Satomi's Visit

Today marks the last day of little miss Satomi's 5 day visit to KL.

A bit about this hot young lady from Japan. She's fair, 5'6" tall, slim, in her mid twenties, and flies with JAL as a stewardess. Her last visit to Malaysia was 5 years ago with the Lions Youth Exchange Programme and she had the fortune of being hosted by Jo. After some months of persuading, Jo finally convinced Satomi to visit KL once again.

She arrived around 6pm last Friday and this is roughly what kept us all busy the past couple of days.

Friday - Pickup at KLIA at 6.00pm. Dinner with Jo's family and then to SY's place for finger food, drinks, and a bit of mahjong

Saturday - Lunch at Ikea. Shopping at The Curve's weekend Bazaar. Seafood for dinner at PJ Seafood Restaurant near Tropicana. KaiTzer's Halloween party in USJ14.

Sunday - LoShiFun for Lunch at Mama's Kitchen in Taman Tun. 1957 Hati Malaya at GSC 1 Utama. Taichow at Mei Yen Restaurant in Paramount Garden. KTZ SS2 for her favourite Mango Loh.

Monday - Bella Italia SS2 for lunch. Batu Caves after the afternoon rain. Left her with some other friends who took her for dinner at Kim Gary's in Sunway. Met up again at SkyBar at Traders Hotel KL.

Tueday - DimSum treat at Loong Seng SS2, compliments of Chee How. KLCC to get tickets for the Petronas Twin Towers Sky Bridge. Visit to Herbalife KL Headquarters (we still have to work). Back to KLCC for the Sky Bridge tour. Met Jessie at Pavillion who took Satomi to StarHill for dinner and then to the Loft at Asian Heritage Row for drinks till late.

Wednesday - Brunch at Carcosa Sri Negara. Spa at Curve. Dinner at Jo's place. Back to KLIA for 11.05pm flight.

That pretty much sums up her happening vacation. Sure hope she enjoyed herself.

The reason for this post is that it has been such a busy weekend that I can barely remember the events and order in which they took place. It would be nice to have a little journal to keep record so we know where not to take her on her next visit, hopefully next April when she joins us for diving.

Making A Difference

"...i also want to thank my very good friend Mervyn Tan Gooi Hup, my confidante and newly appointed life coach of mine, who has inspired me to reach beyond my means, and myself, to transcend beyond what i was seemingly capable of, to truly come to know the power from within me. see, he somehow got me moving from where i was, the place i was in, to come out of my self induced disadvantaged disposition at this point in time. i can tell him anything, and he has anwers for me, godly don't you think? but of course he aint one though, even if seemingly. he miraculously got me to get out of my own prison, and to be a better version of myself, nonetheless, the tagline Fitness First has gone for. i haven't stopped since. i'm moving and moving."

When someone says something like that, I can't help but feel a great sense of purpose in life. At least my presence is affecting some people in a positive way. That's nice to know.

"Life coach"?!?!

Tag, I'm What?

Hey ho... another one of those bugs going around again. I just got tagged by UnkaLeong, again!

4 Jobs I have had in my life :-
Data Entry Clerk
Administrative Clerk - Human Resources
Operations Assistant - Plastic Resins
Personal Weight Management Coach

4 Places I have lived:-
PJ SS2/41
PJ SS2/28
PJ Sec19/4
PJ SS2/54

4 Countries I have been to on vacation:-
Singapore
Thailand
Indonesia
Australia

4 of my Favourite Foods:-
Char Koay Teow
Cendol
Bakuteh
KFC

4 Places I would rather be right now:-
Underwater
On my bike
On the beach
Out closing a sale

4 Friends I’m going to tag:-
Joanne
MichQ
Daniel
Ivan

Triathlon

In the recent review of Q3 here, I felt that somehow I don't have very much to look forward to in the coming months and that I'll need to dream up a few more.

I've come up with something which will take a lot more than a quarter of a year to accomplish, but I'll have to start somewhere. Why not here and now?!

Triathlon - a combination of three athletic sports - swimming, cycling & running. Although I am able to swim, cycle and run, so far I can't do any of them long distance, let alone consecutively. But I trust that with some training I should be able to complete the course and become the first triathlete in my family.

There are many variations of triathlons with their differences being in the distances. I'm aiming to complete the Olympic-distance triathlon with a race distance of 1.5km swimming followed by 40km of cycling and completed with a 10km run. That's a great deal of distance to cover but I'm sure I'll succeed with the right guidance.

There's also the "sprint" version of the triathlon which is basically the same as the Olympic-distance triathlon divided by half. 750m swimming, 20km cycling and a 5km run. At the moment, I'm probably able to complete all the different segments individually, but not consecutively. I'll probably use the sprint-distances for training.

I hope to complete my first Olympic-distance triathlon before I hit 30. Lots of time! Know anyone who's willing to coach an untrained person for free?

Riding Two Wheels

There's been a lot of hype about getting a mountain bike and going off-trail with UnkaLeong & Soon Yean, since even before UnkaLeong returned from his 3-year stint in Bangkok. Upon his return, we went browsing for bikes because neither of us were equiped. SY was the first to put down a deposit for his bike, to be collected sometime mid October. After extensive due diligence, UnkaLeong too found a bike he so liked.

As for me, part of the past month has been spent bouncing around from website to website and shop to shop in search of a mountain bike to call my own. I've sealed the deal yesterday in a place far far away from home - Bukit Rimau.

In the course of deciding on which to buy, I have learnt many things about choosing the right mountain bike, from UnkaLeong & some of the sales assistants at the numerous shops.

For starters, choose a frame that suits your riding. Riding style will determine which type of frame to get - full suspension or hardtail. I've never riden a full suspension bike before so I figured it'll be easier, and a whole lot cheaper, to go with the hardtail.

Then you'll have to decide on the frame size. The taller you are, the bigger the frame, although I'm not sure why. There must be some physics to the whole thing which is beyond me.

I also learnt about groupsets. The brakes, the gears, the accessories, and a bunch of other stuff. Some people recommend going all out and getting something hi-end right from the get go because you really save a lot in the long run. Whereas there are others who believe that you should start with the basics and slowly take the time to figure out what you need and upgrade from there on out.

After a bit of deliberation with myself, I concluded that I shall start basic and work my way up as I go along... for 2 reasons:
1. I want to be able to feel the relative difference between the lo-end and the hi-end. If I start off with a 10k bike, I will never appreciate what I have.
2. I just started my own business so income right now is relatively unstable. Better to hold back on the spending for the time being.

So, based on that, I decided that I should spend a little bit more to get a nice strong frame, and the rest can slowly be upgraded as I go along. Long story short, this is roughly what I brought home with me in the trunk of my car.

DiamondBack Topanga Comp XC with a nice chilli red skin.
Zoom 550 suspension fork
Shimano Deore LX (dual control levers, front & rear derailleurs)
TekTro front & rear disc brakes
Truvativ Isoflow 3-speed crank
9-speed cassette
Kenda Koyote 26" wheels
All the above cost me RM1,500
I am no expert, but here's my take on it. The frame is really light, but it looks strong enough and I don't do crazy shit like doing a 3ft drop anyway. The bike is pretty heavy for a small chap such as myself, I suspect due to the front fork. I'll look into having it changed later.

As for the Deore LX derailleurs, 3X9 should equal 27 speeds in total. But I find that I really only get 25 due to the width of the 9-speed cassette. At the two ends of the spectrum, the chain starts scraping away at the front derailleur and the ride becomes less smooth so I avoid it entirely. Maybe there are some adjustments I can make if ever there's anyone willing to share their knowledge with me.

Also, the dual control lever for the front crank is awkwardly positioned. Dual control levers are heck nifty devices, but I can't seem to comfortably engage the front derailleur into hi with the flick of my fingers. I have to literally nudge the damn thing into gear otherwise the chain just kicks back into medium.

Well that's about all the complaints I got. I do enjoy the overall ride of the bike and I love every minute on the bike, even the uphill climb at Bukit Kiara which I failed to complete. Hey, the problem is not the bike, it's my legs!

Oh yea, just for the record, I also got a bunch of accessories together with my bike for about RM300 extra - Raleigh helmet, Raleigh handpump & a spare tube (I have had a bad experience with a puncture before), bar-ends, Topeak Comp130 cycling computer, CatEye rear light, Azonic bike gloves. They threw in a bottle cage & bottle for free.

Since getting the bike, I've done about 40km. Sore legs and a sore butt, but I'm all smiles.

Lose Weight Today

Early this year, while on a mission to gain a substantial amount of weight just so that the people around me would stop saying "Mervyn, did you lose weight again?", I got more than I bargained for. I started learning about nutrition and how many of today's leading causes of deaths are due to poor nutrition.

I also found out that much of Malaysia's population's health problems can also be attributed to being overweight, a side effect of poor nutrition. In case you didn't know, obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, high blood pressure, migraines and many more.

And the simplest of cures for obesity - better nutrition, a lot of water, and a healthier lifestyle. I learnt so much in the recent months that I've decided to start helping people improve their health through some great nutrition products and simple coaching.

My girlfriend has since lost 4kgs and she's complaining about having to buy new clothes because she lost 4 inches round her waist.

Another friend of mine lost 7kgs without even doing any exercise. He's had a huge boost in energy and has also had to go shopping for new trousers.

As for myself, well, I've gained 7kgs since my last medical checkup where the doctor was really concerned about how thin my waistline was. I now fit my clothes better and no one complains about how thin I look anymore.

If you're overweight, underweight, or have some other health problems related to poor nutrition, allow me to help you. Just send me an email at mervyn@earnmyworth.com and let me show you a simple, healthy way to improve your condition.

There's also a business opportunity if you're in need of some extra ca$h- Earn Your Worth

2007: Review of Q3

I didn't even realize the 3rd Quarter of 2007 is up, until I finally had the chance to sit down and browse through blogs and notice people mention it. Oh well, it's that time of the year again - reviews!

Since July, I've turned 25. My gal and my bestest buddies threw me a great surprise with the rest of the fellas waiting at a nearby chill-out joint. That was the first time I've ever had a surprise birthday do. Means a great deal!

I've conquered Mt Kinabalu. The whole sense of achievement came with a bit of delay. And although right after returning from the mountain we agreed that we'd never do it again, I'm starting to reconsider. It was a lot of effort, but effort does pay off - life lesson learnt.Adeline, Ivan, Joanne and I threw mom and dad a really nice anniversary dinner at a mighty fine restaurant with all the relatives present. It cost us a bomb because the bill was only split two ways - my damage was equivalent to an entire month's salary. But it was truly worth it to see mom & dad smiling the whole evening.

Jo & I baked a cake for Rob's 30th and the cake fetched lots of compliments. That reminds me, I still have a lot of unused ingredients. I should get back to baking before they expire.
I have since moved on with my career. Well actually, it's a complete change in careers. I used to play a bit of a customer service role. Now customer service, coaching, training and learning are all a huge part of what I do. So exciting!

In moving on, I've spent a bit of dad's money in setting up a small home office for myself. That, coupled with the brand-spanking-new awesome-looking extra large 19" Samsung LCD monitor I received as my farewell gift from my colleagues, it is a true joy sitting at home working my business online. Thanks guys!
Regretfully, I was unable to participate in Dragonet's Project Aware due to the changing of careers. But I'm sure the sacrifices I make today will pay off tomorrow and I'm indeed looking forward to it.

As you can see from my previous post, I ended the quarter with a great start to my new career. Had I not canceled the dive trip, I would have missed that opportunity. "Everything happens for a reason" has never been more true for me.

Well that's the recap. Here's what I'm looking forward to in the coming and final quarter of 2007...
- getting my mountain bike and go riding with UnkaLeong & SY. (Others welcome, please leave comment)
- Helping 10-20 people lose weight and get healthier through education and a change in habits.
- Put more effort into achieving my 6-pack since I really slacked in the last 90 days.

Gee, recently I've been preaching to my friends about the importance of setting up things to look forward to, I forgot about my own. Three items in 3 months? That just doesn't cut it. I'm going to do more dreaming and will come back and update again.