Random Messages are Very Inspiring

One of my schools has random messages posted throughout the school and throughout the school grounds. Looking upon on these words uplifts one's spirit.  What a nice way to walk through the halls and corridors. These ones are along the parking area where I park my car each time I am there.  There are more throughout the outer corridors of the school that inspire and give that wonderful subliminal message to those passing through.

As for dinner tonight - still gnawing on the chicken breast.  I have taken that wonderful high speed blender from Jenn and beaten the heck out of garlic and ginger, and now marinating bits of chicken which will be cooked Japanese style fried chicken, with a salad on side, cleaned with the new magic salad spinner from Marie.  That should tidy up the rest of that little slab of meat. Recipe - compliments of Kaore.  Thanks Jenn. Thanks Kaore.  Thanks Marie.

Tidied up the old girl today

I was sprung from the house so took advantage of getting some food in the house for the week and then a hair trim after that excursion.  They always make my hair look so darn good, but I never seem to make it home with it looking like it did when I left the shop.  Either serious humidity to frizz it into a pompom or just enough of a rain to do likewise. Today it was the rain.  I didn't even notice it was raining when I came out of the shop. It was such a fine mist, but still enough to make me have 'big hair'.

So, as promised, here is a picture of the old girl.  I have to do it now - because the next civilized photo will be the next haircut. And God only knows what weather that day will bring. Also wearing the new 'pink specs'. Could no longer get them in red - they are 'finish, finish'. If you are in Vancouver and see someone wearing a red version of these, accost them and rip them off their face. They are mine. I lost them and they are not something you would find over there. I will pay the postage.  Well. Maybe not. I bought them because I could always find them. But then, the falling off my neck string was not something I considered. It was the bright colour that made them findable.

OK, so the hair is beginning to frizz.  But a far cry from how I coif it myself.

Longans for me

I took myself to the Kota Tinggi wet market this morning and opted for the longans there.  A good sales man offered a taste because I was not familiar with these little gems.  They sell them by the kg - and the featured price is 3 kg for a certain amount. I never want that quantity - my fridge is small and there is way too much fruit for me to consume.  But they always find a way around this.  I chose a small clump of them,  they grow a bit like grapes.  He weighed them and then somehow, as usual, when I got home, there were two large clumps in the bag, both of which I paid for, but not what I wanted.  Oh, well, I guess I will be healthy. I just have to make sure to eat them all.  I went online to see what I bought and why it was a good purchase. Not disappointed with the results. I thought they were familiar, my student in Victoria served these gems to me when I would tutored her. She was from Shanghai, and could only tell me the name was dragon's eye. I liked them there, and I like them here too. I guess the salesman saw a client that needed all the benefits of this delight I now have.

For anyone interested, here are the facts:

Facts about Longans

Indigenous to India and China, longan fruit is a significant crop in Southeast Asian countries. The longan is botanically known as Euphoria longan. The Chinese called it "Dragon's eye" due to its eye-shaped mark around the pit. The fruit with its cousin, the lychee were brought to the US by W. N. Brewster, who was a missionary in Fujian Province, China. Not successful in cool climates, the tropical tree is usually used as an ornamental tree. It yields beautiful thick dark green leaves together with groups of drooping fruit. Fairly majestic and completely gorgeous, the tree currently grows in the United States. As there is an on-going demand for niche fruits in the US, appropriate weather in Florida is likely to help produce longan fruit commercially.

Different in size from a small plum to an olive and ovoid to spherical in shape, longans feature a thin, brown shell known as a pericarp protecting its grayish-white clear pulp. In the middle of the succulent flesh is a big sleek jet-black seed having a white ovoid feature mark. With a flesh similar to a peeled grape, the taste is incredibly sweet and frequently known as a special tasting combination of gardenia, spruce and musk.

Health Benefits of Eating Longans

•  The fresh, delicious and sweet longans contain more health advantages than what we know. Among the lesser-known benefits of longans is they helps prevent any type of stomach ache, infections and improve immune system as well.
 

•  This cousin of lychee can do miracles to your nerves and therefore are recommended as an anti-depressant. Furthermore they contain a relaxing effect on the nervous system, they are proven to enhance nerve function, lower irritability and reduce fatigue. Longans also are able to treat neurasthenic neurosis and insomnia.
 

•  Longans can improve wound healing as well as increase longevity. It helps combat the free radicals within your body and keep the cells from damage. Furthermore, the fruit helps reduce the risk of some types of cancer and also improve cell creation.
 

•  Longans help replenish blood and therefore are superb remedy for anemia. Also, they are able to increase iron assimilation in human body.
 

•  The fruit is said to benefit heart health as well. By cutting down stress and fatigue, they offer relief in heart disease and play an important role to maintain the blood pressure. 
 

•  Fresh longans help create miracles for your skin as well. They are known to contain anti-ageing effect and are proven to improve skin health. The fruit is particularly identified to benefit the delicate skin close to the eyes, minimize peeling and cracking of skin and therefore enhance your complexion.
 

•   This delicious, sweet fruit may benefit eyesight, treat teeth and gums problems and oral cracks and sores effectively. 

Longan Nutrition and Calories
 

Nutrition Facts of 1 Longan Fruit (3.2 g)
Calories		2
Total Fat		0.0g
Saturated Fat		0.0g
Cholesterol		0mg
Sodium		0mg
Total Carbohydrates		0.5g
Dietary Fiber		0.0g
Protein		0.0g Looks like magic does't it? Maybe consuming the bag full will help to stop my allergic reaction to my 'allergy bracelet'! I might also become much younger looking too.

what happened on Saturday

And still I wait.  For the elusive sticker for my car.  But I have used my waiting time well. Many files uploaded to my new wiki, whenever the Internet rears it’s ugly head and lets me in.  And, foraging through my pantry and freezer to find what there is to prepare for the evening meal.  Which brings me to this entry.  I created a rather fine repast from what was here.  I defrosted a little mound – probably about 1/3 of a boneless chicken breast and wielded my handy cleaver over some dried apricots and fresh garlic.  Sautéed these little bits in a splash of oil and then sprinkled the mass with enough ground cinnamon and turmeric to change the colour to a rich golden reddish hue.  Then a dash of water – maybe a cup or so and left it to bubble while the handy dandy rice cooker steamed some brown fragrant rice and barley mixture.  Before you turn you nose up at  this, try it.  It was actually company fare.  So, if you are resistant to this one, better not visit me.  There are even leftovers for tomorrow.  I don’t understand why I feel the need to consume an entire chicken breast when I barbecue one and yet this little bit of food was more than enough.  All washed down with some g & t that I distilled in the Brita to avoid any further headaches caused by the local product. And it works. And best of all - the Schwepps lid broke so it only trickles out of the can - meaning it won't go flat in the fridge.

Now should not waste this precious internet time. Better get back to the wiki.

weekend breakfast delivery

Just before 8 am I heard the electronic gate open next door.  Ya, my neighbour was returning home and stopped to call on me. Carrying a small package, she greeted me with 'good morning' and a breakfast offering from somewhere that she picked up on her morning travels.  Vegetarian burger.  I am sure that looking at my size, she felt that I needed two, so two were in the package.  Then, just as quickly as she arrived, she was gone. I thanked her warmly during her exit to her own home.

I am going to have to find out where the heck she found them. I am sure she did not go to JB early in the morning, and these things were mighty tasty.  I only ate one, it was satisfying enough.  Will put the other on hold - maybe for lunch if I am still hold up here waiting for the 'sticker'.  I think perhaps more mayo than I would have chosen was supplied but she was probably again thinking of my North American appetite. All in all it was a tasty treat. And somehow served on a bun that was very much familiar to me. Not one of those latex sponge things you find the in the grocery shops.

One of the gifts I gave her for tending my garden was a hibiscus that was flowering like crazy.  She was apprehensive about taking it, and kind of backed away from it.  After talking about it, she told me she was only comfortable tending green plants and did not know much about flowering plants. Before I left, I told her to plant it on the roadway so that everyone could enjoy it and she would not have to be responsible for its care. I know that hibiscus plants grow wild here so planting it there would require no attention from people, and we could all enjoy the blossoms. My own apparently flowered continuously while I was away and she tended it for me. So, now home, I have taken my own out to the roadway too. Now I need to find a shovel to plant it. I think we need to share what we have and let everyone enjoy the beauty together. Besides, mine is getting a bit frail being cooped up on the patio. You can tell it wants to break out and be free.  And Ya's is like a small tree already - so she chose the new location very well.

You can hear me grumble about Kota Tinggi here on this blog, but given a choice (which I have) I would choose living in Kota Tinggi over JB any day.  When shop keepers in JB ask me where I live, they are shocked to know that I travel from Kota Tinggi on a daily basis. The distance is only about 30 Km right down to the southern border.  But here, local is normal.  These guys have subscribed to the fashionable 100 mile diet for decades and I don't see it changing any time soon.  Yes, there are conveniences in JB that I cannot find here, but the peace, tranquility, safety, and community I experience here overrides any things I can find in a bigger city.  I have made some wonderful friends and have lovely neighbours here that I may be able to find in JB too, but I would be living in a high rise there and a patio garden would not be an option.  Watching my elderly neighbour speed walking by each morning would not happen, watching the various new residents who have moved in down the road walking their way to the factory work would not be an option, and watching the neighbourhood children riding their bikes and playing games would also not be an option.  It is interesting that a year ago my colleagues kind of felt sorry for me being stuck in the boonies, while they took over leases in high rise condos with pools and gyms. I have none of that, but what I have I would not change - at least not right now.  None of them have a neighbour bringing them a veggie burger for breakfast.  In fact, they do not know their neighbours. As long as I have patience to drive to downtown on a Saturday after 11am, waiting in the long line of traffic to cross the only bridge, then I fit in.  Once a week taking almost an hour to drive a distance of 3 km is not really a hardship.  Maybe I exaggerate a bit on the time, but it really is out of proportion to the distance travelled. At least I have a car to drive the trip.  Many locals use their feet.

weekend breakfast in Kota Tinggi (minus the sesame seeds)

Expedite means different things to different people

I stayed home all day.  Why? Because my car sticker did not arrive. Why? Because it was expedited.  Expedited here does not mean 'quickly' or 'speedily'.  It means 'soon'.  So, I wait.  Another message assures me that it should be here tomorrow.  I have had a lot of tomorrows this week, so I hunkered down and worked on resources for my mentees, since I was going to be here anyway.  It was good. No one disturbing me, I managed to actually set up a little website that contains many resources I have made for the mentees to use in their classrooms.  It was kind of fun.  What the heck, me setting up a website on my own is a coup on it own. Tonight as I channel surf and find nothing worth watching on the tube I am entertained by one of Gordie's new offsprings hanging around one of my batiks paintings. He is so tiny that I was not even sure he was a gecko.  Thought at first that it was a long skinny fly.  He hides behind the painting and peeks out when he thinks the coast is clear. All I have to do is clap my hands when he pokes his nose around the painting and he darts back behind.  I am not sure who is having more fun with this little game - him or me. It is kind of like that K-Tel clapper that was advertised on TV - clap once and turn on a lamp, clap twice to turn it off.  Just goes to show you that TV is not a necessity when you live in the tropics and have geckos in your home.   Probably not an activity that would attract young perspective mentors to the job I am doing though.  Especially touted as a Friday night entertainment.

I kinda fell off the healthy food wagon too.  For some reason ice cream was calling me yesterday on my way home from work. So I responded to the call by picking up a little carton of Wall's chocolate truffle. Feeling guilty, I brought it home and put it in the freezer.  I overcame the guilt and managed to down the carton for dinner tonight.  Probably not the best choice for a meal, but it tasted good.

During the day I turned on the TV to keep me company while I worked.  Ellen with her pre Christmas show, Don't Forget the Lyrics, Martha Stewart making Thanksgiving Dinner, and some daily show called India, a Love Story.  So it looks like I am caught up on TV viewing and can carry on a conversation with others when 'what to watch on the tube' is a topic.  Also picked up a tidbit on why some people get mosquito bites and others do not. This topic is obsessive in this climate  and medical communities all work toward the fix for bites and diseases they cause here.  The tidbit indicated that 1,000,000 people die from malaria here each year. Jennifer, don't pay attention to that statistic.  We won't 'do' malaria; we will stay home at night. They also noted that genes are the factor for getting bitten. So, why is it that the two people in my family who were always plagued by swollen mosquito bites in the summer at home decide to move to this part of the world?

As I was typing I watched little Gilbert sidle over to my family photo gallery on the wall. He is taking a close look at the picture of Levi the super hero.  Probably wants a cape and cap just like the one he sees. I think I will go now and shake him up.  Maybe tomorrow I will have something more interesting to write.  And maybe tomorrow I will be sprung from the property and given my independence once again to burn up the roads and byways with my little buggy complete with a sticker.

can't go to work today

Here in Malaysia there is some sticker system for the cars that denote we have paid a road tax.  Our leased cars have a central office that gets these stickers for us, but somehow they have managed to miss that step.  Now, with an expired road tax sticker I have been advised that I must not drive the car until the new sticker is on the car.  I have talked with the central office on a few occasions this week and each time they advised me that the sticker is being couriered to me. To date, nothing has arrived.  When I called last night again, advising I must be at work this morning in JB, they assured me that a sticker will be in my hands this morning.  Nothing yet.

So, I sit and wait at home, for the elusive sticker.  I passed a police check yesterday on my way to work, and wondered where I would be if waved over because of the sticker issue that would be an 'issue' today. I do not want to find out.  Perhaps no insurance in a foreign country and a collision is more than I could cope with. When I explained this to the boss, he said, just go anyway and if pulled over, explain that the sticker is on the way. Don't think I will do that.  Explaining to my boss that I chose to obey the 'no go' option today feels a lot easier than the latter.

Looks like a good day to do some laundry.  Sun is shining, breeze is blowing, and if I am lucky, I will actually get some internet to upload this post and maybe contact my mentees.  My colleague next door is ignoring the issue - driving off with an expired sticker.