Tired Out, Penang Photo Dump

... as in, I am. So I apologise for not coming back here sooner - I've found myself coming home and collapsing into bed for a nap on any day I'm not occupied with some other thing. If there's food rescue, lessons, or medical appointments then I have no choice but to keep on pushing through the day. But oh how I relish my free afternoons. I am actually GLEEful about getting home and showered quickly so I can get snoozing!

I blame the menopause. And the heat. 

On the relationship front, things have been good with us recently. I can't complain. BIKSS is supportive of my rescue efforts. He is also very supportive financially, contributing to my retirement plan as well as my holiday efforts. 

On the work front, piano school pulled a shit move on me last month so I've given them my notice and will be out of there in October. I was considering going back to teach with my previous school, but in the end decided against it as I really don't want to be tied down to fixed hours. I've decided that I will just keep on with freelancing and giving myself the space to enjoy life. Especially with these aches everywhere and feeling so tired all the time. I'm coming up to 4 months without a period since I've switched HRT medications, altho it's hard to say if I've already menopaused since the last few years I've been on a cyclical HRT, which means I could have very well already passed the one-year-no-bleed mark.

But, all in all, life has been pretty decent. I've been to Penang recently with the sis and managed to visit with an old friend who used to work in my part of the world. He moved back home a few decades ago and I've seen him twice since then. This was the third time I managed to catch up with him in 3 decades. My last trip over there was 13 years ago with my folks, which was the last he saw of them. I shall make it a point to visit there more frequently.

It was a last minute trip, as our Macau plans got washed out. Typhoon Wipha and all that. Still, we managed to get decent priced tickets even tho it was the night before, and on a full service carrier on top of that. 

We turned it into something of a mission trip/pilgrimage. We spent half of our first day there shopping for requested items and other supplies for St Joseph's Home (orphanage) and then carted everything over there.  

Then since there was a thrift shop near the St Francis Xavier Church that shares the same plot of land, we spent an hour or so in there too.

The pile on the left is CG's (mum's caregiver who is now MY caregiver!) picks, and the pile on the right is mine (black skirt, brown sweater, navy tee) - the bag was bought as a gift for a friend who is absolutely nuts over Naraya bags.

Then we walked over to the Church of the Assumption, which seems to have been recently completed. It's so clean and bright!

And even has its own Catholic stuff musuem.

With things like this on display. 

Some of the art / murals / wire pictures around Georgetown, Penang

The view from the Rainbow walk, 68 storeys high. 

Here's a video...

For dinner we ate at the revolving restaurant at the top of our hotel. It was kinda interesting. The buffet spread was on the part of the restaurant that DIDN'T move, but the tables did. So technically if you sat long enough you would be able to just get up and pick at the different dishes as you moved along! 

TRIGGER WARNING - BAKERY OFFERINGS COMING UP

CLICK AWAY NOW IF YOU FIND IMAGES OF CONFECTIONARIES DISTRESSING

(EITHER TO YOU OR TO YOUR DIET)

Near our hotel there was a bakery called Kenny Hills Bakery - we ate there on Day 2 for breakfast then went back again on Day 3! The fish pie was highly recommended but I prefer some of their other bakes. Still, it wasn't bad. It was just not my thing, I guess.

Scones on the other hand... now we're talking! I bought a couple to bring home with me and just had one this afternoon. So good. So so good. They pack some tiny tubs of strawberry preserve and clotted cream along with your scone so there's no risk of not having the full English Scone Experience. 

Sadly I did not buy any of these to take back with me. We had already bought too much.

I did get 3 of these - one of each flavour, except the strawberry one. 

Also very good. Very very generous fillings. 

I picked up some chicken mushroom pie, REAL CHICKEN MUSHROOM pie, not the rubbish we sometimes get here which is just bits of chicken in a cream sauce with frozen mixed vegetables. 

Let me find you a pic - 

There we go. Just Chicken. and Mushroom. Delicious. There were 8 chicken pies in the display case when we got there. There were no more chicken pies in the display case after we left.

Between the two of us we bought 4 bags worth of pies, puffs and other sweets!

I didn't get the quiches because the sister wanted all of them. 

I'm not a huge fan, so I told her she could have the lot. 

Banoffee - more banana, less toffee. All delicious.

Crumble Cheesecake - oats and nuts and fruit are healthy right? Cheese has calcium, and I'm sure chocolate is good for SOMEthing.

Alright. That's done. You can breathe a bit easier now that the 

OMG-I WANNA EAT ALL THAT 

portion of this foto dump is over. 

We spent half a day at the Penang Peranakan Museum. 

While my ancestors hail from Malacca, there are also Penang peranakans, altho they tend to be a bit more Chinese in their dress and cuisine, while the Malacca peranakans tend to have more Malay and even Portuguese influence in their dishes.

An entire room was dedicated to the display of ceramic and porcelain bowls and pots. The most famous of these is what is known in Hokkien (Chinese dialect) as "Kam Cheng" :

A Kamcheng is a decorative, lidded porcelain container, particularly significant in Peranakan Chinese culture, often used for ceremonial purposes or as a symbol of status and marital bliss, and although its exact original purpose varied, it was commonly used for storing food or other items. The name "Kamcheng" is believed to be derived from the Hokkien dialect, meaning "covered jar" or "covered vessel".

Here are some pretty kamchengs taken off the web from a Google search - and no, sadly I do not own any. I love looking at them, but only when they're not in my house. 

I also spotted this Polyphon which I admit I had to look up. It's so fascinating.

After the museum we hopped onto a ferry to get to the mainland (Penang is an island) -

The view of Penang bridge (on the left) and Penang island from Butterworth (mainland)

That ferry ride to the mainland was so that we could come visit the Minor Basilica of St Anne. We were there during the week leading up to the feast of St Anne so we decided to pay a visit to the church and say a prayer. It was something of an experience. In where I live when there's a feast day of something or someone, the church is usually just busy for 5 hours on the day of.  And then it's back to normal. 

*The old church on the right with the steps leading up to it*

*The new church aka Minor Basilica*

BUT not so for these folks. The grottos (yes plural) were ablaze with candles and fragrant with flowers. 

(I didn't take any fotos with the candle light cos it messed up my camera's ability to adjust for light.)

The church was open till late (this was close to 9pm) cos they had Masses 5 times a day the entire week to celebrate the upcoming feast day, with different special intentions for every day of the week leading up to the actual feast.

There were some shops set up in the courtyard selling flowers and candles and bottles for collecting Holy Water, which is where everyone got their flowers and candles for placing at the grottos, and inside the old chapel. And souvenirs. Of course, souvenirs. Tee shirts, book marks, all the usual Catholic stuff too - medals, rosaries, prayer books... 

Anyway after all that churching we decided to get ourselves a ride-share across the bridge all the way back to our hotel instead of dealing with a car-ferry-car transfer. Well, not quite to the hotel. Just before we got there I remembered seeing a Tarbush Restaurant (of Kuala Lumpur fame) and decided I absolutely HAD to take the sister and CG there for dinner. So that's where we went. We all ate too much.

Top left - Shish with bechamel pot (chicken and mushrooms in bechamel sauce)

Top right - baba ganoush (roasted eggplant / tahini / lemon juice / garlic / spices) 

and foul bil laban (fava beans / tahini / yoghurt plus other bits like tomato and parsley)

Bottom - Shawarma Chicken Roll - with tahini / yoghurt / coleslaw

It was an easy walk back to our hotel, thankfully, so we COULD walk all that food off instead of having to get a cab. But it wasn't SO near that it wouldn't have done any good. Along the way we spotted this pair of pubs. We suspect they're owned by the same people... LOL

The next day we were heading off home so there was very little by way of sight-seeing, but we did end up shopping for some cheaper-here-than-back-home necessities since I had luggage space and we had nothing else to do. (Toiletries, face mask, deodarant... that sort of thing.)

And that's that guys. I'm getting out of this chair. Part of the reason I haven't been posting (or using my laptop to do any of the things I really should get down to doing) is that sitting in one spot for anything longer than 10 minutes makes my hips / back / shoulders hurt. And so I will say sayonara for now, and see you for the next foto dump after my trip to Manila with CG!

Christmas, The Good The Bad and The Ugly

The Good - dinners and lunches and exhibitions with BIKSS over the last couple of weeks - 

Lunch at a newly discovered French-style restaurant.

Cheese plate, smoked duck salad, mushroom and chestnut soup,

turkey breast, grilled (I forget what type of) fish.

Pre-Christmas dinner at a French restaurant before that, a place we have been wanting to try for a while now. So since it was OUR Christmas dinner we decided to go. It was a little underwhelming. A popular spot, it seemed like they were more concerned with just turning tables over as quickly as they could. Probably never again. 

Fish Quenelles, roasted squash w/risotto, b-sprouts and foie gras.

We also had some time to peruse the Banksy exhibition that was in town. Fascinating stuff. We both had a good time looking at the art. 

I really like the rat themed pieces.

The Bad - after church this morning after we had crossed the road, we saw an elderly couple fall while they were crossing. My caregiver went over to help, then turned back to look at me and made the symbol for "telephone". Uh - oh. 

Some other church goers stopped to assist too. But in the end we ascertained that the wife needed medical attention. Thankfully she wasn't the stubborn sort. I think I should go to the emergency room, she suggested, when I asked if she wanted to be taken to the clinic near our homes. As luck would have it, they live near me. A mere 5 minute walk from my flat. 

I called a ride-share and took them both to the hospital's emergency room. Along the way we managed to contact the wife's sister who said she would come straight away. The husband needed some convincing. He was insistent that if I didn't want to be reimbursed for transport, then he would owe me a favour. Right, you can do me the favour of giving me peace of mind by registering yourself at the emergency dept too, I said. Let them look you over cos even tho you don't seem to be bleeding anywhere, you took a fall too. Flat on the wife. Who thankfully just had flesh wounds. He agreed reluctantly. 

After a bit the sister arrived and we took off, but not before speaking to their daughter (who lives an hour away) and son in law. 

I took their numbers and they promised to update me. The daughter just texted to let me know that mum needed stitches on her forehead, she finally got to the hospital and is now with them. 

All good I suppose. I reassured them that they could call me anytime if they needed any help since the sister is 30 mins away and the daughter is far far far away (by our standards). I'm 5 minutes on foot. So yeah. It'll be a lot quicker for me or CG1 to get to them if they need anything. 

The Ugly - I had Christmas eve dinner at my place for my close friends. The people nearest and dearest to me. Betty's birthday is the 24th so I throw her a Christmas cum birthday party here every year. It's not happened in the last 2 years tho since mum wasn't in the best shape to tolerate a huge to-do here. But I resumed my annual tradition this year and Betty's girlfriend was in attendance. And I don't like her. 

Two friends from the freecycle / food rescue group I had gotten closer to were also in attendance. And while one of them is a lovely person, the other, I realised, tends to be the sort that just SAYS what she thinks she ought to to be thought of as a good person. She'll say this and that and then not follow thru. 

And BOTH of them share the same malady of being snobs. They're both very well to do, and I do NOT appreciate the way they speak to or think of or dismiss my caregiver, whom I treat as a sister, a companion and a true friend. They on the other hand think of her as merely THE HELP. But even then, you do NOT get to speak down to her, seeing as she's MY hired help, not YOURS. 

Too many details to get into, but suffice to say I'm done with these two. I'll be cordial, sure. But don't expect me to include them in my inner circle anytime soon (or ever!). 

------------

For now, Blessed Christmas everybody.

Self Discovery, Sydney Pics and More Vacation Days Next Month

I am finally seeing a little bit of shift (about 1.5kg) of that hormonal weight I told you about. That is ONE piece of good news. Maybe this IF thing really does work. My appetite has grown smaller, that's for sure.  

The other, is this - for a while now I've had to travel a fair bit to teach a particular student of mine and I've not wanted to stop cos he's just so lovely to teach. But the travel time really just doesn't justify it anymore. I used to teach two brothers, so it was worth the trip. But with the older one finished with his final grade, it's just the younger boy left now. 

And with the aches and pains in my hip and back, I really began to rethink spending 2 hours on public transport each time I go to teach him.  Thankfully I've managed to sort that issue out, as they have agreed to travel to me instead (they have a car, I don't). This frees up an afternoon which I can now spend at the music studio (15 mins away!), much to my school manager's delight as he's been begging for me to come in an additional day each week. There is some adjustment where the fees are concerned (re: the faraway student), but if it means I can sit on my ass in the studio earning an extra 2 hours of fees instead of commuting, then I'm all for it. 

It was only after this was settled that I realised just how much I had been dreading the weekly trips out there. I am suddenly very relieved at not having to travel there anymore. 

I am reminded that  I should do what makes me happy, what works for me, and not feel obligated to do something just because of 1) who the person is that's asking (boss - aside from work-related things, older relative etc.), or because 2) I think I would be disappointing them if I didn't, or even because 3) I offered once before and if I don't say yes again now what would they think? I often default to an OK because not to do so feels like it's "not a nice thing" to do/say/be. 

But people change. And circumstances change. And each situation is never exactly the same as the one before isn't it? And I'm allowed to say no. Or to stop saying yes. Or to say maybe, let me think about it. 

This is a thing I've always struggled with. But at least I'm aware of it, and am reminding myself each time it happens that I have a choice in the matter. 

Just like I have a choice in dining chair covers. And furniture. And bedding. 

It's funny that I am so quick to put my foot down in deciding what I want or don't want when it comes to the more trivial stuff, but am so reticent to stand up to others when it comes to my wants and needs. Anyway, that's where I am today. Still learning. That's always a good thing.

BUT more importantly, pictures! Sydney... here they are. 

The coffee truck in Paddy's Market

When you really want to have an avocado (they're huge! and so delicious.... nom nom) but have no access to a knife or kitchen. 

Jason Donovan in Rocky Horror Show! It was fabulous.

The lone ibis. I think I have a 'Lone Ibis' picture from every single Australia vacation. 

There's always that ONE dude on the sidewalk. 

The Ramses Exhibition at the Australian Museum

 While we were there we poked into the permanent galleries as well - (click on the links to go to the Australian Museum website where you'll find more details on the exhibits and audio guides to other stuff not shown here! It's literally a virtual museum tour over there!)

The skeleton of an Irish Elk  - with antlers spanning three metres it dwarfs all living deer and even moose. It was found perfectly preserved in a peat bog, an oxygen-starved quagmire that mummifies any hapless animals or people who fall in. ~ The Daily Telegraph

Sir Hercules and a Rider

This skeleton of a horse and rider, affectionately known as the ‘Bone Ranger’, is a symbol of the importance of horses and horsemanship to Australian history.... The Bone Ranger’s horse is the skeleton of Sir Hercules, one of Australia’s foundation thoroughbreds.

Demon Duck of Doom! Best nickname ever!

Dromornis planei was a massive bird - 2.5m tall, 300kg! - with a formidable bill. It belonged to a uniquely Australian family of extinct flightless birds, the dromornithids (mihirungs). Because of the close relationship between mihirungs and ducks, Dromornis planei has been nicknamed the 'Demon Duck of Doom'.

Diprotodon

The massive Diprotodon optatum, from the Pleistocene of Australia, was the largest marsupial known and the last of the extinct, herbivorous diprotodontids. Diprotodon was the first fossil mammal named from Australia (Owen 1838) and one of the most well known of the megafauna. It was widespread across Australia when the first indigenous people arrived, co-existing with them for thousands of years before becoming extinct about 25,000 years ago.

And after all that, some sit-down time for our tired bones. We caught the musical & Juliet, and it was way more fun than I expected.

& Juliet is a 2019 coming-of-age jukebox musical featuring the music of Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin, with a book by David West Read. The story focuses on a "what if" scenario, where Juliet does not die at the end of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. ~ Wikipedia

BIKSS listens to the radio A LOT and he recognised almost all the song and dance numbers. I could identify about half! LOL. What can I say, I'm not a listener of pop music. That didn't stop me from enjoying the high energy of it all tho! 

On the way back we walked across Pyrmont Bridge and took in the view of Darling Harbour. Magical. Despite the rain-drizzle-rain-again of the evening, it was possibly the most romantic memory of this trip for me.

The next day we were off to an early start. We had chocolates to buy, supermarkets to visit, malls to roam! But along the way, the best lobster roll I've ever tasted! 

After we had gone and picked up all the chocolates in the world... ok I am obviously exaggerating, but it really seemed like BIKSS had become chocolate-mad all of a sudden, we went for lunch at a Peruvian place we passed on the first night, as BIKSS has always wanted a taste! I don't think he was planning on beef heart tho. I pretty much cajoled him into trying it... I am clearly the more food-adventurous between us.

Next we walked to the maritime museum.  Where there were a lot of other non-maritime things... 

Then it was time to hop onto a ferry to get to the Sydney Opera House!

It was cold, but I always have an ice cream at least ONCE per cold-weather trip. 

This was our once.  It was good too!

Ta-da! The Sydney Opera House at last! 

Badu Gili - meaning ‘water light’ in the language of the traditional owners of Bennelong Point, the Gadigal - is a free daily experience that explores First Nations stories in a spectacular six-minute projection on the Opera House’s eastern Bennelong sails.

Watch the sails illuminate with Badu Gili: Celestial, a new projection celebrating the work and stories of two female First Nations artists from Australia and New Zealand, created in collaboration between the Opera House, Biennale of Sydney and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.  

You can read more about it HERE

After the light show we made our way to the Chinatown street market... where the food was disappointing, and I got cranky at BIKSS and all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed and snuggle. He was trying to feed me. I was too full to eat anything. Stuff was expensive and unappetizing. Ugh. 

I did spot a cute wall of little mahjong tiles making up a picture of a big mahjong "fa" or "huat" tile. That was interesting at least.

We spent our last day in Sydney at The Rocks. Yes we bought more chocolates. 

The Rocky Road Chocolate company makes an awesome nougat version of rocky roads with different flavours. The one I'm most in love with is the White Chocolate Cookies and Cream Rocky Road. Simply divine! I hear it's based in Melbourne so I've asked some friends who live there if they've heard of or seen this brand in the shops, and no one has any idea what it even is! 

I found it on this shopping site but they don't deliver outside of Australia, sadly. I'm trying to get the sister's friend (who is a Melbournite) to order a bunch and bring it in with her the next time she comes for a visit - she has family here so she comes at least twice a year. With any luck I won't have to wait too long!

We had brunch at Pancakes on the Rocks. This was 1/4 of our lunch. There was a huge bowl of salad, some seafood crepes (below), nachos and salsa and cheese... oh it was a HUGE meal!

The rain was a bit annoying but people still came out to enjoy the market. 

I got myself a pair of Mother-of-Pearl earrings in a light purple. Pictured here with some souvenirs from the Bonorong Sanctuary in Tasmania and a bottle of perfume also from the Rocks Market.

And at the end of the trip, my whole suitcase was literally filled only with stuff I BOUGHT! Chocolates, Tim Tams, souvenirs, banana bread(!) and essential oil mists, essential oil sprays and, well, actual bottles of essential oils. My dirty clothes got chucked into another duffel! (Chips were in the Coles paper bag!)

And with that, I shall say adieu. I have been on here too long already. And tomorrow is another day of work. Until the 14th of July. Which is when I run away to KL with BIKSS for another 5-day vacay! Hurray!