`XIAOYU's world ;)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Time to train up for NIKE'S THE HUMAN RACE 10K:)

I was so spurned on by the FITNESS magazine about the story of how Condoleezza Rice - Secretary of State insisted on working out because she liked the feeling of fitness, be able to train her mental discipline, be able to fit into her clothes and the ability to focus after a morning workout that I was asking myself why do I have to wait till tomorrow to start training for my first NIKE'S THE HUMAN RACE 10K and not right now? She also said, "One of the good things about sports is that you can train and work and work, and you go out there, and something goes wrong, and you have a terrible performance. You still have to get up the next day and go back and train and train some more. It's a lot like almost everything in life." She also admitted that she is not an automaton and also experience reluctance to exercise and have to push herself just like anybody else - this shows that reluctance is a natural thing and never an indication of laziness!.

I was so motivated that I immediately changed and striped into my sport shoes. The beginning was difficult as usual but I was telling myself that 10km is my goal and giving up so easily is not an option. The last two km was so tiring that I lost sight of my 10km motivation and finally resorted to distract myself my counting the number of steps I jog - which works pretty well for me by pushing me further. These are all that goes through my mind when I jog as it's simply too tiring to think of anything else. How about you guys? What is going through your mind when you jog or run? After mostly jogging, some running and walking, I had completed 5.2km++ in 44 mins. The timing is pretty lousy but it's a good start considering I haven't been jogging for some time. Sorry Wy for not asking you to jog along since my decision was rather last minute. Actually jogging alone is pretty fun as you can set your own pace according to your physical conditions for the day and it's a good 'me' time. Though jogging with a friend is another kind of fun.

I have decided to train for three to four times a week since it's the holidays and I can spare the time. However, if reluctance kicks in hard and I fall off the wagon, I've left some room for myself in order not to feel like a failure unnecessary. So guys, let's train together for the race in two months time:) Yay! If there's any more people who's interested, please do join me:)

Lastly, I had lost my wallet yesterday probably at Orchard but I only realised it today! Inside contains my POSB Go card, neoprints with my best buddies and other miscellaneous - which I've forgotten what those are but hopefully was just some useless junk. Luckily, my nets is empty...lol, see how poor I am. I am so totally careless but what's done cannot be undone and so I've totally get over it by now:)

★ xiaoyu; posted at 12:08 AM ★

Friday, June 20, 2008

What I want to learn from my life:)

I had just quarrelled with my mum a second before I read this chain e-mail from my friend and I instantly regretted my words and quickly try to remedy the situation by talking back nicely to her as a form of apology-'sorry' was not in our family dictionary.

NO POINTING FINGERS
We all look forward to being loved and respected. Many people are afraid of losing face. Generally, when a person makes a mistake, he would look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at. This is the start of a war. We should always remember that when we point one finger at a person, the other four fingers are pointing at ourselves.If we forgive the others, others will ignore our mistake too.

NO OVERPOWERING
Many relationships fail because one party tries to overpower another, or demands too much. People in love tend to think that love will conquer all and their spouses will change the bad habits after marriage. Actually, this is not the case. There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that 'It is easier to reshape a mountain or a river than a person's character.'It is not easy to change. Thus, having high expectation on changing the spouse character will cause disappointment and unpleasantness.It would be less painful to change ourselves and lower our expectations.

RIGHT SPEECH
There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that 'A speech will either prosper or ruin a nation.' Many relationships break off because of wrong speech. When a couple is too close with each other, we always forget mutual respect and courtesy. We may say anything without considering if it would hurt the other party.A friend and her millionaire husband visited their construction site. A worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted, 'Hi, Emily! Remember me? We used to date in the secondary school.' On the way home, her millionaire husband teased her, 'Luckily you married me. Otherwise you will be the wife of a construction worker.' She answered,'You should appreciate that you married me. Other wise, he will be the millionaire and not you.'Frequently exchanging these remarks plants the seed for a bad relationship. It's like a broken egg - cannot be reversed.

PERSONAL PERCEPTION
Different people have different perception. One man's meat could be another man's poison. A couple bought a donkey from the market. On the way home, a boy commented, 'Very stupid. Why neither of them ride on the donkey? 'Upon hearing that, the husband let the wife ride on the donkey. He walked besides them. Later, an old man saw it and commented, 'The husband is the head of family. How can the wife ride on the donkey while the husband is on foot?' Hearing this, the wife quickly got down and let the husband ride on the donkey.Further on the way home, they met an old Lady. She commented, 'How can the man ride on the donkey but let the wife walk. He is no gentleman.'The husband thus quickly asked the wife to join him on the donkey. Then, they met a young man. He commented, 'Poor donkey, how can you hold up the weight of two persons. They are cruel to you.' Hearing that, the husband and wife immediately climbed down from the donkey and carried it on their shoulders.It seems to be the only choice left. Later, on a narrow bridge, the donkey was frightened and struggled. They lost their balance and fell into the river. You can never have everyone praise you, nor will everyone condemn you. Never in the past, not at present, and never will be in the future.Thus, do not be too bothered by others words if our conscience is clear.

BE PATIENT
This is a true story which happened in the States. A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint of the truck. The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands into pulp as punishment. When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy's hands. When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, 'Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck.' Then he asked, 'but when are my fingers going to grow back?' The father went home & committed suicide.Think about this story the next time someone steps on your feet or u wish to take revenge. Think first before u lose your patience with someone u love. Trucks can be repaired.. Broken bones & hurt feelings often can't. Too often we fail to recognize the difference between the person and the performance. We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge.People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

'Good Life starts only when you stop wanting a better One'
'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away '

After reading this and other books from the library, I realised that Forgiveness no doubt triumphs over Hatred as Forgiveness broadens the mind and increase tolerance and acceptability's to life's many 'wrongs' that is bound to haunt us now and then. Forgiveness also let one start life afresh by letting go of the burdens of the past-which cannot be changed anyway, instead of harping on it tensely and meaninglessly. Forgiveness need not wait till the other person or the situation changes but is a matter of ourselves-whether we are willing to let go and give ourselves a chance. It is about a sense of responsibility to ourselves. Once we finally decided to take up this responsibility, we are essential claiming back the power to control and change our own life in ways that is unimaginable. This is because Forgiveness let you free up the space of your mind that is clogged by Hatred and Revenge and allows you to focus more clearly on your life's goals. Hence, learn the way of Forgiveness and learn the way of Life:)

★ xiaoyu; posted at 2:43 PM ★

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Missing (2008)

I watched 'Missing' on 13 June. It's listed as a thriller but I think it's between a thriller and a ghost movie at least at the beginning. Nearing the end, elements of strong sentiments of lost love start to engulf the movie. The scary bits really almost scare the wits out of me and my family but the suspense was great and I like it:) The last part was so emotional and resonates well with the sense of loneliness that I sometimes felt that I cried-a little. The emotional bits also effectively neutralise the scary feelings from the first part which is just what I need to prevent a nightmare! However, the story line is just like a 'copy and paste' with zero hint of originality! Furthermore, the ending leave the audience with a lingering feeling of life's insignificance and vulnerability-I prefer a happy ending with a sense of well-being. It deserves probably two stars.

Labels: missing

★ xiaoyu; posted at 2:20 PM ★

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

I watched the 'The Incredible Hulk' yesterday and it's really incredible. The movie totally raise your heartbeat with fabulous action scenes and great visual effects. However, the story line is rather simplistic and predictable just like the usual perceived 'monster' turned hero story. There is also a strong hint of a sequel which I'll definitely be in anticipation for:) The movie lasted almost two hours which is beyond the comfortable level of sitting stiffly on the lousy cinema couch. One last comment, Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) and Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) totally do not make a couple in terms of physical appearance and there's a strong sense of awkwardness in their eyes' contacts and interaction with each other in the movie. Overall, the movie is a 'heart-throb' and thus caters well to almost everyone:) It deserves four stars:)

Labels: the incredible hulk

★ xiaoyu; posted at 1:51 PM ★

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Jogging can really be an addiction:)

I have been feeling so sluggish these few days and I think it's probably due to a lack of exercise. So, I finally drag myself into my jogging shoes and force myself to do something. The running indeed do some good as I feel better mentally after the jog. The sense of accomplishment, endorphins-"a morphine-like substance originating from within the body" rush and simply having the discipline to complete at least 2.4km really makes me feel so motivated to continue. I totally will be letting myself down if I don't jog tomorrow as well. Hence, I promise myself that I'll jog again tomorrow morning and see if it indeed will help me keep focus throughout the rest of the day as other people says.

Lastly, just to sidetrack a bit, I just want to say that I hate it when a person uses unnecessary authoritative tone at me, especially someone who claims to be my friend.

★ xiaoyu; posted at 11:01 PM ★

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Why is there this weird feeling?

Why do I sometimes suddenly feel so down and depressed for particularly no reason at all? It feels as if I seriously lacked something in my life to make me feel happy, but what the hell is it? My life seems to be paved nicely and going almost smoothly for me since my expectations are not really high. My last semester results are out, and it did not even hit the minimum for me to get into the honours year but I am still get over it on the second day after I viewed my results and be happy again. So, what the hell is it that gives me a funny feeling at the pit of my stomach whenever I'm alone? Is it because my life is boring? But, I can feel the same intensity of depression sometimes even straight after I arrived home after having fun with friends. The lingering feeling is sometimes so terrible that I can't even sleep it away. Do anyone else feels this way or is it just me? When can I finally find the passion for life? Maybe after disaster befall me and I managed to survive a near death experience then can I finally view the world in a fresh perspective and be happy again? Or does it takes something so grand and unexpected to pounce on me before I can find the meaning of life? But what is the meaning of life anyway? No, don't worry, I will not fiddle with a Grim Reaper as yet as I believe that patience will pay off and I may finally see the beauty of life:)

★ xiaoyu; posted at 10:16 AM ★

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Sex And The City Movie Review:)

This movie is super erotic-at least to me, and to think that it is only rated M18! It should definitely be rated RA! All body parts are revealed and I really meant everything naked right on the screen-except the females' lower body parts! You can even see all the 'actions' during making out. This is so super erotic and definitely not my taste-I am more into 'Kung Fu Panda'. I may sound exaggerated and too conservative but decent people out there please give this movie a miss. This movie simply stooped human to outlandish 'sex machines'. Furthermore, the storyline is rather boring and meaningless though there are indeed some cheap jokes which brings some laughter. I suddenly feels so outdated as I really never realised since when had Singapore become this open? Sorry but no star for this movie, at all.

★ xiaoyu; posted at 11:21 PM ★

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Fabulous formula for natural Face Mask and Slimming Tea Concoction:)

Natural Face Mask

This formula is recommended by my China tour guide and was said to be popularly used by the locals for centuries to obtain good complexion and tight pores.

1.Mix 1/3 egg white ( for tightening pores) with one teaspoon of honey (preferably with 冬蜜)
2.Mix in a little of green tea.
3.Mix in a teaspoon of pearl powder. (this extra ingredient is optional and can be easily obtained from any Chinese Medical Hall)

Slimming Tea Concoction

This simple formula is recommended by the manager of the famous tea plantation in Eastern China.

1. Boil a cup of 龙井tea with 2 pinch of tea leaves.
2.Put 2 pieces of 山楂 into the hot water. (山楂 is not the snack that we usually eat, you need to get it from any Chinese Medical Hall as well)
3.Put aside for 3 minutes before drinking.

China people are known to put 龙井 leaves in all the water they drink everyday. Other than 山楂, you can replace it with 枸杞子 to treat humming ears or Jing Zhen for anemia.

These few formulas are souvenirs for you guys for whom I haven't bought any gifts for, so take it down and use it:)

★ xiaoyu; posted at 1:57 PM ★

Exploring the whole eastern part of China from 25 May ~ 1 June!

The weather was terrific on our 5 hours flight to Shanghai International Airport though we did experienced quite a few small turbulence. It's my first time taking a plane-rather embarrassing to admit this, and so I clicked non-stop on my camera while on the plane. How can i miss the beautiful cloud formations when it is just beside me. I even grasped a glimpse of a small rainbow above the one of the cloud. I finally experienced how it feels to be flying above a bed of clouds. After my fascination of the clouds is over, the flight generally became quite boring but the landing was cool-fast and bumpy, just like a thrill ride.

Once we arrived at Shanghai, we took the tour bus to Huangpu River. The ride was super bumpy and thrilling- our butts jerked off our seats at every bump!

Then we cruised along the river to view the Shanghai scenery. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is indeed as seen from TV and so there nothing special about it.

This set of dishes are our lunch and dinner for eight days! Though there are sometimes small surprises with some special dishes but repetition dulls my taste buds. However, in the end, I still filled myself to the brim at every lunch and dinner simply because not eating is a waste of food..lol

On another day-which I had forgotten the chronology of the trip, we visited the Hengdian World studio a.k.a Oriental Hollywood. Hengdian World studios is one of the largest artificial studios built for movie and film production in China including 'The Forbidden Kingdom' and 'Hero'. The place is indeed majestic and it feels just like straight out of the movie.
We only realised that we have to pay for drumming the drum @ 5 RMB per hit! This is simply ridiculous with a sumo size 大婶 ranting non-stop at our tour group for payment!

Anyone recognizes this bridge in the movie? We brought 2 cameras to China but came back with only one because I lost it at Yiwu on the fourth day! This is heart wrenching at first because this camera contains all the photos taken by me painstaking-almost a thousand pictures gone! So I can only illustrate some of the events in words only.

We also visited WuZhen- a scenic town built above a river. The life is very leisurely here, but each of us declared that we can only tolerate a maximum of two day stay due to its lack of bust and shopping centers.

This is my idea-doesn't the photos looks artistic?

Just look at the background and close your eyes to imagine you are there with gentle breeze blowing into your face-simply heavenly.

We also visited the China Dinosaur park. The place is spacious and you have to walk along a certain distance-with colorful flowers literally 'infested' with yellow butterflies, in between different rides even though the tour guide says that the park is considered relatively small in China! This is what I call a real theme park. This is in stark contrast to Singapore, with theme park so small you can see all the rides at a glance while at a low level.

We rent this cart to tour the park in order to save us some energy, but in the end we lost our way and exerted lots of energy being frustrated and shouting for each other to stay together.

While passing by on the cart, I waved to this orderly row of kids and they smiled sweetly and waved back in unison. How sweet! This is again in stake contrast to the rowdy kids in Singapore which makes me hates to have children at all.

We also went 寒山寺。The two person standing in the middle of the photo and obstructing the view is just like how life works-there's always people in your life to obstruct your goal, and since it's no mean feat to kick them away or expect them to excuse themselves, just incorporate and accept them and treat them as necessary evil to sharpen our endurance.

The river beside 寒山寺。

We are again touring the river on a boat:) Don't I look a bit 没脸色？This is due to the hectic schedule which causes me less than 6 hours of sleep a day.

We had buffet for breakfast every morning and this is the amount of food I ate every morning for the past seven days. So how can I not grow fat...lol:)

We also visited the silk factory and saw how silk is pulled out from the cocoon. Firstly, the silk are really smooth, soft and thin but the factory stinks! Only now do I realise that silk worm's soil can be eaten or put under the pillow for sniffing at night to treat insomnia and rheumatism. So people, go to a Chinese medical hall now for the prescription...lol:)

There are really lots of other beautiful places and plays that we visited and watched but the evidence-photos are lost! What a pity! Inside the now stolen camera, there are photos of the luxurious hotels that we stayed and posh restaurants that we dined as well and the 四川 ambulances and nurse squad. However, the trip is still meaningful, unforgettable and precious as there are simple life lessons learned and I also met some interesting people in the tour group. I have learned that 有失必有得，I had lost my camera but I have gained reconciliation with my sister, finally free from insomnia-at least till today, widen my horizon, and learned to that life is too precious to dwell on unhappy things and to blame yourself for bad things which are not within our control at all in the first place, a simple tried-and-tested natural facial mask and lastly we should wish each other ‘生日快乐’which means ‘有生子日，一定要活得快快乐乐 everyday-just like the Wuxi people:) So, here wishing everyone ‘生日快乐’。

Labels: china trip

★ xiaoyu; posted at 10:30 AM ★