Why I don't read the local news..

It's not that I'm so interested in the world news....

But..when I ran out of things to tap on my phone..especially when idling..stuck in traffic, waiting for someone, etc...I will catch up latest news.

BBC..is one quick and easy app.

Main news are segmented by Top Stories, US Cananda and then category e.g. Technology, Business, Science, etc.

Scroll further down..I can select by different regions, Sports, Entertainment, etc.

Very easy to use..and everything loads very quickly.

Only problem is..I will miss out on Malaysian News...only biggy Malaysian news will appear in BBC.

Not that M'sian news are worth noting....

But..since I'm in Malaysia...I need to know if there's a biggy happening..like the recent mishap in Empire Gallery.

So..I tapped the Malaysian Insider app.

But...all I see is this..

By the time it loads..the traffic light already turned Green lor...

Y A W N.....

Swimmer's Muscle

I just got acquainted with a muscle in me last night.

I went for a swim..after laying off for long long time.  I'm not a keen swimmer to begin with.
Only did six laps but my right arm hurt so BAD after that that it couldn't function properly.

Almost couldn't take off my clothes.
Had problems washing my hair.
Had problems putting on my clothes.
Had difficulty driving.
Arm was almost out of control when I reached out to insert the parking ticket to exit.


LOL..no exaggeration.



I've been actively working out all these years..body combat, rpm. half marathons...and I get this after six laps of freestyle at the pool??

WTH...

Even the high impact kickboxing jabs and punches did not give me this!



The pain and weakness were similar to that dreadful time when I had the TM attack 10-20 yearsback where I could only lift my arms half way.  Not something I'd like to experience again!

Perskindol was my saviour, I sprayed loads of it before leaving the gym, it helped relieve the spasms quite a bit, slowly felt better as I was driving home.

Later in the night, I felt that the main source of the pain and spasms was at the region diagonally below the arm pit, upper back near, below shoulder..somewhere there la.  Definitely the same muscle group that was also affected during the TM attack.

Did some googling and learnt that this region is called the latissimus-dorsi also known as the 'swimmer's muscle'.


Now I'm wondering why I'm writing this? haha..

I'm just happy to share the discovery I guess.  And..pretty awed and trying to accept the fact that despite  the regular work outs as a fighter-cyclist-runner wannabe ..couldn't handle a few arm strokes at the pool..?

Lesson learnt..there will never be perfection.

A runner may not fight well.
A swimmer may not run well.
A fighter may not even swim.


:P

I smell like my dog..

Those are my smelly shoes.

My dog phoebe slept on one of it last night..it was raining heavily..and you know..dogs become extra smelly when it rains.  

Now my foot smells like her...euw..

It's not that I purposely bend down to smell my own foot..the smell is just so strong that it travels upwards..when I'm driving or when I'm sitting in the office!

I'm a dog...

I wonder why

I haven't blogged since Friday, I wonder why..

Been busy.
Been tired.
Been playing games.

Seriously, I've been hooked to Cityville and Empire and Allies on Facebook...I wonder why

I used to hate Cityville and refused to join until my sis begged me.
Even after joining, I kept telling her how stupid the game is.  It's been a few months, now I've grown to like it..proud of my hard work and achievement....I have my own city! These type of games that requires lot's of perseverance and patience, may be.  Imagine it took me so long to like the game..

While I was still struggling to like Cityville I kept receiving invites to play Empire and Allies from another bunch of friends.

After I got the hang of Cityville, finally, so I decided to give Empire Allies a try.  It was tough initially. It's been a month or two now,  and I'm slowly getting to like it..Iwonder why..

This bunch that I play EA with were my 'boyfriends' in school.  I used to be quite a tom boy you see..so I'd be hanging out with them to game arcades and playing Risk at their house.  It's been over 20 years..we've gone separate ways, some are Daddies now.  Eventhough we've been connected in Facebook for years, there wasn't much to talk about now.  Now I find it kinda nice with EA, we have something in common again..Especially when I get help from them in fighting off my enemies hhahaa, I'm being silly, I know.


Ok..done rambling.

Had late lunch.  A hugeplate of Nasi Goreng Kampung with Egg at 2pm.  It's now 7pm and I'm bloody hungry.

I wonder why...

It's complicated

The run is in a week's time! I need to train!

Fitness level is not up to par..but my physical condition doesn't allow me to train any harder.

Back is still a pain...
Well, it acts up even on days when I don't train.....
On better days..I can push really hard without any pain
On not so good days..discomfort and pain is present during a workout but miraculously disappears after the work out or after a good night rest.
On worse days..I had to stop half way, thank goodness this is not often.

Some mornings..I'd wake up feeling really good, some mornings I'd be stiff but gets better after some exercises or after a work out.

Most times I'd make a trip all the way to the gym without knowing what the outcome will be..will I limp out in pain, will I walk out feeling stronger?  It's pretty random.

So..it's complicated..too much rest isn't good, training can be good or bad .. depending..


As if..the back's not complicated enough, the weak ankle hasn't been behaving recently.  AND..the other foot's heel is aching!

Grrr...

My life body is falling apart.

Griffiths - Going Places

Griffiths is definitely going places and doing things right.  I have written about them HERE

Since then, I've been here many times for their coffee or hot chocolate.

I liked their RM10 tea sets e.g. I can get a satisfying mug of hot chocolate or latte or cappucinno to go with a plate of olio aglio spaghetti. 

More varieties and deals on the menu sets were introduced recently. They've also gone on Groupon and Milkadeal. Business has improved tremendously, I noticed.

Tried the RM5.50 breakfast set recently - Farmer's Toast (2 pieces of wholemeal bread) with egg and Latte.  Where to find such good value?

This morning, I remembered that I've ran out of coffee 3in1 coffee in the office, so I took a detour to get a take away a cup from Griffiths.  

An ala-carte order costs RM6.80 for Latte, I read and was told the same.

The promo sets are going from RM4.80 to RM15 (somewhere there) depending on options.  All comes with a drink  - Latte, Cappucinno, Mocha or Hot Chocolate.

The cheapest option is the Nasi Lemak with a drink for RM4.80.

I already had breakfast at home..I only needed coffee...but I'd be the biggest fool if I were to opt for an RM6.80 ala carte instead.

Fragrant Nasi Lemak, Very good sambal, Fresh egg but no kacang nor ikan bilis

So..I had to take the Nasi Lemak set. Well, nasi lemak doesn't really go with Latte but WHO CARES!

And it's tax free for take aways!!


As mentioned many times..and agreed by many customers...this is real good coffee (pic take after a few sips...otherwise it comes in pretty coffee art foam patterns)

Step away ...S**BUCKS!

It's now past lunch time at 1.30pm..I'm still full!

La la..la la la la

My current ring tone :D

smurfs theme song mp3 download

But I wish to find one that has this lyrics...like below:

TV Theme - The Smurfs lyrics

[Sung by Smurfs in unison]

La la la-la la la, 
Sing a happy song.
La la la-la la la, 
Smurf your whole day long.

[Whistled]

La la la-la la la

[Papa Smurf speaks]

Smurf along with me! 

[Whistled]

La la la-la la la

[Papa Smurf speaks]

Simple as can be.

[Sung by Smurfs in unison]

Next time you're feeling blue just let a smile begin, 
Happy things will come to you... 

[Smurfette speaks]

So smurf yourself a grin! 

[Ominous Gargamel music]

[Gargamel speaks]

Oooooo I hate Smurfs! 

[Azrael meows]

[Gargamel speaks]

I'll get you, I'll get all of you if it's the last thing I ever do! hehehehe! 

[Sung by Smurfs in unison]

La la la-la la la, 
Now you know the tune, 

[Harmony Smurf plays the "la la la-la la la" tune (barely) on his off-key trumpet]

[Sung by Smurfs in unison, accentuated for finale]

You'll be Smurfing soon!



Lyrics | TV Theme lyrics - The Smurfs lyrics

At the doc

I'm at the specialist centre now, supposedly to check out a lump, growth or whatever it is.

The tricky part is... It has gotten much smaller, in fact almost negligible. The pain is also very much less bothersome compared to last week.

So what do I show or tell the doc?

Hi doc,

I had a painful lump, I was worried sick so i made an appointment to see you soonest possible. Fortunately or unfortunately the pain and size reduced over the last few days. Now i dont have a lump to show you. how now?

Sigh.. looks like its gonna be a long wait. I'm hungry. The number counter dings randomly between 211X and 213X. Mine's 2157 ...


Zzzz...

Who says Foursquare check-ins are waste of time?

Finally.

Here's a valid and relevant example of what Foursquare can earn for us.

I unlocked this on my 5th check in at The Bee on Thursday..

(Bummer..I forgot to capture the screen when I unlocked it, now it is back to the the original screen)

All sincere, simple and straight forward, just check in 5 times, no time limit, no hidden terms & conditions...unlike most loyalty programmes with expiry dates and etc.  

My 5 visits was done over a time period of a year may be more, I didn't even keep track of it myself.

As promised, I was rewarded with a cup of Cappuccino!  

The pic says it all..it's one of the best cappuccino I've ever had!  I'm not saying this just because it is free, trust me..coffee here is really really good!  I Love Bee =)

I've also been diligently checking into the gyms to earn pints via earndit Every gym check in via Foursquare earns 15 points.  Points collected entitles us to claim rewards!  It's that simple.  No cost attached.  Earndit is still relatively new in this region,  not too sure if the rewards will reach us but the developers assured that we can be part of Earndit regardless of where we are from,but some rewards may be only applicable to US only, in such cases points will be refunded.  Heck..it doesn't cost a cent to check in..so..Why Not? 

Earndit can also be linked to other apps like Runkeeper e.g. a 4.4 km run during the Shape Night Run earned me 27 points!  Yikes..I forgot to use Runkeeper at the park yesterday :(

Happy Checking In :)

Ramble

I jus ran / walk 1.93km Big deal.

I felt so heavy... and it's gonna be 16.8km in KOTR in less two weeks.. Hmm..

Sigh~

life's unpredictable indeed. Was telling GLL, I was tiptop in May even dared dream about doing a full marathon.. come June, July, August and it's now September ! I'm still struggling to recover from the back injury.

As of Friday I now have one more issue to deal with. Fingers crossed. Hope its nothing serious. Will know on Tuesday. Don't like the wait though.


I'm not liking this second half of the year :/

Dogfooding

I learnt a new word recently.

dogfooding 

Refers to using the software that one creates in the beta test stages and especially thereafter. Software developers are often criticized for not using their own software on a daily basis and thus not really understanding how it is to operate and where to improve it. The expression comes from early, live TV commercials for dog food when the dog occasionally refused to eat the chow. "Does the dog eat the dog food?" came to mean "do they really like the product?"

http://computer.yourdictionary.com

Don't understand?  Me too..

I came across the word when I submitted my feedback on the Blogger Iphone app.  The Thank You mesage went something like - "Thank you for dogfooding our brand new app..."

I guess it means.."trying out" the app at this teething stage.

Still. What has it got to do with Dog food??

Good. Morning.

I'm locked out of my soho-like office...

My very few colleagues are all away and the absent minded me left my own access card in the office yesterday :/

I love my life !

Iphone 4 Camera Usage

FY, you were right!

http://www.apple.com

Once upon a time, FY told me that, my LX3 will be redundant once I have an Iphone 4.  I brushed him off..cos I thought I'm much more of a photography buff.

Almost a year now..since I got the phone,  I must admit that he was right!

The last time I used the LX3 was during my vacation to HK, that was in May....oh no..I did use it briefly at my youngest nephew birthday dinner recently..that's only because I wanted to be fair..since I used the camera during the other two's birthday.  

Wanted to bring the LX3 for some outdoor shots at FRIM recently, but was too lazy to carry it in the pouch.  

So made do with the Iphone.

Check this out!

I think it's a caterpillar...

It was taken off a video I recorded while the caterpillar was moving.  Such a beauty.

Before that I tried taking shots of it using the Camera+ app which I  have been using religiously for food shots, etc.  Thanks to FY too for recommending it ..

Here's the shot from Camera+, surprisingly the one take from the video turned out so much better. 

I love my iPhone =)

Happy Mid Autumn Festival !

Aren't they cute?!

My heart skipped a beat in excitement when I saw these at my favourite bakery.  It's just a humble road side bakery where I buy my favourite kaya puffs every other weekend. Check out the 'workmanship'.

The lady proudly claimed that they are all hand made and we won't find any 猪笼饼 (piggy mooncake) that look these anywhere else.


I used to love this when I was a kid.  Every year, my parents will make sure I have some of these  apart from the ordinary round shaped mooncakes.

Those are the tails!

Cute?

By the way, does anyone know why we have these in addition to the round shaped mooncakes?

I read somewhere that says in the olden days bakers made these from leftover dough to avoid wastage.

I personally think that these were intentionally made without those sweet fillings and yolk ..specially for kids who may not like the yolk and pastes.

But,.why piggy shaped huh?

  

Blogger in iTunes

Trying out the brand new official blogger app. Wonder what took them so long.

Am doing this while strolling in tesco with dad.

Really blogging on the go . Haha.

Lemme try posting pics..


Hmm.. How to put captions?

When Goldie meets Phoebe

Goldie : Hello Phoebe..want some fun?

Phoebe : Please... leave me alone..

Goldie : Come on ..trust me..I'll be gentle

Goldie : Sorry..I got carried away
Phoebe : Go away..I don't wanna see you ever again..!

My Trade Nation Friends

On Trade Nations, I'm linked to three other fellow 'traders' ML, GLL and my sis.  We visit each other's nation to ..trade e.g. order stuff and gain experience points.

I noticed something this morning...not sure if you agree with me.  Too bad the phone screen shots can't capture the entire area of our so called Nations.

Let's see if you agree with me..based on what I have.

The above belong to ML and GLL.  Do you see the similarities?  

Organised.  Everything is arranged..nicely, decorated to some extend..

Spaces are fully maximised....similar to those kiasu developers..making use of every single little corner they have left to squeeze in the last unit possible to earn more bucks :P

I've told ML many times I feel very stressed when ever I visit her nation. Actually, in real life..she does give me some stress too .. was surprised to see this other friend GLL who doesn't know ML..turned out to be so similar as far as Trade nations is concerned. 

Wait a minute..GLL does give me a different kind of pressure..e.g. she had already ran like 5 marathons and I'm still at 1 .  Lol.

The below..belong to me and my sis.

Can tell that we came from the same womb?
In real life we have  our differences ..but I can't help but to admit that from the way we play this game..we have our similarities after all!  No decorations..e,g, no flowers..tress, bushes, ponds.. A lot of empty spaces..

Don't you think staying in our "nation" would be so much more relaxing and spacious?  And stress free?

Remembering Bobo

All dogs go to heaven says Jasmine..

If that's true, my friend's pup, Bobo is in heaven now.

At only 5 months old, she lost a battle fighting the deadly parvovirus infection.

I'm glad I had a chance to play with Bobo and caught this candid shot of her. 

I posted this pic at Blipfoto , it was an instant hit.  Out of the 10 entries I posted so far, Bobo attracted an all time high in views and comments.

See below all the 15 comments :)  Or click (HERE) to view the actual page.

Have fun in heaven, Bobo.

Fat Spoon Cafe

This place is my most recent craze and crave ^.^

When there is good coffee, I'll be hooked.
I've already listed this place in my recommended coffee joints at foursquare

Latte

Coffee Affogato

When there is good coffee AND good food, I will be even more HOOKED.

Watercress Soup Noodles - my fav so far!

Read somewhere that Noodles are their specialty.  I've tasted two noodles dishes so far.  It was love at first taste when I tried the Watercress Soup Noodles.

Fat Spoon Noodles (below) is not too bad too.

Somehow, some way, the taste of the soup in both reminded me of good old home cooked meals that my mom used to make....

Fat Spoon Noodles

Their desserts are good too!  Awesome place isn't it?

Ice Cream with Passion Fruit Topping 

Other feedback and comments in blogs, foursquare, facebook, etc recommended the Nasi Goreng Ulam, Beef macaroni soup, and some other rice dishes.

I've only tried the Nasi Goreng Ulam..still prefer noodles though =)




Damansara Uptown
Jalan SS21/1A
Same row as Wondermilk Cafe & TM Point

Central-Cheung Chau-Central, HK

The buzzling Central of HK

One thing I always love about HK is the convenience of transport.  The MRT is super efficient.  The access and linkages to office buildings and malls are ultra convenient.  Every single detail is well thought and planned out unlike...here in our very own home sweet home Negaraku tercinta.

I got to the IFC mall in Central almost in a snap of fingers.

The roof top of IFC Mall

IFC mall is HUGE.  It's like 5 times bigger than KLCC.  So big that I didn't know what to do and where to go.

I got tired of walking around aimlessly.  

The Central Pier is just across the street!  Well, they made it seem like so, with a linked bridge and all...just walk across and there are ferry to different attractions across the sea to getaway from the city.

Amazing right?

Central Pier

I opted to for Cheung Chau.

On board a ferry

We arrived in 45 mins.

Bicycles for rent, I think so

It was a weekend, many decided to getaway from the city too

Here, we see fishing boats instead of four wheelers

People work on boats instead of buildings

So different from the city

Many small budget hotel rooms for those who want to spend the night here

Some of the rooms have 'sea view' 

Cheung Chau is a very small place as far as I'm concern...

I didn't need a car to get to the beach

Proper life guards on duty

Many were here to chill and relax

Food!

Radish cake

Best 'put chai go' ever

Boarded the ferry back to Central, after exploring for 2+ hours..

I believe there are more to do..hiking, etc.

Caught the sun setting in back in Central.

Sunset @ Central

Evening rush @ Central

Mid-level escalator @ Central

A shot from the Mid-level escalator

As said, HK is quite amazing.