Special wishes

Happy 50th Merdeka, Malaysia.
and Happy Birthday to you, Boss.

Hiak!

Gym log.

Of late I find that BCombat classes seem to be getting easy. Either I've been too regular OR the instructor's classes (FCI and replacement instructor alike) are just easy. OR maybe I'm just not getting enough. Now...I wonder when will I see the day that the instructor can do a whole class non stop. All I'm asking is just ONE class. One! I want to feel so out of breath that I'm gasping to fight for whatever air available in the studio. Silly...but true. Kisah benar....

It's pretty obvious that I'm not getting enough dosage of BCombat. I need more! I gotta get more! Just so to fulfill my "cravings", I decided to line up the following classes.

• Friday, 31st - It's Merdeka Day but I need my Combat. Let's hope my schedule is clear so that I can drop by for the 2.50pm class.
• Saturday, 1st Sept - FCI's class.
• Sunday, 2nd Sept - Maybe go for the first 20 mins of the class. If too syiok and cannot drag my ass out of the studio, skip yoga and attend full BCombat instead. Sorry ah, Mr. Yoga...see how later.
• Monday, 3rd Sept - drop in for 2nd FCI aka FPI's class.
• Wednesday, 5th Sept - FCI's class.
• Saturday, 8th Sept - BCombat 33 New Release Launch....die die also must go!

There! That should cover all the BCombat that I can take.

Shit...if like this,how to end membership?

All is OK!

Everything looks good...from physical health standpoint. Groin soreness almost gone. No signs of knee pain.

Nothing can top yesterday's BPump, as far as sweating is concerned. My clothes looked so fresh after the class...can still smell the softener :-) No need to wash...can wear for next class. Maybe I've used up all my sweats in aargh-peee-emm class.

Aargh-Peee-Emm

Gym log.

I did it! I finally went for my first RPM class for this year. Did BPump and BCombat back to back on Saturday before hitting RPM; after resting for an hour. I hate to admit this but RPM makes me sweat buckets compared to BCombat. Halfway thru class, looked up the clock...half hour more to go. I was terribly exhausted but not totally breathless. Kinda brought back memory to my first BCombat class...kept looking at the clock to see when the class will finish. Imagine my joy when we stepped down from the bike for cool down.

I don't get the studio though...why is it filled with decor of the universe? Are we cycling into heaven? Maybe that's the motivating factor for the class...haha. I rather see sceneries of mountains, rivers, hills, etc though. Isn't that more relevant? The disco lights are cool though but somehow it doesn't jive wit the decor. I think there should be a sort of simulation screen in front. That would make the RPM-ers feel like they are actually cycling in the wilderness. Wouldn't that be something?

I think the regular RPM-ers' groins are immuned to the seats. Mine is hurting big time...even 2 days after the class. Will I be able to pull off back-to-back BCombat and BPump today with this nagging groin soreness? Hmmm...wait and see. Doing RPM is the closest thing I get to cycling...for I can't ride a real bike. Tried once when I was a teenager using my neighbour's BMX (she ditched her bike somewhere and asked me to ride it home) but I kept falling off so I did the next best logical step....walked the bike home instead.

One thing to watch out after doing RPM...my knees. Did feel a little discomfort but I'm keeping my fingers crossed no major pain developed. Wait and see hor...

Recap of a week's gym-ing

Gym log.

What happened this week at the gym? Let's see now..

Monday's BPump was one of those rare moments of "went into class, looked fresh"...."came out of class, looked QUITE fresh also leh". Nothing wrong with the instructor or the class. I just don't feel it. Maybe it's time I upped the weights, no? Also, maybe it's time I resort back to flashing smiles again. I'm not connecting with FPI aka Ms. Eagle Eye these days. No fun.

Tuesday's BBalance was a notch "better". I went into class looking fresh but I came out feeling even FRESHER. Again, nothing wrong with instructor or class. The room was soooooo cold. I guess there's no pleasing me huh? No aircond, I complain. Got aircond also I complain. Most of the tracks that FBI did this week was the same as last week...so felt a tiny bit boring. Again, no pleasing me. But still, I always enjoy FBI's class.

I went into Wed's BCombat with a high expectation. Too high in fact. Afterall, FCI had been away for 3 weeks and I was doubly sure that her class upon her return would be rather explosive. What did she has in store for us? A relatively easy peasy class. So easy until she can made numerous mistakes. This I don't understand. I'm not the type to sweat buckets in the gym but I do sweat nonetheless. So when I came out from a cardio class with a dry back and dry hair, it is just wrong. Super duper disappointed. I hope that Sat's class will be more kickass than this one. A positive note though...I've finally conquered the jump kicks. Yeah!

Thurs was Yoga time. As usual, nothing exciting happens in yoga and it was no different on Thursday. Class was full. Since Kelly wasn't around to reserve mats for myself and Adrienne, both of us have to be a bit kiasu and cheong into the studio as soon as the BBalance class ended. No choice. We have our strategy planned...she grabbed the mats while I reserved our places on the floor. Mr. Yoga decided to do balance poses...by far my weakest. I hate balance poses in BBalance and I hate it even more in yoga. Used up a lot of butt muscles during class so naturally the butt area was quite painful after class :-).

Friday is rest day. Hair cut day maybe.

I have RPM in mind as part of Sat's workout plan. I'm still a little fearful cos the last time I did RPM, it marked the beginning of a series of both knee pain which caused me a whole month off from gym last year. Anyhow, I have to conquer this fear. With proper setup of the bike, I think I should be alright. Fingers crossed.

Looking forward to the Sept 8 new release launch.

To ink or not to ink again

...that is the question.

Thoughts of getting another tattoo are constantly playing in my mind. Help! So much so that it is interfering with my work. Talk about addiction eh? Perhaps it's just another phase, no? Mid life crisis??

My gym friend Kelly is getting a tattoo soon, this weekend I think, if I heard correctly. Since I got my tat, 3 friends wanted to get one too. I had no idea that I share this same interest with them. Amazing...

So, the question is still...to ink or not to ink again??

Let's eat bread til we drop

This week is bread week. What that means is that there will be bread for breakfast, bread for mid morning tea snack and bread for afternoon tea time. Bread for lunch? Perhaps......if I'm too lazy to go out. Bread for dinner? Oh God, I hope not...I may have to strangle myself if I do that.

Why this much bread? My colleagues and I decided to take turns bringing a loaf of bread to office. Why? I suppose we are a group of deprived hungry bread people. Yeah...that must be it. Or perhaps it's because we are so in love with Gardenia.....who knows the weird things we do around here.

Yeah, over here we really love our bread.

Did I push too hard?

Gym log....yes, another one.

My body is aching...very much sore everywhere...groins, butt, shoulders...even toe. Just when I thought that my body is flexi enough...bleh!

Went for usual workouts over the weekend. Sat's BPump session was probably the worst saturday workout for me. I'm guessing a big part of the reason was due to the stuffy room. The aircond on my side of the room wasn't switched on the entire BPump and BCombat classes. As a result, fatigue set in rather quickly. Was having difficulty finishing chest, back and shoulder tracks in BPump. I'm guessing I was doing back track incorrectly becos replacement instructor, JJ was mumbling something while looking at me. No time to ask him after class cos had to take my place for next class, BCombat.

BCombat was fine despite the stuffy room but the mike's interference really spoiled the class. I can understand replacement instructor Cheng's frustration. Despite the occasional mike hiccups, I think this is a great combat workout in a long long time for me. If Cheng has a permanent slot at FF IOI, I wouldn't mind going for her class. Everything went well....and my jump kicks were without mistakes...cool! I like. In fact I am still feeling the "syiok"-ness of BCombat.

Sunday's yoga was very tiring. A lot of plank positions. I thought I shouldn't have a problem considering that I'm a BPump regular but still...very tiring. Of course, no aircond makes the room extremely stuffy. I wish they would fix the aircond. When it's switched on, it's really cold. So instructors normally will just switched it off.

After yoga, proceeded to BJam an hour later. Had a blast with FJI and fellow BJ trainee Nick who was doing his clearance that day. All the tracks she picked were awesome. I like. Can't remember the titles of the tracks now but can still visualise the steps. I like. Now body aching everywhere. Got a first eye view of how a Head Teacher (in this case it was FJI) conduct clearance for trainees. I must say the process is so simple. The trainee just need to do 1 track. I think that's not enough to measure the competency of a new instructor. Or maybe it's cos Nick is not a new instructor (just new to BJam)..and that's why he only needed to do 1 track. Oh well...

Today is BPump day. Haven't seen FPI in a while. Monday Pumps hasn't been very nice to me this year so I hope today isn't like Saturday's session. Somehow I feel like the outcome from my pump sessions are pretty much stagnant this year. Or perhaps it's due to inconsistency... I carry heavy on Saturdays and carry light on Mondays. Therefore very hard to see much improvement. What can I say, I feel weaker on Mondays. Sigh...

Let's yoga

Gym log.

I realised that since I started gym log here, I never wrote an entire entry on yoga class. Usually the spotlight goes to BCombat and BPump. Occasionally BBalance and BJam gets mentioned. Perhaps it's cos there are rarely interesting moments in yoga worth blogging about. Not to say that it's boring per se...maybe just less drama. No yelling, no screaming, no grunting, no doing pushups as punishments, no imaginary gang fights........nothing. No new releases at every quarter. Just the usual stretch and twist every week. Boring, no? Well, I'll be honest...it does get a tiny bit boring at times. But I'm not complaining. I still like yoga. At least now I can bend down and touch my toes.

A year ago, this would have been a "cannot miss" class....die die must go. Nowadays, it's more like.."nvm la if cannot go". Actually got other underlying reason la...but that's personal :-). One good thing about yoga is that there are many regulars in Mr. Yoga's class every week; so most of us kinda know each other already by now...know each other's names too. I think that's pretty cool. Even Mr.Yoga took an effort to know our names. I can't say the same about those LesMills classes though. Over there it's usually just..smile, nod head, walk away....members and instructors alike. Sad case.

Once upon a time, my body used to feel sore after every yoga class. Without fail. Now I feel nothing. I suppose that indicates an improvement in flexibility, no? I hope so. I just wish Mr. Yoga would do poses that test the stamina aspect of yoga. Perhaps 10mins of Sun Salutation non stop? I like.

Let's hope I will make an effort to attend classes more regularly. Been missing too many already this year.

Very unhappy about this.

For many years now I've been using auto insurance from Company A. With the exception of the first year, the remaining years I've not gotten any GOOD renewal free gifts from Company A. Didn't ask....so didn't get. When I did ask, I was given a pen (which I politely rejected...I've tons of that at home.). Then there was that year I was offered a battery-less torch light which was blardy hell useless. I have to manually press the trigger many many times just to get the light to come on. More like exercising my fingers. Another year I was given a mini booklet on Company A's auto services. Blardy useless!

So, for many years, I've been having thoughts of changing to different insurance company instead....since I've been hearing of people getting free bagpack, umbrellas, car shades, etc etc. Not fair la...people get good things, I don't get.

My renewal is due this month...today, in fact. When I inquired with Company A what free gift will be given, I was told it's a magazine. WTF! So, I finally make the decision to change my auto insurance to Company B instead. Got my cert + road tax this morning from the Company B's agent. What free gift did I get? A stupid AAM membership! Kanasai! Hey I'm already an AAM member la.

I'm not that "ingin" on the freebies la but if others are getting good usable things, not fair la if I don't get it. My colleague said it's cos my car is small so therefore the freebie given is also small. Kanasai! Small item I don't mind but don't la give me useless item.

So angry.

Satisfaction

Gym log.

Went for BCombat but FCI wasn't there. Mr. Replacement Instructor went to full lengths to explain why FCI couldn't make it and why he had to do replacement. Hmm....poor soul. I guess he knew that FCI's class is always very full or perhaps he realised that his class isn't as popular as FCI's. Anyway, I have no complaints.

For me, it was a good workout considering that I've missed a week's gym and hasn't fully recovered (stamina wise) from the previous 2 weeks' hiatus. Yesterday's class was packed, leaving just enough space to do small kicks. No fun actually. I like ample spacing but that's never gonna happen in FCI's class. During the jinga track (Rock Me Amadeus, BC30), I accidentally kicked the hand of the lady standing next to me. Sorwee... When doing back kick, I can see that the lady behind me was a little hesitant, almost fearful....she's probably afraid that I will accidentally kick her too....haha.

Yesterday's class also saw the invasion of Africans. Of late I've been seeing so many of them in the gym. There were around 8-9 of them in class yesterday....and probably a few more working out on the machines outside. Let's wait and see if they will still be around 3 months from now :-).

For dinner, I had macaroni bolognese on romaine leaves, topped with cherry tomatoes and slices of carrot. Plus Dutch Lady milk (tasted kinda sweet), which was given free at the gym....new product. It wasn't enough actually (remember I wanted to eat like there's no tomorrow ya...) but since it was getting late, I refrained myself from eating too much. Overall, a good workout, a good dinner, a good nite sleep.

This one covers everything

Last Friday, my colleagues and I headed over to Taman Warisan, Presint 16 in Putrajaya for satays. It was just makan-makan time for all of us, courtesy of boss. Turned out it was sorta informal birthday celebration for all the staff and boss even presented birthday gifts to all of us. The ladies got kain while the guys got towels+hankies. I guess now I can make another pair of baju kurung.

Next day, met up with some good old friends for a cuppa at Winter Warmer,The Curve. I was expecting the worst but turned out, finding parking was surprisingly a breeze for me on that day. Thank god, I didn't have to go round and round. Only Cindy, Alison and Marc turned up but it was good enuff already for me. We ate, drank and caught up on some gossips *grin*grin*. Looking forward to the next cuppa with them again. Marc has been designated as the organizer for the next gathering. Hopefully more people from the old gang will turn up...then we can catch up with more gossips. *grin*grin* (I listen only...)

Officially returned to gym this week. Was able to go for BBalance yesterday. No more slacking off after this. My attendance for the past few months have been very poor. My goal for the next 4 months before year ends is very simple...eat like there's no tomorrow & workout like there's no tomorrow. Excellent combo, no? I like. I even have RPM in my mind...and I've only tried that 3 times since I joined the gym.

Whenever people see me going or talking about gym, they automatically assume I'm going for yoga. My colleagues, my family, my non gym friends, my net friends. This really bothers me. I'm no yoga maniac...I only do yoga twice a week. The rest of the time I go for Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Balance and Body Jam...these are LesMills program. In fact, out of so many programs, yoga's the one I skipped a lot this year. Yoga's great but I need more balance in my gym programs. Once upon a time, I used to workout on the gym machines but no more. Less thrilling, I guess.
Today is Combat day; tomorrow will be Yoga day.

See the balance?? Hiaks....

My prayer has been answered

Barely 1.5 hours after my craving for chocolate, a colleague distributed different types of pastries from Baker's Cottage, courtesy of a supplier. As luck would have it, I got a chocolate doughnut (hey, I didn't pick ya....it was handed to me).

What started out as a lousy morning is beginning to turn out to be a not-so-bad day. In case you didn't know already, chocolate contains serotonin which acts as an anti-depressant. Yeah....I'm happy now.

Yes, I can do it

This morning I found everything and everyone irritating. No, it's not that time of the month. I just have a short fuse this morning. I have no patience. Zero. More so when I'm feeling a little under the weather. Maybe it was because I was rudely awaken by slight sinus at 6am. The constant sneezing was driving me up the wall. Or perhaps I didn't eat enough breakfast.

So, I thought I turn to the one subject that always enlighten my mood....my gym log. My gym mood has improved. A combination of several classes over the past 3 days have left my body sore and muscles aching. Still, I'm very satisfied with the outcome of my workout. No pain, no gain right?. I was very tempted to go for 4 back-to-back classes (BJam, BPump, BBalance & RPM) on Saturday but thought better of it. I don't think my body's quite ready for the marathon. I know instructors don't recommend back-to-back. This was pretty much confirmed by Kylie Gates, the Regional GX Trainer for Fitness First, who was featured in last Sunday's StarMag. It's funny that she should say that cos she has back-to-back classes at FF IOI once a month. One day I think I must try out her class...at least once.

Will be going for BBalance this evening. I hope that FBI aka Ms. M.I.A. is doing the class. After that, I'll be on another short break till next week. How convenient that several of my favorite instructors will also not be around this week. I hate taking breaks when the momentum is going great (unlike last week) but this break is un-avoidable. My body art needs another round of healing. I'm pretty sure after this rest, it's gonna look awesome.

Some people wonder why I do not show off my tattoo. Yes, it would be nice to do that but I'm not the show off type. I did the tattoo for my own personal satisfaction. Perhaps I should wait for another 2 more months to see if I still feel the same way...hehehe. Why 2 months? Because I'm not supposed to expose it to the sun while it's still healing.

Now that I had lunch, I'm feeling a lot better. My body's fully loaded on glucose and carbo. Sinus almost gone. Stomach filled. Mood's getting better. No more crankiness.

Now I'm craving for chocolates though...

Let's run

Today my big boss distributed pamphlets (I have to look up the dictionary to spell pamphlets...sigh) to everyone in the office for Larian Kardio PPUM.

Then....then....she said since I'm thin I should have no problem joining the run.

Haha...so farnee.

This can't be right

On top of having a bad memory, it seems that I can't spell either. Took a spelling test http://businesswriting.com/tests/commonmisspelled.html and my result was a miserable 68%...which equals to a 'FAIR'. I was expecting nothing less than a 'GOOD'.

This is sad...

How bad is my memory?

Apparently very bad.

Met a supplier this morning at a tender briefing who not only told me that I looked very familiar but she also knew my name. I, on the other hand, was clueless who that person was...didn't know her name, didn't know which company she was from, and worse, couldn't even remember meeting her before.

I apologised profusely for not remembering her name. She told me her name. She also told me the name of her former company (she has since moved on) which I dealed with a lot...but yet...no.....I don't recall knowing her. So, what do I do?

I smiled and nodded and pretended that I knew her.