CHERISHED

DAY IN THE LIFE #2

2012-02-24T23:39:00.001-08:00

told you guys i was gonna make a proper post about what a random day in the life is like for me, and i have!

(you can read my first attempt here)

***

0600hrs

workout

sorry for the bad quality picture.

it was still dark, and i had just woken up from sleep.

10k run + stretching.

came home and iced my knees after that.

ice therapy after longer runs is a must for me. the night before my run, i fill plastic bags with water and dump them in the freezer. post-run the next day, i take the bags out and run water over them to melt the ice a little so that it conforms to the shape of my legs.

why the need for ice therapy?

during intense workouts, your heart quickly pumps more blood to your legs to supply the muscles with oxygen and nutrients. but post-run, your heartbeat decreases, and the blood which has been drained of its energy remains in your legs. this leads to a buildup of lactic acid, a substance that will eat away at your muscles if not flushed out. the solution is ice therapy.

ice therapy causes the blood vessels to contract and forces the blood out. after you are done icing, your legs will have been drained of the 'old' blood. as body temperature returns to normal, new blood rushes to fill your legs, rejuvenating your muscles and helping your cells to function.

more information about ice therapy can be found here.

0900hrs

breakfast

coffee, one granny smith apple, and rolled oats.

yes, i eat the same breakfast almost every day.

that box was from Nike Run KL and i use it to keep my earphones.

1200hrs

lunch

cabbage and three eggs.

ate lunch while working on my speech for presentation skills. the topic i chose? healthy living. :)

1500hrs

college

ate two slices of papaya while 9gagging in the lab and waiting for class to begin.

1830hrs

one packet of watermelon.

class ended at 6, so i had something to eat while waiting for my mum.

1900hrs

dinner

pieces of yong taufu with a plate lettuce.

had dinner with my mum, we shared the food in the picture above.

i took three pieces of tofu and lots of cabbage.

2130hrs

supper

rolled oats and coffee over newspaper comics and Man vs. Food.

in case you don't know what MvF is about, it's a show encompassing american food and sees the host, Adam Richman partaking in some sort of 'challenge' where he is required to eat a mountain of food in a certain period of time.

when i watch MvF, i feel a morbid combination of fascination and disgust. fascinated, yet disgusted at the wanton gluttony and mindless indulgence of some people. how can anyone force down so much fat, sugar, oil, refined flour, and more garbage into their bodies? how is anyone able to gorge themselves until they are stuffed, their bellies pushed to the limit, until they make a fool out of themselves by throwing up? and even if he completes the challenge, so what? you're still a loser, just one that has consumed a gazillion million calories.

it just makes no sense at all to me, and juxtaposes so fiercely with the vast numbers of people out there who are starving, their stomachs growling in desperate hunger. there are people who are dying of malnutrition, who have not had a meal in days, yet some still indulge themselves in mindless acts of greed and perceived bravado by chowing down on burgers the size of truck tyres.

2230hrs

sleep

read the bible for a while before hitting the sack. i don't read it often enough though. i really should.

i always try to sleep before 12, as sleep is important for your health. however since classes resumed, due to the commitments of college, i've been getting not nearly as much hours of zzz's as i should.

***

as you can see, i'm no small eater. i do eat quite a lot! however i make sure to eat healthy, and keep my portions in check. exercise, good nutrition, and adequate sleep are key in a healthy lifestyle.

about to go for a run soon, but the sky looks like it's gonna pour! must be due to my neighbour's adolescent son passionately singing christina perri's 'thousand years' at the top of his lungs in nasally prepubescent tones, heh. i hope he stops singing, and that the sky will clear up.

ALL YOU NEED

2012-02-23T12:34:00.001-08:00

SPLIT AT THE ENDS

2012-02-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

ever since i entered secondary school til the day i graduated, i'd kept my hair short. upon graduation, i decided that from then on, i was going to grow my hair as long as possible.

it took me about 2years to grow my hair as it is in the picture below.

a couple of weeks ago, i went to the salon and told the stylist that i wanted "only a trim."

she said that she'd have to cut off "slightly more" as i hadn't trimmed my tresses for quite some time and there were more than a few split ends.

"slightly more", indeed.

speaking of which,

at the time of my visit to the salon which was merely about month ago, the stylist had said she was going to have to cut off more of my hair in order to get rid of the split ends i'd accumulated over more than half a year.

however, it was completely pointless of her to do so as just last week, i found more split ends.

*le me sitting in church bored, starts to fidget around, check my nails and hair. discovery of a split end is made.*

me : hey do you know what a split end is?

ivan : what's that?

me : it's when your hair's ends are stressed, and they well you know, split. *shows him the aforementioned split end.*

ivan : oh gosh, let me see let me see! *holds it close and inspects it curiously*

wow this is really cool, i've never seen anything like it before!

oh well, screw split ends! who cares if i have them, no one even notices their presence anyway.

p.s. the fact that guys seem to think they're 'cool' is just another reason for me not to care, heh.

DAY IN THE LIFE

2012-02-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

some of the health & fitness websites i frequent have user-generated content. that means, readers are encouraged to send articles, comments, pictures, and so on. in one of those websites, there's a column for readers to share what they ate, complete with pictures and descriptions.

so for some time now, i've been wanting to make a post about what a usual day is like for me, primarily focusing on exercise and food.

attempted to chronicle my doings yesterday, but failed to complete it (you shall see why i say it was incomplete later in this post.)

***

FRIDAY, 17th Feb 2012

0600hrs

workout

woke up to go running, did 6km. was contemplating if i could notch up another km , but decided that i had to go home and get ready for college.

(if you're wondering what that orange thingy attached to my shoe is, it's the tracer for last year's Nike Run KL to track my distance and timing.)

0730hrs

breakfast

one granny smith apple, half a cup of rolled oats made with lowfat milk + some raisins, iced coffee.

breakfast is very important to me. every day i allocate a time of one hour and a half hour before going to college to prepare and eat it. it's also one of my favourite meals, and i enjoy taking my time to consume it slowly before starting my day.

coffee and i, we have a very special relationship. try taking my coffee away from me, i will hunt you down, i will make you suffer, and i shall eliminate you. nothing shall ever come between coffee and i, ever.

a lot of people think coffee is bad for you due to the amount of milk, sugar, and creamer in it. yes, coffee isn't so good if you drink those 3-in-1 kinds, or grab a cup of starbucks / coffeebean / gloria jean's. (commercially prepared coffees are a disaster, do you know how much thick cream, heavy syrup, and fullcream, fullfat milk go into one of those trendy, frothy cappucinos that you so happily slurp down? just one order can have an equivalent of more than 500calories!)

however, only 3 things go into the coffee i make : one teaspoon of pure ground coffee powder, hot water, half a cup of lowfat milk, and half a teaspoon of brown sugar. ahh, my recipe for happiness.

0900hrs

college

on fridays, i have class from 9-5pm. so i reached college and headed to class, only to find no one there. after some calls, found out that the first class of the day had been cancelled.

i could have run longer and gone that extra km, arrgghh.

1200hrs

lunch

mixed rice for lunch!

broccoli and tofu, yummers. i LOVE broccoli (actually, i love about all green leafy veggies) and tofu.

sorry for the ugly picture, i'd actually forgotten that i was supposed to be taking pictures of my food for this post and had already eaten a quarter of my lunch before i realized.

i'm glad that there are lots of restaurants / stalls selling mixed rice near my college, because that means i get to choose which foods and how much of them i want.

maybe you've noticed there's no 'rice' in my lunch that i got from the mixed rice stall, that's cos i don't eat rice. white rice, that is. why so? because white rice has practically zero (or very little) nutrients apart from carbs.what's more, since white rice has been processed and refined, it's a high GI (glycaemic index) food, which means it quickly releases energy. hence, people who fill up on white rice probably end up feeling hungry again soon after meals.

if you have a lifestyle that has lots of physical activity (e.g. if you're a construction worker / lumberjack / competitive athlete) then yeah, white rice would be not-so-bad for you to consume since you'll require lots of energy to sustain that activity. but since most people lead sedentary lifestyles with moderate activity, you should probably be cautious about eating too much white rice.

1830hrs

snack

came home from college, ate a granny smith apple and a slice of wholegrain bread before going to my room and taking a nap while waiting for dinner.

however, i snoozed on and one and missed out on dinner - i only woke up from sleep this morning at 5.30am. therefore, my reason for stating that this post was incomplete is because i didn't eat any dinner. i am strongly against skipping meals and always make sure to eat properly through out the day.

due to that, and also because making this post was a fun process, i shall be doing another post like this one again! :)

WEIGHTED

2012-02-16T07:40:00.000-08:00

would love to have a personal trainer kick my ass whenever i'm feeling lazy, heh.

***

i love the outdoors, i love running and i run probably an average of 12hours a week (including time to warm up, stretch, cool down, ice, etc.)

also, unless a gym membership magically falls into my lap, i'm too skint to cough up for one myself.

i don't see myself ever giving up the hours that i put into running, but lately, i've noticed that weight training is featured in almost all the prohealth websites i frequent. i've been reading a few articles and poking around a bit, and if i could, i'd be more than happy to begin a weight training routine.

when i mention this to others, the majority of them gasp in shock,

"good lord, a girl wanting to weight train? shock, horror, complete sacrilege!"

most of them probably equate weight training to looking like this

PEOPLE, calm your socks down.

those kind of results are insanely difficult to reach, and are almost impossible to reach unless you seriously have a ironclad diet plan and extremely strict, structured training routine.

anyway, that's not what i'm aiming for.

when i say "i want to weight train", this is more of what i have in mind.

why do i want to weight train? here, have a look.

lean muscle.

sexy cuts in your back, thighs, shoulders.

defined abs.

a toned physique.

all those and more.

the person in the last picture is fay hokulani, one of my favourite female health bloggers who also consistently weight trains.

***

so, anyone with a gym membership want a training buddy? :D

p.s. i'm serious.

COMIC STRIP

2012-02-15T06:08:00.000-08:00

last week, i had to go out of college urgently to print something, but it was raining steadily. as i said, it was important, hence i sucked it up and ran out under the drops. saw a lone person walking along the road in the same direction as me. ran up beside him and went with a huge i-don't-know-you-but-i-really-have-to-get-out-of-this-rain grin and went "HEY LET'S SHARE UMBRELLA. :D"

i think he was rather surprised by my boldness, however he was a really nice person and agreed. he even made the effort to have light conversation, when most guys would probably have only plodded on silently. he also walked me to the print shop after that, when where he wanted to go was in another direction.

i know it was only a small thing. still,
umbrella guy, i doubt you'd ever see this, but thanks. :)

PEARL OF THE ORIENT : THEM

2012-02-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

just posting up the remaining photos of my trip to penang last year. pics are from here, there, and about.

natalie and i at her house.

love the floor-to-ceiling mirror.

at queensbay mall.

adrian (yeap), zac, sam.

adrian totally looks like he's got something up his sleeve in the above picture!

and another one of them.

i thought i looked X(

hence the ms paint job.

***

during my stay with nat, i'd wake her up in the mornings, and we'd head to the gym together. she said that i was a good way of keeping her disciplined.

in nat's room, pre workout.

at the gym, post workout.

morning market at sg. ara

breakfast with nat, adrian (lim), cheeyang, zoe, and ailyn who was taking this picture.

with adrian and cheeyang.

they insisted that i smile with teeth showing.

and on an unrelated note, i think adrian looks like fido dido.

doesn't he?

***

at nat's house baking cookies.

while nat and zoe were the ones baking, ailyn and i just watched.

too many cooks spoil the broth!

ailyn and i, reflected in a large pot.

awesomesauce sheperd's pie that nat's mum made. i usually don't like pie cos i find it so heavy and pasty, but the only pastry in this pie was the crust on top, while everything else was veggies. :D

cookie batter.

nat and zoe putting the cookies into molds.

looking mighty pleased with their handiwork.

the cookies.

us girls.

and again, they insisted that i smile with teeth showing.

***

and that's all the pictures that i have from my trip to penang, december 2011.

looking back through these photos really brought mixed feelings.

on one hand, it made me smile to remember all the fun and laughter that i had with them while i was there.

on the other, it's sort of a killjoy to think that i'm so far away from them, what more zac who's in singapore and nat who'll be leaving to US in a couple more months.

oh well, i suppose i'll always have memories.

ON AIR

2012-02-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

yesterday was an exhausting day. despite getting only 3hours of sleep the night before, i had to get my ass to class at 9am, and only got back after 5pm. crashed in bed as soon as i got home, and woke up today at 5.30am.

however, the long hours of sleep did revitalize me enough, and i went running this morning.

10kms done, ahh.

beginning my day with an early morning run always puts me in a good mood and give me a sense of satisfaction.

***

know what else is looking good about today?

i'm heading up to cameron highlands with my family in a short while! this year, it's my sister's turn to go for RBS. we'll be staying one night at Heritage Hotel @ Tanah Rata, then visiting her tomorrow afternoon before driving back down to KL.

hoping to be able to fit in a run while we're there. running in the cold, misty weather of the highlands would be wonderful!

IT DEPENDS ON YOU

2012-02-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

recently, someone came to me, all gungho fired up with confidence, brimming with eagerness and hope. she said "cheryl, tell me how you managed to achieve so much, how you lost so much weight, got so fit and healthy. i wanna know, because i want it too! i want it so badly! tell me everything, how you got started, what do you do now, what i should know, etc etc etc ..."

so i sat down with her, and in a lengthy, detailed conversation, i shared my story, what i do, what i eat, what my workouts are like, etc. i told her what she'd better be prepared for, what she was going to have to be willing to do and commit to, and the changes she would have to make to her current lifestyle.

as i talked, i noticed that the initial spark that she had when she first approached me waning, her seemingly spirited demeanor drooping. when i was done, she quaveringly said "i appreciate your telling me all that,but that's.. just so difficult! i don't think i'd ever be able to do all those things. i can't. it's too hard, too strict, too much. sooo yeah, thanks, but it's ok."

and she walked away, the same person that she had been when she came to me.

***

my point of sharing this here, is that - if you want something you've never had, you've gotta do something you've never done.

albert einstein once said, "foolishness is doing the something the same way over and over again and expecting different results", so don't expect change to happen by just sitting around and hoping for it.

you CAN make it happen, it just depends on how badly you want it. the girl in the situation above said she wanted badly to change, but apparently she wanted her current lifestyle more, or else she would have been willing to give it up in favour of a healthier one.

MERCILESS

2012-02-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

REFLECTIONS

2012-02-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

“There’s a plane leaving for anywhere you want right now, and in an hour, and in a day, and in a year. You can get out whenever you want, it’s comforting I think.”

***

today during my social psychology class, our lecturer was teaching us about self knowledge.

self concept - who you think you are as a person, changes over time.

self awareness - the act of thinking about yourself and who you are.

as an exercise to get us familiar with the lesson, she asked us to come up with a few self concepts to share with the class. i came up with more than a few, and i thought i'd share what i have here.

i don't get emotionally attached to people easily.
in areas that matter to me, i set very high standards for myself and get angry at myself when i don't meet them.
my current passions are, writing and health / fitness.
i walk the line between optimism and realism.
i want to live in another country / countries for at least 5 years of my life.
by the age of 25, i want to have travelled to at least 10 different countries.
i express myself better through writing.
i have a high sensitivity towards other people's feelings and emotions.
i like being alone sometimes.
i think a lot about the past and future.
i set goals and work hard towards them.
i want to have two kids.
i love sports, and am a very competitive person.
i want to get married before the age of 27.
i fear growing old alone.

YEAR OF THE DRAGON

2012-01-30T23:44:00.000-08:00

during CNY, my family headed up north as penang is my dad's hometown. sadly, he hails from the mainland and not the island, so the mainland was mostly where we were. however we did cross over to the island once, for lunch at my dad's friend's apartment.

with uncle chee keong and auntie lay hong at their place.

sis and i.

both of us dyed our hair using liese dye, but with different colours. hers is chestnut brown, mine is dark chocolate. the colour didn't seem obvious AT ALL when i'd just dyed it, and i was rather disappointed. however it brightened considerably after a few washes, so now i'm satisfied with the colour and i'm glad i didn't go any lighter.

mum, sis, me, bro.

another shot of sis and i.

bro and i in the car.

we went to town after that for some sightseeing. one thing that my dad really wanted to do was get tau sar peahs, or as they are otherwise known, dragonballs. so we dropped in at him hiang for their tau sar peahs.

i didn't know that Burma Road Gospel Hall was only a few doors away from Him Hiang biscuit factory!

standing at the entrance of Burma Road Gospel Hall. :)

dad also took us to ghee hiang to get their tau sar peahs, unfortunately they were closed.

after penang island, we went to kepala batas to visit some of my relatives who own paddyfields there.

night time slowly falling, transitioning the sky from day to dusk.

BE GONE!

2012-01-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

happy happy :)

finally got my hands on these, and i hope that they'll be the solution to my ailing knees.

chondritin - repairs wear and tear of the joints.

glucosamine - promotes new growth of cartilage.

msm - reduces inflammation and joint degeneration.

knee pains, be gone!

HECK YEAH

2012-01-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

hi guys!

i've been away for a while ; was in penang / ipoh for chinese new year. this year, CNY had me quivering like a leaf in the wind.

mention penang, automatically char koey teow, penang laksa, curry mee and other frightening dishes come to mind. ipoh too, is associated with tambun biscuits, chicken rice, chee cheong fun, and so on. that, coupled with well meaning relatives who gave their best attempts at stuffing me to the gills every single day that i was with them, spelt out potential doom for my healthy lifestyle.

yes, it would be a challenge. but hey, that's life, isn't it? you can't expect not to encounter bumps in the road. if you only attempt to get things done when conditions are peachy, don't expect to go far. so, i squared my jaw and got ready to take on the challenge.

i wasn't going down without a fight. for my trip, i packed my workout clothes / shoes, and exercised almost every day that i was away.

the chalets that we stayed in had a gym, but it was only available from 9am onwards. if you know me, i like my runs much earlier than that. so with the help of my smartphone and a very handy running app, i was able to venture out on my own without fear.

btw, the app i use is called endomondo, if anyone wants to know. besides tracking the distance you've covered, calories burnt, and time taken, it shows you your location using GPS so you don't have to worry about getting lost.

***

dad also took us to the beach a few times, so i was able to run there.

running along the coast was really awesome!!

the first beach that we went to, was just along the butterworth-kulim highway. so it was really nice in the sense that the track was smooth and even, with soft grass to run on.

soft trail ftw! it's always better to run on trails rather than road / concrete / other hard surfaces as softer trails are easier on the knees - something i have to be more careful about since my experience in the past.

all flushed and sweaty from running. :)

we also went to robina park. the beach there only consists of huge rocks, so running there was a nay. instead we walked on the narrow track. but hey, any exercise is better than no exercise at all.

this was a candid shot ; i'd noticed a large pipe extending farther out to the sea, so i walked out on it. on the pipe there were many barnacles and shells stuck to the surface. at the time of the above photo, i was bending down to look at the tiny creatures which were scuttling around, and my bro snapped without me knowing.

looking out to penang island (i was in butterworth.)

***

yes, i did let loose a little in penang and ipoh. after all, i only see most of my relatives there once a year, during chinese new year. and besides, what's CNY for if you can't enjoy the food and fellowship around the dinner table, right?

however i still made sure to be mindful of my intake, and get my exercise.

when i came back, i hopped on the scale and...

i'd lost half a kg.

however, i'm not gonna revel in the moment - this only motivates me to work even harder and melt off the remaining fat!

so, you see guys? festive occasions doesn't automatically equal piling on the pounds.

you CAN make a difference, you just have to work hard! :)

WHEN YOUR LEGS GET TIRED, RUN WITH HEART.

2012-01-20T05:47:00.000-08:00

as some of you who read my blog regularly may know, i suffered from a knee injury otherwise known as runner's knee in august last year due to overtraining, not getting enough rest, and lack of proper nutrition. my condition rendered me unable to run for 4months, but with ice therapy and other forms of treatment, i've pretty much healed and can run again.

however, somewhere throughout the whole ordeal, i realized that maybe my injury wasn't such a bad thing after all.

how is it even possible for me to say so?

***

firstly, runner's knee may have put me off running, but i was still able to walk. and for those 4 months, that was what i did. i was unable to run, but i was determined not to let that affect my weekly number of kilometers per week (i logged in a minimum of 20km at that time, but now i do close to 40km.) so what did i do? well, i did the same distances i did running, only this time i walked through it.

that meant waking up much earlier as distances i used to run in half an hour, now took double that time.
it took self-restraint for me to keep myself from running.
i also had to exercise self control, and discipline myself to rest enough, eat well, and plan out a proper training schedule.

all of this brought to my mind one phrase ;

"YOU WILL NEVER KNOW HOW STRONG YOU CAN BE, UNTIL BEING STRONG IS THE ONLY CHOICE YOU HAVE."

i look back on the obstacle that i'd dealt with, and although it might have been a challenge to me, what i do know now is that i had the strength to face and conquer it. how would i have discovered the depths of my determination, and hammered home my commitment to stay fit if i had just thrown in the towel? i could have made excuses, i could have felt sorry for myself - indeed, most people would have told me that i had every right to do so. i could easily have given up and told myself that that was it, i was never going to run again.

but if i had given up, what would that have done for me? i'd just have felt worse and dug myself deeper into my hole of depression, and probably slid back into my old ways of not exercising consistently.

as i go on my usual runs now, i'm glad to be able to look back and know that lest there be more challenges, i am able to go through them, and that i will NEVER stop running. at least, not for a long while yet. :)

SHOE HAUL

2012-01-19T07:23:00.000-08:00

in less than a week, i have substantially increased the size of my shoe cupboard.

most of my buys are pictured here. there are actually a couple more, but i was too lazy to go dig them out.

flats, bata.

they were on promo, two for the price of one or something like that.

sandals, neckermann's.

wood wedges, modani.

love these cos although they're super high, they're really really comfy!

patent leather flats, larrie.

wedges, vincci.

that's it. no more buying shoes for at least half a year.

WHY IT SUCKS TO BE A GIRL TAKING PUBLIC TRANSPORT

2012-01-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

the other day, i was waiting at the bus stop. although i was alone, it was late afternoon - broad daylight, so i was pretty comfortable sitting there on my own.

suddenly, this alfa romeo pulled up and the guy rolled down the windows.

him : hey, where are you going? need a ride?
me : no thanks, i'm fine.
him : don't worry about it, i can help you out! where you headed?
me : i said i'm fine. i don't need a ride.
him : come on, it's on the way, let me take you there!
me : *how the hell would you know it's on the way when you don't even know where i'm going?*
me : nope.

ignored his continued nattering, and after a while he drove off.

then, this other car, a wira, stopped right in front of me. the dude inside gave me a glance, then just sat there. i figured he was waiting for someone, so i didn't bother. however, some time passed and he was still there. i happened to look in his direction again, and oh gawsh.

he was sitting there, pleasuring himself.
how annoyingly pathetic.

*rolls eyes in disgust*

these losers really need to get a life.

THEN ; NOW

2012-01-12T20:09:00.000-08:00

just mulling over the past year, thinking about what i've done and how i've changed.

one of my biggest, most important moments of 2011 was definitely when i decided to make the transition to living a healthy life. i still remember being very depressed about gaining so much weight.

in 2010, i'd just graduated from high school and i was moving around a lot. due to my constant travelling, i flung all caution to the wind, telling myself all this was OK since i was on holiday. i ended up eating whatever i wanted and not exercising. the pounds piled on, my clothes grew tighter, and i positively ballooned.

however the shocker came in 2011, when i woke up to just how ludicrous my circumstances had become.

dug up some pictures from the past, and i shocked even myself. how did i ever let myself get so large? how could i have fooled myself into thinking, that my situation was 'not that bad'?

yes, these photos do make me wince with humiliation. but i want to share them here, for everyone to see and as a reminder to myself, to never, NEVER, go back to that stage.

i'll smack myself in the face if i do! not only that but i give you, every single one of you reading this, the ample and indisputable right to do the same and throw me a punch in the jaw!

***

THEN NOW

THEN

bad skin
difficulty infalling asleep
way overweight
flabby
not fit
alwaysexhausted
ate lots of crapprocessed food
unhappy

NOW

relatively clear skin save for the odd zit
i fall asleep like a baby!
lost all the weight i’d gained plus somemore ; clothes which used to fit in high school are now too loose :D
energy levels are through the roof!
eat clean, wholesome, foods
and i’m the happiest i’ve ever been!!

dear me,

if you ever get frustrated, or feel like giving up, look at these pictures. remember how grouchy and uncomfortable you used to be when you weren't eating right, sleeping enough and exercising consistently.

conversely, you have never been happier, you have never felt more proud of yourself, than when you saw it through to eat clean, get enough sleep, and make exercise a constant in your life.

IT IS WORTH IT. every single minute of it. it was, is, and will be worth it! aren't you glad that you now are able to run hard, you aren't dragging yourself from bed to class, that you don't feel sluggish and tired all the time? aren't you proud to have definition in your abs, to have the ability to work longer and be more active? aren't you proud to have your leanest body yet, to have the confidence and happiness you now own? you've worked hard for it, so hold on to it jealously, and do not let anything take it from you.

don't EVER let anything stumble you, and drag you back down. yes, you will fail. time and time again. but that's ok. learn from your mistakes, and come back stronger than ever. take pride in how far you have come, and have faith in how far you can go!

***

watch me, i'll go far.

I WILL

2012-01-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

i think i look rather pissed off in the picture below, don't mind me.

10.30pm, and i'm sitting here in my running gear because i'm waking up early to go 8km at it tomorrow morning. when i know i have a run the next morning, i always sleep in my running attire so i can head right out the door upon waking up.

in case you're wondering what's that i'm holding, it's a bowl of oats. oats are a runner's (well, this runner anyway) best friend because they're a good source of complex carbs, which release energy slowly. it's also a plus that i LOVE oats, so i eat them twice a day.

it's raining now, so my run tomorrow morning should be lovely. fingers crossed for it to be misty and chilly, the air still infused with the smell of rain.

***

with us being just a few days into 2012, here are my new year's resolutions, health / fitness / nutrition-wise! they may be a tad late because i was busy posting about penang before, but better late than never.

HEALTHY LIVING
- eat clean
- train mean
- get enough sleep
- lose more fats, gain lean muscle

RUNNING
- take good good care of myself and my body
- proper nutrition
- follow a proper training regime
- rest enough! (it was overtraining + not enough recovery time between runs that brought on the problems with my knees in august)

Races for 2012 that i ~~want to~~ WILL join
Jog for Hope (10km)
Standard Chartered KL Marathon (10km)
Adidas King of the Road (16.8km)
Nike Run KL (10km)
Penang Bridge International Marathon (21km)

here's to getting fitter, faster, stronger, and better in 2012!

PEARL OF THE ORIENT : PENANG HILL Pt.2

2012-01-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

blogging from where i left off in my previous post (click!)

***

so we decided to go to the monkeycup garden. or rather, zac was the one who wanted to go and seeing him so enthusiastic about it, i was up for it as well.

at the start of the trail, they were offering buggy services to people wanting to go there, but we chose to walk. it was quite a bit further than we expected and took us a substantial amount of time.

but it was still really nice to leisurely walk and talk, at times veering off the path to take a pause and look out upon penang island from above where we were, and then continue on our way.

took a number of random pictures as we went on our way.

zack ; me.

mirrors were placed at sharp bends in the road for buggies to have a better view round the corner.

got tired of taking pictures of /by myself.

thus, i yelled (yelled because he'd wandered off some distance in front)

"hey zac, get back here! let's take a picture!"

he responded to my orders by photobombing me.

at one of the lookout points.

because i was unable to get a full shot from the road, we climbed onto the rocks, where i was successful.

a spider and its web.

charlotte, is that you?

found a very english-looking postbox.

i like how he looks so happy in this picture. would have done the same, but

1) copying someone is lame and

2) he might look cool, but i'd have looked retarded anyway.

so i did my own (albeit boring) poses with the postbox.

found a hibiscus flower on the ground, probably had already bloomed past its prime and fallen there. picked it up and put it in my hair.

you can see penang bridge in the background.

butterfly and its shadow.

***

finally, we reached our destination!

sign at the entrance.

couldn't help thinking of these as we wandered round the gardens.

can't believe i still remember their names - bellsprout, weepinbell, victreebell.

yup, i played pokemon when i was younger. it was an awesome game!

signs like these were placed around the area as well.

part of the gardens.

you can see my funny-looking socks. ehh, whatevs.

flytrap plant!

we had fun poking it with some twigs, just to see if it would close as though an insect really had landed on it.

a big monkeycup plant.

***

flowers that we saw along the way.

forgive the injustice my unprofessional camera does to their beauty.

ok this is not a flower, but i have no idea what it's called.

aren't God's creations so magnificently exquisite?

PEARL OF THE ORIENT : PENANG HILL Pt.1

2012-01-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

another one of the places i visited when i was up north was Penang Hill.

i asked around if anyone else would be interested in joining us (zack and i) and there were a couple of people who were agreeable to it. however on the morning itself, no one else showed up and so again, it was just the two of us.

we arrived at the foothills around 7.30am but the train was only due to leave at 8am, so we just hung around a bit and i took a few pictures.

standing against the backdrop of a tunnel.

although most guys (zac included) are killjoys when it comes to taking pictures, they can still come in handy when you're trying to get a full shot of yourself and your surroundings. :)

this is how the train used to look like, many many years ago.

and this is how it looks like now, all modern and sleek.

was trying to get a picture with both of us in ;

FAIL.

here's one when we were on the train, cropped myself out cos i look ughh.

but i still had to post this, cos i think zack looks like he's in a colgate commercial.

on our way up!

finally there ; views overlooking the island from the the top of penang hill.

***

when we reached the top of the hill there were only a few people about so it was really nice. if you want to go to penang hill, i recommend you go early because in the late morning, it gets really crowded.

binoculars provided for visitors to have a clearer view.

we thought it looked a bit like wall-e.

it does, doesn't it?

the thing about the binoculars, was that it costs rm2 to use it for about 5-10mins. neither of us were felt like paying, especially when we already had such good views.

however i still wanted to take a picture of me (pretending to) look into the lens, because that seemed the proper touristy thing to do.

indian temple.

me looking at a map of penang hill.

om nom nom nom - pretending to take a bite out of one funny-looking tree.

know why?

because it looks like curly fries!

***

there are lots of things to see and do at the top, so we did quite a bit of walking around.

a sculpture of a pearl - fittingly so, as penang after all is known as pearl of the orient.

***

we then proceeded to walk to the monkeycup / flower gardens, which were quite a distance away and took us a substantial amount of time.

because i took so many pictures, i shall continue blogging about penang hill in the next post. until then, i shall hereby end with a picture of a snoozing dog.

PEARL OF THE ORIENT : PENANG BOTANICAL GARDENS

2012-01-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

so, one week after returning from bible camp, i went to penang AGAIN. this time it was to spend time with friends and see penang properly.

in the bus, on the journey there.

***

sights along the way

limestone hills

lush green slopes

and i reached penang just as the sun was setting.

zack picked me up from the bus station, then we went for dinner with adrian and choon guan. headed to queensbay cos the guys wanted chatime for dessert. after that, it was with zack back to his place to crash for the night.

***

the next morning, we went to the penang botanical gardens. a couple other people were supposed to come but they pulled a disappearing act on us, so it was just zack and i.

pictures from the botanical gardens

lily pond.

me standing on a bridge.

rushing waters right below my feet.

a flower in a cheerful sunshiny colour.

part of the gardens.

sun shining through the trees

insects busily collecting nectar from a flower.

cannonball tree - aptly named due to the resemblance of its fruits to cannonballs.

a plaque on one of the bridges

one of the two hiking trails we went on. this was the more challenging one. steps upon endless steps, phew! every time we thought we were reaching the top, we'd come to a turn which would only reveal more steps. but we couldn't bear throw in the towel and turn back, so we soldiered on.

saw this flag proudly hanging from one of the trees on our way up.

almost at the top!

we finally reached, but too bad there was too much foliage to get a clear view.

we saw monkeycups as well.

a plaster i spotted on the trail. :)

finished our running / hiking, then walked around the entrance of the gardens a bit more before leaving.

more lilypads! this time, they were bigger ones.

zack.

me.

the lotus flowers are so pretty!

PAPER CUTTER

2011-12-31T03:34:00.000-08:00

only a few hours of left as the last remnants of this year fade away, and then we shall be in the new year.

will be going to church for watchnight service in a short while. being as unladylike and lacking in table manners as i am, i sure hope i don't get my white-as-snow top dirty during dinner!

***

this year has been a tumultuous one for me. in many, SO many things. too many to list down here. however, it's safe to say that this year has ultimately been a ~~good~~ great one.

happy new year, everyone!

RUNAROUND

2011-12-30T08:31:00.000-08:00

To : God

Dear Lord, thank you so much for this beautiful life, and forgive me if i don't love it enough.

From : Me

LET IT SNOW

2011-12-25T02:48:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

HEALTHFULLY

2011-12-21T22:38:00.000-08:00

in my last post (click!) about healthy eating, i mentioned some of the foods that would be detrimental to a healthy lifestyle.

however, healthy living isn't about depriving yourself from yummy food and living on carrot sticks! there are many options out there that can taste just as good, if not better than the processed, 'fake' food that so many people have become used to.

there's a reason i don't eat most commercial packaged foods from the supermarkets - they're laden with preservatives, flavourings, chemicals, and goodness knows what else.

here's just some more side info i bet you weren't really aware of ; be prepared!

THIS crap is what you are putting into your body when you eat most commercially prepared burger patties / meatballs / sausages. do you really think that the money hungry corporations would give you the choice parts of the chicken (e.g. proper meat from the breast / loin / ribs / thigh) when those are profitable for the market? no!

so they take all the parts that they can't use - the intestines, kidneys, bones, liver, throw it into the grinder, and it comes out like the picture above. that foul garbage is then shaped into patties for burgers, wrapped in gelatin for sausages, or moulded into innocent, fun looking nuggets. because it is crawling with germs, it is treated with ammonia solution. it will taste disgusting, so it's pumped with flavourings / seasonings, and then some more chemicals to make sure it lasts for months and months without spoiling.

disgusting, but now you know.

***

for those who still argue that healthy eating is boring / bland, here's some proof for you that it's NOT.

i'll admit that in the beginning it was tough for me to clean up my diet, because i had eaten so much of artificial, chemical pumped, flavorings and preservatives laden food that it was a challenge to go without them. but after some time, my body fully embraced the nutrients it was getting, and started making radical changes.

your diet makes a huge difference in shaping up.

a healthy diet consists of balance, variety, and moderation!

balance: eating from all the food groups; meaning that you are eating whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy (or dairy substitutes), fats, and proteins everyday.
variety: eating the different types of foods within each food group, don’t only eat tomatoes as your vegetable source everyday for the rest of your life.
moderation: don’t consume excessive amounts of one food or food group.

i know many guys out there want to buff up, so they spend lots of time in the gym working out. but did you know that by cleaning up your diet, you'd get where you want a lot sooner, even without working out as much?

lest you think this is garbage and you have to practically live in the gym in order to tone up, and also to present you with some assurance of what i just said, here is a picture of me flexing my arm.

ok so it might not be that impressive, but there's you can't deny that there's some definition! and bear in mind that this was without any weight training at all, only regular exercise (running /basketball) and a healthy diet.

what do i eat?

carbs : whole grains - oats, wholemeal bread, wholemeal crackers

protein : chicken breast, fish, lean cuts of beef, tofu, yogurt

fruits : apples, watermelon, papaya, honeydew, rock melon, guava

vegies : spinach, turnip, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, beansprouts, bok choy, brinjal, okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, celery

as for liquids, i only drink water, tea, or (in smaller amounts) lowfat milk.

a clean diet is the most important part of getting in shape!

JUST A SHORT PHLOG

2011-12-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

a few pictures from penang that i grabbed off facebook.

HELLO, STRANGER

2011-12-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

how long has it been? nearly two weeks?

on the 10th of december, i travelled up to penang alone, to attend Penang Annual Bible Camp. it was to be a week long, i had no idea what to expect, and it was with about 100+ people i had never met. on the duration of the 5 hour journey up north, i had mixed feelings about it. i was excited to be doing something different, out of my comfort zone. yet i also faced slight notions of trepidation and anxiety. what if i couldn't get along? what if camp was boring? what if the food sucked? (ok that last one was mildly in jest)

but as camp started and the days went along, i found that all my initial doubts and fears were completely unfounded. i made friends with wonderful people, had amazing team members and dorm mates, the food was good, and the activities were super! the week passed by in a flash, and before i knew it, camp was over.

however, although camp officially ended on the 17th, that wasn't the end of my time in penang. i made so good friends with the people there, that they invited me enjoy the hospitality of their homes. as a result, i stayed on 3 days longer than planned.

i was well fed with yummy food, saw picturesque places, laughed til the wee hours of morning, got taken out every day, and just had a blast there.

from 100+ strangers, to 100+ friends.
and i will miss all of you, very much.

*blows flying kisses*

mwaah!

PEOPLE

2011-12-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

walking down the street today, i saw a girl.

as she was approaching me, i thought she was very beautiful. however as we got closer i noticed that she only appeared attractive because her face was caked with layers upon layers of makeup.

so much makeup, that up close, it gave her skin a waxy, artificial look. thick foundation which worked for giving her the impressions of being fair, but at a more scrutinizing glance, was flaking off and unevenly clinging to her face. fake eyelashes, like spidery legs stuck onto her lids. ruby red lips, achieved with the help of cosmetic paint.

i couldn't help feeling slightly sympathetic towards her. at the same time it made me thankful that i'm comfortable enough in my own skin to walk out the door barefaced.

LET'S GET HEALTHY

2011-12-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

ever since i shared about how i lost a fat lot of weight, i've gotten lots of feedback from people.

but let me clarify this ; i'm not about getting skinny, i'm about getting HEALTHY. if you're healthy, (i.e. eat clean, exercise, and sleep well) you WILL get in shape, don't worry about it!

when i first started, i have to admit, that i only wanted to lose weight. but once i got started with my healthy lifestyle, i immediately saw the wonderful changes it brought. where in the past i suffered from bad skin (pimples / uneven complexion / etc) low energy levels, difficulty sleeping, etc, i now have relatively clear skin, sleep like a baby, have enough energy to run almost 30km every week, and so on.

in this post, i'm going to talk about the importance of food intake for getting in shape.

when i first started, the dreaded D-word for me was DIET.

for most people, 'DIETING' means going through a period of staying away from some foods they deem 'bad'. however, after they have reduced the weight, they go off their diet and start eating those foods again, then they gain back the weight, and so the cycle repeats and repeats.

isn't that really pointless? why would you put effort into getting there, only to slide all the way back to square one after all your hard work?

let me make this clear ; i didn't diet my way here. i eat anything i want! the only difference that instead of being ON a diet, i've CHANGED my diet. when you're on a diet, you constantly think about what you're missing out on, when you've changed your diet, you look forward to every yummy, nutritious, healthy meal you're about to have. although i might still eat chocolate, or have a slice of cake every once in a while, it is only on rare occasions, i mostly only consume fresh, clean, QUALITY foods.

it might be hard to change your diet, but once you've got on it, you won't even think twice about whether you should drink that bubble tea or plain water, whether you should eat that plate of pasta with heavy sauce, or a bowl of vegies and lean meats. the benefits of changing your diet far outweighs the cons, so lets talk about this in further detail.

***

USE YOUR CALORIES WISELY

let's say for an adult female, the recommended amount of calories per day is 1800cals. a big mac combo meal from McDonald's has 1,090 calories. that's more half of the recommended caloric intake for the day!

here is a list of foods which are adored by many, complete with their nutritional value.

furthermore, most if not all of those calories come from saturated fat, processed starch, sugar, oil, etc not to mention the amount of sodium, preservatives, and flavourings they chuck in the so called 'food' that you're putting into your body. you might feel good for the half an hour or so that you're consuming your meal, but feel heavy and nauseous for in the following hours.

that meal is not going to give you any real energy. you might feel good for a while due to the increased amount of sugar high and processed carbs, but trust me, it'll be over as soon as it came upon you, leaving you in a slump and craving for more. and if you put crap into your body, you'll look like crap.

"YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT."

many of us have heard this adage, but don't really know what it means. do you know that your body uses the food you put into it to repair itself? when your cells die, they are flushed out of your system and the body uses its resources (i.e. the food you consume) for growth and sustenance. the food you eat is used to build new cells, to repair your muscles, hydrate and revive your system, etc therefore what you eat, literally becomes YOU. and do you really think that the chemicals and preservatives in processed food will give you shiny hair, strong nails, clear skin, bright eyes, and abundant energy levels?

did you know that to achieve the same amount of calories in a big mac by eating apples, you'd have to eat more than 30 of them? that's right, 30 apples! i'm guessing if you ate 3 of them (about 150cals) you'd feel much fuller for longer, on way less calories. plus apples give you fibre, vitamins, minerals, and complex carbs.

so you tell me, which is the better way to spend your calories? on a small amount of rubbishy, 'fake' processed foods, or wholesome, nutritious, real foods?

OUT THE WINDOW

2011-12-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

maybe it's a little (more like one whole week, heh) late to be saying hello to december, but hey better late than never, ay?

so while the rest of the world is goes happily by, immersed in the cheery festive holiday spirit, i can only snatch envious glances before going back into my dark hole and cramming for finals.

studying all round the clock calls for a momentary break to gather my sustenance before taking a deep breath and plunging back into the books, so here i am blogging.

***

2 papers down, and i'm already halfway through.

with mugging like mad for finals, and all notion of healthy living has flown clean out of the window.

sleep (or lack of it)

what sleep? with hours upon hours of studying, nights and days merge into one, til i can barely tell them apart. holed up among the books, i only live in a cycle of studying, falling asleep, waking up, and repeating the same sad process.

exercise (or lack of it)

the only exercise i got in at all so far was walking about 4km to the court at usj4, then one and a half hours of basketball yesterday. some may say that's really good, but if you know me i'm an exercise junkie and this amount of activity just doesn't cut it for me. I MISS MY CARDIO. I MISS RUNNING AND GOING FOR LONG WALKS AND BASKETBALL GAR GAR GAR.

eating

i suppose this is one area which i haven't fallen back TOO badly. i don't have time to dream about what foods i want to eat, or keep on drifting into the kitchen to stare at the contents inside the fridge. i'm not exactly in the best situation have my hands full to continuously snack / munch when i'm busy flipping pages and taking notes. however, it's not good that i haven't been able to sit down and take my time to savour a full meal since sunday. 4 days of eating apples, wholegrain bread, oatmeal, hardboiled eggs, soup, etc can get really boring.

***

some funny / relevant pictures from 9gag.

TIME OUT

2011-12-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

sorry for being MIA.

between running, balling, working out, assignments, and (attempts at) studying, i've barely had any time for anything else.

finals are tomorrow and this past week has been an utter mess. anyhow, assignments are all done with, and i only have this last week of papers to sit for before the semester is officially over and done with.

because i don't have time for a proper post right now, here are some pictures form tumblr to entertain you. :)

HAUNTING MELODIES

2011-12-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

it's times like these when the night seems to stretch on forever, and gaunt wispy creepers of the mist gently unfurl themselves to burrow down into your soul. when even the crickets stop chirping and the wind ceases blowing, and you fall into soundless isolation.

making you feel so alone in this cold, dark, desolate world.

and this quiet poignance just cascades over me like a silent waterfall of sorrow, sweeping away everything in its wake.

NIKE RUN KL 2011

2011-11-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Nike Run KL took place on sunday, just 3 days ago.

***

it was a bittersweet experience for me.

***

as we stood waiting to start, hot tears stung my cheeks, because i knew i could not possibly run the whole way.

the start gun sounded, and i began to run. i told myself i'd run as much as possible, but slow down whenever i felt the familiar dull pain before it could build up in my knee.

made it to 4.5km before it came upon me. slowed down to a walk.

puff, puff. walked, ran, walked, ran, walked, ran.

it shames me to think that back when i had no problems whatsoever with running, i'd keep it up the whole way, not slowing down to walk for even a second, and whenever i'd see others walking, i'd scoff inwardly at them, "hmph, weaklings". never again shall i be so condescending and arrogant in my thinking towards other runners. we each have our own race to run, and it is not our place to judge how others run their race when our own is still before us.

seeing others pass me with ease made me angry at myself, and the irony of the situation. do you know how hard i trained? how disciplined i was with my schedule, eating, and sleep?

if i were in form, finishing this 10km with a sub-1hour timing would have been no sweat.

8km, running became unbearable.

finished the 10k race walking across the finish line.

my timing?

***

doesn't the above make me sound so angry and resentful? on part, i guess i was.

but after i was done, sitting on the grassy slopes on the edges of padang merbok mulling over the race, it also made me realize many things.

1:22:30 is actually a really good time for someone who was walking more than half of it.

although i couldn't run the whole way, at least i tried my best and gave it my all.

even though i walked, what was important was that i FINISHED the race.

it might not have been my fastest, but to hell with anyone who says i didn't give it my best shot.

and this. it made me cry because it rang so true.

"run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must ; just never give up."

BRIGHT EYES

2011-11-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

no, that is not real bread.

***
you know, losing weight / having long hair / knowing how to dress / learning to slap on some eyeliner & mascara has made a huge difference in my life. more often than not, i'm undecided about whether i like the change, because while it can be flattering, it can also be annoying at times.

like, not knowing who's for real and who isn't. getting hit on by lame pickup lines. guys thinking i'm a prime target, because of how i used to be in the past.

different boys whom i used to see every day, who never even paid me any attention, who never kept in touch after high school, now call me 'hot / sexy / gorgeous', dropping me calls just to ask me what i'm doing at the moment, whether i'd be free to hang out sometime or catch a movie, and btw do i have a boyfriend yet?

or guys who were never particularly sporty, suddenly asking me if i'd go running with them, whether we can play basketball together.

one failed attempt by a boy-who-shall-not-be-named-because-i'm-too-nice. we in the same high school, but only recently did he start talking to me. and because y'all know i'm a nice person like that, i do the polite thing and entertain him.

him : hey :)
me : sup
him : wow at yr dp, you've lost a lot of weight!
me : how can you tell? my dp is only from the shoulder up.
him : you're right. so we should go out sometime then i'll be able to see your whole body. :D
me :

***

on those reality tv shows where people get made over and stuff,one common thing they'd say after getting made over is 'oh it's sad that people who didn't like me in the past like me now' i didn't understand why they'd have a problem with people liking them, like 'man what are you complaining about?'

but now i do.

it's disheartening to see how people treat me differently just because how i'm like on the outside has changed. you can drop the act, because i'm still the same girl i was.

the girl who would rather play basketball than paint my nails, the girl who caught frogs in the rain, the girl who wore sneakers instead of heels, who played pokemon instead of barbie, who'd rather run instead of watching twilight (hee!)

and that girl is not about to change, at least not for a long while yet.

EAT CLEAN, TRAIN MEAN, GET LEAN

2011-11-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

it's the last week of classes, with all of us swept up into this crazy frenetic whirlwind as we desperately scramble to finish up assignments, study for tests, cram for exams, submit homework, get extra credit work, and the list goes on.

me?

hey, just because i'm blogging doesn't make me any less different. in two days time, i have a test, a web development deadline, a client project to present, and i'm not even halfway through yet. but anyway. i didn't choose to blog to bore you with the sad facts of my academic status.

i haven't blogged anything personal for such a long time ; if you're a regular here, you'd know that of late, all i do are post up a few pictures, insert appropriate captions, and voila, a new post! or even worse, grab a few pictures off tumblr just to update and keep my blog alive. *crawls into blogging hole of shame*

but this time it's different. read on.

***

when i came back from residential bible school (RBS) early last year, i'd piled on the pounds. 6 weeks of wonderful, glorious food - i'd stuffed my face with pancakes, scones, cookies, chocolate, chips, you name it. the frosty weather of the highlands meant supper of steaming maggi mee, cups and cups of hot milo and coffee, plus more fattening snacks.

needless to say, i practically rolled back down in a huge blubbery ball. it didn't help either that i next spent a period of time in aussie, where the food is plentiful and rich, with gargantuan portions.

maybe some of you are going "nahh, she wasn't that big!" well i say I WAS. need proof?

HERE YOU GO :D

(goodness me i can't believe i'm sharing such embarassing photos here)

agree with me now?

it was the fattest i'd ever been, and i couldn't remember a time when i'd felt more uncomfortable with my own body, or more depressed. i promised myself that i'd lose it, but every day, i'd make more and more excuses

"i'll just have this last bar of chocolate"

"i'll only have one more burger"

"it's friday"

"it's a public holiday"

"it's christmas"

"it's easter"

"it's Chinese New Year"

"it's Hari Raya"

"it's your birthday"

"it's my birthday"

blablablablabla etc etc

i rolled around in self pity and depression, not quite knowing what to do. i tried to lose it, but what i didn't know was that i was doing everything wrong. i didn't even understand the first thing about health and fitness, which may seem ironic considering my high involvement with sports. sure, i could shoot hoops and run, but i didn't comprehend even the basic facts about getting and staying fit.

i had hit bottom, and was at my lowest low. i felt like i'd tried everything, and didn't understand what i was doing wrong.

then, one night at the beginning of this year, i stumbled upon a few health and fitness websites. they taught positive principles, healthy eating, that you had to accept yourself first before you could start to change, and so on.

i was intrigued. i mean, FINALLY, something i could relate to! someone who wasn't telling me that i had to change because i wasn't good enough, but that i was too good to stay this way - out of shape and unhappy.

i took what i learnt to heart, and made serious changes and commitments. i encountered failure after failure, sometimes i wanted to give up and throw in the towel. but i persevered, and i'm glad i did. because since that day (sometime in early april) i'm fitter than i've ever been, even in high school. some of my clothes from my school days don't even fit right any more, i can't wear them because they're too big!

so maybe i'm not exactly the leanest, or the meanest. i know i'm not skinny, in fact i'm far from it. but damn i worked hard to get where i am now, and i'm PROUD OF IT.

i don't know how much weight i've lost - and i don't care. all i know is i can't even wear some clothes which used to be tight for me int he past. what matters is FAT loss, not weight loss. besides, how much you weigh isn't important. after all, 50kgs of lean, toned, muscle, is a hell lot better than 50kgs of soft flabby fat!

***

so, how did i do it?*

change your mind, change yourself

it's all in your head. be mentally prepared for the challenges you'll face, and know that failure is inevitable. what's important is having that inner strength to learn from them and rise again.

exercise

even if you think you can't run a 5k, that's ok! you don't have to try to measure up to a marathon runner. however, i'd say to PUSH yourself as hard as you can, until you feel like you can't go on. break down your walls, that's the only way to keep moving forward.

eat clean

just because you just busted your ass at the gym, doesn't give you the green light to chow down on a big mac. don't waste your effort, only to throw it away in an ignorant decision! i don't know about you, but i like my food REAL. i guess it's pretty simple, if it came from a plant, or has a mother, it's good to eat! some of the things that i eat would be apples, spinach, tofu, broccoli, lettuce, boiled eggs, chicken breast, mushrooms, papayas, watermelon, beans, and oatmeal.

hungry? eat!

don't think that just because you skipped a meal, you'll get there faster. believe me when i say i tried that, and tripped myself up every time. not only does skipping meals slow down your metabolism, it also backfires on you as you're likely to be so hungry at your next meal, you'll end up eating more than you would in two meals.

watch your portions

even if it says healthy / low fat/ low sugar / low calorie, it's not gonna help you get in shape if you eat the whole box.

don't deprive yourself

if you totally remove your favourite foods from your life, you're only going to crave them even more, resulting in high likeliness to give in and binge. it's ok to eat ice cream, or chocolate! just make sure that it's an occasional thing.

get your zzz's

after all the hard work that you put into diet and exercise, your body's gonna need rest, to repair itself and take in the fuel that you've put into it. sleep is IMPORTANT, i cannot stress this enough. which explains why i've stopped my late night GG sessions, and before 1am, i'm already in bed. 6-8hours of sleep a day is optimum for your body.

have faith

you aren't going to see results in a week, two weeks, three weeks, maybe even a month. for me, it took about 4months before i started seeing changes. it's easy to give up when you think your hard work isn't getting you anywhere, but keep it up! trust me, you WILL get there.

i'm no fitness / nutrition guru, just speaking from my personal experience. i hope that by sharing this with you people, i'll have helped anyone out there who is struggling as well.

want more? drop a message in my chatbox! :)

GLAMNATION

2011-11-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

IN BETWEEN

2011-11-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

got my race pack for Nike Run KL 2011!

i was afraid it'd be a bit short cos that's what rachel told me ; but then again, i'm shorter than her so it fitted me fine.

the registration fees for NRKL was only rm20, and with that we got this shirt, a nike bottle, eco bag, and a timing chip. so worth it.

from a different angle.

you like? ;)

NRKL is happening in less than two weeks!

ARE YOU READY?

JAYESSLEE @ CHC KL

2011-11-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

just thought i'd share some backlogged pictures with you guys.

my sis and i, when i followed her in attending city harvest church some weeks ago.

i attend city harvest once in a while, due to my cousins and friends. however, i still consider my church in sunway as my home church.

so, guess what i was doing there?

yep, i went to city harvest church to see jayesslee perform!

that particular week it was a full house, because of the famous duo. trust me when i say that there was barely any room at all to move when we were waiting to go in. when the doors opened, the whole crowd suddenly surged forward and we got caught up in the mass, moving along with them. we headed for the good seats, murmuring "excuse me's" along the way, but we were moving way too slow and i was afraid that all the places would be taken.

then in a flash of genius, i took my bag off my shoulder, and flung with all my strength, way above the crowd, to the seats that i wanted, which assured us that no one else would sit there.

(Y)

so thanks to me, we got a really good view of the whole thing, haha.

poster projected onto the massive screen before the twins appeared.

after the worship service, finally!

they performed 4 songs for us that day, Rocketeer, Dare You To Move, another song of which i can't recall the title, and a korean song.

they also shared with us their testimony of how Christ touched their lives.

after the service, there was a photo taking / autograph session. however due to the massive number of people lining up just to get in, i couldn't be bothered.

so i just stood outside the glass wall and took a picture. :)

i was THIS close to them!

*gestures with index and thumb*

BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN

2011-11-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

running along the beach in the early morning when the sky is still clear blue strewn with clouds on the horizon, the air is is so fresh, looks simply wonderful! this picture is so amazingly beautiful and significant to me. :')

***

some time back, before all these problems with my knees started, i signed up for Nike Run KL, which will be in approximately 2 weeks.

my knees started acting up in august, and although i haven't pushed myself since then, only gone for long walks, i fear that on the day of the run, i'll still only be able to move at a crawl compared to other runners.

but hey you know what? that will NOT be an obstacle to me. yes, i have this inner trepidation that on that day, i won't be able to run like how i know i can, but you know what people say ;

you're only defeated when you give up.

and i will never, EVER give up running. i'll jog slowly, walk, even crawl on my bloodied knees dragging myself along with my nails, but i'll cross that finish line.

on a lighter note, this quote made me smile today. :)

TRYING IS TRYING

2011-11-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

"it is nice to be important, but important to be nice."

i try, believe me, oh how i try to be a nice to everyone.

i smile at random people whom i pass in the malls, i'm polite to waiters, i gladly give my seat to those who need it more than i do, i don't mind bearing the brunt of the burden when it comes to assignments, just the other day i helped a little boy who was lost, and the list goes on.

when guys approach me, i usually tell them KINDLY that i'm not interested. however, it can be difficult to maintain this pleasant profile, especially given the state of certain morons who exist.

read on.

***

i was online as usual a few days ago, when this guy by the name of Joseph Wong messaged me.

jw : Hi :)

me : erm hi but do i know you?

jw : i am joseph wong. what is your name?

me : uhh obviously i know your name is joseph wong lol, it says so on yr profile. and my name is there =.= just look at it

jw : really, where? what is your name?

me : use your eyes and LOOK

jw : so your name is cherly?

me : my name is not cherly =.=

jw : then what is your name?

me : ...

jw : cherly, can i be a friend?

me : no.

*blocks the retard.*

GLASS BEADS

2011-11-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

sweaters are so lovely, donchathink? i wish we had this kind of weather more often, then i'd wear them much more frequently! they keep me so warm and toasty, which totally evokes that fuzzy christmassy feel.

yes i'm eagerly anticipating christmas already, even though it's still a while more before it gets here.

so i was supposed to go disco skating with my youth group today. however, i followed my mum out first, and couldn't get back in time. so i didn't go D:

not to say that my day was boring in any way though, not at all. in fact, it was a pretty good day! gosh i saw so many things that were just screaming out my name, wanting to get into my wardrobe!! high waisted tapered pants, cropped tops, chunky bangles, oemgee! but i've already WAYYY overshopped these past couple of months and made a vow to not dig out from my purse any more, unless under special circumstances.

so good thing i didn't have much money with me otherwise i'd totally have blown all my cash. spent some mother-daughter time over lunch and shopping, then after that my family went for steamboat buffet. ate too much and have a massive food baby now.

pictures from my day.

turquoise skinnies.

yay / nay?

still contemplating.

personally, i really like them. i have a funny preference to things that are out of the ordinary.

i could wear them with a red top for christmas and totally look like one of santa's elves.

my only purchase of the day, a string of colourful glass beads.

what? they were on sale!

sale = special circumstances

i was a good girl cos i didn't buy anything the whole day, so i figure that this purchase is justified.

***

i met him again today.

RETRO

2011-11-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

got dressed up for an event organized by my class. it had a 60s theme, and i had absolutely no idea what to wear until the very last minute.

bunned hair, pearls, and winged eyeliner.

a better shot of my outfit. i added a belt as well, just before i stepped out of the door.

does it have a 60s feel to you?

someone told me i looked like i was going to a christmas party instead.

._.

FIGHT!!

2011-11-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

a cat play-wrestling with a baby. :D

FIT AND FIERY

2011-10-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

a few months ago, something i wanted really badly was a garmin pacer.

a runner's best friend, packaged in one nifty little device.

it tracks the distance of your run, calories burnt, time taken, heart rate, etc etc.

for a while back then, i was hunting around everywhere but i couldn't find it. recently, while idly flipping through the sports section of The Star, i came across an ad for it.

the first thing i thought was "wow, finally! and it's on sale!"

however, my eyes scanned further, and saw that it was a hefty Rm2k.

well that's a lot of money.

and then i realized, well, what am i so upset about?

even if i had the money to buy it, it's not like i'd even be able to go running any time soon!

on another note, woke up at 6am today just so i could get my exercise in - 10 x 650m laps *thumbs up*

i have to get up earlier to work out now seeing that as i can't run, i have to walk. which obviously takes a substantially longer time, and i don't want to still be outside when the sun starts beating its rays down in full force.

i miss running, so badly.

knees, hurry up and get better!

FOR YOU

2011-10-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

dear mum and dad,

i haven't always been a very good daughter. i'm impatient, i get angry easily, i'm unreasonable, and this list could go on and on.

sometimes we argue and get mad at each other, but at the end of the day the both of you still try to give in to me and do your best to make sure that your daughter has the best.

i know i'm lucky to have both of you as my parents, who no matter what, strive to provide my siblings and i with the better things in life, who are there for us and are always concerned about our well being. and i appreciate that, even though i might not always portray that i do.

i know that it's a hefty task that you have in bringing us up, and you've sure done a good job.

thank you for everything, although i'm well aware that those mere words will never be enough to acknowledge all that you've done for us.

it's inevitable that we are bound to bicker occasionally, and have our grouses with each other, but beneath all that, i want you to know that i love you both and am grateful for everything that you've taught me.

love, your daughter.

♥

FLUFFY AND FIERCE

2011-10-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

PAPER HEARTS

2011-10-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

two years ago, i made it clear that i was not interested. i thought we could stay friends, if not, then on civil terms with each other. i tried, am trying, to be nice to you. however, up til today, you STILL continue to bug me with annoying texts, call me, and do just about anything to get my attention.

i've already told you, many times over, and as nicely as possible - i am NOT interested.

but you just can't seem to see that, can you? no matter how i've tried to hammer my point through your thick, cretinous mind, how hard i've tried to make you understand.

maybe somewhere in that simpleton head of yours, you think that by whining and wheedling, desperately snivelling and grovelling at my feet for my attention, will get you somewhere. but you know what? all i feel is disgust at how low you would sell yourself, much more for someone who doesn't care about you.

you may think that with perseverance, you will succeed. however, there are times when a girl plays hard to get, and there are times when she is genuinely not interested in your sorry ass. why can't you just get the message and move on.

MOVE ON!

it's been two years, for goodness sake! just accept that i am not going anywhere with you, and go away!

you are not making any progress, in getting closer to me ; in fact, the opposite is true. i have blocked you from facebook, i screen all my calls, and i am not going to reply any of your texts - EVER. all i can think of now is how much i detest you and roll my eyes whenever your number pops up. i say your number instead of your name, because i deleted you from my phone contacts as well.

alright, i'll be honest. maybe i do feel something else, besides annoyance and disgust. do you want to know what that is?

it's pity.

pity that you can't seem to face reality, that you're too weak to accept the fact that i will never go out with anyone like you. pity that you are as gullible to think that doing all sorts of crazy actions would make me do what you want.

just look at your sorry self! is this really what you want? to be my pity party, my charity case, my sympathy story?

kindly remove yourself from my life. i couldn't care less where you go as long as its far, far, away from me.

far far away!

P.S. no, i do not care if this makes you readers think i am a cruel, heartless, bitch. so what if i am? deal with it!

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

2011-10-20T06:32:00.000-07:00

was looking at the Penang Bridge International Marathon 2011 poster.

i ran in last year's PBIM, at a distance of 10km, in less than an hour and twenty minutes.

my blood pumping, legs pounding, the adrenaline and sheer exhilaration i felt, at crossing the finish line, was indescribable. it was more than enough to spur me on to challenge me to outdo myself.

i was going to run this year's PBIM, in the 21km category.

but guess what?

my knees have given out on me. it's beyond frustrating that now, i can't run and push myself like i used to, because now it feels like i'm slowly dragging myself across burning shards of glass.

how it happened - i was running as usual, doing my normal routine of 8 x 650m laps, of which i'd complete four times a week. halfway through, i felt a slight pain in my right knee. thinking it'd go away, i ignored it and continued. one more lap on, and the pain was bad enough to force me to stop.

i thought it was a temporary thing, but it's been more than a month already, and the pain still persists whenever i (try to) run. walking is fine, it's only running that aggravates it and causes the pain to flare up.

therefore, i've opted out of joining this year's PBIM. it really disappoints me that i won't be able to fulfill my challenge towards myself, but unless i rest and give my knees a chance to recover, its likely that even more damage will occur. giving up running for a few months is better than battering on nonstop and hurting myself even more.

i'm so upset that i won't be able to join this year's PBIM. a whole year will go by before it comes round again.

i miss running so much. :(

SICK WITH DISGUST

2011-10-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

today, the trending story on the home page of msn.com is about a toddler who'd been run over twice (twice!) for several minutes, she was lying in her own quicky widening pool of blood, gasping for air and no one even bothered to help her.

the video is extremely gruesome and graphic, and i'd rather you not watch it if you are emotionally vulnerable.

this appalls me to no end. i am absolutely volcanaic with anger and disappointment! the truck drivers, all those apathetic passersby, who saw a helpless child in desperate need of help, yet not one of them bothered.

what on earth has humanity deteriorated to?

as a fellow human being who knows what it is like to hurt, to suffer, how could they ignore the urgent plea for mercy? HOW COULD THEY?

in the video at 0:34, a mother walked past with her child, and all she did was cast a fleeting glance in the hurt toddler's direction, before mildly walking off. did she never consider ; what if it were her child in the same situation?

doctors at the hospital state that the girl is unlikely to survive, having experienced severe physical damage beyond repair of any technology or medicines.

when interviewed, the lorry drivers say that they 'did not realize that they had collided with anything.' lies, outrageous lies! not realize that he'd collided with anything? REALLY?

at the end, it was a garbage collector, a person with a status scorned and despised by many, who finally took action to come to the aid of the injured victim. this just shows how imbalanced the scale of society is - while the majority would consider themselves to more highly equipped in morals and principles, it took an old, frail woman, a garbage collector no less, to put them to shame.

some might cite an infamous incident in 2006 when a person who helped an accident victim, was sued by the victim when the woman regained consiousness, and then ordered by the courts to pay up a compensation, but i beg to differ. those people could have called an ambulance, put a barrier around her to divert traffic, anything!

instead of callously feigning indifference.

see, even the animals know better.

KINGSLEY COMMUNITY DAY

2011-10-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

so after what seems like donkey years, i'm finally blogging about the community day organized by kingsley international school.

the event was held on the 20th of august (yes, that long ago) and the purpose of it was to raise funds for charity.

with jay.

he's the person who acted as our go between with the koreans as he speaks decent english, having lived in the states for a few years as a teen.

the kingsley lane was filled with stalls which were handled by parents of the students.

some pretty cupcakes. i wanted to hang around and take more pictures, but decided against it because as you can see, it was so so packed and everyone was very squashed up against each other.

my year4 students and i - zafira and judith, who's 1/4 chindian.

judith is so pretty!

year1 and year2 students dressed up in fancy costumes.

so cute!

shyvonne and i, 19years of friendship and counting ; we've been friends since we were babies. :)

that's cause our parents are friends from way back, so when we were born (we're both the same age) they'd just leave us to play with each other while they would catch up over coffee.

year4s performing on stage.

man, would you just LOOK at all those cameras?

some of the older korean girls, this picture was taken right before their performance, which explains the matching outfits.

korean students from year3 and year4 - irene, sally, ted (jae won), jimmy (ji won), sam, and ernest.

sally and i.

then, my camera's battery died, leaving me to resort to using my phone. so all the pictures from this point on are taken with my phone, excuse the sub-par quality.

gratuitous picture of myself.

at the community day, they also had a blood donation drive as part of the event. if you recall, i said in an earlier post that i would take this opportunity to donate my blood, so i went for it.

potential blood donors getting the all clear before proceeding.

i was so excited!

took the form they handed me, read through all the requirements.

yup, i'm good!

took this picture while waiting in line to have my blood checked.

at last, it was my turn! the guy pricked my index finger with a needle to get the blood to flow out so that they could determine my blood type.

the two drops of blood on the bottom are mine.

and i'm type AB.

so i went through the processing of vital stats, etc, when suddenly, the guy exclaimed "oh no, eh you tak boleh derma lah!"

and i was like "WHAT? WHY?"

turns out i had low haemoglobin/oxygen levels in my blood (minimum was 12.5g per litre, mine was about 11g per litre) and i was also deficient in iron. what on earth? i'd always perceived myself to be this strong, healthy, person who'd pass any health test with flying colours, so the screening certainly surprised me.

hence, i was unable to donate blood, because they wouldn't let me. they said that i'd faint, turn blue in the face, or have difficulties seeing straight, etc. if i did so.

aww darn. D:

my friend eunice, who came together with me to lend support and also donate blood. look at her happily donating hers! hmmph jealous. >:(

eunice's blood.

the medics busily categorizing and storing the donated blood for future distribution.

***

as i had to rush off early, i didn't stick around til the end of the event. however, i really enjoyed working at kingsley, where every day was a new experience. they say that teachers are there to teach ; but there is also a wealth of wisdom to be absorbed from young minds.

i told them that i'd be likely to return to work next year, and i really hope that i'll be able to do so.

kingsley international, thank you for all that you've done for me! :)

BOUNCY

2011-10-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

LET ME EXPLAIN TO YOU SOME MORE

2011-10-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

alright, so i shared the story of how i got my name in the previous post with you. but how did i come to acquire the name Cheryl, which i now commonly go by?

the year before i entered high school, i started playing basketball at the park near my house. at the time, there was a group of boys who would consistently play there as well, nearly every day. and so we became acquaintances.

one day, we were introducing ourselves properly to each other. before that, we only called each other "eh", "wei", "you", or "ball!" (if they were holding the basketball.) they told me their names, then asked me what mine was.

i said, "Cherish."

they looked at each other uncomprehendingly, then said "oh, Cheryl, i see."

i tried again "not Cheryl, Cherish."

and they were "ahh, ok, Cheryl."

me - "it's CHERISH."

they - "alright, Cheryl. got it."

so Cheryl was the name i went by, for those boys. the next year, i entered high school, which was the same school as the lot of them. still in Form1, i didn't really socialise much with my classmates as i had yet to get to know them well.

i'd see the group of boys around, and they'd go

"hey, Cheryl! hi!"

it stuck, and so there you go.
now you know.

SO, WHY?

2011-10-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

for some of you who have been following this blog for a while now, you would know that my original blog link was showstopper13.blogspot.com.

however, i switched to cherished-me.blogspot.com a couple months ago.

why?

firstly, my birth name is really Cherish, not Cheryl. whenever i tell someone my birth name, they usually exclaim "really? wow, so why is your name so special?"

so i'd like to share with you how i was given this name.

when my mother was pregnant with me, the ultrasound scans showed normal pregnancy and that the baby (me) was healthy. a green light was given for me to be born via normal procedure and so on the big day, my mum went into labour.

however, she was in labour for more than 8 hours, which was very unusual. doctors were worried that it might cause too much stress for the baby, and also endanger my mum's physical state, so it was decided that i would be delivered through cesarean operation.

when doctors operated and took me out, it was discovered that my mum had tumors in her ovaries, which had gone undetected even during the scans. so if not for my birth, it would have been possible that the tumors would have stayed there and increased in growth. as such, the tumors were already in their progressed stages. upon seeing those tumors, the doctors were able to successfully remove them and prevent any harm or to my mum which she would have inevitably faced later.

hence, my name,

CHERISH

- to protect and care lovingly ; to hold something dear.

CRAB ISLAND Pt.4

2011-10-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

this will be the last of my posts about the pulau ketam trip. you can click on the following links to read pt.1, pt.2, and pt.3.

so on the island, it was super primitive and everything. in the distance, i spied a yellow signboard. and as we got closer to it i saw that it was a maybank atm!

never expected to see one in a place like this!

WAHHH

(ok totally exaggerating lol)

photobomb ; failpic

-.-

are you sick of my antics yet? :P

these people sure have money!

my guess is that living on pulau ketam, they don't exactly have anywhere to spend their moolah, and so they just keep it in the atm.

tour guide (with the towel on his head) took us to see the place where they make boats. the boat behind him costs Rm600,000 and that's not even including the engine yet. with the engine it'd be well over Rm1,000,000.

dude i could buy a house and car with that amount of money, and still have some left over.

blocks of wood that they use in the boat-making process

bicycles for rent.

i'm sure that some of you have never heard of this, fried ice cream!

there is an uncle selling it near the main jetty for Rm1.70 a piece, and his is the best i've ever eaten! ice cream in a thin doughy shell is kept in the freezer before he takes it out and plonks it into boiling oil for a few seconds.

the ice cream after it is fried, its shell golden brown and crispy!

i bit into it, oh!

sheer bliss!

would you LOOK at that!

SO YUMMEH

the purple of the yam ice cream matches my nail polish, heh.

finally at 5.30pm, it was time for us to go home.

i was SO relieved when they announced that we would be leaving, as we'd arrived at 10am, which made it more than 7hours that we'd been on the island.

there were huge crowds of people lining up waiting for the ferry at the jetty, and we would have all turned into dinosaurs before it was our turn.

so roy called up his friend who owns a speedboat to get us all back to port klang.

on the speedboat - sis, me, and mum.

the speedboat churned up the ocean in huge sprays as we sped along.

woosh!

that's all for now guys!

FULL SPEED AHEAD

2011-10-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

have you realized, that it's the last quarter of the year already?

CRAB ISLAND Pt.3

2011-10-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

so here's the follow up from the pulau ketam trip from pt.1 and pt.2.

we got to see the process of making dried shrimp.

all the shrimp!

shrimp left in the sun to dry.

then they are manually separated from their shells.

found two small crabs among the shrimp.

plus one more.

done with our visit, we continued on.

stone effigy at another temple.

phew, it was so, so hot! when we first stepped on the island at 10am, i had the impression that we were only gonna stick around a while, walk a bit and then leave but by now it was already 2pm and there was no sign of us leaving anytime soon.

the sun was simply blazing, beating its rays down onto us. and alas, poor, foolish me, who never thought of applying sunscreen, or taking along a hat or umbrella, i was simply roasted!

so i was really thankful when we stopped for a drink.

chunks of pineapple in ice water. a simple beverage, but trust me when i say that in the friggin heat, taking a sip is having like liquid heaven flowing down your throat.

sweaty, hot, me.

nail polish from elianto btw in case anyone wants to know.

crystal and i

and another one of us:)

taking a picture on another bridge, cos i thought the background was nice.

why does my face look so fat?

urrggh.

the market.

PURPLE FEVER

2011-10-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

no time to update, no time to update.

waiting to go for dad's birthday dinner, tata!

CRAB ISLAND Pt. 2

2011-09-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

continuing where i left off from the previous post about the pulau ketam trip.

after our brekkie, we continued walking on.

pretty flower

taken in my canon ixus's colour accent mode

brother blowing bubbles

one of the temples that we saw. pulau ketam consists of a dominantly buddhist / taoist population, so there were many many temples there.

so much rubbish! i tell you, it shouldn't be called 'crab island', but instead, 'CRAP island' because, the whole island is literally full of crap!

they don't have any dustbins on the island because guess what, they just treat the whole island as a huge dumpsite. we went to a restaurant to eat and when we were done, the lady just took our plates and flung the leftovers out the window!

crossing a bridge.

group photo :)

view from the bridge. looks idyllic and serene yes? but don't be fooled.

the water's so oily and dirty, the fish are floating belly up.

crabs and mudskippers.

shall continue this post, need to head to bed now!

MOVIE REVIEW : ABDUCTION

2011-09-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

yesterday, i caught a movie at subang parade's newly opened MBO cinema.

when i first knew that there was gonna be a cinema opening in parade, i was pretty excited! however, all those expectations fell short as i was rather disappointed.

the first thing i have to mention, are the prices. isn't MBO supposed to be like, some small scale cinema? and subsequently, shouldn't their prices be cheaper? apparently not, as i forked out rm12 for my ticket, almost double the price of a ticket at GSC.

the next complaint i have, is when i walked into the cinema, i noticed it was FREEZING COLD. like seriously, it was so cold that my friends and i had turned into icicles at the end of the movie. there were even goosebumps on my legs, and y'all know how uncommon it is to get goosebumps there.

anyway, on with the review.

***

the movie that we watched was abduction

"the fight for the truth will be the fight of his life"

"what if your whole life was a lie?"

the taglines, which attempt to be serious, comes off instead as majorly cliched, considering how flimsy and perforated with holes the plot is. also, other movies in the past have used similar taglines.

pfft, can you say UNORIGINAL?

taylor lautner stars as nathan harper, an regular teenage boy, albeit one dealing with anger management issues.

he discovers that he is adopted, and his real father is a special agent who stole some classified information from one of the biggest bad guys around.

now, the baddies want the information back, and in order to wrangle it out of the hands of the CIA, they plan to capture nathan and use him as their bargaining chip to get what they want. and so the cat and mouse game that the storyline of this movie is based on begins - with nathan on the run, taking along the very attractive Karen (lily collins) because she claims "my parents are not home, who's gonna protect me?"

throughout the movie, we just see nathan and karen running, running, and running.

some redeeming points in the movie were of course, the eye candy.

looking spiffy riding on his bike in shades and a leather jacket.

displaying his infamously ripped body.

so while everyone already knows that taylor lautner is a hottie, lily collins is not too shabby either, with huge melting brown eyes, long gorgeous cascading curls, and a figure to die for.

so adorable.

however in my opinion, her role is of no substance apart from providing the guys in the audience some eye candy so that they don't get bored. true enough, every time her face came on screen, instead of slouching in their seats, they would suddenly zap to life and pay more attention.

another plus in this movie would be the fight scenes. they are hard and fast, with major rushes of testosterone and adrenaline.

taylor can certainly throw some punches around!

my rating on this?

4/10

this movie was already pathetically unappealing, and without taylor lautner and lily collins, it would have been even more so.

if your sole purpose of watching a movie is to merely ogle at two beautiful human specimens, then way to go. however, if you desire to engage in something that actually engages the mind by being interesting and has a good plot, i suggest you stay away, far FAR away.

CRAB ISLAND

2011-09-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

at long last, i've finally gotten round to blogging about pulau ketam.

the trip was organized by one of my church members, roy, who was born and bred there. the day started off with us meeting in church, then driving to port klang, where we took the 9am ferry to our destination.

crystal squinting cos of the sun.

i'm so glad she came along, i had someone to talk to the whole trip. :)

walking along the bridge to the jetty.

boarding the ferry.

sis and i.

stupid pimple on my cheek.

mum and bro.

once we got there, roy had everything planned out for us, which included getting a tour guide to take us around.

our guide was from the local high school. so, this is how they earn pocket money during the holidays.

their school shirt is so cute with the crab on the back!

hence, we began our trek on foot through the island.

town hall and a basketball court.

saw this mean cat which hissed and spat at me.

at 10.30am, it was decided that it was breakfast time!

nom nom nom

mum and dad

there were two options that were offered to us.

first, the curry mee.

curry mee with see ham, tofu, fishcakes, eggs, taugeh, foo chuk, and erm.. i don't know what else. plus prawn sambal on the side.

second option was rice, which was what i had.

rice with char siew, curry chicken and potatoes, see ham, eggs, ikan bilis, and some shrimp. good stuff.

there was more shrimp as a side dish to complement our meal. :D

yum in the tum!

found this tiny crab of microscopic proportions in my food.

there it is next to some grains of rice. so miniscule!

on pulau ketam, the main mode of transportation is bicycles. everywhere we walked that day, there would be the constant ringing of bells, then we would have to hop it in order for them to pass.

a dad ferrying two of his kids on a bike, how adorable. :)

alright, i shall stop here. will continue blogging about the trip in subsequent posts as there are too many pictures.

as for now, it is time for me to get some shuteye.

nights, people!

TIL THEN

2011-09-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

they say that when someone leaves for greener pastures, we should be happy for them and wish them well. however i can't help but to feel an odd poignance, this quiet sadness washing over me like a river, enveloping me, drowning out the laughter and smiles that usually are a commonplace in my daily life, at least for the time being.

you, you, and you. leaving to new frontiers, faraway lands, like lanterns disappearing over the horizon of a pensive sky. numerous faces, people i have grown with in the past years, all being blotted out one by one, snuffed out like candles. faces so familiar, which will probably be different when they finally reappear.

you know what makes this, all the more difficult to take? wanting to spread my wings as well, but not being able to.

and i just feel so, so sad.

"Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?"

why?

WHOOPS

2011-09-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

as a follow up to my previous post, i wanted to come up with a longass, picture filled post about my trip. however i've been crazy busy lately. which is good and bad, i guess. good in the sense that i have seriously, a MOUNTAIN of bloggable material, with pictures piled up and stories to share. the bad? not having the time to do so.

well but i suppose that you guys will be entertained for at least a month with all the posts i'd be able to come up with. when i find the time to blog properly, i will!

***

so i shall talk about my week. i'm in a very chatty mood now you see, having been away for so long.

monday - woke up at 6.30am to go running, then college from 10-6pm.

tuesday - classmates took me to pyramid to celebrate my birthday, came home, went running, then tackled assignments.

wednesday - my birthday! unfortunately it rained the whole damn day, plus my family was busy, so we didn't celebrate it. plus i stayed up burning the midnight oil to finish two assignments which were due the next day.

thursday - college, then at night had birthday dinner with my family. :)

friday - went running in the early morning, then primped up to go grand dorsett hotel for cousin's graduation from trinity. both our families went for lunch after that, and so happened blook was having a clearance sale! the sale was SERIOUS yo, dresses, tops, bottoms for as low as rm5! i bought a really nice bag, and wanted to shift through the clothes a bit more (i saw a really gorgeous dress for rm25!) but there wasn't any time to try anything on, so i didn't wanna risk it. :( then at night we had a steamboat dinner with my church members.

saturday (today) - i wanted to get cracking with assignments - two are due in 5 days time. but retail therapy first, i'm heading out to go shopping! (i shall check if that dress is still there, however i doubt so)

i miss blogging, hopefully things will settle down soon and allow me to return!

TEASER

2011-09-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

signboard for a bed & breakfast, tanlines.

soon.

HERE'S ANOTHER

2011-09-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

SORTED OUT

2011-09-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

if there's only one person you dislike, you must be a really nice person. if you dislike 5 people, i say you must be a really patient person. if you dislike 20 people, that would still be nothing out of the norm.

however, when there's a situation in which you have a problem with everyone around you, and you just think that everyone's a big fat retard, then maybe it's time to take a good look at YOURSELF, because there's a big probability that YOU'RE the one with issues.

FLEET FEET

2011-09-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

men's 4x100m event at the IAAF daegu, korea. the jamaicans finished as champions with usain bolt as the anchor, and set a new world record. astounding how bolt just blasted away from the pack and crossed the finish line by such a large margin.

it's already been about a week since the event, but i keep on replaying it on youtube and going "wahhh!" every single time i watch it.