Saturday, December 29, 2018

Our 2018

2018 is the most balanced and fulfilling year to date. 
My days of constant flying are over. Work travels for me and Ken were reduced drastically and for the first time ever, we spent so much time with the kids and it was epic.

Megan’s confidence and happiness index soared as she opened up to new experiences and tried her best at what was given to her. 2018 marked plenty of play dates, breakfasts, library books, screen time restriction (hahaha!!).
Morgan on the other hand, still believed he could get away with all mischiefs with his smiles and hugs. Could not keep still and wailed at whatever he did not want to do (which is everything). This boy is going to have a hard time in school but that we will worry about later. 
2018, he made good progress in his speech and let’s hope he will be able to communicate like kids his age soon.
A new chapter of my work life opened up in the field of elderly care. I never cared to know anything about this topic before this year but having immersed myself in medical conferences, discussions on sustainable facilitates for the aged, listening to designers talk about which tables and chairs are suitable for the elderly and unlike hotels, how little the industry knows which model is the best approach, I feel much needed to be done.

While many countries are still asking the question - who to pay for the elderly, I am very heartened to know that years ago, Singapore had already taken steps to restructured our health care system, thought of ways to create a dementia friendly city and experiment with different medical, lifestyle models to prolong the elderly pre-frail stage in their extended lifespan. This is no easy feat considering the complexity of the solution needed. And yes for the first time in 40 years, I am impressed with Singapore’s foresight and planning process to problem solving (having witnessed this  process myself).

The shift in perspective from hotel (which I still love) to elderly facilities is timely because if I want to dictate the environment I want to live in years down the road, this is the time to start. My mum, in-laws and relatives are also smack right in the middle of this silver tsunami and this can be a sensitive and fearful topic for the unprepared.
But we will all grow old so our attitudes towards how to live our last 20 years become important.

Kudos to my mum for learning to drink wine, eat cheese, cycle and hike in the rain in Bulgaria, Czech, Albania, Romania, Hungry, Moldova, Slovakia and Croatia etc. She traveled to more places with her gang of buddies than her daughter, which is totally impressive. 
Hearing cousins share stories on how our parents gossip family news via morning walks, getting drunk like giggling teenagers during family gatherings makes for a good laugh. All the more meaningful now that I learnt more about preparation for old age. May I be like them one day. 
Half the time I have no idea where you are travelling

Climb the mountains and explore the oceans Mimi! Me too! Hence have to stay healthy and fit. 
 My hilarious first 10km
 Many celebrations of friendships
 Cousins gatherings
Bangkok for our big 40s
 Chengdu Chongqing and memorable "massage" experience
Relaxing Taipei
Doing my part not to take earth for granted and reduce unnecessary waste. In this year alone, I have rejected an estimated 700+ single use plastic bags simply by bringing my own bag. And I have not even made any real effort to make much change in our lifestyle. Happy with my progress. Will do more in 2019. 
2018 has been good to us. We cannot ask for a better-balanced year. Met people new and old, all of them made an impact. Some showed me a different way, some served as a mirror to look at myself and others came into my life to remind myself never to be become one like them. So fortunate our family are, we are filled with gratitude.


Now welcome 2019!

Saturday, October 13, 2018

重庆。成都。好玩!


庆。成都。好玩!

Kenneth重庆的同事结婚了。好也,我们就顺便到成都,重庆串串。Kenneth第一次去成都,我有点紧张,不知道他会不会喜欢我安排的景点。不我多了,里是当年的蜀国,一位三国迷来,四川就是天堂。


武侯寺。桃园结义。必去不可。你是葛,嘈嘈,还是司马义这话题不可。天天回酒店重温那看了几回的三国演义。你干脆把主题曲也唱了吧。

修来八子的富可以投胎做人。修来十八子,可以做熊猫了吧? 我也想象它什么都不做,天天睡。噢儿抓抓屁股,众人也会马上为它“啊。。。”,拍照,鼓掌。确定只要它肯动,必定是全世界最可作! 反正可爱就了。

奇怪,怎么没听备也一起把熊猫救了?

下雨天,在宽窄巷里吃着火,听着古筝!秒!
不经喊一句“ 好!!”
(想象我把一叠钞票丢给她,她对我说 “大爷,小女子不收现金,请在这扫QR吗“。
TM的。这中国啊,没有wechat转帐,哪都去不了。

就那么几条辣椒,汗流背的会不会太夸了点。

说到吃,成都真是个好地方。

重庆
天真的自己对重庆的想象来自赤壁,spirited away 的古屋建筑,山中的小茶楼,老街上的火锅店。有山。有水。有庙。是逃离繁忙成都的避暑胜地 
(成都也称不上多繁忙,可见我把重庆想成了乡下)

为什么酒店前是这番景象?

我大吃一惊。好傻!
原来不只有延山儿建的古老建筑,重庆还是个达的超大都市!高楼夜景足以把香港多利亚码头比下去。建筑和路穿梭的画面象极了我小候画的未来世界。

的小面啊。。。 这是不是我生平吃过最好吃的面条?

好辣。这顿我pass。

 不过还是买些麻椒回去吧。不然回家就吃不到了。

Kenneth说 “再回来吧”。