Happy New Year 2021

 

Playing Basketball

Yes, you heard correctly. I have started playing basketball with my bunch of nephews. My friends are saying I am going nuts for taking up boxing and now basketball. They warned me that it would hurt my soles and too much exercise would make me thinner like a Scarecrow. There are several basketball courts in my neighbourhood and it's free for the public to use. I have not been attending the boxing classes since the MCO started and the long hiatus would need me to build up my stamina again.

My nephews played their computer games at home too often and lacked exercise. So the annoying uncle is dragging them to play some outdoor games. They freaked out in less than one hour.

 I made them run around the basketball court and screamed at them like a fierce NBA coach!

Practice makes perfection. Nothing is easy in life.

At least I still could prance and jump like a monkey! 

Don't play, play. This uncle still can play!

 

The game is over and I had to buy them Bubble Milk Tea to reward them for exercising!

Nowadays, the kids are damn spoilt and too pampered like snowflakes!

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Learning From Our Cradle To Our Graves

My wife has some incurable books disease. She would not stop reading anything she could lay her hands and studying is her all time passion. I am just totally opposite. Needless to say, I like to laze, chill and relax with something to drink and munch in front of the TV.

I fetched my wife to OUM yesterday. She came out with a goodie bag that confirms her enrollment to pursue her Master's Degree in Information Technology! ~ Faints ~

That calls for a small celebration for her journey to higher learning. I took her to explore the J-Gate on the upper floor of Lot 10. This exciting place reminds me of the many fine dining restaurants in Tokyo's upscale Roppongi hub.

We settled and chose Ma Maison Ebisu Restaurant. Look at my wife with her new Princess Diana's hairdo.

We ordered and shared a delicious platter of Chicken Wings and Fried Cheese Balls, It was superb and heavenly!

Look at the steaming hot and flowing cheese gooey! I will want to order this again.

This Pork Tonkatsu was very delicious as they used the best rice imported from Japan including all their specially made sauces and ingredients. We will be back!

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The "Best Wife Award" goes to.....

My drum rolls......

Here I go again, blowing trumpets about my wife. I have shared the recent post on how my wife sacrificed her hiking trip to the Himalayas and put up a brave pretentious look to send me off on the plane to South Korea and thereafter took a cab home instead. If you cannot recall this incident, you can read up HERE.

So, I have ordered an Academy Award trophy for my wife for her BEST ACTRESS role! Muahahahahaha

Sometimes, she amazed me as an overly ambitious person with a strong character and passion to live her life to the fullest. The year 2020 has been a fruitful year for her with several unexpected new ventures to keep her going and busy. Besides her tight schedule being a fulltime consultant for our Ministry of Education, she also runs 2 educational centres for her USA's Computational Thinking and also joins her weekly sessions with different Toastmaster's Clubs in Klang Valley. Not enough, she will be lecturing weekly at University Tunku Abdul Rahman come this January 2021 and currently in talks with Sri KDU for her contributions towards their expansion programs. She has also enrolled to do her Masters in Computer Science too. Who on earth would believe the way she uses her time each day? I do. I am thankful that she has time to take good care of me.

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My Hometown Stay at Cheong Fatt Tze's Blue Mansion

We can travel interstate now. So I quickly arranged with my KL antique dealer to send my friend's purchase on the lorry to his home in Penang Island. 

Since I am alone for the trip, I seized the chance to stay and explore this ancient mansion which was built by the Last Mandarin of China, before the fall of Qing Dynasty. 

I arrived the Blue Mansion on a trishaw.

 The Grandeur Lobby to welcome guests. This was the movie set of the Crazy Rich Asians!

Waited for my chamber maid to usher me to my harem.

Once upon a time, this was the harem of the concubines.

Raise the red lanterns at night fall.

That's my "Gang Yu" chamber.

My stately and well equipped room. Many naughty comments in my Facebook teased me that it's haunted and I would wake up in the lobby the next morning!!! So cruel!

Don't disturb me. I am busy now with lots of business to do. Honestly, I was typing this blog post before I lost the excitement.

Next morning, my butler invited me for breakfast.

 Look at my sumptuous breakfast.

Come and stay here. You will love the ambiance and top notch service. 

Many movies have been filmed here including the Crazy Rich Asians!

Write down in your bucket list.

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Times Have Changed. It Is The New Normal.

Someone shared these hilarious photos in the social media. I was tickled and agreed that many young generations today are so spoilt, pampered and different. I see too many bad parenting nowadays beyond hope and repair. I am having headaches with the bunch of some crazy nephews and nieces around me. It is the new normal of seeing these beings!

Meanwhile, ex-PM Tony Blair of UK just said - COVID19 will usher in a world where insecurity and unpredictability constitute the new normal.

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

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The Chicken Rice Shop @ 1-Utama Shopping Mall

I went to meet a fellow blogger who just returned from Thailand after being stranded there for almost a year due to the closed borders. He was a known addict for this Roast Chicken Rice and Curry Chicken before he went missing in Thailand. It was through him that I learnt to eat Chicken Rice at this chain of TCRS. I found their prices attractive especially when they have many sets of combo meals. It was indeed suitable for me to bring guests there when I needed to entertain over the last 2 years. 

 The fellow blogger and I. He bought a bereavement package from me on time before the price went up on 1st December! He saved additional RM900 besides the early booking discount of over RM3,000. So he saved almost RM4,000 to buy a 'peace of mind'.

We ordered too much as the promotions was irresistible!!

It costs only RM1.80 for this whole plate of quarter roast chicken!! 

So cheap promotions la. Kiok Kiok Kiok! Ayam berkokok.

It was a happy and yummy day to meet my friend again. When I posted these photos in my Facebook, I had a shock that so many people mentioned that I took them there to eat too. I was quite embarrassed actually, not realizing that I frequented this place. That's because we eat outside often during the MCO period.

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What is my New Year's Resolution 2021?

The most scary and difficult year 2020 will be coming to an end this month. The deadly pandemic of Covid19 virus will continue into the year 2021. This deadly virus has changed the whole world and affected almost everyone directly or indirectly from all races of different countries. Many richest and wealthy class people have been affected when this virus robbed their lives and wealth to zero.

I have not been spared either but I am rather fortunate that things somehow fell into place nicely for me. It was like the heavens had diverted my paths towards brokering antique furniture and selling bereavement products since 2018. That was quite sometime before fingers started pointing at Wuhan for spreading the virus. Honestly, I am very sure that the virus did not originate from Wuhan but rather it was discovered from there. So I was earning pocket money from elsewhere when my boss started slowly down and ceased paying the staff salaries since July 2018! That was insane but my willpower and determination pushed me to keep persevering  and go against all odds. 

I never imagined in my entire life that I would someday be visiting all the big and small cemeteries in Klang Valley besides all the columbarium and high class funeral parlours on weekly or daily basis. Last weekend, I sat outside the Nirvana's sales office in Shah Alam while waiting for my downline to finish selling to his customers. There were nice polished marble stools and tables amidst the landscaped garden. I decided to take some photos to share as every piece tells me a story about life. The above photo is like the path that I partake in my journey of life. I had no idea what lies ahead but I am truly grateful for all the experience that shaped me up. I would say that I am most grateful to both my parents for bringing me up well with the best education that would safely provide me a roof over my head and food on the table. 

This statue of the couple depicts me clearly. I have come along in my life with so much ups and downs, yet my wife stood beside me to encourage me, through the darkest days. I am happiest and contented with my life that I met my wife who showed me the way to live in a meaningful way. I started to appreciate whatever I have today as many people out there have nothing.

This crying lady reminds me of my late mother. I have witnessed her crying many times during my growing up years. She was a tough cookie and intelligent lady. She was so smart academically that she passed her entrance exam at the young age of 15 years to be enrolled into the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok to study Dentistry. She came from a very privileged family because her father was a very feared Chief Police Officer in Thailand where he had many servants and bodyguards to serve the entire family. My mother cried many times when she discovered that her greedy and selfish sister took all her money from their family's joint bank accounts to dabble into her own business ventures. My mother was in a dilemma as she had to provide for my siblings who were all studying in Canada and Australia. The feud of 2 sisters ended when my late father encouraged my mother to forgive her sister who was dying of cancer in later years. My mother flew to Bangkok alone and visited her ailing sister who cried buckets of tears at her death bed. She gave my mother a precious gold ring with a huge emerald stone as big as my thumb as a parting gift.

This family statues being huddled together reminds me of my late father being comforted by my siblings during my mother's funeral. It was a sad moment when you have lost a parent. The worst part was my father was suffering from the most advanced dementia where his memory loss made him a frustrated man. He could not recognize anyone except me alone because he could call my name. He did not recognize my siblings, his relatives, friends and even his caregiver. He did not even remember himself and the reasons he was still alive. I would say dementia is one of the most difficult sickness to endure. 

This statue looks like a Saint holding a baby. This is probably to comfort young parents who lost their babies that heavenly angels will accompany them till eternity.

My New Year's Resolution for 2021 is to stay safe, work harder and continue to do charity to make online donations to the animal shelters besides other people in need.

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Bromance In The Gymnasium

I still hit my regular gym near home, several times a week. It is always therapeutic alone to do some light workout often to burn some fats, calories and stress. Remember that STRESS KILLS and is the Number 1 Killer for heart disease and cancer as well.

So, I was there again last night after an eventful day at the cemetery in Semenyih. It was a very isolated burial case which I am still thinking whether it is advisable to share for knowledge.

While I was doing some seated exercise at the machine in the gym, there was this group of playful friends who always huddled and exercised together. Then, this young guy was doing his 'back leg curls' machine exercise which would greatly strengthen our back legs.

Suddenly, his playful friend came along and decide to join in to make a sandwich cake!

Whoa!! They both went on and on doing the back leg curls with so many cameras flashing at them. What a bromance exercise, I thought. SOP? What SOP?

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Is Antibiotics harmful?

My doctor friend shared a shocking revelation about antibiotics. I was quite disturbed on looking at his explanation with the supporting graphics on his Facebook page. I really believe that antibiotics have harmed my body over the years. So I am sharing it here to create some awareness.

What the medical experts say:

Taking antibiotics for colds and other viral illnesses doesn't work — and it can create bacteria that are harder to kill. Taking antibiotics too often or for the wrong reasons can change bacteria so much that antibiotics don't work against them. This is called bacterial resistance or antibiotic resistance.

This has happened to me:

I was a very sickly child during my young days around 7-10 years with endless of cough, colds, fever and influenza. I used to suffer from this "100 Days Cough" syndrome like a curse. My mum never gave up taking me to see my regular doctor at the hospital. I was being fed with overdosed antibiotics all my years. When I grew up, I even knew how to buy maximum strength antibiotics over the counters especially in United States. I thought antibiotics are very good & important.

Nobody ever educated me about the needs to consume probiotics to heal my gut bacteria back into balance. As a result, I suffered so much serious eczema problems, migraines, IBS, gut bleeding issues and bloating that caused sleeping problems! I sure sound like a sick dog.

Thank goodness, I have been taking costly probiotics everyday to fix my gut issues now. I will not simply trust doctors again.

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House Of Pok @ 1-Utama Shopping Mall

As you know, I am not a regular food blogger. I am also lousy at writing food because my tongue does not know how to describe the tastes precisely and what ingredients are inside. Somehow I must share about this place I have been eating very often because it is near home besides the cheap set lunches. Most importantly is the dishes tasted good, yummy, sedap and heavens. That's how I described my meals and you will not get much captions in my photos. Enjoy reading.

Welcome to join me at House Of Pok. A non halal restaurant that attracts many customers in the otherwise quiet shopping mall. I am a regular here with my wife together with my nephew and niece.

The interior has some touches of China.

We always ordered 2 set lunches and shared the dishes with our rice.

When we ordered 3 set meals, we could share 6 yummy dishes like a banquet! Oh yes, I bought that Tote Bag for my wife's recent birthday because I was attracted to the shocking pink strap which is so unusual colour to me. It is not available at Pavilion's boutique. My wife's bags are always big and heavy with A-Z items inside. She will never want to carry a LV or Burberry bag, so I might tell her it's a fake one next year. Sssh!

 Look at the banner! Look at the bill. 

Burp!

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