Hobby #4 - Testosterone Induction

Lift that weight baby!

My housemates; Anep, Rusydi, and Zan Peng would tag along as well whenever I hit the gym we frequent to in Wangsa Maju every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights.

Owh yeah..there’s nothing quite like the smell of sweat that lingers in the air; the loud music with pumping bass; the grunts, groans and clanking of metal; and of course – my personal favourite – the hot babes in tight clothing to get those testosterone charging.

Yes sir.

You ain’t a real man unless you hit the gym. Be it for fitness reasons, to lose that flabby gut, or aiming to get a beach-worthy body with a set of solid six-pack abs, the gym suits your needs.

I’m talking bout a proper establishments with arrays of advanced equipments to achieve the aforementioned objectives, and not just some shoddy ‘backyard’ gym. Although, any gym could help you achieve your goals, a proper gym with experienced professionals would ensure you get your intended results faster and better.

If you live in and around KL, and the Klang Valley, there are lots of gyms to choose from, among many others:

Twin Towers Fitness Centre

• KLCC

Celebrity Fitness

• Subang Parade, Subang Jaya

• Bangsar Village II, Bangsar

Fitness First

• The Curve, Mutiara Damansara

• IOI Mall, Puchong

• AEON Bukit Tinggi, Klang

• Menara Maxis, KLCC

California Fitness

• Mid-Valley Megamall, Mid-Valley

• Menara Standard Chartered, Bukit Bintang

True Fitness

• USJ 10, Subang Jaya

• Jaya 33, Section 13

Get Active

• SOHO KL, Mont Kiara

Pushmore

• Merchant Square, Tropicana

Obviously, there are lots of other gyms either more exclusive, or lesser than the examples I have given, so feel free to explore. If you’re heart is set to achieve that goal you have in mind, any gym would do – the only difference will be how quickly you achieve them, how effective, and most importantly, how much fun you will have. There is however another option – home gym

Fitness Concept is a store that sells equipments and stuffs that you can find at these professional gyms. This chain could be found in most major malls. For starters, get a set of those 10 kg dumbbell set and a few advice on how is best to utilize them. One item that I am particularly interested in is a set of large, high-tensile rubber band that is revolutionizing the term ‘portable gym’. Hit the store and you’ll know what I mean.

Tips for starters

• Find a suitable timetable for you to work out your routine. An effective routine must include hitting the gym at least 3 times a week.

• Look for a gym that is preferably close to your home and one that suits your budget. Note: professional help do come with a price.

• Stick to a fitness/weight-loss/body-sculpting programs that suits you. The pros and regular gym goers might offer an advice or two, but do your own research. A magazine like Men’s Health is a lot of help.

• Disclipline! Nuff said..

Anyway, I love going to the gym as I could work out that stress garnered at work, and get much healthier, slimmer, and more muscular in the process. Exercising also releases the hormone endorphin - the same hormone released during sex - which makes us feel good. Yeah, I am aware that chocolates also trigger the release of endorphin, but I prefer to watch my weight, thank you.

So, if the heaviest thing that you can lift currently is that Big Mac, the only exercise you get is that walk (and occasional run) to classes, and having your hand as your only lover, you need a wake up call, buddy!

Hit the gym. Pump that iron.

You’ll feel like a million bucks in no time.

7 Things You Hate Bout Me

Tagged, I’m it..

I was tagged, courtesy of Shira.

The Rules:

Link to your tagger and post these rules in your blog. - Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. - Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. - Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, here’s 7 weird/random things about me, you might never knew of:

1. I have Inferiority Complex (IC).

An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual inferiority in the afflicted person.
- Wikipedia

Let’s just say I won’t usually be comfortable in my own skin, thus I seek confidence from without, instead of within i.e. having expensive/enviable items, wearing branded apparels, etc.


2. I have limited vocabulary in Malay. I think this is rather self-explanatory, and I don’t think I have to elaborate more. That being said, I can’t really pronounce the letter ‘r’ in Malay words the way most people can either. In fact, I can’t pronounce a few letters as well, but the letter ‘r’ is most obvious. My pronunciation of it is accented. Let me attempt to explain it to you vis-à-vis phonetically:

You say ‘mereka’ as “me-ré-ka”; I say “me-ray-car”

You say ‘marah’ as “ma-ghah”; I say “mar-rayh’

You say ‘rosak’ as “gho-sak”; I say “raw-suck”

Get my point? It came across to me that people may thought this way of pronunciation of mine is stuck up, poyo, or wateva, but this was, and is the way I speak. Maybe this is due to the fact that I speak English more than Malay when I was developing.


3. To supplement the previous point, I have limited knowledge in the Malay names of things such as kuihs and lauks. I knew the names of some of my favourite Malay dish and a few I am familiar with, but the rest I may recognize them by their familiarity in looks, and might be unaware of what it’s called. If you hang out with me to open houses, you might often overhear Annas a.k.a. Pupu saying, “Rez, ko kenal tak ni apa?”



4. I have a thing for strings/ribbons. I like it on a blouse, dress, etc. and my personal favourite, on thongs and bikinis. Needless to say, I have a thing for untying/undoing them..slowly. hehe..

5. Please, please, please, for God sake, keep me away, or keep durians away from me. This includes any and every dish/foodstuff that has durian as its ingredient or derivatives of it like, erm..what’s that pungent sambal-ish paste made from overripe durian flesh called again? I get sick & noxious just by the smell of durian. I’m sorry, but I won’t entertain any “owh-you-just-gotta-try-nevermind-the-smell-it’s-absolutely-delicious” talks.



6. I have excellent visual memory, but I am bad at remembering names. This means, I might remember what you look like years down the road, but unless I am close to you, or contact you often, I tend to forget your name. You won’t believe the hassle I go through at Open Houses of the relatives whose names I’ve forgotten.



7. The last bit, is one you might count on - I am usually forgiving, and it would take a lot of nerve for you to annoy/irritate me enough to actually make me blew up my temper. In other words, I'm a very patient man. However, a word of caution: In the rare event of me actually blowing up my temper, it won’t be a sight you or anyone within the radius would like. Kinda the incredible Hulk-like. Hehe..Actually, while Shira might have the Temper of Fire (Microvawe oven, would be much more apt) I have been described as having the Temper of Steel. At one unfortunate incident the last time I blew up my temper ala the Chernobyl, a back-alley mugger who had unfortunately decided to mug at the wrong time, the wrong person who was at the wrong mood was badly mangled & broken and hung within an inch of his life.

Well, cue Mylie Cyrus' song, '7 Things'.


Now I'm tagging;


Weena
Acan
Fadli Volvo
Nuriman
Ashley
Tasha
Qebalt

Well, if you people are rajin..

Tag, you're it!

Blood!

Don’t worry. It’s a more pleasant post than you think. I decide that I should blog about something that might be useful & informative once a while, not just random rants.

Every once in a while, I would donate my blood whenever I can, and since my blood is O-positive, thus I am proud to be known as the universal donor.

Why donate our precious blood?

For one thing, I am a strong believer in Karma, and who knows, one day I might need that pint of blood, and a selfless anonymous donor will save my life.

Anyway, that’s my homeboy Kzee, and he’s an even more special case – our blood types are O’s, but his Rhesus is negative. Yup, that’s right – he’s O-negative. In case you weren’t aware, let me enlighten you with this fact;

a person with a Rhesus of negative can only conceive a child with a mate that has the similar Rhesus of negative

That means, if you're O-negative, you could only mate with someone who is either A-negative, B-negative, AB-negative, or O-negative. If you are among the rare few who has this trait, you would be on the list of possible donors with negative Rhesus, and would be contacted when your rare & precious blood is required for transfusion or whatever.

So, if there’re any single ladies out there who is also share the trait of having Rhesus of negative, holla at me – I’ll hook you up =P

Some people are deathly afraid of needles, but remember this – somebody’s life might depend on it; it could be your family member, your girlfriend/boyfriend, your friends. So, c’mon! When you come across a blood-donation campaign, pay a visit, and donate your precious blood. The medical staffs that actually ‘milks’ your blood are most if not all of the time trained and experienced professionals, and the procedure won’t hurt..much. You can take my word for it – I might potray a macho outlook, but watching Saw 1, 2, 3, & 4 still makes me squeamish. However, when done correctly, the entire procedure of donating blood won’t usually be much of a hellish experience as you might think.

The bottom-line

- You of course must be relatively fit & healthy, and free of diseases in the first place to be able to donate blood. Regardless, all donated blood on-site is regarded as bio-hazard: they would be thoroughly screened at blood testing centres first.

- First, you will register yourself and fill in your particulars on a form. The staff would inquire if you have a red-coloured Blood Donation record book, and if you must bring it along with you to be updated. Note – you can only donate blood once every three months.

- After signing the form, the staff would direct you to a doctor on duty. The doctor would ask of your medical history, and then would check your blood pressure. The doctor would take a sample of your blood to ascertain your blood type, and blood sugar level. This stage is important as if the doctor sees you as fit to donate blood. Else, you would have complications after i.e. queasy, fainting, etc.

- If you pass the stage, you would be directed to a staff that will provide you with the blood-donating kit, which will be passed to a medical staff that will be actually ‘milk’ your blood. I reserve writing the exact details of the process.

- And you shall be donating your life force, and about 10 minutes later, you’re all set. Usually you would only be required to donate not more than a pint of blood, and a sample of it would be taken to be tested for diseases and such. They have a saying -

"no news is good news"

- and it's true in this case, as they will contact you (based on your contact details given in the forms) if they discover if you're infected with anything. Else, you're free to donate more.

- Feel free to indulge on free sugary food like cakes or cookies and juices that the organizers would usually provide to replenish your blood sugar.

Donating blood isn't at all that bad of an experience. Really. So, go ahead. Do your bit of good for the community.

Handbag Giveaway!

Handbag Planet is launching their website and to celebrate the October 15, 2008 launch, they are giving away a free (yes free indeed!) handbag every hour for 24 hours on the day of the launch. Their high fashion, trendy handbags are inspired by popular designer brands.

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Before you start wondering why is a perfectly straight guy promoting handbags, just keep this in mind - win your girlfriend/spouse/mom/sis/friend/crush/etc. a designer-inspired handbag. They'll love you for it. For the ladies, you can thank me later if you win one =P

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After signing-up in one easy step, you can select the handbag you would like to win. There's absolutely no catch - this means no shipping/handling fees or credit card required. Yes, it's really that simple!

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Only a few more days to go, so sign yourself up and pray hard!

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http://www.handbagplanet.com/

Hobby #3 - Martial Arts

Martial arts are truly like its namesake - a form of art, albeit a deadly one. Learning any form of the various martial arts of the world requires discipline, mental & physical fitness, and most importantly, passion.

Yup. Taekwondo is my martial art of choice, and it has been my passion since I began practicing it since I was 11, starting from the tender white-belt. At the age of 15, I have achieved the rank of Poom, or 'Jr. Black-belt'. This rank is given to Taekwondo practitioners who has passed all the necessary grading and completion of syllabus to earn the right & honour to wear the Black-belt under the age of 16.

In 2007, I had taken the 1st Dan (Degree) Black-belt examination to convert my Poom rank to a full Black-belt rank, and also the examination for the 2nd Dan rank. Now, I am proud to have earned the right and honour to hold the rank of a 2nd Dan Black-belt Taekwondo exponent; certified by Kukkiwon, the Taekwondo headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. By that, I have received the official Certificate from Kukkiwon, and the recognition as a Member of the World Taekwondo Federation.

Universiti Teknologi Petronas Taekwondo Club

In UTP, I was elected as the President for the UTP Taekwondo Club circa 2006 - 2007, and for 2007 - 2008. The Club is sanctioned under the Malaysian Taekwondo Association, the body recognized by the World Taekwondo Federation. The Club hires Master Kuppusammy, an instructor by the rank of 7th Dan from his Jireugi Dohjang to teach, train, and condition club members the techniques of Taekwondo for self-defense and competition sparring. Rank upgrade examinations, or known as grading, are conducted every semester, and Master Kuppusammy is authorized and certified to grade the club members from the range of beginners & White-belt to 1st Dan grading.

Fellow Taekwondo exponent, Donovan

Sparring tournament; I'm in the red armour

Demonstration: one inch plank-breaking

Admittedly, though I have been learning other forms of martial arts such as Karate and Aikido, and in the process of studying Krav Maga and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Taekwondo has always been the art that had started it all for me by providing the solid foundation of self-defense, and has continuously conditioned me by providing the base for ease of learning the other forms of aforementioned martial arts.

Thus, Taekwondo would remain as my true passion in martial arts.

4-Eyes

When your contacts are quite dry after wearing them for more than 8 hours, you tend to rub them, and when you do, it tend to pop off from your eyeball.

And it did.

Off, and into the sauce plate, mingling with the soy sauce and wasabi.

Blinded and dazed, I made a stop at an optometry and inquired if I could purchase a temporary pair of soft lens, but the guy said he only sell them in boxes for 6-months supply. I pretty much have guessed that they didn't have Toric 66 lenses with my prescription too, and I was right. They need a week to get those custom-made for me.

You see, though I'm not too visually impaired to require correction power of 400 and more, my right eye require more 'power' than the left, and at the same time, my left eye require more astigmatism correction than the right. With such wonderfully complicated prescription, I always encounter problem whenever I wanted to purchase these vision correction aid in the form of glasses or contacts. Thus, the aforementioned Bausch & Lomb Toric 66 soft contact lenses has been my dearest friend, albeit a very costly one as it's my preferred soft lens that has astigmatism correction.

Considering my situation;

- I have to drive home

- Toric lenses need one week to be custom-made to my prescription

- Normal contact lenses have to be purchased in boxes for supply for 6-months - not worth it.

In the end, I have to make one of the most financially desperate situation given the circumstances:

Solvil et Titus dark grey titanium frame glasses with multi coated lens that costs in excess of RM400.

There goes my duit raya. Dang..

Hobby #2 - Model

Sorry to dissapoint you, but I was referring to these:

This is another hobby of mine, and admittedly, it's an expensive one. In the picture, I have my Achilon Shadowheart to the left and Valeera Sanguinar to the right.

These models stood at 6.5" high, carved from polystone, handpainted and are extremely detailed. These are not meant to be played, thus both figurines have minimal movement at the joints.

In case you were wondering why do I buy these, the answer is that these models serve as inspiration for my fantasy novel I'm currently working on.

Will update with better detailed pics and other models.

Eid '08

Eid 2008 was not unlike the years before. Except for a few changes;

Regretfully, it seems that I no longer 'qualify' to receive Duit Raya, though I legitimately satisfy the following rule:

Eligible Duit Raya Receipient

* Below 21 years old

* Unoccupied/Haven't paid Income tax yet

* Unmarried

Anyway, apart from a few gathering here and there, Eid is as how it was, and will be..to me;

My family has officially discontinued the baju melayu tradition. Since last year, we have made the trendy & stylish silver-embroidered black dress shirt our official 1st Day of Raya dress for the guys in my family, bought all the way from Jakarta.

Dad took a (paid) one-month leave throughout September/Ramadhan, and a little over October/Syawal. Yesterday, we had sent him off at KLIA, and mom & sis won't be joining dad in Qatar anymore.

Family gatherings, and a few open houses here and there - that's Raya to me. My kampung is 20-minutes drive away from my house, and it's in a suburb of Seremban called Ampangan. Since grandma's house is a bungalow, I'm not quite able to picture the cliché wooden-house-on-stilts-rural-village imagery of Raya we're all being fed to. Not that it bothers me coz this is my Raya, and I prefer my Raya the way it is - the way I have lived through, and the way I like it. Kinda like Burger King's slogan, "Have It Your Way".

On that note, I'll wish you all a blessed Eid to be celebrated your way.