Do watch this. Inch's House of Zen right smack in Kuala Lumpur's bustling Bukit Bintang area. Join him as he takes you on a tour of his house and garden. Loving touches everywhere.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Thank you for supporting our "Retire Healthy and Happy" seminar on 7 July at Institute Kojadi. We had so many people contacting us to register that we had to close registration days before the event. The early bird always catches the worm. So do register early for our next event coming up in August. To ensure a seat, all you have to do is join our SeniorsAloud community.
How to join? Just email us at seniorsaloud@gmail.com. Provide your full name and mobile number. That's all. You will be notified by email of any upcoming events. Please note that while some events are free, others may require a door fee of RM20. Nett proceeds go to charity for the elderly.
Here are some pictures taken at the seminar yesterday (Sat 7 July 2012). For more about the speakers, click here.
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| Associate Prof Dr Nathan Vytialingam, president of Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society, giving his talk on "Ageing and Intimacy" and how couples over 50 can still enjoy physical and sexual intimacy. Definitely reassuring to those who think that sex is only for the younger generation! |
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| Ms Chia Joo Suan, author and food chemist, delivering useful tips on what to eat for good health, and what foods to avoid at our age. Participants took copious notes to make sure they remember what they learned. |
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Prof Emeritus Dato Dr Khairuddin Yusof, 73, sharing with the participants his journey through life. Age is certainly no barrier to enjoying life. An avid mountaineer and triathlete, he recently took up dance classes and added author to his long list of accomplishments. He spoke about how to keep fit, have the right attitude and also how to handle bereavement and the grief of losing a loved one. It's important to move on, as life still has to continue, he told the audience. |
Ms Chia Joo Suan's books are on sale at major bookstores. Dr Khairuddin's book "Ageing: A Beautiful Journey" will be available soon.
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| A small token of appreciation for our speaker, Prof Emeritus Dato Dr Khairuddin Yusof. SeniorsAloud's lifelong learning series of seminars wouldn't have been possible without the speakers and the help of a small but dedicated team of volunteers. This is clearly a fine example of seniors helping seniors to make retirement a time to look forward to. Who would best understand the challenges of retirement?Who would be able to provide that moral support? Who would have a lifetime of experiences to share? The answer - seniors! |
If you are interested to join Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society, you can contact 03-20705600 or email info@healthyageing.org. Membership is open to all regardless of age. Annual subscription is RM25 for members of the public. Healthcare professionals pay RM50. For more information, you can visit http://www.healthyageing.org/.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
That may have been the case at one time. But I have been hearing plenty of good things about our government hospitals from my friends who had their operation done there. They were happy with the standard of nursing care, and above all, the low medical charges. They didn't have to break the bank to pay for their surgery and hospitalization.
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| Ward charges at government hospitals (from Hospital Kuala Lumpur website) |
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| Ward charges per day at the private hospital in PJ where my mom stayed. |
If money is not an issue, of course we want to provide the best care for our elderly parents. But if that means digging a deep hole in our retirement savings, or worse, getting into debt, we might want to consider a much cheaper alternative - the government hospital. The service is just as good, if not better than in the pricey private hospitals.
According to her, "in the Chinese community friends and relatives will say you are heartless if you don't send your parent to the best hospital. But what if you can't afford it?"
Many people use their credit card to pay a deposit first when they get their parent admitted to a private hospital in an emergency. They have no idea about the medical expenses till the bills are presented to them. That's how they get into debt. About 26 per cent of people who seek help from AKPK do so because they have defaulted on loan repayment for high medical expenses, says Ms Koid.
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| Sungai Buloh Hospital |
Our healthcare system is among the best in the world. It is heavily subsidized by the government (taxpayers money), so hospital charges and medicine can be kept low, even free. In case you are not aware, anyone who has contracted an infectious disease such as malaria, can be treated at the Sungai Buloh hospital absolutely FREE.
Let's have more faith in our public hospitals and healthcare system.
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| Note the caption on the bus. |
Saturday, June 30, 2012
The answer is probably True. But they do have valid reasons for their grouses.
Let's put ourselves in the shoes of an 80-year old man. He has limited funds so he complains about soaring prices. He recalls the old days when a cup of kopitiam coffee cost only 40 cents. Now it's RM1.60 at the mamak stall.
There was a time when he could travel and enjoy an active social life. These days he is mostly at home, unable to venture out alone because he no longer drives and there's no one free to take him out. His perennially-busy adult children have little time for him.
Once upon a time he lived to eat. Now he eats to live. His diet is restricted to low-fat, reduced-sugar and cholesterol-free foods. No more favorite hawker food for him, no more culinary indulgences, all because he has a host of health problems.
His old hobbies no longer interest him. He can't read because of poor vision. He has little interest in watching tv as the programs don't appeal to him. He can't enter the exciting world of the internet as he is computer-illiterate, and refuses to learn.
As a young man, he was blessed with good health and vitality. Now the passage of time has reduced him to a frail shadow of his former self, with all the accompanying aches and pain of old age.
It is no wonder old people are bitter and grouchy. They have all the time in the world to gripe about everything under the sun, from high prices to corrupt politicians.
What a horrible way to grow old! We can't stop growing old, but we can certainly choose how we want to grow old. It's all about attitude.
We can choose to grow old complaining about things from A to Z. Or we can choose to focus our attention on the things that make us happy, like our grandchildren, like being able to look back at happy times with fondness, and not compare them with the present.
There is little point in harping on things that can't be changed. We should learn to accept whatever unfortunate circumstances we are dealt with and make the best of the situation. Let's make our lives worth living.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Anyone can have fun, no matter how old (This article was written in 2009. The message it carries still holds true. Let's be proud of our age, whether we are 50 or 80. Never mind if society thinks we are over the hill. It's more important what we think of ourselves. If we think we are 'useless', 'unproductive' and a 'burden' to the family and society, then we are. Time for a mindset change. Live life!)
My daughter, who will be celebrating her 40th birthday this May, passed me a magazine article a few days ago. It touched on the stigma of ageing. Why are women in particular so defensive about disclosing their age? Why do they pour so much money into futile attempts to stay forever young? Judging by the advertisements in men’s magazines, our male counterparts are feeling the same way too about turning back the clock.
My daughter, who will be celebrating her 40th birthday this May, passed me a magazine article a few days ago. It touched on the stigma of ageing. Why are women in particular so defensive about disclosing their age? Why do they pour so much money into futile attempts to stay forever young? Judging by the advertisements in men’s magazines, our male counterparts are feeling the same way too about turning back the clock.
Barbie turns 50 this year. If she were mortal like us....
Growing old is natural and inevitable. So why fight it or try to reverse it? That would be like trying to stem the tide. Age is just a number, and we should be proud to reveal our age. We should look at our wrinkles as life-lines of experience, and our greying hair as threads of wisdom.
Spend some time in the company of those 50 and above. Sooner or later, you will hear the all-too-familiar refrains of “Old already. Cannot study anymore. Cannot travel anymore. Cannot dance anymore. Cannot chew anymore. Cannot wear bright colours anymore....” No wonder young people see us as decrepit old fogies ready to crumble into dust or ashes any minute. That’s how many of us see ourselves too.
And it’s not just our age that we need to come to terms with. It’s also our status, or the lack of it. In social networking circles, why do we feel embarrassed, even ashamed to say we are retired? Since when has ‘retiree’ become a dirty word?
We can't stop growing old, but we don't have to BE old. We need to think outside THAT wooden box or we'll be six feet under sooner than we want to.
Add fun, friends, and fantasy to our lives. Spice it up with a dash of colour and romance. Dance in the rain, sing in the sunshine, enjoy the outdoors, see the world through the eyes of a child eager to discover and learn once more.
"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others;
For beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness;
And for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."
~ Audrey Hepburn ~
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Malaysians and Singaporeans love to eat. No matter what time of day, we can always find a makan (food) place that stays open to feed us. The problem is our favourite food and drinks happen to be bad for our health. They are either too oily (mee goreng), too salty (bak kut teh) or too sweet (teh tarik). We don't care about calories because we have no clue how to figure that out.
But take heed, piling on those extra kilos of fat can lead to obesity. Obesity puts us at high risk of health-related complications, and top of the list is diabetes. In Malaysia. one in five adults has diabetes with 2.6 million cases recorded last year, according to figures from the Health Ministry.
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| Screen-shots from The Star (top) and Straits Times. |
Older adults should take note. At our age we are physically less active. Once we have gained weight, it is a challenge to shed those extra kilos. The recommended daily intake for a sedentary person is between 2000 to 2500 calories. If we are eating way too much, it's time to seriously consider adopting healthy eating habits and a sensible diet that is right for our age.
Instead of issuing health warnings only to the general public, perhaps the Health Ministry should also consider educating our hawkers on healthy food preparation in addition to hygienic food handling. Mamak stall operators, for example, should be told to cut down on the oil for mee goreng and reduce the sugar and condensed milk for teh tarik. Not only will they be saving on costs, they will be saving lives too in the long run - our lives.
Here are some photos taken at the Healthy Cooking classes I have been attending for the past two months under the University of Third Age (U3A) programme for Malaysians aged 50 and above.
Healthy cooking involves using less oil, salt and sugar, substituting milk with yoghurt, white rice with brown rice and opting for healthy methods of cooking where possible like steaming or grilling instead of deep frying. Give it a try if you value your health, and your family's health too.
Monday, June 25, 2012
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| From today's papers. Can't read the small print? Read at Star Online. |
If you are a retiree from the lower or middle income group, the biggest fear you probably have is not having enough funds to see you through your retirement. What compounds the fear is the knowledge that your retirement can last as long as 20 years! Throw in healthcare expenses and you feel like throwing in the towel on life itself.
For retirees who are single or without children, old age is viewed with more than just dread. When they can no longer fend for themselves financially and physically, who is there to offer support? Who can they depend on?
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| Boredom may be at the bottom of the list, but it can lead to depression and that can lead to health complications and higher healthcare costs. A vicious cycle that is difficult to get out of. |
For those with children, don't be so sure your adult children will care for you. They may not have the financial means to do so, or they may not even be around, having migrated to greener pastures overseas. With filial piety on the wane, cases of adult children abandoning their elderly parents in hospitals and old folks home are on the rise.
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| To calculate how much you need for your retirement, click here. |
Longevity is a bonus only when retirees have saved enough and prepared adequately for their sunset years.
Despite all these concerns, there is hope, and there are solutions. To quote the last paragraph of the letter above:
"The magic formula is to stay healthy, maintaining social support, keeping spiritual life and finances in order, and developing a daily routine that can help prevent stress after retirement."
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