I was walking along Orchard Road when I chanced upon a thin old man strolling in front of me. At first glance, I thought to myself, "what a havoc old man". This was because, from a distance, I saw he had his long pants folded up, just like the fashionable young adults in Orchard Road wearing folded skinny jeans. Also he was wearing a hawaiian flowery batik shirt. However, at a closer look, I saw he had his black track shoe laces tied a few coils around his ankles (see below photo).
I stifled a little chuckle, a little amused but I thought it was an interesting sight. I mean, how many old men in their 70-80s you know would actually go shopping in Orchard Road? I would probably see most of the local old men hanging around in Chinatown or Geylang. My own father would not even bother to roam Orchard Road and shopping would be the last thing on his mind. He just like to stay at home.
Jokes aside. Afterwards, when I was in a department store, passing by the men's section. I saw yet another different thin old man. Again I thought, another havoc old man. The thin old man was wearing beige bermudas with some printed designs, a fashionable shirt as well as track shoes. He was talking to a sales guy. The old man was trying to buy a pair of pants. Later when I walked past again, I saw him hurriedly walking to the counter with a pair of pants. Then I noticed from his behind, his pair of beige bermudas were actually stained with some brownish spots all around the butt area. The "printed designs" I saw earlier were actually stains, presumably shit stains. That was why he was buying a new pair of pants.
I was little sad, as it reminded me of how this can happen to any of us when we grow old. It can happen to our grandparents, it can happen to our parents, it can happen to us. And it may happen to my father. It can be embarressing and extremely inconvenient when faced with urinary and fecal incontinence. Incontinence is the inability to properly control your bladder. Hence one may experience urinary leakage or completely wet your underpants at times. If our loved ones have this condition, we should be more understanding and not be frustrated with them. The most important thing, I believe, is to help them come to terms with their condition. Accept them as they are.
Here are some tips on how you can control incontinence the natural way:
1. Perform Kegel exercises. Kegels are used to strengthen the muscles in your pelvic region. To do Kegels, you hold the muscles that control urination for several seconds and then release. Repeat these exercises as often as you would like.
2. Hold in your urine. Peeing too often can lead to incontinence. If you are able to hold your urine longer, the symptoms of incontinence will decrease in severity.
3. Eliminate caffeine and alcohol from your diet. Beverages containing these items can lead to incontinence. If you are drinking too many fluids a day, they may need to be cut back as well.
4. Get rid of any additional incontinence triggers. If certain foods cause incidences of incontinence, then you should stop eating or drinking these items. For example, some people find that spicy foods cause them to experience incontinence.
5. Drink more cranberry juice. The acidic nature of cranberry juice has been known to improve bladder function.
May everyone be healthy and free of obstacles and sickness. May everyone grow old gracefully and wisely.
Four of my close friends and I visited Peony Jade Restaurant at Clarke Quay for a birthday celebration for one of them. We ordered the ala carte buffet lunch because Peony Jade has been consistently good in all their dishes. I remember when we visited the restaurant 3 years ago, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Especially with the dessert of a very special lemongrass ice cream, which we ordered again and again. However we were so disappointed that this exquisite light dessert has been phased out.
I'll let the photos do the talking. We were quite satisfied with the quality of food presented and the variety. Among the 5 of us, we ordered and tried a total of 17 types of dishes, excluding desserts! Bon appetit!
Salad Prawns
Sauteed Pork Ribs with Almond Sauce
Vietnamese Rolls
Roast Crispy Chicken
Smoked Duck
Gong Bao Chicken with Onions
Deep Fried Silver Fish
Braised Abalone with Chinese Mushroom
Deep Fried Ribs with Pork Floss
French Beans with Hia Bee Hiam
Stir Fried Prawns with Wasabi Sauce
Braised Sea Cucumber
Stir Fried Ostridge Meat with Bittergourd
Braised Sambal Egg Plant
Chilli Crab
Man Tou Buns for Chilli Crab
Steamed Barracuda Fish
Enjoyable lunch @ Peony Jade
The birthday girl
We were extremely full and quite happy with this gathering /celebration over a satisfying meal. Happy happy happy birthday to my dearest dearest friend, LY!!! She is one of my closest friend for the longest time. We have known each other since primary one. May you always be happy, healthy and be blessed with all the good things in life! May our friendship grow and grow and become stronger and stronger!
I'm garnering some support through this post and for once, this blog is going to be full of eye candy. Haha! I'm referring to the coming Miss Universe 2011 Pageant and the beauty queen who is going to do us Singaporeans proud is Miss Valerie Lim, the reigning Miss Singapore Universe 2011. She was crowned just 2 months ago.
Valerie is a fellow Cancerian whom I got to know online. In fact I know her more as "dweam", her online moniker, as well as the beauty blogger of www.dweam.com. From a couple of years of tweeting with each other and some conversation exchange here and there, I found her to be really a girl next door, with no airs about her. She is forthcoming, very sincere and warm-hearted. Valerie exudes confidence and poise, on top of a friendly and frank demeanor. She won over all the judges in the Miss Singapore Universe 2011 pageant with her wit and stage presence.
Valerie is not new to beauty competitions. In fact, she was crowned Miss Earth 2009. She is 26 years old and to her advantage, a height of 1.79m! In her day job, she is a behaviourial therapist dealing with autistic children. Pretty impressive, as the prerequisites of this job requires tact, patience and an incredible good kind heart!
Crowning of Miss Earth 2009
Valerie is currently in Sao Paolo, Brazil, preparing for the Miss Universe 2011 pageant finals with all the beauties of the world. I managed to catch up with Valerie amidst her very busy and packed schedule, and she has graciously granted me a very brief interview.
STUMPBO: Which candidates are you closest to in this pageant?
VALERIE: I'm loving all my Asia-Pac girls: Thailand, China, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Philippines and including New Zealand too!
STUMPBO: Who do you think has the highest chance of becoming the next Miss Universe and why?
VALERIE: Everyone stands a chance because they're all really beautiful and everyone puts in effort to dress up, groom themselves and keep fit. Beauty also comes from within and they're all worthy of the Miss Universe title.
STUMPBO: What do you miss about Singapore so far?
VALERIE: Missing SG food! :D And the weather occasionally. It's Winter going to Spring in Sao Paolo and can get occasionally chilly but I love the cold here too!
STUMPBO: If you become Miss Universe 2011, what is the first thing you would like to do?
VALERIE: I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has shown their support one way or another to me being Miss Universe. Maybe throw a big party and Samba! ;)
Photo credits: Fotocology
STUMPBO: What's in Sao Paolo that has touched and charmed you?
VALERIE just blogged briefly about Sao Paolo and here is an excerpt. She would be updating more about her experience in Sao Paolo in her blog www.dweam.com in the coming days. Look out for it!
"We first traveled to the Hilton from the airport, to the stately Brasil flag that flew on its mast, the graffiti laden walls and impressive buildings, there’s a sort of sleepy yet romantic charm about the Sao Paulo city."
"Despite this calm, made even more conspicuous in the veil of the rain and an overcast sky today, the energy of the Brasilian people is a stark contrast to the city. Like a strong heartbeat, the Brasilian people are steady and vibrant. Both Samba and football are perfect examples of this brilliant energy. One cannot help but want to dance when in the presence of either".
Photo credits: Brad Lau, Callan Tham
Here's more eye candy, Valerie and the other beauty queens, as they prepare for the heated competition on 12 Sept 2011.
Valerie and her stylist, Kelly
Now here's what we can do to lend our support to Valerie. This may be the first time we can get Singapore into the semi-finals by online voting. Anyone located in, and a legal resident of, the home countries of the 2011 Miss Universe contestants can cast their vote(s) for the Miss Universe contestant of their choice.
To vote, log on to www.nbc.com or www.missuniverse.comand follow the instructions. You need to provide your email address, confirm you are 16 years of age or older, and your acceptance of the voting terms and conditions.
Then vote by clicking Valerie Shu Xian Lim !!!
You may vote online up to 10 times per e-mail address per day!Internet voting is now open until Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 6pm ET. The results will be revealed to the home viewing audience during the Miss Universe live telecast on September 12, 2011 and posted on www.missuniverse.com after the show.
Here's a clip of Valerie answering some questions in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Live telecast of the Miss Universe 2011 Pageant from Sao Paulo is on 12th September Sao Paulo time 10pm (Singapore is 11 hours ahead, approximately 9am Singapore time). Watch out for it! I can't wait!
If you have realized by now, I am using my baby pic as my profile pic. So I would be less recognised in public. Hahah! Just kidding.
Recently, I found some black and white photos of the baby me. I just had to post this here because I think I looked so cute, chubby and happy. In order to support me, I was squashed between two cushions in this antique arm chair in my grandmother's old attap house. This was taken at the big porch and where I used to play with my sis. My face was ruddy and I had a head full of dark curly hair the day I was born, thanks to the genes inherited from my mom.
I think this was me in my first month, wearing a "christening gown", although I am very sure there was no christening ceremony. I was in my mom's arms.
I love this shot because my cheeks were so chubby. I heard I was 2 weeks past my due date, and even then, when I was born, I was quite small in size (less than 3 kg). But look how fast and big I grew within 1-2 months! My grandma was carrying me in this photo. She was only 47 years old when I was born!
Believe it or not, I could still vaguely recall myself lying in this baby crib in the small room of my very old shophouse home. I wish my parents had taken more photos at that time. I'm loving me, the baby me. Hahah!
