I have (finally) joined the gym. Many speculated that it was due to the Biggest Loser Asia show.
Well. Yes and No.
Early this year, as a resolution of sort (I dread to call it resolution because I don’t think it is? To me, it’s just a list of things I want/need to do this year), I thought that I want to er, live/be healthier.
Well, it damn well took me almost a year to finally kick start it eh? Hiks.
I am not short of role models. I think it started few years ago where PureNur, Navsborg, Ning-ning dan lain2 started this Running Club. Then my two former colleagues started this walk-at-the-Park thing every weekend which they always, ALWAYS do not fail to invite me to join. Then there are a couple of people at the office who started going to gym. And few others who have each did something to leave a healthier life AND trying to rope me into their new routine.
I have always been one to vehemently resist their invitations. Ya lah kan. Aku park kereta kat shopping mall pun kalau boleh depan entrance (I still do that hiks). I don’t even shop! It’s just too much hassle and too tiring. Early this year, I was in Bangkok with Snots and Pure Nur and because there was a lot of walking, I was cranky most of the time because my feet were hurting like a bitch.
To be honest, I freaked out because my health was going to the dogs. Everything that wasn’t supposed to go up; escalated to unknown heights. Everything that was supposed to decrease; stayed stagnant. I was tired a lot of the time and I can’t even walk for five minutes without stopping for a breath. (I nearly typed “for a breast.” Hiks).
So what’s a (fat with zero fitness) girl to do?
She went to Biggest Loser Asia Audition lah! Hehe.
Well so I went and came back and did not get chosen (as you know by now – because if I did, this blog would’ve been empty for at least 6 months. Then again, that’s not so different from current state eh?) But I met many, many people who act, react and THINK like me, it’s scary. No wonder lah weols sekmoks uols.
So to cut the long, boring, story short, I finally signed up with a gym. It’s just behind my office and even with heavy traffic; I’d be able to reach the gym in 5 minutes. I had even engaged with a personal trainer because I don’t trust myself going to the gym without him. I have only started 4 sessions with him, I don’t feel lighter nor do I feel firmer and more toned-up. I definitely do not think I’ve lost any weight. I still pant when climbing stairs. I haven’t dropped even half a dress size.
But you know? I’m heading there. I damn well hope so because it’s so bloody difficult to even get to this stage. Wismilak!
Why can't we just call a Spade, a spade? Why must we create confusion and bleedin' call it an extraction tool to expel dirt, earth and other output from the grounds in view of loosening and/or removing of said earth for the purpose of recreation (sandcastles or sand-boobs), gardening and such.
I just hate jargon-speak. I had some characters in previous employment who peppers her conversations with crap-speak like, "I feel challenged to complete the task as my plate is full. So I think we need to scope down my task, at this juncture, to achieve win-win situation for both parties."
WTF? What's wrong with just saying "Can you help me ah?"
For proper ventilation of your body, it is pertinent that you buy good underwear. And by good, I mean, the right size. Please do not delude yourself into thinking you're a size 6 when you're 12. Or 16. Jikalau tidak, you will look as if you have 4 pieces of butt-cheeks.
Hari tu I had dinner with Hassan Pulau Ketam. We went to Port Klang and had dinner by the seaside. Romantic? OK lah. With Hassan, I always knew our date, if you can call it that, would be great. We have great conversations and he’s about at par with me with the prat-falls/hari bodoh occurrence. My only grouse is that with the paltry candle as our table centre piece, I couldn’t see much of my food. I mean, what if I tergigit the unblended bawangs? There were aplenty!
*Geli-geleman*
And then kan, because it was so dark, I couldn’t see where my food went. Tiba-tiba hilang, like that (Padahal masuk perut).
We met because Hassan Pulau Ketam was to jet-set to an exotic place this weekend and I wanted to introduce him to Joyah Seks before he leaves.
Joyah Seks is Joget’s successor. Joget and I have had some fun but it’s time to let her go. Tak pergi jauh pun, it’ll be with my sister je. Also, Joyah Seks is sooo sexy I couldn’t resist her. Jamban power, uols! Hiks. By the by, Joyah Seks is named so because it’s a combination of my plate number and car.
So anyway, here we were checking out the various functions and knobs in the car and testing this and checking out that. This means, he, the car aficionado he is, was checking the car out whereas I interspersed between listening to music and zoning out. Hang on, that could very well be one and the same activity kan? Anyway, after a few minutes of twisting and pressing and flicking, we had a little disagreement. I told him that my car boot can be opened via the “handle in the middle kat belakang tu”. He said there is no such handle.
Eh? Takkan takde. This is my car, I tahu lah.
Kekwat tak kekwat, noks?
You come here and check yourself lah.
*Waddle* *waddle* *raba-raba bumper*
Hmm...Adalaaaah. Ni kan gelap, mesti lah tak nampak.
Matilah tak mau kalah ini.
We went back in to check the manual. Or rather, Hassan Pulau Ketam went back in to frantically flick the pages to check the manual. As for me? I was happily singing Kantoi - I don’t know why but dammit that song is bloody addictive, man. I think I love it because it’s one of the few songs I am able to memorise(ish) in few days (I usually take ages, if ever). If you haven’t heard of Kantoi- WHY? Tapi go lah to yewtoob and search for that. There’ll be millions of entries but just listen to the ones by Zee Avi. Excellent shit, hers.
Anyway, Hassan Pulau Ketam was furiously flipping the pages of the manual, found what he was looking for and leaped out of Joyah Seks, to do more investigation on the alleged handle at the bumper.
I was getting impatient, I mean, after all, it is MY CAR kan? Takkan I don’t know where the handle is. I SWEAR it was there, kan I dok angkut my bags semua bila nak travel hari tu kat Perth.
Ehwaiddaminute. Perth?
ALAMAK!!! HASSSANNN PULAU KETAAAAMMMM!!
Apa dia?
Er yang I kata handle tu bukan this car. It’s the car I rented masa kat Perth hari tu. Hehe (ketawa malu).
How did your Raya festivities/long weekend go? Did any of you take more than 4 days to arrive at your respective kampungs? Heh heh. My friend drove for 8 hours what is usually 3 hours ride. Madness.
I didn't have to go anywhere but the two siblings and the husband and a kitten drove up to KL. Whee. Jose was, surprisingly warm towards Sharifah Mimi (the kitten's actual name is Shawty, but my dad things she is very pretty "Macam orang Arab" so we, ok I, am calling her Sharifah Mimi hehe).
I actually have no mood/time to update this blog but Lisa wanted to see the roasted cikin that I did, many moons back. SO, lihatlah dunia!
Chicken, before masuk oven.
Chicken, selepas di masak.
Chicken is marinated with er. Damn aku tak ingat. Nanti I check my recipe scrapbook but I key ingredients is yoghurt. Then ada herbs, pepper, Worchester sauce, garlic. Itu lah aje kot. Hiks.
Entry ini juga ditujukan kepada Snots dengan ucapan: Aku pun boleh masak sedap dan aku pun dah pandai letak2 gambar makan kat blog. Hiks. Terima kasih.
Er, no, this would not be a tazkirah post where I will be sprouting the virtues of Ramadhan and Terawihs and controlling one’s anger etc. There are enough blogs that will tell you otherwise and we all know how I’m not the best person to tell you all that anyway hiks.
My Five Ramadhan Essentials – that is, if I can keep it at five are all about...you guessed it mistaaa, food. Teehee. I just realised that these are the five items that I must absolutely have or else I’d just dieeeee during Ramadhan:
1.Roti John
I just realised that I only ever eat Roti John during the fasting month. I don’t know what’s behind this quirk of mine but there you go. Unfortunately, of late, the Roti John sold in various Pasar Ramadhan are, to put it eloquently, macam haram jadah. More eggs than meat and the onions? Makkkkk aiiii, ni Roti John ke Roti John yang Suka Makan Bawang Enam Puluh Kati sekali Ngap?? When I googled about Roti John, I was surprised to learn that the Roti John originated from Singapore, from this stall owned by one Shukor. Apparently, a Mat Salleh had been frequenting his stall and asked for onion omelette and French loafs. One day, Shukor decided to mix ‘em together and Roti John was born. John, apparently, is a slang for foreigners/Mat Sallehs.
Anyway, for the past few years, I had been making my own Roti John. A quick Google around and you’ll find various recipe to making them so I don’t really need to tell you lah. I tweaked my Roti John (Tetiba teringat lagu: Johnnn Johnyyyy Johnathannnn param pam pam pam pam pam! HAHAHA) by: blending the onions (heh heh). So basically you just cut the baguette/roti bun/French loaf into half, then mix the eggs, onions, meats etc.; slab the baguette/roti bun/French loaf with the eggs/meat/onion/etc mix then toss it over on a buttered pan. 2 minute can siap one.
I think Lisa has a better recipe if you care to dig her delectable blog. Fiebe also had blogged about how to make this Roti John, tapi kena dig lah because these are old blog entries.
2.Ayam Percik
This is also one of those things I happen to eat only during fasting month. It’s like, hari-hari lain tak rasa stim kodok also nak eat Ayam Percik. However, I was so bummed last year when I bought an Ayam Percik from Kampung Bahru because, to put it eloquently, it was very the haram jadah also. I mean, Ayam Percik *is* from East Coast and all that, tetapi perlukah ia manih leting macam telan gula satu guni? Dahla sugar is scarce now.
So this year, I thought I should just go the Roti John way and make my own Ayam Percik if it’s going to kill me. I have already went over to Lisa’s blog (this is normal actually, I stalk her blog numerous times a day even teehee) because she had a pretty simple to follow Ayam Percik recipe. Because I am from JB, hence, near Singapore, land of all things Kiasu (sekky, please don’t kill me OK?); I have also asked Miss Chef Extraordinaire, Naddy, to give me her recipe as well. So far, both recipes are easy to follow and do not differ much. Unfortunately, my parents do not fancy Ayam Percik so I have to slot this when the sisters come up to KL next week so ada gang nak makan. Whee.
3.Air Kathira
Oh Air Kathira. I blogged about it numerous times, I think. Anyway, it is very difficult to find air Kathira here in KL so we have resorted to making them ourselves. It’s nicer too and we naturally, do not cop out on the bahan-bahan. My mom is very vague whenever I asked her of the recipe – she will only say that it requires an important ingredient: ketiak arab. Yeah, she’s a funny one, that one. But generally, it involves: ice cream soda, susu cair, air mawar, kembang semangkuk, kathira, biji selasih and prunes you potong halus-halus. It’s so cooling and sooo delicious. Lucky for me, we’re having this tomorrow YAY.
4.Kuihs
I’m not much of a kuih person – I usually only eat them during the various meetings I have to attend at some Ministry in Putrajaya (By the way, I just realised, after Lily Liverbird pointed out; that the kuihs are always 2 keping and one would be sweet while the other would be savoury. Standard template would be: Karipap and Seri Muka. Hehe). I am not the petang-petang must eat kuih type of person. I won’t know my tepung pelita to my puteri (or is it badak?) berendam. And my foray into making my own kuih – the easiest of the lot; onde-onde, ended up a disaster. The stupid blobs refused to er, round nicely and I ended up having green messy bits in the pan.
During Ramadhan, however, I’ve got to have my kuihs. Unfortunately, we all know some kuihs sold in Pasar Ramadhan are pretty to look at but taste...altogether now, like haram jadah. WHY? Nak buat duit pun jangan lah tipu orang like this kan? My friend Azrina has recommended me to buy kuihs from this stall way back then; and I have been going to this place for years even after I uprooted from Ampang to Boondocks. I have also mentioned this in my previous posts many, many times. They’re pricey but the best it is, at least, for me and my family. It’s towards ISKL/SPCA in Ampang, at the corner tu. Be prepared to be disappointed if you come as late as 3.30 – all the good ones are gone by then because people by them by the loyangs.
My choice kuihs are always the same: Pulut panggang, karipap (the epok-epok kentang types without the bawangs of course), kuih lopis (oh sedapnya), bingka jagung, bingka pisang, seri muka. I also like the putu buluh/piring and apam balik but these, the Ampang gerai tak jual, most unfortunately. It’s only the 2nd day of Ramadhan but I had most of my kuih quota already: pulut panggang and bingka jagung. Hmmm, I think I should go down in a bit to squander yet another pulut panggang. Or the lopis if my mom hadn't finish them lah.
Actually, we always have 434 Coffee supply at home. Dulu-dulu, Snots used to be our supplier, but now that my dad wants to get reacquainted with his Muar relatives, we have been going down and buying them ourselves. Those who are not in the know, kopi 434 is the best kopi in the world ever. Yes, better than Kapal Api, Aik Cheong, kopi Kemaman etc. Wah they now have their own website, cha'll. Kopi 434 has a shop right smack in Muar town, near the market. It’s at this row of derelict shophouses kat situ. But they’ve spruced them up some and now have a little cafe at the side where you can order your coffee, even ice blended and enjoy it with their seriously sedap roti bakar and kaya. They even deliver nowadays! I’m so impressed!
Anyway, yes, this is a must in our family for yeaaaaaaaaaaars back. We break our fast with dates (my mom and I) and coffee. Panas-panas menggelegak tu we drink it down. So satisfying. It’s so satisfying...I feel like going down now and have a huge big gulp of kopi 434. Nyam.
So see you around bebehs. Have a blessed and fruitful Ramadhan.
I have a Claim to Fame – I slept with Lily the Liverbird once. Not on the same bed, or in any manner sexual, but still. However, it just crossed my mind that I have never failed to malu-fy myself whenever I met up with her. Gelabah kot, depan celebrity blogger hiks. So these are the five (of many):
1. Before I knew her IRL, I was told by someone *jeling Snots* that Lily the Liverbird is that chick who used to be one of the footie programme commentator in TV3. That mamak girl? Whom I thought then didn’t really add value to the programme except that she’s nice to look at? Yeah that’s the one. When Snots told me who Lily the Liverbird was, I was perplexed because I thought Lily the Liverbird the blogger seemed to know more about football than that TV3 chick.
So what gives?
So the first time we met was at a very romantic setting of...a karaoke room. She hadn’t confirmed her attendance as she had to run some errands so we were not expecting her. At least, I wasn’t. After awhile though, someone told us that she was done with whatever it was she had to do and was on her way.
So we were at that Bangsar BSC KTV (RIP KTV, you’ve been missed) and I was about to go out to get some more food from the buffet line or something and here I saw a very petite, fair and chumils ya ammat girl walking towards our room. I must’ve looked at her funny – she said I looked kekwat masa tu uols hiks. I think it was more of a “Eh, what’s this girl doing nak sebok-sebok masuk bilik karaoke kita orang ni?
Padahal si Snots dah salah khabarkan *piat telinga Snots*
2. I asked her who Robbie Fowler is on our way to Singapore. Actually, I *have* heard of Robbie Fowler tapi masa tu macam tak register sebab she said Robbie Fowler is like one of the footie veterans. I thought veterans as in time Mokhtar Dahari ke. If time2 Cantona, Giggs masa muda rumaja, Lineker or Jamie Redknapp then I know laaa.
3. I confident sangat that I would have no problems whatsoever, no-uh, that I would be able to find the hotel which we were supposed to stay at in Singers. After all, I have mobile Google Map maaaah. Sure can find one. My ass. We were going around in circles at the very eerie, quiet and dark Singapore Biotech Park at 4ish in the morning and she finally decided to call the hotel and had the nice boy at the counter guide us right till we reached the entrance of the hotel teehee.
4. I drove her car to Singers to meet RF. And then kan, I ni jakun – I’ve never used a Smart Tag before tau. Jakun kan? Ya saya pun mengaku saya agak jakun. So I terforgot, actually, I didn’t forget, I just didn’t *know* that you’re supposed to wave the card a bit before a certain spot so that the bar can only open then right?
So yeah they did not teach that in Law School you see. So we had to wait for the toll gate girl to manually open the bar for us. Good thing it was midnight with absolutely no cars about.
5. I was driving us to have some daging dendeng and sambal ijo. Looking at the Touch and Go sign on the road, I blindly followed the signs and flashed my card at the Touch n Go thingamajig. The bar wouldn’t budge. I flashed again, more impatiently this time. Pun tak jadik apa.
And thennnn, Lils said, “Er, this is a Smart Tag lane.”
YA RABBI. The Touch N Go sign on the lane tu was so misleading uols. Malu kan kaum only. Nasib baik there was no traffic that night, so I could quickly reverse towards the right lane. Tsk.
