Praying to visit the nation of gross happiness Bhutan one more time.hope my dream will come true as i dont think i can climb up Paro Tatsang again in another 7 years time as my knees are in bad shape unless they build a cable car or i learn to ride that stupid donkey that threw me off when i did it the last time.
Pray the pandemic will be gone by then and i have the stamina to climb up Paro Tatsamg.may it manifest into a reality.
The politicians are voted in to serve the people.Is it so hard to find out what the people think and feel in the age of social media network. So during the phase of kerajaan gagal the people lost hope and faith in the governance as lives and jobs were lost and people going crazy locked up after endless lockdowns.
So keep ears to the ground and can you heae the people sing,singing the songs of angry and hungry men.
In China,the authorities look at the needs of the elderly.after finding that 80% of old people prefer to stay at own homes rather than old folks nursing homes,they send consultants to redesign old apartments in shanghai to suit elderly like railings,non slip tiles,bathroom and kitchen with even flooring.they subsidise most of the renovation bills so that they can live in a safe and comfortable home.they even build communal kitchen that offer cheap,healthy meals for those unable to cook,walkways with railings in the park for them to exercise.
Its time our authorities look at design facilities for elderly like placing more benches,putting railimgs in park and non slip tiles in public toilets.
History is a mirror of who we are today.So i dont forget my roots and im proud i come from the working middle class.i grew up in a shophouse whete we see our parents toil from 9am to 9pm 6 days a week,only closing shop on public holidays and Sunday.Their hard work ethic,frugality and perseverance enabled us children to live a better life.as a street kid,i was good at dodging cars when running across the busy road,i knew how hard the stallholders at the wet market were,waking up at the crack of dawn at 5am to unload vegetables,poultry n meat from the trucks.i enjoy eating street food cooked piping hot for us or watch the street performers like chinese medicine man showing kung fu moves to sell bottles of ointment,the indian snake charmer with his basket of cobras and playing his flute or during the chinese ghost festival,giant effigies of god of Hades was erected on the roadside and we were warned not to wander out after dark in case of meeting a hungry ghost.we even watched open air movies or chinese opera on the streets.
Tonite i had excellent street food at the dai pai dong or dai chow or big stir fry stall at O and S restaurant in Sea Park.the butter prawns,marmite chicken and beancurd in meat sauce was comfort food.its a clean,no fanciful cutlery,plastic chairs occasion and a familiar nostalgia of my childhood
Shouldnt take ourselves so seriously,laugh in the face of adversity and move on tomorrow.
Ive prepared some Lunar New Year gifts as is the custom for the Chinese.Mom says we should tighten our belts and be frugal on ourselves but generous to family and relatives.Oh,our telatives and family members have shared the ups and downs in life with us.During weddimgs,the relatives give time and energy to help cook the weddimg lunch,help deliver the weddimg cakes and do the washing up.During funerals,they offer comfort and help with collection of pak gum or condolence money.when my sister was recovering from an operation,my fourth aunt came over to help take care of her until she fully recuperated.when third aunt had a knee replacement surgery,my late mom went to Singapore to look after her.
So i m thankful for the support of good friends,neighbours and relatives.for lunar new year,i used to invite neighbours of all races to join our family for a feast of good food in an open house.
We are social beings and keep a look out for others near and far.
I got american ginseng tea,sausages,canned abalone,egg rolls and mandarin oranges for gifts to good neighbours.for siblings its biscuits n dried seafood n abalone n persimmoms and chinese herbs.i hope to make a practice session with steam yam cake and radish cake and portugese egg tart for 2023 gifts of goodies.
Luckily pension came befote new year so i can stock up on chinese new year goodies like dried fish maw,mushrooms n bamboo fungus.gonna make a hakka poon choy or prosperity bowl and a yee sang or raw fish salad using smoked salmon n jellyfish.
Happy to get this Hong Kong braised mini abalone in truffle n oyster sauce to cook poon choy.the brand hong kong sun city is my trusted seafood brand.u also bought one can from south africaand one from china.buying locally made chinese liver sausages is one third price of imported ones.also buy locally grown avocado is one third cheaper than imported ones.gonna bake my own cakes n cookies.gonna make turnip cakes with recipe of Liza Wang to gift relatives.so dried scallops and XO sauce gonna burn a hole in wallet.
No big ticket items like smartphones,new clothes n shoes this year for us coz
Listening to podcast of Jack Kornfield on his time spent learning the dharma and practising it in the monastery of Ajarn Chah.seems like RamDass,Joseph Goldstein and Jack at one time were following Ajarn Chah.His lessons are so down to earth as its always about being in the here and now and being non judgemental.
I remembered ajarn brahms joke about marriage.it starts with an engagement ring,followed by a wedding ring and finally ends in suffering.words of wisdom that nothing is good or bad but depends on how you look at it.
As 2022 is coming to an end,im grateful to be well and alive despite the bout with Covid,the symptoms were mild and i recovered.
So im thankful to be able to continue my fitness goals,buy good food to cook,spend time with family and friends and be spared from the devastation of floods.give thanks im livjng in a relatively peaceful nation free from suffering of war and a pandemic thats under control.
Letz pray 2023 will be even better.
Should those who abuse their wives or girlfriends be let free unpunished because they are in a relationship with the victims?
No,the state has a duty to protect women from ill treatment and torture whether from agents of the state or private individuals.it is going against the gender human rights that men who assault others can be charged but pardoned and forgiven if the other is a wife or girlfriend .does it mean abuse is a sign of affection because thats a perverse way to show love.abusing the one you love should be more severely punished because its a betrayal of love and loving someone shouldnt hurt.im totally against the idea that males have a right to teach their wives by hitting them ,so if the tables are turned and the husband commits adultery,does the wife have a right to beat him up to teach him a lesson?
It is heartbreaking.i totally condemn gender violence and look at Spain .a tecord breaking nine Spanish women were killed by their partners in December this year,the latest a pregnant mother in front of her children.im totally shocked and disgusted that societal laws failed to protect these women.
Its called the test of the king of fruits.they need to sniff a durian blindfolded from a pile of 8 different fruit without touching them.
Then they have to demonstrate the skill of opening a durian
The final test is to eat the whole durian without flinching or holding the nose.
Thats the test of a true blue Malaysian.think you can pass it?
Try visiting the durian king cafe in SS2 to ptepare for the test.See how creative Malaysians can be!Thete is durian cendol,durian chocolate,durian mochi,durian ice cteam and durian paste mooncake. Even the foreign minister of China sang praises of the durian cheesecake he was served.So what are you waiting for?start eating now.
Funny slogans for durians "stinks like hell,taste like heaven." "Durian runtuh,sarung jatuh."
I cant afford to buy durians to eat because its too expensive and out of health concerns coz it spikes up my blood sugar.but lucky windfall of a bumper harvest,i could afford the priceless treat of XO and musang king.but i only take small bites to avoid overdose of sugar and smelly farts and burps.
Cooked christmas pudding with lots of rum so l feel boozy.now tie my hair in bandanna to prevent hair fall into food.hell jun says instead of angel hair pasta,hes eating mama's hair pasta so funny he he.cooked with Prego cheese and herb sauce but i th
Favourite malaysian breaksat is nasi lemak and roti canai.im having roti canai stuffed with bananas and dha
With the disruption of a war n lockdown on supply chains,the coming lunar year is gonna be tough on inflationary pressures.i feel the pinch as i got a shock getting supplies for lunar year feast.A kilo of dried oysters from Japan cost rm 220 a kilo so im switching to Korean dried seafood and shitake mushrooms.with devaluation of ringgit,even goods jmported from China cost so much .a kilo of goose n duck liver sausages from wengchou cost rm140 a kilo and a waxed duck drumstick rm14 one.so im buying the bare minimum of oranges n waxed meat n making my own cakes n cookies.really cant afford to buy a can of 2 abalones at rm200 a can n switch to south african mini abalones at rm20 for 3 mini abalones.buying sabah frozen scallops n chile mussels to cut cosr
Now the people have stood up for our present PM when he was in the years of wilderness,his freedom deprived and his rights trampled by injustice.Old and young,rakyat of all races and religions took up the call of Bersih and marched through the streets calling for restoration of justice and change for clean governance.
Now with great power comes great privileges and great responsibility.
The PM pledged ideals of reformation.give him a chance to carry out the changes.
"CHANGE OR BE CHANGED*
Hes starting by making small steps like lifting death penalty,trimming the overbloated civil service structure,returning profits from monopoly of Bernas to the grassgroot farmers and hopefully more changes will be forthcoming.i see revival of signs of hope in the common mans hangouts in the wet markets and public parks.lets hope the wakil rakyat will truly represent the ordinary Malaysians who are hardworking,does a honest days job,caring, and kita jaga kita in hard times
We Malaysians do not need the wakil rakyat who is obnoxiously rude,sexist,racist and absent for parliamentary sittings for which theyre elected to office to do the job.no they dont represent or wakilkan rakyat Malaysia for offensive,insensitive,hate speech.
So tiring but i like home cooked food as its healthier.i used stevia sugar for tong yuan sweet soup.added pandan leave n osmanthus.pan fried shrimp in soy sauce,steamed fish n chicken in ipoh sauce of dong quai n ginger spinach with tofu in goji berry oyster sauce and winter melon soup.yum yum.
My body is aches but my heart is happy to see my family members enjoying the food.we reminiscence over the good old days when the extended family of aunts,uncles,cousins gather at our home to cook up a storm.my sis n jun says my cooking resembles my late mothers festive meals of good traditional cantonese food.
I spent the most on organic free range chicken as 3 large drumsticks cost rm30.the keng chong or glass promfet was only rm17 and the prawns rm25 as i bought it 10 days before festival at rm34 a kilo.all in i spent rm 100 for a meal for 3 of us compared to dining out which would cost me rm200 at least with drinks included.The leftovers i will make claypot yam rice with leftover chicken.the most tiring was the soup which i needed to boil stock with chicken bones,carrot,oysters,dried conchshell,figs,honey dates,sweet corn for 2 hours.i added chicken ham last. A meal with no red meat like pork or duck as they cause gout in Juns toes.i may need to go kuala selangor fishing village to buy seafood for lunar new year in two weeks time.hope the floods wont happen.
