Mummy: "Damien, time to sleep..."
Damien: "Not yet!"
Mummy: "Drink some milk & go to sleep...."
Damien: "No need!"
Mummy: "Aiyoooo, you peed on the bed! Why didn't you tell me?"
Damien: "Forgot."
Daddy: "Come, daddy sleeps with you."
Damien: "No...!"
Mummy: "OK... mummy counts 1 to 10 & you got to get out & dry up ok?"
Damien: "No!No!No!... Please... Please..." (pled with a pitiful and innocent expression)
The rest of the time,
Damien: "No!"
Only at the end age 34, I realised I do not have enough insurance coverage... by accident.
I thot I have bought something (indeed I bought some insurance) but it is an endowment with no critical illinesses coverage. So which means if I die today, my son got a mere sub RM40,000 and nothing else, if I were to be dignosed with critical illnesses, I got no insurance money except to rely on my savings...
That's sound very dangerous isn't it?
So what do I do? I went to find some insurance plans and needless to say, the oprtions are daunting. Ah, I mean I only compared 2 Insurance companies...
The first question agents always asked:"how much coverage do you want?", or "what budget do you have?" or "what do you want in your life"?
....errrr
Honestly, like buying clothes, I don't know. Maybe I need to see the clothes & to weigh the quality, the price and the value then only I can tell. More so as this is an insurance commitment of a life time, I think I need to do some research...
So how much do you think you need - in worst case senario
I asked about treatment of terminal cancer (in private hospital)
RM8000 a dose of chemo - until you die. Let's say if you can prolong your life for additional 6 months, so I guess RM48,000 in total if chemo is a monthly thing (but I don't think so)
RM4000 per treatment with medicine (and 2 treatments a month), RM96,000 a year if you can survive that long
I overheard at hospital few years back from those had kidney problem
RM2000 dialysis per month, RM25,000 a year
And that is only medical fee.
If you die, how much do you think your family need in order to survive?
With schooling kid?
If I don't die but lose my ability to work... and a family to feed
If I don't die but needs medical care for the rest of my life... and a family to feed
Oh no, I think I need a million ringgit then! Indeed.
Insurance agents advise to use your annual income x 3. That enough for your family to survive for 3 years (maybe a little longer if the family has less members because i died 
). But what happens on the 4th year?
Without a clue... so it ended up with 4 sessions of discussions with 2 different agents, and more than 8 different plans... Hmm... I hope they don't hate me for shopping and comparing and evaluating and requoting and asking a lot of questions...
But there is some important learnings about insurance that I feel obliged to share:
1. Investment-linked insurance can fetch very high coverage at low and "fixed" premium but at the age of around 54-55, you may receive letter from insurance co. citing your premium is not enough to pay for the coverage. You choose to top up or terminate your coverage. But bear in mind at 50 onwards, it is the critical age that prone to illnesses. So do be clear on this.
2. Optimise your co. medical insurance coverage if your co. do provide one. Utilise the flexibility of investment-linked insurance to complement & adjust your coverage as and when needed.
3. Traditional life insurance charges a premium but protection increases as you age. Normally you can get back higher than your premium paid surrender value if you surrender after 15 years or so.
4. Found some good blogs explaining traditional insurance vs. Investment-link insurance, good read (simple explanation for dummies)
http://kclau.com/insurance/investment-linked-vs-traditional-insurance/
http://www.meshio.com/index.php/2006/05/investment-linked-insurance-policy-an-overview/ (and read all the related links)
OK.
At the end of today, after the 8 quotations, I still have not decided yet.
But the good thing is I am finally clear on what I want.
I need to protect my son for 23 years until he is independent, if I die or are ill.
I need to protect myself for 35 years with medical fee (if I can live that long) so that it won't be a burden to my family.
I need to make sure I have some money to enjoy life, or to live in old folk home if I don't die after my son is independent. I really do not want him to worry about me but to see me enjoying my retired life.
So it means when we buy insurance, we need not only think about coverage but also savings. Bad things do not always happen.
I told one of the agent that I will buy a traditional plan, he suggested for the same amount of money, why not I invest on the maximum coverage? Insurance is about coverage, if I want savings, I should go for retirement or other savings plan?
I totally disagree. It is true in terms of investment but not true in terms of REAL protection.
If we only have a fixed limited amount to spend every month, the best is to strike a balance between coverage & savings.
What if nothing really happen to me? At the age 60, I have used all my disposable income during my working years on insurance that does not give much return, but I can only get the return when I die (well I don't get it literally). What do I survive on if I don't die (yet)? Depend on my kid(s)? What if my children are not dependable? Or I do not want to burden them?
Thinking of spending all my available budget each month on plan that gives me nothing but probably will spoil my kid when I die... I am honestly hesitating.
I would split my budget between a traditional life insurance - that gives me increased protection and returns if I surrender my policy at the age of 60 or so, and an investment-linked insurance (with PA & medical) - that gives me maximum protection throughout my critial life (when my kid needs me most) with no return expectation.
So in any of the above listed scenarios, I think I would be well-protected - despite maybe partially.
Now I go study the remaining of the insurance plans.
:-)
大米两岁了。粘得不得了、坏蛋得不得了。
现在他一天大概叫我不下１００次，回想以前他还不会喊妈咪的时候轻松的多了。
没上工的日子很惨，大米缠我缠到寸步难行。妈咪。。。玩车车、妈咪。。。去走走、妈咪。。。抱抱、妈咪。。。吃这个喝那个。连睡觉也要把手绕在我的脖子，紧贴我的脸颊。
鬼魂缠身，原来是那么要命。
今天我生病了，请了病假却留在公司，不然回到家会被大米折腾死了。苦难。
This appetizing jelly is made of konnyaku & agar-agar.
First of all, what's the different between agar-agar & konnyaku jelly?
Agar-agar is the soft type, which can come in powder or string-like format. When done, it has a softer and taufu fa-like soft tecture. Normally we call it 菜燕 。Konnyaku is the harder type, apparently it's from Japan. In Chinese, the packet said 蒟蒻。 It has a bouncy and elastic tecture. Because of its hard texture, I recommend to use solely konnyaku for this recipe.
I used Bites brand for both, it's made in Singapore. You can find it at RM1.90 at Tesco.
Ingredients:
Konnyaku powder (clear) - 2 packets 10g each
Cultured milk - different colours (like Vitagen, Nutrigen etc.)
Nata-de-coco
Sugar - as instructed behind the packers
Water - as instructed behind the packets
Recipe:
1. I used 1.5 packets for all different colours, and reserved another 0.5 packet for final set.
2. Cook the 1.5 packets first as instructed behind the packet.
Read the packet instructions carefully. Apparently there are different sequence when you use jelly vs. konnyaku podwer. Importantly, pour the powder GRADUALLY & SPARINGLY so that clumps won't form.
3. When done, pour jelly water into different square / rectagle containers about 0.5 an inch high, add coloured cultured milk into different containers.
4. Set it aside to harden.
5. When done, cut konnyaku into square cube, 0.5x 0.5 inch, like the size of nata-de-coco.
6. Arrange different colours of konnyaku cube with nata-de-coco in a separate square / rectagle containers.
7. Cook the remaining 0.5 packet, without any added colour. Pour into the nicely arranged konnyaku containers until fully covered.
8. You will notive bubbles forming in between cubes. Use a chopstick to slightly stir / move the cubes so that the clear layer covers & sips in between cubes to hold them firmly when harden.
9. Let it set in the fridge.
10. Voila!
Cultured milk instead of colourings was used for 2 good reasons:
＊I thot it is healthier than plain colouring (i know it's not true).
＊ It adds different flavours to my jelly.
Enjoy!
原来看牙牙学语的孩子是很有趣的一件事。
大米最近学会了称呼家里的所有成员 -- 阿罵（嫲嫲）、姐姐、叠迪 (daddy)、裹国（哥哥）、巩公（公公）、cikcik (叔叔）、jimjim (婶婶）、婆婆。叫得特别温柔的是“马迷”，百听不厌。
家里的猫叫“跌kie”（Blackie), 外头的猫叫“妙妙”。狗呢，有时叫“狗狗”，有时叫“wo-wo”--看心情。
回外婆家看到随地放的鸡蛋篮子，捡了一粒鸡蛋跑来对我说“鸡大，鸡大”！鸡蛋差点没被他兴奋得抓在手里夹个破烂。
和8个月大的表妹小蕙子相处，大米摸摸她的头，小蕙子又摸摸他的肚子。然后小蕙子上下其手，还扯大米衣服，大米只是眼巴巴地看，没有哼一句，也没有回手。不懂是不是被摸出感情来了，回到家后就一直说“妹妹、妹妹”。我说妹妹不在，她回家了，大米就扭扭他的手腕说“no more”。
凡是吃的，在桌子上，在电视或是报纸杂志，不管他这一世人有没有吃过，他都知道那是食物，会大叫“mam-mam! mam-mam!" 自己会跑到厨房开柜子拿饼干，或爬上桌子找吃。可以吃的他都喜欢吃，唯一是看了榴莲就掉头跑个没命。原来人的天性是不喜欢榴莲的！
看表哥浩浩吃零食和雪糕最可怜。他静静贴着浩浩看，不敢问也不敢抢，眼里充满了期待，浩浩却眼尾都不看他一下，只自顾自的吃。看了有点心疼。
看阿骂炒菜，他会”呼-哇！”的叫。
掉了东西会嘟着嘴“哦-欧”一声。
今天早上看到我在泡奶，指着他的奶粉罐说“milk-milk，milk-milk”！
晚上给他穿新买的夜光骷髅骨睡衣，关了灯他奇怪的提着他的手看着发光的骷髅手脚，咦咦哦哦了好一阵子都不能入睡！
自从在商场玩过了骑车车，他疯狂似的爱上有方向盘的东西。现在一出门就像打仗一样，要制服大米乖乖坐在他的安全椅上很费心费力，因为他老是要当司机，抓他老爸的方向盘！
过去两年我都给他哼睡前催眠曲，上星期有一天我懒了，就随口说“大米，你唱吧！" 出乎意料的他竟然“咦-啊啊，咦-啊啊。。。”的叫了几句。你真的是在唱歌吗？我又试探了他一次。他又“咦-啊啊，咦-啊啊”了两次。
我唱了两年，你才学会“咦-啊啊”三个调子，未免太失礼老妈子我了。但心里还是很开心的，原来目睹孩子的第一次是那么可爱的事。
我们常常觉得绝对的东西，都不外是因为我们活在社会的规范当中。我们是这样被养大的，这样被教育着的，就认定事情的定律都应该是这样的。
无意中发现中国有一个地方叫摩梭(Mosuo)，真正的女儿国，女系社会，没有父亲，没有丈夫，女人当家的社会。
摩梭是没有婚姻制度的，他们叫走婚 -- 白一点就是男女看上了，男的晚上就到女家上床，天亮就回家。合就继续来往，不合就换人，也没人给你白眼。有了孩子，归女方，男的都不必负责（天呀！很多男人高兴死了），但他们都照顾自家姐妹的孩子。
我看了就觉得很神奇！
如果很多结婚有孩子却怕离婚的女人到了那个社会，问题好像就没有了。
如果我们都能看得那么开的话，很多家庭问题也不存在了。
我看了很想到那里旅行。
我老公看了很想去做摩梭的男人。。。
《裸婚》。只凭书名就有无限想象。
“。。。婚姻背后的真相没人知道，甚至是男女主角自己。 一对看起来幸福美满的夫妻，刚刚跳着脱衣舞庆祝完结婚六年纪念日，喊着白头偕老的口号，携手迈进七年之痒，传说中的痒就如约而至。。。这是一本领悟婚姻的书。 从结婚到离婚到再婚，态度一贯诙谐真诚。 体裁是随笔，但因为通篇故事，所以读起来更像小说。 与小说不同的是，该书真实。其中人物无一完美，而且前后诸多矛盾——但惟有矛盾和变化才构成真实的人生。 书中提到：“婚姻不是目的；它不过是道具，帮我们认识自己，了解人生。” 本书看似写婚姻，实则写生命，写一个人如何从婚姻中获得领悟和成长。”
我喜欢这本书，因为我们的离婚观点都很相近。作者离婚时没有小孩， 但有没有孩子离婚和分手都不是天崩地塌，也非不成夫妻便成仇。
但老人家都不赞同离婚。因为在他们的保守思想里没有婚前同居，更没有做不成夫妻做朋友这道理。
连对和前度男/女朋友保持朋友关系，对有些人来说也是个匪夷所思的事情。
所以说路都是自己封的。这句话有道理！
OL is not good in cooking, definitely, but I'm progressing. Today I learned to cook sambal petai from my mother-in-law.
Look at this photo... I'm sure you are drooling. It's easy to cook Sambal Petai, Mrs. Lim's Nyoya style, as how my mother-in-law cooks it. Read on.
Ingredients:
Dried chilies - 10 (washed & drained. Add more if you prefer a hotter flavour)
Turmeric - 2 pieces (skinned & washed; it's for colouring, can do without as it doesn't change the taste)
Shallots - 10 (medium size; skinned, washed & cut into small pieces for blending)
Belacan - 1 piece (2 inch x 2 inch x 1/2inch)
Petai - 1 full plate (peeled from a bundle of 5)
Prawns - amount up to individual (washed & deveined)
这不是一本教育孩子的书，而是一本教育父母的书。
书中有很多理论是很难实践的，但概念不无道理。看了这本书后觉得我老妈子做了很多错事，有很多错失。
看了这么多教育孩子的书（不是很多，因为很多是看不下去的），就是看了这本让人有“修了一门好课”的感觉。读了之后觉得教育好像是门哲学。我把大米带大后我想我也是个哲学家了。
谢谢阿香送我这本书。
在海外华文书市Popular摊也看到，只卖RM19.90。Google一下，很多网页都可以网上阅读或pdf下载。
http://ishare.iask.sina.com.cn/f/5156130.html
大米一岁8个月大。他爱自己吃饭。
我最喜欢煮“饭”给大米吃，因为他每次都吃得津津有味，也不会嫌不好吃。
本来我都不放盐不放油，大米岁半后就觉得盐也是身体需要的矿物质，放一点没关系。
大米吃的粥都是用电子砂煲煲的，懒妈妈我煲的粥吃午晚两餐。一餐一个肉、两三个菜。以下是我自创的美味营养餐，煮法和粥底
都是一样的，只是根据不同的材料先后次序不同。所以我也不必一一例明，就是选一个肉，看看冰箱有什么菜，就地取材！
粥底
要煮好水米融成一体的滑粥，要先把米浸水过夜。这样米心吸饱了水，煮起来很容易就开米。如果米心是干的，米的表层煮烂了，米心还不烂，粥就成一粒粒。但是米的新久，品质也有关系。如果不浸水有耐心的煮它４－５个钟，米也一样烂成糊的。
浸过夜的米放适量热水，入砂煲大火煲滚，转小火（放热水省时间，粥很快就滚了）。
肉底
鱼、猪、鸡、虾、干贝都可。
