Gym Progress 36

Dreadfully cut back schedule... Must have something to do with a work on Saturday that was expected to be done at 1-2pm but kept on going until 3:30pm. Well, if there is any consolation, I suppose its worth it to know that on Saturday I've finally received my HKID card (lost), took a sauna on one of the clubs before going ahead to the office, and scrambled to the only gym class I could attend to.

But it doesn't help that all of a sudden my ankles hurt really bad after the Saturday class. I vowed to get my feet some rest before heading off to do serious workout next week. Lets see what will happen then, knowing my iron steel resolve and my crazy stubborn streak.

Mon (SM): Steve
Tue (ISM): Lok
Thu (HL,ASM,HY): Bibi, Bibi, Louisa
Fri (IHL, ASM): Bibi, Bibi
Sat (ISM): Steve
Sun(SM, HL, ISM): Suzette, Bibi, Bibi

Wrong Soundtrack. REALLY WRONG.

There is something seriously wrong with Bibi's soundtrack for Step today.

I was really getting distracted. I can't decide whether I should be happy at hearing a Final Fantasy battle/preliminary scary big boss area/Omega Weapon-type theme being played while I try to do a box-step-and-step-back-box-step-walk-shuffle-switch-back-mambo. You know how those soundtracks are composed : ominous, low toning, slow, lots of low bass (no, not drums). Here I am trying to do a knee skate or a switch, and my mind keeps on switching instead to confrontation with Omega Weapon and the how the heck I am supposed to line up my game characters and setup their auto-spell, weapons and armor before the boss starts giving out a 999999 damage attack to all my in-play characters, and with a whole slew of status attacks like confuse, poison, sleep and/or blind. Stop! I don't need to do a reverse-straddle, I need to get to a savepoint first!

Its really not right.

And then it also didn't help that it was mixed in together with that hobbit theme soundtrack being used as background during Bilbo's birthday/Hobbit opening scenes in the LOTR movies. I mean, I kept seeing Gandalf and nice hobbitses doing a nice jolly jig/square dance and drinking ale or beer in a really old, comfy tavern somewhere near Bag-End. And green rolling hills. And starry skies. While doing a gallop-around-the-world-4-march-double-knee-single-curl-spin? Even if the tempo's sped up.... its still not registering in my head.

I mean, really. Can you imagine doing a cha-cha-twist-turn-over-the-stop-hammer-spin with that kind of acoustics?

Its like trying to do twist and ballroom dancing with ultra headbanger music.

I hope she doesn't use THAT soundtrack again. There really is something fundamentally wrong with it. I keep seeing Cloud, Aeris, Squall, Tidus, Cid, Omega Weapon and nice little hobbitteses instead of thinking of doing steps,...

Gym Progress 35

Oracle training week - which means I get to be in Causeway Bay and get off a bit early than usual. Of course, that doesn't mean to say I don't get to work at nights, as this post should cover that one.

A few interesting comments for this week, but I think I'll leave that to a separate post. For now:

Mon (HY,BP,SM): Jean,Stephanie,Steve
Tue (ISM): Dileep, Stanley
Thu (HL,ASM,HY): Bibi, Bibi, Louisa
Fri (IHL, ASM): Bibi, Bibi
Sat (ISM): Calvin*
Sun(SM, HL, ISM): Suzette, Bibi, Bibi**
*There's a reason why I didn't cover the usual CWB afternoon class. You'll see that in this post.
**Very very very very very very very STRANGE...

Enjoying the Routine Change

Having passed up the usual Saturday gym class, I decided to spend my afternoon by spending quality time with myself.

Starved? Of course.
Book? Terry Prachett's Feet of Clay.
Bored? I haven't seen Spiderman 3 yet.
Shopping? Generally no, but I've recently found out I'm running low on office/casual shoes

I was thinking of watching the movie first, but decided against it since Heather told me about this really nice warehouse sale selling really good branded shoes at a very cheap price. Cheap? and shoes? no way I can pass THAT up.

So, first things first, I passed by a warehouse sale on top of Times Square with Heather. Lots of shoes, at "low" prices. Probably have at least 50% cut off from the original price, but of course, these are branded shoes, which would mean the original price of 3500HKD shoe, slashed down to 1000HKD. Still not cheap, but still ok.

Unfortunately, didn't see anything that suited my tastes.

Raining really bad, and with no umbrella, and my stomach starting to show pangs of rebellion, my next stop was to decide to sit somewhere to eat, and let the afternoon pass by quietly. I was thinking more on the lines of tea time, with probably a nice, delicate cake and iced coffee. No way would I want to be caught in Krispy Kreme (its one of my usual stops) or Starbucks (I'm sick of this already. Starbucks = work) , or anywhere where there are throngs of people. I want my privacy, and I know a lot of you know I value it a lot. Not really a loner by heart, but I do love to enjoy and relax by myself without the chattering or gossiping or talking on more than just a few occasions.

I thought of that nice tea place at G.O.D in front of Lee Theater, but found out that I am so out of the CWB scene. Its already been replaced with a Chinese restaurant, and frankly, I don't feel like chinese. Its full of oil and soy sauce. Doesn't really sound relaxing or tasty to me.

Finally decided to head off to UCC, and it was, I must say, a smart choice. Nice ambiance, with people who are also looking for a place to pass time away without causing much of a ruckus. They're just seated there, drinking coffee, eating cakes and snacks, and definitely spending a LOT of time talking. I got a really nice quiet corner with cushioned seats and got a seafood tomato sauce based risotto, and finally to end the meal with a tiramisu cake and hot coffee. The risotto was a very good choice, in fact. I should've taken some pictures before I gobbled it down, but anyway, I haven't eaten lunch by then. And so, by the time I paid my bill, my stomach was very much satisfied , and I'm feeling much more relaxed compared to a few hours ago.

Was supposed to eat dinner with my family, but they decided to eat out. So I took a quick detour and decided to spend more of the day by myself... I bought a ticket to the Spiderman 3 movie, and finally get to watch it too. If you're asking my about my opinion of the movie.. well.. I mean, it was ok....

Oh, and I also made a detour to HMV, where I got a copy of a few of my favorite movies being sold at a very cheap price (lets just say they were under 50HKD).

Eventually got home, and was very much happy. ^_^ I think I should this more regularly.

What Is It With Feet?

I got lucky again today.

Life is sooo kind. Its not enough that :

(1) I've been having problems with my knees more than a year ago, which is a continuing nuisance with my daily walking/jogging/gymming activities, but
(2) my toes have also been butchered by inappropriate rubber shoes, which totally blacked out my second toe nail on both pairs of feet
(3) seriously mangled by high heeled shoes for the sake of fashion and an important meeting
(4) skidded and landed on my knees when walking out of a gym branch (causing a lot of huge bleeding there)
(5) landed several times on my aerobics step with my knees first

But today, someone had to nicely step on my very well exposed feet and soon after a few hours, it turned into an ugly red pretty quick... not just in one area, but the whole toe. Exposed because I had to wear flip flops today because it was raining really bad, and I don't want any of my shoes ruined. Turns out a bad choice.

I could barely jump up and down in Calvin's class with the new Mizuno shoes I bought a few months back cause its snug fit and was hitting the poor bruised toe. It didn't look so bad minutes after the incident occurred, but hurt like hell. And then, after the class, the whole toe swelled to an ugly red, and pretty sensitive.

Hence, I skipped the usual Saturday afternoon classes. But I mean, really, what is it with life and its constant picking at my feet/knee/leg?

My Taxpayer Money's Worth

I left the office at 2am. It was just me and the great big, four-lane-per-direction road (That's 8, for those of you who can't count). I walked across a non-pedestrian section, reasoning logically that, should I decide to be a dutiful citizen and cross the unreasonably wide road legally, it will take me an additional 10 minutes to do so.

No, that definitely wouldn't do.

I crossed, and slightly lingered at the middle. Of the road.

I looked around. It was just me. No cars. No people.

So, to my surprise (not really) and inherent inaneness, I started to hum loudly. I muttered to myself, raised my hands to gesticulate my depressing situation, and condescended in the way I had to be up at an ungodly hour of the night/day. Furthermore, being a firm believer to grab the opportunity when it presents itself, I also took a cheap shot at few personally composed tunes - tunes with words that tried to force themselves to rhyme and with a tune that would probably not pass any non-tone deaf living thing's standard, or or even those with a drunken disposition.

It also emboldened me to know that I may possibly have an endearing audience - ones which would likely show appreciation to a kind, pretty lady like me, singing out with conviction, by hollering me to shut up and at the same time, throw unwanted household articles from at least 7 storeys high. At least, they wouldn't have a good shot at me. Plus, they'd have to get their windows opened first, and make sure their unwanted articles are really unwanted ones, and additionally, would have to concentrate on waking up. That was a very long process for my dear audiences, I reasoned. It would probably take at least 30 seconds, of which I can be out of projectile range by then. I therefore convincingly concluded to myself that Life was on my side.

So, loudly, and with gusto:

"
What the heck and I doing here, its 2:00 in the morning,
I should be in bed, but I'm not.
I'm so dizzy, oh so dizzy from sleep,...

OH! Its just meee.... Ohhhh.. meeee!
I could piss here in the middle of the road,
and no one would seeeEEEeeee!!!
"

I finally gave up on the "I-am-the-only-one-in-the-world-right-now" approach and finally decided to take a taxi that conveniently passed by.

... and was surprised to find a police checkpoint a little off where I lighted the taxi. They're generally, basically checking up on all the cars running around and making sure the people inside are not of a suspicious or problematic-policing nature.

But, I am just glad I didn't get caught going on an uproar while walking in the middle of the road at 2am in the morning.

Good experience. Now, time to sleep.

Gym Progress 34

Don't bother me, I'm busy and pissed.

Mon (BP,SM): Francis,Steve
Thu (ASM): Bibi, Feo
Fri (IHL, HL, ASM): Bibi, Bibi, Bibi
Sat (ISM, ISM): Calvin, Steve
Sun(SM,HL,ASM): Suzette,Bibi, Bibi

Somethin' Stupid

There are things that make living worthwhile.
There's hope, there's love, there's belief, there's conviction.

...

There are also things that make living look like its worthwhile. And don't be surprised to find out they're also the very same things.


See the lady dressed in the pink petticoat and with a perfect, enchanted smile.
See the gentleman in double breasted, crisp coat, and his crown topped with a strict, sturdy top hat.

Perfect? Too Perfect? Imperfect, compared to actual reality? true? false? pretentious?


I've always like the idea of the consumers and producers. They're a complementary lot, aren't they?
But which side would you rather be on?


I've always wanted to be the producer. But I've become so entrenched in my own idea to be a producer that I've inadvertedly made myself as much a consumer than anything else. I attend classes. dance instructions, Voice lessons, gym sessions. I listen to what people say, I hear their opinions, I believed that I respected them and whole heartedly accepted them...

Doesn't that seem odd to you? or or does it strike as perfectly normal?

Something has to stop. And I think I know what it is.

Now the only problem is to figure out if that's the truth ... or not.

Gym Progress 33

• Monday Messing about with Steve's class :P
• Tuesday May 1 Holiday. Hatha Yoga with Dileep - is good. As always, my back hurts after. The aero room seemed a bit hot...
  
• Wednesday Sunny body balance good ... compared to another instructor I know. By LOTS. It seemed really hot in the aero room again, isn't it? I had my pants folded up to knee length.
  
• Thursday Half day off... go to Immigration, Police Report, Doctor. Lost that darn octopus wallet. Gosh, its still hot in the aero room...
  
• Friday can't see Bibi... all people big in front of me... sometimes its frustrating that way... but finally can follow. What is it? Is it the weather or something?
  
• Saturday Calvin was ok... but really got sick of the really hot weather. I cut my hair really short. For now. Should've been shorter.
  
• Sunday Really off for some strange reason.... a bit redeemed with the last class, but not by a lot.
  

Mon (BP,SM): Francis,Steve
Tue (HY,SM,ISM): Dileep, Bibi, Stanley
Wed (BB,ISM): Sunny, Bibi
Thu (HL,ASM): Bibi, Bibi
Fri (IHL, ASM): Bibi, Bibi
Sat (ISM): Calvin
Sun(SM, HL, ISM): Suzette, Suzette, Lok

Running log:
Sat(T):2.5@18:14mins (speed)
Sun(P):~7km@45mins