6 minggu

My Last Entry - Maybe

2005-02-10T17:20:00.000-05:00

This could be my last entry, well maybe. I dont know whether I'll have the drive to post anymore. Anyway, today the movers came in packed all my stuff. The apartment looked more spacious now. Ofcourse it looks spacious because all the sofas are gone because I decided to buy them after all. Stupid reason for buying if you asked me. I have an empty cargo, and feel really guilty about not filling it so thats the only reason for buying the sofas. Yes yes and yes its stupid.

Anyway, the good thing about using my employers shipping allowance is that I just have to sit back and let them do all the packing. All I have to do is to separate between air freight and sea freight. So especially for those who expect something when I land in the airport, I am sorry because I'll only be carrying an empty luggage. After all I'll be flying via LA and Hong Kong, so I need to leave some space in case I got tempted. If I manage to exercise some self restraint then, I'll be left with an empty bag! Funny thing, even my work shirt I only keep 1, so I have to re-use the one I am wearing today for tomorrow. Sshhhhhh.

One last thing! I got it 30" waist. But I wont tell you the secret of my success. Oh well, if you must know, I took I deep breath when I measure my waist. Mmmmmmm.

What else is there, for those who really are into eating healthy, Fat is not all bad BUT beware of the TransFat, its the toughest to get rid of! And they are found aplenty in the french fries, fast food fried chicken and stuff....go figure.

In closing, the Six Week is over but I must confess although I learn alot about healthy eating, my flabby abs still leaves a lot to be desired. One thing good that came out all of this though is that atleast now I know that I have an Ideal Body in terms of body fat ofcourse. And for that syukur alhamdulillah.

IF ALL ELSE FAIL, have fun with your goals. Achieving your goals should be a treat, not a chore, but also realize they will not happen by themselves. You must be fully committed to achieving what it is you want in life, IT IS GREAT TO BELIEVE AND TO BE INSPIRED AND MOTIVATED by your goals, but it will not happen for you unless you ACT upon your goals and take a positive step every single day.

Treat your goals with respect and give them your full EAT - Energy, Attention, Time. They will bring you the rewards and success you desire. To your success. [These are not my words - taken from a book by Charles M. Marcus]

10 Ways To Achieving Goals

2005-02-04T13:31:00.000-05:00

I was chatting with my sister last night on the prospect of opening a Shop. The thing is we've been dreaming of opening one. And I told her that I have enough of this dreaming and we must make a move to make it a reality. This could be my Goal within the next year or two. On that note, this morning I uncover the following statment on Goals by a certain Jim Rohn:

"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you, if you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build, end up building us". It goes on to saying "Remember the smallest of actions is always better than the noblest of intentions". I think this will be my new mantra going forward. We really must act on our intention, even if it is just the tinniest of action towards the goal.

As the title suggest, there are 10 Ways To Achieving Goals, but I wont go to them yet in this post. I found out people tend to lose focus/interest reading a long article.

Anyway, my immediate goal ofcourse it to lose 5% Body Fat. Now that I have the guidelines of achieving my goal, I might be able to ACT on it....

Oh well, as my skeptical little sis often says, Easier Said Than Done. But now I think I have an answer to that PERSISTANCE and COMMITMENT, if at first you dont succeed try and try again.

A Banana Cream Pie

2005-02-03T13:36:00.000-05:00

Now that I know I have an ideal body, with just 16.8% body fat (yea rite), I cant stop myself from eating all those sinful food. I am suppose to reduce 5% body fat to get to lean but then only last nite,after I measure myself I ate 4 pieces of lamb chops, ofcourse I remove a big chunk of the fat layers, mmm but it was not as good. Oh well, but then I keep on thinking, 30 minutes on the treadmill only burn like 300 calories! That gives me motivation not to take more. Anyway, this morning I have such cravings for cakes. So down I went, and bought a Banana Cream Pie. Wow its really yummy. So my dear sister, next time you dont have to make Apple Cream Pie, the banana version is just as delicous and its much easier to get bananas!

Anyway, time for lunch! Salad ofcourse....

How To Get From Ideal To Lean

2005-02-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

Sssssssssssh, this is a subject that one doesnt like to speak out loud. So I am going to whisper. At long last I no longer wants to be in denial. So I bought the Accu-Measure Fitness 2000, its a Personal Body Fat Tester. I just need to find out for sure how much is my body fat percentage. The manual asked me to pinch a flab on my stomach, yes yes and yes I have to admit that after all the diet I still have flabby abs, then use the clipper to measure the thickness of the flab. Anyway, mine reads 12mm, and for my age range it means my body fat is 16.8%. So what does it mean? Is it good or bad? The figure falls under column IDEAL! Hooray, I have an ideal body fat! But then my mission is to be catagorised as LEAN. So how do I go from Ideal to Lean? It seems I have to reduce my body fat by 5%! Small figure eh? Yea rite, only at this very moment I am thawing my frozen lamb chop because I've been craving for it. Aaaaaaaaaaah worst come to worst I still have an ideal body fat. Thats a good thing right?

What A Funny World We Live In

2005-01-31T22:46:00.000-05:00

For all the technologies that the IT brings with it, I think, as of this moment, I am more impressed with the WWW - world wide web. After all, it makes communciation so much cheaper. I still remember when I was studying in the UK how expensive it was to get in touch back home. I think it was like GBP10 for 6 minutes or so speaking time. But now, from the States, it only cost like US$5 for 60 minutes. How time change! I am sorry, I am digressing. Bad example. I should have used Skype, Yahoo Massenger, MSN Massenger as my examples on how communication gets cheaper and cheaper. On top of that with webcam, you can also watch what the other parties are doing on real time.

I think the title of my blog is more to do with how current my information now is with the creation of blogspot and blogdrive. I feel so much closer to home that I am able to know the going ons on the other side of the world. What a funny world we live in, I know more the goings on back home reading those blogs then when I was actually at home. Well maybe more is a wrong term. Relatively more then.

Oh well.

R is for Romance - Its Another Love Story

2005-01-30T19:32:00.000-05:00

66 another love stories to be exact. Anyway, today being Sunday, I am looking forward to shop, after all, I only have a few weekends left before I go back. But the weather is not cooperating with my plan. Its been snowing since last nite, and its so much nicer to stay at home. I was suppose to go to the gym last nite, apart of being my gym nite I also had a heavy dinner last nite. Alas, it was not meant to be. I was tired and lazy and a certain someone is nagging for me to chat instead. In any case, this morning at 6.30am! I went down to the gym to make up for lost time. The reason I was up was because The Australian Grand Slam Tennis was on live....for those who follow tennis, Safin won! After the fruitful gym session, I fell asleep only to wake up at noon. And the snow is still falling. So I decided to go out to the nearby shop just to get out of the apartment and I seem to recall there is going to be a Second Hand Book Sale towards the end of January. I was right, and the beauty is Sunday is half price day. So books that were sold for $2 each on Saturday are only $1 each, similarly books priced at 50 cents are 25 cents each. Well this blog is specifically dedicated to my two beloved sisters back home. Yes you heard it right, I end up bringing home a box full of romance novels - 66 to be exact, in the freezing snow! Maybe 20 or so of them are (wait a minute let me check) Harlequin Series - these are the ones that are priced at 25 cents each. I hope you guys read this, cause you owe me a big dinner once I get home!

Come to think of it I wonder if this is a good idea, since time they spent reading will be time spent accumulating FAT. Oh well, I am sure they know how to scheduled their reading time, NOT!

After sending the books home I went out again to take some pictures. If they are good will ask one of them to post in their blog again. The scenary was really breathtaking, what prompt me to go out to the park again was because a saw a group of whitish birds (pigeons maybe) flying low over the park. Maybe some was feeding them nuts.

No Excuses _ Part II

2005-01-29T22:20:00.000-05:00

Beat the Road Blocks
"I Have No Time"
Combine things you do anyway--work, breathe--with athletics. Set up business meetings during which you walk or jog; play tennis with your date; take a spin class to find dates; or take your family hiking, suggests Charles Stuart Platkin, M.P.H., author of The Automatic Diet.

"I Need My Sleep"
Pat Croce manages to stick with his workouts, and this father of two has been busy hosting his syndicated TV show, Pat Croce: Moving In, and opening a pirate museum in Key West, Florida. "Like me, you have to schedule fitness," he says. On the first of each month, Croce reviews his schedule with his secretary and then his wife, and breaks it down into weeks. Every Sunday, he goes over the coming week, making sure there are gyms at hotels where he'll be staying.

"I'm Bored With My Workout"
"Throw it in reverse," says Gunnar Peterson, C.S.C.S., author of G-Force. If you always do lat pulldowns with an overhand grip, switch to underhand. Do a reverse-grip bench press, reverse-grip curls, reverse-grip triceps pushdowns. Do front squats, rear lunges, and dumbbell lateral raises with your palms up. Count backward, too. "It's like a blastoff," says Peterson: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, done."

"I Never See Results"
Maybe you're not looking in the right places. Measure your waist, your heart rate, and your weight. Write them down. Then measure again after a week or two, says Croce. Celebrate even the smallest sign of progress. Muscles appear as fat melts.

"I Have No Energy"
Eat. You need the fuel. "An active guy needs up to 1,000 calories more than an inactive guy," says Gay Riley, R.D.

"I'm Bored Again"
Organize your workout differently for 1 to 2 weeks, says Peterson. Let's say you're usually a push-pull guy--you do chinups and leg curls one workout, bench presses and squats another. Try working antagonistic, or opposing, muscle groups, such as your back and chest. You can also change to an upper/lower split routine in which you alternate upper-body workouts with lower-body ones. Or try a total-body workout a few times a week.

Lets Throw Conscience To The Wind

2005-01-29T21:35:00.000-05:00

What the heck! My friend was kind enough to bring me shopping today. Honestly, I am not in the mood to shop. So as always given the opportunity I bought more shoes. Well, I am planning to lead an active lifestyle once I go back so I need shoes to match, for hiking and training ofcourse! What on earth were you thinking....

Well, now that I've started shopping I just cant help myself, so I decided to buy the three (yes THREE) tier cake stand, its squarish. Since I dont know how many takers will be there, I bought 4. Oh well, then onto the furniture shops, where I found this lovely round mirrors that usually costs thousands back home. So I asked my friend if it fits the car, I'll get them. It turns out it was too big for the car. So I said, ok then lets go. As luck (fate) would have it, my friend saw a sign in the shop that says express delivery available. So I have to obligingly asked how much it cost to deliver. The sales person said $50 regardless of how many I bought. Hmmm, in the end I decided to buy two. Then my friend (yes I am blaming him) encouraged me to buy a leather sofa that was on sale........Oh well, lets throw conscience to the wind, after all I have plenty of cargo space in so, "reluctantly" I have to buy the sofa. Maybe somebody back home will buy it from.....I'll just have to see.

Its a good thing that I am able to refrain myself from buying carpets and rugs....and there are alot of three tiers cake stand available including those made of stoneware or was it ceramic. Oh well, enough shopping for a day. Thank goodness it started snowing tonite, so I wont be tempted to shop tomorrow.

No Excuses - New Year Resolution Revisited

2005-01-28T01:59:00.000-05:00

I know the title is no execuses. But I am gonna make excuses anyway. I've been lazy lately, maybe the thought of the impending getting back to work at home is the cause. But the real reason for the No Excuses title is for the following article, extracted from the Mens Fitness Magazine:

We hear you're ready for a gut-busting 2005. This is the year you'll stick to your muscle-building, fat-burning covenant: the New Year's resolution. No missed days. No empty calories. No wimp-outs. No excuses.

No, really.

We believe you. More men join gyms in January than in any other month. Of the 16 percent of guys who resolve to work out more in the new year, however, 49 percent fail to adhere to their resolutions. We've heard all the excuses. (We've used a few ourselves.)

So we made a list of them--the lame and the understandable. Then we called around to psychologists, dietitians, trainers, and men who manage to work out no matter how busy their lives are.

First, the legitimate excuses. We found four: You're sore, you're sick, you're exhausted, you're hurt. That's it.

Soreness means your body needs a break: "Recovery is as important as working out," says Carter Hays, C.S.C.S., a Houston-based personal trainer. Overtraining keeps as (continued below...)

many men from reaching their goals as undertraining does, says Hays. An illness means you should knock off and let your body fight the bug. If you're so tired you're drowsy, you could hurt yourself. And if you're injured--especially if you're experiencing joint pain--let your body heal.

As for the rest of the excuses, listen up:

"LOOKS LIKE RAIN."
Men's Health cover model Gregg Avedon lives in Florida. Do the names Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne mean anything to you? Avedon spent much of 2004 lifting storm shutters and storing away patio furniture, then taking cover. He still looks great. Avedon says your home gym--those dumbbells over there, and your chinup bar--makes staying in a viable option. You can also spice up your indoor cardio by jumping rope or running up and down stairs. Or tie both ends of a resistance band to a doorway, place a towel across your chest, face away from the door with the band (cushioned by the towel) across your chest, and run in place.

"I HAVE NO TIME."
Combine things you do anyway--work, breathe--with athletics. Set up business meetings during which you walk or jog; play tennis with your date; take a spin class to find dates; or take your family hiking, suggests Charles Stuart Platkin, M.P.H., author of The Automatic Diet.

"I PACK MY GYM BAG AND THEN THE O.C. COMES ON."
Get TiVo. Then tell yourself you're going to do just half of your regular routine. "It won't seem so insurmountable, and you'll end up doing the whole workout," says Edward Abramson, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Lafayette, California.

"I NEED MY SLEEP."
Pat Croce manages to stick with his workouts, and this father of two has been busy hosting his syndicated TV show, Pat Croce: Moving In, and opening a pirate museum in Key West, Florida. "Like me, you have to schedule fitness," he says. On the first of each month, Croce reviews his schedule with his secretary and then his wife, and breaks it down into weeks. Every Sunday, he goes over the coming week, making sure there are gyms at hotels where he'll be staying.

"I DON'T WANT TO SPEND $50 A MONTH ON A GYM MEMBERSHIP."
Don't. January's the month to negotiate fees, trial months, or group discounts. Think you don't have the cash? Save $900 a year by switching from cafe' mocha to metabolism-boosting green tea when you stop at Starbucks every morning.

"MY GYM SUCKS."
So move. Changing gyms is an opportunity for you to upgrade your workout. See the next tip.

"I'M BORED WITH MY WORKOUT."
"Throw it in reverse," says Gunnar Peterson, C.S.C.S., author of G-Force. If you always do lat pulldowns with an overhand grip, switch to underhand. Do a reverse-grip bench press, reverse-grip curls, reverse-grip triceps pushdowns. Do front squats, rear lunges, and dumbbell lateral raises with your palms up. Count backward, too. "It's like a blastoff," says Peterson: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, done."

"I NEVER SEE RESULTS."
Maybe you're not looking in the right places. Measure your waist, your heart rate, and your weight. Write them down. Then measure again after a week or two, says Croce. Celebrate even the smallest sign of progress. Muscles appear as fat melts.

"FOUR WEEKS, AND NO CHANGE IN WAISTLINE, HEART RATE, OR WEIGHT!"
Whether you see results or not, you're strengthening your joints and connective tissues, which means you're laying down a foundation for future muscle growth, says Peterson. Your diet, stress, sleep patterns, and other factors besides your workout may be holding you back--so don't give up.

"I HAVE NO ENERGY."
Eat. You need the fuel. "An active guy needs up to 1,000 calories more than an inactive guy," says Gay Riley, R.D.

"I'M JUST MAKING SURE MY BODY IS GETTING ADEQUATE TIME TO RECOVER."
After 72 hours of rest, you're just sliding backward. "But are you actually giving yourself a chance to recover?" asks Peterson. It's not all about time. Mix L-glutamine into your postworkout shake and eat a diet full of omega-3 fatty acids; they can assist with cellular reconstruction and the removal of metabolic wastes to help you recover faster, Peterson says.

Nasi Lemak anyone and Teh Tarik anyone?

2005-01-26T21:10:00.000-05:00

I dont know if the person I am talking about is reading about this. I hope not but if he does, it doesn't matter anyway. I am not about to gossip, but rather the opposite. We were chatting last night on how to improve his English. I said, you only learn through practise. I really admire his dedication to learn the language but like him, I am also rather surprise that he has not fully masters the language yet. Anyway, I suggested for him to watch TV often.....alas he said, its always the other way around, the tv watches him instead. Oh well....just keep on going then. [PS: Not that I think my English is perfect, but I get by, I think, I hope oooops!]

Anyway, lets move on to some of the fact that I read that should help to reaffirm our commitment to keep our weight in check:

Overweight people are:

50% more likely to develop heart disease
Upto 360% more likely to develop diabetes
16% more likely to die of a first heart attack
Roughly 50% more likely to have cholesterol above 250
Likely to spend 19% longer in the hospital
20% more likely to have athma
31% more likely to die of any cause
120% more likely to develop stomach cancer
Up to 90% more likely to develop gallstones
590% more likely to develop esophageal cancer
35% more likely to develop kidney cancer
14% more likely to have osteoarthritis
70% more likely to develop high blood pressure

For obese people, the percentage is even higher. Wallahhua'lam

Nasi Lemak anyone and Teh Tarik anyone?

White Chocolate Mocha

2005-01-23T17:14:00.000-05:00

Well since I have been stucked in my apartment the whole day Saturday, I decided to venture into the outside world with camera in hand. I am glad I decided to go out. Eventhough, the cold wind is killing me, but the scenary is just simply breathtaking. Wish I have the patience to post the pic here, but I'll just send it to my sis on the other side of the world maybe she'll post it on her blog! Anyway, it was only a month ago that we went to the Waterfront and took picture of the majestic Kennedy Centre by the Potomac River. Today it is even more Majestic because the river was frozen and covered with floating ice! Its probably my imagination, or could it be that I havent drink my favourite coffee for so long that the frozen river looked very similar to the White Chocolate Mocha. Oh how I long to drink that sinfully delicious coffee.

Its A White Day

2005-01-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

The forecast has it that today, Saturday Jan 22nd, its gonna be snow storm - 4 to 8 inches of snow were expected. By Allah's will, thats what happen today. My patio is covered with 4 to 6 inches of snow. The thing is, today is gonna be my shopping day. Unfortunately, the weather has other plan. So what am I to do but pack. Not that I have many to pack anyway. After all, in the 2 year period I am stationed here, I've been flying back home 7 times! Oh well, its good for me too, because I really have packing.

I still have my cold, but I push myself to go to the gym. I dont like to look myself in the mirror now, cause it looks so round, ha ha. After all, apart from not going to the gym lately because of the gym, I also been eating everything in sight in my kitchen. As my dearest sister often says `arjiki jangan ditolak'. With that in mind, I've been eating all kind of cookies. Oh, that remind me, I still have raya cake in the fridge. Since its still, aidil adha, I might as well enjoy the cake.

Snow, snow go away! Come again another day.....Or else go to Cardiff, there is a certain someone over there who would love it...

Enough Said

2005-01-18T20:55:00.000-05:00

I dont actually have anything to say lately. I am looking forward to go back home but then not too looking forward for the packing.........

Anyway, I read this on MSN so I am just gonna copy and paste and you be the judge:

The 10 Worst Snack Foods

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Jonny Bowden, M.A., C.N.S.

More on this in Health & Fitness
What Should You Pick from a Vending Machine?
Quiz: What's Your Dieting Downfall?
Quiz: Are You an Emotional Overeater?

Enter any convenience store in the United States and you'll quickly spot an array of so-called foods that could have come straight off the request list on Lil' Bow Wow's concert rider (I did not make this up. The young rapper's contract states that he must have the following foods backstage: Twizzlers, Doritos, Sprite, Starbursts, Hawaiian Punch and orange soda). But hey, Bow Wow's no worse than Britney, Christina or any teen in any mall anywhere in America. Or their parents.

Snack food in America seems to become more horrible with every passing year. Here's my list of the worst snack foods of all time. (But be forewarned: This list could become outdated the minute the food industry introduces yet another must-have concoction of sugar, chemicals, coloring and grease to add pounds to your waistline while adding nothing to your nutrition.)

1. French Fries

Don't be reassured by the fact that McDonald's is changing its cooking oil. French fries are still starchy white potatoes cooked in hot fat and flavored with chemicals and sugar. Possibly the worst snack food on the planet.

2. Donuts

Fried bread. Need I say more? And if that wasn't bad enough, add a sugary cream filling and a glaze of more sugar on top. Any questions?

3. Chips (Potato or Corn)

These are really just a packaged version of French fries (see #1). However, you can do damage control on this one by switching to baked blue corn chips, available in health food stores. It's still not real food, but it beats the 7-Eleven version any day.

4. Soda

And sorry, this includes the diet kind. Absolutely nothing of any value here, and a whole lot of chemicals to boot.

5. Cupcakes and Snack Cakes

The creamy filling is fake whipped cream, and the rest of it is sugar, flour and flavoring. You've gotta be kidding.

6. Candy Bars

You might squeeze a gram or two of protein out of the nuts in some of them, but by and large they're a sugar orgy and a nutrition nightmare. Again, you can move slightly up the food chain by switching to one of the "energy" bars. Most are just candy bars disguised as health food but they often have 1/3 less calories, quite a bit more protein and a bit less fat. Don't confuse them with real food though.

7. Pork Rinds

Fried pork skin. Not a good thing!

8. Fat-Free Cookies

These are even more insidious because they pretend to be healthy. Remember, fat-free doesn't equal calorie free. Betcha can't eat just one!

9. Crackers

Trans-fats anyone? Most crackers are loaded with 'em. Read your labels carefully to find the few that aren't.

10. Pretzels

Surprise, surprise. Remember, just because something doesn't have fat doesn't make it good. This is just white flour, water and sugar masquerading as a healthy snack. Fuggedaboutit.

Runner up: Those creamy, carmelly, coconutty coffee mocha-latte-frappe drinks that are taking over the universe. I love my Starbucks too, but 20 ounces of caffeine, sugar, whipped cream and milk taken once or twice a day does not a lean waistline make!

And yes, the calories you drink count.

For those who are interested, here is the link:

http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100099665?GT1=6065

Healthy Eating everyone!

Does A Grapefruit A Day Keep The Doctor Away?

2005-01-17T18:36:00.000-05:00

We all know the saying "An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away". Apparently it doesnt hold true for a grapefruit. Why grapefruit? The thing is in the Abs book, it says "if you want to make one simple dietary change for better health, the best thing you can do is eat a single white or ruby grapefruit everyday. Grapefruit is gaining ground as a power food. New research shows that it can fight heart disease and cancer, trigger your body to lose weight and even help you get a better night's sleep. A grapefruit a day can lower your total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels by 8 and 11 percent respectively".

Anyway, the reason I brought this up is that because at the moment I have a cold. I have my own theory though, why the grapefruit doesnt keep the doctor away for me. I believe, ofcourse without a scientific basis, everytime I start my exercise program, I'll get sick, then it will take time for me to recover and restart my exercise again. This is my story, and I am sticking with it. So be warned! If at the end of all this I still have a 32" waist, its not for lack of trying but more probably because of biting more than I can chew!

I Bite More Than I Can Chew

2005-01-11T10:07:00.000-05:00

Monday Jan 10, 2005. I dont know whether to take the title literally or not. The thing is my boss brought back plenty of snacks from his home country yesterday, they were dried fried banana coated with sugar and also peanut cookies. They were served right on the hallway that I have to pass by like a million times a day. Well, you guess it, everytime I passed by the cookies I took some.So I was thinking, maybe I shouldnt take that much, its not good for my diet. Did I bite more than I can chew? Anyway, luckily I was ready with my gym bag today because I havent been to the Fitness Club in the Office for quite sometime because of the recent renovation on top of my laziness! So I did my usual thing, sit up and some weight lifting. Oh I must tell you this, while I was lifting my 20lbs dumb bell, a petit woman was exercising next to me and she said (to no one in particular) `Hey, where is my dumb bell girl?" (referring to the 20lbs) I said to myself, what? When she noticed I was the one who used the dumb bell, she said sweetly, "Oh, you are not a girl!". Yea rite! Although that lady is tiny, but her biceps are really big. He he, maybe one day, I'll get to that stage. Yup, it doesnt hurt to dream, rite?

Anyway, after the weight lifting exercise, which only took me about 15 to 20 minutes I decided to go up and I noticed the cycling class was about to start. So I decided to join them. I said to myself, how hard can I cycling class be? Boy, was I wrong? It was interesting though, you dont just sit still riding your bike, it was a combination of cycling up the hill and flat surface. It was also a combination of normal pace and speed riding. In the end, I did not sweat that much. It was really good and fun. However, by the time I got home it was already 8pm, after drinking my smoothies, I felt so tired and lie down and watched TV. I must have been so tired, cause rarely that I slept before 11pm. I wonder if I bite more than I can chew with that cycling....I ended waking up this morning (Jan 11) at 8.30am! Oh well, I guess the gym session should make up for my lapse in judment for eating all those sweet snack. Than the comment I received from Anonymous on my previous post, came to mind. Yea rite, its easier said than done BUT at the same time, if you really want something badly, you will do the best that you can. Again, where there is a will, there is always away. But be aware though, everything should be done in moderation - dont bite too much more than you can chew!

House Cleaning

2005-01-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

I was pretty restless last nite. Not for anything bad though, its just that I felt guilty after eating a full bowl of rice! Anyway, I dont remember before I did my cleaning before I read my sister's blog or was it after. Well the important thing was, I cleaned, atleast I tried to clean my cabinet. I can't believe that I have so many ready to eat spicy gravy, and spices in my cabinet and a lot of snacks too! Not surprisingly, the all off that stuff has pass its expiry date, some even expired June 2003! That shows how much I enjoyed cooking, huh? There are still some tapioca or was it potato chips mixed with chili and anchovies in the cabinet. I should have asked my cousin to bring it with them last time. I was glad that they managed to finish the dried cuttlefish in one seating. Oh, there are also some left over durian, cakes and vegetables in my fridge that I have to throw away as well. But ofcourse, I am still keeping the leftover cakes my two aunties made for me, its just that I have to find the right time to eat them, maybe I'll go to the gym tonight. Oh this one is for CT, guess where I found the plastic strainer? Mmmm, where else could it be but the Fridge!!!!! Its not my fault though, I am blaming two parties here, first my malaysian colleague who put it there when they stayed in my apartment many months ago, second my cousin (yea rite) for not opening the fridge as often as possible (hint: they were not cooking as much). Oh one word of advise, fresh vegies are not meant to be frozen!

Now if only I can get rid of the fat from my tummy as easy as I cleaned the cabinet. Oh well, now that I've found there are still a lot of uneated stuff in the kitchen, I wonder if I can fight the temptation! Maybe I'll make a deal with myself, for every unhealthy snack/cookies/cakes I consumed, I have to spend 15 or so minutes on the treadmill.........zzzzzzzzz

A for Almonds And Other Nuts

2005-01-07T11:22:00.000-05:00

I guess its true what my sister says, the more you want to diet the more you have cravings for food. What I learn from this book is that you can eat as much as you want as long as it is the right kind of food. In Kindergarden, kids are thought A is for Apple, while the saying 'an apple a day keep the doctor away' may be true, lets switch it to A for Almond and Other Nuts. I know I have said this in my previous posts but this time I am going to quote from the book.

It builds muscle and fight cravings. It contains protein, monounsaturated fats, Vitamin E, fiber, magnesium, folate (peanuts), phosporus. It fights against obesity, heart disease, muscle loss, wrinkles, cancer, high blood pressure. Similar food type is pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and avacados. BUT dont go out eating salted or smoked nuts though! Because of their high sodium content, which can mean high blood pressure

Now that we settles the A is for Almonds, I will visit the next letter B in my next posting. Too much information, will get you nowhere I suppose. Oh funny thing though, I once bought a pair of pants in London, many many years ago. At that time, either I was slimmer or was it month of Ramadhan. Anyway, I bought this pants, not realising that its more suited for the colder condition, very much the opposite of my home country. Well, since I never get the chance to wear in much back home not only because of the thick material but also because of my thick waist, I decided to bring it over here. Even then, I rarely wear it because its a little bit small (okay it really is small). Long story short, I managed to wear it today, in the cold Winter's day, and it fits. Well sort of fit, mmmm if only I can get rid more of the fats. Oh Almond, Almond where art though! Oh yeah, I just remembered, I bought them but never bother to roast them yet! Oh well, maybe tonite I'll make it a point of roating them.........after all today is Friday, meaning weekend is here. Finally!

The Abs Diet Power 12

2005-01-06T11:40:00.000-05:00

As promised I am getting back to my roots....I am now starting to read my Abs Diet book again. Well, according to the book there are 12 essentials power food, hence the acronym: A.B.S.D.I.E.T.P.O.W.E.R. These 12 foods make up a large part of your diet. The more of these foods you eat, the better your body will be able to increase lean muscle mass and avoid storing fat.

Almonds and other nuts
Beans and legumes
Spinach and other green vegetables

Dairy (fat free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese)
Instant oatmeal (unsweetened, unflavored)
Eggs
Turkey and other lean meats

Peanut butter
Olive oil
Whole-grain breads and cereal
Extra-protein (whey) powder
Respberries and other berries

Well I think this is enough information for now. I havent strictly follow this diet though, although I must say the smoothies really works, and it keep you full for a while longer. Ahhhh but then temptation is just everywhere. And its easy to pester my sis to reduce carb and fatty food, but face with the same problem its a whole lot of different ball game. It was only yesterday, that I had a business lunch and the food was just to die for, luckily I am restricted to sea food diet only, otherwise I'll just jump in into the rare steak! Yummy! When I get back to the Office, my colleage presented me with Belgian Chocolates (I told myself, one is alrite, but I ended up with 4 (or was it more?) portions). Another colleague gave me an Oats and Honey Bar (which I havent eaten yet...) and another one gave me macaroni for dinner (it was meant for lunch but since I have prior engagement). As my sister so fond of saying " arjiki jangan ditulak". Oh I was chatting with my cousin yesterday (you know who you are.....) and she detailed out her daily diet. It sounds impressive! Alas for her snacking, she gave me the shock of my life....we'll keep it between ourselves for now and see if she can maintain her diet! Or maybe she'll make use of the Power 12, detailed above.

Well, try it everyone, atleast for a week and get back to me and see whether the food really works! I am also thinking of doing fruit only diet just for three days, to detox....

Back To My Roots

2005-01-05T01:08:00.000-05:00

New year, new resolution.....yea rite, and how long will the resolution last this time? For this reason, I am going back to my roots. The very reason I set up this blog is to keep reminding myself of the Abs Diet Challenge. Apparently I fail, to a certain degree, I guess. I'll just blame it on an unopportune timing, remember post of not starting your diet in December? Oh well, I can only sympathised with my counterpaft back home, how hard it must be to refuse `arjiki'. Anyway, no more excuses, if you want something real bad, you just have to find ways to do it. Just like a wise man once said, Where There Is A Will, There Is A way. With this in mind, I'll just have to find my own way. Although, I am glad to report that now my waist is just 30.5"! Not much improvement? Well atleast I am moving in the right direction. As my two cents worth of advise I gave to my sis recently, the goal must be realistic - not too easy and not too difficult. Its all about balance in life. Certainly rice is not the root of all evil, if only we can descipline ourselves not to take more than necessary. Try to eat, maybe, on less spoon a day! Oh well, easier said than done, the thought of Sambal Belacan, Rusip, Jaruk Mangga enough to make my mouth water, and to heck with Fat, I'll just have to live with it.

Well you see, the beauty of Abs Diet is that, you can have all that but in moderation. In fact you can splurge one day in a week. So everytime you feel like eating a cake, just tell yourself I will eat it on Saturday or Sunday or whatever day you choose to be your splurge day! Its all in the reward, honey!

Since I am on this topic, I might as well quote some thing from the book. It says " But when it comes to weight control, aerobic exercise is more overrated....because aerobic exercise builds little (if any) muscle - and muscle is the key component of a speedy metabolism. Muscle eats fat; again add 1 pound of muscle, and your body burns up to an additional 50 calories a day just to keep that muscle alive. Add 6 pounds of muscle, and suddenly you're burning up to 300 more calories each day just by sitting still". Now doesnt that makes you thinking?

New Year's Eve and A Case for Almond

2005-01-04T10:49:00.000-05:00

Mmmm December 31st, what should I be doing? It was Friday, I remember chatting with my sister and get to celeberate the new year in my home country in spirit, ha ha. Thank goodness for a good friend of mine who reminds with regard to the Friday Prayer! Otherwise, I will just continue chatting with a friend who insisted I stay online, bad bad friend. The walk to the mosque was actually nice, I didnt realise it was only a 15 minute walk. Anyway....... after that I wanted to go and check out an Art Gallery but decided to have a haircut instead. Maybe getting rid of the outgrown hair will help me reaffirm my resolution to get rid of my flabby abs. Yea rite! Ah well, dreams sometime do come true.

Oh just a few tips for my counterparts on the otherside of the world, you know who you are. Eating about 24 pieces of almond will help to fight hunger and cravings. Drink water before your meal, so you'll get full faster. Take 6 meals a day, space about 2 hours in between. That should keep you full through out the day! Ofcourse meal doesnt mean "fulfilling somebody else's wishes" [menyampaikan hajat]. It means breakfast, lunch and dinner as the main one, and light snack in between and two hours after dinner. Going to bed on an empty stomach will not be good for you. I dont know how true is the advert I've seen recently. It says replace two meals each day with a bowl of Kellog's special K, you are sure to lose 6lbs in 2 weeks with proper exercise ofcourse! Oh well........there is always almond if you are hungry.

Farewell

2005-01-02T13:11:00.000-05:00

Thursday, December 30th is the day my guests left for exciting Cardiff, Wales, NOT! Anyway, I was quite busy this day and have to go off to the Office early. At lunch, I decided to have a farewell (sort of) lunch at Penang Restaurant, a Malaysian cuisine. It was good, as I told them the other day, having them for lunch is like having lunch alone, cos I get to eat most of the food ha ha. Anyway, being the final day in Washington DC, and also in my apartment, we decided to take pictures everywhere in and out of the building. We manage to take a Dunhill shot (its a private joke) on the balcony, outside my apartment as well. Then came the exciting part, we exchange gifts!

Well then off to the airport. At first I wanted to use the metro and the bus, but then since its so comfy inside the taxi, I decided to take the taxi all the way to the Dulles. After all my entertainment allowance for my two guests has not been fully used ooops. Mmmmm if you guys in Cardiff happens to read this, ha ha, your loss. Just blame in on the BMOC, the Swan, Project Runway, Nanny, Golden Girls and ofcourse yours truely All My Children! By the way, Bianca recovered and she's back with her daughter!

Anymore visitors coming? Before I pack my stuff and ship them home. I guess not. Oh well......

An Evening at the Kennedy

2005-01-02T11:07:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, December 29th. It was a last minute thing, an evening at the cinema for House of the Flying Daggers, or an evening at the Kennedy Centre for a dance performance, Spirit of Kwanzaa. At the very last minute the Kennedy won, mmm isn't that always the case. So off we went, to experience how a world class dance would look like. It was a great experience though, but I do wish that we chose to see a play instead. But the performace was really upbeat, and I didnt have time to fall asleep, not that I wanted to anyway.

Another time perhaps for a play!

Final Shopping Day

2005-01-02T01:37:00.000-05:00

So much for touring and just visiting and not doing any shopping, ha ha. Tuesday, December 28th, we went shopping to the outlet stores again. I cant believe that I can ever get tired of shopping. Apparently, I can. Although we were thinking of going home at 5.30pm, we finally decided the earlier bus at 4.30pm. But I did manage to spend a bundle on work pants though, in anticipation for my slimmer waist! Yea rite, at the rate I am cleaning my frozen food, I'll be lucky if I can stay under 32"!

Its Museums Day

2005-01-01T21:02:00.000-05:00

I cant believe that after almost two years in the Nation's Capital, only now (December 27th, 2004) did I even bother to visit one of the most important building and most popular as well, the Capitol. Alas, by the time we reached that place, at about 11am, the free tickets have already been gone, and we are left to visit the Library of Congress. We thought its gonna be a boring place. What else can you see in a Library but books. However, we are pleasantly surprised the interior of the building was a sight to behold. Everything is made of marble or fire-proof material! The tour guide told us, all the books ever produced in the US are kept in here. I cant remember how many books they have, but it must have been in the millions. I immediately thought of my brother in law back home, I am sure he will love this place. Every subjects under the sun are kept in this Library.

Then after the exciting (yea rite) Library of Congress tour, we went to the Museum of the Natural History. We didnt actually get to wonder around in this museum cause my purpose is to see the IMAX theatre about the T-Rex. Well more for my two guests to see, ha ha, cos I fell asleep during the show. But the part I watched, was really great its in 3D, you can almost touch the characters in the movie.

We arrived home at about 3pm, I decided to go to the Sauna to detox after the NYC trip and they decided to go shopping, mmmmm my cousin orginal plan was just to visit and tour. Hmmm yea rite, apparently she didnt expect that the shopping experience here, is unlike any other she had experience before. Ooops, I shouldnt have said that, cause I know she is reading this. But never mind, I am sure she'll get the jokes!

The Day After

2005-01-01T10:52:00.000-05:00

The Day after xmas is going back day to Washington DC. And I've given my two guests two options, shops the whole day or experience the Empire State Building, the tallest building in the World. Well, atleast before the Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur, I am not really sure. We started the tour by experiencing New York Skyride. Its a simulator ride, so its quite fun, and we get to feel the ride on a roller coaster! Ofcourse the thrill is not as much as the real one. Then off to the top of the Empire State Building! What a welcome break and what an experience. The view from the top is simply breathtaking, and we even get to see the Statue of Liberty and ofcourse, the Brooklyn Bridge. I dont know what's the history behind that Bridge but my cousin's friend requested for it to be taken. Well, we can only aim to please or show off! The highlight of the experience must be the SNOW! Just when we stepped out to the outside deck at the top of the building, its snowed! Although I must sadly admit, uhuk uhuk, that this pales in comparison to the trip the two thrill seekers on the other side of the world experience in Belalong! Hmmm I wish, the Empire State Building let us climbed up the stairs instead of the elevators all the way to the 86th floor! (dont quote me on this, I dont remember how many floors were there). I am sure it will beat the 1226 steps they have to hopelessly endured! The height of this building is 1,453 feet (approx 500 metres).

Ofcourse we can't not use the shopping experienc after the Christmas Day. Its suppose to be the best SALE season of the year. But we didnt get to buy much. Except for a pretty cool looking Jacket (u know who u are), and as for me I bought a key chain and a money clipper that are sold for 70% discount. Not bad huh.

We, well I didnt realise that time is approaching 5pm, the time our bus suppose to leave for DC. Given the short time, I have to run back to the hotel to fetch our back, and ask my two guests to buy some food stuff for us to munch on the 4 hour trip back home (it turns out to be 5 hours cos of the traffic). Long story short, we arrived at home before 11pm, Sunday evening. Then we have a feast, since we havent eaten a decent meal in New York! That feast consist of Sabli's Chicken Curry (thanks sis), Sabli's Sambal Prawn, and Preserved Manggo (thanks Tangah) and other stuff. Well there goes my diet! This post also serve as a note that, I'll restart my abs diet on the January 1st, 2005. Yea rite!

Its Christmas Day

2004-12-28T23:00:00.000-05:00

Saturday being Christmas, almost all stores in NYC were closed. So we decided to go to the Ground Zero. The site of the World Trade Centre that was completely destroyed on September 11, 2001. They have started groundworks to rebuild the site. Then we decided to walk upto Soho. There really is nothing much to see when all the stores were closed. Its nice to walk because the street were almost empty but it was really cold and windy.

We arrived at the hotel at around 3pm. Actually we wanted to queue fot the theatre tickets. But the queue was a mile long. So we decided to go back to the hotel and felt asleep! So much for sightseeing in NYC. In the evening, at around 8pm, we decided to watch the movie, Meet the Fockers. It was really good and funny. But my sleepy head won. And I managed to steal a quick nap among the thunderous laughter in the Cinema. [In case you guys are confused. The theatre i mention earlier refers to live show, like a play in Broadway]

Anyway, after that we went back to the hotel and sleep again. Zzzzzzzzzz

Its New York Day

2004-12-27T17:53:00.000-05:00

So this is it! Friday, December 24th, 2004. The day finally came, my guess woke up at 5am. Its good though since they took 30minutes each to get ready, shower and all. As for me, I woke up at quarter to 7am. At about 7.10am or so we started to walk to the bus stop, which is about 10 blocks away, just about 20 minutes walk, with luggage and the cold and windy weather. Anyway, its a good thing that we left the apartment earlier. Its first come first serve. Eventhough, the bus was scheduled to leave at 8am, it was full by 7.40am and left for New York at quarter to 8! I dont really care cause we were already in the bus so the earlier the better. We arrived in New York just before 12 noon, and checked into the hotel. After a moment of rest, we went to Times Square. You just cant go to NYC without seeing the billboards. After that we went to eat. And shop a bit. This being the christmas eve, shopping in New York is just next to impossible. Everywhere there were long lines of people either queueing to pay or to wrap their presents.

Then we went to the Central Park, the largest Park in the middle of a city in the world. Ofcourse we cant just skip the The Plaza, the hotel, was it Home Alone Lost in New York? We also went to the Rockerfella Plaza, home of the NBC studio and ofcourse the famous toys store and FAO Schwartz, here you can find any toys imaginable. But then, I was looking for Scrabbles but I couldnt find one. Oh well...

Thurday Is Rest Day

2004-12-24T01:43:00.000-05:00

I dont think rest is the correct term. But I woke up late today, 9.03 am to be exact. I cant believe today is Thursday! Oh yeah, I just remember I was `sick' yesterday. Anyway, I arrived at the Office at 10am, and by 12 noon, my boss give us the green light to go home early. Hooray, I've only been in the Office for two hours, ha ha. Anyway, being a good worker that I am, I decided to stay until 3pm. Ofcourse, the heavy rain and the strong wind helps me in my decision to stay back. There is no point in getting wet and being blown away by the wind. Especially since we going to go to New York tomorrow.

Oh well......

Wednesday Is Sick Day

2004-12-23T13:47:00.000-05:00

Hopefully my boss does not read this blog. Otherwise, I'll get fired in an instant. The thing is I called in sick on Wednesday. I was 'sick' and need to get out and check-out the Museums to cure my sickness. So by 12 noon, we arrived at The Mall. Here are some of the most beautiful Museums in the world housing the most precious work of art. We went off the Smithsonian Metro Station, and are welcomed by the two most prominent sight of Washington DC. On the left is the Monument, and on the right is the Capitol Hill. On the way to the National Art Gallery, we passed by the Sculpture Garden. It really is nice and make me thinking. Mmmmm this is interesting, since I dont green fingers like my other counterpart on the other side of the world, I might consider have a Sculpture Garden instead. Then to the National Art Gallery. It really is beatiful. Before this I only get to see the print version of the works by Vincent Van Gogh and Monet. Now I can see it first hand. I should have come to this place much much earlier. So maybe from now on, less shopping for me during the weekend and more Museums hopping. For those who are interested in seeing the sights of Washington DC, go this link: http://dc.about.com/od/touristattractions/ or just go to www.washington.org

Today, Thurday, is the last day of work before the long Christmas Weekend. Therefore we get to go home early by 1pm. Hmmm not a bad day, considering I only arrived at the Office at 10am!

Tuesday Is Cake Day

2004-12-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

Didnt I tell you December is a bad month to start a diet, here where I work? Apart from the cold weather, which manage to make you hungry all the time, my theory being we need to burn a lot of food to keep the body warm, it also is the month of parties. Today is gonna be our office party. Its only a small do, for an afternoon coffee. We'll have Caramel Pudding and dare I say this, WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE. I am not kidding you, the very moment I wanted to type White Chocolate, my phone rang, it was my Malaysian colleague, calling me to give me some sandwiches......aaaah how nice, but at the same time, there goes my diet down the drain for today. Maybe I'll push myself to go to the gym tonite. If only it is not that cold! Hmmmmmm

Monday Is a Lazy Day

2004-12-20T15:25:00.000-05:00

I managed to finished my paper for Tuesday Meeting before 11am. So I decided to joint a Technical Briefing on Food Security. I must admit though, my reason for doing so is not entirely to gain more knowledge on the hunger problem of the world. Its more for the cookie and coffee that they serve during this briefing. But I did spend a little more time listening to the briefing. Atleast I learned something new today. Although, in terms of Propotion of Undernourished in China and India are just about above 10% and 20% respectively, as compared to almost 60% in Central Africa for the period 1999 - 2001. In terms of absolute numbers, China has close to 150 milllion, India more than 200 million. While Central Africa has just 50 million. Its a sad fact. For that I am thankful that I get to eat everyday. Mmmm it makes me thinking, why do I even bother to diet. But as I said time and again, my mission is not to diet to lose weight, its more for healthy choice of living with less fat and reduced cholestrol. Aaah, this makes me wanna go to the gym again tonite.

Oh where was I? I havent begin to explain why I said Monday Is a Lazy Day. This is not true. I think for me, everyday is a lazy day actually. I am just lazy period. But I use this title because at 12.20noon I decided to go home and think about taking my two guest to go and watch a movie, its a Chinese move - House of the Flying Daggers. By the time I reached home, I changed my mind though. I am lazy but I also like to think that I am still responsible and dont just want to leave the office like that. But it doesnt stop me from taking a quick nap, and ended up getting back to the Office at 3pm. Here I am now. There is really nothing much to do. Xmas is just around the corner. I think everybody is taking their long leave for xmas holiday and the new year. Oh well, I am stuck here now. Looking forward to our trip to New York this weekend.

New York, here I, well, here we come!

Sunday Is Sporting Day

2004-12-20T15:09:00.000-05:00

Oh I so wanted to sleep late on Sunday. But it was not meant to be ha ha. My uncle called from home, he missed his daughter. It was like 7.40am in the morning. What? I dont even wake up after 8am during the work days. Anyway, after that I just can't sleep anymore. And my cousin and I decided to jog to the Waterfront by the Potomac River. So at nine we leave the apartment and jog ever so slowly. After only about five minutes, my cousin requested for us to slow down, in fact just walked. Anyway, we get to the Waterfront, and she was impressed with the scenary. It looked like a scene from a postcard, she said. I agreed. The winter make the scenary almost imaginary like, not that it has snow but the foggy atmoshpere is really a dreamlike experience. So we started to jog a bit around on the banks of the Potomac, it really was nice because at this time, even the bird has not risen yet. Talk about early bird! I said this, because at 2pm in the afternoon, they were a lot of birds flying around, so much so that we accidentally sit on thei poo, ugh!

Then we walked up across a bridge over a canal. My cousin said, it reminded her of a scene from Ju On III, don't know if I got the spelling rihgt. It is a Japanese movie after all. Then we went window shopping for furniture that is, all those modern funiture and lighting, mmmm I could just sit there for hours and hours dreaming of how my house will look like. Then we window shop some more. Ofcourse I didnt buy anything. Cause today is my sport day.

How forgetful of me. I wanted to mention that at 10.30 am after the jog, we went to Le Madeline, a french cafe and had Strawberry Napoleon ( a cheesecake layered with cream and strawberry and almost, simply delicious) and French Toast (filled with strawberry and banana and covered with Maple Syrup and a sprinkle of fine sugar, its so delicous, its beyond words!). After that at 11.30am, we watched the movie called Series of Unfortunate Events. Its a kid's movie but plenty of matured audience, and the only sound of laughter I heard during the show is from a mother of 3 or so, who was seated just behind our rows. Needless to say, I found the movie boring and slow. The best thing though, I get to catch some sleep during the show.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Saturday Is A Shopping Day

2004-12-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

A hectic Friday Night, was followed by a going to be hecting Saturday Morning. The thing is, the bus to the Potomac Mills leaves at 8.45am. So meaning we have to leave the apartment at 8.30am. Aaaaah, only 4 hours of sleep for me? Thats not good, I am gonna be sleep walking through the Shopping Mall. Anyway, I did manage to catch some sleep on the 1 hour bus drive to the Mall. But alas, mid through, there is this Indonesian Lady, who keep talking and talking about her shopping experience at the Potomac Mills. I think she did not realise that there are other Malay Speaking passengers in the bus.Oh well, its nice though, at least my two guess have an inkling what they're gonna see at the Mall. It really was such a long day at the Mall but even my sleepiness did not stop me from acquiring two pair of shoes! What two more pairs? How many do I have by now? 25 pairs or so. Ah never mind, I am living in less then 2 months time. Back home I wont be shopping for any more shoes. Unless...........mmm let me think first.

I also get to check some three tier cake stands and corelle (for patterns and stuff you can check the corelle website at www.corelle.com). I am not really interested in the Corelle, apparently its break and chip resistance, mmmm that's sounds interesting though. Anyway, the three tier looks good, its made of glossy steel, so I dont know whether it will rust or not. Why am I babbling about this three tier? I could have just email it to the person who is interested. Ah, the damage has been done and I am not anout to delete this paragraph. Like the heading on my sis blog, it says, read it if you like it, its my story and I can write anything I like. Or something like that. In Malay language, the tone of the statements sounds more light-hearted and not to be taken seriously. I am not about to justify myself here, so case closed.

Oh by 4pm, I felt really sleepy and decided to take a nap on one of the many benches scattered all over the Mall. The bus leaves at 6pm, and surpise, surprise! We get to meet the Indonesian Chatter Box again. But this time I just sleep all the way through.

The Annual Party

2004-12-19T23:08:00.000-05:00

Where shall I start? It was last Friday, December 17th. The Annual Party. We thought its gonna be a boring thing. We just want to see what's it like. We as in me, my cousin and her friend. The party starts at 7.00pm. I think we were amongh the first few to arrive. So we get to eat pretty quickly and get to sit at a table. Its on first come first serve basis. The food was really nice, and I ate a lot of shrimp with cream sauce. So much for the abs diet. I think whoever wants to start a diet, shouldnt start in December. Its party time all month long. Atleast where I work that is. Anyway, after the heavy dinner, we went off to look at the dessert spread. They were serve on a different area. Next stop dance floor. The dance music was great. But we are a little bit intermidated because there were not that many people dancing. But I want to dance, on the pretext I want get rid of the excess food that I have consumed that evening. Excess food or not, I just want to dance, actually. Ha ha. So the three of us dance, and dance, and dance. The music was not that great, mostly Latin music. The only one we knew was Y M C A. It was fun.

We ended up dancing until 10.30, maybe from 8pm. We were tired and hungry by the time we get home. And we, well they, cooked instant fried noodles, and who am I to refuse?

Till later then.

Does Time Has Wings?

2004-12-16T11:33:00.000-05:00

People always say time flies when you are having fun. So I wonder if time really has wings! The fact of the matter is, time really flies by you. I am now in the third week of my diet. I havent seen any improvement yet. Although, I must say my weight is within a reasonable limit. Reasonable is the keyword. Anyway, lately my diet is going helter-skelter! [For those who are interested in the meaning, helter-skelter means: An interruption of regular procedure or of public peace: agitation, commotion, disorder, disturbance, stir, tumult, turbulence, turmoil, uproar.] Anyway, since I am having visitors I can't just eat according to my diet, for fear that my guess are thinking I am starving them too. Anyway, I've been having rice lately, and in a moment of weakness, or shall I say politeness, I manage to eat three whole donuts, all full of cream and cheese. Yuk! I must make it a point to go to the Gym tonite, even if it is just for 30 minutes!

Anyway, I just realised I havent been updating my blog for 4 days now, when my sis mentioned it last night. Its not that I am busy, its just that I dont feel like doing this anymore. But I am glad that I made an effort to update this blog today, it makes me wanna continue my mission to get rid of the flab! Oh not that word again! After all my challenger on the other side of the world, has been working hard to get fit for their upcoming adventure, there is no reason why I cant use my upcoming shopping season as a motivation. I do need a lot of stamina to carry all those shopping bags.

Oh by the way, did I tell you that I use to have a Malaysian colleague who brings me food for lunch? Anyway, he has left the Office now. But in his place, there is another Malaysian. Guess what, she brought me fried rice yesterday. Will this temptation ever end? I shudder to think of the amount of temptation I'll be facing back home! For this, if my other counterpart succeed in their quest to get rid of their flab, I'll salute them and they will forever hold my respect for dedication and strong will! Mmmmm what shall I eat today? There is that cheesecake I wanted to try yesterday. Oh what about that cheese and macaroni. Yawn!

A Matter of the Measuring Tape

2004-12-12T19:29:00.000-05:00

Last time I measured my waistline, I broke my measuring tape. I was thinking of going to Ikea this weekend to get some more. But then the weather is too cold outside that I rather spent my time in my apartment. In addition, I get to accompany several night owls who happen to be residing on the other side of the world (for those guilty party, you know who you are). Anyway, after a lengthy indecision, I decided to drag my ass (pardon me, there is a Malay word for this that one of my midnite owl said to me, but I dont think thats appropriate here). Guess what, at the end of the rows and rows of cookies shelving, I found a measuring tape! Ha ha, atleast now I can measure myself without having to worry that the tape will break. I wont tell you my new measurement though, I think its enough for me to say that the Thursday lunch did a lot of damage to my confidence. But fear not, I WILL SURVIVE!

I had fun this morning (Sunday), sending files and files of photos to my counterpart on the other side of the world. I hope their computer dont crash and they have a nice dream for it. Unless they get to dream about a certain flower called Harum Sundal Malam. Dont ask me the english name for it, I just dont know. For those who are really interested to know, maybe you can ask the gardener in our household at www.ninasayu.blogspot.com.

I cant believe the weekend is over but atleast I got to clean my apartment in anticipation of my incoming visitors tomorrow. Its gonna be fun and stay tune for the updates.

Down Time

2004-12-10T15:49:00.000-05:00

Aaaah, why is it the world seems to be against me? Friday, December 3rd, in fact it was only last week, we had dinner in honour of our colleague who is leaving Washington DC. And yesterday, Thursday, December 9th, we had a meeting lunch. Not that I am complaining, the food was out of this world. Although, I badly needed to try the cheesecake, I have to settle down for berries, which are included in the Abs Diet Powerfood. But still, I ate a lot! By the time I came home in the evening, I get so hungry again, and I also decided to have coffee. Oh my, it must have been 1 whole week, since I last had my cup of coffee. Anyway, I treat this as a temporary relapse in judgement, sort of a down time. I promise myself, come Monday, I'll hit the gym. But wait a minute. I wonder if it is at all possible. My cousin will arrive on Monday, and I am not sure I want to welcome them to DC by spending time at the Gym. Oh dear...........I wonder if this down time gonna last 2 weeks instead of just 2 days. Oh well..there is always the New Year. Hmmmm thats a thought, why dont I just start this challenge on a New Year, sort of as a new year resolution. So what do you think?

Nothing In Particular

2004-12-08T15:03:00.000-05:00

Could it be that I have lost interest in my Abs Diet Challenge? I havent read the book for 2 days now. After 2 days, even the smoothies lost its charm. Don't get me wrong, making the smoothies is as easy as it can ever be. My problem is with cleaning the blender! So much for a new found friend. Oh wait a minute, now that I've thought about it, I just realise I havent eaten rice since last Friday, believe me its more to do with laziness than the diet. The diet does allow rice, but it recommend you to consume the brown version. In a similar vein, I also have stopped drinking coffee since my last cup on December 1st. Funny thing is, I am not that tempted. In any case, the Diet allows you to go crazy one day in a week, and eat anything you like. So come sunday, I'll probably be sitting in Starbuck sipping my favorite coffee and biting on my fav muffin.

On a totally unrelated topic. I have just visited my sis blog, I am sad to learn that she has to go through all those thing to get rid of the ungrateful servant of mine. But like a marriage, (I quote this from an interview I saw a few days back), only two people who really knows whats going on in that relationship. So I'd rather just keep quite than adding fuel to the already raging fire. I guess this has also been my philosopy in life. I guess if I were a country, I will be Switzerland. Mmmm Switzerland......maybe one day.

I slept late last night. In fact I slept at 2.30am, needless to say I only arrive at the Office at 9.30am. But I shouldnt blame it on the late night, I always come to the Office at 9.30am ha ha. Atleast I get to finish my paper for next Tuesday meeting, so not too bad then.

As of this moment, I am still undecided whether I should bring my cousin to Florida, when she came in to visit me next week. I guess I'll check on the weather forecast firt, before I made a decision. Anyway, there is always New York!

It Can't be that Fast

2004-12-07T13:54:00.000-05:00

Its a rainy day today. I worked up at 8am, but looking out the window at the dark winter cloud, I decided to continue my sleep. Hey wait a minute, today is Tuesday. Its a working day. But the bed feels so warm that I can't bear to leave it behind and face the cold winter outside. Alas, its my duty to go to the office. After all, thats what I am being paid to do. As usual, its a slow day in the Office, I tried to read the document that I am suppose to analyse for next week's meeting but to no avail, I am just bored and sleepy. So I decided to take a walk and ended up at the Clinics, this is the place I usually go to, to check my weight and blood pressure (Its all self service). Anyway, I was pleasantly surprise to see, that I managed to drop 2 kg since I first start this diet on December 1st! Its not even one week. I was wondering if it is a combination of me having been fasting since last Thursday. Oh well, regardless, I'll take the good news any time. I must confess though, that I didnt go to the clinic by accident. The thing is, I feel my pants keep slipping down, thats why I went to the clinic to find out whether I managed to shed some pounds or shall I say kilos. In the Abs Diet book, one guy lost 15lbs in his first week, so its nothing to worry about.

On the clinic there is a chart for appropriate weight for certain height. For my height, 5 6", I should weigh max 156lbs, but I weigh in at 146lbs, so thats not to bad, right? Next week, I will start doing the suggested abs diet exercise........mmmmm if only!

My New Found Friend

2004-12-05T16:54:00.000-05:00

So Saturday, I went out shopping for the Blender. I dont know what's wrong with me, I can afford to spen $140 on an architectural book, but have to think 100 times before settling on a $35 blender! Anyway, long story short, because christmas is near, Macy is on sale, and the blender ended up cost me for only $22.30. That put a cheerful smile on my face. Its like meeting a new found friend!

So today, Sunday, I went for grocery shopping. I think I havent done a proper grocery shopping in months! But this time I have a purpose in mind. Go for the low fat yougurt, peanut butter, low fat milk, instant original oat, grapefruit, and whole wheat bread. I am making Abs Diet Ultimate Power Smoothie. It really is rather simple. For those who are interest, you just blend these ingredients togeter: 1 cup of non-fat milk; 2 tablespoons low fat vanilla yogurt; 3/4 cup instant oatmeal (immersed in water); 2 tablespoons peanut butter; 2 teaspoons chocolate whey powder (I used vanilla); and 6 ice cubes, crushed. Just blend for a few minutes, than you get a sinfully delicious smoothies! This you take early in the morning in replacement for breakfast and the other in the evening 2 hours after dinner. By the way, the mixture just now is for two servings, one morning and one evening, so dont cheat and finish all in one go. I really enjoyed the smoothies and from today onward, I now declare the blender as my friend.

Nothing much to report today, I just stayed at home until about one in the afternoon. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

Say What? Cheeeeeese!

2004-12-03T11:10:00.000-05:00

I have nothing much to say today. I was fasting yesterday, and my dinner only consist of a few slices of toast and cheese, my last piece of smoked beef, a glass of orange juice, a few pieces of almond, and a grapefruit! Mmmm looking back it doesn't look too bad. But I was guilty with the addition of cheese on my toast.

Today I continue reading the Abs Diet book, its on a section entitled Calcium: The Future of Fat Fighting.

It says calcium seems to limit the amount of new fat your body can make......In another study, it was found that men who added three servings of yogurt a day to their diets lost 61 percent more body fat and 81 percent more stomach fat over 12 weeks than men who didnt eat yogurt. A study in Hawaii found that teens with the highest calcium intakes were thinner and leaner than those getting less calcium.

Anyway, enough of the boring lesson! The point of my blog entry today is that I am happy to learn that I can eat CHEESE! Alas the amount of cheese I can take a day is only equivalent to one slice of Cheddar Cheese or an inch cube of Swiss cheese or 8 ounces low fat yogurt, mmmmmmmmm. Anyway, its better than having no cheese at all right. Ooops there seems to be a mistake here, after re-reading the chapter, actually I should be aiming for 1200 milligrams of calcium per day. The sliced cheddar is only 204mg, therefore I can have 5 slices a day. The day has just becoming brighter and brighter for me!

Today is Friday, the last day of the working week. Hooray. The weather forecast tomorrow looks good with no rain but still cold. Anyway, come rain or shine I still have to look for the fat reducing food and ofcourse the ever so elusive blender (until now, I still dont know what the blender is for though). Spinach! Spinach! Where Art Though?

Day and Night

2004-12-02T10:46:00.000-05:00

I was really happy during the day yesterday because my diet got off to a very good start, well atleast I have oatmeal in the morning, not having coffee throughout the day, and just take salad with fat free dressing during lunch! But what a temptation during lunch, of all thing they chose my first day to serve cheese raviolli, mmm looks sinfully delicious. Anyway, by the time I got back home after work,in the evening, I was really hungry, even the one piece of banana doesnt seem to satisfy me. Then for dinner I only have two slice of toast with a touch of low fat butter. Yea rite, as if I can survive just on that. Luckily, there is still some left over of the smoked beef that my sister gave me when I last flew back from home. I ate that, because according to the book, beef is a good source of protein, and your body need to burn alot of calories to burn or break protein compared to carb - so there you go, while you are enjoying your beef you are also burning a few calories. Anyway, the point of my story is by 10pm I was hungry, so I cheated and eat a bowl of instant noodles....ooops. But I dont consider this as a major setback because I am suppose to take 6 small meals all throughout the day which I didnt, maybe be next week I will get use to it. In addition, I havent shop for all the food that I am suppose to eat...and there is still that blender thing that I need to buy. Oh well, Saturday cant come soon enough for me, and yet today is only Thursday!

Its a Miracle

2004-12-01T11:23:00.000-05:00

Today is the start of my Abs Diet Challenge. First stop coffee, what a bad way to start the challenge huh? Of all the things that I am not suppose to, I drank coffee the moment I wake up in the morning. Anyway, I did have a plain old oatmeal as my breakfast. Now is already 11.26am, I am not hungry yet, so the oatmeal could actually be working.

I am only at Chapter 3 of the Book, how am I suppose to know what I am suppose to do? But I did get a very useful information on what exercise is better for you, if you want to lose weight or rather FAT. I really like this particular part of the book, and now I am quoting:

"Now here's an even shocking fact: When early studies compared cardiovascular exercise to weight training, researchers learned that those who engaged in aerobic activities burned more calories during exercise than those who tossed around iron. You'd assume, then, that aerobic was the way to go. But that's not the end of the story.

It turns out that while lifters didn't burn as many calories during their workouts as the folks who ran or biked, they burned far more calories over the course of the next several hours. This phenomenon is known as the afterburn - the additional calories your body burns off in the hours and days after a workout........."

Hmm not to bad huh, may be I should go and hit the gym and weight lift after work today. Anyway, back to my miracle story. So being the first day of the six week program, I've decided to brave the measuring tape and lo and behold! What a miracle, I measured at 31". Maybe then I should change my mission to reducing my waistline from 31" to 29" in 6 weeks. Oh well, as I often say, a man can always dream! In the office today, I went to the clinic, just to weigh my self. Surprise, surprise my weight is only 67.2 kg, a vast improvement from 68kg or so when I started writing this blog a week or so ago.

Anyway, will update you again on my weight and waistline. The thing is, I am not really concern with my weight, its more for the size of my pants. Maybe its time for me to go shopping for a new and slimmer wardrobe now. Too early? Okay, I will wait till the end of the 6 week program.

Its the End of an Era

2004-11-30T20:02:00.000-05:00

I remember watching one of the Episodes of Friends a long time ago, its the one where Chandler and Monica decided to move in together and they were asking for Rachel to leave the apartment. It was rather funny because Monica was upset that Rachel didnt feel sad about her moving out of the apartment. To Monica it was like the end of an era to their relationship. To cut short a rather long story, Rachel in the end get what Monica meant and declared her moving out would be like an end to an era.

Anyway, that's how I guess I felt today. The thing is my partner in crime at the World Bank left today to go back to his hometown in Malaysia. He is like a mentor to me. If it were not for him it would be a very boring and long 20 months at the Bank. But alas all good things come to an end. Even my stay here in Washington DC will end soon come February 2005. But no regrets, I have a whole lot of fun here. Although I miss a lot of things thats going on back home but atleast I was there for the more important ones. I am really happy that I chose to go back home when I could be travelling and exploring the States. Those precious moments I spent with mum will forever be engraved in my heart. I feel really blessed that I chose to go back home last Syawal. In addition, by the grace of Allah my previous boss at the Ministry ask me to stay back during my consultation visit early this year, which give me the opportunity to spend Aidil Adha at home as well. As it turn out, that was my last Aidil Fitri/Adha with mum. May Allah bless her, al-Fatihah.

Groovy Kids

2004-11-29T13:42:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I have mentioned this, but on one of the evenings during my stay in Cardiff, Wales, we decided to watch a movie. We didnt really care what movie but we have The Forgotten in mind. Alas, it was not on yet, and we have to settle for Bridgette Jones: The Edge of Reasons. Not a bad movie actually, but I prefer the first one, which is more original and unexpected. Anyway, this is not the point of my story. The thing is my two young guides in Cardiff, is a recent inductees to the City, in fact they were only there short of 1 day from two whole months. So their guess of finding the cinemas is not that far better than mine. Anyway, the thing is we chance upon Toys `R' Us along the way. So in we went. This being the UK, I thought the store would carry the Goovy Kids merchandise. Sadly, they don't. Maybe in London perhaps? But readers of my previous posting would know that I didnt get to shop a lot in London, what with the street being full of people and me failing to find the Belgian Waffle outlet.

There is one other good news though. I dont know whether its by design or coincidence our fitness centre will be re-open on December 1st! What a way to start my Ab Diets Challenge. One more day to go, I still havent shop for the stuff that I am suppose to eat during this 6 week challenge. Obviously I cant eat what I have in my kitchen, since its packed full of instant noodles and canned food. Oh well, peanuts anyone?

Michael Jackson in the Street of London

2004-11-28T20:53:00.000-05:00

Moments after arriving in Victoria Station in London, I decided not to waste any more time and head straight to Oxford Street to look for the Belgian Waffle. Somebody told me it was no longer there, I guess that person is right because it has been replaced by Ben & Jerry ice cream/waffle outlet. Good thing its no longer there than atleast I dont get to eat those sinfully delicious Belgian Waffle. Next stop Fish and Chips. Been wanting to eat to eat the english fish and chips,atleast the stall is still there. But ofcourse before all this I went straight to Selfridges, a store that every shop in this world should set their standards against. It is truely a magnificient mega store. Everything under the sun is there as long as you have the money and the inclination to buy it.

I know you have been dying to know why would MJ be in the street of London. The thing is, coming out of Oxford Circus tube station, I was faced with packed full of people. I am literally squeezed in a sea of people, it really is that packed. If I were to make an analogy, it was like performing tawaf. You really have to push people away to cross the street. Then I heard somebody commenting, what the f### is going on here? Why is it packed? Is Michael Jackson here? Oh well, that was the basis of subject. As if MJ would still be attracting this mass of people. Dont get me started on MJ, I am sure he has enough press coverage without me having to add to it.

Did I tell you I really love Selfridges (I know there is always Harrods)? The thing is, I really did. Especially its home stores, I just love love love the chairs the lighting and everything. I can just sit there forever, day dreaming what would my house look like with all these things stuff into it. Pure Heavan.

Enough dreaming, I am back to reality now. Back in Washington, tomorrow, Monday, I have to go back to work. Why is one week seem so short when you are having a lot of fun? I wonder if 6 weeks would feel short as well, considering all the temptation I have to go through. 6 weeks of Ab Challenge and 8 weeks to home for good. Home here I come! 8 weeks and counting. Maybe I should take out the measuring tape first tonite before I go to bed, after all, December 1st is only two days away.

Cardiff Is Actually Fun

2004-11-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

I am back in London today, after a 4 day vacation in Cardiff. Now that I left Cardiff, I wish I could stay longer. It really is fun place and just a nice place to stay for study. It is big enough that you get the usual suspects of shopping outlet. It even has the trendy and smallish boutique. Wish I have more time to explore these cutesy boutiques but then the exchange rate really put me off. At the moment its like US$2 to GBP1.

The night before my departure (Friday Evening), there was a Rugby match between Wales and Japan. Rugby is a very big thing in Wales. Needless to say Japan lost. But that is not the point of my story, the thing is Rugby is so big here, they even closed the City Centre from traffic. Given time and nothing much to do, we decided to explore, and chance upon the Winter in Wonderland park (which was erected for the Christmas season until 9 January 2005). We had a pleasant surprise because they have an ice skating ring set up. Being novice, the three of us decided to give it a try. It was really fun, after half an hour of holding onto the railings we managed to get to the centre of the ring. Yea, we made it without being knocked over by the pro..

Saturday morning before my coach leave for London at 11:00am, we managed to squeezed in the Cardiff Castle tour. It was really fun wish we had more time.

Well, I'll post some more once I get back in Washington DC.

London's Calling, Armsterdam's Beckoning, Cardiff's Waiting

2004-11-26T04:32:00.000-05:00

What a good start to a trip to London. The thing is always wanted to visit Armsterdam. Last time I almost made it but due to a very unfortunate circumstances a trip that was suppose to cover Paris, Brussels, and Armsterdam had to be cut short. I'll pay you the details of the misadventure. Anyway, this time around I didnt take a direct flight from Washington DC to London, I went via Armsterdam instead. It was not by design, but more for economic sense. Dont get me started on the air fare....

Anyway, I always knew the airport is going to be nice, I am not disapointed. At least not as disappointed as I was when I landed in Frankfurt International Airport. For those of you out there who knew a bit about Holland, or is the Netherland, but most commonsly known as Armsterdam (I know it doesnt mean the same thing, you are welcome to educate me on the difference), it is famous for its white and blue porcelain and ofcourse its tulip (more on this later). There are all so very nice, hence Amsterdam's beckoning but ofcourse Cardiff is still waiting, otherwise I could have just cut my journey short and explore Armsterdam instead mmmm.

But ofcourse London is still calling. I think its time I have to face the fact, I AM A REBORN ENGLISHMAN! Ha ha, I just love love love the English so much down to its unpredictable weather. Mmmm but then reality sink in the moment, I checked in into my room. What room? Its more like a tiny closet. Its really small. Welcome to the reality honey, you aint got the money to live in luxury. Oh how I miss the sinfully delicious bed in Dorchester. Now that is a hotel if there ever is one. Everything there is just simply devine, or as the English might say, SUBLIME! Dont actually know which is which though. But considering the $80 price tag I shouldnt complain too much, and the hotel is just a few steps away from the Tube Station (its the underground train for the uninitiated). A few steps it would be, if you knew which steps to take. In my case, there were a lot more steps going to the hotel for the first time then in the second time.

Ofcourse, England wouldnt be England if its not for tea. On the way to the Hotel I saw this delightful tiny pastry shop. Its French, but who cares, as long as you can sit down and have a cuppa tea with its array of pastries and cake. There goes my Abs Diet Challenge. I wonder if December 1st is really a good idea. Thats something I really have to sit and think hard about. After all, a tiny weeny bit of maringue wont kill rite?

RealGirlBeauty

2004-11-21T19:07:00.000-05:00

Isnt this a small world? Its only yesterday that I read the Abs Diet Book telling me the many benefits of spinach, uggh. Anyway, I was browsing this blogspot thingy, and I came across the RealGirlBeauty blog, in there she was talking on and on about spinach and its beneficial properties. Okay maybe not on and on because I only read the 1st two paragraph. I am not one to read long articles, call it information overload phobia if you must, I dont really care. Now that I have heard it from two sources of the goodness of spinach I might give it a try.

Another thing, I just found out that I need a blender for my abs diet thing. Why cant they tell me this earlier? If I knew I wouldnt have bothered. I dont have a blender before, I never need one, because most of my food came from a can. Now that I mention canned food, I have to tell you one other thing the book says about canned food, STAY AWAY FROM IT! I say what? That would just kill me. The thing is, according to the book, as a rule of thumb: If a food comes canned or jarred, it's probably a salt mine!!

There is a lot more on the book, atleast now I understand the term systolic and diastolic when talking about blood pressure and that 120(systolic)/80(diastolic) or lower is ideal. I might as well educate my self and my reader out there (if there is any) on these two terms. Systolic is the pressure generated when the heart beats, the bottom number, diastolic is the pressure on your blood vessels when the heart is resting between beats. Higher number means you are in danger of these three catagories: Prehypertensive 120-139/80-89; Stage 1 Hypertensive 140-159/90-99; and Stage II Hypertensive 160 or greater/100 or greater.

So there, thats enough lesson for today.

Fever

2004-11-21T14:40:00.000-05:00

My fever got worst last nite so forgive me if what I am writing here doesnt make sense at all. I always love it when I have a valid excuse for not making sense at all. So I will just start rambling now.

I woke up quite late this morning, I think it must have been 10.30 or 11.30 am but I promised myself yesterday to go to the second hand bookstore looking for romantic novel. I say what? Yea thats rite, I mentioned about this book thing to my sister back home, and she is interested to get some, at the end of the day I bought 10 for US$5, he he. I purposely went on sunday, because the price went for half price on sunday....meaning if I bought the books yesterday it would have cost me $10 instead. Oh well, so who cares if I picked the wrong titles, as long as the cover says its a romantic novel I just took it, its not like I am spending a fortune per book, its only 50 cents each!!!

Mid afternoon, I received a call on Skype from my cousin in Cardiff, she won something on the internet. Its a trip for 5 to Florida at a cost of GBP510 or so. I told her, it sounded too good to be true and not to be fooled because it might just be scam. At the end of the day, she didnt take the offer. Good for her. The sad thing is, she wanted to spent the holiday here in Washington DC in December, but she hasnt got the green lite from her parents yet. Poor her. But it would be nice if she can come though.

Somebody commented on why I chose 1st December for my abs challenge. Well, the answer is simple, since I'll be going to london, I dont think I want to control my self from enjoying the belgian waffle on Oxford Street, cant actually remember the street, but I am sure I will find it.

It was fun last nite, watching Federer and Safin playing in the semi-final. Federer won. I am also happy that Hewitt beat Roddick in the other semi-final. Now I am waiting for the final to be aired at about 4.30pm. My bet is Federer, but Hewitt is looking good. Maybe its payback time for Hewitt, since he got thrashed by Federer in US Open final.

Musing

2004-11-20T10:03:00.000-05:00

#1: The garment industry has to start standardising their sizing policy. It really is blatantly misleading or should I say self-denial enhancing. My point is, last time I bought these AX pants, in sizes 28 and 29, both fits me well, although I must say when I used the measuring tape, my waistline persistently remain at 32". Sometime I wonder if there is something wrong with my measuring tape. Okay, that is just purely wishful thinking.

#2: Why is it I always manage to get sick when I want to start embarking on an exercise program? It must be psychological right! But if anyone out there, the reason why, please let me now.

#3: Cant wait for next week, for I will be flying to London en route to Cardiff, Wales. I just cant believe it, I spent 3 long years in the country, never once did I tought of visiting Wales. Now I am making up for it. Maybe I'll post some photos from Wales once I get back.

#4: As anxious as I was to go to UK, I am more anxious for Dec 1, thats when I plan to start my abs diet. Oh well, now that I have invested US$18 dollars on the book, I might as well go through with it. Hint: a word of encouragement from time to time are very much welcome here.

Mission Pre-December 04

2004-11-20T01:18:00.000-05:00

I stand at 5 6" and weigh at 68kg. Not overweight but I have issues with my seemingly unstoppable advancing midsection. Never you mind, because I have decided to embark upon a mission to get rid once and for all the offending cousin, people called FAT. Uggh the tought of it never fails to make me cringe.

The thing is, I have bought a book called Abs Diet by David Zinczenko. And come December 1st, I hope to follow the guide through, and hopefully by new year I can get down to 30" or maybe 29" waist that I've been dreaming of. Doesn't seem an ambitous program considering I am close to 32", OK, I admit it, its more like 32". Happy?

Hopefully by putting words into my resolution I'll follow it through......Oh well, people can always dream, cant there?