So near and yet..

The whole family went nuts at the digital mall pj yesterday. top on the list, external hard disc.. everyone ended up with one.  seems like its the new thumbdrive.  me, i have lotsa lotsa pics that i just cant bring myself to delete. and in this digital age, it can be an avalanche lol. so i needed the storage. the rest had their own reasons and lucky for us golfman was in a spending mood :D

AF the techie junkie was in seven heaven. but his euphoria came down a notch when he realised he couldnt claim the alotted points after the purchase. he'd somehow misplaced his membership card and was quite frustrated bcos he was actually collecting points for a fridge (wowzers.. a fridge no less heheh)!  and just for the fun of it, AI signed up for membership too.

I would've loved to drop by jaya one to check up on the athletes circle but with the bootful of stuff, i didnt want to push my luck hehehe.  and especially not after cramming our stomachs close to bursting during a rather long pitstop at sushi king ;p

Next AH managed to coerce her daddy into venturing the jam-packed realm of subang.  her registration for the sam programme will be in 2 week's time and she wanted to have a preliminary peek at taylor's college & casa apartment.  sad to report, her daily commute would involve one of the busiest route around that area - between SS15 & USJ 1 (summit/mydin area). there'll be transport provided for the students but i'm wondering what time they'd have to leave to make it to morning classes.  the traffic is really heavy and providing a car wouldnt make much of a difference i think.  so near yet so far.. looks like my baby will just hafta manage the best she can.

Sunday saw me doing my social rounds.  from as early as 10am, i was already at a marhaban session, celebrating the cukur jambul & akekah of a mentor's grandson. it was a joyous affair.. the way it usually is when babies are involved. bcos truth is, it becomes a celebration of life itself.

And of course life wouldnt be complete without a bit of drama thrown in lol.

Cikgu was back to collect his car and as usual he was supposed to leave in time to reach lipis before it got dark. and as usual, the cikgu tinkered around in his room dragging his departure to the last minute, turning me almost cuckoo in the process. i worry when he leaves home around maghrib.  i worry when he travels alone at nite. i worry, period lol.

Before leaving, he first filled up his tank at a nearby petrol station and upon his return, he dropped the bombshell, "ma, aie rasa brake keter tak makan la ma". to which i immediately responded, "WHAT?"

Heck, brakes were essential when one's attempting to travel back east.  the steep crossing can be pretty dangerous even with a fully functional car.  and now he's telling me his brakes doesnt work?!!! aiyaa, mati la ma risau camni.

Yup, it was a bummer alright.  no mechanic worth his salt would chose to work on a late sunday afternoon and the cikgu sure as hell needed to go to work.  you just dont fool around with children's education.  by then my mind was already in overdrive, considering all the options. something had to be done and if need be, i was quite ready to drive down to lipis. it would take about 5-6 hours round trip, which still left me enough time to make it to work.

Suddenly through the fog of my choatic thoughts i heard him saying, "heh nasib baik aie terbeli tiket pegi balik".

Lordy, of all the coincidences, the cikgu in his absent-mindedness, had actually bought return bus tickets!!  and to cut a long story short, thats how he found himself taking another bus ride instead of driving his own car.  and thats how i found myself saddled with another 'broken down' contraption.

But this time thankfully it's a little different.  this time i can happily pass the problem over to golfman.

Aaah, such bliss :D

Wheeeeeeeee..

After doing the ecg, the echo and the stress test, the verdicts out that me ole ticker is doing just fine :D

These wriggly lines belong to me lol

Its a load off my chest. really. i was so worried i was hyperventilating & making myself breathless lol. maklum la dah tua2 ni anything can happen.. risau plak menyusahkan orang nanti. and its always scary when you're faced with signs of your own mortality.

Once the doc ruled out any abnormalities with my heart, the flutter in itself is nothing to worry about.  and the funny thing is when i was doing the stress test, my heartbeat evened out as i started running.  a good sign the doc said. which means i wont be keeling over anytime soon can keep on running!

Maybe i should even consider joining juney's fmv. target - marathon @ 50... ekekekeh, yea right ;D

p.s. To juney & friends good luck with the scklm this sunday. go lose your 'virginities' with a bang peeps!!

Big words, small words

.. and many sizes in between lol.

While waiting for the dreaded day of my appointment with the cardiologist (2.15pm today), i've been surfing online for background info as well as checking up on worst case scenarios.  no, i'm not a pessimist, just your regular run-of-the-mill realist (plus the fact that i secretly love scaring myself lol).

So. i found out a couple of interesting things. maybe not really related to what i'm going thru but pretty interesting nevertheless.

If you're one of those people who faints at the sight of blood or at times of emotional distress, and is fed up with the constant ribbing from your friends bcos of your supposedly 'weak disposition'.. well, theres actually a big scary word that covers your condition - vasovagal syncope. its a term used for a variety of syndromes and is apparently the commonest type of fainting.

Syncope is about fainting and vasovagal has something to do with our vagus nerve. also known as neurocardiogenic syncope (a real mouthful aint it?) and has a looong list of triggers.

From WIKI -  Typical triggers of vasovagal syncope include:

-Prolonged standing or upright sitting, particularly when standing with legs in a locked position for long periods of time—avoidance of long-term locking of one's legs in the standing position is taught in the military as well as in marching bands and drill teams.
-Standing up very quickly
-Stress
-Any painful or unpleasant stimuli, such as:
   -Venepuncture
   -Experiencing medical procedures with local anesthesia
   -Giving or receiving a needle immunization
   -Watching someone give blood
   -Watching someone experience pain
   -Watching or experiencing medical procedures
   -Sight of blood
   -Occasions of slight discomfort, such as dental and eye examinations
   -Hyperthermia, a prolonged exposure to heat
   -High temperature, either in the environment or due to exercise
   -High pressure on or around the chest area after heavy exercise
-Arousal or stimulants e.g. sex
-Sudden onset of extreme emotions
-Hunger
-Nausea or vomiting
-Dehydration
-Urination ('micturition syncope') or defecation, bowel movement ('defecation syncope')
-Abdominal straining or 'bearing down'
-Swallowing ('swallowing syncope') or coughing ('cough syncope')
-Random onsets due to nerve malfunctions
-Pressing upon certain places on the throat, sinuses, and eyes, also known as vagal reflex stimulation when performed clinically
-Water colder than 10 Celsius (50° F), or ice that comes in contact with the face, that stimulates the mammalian diving reflex
-High altitude
-Use of certain drugs that affect blood pressure, such as amphetamine
-Intense laughter

Yup, it sure seems to cover a whole lot of things doesnt it, even sex lol.. and intense laughter?

Closer to home, i have a friend at work who's husband has been fainting without warning for a while now. She's sick with worry (and rightfully so) bcos they cant seem to identify any obvious reason or trigger for it.  After a series of investigation with the specialist, where heart & circulatory problems have been ruled out, they're still quite nonplussed over his malaise. in the end the docs finally conclude that its vasovagal syncope (and its thru her that i first got to know about this term).

Which doesnt really say much bcos it covers a whole spectrum of conditions - from fainting at the sight of blood to dangerously losing consciousness anytime, anywhere and without any warning whatsoever.  even to this day, my friend & her husband are still struggling to find out his 'trigger' just so they'd know when he's about to pass out.

Now, i wonder what's in store for me today? la-lala-lala ;D

Going nuts

I'm thinking no one's totally immune towards the world cup fever.  it has a way of permeating into our lives whether we want it to or not.  even if you're not a real soccer fan, the excitement of husbands, children, friends, officemates will rub on you.  somehow lol.

And as i type this my mind is already going into overdrive..  over what to snack on while we watch the game LOL.  the man especially looooves munching over nuts and swigging it down with frothy teh tarik :D

But you gotta be a lil chosey over the nuts tho. according to some research findings, you're better off if you stick to certain types of nuts:

In 2003, the FDA recognized the benefits of nuts and their role in heart disease prevention by approving a health claim for seven kinds of nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, some pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts). There is one catch though: nuts are high in calories. Therefore, the best approach is to reap the health benefits of eating nuts as snacks without adding excessive calories to your daily intake. So, instead of simply adding nuts to your diet, eat them in replacement of foods that are high in saturated fats such as meat and limit your intake of these tasty snacks to one to two ounces per day.
[from: http://www.healthcastle.com/nuts-benefits.shtml]

And for those who'd rather bypass the path of destruction that we're obviously taking lol, take heart, theres also a healthier way of going about it [click here].

So, are your favourite teams playing tonite?

A journey of discovery

 "Age is an issue of mind over matter; if you don't mind then it doesnt matter" - Mark Twain.

I've been discovering a lot about myself lately. not only am i still getting acquainted with this strange looking hands, theres also the frown that's refusing to go away.. even when i'm not frowning!!

[Dang, smile creases dont look half as bad as this]

Anyways, thats not the end of it.

I'm a little prone to bouts of lightheadedness but nothing really alarming. it's usually a fleeting sensation and has never gotten severe enough for me to keel over like rotting timber or anything lol. but lately its been a little disturbing bcos the frequency seem to be increasing. now i get lightheaded almost everytime i change solitary positions e.g. whenever i get up from sitting, squatting or lying down. and theres also this unexplained breathlessness.

Usually, i'd just put it down to another of those menopausal changes my body's going thru but the possibility of passing out (however minute) on one of my runs is pretty daunting so i hauled my ass over to the doc's for a check-up.

And to cut the story short, i now have to set up an appointment with a cardiologist (which i should be doing right now!!). the doc found my pulse to be irregular and the preliminary ecg shows that i have arrythmia - something's not quite right with my heart's electrical system (sheesh, a broken-down heart now is it?).

But she's also saying i shouldnt worry too much.  my symptoms were mild & the irregularity shown by the ecg wasnt too great.

But of course i had to look it up for myself (google, what else lol)  and true enough out of a long list, i'd noticed only 2:

Symptoms of arrhythmias include

• Fast or slow heart beat
• Skipping beats
• Lightheadedness, dizziness
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Paleness
• Sweating

 Still.. more about it after i see the specialist. until then i'm holding on to positive thoughts :D

Winds of change

The wind of change
Blows straight into the face of time
Like a storm wind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind..

[Scorpion]

The man's back and the wind of change is gathering speed.

Soon, he will leave. he's had just about enough of the BS.  the time has come for him to end the union, one that has lasted a good 18 years and one that he secretly loathes to break.  i can feel the sadness behind his bravado, the loyalty behind his scorn and the love behind his anger. and its a great loss to the company if they but know it. bcos he's a team player, a true blue oil man and a patriotic one to boot. heck, you just cant get any better than that!!

One thing's for sure.. they dont deserve him.

Insyallah, infinite is the Lord's bounty.

Of body & soul

Bertaut kasih bersarang rindu,

Setia menunggu kasih yang satu..

Sometimes my life is just a seamless, endless state of monotony with very little hope of relief. day in, day out, i go thru the motions but its almost like a soul-less state of existence. in limbo, i feel like i'm floating away into nothingness.

For reassurance & comfort, i run to my Maker.  and for validation of my very existence, i get physical.

- less i forget, warm blood flows strongly thru my veins.

- less i forget, flesh & bones are holding me together.

So i push myself.  and with the sweat, the aches and the pain, i know i'm still here, still alive & kicking.  and with that i'm brought back to the reality & the responsibilities that awaits me. and with that i get thru another day.

And thank god for the children.  in the absence of my other half, they are the ones that help to ground me.

Last nite, after another muscle thrashing session,  i got back to a house filled with happy people.  laughter greeted me at the door and the smell of baking filled my senses.. AF & gang were having another bout of board games and AH & AI were baking muffins in the kitchen. 

Board games..

.. and baking.

Nothing perks you up better than exuberant young people :D

And of course, the banana-oat-walnut muffins helped lol.

p.s. and joy, if you're reading this, aunty makan dua ni je while i watched jack bauer in action.. so ok la kot ek ;D

Workout:

3k/am/TSA

Is less more?

This running thing started in 2004 but unlike my awesome blogger buddies haza, june & others,  i only run ultras, marathons & halves in my dreams lol ;p

4k runs are my staple and i guess you can say 8k is my lsd.  hehehe.. chicken feed, i know but thats me. i run bcos i love it but i'm a wimp for pain so i dont push it.

Running after 40 demands that you pay special attention to your knees & joints so i started out with all the support & cushioning i could get my hands on. over the years its been the occasional pegasus and the usual adistar and luckily, i've been spared major injuries. but since then, i've been doing a lot of reading on the subject. so much has been written, along with all the pros and cons and you start to thinking, maybe all that cushioning isnt really that necessary. and what if all that talk about too much being bad actually is true?

What if i were to just do away with it?

Of course going barefoot or the vibram thingy would be too radical (for a makcik with cranky knees & joints lol) but maybe i'd try the minimalist approach.

To make do with the most basic support and just let nature take over. after all i'm just putting in a daily max of 4-5k, nothing too stressful on the ole joints.

And thats how i ended up with a pair of adizeros. its a lightweight thats built for speed and although speed obviously isnt my consideration, it also promises to provide basic support.  to make the deal even sweeter, the pair came with a 30% discount!!  adizero aegis UK size 4.. last pair.

I later found out it actually wasnt the female version (although it was placed @ the ladies section and confirmed by the salesperson) but it doesnt really matter bcos i love it.  went on a 4k run this morning and it felt great! yes it's way lighter than my adistar but there's still enough bounce to make my landing easy. so far so good :D

  My new partners-in-grime lol

Hah thank god.  buying shoes is always a big gamble.

Workout:

4k/am/S9
60 mins Aerobics/pm/NRG

Cocktail weekend

The weekend was anything but dull lol... macam2 ada.

Golfman's new car decided to pull a stunt on me (why does this always happen when da man isnt around?) friday after work. with automatic dials & automatic everything else, the auto-lock suddenly chose to malfunction.. as they say "takde angin takde ribut tetiba je" and there i was going "wtf"?  but i was lucky that it happened at my office parking lot so with the guards and all, things were pretty secure for me to leave the car overnite.


But it screwed up my schedule.  gone was my friday nite masala with the girls and bcos the mechanics didnt actually confirm the time they would be turning up, saturday morning was spent waiting (read: no running, no aerobics). the guys eventually turned up and towed the car away but by that time i was beyond frustrated and ended up spending the whole day stuffing my face!!!  hahaha, you know how it is, when all else fail.. EAT ;p

 

AI with the mechanics from APD.

Thankfully i woke up to a glorious sunday morning.  and it was a day of redemption.  at the dataran with my usual gang, i was moving faster & jumping higher throughout the 60 mins session and followed by a 4k lap round the tasik. hah.. with cooling down & stretching, i'd managed to put in a solid 2 hour workout, yay :D

And later in the day,  my outing with the kids turned out to be mainly about ME!!

We'd earlier planned to ronda2 the malls.. catch a movie, window shop, forage the bookstores & pig out.  but AF had other plans (that involved his GF.. of course lol) and AH was already dreading monday and only wanted to stay home (haa.. now you know why abah always wants to rest on sundays heheheh).

So that left only AI and me. i usually give the kids free reign but this time, i took advantage of the situation and gave him a list of things i wanted to do. 1. check out ahlete's circle @ jaya one 2. browse thru excess bookstore @ amcorp mall 3. go shoe & bargain hunting @ sunway pyramid.

Turns out ahlete's circle close on sundays but luckily for me we successfully accomplished the other 2!! and i reckon, getting 2 out of 3 is pretty darn good considering my run of bad luck yesterday ;p

Thanks nak for being so sporting... mwaaah!!

Weekend workout:

60 mins high impact

4k/30 mins/TSA

27 years

.. together. tapi terasa macam baru semalam ;D

Happy anniversary yang.. walaupun jauh tapi sentiasa dekat di hati. you're still (and will always be) the one, mwaaah3. 

[btw hope you're having fun with the new 'towkey' hehehehe].

Workout:

4k/am run/S9
60 mins aerobics

Playing catch up

Its a beautiful morning.. cool, breezy with overcast skies.

When i left the house i suddenly had a moment of doubt and checked my watch twice. i was late but it sure didnt feel like 7.30!!   as i ran my usual route i couldnt help but observe what a huge effect the school-breaks have on our daily lives.  and one glaring aspect of it is the traffic.  theres a substantial decrease in traffic volume when the kids arent off to school.  and its not restricted to just the residential areas, the ripple effect can be felt even on the highways thats usually all choked up during peak hours.

Wonder why..  do that many people take leave and go off on a vacation? or that many people actually send their kids to school as opposed to using school vans & buses?

I dunno. and i dont really care bcos i'm just going to enjoy the 'sunday morning' feeling where the roads are clear & there's just no rush.

But only on the roads la lol. theres still the usual rush of getting ready and making it to the office on time.  and as i waited impatiently for the light to turn green (my greatest obstacle to work - the concorde 't' junction), i glanced at my hands gripping the steering and i saw, i truly saw my hands!!!!  i mean we usually look at ourselves without really seeing.. but this time it was as clear as day and i got the shock of my life.

It was mine alright but it was also the crepey, powdery, veiny hands that one would associate with a favourite granny!!  i've gotten used to staring at a stranger's face, now i'm looking at a stranger's hands.

Aaaaarggh.  when did i get to be so old?!??

[says the 20ish-tak-sedar-diri woman that still resides in my body ekekekeh]

Heh. i really must remember to slap on those fancy lotions & handcreams i'd bought but never got round to using ;p

This is as good as it gets. deal with it.

Anyhoo.. you all have a great day peeps :D

Workout:
2k/am run/S9
60 mins cardio-salsa

School break

For a couple of days at least everyone's back where they belong... HOME.

Its school-break so the cikgu's home for 2 weeks.
Its semester-break so topman's home till college reopens.
Its still spm-break for missy who's biding time and will be home till early july.
And golfman, who's been home for the whole week but who will be flying off again. today.

As usual its hard.  after all these years you'd think it gets easier to see him go but nope, nothing's farther from the truth. he breaks my heart everytime he leaves.. and i'm done justifying my feelings. i feel what i feel, thats it.

On a cheerier note, cikgu's agreed to at least try a healthier diet as well as incorporate some form of exercise this 2 weeks that he's home.  maybe brisk walking with me after work and nite cycling with his cousin.  unfortunately, he'd regained some of the weight he worked so hard to lose when he was recently bogged down with work.  weight that should immediately be lost before the couch reclaims him!!

Actually, both topman & missy have also been complaining about weight gain. lately missy's been bitten by the baking bug and has been making batches of something or other (mostly brownies & cookies) almost daily.  now that doesnt really sit well with a trim waistline does it?!  but i dont think those two will be doing anything about it anytime soon.  they're still enjoying the whining lol.. but just wait till the tummy refuses to go away no matter how hard you suck it in!!

Tu la ma suruh exercise tak nak ;p

He's running!!

Running -  To move rapidly on foot so that both feet leave the ground during each step/stride.

So by that definition, golfman did me proud by running the whole route of tasik shah alam, all 3.8km of it!!

Yayy..

Forget about pace, timing or speed..  we were s-l-o-w lol. but i'm just so happy that he didnt give up although it was rather hard going for him towards the end.  not wanting to scare him off running completely, i kept asking at every km marker, "you wanna start walking now yang?".  but i guess the sportsman in him responded; the one sidelined by work & other pressing commitments. he plodded on!!

Aaaah.. perhaps my dream will come true ;D

Weekend Workout:

Sat - 4k/am run/TSA-with golfman.

Sun - 50 mins aerobics/DSA

       - 1.5k/am run/TSA-with golfman.

       - 8k/pm run/TSA-alone, lost him to the greens lol.

The Godfather

Nicolei king of the heap ;D

Yup, just like that all time mafia boss.... but the feline version of course lol.

But he wasnt quite himself lately.

He'd been looking rather scraggly and was sleeping most of time and upon closer inspection, we'd noticed that his drool was getting to be a bit too foul..  after he'd cleaned himself, he almost smelled like a monster that had escaped from the sewer!!  he was also losing his famous cat balance and even fell off his favourite bunk (my ironing board) landing on his back, not on his feet.

That really spooked us and motivated the otherwise laidback kiddoes (read: malas lol) to haul him over to the vet's.

The por sod was diagnosed as suffering from gingivitis!!

That accounted for the foul drool, the decreased appetite (due to the pain of chewing) and overall malaise.  he was also having inbalance issues caused by excessive earmites.

2 weeks of the right care & medication, he's back to his godfather-ly ways.. and smelling like a sewer monsta no more, thank the lord!!

 Keeping an eye on his 'territory'

Mumsie

His brethren

Workout:

3k/am run/Sek 9

4k/pm run/TSA - yesterday

May peace be with you

A friend is amongst those in the humanitarian convoy to gaza.

A young friend. one who i've always looked upon as someone quite laid back & carefree.  most comfortable in jeans & t, even when he pays me a visit at the office.  dependable,  helpful but not someone i would've associated with peace missions & putting his life on the line.

"Pray for me kak", he'd said last i saw him.  they were expecting trouble. it was more than likely to be anything BUT peaceful..  thats just the way it is with the zionist.

Now, we're rocked by the news of the ruthless attack on one of the ships.

How's that possible when it's still within international waters?  and is it even possible to be attacking an aid fleet in our supposedly 'enlightened' times?  the drama will unfold.. but as usual after the outcry, the superpowers will just look the other way and nothing will actually be done.

At this point in time i just hope my young friend is ok.  he has a wife & *5 little children who still needs their daddy to be around.  and although he has left them quite self-sufficient (a row of rented houses in the kampung), he is the type of person that we need more off... to inspire & emulate.

Semoga di panjangkan umur dalam semangat yang kental, keimanan yang teguh & kesihatan yang terbaik.

To Z and all involved in the convoy, may god be with you & bless all your efforts.

* Correction: 7 children