All set

So here it is! Our all paid flight by the sponsor to Lion city tomorrow.



Wish me best of luck!!!

Yes, I'm supposed to look nervous in the picture. :p

Will try to update as soon as I get back. Till then, have a good weekend and remember to keep me in your prayers :p

Hokkien aerobics

It was supposed to be just like any other normal routine for some of us. Threw the towel for the day, got the gym bag ready and headed for workout.

If you get there a little too early for the class, you work out a little bit to warm up or just for the sake of passing time. And when the time comes, perhaps 5 mins before the class, you stop what you’re doing and go into the room and get settled for the class.

We expected to see her. The petite little figure with long extension hair walking in. She was seldom late and this time it was 2 mins after the class. We were starting to wonder if anyone was coming at all. Half our prediction was right.

Someone came, but not her. A replacement instructor. The total opposite of her. Big sized, taller, tanned, long straight hair, nothing wrong with that. What’s wrong is the figure. She was a little heavy on the bottom. You know what they say about conducting a fitness class. If you want ppl to come, look like you fit the job description. In this case, let’s just say we’re not too confident.

She tried too hard. To be friendly. To the extent of….



Conducting the class in English + Hokkien. Way to go~ --_--“

I tried so hard to control myself from laughing. The others seemed to be oblivious to it.


“Lai, wa lang start” (Come, we start)



And the rest of the instructions throughout the class.

“Ok, kha ya kuan kuan” (Ok, leg raise high high)

“Jo ka lu feel thnia, baru ka workout ha leh muscle” (Do until you feel pain, that’s when you’re working out those muscles)

“Lang baru jor pot tor, abs. Ki lai eh si ban ban chuan khui chut, lok eh si chuan khui jip,” *followed by shoosh shoosh sound of her breathing *
(We will do abs now, when you come up breathe out slowly, when u come down breathe in)

“Lang jor chit leh eh trim lu eh kha chui eh bak” (can you guess this?)

“Lai, continue thiau. Mai an neh. Joo thnia joo ho!” (Come we continue to jump, don’t be like that, the more pain the better it is!)

"Mmm si an neh eh, lai tui wa jor. An neh khuan" (It's not like this, come follow me, this is how you do it)

"Ok, lang khu khi khu lok, kha chui ka eh firm" (Ok, we squat up squat down, your butt can be firm)

“Wah, lang rest chit eh, CHUAN AR!” (can you guess again?)


Indeed, that was the most “interestingly conducted” aerobics class I’ve ever been to.

The good news!

Ok, calm down, I can sooo do this.

I can totally type this out without sounding like I've just been crowned Miss Universe or something.

I'm trying I'm trying...ok, I'm cool, I'm cool. I'm trying hard to contain my happiness and not make a big fuss over it. Cause really, it's not really a big fuss for you.




But it's a big fuss for me!




Because I'm going to Singapore!!!!




For 2D/1N




For FREEEEEEEEEEE

Because we are one of the 10 teams shortlisted to go to Singapore to take up the JetStar's JetSaver Light Challenge!

I have to thank Russell, (I'm not sure if he's a reader of my blog) for informing me about this challenge. He was kind enough to send me a personal email and perhaps to other bloggers too :p regarding this announcement in JetStar's website.

When I saw it, I thought to myself, I'm definitely giving this a shot!



What's this challenge about?


Get ready for a day of fun, excitement and new experiences in Singapore as you and a friend pit yourselves against fellow travelers for the grand prize.

1) Start off by telling us how your team plan to explore the exciting sights and food in Singapore for a day.
- Share with us the 5 things that you will do (what to do, buy, eat etc) with a given allowance of 30SGD per person! (oh shit, 30SGD only, I could easily eat one meal with that kind of money, think budget now Sharon, think of all the nice hawker food you can get, who says food needs to be expensive to taste good?)

2)10 outstanding teams will be selected to travel on our flight to Singapore on 13 July for 2D/1N trip!
- This is a JetSaver Light Challenge, the teams will not be allowed any check in baggage. The savings from the JetSaver Light fare (SGD30 per pax) will be used to explore the 5 things you want to do in Singapore.
(It seems like they postponed the date to 18th July now :))

3) The 10 teams will need to capture their Singapore moments on photos and post it on their blogs!
- The team MUST also pose and capture a Star jump shot at the most memorable place for the team while in Singapore. The most interesting blog will win the grand prize!
(I told my partner in crime, we're SOOOO totally nailing this, camwhoring is like our second nature :p)

What's included in the challenge?
- Airfare inclusive of taxes
- 1 night accommodation at Grand Mecure Roxy Singapore (It's a 4 star hotel *woot*)
- A budget of 30SGD per person per day.
- Bus transfer from airport to hotel. (err how bout from hotel to airport?)

Not inclusive:
- Travel insurance (JetStar's plane is safe to fly me to and fro right?)
- Personal spending money (Royce chocolate, durian puffs, here I come!)

And the Grand Prize is...



1 year FREE travel from Penang to Singapore for the team!



I want this badly!!!


Yes, now that we're shortlisted, we're halfway through to winning this thing. And so are the 9 other teams. So we gotta be more creative, crazier, and we'll show you, that with 30SGD per person, we can survive in Singapore for a day! Ermm.. personal shopping doesn't count.



And my chosen partner in crime for this mission is no other than... the adventurous, sarcastic, wacky ZeekNotGeek



You see, even his "coolness" tells me we're winning this, hands down! hahaha!

Hey partner, let's do this and nail this once and for all!


I've been through proper training with the bf on travel rush and stress in Philippines and he said I passed with flying colors so I think I'm ready for this :p


*keeping my fingers crossed*


Erm, anyone has any advice for us before we embark on this adventure? Gee, I sound like I'm going for Amazing Race Asia or something but yes, I definitely want to try that too someday :D One step at a time!

Betrayal

Perhaps this is not any of my business but I can’t help but to probe anyway. I don't find pleasure in talking about other people's lives (in fact, I can't help it if you want to think of me that way) but I just want to share... a few stories; a story about bravery and a story about surrendering to pessimism.

I'll start with the story about bravery.


Last month, I actually admire the guts of this friend of mine, who braved herself to take the first step out of a broken marriage. She gave birth to a baby girl, and being a Chinese, she was supposed to follow a lot of confinement rules, for eg you’re not supposed to shower for about a month, you have to keep eating “heaty” food to warm the body… and erm.. pardon me but that’s the only 2 rules I can remember for now :p

So her husband, also a Chinese, but not a true believer in the old traditions, made a fuss bout it. He complained that she smelt bad for not showering, won’t even get near to her, and made even bigger fuss about the choice of food she had to eat during confinement. A bigger slap in the face would be when he told her it’s no big deal that she gave birth to a baby girl and that anybody can do that. And that’s where the tension started.

Obviously, heated arguments followed. Wife went back to mum’s house, husband.. I don’t know .. perhaps realized that this is not really what he wanted. He told her that he wanted things to go back to how they were when they were still dating. Told her the spark is gone.

*Poof* just like that… after 6 years together, with a kid in hand. Ok, she was patient.. for a while. But little did she know that the husband (now ex) had been doing his homework, hunting down his next target. He started going out with a girl, who used to be his Ex, who happens to be single now.

What’s worse was this arsehole did it shamelessly in front of her, not even the guilt to hide it from her. She would often find flirty, sexy messages on his laptop which he left just like that. Tell me, if you’re in her position, what would you do? Here I am, after going through 9 months of pain and suffering carrying your baby in my womb, almost died giving birth, not only you don't appreciate it but you’re shamelessly flirting with someone else in front of me? There were nights .. of course, that he’d spent the night outside of the house. I don’t know much detail that followed but I knew I was angry, even though I’m only the listening party.

At the end of her story telling, I applauded her. I applauded her courage, her strength. I applauded her for finally putting a stop to her suffering and move on. She took custody of her baby, and according to her now, she’s doing absolutely fine and had never been happier. To a less painful future, to a happier self, no more nights of crying her heart out.

So what if life doesn’t turn out as you had hoped for after marriage? Even your spouse, the one who’s supposed to be your lifetime partner, your best friend in need can break your trust. Marriage vows? I guess they have expiry dates too for some.


One should feel lucky to find a partner who would give it all for you but one should also know, when to take a step back and stop giving, when you're not getting anything in return.


It takes two hands to clap. When one stops clapping, don’t be an idiot and continue to wave your hand in the air.


I know I'm not in those shoes (yet), hence I can't possibly know much, yes I admit that, but I know enough, that any rationale being will choose to be happy.




Now this is one story about a brave woman who dares to make her own destiny.



Next story... will be about a man, who surrenders himself to destiny.


To be continued…

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Why am I not surprised.

Great day

I don't remember when it stopped raining but when I stepped out of my house this morning ready to face the day, I was greeted with sunshine. The roads were damp but not too wet, indicating the rain must have stopped hours before.


Today is a great day to:


1) Pig out on a huge dim sum beakfast

The last time I had dim sum was with the bf long long time ago (a couple of months back is still long time :p) and this time around we went back to the family's favorite dim sum place opposite KDU. It was crowded, like always.


2) Catch a movie

For FREE. My cousin managed to buy Ice Age 3 ticket for RM1.20, the price of a newspaper. Yes, we're more than happy to tag along!


3) Buy pirated DVDs

Bought some old movies I haven't watch to kill some of my soon-to-come boring days. Btw, MJ's songs are playing EVERYWHERE! Pirated dvds of his concerts are selling like hot cakes. Yes, we got tempted and bought one too :$


4) Run around malls

Oily and sticky. We walked around 2 malls, just to help my brother hunt for a pair of shoes that suits his budget and style -_-" It was fun tho. We haven't been to both malls for as long as we can remember so we were running around looking for shops based on last memories we had of the malls. In the end, we still ended up with nothing because he was too fussy and can't make up his mind and my ballet flats were starting to kill my poor feet.


5) Take an afternoon break

We decided to stop by at One Corner Cafe for some Indian laksa

Don't be too surprised if you don't find much ingredients. It's mostly noodles, mint leaves, some shredded cucumber and pineapple. A lil too salty but good nevertheless (perhaps we were too hungry). As close as it can get to Chinese Assam laksa minus the fish bits :)

If you're still hungry after the noodles, ask for a free refill of laksa soup and eat with this

Dip, soak and eat! Its sooooo good!

6) Suggest a game of pool

And let my brother who pretended to be bad in pool kicked our asses (I teamed up with my noob cousin) with the score of 2-6

A fun day out. The malls were not too crowded, perhaps because it's a long weekend and most people are out of town.

I feel productive! :p I really love Penang, there's no doubt bout it for everything is within reach :)

Inspiration

As I let the lukewarm water splashed on my head, I thought to myself 'I have a long long night ahead'. It is only 8pm. I considered the options I have but nothing interest me as much as staying at home for the night.

Can you blame it on the weather? Well I want to but I won't. In fact, I have always loved the rain. I have always loved the romantic feel that it brings with it. The kind of feeling where you just want to cuddle up in bed with a good book. That was exactly what I did today.

I had slept in as much as I could, forcing myself to stay up late and only go to bed at 3. I woke up to the sound of the heavy rain, it rained as if Heaven has decided we have had too many "drought" days. It rained last night for as long as I remembered and it was still raining when I first opened my eyes, in my semi dark room, thank God I don't have to get up any time soon and continued sleeping. I slept until 12.30pm. This was probably the first time in the longest time I woke up after noon.

I practically lazed in bed for the rest of the afternoon. Hooked, unable to move, unable to concentrate on anything else other than what I was doing. I cringed at the cruelty and I lost count on how many times I cried today. As silly as this may sound... but I cried for so many reasons. For being one of the lucky ones, for having a childhood I truly enjoyed and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, for being blessed, for being here, for being the one reading instead of the one telling the story, for everything. I guess one can summarize, that I was counting my blessings earlier on.

It was probably one of the best book I've read in my life. Paulo Coelho's spiritual approach in his books made me think and ask so many questions, questions I often can't answer myself until he put two and two together. I had grown a liking to his style but not to the point I can't get enough of it. It's one of those that you read and will be glad to take a break from because there's too much to handle, too much to digest.

But not The Kite Runner, not Khaled Hosseini. I have been meaning the save the book to read over the long weekend but the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. There was something about the way he writes that keeps you turning the pages. Something magic.. that gets you hooked.

After looking and counting the amount of books I've read for the past 3 weeks, (4 of which I finished in a week) I thought I would be bored of reading by now.



But no, the itch is just starting...the itch, that triggered so many other things...

Uncreative

I was strolling in Borders after a boring, uneventful day of work today when I came across the most ludicrous, uncreative book title ever.

I shivered at the thought of naming my book (if I ever have one) Willyyilly, yes.. the most absurd, idiotic title one can name a book ever... @_@

What's the funniest book title you have seen?

A respond to my flamer(s)

Warning : This post may not be pleasant to read, so be warned!

If there’s one thing I learned about blogging my life online, it has to be dealing with flamers. Oh yes.. for the past few years that I have been blogging, I seldom come across people who leave negative comments in my blog. I guess if people don’t like my blog, then they simply won’t take the trouble to come back again.

So for the past few months or so, I have received quite a few negative anonymous comments telling me what a self centric person I am, bitching about my obsession with my white boyfriend and how my blog has disappoint this person more and more as time goes by. Yes, YOU lowlife anonymous commenter(s), I don’t know if it’s the same person and frankly, I don’t bother to check either. I figured it’s not worth spending my time trying to track the ip address of this/these people. Definitely not worth it, but yes, you gave me another material to blog!

I remembered the first time I received a negative comment, I took it seriously. I was scared, worried and well.. a little devastated.. thinking how could this person not like it? I don’t remember what it was about but I was sad and concerned, thinking I have lost one reader, yes ONE.

How naive I was. So what if this person doesn’t like what I wrote? Should I worry myself crazy and start writing only what he/she wants me to write? How could I cater to every of my blog readers' needs? I'm sorry but I am not paid to make you happy so live with it.

First of all, my dear readers, I would like to remind you again that this is a personal blog. By personal it means I have all the freedom I want to blog about my life, what I do, where I go, what I eat and I can even tell you what colour my shit is today but no, I’m not that gross.

You told me I was self centric. Let me tell you something else, I sometimes practice narcissism too. Why wouldn’t I? After all this is my blog and I’m blogging about MY life. If I don’t blog about me, what else would I be blogging about? About you? Oh wait.. I just remember I don’t even know who you are thanks to the anonymity.. so sorry, I guess no one will ever read about you. At least not in my blog.

And oh, the obsession about my white boyfriend haha.. I can’t believe he’s dragging the bf into this as well. He commented in this post

“I personally think you should start to focus into your work, instead focusing into your "white" bf that don't know what Asian life is. Anyway, you probably enjoy being seen as westernize.

You will soon realize when he starts to see other gals...”


Oh this coward (I call him coward because he posted anonymously, not even a name) has the guts to “tell” me what to do. Sure I appreciate the advice (I said that just to make him happy) but to pass judgment on my bf about him not knowing what Asian life is? Who is he to judge him when he doesn’t know him personally? If I don’t know you and I were to call you pigsbrain would you like it? Yes, I like to be seen as westernize and so do other hundreds of thousands of girls out there. Why don’t you go give them one by one a piece of your teeny meeny tiny mind?

I cannot control it if my white bf starts seeing other girls, yes then he would be cheating on me and he will be an asshole and he'll get his karma and whatnot but so far, that has not happened. I think you have probably been cheated on that’s why you’re being so judgmental. So a white guy and an Asian chick won’t last long? And a Chinese with a Chinese will? (sorry other readers I don’t mean to target this to you) ? That’s why some Chinese guys have mistresses! That’s why you see boring couples eating in a restaurant with absolutely no eye contact, no conversation but merely accompanying each other! That’s why you see the husband walking in front while the wife string the kids along running to keep up behind! Why? Because some of us can be so conservative that once we think we’re married, there is no need to work to make it last. Ok maybe I have gone too far on this. So all I'm saying is that, you have no fucking clue of what we've been through so don't go like you know everything.

Then he (assuming it’s a he la) said I don’t have to explain anything and just because I agreed that there are differences between my bf and I, then THAT IS THE PROBLEM. What the fuck? Hey dude go marry your clone if you want someone as similar as you are. Bleh~ B.O.R.I.N.G~! Very funny isn’t it? Which couple does not have differences between them? Haven’t you heard of opposite attracts? In fact, it’s the differences that make us all the more interesting. It’s the differences in our backgrounds that we have so much to talk about, so much so share. It’s our differences that make us want to learn more about each other. It’s the differences that you come to ask yourself if you can live it with or let go. This person certainly doesn’t know what he’s talking about. *roll eyes*

And the most recent comments on this post, also posted with anonymity.. *thinking again such coward* I don’t know if it’s the same person but anyway here’s my elongated feedback to you.

Ok la, I’ll exempt the ones about me gossiping about ppl..why can’t people just accept the fact that everyone gossips? Hello??? The reason why Perez Hilton is so famous is because he bitches about people everyday! Chesus Christ!
So this person said

“Sharon, I use to enjoy your blog, but it seems like lately you become too wild and become idiot to certain extend, not even know what is respect of people in the choice of words you use. A great disappointment....

anyway... is your choice... is your life... good luck!”

MY GAWD. I’m speechless. So he’s judging me for using unsuitable words on people when he himself calls me an idiot? Right back at you, you idiot! I suspect you don’t have a mirror in your house do you? My word of advice, get a small portable mirror and bring it everywhere you go so you can look into the mirror everywhere before you say anything you might regret.

This person is also telling me I am wild just because I blogged about a party I attended? So I asked him back “Is going to a party with a bunch of friends, dance and drink a little (I don’t even drink much everytime I go party, 2 beers at most? Ask the bf he knows me very well)having innocent fun is considered wild?!”

I went to the party because I was invited by the owners so I gave face to friends and showed up. And is it wrong to help to make the party more lively, more interesting?

Haha I can imagine how B.O.R.I.N.G this person’s life must be. Yes I can imagine this lowlife sitting in front of the computer the whole night leaving comments in my blog then refreshing it to see if I had replied his comment because I found another comment from him from the exact same night. Hahaha... how pathetic!

His last comment before I blog this out was

“hmmm... anyway.. u write what u want, one of these days... probably when u r getting mature.. do look back what you have wrote... u will noticed you are arrogant and thought the world is urs... anyway... to certain extend, u seem to be as an uneducated bitch...”

Now he’s trying to be politically correct, telling himself it’s ok to be making fun of the owner of a blog he’s reading. Mature? You’re telling me to be mature? A mature person does not leave cowardly comments in someone’s blog, how bout that? There, I hope you learned your lesson of the day.

Oh btw, how you define one as uneducated? As far as I’m concerned, although I’m no Masters or PHD holder, I did graduate with a degree. In fact, I was a straight A’s student all the way from primary school to high school. Well, I was this close to being a 4 flatter but I still graduate with first class. So tell me, which part of me is uneducated? Enlighten me, how well educated are you? Even if you graduated from Oxford, I really think you are morally uneducated :)

A bitch? Hell yea.. I never deny that fact in the first place *wink* But you still love me, because you’re reading this.