Starting Work Soon And Will Have To Hit The Ground Running

On second thoughts, maybe it's not so great I'm starting work so soon.

Yes I'm now well rested, I have my energy back and my spirit have been lifted.

I've completed about 80% of my To Do List which consisted of about 80 over items.

I am beginning to be slightly bored at times.

And I've been spending way too much money for a person who's not working.

But ... the guy I'm going to replace at my new job just told me to enjoy the rest of my holiday because as soon as I get into work, I'll have to hit the ground running.

I'm grateful for the heads up but I'm already starting to feel stressed!

Losing Track Of Time

I saw John the Chef on MSN and proceeded to send him the following message:

"Hello! What r u doin online? It's Friday. Aren't workin?"

To which he replied:

"Hallo. I've finished work. And it's Sunday"

Whoops! Indeed it is a Sunday night. In fact, it's technically Monday morning now.

Not working and not having a set routine is wrecking havoc on my sense of time.

My time keeping is also often off. Not having deadlines to chase not that many appointments to keep, means I don't apportion sufficient time to get up, get ready, get out of the house and drive to a destination.

Good thing I'm starting work soon!

Lower Back Pains Already?

I know that I'm only 32 and I'm still young but my body is certainly beginning to feel old. Forget the grunting when i sit down in a low seat or getting up after being sated for a long time. That started about 2 years back.

But these days, after seated for a period of time, I actually feel a sharp pain on my lower back when I get up! It lasts about 5 seconds, then slowly goes away.

I was complaining to Fruitcake and she merely said "Oh that's normal" then proceeded to show me how she bends her body with her shoulders hunched and her back pushed forward in order to ease the pain.

We're in our 30s and we're getting all these ailments already? We're growing old right before our eyes.

We now understand why our grandmothers used to stoop forward, and beat their lower backs with a fist after they get up from a sitting position.

RIP MJ

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson!

You were a child star, then rose to be the king of pop. Then you got a pretty weird towards the end.

But still, you once rocked the world! And The world mourns your death.

Rest in peace.

Not Working Is Expensive

I've been back for 2 days and I've spent RM1000!

I can back on Wednesday morning.

A the airport, I spent RM186 at duty free on alcohol, cigarettes and chocolates.

I got back home, showered, and met Michelle Who Stays On The Seashore for lunch. And after that I sent RM218 on DVDs!

Got home, changed, picked Fruitcake up and went to Angle Caster for our meditation class. We went earlier and found that there was going to be a change in manangement and there was a moving out sale. We spent an hour looking at crystals, crystal holders, sun catchers, dream catchers, candles, pendants and more. And i end up spending RM234 on several items!

And on Thursday, I went for lunch with Kit at Ikea Cafe. And after lunch, I was in Curve running errands when I saw that Nichhi City was on sale. There were a few items I liked there which I held off because I was going for the Singapore Sale. Now that Nichhi was on sale too, i went in to pick up the pieces I wanted. Another RM189 there.

For dinner, Paul and I went to Ayam Penyet in The Curve. We wanted to go to Ikea to pick up a floor uplighter but along the way, we passd by Aussino which was on sale. The 600 thread count duvet covers and bedsheets were going at 70% off. And it's 600 thread count too! Apart from luxury hotels, I've never slept on 600 thread countbedding before. So there's another RM212 there.

So I've spent RM1,000 in 36 hours! This is apart from the throusands I spent at the Great Singapore Sale.

What happened? I've never been a shopper. And I loathe shopping. And I always think twice about spending money.

Not working is getting to be really expensive for me!

I'm guessing not being focused on work and career gives me more time and excuse to walk around a mall and be lured by sales, to want to organize the house, to decorate the house, and generally have more time to be ou and spend money.

Back from Singapore

Singapore was great!

The Great Singapore Sale wasn't great, compared to the ones in the years before. Most stores were on 30% discount. But then again, with the minimal discounts, the stuff were still cheaper than what we can usually get in KL.

So in the end I did shop. In Ralph Lauren, Massimo Dutti, Banana Republic, Esprit, URS and more. It's a good thing I brought an almost empty luggage bag.

I don't usually shop and frankly I find it a hassle to look through clothes, get pushed and shoved, look for the right sizes, line up at the changing rooms, change into the clothes, look at it at all angles, bend over and move around to ensure it's a right fit, decide which ones I like, mentally calculate the price after the dicount, decide if the price was worth the item and after all that, move on to the next store and start all over again.

It's so tiring.

But after shoppng and hunting, I did end up with many peices of clothing I really liked.

It comes at a great time too cos many of my old clothes no longer fit or was out of style.

And, I'm starting work soon! This new company seems to be a little dressier than my last few companies. So I'm looking wearing a brand new wardrobe to a brand new job.

It was also great to catch up with my old friends in Singapore. I was great seeing u Gary, Lance, Rina & Yenny!

Off to Singapore!

I'm off to Singapore tomorrow for the Great Singapore Sale and to meet up with friends too.

And I have such a packed holiday ahead!

Better go on holiday before I need to start work again.

I'm leaving in the morning and arriving at lunch time. Banana Gary will pick me up for lunch and a spot of shopping before I head to an aunt's house for dinner.

Maybe will go out for drinks after that if Dawn came come out to meet me.

The full daytime Friday will be dedicated to shopping then it's dinner and drinks with Lance and gang.

On Saturday, I'll meet Yenny and Divemaster Gan to shop for dive gear.

And if weather permits, I'll hang out at Cafe Del Mar in Sentosa.

On Sunday, it's lunch with Jasmine as soon as she touches down in Singapore and that's the end of my Singapore trip!

It feels like it ended even before it began!

No Walk In The Park Tomorrow

I take it back. I'm not going to walk in the park tomorrow.

My calves and thigh muscles really hurt!

I didn't think it'll be this bad till I realized that I walked 8km this morning. Including uphill terrain. And after zero vigorous exercise in more than 6 months.

I'm gonna stay in tomorrow. Possibly in front of the TV with my legs up.

I'll resume the walk in the park next week. And maybe walk 5km only.

So I guess I'll sleep in tomorrow.

One of the many luxuries one doesn't often get.

A Walk in the (Taman Tun) Park

I've tried walking the Taman Tun Hill and each time I trudge up that hill, I'm cursing and out of breath. But once I've completed it, I feel really good!

So when Hosanna told me that she walks in the Taman Tun Park (it's next to the hill and much less challenging) every weekday mornings, I told he I'd join her.

I woke up at 7.30am this morning, donned on my sports gear which hardly sees the light of day, and went to the park. We started walking and chatting and before long, we actually completed one round around the pond, one round uphill round the pond and one more round around the pond. We did so well that we even decided to walk down the road to check out the Hutan Rimba and walked one round there.

We walked a total of 1 1/2 hours non-stop. And it wasn't as hard as I thought it'll be.

I may just walk in the park more mornings of my weekdays. And eventually, maybe tackle The Hill again.

Ikea - No More Plastic Shopping Bags

As of yesterday, 5th June 2009, Ikea will no longer be giving out plastic shopping bags to shoppers. They are doing their bit to reduce the amount of plastic bags which are harmful to our environment. Animal and sea creatures are hurt by them. And it just contributes to more waste.

If shoppers still want a plastic bag, they can have the usual Ikea bags for 10 sen and 20 sen per bag, depending on the size.

Sales from the plastic bags will be donated to the Malaysian Nature Society for the Climate Change Programme which includes planting of mangrove trees at Kuala Selangor Nature Park.

I love that they used actual Ikea products as part of the campaign!

This is great! Ikea bags are durable and biogedradable and with this move, they are taking an even strong stance in protecting our environment. It's geat to see big companies, well loved companies, doing this to encourage individuals to do the same. Small changes in our habits and lifestyles bring about huge positive changes in the world we live in.

And the big blue Ikea carrier bag which usually retails at EM3.90, is now available at RM1.90.

I currently have shopping bags in the car for when I go grocery shopping. I'll now remember to bring a bigger bag for when I'm shopping in kea.

Another reason why Ikea is a brand I love.

More Baby Girls Than Boys

Now that I'm at that age where most of my peers are married and are having babies, I noticed that there seems to be a lot more baby girls.

Fruitcake and Ed has Isabelle.

Twister Gwen & Dason just had Chloe.

Sue Ann has Kay Lee.

Helene & Alex has Gabrielle.

Desmond & Diana has Faith.

Aileen has Kaitlyn.

Kuen has Hannah.

Tamilzchelvi has Apsara.

Wendy and Ee are going to have a girl in September.

The only couple with a boy is Chris A & Eilene. They have Aidan.

Wonder why that's so. Is it a coincidence that most of my friends have girls? Or is it that there really are more girls born into this world than boys these days.

Welcome Chloe Abigail Vela!

Fruitcakes' lil sister, Twister Gwen just delivered a healthy baby girl this morning in Melbourne, Australia.

Welcome to the world, Chloe Abigail Vela!

And congrats Gwen & Dason!

Hugs, love & kisses to the Chua & Vela family.

Vegetarian Wednesday & Meditation Class

Vegetarian Wednesdays are back again!

Not that they ever left but I found it difficult to be vegetarian every Wednesday because its hard sometimes during a business lunch or when I'm eating with a group in a place which does have vegetarian dishes or have crappy ones. In which case, I'll be vegetarian on another occasion or on another day.

But now that I'm not working, I'm going to be vegetarian on Wednesdays as well as any other meal or day I can.

And as an added reason, Fruitcake and I have started meditation classes. It lasts for an hour on Wednesday evenings. It's Meditation for Stress Management. They guy who leads the class, Chi Choong, is not only a psychologist but also a clairvoyant. I never thought that that combination would work. Science is science. And the new age spiritual world is ... well, a completely different work, isn't it?

But now that we got to know him and tried out a few classes, it makes perfect sense. We start the class with an aura reading, go through the theories of the meditation we're about to do, do the meditation, and discuss about it afterwards while looking up and around to see if our spirit guides made an appearance.

So Fruitcake and I now go to class together but with slightly different agendas. She goes to meditate to try and understand and deal with her depression. While I go to develop my psychic abilities. I always felt that i could 'feel' things and I'm not finally ready to take it to the next level. It's been a little scary so far, but it's also been interesting. There are many branches of psychicism but the ones I'm most interested in is clairvoyance and aura reading. I'll update again once I've had some success in 'seeing' things. :)