Healthy ageing

A regular at the Taman Kiara park is retired prof Khairuddin in his mid 80s.He used to be an avid sportman in his younger days from mountain climbing in south america to hiking.this bright sunny morning

i met him walking slow and steady in the park with his personal assistant.good that he never gives up going outdoors to get fresh air and sunshine although his mobility is slightly affected by pain and swelling.the moment he is better he walks slowly.so inspirational to keep on moving at this age.kudos for his can do spirit.

Slow n easy Sunday

one and a half hour of zumba and tabata to burn more calories after my big dim sum lunch yesterday.then did some gardening,fertilise plants n weeding.decided to go to my favourite garden centre in sg buloh to pick up organic compost.its the best part of day looking at the beautiful relaxing landscape design of bubbling fountains,suseki rocks and artistically grown bonsai plants.the soothing music add to a calm ambience. then i went to two malls to check out a new cooker.the old induction cooker went kaput so two years ago i bought a cheap electrical hot plate. and ive cooked all my meals using the hot plate,i use a cheap toaster oven to roast chicken chop,grill fish,bake cakes,muffins,tarts n quiches.its not expensive kitchen gadgets that make delicious food but the skill and talent of a cook.give me a wood or charcoal stove and i can still cook good food.

.i gave up using gas stove as im forgetful and forget to switch off the gas after cooking dinner.the gas leak could kill us in our sleep as i close all kitchen windows and glass doors at nite.luckily jun hates the smell of gas that is a mix between rotten eggs fart and stinky durians.if one of us accidentally use the blow torch or light a candle at the altar,it could blow up the apartment. so now i use electric cooking pot and the hot plate.the hot plate is rusting and burnt bits n pieces come out when i put the pot on top of it.so i check out the prices and between the philips and khind infrared cooker,i bought the made in malaysia khind as it gave me a free stainless steel grill.also its time to support locally made products. i bought a new cat toy for darling kitty.it kept him busy playing with it so he wont disturb me or upset my potted plants.i got bargains from lotus like 3 bath towels for rm10 and two norwegian saba fish for rm 15.90.i cooked ikan bakar with sambal belacan and leave one more for teriyaki grilled saba.the norwegian saba fish is so huge

The creation of monopolies and price setting

when did private enterprises came to be taken over by state owned enterprises.its distorting the rules of free market competition and such state intervention leads to monopoly like how search engines and social media platforms are dominated by a select few.so Europe has set up anti trust laws to ensure fair competition to prevent price fixing. What will happen when the global supply chain is controlled by a multinational state owned enterprises?

Coffin like homes in Hong Kong

watching a documentary on the coffin homes in Hong Kong makes me appalled at the inhumane living conditions of the urban poor and marginalised group in Hong Kong where poor town planning and sky high prices make a decent living space unaffordable for many.some are old but some are families with kids. They should see how Singapore HDB provides decent public housing whích is the most basic human need for shelter. it speaks volumes for the indomitable spirit of the people of Hong Kong to live,work,eat and sleep in such ultra cramped space with poor air quality and a fire hazard.

Geared for outdoors

went for brunch at Bruce Dumplings at IPC.They serve tasty jiao zhi,pan fried dumplings and i ordered my favourite hong kong style dim sum savoury fried yam puffs and fried shrimp dumpling and a bowl of walnut paste. they had an offer of buy 2 free 1.im spoilt for choice as the dim sum like radish cake are my favourite but sold out. then i bought a floppy straw hat from Daiso at rm 5 as im too lazy to hold the umbrella.im geared for prevention of heatstroke in blazing heatwave.my neighbours garden downstairs is so artistically decorated.my kitty loves watching small bantam hens.then i walked to the mini mart to pick up simple groceries . i hate the scorching heat and dream of filling a bath tube with ice cubes and plunging into it for cold water therapy.

Old and New dances

Revamp wardrobe

Should we dress our age or as Jun says i like the lao hiao style. Maybe its time to revamp my wardrobe so i searched the net to fix my lack of style in dressing.Power dressing is out for me,a poor retiree with no hope to climb up the ladder of corporate success and have hit the glass ceiling and got trapped in it. Now theres a quirky way of dressing called the rich grandma style and that sounds good for aging bodies like mine.the catchword is rich coz that translate to better courteous service by customer service staff who think that this customer is a good catch and privileged to deposit tons of money into their recommended investment portfolio diversification plans.I might even get to park my small car at the parking space right in front of the bank entrance reserved for premier privileged customers.hmm Rich grandma and when i goggled the images i nearly dropped dead laughing my ass out.My false teeth fell out and my glasses turned steamy at the pics of rich ass grandmas.one had a picture of grandma in her undies who had alzheimer and forgot to put on her skirt.the next photo had grandma in a boob tube (bad for saggy boobs)having problem putting on her bra and forgot to button up her jacket as her stiff arthritic fingers were acting up.one was dressed like the witch without her broomstick,straight out of Adams family horror show .one was snow white in a micro mini skirt transformed to a court jester and looked like a big joker and only one set of clothing suited my sense of rich grandma.i give up and gonna stick to my mix and match of new with old lao hiao or old foxy vain pot style,the poor Po Po style with China Chic ,the umbrella to shield from fierce tropical sun and dark sunglasses to shield from glaring UV light n sturdy boots with anti slip sole

.its just my cup of Boba tea.

Balsam blossoms

i detest the heatwave as i get headaches n mouth ulcers n parched throat but my flowers love the heat n bloom well.

Nick Cave on what Art is

Nick Cave is a singer,song writer,screenwriter,author and visual artist or sculptor. What is Art?in an interview in the Guardian newspaper he says Not only has he been able to express his grief in his work, but it has also fed his creativity. Even at its bleakest, he has found it cathartic. “Making art is in itself the great expression of joy and optimism, in my view. That’s why we need it. Music, art, reminds us of our fundamental capacity to create beautiful things out of the fuckeries of life. i like this artistic work that is thought provoking and challenges our perception of what a devil is that the flawed everyman in us contain the potential of evil.An artistic rendition of the devil in ceramics showing him in the seven ages of man,birth,falling in love,going to war etc.i like ar

t that shock your sense of reality and rips away your illusions of truth,and beauty.

Public holiday

this morning i did stretching yoga asanas and found my muscles were stiff and taunt.i really miss a good thai massage but it cost a bomb. kitty was real frisky so Jun helped me put on the leash for him and we explored the neighbours on the ground floor nice garden.Captain kitty loved exploring among the roots of trees,near large floor length mirrors,the wooden swing and was fascinated by the clucking n crowing small white bantam hens the neighbour kept in the huge chicken coop.he chased after the sparrows and climbed the tree trunk.when it was time to go home,he put on temper tantrum,his sharp talons clung to the tree bark until i tempted him with tuna cat treats.then just outside our door,he realised it was home when i took out the keys so another tantrum as he turned belly up and refused to walk.he tried to bite me when i wanted to carry him so i took out his favourite salmon treat and he dashed inside the house.he was so tired that by noon he was fast asleep curled up on top of the cardboard box. As it is a public holiday,i skipped my usual park and went to do urban sketching at the international peace patk.some were exercising by doing tai chi with swords,a lady with her huge camera was shooting photos of the birds in the trees while dads were bringing their kids to play in the park.i spotted a shady pavilion and took out my sketch book to draw the lorus pond with yellow lotus flowers blooming. today is self care day as kitty is fast asleep and so i put on a cold face mask,some soothing music and used my electrical massage rollers that had infra red function to relieve muscle pain n ache. r

ef

A jazz ballad

Hard work

its hot n sweaty to exercise outdoors.im sure that some sports cars are chick magnets and the hunk with ripped bulging biceps are babe magnets.as a tough old bird,im a monkey and mosquito magnet.the hot young chicks get hickeys or lovebites on their necks but i get itchy mosquito bites as the sweat attracts the bloodthirsty vampires out for breakfast.sigh

Home cooked food.

i take the trouble to learn new recipes and like mom i try to eat home cooked food as its healthier n more hygienic.i miss moms mooncakes,rice dumpling and braised duck. im glad Jun appreciates my effort to introduce international cuisines for him from korean fried chicken,japchae,udon,soba,grilled saba,italian rissotto,tortellini,paella,chicken liver pate,evietnam spring roll.last nite icooked a sherpherds pie for dinner with minced chicken and brocolli n mixed vege and topped with parmesan cheese.i cooked a tangy tom yam laksa with patin catfish n he complimented my tom yam as authentic as the one he ate in bangkok as i put lime juice n tamarind slices and nam pla in the soup.at nite after dinner i baked a moist carrot cake with brown sugar,carrot,raisins,cinnnamom n nutmeg powder.nowadays jun prefer homecooked meals as i put in more healthy ingredients n generous amount of meat n vegetable instead of the small miserable ingredients in dining out.but my bill for fruits has soared as ringgit depreciated so that imported hawaii solo papaya from philiipines cost rm15 a kilo.cant even afford to eat new zealand kiwi but buy China kiwi. brocolli and indian grapes n south africa blueberry.