Thebarefootfoodie

Taken in Bali, Jan 2014 Dearest Mom, You left so suddenly on 19 Aug, to be with the Lord. I did not even get to hug you, kiss you one last time, or say goodbye. I will always cherish our 7 days together in Bali - 7 glorious days of mother-daughter bonding time, of spas, pedicures, chilling out over delectable breakfast spreads, shopping, walks by the beach, pigging out at dinnertime, and that sneaky trip to " Cocoon " for fillers, which made you look years younger. I have these precious memories which I will hold fast in my heart. I was wrong to ever think that your world was too small for me. Truth is, your world was enough for you, and your heart was much, much bigger than mine. It takes a very special person to work for 20 years to serve those who are severely handicapped, and attend to their needs. You were that person. I saw every single one of them come to say their last goodbye to you, in their wheel-chairs, struggling to cope with their loss of ...

Getting Fleeced I'd never thought that a conversation about getting fleeced will led to a parking ticket subsequently and this delightful trio of episodes to follow... Tuesday 1 July Over a decadent bowl of ice kachang with gula melaka and evaporated milk drizzled liberally, Mr Y casually mentioned that he had clients who did not pay him his fees for work done. There was this particular chap who refused to pay the whole construction team and chose to move into an uncompleted house, without the requisite approvals. Not that he could not afford to, with a fleet of Lamborghinis in tow. He also acquired a bad reputation of being a lousy paymaster. Wednesday 2 July I suddenly recalled that some years ago, I got fleeced too, in work and in investments, by once-upon-a-time friends and partners. Funny how it has not cropped up before as I had totally written off the figures and the trust that came before that.  What got me through were promises and scriptures that I ...

BETTER THAN AN ULTRASOUND Like an expectant mother waiting for the BIG day, my days are filled with childlike curiosity and joyful anticipation.  I know  by now how my baby  looks like. The facade is up and set in stone, concrete and steel. She has the complexion of pale plaster, gently enhanced by the right touches of rouge and  gray eye-shadow. Organic , eco-centric, raw , fiercely individual.  GOING GREEN My sense of wonder is piqued daily by the leafy friends moving in and taking residence. They exude an aura of vibrance and serenity. Soon, I expect them to  pervade every conceivable nook and corner devised by Mr Y. He has promised transcendence and meditative retreats of privacy infused by visions of nature. A bonus treat is the relaxation of modesty encouraged by the garden screens all across the thoroughfare. Exciting! There is a marked preference for bird's nest ferns and staghorns at this stage. I welcome an open migrant policy of...

I Believe in Personality Tests Not too long ago, I remarked to my supportive spouse that if I were to take another personality test now, the result would be quite different. Little did I realize how different.... The opportunity popped out quite unexpectedly when A's school called for interested parent-child pairs to do a Myers-Briggs Test  http://www.personalitypathways.com  to understand parenting style and child personality fit.  I took the test for fun and it was rather revealing. In the final analysis, my profile was ESTP . Something has shifted from the person I was at ESTJ when I was younger. The Younger Me I wouldn't have liked me very much if I were to meet her now. This was a person who had to get her own way, have the last word and did not take to advice well. She was not too sensitive or aware of feelings of other people and did not care if they were offended. She needed to get somewhere, do something, be somebody... I've had misgivings ...

Embracing Empathy Walk a Mile in My Shoes I will not say to another " I feel your pain", or " I understand how you feel..." again - because the truth is, I do not feel, nor can I understand. In all of my 50 ( exactly ) years, I have not been under a knife, stayed over at a hospital, nor have ever truly grasped the notion of what pain, sickness or infirmity is. My GP and family doctor would have long gone bust if he'd relied on our visits for his posterity. I cannot remember when was the last time we saw him.  Whenever flu or other symptoms threaten, it was promptly taken care of with a good dose of honey, water, rest in bed with a kiss and prayers. My mum was shocked when she could not find the usual over-the-counter self administered medication in our fridge one day whilst feeling a little under the weather and need a dose of paracetamol. I directed her to a bottle of honey instead. Lest I be accused of going to extremes, I DO exercise due diligen...

Send In the Bulldozers Getting the Green Light While I learn to appreciate and cherish my country more and more as the years roll by, there are some things that I do not understand nor try to do so. One of them is why it had to take 9 months for approvals to come in to start reconstruction works and the phenomenal cost of real estate, whether for rental, purchase or to rebuild.  As friends and relatives in other parts of the world embarked on similar projects and pictures of their works in progress appear fast and furious on social media, I had nothing to show for mine. But life goes on, and in the throes of being kept waiting, I got on with life, went on holiday, celebrated a major milestone, made allowance for other projects...while this almost dwindled into a non event.  Until the morning of 8 June when an innocuous beep on my iphone went off, and a message from Mr Y flashed " Good morning can start packing and planning for moving out to start works." Oh, this ...

Is It Really Just a Number? When I was young(er ), people in their 20s were the adults, 30s - old, 40s- very old, 50s - ancient. Anything beyond that were the grandparents and great-grandparents. Now that I have newly arrived at the cusp of "ancient", I finally gather enough courage and honesty to look that squarely in the eye and deep into my heart to try to make sense of what that means to the rest of my life. Yes. I do not look or behave or feel any more 50 than anytime in my other decades. Life goes on, as it does, with its usual rhythmic patterns and beats. I continue with life-style choices made in my 30s. ( Skip the teens and 20s because one is allowed some liberty here to be passionate, wild, foolish even, which drag into the latter years if left unchecked or some just die prematurely )I stayed with whole foods, vegetables and fruits, with the occasional toppings of meat and seafood; and regular exercises of 2-3 times a week.   The flab that creeps up in...