I'm finally ready to request

Every time after a class, whenever an instructor says "if you have request for any tracks, do let me know", and immediately in my head I can visualise some of the kickass nice tracks that we had done before. Problem is, I haven't the faintest idea what the title of those tracks are. It just shows how un-observant I am. In the gym, at work, at home...not observant at all. Nope. I am truly amazed how some members know the title of each tracks and can remember which release they are from, long after it's been launched...I mean, those people must be really diehard fans.

There is this one particular track in Body Jam which I absolutely adore, and for weeks now, I had wanted to request for this but, of course I forget the title track so I couldn't speak to the instructor immediately after class. Finally, I found it today...Basement Jaxx's from Body Jam 41. This is prolly the only track in BJ that I can do well without making fools of myself. SO...next week I'm gonna approach the instructor and see if she has BJ41, she is a new instructor so she may not have those tracks in her ipod. Maybe I can persuade her to go download it from somewhere...hmmm...ahaks.

Are you taking care of yourself?

These past weeks, I've been totally busy learning to take care of myself. It is not an easy process as I try to be more mindful of what I put in my mouth, how I cope with indirect stress, what I put on my skin, etc etc.

Been religiously scouting newspaper and online sites for job applications. Registered myself with 2 headhunter agencies. Got an interview coming up next week. Hoping for more to come. I am grateful for the hands that feed me but I just can't wait to get out of this god forsaken place. The mental stress is enough to send one into deep depression.

Been teaching myself to eat cleaner and healthier. For me, the caloric intake is secondary. What's more important is the list of ingredients. I'm slowly learning to avoid certain chemicals and preservatives that are harmful to our bodies. It's not easy because those stuff are everywhere in our food. I'm not going 100% organic, at least not yet but I am making better food choices. I will write more on those harmful preservatives soon.

Another area which I am paying greater attention to, is non toxic skincare products. This is not easy, I gotta admit. Our local health and beauty pharmacies do not carry products that are free of SLS, propylene glycol and paraben. I know, because I spent hours scouting for those products there, without any success, of course. There are some good brands out there such as Aesop or Jurlique but they are more high end products. Very expensive indeed. I have found a couple of sites/shops that do offer more reasonably priced skincare. More on that soon.

Eating healthy isn't enough. It has to be accompanied by exercise. It's not only good for the body but it is also good for our soul and mental. I'm spending more time on resistance and core training, and less on cardio. To begin with, I don't have great endurance level anyway. It is something that I need to work on but not for the moment. That is not to say, I'm abandoning cardio altogether. Cardio is good for the heart but I'm gonna hold back on it, for now, until I have a healthier weight to support this exercise on a regular basis.

I plan to explore in more details these subjects and as soon as I've done enough research, I will write more in the next few entries. In the meantime, please eat clean and live healthy.

Eating and listening healthy

Wow..this past 2 weeks I've been really putting lots of focus on healthy eating and healthy workouts. I've incorporated Pilates into my workout regimen, cut down on cardio exercise (that will mean fewer Body Combat workout, sucks), being more conscious of healthier food intake and I'm also istening to Jillian Michaels' podcast all the time now which I'm learning lots of stuff that I never pay attention to before. As she puts it "you might be thin but you're not healthy if you're not working out and you're not eating right....".

So, yesterday was the first Body Pump & Body Combat back to back classes for me due to the new schedule. I've not been to BC for a month so I wasn't sure if I was ready. Anyway, I did pretty okay in BP until we hit Triceps. Lots of kickbacks, lots, which I failed miserably surprisingly, considering that I had done that particular track sometime way back without too much difficulty. BC was equally bad. I was already tired by the third track and breathless by mid class. Somehow, having been absent from BC for a while, I felt like a little out of place in class yesterday. I may skip BC next week, maybe. Like I said, I plan to reduce on cardio.

Ok...back to listening to my podcasts.

Back to jammin..

The new Body Jam 50 Advance version is kewl! It's challenging especially for someone like me who moves like a robot! Not too sure how long this advance version will be around before instructors can start mixing the tracks but I sure hope that it stays long enuff for me to learn it.

On a side note, saw the new schedule for Nov-Jan 2010 and shit, I hate it. Body Jam has been taken off Sunday's slot. What pisses me off even more is that there are 7 Body Step classes/week vs a miserable 2 Body Jam classes/week. Seriously, WTF!!

I love my farm - Level 32

What now?

This is getting ridiculous. News that bring disatisfaction. News that demotivates me. I try not to let these get into my head but it is so hard to ignore them.

How much more can I take mentally? How much longer before I can exit? How much further do I have to walk before I see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Now that I no longer have yoga to turn to seek calmness, where else do I turn to then?

The last yoga class.

Never thought that it will happen but it did! After 4 odd years, I have finally decided to hang up the "mat" (I don't really own a yoga mat, surprisingly..ahaks). Maybe it was a hasty decision, maybe it was a wrong decision, maybe it was a decision made based on sensitive emotions but it was a decision made, for now, nonetheless.

Looking back, I truly appreciate the opportunity to learn and absorb this ancient art form. I may not have achieved much throughout my yoga experience but I am glad to say that I did learn something.

I hope someday I will have another opportunity to learn the poses that I have always wanted to conquer, namely, crow and headstand poses. For now, I will take a step away and observe from afar. I wish all my yoga mates the best of luck and may you all continue to enjoy the class.

Mirror mirror on the wall

Bought this mirror. Got someone to fix it but the job was not finished. Still waiting for it to be fixed....2 years later. Reminder sent twice. Hmmphh.....

I miss my family

I wish my bro and mom are in town. My sisters are busy with their families.

Stupid gym schedules

These days, holiday schedules at the gym sucks. And it's getting from bad to worse. I wrote in my complains once and it's time I do it again!

Channeling it all onto my board

Sometimes I wonder why I'm letting situations surrounding me get the best of me and stressing me out. Every bit of distressing news get into my nerves these days, as much as I try not to think about it. I'm blocking out as much as I can and trying to live my life the best that is within my means. I hate people who kiss ass, people who manipulate the system for their own benefits, people who take undertable money, people who use others for their own agendas, people who has no regards for others feelings...in short, I hate assholes.

I can't help it if friendship fails or unfairness happen at work, etc etc. The best I can do is to walk away from all these troubles or at least keep a certain distance. Priority now is me, myself and I. For that, I am making myself a vision board. Now, I don't know if vision board is something that is believable or some psychology in-your-mind thingy but I'm willing to give it a try. No harm no foul. Keep believing and good things will happen or in other words, Law of Attraction.

Change in priority..

A while back, furnishing my home was all that was in my mind. The re-painting, the furniture shopping, the housekeeping. Yeah, it was exciting while it lasted. Well, it's not exactly out of my mind yet. It's just that where money is concerned, the priority has now shifted to, health instead.

vs

I've been wanting to do a complete health screening since forever. The last that I did was in 2001...that long ago. Even then, I did it becos it was a job requirement, so the screening wasn't thorough.

I should really scout around for some health packages. This time, I gotta make sure I find out what is my blood type. *shy shy*

Bitten by home decor bug

Recently I have made a painful decision to drop a certain class from my gym schedules. I'm not sure if this is a right decision or if it will be permanent, but at the moment, I believe it is best to step away. As such, I now have more idle time on my hand...to do what, I have no idea really. Prolly further stamp my mark as a couch potato.

So, I'm thinking, why not daydream about how I want my home to look like. There's nothing like fantasizing over IKEA catalogues and home decor mags. In fact, I even downloaded IKEA's home planning software, which btw, is great to play around with, but unfortunately, their software does not include all of their home items esp. sofas and lightings.

I would like my apt to have a homey feel, a place I come home to relax in. Despite many years passing, I still do not own a bedframe nor a wardrobe in my bedroom. I'm thinking maybe it's time I actually go get one. Scouting around for the right size furniture (since my room is so blardy small for a master bedroom), however, is really not my cuppa tea. I am clueless and I can't make decisions.

I'm also thinking with more time to kill, maybe repaint the grills and doors as well?? Something that I had been planning to do since 2 years ago but the lazy syndrome got the better of me. I don't know how it's gonna turn out this time but one thing is for sure, I'm in the home decorating mood.

Tackling pressure points with bravery

Due to recent misery, I decided I should pamper myself with a little me, myself and I splurge, if I may call it that. Went for hair therapy aka cut, which surprisingly was cheaper than the normal price (maybe the stylist could sense my misery and decided to be kind hearted...hahaha).

Then it was 1 hour of foot reflexology. Returned to the same shop I went before. After a quick survey of the shops at Endah Parade, it dawned upon me that prices have changed. What used to be RM30/hour massage is now RM33/hour. Dang!

Anyway, after a "cat & dog" conversation with the lady-in-charge, I was finally assigned a masseur (or are they called foot reflexologist??...no idea). Ok, not too bad, he applied appropriate amount of pressure and was very informative. It seemed 3 areas of my body are not serving me too well - shoulder, kidney & bladder. The masseur can feel lumpy grainy deposits when he massaged those areas, especially on the left foot. It was so painful!...I will not lie. I realised that my irregular visits to the loo are proving to be harmful to my kidney & bladder. Gotta discipline myself more to not hold too long.

When certain organs are not functioning efficiently, hard painful spots can form at the area of points corresponding to those organs. This will cause the areas to be tender when pressed but constant massaging will "burst" the spots. Once the grainy like deposits are gone, the organs will also function better.

Based on my massage, the masseur advised me not to take cold drinks or take nite showers as it seemed that my body got a lot of angin (air). The former is easy to practice but the latter is a bit tricky, especially on gym days. Actually, during my previous visits to 3 other foot reflexologists/ masseurs, I was given the same info so I knew they are right but I wasn't disciplined enuff to practice them. In order to dispose of the grainy sandy deposits, I aim more regular foot reflexology sessions. Next one will be in 2 weeks time.

My self pampering will continue with threading, after work. High tea on Saturday, movie on Sunday. Body Combat on Monday morning. Woohoo!!

Thankful

I am truly thankful for...

1. My car - despite old, it has served me well over the years and without it, I am handicapped.

2. My home - despite small, it is my safe haven.

3. My family - though we are not close-knit, we never bicker with each other.

4. My neighbours - they've never fail me when I asked for help

5. The opportunity to experience and live thru a different culture in a different country.

6. Having a job that enables me to put food on my table and shelter over my head.

7. Being healthy.

8. The ability to see, hear, speak, think, taste, smell and walk.

9. The ability to read and write.

10. Never having to beg for food.

11. The opportunity to experience love.

Have a restful day...

Have a good rest and enjoy your day off...cheers!

This is a bitchiness alert.

It's been a long time since I consistently blog about gym. Truth is, there is nothing exciting happening these days. It's just the usual walk into gym, do classes, walk out of gym routine. Boring to the max!

Many favorite instructors have either left the gym or no longer teaching in this gym outlet. What used to be the days of "die die must go gym" now becomes "if free I go gym la". Boring to the max! Which brings on the question, why not just quit? Yes, the thoughts have arisen many times. Let's just say, I still have a few objectives to achieve and I will terminate my membership when the right time comes.

Regular familiar faces whom I was once comfortable with, well...sad to say, very hard to catch these people anymore. They either have left the gym or no longer come to the same class as me. Changes....the word that we all hate...OR at least, I hate. It's funny how things ie. feelings, sentiments, friendship, etc change when regular routines ran beyond 3 years. What once used to be excitement has now became......oh hell, I can't even come up with the right word to describe it. Anyway...

Just as with gym, life too loses its excitement, for me at least. Maybe I'm the type that gets bored easily or I'm just uber sensitive when things in life are not going my way. Speaking of which....sometimes I wonder if people are genuine in their friendships. Why does one goes from being super friendly today to being distance the next day...everytime? I just don't get it. Is this what is called "fake friendship"? I for one values friendship. If someone were to text me, buzz me on chats or leave me messages on FB, I reply. Simple as that. I don't ignore. If I don't do it immediately, I will do it when time permits me to. Seriously, c'mon, no one is THAT busy 24x7, 365 days..UNLESS you are of no value to that person OR that person doesn't think of you highly enough to bother replying. If that is the case, then next time please do not be friendly to me so that I will not bother you ever.

Sigh...middle of the week and I'm already so full of bitchy rants.

I feel like sand slipping through your hand....

DJ Sammy couldn't have said it better.

Oh well.....

Interesting day at the gym today (or is weird a more suitable word?). Mr. Instructor aka Mr GX Manager actually helped to get a mat for me before class started and then, after class, helped me to put back my plates and bar. Never been helped this much before by any instructor. This coming from an instructor whom I hardly attend his class? Could it be he knew it was me who sent in that feedback form and decided he should get to know me a little better now? Ooopppsie. Yes, I wrote in 3 weeks ago to request for the Saturday Body 's Pump slot be given back to the previous instructor. Oh well.....

I sucked at hand signal, so I found out today. Signalled for Master Combat to switch on the back studio aircond during the 10 second break after Track5 in Body Combat. Pointed up to the aircond but I think she thought I was asking for a 1-minute break. The aircond wasn't switched on the entire class. Oh well....

Sent my sis and niece for half back massage at Thai Odyssey in IOI Mall in the evening. I opted not to join in as I wasn't sure if I wanted to try this outlet or stick to Arokaya House at Sunway, as planned, for a full body massage next month. The rate here is cheaper though as there is a current promo. I will decide later. Hopefully the promo will still be available.

Dinner was at NZX at Ara Damansara. Was very hungry as I didn't get to have my tea break after gym, so I whacked the food like there was no tomorrow and then on the drive back home, suffered stomach discomfort. Oh well...

The wifi connection at my home is starting to piss me off as the connection is so slooooowwww. But then again, I didn't have to pay a cent so I really can't complain. Oh well....

Young at heart ok...

There's no particular topic of interest in this entry really. I'm still in the office past Sunday midnite and I've finished my work portion but I'm waiting for my colleagues to finish theirs so that we can leave the office together-gether. So, while waiting, I'm doing a little blogging....cos there's really not much to do in FB already anyway.

A gym friend today commented that scars cannot be rid of, after I told her why I had been missing from gym for 2 weeks. Hearing what she said sent chills up my spine...so I told her not to scare me la. I now have all sorts of creams/gels in my first aid kit...aloe gel, vit e serum, gamat gel and the newly bought mederma gel, which stinks btw. I just hope one of those can heal my scar. Every time someone tells me this or that cream is good, I rushed out to buy it. I am seriously running out of work pants and long skirts. Plus it sucks not being able to wear shorts to the gym...huhu.

Today while out having yumcha with an instructor, a gym friend whom I have just got to know a week ago, commented that I am older than the instructor , which I tell you, really struck a dagger into my heart. I am so used to people telling me I look like a kid (comments which I used to hate in the past) but now I'm wondering if I'm aging that much :(. And anyway, how the hell does she know that I am older than the instructor?? (actually I am la...but then again...shit! that comment sucks)...huhu. Ok ok...enuff of self misery..gonna look at the bright side (whatever that may be).

Lazy to write much so....signing off.

Another new book

Got this book at the Popular Book Fair at The Curve on Saturday for RM29.90. I have been looking for a book on this subject matter for the longest time ever but the ones that I came across are way too expensive and out of my budget. This book is small in size but I think the information is sufficient for me, at least for the moment.

Having read a couple of chapters thus far, I find the content a little too difficult for me to comprehend...ahaks. This requires slow reading and repetitions of many paragraphs...hehehe. Nonetheless, it is very very informative. It is a great book to understand how our body system works.

My "kiam chai" project

Itchy hands decided to try the kiam chai (salted veg) fermentation project. Bought a stalk of "kou chai" (bitter vegetable, no idea what is the proper name in English). Mom said to soak the veg in rice water (sounds a bit gross but what the heck, just follow), sugar and sufficient salt in plastic container. After a week, it should be ready to be eaten. The veg needs to be dry before adding the water or else fungals (gross but harmless) will grow.

About a week old.

Looks gross but edible

The finished product.

According to my mom, the needs to be of enough saltiness or else the process will be slower. I guess this was what happened to mine cos it took more than a week for the entire veg to turn green brownish. Not bad for first trial though.

Another one for the collection

Got a new shot glass yesterday courtesy of a colleague. This one is called Hard Rock Cafe New York City 2009 shot glass. Love the design.

Good to be back?

It's been a long while since I last blog. Too late to wish anyone Merry Christmas, Happy New Year or Gong Xi Fa Cai. Been very occupied with playing Pet Society on facebook and it's really taking up a huge chunk of my time. Maybe the more appropriate words should be "wasting my time", and I really need to stop doing that. A lot of things happened since I last blog but I'm too lazy to list them all.

I got burned by motorbike exhaust pipe 5 days ago as I was walking too close to a bike. This has left a burnt mark the size of an egg, more or less. My medication rounds include dosages of vitamin E serum, gamat gel, aloe vera gel, not to mention the endless changing of bandages. The wound isn't getting any better and frankly speaking, I am starting to worried, esp. on potential scarring.

5 day old wound. I'm more worried abt the surrounding redness than the blister itself.

On a different note, I felt really stupid caring about someone and going all the way out to help this person but in return, I did not get a single "how are you, how is your leg?" greetings when we met up. It makes me wonder why I bother trying to care. Silly of me, really. At the very least, ask. That is what friends are for, especially friends who see each other every week. This tells me that I was never in this person's mind to begin with. Anyway....moving on. A good cry always helps.

"Live Your Life~ Don't Take Things Too Lightly!" Very impressive statement coming from a 12 year old. It makes me of think of my current state of mind. I have been so busy being conscious of other people around me that I have lost sight of the most important person in my life....ME. Seriously, ya, sure we all have friends and family who "care" about us but really, at the end of the day, will they be there 24x7 for us? It is time to start taking good care of ourselves.

This isn't what I had in mind to re-start my blog but I just need to vent some frustrations out. There have been a lot of built-up frustrations these past few months esp. from work, but I hope to see more positive outcomes overall in life. Working on it.........