one of the rare occasions when I did not have golf on a Sunday morning I decided on how to spend the morning.Mum was surprised when I told her I would go to the market with her.It has been a long time since I did that.When we were in Teluk Intan we used to go to the market every Sunday but since then the habit has gradually died off so yesterday was kinda special cos we had a chance to revive all times.
We made our way to the SS2 market and wow ,was I glad I decided to go.
The market is a real hive of activity and you could get almost anything there, shoes,clothes,dvds,in addition to the usual food being sold.It was interesting watching the buyers and sellers.Most of the buyers were ladies and you would have a lot of fun watching them bargaining and choosing their stuff and the salesmanship of the sellers.There was a fish seller with the ever present smile on his face who would give some sort of discount t any one of his customer be it 50 cents or 1 ringgit and this made them happy.
Its amazing the number of people you find on a Sunday.If you are observant you can watch the marketing process being acted out.The helpers who brought the vegetables from some where were all foreigners whilst some of the cutters in the meat stall were also such people.Everyone had a role to play and the process somehow went on so smoothly,fast and efficient.
Mum was an efficient buyer and knew what she wanted and went about her purchasing in a fast and furious pace.Before I knew it the basket I was carrying was already full to the brim and the rest of the stuff had to be carried in separate plastic bags.
Guys should take the trouble to accompany the wife to the market every now and then,its a great learning experience and you make the spouse happy at least by helping her carry the food and I'm sure when you have your next meal you realize better how the food came to be at the table.Besides its also a great bonding experience with our other half whom we often take for granted.After all the hassle we had a nice quiet breakfast and it was something like the good old days....
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Eating habits
Food has never been my priority.When we were young it was more rice than vegetables and the purpose of eating was just to curb your hunger.No fancy dining ,so selected meats or fishes or other exotic food like abalone ,prawns ,beef and forget about desserts ,there was no such thing.Apples,oranges ,pears, grapes ? Totally irrelevant.
It amuses me how much trouble people go through to have a meal.I have a relative whose face would be as black as charcoal if he does not get what he likes to eat in a restaurant so much so that the children would be scared to take him out for dinner.What pettiness!He fails to realize that eating with the family is more important than the actual food which you eat and that older people should just eat what their children decide.After all a meal is just a meal,if you like it you eat more ,if not just less.My mother-in-law was the best.She would eat anywhere we brought her and whatever we ordered and never once did she comment on the type of food.She would occasonally ask how much it cost ,that's all.That's the best attitude .
When we were young we eat more rice just to fill our stomachs are make sure that we did not go hungry.A bit of curry ,some vegetables and sambal would make a meal so good and all the family members happily enjoyed the meal.Usually we would at least have two plates of rice to ensure that we had enough.
Breakfast was usually bread and butter>No dim sum, noodles or bacon and eggs.Lunch was rice and curry and dinner the same.Yet we all grew up to be strong and healthy.A meal should be take for what it actually is:something to curb your hunger
When I was in the District Education office and Inspectorate we travelled a lot visiting schools and in a strange town you would eat in the first eating stall you came about to save time and energy looking for a place to eat.No fuss about what you ate ,sometimes mamak,Malay,Indian or Chinese .Just fill up your stomach and off you go.
Really cant understand why some people make so much fuss over food.Its unthinkable to spend hours over a meal and so much hassle looking for a place to eat.
A lot of people today become obese because of eating habits.High blood,high cholesterol are in some way associated with bad eating habits.Eating should be moderate ,never partake too much of what you particularly like.There is discipline in eating!!Enjoy your food but never overeat and dont be too fussy over food.A meal is just a meal.
It amuses me how much trouble people go through to have a meal.I have a relative whose face would be as black as charcoal if he does not get what he likes to eat in a restaurant so much so that the children would be scared to take him out for dinner.What pettiness!He fails to realize that eating with the family is more important than the actual food which you eat and that older people should just eat what their children decide.After all a meal is just a meal,if you like it you eat more ,if not just less.My mother-in-law was the best.She would eat anywhere we brought her and whatever we ordered and never once did she comment on the type of food.She would occasonally ask how much it cost ,that's all.That's the best attitude .
When we were young we eat more rice just to fill our stomachs are make sure that we did not go hungry.A bit of curry ,some vegetables and sambal would make a meal so good and all the family members happily enjoyed the meal.Usually we would at least have two plates of rice to ensure that we had enough.
Breakfast was usually bread and butter>No dim sum, noodles or bacon and eggs.Lunch was rice and curry and dinner the same.Yet we all grew up to be strong and healthy.A meal should be take for what it actually is:something to curb your hunger
When I was in the District Education office and Inspectorate we travelled a lot visiting schools and in a strange town you would eat in the first eating stall you came about to save time and energy looking for a place to eat.No fuss about what you ate ,sometimes mamak,Malay,Indian or Chinese .Just fill up your stomach and off you go.
Really cant understand why some people make so much fuss over food.Its unthinkable to spend hours over a meal and so much hassle looking for a place to eat.
A lot of people today become obese because of eating habits.High blood,high cholesterol are in some way associated with bad eating habits.Eating should be moderate ,never partake too much of what you particularly like.There is discipline in eating!!Enjoy your food but never overeat and dont be too fussy over food.A meal is just a meal.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The way we were
Picked up an interesting article which everyone should read :
First we had mothers who did everything for us,washing,cleaning cooking and at the same time looking after us.There were no maids or cleaners then,the mothers did everything themselves.They were also the disciplinarians and managers of the household budget.
5 pebbles which we found by the river would form an endless game .It was the same with pieces of wood which we found by the bushes or up the hillside.
We had drinks with salt added,drank out of taps with our hands as containers or cups.No mineral water or fruit juices or ice blended coffee.We shared a bottle of drinks with our friends regardless of race or creed and ate whatever we had with each other using our hands most of the time.
We repaired our own bicycles,polished them and rode without helmets.Sometimes two or three of us would shared a bicycle.We fell ,we tumbled ,we were bruised but we survived.
We played in the hot sun,flew kites which we made with our own hands,caught spiders in the jungle.There was no worry or even knowledge of uv rays and sunburn.
Cars came without seat belts or air bags.No BMW or Mercedes just a four wheel machine which can take you places was good enough.Cars had no air con or leather seats .
We had no TV,I pad,handphones,computers,play stations,the internet to keep us occupied.We had none of this but we had friends.We would go to each other's houses and yell out loud for them to come out and play.We made our own bats,shuttlecocks and guns.We had ots of fun playing with sticks and marbles.We made swords out of bamboo and had many a swordfight.We ate sugarcane and raw mangoes with just a handful of salt in our hands .We never had stomach ache or diarrhea .
We had no birthday cakes until we reached 21.
We had failures,success,responsibility and we learnt how to deal with them.Our generation produced the best risk takers,problem solvers ever.
A tribute to all those born in the 40s,50s,60s and 70s........
First we had mothers who did everything for us,washing,cleaning cooking and at the same time looking after us.There were no maids or cleaners then,the mothers did everything themselves.They were also the disciplinarians and managers of the household budget.
5 pebbles which we found by the river would form an endless game .It was the same with pieces of wood which we found by the bushes or up the hillside.
We had drinks with salt added,drank out of taps with our hands as containers or cups.No mineral water or fruit juices or ice blended coffee.We shared a bottle of drinks with our friends regardless of race or creed and ate whatever we had with each other using our hands most of the time.
We repaired our own bicycles,polished them and rode without helmets.Sometimes two or three of us would shared a bicycle.We fell ,we tumbled ,we were bruised but we survived.
We played in the hot sun,flew kites which we made with our own hands,caught spiders in the jungle.There was no worry or even knowledge of uv rays and sunburn.
Cars came without seat belts or air bags.No BMW or Mercedes just a four wheel machine which can take you places was good enough.Cars had no air con or leather seats .
We had no TV,I pad,handphones,computers,play stations,the internet to keep us occupied.We had none of this but we had friends.We would go to each other's houses and yell out loud for them to come out and play.We made our own bats,shuttlecocks and guns.We had ots of fun playing with sticks and marbles.We made swords out of bamboo and had many a swordfight.We ate sugarcane and raw mangoes with just a handful of salt in our hands .We never had stomach ache or diarrhea .
We had no birthday cakes until we reached 21.
We had failures,success,responsibility and we learnt how to deal with them.Our generation produced the best risk takers,problem solvers ever.
A tribute to all those born in the 40s,50s,60s and 70s........
Monday, February 21, 2011
Unexpected Encounter.
Yesterday a lady from KDU met me in the office to look into working with us.Apparently she has enough of hostel work and wants to outsource.And when it came to hostel management we are the natural choice.
She holds a Masters degree in Counseling and it turned out she told me she was in a dilemma at the moment as she had to choose between corporate work and lecturing.And strangely enough I ended up counseling her as to why I would advise her to be a lecturer.This is one of life's strange twists.
Of late we have had a couple of offers to expand our business and I'm pretty excited about the chance to start a new project with new people and dealing with a different set of people.Pity I'm at this age but I will train up the younger people to handle the new businesses.There is a good market for good hostel management companies as many educational institutions want to free themselves from the hassle and responsibility of looking after students from all over the world.
She holds a Masters degree in Counseling and it turned out she told me she was in a dilemma at the moment as she had to choose between corporate work and lecturing.And strangely enough I ended up counseling her as to why I would advise her to be a lecturer.This is one of life's strange twists.
Of late we have had a couple of offers to expand our business and I'm pretty excited about the chance to start a new project with new people and dealing with a different set of people.Pity I'm at this age but I will train up the younger people to handle the new businesses.There is a good market for good hostel management companies as many educational institutions want to free themselves from the hassle and responsibility of looking after students from all over the world.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Life's blessings.
Looking at my poor bed ridden elder sister its difficult not to hold back the tears.I remember the good times we had together when we were young ,how she was always there for me.When I came back for the Uni holidays and needed a few bucks to play skittles or billiards she would be the one I always turn to and she would scrape whatever she had and gave it to me.She was never good in studies and always came back with red report cards and each time she would cry and said she wanted to quit school.Finally dad used his influence to get her a job as a telephone operator and she worked there till she retired.
Looking at her we realize how lucky we are not be bed ridden.She has come to a stage when she cant remember anything.Perhaps this is a blessing as she does not have to think about anything bothersome.Looking at her the maxim "Health is wealth" becomes all the more meaningful .We take our health for granted and look at the abuses which we subject our body to,late nights,smoking,drinking,no rest ,working like mad ,rushing from one place to another."What does it profit a man if he has millions but no health?".Sadly enough its only when we are sick that we come to realize how great it is to be in good health and how precious good health is.
To be in such a state requires discipline in managing ourselves,our eating habits,our management of time and an awareness of how important it is to live a life of moderation.
Look after your health while you are still young.Its like a long term investment and the dividends will come in the form of freedom from all medical treatment and a long healthy life.Worth it?
Looking at her we realize how lucky we are not be bed ridden.She has come to a stage when she cant remember anything.Perhaps this is a blessing as she does not have to think about anything bothersome.Looking at her the maxim "Health is wealth" becomes all the more meaningful .We take our health for granted and look at the abuses which we subject our body to,late nights,smoking,drinking,no rest ,working like mad ,rushing from one place to another."What does it profit a man if he has millions but no health?".Sadly enough its only when we are sick that we come to realize how great it is to be in good health and how precious good health is.
To be in such a state requires discipline in managing ourselves,our eating habits,our management of time and an awareness of how important it is to live a life of moderation.
Look after your health while you are still young.Its like a long term investment and the dividends will come in the form of freedom from all medical treatment and a long healthy life.Worth it?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Reunion dinner
Today,for the sake of convenience many families choose to have the Reunion Dinner in restaurants packed with others of the same breed.This actually defeats the meaning of the reunion.As the name implies reunion is the re gathering of family members who may come from far and its a chance for family members to return to the family house and be with each other.
The actual meal eaten is not that important .It can be a few simple dishes but the important thing is that family members gather round the dining table and eat together in the family house and each away member would update the rest of the family on what has happened to him or her throughout the year.Imagine trying to do this in a noisy restaurant!
Reunion is the time when the children come home to their roots after being away from home.However simple the meal,its significance must not be overlooked.For us the fact that we have 4 girls makes the reunion dinner a bit more valuable as according to tradition the girls must eat with the man's family.This is questionable!In the days when the man was the sole breadwinner and the girl stays in the man's home it was understandable.But today ,women are independent earning their own keep and frankly what have they got to do with the other side's parents unless they get along very well and the other parents treat them like their own children??It seems to make the reunion kinda farcical .We treat our sons in laws like our own children and as an encouragement for them to eat with us mum always has a favourite dish prepared for each of them .
I cant imagine how family members would feel having to eat in a crowded,noisy restaurant eating all the commercial food on Chinese New year eve and what sort of reunion the dinner would turn out to be!!!
The actual meal eaten is not that important .It can be a few simple dishes but the important thing is that family members gather round the dining table and eat together in the family house and each away member would update the rest of the family on what has happened to him or her throughout the year.Imagine trying to do this in a noisy restaurant!
Reunion is the time when the children come home to their roots after being away from home.However simple the meal,its significance must not be overlooked.For us the fact that we have 4 girls makes the reunion dinner a bit more valuable as according to tradition the girls must eat with the man's family.This is questionable!In the days when the man was the sole breadwinner and the girl stays in the man's home it was understandable.But today ,women are independent earning their own keep and frankly what have they got to do with the other side's parents unless they get along very well and the other parents treat them like their own children??It seems to make the reunion kinda farcical .We treat our sons in laws like our own children and as an encouragement for them to eat with us mum always has a favourite dish prepared for each of them .
I cant imagine how family members would feel having to eat in a crowded,noisy restaurant eating all the commercial food on Chinese New year eve and what sort of reunion the dinner would turn out to be!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)