Sleep

As I age, I realize the inevitable sagging of facial skins, the formation of fats under my chin and formed the dreaded double chin. Lines on the face also become more prominent.

Another biological change I noticed was that every time I travel across to another continent at the other hemisphere, I will have severe jet lag.

When I returned from USA two years ago, I was unable to sleep for two weeks. This time after my return from London, I had similar experience.

For the first week after my return, I had to rely on sleeping pills. For the second week, I tried not to rely on the pills. That was when I could not sleep a wink eventhough I was physically and mentally exhausted. It went on for many nites. Two nights ago, during my nightly prayers, I also said a prayer for God to grant me some sleep for the night. And since then, I am able to fall asleep.

I really didn't like the experience and this will certainly be a deterrent for me to fly to somewhere of a different time zone in the future.

Some of my favourite pics

Quote of the day

Really love this quote:

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.
Washington Irving (1783-1859)

I've met so many kind people, and believe me, they are just so genuinely kind. I really thank God for bringing people who unconditionally accept me for what I am and yet love me. I keep telling myself I am so blessed. Sometimes I asked God do I really deserved all these blessings from Him.

Things and Places that left an impression

While in London, we went to watch a play, Priscilla, Queen of the dessert. The performance was excellence. Every scene was dazzled with very colourful costumes and it was really entertaining.

Portobello Road in London was a long stretch of road with little unique shops selling from antique to little deco stuff to 2nd hand goods to groceries. Lots of interesting things to see. What's more, the buildings that lined the road were very colourfully painted and the place was made famous by the movie Nottinghill.

The hot Chocolate in Europe is so thick and rich. The best was at Laduree in Paris. It was so memorable, unbeatable I would say.

We were lucky when we were in London. It snowed but only lightly, letting me experienced snow but yet now too heavy and cold.

We went to The Wolseley for an English afternoon tea. I love the scones with clotted cream and jam. Of course, it was heavenly when you down it with a cup of tea.


Breakfast at Cassy's place gave a feeling of home. I love the toast that she served with butter, marmalade, peanut butter and of course, a cup of tea.

This little artist corner is at the hill top of Mont Martyl in Paris. I was eyeing a small painting of a nude lady. The seller would not accept my offer of 50 euro, he was asking for 80 euro.

Having the well known macaroons at Laduree. The coffee served was also uniquely flavoured. The afternoon tea there left a great impression, it was so Paris.

I'm a coffee lover and the coffee in Europe is just so aromatic. Simply love the coffee there.

This French onion soup that we had in Paris was the best. It had lots of onion and the cheeze had a little burnt taste just enough to give it a perfect touch. The soup was not too salty and it was really heavenly drinking it in the cold weather.

The Lourve Museum is a must go when you are in Paris. It was majestic

The Lion Monument was tucked at one quiet garden in Luzern. It was so tranquil there and the stone Lion really look very sad. Siew Boon and I just sat there on a bench enjoying the peace and serenity and drinking hot tea.

Luzern, left a better impression for me compared to Basel, Bern and Zurich.

Siew Hoon's cozy little den felt like home when we were in Basel. I enjoyed the cooking with Siew Boon and having dinner together with the sister was like home away from home.

Click here to go to chansiewboon.blogspot.com/

My traveling companion to Switzerland, Paris and Europe.
She has updated her website with lots of great pic and narration.
Do visit her website for greater details of the trip.

There are all kinds of bottles and jars that each of us lives in

After publishing my entry on " Living in a bottle", I received a reply from a friend. The reply is really insightful and I thought I want to share with my reader:

To the guy who has been living in a bottle ...

Knock knock! Are you there? ... You know, there are all kinds of bottles and jars that each on of us lives in in our lives. Sometimes, we shut it close. Sometimes, we are trapped. Sometimes, it shields us from pain and hurt. Sometimes, nobody hears our cries. And sometimes, it's probably a choice ...

Read your blog post about living in a bottle ... I know I can never fully understand the kind of misery you have gone through as a child and maybe now as an adult. I probably don't have that magical power to make things easier or better for you. But please accept this little gift from me ( see picture ) - a little ordinary looking glass bottle. But within this bottle, there's abundance of joy, care and love. Use your hand to open this bottle and share those little joys, care and love. You are certainly capable of doing it because at times, it is not so much of an illness or deficiency but it is a choice. Joy, care and love can be shared and expressed in so many ways. I feel that at times, understanding the different and unique ways that each one of us expresses ourselves would probably allow all of us to better communicate. Well, maybe let us be thankful that sometimes, the bottles that we are living in are transparent, rays of light do enter and warmth can still be felt.

"The Wednesday Letters" ( by Jason Wright ) does not happen only in movies and novels. It can happen if we want to make it happen. Again here, it is a choice. Pardon me for always being so idealistic and impractical, maybe it's a choice for me to live in fantasy at times ... You know, Yue Niang made me believe that angels do exist, these angels would quietly slip little gifts into our lives, making each day a beautiful one. My dear angel, I will never ever forget those moments that you have made me smile ... Being thought of and missed have always been considered as wonderful gifts to me. :-) I don't know what's gonna happen the next day or if I would live past 40 but I'll try to make sure I've smiled today and be thankful for what I have. As the new year approaches, I hope that you will be blessed with gifts that can be felt with your heart ...

Christmas Greetings

I'll like to extend my Christmas greetings to the readers to my blog, my friends and loved ones.

May God bless you and keep you in special care this year and many years to come.
May the Lord fill your heart with peace and joy that will last a life time.
May He also give you good health so that you could lead a purposeful life.
May God bless your career and let you find success.

Thank you God
for always being there.

Shopping in London

Having shopped in London, I think Orchard Road is boring.

Really, I think it is even more interesting than Paris.

In London, there are just so many streets of shopping, and many of the

more expensive brand like Fred Perry, Birkenstock, Mark & Spencer, etc are

priced much lower here.

Yesterday when were in Birkenstock, one of the salesman was from Singapore.

He spoke English with an English accent, and you really can't tell that he was from our

hometown, perhaps he has the Eurasian look.

Generally, sales persons are more polite here compare to Singapore and Paris, so it makes

our shopping spree more pleasant.

It Snowed

This is my fourth day in London.

It is cold here but still bearable.

And we experienced snow here.

They just float down from the sky, like tiny dust particles.

Thankfully, it was not a snow storm, I bet the experience will be different.

I love London.

It is so easy to travel around London in bus, and for so many days here,

I've not experience a overly congested bus.

The shopping is so good here, so many streets of huge departmental stalls and boutiques.

And know what, Mark & Spencer is like Fairprice back in Singapore.

It`s affordable.

I would love to visit London again, perhaps.

Greetings from Europe

Starring: Pinkie
Video Editing: M@rk
Equipment: MacBook
Place: Basel, Switzerland

Gray

Gray

That is the colour of Switzerland these few days.

It has been raining yesterday and today, but thankfully it was just drizzle.

Bern and Zurich was gray, perhaps due to the overcast sky.

Was not in the mood to shop, so these two cities didn't really appeal to me.

Today, Siew Boon and I went to a nice cafe for lunch. It was the first proper lunch for us these few days. Most of the time, we just grab bread. Hot soup on a cold raining day was really nice. And of course, love the coffee. Even the MacDonald's here serves really good coffee.

Tonight is the last night in Switzerland.

Don't think I will visit Switzerland again, at least this is how I felt now.