DB and I were going through the boxes in the store room and garage last weekend. He was looking for a cable for the satellite receiver which we could not find any. However, he found a small box of 35mm film. It seems so ancient to me seeing them now. He labeled each roll with the date that was 11/1996. He said that was the last he went deer hunting out in Red Wing. They are 12 in a roll and there were 3 rolls in the small box. I told him he should have the 35mm film to dvd, at least convert it to digital since they are all pictures of sceneries. This man has a lot of archaic items he have been keeping for some reason or other. He still has the big humongous video recorder that I do not even know why he is keeping it, most probably for sentimental value. But that’s a waste of space. I am sure we are going to dig up more archaic stuff as we go along cleaning up the boxes.
- Blogging on my life events & whatever that comes to my mind!
Back to the piano
It’s been 1.5 years since I last touched the piano. It was sitting in the corner of the living room collecting dust. A few weeks back I started playing it again. I have to say listening to the classical radio station and YouTube every day got be back to this long lost interest of mine. DB ask if I could play songs by Queen. Haha, I don’t think so! If I do, I would need the music sheet in front of me. I can never play by ear and wish I could. Unlike my childhood friend, he could play anything by ear….that’s why he was a musician before he changed career. I remember his brother plays the acoustic guitar and he would be playing along on the piano without any music sheets! That’s a gift! As for me, I will just stick to how I roll and that’s playing with the notes right in front of my eyes! 
Jewelry making
I am signed up for Joann’s Arts and Crafts email distribution. Seriously, I don’t even know why I signed up for it. I hardly use those coupons because I keep forgetting to print them out before I go. I only remember the coupon during checkout. Figures! Since Nadine is into jewelry making while being a stay at home mom, I have forwarding her those emails I received from Joann’s and Michaels. I know she wants a ball pein hammer to replace her missing one. She had the bub 6 months ago and she said she is not ready to start yet. She had the inclination she will staying home working on her new hobby whilst taking care of the baby for quite some time!
Mr. Ranger
Mr Ranger is getting very old. Old in age, yes, he’s going to be 13 years old in April. Human age for his weight and size is around 96, that’s what the vet told me. We think he has some problem inside him, too. Inside meaning his organs are shutting down. It’s either his kidneys are failing or he has diabetes. Also, he is not listening very well either. We need lots of patience with this geriatric pooch.
The good thing is he is still a chow hound. He loves to eat so much that he even eats poop left by other dogs and the dogs’ owners have not been picking them up. Mr Chow Hound has so much energy to walk to his favorite spot for his potty, the will walks fast to the spot where he know he will find some poop to mow on. So we have not been walking him there but guess what??? This fella just does not want to walk unless we walk to that direction where his poop spot is. This dog is like a kid.
This morning I walked the boys the usual path and heading towards the poop spot but half way there, I told Ranger turn, go home. He immediately stop, looked at me, looked over where he wants to go and sat down. Man, I had to pull him then he will walk but he will stop, looked over that spot and me pulling him again. So he is one great pretender. He knows how to pretend; pretend he is aching, limping really bad where I had to actually help him, more like scooting his back to walk home.
We are waiting for an opening with the vet to bring him in. The vet is fully booked. I want a blood test done on him if he has kidney problems or diabetes and we go from there. He is Prednisone for so many years, I’m afraid Cushing disease is very imminent because of all the signs I’m seeing. Yes, I have been observing him ever since he has to take Pred for all his life. The heavy panting and the crazy shedding recently plus drinking lots and lots of water gave me the conclusion he has some kind of problem going on inside him. If treatment is too expensive, I am sad to say we have to put him down.
Dang….too soon.
CNY
It’s Chinese New Year. My friend and I went out for lunch on Saturday at a Thai restaurant. Food was good. Most probably I have not had Thai food for a long time. It was great catching up again.
As usual after lunch we went shopping at the Asian store. I saw this preserved slice ginger at the store. Dang it’s so expensive for such small container.
My mom bought me two packets of them in Ipoh. I forgot to ask her yesterday when I called her how much she paid for a packet. Anyways, we were both looking for CNY stuff. I was looking for CNY cookies, but didn’t see any till we were about to leave. They were at the check out counters. Unfortunately, those cookies and snacks were not appealing at all. Pretty much drowns the mood! Plus there were no CNY decor in that store. Most probably because the store’s owner is Loation or Cambodian.
Internet Dependency
Guest post written by my buddy Bernardo Graham
I didn’t get a chance to figure out what internet connection I was putting into my new home before I moved recently. I really didn’t realize how dependent I had become on my computer until I got to my new home and didn’t have access right away. Now I realize that I could never be without an internet connection at home for an extended period of time. When I arrived at my new place I immediately tried to find out what kind of Hutto internet was offered in my neighborhood. I needed to be able to access all of my bank and credit card accounts, send emails, and check my Facebook account. I felt helpless without access. I drove for two days to get to my new destination, so it had already been a while since I checked any of my accounts when I arrived. It didn’t take long for me to get things sorted out, but I definitely learned my lesson. Next time I move I will try my best to make sure that everything is taken care of before I arrive.
Kung Hei Fatt Choy!
Happy Chinese New Year!
Wishing you peeps a prosperous year – may the year of the dragon brings in abundance of $$, happiness, love, peace and Faith.
(P.S: Picture source curi from my sister who posted on her FB! LOL)
Peace out!
Great weather to stay home
I was hoping my co-worker, N will show up in this bad weather but she emailed me saying she is staying home with the kids. Hah, it would be nice too. She is busy working on her home winter project – sprucing up the apartment. We have been scouting round for switch plate covers last week, so I’m guessing she is continuing her search for them. She asked me if she needs some help with her winter project, would I help her, I told her right away, I would be more than happy. I love being in the middle of all these “sprucing up home” projects!
Winter is finally here!!!
Yes, I’m crazy, I am waiting for old man winter to arrive. We had the very very cold temperatures the past few days and I really didn’t mind it. Yes, it’s cold but I was still outside with Chase for more than an hour. And now it’s snowing. It’s sure is nice to walk around in the snow. On the other hand, driving on the snow covered streets and freeways is a pain. There were so many accidents on Saturday morning and I’m sure there lots of calls for roadside assistance. I went for my Zumba class at 11 am, the roads were not that great either. People need to drive slower. I have a lead foot but I slowed down tremendously knowing the roads are slippery!
Zumba freak
I went for Zumba class on Saturday with B, the instructor. I got to the center 15 mins earlier so I can jump on the bike to warm up a little. When I walked into the Zumba class studio, the room was half full. Thank goodness for that. Last week was frigging pack till the room fogged up. But what surprised me was B was not there but a guy. He introduced himself, can’t catch his name but he’s from Nicaragua and tells us his Zumba style….lots of salsa, rege-something, something else and aerobics. He told us he loves to sways the hips and was instructed to sway it, don’t care who’s behind, in front or side of us and it’s not a dance video , just sway them butts we don’t have to follow exactly how he does it. Just keep moving. His style is what I really like – very upbeat, fast and all Latin music with awesome beats. All of us were sweating buckets. I mean no one left the room with a semi dry shirt! I did ask the guy instructor where he teaches. He is a sub for B. Unfortunately, the guy teaches at a different location which is about 30+ minutes drive for me. I don’t think so.
Sunday I went for the 4:30 with my gang of friends – 4 of us this time. B was the instructor and I have to say, after Saturday’s class, B’s was too “light”. Yes, I sweated but the intensity was not there, no ooomph!! I honestly have to say when I want a work out, I want a good heart thumping work out. So guess where we went???
Three out of four of us went to Lifetime Fitness for its Zumba class. So happen there was an open house over at LF, we took advantage of it. The Zumba class out at LF was good. The instructor was much better. Her style, like the guy from Saturday LAF, works the abs a lot and tons of aerobics with Zumba moves. The class was held in a big gym (basketball) with about 70+ heads. The only thing I don’t like is the songs are not Latin but the instructor did make it up with her awesome moves. We don’t be going to LF because it’s too expensive for membership. Moreover, since we are residents in the city where LF is, we get to pay $9.50 each time we want to come in to use its facilities. No way, Jose!
So, I have to say I’m totally hooked to Zumba now. I might go for a class tomorrow at LA Fitness!
Wedding invite….in Raleigh, NC
Yep, a church member invited me to her wedding all the out in Raleigh, NC. She said accommodations are provided for guests but have to pay for our own to get there which means I’m not going. I know her through RCIA and we do go out for lunches after cathecisis. I’m happy she is finally tying the knot and the stress of looking for a raleigh wedding photographer they both agree upon is now done! Phew, didn’t know it was such a hassle to look for a pro to photograph their wedding.
Annual reviews
It’s the time for annual reviews. My and I sat down on Friday and we both mentioned how quick 2011 passed by. We both remembered what we were talking about a year ago and now we are back to it. The review was good, thank goodness, and was told again I am heck darn important in our department! Woohoo!! I am happy with the review and also happy that the boss is very easy going. I can use my Dr Dre Headphones to drown out all other noises around me and she never has a problem with me using it. Now, I’m just waiting if there is raise, or like last year, no one in the company had any.
I’m frigging sore!!!
OK, I’m really out of shape…big time!!
I joined membership at LA Fitness together with few of my friends, C, C and T. Our aim is to attend Zumba classes. We went last Sunday (1/1) but the instructor didn’t show up. Instead, we went for a spinning class which turned out not too bad. Really work the thighs good. No jelly legs, so that’s good.
So on Tuesday (1/3) I went to a Zumba class at 7 pm at another LAF location. I wasn’t impressed with the instructor at all. The class was packed , barely enough room to move around. There were about 72 heads in the class and the instructor’s voice was no loud enough. In fact her voice was shrieky!!! Being a total rookie, I followed the ladies in front of me, the music does not have a good kick. It was ok, nothing to shout about. I sweated but not much compared to the spinning class.
I went to another Zumba class that starts at 11 am on Saturday but I was late, my fault coz I had a meeting at church. I got to the class at 11:30 am and again that class was pack like sardines. There were so many people, the mirrors were all fogged up and it felt as if I walked into a sauna room! Serious, it was that steamy. A man stood outside the door said, “Hot bodies.” My guess is there are two meanings to what he said.
I gave up after 5 minutes coz it was just no fun with not much room to move around. So I ended up in the spinning class for 35 minutes. That was darn good that I didn’t want it to end.
Sunday was the day my 3 other friends joined me for Zumba with this particular instructor B. I have to say she is good, the music she puts out are good and definitely get me moving. This time round the class has about 30 plus heads, plenty of room to move around. We didn’t have to stand at the back and were able to see the instructor clearly and her voice carries which was very good. We ladies plus 2 gentlemen sweated like pigs. All of our shirts were soaking.
After the class we did the stationary bike for about 20 minutes. I think I over did it with one hour of Zumba which really worked every damn muscles and the biking and of course, I’m the kind who like to go for the toughest….I increased the resistance every 5 minutes.
I’m now so damn frigging sore from shoulders to my calves. I never felt so sored since last year after the half marathon I ran. I am skipping this evening’s class. My muscles need to recuperate! Sign of…..age is catching up!
Happy 2012
Wow, here we are in a brand spanking new year. Let bygones be bygones and welcome the new year positively. Yeah, that’s my new thinking in life….be positive, not all crapiness are bad after all, except for my bed. I want a latex mattress, a mattress that conforms to my body, posture with no aching joints after a night sleep.
And on the 1st day of New Year, I started on some fitness thing with my friends, C and T. I hope we will give each other encouragements and push ourselves to better health. My main focus is being fit, not losing weight. Tone body will be nice, too!
Yeah we started the year with an hour of spinning….we spun our legs till they actually hurt and wobbly. I making this fitness thingy work and not a few times a year deal. I don’t make resolutions but just make adjustments to my current lifestyle. Whatever blows my skirt!
Hope you, peeps, had a good New Year celebration. May the new year brings in much joy, wisdom and humanity to all! Peace be with you all!
Slacking in this blog
I’m back home for a week now and I’m still not in the mood to blog. The travel bug is still in me, and jet lag is not exactly over yet. I’m still thinking of Bali!!!
There are a lot of the above kind of statues which I gather are some deities for protection, not sure and I didn’t ask.
I didn’t take many pictures with the camera I brought with me to Bali. Why?? Coz smart me forgot to bring the battery charger along. The second morning when we were getting ready to ronda the town, the baterries died on me. Good thing my sister brought along a spare camera with her. Sis, “lei hei tak geh”.
Oh, after arriving in Bali, my BM came out very naturally. I thought it would take me a while to speak in Bahasa Melayu!! Just seeing the signs in Bali were enough to kick the memory cells into full gear.
Of course some words like this Oleh-Oleh I didn’t know what it was. I thought it meant furniture. Turns out it’s a souvenier shop, a shop to ketuk tourist kau kau, yet we bought quite a bit there. This picture was taken on the free and easy day (5th day out of 6).
Since coming back to MN, my camera is still sitting in my hand carry. Yes, I still have my 2 big luggage and hand carry laying on the floor with clothes that need to be washed still crying out for me to move them. I’m just so out of it and going back to work 3 days after I got back was tough. Will download the pictures from my camera to Flickr this weekend.
My first day back to work was Monday, Dec 19 and guess what?????? My vacation to Bali, Singapore, Ipoh, Singapore was so fabulous I forgot what my network password to my PC. Even the passwords to the security questions were blur to me. No choice had to call Help Desk since I tried more than 3 times to answer the security questions and failed majorly.
Needless to say, my write up on Bali is not going to happen soon, or probably might not even resurrect at all based on my lack of motivation! There are some really good pictures my sister and I took that I want to put up here but then they are already in FB. There is one picture I took that so reminded me of Great Ocean Road. It’s not exactly the same but the fact that the jagged edge that faces the Indian Ocean and the sea eroded cliffs reminds me a lot of it.
The dogs at home are damn thrilled to see me home. Sticking to me like leeches especially Chase. Ranger’s mobility is not good, so he does not climb upstairs anymore. He will move to the living room or dining room wherever DB is. Poor Ranger….we started him back on prednisone again because of the mold outside. There is not a flake of snow on the ground. The weather is really freaky….we are having temperatures in the 30′s Fahrenheit. Some nights the temps stayed above freezing. This Christmas will be a very brown Christmas. Christmas hymnes are playing the background as I’m typing this. No big celebration just the 2 of us roasting a whole chicken with mash taters, sweet potatoes (ladened with butter and brown sugar) and green bean casserole. I don’t fancy ham, so chicken it is for me.
Again, till my next post….HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS, peeps.
A quick update
I am really enjoying myself in Ipoh. As usual I am in IMax checking FB and emails. Eating is of course the top priority when I am in Ipoh.
Bali vacation is way too good that I do not want to leave. The Balinese are such peaceful people and their way of life is so humbling. I have to say it was a natural sauna when I arrived in Bali. There is no need for scrub clothes where it is my comfort clothing in hot weather. I am glad my sister has so many sleeveless and i bought some sun dresses to cool myself!!! Although the heat is very unbearable for me and also for my mom, I have to thank the humidity to moisten my dry skin brought all the way from Minnesota. The very last dat in Bali, my sis, mom and me went for last minute shopping, I had to take my shirt off!!! The heat was totally bad. I walked around the streets like those Aussie girls, with just the bikini top!
Another thing I have to say about Bali is there are dogs heaven. Dogs are all over the place even on the beaches. I see dogs more than cats. I would assume there are stores selling vet scrubs and if they need more there is this link to purchase more http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/. I do have to say those dogs with collars on them which I assume are owned by someone, they are really in good shape…not one dog is overweight. However some dogs are very pitiful looking. Sigh, if only I can pick them up and take them home with me to the US!
Now that I’m in Ipoh, I shopping for food and more food. I didn’t have to shop for clothes since I have a lot of clothes from my sister! I really blessed to be skinnier than her!!! Hahahahah, if she reads this she is going to strangle me All the eating and more to come have definitely wrecked my skinnyness away. Oh well, I can go back to my regular diet when I get home. I am leaving for Singapore on December 14 and back to the States on the 16th. The time seems to be flying – time flys when you are having fun.
Till the next time, bye for now.