/chēng* lìhng~/

p90x- Day 2/3

2010-06-17T23:53:00.001+08:00

Having completed Cardio x and Core, the only thing I can say is…….Soreness. Every muscle in my body aches. But that is good! because I know it is working!

It is now time to admit that my bi-weekly foray into the local gym has been much too slack as I don’t do enough reps, ab work or even do my cardio intense enough. Shame. No wonder my gut is expanding.

I like how it is quite ‘easy’ in the sense that I just have to press play and repeat what is shown on tv. In that sense, there is no need for my own mind to struggle against my unwillingness to work. I just simply shut out my brain and do whatever the energetic voice tells me to do. Simple! (yet not at all!)

My diet …….. seriously no.low . carbs is hard! I definitely need my cereal in the morning, small lunch at work, and dinner is just fish so far with chickpeas. What I find hard to quit are the snacks such as candy that is laid scattered among my workplace, the numerous food stores downstairs.

Oh well, ab ripper later today!

My foray into P90X – Day 1

2010-06-16T12:12:00.001+08:00

And so beings my adventure with the P90X, the weight loss/ exercise infomercial commonly seen on late nights and Sunday mornings. I have decided to do this after hearing several positive recommendations from co-workers and friends.

After reading through the booklet, I have decided to to the p90x lean regime. Why? well as a petit female, I rather not look like a bulky wrestler and the Lean regime seems to focus more on cardio which is what I want instead of increasing the circumference of my chest or biceps.

I won’t go on to explain the tidbits of the p90x as there are many other sites that does this, in fact, I don’t even want people to read this website but since it is out there in cyberspace, it will serve as a motivator and diary.

Why do I want to do this? Well, I think I am fairly active: I like exercising and go to the gym couple times a week. But I am very unmotivated to work on my abs because there is no guidance and i never feel like I am seeing results. As well, I am lazy to go to the gym everyday and I end up always doing the same routine. All in all, I think this will be good for me as a regime I can stick to.

As for the diet, I think I will skip the protein supplements but will try to maintain a high fiber, high protein, low fat, low carbs diet.

For fiber: I will stick to veggies and my high fiber cereal.

Protein: lean turkey, beef, fish and chickpeas

Luckily, i don’t eat too much junk foods (courtesy of a health conscious mother growing up) and my worse vice is chocolate.

Alcohol is a problem, but not as much as it was in college.

My goal: Go back to 105lb or less. But more importantly, lose that beer gut I have and my love handles.

So here are my stats:

5.1” , 112 lbs. 28” waist.

It says if I don’t want to bulk up and instead remain lean, I will have to do 12-20 reps instead of 8-10 reps.

My tools: I have a yoga mat and resistance bands. I don’t have a pull up bar nor do I plan to obtain one.

And here is the program for week 1,2,3

1) core synergistic

2) cardio x

3) shoulders & arms, abs ripper x

4) yoga x

5) legs & back , abs ripper x

6) kenpo x

7) rest / stretch

- I will take a picture of myself but wont post it until my results are finalized.

- I will try to update at least once or twice a week.

- I will fill with more information after I start reading more about this. I only obtained the p90x today!

Good luck to me!!!

Vancouver. Oh!

2010-06-01T11:46:00.001+08:00

Summer is here! (well, when it stops raining anyways!)

Here are some interesting things that are happening this summer in the most livable city in the world! And which I want to go to!

Bard On The Beach 2010

“Out Damm spot, Out!”. This year, there will be Shakespeare performances for “Much Ado About Nothing, Antony and Cleopatra, Falstaff, and Henry V” almost every night under the big tent.

The Modern Woman: Drawings & Other Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay, Paris

The VAG will be showing this cool exhibition all summer. Entry by donation on Tuesday nights!

Museum of Vancouver presents Fox, Fluevog and Friends

The MOV will be having a shoe exhibition all summer. A girl’s wet dreams. Shoes Shoes and MORE SHOES

The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art presents A Tale of Two Artists

Apparently this is a really cool museum of native art

Arts Club Theatre Company presents Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story

Who is Buddy Holly and why have I heard of name before?

Pacific Theatre presents GODSPELL

I am a big fan of musicals… much more entertaining than dramas, lighter tone too!

Italy Comes to The Drive!

Italian themed day on Commercial Drive. Pasta and Gelato and the new hip neighborhood.

SUMMERFEST at Lonsdale Quay

Music, festival all summer long @ the Quay

TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Its’ about time I started listening to the Jazz festival

THEATRE UNDER THE STARS presents JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT and SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

2 more musicals I am dying to watch

33rd Annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival

nuff said. Folk music.

Caribbean Days Festival

Vancouver Pride Parade

ooo my favorite parade and the only I watch. !!! Men in short shorts. Hawt! eXCEPT FOR THE NAKED WRINKLY OLD MEN.

It’s but a plane ride away

2010-04-05T13:55:00.001+08:00

I am 21, but already I have lived almost 25% of my life alone. (without parental supervision).

How do I feel about this? Sometimes, when I see my friends greeting their parents it makes me sad. When they leave to eat dinner at home, I feel a little jealous. It isn’t like I can’t see my parents, as it is but a plane ride away. Just a really long and expensive plane ride.

ugh. Why am I missing family right now? I have done it for so long. But maybe because most times I have lived alone, so was everyone else. But now, back home in Vancouver where everyone is ‘home’… the consistent reminders make me homesick. Or at least, parent sick.

It’s funny how my friends can’t wait to move out where I long to live close to my parents again. (not under the same roof though) . In most instances in relationships, distance doesn’t make the heart grow fonder but with parents…the feeling of unconditional care, love and the feeling of warmth and home makes my heart long for the days where I just stroll around with my dad along the boardwalk or the Peak, with my mother in our random lunch dates after her yoga sessions and me requesting whatever I want to dinner, with my sister and else having a blast one moment and fighting the next (but very short bursts).

Malta holds a special place in my heart. Perhaps the best 4 days I ever spent with my sister exploring the tiny island nation.

Osaka and surroundings holds a special place in my heart. Hiking up old forest routes and abandoned temples with my parents heaving and panting. Eating home-style Soba noodles while miming to the servers.

Family……….. When you have them around, you shun them. It is only until when you are without them, do you realize how much you depend on them, and how much they are part of your life.

Don’t take your family for granted.

It has been awhile

2010-03-28T08:50:00.000+08:00

Wow, has it been 3 mths already, so much and so little has happened.

A little recap in my mind of what has happened. For my own sake.

I got a job which I like (most of the time) , it isn't too challenging... which isn't that great. But it is a good company that is willing to train you, is big, and chances of going under is nil.
(high job security)

I got a great apartment, a little studio that is fairly decently priced for downtown. And the higher price is definitly because of location location location.

Yet while my work life is going great, I feel like I am faltering in my personal life.
Making friends when you aren't a student is hard, harder than I thought.
Love life... it could have happened, but I stopped it becuase there was nothing there.

Argh............everything is great but one thing.

Get over it.

The people you never meet

2009-12-18T23:50:00.001+08:00

Since being in Taiwan, I have been closely associated with hostels. I have lived in them, worked in them , and recently just hung out a lot in them. Today, I was reminded again that there are a lot of different people whom I would never talk to unless I was stuck together with them.

I am reminded again not to take my friends for granted as they are open minded, relaxed, easy going and social individuals who are naturally easy to get along with and don’t stray too far from the social norm (sexual orientation aside).

Let me now account for all the memorable Hostel memories in my time in Taiwan.

- L who lived in a hole in the wall (literally) in EE. Live sex show due to him living in a hole cut out from the living room of the hostel. The curtain doesn’t help to cover up the show nor the sound.

- Guest getting drunk in the hostel and leaving it such a mess it took 2 hours to clean.

- Guest telling me to stop working to take me out and buy me dinner. (very rudely) “I will pay! come out with me NOW” …

Today though, it's been bugging me how there are so many people who are strange and just so socially inept that one wonders how they function in society.

Take a 60 year old man staying in the certain hostel right now. There is 1 guest computer , why would you spend everyday of your stay glued to it?!?! Writing a Sex Novel, copying nude photos of your sexcapades onto the desktop. And when another person is trying to use the computer , be blatantly rude is saying ‘ I have been patiently waiting for you to finish the computer’ and make all the accompanying nosiest to voice disapproval. Seriously!

Take another guest who pretends the fridge is his home and raid other guests food.

Take a previous guest who pretends that just because he stayed in the hostel in the past, it is his right to hang out in the hostel with his 20 new found friends.

All this and I still have to put a straight face! In another situation, I would politely avoid these people and am only sometimes reminded they exist. But today, I was reminded that they exist and are prevalent in society. Shame.

USA and Afghanistan: The math can be done better.

2009-12-04T16:07:00.001+08:00

USA has announced an addition of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. As of 2009, they already spend $60billion/year on the military stuff to ‘defeat’ Al-Qaida there and only $2billion/year on improvement of the people.

Sure , you can spend $60 billion a year wiping out Al-Qaida in Afghanistan, but WHAT IF(and that is a big if) you wipe them out; chances you they will just regroup and reform in a neighboring country that the USA does not have a large military presence on i.e Pakistan.

The first question the USA has to address is not how to wipe Al-Qaida out, but rather how to reduce the number of people involved with Al-Qaida.

Al-Qaida is like any army in the world, and why do people join the army in other countries? While some might really be for ‘Queen and Country’ , most join the army for COMFORT and SECUIRITY. In the USA ,most recruits aren’t from the elite politicians son or bluebloods. They are from down rural or poverty stricken towns where joining the Army is the only way out.

Why don’t bluebloods join the army, well, there are simply better alternatives than the Army. The costs of being injured/death outweighs the benefit of a stable job. As well, bluebloods tend to be highly educated and their human capital is worth much more in the business world, but anyways…

What USA needs to do is , as Jeffry Sachs stated, to redirect funding to developing a nation torn by war. Where life is uncertain, and the only insurance against hunger is joining the army. Blowing up deserts and sending marines to combat zone isn’t going to help the common citizen, and resources can be used in a much smarter way. It is hard to believe Obama does not see this. It is also, in the long run, a lot cheaper to build up infrastructure and human capital, than sending expensive Marines with their high danger pay where they end up doing nothing but patrolling and terrorizing .

According to reports, 30000 additional troops will cost $30billion/year! What if the USA government used only one year of this extra cost to pay for the wages of the teachers, rebuild schools, hospitals and provide food to the population? Send in administrators and a few engineers instead of troops that blow things up. Lets see…

population of Afghan: 28 million.

As I stated above, I believe people join the army for security and food due to poverty.

1) If the USA used $30billion to feed everyone in the population. (assuming poverty line according to UN is living under $1/day) then with a population of 28million they could FEED EVERYONE FOR 1071 DAYS OR 3 YEARS.

Now lets start over, say the extra troops are planned to be there for 5 years in total. Each year will cost less than the first year due to sunk costs. So, it would cost (for sake of ease) an additionally 20billion/year for 4 years.

2) What other means could the $80+30billion (110billion total) be used for in a 5 year plan?

SECURITY (food)

i) everyone gets $1/day for 5 years for food: 1825days X population = $53billion

(still have 110-53billion= 57billion to spare!)

EDUCATION

ii) In a developing country, schools I think, are fairy low key and cheap to build. Lets say with corruption (which is inevitable), it costs $1million. Each school has 1000 students and teacher to student ration is 1:100. Now since the population distribution in Afghanistan will undoubtly be more children. lets say 40-60% distribution. Meaning 17million will be of school age. (I am now making wild assumptions) And the teachers make $10/day. USA pays for 5 years.

So: $1million/school , 17million students, 1 teacher per 100 student, 1000 students/school.

You would need: 17,000 schools and 170,000 teachers.

Cost: $17billion + (170000x$10x365daysx5years) = $20 billion

(still have $37 billion to spare)

HOSPITALS

iii) 1 hospital for every 100,000 people. Wage of doctors to be $50/day. 4 doctors for every 100,000 people. Just need to worry about wage. Hospital cost $2 million.

You would need 280 hospitals, 1120 doctors

Cost: (280x $2million) + (1120 x $50/day x 365 x 5 years) =$600,000,000…….lets round this up to $1billion. for wage.

MEDICINE

iv) lets say medicine is 6 billion

still $30 billion to spare.

INFRASTRUCTURE

v) for the next 5 years we build infrastructure and employ 25% of working population. i.e. 11 million x .25= 3 million people. Also pay them $3 a day. (in addition to food)

3million x $3/day x 365 days x 5 years = $5.5 billion

now for the roads, canals, irrigation!

lets add another $10billion for roads.

Now we have $15billion left.

vi) lets give everyone seeds, a bucket to water, and a plow.

There, now everyone is happy and a much better way to spend that $110 billion dollars:

and why is it a better way?

i) everyone has food!

2) minimal things blowing up

3) health care

4) kids have better things to do (school) than being desperate and looking for security i.e. joining Al-Qaida. Education gives them something to look forward to, think better.

5) People are working/ planting.

6) once the economy starts churning along, people will become entrepreneurs. $1 will turn into more, people will be too busy making money to care about some Jihad , or blowing up stuff. In the end what do we all want in life? but stability, a family and not worry about food on a day-to-day basis.

AN EXCELLENT PLAN :)

now if only people would think the same.

a weekend in Taichung

2009-12-01T00:30:00.001+08:00

Over the weekend, my LE invited me over to his home in Taichung 台中。 It turned out we didn't even need to take a bus there as his cousin was coming down as well.

Everything was slow and dandy … looking at the view (unspectacular if you ask me as the city is small and flat), eating at the night market, adoring his child… till he until he pulled out a bottle/vase of alcohol. On closer inspection and introduction it turned out to be: Kaoliang, or 高粱酒. Which is a cool 58% his friend bought over from 金門。

It tasted terrible. But slowly and surely it was drunk by 4 people on the rocks or straight up. Everything was going well, chatting until A. having just eloquently explained her view-point of Cross Straight Taiwan China Relationships (who would have thought an American to be so well informed about this!) passed out. Next thing I know, I have puke all over me.

I must remember this as the first time anyone had puked on me.

(Hard to carry a girl when there is a skinny guy and passed out LE… I ended up dragging A)

My LE and Cousin, L are fairly drunk as well… in the meantime I manage to break my LE glasses by stepping on them.

We (or more I) decided to put her outside as she was still puking..puking..puking. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have told LE and Cousin L to put her outside, but we were all fairly drunk. (58% on the Rocks is pretty tough).

A. continues to puke throughout the night…next morning…next afternoon…into the next evening. O dear.

The next morning (of afternoon), my LE was to attend some function so left early. I was left with A. and Cousin L. A, was in no mood/ ability to leave the toilet seat having developed what I believe to be a severe case of alcohol poisoning. As I was also nursing a slight hangover, and wishing to see more of the city'; me and Cousin L left A in the toilet of LE house and continued our day, punctured by comments of A.

You would think hanging out with a 30+ year old guy who I have only met once before for the whole day would be awkward. But it was good and generally very chill, especially when the whole conversation was in 中文。Normally, when I am stuck with a person I don’t know I either don’t talk (which makes it extremely awkward) or talk non-stop. This was neither, so thank god.

We spent a few hours biking the 潭雅神鐵馬道 or Tan Ya Shen bikeway. As it was a beautiful day and a weekday, it was packed packed packed. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful ride to cure a hangover with fresh air and such.

I had hoped A. would join us at night as she had not had the opportunity to leave the house or see any of Taichung for that matter. But she was still in no physical condition to leave the toilet. So off we went to a hot spring. Just me, 3 30+ year olds and a 1 year old infant!

It was nice and relaxing but midway through I got a call from a rather desperate sounding A. asking when we would get home.

Finally arriving back to Taichung and freezing my ass off (my clothes were covered in puke and therefore very 髒！)

I was surprised to find all the 50 years old (LE aunts) being merry and drinking. Apparently my LE had told his aunties I could drink and was quickly poured some mixed drink and told to 港杯！ In an hour, I had 5 drinks >.<

But it was late, and we had to head back as other people had work. I slept most of the way as I was tired/drunk and went home at 2am. LE having drove me to my front door.

All in all, a very memorable trip, especially for A. who didn’t step out of the house the whole Sunday and lived in the bathroom the whole day. I was hoping to let this be a ice-breaker to my LE so that when I leave, she could be my replacement. But this probably failed as i) he got her very very drunk ii) perhaps she is too embarrassed to ever see him again

but a nice visit nonetheless. Although the Aunties were insistent I come back so she could introduce her son to me (o dear). The wife probably dislikes me as a random drunk who gets her husband wasted. And I , having barely spent more than 200NT , must pay back 賠償 my LE for the Hot Spring and more importantly, his glasses.

Until next time.

Taipei

2009-11-22T00:25:00.001+08:00

Having lived here for 6 months, I think I can now make an informed judgment on this city.

In a sentence, it is where the old and the new collide, the traditional and the hip:

In one corner, it can be very very crowded, where humans are jammed pack sardines. But a block away is where urban planning is done so successfully, nature and humans co-exit in harmony.

And a 30 min bus ride can take you to a place were civilization is just a distant memory:

Where street vendors line up in every corner for a full culinary experience (even though faux European food makes you only yearn for the real thing). Or where you can eat very strangely presented food…

All in all, a perfectly sized city to meet all you needs.

- bought to you by the Lone Woman Tourism Board.

My final plan in Taiwan. No Changes.

2009-11-14T01:47:00.001+08:00

It was a long time coming, try as I might to plan my own moves, fate has other ideas for me.

I cannot tell you how many times my plans have changed in the months since I graduated. From staying 3 months to 6 to 5 to 10. From planning to move here and there and everywhere in between. I believe I have learnt a lot about myself and what I wish to pursue.

My decisions keep on changing, I believe, because I am uncomfortable with the decision my conscious part of my brain has made. Perhaps it is my unconscious part of my brain that really knows what to do but is unable to express itself fully so I am stuck with incredible indecisiveness. For example: since my Birthday a mere 3 weeks ago, I have already gone from…I will stay for one more semester (late-Feb) to until Chinese New Year (mid-Feb) to end of Jan and now today to switch schools and just till the end of the year.

Well, the Late-Feb and CNY decision was just because it made sense for me to spend CNY with family, so that was a logical decision. Late January was because I believe my unconscious part of my brain was signally me that it didn’t believe that was a good decision. Finally, till end of Dec was due to several factors, but my brain at last feels like it made a right decision.

Why I am staying with TLI…

1) given that I had decided I was going to stay till Jan 31st, that would give me 9 weeks of classes starting in December. I was going to go to ShiDa for 9 weeks intensive + 6 hours/week private lessons (33000NT + (430x6x9)= 56220NT. However today in class I worked out that 15 hours/week = (400x15x9)= 54000NT private lessons were cheaper than the first option. Clearly one-one is beneficial to waiting around listening to other students talk with poor accents. While my social group might be bigger, I already process a comfortable group of friends and social life.

2) So the reason I am leaving a month earlier is due to Visa issues. This is what I call fate deciding my route. Since I did not get a new Visa last time in HK, I can only remain in Taipei for 60 straight days, this started on Nov 1st. This means I have to leave on Jan 1st . I could do a visa hop again, but truthfully, I am tired of it.

Before I cam to Taiwan, I seriously thought my Chinese would be almost pro- by the time the 3 months was over. I was quickly proved wrong. Then I thought, another 3 months, I will be much better as I would have done the first 4 Shida Books (almost) , so much Chinese level must be pro. Again, only to be proved wrong. While my Chinese has gotten exceptionally better, I will need to stay at least another year to be considered very good and understand the newspaper. I understand that now, and am ready to finally accept my naivety and will return home (which is to be decided in a next blog) to continue my studies. The reason I am staying in Taipei for 30 more days is because even though I know my Chinese level will not improve drastically, I am going to be attending 18 hours of 1-1 for a month. Hopefully, my tones will be better and more vocab won’t hurt. I work hard here, that , is the truth. And of course, I want to spend my last few weeks with my friends here, they have made my time here pass quickly and happily. True friends, they are.

Final cost of one month. (30x3x400)=36000nt