Friendship 02/01/2010
 

 Friendship

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 Yes, friendship is important in our lives.  It is more so when we are old.  It is good to see the young enjoying such relationship with each other irrespective of nationality or religion.  "Friends are forever" - I like this and I've received many friendship cards from my friends/stumblers from Stumbleupon.com, one of the many social networking sites.

There is another side to this friendship thing.  There are those who are not genuine and  will have no second thought to "abandon ship" when there is nothing much to gain from you.  After all it takes all type of people to make the world.   Befriend all and enjoy a rich  and valuable experience. 

The older people can get lonely because of restricted movement, less energy to go out and get things done, less contacts/friends, etc.  Friends, therefore, are very important to them.  A relative of mine do not "subscribe" to this "friendship forever" feeling.  This relative believes in "buying" friendship.  As such, when the money "dries up" so do the bought friendship.  Old age can then be very terribly lonely.

As the world is becoming more competitive, people have to work harder and longer hours in order to stay employed.  Asians are known to spend more time in the workplace than home.  My son leaves for work at 6.00am and would not be home until after 8.00pm weekdays.  So different from my time when we can meet up with friends after work before heading for home.

I am quite selective in choosing my friends.  Well "birds of a feather will flock together".  I do know someone who can make friends with a busload of strangers within a few seconds.  I witnessed this during my trip to Hangzhou, China.  I was surprised to see my brother-in-law's wife talking to everyone in the bus as soon as we were seated and the bus started to move.  Fantastic!!

 
Health tips 01/22/2010
 
I like to read on health and are always looking for some helpful tips.  This is not a habit for me when I' m younger.  Now it is different as I am trying to keep all sorts of medical problem from "knocking at my door". 

Someone send some wonderful articles to me - Health Tips from The Editors of Practical Health Guides.  I would like to share some of the items/tips here.

3. Care for your heart while you sleep
In which position do you sleep?
If you sleep on your stomach or on your left side, you are putting pressure on your heart with the extra body weight, while the heart has to continue pumping blood as usual.
This additional burden wears the heart out more quickly. Think about it - you spend more than one third of your life sleeping! To reduce the strain on your heart, sleep on your right side, or on your back. This simple technique will add years to your life.

This is something to sleep on.  I have been sleeping on my left, right and back all along.  My life line shows I have a long life - so my life is well balanced.

6. How to beat asthma
Asthma partially obstructs the bronchial tubes, making breathing difficult. The cause of asthma is still not known. But if you are an
asthma sufferer, you can, through natural means, considerably reduce the number of asthma attacks you get. A placebo study has shown that asthmatics who consume 1 gram
of vitamin C per day had 4 times fewer attacks. When they stopped taking vitamin C, the attacks resumed with the same frequency as before (Trop. and Geog. Med., Vol. 32, Mo. 2, 1980).
As for magnesium, it also works wonders! Dr. Zack H. Haddad of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southern California
conducted a study on thirty children suffering from asthma associated with allergies.
Twenty of them drank a daily amount of mineral water rich in magnesium, while the others received no magnesium supplement.
After three months, the first group had a higher level of magnesium in their blood, and they were able to breathe more easily.
So taking vitamin C and magnesium is an excellent way to prevent asthma attacks.
But what can you do to breathe more easily during an attack?
Simply drink 2 or 3 cups of strong coffee. By activating blood circulation, it eases respiratory blockage.

Ahhh..good strong coffee.

10. How to get rid of liver spots
If you have liver spots, it is up to you to get rid of them.
May be you took too much sun, without using the proper precautions like sunscreen, gradual exposure, etc. If you continue ignoring your skin in this way, you might end up looking like a lizard!
Liver spots can also result from a thyroid deficiency. The thyroid gland must therefore be stimulated through a variety of means. For
example, brown seaweed tablets: take one a day every morning, for fifteen days a month.
Or apply a cream composed of 1 teaspoon oxygenated water and 4 1/2 tablespoons lanovaseline every morning and night.
Aloe vera (see previous chapter) is very effective in treating skin disorders. Daily application of aloe vera over a period of time can eliminate liver spots completely.
Also take a look at your nutrition: the real problem might lie in what you do or don’t eat, like a diet too high in fat.

22. Use heat to cure
Everyone has heard about how good a sauna feels, and of the relaxing effect of a steam bath which bathes you in hot vapor.
But there are other heat treatments which are equally beneficial.
Heat relaxes the muscles and ligaments. When applied locally, for example, with hot towels, it can ease muscle spasms. It can also reduce arthritic pain. Heat dilates the blood vessels, which in turn activates circulation.
Applied to a wound, it can prevent infection by helping white blood corpuscles and fresh oxygen surround the area more quickly

21. Stop catching colds
As much as possible, avoid coming into close contact with infected persons, especially if they cough or sneeze.
A person with a cold is extremely contagious: he or she fills the air with fine particles of saliva or mucous which transport the virus
microbe. Even if the person is careful to wipe his nose with tissue or a handkerchief, the microbes will be transported to his hands.
And studies have shown that these viruses are transmitted through hand contact. So if you have to shake hands with someone who has a
cold, you would better wash soon after!
What can you do if you do catch a cold?
It is useless to take antibiotics: they have no effect on viruses.
However, there are certain substances found in alcohol which help decongest sinuses, that is why a good hot toddy can work wonders.
But take care of your liver: a toddy is just as good with a little rum as with a lot.
You don’t have to get drunk to get better. You don’t even have to drink it - just sniff some strong alcohol like cognac or brandy and
breathe in the fumes.

Natural remedy is better but a pill works wonders.  Sometimes after a prolong working in the garden my back feels like being hit by a hammer.  Pop a pill and there goes the pain.  Anyway, I do not make this a habit now - age is catching up and work is slowing down.



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One thing for sure old people do have lots of problem.  Health, finance, family, coping with technology, etc.

How old is old?   My late father-in-law was 90 over years old and do not need assistance in his daily routine which included walking a few kilometers around the neighbourhood.  My sister-in-law's husband, on the other hand, is in his early 70s but cannot do much on his own since passing the 60 year mark.

When we are young we do not bother much about our health.  Health will be our main problem when we are old.  Where finance is concerned the young knows how to take care of their old age, but not their health.  Only the old can understand the saying "health is wealth".  Senior citizens have all types of pain - pain in the legs, neck pain, back pain, etc.  Other than pain, many are also suffering from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes thereby complicating the process of medication.  I have known some people who spend thousands monthly on medicine and doctors' fees.

It is no fun growing old.  Although sometimes old age can be an advantage, like 50% discount, the pain and suffering plus a number of other problems outstrips the advantages.  Everything slows down - your whole body system is affected every year you aged.  You have to keep adjusting yourself on how you do things.  Your memory  starts to  play  tricks on you. This is the time to be scared of advancing technology which even some of the younger generation has difficulty in catching up.  Well, just like the saying "the show must go on", we have to keep our brain going and not to let it "shut down"  due to old age and less usage.   Gain some knowledge on IT - don't have to be an expert on computers or become a master in photography and the workings of all cameras.

I cannot stop myself from growing old but I do try to keep myself fit and healthy with less worry for my family.  I keep my brain busy and try to update myself on what's going on in the world.  Thus, you can find me on MyShutterspace.com a networking site for those interested in photography.  I also upload my photos on Flickr and Photobucket and Weebly of course.  On social networking, I'm a member of StumbleUpon.com.

I feel lucky to have my good health and intent to keep it this way for a long time.  Mentally I'm in no danger of "losing my mind"  due to lack of use.  My brain is fully occupied when I'm awake.


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*** 2009 *** 12/26/2009
 
2009 - what a year.  Many people will remember this year as "the year of the jobless".  I have friends who became unemployed  and were desperate to find income to support their families.  Joining them is my son-in-law who is now residing in Wales, England.  After missing the first wave of lay-off/retrenchment early this year, we thought he should be safe.  The cruel blow came a few months later.  The agony of having to apply leave to remain in UK and to apply for a working visa is unimaginable (for my daughter and son-in-law). 

The problem here is that my son-in-law's stay in UK is based on the work permit which allowed him to stay and work for the previous company only.  Once out of job, he will have to leave the country.  On 7.12.2009 he managed to get his visa to stay  and work for another 3 years.  He can now work legally and has also landed a good job offer. 

Now that 2009 is coming to an end I am looking forward to 2010.  To start the new year I'll be traveling to Jakarta, Indonesia beginning of February and followed by a trip to Manila, Philippine beginning of April.

                     Happy New Year!
 
My Garden 11/16/2009
 
Everyone says gardening is good (for health).  I'm not sure.  I have been involved in it for a long time, from a small plot beside my house in the past to the present average sized garden (5,400sq feet) surrounding my house.  I am more involved in cleaning, watering and trimming.  My wife does the weeding and planting.  Both of us are having body ache all over due to gardening.  My brothers-in-law, who are older than us, have no body ache as they have no garden to bend over.  I feel like giving up the greens.  But then when the flowers are in full bloom we feel our efforts are worth it.
We have lots of palm trees - the royal palm, red palm, yellow palm, silver palm and one more which I do not know the name.  They are huge but they keep the garden cool.

Fruit trees.  A garden will not be complete without any fruit trees.  Our local papaya is a favourite.  It is cheap last time but is becoming more expensive now.  We grow a few papaya trees around our garden.  These provide us with free fruits now and then.  It is easy to grow and papaya tree do not need much attention except do not grow it next to or near a tall building or tree.  It will try to be as tall.

Another local favourite is the mango.  We have three varieties - the thai, indian and local apple mango which is sour and sweet.  The other two is very sweet.  During the fruiting season, which is now nearing the end, we have basketfull of mangoes.  There are still some fruits on the trees.
We are now very excited about one fruit which we have been waiting for months to bear fruit.  We bought the young plant in March, 2009 when we were up in Cameron Highland.  It started to flower at the end of September, 2009.  Now we have the first fruit.  Take a look at our PASSION fruit!
We love passion fruit.  We enjoyed this fruit in India which tasted sweet.
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enjoying our passion fruit in India
The golden or yellow variety is more suitable for our type of tropical climate.  I had read that the other variety is the purple passion fruit which grows well in sub-tropical areas and tastes better.
 
 
I am 61 and my granddaughter is 9 years old.  One is growing old and the other is growing up.  The difference do not stop here.  Once when waiting in the car near the market I told her that if she went outside and scream and dance, people will say "oh how cute the girl is".  If I am to go out and do the same, people will say "oh that crazy old man".  She was amused.  Life is funny isn't it.

Life is like a roller coaster.  It takes time and effort to go up but can slide down with great speed.  I see my son start his working life as a lawyer struggling to survive.  Then I see him start a family and trying his best to provide for his family.  When the world economy collapsed he took the plunge by giving up his partnership in his law firm to become an employee in a mining firm in Indonesia.  I now see him on his way up.
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Years back we worry about our children growing up and their future.  Now they are grown up with their own family, we worry about their work and their health.  My daughter-in-law asked me once when only do we stop worrying about our children.  I told her that as long as we are around we will worry about them.  What a life.
 
Home 11/02/2009
 
Swimming:  I have been swimming for a numbers of years.  I started swimming during my school days but only take it seriously about 3-4 years back.  Now I swim 3 times a week at the swimming club near my house.

The life guard is an old man of 70+ who is also a good coach.  When I started swimming at the club I had too many faults - this is the result of self learning without a coach.  But I'm lucky to have free coaching from him - maybe to make life easier for him then having to watch over me.  Anyway, for about a year the only thing I did at the pool is to hang on to the float and kicked from one end to the other.  After this he thought me the stroke - breast stroke and freestyle.  Now I swim 500-600 meters each time.




 
Home 10/23/2009
 
Digital photography:  my interest only started a few years back.  I am still new to this  "art".  I am more keen on editing and creating which do not need much technique - just the software.  I do read a lot on this subject and have taken many photos during my travel.

I am using a compact camera.  I would love to own a dslr camera as the pictures are much better than a compact camera.  Furthermore,  a compact camera  has limited optical zoom such as mine with only 4x.  However, dslr camera is expensive in Malaysia.  One advantage of compact camera is that it is small and easy to carry around.

Travel:  everybody loves to travel.  However, I hate the "waiting period" - have to be early to the airport & then wait for hours before take-off.  Now we have low cost flight which is very popular with people who likes to travel & save costs at the same time.  But look at the flight time - takeoff at midnight & land before dawn.

In Malaysia, Airasia is the most popular budget airline.  Most of their flights are within the 1-4 hours range.  They do offer rock-bottom prices frequently.  These are cheaper than their normal charges.  Such flights will take off either very early in the morning or late at night.  I had experienced taking a flight at 2am and arriving at my destination at 6am.  I really hate travelling at such hours but this is the only way to save on flight charges - and this is also why I am doing less travel now.  The normal cost airline is too expensive.