Sunday girls fun at Beach Street

It was a girls' morning trip to Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street) at Georgetown, Penang.

With Mr. John, a street performer

Trying out Flower Pot Ice Cream

Reena and Sarah both got lucky at the Lucky Duck booth - each won a lollipop ;
playing the big Snakes and Ladders game

Selfies!

Our Lives (Ravi's poem)

Our lives will be

glimpses of the past

as how our children

remember us.

Or if fate be kind,

as how their children

will remember us.

Our deeds are small,

some kindness,

here and there.

Some laughter

and thought, 

remembered

when we

are gone,

dust into dust.

Ravi

June 11, 2014

At The Time of Death (Ravi's poem)

At the time of death
if all of us
reflected the wasted time
on petty things
like arguments
over money
or misunderstandings
that amount to nothing

Time spent
that a million dollars
cannot bring back

Time spent
a thousand tears
will not move half a second

When we
can wallow in pain
and regret
as our live's ship
into the darkness

We will all die with broken hearts.

Ravi
June 11, 2014

One car family

In all our six-year plus marriage, Ravi and I have only one car.  We've actually replaced the car twice, making the Sharan our third transport but that's another story.  

It's really not about affordability, just a very conscious decision to not have another one.  Carpooling has been, and still is, the practical thing to do since the companies we work for are just a block away from each other.

Having one car means single payment for petrol, road tax, insurance, maintenance and repair.  All of which definitely saves us money.

We spend more spouse time with just one car and this by far is the biggest plus.  Ravi and I get to talk a lot and spend time together.  We don't like the 'you go your own way, I'll go mine' aspect of having two cars.   We're afraid we might drift apart if we get separate vehicles.

We've become more accommodating and flexible to each others needs.  We don't see it as an inconvenience.  If Ravi has an early morning meeting, I have to work earlier as well.  If I need to work late, he extends his working time too.  If I have a facial/massage/hair cut appointment, Ravi waits up for me at a nearby pub before we head home, a win win situation!

Other times we cannot work out our schedule, the ever reliable taxi comes to our rescue.  We've built a pretty good relationship with Mr. Ramli, a very trustworthy driver, who shuttles us from one place to another.  A few times, my daughter and I have ridden the public bus.

Of course there are drawbacks to this setup.  Two weeks ago, we sent the car for maintenance and was informed they need 2 days to fix some issues.  Unfortunately it coincided with  a long weekend  and we can only retrieve it back on the fourth day.  Yikes, we had no car backup!  The only solution was to rent a car.  But this scenario does not happen regularly so it's but a small, albeit expensive, hiccup to an otherwise practical setup.

This one car household structure is not for everyone though.  If spouses work in opposite directions and if there are several kids to shuffle from one school and/or extra-curricular activity to another, it's logical to have more than one car, provided the household can afford it.

The one car household works well for us.  We live our lives accordingly and it's been great so far.  We wouldn't have it any other way. 

Heritage Walk Team building

Two weeks back, I was part of a fun amazing race-like team building event at Georgetown's Heritage sites. 

The team building started with a light breakfast at Eastern and Oriental Hotel followed by a short introduction going over some basic ground rules, then the race was off!  Teams accumulate points by solving puzzles along the heritage trail and performing team tasks.  The routes were mixed up so there would not be multiple teams at once at the same location.

Buffet lunch was served at E&O Hotel's Sarkies Corner.  There was an afternoon session which included several more team games and some boring team building talks.  Last part was announcing the team winners. 

Surprise, surprise!  Our team won even if we really didn't set out to win!  The only downside was our prize - a self-help book, boo! 

Snapshots at the E&O Hotel grounds

Clockwise from top left: morning exercise; breakfast socials; our team's table

Puzzle answers found on various heritage shops across Georgetown.

Group picture at The Goddess of Mercy Temple (Kuan Yin Temple) along the Street of Harmony.

Another group shot, this time at the Pinang Peranakan Mansion.

Clockwise from top left: afternoon group activity; tasting dare at Little India; Indian spices; inside the spice store; cosmetics clue from Peranakan Mansion; DIY boats.

CLockwose from top left: the scoreboard - Dark Pink team scored 220 points!; our team boat, the first to submit hence the highest scorer; part of the tasting dare at Little India - mixed spices wrapped in some type of leaf.

Team Dark Pink wins!!!

Mini day trek

Today, we had picnic and a mini day trek at the  Penang National Park.

I want to come back to hike the 3km trail to Monkey Beach, minus the kids :)

Directions, directions.

Had a picnic lunch before we started our mini-trek.

Off to the trail.

We enjoyed following the straight forward trail.

Selfies with Reena and Sarah

We left the trail to go down the beach and look for fish and seashells.

Sarah and Reena enjoying the water.

Ride back home using the kampung (village) road.

Passed by durian and rambutan trees which are in full season.  

Another view from the mountain road side.

Fruit basket at a baby shower

Two months ago, we were invited to attend my friend Lhet's baby shower, held at one of the apartment units at Gurney Paragon.   We brought along a fruit basket and a veggie dish for sharing with the rest of the Filipino group.  

I bought a medium sized watermelon at the wet market, scooped out the flesh, used paper towels to dry up the watermelon shell, then filled it up with assorted fruits - red and green grapes, strawberries, diced cantaloupe, and mini makopas (malay apple or rose apple).  An orange became a sleeping baby head after I put eyes and a mouth on it.  

The fruit basket was a hit!  Everyone, kids and kids at heart, kept on sneaking by to take one or two (sometimes three!) pieces of the fruits.  So glad to have used this fruit basket idea instead of the initial fruit kebab plan.

A big hit at the baby shower! :)

Blooming Mommy Lhet posing before the Pinoy food spread.  Someone brought mud crabs and we all went gaga over it! 

Clockwise from top left:  Sarah and Raine; Raine and Lhet with our bath basket gift; pretty ladies Lhet, Nancy and Ella.

Group picture at the end of the baby shower, great fun!

Photo with Lhet.  We wore the same shade of blue :)

Lakeside

Right across our street is a small, man-made lake.  The apartment blocks around - Lakeside Towers, Parkview Towers and Alpine Tower all have access to this peaceful lake.  The lake is properly maintained with regular grass cuts and disposal of the trash bins.

It's a nice place with  animal residents such as fish (of course!), birds, butterflies, dragonflies, turtles, frogs and monitor lizards.  I remember there used to be a duck but most likely it became a meal for the big monitor lizards!  The monitor lizards, which can be as big as a 5 year old child, usually come out at noon when there is almost no one around.  It's just that we like to come down to the lake at that time because we know most of the animals will come out, especially the monitor lizards!

Apartment residents and non-residents alike go here for running/jogging/walking, with more foot traffic early evenings comprised of working people out for fresh air and exercise.  Some families with small children come here to feed the kois and catfish; some go for the slides at the small playground.  I've even seen middle aged men play motorized boats on the lake as well.  Others play badminton and some younger couples just hang out.  The lake caters to all ages.

The only thing to worry about are mosquitoes!  We make sure Sarah either wears a mosquito patch or have citronella oil on her arms and legs.

We are very fortunate to have the lake very near our home, it's a great bonus to living in Penang.

Sarah running ahead to find the best spot to feed the fish.

Found it!

We keep any stale breads and use those to feed the fish when the kids want to go down.

It rained the night before so the playground was wet and slippery.  Normally, kids go up and down the slides.

Our apartment is the leftmost building, partly covered by the trees.  Our unit faces the lake, a prerequisite when we were choosing the unit.

The low rise building in the middle is The Fairview International School.  If and when we decide to get Sarah enrolled there, sending/fetching her will be very convenient.

Spotted two dragonflies.

The other side of the lake, at the school side.  One can also relax on several cement benches around the lake.

Coconut and pine trees surround the lake.

Smooth and even walking/jogging path.

Very clean and tidy too!