Tag Archives: Malaysia

A Welcome Celebration

29 Apr

What a difference with another year passing by for birthday celebrations! The existence of Covid-19 makes it hard for us to predict what can happen with its spread making daily situations so volatile. We cannot plan special occasions so far ahead because things are constantly evolving. Even as I write, the SOPs will change again come next month.

Two years ago, my birthday dinner celebration was a muted affair. We stayed home because of the pandemic and had food delivered. There were scores and scores of containers for the meal. It wasn’t the best in presentation, but being at home made up for it, given the virus fear and lockdown circumstances. Last year, it was a blur, and honestly, I don’t remember what we did on my special day.

This year, things are a little bit different. A spontaneous four-day gastronomic journey that began on Sunday to celebrate instead of a golf getaway like we usually do. Moreover, we just went on a golf trip to Forest City recently, so another trip now is too soon. This mission to discover new food to savor in the run-up to the actual birthday is much appreciated for the chef in me to have the week off from making dinner nightly! Woo hoo.

Lovely fine dining Japanese dinner
We ate to our fill!
We came home to cut my yummy Lemon Pistachio birthday cake
We played a post-birthday round of golf!

The birthday dinner was also a welcome change for various reasons. It was the first fine-dining experience after the many lockdowns we had during the pandemic. Secondly, it’s the first year with M1 joining us, being away for her education, and missing my birthday celebrations for the last six years. All in all, a welcome celebration. A toast to a good year ahead for me, and be in the best of health and mind.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Another Public Holiday

19 Apr

Today is a public holiday, yet another one. Malaysia has lots of public holidays, and sometimes it is a disruption. Typically we do not appreciate it because it disrupts the work schedule.

But of late, work is sporadic, so a public holiday is perfect for golf. What this means is that the DIY project is untouched yet again! Oh well.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

DIY Project #23

21 Jan

Towards the end of last year, I was not in the mood to craft miniatures and took a break from this activity. I was playing a lot more golf and ended up taking a much longer break than intended. Besides the circumstances, I was side-tracked with felting which was less time-consuming but equally enjoyable.

But now, I am ready to indulge in crafting miniatures again and have started on DIY project number 23. Yes, number twenty-three, but the first for 2022. That’s a lot of miniature sets I completed in the past two years during the lockdowns we had when the pandemic disrupted lives and created new routines.

DIY project #23 kicks off!

This latest set is a classroom setting, different from what I have done thus far but apt to kick off the new year as schools are reopening again under strict SOP after two years of disruption.

I hope I will not take too long to complete the set. It should be fun.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Year That Wasn’t Again

31 Dec

The never-ending year 2021 finally concludes today. I look back, and what a year it has been! I feel history has repeated itself, with the year being another year that fell short of expectations like 2020 because the pandemic has dragged on.

When the nation went into lockdown again in May, we were short-changed for several months to have a good year. And the lockdowns implemented under the Movement Control Orders (MCO) had so many versions, I lost track of it all.

But life goes on. With what we had experienced in 2020, we handled 2021 a little better. We became more accepting of the situation and were more productive, and the hobbies picked up in the year before continued. We also got vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, and it was our passport to venture out (if needed) without hassle.

Towards the end of the year, I picked up another new hobby – felting. What fun this turned out to be! Felting is immensely enjoyable and therapeutic when I am not carving or crafting miniatures as it is a short and fast activity to complete.

Looking back, being home this time around wasn’t so bad because there’s so much to do at home, and I love it. There is no rush or fear but simply comfort and ease. As long as there is good time management, the days go by quickly.

M2 came back for her Summer holidays, and it was great to have her home. My cooking skills improved from last year, and there were many great mealtimes together at home as a family since we couldn’t go out at all.

Then M1 came home for good after completing her Master’s degree, and both of us are very blessed to have the family as a complete unit. But soon after, M2 returned to Ireland, and M1 started working. By the third quarter, we were juggling work, albeit not much, and playing golf when the country reopened to more activities.

But just when we thought things were improving with vaccination and economies opening everywhere, the world saw a new virus variant! The Omicron. The pandemic management globally was sucker-punched with this new development. Travels, activities, and economies were restricted once more, and many countries faced fresh lockdowns. When will this onslaught of the unknown ever end?

So we start 2022 with uncertainty again. I see no point in toasting the New Year for better fortune and goodness. Just brace yourselves to stay negative (Covid-wise) in a positive way, stay healthy, and stay safe. Goodbye 2021, I wouldn’t say it was the best, but we survived. Happy New Year, folks!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What?! It’s November Already

1 Nov

The year seems to have breezed by so quickly. Despite months of being in lockdown and going through the daily motion repetitively, the time has gone by so fast. I guess it is when we occupy ourselves doing things that we enjoy that time goes by faster.

The lockdown phases have passed, and every sector of the economy in the country is now open. My golfing days have increased as well, so this means less time on crafting my miniatures. It’s okay as I am running out of space to display the completed sets.

Let’s hope the remaining two months of 2021 will give us some happy memories to reminisce in years to come; otherwise, we may have to lump it with 2020 as another year to forget and wish it never happened.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Five Months Later

12 Oct

Over the weekend, we had our first dine-in at a restaurant after five months of staying home in a lockdown state. And it was a strange feeling yet, at the same time, liberating.

We chose to have Japanese food because this was one food that we never ordered for delivery nor prepared at home. Sashimi is something one must eat fresh and served on a mountain of ice to stay fresh. To even think of having it delivered is out of the question – what more attempting to prepare sashimi at home. So it was a good choice.

I downed half my beer before remembering to take a picture! Oops.

Getting into the restaurant at the mall was according to the protocol: face mask on, check-in with the locator app for contact tracing, taking our temperature, and being seated one meter away from another table.

It was nice to sit in a restaurant, instead of at home, with a cold beer and enjoy a different menu, but will we do it again, eating out, that is?

I guess we will as cases are on the decline and most of the population are vaccinated already. The government has also declared that the country is now in an endemic stage. With the economy fully opened and interstate travel now being allowed, dining out in fear is a thing of the past. Life must go on with as much normalcy as possible from here on.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Fully Vaccinated

14 Sep

Now that I am officially fully vaccinated, after waiting for two weeks from the second dose, I am contemplating several changes in my lifestyle. First and foremost, should I go back to playing golf? Or should I wait it out a little longer?

When one’s status is Fully Vaccinated, you are allowed more activities to return to normalcy. Almost all sectors in the state where I stay are now open, so that’s good. Then again, I shouldn’t be too hasty to go out, dine in at a restaurant, or be out from the comforts of home. After all, I am equally comfortable being home doing what I have been doing all this while.

I will take things easy and perhaps attempt to play one game. I only hope I have not lost my ability to swing my golf clubs well. We shall see – stay tuned on this.

Tags: , , , , ,

A Different Quarantine, Part 2

10 Sep

Two weeks have gone by so quickly! M1 is cleared of her home quarantine today and will be out of the room. She is now truly home. Woohoo!

We will be having a feast tonight, home-cooked of course, to celebrate the occasion. There’s no need to elaborate on the joy of being together again.

Tags: , , , ,

Vaccinated

31 Aug

After waiting patiently for weeks, the three of us, hubby, M2, and myself, finally received our second Covid-19 vaccination dosage yesterday. This second time is so much faster and more efficient compared to the first.

We were in and out of the vaccination center within ten minutes. There was a smaller crowd, no long queue, and hardly any wait time. A much better experience, I would say.

But being fully vaccinated after 14 days from the jab does not mean we should let our guards down either and go gallivanting everywhere freely. Yes, we are safe, but we still have to be careful and aware.

We will continue to stay home and go out only when necessary. And we will wear either a 4-ply or double mask—even though we are fully vaccinated—if we go out. Keeping our social distance from strangers and friends will be automatic without a reminder whenever we are out. Face it – this is the new norm to be safe than sorry.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

A Different Quarantine

30 Aug

M1 arrived safely after a long journey that took forever. But all’s good now. Several weeks ago, the government announced that people who are fully vaccinated and returning home to the country are allowed to home-quarantine. We decided to go with this option. Unlike when M2 returned in June, this option was not available.

So M1 gets to home-quarantine instead of being at a hotel. And as we have an extra room, the arrangement is perfect. At home with us but separate from us for the mandatory two-week quarantine duration.

We are just glad everything worked out well after all that initial travel anxiety and arrangement. Two weeks will pass by quickly, and before we know it, the quarantine is over! And when that time comes, we will have one big celebratory dinner together. I can’t wait!

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →