Finally cleared...

Fulfilled my resolution for the year finally. The last deduction of my housing loan was completed today after 3 months of application. So am officially free of housing loan! 32 years... or was it 33 years?

Well, what's important is that I'm done with housing loans!

:-)

Of Death Anniversary & Ghost Festival

The 7th month of the lunar calendar is the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival where Taoists believe that spirits of the underworld would be released to roam the living realm. As a Buddhist, I commemorate it as the month of filial piety and respect for our elders.

August is also the month of my dad's passing in 2008. Time flies, it's been 11 years. His anniversary date was 10 Aug and we've commemorated his passing on this day instead of the lunar date (10th day of the 7th lunar month). I supposed it's easier to remember (although I admit I actually forgot to do it this year).

So yeah, here I am at the columbarium today to do due diligence to these two events.

:-)

My new car

The car finally arrived on the 8 Aug. And it's with a slight bit of sadness that I parted ways with my old car. After all, it was a car that was purchased with my mum. Anyway, it's time to scrap the old car. Her time was up.

My Grandma

This is a pic of my grandma. I had to touch it up to prepare for the exhumation of her remains, and moving her resting place to the columbarium. As I touched up her photo, I kept thinking of how my mum looked like her. And uncannily, I also see some bits of myself in her, especially my eyes...

Jakarta

Had just returned from a 3-day trip to Jakarta. It's a short but nice trip. It gave me the mental break that I really required. This time round, I managed to see up close a few places that I had previously drove by. These include the National Monument, the national mosque as well as the Chinatown market. Took the chance to also pay a visit to Kota Tua (Old Town), Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia. Thing about Indonesia is that it is a huge archipelago and its a very complex society with lotsa different culture, races, and religions. And because of that, I always get to see different perspectives of Indonesia whenever I visit the country. It's no different this time.

managing health

"Aging is such a bitch"...

A friend said two days ago when I wished him Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha. I can so totally connect with what he said as I myself have been experiencing all sorts of aging-related issues these days. You see, I went for my routine body check-up last month and my doctor suggested that I go through a series of checks to manage my current health issues. 

For a start, he ordered a sleep test for me to manage my insomnia and sleep apnea. I will be doing the test later this month and for now, I have to flush my nasal cavity twice a day and apply the nasal spray in order to manage my nasal back drip. This is to minimise nose blocks and hopefully aid my sleep. I have also started my physiotherapy to strengthen my legs and later, my core. This is to manage my backache, that has been getting worst by the days. Will be heading to the heart clinic to review my heart issues later this month too.

I've never experienced all these issues all at once before and almost everything seemed to flare up over the last 2 years. So, yeah, I agree with my friend. "Aging is a bitch". But I supposed, aging will come regardless. Just have to embrace it gracefully and live my life happily. Or at least, make the best out of it.

:-)

Monthly trips

Have been able to maintain my monthly travel plans thus far! These trips may be short but importantly they do provide me the much needed mental break from work. For some reasons, I can only sleep well when I’m overseas. Once home, I get insomnia and I wake up frequently through the night. I can only suspect it’s work-related stress...

This year, for some reasons, I feel tensions and stress across the department. And people can be a little uncooperative and rude at times. The recent high turnover of good people and bosses didn't help at all given that these are the people I have to work with in my daily course of work.

Hopefully things will smoothen out.

Jul 2019 Shows

These are the shows I watched in Jul 19...

• Crayon Shin-chan Honeymoon Hurricane: The Lost Hiroshi (3.5)
• Spider-Man: Far From Home (4)
• Toy Story 4 (4)
• Lion King (4)
• Doraemon Nobita's Chronicles of the Moon (3.5)
• Coco (4)
• Mission impossible: Rouge Nation (3.5)