Good Job Honey!

He watched as she huff and puff her way about the track, slightly amused at her determination to lose weight. He did not think she was heavy at all. And so it was, every Sunday morning, they would jog until she dropped. He always followed behind her, keeping an eye on her and making sounds to warn her of incoming joggers from the back.

And it has been a habit since then, now they do hikes every Saturday morning instead of jogging on tarmac on Sunday. It is more effective and she lost 3 kilos in one month hiking in the green lung of Petaling Jaya, also always with him behind her, watching over her.


The picture above is taken during the Standard Chartered Charity Run where we participated in the 10km fun run, which we call our pak tor run. We certainly had fun and we had no idea these pictures were taken. She is certainly a lot fitter now from the hikes and other form of exercises that we do. To all you boys and girls out there, maybe a change of lifestyle is all you need for a healthier you.

Good Job Honey! You Caught Up

P/S: I must say how effective these guys from marathonphotos.com are. They send an email to you and your pictures and finishing line video is available for purchase.

Three, Six, Eight or none at all?

My dad once told me to have 6 months of salary tucked away somewhere safe, to be kept in case of rainy days. That was some 7 years ago when I first started working. I had no worries back then, no car loans / housing loans / insurance (both car and personal) and whatever I made was strictly for myself only. Did one not use a poncho or an umbrella when its raining?

Some people pay one month of their monthly salaries to attend personal finance seminars and they are told to keep 3 months of their salary away for rainy days. Am sure glad my dad did not charge me that much. All I had to give him was 5 minutes of my time. Those who paid one months salary to be told they had to keep 3 months salary away has been suckered in my opinion.

And then, I met an entrepreneur who told me to keep away 8 months of my salary someplace safe. Under the pillow perhaps, or should I dig up my floor to put away 8 months of salary. I know not what people practice but one thing is for sure, many in my generation (less than 30 years of age) do not safe money at all.

Now, that my friend, is extremely dangerous. I overheard this recently in a language which is not foreign to me but its not in English (figure it out yourself).

Short haired stranger : Why don't you buy this? Its better to invest in one of your own than to rent all the time.

Balding stranger : No money la; so expensive, if I buy this, I will have to play every weekend to bring the cost per play down.

Short haired stranger : No worries bro, just use credit card. Sign on the dotted line only and it is yours. I also did that, then pay monthly, just pay what you can. As long as you pay monthly, its ok wan... the banks wont come after you. Some more get more points can change for shopping voucher.

I for one, certainly do not condone the above "overheard" conversation. 6 months tucked away is comfortable enough and is easier than you think it is. In essence: -

• Pay your bills on time and in full
• Save a fixed amount every month
• Get insurance!! (no, I am not an agent, I just believe in it)
• Put away a little every month for a holiday; never failed to show me the positive of things after a holiday
• Invest only if you have extra monies (do not touch that 3 / 6 / 8 months tucked away)
  

Food! Neroteca

I absolutely LOVE my food (well, I Love eating it, not staring at it). I live to eat more than I eat to live. I enjoy almost every style of cooking. There is the everyday cooking and of course the occasional restaurant that you go to to try out something new. It could be an anniversary, it could be a birthday, it could be a day out with your parents or it could be you are feeling rich.

9 years ago, feeling rich meant dining in places like Chili's, TGIF and the likes of it. Nowadays, feeling rich goes way longer than those places. In fact as I age, my liking for food grew more profound. Or at least that;s what I think.

I am lucky because in my line of work, I have to entertain. Now, I know what you are thinking, booze and stuff. That's where you are wrong. I do not drink, its the taste and smell of alcohol that I cannot seem to enjoy. It certainly does not taste sweet to me. Some told me champagne is sweet, I say bollocks (mayhaps bollocks are sweeter).

Therefore, I treat my guests to meals. Sometimes simple everyday meals, sometimes lavish meals, sometimes we just go to places I have not been to before. Its a joy to see your guest smile and leave happy and go "wow, Nicholas, you sure know good food. I sure am glad to do business with you".

Enough of my ramblings, let's talk about Neroteca. Its tucked away at Somerset Ceylon, Lorong Ceylon very near No Black Tie. In fact I parked at the same parking spot when I was at No Black Tie.

Its a quaint little spot (that does not burn a hole in your pocket), perfect for entertaining guests either for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just to have a coffee, although they do serve alcohol. I called to make reservations earlier as I was told this place can be packed. The service was good and the waiter helpful.

We ordered a lunch set as depicted by the picture above which cost RM38/- It consists of 3 courses all on one plate. A salad, a main and a pasta. On our plate was a mixed salad, spaghetti aglia olio and a fish which had a funky name. Something that ends with murray (or so I think). The set lunch also comes with coffee / tea.

The picture above is Salsiccia whihch translates to homemade grilled Italian sausages in 'peperonata' and potatoes and this cost RM38/-. Its drowned in tomato paste, so you cannot see the sausage, there are two of em sausages swimming in that plate and it tasted so good. The sausages are chewy and I loved it. Said Italian sausage depicted in picture below, pretty lacking in size eh? The Germans have larger sausages. I wonder if all Italian sausages are of this size. But its packed with meat!

Topped it off with a cheese cake (Grandma's cheese cake) and I gotta say, Grandma's got a whole lotta milk to make cheese cake like that. It was very rich and creamy and cost RM18/-

We ordered two drinks, Ice Lemon Tea and an Iced Peach Tea for RM9/- each and the bill came to RM128/80.

Neroteca (non-halal)
Ground floor, Somerset,
8 Lorong Ceylon, 50250 KL
www.neroteca.com
Tel: 03-2070 0530

Can't sleep of late

I have finished the book i was reading and therefore have nothing much to do when I find myself staring at the ceiling when I am supposed to be sleeping. There is the danger of falling into traps made by oneself I suppose. At times, we just walk right into our traps set up by our own device. I have been setting off traps made by myself of late. I miss the carefree me some 10 years back when all I cared for was a good laugh day after day.

I have not been sleeping much of late. There seem to be so many things going on at the same time and the brain is just so active. Perhaps I should cut down on the caffeine during the day. I have always wondered why there are those who cannot sleep at night. Laughed at them even. I guess there really is karma for now, I am suffering the same.

No one even knows about this outlet of mine, I suppose. Not even PMP; why did I not tell anyone? Maybe its because I am saving this for times like this. For times when I am up, staring at the ceiling when I should really be in dreamland and have naught better to do. Books are kinda expensive if you finish one every two days or so. Maybe I should go back to renting.

This situation happened last week and I was up at 3.30am and went straight to work at bout 6.45am. Meddling with stuffs, playing sims3, scribbling nonsense over notepads. I have been planning things for her birthday which is coming up. Made a few reservations and such. Having a ball of a time looking for things that might surprise her.

Gave her this 2 weeks before her birthday; she did not expect it and neither did half the world. Exaggeration exercised.


I guess I better try getting some shut eye for now. I woke up at 2am the night before, crazy huh. And surprised myself that I can go so long without sleep. This is my first attempt writing for public viewing on cyberspace. The last article I wrote was published in a magazine some 7 years ago when I wrote for a living. Now I write cause I cant sleep. Ironic.

Good night I guess and may you have a good night's rest.