As the new year rolls in, leave your worries and tears behind...
Put your fears aside...
And while you muster the courage to try new things...
Remember to always have fun!
And cherish the precious people in your life *hugs*
Happy New Year 2011 :)
xoxo~
I give thanks for...
- Being late and/or getting lost sometimes on my way to assignments and yet still make it in time for press conferences and not missing out on news which means I'm still able to deliver stories.
- Being able to play mahjong with Lilian and eat Kelly's Hainanese chicken chop.
- Not dying or seriously injured or seriously injuring someone else in accidents; and there's always a spare car available to borrow when mine's in the workshop.
- Getting a letter from the insurance company and finding out that I didn't have to pay that RM300+
- Being able to find parking at the office.
- The old Indian man who gave me his waiting number when I went to renew my road tax at JPJ; I waited for less than 10 people before me.
- Nutty but loving parents - this doesn't need explanation. Oh, and throw in a pair of very supportive godparents too.
- Cookies and milk!
- Crazy, funny, caring, entertaining, lovely, beautiful, awesome friends that I have. Yes, I'm talking about you :)
- Bad family problems but an abundance of love and grace from God that helps us overcome every problem. Time and time again. Without fail.
- A crazy boyfriend who still puts up with my nonsense and is still willing to grow, learn and change with me. Not forgetting the other boys in my life - my annoying but entertaining brother and my old man Jovi.
- A billion other things that happened before and another few more billion things to go.
Yeah, I'm kinda late for Thanksgiving but it doesn't make a difference to me because I give thanks every single day :) I guess it's due to the combination of extreme optimism and being extremely blessed; I wake up almost every single day feeling - besides sleepy and lazy - very, very, very lucky for all the things and opportunities that I have and all the people around me, on top of everything else.
I'm not a billionaire, not a celebrity, not a supermodel. I don't have a glamorous job, my pay is quite peanuts, my car is old and sometimes cranky. I don't have a million friends and I don't have a perfect family. I don't have the latest gadgets nor the latest trends and fads.
But I have enough to sustain myself plus a little bit extra for my family, friends and leisure. My job is tiring and demanding but I have great colleagues and opportunities. My car still brings me from point A to point B (though I need to change the tyres real soon) and my friends are awesome.
And I'm extremely happy. What's there to complain about? Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)
p.s. I hate pessimists, whiners and people who would rather complain non-stop rather than focusing on solutions. I especially hate people who don't count their blessings; but I'll keep that story for another day.
Wanted to blog about July and all the birthdays but never found the time *oops!*
July ended with Aliza and Tim's beautiful wedding. Congratulations to the couple :) This year gonna go broke with wedding ang pows. Jerm and Sharon's wedding coming soon, as well as an ex-colleague's wedding, and Ailyn and Ben's in January...pokai T_T
Just finished dinner with Liang + family to celebrate Wayne's graduation. Congratulations Wayne! See you this weekend for the photoshoot.
Today is also a sad day, as it is the funeral of Liang's aunt who passed away last Friday morning due to cancer relapse. God bless, RIP and deepest condolences to the family :'(
August is already so busy and my calendar is packed till month end. This weekend will be in Melaka for Wayne's graduation photoshoot. Will go for long overdue facial at Aya's mom's salon and to replenish some beauty products. Next weekend will be in Melaka again for Jerry Distributor annual company dinner. The company is more than a year old already woot!
And of course, the following weekend is BALI BAYBEH with da Frazer Rangers; our first trip together overseas. Can't wait for the beach, scenery, food and all that spa stuff :D
Our family is also anxiously waiting for the arrival of Baby Elizabeth, who was due on Aug 7 but decided that she wants to stay in her mama's tummy a lil' longer. Hope to welcome her soon.
And I just foiled my "ikat perut" plan by buying 3 dresses online =X it was cheap though, RM100 for three dresses. Hope the quality matches what's shown on the website *fingers crossed*
Watched a musical comedy by Pan Productions at Solaris Dutamas. Titled "Always in Wonderland?" the show was complimentary, from Berjaya. Very good show with awesome dialogue and very strong voices from the cast.
My first birthday present this year, from my parents:
Another Coach bag! Super cheap at Coach outlets + 20% discount :) My mom bought 5 items at USD400+
Looking forward to charging through the rest of August. Zooming through the months and it feels GOOD :D
I hardly spend time with you when I was younger
I only able to see you during weekend
When I needed someone to talk with, you weren't there
And yes, I do get depressed and blame you for that
But hey, as I grew up I understand it's because of the family
We won't be where we are right now if it's not because of you
I'm sorry and thank you dad for everything. We love you!
1. Watching Formula 1 for the first time
2. Helping parents wrap things up and pack before leaving
3. Bowling and dinner with Frazer Rangers
4. Farewell dinners with the parents
5. Last minute shopping with Mom
6. Having a near breakdown when Jovi went on his mini adventure
7. Bidding goodbye to parents and granny
8. Celebrating Chew's birthday with crabs and awesome cake
9. Stressing out on poor brother getting stuck in JFK airport and lost luggage
10. Kept busy with colleague's hen's night, mehendi night and wedding - wearing saree for the first time =)
11. Splurged a bit too much at a salon =x
12. Flew to Singapore for a seminar, caught up with family and Trissha (Woon was too busy hmph), OD-ed on shoes (rubi shoes = new love), ate durian pancake and spotted Eve's bro in MAS in flight magazine
13. Flew home to get a haircut, unpack and repack for awesome beach getaway
14. Spent four glorious days at Perhentian Island...blissful holiday~
15. Came home to a flat car battery; took the opportunity to fix it and tie up some loose ends
Am now very tanned and happy :)
Hopefully June is less hectic.
SJ10km: April 25
Closing date: April 16
Original forms only, from NST/Berita Harian
Fee: RM10
NB Pacesetters 15km: May 16
StanChart 21km: June 27
Centro Klang Run 12km: July 11
Closing date: June 20 or upon 2,000 entries
Early bird: RM25 before April 30
Penang Bridge: Nov 21
Woohoo! Finished our first night marathon last Saturday night; Energizer Night Marathon 21km @ Cyberjaya.
Things I liked about it:
1. Running beside the lake.
2. Pretty good terrain.
3. Good quality vest from Adidas.
4. Pretty good goodie bag.
5. BOMBA spraying water at the runners damn cool my favourite part!
Things I hated about it:
1. Some stations ran out of water.
2. Traffic jam.
3. Carpark too far from flag off area.
4. Baggage station 1km away from starting point wtf damn stupid.
5. Some parts of the run were pretty dark and creepy, some got construction workers staring at you.
6. Finishing line was horrible, they didn't re-direct traffic; we were running against a sea of people who had finished the race and were walking out of the start/finish area.
7. Only had Gatorade. Nothing beats 100PLUS and Revive.
Overall a pretty good experience running at night, except the starting part which was quite stressful. We were late, the guys had to carry the bags while running (cuz couldn't afford to waste time walking 2km to deposit bags) and no time to stretch properly. It's good that we had timing chips, to keep track of our real running time as opposed to gun time.
Keeping track of my running times:
Mizuno 11km: 1hr 35min
Malakoff 12km: 1hr xxmin (shit, forgot liao)
NB Pacesetters 20km: 3hr 30min
Bareno 15km: 2hr 5min
Energizer 21km (+1km scam): 3hr 9min
I figure, I'm pretty comfy now with anything 15km and below. 15km itself quite pain also, depending on the terrain, and was starting to cramp up during the end of Bareno run. Too many hills around Bukit Jalil! Anything more than 15km I'll have to bring Counterpain and Powergel. I'm so amazed at Powergel's power of preventing stitches (jakun first time eat Powergel). It helped me last till the end of ENR!
Things to note for next run:
- must not be late
- must stretch properly
- must rest enough
- must eat proper meal on the day before and the day itself
So far, the most enjoyable run was Malakoff, although it had some of the steepest hills. The location really does make a huge difference; running around Bukit Damansara, my mind was really distracted by all the beautiful, posh homes rather than the pain in the legs! Most of the route was shaded by trees, so it wasn't hot and sunny, nice and cooling even when the sun came up.
To date, the best running vest is from Mizuno. Damn comfy and the size is just right. Suckiest shirt is Bareno; armpit hole too big. NB Pacesetters was the worst run for me, because I was not strong enough to push till the end. The first 10km was good but the next 10km really killed me. By the last few kms, I was cramping, pale, nauseous and ANGRY. Angry because my body and mind were not tired, but the legs were just about to give up. Now that I've discovered the amazing secret powers of Powergel (still jakun) I shall not phear. Woot.
Total km conquered to date: 79km (+1km scam @ ENR)
I'm happy with the latest race so far, because I improved a lot compared to previous runs. I ran most of the km and brisk walked for the rest, didn't stop at all (I don't stop at water stations, I grab the drink and sip while brisk walking) and didn't walk slowly like during NB Pacesetters. I was 9min short of the qualifying time, but am still very satisfied :]
Here's a pic :D
