On February this year, I experienced a food poisoning health scare.  A packet of stale nasi lemak reduced me to a weak, shivering husk of a human whose sole purpose in life then was to expunge the toxic from the body from BOTH ends.  I must have vomited more than 8 times until only bile came out.  And let’s not even go to what the other end produced.

That health scare made me rethink my eating habits.  In researching for ways to make my digestive system healthy, I came across many great health articles on the web and realised that my normal diet isn’t doing my body much good.

One thing led to another and soon I also developed the desire to exercise frequently.  The rainy season then made me frustrated as over and over again, my brisk walking plan in the nearby park was foiled.  I could literally feel my fats rejoicing and multiplying with a vengeance.  What’s a girl to do?

She enrolled in the gym nearest to her work place, that’s what. A place that’s convenient to get to, opens early and closes late, and has ample equipment and clean facilities.

The first week of gym was tough.  My whole body ached for days after.  Pilates class was worse.  I ached in places I didn’t know existed.  But after two weeks, my body grew stronger and I could exercise every day.  To keep boredom from setting in, I alternated my cardio workouts with swimming at my condo.

In two weeks, colleagues started commenting how my arms have slimmed down.  In two months, they were raving about how much weight I’ve lost.

The thing is, I didn’t really lose much weight.  1 to 2 kgs at most.  What matters was, I look healthier, feel more energetic and ready to kick some ass.  Next month, I’ll be embarking on my very first 10km marathon!  Wish me luck!

Food-wise, I’ve stayed away from fast food and indulging my cravings for chocs and such once a week.  In March, I’ve embarked on a 7-day detox with Juvanex which did wonders for my digestive system.  Talk about total cleansing.

People tell me that it’s good to have a workout buddy and such, but I don’t have such a luxury.  My evening walking buddy have resigned and moved up north.  And until God provides me with one exercise buddy, He’s the one keeping me motivated not to make excuses for skipping gym.  I don’t know how He does it but He’s doing a good job :)

Traveling is also a bane to a gym-goer’s existence.  Lots of folks drop off the tread-mill after vacations, holidays and work travel.  I can understand why.  A change in any set routine can do much damage to one’s health and exercise goals.  But the key is to hit the gym as soon as you return from your trips.  No excuses.

Traveling is a big part of my life.  And so is keeping healthy.  The two can co-exist in harmony.  It just takes a little planning and a lot of discipline.

Next, I’ll talk about my favourite health gadgets that helps me keep to my exercise goals and makes them fun!

In Klang!  Man, I love saying that instead of some strange location. 

It’s getting harder these days to find a complete weekend where I can spend time dreaming, reflecting, thinking about personal growth and directions, spending time with family and friends or just plain staring at the wall.

And so, I took leave today and tomorrow to give myself a long weekend.  Something that has not come by in a very very long time.  Besides the usual errands and stuff, it was pretty free and easy – which is the best kind of vacay, really. 

Same goes for travelling.  I’m not one to cram my travel itinerary chock-a-block full with sights to see and things to do until I don’t have time to breathe.  But of course, it’s different when I travel for work on someone else’s expenses and planning on articles to churn.  Especially if you are not sure that you’ll be going to that part of the world ever again.

I called up a few friends today.  One was so gratified to hear from me that she said, "I’m so happy you called!"

It warmed my jaded heart.  Because of my crazy hectic schedule and their busy lives, it’s hard for me to meet up with my dear friends.  Over time, I became used to having a touch-n-go buddies – mostly in the form of media friends.  If I see them, I see them.  Then we’d chat, laugh and talk about media-related stuff.  But I don’t meet them often enough to build solid friendships that will go past the acquaintanceship level.

I’m glad for loyal friendships that have withstood the test of time.  I am the first to admit that I’m rather lousy at keeping in touch.  I guess I depend too much on Facebook and the like that I forget how nice it was to hear a friendly voice over the phone lines.

The chats I had today made my day and filled my heart with a load of fuzzies.  We all need to be filled up with fuzzies so that we can generously dish it out to others – even those who we may deem to be undeserving.  Looking back, I had been unnecessarily harsh with certain folks whom I felt did not respect others.  Heh, by being harsh with them, I wasn’t behaving in a respectful manner to them either.  A case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Thank God for this break, for revealing such things to me.  And for the fuzzies.  I see more coming my way during this luxuriously blissful weekend :)  May the fuzzies be with you!

*Shakes cobwebs off the blog*

Hi ya, peeps.  Here’s a quick update of the weekend that was.

The weekend at Genting watching Dreamz with Bro, Celeste & Junnie was nice.  Quality time with bro and rather nice magic show.  First time ever I saw a man sawed into half and seeing his body parts twirled around the stage – and he’s still alive!  Or a woman with her head chopped off and transported to a different table from her body and both are still moving!  And the white tiger and lion were nice to look at.  Surreal.  The acrobatic stunts and dancing were ok but not mind-blowing.  And I wished the lovely princess sang in English.  But other than that, it was fun and exciting.  Thanks, Celeste for the free tickets!

When in Genting, act like a typical tourist, like me!

Then bro and I rushed to our room to catch 24 on the tv.  Thank goodness First World hotel had a clear reception of NTV 7.  Jack Bauer looked menacing and uber cool, as usual.  I watch 24 because he is a hero unlike any other.  But no, not an iota of crush on him.  Hah.

Morning came and it was deliciously cool.  If only KL was half as cold as Gentings, I’d be as pleased as pie.  We caught Star Trek and it is as what the others say – vastly entertaining even if one is not a Trekkie.  Sylar was very convincing as the young Spock and he does look a lot like the old Spock.  I’m also glad that there’s no cheesy romantic angle between some girl cadet and James T. Kirk.  It’s young Spock who got a lot of kissing action.  What a twist, heh. 

With the exception of LOTR and Indy Jones, I’m not a fan of sequels or pre-quels or whatever ‘quels’ there is but I’m actually looking forward to seeing Part 2 of J. J. Abrams’ version of Star Trek.  And that’s saying a lot.

All in all, a good weekend.  Time to prepare for Mon and a busy week ahead.

Nites!