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Leaving on a jetplane
Last 26 June 2022 we were blessed to experience our first trip overseas since the start of Covid-19.
This lockdown is certainly a blessing in disguise. It has given me time to think, read, reconnect and save $$$. Add in some tour guide experience and it certainly changed the way I plan for my 6 weeks holiday.
10 things I’m glad I did before we travelled :
1. Cleared out the laundry
2. Iron my work clothes for 1 week
3. Have a list of things to do (got the kids to do theirs as well)
4. List of people to meet/visit
5. List of food to eat
6. Keep an open and flexible mindset
7. One (credit) card to rule them all
8. Weekly small savings
9. Cleared out my bills/put them on autopay
10. Set a dateline for packing
It’s not much but really does help in getting me moving especially on the first day of work.
Just us and the “Departures” sign. Stay hungry, stay safe.
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Books of Ju-ne/ly
Finished Wild by Cheryl Strayed; its not that long that her adventure took place (mid 90s) but occasionally I will close my eyes and imagine how does one goes hiking with limited resources available.
No weather apps to tell you what the weather’s like the next day.
Or phone alert that snow will cover some part of the track that you have to make a detour.
Or some tweet to alert you that the next water stop after hiking 30kms is dry (you have none left in your backpack by the way). So many ifs; but if you survive, it is definitely a story worth telling again and again.
Just as the season changes, I have changed my reading style (again)
Got busier at work with the border reopening; so I spent more time listening than reading. The Australia General Election in May made me subscribe Youtube Premium to avoid watching the recurring politicians advertisement. It also means I can download some of my favourite lectures as I travel to and from work.
My current listening is :
1. Yasir Qadhi‘s lecture on the Prophet Muhammad pbuh (100+ hours lecture broken into 1 hour series each),
2. Tim Ferriss (he interviews and dissects successful/high performance/unique people habits)
3. Metallica (live shows are awesome)
4. Random Weezer, Dave Chapelle, The Sopranos clips
Audible has been tempting me with $0/3 months subscription for awhile; I’ll pass for now.
Stay hungry, stay safe.
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Books of May
Current Read
1. Wild – Cheryl Strayed
From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
2. Quiet – Susan Cain
The Power of Introverts in World that Can’t stop Talking
3. Into The Rip – Damien Cave
How the Australian Way of Risk Made my Family Stronger, Happier…and Less American
Recently I changed my reading style. Whereas before I would pickup and read different books & chapters at a time ; now I will read a book start to finish, while having another 2-3 waiting in line.
Reading several books at a time now makes me feel like a maniac changing pace. Like running an 800m race and as you cross the finishing line, you sat down and start slurping down a bowl of hot noodle soup. Different writers have different pace, style – sometimes the font itself makes day and night difference.
Still avoiding Goodreads for now; else I’ll be like a kid in a toy store:)
Stay hungry, stay safe.
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One month later.
A month!!
That was how long it has been since my last posting. No, I am not on social media detox mode, in case you are wondering. Few things have been occupying my mind & body; Ramadhan, Eid ul Fitr, overtime at work (worked 7 days last week), open house invitations (full stomach makes you sleepy & dull to ideas).
Lost 5kg after Ramadhan; wasn’t aiming for it but it certainly is comfortable with my working pants now. I use to feel like the Incredible Hulk from the waist down – at times the pants seems like it is screaming to burst. Definitely would have been weird because the real Incredible Hulk would torn and shown his upper body, while I would tear off my….never mind.
There were some changes to my eating pattern – I’ll take half or a quarter of my normal rice portion but will fill up the plate with protein (chicken/beef/lamb rendang) and veggies. Occasionally I still have a munch of chips, cake, lollies or whatever my kids are enjoying in front of me; but that’s it. I don’t have the urge to finish a packet of chips – UNLESS it’s Twisties Curry flavour. That is a compulsory 1 packet (2 packets if I have to share with the others).
I checked at my local gym just this morning, down an additional 3kg…whaaattt? So its a total of 8kg since last April.
Looked at the results and sure enough as mentioned by Peter Attia (video here) fasting without resistance training would have bring some (unwanted) changes like an increase of fat mass and reduction of muscle mass. A bit unnerving especially if you are a health conscious but I’m ok with it.
Anyhoo, it feels good to be able to squeeze some time to write this. Feels better if I could get my hands on some Twisties later tonight.
Stay hungry, stay safe.
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Wake Up and Smell The Coffee
There are certain memory recollections that are clear as day to me, like the first time I tried sushi.
Ordering Western-style coffee (latte, espresso etc) is not one of them.
Knowing how I used to think, I bet the first time I ordered one would be an espresso, because that’s what I normally see on TV. Just being able to say the word “espresso” made me feel like a French speaker. Uber-cool for a 20 year old if you ask me back then.
I still don’t understand the coffee culture even after 13 years in Perth.
Maybe the fact that we don’t have a Starbucks outlet here doesn’t accelerate my coffee knowledge like my friends back in Malaysia.
Maybe I don’t have that many friends to hang out with at the ubiquitous Dome/Coffee Club here.
I can’t fathom what makes a coffee delicious – is it the temperature? Smell? Bitterness? Zestiness? The latte art? Companion you are with?
To me it’s just some hot, bitter beverage coming into contact with my mouth. Comforting on a cold day. Occasionally the smell itself would triggered something inside me.
I went through a period of drinking black coffee without sugar. I will get a shiver after sipping it; the words coming out from my mouth is a mix of regret and cursing. Like Tuco from Breaking Bad saying “Tight! Tight! Tight!”
So bad that I usually make a mental note not to order it again. Not long after a mental eraser pops up, wiping off the earlier note and I’ll repeat the same order. A depresso situation.
A few of us were chatting and somehow the topic of coffee came about. A friend, with a big smile and her eyes squeezed tight mentioned how she enjoyed this particular coffee in a capsule. So good there was a time she quickly whipped up another cup after the first one was done. That ecstasy look on her face, I will never forget.
Nowadays the safe option for me would be latte; the higher milk ratio to coffee makes it bearable. Will add 2 tsp sugar if I feel like it.
There are predictable outcomes when I consume coffee; usually it’s either my shoulders feel sore or it has a laxative effect.
I’ll drink more water and just wait a few hours if I feel sore.
I’m ok with the latter effect and at times welcome them, as long as there is no urge to go while I’m on a public transport or while I’m at work ie driving. It’s a horrible, horrible experience.
Just because I don’t enjoy coffee much like some of you (yet); I currently do enjoy watching these 2 baristas.
If I have the time to spend and wanted to feel like a scholar, I’ll watch James Hoffman on Youtube.
If I just feel like browsing through something in minutes, I’ll check out MorganDrinksCoffee on Instagram.Stay hungry, stay safe.
Calm before the storm. -
Simple Man
In the 80s we used to watch the TV series MacGyver. As a secret agent, he keeps finding himself in tight situation but his knowledge of applied science and skills in using a Swiss knife would save the day. He’ll pickup some items lying around and manipulate it diffuse a bomb, picks a lock, saves a friend from imminent danger, even shoot a pen-size missile. Whooah!!
From there, for a time I started keeping small, little, usually useless stuffs, thinking that I might be able to use it to rescue myself out of life threatening situation. Like MacGyver.
Once my mum cooked a crab meal and I decided to keep the crab pincer; you know, in case I need to pick a lock. Just the shell of course, I have already eaten the meat.
Now I prefer to keep things as simple as possible. My wife would at times comes to the rescue as the simplicity that I chase could actually spelt trouble, especially if you are planning a camping trip.
It’s better to have and don’t need rather than to need but not have.
I only carry a handful of items to work – phone, wallet, face mask, lanyard with my bus+office access card and a pen. The month of Ramadhan now makes it double easier as I don’t have to think nor carry packed lunch meals.
Both my hands a free to swing some Kung Fu move in case I need to defend myself. Think I might add a Swiss knife to my arsenal.
Wocket In My Pocket Stay hungry, stay safe.
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Books of April
Glad that we had some books during my quarantine period last month. I included a new category – CNF (could not finish).
A good friend suggested that I open an account with Goodreads; looks interesting but I don’t feel like signing up to another membership. Maybe later; just like maybe I might pickup the CNF books again in the future 😀- Killing Floor (Reacher) – Lee Child (R-I-P)
- Daylight – David Baldacci (R-I-P)
- What It Takes – Stephen A Schwarzman (R-I-P)
- Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman
- History of the World – Map by Map
- High Performance Habit – Brendon Burchard
- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Comic) – D
- Berserk (Comic) – D
- Don’t You Have Time To Think – Richard Feynman (CNF)
D : Done & Dusted
R-I-P : Reading-In-Progress
CNF : Could Not Finish
Stay hungry, stay safe.
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Are you happy?
I have given it a thought and come to accept that most of us won’t get ALL that we want in life.
We can dream for a nice house, fancy cars, beautiful wife and kids, gentle understanding husband, bank account with a lot of zeros – the list is never ending.
The world is full of stories about rich people with enough money for the next 7 generations, but after they passed away, the heir starts fighting among each other for a bigger portion of the pie. The lawyers ended up being the actual winner each time.
Famous celebrities with millions of followers on socmed; ever seen the photos of them hounded everywhere by paparazzis? You can’t go anywhere without camera flash blinding you and people shouting, at times to get that angry response which in turns sells the tabloid more.
We will realise what we are actually chasing is happiness, peace with one self.
You want to leave a legacy? Fine. But at some stage people will forget that you exist. 100 years down the road your descendants might not know you exist.
I asked my mum about her grandfather; she doesn’t have any recollection of him. I heard some cultures like the Arabs would memorise their forefathers names for generations.
Better start working on that family tree scrap book now.
Kids superpower – ability to fall sleep anywhere, even under the kitchen table. Stay hungry, stay safe.
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Very hard to drink
I was bitten by the C19 bug a couple of weeks back but was blessed with a steady recovery.
Started my quarantine on 18 March due to close contact at work; Shakira and the kids somehow managed to contract it over the weekend. As they outnumbered me 4 to 1; I thought it’s better if I, the healthy one to go into room quarantine instead of them. Plus I’m hopeless at cooking. We have been eating takeaways for 2 days and it’s having an adverse effect on my wallet.
As they recovered, I started having fever on Friday 25 March night and followed by body/joints ache. If you ever heard of the “old-people-hates-hospital” syndrome; I somehow found this in me and refused to eat any paracetamol / painkillers.
I wanted to combat it with water and rest. I would consume 3 glasses of water (approx 750ml) which is a combination of either plain water, Milo, Hydralite or fruit juice. Repeat every 4 hours.
I forced myself to eat eventhough I don’t feel like it. I remember biting into a loaf of white bread; tasteless and the texture was like towel. Threw it into the toaster; later with butter and Kaya spread – only then it becomes manageable.
Saturday and Sunday was the worst; fever with body ache. I just keep drinking and lying in bed. But lying in bed too much soon turns into a lower back ache. Realising that it’s going to be uncomfortable any other way, I resorted to watching TV standing up for a few minutes while stretching my legs.
Fever starts to subside from the 3rd day (Monday); I decided to pop a Nurofen on Tuesday night as my head keeps throbbing. Voila! On the 5th day I woke up sweating – I just realised with all the water dumping in my system, I didn’t really sweat when I’m tucked in my sleeping bag. It’s like the painkiller somehow kickstart my sweat glands back to operational mode after 4 days.
All in I was away for 2 weeks – 1 week healthy while mingling with my positive tested family members and the other week being positive myself.
First day back at work – the 650m walk to the bus stop was the furthest I’ve walked in 2 weeks. Super glad I recovered just as we started Ramadhan.
4/4/22 TikTokers in action at the bus stop Stay hungry, stay safe.
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Nowhere to run
Friday last week – started room isolation by myself due to close contact, PCR came back negative.
Monday – wife & little one tested positive C19
Yesterday – the other 2 kids tested positive C19
Today – I’m still the only one keeping negative with no symptoms. Planning to go back to isolation by myself since I’m the minority 😀
Not sure if I should cry or laugh; but definitely am thankful. I could be infected in the next few days or could remain negative until the 7 days are over. Here praying for the best.
WA which has recorded single to non cases for years since early 2020 has now jumped to 33K active cases since Omicron & the international border opening. It is bound to happen one way or another; the hard border policy is hard to keep with other pressing matters – economy (lack of workers that even baristas are offered $90k/year salary), election year, families separated since start of covid etc. Did I mention election?
Unsure which room to sleep in; ended up with my sleeping mat at the living area for the past 2 nights. Makes up for the hiking trip I missed last weekend.
Stay hungry, stay safe
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Kammys Musing 