A Visit to the Barber

Running a business is very competitive so to get more customers, one has to be creative and offer something more than your rival.

A visit to the barber with my grandson Isaac proved this point.

This hair saloon targets children as well as the elderly.  The stylists offer haircuts without any hair wash but they do use some kind of equipment to blow your hair.

First a customer will have to pay for his haircut at the machine.  A haircut costs $12 but a senior citizen above 65 years of age is charged $10.  Once you have inserted your money, out comes a ticket.

You hold your ticket and queue up.  If there are many customers the waiting time can be more than half an hour.  When it is your turn, you just hand your ticket to the stylist who will then proceed to cut your hair.  She will drape you with a piece of cloth to protect your clothing before she begins to cut your hair. You can specify how you want your hair to be cut.

After the hair is cut, the stylist will use the equipment which looks like a vacuum cleaner and air blows the hair.  Then the cloth which is draped around you is removed and if you are a child, you are given two coins which you can insert into the machines for a free ride.

In this saloon, there was a Thomas the Train Engine and a Rugged Jeep.  My grandson had a ride in both. That is the highlight of the children’s trip to the barber.

Young children who love rides in these machines would definitely make return visits to have their hair cut and get free rides.

Isn’t this a creative gimmick to boost your business?

Another Year Bowing Out

Once again it is that time of the year when most people would be happily anticipating the new year which is just around the corner. 

Today is the second last day of 2015.  Many would be looking forward to ushering in the new year tomorrow night with a count down either at parties celebrated at home or outside of home.  In some cities there would be fireworks lighting up the skies to welcome the new year at the stroke of midnight.

For some it would have been a happy year, for others, a horrible one to be put behind.

To me, personally, it has been an annus horribilis.  Four friends departed this world for the other.  The news of their demise came as a shock, unexpected and most sobering because it drives home my own mortality.  When will my number be called, for these friends were my contemporaries.

Nevertheless, life has to move on and with the ending of this year, we hope for a better year that is waiting in the wings.

Wishing everyone of my friends a very Happy New Year as we welcome 2016.

Cheers!

My Grandchildren, My Joy

My grandchildren are in the “little red dot” located south of Peninsular Malaysia.   To see them I have to fly there, from Borneo Island across the South China Sea, a journey of approximately two and a half hours.  If there is a good tailwind, we may get there in two.  However, that said, Singapore being a very busy airport, we may have to circle to wait for our turn to land.

It is always such a joy to see the grandchildren, the two older ones doing ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels and the youngest, just a toddler aged two and a half years. 

The older two are serious students who are so busy at school that there’s no chance to see them on weekdays and it’s only during the weekend that a quick visit is managed.  Their schools are dead serious about competition and prime their students to excel with extra classes, etc.  Even their school holidays are curtailed and my granddaughter had to attend classes during the so-called school vacation!
Fortunately there’s whatsapp so we whatsapp frequently to “talk”.

The youngest, Isaac is always thrilled to visit his older cousins.  He gets the opportunity to go through the long tunnel that leads to Changi airport. His cousins stay not too far once we exit the tunnel.

Little things make little people happy and Isaac is no exception.  Sitting in a car on a small merry-go-round in a shopping mall, on a mechanical animal that ferries him around the crowded mall brings smiles to his face.

Back home, his mechanical toys like the little red, remote controlled car, the yellow digger and the latest one, the helicopter, keep him occupied.  The helicopter is controlled by his papa as it is too difficult for him at this stage and his room is small. The take-off and landing of the helicopter has him shrieking and laughing loudly as he gets very excited when the ‘copter lifts vertically.

On a more serious note, books keep him happy too and he helps to choose his own books from the children’s library which has an amazing variety.  Everything is automated so that young children can borrow and return the books on their own under the supervision of their parents.  I’m most impressed with Singapore’s use of technology and efficiency.

He is bi-lingual and knows which language to use when speaking to his two sets of grandparents. I’m truly amazed!!

Friends and Family Get-togethers

Nothing is more joyful than to get together with friends and family.  It doesn’t always have to be a special occasion.  However this time it so happened there were two special occasions which took place in Kuala Lumpur.  Before I left for KL, two of my old friends gave me a treat.

 The first one was a get-together over lunch to meet up with a former classmate in our class of ’59.  She was on transit before returning to Sydney and this was the first time I was seeing her after 54 years!!  We were teenagers when we parted after secondary school.  Now I’m a grandma!!

The next occasion was a meeting of former college mates on my birthday.  They didn’t know it was my birthday but when they saw me looking at the many messages on my phone, I had to tell them that they were birthday greetings.  So they got me a slice of cake to commemorate the occasion.

My birthday dinner was celebrated together with my family, siblings and nieces who happened to be available that evening.  Some were still in Melbourne so could not join us.  My son caught a bus up from Singapore to host the dinner and my nieces gave me a birthday cake.

It was a multi-course dinner which had us stuffed to the gills!!  Among the dishes was the roast suckling pig which was a favourite among all present.  There were birthday noodles with small longetivity buns & a sweet dessert to round off the evening.

 My two brothers gave me red packets while my two sisters gave me pretty gifts, one a beautiful bracelet and the other a lovely pair of dangling earrings.

Best of all was the company of my dear and loved ones.  My friends are special old friends who go back a long way and it was most joyful to catch up reminiscing over old times.

The Lord has blessed me richly with loving family members and wonderful friends. Praise be unto Him and Glory to His Name.

My Favorite Products From Penang

Penang is well-known for its cookies and nutmeg.  Visitors will not leave Penang without bringing some home.
These are my purchases: cookies and nutmeg.

 What’s so special about these cookies?  It’s the contents within the cookies that make them so delectable.  The Hiong Pneah as it is locally known has fillings that are sweet, sweet and spicy, spicy, onion flavored, prawn sambal flavored.  There is also the cookie that has brown sugar filling.  This is very delicious and is my daughter’s favorite.

There is also the Beh Teh Saw which has a flaky exterior and its filling is sticky molasses.  These are very tasty when fresh.

The important thing is that it has got to be fresh.  Sometimes those that are displayed on shelves in other towns are not fresh so the taste is not as nice.

The nutmeg is processed into different products such as pickled nutmeg, nutmeg with liqorice, shredded, sugared nutmeg, nutmeg oil for aches and pains, and nutmeg balm for insect bites and itchiness.  There is also nutmeg juice.  

                                               Sliced sweeetened nutmeg
 There is also the famous Penang belacan, a solid block of prawn paste which is usually toasted and ground with chillies to make a delicious condiment.  I forgot to buy this!!   The other product is the Otak Udang, another type of sticky black prawn paste which is a must for fruit rojak or fruit salad.  This is available in local supermarkets so I didn’t bother to buy it.

Another two products I bought were dried mango and crispy peanut squares ( Kong Thng )

These are all very yummy snacks, whether for tea or something to munch in front of the t.v.

Only Memories Left

What I miss most is my garden and the plants I had to leave behind or gave away.  I also miss the space we had in our home but it was time to move on.  What is now left are the memories of those plants and the rooms left behind.

I miss breathing in the fresh air and the cool breezes in the early mornings. Sometimes the moon is still hanging there in the sky.

I also miss the spectacular sunsets that are different each evening.

The garden is big and green grass covers most of the area.  The children had their friends running all over as they played games during their birthday parties.

I miss the aromatic leaves of  the curry leaf tree, the lemon grass, the pandan leaves (screwpine) and most of all the fragrance of my beautiful pink and red roses as well as the jasmines.

                                                        The Curry leaf tree and its flowers

Then there are the different varieties of house plants which are pleasant shades of green that give a cool ambience to the house.

Outside the gate is the Flame of the Forest which I planted when we first moved in.  It now flowers beautifully, giving clusters of vibrant red blooms.

What made me most happy was that my 23 month old grandson was able to visit us and get to know the house his papa grew up in.  That was the first time he could climb up stairs to get to his papa’s bedroom.

 It was also the first time he saw so many green plants and mango trees.

 It was also the first time he walked on grass!  At first he was loth to put his feet onto the grass and walk but his papa and grandpa soon had him at ease as they walked with him, holding his hands.

 After a while he was confident enough to walk on his own and to go after the bubbles his mother blew into the air for him to catch.

 I still remember the first time I carried him a few days after he was born.

 Now he's a sturdy toddler, so like his papa when his papa was little.  He probably won't remember the few days he came to visit but I needed to have him see and stay in his papa's home and to know what a garden is like and how it feels to walk on grass. 

 We are truly blessed that our son brought his little boy to visit before we vacated it.  We moved out the following month.

A very Special Young Man

Last weekend I was delighted to meet up with my former MGS class mate in Penang. We left school in 1959 and never met again until last year at a get-together organized by the old girls in KL.  Her sister from New Zealand had flown into KL so we all, i.e. those of us who are still around met up for lunch. From there we decided that it would be good to meet up again, so when my spouse and I were in Penang, we caught up with her.

My FB friend whom I got to know sometime last year was so kind as to ask his nephew in Penang to meet us at the airport and to look after us during our stay in Penang.  This young man who did not know us and had never seen us, waited for us at the airport and sent us to our hotel, after which he took us out for dinner.

Then he said that inland tours had been arranged for us for the next two mornings. We were overwhelmed by his graciousness and generosity.  He made our stay in Penang a truly enjoyable one. When he found out about my classmate, he invited her to have dinner with us and fetched her from her home.

He hosted us to a sumptuous dinner at the Penang Swimming Club where we not only enjoyed the food but also the beautiful scenery of the sea and Pulau Tikus. 

 It was such a friendly and enjoyable evening for the four of us.  Conversation flowed naturally and there was no awkwardness at all.   We somehow clicked and I think it had a lot to do with this gracious young man who was very unassuming and made us feel very welcome and at home in his company.

 When it was time for us to return to Kota Kinabalu, he sent us to the airport early in the morning, patiently driving through the traffic snarl.  Then he made sure we had a good breakfast before making sure that we entered the departure hall. 

Thank you very much, Andrew and I would also like to thank your Uncle Greg who made it possible for us to meet.  We are blessed to have you as our friend.

I’m posting some photos that have colored our weekend with joy and delight, thanks to Andrew.

We used to have this kind of stove during my childhood days.

 The other places which we visited can be seen in my blog at http://swingingby.blogspot.com