Archive | December, 2019

Tough Act to Follow

23 Dec

So M1 is back, albeit a two-hour delay at Inchon Airport and losing some precious time, we take what we can and make the most of our time together. Starting with the food! We have been eating out constantly to check off her ‘To Eat’ list and it’s a long list for such a short trip.

Thosai Rawa and Roti Bomb, butter bun and Koi boba tea

French beans, tofu, steamed fish, coconut water and crabs galore (salted egg and buttered)!

Look at that happy face and the packet Nasi Lemak, breakfast of champions

It’s a tough act to follow for us especially because of what we have been doing all this while – the 16/8 IF diet. Suddenly we find ourselves eating all this variety of food and at odd hour intakes that we’re not used to, it’s too much for us. So we have to pace ourselves. As for M1, she’s in food heaven!

Hutong Village at Lot 10 in the city centre

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Let the Food Trail Begin!

20 Dec

Last night M1, our firstborn came back from the US for the Christmas and New Year holidays. The flight was delayed two hours and it felt forever before she came out from the arrival hall at KLIA.

It’s a wonderful reunion again after visiting her in June for her graduation. Unfortunately, M2 opted not to return and instead has flown off to London for her Christmas holiday.

Nevertheless, a family get together is always about food besides the bonding time. Thus we will embark on a food trail to attempt to check off all the ‘must eats’ on her list. There goes the 16/8 diet! Oh well, it’s not always she returns, so we will indulge as well with her.

Thosai rawa

Roti bom

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A Major Disaster

17 Dec

At the end of July, I signed up for my golf club’s Annual Championship tournament which was held for two days over a weekend in August. Looking back, pairing determination with pain was not a good combination to manage. In this context for me, it was dealing with my endometriosis pain with work deadline and playing in a tournament. It proved to be a major disaster resulting in a mental breakdown of sorts. A first for me.

As time drew close to the tournament, I had another painful bout of endometriosis attack. So bad I almost wanted to pull out but I didn’t because I thought I could manage. I thought wrong.

On the first day of the tournament at the Hills course, I was on painkillers to deal with the pain and discomfort to stay focused. I came back with the most varied score ever, being a stroke-play format. It ranged from a two (birdie on a Par 3) all the way through to an 11 on the Index 1, Par 5 (because of two balls in the water). In other words, I had every number (and several repeated) on my scorecard… except an eight though. Strange.

On the second day, the tournament was delayed because of rain and we teed off at the Lakes course after a 45-minute wait. I started off fairly well and held up okay for the first seven holes. But disaster struck by the eight hole, Hole 17 (we started on the back nine).

The humidity in the air suddenly became very thick and I had an unnecessary urge to tee-off harder to pass the pond. Never do that. When you try harder, the harder you fail. I ended up with three balls in the water!

It was a disaster unfolding before me and I was the star of the drama. That morning on that Par 4, I came back with an eye-popping 14! A 14 on a Par 4, worse than the 11 on the Par 5 on the first day. I told myself to calm down and don’t get too emotional by it.

However the next hole, the Par 5 being another fearful hole, my doubts doubled in my ability to overcome the water factor. Remember, this is the feared Pacific Ocean water hole that I crumbled during the 2018 Iron Challenge tournament.

Thankfully, only one ball went into the water. But a silly pull to the left cost me and I ended up with another double digit. Hmm… not good. But I was thinking the worst was over and I can still recover because the front nine is actually more manageable to play. I thought wrong again.

I suspect the four balls into the water rattled me but somehow I didn’t acknowledged this and when I teed off on Hole 1, I put another two balls into the water! By now I was like, WTF?! The legs were jellied and the confidence zilch beyond comprehension and in a blur, another double digit on the Par 4.

When we got to the second hole, a Par 3, I was so sapped of life and when I put yet another ball into the water, I told myself, that’s it. I’m going to withdraw. I’m not a quitter but with disaster after disaster piling up with every hole, the event was becoming a catastrophe of epic proportions and too much for me to shoulder. There’s no point to go on playing. What recovery would there be at that point, mentally especially? I’m just killing myself out there and if I continued, I would end up detesting the game so much and just chuck away all my clubs.

With my mind made up, I took a drop for the third shot for formality but was convinced I couldn’t launch it across the water and indeed proved myself right. A classic case of a negative thought attracting a negative action! The ball dived into the water. Ahhhh…… speechless. The mental state of mind was just oh-so-cruel.

I could not go on, having a major breakdown dealing with playing golf in a championship tournament; I simply couldn’t golf anymore. Immediately after that, I drove the buggy to see the referee who happened to be nearby and I informed him of my intention and decision.

Looking back, I really can’t comprehend what unraveled that morning. The endometriosis pain was suppressed that second morning and wasn’t the reason yet I crumbled so badly. This outing takes the cake over the Iron Challenge experience I must say. I simply don’t have words for it. I sat through the remaining holes with my flight mates and came back with an ‘NR’ for my attempt at this year’s Annual Championship.

Lesson learnt: if and when there’s pain lurking before and during any important golf tournaments, do not try to be a heroine to pair them. It’s a proven recipe for a major disaster because not only the body cannot withstand but the mind simply cannot cope.

So after that last game of the year, I’m glad I am stepping away from golf and will be resting to heal both the physical and the mental to recoup. When the new year comes around, I hope to find love again for this crazy game called golf and be able to enjoy playing it without issues or disasters of epic proportions.

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Last Game for the Year

16 Dec

I played my last golf game for the year on Saturday and it ended in disaster in terms of performance and results. It was a terrible and unexpected outcome considering I was playing decent golf for two consecutive weekends earlier. What happened?

Maybe during those times, I was more focused and wasn’t in that much pain but with back-to-back games each time, my tennis elbow problem inevitably flared up.

Also I guess the lesson of pairing pain and play was forgotten after my epic August Annual Championship experience which is another story by itself. But this time, sigh… The problem was not even endometriosis-related but the tennis elbow instead.

The painkiller I ate before tee-off didn’t help to suppress the throbbing pain. And with every swing of the clubs, the pain became so obvious and magnified, it marred my focus. The tee-off was so short, the short game was even shorter and the putting was just bleargh.

The only consolation though was not losing that many balls nor have a mental breakdown like I did during the Annual Championship game which is worthy to talk about now after so long to finally exorcise the ghost of that major disaster.

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Fly Little One, Part 2

13 Dec

Yesterday we thought with the date being 12/12, it would be good to release our feathered friend. It was only a matter of time as it has been eating well and getting stronger by the day. Each time when hubby held it in his hands, he could feel the strength and resistance from the little one.

And amazingly that morning, a flock of adult birds of the same species gathered in the garden as if sensing the significant occasion. I could even sense their anticipation of the young newbie joining them.

The flock then dispersed from the ground only to perch on the roof of the neighboring house like a gallery to observe the moment. Hubby then reached for our feathered friend inside the cage and raised his hand to let it take off.

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Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma and friend, cousin, sibling?

And take off it did… for only about five feet and then it crashed into the bushes. Ouch! We rescued it to give it another booster but it crashed into the bamboo blinds and fell onto a plant. Double ouch!

I think it got a little dazed by this unexpected mishap. Clearly, the little one was not quite ready yet to take flight. We had actually stopped feeding it the night before in case it got too heavy.

Nevertheless we left it inside the holding cage instead of the usual tighter security basket that was a tad too confining before we left for the office. We thought a little more space and opportunity to exercise, walk around and flap its wings would be good before the next release.

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Not the tightest in security to prevent an escape

That evening when we got home, our feathered friend was gone. Escaped from the confines and flew away to be with the others. We were not sad but a little surprised it could squeeze through. Then again, the cage wasn’t the tightest in security with the such gaps. We took a chance.

This morning, we did not see it nor the others. It is probably enjoying the new found freedom and family. Maybe it will visit. Who knows?

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Mix and Match

10 Dec

I finally got my eyes checked last week and my visual acuity or in layman term, power has changed. Again. It’s no surprise because the Lindberg was causing a lot of strain and discomfort prior to my dropping and breaking the lens.

Over the years my power fluctuated up and down on an annual basis and changing lens was a necessity. At one point I jokingly said that if I ever mixed and matched all my old lens–I was smart enough to keep the lens shape the same all these years–I would be able to find a suitable matching pair for future use. Little did I know this would somewhat happen!

The almost forgotten spare Silhouette that I am currently using is six years old. And coincidentally it matches my new power for short-sightedness. In other words, my power has reduced from the Lindberg. No wonder I can wear the old Silhouette without problems especially for distant viewing; it has been okay.

But that’s where the match ends and discomfort kicks in. The astigmatism does not match for both eyes with the Silhouette being far stronger compared to the latest check. This explains why at certain distance and angle, the eyes have been feeling strained, hence the constant blinking. Playing golf has been the biggest issue with this pair especially when it comes to putting. Looking up then looking down has been so problematic.

Anyway, sometimes finding the right matching lens is rare because there’s long-sightedness and astigmatism (but not limited to these) to consider other than short-sightedness. I was lucky with the Silhouette and remember, this pair is six years old! There have been many lens changes in between it and the broken Lindberg.

Having said that, better some match than none otherwise I would be in a lurch, being visually-impaired without a pair of glasses to go about my daily routine. Thank goodness I will be getting the Lindberg with new lens this week.

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Fly Little One

9 Dec
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A week ago, we ‘adopted’ this little fella

Last week, we had an unexpected guest – a baby bird. It fell onto our neighbour’s side of the garden when it was learning how to fly. Luckily hubby rescued our feathered friend before the neighbour’s dog discovered it. We decided to nurse it until it got stronger to be able to take flight. Mummy Bird has been nearby ever since the accident, keeping an eye on us I suppose.

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It’s actually quite a cutie

Over the next few days, we cared for our little feathered friend, feeding it little worms for breakfast and dinner. And it has been eating well, delighting the both of us.

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Getting stronger, it has progressed to eating bird seeds now

It’s been a week already and soon, we will be letting it go. Once it is strong enough and able to fly, we will definitely miss our unexpected temporary pet.

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1200 Days

6 Dec

The unthinkable has happened. Yesterday I reached 1200 consecutive days on collecting the Daily Bonus in Candy Crush Soda on both the iPhone XR and iPad Mini! That’s one crazy dedication. Did you know 1200 days is equivalent to three years and 104 days?

I thought I would stop after reaching Day 1000 but I didn’t and just ploughed on endlessly with this pursuit. I don’t even know why. Just…

Although my iPad Mini has been pretty useless lately to do other things, it is certainly good for only this one thing and that is to collect the Daily Bonus.

Do I still want to go on? Is there even a need to do so after this ridiculous feat? We shall see.

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Day 1200 on both the iPhone XR (L) and iPad Mini (R)

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A Comparison

3 Dec

I must say I’m very impressed with M2’s illustration skills. For someone who did not have any formal training or art lessons prior to being accepted for the Honors design program (yes Honors, you read that right), she’s really good. I’m so glad we discovered her potential and nudged her in the right direction. Now she’s able to flourish.

I was curious as to how I would fare in comparison to her skills. So I attempted the same composition after she sent over the picture that she used for reference for this assignment.

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Same same but different

I guess I have a more sketchy approach because I don’t have the patience for details. Having worked for so long, I am used to conceptualizing my ideas in rough sketches or thumbnails which I will then brief my team. And they are the ones who will execute with details.

While my attempt was using pencil and hers was ink, and both pieces on paper, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to art. It’s a showcase of one’s talents and I sure am proud of my M2’s talents.

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Don’t Blink

2 Dec

Goodness it’s December already! Where did time go, I have to ask. If you blink, it would just escape you. So… don’t blink.

Over the weekend, we joined our golf Club for a quick getaway to Malacca for two rounds of golf. And it happened so fast, I didn’t even have a chance to take any photos on my iPhone XR of the hotel we stayed at, the food we ate, the golf courses and the players we played with.

Maybe because I blinked (my eyes were so dry due to the Silhouette glasses that I am still wearing) and missed capturing the two days that went by so fast. Gotta stop blinking. And also get the eyes checked too.

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