My First Impromptu Blogging

Had lovely time in gym yesterday. Result... today having a very aching body. Crazy as it sound, I kinda miss this feeling. Just can't believe, 2 years ago, every weekend, not doing but instructing 2 classes on Saturday's and 4 on Sunday's. Then on Monday's, taking stairs or lifting a heavy file will be an option to do... ; p

So last weekend, I attended a Saturday Body Combat class. The usual instructor didn't turn up and I was not in the "SS" mood i.e. a rather "mild class".

Sunday, first thing in the morning, 9am, 1 hr of RPM Challenge. Followed by another hour of Body Balance.
Then went home and did my weekly house chores. Boy, I miss home, I miss having Wangi around.

Later in the afternoon, felt an itch. Not those that you can satisfy by scratching... Hop over to the gym again, did an hour of Body Combat.
And a nice gentle yoga class.
At the end of the end, the itch disappeared.... : )

My First Orchestra Experience & It was FREE ! YIPEE !!!

The anticipation.

Us doing the Asian tourist "thingy", taking pictures :)

More anticipation.

The Souvenir, the ticket.

The lovely couple who got us the free tickets. Thank you so much for this memorable experience !

My First Valentines Day Yoga

Last year Valentine's Day stayed at home and did house chores. I do agree with hubby that V day has been extremely commercialised. However, there was a meaning to this day in history:

On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.

Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.

To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.

When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.

Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine."

For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.

In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are unclear. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February." One was a priest in Rome, the second one was a bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the third St. Valentine was a martyr in the Roman province of Africa.

Legends vary on how the martyr's name became connected with romance. The date of his death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St Valentine's Day.

Gradually, February 14 became a date for exchanging love messages, poems and simple gifts such as flowers.

So my gift to Kyle... take him to a yoga workshop, 2hrs of gentle compassionate assanas, holding hands, looking into partner's eyes, bonding, trying to balance using each other's strength and weakness. The workshop was really awesome ! Thanks Stella. After class I gave Kyle a stalk of red rose :) Since he never received one before, so hopefully this shed a new meaning of V day to him.

My First Random Meme

After reading all my favourite blogs, I can't help myself for not falling into the bandwagon. Hey, this is the best compliment I could give to my dear friends. Don't stop blogging ! :)

Here goes, 25 random stuff about me that some maybe blatantly obvious and some not... ;)

1) I'm older the sibling. There's only me and younger bro

2) I'm an over due baby. Why can't people call over mature to the opposite of premature or maybe post mature ? hehehe... well the doctor who was delivering me calls me a princess. Sounds better don't you think so? If I remember correctly my mom told me that I'm one whole month late ! Am I considered a 10 months baby? ;)

3) I like plants, but I need a whole lot of persuasion or in the right "mood" to do any gardening. I have adopted a few plants, but none survived except one. I think it's still alive, saw it the last time I went back home.

4) I'm an animal lover. So the next ethical thing to do is to be a vegetarian. At 15, I gave up eating anything with 4 legs. When I left high school I gave up anything with 2 legs. Shortly later, no fish. I'm not a fan of shell food. I tried to omit dairy products but failed. Then I started having dizzy spells too often. So I'm back to having fish.

5) I think I'm approachable and friendly. But I was told I have a notorious first impression of being LCLY. Can't remember what it stands for... lan see lan yeong? Sound like a bad word though... hehehe... maybe I should walk around with a mirror. So every time I meet some one new, I'll check myself in the mirror to find out what's LCLY... kekeke...

6) Talking about mirrors, I must admit that I always catch myself looking in the mirror whenever I so happen to walk pass one. Yea... I check myself out constantly... vanity...

7) However, comes next point, I'm super sloppy in dressing. And I dress up always looking boyish. Sometime I couldn't care less of what I've put on. I would need my sista friends to dress me up for special occasions.

8) Next, only my close friends know it. My last relationship of 4 years ended and 7 years... yes... 7 years later I met my hubby. Dated in Mar'07... Apr'07... May'07 and got engaged. In Jun'07 I was in Sydney. Jul'07 we got registered. Friends call us express ! In Apr'08, my dear family and friends planned our wedding in 4 days. We got good experience help, THANKS GUYS !!!!

9) I'm stubborn, need some or maybe a lot more persuasion, opinionated and combined with an ego. A real nasty cocktail... And guess what, I married a mirror of myself ! My hubby is EXACTLY the same... probably his ego is larger... This is rather a very very unique mix... having an express relationship and such conflicting characteristics... I'm praying...

10) Whenever an ambulance pass by or finding road kill, I would find myself saying a short little prayer.

11) I'm afraid of being in front of a crowd... phobic maybe too strong. My mind will go blank, I'll start to stammer, palms sweating, cold sweat, weak knees... the works... Then the next question, why or how I became a group exercise gym instructor as a moonlighting job? Determination I guess... I wanted to over come my fear. It's easy I tell you... Just before every class I taught, I need to say a prayer.

12) After reading a few points above, am I a religious person ?

13) I also fear of being lonely. I enjoy in fact I adore doing stuff with friends even boring stuff. However, I like shopping alone...

14) I'm a Gemini. I have an altar ego. I'm down to point 13 points and there's so many "but"s and "however"s ;)

15) I like DIY furniture and electrical appliance assembly. My hubby does the cooking and I'll do the furniture & electrical stuff. Hey it's the new age, no gender stereotyping... ;p Oh... during my childhood, I like to disassemble electrical stuff and sometime furniture too... And some times I can't assemble back to what it should be.... hehehe... mother will always nag me on this... she would say that I took up my grandfather's trait.

16) I've always wanted to see new places, the adventurous side of my altar personality. But opportunities were not abundant to travel. But hey, reality bites... I'm working in Sydney now... I can call this my working holiday ! Adventure here I come !!!

17) I hate mornings. I LOVE the extra 10-15 mins sleep in after the alarm clock kicks in. Some say, it's DA BEST sleep ever... I just don't know how I managed to do an early morning body balance class every week !

18) I can't take afternoon naps. I just can't fall asleep. My power nap is probably the precious 10-15 mins sleep in the morning... hiaks!

19) I was told by my hubby recently that I snore and..... grind my teeth when I hit REM.

20) I always look before I flush... hehehe... my darling Eric, you're not alone.

21) I'm afraid of the dark whenever I'm sleeping in a not familiar surroundings eg. hotel room. I always have the night light on. And..... I would say a prayer before sleeping.

22) I can never remember my dreams. It always amaze me to hear my dear old buddy (since high school) having recollection of her dreams to the smallest minute detail. It's like a blardi soap opera story. It may even give Bold & Beautiful a challenge !

23) Having a lovable dog as a pet completes me. Hmm...I sound selfish... who cares... it's my meme... :p

24) I adore my granny to bits... She can tell me all her granny stories thousand of times and I still enjoy her company. I miss her so much since I'm away from home.

25) Now the last point, gosh... I can't think of anything else. Oh, the most obvious... I have a very loud laugh. Nothing lady-like at all. Once a tomboy, always a tomboy.

Cheerios !

My First Random Thoughts

Gosh... now I feel old after going through some resume of new graduates. They are 12 years YOUNGER ! Little Dragons starting their first job. Having some flashback of my early years, good times as well as palm-sweating-tension moments especially during job interviews.

Life is different now... 12 years OLDER... in a foreign land... relying on a life partner rather than the family members... different group of friends... different challenges in life... different day-to-day enjoyment... having financial commitment rather than those carefree days where all I need was open my mouth to ask Mummy or Daddy for pocket money... :)

My First Nail Biting Tennis Match

Last night we invited Aunt Helena, Uncle Leonard & family for dinner. Dinner was nice.... but most of our attention was focused on the grilling match between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco. The match was over 5 hrs... Oh-m-i-gawd....

Nadal finally ended the marathon match at 1.15am. It was a battle of fellow country man that seems like never ending. It was really an amazing match to watch. Of course besides the good looking Spanish blokes as eye candies... ;)

And this picture will definately bring smiles to my gurlfriends... :)