Pearl of the Orient

Hey peeps, I'm off for my first holiday for 2007. YAY!!! Shall be heading to the Pearl of the Orient for a 3 days 2 nights trip. Penang ... the land of glorious food and cheap DVDs. I know it's nothing to shout about but going there would take me out of my routine and it's all that matters. Just wanna take a step back and chill. So I'll catch up with you guys when I return on New Year's Eve k. Till then ... be good ya and don't miss me. :p Hahaha.

X'mas came and went

So how was your X'mas celebration this year? Was it good? Fantastic? Magical? Dissapointing? Boring? Well, if it's all good, then hooray for you. If it was not, well, there's always next year and the year after that and the year after that etc. Heh heh.

Mine was nothing spectacular. X'mas eve was spent having dinner at my uncle's place in Bkt Damansara. It was a pot luck party and food was aplenty. Roast beef, spaghetti, pork roast, creamy mushroom soup, steamed chicken, roast duck , stir fried prawns are just to name a few. Oh just so you know, I had SIX roasted duck drumsticks. Hahaha ... crispy & salty on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside ... simply YUMMILICIOUS!!! Oh oh ... and I drank soooooooo much wine. Haha ... wine makes this blogger happy. *Hic*

After that, went over to Steph's friend's place in USJ. Saw Wen made a bucket of sangria (wine + vodka + citrusy fruits) and it was oh so GOOOoooOOOd. Pictionary and Taboo were on the agenda and with the influence of the potent sangria, we had tonnes of fun. Haha. Jason was there with his Canon DSLR and a spanking new RM3k+ lens, so he was pretty much trigger happy the entire night with his camera. The rest obliged and shamelessly posed for photos. :D

On X'mas day itself, I went to church with my family and as usual had breakfast at a nearby mamak restaurant in Glenmarie. One of my uncle actually 'bungkus-ed' a serving of 'char siu' from a chinese restaurant behind and sneaked it into the halal mamak joint. All the sneaking was worth it though as it was one of the best 'char siu' I've ever had. So succulent & so flavoursome ... just the right amount of lean and fatty meat ... coupled with the thick sweet sauce ... it was divine!!! No wonder the seller bestowed the title 'Char Siu Wong' a.k.a 'Char Siu King' upon himself. A well deserved title indeed.

Went home and some relatives dropped by. Opened gifts soon after before heading to my uncle's place for a late lunch. Dinner was with some old friends at Marche, The Curve. It was good again to catch up with this bunch of lunatics and it was a memorable night indeed as Alban and Estee announced their engagement. Congrats to the both of you ya. :D Who would've thought that they would be the first in the gang to get hitched. Really happy for them. Went for an after-dinner-coffee at Starbucks. Later, some of them went for AVP2 while the rest of us headed home. Yes, some of us actually have to work the next day damnit!!!

The photos above depict some of the gifts I received this year. Su Yee and Alex C gave me a hand towel and Counterpain *Hahaha*, Eng Guan with the glow-in-the-dark lembu wrist rest pad, Ping with the bitter dark Beryl's chocolate from Langkawi, Derek with the keychain from Thailand and the Taiwan fridge magnets from Juls.

Well, at least there's New Year to look forward to no? You got any plans? I might be having a pot luck party at my place ... anyone out there interested? Haha. Till then ... take care and adios peeps.

Have A Very Merry X'mas & A Glorious New Year!!!

Hey fellas, just wanted to wish all of you a very Merry X'mas and a Happy New Year!!! Go makan and go partayyy!!! If you wanna drink and then drive, make sure you know which roads to take to avoid the cops cause rest assured, police road blocks will be aplenty these couple of days. It's that time of the year where we should all just let loose and have a good time.

Got another early X'mas gift, this time it's from Steph and it's a voucher for a trip to a spa. God knows I need a good massage to ease the knots in my body, so this is just perfect. Will do a review on the spa visit once I've gone for it.

Ok, that's it from me. I hope most of you are already enjoying your hols unlike me who is still stuck in the office ... blehhhh. Nvm ... just 2 more hours and I'd be off to kick start my Yuletide celebration. HO HO HO!!!

Quick update ...

Oh my, with the holiday season approaching and with tonnes of work still unfinished ... 24 hours in a day just ain't enough. So what have I been up to recently ... let's see ... I went X'mas shopping. Mostly for gifts to be given out to family and friends. Oh and I caught National Treasure 2, Book of Secrets as well. Pretty decent movie if you ask me. It's more of a combination of The DaVinci Code and Indiana Jones. A fast paced movie that keeps the action going non stop. I like! Catch it if you have the time.

Managed to spend more time with my family as well which is a rarity nowadays. Took them out for dinner at a Korean restaurant and it was all good. Caught up with an ol' friend over dessert at Delicious Cafe and we reminiscenced over memories from the past. Hahaha ... talking as if I'm a 60 year old. :p

Went over to my cousin's place as well since she organised a pre X'mas luncheon. Food was scrupmtious but more importantly, it was the company that mattered most.

Ooo ... I went again to Pavilion on Sunday. Had lunch with Steph at Starhill's 'foodcourt' and opted for Spanish cuisine. The chicken paella, the spicy prawn pasta, the field mushroom soup with pinenuts ... oh and the Sangria ... simply yummilicious!!! The atmosphere was superb as well. Two thumbs up from me. And atthe concourse area, Nike was having some sort of advertising by getting a few bozos to pose as mannequins. So these guys simply dress up in Nike's attire and accessories and posed. I guess the only movement allowed was blinking (refer to pic above). Really tempted to go tickle them ... haha.

I guess that's about it for the time being. Will probably blog again after X'mas, so till then, do take care and HAPPY HOLIDAYS peeps!!! This the season to be JOLLY!!! :D

It's better to give than to receive.

Quite recently, a fellow GX instructor, Olivia (RPM & Cardio Wave) texted me and enquired if I had any old clothings which I could spare for the less fortunate. She'll 'balik kampung' to the Philippines for X'mas and would like to bring along something with her for the poor. I promised her I would dig out something from my wardrobe and hence, this was my pile of contribution. Mind you, there are some branded names in there yo. And having more space in my wardrobe now could mean more shopping no??? Hahaha. :p

Hopefully, it'll put a smile on someone's face out there especially with the holiday season looming just round the corner. After all, ain't this the season to be jolly?

So are you doing any good this X'mas???

Early X'mas Pressie from Ping

Got an early X'mas gift from Ping yesterday. It's a li'll X'mas bear and pressing it's leg would not only light it up, it'll also croon a couple of X'mas melodies too. Really good to get me into the X'mas spirit. Fa la la la la. Hehe. Well, as you can see from the photo above, she got me a bumper sticker as well and I really do not think I can pull it off. Seriously. If I put it up, one day surely kena hentam nicely wan. Hahaha. :p

How're your X'mas preparations coming along? :) Ho Ho Ho.

Jingle bells ...

Christmas is near my friends. Can you feel it in the air? Isn't it everywhere?

Have you been naughty or nice? :P

Friday, Saturday & Sunday

Friday the 14th was the launch of the new Les Mills program releases at True Fitness. And since Christmas is looming near, the GX team decided to add some Xmas spirit cheer into the event as well. Hence, the studios were decorated with Xmas deco and lightings and who else would you expect to see at the launch if not Santa. The launch began with Body Pump and followed suit with Body Combat. In both the classes, Santa was there to ‘mingle’ / kacau around with the participants. It was really fun and members were given a nice li’ll candy pack after each class. The other Les Mills programs were launched the very next day but I can’t tell you much about it since I wasn’t there. For more info and photos, you can go over to Su Yee or Alexander’s blogs respectively.

After the launch, a group of us went for dinner. The plan was to head to TGIF mainly for the free drink refills but unfortunately, they had a problem with their kitchen and hence, the menu was limited to four dishes only. So we made our way to a fairly new place in Jaya 33 itself … The Italianne Kitchen. The food was good and the service excellent. After our meal, Steph and I decided to fill up their comment card and under ‘How may we serve you better’ column, we wrote ‘Free dessert’. Next thing you know, a huge piece of chocolate cake was sent to our table. The owner, Mr. Sia came over to chat for a while. Really nice chap. His restaurant used to be located in Sea Park for the past five years and since his lease was up, he decided to move his business to Jaya33 instead. Good for us no? Hahaha. So if you’re in the area, do pop in and savour what they have to offer … good stuff there peeps.

On Saturday, the good people at Fitness First had a party or sorts for their GX Team. Venue was at Cineleisure and the theme was ‘Night of Angels’. Most of us went for the casual authentic dress code ala British India and a few really went all out to dress to kill. My hats off to Nick and You KH but they pulled it off really well. Well, some people just have it in them I suppose. So unfair hor … *grumble grumble* :p

Anyway, FF booked the Premier Lounge and we chilled out there. Some fun and games, the introduction of a certain Mr. Frank Drew as new Regional Manager (I think) and a video all the way from HK by Suhaimi and Jackson concluded the pre dinner itenary. Dinner was catered from Bistro 1920 and food was scrumptious. Oh yea, there was also a lucky draw … so many prizes to be won and I got zilch … *grumble grumble*. Well, perhaps next year then … haha. With our bellies filled to the brim, we made our way to Theater 4. FF actually managed to book the entire theater for us to catch Will Smith’s latest blockbuster, I Am Legend. If you ask me, the movie deserve a 3/5 star rating. And it’s rather short too but the scene where Will narrated Shrek was priceless. Haha.

Let’s see, Sunday was spent doing classes. I had three in total and it was a good opportunity for me to practice doing the new BC release. Surprisingly no screw up in the choreo, so WOO HOO!!! Now just have to work on adding in the magic fitness. By the time I finished my third class, I was thoroughly famished and it was a good thing too cause Steph brought me to a nice quaint Korean Restaurant in Taipan (can’t remember the name … too hungry at that time). We ate A LOT and food was D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S. The juicy tender barbequed pork belly slices, more pork in special marinated sauce, the ever abundant side dishes, the Bi Bim Bab ... slurpsss.

After dinner, we caught the Man Utd vs Liverpool match on tele. A good match and lucky goal was the perfect day to sum up the weekend. Haha ... now only 1 point away from the top of the table. Gunners beware!!!

How was your weekend? :)

P.S. Oh oh ... can you guess who was playing Santa??? No prizes for the right answer ya. :P

Long time no see hor ...

Waaaaaaa … it’s been a while since I updated hor. A couple of things have kept me busy. Work, classes, visit to the doctor for physio treatment, lame attempts at trying to learn the new BC choreo … etc.

Ok let’s see where to begin … hmmm … ok, I went for the Cardio Wave training. So technically, I’m able to teach a Cardio Wave class if there’s a need for me to do so. After the training, we (namely, Su Yee, Alex C, Alexander, Jack, Ping, Annie, Johnathan, Brian, Ming, Jane, Lorraine, Juls and I) went over to Eng Guan’s lavish pad in Mont Kiara for a pot luck party of sorts. Food was aplenty and on the menu were vegetarian curry, noodles, KFC, nasi lemak, pizza, brownies, cakes, drinks, booze etc. We had a blast and by the time we left Eng Guan’s place … it was already past 2 a.m. Oh yea ... Alexander gives good massages and that's all I'm gonna say about it. Don't ask!!!

On Sunday, I attended an ex uni mate’s wedding dinner. It was held at Noble House, a posh Chinese restaurant off Jalan Imbi. Food was good and with free flow wine and a chance meeting up with ol' friends, it was a night to remember. As more wine were gulped down, the laughters grew louder and the unnecessary 'yam sengs' more frequent. Hehe. Oh yea ... Many congratulations and my best wishes to Eunice and her husband, Edmund. May their future be blessed with all things good that life has to offer. So next time I go over to Hong Kong, I'm assuming free accomodation thrown in ya. :p

On Wednesday night, Jon shot out an invitation to all in his class for a movie outing for Enchanted. So in the end, a couple of us made our way to Pavilion coz we couldn't get tickets anywhere else. The five of us (Jon, Alexander, Cress, Juls and I) squeezed into Jon’s sporty Neo and because we only have like 20 minutes to get from Sunway to Pavilion, Jon zig zagged through the KL traffic like a bat outta hell. Oh yea ... we gobbled down McDs in the car as well … the food, the speed, the adrenaline, the crap we talked about … it was really FUN!!! Hahaha. And you know what, we made in just in the nick of time for the movie. Yes, we ran like ‘siao’ from the car park lot to the cinema but who cares, again ... it was all part of the fun. The movie is well … nice. I like happy endings, so a romantic / comedic fairytale movie like this was just what I needed after a hard day of work and class. Would've been better if YOU were there though. Hehe. After the movie, we took a leisurely walk to Jalan Alor for supper. We soaked into the KL nightlife atmosphere and it was truly enjoyable especially since it’s been a while since I actually walked along the Bukit Bintang area at night. I feel all touristy ... dunno why. BBQ chicken wings and fried carrot cake were on the menu … yummmsss. :) A slow relaxing cruise back to Taipan and we bid each other goodbye and goodnight. A nightout like this was what I really needed. Thanks guys. :)

The many faces of Chewbaca II

Haha ... have fun with these peeps. :D Hohoho.

Jaya33 Grand Opening Demo

Thursday, the 6th of December 2007 marks the grand opening of Jaya33. YB Dato' Donald Lim (Deputy Minister of Tourism) and the Datuk Bandar of PJ were invited to officiate the event. The media faternity were also there in numbers to mark this auspicious occasion. After the required blah blah blah by the VIPs, we were treated to a dragon and lion dance performance.

Up next were performances by True Fitness. We kicked off the performance with Body Combat. Wai Hoong, Alex C, Jack and yours truly made up the team and most of our choreo were taken from the Muay Thai track, The 6th Gate. We modified it a bit to spice up the performance and I personally think that it went rather well. Alexander managed to capture the entire thing on video, so we'll just have to wait for that.

Following up was the super energetic shake-ya-booty by the Jammers and the team comprised of Jason, Tina and Sharon. They took most of dance tracks from the latest Body Jam release and looked simply fantastic. The Combatters joined in for the last part of the Jammers' performance and not too sure if we looked good but we sure as hell had a good time. Haha. Shiok sendiri!!! :p

Oh yea, we got freebies too courtesy of the generous people from Nike. We took home a pair of longs (suitable for B.Balance / Yoga I think), cap, socks and a wrist band. How cool is this!!! :D

Most of us (except for Tina) went for lunch at Vietnam's Kitchen and posted above is their chef's recommendation, Seafood Fried Noodles. Looks good doesn't it ... trust me, IT IS!

After that, I went for my appointment with Dr. William Chan to get my arm treated. A lengthy consultation, X-ray, medication and physiotherapy later, it resulted in me being poorer by RM313.00. Apprently the cause is due to nerve attack either by swelling of a certain muscle or even worse, a slip disc along my spine's C5 or C6. Am suppose to go for my MRI as soon as possible to confirm for sure the cause for my current 'suffering'. Sighhh ... pray for me guys. Couldn't get a replacement for my class in Sweat Club, hence had to do it my own. The life of an instructor ... fun no???!!! Hahaha.

Belated B'day Outing

Last Saturday, I had a belated b'day celebration of sorts with a few of my college and uni mates. Dinner was set at The Banquet @ Bangsar Village II. As usual, service there was excellent and the food was good as well. We talked and caught up with each others' latest happenings. They gave me RM120 worth of MPH vouchers and I should really find time to catch up on my reading. Still have a couple more unread books at home left on the shelf collecting dust at moment. Sigh ... time oh time ... where art thou???

Anyways, after dinner, we made our way to Alexis and if you're in Alexis, you SIMPLY MUST HAVE THEIR SIGNATURE TIRAMISU. It didn't dissapoint. In fact,it was really really delicious. Some may find it a tad too sweet but not moi. Loved every single bit of it. Do try it if you happen to be in the area. :) Just remember to hit the gym the next day. Haha.

BLT - Bom, Lemak & Tissue

You can't get any better or worse (in terms of sinful calories consumption) than this. Drool guyz ... DRRROOOoooOOOoooL.

TF BC Tuition

After a back to back class (in TF Taipan and My Fitness), I led Joey H, Joey W and their friend, Jamie (I think) to Jaya33 for our BC tuition. Terence (BC HT) was already there and so was the rest ... namely Alex C, Su Yee, Jon Low, Abby, Jun Yin, Emma, Jo, Nicholas and Cheng. We were drilled non stop ... sets after sets of jabs, uppercuts, hooks and our kicks which included the sidekicks, knees and the backkicks. Boy it was tiringly excruciating!!! A quick summary recap on the essence of each individual tracks for the latest release followed suit. I wasn't listening much since all I could think off was FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!!! Somehow, all I wanted at that time was nasi lemak.Yummmmsss and I suggested it to the gang. They were all up for it and so we headed to the food court at Jalan 223 and devoured. There were ten of us all together and binged we did!!!

On the menu were nasi lemak, otak otak, roti planta, roti bom, roti pisang, roti tissue, sotong etc. Really good stuff and of course, enjoying it with good friends always helped work up the apetite. I guess you can see from the photos above just what a blast we all had. Sometimes it's the simple things in life that brings satisfaction and it works on so many levels. Hope you had a good night too :)

P.S. Only managed to get 3 hours of slumber last night before doing this morning's 7 a.m. class. Luckily Emma was there to take 4 tracks off me. Now in zombie mode. Stay away from me if you know whats good for ya. :p

The many faces of Chewbaca

Sunday used to be a lazy relaxing chilled out day for me ... well, not this time around. Had three classes and one tuition ... feeling totally smashed now. So can't really be bothered to blog at right this very moment and I'll just let the various photos of Alex Chewbaca entertain you. *hehe ... knew these would come in handy someday :P*