Job search

March 21, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

Job shortage, minimum wage, living wage, skills mismatch, unemployed graduates, unemployment rate, underemployment, foreign workers, 3D or dirty, dangerous, difficult jobs and gig workers i.e., independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers and temporary workers [1] are issues/topics debated and deliberated frequently. The chatter made me rewind to my, long ago, job search. It was […]

Chocolate and birthdays

March 14, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s my birthday month. Yes, the whole month of March. Why not I ask? I know it’s birth + day = birthday. So, it’s ‘supposed’ to be celebrated on one day. I know. But, what the hey? Particularly as it makes me happier and a little more special. I get to decide what I want and […]

Ticking time

February 28, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum is a stickler for time. A clock watcher. Even now. Ailing with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and heart failure, her days are influenced by time. She has clocks everywhere in her condominium. One large analogue clock by her bedside wall. Another digital facing her. Two large ones in the lounge and kitchen. She […]

Special days

February 21, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

Last Monday was Valentine’s Day. The Saturday after was our wedding anniversary, my husband and my 25th silver anniversary. Yes, it is a major milestone. Yes, we have come a long way together. And, yet oddly, I was under prepared. Or rather I didn’t have ‘real plans’ for either. I wasn’t too bothered about Valentine’s […]

Bills

February 14, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s month two of 2022. Whizzed past? Plodded along? All a blur? Not sure. What’s for sure is come rain, sun or fuzzy days, a new month means bills – utility, credit cards and maintenance charges. And, the start of a new year usually heralds an assortment of other bills – insurance, council rates and taxes. […]

The brain

January 31, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I binged watched a Netflix ‘explained’ production about the brain recently. Sat through 4 of the 5 episodes presented. There were some noteworthy nuggets on topics such as focusing, personality, creativity and brainwashing. The one on ‘brainwashing’ piqued my interest the most. It made me think about how the brain can be brainwashed – controlled, […]

Saying goodbye

January 24, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I have to say goodbye to sister number 3 on Thursday. She arrived on Deepavali Eve. Changed her return flight from 21 Dec to 11 Jan. Changed it again to 27 Jan. After 2 months and 26 days she flies back to England. Her 90-day MyTravelPass visa expires on 1 Feb. I am sad now. […]

Masking up

January 10, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s mandatory to wear masks in Malaysia. Surgical, medical, fabric or respirator masks. In all public places. Indoors like shopping malls and restaurants. Outdoors including parks and while walking along roads. The exceptions are when travelling in your own private car, and when engaging in physical exercise like jogging in the open air. There is […]

Happy thoughts in 2022

January 3, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

What will 2022 hold for me? I honestly don’t know. What I hope and pray for is good health, happiness and peace of mind. 2021 was a year I will remember for a while yet. It was a mix bag of all sorts. I was really happy leading up to my 60th birthday in March. […]

Palliative care

December 27, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

‘Alert and chatty’ is how the palliative care doctor describes my mum, in her log book, after her weekly and sometimes bi-weekly home visit. Positive and encouraging words. Optimistic adjectives. Happily, also true. My mum is sharp witted and cheeky with her answers and responses to questions and queries posed by her palliative team. She […]