爱情

沙士比亚先生曾经说过这么一句话：

爱情是一朵生长在绝崖边缘的花
想要摘它必须要有勇气
人们可以支配自己的命运
若我们受制於人
那错不在命运 而是在我们自己

好有趣的一番话，人嘛！总是在爱情的方面最脆弱。我也不例外。。好想谈一场平凡不过的爱情。不需要海四山盟的承诺，也不需要华丽与多余的奢侈品。。也许要一个人不计一切的拿出勇气来爱我是很难吧！可笑吧！

Prayer

' When life is tough & doesnt goes your way, pray....'
' When life is good, you pray even more & thank God for what He has given...'

3:38:47

I'm relieved that my 1st half marathon has over. Despite with pain all over my body especially both knees, I feel good completing it.

Before the race, I was praying hard that I'll have a nice weather with a bit of drizzling to run. Amazingly, God Answered my prayer...Thank You GOD!!

The first 10km was great, steady breathing, no cramp & I did it in an hour..I continued my slow & steady pace till 15km, there's when my nightmare started. The injury from last year haunt my knees again & has caused so much pain till I've to walked, limped & forced run till finishing line. All the time I made up earlier when down the drain...sigh! I'm disappointed that I didn't achieve my goal of doing sub-3, could have done better...but I've completed it, that's the least consolation for me.

There were too many complaints about the race not properly organised..but I'm not going to elaborate much here, seeing too many of my friends has already posted their complaints in their respective blogs...hahaha.

To have completed this race, there are some friends that I really appreciate for their support & encouragement along the way. Especially Lena, not only she make the effort to do weekly training with me, she did her very best to be my pacer during the race.

(Team Hyper Gila)

(The Pacemaker Gang)

(me running like a crab towards the finishing...arrghh! Finally, I'm done!)

(Tey caught me half way & took this photo...look at my bib! LOL..what a jinx number for chinese)

D-day - 96hrs left

This is it...i cant hide but to run...doing my checklist on things...

1) power gel - checked
2) vest & tights - checked
3) shoe & socks - checked
4) time watch - checked

now the remaining is to collect the bib this saturday, have enough rest & best part carbo loading without guilt...hahaha. (sigh! inside extremely nervous...like ronnie said :"kan cheong liao"..hahaha)

To my running frens...all the best this sunday,k. ;p

Counting down....SCKLM

IS JUST 10 DAYS AWAY!!!!! I'm getting more & more nervous by day...I can feel the pressure in me that I might fail to complete the race...haha. Even though I've got myself physically ready for it but mentally....AAARRRRHHH!! NOTHING NEAR TO READY!! If there's a scale of 1 - 10, I think right now I'm at 1.

How??? Die-die also have to do it. With bet to complete within the time frame, wearing the same vest with a group of running frens & 1st time doing 21km...hahahaha, like my dear fren Lena said : " Die die also have to step at the finishing line.." Great advice huh? ;p Thank God, she's gonna be my pacer & will make sure i dont chicken out...hahaha..so wish me luck.

License to Grill (home Version)

Let these pics tell the Story....Black pepper honey grill chicken. Recipe from my favourite TV program..."License to Grill" ;p

New Adventure on Number puzzles..

I was at Carrefour today to grab some groceries; just happened that they were having sales on books at RM5 each. Without 2nd thought, I started digging into the piles of books to see what's good for grab.

Yup,this book about "Kakuro" caught my attention. At first I just thought of flipping through the pages & see what's all about Kakuro. Soon I found myself fond of this number puzzle. ;p

I took the book home, there were 124 puzzles in total & I've been solving it one by one even when I'm typing this post..haha. Is fun, now I've more challenging puzzles to attempt during my free time other than Sudoku.

hmm... I wonder will MSIG organise annual event for Kakuro in future just like the one they have been doing for Sudoku. It sure be fun to take part on this & see how many Kakuro maniac out there. ;)

Going Green with Doubt

I've been using my own container for quite awhile regardless bringing home cook food to work or tapao "take-away" from stalls. Thinking this might be a little step saving the earth; to reduce the usage of plastic bags/Styrofoam lunch box...but ironically I disagree with what I'm doing at the same time...as in when I wash the container after using it, i realized I'm making another type of harm to earth with running water & detergent.

Lately, the media has been doing an awareness campaign on water. Poster with statements such as "Do you know 10,000litres of water is needed to prepare dinner for six per day??", "A person uses more than 100litres of water a day"....The statistic shocked me. I knew the water consumption has always been alot with the kind of HOT weather in Malaysia, but I never expect it to be that much.

Now...should I continue using my containers & uses more water?? or should I just ask the stall to pack my food in plastic/styrofoam & create more non-degradable waste?? What can be the best solution that can balance our daily life yet going green to save our world??

Use banana leaves to pack rice & noodles like the olden days perhaps??? Atleast the leaves is biodegradable...what about the soup & porridge then??? haha..tough choice!

Achieved My 1st Milestone!

It took me a week to watch closely on my weight until it got stable before saying this out..I've lost a total of 7kgs in 45days & it still going down...hehe.

I've started this since 1st April when I join my new company. Looking at 95% population of females in the office with daily topics about calories, fats, shopping for clothes, cosmetics & all other topics in your imaginary about what ladies will normally talk about...I was determined to give a big push of myself to fight for once to get back in shape & it really worth while. ;p

Having to joined the Fitness First floors below my office & training for up coming race motivates me even more. I've pulled out those pants/skirts which I've kept for 6 years out from the closet & started wearing them for now. (need to throw away another few more kgs before i can starts to do my shopping, dont want to waste extra money unnecessarily).

I'm happy coz my family members, friends & colleagues notice the changed. It feels really good!! Not only the weight that I've lost but rather living more healthier life. I didnt skip meals & never skip those makan trips with friends but rather cautious on what I'm eating...Haha..Kelvin told me, I can starts advertising tomorrow during the race for a boyfriend now...lol.

I've an extra reason to be happier now!! ;p

* lol, it sounds like a testimonial from my latest favourite reality show "The Biggest Losser"...haha.

The passion for Music

Just a small update on what's going on lately apart from one week old "sick"..keke.

I've started giving piano lessons again since early this month. I realized even after so long I've stop teaching, my passion hasn't left me. I enjoyed spending time with my student & see how she progress every week.

To be frank, teaching is not an easy job. I've to constantly drills my fingering skill at home & do my homework before my student learning from me. I've been doing quite a bit of updating the latest information on teaching methods & syllabus from ABRSM website, thus contacted some of the teachers in KL to discussed on the new approach on teaching too. I know it worth all the effort when I see the result from student. ^_^

I'll be taking in more student starting next month, really looking forward to meet new pupils.

Haha...that reminds me the song "Getting to Know You" from "The King & I".

It's a very ancient saying,
But a true and honest thought,
That if you become a teacher,
By your pupils you'll be taught.

As a teacher I've been learning --
You'll forgive me if I boast --
And I've now become an expert,
On the subject I like most.

Getting to know you.

Getting to know you,
Getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you,
Getting to hope you like me.

Getting to know you,
Putting it my way,
But nicely,
You are precisely,
My cup of tea.

Getting to know you,
Getting to feel free and easy
When I am with you,
Getting to know what to say

Haven't you noticed
Suddenly I'm bright and breezy?
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I'm learning about you
Day by day.

A slight stir...

I was infected with sore throat last Friday after work out in gym, slowly the flu & cough came over the weekend. I tried to suppressed the sickness at first with lozenges & clarinase but it erupted eventually.

This morning I went back to work as usual not knowing it will caused slight stir in the office with my trumpet nose, hollow voice & fever. My colleagues stayed away from me when they got to know I was down with flu; worrying that I got H1N1 flu that might contagious. (seriously, i was a bit scared too; coz i've nearly all the symptoms of H1N1) You can see how media influence people...haha. I ended up sitting at my cubicle with only move around when I needed to go toilet. (sorry man! didnt mean to scare u all.. ;p)

There were some urgent matters needed to solve by today ;I managed to pull myself till 6pm & headed straight to the clinic. The doctor did a round check; was relieved that it was just the weather & me being over doing my exercise lately.

So in the end I was sent home to rest instead of attending my gym session & have to take quite a number of pills that look like M&M but taste like bitter gout.

Mood Swing

(The very last photo she took with her closest grandchildren)

Awhile ago I was still happily watching youtube; now sobbing a little. I suddenly recalled my late poh poh, the time when I last saw her in the hospital a week before she passed away. Knowing that was the last I'll see her while she's alive. Tears just rolling down, I really missed her.

I'm ok though, just a sudden mood swing that makes me feel sad for awhile. Every now and then when few of us (cousins) talk about her, we still feel as if she's still here...cant believe is almost 5mths she has left us.

Stairway to Heaven

I had a dream last night which I was traveling with few others and lost them half way through, later i found myself reached this mountain place. According to the local, it is a very popular tourist attraction. I was panic at that time trying to locate where my friends were & didnt really pay much attention what that uncle was saying after that.

As soon as I've done making out call, i raised my head & saw this beautiful mountain with wide spiral stairway going all the way up. It was surrounded by shining blue ray with clouds; there's no ending of the stairway. There were huge crowd of people going up & down. I stood there for some time trying to figure out where will the stairway leads to but I was afraid to walk up. I managed to take a pic of it & left.

When I found my friends & was about to show them the photo, I woke up from the dream...I googled it & found the nearest picture to what I saw in dream yet there's no direct interpretation of this phenomena. can anyone tell me what's the meaning of this??? I'm keen to know.

Training

Many of us have started serious training for upcoming Standard Chartered KL Marathon, that's includes me. This is my attempt in 21km category, kind of nervous whenever I think of it. I had bets with two friends on completing the race within the time given, this motivates even more to train harder.

I've been training since early April in gym & at the park. From running only during the weekends to 4-5times a week..I feel good though with my stamina building up gradually & gotten quality sleep after the exercise. (haha...technically fell asleep before i finish checking emails every nights). Another extra credit i gotten is that i've lost several Kgs! yoohoo!!

Apart from these +ve side i gain, i worry bout me over doing it too. Coz i felt exhausted sometimes during the day. haha...it may be those lazy bugs in me that start complaining now. ;p I'm doing my best not to think about it & have my balance in food intake to continue exercise.

Well, hopefully few weeks from now i'll manage to do my personal best & win the bets. Best of all to see the physical change in me. Stay tune! ;p

Doubt, Cynicism & Faith

Fr Simon sermons have always been my favorite on many occasions apart from Fr OC Lim that always has his care for political issues & justice. It is simply because Fr Simon has good sense of humour and simplicity in words to make me understand what's God teaching is all about.

This morning, again he gave a very nice sermon about doubt, cynicism & Faith. He took slightly longer time than his usual, but I was ok because it was an interesting topic to ponder on.

This is what he had said: “Doubt is when we have uncertainty. But don’t quote me wrong, it doesn’t mean is a bad thing; simply because it is through serious doubt that will lead us to Faith.” (Paused) Then he continued: “It is through doubt that we tend to search for an answer.” Fr Simon took the example from today’s gospel about Thomas doesn’t believe it was Jesus until he saw the nail marks in His hand. It was because Thomas doubt and seek, he found Faith.

Fr Simon continued: “But then again, there are people who are paranoid in thoughts. This is what known as cynicism. It is cynicism that says there’s nothing great to seek for an answer and when this happened, we will never find Faith.”

“Have anyone of you watch Youtube & followed the show called British Got Talent???” (Cool heh?? Fr Simon’s really update on what’s on entertainment TV & internet…haha) He continued: “If you could remember, it was the latest episode where there was a contestant – Susan Boyle. When she told the judges & the audience that she wanted to be a professional singer, she was being judged badly before she could open her mouth to sing.” “After Susan sang, she totally blew everyone away with her amazing voice.”

And then again, Fr explained: “I’m not trying to tell how good Susan voice is, but rather showing an example about being a cynicism/ a paranoid of putting the first impression in mind judging & conclude something before seeking.”

I can’t remember how Fr Simon ended the sermon but these few sentences really carved deeply in my head that kept me pondering until now. It was a good one; at least it was to me. I nearly ask for a copy of his sermon for today…haha.

PS: I didn’t exactly follow British Got Talent but I later search for the part with Susan Boyle. Oh my! She really gifted with her beautiful voice. (Don’t judge the book by the cover! It has proven true & through!!!)

Piano Lesson for Beginner

Dear All,

I've started recruiting new student (beginner) for piano lesson. Please contact me at 012-6917908 if u or your kids are interested,k. Area covered : PJ & certain part of KL.

Thanks.

Quite Awake After Midnight

Sleepless nites...tick tock tickie tock, as the time goes...the clock struck 1 then 2 then...goes on. Brain cells are restless i guess..ended up praying. Only I know why.

I'll be going to SFX from Thursday till Easter Sunday, anyone keen to join? U are most welcome. ;) It is often during this time of the year will have heavy downpour, do drive safely.

Point of Focus

Life is full of big & small point of focus. It could be God, love, family, money, power, health & all sort of things that we believed & holding onto. In school, the exam is the point of focus to motivates us to know more. In Church, God is the point of focus to christian. In a birthday party, the birthday boy/girl will the focus of that night. Even for a dancer, he/she will have a point to focus so that one may not fall.

Ironic to know, some of these points of focus may not turn out right. A robber's point of focus to rob is wrong merely desperate of getting food on the table for the family. A teenage mum abort her baby just because her irresponsible of having one night stand.

As for me, just as I'm slowly gaining back my self respect & confident after 4mths unemployed; another point of focus I've been holding on for nearly a decade may soon slip away. Fear, anxious & worst thought slowly accumulated like thousands of butterflies oozing inside my stomach. I never know the impact..yet.

Funny isn't it? never ending tests, pains, suffering & endurance that God keep throwing to us while He was trying to mould us to become better person. Is just that how far or how fast u can keep up with His speed while trying to avoid all the temptations on the evil side. Of course along the way, we pick up pieces of happiness & carry in our hearts like memories that will takes us even further in life. In the end of the day, have your point of focus succeeded or failed that's matter most.

Holy Friday is just a week away. Jesus died for us on that day & never give up on us. I guess I should not simply surrender until the judgement day comes. Have a blessed Easter to those celebrating ya!

Dr Know-it-All !!

In year 2004 Hitz FM came out with a brilliant program called "The Adventure of Dr Know-it-all". The program was basically encourage the listeners to learn & know more about history in a very funny manner. I still remember some of the topics were, The history of Refrigerator & Freezer, The Bikini, Cell phone & etc.

I like fun learning...but sometimes what you have been taught may not be true. Some maybe Taboos or some maybe you have learned it from the wrong person & at the wrong time. The classic two examples that i can relate to were :

1) Nasi Goreng Pattaya (Pattaya Fried Rice)
It is one of the popular mamak food in Malaysia with Fried rice wrapped with a thin layer of fried egg. I would say many Malaysian thought it was originated from Pattaya, so do I. It was later that i found out there is no such thing in Pattaya.

2) Spaghetti Balognese
Haha...this one i just found out recently via AFC (Asian Food Channel). Spaghetti Balognese is not from Balogna nor from Italy!!! Even though Balognese Sauce is very famous dish in Italy. I was amused knowing that I believed the wrong stuff all these while.

Hmm.... How many more stuff that i know of are not the actual facts, I wonder????!!! ;p

Recipe

(looks good??? A bit pinkish though.. ;p)

I've a bottle of Red Grain Wine in the fridge for quite awhile. Last week I decided to cook something with it. Red Grain Wine normally use for Fook Chow ppl to cook Vermicelli soup; but since i wanted a quick meal, within budget & explore new recipe at the same time, i op for rice instead. Thank God...haha..taste turned out not bad (at least to me!! ;p)

The pot of rice only cost me RM5.70 & able to serve for 3meals..Great isnt it?! The 1st meal, i ate it as it is. On 2nd meal, I fried onion egg & ate with it. For the 3rd meal, I boiled vege. It sure fun & healthy at the same time.

The photo below showing Louis watching me eating the rice...haha. Isnt he cute?!