Given up trying to understand them....

Something I can relate to:

Moral to the story, never try to understand them. Just go with the flow:

男人最怕的三个 答案 (Three answers most scared by men)

（1）随 便 (Whatever)

男：今天 晚上咱们吃什么？ Men: What to have for dinner?
女：随便。 Women: Whatever..
男：吃火锅吧。Men: Why not we have steamboat?
女：不行，吃火锅脸上要长痘痘。Women: Don't want la, eat steamboat later got pimples in my face
男：要不咱们吃川菜。Men: Alright, why not we have Si Chuan cuisine
女：昨天刚吃的川菜，今天又吃....... Women: Yesterday ate Si Chuan, today eat again?
男：那咱们吃海鲜去？ Men: Hmm..... I suggest we have seafood
女：海鲜不好，吃了拉肚子。Women: Seafood no good la, later I got diarrhea
男：那你说吃什么？ Men: Then what you suggest? 女：随便。Women : Whatever..

（2）都行 (Anything)

男：那咱们现在到底做什么？ Men: So what should we do now?
女：都行。Women: Anything
男：看电影怎么样？很久没看电影了。Men: How about watching movie? Long time we didn't watch movie
女：电影有啥好看的，耽误时间。Women: Watching movie no good la, waste time only
男：那打保龄球，运动运动？ Men: How about we play bowling, do some exercises?
女：大热天的运什么动啊，不嫌累啊？ Women: Exercise in such hot day? You not feel tire meh?
男：那找个咖啡店坐坐，喝点水。Men: Then find a café and have drink
女：喝咖啡影响睡眠。Women: Drink coffee will affect my sleep
男：那你说干什么？ Men: Then what you suggest?
女：都行！ Women: Anything


（3）看你 (You decide)

男：那咱们干脆回家好了。 Men: Then we just go home lo
女：看你。Women: You decide
男：坐公车吧，我送你。 Men: Let take bus, I will accompany you
女：公车又脏又挤，算了吧。Women: Bus is dirty and crowded. Don't want la
男：那就打车走。Men: Ok we will take Taxi
女：这么近的路不划算。 Women: Not worth it la... for such a short distance
男：那走路好了，散散步？ Men: Alright, then we walk lo. Take a slow walk
女：空着肚子散哪门子步啊？ Women: What to walk with empty stomach woh?
男：那你想怎么着啊？ Men: Then what you suggest?
女：看你。Women: You decide
男：那就先吃饭？ Men: Let's have dinner first
女：随便。Women: Whatever...
男：吃什么？ Men: Eat what?
女：都行 Women: Anyting

（看看四下无人，杀了她......） (Look around... no one here, gonna kill her....)

Life inspiring speech by Steve Jobs in 2005

Here we see Steve Jobs delivering his commencement speech to the graduates of Stanford University in 2005. In it he talks about getting fired from Apple in 1985, life & death.

I can relate to the third story, live life like there is no tomorrow. I live it like that. Hope you can be inspired to live your life the same way.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.....

Tarzan the King of Apes...

It's 3 AM and I can't sleep. Something is bothering me and I am tossing and turning in my sleep trying to figure out what it was that bothered me so much.

No it's not the Body Jam class in Axis which was super exhilarating. Apparently one friend shared with me she burnt more calories in Jam than in Combat. The new release did have lots of rapid leg taps and contemporary moves which would have you breathless by block 3 of the tracks.

No it's not my flu which has spread to my chest. I am on medication and now the cough has gone.

I dug deeper in my mind and narrowed down to last Saturday night....

This friend of mine was someone I have known for more than 5 years now. I met her when she was in the gym. She went through some hard times last year and I was a good friend whom I extended my moral support to. As of now, the friendship is strictly platonic and no further.

I was driving home and decided to call one of my gym friend what she was up to, she told me she was having coffee with two other friends in 1U. She invited me to join them. I was stuck in a crawl back from KL and had to stop by home to get my flu medication.

The phone rang again and apparently Starbucks at 1U closes by 11PM, so she asked if the a particular cafe was open, I rang the lady boss and found out the place is open till 1 AM, so we agreed to meet there.

In the group, there is one person who was not part of the our original group, someone whom I met only once before in a Chinese New Year dinner. Somehow that night he decides to become the alpha male to my female friend. I sensed that he was antagonised by my presence in the group and becomes the jerk of the century while we were playing this tree building game.

I dug deeper into my mind and tried to understand why I felt so troubled, then I realised it was what the lady boss asked him which ate me up...

Lady Boss: "The both of you look alike, are you brothers and sister?"
Jerk: "No she is my part time girlfriend..."

At that point, my friend left the table and started to use the PC nearby to check her email while the rest tried to finish the game.

I do not care about what goes between Jerk and my friend, stating it loud just made him look like the King of the Apes thumping his chest and howling like Tarzan. Makes my friend look like a piece of meat with the jerk being the owner. I don't care if that was a joke, it is derogatory to say such things.

That's it! I found the reason now. I dislike Jerk putting down my friend, whom I admire and respect.

I don't have the heart to tell my friend the next time we meet, hope she is not going to bring Jerk a.k.a Tarzan along.

I shall decide what to do next, to tell or just sleep over it.
I have said my peace and hope I can put this to rest.

p/s according to my fuzz counter (Macho of Mangkuk):

Tarzan = King of mangkuk!!!

Is there a recession coming?

I should be the last person to speak about money and finance as I am not an Economist, this got me thinking since the recent oil hike and the cost of living actually sky rocketed for the past few months.

The million dollar question today is, are we facing another recession? What is it to me as an individual?

This is my opinion:

Before recession:

Before a recession, the stock market's high goes into a decline. This phenomenon is observed world wide. Countries will start to cut interest rates to put more money in the hands of people to encourage spending. (people spend because the interest in the bank is not attractive, so with extra cash not tied to stock, bonds or fixed deposit, it becomes fluid.

People being people start spending, need to have becomes nice to have; that dream vacation, the latest model of mobile phone, the gold bracelet, that sports watch (I already have 5 one for every occasion I can think of...), that latest model car. A new pair of shoes, another handbag. Another Big Bertha driver to complete my set of golf clubs just like tiger woods have. Any excuse to buy something. Companies desperate for your business will offer you great discount, two for the price of one!

Finance companies make it easier for customers with good financial standing to get extra cash, low and competitive interest rate loans, they even pre-approve money to put in your bank account, send you checks to deposit into your account. Credit card is so easy to apply.

The result of overspending

The problem start, we become frivolous, we overspend, we barely make minimum payment. If we have a second card, we withdraw money from the first card just to pay the second card. We fall behind on the car repayment, the house mortgage. We pay the landlord late for the house rent. The utilities company threaten to cut our water, electricity because we have not settled the outstanding bill for the past few months.

Banks and finance companies start to become harsh, they send legal letters threatening legal action. They ask you to pay within a certain time or face legal action. Repossessers cut your front gate and tow away your car. They harass you with strong sounding phone calls.

During Recession

Money will become hard to come by, interest rates for loans increase, I remember buying a car at the interest rate of 8 percent (highest was 11 percent) today it is 2 percent. House loans follow base lending rate, you will repay more than double what you pay today.

Companies start to retrench employees to remain competitive, give lousy bonuses and zero pay rise. Some even ask for pay cut. Cost of living also increase.


Wait!!!

All this need not happen, this is what can happen but we are not there yet....
Stop spending foolishly from now!

Unless you are in sales and do entertainment, travel overseas a lot; resist the temptation to have the credit card to start with. If you have credit card(s) and cannot budget well, start returning it back to the bank, use cash instead. Nowadays some banks give out debit cards.

If you have fallen into the trap and strapped just paying minimal payment and find it hard to keep up with repayment, go approach the bank and convert it into a loan, some banks offer
fix interest...6% per annum rather than the 18 percent per annum credit card rates.

Defer your temptation to upgrade your car, mobile phone, expensive holiday.
Consider is this purchase a need to have or a nice to have...

If you have taken personal loans or housing loans, consider settling them faster than the tenure. The other thing which happens during a recession is base lending rate will increase to the point where interest to serve the loan becomes so high you are unable to pay. This is when the banks will start imposing late charges and do the ugly as the above.

Start saving money, if you have money in the stock market, chances are they are not making money, if you can break even or lose a bit, liquidate it and cut your losses. Put them into a fixed deposit or make arrangements to pay off your debt. Open a savings account with passbook only (no ATM card) and keep the money there. Ask your sister or mother to keep the passbook. Put it where you cannot touch it.

If you travel more than 100 KM a day to work and spend tons on petrol, consider converting your car to run on NGV, you will break even in 9 months to a year. That is a lot of savings on petrol.

If ever a recession hits, people would be short or cash, that savings book you stashed away becomes the umbrella for a rainy day. It will pay for the extra interest for the house.

I sincerely hope the recession will not come our way, but as any economist will tell you, the recession cycle hits every 10 years and the next one is past due, so believe it or not, be prepared....

Start saving! Start now! it is not too late.

Personal Training Anyone?

I have been subjected to paid torture 4 years back when my weight problem went out of control, it is almost like a curse when you start gym, you become worse off because your body tells you to eat more but the net effect is you are eating more than the rate of burn.

So I decided to sign up for Personal Training but not with FF, at that time Menara Maxis just opened not long after I moved to my new office in KLCC. The PTs there were inexperienced and I had a bad experience with one of them. So through my Sweat Club contact, I managed to engage this PT instructor whom I followed an average of 2 times a week for a year and later once a week for the subsequent year.

Of course the first thing I did was to measure up the current state of health; bad, bad, bad; flab flab flab. Then comes the discussion of reckoning....

"Choowie, what would you like to do in your PT?"

The first answer in my head was: "I have no idea...."

Of course to stay healthy would be nice, what options to I have. Since Frank was very patient and generous with his knowledge, he helped me answer that expectation question.

Primary Goal: to lose 5 Kg of weight in 3 months, further reducing by anther 5 KG next 3 months. To have net fat percentage reduction.

Secondary Goal: To strengthen core muscles.

He then prepares the schedule and plans out the exercises he needs me to do. He also does the following:

• measures my progress in a chart


• monitors what I eat the whole week


• asks me what exercises have I done the whole week


• gives me nutritional advice of what is good/bad and ugly.


• shares with me how to avoid injuries by having good posture and learning proper exercise techniques.
  
  

He then explains why a person needs to go through these phases:

When a person is unfit, the stamina is kaput. Core muscles is non existent, only left is visceral fat around the waist. Without stamina, one cannot sustain the fat burning which during cardio only starts after 20 minutes into the exercise. Without core muscles, strength training cannot take place because the body has a hard time taking in extra load of the barbells.

Frank is also a Les Mills Instructor for Combat, Pump and Balance and even taught freestyle step. He actually incorporates elements of Pump, Step and Balance into my training so that I wont feel bored doing my cardio. He was the one who encouraged me to take up these classes in FF.

Of course he helped quite a bit, before every new release of Balance and Pump, he will make sure I know the new moves and for Balance he actually stretches me during my cooldown to perfect my yoga postures so when I do them in class, I wont look like a buffoon. Hence why Tracy O was surprised why I improved so much when I did her balance class.

As with any motivation driven tasks in life, the moment you stop becoming motivated, your life becomes a chore and you go back to your old self and old routines. My weight crept back up, I almost felt I was back in the doldrums. Good news is, you now have a fitter body, you are more mindful about injuries and for you to continue with the gym classes was easier.

Of course my weight did creep up but my fat percentage still maintained, this meant that I have less fat and more muscles (assuming my bones and body water content remain constant). When I was in Singapore, I bought myself an Omron bathroom scale which has a feature to measure body fat percentage.

Along comes friends who share the same passion for fitness in GroupX classes, you start seeing familiar faces and of course with the dawn in age of Internet, Messenger and Facebook, you even get to know them and their friends. Then it is motivation by numbers.

Was it money well spent? Absolutely! Otherwise I would have spent many times the amount in medical bills when i am unhealthy and unfit. Worst still, I may catch some fat related disease which would shorten my life span. Hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, stroke etc.

Yes there is life after PT, So GroupX class anyone?

Searching for the meaning of life...

No I am not contemplating suicide with the title above. Just that one of my close friend shared with me this musical which she listens to in the car when she is feeling down.

It starts off with two characters in the cast who were comparing notes about how bad each other were. One was a female migrant with no degree but has many jobs and no love comparing against a graduate with a degree and no experience who was unable to find a job.

The chorus takes a form of the female cast repeatedly whines about how screwed up, screwed up, screwed up she is....

When she told me this, I felt that she was relating her life to one of the cast of the musical.

What am I getting at?

I too, have not found the true meaning of life, this question my grey matter cannot comprehend.

I have been caught up with life itself, work, going to the gym, integrating with friends such that I have no idle time to think about such.

I do know this:

• I do know what I like or dislike.


• I can tell the difference between what I want and what I need.


• I am not afraid to be alone in the world.


• My close friends and family take centre stage in my life.


• I love myself by staying healthy (working out and eating well helps).


• I have a passion which is to scuba dive which I share when I teach it as an instructor.

When I do something, it is will full commitment and with full passion. Such the drawback is, I often feel dismay when what I give returns little back. Not that I expect any, sometimes a little thank you would suffice. Nowadays I do but set my expectation to expect nothing back.

My ex told me I am too nice and too generous. (as if there is a crime). So I learnt not to be too nice for society's sake.

When I interact with someone, I often look at the heart. One can be beautiful superficially but have a black heart. I count my blessings that I have many close friends with beautiful heart.

When I am depressed I do not listen to sad songs, when heart broken I totally ban listening to Michael Bolton. His lyrics are suicidal. I find comfort with close friends and family.

I love the underwater world because under the ocean, no one can speak. We only use sign language. My troubles melt away.

So my conclusion is...

The direction nearer to the meaning of life starts by being:

• an individual with character


• a person with a beautiful heart


• knows the difference between what is want and what is need.


• not afraid to be alone.


• have many close friends


• have family as centre stage in life.


• love oneself by staying healthy.


• has passion in doing all things.

"Darling, you are most certainly not a screw up (contrary to your belief). You are one of the most successful individual I know professionally and personally. Just suffering from a temporary setback in life, get over it and move on.

For life is short. Live each day, each moment to the full as if there is no tomorrow! "

My advice, throw away that sad depressing CD from your car OK!

Uncle got flashed in the steam room!

Told to the tune of "Little Red Riding Hood"...

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a village near the forest. Whenever, she went out, the little girl wore a red riding cloak, so everyone in the village called her Little Red Riding Hood.

One morning, Little Red Riding Hood asked her mother if she could go to visit her grandmother as it had been awhile since they'd seen each other.

"That's a good idea," her mother said. So they packed a nice basket for Little Red Riding Hood to take to her grandmother.

...Uncle decided to gym one weekend morning

When the basket was ready, the little girl put on her red cloak and kissed her mother goodbye.
"Remember, go straight to Grandma's house," her mother cautioned. "Don't dawdle along the way and please don't talk to strangers! The woods are dangerous."

"Don't worry, mommy," said Little Red Riding Hood, "I'll be careful."

...after class, he went into the steam room by himself. Uncle normally removes his towel and sit on the hot stone slab in his thongs.

But when Little Red Riding Hood noticed some lovely flowers in the woods, she forgot her promise to her mother. She picked a few, watched the butterflies flit about for awhile, listened to the frogs croaking and then picked a few more.

Little Red Riding Hood was enjoying the warm summer day so much, that she didn't notice a dark shadow approaching out of the forest behind her...

...one big burly guy walked in.

Suddenly, the wolf appeared beside her.
"What are you doing out here, little girl?" the wolf asked in a voice as friendly as he could muster.
"I'm on my way to see my Grandma who lives through the forest, near the brook," Little Red Riding Hood replied.
Then she realized how late she was and quickly excused herself, rushing down the path to her Grandma's house.

...burly guy had a skimpy towel on and started chatting up uncle. He suddently lifted up one leg on the slab next to him and removed his towel while facing Uncle.

"But Grandmother! WHAT BIG EYES YOU HAVE," said Little Red Riding Hood.

"The better to see you with, my dear," replied the wolf.

"But Grandmother! What big teeth you have," said Little Red Riding Hood her voice quivering slightly.

"The better to eat you with, my dear," roared the wolf and he leapt out of the bed and began to chase the little girl.

...uncle said his thing was bigger than Edison's. So he politely excused himself from the room, 'leapt' from his seat and scurried to the showers.

THE END....

Moral to the story, have a buddy look out for you in the steam room.

Caddy taking a break

Hope no one missed me from the gym. I was away for a few Mondays because I was away on vacation, was in Lembeh Straits scuba diving for a week. The place was fantastic and I most certainly would recommend to go.

I stayed in the Kasawari Lembeh Straits Resort, the owner is Thai but run by Indonesians.

The Dive Crew: Deddy, Ali, ??, Yus (Resort Mgr), Nonsix, ???

My Camera decided to go on strike so I have no dive photos to show you, I will try to get some shots underwater from my friends who went on the trip. Just the moring I was heading to the airport, I dropped my pouch which contained my Olympus 5060 camera. The camera decided to malfunction. Talk about bad luck.

What did I see, lots of rubbish strewn on the sea floor, lots of puffer fish. Colourful nudibranch of all shapes and sizes. All shapes and colour of frogfishes (some hairy, some pretty, some small), saw a wonderpuss, electric clam, sea urchin with bizzare glowing colours. Strangely not much fish though.

I shall be back to posting soon, stay tuned.

FF Axis has security problems!

I have been behind in my postings recently, partly because I was inundated with work during my week days, during weekends I have been teaching scuba diving in the pool. My arms and legs are dark brown while the rest of me have a lighter shade. Thanks to our hot Malaysian sun.

Last Sunday I received a disheartening SMS from Calvin's his Ipod touch was missing in the men's changing room after teaching his usual Sunday class. He later told us in class on Monday that this is his third Ipod missing in Axis. I also recall that he has lost countless numbers of shoes, the last being his green Nike Slat.

This is not the first time I have heard of personal belongings going missing in Axis, it happens in most other gyms, just that we don't hear much about it. When I was in Cali, there is a security guard always walking around in the men's locker ensuring after receiving complaints of theft.

Sadly FF is not doing anything to prevent this, all I see is liability notices plastered on the wall of the lockers saying "Your personal belongings are your own responsibility and not the gym's". They are of no help in trying to assist in making public announcements or emphatise with you. They are also not trained professionally to handle customer situations, only to shy away and talk amongst themselves and not alert their manager. In short, pretty useless!

So my only advice is, leave your valuables at home when going to the gym, if you must bring your entertainment device to workout, have it with you all the time when in class or working out. When in the changing rooms please lock it and not leave it lying around when you go shower.

I can only say do write in and complain. Hopefully the gym has managers who are better trained in listening to feedback and tighten security measures in the changing room.

Gym celebrities beware! Your gym articles left lying around might be stolen and found sold on EBay next. Sweaty gloves, seasoned yoga mats, hand towels, shoes, underwear?

QoP: "Did you Miss Me?"

To that rhetorical question, my answer was "Ya badly" since I did not push myself for pump last week. At the back of my mind I was trying to figure out what was the difference between my QoP.

I guess it is good for her to go for outstation trips every so often, then we get to find how other instructors teach in class. I am a creature of habit, only have time for certain slots per week to workout.

One glaring thing missing from last week's pump are the songs which has a strong beat to the tempo. Without strong beat, one is not encouraged to work harder. It also needs to be at the right loudness; too loud and we cannot hear the instructor and the members go deaf, too soft we get no feel. Yes we felt you, my queen on Monday.

In another note, my QoP also has a sense of humour, instead of giving me a good workout to get my abs in shape, she gives me a souvenier from her trip which gives a different kind of six packs. Willngly I shared this witn Riyo and the front office counter staff (and told them the story).

What six pack? See photo below:


Yes Reese peanut butter cups also comes in 6 packs.