Sunday, January 29, 2012

Back to work..



Well..I know it sucks to have to get back to the routine..after such a long break. But hey.. got work better than no work right?

Ya ya ya..I'm psyching myself up too .. hope to get some work done today itself ~


Here's something to cheer you up =)




Have a greeeaaat DRAGON year ahead !


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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Reunion


It was CNY eve, I felt some sense of warmth when I saw two young men having lunch with their aged father, not in any flashy restaurant but only a simple coffee shop.  I think it is very rare nowadays for parent(s) to be able to have a simple quiet meal their children, especially young working adult children like the two young men.  At this lifestage, we (think) we have other life priorities.

Weekdays we'd be out till late at night after work.  Weekends we either sleep in late or go out again to run errands or have other social events to de-stress, so to speak.  Sometimes, some of us will make a point to have  at least one dinner with our parent(s).  Ya..we also make sure we all come home for a grand dinner on CNY eve night..for the so called Reunion Dinner.

But .. isn't it much more meaningful for us to be together on 'normal days, normal occasions'?   No need to wait till special occasions.  I'm sure the father that I saw in the coffee shop enjoyed his chicken rice lunch with the two sons much more than the reunion dinner.








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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Gong Xi Fa Cai !


Saw this video in another blog, so cool, I've gotta share in both FB and here!

Lion Dancing to Party Rock Anthem!
Wait a minute..comments in you tube are saying that these are Tigers not Lion.

Tiger or Lion..you guys rock!

Here's wishing everyone a Prosperous Year Ahead :)

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Friday, January 20, 2012

My Shadow

I think this is quite funny. You may not think so but I was trying so hard not to LOL during yesterday's Bc class at the gym.

Don't mean to make fun of anyone, but I really think its funny that this man preferred to stand right behind me.

We stand facing a mirror, you see, so most people prefer to be able to see themselves in the mirror. I personally don't look at myself in the mirror all the time but like everyone else I normally don't stand right behind or in front of someone else for various reasons.

It's a matter of courtesy that we don't block someone's view. Secondly, it's always better to have more space around us for safety reasons, don't wanna end up kicking someone.

So, yesterday in the midst of the class I realised this man was right behind me. I tried to move away slightly to the right or left to give him some view but no matter which way I went, within seconds he's right behind me again:D

I could only see his arms swinging about and ocassionally his legs but not his face nor head cos he is about my height :D

Very funny la this man :D
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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Coffee Galore in Vietnam


I know I complained somewhere about being tired of Vietnamese coffee and all..well, that was after we had tons of it.  In all kinds of shapes and sizes actually.


The very first cup stole my heart.  The guide was clever to take us to the best on our very first try..or may be it was a coincidence that it's situated near our first stop - Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

We opted for the most basic..the traditional way and it costed VND45,000 almost equivalent to a glass of latte back at home.

The very first cup at Trung Nguyen Cafe
Initially, I thought we were being ripped off. Typical mentality of a tourist.

But we realised soon enough that price comes with quality.  Through out the trip, we had our caffein fix at different places at different price range.




The cheaper ones were around VND23000

Look the same, doesn't taste the same

They may be using the same brand but the consistency and thickness ain't the same.  Not even close.

We even had a cuppa in the village.  It's 3-in-1, around VND20,000, about MYR3.00, well we were in the mountains..freezing cold..we were willing to pay for some comfort.  It was also a nice experience having coffee in a small hut-shop in the middle of a village.
3-in-1 version at the village






Awesome one.
 This was a bomb!  I think it's one of the best.  I can't remember it's name nor the price..don't remember it being expensive at all.  The cafe was located near the Lao Cai-Hekou (China) border.


While we were bored and mission-less during o one night stop at My Tho, we stumbled upon the Lac Hong Cafe.  My Tho is an extremely quiet town in Mekong Delta..there's absolutely nothing to do there..apart from strolling by the river watching the locals waiting and boarding the ferry to and fro work / home.

So..we were closed to ecstatic when we found Lac Hong Cafe  :D

So cosy...
Drinks as usual were extremely good and inexpensive.  I still wonder how they manage to make their iced coffee thick and full of taste ..even after all the ice have melted.  It's simple...they don't mind putting in more coffee powder, hence, earning less margins ~


Look out for this sign, if you happen to be in My Tho!

After My Tho, we 'landed' in Can Tho.  It's much bigger than My Tho.  More people. More shops..but it's like being stranded in Kampar for a night.

This is when the smartphone, WIFI access and Foursquare comes in very useful.  We scanned Foursquare for notable places that fellow users had checked-in before, and Cafe Hop Pho was one of the few that we thought we should try looking for it.

Even in a small town like Can Tho, almost every hotel and cafes have free wifi access, some do not even need passwords.  



So..we managed to locate Cafe Hop Pho using Foursquare's map direction ..it was just a short walking distance from our hotel.

Ta daa..we were so impressed when we saw the place !


I miss Vietnamese Coffee now : '')
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Monday, January 16, 2012

Mobile Office


The other day I was arranging for a meet up point with an associate.  He setup his own co. quite some time back but have yet to have a proper office.  

He told me he will be 'parked' at an Old Town White Coffee outlet for the rest of the day, so I can drop by anytime.  When I asked if that's his 'Office', he said yes..ad that particular outlet is one of his favourite due to its quiet environment, relatively cheaper F&B, and most importantly it has unifi connection :D

He said I can 'share' his office too whenever I need a place to work while on the go.


But..I prefer LATTE wor...

These were from Coffee Chemistry Signature, superb latte! 

 


Ya..I know I know..as my friend said.."when operating on your own, you need to learn to appreciate White Coffee more"

Well, cheapest is to stay home... I'm aiming to do more of that this week.  Moved around too much last week and didn't get much done at all.

Even if it means...working on the floor :D

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Don't Wait


If there's something you are doing, or want(ed) to do, just do it and do it the best you can.
Kick the habit of "I'll do better next time" cos we never know if "next time" will ever come.

March last year I did the Energiser Night Run Half Marathon, I was probably at my fittest (ever) by my standard but I chose to take it easy not pushing hard enough to complete the race to my greatest effort.  That was the last time I ran a Half ...

Not sure when I'll do it again...or if I'll be able to build enough stamina to run the distance again.

If I don't. I'll never know ..what's the best I can do, I missed the opportunity in March.

Similarly, in life, when you see an opportunity - grab it..cos an opportunity may not come by so easily and may be never again.

We are so good at pondering and pondering and most time ended up not doing anything out of convenience and comfort, "not doing anything" always seems like the best thing to do, isn't it?

Quit pondering ..Just Do It. Fast.



 


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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Elife : Just Photos





I just started a separate blog just for photos - http://elifejustphotos.blogspot.com/

Just photos.
Just for fun.

Will see how it goes :)
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Monday, January 09, 2012

Vietnam, In Summary


I know I know, this is really outdated.
Better late than none, right?

So..we were in Vietnam for about 10 days.


http://www.vietnam-travel-guide.net/vietnam-map.html
Day 1 : Arrived at Hanoi in the morning, did some sightseeing, had lunch, watched the water puppet show, had dinner, checked in hotel ..we were so tired that most of us fell asleep during the water puppet show.. sorry, but we really had a loooong day as we had to be at the KL airport in the wee hours..in order to board at 6am

Ho Chi Minh Mausouleum - a 'must-go' to pay a visit to the much respected Uncle Ho.   

Walking along the streets of Old Quarters was quite an experience
We checked out the next morning and headed to Halong Bay.

As expected, the scene was breath taking, that's why it is a UNESCO World Heritage
The weather is very cold at this time of the year. So, we couldnt do any island hopping nor snorkelling.
We had a boat all to ourselves..lunch was on board..visited some caves, fish farms and headed back to Hanoi for early Dinner.



Why early dinner?
Cos we had to board a night train to Lao Cai which is about 254km from Hanoi.



I can't remember the exact time we boarded though..I think it was around 8ish.  The 4 bedded cabin was quite comfortable much to our relief.  Each coach with about 4-5 cabins has one toilet.  No..there wasn't any shower facility..so we could only 'dry clean' and went to bed..  As always..I don't normally fall asleep easily =.= so it was a bumpy night for me

We arrived at destination around 5am (I think)..we were hoping that we had time to wash up but..NO..we were basically shooed off the train !  Haha..that was another memorable experience!

So..with us all groggy and blur..we boarded a bus arranged by the tour agency for another 1 hr journey to Sapa.

Beautiful landscape
We enjoyed Sapa most. Despite the cold weather, it was around 6c in the morning and we were trekking up waterfalls and muddy village lands. My lungs almost froze.

Muddy muddy



Pigs!
The villagers were also very happy to see us :P

Red Dzao Villagers - waiting for us to buy souveniers from them

I like the pics from Sapa more, but I shall refrain from posting so many here but you can check out the video I did earlier - HERE


We had about 3D2N in Sapa, on the 3rd night we boarded the night train back to Hanoi and departed to HCMC by flight.


HCMC is like Shanghai of China..i.e. it's the business hub if the country.  So..it's a shopping haven :D

But.we did the 'necessary' first before indulging in Shopping..


Check out the traffic!

Notre-Dame Basilica
Like...being a typical tourist visitng the typical attractions in HCMC :P

Main Post Office

Reunification Palace



And de-touring a little further to Cu Ci and Mekong Delta..





Traffic jam at the canal




People of My Tho

Cai Rang Floating market..was more like a wholesale place 


In conclusion, it was a well rounded trip.

If you are planning to go to Vietnam..consider spending more days in Sa pa and Halong Bay.

As for HCMC, don't bother bringing any luggage nor bags..just come with lot of VND and shop till you drop..luggages, backpack, knap sacks, and handbags are all very cheap..decent quality of 'branded' goods...

So...just come empty handed..buy a back pack or luggage ..and fill them in :D






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Saturday, January 07, 2012

Status: Unemployed, Working

This is for those who had been asking "what have you been doing?"

Well..I've been working.  Yes..quite hard too, lol.

In fact I'm working now on a Saturday afternoon.  Was working on Thursday night too.
Unbelievable eh?

The upside is that I have some flexibility in time e.g. instead of having to "robotically" to report to the office every morning regardless of work load, I've had the flexibility of offering my help to send and pick up the niece to and fro kindy every day.

I still manage to go to the gym, in fact I may have more flexibility to go to different time slots instead of the only evening ones.

So..that's my status... for now =)






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Thursday, January 05, 2012

Alf

Do you remember him?!

We stumbled upon an episode of Alf recently..it was hilarious!

I used to wonder if we had simpler minds during our younger days cos we used to enjoy simpler things more.
McD, KFC, a trip to Sungei Wang plaza, a trip to the cinema, watching TV3 ..all these simple things were our only entertainment..

As time pass, as I grow older..I find McD less tasty, KFC isn't as tasty as before, TV3 is crap now..

Until I saw Alf in TV recently...so so glad I still find him hilarious ..phew. At least I still have a sense of humor!

Don't believe? Watch this:

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Wednesday, January 04, 2012

BODYATTACK 2.0

I just did my second BODYATTACK class.
My first experience was back in April last year once upon a time when I was much more fitter.
This time around I'm probably a few kgs heavier all built up around the abs and thighs!

It was TOUGH! But I made it \o/
It's a 55 mins class (compared to 60 mins for BODYCOMBAT) but I was looking forward to the end after only 10 mins

Imagine doing these for 55 mins NON STOP , exactly at this pace.




I'm not exaggerating. Neither is the video.

If I can find time to do 2 or 3 classes a week, I'll definitely lose that spare tyre around the abs and surely be fit enough to go back to running ;-)

Here's to fitness!






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Tuesday, January 03, 2012

It's complicated


And so..it's the first day of work of the year.

I was being lazy to 'sort things out' during the NY holidays.

So I woke up today wondering where to start my year :D

There are at least three 'urgent assignments' that I need to look at this week, should be able clear one in the next hour. (I'm working in the almost empty office now). Aiming to officially move everything out once I've sent out this final request.

But what's next?

Been wanting to come Coffee In Love
Today should be a good day, but can I work in this jungle like place ?


Ha ha..


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