Christmas and New Year

Finally got the pictures of our Christmas celebration but too lazy to post it. Instead, please read gf's account of the presentation.

Don't forget to send me your questions for Jacqueline Wong, Grace Sim, & Wes Carter- dateline is 5 Jan 2006. If you have no idea what I am talking about, please read this and this.

Less than 34 hours to go before 2006, so here's wishing all my fans & friends:

HAVE A FANTASTIC & BLESSED NEW YEAR 2006... AND IF YOU MUST DRINK, PLEASE DON'T DRIVE!

God willing, blogging will resume on Tuesday.

New schedule for Jan 2006

Attention Fitness First stalkers members!!!

For the new year, there are slight changes to my class schedule.



A bigger picture is available in the right column below my profile.

Herny has decided to kick me out of Damansara Uptown on Friday for calling her Horny I have been traded back to Menara John Hancock on Friday, teaching BODYPUMP® at 6.45pm and 7.50pm, BODYCOMBAT®. Serves that fatboy fellow for keep praising his favourite BODYCOMBAT® instructor, now he has to settle for me.

Anyhow, I honestly miss the MJH members since I left in November, so I'm happy to be back there. As for DU members, I will still be seeing some of them on Wednesday in the RPM® class . This is what you call, a "win-win" situation for me:)

I'm quite sure DU members will be more than happy to have fatboy's favourite BODYCOMBAT® instructor back, since he was teaching that exact slot till March 2005. As for MJH, hope they will welcome me back with open arms!!!

Things you'll not see me do for a long time...

Yesterday night I attended the BODYJAM® launch with gf in Fitness First Menara Summit by Jacq & You(not "you" you, but YOU-his surname is You). Can't say that I didn't have fun, but I think I shall stick to what I'm familiar with.

I think I have injured my right knee on Tuesday in FF Menara Axis. Every time I move, I get this little tingling in my knee cap- not enough to hinder my movement, but darn annoying. It might have gotten worse after last night's BODYJAM®. Will try to get a knee guard tonight before class and ice it tonight.

Mom came to KL yesterday with eldest bro, which only means OCD will be quite stressed up for the next few days- more people means the castle apartment will likely be messier. Mom made some sort of traditional soup for me and brought it all the way for me- the last time we spoke on the phone, she's sort of worried that I'm working too hard physically.

If I may digress, looks like everybody loves fatboy..... 's properties. So far, he's got offers for his phone number, house, and blog. I shudder that he actually thinks someone may be interested to buy his body. Actually, have to be a bit emphathetic; after all, he's been out of action since the wife got pregnant- his fault anyway

No blogging on Christmas day's presentation yet until I get some photos from church. However, Christmas night gf and I were invited to fatboy's orgy party again.


More unholy indulgence

The last gathering before Raya, he had about 15-20 ppl but this time he really got a bit ambitious with about 40 people. No wonder he had so much food.



Most of the people we had met before were not invited this time. So, we had to start all over again, introducing ourselves to fatboy's buddies. After a while, I saw Calvin and I went, "Oh boy, it's gonna be one of those "come-meet-my-favourite-combat- instructor" moments.... *sigh* At least I'm invited too..."





Basically there were four groups of ppl invited that night: the drinking group, the church group, the gym group(through FCI), and the other drinking group. As soon as they were full, it was time for drinking!


Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmm..... Seeeeennnnnnggg!

Since neither gf nor I drink, we decided to move away from the rowdy drinkers and made our way to the church group whom we had met 2 months ago. Looks like people are STILL following my blog... a couple of them asked the familiar question, "So, have you made up your mind?", referring to this entry. Thanks for the concern boys & gals... do follow this blog and you shall be enlightened in due time.

SO it was an eventful Christmas day. Interesting to note that this is my first ever Christmas outside Penang. Oh, this is what gf got for me...



Woo hoo!

Alas, It was the night day before Christmas...

"T'is the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la..." but last Saturday, I found myself in Mid Valley Megamall for something not so jolly...


Time to face the music...

I have a annual RM200 dental benefit from my "other" job to spend and so I made an appointment with Pristine Dental Care. I had almost forgotten about doing till I met Shanti on a forum online last week. Shanti was a fellow BODYCOMBAT® trainee back in March 2004 and this is where she works as a dental surgeon. The BODYCOMBAT® training must be pretty handy for her line of profession- who needs local annaesthetic when you can just knock the patient out with an upper cut?

Anyhow, she recommended her colleague Dr Puvan to treat me. Basically I just want to clean my teeth and maybe do some repair work and finish off the RM200. Dr Puvan noted that there's a new decay right between my two front teeth which should be taken care of immediately, but the other old repair spots which were wearing off could wait another year or so, though my teeth are now a bit sensitive to cold.

For starters, he was just going to clean up my teeth on Saturday. For the decay, I would have to make another appointment for it. To cut the story short, throughout the treatment, I clenched my fists all the way and my heart was pounding like I was riding an RPM® class- less painful than a repair job, but still dreadful nonetheless.

I'm booked for the repair this Saturday New Year's Eve... *sigh*

Anyhow, I took some time walking around the mall since I was already there. Managed to take pictures of the deco which I'm sure most of you have seen them...



I'm impressed with the people behind the Mid Valley decos: always new ideas with fantastic results. Somehow I was expecting the Janis Jadis the White Witch to appear.



It was around noon and the mall was packed with people who likes to hang around crowded places rushing for last minute Christmas shopping.



Later it was off to Fitness First Wisma SPK to fetch gf- we just wanted to go to City Square/Ampang Plaza for her new gym shoes while I wanted to get my costume for my "other" company's annual dinner. We had lunch at the food court before we started shopping. After that, it was off to KLCC.

We were quite fortunate to get a FREE parking lot outside KLCC(note: the word FREE means a lot to Penangites in general). We didn't have any plans that afternoon so it was just walking aimlessly for while till we got hungry.



KLCC's Christmas was nothing to shout about, again showing off their tall Christmas tree. However, there was a string quartet playing some classical music.

By around 5.30pm, I was hungry again. Since it's Christmas eve, we decided to dine at Chilis.


We got the window table

We had to wait for 30 minutes before the food came. Nothing to do.. so take more pictures lah!


Right before the rain...

We both went for the sandwich and boy it was good!


Is that cheese on top of the chicken?


Gf takes a pic...


By the time we were done, it was about 7pm. Since we had to wake up very early the next day for our Christmas presentation, we didn't stay out long. So I dropped her back to Wisma SPK to get her car and I went home.

I wish I could say that I had a nice drive home but unfortunately, the cheese in the sandwich couldn't agree with my stomach again(I'm lactose intolerant). A 15-20 min drive home felt like eternity. Again, I wish I could say I made in on time but unfortunately, I didn't.

And that's how the Christmas Eve went.

Group X: On The Move

The Fitness First GX team is invading the blogsphere!

Thank you for your response on the interview suggestion and I'm please to inform you that I will kick start the interviews with the 3 candidates I've proposed last week: Jacqueline Wong, Grace Sim, Wes Carter.

However, you need to do your part as well. Please email me your questions for the candidates at mee_goreng@yahoo.com. Please note that you questions may be generic for all three persons or specific for one. Please send them to by 5 January 2006 and I'll try to slot in the first interview before Chinese New Year.

Also, do watch out for http://group-x.blogspot.com, where all GX-related happenings will be posted there.

Bon voyage

When I made the decision to move to KL(actually I was sort of forced to move by the company) I wasn't really excited about it. Sure, I just started with my gf(then a colleague based in PJ) and it would be just nice. However, I was also concerned about other things like my family, friends, church, my work/career with my current company and my side income hobby with Fitness First Island Plaza Penang. However, as we approach the twilight of the year 2005, I am happy to say that this year is probably one of the most fulfilling years in my life.

If I may single out the people who have made a tremendous impact in my KL life this year, no doubt there are 3 persons that came to mind. First is OCD, of course. In spite of me making fun of him, I appreciate that he has allowed me to bunk in with him. The other is my gf, but since this blog will not go too much into public display of affection(PDA), mushy stuff is saved for private moments. Instead, I want to talk about the 3rd person who, incidently, is also a lady.

She's one who's known by many names- Wonder Woman, Gorgeous Woman, girl from Penang, GX instructor, BODYSTEP® Master Trainer, Boss, etc... or simply Jacq.



The first time I saw Jacq was way back in 2003 in a BODYCOMBAT® class- so nice of her to do classes while on holiday in Penang. I could still remember some of the songs she taught then, but the one that stood out was the cooldown which has a "wave-your-sword" move(found out recently it's "Funiculi Funicula"). Hishamudin probably learned to wave his keris from her.



Anyhow, after 16 months of leading FF's GX team, she's going back to her cats and hubby Ryan(not necessarily in that order) in Hong Kong.

Unfortunately, news of her departure was not well received by the taxi community.


Tough times expected...

I managed to speak to the president of Bangsar United Trades Taxi(BUTT) , Mr. Tan Tek See, and this is what he has to say:

"This is bad for business! The whole community is shocked to hear that she is leaving. We are very unhappy that she never told us that she's leaving. Luckily, my daughter's boyfriend is a Fitness First member, and he was smart enough to inform me. Aboden, where got time to plan for it? At least now we have time to tamper with our taxi meters to charge our customers more when she's no longer here."


"I have to cut down on smoking and drinking lor..."

In the meantime, Mr. Tan confirms that BUTT will be sending a petition to the government requesting that the petrol subsidy be increased back since they will stand to lose a lot with Jacq gone.

Mr. Tan has also informed me that BUTT will be staging a protest at outside FF MJH urging Jacq to change her mind.


Sample of what to expect...

Incidently, the taxi drivers are not the first to stage a protest. Last month I was informed by fatboy that there was a group of gym members picketing right outside FF MJH. I couldn't get there to see it myself, but fatboy was kind enough to take a picture of the emotionally charged activity. Police were called in to disperse the crowd before it became too rowdy.



Anyhow, I'm not one who's good at expressing myself verbally. Hence I would like to take this opportunity to record my sincere thanks and gratitude to you, Jacq.



Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work with you. I am not one who's used to having discusssions/chit chats with my bosses(past & present) but you're the one I'm most comfortable talking to.



Thanks for bringing me into a team of fabulous people. I think I wasn't that passionate about GX till I started getting more involved with the GX team.



Thanks for helping me get enough classes for my quota. There were times I felt that I shouldn't have troubled you but I am truly grateful that you have done all you could to secure the classes for me.



Thanks for showing care and concern in my well being and development with FF. Your care for those under your wings has borne fruits. Look at those who have grown within such a short span- AMAZING!!



Thanks for reminding me on 7 June 2005 that I needed to start thinking like an instructor and not a member. Even though I deserved a kick in the butt for my attitude, yet you spoke to me gently and corrected me.



If Budin inspired me to be an instructor, you inspire me to be a BETTER instructor.Your sheer energy has been the driving force behind the GX Team. You are truly the Wonder Woman of Fitness First Malaysia.



Thanks for being a friend.

You're one exceptional lady. Again, I think we all are also grateful to Ryan for allowing your marriage to be "put on hold" during your time in Malaysia. Sad as we are to see you go, I believe everyone is also happy that you can be with Ryan again.

Our loss is Fitness First Hong Kong's gain- All the best and we love you!

"Love what you do, do what you love, and the rest will take care of itself."

Blessed Christmas everyone...

Peace on earth, goodwill to men...

Have a safe Christmas and I'll see you on Tuesday.

Ah Ma Eh Kor Soo....

This morning via email, I've finally got the handout for Penang Christian Centre's hokkien Christmas presentation.



Remember folks, it's 25 Dec 7.30pm at No.1 Khaw Sim Bee Road.

Thanks to Leslie for the email.


One of those things that remind me of Leslie...

Know your fitness instructor

Yesterday while I was showering in Fitness First Damansara Uptown, I had an idea about doing something on my blog. Funny how great ideas come about when you're in the toilet or shower room, but I think this idea is worth considering.

I know there are some Fitness First members who would like to know their instructors better but unfortunately, some of the instructors are constantly on the run because of back-to-back classes. So, what I'm thinking of is to run a bi-weekly or monthly exclusive interviews with the instructors, with the questions supplied by both me and the readers. This will be the best opportunity to ask questions that you never got the chance or too shy to ask the instructors... sounds cool?

This will depend on the response I'm getting for YOU, the readers. If you like the idea, please leave in the comment section which FF instructor you want me to feature. To help me have a bigger pool of interviewees, please give me 3 names, ok? The 3 people I have in mind at the moment are Jacqueline Wong(new FF HK National GX Manager, BODYSTEP® Master Trainer), Grace Sim(new FF M'sia National GX Manager), and Wes Carter(BODYPUMP® & RPM® Master Trainer). Hopefully whoever I decide to interview will have the time to respond.

Once I've decided who to interview, I will announce it and you readers can start sending your questions to my email. If no one likes the idea or the response is less than desirable, then I'll know that this is just another toilet idea and flush it down.

The arrival of winter

Most working day, I would start my day with nasi lemak bought from an elderly couple near my office. It quiet convenient to buy from them coz it's on the way to work, and I'm comfortable speaking hokkien with them.

Last week, the aunty asked me if I was going back for the holidays and I said no. Then, she asked me to come the following Thursday for "tang yuan". So today I went for my usual nasi lemak. Both of them were busy with customers so I helped myself to grab the prepacked nasi lemak(she has 2 types- one prepacked and another homemade) together with the curry puffs. I paid the uncle and just as I was leaving, the aunty stopped me. She took a look at what I had in the plastic bag and dunno from where, she took out a packet of "tang yuan" and passed it to me.

THANK YOU SO MUCH AUNTY!!!!


customer loyalty programme initiative

I'm ashamed to admit, but I haven't eaten "tang yuan" for a loooonnnnng time. So long that I have forgotten how they taste like. When my mom made "tang yuan" all the while, I never ate them. But today, I was very touched by the gesture...



So it's sweet, with a hint of ginger. Now I know why I didn't eat them for so long. Unlike gf, I'm not a ginger fan. Maybe next time when mom makes them, I'll put in a special "tang yuan" request... one without ginger.

To all who celebrate Dong Zhi or the Winter Solstice Festival, remember:

"Chi tang yuan, da yi nian!"
(Eat "tang yuan" and grow older by a year)

A new superhero is born....

"Faster then a speeding tortoise, less powerful than a 70cc motorbike, able to leap small ant hills in a single bounce..."

"Look, inside Fitness First MJH , it's a goatee, it's a fatboy - no..... it's Bodyattackman!"


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"Bodyattackman- a strange visitor from another place(Taiping) who came to KL with powers and abilities similiar to those of mortal men..."

I know this is a stupid, mou-lei-tou entry... I'm bored, ok?

Parody song & random stuff

Found this gem from Gulengz Daily. I thought it was hilarious!! You may need to pause the video till it's fully loaded to enjoy it...

The 2 guys can be found here.

On another note, today I woke up at 6.15am to start work at 7.30am coz I'm doing a replacement BODYCOMBAT® class at 5.45pm FF Damansara Uptown.... *yawn*

RPM® head teacher Wes just allocated the tracks I will be teaching for the launch... 1 week exactly to get ready... Woo Hoo!

4 days to Christmas and dun really have the Christmas feel yet... maybe should go to more shopping malls to look at the decos. I've seen the one in Mid Valley, but not KLCC, 1U, etc... This Saturday, dear?

Next week is new Les Mills launch

Fitness First members, the time has come for the final party of the year!

Beginning 26 Dec at The Curve, we will be launching the Les Mills release of the year. Fortunately for yours truly, I get to participate in the launch team for BODYCOMBAT® & RPM®.

This is where you should go for the launch:

26 Dec FF The Curve
27 Dec FF Menara Axis
28 Dec FF Meneara Summit
29 Dec FF Wisma SPK
29 Dec FF Island Plaza Penang
30 Dec FF Cheras Leisure Mall

And for those stalkers who are interested to attend the launch I'm teaching:



*update*
I'm launching BODYCOMBAT® in Menara Axis with Janis, and in Leisure Mall with Renee & Calvin. For both RPM® launch classes, I'm cycling with Eric Chin.

By the way, this launch is also your last chance to catch Jacq before she elopes flies back to Hong Kong.

See you at the launch!!!

You're invited..

Some of you have seen me teach, but not many have heard me sing. So, you're all invited to attend our Christmas celebration in Ampang this Sunday 25 Dec 2005. The place is Revival Centre Kuala Lumpur, and the time is 8.30am & 10.30am(Yup, 2 services in case you wanna hear me twice).



We have got a mini choir with some acting thrown in while we sing. Watch out for song no. 2 & 4 where gf is singing solo, while yours truly is doing the solo for the 3rd song.

Don't know how to get there? No problem!!!



For those staying around PJ, this Friday 23 Dec 2005 the First Baptist Church is having a Christmas cantata where a certain chubby fellow(please say it with a british accent) will prove that fatboys sing too. I would probably go if I don't have to teach my final combat/pump classses at Fitness First Damansara Uptown before I- according to someone- "usurp" the Menara John Hancock Friday slots in January 2006.

For those in Penang, fret not!

Penang Christian Centre is having not ONE, but TWO Christmas presentations for you to choose from. For the English-speaking masses, we have also a Christmas cantata on 24 Dec 7.30pm & 25 December 10.00am. "Choir-ing"(if there's such a word) seems to be the fad at the moment... What ever happened to funny & heartfelt dramas?



Fortunately, for drama-loving people, the Hokkien section offers you a play entitled "The story of Ah Ma" or in Hokkien, "Ah Ma eh kor soo". I'm not sure if there will be any English subtitles though. Anyhow, the place is the same at No. 1, Jalan Khaw Sim Bee but the time is 7.30pm on 25 December.

5Xmom's Cathedral Of The Holy Spirit is also having a choir(I think they do it annually) and you're interested, there's a Christmas Eve Mass at 11pm on 24 December. Click here for more info. Who knows, besides meeting God, you may just bump into the real Malaysian Idol, Nicol David.

Do take note that admission is free for the above Christmas specials but NON-MUSLIMS only ya...

Pretty in pink

This is my fibre drumsticks- I bought them in Alor Star's Star Parade last year. The last time I actually used them was before I moved to KL. Nice pink colour drumsticks sure can get anyone's attention.

Well, if that's not enough, there's always me...


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This pink shirt is one of my fav- it's got nice eye-catching colour, easy care(most of the time I don't need to iron it) but sometimes it confuses people 'bout my sexual orientation. Anyway, just to set the record straight(no pun intended), I'm comfortable in pink, or any colour you can throw at me...

Sunday's songleader was Choon Mun and the rest of the team were Oliver(electric guitar), Bernard(bass), Yuen Foon(piano-dunno spelling correct or not the name), gf and Triny(back up).


Oliver and his "gf"


Gf, Yuen Foon, & Triny

Pretty straightforward service with a little bit too much "dribbling" on my part(according to gf) but I'm glad I've not lost my touch.

Yesterday was a busy Sunday. After church I still taught RPM® and BODYCOMBAT® at Fitness First Cheras Leisure Mall. After that, back to church for Christmas choir practice before going to ex-goatee's place for dinner.

We were supposed to fetch Jacq and her hubby at 7.45pm but we ended up reaching their place 30 minutes later(sorry!). Jacq's hubby, Ryan, is still as hunky as ever- the last time I saw him was back in Penang 2004 I think.

Dinner was good, but the company was better. Kelvin was there and so were ex-goatee's buddies Tse Ling & Gerald(reminds me of the HK actor WongHei)- really bad at remembering their names. Ex-goatee is such a social animal, last time he invited gf & I to his gathering and with so many of his friends around, we had such a tough time remembering the names so it's not my fault. Yhsmom brought her family too but I almost couldn't recognise her because she wasn't in her workout attire. With make-up and beautiful hair-do, she didn't look like a si lai either looked stunning. Finally get to see the fatchildren too- the last time we were there, the father sent them to the grandparents.

Of course, there were some photos taken but I didn't bring my camera and I didn't use my handphone, lest people complain about the quality of the pictures. Maybe ex-goatee will blog his pictures?

So sad the gathering had to end around 11.40pm because of work. Even more depressing was getting a confirmation from Jacq about"something I've suspected for a while"... wanna know what it is?

I'M NOT TELLING!!!!

You make me feel good about myself
You make me feel that I'm making progress in the things I do
You make me believe that there is something beautiful to look forward to
In 2 years' time I can shout it out, "I've paid my dues!!"

YET...

You make me feel like I'm pulling you down
You make me feel like I've short-changed you
You make me think of late
What if this is just another mistake?

Familiar?

I happened to stumble onto a website and found this picture rather familiar...



The smile... so enchanting right? Somehow I know I've seen something similiar before. Then I visited Mun and everything suddenly became so clear!!



Same goofy teeth!

Note: Daniel fans(probably 90% female population of Malaysia), feel free to flame me for this...

Besides KY, Shades eats too

Ok, this is not much of a food review.

Normally I attend cell group meeting on Wednesday night, but since last Wednesday was our last meeting of the year, the cell group wanted to do something together yesterday. Among the suggested activities were:

1) watching Narnia (shot down because no communication skills involved)

2) karaoke at Songbird (shot down yesterday morning because it was too blurdy expensive)

3) simple dinner

The 3rd proposal was adopted but we still need a place to eat. So I suggested this Nyonya Kitchen in Damansara Uptown- I have been seeing their handouts on the windscreen of my car everytime I teach at Fitness First Damansara Uptown. This is their 3rd branch after Klang and Shah Alam.

So it was I met with the rest of the gang at about 8.30pm- gf, Pastor Daniel and Wai Loon were already there. I could've arrived earlier if someone hadn't messed with my head and got me into going to the cyber cafe to amend my previous post At least I wasn't the last the arrived.

We decided to order food first while waiting for the rest. Regina, Sze Wui and Juin Han came after a while but there was no sign of Joyce.


(L-R) Sze Wui, Juin Han, Regina


Wai Loon and Pastor Daniel

The first dish to come out was otak-otak. We're all quite hungry so we started the dinner without Joyce.


Otak-otak

We also had curry fish(ordered fish head but they ran out of fish heads), pandan chicken, sambal udang, and kangkong.


the prawns


1 person get 1 pc of pandan chicken

In between our meals, gf got a couple of calls from Joyce asking for direction to come to Damansara Uptown- she's driving from home(somewhere near Mid Valley). After much instruction, she called later that she ended up where she started. It was alread close to 9.30pm but she's still coming! She may be a bit goofy but I admire the patience and persistency- if I were her, I would've been too frustrated to drive out again.


they put corn in their cendol

While we waited, we had cendol. Ice was very fine but it doesn't taste as good as the one in Penang- nobody beats true blue Penang food.

Joyce finally came and ate her portion of the food but it was almost 10pm... imagine eating your dinner at 10, sumore have to drive all over for it!

Overall, the food was alright- not good, but not that bad either. Personally I think Ah Tuan Ee serves better nyonya food. However, the only time I dine at Ah Tuan Ee, it wasn't really a relaxing dinner(but that's another story). Again, it was more of the people who were there than the food that makes it memorable. However, I do like their service. Their closing time was 10pm but they didn't rush to get us out; instead, they did the subtle things like keeping the utensils on the other tables, mopping the floor, etc. After doing those things we were still inside talking and they just stood at the counter quietly. They only pulled down part of the grilles way around 10.10pm and we finally got the message that we should be leaving.

The place and address:
Nyonya Kitchen at No,80, Jln SS21/39, Damansara Utama.
website: www.nyonya.com.my