21 Jan 2022 – Eat Till You Drop!

Mon: severe snow and rare ice storm expected to hit the US EastCoast. Family&friends who are affected plx take care to be safe&warm. Post office to mail off a package to Lock CanadaS$21 – wonder how long it will take to get there? Old pix of ancestral hall touched-up, scanned and printed S$25 to share with family. Tkx to Irene for her share too.

OldChangKee dinner@CC. Tkx to Helen for Wingstop (good coleslaw) and for delightful stroll with the tigers in Chinatown under a lovely breezy beautiful full-moon.

That’s actually very nice. Normally they all looked a bit weird and cardboard like according to cousin Karen who is an architect with good taste and it was exactly my thoughts and what I said to Helen too!

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/chinatown-lights-up-to-usher-in-year-of-the-tiger-with-lanterns-in-shape-of-tigers

Tue: Happy Thaipusam to those celebrating&marking the day. Grocery shopping@Giant/Tampines and pleased with decent promotional savings of S$12.25 and SS$3.58. New stick vacuum S$25 – the old one just broke down after over a decade. Tkx to Aileen for gifts+lunch@IKEA.

Wed: have been wanting to check out HockTeckSee Temple

https://www.roots.gov.sg/places/places-landing/Places/surveyed-sites/Hock-Teck-See-Temple

and HajiMuhammadSalleh Mosque ever since I returned here 2decades ago;

https://www.roots.gov.sg/places/places-landing/Places/surveyed-sites/Masjid-Haji-Muhammad-Salleh-and-Keramat-Habib-Noh

working then with H&H@former MarinaHouse now a completely new EON-ShentonCondos. Never too late as long as both are still standing intact despite being overwhelmed by skyscrapers. A pleasent morning stroll down memory-lane!

Tkx to Aileen for getting me out of my 4-walls 2days in a roll. In good company but not inspired with this SAW-Exhibition – https://www.artweek.sg/

more impressed with the selection of food in this vending machine there! Do not usually get food from vending machines unless there are no other choices and I am starving! Have not seen a vending machine with this kind of salad selections – Ceasar, Greek, SobaNoodle, ThaiPapaya, on top of the selection of sandwiches, but not starving nor in the mood to flirt!

A N T I N O D E S

Bad Imitation

REFUSE

At I12 for lunch and the new basement food court looks pretty decent – fasting today and not too hungry, the plum juice was refreshing&good. Aileen had the KwayTeow&Chendol and liked them. Will be back to try the foods from some of these stalls.

Thu: lunching on 4 different taste for starters+fresh crispy baby arugula salad, delicious SotoAyam made from scratch+fried salmon-belly and fresh fruits for desserts.

Appreciations&tkx to Calvin@CC for Iyas’s Bday dinner – yummy dumpings, fish-head, giant-shrimps, quids, scallops and vegetarian dish from Iyas.

AgarAgar+a bottle of IKEA Swedish wine from me and all pix credits to Helen, except for the one of her! As usual, a good time was had by all.

You’re not as young as you used to be. But you’re not as old as you’re going to be – Irish Saying

Fri: TGIF thank goodness the major drilling&hacking from some renovation@5level is finally done when I have been busy&out the past 4days – was not planned, just happened. Today can at least hear myself think and music without headphones – also need to fast to let the system rest before more celebrations over the weekend.

16 Jan 2022 – LAM  Museum In The Making

Thu: early Bday celebrations tkx to Carmel for breakfast&gifts by the beach. What a beautiful morning to have a yummy alfresco picnic breakfast of scones+smoked-salmon with Ireland never far from our memories, appreciations for 2022calender from Ireland! Such a delight&luxury to be in such good company with no crowds or enclosed-walls.

Sinfully delicious fusion pick me up – this perfect surroundings in the shade under a lovely tree with a pleasant breeze listening to the waves chatting with a friend counting our blessings, a total feeling of bliss&peace.

Fri: TGIF and a good weekend to all. Happy Pongal to those marking the day. Last day age 71 must be one of the best days since I returned to this part of the world to research on my roots in China&Sarawak, and the best Bday gift to start my 72nd year. Tkx to cousin Irene works have started at the LAM ancestral hall in the village of Sun Wui (新會) in Jiangmen (江門) Guangdong Province/China. Thought I was fighting a losing battle when I tried to convinced the family that our heritage is something to be proud of with the good deeds our granduncle’s&grandfather’s did for their village.

https://amylamsg.com/2009/07/14/lam-heritage/

The exact location of these buildings: TangbianliVillage, DanzaoTownship, PengjiangDistrict, JiangmenCity, GuangdongProvince, PRC

A plaque has now been installed at the entrance to the building, designating it as Jiangmen Historic Architecture. After so many years of effort&frustrations, this is indeed a very happy moment. In order to know where you are going, know where you came from first!

A person without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots – Marcus Garvey

Sat: Happy Bday to me and to AngieS (50!! where has all that time go, seems like yesterday that we were celebrating our day together in FL/USA); EstellaC, JoshuaL, JohnT also share the same day, Happy Bday to them too. Still on Cloud9 after news about China and feeling so blessed&grateful for all the kind well wishes from family&friends all over the world for the day – delighted with drawings from grandchildren.

Appreciations&tkx to family&friend, started the celebrations with lunch at TheSocial@Forum TheShoppingMall. The food on the menu looked interesting and they had quail which I have been wanting to taste. No recommendations from me, and will not be returning for another visit – more for the younger generation who are there taking pix of food for their social media!

Have not been into this mall since I do not even remember when but glad to have found this BananagramsS$36@TheToyFolks there, have been looking for it since I was introduced to this Scrabble-like game but without the board.

Man oh man these cookiesS$25 (butter+M&M) are soo cute and irresistible, but Leonard (belated Bday to him, 5Jan) is so right about the younger generation being more into presentation than taste. Bought a box and will not be getting more.

Did not even know that HiltonHotel has been rebranded to vocoOrchard, thank goodness the cakes at the lobby lounge has not changed still taste good.

Discovered this gem 辉记 FaiKeeFishHeadBeeHoon@CommonwealthCrescentMarket&Food Centre. Had their BlackBeanBeefBitterMelon, HorFun,PrawnPasteChicken highly recommended.

Sun: need the day to rest this body&mind to catch up with world news. There has been undersea volcano eruption near Tonga and tsunami warnings have been issued in many areas around the Pacific. Ppl  affected, plx take care and be safe – pix downloaded.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-16/hunga-tonga-haapai-volcano-eruption-tsunami-warnings/100759488

12 Jan 2022 – A Gracious Talented Man

Sun: a sunset scene only known by me as to where&when it was taken from, otherwise could also be sunrise. Watching the sunrise or sunset gives such feelings of total peace to be able to appreciate&see such natural serene beauty and that the darkness that follows a sunset is never so dark that it can change the inevitability of a sunrise – – Craig D. Lounsbrough

Mango tree@sis Jo’s has delicious mango when in season, she also has calamanis – tkx for a handful of fresh calamanis to last me for a few days.

Tkx for dinner@Jo’s with my bittergourd+celery contribution – pleased with my new concoction of a tasty&healthy BeetAgarAgar, ie if you like agar-agar&beets like I do! Working towards keeping with my 2022-resolution to eat less&healthier but with ups&downs like everything in life!!

Sad to learn of the passing of Sidney Poitier age 94, am a total fan of his graious charming&charismatic acting and will take some time to listen to some of his autobiographical books and rewatch some of his movies. The 2handsomest&sexiest AfricanAmerican men in my eyes are these 2 – pix downloaded.

Mon: appt@NHCS for a CT-Scan to make sure that things are OK after the last infection! A walk to Chinatown to check out the CNYdeco in daylight. Passing by PearlHill which is under construction after demolishing PearlBankApt where it was home to 4th-auntie&uncle – WONG cousins from my paternal side. The new upcoming On-PearlBank is expected to TOP in Feb2023.

Tkx to DaisyC for lunch@OriginalChewKeeEatingHouse(ChewKeeSoySauceChicken)钊记面家8UpperCrossSt, dessert@MeiHeongYuen味 香 园 甜 品 ChinatownPoint. Lines@LimCheeGuan林 志 源 NewBridgeRd have started and tigers are ready for their leaps into the CNY, but I am far from ready…

Tue: cousinYeng gave me these 6pix. I am keeping four – BG1/SIN, BG5/Canada, BG12/USA, BG15/Canada (hope to pass them on when travelling is possible for me). Hope that cousins from BG17&18 will contact me if interested – if not will offer to other cousins who might be interested

Must have been exhausted, napped all afternoon! Rewatched To Sir With Love1(1967) which is still quite vivid in the mind; was just out of boarding school getting ready to start U in Dublin/Ireland and it made quite an impression on me then – glad that I still enjoyed it. First time watching 2(1996) and liked it too, probably partial being a total fan of his.

Wed: The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography(2000) written&narrated by SidneyPoitier ~7hrs and I could listen to him all day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sRdwTZkOQE

I’ve learned that I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me. There is a certain anger: it reaches such intensity that to express it fully would require homicidal rage–self destructive, destroy the world rage–and its flame burns because the world is so unjust. I have to try to find a way to channel that anger to the positive, and the highest positive is forgiveness ― Sidney Poitier

8 Jan 2021 – Where’s Wally

Wed: world’s 1st indoor-atrium-net-playground opened in 2018 and have been wanting to try this playground that span over levels 2-6@CitySquareMall. With nets connecting one level to the next and slides to get down it was no problems getting up&down holding on to the nets on both sides. Yes, did enquire about the age limit and with Les’s clinic just around the corner@FarrerPkMedicalCentre, it should be OK incase of emergency – hahaha!

Finally an excuse to play here, tkx to grandneices Devon&Eliot who are such a spot, but not easy to take pix trying to balance when there are 12others moving about (max 15). https://airzone.sg/

To be&stay in&on this playground, I had to look forward or upward and NOT down. And like life, live your moments looking forward&upward! And when I was down, it was not easy to get up again to look for Wally lol – surrounded by balls pix credit tkx to one of the younger crews who could stand and take this pix!

We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing – George Bernard Shaw

Since in the vicinity, bought food from DonDonDonki, their ready-to-eat-ChukaKarage/jellyfish being one of my favourites to share@CC but was too tired to stay.

Thu: need a few days to recover from the Airzone – feeling the aches from trying to balance&stay upright walking on the nets yesterday, not the usual way of using certain muscles! Naybe age has something to do with it, lol. SIN-Flyer was in the plan today to use the RediscoverVoucher – Oh well! so its not meant to be and like everything, the aches too will soon pass.

Old man pushing seventy,
In truth he acts like a little boy,
Whooping with delight when he spies some mountain fruits,
Laughing with joy, tagging after village mummers;
With the others having fun stacking tiles to make a pagoda,
Standing alone staring at his image in the jardinière pool.
Tucked under his arm, a battered book to read,
Just like the time he first set out to school – Lu Yu

Fri: TGIF and a good weekend to all – the consquences for starting my day after sunrise!

No hurry&no worries, still got my weekly produceS$12 cleaned&stored before 0900hrs!! Also enough bonesS$5 for a big pot of stock&collagen for the week. For someone like me to usually start my day before sunrise, I have forgotten how heavy the traffic is around this area where many of the good schools are located – a reminder to start earlier! Was actually awake&up by 0600hrs today, but was procrastinating not remembering that schools have started.

The benefits of broth-bones is a rich source of gelatin, methionine, glycine, and chondroitin – each of these substances supports specific health-related functions. Proteinaceous structrures within the body such as collagen and the soft tissues in joints use huge amounts of these substances, so do bones and teeth.

Sat: weekend of putting way the Xmas-Deco and taking out the CNY-Deco, organizing the season’s greetings+gift lists for 2022 and other paperworks;

papers have not been filed since Aug2021 – ouch! Appreciations&tkx for call from M1 to remind about re-applying to IMDA’s HomeAccess3.0Programme/S$9monthly, what I  pay monthy to be online.

4 Jan 2022 – Staycation@Capella/Sentosa

Sat: Happy New Year –  a perfect pix from yesterday for me to insert text in for my 2022 greetings, non-text pix credits to KK, my oldest friend from 1954 and yes we are still friends today! Pouring buckets on the bus today, but nice to be the only passenger to start the year!

Thank you for Darrly’s yummy home-cooked 1-day-early-Bday dinner, and with cooking like this, he will no problems to survive his future overseas study in Australia even when mother is not there to do the dishes – hahaha! Good luck and all the best to him, hopefully things will work out and he is able to fly off end of this month.

Lovely view in good company on a cool breezy night from a HDB-22nd floor to start 2022 – tkx to nieces Judy&Daisy, nephew Clement &grandnephews Stanley&Darrly for including me – am sooo totally blessed with my caring extended family+old&new friends here in SIN.

Sun: bus to VivoCity walking to Sentosa via the boardwalk. Looking back on to Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim (the tiny green-roof in the background on top of the road-signs) where once upon a time was our neighbour in an era long gone.

Underpass from ResortsWorldSentosa and headed left after the toll-booth, to only realized on hindsight that it would have been a more direct and shorter way on the right! But then was in no hurry and exploring by feet is enjoyable for me, nice to see such lush greeny. Fortunate enough that someone thought I looked trust-worthy enough to let me in via the gate facing the beach!

With a room+room-service-dinner like this – Heaven must be a place on earth…

Fun time with Kat, Devon&Eliot+MeiPin. Games&night swimming, have now taken this great game Bananagram to a new level – must introduce this game to my flock.

Mon: 2hrs early morning walk to explore before the rest of the family is awake, ie 0700-0900hrs. like the National Museum, Capella have done a decent job here preserving the old colonial style by adding on the new beside&behind keeping the beautiful grand-old facade.

Being monitored by peacock on the roof was interesting – glad that it was not too borthered with being shot by this camera!

Down to ArtilleryRd where I should have walked yesterday but glad that it was not the case. Now I have the chance to see these building in drier conditions&better lights – FormerPowerStation

Former RoyalEngineers’Yard and these 2buildings I do vividly remember.

The Barracks&MessHall are vaguely somewhere at the back of the mind – beautifully restored and will be back for a longer visit another day. https://www.thebarrackshotel.com.sg/

Around the corner towards PalawanBeachWalk with the contemporaries…

Sentosa at its best in the early hours

Even this man-made beach looks inviting when you can have it to yourself!

Ready for breakfast&playtime – as long as there is energy&life, using it to enjoy the moments.

Appreciations to Kat for asking me there and to Les for arranging the accommodations/Villa5 – first&probably my last experience staying in this location. Has been raining relentlessly over the weekend but was blessed with no rains today until we checked out of the resort.

There are certainly no lack of choices for pools for this staycation in this resort – 2above pix downloaded.

Tue: 8+hrs sleep last night does help this old-tried body to rejuvenate! Nice quiet day to update this posting (took 80+pix over this staycation!) and rest.

Always take time out for rejuvenation and redirection.
Inquire as you move along the path.
There is no one best way. Different paths—different solutions.
Refinement is a constant process of growth for better results! ― Joseph S. Spence Sr.

Jan’s Birthdays

2 – Happy Bday Darryl
5 – Happy Bdays Gerald  & Leonard
6 – Happy Bday Cindy
9 – Happy Bdays Judy & Lee
10 – Happy Bday KeeYang
11 – Happy Bday Mick
15 – Happy Bdays Angie  & me!
18 – Happy Bday Isabelle (SunSun)
20 – Happy Bday DavidLam & Mayven
21 – Happy Bday Michael
22 – Happy Bday Katy
24 – Happy Bdays 15thUncle  and Ole K

31 Dec 2021 – Old B/W Photographs

Tue: appreciations to cousins Yeng&Cheng for their visit and for all the old B/W pix to share and to pass them on to the other cousins. Kicking myself for forgetting to take pix of them as I do not have any pix of them…

Tried the BeefHorFun at this stall@MT-Market and Durian-Ice-Cream for dessert. Minister for Manpower Dr Tan SeeLeng and a Member of Parliament representing MarineParade ward of MarineParade Group RepresentationConstituency (GRC) was greeting the ppl by visiting door to door – appreciate the visit+goodies, thank you! Misread&thought that he would be at the PAP Community downstairs to greet the ppl, (Meet-the-People), glad l that I was within my 4-walls to receive the visit.

Wed: have put aside today&tomorrow for grandniecs Devon&Eliot visiting from NY, but since it is not meant to be, will sort out the old B/Wpix. Excited but frustrated as none of us are able to identify the child in this pix. If he is my father, this would then be from around 1915? Amazing how good condition this pix is! Asked cousin Susannah/Canada to show her dad to see if it may sparkle any recognition?? He is the only surviving son from paternal grandmother CHAN SweeNgor.

Edited: tkx to cousin Klaus who showed the pix to his dad and he recognised&identified that to be himself – that will then put that pix to be from around mid 1930s.

If only old pix are like trees where we can tell their age! Tan KimSeng Fountain(1882) would be recognised by most in SIN the only tell-tale sign that it is from another lifetime ago are the cars in the background.

Thu: father with his 4full-brothers (15Uncle being the only one still here) and grandmother with her 6daughters (11&13Aunties still with us today).

More excitment as I found some pix from my maternal-side, TSANG and those are few&far in between. Problem is that I can only identify the BlueG, some of the GreenG and none of the OrangeG. From my maternal side, the only surviving sibling from mother is 10thUncle/Canada who is 101 and I had the pleasure to meet him a few years ago. Pix are from father’s HKG/1973visit.

1958 amazing shot (I think father took that pix) of bro, Leslie – not much help from this background to figure out which pool this is taken from. Guessing that it is from the old IslandClub??off ThompsonRd and as far as my memory can take me, it was one of the steepest hill to drive up to then! Yeah I guessed correctly, tkx DavidT for confirming that it was IslandClub, and the tip about the tin umbrellas – found other pix for the same location taken 1964 with both my bros, Lawrence&Leslie.

My 1st camera around the late 1950s to early 1960s/TemenggongRd,SIN. Tkx to DavidT&StephenK learnt that it is a RollerFlex. 2011-Yulis&Chiew’sWedding/SIN. 2015/OSL,Norway, various Canon idiot-proof cameras where I can just aim&shoot. Enjoy taking pix as it is the best way for me to remember ppl&places by, even when the pix are not the best, but good enough for me!

Fri: my beautiful1st&2nd-born made my day – do not even remember when was the last I had a pix of just the 2 of them! Glad that they could spent some time together alone in NYC, even if just for one day. Too often we get so wrapped up with family&work that we foget to take care of ourselves.

TGIF on a short serene brisk walk with a nice ice-coffee-cuppa before sunrise. MT-neighbourhood-market decked up with cheerful lights to end this year – enjoy your moments for this last 2021day.

Appreciations to KK for lunch company and tkx for the salad – enjoyed the refreshing cool wet walk on EC Pk with my oldest friend and glad that we are still friends after nearly 60yrs – renewing friendship is the best way to end 2021.

The saddest quote ever created by the funniest man in the world? ‘I love walking in the rain cause no one can see me crying.’ Charlie Chaplin

31Dec2021: WorldOmeter of COVID-19 deaths are as follow:

27 Dec 2021 – A Long Weekend Of Glorious Foods

Fri: dental appt which was set up a year ago@BedokDentalPolyclinic! Good to know that teeth are still in decent working condition and the earliest possible next appt is Jul2023!! MRT with change of bus@EunosBusInterchange to UbiAve to pick up roast-foods for tonight. Lines were too long at my regular stall, tried another stall and happy with it.

Even Santa gave up on us tonight, appreciations for yummy dinner with fun company –

tkx to Calvin, Wendy&Helen for their contribution to the pot-luck.

Pix credits to Helen, tkx to Chris for the ride. A Santa joke to start your celebrations&feastings

The 3 stages of man: He believes in Santa Claus. He doesn’t believe in Santa Claus. He is Santa Claus

Fri24Dec: Fairest Lord Jesus/Deilig er jorden, The Cello Advent Calendar  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFlikFBQqIc

Have enjoyed ElisaRobak’s Dec Cello Advent Calendar postings, thank you! Saw this painting and thought of her.

Sat: Season’s Greetings with Hope, Peace, Joy & Love from my flock&I around the world. This is the only year that I have not seen my 1st&2nd-born for a whole year since they were born! 2nd-born&family are now in SC/USA for this holiday. Have yourselves a jolly&merry time with family&friends where ever we may be and while we still are able to do so.

Thank you for lunch with Les&family. Kat, Devon&Eliot are visiting, but did not get to see Eliot.

Kiera is now of drinking age! Age and glasses of wine should be counted – ItalianProverb

Do sooo miss our annual family ChristmasDay lunch@TanglinClub hosted by Les&Ivy – pix from Dec2016. The last one together with our bro Lawrence was Dec2019 and that was also his last Christmas lunch with us, may he now RIP.

Sun: Happy St Stephen’sDay/Ireland (tkx to Carmel for the reminder) and Happy Boxing Day/UK&SIN. Appreciations to cousin Karen&friends for seafood lunch@Jumbo EC-Pk. It is always fun to catch up with her, the only cousin from paternal grandmother’s branch who lives&works in SIN.

4-ladies did justice to the food – lol

‘It is because of self-importance, why crab does not have a head’ -Jamaican Saying

Mon: great catching up with Henry – tkx for visiting. CCF-lunch@MT-market and for tea, FriedKueyTeow on EC-Rd. https://angmohintheeast.com/jago-ckt/

i12-Katong reopens in phases after upgrading works, ie not all the shops are opened in the mall. Looking forward to PS-Cafe for their Key-Lime-Pie.

Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition ― James Baldwin

23 Dec 2021 – Badminton World Championships 2021

Sun: been a long while ago since I was on the go for 10+hrs. 1+hr on bus196 to Commonwealth, got lost looking for the crescent, but finally found Leonard’s newly renovated bachelor pad – not fully completed but looks fantastic so far. Forgot to take pix, but will get them off him to be included in another posting. A fun day visiting his neighbourhood with good food just across his block, to be posted for Sat’s SIN-Hawkers local foods. Also unusual to see a LutheranChurch here!

Furniture shopping late afternoon and he finally found and decided on a coffee-table@Grey&Sanders, MilleniaWalk.

The never-ending choices of yummy foods from@Meidi-Ya where one could buy the food from their Bakery/BeerGarden&Cafe/FoodHall/SuperMarket and eat inside or outside at their cafe – such a good idea, especially with todays circumstances, alfresco is the way to go! Would have not known about this if not for Leonard, I will return.

https://mothership.sg/2020/11/meidi-ya-millenia-walk-opening/

What a delightful day, tkx to Leonard – bus36 from MillenialWalk on a joy-ride to OrchardRd (quite abit of traffic tonight) looping back to the EastSide before 12mid-night to crash!

Sun19Dec: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Cello Advent Calendar  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDMMIn6ZCDM

Mon: need a day from being social to chill and relax before the next wave of socials. Congratulations and thank you to this fine young man Loh KeanYew who stunned the badminton world by becoming the 1stSIN to win the WorldChampionships, another LKY to put our RedDot more into the good limelight.

https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/badminton-singapores-loh-kean-yew-is-world-champion

Mon: Mon20Dec: Nå tennes tusen julelys, The Cello Advent Calendar  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK2P1UgyRbY

Tue: Happy Winter Solstice – feels more like in a furance at present! Appreciations to Ivy for picking me up and since Rahman was driving, picked up 20NormaSize+30MiniPaus – SpecialiseHomemadePau Dian@34CassiaCrescent, my favourite paus, Xmas gift to Les&Ivy.