The Attention Whore

I have some time to spare at work to blog for a while, so, I thought I would just write about what happened over the weekend during the Nike Rockstar Workout (NRSW) Hip Hop Training I went through with my other fellow gym mates and instructors.

Saturday moning, I woke up late.  Not a good start.  I had dinner the night before with Juwita and Leo, and we hung out for quite a while in Uptown till quite late just eating, chatting and hanging out.  It’s been a while since the three sisters sat down together and had a nice chat.  So, by the time I reached home it was a bit past midnight.

Then I had to pack for the training the following day, which I spent my own sweet time doing.  I know that if I left it till the morning, I would be even more late.

And yes, as I predicted (because I slept late the night before), I woke up late.  I was very glad that I had done all my packing and preparations before I had gone to bed.  I got ready and rushed to the training.  Luckily it was not that far.  It was at the The Dance Space in Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas.  It’s about a 15-minute drive from my place but without the jam in Jalan Kuching (if jammed, it would take at least 30-45 minutes!).  So, I was lucky there were not too many cars on the road that morning.

I reached the studio a little bit late, but luckily I was not the only one who was late.  I had Su Lin to accompany me for our late arrival into the studio (all the others were already there), but it was not so bad as the Nike folks were also late.

So, the training started a bit late that morning.  But it was okay, as we had some time to settle down for a while.  One of us even found the time to rush back home because he forgot to bring his trainers for the training!;-)

All I can say about the first day is that, it was VERY tiring!  And it is definitely VERY, VERY different from Body Jam.  I can’t talk too much about it, as we’re not supposed to disclose the details till the official launch on Friday, February 10, 2005 in Fitness First Menara SPK, 8.45pm.  So, for all you hardcore jammers and dance lovers out there, go check out the launch!!!  It will be HOT!!!  If you love dancing, you really need to go check this out!!!

I just want to say that when Mel taught us the Master Class on the first day, don’t be fooled by how she can make the moves look damn easy.  When I tried the moves, they looked nothing at all as what she did.  But then, nothing comes easy without hard work.  Practice, practice, practice makes perfect!!!

I’m not saying the NRSW program is not my cup of tea, but I’m the type of person who needs to put in a lot of effort and practice to really do well in any form of dance based programs.  And besides, the theme is hip hop, and I don’t really do hip hop that well.=P

At the beginning I actually almost gave up as I found it too challenging for me.  But as I learnt more, the challenge became a tool for me to work harder to try and do better.  I guess the constant practice and drilling Melissa put us through helped a lot.  I am a slow learner, after all.

We had our assessment on the second day.  The training was held at a different venue.  This time it was in the Joy Dance Academy in TTDI.  Some of us (I was one of them!) had difficulties as the style of teaching is so different from what we are used to.  If you do lots of Les Mills programs (I only do one, and that is MORE than enough for me!!!), it will require some time for you to adjust to the changes.

However, overall for the assessment, I think we all did quite okay, quite well, very well or superbly, depending on who we are.  As for me, I would fall under the quite okay category.;-)  Mantaplah makcik!!!   Hehehe…  There were some incidents that happened during the training (I can’t go through the details, or else my blog will be extra, extra long), which after them, I can safely say that Makcik Mantap has gone through some penambahmantapan process.;-)

It was an enlightning experience for me.  What is most important is that I have learnt and experienced something new, and THAT is what counts.  Whether I make it or not and be shortlisted to be part of the NRSW team, is not something I’m thinking too jmuch of.  There were so many in the training who, I think, did very well.  So, there’s no need to keep my fingers crossed.;-)

I know there are some who really want to make it for the team, but if you don’t there will always be NRSW Sol coming up after this.  I’m sure there will be some issues and politics in the decision, so don’t be too disappointed if we don’t make it.  We can always go for the next one together!

I don’t want to think about that phone call from Nike to inform me if I’ve made it or not.  I mean, there are some kicks thrown in with the package but there will also be quite a few kickbacks.  I’m cool if they don’t pick me because this I don’t think they will actually pay us any more than what we are already making doing classes in FF.

Yeas, yeah, I know.  Pay in FF is a sensitive issue.  If I actually make any negative comments on my blog and make it public about how I feel about the pay we receive from FF, I might be kicked and banned from teaching in FF and never offered classes again.  However, this I have to say…  I am a bit disappointed with the rates FF offers the freelancers to do classes for them (as compared to their rivals).  We’ve been hearing rumours of a review of the rates for freelance instructors since the past year but it has yet to happen.

Yeah, yeah.  Why still teach there then if I’m not happy with it?  I guess I’m quite happy, as I’m still teaching there.  It’s not a 100% money issue for me.  I do it for the passion and for the workout.  I do it for the environment and atmosphere FF offers to us.  And I do it for the learning and sharing of knowledge that FF (especially the FF GX Team) provides for us.  But if the pay is good, that would be a bonus.

So, back to NRSW, it’s not the glam and bling-bling and whatever that comes with it that I’m chasing after.  I would love it because of my passion for dancing.  And also because of the freebies we can get!;-)

So, to my dear buddies, don’t fret too much for the calls to start coming in.  Chill out and live life to the fullest in the meantime!!!  Whether we get through or not, remember, there is a Rockstar in each and everyone of us!!!

And guys, don’t forget to check out the details of the Nike Rockstar Workout Hip Hop Launch (Friday, February 10, 2006 FF Wisma SPK 8.45pm ) and Nike Rockstar Workout Hip Hop Event (Saturday, March 25, 2006) - venue unknown as of yet - 7.00pm) in all FF gyms.  It’s coming to you SOON!!!

I was actually linked to this through Colin’s blog.  Thank you, Colin, for sharing it with us.=)

I thought it looked kind of interesting, so I checked it out.  I even checked out the horoscopes of some of my best buddies, and they were quite close, if not exact.

Here’s mine.  I think it describe’s me quite well, but then sometimes, others would know better.

My East West Horoscope

Eastern Horoscope : Rabbit

Western Horoscope : Sagittarius

You love exploring different lands (I would love going to all those beautiful, historical and scenic places all over the world) and meeting new people (human nature always fascinates me). As far as you’re concerned, life is one glorious adventure (if it wasn’t, it would be dull). If you can’t travel, you read (I love reading above all my other hobbies and past times.  I’m a VERY avid reader.  I can’t put down a book until I finish it, eventhough it means I will have to go without sleep for a couple of days!). It’s the next best thing to taking a trip (yup, reading broadens the mind; you don’t need to be at a place to actually SEE or BE there). Sometimes you prefer a good book to an exotic journey because reading allows you to idealise the images that are presented to you (How SO true this is!  I always say your brain is the largest thing you can ever own.  There are no boundaries and limits to what your mind can see, think, keep and do!). You have a vivid imagination and enjoy speculating about other people’s lives (Hahahahaha!!!  I LOVE gossip mongering!  Not good, I know, but at the same time it allows me to be constantly amazed at all the different personalities I get to meet and what they can get up to and get themselves into!).

Human behavior is a constant source of fascination for you (as I said, it’s amazing what some people can do and get themselves into!).  A career in religion (not sure about this as I’m not really such a pious person!), philosophy (just maybe…), or higher education (definitely!) is likely for you. A natural student (not sure about this one; I’m actually a bit lazy, which is not good as I actually need to make an effort to actually learn anything), you will probably attain a graduate degree in your desired field (I love English, which is why I love reading English books so much, so, I guess it’s not hard for some people to understand how I got into teaching English). If you don’t become a professor (I’m still working on it!  At the moment, I have to be happy with just being Makcik Mantap!) or a spiritual advisor (not sure about this…), you could go into publishing (definitely something I would love, but just not have the time for).

You always manage to have fun, even when you’re broke (Hahahahahahaha!!!  How SO many times this has happened to me!  But I somehow scraped through!). Although you may run low on cash at times (not so good at money and expenses management), you’ll never lack for friends (I hope this will last till the day I die, especially with my soul sisters!!!). Your natural vivacity attracts people like a flower does bees (Vivacity???!!!  If I anyone agrees with this, I would be highly flattered!). Discussing books, movies, and politics with pals gives you tremendous pleasure (it doesn’t have to be about books, movies or politics only; it can be anything underneath the sun), and you often go without sleep to prolong a good conversation (yes, definitely till at least 2 or 3 in the morning if not more!). You get along best with open-minded, fun-loving people like yourself (we only get to live once and life would be dull if we don’t know how to have fun!). Ariens, Geminis, Leos, and Sagittarians never fail to keep your spirits high (True, true, true.  But they missed out Scorpions!). Romantically, you feel a strong connection with intellectuals (well, he definitely has to be INTELLIGENT!). However, you should make more of an effort to be physically demonstrative with the one you love (haiyaaaa…  so I’m like undemonstrative with my loved ones lar nie???). Otherwise, your romance could cool into friendship =P.*The End*

So, that’s it.  What do you think?  It sounds like me, right?;-)

You can go check yours out too at http://www.tigerbeer.us/horoscope/.  I know, it’s a Tiger Beer site.  Its like I’m promoting something haram to all of you, but only if you see it that way.   If you feel it offends you, I would like to apologise, but my intention is to just ask you to check out something that can be educational.  If you don’t want to, it’s okay.

Enjoy!=)

Yyyiiiiiiiieeeeeeeehhhhhhhhaaaaaaaa!!!  After four months in MES, I was finally given my own computer!!!  And it’s brand new!!!  Yiiieeehhhaaa!!!  It’s about time…  I am presently typing this blog form my new PC in my office.  This feels like so much fun!  I feel like a small kid getting a new toy!!!=)

Before this, I’ve been hefting my sister’s laptop to work every day to get my work done at the office.  Of course there are other PCs I can use in the main office, but the problem is that sometimes, you will need to wait for your turn to use the PC as the other officers also do not have a PC, what more a laptop.=/

Sharing does not help, especially when you’ve got very important paperwork you need to get done urgently and quickly.  And you can’t really pester your colleague to hurry up with using the PC when her work is just as urgent.

So, everyone has their own PCs now.  After this, we only have to wait for our own printers.  It was supposed to come with the PC, but it has yet to arrive.  I want to put a stop to all that running to the main office with a diskette or USB pen drive to print all the documents using the ONLY printer in the main office.  Very tiresome.=(  But then, the only other person who has their own printer in their own room, is my boss.  Of course, the boss must have her own printer in her own office.  We, the other not-so-high-ranking-officers, are actually entitled to one each, but as usual, it takes time.  But better late than never.

The running and rushing around is good exercise, but it does not feel good when you want to print something the boss or someone important wants on the spot!=/  If someone else is using th PCs and printer at the main office, you will need to wait.  Not good when the boss is waiting for you to hand over the documents right then and there.  Haiyaaa…  Stress + stress + stress = SUPER STRESS!!!=/

Thank God I now have my new PC.  I will no longer need to heft my sister’s laptop every day to the office from now.  No more fighting over who brings the laptop to work with my sisters.  No more rushing and waiting to use the PC in the main office.  Absolutely wonderful!!!=)

Suka suka suka!!!=)

Wednesday, 18 January 2006.

I was SO busy the whole day at work.  And I was also constantly texting Herny about getting my class in Uptown replaced for that night as my very bad sore throat was not getting any better.  In fact, it seemed to get worse.=(  But I quite like this voice.=)  Not as squeaky as how it usually sounds, but very the Makcik Mantap!;-P

I ended up teaching the class as Herny could not get a replacement.  Oh well, I love the crowd there, and they are very understanding and forgiving.  They totally understood when my voice failed on me that night.  Thanks, Uptown Jammers!=)

Su Lin was there to team teach the recovery track with me, so it was not too bad.  But the poor girl had the mic suddenly die down on her.  So, she had to do the recovery track without the mic.  We ended up doing the the second half till the end of the class without the mic.  Not good for my sore throat, definitely.=(

To Su Lin, sorry, dear.  I can’t explain about the mic.  I did try fixing it but I’m not such a handyman.  Maybe it’s just all that sweating on my part.=P  I hope your next experience team teaching will be better.  But despite all that, you were HOT!!!  Shake those bon-bons, babe!;-P

Anyway, back to my day at work, even though I was very busy, but at the back of my mind, I was also thinking of the call from Nike about the Rockstar audition results.  Leo and Anthony had texted a few times to ask about the results but I barely had the time to reply.  I ended up calling Leo during lunch and told her I would call her later during the day after work when I was less busy.

Actually, Herny prematurely blew the horn about the results.  I was texting her in the morning asking her where she had disappeared to the night before, and in one of her replies she kind of congratulated me on making it to the training.  I was like, how come you know but I, myself do not know???!!!  And she was like, ooopppsss!!!  She just told me that she was sure I would made it.  Thanks for the believing in me, babe.=)

So, I waited.  If they call, it will be cool.  But if they don’t call, it will be cool too.  Then I can spend the weekend relaxing a bit instead of feeling stressed and tired at the training.;-)

The call came in a little after 4.00pm.  And I was SO damn busy.  Great timing.  But knowing me, I could actually STOP all that I was doing, answer the call and even had a short conversation with Andrew about the training and the asked about the others who had made it to the training.  He wouldn’t tell me at first, but I just asked him if my friends had made it through, and he just confirmed their names.

I immediately called Juwita and then Leo to tell them the news.  My so-called busy work was put on hold for quite some time talking to them and answering the texts that had come in earlier asking me if I made it.  I had to go back a bit late that evening to compensate for the time I had spent not working.=/

What a relief that they will all be there.  I don’t think I can handle the training without Juwita.  She is my source of encouragement, support and motivation, after all.  She was also one of the reasons I took up the Body Jam training last year in the first place.  That’s how I came to teach Jam.  But she won’t be around this time around, so it would really help if I had friends who were there to support and help me out.  Thank God Leo and the others will be there.  Hopefully we will all do well.  (*Pray…*)

Making it through and passing the training is a totally different issue.  The first and main issue is to SURVIVE the training.  Whether I get shortlisted after that is not something I’d like to think about.

Imagine, 16 people were shortlisted.  Yes, 16.  But remember, they might just need 10 (not confirmed but heard somewhere about this before this).  These 15 (excluding me) people would have the IT factor, right?  So, competition would be worse, and skills would be even better.  Even more Stress + Pressure for me.  Right now, I feel that it looks bleak for me.  I can’t handle tough competition well.  You’re supposed to face your competition and come up on top, but for me, if I feel that failure will be more eminent than success, then I will end up sucking at it and making a total fool and embarrassment of myself.=(

Yeah, yeah.  Stop being so pessimistic.  I know, I know.  As I said, I will try my very best and be Super Makcik Mantap this weekend.;-)

Wish me luck!=)

Makcik Mantap?  Hehehe…  What’s this all about?  It started with the Nike Rockstar audition which happened in the Main Studio of FF Menara Axis at about 9.30pm onwards on Tuesday, January 17, 2006…

I was actually supposed to replace Leo’s Jam class in Subang but my very bad sore throat did not seem to be getting any better.  In fact, it was becoming worse, so, I had to ask Kat to find someone else to do the class for Leo.  Leo was away in Labuan for work from Monday till Thursday.  You missed out on all the fun and entertainment, babe.;-)  Rugi, rugi…

Before 9.30pm, you could see the instructors filtering into Axis for the audition.  What audition?  The Nike Rockstar Audition.  Nike will be launching this new program in FF which is danced based; a bit like Cardio Dance, I think.  They will be holding this training of their Nike Rockstar Program this weekend for all the participants involved.  It seems that quite a number of people had registered for the training.  31, in fact.  As space was limited, they had to hold auditions to choose the people they want.

That was how the audition came into place.  Quite a few Jam instructors turned up : Riyo (present Body Jam Head Teacher), Jeremy, Crystal, Kenny, Jason and Danny (I think I missed some, sorry).  Other program instructors were also there : Janis, Herny, Nick Heng, Klevin, Ping and Myke (I think there were some more but I just can’t remember, sorry).  The new Jam instructors were also there : Anthony (new in Jam, but not new in Body Step), Tina, Su Lin, Claire, Shirlyn, Vehn and Ken.  The Dancing Divas were also there : Jimmy and Lily.  Then there were some FF staff, members and others who I don’t really know or have seen before.  I know Nic Cheah.  He was there.  There were also about three members I have met and seen before.  There was this one girl I’ve never seen before, a few others I didn’t know at all, and then there was Wenell.  Don’t ask me how she got there.  I’m not going to say anything more about her.=P  And last but not least, me.=)

So, how did Makcik Mantap come about?  Hehehe…  Well, before saying anything else, first, I just want to safely say that Juwita and I have crowned myself (me, Azyei!) with the title Makcik Mantap!  Kuang kuang kuang…

Here goes…

Melissa (ex-Body Jam Head Teacher) was there to conduct the audition and so were some folks from Nike (Amanda, Andrew and Vijay) to observe and record the audition and us on video tape.

Mel sarted by explaining how they were doing the auditions.  She would show and teach us the moves, and we had to follow and learn from her.  We were then supposed to execute the moves in a group before we had to do the move down the floor part.  MOVE DOWN THE FLOOR???!!!  Does that mean a SOLO performance???!!!  Yup, it is.:-0

Hehehe…  I was very composed at first.  Rather, I LOOKED composed.  Looking and being is quiet different, you know.  I tried to look as poker faced as I possibly could.  But when Mel started the warm-up, I was already beginning to freak out with the complexity of the moves.  I so cannot pick up moves the first time around.  I need constant practice to perfect my moves.=/

Mel showed us some moves and combos for warm-up and we followed her.  Bloody hell!!!  What a warm-up!  If that was warm-up, then I can’t imagine what the dance routine will be like!=P  The moves were very complex.  At least to me they were!  Mel started with single beats and then went double time for each combo.  She made it look so easy.  Sometimes I hate it when she does that.=P  I’ll go, like, oh, okay.  And then when I execute the moves, I will be so salah one.  I mean, I do Body Jam and I can dance a little bit above average compared to some (hehehe…  puji diri sendiri…).  However, I do practice a lot for BJ before I actually start teaching the new releases, so that I don’t actually embarrass myself in from of all the members.  But this is SO super susah.  It’s like doing Body Jam but with the energy and power needed for Body Combat.  I don’t know…  Maybe it’s just me, but it wasn’t damn easy, man!!!=(

After that, Mel taught us the moves she wanted us to do fro the second part of the audition.  It looked and felt okay to me at first but after a while, I suddenly felt that all my moves were so salah.  I just felt so cacat.=P

It was not so bad doing it as a group, as there were so many of us, you can actually tell yourself that no one will really notice how cacat you really look.  But then Mel called for the SOLO part.  SOLO???!!!  Haiyaaaaaaaaaaaa…  Gua mau matilar macam nie!!!  That was when things stared going from worse, to bad, to terrible terrible terrible for me!=(

I looked around for Juwita.  She was there to observe and check out the babes doing the audition.  She should have been sitting just outside the studio (it wasn’t appropriate for her to come in), but SHE WASN"T THERE!!!  Aiyohhhh!!!  Juwita is one of those people who I always go to for support and motivation.  Whenever I’m feeling down, she’s always there to give me a helping hand and ear.

But right then, she WASN’T THERE!  I just needed an encouraging nod from her to tell me that I could go through this!  At the back of my mind, I remembered telling myself that she was still there watching me, probably from behind the rear glass wall of the main studio with all the names of the countries on it.  (Those of you who go to Axis regularly will know which mirror I’m talking about.)  And she WAS actually there; with Colin and Alvin and Alton some more!

But I guess I was so freaked out, I could not do really comprehend what my mind was telling me.  So, I had to tell myself, "Okay, Azyei.  You can do it!  Get a grip on yourself!!!"  But I guess it did not help much.=P

Things first got bad when I got to sit down and watch the first group execute their moves solo.  I shouldn’t have done that.  Some of them looked so awesome, I suddenly felt even more lubuk.  To make things worse, Jimmy was the first one to go down the dance floor in the group I was in.  Stress + Pressure to do well.=P  Not good for me.  I’m can be very pessimistic if I feel that I can’t do well or excell in what I do.=(

It actually felt like I was back in primary and secondary school when I went for all those auditions for all those plays and dances I wanted to be in but ended up not being picked in the end or not getting the part I wanted, and just given a mannequin role.=/  I guess I just wasn’t talented.  I could never handle failure well.  Sometimes, if I feel that I won’t be able to do something well, I will not try at all or I will become so demotivated that I will end up totally sucking at it and making an embarassment of myself.=P

Back to the audition..  It got even worse when Lily’s turn was right before me.  Who’s Lily?  She’s this major babe; a friend of Jimmy’s.  They always dance together.  And man, THEY CAN DANCE!!!  Lily is not only a terrific dancer, she is also damn GORGEOUS!

When I came on after her, try to imagine perempuan Melayu terakhir yang control ayu konon-kononnye executing the moves as compared to Dancing Diva.  I think I need not explain any further.

That was how I was crowned Makcik by Juwita.  She was observing me from outside the studio and she said that I looked so the makcik-makcik as compared to Lily.  And I quite agree with her!!!  I could feel that I was not doing it right!!!  Hello!!!  I suddenly became so uptight and tense, I felt I was an embarassment to myself!=(

Mantap came later.  I added it to the title Juwita gave me.  The word came from this story the two of us share about this stalker cum sexual harassment guy at my office.  He kinds of stalks and harasses one of my lady colleagues at work.  It was actually quite disgusting and scary at first, but it also became a source of entertainment for my other friends and I.

This guy actually describes my colleague’s figure as mantap, while they were having a conversation together this one time.  My friend later told me that he described her that way and I was like eeeeaaaaaaayyyyyyyuuuuu…  This guy is like, disgusting!  In Malay, the word mantap actually has this negative, dirty connotation to it.  My friend actually has quite a curvy and voloptuous figure but to be actually described that way outright by a guy, really gives you this very heavy sexual connotation.  Some people may like it, but to me and Juwita, a definite NO NO NO.  Anyway, it’s a long story.  So, if you want to know the full-length version, you can ask me if you meet me later.

So, why Makcik Mantap?  Because I’m mantap as how the stalker-sexual-harassment-guy would describe?  Definitely NOT!  I’m afraid I do not have an hour-glass figure.  I am quite a short, small person.  Not too fat and not too thin.  But small.  So, this is actually a paradox.  It’s supposed to be ironic and in a way, quite insulting.  Ever since I told Juwita about the guy, we commonly use mantap between us to describe something, especially when we’re trying to be sarcastic or insulting (but in a joking manner, of course!).  So, crowning me with this title is actually not a great honour, but an insulting honour.=P

So, right now I’m stuck with this title unless I can prove it otherwise.  So, Makcik Mantap vs Dancing Diva?  I think you get the message.=)

Anyway, I survived till the end of the audition.  I have to thank everyone who was there at the audition for all the support they gave me while I was doing the dance across the floor part.  I think if they had not clapped and cheered for me, I would have been super makcik.;-)

They told us that we won’t know the results till the following day.  Someone from Nike will call those who have been shortlisted for the training.  Even if you make it to the training, you might not make the cut to teach Nike Rockstar AFTER the training, because, if I’m not mistaken, they are going to shortlist it even further to just 10 instructors.  (Not sure about this piece of information.  Need to have this confirmed.)

So, I’m quite cool if I don’t make it to the training, because I will not need to go through the torture of being shortlisted for the final 10.  This will cause me even more Stress + Pressure, as the competition will be even worse and the skills even better.  If I do get to go to the training, I will have to prove that I can be SUPER MAKCIK MANTAP!;-)

Oh well…  Before I take off, thanks, Juwita, for giving me the title.  You always have the BEST description for everything!!!=)  You go, girl!!!  Juwita –> Makcik Mantap’s Best Friend = Best Friend Mantap!=)

Yup, I know.  Hari Raya Haji was over almost 2 weeks ago.  But what the heck, here goes…

Super Belated Hari Raya Aidil Adha to my beloved family, friends, colleagues and students.  May all the qorban that you have done and will do be blessed by Allah, insyaallah.

We spent it in Putrajaya; my parents, Nani, Grandma, Achik (my mom’s younger sister; my aunt) and me.  Shasha spent it alone in Batu caves with her cats.  She had a toothache and didn’t dare to make the long drive to Putrajaya in that condition and pain.  Adik was in Melaka.  He couldn’t come back because he had exams coming up in the following days.

It was a quiet Raya for me.  But my parents were very busy.  They were involved in the qorban of their apartment block.  A kind of gotong royong was going on.  They had to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole block and using some of the daging qorban for some of the dishes.  I promised Juwita and Leo that I would give them some of the meat, but there wasn’t enough to go around.  So sorry, girls.

Nani and I were supposed to help them out but we suddenly became anak dara Melayu terakhir and spent almost the whole time in the apartment with our Grandma and Achik.  We did put up appearances when necessary but not as much as our parents expected and hoped, I think.  They must have been quiet pissed off with us.  Sorry, ma.  Sorry, bah.

Andak and family came for a call as Grandma was there.  They didn’t stay too long ,though.  No one else came.  I guess Putrajaya is quite far for people to come.  My Grandma was very sad and disappointed that her other kids and their kids did not make the effort to visit her.  Oh well…  I guess everyone is busy with their own qorban at their own homes.

I have to learn to make more sacrifices for my parents and family.  Nowadays, I spend too much time at work and at the gym and with my gym friends more than I do with my family and at home.  Sometimes I guess it is true that us kids do tend to neglect our parents as they grow older and as we grow older and more busy with our own lives.  Understanding and compromise help a lot.

But I still can’t help it that I have to spend more time at work and at the gym.  But then, excuses will always be that : Excuses.  I will need to make the extra effort.

Pandai-pandai lar hidup.

Hmmm…  Where shall I start first?  I know, I know.  It’s been a while since my last blog.  In fact, this would be my very first blog for the new year of 2006!!!  Aiyoh!!!  So the lambat.=P

Really don’t know where to start.  So, let’s bantai jelah…

Let’s start with New Year’s Eve…

I had my regular class in Axis at 1.00pm.  It was the first time I had to teach the new BJ35.  I can’t really remember the experience, so it must not have been too bad, but it could not have been too exceptional either as I couldn’t remember anything about it.

However, I do remember rushing to The Curve from Axis to catch Leo’s class at 3.00pm.  Crystal was team teaching with her.  So, some of the other Jammers and I saja jer sibuk-sibuk check them out.  Crystal was going for her clearance to teach BJ35 with the new Jam format, as she had dropped Jam for quite a while.  Riyo must have cleared her as she’s already teaching Jam as of now.  You were great, babe.  Love your machoness.=)

I was caught in a massive jam coming into The Curve.  Ikano Power Centre was holding a New Year’s Eve bash there so they closed up the main roads and cars were swarming with people who had come to attend the bash, which was what was causing the great big jam.

I was late coming into the class.  I watched Crystal do the first block from outside.  I only joined the class for the second block, which Leo did.  I was damn tired by then and could only think of having lunch as I had not eaten from the morning.

I had luch with Leo, Shirlyn, Colin, Raymond and Clement at Uncle Lim’s (I think it’s Uncle Lim’s.  Please correct me if I’m wrong.)  in Ikano Power Centre.  The porridge Leo had was delicious!  I had the nasi lemak as I was so hungry.  It was okay, I guess, but not as good as the porridge for me to remember it .

We walked around The Curve for a while.  Shirlyn bought some stuff at the Nike Women outlet there.  Then they all went their own way; heading home or to the new year’s eve party at whatever venues they were planning to go.

Leo and I stayed on for a while.  We ended up in Marche.  Leo had dinner there.  I think she had some kind of steak.  I only had the caramel.  I was still full with Uncle Lim’s nasi lemak. The caramel was okaylar.  It was more to pass the time away and also to spend some chit chat time with Leo.

We were tired, so we headed back home not too late.  And no, we did not join the New Year’s Eve party being held there.  The coming of old age does not really favour crowded and noisy places.  The fireworks would have been fun to watch, but it wasn’t worth the effort to stay.  Besides, I was tired.  Again, old age.=P

I spent the night watching tv.  Ended up celebrating New Year with Juwita over the phone.  We were on the phone before the countdown.  We never realised it was almost midnight till, like, it was a few seconds before the countdown on tv.  So, Juwita and I counted the seconds down over the phone.  That was a first time experience.=)  Thanks, babe; for sharing the moment with me.

Belated Happy 2006 everyone!