30 Nov 2023 – Tis That Time Again…

Sun: delighted&proud to see both first-born/red and first grandchild#1/pink running the BGCM TurkeyDay 5k2023 in CAE,SC/USA – pix credits to Alex McDonald, made my day.

The diversity here at HDB/PublicHousing is amazing. Was on my way for freshly squeezed OJ/S$2@Block47 void-deck;s vending machine when by chance saw a note of apology regarding the noise of some religious prayers.

Festive drums&horns were blasting and ppl moving to the rhythm of the fire. Nice being able to be in the background, ie away from the crowds! watching ppl enjoying&celebrating to whatever peaceful festival which brings joy to them – IndianSaris are just so beautiful&colouful. Incidents like these give me some hope to the respect of mankind – got me in the mood for ChickenBiryani dinner.

Mon: a productive day@Bedok running errands and getting both dental& appt set up for this&next week – durians there look tempting,but too much to do and do not wish to the risk of stomach upset. Managed to get some Xmas shopping done@Giant&IKEA/Tampines and the floor in my 4walls are a total mess.

The free shuttle van from Bedok now only runs every hour and limited space and looks like it is only for IKEA, but Giant is only across the road and usually will be at both locations when heading there. Was hoping to get the individual wrapped GingerBreadCookies which were perfect greetings+gifts but no luck, instead saw this latest amazing display – will try again next week!

Tue: after reading these, will stay within my 4walls today and fast – looks like the wet season has brought out these creepy crawly, must find some SulphurSoap to wash outside my door&windows. Snake spotted on road in middle of night in Sembawang HDB estate: ‘Please be extra careful’ (straitstimes.com)

Python found at Tampines HDB block released in forested area | The Straits Times

Yikees@Tangs/OrchardRd! just goes to show that rats do not differentiate the upper scale TangsFoodMarket or Hawkers as far as poor hygiene is concerned!! SFA investigating video showing twitching rat on food tray at Tangs Market – CNA (channelnewsasia.com)

Wed: Happy 17Bday to #3 now driving and being a good older brother helping his 2younger siblings after both his older sisters are away in universities. Seems like yesterday when he was born here in SIN when they were staying in ArthurRd(tkx to PT) then before the blogging days. Glad that he could revisit his birth-country Jul2022 who also taught me that the Eastern-Box turtle’ only roams 1 mile its whole life and if it is removed from its area/home then for the rest of its life it will roam aimlessly stressed out… https://amylamsg.com/2018/07/06/4th-july-2018/

SINPost tells me that they are no longer providing festive holiday rates ie will cost S$1.50 instead of .90c for a greeting card/note to be mailed overseas. Will be cutting down on SnailMail2023Greets this year and sending more Online Greetings.

Thu: where has all the time go, only 1month left to 2023. Last dental cleaning was Dec2021 and being away, missed this Jul appt. Fortunately there was a cancellation so that they could slot me in today. Nov is over, will have to find&gather some energy to think&prepare for this season greetings&gatherings.

Tis not the eating, nor tis not the drinking that is to be blamed, but the excess – J Selden

25 Nov 2023 – Happy Thanksgiving

Wed: appreciations&tkx for dinner@Jo. Beauty is all around when you pause&look,even on this busy crowded tiny RedDot-IslandCountry of SIN. Amazed&delighted to see these orchids from a high-rise and CandleSticks/Fabaceae by a road. Live simple, love well, and take time to smell the flowers along the way.

Bougainvillea,Frangipani,ChineseIxora – feeling totally blessed to be able to enjoy such a variety of beautiful&colourful flowers from a walk.

Sometimes we don’t realize the blessings we have until we no longer have them. Appreciate all the blessings in your life, take none for granted ― C.Pulsifer’

Thu: Happy Thanksgiving to those marking&celebrating today, looks like the family in US are getting ready for their meal. Last time preparing a Thanksgiving dinner was 2012.

Nice to meet babyFin who is adorably cute. Amazing that Sam manages to fit her riding school into her condo a riding school where one can even ride on a mechanical simulated horse, Totilas, to experience the feeling before actually riding the real animal. It is a good idea, especially for those who are apprehensive. This way one can try to feel and see if one is comfortable so as not get nervous being on the real animal.

Horses are very instinctive&sensitive, they immediately sense if the rider is nervous or not in control. Never knew that the Stirrups are the frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap. Will certainly think about horses if ever in for any medical check-ups where Stirrups are involved – hahaha.

Fri: now is the time to start with Christmas preparations, HappyShopping on this BlackFriday. Give thanks not just on ThanksgivingDay, but every day of your life. Looks like MtE/Novena is getting ready for their staff Christmas party and Santa here wishing Ivy good health – she should be home after the weekend.

Sat: need to let #6 know that besides his favourite小笼包SiaoLongPao@鼎泰豐DinTaiFung – this limited-time only dish features 80% premium molten dark chocolate lava, decorated with a gold brush top for an added dash of festive spirit, each bun encases molten chocolate filling – must try!

Starting with the XmasSnailMail list this weekend and to sort out what is in the XmasDecoBox…

21 Nov2023 – Book Launch

Sat: Congratulations to YC Yip&TaiHo Woon for an overwhelming success turnout for their book launch@TiongBahruCC today. Looking forward to reading it – great catching up with Irene&Susan.

The lines to purchase and for signing were so long that the panel fireside chat was ~an hour delayed.

Yip Yew Chong – Artporters

Sun: pleasant walk passing by favourite eating haunts on EC&StillRd.

Those 3locations are popular for their: HokkienMee@394EC-Rd is still being prepared in the traditional charcoal fire, BeachRdPrawnMee 美芝律大虾面@370EC-Rd, BlackPepperCrabs@EngSengRestaurant 永成餐室247JooChiatPlace.

Tkx to nieces&nephew for yummy lunch@ChilliPadiPeranakan food/JooChiat:牛肉仁當BeefRendang,花篮饼KuehPaiTi,炒米暹MeeSiamGoreng,杂菜NonyaCha Chye,咸菜鸭ItekTim.

Chilli Padi – Peranakan Food Catering & Restaurant

Always something exciting&new to discover@JooChiat.

Really! Did not even know that I was looking for one? The ONLY sign I hope,pray&wish for is PEACE.

Mon: belated Bday Thai food from WarmUpCafe late dinner for Chris@CC. Tkx to Helen for Goyza, sorry to miss Calvin&Sam.

Tue: dinner@ABCbrickworks/BkMerah w Judy,Daisy&Clem. Has been a long time since last here – another yummy local eat StuffedTauPok/DriedBeancurdPuff豆卜S$4 with veggie topped with RojakSauce a blend of sweet,sour,spicy flavors made with a variety of ingredients such as shrimp&tamarind paste+durianS$5. Nice cool evening stroll after the rains, tkx to Daisy for chocolates&WinnieThePooh. Ended this day with late grocery shopping@Giant/MT S$46 including SS S$2save.

For me LSD=learning to slow down ie no multi-tasking and taking it easy by not having more than one event or function per day, especially when nearing Thanksgiving and the Christmas season.

Have not tried or any intentions of trying the other LSD unless really necessary for medication purpose, but interesting to know that it is now accepted for medical use. Do question about GrahamHancock’s Shamanism with Psychedelics over the War on Our Consciousness??

LSD=Lysergic acid diethylamide – effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages can manifests primarily mental, visual, and auditory hallucinations.

LSD: Effects, Risks, Tips, and More (healthline.com)

17 Nov 2023: LSD=Learn to Slow Down!

Tue,Wed,Thu: the intensity of last weekend trip has taken a toll on this aging body which is now having to pay with the consequences of being worn out in everyways. Did not realize what a hectic schedule it was until organizing the pix for the correct locations.  Appreciations and a million thanks to Chuan&fam+Leonard for a fantastic short enjoyable weekend trip. Might probably have overdone it!! but worth the while, especially for the company.

It is best as one grows older to strip oneself of possessions, to shed oneself downward like a tree, to be almost wholly earth before one dies ― ST Warner

Taking the long way home through the market I slow my pace down. It doesn’t come naturally. My legs are programmed to trot briskly and my arms to pump up and down like pistons, but I force myself to stroll past the stalls and pavement cafes. To enjoy just being somewhere, rather than rushing from somewhere, to somewhere. Inhaling deep lungfuls of air, instead of my usual shallow breaths. I take a moment to just stop and look around me. And smile to myself.For the first time in a long time, I can, quite literally, smell the coffee – A Potter.

At 31, American CharlotteMerryweather has spent 10yrs in London pursuing personal&professional perfection. Yet her present-day success only heightens the shock of a visit from the past…

Appreciations&tkx to DavidJenkins for this humour – There will be no gravity theory if Newton sits under the Durian tree. For some of us from this area, Durian is King of Fruits, one of my favourites. But none of my 2children or 6grandchildren in Norway&the US like this fruit!

Ode to Durians – Here-There-Everywhere – This-That-Everything (amylamsg.com)

21 Attempts to Describe the Taste of Durian, the World’s Smelliest Fruit (mentalfloss.com)

Fri: TGIF – a good&safe weekend to all. Appetite not at its best, SGH for more CT-scan lunched@Chinatown with Clement and even some energy to drop off some food to Ivy@MtE/Novena. But completely exhausted by the time I got back to the EastSide, thank goodness b4 the rush-hour.

TGIF have been disputed over the years. But it singles in on a 1941 entry in the Encyclopedia of Slang as being the first to use TGIF in print.

TGIF: The origins of the phrase and its use in countries around the world (sfstx.com)

13 Nov 2023 – In Memory Of Lawrence

Fri: tkx to Salman/OtakOtakKampung(30/S$27)for accommodating to have someone there@GeylangSeraiMarket&FoodCentre at 0800hrs, 30mins earlier than their normal opening time. From there, bus13 and then changed to bus36 directly to T4 to meet with Leonard.

Have been visiting KCH at least once annually since 2008 and have not been there since Jan2019 ~4yrs ago.

AirAsiaFlight took off on schedule but was taxing on the runway for ~25mins before takeoff on a rather turbulence flight to arr with a delay of 15mins into KCH. Tkx to Chuan for meeting us – checking into the new SheratonHotel/9thFloor is the highest we could have our rooms for now, and anything above that are still under construction, including the pool on 23rd top floor.

One of the best tasted – today’s take away late lunch from 919CoffeeShop fried BeeHoon with eggs,chicken,SayuManis/Manicai/馬尼菜(SauropusAndrogynus),

one of my favourite local veggies besides Midin/FiddleheadFerns(StenochlaenaPalustris) and only can get fresh in this area.

SFA | Potential Risks of Consuming Cekur Manis 

BorneoCulturesMuseum – new for me and enjoyed the short afternoon there but would need a whole day to really appreciate&see the artefacts there.

Objects of Desire gallery

Interesting and as beautiful as they are, to my eyes these lamps somehow seem misplaced – oh well, each to their own!

In Harmony With Nature – nicely displayed.

Tasteful gift shop – Sarawak Museum Department

Dinner@TheLemin/TelangUsanHotel and this time round for tasty Dayak foods – their BungaKantan/TorchGinger康坦花(EtlingeraElatior) done both ways, stired-fried and a salad are delicious and would highly recommend this location for their foods.

Tkx to Chuan for the only group pix for this trip.

The last time here@this venue was Jan2019 for a hiking presentation:

Jan2019: appreciations to the KCH-RotaryClubs, the Rotarians, their family&friends for their presence&support@TelangUsanHotel for my talk&PowerPointPresentation: Hiking Norway – my 2nd Home.

Jan2019: tkx to Lawrence&Mabel for sponsoring a scrumptious dinner and to Audrey/owner of this location for a yummy BdayCarrot-cake. The ox-tail here is to die for and AyamPansuh (chicken cooked in bamboo) is excellent.

Lovely evening walk by the river – did not noticed the mosque in the 2019 trip, will check it out tomorrow morning in daylight.

Sat: bright&early up for a cuppa with room view towards the town where TopSpot RoofTopFoodcourt can be seen – the river is conveniently 2mins walk from the hotel.

Idyllic with fond memories&thoughts from 50yrs ago with my 1st trip here where this sculpture-fountain is now but 50yrs ago it was the boat-ramp when Lawrence took us fishing out on the SouthChinaSea on his speedboat then…

Somehow no matter how magnificent&specular a building the SarawakStateLegislativeAssemblyBuilding(Malay: BangunanDewanUndanganNegeriSarawakBaru) for my eyes is so misplaced between the beautiful heritage buildings of the Astana&FortMargherita, thus quite an eyesore in daylight, better to view it in the dark – again each to their own!

MainBazaar still holds some charm and the former KwongLeeBank building still there, now occupied by StarCompany.

Walked to the MasjidIndiaKuching/FloatingMosque – not opened, so unable to see the inside.

Masjid India’s new floating mosque another symbol of Sarawak unity | DayakDaily

Coincidently there was a boatman with his boat who was willing to row me/solo back up the river for MYR20=S$5+well-worth money ever spent, 15mins on the river this early Sat morning.

Picking up some snacks(one of the best ChickenSatay I have so far tasted)+our favourite pineapple-tarts@CheakIng? before heading to Bau.

~50k on the PanBorneoHighway/LebuhrayaPanBorneo to Bau known for the gold mining in the 1800s.

Floating bridge to RoxyTasikBiruResort which was fine to walk on as long as the boats did not zoomed around creating waves giving me motion sickness.

Was most unprepared for this uphill exposed walk to the GoldenHillTemple. No umbrella, nor moozy repellent and not enough water in the tropical mid-day-sun was taxing but worth it to get up there.

Nice view from this newly renovated 200yrs old temple.

The iron extension bridge has a glass bottom at the other end towards where there is a view.

Bau’s newly renovated 200-year-old Golden Hill Temple reopens (theborneopost.com)

Flavourful TenderStewedPigTrotters,ChickenCurry,ManiCai lunch @ChanHong.

StPeter’sColumbarium(1stCatholicColumbarium in Sarawak) to pay my respects to a dearest bro Lawrence who introduced KCH to me exactly 50yrs ago this year, and also is the main purpose of this trip with him in mind. Nephews in KL have donated the elevator here in memory of their father and also a stain glass LastSupper motive to the new church to be completed sometime end 2024.

New St Peter’s Church to be a prominent landmark in Kuching | DayakDaily

Managed to get some real good fresh&crunchy grapes@Koollala for AuntieNgor&Mabel today&tomorrow.

Not much luck with fishing@KampungMuaraTebas but good for coconut water with Chuan’s sketching. Yummy seafood dinner@SinSoonLeeSeafood新順利海鮮

JellyfishSalad,BeeHoon,prawns,squid,fish,midin, blur&forgot to take pix after the squid – hahaha!

Did not have the energy to climb up to ChingSanYenTemple – pix are from the bottom of the hill.

Leonard went to find it locked by the time he got up, good view from there – pix credits to him.

Ching San Yen Temple (Muara Tebas Temple) | KuchingBorneo

Sun: delicious Laksa&KoloMee breakfast@ChoonHui. We ate the Breakfast of the gods, according to AnthonyBourdain. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=877125296024870

One of the must eat food in Sarawak is Sarawak Laksa. One of the best Laksa in Kuching can be found at Choon Hui Cafe at Ban Hock Road. The laksa at Choon Hui Cafe is made famous by the late Anthony Bourdain when he visited twice the laksa at Chong Hui Cafe in 2005 was for Travel Channel’s.

‘Bourdain made Sarawak Laksa known to the world’ (theborneopost.com)

Lunched@KANTIN at The Granary | Facebook

Interesting&good foods – excellent&refreshing 3SourCrush drink. After this KCH trip, will need to fast for a few days, the stomach needs to rest. Appreciations with thanks to Chuan&family for their gracious&kind hospitality – until we meet again for another food-orgy either in KCH or SIN for us foodies.

Mon: thank goodness for a good night sleep last night. Has been time consuming today getting the KCH weekend pix&places in their correct names&order but finally done before the sunset on this public holiday back in SIN.

9 Nov 2023 – Fish Cake Grilled In Banana Leaf

Deadly quake strikes Nepal, toppling homes and killing at least 157 people | CNN

Mon: trying to avoid too much news over the weekend but had some concerns about the Nepal earthquake and relief to hear&know that Boon is safe there – 2017 memories for the hike there…

Mon10Apr2017 0930hrs: after a poor night sleep with the heart and head not feeling happy, it would be wise to turn around here. As the Norwegian saying goes – det er ingen skam å snu. Looking at the itinerary planned, it would have been unlikely to make it any further and I needed to conserve some energy head back. Lum made the same decision as he was coughing. Calvin&Sam pushed on with Kumar and the younger porter. My fav pix of Sagarmatha and the closest I will ever get.

Nepal/4 – Here-There-Everywhere – This-That-Everything (amylamsg.com)

Tue: going thru’ some of my own older sunrise pix from a folder downloaded from an old camera in 2012/CAE,USA waiting for 1st-Born’s race and 2015/SIN-sunrise-walk,EC-Pk. Not just downloaded from another site or onesome else’s pix or photoshopped, just coincidently timed and spontaneously angled with nice results.

Wed: Six Feet Under/TV Series(2001–2005)pix downloaded – for the past couple of weeks, catching up with this 5seasons/63-episodes, each episode lasting~1hr completing watching the whole series today. Life&death, a timeless subject with family drama, dealing with such issues as interpersonal relationships, dysfunction, infidelity, personal growth, and religion. At the same time, it is distinguished by its focus on the topic of death, exploring on personal, religious&rites+philosophical thoughts for funerals.

Only when you accept that one day you’ll die can you let go, and make the best out of life. And that’s the big secret. That’s the miracle ― Gabriel Bá

Lunched and picking up candies@Muji/RafflesCity – was at the PlazaSIN branch to discover that it was closed for upgrading, convenient that RafflesCity is 3bus-stops away from PlazaSIN.

Checking out what is new@OdeToArt/RafflesCity – interesting RainerLagemann stainless-steel runner&climber sculptures on the wall ~S$15,000-18,000 would not fit(budget or size) onto any of my 4walls but might be appropriate for some larger sports hall or stadium.

Thu: @OtakOtakKampung/GeylangSeraiMarket to order some OtakOtak(=brains! in Malay) is grilled fish cake(no brains!!)fish+grated coconut that had been fried with a mix of spices wrapped in banana leaf and grilled. Find it quite strange that it is not possible to get these in KCH/Sarawak,Malaysia where I will be heading tomorrow.

Otak-otak: Wrapped Up With The Region (sgheritagefest.gov.sg)

5 Nov 2023 – Time To Fall Back

Thu: has been a long-long! time ago@YhingThaiPalace – founded in the ’90s by a couple passionate about Thai-cuisine. If my memory serves me correctly, the food was good then. Happy Bday&thanks to HS for yummy dinner, and appreciations to Wil for the ride back to the EastSide.

Appetisers:FreshPomeloSalad,CristyPiceChips. Soup:FishMaw.

Mains:StuffedChickenWings,DryCurryBeef,BabyKalian,DeepFriedPomfret,OliveRice,CrystalNoodleswKingPrawns.

Desserts:Mango,SteamedTapioca,CoconutJelly,PandanCake,BdayCake.

Menu – YhingThai

Fri: BeefNoodles,ChickenRice,Popiah to Rochalie and nice to be the only one on the bus the way, but quite a contrast on the way back when I had to close my eyes! The former RegentHotel@TomlinsonRd is now Conrad/Orchard.

Food shopping is my favourite kind of shopping@Isetan/ScottsRd, the food always looks good there and so are the prices for their imported fruits from Japan(can never justify paying those$$$!) – do like&prefer their cakes which are not too heavy for my taste.

Sat: tkx to Clement for SteamboatDinner, my contribution was dessert from Châteraisé.

Sun: reminder to Fall back Sun5Nov-0200hrs for those living in those time-zones, but then for ppl like me, retired from those 9-5jobs will not remember except to not call too early in the mornings to ppl in those time-zones!

Entertainment with words meaning something else in another language.

Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things but learning another way to think about things ― Flora Lewis

Air = water/Malay

Barf = description for snow in Farsi,Hindi,Urdu

Die = come on/Italian(colloquially)

Eagle – igel=hedgehog in German

Fart = speed/Norwegian, luck/Polish
Fish – fixe=cool/Portuguese

Gary – is the word used to describe diarrhea/Japanese
Gift = poison/German&Norwegian and in Norwegian also=married

Hammer – Das ist der Hammer/German = that something is really awesome, though the word can also have a negative connotation.
Handy = cell phone/German 

Kiss = pee/Swedish

Lol – popular English acronym = fun or joy/Dutch.

Mist = manure/German

No=yes/Slavic

Ohio = good morning/Japanese(ohayo gozai masuおはようございます)

1 Nov 2023 – A Phobia Of Long Words

Sun: some English words that are so long that it is impossible to even pronounce them!

Antidisestablishmentarianism – a movement that was against the disestablishment of the Church of England.

Esternocleidooccipitomastoideos – a certain neck muscle

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobiac – a phobia of long words.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis – a lung disease caused by inhaling extremely small particles like dust and ash.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – whimsical word that gained fame from the 1964Disney musical film MaryPoppins. While it doesn’t have a precise dictionary definition, it is often used as a nonsense word by children to express approval or simply to represent the longest word in English. So, in essence, it’s a joyful exclamation!

The longest words in the world, and what they mean (msn.com)

Mon: trying hard to do with just the fans and without without AC all day, but somehow between 14-1500hrs, it gets quite unbearably uncomfortable, and on with the cooler air which is a relieve to breath. AC is off after sunset and OK to sleep with the fan and open windows. Need some serene sun-rays in nature pix to cheer me up today – pix credits to DennisQ

Allowing myself time to mess around with all kind of search online to discover some unusual monuments/sculptures(to limit my enthusiasm, will pick just3) to share.

GatewayArch by EeroSaarinen/1967,MO/USA.
ManoDelDesierto=HandOfTheDesert by MarioIrarrázabal/1992,AtacamaDesert/Chile.
LaFourchette=The Fork by Jean-Pierr Zaugg/1995,Vevey/Switzerland.

Tue: Happy Halloween and this year’s 5Tricks or Treats  WineCountryGiftBaskets have been delivered in USA. Another day indoors to receive the Meds delivery.

For those who are into StephenKing’s movies, here are my personal favourites. Liked his latest, MrHarrigan’sPhone – prefer more the thriller dramas without the horror with dismembered body parts!

StandByMe/1986
ShawshankRedemption/1994
GreenMile/1999
MrHarrigian’s Phone/2022

Mr. Harrigan: Dombey was trying to help his son understand that the true value of money is not measured in worth. The true value of money is measured in power.

Let whatever powerful psychic manifestation you may have to run wild for tonight – hahaha! All pix from Sun-Tue are downloaded.

Haunted places around the world (msn.com)

Wed: hello Nov, relaxing&restful to be staying in my 4-walls the past 4days recharging,reading&watching movies. Halloween pix credits to 1st-Born & Jeff.

Today’s plan to be out for my favourite PawnNoodles@PrawnNoodleHouse美芝律大蝦面 370EC-Rd, still keeping within my hood!