Hi-Fi for $2 shipped @Shopee

I couldn’t turn down the offer: 7.90RM for a pair of Chinese Vido buds, shipped from Kedah down to PJ where I live with my folks. The delivery took 2.5 days -super fast. Having once owned the legendary Monk+ buds, I have to give the Vidos the first place for their outstanding clarity. Listening to my vinyl rips on these are like a dream.

Sunday, me and my cousin are going out for lunch at Chloe.co or Uncle Don if there isn’t room. I will hand him a printed copy of my book and maybe my STT pieces. The game hasn’t reached virality yet, neither my short stories. Far less, papaya bread, but hope springs eternal. More later…

Mom and I baked the papaya buns from a dip recipe I got off food.com and used as filling. We made all the mistakes. Next time, I will strain the papaya of its juice and add that to the flour. Also roll the dough flat and sausage the papaya mash. Changes need to happen with the dough reicpe which was poor. Proofing was unsatisfactory as well.

I can’t imagine I sell papaya buns for a living and write short fiction and promote a board game by night. I can’t wait to make a Vido vs Sony vs Moondrop review video.

End of another year…

Got up early this morning, 5am and went on a brief run. I’m easily motivated to overcome by my pro running shoes. I also worked out a bit which is milder for me than running. Drank an iced chocolate Milo drink and had roti canai with bean dip for breakfast. Brushing is also motivated by my Colgate Supersoft toothbrush. Was thinking SoaH could become a novella. I need to collect nuances and organize my heart’s divulgences before writing 20k words.

Fear is gripping the Liew witchy army and their western stooges. I can’t write or bake yet. And am taking some hits to boot. I can’t believe I’m making it to another year after all the hate I have been receiving in mindspace. More later…

Had to beat off western kids hammering on me as I couldn’t sleep last night despite going on sedatives. God only knows where this army has been transferred to this morning. 4 days till New Year. Supposedly the Liew 6 will not make it to 2024. But my reserves are low, crew is tired, so I’m just resting.

Sorting through my watches. My MudMan solar is 49mm across, GA2200 is 45mm across, and MQ-27 is 26mm wide. For my final grail, 37-39mm across, possibly gold tone, hand-winding with display back and power reserve. Think I will give cousin CJ my solar Protrek on rugged strap. I rarely wear it. Keeping the w800h for hospital and other free service places. If I make it big, I’ll sell off the rest, except for 3 given / handed down by the folks. That’s 8 watches to let go cheap.

Looking into the future…

It’s only a week till 2024. Will I get rich, married, sick -therefore die, tortured and take my life like Coco Lee? There’s an old trick to see the future and it doesn’t require a special stone or Godly texts.

1. What have you done > what had you needed to do = success ratio
2. What have you succeeded in > what is left unknown = reputation ratio
3. What have you influenced > what is still the same = wealth ratio

You can quote me on this. There is no need to stare into a crystal ball with a gypsy and pay her money to see your future. Testing this on myself is actually quite hard. I wrote stories, invented games, and proposed economics. What I needed to do was to make straight the paths for the harvest and punch down mad evil fiends. So far everything I did selfishly was eclipsed by the evil mad, and we are just about to dethrone them but it’s dicey yet. Not a lot is still unknown so I guess I have succeeded in getting a rep. The 3rd point is ongoing. We need to get word out somehow, make changes if we’re tricky enough.

And after all this wrangling, you will get wealth of MONEY YOU *NEED* / REP / SUCCESS.

Obviously, money in excess of your dreams would require major success and a low key rep. Money deserved requires a rep commensurate with achievement. Money drains when you’re a lovable lazy person.

Personally, I’ve confused myself. I’d been all over the place with my attempts.

1. I’m almost done with what I need to do
2. There’s little yet left unknown
3. I’ve had not much influence so far so I need to tell more of no. 2 in some way

Decided to bake cheap papaya buns from a papaya dip recipe I will mod. https://www.food.com/recipe/papaya-mayonnaise-dipping-sauce-or-spread-449707 Will dig up a bun recipe from my MIB course notes. Maybe people are struggling to feed themselves something tasty and nutritious. Therefore I might succeed.

Been attracted to wearing my rectangular dress watch lately. It means I begin preaching soon.

Christmas...

I have a ton of things to do and only one or two a week are getting done. Heading out to Kuala Lumpur on Xmas day for a long walk. Not sure what I'll find. More later...

Went to Decathlon instead of KL. Spent almost 50RM / $12 on tee shirts for me and Mom. The uphill walk home was a bit tiring but my fitness level is higher and I recovered easily tho I’m pushing 48. Didn’t see any Christmas revelers, people going to parties. LRT had plenty of empty seats. Covid numbers could spike anytime now.

Meanwhile renovation work continues on our small retirement house near all the conveniences. Could push into January easily. My cousin may be landing at KLIA tonight. I have to get him a gift. Maybe I’ll print Mss2 for him at the photocopy shop. Not to forget a good pub lunch with a little lager.

Settled on lunch with my cousin, we’re going to Chloe.co in SS2. I will have to bring 500RM looks like it from their extensive delicious menu.

As a Christian watch lover…

Was revising my plans to step into a luxury watch boutique and buy a $10k timepiece, seeing as how I’m a Christian. What’s the point of spending 20x the money on a watch than necessary? I do feel slightly disappointed never to have that experience, and the pampering, but gospel comes first.

2.3kRM -what could I get for that money? Was thinking of a nice display back hand-wind. Maybe a pocket watch. More later…

No ceremony at a boutique, except maybe an unboxing video on my channel, but something like the above will do just fine as my heirloom grail and is under 2kRM.

To date, I’ve spent 14kRM on watches, since 1999. That’s an average of 580RM a year, or $125. Quite manageable. It was a bit of fun collecting watches, but in 2024, it’ll shortly come to an end with my final grail piece. Something that speaks moderation. Something to gaze at / trade for in dark times.

Writing again…

I’m writing a new short story to submit to FFM this weekend. Good stories start out bold, and maybe a bit disjointed. Then they look silly and are smashed onto the floor in distress, where lovingly picking up the pieces, they cut you in the heart in strange ways. And you look at the original premise / ideation with newfound inspiration. You can quote me.

So this one is codenamed Soah. And it will be heads and shoulders better than my previous submissions. More later…

Didn’t do any writing for 3 days. I will try to make a start this evening. Been shopping online and waiting nervously for my parcels instead. Not to mention the mind work I’ve been doing.

My $300+ three watch rotation…

Although I have / had a collection of over 20 mostly budget / affordable watches, I never really found my grail(s) until recently. It started with browsing Cartier’s website and lusting after a Tank Must solar. After some time, I was algorithmically fed the MQ-27 while watching YouTube. For just $13, I could have a Casio tank. I chose the all black, with Reverso Classic Arabics -the stealth bangle look. But the shouldered rubber strap grated on me. So for $7 more, I ordered a black faux lizard, suede backed from Shopee. The transformation was amazing. I shall be very proud to wear it on dressy occasions and smile inwardly at the bargain price.

Earlier, I scored my grail beater -the Casio MudMan solar golden eye. It was going for $120 on Shopee (as well), the last one on the Gsupply store. The combination of moon phase, tough solar, and compass was too good to pass on. It’s a very beefy watch at 49mm across compared to the 26mm MQ. Just love pressing those rubber encased mud-resistant buttons. There is also large stamping on the inner side of the strap: “shock resist” which is readable despite the buckle holes.

For my sports watch, I planned to get an anadigi Casio in black too but the frugality Mom instilled in me, handed down through Grandpa who grew up poor, made me think twice. I searched my collection and came away with the Citizen JP1060 diver. It is anadigi with orange hands and buttons / crown at 10, 2, 8, 4 o’clock. A very organic looking, sculpted, bead blasted tool watch I had lost interest in and seldom wore as if it were poison ivy. I lit some candles to rebless it (jk) and added it to my main rotation, $175.

This leaves just one final grail, an heirloom piece, probably hand-winding with display back and 37mm case size. Something to admire and hand down to the next generation. I don’t yet have a family at 47. Planning to spend hundreds of $ on it, get it pre-loved and serviced, sometime next year. More later with photos…

Coffee at 10pm…

Someone from America just downloaded all my stories for reading later. What a compliment! Hope they like and share it. This after I downed an 8 strength iced latte, ate cake and some watermelon. All charged up to run at 6am tomorrow.

* * * 

Got up early and had another cup of strong black coffee. It was 6am and I had just finished my exercise routine. There are doubts my watch strap will deliver today. Have to check again at 8-9am. Haven’t eaten much breakfast. Dad’s gone to market and he may buy us something.

Taking life slow. Maybe my push on BoardGameGeek may generate some buzz. Possibly it won’t. Maybe my stories will be read, maybe not. Just chilling as the nefarious Liew witchy forces do their damage. Have to relax and keep up my health.

Night falls over Malaysia and it’s time for meds, a good brush, and an early night. Tomorrow, we’ll see if the faux lizard strap is any good. Liew witchy spillage on the western Christians will take up most of my time.

* * * 

My watch strap should arrive early afternoon. A wait of 8 days. If it doesn’t match my MQ-27, I will be devastated. Been wearing the JP1060 a lot lately even tho I don’t dive. It was on discount @Shopee so I bought my first Promaster Aqualand and have been pleased with it ever since.

After my run and workout, had watermelon, spiced cake and iced water. I drink less coffee nowadays. Circa 3 cups a day. Today, have to clean my room, that will be in 7 hours. Eating that frog.

The cleaning got done. Parcel is on delivery. Lunch is on the table. A/C is on low. A small oasis of happiness / joy / what you may call it. Feel like doing a watch review later on, comparing beater to dress, to sports.

My STT set fits in a Godiva Pearls box…

Sis bought us Godiva pearls chocolate. The box it came in, actually a tin with a flip lid was gorgeous and I thought of using it to store my STT set. It actually fits, putting the big pieces in first, then the smaller ones on top. Now I have the slimmest, best carry case in the world. Thanks, Sis. And the choc was great too.

The question of whether to give a set to my cousin remains. Not that 37RM is too expensive but the chiseling and scrubbing involved really tired me out, especially with my bum right hand. Maybe he could manufacture his own more efficiently.

Am still working on a player’s guide and rules / scoring sheet. Maybe this evening. May just hand draw it.

Wrote the guide and rules of play sheet. Was simpler than expected. Will use colored ink to make the final draft more legible. Maybe in an hour or so. There is a certain zen about STT that I like. Will make the video shorts later.

Hospital and my parcel arriving…

Tomorrow, routine meet with my shrink at the hospital to get my meds. Should be back in time for my watch strap arriving from China. Not a big deal, just a $7.50 faux small scales lizard, but I had waited so long for it to complete the look of my MQ-27. After this, I don’t foresee any more watch buying unless I strike it very rich. Even so, nothing far off $2k.

My psych appointment is mid morning but we’ll leave early to get a parking spot. Have breakfast at the hospital’s nice little cafe. Hopefully everything will go smoothly as usual. More later…

Everything went okay at the hospital. No worries come CNY 2024. Parcel is late or the updates are slow, or both! After all it’s Xmas. Wearing the MQ-24 tank which looks good on my 6 3/4” wrist. Good to be home and safe, and rest a bit.

Have to keep exercising and limiting sweet / oily foods. Also to stop buying watches / straps. Need a good hour or so long walk every week. And to exercise my brain by having more adventures of various sorts. From now on, I will not be amassing wealth almost at all.

* * * 

My parcel is on the move to the delivery center. I should receive it tomorrow. More after fitting the new strap to my MQ-27…

A year end rest…

Been taking life a lot slower this last few months. Doing nothing difficult, time consuming, or brain wracking. Teaching young ones in mindspace about the dangers of the Liew witchy 6 has become my daily work. Now Li Lian’s power has decreased a lot -partly because of the power the crispy, roasted potato holds over kids and infants she picks on.

God has been working in my life to stabilize and lower my ‘selfish ambitions’. Realizing that some people are necessary to His plan tho they may be wicked, and some who are good, to be their prey. Likewise in business, particularly in my writing, music, and boardgame development, some things just won’t become popular no matter their worth because another is favored.

So I’m taking care of my health, exercising daily and walking long distances every week. Decreasing sugary foods, taking less fat. I’ve made a good recovery from Covid I caught almost 4 weeks ago. The drain on my body’s reserves was massive. I fought it off with vitamin C and Panadol, plus some phlegm dissolving meds that I didn’t really need. The weakness it left me with carried on for a long time. More later…

Being rather active nowadays, I tend to eat more. Just had an early lunch of Nutella sandwiches. Later, a side of egg and cheese, no bread to make up for it. Drank lots of coffee as well. I find (black) coffee regulates my body. Maybe because it’s bitter and relatively bland versus the tasty, creamy, and sweet foods we all crave. Time to clean my STT set.

Past 11am, no call from Dad for pickup. STT set cleaned up well but the big black pieces are still sticky. Also lost one of the small ones during rinsing, and had to make another. Thankfully there was spare material. I guess this is as far as I go with this project for some days.

Put on the a/c and changed into a better tee but it seems Dad has one more clinic before he’s ready to come home. His suspicious bleeding must be just his hemorrhoids. Mom is driving to the hospital and I will tag along.

Thinking ahead to 2024. How to ‘thrive’ as Joey Yap says. Difficult to do if nobody respects you, you are poor and not of sound mind. What sort of adventure could mine be?

* * *

Trying to push Mss2, my short story collection to sell / be distributed this Xmas along with STT, my boardgame. It may happen any month now. I think I will read from my stories on YouTube shorts with a prominent link to FreeLunch.my

STT rolls on -I made a quality prototype set…

Making the game pieces took around 40 minutes. I found it almost impossible to slice the expensive rubber bumpers. Thankfully, some saint watching over me made me acquire a chisel and mallet set years ago. Heavy blows on the chisel helped split and bevel the pieces, finished off with some scissors clipping.

Quite proud of my solution, less so my workmanship. Now STT can go on the road. Need some goo gone solution or similar tho.

See the rules in a previous post: https://dogblots.blogspot.com/2023/11/sekk-and-never-giving-up.html

As you can see I had to chop or chisel out the rubber into 3 different sizes. Now to make a scoring and rules card so I can share games with the public.

Fast deliveries…

My Chinese faux small-scales lizard watch strap could arrive on Wednesday. Can’t wait to pair it with my MQ-27. I hope they play nice. For 35RM, it’s a decent buy but may not be the best match for a matte resin case.

I have pretty much given up buying luxurious things. Making money is not a prospect for me and the gods of fashionability bless me not. Stashing away 1kRM, it will not go towards an MT-G anymore. Nor towards any Apple products. But to start CNY with full pockets, ready to go on the road, should be my aim.

The general mood here in Malaysia is one of cynicism. Poverty is rampant. The government isn’t strong. Meanwhile, wars and rumors, financial scandals, food shortages, rage around the world. These are the end times but it may be March 2024 before any obvious sign occurs that we are near Tribulation.

Wearing my 70s Tenor-Dorly on rubber. It’s been doing +6s/day of late. Not too bad for an automatic. +3 would be ideal but the movement is 50 years old. More later after my walk thru Kuala Lumpur…

* * *

Went to MidValley instead of KL. Bought white and black ‘bumpers’ from Ace, to make STT pieces. Total cost, $8 which was 4x more than I bargained for. But I’m tired of not having my own ‘professional’ STT set, being the inventor of the game. Had KFC for lunch. Must have put in an hour and a half of walking. Quite tired.

My T-D gained less than 1s since 8am, which was 5 hours ago. Pretty darn good. No news of my parcel since 4am. Check it again tonight. Want to watch some YouTube.

* * *

I haven’t had a visitor from Malaysia download anything from my website, FreeLunch.my since… forever. MY is the country code for Malaysia and where my server is located, with YeahHost in Penang. I’m so glad to share my writings locally, where I also reside. And I hope people will buy mss2 as well and share it. No updates on my parcel since 4am this morning.

Plans for 2024 and fengshui…

Been looking ahead to next year, my Dragon sign’s year. According to local fengshui master Joey Yap, not a walk in the park year. There will be accidents and traps. According to him, I have just to be more mindful. Hard to do, with a stroke, meds, and a load of fearful family and friends. But as you can see from the chart above, I will be mostly healthy. Perhaps I will stay clear of busy streets and stressful endeavors.

This morning, I ran and worked out, boosting my health and fitness. I also ate less sugary foods and had a good sleep last night. All this will apparently pay off in 2024.

Watched Jonathan Cahn talk about 2024 as well. It is a year of spiritual adventures for the faithful. And a year when something big may happen.

Asking the Lord, I get that great wealth may not come my way nor stay with me for long. He says to be satisfied with lesser things, and to teach the children / babies brought into the mind and abused. Will share STT with my cousin using pen and paper when we meet after Xmas. Maybe he can make something happen with it. Meanwhile, I should work for the final time, on writing a novella.

It struck me I have to lead in business, economics, Math, and tech next year to appease the ‘Grand Duke’ otherwise suffer mishaps. Not sure what to do but write for the short term.

Three watch collection…

My rotation now consists of 3 watches out of the 20 watches I own / have owned. Not sure why I needed to go through so many just to decide on something so simple. So the first is my beater which I love: Mudman solar twin sensor for 565RM. Next, my dressy MQ-27 + strap for just 90RM. Both from Casio. Finally, the sporty / interesting watch: my Tenor-Dorly, vintage Swiss made for 250RM (it was overhauled for 350RM, since it hadn’t a service since the early 70s). On the whole, coming in around 1kRM / $200.

The MQ will soon be on slim faux lizard while the TD is on black Chinese FKM rubber tropic / waffle for that sci-fi look. It’s the only mechanical and comes in under +8s per day.

The Mudman has a moonphase display which is something God told me to acquire while my grandma wanted to hand me down Grandpa’s watch, also a tank. The movement was ruined and not long ago, I replaced it with my own budget tank-style piece. Frugal Grandpa would have approved. 

The TD is a whole other story. It started with me seeing a man wearing a square analog watch on strap. I immediately made a mental note to track one down and do it justice. So it came down to a pretty beat up piece on sale via Carousell, from the east coast (over the mountains from where I live in the Klang Valley). One day, it failed to wind and the crown fell off. I was informed by the watchmaker it would need a movement overhaul. They didn’t do a very good job as the day-date setting is fiddly. Perhaps lack of experience with Swiss watches? But whenever I strap on my beat-up chunky square, I feel good vibes. More later…

It’s a bit difficult to assign roles to some watches as they overlap. I think the TD would do well for birthday dinners out, and get togethers where the plus sized Mudman would look out of place. The MQ tho, is more or less strictly for formal events when I wear my Cookmans and dress shirts. I have only one pair of chef’s pants and 4 ethnic-formal shirts.

Settled on this Citizen diver as my sports watch. About $180, with anadigi dial, orange hands, and a rudimentary dive computer. Now a happy man! The vintage TD wasn’t ‘interesting’ enough, was rather beat up and felt out of place with the other modern watches.

My dress watch to be...

I ordered the Casio MQ-27 brand new, two days ago. Just this morning, I ordered the faux lizard from China. Because I went with the AD @Shopee, I paid a $4 premium on the watch. With a free shipping voucher, I bought its replacement strap for $7.50. This is cheaper than the used Seiko tank on eBay albeit that comes with a steel case.

The watch and strap are almost totally blacked out, which I thought was nice and more elegant than a white dial or silver case. 90RM, a nice price for a brand new dress watch. I would have received the MQ today but there was a packaging problem yesterday evening. It should arrive tomorrow, and the strap, in 5 days.

Although this is a cheap resin watch, I’ve noticed that Casio’s lower end analogs have good quality and are molded well such as the MW-59 I got for my niece earlier this year. It was well made, with 50m WR. This MQ lacks a date window and has only 30m WR, but looks sharp in some of the better YouTube videos.

I don’t have almost any suit and tie functions to go to but it’s nice to have a dress watch handy. I also think it should commensurate with my worth, financially, hence it is affordable but not replica, no-brand trash. Will post more when it arrives…

Seems there is a contender from Sanda, a Chinese brand. Cost around the same with an ss case and even a jeweled crown. Should have checked it out but I still prefer Casio.

* * *

Just an hour or so till the watch arrives. Liew witchy forces are pushing on the courier people. What a way to be waiting. If not mistaken, this watch will come in a plain card box whereas the MW-59 had a plastic stand and case.

Finally the MQ is in. I got a free plastic box-stand and an online Marco warranty via QR scan. Now to wait for the black faux lizard from China. But on with the review of what we have now…

Here’s the watch on my 6 3/4” wrist. It has an 18mm lug width and can take aftermarket straps of that size except that it might look odd stepped down twice from the case width versus just once with the supplied shouldered rubber. I find the case diameter of 26mm very wearable, and the lug to lug of 37mm, almost perfect, allowing a generous show of strap. Despite the price, the MQ is truly a dress watch.

In person, to the naked eye, the case and dial, hands and crystal, appear crisp and generally precision manufactured. Though, the design choice of stepped down bezel and lugs may not be faithful to the original Cartier tanks, similarly the miniature crown versus the tank’s oversized bejeweled one, I think the all-black construction lends a certain elegance to this time-tested form factor. Also, the choice of Arabics is a tip of hat to the famous JLC Reverso Classic. Baton markers would have cheapened the look of an already conspicuously cheap watch.

This is a watch that succeeds because it's well-made / intelligently designed, and not because it's flashy or pretentious. More later...

Earning again…

It’s time to put my remaining braincells to better use. To earn some money honestly and diligently. Earlier I said I was going to complete my study of the DiZi. Then I drew up a plan around it. Today, I thought I might soon be able to teach and make some money on the side. My instincts for the instrument are good. Better than guitar or piano. Well, we’ll see if it goes anywhere!

Helped make lunch. Dad has a curry laksa ramen and Mom and I ate tuna cucumber sandwiches. Feeling unsettled somehow. I guess I will try composing a few dextrous flute melodies to begin with as my mind works that way.

* * *

Today, Sunday, I will begin composing over “Polynesian Love Crime”, turning it into a micro flute concerto. Then to record it for YouTube / Gumroad. Meanwhile there are major shakeups in the mind.

* * *

Monday, still no work done. Just coping with life in these trying times is hard for my disabled brain and heavily burdened body. God had advised me to lay low and take it easy since June / July. Mainly, I will be needed in mindspace to ease the birthpains.

Tuesday, made some progress on the score, and hopefully will fill in the flute part by tonight. Everything is going slow. The issues are not music per se, but signs of the end times desperately needed by the sinful.

State of the bow…

My thumb-sized "Avalon" dampener arrived from Ipoh this afternoon. It's that black stubby bit poking left under the grip. The thread was too narrow, but a bit of aluminum foil soon fixed that and got it in snug. Cost me $6 / 28RM. Previously, I was using a "Linkboy" which is much bigger and heavier, with a tongue in the center cavity. Worked well but was heavy and eventually its rubber began to crack.

Some late additions include the improvised guitar strap carry sling, and an arrow transporter that clips onto the cable guide rod. It's not practical to draw out arrows just yet until I improve this micro "quiver". You may notice the lack of the usual Mission Matthews plastic cable slide. I replaced it with an AliExpress metal roller slide like they have on higher end models. Removing the old slide was dicey. I used a chisel to strip off the plastic in strips, so I could free the cables.

Other than that, there is a fallaway rest I made from a stapler spring tensed with nylon cord and attached to the cable with a knot and UHU. Also an unobtrusive sight made from clear plastic card. No peep or pins. I can't stand squinting. The sight needs calibrating as it is vertically variable and needs to be tuned to a standard size object at various distances, depending on arrow weight etc.

I'm also very fond of my "Tomb Raider" style finger rings and grip-hand tensor strap. Unlike many compound bow archers, I can't stand mechanical releases or gloves. The tensor strap also really works to prevent muscle shake when pressed into the grip on draw / hold.

In case anyone's curious, the frame is a Mission Matthews Hype DT set to around 68 pounds of force. Drawing it is still tough for me despite the 3/4 times help from the cams and the near-effortless hold they afford.

Bows are symbols of power and stability. Just like the cruise missiles of today, they were once able to moderate a war and bring about peace by striking from a distance, en-mass. They were also invaluable as hunting weapons and made the difference between food for the fire, and an empty stomach.

Priorities…

Feeling like everything may start going haywire in my life, and generally, here in Malaysia if not everywhere else. I used to be able to handle more complexity but my disabilities are hampering my coping ability to the increasing levels of hardship. Plus the folks are growing crotchety, and infirm.

I think I need a plan. Tonight, I couldn’t figure out how the chicken got half cooked after so long in the pan. Maybe it was the new gas cylinder, the lack of oil, I can’t pinpoint it and it is cause for concern. I can no longer cook -or drive!

And I wonder at what I’m buying lately. Am I being a money fool? Am I being over stingy and missing out?

Still keeping up my exercise routine and being a morning person against the incessant pressure to lay down, do nothing, and just die a slow death. I wonder whose emotions those are? The witchy Liews’ probably.

These are the birthpains and times of sorrow. As I mentioned, I need a plan. More later…

* * *

I need to spend half the day out of the house, and half indoors. The change of environment will make a difference. Planning to go to the park with the tall trees, by the LDP. Next to establish a routine for the afternoon and night. Right now, I only have a morning routine.

1. 12pm begins with mamak roti canai lunch time with coffee
2. During lunch, to write down ideas for my ventures
3. After lunch is flute practice time (1 hr)
4. Then to do some physical work, such as tidying my room
5. Before dinner is blog update time
6. After dinner, songwriting with guitar
7. Then long shower time (20 mins)
8. Take meds
9. Story writing / editing time, YouTube watching / online buying
10. 10pm, lights out

image from Malaysia Watches @Shopee

Thinking twice about buying an MT-G. This Kinetic perpetual calendar looks pretty sweet for half the money (2kRM). I can probably save the 2k by late February. That’s also when I’ll know if I’ve won any prize money in the UpLink challenge. Either way, something to look forward to over the next 3 months.

Tomorrow, I’ll be at the flea market, browsing used watches. I found a bunch of elegant SQ tanks on eBay for 120RM / $25 but they ship from India. No harm trying to buy local first. Those SQs are somewhat soulless tho. It’s an odd feeling, having to wait 3 months for potential earnings. Also not the best of times to buy a used watch.

image from HMTwatches.in

I’m also tickled by this new watch from HMT which is 530RM. Have to stay home today because Dad may have caught Covid again. May put some money into my PBB account to get something nice for Christmas if it goes deeply discounted.

Wearing my Tissot PRS on suede / T-signed deployant. Mom gifted it to me some years ago but there was a ‘barrier’ around it. Feeling better. Love the 40mm brushed case and sapphire / ceramic top. I don’t need another watch just yet. No more wild goose chasing. If money does come in later, I will put it to other uses.

This must be the cheapest tank. Made by Casio, the MQ-27. At $15, it’s worth checking out. I should be buying this tomorrow from Casio.os on Shopee. Seems to have an 18mm lug width. After coupon, it’s only $11. 15 pieces left. Might fit the croc strap I have spare.

Musings on the stuff I like…

My bow dampener, 30RM / $7, just shipped from Ipoh and could arrive tomorrow. It’s a small grenade style absorber and fits with my minimalist, back to basics setup. Tinkering with my Mission Hype always makes me happy even though I don’t shoot regularly anymore.

I’m glad that my quest for that grail watch has ended with the MudMan solar. I have over 14 watches that don’t fit my lifestyle to varying degrees. Mistakes that could have been avoided by analysis. I’m also perfectly happy with my pre-owned ThinkPad, 1kRM / $240. Something I took a risk on which paid off.

I like my pedestrian out and about gear and my Tern folding bicycle. I don’t think $2k wheels are too much seeing as how I will never own a car.

I like my guitar, my flute, my harmonica. All affordable / standard gear I use daily for songwriting. I used to be obsessed with sound but no more. My ‘hi-fi’ is just a pair of low end Sony TWS earbuds.

I do like spaces tho, and currently, I struggle to find somewhere I can work from and relax in. Right now, I’m lying on the bedroom floor again, on pillows, feet propped up on an old piano bench. Definitely non ideal. But the louvred box fan by my bed divan is a plus. More later…

December’s e-statement is in from our bank. Dad and I have ~65RM monthly interest on a sum of ~35kRM. Planning to keep saving while maintaining a home stash of about 1kRM. We may be in for a second tsunami of Covid.

* * *

It’s an odd, semi uncomfortable feeling when people push you to spend your money. Buy what you need! They exhort. And I have been doing just that since 2015. It’s also uncomfortable when it all comes to an end and there’s nothing left to lust after, practically.

Being mentally disabled limits my travel options. And so does the gradual degradation / weathering of infrastructure and law and order where I live. Not to mention the possible Covid resurgence on the horizon and further blows to the mindspace around me by westerners fighting the Liew witchy 6.

It’s possible I may win $100k by the lunar new year but it’s not a sum big enough for anything spectacular like what you see on TLC travel / car / house remodeling. It’s also a danger to be seen sporting wealth of any kind in these lean times, not being anyone important. Najib and Dr Wee both wear Casio and so does the Pope.

But it’s a nice feeling as you’re ambling through a mall and you see an interesting shop and you know you can afford pretty much whatever they’re selling, and just casually walk in. At 47, I’m increasingly conscious of my wealth-age gap and the invisible barriers to socializing with those who've made it or are chasing success.

Beginning my study of the DiZi…

Long ago, I wrote my first bamboo flute song called “In the Rice Fields”. I didn’t have a dizi handy so I just used the Myriad Melody Assistant software I was running on my iMac DV. Today, I own a flute worth almost $100, which is a bit pricier than my guitar. It’s a master-made model with what seems to be laser engraving. It’s in C key -my favorite. I had also written a song for western flute and piano over 20 years ago, “Polynesian Love Crime” which sounds okay with dizi. All in, I only composed 2 flute melodies in 30 years as a songwriter.

Having some downtime lately, I decided I would try to master the bamboo flute, become a virtuoso. After all, it has only 6 finger holes, 3 for each hand. I surfed over to https://soundofdragon.com/dizi/ where I learnt a lot about the instrument, the proper way to play it in various styles of song. More later…

Broke out of lazy street and am practicing the dizi at last. There don’t seem to be that many finger variations as I had expected. Easier the better.

What to wear / forgiveness…

It’s just a few hours till my weekly long walk. This time to TRX Exchange Mall. I’ve decided to wear Lululemon briefs, Uniqlo wide cut jeans with casual karate belt, and an Eagle King shirt. Will be lugging my usual Caribee Condor 2 backpack and the MudMan solar. May wear socks under my usual Teva sandals. Good footwear, a must for middle-aged pedestrians (like myself).

Dad will be heading over to the hospital soon to see if he can go off blood thinners. They will be inserting something into his heart to prevent clots. Seems like a strange thing to elect for. Sometimes I don’t think he’s thinking straight, but WTH.

Haven’t been eating that well still. But a bit less food / fasting is also good. Miss my curry laksa ramen. Meanwhile, the witchy Liew 6 scheme to destroy the Faith, not being on God’s invite list. Salvation is a free gift but shame and pride are like a 14-foot stone wall. Why shut out the savior, Liews?

More later…

Back from TRX. It is less than 100% impressive but quite nice. Walked my feet off and still didn’t check out everything. The rooftop ziggurat is kinda cool. It must be an Apple Store in the making. Quite a few tenants haven’t moved in. At least this will do for my weekly walk.

Dad left for his heart procedure with Sis driving. The air is thick with blades of vengeance between people who don’t forgive. Forgiveness begins with kindness to one’s self. It begins with a sense of self, right or wrong it may be. It begins with making the right and wrong fight it out in emotion space. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you found the chip off the China but that you can use the bowl anyway.

Clinic day…

Feeling peaceful this morning as I prepare to get my Arip jab at the local psych clinic. Exercised, ran, could use the loo. Ate some plain cake and iced water for breakfast. There is a point to doing things once a while that scare you (sunscreen song). So I look forward to clinic days on some level. I feel more alive and grateful for another day, healthy as possible. More later…

The very cool weather carries on past 8am. Took a long warm shower. Made sure to soap up thoroughly and brush vigorously. There are fungus and bacteria-givers in the locale.

3 weeks till I get together with my cousin from Oz. I think we will visit the TRX for lunch and shopping. No idea how to get there, tho.

The Arip jab went well. I’m a free man till 21st December when I need to go for my hospital visit to collect my meds. Hope to get fresh funds in by then so I will have 1kRM in reserves. Right now just 500RM is left.

As usual EOY in the tropics, the evening rain has come. I made more progress on modding my bow. Added a quick release carry strap, and a better dampener, stabilizer made from a yogurt cup, pipette bulb, and binder clips. I like the look of the clips, as if they were screws on a balance wheel. I’m sure they do actually work! Call me a bow enthusiast if not a passionate archer.

Empty shell…

No word on my STT acrylic pieces order. Haven’t had the motivation to read Ivy’s book, or finish writing my musical play. Tomorrow, my Arip jab at the clinic. Sometimes I feel like a mere shell of who I was, before the incessant hits and lobbing off parts of my feelings, before my 2007 stroke, and loss of my job.

Trying to earn money is almost pointless with the Americans shipping their witch problem into my mindspace. I guess I’ll learn to take things easy, not being in the pink of health anyway.

Was able to drink more water lately. Previously, I felt queasy. Also ate a bit more food. Lack fibre tho. Think I will just browse watch channels on YouTube until lunch.

* * *

Was out with Dad for his formal Covid test before he goes ‘under the knife’ next week. We’re barely able to cope with day to day responsibilities, one illness after another, plus I’m mentally disabled. Liew witchy forces spreading their lies again. It’s a tough world out there where you don’t get respect if you don’t give respect. We’re poorer now and good things come by hard.

Getting down to work on my musical later this afternoon. I started some lyrics already last night. Resting is important as well. I ate a square meal for the first time in 5 days. Didn’t have much appetite previously.

Will this be my grail watch…?

Yesterday morning, I ordered a Mudman solar 9300, the successor to the popular 9000 series of super tough dirt and grease proof watches. I had owned a 9000 and absolutely loved it but bills had to be paid and it was sold. Although I could have afforded a MudMaster with the carbon caseback, I felt the solar charging was more bang for the buck. Also, I could use the moonphase.

For the longest time, I had been seemingly wearing blinders against the 9300 which is actually more appealing than it seems. Will do a mini review when it arrives in a few hours’ time. More later…

My Mudman solar just arrived 20 minutes ago. Just like the original 9000, it has tough, rubbery protected buttons albeit somewhat more pliable. For those who feel it may be too large, it isn’t any issue for an average 6 3/4” wrist like mine. And the strap is beautifully molded and very comfortable. There is a semi-shrouded caseback which seems to work well comfort-wise too. I have to say the gold trim bling on my specimen is rather understated. Thought it would suck a little, but it doesn’t, in person.

For $120, the Mudman solar is a steal and a keeper, an early Christmas present to myself that will come with me on many adventures. Best of all, I no longer crave an MT-G, 8x the price. Calculating, I would have to save $70 a month for a whole year to get the MT versus just $100 for one month for the 9300. Worlds apart in worrying, and anticipation anxiety. I still will wonder what real luxury feels like but not urgently. Maybe with patience, I will eventually own a hi-end Casio.

The display is rather attractive with its “golden eyes”

Buttons are rounded off gently, the whole watch is sculpted with care