A New Chapter

This year marks the end of elementary school for my granddaughter who sat for her Primary Six national examination in October. The results are out and Praise The Lord, she scored the maximum of 7 As.

She has done us all proud and come next year, 2012, she will join her brother in secondary school.

It's a new chapter in her life and we as grandparents are very happy to be part of it, fetching both of them home from school each day, cooking for them and sharing in their busy lives. Ingrained in Asian culture, competition is very stiff in the schools and the children work very diligently producing projects assigned to them.

These days they have the computer to help them source for information and the printer to print out their completed assignments.Times have changed and for the better.

Wikipedia, YouTube, just to name a couple of places from which people, including children can source for information. YOungsters are very tech savvy now, unlike us who are techno dummies, dinosaurs plodding clumsily in cyberspace. It was my granddaughter who introduced me to YouTube and Google!! I never knew what those two words were!!!

I remember fondly, a few years ago when she came up to me to ask for the lyrics of an old Malay song but I had forgotten them and couldn't for the life of me, find out where I had kept my old song book. Then later on, I heard her singing the song!

I asked her, "Where did you get the lyrics?" Her reply? " Oh Poh-Poh ( grandma ) I just googled it." Google???? The rest is history. Cheers, Chloe! Attagirl!

Goldies' Computer Camp 2011

Just attended the computer camp for the Goldies. The oldest participant was 80 years old! This is an annual event sponsored by the Ministry of Resource Development and Information Technology. Other NGOs put in their time as organisers and facilitators.

This year there were 2 tracks, Open Source and Internet and You. I attended the Open Source as I did not know what it is. There were two speakers who introduced the topic to us and now I know what open source is.

It was a very interesting one and a half day event as the second half of the second day was given over to the closing ceremony officiated by the Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah who is also the minister in charge of the ministry that provided the funds for this camp. All attendees were presented with certificates of attendance and the winners received prizes for their winning projects.

Interestingly enough, the topics selected by the goldies centered on health and fitness. Clearly we are all anxious about our health.

During the breaks, tea breaks and lunch breaks, the goldies contributed nuggets of “gold”.

Some interesting ones:
“Invest in gold. It’s more solid. Don’t waste time on Fixed deposits because inflation is eroding the value of your money.”

“ Eat more ginger, old ginger and turmeric ( a type of yellow ginger ). They contain anti-oxidants and area natural and organic if you grow your own.”

“Be careful, there are many con men and women out there who prey on elderly people. Do not carry a handbag. Just have a small sum of money sufficient for your purchases in your pocket.”
She went on to share her experience of how she was nearly cheated.

“ Drink more guava juice, the natural kind, without preservatives. Don’t buy those that come in packs. They are only sugar water. I lost weight drinking guava juice. It has a lot of vitamin C and anti-oxidants.”

“Exercise every morning.”

“Join the laughter club. It’s good for you. Laughing produces endorphins which make you feel good.”

“Destress. Breathe deeply and visualize, using your 5 senses.”

There were more. It goes to show that senior citizens are full of experience and eager to share their knowledge with new found friends and old friends. Everyone put in effort to complete their assignments and presented them to the class. Over all it was a very enjoyable and fruitful weekend.

Peking Duck

We had Peking Duck for dinner this evening. It is my grandson’s favorite dish. He did very well in his end of year school examination, having topped in four subjects in the whole form ( a total of 8 classes ) and obtaining 2nd position in his class. So his mum bought dinner.

There was blended chili, fresh sliced chili and pickled cabbage on the table.

Then came the kropok which is deep fried crispy prawn crackers, a favorite with many people.

This was followed by a bamboo basket of thin round pancakes, a dish of spring onions shredded very fine and a dish of cucumber cut into short oblong pieces.

Soon the Peking duck was wheeled out on a trolley and the waiter sliced the crispy skin off the duck.

How is Peking duck eaten?

First lay a piece of pancake on your plate and spread some sweet sauce on it. Then put some spring onion, cucumber and a couple of slices of the Peking duck skin on it.

Roll it up and then eat it.

As my granddaughter and her grandfather like duck drumsticks, the waiter was instructed to cut them out for us. So the two drumsticks were eagerly taken up by granddad and granddaughter. My granddaughter cut up the drumstick and wrapped the meat in the pancakes, enjoying them.

The remnants of the duck were then taken back to the kitchen to make soup. The meat was first sliced off to fry with noodles while the bony parts were boiled with towfoo ( bean curd ) and salted vegetable.

After we had enjoyed the pancake rolls, the soup was brought out together with the fried noodles.

The soup was very delicious, as was the fried noodles.

Thus every part of the Peking duck was used up to cook a complete meal. It took us a while before we finished our dinner and we went home replete.

Nature, God's Beautiful Creations

Nothing is more beautiful than God's creations. Plants, flowers, animals, sunsets et alia, are all created by God for our enjoyment and appreciation.

The amazing variety of flowers and their colors is a wonder to behold.

Let us give thanks to God for his beautiful creations and let us look after them so that they will continue to be a source of joy and inspiration. Did not William Wordsworth write "The Daffodils" when he was inspired by the sight of daffodils dancing in the breeze?