Out with the old ...

... and in with the new!
It is truly amazing how one adapts to things.  For many years now, I have been watching TV on my old JVC (picture tube kind) and enjoying my shows.  I watch lots of  nature shows, CNN and a few documentaries.  I hardly watch the others because I find the shows too dark.  Of course, I did not, for one minute, think to adjust the brightness on the TV. 
Well, my daughter was here for the Christmas holidays and she complained about my TV. She has been complaining about this for quite a while.  "How come everything is green?" she says.  "What colour do you expect the trees and lakes to be?" I asked.  She called me over to look at an ad which was showing a silver watch.  "Look at that, it should be silver but it is green!"  I said that the green is the shadow of the watch.  She did not buy that at all.  She tried to adjust the brightness and tint but to no avail.  Apparently, the picture tubes for them are gone and no amount of adjusting would rectify that.  No wonder I stopped enjoying CSI and NCIS because it was always "filmed at night".  And, no wonder, the grand daughters always chose to play their board games instead of watching TV when they came over. Whenever I suggested that they could watch their show, they would reply "It is okay, Nana, we would rather play the game!" was their reply. How kind of them not wanting to hurt my feelings by telling me that my TV is not good.
One night, during the holidays, the doorbell rang and when I opened the door, my daughters were there holding a big box and seem to be struggling with the weight of it.  They asked me to hurry and help them because the box was heavy.   I rushed to help them to hold one end of the box and when I took hold of one side of it, it almost flew out of my hands.  It was so light.  That was my introduction to a new, flat-screened LED HD TV which weighed 12 lbs.
When she got it all connected, I was shocked at the picture.  It was sharp, bright and so detailed. I realized that I had missed quite a bit ... how beautiful a cheetah and tiger looks,  how beautiful and blue the lake looks, how dry and gray an elephant's skin is. When I watched CNN, I could see every wrinkle, pimple and hair on the faces of the newscasters.  It is so light that I will not have trouble dusting the back of the shelf.  Myra was good enough to combine all the remotes into one and she left written instructions on the inside of the entertainment centre.
Now, this RCATV sits in the spot where the JVC used to be.  My JVC had been with me for 19 years and had been my friend and companion for all those years. I kept it clean and had always moved it slightly to clean the back because it was really heavy.  I was sad to see it go to the great TV heaven in the sky.  It was dropped off at Best Buy and sat among microwaves and computers for recycling.  Goodbye my friend!
I watched a movie with Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon on Netflix. I did have a little trouble getting Netflix on my TV but after a couple of texts with Myra, I got it going.   (Oh yes, I now can watch Netflix on the TV and I control it with my cellphone). Oh yes, I have come a long way with technology!  I was sadden to see how old Richard Gere looked ... I saw his wrinkles and also how large his pores are.  It really took me aback.  I guess I will have to get used to this.
Thank you girls for bringing me up-to-date with the rest of the world.  Perhaps now the grand daughters will enjoy watching TV at Nana's again.

To sleep, perchance to dream ...

I do not know what it is .... I had so much difficulty adjusting to my jetlag.  Got home last Saturday and thought that I would be able to get back into my routine.  Wrong!  It was like clockwork ... I was sleepy at 4 pm, I'd go to bed at p pm and wake up at 2.30 am.  The more I fretted about it, the more frustrated I got.
I do not remember ever having such difficulty.  Could it be an age thing? 
Many a morning, when I was up so early, I came down to watch the Olympics.  Thank goodness for the Olympics.  However, I am happy to say that I am back to my routine and thank goodness.  I am not grouchy and tired but others might point out that I am no SO grouchy!
About my Family Reunion.   It was fantastic.  We had four generations together. My father's two younger sisters and their 2 first cousins. We also got to meet first, second, third and fourth cousins.  All in all, there were over 90 of us and with family friends, we were 120 strong.  It was a traditional Peranakan function.  I even had a whole outfit made up.  Cousins came from all over.  When we parted we promised to keep in touch.
I also visited my last maternal aunt in Singapore.  She still cooks and could run off recipes from memory.  How good is that?  Her only problem is a little arthritis.  We  an old family friend who used to babysit my sister.  She is 82 and still vibrant with her charity.  This lady goes to Cambodia , taking meds and helps to cook and deliver food to the villagers there, sometimes riding on the back of a scooter and driving through small rivers.  She really puts me to shame.  I discovered that this charity is founded by a cousin-in-law who visited Cambodia and saw the need to help.  Good on you.  Her charity is called "Touch a life".
The night before my departure, we met up with my maternal cousins in Kuala Lumpur/Klang.  Here again, there were first, second and third cousins.  Cousins I remembered as little girls now have children of their own.  That sure makes one feel old!
The next morning, my sister, brother and wife and nephew took me to the airport.  I had told them that they could just drop me off but their reply was "Got to make sure you get on the plane!"  Trying to get rid of me-eh?
My flight from Hongkong to Toronto was delayed and Cathay Pacific put me up at Sheraton and I got home on Saturday last.  It was good to be home, to see the little girls and my family again. 
All in all, I had a terrific time, renewed old friendships, bonded with family and walked down memory lane.  However, it is good to be home!  Home sweet home!

This little piggy went to market!

Last Thursday,I went to a real market. This is what is referred to as a "wet" market. It was a very appropriate name although in it's defense, it wasn't as bad as it was before. My sister needed to purchase some meat and vegetables to prepare home cooked dishes for her grand daughter who is only three. It would not be advisable for the little one to be eating Food from the stalls or restaurant. With the grownups and our strong constitution, we can handle that. Talking about eating out, I only have two more dishes to savor; after that, my eating list (similar to a To Do List) would be complete. First we went to the pork stall. While my sister was putting in her order from the open display on the table, I was trying to shoo away the flies buzzing on the meat. The vendor's wife did look at me strangely. Talking about flies .... I forgot to tell you about the time we drove to Singapore and made a pit stop at Kulaijaya. I was very excited as from the parking lot, we saw "Baskin Robbins" and walking towards it, I was already planning to have a nice mint chocolate cone. The whole shop was glassed in but from the outside, the glass was dotted with black dots .... Thousands of them! They were flies and when one opens the doors, they flew in. Yikes, they were also on the walls inside the shop. In fact, they were everywhere. It is a wonder they did not get into the ice cream containers. There were a few on the headscarf of the server. It was really off-putting. Needless to say, I changed my mind about the cone and had a smoothie instead. I have written to the head office of Baskin Robbins. Let us see if they would reply. Anyway, I digress ... Back to the market ... We next went to buy chicken. It wasn't as bad but there were still some buzzing. My sister then said that she needed to go into the veggies section. The meats were all outdoors. She did suggest that I stay outside. I of course had to ask her why. Her reply was that it smells in there. How bad could veggies smell? Well, it was very bad and it stunk to high heaven. I always thought that if fish smelled bad, it wasn't fresh. To my mind,they must be selling rotting fish. It was wet but not so that one has to lift up one's trouser leg. Thank goodness for our clean and dry supermarkets! I will never complain anymore of the wet mats at winter time or one pesky fly buzzing around in summer! Will tell you about our wonderful reunion in the next blog!

Cruising down the river ...

I was blown away on Monday night. We went on a river cruise on the Melaka river and it was very interesting, very pleasant but it did smell a little muddy. The river as I remember it was smelly, polluted and full of garbage and what not. When I was growing up, on Saturday's, after school, I had to go to my Father's office to wait for a lift home when he finished work. I always made sure that I went to the washroom before I left school because I did not want to use the facilities at my Father's work. It was one of those "squat" things over the river and one can see the catfish swimming below. I was so afraid that things might fall out of my pocket or one shoe might fall in, or worse still, that I would fall into the river. One can hear the numerous motorized sampan going by and watch the wake under. It was an experience. So, imagine my surprise when I was told that there are river cruises available ..... I had to see for myself. The boat was clean and maybe had 30 seats. The river banks were lit up with lights galore, lots of little cafes dot the bank, the homes were also lit up and so were the bridges we went under. Gone were the dilapidated homes along the bank. There were murals painted depicting the multicultural flair of Melaka. The mangrove trees were left to flourish. I was very impressed. All this was done after 2007 when I was last here. Really commendable! However, not to put a damper on the achievement, I think the night hid a multitude of sins, so to speak. As the boat only travelled in the middle of the river, we cannot see what lurks along the waters edge. I will have to check out the cruise in the daylight. So far, I would recommend the river cruise but only at night. But I will try cruising down the river on a Sunday afternoon!

Ouch, ouch and double ouch

Yesterday was a memorable day.  I got caught up with everyone talking about the good massages one can get here and at a very low cost.  So, without deep thought, I agreed to join the rest and have a body massage.
It was a two hour full body massage done by Chinese (from China).  We got there for 2 pm the place was decent and clean and all the masseuse looked like little girls.  Unfortunately, they only spoke Mandarin with a spattering of Malay and English.  Laid on the bed face down and she started ... with the neck.  She didn't get very far and I was already saying "ouch"  and she laughed.  I again said "ouch" and she repeated "ouch" and giggled.  I was so glad when she moved on to the shoulders.  The gladness did not last very long.  It started to hurt again and I asked her whether she spoke Malay - negative reply; then, I asked her if she spoke English - negative reply.  I thought I was doomed and so I should grin and bear it. 
Before I knew it, she jumped on to the bed and sat on my legs and started doing my back.  Thank goodness she was a tiny girl.  The lower back was another matter but the most painful was the legs and hips.  My right leg which had been giving me so much trouble since my fall in March, gave out such a loud crack that she was shocked that she asked me "Pain ?"  The little imp could speak or at least understand English.  I was most tense when she massaged my tummy.  I've heard stories that the massages causes gas and so all the time I was so conscious not to make a "noise".  How could I have relaxed?
To cut a long story short, I finally finished at 4.05 pm feeling quite sore.  That is why, for the life of me, I cannot understand how people say that they can sleep when they are having a massage.  My right leg feels so much better and my theory is that I may have jarred the alignment when I fell and she may have released it.  No.5 Masseuse did a good job.  Incidentally, they go by numbers, not names.  And the whole treatment cost RM80.00 i.e. C$26.00!
This morning, my shoulder blades feel a little tender and my calves feel tortured but other than that, I am fine.  I am told I should have another before I leave .... we shall see!

Yummy, yummy ...

... yummy, I've got love in my tummy!  Yes, I ate some durian yesterday.  It was out of this world  i.e. if you can take the smell.  We have been asking around about the best durians and was told that Durian 101 is good but Durian 22 is better but Durian 24 is the best.  We bought some from the supermarket, all put nicely in a plastic container.  No need to use gloves and cleaver to open the fruit, and there is no need to get rid of the outer part of the fruit.  Very convenient!  The taste of No.24 is exquisite.  It was fleshy, creamy and the seed was very tiny.  Next, we have to try No.22 and then, No.101.  It is my duty to taste test all of them.
This afternoon we will be collecting our order of pineapple tarts.  Another great taste.  If only I could take them into Canada.  Never mind,  I'll eat one for every friend in Canada.  How generous of me!  Hope my made-to-measure outfit will fit me when I go for a fitting tomorrow.  At least the tailor can alter it there and then.
I did some shopping on my own this morning.  It was a lot of fun.  Later the whole family met up for lunch.
It is still very hot but the rain did cool the area a trifle.  However, it is overcast and has been all day.  Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow ....
Until then, bye for now .. off to tea!

Goodbye Paradise!

On Tursday, 5th I bade farewell to the fantastic Lexis Resort.  It was such a wonderful place ... although I was still fighting my sleep patterns, I had a great time.
On Saturday, we attended my brother's school reunion.  You might wonder what I was doing at my brother's school reunion.  Well, I know all the boys who frequented my home when my brother was in high school.  Some came to do homework, some came to play music and some came to learn how to dance  when my brother organized dances in our home.  It was a wonderful evening held at the poolside at Ramada Renaissance Hotel.  It was nice seeing the "Boys" who are now grandfathers. 
The next day, Sunday, we left for Singapaore.  We managed to rooms at the Mauritus Mandarin, a rather nice hotel, opposite Takashimaya, visit my maternal aunt, the only one left and also an old family friend who used to babysit my little sister.  My aunt who is 88 cried with joy to see us, and needless to say, I cried too.  Of course, we had to go for dinner.  The next day we had lunch with Nellie. 
Singapore has grown and changed since I was last there.  It is so efficient and clean and the MRT is so remarkabale.  We visited a huge gardens and a hotel by the marina which also housed a casino.  Unfortunately, there was not much time to do any shopping except for a quick walk through Takashimaya.  I can now understand why people who get posted to Singapore don't want to leave the city.  If only the humidity wasn't so bad, it could be a great place to live.
Anyway, life should be back to normal now.  We hope to accomplish more this week but all in Melaka.
Will be in touch!