Flashback (Part 1)

Finallyyyyyyyy. I could finally sit in front of my computer and try to update this blog. Hehe.
Firstly, I have to apologize because the things that you're gonna read later are way overdue. But I thought they're worth sharing, so let's go all the way back to Christmas........

Christmas was pretty special this year for many reasons:

#1. It was the 3rd, and also the final "Christmas with the Community Event" by my church, Tabernacle of Priase, for now. :) Who knows we might do it again in the future? :)
I get to relax a little bit more this year as I have another 5 emcees running the whole event together with me. So I get to run around and go kaypo at what others are doing. Tsk. :P

[Eeleen & Nic]

 

[All smiles. :) ]

  [One of the lucky draw winners.]

[Cee Cee the clown. I hope I spelled her name correctly. LOL.]

[We also have NASAM over to talk about stroke prevention]

[TOP dance team :) ]

[Judges evalutating the children's coloring in the art competition]

I hope the 1600++ crowd were blessed through this event. I think the world has forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas has become a reason for people to party, get drunk, exchange gifts (nothing wrong with this but it's not the core of Christmas), celebrate the existence of Santa Claus etc. But I hope through this event, they will be able to see the true meaning of Christmas - God's love. :)

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#2. It was my first time winning something from those "What-are-the-odds-of-me-being-chosen" kind of competition. HAHA.

To know more about the competition, click here. And as for what I got........................................................

TAAAAAAAADAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ralph Lauren perfume!!!]

However, I was given the men's cologne (don't ask me why, maybe they took my wish a little too serious, and thought that I'm so smelly that only men cologne is strong enough for me. Hahahahaha.)

Nevertheless, THANK YOU RALPH LAUREN!!! And THANK YOU 1st Avenue mall!!! :)

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#3. Captain Awesome was in town. :)
He was sooooo busy being Captain A that he forgotten to get me a Christmas present. But then he did make it up by getting me a dress for work in the end la...:)

[His Christmas present: Naruto mini figurines set]

=)

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#4. Received Christmas presents that I really love! :)

This Lego Spiderman keychain is from Natasha. :)

[With great power, comes great responsibilities - Spiderman]

[Spiderman got caught on camera while in action!!]

[And this is from Daddy dearest. :) So pwettyyyyyyyyy.]

 [STITCH!!! :) This is from Yi Lin. A headphone jack plug. RAWRRRRRR!!!]

But sadly, my headphone jack is at the bottom, just like iPhone 5's. So I displayed it together with my other Stitch figurines. :) And yes..I bought myself a new phone months ago, as my Nokia E72's motherboard crashed. So nope. I'm no longer living in stone age. :P

[The thing that separated me from stone age: Samsung Galaxy S Advance]

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#5. Last but not least, I get to spent quality time with my family this Christmas. Christmas has always been very busy for us and we never had the chance to "escape" the responsibilities given to us every Christmas. :P The same goes for this year. However, we took our chances and drove down to KL during the Christmas weekend.  :)

[D&M]

[Yours truly & her aunt]

 

[I successfully psycho my aunt to get this watch for herself from Swatch. Hehe. The power of a sales girl. ;) ]

[Christmas deco in KL. Penang malls should be ashamed of themselves. :P]

 

[Passed by Candylicious but didn't have a chance to enter as we were in a rush. :( ]

 

[If anyone can guess what this is, I'll give you........a piece of this thing. HAHAHA.

Clue: It's edible. Hehe.]

 

[IKEA CHICKEN WINGS!!!!!!!!!!!! It's finger, palm, lips licking good.]

 

[XiuQi & The annoying yet lovable one who's born 3 years after me]

 [Would you like a cup of tea..?]

 

[And this is mommy trying to be funny by posing and trying out all the furniture in IKEA. I'm very sure she was blacklisted after that.]

[This is me, feeling really bored and sleepy.]

Wah. This is a very cheong hei post. Write until I also wanna fall asleep liao. That's it for now. Goodnight peeps! :)

I'll Be Back

I've so much to tell you peeps but I'm just too busy lately...
So stay tune for my updates...
I'll be back. =)

Sick, AGAIN

Sigh. This is the 2nd time I've lost my battle to a cold in a month. I just recovered from bronchitis 2 weeks ago, and now here I am, coughing and  aching all over the body. :( Why oh why...

But I only have myself to blame for cycling under the rain last Saturday. Sigh. Didn't expect it to rain, it just poured suddenly, and I had no where to stop and hide. However, I never regretted my ride that day. Firstly, because I get to ride with my ever-so-adorable aunt; and 2ndly, I get to see so many road bikes on the road, as it was the Penang Pesta Cycling Open Championship!! :D I almost hit a divider 'cause I was busy staring at other people's bike. Hehe. And one of the cyclist thought I was one of the contestants and asked me where to get the jersey!! Hahaha!! I must have had the cyclist pro look! :P

[Sexy. All 3 of them. :P]

[Cyclists getting ready for the race]

[Cute g hotel logo :) ]

Went for lunch with parents in the afternoon after the morning ride, and I was immediately down with fever. My fever must have fried my brain 'cause I bought this pretty pricey little t-rex plush toy which I initially thought was a cute crocodile. =.="

[Meet Rexy the green dinosaur]

Please get well soon... Christmas is just around the corner... Don't let the coughing spoil this wonderful season...*Fingers cross*

You're Only 18 and 2* Once

I am again and again reminded by this little girl, who never fails to make me laugh, that I only live once. :)

Yesterday, Natasha and I were at 1st Avenue Mall. After a movie, as we were about to go home, we came across this super tall pink Christmas tree in the middle of the mall. Apparently, 1st Avenue was having this contest where any purchase of RM10 and above in a single receipt from any shops in 1st Avenue, you're entitled to participate in this competition, which you write your wish on this pink candy cane, and the 20 most creative wishes stand a chance to win a Ralph Lauren perfume. :)

[Pink candy cane]

I'm the kind who usually ignores such contest, 'cause.. What are the odds right?? My chances of winning are probably 1 in a million, so I usually don't waste my effort. But Nat being Nat, she was so excited about it so I just went along with it. :) 

 [My wish. HAHA!]

 [Nat :) ]

I convinced Nat to hang our candy cane at the highest peak, hoping that the organizer would see how sincere we are and we'd probably get chosen. LOL. When Nat climbed to the highest peak, the guard ran to us and shouted at us in hokkien: "Mai pek ah neh kuan!! Ka teng pa to lok lai tu cham!!" (It means "Don't climb so high, later you'd fall!") Haha. He shouted so loud that almost everyone in the mall were staring at us. 

Awesome dy la...famous dy la both of us. Probably got black listed for doing monkey business dy. Pffffft. :P

[That's how tall the Christmas tree is]

One candy cane wasn't enough for that day. So we went into another shop, spend another RM10 and had another candy cane. This time, it was Nat's turn to write her wish. Which I won't tell you what it is here, later she sue me for blogging about her wish without her consent :P Hehe.

That's it for now peeps! Will write soon. :)

First Ride

Went cycling with the boys for the first time yesterday. I was really, really nervous and scared 'cause it was my first time cycling on Penang roads. And if you've been to Penang, you'd know how crazy our traffic is, and how insane our drivers are, and how narrow our roads were made.

We started off from Gurney plaza at 7am. Weather was great, not too hot. Perfect for cycling. :)

The boys were really nice for waiting for me along the way and not leaving me behind though I was really slow. Haha. Deswyn was worried that I'll be bored cycling without someone in front of me (as the rest of them were already way ahead), so he overtook me and let me follow him. (But I know he secretly wants me to check out his b**t. HAHA.) Which made me even more depressed 'cause he made me realize how slow I was. =.="

Jason and Deswyn didn't manage to finish the route 'cause poor lil' Jason's tyre puncture along the way. =/ So Des had to cycle back home to get his car and fetch him and the bike home.

Overall. it was a good ride for a newbie and first timer. The hike up to Teluk Bahang dam was manageable. *Prouds* Dreamer did well too. *Double prouds* :)

[Calvin & Benson]

[Yours truly & Dreamer]

Special thanks to Deswyn, Calvin, Jason and Benson for making this ride a memorable one. :)

Rest

The author of this blog has been really sick these two weeks. :(

And being a pharmaceutical rep., I see doctors everyday, to the extend I don't feel like seeing them when I'm sick. Heh. But I've been coughing so badly that I finally couldn't take it anymore, so I went to the doctor yesterday. And guess what? I was diagnosed with Bronchitis. 

Bronchitis is inflammation or swelling of the bronchial tubes (bronchi), the air passages between the nose and the lungs. More specifically, bronchitis is when the lining of the bronchial tubes becomes inflamed or infected.
People with bronchitis breathe less air and oxygen into their lungs; they also have heavy mucus or phlegm forming in the airways. Taken from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8888.php

No wonder my coughing is so bad. :(

And the funny part is, I sell antibiotics for the treatment of AECB (Acute Exacerbation Chronic Bronchitis). Haha. Irony. 

The doctor gave me antibiotics, meds for my cough, meds to clear my thick phlegm and for flu. He said I must have a caught a virus or a bacteria. And I suspect I got it from the hospital when I was seeing my doctors. Work hazard. Gah.

Anyhow, I do feel better today after taking a day off, and resting more. Finally!! After 2 weeks of coughing. :) But my medications are making my fingers tremble like I've got Parkinson's. Haha. And I'm feeling weak and tired that I have problem driving due to poor judgement. Sigh. But nonetheless, thank God I'm feeling much better today. Can't wait to get better so I could bring Dreamer out for a ride. ;) 

APBIM 2012

I remember my first half marathon in year 2011. It was horrible. I was limping due to cramps on both legs, and crying when I cross the finishing line. Dreadful.

Last Sunday, 18th November 2012, was my 2nd half marathon. It was also my first and last Penang Bridge Marathon on the old bridge. :) So I would say it's a memorable one. Because according to others, next year's marathon will be on the new bridge. So I assume they're gonna rush to finish up the new bridge by 2013. 

I wasn't well prepared for the marathon at all. Neither physically nor mentally. It was raining every evening since 3 weeks before the marathon, so I couldn't really train, all because I was down with a cold. I'm still coughing like mad right now as I'm writing this post. :( Couldn't sleep the night before the marathon 'cause again, my throat was irritated and I kept waking up and coughing, to the extend I had to sleep in the living room, afraid of waking up my family and Captain Awesome (he was gonna run full marathon so I know how important it is for him to sleep).

Woke up at around 12.30AM, feeling horrible and having a thousand thoughts of just quitting and not going for the marathon. But nonetheless, I dragged my lazy a** to the marathon site. After saying goodbye to Captain Awesome, as his full marathon flag-off time is at 2:00AM, I sat there alone, day dreaming, looking at girls with skinny muscular legs; at guys with tight 2XU pants (sadly no handsome ones); and watching Mr. Siput warm up beside me (He was the fella who wore a snail suit and ran half marathon, I think, and written on his shell was "Run Like A Siput). Haha. Then I went to the portable toilet booth to ease my bladder, wondering if the whole booth would actually tumble over if I push it hard enough from the inside. Then I visited the different different tents, warmed up with the aerobics team like a malfunction robot 'cause I couldn't follow the steps. Yea. That was basically what I did in one hour and 15 minutes until it's time for my flag-off time, 3:15AM.

It wasn't an easy run, especially running with a dry, phlegmy throat, and coughing all the way. It was tough. I couldn't breathe properly. Then the first nightmare came, a pain on my left ankle starting from 9km. But I told myself, just keep running, and if it becomes too unbearable, just walk. So that's what I did. I ran and walk, ran and walk. I stopped at every St. John emergency "pit-stop" and asked for them to ice my left ankle. It didn't help. But I continue to ran.

Then came the 2nd nightmare. The urge to bang sai. =.=" Every portable toilet I see by the road side was so tempting. But when I imagine what I would smell and see when I open the door, I just tell myself: "Screw it. Just tahan til you finish the race and get home."
Then the image of the toilet bowl in my house suddenly turns to shinny gold. Hehehehe. 

I finish in 2 hours and 48 minutes. My strongest run was the last 4km. Probably because I want to bang sai so badly. Haha. Went to the APBIM website today and found my ranking: 360/1876. Lousy. Haha.

But nonetheless, I think I did pretty well this time even without proper training and bad physical condition. 2013 perhaps, I'll finish it in 2 hours and 15 minutes. ;)

 [2:48:46]

Credits to Deswyn :)

[Finisher medal: Medals last longer than pain. ;) ]

Lastly, I wanna thank God for giving me the strength and determination to finish my half marathon, and also for helping Captain Awesome to finish his full marathon way before his time limit *prouds* and also for helping our friends too. Til next year. :)

[Captain Awesome and his full marathon finisher tshirt. :) ]
You did well, hun.

The New Ride

I've waited for this moment for years. And it finally came true.
Taaaaaaadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

[ Meet my partner in crime ;) ]

 [ Every hero needs a helmet to protect their heads :P ]

I'm still getting used to riding this stallion. It feels different because the tyres are really thin and thus needs more control. I haven't found a name for my bike yet. Any suggestions peeps? :)

And Penang Bridge Marathon is in 3 days time. I really signed up for sh*t this time. =.="

Dear legs, be strong this Sunday. *Fingers cross*

Because Of You

Because of You,
I learnt how to forgive others when they hurt me.
Because of You,
I was able to love those unlovable.
Because of You,
I learnt to show kindness and gentleness to those who don't deserve it in men's eyes.
Because of You,
I was able to give generously to those in need.

Because just like them, I've hurt others, I am unlovable, I'm undeserving...
Yet You love me unconditionally, and You never gave up on me.
And as Christmas approach, I hope I will be able to share this love with someone who needs this grace just as much as I do. :)

Comfort Zone vs Struggling

Everybody enjoys being comfortable. A comfortable seat, comfortable working environment, comfortable bed. Ahhhhh... Who doesn't want right? ;)

But the truth is, being too comfortable isn't gonna do us any good. Comfort zone, is one of the most dangerous places a person can be in, especially if one doesn't notice it.

When we're in our comfort zone, we don't strive to be better. Our thoughts, our efforts, our character is not being challenged. Our faith cannot be stretched. We become so well-fixed that we tend to stay at that moment, not wanting to move forward.

Consequences?

We think we're good enough. We think we're the best.

When someone asks us to do something beyond the ordinary, we complaint;

When someone else comes up with a better idea, we turn it down immediately without thinking it through, just because we feel uncomfortable about it.

And most of all, when we become too comfortable in our own comfort zone, we forget about God; the one who provides us all we need, from the daily meals on our table, to the safety of our home and loved ones.

So I always pray, that my life would not be a bed of roses. 'Cause I don't want to sink into my comfort zone. I don't want to forget about the wonderful hands that fed me and protected me. 

It doesn't matter it life gets a lil' rough at times, or if it bring a little discomfort.

Because when I struggle, I remember of the Lord.

I remember that God is in control, no matter how bad the situation is.

I remember how to hold on to my faith in Jesus during hard times, and I remember where my help comes from.

And because even when I struggle, I know that His grace and mercy is sufficient for me to carry me through.

So my question to you today is, "Are you in your comfort zone?". Time to get out of it.

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. " -Neale Walsh

Picture taken from http://naturalhorselover.blogspot.com/2011/03/few-insights-based-on-coaching.html