#LauraKristenAtkinson

GUESS WHO WE BUMPED INTO?

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

It was a dry (or drier) Wednesday evening. We just got into Sunway Pyramid, LL2 lower ground floor. First time, we entered Pyramid this way. We missed (more like I was used to just fropping not dropping, Laura off) the usual ramp up to the upper level carpark. And I was hoping not to make one big go-around just to get back to our usual carpark.

As we got to the end of Pyramid which was the Clio Hotel, saw the “P” (for parking…for the uninitiated) with the arrow pointing to the left, and headed that way. got into the underground car park. So, that is how we got in Pyramid this way.

As for the meaning of the word, “fropping”; I don’t know. Have not figured that one yet. Maybe, I was inspired by the word “flogging”. It is not what you think. Hear me out on this. I was In Pyramid earlier on in the afternoon, spending it with my school classmate, Leslie Quak. We meet whenever we are free, and this was one of those days. He wanted to see the latest dji Pocket 3. So, we went to the dji store.

The Pocket 3 is phenomenal. I love the swivel portrait / landscape screen. This is a huge improvement over the Pocket 2. The swivel screen is twice the size of that of the Pocket 2, brighter… The 3 is a complete new set up. Facial tracking is fantastic. Even at more than 10 meters away, it was still responsive tracking.

I asked the salesguy what is the difference between the Pocket 3 and the Insta360 Go 3, since I have the Go 3? He said that the Go 3 is an action camera, versatile for almost anything. The Pocket 3 is for “Flogging“. “Say what?”, I asked chuckling under my breath. He repeated, for flogging. I did not want to pursue it further. I just wanted to let my mind wander with ideas (remember the tattoo on my wrist?😉).

Then, the usual question pops / popped up, you know…the one that most times is really, really tough… It can be annoying at times: “What shall we have for dinner?” Seems easy enough to answer. However, try doing it everyday. It is not on my “ToDo” list. I made the suggestion that we go to Bungkus Kaw Kaw (I will be writing on my experience on this food place in the next few days) as I thought the food was quite nice. And I was there earlier on with Leslie.

We walked over to that sort of kiosk / restaurant, looked at what food was available (mostly pre-packed) and decided to walk to Shaaz on the other end of Pyramid for capati. The food at Bungkus Kaw Kaw didn’t look that appetizing in the evening.

As we began our long journey to the other side of Pyramid (Sunway Pyramid is huge in size), Jeannie spotted Ah Yoke a few feet in front of us. I spotted Suet Yi, her daughter; and called out to her. They were walking into an optician’s shop.

They are old friends of ours. Suet Yi was Laura’s swim teammate at both, Selangor state and PADE Supersharkz club levels. It was so nice to see them again after a long while. We last met Ah Yoke a couple of years ago. Suet Yi was longer than that: before Laura left to further her studies in the U.S. in 2019.

Suet Yi is one of the nicest of the swimmers and one of the friendliest. She and Laura have always been good friends. They were team members for quite a few years.

Here they are as club teammates: Left to Right: Laura, Franziska Lee, MichelleLaura and Suet Yi; at one of the inter-club swimming championships a few years ago.

Suet Yi said that she will be leaving for Hong Kong this weekend, to embark on a new work endeavour. We know that she is going to be an asset to the new organization. Who knows, she can be the next “Michelle Yeoh” to make it big in her life.

We are the four fixed prices. Three easy steps to get us. Contact us to find out how. We may just let you in on thaat secret Another secret? Oh yes.

We wish Suet Yi all the best in her endeavours for her future. We look forward to meeting both, she and her mum, Ah Yoke; again, soon.

Any More Bright Ideas?

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

The Sequel to “Keeping A Promise” http://leatherpotato.com/2023/10/25/keeping-a-promise/

Laura did it. She finally did. I made a pact that I would get one done if and when she got one done. And she finally did, a couple of days ago. So, now it was my turn. I wasn’t too thrilled about it.

I guess what kept me from getting one in my younger days (just so that you know, I am still young. Old is when you pass 120) is, I never saw the want or need to get one, let alone, use my whole body as a canvas for this “art”. Another major factor was that I was a regular platelets and blood donor until I reached the age of 60 years.

In the parlour. The modern description is now known as “studio”.

What once was the future, is now the present.

So, here I am, waiting to begin this new experience.

Yeah, I could have backed out. No pressure. Heck! That’s not me.

I decided on a picture of a lightbulb with the word “IDEA” on it to constantly remind me that all things are possible. From a thought, an idea emerges. It’s inspiration!😁

Soon, the tattooist, soon (pun not intended) came back with three sizes of the picture for me to choose from. I chose the smallest (yes, because there is less area to cover which translate into less pain) as it fitted nicely just above my wrist.

Marked for perfect placing with red dots, the picture was then transferred from the stencil (more like a decal) on to my hand.

I looked at the transferred picture on my hand and thought to myself that this was going to take longer than I expected. Couldn’t I have chosen a simpler picture? Perhaps an even smaller one? Looks like now was not the time to consider having two minds about going ahead with it.

Soon shaved off whatever hairs (if any) that I may have had on my wrist. Then he applied a thin gel (possible an antiseptic).

He was then, ready to proceed with what he called the artwork. He said the whole procedure would take 40 minutes. So, ya, let’s do it.

Then, he started. Who are the “they” who said it was not painful. It was a whole lot painful. Maybe, my wrist is a sensitive area to pain. I think I am sensitive to pain all over. 😅

My version of pain, taking it with a smile.

I started looking at my watch ever so often, to check how much longer of this 40 minute procedure was left. Oh! A minute has passed with 39 minutes to go. Before long, I was checking the time again. I tried to catch up on the latest news postings on the net, using my phone. However, there didn’t seem to be enough news that I was interested in, to fill the time.

I started video-ing the procedure. And, by jove; the time flew by quite quickly.

It was finished. That wasn’t too bad. In fact, not a prob. The work was really nice. I liked it. The yellow shine will show more prominently once the redness of my skin fades away, and the light (pun not intended) 😉scabs come off, with new skin to replace it.

Soon, the tattooist, is a pro; that is for sure. He explained the whole process, from getting the stencil done, to the choosing the right size, to making the transfer permanently. He then, explained what I was to expect immediately (within hours) after this, how to take care of it and keep it clean and dry over the next few days, and the other do’s and don’ts. He gave a sachet of Fougera Vitamin A + D ointment to apply in case of dry skin irritation. I was very impressed with him. He gave top notch service from the very moment I entered the studio, right up to the time I was leaving.

I am not sure why his contact that Laura forwarded me is “Soon – Rabbit Tattoo”. This studio, “Dr.Ink Tattoo Studio” is located in SS15, Subang Jaya. If any of you readers is in the market for a tattoo with first class treatment and from what I saw, a large, very well equipped tattoo studio; this could be the place for your next tattoo or if you are like me; your first tattoo.

What is my next idea? Check it out in my next article.

#bucket list

HOLIDAY AT THE TWIN TOWERS

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Bouwsema & Atkinson families

It was a very relaxed morning. The scene was a bit laid back. Maybe, due to it being a public holiday. Whatever it was, it was good.

The weather was not too hot. However, it was still humid.

Laura had made arrangements to meet a fellow Millikin University student, who had arrived in Malaysia on a holiday a few days ago with his family. He was at the university for a semester and they had kept in touch ever since.

Their arrangement to meet was at the KLCC Shopping Mall, which is part of the Petronas Twin Towers – once the tallest building in the world. We, Jeannie and I offered to drive Laura to the Mall. The mall was expected to be crowded because of the holiday.

We got to the Mall at about 4.00pm. Getting a car park space was surprisingly easy. We got one almost as soon as we got into the building.

Laura was in contact with her friend, found out where they were at the mall, gave our location and finally met.

From Right to Left: Isabel, Lucas, Vera, Manon, Peter, Sacha, Jeannie, Laura, Youri and me (Alan)

Youri and his family are from the Netherlands. They had just come back from the island of Borneo after a short visit. They visited the town of Sandakan in Sabah. Sabah at one time was referred to as “North Borneo”. It is one of the 14 states of Malaysia. The states of Sabah and Sarawak which make up East Malaysia; are on the island of Borneo. The other 12 states make up Peninsula Malaysia (or West Malaysia).

It was tea time. The Bouwsema family were game to try local food. One of the best places that offered local kuih (cakes), pastries and drinks was “Nyonya Colours”. Jeannie is undoubtedly the food expert (besides being the renowned Batik Influencer). She, Laura and Youri picked out a variety of the kuih and currypuffs, probably a little bit of everything that was on display. As for drinks, local coffee and tea in the various offerings were ordered. The exceptions were: Lucas had soda (Coca-Cola) and Laura, plain water.

We got to know each other a little bit better. Peter is an Operations Director for an international manufacturing company and Manon works at Flight Control (Ground). It is exciting work where she directs aircraft or helps them maneuver between and around other aircraft and land vehicles on the ground. Their children are in various levels of education. Youri wants to be a pilot.

Manon and Peter. Peter is looking at the beautiful view through the glass roof at the centre of the KLCC shopping mall.

“Saint” Peter (his halo is behind him) enjoying Malaysian  delights. “This is what I call a currypuff”, at least his facial expression says it.

Expert with the chopsticks.

Lucas, a penny for your thoughts? Manon is about to try a different kuih with Vera.

The Bouwsema family made bookings to visit the Petronas Twin Tower Skybridge on the 41st floor and the Observation Deck on the 86th floor later that evening.

So, what’s next after tea? We did the most natural thing – planned for dinner. Manon and Peter were keen for more local cuisine. They wanted dinner to be at the Mall so they could be in time for their visit to the Skybridge and Observation Deck. Jeannie suggested we dine at “Serai”, a restaurant that offers both local as well as western cuisine.

We headed to the restaurant which is located in the Signature food court area. To get there is easy. At the entrance of the food court, you turn right and Serai restaurant at the end of it, about 150 meters walk. Jeannie helped make a reservation for 10. The head waitress said that they do not usually accept reservations. However, they would make an exception for us.

We then, had about an hour before dinner on our hands. We split up to shop at the places we were most likely to intertest us. I did a quick tour to the IT (everything technology) section. I am quite keen on the idea of getting the Insta 360 X3 action camera. I want to explore fun, action simple cameralogy, sort of a new hobby to alternate with journalism, perhaps. The X3 is a great improvement from the X2 model I had 2 years ago.

I started heading to the restaurant with 15 minutes to spare before time. It was easy to find out reserved table as Peter, Manon and Jeannie were already seated there.

One of the first things that caught the attention of some of us at the table were the large mirrors on the ceiling, above our table. Very interesting. What an easy way to take selfie pictures! Place our smartphones on the table and start tapping the camera shutter button.

My dinner – Mamak Mee Goreng, with strips of fried egg, vegetables and other condiments; served on banana leaf. It was as oily as it looked. It was as delicious as it looked, too. Squeezing the small lime (top, 11 o’clock on the plate) added just that tinge of uniqueness to the taste. Not only did it look delicious; it tasted delicious, too.
From what we’ve been told, Peter is quite the selfie expert. Here, in this selfie or “wefie” picture taken by him, he shows us that he is an expert at selfies. This is a beautiful shot worth keeping.
From Right to left, starting with Peter: Peter, self (Alan), Manon, Laura, Youri, Sacha, Lucas, Isabel, Vera, Jeannie.

Everyone, cameras…er I mean phones with camera mode on, on the table.

Look up everybody. You can see the top of the Petronas Twin Towers from here. (No, you can’t 😏) People around us must have been wondering why we were so excited, looking up the ceiling. 😁😂

It was a good thing that the service at Serai was good and all our meals were served quite quickly. We all enjoyed our meal and had a great time getting to know each other more.

Alas, the time came when we had to go our separate ways. The Bouwsema family had a high speed lift or two to catch for the next leg of their holiday visit to Malaysia. In the next few days, their holiday expedition would include a trip to Georgetown, Penang and Taman Negara (National Park) in Pahang. We wish them the very best for the rest of their holiday vacation. We look forward to meeting them on their next trip to Malaysia. Or, we visit them in The Netherlands.

PHOTOS – GOOD MEMORIES

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Laura just celebrated her 22nd birthday, her first celebration back in Malaysia since 2019. It was a “big thing”.

Future leaders of the community… of the nation… of the world. Laura (centre) with her friends in kindergarten.

Birthdays have always been a “big thing” in our family as an acknowledgement that we have been blessed with a year gone by and blessed with great health and many, many more great years ahead. So, yeah, birthdays are an important feature on our family calendar.

Teatime in Cameron Highlands, June/July 2019: Cake at one of those main cafes in town. She was soaking in the cool air.

I decided that I wanted to put up an essay that would show some photographs of her and us, her parents; Jeannie and myself 😉 during her 22 years. Some pictures you may have seen before, some you may have not. It was quite a feat. Admittedly, our hard copy or physical photographs are not meticulously catalogued according to date or events. Ours are catalogued in an order only meant to confuse. Sort of a jigsaw puzzle that keeps the interest high. Haha.

When the treasure hunt began, I did not realize that we had these many photographs, perhaps in the thousands, gathered over the years. These photos include our growing up years, at our workplace with colleagues, our many travels, both local and abroad. As I was going through them; they brought many wonderful memories back. Then, I sidetracked many times looking for photos of an event or a trip we went on. A thought just crossed my mind to set up a photo gallery event, showcasing the thousands of photographs. That would be fun.

1st half of 2019: Laura, with the state of Selangor, Malaysia; swim team; at Bukit Jalil Aquatic Stadium.

Confident; always.

This is us when we heard what was for dinner that day: Banana leaves (the actual leaves) and banana tree. For desert: boiled banana tree roots.

She has to do things differently. I wonder where she gets ideas like these from? Hmmm… they say (who are “they”?), “the apple does not fall far from the tree”.

On one of our many visits to Nando’s. Note: the batik influencer with one of her many creations.

Laura, here; with two other Malaysian swimmers whom she bumped into at a inter-university swim meet in Chicago, 2020.

So-oo-oo cute!

Graduation from kindergarten.

“LITTLE GIRL”
By: LAURA ATKINSON. age 10 years old
Date: 8th, June 2012

“LITTLE GIRL” is one of the pictures I have kept as important. This picture was drawn using my Samsung Note 2 (phablet). At age 10, she showed how easy it was to use the “S-Pen”. This picture was done in a short time.
Attention to detail:
Face: the thick black eyebrows, eyelashes, reflection on the square spectacles.
Hair: the reflection of light creating highlights and different shades of color. There is a hairclip in front, on her left.
Dress: Simple
Sign-off: Title of this art, signature and date.

Lights, camera, action!

A picture to remember: Laura’s 16th birthday. With her cousin, Sarah.

Dinner at Chutney’s Snack Bar, June 27th, 2023. The Indian food here is very good.

Laura had the day off from work. Jeannie took a day off from work so that we could celebrate Laura’s birthday with her. Laura did some shopping with Jeannie. We had lunch and then, dinner later on. It was great to have been able to spend some quality time with her on her 22nd birthday.

Looking ahead, my birthday is fast approaching, just around a couple of corners. Already bought myself a birthday present – the bass bumpers😁😂. Superb sound, these earbuds seem to make all music sound good.

As I end this essay, Christopher Cross singing “All Right” is playing over the Google home mini.

Photographs and pictures seem to rarely last three generations before they are forgotten. While they are with us, take a moment or two or more to enjoy. Good memories.

Grabbing the scroll, her expression says it all: “Make no mistake. This MBA is mine.”

NOTE:
1. “Big thing” : something that is prominent, important, or in wide use. 
/ a future trend.

ELEVATED STATUS FROM “DADDY” TO “FATHER”

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

When Laura was just about a month old, I had already become an “experienced” dad. Jeannie had been at home for that whole month or so. She was thinking of going out with some of her close friends. I told her to go and enjoy herself. Don’t worry about looking after our baby, Laura. I’ve got this!

This picture was taken on the day Laura was born.

Jeannie went over the “how(s)” to prepare Laura’s infant milk in case Laura needed more than the 1 bottle that was ready; change her diapers; Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera! (sounds like a quote from that famous movie[1]). Jeannie said she would only be out for a couple of hours. I said, “Don’t worry. As I said, I’ve got this”.

Laura was a pleasure to look after, never gave much bother. When the time came for her milk; I duly made it, scooping the right amounts from the tin of milk nearby, mixing it with the right amount of water, etc.. I forgot that Jeannie had already prepared a bottle of milk and kept it in the warmer.

So, I fed Laura the milk I had prepared her; carrying her while she was going to sleep. I was actually slow dancing with her in my arms to “I Love The Way You Love Me” by Boyzone and other songs of that era.

When Jeannie got home, she noticed that I had not given Laura the milk that she prepared before she went out. Oops! “I forgot”, I said. I made another bottle of milk. I showed Jeannie where I got the milk and… “Alan, that is my milk for me to recover. You gave Laura the wrong milk!” And I was wondering why there were two opened tins of instant milk. Now, I know why.😂😂

One of my favourite moments was at Subang Parade Shopping Mall many years back, maybe around year 2011 or 2012. It was a Wednesday. Either I, or Jeannie (on days that she was not working) or both of us; would take Laura for her music lessons at Yamaha Music School.

2012: Laura is 11 years old. We are on the Skybridge (Level 48) of the Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest building in the world at one time.

The best dad / daughter / best friend / best dad moment: Laura was about 11 years old at that time. She had finished her lesson, which would have been around 8.30pm. This was the time that Laura was skipping her competitive swim training for her music lessons. It was the only time she would skip competitive swim training. (2) We had just finished dinner at McDonald’s and started walking to the other end of Subang Parade towards the car park. A casual walk. While walking, she put her arm round my shoulder and I instinctively put mine around her waist. It was a bit of an arm’s stretch for her as she was much shorter at that time. Our walk was only a few minutes long. However, the time captured of total friendship : priceless! I still remember this walk like it was yesterday.

Laura does not trust my cooking. She has had this “thing” about my cooking. I wonder if it is because of… It was a time when Jeannie was travelling out of town for work. So, I told Laura that I will cook up (prepare) some burgers, chicken nuggets, potato wedges and other stuff.

I got the stove plate heated up, poured a little bit (not too much) of oil and started first with the square burger patties, then the nuggets, potato wedges and the rest. I thought I’d cook up a feast to keep Laura and I fed for at least 3 days. By the time I was nearly done, there was a mountain of food ready for eating. Laura came into the kitchen, took a bite into one of the wedges and spat it out, saying it tasted like soap. I asked her to try the nugget. She said, it, too; tasted like soap. I told her she must have been imagining things. I took a bite of one of the burger patties and it, too; tasted like it had soap in it. I wondered why it tasted like soap.

Laura saw a bottle of dishwashing soap near the cooker. What I did was I took the dishwashing soap by mistake instead of the bottle of cooking oil which is usually stored near the dishwashing soap. Both the dishwashing soap and the cooking oil looked the same colour and were in near similar shaped bottles. I just grabbed the bottle without checking if I had the right one. 😅😂

Come to think 😏of it, at that time; I wondered why the oil dried up so fast in the pan. I didn’t think further than that. I just added more.😅

Moral of the story(ies): read the labels.

I have always considered being a dad as the highest honour and privilege. Each moment is a learning moment; I have never been through this before. Laura is about to turn 22 years in a week’s time. Working and all official and stuff like that, she would describe to us (Jeannie and I) how her day went. She is very excited about work. A few days ago, she told me, “Father, your role is not to say anything, just listen to what I have to say”. “Sorry, I am still learning to be a dad of a working daughter”, I said. Hahaha.

It was Father’s Day last Sunday (June 18th). She and Jeannie took me for a scrumptious dinner on Saturday evening at “The Chicken Rice Shop” in Mid-Valley. I opted for noodles instead of rice. The “mango kerabu” was super delicious. On Sunday, Father’s Day itself; we had a scrumptious lunch at Benjy’s in Subang Jaya.

At Benjy’s in Subang Jaya.

Laura has grown to be an amazing person. She fusses over Jeannie and me all the time. She knows exactly what she wants, sets goals, plans and goes all the way to achieve them.

Father’s Day is everyday to me. Even though Laura is all grown up and very independent; she will always be daddy’s girl. Her grow up-ness has elevated our status to “Father” and “Mother” as such; from “daddy” and “mummy”.❤️❤️

NOTES:
1. The movie: THE KING AND I; starring Yul Brynner and Anne Leonowens.
2. Laura stopped her music lessons to focus on her competitive swimming when she was selected as a state swimmer to represent the state of Selangor.

Let’s Go Shopping

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

We had lots of fun with our “MEET WITH ME SESSION” gatherings last month, where our renowned Batik Influencer, Jeannie Ong; and me (Alan), from http://www.leatherpoato.com; met with so many wonderful friends and made, many, many more new friends, too.

Jeannie shared her views on the beauty of batik, the colours, patterns and designs that create vibrance around it, batik for all occasions, be it formal or casual; batik every day. She has a growing following as a batik influencer.

I shared the reasons for starting http://www.leatherpoato.com – to make a dent in the world, to shift the mindset of people’s thinking during the Covid-19 pandemic, where everything seemed to have been spiraling out of control, downwards. I believed that as long as there was a tomorrow, there was hope and that we should all hang on to that belief.

Now, the pandemic has been put out and world order seems to be restored; I still wanna (in the word family of “gonna, gotta”) write. I am having an immense amount of fun on working on each new article and publishing them. Oh yeah…I still wanna make a dent in the world. The journey has changed a bit. However the general direction is still the same.

I met with many subscribers and readers of leatherpoato.com. I learnt about many values that people hold close to them and treasure. They shared how articles they had read from leatherpotato.com resonate in their lives, too. While they shared stories about their lives, ideas for new essays started lighting up. I noted them down in the ideaSketchpad💡. Now, the ideaSketchpad 💡is overflowing with storylines, so much so that I am not sure which I should start with first, as all of them have merit.

At the same time, there were many people who were interested in the things we put on sale, too. The Hotwheels cars are a winner, that’s for sure. There are many who are enthusiasts and just collect these vehicles as a hobby for fun. Then, there are the serious collectors. There were a couple of them who showed me pictures of how they “Hotwheelsed” their living room walls in their homes with Hotwheels cars. These are more than just the serious collectors. They have spent a pretty penny on their hobby.

We are having a “MEET WITH ME SESSION” this weekend (May 27th and May 28th) at Amcorp Shopping Mall where Jeannie and I will be there to meet with you.

Jeannie will continue to focus on promoting the “localness” of her “La” Batik Cape Creations. She will be showcasing her latest in designs.

We have three Samsung Galaxy smartphones, one of which is a new A14 5G model, and a new Samsung Galaxy Watch5 (unopened box) up for sale, among the Hotwheels and many things that we are putting up for sale, too.

Laura, who has just returned after having studied abroad for nearly four years, will be with Jeannie and I at Amcorp Shopping Mall; too. She will share her experience of living away from home, adapting to a new life, culture and skills. She will also share what it was like being a student swim athlete, having represented Selangor for several years and then being on her college team. If you are a student or student athlete who is thinking of studying abroad, you may have a question or two…or more, for Laura.

Come meet us. Together, we can explore new ideas.

We will be at:

3rd Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall,
Booth 3.08, Level 3
Amcorp Shopping Mall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: May 27 and May 28, 2023
Time: 10.00am to 4.00pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

See you all, there, this Saturday (May 27th) and Sunday (May 28th).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While penning this article; I was listening over our Google Home Mini to songs sung by the late, the great, the legend in her own right – Tina Turner. She coloured the world with her wonderful songs – her voice and the way she sung them – unmistakably Tina Turner. May she Rest In Peace.

LAURA ATKINSON: In Search of the American Dream

/ Alan Atkinson / 2 Comments

by LAURA ATKINSON

For those of you who don’t know, I graduated from Millikin University with a degree in Entrepreneurship in December. I am an international student from Malaysia, on an OPT visa, available to start immediately, and will not require an H-1B visa sponsorship until next February. I have spent the last five months furiously applying for jobs in Illinois and so many other states in the US. Each week, I complete an average of 2 to 3 interviews for various positions. Despite graduating with a 3.84 GPA, being involved in student-run ventures, multiple organizations on campus, and being a collegiate athlete for Millikin, I have so far been denied for many positions and have yet to hear back from many positions that I have applied/interviewed for.

Most of the positions I have recently applied to are part-time and pay minimum wage. They do not require high school diplomas or skilled experience.

Just over 3 and a half years ago, I took the risk of flying to a different country, almost 10,000 miles away from my family, my friends, my home. I was raised hearing that America was the Land of Opportunity, that if I rollup up my sleeves and put my nose to the grindstone, I could find a job that I love and a place to call home. I came to find the American Dream but am still searching for it. I am putting myself out there and applying for hundreds of jobs. I want to be able to give back to this country by working here, and my parents who are back home in Malaysia.

All this is to say that

A) I am in immediate need of either remote work and am willing to relocate to any state and

B) Many fresh international graduates want to work.

We are applying tirelessly to work and are getting rejected because we would require a visa sponsorship in the future. Even with jobs that do sponsor a visa, they require 8-10 years of experience. If you or someone you know is in charge of hiring at a workplace right now, I encourage you to consider hiring a young international person. We work hard to achieve our goals and now want to get hired.

Hire me, you’ll thank me later.

NOTE: Please help make this viral.

REPUBLISHED: The Swim Athlete’s Future

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Her swim career started round about this time😊

The article, “The Swim Athlete’s Future”, which was published here at http://www.leatherpotato.com on February 7th, 2023; was republished in Swimswam on February 10th.. I sent in the article to Swimswam to have them consider publishing as I believe that readers of this publication maybe able to resonate with these article.

There are three main groups who will be able to identify with this article:
1. The swim athletes: Through the various stages of their career; from beginner right up to world elite.
2. Parents. The sacrifices of their time, effort and money.
3. Non-swim fraternity. They may have a better insight of the life of a swim athlete.

Who is “SwimSwam”? SwimSwam news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world.

This may just be the sport parents are looking for their children. It encourages, discipline, competitiveness, fun and a sense of empowerment.

To the finish line…

http://leatherpotato.com/2023/02/07/the-swim-athletes-future/

The Swim Athlete’s Future

/ Alan Atkinson / 1 Comment

Lap after lap. 3, 4, 5 kilometers a day in the pool. Day after day…week after week…month after month.

At 9 years old, wanted to be world champion. Forgoing parties, events and other fun things.

In the water, lap after lap after lap. 20 meters…50 meter lengths.

School holidays and other holidays – the same.

Personal times for her 50 meter and 100 meter pet events kept dropping… So did the times of her other events. Kept on improving. Kept moving up the heats… From the 1st heat in the very beginning… Kept moving up the heat charts. When she reached the last 3 heats in her events at each championship race, the state athletes at that time started paying attention to her. A new kid on the block as competition.

13 years old. A big responsibility added on. Selected to represent the state team. Swim and training was now an average 9 times a week (twice each on Saturday and Sunday).

Kept on at it. Times kept improving. Was a contributor towards the team’s many championship wins. Within a short period of time, reached the top 3 in the country for her age group. Broke individual and relay records all along the way.

Graduated from high school. Went on to further her studies in the U.S.

Was on the university’s swimming team. Helped the university move up the swim charts. Set individual and relay records for the university.

There were many ups and downs, bumpy roads, disappointments, total excitement and joy throughout her swim athlete, school and university story. She held fast to her belief in herself and her goals. She had fun. It was not so much just about the “winning”. It was the “experiences” take away: winning yes, also teamwork, sharing and building relationships with various people along the way.

The role of parents? Support, love, care, support. Always be enthusiastic for your children. Driving them to 3-hour daily training and then back.

As parents, we have to continuously encourage them, even on the days they may be tempted by non-athletes to skip training. My wife and I use to tell our daughter, “your fiercest competitor will be training while you are thinking of missing it. The decision is yours. What is the end result you want?”

Be with them, cheering them on; even if it means spending 15 hours at a swim meet, each day on a three- or four-day championship.

Past and current swim athletes, when looking back; can relate to this “grueling lifestyle” during their swim career. When looking back they can smile, joke about the times their energy was completely spent and they still had 25 meters of the race to go, times when they lost and the many times when they won both in the pool and out of the pool. About the times they literally had fun.

Now, graduated – B. Sc. Entrepreneurship. Looking for a job in the U.S. With 16 years of swim athlete experience and an Entrepreneurship studies degree; she wants to share her experiences by applying them in the work that she will be doing.

Now, she takes with her a way of discipline in doing things, a “never give up” character and the bright side of things when she goes employment hunting.

~ Dedicated to Laura Atkinson

The 15th Day

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Chap Goh Mei which is today, is the last day of the Chinese Lunar Year celebrations or Chinese New Year. The day is celebrated similarly to the day before Chinese New Year, it is celebrated with much joy and festivity. This is the year of the Rabbit. The rabbit (兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year periodic sequence (cycle) of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. (1) The sign of Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture. (2)

On the night of Chap Goh Meh, unmarried girls will throw tangerines (oranges) in the sea or river in the belief that they will be able to marry good husbands. I don’t know how the guys could identify which tangerine belonged to which girl “in those days”. Today, maybe the girls will write their name, telephone number and Instagram or TikTok ID (Facebook is for senior citizens, so they’ll skip adding their Facebook ID) on each and every tangerine with permanent ink pen markers.

Jeannie and I decided to celebrate this last day of festivities in a small way. We went to Sunway Pyramid Shopping Centre in Subang Jaya. (3)

Since Laura is away in the U.S.; we decided to stop by at one of her favorite stores in this shopping Centre – Popular Book Store. Laura loved to shop for stationery especially in this store – pens, pencils, color pencils, magic ink, glitter ink, various types of writing and note books, and drawing pads. She had hundreds of these writing instruments in various shades, sizes and color. She is quite the artist, too; follows after her mother. Me? I can’t draw two straight lines with a ruler. We had quite a good time. Jeannie and I purchased a few items.

We had coffee at the Oriental Kopitiam (4) (naturally. It wouldn’t have been so traditional if we had coffee at Starbucks, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf or at the mamak (5)). We had to have Oriental Kopitiam’s signature coffee. It was pretty good. We had butter with kaya on toast bread – one of the usual eats when one drinks kopitiam coffee. I had to also have Black Glutinous Rice or in aspirated local terms, “Pulut hitam”. Simply one of my favorites. It had two sort of glutinous balls with black sesame paste inside. People: it’s worth the try.

Jeannie spent a bit of time at her favorite stores; too. I…yes; at the gadget stores. Nothing really much going on in this area. You can find loads of interesting and cool new gadgets on the web, but they hardly seem to make their way to this part of the world.

5 hours later, we were on our way home. It was a great way to spend our Sunday afternoon, relaxed and had fun.

Jeannie and I with three gold boat-shaped ingots (part of the deco).

Year of the Rabbit.

I know, I know… I am not suppose to be on the bridge, but under it, waiting to collect oranges…er.. I mean find “that special orange thrown over by a lenglui” (6). I figure that since I am already spoken for; I might as well collect as many oranges from the lenglui(s). The guys aren’t waiting under the bridge. They are at home on their phones or PS5 games.😁

NOTES:
1. Wikipedia
2. Chinahighlights.com
3. Subang Jaya is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
4. “Kopitiam”: a coffee house serving traditional Malay and Chinese fare.
5. “Mamak”: Mamak stalls are indoor and open-air food establishments particularly found in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia.
6. “Lenglui”: Pretty girl.