise, we need the vitamin D that we can get free from the sun. At least 10 to 15 mins each day, so that we wont be Vit D deficient and we will have strong bones,...cheap way to prevent brittle bones , so if you fall, only your false teeth will break, your limbs will just be jarred and bruised. Good reason to get tanned or blackened under the sun??....nah!.....in sandakan the chinese tai tais prefer to remain fair, eat Vit D from the bottle and try not to fall down!...Most of them think being tanned is so malay lah!....they say "nice" hitam manis, but what they actually mean is ...wah! like malai por!!...guess what? we tanned people dont have sun spots on our skin....hahaha. Go ahead take a look at your skin and count the sun spots....oh dear so many ??....oh you poor thing, become spotted lah!!....hehehe...

Ok lah....I dont mean to be so mean today. My excuse is that my shoulders and neck hurt after learning how to download the photos from the disc to the computer to the chosen page...............aaaaahhhhh.....feel so stupid!...I think my son is fedup of me already, asking him every step of the procedure. Tomorrow I will have forgotten all that he has taught me..what to do?. I am now in the "old" mummy category. But I am clever, I have written down the steps, but somehow I think I still got some steps wrong!. The kid is just too fast! They forget we gave birth to them and in the process gave away our calcium, nutrients, hair, elasticity of our skin ( especially me with twins )....how many brain cells died in the birthing process only god knows.... and to think I did it so many times....ah yah...what was I thinking!!! Its all Edwin's fault !....hahaha.

Ok got to go. Have a goos weekend. chao!

Time to go home.

Hi friends, well I had a fantastic day shopping. Some how you always manage to get things the last minute. Now its time to pack the bags....home sweet home tomorrow. I wont be overweight....I am not Mrs. Marcos, so only 2 pairs of shoes,.....hey, they were on sale, 50%, so cheap so must buy...otherwise tonite cant sleep!

We had a hakka dinner at the Curve with Margaret's daughter, Teresa. She, like my son Sheldon is so starved for PORK.....heheh....you see, most students have to eat at mamak stalls around their college. As most students are muslims, the food stalls sell mostly halal food. Hence the lack of pork related food. Who ever can produce halal pork will definitely make a fortune!!!!. My son Sheldon goes straight for the 'porky' food when he comes out of 'jail'. Guess I will be queueing at the siew yuk stall at mile 4 market very often as Sheldon will be home for 2 weeks...lol....

See you in Sandakan. I have 2 hours 40 minutes of flying time to think what to wear for tomorrow nite at the Inner Wheel Installation dinner..... pants, pants or pants, such a difficult decision. All you ladies will know what I mean yah?

OK, good nite.

Jagung water

What is jagung water?...go into yahoo and type ' malaysian english'....you will get: sweet corn water!...sorry, this morning I am going to degenerate into a rojak melange of two languages, its more fun this way! OK, now you want to know why I am talking about jagung water this morning. Apparently it can help dissolve.....???? oh, cant tell you so fast, you must read on. First how to get jagung water? take the jagung and put it in your left hand , then , with your right hand wring it lah!! or squeeze it if you are 'terminator l or 2 or 3', ...but sorry , terminator l and 2 is now the governor of California, so he is out, busy trying to save his state from bankrucy . You can , alternatively ask your husbands to help you squeeze it but ....he has his own jagung to squeeze, that one cant cure anything, not even a headache!!!...so no use..

Ok,ok, seriously...you cant eat raw jagung right? as chef Wan would say ( dont know who chef Wan is?....ah yah ( as Dr. Anne would say )....you never watch RTM? ....eh, 1 malaysia means you must keep up with whats going on here...not just watch CNN/BBC...ah yoyo ( as Samy Velu would say..hahah ).. put the jagung in a pot then add water, then boil lah! when the jagung sudah masak, the remaining water , is the jagung water ...ah yah, so easy also dunno. This is how we malaccans talk....

Please dont forget to wash your jagung properly ok? If you get stomachache, dont look for me. I am only sharing with you the goodness of jagung water. Now so what is the hype about this magic water?....eh, not magic,dont be so sarcastic, just god's gift to us, it helps to dissolve stones in your kidney and bladder. Dont quote me, I dont have scientific proof, so no harm done to try. However if you had swallowed a marble when you were 7/8 years old, a tonne of jagung also no use, sorry !

Let me share with you, PuiLin's recipe of bendir water to reduce blood sugar, works!!! so try it. If you want the secret recipe of this bendir water, go and bug Pui Lin.

Pity we cant drink WD40, that one can do almost anything except take the place of viagra!....but then again, how do you know?

OK, have to go do some damage to the credit card at KlCC, Isetan, my favourite store!, My husband will go upstairs to the budget section to see what he can find, then to the golf section to see if any golf stick..oopphs...golf clubs.. on offer to add to his already large collection of sticks!!!..win win situation..I am happy, he is happy.

Sheldon is going out with his cousin as he feels bored following us. Noel absolutely refuses to follow today. He came up with all sorts of excuses. If only I have girls.....bye. duty calls.

To eat or not to eat

My son Noel told me that my blog is all about eating,...sad but true. I realized that as well. But then again , what is there to do in Sandakan or KL or Malacca for that matter. Well you see, I am not into extreme sports, like drug taking, body tattooing, or road raging,...I am not into death defying sports, like bungee jumping, smoking, or borrowing money from ah longs,... I am not into Ah Ee type sports, like cooking, gardening or mahjong ,...I am not into Ah Por sports of quilting, babysitting or neighbour watching , so, I spend my leisure time eating....what can I say? Cant apologise for something I do intentionally.....so if anyone is jealous, too bad.....hehehe. If you think I have put on weight, keep it to yourself! Everything in this world is going down except my waistline.

Ok, now let me say that the most memorable thing I have done this trip is....of course, eat!!. We ate all the way from KL to Malacca and back. The food here is simply a delight to the palate, especially the nonya food my mum stirs up. Sorry lah I cant cook like her.

As far as shopping goes, I seemed to have lost the addiction for it, much to the relief of my husband. But this doesnt mean my bags are empty....no,no,...still full of things , but no need to pay for excess baggage. $5 on airasia is enough. Well, if your are at home in sandakan, let me tell you , you have missed nothing. Not many sales here. The things are the same as when I was here in Jan/Feb/Mar and now still selling the same "baju". The shoes are cheap, but , before you buy them, you better make sure you have insurance !....the nice ones are all about 4 to 5 inches high.! Either that or you wear them in your bedroom and never leave the house. Oh! ,or if your husband is Richard Chung and you want to breathe the same air he does way up there....hahaha.

So far I have walked Ikano, l Utama, Mega Mall and the Gardens. Tomorrow We are going to KLCC and Pavilon.....window shopping to exercise the calf muscles ( walking non stop ) exercise the goose bumps ( aircon too cold ) and exercise the bladder ( working overtime due to the cold ) so,....what happens?....eat lah, to keep warm ! cant be hugging in public, incase get caught by the religious affairs people, hahah, also too old for this, might end up in tanjong rambutan...want to look trendy so cannot dress like ah por with woolen shawl.....dont want to look like sampah por from ulu telupid, so, come back with running nose.....all for the sake of looking cool. Next time better stay at home.

After having said all of the above, I actually dont give a dam what people say or think about me when I am travelling. Life is a blast if you enjoy everyday at whatever you are doing with whoever you are with and eat whatever your doctor says you cannot eat!!!! Dont be a worry wart ! For yesterday was the spent money order, tomorrow will be the post dated cheque but today is the cash you have in hand to spend !!...so my dear friends, live life, smile and the world smiles with you. Cry and the you cry alone! Enjoy and good nite.

home sweet home

I am in melaka now. Just had a fantastic nonya dinner at my mum's place. All my favourite food. Too full to have supper of fried oysters....ooohhh. There is always tomorrow. Had a busy day today. Missed meeting the Sultan of Pahang at the college. He was there for Parents Day.....not that he would give me the time of day. Never mind lah, just name dropping....but he was there to give a speech and to give out prizes. Anyway we were there to help Sheldon move out and to collect his report card. Met the lecturers and had some food, not bad after paying so much for the fees....heheh.....ok go to go now, mum wants something....to be comtinued....sleep tight dont let the bed bugs bite.

Shopping in KL

A few years ago I would be out having breakfast at the mamak shop and off to the shops by now waiting for them to open...in case you are wandering, the time now is 9.15am. But now I am blogging at home waiting for my nasi lemak. What has changed?....nothing that can be fixed. So the addiction to shopping has been cured by god's medicine...tongkat machik!!!....or tongkat nenek for some. maybe its because most nice apparels wont fit...ok my sister Lorna is here with the nasi lemak so ...bye

momentary shortcuit

Last nite I was trying to get into my own blog and I just couldnt remember my password. talk about being "old", gosh I really was annoyed with my memory. Anyway, at midnite I finally got in but the eyes and brain wouldnt work so ...what to do? sometimes breakdowns happen even in a good model!....ok,ok lah!, model made in china.
I am in KL now and will be off to Melaka to visit my folks as it is my dad's birthday today. I am abit concern as both of them are feeling a bit under the weather. At 2pm I have to be at Sheldon's college to pick up his report card. We also have to move his things out of the student's apartment as the college will be closed for 3 weeks. thats what parents are for...cleaning and moving and banking, no, no, not banking, more like generous donations to 4 uncharitable organisatons without receipts....I am sure you all kow it well! Guess what folks , if you think the tax department is bad, think again.....hahahaha.
Well, this morning I am waiting for my sister to bring the nasi lemak....woah!, this nasi lemak cant be found in sandakan. It has added ingredients unseen by the naked eyes. What you may ask are these magical condiments they have added to make it so special and tasty. Well, if the truth be told you dont really want to know. But as I have already awakened your curiousity I will tell you in confidence....sshhhh....the stall selling such delicious food must firstly be situated along a dusty road ( first ingredient ) then, better still if it is also next to a big drain ( second ingredient ) the lady selling it handles the food with her bare hands and continuosly talking to the customers ( 3rd and 4th ingrediants ) the nasi lemak is wrapped in banana leaves, clean or otherwise, ( 5th ingredient ) and finally she also handles the money ( 6th ingredient ). So now that you know the secret condiments, you can throw away all your herbs by Mac'Cormick from your fridge. Why pay so much for them when the really good stuff is free.....hehehehe. If you think that I wont be eating it after telling you all these, you are wrong! I wouldnt miss it even if they added another magic ingredient! Luckily we malaysians are so well adjusted to local and foreign germs/ bacteria that we can almost consume anything, whether it is dead or was alive....ahahaha .See who says being very hygenic is good for the health.
The good news is that you can still find shops which carry these secret ingredients in sandakan....just check their kitchens. Good luck !

busy busy

Hi folks and sons. have been very busy...doing nothing that will win me a pullitzer prize or a nobel prize but, maybe a 7+1 prize.....hahaha. Anyway time flies and now its thursday. This morning is my ladies sharing group day so I am looking forward to greeting them at my place. I will be off for a few days helping to boost the economy, if you know what i mean. So I will continue when I get back. In the mean time dont do anything I wouldnt do.

why I love my son, Jordan

Hello all! now you can see my precious family and I. This picture was taken at Phuket in march. My love goes to my son Jordan for taking his time to help his so un- techno- savy mum to set up this wonderful backdrop. love you son. I spent more than an hour trying this and that, and my son took 5 seconds to do it for me from Brisbane. A law degree is so useless when it comes to doing simple task on the computer....I should have attended the computer class at Yu Yuan School.....lOl...at least I fill better paying $155 school fees every month to that school.. Now Jordan is trying to find a pretty photo of me to put up....photo ok, but pretty?....I think he will be up all nite!!!....but I will still thank him for trying. he says he has found one. let me see.

why so ma fan???

Well he wanted titanium strings.....got such thing meh??..... what will they think of next?....duh! as Jordan would say, try to keep up mum!!!....so to make a long story short, Sheldon finally settles for nano 800 series with ????strings. My job is only to pay. And to think ,I actually went to university and graduated as a lawyer for this job!
Now after all this hoohaa, I went off to do my toe nails...very nice if I may say so myself... well who else would look at those puny attachments... Then I had lunch with Audrey, Dianna and Mie Kiu at Taiwan Noodle House. The lunch was good especially the harm 'something' taufoo. Chatted till it closed. Oh we were so full, but, ....oh we were bad, so very bad,.... we went to Jesselton for a drink and cake! Well the dam had already burst might as well enjoy the flow. It was nice and cool there so the time flew by so quickly. The kiwi cheese cake and brownie were very tasty despite us being so full....just a state of mind, my friends!....luckily we dont have titanium stomachs, otherwise it cant expand ...hahahaha...Gluttony is worst than the sword. Well, I will just eat less tonite...duh! And tomorrow I will go for yoga again, just to clear my conscience/stomach/guilt....aahhhhh...did I tell you that eating is a good way to relax?...now who said that?......jabba the hun....hahahah

thank you boys and simon

Thank you so much boys and Simon for reading my blog. At least someone other than me reads it.....hahaha. Well my friend Winnie has done me good too . Thanks all. Last nite I went to Kar Jun's house for a feast yet again.Looks like my life is filled with eating only...eat your heart out those of you who have to eat sandwiches 7 times a week.....sorry, ...well, Jazz, cooked chee kiok, chicken and mushroom, steamed fish, nice moist vege, rich yokchoi soup and , the grand finale....a fresh cream fruit cake, all home made. Not only that, I got to take home a piece for breakfast too. Such a good neighbour!!!.Cant say the same for me though, as I can hardly cook anything to match. I profess to all that I cant cook so that no request is made of me.....hehehe. After all that heavy stick round the waist calories, high colestero, high fat low fibre meal.....yah,yah...lI went for my yoga class this morning. After a lot of moaning and groaning we all finished the class in puddles of sweat....no, not from the exercise, from the sweltering heat. God has his way of punishing people who eat too much the nite before.
Let me enlighten you on what happens in a yoga class full of " ah so and ah ee". First, we try though we may but we never actually do any of the poses to perfection. The hands and legs seem to have a mind of their own....they just wont listen! Maybe I took the wrong body to class this morning....hmmmm, yes, definitely....next time I had better borrow a younger set of limbs. maybe Servay has them, you think?
Rushed back home to shower as I had appointment to do my nails at 10.30. However it was changed to 11 so I had time to stop by Sunshine sport shop to enquire badminton racket for Sheldon. He wants the Yonex nano series. I thought nano means very small, but no, do you believe they are the same size as the normal rackets? or is it that nano means fast?....dunno much, hey guys ,I am only a mum. Anyway had to call Sheldon, then call the shop, then call sheldon again.....hey, wait a minute, ask sheldon to call the shop himself....ah yah so sxxxxx....ok so what happened?

dont eat the szechuan steamboat.

Last nite we went for szechuan steamboat at a big hotel , cant mention the name as I might get sued for defamation. The presentation could have fooled you, ok lah! a lot to eat. Well actually, it was carefully accounted for. 5 persons went, so everything came in 10s, ie, 2 each. Thats ok as there was enough to eat. So whats the gripe? Well the soup was horrible for lack of a better word....yaks, double yaks,....None of us could actually describe the soup....like nothing on earth!
Luckily for the dips we managed to eat through all the stuff on the table. Should have had the food off the menu, the verdict....never order that again. Serve us right for compromising. What I mean is that we went there to eat a certain fowl, but apparently they have all flown north for the winter, so, we had the second best, or so we thought.
This morning on the way to the airport Edwin and I had our breakfast at another famous shop at mile 5, it didnt taste good either. Maybe its the number on the IC catching up???? Like Dr. Thian says...dont complain about the aches and pains, look into your IC and see the number there, then you know why your body isnt responding like it used to, guess that goes for the tongue too huh??, and the knees, back, shoulder, oh I can go on and on.........I need an overhaul. Dont laugh you need it too!