Nostalgia

 Clearing up old stuff in book shelf I came across photos with my old students in the college.they are so sweet and appreciative of teachers.glad to be part of their younger days.batch of 2009/2010 and batch of 2010/2011.must have been 10 to 15 years ago.

I'm thankful the students I taught in high school in Klang still remember their old teachers.this year is 35 years since they left high school and they're middle aged now.they are organizing a reunion for class of 1988 ex students n teachers at the end of this year and some are flying back from London,Australia and Singapore.thankful to have appreciative Malaysian students.we are now senior citizens in our twilight years but feel the warmth of their gratitude.we live simple ,quiet lives but if we had been expoliticians,we would be billionaires now.so thankful for good health n great students in our work.

Workout boost

 Early morning workout gives a boost of energy for the rest of the day.

Snow skin mochi

 Ping Pei or snow skin mochi is a white Siamese cat mix with Maine coons.she is an abandoned pet but residents feed her by leaving kibbles n water outside our door.she has been making cat calls loudly to captain kitty outside our front door.we let her to the balcony to visit him.shes sweet,gentle n patient n when I carry her,she is soft n plush like a mochi.

Stock up new year food

 Luckily I bought fish n prawns last week before prices rise for new year feasts.im cooking poon choy or wealth bowl for reunion dinner but skip sea cucumber as tedious to process.I sold off my old Samsung phone to second hand dealer but meagre sum hardly enough to buy 2 weeks of grocery including fish.chicken.canned food and ingredients for poon choy.i buy yee sang with jelly fish for 7th day of New year and ingredients for vegetarian Buddha's delite that has 18 ingredients.Ive reduced buying  dried oysters n scallops as they are too expensive.i bought Norwegian Saba fish at rm16 for 2 fish at bargain in Lotus.wait until 8.30 pm at. Nite to buy seafood at discounted prices.Cant afford eat dragon garopa at rm 98 a fish so replace with Saba in teriyaki sauce.im getting local dried scallops and Korean oysters which are cheaper than japanese golden oysters

Bichir

 

Foodie lament

 I love food of all variety.since inflation cause price hike ,I've reduced dining out and try cooking at home all kinds of cuisine.i miss eating Japanese food and French cuisine.i look enviously at long queue of  young diners at a hipster cafe selling premium gourmet pastry like Berliners,torte,tiramisu,madeleines strudel n canele n mille crepe..i will try to bake the goodies myself so thanks to YouTube chefs I get to eat good food at lower cost.im like my mother who didn't deprive us of good food as she learnt to bake mooncakes and make rice dumplings,Chinese nien gao,new year peanut puffs and bake cinnamon rolls and trifles or honeydew sago pudding.i try my best to feed foodie son by learning recipes from the internet.breakfast is french toast and banana walnut muffins.

Electric vehicles

 I think feedback from customers are a good way for companies to gauge customer satisfaction and use their feedback to make continuous improvements.

Now with the internet and accessibility to Companys websites,new users or customers can check customers comments n reviews before buying a product or booking a hotel or flight.we don't trust what advertisements claim as it's all hyped up but rely on actual customers feedback on third party websites.

So before people buy EVs,they need to know how widespread EV charging stations are or accessibility to mechanic workshops if the car breaks down.how many car workshops have mechanics trained to service highly sophisticated  EVs.When use of EVs reach a critical mass,then only people will switch over as when the government outlaws petrol powered cars or scrap road tax for EVs.

Now I often encounter punctured tyres in my car when nails are causing air leakages.why can't car makers put in sensors to tyre rims that can detect tyres are leaking air and signal to dashboard so drivers can change to spare tyre.

I had a nightmare of forgetting to take a photo of where I parked my car in this multi storey car park of a huge shopping mall.now one way is to drive in the mall buggy n press the car key to activate car alarm.my idea is for car manufacturer to embed in car key a gps locator that emits a signal of a laser beam from the radio antenna of car roof that beams the laser upwatd to ceiling so that security guards can check on the cctv camera of the car parks the exact location of the car instead of driving around in a buggy floor by floor to detect the lost car.maybe smartphone could also have similar functions when I misplaced the phone in public places.

Sunday zumba

 So nice,warm day to Zumba in the park.then it's new year marketing for grocery .so pricy this year so I'm buying bare minimum .it's rm 188 for a kilo of dried shiitake mushrooms,rm128 for big prawns n rm 98 for tiger garoupa.im buying cheaper barammundi siakap,tiger prawns n skip seafood from Japan.with China products ,I can afford to buy grapes,Mandarin oranges,green kiwi and south Africa blueberry.with depreciation of ringgit,imported stuff is costly.

I pay utility bills,Car maintenance,prescription medicine n health supplements.cut down spending on new clothes,shoes,accessory n decorations.but allocate expense for new year gifts to relatives,Ang pow and classic food like wax duck.

Dawn workout

 The pale moon is hanging on the dawn sky.its Zumba dance with fresh air n smell of flowers.

Friend or Food

 Captain kitty is fascinated by the fish in the tank.he is trying to figure out if they are friends or food.

New year decor n new flowering plants

 

Fit for 2024

 Doing gardening to decorate with flowering plants n clearing weeds is backbreaking work but I take it as a way to exercise and burn calories.spring cleaning n putting up cutouts for the new year.then off to the park for outdoor exercise in the warm morning sunshine.the day was bright n filled with parkgoers until the monkeys were harassed by the crowd and stayed up on the trees.good no monkey terrorists.trying to put more exercise into my daily activity by climbing stairs of the condo.it is good for strengthening shin muscles.i feel consistency is key to keeping fit.

My heart throb

 Captain kitty is so handsome after a bath.looks really Liang chai meow.

Attitude determines altitude

 How far n how high our nation progress depends on the quality of our workforce.If we adopt the attitude of Jaguh Kampung and syiok sendiri,then we're heading to downward spiral.

It starts at the education system when mediocrity is the norm and meritocracy sidelined.our education is good enough,pass saja boleh.then our PM says resting on past glory makes us complacent and non competitive as we can't benchmark against global standards like PISA.if at high school level,our kids can't compete with the rest of Asia,don't expect miracles at university level.its too late when foundational skills and knowledge are not strong enough for advanced learning.

Then again ,many decades ago,we were good at industrialization with contract manufacturing of microchips,electrical appliances n assembly of cars.then Indonesia,Thailand n even Vietnam worked hard to beat us in these sci tech industries.

Now don't even shout about the service industries when the customer service staff can barely understand English to interact with foreign clients from the hotels to sales n marketing staff.

So when deputy trade minister lauds Malaysia's welcome to foreign investments,it comes across as a pipedream.our workforce good manufacturing practice is threatened by bad global reputation of Daihatsu stopping sales of Toyota n Perodua cars due to discovery of false safety testing records by 3rd party audit team.Peroduas reputation for good manufacturing practice is further marred in news report when a recent buyer of a brand new Perodua sedan complained the engine stalled n broke down a few hours after purchase.if we don't give consumer protection a thought,confidence n trust in our products will drop.its even worse when house buyers end up paying monthly mortgage for uncompleted houses in abandoned projects by bankrupt developers.

Now news of a door that fell off the Boeing 737 Max was manufactured in Malaysia.

Japanese products couldn't compete with western manufactured products until they adopted quality control circles and continuous improvement standards until Japanese cars were in demand globally.China too was associated with low quality products in the early years until sci tech R n D put them at the top of consumers choice from smartphones,solar panels n electrical vehicles.

Now Proton has revived profitability after tie up with China's Geely automobiles.previously it was good reputation when tied up with japanese Mitsubishi,then slowly quality issues in tie up with French Proton Tiara,British Lotus and now revived it's fortune in tie up with China.China generously offered Technical training to our workers in TVET schemes so if we don't buck up our education in STEM and digital know how,we will be left behind nation in Asean in biotech,electronics and digital economy.

Affirmations

 Daily affirmation to kickstart a day.

Mindfulness.

I'm grateful for this new day.

May I realize that nothing is permanent.

May I have compassion for myself and others.

May I walk the path of wisdom.

May I attain peace of mind.

May I be free of pain and suffering.

In Pali ,it's the idea of anatta,anicca,upekkha,metta and passaddhi

Lunar new year feast n dance

 

Sunday zumba

 

Weekend gardener

 It's good to get dirt on my hands gardening.the bamboo plant was dying until I pruned n fertilized it.the hardest to maintain is the bonsai landscape of stones n mini plants.this new year I'm getting ready for the spring flowers to bloom.a feast for the eyes.

Lunar new year dances

 

Handsome captain kitty

 My handsome captain is a tuxedo tabby with white socks and a round yin yang on his underbelly.hes grown into a fat cat and when he jumps on the cardboard box,it buckles under his weight.he loves sleeping on top of the box and scratching it.

This year he met the love of his life.A homeless snow white female Siamese Maine coons with sky blue eyes has been making cat calls to him.jun let the white pussy run to the balcony to visit him in his cage .the two love birds have been crooning and purring to one another.shes soft and gentle and seems abandoned by previous owner.poor girl sat down n gazed at him the whole nite.he likes her and let's her eat his kibbles from the feeder and jump on his cardboard box with no hostility.

He loves to play with the green hopping frog I bought for him in Melaka and chases it around the house.lets see if he let's his love play with it too.

Change

 Nothing stays the same forever.Change is the only constant in Life.Life is always in a state of flux.autumn gives way to winter and winter changes to spring.so go with the flow.

Be water

Mind over matter

 I've lost 1 kg from intermittent fasting and boosting metabolic rate by exercising.i feel most times people use food and overeat to boost mood and feel good factor.its not that they are starving from hunger pangs but eat comfort food.

I used to wonder how monks will only eat 2 meals a day and not feel tired or lethargic but when I controlled my meals to 2 meals a day,brunch at 11am and dinner at 5.40 pm,I feel my mind is clearer n more energetic.so the 3 meals a day is a guideline for as the older I get,the less calories I need as my BMR slows down.

I find I can still eat cakes but half a slice at a time or if hungry drink oat rye milk or eat an avocado.so losing weight is more a psychological issue not a physiological one.but not to overdo to extreme until anorexia Nervosa or bulimia as some girls follow tik tok challenge so skeletal until can put a fish and water in the collarbone.eat in moderation but timing,portion control and choice of food matters.i waste money eating at buffet or 7 course Chinese dinner coz my appetite has shrunk.diet but don't die for it.

I just viewed Michelle Yeohs advertisement for active wear Lululemon for lunar new year called Be Spring.the Wing Chun dancers from Shenzhen Opera n Dance troupe were so agile and flexible and Michelle is still so graceful in her moves.i hope to achieve that balance and stillness in my movements one day.renew,refresh and revitalize the mind and body to move with the wind and flow with the water

Brunch is Chinese jiaozhe dumplings in pumpkin soup

Shades of red Ang Ang ang

 I like the tree with red globes of florets looking like hanging red lanterns on branches.the other is red fire crackers plant n our red national flower the hibiScus.

Decorating home to welcome year of the dragon.its a crouching tiger hidden dragon behind the bronze screen.my blinking red lanterns,pink peony n green bamboo with new year wishes calligraphy pasted on the main door.the bronze Myanmar or Thai naga is the southeast Asian dragon.buy dragon fruit for my fruit basket this year.looking for a calligraphy of a horse galloping to wish Loong ma ching sun.or dragon horse vital and energetic 2024