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,
God willing, blogging will resume on Tuesday.
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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!!!
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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 anywayNo 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!
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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.
Labels: personal
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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.
Labels: beyond gym
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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."
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Blessed Christmas everyone...
Peace on earth, goodwill to men...
Have a safe Christmas and I'll see you on Tuesday.
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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...
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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.
Labels: beyond gym
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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 initiativeI'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)Labels: personal
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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?
Labels: beyond gym
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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?
Labels: personal
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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!!!
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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...
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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, & TrinyPretty 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!!!!
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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?
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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... Labels: personal
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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 DanielThe first dish to come out was
otak-otak. We're all quite hungry so we started the dinner without Joyce.
Otak-otakWe 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 chickenIn 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 cendolWhile 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
Labels: personal
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When instructors party...
Last Saturday we had another instructors party. The last time we did it was in July at Jacqueline's place. This time, however, they decided to do it at Fitness First Menara Axis. We still had a great time, though I think
Wes some of the blokes missed dunking people into the pool like last time.
Satay girlI thought it was sweet of Leonara to contribute the satays, but being Malaysians, we all couldn't get enough of them! A couple hungry soulds were already eating them even though the wallop time had not officially started yet.
We needed the calories...
Food brought by the instructors...
Hunger got the better of him...Basically the craziest instructors around are the Bodyjammers. While waiting for others to arrive, some of us tried to catch up with the rest of the instructors we usually don't get to meet because of our schedule, but not the Bodyjammers. They were in a world of their own,
showing off their dancing ability enjoying themselves with the new BODYJAM® release.
I should have brought my combat attire and done the new combat too.
Y----M----C----A...
The party invitation said the party time is 7pm, but most of the instructors came around 8pm.
Fortunately I stole some satay earlier because I was really hungry already.
Gossip sessionThere was also gifts exchange- we're supposed to bring a gift worth a minimum of RM20, but I forgot about it. So, at the end I had to watch while everyone else was opening their gifts.
The party officially started around 8.30pm with a welcoming poem by the GX coordinator for Grace, our new boss, and it was followed by a game- "The Musical Stepboard". It's the same as musical chair but we use the step board instead.
The fact that I could take pictures tell you that I didn't last long in the game- maybe I'm just too mature for this childish game.
Peggy enjoying Jackson's butt...After the game was over(cannot remember who won because too focus on eating), it was WALLOP TIME!!!
From right: Dennis(whom I first met at the Malaysian Idol audition),
Peter & Eric
There's supposed to be something funny here but I can't quite recall the exact words...
Very beautiful choc cake... unfortunately I was not
in the mood for cake for it.
Another wonderful cake I didn't tryAfter wallop time we had exercise time... the organisers got all of us to participate in a line dancing class led by Sharon.
For the first time, you get to see instructors behaving like new members in a class. We looked pretty lost and funny too. I looked behind and I saw Wes and Eric Chin "gettin' jiggy with it" and I took a video recording of the act. Out of fear for my own life, however, I will not post it here. It shall remain as one for my own private viewing.
We did some Christmas numbers and prizes were given to a couple of people with the best move. Not surprising that most of the winners were BODYJAM® instructors.
After that, it was down to serious stuff- GIFTS EXCHANGE!
As I look around to see, I'm kinda disappointed that there wasn't much creativity in the gifts. The only good one was a pack of man's underwear Sharon got. Heck, if I had remembered, I would've bought things like toothpaste, detergent, condom, motorcycle 2T/4T oil, dog biscuits, sanitary pads, etc...
The party ended pretty early around 10 plus. It's fantastic to meet up like this because we teach at some many different gyms that it's hard to meet up and have fun together. Whoever came up with the idea(you, GW?)... THANK YOU!
Many thanks to everyone who planned the party and brought the food... see you again in the next GX party!
Labels: beyond gym
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Stealthboy
Sunday morning, while attending the BODYATTACK® tuition, I received a very disturbing sms..
"Anyway, you should be the first to know. The deed is done..."What is done? Well...
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Looks like it's gonna be tough identifying
him at the gym...
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Passion in every session
The big question for the past few days in my head is:
WHY DO PEOPLE TURN FULL TIME PRO?I look at some sports personalities like Nicol David, David Beckham, Yao Ming and how they progress in their professional career... and I wonder what their first and foremost reason for turning pro was. Though money may be one of the prime motivators to be a professional, I think the biggest reason for doing what they do is summed up by the word
PASSION.
Was she thinking about becoming the World Champion at the age of 5? When Nicol picked up the first squash racquet, it wasn't about the money, the apartments, or the glory she is basking in at the moment. It was her interest in the game that would one day propel her to stardom.
But still, if fame and glory are not the issues, why bother turning pro then? After careful thoughts, I submit to you my deduction - to dedicate their lives to their passion and be the best at what they do.
Why do I wonder about such things? Well, it's the end of the year where people normally look back at their achievements/failures and plan for the next year. I,however, will decide on where I'm heading in the next few years- a decision some would think unimaginable.
I'm enjoying my time at the gym more than my current desk job. In fact, this is the most enjoyable part of my entire working life. However, doing two jobs at the same time also means that I'm not giving enough attention to both jobs.
If you read the book "
Being Happy" by Andrew Matthews, he believes that we should always do the things that we are passionate about. However, he also says that if the things we are passionate about does not give us the income we require, then we should do it at least on a part-time basis until the right time comes along to do it full-time. As I follow his advice, I also encounter a couple of problems:
1) Weekdays I work 8am to 8.30pm/9.30pm daily. By the time I go home, I'm tired and I don't feel like doing things like cleaning my room and doing the laundry. Though I live with OCD, I hardly have time for him as the first thing on my mind when I reach home is going to the bedroom. Sunday nights I try to be home so that at least we could go
pasar malam together.
2)My time spent with gf is also limited to Saturdays(the off day I finally got since Nov) while the rest of the week are those sporadic lunch or dinner. It is kinda sad to say that my gf needs to go to the gym to see me more.
Therefore, I believe the time has come for me to re-think my career path in the fitness industry.
With 4 programmes to learn, I find it more and more difficult to learn my choreography. Even before I took up BODYATTACK®, I could only practise BODYCOMBAT®, BODYPUMP®, RPM® while sitting down in the office. Here's how I practise: in between my free time I would put on my ear phone and visualise in my head doing the moves. The only time I actually physically practise is when I attend the instructor tuitions. The problem is this weekend I'm going for the tuitions and I have to present a track from each programme. Prior to BODYATTACK® I was able to get away with it, but this time I can't practise BODYATTACK® wihout actually doing it in front of a mirror in a studio. So Jeremy, if you're reading this... get ready for an awkward track 9 this Sunday.
If I continue this trend for the next one year, I don't think I can ever improve as a fitness instructor. For me, the 2nd important word after passion is now
FOCUS. If I cannot a have focus on what I do, I will remain a mediocrity in the fitness industry. I even have to forego the chance of auditioning to be a BODYCOMBAT® presenter/trainer last month, because
I simply have NO TIME.I think I can't continue doing 2 jobs anymore.
There can only be
ONE.
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My first BODYATTACK® class...
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As mentioned yesterday, this blog will be on semi-hiatus for the next few days. Tomorrow I will be teaching BODYATTACK® at FF Menara Axis 7.25pm with Jeremy and Janis... so looking forward to it and pretty nervous as well.
See ya!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Les Mills New Release
Last Friday and Saturday we had the last quarter workshop of the year where we got our new release.
I have 4 programmes to learn now...Life used to be much easier back in 2004. I only had BODYCOMBAT® to worry about. Then, in Oct 04, I decided to pick up RPM® as well.. and within 12 months, I've taken up BODYPUMP® and
BODYTORTURE BODYATTACK®. The more the merrier? Well, not quite actually...
The launch for the new release will take place right after Christmas- which means the instructors, especially those who are involved in the mega launch party, have 3 weeks to learn their choreography.
For me, I hope to be involved in the launch team for both RPM® and BODYCOMBAT® again- I did RPM® launch for the 2nd quarter and BODYCOMBAT® for the third. These 2 programmes will be my main concern for now, while BODYPUMP® will be my third priority. As for BODYATTACK®, I'll just take it easy for the time being since I don't have a class yet. However, I hope to be cleared to instruct by the 3rd week of Dec..
Nothing much to blog about today. Had a great time attending the workshops and also with
gf(she caught the blog flu as well)- we went for Kajang Satay again, but in Ulu Klang, last night.
For the next few days, I may not be blogging much since I want to spend some time learning the choreography. Doing 3 programmes is already hard enough, but now I have 4! I wonder how the other instructors who have the same number or more programmes than me managed to learn all the choreography in time for the launch. There's this guy in Penang who even took up all the SEVEN Les Mills programmes... Crazy!
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FF Annual Dinner
I had fun at the Fitness First Annual Dinner. Themed "Night with the Stars", everybody looks good yesterday night, esp. the female instructors- they were stunning!
I shan't detail the whole night's event, but I'll let the pictures do most of the talking today.
(L-R)future Malaysian Idol Klevin, Serena and Eric
were among the first to arrive
Basically everyone looked good, esp. the female instructors who were truly stunning.
Desperate housewives
Glamour girls
I thought Peter look like Tse Yin
My new boss, Grace SimDinner was late. We're suppose to start around 8pm but I think by the time we went in it was already close to 9pm. But the fun started with a dance performance by 7 fitness instructors doing a Malaysian dance, before
The Village People Wes and a few managers brought the roof down with their dance item, "YMCA".
Malaysian dance by 6 fitness instructors
Wes and his guys doing the YMCA (which was
REALLY hot- kinda makes me feel gay happy)
The big boss disclosed some of the achievements we'd accomplished through 2005 and also shared a bit on the future plans of the company. All in all, it's gonna be a very exciting period for Fitness First and the fitness industry over the next 5 years.
We had 3 rounds of lucky draws and some magic shows, but the one the GX team was looking forward to was Jacqueline's farewell speech. The last thing she said particularly sums up why we do GX:
"Love what you do, do what you love... and the rest will take care of itself."
An emotional moment after Jacqueline's farewell speechAnother thing the staffs were looking forward to was of course the award giving ceremony. Various awards were given, with awards like top fitness trainer of the year, top membership consultant of the year, top club general manager of the year, it certainly felt like Oscar night.
The one that the GX team was involved in was the Top Group-X Coordinator of the Year. The nominees were
leng lui Janis(Menara Axis, formerly Cheras Leisure Mall and Wisma SPK), Lyn Kong(Menara Maxis, formerly Menara John Hancock and Island Plaza) and Cindy Gan(formerly Menara Axis, Cheras Leisure Mall and dunno where else). Janis won and we are all happy for her.
Top GX Coordinator award winner with the outgoing bossAfter the awards, we had our last round of the lucky draw and for the final 3 prizes(1 huge Wega TV, 2 holiday vouchers), I didn't win any of them.
I'm quite they've rigged the whole darn thing to deny me the holiday vouchers.After that it was PARTY TIME!!!! We had a band (Stainless Steel I think) playing and we all got jiggy with it for a while before we went out to take more pictures. By the time the party started, it was already 12am. So after taking a few pictures and chit chatting, I bid goodnight to the rest of the team who didn't have to wake up at 6.45am to start work.
Me with JaneI managed to see Jane, a personal trainer from Cheras Leisure Mall, before I left and asked for a picture with her. Jane has just completed her BODYCOMBAT® training and has been shadowing me at Cheras Leisure Mall. From my observation, she has shown much potential and interest to become a fantastic BODYCOMBAT® instructor. Watch out, Cheras Leisure Mall!!
By the time I went to bed, it was almost 2am. It's kinda good that tonight I don't have to teach 2 classes or else I'm gonna be SO tired- I've the bad opportunity to learn that when you don't have enough sleep, the body will do funny things when you teach. Still, I will be going to FF The Curve for our instructor's RPM quarterly meeting- RPM® 29!!!
It was a great night... not because of great food, but GREAT PEOPLE!!
Your Fitness First GX team...Labels: beyond gym
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Top 10 advices Noh Omar should heed
Sorry Simon, for copying your style again... don't sue me ya :)
"Pay attention, my Padwan learner! There are 10 things
to remember..."1. Be media friendly.
2. Never lose your cool during an interview.
3. Think before you say something stupid.
4. Know when to shut up.
5. Don't talk as if you're the Internal Security Minister... please remember the word "DEPUTY".
6. Check with your boss before you say something contradictory.
7. Apologise quickly before your boss reprimands you; otherwise, it will make you look even more incompetent.
8. When apologizing, don't deny making the offensive statement- especially when the
audio file is freely available on the internet.
9. Learn from Kheng Yaik and Samy Vellu on how to make stupid statements and still manage to get away with them.
10. Take a month long vacation and hope that the heat will go off.
"Hmm... Perhaps it's a good time to go on a holiday-
but not to China though...."
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