A drop in the ocean

" I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow..."

Herein lies Bell. I buried Bell in my garden today. Until his/her death I was still not able to ascertain his/her gender. S(he) died this morning and s(he) has been with me for 3 years.

Goodbye Bell.

* Bell is my dwarf hamster.

Mid life crisis

Sob!! Bawl!!! My Dermalogica products are not working. I recently spent a bomb on skincare products..to my dismay my skin hasn't improved significantly. Today a customer came to my shop and asked me if 1 of my staff was my daughter. YIKES. I guess you can't run away from ageing skin.

Sigh.

Ageing skin.

Bills, bills, bills.

And more bills, bills, bills.

Expanding waist line.

Loss of stamina.

I've reached mid life crisis.

Happenings

OK here's what's been happening in my life...

1. Missed the 15km New Balance run on Sunday as my nose and throat were still congested. Ran 4km outdoor yesterday, but it felt like completing 42km as I've lost some stamina...

2. Signed up for PJ Half...I am so unfit though, wonder if I will be able to make it...

3. Need to lose weight (again). This seems to be my everlasting purpose in life! Must start oatmeal diet again...

4. Watched "GREASE" last week. It was so awful, so I won't give a full review. All I can say is:

• Wasted my money
• It was so bad that I won't even watch it again even if I had free tickets.
• Lead actors were lacklustre
• Irresponsible crew as they didn't perform soundcheck
• I've seen better Actor's Studio plays
• Nobody will be able to live up to Travolta and ONJ.
• HATED IT!

5. Finally my fridge has been delivered. Now I can start storing food in my new house!

6. Finally fixed the complicated TV cabinet. I am not a dumb broad after all!

7. Clau is back. Welcome back!

8. Have not been bloggin much as I have been trying to be disciplined in doing my daily devotion. Have embarked on DA Carson's "For the Love of God".

Nose on legs

Oh woe is me! The only part of me that is running is my nose.My whole world is caving in!

Failure to Blog

Ok...I haven't been blogging for nearly 2 weeks due to the following reasons:

1. Been dead tired, I just DIVE into bed the minute I get home. Fell asleep infront of TV last night at 8.45pm while watching "From Russia With Love"...

2. Been trying to continue "Da Vinci Code". So much for it being a page turner, I can fall asleep after reading 2 pages.... no it's not that boring really but I really have been VERY tired.

3. My left foot hurts. Haven't been able to run properly for a week and there's no "ummph" in blogging about your exercise when you're not in tip top condition. May not be able to run the 15km this weekend. Let's see how it goes....

4. Busy busy at work.

5. Haven't been online much.

6. Been trying to watch all the 007 movies which my dad taped for me from Astro.

Today I bought 7 books from Evangel. Yes, buying books is my biggest vice. I have a bad habit of buying books and then not reading them. If I'm good about it, I eventually get to read them 3 years after I've purchased it.

How old am I?

Found the birthday calculator from Weefishy's blog. Here's what I discovered of myself after using the birthday calculator:

As of 5/4/2006 11:25:42 AM EDT, I am 1,066,303,542 seconds old.
My age is the equivalent of a dog that is 4.83013698630137 years old.

Gunung Nuang

Waterfall (from above)

Serenity

I'm still experiencing the high which I got from the Kk trip. Therefore I decided to join Jenny for a stroll in Gunung Nuang on Monday. Also, I wanted to put my Hitec shoes into good use. Trust me, it was well used. (Overused perhaps!) Got up at 5.30am to prepare some sandwiches for the trip. I can't believe it, I've been exercising everyday and not sleeping in, what more on the long weekend. Jenny and Adnan came to pick me up at 6.15am, then we headed off to Old Klang Road to pick Uncle Hooi up. There were 6 of us in the trip, and we met Mr and Mrs Goon later at the mamak. Uncle Hooi was the oldest amongst us, and I brought the average age down to 51.66. (Uncle Hooi is nearly 70). Jenny promised a workout equivalent to 2 days worth of calories! The entire trek would take about 4 hours up to the summit, and 4 down, total of 8 hours.

We were set to meet the Goons at the mamak somewhere in Ulu Langat. Just as Jenny parked her car and got down, she noticed there was a puncture in the back tyre on the right. That was about 7.30am. We were supposed to hit the trail at 8am. By the time we changed the tyre and had breakfast, it was already 8.20am. By the time we hit the base of the trail, it was about 8.40am. We had to drive through this really narrow path which wasn't even a proper road to get to the entry point of the trail. Believe it or not, even before we started the trail, I already had a couple of leech bites. EEEW!!

Jenny and Adnan took us on an overgrown trail, and I was trying hard to keep my mind away from thinking of how many leeches would have crept under my pants. We had to backtrack several times before realising that it was futile to go further, as this path was abandoned and it was difficult to find any clear trail. Just as we made our way back to the car, Jenny discovered that her shoes have started falling apart! The entire sole came off, and there was nothing left but a HUGE hole. Good thing she left a pair of Saucony in the boot. We drove back down, where we found another trail. This is actually the longer path, which takes about 40 minutes longer than the original path (ie the overgrown trail).

The fate of Jenny's shoes

What's left of the shoes

By then we knew that we were immensely delayed and not able to make it to the summit, as we did not want to come down when it was dark (being rainy season lately as well). Oh well, burning 1 day's worth of calories is better than not at all. It was quite a nice climb up, as the path was wide. Only thing I didn't like was the mud which coated my Hitec beyond recognition. It was mostly uphill all the way, and reminiscent of my KK climb, except that it was a HOT day. We had 3 streams to cross before reaching the Lolo campsite. It was quite a sorry state, the campsite, as it looked like a dumping ground with all the garbage left by the campers. Honestly, the campers should be more civic minded and clear after themselves as NOBODY, NOBODY is going to clear the place. I would not want to put up the night there.

On the brighter and more beautiful side, Camp Lolo was filled with butterflies of different colours and sizes. You'd see a group of them (how do you refer to a group of butterflies? not school, not herd....what is it?) flying around and it makes you feel like you're in Dreamland or some unreal world (don't look or think of the garbage). There was even a jungle dog there. He must be surviving on the scraps which campers feed him with. He doesn't look undernourished though.

We had our lunch by the waterfall - I had the sandwich while some of them had roti canai or nasi lemak. We left Lolo at about 1.30pm and headed down. Uncle Hooi was always ahead of the pack..he never showed any signs of fatigue or tiredness. He is the epitome of fitness for senior citizens, and I'd be lucky if I can be as active as him in say, another 20 years' time.

It was a good trip, even though we did not hit the summit. Well this is only the warmup...

Last Sunday

Ok, I've got some inspiration to blog, now that I've restored all my archive! :) The problem was was, I usually only republished index whenever I made changes to my blog without realising that I actually needed to republish the entire blog instead, so that the changes would show on previous posts.

It was an eventful weekend, it was good to have a long weekend after a long time. I really cherish such times because I hardly get long weekends off due to the nature of my work. Rested from running on Saturday, but feet were itchy so I still went to the gym. On Sunday, I joined Jenny for a double hill run. I was surprised I was able to complete the entire route as my thighs were still aching from the squats which I did on Friday. Met another runner who shares the same name with me. I started out really slow as my thighs were feeling heavy, but managed to catch up. And to think I was even ambitious enough to think of doing 15km! Collected all the New Balance shirts for the 15km run for my friends. It's blue black in colour, that's quite nice for a change; but not very safe especially when we run early in the morning. I have to go to the "My Running Shop" in Mid Valley to get those flashlights which blink in the dark to warn drivers of runners...

Later in the afternoon, my girlfriends and I had a girls' day out - went to watch "Failure to Launch". We all enjoyed it, it's one of those feelgood movies. I think the star of the show was the iguana or cave lizard or whatever the reptile may be called.

Decided to utilise my 40% discount on New Balance products before the 15km run. Got myself a pair of 901, and I was pretty pleased it came in pink! I've never owned a pair of pink sportshoes before, I guess I missed out on that in my childhood. ( I hated pink as a child). I had intended to get a pair of 1060, which I currently own and is top of the range. Unfortunately they did not have my size, so I settled for the 901 which was the next best.

New Balance 901

Disillusioned

Ok, admittedly I've lost steam to blog. Partly it's because I'm disillusioned. I've lost ALL my archive, everything I've blogged about for nearly a year. There's no way I can restore it back. Even part of my stories on KK have been wiped out. What's the point of blogging your entire lifestory? Just a silly mistake in changing the template can be disastrous.

Latest

Well, not much excitement lately. It's the same ol' same ol'. The only things worth mentioning of late are:

1) The biggest news now is the arrival of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' new child, Suri. The name is supposed to mean "princess"in Hebrew and "red rose" in Persian. Found out today from gym mate that "Suri " means PIG in Punjabi.

2) There's a cute pet shop boy who works near my shop. He is pretty well versed in pet food and can give good recommendations. Jesscet goes there too. Has The Joker smile.

3) Watched Gubra on Wednesday. Not too bad, it's a lot better than "Sepet" but I just have these few comments:

• The women are too hiao (flirtatious)
• It came with 3D effect because there was a scene where the bilal (holy man) touched a dog, and someone in the cinema had a doggy smell. So there you go, 3D effect.
• Alan Yun is cute
• Yasmin Ahmad always chooses Chinese boys with ripped abs
• Some lines were way too corny
• You can NOT take Harith Iskander seriously at all, even when he's supposed to be suffering from diabetic complications.
• Harith and Ida Nerina are too young to be Orked's parents
• Yasmin Ahmad loves to leave the ending hanging (not quite a cliffhanger though)

But overall, a good watch.

Other than that I've been indulging in exercise:

Today:

30 min walk on treadmill

10 min on elliptical machine

Smith machine squats

Side squats on tepboard

Alternate lunges on stepboard

Adductor and abductor exercises

Leg raises

Yesterday:

8.8km outdoor run - Pantai Hills route and a bit more

The Hills

7.2km outdoor Pantai Hills run. Lovely weather!

Oh the hills, the hills
Just give me the thrills
As I run up the hill
I feel like a withered dill.

Oh the hills, the hills
Despite the morning chill
Produce great buns it will
Even though it kills.

Oh I love the hills!

What Kind of Coffee are you?

Ran 3.5km on treadmill
13 minutes on elliptical
Smith machine squats
Dumbell squats
Dumbell alternate lunges
Leg press
Double crunch

You Are a Frappacino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern At your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Hmm..don't think I'm really a Frappucino....I'm more of a Yukon Blend..mellow and well rounded.

My car air-cond has been fixed. Yippeedooday!

Ran 7.2km today, Pantai Hills route. Need to get back in the swing...

Found my fridge too...

Oh my poor Razor has a bad cough...

Failing to Launch

30 min on elliptical
10 min on stepper
Barbell row
Dumbell bench press
Tricep dip
Bent over lateral raises
Reverse crunches

One movie I want to catch is "Failure to Launch". It reminds me of myself....It's about a 35 year old man (Matther McConnaughey) who still lives with his parents. So his parents device a plan to get rid off him..they hire a woman to lure him out..... Only difference is, my parents are not dying to get rid of me! Ok, will do something about moving out. Have been so busy during Easter I haven't had time to shop for essentials. Shopping for the fridge tonight. I am such a procrastinator.

Only 3 minutes!

Went for a quickie run before I went to JPJ this morning. Started at about 6.25am, the moon and stars were still out. It was reminiscent of my trip to KK when we had to climb to the summit at 2am. Did the usual 6.6km (3 rounds of Jln Terasek). It was a nice and peaceful morning, watching the stars as I ran and singing "How Great Thou Art" in my mind.

After the run I had to dash off to JPJ to renew my driver's licence. By the time I left home it was 7.40am, it took me about 40 minutes to get to Pertama Complex. I still remember that dingy place, it was where I usually got my jeans when I was a kid. You couldn't get proper jeans anywhere else (in those days) except Pertama. Oh and that was also the place you could buy T-shirts with pop star pictures. That was where I got my Duran Duran and John Taylor shirts (yes I used to be a die hard fan..) which evetually ended up under my feet (ie rags)

As soon as I arrived at JPJ I went to take a number. The guy dispensing the number looked like he could do with a cuppa Starbucks. Also had an attitude problem. Renewed my licence for another 5 years. The time between I took my number and had my card issued only took 3 minutes! Amazing!! Even my journey there was longer! Sometimes these government officers shock me.

4km run on treadmill
10 min on elliptical
Leg press
Leg curl
Leg extension
Back extension
crunches

4km run on treadmill
10 min on elliptical
Leg press
Leg curl
Leg extension
Back extension
crunches

Recent pooch pics

Razor on his 14th birthday

Close up of Mel

Ran 6.6km around Terasek. I feel good!

Day trip to Ipoh

(Wednesday April 12, 2006)

Did a quickie workout at the gym before heading off to Ipoh:

30 min on elliptical machine
Chest press (machine)
Incline chest press (machine)
Lat pull down
Lat pull down (variation)
crunches

Started my journey at 8.15am. Regretted for not buying Starbucks as I was quite sleepy at the wheel but struggled to stay awake with much prayer and munching in between. (Papaya and prunes have now become my staple diet) My dad had wanted to visit his sister who recently had a fall. Met up with some of my cousins whom I haven't seen in many moons. My family used to go back every Chinese New Year, but when my granparents departed, we stopped going. It's amazing how time flies, my cousins are now in their 50's. Some have aged gracefully (very) and some have just aged, period. I still remember them when they were young adults and I was just a little munchkin running around them. I used to think that their children were tiny tots but now that the kids have all grown, the age gap is smaller...they are only a few year younger than me.

Anyway, this is my youngest cousin...Jerry, who is just below 3.
















Also drove pass what used to be my grandparent's house: 13 Greenhill Drive.. I still have fond memories of that place and remember vividly what it looked like. It was an ancient house and the toilets were outside the house! I used to feel all spooked up if I had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night......The place used to be shady, with frangipanni trees but now it's a commercialised area. When my grandparents passed on, our family eventually sold the house and this is what it looks like now.


Good grief, they have turned it into a bar. :(