MY NEW REGIME OF DIET

I am so glad that Hubby is not the kind of person who would (either once a while or always) insinuate that I have actually put on "a little" weight. I am so fortunate that he doesn't mind how light or how heavy I am. Although he is concerned with what I put on - as in my dresses - when I go out. But as much as I like that about him, I have my own self-conscious about my own weight. The lighter I am compared to him the better ;)

I used to fit into size 'M' or '8' whenever I bought clothes. I can also fit into size '28' or '29' whenever I bought pants (how long ago was it?). But lately, I (sort of) was smacked in the face by the fact that my wardrobe now contains 'XLs' only. I can barely put on an 'L' size shirt. What actually went wrong?

So, to satisfy my super-ego (for not being able to fit into my old and very old clothes), I have decided to go on a diet. I call it my Smart Diet Programme... hehehhee... well.. i don't know about the smart part, but it is my diet programme. So... since I'm too lazy to run and I haven't bought a new swimming suit (the size could be the main reason), I now run up and down the stairs in my condo... hehehee...

The first two rounds were horrible. I couldn't move my feet the next day, and I couldn't even walk properly. So I had to stop for a few days, then resume the exercise. Thereafter was easy. As for the diet... I know it's going to be very hard for me to stop my bad eating habit - I eat all the time! So, I have decided that I will not stop eating, but I shall control what I eat. Hence - only veggie soup for dinner.

I'm not sure how long I can keep this up, but I will sure try my best to achieve size 'L' first! Then, I'll see what I can do to get to 'M'... heheheh...

ieja

SNIPPETS

I have been lagging in terms of blogging my thoughts and what I feel. I do have a lot to say, but so little time to express them. So, I'm going to summarise them instead ;)

1. It's our duty to be happy
I had a hair cut (after trying to find time for it for a few months now!!) today. While my hair was steamed, I read something interesting - a poet (or was it a philosopher?) said something like "being happy is not just an emotion, but a duty that has been bestowed upon us..." Well... something of that sort... but the meaning is very clear... we owe it to ourselves to be happy... not just to make other people happy. So, what have we done so far to make ourselves happy? I had a hair cut ;)

2. A son buying his father's 1 hour of attention
Today as well I read an email sent to my Yahoo! Group mail by one of my ex-MPIK mates. It was a story that I had read a few times before. Every time (without fail!) I read the story, I would feel my eyes getting watery. The story touches my heart in a big way that I always share it (again and again) with Hubby. It was about a son who asked his father for $25 after asking his agitated father how much he earned for an hour. When given the money, the son took out his own money and asked his father if he could buy 1 hour of his father's time. All he wanted was for his father to spend 1 quality hour with him. What does that teach me? How much time do I have for my sons in a day? How do I treat my sons after a long day at work? Do I appreciate the time I have with them?

3. To be a good leader is to be a good listener
Today (again... hehehe) I had a training on a KM system that we use in one of our projects. Throughout this training, I try to put myself in the actual users' shoes (which are our clients). But it was funny how most of my questions being brushed aside. Not just today, but for the past few months I think that my inputs were not being taken into considerations when plans were being made for this project. Those frustrate me a lot since I am the one interfacing with the clients a lot. What do I learn? When you work in a team, listen hard. Don't dismiss their inputs however useless they may sound. Take into considerations the inputs given when you make plans. This applies in life as well. Listen hard!

ieja

THE MOVIES I LIKE

I haven't been to the cinema a lot. Well.. considering internal factors... But thanks to the advancement of modern technology and (of course) in the name of knowledge sharing, I was able to catch up with quite a number of movies.

So far, I've watched Slumdog Millionaire, Twilight, Shopaholic, Sex Drive, Six Pounds, Australia and a few other more which I can't quite remember the titles. WOW.. looking at the list, that is quite an achievement for me... hehehe... Anyhow, among those listed, only 3 that I consider worth mentioning.

Slumdog Millionnaire - i think the movie earned the award. I like it the first moment the storyline started. It was so engaging that I didn't even wait for Hubby to sit and watch with me.

Twilight - OMG!! I loOOOoOoOooooVe it. I love it so much that I actually watched it twice (2 days in a row!). It was a simple movie. The storyline was very clear and simple as well. But what made me love it so much was simple. It made me smile till the end. It gave me the jittery feelings that I used to have when someone notices you and pays attention to you. That feeling as if your heart is going to burst with anticipation and happiness. Well... the actor of course helped a lot in bringing out those feelings... hehehhee...

Australia - Again it has something to do with issues that I can relate to. The passions (for a lot of things... if you know what i mean...) were very apparent. I even wished I was Nicole Kidman at one point... hahahhaa...

Now I'm on a mission to complete my other movie collection as well as TV series. I'm looking forward to watching Desprate Housewives Season 4 & 5, and Gossip Girls (XOXO) Season 1 & 2. Well... not that I don't have a life OK...

ieja

EARTH HOUR 2009

I'm a proud participant of this year's Earth Hour. Not just me, but Iqie and Afeeq too. It was on Saturday, 28 March 2009. The Sun reported the event. The response was overwhelming actually.

On that day, Hubby was not home (car fixing-related job), so there were just us - Mummy and sons. As usual after his bath, Iqie had his dinner. So did Afeeq. So all of us were mentally prepared for the black-out hour (well... maybe I was the only one!). A little before 8.30 pm, I already switched off all lights in the house. Iqie was confused for a while... "Oh no!" Then... "Mummy, light no? Mummy, no light?" How do you explain to a 2-year-old that Mummy was voting for Earth ;)

The telly was on, so that was fine with Iqie. Afeeq was cool. Instead of switching off the lights for an hour, we ended up being in the dark for 2 hours. We didn't mind. It was kinda fun for me and Iqie.

You know what, I think we're going to do this Earth Hour on a regular basis. Iqie and I don't have to wait for a year for another Earth Hour. I think we can do this bi-monthly. I guess that's just a little thing that I can do to contribute to this good cause. But as Hubby jokingly pointed out in his email when I sent him the details of this event - what's the difference with the lights off when we have the fridge, washing machine, telly, air-cond, etc. on?? Heheheheheee... how to answer that??

ieja

VOTE EARTH - LIGHTS OFF PLEASE!!

Dear all,
I'm voting for our Earth. Please switch off your lights for 1 hour (only) to show your support. We need this!! Please spread the words.

ieja

The Use of English in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics and Science

I have to say that I'm very disappointed with what had happened over the weekend. The Star published the news. I am not being bias here and I am not judging. Don't say that because I was educated overseas I would definitely agree that English should be used. That is definitely not the case. I agree that English should be used because of many reasons.

Firstly, to use English to teach and to learn Maths and the science subjects would definitely not dethrone Bahasa Melayu (or is it Bahasa Malaysia now - I just can't keep track of the correct term used as it had changed so many times!!). You can't "mertabatkan" the Malay language by using it to teach those subjects. How can u do that if the terms used in Maths, Biology, Physics and Chemistry are taken from English. It's not like we have all the words in Malay... duuhhh...

If you want to "mertabatkan" the Malay language, start at home and the media. Those are the biggest influencers. If you can tackle those two - half of the language problem solved!

To me, the whole point of using English to teach and learn Maths and the science subjects is for us to be able to conquer the wealth of information that contains in those subjects. It's totally not because of the language - it has never been because we want the students to master the language. Mastering the language is just the secondary aim. If you can, hey it's good for you.

I think I've addressed this enough in my previous entry here.

ieja

A DAY OF FUN

Last Wednesday, Hubby and I purposely took a day off. We had promised to date as much as possible, even if it means taking a day or two off ;) So far the plan went well...

Anyway, that Wednesday we woke up a bit late leaving Iqie and Afeeq under the care of our super-efficient helper. After breakfast cum a hearty lunch, we made our way to Flamingo Hotel on Jalan Ampang. No... it's not what you're thinking!! We actually went bowling instead of going for a movie. Why...? Why not... like watching movies, it's been ages. So we thought... why not.

And you know what... we had the best time of our lives. After so many years... we giggled, we laughed, we teased each other. Hubby is still bad at spares, and I'm still bad at strikes... heheheh we really had fun - reliving our courting days.

It is something that we would definitely do again and again... I wonder what is next in our list.

ieja