Joys of 2024

 1. I finally bought the cover for Strandmon armchair. It was out of stock in 2023. Now the armchair looks neat after removing mattress protector which I have been using as cover since day 1. The color of the cover is in wheat. My family thinks it makes the chair ugly. To me, it's perfect. 😘 (4th Jan)

2. I cleared off the 2 old mirrors and chopped the 2 mini trees. The 2 mini trees were growing in the pot for too long. I am glad the staff at the recycling center was willing to take the 2 old mirrors. 😄(21st Jan)

3. I drove to Bukit Kiara Equestrian club today. I took a wrong turn and had to make a big u turn. I also took an illegal turn and was honked at once. Still I managed to find the place and got home safely. I saw 2 signs on the road showing God was with me 💗 🤞🏻(23rd Jan)

4. KC bought me champagne roses and purple baby breaths today 💗 (19th Feb)

5. I attended a Cello Recital at KS Strings today. Hearing a cello sextet live was quite amazing. The sound was really rich and soothing. Reminded me the reason why I fell in love with the cello. It was a great experience 🎉 (10th March)

6. KC and I went for the Ramadan Buffet at DeWan The Linc. It has been ages since we went for a buffet. We definitely couldn't eat as much as we used to. The spread however was huge enticing. I found the Telur Goreng Kechap and Bubur Lambuk Pahang delicious and appetizing. I was just thinking I never had the chance to eat Bubur Lambuk as it's mostly prepared at masjids. Seeing it at the buffet was a nice surprise 🤤 (30th March)

7. Today when I showed my calligraphy teacher what I have re-wrote based on last year's work, he said my work last year is good enough to participate in the upcoming exhibition of 3-generation work. I am proud of myself. The work was 与天地并生 和万物为一 ☺️ (6th April)

8. We were in Melaka during Hari Raya. As I was watching 与风行，Wei saw a scene and said jokingly: 哼，生气气。。丢棍子。。 It was hilarious. I have never heard her mimic the actors in a drama 😄 (10th April)

9. My mum texted me if I was still paying the monthly wifi fees for her house. When I called back, both my mum and dad were talking to me about the issue. I don't remember the last time I heard them both on the same phone call. It was certainly something special ☺️(16th April)

10. I had a car accident today. I missed a red light and hit a Toyota Alphard. Today is not a day of joy, but definitely a day of gratitude. From Janice who was with me all the way, Nasir who came with the sticky tapes, Abang Alphard who didn't say any harsh words to the nice Datin who asked if I was ok, I couldn't have asked for nicer people whose day was somewhat disrupted by my mistake. Not forgetting my husband who called the tow truck, brought dinner and a jelly drink for me, all without scolding me. Compared to the poor drivers whose cars were crushed by the tree at Jalan Sultan Ismail today, I think I got away lucky. Thank you, God. (7th May)

11. I finished watching 我的阿勒泰 today. Xinjiang is such a beautiful place. The story is beautiful as well. It's just 8 eps. I will watch it again ❤️ (10th May)

12. I took the lrt to Awan Besar. The trip to Putra heights saw very little passengers. I read Same as Ever by Morgan Housel . The train was moving, I was learning something new and there was nothing much to distract me. It was cooling in the train. It just felt good 😊 (16th June)

13. Today we found 小饱after he has gone missing for 3 days. If it wasn't for Wei, we wouldn't have found him. 我们家葳葳好强呀. I learnt that if the person or pet is important to you, you shouldn't keep complaining about their weakness. Cos when they are gone, you will miss everything about them 😞 (27th June)

14. July was a month of fun activities. We had Team Building at Melaka. It was a short trip, but Janice took us out to eat at the special places only the locals know. This made it memorable. The activity at team building I found fun was passing the balls. It showed me how when the team has unwavering focus of achieving a common goals, the force is formidable. On 26th July, Anne and Ivene arranged for us to visit a durian farm - Eco Valley - with Mr Soh of Setia Media. It was my first time in a durian farm. It was very well maintained. The durian were 😋. As I sat there sipping coconut juice, hearing the water from the stream, I thought I could really get used to it. On the last day of July, I went to 漫云 with BeeLui. It was a private kitchen nestled on a hill in Seremban. The view and air was relaxing, especially on a working Wednesday. It was a great experience. Blessed July!😄

15. Wei wrote a personal note to me. She's so sweet 😍 (25th Sept)

16. SourceCode 2024 happened today after months of preparation. It was the first time I participated in this event. When I saw the videos playing on the giant screen, I was awed. I am lucky to meet great people from the event organiser who were professional and helpful. The team from GroupM was good too🙏🏻 (26th Sept)

17. We took a trip to Ipoh as a family during Deepavali. The trip was mainly trying new places to eat, napping and scrolling our phones. In fact, we only went to 1 tourist spot ie Tasik Cermin. The girls were squabbling as usual. It was still a great way to spend time as a family. Especially for the girls and KC. They hardly see one another for more than an hour during schooling days. I was contented that although we had to put up with the tantrums and quarrels, they did pass after a while. It was a good trip 😊 (29th Oct - 1st Nov)

18. I finished my appointment with Dr Kiran. My iron level has improved. I ate my favourite soft boiled egg and a small iced-Cham. Not crowded at Tong Kee now, still enough audience for people watching. Sunny and airy. This moment is good 😊 (5th Dec)

19. I brought Wei to Klinik Chew for checkup today. Thank God there were no cysts or fibroids and she is not anaemic. Just happy she is fine ☺️ (21st Dec)

20. I met up with Huey Chuen today. This is our first meeting after leaving SMKA / High School 27years ago. It was a very fruitful meetup 🥰. (25th Dec)

Books I enjoyed in 2024

1. Edible Economics - The World in 17 Dishes

2. 不便利的便利店2

3. 在树下传达神谕的猫🐱

4. 嗨，北京

5. 太白金星有点烦

6. 长安的荔枝

7. Same as ever

8. 在忘却温柔之前

9. 蛤蟆先生去看心理医生

10. 靠近你的不是人，是爱情啊

11. Love, Money and Parenting

12. Hidden Potential 

13. The Good Life

14. 餐桌上的文化课 - 南米北面

Control

After reading I May Be Wrong by Bjorn Nattiko Lindebled, I realised I wanted a lot of control in my life.

I have always thought it's people like my mother who was controlling. They fear if things are out of their control. That's why they developed gallbladder stones.

Or so I thought.

I know for a fact that my mind is always rehearsing, playing over conversations which are likely to happen, how I will reply (wisely), how I will get back at those who are hurting me (mostly my husband). All these to prepare myself of the possibilities that may happen, so that I am somewhat prepared. 

I am also criticizing, judging other people's words, actions. How shallow they were, how they should have behaved differently, how I would behave differently if I was in the same situation. 

Always in a defensive mode. Always trying the best to protect myself against ALL unknown. 

I wanted so much control that it took over me completely. I didnt trust anyone fully, not even my husband. I am always imagining the worst scenario, what could happen, how I would react etc, because this made me feel safe.

I was feeling anxious, worried, panicking so that I can be at ease. What a great irony. 

That's how I have been coping.

It is tiring and my emotions are influenced by the action of others 

Your thoughts are not you - another thing I learned from the book.   

44 today

I am 44 years old today.

Gosh I made it this far, this is the first time I feel it's an achievement.

Am I wiser than I was a year ago. Well, I am not sure. But there are certain difficulties I feel that I am more used to them now. 

Happy birthday, Me. 

I learnt this in 2023

 1. Time with people isn't time spent - it's time invested. From the people pleaser book. (January) 

2. Goodness and compassion are far more important than thinking one is right and defending that (March)

3. Arriving at meaningful solutions is an inevitably slow and difficult process. Nonetheless what I saw was : better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try. (August - Atul Gwande : Better)

Joys of 2023

 1. I saw little shoots finally appearing on my mango tree. I thought I had killed the tree by cutting off the branches in Dec. Thank God it is slowly growing back. The little shoots are so cute😍 (7th Jan)

2. I took Rowie to the dentist today. Before this I looked at her tooth and thought the only way to salvage it is to extract it. I prayed so hard that everything will turn out ok. It did. The young dentist managed to fill the big hole up. 3 fillings within an hour and it was over. No drama. Thank God. Phew 😇 (15th Jan)

3. I came to klcc with KC this morning. He has to attend meetings. Shops are still closed now. I sat on bench overlooking the giant gold coin rabbit in klcc park. Nice weather. No crowd. Birds chirping. Relaxing. ☺️ (20th Jan)

4. My calligraphy teacher let me write 8 characters. I started with 2 characters in June 2022. Then I moved on to 4 characters. Only my seniors were writing the 8 characters. They have been learning from my teacher for years. I have only been learning for less than a year. A big sense of achievement 😍💪 (4th Feb)

5. I spent 2 hours alone in Tsutaya Pavilion Bukit Jalil. Had matcha lemonade and classic dorayaki. Had a relaxing time, finally got to browse properly. Reminds me why I love books and bookshops 😍 (5th Feb)

6. My breast ultrasound came out normal. The lesion is still the same size. I had lunch at Sushido, alone. It was relaxing to sit alone facing the sushi conveyor belt, enjoying your food. The crew preparing the food seemed to enjoy working there. They sounded happy. Struck me that it’s nice to be in a place where the people working there were happy. Will try to lunch alone there again (10th Feb)

7. When I passed by the little garden on the road behind my house, I finally met the man who planted everything there. There were many types of vegetables. The kind uncle even gave me seeds of 4 angle beans and local 山药. 💐😇 (10th Feb) 

8. I was in 擎天冈，walking along the vast grassland. The setting was like something out of Lord of the Rings. It was just 6degrees, it was extra chilly with the wind. Still I love it there. Walking alone in the cold. ❄️ Thankfully my husband could stay with the kids. I didn't walk to the top. Save it for the next trip. (20th Feb)

9. When Wei and I walked into the grand hall of 天元宫，I told her she needed to pray. So she pressed her hands together and said: Sejarah pass🙏. (20th Feb)

10. I took half day leave today. Had birthday lunch with BeeLui at One Utama. After that I took the mrt down to Bukit Bintang. Walking in Bukit Bintang always makes me feel vibrant. Lotsa young people, tourists. Spent a few hours in Eslite, slowly going through the shelves. Bought a book by 青山美智子. Maybe it's the brighter lighting, I enjoyed walking at Eslite more than Tsutaya. Nice afternoon. (21st March)

11. First day of Ramadan. Even though it started to drizzle, it was not enough to stop me from going to the bazaar. The number of stalls in Setia Alam seems to be more than last year, but the overall space allocated to the bazaar seems smaller. More stalls will come in tomorrow, I told myself. There was even Nasi Rahmah sold at the bazaar, just RM5, like Menu Rahmah. I was happy I made it in time to get ondeh ondeh from legend melaka. They were there like last year. I bought tepung pelita, tauhu begedil, the spicy egg kuih, sirap bandung cincau and ondeh ondeh for the girls. If life was a bitch, all bitchiness can be cured with the sweetness of tepung pelita💕 (23rd March)

12. I claimed 4 pints of free ice cream. 2 from the ice cream bar and 2 from inside scoop. All from answering their surveys. (8th April) 

13. Rowanne bought a sticker pack for Reiley today. It costs RM5. This is the first time she has ever bought something for her sister. So sweet 💕 (13th June)

14. Reiley wanted me to pick her up from school today. Traffic was bad due to the rain. I chided myself for giving in to Reiley's request, yet again. I was warmly surprised by the great smile she had as she was running towards me when I finally arrived. It was as if she was 3 years old again. So cute. 💕 (1st August)

15. Today I met my ex MH client - Pete. He was going to the Talentcorp office at Surian Tower. I was on the way to feed birds with expired Gardenia bread. We headed to Coffee Bean for a good 45minute chat. He bought me apple juice while having cappuccino and muffin. We talked about general stuff. He has always been an interesting character. He was wearing 2 watches, one on each hand, to test which is more accurate. Great to see him again 😊 (23rd August)

16. I drove to office today. It was at the first toll that I realized I left my Touch n Go card at home. I was panicking. I had to reserve and go to the last lane to pay cash. And there was another toll to go. After I passed the second toll, I was so frustrated at my myself that I growled in the car. I still had to figure out how to get home later. Iny moment of frustration, a red car with the number plate xxx721 moved in front of me. I was instantly touched. It's the sign. God was telling me it's ok. He was there with me. I nearly cried. Luckily I managed to get a new card at PETRONAS near my office. 🥰 (2nd Oct)

17. I wanted to fry an egg tonight, but it rolled down and broke on the floor. Reiley helped me to clean it up. She comforted me by saying : 不要不开心，那粒蛋本来就是要破的，只是它早一点破了。 what a philosophical way of looking at it. My baby so smart 🥰 (3rd Oct)

18. GroupM Nexus had teambuilding in Port Dickson for 2 days. I went with no expectations. It was great fun! I did kayaking in the swimming pool as part of the race event. It was hard trying to manage the kayak together with my partner, but it was great fun! Ego was set aside and our team focused on getting the tasks done. Good experience and great teamwork. My roommate didn't turn up and I had the room and toilet to myself. 🥰 (15th - 16th Oct)

19. I was driving home from office after 6.30pm. when I was on my favourite stretch of DASH, suddenly the street lights were lighted in an instant. It was like a switch was flipped and suddenly the highway was all warm and nice. WOW. 🥰 (7th Dec)

Books I enjoyed in 2023

1. 转学生的恶作剧

2. The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse

3. I maybe wrong 

4. 您好，欢迎光临，逛商店街

5. 北投机车快递

6. 木曜日适合来杯可可亚

7. 神明值日生执勤中

8. 别生气啦

9. 老公使用说明书

10. 不便利的便利店

11. 打架的艺术

12. Better 

13. 先陪伴, 再教养

14. 与凤行

15. 揚子堂糕饼铺

16. Ego is the enemy

17. Mona Lisa and the others (from the Lourve)

18. Meet the Architect! Frank Lloyd Wright

19. Can't we just print more money