End Of The (October) Road

So, we say goodbye to October. I’ve been pretty ‘cool’ with this month ever since Mummy left... it’s been three years and I still miss her terribly.

It’s not like I’m so looking forward to November. Oh no. That’s when the matches start coming fast and furious and yeah, we do have some tough fixtures coming up. Don’t forget the last Sunday of October always brings with it the end of British Summer Time. And before you wonder how that affects me, well, remember, football matches now kick off an hour later. Ugh.

Two more months until the New Year begins, or rather, two more months until New Year’s Eve. Two more months before we have to think again of new or renew old resolutions and new beginnings (?), and summon new strength to find to face yet another new year.

Let’s just live in the present then, shall we?

A Short Weekend In Penang

I had studied the football schedule and as there was no premier league matches (no thanks to the stupid Interlull), decided to take a short trip to Penang last weekend. The ETA was 2020; however, due to the loading of cargo, we only took off at close to 9. We landed at almost 10 and I waited about 25 minutes before getting a bus bound for the jetty. While waiting, I was approached by a woman who asked if I wanted to take a cab instead. No thanks, I told her.

It was in the bus when I realised that there were so many foreign workers in Penang. For a while, there was only me and two other locals – and one of them was the bus driver! I felt like I was riding a bus in Karachi or Kabul, such was the situation in the bus. After more than 40 minutes, we finally reached KOMTAR/Prangin Mall and I got down. Sighting a 7-11, I made my way to it and consulted my rudimentary map in there. After getting my bearings, I headed out again and made my way to Lebuh Noordin. I stopped once to ask and a few metres away, finally found my guesthouse for the next two nights.

The lady manning the counter said I could check in the next day; however, I told her I doubted it would take long and said I would check-in then. It was already approaching midnight then but I couldn’t resist taking a short walk around and taking photos. The guesthouse was charmingly decorated with antique Peranakan pieces from the lobby to the courtyard, the dining area, small lounge, and even my room. There was an old cupboard, an old dressing table, small frames of people from the past, a built-in bed, a day bed, two chairs, a small table with bottles of drinking water and glasses and a mounted flat-screen TV. Even the door and bathroom door were old-fashioned. I returned to my room after 20 minutes and enjoyed a late-night fruit snack and some Chinese tea.

On Saturday, I woke up for prayers to the sound of the falling rain. Oh no... it continued all the way through breakfast. The guesthouse provides brollies though, placed in umbrella stands outside some rooms. I had one in my room too. After breakfast, I headed out and made my way to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, stopping along the way to take photos of some cat murals (thanks to Aud for the heads up). I had only just started my walk when I came upon two Chinese uncles. One of them smiled at me and said (in Malay, no less), ‘Basah, basah, hujan dah turun’ (It’s wet, wet, the rain has fallen). I laughed at this very obvious statement and replied, ‘Well, what’s a girl to do?’ and he replied in his sing-song voice, ‘Manis, manis, manis, seperti madu’ (Sweet, sweet, sweet like honey). I walked away puzzling over this.

It took me almost an hour to reach the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. Not because of the distance but because I spent time taking photos along the way. I bought the ticket (RM20 including the jewellery museum) and went in. I spent about 45 minutes there wandering from one room to another (you need to take go bare-footed on the first floor). I wasn’t too impressed with the jewellery museum for I think there were a lot of other non-jewellery items on display which made me feel somewhat cheated. RM10 for that!

I hurried over to Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion about 500 metres away but when I got there, I was told the tour had started at 11 (I thought it was at 1130). You can’t enter unless you follow one of the three tours at 1100, 1330 and 1500 (or was it 1530?). Surprisingly, I didn’t feel disappointed at having missed it and as I wasn’t about to linger there for two hours until the next tour, I left and walked back to KOMTAR. At the bus station, I studied the bus schedule and took bus 103 to Gurney Plaza. The fare was RM1.40.

I walked around but nothing spoke to me and at 1, made my way to G Hotel next door. I performed prayers there (the prayer room was pathetic; I guess they built it thinking it was better than nothing) then went to check out the new Gurney Paragon Mall next door. Well, I was similarly disappointed. I didn’t spend long here and returned back to Gurney Plaza for lunch. After lunch, I walked to Jalan Burma and took bus 101 back to KOMTAR. I then walked to Penang Times Square (my advice: don’t even bother) and returned to the guesthouse but not before buying some putu mayam (string hoppers) at Jalan Dato Keramat.

I went out again after evening prayers to find dinner. I headed to the nearby Prangin Mall before crossing over to 1^st Avenue Mall. The two shopping complexes are next to each other and yet both have Parkson Grand. And Parkson Grand depresses me. I had a rather unfulfilling dinner before buying some snacks and returning back to the guesthouse. I tried to read but kept falling asleep so I decided to call it a day.

I woke up some time during the night to the sound of rain outside. It was raining when I went for breakfast just before 8 but stopped as I was finishing my meal. I hurried back to get my bag but it rained again and I had to use my small brolly to get to the bus station for the bus to the airport. On hindsight, I could have waited another 10 minutes for the rain stopped then. I got the bus 401E just before 9 and reached the airport 50 minutes later. It rained along the way and got heavier as we neared Bayan Lepas (in fact one cashier at the duty-free told me that it started raining at 2 am and didn’t stop at all. She couldn’t concentrate on her work as her house was already flooded).

The plane from KL landed at 1030 so our 1045 flight was pushed to 1100. We only took off at 1110 and landed at 1150. I missed the KLIA Express train by seconds (reached there at 12 noon sharp and the train was already gone. The clocks in the arrival area all told me I had 2 minutes left) and had to wait 20 minutes for the next train. At KL Sentral, I rushed to the bus platform and found the bus back to micasa waiting (unprecedented). It pulled off just 20 seconds after I got on. Phew!

Right. I still have that Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, some cat murals and some dishes left to hunt. Another trip to Penang, next year, maybe.

The Pursuit Of Happyness

As mentioned here, my Guilin elderly fellow tour mates were a fun bunch. They were not shy or embarrassed and they were happy to share tips and advices to the rest of us. On our way to Shangri-la Park, one of the uncles shared seven ways on how to be happy, which involve taking care of the following:

1. Mind/mental health by exercising your mind by reading, watching documentaries and sharing experience. If you do nothing but over-analyse, over-worry, and over-think of past events, it leaves time for negative thoughts to form. So don’t let your mind idle; as they say, an idle mind is the devil’s playground. That’s why some people get Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Also, always forgive. There’s no point in harbouring grudges (I must remember and exercise this myself).

2. Physical health by taking good care of yourself. Always exercise and don’t neglect your teeth either. On this note, I have been advised to consider wearing orthodontic braces by my dentist to rectify the gap on my lower jaw (she also said my lower jaw is sore. Surprisingly, I never noticed this).

3. Spiritual health, this involves having belief in a higher being (God, to most of us) and faith.

4. Financial health and stability by making it a habit to do your financial budgeting and planning from an early age – I had been keeping track of my expenses since I was in boarding school (although it took a while for me to start being financially smart). Aim to save at least 10% of your income. One sister told SM that we should aim to enjoy post-retirement what we earn prior to retirement. For example, if you’re earning five figures before you retire, aim to enjoy earning the same after you retire. Hmm, I wonder if I can do this. I would love to continue travelling until after I retire (if I love long enough) but at the same time, I don’t want to wait until I retire before I start travelling. Either way, I’m going to need a lot of money for this.

5. Social health by socialising. No man is an island. Don’t live in isolation, don’t live like a hermit. We live in a community and we have a role to play in our community. You may want to consider getting yourself involved in voluntary or charity work or joining a group that goes running, hiking, mountain-biking, travelling etc together. I have come to value travelling on my own but there are times when I don’t mind the company (and as proven from the Guilin trip, I gained so much from it besides just experience: friendship and this sharing of knowledge which I’m in turn sharing with you with my additional input).

6. Career by working hard and keeping yourself busy. Muslims believe that we should work hard for our worldly life as if we are going to live forever.

7. Family by spending quality time with family. Set aside time to do things with your family, pick up the phone and talk to your family members. Again, this is something I must start doing myself too.

~~~~~

Another aunt stepped up and shared the ways we can keep ourselves physically and mentally healthy. She said imagine yourself planting a fruit tree. You’d buy the best seeds and fertiliser, look for a good plot to plant the seeds, water the seeds and watch until the shoots push themselves out of the ground. You’d continue to watch and care for the plant until it grows bigger and finally, until it bears fruits. That is how you should take care of yourself too: partake good quality food, get enough rest and sleep, exercise, and take care of your health and yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, socially and even financially. So these are among the things you should do:

Sleep between 6-8 hours (sound soundly); siesta. Recharge at least 1/2 hour in the afternoon.

Exercise at least 1 hour daily or 4 hours in a week/ 30 minutes a day (10 minutes each warming up, low impact aerobics and relaxation).

Observe good eating habits: eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken. Minimise red meat and seafood. Eat in moderation. If you like eggs, avoid eating yolk every day. The aunt also shared her special daily concoction of juice: blend one bitter gourd, one stick of celery and one apple together every morning and drink the juice.

Drink a lot of fluid - 8 glasses daily. I know a few people who already have kidney stone problems so it pays to drink. It’s advisable to drink before meal so you feel full. Avoid soft drinks as they contain 7 tablespoons of sugar. Reducing your sugar intake week by week.

Those with diabetes should avoid rice, and go for alternatives like sweet potato or yam (less carbohydrate).

Perform prayers to de-stress. It also gives you a good opportunity to talk to God.

Smile - it takes less muscles to smile. Smiling helps produce endorphins which are the happy hormone which can help with good blood circulation. Have very close friends who can help cheer you up.

Take supplements because as we age, our body does not absorb vitamins and nutrients as well as before. For elderly people, take glucosamine 1000mg/day after meal; for others, take also Omega-3 and vitamins.

Try to grow old gracefully and try to avoid bed-ridden diseases/illnesses. I for one do not want to spend my time in hospitals, suffering from some illness.

For those who are married, take care of your sex life. I can’t elaborate here as I’m not in the position to. Heh.

Just Enjoy The Show

Ramsey is going through a renaissance and is enjoying playing in his favoured position. He’s enjoying himself so much that he’s also scoring for fun now. The re-signing of Flamini has turned out to be another brilliant move and he’s been flaming in the midfield. And Gnabry who was thrust into the side in the absence of Theo has been determined to prove himself. The calm Per-Lolo partnership, the much involved Giroud, the solid Sagna and Gibbs... all make for a good viewing indeed. And I am, as I’m sure all Gooners are, just enjoying the show.

Swansea-Arsenal (1-2)

Arsenal-Napoli (2-0)