I was wondering who in the world would be interested in my favourite things. But then I realised that one of them could actually save your life, so here am I sharing it.

Siti the kitty

She’s a little bite-y, but we have this little ritual where, each time she sees me, she’ll let out a little high-pitched meow which is a mimic of my equally high-pitched greeting to her: “Heeeey!”

Then she’ll proceed to make cookies at her catio fence, slow blinking at me. And I try to touch her toe beans. Sometimes she escapes her catio, and I find her doing belly flops at my front door … three floors up. (We live in a town-house-like apartment.) I don’t know how she knows where I live, but she gives me joy lol.

Nourished by Science and The Glucose Goddess

These two Youtube channels can save your life. No, I’m really not kidding.

I’ve struggled with my weight all my life, and my recent A1C was inching towards pre-diabetic range. I was desperate to do something, but felt that I’ve tried everything to lose weight but just couldn’t. This has been an especially despairing thing for me as, before the pandemic, I was much slimmer and my A1C was stellar. However, the pandemic hit and I just lost all control. Trying to lose weight in your forties, as a woman, is fraught with difficulties.

These two Youtube channels: Nourished by Science and The Glucose Goddess taught me the best, life-changing hacks I’ve ever learned: How to control your blood sugar levels. But hacks is probably not the right word, it’s more like, how to eat and live the way our ancestors did and not get diabetic.

The Glucose Goddess talks about the same thing, but in a more user-friendly, entertaining way. But I prefer Nourished by Science as it’s more evidence-based and thorough.

The most impactful “hacks” I’ve implemented are:

• Exercising after meals
• Vegetable starters before every meal
• Eating earlier in the day rather than later

It makes so much sense, really. Our ancestors didn’t eat a heavy meal in the morning only to laze about and do nothing. Most went to work in the fields, burning what they’ve consumed. They also didn’t eat all the time. Food was not plentiful.

So, watch the video, I implore you – this could save you future pain, and even if you’re pre-diabetic or diabetic, it could still help you.

My walking pad

This little device only cost me RM300 (less than US$80) and it’s the no-excuse machine in my house which I use to get my steps in when I couldn’t do it outside like I want to. I usually get on the walking pad right after a meal and watch TV while walking. I barely feel the time pass by. A walking pad is a treadmill without frills, essentially. It fits neatly beneath your sofa, and some can even fold. I just have mine at the side of the sofa, ready for me to hop on when I need to.

My favourite Chinese Dramas of 2024

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2, one of my favourite Chinese dramas of 2024. I love CDramas so much I am now going to write about them in the newsletter.

It’s been a great CDrama year for me. You can read my blog post about the Chinese dramas that stole my heart in my Chinese drama blog, DramaTea.

Pleco’s document reader, which enables me to to read Chinese ebooks!

Pleco is a well-known Chinese dictionary app. You can actually buy an add-on where you can read ebooks or documents with it. Why do this on Pleco? Well, it enables you to tap on words you don’t recognise, and it gives you the meaning in English. You can even turn it into a flashcard!

I started 2024 completely illiterate in Chinese. I’ve always felt ashamed about that, as I wrote in Hello from a banana. While I’m able to converse in Hokkien and a little bit in Mandarin, I’ve always been sad I couldn’t read Chinese literature in the original language.

Being able to recognise the text in a webnovel or in a Weibo post just makes me a little teary-eyed. Finally, I’m able to connect with my heritage in a meaningful way – because being able to read means I can one day access China’s wealth of knowledge and literature. I may not be there yet but I have a finger in it!

This should be a Substack issue, but I just want to share how profound it is to be able to read Chinese at last, even if it’s at a low level. If you ask me if I’ve ever felt ashamed to be Chinese, I’d say no. I don’t share the typical American-Chinese experience in this. But I was ashamed of not being Chinese enough.

When you are a descendant of a hybrid, creole culture like the Peranakans, which is a mash of Chinese, Malay, Thai and even British influences, you have a hard time knowing who to “support”.

I grew up being taught that I shouldn’t be like that type of Chinese – the ones that attend Chinese schools – because they just think differently.

That said, I never felt that my kin in Chinese schools were inferior, just that our thought processes are extremely different. Now, I’m glad for the fusion of East & West in my thinking.

My dad was a complete banana, in the sense that he couldn’t converse in Mandarin or read Chinese. Though he spoke Hokkien, he preferred to speak to us in English. And Queen’s English, mind you. I grew up being taught how to speak like a British lady lol.

But, the one part of his heritage that he loved was Chinese literature, so he gave us books (in English of course lol) of the great classics like Dream of Red Chambers, Journey to the West and Justice Bao. He also began my obsession with Chinese dramas by feeding me them at a young age.

However, I’ve always felt upset I couldn’t read these books in the original Chinese. Learning to read Chinese felt impossible due to life’s pressures etc.

But I started earnestly this year, and I’ve made enough progress that I could understand what was written on Weibo! (Though at low end.)

This vital connection to my Chinese part is just making me … proud? I’m discovering more and more what makes my culture so amazing. It’s a lovely feeling.

The little sunbirds that nest in my balcony every year

I’ve seen three sunbird couples raise their chicks right at my doorstep the last two years. I hope they come again in 2025.

It’s the simple things in life that makes you happy.