Knitting

Knitting necessities – A pair of knitting needles and some yarn.

I tried knitting some years ago. A friend of mine had taken an interest in knitting then. She said she learned how to knit from YouTube videos. I was impressed and expressed my interest in knitting too. She gave me some spare yarns of hers for me to practice, to see if I really like to knit before investing in the knitting materials.

I managed to knit a couple of beanies and scarves – all learned from YouTube videos. It was a sort of challenge to myself, to see if I could do it. I succeeded. I am proud of myself for that minor accomplishment.

The knits were not perfect. But if one didn’t know better and didn’t look too closely, they wouldn’t have noticed the amateurish workmanship. They worked fine keeping the head and the neck warm from the cold weather without falling apart.

Knitting is fun. It has a meditative and calming effect on the mind. If I didn’t have other interests fighting for my time and attention, I would have continued knitting. But time seems so limited nowadays. There seem to be so many things to do. So, I had to give up on knitting. It was good that I tried, enjoyed it and succeeded in knowing how to knit simple patterns.

Anyhow, I was going through my stuff the other day and noticed that there were some spare yarns lying about. I wondered what to do with them. I could throw them out or leave them there taking up space. In the end, I decided to make the most of them instead of just throwing them out.

After some ‘revision’ from the videos, I knitted some coasters. I think they will come in useful at some point. If not, they will be souvenirs from my knitting. They are not perfect knits. But they have no problem serving their purpose. Perfectly useable.

A simple pattern using garter stitch, the most basic of knitting stitches.

A rib stitch pattern using single knit stitch, and single purl stitch.

A double rib stitch pattern using two knit stitches and two purl stitches.

Once you know the basic stitches you can play around with the designs. For more complicated designs, and knitting more complicated stuff like a sweater or a pair of socks etc.., it would be better to sign up for a knitting class. It is better to have expert guidance, a teacher to guide you and impart the finer points of knitting to you. This will save you the frustrations when you go wrong. I found some uses for my knits.

g) My sister used to crochet in her younger days. She has got a small box of unused yarns. Seeing me knit, she said she will leave the yarns with me to do as I please. So, I guess my next project would be to learn how to crochet. I will let you know how that turned out. But don’t hold your breath. I would like to do a bit of sketching and painting first.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Thought of the Day - Opinions

Opinions are views or judgement one formed about something. They are not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

We form an opinion, or opinions after we have heard, or saw something. How we arrived at our opinions depends on our perception, our intellect and knowledge of the things perceived. These are determined a lot by our feelings. As our inclinations, so our opinions.

It is good that you have an opinion about something. But bear in mind that your opinion is just that, an opinion. Your opinions could be totally wrong and count for absolutely nothing. So, don’t be too insistent about your opinions. The trick is to hold opinions without letting opinions hold you.

When facts challenge your opinion, re-examine your opinion. Change your opinion, if you must. Only the stubborn and foolish do not change their opinions. And generally, those with the most opinions often have the fewest facts.

The usefulness of your opinion is itself, a matter of opinion. So, it is better to keep your opinions to yourself, unless asked.

The opinion which other people have of you is their problem, not yours. What’s important is the opinion you have of yourself. Life is too short to waste any amount of time on wondering what other people think about you.

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Teo Heng Family KTV Studio

Earlier in the week, I went, with a mate, to Teo Heng Family KTV Studio for a session of ‘karaoke-ing’. We booked a private room and sang our hearts out. This is the advantage of singing in a private room. There’s only you and your mate or mates. It doesn’t matter whether you sing or croak. You just let it out. The important thing is you are with friends who also like singing. It is good healthy fun for a couple of hours, and very therapeutic.

I read in a Facebook post that says: Research shows, humming just 5 seconds boosts nitric oxide levels by 1,400 percent. I sang for two hours. Imagine how much nitric oxide my body was boosted with. No wonder I felt great.

“Nitric oxide is a gaseous molecule the body naturally produces, acting as a key signaling molecule that relaxes blood vessels, improves blood flow, and helps regulate blood pressure. Nitric oxide is important for brain health, including memory and cognitive function.” So, if you ever feel that you need a boost of nitric oxide – sing! Or croak. But I digress.

Teo Heng started out as a karaoke equipment dealer and services company in Singapore in 1989. They set up their first KTV studio in the early 1990s. The inspiration behind the establishing of karaoke studios was, the owner, Jackson Teo’s passion for singing, and his belief that karaoke is a healthy avenue for social interaction.

Teo Heng family KTV studio offers rooms of various sizes accommodating between four people to a room to VIP rooms that can accommodate up to twenty people. Their prices are very affordable. Jackson Teo, who is a devout Buddhist, believes and is passionate about giving back to the community in maintaining cheap prices to provide an affordable form of entertainment to the Singapore masses. They now have 13 KTV studios around the island.

This was our room – a small one since there were only two of us. They allow up to four people in the room.

This is the karaoke system. You key in your song on the touchscreen monitor, and the song will play on the big TV screen on the wall without the vocal. You sing, with a mike, to the music and lyrics with the help of colour prompts. Of course, if you know the song very well, you won’t need to follow the lyrics or prompts.

Karaoke is a popular past-time with the young and old here. It is one activity many indulge in.

Some karaoke lounges don’t have private rooms. You put in a request for a song, and you wait for your turn to sing, either on stage, if the lounge has one, or you sing at your table. I have heard some really good singers – something I aspire to.

There are also people who make you cringe with their singing. But after a few drinks, no one cares. Everyone is out for a good time. It’s all good fun.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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An Afternoon Walk

Health is our first wealth. Nothing is more important than having good health. We should take some time, at least half an hour a day to do some exercise to keep ourselves healthy. It doesn’t matter what exercise it is, so long as it’s something we enjoy doing, because then we will have the motivation to keep at it.

I started brisk walking when jogging became a problem for my knees. Jogging might be a better cardio workout, but it is not a very good exercise in the long term, especially in our senior years. I have seen many fellow joggers are now walking due to the same problem I have – pain in the knees. Brisk walking, or just a leisurely walk is preferred. Many doctors have advocated that.

According to a study I picked up on the internet, it says walking just 7,000 steps a day can reduce our risk of dementia by 38%, heart disease by 25%, and early death by nearly 50%. I don’t know how accurate the study is, but walking is definitely beneficial to our health.

One function of our body, when we exercise, is that it releases hormones called endorphins. Endorphins help with pain relief, stress reduction, and mood improvement. That is why we feel good after a workout.

When time permits, go for walks. Walk as far as you can, as long as you can. Be out in nature, enjoy the solitude, the greenery, breathe the fresh air and see the colourful flowers. All these activities will refresh you, lift your spirits and keep you in good health.

I am lucky to have a very nice walk path near me. I try to do 10,000 steps on days when I walk. It takes me roughly one and a half hours to cover eight kilometers.

Here are some photos from my walk.

Trees along the walk path provide shade from the sweltering tropical heat.

Looks like the Batoko plum is in season. They are commonly found in local landscapes in Singapore.

Sometimes, walkers run into the local residents of the walk path. Here’s a squirrel.

There are many tree lizards.

Occasionally, you see a family of otters. They hunt for fishes in the canal.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Karaoke

I went karaoke-ing recently. If you don’t already know, Karaoke is a type of entertainment system where you sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. The music video is played on the screen without the vocals, and you sing to the music and lyrics with the help of a prompter – usually a moving symbol, and the changing colour of the lyrics.

Karaoke first originated in Japan in the early 1970s. It quickly gained popularity in Chinese-speaking countries such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. Now, it is a popular global pastime enjoyed in various settings from public bars, clubs, to private rooms, and private social gatherings. It is a fun way to socialize and have fun regardless of singing ability. 

Some venues have a small stage. Customers have to go on stage to sing. In other KTV lounges, you request for the song and when it is your turn, the staff will pass the microphone to you and it is your turn to shine, or to make a fool of yourself. And then, there are KTV lounges that provide you a private room. If you are too shy to sing in the hall, or if you like to sing more than one, or two songs, you book the room and you and your mates can sing to your hearts’ content.

Karaoke machines have come a long way – from the early days when video tapes were used, to LaserDisc, and as technology advanced, karaoke evolved with “digital music, smartphone apps, and online platforms, allowing users to sing anytime and anywhere”.

Anyhow, my friend and I booked a karaoke room for two hours and we sang to our hearts’ content. Neither of us are good singers. But we love to sing, and it was only us in the room. We tortured each other's ear drums for two hours. What fun!

Teo Heng family KTV lounge offer rooms of various sizes accommodating between four people to a room to VIP rooms that can accommodate up to twenty people.

This is a small room since there were only two of us. They allow up to four person in the room.

This is the karaoke system. You key in your song on the touchscreen monitor, and the song will play on the big TV screen on the wall. You sing to the music and lyrics.

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Hawker Centers

term ‘hawker’ refers to a person who informally sells something in public. A hawker center is where there are many hawkers selling, in this case, different varieties of affordable meals in a complex. Hawker centers are conveniently located at the heart of housing estates, usually with adjoining wet markets. Hawkers rent the stalls from the governing authority at a subsidised rate. This allows them to keep their prices affordable to the public.

Hawker centers differ from food-courts in that food-courts are indoors and air-conditioned. They are found mainly in shopping malls and other commercial venues. Like the hawker centers, food-courts sell a variety of different foods Customers typically pay a bit more for a meal there than for a similar meal at the hawker centres for the air-conditioned comfort.

Dining at a hawker centre is a quintessentially Singaporean experience,  allowing one to experience a wide variety of multicultural food and drinks at affordable prices. It is said approximately 80 percent of Singaporeans eat at hawker centres more than once a week. This, when one-third of Singaporeans eat out more than seven times weekly. This is not all that surprising. For authentic local food and flavours, you are more likely to find them at the hawker stalls.

Besides the authentic food and flavours, and the affordable prices, it is the convenience. The hawker center starts operation in the morning and closes late in the evening. For those near tourists areas, some close in the early morning hours. In this way, one can go to the hawker center at any time of the day to have something to eat. You can have breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper at the hawker center because different stalls cater to different crowds.

Hawker Centers. Many stalls selling local favourite foods.

You can have a light snack between meals, or …

… you can have a full meal.

A sugar cane drink. One of my favourite drinks.

In 2016, two Singaporean food stalls, both located in hawker centres, became the first food vendors to be awarded a Michelin Star for excellent food.

In 2019, Singapore submitted its nomination to inscribe its hawker culture on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Inscription was announced on 16 December 2020, when UNESCO described the hawker centre as "‘community dining rooms’ where people from diverse backgrounds gather and share the experience of dining over breakfast, lunch and dinner." - Wikipedia

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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It’s Not Wrong To Doubt

“Doubt is the difficult mind state of perplexity. It's like being at a crossroads and now knowing which way to go. We go back and forth between alternatives and are then brought to a standstill by bewilderment and indecision. When doubt is overpowering, we can't move. It doesn't even allow us the opportunity to take a wrong turn and learn from our mistakes.” - Joseph Goldstein

When you are in doubt, trust your own wisdom.

There will always be doubts. We will have doubts about a lot of things. To doubt is not necessarily a bad thing. It is by doubting that we come to investigate, and by investigating that we recognize the truth. That is why where doubt is, there truth is.

“Doubt is the vestibule which all must pass before they can enter into the temple of wisdom; therefore, when we are in doubt and puzzle out the truth by our own exertions, we have gained a something that will stay by us, and which will serve us again.” - Charles Caleb Colton

“Doubt is a sentinel on the watch-tower of the brain, charged with the duty of sounding an alarm, whenever its enemies – superstition, falsehood, ignorance and unreason – attempt to invade the citadel of truth.” - Henry M. Taber

“In all affairs, it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” - Bertrand Russell

“Doubt is the herald of progress; the genius of reason; the pathway to truth; the advance guard in the contest with intellectual darkness.” - Henry M. Taber

Doubt can only be removed by action. People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do. The best way to make people believe you is to set about the task in hand.

There is no harm in doubting.

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Swimming

Swimming is an exercise which has many benefits. It is a low-impact exercise suitable for all fitness levels, reducing the risk of joint injuries. It improves coordination, balance, posture and flexibility. It relaxes, is therapeutic, and in the tropics here, it is also a pleasant way to cool down on a hot day.

Swimming is an exercise that is popular as an all-around body developer. It is a great full-body workout that uses arms, chest, shoulders, stomach muscles, and legs. Like all exercises, swimming releases endorphins in our brain. These hormones make us feel good.

I have been swimming more these days since finding that brisk walking is getting a bit too stressful for my back. Luckily there is a swimming pool that is within walking distance from my home. Although there is a bus going to the pool, I make it a habit to take the half an hour walk there, swim for an hour and take the half hour walk home. I think that is plenty of exercise for a day.

The swimming pool is usually rather quiet in the afternoon. There were times when I had the whole pool to myself for the good part of an hour. During such times, I feel like a VIP swimming in the empty pool with half a dozen lifeguards looking out for me.

However, the pool does get used. In the mornings, it is open to seniors for water aerobics. The pool is also opened to the schools nearby for conducting swimming lessons for the students. Private swimming instructors rent the place to conduct swimming classes for their students. And of course, nearby residents used the pool too. It is just that the period between 1pm and 4pm is a bit quieter.

Another great thing about the pool is that seniors, like yours truly, get to use it for free any time of the day, as many times in a day.

A nice size pool.

This is a children's pool, and further out is a wave pool.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Blame

It is human nature to blame. We blame the environment, the circumstances, the people, and anything else we can think of to protect ourselves. Instead of taking responsibility, we scramble to find some comfortable ground.

Although it feels better to point a finger at someone else, we really should not be blaming. Blame is of no use. Whatever has happened has happened. No amount of blame will help. We should look to where the problem or mistake was and rectify it. And if it was our fault, we should own up to it.

The search for someone to blame is easy. Rightly or not, you can always find someone to blame. But the truth is, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Even so, we shouldn’t be too harsh on ourselves. We are not perfect. We make mistakes and we probably have to pay for the mistakes. So, instead of blaming ourselves, we should learn from our mistakes.

All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty about something by blaming him, but you won’t succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy. - Wayne Dyer

You can’t blame your opponents for applying a strategy that beats your brains out with regularity. - Bill Clinton

The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions. - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Blame is just a lazy person's way of making sense of chaos. - Douglas Coupland

Some blame themselves to extort the praise of contradiction from others. - Tyron Edwards

It is the act of an ill-instructed man to blame others for his own bad condition; it is the act of one who has begun to be instructed, to lay the blame on himself; and of one whose instruction is completed, neither to blame another, nor himself. - Epictetus

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Advice

The trouble with advice is that it's usually something we don’t want to hear. Most of us ask for advice when we already know the answer but we want a different one.

We sometimes give ourselves admirable advice, but we are incapable of taking it. So, we ask around for advice hoping that someone will come up with a more agreeable advice. Generally, we are not going to get better advice. No one is more aware than we are of the problem we are dealing with. People don’t know the whole extend of our problem. Even if they do, they are not us. We do things differently. Their well meant advice might be good for them, but not for us.

It’s good to listen to other people’s advice, but at the end of the day, we are the only ones who can tell what’s right for us.

It is a weak thing to tell half your story, and then ask your friend's advice – a still weaker thing to take it. - Arthur Helps

Advice is like mushrooms. The wrong kind can prove fatal. - E. C. McKenzie

He who can take advice is sometimes superior to him who can give it. - Karl von Knebel

Advice is like bogus money, everybody wants to pass it on ye; nobody wants to take it. - Charles Clark Munn

Good advice usually works best when preceded by a bad scare. - Al Batt

If you listen too much to advice, you may wind up making other people’s mistakes. - Croft M. Pentz

Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it. - Benjamin Franklin

Advice is like cooking – you should try it before you feed it to others. - Croft M. Pentz

When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice. - Joseph Louis LaGrange

We do not attend to the advice of the sage and experienced because we think they are old, forgetting that they once were young and placed in the same situations as ourselves. - William Hazlitt

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