Need of Exercise

My gym days are far over. These days I can't imagine waking up early to go to the gym and am impressed that I actually had the energy to wake every morning at 5am just to head out to the gym before work! My sleep is so much more important now!

I was always a fan of elliptical trainer machines whenever I went to the gym as I always thought it burnt the most calories for the shortest time! Hopefully it worked then after all those early morning sacrifices I made!

Needless to say, I'm in terrible need of exercise now but have not been able to find the inspiration to do some form of exercise yet. Help!

Investing in Gold

During the recent financial crisis that happened just several months ago, many investors opted to turn to safer havens such as gold bullion instead. It has always been a known fact that precious metals such as gold bullion will continue to appreciate in value especially when the economy is bad and people have started to lose faith in paper financial products and even currencies. I lived through the Asian crisis in the late 1990s and I still remember articles depicting how Koreans came together as a nation to donate their gold jewellery to help the country come out of its recession.

I'm not much of an investor in precious metals and may have caught the gold rush a little late. However, I did buy some paper gold previously when the prices were lower. Then, I did not have enough to buy gold bullion instead of paper gold as those tend to be sold by a certain weight and is actual physical gold which is best kept in a safe. Despite the high price, a friend is still continuing to buy bullion for safe keeping as he says it will never come down. I would do the same if I had the same financial means! Would you?

World Cup Video Streaming

We never realised how much we loved technology until World Cup season came around and we refused to pay the exorbitant fees cable TV was charging just to watch the World Cup. Luckily I snooped around and found some sites offering free video streaming live for all matches! No video card or any additional hardware required! All you had to do was just to play and it will show, albeit with some lags due to the connection speed. Nevertheless, lags and all, DH was hooked to the little laptop screen just to catch the matches so I guess it worked out well!

Eczema or Psoriasis

DH has been battling skin allergies for some time already. He was always told that it was eczema and had been prescribed with all kinds of treatments for eczema from creams to tar and even strange prescriptions such as special water! However, when he recently went to see a doctor here for a flu, the doctor expressed some interest in his skin condition and told him that it might actually be psoriasis instead of eczema and if it was the case, the treatments he was using previously may not work. Perhaps it is a good time to get it checked out to ascertain what it really is.

Is Channel 5 Showing 3rd Place Play-Offs

I'm glad the free national TV has decided to wise up and show the semi finals and finals of the World Cup. It is utterly unfair to expect people to sign up with cable TV just to watch the World Cup when across the border, Malaysian TV is showing it for free. I only wonder if they will show the Third Place Playoffs as well or whether that will be forgotten in all the lead up to the finals. Does anyone know?

Free Lunch

I had a free lunch today thanks to the office! There was some events happening downstairs when I headed out to pack lunch and was told that it was available for the company's employees! Woohoo! :) So I tucked in although I wasn't that hungry. They had some interesting food I've never eaten before back home like deep fried cruellers stuffed with squid paste and chicken chipolata sausages cooked in a white onion sauce. Gosh, at this rate, I might need some fat burner medication to help me lose unwanted pounds or risk not being able to fit into my clothes!

Expensive Gynae

I went by to see a gyane last weekend for my annual check up. Being new here, I had no idea which gynae to see and ended up choosing one that seemed quite good based on recommendations on forums. He was rather kindly and seemed experienced but came with very expensive rates! I checked and his consultations ranged from $100 to $150 per visit! Ouch! Luckily my company covers my medical expenses otherwise I'll definitely need to look for a cheaper gynae.

Post-Graduate Studies

When I was seriously thinking of doing post-graduate studies such as a Masters, I consulted a few friends on their opinion. Some of them had done their Masters abroad full time whilst others did theirs part-time while working. I personally thought of doing one full time and did quite a bit of research on gmat prep, the best places to do it and the costs of doing something so expensive. I still haven't gotten round to doing my MBA but will definitely look more into the GMAT exam and tips for scoring once I've made up my mind.

Affordable Japanese Food

I just came back from lunch and was pleased to find a new place with relatively affordable Japanese food. A nearby shopping mall had a whole area filled with Japanese stalls in the basement with affordable Japanese meals. I had a nice little mini rice don with around 4 pieces of fried chicken for an affordable $5! My colleagues thought it was too small but I found it just nice. I'm funny like that and often prefer eating smaller portions so I don't feel too greedy and overeat!

School Lockers

When we were growing up and schooling, one thing I used to really wish for was the accessibility of School Lockers or Gym Lockers we could use to store our stuff. Having that would have meant having lighter schoolbags to carry and an area for people to catch up in between classes. I always used to watch American high school programmes with much envy as relationships bonded and formed over lockers or how students strolled to class with just a few books, having stored the rest in their own individual locker. I've heard that times have started to change and private schools here have actually started providing these facilities for their students. I hope to see public schools doing the same too as it will mean a permanent solution to childrens' heavy school bags and spine damage.

Market Researching

I have a friend who used to work in market research and I personally found that a rather interesting area to work in especially since they were responsible for deciding whether many new products will hit the market eventually. Another interesting thing I found was how they managed to test some of the new products themselves before it was actually released to the market. Some products she passed to me to try were really good such as an anti-wrinkle cream that was so high profile that it couldn't even be named and was just called prototype 37c. Later, I found it to be one of the top selling creams in the pharmacies!

Healthy Eating

Since we moved to Singapore, I find that we've been cooking a whole lot more compared to KL. Maybe because we have the convenience of a supermarket nearby which makes buying fresh food easy and also because fresh food here is actually quite cheap. It helps as well that DH comes back earlier and can start preparation on dinner first. Whatever it is, I'm glad to be eating healthier and more wholesome meals at home, especially since I get to eat a lot more of my favourite fish!

Should I Continue?

I recently went for a check up and was warned against long term usage of antibiotics which my dermatologist put me on. With that, I find any face creams I use to be highly effective without causing any breakouts. Without it, my skin tends to go back to its old sensitive state where any cream doesn't seem to agree and breakouts tend to happen. What should I do? Should I stop my antibiotic course and live with sensitive skin or should I continue the antibiotic regime for a while more?

Inspiring Mindshift

I spent most of the last week in training for a rather inspiring and interesting women's development course. It touched on some matters that were not just professional but rather personal too. What I came away from it was the need to be positive to get what you want in life and being able to always see the good side of things. Its going to be a mindshift for me but one that I find to be exceedingly important if I want to achieve what I hope to.

Good Medical Coverage

I've been submitting lots of medical claims recently since we got here. I'm really lucky to get good medical coverage in Singapore which comes in very handy as medical fees here cost a lot. The wideness of coverage we get too is really useful as it even covers alternative treatment. Claiming is easy. All I need to do is to scan my invoices using the company document scanning software and mail it one to the Claims Department for their consideration. I've got a few claims outstanding and hopefully they'll be processed without problems.