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!!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Rain rain go away
Well,the rainy season has finally arrived, and with a vengence too I might add. Its raining non stop...its raining cats and dogs and chickens and ducks. But life still goes on here in Sandakan.
16 days into January 2010 and less then a month to chinese new year. Hope your houses have been cleaned and garage tiles shining !!!....only thing dirty in my house is my dogs. Of course there are other things not on my 'to clean list', well they will be dusty sooner or later so why bother, as the chinese saying goes, no eye see !
I bought some CNY biscuits and snacks, well, the snacks are already where they were meant to be...hahaha... in my stomach, yummy ! Next to go will be the delicious peppermint biscuits made by Margaret. By CNY there will no biscuits left. So what? In true CNY spirit buy some more lah! Help the economy and expand your waistline...now if that isnt the good life I dont know what is .
I bought a new hand phone finally as mine was on life support. After looking at and trying a few , I finally got one not on my list. Dont know why I bother to make a list. No more china phones for me. Having said that, my new samsung is made in china, so is yours, so, dont laugh. Nothing is sacred, everything you see and touch and buy is made in China....land of the dragon, phoenix, tiger and a few billion chinamen. Seen the weather in China recently? Frozen chinamen...soon you will see them on the supermarket shelves under 'organic ' Seriously, I am sure they are organic and not conceived in test tubes like in the west.
Luckily the chinese word for God remains truly chinese and not borrowed from any other. So we can use the word Allah but the west malaysians cant...big deal. God is God no matter how you address him. He is all forgiving, ever loving not matter what you call him. I call him heavenly father so no problems about using the now forbidden word 'Allah' All the hooha about being confused when using it! Well most Malaysians , no matter what their denominations are, WONT get confused or be misled. We who are educated and do have some common sense cant understand the logic behind bringing up such an issue when the word is used and recognised globally. We want to be on the global stage and be a global player yet we bury our head in the sand. Forget about the ice age or global warming, we are now in the dark ages....
As Christains we forgive them. So we cant use the word. Its ok. We will find another word to use to exalt his name, another word to use to praise him. He will show us the way. We must not stoop to that level of unimaginably, ridiculous state of non exsistant of any form of human intelligence. The dung bug has more!!! The pond scum is laughing ! The dust mite on your mattress is bowled over in laughter. What can I say ?
16 days into January 2010 and less then a month to chinese new year. Hope your houses have been cleaned and garage tiles shining !!!....only thing dirty in my house is my dogs. Of course there are other things not on my 'to clean list', well they will be dusty sooner or later so why bother, as the chinese saying goes, no eye see !
I bought some CNY biscuits and snacks, well, the snacks are already where they were meant to be...hahaha... in my stomach, yummy ! Next to go will be the delicious peppermint biscuits made by Margaret. By CNY there will no biscuits left. So what? In true CNY spirit buy some more lah! Help the economy and expand your waistline...now if that isnt the good life I dont know what is .
I bought a new hand phone finally as mine was on life support. After looking at and trying a few , I finally got one not on my list. Dont know why I bother to make a list. No more china phones for me. Having said that, my new samsung is made in china, so is yours, so, dont laugh. Nothing is sacred, everything you see and touch and buy is made in China....land of the dragon, phoenix, tiger and a few billion chinamen. Seen the weather in China recently? Frozen chinamen...soon you will see them on the supermarket shelves under 'organic ' Seriously, I am sure they are organic and not conceived in test tubes like in the west.
Luckily the chinese word for God remains truly chinese and not borrowed from any other. So we can use the word Allah but the west malaysians cant...big deal. God is God no matter how you address him. He is all forgiving, ever loving not matter what you call him. I call him heavenly father so no problems about using the now forbidden word 'Allah' All the hooha about being confused when using it! Well most Malaysians , no matter what their denominations are, WONT get confused or be misled. We who are educated and do have some common sense cant understand the logic behind bringing up such an issue when the word is used and recognised globally. We want to be on the global stage and be a global player yet we bury our head in the sand. Forget about the ice age or global warming, we are now in the dark ages....
As Christains we forgive them. So we cant use the word. Its ok. We will find another word to use to exalt his name, another word to use to praise him. He will show us the way. We must not stoop to that level of unimaginably, ridiculous state of non exsistant of any form of human intelligence. The dung bug has more!!! The pond scum is laughing ! The dust mite on your mattress is bowled over in laughter. What can I say ?
Friday, January 8, 2010
new year resolution time
So, have you made your new year resolutions yet?. Well, I have, sort of, only to be broken later in the month...hahah notice I said ' month ' ...thats how much faith I have in myself in keeping to my resolutions. For soooooo many years I have not been able to keep them so whats makes this year any different. eh?
My resolutions are few but very hard to keep: -
(1) to keep my mouth shut when things dont concern me. In other words dont be so pat....hehehe. I wander if that includes helping people even if they didnt ask for it?
(2) not to repeat any negative news especially about people. Now this is very hard to keep. So far I have broken this one umpteen times. Well, someone asked me so I told...hmmm. What can I say...'I cant tell you?' That would make them even more curious right?
(3) to exercise more for health reasons. So when I am 60 I will still be able to climb Mt. Kinabalu if I so want. As if that will happen. So far I have started swimming. Ah! twice already in 1 week. I am trying to rope in Winnie and Diana to come along as they both need the exercise to strengthen their knee and back respectively. If they slim down in the process then its a bonus...ooophs, nevermind. They dont read my blog anyway.
(4) to be more patient as life is to be enjoyed slowly, smell the roses etc etc....you know, relax, so what if the oven is on fire or the sales girl cant answer your question within 2 seconds or you want the red one and they keep giving you the blue one insisting that its better.....just smile and tell yourself its OK, ....when life gives you lemons , make lemonade...catch my drift?
(5) to ask God what he wants me to do today, this month, this year ....and of course do it.....ah yah, so simple right? ....ask me again on 31st Dec 2010.
(6) to stop making resolutions I cant keep.
Enough for this year. So far I have crashed on (1), (2) and (4). Luckily I still have 11 months to keep trying. I have reminded some friends to help me, like kick me under the table at meetings if I open my big gap. I think I will get one of those phones where I can play games so I wont 'pat' or give my unsolicited opinion.
Someone should start a No.8 Club.....
My resolutions are few but very hard to keep: -
(1) to keep my mouth shut when things dont concern me. In other words dont be so pat....hehehe. I wander if that includes helping people even if they didnt ask for it?
(2) not to repeat any negative news especially about people. Now this is very hard to keep. So far I have broken this one umpteen times. Well, someone asked me so I told...hmmm. What can I say...'I cant tell you?' That would make them even more curious right?
(3) to exercise more for health reasons. So when I am 60 I will still be able to climb Mt. Kinabalu if I so want. As if that will happen. So far I have started swimming. Ah! twice already in 1 week. I am trying to rope in Winnie and Diana to come along as they both need the exercise to strengthen their knee and back respectively. If they slim down in the process then its a bonus...ooophs, nevermind. They dont read my blog anyway.
(4) to be more patient as life is to be enjoyed slowly, smell the roses etc etc....you know, relax, so what if the oven is on fire or the sales girl cant answer your question within 2 seconds or you want the red one and they keep giving you the blue one insisting that its better.....just smile and tell yourself its OK, ....when life gives you lemons , make lemonade...catch my drift?
(5) to ask God what he wants me to do today, this month, this year ....and of course do it.....ah yah, so simple right? ....ask me again on 31st Dec 2010.
(6) to stop making resolutions I cant keep.
Enough for this year. So far I have crashed on (1), (2) and (4). Luckily I still have 11 months to keep trying. I have reminded some friends to help me, like kick me under the table at meetings if I open my big gap. I think I will get one of those phones where I can play games so I wont 'pat' or give my unsolicited opinion.
Someone should start a No.8 Club.....
Saturday, January 2, 2010
And on the 3rd day.......
Its 3 days into 2010 already. Too fast for my liking but then I am not the driver in this Time car. before we know it, it would be time to celebrate chinese new year.....woah, slow down boy!!!!
In all my life I have never done a strange thing. Well this year I did, or rather we did, Edwin and I. You see, we saw these 3 ladies on Royal Brunei from Brisbane. We watched them take photos at Brunei airport. Then on new year's eve we saw them again walking along the street in Sandakan near Sandakan Hotel. Since it WAS new year's eve, we decided to invite them home for a good dinner, well ok,ok, nice dinner with fantastic company....hehehehe.
Now, mind you, they were strangers to us. They could have been serial killers, a bit far fetched , but you know what I mean. Anyway, we asked them to dinner and they accepted as they had nothing to do and they didnt know anyone in town. Oh, we had a great time getting to know them, friendly chat and exchange of knowledge etc etc.
They turned out to be psychologist, 1 a doctor in psychology, 1 studying for her doctorate and 1 tutoring in the medical faculty, all at Griffith Uni. They also have their own private practice. What do you know? They were not serials killers after all....lOl. So now we have 3 new friends, Angela, Rhonda and Liza.
Then the killer bug struck!! No, silly, they are not psychos staying at the Bates motel....haha . Angela became ill on news years day. She had diarrhea and vomiting. Really bad. The hotel called their panel doctor but he didnt even come to see her. He just told them to go to the hospital.Come on they are foreigners, visitors, they dont know our procedure etc etc about our medical care system. So, they frantically tried to call Edwin but he didnt turn on his HP till about 9.30am. So,we admitted her to the clinic at mile 4 under Dr. Lau's care. She was so dehydrated that she needed 4 1/2 bottles of liquid. She recovered well enough to go on a tour today with her dad, Jeff. Luckily her dad flew in on new year's eve. So we got to know her dad as well. They missed their tour to Sepilok and Sukau cos Angela had to rest....I dont think they will ever visit Sandakan again...what a bad experience.
Jeff had food poisoning from eating bad dinner at Sandakan Hotel last nite, but he is Ok now. Wander what they are going to tell their friends when they get bad...aaahhhh !! Well, hopefully our hospitality will help to lighten the bad experiences they had while visiting our town.
What a new year it has been ! We were planning a quiet new year weekend but ended up running around , up and down to the clinic etc etc. Nothing like doing a good deed at the start of the year eh? They are so grateful for our help and they havent stopped saying so....so I told them, please help someone in return when ever you have the chance, thats repayment enough for us.
Well tomorrow life officially begins after the long holiday, god bless all of you and may you have a fruitful year, good health, prosperity and all that and may all you wish for come true.
In all my life I have never done a strange thing. Well this year I did, or rather we did, Edwin and I. You see, we saw these 3 ladies on Royal Brunei from Brisbane. We watched them take photos at Brunei airport. Then on new year's eve we saw them again walking along the street in Sandakan near Sandakan Hotel. Since it WAS new year's eve, we decided to invite them home for a good dinner, well ok,ok, nice dinner with fantastic company....hehehehe.
Now, mind you, they were strangers to us. They could have been serial killers, a bit far fetched , but you know what I mean. Anyway, we asked them to dinner and they accepted as they had nothing to do and they didnt know anyone in town. Oh, we had a great time getting to know them, friendly chat and exchange of knowledge etc etc.
They turned out to be psychologist, 1 a doctor in psychology, 1 studying for her doctorate and 1 tutoring in the medical faculty, all at Griffith Uni. They also have their own private practice. What do you know? They were not serials killers after all....lOl. So now we have 3 new friends, Angela, Rhonda and Liza.
Then the killer bug struck!! No, silly, they are not psychos staying at the Bates motel....haha . Angela became ill on news years day. She had diarrhea and vomiting. Really bad. The hotel called their panel doctor but he didnt even come to see her. He just told them to go to the hospital.Come on they are foreigners, visitors, they dont know our procedure etc etc about our medical care system. So, they frantically tried to call Edwin but he didnt turn on his HP till about 9.30am. So,we admitted her to the clinic at mile 4 under Dr. Lau's care. She was so dehydrated that she needed 4 1/2 bottles of liquid. She recovered well enough to go on a tour today with her dad, Jeff. Luckily her dad flew in on new year's eve. So we got to know her dad as well. They missed their tour to Sepilok and Sukau cos Angela had to rest....I dont think they will ever visit Sandakan again...what a bad experience.
Jeff had food poisoning from eating bad dinner at Sandakan Hotel last nite, but he is Ok now. Wander what they are going to tell their friends when they get bad...aaahhhh !! Well, hopefully our hospitality will help to lighten the bad experiences they had while visiting our town.
What a new year it has been ! We were planning a quiet new year weekend but ended up running around , up and down to the clinic etc etc. Nothing like doing a good deed at the start of the year eh? They are so grateful for our help and they havent stopped saying so....so I told them, please help someone in return when ever you have the chance, thats repayment enough for us.
Well tomorrow life officially begins after the long holiday, god bless all of you and may you have a fruitful year, good health, prosperity and all that and may all you wish for come true.
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