streaming by

Hi all. Now all the folks are home in Kl. But life here still goes on albeit slower, but still many things to do. At least I have got the most important sdone this morning. Went to Immigration to get my passport endorsed. After 26 years here in Sabah I am still an alien!....so much for 1Malaysia. And to think I was born in the straits settlement just before Merdeka. Oh whats the use? That alone should make me a bumiputra...hehehe. When hell freezes over I guess.

OK, had a great time with the family when they were here. We were out doing things everyday. Went o shop I never knew existed. All bec my sister who lives next to 1 Utama wants to shop here !!....ironical isnt it, but she did better here then she ever did in 1 Utama. There is still hope for the small town appeal to the city folks.

We ate everything there was to be savoured, 3 square meals plus some on the side. Ate enough egg tarts to last me 6 months....oh yeh, the egg tart here is just mouth watering. Sonia went home with 8 boxes of goodies. Total, 11 pieces of checked in luggage....hahahaha.....well, it helps the sandakan economy.

We also took some beautiful family photos.....here :

Christmas is coming! yeh!

Well, its nearly christmas, the tree is out , the presents are under the tree and the turkey is in the freezer. Now all I need is a a bigger stomach....hhahaha. After Beijing, we can fill up cos we ate healthily while over there.....most of the time !

Now we are eating more as we are back in Sandakan with guests. So the feasting continues. Thank you Lord for this blessing .

We had a great time in Beijing. Love the cold. Love the window shopping. Love the food. Love the new friends we made. However we came back sick with cough and ,...lots of cough...hahaha, courtesy of the cold weather. But we will go again as we have found a nice hotel to stay surrounded by shopping centres. Found all the eating places we like within walking distance and found a new shopping centre where the locals shop. What a holiday.

Ice lollies

We just flew in from Beijing last nite. From the land of the deep freeze to the land of heat. I am so happy to be home especially when we are not too well. Yes both came back with a cough. nothing like seeing a Dr. In Malaysia....can't find a pharmacy in Beijing that sells meds that we are used to.

Anyway, its porridge for us for the next 2 days.....from over eating to a starvation diet...hahaha. Fortunately we had a blast in Beijing, literally, a blast of very cold air...well, it was cold. -10 ? ....that was why we went in the first place....to enjoy the cold. We also ate and ate all the things we wanted to eat. We walked till the calf muscles cried for help at nite. We learnt to take the underground. Wow that saved us a bomb on taxis. Standard charge 2 RMB for all destinations. But the underground is so big that after this we can do the marathon...

There are so many shopping centers, big ,big ones in Beijing. You can easily forget that you are in a communist country. The young wear the latest in fashion. We found a shopping centre where the locals shop. More like wholesale market
Its like 6 times the size of Genting Mas. So now we know. We wont go to the touristy places to shop. But I think we still don't get to pay the price the locals pay cos we only bought 1/2 items each time. The price really drops if you buy on bulk. I must say tho that the prices of things have gone up. OH well , that's progress for you.

We stayed at Joy City hotel. Fantastic location, above a shopping mall. Surrounded by even more shopping centers. There are like 6 shopping centers around it. So we didn't have to travel far to window shop. ....hahaha!

We will go again........

Ice

What a life

It is true , the saying that " life begins at 50 " , well at least for me. I think I am enjoying life more now. Especially when my kids are all away and I have less worry about lunch ,dinner, tuition, music etc etc, you know, all the things that goes with bringing up children.

Even more so when you have a purpose in life that is spiritually incline. Now that i am praying more, or at least trying to without my mind being elsewhere when I am saying the Divine mercy...heheh...I find comfort that God loves me, that I only need to turn to Him for everything and that He is omnipotent, hence I can pray anytime, anywhere and just talk. No need for joss sticks, candles or place. Even technology cant beat that!. You have internet but what good is it without a computer or vice versa?

Soon my LSG friends will be more high tech and more active. Then life will be more interesting and fun. It has already begun, with Bee Lin ever ready to host a gathering, with Rosita's new ideas and with some members ever ready to go paint the town red. Hey! Who says when you become a mother in law or grandmother you have to stay at home and knit. Nowadays these "old" ladies surf the net as often as their young chargins do. Move aside children, grandma is here !

We have been burning the lines with setting up a facebook portal for LSG ! Now the universe is our base. Earth calling Aliens ! We have grandmas flying off all over the world, we have grandmas in the latest gear, we have sexy grandmas........oh, our grandmas would be turning in their graves,....but, probably smiling and giving us the thumbs up!

This week has been an especially busy one. Like I said, Sandakan is not a sleep place. The place is only sleepy and boring if the person is sleepy and boring. There are so many things happening . For example, Dora and I went out the whole afternoon and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves doing this and that. Guess it is how you look at things, you know, the half full or, half empty glass opinion. I tend to look at it as half full, so .....no complains.

Oh, one complain. we went to have a drink at De Little Cafe at Indah this evening. We ordered hot chocolate. It came in a big cup. So? What's wrong you might ask? Well, they served the hot chocolate without stirring it. They just poured hot water into the cup and spread the hot chocolate powder on top. So it's a stir yourself service. Its a first for me! Normally it comes stirred, you know what I mean? This one has all the powder still floating on top. Told Dora, maybe its the latest trend, stir your own. Are we so out of touch with the service industry? One day they will serve all the ingredients and ask you to fry your noodles yourself...hahaha. What a life!

no time Lah!!!

Some one asked me the other day why Am I so busy ? Everyday I seem to have a million things to do. Well, I do. Ok, let's take today for example.
got up at 7.20am, breakfast and toilet time. 8.30 wrapped the mattress to be delivered to St.Mary' s convent. 9.10 am the new bed was delivered, Watched the men put it together. 10am Then drove to the convent with the lorry in tow, to deliver the bed and mattress. event to pay for the bed at Tangs. Off to Astro to enquire why our astro in KL isn't working. next stop at Edwin' s office to hand in some documents he wanted. Lunch. Home at 1.30. Switched on the computer and chatted with sister in law in Australia. tuition at 2.30 till 4.40 . shower. facial, 7.20 . Dinner at 8. Out for a while to mile 4. Then Alice came to sort out the insurance stuff. 9.45pm.......

little town syndrome

Yesterday, a new electrical store, a chain store from west Malaysia opened. Yeh. What excitement. Hahaha. It is called Send Heng. So last nite, after dinner Edwin and I decided to go pay it a visit. Like a few hundred other people we too wanted to have a browse.

Well, we changed and drove there. 5 mins in all . Hahaha....it was about to close. So we drove back laughing all the way. It was like as if we have never been to an electrical store before. Were we so bored? Of course we had better things to do, like watching TV but, .... Guess it is a new place to go for a browse. A place which Edwin would be interested as its not a clothing store!!!!

Anyway, we will have to make another trip there, who knows, I might be lucky , my husband might decide to buy a 60 inch TV. Now that would be worth the trip for me.

What I really have to buy is more fish for my pond. Ones that don't die, or, come with a warranty. I bought many for the Chinese new year but now I only have 3 left. Wander who has been eating them? No kidding. Some creatures of the nite must be feasting on my fish. however I do have loads of guppies in there. Unfortunately they are not with bright colorful tails. According to Edwin, it's probably due to inbreeding, can't trust guppies nowadays. Leave them together in the pond and they are up to no good. : (.

Maybe I should try to put a Koi. Then it would eat up all the guppies. Then again , the guppies might gang up and bite the Koi. .... Hahaha... Yeh right. Ok,ok. Too many movies.

end of the world....ophs....year!

Another 6 weeks and it would be the end of the year. this year has gone by so fast that I can't remember what I did this time 6 months ago. can you? As I sit and teach my students, I worry for them. they still get their grammar wrong. I repeat the same thing day in and day out but.....to my great disappointment they still make the same mistakes.....why? It is the process food they eat that jams up their brains? is it too much computer games? Blame as we may, the fact remains that they still make the same horrible mistakes.

Well, next year I will try harder, take a higher dose of BP tablets and try to teach logic and grammar to the kids. it's too scary to think how these kids are going to cope when they go overseas. Guess many of them won't make it so far. they will be home grown, home educated and home produced for .....the home market.

I am so blessed that my kids are well educated and will, with God' s grace, be ready for jobs globally.

Since my last blog, we have found a place to visit. You will say oh, the same old place.....you wont be wrong, but somehow we like the same old place. Tell you where when we come back.

My son, Morgan has found a job within 10 days of landing in KL, praise the Lord! Pray I did. He is with Accountants Resourcing. I hope he will be happy there. His office is in Mega Mall. luckily he is not a girl , otherwise all his salary will be spent on shopping...hahaha. Like the good son he is, he has promised to buy us dinner with his first pay check, Shall we take up the offer or be the traditional Chinese parents and say no, save your money.....

Edwin says " save" and I say " go for it", cos further down the road he may have liabilities to pay for and dinner would be the last thing on his "To do List"

Let's wait and see.....

No where to go

Who says the world is big?? I have been serfing the net looking at all the airline deals and still have not found a place to go. So sad! Then again when I watch the news, it's like there is a catastrophe every which way you turn. What is the world coming to? what have we done to mother earth? She is puking and spitting everywhere. She is sick. So are we... In the head ...destroying our own home land without a thought for our future generation.

It's still beautiful in Sabah. We still have lots of green all around us. The government promises to preserve the greens but ... Hey so many illegal things going on but still no action taken. Well , you see , must set up committees for this and that first before anything can be done. Then must have Royal Commission for this and that before the wheels are in motion. By that time everything of value has been destroyed or lost ot taken away, Then, the report comes out stating that NEXT time they will be ready. Such is the wheel of the government. Too late and too little. Have they heard of WD 40?

We the people are just as useless. We allow ourselves to be run to the ground. We made meagre attempts to complain. When nothing gets done, we say, its like that lah! What to do? So another day passes.....

Still no where to go.......

Santa is coming !!

Ho Ho Ho..Santa is coming......but, have you been naughty or nice? What happened to June, August and October ? It is now November ! Help ! I have been rob of the months. What have I done for 2010....hhmmmmm, Big Zero ! Just living in a pond of contentment.

Well many things have happened but still the pond is still here. The rocks are still here. The lily is still here. The frog is still here. Guess nothing much has changed on the outside.

Wait a minute, our mind set has been shaken and stirred. The sudden death of my brother in law has shaken all of us to take a good look at our lives. We have done a small evaluation and taken stock and have decided that God's will be done always but he never leaves us to pick up the pieces alone.

Things happen that we cant understand, to which there are no answers, but if we take 1 step at a time, trust in the Lord and let him provide for us, time will heal the pain and , as it is HIS will, life goes on. I have a new policy on life, enjoy everyday with your loved ones, do things together and dont let small issues cloud your judgment . No body is perfect least of all me, so , stop judging and start living the life as GOD intended us to life. Sounds good? I am trying.

Then in December, Santa will come and leave presents for us under the tree. Last year I didnt have any presents cos i didnt put up my Christmas tree....hehehe. This year if I am around I will set it up, maybe,.....I hate the putting away part. Anyway, our Ladies Sharing group will be going around singing carols on 13/12 to 14/12. I missed it last year cos I was away. Looking forward to it .

Clean your chimmeys...... :D :D

Super woman lives

If you think super woman is a fictitious character, think again....she is alive and well, living in Sandakan for the time being. She is none other than my sister in law Linda. having lost her beloved husband just 20 days ago , she has now stepped into an arena where even sharks are deemed harmless. She has stepped into her husband's shoes and running for MP under the BN flag. Whether this decision is correct or not only time will tell.

She is out there everyday amongst the world' s "deadliest catch" ..... A rose among the big fat thorns , beauty and the most cancerous of beast.... Maybe I am too harsh but anyone reading the news and keeping up with the development of our nation knows. Actually the whole nation knows except ......

She is working hard for her keep, we are all praying that she will succeed beyond her wildest dreams. We are all praying hard that she will be safe. Many good people are also working hard along side this very gentle lady to ensure her victory. God be praised. He closes one door and he opens another. The BN machinery is grinding on at full speed to make sure BN secures a win. The reasons for victory maybe different but who cares, as long as Linda wins. After that we will see what happens.

Being a politician is never a career choice on any sane person's list of preferred occupation, astronaut yes, doctor yes, teacher yes but politician.... Your parents will freak out!!!!! What a shame, when being in politics is one of the surest way you can effect change. Somehow, somewhere along the way ,people in power have corrupted the arena so much that it's no longer on any parents wish list for the children.

So, why did LInda go in with her eyes opened? Out of necessity and responsibility...... I wish her well, may God guide and bless her with everything she needs to be the best that she can be for her family, for her constituents and for the country.

The town is on fire

The town is on fire with the election for Batu Sapi at stake.My sister in law, Datin LInda Tsen is the star as candidate for the seat of her late husband , Datuk Edmund Chong. She is overwhelmed by the whole event. Fortunately she is well taken care of by BN......by Musa himself.....so lucky!

The nomination is today. The election will be on 4/11. I have no doubt that she will be victorious as the whole BN machinery is in motion.
It's all so exciting. For me, I am relaxing doing my nails. hey? Why not, someone has to keep the economy going.....heheheh....we can't all be MPs or CM. For the rest of us ordinary malaysians life goes on.

Next I am going to color my hair to hide the " not black ones ".... Hahaha. That is the only thing on earth that grows well without TLC ....don't you think? Wish my wallet has the same tendency.

It's exam week here as it is in most of Malaysia so, most parents are on full anxiety alert. Its almost always the parents who are anxious and not the kids themselves. Schools are out at 12 noon so no lunch dates for me as most of my friends have kids still in school. Those who don't are on grandmother duty. I am the in between.

Ok, as time and tide waits for no man, I have to be off on the next errand ....chao...

Down right religious?

If you think I have gone down right religious, well you are not too wrong. I am trying to be a good christian. After all I have been one for 26 years. Its only lately that I feel the need to to get to know Him. It isnt because that I was in the deeep end or something but I felt that I cant shoulder all the self imposed worries and anxieties on my own.....hahaha.

After learning more, I found that God will bear all my worries ( some self made ) and anxieties for me. Now that's a good deal if I may say so myself. So, why not? He is omnipotent, so I can call on Him anywhere, anytime and for anything. Great bargain ! And he does respond, I know, I have experienced it a few times. That is why now, I pray a lot for everything I fear, I worry, I want, I need and more.

Having said that, I have a weak mind, so evil does lurk into it and cast doubts. Solution? Pray harder ! Lets start now.....

Eat I didnt ! Think I did !

Well, I was supposed to eat my way through my 1 week stay in Malacca but, I just didnt and somehow I couldnt. The need to eat everything I have missed is gone. I was quite happy to eat at home. Strange this onset of aging....hahaha.

I spent time with mum, so I guess that is good. I spent time with my old friends too. I also spent time in bed as I was down with vomiting and diarrhea one Tuesday nite. So my last 2 days in Malacca were spent eating oats and porridge.......sob! sob! and to think we were planning to have Thai food and Japanese. Anyway, better oats than no food at all.

After the sudden death of my brother in law at the age of 54, many of us woke up from our own self impose comatose state of living to realize that we have wasted a lot of precious time doing unimportant things. We put " worth " on little efforts of love,kindness, compassion and righteousness...that is when we have the time. When,in actual fact, it should have been the way of life and not just a " convenience " as and when.

We take all our loved ones for granted, we chase after monetary gains and attach ourselves to materialistic things...blame it on the herd instinct, blame it on DNA, blame it on glossy magazines, whatever . We cant afford to stop to smell the roses in fear that if we did we would have to eat plain porridge instead of scallops...if you get my drift.

Having said that, how do we stop earning, when most of us have hefty bills for our homes, education, health, cars etc etc . Are we to give up most of it and lead a simple life ? Are we to cut down our expenses and send the kids to the college down the road? How? Its scary !

How about if we try very hard to put God first, than family, friends, followed by
work and money. ( Money isnt evil, man is ) . As God doesnt want us to be poor either, than its ok to have $$$, but do use it to carry out God's work. Dont know if this will work but, hey, what have we got to lose? I am all game for it.

Mr.Haze is back

Yes the haze is back with a vengeance. The clear sky is gone and the skyline is all but a blur. I am still in Malacca. Will be going home tomorrow. I have been away so long that I miss my friends and my home. So many things happened this month that we must live life to the fullest. A good man has gone, leaving the rest of us to mourn the loss, but he left behind an amazing maze of wonderful warm memories.

Life as we know it continues and for what's its worth we have to live it like its the last day. After all the celebrating with my classmates some of whom I have not seen in 34 years, my stomach has finally called it quits and decided to put up a concert.....after a bout of diarrhea and vomiting, I now have to spend the last 2 days in Malacca eating porridge. Just as well I had a lot to eat with my friends. Oh well, there's always next time, mustn't be too greedy.

My folks are alright, they have their ups and downs but on the whole, it's good. I didn't do much , just lazing around. Guess I am still recovering from my trip to UK, the funeral and the long trip to Malacca. Cant complain. God has been good to me.Now as I sit here in my father's patio listening to the sound of the fountain I wander what's in store tomorrow. I hope the rest of 2010 will be quiet and peaceful.

Just received an SMS from my sister in law, Pat, that her daughter Megan has been scheduled for a caesarian tomorrow. She is expecting twins please pray for their safe delivery. Now that would make me a grand aunty....woah! .....

Viva CHIJ 150 ! Happy birthday

Yes ! My old school is 150 years old. That makes me.....well old. last nite we had an anniversary celebration at Century Makota in Malcca. 500 past pupils attended a gala dinner with a few celebraties......our old teachers and past principals. What a nite of reminiscing
, laughter and catching up for the lost 30 years of friendship.

Students who graduated as far back as 1955 came. The oldest past pupil is a lady of 91....so we are still young. the celebrations started with a mass at the school chapel at 8.30am. We finished at 11.30pm. What a nite! I finally met up with my past principal
, Sr. Anne Wong. Everyone had a glorious time with their classmates.

The next one will be in 25 years time, Well, some of us won't be around.....so enjoy we did.

Sadness is in the air

one is never prepared for the lost of a loved one.Never is too mild to describe the untimely passing of a great human being, my brother in law Edmund Chong. he was such a good man that we all ask " WHY ". I am afraid there is no answer. Only God knows. We have to accept it and thank God that we had him for 54 years. So many people came to honor him and to pay flowering tributes to his life his deeds and his infectious smile.

I can hear his voice calling me " aunty Viola" and me answering " hello uncle Edmund" In fact I collected coffee from England so that when he next visit me I have his favorite drink ready.

The family is still in disbelieve even though he was finally put to rest yesterday. Now his family has to make a very big adjustment to life without him. Tears flowed till the tank is empty. Our hearts broke into tiny unsaveable pieces. We keep using his name in our conversation as if he is still around. Such was his infectious happy personality left in our hearts forever. I am so blessed to have been given the privilege to be his sister in law.

None of us will recover from this loss. We have to believe that God had a reason. Love HIM and love the life He has blessed us with.

Fairness is for the birds

we know that life is unfair but , sometimes it's more than unfair it's down right meaningless and tragic.My brother in law,54, was tragically killed in an accident on sat. A nicer man you can't find. I am trying not to ask WHY but the question creeps in from time to time, I know God has a reason and a plan. He closes a door and opens another. we have to be strong and now its the time to call on the Lord and seek comfort in his loving arms.

it's so hard not to cry when the family is in deep grieve. the children are so affected by it. No one is spared by this tragedy. the funeral will be on Thursday. from now till Thursday we will be in limbo of tiredness. it's so unfair. .....but life goes on for the rest of the world.

we never give a second thought when we see people grieving not until it touches us personally. then it hurts really bad. tears are never enough. lord give us strength.

tomorrow is another day.

Home sweet home

It's so good to be home. nothing beats sleeping on your own bed when your body feels like it has gone to Disneyland and back after riding on all the roller coasters 10 times..... If you get my drift. my lower back feels like I had been stepped on by a mammoth.....so much for going on a holiday. Its not the road trip that tire us out, it was the plane journey that took forever there and back.

I must say the 2 weeks there was interesting and fun and filling....food!!! the food on the plane was nice....surprise , surprise!. hurray for Royal Brunei. I only wish that their connecting flights was more convenient. We had to wait in Brunei for 8 hours to catch a flight to 20 min flight to KK. Your Majesty do something!!!!!!!

We did all the touristy sights so we walked a lot, a lot, a lot....now I have muscles on my thighs......move aside, Sylvester Stallone!!!

4 days in London was more than we could take. So when we left, no one was sad, its too crowded in London with tourists.

We set up base in Oxford with two very nice people. they extended their warm hospitality and made us feel at home. Of course it helps that their home is so nice. Then we drove to Scotland. We stayed in Edinburgh and did more touristy things. We drove up to St. Andrews
To the home of GOLF. had a pub lunch and drove back to Oxford all in 1 day. ....mad!

then we did more interesting touristy things in Oxford. The men went to play golf so Morgan and I had chance to go shopping. Nothing to buy as it's all autumn and winter stuff on sale. went to the famous Biscester Village where one can find all the branded stuff. Wow! Suddenly I felt like I was in China....they were everywhere.....I think money grow on trees in China. I didn't find the place enticing . We have Star Hill and Pavillion in KL and KLCC. People actually come by the bus loads to shop there, no kidding.


Lorena, our friend took us punting. She taught the boys the art of punting. They enjoyed it vey much. No one fell in the river but Jordan lost his pole. It got stuck in the branches of a tree by the bank....hahaha. We managed to retrieve it and continued on without much ado.I must say the best punt man is Sheldon.

We drove to Cardiff to visit another friend. Had tea and left promising to visit again. Then we shot off to visit Noel at Hatsfield. Took him out for dinner. Had Chinese of course!!! By this time we had burgers coming out of our ears. Rice and fried egg would have been heaven sent.

The flight home was ....aihhhhh uggggg.....couldn't sleep a wink so I watched 5 movies. ....oh, I love my home.


The twins couldn't wait to start uni. So we drove them there on 3/10. Spent a few hours with them and left later then planned.

And so our 2 week vacation soon came to an end. We were tired and ready to go home.

Uk in the rain

we have been in England for 11days now. we have had more rainy days than sunny ones. But still we have had a blast with the kids driving every where....in the rain. Luckily we have the $2 raincoats that I bought from Servey.

Noel was the first to be dropped off, literally from the airport. He is settling in well. He starts today. We have visited him twice already to take him out for a good meal.

We dropped the twins off yesterday. They can't wait to start this new chapter of their life in uni. So with great sadness we left them to settle in. Today we are going shopping in Oxford . Since I have a lot of weight left, I can consider getting an elephant home...hahahah.

We have had nice food to eat so guess my fancy jeans won't fit for now. Luckily I brought my old pairs. Starting Thursday I have to eat porridge/water/vege/fruits.

The boys didn't like London as it was too crowded with dodgy people......people everywhere you look, tourist from Europe mainly. But like good tourist we visited a lot of historical sites, on foot!......Of course we took the tube there first....£5.60 per person per day all day pass.

We stayed at Travel Lodge . The charges are very reasonable for central London. Anyway after a two days Edwin got used to the £ so, he didn't feel that it is soooo expensive as we thought. A bottle of mineral water ,small bottle cost 89p. Food cost on average £5 pp per meal.....hamburgers. £5 for charsiew/siewup fan in Chinatown in London, so not too bad. The portions are huge.

Ok, got to go now......shopping, bye

Happiness is.....

I know for sure that the next 3 weeks will go by at the blink of an eye. All my boys , yes, all 4 of them are home. Hey this only happens at CNY, so I am happy. Now my home will be a home again with mess everywhere, things in places they dont belong, papers on chairs, floor, empty water bottles under the table etc etc....now if that isnt homely, I dont know what is.

One more visa to come and we are on our way to UK. I am praying hard that Sheldon will get it by next week. Nothing is impossible with the Lord.

My mum is doing as well as it could be. Some good days and some not so good. She can live with that. After staying with her for 8 days I do realised that it is very lonely at home when all the kids are gone. Especially when you dont feel too well and you dont feel like socializing, you cant eat so many things on the menu and you dont have people to chat with ....yeh, its lonely alright.

So, even though my house is messy, I still have 4 kids to talk to, guess that is a blessing.....must enjoy it NOW. Shall just walk over the clothes, papers and water bottles without complaining.........

Today I am planning to buy beds for my twins. They have been sleeping on a queen size bed for 19 years. Its a bit too squeezy, now that they are fully formed adults. The trouble is , the room isnt big enough for 2 single beds. Plan A : mattress on the floor. Plan B : Pull out bed. Plan C : 2 single beds. Plan D : keep the original.

Decisions decisions,.....

Family videos a must.

Well, I have nothing on my hands except time. While looking after my mum, and I do mean " looking after ".....only use my eyes...and mouth...hahaha....we have been watching family events etc etc taken on my mum's camcorder. What a good time mum and I had sharing all these precious moments. I so enjoyed watching and her telling me who's who. Saw all my cousins I have not seen in a zillion years. Its a zillion years cos everyone's hair is white.

This sharing really gave my mum energy. Guess its something that gives her great pleasure. I missed so many of the happy events in their lives. I thank God that they have so many good friends. Sadly a few of them are no longer here.

I too went out with my classmates last nite, 2 of them. We have been in touch since time inmemorial....just after the dinosaurs became extinct!!! We had a good time reminicing about our school days , about our kids etc etc. The only thing we didnt do was count our wrinkles.I am so glad I will be meeting more of them in Oct at the 150th anniversary celebrations of our old school CHIJ. Cant wait for 15th Oct to come.

The sun is out

Well, I am finally in Malacca. Took over the nursing duties from Lorna. Today is the 1st day only. Mum is better. Tired due to the inactivity for the past 8 days and also due to the medication...I think.

Its no fun when parents get old. Guess I better experience the after care so I know what to expect when my turn comes. The main problem I think is communication. They talk but they dont listen. We talk and they also want to talk, so they dont listen. The mind isnt focus. Its travelling in all direction except in that of the speaker. I hope its isnt genetic!!!

Its also the feeling that she is helpless, I mean she thinks she is helpless. I beg to differ. I think that the elderly should as far as possible get up and do things for themselves. If they dont then their legs get weak and their mind losses the ability to focus. I hope I remember all these when I am older....hahaha

Oh well, have to wait and see.

Its raining in Spain

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I wrote on my blog. With the funeral and all its dashing about over, another drama unfolds. One by one in the family has been diagnose with glaucoma. Nobody is blind yet, thank god for that, but it has caused shock waves to ripple through the family grape vine. So we all went to check.

Edwin has the beginnings of this dreadful disease so eye drops has to be religiously applied for the rest of his life to arrest its development. The others have it worst so they too have to put on eye drops everyday for the next 30 odd years or more. The only person who actually has healthy eyes is my mother in law who is 86. She only had cataract which has since been removed so, her eyesight is better than all of combined. What a laugh! They dont make eyes like they used too. Now its all made in China.

I went for my 1st checkup on Friday last week in KK. Nothing wrong with my eyes as far as I know, apart from shortsightedness. Well, well, What do you know? No cataract. Hurray! No glaucoma. Double hurray! But, there was a tear in my retina. A slight tear but with time and if unattended to would eventually get bigger.The end result is retina detachment. The curtains come down and you see nothing at all. So I had it lasered closed there and then. A simple procedure which took about 2 mins....zap! zap!

And RM800 later the hole is no more. But new holes can appear as my eyeballs are stretched due to my long sightedness of -12 and -11. So I will have to make sure I visit the good doctor once a year. There goes my shopping money...hehehe. Guess its better a tear than glaucoma huh? The lesser of the two evils. What else can tear??

This doesnt mean I am clear of cataract though. The doctors said that most people have cataract, its only a matter of when. God willing, mine wont appear till I am 70. So if you havent checked your eyes yet and you are past 50, do go NOW.

Stupid or what?

Sometimes I feel so dumb....cant even send simple emails with photos attached, but then again, maybe the computer is dumb....hahaha.

I sent so many and some can open and some cant. How do you explain this?? Apparently a Law degree is useless when it comes to explaining the simple workings of a computer that any 10 year old can understand. Well, I am not 10 and I am not " simple ". Go figure.

Now my kids are not around so, who do I ask? Have to act stupid and ask the computer guy again. What will he think of me?....stupid lady lah!!! Guess by now, after half a century I should be use to it huh? ....okokok....tomorrow I will ask.

What happened to the good old days when we used a letter opener to open a letter? The photos are sure to be inside the envelope. Now they are lost in cyber space. I wander where the lost and found department in cyber space is? Any idea?

The bottom line, learning is tough, remembering what you have learnt is even tougher.........ahhhh, life goes on, more grey cells die as we speak, so the connection gets worse.

The Great Divide

I have been saddened and disappointed by a statement made recently. I am so naive to think that just because we are all children of God that we are equal before him. Actually in God's eyes we are. However, humans view it differently. We may worship the same God, his son Jesus and the holy spirit but on earth we are divided by race and religion.

Within the same religion we are again divided by the different denominations. The Lutherians, the Roman Catholics " dan lain lain" . Our style of worship differs, our prayers differ a little, our interpretation of the Holy Book differs and so our preaching and believe differ too.

However there is a passage in the Bible which says we must love our neighbours. The interpretation of this passage in Luke 10 : 25-37 is clear and precise, Jesus even gave an example. It can not be misinterpreted any other way. Sadly, even with this concise explanation of the meaning " neighbours" people still refuse to open their hearts to welcome another from a different denomination, even in the spirit of fellowship. This is so sad. Now we are behaving like some other religion which feels that merely by association they followers will be " duped " into converting. I thought we are more intelligent than those others. But I am wrong. We are still in the dark ages.

Recently I was advised not to invite a speaker of a different church to come for fellowship on the grounds that the group is strictly a Catholic fellowship. At this point I would like to say that I am of the Christian faith. So what am I doing in a Catholic group, leading this catholic group weekly? How naive of me to think that we are one. We are one only on the surface. When push came to shove, we, who are not Catholics, are merely guests by invitation. This is the reality of life.

I was greatly disappointed by this revelation. The range of feelings I went through was intense. I prayed for understanding. I shared but comfort did not come. So, upon a friend's advise that I can only find the answer in prayers ,I prayed. Listen, she says when the Holy Spirit talks to you. I continued to pray.

She was right. The Holy Spirit gave me an answer while I was in the shower.

Who am I to feel disappointed by a discriminatory statement? Who am I to judge? I disappoint God every day . Now I know how God feels by my careless attitude towards his love for me. Everyday ,by my words, deeds and actions I disappoint him.I commit sins without fail, when I drive, when I am in a hurry and by intentionally being sarcastic. Yet he forgives me and still loves me. How I have hurt him all these years.

Armed with that knowledge I could let go of my sadness and disappointment and be at peace. Sinners can not be the judge of others. How can I complain of the hurt of disappointment when I myself am guilty of the same daily ? Instantaneously I felt free. It is a good feeling. I will pray for us all that we will be blessed with the faith to " love our neighbours " without condition. I hope one day we will be able to invite anyone we like to share with us at our weekly gathering regardless of race or religion.

In the mean time I will continue to serve the group to the best of my capability armed with God's love, his teachings of righteousness and truth and his gift of participation in his kingdom, power and glory and, life everlasting in heaven. Glory be to the Father.

Moulin Rouge !!!

Annie, Diana and I have been practicing so hard for tonight. We will be great !!! Will tell you how many rotten eggs were thrown later....hahahaha. Probably all will be aimed at me. Anyway, we are of three levels, ie, Annie in her 30's, Diana in her 40's and me pass the half century mark,....age has its advantage. I can use loss of memory as an excuse if and when I do make mistakes. No.No. I shall be great !! ( must practice positive thinking. )

Now I am supposed to be at the hairdresser doing my hair. What hair??? Nothing to do with a few strands.....hehehe....need a miracle to look like a godess, which both Annie and Diana will be tonite. Hopefully they look so great that all eyes will be on them, then I can dance and be relaxed. The old eyes looking at me wont be able to see so clearly. Body too stiff to wiggle like Annie can. Dont get old if you like dancing. The body will just not listen to the mind, trust me. Like the internet line, you pay for the fastest line but still the service is slow.

To go or not to go to the hairdresser? .....

Sunset

I have not been on for sometime as my beloved father in law passed away on the 23/6 after 2 weeks in hospital and after nearly 6 years in bed. May he rest in peace and God bless his soul.

The family all came home and said their goodbyes before he passed. My mum in law was very composed throughout the event. Everyone rallied together in this time of sadness and pulled together as one. I am so proud to be part of this very close family, to experience the unity, love and support before and after his passing. I feel that God has blessed me so by allowing me to be part of the Tsens.

Now mum has to go on with her life and catch up with the rest of the world after being home bound for so long. Her kids have taken her to KK for a week, then off to Melbourne at the end of Nov to be great grand ma to Megan's child.

In the meantime everyone is busy with this and that. Life is so precious. Live it fully every second.

The curtains are coming down

This morning we woke up to a beautiful sunshiny day. However, its not sunshiny for all of us. My father in law took a turn for the worst. He hasnt been eating well for the past 2 days. Today he didnt even wake up. His has trouble getting a lung full of air cos of the massive amount of phlegm in his lungs. His fingers have turned blue and he doesnt even feel when we tickle him. The family has been informed. We are at this moment still waiting for the doctor to make a housecall.

All our friends are praying for him. May God be merciful. My mother in law is so sad. I think she knows. Sometimes we know but we are just not ready. Who is ever ready for death? Its in God's hands now........

Hot but sane

It sure has been a hot week. hot hot hot....thats all I hear where ever I go. Even when it rains its hot rain. The week seems to just seemleesly go by without much ado. The first week of June has gone by....my god, what will tomorrow bring? Will we become older and wiser? I think not.

My week has gone by at the wink of an eye. I have been to KK twice and back. Fortunately things have all gone according to plan. Praise the Lord. Sheldon is now in Malacca stuffing himself with knowledge and food. Noel has driven to the East Coast for the weekend. We, in Sandakan have just been couch potatoes, having no interesting places to go...sob sob. Actually I so like to stay at home.

Even when we were in KK we had nothing much to do. WE drove around to look at all the big and "beautiful " houses. Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so....I see with my little eye big houses with high maintainence bills, needing more then 3 maids, and only they know the electricity bills every month.....goodness, the houses are so big that you probably need a walkie talkie to look for the occupants. Even the cockroaches need to have HP to contact each other. Nice but.....

We enjoyed the food though, especially ngau chap. Why is it there is no ngau chap stall in Sandakan ?...hu? huh? why? why? .

All I have been doing so far is eat. We had the LSG in my house and we ate spagetti and lots of other goodies, especially Siew Kiet's bread pudding. Then, on Friday we had dinner at Heng Loong for the IWC meeting. Tonite we are going for bak kut teh. Arent we blessed.

This week I will be doing all the same things as I have a lot on my plate at the moment. I am so busy but still I think I have put on a wee bit of weight....darn the KK food. How not to eat?

Well, I am looking forward to all my activities this week. With God's blessing and guidance from the Holy Spirit, my week will be wonderfully happy.

100% Kylie in KK

Well, what I surprise I had when I came back from dinner on wednesday and was told that Linda had invited us to KK to attend a charity dinner and concert. All the money collected goes to the Paliative Care Society of KK. The concert was to be performed by Kylie ( Minogue )....impersonator....hahaha. To tell the truth I wouldnt know even if the real Kylie stood beside me.

We had to dress up as it was a black tie affair. So out came my gown. Fortunately I could still get into it. So we drove to KK for the big nite. It was grand indeed with Madhadir Lokman of TVM as MC. Most came all dreesed up but , some Malaysians, as you know do not understand the meaning of "black tie" . Met an old friend, Anne, Claire Ma and MieKiu's daughter Sophia. The food was ok. All in all we enjoyed ourselves. The music was a tad too loud and too fast but its not her fault that we are too old for her music...hehe. My thanks goes to Edmund and Linda for inviting us. One thing I must say is that Malaysians are generous people, the rich ones !!!

We stayed in Promenade apartments. Clean inside the room but the out side hasnt been painted for years. Well for $172.50 per nite for 4, we cant complain. Next week we are trying out Celine Hotel at City mall.

We drove back on Saturday in time to attend the IJM 25th Anniversary Dinner at Hakka Assoc Hall. Now the show was good. Everyone enjoyed listening to Joanne Yeoh play her violin ( touted to be the Vanessa Mae of Malaysia ) and we laughed to Buddy Lauren's antics and jokes and to songs belted out by Martha Clarice. Thank you IJM for an enjoyable nite. The food was good. What a weekend.

Home at last !!!

I got my house back at last. Exactly 2 months to this day!!!!All the workers are out and my house will be a home again. Just have to wait for my kakaks to clean up and put all the things back where they belong.....ahhhhh.

Well, actually come to think of it, it wasnt all that bad. At least we had visitors everyday. May even miss chatting to them....nooooo!!!!. I do have to thank them for a job well done though. They worked really hard to finish it on time and I think they did a good job. Not mnay things broken along the way. Just a bit of the frame of my big picture.

The cleaning bit is the worst as even though we clean everyday the floor still doesnt feel 100% dust free. But my house, my garden wall and my roof looks brand new. What a coat of paint cant do!

Never dared to imagine this day would come so soon. Now for the painful part. Pay the bill !!!!.hehehe. I have paid some already so there wouldnt be an avalanche of bills on my head. The biggest would be the house itself, then the painters, the the paint ....woah!!...pain pain pain. Nothing paper with the agong's head cant fix.....well lets be positive.! Its only paper. Now where did I keep all that monopoly money??

Spring clean in the spring!

Well, its that time of the year. The time to throw things out that you have not used for more than 5 years. For austerity sake we keep it for 5 years....you know, just in case. I thought I am good at throwing things out, but my son is even better. He, Morgan throws everything out like as if they cost nothing. So we managed to tidy a lot!!

However he is good at throwing other people's things away, but his own he takes 2 days to do it.

We have managed to clear the things from 3 bedrooms, an achievement in itself...no eye see policy. More to be thrown out, like old furniture which my son says its dated...old fashioned. He is right but our " so sayang" policy gets in the way. Now have to close both eyes.

My house is finally looking good again with new lights fixed into smooth white ceiling...ahhh. The walls are so white and clean. Now the painters are doing the doors and then upstairs. Not looking forward to the invasion of privacy but...good bye cracks!!

Cant wait to get my home the way it was with a few changes...de-cluttering is the buzz word for now. Less is more.

The main problem when you de-clutter is that you have to throw out the stuff. But sometimes the things are collectibles so storage becomes a problem. If only somethings have an expiry date . When the time comes it just disintegrates into thin air. Nice.

Ok. Got to go and buy more vacuum bags. So handy for storage of pillows, cushions, blankets and clothes, but, they are so expensive. Any cheap solution anyone?

Fun Taiwan 3

Fri 23/4 : Breakfast lousy, very lousy. Went to Yue Liu to see natural rock formation . Rocks erroded by the waves. Fantastic. Drove up the mountain about 30mins from Taipei. More shops. Rained so heavily that all our jeans and shoes got very wet. But it was worth it tho. The snacks there are just ....yummy. We tried a few stuff, great. The only problem was our stomach not big enough, what a pity. Filled the tummy and emptied the wallet in the rain...hahaha.

Mongolian steamboat was on the menu that nite. ok ok only. Then ,it was last nite of shopping at Wu Fan Pu. The object of the trip was to finish what ever NT you still had in your wallet. Bed time at 11pm after a frantic attempt at packing cos only allowed 20kg.

Wake up call at 5am. On the bus at 6am. Airport at 6.40am. Breakfast good. Yes at last the breakfast was good. The hotel gave us packed breakfast of sandwich and soya milk. Yummy. Should have had packed breakfast every morning. We had our breakfast standing up outside the toilet. Yep! Convenient, eat and go. The airasia counter not opened yet. The plane left on time. Hoorah!!

Everyone was so hungry, but guess what? No food for sale....no typing error here. They sold out all the food on the flight from KK to Taiwan. So, this flight from Taiwan to KK no food. That is airasia for you. Luckily we are all familiar with cheap airlines. So everyone had buns in their handbags....hahaha...yep. Handbags are not for lipstick only. So we all had buns for brunch. Arrived at KK, took our luggage and went straight to KKIA, Mcdonalds !!!. Food! The rest as they say is history.........home sweet home.

Conclusion: Visit Taiwan only if you have no where else to go. Or, pay for a better tour.

Fun Taiwan 2

Kaoshiung was our next pit stop for 2 days. Its the southern most city. Visited the biggest shopping mall in Taiwan. They gave us like 1 1/2 hours so we couldnt really appreciate the place. Lunch ok. We bought some t-shirts and sotong. Its amazing how many types of flavor they can mix the sotong with!

We went for a river cruise at 2pm in the afternoon. Stupid tourists! Us! That took 20 mins. Maybe its a very short river...from 1 bridge to the other and back. More like from one end of the bathtub to the other. Then we checked into the hotel and had dinner there. No nite market that nite....so we had more time to sleep and watch TV.

Tue 20/4 : Breakfast lousy. Visited Fo Guan Shan temple to see the giant Buddha. It was long walk all the way up in the hot sun. Had an inch of sun block on my face. Then we went to another temple. This time we were told to walk into the mouth of the dragon and walk out from the butt of the tiger. Yep! Anything for good luck.

Had lunch at the Hakka village where they used cheap plastic utensils. Maybe they thought we might steal the spoons and plates. We ate just to fill the stomach. Get the picture? Dinner as usual, more vege then meat. Then its the nite market again.

Wed 21/4 : Drove to Taichung. Middle of Taiwan, not the supermarket at mile 4. The weather played up and it rained all the way. We couldnt get down at Puli Chung Tai temple. Sat in the bus. Finally the rain stopped and we went down and took a quick look around. Very nice and modern temple but no time to see all. Then off to Sun Moon Lake. Had lunch, then like sheep to slaughter, off to the Bee Place...hahaha . The royal jelly shop where money could not be used....so, out came the plastic. The stuff so expensive, that unless you paid with plastic you wont have money for the nite market again. Rain rain go away. Nite market again.....yawn!!

Thurs 22/4 : Taipei here we come. Had lunch at Din Tai Fong. Yes, the famous place for siau loong pau. Nice, very nice. After lunch stopped at the wharf to see a bridge. Apparently many movies have been taken there. Why? I really dont know. To me, nothing special. For dinner we had steam boat. Ok lah. Then to the famous 101 shopping centre where 1 plastic isnt enough. In my humble opinion KLCC is better and bigger. After walking in 101, we fell to the level of the nite market again. This time most of us just sat down and looked at the people walking up and down looking at the clothes. That was how tired we were of shopping.

Fun Taiwan ???????

We just got back from Taiwan, Pat and I, last nite. Fun it wasnt. Boring it was. Maybe we joined the wrong tour. According to Channel 707 , the travel channel, Taiwan is fun.....hmmmm. Do you think there could be 2 Taiwans?....hahaha.

The journey started with a bomb! No kidding. We were stuck at LCCT KK for 4 hours cos of the bomb found in the drain by the runway. we finally took off 4 1/2 hours later missing our morning sighseeing trip in Taiwan. For that they gave us back NT200.

Sat 17/4 : Arrived at Taoyang Int Airport at 1.30pm. Took the bus to the train Stn to catch the bullet train to Taipei. Had our first taste of Taiwanese cuisine....hotdog, hahaha. Well, that was the only thing that looked familiar. It tasted nice. Then it was a long walk to catch the bullet train. It was an old bullet tho. Not as fast nor as new as the one in Tokyo. Old bullet bites the dust!

Actually we missed the train, yeh, on the 1st day already late. There were 33 people in the group. Some were quite old so they could not walk as fast. Luckily the guard let us catch the next one. Then we took the MRT to The Chiang kai Shek Memorial Square. Nothing to see but bigger than life buildings. Just like in China. Dinner followed, ok lah!. It was cold outside.

Then we went shopping at the nite market. Apparently Taiwan is famous for its nite markets. We bought doughnuts for supper. Then we checked into Champion Hotel...haha. Well the hotel is nice.Room 202.

Sun 18/4 : Lousy breakfast. Theme Park was the next place. What do old people do at a theme park?? What else, grumble grumble. We had to queue for everything as half of China was there.
We managed to catch 1 show in the 4 hours we were there. Lousy lunch. NT 150. Dinner was better. The restaurant looked like a place out of a science fiction book. The owner is an artist so his whole place is decorated in a weird arty fashion. The food was ok, but the aircon was so cold. Maybe he wanted us to feel like we were on Mars.

Then nite market again. We couldnt shallow another nite market so Pat and I walked along the main street instead. Bought some very nice shoes for RM19. Couldnt believe it. Well, will tell you if the shoe last a week when I start wearing them...hahaha, for RM19 what do you expect? After that we went to Chung Yu Shopping Mall. Big but not as good as Mega Mall. The Hotel was terrible, the bed was hard and the pillow yakky.

Mon 19/4 : Lousy breakfast. Followed by a lousier train ride....trolley train, clickety clack...didnt understand a word the train guide was saying. But from the looks of all there, no one was paying attention. So, I didnt miss anything. The only stop was a milk farm. What a laugh. Milk farm indeed. More like a cow shed with a shop attached. Of course everyone bought goodies made from milk ( what else) . We didnt buy anything. The nougat tasted like cardboard with sugar. Lunch ok.

One good morning

This morning I led my first prayer meeting at Li Fah's house. It went well as everyone helped and participated without prompting. As I am new to this I needed all the help I could get and I told them so.

We sang songs we have not sung in a long time and we especially enjoyed the Easter songs. We read the bible and shared our experiences. Of course we also side tracked, that is the fun part. In the middle of this we stopped and ate chocolates, you know to re-energised....hahaha...more like to increase our sugar intake so we can sing better, as they say, high on sugar!! Everyone proclaimed that the chocolates werent sweet so, ....what does that mean? ....it means we can eat more lah!! that is exactly what some did. Not sweet bah !

Lunch as usual at Li Fah's house was good. Its good at every body's house. Sometimes you dont know whether we came for the prayer or the food...hehehe. Of course we ate more chocolates as dessert (who's to stop us) in addition to the tong shui. Greed and over eating are 2 vices allowed on thursdays! chatting while stuffing ourselves is one part of multitasking we do best. What can I say, boy we are good! We also enjoyed fresh dates and dried olives. All that was missing was turbaned men fanning us as we ate....like in arabian nights?...or maybe in the court of Fu Man Chu?

We enjoyed so much that we have planned to go to karaoke and make noise...ahem!....sing??? If the moon crashes or your dogs start howling next wed at 8pm you know why. We only live once.

Begging works !

Well, today all the workmen came in for work. I was so happy as work would progress . They started upstairs, 4 rooms in all and , hey presto, they finished all the work. Not bad for 2 guys. hahaha.....the patches were very small cos I didnt want them to knock like they did downstairs. They went beserk down stairs and knocked everything that sounded empty.

Upstairs they only knocked where they could see a bulge. What a mess, so many things to move from 1 room to another, like playing merry go round. Of course it was happy dust day ! All in all the workmen were pretty accomodating. They tried their level best not to mess up.Poor things, we were standing there directing dust traffic.

I literally begged and " angkat kaki" of the master craftsman to get him to finish my bedroom. He did even though he said it couldnt be done at first....the power of sweet talk!! Men!!!. They fall for it all the time.....hehehe.

Now I can relax and go for holiday as they dont need to come upstairs, not for a while anyway, that is till the painter comes along. The next room to be bludgeoned to death is the maids' room. Dry cement dry!

Living in a war zone

You know, sometimes you wonder how people can live beside garbage dump, smelly rivers, clogged drains??......well, actually its very easy. You just get use to it, the smell, the filth,the eye sore. I have been living in a war zone for almost a month. we started knocking on 11/3, now its the 4/4 and no sign of finishing any month soon.

So how do we feel?...numb to it all, no eye see, just carry on like nothing happened. Really! WE walk up and down the stairs round the furniture etc etc, look at the workers, smile and life goes on. It isnt as bad as it looks. Its the dust that gets into the eyes and on all the things thats annoying.

The knocking starts at 7.40am, so its wake up call for Edwin and me. The kids sleep through all the noise and wake up very late. No one is bothered or stressed by it all. Amazing adaptibility dont you think? Now you know why people can live in yakky smelly places and still be happy. Well, I dont know if they are happy but you dont see the Sim Sim people going on strike or those living in Karamunsing complaining to Green Peace. You have pilot strike, postal strike, rail strike but never the slum dwellers strike. There is even a movie on it!!

I think my house will be in this bombed out mess for a few more months. There is still the upstairs.........sometimes I do feel like throwing up but , whats the use....I will have to clean up the mess myself....noooo!

On the brighter side of this unfortunate event is that I might as well take the chance to do some improvements. Change the lights , change the wall color, do spring cleaning, you know the usual stuff people do when they have nothing else to do........well, out of the ashes, a beautiful home will arise..........dreaming is free!!!!

breakdown on the highway

I am or rather was going along on the highway of life, on the fast lane doing so many things that enjoy at this point in my life when I had a break down. My neck hurts. It got so bad I could not bend it backwards without pain. So, what did I do? Nothing. Just went on my merry way. Rubbing yoko yoko, chinese plaster etc etc.

Of course it didnt work. So I had to go see the chinese acupuncturist. To be poked and cupped, leaving me with red marks on my back. Did it work? Well, its better but still need more visits to the doctor. He said that the 6/7th vertebrae is pinching on my nerves. I really dont care who is pinching who...I just want it to stop, so I can look at my ceiling and admire the cement handiwork of the workman...hahaha.

I also went for massage, foot, neck and shoulders.....no effect. I will stick to acupuncture for the time being. Well, now I have to cut down on my yoga and not do all those poses that involve squashing my neck. I have to increase my swimming days as this is the best exercise at the moment. No pressure on the neck. Just spoil the hair. Hair or neck? Hmmmm........difficult decision huh? Luckily doing belly dancing doesnt involve any neck movement, quite the contrary.

One exercise I cant stop doing which tires the neck is blogging!!!!hahaha......

Memory in a sieve

My newest craze is taking photos and downloading them into face book or email. Well, I just learned the technique so I had better put it to use least I forget. So all my friends who are in the photos will get them asap. Next year you might not get it at all....new broom sweeps well...

Its fun, but, like I learnt recently, the camera has only so big a memory. Darn it! I had a good occasion to take and the memory was full. Delete! Delete! Of course, why didnt I think of that? The truth be told, I didnt know how. So Sampah. First timer with camera in hand. I thought you could take pictures till kingdom come. The kingdom came and went and so did the occasion, so no photos lah!!. Sack the camera lady!

I had to get the instruction manual out to learn how to delete. I wanted to ask my son but, I might as well learn without the mental insults, if you know what I mean. Dont worry, I did download all the pictures onto my desk top folder. Yes I can open a folder all by myself and fly the photos in 1 by 1 ....direct from the camera...not bad for a lame duck !

So now I have photos for Inner Wheel Club, Ladies Sharing Group, family and others. I even down loaded videos. But the attempt drew laughter from my boys cos the videos were 1 min, 9 sec, 7sec and one even shorter. I have decided not to do videos cos they take too long to down load....darn TM Net. Paid for the fastest line and only get snail rail!!!!..snail with no legs.

Oh my God !

Yes indeed , oh my god......on Thursday I was selected rightly or wrongly to be the new leader of the Ladies Sharing Group. I have to fill Winnie's very big shoes. See,the photo attached, Winnie, me and my assistant Shirley. You see , Winnie is a pro. Me? I am nut in a bag of almonds. We put our hands in the bag and pick out a paper. If you get the piece with the No.1 on it......wham bang you are the new leader. Well, I had to pick the one with the No.1, of course.

Congratulations all around, but wait, there must be a mistake! How can someone like me, who had not even reached page 12 of the bible lead a group of ladies who go to church every week without fail. The irony of it all. But then again maybe God wants me to learn, like about time I pick up the holy book and read. No more excuses, too long, too small, too thick....so on and so forth....guess you get the picture of the relationship I have with my bible right? married but divorced.

So wish me luck that I will be able to learn fast, recall what Winnie did for the past year and follow in her foot steps......hmmmmm....pretty tall order.

Having said all that, I tell myself, I can do it and I will do it well. After all, God must know what he is doing when he made my fingers pick that paper. Like Jordan says, everything we do is willed by God. Oh how I need your help Lord.!

And the earth shattered....

Hello, I am blogging from the only place that is not under attack, well actually my family rooms looks like it has been bomded....but oh well, what the hell....the whole house looks like that anyway.

Ok ,let me put you in perspective about the state of my 'home'...sob sob, the ceiling is on the floor in my living room, soon the dinning room will look like that too, followed by the utility room and the maids room. So far the miserly 2 workers have only managed to do the living room after 1 week. When they are going to speed to second gear only HE knows.

The gardeners are here too, trying to salvage whats left of the newly planted plants toed on by my little dogs, imagined if they were big dogs....then you wont even recognice the plants...hahahaha

The pond people are also here, cleaning out my pond filter, "The swamp thing" has made a home there together with the cousin of the Lochnes monster, who knows what else they will find in the filter....yaks. Slimy man!!

So now we live like refugees in a mansion bombed out. Just picture Chile and you will get the whole scenario. Did I say 6 months ? hmmmm......the good news is life still goes on. I am so busy doing so many things, plus 3 of my kids are home, massive marketing. Bought a 3kg chicken yesterday thinking there would be lots left for another meal.......fat chance. Only bones and wings left, maybe the neck and the butt.

Lets see, Norma is back so we are having dinner on Thursday. Friday I am attending IWC dinner and meeting at the New Century restaurant, Tuesday next, having dinner with another friend at home, Thursday having dinner at Sabah Hotel with 8 beauties. All these in between my yoga lessons and belly dancing lesson and swimming and going out for lunch with my boys.....wow, life is so full right now, and I am loving it!

Never a dull moment. Hey, we enjoyed our belly dancing lessons so much. Boy, you should have seen how the hips can wriggle. Who said old bones cant move? You not only hear the jingling of the bells attached to our scarves tied around our hips but also the creaking of the bones in time with the arabic music. But I must mention that the back and back of the thigh ( yeh, only one side) does hurt the day after, but only for a day or two. Smile and the world smiles with you.

Till, I write again.........

My ceiling is on the floor

Well, its not a grammatical error. My ceiling is on the floor. The workman came and knocked all the plaster off as the ceiling was threatening to fall on our heads sometime in the future. That bad was my ceiling!!!!.

So my living room and soon my dinning area will look like the aftermath of the earthquake in Chile. Now if I look up I can see the ribs of the top floor foundation, ie: the steel bars, or rather what used to be steel bars. Now they look like chocolate fingers criss-crossing my ceiling.

Oh the dust! Oh the dust !. Talk about dessert storms, well I dont need to visit Dubai to know the feeling. All I need is to park a camel or two and I can charge entrance fee for a mini Sahara dessert tour....hmmm. I have two sets of plastic curtains on my stairs just to stop the fine dust from invading our bedrooms....of course to no avail, but at least it keeps out about 80% of the dust.

How long this is going to be , only the contractor knows. I think, in my humblest opinion it will last for about 6 months, if we are lucky. About 3 weeks of knocking, as upstairs too need some attention, painting the steel bars with anti-rust ( too late, dont you think?) .Cementing the whole ceiling etc would take another 2 weeks, as the cement keeps dropping off when you try to stick it upside down, ( based on past observation). Then have to wait for the cement that has been plastered back to dry. Now that takes about 6 months, yeh, 6 whole months. This is because it is inside, in the house and the sun and its much need drying heat is outside, duh!

You just cant paint it if the cement isnt dry enough. This is the painful experience we learnt from our last attempt. Hopeful with the help on El Nino, the heat will dry the cement faster then we hope. I dont mean to be happy about the effects of El Nino but if we are going to suffer the consequences of this weather phenomenon, I might as well make use of it to dry my cement, right?

I am praying hard that this time we , the contractor and us, will get it right and we will never have to do this again till the next ice age. I must say that my maids have been heaven sent, as usual, doing so much without grumbling, and more importantly knowing what to do and when. Thank you God.

After this 3rd experience at renovation, I am going to start a new business as a Renovation Consultant. I know where to buy the cheapest plastic sheets so you can cover everything in your house. You can also cover your whole house itself when your neighbours are renovating theirs...hahaha.

What a nightmare! Its worst when the nightmare occurs in broad daylight and you have your eyes open.....aahhhhh. Its a dusty world right now.

Ok. some good news....I am going to learn belly dancing...dont laugh, the real belly dancers from Turkey are mostly not so young and not too thin...hahaha...so we, my few friends and I qualify. Well, we will give it a try till either we give up or Cindy gives up!. Wish me luck! Throw in a prayer or two while you are at it.

What's normal?

Well, everything is now back to normal, well as normal as it can be...if you dont count the earthquake in Chile, the tsunami that followed and so on and so forth. Life here in Sandakan "is normal" when the electricity fails or water cut for a few days.....so far, keeping my fingers crossed, these 2 items have been abnormal....hahaha, if you know what I mean !!!!!!!!

My kitchen has reopened after a long festive break of weddings and invitations. The exercise regime is back on track, exams are around the corner so, I guess all is well at the home front. But I am still hoping it would snow. Just for a while? hmmmm.....

This friday I will be off to KL and to Malacca for my mum's birthday. A few days early but what the heck, cant please everyone. Now, there is going to be an eating binge by my boys who already have a long list of what to eat when in Malacca. For those who dont know, Malacca is one of the best places to visit for food. Eat your heart out. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water BUT, the brain is saying ' watch it' dont want to look like Rosie O'Donald.

My ladies sharing group is also starting tomorrow after a 3 week break due to the absence of our great leader, Winnie.....oh great leader show thy power ! haha I love teasing her. I think sometimes she is annoyed but she takes it in her stride, a credit of a great leader indeed. Actually its time to pick a new leader as Winnie claims she has been at it for too long. 2 whole years ! Thats peanuts in Mathatir time.

We all want her to continue, why fix sonething that aint broke?.. but being the gracious lady she is, she wants to let others have a chance. On behalf of all the members I can say that we dont want or need the chance to walk in her shoes....hehehe....we are happy with our great leader, like the Koreans are happy with theirs, like China is happy with Who?..oppps Hu, like we are happy with ours. After all if you dont like them, just blow them to bits. Problem solved.....wash your hands, pick up the remote and watch "Friends"

Now this is life in the slow lane.

10 mins out of 24 hrs.

Yesterday, my mum was looking for me . She called twice but could not get me. I thought that something had happened. I finally " found" time to call her as I was truly busy. All she wanted was to talk to someone, anyone as she was feeling lonely. I felt annoyed at first as I thought something bad had happened. But, I am sad that my mum could not find anyone at home to talk to.

We have global communication, we have internet, we have sms, yet there are times when a person can feel alone. Whats happening? Is this what I am looking forward to in my old age when all my kids are too busy to pick up the phone to say hello? Is this what I have done to my mother? I was so busy doing my thing that I had no time to pick up the phone and spend 5 mins talking to one who had nurtured me, loves me without condition, cooked for me, drove me to school for 17 years, so happy to see me whenever I return home......What have I become?

How can this be? It is so easy to forget our parents when we have a full life, friends, plans, dinner parties, yoga and kids to think and fuss about. It is so easy to forget that they are getting old , as we always picture our parents to be as when we left them to get married. We assume that they will always be there as and when we need them. It is so easy to forget that they are getting older faster then us , that they are slowing down in all departments and that the level of aches and pains increases by the day.

It was a wakeup call for me when she said that she called me just to talk. I will try to call more often . Even though I know she will say the same thing over and over, the same topic, the same complain, the same pain,.....it is better then not to hear her voice at all. It is sad that I have taken her for granted, just because I dont need her now , that she doesnt need me either. When I was little I needed her, I depended on her, now when she is old, she needs me "just to talk", she depends on me to remember to call. Forgive me mum !!!!

Well, I called twice today, out of guilt but its a start I suppose.

What can be worst? To be lonely in an over populated world. It is so ironic. But the busier people get the more lonely the older generation will be. Technology cant take the place of human to human care and comfort, the human voice, the human hands, the human smile and the love that pours out from the human heart.

Dr. James Dobson once said that our parents dont want expensive presents, big angpows etc. All they want is " US ". A little of our time, to visit them, to call them, to have dinner together once in a while. He couldnt be more right.

So, what are you waiting for ? Write it down on your 2010 resolution list : to call parents more often. CALL NOW .

No time to sleep

Wow, what a great week it has been. I am running out of road to drive. I have been driving around so much I am now ready for the Grand Prix for Mums!!!!. Its a once a year thing, you know, when CNY comes, and all are home for the celebrations. What a blessing we have to be surrounded by family and friends and neighbours too.

Most of my pants are tight, no kidding, so I am worried as how I am going to get through the week and after if I cant sit comfortably now and eat as more dinners are on the menu. I am not complaining. Having food to eat is better then worrying about where the next meal is coming from.

We have an abundance of food and most of the time we waste so much. Then we read in the newspapers of people struggling to get 1 meal a day. Try as we may but we are still so wantonly wasteful. Not only that we are also eating endangered species like there is no tomorrow. Well, there will be no tomorrow for some animals if the chinese chefs have their way.

I feel bad contributing to that. But when its already on the atble, not to eat would be a sin too. My only solace is that I didnt order that.

Last nite we had a fantastic meal at Ocean King . Roslind Kan gave us a very nice dinner. We ate till we couldnt move and took home the extras, too costly to throw away, really. It was an Inner wheel meeting nite and CNY dinner all rolled in one hosted by Roslind, Siew Kiet and Susan. Everything was big on the table. My only regret was that I should have borrowed a maternity dress for the occasion. There was absolutely no room to put all that good stuff. Had to undo the top button of my p---- after the 2nd dish.

On top of that we had 2 cakes. Cheese cake and chocolate cake, that is, after we had our mango pudding....confused??? ...well to cut the long story short, we PIGGED ourselves !!!...get the picture? ...all 26 of us....luckily the wooden structure of Ocean King is strong enough.

What can I say? This year started with a big bang and still going strong. Chap Goh Mei is on sunday. More pigging!!!! I have started yoga but I seriously doubt that a few leg lifts would make a difference. Maybe jogging round Fulliwa , Tmn Tying and Sunny Estate may help ! Ok, Ok, who am I trying to kid. The only way is to turn into a rabbit and eat carrots for 1 month.

Nevermond lah! Enjoy while we still can. Thank God for the plentiful harvest and try to life a good life. Any better and we will all turn into pumpkins rolling around....hahaha.

Oh so humbled !

As I sit here to record my special day today, well you see its my birthday, I feel so humbled by the Blessings I have received from so many of my friends and sisters in law and my neighbour.

Today I turn 53 and instead of just having a simple birthday, I have had so many celebrations starting from before chinese new year. The first birthday party was hosted by my morning yoga friends at Sabah hotel before chinese new year. All 7 friends turned up, Mrs. Chu, Joanne, Elizabeth, Siew Siew, Maggie, Ah Hing and Ah Lan. Everyone came dressed up and we had a good time. Ah Hing made a cake. Elizabeth gave me a present. Thank you all for being my friends even though you all have to switch to speaking in English just because I cant speak chinese.

The next celebration was last night at Sunny Estate. My brother in law cooked seafood yee main and we ate a sumptous meal of that and satay and cake. There were no left overs. I even received a present from my sisters in law and family. I am humbled by their love.

Today my afternoon yoga friends told me we were going to Audrey's house to celebrate CNY,, ok, but it turned out they had planned a cake and food and the warmest friendship and laughter I can ever imagined. My friends, Audrey, Mable, Elizabeth , Ah Lan and I chatted and laughed so much, that we forgot the time. We had ice cream cake!! Francine, Mable's daughter joined these old aunties for a laugh too.

Tonight, Jazz, my neighbour and Micheal, her husband have invited the whole Tsen clan for a steam boat dinner. I called Jazz to tell her that I can bring a cake but she has already baked my favourite cake for me. So I am going to celebrate my birthday again tonite. How can I thank Jazz for so magnanimous a gesture for a neighbour who cant cook or bake cakes like she can? I am humbled by her kindness and generousity and her warm friendship she has extended to us ever since we got to know her.

On top of all these good news, Pui Lin and Pit Ha have also sent me a big super moist choc cake for my birthday. To these 2 friends, I bow and say thank you for your kind thoughts and gift. I have done nothing to deserve such friends, well at least I cant recall ever saving any lives. Dont think I ran into any burning buildings to save anyone. Whatever it is that has caused me to be surrounded with so much love and true friendship from all around me, may I be humble enough to praise the lord for his blessing and to forever bless me with so great a crowd of people.

It is a feeling one gets once in a life time. It is a feeling one cant buy , not even on the internet with all of Bill Gates money. To be living amist so much is a blessing which can only come from God. I rpay that he will bless all my friends and family in the same way he has blessed me and my family.

In the search for gold

What is it about gold that attracts us all, young and old alike. Is it the glitter and shine? Is it the beautifully crafted designs? What ever our age we all like to be adorned with golden trinklets. So, armed with vitamin M, we went to town to see what we could find.

Oh we found some alright but at what price? At RM135 per gram its no laughing matter. I remember the good old days when gold was around RM30 per gram. That we thought was expensive. Now, you have to sell your grandmother to buy an ounce!

After wandering from shop to shop we learnt that some shops charged exhorbitant prices. It pays to ask around, of course you have to have thick skin and lie and act, you know bad customer and good customer scenerio. The difference for 1 item was a staggering RM1500. It nearly gave us a heart attack, if it wasnt for the Norvase I take every morning! We could have been cheated of so much had we not shopped around and trusted one whom we thought was honest and a "friend" . Well, I am cancelling him out of my 'gold shop to visit list'

Anyway, having spent about 3 hours in town we came back with the securicor truck in tow.....just kidding. Everyone was happy, including the goldsmiths ( ladies). So all in all, we had a good morning. A lesson learnt!

Then we had porridge for lunch. Hey! What do you expect? After spending all that money on jewellery fit for a queen, somethings got to give....hahaha. Thats life in the 'fast' lane in Sandakan.

Decoration Babe style

I am writing 2 blogs at one go cos I have to slip in and grab the computer when one is available. I actually have to ask for permission to use the computer....in my own house!!! All the kids are back so my family room has become a cyber cafe cum YMCA. Things everywhere, mattress/blankets on the floor, bags of clothes or rather bags...the clothes are on the floor, water bottles all over the place...you get the picture right? Pig sty decoration ...and to think that I was so excited to pick them up from the airport days ago !

To tell the truth, its not only the family room that is like a pig sty, all my boys' rooms look like they have been decorated by the same decorator, Babe ! Wont tell you what the toilet looks like....do you think girls are better ? Well, I will never know. Havent got one of those living in my house....hmmm, too bad how sad.

I am now sitting between Douglas and Jordan, both playing an online game, talking to the screen and shooting computer generated soldiers....it is hard to concentrate on what I want to say when you have soldiers dying left right and centre !!!!!...Douglas is talking non stop in english and chinese to his Alienware screen. I didnt know the American soldiers in the game understand chinese ?....hahaha.

Ok, better stop now before I get nightmares of snippers shooting at me tonight. Tomorrow we are going to spend Fred's, Casey's ( maybe not) and Big sister's money at the goldsmith's shop in town. Must help them to generate the sandakan economy. Hope the MPS remembers to lay out the red carpet and the band ready ! oomph pah pah here we come.

And the eating continues

Well, 4 days down into chinese new year, 11 more days to go. It has been a fairly good year so far.....if you consider eating non stop good that is! We did the usual open house visits. Met the usual crowd of friends. Ate the usual chinese buffet food, roast pork, roast lamb, noodles, sweet sour prawns and mix vege. Drank the usual drinks. Having done this for as long as I can remember, it is no longer as exciting as when I was.......

However having said that, it is a blessing to be able to spend yet another year with family and friends. Somehow the fellowship is more important than the food and the new clothes. The joy of having the kids home for the celebration is priceless.

This year is the first year that I experienced having the kids home for chinese new year. Year before last they were home all the time, well at least 2 of them. So there was no difference. No empty nest syndrome. This year it was even exciting to go to the airport to pick them up one by one......now I know how my parents feel when we go home to visit. Maybe as I walk into the second half of the century I am becoming soft......hahaha.

We have many more nights of feasting at home. Many more delicious fare to lay on the table. Many more nights of nostalgia. Many more childhood secrets to be exposed by your "loves" ones. Now I have an advantage here. I have no family members in Sandakan to tell of my naughty childhood days, not that I was at any time naughty.....my mum doesnt blog so, no watergate here.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, chinese new year is all about feasting , feasting the tummy, feasting the soul, feasting the ego and feasting the friendship. Eat, eat,eat and eat....the chinese recipe for long life, prosperity and happiness.

Trust me ! The chinese civilization is still around, so they cant be wrong. So? What are you waiting for ?. Go eat !!! Why should I be the only one getting fatter !!

Couch potato sydrome

Why is it that when chinese new year approaches every activity stops? No yoga, no bible class, no meetings.....the reason? Everyone is busy getting their houses ready for the chinese new year. Well, you know, cleaning, polishing, baking cookies ( hahaha), scrubbing the garage floor ( double haha) painting the gate etc etc.

Does this mean that for the rest of the year the house is left to collect dust and rot? Isnt the house always clean? Strange that people only worry about such things just before the new year. That 5 hours of fame when you have an open house, people streaming in to admire your collectibles. That 5 hours when you remove the plastic covers from the furniture. that 5 hours when you put your best china on the table.

I dont recall seeing how clean someone's house is when I visit. I am too excited about chatting and catching up with friends. Guess I am weird huh? So even if the floor is not sparkling, dont think that would spoil my visit. I drink from plastic cups at some open houses, so where's the expensive china.....cant understand what all the fuss is about. People are so busy that they need 2 weeks off to get ready for chinese new year.

The reality is that after all that hard work of cleaning the house for that 5 hours of fame, the guests leave the house so dirty that one wonders whether the guests were people with culture or just plain animals! Well, when I say dirty I mean orange peels on the floor, straws from the packet drinks, servettes in the garden, peanut shells, bits of food and the list goes on. Maybe it would be better to just leave the house as it is and clean after the event. But then again, good luck wont come into a dirty house????...hmmmmm.

Anyway, I will become a couch potato for the next 2 weeks, eating and chatting. I have stopped swimming cos I have just colored my hair. Wouldnt want the chlorine to bleached my expensive dye....hahaha. My yoga teacher will be on leave from today onwards. My ladies sharing group is busy cleaning their houses, guess that leaves me with plenty of time to watch the apples grow!!!

Ok, got to go and keep that dust from landing on the picture frame...chao.

What comes after chineses new year?

Nothing!!!....just sighs of relief that life goes back to normal or as normal as one can expect after the binge, late nites, junk food and old friends. Time is going so quickly towards 14/2/10. 2 weeks to the big day, well at least for some. As for me, everyday is a big day.

Lets face it. Every other month or so we buy some new clothes or shoes, so whats so special about new things for chinese new year. More work I reckon for everyone. Cleaning, shopping, more cleaning and more shopping for snacks, food, household items etc etc.

As the years slip by I find open house visits so boring, all that idol chatting, polite questions about your kids and my kids....like who cares about your kids, like wise they dont really care about my kids either. But being polite is the epitome of the season. Do I sound like I am not looking forward to the new year? Maybe, its getting too tiring rubbing shoulders with either the same people or strangers or aquaintences whose names you cant recall. I rather meet up with friends and relatives on normal days and chat and exchange stories about so and so in the bedroom....hahahaha.

Guess the festive mood hasnt set in. having said that, I have all my goodies ready, clothes ready, house cleaned etc etc....so for I care chinese new year can be tomorrow. oh, oh , I forgot I havent cut my hair, coloured it nor done my nails....so I guess chinese new year cant be tomorrow....hahahaha. Looks like I need the 2 weeks after all.

Well get going friends......go clean!!

My mind forgot to tell my body....

I have started swimming again after not having been in the pool since the French Revolution. Thats how long ! So in I went 2 weeks ago and could only do 1 lap at a time in between panting and heaving. I feel young but I guess my mind forgot to tell my body that. So its was on slow mode. Of course my muscles didnt get the message either. So the end result was a complete body ache, even though I was swimming at low gear in tortoise motoring language.

Perseverance paid off when I kept going to swim even though the body was crying 'stop' 'stop'. Now only a few places still ache but I can still move....hahaha...sounds like a broken car.

Last friday I went inspite of the cold weather, went into the near frozen water and kept swimming as it was too darn cold to stop and, did 40 laps in all. Not bad if I have to say so myself. When I stepped out, my legs and hands were shaking ,no,no, not from the cold, from exhaustion. That was my goal for that day. I think I will leave the goal at 40 each time I swim. This old body can only do so much.

Diana went last week too for her water therapy exercises. Water therapy is excellent for any form of injury. I am trying to get Winnie to take a dip but so far the weather and her social calendar have other plans. To me the faster you take control of your body the faster you will recover the full use of the injured part. At our age we cant be wasting time.

How long I can keep up my 2010 exercise regime only God knows. Lets see, yoga on mons,thurs and sats, and swimming on tues and fridays. I am sure he is smiling down for at least I am trying. I am not trying to reverse aging but trying to do internal maintenance. The only drawback I forsee is the effects of chlorine on the hair and skin. I hope lots of body lotion and loreal hair products will help. I hope I know what I am doing!!!

On the other days not mentioned I eat !....hahaha, of course , whats the use of exercising if eating isnt the primary objective behind the torture. Chinese new year isnt the time to be weight conscious. Its the time when the word 'diet' is erased from the food dictionary. I am having roast pork for the reunion dinner !!!! yum yum.... so I dont have time to sit infront of the TV and partake in the ritual of snacking . Exercise now, eat later and suffer after CNY at yoga and in the pool when the whale sinks to the bottom. Captain Nemo's HP anyone ??? How deep does the Nautilus go?

CNY snacks are on sale at every corner. How can I resist ? Hmmm...this is going to be hard. On top of this Jubba the Hut dilemma, my yoga class will end on the 6th Feb and start again on the 22nd Feb. That gives me a 2 week break and hence plenty of time for an eating frenzy.....sounds familiar??

Well, The scenario described above wont happen. Why? Because, as one progresses into the second half of the century, one's appetite is not as ferocious as it used to be and, one's stomach isnt as big as it once was and, one is wiser so as not to stuff food into the mouth for the fun of it and, one thinks deeply ( or pretends to think, while fighting the food demon) about the nutritious value of every morsel and, because the chinese doctor has given you a list of food that you cant eat....hahaha.

What the heck you might say. Its all but once a year that we binge. Ok. Once a year X 52, plus all the wedding dinners, full moons, birthdays, open houses, festivals and get togethers = ......... ( you fill in the blank)

On a higher note, think less, enjoy, be happy, smile a lot, pray and live life to the fullest one day at a time !!!! Thats what "I" say.