My new toyota car 2016

Ironically whatever you have set your mind hoping it will not change may not hold water for me.

When I retired in 1997 I convinced myself that I am going to spend my well earned money on a new Toyota car and going to use it forever.

Today history has repeated itself . New year 2016 in spite of my stuborn protest that I am not willing to part with my old faithful toyota all my family members and even my wife has convinced me to change my old faithful to a brand new toyota vois.

My protest based on my evaluation that the car is roadworthy and it should last until I should give up driving or die. It has served me well and the usage of the car on the road is mainly town driving and marketing and running errands. For present routine my wife and I goes to UK for a period of four to six months. Occassionly we travel overseas elsewhere for holiday and local travelling are usually with groups and we are on tour buses.

The good reason for buying a new car is for sole purpose of providing transportation for my granddaughter who studies in International school in Damansara.

I have silently retiring to the fact that I am now 73 years of age and that driving close by during non peak traffic hours is what I am comfortable with. Well this idea did not go well with almost everybody. I am sad that even my wife is against me and feels that I am a little too quick to brand me "old"
Well what do my close family know what goes through my mind each time I drive on the road. I am responsible for the life and safety of my grandchildren, I will always do my very best and pray nothing untowards happened. The car is not my concerned anymore, yes it is new and expensive so help me God I will do whatever I can to protect her.  

2015 a good start for me in particular and I earnestly hope it too will be for my family and the rest of all mankind.

Firstly I took delivery of a very old Mercedes Benz SE300 . The year of manufacture was in 1992. So far that I know after the drive around, this car's condition in spite of its age is still road worthy.

This is such strong impact not as an old car but the fact that it fulfilled a 15 year dream of mine. When I retired from DMIB in May 1997, I wanted to purchase an old Mercedes car. The reason was simply this. I figure I had lots of free time and I just like to learn how to keep and maintain the mechanical operation of the car. I will try to learn as much as possible from the local mechanic and do the minor repair myself. All those dreams except the driving of a Merc did not materalise.

By a stroke "bad luck" somebody knocked onto my old toyota car and sandwitched it badly. All my children wanted me to buy a new car which could easily last me another 10 years trouble free driving. But I insisted on getting .my toyota repaired. My son then went into the internet and found a good deal and this become the final choice.

How did all this pieces of events lead to the fulfilment of my 15 year dream!

Secondly yesterday I cooked tomato soup for breakfast. Later my grandchildren shared a bowl of the soup and they all gave the thumbs up and even asked for the recipe. What a great surprise!

Again this brings back memories of me envy my grandmother and my father who used to cooked delicious food for all of us. I have always wondered how and when I could become a great cook like them.

My son show me the way. He cooked for us when we are in Penang. My other daughter enrolled me in Sri Hatamas cooking school where I learned to cook Hainanese chicken rice Malacca style and other dishes. My youngest gave me lots of encouragement and in the end I picked up enough courage and tra lah I succeeded.

I owe all this to my great children who put the word "Believe in yourself" into my life once more.

China Today My observation.

From my many visits to China I would like to reflect the changes that have taken place to simple human beings and people at large. I need to keep this reflection personal as I am also a born Chinese and I too have a humble beginning.

From the earliest visit to my homeland, where relatives are very poor so was the country then, but people lived peacefully. What their concerned I believe was to live the day and worry the next other day. This I mean they cannot worry about so many other things like how people elsewhere live. Whether they live with all the world luxuries or otherwise. There is no comparison or rather they are only buried in their own world or perimeter. But somehow ask the little children how they feel back then. Almost certainly their reply was they are happy contented. They have all the things(or most of it) I mean the plain toys(self made, creative, imaginative and yet they all play it together and they are season for playing them too. Take for instant: the kite. We make them ourselves, all kind from simple to sophisticated with glass fragment glue onto the kite string for making your opponents kite string break when contacted with your own. Another example of toy cars. We make them out of cartoon boxes collected from sundries shop. Or sometimes we make them out of wooden crate. Running was my past time favourite and we go to bed sweaty and smelly next to our grandmother who has given up complaining.Swimming is another hot favourite where we swim in muddy ponds used by cowherd for their cows to clean up. We also like bathing in deserted coffee shop where their water tanks are our favourite. Next we shit in the open air in big drain in big groups of children. Sometimes adults too come along and imagine our shock when we started comparing sizes. My mother used to make my school uniform from flour bags. When new you can still see the wordings or code.It looks like nowadays such tee shirt are gaining popularity.

meditation progress 3

Zhangjiajie China tour 16 to 26 May 2010

What an experience I have had on this trip is something I would like to put on record.

With much experience of travelling to countries where food hygiene is questionable, I went on this trip fully prepared with all kinds of medication to address any diarrhoea or food poisoning as a result of eating street food. But the result is the same or worst as I see it. This is an account of what happened.

Day1. On arrival at Guangzhou airport on transit to Changsa airport, the food I consumed along the way was spaghetti at KLIA airport restaurant, mineral water bought at Guangzhou airport at 15 RMB a bottle and water at the water dispenser next to the smoking area and some sweet potatoes bought from the airport shops.

Day2.Buffet breakfast at hotel then lunch at restaurant before arriving at Fenghuang ancient city. We had dinner at the ancient city but the street food looks very tempting, but no no for me because of earlier warning.

Day 3. Breakfast again at fenghuang ancient city before arriving at Tianmenshan - Zhangjiajie world natural heritage spot. We had food at hotel restaurant.

Day 4.Breakfast at hotel restaurant before proceeding to Mt Tianzi. Lunch at restaurant and dinner at hotel

Day 5. Breakfast at hotel before proceeding to Baofeng lake. Lunch at restaurant. Dinner back at hotel.

Day 6. Breakfast at hotel and proceed to Jingzhou ancient city wall. Had lunch at restaurant together with birthday cake for another person in our group(21/5). Dinner held in a cave restaurant.Board the ship in the evening.

Day 7. Breakfast on board but I already had diarrhoae attacked the night before. After breakfast went to visit the ship's doctor and given 2 injections plus salt water and tablets. In the evening the purging started after dinner. At dinner I felt like not eating anything but had to show up because it was my birthday celebration on behalf of the cruise management.I was also having slight fever then.

Day 8. Purging throughout the night and after breakfast (only bread and cereal) I went to the hospital. Given IV- 3 bottles.

A page in my dairy

Re evaluating my own life

Sometimes during periods of mood swings, thoughts and dreams may focus on the way you are now living or spending your remaining part of your life. Basically you asked questions whether your are living your life in a respectable way or are you wasting your life.

Just looking at people around me leading the way this is some examples that I would like to follow:-

Mr Tai Chiu - I find him a daring character who has also a few weakness. Firstly I praise him for the great sacrifice he made when he signed up for the London Open University. From my viewpoint what he achieved is a feature to his cap but subsequently all his effort has not been properly put into use. He used this to prove to many people that he is not stupid and he can achieve a university degree like others. Has he contributed much of his acquired knowledge for the benefit of society? I too have the desire to take up a course or degree but my inner self tells me what use then if I cannot go further to contribute to my family or to society.

Tai Chiu's second daring challenge. To buy a new Mercedes car. I can understand this logic because when his son accepts the offer to return to Malaysia he was given an opportunity of a tax free import car. He is also daring because he believe that he is entitled to the benefits of a luxury car to himself so that he could enjoy the rest of his life in comfort. I agree with his motive, but look at the usage of his car which depreciated more than he could used them. It could mean wasting money. I have so often thought of driving a Mercedes Benz but not owning one. Even that dream has not been met. Do I blame myself for no guts.

Back to my title " reevaluating my life "

Looking back at who I was and now , I must have achieved loads. And in comparison with my brothers and sisters including my parents I have far exceeded them in bringing about a good family of three doctors? Yet there are still times when I feel emptiness in my life and I am trying very hard to find the reason why is this so.?

A Page from my diary

LOOSING TOUCH

In the natural process of aging I have detected many changes in my body, not only physically, mentally, psychological, social and don't know what more as I discovered each day.

Like today, just receiving short conversation from my daughter I got the message all messed up. She sail to me " Today there will be a picnic event at Homerton from 11am to 2 pm, outside the Homerton ground" What I received in my mind turned out to be " Today there will be a party at Kids Unlimited at 2pm to 4pm at their orchard. " My mind starting to organise and plan its activities. Oh good there will be lots of apples to eat. Oh No. I will have to bring the elder kids to Gymnastic at 2pm. Oh No. I cannot go so I think the other person who should go should be Mummy. She can then play with Paul"

I started to blabber all my plan to Yuen who was shocked to what I said until she told me " The party starts at 11am to 2pm. You can then bring the two kids viz Hope and Clare there after you fetch them at 1pm. " What, what how come the subject have shifted to Hope and Clare and not Paul?

Somehow Mummy who always seem to know exactly what I am thinking inside my head blurted out and said " I think Daddy have heard you wrongly again" She was right. How did it happened like that.

This incident flashed back to yesterday when Yuen gave me a simple project to do. " Daddy can you take down the white curtain from the TV room and hand in the children's playroom and take down the red curtain curtain and...." What I got the message was to hand the red curtain in the TV room." But No. The red curtain is not longer wanted. But instead the new curtain should be put up in the TV room.

These two incidences has prompt me to look at myself and see what has actually gone wrong!