Getting fit

After some issues with my knee, I came to worry about what will be of me 5 years down the road. Having said that, I am a little more health conscious, I won't say very, and definitely no where near average level, but just a little more then usual. Its a start. 

I know that healthy eating is the most important part of healthy living, and its definitely the most essential part when you want to slim down or simply just to be healthier. Like I said before, I am little more conscious, but I still can't sacrifice all my food, maybe just 10-20% of the food I love and change up my food choices to healthier option by another 10-20%. 

But what I'm including now is extra exercise! Basketball recently has become too on-&-off thing, primarily due to the weather and headcount. So what I did was add in more exercise and some light weight/Tabata exercise at home (occasionally).

Let's hope that I can shed a few extra kilo and gain some extra friends

[Source: link, link, link, link]

iPhone 4S deals

Well, iPhone 4S is officially launched in Malaysia!! But what is the best deal available? W/o looking at any offers from any telco operators, I already know the cheapest, value for money, best deal for this device here.

As most of you would have known, the 3 major telco had their launching at the below locations:

Maxis

• Venue: Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Ground Floor, Exhibition Hall 1
• Date: 16th December 2011
• Time: 12:00am – 3:00am

DiGi

• Venue: DiGi 360° SoHoKL outlet, Solaris Mont Kiara
• Date: 16th December 2011
• Time: 12:00am

Celcom

• Venue: La Bodega, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Kuala Lumpur
• Date: 16th December 2011
• Time: Queue starts at 9am (15 Dec), Sales start at 12am (16th Dec)

Everyone is crazy on getting the best bargain for the iPhone 4S, which will be the case for at least a few more weeks. 

My simple plan on getting the best, or rather cheapest iPhone 4S in the long run, the plan is to just simply buy an iPhone 4S w/o contract. Trust me, in the long run, or just few months down the road, you are actually saving more then signing a plan with 12/24 months contract. Another thing with contracts is that you gotta pay an early termination fees or also known as premature fees. So there you have it. 

Here is some good reads if you want Comparing iPhone 4S plans between Digi, Maxis, Celcom & U Mobile

Busted!!

If by reading the title led you to think something such as a disclosed scandal and the likes, well, congratulation, you are just one of the usual tabloid reader.

Anyway, the busted that I meant is something about me, and no, its not a scandal. Well, I wish it was, but my life is rather boring, other then the new 42' tv I just bought to replace my 19' monitor.

Ok ok, enough with all the small talks, what really is busted is my knee, well, at least I think it is. If I climb a flight of stairs too fast, I can feel the pain in my right knee.

So I don't even need to tell you what happens when I go for basketball!! The damned part about this is that I can't do anything about it, usually with a sprained ankle, I can massage it when the pain hits, and I know it will go away eventually. Most likely its because I injured my ankle, but for my knee, I don't even know what or how the pain is caused.

When my knee hurts, I tried massaging it, I can almost pinpoint the area where it hurts, but upon massaging/pressing, I don't feel any pain, well, apart from the one that I'm inflicting on myself.

Hopefully it will go away soon!!

[Source: link, link, link, link, link, link]

My little niece!

Her name is Hazel *ong,
sometimes called hazel nut,
nutty as she might be,
she is nuts about animals!

Hazel NUTTTy

Star Wars is coming

Just the other day, our office was attacked by the troopers!! Behold, I need to run now, don't want to get caught, all I have is a pendaflour saber, while they have light sabers!!

RUN!!!

Moving from bricks and mortar to ONLINE

Well, for the past unknown years, I've been buying shirts and all via testing, but in recent years, online purchasing has been taking over for most of my buying behaviour, two sites that I frequent for purchases are

&

Lowyat.net has been around for a very long time and it primarily gave me quite a few good catches, most of the 'TRADERS' there are very good and professional, well, there will always be bad seed in and out, but that is something you just have be count on your luck if you don't research properly.

GROUPON/GROUPSMORE on the other hand has only been around not too long ago, well, in Malaysia at least. There are other group-deal websites such as MILKADEAL etc, but for some reason, I chose GROUPON, simply because they give me a more professional feel. And most of my purchases turn out good, but as per usual, not all participants are great. Among the few bitter memories, lets share the four that had more impact on me:

1) A spaghetti deal in Puchong at VINTAGE WINE BAR AND RESTAURANT, which did not serve the Mexican Spaghetti that we wanted. They are also so stuck up when we tried booking a table in less then the min advance booking days, it needs 3 days, but we call just 2 days before, we weren't allowed and was turned off quite rudely, fine its my mistake, I was just asking, and I did mentioned it the moment you picked the phone. Turns out when we finally got our proper bookings, they were practically empty, and yet they don't let us book previously....

2) A grooming class in EMAGE GROOMING BOUTIQUE, which turns out taught me practically nothing! I felt like I was there for an advertising session, something like, we have this service, it will cost you RMxxxx, you can sign-up for that. This is one of our success story, he took our ultimate package, it cost you RMxxxx, you can sign-up for that. What I did received until now are the spam sms!! So to sum it up, I paid RM60 for a 3hour RM299 package of self-promoting stuff.

3) A photoshoot in BADDOGZ STUDIO, this made us even more pissed off! We were planing to do it before my sis's wedding so we can use the photo during her wedding night, but no, before the deal was closed, tried calling and just wanted to know if we can book during certain period of time, called for a dozen of times, no answer, fine, we gambled, bought and tried calling again, why it don't surprise me at all, they are not picking again!!!! In the end, tried sms, after a few sms was sent, and few hours in between, then only was there a reply!! In that case, BADDOGZ STUDIO, please clearly state SMS ONLY! NO CALL!! Anyways, my sis's wedding was in Oct, and we tried calling and calling, just to be the earlier ones so we can get a nice time, turns out, weekends were fully booked till December or something!! WTF!! If only you picked our phones earlier!! And for some reason, I am wondering are those booking even groupsmore users or just their own personal ones?!

4) A flower deal from D'BLUM FLORIST, made me felt like it was a good catch after sometime, but turns out, I received an email stating that there were problems and GROUPON had no choice but to cancel it, and where is my refund?? Anyways, apart from the anger from me, I somehow appreciate it also that GROUPON took the effort of informing us and kicking the florist out due to poor service, that bad exp won't be anywhere worse then sending a flower and having trouble in the middle right.

Enough with the negative, now lets go to some good stuffs. I've got a few memorable, but telling them would be like repeating my story, so I chose only 3.

1) A haircare deal in YUN NAM, the best deal ever I had in GROUPON, it was priced at RM10, and I used my RM5 token (for refferal), so I got an expensive hair care for only RM5!!

2) A birthday cake deal in Q JELLY BAKERY, unlike the VINTAGE WINE BAR in Puchong, they was very willing to help me by getting ready my cake earlier, of course they are not doing that for every single walk-in, they knew I was from GROUPON, and they checked their queue, to see if they are able to get it done earlier. I was really proud of becoming a GROUPON USER! In the end, due to their friendliness and professionalism (patiently getting catering to my wants and budget), I decided to upgrade and pay on the spot for the extra.

3) A massage deal in VILLA MANJA, they were so good, that I felt my bones making sound, and I love that. I always like to press my knuckles and make those sounds, and trust me, my Thailand friend, did that to my back, I was in heaven for 10seconds after!! Though they are not those bones type, I think only Thai has that, not so sure, but nevertheless, having the lava stone was a very good experience. And the owner, well, she says she is only like the manager there, was really friendly and knowledgeable, taught us a few stuffs and made us return there a few more times after that.


Enough with the fast reviews, lets talk about some of the things that you must know before purchasing. The above purchases are basically F&B as well as Services. So there is pretty much nothing you can do but check on reviews etc. But if you were to buy clothing stuffs, you must have the following to assist you so to not make the wrong purchase.

Ok, yet again, I've crapped too much and lets just leave it w/o a proper ending. Bye. Hehe

[Source: lowyat, groupsmore, diagram 1, diagram 2.]

Lunar Calendar

Well, in case you don't know, I have other blogs that I manage. But the best and most interesting to read should be this blog. Well, I will be linking to the other blog now, so if you are interested, go and have a read as it has a little bit to do here and I don't really feel like copy pasting. So the link to my LAW BLOG is Driving under the influence of SMARTPHONES. Well, if you have read my previous post, MALAYSIAN ROAD ACCIDENT, LOL, I just make it sound worse. Haha. Anyways, if you've read it, you probably noticed that there might be a few extra accidents cases happening this month compare to the usual.

I blame it primarily on the Lunar calendar, in case if you don't know this, the lunar calendar is not in its 8th month now, it is still in the 7th month, or more commonly recognized as the HUNGRY GHOST MONTH. During this particular month, people who have the slightest superstitious beliefs will try their best to avoid going out at night and practice whatever things they can in order to not enroll for a free ride on the ambulance, or the ultimate prize, a one-way-trip via earth using a coffin or urn. Well, jokes aside, I do not deny the existence of these paranormal stuffs though I have never experienced it first-hand before, NOT THAT I WISH TO!! So seeing a little spike in the death/injury rate in hospital shouldn't be surprising this month.

Basically in this blog post, I would like to put emphasis on two particular thing.

1) People who are only superstitious during this particular month.
2) People who are more careful on the road this month (driving slower)

For the people in category (1) are basically dumb. Well, if you believe in the existence of the paranormal, and you are trying your best not to get the  free prize, do you really think that they are only here during this particular month? Well, chances are, they are everywhere, almost every-time. I know some might be arguing that this particular month is worse etc, but bear this in mind, if you are unlucky, if it is your time, there is practically nothing you could do. I am a firm believer in luck, but not to the extent where I am luck dependent or blame everything on luck. For example, when I play basketball, when I score a critical point, I will give credit to my luck, because sometimes I myself am surprised that I made it. If someone else made that, and I lost, I won't blame it on luck, deep down in my heart I just know that they played better this time, and its my own fault of not performing up to their level. This in turns motivates me to push myself harder and in turn creates opportunity and hence increase my luck (most of the time, we create our luck). Having said that, don't do stupid things and you should be safe, else all I could blame is on your luck.

Just another study I would like to share, can't remember where I've read it before, but it goes along something like this: The victim pose. How often do you watch a movie and a person is walking pass a group of people, gave off an aura saying that PLEASE PLEASE DON'T COME AFTER ME!! This person will increase his walking speed, act a little more fishy, avoid eye contact while trying to take a peek at the group of people, trying to move away from them (was walking on right side of the walkway, now slowly drifting to the left side). Don't you think this person is basically screaming COME TO ME, I AM WEAK, I WON'T HARM YOU NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, JUST DON'T KILL ME PLEASE!

(Well, the above are in my own words, but basically the study I've read is has the content more or less like that)

Ok, please bear in mind that I am not asking you to stare at the group, just walk confidently as you were, giving respectful eye contact is a good thing if you know how, else just walk like you normally would, increasing/decreasing your pace is a bad idea now.

Ok, I've crapped too much, and finally reaching my brain function limit, will try to continue with a more interesting content of the continuation of this post. Stay tuned.

[Source: Link, Link, Link, Link, Link]

Careful on the road

Saw a car rammed into a tree near a dangerous corner near my office. Usually motorist are the victims, and this is among the rare times where a driver is the victim, don't know about the details.

Anyways, would just like to present all of you with a few pictures.
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I know the likelihood of the last picture is very slim. But guess what are every Malaysians thinking are. 

"Most drivers are an idiot, only a few are really good. I am not the best, but definitely better then the idiot over there"

"I am a very good driver, I can manuver and control my car good enough to avoid an accident."

"That idiot don't know how to drive is it! Give signal earlier!!" - the issue would be if signal given, would you let them pass or would your right feet get heavier for a moment? Most of the time.

"I am smart/lucky/alert, won't get into an accident"

Anyways, what I am trying to say is that what you think won't happen to you, might actually happen! 

Ok really final, be careful on the road, be alert! I always like to say:

Drive fast and full of awareness/alertness.

[Source: link, link, link]

Pineapple tart?

Well, today Ivy brought some pineapple tarts to office that she bought from her business trip last week. This particular tart taste especially good and the dough is soft, just the way I like it. We used to eat those sunflower version of pineapple tart, but recent years, I fell in love with the cylindrical shape type, primarily due to the softness of the dough as a bonus, the freshness/juiciness of the pineapple toppings. Sunflower type is tasty and all, but ultimately, the dough is a little too tough and the pineapple toppings tend to be a little dried up, well, that is obvious since it is cooked that way. Anyway, I am having a huge headache, most likely is due to the lack of sleep yesterday.

Anyways, this new version of pineapple tart that I've tasted has a unique shape and size. It looks like a small pot made of soft dough filled with pineapple toppings. It is about the size of a 20cent coin, maybe a little smaller. Fragrance wise, the sunflower type is much more fragrant but taste wise, I feel that this small type is a lot nicer. One conclusion that I can come up with is the diminishing factor. On a cold night, having a cup of hot chocolate feels like heaven, but the second cup don't taste as heavenly as the first, and the third is lesser then the second, so on and so forth. So because we can have more bite in the larger pineapple tarts, we eventually get tired of it faster, it does taste nice, but we won't linger in heaven for very long. So I guess you can know what I am about to say for the smaller version. Well, thats it, headache getting worse. ending with a picture

Candid: Honda Accord

This photo was taken quite some time ago. When we were having my farewell (leaving my first official job) lunch at a Thai Restaurant in Sunway Mentari, opposite of Sunway Pyramid, we caught a glimpse of this HONDA ACCORD with its trunk opened. Well, its not just opened a little, its opened to the max. A picture is worth a million words, so let me just show it to you instead of babbling away.

(Boring post/diary - Just skip it) Health

Just did a small simple health screening, done by PRINCE COURT.

Well, my weight is now official, its 97.3kg, mix it with my 179cm height, we get a 30.4 BMI reading which in simpler terms means I am still fat! Well, my optimum weight should be about 70++kg, but I am happy now if my current goal of 85 by end of this year is met. Reducing intake, increasing exercise (basketball three times a week, 1 hour minimum), mixing in 15-30 min of sit up and dumb-bell three times a week. Will gradually increase and decrease as time goes by.

If I could lose about 2-4kg/month. By end of December I should lose 10-20kg. But for the pass 3 months, reducing intake and increasing exercise only dropped 1-2kg only, and it hovers around 97-99kg ever since.

Will consider going on a Metabolism boosting diet or herbal pills if things still maintains for another month. Would like to lose some weight before sis's wedding. Want to look better for her. ;-)

Oh yeah, my BP was 16x, during the first take, and about 1hour later, re-test, it dropped to 140/81, PR-73. God, I have no idea what all that means, but they only tell me its within range and its alright. My Glucose level is consider average at 6.0mmol/L (Fasting: 3.5 - 6.4 ; Random: 3.5 - 8.9) but the same can't be said for my cholesterol 5.9mmol/L (should be <5.2).

Anyways, didn't sleep well the night before resulting in about 4 hour sleep or so. And had a heavy breakfast with egg (bulls-eye), skipped my lunch the day before and ate Maggi Goreng with another bulls-eye. Well, I don't know whether or not it affect the readings or not, oh well, not like I understand it anyway.

Left hanging

The feeling of pride is something everyone cherishes and values a lot. We also sometime make ourselves humble in order to feed other's pride because they do the same for us. 

But too many time there are people who like to send you up high, not because they love you, not because of who you are or what you have contributed, they just lead you to the highest peak, let you settle in while they humbly back down to the base, as if lowering themselves to you, the next thing you know, a noose drops in-front of your head. You can't back away, because it’s the point of no return, so forward you go, knowingly walking into a trap and can't do much about it but pray for the best.

The best thing to happen is everything will work out for the best, if its success, of course we would like to savor every last bit of it, enjoying the moment and living it to the fullest, but if it’s for the worst, many of us would wish that we never even followed them to the top in the first place. But damage was done, trap entered, the only thing I could ever wish for is for it to end quickly and quietly. 

But many times, the best moment for those who like to set the traps is the time we suffer. The agonizing moment of knowing we have failed, our prides crushed, nothing we can do about it. They tend to savor it as slowly as possible, heck, I did mentioned if it’s my success, I will enjoy every bit of it, I guess these bastards are not much different from me too, well, everyone. To end the agony fast is what’s left in my mind, but since it’s a trap, we are definitely being treated like a god during the start initial process. While we are enjoying ourselves, that is when the noose caught on, tightens like the first real hug of couples, where it could almost or very well suffocate you. And then it springs up, trap activated, and we are left hanging……

[Source: Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4, Pic5]

10 years behind MASK

Before I continue with this post, I would like to share a little knowledge from my Law class which I learnt during a long time ago, well not that long, maybe about 1year +-. Anyways, you always see the penalty for any offence to either or, or both. For example, Fine of no more then MYR50,000 or Jail for no longer then 10 years, or both. I believe all of you would understand at least this part which is the offender will either be penalize with MYR50,000 fine or go behind bar for a max of 10 years. But how many of you know about both? Not too long before the lecture, I always thought both means the offender will have to pay MYR50,000 and go to jail for 10 years, but oh, was I so wrong. Because you will either get Max penalty of A or B never both. Lets stir up that strong brain of yours.

Imagine that you are the judge, and you have three cups of equal size, two of them are empty and have a Jail & Fine sticker on it, the third cup has a offender sticker on it and its filled up full. If you pour all the water into the Jail cup, it means the offender will have to go behind bar for the maximum jail term of his crime. Vice versa, if you fill the Fine cup, he will have to pay the maximum amount of fine. Having said that, I believe you could pretty much tell that the offender can't have max of both because one cup of water can't fill two same cups. So back to the both, if the you, the judge deems it necessary for the offender to face the maximum of both, you will have to give 50% of Jail and 50% of fine. Taking my previous example: The offender can either be penalize with a MYR50,000 fine, a 10 years Jail term, or a MYR25,000 fine + 5 years Jail term.

I know I am not a good teacher, but hey, I am trying my best.

Ok, now lets start with the main topic, in case if you are wondering about the title, No, its not a typo. I will try and save you by not giving you the whole grandfather story after reading the above post (I somehow doubt anyone reading anyway), so here is the summary.

5 year-old boy from China, fell into a pile of burning straw at his hometown in Fenyang. He is forced to wear a full surgical mask to prevent infection because he lost most of his skin around his head and hands, and this might be his face until he is 14-19 years-old depending on his trachea as doctors can't perform the skin-graft surgery until it is large enough.

Poor boy can only play with his canine, ultraman and his 3 year-old brother. He could play with other kids, but only, and only if the mother bribes them with snacks.

[Source: Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, News, ]