Here's My Story

So, when suitable, I made an appointment with 20dB. The audiologist, Ashley, kindly informed me of reserved parking bays for us to park in. She was patient and helpful throughout the consultation :) At the outset, I told her of mum's main problem with the previous hearing aids .   Previously, it was the RIC type. It was a little difficult for her to attach them to her ears and more importantly, one side dropped twice.  I thought the ITE type is suitable: it looks easier for mum to attach it because of its size. However, the audiologist said that its vulnerable to breakage if it drops. Also, its range of listening environments is at entry level, whereas for safety issue, we want greater range. (refer to this 20dB webpage ). Ashley recommended the BTE type where the transparent part that goes into the ear canal is customised to fit into the ear. Ashley demonstrated to mum how to attach it to her ear. Results of the hearing test: Bass = low-pitched sounds. Treble = high-pitched s...

Back in 2019 , we got mum a pair of hearing aids but unfortunately, she stopped using them after a few weeks. Firstly, it was a little difficult for her to put them on. Secondly, twice one of them dropped, which I witnessed. A pity that these weren't picked up during the trial period. Mum was contented to make do with impaired hearing and so I didn't pursue further. However, during the trip to Australia (Dec 25 - Jan 26), I was quite alarmed at the deterioration of her hearing. One incident stuck out: we were in a Qantas plane. She couldn't hear the air stewardess who was speaking to her. Even worse was that, she also couldn't hear me the first time I spoke to her even though I was sitting next to her. I also noticed that sometimes people stopped repeating their questions when mum repeatedly misheard and thus responded incorrectly. Most importantly, I was concerned about her safety: what if she's walking outside and can't hear someone shouting her warning to mov...

Dry noodle (dark sauce) at Go Noodle, with pork balls. I was pleasantly surprised at the plentiful vegetable that it naturally came with. If only their soup noodle has similar amount of vegetable. This dish was delicious and I had a couple more times thereafter.     Celebrated a friend's birthday at Daesam Restaurant at Subang Jaya. We were curious about the bias towards "female pork". We were told that female pork wasn't smelly like male pork. True?     Gosh! I miss Seremban lou shu fun konlo. Came across this stall at Hakka Legend (at Taman Megah). The noodle was delicious but unfortunately, all their meatballs were fried. In Seremban, non-fried fishballs were served in a small bowl of soup. Following my sister's suggestion, the second time I ordered this, I asked whether I could have non-fried version but alas, no :( That's the last time I had it.     I was hunkering for tang yuen again around Mid-Autumn Festival but unlike last year , Dao didn't have p...

After I first blogged about Sistars Kitchen, I did end up alternating between this and Kwong Wah for chendol but as pointed out in the blog, I now rarely travel there just to have chendol. After the disappointment about Kwong Wah's recent chendol , I went to Sistars: Unfortunately, there wasn't a suitable photo from 3 years ago to compare with. It seems to be of similar size to Kwong Wah's after taking into account of the size of the bowls...I guess? As before, it was less sweet (which I like) but less flavourful than Kwong Wah's However, the increased price of the latter to RM 7.40 makes it nearly a ringgit more expensive than Sistars's (RM 6.50). I'm inclined to dine more at Sistars.   

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  Sent the above video to my family. Me: Ban thought it's an actual cat because it's breathing. Sister: Then what it is??? It looks like it's breathing! Mum: *Agreed with my sister* Me: 😂 Me: It's a toy with mechanism inside that causes that part to rise and fall. Me: Well, apparently Ban is not in the only one (who thought it was real) 😅 

For years already, I've been counting down to age 50. No, not that I look forward to enter late-life crisis. It's a milestone for two additional medical actions to take: shingles vaccination and FOB test. Shingles vaccination is only for those aged 50+ because clinical trials were done only on those cohort, presumably it's the cohort most at risk of contracting shingles. Current vaccine requires two shots (2 to 4 months ago) and it lasts a liftime, thank goodness. Not cheap though: price is around RM 900 - 1000 per shot. Coincidentally, Ban's mother mentioned shingles vaccine but for a different reason: there is a study that shows "among the vaccinated, those who remained cognitively healthy were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, and those who did develop dementia were nearly 30% less likely to die from it over the course of nine years." "More research is needed to confirm the findings—but the study is a particularly strong one......becau...

This was 3 years ago. If I'm not mistaken, it cost RM 5.50. This was recently. RM 7.40 (RM 7 before tax). I asked to replace red beans with corns. It may not look like but both Ban and I are convinced that the portion had shrunk: I didn't need to be careful in scooping up the first few spoonful of it. Previously, sometimes bits of it still dropped onto the saucer despite being careful.

Recently Ban and I went on a 4D 3N vacation in Singapore, just to relax and visit friends. This time, unlike previously, I restricted to only one social outing per day. Age catching up with me :D Ban naturally can't socialise much and so previous times he was just going along with my plans. I'm a member of IHG and I've been pleased with the stay at their various hotels so far and so usually I scout whether there's suitable hotel at our destination when we need one. My main criteria for Singapore trip is that it has to be within short walking distance of an MRT station so that I can arrange to meet friends anywhere near an MRT station. After checking locations and reviews, I settled on Hotel Indigo Katong Singapore. This time, I paid extra to include breakfast and the for free cancellation up to a few days (think it was two?) before the arrival date. These are the photos of the room: Clearly, they are going for the Peranakan theme. It really made this a unique experience...

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Exercise. Shower. Chill by playing games or read on laptop for like 30-60 minutes while waiting for hair to full dry. Then nap for 30 minutes. This gives me the best sleep. Yes, even better than the night sleep usually. Unfortunately, it's only for 30 minutes. The effect is no different if I nap for longer, up to, say, 45 minutes. Closer to 1 hour, I'll feel a little worse, usually, unless I'm much more tired than usual or ill.

Pluto is a animated mini-series about robots, especially the few advanced robots. Ban wanted to watching because of its interesting theme. It started slow but became more engaging. However, it had unsatisfactory last few episodes. Here are our complaints: SPOILER AHEAD

That's the title of the webnovel that Ban has recently completed. It's available on Webnovel. Here's the abstract: "  The player may want to kick butt and look cool in his new life in the Forgotten Relams, but how cna he when he's a wee widdle halfling? It's time to cheese the hell out of this system! This is a dramatization of an actual playthrough of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, meant to be used as a strategy guide for new players. Come and learn to cheese, uh, play the game yourself, then be your own hero! " Overall, I enjoyed reading it. There were some parts I glazed over the list of loot as I don't intend to play the game. I am pleasantly surprised by the range of emotions that I experienced from different scenes. Some were light hearted and downright funny while others were serious and heart-tugging.

Ban wanted to give away a t-shirt but didn't know to whom. I suggested asking the 3 friends we would be meeting for lunch soon. So he asked them...all 3 at the same time 😁 Ban: Alamak, all 3 of them said yes.  Me: laughed I thought you would ask them one at a time. Ban: I took up your suggestion but did it the wrong way. I'll just tell them I messed up. Friend: Should we duel for it? Me: What type? Will you be bringing Zengetsu? Blue-eyes white dragon? Pikachu? Friend: Beyblade Me: 😂 I took a video and photo of the three of them 'fighting' over the t-shirt. As expected, they were chill about this situation and just quickly decided among themselves who would get it. 

Just before Chinese New Year, as usual Ban's ex-high school mates organised a get-together in Melaka and this time it was for a game of pickle ball at 8 am. Usually, Ban couldn't join in because of the need to attend the New Year's eve reunion dinner with his family in PJ. However, due to fortunate timing (CNY being two days after a weekend), he could make it this time. I didn't want him to drive alone by himself and so I volunteered to accompany him. He had already googled and booked a room at K-Star Hotel, as it is the nearest hotel to the pickle ball venue. It turned out to be a budget hotel, with limited counter front desk service. Entrance to its small lobby was via a PIN keyed into a pad and another set of PIN for the room itself. It had two floors of rooms. No lifts, only stairs. To me, the most important features of any hotel is a clean room, with clean bathroom, comfortable bed and an environment that allows comfortable sleep. This hotel checked all of these. I...

Saw this on the back of a truck:  Translated as "Where are you going, getting so close? To the grave?" 

(Emphasis is mine, to show the mistakes)  1. The Guardian article: " Trump declaration of Greenland framework deal met with scepticism as doubts persist ". Sentence: " In Greenland however, Trump’s announcement was greeted with serious scepticism. “He’s lying,” said one main in the capital Nuuk, who was interviewed by the AFP news agency. " 2. ABC News article: " Model revealed for Thriving Kids, the NDIS alternative for some children with developmental delay or autism ". Sentence: " He said aimed to empower parents to support their children, and was in part returning to a system of support that existed prior to the implementation of the NDIS. " 3. Free Malaysia Today article: " Teoh Beng Hock’s sister to address UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday ". Sentence: " The Teoh Beng Hock Association fo Democratic Advancement says Teoh Lee Lan departed today for Geneva, Switzerland. ".

There was once in Singapore, we had lunch at a restaurant at the hotel were were staying at. At first, Ban wanted to try their honey ginger drink but changed his mind when he saw Coca-Cola on the menu. Me: Why order Coke at a hotel (in Singapore)? Can have it back home, way cheaper. Ban: Malaysia's Coke's sugar level is capped. Also, they added artificial sweetener (which is yucky). Me: Oh, good point. However, when served, Ban cursed because that can of Coke was made in Malaysia and yes, sugar content was capped :D I quickly suggested to him to ask to change it to the honey ginger drink since the can wasn't open yet. Perhaps because of this story, some friends bought Coke overseas and passed them to Ban to try. Awww, so sweet of them. Coke from Thailand. Yes, definitely sweeter and nicer than Malaysia's but boy, it burned my stomach a little after drinking like half a can. Had to take antacid. Even Ban thought it was acidic to him. Maybe we're too old for this :(  ...