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Blog Comment Links

2009-11-15T19:45:00.007+08:00

http://rubyrin.blogspot.com/2009/11/chocolate-for-any-occasion.html?showComment=1258285460337#c7013012020963604331

Brand Names: More than just a Name!

2009-11-15T17:44:00.007+08:00

Brand names are important – that is the bottom line. If you were asked to start a company, you would put some thought in giving your brand a name. But why? The reason is that brand names are somewhat synonymous to the eventual relation a brand will have with its consumers. A well chosen brand name extends beyond the name and it describes the product and attitude related to the product labeled. In addition to that, catchy brand names are easier to remember and customers will relate better to the company or product which directly correlates to how good sales of the product will be.

A good thing to focus on when it comes to brand names is how certain well chosen brand names have serviced consumer to more than just that. Instead, the brand name has formed a generic term for a specific product. If you do not quite understand what I am talking about, look at the example I am about to give – Cellophane! Now, we refer to any plastic film as ‘cellophane’ when in fact it is a brand name not a noun for an item. This shows how far a brand name can go. Cellophane is actually a mesh of two words which carry functional meanings, more than aesthetic ones for a brand name. They are from the words ‘cellulose’ and ‘diaphane’ (which means transparent). Here are a few examples of Cellophane print ads, back in the day (a long time ago in the 1940s and 1950s) just to show how a brand name became a persuasive label to attract consumers:

We refer to generic names like Cellophane today as a brandnomer. A brandnomer as defined on Wikipedia is a brand name that has colloquially become a generic term for a product or service. Good examples would be how 'Band-Aid' is now synonymous with any form of adhesive bandage and 'Kleenex' is any kind of facial tissue.

Brand names are power labels which help form a relationship between consumers and a brand. Studies have shown that well chosen and effective brand names, especially those that have become a generic term, directly and positively correlate with sales. There are common notions to good brand names, persuasive ones at least. They are easy to remember, unique but yet descriptive of the actual product.

Think of it this way. When shopping for facial tissues, you refer to it as ‘Kleenex’. Would not you be more likely to purchase the actual brand ‘Kleenex’ that any other brand? Usually that is the case, as brand names have proven to indirectly foster brand loyalty. Just like in the case of Coca-Cola. When thinking of soda drinks, most consumers would gravitate to purchasing Coca-Cola as opposed to any other brands. Just recall how many times have you picked Coca-Cola over any other drinks at the vending machine, or how many times have you chosen generic brands such as RC Cola over Coca-Cola at the shopping aisle. This is just how the brain works. It takes the generic term, a well chosen brand name that we are accustomed to, and uses it as a ruler to what we actually purchase.

Apart from that, brand names of prescription drugs such as Alleve, Claritin and Prevacid which give a description towards the function of the drug, and yet is catchy in every way are also brandnomers which act as persuasive tools. Studies have also shown that when it comes to products, consumers are more willing to pay more for brand names. An example would be aspirin. Even though all aspirin uses the main ingredient of acetylsalicylic acid, consumers are more willing to pay for a brand name than a non brand name. This shows how persuasive a brand name can be and proves that brand names can indeed be very persuasive.

Blog Comments

2009-10-28T13:08:00.000+08:00

1. http://khalilsaleh.blogspot.com/2009/10/nike.html?showComment=1256705406994#c193912696347703300

2. http://nooraltoma.blogspot.com/2009/10/smart-water-has-smart-marketers.html?showComment=1256706414710#c5617366973607702416

The Need for Sex in Ads: What is and What Not.

2009-10-28T12:22:00.008+08:00

Bud-Light Lime "Getting it in the Can" ad

"Burger King Likes Square Butt" commercial

Sex sells - this is a statement that most advertisement companies adhere strongly to when it comes to marketing products to adults. I could entirely understand the need for sex to be included in commercials as an appeal to reach its target audience, but in the case of a commercial that is misleading, misguided and has no specific target audience in mind, it becomes disastrous such as shown in the "Burger King likes Square Butts" commercial.

Initially, this rather controversial commercial is supposed to be part of the marketing campaign for Burger King's kids meals that is accompanied with a Spongebob Square Pants toy. However, when the commercial came under fire by the public for celebrating lechery and objectifying women, Burger King stated that the commercial was targeted towards adults specifically as it was slotted in between adult shows.

So the main question is: Is the commercial effective in terms of appealing its target audience? Sure enough, Burger King had gained tremendous publicity from this creative commercial alone; but despite all that, when sex appeal is used in a commercial that obviously targets children (I doubt many adults would actually purchase the kids' meals after watching this commercial), it loses its main motive and becomes utterly meaningless. Putting aside the discussion on how the sexual innuendos in this commercial would negatively impact children, I strongly believe that advertisement companies should retain the artistic and creative values of a commercial instead of scraping it in order to please a few corporate executives. Undoubtedly, this commercial would still retain its elements and achieve its goal by leaving out all the sexual messages, because kids will definitely feel the need to be affiliated with SpongeBob Squarepants in the commercial (although, I would have to agree that Burger King was probably trying to kill two birds with one stone by targeting both adults and kids alike in this commercial).

As a case in point of a good commercial that successfully targets its adult audience with sex appeal and does its job of promoting its product - the Bud-light lime "Getting it in the Can" commercial has captured both the need for sex and also the need to satisfy curiosity with a well-written script:

"I got it in the can for the first time last night. I loved it."
"I never thought I’d enjoy getting it in the can as much as I do. I was wrong."
"I gave it to my boss in the can."
"Right after this game, I’m getting it in the can."
"I’ve only had it in the can once, but I’m definitely getting it in the can again."
"I’ve been giving it to everyone in the can all week."
"I’m gonna get it in the can in about five minutes."
"I’ve lost track how many times I’ve had it in the can."
"Who told you I like it in the can?"
"I didn’t expect to get it in the can at the company party, but… one thing led to another and sure enough, there I was getting it in the can."

With a simple word-play and usage of pun, the commercial has appropriately targeted its adult audience with the element of sex and at the same time kept its sexual message subtle. Although one may argue that this commercial might not strike a chord to people who viewed the commercial for the first time, I believe that part of the charm and beauty of a good commercial is its replay value. Subsequently, by banking in on the audience's need to satisfy curiosity in order to leave a long-lasting impression of the commercial, the audience would be inclined to view the commercial repeatedly in the attempt to understand its underlying meaning.

P.S: For those who are still having a tough time figuring the beer commercial out, just try replacing the word "can" with "cunt" throughout the commercial.

Smoothies: Food of the Future.

2009-10-27T22:52:00.007+08:00

I have always been boggled by the paradox that revolves around smoothies: Neither solid, nor liquid - it is a food that you drink and a drink that is food. Regardless of how smoothies are marketed as, it has certainly taken the world by storm. Since the introduction of smoothies as a concept of healthy meal alternatives in the 70s, millions who desired better health and fitness have jumped onto the smoothie bandwagon, consequently, turning it into a multibillion dollar industry. Undeniably, as our natural food sources gradually depletes due to the increase of world population, global warming, and the pollution of our freshwater sources, it is no surprise that one day, we will have to substitute conventional food for more cost-effective and economically feasible methods of feeding ourselves. Just as aptly depicted in "Wall-E", when humans left the no-longer habitable Earth to live in space shuttles, they had to sustain their bodies with smoothies alone when growing food is entirely out of the question. Although this may seemed highly hypothetical, smoothies may indeed be the ultimate solution to our food problems in the future...

First off, it is important to take note that smoothies are essentially anything that can be blended and liquified. Hence, it is actually possible to make a smoothie out of an entire turkey leg, peanut butter, snicker bars or even a couple of golf balls, as long as the end result could be sucked through a straw (although I would not recommend the latter). Now that you have a broader perspective of what smoothies are as opposed to what is being served in Jamba Juice, Smoothie King and Robeks, I may go on to prove my claim:

By eliminating the need to chew and easing the process of ingestion at the same time, smoothies allow nutrients to be absorbed more effectively and rapidly into the bloodstream, thus, generating less waste in the alimentary system than conventional food. Sure enough, chewing on a thick slice of steak definitely beats sucking it through a straw any time, but from the perspective of any nutritionist, by ingesting the steak in a smoothie form, indigestion could generally be avoided and nutrient uptakes in the intestines could be increased tremendously - a crucial element when food becomes scarce.

In a world where pills, capsules and tablets are slowly becoming a part of our staple diet, it becomes a convenience for consumers that multivitamins and various boosts could be added into smoothies as a form of dietary supplementation - this definitely beats gorging down vitamins with water. Undeniably, the smoothie industry attracts its throngs of consumers by marketing a holistic health approach, eventhough it may be rather misleading at times; gingko biloba - marketed by the smoothie industry as a boost to increase intellectual levels and focus - has no known scientifically proven remedial or beneficial properties except for the fact that it does increase blood flow to the brain. Yet, millions of consumers still drink smoothies with the impression that the boosts in their smoothies would improve their health in some manner... (Or maybe the health benefits are merely an excuse for them to enjoy a smoothie guiltlessly). Speaking of which, I suppose it would not be long till the day when doctors start prescribing drugs to their patients and serve them in a smoothie just so that patients do not complain about having to fight with their gag reflexes and the bitter aftertaste of swallowing pills. After all, we already have antacids like Tums and diabetic meal-replacement drinks in the form of smoothies being sold at the shelves of local pharmacies.

Having being highly utilized by astronauts in NASA space missions because of their long shelf-lives, easy storage and resistance to bacterial colonization, smoothies could very well be an important food in the future (of course, still under the assumption that one day we will run out of food). It is highly probable that under extreme circumstances such as wars and disasters, smoothie powders are very likely our best bet of food too. In addition to that, smoothies are consumable by almost everyone regardless of allergies and inability to eat solids, thus it does have a wider market appeal of consumers.

Perhaps, this may seem rather inapparent as of now, but with the current trend of food advancement, smoothies will indeed replace our definition of food in the future. Undeniably, with the ongoing problems faced by the agricultural sectors worldwide, it is only a matter of time that we run out of food entirely on this planet; only time will tell whether humans would resort to smoothies solely as a form of meal in the future, such as depicted in "Wall-E"...

UPDATED Blog Comments

2009-09-24T10:37:00.008+08:00

http://rubyrin.blogspot.com/2009/09/ice-creams.html?showComment=1253759842445#c8488909086847498710

It is interesting how you pointed out that Japanese ice-creams tend to have lesser toppings and focused more on the flavor of the ice-cream itself; whereas, American ice-creams are usually bombarded with tons of toppings. From this, I believe that the aspects of simplicity, functionality and tradition have always been incorporated into whatever that the Japanese manufactures. A fine example would be to look at Japanese car manufacturers: Honda, Nissan and Toyota. All these companies consistently deliver cars of the year, year after year, with their practical and economical cars. They are good at what they do simply because they sell cars that are meant to be cars; not cars that are advertised to be rockets (like the GM advertisement of the new Cadillac CTS) and huge loud rumbling machines like the infamous American muscle cars or gargantuan Hummer tanks that probably has a 8-15 MPG fuel consumption!

The main point I am trying to make here is: no matter how much "toppings" you masquerade your "ice-cream" with, if it tastes bad initially, it will remain bad.

2. http://alyssarmedrano.blogspot.com/2009/09/slice-of-heaven.html?showComment=1253760903016#c5724995778773030453

It is amazing how pizza has evolved from being a dish for the poor made from a plain piece of dough with hardly any toppings on it to the various creations that we adore and love so much today. With such an evolution, pizza has taken the world by storm. Pizza franchises mushroomed everywhere in the 60-70s, monopolizing the pizza market, leaving most family pizza chains no choice but to adapt and compete or to sell their business to mega-corporations. It is simply the survival of the fittest when it comes to American capitalism. Think how many business owners have lost their stores to Wal-mart, Home Depot and other mega-corporations simply because they cannot compete with their prices. Imagine living in a world run by mega-corporations where competition no longer exist; prices will be fixed based on the companies' liking and consumers will no longer have a freedom of choice! Hence, I believe that it is important for us consumers to support family businesses even if it means paying a dollar or two more.

Lip-smacking Lucille's

2009-09-23T17:55:00.014+08:00

Lucille's BBQ
4828 E 2nd St.,
Long Beach, 90803 CA.
Contact: (562) 434-7427
Open 7 days a week; 11AM - 4PM for lunch, 4PM - 10PM for dinner.

I bet many of you readers have either heard of or been to Lucille's BBQ at least once and I believe most patrons share a love-hate relationship with this place; you either love it or downright hate it because it is impossible to feel indifferent about the succulent, tender ribs served here. Perhaps, the only place that could match to the standards of the ribs served at Lucille's would probably be Famous Dave's but that is another topic of debate entirely (of course, I am comparing basing solely on my opinion and experiences).
Nonetheless, this blog is not about Lucille's ribs or has anything related to it...
My main aim is to shove people of the orthodox path of ordering ribs at Lucille's just because it is their specialty and to enlighten you with other heavenly delicacies that Lucille's serve! (Well, if you have already tried every menu item of Lucille's good for you! Be my guest and go feast your eyes on the photos posted instead!)

It was like any other Sunday, driven insane by hunger, I drove down to 2nd street along with Chern in search for food we could ~~stuff our faces with~~ fill our growling tummies with.
Perhaps it was the closest restaurant from where we parked or maybe we were just attracted by the striking neon lights like moths, we entered Lucille's without much hesitation.

Being seated down at bright red comfy seats, I was like a little kid once again, flipping through the menu, wishing I could have everything!

I know... I am a sucker for reading fine prints on practically anything, be it the label on a ketchup bottle, or an operating manual for a lawn mower.
Interesting enough, reading through the back of the menu, one could make many interesting interpretations based on the contents, structure of the sentences, spellings, slang, tone and formality.

Finished with the menu, I went on to the sauces for further reading material, but to my dismay, there was not a single label worth reading on any of them. I supposed Lucille was still keeping her promise to granny...

Then, soon enough our orders of pineapple juice arrived - a truly great drink to wash hearty meals down, especially when they are not made from juice concentrate! It was 100% fresh pineapple juice; nothing beats the tangy, refreshing taste!

Amusingly, our biscuits came pre-arranged to resemble a certain Disney character.
They were fluffy from the inside, slightly crispy on the outside; dipped them in the apple butter they come with, I swear I felt an orgasm coming along from the sensation of having it melt right in my mouth. We ordered seconds.

Lucille's Fried Pork Chop

Smoked Chicken Pasta

Then came the highlight of this blog! Fried pork chop and smoked chicken pasta! (I am already starting to make dinner plans at Lucille's at this point)
One word to describe the dishes: Yummy!
Alright, maybe the word yummy does not give a good enough idea to how scrumptious they were, hence, the photos should be a better judge...

Apparently my pasta turned out to be over-tempting for Chern to resist as she glanced over every 5 seconds (It could very well be her greedy nature too). In about approximately 2 minutes, she reached over and helped herself with my food!
Well, I had a fair share of her pork chops in return...

Perfect! I caught you snitching my food on the camera!

As always, I feel it is important for restaurateurs to have some feedback from their customers (as trivial as it may seem).

Another smiley awarded to Lucille's for an excellent meal!

Additional comments: The next time you pop by Lucille's for a meal (either the one at 2nd st. or LB Town Center), do make an observation of the people around. It will become apparent to you that at least 75% of the patrons are non-African Americans - a rather peculiar thing for a restaurant that serves specifically Southern food (For this particular visit, there was not even a single table of African Americans!). There can only be deductions that could be made on such a phenomenon. Are people gradually tearing down racial barriers because of food? Or maybe because of the election of an African American president that brought by this change of mindset in people? Or can it be the white demographic of Long Beach? Or could it be that Lucille's is ironically owned by Craig Hoffman (also owner of Hof's Hut) - a white American?

It could be any of the reasons above but what intrigues me most would be the last one (which I believe to be true)...

There are no stories to be found about Lucille Buchanan on the web! None. Not even a single photo on Google Images, except for photos of a Jamaican who is presently National President of the United Nations Association of Jamaica (what?!?). Lucille Buchanan is only as real as Santa is (sorry kids!) and I believe the story behind the menu was solely created as a marketing strategy or a very good pre-dining story by Mr. Hoffman (left pic). Once again, American capitalism at its best!

Then again, I am probably the only sucker who reads random writings behind menus and believed it was true... until I did a little research on my own.

Phở, America and Phở America

2009-09-21T12:06:00.017+08:00

Phở America
1826 Pacific Ave,
Long Beach, CA 90806.
Contact: (562) 218-0204

Open 7 days a week 10am-9pm
Sat-Sun 7.30am-5pm

Driving down PCH towards downtown Long Beach one day, I came across this huge sign standing majestically amongst palm trees and decided to pop by to check the place out and to satisfy Chern's craving for Asian food at the same time (Can't quite blame her for that when we have been eating burgers and tacos for 5 days consecutively).

We were greeted by a red facade, probably the owner's choice to clad the restaurant with the national color of Vietnam (Interesting enough, it could be painted after the Stars and Stripes too).
The interior layout of the restaurant was rather casual yet cozy in alike many other conventional cafes.
Starving, we both ordered our meals and waited while sipping on our drinks.
Chern had black jelly with boba while I opted for something more conventional like a Sữa đậu nành or soya bean drink.

I believe that the boba drinks actually originated from Taiwan, but it is amazing how these sweet, chewy little black round balls made from tapioca could become such a huge hit.
Well, she seemed to have enjoyed her drink infused with sweet coconut milk and totally disregarded the amount of calories the drink has (which is a good sign considering how petty she is with her daily caloric intake).

Shortly, Chern's beef noodle soup arrived in a classic white bowl. Squeezing some lime juice and sliding the garnishing (bean sprouts, cilantro and holy basil) down the soup, she immediately start digging in. Simply tantalizing!

My order of shrimp spring rolls came and they are a refined version of the original Gỏi cuốn, made from thinner rice sheets and tasted heavenly when they are dipped in Nước chấm or peanut sauce.

We ended our meal with a complimentary bowl of Chè (a sweet dessert beverage or pudding usually made from beans, in this instance, green beans), as courtesy of the restaurant owner. Overall satisfaction would be rated around the scale of 8/10 and the place is awarded with a smiley from both of us!

Additional comments: It is indeed a gratifying experience to taste food in different parts of the world and to make comparisons between how food changes based on regions to cater to specific palates, although they all essentially serve the same food. In this instance, we have an impression of how authentic Vietnamese food should taste and look like before we patronized Phở America and it was indeed amazing when we found out that the food at Phở America tasted almost authentic, except for the fact that the degree of spiciness was way milder. (But nothing a little good ol' chili oil can't do!)

The reason why I am emphasizing so strongly on the authenticity of ethnic food is because if food is always being altered to cater the majority, it slowly loses its culinary roots and influences the judgment of many first-timers to have a different impression on that particular kind of food. For instance, the typical American's perception towards Chinese food is that it is fried, oily, greasy and served from a certain fast food chain that bears China's most treasured animal as its logo. Obviously, that is not the truth. There are just so many instances when people refrain from taking a particular sort of food solely because their first experience with that food was not to their liking, especially when the typical American tend to be rather cautious when it comes to adding new food to their palate. Undeniably, not everyone possesses an adventurous taste-bud like Anthony Bourdain does...

We all have our own stereotypes towards different sorts of food: Thai food usually being spicy and tangy, Japanese food generally consisting of raw fishes and glutinous rice, American food revolves around burger and fries and we make stereotypes from the very first moment we are exposed to new foods. Hence, it is highly encouraged for first-timers who intend to experience a proper, authentic exotic meal to check ahead and ask around for restaurants that caters specifically to the particular cuisine you are interested in trying. A good idea would be to head down to ethnicity-localized areas such as Little Saigon, Chinatown or Little Tokyo (for Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese food in accordance to the order of places listed) and it usually does the trick.

On a side note, it is understandable that capitalism is what drives America and most restaurateurs have to do what it takes to suit their customer's needs and make a profit.

Fitness, bodybuilding and stuffs...

2007-05-10T00:18:00.000+08:00

Arggghhh... Everything comes with a price to pay...
I was just told by the Celeb Fitness managers that staff members weren't allowed to workout during peak hours (5-9 pm)...
The worst part is: I can't do so even when I'm a member too =(
Damn...

Anyway, my first few days as a training trainer (mind the pun) was rather uneventful apart from the FISAF classes I had in Bangsar Village.
Although, there's no doubt I had learnt a considerable amount of knowledge about fitness just from these few days just by talking to people randomly.
Mainly, I stumbled upon this situation where different people/trainers have different opinions on the same particular exercise or routine and I think that this kind of situation tends to lead people to a certain extent of confusion, especially to inexperienced trainers... (Yes, I'm one of them without a doubt)
But I do know one thing, it doesn't matter whichever method is applied, so long it's generally accepted, safe and it produces REAL RESULTS!
And that's exactly why I wanted to be a PT in the first place - all because I had a strong desire to learn more about fitness, correct techniques, learning routines that are caters to different fitness goals and etcetera.
Not forgetting, the FISAF certification which would come in handy one day as I am highly passionate about this particular subject.

Alright, maybe some of you guys have entirely no idea what the hell I'm talking about...
Let's say, a particular person (whom I would not mention his/her name out of respect and proffesionalism), he/she mentioned that bodybuilders who train one body part per day would lead to MUSCLE IMBALANCE... OMG, if so, won't all bodybuilders rather suicide right now because all their hard work of creating a perfectly symmetrical, well-sculpted body has gone down the drain? !*@$
That also applies to me who have been training using such a method... *Sigh* Ok... Forget it, as I mentioned earlier, it doesn't matter whichever method is applied, so long it's generally accepted, safe and it produces REAL RESULTS!
Oh and there's also a certain someone who came out with a theory that bench presses are BAD and shouldn't be done and the worst part is he/she is someone from above in the PT management... =/

Btw, during my few days of work when I am not having FISAF classes, it was quite interesting to observe how other people workout as they are usually not really sure themselves about a couple of stuffs...
One example would be an uncle around his late 40s whom I noticed working out 5 different body parts in a day with moderate weights...
First off, he was doing dumbbell shoulder presses in a bad form without any back support...
So, I popped by and had a light conversation with him and gave a suggestion on using an inclinable bench for support...
Well, he seems rather glad that I pointed that out for him although he did argued initially that he was fine with his method... (which he wasn't really actually)
Anyway, it was until he mentioned that deadlift exercises are for the hamstrings that I realised how badly he needs a person to guide him...
Alright, I do know that deadlifts do actually work the hamstrings BUT ISN'T THAT !@$*ING EXERCISE FOR THE BACK?
Anyway, he told me that he read that particular info from a Men's Health book that states so... OK... FINE... So, maybe I'm wrong after all... Zzz...
But I'm pretty sure he got his workout routine pretty messed up as he was following that particular book as though he was worshipping it...
Let's say... 2 sets for almost 20 different kinds of exercises comprising of chest, back, arms and mumbo jumbo in one day?
Ok... Maybe this routine is for toning purposes... But, with hardly any guidance of how to do a proper deadlift in the proper form, I think he would get frustrated soon enough when he realised how slow he is progressing and maybe even suffer from injuries...

Fine... Fine... I shouldn't be here rambling about people at my gym as I'm not that great myself... But hey, we all got to learn somehow, right?
Anyhow, he seems pretty interested to take up training with me, so I guess all is well, right? Lol...

Before I forget about something, I do have some good news to share...
I've just found a pretty decent source/guy to purchase sports supplements...
Best thing is everything he sells is much cheaper than almost elsewhere and you can basically ask for ANYTHING!
I MEAN ANY S|-|1T SUPPLEMENT THAT YOU HAD EVER DREAMT FOR! xD
Just an example, you can get BSN NO-xplode at below RM200!!!
I'm not sure about the rest of the prices of the supplements he sells as he ships them directly from NZ, but let's say that after asking about 20 different kinds of supplements, they were all considerably cheaper than elsewhere =)
Now, isn't that great news?

Here, you can contact him at 016-6163546 or tawweisay@hotmail.com (REY) and he uses MSN so it's pretty convenient...

Enjoy guys! And do remember where you read this particular piece of priceless info from though! Haha =D

Being a personal trainer and FISAF course

2007-05-04T06:04:00.000+08:00

Wow... Time really does flies when you are busy!
It's been 1 damn month that I've haven't been blogging! Arghh...
Okok... Chill... It's just one month and now I'm back in the blogosphere world and ready to blog as much as possible!

Well, I was pretty occupied with work and classes during the entire April initially... (You just can't tell how relieve I am when I have completed my diploma course!)
And just recently, I've got a job as a PT in Celeb Fitness and started taking FISAF classes...
For those who are clueless about what FISAF is about or what the abbreviation stands for, you can always check it up at fisaf.org...
It was pretty amusing as to how I've landed this job in the first place...
There's no doubt I was interested in being a PT for quite some time, but it was quite random when I decided to request for the job...

All I did was to chat with the PT manager Fariq and Binto as I've known him for quite some while (plainly because I basically workout everyday in the gym)...
Guess I should be thankful to be accepted so easily especially when I have no fitness certificates, just a background PLUS both managers were quite shocked to find out I was only 19 as all the while they had the impression that I'm 25! xD

I think it's also mainly because I might be too young to gain certain clients trust (and probably the youngest ever to applied for a PT job there) but if I don't mention my age, who knows right?
Haha... (So readers, keep that secret to yourselves!)

Anyway, my 1st day of work was at 1st of May... (Yes, the gym opens even at Labour's Day!)
That's when I met my first friend/colleague - Jack who's probably in his early 30s and initially doing sales in the previous company...
Well, he's got about 3 months of PT experience and hence considered 3 months my senior and I do owe him quite a lot for clearing tonnes of questions that I blasted at him =>

From that day, I realized that my first few weeks as a PT would be pretty relaxing as all I had to do was work from 12 to 6 and mostly attend classes...
Best thing of all is that I'm learning stuffs about muscle groups, skeletal structures and etc. which most of them I've already learned in my Biochemistry diploma and some learnt via researches and studies on my own =P Haha...
It's great to be paid to study and to take tests... xD

In the course I'm taking, they will be 3 tests:
1. Level 1 - Core test
2. Level 2 - FI (Fitness Instructor's) test
3. Level 3 - PT (Personal Trainer's) test

After completion and passing of every test, they will be an incentive of RM200 in cold hard cash!
Ah well, I know its just a small amount, but it's still money earned from taking tests!
I mean, who gets paid to attend classes and take tests, right? Lol...

Anyway, I went for my first FISAF class in Bangsar Village yesterday (3rd March)...
It was my first time in Bangsar Village actually...
My first impression of the gym was that it's dreadfully cramped up...
That was until I discovered that there was a stairways leading to the 2nd floor which seems to be more spacious but given in comparison with 1U's, I still think the latter appears to be more spacious, probably because of the well planned placing of the machines...

Strangely, the FISAF class is conducted in such a relax sense that we sat/lay/slept on yoga mats... Lol...
I attended both core and FI lessons which was carried out by Irene Lee who's in charge of FISAF education in Malaysia and Indonesia...
She seems to be pretty amiable and easy-going for a lady her age...
Anyway, I believe this is going to be another busy month for me again =/
- Last college exam on the 8th of May and I can say good riddance to diploma.
- Jaydon coming back to Malaysia on 11th of May.
- Rehearsal in ACTS school of performing arts on 12th of May.
- Redang trip on the 13th of May with coursemates.
- Playing for ACTS school of performing arts 's exam on the 17th and 18th of May.
- FISAF exam on the 23th of May.

Damn, how am I going to cramp everything in my schedule with so much work... Zzz...
If only I could bend time... if only....

Reasons why girls usually stay away from free-weights:

2007-03-30T18:53:00.000+08:00

Ever wonder why we rarely see girls at the free-weight section in our local gyms?
Yet, we'll find them prefering to attend classes or doing cardio instead!
After doing a couple of surveys and research, here are a couple of answers I've came out with:

No. 1 --> The most obvious reason would be the common misconception amongst girls that they will gain muscles if they lift weights! IT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT TRUE! First off, gaining muscles requires testesterones and the natural testesterone levels in an average girl are usually very low. Secondly, in order to gain muscles, it is required to lift heavier weights, instead of performing 30 reps on 2kg dumbbells. Hence, girls usually require much much more effort to gain muscles (not forgetting using steroids). The truth is, training free-weights is a perfect way to increase the body's metabolism, correcting the body's posture, lowering the risk of osteoporosis during old age and etc. The best part would be to train free-weights and combine it with cardio. The results would be much effective than solely doing cardio or attending classes only as it helps greatly for people who aims to tone down and get leaner. This usually can be done by performing high reps at an appropriate weight. (For example: 20 reps at a weight that would not allow you to do anymore than 20 reps) No. 2 --> Too much hardwork and too much of a routine... This is also a reason why not only girls, but guys give up on free-weights! Understandably, everything comes with a price! Thus, the saying 'No pain. No gain'... They are actually so much variations in free-weight training than you girls can ever do in 100 classes of yoga/body-combat/body-pump alone! It's usually the constraint of weight-lifting knowledge that gives the girls the impression that free-weights are boring! Anyway, our main goal as to why we train is to have results right? Having fun should always come next after results. How about having fun when you have a body like this:

No. 3 --> Most girls are intimidated to hit the weight room surrounded by huge (horny) male gym goers. Aw... That can easily be countered if you ignore the guys and fully concentrate on your workout, right? If not, you can always find another guy companion to hit the weights with you =) (Preferably a guy with some lifting experience) Or maybe you can find a time, maybe in the morning where the free-weights section are usually unoccupied.

No. 4 --> Most girls do not know how to train properly or not familiar with the machines. Well, that's what those personal trainers are for, right? (Although I can't guarantee they are well qualified to train you girls =/) If not, you can always grab this chance to ask the hot hunk beside you on how to use the machines and lifting methods =P That's what you call killing 2 birds with one stone xD

Now, (if you are a babe and) if you are trying to narrow down certain areas in size like your waist, arms or hips, look no further. Pumping iron is a good way to achieve trimmer and firmer areas. When you begin to lift weights, it seems as though you are getting bigger and bulkier at first. This feeling is common. Do not let this bother you.

I have seen girls who have actually went down one size smaller with consistent weight training. In fact, it is through weight training, you can get rid of your flabby arm. You will have firmer hips and thighs.
So, girls, go to the free weight area to lift some weights. (We all are there looking forward to more babes. Ahem)

Of course, I am not encouraging you to ignore your Yoga classes, Body Combat or Body Jam classes. By all means, do continue with some type of aerobic exercise to condition your cardiovascular system, but add in the component of strength training and watch the results. If you are not doing any strength training, let's get started today! Get ready to be a healthy woman with a well toned body.

Credits to Mun for his article on "Is Weight Lifting For Women?"

Experiencing lots of "FIRST" in Zouk!

2007-03-23T14:49:00.000+08:00

It was this Green Night event held by A-look at 21st of March, Monday that my friend Andy invited me to go to and he told me to bring along a couple of friends.

So, I brought another 3 friends to come along and all of them were 1st timers to Zouk and 2 of them never clubbed before! Initially, I wanted to ask some chicks to come along but there were either overseas or non-clubbing types of girls... What a drag... xD Haha... But it was great fun anyway hanging out in a 4 guy group...

Anyway, I was about an hour late from the time stated in the invitation thanks to the heavy downpour that caused a massive jam... I arrived about 8.30pm instead of 7 and my friends were all waiting for me at the entrance despite that I had asked them to go ahead without me.

Well, my friend Andy was at the reception greeting people and stuffs. What would be interesting is that his friend, Hishiko was ushering us into the club and she asked if I was a VIP or guest (not quite sure if she mentioned guest or something else), and I hesitated awhile before answering 'neither'... Lol... Well, it's true that I'm neither as I was more like a wedding-crasher, just that in this case it would be more appropriate to say that I'm an event-crasher/clubbing-crasher xD

The best thing is we actually managed to enter into the VIP area without knowing as we took a different entrance that was not guarded... (It was an entrance for waiters and staffs of Zouk into the VIP area) The truth is, we couldn't find any seats at the ground floor as we were pretty late and hence I decided to head upstairs... At first, I was pretty ignorant about the fact that the upper floor of Zouk was filled with celebrities ranging from VJs, artists and Maya Karin!

But after awhile, when my friend Andy who was in charged of managing the event came up and found us in the VIP area, he said "wow, not bad... you guys are in the VIP area", and I was like "OK..."

A big LOL for this one!

Anyway, it was my first time not drinking booze (or much of it) in Zouk even when the drinks were free-flow...

My first time being in Zouk and not dancing until the end of the event...

My first time being surrounded by hordes after hordes of working people in a club...

My first time attending a rather "ah beng" (chinese oriented) event in Zouk... (Andy was the one who came out with the term 'ah beng' and I've no idea what it was till I asked him)

My first time seeing Zouk (or not being able to see Zouk) filled with clouds after clouds of smoke...

My first time seeing only a girl (and she was the 2nd usherer for that event) that's younger than me in Zouk...

My first time seeing Gary/ Cao Ge from 8TV "ba ba liu se shi"/artist in person...

It was also my first time seeing a young child around 7-8 years old holding a grandpa around 70-80 years old in Zouk!!! WTF?!?!?

I thought the age limit for Zouk was 18 or currently it was 25 for males and 21 for females?
Damn dulan... Some small kid beat my record of being in Zouk!

F***!!! I thought I was the youngest ever to pass through the bouncers at the age of 14!!!

Oh well... Considering it isn't much of a clubbing atmosphere as it was more like an event, the record is still mine to keep =P

But who in his right mind would bring a young kid to such a smoke-laden club? Lol...

Perhaps that kid's dad couldn't find a babysister or maybe he thought that Zouk was a great family hangout place to be! LOL...

Initially the plan was for me to send Andy home after the event but in the end he had his colleague the honour of sending him home instead... (honour indeed =.=)
So, my friends and I hanged about and danced with a group of mostly young working people of A-Look...

It was a rather strange experience as people seemed to prefer to stick to their own group instead of dancing around with other people...

The funniest thing was having my friends stuck to me like glue that I felt people might think we are gay for a moment xD

Well, can't really blame them for doing so as it was their first time clubbing... Haha... It was still fun though to see how they slowly got the hang of dancing with strangers even when there weren't much chance of them to do so...

Anyway, we left around 1AM and I had to drive these friends of mine home...

Let's just say we arrive in each of our homes in one piece ^^

Abs... Everyone LOVES them... Do you?

2007-03-23T13:33:00.000+08:00

DAMN DULAN, this is my 2nd time writing this post again thanks so much to blogspot's error... I clicked "publish" and out came an error... Pressed "back" and my post just vanished into thin air...

So much for an hour's of effort writing that previous post and I can't $%@!^#$ recover it!

Darn... Note to self: next time, save the damn post before actually publishing it!

Hi to all my blog readers, sorry for the long comeback since February as I've been pretty caught up with life and work...

Or it's more like life and work has caught up with me...

Anyway, I've been pretty busy with modelling for some mags, playing the piano for several dance companies, teaching piano and attending classes just for the sake of attending them...

Not forgetting that I have to fit my workout session into my hectic schedule and I end up gyming at 10PM till midnight >.<

My parents, brothers and friends think I'm nuts!

Maybe I am, but does it really matters? It's ok so long I'm happy and not doing anything bad right?
Well, that more or less explains my disappearance in the blogging universe for almost 3 weeks I guess...

Doesn't matter now, considering I'm back to blog once again!

Anyway, back to the main topic.

What's one of the main things people notice when your shirt is off? What do the girls go nuts over? Abs.

Many people ask me about my abs and what I do for them. The truth is, abs are really tricky muscles to develop.
You can't just lift heavy, hoping they will grow, because no one wants big abs. Look at the guys in the magazines- sure their abs are defined, but they stick out past their chests! Who wants that? This is due to steroid abuse (otherwise known as 'roid-belly').

I'll be answering my reader's question about obtaining abs (his my cousin btw):

ChungChin: I never knew that you are into bodybuilding!What a surprise.Hmmm..any good tips for working da abs?

A: I never knew you were gonna leave to US till the day you were leaving too! =P

Well, there are basically 3 key features in obtaining abs:

1. GENES / BODY FAT LEVEL

2. Workout session and Diet

3. Rest

There aren't placed in any particular order as all 3 are IMPORTANT!

If you messed up one of them, your results are usually SCREWED!

The most important thing about how nice your abs are is your body fat level. If you don't have under 8-10% body fat, no one's going to be able to see your abs, no matter how many crunches you do. Just look at some of the inexperienced people in your gym!
They do 100's of crunches hoping to get better abs. It's just not happening, there's too much fat. To be able to see your abs, you need to reduce body fat. This means dieting, cardio, and (if you have the money) a good thermogenic.

You can try Muscletech HydroxyCut or something similiar.

Since you are in the States cous (you lucky B@$T@RD =P), supplements are dirt cheap and gyms are aplenty there, you should make good use of the chance! =)

Anyway, you may possess the best genes that one could hope for, but if you do not workout because you think you already have a nice physique, once you hit the age of 25 to 30, you can say buh-bye to your abs, sucker!

As for workout sessions, doing sit-ups beside your bed or in the bedroom because there are people who says that there's no point in wasting money in the gym when you can do it at home is a load of BullShit!

First, there are many areas of the abs to be targetted. The upper, mid, lower and obliques.

You'll have to contract the right muscles of the abs to obtain best results and that usually requires a good ol' crunch machines and etc.

As for diet wise, cut down on carbs and do more cardio!

Resting 8 hours a day is important because it's important... (I won't want to ramble on and on about why...)

Here's an article about training abs that I think it's pretty good (ripped it off from binabadan.com.my):

10 Abdominal Training Tips

These 10 abdominal training tips will shed some light on the dilemma and, hopefully, get you on the road to abs carved out of wood.

By: Brent Vlcek

Besides the chest, everyone wants to have visible abdominal muscles. For some strange reason, abdominal muscles are deemed the hardest to train muscle. These 10 abdominal training tips will shed some light on the dilemma and, hopefully, get you on the road to abs carved out of wood.

10. Breathing: It is often preached to exhale on the contraction and inhale on the negative portion of the repetition. However, you can produce stronger muscular contractions by holding your breath during ab exercises. For example, try exhaling only after you've nearly reached completion of the exercise.
9. Concentration: Michaelangelo did not sculpt his masterpieces with his eyes closed, so what makes you think you can sculpt abs with your eyes closed. As hard as it might be, look at your abs during the exercise. Not only does this improve concentration, but raising the head or shoulders during some exercises causes greater resistance which in return leads to greater muscle growth.
8. Body Fat: Everyone has abs, some people don't see them because there is a layer of fat around your waist. On the days you are not lifting, try some cardio and look into some thermogenics.
7. It's quality, not quantity that counts: For those of you who can pump out 1000 crunches in 5 minutes, here's a toast and a tip of the hat. but I really don't care. Train the abs like every other muscle. I only give my abs 8 repetitions of each exercise and they look pretty good, I think. Training your abs for long distance repetitions will only be training their endurance, not their strength - and it's the strength that shows.
6. Feel the searing burn: Although you do not necessarily have to feel the burn on every repetition to know that you're stimulating muscle growth, it's a good mental factor to feel some resistance. For resistance, wrap leg weights around your ankles, do sit-ups with a weight on your chest, cancel out regular crunches and do weighted, overhead pull-down crunches on a weight bench.
5. Abs don't cost money: Return that sh*t you bought from that television commercial that aired at 3:00 in the morning. To train abs, you do not need one of those roller things or special contraptions. The products on television are good, but only to a certain point meaning that there is little room for added resistance. All you need is a mat and something to hang from to get great chiseled abs.
4. Lower Abs: Leg raises are a favorite lower ab exercise of mine. Yes, once you hit a certain point, the resistance might be gone but, never fear because there are different variations and movements that you can do to excite muscle growth. For instance, try doing leg lifts off a higher bench, thus increasing the total movement you have to do to get one repetition. Another tip for leg raises is at the very top of the movement (where you body looks like an "L") try to touch the ceiling with your toes without lifting your shoulders off the bench. What this does is incorporate two exercises into one movement and also adds a punch at the end.
3. Mid Section Abs: I have totally neglected the standard sit up for training abs. Instead, I replaced the standard mid section routine with an oblique routine. You can read more about this in my previous article Awesome Abs. Fact is, is that you really don't need to directly train the middle abs, you know, the section between your lower and upper abs. Training lower, obliques and upper abs will undoubtedly hit the mid section without you knowing it.
2. Upper Abs: Again, I rarely. I mean once in a blue moon, do regular crunches. I do not like the fact that you can exceed 8 repetitions without adding weight. So for the upper abs, I do several sets of weighted overhead pull down crunches. The upper abs are probably the hardest to stimulate. But just focus and concentrate on them throughout the exercise.
1. If you want them, act like you got them: It may sound stupid, but after you complete a full set, pose and contract your abs. Yes, I said it, pose! As long as your mom doesn't catch you posing in the mirror, it will be all good. Posing contracts the muscles further and helps separate the muscles to give them that more defined, ripped look.

P/S: Btw, that's Nick Auger in the top pics who's Mr. Universe 2004. (I'm no big fan of him but his abs are pretty well-sculpted for a model)

Muscletech Gakic, Leukic and Creakic

2007-02-26T22:40:00.000+08:00

I've been on this musclebuilding stack of Muscletech Gakic, Leukic and Creakic for around 15 days and I can say the result is mind-blowing!
I've got an increase in my bench-press from 220lbs of 8 reps to 264lbs of 10 reps, squats from 352lbs of 4 reps to 440lbs of 4 reps and dead-lifts of 220lbs of 10 reps to 308lbs of 10 reps in merely 2 weeks!

The downside of this supplement would be the alteration of the urine colour from clear to fluorescent yellow and has an after-smell of chlorine! So my advice would be: it's best to cycle the supp to lighten the load on the kidneys!

Besides, I've checked the contents of the capsules and they are pretty high in colouring...

Imagine putting 1 blue capsule on ur fingers and rubbing them with water...

The blue colour stains your finger and after drying it doesn't removes no matter how hard u rub with soap and water!

Now try imagining popping 6 blue capsules daily, 6 yellow ones and 8 purple ones...

I can't imagine what the colour of my intestines would be >.<

Plus, that probably explains the changes in colour of the urine.
Funny thing is, the Leukic caplet tastes a little sweet and same goes with Gakic, but Creakic tastes just like any other capsule... All of them do have a funny aftertaste and makes the stomach feeling queasy after being swallowed.

There is no doubt that this supplement works (they better do for the price that costed me a bomb), but I would still personally recommend Animal range from Universal Nutrition as they are spending their money into creating drugs that works fantastically instead of promoting their brands like what Muscletech does!

Oh ya, btw, you can't get this stack here in Malaysia... I ordered it via bodybuilding.com at USD$70 and it passed through Malaysian customs (thanks god)... If you want, you may order it seperately at egonutritions.com and pay about RM1000 for this 3 supps but it'll last you for more than a month I guess.

Message to Muscletech, the capsules would be better without the colour as we bodybuilders don't give a damn about how the capsules look like! Lol!

Choices, plans and decisions...

2007-02-26T22:14:00.000+08:00

Arhhhh... It has been a pretty happening week that I have gone through! =)

Well, I have about 2 more weeks of holidays and my last semester for diploma will start... (considering that I'll have to attend about 3 classes in a week for the last semester, it's probably another long stretch of holidays for me =P)

During my holidays, I have kept myself pretty much busy with work, gyming, clubbing, meeting new people, new faces and new friends...

After all, I've got all the time I want in the world to spend during these holidays, why can't I enjoy most of it? >.<

Anyway, I'm pretty indecisive over what to do after my diploma... Here's a list of my choices and plans:
--> Doing ADP/American foundation courses and get my butt into UCLA, CA to study biomedical sciences...
--> Work as a personal trainer for a period of time as the pay is pretty lucrative as the commission per client is rather high
--> Study in Auckland University for medical sciences and live with my long-seperated buddy in NZ
--> Study in Liverpool John Moore University for biomedical sciences as my diploma is accepted there
--> Be a model/artist/actor as a recently-met friend who is well-known in the entertainment industry reckons I do so...
--> Be a pilot if I manage to get through the SIA interview this coming March >.<
and a dozen more choices and plans that made me so indecisive...

I guess I'll just let things be for the time being! =P

As for now, I'm playing the piano for several major dance schools such as FAB, D' Danze Academy, Pusat Muzik Melody, Pusat Muzik Mewah, Sunrise Music Centre and Danze Point Danze Centre! Not forgetting the fact that I've got to teach several students piano too! Adding on my hectic workout routine/schedule, I'm one dead busy guy >.<

Well, at least I'm getting paid for it! Lol...

P/S: Hey, any old friends of mine want to "yumcha", just give me a holla and I'll be there! ^^

Reunion. . .

2007-02-20T20:44:00.000+08:00

Last night was pretty eventful for me as I practically hanged out with my old friends and schoolmates till 2AM.

Well, our plan was initially to have dinner at Midvalley and then head to Lotus DJ for supper... It turned out pretty great as somehow we ended up in Souled Out, Hartamas. No idea how my bunch of friends can get so mess up as to where to hang out...

I guess I'll just have to start from the beginning where CJ had to pick me up from my house and we made a detour to TTDI to pick Chau Sean a.k.a. Sean... That's when things start getting heated up as CJ started his repertoire of exaggerating and making jokes which turn out pretty lame after awhile. (no offence CJ) Not much surprise as I've became their victim of non-stop harassment over my size =.= Need an example? How about "Fook Yit can protect us from bla bla bla", "Fook Yit is Ultraman/Superman/whatever man" and the lamest would be "Don't worry, we always have Fook Yit to (fill in whatever you can possibly imagine by yourself)" Well, it was acceptable to hear these comments for the first 10 times and after that it got pretty annoying... Can't blame CJ for being annoying though... It's probably in his genes... :P But part of me thinks that CJ is just trying to liven up the atmosphere and probably cheer me up at the same time...

We pretty much reached MV around 8PM and had dinner with Hui Lynn at Manhattan Fish Market... and yes CJ, thanks for the huge tip about Manhattan Fish Market being a Malaysian company... I had a king salmon, Sean had the grilled fish of the day whereas CJ and Hui Lynn shared a platter for two which they couldn't finish... Dinner was great I guess considering it's been a long time since we last catched up with each other stories...

Phang Kit joined us when dinner was basically over and we parted ways with Hui Lynn as she had other plans with someone else *cough* So, we went to pick Xin Yi up from her house and meet Kang at KFC SS2... We had a little dilemma over where to hang out and I guess it was Sean's idea to hang out at Hartamas...

So, this bunch of fickle-minded people went to Hartamas, went in several circles, found parking spots, walked to Uncle Don's, decided that we rather head to Souled Out, walked back to our cars, round a few more circles to get another parking spot and finally sat down around 11PM... I pretty much had a Heineken, a glass of bourbon coke with Johnny Walker, some very mild alcohol and that's about it... Would have went for more if I had brought my Visa along :/ Anyway, Souled Out is probably a cool spot to hang out and I have to admit the coolest part of that place would be the........ WC! Lol... With it's checkered tilings, it made a pretty interesting place... Too bad it isn't appropriate for patrons to lounge there...

After we had our drinks, CJ drove Xin Yi home and we planned to head to Sean's house for a few rounds of cards. Again, there was a change of plans as Xin Yi wanted her Roti Tissue badly... So we ended up in Lotus DJ somehow!

Anyway, I guess that's enough of rambling as I could just go on and on... We changed our plans again to head straight home and cancel our initial plan of playing cards... So, I went home around 3AM being pretty dead-tired as it was my leg day coincidentally and I did trained pretty hard...

It's just awesome to hang out with old friends again I guess... Anyhow, I'm looking forward for our next gathering ;)

P/S: Thanks guys for the wonderful night out! ^^

My 1st anniversary of gyming

2007-02-15T12:36:00.000+08:00

It's been exactly one year since I started lifting weights for real... And I guess I'm gonna celebrate it with posting photos of myself and my results...

I know that I still have a long journey ahead to achieve the physique I want and I would say that I'm not proud with what I have now because this is just a stepping stone for a higher greatness...
My hunger to build a massive physique can never be curbed... It's insatiable... Call me insane...
Maybe I am... My desire is never ending...

For the least, I know I'm pretty ripped thanks to my wonderful genes and high metabolism I possess but it's just plain hard to gain mass... I'm just another pissed-off ectomorph that has to put in much more effort in gaining muscle as I lose them easily... But that won't stop me from doing what I do best... and that is body-building...

Some say it is a sport... But I take it as a passion, as a way to live... In other words, it's my lifestyle...

You may not agree with the way I treat my body, the way I sculpt it to look the way I am, but I'm still gonna do it because I love doing it...

In this past 1 year, I feel that I've pretty much accomplished several targets of mine that is to transform from a skinny 50kg 9% body fat boy to an 80kg 7% body fat freak... I have to admit that the journey wasn't an easy one, but looking into the mirror and seeing myself the way I am now, I would say this over and over again: "It's worth it..."
Throughout this year, I can never forget the expression on people's faces when they couldn't recognise me anymore after not seeing me for a year... They went like "Are you Chris? WTF?!?! You are huge dude..." What's more exaggerating would be the incident where my doctor thought I was pretty much juiced up with steroids and I told him I was au-naturale and only trained for a year... You just couldn't comprehend the look on my doctor's face as he was pretty taken aback by my reply...

What I'm trying to say here is simply this: You can achieve anything if you put your mind into it... but you have to remember that the key to achieving your goal is nothing else but plain effort... and not forgetting STAY AWAY FROM STEROIDS!
Looking at the pics I've taken, I'm motivated to work even harder to fix my lagging chest and legs...

Hey, if I could achieve this in one year, why can't you?

P/S: I would like to extend my gratitude to a very nice guy, Kahmad whom helped to take these photos for me...

Most sleeplessness Valentine's ever...

2007-02-14T22:45:00.000+08:00

Where should I start... Hmm... Maybe I should start ranting about how I managed to survive Valentine's Day without sleeping a wink at all...

Well, to put it simply, I couldn't sleep well recently because of several factors such as overtraining, overdosing myself with caffeine from supplements, had my sleeping pattern pretty much upsetted and several issues that revolves around my love life which can't stop bugging me...

So I was basically wide awake the entire night chatting away with this lovely girl named Gina...

We pretty much ended our conversation around 2AM and I tried to get some sleep but it seems pretty impossible...

So I laid there on my bed till 5Am, woke up, had breakfast with my parents and went for a jog...

After all that, I was basically exhausted and had a nap for 3 hours...

I wanted so much to head down to the gym but I had second thoughts as my performance will definitely be dampened with the insufficient rest I have...

So, I went to work from 6.30 till 10pm and here I am back home, still bursting with energy...

I think I have to blame BSN NO-Xplode for all this...

Well, anyway, here are some pics of me camwhoring in a ballet studio... Can't really blame a guy who has nothing to do and brimming with energy right?

Forgiving...

2007-02-11T21:24:00.000+08:00

Lately, I've pretty much beaten myself up (literally duh) and putting all the blame on myself for losing her... But after some time, I've realised that it was pretty silly for me to do so... Things took a turn as I took some time off and started to forgive myself... That's when I actually discover that there is no reason for me to torment myself anymore... Forgiving myself and moving on is the best decision for me as I've still got a long journey to walk and lots that I have not accomplished yet... There's huge greatness in me and I know it, why should I put it to waste because I can't forgive myself?

LOVE is

Forgiving yourself

unconditionally

The hardest person to forgive is yourself.

Likewise, the hardest person to love is yourself.

Forgiving yourself opens the door to acceptance,compassion, kindness and love for...

y-o-u-r-s-e-l-f.

~ The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. ~

Letting go...

2007-02-11T20:47:00.000+08:00

In these past few weeks I've finally learnt about letting go... And eventhough it wasn't easy, I have somehow managed to do so by being positive. After all, finding my other half in the near future shouldn't pose a problem to me considering that I'm an alpha-male! Well, that's a way to put things onto a positive tone right? (thanks to my alpha-male mentality)

I'm glad I've somehow found back my confident self again... I have a whole world to tackle right now and giving up is not an option!

By returning all of her personal stuffs yesterday, I've felt a huge weight lifted from me. It is as though I have declared that I'm letting go of her and I think she knows that too. Anyhow, she still is my good friend and I will still be treating her sweetly like how I had treated other girls in the past because that's who I am...

LOVE is

Letting go of past hurts

and

grievances

Holding on to past hurts and grievances only

eats you away slowly. It's better to be a bigger person and forgive

others for what they have done to you,

whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Because allowing bygones to be bygones releases you

from the shackles of emotional pain and grants you

FREEDOM

~ Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open? ~

My dreams of flying...

2007-02-10T03:30:00.000+08:00

I've applied for SIA and MAS cadet pilot recruitment a couple of months back thinking that I would like to have a shot at becoming a pilot... Why not right?

I suppose it is almost everyone's dream to fly... Well, at least it is my dream :P

Anyway, I never thought I would ever hear from them since the day I submitted my resume online in the SIA website but surprise surprise... I've got a call from SIA yesterday evening around 4pm...

I was basically estatic to hear that another door has open its way to me...

I was told by a lady officer that I have to attend an interview in Singapore at the 6th of March and I have to run a series of tests including psychomotor, psychometric, leadership/reasoning and etc. etc. which would probably drive me psycho... (with all the puns intended)

If everything went smoothly, I will have to take a health test...

At the end of the conversation with the officer, I asked about whether my short-sightedness will be a handicap for me in the selection process and I was told that so long my visual acuity has stabilised, it wouldn't be a problem...

Damn, I was real happy to hear that... To think all this while my belief that people with short sightedness are unable to be pilots was false!

Anyway, I know that it is still a long way to go before I may actually achieve my dreams...

Everything is worth a shot right? Who knows that maybe 2 years from now I will be flying a plane... Even if it's a twin otter! :P (Twin otters basically operates in rural areas and even poultry such as chicken and etc. can enter the plane) After 10 years, I'll probably be called Capt. Chris... That's so cool!

Now what would please me more is if MAS will get over their crisis they are currently facing ASAP and give me my damn interview so I would have 2 chances to enter an aviation school instead of one ^^

~ All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them. ~

My dream car...

2007-02-08T17:11:00.000+08:00

Today, I was walking around Uptown Damansara having a look at a new gym building at where Fajar was once located and Fitness First (not forgetting having lunch) when I stumbled upon this cool car... Lamborghini Countach 5000! I know it may seem to be a rather old supercar around the 1990s but it still is cool... Well, if you got to disagree with me, you can't deny the fact that even the guard on duty was in much awe staring at that car... He was probably day-dreaming about being inside that car zipping from 0 to 100kph in 3.2 seconds at a top speed of about 300kmph! Well, it's probably one of those cars where the number of people who actually owned them could be counted with my fingers...

Funny thing is, the plate shown on the back of the car was BN8 and the parking lot he was at was a reserved spot for some other plates... Guess that with great wealth comes great powers... Hmmm... That quote sounds familiar! Anyway, guys are just guys... Find me a guy who is not impressed by a 4 exhaust supercharged/turbocharged quattrovalvo v12 car and I'll find you a girl who isn't interested with shopping! :P

How ironic things can be?

2007-02-05T04:46:00.000+08:00

Well, discovering that my horoscope yesterday came pretty much true made me believe one thing: That life is just about as predictable of unpredictabilities and unpredictable about predictabilities! Confusing? That's life...

Mine, Scorpio - This week asks many of us to go easy on ourselves and on others. Likewise, you shouldn't judge yourself so harshly. You truly are a generous, loving soul - so believe in yourself. Still, you might be a tad more vigilant about what's happening around you. Not everyone's honest. Lucky day: Saturday/ colour: light blue/ lucky no. :6

and

Hers, Gemini - Although you continue to crave excitement, right now you'd do better to stay withing realistic boundaries. Sometimes we can push ahead without thinking things through and this week, it's a fair bet that any snap decisions could end up being regrettable. Lucky day: Monday/ Colour: Red / Lucky no. :3

After reading that yesterday morning, I felt it kind of explains what is actually going on and what's going to happen between both of us... Actually, I wouldn't have guessed that she was going out with someone else if I hadn't read the horoscope and after questioning her, my questions were all answered...

She had actually dumped me and started a new relationship almost immediately with another guy of 25... Couldn't blamed her for doing so as things weren't going well between us after all thanks to her dad... The worst part is the way she handled the breakup... For starters, I didn't even know it was a breakup until today... Any regular guy would have thought that she was just ranting and giving the cold treatment because it was the week of the month where hormones go haywire... I mean how could I tell? I'm not a psychic...

Back to my story... I've asked her about her new guy and she hesitated in telling me at first... Probably afraid I wouldn't accept the fact she's seeing someone else... Frankly, I'm surprised at how cool I took in the news... Never thought I could see myself letting go just like that... Well, that pretty much explains the part of the horoscope where it says "I'm truly are a generous, loving soul" :P and also the part where "Not everyone's honest"... Thanks Mr. Horoscope man from The Star newspaper! I owe you one! Extra thanks for telling me to be more vigilant about what's happening around me! Wouldn't have known what in the world is going on if I wasn't tip off by you :)

I'm just going to follow what the horoscope says and to be easy on myself and on others, especially her... I understand that she has been going through a lot just to be with me and I understand why she resorted to this and so I'll be easy on her... And, I would not think that this breakup is because of me like I used to do so... It's probably inevitable...

As for her, I hope that her decision wouldn't end up being regrettable as the horoscope says... Although, it does state facts that are 99% true about her craving for excitement and not staying within realistic boundaries... And I do think it is quite a snappy decision for her to just jump into another guy's bandwagon and hallow the 3 words in such a rush... (Especially to the stage where stuffs between her and I were shared with that guy) Well, too bad for me that I have no say in this matter for all I care... At least that guy is pretty good looking for starters... (BUT I'M WAY BETTER LOOKING :P Yes, I know I'm vain... You got a problem with that?)

Anyway, the funny thing I found about this guy is he looks different in every photo... As though he can morph into a new face... Well, that's just about it... As for his job... She says he is in logistics whereas his profile states he is in the medical field... Hmmm, change of job perhaps?

You probably get what I meant after comparing the photos below... BTW, if you still are blur or just plain dumb... All photos are of the same person... To end this simply, I had wished her luck and gave her my blessings... All that's left is me and me and me... Guess that life does goes on, doesn't it?

*note: none of the comments and photos below are meant to discriminate, offend or generate hatred and are solely posted for blogging purposes...

<---In the first photo, he looks like a pretty decent Chinese chap.

And in this, he morphs into a tan Malay guy with an attitude -->

<--- Finally, voila! He turns into an Englishman with a little Chinese "ah pek" fashion...

A matter of pride…

2007-02-04T23:05:00.000+08:00

Pride... There’s no doubt each and every one of us has pride of their own…
Whether it’s the pride of claming they are the best in terms of wealth, woman and etc.; people just need others to know about their success and brag about it. These are the exact people who are insecure with themselves, undeniably materialistic and unable to grasp hold the meaning of their lives as they need others to know that they are the best or they have something to prove… These people will never find true happiness or BLISS as they constantly seek for ways and means to uphold their pride!

You’ll find these people everywhere in their Armanis, Guccis, Pradas, driving Beemers and so on… And worst, you can even find these people in the gym parading in their latest designed Nike gear, as though they need to prove that they could afford it… (And not forgetting those who can’t afford it but find other means or other people into getting it for them) Not surprisingly, these people hardly workout and probably spend more time socializing than discovering the true purpose of a gym is for. Heck, these people probably utilize the gym solely for stretching exercises; for all I care, you can perform those exercises at home!

What I’m trying to say here is this… People who thinks that keeping their pride is all there is in life are people who will never truly comprehend why their social life ties down to bragging, bitching and showing off and why they always end up with excuses to purchase branded goods…

If you have to know, I was once a guy with plenty of pride and even arrogance but all that went away since I met her… I’ve lost my pride of being a leader of an organization, lost my pride of letting people know the fact I’m not as good she thinks I am, lost my pride that I made all those lies to cover up the actual truth of which I can never tell anyone (not even her) and many more… and it all comes down to this when things turn sour between us: She still holds her pride proudly, never letting anyone damage it. That’s the true her… Her pride matters more than anything else, not even her companion of 3 years, not even her mum or her dad, or for anything else that matters… If she could only dissipate her pride even a little, things between us can easily be either patched up nicely or ended reasonably. But all she does is leaving things in the open, thinking that it doesn’t really matter for her to clarify things before going on with each other’s lives and that is what really irritates me most about her… To think that all she has finally felt bliss after dumping me for someone else or some other reason, I’m sure she’ll realize that she is terribly wrong… She’ll never find bliss until the day she learns that pride eats a person up; consuming every single bit of goodness that they have in them…

These are the kind of people that deserves a tight wake-up smack right in their faces to shake them back into reality… and trust me; they’ll receive it one day, whether it’s from a stranger, their bosses, their lover and etc. They will learn to swallow their pride eventually… just like I did when I first started lifting weights… I can never beat the weights no matter how hard I try or no matter how long I battle with them… They are always on top of us, crushing us down, forcing us to swallow our very own pride…

Anyway, I still remembered several hot-blooded newbies in my gym not to long ago, trying to lift the biggest dumbbell or weight that they can find on the rack for 1 or 2 reps in the worst possible form out of pride; they probably thought that they could impress some chick or some other guy and to prove that they can do it… Hell, all they had accomplished is practically nothing other than wasting their time and energy (not forgetting the added possibility of injuring themselves) and taking up space in the gym…Let me say this just once: if you want to lift weights, you better leave your ego at the door…

There are uncountable people who think that being a bodybuilder is all about the pride of being able to flaunt their bodies off and I’ve actually heard this statement for the umpteenth times… Let me tell you this fact: Bodybuilders do what they do never for the money, or for the pride, maybe a little glory of the moment when they win, but it all comes down to this – they do it because an average human is unable to go through what we go though everyday… Do you really think chomping down cans after cans of tuna is all about pride? Do you really think lifting dumbbells that probably weigh more than an average person is all about pride? Then you better think again… We do it because we can do it and we are meant to do it… We do it simply because we are animals…

Solitary...

2007-02-03T20:55:00.000+08:00

It's been a couple of days since she requested me to leave her alone... Frankly, I think that this couple of days has got me thinking hard about our relationship...
I'm swept away again without a reason, without an explanation and worst; Being swept away as cold as the winter's wind...
I'm definitely positive that if she still had any heart in her, she wouldn't put me through this especially without a reason... Maybe she has one, maybe she does not... Whatever it is, it's just plain cruel to brush me away like I'm a pest or parasite after all these years...
3 years... That's the number of years I've been with her and I can't deny that it hasn't been smooth sailing as I would like it to be...

The very reason I fallen for her has probably vanished as she had started to change...
Change into an egomaniac, materialistic, self-centered person she is now...
That just leaves me wondering where is the sweet, loving and generous person that I came to fall in love to 3 years ago has gone to?
What kills me most is to find her submerging in a human subterfuge or disguise...
Turning into a person with multiple personalities...
Maybe it's a human's tendency to do so... To put on a subterfuge as years pass by just to be accepted socially...
On the other hand, I felt a little sorry for her to lead her life where her choices are her parent's choices and she has no say whatsoever if there are differences between her choice and her parent's... Maybe that's the price to pay for leading a life where everything is planned and settled for by parents...

And yes, I do know that's it is bad to judge people... But that's just my 2 cents worth of opinion...
I do agree, no one is perfect... I'm definitely not and I know that too clearly...
It's just that it's hard to find a person that you truly have feelings for to change...
I guess I'm starting to get accustomed to the fact that she has plainly changed into a person that's only selfish for her own needs...
Perhaps, that's completely normal considering that this is not her first time doing so and all she cares for now is that her lifestyle is constantly filled with excitement and fun of being with her friends...
Perhaps, that's what all of us wants... Perhaps, I'm just a boring routine to be with...
Maybe I'm just destined to lead a life of complete solitary...
There's just too many possibilities for me to pounder about...

For all i care now, she's probably having a blast of her time now hanging out with her friends and etc.
That's totally fine with me considering the fact that it's me who has been keeping myself away from her... Keeping myself in a solitary confinement... Where all I have to care for is myself and my feelings...
But I'm not hurt anymore, no longer feeling sorry for myself, no longer crying silently in my heart... I've had enough... She's just not worth it anymore...

I've truly loved her all this while and it was my mistake not to realise it had became a one-sided relationship where all I did was begging for her love... Nonetheless, I'm glad to find myself being enlightened during my solitary confinement... If she still loves me like she did 2 years ago, she would have phoned to explain her actions and to apologize... But all I had was silence... And that probably hinted that she really did want me to leave her alone...
Maybe there's still a part of her that still loves me... But for certain reasons she had hidden it... Probably afraid of being hurt again (which I'm pretty certain it would not happen)... Probably because of her dad... Or just probably because I'm no longer in her heart... I would not know and I probably would not want to know anymore...

I'm just glad for myself to be able to take the fact that she's no longer interested in being with me...
I'm also glad for friends like my once-gay buddy Joe to make me feel strong...
Glad for friends like Jack who's also going through what I'm going through...
Glad that I've still got many friends who are with me eventhough I've pretty much neglected them because of her...
Thanks Joe, Jack, Emily, Horse Chong, Chia and everyone else for giving me hope that someday I'll be able to give my heart fully without compromising to another girl and I'll receive hers in return...
And for the time being, I'll just lead a life of my own, taking one day at a time...
After all, I'm the nice guy who is being pushed away right?