Monday, April 27, 2009

Indulgence

Roughly 10 months ago I made a decision to do something about my weight issue. I begin to control my food intake and consciously doing activities that will burn more energy. It's definitely a very steep learning curve for me and I'm still struggling.

Lately, I noticed that I've slowly slipped back to my old habit of being controlled by my taste buds instead of my brain. I eat and eat and eat even though I don't need it or know that I shouldn't. Thankfully the knowledge that I gained throughout the learning process isn't all wasted. I now have a voice in the back of my mind that reminds me the cost of over eating and the hard work I've put in to get where I am now. Hmm.. But I probably have to say, the voice is not loud enough to stop me from indulging every now and then (a bit too often lately). :P

Not to worry though cause I've just been introduced to the destroyer of indulgence; i.e. overindulgence.

I've been grabbing brekky on my way to work almost daily the past month or so. Muffins, Bircher Muesli, Fruit Toasts, Raisin Toasts. Plus a cup of skinny latte. Yummm...

But last Friday, I gobble down the muffin and feels unsatisfied. The muffin just wasn't rich enough anymore. It no longer feels like an indulgence. D*mn! Sigh... The very thing that ruins the taste and memory of muffins or raisin toast or a delightful brunch is having them daily.

I'm going back to basic. Loaf of bread with jam for brekky. Something standard. Something plain. So that when I go out for brunch on Saturday; they feel luxurious, divine and scrumptious..

Monday Life Lesson: "Nothing destroy an indulgence as fast as overindulgence."

Sunday, April 26, 2009

100% Effort, Coffee, and Beluga Whale

I don't normally run after tram/train. I am not a runner. It annoys me too much to miss the tram/train when I've put the effort into trying to catch it. Plus, there is the embarrassment of having the tram/train door closed on me; so I choose not to try. It's a choice I've made and have been comfortable with.

But today, I was left home a little late for the 10 a.m. Bikram Yoga class. Somewhere along Chapel St; I saw the tram coming my direction; I was half relieved and half annoyed. I was 3 blocks away from the next tram stop and the tram was a block behind me. Grr...!!!!

Somehow, I decide to do something different! I run... sprint like crazy to race the train/tram... and I caught the tram!!! Yayyyyyyyyyyyy! :) It feels EXTREMELY good to put in the effort and get the result - which brings me to think that I should perhaps revisit my original choice. Think about all the time I could save by just trying to catch the train/tram and caught it; even if I do miss and get embarrass sometime (as long as I don't trip!).

Next topic - coffee. I wasn't a coffee drinker. Somewhere along the way - I've become addicted to the foamy skinny latte in a takeaway Styrofoam cup from cafe. It's against my money principles though. It's crazy to spend about $3 every day for a cup of skinny latte. That means in a month I've thrown away $90!!! I could go and get 1.5 hour massage. Grrrr... I'm annoyed! But at the same time, I am starting to enjoy the taste of it. Combined with muffin or friand. Yumm... definitely makes my mornings better. Is it worth the expense though? Is it comparable to 1.5 hour massage monthly? For now, I think it is... :P

Hmm.. I stumbled upon this web page; The world's amazing animals | NEWS.com.au and it reminds me of the Beluga Whale that I intended to see during my recent New York trip. Sadly, I found out that Marina, the Beluga Whale in Coney Island had died in late 2007 (news).
(Picture taken from China Picture Moment : Beluga Whale Kiss.)

(Picture taken from THE BELUGA WHALE.)

Aren't they super cute? I want to see the real thing before they extinct...

Monday, April 20, 2009

Monday Reminder: Be Conscious of YOUR Life Values...

Jonathan Mead contributed a great reminder post at ZenHabits yesterday, "How to Become a Late Riser | Zen Habits". The title definitely intrigues me. It isn't something that I'd normally expect to find in a Personal Development website. But then again - ZenHabits isn't just a normal Personal Development site. It's one of the better ones! :)

The reminder?

"Do NOT live by someone else's values!" (More about it at "Are You Trying to Live Up to Other People’s Values?").

I'm sure we've all done this mistake at some point in life. Well, I'm definitely prone to this. It's easy to get carried away and excited by someone else's success stories and think that we want the same thing.

I will start practising the tips from the post on to my gigantic things-to-achieve-list, "Set my goals consciously."

How well do you know yourself?

How well do you know yourself?

Me? I'm as confused as ever. ^.^

Over the past couple years, I have changed in many ways. My mind definitely has grown. Weirdly, though in general my life hasn't been as simple as it used to be; there are some parts of it which has become much simpler. Overall, the changes are for the better. But there are changes that I'm still not certain about its purpose.

Now, focusing on the improvement type changes; I know that there are still many ways for me to be better and many more challenges I'd like to overcome. Plus, plenty other things I'd like to achieve.

Time has always been my enemy. As my friends and family would testify, I'm often heard complaining about time. The 24-hour day is not long enough. The 2-days weekend totally does not compensate for the 40-working-hour a week. Strangely, I even at rare occasion complain about the 40-working-hour being not enough.

At the same time, I often waste my time doing mindless web-browsing, reading silly girlie book that makes me blush when I get asked about, or just wallowing over things. Yes - I am the very definition of procrastinator.

Shanon got me to listen to this talk on Ted by a guy called Tim Ferriss, titled "How to Feel Like the Incredible Hulk". During the talk, Tim passed on two important and major lessons to me.

First in the order of the topic being discussed in the talk was, Distinction: Effective Vs. Efficient. It might sound very much the same thing, but they are different.

The definition of effective is "having an intended or expected effect" or "producing a strong impression or response; striking" (The Free Dictionary). Efficient, is defined as "working or producing effectively without wasting effort, energy, or money" (The Free Dictionary).

Now, which is better? It all depends on the task. How often will you be doing the task in hand? If it's something that you'll have to do over and over again, it makes sense to think, plan and try to do it as efficient as possible. If, however, it is something that you will only get to do once or twice, you might want to do it effectively.

Keeping in mind that we probably won't get to make an impact as many times as we'd like; I dare say that - for the important and grand tasks - go with effective! :)

Second, the Parkinson's Law (wikipedia) states that:
"Work expands so as to fill the time alloted to it."

In doing things, we seem to always be able to create sufficient complexity to fill the need for complexity.

Oddly, this has just come to my realisation quite recently. I suppose, it's a really good coincidence for imprinting this useful knowledge on to my weak memory. Make deadline! Hmm.. as if life span is not deadline enough. :)

I know - and keep reminding myself - life is short. I need to get in action. Soon. No - scratch that. NOW!

Speaking of "now", I've been intrigued by the "The Power of Now" and the "4-Hour Work Week" (which happened to be written by Tim Ferriss!) books. I'll put them on my reading list. Though judging by the speed at which I'm reading the "What Colour is Your Parachute?" book, I'm not quite sure when they will actually be read. Tsk Tsk Tsk. What a procrastinator.

Last note before I go to bed, I hereby testify that lists are procrastinator's best friends.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Lululemon Athletica Quotes

I've been doing Bikram Yoga for a while and I noticed that most of the regular yogis (including the instructors) wear Lululemon Athletica apparels in the class. I've always wondered why. ^.^

Curiosity got the better of me. I went into the store and bought one of their shorts during the Easter Break. I'll see how I go and report back (if I remember, that is). However - I gotta admit, I admire the service they provide. It's almost worth paying the $34 for the yoga shorts (already on sale!). They offer community activities (Girls Dancing Night, Free Yoga, etc etc). The shorts was packed in a very nice looking cool and big reusable bag (see image below - taken from luluLemon bag With Cool Quotes On It |).
It wasn't exactly like this one - I think it's the new design - but still - just as nice, if not nicer. :)

Their quotes are highly inspiring. They write it all over the store. They give out posters and postcards with the quotes printed on them.

I particularly like these quotes...
* Choose a positive thought. Stress is related to 99% of all illness.
* That which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least.
* Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks.
* Jealousy works the opposite way you want it to.
* Do one thing a day that scares you.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Some words of wisdom...






... from American Museum of Natural History.
- 31st December 2008, NYC -

Friday, April 03, 2009

Action Steps

I talked to this very wise and smart man last night about my new found problem while enjoying the sunset in St Kilda (gorgeous views!).

Here's some action steps for me over the next month...

Research
I need to find out what I want to do. Is there something that particularly have meaning for me? Or is there something that I really enjoy doing and will continue to enjoy for a while?
Action: Read "What Colour Is Your Parachute?"...

Once I sort that out - it'll be easier to solve the issue. Cause the next step will then be another research, i.e. to figure out how to get myself in that position. :)

I really gotta get my act together if I don't want to be stuck here.

Enough said.

PS: Another topic altogether, I'm wondering if I should get an SLR or a new PDA phone with that $900 from Kevin Rudd.. :P What do you think?

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Continuous Conundrum

I'm not sure if it's really me or it's by the influence of people around me or something else.
I don't feel right for my job anymore.
I'm constantly hanging at the edge in business conversation and I don't understand or care about what's going on at work.
I don't think this is my world at all.

Have I ever care? Has it ever been my world?

I'm not too sure.
I guess I care about little parts of it (the stuffs that I'm working on and the people that I interact with).
But seeing the amount of care that other people have, it makes me wonder if it's right that I don't have that type of care.
Then again - I was never a business/politics person.
I'm not interested in who's managing what and who's being moved to what role.
Names always fly through my head.

I guess it was never a problem in the past because I haven't really see the big picture of where I am in this little corporation world and where I am going.
Now that I can see that I'm not in the right world - can I ignore it and just continue along this path?
Keep doing what I do and try to pretend to care as per requirement about this world?
Doesn't that mean that I'm going to have to stay in this spot because really - I don't have a destination in this world?

On the other hand - I don't know what world I do have destination in...

Maybe I should move to Little Big Planet. :P

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Writing As A Career?

It's tempting.. :P Is it a possible thing? Am I good enough? Is my material worth people's reading effort? :P

OK - I'm giggling from the thought. So it surely isn't a good idea. :P

But - it sure sounds like a lot of fun.. Writing for a magazine. Or taking photos for a magazine. I'd love that type of work. But - somehow I don't think I am able to do it. Or do I?