Telekom Malaysia's Idea of Customer Service

Telekom Malaysia's (TM) idea of customer service is a reminder text message sent on a Sunday after which the service will be disconnected if TM does not receive the payment within 24 hours. They do this despite knowing that payments made via online banking and the post office takes more than 24 hours to get to them.

Now, why on earth nobody in TM has the common sense (which really isn't all that common nowadays) to send out the message at least a week in advance, so that its customers have ample time to sort out the bill payment, is beyond me. Have they missed the point that customer service is about servicing the customer??? 

Watermelons and Me

I've always loved watermelons. As a child, I was told that I could finish half a watermelon all by myself.

As an adult, I still love watermelons though I've got some watermelon "experiences" to share...like the time that I carefully selected a watermelon at Jusco Supermarket, qued up in a very long line to pay for it (it was a busy weekend), only to realise when I got home that I had left it at the cashier counter in the supermarket!

Once, I purchased a watermelon, took it home and put it on the floor for what I thought would be a minute as I took off my shoes but I soon became distracted and continued doing other things which, I'm afraid, didn't  include putting the watermelon in the fridge ASAP. When I finally remembered it, it was dead in the middle of the night when I was feeling peckish. The watermelon, by then, had sadly gone bad :(

And then, there was another time when I bought a watermelon, paid for it, took it home and put it in the fridge well meaning to eat it but forgot about it until one fine day, I was inspired to see what was in the fridge only to discover the science project that used to be a nice ripe and juicy watermelon!

So nowadays, when I am inspired to purchase a watermelon in the supermarket, I make sure that I consume it within a day of buying it (and before I forget that I ever purchased it in the very first place and before it morphs into a science project!).

Oh, by the way, you might want to know that I purchased a watermelon yesterday and made sure that I carried it home with me. I had it all last night  and it was simply divine! :)

My Wish for You

Good luck for later today. Just know that I love you and wish that your marriage will bring you the happiness you deserve :)

discouraged

My brother's getting married tomorrow and my mom has discouraged me from attending the ceremony on the bride's side. She doesn't want me there. She kept saying that it's really out in the sticks and I wouldn't like it, we'd have to share a home stay place with other people and there wouldn't be individual rooms (and I wouldn't like it)..... Note that she was the one telling me that I wouldn't like it. Actually, I was quite game for it but sensed that she didn't want me there.... but why???

Sensing her feelings about not wanting me to go, I didn't want to aggravate matters and told her that I'd changed my mind about going (no point going when your presence is not wanted; she's not going to make the trip a pleasant one for me if I did go on the trip). She heaved a noticeable sigh of relief when I said that I changed my mind and decided not to go.

Hmmm..... I must be a HUGE embarrassment to her.... I have absolutely NO idea why my own mother is doing this. In fact, I wish she would tell me what the problem really is but I doubt it if I'll ever know.

Yes, I've been to see my mom again today. Yes, I was abused yet again (what else is new, huh???).

My brother was there when all this happened. He did something which he has never done before as I was leaving --- he hugged me and told me that the last six months has been hell for him with mom too as mom didn't approve of his getting married.

It's painful, it hurts and I cried while driving home.

Not Perfect

Yes, I failed.... 25 years ago. Reminding me about it over and over again is not going to change things. Just because I seem tough doesn't mean that I don't have feelings too, you know. I'm sorry that I disappointed you. Now, can we get on with living in the present... please?

I wish for the day when you might perhaps be a tiny bit proud of me... I know, I know, wishful thinking but that doesn't stop me from hoping...

Aarrrggghhhhh!!!! Cotton On Sports Bras Color Runs!!!

I recently bought two sports bras from Cotton On. One was a Active Body KIR 'Keep It Real' camo with florescent pink trimming and the other was an all grey Active Body bra.

I wore the brand new Cotton On Active Body KIR bra under a white tee and after my run, I was appalled to discover that the fluorescent pink color from the bra's trimmings had run onto my white tee :( Rats!!! Hmmm.... Could that have possibly been a one-off issue???

I didn't notice any color runs on the other Cotton On Body Active all grey bra and have worn and washed it a few times and it seemed okay, so I was surprised to discover that it had left stains on my brand new pink racer back running tee last Sunday. Double Rats!!! :( :( :(

I went to Cotton On Australia's Facebook page and discovered that that predicament wasn't mine alone. Apparently, a few other people had similar issues with color running from various Cotton On garments (sports bras included) to other clothes as well. 

So, I guess, no more Cotton On sports bras for me from now on. This is when paying reasonable prices is really not worth it when the garments clearly have quality control issues.

What I like about Cotton On sports bras is that they are designed with hooks in the back very much like your everyday bra which makes wearing it easier as I never really liked the pull on type of sports bras as it can be quite a struggle getting them on and taking them off.

BUT, as I said earlier, I've got to stay away from Cotton On sports bras. Lesson learned :(

I've recently bought a pair of Cotton On capri workout pants which I bought prior to making last Sunday's color run discovery and am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that it will not have any color run issues. I have yet to wear them because I have been working out in my shorts since it's hot out there. 

I have bought many items of  clothing prior to this and have never had an issue with color runs before. So could this be just their workout gear problem??? 

Take my advice if you're reading this because you're thinking of purchasing Cotton On sports bras --- stay away from them!!! It's just not worth the hassle of having to replace both your sports bra AND your workout top.

Two-Toned Me

I'm a newbie runner. I started running in October last year in an effort to lower my blood pressure as I was worried that I had pre-hypertension though I was assured that my reading was "normal for my age" (whatever that means!). Anyway, I discovered that I actually enjoy running.

I started running on the threadmill and have been on the machine until only recently when I decided to take it outside. My first 5k run was not something that I planned to do. O'Briens Malaysia was giving away free registration to the run. That was how I got started and that was also where I discovered that I wasn't doing too badly as there were loads of people who finished after me :)

I recently signed up for a 10k run which will take place in October. At the point of signing up, I wasn't sure  if I could even do 10k! That was something like three weeks ago. I went from completing 7k, and then 9k, and yesterday, I completed 10k!

Call me crazy but I ran in the hot sun. That is how determined I am to show me that I can do it. Never mind the time, I just want to know that I can complete 10k.

I discovered Jeff Galloway's Magic Mile while I was trawling the net one night and I've since been experimenting with Jeff Galloway's run-walk-run method trying out various ratios, trying to find one that worked for me. I did a 20/40 today and much to my surprise, I completed 10k under 2 hours. Okay, I know that that is super s-l-o-w for you runners out there but it is a HUGE accomplishment for me and one that I am pretty proud about!

I am happy to just run-walk as it keeps my energy levels in check and I don't feel so tired.

There are tan line marks on my legs (yeah, like I said, I was out there in the hot sun!). Hmmm... I'm now two-toned... :D

Bliss

It's raining outside. Inside, I'm curled up in bed reading a book :)

Weight Issues

About six and a half months ago, I was getting a tab tubby at 123 lbs (56 kgs). Then, I started running, not only to lose weight but also to be healthy. I thought that it would be nice to lose 10 lbs. Frankly, I didn't think that I could lose the weight as it had proven to be almost impossible to shed even a pound previously, let alone 5 or 10!

I started running while making healthier food choices. Amazingly the weight started to drop bit by bit. I started losing the weight and some of my clothes were getting loose and felt no longer comfortable to wear.

About three weeks ago, my weight dropped to 108 lbs (49 kgs) which is waaayyy too light. So, I've since been trying to regain some of the weight that I lost. Worried that I would lose more weight if I kept on running 5 to 6 days in a week and have since cut back my running to every other day and concentrated more on eating more (but at the same time also making sure that whatever I eat is a healthy choice).

I'm happy to say that I've since put on some of the weight that I lost and I'm currently weigh 112 lbs (51 kgs) but let me tell you, it is HARD work to keep my weight there as I have to make sure that I take in more calories than I spend working out!

I'm Free From Corruption Run 2014

I woke up super early this morning to have breakfast so that the food would be digested by the time I started my run at 7:30 am. Yes, I ran with the masses in the I'm Free From Corruption Run today. And in case you're wondering, no, I didn't participate in the run because I really believe that the run was going to change the state of affairs in the country. Well.... when you think about it, it is a public acknowledgement that corruption exists in the country, which to me, is a start. The first step to overcoming any problem (of any scale) is admitting that a problem exists.

My motivation to participate in the run this morning was purely personal --- to get myself better acquainted with mass run events since I seem to enjoy running now :) The distance of the run (3 km) fit nicely into my strategy of getting myself acclimatized to mass run events. This being the second time that I've participated in a run event, I just wanted to experience the route and the terrain. Besides, this run was free and located in Padang Merbok, KL (and it was my first time there despite having passed by it a zillion times before).

To be quite honest, I found the emcees for the event annoying and I didn't really care for the aerobics workout that they had before the start of the run as I found the instructor's voice screaming over the speakers highly annoying.

The run was scheduled to begin at 7:30 am but started at 8:10 am instead as the PM only made an appearance at 7:40 am (hmmm.... perhaps this is in keeping with the well known Malaysian sense of "punctuality"?) and once there, he had to participate in some of the aerobics routines before the lighting of the symbolic torch and then firing the starter pistol.

The roads were closed for the run and manned by the traffic police which was nice as it made it possible for the runners to safely run on the road. High Five buns and Spritzer mineral water were provided after the run. There was also free coffee being given out but I'm not a coffee drinker.

After the run, I ran once around the KLCC park since I felt that I still had energy to burn and after that it was off to Suria KLCC for breakfast (again but hey, I earned it and besides, did I mention that this new interest in running is making me lose more weight than I initially planned to? I'm currently underweight and need to work on gaining weight!!!)  :)

KLCC Park

I went running in the KLCC park today. I woke up kinda late and it was 9 am by the time I got there (the plan was to get there by 8 am but I went to bed extra late last night and overslept). There were plenty of tourists killing time by being busy taking pictures while waiting for the shopping mall to open, I guess.

It has been eons since I last was in KLCC, let alone the park. Anyway, it was a nice change than running on the threadmill and there were enough trees around the park for it to be partially shaded most of the time. There were many other runners out there on the track too. I had a great time.

I had breakfast in the shopping mall after my change of clothes after the run. I also had a walk around the mall after that just to see what's new. I ended up browsing the sports shops just looking at the gear :) 

Normal Readings

I happened to be in Mid Valley earlier today and while I was there, I saw a sign that the Star's Health Fair was going on in the exhibition centre. So up I went to the exhibition centre scrapping my any prior plans I had of having breakfast as I didn't want to scew the results in case there were any freebie blood tests.

I love taking advantage of such events for freebie checks and while I was there, I got my weight, height, blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood glucose checked. The reading for my height wasn't so accurate as the girl taking my height measurement reading was a lot shorter than me! I was kinda nervous about having my blood pressure levels checked as there have been occasions when my numbers came out being within the pre-hypertension range. Thankfully, this time around, it was within the normal range :)

I have come to a stage in life where seeing normal health numbers makes me grateful. Alhamdullillah :)

Health is something that should never be taken for granted.

happy :)

Running takes me to a happy place :) It takes away the blues.

Many don't understand me and wrongly label me. Running is the only thing that can make me forget that others greatly misunderstand me.

When most others love me not, running is the only place where I can go to where I can show myself that I am loved.

Sigh...

Will you ever love me? Why do you always, and I mean ALWAYS, remind me things that happened 25 years ago that I had no control over? Can't you be happy for me now that things in my life has changed tremendously? Can't we leave the past where it belongs --- in the past??? Can't you be happy for me in the present?

Would it be remotely possible for you to be supportive of what I am doing now? Can't you be happy with my milestones? I have been very happy with myself and what I have achieved through hard work, the kind that money can't buy. Won't you be happy for me? Does my quest for leading a healthier life make you uncomfortable? Is that why you always have to burst my happy bubble when I tell you what I have done?

You always tell me about what the others have achieved (mostly financially) when we do meet. Is that your way of telling me that I have failed next to them? It is just so painful to speak to you sometimes because I always end up getting majorly hurt. I don't think you even have any idea of how much you hurt me... or maybe you do know what you are doing. If that is so, why do you do it?

I don't like to discuss my finances/ assets with others. Why should I? Aren't such things personal? While I do have financial goals for obvious practical reasons, the goals that I love to pursue are mostly non-financial in nature, the kinds that money just can't buy. Is that so wrong?

Just know that I love you and I hope for that one day when you might show me that you love me in return. I hope that one day you might be happy for me.

My First 5k Event!

I completed my first 5k run event today :) Granted, I couldn't run the entire way but I finished waaayyyy ahead of loads (and I mean LOADS) of other people. It's a milestone achievement for me.

My participation in this 5k run wasn't planned. I just won the entry ticket from my fav sandwich store 5 days before the event and thought that it would be a good way to get myself introduced to what a 5k run might be like (something that I've been contemplating on for the last 3 months). I must admit that I was pretty nervous during the days leading up to the event as I wasn't sure what to expect. All in all, it felt good to be able to complete the run. Yes, my regular workouts in the gym helped :)

I plan to train to run 5k --- that's my next goal.

The Value of Books

I think that a book pays for itself if I have learnt just one thing in it that I didn't know before I read it.

Useless

An example of me being useless: After half an hour of cardio in the gym, I came home and had a slice of Raspberry Cheesecake :)  

Prayers

Praying for everyone on board flight MH370 that was bound for Beijing but went missing after two hours of leaving Kuala Lumpur.

2014

2014 is the year of respecting my body.

the untruth

It amazes me how some people are so full of BS.